Into the Mist: Tales of Death Disaster, Mishaps and Misdeeds, Misfortune and Mayhem in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

by David Brill

These beautiful, mist-shrouded mountains can and often do turn deadly. Into the Mist depicts men and women in extreme situations, struggling to survive against brutal and often deadly adversity. In the book’s 13 chapters, readers will experience another side of the Smokies wilderness. Piece together the events leading to a tragic encounter between an elementary school teacher and two black bears in the park’s backcountry. Share in the heroic response of the park’s rangers in the face of brutal weather events, including the March 1993 Storm of the Century, when teams successfully rescued hundreds of stranded visitors. Experience a lone hiker’s final moments as he succumbed to the bitter cold. Learn how the body of a murdered Jane Doe discovered in a park stream led to a cross-country hunt for her killer. Read these and many more harrowing tales of incidents in the park. Includes a comprehensive appendix of Great Smoky Mountains National Park deaths from 1931 to 2016, listing the park’s leading causes of death and most dangerous places. Published by Smokies Life.

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2025

Reviews

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

The topic of this book, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a place enjoyed by both my wife and myself before getting married, and probably the place we have vacationed more than anywhere else since we’ve been married. That probably makes me a little more biased in favor on this book. Some incidents reported I was familiar with, while others gave me more to think about as I drive and hike through the park on my next visit.
The author did present each chapter in an easy to read style, similar to what you’d find in a travel magazine. It is non-fiction, but I think would be readable by most National Park lovers. I admit, reading the appendix was also interesting to me. This is listed as volume 1 of a series, to feature other National Parks too,

[Brendan Haile · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was entertaining but there was too much filler and not enough investigation to really flush out the stories. I enjoyed the educational aspect of parts but it often felt forced just to make a chapter longer. I think it would have been better to leave the chapters shorter with whatever there was and to have lengthy appendix sections rather than interrupting the stories with page breaks.