Ghosts, Gangsters, & Gamblers of LAS VEGAS

by Liz Cavanaugh, Michelle Broussard Honick, and Vernell Hackett

Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

4880 Lower Valley Road • Atglen, PA 19310

www.schifferbooks.com

2009, 256 pages, US $14.99 • ISBN: 978-0-7643-3294-4

Reviewed by Brent Raynes

Ah Las Vegas, Sin City, a gamblers paradise…but a hot spot for paranormal activity?

Well that’s what the authors of this book will lead you to believe. It’s filled with pictures and chilling tales of supernatural occurrences like how the ghost of Bugsy Siegel has been seen by many eyewitnesses over the years in the Flamingo Presidential Suite, by the hotel pool, the wedding chapel, and the rose garden which has a monument in his honor. Then there’s the Righteous Brothers’ Bobby Hatfield who has been seen walking up to the last stage where he performed. Naturally, being Las Vegas, there’s a chapter entitled “Has Elvis Really Left The Building?” It seems that the ghost of Elvis for some reason haunts the area around the backstage elevators of the Las Vegas Hilton. There’s even a story about a maid who daily rode the elevator, until one morning she stepped on and there was Elvis. All he did was smile at her and say “hello,” but that was all it took. She ran out of the building and never returned. The Las Vegas home of the late comedian Redd Foxx has been called the city’s most haunted house. He ran into money troubles and the IRS seized his assets, including his home. He reportedly swore that when he died, instead of going to heaven or hell, he’d go back to his confiscated home. Eight businesses bought the home and then sold it, claiming that “strange” things happened there. An Elvis impersonator, who lived there with his uncle, described how they lived in this home and indeed found it to be haunted. He swore that while living there lights would switch on by themselves, doors would inexplicably open and slam shut, glasses would break, and the floors would creak as though someone was walking on them.

Besides ghosts of celebrities, there are two children who had been murdered who some believe roam Green Valley Park. The area around the Stratosphere (where a number of people have jumped to their deaths) is apparently haunted by some of the people who committed suicide there. And, alas, if aliens and UFOs is also your thing, then there are two chapters you’ll enjoy reading, Area 51: Aliens Among Us? and The Little A ‘Le’ Inn, which besides being a popular nearby stop to catch up on the latest UFO gossip, purchase out of this world souvenirs, and gulp down an Alien Burger, also have trailers available for lodging (particularly rooms 2 and 5) which are believed by some to be haunted!

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Ghost Stories of Las Vegas—Over 50 Minutes of Haunted Tales

Audio CD

Halo Productions

102 Hartmann Dr., Ste G #231 • Lebanon, TN 37087

2009, Halo Productions, $ 11.95 • Item #HAPP-GSLV

Reviewed by Brent Raynes

As synchronicity would have it, we also received this review copy of a professionally done CD complete with sound effects, suspenseful and errie background music and guest actors, all portraying hauntings by celebrities and non-celebrities alike, again from Las Vegas. It certainly adds a whole extra dimension to the subject matter. It includes such titles as A Mobsters Dream, The King, Mr. Showmanship, The Black Pyramid, The Return of Mr. Foxx, For The Devil, to name several. Some of these are audio reenactments of the stories recounted in the previous book, but it’s presented in a way that entertains as it informs.