Wednesday, the Oneida County Library in Malad hosted speaker Kevin Sorensen from Franklin county, who discussed the Hinckley murder in Franklin County and execution in Idaho 1881.  While not expressly spooky, it paves the way for Halloween spooky night  

Next week the library will once again host Halloween speakers Elizabeth Kent and John Olsen.  For the past several years the library has hosted the pair, and the night featuring the talents of folklorist and librarian Elizabeth Kent and noted Cache valley author John Olsen has become highly anticipated by those who like a bit of literary thrill for their season.  The two have brought the creepy to town in recent years with stories from fact and fiction, as well as their own personal experiences.  Halloween night will be October 22.

Elizabeth Kent is trained in Folklore, and studied at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, where she earned her Masters degree in Folklore and Ethnology.  She also has a Masters in Library Science from the University of Kentucky, and is a practiced researcher.  In past events, Kent has presented talks on Welsh folk traditions, supernatural stories related to Malad, and the history of Halloween itself.  Last year, she took on a story that is based in reality, but has become heavily mythologized—the story of Jack the Ripper, discussing the Ripper crimes as well as the history of theories about his (or her!) identity.  Often viewed as the first “modern serial killer,” the unknown perpetrator of at least five murders in high Victorian London’s Whitechapel district has become a much larger than life figure in the intervening century and a half since the events that made history.  

This year, Elizabeth plans to turn from true crime to the supernatural, with a discussion of one of the perennial Halloween favorites—vampires.  The concept of creatures who survive by preying on the lifeforce of others is one that has been around since pre-history, with most cultures on the planet having their own particular versions of the vampire legend.  Kent will examine those legends, and throw in a few surprises if the past is any guide. 

John Olsen, for his part, has treated Malad to stories collected from the Cache Valley and surrounding areas, including southern Idaho.  As a writer, his best selling “Stranger Bridgerland” books have covered a lot of bases as far as the unknown and unexplained go.  He has spoken to spellbound audiences in the past about his own experiences in the haunted house he grew up in, as well as some of the experiences he has not been able to explain in his adult life.  More than anything, Olsen focuses on presenting stories told to him by the many people he encounters who “swear you won’t believe what I’m going to tell you…”

Some of those stories deal with topics such as bigfoot, ghosts, puckwudgies, shadow people, black eyed children, skinwalkers, and more.  

Refreshments, and a chance to mingle and chat with the speakers will be available to those in attendance.   Make sure you don’t miss out on what has become a much anticipated Halloween tradition over the last several years!