​   Abandoned amusement parks are spooky. Look at that picture. Now imagine being there at night, far from any city lights. If the image of the rusted rides, squeaking ominously in the wind, isn't enough to give you the heebie-jeebies, this place also holds Native American burial grounds and is the spot where two teenagers met a gruesome death. This is the Lake Shawnee amusement park in West Virginia.
  

     Where was Kate and what was she doing from the time of her marriage in 1885/86 to her death in 1892? We will never be able to trace her movements exactly, especially since the 1890 federal census was lost in a fire. Iowa has an 1885 census, but it was taken before she and Thomas were married and they are both enumerated with their families.

 I'm kicking off the History Behind the Hauntings with a bit of a cheat. As I said, the thing that irks me most about ghost stories is that they never seem to be based in historical fact. However, this ghost is known. In fact, the ghost that haunts room 3327 at the Hotel del Coronado is famous. ​

I admit it - I'm a sucker for a ghost story. When I walked into the library as a kid, I made a bee-line straight to the 133s (Dewey Decimal, in case you are interested) where the "true" ghost books were shelved. One thing I have often noticed about ghost stories is how there never seems to be any historical fact to back up the tales. The ghost is always a woman in white named Mary or some generic thing. So I decided I am going to start investigating these hauntings and try to put real names, dates, and places to the stories.

Check out the History Behind the Haunting tab for all of my posts.

I love cemeteries. As I wander through them, scanning the names and dates on the stones, I wonder who these people were, what were their lives (and deaths) like, and who were the people who cared about them. As time permits, I will post research on people I spot in various cemeteries.

Check out the History of the Interred tab for my posts.