Jeffrey Scott Holland

The “weird” part of the title is the brand for a book series. These books have been produced to appeal to readers from the various states. Not very many pages had been perused before I discovered that the one targeting Kentucky deals mostly with oddities like ghosts and the so-called paranormal. This isn't the kind of thing I normally choose to read for myself. One of my loving daughters gave it to me, and I found some things in there a little bit interesting.

Not all of the book is about the aforementioned other-worldly things. Much of it just comes close to such things. You'll get facts about nurse Donald Harvey, who claimed to have killed 87 patients. There are names of people you probably had no clue are buried in Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery. And you'll read that Daniel Boone may not actually be the person buried in the Frankfort grave that is said to hold his remains.

Parts of the book require some perseverance. Partly because I possess a strong will to finish anything I start, I continued to endure discussions about things like Bigfoot and lizard men. The story about a Big Blue Hole at Lost River Cave in Bowling Green also was a little too much. But believable moments were rarer than I would have liked. When such moments did come I had a feeling that I was coming up for air.

Weird Kentucky, Your Travel Guide to Kentucky's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets, is a lighthearted work. It's on high-grade paper, and the writing is fairly decent. I suppose the most egregious error came when mention was made of the Kentucky Derby. Even people whose knowledge of Kentucky is rudimentary know that the greatest two minutes in sports happens in Louisville, and not Lexington. Jeffrey Scott Holland, I had fun reading your book!… (mais)