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The Van Meter Visitor: A True and Mysterious Encounter with the Unknown
For several nights in 1903, the small town of Van Meter, Iowa was terrorized by a giant bat-like creature that emerged from an old abandoned mine. The identity of this mysterious visitor was never discovered. Over 100 years later, three researchers set out to Van Meter to shine a light on this amazingly bizarre case. Filled with eye witness reports, historic photos, and current accounts of the paranormal, this in-depth book looks to discover what really happened in the town of Van Meter.
279 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2013
18 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Chad Lewis
67 books31 followersFor nearly two decades Chad Lewis has traveled the back roads of the world in search of the strange and unusual. From tracking vampires in Transylvania and searching for the elusive monster of Loch Ness to trailing the dangerous Tata Duende through remote villages of Belize and searching for ghosts in Ireland’s haunted castles, Chad has scoured the earth in search of the paranormal.
With a Masters Degree in Psychology, Chad has authored over 15 books on the supernatural, and extensively lectures on his fascinating findings.
The more bizarre the legend, the more likely you’ll find Chad there.
With a Masters Degree in Psychology, Chad has authored over 15 books on the supernatural, and extensively lectures on his fascinating findings.
The more bizarre the legend, the more likely you’ll find Chad there.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 25, 2013
Bottom line, I was entertained and I learned some history. Books on cryptozoology/cryptids are not my standard fare, so I can not judge if this one is good by the standards of such or not. To be fair, I would not have picked it up if not for the link to my hometown.
Since this is a small press book and may in future be hard to lay hands on, I present a chapter by chapter summary.... (Warning: spoilers and probably overly-harsh ribbing ahoy!)
Chapter 1 – Unearthing a Legend by Chad Lewis: So we were trying to figure out something to do in Iowa...
Chapter 2 – Where is Van Meter?: Literally a map of Iowa with Van Meter marked.
Chapter 3 – Early History of Van Meter by Chad Lewis: Exactly what it says on the tin. (AKA the really interesting part for me personally.)
Chapter 4 – History of the Brick Factory and Mine by Chad Lewis: More of exactly what it says.
Chapter 5 – Paranormal Beliefs of 1903 Van Meter by Chad Lewis: We have no idea, but the Spiritualism movement was dying down and Lake Okoboji had a sea monster sighting. So then the Raccoon River near Van Meter got one too. With mentions of Fort Dodge's “Terror Bridge” and “wildman.”
Chapter 6 – 1903 Witnesses by Chad Lewis: Dramatis Personae.
Chapter 7 – The Van Meter Visitor: A Chronology of Events by Noah Voss: Ladies and Gentlemen! Here is the bit you're all here for. Twenty-one pages of retelling of the events of Sept. 29th to Oct. 3rd, 1903 and the visitation of the Visitor.
Chapter 8 – Cryptozoological Derivations: Exploring the Possible Connection to Countless Other Creature Sightings by Noah Voss: Recounting other contemporaneous cryptids with and without wings; the Jersey Devil, the Snallygaster, flying crocodiles, Chilean Dragons, and, for some reason, Spring Heeled Jack.
Chapter 9 – Blatant Hoax or Practical Joker by Chad Lewis: It could have been a hoax! But the researchers' gut feeling is that it wasn't.
Chapter 10 – Possible UFO/Alien Connection by Chad Lewis: I'm not saying it was aliens... but it was aliens. OK, probably not. But around that time there was a rash of mysterious airship sightings.
Chapter 11 – Misidentifications: An Examination by Noah Voss: Here are all the big birds, owls, and bats that it wasn't.
Chapter 12 – The Haunting of the Platt Brick Factory by Chad Lewis: Oh, by the way, the old brick factory may also be haunted. The researchers decide to spend the night. Nothing happens.
Chapter 13 – Mass Hysteria: A Closer Look at the Terror by Chad Lewis: Have you heard about the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, IL? We don't think that was really mass hysteria either.
Chapter 14 - The Ultraterrestrial Theory: Tricksters, Daimons, and Quantum Consciousness by Kevin Lee Nelson: Remember when we didn't think it was aliens? Well, what about being from another dimension/parallel universe. That could totally happen. (Forty pages of barely-related material; I mostly skimmed this one.)
Chapter 15 – What Happened to the Mysterious Footprint? by Chad Lewis: Four pages in which the researchers, perhaps unsurprisingly, fail to find the plaster cast of the Visitor's footprint after 110 years.
