Massachusetts

America's leading authority on Halloween presents interviews with spooky rock groups, amateur vampires, haunted house creators, champion pumpkin carvers, and more, all in the quest of explaining the nation's unique love affair with this holiday. The collection of essays and interviews explores the pop culture phenomenon that is Halloween, and why we celebrate it the way we do today.

The truth behind Ted Kennedy's fateful crash into Poucha Pond.

“My friend Mary Jo just happened to be in the wrong car at the wrong time with the wrong people.”
—Rosemary Keough, the second passenger

One fateful night in Massachusetts, Sen. Ted Kennedy was involved in a fatal crash after driving his car from a party on Martha’s Vineyard. After launching his Oldsmobile 88 across Dike Bridge and into Poucha Pond, Kennedy escaped the submerged car and headed back to Edgartown. Why didn't he save the drowning woman in the rear seat of the car? More importantly, why was Mary Jo Kopechne in the rear seat if the two were traveling together? Suspicion and intrigue have clouded the public's opinion of Kennedy and his involvement with this “crime” for years, but the truth, as revealed here, takes all of the evidence into account and presents a clear explanation of the death at Chappaquiddick.

Encounter the friendly spirits and irritable phantoms of Cape Cod. Secret padded rooms, candles that relight themselves, and furniture that moves are only a few of the abnormalities to be discovered in the inns, restaurants, and private homes of Cape Cod. Ranging from whimsical to ominous, each ghost has its own story and family history. This collection includes the misfortunes of pirate captain Sam Bellamy, who died in one of the worst Cape storms to date. Using extensive interviews and research, author Barbara Sillery recounts both the written and oral spectral histories of each location, one of which is the home of Pelican author Jana Dillon.