Blog Archives
Tea’s Weird Week: I Gotta Lotta October Left
Here’s just a list of things I’ve done or will be doing this month. I hope you get a chance to check some of it out.
October 3-5: QWERTYFEST MKE: Great stuff. We had people from Milwaukee and all over the country turn out for a celebration of typewriters, writing, and much more. I talked with my co-organizer Molly Snyder about the event for the TWW podcast, episode 2: https://teasweirdweek.podbean.com/e/teas-weird-week-episode-002-qwerty/
Follow QF on Instagram and FB, we’ll have photos and more stuff from the event posted soon!
Friday, Oct. 10: The UnXplained: I appeared as a guest commentator on Season 7, episode 16 of the History Channel show: “Unlocking the Sixth Sense.” It was a fun experience. I’ll be discussing Milwaukee psychic detective Arthur Price Roberts, one of the topics of that episode, at the Milwaukee Paranormal Conference (see entry below).

Ongoing through Oct. 31: Riverwest Radio Ghost Walk: I wrote two stories for this fun, interactive, self-guided tour. Really fun project, you buy a copy of a booklet from several participating Riverwest businesses that is full of stories and art and a map that guides you to homes and businesses that have decorated to correspond to the stories. More info: https://www.riverwestradio.com/
I’ll be on Riverwest Radio to discuss my stories on Sunday, October 26, at 6pm.
Ongoing: I’m Your Host. October is the perfect month to rent or buy I’m Your Host, a documentary on Kenosha area horror hosts that I produced: https://artforanti-villains.vhx.tv/
Ongoing through Nov. 1: American Ghost Walks: I (usually) lead AGW’s Third Ward tour Friday evenings, and the Shadow of City Hall tour on Saturdays. You can find info/tickets here: https://www.americanghostwalks.com/wisconsin/milwaukee
Ongoing through Dec. 7: Milwaukee Krampusnacht: this is when planning this event, now in it’s eighth year, really ramps up. Tickets are available and more info is slowly being added here: www.milwaukeekrampusnacht.com
Out now: Oct. issue of Milwaukee Magazine: I was one of the contributors to the cover story on “Hidden Milwaukee,” I wrote about the Kingdom of Talossa, the Ghost of the Milwaukee Public Museum, and more. On news stands now, the story will eventually be added to: www.milwaukeemagazine.com
Saturday, October 18: Milwaukee Paranormal Conference: I was the founder of this event 10 years ago and it is now being organized by American Ghost Walks. Really nice line-up this year. I’ll be giving a talk at 2pm about Spiritualist college founder Morris Pratt and Arthur Price Roberts, the psychic detective I talked about on The UnXplained. Sadly, this will be the last event ever held at the Irish Cultural & Heritage Center before they close. Check out the full line-up and register for free here: https://milwaukeeparacon.com/

October 31: Happy Halloween!
Tea’s Weird Week: Hot Cryptid Fall (Cryptid Fests, Part 2)
Back in May, I was inspired to write a listing of cryptid-themed festivals across the country, but I found so many that I decided to split it into two parts. Here’s a listing of celebrations of cryptids and folklore that covers the rest of August through October.
Fearsome Folklore Festival (Aug. 23)
Murfreesboro, TN
This one doesn’t focus on a particular entity but is a free, “family friendly folklore and cryptid themed celebration.” Speakers, live music, cryptid drawing workshops, and a petting zoo– I’m assuming the zoo is of known animals and not cryptids. Both Squonkapalooza and this one are created by Cryptid Comforts.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1256884292699296
Mothman Festival (Sept. 20-21)
Point Pleasant, WV
The grandpappy of monster fests, this one celebrates the Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant in the late 1960s. Since then Point Pleasant has gone all-in on Mothman, with a famous statue, museum, and this annual fest that features music, vendors, and guest speakers. I attended Mothman Fest and wrote a chapter about my experiences in my book Monster Hunters (2015). The first thing I saw upon arriving was a group of clog dancers dressed as the Men in Black, dancing to Will Smith’s song from his movie of the same name. It was fantastic.
More info: https://www.mothmanfestival.com/
Van Meter Visitor Festival (Sept. 27)
Van Meter, Iowa
Celebrating a series of sightings of a large, bat or pterodactyl-like creature that swooped over the skies of Van Meter. This fest has rolled out since 2013 and features a special walking tour, guest speakers, and more.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/vanmetervisitorfestival

