ABOUT TROY TAYLOR
Troy Taylor is the author of more than 150 books on history, hauntings, true crime, the unexplained, and the supernatural in America. Troy began his writing career in 1993 in Decatur, Illinois, and published his first book, HAUNTED DECATUR, two years later. During that time, he also founded the Haunted Decatur Tours, one of the first ghost tours in the Midwest. It remains in operation today.
He is also the founder of American Hauntings Ink, which offers books, events, and ghost tours. The company began as Whitechapel Press in 1993 and became American Hauntings Ink in 2010. The company publishes most of Troy’s books, as well as books by more than a dozen other authors, specializing in books about ghosts, hauntings, true crime, and the supernatural.
In addition to books, the company also offers “Dinner and Spirits” events in Alton, Illinois, which offers multi-visual dinner events, hosted by Troy Taylor. Troy also hosts dinner and special event tours in Alton, including the Downtown Alton Haunted Pub Crawl, Ghosts of the River Road Tour, and Great River Hauntings Tour. Dinner events include evenings with the St. Louis Exorcism, Gangs of Southern Illinois, Lizzie Borden, Edgar Allan Poe, and many others.
The dinner events are held at the American Oddities Museum in Alton, which was founded by Troy in 2024. The museum is currently located inside of the former Mineral Springs Hotel and features a 30-year collection of the strange and unusual, including supernatural items, haunted objects, true crime and serial killer relics, medical quackery, witchcraft and magic, sideshow displays, funeral and mourning items, and much more. The American Hauntings Ink physical bookstore is also located inside the museum.
In 1997, Troy created the Haunted America Conference, the first ghost conference in the country. It’s held every June and has previously been located in Decatur and Jacksonville, Illinois, in San Diego and Cape Cod, but is currently back home in Alton, Illinois. The 29th annual event will be held over the weekend of June 26-29, 2026. Check out the Haunted America Conference!
Troy is also the writer and co-host (with Cody Beck) of the American Hauntings Podcast. It can be found on iTunes, Spotify, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts. There are nearly 200 episodes available on true crime and the supernatural and offers seasons on Haunted Alton, Haunted St. Louis, Haunted New Orleans, the Villisca and Midwest Ax Murders, Haunted Houses, Mysterious Disappearances, True Stories Behind Horror Films, and more. See the American Hauntings Podcast here!
Over the years, Troy has appeared in numerous television shows and documentaries, including recent appearances in Netflix’s Unexplained Files, The Unbelievable with Dan Akroyd, History’s Greatest Mysteries with Laurence Fishburne, and the Shock Doc from Discovery+ called “The Exorcism of Roland Doe.”
Troy’s own book, THE DEVIL CAME TO ST. LOUIS, is currently under option to be turned into a film by a major production company.
Troy Taylor currently resides in Alton, Illinois, and can be found most weekends at one event or another or lurking in the American Oddities Museum.