When the Allen brothers sold Houston's first lots, the city became a magnet for enterprising tycoons and opportunistic crooks alike. As the young city grew, a scourge of crime and vice accompanied the success of oil and real estate. The Bayou City's seedy side--flashing Bowie knives, privileged bad boys, hardened prostitutes and unchecked serial killers--established its hold. From a young Clyde Barrow to the Man Who Killed Halloween," Houston's past is filled with bloody tales, heartbreaking loss and despicable deeds. Authors Mike Vance and John Nova Lomax shine a light on these dark days."

Native Houstonian Mike Vance is the executive director and founder of Houston Arts and Media, a non-profit organization that creates innovative ways to educate Texans about their history. After a career in radio, television, comedy, script writing, acting and music Mike began chronicling history. He has authored five books, four feature-length documentaries, over fifty history television shows and forty-one videos on Houston history. Mike currently serves on the Harris County Historical Commission. John Nova Lomax is an associate editor at Houstonia Magazine. Previously he was the music editor and later a staff writer at the Houston Press, where he frequently covered both high crimes and amusing misdemeanors for the paper and the Hair Balls blog. In 2008, he was awarded the ASCAP-Deems Taylor award for excellence in music journalism for his coverage of troubled former country music star Doug Supernaw.