Wicked Series

Wicked Puritans of Essex County is a unique report on Puritan criminality that shatters the stereotype of the Puritan (someone striving, above all, to achieve moral purity). With a ground breaking, eye opening level of detail, this book reveals that a surprising number of Puritans were prone to kick the dog, skip church, disrespect the minister, steal a keg of nails, shortweight your grain, turn swine into your corn, burn your barn, or perform any number of wicked and vicious acts. Lesson learned? The Puritan crowd was not, after all, much different from any other, then or now. Author Tom Juergens may not be the first to drive nails into the coffin of Puritan moral superiority, but he has found a hefty hammer to wield in the record they left behind

In its early days, Waterbury was a muddy swamp, a breeding ground for pestilence and mosquitoes. Yet the town's early settlers rarely strayed from the path of Puritan righteousness. By the turn of the twentieth century, however, this rigorously policed, morally upright community had become what one politician called a "crossroads of slime and evil." Headlines boasted tales of corrupt politicians and love scandals, union strife and industrial sabotage. For sixteen years, Waterbury was the hideout for "Mad Bomber" George Metesky, and in 1974 the town witnessed the double homicide that provoked the longest-running trial in Connecticut's history. From the controversial opening of a birth control clinic to the corruption of Mayor T. Frank Hayes, authors Edith Reynolds and John Murray document the major episodes that gave Waterbury the nickname "Sin City."

In Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio, author Jane Ann Turzillo recounts the misdeeds of ten dark-hearted women who refused to play by the rules. They unleashed their most base impulses using axes, guns, poison and more. You'll meet Perry's Velma West, a mere slip of a girl who was unfortunately too near a hammer during an argument. New Philadelphia's Ellen Athey, no lady herself, had a similar problem with an axe. Ardell Quinn, who operated the longest-running brothel in Cleveland, would simply argue that she was a good businesswoman. Grim? Often. Entertaining? Deliciously so.

During the early twentieth century, Monmouth County saw more than its fair share of crime, conspiracy and corruption. In the midst of the Prohibition and Great Depression Eras, Detectives Jacob Rue, William Mustoe ("the man who could make a horse talk") and Harry Crook investigated, and sometimes participated in, much illegal activity. The careers of these fascinating men included investigations of brutal murders, ruthless gangsters, an attempted cyanide poisoning, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby and a search for a vicious escaped leopard. From burglaries and bootleggers to speakeasies and swindlers, join historian George Joynson as he uncovers some of the county's seediest stories.

These are not the aspects of Indianapolis history you'll see flaunted in visitors' brochures. These are the abhorrent, the grim, the can't-look-away misdeeds and miscreants of this city's past, when bicycle messenger boys peddled through the night to link prostitutes with johns and when the bigoted masses tightened their grip on the city behind mayor and Klansman John Duvall. From the unseemly to the deviant to the disastrous, Hoosier Andrew E. Stoner brings you lives as out of control as the worst wreck at the Indy 500 with a history as regrettable as it is riveting.

Ann Arbor is known as a center of culture and education, but that hasn't prevented various tyrants and scoundrels from sullying the sophistication with base and murderous deeds. Revisit the case of "Jacke the Hugger," a turn-of-the-century deviant who routinely accosted and squeezed the women of Ann Arbor. In an effort to lure him from hiding, young men dressed as women and walked city streets. In 1903, UM student Albert Patterson disappeared in what was compared to a dime novel manner. Was he kidnapped by the Mexican Mafia? Carried off in a flying machine? Or did he flee because he was promised to marry two women at the same time? The first panty raid is said to have been carried out at the University of Michigan in March of 1952, starting the fad of the 1950's. It even made the cover of Life magazine. This is only a hint of the wickedness to be found in the history of Ann Arbor.

While the Adirondack Mountains are New York's most beautiful region, they have also been plagued by insidious crimes and the nasty escapades of notorious lawbreakers. In 1935, public enemy number one, Dutch Schultz, went on trial and was acquitted in an Adirondack courtroom. Crooks have tried creative methods to sidestep forestry laws that protect the flora of the state park. Members of the infamous Windfall Gang, led by Charles Wadsworth, terrorized towns and hid out in the high mountains until their dramatic 1899 capture. In the 1970s, the Adirondack Serial Killer, Robert Francis Garrow, petrified campers in the hills. Join local author Dennis Webster as he explores the wicked deeds and sinister characters hidden among the Adirondacks' peaks.

Watch a duel on Bloody Island from the stern of a river pirate's ship and be glad that Abraham Lincoln did not have to keep his appointment. Venture into a brothel where a madam's grin was filled with diamonds or where "Ta Ra Ra Boom de Ay" was hummed for the first time. Witness children forced into labor and aristocrats driven to suicide. Keep company with the gangsters who were a little too "cuckoo" for Al Capone. Visit Wicked St. Louis.

