Ghost Night has become the biggest night of the year at the Oneida County Library in recent years, in no small part due to the captivating duo of Folklorist and ISU Adjunct Faculty member Elizabeth Kent and bestselling author John Olsen.  The two have teamed up for the last several Octobers to bring a range of supernatural (and otherwise) topics to town in honor of the season. 

Elizabeth Kent began the evening by discussing what is almost certainly the most famous unsolved serial killer case in the English speaking world—that of “Jack the Ripper.”  As Kent explained, the name was coined in a letter to a London newspaper, though it is very unlikely that it was sent by the actual killer him (or her!) self.  That last parenthetical was more of a disclaimer than a strong possibility—there have been dozens, if not hundreds of possible suspects named over the years in the case, and none of the credible ones have been women.  As Kent recounted, suspects have included all manner of contemporary criminals, people reported to have suspicious ties to some or all of the victims, and even members of the royal family.  A recent artifact from the crimes (a scarf believed to belong to victim Catherine Eddowes) allegedly was found to contain DNA linked to suspect Aaron Kosminski, but the number of “alleged” and “believed to”s that have to be appended to the claim makes it clear how tenuous it is.

Kent also discussed how True Crime can be seen as a version of Folklore in some respects.  She recounted the history of the use of popular media in the transmission of stories about crimes, first in the oral tradition (most notably in the English tradition of the Murder Ballad), and then concurrent with the rise of the tabloid press in the eighteenth century.  The Victorian era, the peak of which overlapped with the Ripper murders, is often seen as the golden age of both True Crime as well as exploitative newspaper journalism on the subject.  Folklore changes over time and is spread through social vectors.  The number of Urban Legends that are derived from long-forgotten actual crimes is one artifact of this type of transmission.

John Olsen took the stage next to discuss his new projects, which include the recently released “Stranger Utah” and the upcoming “Stranger Idaho.”  Olsen was raised in a haunted house in the Cache valley, a fact he states as easily as that sentence was written.  As a child, he found himself having to explain the situation to friends, who he was surprised did not have similar upbringings.  During the evening’s talk, Olsen recounted some of the personal experiences he had while growing up and afterward.

Olsen’s topics run the gamut, including ghosts and apparitions, cryptids, creatures from Native American folklore, more recently described phenomena such as the “Black Eyed Kids,” and what he claimed were his (current) favorite topics UFOs/UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena).  The audience, of course, wanted to hear about Bigfoot, and Olsen obliged.  As he pointed out, the area around Bear Lake is one of the densest areas on the map as far as reported sightings of the mysterious creature goes.  He has received countless reports of encounters and incidents over the years, including some from Malad and the surrounding area.  One story (which also found its way into an Enterprise article) involves a sighting in Weston Canyon nearby.  

Olsen is currently seeking stories for the “Stranger Idaho” volume.  While he is based in the northern Utah area, his books have a much larger scope.  Stories from Idaho have made their way into a number of his volumes, but his current project should result in a focused look at the state just across the border from his home valley.  If you have had an encounter of any kind with something mysterious and are interested in sharing it with Olsen, he will provide you a signed copy of the book as a thank you, and discuss the story further with you after an initial contact.  Those interested can use the “Contact Us” form on Olsen’s website strangerbridgerland.com to let him know what you’d like to share.

Library Director Kathy Kent noted that the library was more crowded than ever this year, and she expressed a hope that the event would continue to grow going forward.  The fact that some of the chairs were filled with students in pursuit of extra credit is  no strike against their enthusiasm.  I’ve taught a lot of students, and witnessed enough extra credit events to recognize forced interest and that was not the case here.  In fact, had the evening gone on for another hour or two I don’t think anyone would have minded.  Congratulations to the library on another excellent Halloween event!