April 18, 2008

New Book Explores the Weird Side of Massachusetts

Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman, authors of Weird U.S. present Weird Massachusetts: Your Alternative Travel Guide to Massachusetts's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets.

Massachusetts and weird: not too much of a stretch, some would say. WEIRD MASSACHUSETTS (Sterling; May 2008; hardcover; $19.95) by Jeff Belanger digs just a bit deeper and reveals all kinds of local legends, bizarre beasts, surprising cemeteries, and uncovered the best kept secrets from all over the Bay State.

With so many places named after the devil, it's a wonder Massachusetts isn't called the Devil State or the Witch State, but see for yourself at the Witch Museum, dedicated to educating the public on what witchcraft was, and is today; for the really daring, unlock some of the spooky secrets at the Houghton Mansion or stay a night at Concord's Colonial Inn; circle around haunted trees in cemeteries, or try climbing Dighton Rock and unravel the messages in its centuries-old carvings. It's all here. It's all weird, and it's all in Massachusetts.

WEIRD MASSACHUSETTS, like all the books in the Weird series, is filled with stories about unusual people and amazing sights. Abandoned places, cursed roads, friendly and not-so-friendly ghosts, bizarre personal properties, and eye-catching roadside oddities are all here, all for you, and all very weird.

As you travel through the pages of WEIRD MASSACHUSETTS you'll:

• Visit Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden in his hometown of Springfield
• Uncover the murders at the Lizzie Borden house - sleepovers are available if you dare
• Witness the mystery of the Nantucket UFO
• Tour the Salem Witch Museum - you might just encounter one of the many modern day witches who visit each year

And so much more!

ABOUT JEFF BELANGER
Jeff Belanger leads a very haunted life. He's been fascinated with the supernatural since age ten, when he investigated his first haunted house during a sleepover. Since then, he's been a writer and journalist for various newspapers and magazines, and in 1999, he launched Ghostvillage.com, as a repository for his writings on the subject of the supernatural. The site has since grown to become the largest paranormal community on the Web, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. Jeff is the author of seven books on the paranormal, including The World's Most Haunted Places and Our Haunted Lives. He lectures regularly on the subject of supernatural phenomena and has appeared on many radio and television programs covering the paranormal.

ABOUT THE CREATORS OF THE WEIRD SERIES
MARK SCEURMAN
Mark Sceurman is known as a graphic artist, publisher, and all-around nice guy. His journey to discover the weirder aspects of local history and legends began many years ago when his brother told him tales of Albino Village, where "they come out at night to get you!" Since then the roads less traveled have been the only paths he chooses to take. He has an affection for rock and roll, draft beer, and collecting odd stories from newspapers. He resides in New Jersey (which he calls the weirdest state) with his wife, Shirley, and their daughter.

MARK MORAN
Mark Moran is a graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York City, where he studied fine art, illustration, and photography. It was a boring and misspent suburban New Jersey childhood that first led him to his lifelong fascination with exploring the lost history and forgotten landmarks of his surroundings. Eventually he would share what he had found with others through his pictures and stories. These days he lives with his wife, Barbara, and their two daughters in a boring suburban New Jersey neighborhood (when he is not out tracking down satanic albino cannibals).

WEIRD MASSACHUSETTS
Hardcover: 256 pages
Price: $19.95
Publisher: Sterling (May 2008)
ISBN-13: 978-1402754371


For more information about the Weird U.S. series, including a complete list of its available titles, please visit: www.weirdus.com.