Reference Books & Good Reads

In the wake of the Civil War, Spiritualism - and its promises of communication with the dead - reached its peak as grieving families hoped to reunite with men lost in battle.

In the face of an uncertain future, people sought comfort in the messages of mediums, and for Philadelphians, that reassurance was found in Katie King.

Katie was a spirit who materialized at the séances of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Holmes - or so attendees believed. For eight months in 1874, she captivated every level of Philadelphia society, including Vice President Henry Wilson, who clamored to speak with the lovely apparition. When a believer-turned-skeptic decided to investigate Katie King for himself, the "spirit" took a decidedly human turn.

From the rise of Spiritualism in the city to the aftermath of the scandal, author Stephanie Hoover reveals the personalities and chicanery behind the curious case of Katie King.

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From "Afterlife" to "Zener Cards," Spiritualism and the Supernatural: An Entertaining Encyclopedia for Believers and Skeptics Alike is your complete guide to the world of spirits and superstitions. Its 300+ entries range from 19th century Spiritualists to modern paranormal parlance.

The encyclopedia approaches topics from multiple perspectives: neutral researcher, ardent believer and committed skeptic. This witty (sometimes irreverent) compilation appeals to all three, and reads more like an entertaining history of the supernatural rather than the in-depth reference work that it is.

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Pennsylvania may have been founded by peaceful Quakers, but the sect’s pacifist ways didn’t dampen the state’s enthusiasm for violent scandals—or capital punishment. In Pretty Evil Pennsylvania, historical true crime author Stephanie Hoover recounts the crimes of some of the Keystone State’s most violent female criminals from the 1850s through the 1930s.

The stories of these law-breaking ladies are complex and nuanced. On occasion you may find yourself wondering if the crimes—matricide, kidnapping, horse theft—were justified. In other cases, there can be no doubt of the presence of mens rea, a guilty mind. Many of these women were dismissed as luckless lonely hearts or homely housewives—right up until the time that their cases proved interesting enough to sell newspapers. They then magically transformed into heartless, alluring she-devils who knew how to handle a gun or manipulate men into all manner of evil deeds.

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On November 5, 1934 the State Highway Patrol sub-station in Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania began receiving phone calls about a shooting in Kelayres. They first believed the calls to be a late Halloween prank and ignored them. After all, there was no way that a Schuylkill County detective and long-time political boss would fire on unarmed parade marchers. But when the calls kept coming, officers went to the scene to investigate. The carnage was shocking.

The Kelayres Massacre: Politics and Murder in Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Country tells the true story of Republican boss Joseph J. Bruno who, when in 1934 saw his grip on the anthracite region of the state weakening, convinced family members to use his massive weapons arsenal to mow down Democratic parade marchers.

From three of the four corners of the intersection of Fourth and Center Streets, Bruno and his son, brother and nephews blasted away from their self-styled kill zone. In just minutes, three men were dead, two were mortally wounded, and nearly two dozen more citizens were bloodied but alive.

While the massacre is the dramatic centerpiece of this story, the book also reveals the political, economic and cultural factors that incited this deadly hostility.

From coal bootlegging, to slot machine racketeering, to unbridled nepotism, The Kelayres Massacre: Politics and Murder in Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Country will, for the first time, tell the whole story-behind-the-story of the day politics became the deadliest game in the country.

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John Sharpless answered a knock on his door. Less than an hour later he was found in his barn, dead from a vicious blow to the back of his head. His bloodstained hat lay next to him on the ground.

A $3,000 reward sparked an overzealous manhunt across southeastern Pennsylvania and numerous innocent men were arrested. Samuel Johnson - a local African American man with a criminal record - was charged. Despite the Widow Sharpless's failure to identify him as the man who came to her door, Johnson was convicted and sentenced to hang.

The Killing of John Sharpless offers an in-depth investigation of this fascinating nineteenth century murder and profiles a miscarriage of justice perpetrated by a corrupt police force and abetted by the questionable ethics of the judge in the case. It also details the selfless efforts of the Quaker community - and thousands of others - to save Johnson's life.

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