Contemporary Authors

• Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe Countryman Press (Woodstock, VT), 2015
• A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts Countryman Press (New York, NY), 2016

1. A season with the witch : the magic and mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts LCCN 2016023647 Type of material Book Personal name Ocker, J. W., author. Main title A season with the witch : the magic and mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts / J.W. Ocker. Published/Produced New York, NY : The Countryman Press, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, [2016] Description xiv, 338 pages ; 23 cm ISBN 9781581573398 (pbk.) CALL NUMBER BF1575 .O25 2016 Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms 2. Poe-land : the hallowed haunts of Edgar Allan Poe LCCN 2014029124 Type of material Book Personal name Ocker, J. W., author. Main title Poe-land : the hallowed haunts of Edgar Allan Poe / J. W. Ocker. Published/Produced Woodstock, VT : The Countryman Press, [2015] Description 384 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm ISBN 9781581572216 (paperback : alk. paper) Shelf Location FLM2015 152125 CALL NUMBER PS2634 .O35 2015 OVERFLOWJ34 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLM2)

• The New England Grimpendium - 2010 Countryman Press, Woodstock. VT
• The New York Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghastly Sites in New York State - 2012 Countryman Press, Woodstock. VT

• W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. - http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Author.aspx?id=17364

  J. W. Ocker
  J. W. Ocker is the Edgar Award-winning author of Poe-Land. He runs the website Odd Things I’ve Seen, where he chronicles his visits to various oddities of culture, art, and history. His writing has been featured in Rue Morgue magazine, CNN.com, American Exorcist: Critical Essays on William Peter Blatty, and Studies in Australian Weird Fiction. Ocker lives in Nashua, NH.

• Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/J.-W.-Ocker/e/B00912M0K6

  J. W. Ocker
  J. W. Ocker
  Follow
  J.W. Ocker is the creator of OTIS: Odd Things I've Seen (Oddthingsiveseen.com), where he writes about his visits to oddities of nature, history, art, and culture. His first two books, "The New England Grimpendium" and "The New York Grimpendium" are personal travelogues of his visits to deathly sites in those regions. Both won Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers. His book, "Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe" is a travel diary of his time trekking to Poe sites along the East Coast and across the ocean. It won the 2015 Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical. His latest book is "A Season With the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts," for which he moved to Witch City for October to get at the heart of one of the weirdest cities on the planet during its weirdest time of the year.

  His work has appeared in The Boston Globe, CNN, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and other places people stick writing. He's from Maryland, but has lived in New Hampshire since 2008.

• J.W. Ocker Home Page - http://www.oddthingsiveseen.com/p/about.html

  About

  My eldest daughter and I walking beneath the boughs of the Granby Oak.

  My name is J.W. Ocker, and I don’t do OTIS for a living. That often makes me sad. I’m from Maryland, but have lived in New Hampshire since 2008. I’ve authored a few books. Like The New England Grimpendium and The New York Grimpendium (2010 and 2012, Countryman Press). They're travelogues of my experiences exploring macabre sites, attractions, and artifacts in those regions. Some of the stuff I got to see as a result of those projects includes Jack Kevorkian’s paintings, Troma Studios, the Wilder brain collection, a ship graveyard, tons of mummies, a pirate’s cave, and a book made of human skin. The New England Grimpendium won a Lowell Thomas Silver Award from the Society of American Travel Writers. The New York Grimpendium got a Gold Lowell Thomas. It was described by The New York Times as, “droll and gruesome...readers might die laughing, gag on its tasteless subject matter, or even shed a tear or two.”

  My third book was Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe, in which I visited every Poe site on the East Coast and across the Atlantic, meeting and talking to those men and women who are upholding the dark poet's physical legacy. It's a strange book, but it won the 2015 Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biography. My latest book is A Season With the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts. For that one I moved my family to downtown Witch City for the duration of October to get at the heart of one of the weirdest cities on the planet during its weirdest time of the year.

  Here on OTIS, I chronicle my visits to hundreds of oddities of culture, art, nature, and history across the country and world. The Peter Iredale shipwreck. St. Michan’s crypt. MacTonight. Also those times in between the oddities where I discovered a surprise basement in my garage, invented the candy drinking game, and was disappointed by my cancer experience. Sometimes I define oddity as “that which sticks out to me personally.” Other times as, “Anything I can write a post about.”

  Looking into the infamous windowed grave of Dr. Timothy Smith in New Haven, Vermont.

