The Bye Bye Man: And Other Strange-but-True Tales

by Robert Damon Schneck

The True Story behind the Terrifying Movie

Don't think of his name...

In 1990, three college students spent a long Wisconsin winter experimenting with a Ouija board; it turned out to be the deadliest mistake of their lives.

The board brought them into contact with a psychic serial killer, known only as the Bye Bye Man. Learning his name makes you vulnerable, but thinking about it draws the Bye Bye Man to you.

He is a relentless traveler, moving night and day, coming ever closer until the shrill sound of a steady whistle announces his arrival. He might turn up outside your bedroom door, speaking in the voice of a trusted friend, someone who would never hurt you…

Here is the authentically terrifying, true-life story recounted by historian Robert Damon Schneck in a chapter of his classic underground collection of weird Americana, which formed the basis for the major motion picture, The Bye Bye Man.

This unsettling tale is accompanied by seven more chapters of twisted history, and includes the author’s new afterword, “Searching for The Bye Bye Man.”

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Mystery, Paranormal, History, Adult, Folklore

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 31, 2016

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very niche book. It's a historical narrative in regards to some paranormal events that were recorded in American history, debunking and discussing the truth behind them. If you are a history buff, and like a little paranormal nonsense thrown in, this books for you. However it was not for me. Was it interesting? Yeah kind of, but I also felt it read a bit like a textbook. I couldn't really gather what the author was attempting to achieve with his writing. Part storytelling part fact checking it just didn't read well for me. I must admit I was expecting something completely different then this so perhaps it caught me off guard. It's definitely worth an attempt of you like American history and perhaps some of the more bizarre historical records that exist.

[Lindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title story is set in my generally boring hometown, so I felt obligated to read it.

Between the rambling tangents, shoddy "logic," and bizarre citational practices, I can only conclude Schneck is stupid or assumes his readers are. Add this to the fact that the tales are so dully related this volume functioned as a sleep aid, I have decided to give The Bye Bye Man a one star rating.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s quite rare for me to give a book such a low rating, I think I can count my one star reviews in the last year on one hand. But this book sadly left me no choice. The intriguing premise and great title drew me in but that’s about all the enjoyment I found in this book, the idea and the title. The rest I really, REALLY struggled with. I did manage to finish it so there is that but I really had to force myself to push through. The book sounded so interesting being marketed as non fiction but that’s a pretty big stretch to call this non fiction. This was definitely a huge disappointment for me and not a book I’ll be recommending anytime soon.

[Natalie Meagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The movie was way better than the book

[Dez Nemec · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the weird stories, but I didn't like all the alternate explanations. I am a critical thinker, I don't need him to tell me all this other stuff. And the whole time I was waiting for The Bye Bye Man, and it was completely anti-climactic. Rather disappointing.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I was disappointed in this book as I thought it would be as creepy as the cover made it seem to be, but alas it was not. There are only eight stories in the book and as much as I wanted to be scared even with reading about the Bye Bye Man, the story didn't spook me at all. You can turn the lights off folks as there is nothing to be afraid of here! Some of the stories were boring to me as I just could find no spooks! Two stars for this one!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this small anthology was not as chill-inducing as the cover would have you believe. It is a collection of American stories that may or (more likely) may not have unusual explanations, and each is presented in the general form of an historical research topic. The author raises some questions and theories with regard to the stories, all of which are unresolved, but no answers. They were somewhat interesting but not exceptionally noteworthy.

[Shirley Eiswerth (Quackenbush) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had some interesting odd stories.

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

​​The second book in my challenge to read the books in my library labelled "Entertaining Non-Fiction."* To go from Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, which is excellently sourced and excellently written, to this schlock, was heart-breaking.

To get right to the point, here's an excerpt: "When the [ouija] board began producing messages, the trio fell into specific roles: Eli devised experiments and motivated the sitters, while Katherine acted as medium, but only in combination with John, whose party was essential but difficult to define." Then they didn't fall info "specific" roles, did they?!

---

First published as The President's Vampire, Robert Damon Schneck shares a jumbled collection of "true" short stories, which read much more like a high school student's first essay, than a published-authors well researched and substantiated non-fiction text. I'll admit it, I love the supernatural, but I like stories relating to the supernatural to be clear, well-cited(!), and make sense. Is that too much to ask? Schneck doesn't make any sense, jumping all over the place with illogical and poorly thought out arguments.

The title story, meanwhile, capitalizes on the film industry's new-found interest of his friend's personal experience and short story, by renaming the book The Bye-Bye Man, hoping to lure in new readers. That's right people, the famed story isn't even one he discovered on his own, rather, he asks a friend to write down a story that he shares at his annual Halloween party, and plops this written text down in the final chapter of his book, literally without any named credit to the original author.

The good of this book: The seventh chapter, seemingly the most well-researched and also the most interesting.

The bad: Literally everything else: the poor retelling of stories, the attempts to persuade readers that something truly strange, supernatural is happening, the insane jumping from logical reasoning for the phenomenon to paranormal, the marketing of the book (*spoiler alert* NO ONE DIES in the "deadliest mistake of their lives"), the list goes on and on.