Watertown is a perfect place to raise children, where criminal mischief and scandal are the rare exception to the rule. Discover over a century and a half's worth of exceptions. Travel back to the origins of Watertown, when the house next door might be a brothel and the man on the street might be a serial killer. Hear the tale of poor ninety-five-year-old Mary Kodesch, whose son left her to freeze to death in the barn, and that of the two young boys whose 1890 campaign of arson targeted everything from a church to a box factory. Then press on into the violent history of the Cleveland Street poltergeist house as Jannke delivers a thrilling combination of thoroughly researched fact and inexplicable mystery that will leave the hardiest Watertown residents torn between eagerly turning the next page and nervously looking over their shoulders.

Uncover Ulster County's hidden history of unsavory characters and stories of its wicked past. Situated in the scenic Hudson Valley, Ulster County is a lovely location to make a home and raise a family, but it wasn't always so pleasant. Unsavory characters and immoral events have sullied its name. In the 1870s, the Shawangunk Mountains inspired fear rather than awe, as groups like the Lyman Freer and Shawangunk gangs robbed and terrorized locals, descending from the protection of the wooded peaks. Kingston was torched, arson blazed in Kerhonkson and even the Mohonk Mountain House was threatened by flames. In 1909, the Ashokan Slasher's bloody crimes and sensational trial captured headlines across the country. Discover these and other salacious stories buried in Ulster County's history.

While today's Telluride might bring to mind a hot tourist spot and upscale ski resort, the earliest days of the town and surrounding San Miguel County were marked by an abundance of gamblers, con men and murderers. From Bob Meldrum, a deputized killer who prowled the streets during times of labor unrest, to the author's own ancestor, Charlie Turner, a brash young man killed in a shooting in Ophir, Carol Turner's Notorious Telluride offers a glimpse at some of the sordid, shocking and sad pioneer tales of the area.

The Mile-High City was never above fatal bar brawls, poison plots or any of the other transgressions history would like to ignore. From the moment it sprang from the frontier, Denver was a hotbed of violent money disputes, acts of criminal insanity and every manner of wickedness associated with street and saloon life. Men posed as women while committing crimes, and murderous madams left trails of scarred girls and ruined lives. Some sordid tales are common Mile-High lore, like the case of the Denver Strangler, while others, like the Capitol Hill Slugger, who plagued the well-to-do neighborhood at the turn of the century, have disappeared from note...until now. Follow Sheila O'Hare and Alphild Dick through the tantalizing and wicked tales that undeniably sculpted the city.

Home to many of the nation's original founders and statesmen, Richmond has a history that runs as deep as America itself. Yet within these depths lies something darker. For despite its illustrious reputation, Richmond has a sordid streak. Venture through the city's colorful history of vice, intrigue and subterfuge with author Beth Brown as she traces the scandalous stories that pepper Richmond's past. From colonial founding to the Prohibition era and beyond, Wicked Richmond presents a comprehensive look at the city's murky history. Whether it's tales of Civil War espionage, Spanish pirates captured off the Virginia coast and brought to justice in Richmond, rumrunners peddling liquor during Prohibition or the misadventures of upper-crust colonial families, Wicked Richmond captures the spirit of debauchery that runs through this historic city's past.

Detailing the salacious history of Baltimore and its denizens from the city's earliest history up to and through Prohibition. With nicknames such as "Mob Town" and "Syphilis City," no one would deny that Baltimore has its dark side. Before shows such as "The Wire" and "Homicide: Life on the Streets" brought the city's crime rate to national attention, locals entertained themselves with rumors surrounding the mysterious death of writer Edgar Allan Poe and stories about Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, who spent time in a Baltimore area sanitarium in the 1930s. Tourists make the Inner Harbor one of the most traveled areas in the country, but if they would venture a few streets north to The Block on Baltimore Street they would see an area once famous for its burlesque shows. It is only the locals who would know to continue north on St. Paul to the Owl Bar, a former speakeasy that still proudly displays some of its Prohibition era paraphernalia.

Touted as one of America's most livable cities, Columbia has a history of independence and triumph. But that history also has a darker side, one that isn't told quite as often. The capital city's past is filled with salacious tales of debauchery, including a notorious pickpocket bold enough to victimize a mayor and a tradition of dueling that ruined lives over petty insults. From triple hangings at Potter's Field to the lure of ladies of the evening, Columbia has a history as famously hot as its weather. Join author and historian Alexia Helsley as she examines the devilish details of Soda Town.

For many, Edisto is a little slice of heaven--live oaks festooned with Spanish moss, winding waterways and crashing surf. Yet the waterways were pathways for privateers, smugglers and gunboats. Marauders terrorized residents. Privateers made life uncertain during the War of 1812. John Wilson and Andrew Gillon dueled to the death on the sands of Edingsville. The Civil War brought repeated skirmishes between Union and Confederate scouting parties. Join historian Alexia Jones Helsley as she recounts lost lives, early widows, dashed dreams, unseen secrets--the dark side of Eden.