  My work has appeared on CNN.com, the website for The Atlantic, Rue Morgue magazine, the Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, Roadtrippers, and other places people stick writing. I’ve got a wife, two daughters, a penchant for port, and I celebrate Halloween for a month and a half. Send me an email at ockerjw@gmail.com or hit me up on the OTIS Facebook page or Twitter. I’m also looking for a patron to underwrite my life so that I can remove those first two sentences from this bio. I'd keep the "My name is J.W. Ocker" part.

  FAQs:
  1. When did OTIS start?

  June of 2007. It debuted with entries on the War of the Worlds monument in New Jersey, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania; Elvis’ Graceland in Tennessee, The Awakening statue in Washington, D.C. (since moved), the Great Pyramid of Egypt, and the Mothman statue in West Virginia.

  2. Do you do OTIS for a living?

  You’re just saying that to hurt me.

  3. Why do you put yourself in the photos?

  At first it was because they were my own private pictures. Then, when I started the website, it was proof that I had been to those places. Eventually, it just became a thing. The “I” in OTIS, and all that. These days I regret it because I always have to get into shots even when I don’t want to and I’ve inadvertently chronicled the deterioration of my body and fashion sense over the past half decade.

  4. Do you travel alone?

  I've done a lot of solo travel, but it's rarer now. These days, I'm usually accompanied by my wife, who is a professional photographer, and my daughters. I'll always dig a good solo trip, though, especially since Odd Things We've Seen sucks as an acronym.

  5. What’s the coolest place you’ve ever been?

  Long answer: I don't know, because I’m always the most into whichever oddity I’m researching/planning a trip to/just came back from. Plus, how do you compare four-foot-tall carnivorous lilies with statue of Jim Henson talking to Kermit? That said, I usually do answer this when I’m asked, just for the sake of the conversation, although I am always lying.

  Short answer: The Capuchin Crypt in Rome.

  6. How do you find and get to all these sites, especially considering FAQ #2?

  That’s a long answer. I have a book pitch for it, in case you're a publisher asking the question.

  7. Are there better sites than OTIS for finding oddities to travel to?

  Totally. Atlas Obscura, for one. Roadside America, for another. Both of these are way more comprehensive than OTIS. What you’ll get here, though, is firsthand experience of every oddity, since I’ve personally been to everything posted on OTIS. Also, plenty of original photos of each site.

  8. Do you have a giant travel budget?

  No, not at all. I’m as worried about the fate of Social Security and whether the size of my TV is embarrassing just like most people. A large percentage of the entries on OTIS focus on sites that are free to see, minus a couple of gallons of gas. I just really try to take advantage of time and place.

  9. What’s the one thing in the entire world that you’d like to see if given the opportunity tomorrow?

  The Elephant Man’s skeleton.

• Thinker's Garden - http://www.thethinkersgarden.com/2015/03/interview-with-author-j-w-ocker/#.WRTaVtIrI2w

  FANTAST IN FOCUS: J.W. OCKER

  J.W. Ocker
  J.W. Ocker

  Possibly Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest fan, J.W. Ocker is an accomplished author whose articles and op-eds have appeared in places like Atlas Obscura, The Rue Morgue Magazine, The Boston Globe, and The Atlantic. He also runs his own travel blog, O.T.I.S: Odd Things I’ve Seen, and has written two “Grimpendiums” focusing on the lesser known “macabre and deathly sites” in New England and New York. Ocker has a mythopoetic sixth sense for perceiving the cultural and architectural spectres in landscapes, much like Poe, one of the “three crowns” of Dark Romanticism. Ocker spoke with us about a few unique customs of his own, as well as his forthcoming book.

  The Custodian: What first inspired you to start the O.T.I.S. Halloween Seasons?

  J.W. Ocker: So that began in 2010. I’d been celebrating a long Halloween Season offline for years, but Halloween 2010 was unique for a few reasons. My first book, The New England Grimpendium had just debuted, and I wanted a forum to regularly bring up all the creepy stuff in the book. To go along with it, New England Halloweens in general were still new for me as I’d only moved up here a year and a half previously. Finally, it was my first daughter’s first Halloween. She was 10-11 months old at the beginning of the season, so not old enough to celebrate, but old enough to add some perspective and context to my own celebrations. So I was looking to do something special with that Halloween Season. Blogging it seemed perfect. I’d been following other Halloween blogs for years, and thought I could take my own angle on it. The blog ended up being so much fun and added so much to my season by giving me the opportunity to write about stuff I don’t usually get to write about, by motivating me to have an active season, and through the dialogue online with other people wearing the orange and black. It’s hard to imagine a Halloween Season without it now.

