Biography

Books By Troy Taylor

Documentaries & Films

"Rogues Gallery" of Photos

Troy Taylor is the author of 55 books about history, hauntings and the unexplained in America for a number of publishers, including Whitechapel Press, History Press, Stackpole Books, Barnes & Noble Press, and others. He is the founder and president of the “American Ghost Society”, a national network of ghost hunters that collects accounts of ghost sightings and haunted houses and uses investigative techniques to track down evidence of the supernatural.

Taylor was born on September 24, 1966 in Decatur, Illinois, a Midwestern city that is steeped in legend and lore. He grew up fascinated with “things that go bump in the night”, and, in school, Taylor was well-known for his interest in the paranormal and often took friends on informal ghost tours of haunted places all over downstate Illinois.  In 1989, Taylor turned his interest in the supernatural into a career when he began working on his first book, Haunted Decatur , which delved into the ghosts and hauntings of the city where he grew up. The book spawned the Haunted Decatur Tour in 1994, which took guests to locations that he had written about in his book. 

In 1996, Taylor organized a group of ghost enthusiasts into an investigation team and the American Ghost Society was launched, gained over 600 members in the years that followed. The organization continues today as one of America’s largest and most honored research groups.

In 1997, Taylor launched the
Haunted America Conference, regarded as "America's Original Ghost  Conference" in Decatur, Illinois. After a number of years in Alton, Illinois, the conference has returned to its original site at the Lincoln Theater in Decatur. The Haunted America Conference remains the most imitated conference in the country and is now preparing for its 12th annual event.

In 1998, Taylor moved his operations, which now included the American Ghost Society, a history and hauntings bookstore and a publishing company called Whitechapel Press, to Alton, Illinois, near St. Louis. In Alton, Taylor started his second tour company, Alton Hauntings, which took guests to local haunted places in the small Mississippi River town. He would go on to put the place on the map as “one of the most haunted small towns in America.” He also founded the History & Hauntings Book Co., which continues operations with new owner Bill Alsing today.

Taylor remained in Alton until 2005, when he returned to Decatur. By then, he had also established two more tour companies, in Springfield, Illinois and another company that arranges overnight stays in haunted places called American Hauntings. These tours, including those in Decatur and Alton, were organized under the heading of the Illinois Hauntings Ghost Tours. Taylor also continued the operation of Whitechapel Press, which specializes in ghost-related titles and has more than a dozen authors working under its banner.

In 2006, Taylor also launched the Weird Chicago Tours, which are based on his book, Weird Illinois, which was published by Sterling Publications. In 2007, Illinois Hauntings also launched ghost tours in the Illinois towns of Lebanon and Jacksonville.

In 2007, Taylor incorporated as Dark Haven Entertainment, Inc., a parent company for Whitechapel Press, the Illinois Hauntings Tours and for the Ghosts of the Prairie Website and Magazine. The new company also handles the film rights to Troy's ghost books and stories. Currently, there are three of his works optioned for possible film and television production.

Along with writing about the unusual and hosting tours, Taylor is also a public speaker on the subject of ghosts and hauntings and has spoken to literally hundreds of private and public groups on a variety of paranormal subjects. He has appeared in newspaper and magazine articles about ghosts and has also been fortunate enough to be interviewed hundreds of times for radio and television broadcasts about the supernatural. He has appeared in a number of documentary films, several television series and in one feature film about the paranormal. He also the executive producer for the series Cringe, which was created by the iClips Network.

In April 2008, Troy and his wife, Haven, opened Prairie Fire, a retail store in historic downtown Decatur. The store specializes in teas, herbs, spices, pastas, gourmet food and hot food items and also serves as a retail outlet for the Whitechapel Press line of books and as home to the Haunted Decatur Tours.

Troy & Haven currently reside in Central Illinois in a decidedly non-haunted house.