Early promoters of Colorado s Western Slope would have had settlers believe the area was one of proper behavior and upstanding morality. But this was not the case. Hot tempers led to quick trigger fingers and Main Street shootouts. Drinking, gambling and thieving were popular pursuits, and law breaking of all kinds thrived in this wild land. From Charles Graham, whose jealous rampage in Grand Junction is still talked about today, and the mysterious Friday the thirteenth murder of Jeanette Morris to Abe C. Ong, the mischievous pioneer bootlegger of De Beque, and Riverside s Mrs. Barnes and her foul crime, History Sleuth D.A. Brockett reveals some of the most outrageous and remarkable crimes in Western Slope history.

In the rough-and-tumble days of the nineteenth century, Shreveport was on the very edge of the country s western frontier. It was a city struggling to tame lawlessness, and its streets were rocked by duels, lynchings and shootouts. A new century and Prohibition only brought a fresh wave of crime and scandal. The port city became a haunt for the likes of notorious bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde and home to the influential socialite and Madam Annie McCune. From Fred Lockhart, aka the Butterfly Man, to serial killers Nathanial Code and Danny Rolling, Shreveport played reluctant host to an even deadlier cast of characters. Their tales and more make up the devilish history of the Deep South in Wicked Shreveport.

From its founding in the early 1830s, Springfield was a rough frontier town where whiskey flowed freely, gunplay and fistfights abounded and gambling thrived. The Civil War not only brought the horror of warfare home to Springfield but also introduced worldly vices like prostitution that were scarcely known in previous years. Yet throughout its history, Springfield has managed to maintain a veneer of respectability not shared by certain other towns of southwest Missouri that were founded as wild, wide-open mining camps, like Joplin and Granby. Join Larry Wood as he digs beneath the surface of Queen City history to expose notorious characters and capers that would make even Joplinites blush.

Bootleggers, swindlers, gold miners and serial killers Charlotte has courted them all. The Queen City is renowned for its skyline, sports teams and dizzying growth, but just below its smooth, polished exterior lies a dark past full of crime and myriad misdeeds. This second history of Charlotte has been concealed and denied by those who retell the city s story, and by those who have lived it. Until now. In Wicked Charlotte, discover the tale of the Chicago gangsters who invaded the city looking to pull a heist to fund sinister maneuverings in their boss s criminal trial. Learn how a golden nugget found in a nearby creek changed Charlotte from a trading crossroads into a rough and tumble town full of fortune seekers bent on finding a quick dollar and instant riches. And read about the details of the death of one of Charlotte s most gifted writers, who met his end in a seedy hotel room in Mexico. This raucous book sheds light on these incidents and many more, revealing a side of Charlotte s history that few will recognize. The sordid events described here took place on familiar streets and in well known neighborhoods, but rarely have the stories passed beyond the circles of those who lived them. Charlotte has played host to a multitude of villainous characters, and has seen scores of unsavory deeds played out on its shadowy streets. Wicked Charlotte brings it all to the forefront, as never before.

Prepare for a harrowing ride into the seedy side of Ottawa County history as author Amberrose Hammond unearths morbid tales of sin, scandal and crime. The lovers you find here become enemies, and the jilted, jealous and mistreated favor weaponry to verbal resolution. Ku Klux Klan members don white gowns and leave fiery crosses blazing against the backdrop of night. In this Ottawa County, Eddie Bentz, Baby Face Nelson and a crew of thugs are spraying machine gun fire outside the People's Savings Bank in Grand Haven, arguments end in miserable fashion and the missing often turn up without the capacity to out their wrongdoers.

Take a trip with Larry Stanford through 350 years of Newport's hidden, dark history. Founded by a small band of religious freedom seekers in 1639, Newport, Rhode Island, subsequently became a bustling colonial seaport teeming with artists, sailors, prosperous merchants and, perhaps most distinctively, the ultra-rich families of the Gilded Age. Clinging to the lavish coattails of these newly minted millionaires and robber barons was a stream of con artists and hangers-on who attempted to leech off their well-to-do neighbors. From the Vanderbilts to the Dukes, the Astors to the Kennedys, the City by the Sea has served as a sanctuary for the elite, and a hotbed of corruption. Local historian Larry Stanford pulls back the curtain on over 350 years of history, uncovering the real stories behind many of Newport's most enduring mysteries, controversial characters and scintillating scandals.

