AO Member

J.W. Ocker

Joined Atlas Obscura in 2010

J.W. Ocker is the author of macabre travelogues, A SEASON WITH THE WITCH, POE-LAND, and the GRIMPENDIUMS. He's also the creator of the website OTIS: Odd Things I've Seen. He has written about his travels for the Boston Globe, CNN, The Guardian, and other places people stick writing. He lives in New Hampshire.

OddThingsIveSeen.com

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Articles by J.W. Ocker

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Stories

Stories shared by this traveler.

Despite a wingspan of up to 70 feet and legends about them from coast to coast, thunderbirds are a particularly elusive cryptid in North America.

cryptozoology

Beware the Thunderbird, Badass Cryptid of the Skies

The source of storms and an (occasional) kidnapper, the massive ancient beast has inspired muscle cars and jet fighters.

Whether you call it shunka warak'in, the Rocky Mountain hyena or simply the beast, a mysterious canid preyed upon livestock in Montana in the late 1880s.

cryptozoology

Beware Montana’s Shunka Warak’in, the 'Rocky Mountain Hyena'

Is one of these crafty cryptids on display in a small museum?

While details of its appearance vary over time and across geography, the Wendigo is always a symbol of hunger and desperation during the coldest season. And Winter is coming.

cryptozoology

Beware the Wendigo, the Frostbitten Flesheater of North America’s Chilly Heartland

This terrifying creature has evolved over millennia—but never lost the need to feed.

Skinwalkers are not hapless victims who fell prey to dark magic—they want to be monsters.

mythology

Beware the Skinwalkers, Werewolf Witches of the American Southwest

These canine-humanoid shapeshifters travel between worlds using magical doors.

Leave No Black Plume as a Token: Tracking Poe’s Raven

edgar allan poe

Leave No Black Plume as a Token: Tracking Poe’s Raven

Grim New England: Part 3 Rhode Island and Connecticut

cemeteries

Grim New England: Part 3 Rhode Island and Connecticut

The indoor pool room with its own weather system

Grim New England: Part 2 Vermont and Massachusetts

Grim New England, Part I: Maine and New Hampshire

Grim New England, Part I: Maine and New Hampshire