I certainly hope that the "friend" that actually came up with The Bye-Bye Man received more money this Schneck, because I would be p*$$ed if I told this story at my annual Halloween party and a "friend" got all the credit. Though, from what I've heard about the movie, maybe the original author chose to remain nameless?


*There's well over 2000 books in that collection so we'll see how far I get :P Luckily I allowed myself a couple of shortcuts:
1. Only need to read one book per larger subject area (e.g. one book on WW2, no need to read all 71 books in the collection on the subject)
2. Not obligated to read memoirs or biographies in the collection (e.g. Burt Reynold's "Enough About Me")

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a raised eyebrow and a nod to his predecessors, historian Robert Damon Schneck digs deep into the fears and paranoias of American culture and unearths a wide-ranging collection of bizarre and mysterious tales that under his scrutiny become a patterned map of behavioral issues and the way we cope with the darkest, unexplained pockets of the human experience.

Previously titled The President’s Vampire, this collection has been resurrected and revived as The Bye Bye Man: And Other Strange-but-True Tales to coincide with the release of a feature film based on the final story in the book. Truthfully, the cover of the book, looking like a mock-up of a straight-to-video slasher, does nothing to benefit the contents within.

You can read Jonathan's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Taksya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una serie di storie strane ma vere che, pur essendo interessanti, sembrano servire solo da preludio per la storia, suggestiva ma falsa, che da il titolo al libro.
In realtà, prima che la storia diventasse un film horror, la storia si intitolava The Bridge to Body Island, ma le nuove edizioni hanno vinto il solito rifermento alla pellicola.
Documentazione e riferimenti bibliografici e di siti web (cosa che non amo mai troppo, anche se leggo un ebook, perché sono poco fruibili se non hai una connessione internet che attivi il link), foto e anche qualche episodio conosciuto, compreso l'ennesimo collegamento con la Spedizione Franklin... ma lo spiegone finale sul perché ha messo l'ultima storia e la deriva per spiegare il lato parapsicologico della vicenda inventata sono veramente troppo.
Fosse stato un tie in della pellicola sarebbe stato molto più gradevole.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well that was anticlimactic. I mainly picked this up because of the title and wanted to read about the creepy tale. It's not even the main focus of the book and is put in at the end. Each story seemed to be leading to a terrify, but they all kind of sizzled out. This was definitely disappointing for me, and I wouldn't recommend it if you're wanting something truly scary or unnerving.

[Rikke Nordravn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. don't bother - I honestly couldn't even finish it.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never been angry after reading a book. There's a first time for everything. The bye-bye man is the last story and by far the most disappointing. I wish I could get my money and time back.

[Derek Patz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisconsin has always been a breeding ground for strange and unusual tall tales. Some are told through generations and have not been forgotten. The Bye Bye Man, Summerwind, Haunchyville and Bloody Bride Bridge are stories that any Wisconsinite who is interested in local folklore can tell you.

May it be a " false sorcerer", pygmy mummies or a prowler haunting the streets of Baltimore. Schneck's historical perspective on such oddities is brilliantly shown. He saves the best one for last in " A Bridge to Body Island" or " The Bye Bye Man" depending on which edition of this book you have.

It is the story of three college students who summon a specter known as The Bye Bye Man. If you say or think of him the legend is that he will come after you. The story takes place in Sun Prairie which is just outside of Madison. The story is the basis of the 2017 movie of the specters name.

Two versions of this book have been published. First one is " The President's Vampire" and it being republished as " The Bye Bye Man". This book is full of history and folklore. It took me back to my youth watching shows like " Ripley's Believe it or Not" or most recently "Mysteries at the Museum". The Bye Bye man is well worth the read for anyone interested in horror or the unexplained. 5/5

[B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I enjoyed the premise of The Bye Bye Man movie, but thought it could have been better. Typically when this occurs, this means that I can turn to the book the movie was based on, assuming I have not already read it (and in this case I hadn't read it yet) in order to get a better story. Now, as a kid I thoroughly enjoyed Ripley's (and still do), and all the other strange but true dimestore style collections that used to be oh so common. I figured, sure, this would be something right up my alley. And then I found that Schneck's writing style was so very dry as to make even the most interesting of events included in the text just plain boring. Yes, he did a lot of research, and yes, the events themselves are interesting, but you'd never know to read only his versions of them. He throws his own bizarre ramblings in, which don't help the tales at all. And he made the Bye Bye Man so droll...it was just a train wreck of a book. I had very high hopes, and they were all shattered to pieces.

