Like the mighty Mississippi River that cleaves the Quad Cities, the region's history can trap the unwary in some unexpected eddies. Peer through the fog of the past to catch a glimpse of the Tinsmith Ghost of Rock Island or the river serpent with a price on its head. Get the back story on the Banshee of Brady Street, read the 1869 report on a Bigfoot sighting near East Davenport and run the numbers on local UFO activity. From phantom footsteps in the Renwick Mansion to a mausoleum heist in Chippiannock Cemetery, Michael McCarty and John Brassard Jr. trace a path through the shadowy heritage of the Quad Cities.
Michael McCarty is the author of more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction, including Frankenstein's Mistress: Tales of Love & Monsters; Dark Cities: Dark Tales; I Kissed a Ghoul; A Little Help from My Fiends; Dark Duets; Liquid Diet & Midnight Snack; Dracula Transformed and Other Bloodthirsty Tales (also with Mark McLaughlin); and Lost Girl of the Lake (with Joe McKinney). He is a five-time Bram Stoker Finalist and in 2008 won the David R. Collins Literary Achievement Award from the Midwest Writing Center. John Brassard Jr. has written two books on local history: Scott County Cemeteries, cowritten with his father, John Brassard Sr., and Murder & Mayhem in Scott County, Iowa. His work has appeared in Iowa History Journal, Quad-CityTimes, the North Scott Press and the DeWitt Observer. Mr. Brassard is also the writer, researcher and narrator for the Kitchen Table Historian podcast, which tells tales of true crime, the paranormal and other stories that your grandma didn't want you to hear. His website is http://johnbrassardjr.com.