  Mostly, though, I love the idea of documenting the season. Some spring and summer nights, I’ll go back and re-read the posts and look at the photos just for the nostalgia rush. That said, I really want to push the O.T.I.S. Halloween Season a bit. Make it a Halloween Season truly documented, as opposed to chopped into articles and treated like content. I have some ideas around that I’m hoping to try at some point.

  The Ocker Family
  The Ocker Family

  C: Growing up you were a fan of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. Which of their poems did you take a special liking to?

  J: For Poe, it was The Raven—all the way and to this day. Although Ulalume is also one of my favourites if you want a poem with fewer cultural barnacles all over it. Lovecraft, I’m not as familiar with his poetry. Stuck to his stories. The Rats in the Walls is what I’m always looking for every horror story to be.

  Illustration of Edgar Allan Poe’s Masque of the Red Death by Harry Clarke

  C: Can you tell us more about your “Poe-phernalia”?

  J: Sure. I’m a collector, and a segment of my collection is Poe-related. In the beginning, I just had some scattered, cheesy, mass-marketed stuff because it blew my mind that there was cheesy, mass-marketed stuff that relied on a 200-year-old poet with a death obsession. Over the course of writing Poe-Land, I accrued more just naturally. None of it’s valuable, per se, but all of it is special to me. Like a massive portrait of Poe that was given to me by a guy who runs a local haunted house that I wrote about for last year’s Halloween Season. He pulled it from a defunct museum in Salem. Also, a 100-year-old printing of The Raven that I was given by the world’s biggest Poe collector. A bottle of Poe-themed wine that was made for a celebration at Poe’s grave that I attended in Baltimore in 2013. A golden Poe bobblehead used for fundraising for Boston’s new Poe statue. That kind of stuff. They’ve almost all become mementos less of Poe himself and more of my time writing and travelling for Poe-Land.

  POE_PHERNALIA

  C: Have you done any urban exploring in other countries? I feel like you’re the kind of person that would do something like this.

  J: I rarely get to do any urban exploration, as far as sneaking into abandoned buildings. And the few times that I’ve done it, it wasn’t daring at all. I do kind of love everything about it when I see photos from other people’s jaunts, but it’s just not how I tick. My favourite type of urban exploration (if you’ll allow me to take the word in a painfully literal manner), is to plot out a course of sites and walk to them. I log serious miles in cities. When I was doing The New York Grimpendium, I averaged seven to eight miles a day in Manhattan over the course of three or four days. I hit every part of that island on foot. Saw amazing sites and amazing sights between the sites.

  C: What gave you the idea to start the Grimpendiums?

  J: The macabre is a major theme on O.T.I.S., and a theme that has more variety than it’s usually given credit for. There are tons of books that are guides to haunted sites or detached spooky folklore or grisly historical anecdotes. But none that really gave that variety of the macabre that I love and very few that were based completely on firsthand experience at physical sites. So that became the ingredients of the Grimpendiums.

  Also, again, moving to New England motivated it. It was brand new world to me, and I was exploring it like nobody had ever been here before, treating all six states like they were just different streets in my new hometown. I had to write a book about this place.

  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

  C: Do you have any plans for a Grimpendium of the American South? New Orleans and Charleston seem like perfect gothic haunts.

  J: I would love to do Grimpendiums for every state in the country. Both of those cities are fascinating places, no doubt. Have racked up some great experiences in them. If I could choose any area to do next, it would be the Mid-Atlantic. That’s where I grew up and I feel guilty for not exploring it the way I should in all the decades I lived there. Plus I have family back there, so the logistics would be much easier. But, that said, there’s not a section of the country that I can’t fall in love with. So I’m up for any Grimpendium anywhere.

  POE_LAND

  C: What are you working on now?

  J: Well, I have the usual spate of O.T.I.S. backlog posts that I’m always trying make headway on. I have a completed fiction project that I’m actively trying to sell. But my big project is my next nonfiction book, which I haven’t officially announced yet because I’m still awaiting the contract in the mail. It’s another weird book. Travelogue. Macabre. It’ll fit in with the Grimpendiums and Poe-Land perfectly, though, while still being different from any of them. Might even tie in with your first question. Can’t wait to announce it.

  To find out more about the Grimpendiums and J.W.’s other projects, check out the O.T.I.S. web page.

