The New England Grimpendium Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
An insider’s guide to wicked, weird, and wonderful New England. A rich compendium of macabre and historic New England happenings, this travelogue features firsthand accounts of almost 200 sites throughout New England. This region is full of the macabre, the grim, and the ghastly―and all of it is worth visiting, for the traveler who dares! Author J. W. Ocker supplements directions and site information with entertaining personal anecdotes. Topics include: Legends and personalities of the macabreInfamous crimes and killersDreadful tragediesHorror movie localesNotable cemeteries and gravestonesIntriguing memento moriClassic monsters 100 black-and-white photographs
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Countryman Press (September 20, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0881509191
ISBN-13: 978-0881509199
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #362,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #264 in Books > Travel > United States > Northeast > New England #462 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult & Paranormal > Unexplained Mysteries #6076 in Books > History > Americas > United States > State & Local
This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in horror and macabre subjects. The book has 5 chapters:1. Horror Legends and Personalities2. Infamous Crimes , Killers, and Tragedies3. Horror Movie Filming Locales4. Notable Cemeteries, Gravestones, and other Memento Mori5. Classic MonstersEven if you have never been to New England and have no plans to go, you'll have a great time reading this book (I often visit Cape Cod, MA, so I'm taking notes!). On top of the fascinating history, and little known grisly facts, J.W. Ocker has a wicked sense of humor that makes this a fun read. Here are a few examples:About driving in a torrential downpour to the filming location of the movie "Session 9", in Danvers MA - "...I had as many appendages as I could spare on the wheel, and I was squinting to the point of flattened eyeballs and ejected contacts and hoping that none of the wavering red lights in front of me were brake lights. I was on my way to watch a horror movie. More than that, I was on my way to watch a horror movie on the very spot where it was filmed. More than that, I was on my way to watch a horror movie on the very spot where it was filmed, which happened to , in the past, have been in this order: an insane asylum, an abandoned insane asylum, a movie set, and an apartment complex."And another, about the legend of the glowing tombstone in Portsmouth NH: "It's not the first time I've been in a graveyard at night, and because I plan on dying like everyone else, it won't be the last." (I've got to work that into an epitaph somehow!)And yet another excerpt about the un-spookiness (is that a word?) of staying at the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River, MA : "It actually took longer getting used to the idea of sharing a bathroom with strangers, than to the fact that we were gallivanting around an ancient murder scene in our socks"And still another one (I love this book) about the house from the film "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" in Southern CT : "... a NO TRESSPASSING sign was placed in a location blatant enough to get its message across in no uncertain terms: 'You will be consumed by cannibals if you linger'."Get this book! If you don't find yourself fascinated by the locales, or cackling evilly at the humor, at the very least you'll make your in-laws uncomfortable with this on the bookshelf in the guest bedroom.The New England Grimpendium
I've been a fan of the Odd Things I've Seen website since I first started reading it several years ago. J.W. Ocker's writing is a quirky delight. This book is great. As a travelogue it is a must have for those who love things that are just a bit odd. The whit with which this book is written has sparked a lot of reading aloud in our household. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan things that are just a little bit darker and weird. It is an excellent read and you won't be able to finish it without several chuckles.
I will not bore you with a long winded review here. If you like books along the lines of 'Weird USA', then you will love this book. And if you are from New England, then you will appreciate it even more. It informative, well written, and funny. I can not wait until the next book!
I had this book on my wish list for a while & I ended up buying it for myself. I'm both a skeptic & a notorious believer in the weird creepy things that happen or have happened here in N.E., if that makes sense?!... However, I believe there's a lot that we do not know & a lot of crap'...., yet...., its so much fun to read about, visit, and entertain us. Why not?! Cool book!!
Ironically, the regional collection-of-oddities-book has become such a commonplace concept that you sometimes get the impression they come out of a publisher's cookie cutter. This one breaks the mold and actually uncovers some new ground. The author serves as an eager narrator with an infectious sense of wonder for the genuinely strange stuff he uncovers and a kind of solo Mystery Science Theater schtick when his BS detector goes off (which is pretty often). I recommend it highly (and lowly).
J.W. Ocker has a website called O.T.I.S. (Odd Things I've Seen) I stumbled upon it one evening browsing the internet. I think I was trying to scrounge up some info on the Danvers State Hospital site since I have driven past it that day and it was fresh in my mind. Ocker visited that site, now a fully fledged condo complex complete with a clubhouse, a pool and.....a cemetery. Wanna read about it? It's all here.Ocker's website led me to this fabulous little book. Well, little is not accuarate, this is fully packed with excellent info about my area. Places I had no idea existed!Wanna see where "Beetlejuice" was filmed? The author tells you the exact sites in Vermont. What about finding the grave with a window? (Yes, it really DOES have a window!)It's here too. Did you know there's a mummy at Mass General Hospital? Nope, neither did I.And to my delight, I also found out that Dungeon Rock and Skull Cliff were right down the street from my home!I must say this book is the book I wanted "Weird New England" and "Weird Massachusetts" to be. I thought those books would be more "guidebook" like. But to my disappointment those books, while still good, relied heavily on illustrations and legends. The Grimpendium has a picture for every entry and you hear firsthand about the author's experience there. Plus, I love the way Ocker writes: "I was at South Cememtery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, checking out a legend about a tombstone that glows. It's not the first time I've been in a graveyard at night, and because I plan on dying like everyone else, it won't be the last."I love all things New England and this book will help make for some interesting day trips this coming summer.If you want to check out Ocker yourself then go to his website and see if all this morbid stuff is really for you. Don't be surprised though to find yourself clicking entry after entry and then looking at the clock, realizing 3 hrs have passed. If you like the site, you will love the book.And in case you are wondering while a lot of entries on the website are in the book, Ocker isn't dumb enough to reveal his bag of tricks with just a click of the mouse--there are a great number of entries in the book that aren't on the site and vice versa.
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