PHOTO PROVIDED James T. Baumgratz’s latest book, “Hauntings in the Pennsylvania Wilds: A Guided Tour” is available now for purchase. The book features stories from Clinton and 12 other counties in the region.

After two years of extensive research, James T. Baumgratz’s newest book, “Hauntings in The Pennsylvania Wilds: A Guided Tour” is finally available for purchase.

This book takes you on a one-of-a-kind tour exploring over 200 haunted destinations across 13 counties. It is laid out by county, covering Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga and Warren.

“You never know what experience awaits you in these locations; some see, some sense and others walk away with the feeling that they are not alone,” said Baumgratz.

With over 200 haunted locations detailed in the book, some of the most intriguing stories are from Centre and Clinton counties.

“The Black Ghost of Scotia is one of my favorites and spooky at the same time. The girl observed running along the stream in Renovo also intrigued me, having previously written the true story of the murder of little Mary Donovan,” he said.

Some of the stories in “Hauntings in The Pennsylvania Wilds: A Guided Tour” are also included in his other books.

“People who lived in some of the houses where deaths occurred in my earlier books approached me about spirits of the departed that they have seen. After I had heard this from more than one individual, I began to develop an interest in writing a book on these occurrences, and this in turn became the beginning of this book,” said Baumgratz.

The process for researching haunted locations was very different from Baumgratz’s typical method.

“In the research for this book, many of the “hauntings” were reported to me by individuals who witnessed the phenomenon. Unlike research in criminal records in the courthouse, there was no record that could easily be perused, and interviewing was the main informational gathering for many of the stories,” said Baumgratz.

In addition to first-hand reports, he also used his more traditional research methods. He looked further into the sightings to understand why a sighting may have happened in a specific area.

Baumgratz is a firm believer in ghosts, having had an unexplainable experience of his own and hearing stories from those he trusts.

“I had my own sighting coming from the Halton Children’s Cemetery, which changed my view (on ghosts.) So many others whom I have known for years also shared their experiences and I know their characters — not the type to exaggerate,” he said.

The book also walks the reader through numerous different types of ghosts to further clarify specific interactions. As Baumgratz researched ghostly entities for this book, he aimed to answer questions he posed to himself.

“I always wondered why some ghosts interact with people and why some are only seen as a shadow, so this caused me to research the reason and this is why I put that information in the introduction to the book,” he said.

In addition to regular hauntings, the book details experiences with supernatural creatures such as the infamous bigfoot.

“I had my own experience sighting a bigfoot-type creature in the woods when I was 16,” said Baumgratz, “In talking with many who have seen such a creature since, they all cannot be mistaken. I have come to believe that creatures such as Bigfoot come from the same realm as spirits, and this is why they do not get captured.”

The book is meant to be a guide, but to attempt to do it all in one go would take days of travel in the very least.

“A tour of Elk County locations alone would take well over 24 hours. If one wanted to not only visit each site but also spend time investigating, the time to visit all locales would be extended. The idea of having each county separated is that one would set up their own haunted road trip to each county and spend a day visiting the locations that interest them most,” said Baumgratz.

Though there is no plan for a second installment of a “hauntings” book, Baumgratz noted it’s not entirely out of the question.

“I pretty much covered the material that I had at the time of the publishing but I have found notes on cases that I would have included, but which I misplaced. I continue to receive and catalog more experiences people have witnessed and although it is not in my future plans, it may happen,” he said.

Baumgratz does have many other books coming down the pipeline. He plans on releasing Volume III of one of his classic titles, “Murder & Mysterious Deaths in the Pennsylvania Wilds” featuring 25 new cases to explore.

He’s also planning on releasing a book based on “Tiger at the Bar,” featuring many more interesting cases not included in the original book.

“Also in the works are books titled: Strange, Tragic & Forgotten series, which will feature each county. Some of the chapters in each book will include strange happenings and experiences in each county, tragedies both natural and unnatural that have occurred, and Forgotten industries and locales in each county,” said Baumgratz.

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of “Hauntings in The Pennsylvania Wilds: A Guided Tour” you can find them at Webster’s Cafe in State College and Otto’s in Williamsport with more locations to come.

You can obtain more information on Baumgratz and his books at Elkcountymurder.com on Facebook or through this link www.facebook.com/p/Elkcountymurdercom-100041629275563.

Baumgratz puts updates on his new books and speaking engagements on this Facebook page, so keep an eye out!