Chapter 16 – Early Encounters: Thunderbirds or Thoughtforms? by Kevin Lee Nelson: For fun, lets look at the legends of the Native Americans and one legend fabricated in 1836.
Chapters 17, 18, 19, 20 by all three authors: Van Meter should really have one of those small-towny festivals devoted to the Visitor; call it Visitor Days! They could block off Main Street, have a beer garden, the Lions Club could sell food. We could sell books! Get some tourist in here... You know, not much happens in Van Meter. Not even now... Hey guys, did we figure anything out in this book? Nah, really we just asked a bunch of questions and speculated wildly. It's really hard to write a whole book on one newspaper article!
Appendix: In which is reprinted all the original newspaper articles—hint: only the first one counts. Most of the rest are reprints/rewordings of the first article. Much like chapter 7, the real reason interested parties would pick up the book.
Since this is a small press book and may in future be hard to lay hands on, I present a chapter by chapter summary.... (Warning: spoilers and probably overly-harsh ribbing ahoy!)
Chapter 1 – Unearthing a Legend by Chad Lewis: So we were trying to figure out something to do in Iowa...
Chapter 2 – Where is Van Meter?: Literally a map of Iowa with Van Meter marked.
Chapter 3 – Early History of Van Meter by Chad Lewis: Exactly what it says on the tin. (AKA the really interesting part for me personally.)
Chapter 4 – History of the Brick Factory and Mine by Chad Lewis: More of exactly what it says.
Chapter 5 – Paranormal Beliefs of 1903 Van Meter by Chad Lewis: We have no idea, but the Spiritualism movement was dying down and Lake Okoboji had a sea monster sighting. So then the Raccoon River near Van Meter got one too. With mentions of Fort Dodge's “Terror Bridge” and “wildman.”
Chapter 6 – 1903 Witnesses by Chad Lewis: Dramatis Personae.
Chapter 7 – The Van Meter Visitor: A Chronology of Events by Noah Voss: Ladies and Gentlemen! Here is the bit you're all here for. Twenty-one pages of retelling of the events of Sept. 29th to Oct. 3rd, 1903 and the visitation of the Visitor.
Chapter 8 – Cryptozoological Derivations: Exploring the Possible Connection to Countless Other Creature Sightings by Noah Voss: Recounting other contemporaneous cryptids with and without wings; the Jersey Devil, the Snallygaster, flying crocodiles, Chilean Dragons, and, for some reason, Spring Heeled Jack.
Chapter 9 – Blatant Hoax or Practical Joker by Chad Lewis: It could have been a hoax! But the researchers' gut feeling is that it wasn't.
Chapter 10 – Possible UFO/Alien Connection by Chad Lewis: I'm not saying it was aliens... but it was aliens. OK, probably not. But around that time there was a rash of mysterious airship sightings.
Chapter 11 – Misidentifications: An Examination by Noah Voss: Here are all the big birds, owls, and bats that it wasn't.
Chapter 12 – The Haunting of the Platt Brick Factory by Chad Lewis: Oh, by the way, the old brick factory may also be haunted. The researchers decide to spend the night. Nothing happens.
Chapter 13 – Mass Hysteria: A Closer Look at the Terror by Chad Lewis: Have you heard about the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, IL? We don't think that was really mass hysteria either.
Chapter 14 - The Ultraterrestrial Theory: Tricksters, Daimons, and Quantum Consciousness by Kevin Lee Nelson: Remember when we didn't think it was aliens? Well, what about being from another dimension/parallel universe. That could totally happen. (Forty pages of barely-related material; I mostly skimmed this one.)
Chapter 15 – What Happened to the Mysterious Footprint? by Chad Lewis: Four pages in which the researchers, perhaps unsurprisingly, fail to find the plaster cast of the Visitor's footprint after 110 years.
Chapter 16 – Early Encounters: Thunderbirds or Thoughtforms? by Kevin Lee Nelson: For fun, lets look at the legends of the Native Americans and one legend fabricated in 1836.
Chapters 17, 18, 19, 20 by all three authors: Van Meter should really have one of those small-towny festivals devoted to the Visitor; call it Visitor Days! They could block off Main Street, have a beer garden, the Lions Club could sell food. We could sell books! Get some tourist in here... You know, not much happens in Van Meter. Not even now... Hey guys, did we figure anything out in this book? Nah, really we just asked a bunch of questions and speculated wildly. It's really hard to write a whole book on one newspaper article!