A strange sort of pride tends to embellish infamy, like the notion that Frank and Jesse James robbed every bank in Missouri. But the citizens of Joplin need not exaggerate their community's unsavory past. Founded in the 1870s as a booming lead-mining camp, Joplin was a wide-open town from the start, and its wild reputation persisted into the mid-twentieth century. A neighboring town's newspaper aptly described Joplin as a "naughty place."? Join author Larry Wood on a colorful tour of the city's raucous past.

In this follow-up volume, Mark R. Jones uncovers the seedy and wicked past of Charleston: Prostitutes, Politics and Prohibition. The city of Charleston, South Carolina, with its matchless Southern charm, has sparkled gem-like on the Carolina coast for more than three hundred years. The Holy City, as it is known, has been a cherished home to generations and an inviting destination for visitors from all over the world, who come to tour its celebrated historic sites and to bask in both the warm sun and the famous Southern hospitality. But below the gleaming surface of Charleston, there has always been a darker side--a second history that has been hidden and denied by those who retell the city's story, and by those who have lived it. Charleston has played host to a wide variety of unsavory characters, and has seen scores of sordid deeds played out on its cobbled streets, beneath flickering gaslights. Wicked Charleston, Volume 2: Prostitutes, Politics and Prohibition is a captivating companion to Mark Jones's hugely popular Wicked Charleston. In this new book, Jones reveals more of the city's seedy history--from drinking and prostitution to murder and crooked politics--offering a rarely seen glimpse of a sinister side of Charleston's past.

Born of glaciers and turbulent waters, wars and struggles of native peoples, Niagara was powered by the dreams of men and women seeking refuge in a new land. Yet for all its rare beauty and rugged pioneering spirit, the Niagara region has sometimes drifted into shadows, affording its seedier citizens the cover they needed to do their dastardly deeds. A plot to invade Canada, a Mafia stronghold, madness, murder and savagery all lie hidden in the region's past. From the blood-soaked grounds of battle, local storyteller Lorna MacDonald Czarnota brings Wicked Niagara and grim tales of the region's early struggles into the light.

The central Piedmont North Carolina town of Kernersville is known today for its quiet neighborhoods and lovely historic district homes. Few of its citizens would suspect that in earlier times the town had its fair share of unsavory characters. Wicked Kernersville lifts the veil from this little-known facet of the town s past and introduces the reader to incidents that prompted one early resident to lament that it was unsafe to walk the streets. Using material gleaned from old newspapers and other sources, longtime residents Michael Marshall and Jerry Taylor bring these stories to life, giving the reader a glimpse of the town s history unavailable from other sources.

With Wicked Carlisle, author Joe Cress revisits the criminal history of Cumberland County. Taking a more focused and less bloody approach, Cress will largely bring new stories of mischief to the table, though he will revisit the lighter side of two or three crimes from Murder and Mayhem in Cumberland County. From stories of college pranks gone wrong, Carlisle's own Robin Hood and the robbing and subsequent torching of a beloved local theater (the Strand where the local HS now sits ) to abuses at the Carlisle Indian School and the town's connection to the raid on Harper's Ferry, Cress scours the underbelly of the borough for mischief and misdeeds.

Since its founding in 1638, the bustling Connecticut metropolis of New Haven has been plagued by all manner of sin and scandal. Stories of grave robbers and madmen in lighthouses are only a sliver of the Elm City's darker side. Author and historian Michael J. Bielawa chronicles the city's historic tales of pirates, mysteries and unusual deaths. Learn about Yale hauntings and Town and Gown riots, the Red Pirate William Delaney and the mysterious labor activist Frank Sokolowsky, whose strange murder in 1920 may have been at the hands of a jealous wife or part of a political plot. Discover the overzealous Wakemanites whose Christmas Eve exorcism led to the brutal murder of a man they believed possessed. Join Bielawa if you dare to peer into the shadowy corners of New Haven's wicked history.

In 1854, Decatur was nicknamed "Hell's Half Acre."? By the 1910s and 1920s, the town was referred to as the "Second Most Corrupt City in Illinois, "? gaining notoriety as a place where murder, bootlegging, prostitution, kidnapping, gambling and political corruption were common. Members of the Decatur police force, like Troy Taylor's great-grandfather, were hard-pressed to bar the door against crime in a town that seemed determined to remain wide-open. Wicked Decatur presents a rogue's gallery of those who have slipped through the cracks of legality over the past century and a half.

High Point, nestled in the heart of the Piedmont Triad, has long been at the forefront of progress, attracting those entrepreneurs who were "up to something out of the ordinary"?, a place where spanking leads to tragedy, ransom notes are left in mailboxes and people are railroaded through court. When Prohibition swept the nation, High Point's first saloonist stayed in business for only eighteen hours. High Point's speed-demon racecar drivers opted to smuggle liquor in their uncatchable cars, which sparked the beginning of NASCAR. Join veteran author Alice Sink as she explores these and other tales, from the cruel and comical to the mischievous and outrageous, in the story of this "international city's"? colorful past.