Jeff Morris - Cincinnati Haunted Handbook

For Tina,

While each passing day makes it harder and harder to remember your face,

I will never forgot those things that you taught me,

That helping others when I can,

That always wearing a smile,

Can make anyone, even me, a better person.

While youre gone now,

The world is a better place for what you once were.

Despite our friendship having been brief,

It was a privilege to have known you.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

So many people out there helped to make this book possible. Since there is such an eclectic and vast number of locations, histories, and ghosts in this book, it was necessary to speak with a large number of people and to use a variety of resources to bring all of this together. I would like to start by thanking all of those people whose names I have forgotten and those people whose names I never had the chance to get. Without these people, this book would not have come to be, and I apologize profusely to those who helped me that I have left out of this section.

This being said, there are many other people who helped me with the book whose names I do have. Some of these people, I simply and fortunately remembered to record their names, and others I have the privilege and honor to call my friends. The following list of people are ghost researchers, business owners, and other people who have lived in this haunted city who have helped me acquire both ghost stories and history from many of these locations. Many of the ghost researchers and investigators from this list were actually kind enough to write blurbs about their own paranormal experiences, and they did not ask for anything in return: Michele Hale, Matt Hoskins, Noah Carlisle, Sarah McEvoy, Helen Ryan, Chris Maggard, Christel Brooks, Melinda Smith, Nick Sakelos, Diane Bachman, Scott Santangelo, Jeff Craig, Joedy Cook, Garett Merk, Lisa Edwards, Tristan Goins, Diane Ward, Jennifer Adams, Sgt. Ron Reckers, Sir Fred.

Beyond these people, there are several organizations that aided immensely in the research necessary for this book: Whitewater Township Historical Society, Delhi Historical Society, Indian Hill Historical Society, Liberty Township Historical Society, Cincinnati Historical Society, Public Libraries of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Butler County Historical Society, Mt. Healthy Historical Society, the Knights of the Golden Trail, Cincinnati Paranormal, Cincinnati Regional Association for Paranormal Studies, Southern Ohio Apparition Researchers, Northern Kentucky Paranormal Society, Tri State Paranormal of Northern Kentucky, Paranormal Researchers of Northern Kentucky, Tristate Paranormal and Oddities Observation Practitioners.

Further, there are several people who I would like to mention individually for the contributions they made to this book.

I would like to thank Rick Fenbers and Ray Lykins for their contributions to the chapter on Satans Hollow. When I was working on my first book with my brother, we spent countless hours researching the city of Blue Ash, looking for any clue to the location of this old tunnel system. We found nothing and had all but given up the search when we learned from Rick and Ray that they had finally found it. It is due to the adventurous nature of Rick and Ray from Cincinnati Regional Association for Paranormal Studies that this chapter has made its way into this book. They should be considered an inspiration to all of those potential paranormal explorers in this city and around the world.

Next, I would like to thank Joy Naylor. Not only is Joy a close friend of mine, but she is responsible for many of the ghost stories in the book, especially those stories from the Indian Hill and Norwood areas of town. I approached her one day asking for any ghost stories she knew from the city, and she began listing them off faster than I could write them down. It is entirely due to her that many of the stories from Indian Hill, Hyde Park, Norwood, and Milford wound up in this book. She was always anxious to help all she could, and she deserves my sincere gratitude.

Next, I would like to thank Jack Heffron, my publisher. Without him, this book would still likely be little more than notes and ideas. When I pitched the idea for the book to him, he was immediately excited about it and has championed it throughout its development. Jack has helped carry this book from its inception to where it is today and more importantly has fought for it, unwilling to let the idea die at any stage. In more ways than one, this is his book.

Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family who helped keep me sane throughout the countless hours of work that went into this book, especially my wife, Amy, who picked up my slack at home while I was out photographing, researching, and writing.