Tiptoe into Scary Cities

Scorned women, phantom children, and mysterious painted specters are just some of the haunting figures that fill the pages of the high-interest Tiptoe into Scary Cities series (8 titles). Part fright fest, part city guide, this series offers easy vocab, simple sentences, and creepy (but not too scary) anecdotes as it takes readers on a guided city tour, introducing them to famous landmarks that are said to be haunted. Creepy Chicago offers a dose of history, telling of the families who died on the Chicago River during the 1915 Eastland disaster and the alleged “devil baby” left at the Jane Addams Hull House in 1912. England’s bloody history has created its share of ghosts, and Lurid London opens with the famed Tower of London and two beheaded princes who are said to haunt it. Canada has its share of oddities, and Monstrous Montreal takes readers on a tour of a funeral home turned nightclub and a cemetery transformed into a city park. The famous flock to New York City, even, it seems, when they’re dead, and Nightmarish New York includes ghostly appearances from the likes of Edgar Allan Poe and John Lennon. The tone and photo illustrations, complete with superimposed ghosts, are overdramatic, but the brief tales are interesting, and for emerging readers, this is a spooking, unique way to explore new cities.

Fans of spooks, goose bumps and scares will devour this book and be ready to spend the night with the blankets pulled over their heads.

New Orleans is rich with history…and by no means, only the good kind. This book takes a look at four local myths, the spooky kind. It begins with an introduction, which speaks of night, whispers, vampires and the walking dead, and sets the perfect atmosphere for the following tales.

These tales aren’t grabbed out of the air but are based by historical facts. The buildings exist and are shown with a true-to-life photograph. The events which lead up to the modern day hauntings are also factual and include dates, names and events. Then the events are described, things which make people believe the ghosts remain in these spots. It’s a very creepy mixture, which allows chills to run up and down the spine. At the end, there’s a map of the city with the exact locations of each place mentioned. The follow glossary, index, reference material and website to discover more, give this a nice, educational touch.

The stories are not for sensitive readers and fit slightly older readers better, ages 6 to 10. These are perfect for all fans of creepy things and even teach a little bit of history and geography along the way.