"Southern Ohio Legends and Lore" by James A. Willis

Back in 2013 (I think) I bumped in to James A. Willis doing a book signing in Indianapolis.  He was promoting some of the "Weird US" books that he had contributed to back them.  "Weird Indiana" and "Weird Ohio", among others, have his name all over them.

I really enjoyed chatting with him back then.  You could tell that he really enjoyed talking about and investigating, well, the weird.

I was really happy to hear that he would be at the Frogman Festival in Mason this year (see my video from the event).

I picked up a couple of new books from him, and I really enjoyed his newer work, "Southern Ohio Legends and Lore".

One thing that I really love about Weird Willis...  and this makes his writing superior to a lot of other ghosty type books out there...  is that he RESEARCHES what he is writing about.  You know, he goes to the library and checks out what is DOCUMENTED about a place or a legend.

In this book, he does his research and finds exactly how certain urban legends came about.  Strange stories involving a horseshoe mark on a grave and a headless biker are examined.  Willis finds out that there is SOME truth to these crazy stories, and discusses the REAL places and characters that contributed to their origins.

Some of the other stories involve a prison escapee that has never been seen since leaving, exploding boats and blimps, the son of President Taft, and, of course, the Who.

A very cool story you will want to read involves James Willis' personal connect to the old "Touchdown Jesus" that went up in flames.

You simply can't go wrong with James A. Willis.  He tells good stories, and gives you a lot for your money with any of his books.  This one gets my highest possible recommendation.