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Curious Encounters: Phantom Trains, Spooky Spots and Other Mysterious Wonders
Explores curious wonders from California to Maine, from Canada to Mexico, and includes a list of every haunted or spooky location in every state and province in North America
- GenresNonfiction
170 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
41 people want to read
About the author
Loren Coleman
88 books65 followersLoren Coleman is one of the world's leading cryptozoologists. An honorary member of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, and several other international organizations, he is also a Life Member of the International Society of Cryptozoology. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursue of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969.
Coleman has written seventeen books and more than three hundred articles, has appeared frequently on radio and television programs, and has lectured throughout North America, as well as in London and at Loch Ness.
Coleman has written seventeen books and more than three hundred articles, has appeared frequently on radio and television programs, and has lectured throughout North America, as well as in London and at Loch Ness.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 28, 2019
Strange tales and mysteries from the Americas.
February 25, 2017
I remembered liking this a little less than Mysterious America on first readings. Looked at now, it was probably the lack of those unprecedented elements in MA wherein Coleman pointed his spotlight at social and criminal events (kidnapping clowns and roadways snipers) which no one had really done before in these kinds of "paranormal" books. But, in truth, this is just as entertaining as MYSTERIOUS AMERICA, and Coleman assembles another fun and intriguing set of chapters on a variety of weird topics, examined from some atypical angles.
For example, we may start out with typical New England Sea-Serpent reports and then move on to giant squid beachings (do they happen in cycles? Coleman asks) but from there, we get into the really outré material that is the author's specialty. Howabaout reports (some dating back to the 19th Century) of odd creatures seen in the ocean, or moving across the sky, which resemble both animals and machines (like a man in Texas in 1873 who saw an enormous mechanical serpent in the air - like something out of Jules Verne or a pulp-novel, or reports of strange robot-looking metal birds)? Then we're on to "Thunderbirds", enormous birds seen flying over many places in the U.S. and occasionally attempting to swoop down and snatch dogs or children. A trip to the Yucatan looks at odd folkloric creatures which kind of sound like Sasquatch, but are more like spirit creatures, as well as little hairy people and even a pterodactyl sighting. Then we get reports from urban areas of extremely odd or out-of-place (OOP) creatures - more big cats and kangaroos, mystery elephants and even a centaur report! There's a whole chapter on reports of generally aquatic "Lizardmen" (as distinct from Bigfoot type ape-looking creatures), some musing on the similarities between reports of ghost trains, spook lights and aspects of UFOS, and a look at ancient hilltop forts in Illinois, Georgia and California (whose historical relation to indigenous Indian tribes seem extremely tenuous). There's even a chapter on spooky haunted sights and their inverse, the tourist-trap styled "mystery spots" and "magnetic hills". Coleman wraps it up with some thoughts on patterns and cycles and thinking outside the usual "paranormal" boxes, followed by some appendixes listing haunted locales and ghost lights locations. A fun, imagination-sparking read!
For example, we may start out with typical New England Sea-Serpent reports and then move on to giant squid beachings (do they happen in cycles? Coleman asks) but from there, we get into the really outré material that is the author's specialty. Howabaout reports (some dating back to the 19th Century) of odd creatures seen in the ocean, or moving across the sky, which resemble both animals and machines (like a man in Texas in 1873 who saw an enormous mechanical serpent in the air - like something out of Jules Verne or a pulp-novel, or reports of strange robot-looking metal birds)? Then we're on to "Thunderbirds", enormous birds seen flying over many places in the U.S. and occasionally attempting to swoop down and snatch dogs or children. A trip to the Yucatan looks at odd folkloric creatures which kind of sound like Sasquatch, but are more like spirit creatures, as well as little hairy people and even a pterodactyl sighting. Then we get reports from urban areas of extremely odd or out-of-place (OOP) creatures - more big cats and kangaroos, mystery elephants and even a centaur report! There's a whole chapter on reports of generally aquatic "Lizardmen" (as distinct from Bigfoot type ape-looking creatures), some musing on the similarities between reports of ghost trains, spook lights and aspects of UFOS, and a look at ancient hilltop forts in Illinois, Georgia and California (whose historical relation to indigenous Indian tribes seem extremely tenuous). There's even a chapter on spooky haunted sights and their inverse, the tourist-trap styled "mystery spots" and "magnetic hills". Coleman wraps it up with some thoughts on patterns and cycles and thinking outside the usual "paranormal" boxes, followed by some appendixes listing haunted locales and ghost lights locations. A fun, imagination-sparking read!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews