Ghostly travelers are said to wander the lonely roads of western Pennsylvania. A creeping fog rises from Blue Mist Road, and stories of car crashes, lynchings and even strange beasts haunt this isolated stretch outside Pittsburgh. Is it the angry spirit of a jealous husband or a gypsy king who stalks Erie County's Axe Murder Hollow? Shades of Death Road in Washington County may be host to phantom coal miners killed during a deadly labor dispute. With firsthand accounts and historical research, authors Thomas White and Tony Lavorgne travel the backcountry roads and byways of western Pennsylvania to discover their ghost tales and mysterious legends.

William Penn, the might of Pittsburgh steel and the Revolutionary figures of Philadelphia dominate the scene of Pennsylvania history. Thomas White brings together a collection of tales that have been cast in the shadows by these giants of the Keystone State. From the 1869 storm that pelted Chester County with snails to the bloody end of the Cooley gang, White selects events with an eye for the humorous and strange. Mostly true accounts of cannibalistic feasts, goat-rescuing lawmen, heroic goldfish, the funeral of a gypsy queen and a Pittsburgh canine whose obituary was featured in the New York Times all leap from the lost pages of history.