Maverick Flatts, IL
The series begins when Cavalry soldiers storm into
Maverick Flatts hunting a fugitive. When Holly’s brother is arrested for allegedly
killing a neighbor, Holly’s on the case. Things become even more confusing when
a mysterious masked rider appears on the scene.
London, England
The infamous Jack the Ripper’s hunting grounds were
in the impoverished Whitechapel district of London in 1888. Jack was accredited
with 5 vicious and grotesque murders.
To this day, Jack the Ripper’s identity is unknown,
though there are numerous suspects.
To name a handful:
Aaron Kosminski – a Whitechapel barber
Walter Sickert – an artist
John Pizer - bootmaker
Prince Albert Victor – eldest child of the Prince
and Princess of Wales
Lewis Carroll – an author
There are various theories about the identity and
profession of Jack, as authorities are not able to agree and at one time the
number of named suspects reached over 100.
This serial killer case was the first to create a
worldwide media frenzy with interest in the killings lasting to present day.
Many books, movies, Ripper walking tours and theories
have come out of this case. Will we ever have definitive evidence as to Jack
the Ripper’s true identity?
Kansas
Using
poetic license here – Obviously Kansas is a state (not a city), but it’s the
hometown of Dorothy and Toto from the Wizard of Oz books, too precious a memory
to not include in my tribute. (L. Frank
Baum never specifies any particular town in Kansas that Dorothy lives in.)
I
always loved going to the Moose Lodge when I was a child and watching this
movie while the adults partied in another room. To this day, I still own a very
old copy of this book from my childhood.
Joplin, MO
In 2011, a horrific tornado hit Joplin, Missouri. It
leveled buildings and killed over 150 people. Children that survived shared
stories about humanoid creatures they nicknamed “The Butterfly People”. One
common element is that as they were on the brink of death, The Butterly People
appeared before them, protecting them from the falling debris of the tornado.
Skeptics believe the stories are the result of mass
hysteria. Stress from near-death experiences could cause people to believe they’re
experiencing something supernatural. Or predetermined belief (since Joplin lies
within the religious belt).
Believers of the Butterfly People think they’re
really angels that the children perceived as butterflies.
Iowa City, Iowa
There are many mystery books where a house is being
remodeled and a skeleton is found behind the wall. Was the victim murdered? Can
the cold case be solved?
Mary Helen Stefaniak can beat that claim with a
true-life twist on that old trope J
In 2004, Mary Helen and her husband were tearing
down walls of an upstairs bedroom in their home— a former Stagecoach Inn. No
hidden bones or skeletons here. Instead, they discovered an exterior wall
formerly covered by lath and plaster was papered with circus posters.
