249. Lyle Blackburn: Cryptids, Lore, & Music

Join us as we explore the fascinating world of cryptozoology with Lyle Blackburn, a renowned researcher and musician. Discover how 'The Legend of Boggy Creek' shaped his career, his collaborations with Small Town Monsters, and the impact of technology on cryptid research. Lyle shares insights into his upcoming book series 'Terrifying Encounters' and emphasizes the importance of empathy in documenting local legends. Dive into personal anecdotes and learn how Lyle balances his music career with his passion for cryptid investigations. Welcome back to Infinite Rabbit Hole!

For more info on everything Lyle Blackburn, visit his website at ⁠http://www.lyleblackburn.com/⁠

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Episode Transcript

(00:38):
Welcome back to the infinite rabbit hole.
There are corners of the American South where the Cypress
trees block out the sun and the line between folklore and
reality gets very blurry. Most people avoid these dark
places, but our guest tonight has built a career and a legacy
walking right into them. He is the physical embodiment of

(01:00):
Southern Gothic. You likely known him as a front
man of the horror Western band Ghoul Town, one of the narrators
behind the Small Town Monsters documentaries, or the author who
literally wrote the book on the Beast of Boggy Creek.
I actually had the privilege of sharing a stage with him just
last month during Autocrits intothe Unknown Expert session.

(01:22):
Seeing him in that element really reminded me why he is the
definitive voice in this field. He bridges the gap between
Rockstar charisma and Sirius boots on the ground journalism
like no one else. Tonight we're waiting back into
the swamp with the Man in Black.Please welcome Lyle Blackburn.
Lyle, welcome to the infinite rabbit hole, my friend.

(01:43):
Thank you. Very awesome intro.
I'm going to have to have you come on every show that I do.
So Lyle, just to kind of introduce you to, if there's
anybody that listens to this podcast that don't, that doesn't
know who you are, I've referenced you in a ton of
episodes. We have 200 and where I think
this is 205 and I probably referenced you and at least 100

(02:08):
of them at some point. So for those that don't know,
Lyle is a perfect hybrid betweenRockstar and cryptozoologist,
urban legend researcher. But he's not your everyday sit
at the desk, read a book, Google.
He actually gets out there, goesto these small towns and does

(02:31):
first hand interviews and first hand research with these places
of lore and legend. I myself have a ton of his
books. I've done specials for this show
where I've utilized books that I've referenced.
I've referenced books that he's written specifically about the
topics that I did my research on, such as The Lizard Man of

(02:53):
Bishopville. This one was probably one of our
more more popular Cryptid episodes that we've ever done,
and 90% of my research came directly from Lyle's book.
Another one being the Beast of Boggy Creek was, was one that
absolutely took off and that's 100% thanks to Lyle.

(03:14):
I, I would say about 75% of my research came from this one,
the, and the Boggy Creek case book that he has written.
But thanks to him, I was able toget my hands on something that I
didn't know I needed until I, until I've read about it in one
of his books. And that was Smokey Crabtree's
book Smokey and, and the Falk Monster.

(03:38):
So that's actually where I want to start off in general.
Lyle Right, We'll get to the Rock'n'roll and everything, but
I really want to know about the the Monster Hunter.
How did this begin for you? How?
Where did you get your start andyour love for all this stuff?
Well, you know, the short of that is that as far back as I

(04:00):
can remember, I just loved moviemonsters, anything spooky or
monstrous. And of course, you know, I saw
what I could on TV back in the day and, you know, I was
familiar with Famous Monsters magazine.
And then when I was in 3rd grade, I got a book called
Strange But True by Daniel Cohen.
That was the first time I'd heard of Bigfoot, Yeti and the

(04:21):
Loch Ness Monster 'cause it had chapters on those.
And that's when I was like, wow,this sounds super cool because
these are like monsters that youmight see in the real world.
My dad is a avid bow hunter, so I grew up hunting as since I
could walk basically. And so, you know, I was familiar
with small towns and, you know, wooded areas.

(04:44):
So that was kind of Bigfooty. But I, I was born in Fort Worth
and lived in Texas. So, you know, stories of Bigfoot
seem far away. And of course Loch Ness Monster
and Yeti were, you know, continents away.
Then I saw the movie The Legend of Boggy Creek when I was really
young, sometime in the 70s. And that really blew my mind

(05:05):
because it was like happening ina small town about 3 hours from
where I lived. So then it was sort of like,
man, this stuff is so cool. And I just had a lifelong, you
know, passion for cryptids and Bigfoot sightings and any,
anything like that, real life monsters, so to speak.
And you know, I went on to become a musician and I, I did

(05:26):
writing as well. I kind of wrote off and on, but
I just never really thought about writing a book, a book.
It sounded boring writing a booklike I can, like I can write a
song and I can go play it on stage like literally next week
or record an album and go on tour.
It sounded boring. But then as I as an adult, I

(05:46):
started looking more into what'sthe state of Cryptid things.
And I was thinking at it more like with my adult mind and
thinking, you know what, the legend of Boggy Creek.
I love that that that happened all, you know, close to me and,
and that would be really cool book.
I can't believe nobody written abook on it because every
Bigfooter, it's like, Oh yeah, Ilove the legend of Boggy Creek

(06:07):
because I'd gone to a few Bigfoot conferences and things.
And this was many, many years ago.
And so then I just thought, man,I'll just going to go research
this and go up there and look atthose places in the, in the
Sulphur River bottoms and I'm going to go hang out with
Smokey. And, and I just plunged right
into it. And then I wrote the Beast of
Boggy Creek. And then I just kind of did it

(06:29):
because I want, I just wanted to.
And I got a publishing deal withAnomalous pretty quick.
And then with, within about a month or two after that came
out, I was getting calls from television shows like Monsters
and Mysteries in America and Finding Bigfoot.
Those were kind of just a lot ofthose are really coming out and
they were interviewing me about the Falk monster.

(06:49):
And I just thought, OK, this is pretty good.
This is fun. And then I discovered this can
be fun because I went out and did you know, I was out in the
swamp and talking to, you know, people who lived in the Bottoms
and interviewing people in this town and talking of people
telling me they saw a monster. So then I, the writing was fun

(07:10):
at that point because then, you know, to write it up was fun
because I wasn't just sitting at, at a desk the whole time
during the process of books. So anyway, that that was good.
And so then I just went from there thinking, well, what other
case should I do for my next book?
And that's when I thought, well,the lizard man, because, you
know, I'm kind of a huge fan of like Creature from the Black

(07:32):
Lagoon. And this happened at skateboard
Swamp in South Carolina. I'm like, dude, this is like
modern people saying they saw kind of like a creature from the
Black Lagoon. So I went out there and hung out
with Sheriff Truesdale and saw all the police files and just
just rolled from there and continue with the books.
And, and of course people said, I love how you go to the places

(07:54):
in your book. So then I'm like, OK, now I got
to go. I can't write a book without
going to the place. So I just continued.
Man, you are. You're everywhere.
You've you've blown up, you know, I mean, ever since I've
been really into this stuff and,and doing my own research,
you've been there, but you're literally everywhere.
If somebody knows or has the slightest interest in

(08:16):
cryptozoology, they know the name loud Blackburn.
I mean you're, you're part of the small town monsters crew.
Let's I want to dive into that because honestly, that is beyond
amazing from from my own point of view.
I I I've idolized Seth Breedloveand everybody out in that crew.
Shane and the grow in yourself for so long.

(08:39):
You guys are literally like a squad of superheroes.
When in the cryptozoology world.How'd you get tied up in small
town monsters, man? And how is that?
How is that for you? Well, the, the first time I met
Seth, I was speaking at the OhioBigfoot Conference.
And this would have been probably around 20, 13 or 14

(09:02):
maybe. And he, he just came up and
introduced himself. I think he had read The Beast of
Boggy Creek. And he was like, oh man, I love
small, these cases and how they affect small towns.
And we were talking about that. He was, he was like, I'm going
to write a book maybe like aboutsmall towns in these cryptids.
And we were just talking about the subject.

(09:24):
And then then he kind of pivotedand decided to do that
documentary on the Minerva monster.
He met a couple other guys. And so they ended up just going
for the film aspect. And so, you know, you know, we
just kept in touch. And then he did the Beast of
Whitehall. And then when it came time, he's
like a man. We got to do Falcon monster.

(09:45):
I mean, Boggy Creek is like thisquintessential monster has a big
movie and affects the whole town.
So he said, I want, you know, I can't do this without you
because I, you know, I'd literally written the book.
So it was his idea to kind of incorporate me more into it
rather than just use my book or whatever, or just interview me.

(10:07):
It was like, here, I'm going to kind of put interject you in the
film. So that's when he began that
style of having me is like, you should narrate it because I'm
like, OK. And, you know, I'd, I had
narrated an episode of Monsters and Mysteries in America.
They did a Blackburn Files episode and I'd, I kind of
learned a lot by narrating that episode.

(10:28):
And so, so anyway, you know, we did the, the Boggy Creek monster
documentary and people loved it and just sort of that style and
we went ahead. And so when he did Mothman, he's
like, you know, I'm it's less about me, but I want you to
narrate it. So I narrated it.

(10:50):
So I think I've narrated now 10 of their movies.
And you know, Boggy Creek and Momo, I was in, I did, I was a
host. Like that's sort of a different
kind of style. But anyway, so yeah, it's great
to work with him. And I mean, we're, you know,
Seth and I talk frequently or run ideas and I know the whole
crew, all the guys. And you know, I'm kind of like

(11:13):
the outlier. You know, there's some of them
guys work all the time together on every production or whatever.
But I'm sort of, I'm just, I'm just the hired gun on call When
he says I need you to do this, Ido it.
And that it's always great to toparticipate the latest.
I just narrated the the intro for the Ape Canyon documentary

(11:36):
that they just did, which is a very cool documentary just came
out. But I only narrate like the
beginning and then they sort of take over and tell the story,
but I can't. Wait for that years ago, Jake,
what was it 2021-2022? When we were in the paranormal
network, we worked under Jason Hewlett, who just started
working, working with small townmonsters.
He did the Okopogo and he just did heart of ice or the Wendigo

(12:00):
story. So it's it's cool, man.
We're we're slowly meeting people from from the small town
monsters crew. I was on Shannon Legros podcast
a couple of years ago, two yearsago.
I think now been trying really hard to get her on here, but
she's she's a very popular person.
She's still waiting. That's all Shannon, if you're if

(12:22):
you're listening, still waiting.But guys, you guys have any
questions so I don't hijack thisentire episode?
Not really, man, Not yet. He will once we get in the
music. Yeah, once we get in.
I'm not like the biggest crypticguy personally.
I mean, I find it like interesting, but you know, it's
not really like my my Forte so. But I'm here for it, so.

(12:46):
Oh yeah, man. Let it ride.
How about you, Jacob? Yeah, that's funny.
You're basically coming into this space example of how you
were real big into monster filmsand stuff like that.
Like that's like for I don't celebrate Halloween, but I'll
spend the entire month of October watching all the B rated

(13:07):
like creature features and stufflike that.
My favorite so far is movie fromthe 1930s called Man Beast
because the acting is awful, butI super big into the costumery
of the whole thing and you know,let's say like animatronics,
things like that, right, puppeteering and all that sort

(13:30):
of stuff. And so it's always really struck
me as, you know, one of my favorite genres of of films.
So naturally the next step is tothen get into what you're doing
and go searching for the Creature from Black Lagoon and
stuff like that. Everything is just like, oh,
this guy's, you know, it's like we get guests on here all the
time that you just. I have no similarities with them

(13:52):
whatsoever. And it's just like I'm like, OK,
well, this is kind of interesting and stuff like that.
But yeah, it's like the second you said that, my ears perked
up. I'm just like, look at that.
Like the monster movies, like me, you know, not too big into
the whole ghosts and aliens and things like that.
But yeah. I mean, I literally live.
I mean, you know, I don't, I don't, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm

(14:12):
balanced and skeptical enough about it.
I'm, I don't like, hey, I'm going to go to the swamp and I'm
immediately going to see the creature.
It's like, but in a way it's like, it's totally Indiana
Jones. Like I'm living like, like in a
movie or something. Like I'm going to hunt for
monsters in real life. And some, you know, sometimes

(14:34):
I've, you know, I've seen stuff and experienced things and
sometimes I haven't, but it's always just a cool experience.
Like just it gives me a reason to go somewhere.
Like literally, I'm down on the edge of a swamp in some state,
in some backwoods in a trailer, talking to some people that I

(14:55):
would have never met in my entire life.
And I So what do you want to know?
You know, and you're just like you may get here and you meet
people that are just super interesting and many of them
have some really good stories and if you piece.
Together, the cases of these creatures that in some ways the

(15:16):
story is just as interesting as the creature itself for the
sightings. And Seth feels the same way.
It's like it builds this whole mystique, like the Mothman, you
know, the lizard man. It's like you.
It almost exists whether it exists or not because you're

(15:37):
talking to people that are telling you they saw it and you
can't say they did or didn't. You know, some people seem more
credible than others, but you'reliving like literally in a
monster movie and then. You're like, well, we'll take
you out here on the boat down back over here.
This woman saw, you know, next thing you're out with in the
middle of nowhere with some guys, you know, you're like.
Put some real trust into them, huh?

(15:59):
Yeah, yeah, a few times I'm like, but of which, you know, I
think if I was just some writer who's going out, but, you know,
since I grew up hunting, I mean,we were hanging out with a lot
of rough dudes and wooded areas and, you know, I was exposed to
a lot of that. So I was even though I'm like a
city guy, I've been played, played music in every major city

(16:23):
and. But I could still go in the
middle of the swamp and be rightat home.
So that helped me out. But.
But I guess what I'm saying is, yeah, it's like in a way, I just
try to think I'm living in a monster movie.
You know, it's, it's funny, whenJeremy and I started this
podcast like five years ago now,when we first started out, it

(16:43):
was interviewing people that hadhad experiences and things like
that, right? And it's the idea was to always
get to a point where, you know, especially when we were under
the Paranormal Network, you know, we were actually getting
paid for our show and stuff. And so the idea was we would put
that money aside and say, take a, you know, I was living in

(17:03):
California at the time in the Navy.
And it was like, Hey, you know, the Patterson Gimlin film was
filmed just a couple hours northof me.
You know, how about if we all, you know, take a trip out there
and, and do that or, you know, base camp in each other's
locations because, you know, Jeff was down in Florida, still
is. And then Jeremy was where were

(17:23):
you in the Virginia at the time,right?
And. Then you moved over over here to
Wisconsin. But yeah, that was like the
whole idea is that we eventuallywe wanted to get past just
interviewing people like this instead going places and doing
stuff. And so it's kind of interesting
to hear your, you know, progression to that point.

(17:44):
So I think, yeah, we needed to just get up off our butts and go
do the thing. Because I think that closest
we've been so far is going to UFO days here in Elmwood, WI and
interviewing people that, you know, say they've seen UFOs and
all this sort of stuff. We're at alien encounters and
everything, and it's cool. But yeah, I mean, it would be
dope to go just running around in a Florida swamp somewhere

(18:08):
looking for some, you know, Bigfoot variants or something
like that. You know, it'd be.
Go look for the source of the Mayaka photos.
Downstairs. Doing like the in real life
stuff, it is fun because me and Creamer, we've gone to like NASA
and Space Center and like, you know, we're always into the
conspiracies and all that stuff.So like just walking around with
the camera and like checking stuff out in person is a million

(18:30):
times better than just talking to each other on the Internet.
You know, as much as I like doing this, it's there's nothing
like getting out there and like boots on the ground kind of
thing. Yeah, I agree with you Lyle.
You know, it's, I would say out of all the things that we've
talked about and people we've talked to, I probably find maybe
1% of it to be, you know, no crap believable.

(18:52):
But I mean, that's just me. But regardless, the stories and
the, you know, I don't have to believe that it actually
happened, but I can believe thatthey believe that it happened
sort of a thing. But you know, the stories and
you know, you get real interesting.
Like I don't think this guy's making this thing up sort of,

(19:14):
you know, situations with, with some of the people that we've
we've talked to. And it's, it's really what when
Jeremy and I started this, we wanted to, I don't know, kind of
help people that have had these sorts of experiences that might
feel so super isolated being like, well, I saw Bigfoot and
you know, and no one else that Iknow has seen this and being

(19:34):
able to connect those people together and create a community
like that. So I like that you're, you know,
the, I don't know what I'm trying to say the.
He's written the script for the whole thing, man.
The description that you gave of, of meeting interesting
characters, you know, backwoods type people and stuff like that,

(19:55):
Like that's really cool. Like what a what a neat thing
to. Be.
Yeah. I mean, even if you know, even
if you never come across. The monster, see the monster,
like you're still, you're still living like a whole multiple
lives worth of experiences just meeting these people going out
in the woods, like doing all that.
That in itself is an adventure, you know, monster aside.

(20:16):
But then you add that element like, well, maybe maybe
somewhere out here, this thing'swatching us or something, you
know, maybe we'll stumble acrosssomething that's, you know, like
that part of it just kind of adds that element of like, oh
shit, here we go, you know? Yeah, you just have to put
yourself in these places. You get a better perspective
and, you know, it, it it. And as a writer, I mean, my

(20:38):
sinister Swamps book is probablymy favorite book because, you
know, this every setting is awesome to describe.
And how many spooky ways can I set this up?
And in the, you know, that covers a lot of notorious swamps
in North America and lot in the Southeast.
I've been, I've been to a lot ofthem, you know, over time.

(20:59):
One time I went on a swamp tour.I just drove around the country
going to notorious swamps. I just my friend, this, this
girl Cindy, that does a lot of research with me.
I'm like, you want to go on a swamp tour?
And she always just says, yes. I'm like, I don't know what that
is, but OK. So we're going to drive around
to swamps and we're going to getpeople to take us in their own
boats. She's like, OK, I mean stuff

(21:22):
like that. But you, you know, those are,
those are fun things to write about when you get home and you,
you do meet interesting people. And of course you're, I'm trying
to interview people who had sightings or whatever, but you
know, it, you get a much better perspective than even then
seeing pictures or looking on Wikipedia for the story.
It's like, you know, you, you, you can get a, a real good

(21:43):
perspective on how somebody can see something out there and go,
you know what? I can see why they thought they
saw this or why they might have because people think, oh, you
know, there's nowhere you can goor hide or, you know, people
think, where could these creatures?
Hide. I'm like, let me show you an
aerial view of the Sulfur River bottoms in Southwest Arkansas,

(22:06):
and I'll drop you in the middle of that with no GPS or compass,
and you tell me if you can find your way out.
Is you this thick and muddy and swampy and the average person
and something could be 15 yards with you?
You walk by, if it doesn't move,you're not going.
To see it. And that could be 15 yards every

(22:27):
direction, every square mile. I did some training, survival
training once with Marines, and those guys could hide
practically in plain sight. They're not wearing good ghillie
suits and stuff. They I learned a lot about how
easy it is to conceal yourself and that they're, you know,
animals would be their environment, that that's what

(22:49):
they're made. Survival is their thing, you
know, and that's their domain. So people don't really realize
it doesn't take a lot of space and something can be very, you
know, secluded and, and would bean expert in evading humans if

(23:09):
it needed to be. So you kind of get that
perspective where you know what,there could be something out
here, the small population of something and I just, you know,
I wouldn't see it unless it justmade a mistake or something, you
know? Yeah, I discussed that with
Jeremy once or twice because I've, I've driven cross country
twice now and I'm like outside the cities, in the small towns,

(23:33):
there is nothing out there. Like people get this weird thing
like, Oh my gosh, 8 billion people, there must be, you know,
not a single square inch of untamed space anywhere, you
know? And it's just like, no, man, get
into some of those states where it's like Arkansas and stuff
like that. You get outside of in Oklahoma,
you get outside the the towns and the cities, and they're just

(23:53):
trees for 300 miles before you hit the next gas station.
There's just nothing, you know, it's just like, yeah.
Yeah, all those, those 8 billionpeople are in LA in the traffic
or in Dallas in the traffic. They're all after all, in one
spot. And then it is spread out.
And there are places where, I mean, you know, people penetrate
a lot of places, but it's not there's not great numbers of

(24:16):
people tromping through some of these areas, you know, sure,
like there would be in cities where it's just gotten so
crowded. But you know and.
Even then, me and my wife almostcreamed a dough right outside of
Walmart yesterday. I mean, you know, it's still get
in there, you know? Right.
I had a guy tell me no, I I didn't find this guy to be the

(24:39):
most credible guy, but he did. He was trying to tell me there
was some bigfoots down. It was either no, it was either
Costco or the Walmart or something like he they were in
the dumpsters. I'm like, OK, I said I've seen
some guys, you know, some peopleat Walmart that might glance at
and thank us all Sasquatch. But you know, all jokes aside,

(25:00):
he's trying to tell me they werein the dumpsters or whatever at
this city, like in Oklahoma Cityor something.
I'm like, I don't tell any unless there's a portal in the
dumpster or some really crazy explanation.
I'm not buying it. But you know, if this is a an
area where it's very remote, then yeah, maybe so.
Speaking of portals. I got one more question before I

(25:23):
forget. So you're, you're pretty well
known now, but when you got started, or I don't know, even
still today, if you ever come into a situation where you're
trying to interview people and you just get completely
stonewalled, they're just like have no desire whatsoever to
open up. Some, you know, an occasion

(25:44):
where, yeah, where usually what it is is somebody will have
knowledge about maybe I'm at a conference or some way or
another a person me to go. I know this old guy, he, you
know, back, you know, 15 years ago, he claimed he'll have had
some incredible sighting or he and his buddy shot this, you

(26:09):
know, Bigfoot, some really crazystory.
And it's usually somebody else who's wanting me to get that
information. And they're, they try to set up,
you know, a conversation with that person.
And sometimes those are the kindof people that are like, I'm not
going to talk to that guy. You know, they don't even know.
They may or may not even know who I am, but they just won't

(26:31):
talk. And so those are the kinds.
Those are the times when I just can't, you know, sounds like it
might be an intriguing story, but I can't get those people to
talk. And usually they're older people
and probably haven't told many people about this or have told
some people and people laughed at it.
And then they just said, I'm notsaying that more, but you know,

(26:52):
in general, I, most people you know, will be glad to share with
me anyway. They, they feel like I treat the
subject seriously. So if they, if they know me of
course, and they've had a sighting or experience, they're
glad to tell me or really want to tell me if you know I, I
don't have too much of a problemusually.

(27:14):
May got a lot here. Jake and I were the original 2.
Our very first episode was a interview with a good buddy of
mine from the Navy. He lived just outside of Slidell
in Louisiana along Pearl River and he had a sighting of, of a
weird creature one night when hewas just walking outside of his,
his, his grandmother's house on her property.

(27:37):
And he had never heard of, of the Honey Island swap monster.
So I actually had referred him to your book, Sinister Swamps,
and he read up on it. And then I also gave him
another, gave him another reference book.
I think it was, I want to say itwas a book called Southern
Saurians. Anyways, between that he was
able to learn enough about the Honey Island swamp monster.

(27:59):
And I actually found a local woman there who was writing her
own books and selling them on the on the side of the road.
And he came on, did the interview with us.
And he has he has a really interesting story.
But when you go into these smalltowns with the, the growth of
technology now, right, because you've been doing this for for

(28:22):
quite a while, are you seeing differences when you go into
these smaller towns to learn about their local legends?
Let's say honey on Swamp MonsterMomo, pick one, right?
Are you seeing a difference between nowadays and back then?
And do you think that the advancement in technology such

(28:45):
as AI or the ability to exchangeinformation at the snap of a
finger through the interwebs haschanged how people are, what
kind of information they're giving you, and how you approach
these kind of topics? Well, I mean, if you're talking

(29:05):
to people in a small town and they're relatively middle-aged
or older, all that stuff has literally no effect.
They're just like, here's what Isaw this when I saw it, my
cousin also saw something and there you go.
They don't, they just don't carethat all this AI and all the

(29:27):
technology and sharing stuff andis mostly centered around people
who are into the subject. Not necessarily the people that
had the experiences, but people who are on Facebook things and
sharing stuff and just endless AI photos that people debate
about and stuff. The only thing I've seen over

(29:49):
time is that sometimes people who have had these experiences
now have the ability to listen to podcasts or watch ATV show or
is used to. They didn't and they'll say, I
went, I listened to this podcastwhere somebody said they saw it
and that was similar to my experience.

(30:11):
So they do have a way to kind ofresearch.
It didn't really change the coreof how they present their story
or what it is. But I didn't used to you didn't
used to encounter that people would, you know, if they had
their thing and I've, you know, and they would say, has anybody
else had these experiences? But now, you know, people are

(30:32):
able to find podcasts and things.
So a lot of times they've listened to other stuff and then
they feel a little bit better probably about their sighting
because like, OK, now there's somebody else who saw something
that I thought I was the only person that saw something really
weird. So that it helps.
And I think that, you know, things are easily shared now, of

(30:55):
course. I mean, you can find 50 million
people saying they've seen Bigfoot if you just look in all
these groups before, you know, if you're old school, like just
think about John Green in the 70s, like how that how he writes
a book, you know, like, yeah, like this, you know, that that's
this thick. No Internet, literally

(31:18):
newspapers from around the country.
I'm like, man, that is a massiveamount of, you know, research
investigative journalism, how hedid that.
Now it's so much easier. You know, I'm writing a new book
and I just kind of read, you know, I needed a sighting about
a certain creature and I, you know, pulled some of my

(31:40):
followers online and some that got me to a person who had this
amazing sighting. And so I just literally use
technology so it's easier to find things.
But at the core, you know, people still are protective of
their they're sighting and they don't want people to make fun of
them, of course. You ever have anybody just like

(32:03):
totally waste your time? Like you go across the country
or something and you meet up with some people, they take you
out into the woods and you just kind of realize along the way,
like this guy's literally just like full of shit and like, here
is that ever happened to you? That has that happened earlier
on where I would. I wasn't as streamlined or as
busy and I would follow some threads that, yeah, that weren't

(32:28):
very solid. But after a while you learn
quickly which things seem more credible than others and which
might be worth, you know, I can't people have this
perception and like, hey, I justhad this sighting yesterday in
Michigan. Can you come check it out?
I'm like, you know, that's not cost and the time and it would

(32:48):
have to be, you know, it would have to be like really
exceptional and or I'm just, oh,well, I'm going to be up there
and maybe I can veer off and, and talk to you or whatever.
You can show me your site. So I did go on some, you know,
wild, wild goose chases early on.
But I, I quickly identified those people who said who tell

(33:11):
me extraordinary claims that I would need to have more proof
or, or feel this is more worthwhile if I'm going to
invest the time into it. Because it'll just mean I can
find people saying this, these sightings all over.
I don't need to go, you know, necessarily to Michigan.

(33:31):
I can just go over here to Oklahoma.
So yeah, I'm, I'm way more picky.
So I don't get in those situations anymore.
So in a, in a time where actually, let me, let me
backtrack that few years ago, I I would believe that some of
that better evidence to really pull you into a location would

(33:53):
most likely be a video of voice recording, even a photograph.
But now with AI come along the way it is, how are you
deciphering what you're going toactually put some effort into?
Usually, I mean, the top thing for me is the person themselves.
I mean, because usually people are just not going to have a

(34:13):
great photo anyway. And if they had such an amazing
photo that was really real, theyprobably would just put it on
YouTube or whatever, you know, or on their feed, you know, But
mostly it comes down to the to the person that if I feel like
they're, you know, credible, relatively well spoken, you

(34:34):
know, it's not like, and they had something that I feel really
affected them. And you can, you can just tell
the difference and then you can tell what I consider things that
are either wishful thinking. Or illusionary or whatever.
It's easy. So it's the person that would
drive it the most is to say. And then of course, in pairing

(34:57):
with if I'm doing a book on, youknow, Momo Zuri and I'm
concentrating all efforts on that, you know, then obviously
I'm more likely, yeah, more likely to invest time and money
into going to look into something there because it's

(35:18):
going to be in the book and it'spart of the story and not just
Billy Nilly going around the country investigating sightings.
Because ultimately, you know, unless I'm backed by some a
millionaire or whatever, or there's a Tom Slick.
But then like Peter Byrne had, if you don't have that, you just

(35:41):
don't have the luxury of just going around just randomly so.
Yeah. So I want to dive a little bit
into the music that you do as well and kind of the the
marriage between the two careersthat you have.
Has there ever been a time whereyou're on some sort of
investigation, doing some sort of research that's actually

(36:03):
inspired something for Ghoul Town?
No, it's kind of a strange thing.
It just they are two different worlds and I don't somehow they
just don't mix. I just the things I write for
Ghoul town just sort of come outlike that and kind of stick with
a kind of western spaghetti western horror theme and

(36:26):
everything. But those songs just come out
like they are. I did kind of dabble with trying
to write 1 like a legend of Boggy Creek song or put Bigfoot
and just sounded silly and it just didn't work.
And I mean I literally just got some guy the other day sending
me lyrics were a Bigfoot song here you can use these and it

(36:48):
was pretty good. But it was not it just the 2
worlds didn't meet. So they're almost like one of
them's my day job or night job and the other it's and they just
they kind of don't have anythingto do with each other unless
like playing some place. Like I was playing with my doom
metal band in Germany. Me and the drummer went to the
small town where where they had a case of a werewolf, like a guy

(37:12):
was executed for being a werewolf.
So like, Hey, that's not too farfrom where we're at.
And we took a train over there and, and went out there.
And you know, so sometimes I canjust piggyback things together
because I, it works that way. But but in a way, they're very
separate and I don't, I don't try to cross them over other

(37:36):
than this. Like people you, I'm on a
paranormal podcast. We will talk about the music and
people will go check it out and they'll either like it or don't.
But a lot of people discovered the band through that.
So they crossover and just because I'm the guy.
But other than that, and I try to do both, It's become very
hardest to do. But we don't.

(37:58):
I just don't go on whole tours, like long tours much anymore.
So you know, unless we're doing an album, we play bigger shows
and stuff. I have plenty of time to do my
own thing, you know, because I really don't want to just spend
enough years touring around, so I don't do do much of that so.

(38:20):
Yeah, I think I probably startedfollowing your your music shit
probably probably about five years ago.
I think it was in your I don't even know.
It's one of the books that I have that you had mentioned cool
town and and I was like, Oh no shit.
So I had to I had to go check itout.
I've been every time you guys come up with something new on on

(38:43):
YouTube and it comes up on my recommended page, I I check you
out, man. I like to follow your career
either either one of them. You do good stuff.
Yeah, it is kind of cool now because like, you know, we we
did a kind of a southern tour couple years ago and now you'll
have a lot of like Bigfoot guys show up or Cryptid fans or

(39:04):
parent, you know, so I'll end uptalking to people like, hey man,
I love your book. So, you know, they'll come to
the shows, you know, that didn'tused to happen.
You know, Google Town was GoogleTown and but yeah, so now I get
to meet a lot of people that just became fans.
But they're, you know, they're huge fans of cryptids.
So they'll come out and, you know, talk.
And so that's cool because, you know, any show there can be, you

(39:27):
know, original Ghoul Town fans and then, you know, Cryptid fans
who are also Ghoul Town. So that's pretty cool.
That's awesome guys who have anyquestions.
Yeah, which? Which would you prefer if you
had to pick one right If you cancontinue doing the monster
huntering or continue the music?Like which path do you think you
take if you had to choose? Which one of your kids do you

(39:48):
love more? Yeah, which one do you love
more? That is the problem man.
I literally cannot. It's like they're both cool and
somehow I try to do both, which is kind of crazy.
It's like you really don't want to do what?
To quote a term, you don't want to chase 2 rapid 2 rabbits.
You shouldn't wear 2 hats. But.
I only wear one hat and you guysare the rabbits.

(40:10):
But yeah, it's just impossible. So somehow I just try to do it
all and I balance it and I kind of usually the band suffers, the
monster hunting doesn't because I can control that.
The band may suffer a little, but but I've been doing music
for so long. Like before I was out of high
school, I was already in bands playing fairly big shows and

(40:31):
even I was not even on vinyl records and stuff.
So it's that's what's going on along time.
So I just do the band enough to where I enjoy it and we just
have a good time and I do everything.
So it's impossible to to pick. I can relate to that honestly
man, because I've got like multiple hobbies and it's like

(40:51):
it's like never. It's almost like if they were
all jobs I would be miserable because it's just never ending.
It's like 24/7 it seems like except for when I'm asleep.
But you know, they're hobbies. So it's all things that I enjoy
doing, but I'm like ping pongingback and forth and trying to
write a song and trying to do. They're trying to do a podcast
trying. It's just like, it's a lot.

(41:11):
So I can see that. Yeah, and I, I think though they
did that in some ways can help because you never get tired of
one thing. Like if I OK, I just put out an
album, we went on tour, I got towrite another.
Album, you know, if I had this obligation or this label thing
where I'd I don't have any of that.
I just literally do what I feel inspired to do.

(41:35):
Hey, I'm going to work on a booktoday.
I got, you know, loving this book.
I'm right and you know I don't. I'm not working on a book.
I've got some song ideas, so everything is always just coming
at what I want to do and what I'm inspired to do, which is a
better thing than if you you know, if you didn't just have
one thing, you would, you know, you definitely have to, you

(41:55):
know, the next album, the next thing or the next book.
So it I think it helps to give your best when you, you don't
have to do it, you just do what inspires you and that's what you
look. That's.
All you got any books about the music industry?
Books about the music industry? Yeah, no.
You ever think about writing one?

(42:17):
No, there's, there's too many creatures.
I can't. Do.
The list of books is and so I mean, I did, the only thing I
did was a, it's a book. Tales from the Badlands, which
is the lyrics of Ghoul Town Volume 1.
I did half, kind of half the lyrics that prints the lyrics.
And then I talked about there's like a page or so about just

(42:38):
something behind the lyrics or the inspiration or just some
antidote about that. So it's a book.
I mean, most bands probably don't have a literary type work
that goes with it. I I've only so far done volume
1. I need to do the other half.
But so that's the only thing that is remotely music meets

(42:59):
book. But but yeah, I've got there's
too many. I think I've got too many books
in mind already to where I can'taccomplish that through my whole
entire life. So I probably wouldn't jump off
and you know, do any other genres of book probably.
Yeah. All right, I got AI Got a
question from a from a fan. I just got this text.

(43:25):
Are you friends with? Are you friends with?
Yes, of course. Yeah, all right, man, who wears
the Black Hat better? Well, we tried to figure out who
had the hat 1st. And so we were like, who had the
hat? Which we're, we're, we're, we
Ken calls it. What does he call it divergent

(43:49):
development or something? But we were both in this before
we knew each other. We were both kind of into this
subject. We tended to wear hats.
He was a singer in a rock band, wore the hat.
I was, I'm a singer in a rock band, wear the hat.
We both ended up on television shows, We write books.
And when we met, we were just like instant brothers.

(44:09):
Of course, like, dude, hey, it'syou.
It's me. But we did go back and say who,
who had the hat 1st? And we could produce pictures of
us at the youngest of ages goingright here, buddy and match
where I think we got back to three years old.
We both had a picture. I'm wearing a cowboy hat.
He was wearing like a little more like an Amazon Explorer,

(44:32):
but pretty close. I'm like, OK, it's a draw.
But the good thing is, is and wewe we love the jokes because
people with the hats and this and that and people will say,
hey, man, I saw you on TV. We're never really sure which
one they saw, but it doesn't matter.
We're both in the same place. At one time I was like, this is

(44:52):
like double exposure, dude. So we have a we just have the
best fun with it. With the hat thing, yeah.
That's awesome, man, because. I had a question for you.
So do you get you have like a spare?
I do not. So that's that's the one.
It's the. One, yeah, this came from Mexico
around 1998. I used to go to Mexico a lot and

(45:15):
there was this little shop that had leather goods like really
badass boots and vests and hats.And that's where I got the hat
right about the time I had the idea for Ghoul town and stuff
and and it just, it was like themagic hat.
And then I've since tried to find like a backup or I probably

(45:38):
have to have a custom made because they just don't look
quite the same. So I just have this one.
I don't never gets out of my sight.
Yeah, it's like it's. Sleep with.
That. Meat paced where they.
They've handcuffed it to themselves.
I've been at the handcuff. Hat.
Hey, I seen this guy on the Internet.
I don't know his his thing, but he does like those custom

(46:00):
leather. You might have seen him.
He does like the really bad ass like custom leather hats.
I think he goes to a lot of likemetal shows and festivals and
he's doing that thing. You might have to hit him up man
and get you a spare just in casebecause if you use that hat man.
Well, that hat's probably worth a lot of money now.
I know a lot of people that would love to get their hands on
that hat. Yeah, I know.
I'm, I'm like it, it's in my wheel to to my daughter.

(46:21):
So yes, she's like what I'm like, seriously, I think it is.
But yeah, I, if I run across oneof them kind of guys, I, you
know, they can measure, measure this one or whatever, It's
wouldn't be that hard to, to redo it.
But yeah, I, I need a backup now.
I kind of have, I have some stunt double S.
They're not the same and I wouldn't wear it in place.

(46:42):
But I have stunt double S like if I'm going out in the middle
of a swamp and, you know, if I want to, if I'm filming or I
kind of want the hat vibe, I'll wear a different Black Hat
that's not quite the same. But, you know, I don't want this
thing falling in an alligator eating it or whatever.
You know, it was once cowhide. So, you know, they may think

(47:03):
it's food. But so, yeah, I don't wait.
Wear it out in the middle of, you know, places where it would
be in jeopardy. That's interesting.
I, I pictured you had like you open up the closet and you had
like 10 of the same hat sitting there just ready to go just in
case. The black shirts though, like
yeah. Oh yeah, me too.

(47:24):
Our guitar players why I have this really, really randomly big
closet in this house and just like girls love do just Oh my
God, look at that closet. But our guitar player's wife was
in there when I just bought the house.
She was and that just this line of black, all black.
She's like, Oh my God, can I take a picture of this?

(47:46):
Because yeah, but only one hat. But all the black shirts?
Well, it goes with everything. Yeah, it's universal.
Any other questions boys? That's funny, I was just about
to make a joke about that. Just to be like yeah, one hat, 3
pairs of shoes only black shirtslined up.

(48:08):
Well, I learned that from actually Alfred Hitchcock.
He had 31 suits and he would just that way he didn't have to
waste time thinking about what to wear.
He just wore them in order and then they all got dry cleaned.
Yeah. I mean, you can imagine he's a
busy guy. He's got to drop these amazing,
you know, legendary movies. He can't got time to pick a
outfit or whatever. Hawaiian shirts another.

(48:30):
He's like, he had 31 suits and that's what he wore.
So I was like, I'll just get 31 black shirts.
Good to go. I love it.
That is awesome. Hell yeah man.
Thinking about less things. Right, you know, you, you and
especially, I mean, Jeff's talking about how many hobbies
he's had. You, you got a lot of stuff.

(48:52):
You know, we like to do a lot ofcool stuff.
So put your time where it's mosteffective and there's most
enjoyment. Picking clothes is, well, not
enjoyable, mostly. Yeah, I mean, I, I wear like the
same 6 shirts. I mean, if people watch the show
are probably wondering like how many times am I going to wear
this shirt on the show? Well I've only got like 6 of

(49:13):
them in the closet that I wear but even then I'm still like.
Which of the six? Yeah.
Maybe I should do that. Maybe I should just throw them
all out, Just get all the same shirt.
Yeah, so you just I just straight black and I mean, I
have other shirts, but I did have it.
I had one like job for a while writing for this company and

(49:34):
that's all I wear every day is my uniform is a black shirt.
I probably thought I wear the same shirt every day.
I literally had, you know, whatever.
That's awesome, man. This is this is a fun interview.
Did you think you were going to come on here and spend 10
minutes talking about shirts? You never honestly and never
know what's going to await so. We leave No.

(49:57):
I can answer, I can entertain and answer any question people
like. Is there something I shouldn't
ask? I'm like, I don't know, these
guys asked about my closet. Shit.
All right, let's see Head. Well, I, I have a question then,
you know, talking about I, I don't think we really ever get

(50:18):
into our guests and like their their personal lives aside from
what they do. And so you'd mentioned, you
know, your hat being willed to your daughter.
How does having a schedule like that balance that with having a
family life, too? So I think that's one of the
things that we struggle with themost here is like, how much time
do I dedicate to a podcast and hobbies and work and all this

(50:40):
sort of stuff? And then also, Oh yeah, I
haven't gone out on a date with my wife and, you know, six
months, you know, I probably should do that, you know, spend
some time with her. So how does that all balance
out? Because sounds like a lot of
travel. Yeah, it is.
So it, it does not balance, which is why I, I don't do well
with, I'm divorced from my wife and I don't do well typically

(51:05):
with relationships because it's just that I, it's hard to do
unless they want to come along for the adventure.
You know, I got it. That becomes hard.
And so that, you know, but my daughter's awesome and she's 13
and, you know, I have such a flexible schedule.
And luckily the mom's cool and lives close and we just kind of,

(51:29):
you know, just kind of back and forth and it, you know, she
covers me and when I have to go out of town and otherwise, you
know, I'm working on stuff at home anyways, So it's, it's
cool. And that gives me a little bit
of, you know, regular life and my, you know, my daughter's
rewarding, you know, to watch her grow up.

(51:50):
But yeah, it's it's not done me well.
None of this has, you know, being a musician and doing a lot
of touring before this or and this kind of stuff where I'm
gone a lot or I have to work or whatever.
Yeah, it doesn't. That doesn't mix.
So I do my best. Sorry, sorry for the downer

(52:13):
question but kind of curious. That's.
No, it's, it's, it's good to know, man.
I mean, I've got 4 kids myself, I'm married and it's hard enough
to just do a weekly podcast where we interview people.
Me, I've been working on a book for a year and a half now and I,
I don't, I don't see when it's going to be done because I just

(52:36):
don't have the time. So no, I appreciate the
question. I appreciate the answer too.
Honestly. It's yeah.
There'd be no way I could get all this done if I, if I did
have more family obligations than I do because, you know,
writing books, music, you know, I was doing a podcast.
I do YouTube channel. I'm just, I'm like, all I do is

(53:00):
work. I mean, it's fun.
I just do this. I don't have any like, what do
you do? I'm like, I don't know.
That's all I do unless I'm with my daughter.
I'm with my daughter, I'm take care of my daughter or I'm
literally doing this. Speaking of Monstro Bizarro, So
what are you doing over there right now?

(53:20):
Well, lately, so I, I've done a,a podcast called Monstro
Bizarro. I did about 20 or 21 episodes
because a lot of people would comment on my narration for
small town monsters. Oh man, you know, it's cool.
You got the voice and all. And so I did that and it you

(53:40):
don't have a lot of people who love it and it just, it doesn't
generate a lot back for the timeit took me to produce these
episodes because it's like a it's like an audio journey on
the these cases. It's not where I'm just
interviewing people and they took a lot of time to produce.
So but then lately I decided I get a lot of questions about
certain things and locations andI started have made these

(54:04):
videos. They're short.
They're about 11 or 12 minutes long and they're on my YouTube
channel, but I'm literally I'm on the location.
The first one I did was the FordHouse, which is this thing from
The Legend of Boggy Creek. People want to know where the
Ford House was. It's like a climactic scene, the
movie, and that's where this really crazy experience.

(54:26):
That these people had was reported.
So I went on the site and I justdid that and like that video got
like 73,000 views like right offthe bat.
So I was like, OK, people seem to like this.
So I so I followed that up with some more on location ones and
I've done I've done 4 newer videos.

(54:49):
Where I went out to Marion County in.
Texas talked about a sighting. There I went up to the Ozarks,
interviewed that guy. Like like that had this
sighting. And so I'm really starting to
put stuff on my YouTube channel and sort of it's like my books
coming to life a little bit like, hey, here I am at this
location and here's the story. And so that's kind of what I've

(55:16):
been really trying to pop up lately as far as my YouTube
channel, Monstro, Bizarro's. Yeah, YouTube pays way better
than podcasting, I'll tell you that.
You don't make shit doing podcasts.
I noticed that real fast. Like, you know, the the podcast,

(55:38):
it's fun and I like doing the voice, but but yeah, it was like
night and day. It's like, and I think people
were receptive to it because again, we were, you know, the
things we were talking about at the beginning of the podcast,
like going to the locations and stuff.
And I've written about a lot of these things and people who read
enjoy that. But there's a, even the people

(56:00):
who've read the books will enjoyseeing the actual place because
I know where places are that no one knows.
Like I can literally like where Christopher Davis had his, where
he was attacked by the alleged lizard man.
I literally know the exact spot where he was parked.
And literally nobody knows wherethat is really.

(56:22):
Sheriff Truesdale showed me and Sheriff Truesdale passed away.
So I mean, maybe a local person may know that, but but you know,
those are places where I could go and say right here, this is
where that happened. And here's what it looks like
now. And here, you know, people,
people seem to enjoy that. So there's a little of things to

(56:43):
offer. I, I may lose a, a few
listeners, but this one, just, you know, in case they haven't,
you're, they're not familiar with the story or they haven't
heard because we mix in audio documentaries every once in a
while too. And I, I did 1 based on the, the
Bishopfield Lizard Man where I used your book as my, my main

(57:06):
source of research. But I, I got to ask, since
you've been to that spot, I mean, do you think his story
lines up? When and what do you think of,
of, of this? Well, he's not a kid anymore,
but back then he was a kid. What do you, what do you think
of his historian? Do you think there's credibility
to that just being at the location?

(57:29):
Well, I, you know, right there where that happened, it's right
skateboard swamp right there through Bishopville is just a, a
channel. There's all sorts of different
kind of swamps, some that are flooded river basins and slow
flowing rivers like Everglades. This, this swamp has basically a
channel running through it rightthere.

(57:50):
And there's a bridge, that skateboard bridge, it runs under
there. And that little area is is wild
and there's very few houses right there.
They're kind of scattered in andaround.
There's a rural area, but if yougo there in the dark, I mean,
it's spooky. I mean, very spooky right there.
IA 100% believe that something happened to Christopher Davis.

(58:14):
100%. He did not make that up.
He did not manufacture the story.
And he believed that he was attracted by something that
wasn't human. I know that's 100% now it's
dark. It's scary out there.
He was, you know, fairly young. So, you know, there could be

(58:37):
room for error. And of course, the, that whole
thing where people allege that it was this farmer who had this
little shed, the butter bean shed, which is right there.
I, I have a picture of me in front of it, I think, but that's
not far. And people said it was this guy
dressed up. I'm like, this is a farmer, how

(58:58):
well could he dress up as AI mean?
I don't see how that could fool somebody, you know, somebody who
says, like, you know, this person came up to me and chased
me, which would be scary enough and out there.
But so yeah, I think the the location adds up.
And I think Christopher Davis, something happened to him.
We can't say whether that was a Cryptid or not, but 100% that

(59:21):
kid was chased by someone or something.
Yeah, Let's see if I can remember this just to kind of
catch up everybody. I believe it was in 1988, I
think. And I think Christopher Davis
was only 17 years old. He was, gosh, I think he was
changing a tire right near SkateSkate Horse Swamp.

(59:46):
Yeah. And he specifically mentioned
this tall, red glowing eyes preacher that charged him while
he was outside of his car. The lizard man that we know of
now leaped onto the roof of Davis's car and Davis speed
away. Davis escaped just fine.
And then there was this whole fiasco with his father when he

(01:00:07):
pulled into the driveway that night.
That's pretty much it, right? Yeah, yeah, he was.
He had been working at, he worked at McDonald's in
Bishopville. And you have to to where from
his house, you have to pass through Browntown Rd. and go
past Skateboard Bridge. And that's where he had the flat
and he pulled over right there. And yeah, he escaped.

(01:00:28):
But you know, it's like they saythis farmer guy or whatever, I'm
like, if it was a just an old man, he's going to come out
there and say, hey, kid, you know, get out of here.
I mean, why would he? I mean, why would he be dressed
in anything other than just being a dude?
What purpose would that? I mean, usually if somebody
doesn't want you on the property, they come out with a

(01:00:49):
shotgun and that's, that's what you got.
I mean, you know, one round of the.
Guy, fix it all. That would right, that would be
plenty enough. You don't have to chase or jump
on his car like what old farmer is doing this?
This just seems really stun add up.
But but yeah, that's the story. And you know, I was back in 88

(01:01:11):
and that that area is it's not really getting more developed,
at least at the last time I was out there.
It's still a few more houses or whatever, but it's still looks
the same. There was some gnarly damage to
that car too, wasn't there? There's a big scratch on it down
the side and you know, cuz when Chris got to his house, he just

(01:01:31):
ran inside. He left the car running and ran
inside his I guess woke his dad up and down like what is going
on? And they went outside and you
know, the dad was the one that saw his son.
So, you know, distraught. And then he said there was a big
scratch down the side of the car.
And then his dad just said, all right, we'll just, you know,

(01:01:52):
don't say nothing about this. You know, dad didn't know what
to do. You know, he just believed his
son. And just they kept it quiet for
a couple weeks till till there was some stuff in the newspaper.
And that's when the dad said, well, maybe that has something
to do with what happened to you.Let's go talk to the sheriff.
So his dad made Chris go talk tothe sheriff.
You know, I scratched my stepdad's truck one time and I

(01:02:14):
told him it was the lizard people too.
Yeah, but that was a different lizard people.
You're right, it was different losing people, but yeah.
They always get the bad rap withthe car damage.
Just just our residents swear to.
God, man. It's the reptilians.
Well, if I can, I mean, if I could just say one thing about,

(01:02:34):
you know, my appreciation for the way that you do your job,
man, I really appreciate the waythat you show empathy for the
people of the towns that you research.
It's the one glaring difference between any book that I've read
from you and almost any other modern writer.
I mean, you, you seen it a lot back in the day with, you know,

(01:02:56):
Green Wavellman, Hinden Keel, right?
They, they all did a good job at, at being respectful and
everything to the, the locals ofthese Zurban legends.
But you just don't have that aspect in a lot of modern
cryptozoological writers or evenresearchers.

(01:03:17):
I mean, a lot of people who are out there to make a buck right
now. And the real difference in your
books is that you don't only just tell us the story of the
monster that you're researching,you tell us that the story of
the town that you're researchingand you're visiting.
And you really do treat it like you're a, a visitor.
You know, you're, you're very respectful in the way that you
approach their history and you tell their story.

(01:03:39):
And it's literally the outline that I'm using for the book that
I've been writing for over a year now.
You know, I'm, I'm hand, I'm handling it like it's crystal
and I've got silk gloves on. You know, I'm trying to be as
respectful as possible. And it's because I like the way
that you approach your, your topics so much.
You know, I can't say it enough to anybody listening to this

(01:04:02):
episode. If you have never picked up a
Lyle Blackburn book, you're missing out.
You need to grab one because it's, it's not just learning
about a local legend. You're going on a journey.
You're going on a journey with Lyle.
Lyle's taking you along. He's teaching you everything
about the history of, of this location and everything of

(01:04:24):
possibility behind the story of the, the legend itself.
So I, I just want to say, you know, just from one person that
that looked forward to this and the event that you and I did
about a month ago now. Thank you.
That's it. I've, I've looked forward to
just telling you. Thank you for writing such

(01:04:46):
amazing books for so long and being a, a, a really powerful
voice in this community. Somebody to really look up to.
Yeah. Well, I appreciate I appreciate
it. That's a great compliments and
that's that's kind of why I set out what I set out to do and
achieve. And I think, you know, I, I try
to write these books so that of course somebody who is into this

(01:05:08):
subject or has seen something oror a quote UN quote, A believer,
no problem, they're going to enjoy the book.
But I want to write a book to where somebody who's like, man,
I don't know about this, you know, like I want them to read
the book and then go, you know what, wow, there might be
something to this. That's where I I try to end then
by doing, you know, by offering all perspectives.

(01:05:32):
I mean, it's a human, this is a human story.
It's just like people are sayingthis because it ultimately we
don't have any proof. So it is a human story like of
small communities and people andgroups of people and people that
were affected by what happened when people when this creature
or whatever it was came to theirtown.
So I try to really write something engaging that that

(01:05:55):
encompasses more than just, well, this guy saw something the
way that that being said. And that's what I do with those
books, especially in like Momo and Lizard Man and Beast of
Arguca, those case books. But but that being said, over
the years I have gotten a slew of reports that just didn't fit
into any of the books if they'reabout one certain creature or

(01:06:16):
one thing. So I actually have a new series
of books coming out called Terrifying Encounters.
And this is the way for me to beable to include what I think are
some of the most credible sightings that have I've
researched or some of the most like sensational or dramatic or

(01:06:37):
scary, and also some of the morefamous terrifying encounters, if
you will. And so this is going to be a
series of books that are a throwback and you might like
this to the old pocket paperbacks of the 70's, the
paranormal monster books of the pocket paperback where there's a
series of them. And so book one will be coming

(01:06:59):
out early next year. It's called Terrifying
Encounters. The first one has Bigfoot, dog
man, devil monkeys and other mysterious manimals, which is
essentially goat man sightings. And these this is the first time
I can really just they don't know.
It didn't matter where they happened.
They're just if it was a sighting of, you know, and I can

(01:07:21):
put the best of the best as far as I'm concerned.
And I think this is going to be a good book because it's going
to offer some really good stuff and and some that I've never
been able to write about that I've had these been sitting on
these sightings. They're.
A little bit smaller, yeah. Put out faster than in the full

(01:07:45):
in depth case books. That's awesome, man.
I look forward to that. I really do.
Yeah. That sounds dope.
I can't wait, man. I really can't, and I'm a few
books behind on you. I got to catch up on a few of
them. I know I don't have the the
Bigfoot of Texas 1 yet and then your what do your newest 1?
I don't think I have that yet that one yet.

(01:08:07):
Well, lake. Lake Worth Monsters, the newest.
Yeah, the Lake Worth 1. I don't have that one yet, but
I'm really interested in that. That first one you have there.
I don't know if you and I have ever talked about it, but I have
my own sighting of something that that kind of sparked this
entire interest that I have. So I love, I love reading about

(01:08:28):
it just to, you know, do exactlywhat you were talking about with
some of the the people who reachout to you, you know, do the
whole, let me see if there's anything that matches similar to
what I saw. I love doing it, love doing it.
Jeff, Jake, you guys got anything?
Nah, man. I appreciate you coming on,
Lyle. It's a good conversation.

(01:08:49):
So maybe we'll do it again one day.
And that's pretty much it, brother.
You bet. Yeah, I know.
I appreciate your time. It's been awesome.
Sweet Lyle, absolutely. You want to share with the
audience of the Infinite Rabbit Hole any, anywhere where they
can find you or see your work. Yeah, I just, I guess a good

(01:09:10):
place to find out all the thingsI've done or get links would be
at lyleblackburn.com and that's got a list of my books and links
therein. And Ghoul Town music can be
found on all the platforms, you know, Apple Music and Spotify
and YouTube and anywhere else but, and my books are on Amazon,

(01:09:30):
of course. And then of all the work of
small town monsters, you can find that, you know, especially
on Amazon Prime streaming. So yeah, just hit up
lyleblackburn.com and and go from there.
I appreciate everybody checking it out.
Absolutely, man. All right, Lyle, I'm gonna go
ahead and close her out and then, if you don't mind, just

(01:09:50):
hanging back for just a few minutes so I can make sure all
your stuff downloads and then we'll be done.
All right. Sounds good.
All righty, all right, well, that has been another episode of
the Infinite Rabbit Hole podcast.
Until next time, travelers will see you right here in the next
fork in the path of the infiniterabbit hole.
Bye now, bye. Adios.

(01:10:17):
Hey everybody, thanks for checking out the Infinite Rabbit
Hole podcast. If you're looking for more of
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(01:10:39):
And until next time, travelers, we'll see you right here in the
next fork in the path of the Infinite Rabbit hole.
Bye.