Appendix: In which is reprinted all the original newspaper articles—hint: only the first one counts. Most of the rest are reprints/rewordings of the first article. Much like chapter 7, the real reason interested parties would pick up the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2015
A terrific find on a creature I had never heard of before.
I loved that the book is deeply researched and explores (in-depth) many of the possibilities for the weird creature without forcing any belief on the reader.
Basically the beast was some sort of giant bat-like thing that showed up in rural Iowa during the early 1900s. The whole time I was reading this I was thinking that it would make the perfect Hollywood movie, some sort of real Cowboys vs Aliens.
What truly got me looking over my shoulder at night were the witness descriptions of the creature and how ineffective their attempts at killing it were.
I especially enjoyed the onsite research and expeditions that the authors took along with reading the original newspaper articles that were included at the back of the book.
Overall this was a nice addition to go along with the more well-known cryptid stories out there.
August 30, 2015
A very intriguing, befuddling and mind-bending read. The authors' approach in attempting to unravel this century-old mystery was thorough and professional start to finish. Each writer maintained his own particular narrative but all were well-articulated and objective. Some of the best modern day paranormal investigators I've come across in a while. Still, the mystery stands. However, with exhaustive paranormal references listed as comparisons, and folkloric tales from days gone by pulled into sharp focus, this trio didn't miss a beat - or come up for air. They worked very hard, and as a result, compiled a great book on an old and obscure happening of high strangeness - one I had never before heard of - and I "thought" I knew of most. Kept my interest and made me search for more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
dnf
January 9, 2018DNF
This book is a good example on why I cannot take "real" paranormal books seriously. The majority of this book is just wild theories and twisted scientific facts to try and prove that monsters can and do exist. This time it is a lesser known monster that appeared briefly in a small town in 1903. The only evidence for this creature's appearence is a newspaper article. It's pretty obvious that in a time of fantastical newspaper stories and hoaxes this is just one of those. The authors do discuss that possibility but make it well known that they believe in monsters but also believe this monster is just as real as bigfoot or nessie.
This book is a good example on why I cannot take "real" paranormal books seriously. The majority of this book is just wild theories and twisted scientific facts to try and prove that monsters can and do exist. This time it is a lesser known monster that appeared briefly in a small town in 1903. The only evidence for this creature's appearence is a newspaper article. It's pretty obvious that in a time of fantastical newspaper stories and hoaxes this is just one of those. The authors do discuss that possibility but make it well known that they believe in monsters but also believe this monster is just as real as bigfoot or nessie.
July 18, 2018
Thanks in large part to horror films and cable “reality” paranormal shows, the immense amount of time and effort legitimate paranormal investigators spend in libraries and historical societies chasing down leads is largely ignored. Most people are only interested in the “sexy” aspects of the haunting or cryptid visitation—who got chased, frightened, possessed, or injured? What dark menace is lurking in the corner? Are there “jump scares” as the investigators walk insane asylum hallways in the green glow of night-vision technology? Viewers don’t realize that paranormal investigators are in large part journalists and historians, tracking down the history that provides the context for the paranormal phenomena at play.
One of the world’s best known paranormal investigators was John Keel, of Mothman fame. He was also a journalist. So was his counterpart in the film The Mothman Prophecies. It is the journalist’s instincts for finding the hidden facts buried beneath or adjacent to the known ones that drive the good paranormal investigator. Christopher O’Brien’s Stalking the Herd, about cattle mutilations, is a thick, exhaustive testament to the value of mining newspaper clippings, police reports, and other firsthand accounts.
My forthcoming book, Watch Out for the Hallway: Our Two-Year Investigation of the Most Haunted Library in North Carolina, co-authored with my wife Tonya, a talented medium, owes as much to dozens of hours of research as it does to the 150-plus hours we spent investigating the library itself. There were plenty of dead ends, but also corroborations and finds in the form of documents and photographs that made all the hours worth it, illuminating the messages we heard and physical phenomena we experienced.
So I can appreciate the work that the three authors of The Van Meter Visitor put into this volume. I am taking my time with this aspect of the book because there are a surprising number of negative reviews of the book that sadly confuse indispensible research with “filler” of some kind. I hope this review serves in part to undo some of this mistaken criticism.
Lewis, Voss, and Nelson (all of whom have impressive resumés in the field, as evidenced by the About the Authors section) situate a limited sighting of winged, horned cryptids over several nights in the small town of Van Meter, Iowa in 1903 in a series of expanding circles of interest. As one would expect, they begin by laying out the history of Van Meter, as well as all of the major players—the town’s business owners and other prominent citizens—who encountered the creatures. In this first section, appropriately titled “History,” they relate the story, which is fascinating reading, recalling similar winged cryptids like the Mothman, but with its own unique twists. This section is authored almost entirely by Lewis.