(Left --- Troy & Haven Taylor)

HAUNTED ILLINOIS BOOKS
Haunted Illinois (1999 / 2001 / 2004)
Haunted Decatur (1995)
More Haunted Decatur (1996)
Ghosts of Millikin (1996 / 2001)
Where the Dead Walk (1997 / 2002)
Dark Harvest (1997)
Ghosts of Springfield (1997)
Haunted Decatur Revisited (2000)
Flickering Images (2001)
Haunted Decatur: 13th Anniversary Edition (2006)
Haunted Alton (2000 / 2003 / 2008)
Haunted Chicago (2003)
The Haunted President (2005)
Mysterious Illinois (2006)
Resurrection Mary (2007)
The Possessed (2007)

DEAD MEN DO TELL TALES SERIES
Dead Men Do Tell Tales
(2008)
Dead Men Do Tell Tales: Bloody Chicago (2006)
Dead Men Do Tell Tales: Bloody Illinois (2008)

HAUNTED FIELD GUIDE BOOKS
The Ghost Hunter's Guidebook
(1997/ 1999 / 2001/ 2004)
Ghost Hunter's Guidebook: 10th
Anniversary Edition
(2007)
Confessions of a Ghost Hunter (2002 / 2007)
Field Guide to Haunted Graveyards (2003)
Ghosts on Film (2005)
So, There I Was... (With Len Adams) (2006)

HISTORY & HAUNTINGS SERIES
The Haunting of America (2001)
Into the Shadows (2002)
Down in the Darkness (2003)
Out Past the Campfire Light (2004)
Ghosts by Gaslight (2007)

OTHER GHOSTLY TITLES
Spirits of the Civil War (1999)
Season of the Witch (1999/ 2002)
Haunted New Orleans (2000)
Beyond the Grave (2001)
No Rest for the Wicked (2001)
Haunted St. Louis (2002)
The Devil Came to St. Louis (2006)

STERLING PUBLICATIONS TITLES:
Weird U.S. (co-Author) (2004)
Weird Illinois (2005)
Weird Virginia (co-author) (2007)
Weird Indiana (co-author) (2008)

BARNES & NOBLE PRESS TITLES
Haunting of America (2006)
Into the Shadows (2007)
Spirits of the Civil War (2007)

HISTORY PRESS
Wicked Washington (2007)

STACKPOLE BOOKS
Haunted Illinois
(2008)

In 2007, Dark Haven Entertainment, Inc. was formed to not only act as a parent company for Whitechapel Press, the Illinois Hauntings Tours and for the Ghosts of the Prairie Website and Magazine but also to handle the film rights to Troy's ghost books and stories. Currently, there are three of his works optioned for possible film and television production.

Troy has appeared in documentary productions for TLC, The History Channel, A & E, Discovery Channel, PBS, CMT and in various network programs and syndicated news shows. These programs have included America's Ghost Hunters, Ghost Waters, Night Visitors, Beyond Human Senses, Scariest Places on Earth, Children of the Grave, and others.


Cringe: Troy is also the executive producer for the iClips Network Series, Cringe. The series explores the history and hauntings of America's most haunted and terrifying locations!


Children of the Grave: Troy also appeared in the 2007 horror documentary, Children of the Grave. He is also slated to appear in the sequel in 2008.

The St. Francisville Experiment (2000)
Troy appeared as himself in what started out as a paranormal documentary and deteriorated into a "Blair Witch Project" rip-off. Troy appears in the early, documentary portion of the film and never (in any way) endorsed the authenticity of the blatantly fake "paranormal" scenes that followed after the participants entered the house. With that said, Troy adds:

"I have taken a lot of flak about my role in this film over the years but what I can say is that it was a lot of fun to make and be a part of and the cast and most of the crew (especially Paul Salamoff) were great people to work with. There is no point in trying to take it seriously -- it's just a movie -- and as long as you don't go into it believing that it's authentic, it can actually be a lot of fun.

"I can't say that the St. Francisville Experiment is ever going to be fondly recalled as a highlight of my career but I don't regret taking part in it. It was a great experience and a real look at what happens when things in Hollywood go awry." For more "behind the scenes" details about the making of the film, see Troy Taylor's book Confessions of a Ghost Hunter.


