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Ghosts of Idaho's Magic Valley: Hauntings and Lore
Barking dogs, silent birds and a malodorous stench foretell encounters with the ghostly apparitions and strange creatures that stalk Magic Valley. Are these just fanciful notions and figments of the imagination? Not according to eyewitnesses who swear things really do go bump in the night in south central Idaho. Read about the Stricker Ranch caretaker awakened by the phantom of a pioneer woman, the piercing red eyes that frightened visitors at Albion's normal school campus, the couple whose property is haunted by ancient spirits and the woman and her grandson who encountered Bigfoot's foul stench in a local wilderness. Turn on the lights, get cozy and read on as author Andy Weeks investigates the phenomena and local lore of Idaho's Magic Valley.
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 11, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 22, 2020
I used to work at the library in Twin Falls, and apparently I helped the author with research (at least, according to the intro) - I really don't remember that, but glad I was of some help!
Since I used to live in the Magic Valley, I know a lot of people in this book, which made that interesting. What wasn't really interesting was the stories themselves. I guess I was expecting more scary stories, but instead it was more of "Here's the complete history of this place. And this guy thinks he saw a ghost once. The end." Plus there were chapters about Bigfoot and aliens - which aren't ghosts and thus shouldn't have been in this book. (I actually do remember helping someone from the local newspaper compile a list of all the UFO sightings in the Magic Valley, but I don't think it was this author.) Mostly I was just disappointed. As a brief history of places in the area, it's adequate. As a recounting of ghost stories, it's pretty subpar. I'd give it a 2.5 star, but since I'm in it, I'll bump it up to 3.
Since I used to live in the Magic Valley, I know a lot of people in this book, which made that interesting. What wasn't really interesting was the stories themselves. I guess I was expecting more scary stories, but instead it was more of "Here's the complete history of this place. And this guy thinks he saw a ghost once. The end." Plus there were chapters about Bigfoot and aliens - which aren't ghosts and thus shouldn't have been in this book. (I actually do remember helping someone from the local newspaper compile a list of all the UFO sightings in the Magic Valley, but I don't think it was this author.) Mostly I was just disappointed. As a brief history of places in the area, it's adequate. As a recounting of ghost stories, it's pretty subpar. I'd give it a 2.5 star, but since I'm in it, I'll bump it up to 3.
October 24, 2021
Award winning journalist Andy Weeks takes the reader on a tour of 13 haunted sites and folklore locales. Thankfully, he remains objective in writing of the ghosts, Sasquatch, and UFOs that have been reported throughout the Magic Valley.
The book is broken into four sections, separated by brief interludes of discussion:
Native American lore and ghosts of the Stricker Ranch;
Shoshone, Albion and Gooding;
Sasquatch and UFOs;
Oakley and Twin Falls.
To begin with, I appreciate the book’s objectivity. Written with the flavor of a documentary or investigative report, the stories neither attempt to confirm nor deny the existence of paranormal activities, rather, Andy leaves that up to the reader. Andy visits the locations and brings his interviews to life in story fashion. The book is nicely illustrated with photographs of the sites and those who occupy them, both dead and alive.
Stories include a prankster haunting the Stricker Ranch, perhaps the ghost of a little emigrant girl that has been seen running through the fields. The Stricker Ranch caretaker also tells of an incident that occurred one night in 2011 when he was awakened by someone touching his shoulder - perhaps Mrs. Stricker herself. Then the bedroom light came on. Looking out the window, he saw a group of people standing in the yard and ordered them off the property. Did she awaken him to protect her property?
The first guest to stay in room 10 at Shoshone’s Soloaga Basque Boardinghouse reported a knocking at her door while she was taking a shower. The guest stepped out of the shower to find a woman was standing in the room dressed in what was described as pantaloons. The woman, who didn’t fit the description of any guest, said “it is my time to shower”.
The Albion Normal School was renamed the Southern Idaho College of Education in 1947 when it was granted four-year accreditation. Over the years it has become the site of strange growls in the night, glowing red eyes, and a little boy wearing a suit.
