Kayleigh Zyskowski of Eastern Illinois University’s Daily Eastern News has written an engaging article published in today’s edition about Tales of Coles County (2010).
‘Tales of Coles County’ features spooky stories
By Kayleigh Zyskowski
Michael Kleen, a [2008] history graduate of Eastern, found these places when he was a student and began to write short stories about the places that intrigued him. Always having an interest in the paranormal and history, Kleen began to scour the county for interesting places beginning with the Airtight Bridge.
“No one I had talked to knew much about what had happened there, so it took a long time to go through the newspaper archives,” Kleen said. “It was really the first place I had to investigate with such extent.”
Kleen’s book “Tales of Coles County,” the 2010 edition, is a two-part book filled with a mixture of fact and fiction about the lesser-known areas of the county.
“I came up with the concept when I was still at Eastern over a summer break,” Kleen said. “I was working at the park district (in Prospect Heights) and had a lot of time on my hands while I was mowing. I thought of the stories to pass the time.”
M.A. Kleen 