Acquired Book By: I used to attend two weekly chats quite regularly when I first joined Twitter in late Autumn 2013, extending into 2014 and 2015; by 2016 I started to withdraw from the chat community on Twitter due to the increases in my chronic migraines. Whilst I was attending #K8Chat (hosted by Kate Tilton) in 2014, I won one of the weekly bookaways whilst being asked by the author if I would like a second book by her to consider for review purposes. Therefore, I received two books in the Post: “Paranormal Texas” and “Unexpected Texas”; this marks the first of two reviews I am showcasing this year during my fortnight of Spooktastic Reads! Thereby, I received a complimentary copy of “Paranormal Texas” direct from the author Tui Snider without obligation to post a review; I decided to post one for my own edification and to share with my readers what I found within this lovely Guide! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Being a former chatter during #StoryDam & why these books interested me:
I cannot remember exactly if I first crossed paths with Tui Snider during #StoryDam and/or #K8Chat; the latter was disbanded a few weeks ‘before’ I was going to return to the chat after taking a sabbatical (due to my migraines). I was crestfallen by the news but fully understood why Ms Tilton decided to ‘move on’. There are seasons in everything in life, including the chats which are happily taking their entrances and exits on Twitter!
I believe I lamented on my #SpooktasticReads post we first met during #StoryDam – either way you slice it, the reason I was most keen on her Non-Fiction works is because we share an interest in the following things:
*paranormal shows (fiction & non-fiction)
*paranormal fiction
*haunted houses
*the unexplained
Finding Ms Snider was a blessing in my life – as I previously mentioned, she has the kind of spirit your hoping to find online – one which is accepting and encouraging whilst having a bubbly personality who makes you feel welcome as soon as you start to chat with her! The best part of course of crossing her path was becoming attuned to the Non-Fiction works she was developing which speak to the heart of another love we share: stories of the Historical Past which are still being discovered today!
Despite the time delay in reading her books and posting my ruminative thoughts, one thing which staid with me is the manner in which she wrote them! She makes them a lively romp through unexpected historical notations on both the living persons who lived interesting lives and the ‘afterlife’ adventures of those spirits who have not yet crossed into the Light! These are the spirits who I am sure “The Ghost Whisperer” would love to chat with and find out their ‘true story’ of why they feel they need to stay ‘inbetween’. If you loved the series as much as I did, you are surely going to love Ms Snider’s companionable way of entertaining your curiosity with newfound lore, legend and the mysteriously interesting incidents which make North Texas a keen place to visit!
Paranormal Texas
Subtitle: Your travel guide to Haunted Places near Dallas & Forth Worth
by Tui Snider
Source: Direct from Author, Won a Bookaway
Why creep around at night when so many haunted places in north Texas are open to the public & active during the day?
Not only does Tui Snider explain the intriguing stories behind the paranormal activity in the Dallas - Ft. Worth area, but she gives directions to places you can visit in person, such as the:
* Serial Killer’s Grave where EVP’s & Anomalous Photos are common
* Amusement Park where a Little Girl Haunts the Candy Store
* Country Graveyard with a Mysteriously Glowing Tombstone
* Hotel so Haunted that a University teaches Parapsychology there
* Historic Cemetery where people get EVP’s and Orbs in Broad Daylight
* Ghost Town with an Operatic Apparition & a Haunted Restaurant
* B&B with a Gentlemanly Ghost who seems Protective of Women
* Theatre that kept it’s Resident Ghost in mind when remodeling
* Historic Town Squares where nearly Every Shop has a Ghost!… & much more!
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1500766085
Published by Self Published
on 19th August, 2014
Format: Paperback Edition
Pages: 183
Self-Published Non-Fiction
The two books I am reading by Ms Snider this October:
1. Tui’s first book, Unexpected Texas, is a travel guide to quirky, offbeat and overlooked places within easy reach of the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex. It was released on March 2, 2014 and remains a bestseller in Dallas – Fort Worth Travel on Amazon. In 2015, this book won first place in the North Texas Book Festival.
2. Tui’s second book, Paranormal Texas is a travel guide to haunted places in north Texas. It was released in October 2014 and also remains an Amazon bestseller.
3. Tui’s third book, The Lynching of the Santa Bank Robber, is a strange-but-true tale of West Texas history. This book was released in March of 2016, and came in 2nd place in the North Texas Book Festival that year.
4. Tui’s fourth book, Come to My Senses, is a companion book of lyrics and photos for the dream pop CD she released in conjunction with her first photography exhibit and writing residency for Tarleton State University’s Langdon Review in 2016.
5. Tui’s fifth book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols: A Workbook for Exploring Historic Graveyards, is being cross-released as both a paperback and an ebook.The book officially released on August 19, 2017.
Converse via: #TexasHistory, #Paranormal, #Ghosts & #NonFiction
My Review of paranormal texas:
First off – I must admit, being a mixed media collage artist – the very first thing I noticed was the Cemetery Angel statue gracing the cover of this book! Kid you not – you can find collage resources featuring the ‘art’ of cemeteries for your collage projects! The weathered appearance of the statuary is brilliant for ‘Gothic’ inspired collages as much as ‘Haunting’ & ‘Ethereal’ thematics!
I, personally, like to visit cemeteries due to the park-like settings, the stillness of the ‘quiet’ atmosphere and how uniquely wicked it is to ‘walk through history’ simply by moving from gravestone to gravestone! The older cemeteries hold such an enriched glimpse backwards in time – not just from the names on the markers themselves but it’s the words chosen for the deceased which can also paint a small portrait of the person’s life whilst alive. I’m definitely one of those girls’ who gets giddy about taking a ‘walking tour’ through a cemetery with a lantern for light and the potential encounters of ‘ghosts’ on stand-by!
As soon as you open ‘Paranormal Texas’ you feel as if you’ve sat down to have a conversation with Ms Snider in person – her Guide is happily conversational, easily accessible and happily quirky! By this I mean to say, she’s written it in a style of chatting with someone who shares her enthused love of the ‘paranormal’ and thereby, her personality shines through the context! She’s a bubbly sort of gal – anyone whose familiar with #StoryDam will attest to this – she’s one of the first to welcome you into the chat & the community which is enfolded through the convos themselves. She carries forward this welcoming hug of joy as a travel writer – something I was hoping to find and readily smiled when I did!
I did, roll my eyes a bit at the disclaimers – as honestly, if you didn’t have a measure of belief in the afterlife where ghosts walk amongst men, I have no idea why this book would appeal to a skeptic? Unless of course, to see ‘what’ information is being published about the supernatural? Food for thought. I do understand why she had to disclose the disclaimers and walk the tightrope about whether or not there is definitive proof there are such things as ‘ghosts’ and ‘hauntings’ but after awhile – you just get the vibe for these kinds of things to research, so a disclaimer is moot to those of us who readily engage in watching or reading stories of this nature.
The following stories are the ones which piqued an interest in me as I read them. Hopefully, as I recount what I enjoyed by pausing over these entries, it might inspire you to find a copy of the Guide! Each of these is inclusive of directions to their sites and any contact details Ms Snider was able to find on their behalf before publication. They are throughout North Texas and thereby are not contained to a singular towne or city.
Lost Cemetery of Infants
My reaction to this story was similar to Ms Snider’s – in the vein, I understood why she wanted to write a Historical work of Fiction based on this – it held within it all the elements a historical novel could bring back to life – with the advantages of having the legacy of it’s origins extending out of the 19th Century and into the middle of the 20th! This is about a man who developed a special place for unwed mothers during a period of life in the 19th Century where unwed mothers were shunned from society. Instead of finding reasons to make their lives more difficult or to take advantage of their situations – he did something ‘right’ for a change! He allowed them to mother their children for a year before asking if they wanted to keep the child or adopt them into a new home whilst they learnt a trade they could take with them when they exited the programme.
Having watched ‘Philomena’ this year, I can attest not all of these kinds of places were equal in their ‘mission’ to guide young unwed mothers. In fact, the reverse was true for Philomena and her son; where the church who ran the home worked against them both and kept them separated until they were nearly both dead! It was a gutting film from that perspective but an uplifting one if you listen to Philomena’s humble wisdom through the journey she took with the journalist to find out about her son.
Likewise, this area in Arlington, Texas feels like it has better vibes about it – where one man became the hero for women and their children whilst the only thing left behind from his dedication is the site itself. I do wonder – why the children who died were caught inbetween rather than moving into the Light? It was hinted about having toys moving in and out of the space between graves – which suggested this could be a site where young souls are in limbo rather than having found the way forward?
Six Flags Over Texas
There is something quite endearing about the old fashioned girl at the candy store who likes to interact with children at Six Flags! I never wanted to go to the theme park as it’s mostly thrill rides (I was more into the other parks which had more than coasters to their credit!) but after hearing this story, your nearly tempted to ‘visit’ if only to see the girl! Laughs. What I noticed though the most is how she’s not intent on doing harm – sure she has her pranks to keep her busy but mostly, she seems to like to reside where she is and keep company with those of whom visit the park. I wonder if anyone ever tried to talk to her and find out a bit more about her past? She seems willing enough to share?
