Paranormal Kentucky: An Uncommon Wealth of Close Encounters with Aliens, Ghosts, and Cryptids

By Mason Smith and Marie Mitchell

Encounters with Wolfman and Goatman. An Air National Guard captain who tragically lost his life in pursuit of a peculiar UFO. The Goblin Incident of 1955. Hauntings at Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Spanning these and other out-of-this-world topics, Paranormal Kentucky is an investigation into more than twenty cases--some famous, some more obscure--of the supernatural across the Commonwealth. Incidents featuring iconic cryptids like Bigfoot and Mothman, which are rumored to lurk elsewhere in Appalachia and the continental US, are also explored. Coauthors Marie Mitchell and Mason Smith approach each case with nuance and offer in-depth details from multiple perspectives, providing rational explanations alongside the "true believer" claims and mysteries that remain. In addition to field investigations and witness interviews, the duo shares stories of their own experiences with "high strangeness." Mitchell and Smith offer wry but sympathetic accounts, placing Kentucky history and folklore at the forefront of their work. Paranormal Kentucky reminds us that perhaps not everything is as it seems--and that fact can often be found in fiction.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 198590313X
• ISBN13: 9781985903135
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher