(NAPSA)—For decades, townsfolk in Fairfax County, Virginia, whispered to one another, “Watch out, or the ‘Bunnyman’ will get you.” This story of an ax-wielding man in a rabbit costume has kept the kids of Fairfax on their toes, but that’s just one of hundreds of tales and photos found throughout the United States by two New Jersey authors, Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman. They have spent more than a decadecollecting and researching local legends, unexplained phenomena, roadside oddities and ghost stories, first in New Jersey (“Weird N.J.”) and now across the country: “Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets.” The places you'll visit in “Weird U.S.” can’t be found in any travel guide—cannibal albino villages, forgotten tunnels leading to Hell, local heroes and menacing specters from all over the country fill the book’s pages. The authors tell the tale of the Melon Heads of Northern Ohio, mutated subhuman creatures that roam the back roads and prey on unsuspecting wanderers; a “Midgetville” community just outside San Diego; the Houston home of John Milkovisch, who spent 20 years covering his entire house—fence and all— with flattened beer cans; and shoe salesman Mahlon Haines’ Pennsylvania home, which is shaped like a tremendous shoe. This ineredible, full color illustrated 350-page bookis only $19.95. For Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman, their love of local lore started as a hobby and then turned into a homespun newsletter for friends. The newsletter became a popular magazine, so popular that a book soon followed, “Weird N.J.: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets” (Barnes & Noble Books). “Weird N.J.” was a LVS Pretroe ureters Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets DOMLSCILLA Cr) Hundreds of tales about offbeat places and mysteries that you won'tfind in any travel guide. runaway bestseller last year. The authors have teamed up again with Barnes & Noble, and their new book, “Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets,” is out now. “What was originally just a childhood curiosity of ours became a look into a powerful piece of American culture,” says Mark Moran. “We've heard thousandsof whispered legends and tales from readers across the country, and we've discovered thatit’s these tales that have become the underpinnings of every neighborhood’s history.” What states are the “weirdest states” in America? According to Moran and Sceurman, their home state of New Jersey takes top honors, followed by Texas,Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, and all of New England. This unforgettable book lets readers find out what’s truly odd, offbeat and just plain weird in this great country. The book is available at Barnes & Noble bookstores or online at www.bn.com. To share and post weird tales of your own, go to the Web site www.WeirdUS.com.