Cryptid Block Party (Oct. 4)
Covington, KY
A celebration of all cryptids, great and small. This event has vendors, food, art, edutainment, and my favorite: antics.
More info: https://cryptidcov.blog/
Beast of Bray Road Presentation & Hay Ride (Oct.4)
Elkhorn, WI
In the early 1990s, reports began to roll in about sightings of a werewolf-like creature running around the farm lanes of Elkhorn. I also wrote about this magnificent cryptid in my books Monster Hunters and Wisconsin Legends & Lore. Big bonus points on this one for offering a hay ride!
More info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1998619394295140
Goatman Festival (Oct. 10-11)
Louisville, KY
Old Goaty gets around, there’s a legend of a Goatman here in Wisconsin, but a more infamous version come from Kentucky. The Pope Lick Monster, a goat-humanoid creature, is said to appear if you cross a train track trestle bridge over Pope Lick Creek. Please do not attempt– several people have died after venturing out on the unsafe bridge.
This fest has guest speakers, tours, movies, music, and a haunted attraction with the Pope Lick Monster itself.
More info: https://mostfunyoueverhad.com/goatmanfest/
Goblin Con (Oct. 17-18)
Hopkinsville, KY
I love this story from 1955, another Kentucky tale– in Hopkinsville 70 years ago, a UFO sighting was followed by a group of 5 men and 7 children claiming that their farm was invaded by goblin-like extra-terrestrials that they kept at bay with gunfire for hours. Aw, they look kinda cute to me.
This fest has 70 vendors, speakers, panels, workshops, etc. More info: https://www.goblinconky.com/home

Rougarou Fest (Oct.17-19)
Houma, LA
The Rougarou is a cajun werewolf story and this festival is a big one that seems like a fun mix of folklore and Louisiana culture. Carnival rides, costume contest and parade, a howling contest, food and drink, a haunted house, a “Ghouls on the Run” race, and some tasty cajun music.
See also: “TWW: What the Rougarou Do“
More info: https://rougaroufest.org/
Green Eyes Festival (Oct.18)
Chickamauga, GA
Ole Green Eyes is a story of supernatural folklore from the Chickamauga region of Georgia, a ghostly entity with glowing green eyes. Vendors, music, a scavenger hunt, and tabletop roleplaying games will kick off this first year event.
More info: https://www.greeneyesfestival.com/
And a shameless self-plug: I’m the director of Milwaukee Krampusnacht, happening Sunday Dec. 7 this year.
Website: www.milwaukeekrampusnacht.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milwaukeekrampusnacht
Tea’s Weird Week: Hot Cryptid Summer (Part 1)

Local legends have drawn tourist dollars for decades, attracting curious legend trippers. Celebrations like West Virginia’s Mothman Festival (Sept. 20-21) and the Ohio Bigfoot Conference (which happened earlier this month) draw big crowds, but in the last few years the number of festivals celebrating lesser known cryptids have grown. Frogman Fest (which happened in March) in Loveland, Ohio, for example, was inspired by an odd case of a 4-foot-tall frog sighting in 1972. I really love to see towns across the country embrace these strange stories and have some pride in them! I decided to list out some summer cryptid fests for all you legend trippers. This column has listings May through August, I’ll write a part 2 of this in August to list more taking place end of summer and into fall.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. If this sort of thing is your jam, I recommend signing up for Sharon Hill’s Pop Cryptid Spectator Substack, which explores representations of “pop cryptozoology” including updates on cryptid themed events.
Hodag Heritage Festival (May 17)
Rhinelander, WI
Wisconsin’s favorite cryptid, the Hodag, dates back to a hoax from the 1890s by town prankster Eugene Shepard, which evolved to become the love and pride of Rhinelander. I wrote more about this for Milwaukee Magazine last year: https://www.milwaukeemag.com/what-is-the-hodag-rhinelander/
Hodag Heritage Festival has been around about five years now and has grown quite a bit. The line-up for this Saturday looks really fun: a pancake breakfast, talks related to folklore, a Hodag calling contest, and much more. It’s organized in part by The Hodag Store. More info: https://www.rhinelanderchamber.com/hodagheritagefestival

