What Lurks Beyond

Jason Offutt's latest offering, What Lurks Beyond: The Paranormal In Your Backyard, is one of those unique books that (as an author too) makes me ask: "Why didn't I think of that?!"

Jason has written a book that details his very own investigations into a whole range of Fortean, paranormal, supernatural, cryptozoological and ufological mysteries. You might wonder: "What's so unique about that?"

Well, I'll tell you! There's one thing that makes Jason's book significantly different, and highly original, too: all the cases examined occurred within 100 miles of Jason's home.

By focusing on such a clearly-delineated area, Jason has capably hammered home the point that to look for the mysteries of our world we don't always have to travel to far-away lands and exotic locales. Indeed, sometimes the things we seek are right under our noses.

And, I'm pleased to say, Jason has provided his readers with a wealth of diverse cases, incidents and events that will boggle the mind, provoke intrigue, and perhaps even disturb a few readers.

Particularly fascinating to me is the strange tale of Mike Marcum's time-machine - surely a story that would be ripe for Hollywood! Did the man in question really stumble upon the secret of time-travel? What lurks at the heart of his tale? A curiously enigmatic and unusual account, this is one that will appeal to all - no matter what the ultimate outcome may prove to be.

Of course, Bigfoot puts in an appearance - in the St. Joseph area of Missouri and elsewhere, demonstrating that where there are deep woods, the big and hairy thing is never far behind.

What might, possibly, be Iowa's very own Roswell Incident is detailed in the chapter titled "It Fell From The Sky" and is a tale worthy of an episode of The X-Files. With accounts of unidentified materials raining down from the skies, military investigations, claims and counter-claims, strange lights in the sky and more, this is a little-known affair that will be of deep interest to those with a passion for reports of crashed UFOs.

Also on the UFO issue: Herbert Schirmer's famous 1967 encounter of the alien kind is the subject of an excellent chapter that provides the reader with a good, solid account of what occurred, and with insightful data on what Schirmer is doing today.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg: with countless atmospheric tales of spooks, specters, uncanny events, haunted homes and more, What Lurks Beyond is an excellent addition to the world of paranormal investigative research and writing.

And, it capably reveals the sheer wealth of mysteries that can be found when we go looking for them. Definitely highly-recommended, late-night reading!

Click here to purchase your copy of Jason Offutt's What Lurks Beyond.