Haunted
Highway: The Spirits of Route 66 ,
by Ellen Robson & Dianne Halicki
Haunted Highway: The Spirits of Route 66
is full of tall tales and wild yarns of the ghostly variety.
This 1999 trade paperback written by Ellen Robson and Dianne
Halicki is a perfect anthology for a passenger to read out loud
while traveling. The book includes sixty-six tales about ghosts
who still reputedly occupy residences and businesses along Route
66 between Chicago and the Pacific coast.
The "truth" behind
the ghost stories in this book is almost irrelevant if one
just accepts these tales as good, old fashioned roadtrip entertainment.
In fact, I have spent considerable time at some of the locations
described in the book, and I have never noticed anything other-worldly
or witnessed any supernatural events during my visits. But
even though I have my doubts as to whether supernatural beings
inhabit these places, it's fun to learn about the experiences
other visitors claim to have had.
For roadtrippers considering
a trip along historic Route 66 this book is great to read
for fascinating background information. Beyond the tales of
encounters with ethereal beings, the authors have provided
interesting facts surrounding some of the legendary people
who worked, lived and died along the "Mother Road."
For each story, the authors have included the address of the
location along with telephone numbers and driving directions.
For instance, you can walk down the same alley where the assassination
of John Dillinger took place outside the Biograph Theater
in Chicago. (And if you're sufficiently psychic, you may even
notice a "cool spot.") At the Hollywood Roosevelt
Hotel in Hollywood, you can look into a mirror that once belonged
to Marilyn Monroe. (Again, if you're got the gift, you may
see the Monroe-like image in the mirror that others have reported.)
I think my favorite ghost story
is the one about the elevator run by an unseen operator at
The Inn at 835 in Springfield, Missouri. This playful ghost
is thought to be Bell Miller, who built some luxury apartments
in the late 1890s and still manages to perform as an ethereal
landlord by fixing torn wallpaper and rearranging the locks
on the guest rooms.
Are the stories verifiably
true? Probably not, but Haunted Highway will definitely
keep you entertained and alert as you head down the road!
Mark
Sedenquist
3/19/06
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