The second section, “Theories,” is as strong as it is because the authors took the time to provide plenty of historical, geographical, economic, and human context. We already feel, 40 pages in, that we know and trust both the people of Van Meter and the authors themselves. In the “Theories” section the three authors look at a variety of possible explanations, including a primer on cryptids (featuring several similar cases such as the Jersey Devil), another on large birds of prey, the UFO/Alien connection that is prevalent in many cryptid sightings (such as of Mothman, Bigfoot, and Skinwalkers), thunderbirds and thoughtforms (the latter of which is currently of great interest because of the Slenderman phenomena), and ultraterrestrial theories (a standout survey chapter that runs 30-plus pages; the section on quantum physics and the holographic universe demonstrates that the authors are using all of our modern tools in their work).
The three authors all contribute chapters to the closing section, “Final Thoughts.” Their summations responsibly explore a number of possible explanations and there are no firm statements made about what the citizens of Van Meter encountered 115 years ago. Their theories all connect back to the information from the previous two sections.
Overall, The Van Meter Visitor serves a dual purpose: as a primer about the Van Meter mystery that allows the reader to pick up where the authors left off in their investigation, armed with abundant historical, sociological, and cryptological context (the two appendices offer a list of businesses operating in Van Meter in 1903 and an array of local and national newspaper accounts of the incident) and also as a handbook on the components—and countless hours—that go into a thorough paranormal investigation.
As if these two aspects were not enough, an extra bonus is the Foreword by the recently deceased author of over 80 books on the paranormal and spirituality, Brad Steiger. The book also features abundant historical photographs of the people and places in Van Meter, many provided with help from the local library, which help to close the century-plus time gap for the reader.
The Van Meter Visitor is a textbook example of how to do a thorough investigation written by seasoned, passionate professionals who bring to light a fascinating cryptid that has not yet gotten its fair share of attention and consideration. It should be a part of any investigator’s or enthusiast’s library, alongside Keel, Guiley, Redfern, Steiger, and the rest of the pillars of the field of paranormal investigation. Kudos to the authors on a job well done.
One of the world’s best known paranormal investigators was John Keel, of Mothman fame. He was also a journalist. So was his counterpart in the film The Mothman Prophecies. It is the journalist’s instincts for finding the hidden facts buried beneath or adjacent to the known ones that drive the good paranormal investigator. Christopher O’Brien’s Stalking the Herd, about cattle mutilations, is a thick, exhaustive testament to the value of mining newspaper clippings, police reports, and other firsthand accounts.
My forthcoming book, Watch Out for the Hallway: Our Two-Year Investigation of the Most Haunted Library in North Carolina, co-authored with my wife Tonya, a talented medium, owes as much to dozens of hours of research as it does to the 150-plus hours we spent investigating the library itself. There were plenty of dead ends, but also corroborations and finds in the form of documents and photographs that made all the hours worth it, illuminating the messages we heard and physical phenomena we experienced.
So I can appreciate the work that the three authors of The Van Meter Visitor put into this volume. I am taking my time with this aspect of the book because there are a surprising number of negative reviews of the book that sadly confuse indispensible research with “filler” of some kind. I hope this review serves in part to undo some of this mistaken criticism.
Lewis, Voss, and Nelson (all of whom have impressive resumés in the field, as evidenced by the About the Authors section) situate a limited sighting of winged, horned cryptids over several nights in the small town of Van Meter, Iowa in 1903 in a series of expanding circles of interest. As one would expect, they begin by laying out the history of Van Meter, as well as all of the major players—the town’s business owners and other prominent citizens—who encountered the creatures. In this first section, appropriately titled “History,” they relate the story, which is fascinating reading, recalling similar winged cryptids like the Mothman, but with its own unique twists. This section is authored almost entirely by Lewis.
The second section, “Theories,” is as strong as it is because the authors took the time to provide plenty of historical, geographical, economic, and human context. We already feel, 40 pages in, that we know and trust both the people of Van Meter and the authors themselves. In the “Theories” section the three authors look at a variety of possible explanations, including a primer on cryptids (featuring several similar cases such as the Jersey Devil), another on large birds of prey, the UFO/Alien connection that is prevalent in many cryptid sightings (such as of Mothman, Bigfoot, and Skinwalkers), thunderbirds and thoughtforms (the latter of which is currently of great interest because of the Slenderman phenomena), and ultraterrestrial theories (a standout survey chapter that runs 30-plus pages; the section on quantum physics and the holographic universe demonstrates that the authors are using all of our modern tools in their work).
The three authors all contribute chapters to the closing section, “Final Thoughts.” Their summations responsibly explore a number of possible explanations and there are no firm statements made about what the citizens of Van Meter encountered 115 years ago. Their theories all connect back to the information from the previous two sections.
Overall, The Van Meter Visitor serves a dual purpose: as a primer about the Van Meter mystery that allows the reader to pick up where the authors left off in their investigation, armed with abundant historical, sociological, and cryptological context (the two appendices offer a list of businesses operating in Van Meter in 1903 and an array of local and national newspaper accounts of the incident) and also as a handbook on the components—and countless hours—that go into a thorough paranormal investigation.
As if these two aspects were not enough, an extra bonus is the Foreword by the recently deceased author of over 80 books on the paranormal and spirituality, Brad Steiger. The book also features abundant historical photographs of the people and places in Van Meter, many provided with help from the local library, which help to close the century-plus time gap for the reader.
The Van Meter Visitor is a textbook example of how to do a thorough investigation written by seasoned, passionate professionals who bring to light a fascinating cryptid that has not yet gotten its fair share of attention and consideration. It should be a part of any investigator’s or enthusiast’s library, alongside Keel, Guiley, Redfern, Steiger, and the rest of the pillars of the field of paranormal investigation. Kudos to the authors on a job well done.
April 9, 2024
This was a fun book. I probably would have rated 3.5 if I had that option, but since I didn't I rounded up due to the uniqueness of the situation described.
The authors address the Van Meter Visitor story from 1903, and discuss their research and thoughts into what actually happened. While I had heard of the Visitor before, it is rarely obscure, even for a fan of cryptid and monster stories. So it was great to have them break it down so well, and include images and articles from the time. They also did well in discussing different possibilities of what the Visitor actually was, from misidentification to hoax to ultraterrestrial. Regardless of their own opinions, I think readers will be interested in these chapters.
Several authors contributed, with each writing different chapters. As such, the reader may have preferences on writing style and such. But it was not jarring, as they had organized their chapters well. As with any small press book, there are some deficiencies in editing and copy editing, as some typos sneak through and some bits within chapters could have been better organized. But overall it was quite readable and any typos did not affect the understanding or flow of the material.
The authors address the Van Meter Visitor story from 1903, and discuss their research and thoughts into what actually happened. While I had heard of the Visitor before, it is rarely obscure, even for a fan of cryptid and monster stories. So it was great to have them break it down so well, and include images and articles from the time. They also did well in discussing different possibilities of what the Visitor actually was, from misidentification to hoax to ultraterrestrial. Regardless of their own opinions, I think readers will be interested in these chapters.
Several authors contributed, with each writing different chapters. As such, the reader may have preferences on writing style and such. But it was not jarring, as they had organized their chapters well. As with any small press book, there are some deficiencies in editing and copy editing, as some typos sneak through and some bits within chapters could have been better organized. But overall it was quite readable and any typos did not affect the understanding or flow of the material.
August 8, 2024
I enjoyed this book for several reasons but first and foremost, they're willing to admit that this could be a hoax and looking for scientific reasons vs the paranormal (in spite of other reviews claiming the opposite) They present some other theories (the ultraterristrial is interest). They provide many of the original news articles from 1903 including the ones originally attempting to debunk the Visitor.
The Visitor was a man sized creature with bat like wings, a horn and let out a glow. The men of the town took shots at it. It hung around for a week give or take. Was it an alien? Was it from the mines? Was it a mutated animal (highly unlikely) Was it a hoax?
There isn't enough to say (as is often the case with these cryptid types) one way or the other, especially given the date of the event. It had Mothman like elements.
I got this from the authors at the Mothman festival. I'll stop by this year to see them again if they're there.
The Visitor was a man sized creature with bat like wings, a horn and let out a glow. The men of the town took shots at it. It hung around for a week give or take. Was it an alien? Was it from the mines? Was it a mutated animal (highly unlikely) Was it a hoax?
There isn't enough to say (as is often the case with these cryptid types) one way or the other, especially given the date of the event. It had Mothman like elements.
I got this from the authors at the Mothman festival. I'll stop by this year to see them again if they're there.
