"Set in the seemingly quiet isolation of small-town Texas, Blood Legacy is a well-written, well-researched true tale with Gothic overtones and more than a hint of Stephen King-style horror." -Carlton Stowers, best-selling and award-winning author In 1925 Texans were stunned when a young man's severed head was found in an abandoned farmhouse near the town of Stephenville. An investigation led to ex-convict F. M. Snow and the mysterious disappearances of his wife and mother-in-law. But this shocking, bloody saga began 50 years earlier . . . Beautiful, vivacious Samantha Jones had a penchant for dangerous men. Her teenage marriage to gambler Amos Smith ended when he was gunned down in a hit orchestrated by his wife's alleged lover, who was lynched. The widow then married the abusive Bill Olds, who was later arrested for theft, forgery and murder. Violence stalked the next generation when Samantha's daughter, Maggie Olds, was twice widowed with the brutal murders of her second and fourth husbands. Yet Maggie's unfortunate choice for a fifth husband, F. M. Snow, led to a gruesome, triple tragedy. In Blood Legacy: The True Story of the Snow Axe Murders, James Pylant delves into family history and sheds new light on a tale of twenty shocking deaths fueled by greed, insanity and revenge.

Blood Legacy: The True Story of the Snow Axe Murders

Biographies & Memoirs

James Pylant

True Crime

Jacobus Books

This book tells amusing and fascinating stories from a Texas district court in the mid 1800's. From vigilantes to gun-toting gangs, to murders and adultry, this non-fiction book will provide many hours of entertainment for the history buff.

Vigilantes to Verdicts: Stories from a Texas District Court

Sherri Knight

From 1869 to 1918 more than 1,200 women lived as prostitutes in Waco, Texas—once known as "Six-Shooter Junction." When the city legalized its red light district, floozies flocked to Waco, where saloons and bordellos flourished. The Oldest Profession in Texas: Waco's Legal Red Light District examines the city's complex stance on prostitution, debunks myths, and unveils—for the first time—the true identities of several early madams. Authors James Pylant and Sherri Knight tell shocking true stories about several of these colorful characters, including: 
<ul>
<li> Matilda W. Davis, the first fully licensed madam </li>
<li> Cora McMahan, who shot her mouth off until someone shot off her mouth. </li>
<li> John and Mary Doud, a pimp and madam who trained their fourteen-year-old niece to run a brothel </li>
<li> Mollie Adams, Waco's most successful madam </li>
<li> Josie Tumlin, a boisterous harlot who had stints in both prison and an insane asylum </li>
<li> Jessie Williams, the infamous "Chicken Ranch" madam </li>
</ul> The Oldest Profession in Texas also tells the story of preacher J. T. Upchurch's crusade to reform prostitutes and abolish their profession.

The Oldest Profession in Texas: Waco's Legal Red Light District

Who's Who Among Early Waco's Pimps, Madams, Prostitutes & Shady Ladies

Three desperate convicts under the cover of darkness slipped out of the confines of the Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City, Thursday night, August 22, 1974. Dalton Williams, Jerry Ben Ulmer, and Richard Mangum headed south, stealing and abandoning automobiles along the way. Two pretty petite social workers-Janice Lefever and Betty Jane Tucker- made a fateful stop along a New Mexico highway. Kidnapped and raped, the terrified women found their lives in the hands of three murderous minds. Bent on vengeance, the escapees alter their originally planned route to Mexico in order to settle a few personal scores. Less than two days later, on his remote West Texas ranch, T. L. Baker never had a chance before being sniper-killed in the early morning hours of Saturday. The death list trio headed east-deeper into the heart of the Lone Star State. Setting off one of the most intensive manhunts in North Central Texas history, over two hundred lawmen, including the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Texas Rangers, highway patrol, sheriffs' departments and surrounding police forces, converged on rural Erath County while the escapees subjected its citizens to terror and cold-blooded murder.Using dozens of personal interviews and first-hand accounts, true crime author/researcher Sherri Knight recreates the days of upheaval that captivated the nation through daily sensational newspaper headlines and television updates.

Death List - Trail of Terror

It began in the 1800s. In the Texas town of Mineral Wells, people drinking the strange-tasting water claimed to be cured of insanity, rheumatism, and terminal illness. Discovery of the phenomenon beguiled thousands of tourists, curiosity seekers, and the afflicted who desperately sought cures. Yet, the town that promoted its "crazy water" attracted eccentric citizens, including wealthy Will and Anna Johnson, who, unable to cope with the deaths of their children, spared no expense in preserving the bodies for entombment in a mausoleum; paperclip inventor David Galbraith, the builder of a house in the shape of a honeycomb; and influential mortician Bob Beetham, who gained power by keeping the town's secrets. In Texas Gothic, author James Pylant also uncovers the mysterious life of beautiful and ambitious Mineral Wells resident Corinne Griffith. After becoming a famous star of the silent screen and one of America's richest women, she made a shocking courtroom claim that she was not the "real" Corinne Griffith. Under the looming 14-story Baker Hotel, Mineral Wells thrived with visits from movie stars; yet, the "crazy water" beckoned exploiters and predators. Texas Gothic reveals true tales of the town's forgotten past: murder, white slavery, prostitution, and mysterious deaths.

Texas Gothic: Fame, Crime & Crazy Water

Before captivating America as Morticia in the 1960s hit television series The Addams Family, actress Carolyn Jones appeared in 30 movies (including starring roles with Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra) and had a decade-long marriage to producer Aaron Spelling. But the road to Hollywood from her native Amarillo, Texas, was studded with rejection, typecasting, and unwanted comparisons to an actress who hated her: Bette Davis. Determined to succeed, Carolyn reinvented herself by enduring plastic surgery and dyeing her blonde hair black. Hollywood rewarded its rising star with an Oscar nomination and The Addams Family, which would become a curse, overshadowing the future of her acting career. In Morticia's Shadow is the true story of Carolyn Jones: a lonely childhood in Texas Panhandle, blind loyalty to a devoted mother, attempts to erase all trace of a long-absent father, four marriages, her scathing indictment of Hollywood through the pages of a best-selling novel, a courageous battle with cancer, and a triumphant return to television as the evil Myrna Clegg in Capitol. Author James Pylant unveils the real Carolyn Jones, with access to her correspondence and journal, as well as interviews with her family, friends, and fellow actors. What emerges is an intimate portrait of the iconic actress, a consummate professional who created a mystique not only for Morticia but for herself.

In Morticia's Shadow: The Life & Career of Carolyn Jones

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