That being said, I was disappointed that, while Andy describes photographs of the paranormal, they were not included in the book. The bibliography does include a YouTube link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YScu7...) to an interview with the owner of the Soloaga Basque Boardinghouse, where several spirits are said to reside.
On a personal note, I recall hearing a first-hand account of hauntings at the Albion Normal School. Dad was an artist and for a few years in the ‘70s, the campus served as an artists’ retreat. While visiting an artists one night, he told us about a ghostly woman whom he had encountered on several occasions.
I can also attest to Orbs. One job I had years ago entailed reviewing surveillance videos. For several weeks, several cameras recorded a bright orb roughly the size of a softball that appeared, always about midnight. Bright enough to reflect of the nearby walls, the orb appeared for one to two seconds and flew ten or twelve feet in varying patterns before vanishing.
I found “Ghosts of Idaho’s Magic Valley - Hauntings and Lore” to be a fun read. A highly interesting, well written book, the stories ring of truth. I believe anyone interested in either history or the paranormal will enjoy this book as it contains elements of both. It’s a perfect read for that rainy day.
The book is broken into four sections, separated by brief interludes of discussion:
Native American lore and ghosts of the Stricker Ranch;
Shoshone, Albion and Gooding;
Sasquatch and UFOs;
Oakley and Twin Falls.
To begin with, I appreciate the book’s objectivity. Written with the flavor of a documentary or investigative report, the stories neither attempt to confirm nor deny the existence of paranormal activities, rather, Andy leaves that up to the reader. Andy visits the locations and brings his interviews to life in story fashion. The book is nicely illustrated with photographs of the sites and those who occupy them, both dead and alive.
Stories include a prankster haunting the Stricker Ranch, perhaps the ghost of a little emigrant girl that has been seen running through the fields. The Stricker Ranch caretaker also tells of an incident that occurred one night in 2011 when he was awakened by someone touching his shoulder - perhaps Mrs. Stricker herself. Then the bedroom light came on. Looking out the window, he saw a group of people standing in the yard and ordered them off the property. Did she awaken him to protect her property?
The first guest to stay in room 10 at Shoshone’s Soloaga Basque Boardinghouse reported a knocking at her door while she was taking a shower. The guest stepped out of the shower to find a woman was standing in the room dressed in what was described as pantaloons. The woman, who didn’t fit the description of any guest, said “it is my time to shower”.
The Albion Normal School was renamed the Southern Idaho College of Education in 1947 when it was granted four-year accreditation. Over the years it has become the site of strange growls in the night, glowing red eyes, and a little boy wearing a suit.
That being said, I was disappointed that, while Andy describes photographs of the paranormal, they were not included in the book. The bibliography does include a YouTube link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YScu7...) to an interview with the owner of the Soloaga Basque Boardinghouse, where several spirits are said to reside.
On a personal note, I recall hearing a first-hand account of hauntings at the Albion Normal School. Dad was an artist and for a few years in the ‘70s, the campus served as an artists’ retreat. While visiting an artists one night, he told us about a ghostly woman whom he had encountered on several occasions.
I can also attest to Orbs. One job I had years ago entailed reviewing surveillance videos. For several weeks, several cameras recorded a bright orb roughly the size of a softball that appeared, always about midnight. Bright enough to reflect of the nearby walls, the orb appeared for one to two seconds and flew ten or twelve feet in varying patterns before vanishing.
I found “Ghosts of Idaho’s Magic Valley - Hauntings and Lore” to be a fun read. A highly interesting, well written book, the stories ring of truth. I believe anyone interested in either history or the paranormal will enjoy this book as it contains elements of both. It’s a perfect read for that rainy day.
November 7, 2023
Beyond EBN 2023
This book givie a much more detailed account of the history of the most popular Hauntings of the Magic Valley. From the Mansions of Albion to the Twin Falls Haunts (of which there are many). This is a great series of you are interested in this stuff.
This book givie a much more detailed account of the history of the most popular Hauntings of the Magic Valley. From the Mansions of Albion to the Twin Falls Haunts (of which there are many). This is a great series of you are interested in this stuff.
June 12, 2016
Was more like a text book than separate ghost stories.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews