Hometown history
Eau Claire researcher makes stop on Saturday to talk about local paranormal activity
Janelle Gergen
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Showcase
Following the family friendly presentation, Lewis will present a more adults-only version at 6:30 p.m. at Bonnie's Labor Temple Lounge, 2233 Birch St., which will be completely free. Lewis did a book signing at the Lounge once before, and he said it seemed like a cool place to talk about the paranormal.
"When you're talking about weird history of the Chippewa Valley," he said, "… what better place than a saloon in Wisconsin?"
Liz Fisher, the Community Programs Coordinator at the Chippewa Valley Museum, said she is looking forward to the presentation and is curious to see which stories he will choose to present. She has a copy of one of his books, "Hidden Headlines of Wisconsin," and she said it was an extremely interesting read.
"I read the book in about a day and a half because I couldn't put it down," she said. "(It) is a collection of the craziest newspaper articles from … all over the state … odd things that have happened, odd people. … He doesn't tell you what to think of them, so it's left open for your own interpretation."
Fisher is interested to see the sort of reaction the museum will get because of Lewis' presentation.
"Odd history is something we haven't really covered here, lately," she said. "Something people are interested in is the bizarre, the unexplainable. Especially if it happened in the past, it just makes it that much stranger because you can't go back and figure out what the problem was … it's intriguing, and I think it will bring in a new audience that we haven't been able to capture lately."
Lewis became interested in the paranormal when he was fairly young. He grew up in Eau Claire, he said. He added that the city is not too far from Elmwood, Wis. - one of the UFO capitals of the world.
"When I was a high school student, I remember reading about (the UFOs)," he said, "… and I really got interested in why people believe in the paranormal."
He studied psychology at UW-Stout and was intrigued by what made certain people believe in the paranormal and others not. At first, he was just focusing on people's beliefs when it came to the paranormal, but people started asking him questions, he said, or telling him stories.
"It kind of went from researching to kind of investigating," he said.
Because of his investigating, Lewis has had the opportunity to travel all over the world. He recently returned from Nicaragua, and he's also been to England, Ireland and Belize, among others. His line of work allows for many one-of-a-kind experiences, he said.
"You get to meet a lot of unique people and a lot of interesting stories, and there's certainly less exciting things to be doing. … I never complain," he said.
Junior Amy Beckett said a shiver ran down her spine when she heard one of Lewis' stories. She definitely thinks a lot of people would be intrigued by his presentations.
"It's so tempting," she said. "Is it real? Is it not real? It hasn't been proven, but it hasn't been disproven."
Fisher thinks the interest lies in the novelty.
"Bizarre happenings," she said. "It's something you don't hear about a lot."
"When you're talking about weird history of the Chippewa Valley," he said, "… what better place than a saloon in Wisconsin?"
Liz Fisher, the Community Programs Coordinator at the Chippewa Valley Museum, said she is looking forward to the presentation and is curious to see which stories he will choose to present. She has a copy of one of his books, "Hidden Headlines of Wisconsin," and she said it was an extremely interesting read.
"I read the book in about a day and a half because I couldn't put it down," she said. "(It) is a collection of the craziest newspaper articles from … all over the state … odd things that have happened, odd people. … He doesn't tell you what to think of them, so it's left open for your own interpretation."
Fisher is interested to see the sort of reaction the museum will get because of Lewis' presentation.
"Odd history is something we haven't really covered here, lately," she said. "Something people are interested in is the bizarre, the unexplainable. Especially if it happened in the past, it just makes it that much stranger because you can't go back and figure out what the problem was … it's intriguing, and I think it will bring in a new audience that we haven't been able to capture lately."
Lewis became interested in the paranormal when he was fairly young. He grew up in Eau Claire, he said. He added that the city is not too far from Elmwood, Wis. - one of the UFO capitals of the world.
"When I was a high school student, I remember reading about (the UFOs)," he said, "… and I really got interested in why people believe in the paranormal."
He studied psychology at UW-Stout and was intrigued by what made certain people believe in the paranormal and others not. At first, he was just focusing on people's beliefs when it came to the paranormal, but people started asking him questions, he said, or telling him stories.
"It kind of went from researching to kind of investigating," he said.
Because of his investigating, Lewis has had the opportunity to travel all over the world. He recently returned from Nicaragua, and he's also been to England, Ireland and Belize, among others. His line of work allows for many one-of-a-kind experiences, he said.
"You get to meet a lot of unique people and a lot of interesting stories, and there's certainly less exciting things to be doing. … I never complain," he said.
Junior Amy Beckett said a shiver ran down her spine when she heard one of Lewis' stories. She definitely thinks a lot of people would be intrigued by his presentations.
"It's so tempting," she said. "Is it real? Is it not real? It hasn't been proven, but it hasn't been disproven."
Fisher thinks the interest lies in the novelty.
"Bizarre happenings," she said. "It's something you don't hear about a lot."
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