America S Oddest Legends

America isn’t old when compared to other countries, but it has its fair share of odd myths and legends. From the myths of Pecos Bill to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, our history has quirks and stories spanning all 50 states in the union. Readers explore the dark depths of storytelling in this exciting book filled with high-interest tales of American legends. Full-color photographs and freaky graphics help tell the tales that terrified—or just plain weirded out—American children for generations in certain cities or states.

In South Carolina, a man dressed in grey walks along the beach. Is it someone going for a stroll? Or could it be a ghostly omen that warns residents of an oncoming storm? In this title, reluctant readers will explore ghost stories of North America. Creepy images and engaging text pull readers in, and additional special features connect stories to different cultures, highlight scientific explanations, and show the origins of these frightening fables.

Museums are fun places to learn about things from the past. History museums and art museums are familiar, but what about something a bit weirder? Who would visit a museum all about death? Or what about the food Spam? Readers take a walk on the weird side of displays and dioramas full of wacky things like failed consumer products, creepy old pharmacies, and more in this wild book sure to bring everyone from reluctant readers to avid museum-goers—to the edge of their seats.

Venezuela may be home to a whistling ghost! El Sibón wanders the country, gathering bones for his collection. If you hear his whistle, run away! This is one of three creepy ghost stories introduced in this book about the haunted tales of South America. Additional features show off the origin of each story, introduce a possible explanation, and highlight another similar story from another part of the world.

In 1638, John Lewger made a home in the wilderness of the New World, in a place called Maryland. He named his house St. John's, and for nearly eighty years, it was the center of an ambitious English plan to build a new kind of community on American soil. Men and women lived and worked within its walls. Babies were born. Last breaths drawn. St. John's walls witnessed the first stirrings of the great struggles that would dominate the continent for the next three centuries: The unimaginable wealth of the New World's crops and natural resources. The promise of religious tolerance under a new model of government. The injustice of slavery. The betrayal of native peoples. The struggle for equality between men and women. If St. John's walls could have talked, they would have spoken volumes of American history. And then the walls crumbled. One hundred years after it was built, St. John's House had been abandoned. The buildings slowly deteriorated, returning to the Maryland soil to be plowed under by generations of Maryland farmers. St. John's walls were silent for more than two centuries, little more than ghosts haunting the historical and archeological records. But they weren't lost. Not entirely. Award-winning author Sally M. Walker tells the story of how teams of scientists and historians managed to hear the ghostly echoes of St. John's House and, over the course of decades of painstaking work, made them speak their stories again.

A guide to visiting the odd and less known tourist attractions in the state of Florida.

266 Strange Tales, Myths and Legends that Help Define the American Character. It is said that, compared to Europe, America has no real stockpile of myth and legend. As a nation grows forward, that supply accumulates backward, and America has simply not been around long enough for it to build-up. This book makes that belief itself into a myth. In the late 19th Century, Charles M. Skinner set about on a journey to collect the myths and legends of America before it was too late—before they passed into oblivion. Scouring old records, histories, newspapers, magazines, and oral narratives, he reconstructed 266 tales from all corners of our nation. This priceless record of our cultural heritage is presented in this Fireship Press edition. - How many New Englanders are aware that the Hudson River was created by one of the three wise men of Bethlehem fame? - If you live near the Great Lakes, did you know that Hiawatha was born on Mackinaw (Mackinac) Island? - How many Southerners know the story of the Biloxi Indian tribe that marched into the sea and drowned rather than surrender to an army of Choctaws? - Somewhere along the Purgatoire River in Colorado a fortune in gold is buried—put there by a Spanish infantry regiment that entered the valley... and simply disappeared. All of these stories and more—from every region of the country—can now be found in: Myths and Legends of America. It is where myth and history combine that legend is most interesting and appeals to our fancy or our sympathy most strongly... Charles M. Skinner

Contains 101 curious tales and oddball facts about events and people from the fifty states.