Book Review – America’s Most Gothic: Haunted History Stranger Than Fiction by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes

 Book Review

A great choice for Halloween!

America's Most Gothic: Haunted History Stranger Than Fiction

Leanna Renee Hieber

Andrea Janes

Book Description:

From the Bram Stoker nominated author team who penned A Haunted History of Invisible Women, the first book of its kind to investigate gothic tropes that define American lore. Here is the hidden, dark history of what frightens us—and why.

The Gothic. Brooding, atmospheric, chilling, and not always the outpouring of a feverish imagination. Reality can be even stranger as borne out in this lush and ghostly look at real people who lived--and died—amidst the trappings of the Gothic.

Fog clinging to an isolated mansion. A dangerous patriarch or an overbearing matron. Locked doors and forbidden rooms. Whispers of murder and madness. And a woman shadowed by omnipresent threats. You’ve guessed it. You’ve stumbled into a Gothic tale, and it will haunt you like a ghost.

We often think of the enduring tropes of the Gothic in terms of fiction and film—breath-catching escapes that tap into our fears, anxieties, forbidden desires, and unsettling dreams. But what if some of these chilly vibes are rooted in the experiences of real and tragic people who danced a macabre waltz with love and death? That’s why we’re here. Take the case of teenage Mercy Brown, victim—or was it predator?—of Rhode Island’s vampire hysteria of the 1890s. Marguerite de la Roque, a French noblewoman condemned for “sexual crimes” to Canada’s long-lost Isle of Demons. What happened to her and the barren landscape itself is the stuff of legend. And “Mad Lucy” Ludwell, the decidedly peculiar eighteenth-century high-society hauteur driven mad in the Virginia estate she prowls to this day. President Helen Peabody’s spirit still stringently watches over her Women’s College, now part of Ohio’s Miami University. Ghosts of workers lost in horrific conditions while building the Hoosac Tunnel warn of imminent danger. Settle in. There are more.

Welcome to the phantom ships, haunted academic halls, menacing landscapes, and family curses of America’s Most Gothic—a tour of true spectral sightings and disordered minds. But beware: it’s sure to get under your skin. The haunted—and haunting—figures herein want it that way.

 

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My 5-Star Review:

America’s Most Gothic: Haunted History Stranger than Fiction by Andrea Janes and Leanna Renee Hieber is more than a collection of eerie tales—it’s a thoughtful journey into the shadows where folklore and history intertwine. With a storyteller’s grace and a historian’s care, the authors peel back layers of legend to reveal the real lives and forgotten voices that linger behind America’s most haunting myths.

What makes the book stand out is its blend of atmosphere and empathy. The stories never feel like sensational ghost lore; instead, they carry the weight of the people who lived, suffered, and sometimes were silenced in history. The feminist perspective woven throughout brings a refreshing depth, reminding us that behind every ghostly figure was once a woman or man with a story worth hearing.

The writing is vivid yet accessible, capturing the reader with Gothic elegance while staying grounded in fact. At times chilling, at times poignant, the book balances the thrill of the supernatural with the humanity of its subjects. It’s a work that not only entertains but also enlightens, encouraging us to look at Gothic tales not just as curiosities, but as reflections of very real struggles, injustices, and hopes.

A captivating read for lovers of Gothic literature and haunted history alike, America’s Most Gothic is both unsettling and deeply moving—a reminder that the past never quite lets go.

 

 

About the Authors:

 

Leanna Renee Hieber is an actress, playwright, artist and the award-winning, bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction for adults and teens such as A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS, co-authored with Andrea Janes, which was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction. Her Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy fiction such as the Strangely Beautiful, Eterna Files, Magic Most Foul and Spectral City series, have garnered numerous awards and accolades.

 

Leanna grew up in rural Ohio inventing ghost stories, graduating with a BFA in Theatre and a focus in the Victorian Era from Miami University. While working with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, she began adapting works of 19th Century literature for the stage. Her debut Strangely Beautiful series hit Barnes & Noble's bestseller lists, won three Prism Awards and are now available in revised editions. DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, hit the Kid's/YA Indie Next List as a recommended title by the American Booksellers Association and was a Daphne du Maurier award finalist. Leanna's short fiction has been featured in numerous notable anthologies and her books have been translated into many languages. Leanna has been featured on film and television on shows like Mysteries at the Museum and Beyond the Unknown discussing Victorian Spiritualism. An enthusiastic public lecturer, Leanna speaks at major conventions and notable institutions around the country about the intersections of women's history and the paranormal. She lives in New York where she leads ghost tours for Boroughs of the Dead.

 

 

Andrea Janes lives in Brooklyn, New York. She loves ghost stories, sailing ships, New York City history, and tremendously big breakfasts.