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Stranger Alaska: True paranormal stories from Alaska
120 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 19, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 25, 2026
Stranger Alaska by John E. Olsen is a captivating, chilling collection of first-person anecdotes that capture the eerie mystique and sublime vastness of the Last Frontier.
Blending firsthand paranormal encounters, regional folklore, urban legends, and heartfelt personal reflections, Olsen provides readers with a fast-paced tour through unexplained phenomena lurking in the northern wilderness.
The book succeeds by grounding bizarre, otherworldly tales in genuine human emotion and vivid settings.
Each chapter sets up a compelling inciting incident that quickly thrusts the experiencer into high weirdness:
1. Intro: Olsen receives an urgent phone call that his hospice-bound father is unresponsive, leading to an extraordinary farewell where his father consciously returns from the other side to say his goodbyes before passing.
2. Alaska Triangle: Historical overviews and unexplained vanishings kick off with documented mysteries, including the sudden disappearance of Michael LeMaitre during the Mount Marathon Race and the missing aircraft of Congressmen Nick Begich and Hale Boggs.
3. Missing Truck: Joshua steps out of his home for an early work shift and enters a state of panic when he discovers his red Dodge Ram has vanished completely from its assigned driveway spot.
4. Hunted Hunter: Sam and his cousin Joe deliberately violate traditional tribal warnings by taking their boat to hunt Sitka deer in a forbidden bay.
5. Alaskan Werewolf: Steve and his hunting partner Jim wake to heavy, rhythmic sprinting past their tent at 3:00 AM while on a remote moose hunt near Lake Iliamna.
6. My Sungcuk: Ten-year-old Daniel sneaks up on what he believes to be a wild rabbit hiding in the tall grass behind his home.
7. Portal: While glassing for caribou on a remote knoll, Mika witnesses a sudden bright blue flash and spots a glowing oval portal opening in the brush.
8. Missing Day: Jake steps off his fishing boat onto a dock due to a stomach illness and turns around after a momentary wave of dizziness to find four and a half hours have vanished.
9. Crash: Sammy and her friend Jen drive down Basin Road in a heavy downpour when an antique truck flies around a blind curve directly into their lane on a head-on collision course.
10. Missing Week: Rebecca goes to sleep on a Tuesday night after dropping her roommate at the airport, only to open her eyes standing in her living room a full week later.
11. My Night with a Vampire: While waiting alone at a local bar for her friends, Elisabeth is startled when an unnervingly handsome stranger materializes out of nowhere at her table.
12. Nurse or Angel: Noah suffers an acute breathing crisis in the ICU, where a mysterious blonde nurse appears amidst the chaos to hold his hand and comfort him.
13. Ketchikan Kids: Angela sits alone on a deserted, foggy beach at Lunch Creek when a young boy with pitch-black eyes emerges from the forest edge and gestures for her to follow.
14. The Three Knocks: While sitting inside a remote lakeside cabin, William, Tom, and Tom's dad hear an ominous voice in the pitch-black woods calling out for help.
15. Almost Taken: Elliot is shaken awake in his wilderness tent at 3:00 AM by a strange figure dressed identically to his father urging him into the woods.
16. Pervert Ghost: Thirteen-year-old Angela stands at the kitchen sink washing dishes when invisible arms suddenly wrap around her waist.
17. Double Down: Ellie rushes across campus and speaks to her disheveled friend Nancy, only to walk into her classroom seconds later and find a completely composed Nancy already seated.
18. Second Chances: Brian is stabbed in the ribs during a late-night drug deal gone wrong, triggering a harrowing near-death experience and a moral life review.
19. The Old Man: Chelsea goes for an early morning run along Creek Street and encounters a ragged 1920s fisherman leaning against a tree who abruptly vanishes.
20. Deathly Afraid: Britni hikes alone along a Valdez trail when an unnatural darkness falls and an enormous, dog-sized spider steps out of the brush.
21. They Disappeared: Real estate agent Alexis prepares an offer on a cabin for a young couple, only to discover the following day that the listing, the house, and the prospective buyers. have ceased to exist.
22. I Took It Down: Jacqueline asks her husband to remove an old cast-iron cross from their back porch, unleashing violent nocturnal growls and an eight-foot hooded figure in the yard.
23. Little Foot: Sixteen-year-old Jessica wades up a remote mountain stream and rounds a bend, stumbling directly upon a five-foot juvenile Sasquatch flipping rocks for food.
24. Fishing for UAPs: While halibut fishing in the dead of night, Billy and his family watch a blazing blue light split into three silent, anomalous craft skimming the water.
25. Aviation Ghost: Jeff wanders through an aviation museum in Anchorage and spots an aviator in vintage flight gear meticulously inspecting an old Stearman biplane.
Olsen’s compilation is a varied assortment of tales that will delight strange story enthusiasts and lovers of Alaskan lore alike.
Blending firsthand paranormal encounters, regional folklore, urban legends, and heartfelt personal reflections, Olsen provides readers with a fast-paced tour through unexplained phenomena lurking in the northern wilderness.
The book succeeds by grounding bizarre, otherworldly tales in genuine human emotion and vivid settings.
Each chapter sets up a compelling inciting incident that quickly thrusts the experiencer into high weirdness:
1. Intro: Olsen receives an urgent phone call that his hospice-bound father is unresponsive, leading to an extraordinary farewell where his father consciously returns from the other side to say his goodbyes before passing.
2. Alaska Triangle: Historical overviews and unexplained vanishings kick off with documented mysteries, including the sudden disappearance of Michael LeMaitre during the Mount Marathon Race and the missing aircraft of Congressmen Nick Begich and Hale Boggs.
3. Missing Truck: Joshua steps out of his home for an early work shift and enters a state of panic when he discovers his red Dodge Ram has vanished completely from its assigned driveway spot.
4. Hunted Hunter: Sam and his cousin Joe deliberately violate traditional tribal warnings by taking their boat to hunt Sitka deer in a forbidden bay.
5. Alaskan Werewolf: Steve and his hunting partner Jim wake to heavy, rhythmic sprinting past their tent at 3:00 AM while on a remote moose hunt near Lake Iliamna.
6. My Sungcuk: Ten-year-old Daniel sneaks up on what he believes to be a wild rabbit hiding in the tall grass behind his home.
7. Portal: While glassing for caribou on a remote knoll, Mika witnesses a sudden bright blue flash and spots a glowing oval portal opening in the brush.
8. Missing Day: Jake steps off his fishing boat onto a dock due to a stomach illness and turns around after a momentary wave of dizziness to find four and a half hours have vanished.
9. Crash: Sammy and her friend Jen drive down Basin Road in a heavy downpour when an antique truck flies around a blind curve directly into their lane on a head-on collision course.
10. Missing Week: Rebecca goes to sleep on a Tuesday night after dropping her roommate at the airport, only to open her eyes standing in her living room a full week later.
11. My Night with a Vampire: While waiting alone at a local bar for her friends, Elisabeth is startled when an unnervingly handsome stranger materializes out of nowhere at her table.
12. Nurse or Angel: Noah suffers an acute breathing crisis in the ICU, where a mysterious blonde nurse appears amidst the chaos to hold his hand and comfort him.
13. Ketchikan Kids: Angela sits alone on a deserted, foggy beach at Lunch Creek when a young boy with pitch-black eyes emerges from the forest edge and gestures for her to follow.
14. The Three Knocks: While sitting inside a remote lakeside cabin, William, Tom, and Tom's dad hear an ominous voice in the pitch-black woods calling out for help.
15. Almost Taken: Elliot is shaken awake in his wilderness tent at 3:00 AM by a strange figure dressed identically to his father urging him into the woods.
16. Pervert Ghost: Thirteen-year-old Angela stands at the kitchen sink washing dishes when invisible arms suddenly wrap around her waist.
17. Double Down: Ellie rushes across campus and speaks to her disheveled friend Nancy, only to walk into her classroom seconds later and find a completely composed Nancy already seated.
18. Second Chances: Brian is stabbed in the ribs during a late-night drug deal gone wrong, triggering a harrowing near-death experience and a moral life review.
19. The Old Man: Chelsea goes for an early morning run along Creek Street and encounters a ragged 1920s fisherman leaning against a tree who abruptly vanishes.
20. Deathly Afraid: Britni hikes alone along a Valdez trail when an unnatural darkness falls and an enormous, dog-sized spider steps out of the brush.
21. They Disappeared: Real estate agent Alexis prepares an offer on a cabin for a young couple, only to discover the following day that the listing, the house, and the prospective buyers. have ceased to exist.
22. I Took It Down: Jacqueline asks her husband to remove an old cast-iron cross from their back porch, unleashing violent nocturnal growls and an eight-foot hooded figure in the yard.
23. Little Foot: Sixteen-year-old Jessica wades up a remote mountain stream and rounds a bend, stumbling directly upon a five-foot juvenile Sasquatch flipping rocks for food.
24. Fishing for UAPs: While halibut fishing in the dead of night, Billy and his family watch a blazing blue light split into three silent, anomalous craft skimming the water.
25. Aviation Ghost: Jeff wanders through an aviation museum in Anchorage and spots an aviator in vintage flight gear meticulously inspecting an old Stearman biplane.
Olsen’s compilation is a varied assortment of tales that will delight strange story enthusiasts and lovers of Alaskan lore alike.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2026
Alaskan Frightening Encounters
Fantastic collection of frightening paranormal encounters from the state of Alaska. I can't wait for book 2. Each one of these are creepy and the witnesses are fortunate to have not been harmed. Cryptids, ghosts and more lurk within.
Fantastic collection of frightening paranormal encounters from the state of Alaska. I can't wait for book 2. Each one of these are creepy and the witnesses are fortunate to have not been harmed. Cryptids, ghosts and more lurk within.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews