Beyond Stranger Bridgerland: True Paranormal Stories from the west By John E. Olsen

Beyond Stranger Bridgerland: True Paranormal Stories from the west

By John E. Olsen
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In introducing his second collection of proto-folklore interviews and anecdotes about uncanny incidents,  experiencer John E. Olsen writes, "By the age of 17 I was interviewing and investigating other people's interactions with the paranormal."

Beyond Stranger Bridgerland is slightly larger in geographic scope (and length) than the previous collection, Stranger Bridgerland. But the stories run very much to type: sightings, sensations, zones of panic in the austere mountain West. It can be read in one sitting, though I think the proper dosage is probably one story at breakfast, another at lunch, and one at bedtime. (Provided the bedtime chapter is not about Black-Eyed Children.)

I want to draw the attention of classic horror fiction readers to three stories: "Trolled on Mt. Naomi," "Not My Cousin," and "Ridge Watchers."

The artwork in Beyond Stranger Bridgerland is a step up from Olsen's previous book. The images resemble pen and ink works replicating photos, and give coherence to the landscape. It might be useful for volume three to contain a simple map.

Below are a few brief excerpts conveying flavor.

Jay
26 August 2018

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1 Intro Grandmas Snowman
....He had his earphones in, listening to music while he worked.  He was moving right along when all the sudden, a creepy feeling came over him. He stopped and looked into the storage room. There, in the corner, was the snowman staring at him.

2 Wagon Train
....The next day I called the American West Center but they had said that there had been no activities going on.  They had no idea what I was talking about. I thanked them and hung up.

3 Old Tools
....My youngest was taking a nap and my 3 year old son was playing quietly in the sitting room.  Suddenly, I realized my 3 year old son was talking to someone. I could hear him talking. I thought he might be talking to himself -- which wouldn't be strange for a 3 year old -- but then I heard a man's voice answer back.

4 Old Rock Church
....They were very upset about something.  At first, I thought it must be coming from another suite but after listening further, it was definitely coming from inside our room.

5 Twin Falls Ghost
....We have loved visiting them but their house always seems a little off to me.
They live in an old farmhouse they restored.  I never said anything to them, but I always felt like I was being watched.

6 Kevin & the Shadow man
....Over time began to sense that the Shadow Man knew we could see him.  One night, around dusk, my friends and I were riding our skateboards when my friend Jason was pushed off his board. We looked in the direction from which he was shoved to see the shadow man running away from us. We chased him only to have him disappear before our eyes.

7 ISU Ghost
...."BANG! BANG! BANG!" the knocking came again. I turned on the light opened the door; no one was there. I was done! In a firm voice I said "I am not leaving, I am not afraid of you! I live here and you will NOT bother me anymore!" I closed the door and went back to bed.

8 Lost Pioneer Boy
....I don't know who that boy was or what he was pointing at but I never hunted in Scare Canyon again.

9 Grandma Ann's Visit
....I said, "Grandma, you passed away."
    She smiled and said "That doesn't mean I can't come visit from time to time."

10 Last Motorcycle
...."You have a beautiful family," he said to me.  I smiled and said, "Thank you." Then he looked back at me, his face turning very serious.  "I had a family once," he continued, "but I don't get to see them anymore since the accident."

11 UFO Snowstorm
....Just as we left Pocatello, the storm made an early arrival.  By the time we had left the freeway and headed past Downy it was a full-on blizzard.  It was becoming increasingly harder to see the road, and I was moving at a snail's pace.  A few hours later we had just reached the area between Swan Lake and Preston, Idaho. This area is nothing but farmland and sage brush with some gullies here and there.  As we traveled slowly South, I could see glowing lights off in the distance. I figured we must be coming up on an accident or a snow plow. As we got closer it became obvious that it was something entirely different.

12 Tincup UFO
....All of a sudden the beam shut off and some of the water that had been suspended in the beam fell back down with a splash.

13 Trolled on MT Naomi
[This chapter is a particular favorite of mine, breaking out of the typical Bigfoot/UFO box and conveying a powerful sense of sylvan Panic.]
....Suddenly I heard a sound that I couldn't place.  It was like a calling whistle. I racked my brain to think of any birds that sounded like that.  I sat up in my bedroll and looked for my headlamp. I was about to give up when I was struck in the chest with a small rock.  I froze and the whistle had stopped. I quickly slipped my boots on as my mind wandered. Birds don't throw rocks and I couldn't imagine what was up here that could throw one.  As I got my last boot on I remembered that my lamp was still on my head and I fumbled to turn it on.

14 Not My Cousin
....As I ran into camp I saw my mom roasting marshmallows on sticks for all the kids.  She demanded to know where I had been. I said I had been following Trevor up the trail but couldn't catch him.  That's when I saw Trevor sitting in a chair roasting a marshmallow. I asked him how he beat me back. Confused he explained how he had hidden under my dad's truck and I had walked right by him. He had never left camp.

15 Ridge Watchers
[There is a remarkable resonance between this anecdote and Fritz Leiber's sublime short story "A Bit of the Dark World."]
....I could see the figure down to about the waist and the rest of the shadow disappeared in the brush. It was enormous! Based on deer I'd seen up on that ridge earlier and brush around it, I guessed this figure was around 15-20 feet tall and it was deep black against the dying light.

16 Pilot Mountain Monster
....The west desert of Utah is filled with old mines. Some are marked on area maps but some aren't. I've explored many mines before that day, but this one felt very different from others I'd been in. The feeling started to change to something closer to dread. I was getting a deep sense that we were not welcome.

17 Skinwalker
....By the time I got home I was in hysterics.  I woke up my Mom and cried for 10 minutes before I could calm down enough to talk.  My mom thought it was just someone playing a prank but I was convinced it was something else.

18 Smiling Man
....I could tell he was a good 6' 5" or taller, bald, and under his hat his face had a pale complexion.  I got about 15 feet from him and I asked if he was ok. He jumped just a little then turned to look at me.  His eyes and face sent shivers through my body. He had bright blue eyes and an unusual smile across his face.

19 Late Night Visitor
....My husband asked if he should call the sheriff.  I told him I didn't know what I would tell him.

20 Halloween in Wellsville
....In the road that ran down the south side of the cemetery was a large moving van.  Lining the road on both sides of the van was about 10-15 people all in dark brown robes with full hoods that covered their heads and faces.

21 Lights Outhouse
....The younger boy spoke up in a quiet squeaky voice. "Did we forget to turn off the lights in the outhouses?"
    It was quiet for a moment and I replied, "There are no lights in them, there isn't even any power up here."

22 Golfing With Bigfoot
....Instantly all the blood left his face and his eyes where the size of dinner plates. He motioned at me to come towards him and then he turned and ran out of the gully at full speed. Without looking around me, I took off after him.

23 Wellsville Mountain Monster
....Sometime during night I woke up, something was very wrong but I didn't know what. I was trying to clear my head when I heard a strange sound.

24 Black Eyed at Midnight
...."You have to invite us in! We're just little girls!" She said this with a forceful tone.

24 Glitches in the Matrix
....After a few moments my wife looked up and said "didn't you already fill that?"

25 Bear Lake
....A settler of the Bear Lake Valley wrote two accounts of unusual events that happened to him while growing up in the area.

26 Hardware Ranch Lost Gold
....Their mules were dying and they were unprepared for such cold weather, so they hid the gold and tried to make it down to Ogden, Utah.  On their way, one of the miners froze to death. Nearly dead the last miner made it to Ogden where he spent the winter recovering.

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