Written by: Robert Damon Schneck
First line: In 1692, while the Devil was leading an assault on the fractious inhabitants of Salem Village, French and Indian raiders were menacing the seaport of Gloucester fifteen miles away.
Why you should read this book: Originally titled The President's Vampire, this book was rebranded after one of the chapters (the least strange and the least true one, in my opinion) was made into a horror film. Otherwise it's a collection of unusual occurrences throughout US history, most of which appear to be simple stories of hoaxes and cons based on some people's inclination to believe in the occult, along with a couple unsolved mysteries. That said, it contains numerous citations, appendixes, and an index, as if it's a real historical work, and, apart from the titular chapter, appears to catalog things that actually happened, reporting both what the gullible believe to have happened and what research suggests realistically could have taken place.
Why you shouldn't read this book: It doesn't quite cohere; there's not an internal consistency to the chapters, although they are each amusing, standalone anecdotes (except for the last one, which is just silly and made up).
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