Grafton Monster Festival (June 13-14)
Grafton, WV
West Virginia is one of the country’s most cryptid-dense states. Mothman of Point Pleasant is the most well-known, but there’s a lot of other strange creatures out of time and space running around there. Take, for example, the Grafton Monster, a cryptid described as being 7-9 feet tall with white, seal-like skin, and no discernable head, but a face peering from the creature’s chest. It was said to give a loud, deep bellow. There were several sightings around Grafton, WV in June of 1964.
More info on the 2nd Annual Grafton Monster Festival, organized by The Grafton Monster Museum: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563258026085
Big Muddy Monster Festival (June 21)
Murphysboro, IL
Also known as the “Murphysboro Mud Monster,” this Bigfoot creature described as being slathered in mud, was first seen by a couple getting hot and heavy parked on a lover’s lane in southern Illinois in 1973. Several other people claimed to see– and smell– the stinky cryptid. Big Muddy has since become an iconic symbol of Murphysboro. More info: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094542990087

Veggie Man Day (July 13)
Fairmont, WV
Another West Virginian cryptid and a strange one. The “Vegetable Man” was a humanoid entity that looked to be made out of plants that was allegedly encountered by a West Virginian hunting in the woods in 1968. The first Veggie Man Day is taking place at the Frank & Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center. More: https://www.facebook.com/events/s/veggie-man-day-2025/1177423897211539
Squonkapalooza (Aug. 2)
Johnstown, PA
Based on Pennsylvanian lumberjack lore, the Squonk is said to be a butt ugly cryptid that is constantly weeping over their own ugly appearance. Aw, poor Squonk– I like you just the way you are. Like all of the festivals I’m listing, Squonkapalooza is a nice mix of craft/art vendors, presentations, and entertainment. Check out more: https://squonkapalooza.com/

Fearsome Folklore Festival (Aug. 23)
Murfreesboro, TN
This one doesn’t focus on a particular entity but is a free, “family friendly folklore and cryptid themed celebration.” Speakers, live music, cryptid drawing workshops, and a petting zoo– I’m assuming the zoo is of known animals and not cryptids. Both Squonkapalooza and this one are created by Cryptid Comforts.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1256884292699296
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Please Clap Dept.: Speaking of festivals, this one isn’t cryptid related, but I’m co-organizer of typewriter/ innovation/ writing celebration QWERTYFEST MKE. We are launching fundraising next week and need your help to meet our goals. Stay tuned!
Next week on TWW: Apocalypse Every Show Now. Want TWW delivered to your inbox? You can sign up for my Substack HERE. Follow me on: Facebook Bluesky Instagram
Tea’s Weird Week: Riverwest Ghosts, Typewriters, Political Monsters, etc.

