"It's easier to believe the things we cannot see..."

Midwestern Strange chronicles B.J. Hollars’s exploration of the mythic, lesser-known oddities of flyover country. The mysteries, ranging from bipedal wolf sightings to run-ins with pancake-flipping space aliens to a lumberjack-inspired “Hodag hoax,” make this book a little bit X-Files, a little bit Ghostbusters, and a whole lot of Sherlock Holmes. Hollars’s quest is not to confirm or debunk these mysteries, but rather, to seek out beauty and wonder in the in-between.

Click here for an excerpt from B.J.'s presentation.

Press & Praise 


"Equal parts essay, journalism and memoir, Midwestern Strange is a breezy read, often very funny, and occasionally — at its best — illuminating." --Carson Vaughan, NPR

"Midwestern Strange is a fun and fascinating romp through those tales—delivered with Hollars’s talent for connecting dots while remaining comfortable with unanswered questions." --Nick Ripatrazone, The Millions

""[Hollars] strikes a perfect balance of humor and history, fact and myth, and is a smart, amusing guide to the Midwest’s supernatural mysteries."--What'sNonfiction.com
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“What happens when a professor ventures out to discover the unusual? Werewolves, UFOs, and mysterious creatures become his field of study, the road becomes his classroom, and this book becomes your guide to adventure.”
—Chad Lewis, author of Minnesota Road Guide to Mysterious Creatures

“In this intriguing travelogue of marvels, B.J. Hollars encounters werewolves, giant turtles, Mothmen, flying saucers, and other phantoms that haunt the landscape of flyover country. The real wonders in this extraordinary book, however, are the fascinating people that Hollars meets along the way. Midwestern Strange has something for those who want to believe as well as for those who are looking to find the human heart at the center of these charming tales of the unknown.”
​—Gregory L. Reece, author of Creatures of the Night and Weird Science and Bizarre Beliefs


Click here for the Foreword Reviews Interview