Encounters: With the Strange and Unexplained

by Matt Hoyle, Ltd. PQ Blackwell

I'm 126 years old. This is my 4,500th incarnation." --Dr. Bob, as profiled in Encounters With the Strange and Unexplained

* The National UFO Reporting Center averages 332 unexplained alien sightings each month, and the Gallup Organization reports that more than 32 percent of Americans believe in ghosts.

In the summer of 2006, award-winning photographer Matt Hoyle took a paranormal road trip across the United States. He photographed 60 witnesses to alien spacecraft, murky swamp creatures, and demonic house poltergeists.

* Chronicling these encounters through both written and photographic profiles, Hoyle presents a spectrum of specter--loving and--loathing believers in Encounters With the Strange and Unexplained .

* Hoyle's award-winning photography is known for its rich character and post-production treatment that re-creates both the mood and setting of the environments his portraits depict.

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Ghosts, Photography

140 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Lacey Louwagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photos in this book are truly amazing, dark and haunted, with as much attention to detail as a painter with a fine-tipped brush might take. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in terms of this book's text, they might be worth more. Each photo is accompanied by a story in the subject's own words about his or her paranormal encounter. And while Matt Hoyle's skill with a camera cannot be denied, I get the sense that he is less skillful as an interviewer and editor, because many of the personal stories leave a lot to be desired. They are full of vague statements such as, "It was the scariest thing I ever saw," or "it didn't look human," which leaves an editor like me wanting to scream, "COULD YOU PLEASE BE MORE SPECIFIC?"

Still, it is fascinating how many people swear they have seen ghosts, aliens, and monsters, especially knowing this is just a fraction of those who claim such experiences. Reading this is like watching highlights from a season of the X-Files!

[SHR · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I had heard an interview with Mr Hoyle – the photographer behind the book, and it sounded like an interesting premise. The subjects of the photos all believe they have experienced some sort of supernatural encounter (spirits/ghosts, Big Foot, Yowie, UFO sighting, alien abduction, an American version of Nessie and so on). Hoyle’s idea was to take the subject back to the location of the “incident” and to have them tell the story of what happened. He believed that this would make the photos more genuine and would capture the emotion that they felt in relation to the experience.

The subject’s version of their experience accompanies each photo. While the photos are staged, there are a couple where the person looks scared and a few where the person looks defiant – as if daring you to say you don’t believe them.

I found the book a most enjoyable read.

[Sara Evraets · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is neat, Short but interesting. It taught me about a new cryptic beast AND I added a few stops to "my must see travel list". I enjoyed the pictures and I knew one of the gentlemen in the book! I liked it. Refreshing and cute.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool coffee table book! The photography and stories are really cool and the overall design fits the theme well.

[Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3.5]

An interesting, all too brief gallery of portraits of people and their stories of encountering the unexplained taken across the United States by photographer Matt Hoyle. Divided into three sections, spirits, monsters, and ufos, each page includes a portrait and short statement of a person who has encountered something strange taken in the place of the sighting, making for some very atmospheric pictures. A few of the subjects come off as eccentric to say the least, but it is also interesting to see how everyday some of them appear. The locations range from the heart of New York City, to Floridian swampland, Wisconsin cornfields, and Nevada desert, a full range of the American landscape. Weird things, it is true, can happen anywhere though the short, superficial nature of the book does not make for the most in depth look at the unexplained, and only about 17 states are represented. Still, "Encounters" is a fast, fun, even slightly creepy look into American strangeness.

[Leah Jenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encounters is full of lush, interesting photography and first-hand accounts of unexplained sightings. I'm a member of a local paranormal consortium where people relay their experiences at every meeting, so reading explanations taken directly from the witnesses felt familiar and comfortable for me. But I found myself wanting more detail from some of the stories -- one account in particular in the Monsters section of the book was particularly vague, labeling the creature as 'tall' and 'not human,' but not giving any physical details beyond that. All in all, the book is an easy, quick read, and the photographs help to give each account even more character.

[Carol Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photography was, as expected, superb. This collection of reports about people all over America who believe to the bone that they have met monsters, aliens, and ghosts is augmented by Hoyle' superb photos of people who often have the flaring nostrils and intense glare of the true believers. A couple of whack jobs and a lot of sincere people telling the truth as they see it. And who am I to argue? Someplace in there I suspect someone just might be right....

[Saskia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hoyle travelled across America, photographing people who have had strange encounters with ghosts, monsters, and aliens. Hoyle's photographs are just as fascinating as each person's individual story. Encounters is a great book to flip through and absorb the rich photography and interesting, and often spooky anecdotes.

[J. Gowin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a collection of photographs of people who claim to have witnessed intensely cool things. While the included comments are often entertaining, said comments are only a paragraph long per photo. I was left thinking, "wouldn't photographs of the things that these people claim to have seen be far better?"