September was a busy one! Here’s a roundup of some writings and media I did.
Chicago typewriter scene: I wrote my first piece for Chicago Reader, “Gen Z is into typewriters,” which appeared in their print edition and online. It’s a look at a fairly new typewriter service shop, Typewriter Chicago and the Chicago typing scene in general.
Riverwest Radio Ghost Walk: This is a unique, fun project created by Jill Capicchioni. Writers and artists provided fiction and nonfiction ghost stories and business and homeowners decorated their buildings to correspond to them. The stories and a map of the participants are collected in a booklet you can buy at several Riverwest businesses (see flyer below) for $10 and the proceeds benefit Riverwest Radio. You pick up a copy, then check out the spots at your own leisure, whenever you want between October 4-31. I contributed two short write ups based on people’s stories of supernatural experiences at Cafe Corazon and Nessun Dorma and a short fiction about an ill-fated punk band called The Humpbacks. I haven’t done a lot of fiction writing, so that was fun. More info on the project: https://www.riverwestradio.com/riverwest-radio-ghost-walk/

Political Monsters: My zine detailing the correlation between the political party in power and vampire, zombie, and evil clown movies debuted this month. I’m doing a little party for it Sunday Oct. 20 at Lion’s Tooth. I’ll talk briefly on how I discovered the theory and we’ll have a quick round of horror trivia. Anyone dressed as a vampire, zombie, or evil clown gets a free copy of the zine!

More stuff: I wrote about Dungeons & Dragons again for Milwaukee Magazine and talked about it briefly on Lake Effect. Speaking of MilMag, check out the October issue, it’s like the Krulos Olympics in that issue– I wrote about dive bars, the hodag, and puppets! Also, I was a guest on the Indecent with Kiki Anderson podcast to discuss my 2019 book Apocalypse Any Day Now: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2X5taeOs5BAxB0ri9rYM1X
Please Clap Dept.: I’m a producer of the horror host documentary I’m Your Host, directed by Alicia Krupsky, which I’m glad to say won both “Best Wisconsin Feature” at Port of Fear Film Festival in Kenosha and “Best Documentary Feature” at the New York Tri-State International Film Festival this month. Nice!
October forecast: Leading up to my party at Lion’s Tooth Oct. 20, I’ll be featuring a “Political Monsters Week” of related material here on my site every day from October 14-18.
Tea’s Weird Week: I’m Going to Talk About my Adventures in Writing at Lion’s Tooth on April 16

My first book, Heroes in the Night: Inside the Real Life Superhero Movement, was published ten years ago. Time flies! That book was followed by Monster Hunters (2015), Apocalypse Any Day Now (2019), American Madness (2020), Wisconsin Legends & Lore (2020), and Brady Street Pharmacy: Stories and Sketches (2021). In April I’ll be publishing a short e-book, Chicago Mothman: A History and Cultural Study of a Monster Case under my own imprint, Tea Set Press.
I work sometimes filling in at the wonderful Lion’s Tooth bookstore and talked with Cris and Shelly, the owners, about setting up a date just to hang out and talk and have all of my books available. I decided it would be fun to talk about some adventures and key moments in my writing career both in authoring books and freelance magazine writing.
It’s going to be happening Sunday, April 16 at Lion’s Tooth, 4-6pm (5pm is when the storytelling starts). I’ll talk about the time I almost got expelled from high school for publishing my own satire newsletter, an assignment to make the White Pages interesting, both times I got pepper sprayed in Seattle, why the British tabloids were calling me early in the morning for awhile, my story that won a Milwaukee Press Club award, and what I’m currently working on.
I’m really looking forward to grabbing a drink from the Lion’s Tooth cafe and telling these stories to you. Some of these are tales I’ve never told publicly. Check out the list of what I’ll be talking about below!

TEA KRULOS: LIVE AT LION’S TOOTH set list
- I Was A Teenage Underground Newsletter Publisher
- Famous Names
- People Fighting and Superheroes and Pepper Spray and…I Don’t Know
- Pepper Sprayed in Seattle Again
- London Calling
- That Time I Went on a Bigfoot Expedition But Saw a UFO Instead
- Doomsday Bunkers of the Rich and Famous Revisited
- An Award-Winning Idea
- The Phantom Patriot Lives
- How One Mothman Led to Another
- Where is My Mind? 2023 Edition
- Loose Bruce Destroyed My First Typewriter
I’m going to try to get to all of those and I’ll answer questions and of course will be glad to sign books. I hope to see you there!
Facebook event page: facebook.com/events/621847019771594
Please Clap Dept.: The documentary I’m a producer on about Kenosha-area horror hosts, I’m Your Host (which won a Milwaukee Film Brico Forward Fund grant) will premiere at the Twisted Dreams Film Festival, Oct. 20-22, 2023.
Follow me on: Substack//Facebook Group//Twitter//Instagram
My latest books are:
Brady Street Pharmacy: Stories and Sketches (2021, VA Press)
American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness (2020, Feral House)
Tea’s Weird Week: The Chessboxer, Part 2

Last week I wrote about how my wheels were spinning thinking about what my second book might be (it eventually was an exploration of paranormal investigators titled Monster Hunters). One concept I had was learning to be a chessboxer. Chessboxing is a sport invented in the early 2000s that intersperses rounds of chess and boxing. You can win by knockout, checkmate, or by points from punches and captured pieces. In “The Chessboxer, Part 1,” I talked about hiring a chess coach, Aqeel.
My follow up is going to be short. I’m extremely burnt out this week, I wouldn’t even know where to begin to explain why.
In looking for a place to train as a boxer, I found a unique spot here in Milwaukee, it’s called the Ace Boxing Club. It’s not a state-of-the-art MMA facility, but more like an old garage with well worn equipment. It was mostly perfect. I wrote about the gym for an article in the Shepherd Express back in 2012. I sometimes look back at old stuff I’ve written and cringe to various degrees, but I actually love this one. It’s a solid profile on a place with a lot of heart: Ace Boxing Club and the Porter Legacy – Shepherd Express

I trained at Ace in the ring, I trained with Aqeel on the chessboard, but then something happened: I sold my second book. I now had a big project to work on and between that and trying to balance everything else in my crazy life (a struggle I still have ten years later) the lessons began to be skipped and the idea faded away. That’s too bad. I really enjoyed that period of my life. Maybe I’ll try to bring it back and The Chessboxer will live again.
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We skipped the TWW podcast this week cause I was too busy. We’ll be back next week.
Follow me on: Substack//Facebook Group//Twitter//Instagram
My latest books are:
Brady Street Pharmacy: Stories and Sketches (2021, Vegetarian Alcoholic Press)
American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness (2020, Feral House)
Tea’s Weird Week: Introducing Paranormal Road Trip

I currently have around 3 books in the development process. I’ll tell you about one of them, cause it’s movin’ along: Paranormal Road Trip, which will be a fun travel guide to haunted locations you can visit, monster museums, and other eerie attractions across the country. This is rare in that this is the first book I am co-authoring with someone else. Jenny Sanchez is a wonderful travel writer from Denver. She works in the travel industry, has her own travel blog/platform (Long Days Travel) and contributes to Atlas Obscura. We met when she visited Milwaukee and we hit it off.

We’ve been working on this project for a little bit, so far compiling entries onto shared Google docs, meeting up on Zoom to talk once in awhile. It’s a big project, but we’re working at a slow but steady pace, looking up entries to get all the information, insider tips, and of course the spooky stuff. Jenny’s been working on some Mountain and West Coast states, I’ve been focusing on the Midwest and New England.
It’s a fun project. We’ve got a book proposal, so wish us luck in landing this with the right publisher, so we can get this guide into your hands! We’ll keep you posted.
Tea’s Weird Week, S5 ep04: Paranormal Road Trip
I talk with Jenny about her travels this year to Idaho and Saint Louis to visit paranormal hotspots and quirky attractions. Then me and Heidi talk about a flurry of squatchy news– Coyote Peterson finds an alleged sasquatch skull, Oklahoma man says he murdered his Bigfoot controlling fishing partner, a classic Wisconsin sighting and more. Plus trivia and we close out with a track from Pretty Frankenstein, “In Mirrors.”
Listen here: Tea’s Weird Week, S5 ep04: Paranormal Road Trip (and Bigfoot news) (podbean.com)
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