• Penmen Review - http://penmenreview.com/spotlight/talking-oddities-and-writing-with-edgar-award-winning-author-j-w-ocker/

  Talking Oddities and Writing with Edgar Award-winning Author J.W. Ocker

  by Pamme Boutselis

  HeadshotJ.W. Ocker is the award-winning author of three nonfiction books, “The New England Grimpendium,” “The New York Grimpendium” and, most recently, “Poe-Land,” an Edgar Award-winning personal travelogue of his yearlong journey to monuments, preserved sites and other artifacts related to Edgar Allan Poe. The book includes interviews with people along the way, who uphold the Poe legacy. Ocker’s longtime website, “Odd Things I’ve Seen,” documents his visits to cultural, art, nature and historical oddities throughout the world. He managed to stay in one place long enough to answer some questions for The Penmen Review.

  Have you always written?
  Yeah, to varying degrees. Not always in the sense that I wanted to be a writer, but more because I read so much that it was natural for me to emulate it. At some point that metastasized into a desire to be a writer, which then directed the degrees I pursued in college and the jobs I pursued on the market. And then at some point along that route, it became incurable.

  NE GrimpendiumWhat’s your process in developing your storyline and characters?
  Since I write mostly nonfiction, I get to cheat at this. I don’t have to invent the stories and characters; I just have to go out and find the stories and meet the characters. Much of the time – because I write travelogues – that hat character is me. But there is still a development process, because I have to figure out how to tell stories and portray people in a way that that is correct factually, correct-in-essence, and entertaining. I get a big headstart is all.

  What challenges do you face in your writing, and how do you overcome them?
  The biggest challenge is the mechanics of it – sitting down and putting one word after the other. There are so many other things that are so much easier to do instead (and which are probably far more rewarding). For instance, it’s the best time in the history of the planet to be a media consumer. The only way to overcome that challenge is just to write by brute force. The answer is always just to write, unfortunately. At some point, if you’re both unlucky and lucky, it becomes a compulsion, which, of course, has its steep downsides. I often spend a lot of not-writing time coming up with the first sentence of an article or a chapter. I find that once that door is kicked in, it’s a lot easier to get in there and do some real damage to an empty document.

  NY Grim CoverWhat has the road to publication been like for you?
  Impossible until it was possible. I started with my own website, publishing about my travels to various oddities. Then I moved to New England from the mid-Atlantic. It was in New England that I found a specific and sellable angle, which was basically my fascination for the dark side of my new home. New England is such its own thing and can be such a uniquely creepy place that I was able to put together a New England pitch for a New England publisher, which then became my first book, “The New England Grimpendium.”

  How do you market your work?
  Mostly through my website and the socials. I have a consistent readership there so I’ve stayed relatively faithful to it even while cheating on it with my book projects. I also try to do guest articles for magazines and other blogs. Basically, I market my writing by writing more.

  CMP-PoeLand-coverWho are the writers that have inspired you most, and how have they inspired you?
  Ray Bradbury is a gigantic influence. Flannery O’Connor, Douglas Adams, Edgar Allan Poe. I’m weak on modern writers and, surprisingly, nonfiction writers (although some of my favorite nonfiction is by fiction writers for some reason. I often like the prefaces to novels and short story collections better than the books themselves). But those writers all conspired to help me see how dark life is, how silly life is and how brilliant life is.

  If you could keep just three books in your library, which would you choose and why?
  I’m going to pick the three books that have given me the most joy in life and which if I were stuck reading them over and over again, that would be okay:

  “The Stars My Destination” by Alfred Bester
  “Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury
  “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams

  POSTED BY P.BOUTSELIS ON MAY 14TH, 2015

A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts
Candace Smith
Booklist. 113.2 (Sept. 15, 2016): p18.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Listen
Full Text:
A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts. By J. W. Ocker. Oct. 2016. 240p. illus. Norton/Countryman, paper, $18.95 (9781581573398). 133.4.

What better place to celebrate Halloween than Salem, Massachusetts? Festivities begin with a parade on October 1 and end with Halloween parties and costumed celebrations on October 31. In between, Ocker, a travel writer with an Edgar Award, and family stay the entire month, exploring Salem's many attractions. Although the witch trials in 1692 only lasted for nine months, Salem has been branded "Witch City," overshadowing its maritime history. Ocker samples everything: cemeteries, museums, gift shops, performances, wax museums, and more. He talks to street performers and street preachers as he tries to understand the appeal of the city. He interviews curators, haunters, costumed tour guides, a policeman, the mayor, and cemetery caretakers. Ocker devotes whole chapters to real witches, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and TV shows and movies set in Salem. His comic asides lighten the details of haunted houses, hangings, and hysteria without disrespecting the history. The result is a fresh, fun glimpse of a town that has come to grips with its sordid history and prospered. Armchair travelers will enjoy the trip.--Candace Smith

Smith, Candace

A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts
Publishers Weekly. 263.35 (Aug. 29, 2016): p82.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Listen
Full Text:
* A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts

J.W. Ocker. Countryman, $18.95 trade paper (250p) ISBN 978-1-58157-339-8

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

This lively chronicle--part travel guide, part history lesson--charts the peculiar relationship between Haunted Happenings, the month-long Halloween celebration held annually in Salem, Mass., and the town's historic legacy as the site where 20 people were executed during the infamous witch trials of 1692. As depicted by Ocker (Poe-Land), Salem's embrace of what was once its stigma is a case of civics tempered by commercialism. Plaques and monuments around town call attention to the events of the early 1690s, but many historic sites have been built over--the site of the executions, for example, is now behind a Walgreens--and visitors are instead directed to self-styled museums that offer tours, wax dioramas, and historical reenactments. In the book's most fascinating chapter, Ocker notes with irony that the Peabody Essex Museum, which possesses the only true artifacts from the trials, is endowed as an art museum and distances itself from the city's branding for its October festivities. Ocker moves easily among the archivists, historians, and performers he interviews, and he describes the carnival atmosphere that descends upon "Witch City" with enthusiasm and vividness. 25 b&w photos. (Oct.)

Eternal reads
Library Journal. 141.14 (Sept. 1, 2016): p120.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Listen
Full Text:

[...]

Ocker, J.W. A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts. Countryman. Oct. 2016. 240p. photos. ISBN 9781581573398. pap. $18.95; ebk. ISBN 9781581575545. TRAV

Travel writer Ocker (Poeland) takes readers along with him and his family on an enjoyable trip to Salem, MA, during the month of October. The town is one of the largest Halloween-themed tourist spots, and the author examines how the holiday connects with its solemn past. Both the witch trials of 1692-93 and the life of 19th-century author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was born in Salem, are woven through the narrative, giving it a solid historical starting point from which to explore the area's modern take on witches and Halloween. The result is an entertaining and historical guide to the varied sites of Salem, with Ocker interviewing everyone from the mayor to local archivists to men in scary costumes, covering burial sites of witch trial judges, and perhaps the most awesome Halloween street party ever described in print, with Ocker's good humor and touch of sarcasm marking his readable style. VERDICT A fun read for anyone who enjoys Bill Bryson-style travel writing, this entry will make readers want to visit Salem.--Sara Miller Rohan, Archive Librarian, Atlanta

Smith, Candace. "A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts." Booklist, 15 Sept. 2016, p. 18. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA464980796&it=r&asid=f7590514db5512376c0d52663d33bae6. Accessed 11 May 2017. "A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts." Publishers Weekly, 29 Aug. 2016, p. 82. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA462236492&it=r&asid=53b4489a697b837db999cb4aef58134b. Accessed 11 May 2017. "Eternal reads." Library Journal, 1 Sept. 2016, p. 120. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA462044933&it=r&asid=0e84a5c9d2fcad3205f963995061aaef. Accessed 11 May 2017.

• Hellnotes
  http://hellnotes.com/a-season-with-the-witch-by-j-w-ocker-book-review/
  Word count: 393

  A Season with the Witch by J.W. Ocker – Book Review
  by David Goudsward | Oct 11, 2016 | Book Reviews, Hellnotes Reviews | 0 comments
  seasonwiththewitchA Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts
  J.W. Ocker
  The Countryman Press
  October 2016
  Reviewed by David Goudsward
  J.W. Ocker doesn’t do things halfway. His previous book, Poe-Land, won an Edgar Award for his travels up and down the east coast, visiting locations significant to Edgar Allan Poe, and explaining why they are significant to those associated with the area. This time, Ocker took the opposite approach — he moved his apparently very patient wife and children to Salem, Massachusetts, and stayed for the entire month of October. October is to Salem what Mardi Gras is to New Orleans – a frenetic collection of eclectic people, places, and activities that build momentum and culminate in a concentrated release of weirdness. And instead of going to Salem, the Ockers lived downtown, totally immersed at Halloween’s ground zero.
  Ocker isn’t looking to do a travelogue on which haunted attractions are tourist traps and which bookstores are the creepiest. He is looking for what makes Salem so uniquely Salem by experiencing it firsthand. A Season with the Witch does that by chronicling his travels among the shops, sites, and gravestones, carefully interspersed with chats with the denizens, critics, and characters of Salem. From carnies and occultists, to archivists and elected officials, to street preachers and shop owners, Ocker carefully records their often conflicting observations.
  Be it ghost tours, cemeteries, historical sites, filming locations, museums, gift shops, street performances, parades, haunted houses, or wax museums – if it happened in Salem, Ocker sampled it, and then wrote about it in his deceptively casual style with the appropriately gentle humor side comments.
  Can it be used as a travel guide to Witch City? Absolutely, but you risk missing the sites because you are engrossed in the book. Better to read it first and use a mundane travel guide.
  There are not many books that can gracefully segue from Cotton Mather and The Scarlet Letter to Elizabeth Montgomery and Laurie Cabot, but this is Salem, where oddness is a lifestyle, and J.W. Ocker is a masterful observer of the foibles, frailties, and fears of the human condition.

