Weird Illinois

I was at Barnes & Noble tonight and the store is heavily promoting a book called "Weird Illinois". It's a collection of strange things and places found throughout the state. It's published by Barnes & Noble books (hence the heavy promotion within the store) and here's what they have to say about it.

Fabled places, roadside oddities, bizarre beasts and people? If it's weird and it's in Illinois, it's in Weird Illinois. Troy Taylor, long a chronicler of the strangest hauntings the Prairie State has to offer, has taken a long, eerie look at the goings-on around here and has come up with more strange stuff than any one state should legally be able to have.

With notepad and camera in hand, Troy has traveled the back roads, main roads, and all roads in between in search of the odd and the offbeat. He's tracked down impossible-to-believe tales, only to discover an odd grain of truth that gives the story just enough credibility to make one feel a little . . . uncomfortable. Whether it's a man-eating Piasa Bird, an abandoned insane asylum, mystery airships, or the haunted tomb of a certain famous Abe, Troy has researched and chronicled the story and presents it here for you, fellow admirers of the weird.

Turn the pages and visit the hell of Hell Hollow and learn the legend of the Devil's Bake Oven. Find out about the Macomb Fire Starter, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, and the Curse of Kaskaskia. Go off the beaten path and look for kangaroos and albino squirrels on the loose. Walk down Ghost Hollow Road, see the World's Largest Catsup Bottle, touch Lincoln's lucky nose, gawk at the miniature houses on the prairie, and gaze in puzzlement at the double-deck outhouse and the Leaning Tower of Niles. Read all about the Devil Baby of Hull House, visit the grave of the Chesterville Witch, and meet, if you dare, the demon butcher of Palos Park.

The Lauterbach Giant in Springfield also has a mention and a picture (I think it was page 145).

I didn't buy it tonight but I did spend some time looking through it and it looks fun. I probably will get it. I'm thinking this is a good gift for the hard to buy for. History and nostalgia buffs would really appreciate it.

I think this might be part of a series because I also saw a very similar looking book called Weird Florida near the Illinois books.

Anyway, if your in B&N take a peak.