Review: Hunt for the Skinwalker
I read a lot when I was a kid, reinforced by being pretty good at school. When you read all the assignments you get sent to the library to “read quietly.” Reading quietly was a treat for me – a way to explore the world from a small town. I read lots of stuff, including things like collections of ghost stories and UFO investigations. I also read histories of science and Norse mythology. Don’t judge me.
Hunt for the Skinwalker would fit nicely on the bookshelf of my past next to say this charmer. It purports to be a scientific investigation of a bunch of UFO/ghost stories coming out of a Utah ranch investigated by a set of folks called the National Institute for Discovery Science. It’s a book of common conspiracy and UFO stories and the unconvincing investigation that follows.
I wound up reading it based on a mention from The Desert Oracle. The Oracle is an unflinchingly weird view of art, rumors, and craziness in the western deserts. As a tour of the particular rumors that form in the desert, Skinwalker is a fine example. Beyond that there’s not much here.
I do have to say that “skinwalker” is a cool name for an Navajo shapeshifter. So, two things.