"Down In The Darkness: The Shadowy History of America's Haunted Mines, Tunnels and Caverns" by Troy Taylor

Troy Taylor has written a ton of books....  and I have read several.  He is known for specializing in ghost/haunting type volumes and that is a genre I read.  One (of the many) things I appreciate about his books is that you are getting a lot for your money.  His books are thorough.

"Down in the Darkness" is a packed 200 pages.  No double spacing to make the book appear bigger or anything.  You are getting a lot of reading in that 200 pages.

You're getting a lot of information too.  This book is divided into 4 chapters, covering mines, caves, mysterious sites, and tunnels.  I would generically call this a fun book on various mines and caves.

Troy covers some of my favorites like Mammoth Cave and the legend of Floyd Collins.  He brings up the Bell Witch Cave (he has written a fairly complete volume on that legendary cave too, by the way).  Being from Illinois himself, he obviously includes Cave-In-Rock, in the southern part of the state, and he brings attention to that site's connection's to the Natchez Trace and the mysterious Crenshaw House.

I took notes while reading this one, as Taylor brought up some new caves/mines that I might try to check out on a future road trip, and he gave some nuggets of information that I will have to research more later!

I also enjoyed reading about Troy's personal adventures through some mysterious places in St. Louis and Utah.

This was just a fun book to read, and not the kind of book you would skim through.  If you like reading about caves, ghosts or mysterious places, this is just a really enjoyable volume.