Mitchell-Smith Books

Marie and I spoke yesterday afternoon (Saturday, Jan. 10) at the downtown branch of the Lexington Public Library. We discussed six of our favorite ghost and cryptid reports from our book, "Paranormal Kentucky." We usually get attentive crowds at our events, and this group was no exception. The 50 spectators had plenty of questions and comments. A few additional images from this session are included in the Comments section below. Photos by Mitchell Smith.

Marie and I will be appearing at the Lexington Public Library next month for a reading and a book-signing of "Paranormal Kentucky: An Uncommon Wealth of Close Encounters with Aliens, Ghosts, and Cryptids."

Join us at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, in the Farish Theater of the Central Library, downtown Lexington.

We'll discuss some of our favorite cases, tell stories from investigations that intrigued us, and maybe read one or two passages.

We're also happy to answer questions from the audience because our audiences tend to be people who have questions!

The library lists the age group as, "Adult, 18+," but we're not so scary that older children would be frightened.

Because no one has posted an Amazon review of "Paranormal Kentucky" yet, we decided to get the ball rolling. (Hint: if you've read the book and feel moved to react in an Amazon review, please do so!)

Here's what we wrote:

First of all, full disclosure: Marie and I are the co-authors of this book. We wanted to let readers know how our book differs from the hundreds of other paranormal books out there.

While researching "Paranormal Kentucky," we read dozens of paranormal volumes. We found many of these sources unsatisfying for three reasons:

No. 1, the book may have been a collection of folk stories in one-paragraph form. We’re sure the folklorist accurately recorded the narrative and its time, date, and place of performance. But as storytellers ourselves, we wanted more. What happened next? What did the witness think? What was the background story leading up to the report?

No. 2, the source may have quoted witnesses who saw a light in the sky and then described an extended encounter with the Grays and a journey to Zeta Reticuli. We think the authors of such reports may—possibly—have gone a wee bit beyond the facts.

No. 3, the book’s author may have been a skeptic who set out an incident and then claimed it was just a weather balloon, swamp gas, or the planet Venus. Sure, the skeptic may be correct. We seem to have lots of weather balloons and swamp gas floating around out there. But a debunker’s approach fails to engage the experience of the witness, who may or may not have seen a flying saucer but who certainly was deeply terrified. In fact, many witnesses reported their lives being changed by their encounters—and not always for the better.

So, we tried to (1) give the background of each incident and put it into historical context; (2) remain clear-eyed about what physically may have happened at a given incident, but (3) always treat our witnesses with respect.

During the years that it took to research this book, Marie and I interviewed many fascinating people who reported extraordinary experiences. Were those experiences real? Well, they sure were real to the witnesses. And who knows, in some cases, the only honest answer to the reality question is, “We don’t know.”

Come along with us! See for yourself. We think you’ll enjoy our journey too.

We received some good news from the Kentucky Book Festival this week: According to sales figures provided by Joseph Beth Booksellers, our book, "Paranormal Kentucky," was No. 8 among bestsellers in the category non-fiction! The figures are for the 2025 festival held last month at Joseph Beth. Despite the weak economy, the festival also reported an increase of 16.4 percent in the door count.

Looking to shop local this holiday season? The Courier Journal just released their 2025 Christmas gift guide for men—and three of their picks come straight from the University Press of Kentucky:
🥃 CLASSIC COCKTAIL REVIVAL by Jennifer Brian
👻 PARANORMAL KENTUCKY by Marie Mitchell and Mason Smith
🏞️ KENTUCKY FRONTIER TO COMMONWEALTH by Nancy O'Malley

See the full guide at: https://bit.ly/3LyMHXI

Marie and I recently spoke with WUKY radio's Clay Wallace about our new book, "Paranormal Kentucky: An Uncommon Wealth of Close Encounters with Aliens, Ghosts, and Cryptids." You can listen to the seven-minute interview or read a transcript of our conversation at the link below.

Aliens, ghosts, and cryptids! “Paranormal Kentucky” recounts abductions, hauntings, and close encounters of all kinds Marie Mitchell and Mason Smith are co-authors of Paranormal Kentucky: An Uncommon Wealth of Close Encounters with Aliens, Ghosts, and Cryptids. Both former journalists, the couple traveled across Kentucky to compile tales of “high strangeness,” many of which radiate chills far beyond the state l...

Our new book, "Paranormal Kentucky" got a mention yesterday (Monday, Nov. 3, 2025) in the Louisville Couried-Journal. The reference came as one of the suggestions in, "5 Holiday Gift Ideas for Men/ During the 2025 Holiday Shopping Season" by staff writer Matthew Glowicki. We're not sure about the "for men" part. We think women enjoy reading about creepy stuff too.

Our interview with Tom Martin on "Eastern Standard," WEKU-FM, aired today (Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025). If you missed the air date, the program will be posted soon for streaming on the link below:

Eastern Standard WEKU's weekly public affairs program discussing topics and concerns of Central and Eastern Kentucky, hosted by Tom Martin

Marie and I spoke and signed our book last night (Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025) at Carmichael's Book Store in Louisville. The 18-20 participants engaged freely with our discussion, and we were pleased to sign a number of copies of "Paranormal Kentucky." The backdrop even contained a flying saucer!

Mason spoke and signed copies of our new book at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Lexington on Thursday, Oct. 16. Photos by Marlowe Smith.

And here's a little more information about our "Dark Tourism" presentation tomorrow evening in Paintsville:

Dark Tourism
JCPL
Thursday, Oct. 23, 6:00PM-7:00PM

At 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, the Johnson County Public Library will host "Popular Sites Along Kentucky's Dark Tourism Trail" sponsored by Kentucky Humanities Speakers Bureau. Marie Mitchell and Mason Smith, authors of "Paranormal Kentucky: An Uncommon Wealth of Close Encounters with Aliens, Ghosts and Cryptids" (available at the event for $35 hardcover, $25 softcover). Mason and Marie will share stories about a their visits to sites of hauntings, alien encounters, bigfoot sightings, and/or locations where horrific crimes have taken place. These sites are part of a whole package being marketed by Kentucky communities as "Dark Tourism." Among the places the authors feature are haunted Talbot Tavern in Bardstown, a spaceship in Kelly, and the Louisville train trestle onto which the notorious Goatman lures people. This program is free and open to the public. The authors will also be offering their book for grade school readers, "The Aliens Are Always Greener in Kelly, Kentucky," for $10.