Deep Creek Cemetery
Quite a sad story here – of a young girl (all of eighteen) who tried to outrun Comanches only to die shorty thereafter. She was watching over her family’s herd of horses when she had to make a quite break for home – she died near a neighbouring farm. What stirs your heart about the story is how despite the quickness of how she died and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding her death – it’s interesting how the grave where she is laid to rest still has a presence some people can feel or see. It speaks to how she was taken too soon and how sometimes a traumatic ending affects those who pass on.
Liberty Hotel
I love old hotels and old homes! The stories they can both share is quite remarkable! This one especially as three different people (of various ages) all took up residence in the same hotel! What fascinated me most is how all the spirits here get along with each other – even staying through the renovations! It’s quite the charmer of a hotel, too. I think if you were to walk around the building itself, you might be inspired to notice more of the hotel’s history and perhaps even, be graced by the ghosts themselves who seem to live in harmony despite the circumstances which led them to being in residence. This would make an ideal setting for a mystery series or a paranormal series of various story-lines! Imagine!? All the people who come and go from the hotel itself (and all the reasons therein!) whilst there are three resident ghosts to interact with on any given day? It practically writes itself!
DeGolyer Mansion
Honestly, this tale had me shuddering a bit because it was quite ominous about what was happening at this particular estate! I felt for the young docent who experienced the moving picture and the questionable reason why the piano would be ‘ready to be played’ when no one was there to entertain. I can also understand why she didn’t want to mention this or make the incident more than it was, too! Imagine if the ghost in residence here wanted to continue to move things about – even if you were standing somewhere nearby where you could notice the differences but then, just as you turnt your attention elsewhere, everything would be readily back in order? I think you’d go crazy after awhile because it would seem like you only imagined things were moving rather than the truth of the matter is that you have a cheeky ghost who likes to keep things in a different way than those who care for the mansion! I can understand why there is a no photography rule except this would also make it harder to prove anything ever happens!
Hotel Adolphus (Busch)
I never knew the founder of one of the most recognisable names in beer owned a hotel – what didn’t surprise me is that this hotel is regularly haunted! Hotels, I think are an ideal location to have hauntings because of the high volume of people who are moving in and out of them! There is more instances of how someone might become trapped after death in this place because their displaced from where they usually live – staying instead at the last place they knew. At least, to me this seems like the case! I also liked how Busch insisted on having one building removed in order to construct another! Reminds me of the insanity of seeing buildings being put up and then removed only a handful of years later when the property is sold and reused by another owner. The worst offence I think is when the buildings in question ‘house’ the same clientele for the same object to purchase! Why not simply reuse a building less than five years old?
The Lady of White Rock Lake
Peppered throughout ‘Paranormal Texas’ are the hauntingly realistic ‘urban legends’ which can manipulate their own tethers to reality! This one held my attention because of how the tale ends – it’s quite believable a father would find unexpected motorists at his home on the anniversary of his daughter’s death after you read through the sad tale of how she died. It’s even given a plausible reason for why the drivers of the cars think what they know is true even when it’s all fantasy. The irony is that the whole story is a work of fantasy – yet, somewhere within this sad tale, I did wonder – as there are so many specific details to it, is there any ounce of truth in the story? I oft wonder what inspires ‘urban legends’ in the first place? How do they get their start and why is a tale such as this spun initially? To be shared over smores and campfires or is there another reason?
Sammons Center for the Arts
I love elevator stories! There is even an ‘Elevator Girl’ movie I love watching via Hallmark Channel – where romance bloomed in an elevator; however, this is a story about an elevator whose attended by a ghost who fancies women! I loved how the doors automatically open when a woman approaches the elevator and how the elevator constantly has it’s own mind about when to open and when to move between floors! It begs the question about how ghosts are able to interact with our world and how they learn to change things which are not easily controlled on the ‘other side’. Even the back-story on this one is a good one – especially as it involves the elevator shaft! Ha!
Emily Fowler Central Library
Oh, dear my! Of course there would be a library haunting in Texas! The one place I love to visit now has a ghost who minds the building in her afterlife! I think the best part is how she dealt with a young boy who wanted to leave his ‘mark’ on a book – how she was able to move the books as quickly as she had is a wonder, but it’s the effect of her actions which I had wondered about as readily as Ms Snider had mentioned her takeaway on this incident, too! One thing is for certain – I think people might look at their librarians differently after they learn about Emily Fowler! Especially in regards to ‘librarians know all things’!!
Recycled Books
If the incidents here weren’t as creepy as they felt reading about them, it might have been a bookstore to visit! There is something a bit odd about how the ‘books’ are used as devices to communicate with the people who frequent the store – not in a good way, either! It would appear whomever lives here amongst the living would prefer to have the bookstore to themselves! I had wondered – why wouldn’t a ghost want to be ‘helpful’ when it comes to readers and books rather than offer a chilling encounter which might steer children and adults ‘off’ the joy of reading altogether? That was another weird bit – the ghost haunts the children’s section, too and has no remorse about how freaked out they get too! Odd, or what!?
Forth Worth Zoo
I have heard of these ‘echoes’ previously – where there is an imprinted impression of a living person who has since become deceased continuing to walk through the motions of their once lived life? Here, there is a man and a woman who are going about their business without the notice of anyone else – except to say, we can see them but they do not seem to see us. It’s an interesting theory – of how these ‘echoes’ occur and why they occur as well. What puts them into motion and why is it we can see what they are doing but they are blind to what we are doing in this lifetime? Now that’s a more curious question!
Granbury’s Historic & Haunted Town Square
Some of the entries are for rambling around a towne in search of paranormal activity – this appeals to me, as I love browsing through small towne shoppes and getting a general feel for an area by visiting one towne at a time! This one, sounds like it would hold it’s salt towards giving you a genuine encounter with the paranormal, simply because the whole towne is overly bent towards these happenings! I even like how there is an organiser of haunted escapades in this towne along with their own personal Guide which explains everything in further detail! As you move through this section of the book- your treated to different shops & places of interest – where ghosts are either talkative, shy or just visibly seen during your furlough! Definitely one for a ‘road trip’ stop!
Sites of Interest I felt worth a stop in Granbury are:
* Artefactz – where you can listen to the ‘ghosts’ or observe where they like to stay active
* Brazos Moon Antiques & Uniques – if your into cowboys this is a second location for one!
* Nutshell Eatery & Bakery – aside from good food, you get treated to active ghosts!
* After these, I think just walking through towne and randomly visiting different places of interest would be more ‘fun’ than purposely seeking out an encounter with the ghosts themselves! Sometimes you learn more this way and have a more interesting trip!
McKinney’s Haunted Town Square
As foresaid, I love when you can find a towne to visit! In this delightfully spooky towne, the places of interest I felt I’d like to duck off to see in person were as follows:
* Churchill’s British Restaurant & Pub – pubs are legendary for paranormal activities- I’ve seen enough specials on tv to know ghosts love residing inside them! This one is slightly on the creepier side of the ledger as it’s not overly spooky but it has one ghost who will definitely keep you guarded during your pub lunch!
* Landon Winery – the setting of this place alone feels like a lovely respite on a travel excursion – as it’s such a lovely naturally engaging place! Without knowing too many specifics of what places this on people’s radar, I thought it was a nice addition of ‘visiting the unexpected’ and perhaps finding the ‘unexplained’.
* McKinney Public Library – after reading this book, Ms Snider has convinced me I need to feel less spooked when visiting bookshoppes & libraries (of the variety which are ‘haunted’) as they might lead into something quite fascinating to be observed! This one felt a bit more benign – as if the ghost or entity had a cheeky nature and simply wanted to make people laugh or at the very least, ‘notice’ what they were doing!
I decided to only highlight a few places I felt would be interesting to ‘experience’ myself – as there are many more townes and haunted sites listed in this book – you could literally spend a full year moving through North Texas visiting each of the places Ms Snider has mentioned in order to gain a perspective of what makes each of them so very unique to see in person. One of the things I appreciated about how she re-told of her adventures is she left off certain specifics of her own travels – some of which are archived on her website, including some of her own photography of ‘catching’ ghosts or other paranormal activities but for the most part, she wanted this Guide to serve as an ‘introduction’ to whet your own curiosity about what you’d find yourself!
One thing is for sure, we both share an equal love of History and the Unexplained! I tend to go for the stories of benign ghosts and friendly presences – there are more than one entry for the more caustically curious spirits who might leave your hair standing on end or at the very least, give your heart a few extra jolts of alarm! I’ll leave those experiences to others who like more spook than I do! Overall, I enjoyed my guided tour – you can see how if you stopped off at certain places, you’d have more than ample time to wanderabout getting the feel for the place and then, accidentally or purposefully adding your own ‘haunted tale’ to Ms Snider’s email Inbox!
On the travel writing style of Tui Snider:
Even before I was knee deep inside the Guide itself, I was thinking – with all the combined experiences of walking on haunted ground and being around ‘ghosts’ – Ms Snider would make a great Paranormal fiction writer! Even if she went back to her favourite ‘haunts’ so to speak – fictionalising a story set on those sites of interest and then, having it re-directed back to the Non-Fiction she’s already written as a ‘stepping stone’ towards plausible ‘back-stories’ in theory by the writer who was inspired by the visitations she had along her route towards uncovering the ‘paranormal’ in Texas!
Her willingness to put people first is part of her sincerity – there is a note about how she omitted certain places from this Guide due to personal reasons – specifically, if the site in question was not officially known or listed to being a place where people could visit, she respected their privacy. I appreciated hearing this as I had wondered – even if you innocently came across more places, would all of those locations want others to find them like you had found them? Sometimes these kinds of sites and locales can have a gathering of their own – it’s sub-culture at it’s finest, which is why I can understand the necessity for keeping specifics removed from the public eye.
Whilst writing this review, I chose to read most of these entries at night which did sort of make me hear my own ‘phantom noises’ as the mind plays tricks with you – however, I read the latter chapters by daybreak – only to get a jolt of ‘what is that?’ when a trick of the light hid from my vantage point what was crawling outside a window! At first all I could see was a small shadow and small feet! It turnt out to be one of the *biggest!* lizards in the area – as this thing ‘hung ten’ and then crawled up to wherever it was headed next! What made it such an interesting ‘experience’ is the fact the window was fully reflected against glass (at the time) and thereby, it looked like the ‘creature’ was moving outside of it’s regular habitat! The things you observe – I swear sometimes the truth of life is even weirder than the unexplained bits!
In response to the lovely note Ms Snider enscribed into my copy – no, I am not afraid to travel in Texas! If anything, I am more inspired NOW to visit than I was in the past!
I hope I have whet an interest of travelling through Texas by way of the unexplained destinations which will either make you sleep a bit less for visiting them or leave you musefully pondering the goings on of the settings which have kept people talking for a few centuries!
This book review is courtesy of: Tui Snider
Being featured during my #SpooktasticReads Fortnight 2017!
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Paranormal Texas”, “Unexpected Texas” and “Cemetary Symbols”, book synopsis, author biographu, author photographs of Tui Snider and the Tui Snider website banner were all provided by the author herself, Tui Snider and are used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna; the Spooktacular Reads banner 2017 and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my readerly life
#JorieReads | Spooktacularly spooky stories right in time for #Halloween! Such as SCARECROW, Haunted, The Visitors & #Paranormal Texas ???
— Spooktastically Jorie?, this #SpooktasticReads? (@joriestory) October 30, 2016
#SpooktasticReads Book Review | “#Paranormal Texas: Your travel guide to Haunted Places… https://t.co/GqwLr5Xm5n pic.twitter.com/dW3ApWD5ei
— Spooktastically Jorie?, this #SpooktasticReads? (@joriestory) October 19, 2017
Comments via Twitter:
A1 Wow! @joriestory featured & reviewed "Paranormal Texas." What a lovely surprise! https://t.co/VGH9daFbtN #paranormal #StoryDam
— Tui Snider: Even Home is a Travel Destination (@TuiSnider) October 20, 2017
I have missed joining #StoryDam; wished I could have been there but #sohappy everyone was able to see my take on #Paranormal Texas! Rock on!
— Spooktastically Jorie?, this #SpooktasticReads? (@joriestory) October 20, 2017
#SpooktasticReads Book Review | "#Paranormal Texas: Your travel guide to Haunted Places near Dallas… https://t.co/gnrAmwQ67a via @joriestory
— karen mace (@bookkaz) October 20, 2017
I’m so glad #K8chat was part of what connected you and Tui. Although the chat isn’t currently running I’m sure there will be a new community coming :)
Hallo, Hallo Kate!
:) It’s been a long while since we’ve been in touch with each other! :) I had a feeling you’d find this review – I had meant to tag you on Twitter about it – however, shortly after this posted I had a low grade migraine which set me back quite a bit. I’ve been dealing with a bout of illness as well, which is why I’m just now returning replies to all the lovely comments which have come in! I was as well – blessed for #K8Chat to connect me with Ms Snider but also, a few other writers of whom I am unsure I would have met otherwise. I’m still working on reading my second book by Ms Snider, which will post this month as like I said, the end of October did not go as I expected it too! Oy!
Am I to read between your reply here – is there a new chat brewing!? Keep me posted if this is the case!!
Hi Jorie!
I’m so glad #K8Chat connected you to some great writers. There is no new chat planned but I’m working on continuing to find ways to connect authors & readers. :)