Hunt for the Skinwalker: Science Confronts the Unexplained at a Remote Ranch in Utah Paperback – December 6, 2005

The Hunt for the Skinwalker has been on my reading list for quite some time so I finally decided to jump right in. The Gorman Ranch, also known as Skinwalker Ranch, is located just south of Ballard, Utah, and gained notoriety when given the public eye in both Utah and Las Vegas news publications. Skinwalker Ranch is infamously known for its strange array of paranormal activity. From dire wolves to cow mutilations to dog-zapping orbs, the ranch is host to all things “weird.” This book is written by Colm A. Kelleher, Ph.D and George Knapp, and was one of the first attempts at “science confront[ing] the unexplained at a remote ranch in Utah.”A Bit About the Authors:Colm A. Kelleher, Ph.D. experienced the ranch first hand. Kelleher is “a biochemist with a fifteen-year research career in cell and molecular biology. Following his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Dublin, Trinity College in 1983, Kelleher worked at the Ontario Cancer Institute, the Terry Fox Cancer Research Laboratory, and the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine. For the past eight years he has worked as project manager and team leader at a private research institute, the National Institute of Discovery Science, using forensic science methodology to unravel scientific anomalies.”George Knapp, a well-known investigative journalist and privy to the world’s unexplainable ufology events, also co-authored this intriguing book. Knapp “is a Nevada journalist who has been honored with the highest awards in broadcast journalism--the Peabody Award (twice), the Dupont Award from Columbia University, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and 27 regional Emmy awards for investigative reporting, environmental reporting, and news writing. He is the longtime chief investigative reporter for KLAS TV Las Vegas, where he previously worked as news anchor. He co-authored the best selling book Hunt for the Skinwalker. In 1989, his reports about Nevada's Area 51 military base were selected by UPI as Best Individual Achievement by a Reporter. Since 2007, he has also been a weekend host of Coast to Coast AM.”Key TakeawaysThis ranch is riddled with all sorts of activity that would likely send the average human into sheer terror and panic. Tom Gorman, however, is like the Chuck Norris of the paranormal. The way he is portrayed in the book is, as absolutely fearless. If some thing came out of the woods and then retreated, he went in after it. Who does that? Tom Gorman is “who does that.” He pioneered the giving zero effs mantra, and for that he is one of my ufology heros. While Tom was blazing trails, his family wasn’t so much. Obviously, with everything happening--entities peering in windows, poltergeist activity, unexplainable creatures, various sized and colored orbs, spacecrafts galore, and the loss of prized cattle--it eventually took a toll on his family. Aerospace tycoon, Robert Bigelow, made the Gorman’s an offer to purchase the ranch that they couldn’t refuse and they “took the money and ran.” Or did they? After the sale of the Ranch to Robert Bigelow, under the umbrella of National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), Tom was asked to stay on as the Ranch Manager, to which he obliged. Tom wasn’t going to let whatever was terrorizing him and his family go down without a fight--and for that, I admire him. Post-purchase, a team of scientists with fancy gear, surveillance and close to unlimited resources at their hands, moved in to begin analyzing the anomalous activity. This is where I really become vested in this story, because as an Analyst by trade, I understand the work, research, time studies and field application it takes to set out to prove theories and put solutions into action. Here is the deal with all things paranormal--we tend to believe that we can put things that we do not understand into boxes. Not only do we believe we can put these items into boxes, we also believe that we can limit whatever is in the box to our social rules and limitations. Well, this just is not so. Whatever these anomalies are, they do not play by our rules. For the events that are truly anomalous, their technology and understanding far surpasses that of our own. For the events that are paramilitary, the operations are so covert, that we as civilians would have a tough time distinguishing the authentic from the absurd paramilitary jaunts that our government and military industrial complex thinks is ok to participate in. A lot of what happened on the ranch that is portrayed via the book seems a bit too military-esque for my taste. I really do not believe that extraterrestrial lifeforms get their gits and shiggles from mental warfare on humans. If we’re talking about beings that have IQs upward of the 300-400s, then I find it hard to believe that they find self-efficacy in screwing with humans. Maybe I’m far off base (ha), and they do enjoy that kind of trickery, but my intuition just tells me “no” on that one. What is described in the book reminds me much more of military charades--sending people into sheer terror and messing with people’s livelihoods. Yes, that sounds like a big, fat “check” and “check” for something the military industrial complex would subscribe to.All of that to say, there is a possibility for something truly anomalous going on at that particular latitude and longitude. The Gorman’s Ranch borders the Ute Reservation. The Utes have widely regarded that land as being “cursed”, as it is in the path of the skinwalker. What is a skinwalker, you say? In short, a skinwalker is “a person, in certain Native American traditions, who can transform into any animal when wearing its pelt.” This is an extremely simplified definition, as the process for a Native American to become a skinwalker is both gruesome and horrifying. Essentially, the initiate must sell their soul to the devil himself and sell their families’ souls through human sacrifice--yea, it is not a pretty topic. The Utes have long steered clear of this particular geographical location in hopes not to wake the skinwalker, which originated due to bad blood between the Utes and the Navajo. I cannot say that I do not blame them. From the sounds of things at the Ranch, there is a lot of activity that I’m not sure that I would want to be a witness to.To recommend or to not recommend, that is the question!RECOMMEND! This is a great read for anyone who interested in this topic--especially specifically about the Ranch. This is a “straight from the horse's mouth” anthology, so no better place to get your information from than the source. It is intriguing and very hard to put down, however I was often forced to because I have an infant. You will not get a lot of “science” takeaway from this book if that is what you are looking for, simply because whatever anomalous entities live on this Ranch are of the school of thought that “no one puts baby in a corner.” Whatever it is, it does not want to be measured. And do you know what? Whatever it is, is smarter than our conventional science--so they are kind of calling the shots here. If we ever do find out for certain that this is a paramilitary playground, I will certainly be disappointed. The last thing I want to hear about is a bunch of bozos wreaking havoc on its own citizens. However, if it is truly anomalous activity out to terrorize their humanoid brethren, then I may suggest some counseling. LOL. Santè!

