About eleven years ago a woman shared an interesting story with me. Late one June night she was walking along University Ave., a little after 10 PM and near 300 South when she saw a “gigantic black manta-ray” flying across the Provo sky. “This thing was four-hundred feet in the air, coming from the South-East and flying North-West. It had a fourteen-foot wingspan and its body … [Read more...]
The Faerie Folk of Utah
For centuries we have heard tales and people have had sightings of enchanted-diminutive humanoids. Their stories are found all over the globe... Even in Utah. I've spent my entire life studying Folklore and Legends and because of this I have accumulated an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Nature Spirit Lore... Or as most people have come to know … [Read more...]
The Significance of the “Salamander” In Mormon and Occult Lore
Most of us have at least heard of the “Mark Hofmann murders” and the related “Salamander Letters,” but what's the deal with this so-called “Salamander?” Most people have heard of Mark Hofmann, his forgeries, that include the “Anthon Transcript,” the “Joseph Smith the 3rd Blessing,” and “The Salamander Letter,” which eventually led to one of the most compelling real life … [Read more...]
Lost and Discarded Love and Courtship Traditions In Utah and Abroad.
The J. Geils Band said it best... “Love Stinks”, but it doesn't have to be that way. Several years ago I wrote a lecture/performance piece with the sole purpose of impressing and eventually wooing a girl. The title of the performance was “Love, Luv, Wuv: One Man’s Bitter Interpretation of The Folklore and Mythology of Love.” It was a hit, not only with the girl I had a crush … [Read more...]
Something Eerie is Happening West of the North Temple Bridge
North Temple... On The “Other Side” When I moved to Salt Lake City and into the apartment complex on North Temple I knew something was amiss about this street. I'm not referring to the homeless or criminal element, this is something much-curiouser than a drug-deal or a stumbling drunkard. No, I'm hinting at the possibility of a HAUNTED NORTH TEMPLE! Once I was situated … [Read more...]
A Christmas Ghost Story
The Holiday Season. Beneath the theological ownership (you had better say “Merry Christmas”, damn it!), mindless, competitive consumerism, and talking caribou with bizarre otorhinolaryngological symptoms, there lies an often-ignored tradition of folklore, myth, and legend—traditions that are steeped in occult practices. Occult, when properly defined, means “Hidden Knowledge” … [Read more...]
Utah Bigfoot Sightings
Before we can have a constructive conversation about Bigfoot, or any other unsubstantiated creature, we first must understand cryptozoology—the study of animals not yet recognized by science. There is a lot of baggage that comes with this particular branch of science, and this baggage misconstrues cryptozoology's true intent. Whenever the word cryptozoology is mentioned, … [Read more...]
Terror at the Bottom of The Lake
For centuries there have been tales of unknown water monsters lurking within some of the world's waterways. Utah is not stranger to these legends. Danny B Stewart attempts to shed a little light on Utah Lake Monster Lore! There are some wonderful and eerie tales crawling out of Utah's lakes and waterways. Stories that involve what pop-culture and cryptozoology would … [Read more...]
Strange Things From Hidden Sources
I have spent my entire life collecting legends and researching the mysteries and aspects of the human experience. Over the years, I have amassed a treasure trove of “Utah Folklore Stories.” Most of these stories involve what people would define as the “supernatural or miraculous: spiritual-phenomena, strange and out-of-place creatures, and faerie-folk, for example. Some of … [Read more...]