June 17, 2022
I had a hard time getting into this book. I do believe in unexplained happenings. This all happened in 1903 and they are trying to figure out if it really happened, was a hoax, or if such a creature could have really been there. They research this case and others that were very similar and you will have to read the book to find out what they decide what happened in Van Meter.
November 26, 2022
Chad and company have done an excellent job of bringing this little known cryptid to life. This book was an absolute inspiration to developing our Kord v Cryptid TTRPG episodes as well! A must read for all cryptid enthusiasts.
December 2, 2025
I did not enjoy this. I think the concept of the visitor is fun, especially as an Iowan, but this book was so boring (hence why it took me two months to read). It went too deep into theories that wouldn’t make sense anyways and was soooooo repetitive.
September 8, 2021
Fun, weird research. Didn't like that it got to weird af string theory bs for their theories for this event. Only read about a 3rd of this before the theories got too outlandish.
October 10, 2021
Interesting history of Van Meter, Iowa but the story itself was not very compelling.
November 29, 2024
It's a good history but got outlandish with its theories.
January 1, 2025
Could be a good book if they used an editor 🤷♀️
May 20, 2016
An almost exhaustingly detailed examination of an unusual, little-known cryptid that haunted a small town in Iowa for three days in 1903. Lewis, Voss and Nelson have really jumped into the story of the Visitor waist-deep.
The book begins with a short history of the town of Van Meter, along with an exact chronology of the events surrounding the Visitor sightings (as detailed by newspapers of the time, anyway) and brief, but detailed biographies of all the principle witnesses.
The second part of the book explores theories as to what the mysterious creature might have been. Ideas range from a deliberate hoax, to mass hysteria fed by a few odd, but naturally-explained events, to misidentification of large birds (though the writer of that particular essay dismisses all possible culprits) to the possibility that the Visitor was an alien or perhaps something even more bizarre.
My personal favorite (from a speculative fiction standpoint, anyway) is Nelson's theory that the creature may have been an ultraterrestrial- a term originally coined by paranormal investigator John Keel which refers to a being from a dimension adjacent to ours that temporarily slipped into our reality through a "window" in space and time. It's a really interesting idea and even if I don't entirely believe it, the concept of ultraterrestrial beings makes for great story material.
If there is anything negative to say about the book, it is only that the writers seem to have concluded from the beginning that the Visitor was indeed a real, probably supernatural creature and not something with a more mundane explanation such as a hoax (stories of bizarre flying monsters in the American West were actually fairly common in newspapers of the 19th and early 20th century, and were widely known to be fabrications made to drum up interest in the paper, much like the weird stories from the old Weekly World News tabloids).
Regardless, the authors obviously have a deep love for what they do, and an admirable respect for the people of Van Meter. Which translates to an enjoyable read about an intriguing, obscure bit of cryptid lore.
The book begins with a short history of the town of Van Meter, along with an exact chronology of the events surrounding the Visitor sightings (as detailed by newspapers of the time, anyway) and brief, but detailed biographies of all the principle witnesses.
The second part of the book explores theories as to what the mysterious creature might have been. Ideas range from a deliberate hoax, to mass hysteria fed by a few odd, but naturally-explained events, to misidentification of large birds (though the writer of that particular essay dismisses all possible culprits) to the possibility that the Visitor was an alien or perhaps something even more bizarre.
My personal favorite (from a speculative fiction standpoint, anyway) is Nelson's theory that the creature may have been an ultraterrestrial- a term originally coined by paranormal investigator John Keel which refers to a being from a dimension adjacent to ours that temporarily slipped into our reality through a "window" in space and time. It's a really interesting idea and even if I don't entirely believe it, the concept of ultraterrestrial beings makes for great story material.
If there is anything negative to say about the book, it is only that the writers seem to have concluded from the beginning that the Visitor was indeed a real, probably supernatural creature and not something with a more mundane explanation such as a hoax (stories of bizarre flying monsters in the American West were actually fairly common in newspapers of the 19th and early 20th century, and were widely known to be fabrications made to drum up interest in the paper, much like the weird stories from the old Weekly World News tabloids).
Regardless, the authors obviously have a deep love for what they do, and an admirable respect for the people of Van Meter. Which translates to an enjoyable read about an intriguing, obscure bit of cryptid lore.
July 16, 2014
Not really enough of a story here to write an entire book about. They spent a lot of time talking vaguely about the extra dimensions of string theory meaning that ultradimensional beings might be an explanation for basically any paranormal occurrence, which is such a general idea as to be essentially meaningless in my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews