Books for the Urban Legends in Your Life

Local storyteller Jonathan Kruk shares the mysterious lore of the Hudson Valley, best known among them Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

The story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman is one of America's best known fables, but what other stories does the Hudson Valley hold? Imps cause mischief on the Hudson River, a white lady haunts Raven Rock, Major Andre's ghost seeks redemption and real headless Hessians search for their severed skulls. These mysterious and spooky tales from the region's past that inspired Irving and continues to captivate the imagination to this day.

Born from the chilly waters of Lake Ontario and the Genesee River, Rochester, New York, has been the cradle of the modern spiritualist an anti-Masonic movements and religious sects and communes.

This unusual history has given rise to strange legends and shrouded the city in mystery. Was the corner of Main and Elm Streets - McCurdy's Department Store - cursed? Who was Captain William Morgan, and why did he suddenly disappear? What stories lie behind Rochester's first murder and the execution of William Lyman's killer? What is hoodoo, and who is the Hoodoo Doctor? Native American tales, the history of the infamous Fox sisters and the secrets of the Freemasons are woven into these and other legends of Rochester