• Hellnotes
  https://hellnotes.com/poe-land-the-hallowed-haunts-of-edgar-allan-poe-book-review/
  Word count: 476

  Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe – Book Review
  by journalstone | Sep 25, 2014 | Book Reviews | 0 comments
  Poe-Land-The-Hallowed-Haunts-of-Edgar-Allan-PoePoe-Land – The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe
  J.W. Ocker
  Countryman Press
  October 13th, 2014

  Reviewed by David Goudsward
  J.W. Ocker’s writing style is more akin to sitting down over a beer with a friend and having a conversation about mutual friends. Only in this case, make it a copita of amontillado and the mutual friend is Edgar Allan Poe.
  Don’t let the author’s effortless conversational style lull you into a false sense of casualness. This is a scholarly, meticulously researched immersion into the phenomena of Poe. Starting with Poe’s inauspicious beginnings in Boston, and the current, begrudging acceptance of Poe’s place in the Hub’s literary pantheon, Ocker travels down the East Coast to those places that call Poe their own, regardless of how Poe’s feelings on the topic. From Massachusetts to Rhode Island, then on to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, and South Carolina with a side trip to the UK.
  One example is Westford, MA marker near the Heywood house where Poe stayed. He tracks down the man who had the marker installed and discovers it was not just devotion to Poe, but an indignant response to a marker installed to commemorate a more famous Westford resident, the alleged effigy of a 14th century Scottish knight. Throw in a little Jack Kerouac and the use of black Rust-oleum to touch up the raven on the Poe marker, and the reader (and Ocker) leave town with a deeper understand of the motivations behind that local landmark.
  The travels and insights continue through the book – gravesites, historic sites and artifacts revered to the point where you almost expect them to be stored in a reliquary. When Ocker arrives in Providence, RI to see where Poe courted Sarah Whitman, he stops by the Providence Athenaeum to see the copy of Poe’s anonymously published poem “Ulalume,” autographed at Whitman’s urging. But he is not alone, for the author finds himself exploring Poe’s connections to Providence in the middle of a convention dedicated to that other horror writer with ties to Providence, one Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
  Amply illustrated with enough Poe background material to explain why he’s visiting a given location, the book is filled with quirky anecdotal material. If you’re looking for a travel guide to Poe sites, this is not your book. I emphasize this, and so does the author; Poe-Land was never meant to be a travel guide. If anything, it’s a travel diary of Ocker’s road trips exploring the perennial appeal/obsession with the master of the macabre.
  This is one road trip you will not want to miss.

• Week in Weird
  http://weekinweird.com/2013/01/03/book-review-the-york-grimpendium-j-w-ocker/
  Word count: 1234

  Book Review: “The New York Grimpendium” by J.W. OckerBy Greg Newkirk on 01/03/2013@nuekerk
  Author: J.W. Ocker:
  ISBN: 978-0-88150-990-8

  The New York Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre & Ghostly Sites is a book that I was excited to read as soon as I heard the name. I was already familiar with the author thanks to his wonderfully weird blog Odd Things I’ve Seen, and had the good fortune to read his previous work The New England Grimpendium a few years back. The fact that I was most excited about was that unlike it’s New England counterpart, The New York Grimpendium focuses on an area that I grew up in, so you can imagine my absolute glee when this book showed up on my doorstep for review. What I’m trying to say here is that clearly, I had some very high hopes for this book, ones that I’m happy to say were not only met but exceeded.

  Right from the get-go, Ocker gives us a hint of what we’re in for when we crack the spine – this is not a travel book you recommend to someone who might enjoy a Sex and the City sightseeing getaway. There’s no guided jaunts through the Empire State Building or leisurely wine tours here. No, the places we’ll be going and the events we’ll be recounting, well, they’re going to be a little darker.. and we’re going to love every minute of it. Ocker aims to present a New York sampler platter of the grim, and his three rules for doing so are simple: it has to be macabre, it has to have some form of physical representation to actually visit, and finally, Ocker has to have stepped foot on the property himself.

