- Title: Ghosts of the Golden West
- Additional cover text: "Unearthly tales of the living dead"
- Author: Hans Holzer (1920-2009)
- Publisher: Ace Books (28622)
- Publication date: Mystery time! The book was first published as a hardcover by Bobbs-Merrill in 1968, so this paperback came afterward, but there's no record on the copyright page or online of exactly when this edition came out. This paperback is listed as 28622 on the cover. There's a 60-cent Ace Books paperback of Ghosts of the Golden West that's marked as 28620 (pictured at right). So maybe my copy is the second or third paperback publication by Ace Books, perhaps as late as the mid 1970s. This is the "style" of Holzer paperbacks that I remember from Mom's collection, including in our attic in Clayton.
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 190
- Cover price: $1.25
- Chapter titles: The Whaley House Ghosts; The Ghost in the Closet; The Wurmbrand Ghost; The Restless Dead; The Ghostly Sailor of Almeda; The Ghost Lady of Newbury Park; The Haunted Barn; The Millbrae Poltergeist Case; The Ghost Who Refuses to Leave; Pioneer State Ghosts; The Ghostly Monks of Aetna Springs; Pipelines to the Beyond.
- First sentence (not including introduction): I first heard about the ghosts at San Diego's Whaley House through an article in Cosmic Star, Merle Gould's psychic newspaper, back in 1963.
- What more is known about Gould? In Volume XXII, Number 1 of The Awakener Magazine, there's an article by Filis Frederick titled "Reminiscences of the City of Lost Angels." This is the relevant excerpt: "Another person I met at this tiny New Age gathering was Merle Gould, who published the Cosmic Star and had a bookstore in Hollywood of the same name. He had made several movies; one was 'The Body is a Shell,' another, 'The Prophesies of Nostradamus,' narrated by Basil Rathbone. Merle was one of the first Californians to 'network' New Age spiritual groups and arrange group conferences."
- Last paragraph: If your case is one requiring my help and that of one of my psychic friends, be assured that I will try to come and help you. Just as soon as I can, we will enter our Ghost Hunter's car, the sleek white Citroen, and (almost) noiselessly drive out to see you, if you are within driving distance. If you are far away, I shall get to you when opportunity takes me to your area. You will owe me nothing, dear reader, but cooperation and a full account of what has happened to you, or to those you speak of.
- Random excerpt #1: But despite a careful search of the fragmentary records still extant about the period in question, no Pierre Devon could be pinned down.
- Random excerpt #2: It worried them, but somehow they got through Christmas and hopefully approached the New Year with a feeling of relief since nothing untoward again happened.
- Rating on Goodreads: 3.7 stars (out of 5)
- Rating on Amazon: 4.4 stars (out of 5)
Previous posts about Hans Holzer paperbacks
But wait, there's more...
Tucked away inside this paperback was a brochure for the Whaley House, probably from sometime in the 1970s, when admission was just $1 for adult, 50 cents for teenagers and 25 cents for children. The brochure for the historic brick structure makes no mention of ghosts.
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