Haunted Caves

After producing such spine-tingling, if esoteric, volumes as Monstrous Morgues of the Past (2011), Shuttered Horror Hospitals (2011), and Wretched Ruins (2010), is there anywhere left for the Scary Places series to go? Have no fear, fright fans. Dark Mansions separates itself from the haunted houses and castles of previous entries by a slim technical margin, but that doesn’t mean that Williams doesn’t dig up some spooky stuff. The 11 two-page spreads, most of which have roots in the 1800s, include mansion mysteries that involve such high-profile figures as Aaron Burr and Frank Lloyd Wright. Ever better, though, are the grisly, lesser-known stories, such as Indianapolis’ Hannah House, where a fire once killed a basement full of Underground Railroad fugitives: since then, the house has shown many signs of being haunted. Doors have opened and closed on their own. A chandelier has rocked without any wind present, and paintings have fallen from the walls. Most disturbingly of all, people have heard moans and seen ghosts in the shadows of the basement. Haunted Caves, meanwhile, revels in the echoing voices and ghostly tapping of various soldiers, hermits, explorers, and guides who either got lost in the caves or whose spirits couldn’t help but return. A gritty design snazzes up the effective mix of on-site photos and historical snapshots… At the same time, sidebars offer up additional factoids, related hauntings, and further unsourced—but chilling—speculation. Solid new entries in a reliable, reluctant reader-friendly series.