[Lisa Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection of weird American stories. I'd heard of some, like the Kelly-Hopkinsville goblins, but many were new to me. I thought the author did a good job researching the history of the stories and coming up with possible explanations. It was definitely not as scary as I thought it would be, especially considering the cover. I actually got very frustrated during the Bye Bye Man story. Again, the author did a great job researching murders near train tracks and looking into a possible history for the killer. The part that frustrated me is that he overlooked, in my opinion, the most likely explanation for the story: Eli, a horror enthusiast and HORROR WRITER, made it all up. I also got annoyed that he tried to connect things (like the murders in Montana) that had nothing to do with the Bye Bye Man. There is no evidence presented that this killer ever existed. Overall, I found this book interesting and I'm glad I read it despite the frustration it caused.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the winter of 1990 in Wisconsin, three college students decide to experiment with an Ouija board. Little did they know that would be a terrible mistake. The board allowed them to make contact with a psychic serial killer known as The Bye Bye Man. When they learned his name, he becomes drawn to you. He is willing to travel day and night for his next victim. You will know he is close when you hear a shrill sound of a steady whistle. He might be even waiting for you outside your bedroom door, talking to you in the voice of a trusted friend.


I see the movie before I read this and thought it was done well. It was scary and entertaining. The book contains several short stories of weird but, true stories. The author provides the story along with some background and provides his theories. Some of the stories were interesting but, I found a few to be dull and boring. Overall, it was an interesting read, and look forward to reading more of his novels.

[Bret · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bye-Bye Man is partially composed of previously released newspaper articles and reads as such, but a modicum of skepticism makes Schneck a rarity in the so-called "strange-but-true" genre, whose practitioners tend toward credulity if not sensationalism. Due for an update. For instance, according to Philander Hampton (who confessed to the crime in 2008), the Clinton Avenue Five "Lost Boys" were burned to death—just as predicted by psychics Dorothy Allison (no relation to the Bastard Out of Carolina author) in 1979 and John Monti in 1996. Likewise, Brian Weber, primary suspect in the Florence, Montana murders mentioned in "The Bye-Bye Man," was sentenced to fifteen years on unrelated drug charges in 2018.

[Avis Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having resided in Wisconsin, I found this book somewhat interesting. I never heard of the Bye Bye Man until reading this book. When I was a teenager, my friends and I tried a Quija board, but nothing significant occurred, so we occupied ourselves with other past times.
I’m sure others have gotten more involved, as it states in this book and have experienced spookier things.
In 1990, three college students spent a long Wisconsin winter experimenting with a Quija board; it turned out to be the deadliest mistake of their lives.
The board brought them into contact with a psychic killer, known only as the Bye Bye Man.
This is the authentically terrifying, true-life story recounted by historian Robert Damon Schneck.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally published The President's Vampire: Strange-but-True Tales of the United States of America, it is a historical book of strange tales in the United States. From tales of a supposed vampire to goblins, and even some supernatural being called The Bye-Bye Man.

How I found out about this book was because of The Bye-Bye Man movie. The movie wasn't bad but it could have been better. I wanted to read the true story. This book is well-written but pretty dry. The Bye-Bye Man story was interesting but there wasn't much to it, honestly.

It was okay. I'd recommend this for anyone into true strange stories.

[Richard Horsman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly scholarly, but not a simple novelty either. Schneck's approach is born of a love of the lurid and strange, but with some thoughtfulness about what it means to people. The Bye Bye Man story is mainly about its creation: the people and forces that produce grisly tales and popular legends. Schneck takes a freewheeling approach, looking at the story now from a folkloric perspective, now from a psycho/sexual one relating to the dynamics between the creators, now from the spiritual, discussing tulpas and other thought forms. No strong conclusions are ultimately reached, but it's a good time!

[Christine Best · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. The author has collected a series of quirky historical stories and carried out his own research on them. The weakest section is actually that named in the title, being a rather stereotypical urban horror tale of doubtful veracity, but the rest of the book is very good. If you want to know about the 19C cult who tried to build themselves a robot Saviour or the vampire who was pardoned by a President this is the book for you.

[Christina Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I thought this book was going to be based on the movie that I've seen before, but instead, we get different stories that the author put together. Was very interesting. The Newark missing boys were quite sad at the end, I didn't expect that. Even on other stories from the past which I really love and then finally, information about the Bye Bye Man where we get to know where this story came from. Even as it is made into a film, it's slightly a scary character. Not a character you don't around anytime soon. LoL. Overall, a great book I purchased from Amazon and glad to own it. :)

[Ron Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uneven collection of historical oddities and unsolved mysteries. The Bye Bye Man is particularly disappointing because it's pretty clear that they made the whole thing up. Ironically it's the side notes that are the most interesting. I want to learn more about the Goat Man, Bunny Man and the Hair Gallery Murders where three old ladies had their throats slit in a Montana hair salon.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love books like this. Bye bye man story did give me a nice little spook, and I appreciated the speculation around what could have caused it by the author. I miss the days of my credulous youth when I could eat all this up without skepticism getting in the way of the fun.

[Brennan Klein]

No star rating because I only read the Bye Bye Man bits. But if every other chapter is just as dry, spurious, and desperate to bend over backwards to make a loose collection of facts seem creepy or connected, then I’m glad I skipped them.

[Kelly Buchholz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably better than the movie, I'm guessing.

[Pyropatty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like it. Boring to old fashioned in the writing. Saw the movie bye bye man, it was excellent. Thought that was what the whole book was about, only a short story not nearly as interesting.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent stories, and a historical look at how we view and understand myth.