“Bellamy once again masterfully brings to life decades-old tales that won’t let you look away.” ― Cleveland Magazine
Women who murder . . . why are they so much more fascinating than their male counterparts? For evidence, dip into any of the sixteen strange-but-true tales collected in this anthology by Cleveland’s leading historical crime writer. You’ll meet:
• Ill-fated Catherine Manz, the “Bad Cinderella” who poisoned her step-sister in revenge for years of mistreatment, then made her getaway wearing her victim’s most fetching outfit, a red dress and an enormous feathered hat . . .
• Velma West, the big-city girl who scandalized rural Lake County in the 1920s with her “unnatural passions”―and ended her marriage-made-in-hell with a swift hammer’s blow to the skull of her dull husband, Eddie . . .
• Eva Kaber, “Lakewood’s Lady Borgia,” who, along with her mother and daughter, conspired to dispose of an inconvenient husband with arsenic and knife-wielding hired killers . . .
• Martha Wise, Medina’s not-so-merry widow, who poisoned a dozen relatives―including her husband, mother, and brother―because she enjoyed going to funerals . . .
And a cast of other, equally fascinating women who behaved very, very badly. This is wickedly entertaining reading!

Women Behaving Badly: True Tales of Cleveland's Most Ferocious Female Killers: An Anthology

Biographies & Memoirs

Bellamy II, John

Community & Culture

Gray & Company, Publishers

An anthology of the 15 best true disaster stories from the popular book series by John Stark Bellamy II. Revisit the most terrible tragedies in Cleveland history, including: 
• The apocalyptic East Ohio Gas Company explosion and fire of 1944, which destroyed an entire east side neighborhood; 
• Genius inventor Garrett A. Morgan’s daring underground rescue efforts (using his recently invented gas mask) during the gruesome 1916 waterworks collapse; 
• The unspeakably horrible Collinwood school fire of 1908, in which 172 schoolchildren perished in panic because of obstructed exits; 
• The Cleveland Clinic disaster of 1929, in which thousands of pounds of X-ray film exploded in flames, causing 123 deaths; 
• The grisly drama of two doomed workmen buried alive in the very concrete that became Cleveland’s celebrated landmark―the Terminal Tower. 
A great introduction to Bellamy’s five-book Cleveland crime and disaster series.

Cleveland's Greatest Disasters!: Sixteen Tragic Tales of Death and Destruction--An Anthology

History

Americas

"A rollicking, no-holds-barred account of the facts (and continued speculation) about some of the darkest events and weirdest people in Cleveland’s history." — Youngstown Vindicator The foulest crimes and worst disasters in Cleveland history are recounted in these 15 incredible-but-true tales, including: • A no-holds-barred account of the infamous and sensational Sam Sheppard murder trial; • The apocalyptic East Ohio Gas Company explosion and fire of 1944 that destroyed the entire east-side Norwood–St. Clair neighborhood; • The chilling 1919 Dan Kaber murder, in which three generations of Lakewood women—mother, daughter, and grandmother—conspired to dispose of an inoffensive husband with arsenic and knife-wielding hired killers; • Genius inventor Garrett A. Morgan’s dramatic gas-masked rescue efforts during the gruesome 1916 waterworks collapse; • Cleveland Electric Railway Car 642’s horrifying plunge off the Central Viaduct into the Cuyahoga River in the Flats; • The weird tale of industrialist Joe Gogan’s trial for murdering his wife—by hitting her in the face with a bag of rat poison; These gripping narratives deliver high drama and dark comedy, heroes and villains, obsession, courage, treachery, deceit, fear, and guilt—all from the streets of Cleveland.

They Died Crawling: And Other Tales of Cleveland Woe (Cleveland Crime and Disaster Series by John Stark Bellamy II)

Historical

“Morbidly fascinating and wickedly entertaining.” ― The Plain Dealer
The second volume in Bellamy's popular series includes 13 more incredible true stories of Cleveland crime and disaster, including . . . 
• Martha Wise, Medina’s not-so-merry widow, who poisoned a dozen relatives with arsenic―including her own husband, mother, brother, niece, and nephews―because she enjoyed attending funerals; 
• The legendary Torso Murders, which baffled Cleveland safety directory Eliot Ness, two Cuyahoga County coroners, and the entire Cleveland police force as they tried in vain to catch the perpetrator―whom newspapers dubbed the “Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run”; 
• The unspeakably horrible Collinwood School Fire of 1908, in which 172 schoolchildren perished in panic because of obstructed fire exits; 
• Hammer-wielding Velma West, a big-city girl of Cleveland’s Jazz Age driven to murder her small-town husband by the slow pace of life of Painesville―and her own obsession with another woman; 
• The Flats lumber fire of 1914, which leveled Cleveland’s industrial Flats, melted bridges, and very nearly set the entire city ablaze; 
• The enduring mystery of ten-year-old Beverly Potts, whose puzzling disappearance from west-side Halloran Park in 1951 launched Cleveland’s greatest manhunt;
And many other local heroes and villains in these compelling tales of mayhem, melancholy, and mystery.

The Maniac in the Bushes: More True Tales of Cleveland Crime and Disaster

“Bellamy writes with razor-edged wit and his own particular brand of charm.” ― Medina County Gazette
The third book in this popular series delivers 25 more incredible but true stories of Cleveland crime and disaster, including:
• Crotchety old vigilante Jarvis Meach, who shot down robbers in cold blood with his beloved shotguns, “Old Bunty” and “Little Pet.” 
• Medina's Wickedest Stepmother, Mary Garrett, who locked her stepdaughters in their bedroom, set fire to the house, and did all she could to get the furniture out unharmed. 
• The horrible Ashtabula Bridge Disaster, which killed more than 80 holiday travelers trapped in a fiery inferno after their passenger train plunged 82 feet to the snow-covered ground; 
• The strange death of Minnie Peters, who bashed in her own head with her husband’s machinist’s hammer in a most gruesome act of suicide; 
• Cleveland’s saddest circus, when 15 minutes of raging fire killed more than 50 animals. The show went on again that evening; 
Bellamy’s signature style brings to life the colorful characters who took part in some of Cleveland’s most exciting and tragic moments. Crooks and cops, heroes and villains, ordinary folks who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

The Corpse in the Cellar, and Further Tales of Cleveland Woe