Book Description

“Offers a glimpse into Salem’s complex, haunted history—murders, hangings, corruption—and provides a handful of ghostly tales.” —Statesman Journal Salem’s haunted tales date back to the 1830s, when indigenous tribes, trappers and homesteaders shared the lush Willamette Valley. Murders, hangings and dark underground passageways defined the city’s early days as the Willamette River moved old stern-wheelers up to the city’s docks. Today, the sounds of those phantom vessels can be heard plying along the river late at night. Oregon’s capital city has long been the site of mental hospitals, prisons and other notorious institutions, famously depicted in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The residual effects of decades of torture and depravity cling to the old facilities in both sight and sound. Author Tim King examines many of these chilling encounters along with eyewitness accounts of spirits that refuse to be quiet. “Tim King’s new book takes readers to the far west, investigating the hauntings and other supernatural and inexplicable occurrences still going on in Salem, Oregon, putting that city in the same category as old Salem, Mass. . . . A good read for Halloween or, for that matter, any other time of year when one is tempted to learn more about those strange occurrences that defy the laws of science and nature, and challenge our inner complacency.” —Salem-News.com