  It’s worth noting that when it comes to books that delve into locations involving haunted properties, monster reports, and UFO crashes (the Grimpendium has an entire section dedicated to these things) a good portion of writers are content to research the history and interview eyewitnesses without ever leaving their laptops or libraries, so Ocker’s third rule of visitation is an important one that immediately sets the book apart. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up a travel guide filled with bad directions to weird locations that have gotten me lost, confused, or almost arrested. Happily, Ocker is a fantastic guide with concern for the pilgrimage of the weirdo. He’ll keep you out of jail.

  The Grimpendium is divided into five distinct parts, each with a focus that varies from macabre personalities, sites of noteworthy crimes (including murders and those that committed a lot of them), intriguing final resting places, horror movie filming locations, and legendary monsters. While the chapters are likely to be filled with plenty of New York staples you might already be aware of (any self respecting fan of Ghostbusters hasn’t been to Manhattan without seeking out the famous firehouse), it’s the special attention given to the lesser known locations that really makes the Grimpendium shine as a travel guide; places like the Boyd-Parker Torture Tree, where it’s said that angry Native Americans took revenge on soldiers during the Revolutionary War, or the grave of a young boy who died from kisses, or even one of my personal favorites – the filming location for Sleepaway Camp, one of the all-time best worst horror films. Who would possibly want to visit the place where a 30 year old Halloween rip off was shot? People like me, of course, and the Grimpendium has us covered.

  Perhaps your interest lies in seeing some dead bodies under glass. Done. Parts of dead bodies floating in jars? Easy. A bar with a werewolf theme? There’s directions. Ok, how about a little cave off the beaten path with a history of evil spirits? Yes, if you’re brave enough, you can even see that too.

  I could go on and on listing all of the gloriously grim things that Ocker has somehow crammed into the 334 pages of this book, but that would be depriving you half of the New York Grimpenium‘s charm. You see, while you could easily sit down and flip through the pages one by one, enjoying a roller coaster of emotional responses to people, places, and things, I’ve found it to be a delightful experience to pick the book up, gently bend the cover, and after a short fluttering, let my thumb surprise me with a new topic. It’s happened to me now more times than I can count, which is why it’s taken me until January to review a book that came out in October. I’ve never really felt “done” with it, in fact, I still don’t. Even though I’ve read every entry multiple times at this point, I’ll notice the book sitting quietly in the last place I left it, get hypnotized by the cover, and the next thing I know I’m 20 pages deep into dead things.

  The writing in the NY Grimpendium comes across as the musings of a man who’s genuinely fascinated by the macabre, something not always easily pulled off without reading like a 9th grader’s presentation on serial killers. Whether it be in his ability to effortlessly describe the alluring aesthetics of a skull, or in his lamentations of long lost buildings, his excitement and interest in the locations and people he’s sought are are infectious, so be forewarned – if you don’t go into the book with a travel plan, you just might finish with one.

  For a book dedicated the the darker corners of tourism, it’s also pretty damn funny to boot, which keeps the tone mostly light and easy to follow. But don’t let the humor fool you, as I said, there are some downright bummer inducing reads as well. Ocker even jokingly suggests in the introduction that we skip the chapter on death and murder altogether. While places like the 9-11 memorial, or the site of the American Airlines Flight 587 might still be fresh enough in our minds to sting a bit, Ocker handles these subjects with grace and maturity. After all, whether we’re laughing about it or crying about it, just talking about death, seeking it, studying it.. it’s just a way to prepare for the inevitable. As Ocker says, “most of us are coffin-shaped in one way or another.”

  If you’re the kind of person who can enjoy the peaceful beauty of a quiet cemetery, seek a morbid fascination in the obituaries, or just like stuff that’s a little weird (you’re here reading this, after all), The New York Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghastly Sites is a book I can’t recommend highly enough. That goes double especially if you’re from the New York area, or plan on visiting, in which case, you might just want to keep it in the car for any impromptu adventures to the creepier parts of the state. After all, death can be pretty spontaneous.

  Grab your copy at Amazon and ensure Ocker keeps working his weird way through the country.

• Horror News
  http://horrornews.net/56506/book-review-the-new-york-grimpendium-author-j-w-ocker/
  Word count: 634

  Book Review: The New York Grimpendium – Author J.W. Ocker
  Horrornews.net 08/27/2012 Book Reviews

  The New York Grimpendium

  I received a book the other day that really puts the spotlight on the macabre aspects of New York. Written by J.W. Ocker, comes a great new read that every no New Yorker horror fan should be without (not to mention every other visitor to this fine state). These kind of books have always warmed my heart as they meticulously catalog and describe the details of various locations a horror fan would want to visit. Add to that the research, the specifics, and (in the case of this book) several photos to help you find what your looking for (or heard about for that matter).

  Many of us have lived near areas having one or more legends to refer to. This book which has been titled “The New York Grimpendium” pays tribute to this highly historical state full of interesting places, buildings, and spots that you’ll surely want to snap a few family album shots at. Living in Colorado myself, we have locations that make for great tourist talk (I remember how excited I was when I went to visit “The Shining” hotel (called “The Stanley”) located in Estes Park).

  Well, New York dupes that with the infamous Amityville Horror house (located in Amityville of course) among its many claims to fame. However, there is so much more to see within this state’s vicinity that it actually fills a 352 page book. To give you a better break down of it’s structure, the book has been divided into chapters such as “Legends and Personalities of the macabre”. Here you can find the locations of Edgar Allen Poe, Joan Crawford, Mary Shelley, and Harry Houdini to name a few.

  Are you a horror literature fan? Then the details of H.P’s original whereabouts are sure to please. But names aside, we have the locations of macabre acts and dark pasts that have been documented in relation to Son of Sam, small pox hospitals and scenes of past tragedy. Of course my favorite section is the noted movie set locations. And as you can probably guess there have been quite a few famous films that have used New York settings to provide appropriate backdrop.

  Now King Kong, is a no brainier..however you might also like to visit the various locations seen in “Wolfen”, “Ghostbusters” “Wolf”, “1408”, Rosemary’s Baby” and Jacob’s Ladder”. The Grimpendium will surely make your search that much easier with specific details on where you can find each of these locations. For instance, perhaps you have an address for the “Amityville Horror”, but did you know that the address was changed to discourage tourists? Or maybe you were wondering why the side of the house doesn’t look like the one in the movie? These kind of facts provide that extra research needed that our author has been kind enough to provide with over 9,000 miles of travel logged behind it. Are you a grave hunter? Looking for the tomb of “such and such”? Then look no further, as Ocker is your virtual tourist guide.

  There is much more here with haunted locations, cemeteries of interest and famous monster museums to keep ya going. Written from the perspective of a true admirer of dark places, this is the book that every horror fan should add to their collection (and then set out on a road trip..(I know I might…)

  Entirely interesting, rich in detail, and a full of photos to help you along, The Grimpendium is one to own!

  Book Review: The New York Grimpendium – Author J.W. Ocker

• Rambles
  http://www.rambles.net/ocker_negrim10.html
  Word count: 354

  J.W. Ocker,
  The New England Grimpendium
  (Countryman Press, 2010)
  I like odd things and unusual places. J.W. Ocker, the author of The New England Grimpendium, does too, as is evidenced by the obvious glee with which he wrote this book.

  Ocker, who runs the website Odd Things I've Seen, has scoured the New England countryside to compile this, as he puts it, "guide to macabre and ghastly sites." And he's succeeded, ranging from murder sites to movie sets, monuments to monster haunts, as well as tombs and cemeteries, statues, museums, memorials and odd objects in eccentric collections.

  Not a ghost tour as such -- and, after all, New England has already inspired a wealth of ghost-story collections -- this book seeks attractions for the horror enthusiast, the gothic junkie, the fan of anything "ick." Some of the connections to New England are a bit tenuous, granted, but Ocker's most basic requirement was there must be something for visitors to see at the sites he includes here.

  It's an entertaining book that is fun to read and could easily inspire a road trip or two (or three, or four...) -- but the best part is the sheer joy with which Ocker infuses his work. You can tell the guy had a ball researching this book (which often involved dragging his pregnant wife along on harrowing adventures), and he imparts that excitement on every page. According to the back cover, Ocker covered 7,000 miles of New England roadways in the process, and it's worth every gallon of gas he expended along the way. There are 200 or so entries, broken down into five basic sections: "Horror Legends & Personalities," "Infamous Crimes, Killers, & Tragedies," "Horror Movie-Filming Locales," "Notable Cemeteries, Gravestones, & Other Memento Mori" and "Classic Monsters."

  Even if you never intend to set foot in New England, read this book for the entertainment value alone. If you're just a little more adventerous, plan a trip around a dozen or so of Ocker's best entries -- I can almost guarantee it will be a trip to remember.

Word Count