I had read a few minor articles about such, heard about the ranch on Coast to Coast AM. The cattle "mutilations" are an intriguing mystery. The anomalous events at the ranch were interesting, also. To learn of other such locations in the U.S. was also intriguing.This is not a book that will satisfy, though, as the investigations did not produce the substantive evidence that would satisfy a peer review by any means. There were events witnessed by the investigators, events that impacted the investigators, but produced nothing in the way of 'evidence'. Just interesting descriptions, but nothing that could be categorized, analyzed, evaluated, and reproduced to the satisfaction of any third party peer review.What did come out of the investigations was a confirmation for the facts that anomalies occurred, dogs and cattle were killed, and things were seen and experienced that simply defy explanation at today's state of knowledge. The idea of cross dimensional travel is being slowly brought into the mainstream as a multi-dimensional universe is coming into acceptance as theoretical, the math says yes, but the mind is not quite there yet. In science fiction, for decades, in science, there are those who are putting forth the idea of a multi-verse.The book is entertaining because of the meeting of the scientific method with the illogical, the unsolvable, and something that refused to cooperate the investigations.The descriptions by Mr. Gorman of his initial encounter with the 'wolf' defy logic, just as do the cattle mutilations over the years from CA to PA. Yet, whatever seemed to have a sense of humor with the relocation of four very large bulls into a locked shed that was bursting at the seems with them inside. The killing of Gorman's dogs was evidently a lesson or simply intolerance.The Indians of this country have traditions, especially those in the Southwest, the Hopi and Navajo in particular of how they made it to this world. Maybe, there is some truth to those traditions, but we are yet at a place where we can correlate legend and tradition with physical science.In the mean time, books like this keep one interested and allow one to observe the unknown and incomprehensible through the eyes of others; in this case serious scientists intent on trying to unravel a mystery that they thought that a few bucks of instrumentation and their learned minds would readily resolve.Did not happen!Whatever these areas of high strangeness are, whether it be the intersection of time and space, worm holes, or whatever remaining from the creation, they show that God has a sense of humor and has given us mysteries to try our minds and sensibilities.I think you will enjoy the book, if you like this kind of mystery that has no answers--yet.

This is a well written account of an attempt to apply the scientific method to paranormal events. Backed by heavy funding from Robert Bigelow, a team of researchers made a frustrating attempt to deal with High Strangeness like it was a mold problem. The results are predictable but the path it took is illuminating. The isolated Gorman Ranch is plagued by phantom animals, optically disguised predators of extremely violent temperament, orbs, UFOs, Poltergiest phenomena, and stranger stuff yet! These authors are good reporters and the tale is well told. Historical data on Indian lore and myth serve to extend the strangeness into the distant past.Then they turn to explanations and things get really amusing. I was intrigued by the smooth way they introduced the work of a dozen or more specialists in the field. Culled from their index and bibliography are:Uri Geller, Michael Grosso, Patrick Harpur, John Keel, Phillip Klass, Dr. Bruce Maccabee, Dr. John Mack, Ingo Swann, Colin Wilson, Loren Colemen, Jerome Clark, Jacques Vallee and Tony Healy. These are best of the best at dealing with these fortean events. It's a pity these scientists had never read any of these people before jumping in feet first. The list reads like a speakers program for the International Fortean Organizations' FortFest or the Fortean Times' UnConventions. The secret here is the editor, Patrick Huyghe of the "Anomalist" fame. He's met and socialized with this "A" list of Forteans at many of these gatherings. So my surprise was that nowhere do they acknowledge the work of Charles Fort in collecting all the anomalous events and postulating their "Trickster",which is Fort's "Cosmic Fishmonger" in one of it's many aspects.A sound investment and a good read...especially the bibliography!

One hell of an addition to my UFO Book Collection. :)

Yo lo compre por que hablaron de el tema en leyendas legendarias

We've all watched Science Fiction shows, with tales of flying saucers, nightmarish wild animals, malevolent spirits and this that go bump in the night.But what if your family was *actually* exposed to these type of phenomenon?This book, written by investigative journalist George Knapp and scientist Colm Kelleher, details the high strangeness at Skinwalker Ranch in Utah.The Ranch has experienced everything from UFOS, to Werewolves to Poltergeist activity. But rather than these things being spooky stories, the book details how a team of government funded Scientists documented and tracked this phenomenon.Again, this isn't a fictional story but documented experiences of an area of high strangeness.The poor Sherman family, who lived on the Ranch prior to the research, were subjected to something akin to a horror film.This book doesn't sensationalise the story, but documents the research and offers some hypothesis on what is actually going on at this ranch.An amazing book that will shake your worldview and leave you considering that our Universe and reality is much stranger than we believe!

Ottima lettura, unica pecca mi aspettavo più report scientifici riguardo gli eventi in questione, invece ce ne sono "pochinI", senza fare spoiler il libro si concentra molto sulle storie dei protagonisti della narrazione. Interessanti i resoconti storici e le digressioni sui nativi americani, sono rimasto molto colpito dalla ricchezza e precisione di dettagli storici che riguardano l'intera area ( utah). I fatti narrati comunque hanno dell'incredibile, storia molto affascinante, consigliato !!

Great book for a very interesting and amazing story !! thanks to the seller for his professionalism !