The Weird Chicago Gang: (Left to Right) Adam Selzer, Ken Berg, Haven Taylor, Troy Taylor
 


Troy & "The Marks" from Weird NJ Fame. (Left to Right) Mark Sceurman, Troy Taylor, Mark Moran
 

(Left to Right) Keith Age, John Zaffis, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Troy Taylor
 


Filming with "Children of the Grave": Keith Age (center), Phillip Booth is holding the camera and Orrin Taylor adjusts the lighting at left.


With the contingent from Ghostly Talk Radio -- Tom, Scott & Doug!
 


Troy & Weird Ohio's Jim Willis at the Weird Winter event in Decatur in 2007
 


Troy & Shaun Burris from the Ghostman & Demon Hunter's Show. If Troy looks stunned (& slightly scared), well, you just have to know Shaun!


Troy with Nathan Schoonover from the Ghostman & Demon Hunter's Show & Rosemary Ellen Guiley


Troy Taylor with the Weird Chicago Bus at the Virgin Mary salt stain in February 2007


Troy with Luke Naliborski (left) and Len Adams (Right) from the Alton Hauntings Tours. Seen here at Kentucky's Waverly Hills Sanatorium in 2004


Troy with Derek Bartlett -- founder of CAIPRS, the Haunted Cape Cod Tours, long-time friend and American Ghost Society Rep -- at the Sach's Covered Bridge in Gettysburg


Troy & Orrin Taylor at the infamous Bell Witch Cave in Tennessee (July 2007)


Haven & Troy Taylor (exhausted after a long day and night of ghost hunting and well, shopping for Haven) at Gettysburg


Troy & Haven with Rene Kruse (left) and Derek Bartlett (right) in Gettysburg


Troy & Haven at Fell's Point in Baltimore (May 2007) This photo is featured on Sherry Zombie's Total Skull website!


Troy & Haven at the set of "Homicide: Life on the Street", filmed on location at Fell's Point in Baltimore


Troy & Haven at the original gravesite of Edgar Allan Poe at the Western Burial Grounds in Baltimore


The Haunted Decatur Ghost Bus, outside of the Avon Theater in May 2007
 


Haven with the great rock band Stampead, along with our friends Meredith (far left) and Sarah (front center)


Troy with Darwin & Martha Linn (Owners of the Villisca Ax Murder House) in June 2007


Haven with Shaun Burris (Ghostman!) and the Alien from Ghostly Talk Radio at the 2007 Haunted America Conference


Dale Kaczmarek (Stan Suho, right) from the Ghost Research Society at the 2007 Haunted America Conference


Kim Adams & Julie Warren, 2007 Haunted America Conference staff members extraordinaire at the event


Troy & Tom Maat, AGS Rep for Michigan and Ghostly Talk Contingent member at the GhostWorld Conference


Troy & Scott L. from Ghostly Talk Paranormal Radio at the July 2007 GhostWorld Conference in Gettysburg


Troy during a broadcast of the Ghostman & Demon Hunter's Show at the GhostWorld Conference (Shaun Burris - Left / Nathan Schoonover - Right)


Troy & Orrin with some of the Ghostly Talk / Ghostman & Demon Hunter "Family". Left to Right: Sabrina, Scott L., Shaun, Amber, Bonnie, Jonathan, Troy & Orrin


Troy with Mark Nesbitt of "Ghosts of Gettysburg" fame at the GhostWorld Conference


Troy & Amber from Ghostly Talk Radio at the GhostWorld Conference


Troy hosted a special, premiere screening of Rob Zombie's "Halloween" at the haunted Avon Theater on August 31, 2007


Troy & Patrick Burns (from Court TV's "Haunting Evidence" in El Reno, Oklahoma for Para-Con 2007


Troy with the original "Ghost Divas" (Tonya Hacker & Tammy Wilson) at Para-Con 2007 in Oklahoma


Haven (right) With Tonya & Tammy at Para-Con


Troy & Haven with Charlie Barding, Tattoo Artist Extraordinaire at Tattoo-U.


Haven & Troy with Ken & Cherish Berg at the famous Green Mill Lounge in Chicago -- in Al Capone's Booth!!


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