" ... The sudden closing of the Kennecott copper mine in 1938 left many (of these) industrial and residential structures abandoned. Leaving with only what they could carry, the miners left plates on tables and sheets on beds. Preserved by their remoteness and Alaska's harsh freezing temperatures, the sites retain many of these precious artifacts ..."--Back cover

Port Chatham, Alaska was once a busy fishing village. By 1950, every single resident had left the town, leaving it abandoned. Over the years, legends told that the residents fled because they were being terrorized by a Bigfoot-like creature the local Natives called Nantiinaq. Stories of mutilated bodies, missing hunters and strange, otherworldly creatures have long been associated with Port Chatham. Retired police investigator, Larry Baxter, delves into the real-life mystery of Port Chatham and chronicles his research for the truth into one of Alaska's most infamous legends.

These astonishing stories tell of miners terrorized by spirits wandering their claims, of roadhouse owners visited daily by ghosts, and of reindeer herders who run in fear as one of their own departed comes back in spirit form to continue his duties after death.

A collection of twenty stories showcasing the supernatural legends and unsolved mysteries of Southeast Alaska, with a focus on the region between Yakutat and Petersburg, where the author has lived his entire life, writing, teaching, guiding, commercial fishing, and investigating ghost stories. Each chapter is rooted in Bjorn’s own adventures and will intertwine fascinating history, interviews, and his reflections. Bjorn’s writing, sometimes poignant and often wickedly funny, brings to mind Hunter S. Thompson and Patrick McManus. Chapters touch on legends such as Alexander Baranov, Soapy Smith, James Wickersham, and the Kóoshdaa Káa (Kushtaka) to lesser known but fascinating characters like “Naked” Joe Knowles and purported serial killer Ed Krause. From duplicitous if not downright diabolical humans to demons of the fjords and deep seas and cryptids of the forest, Bjorn presents a lively cross-section of the haunter and the haunted found in Alaska’s Inside Passage.

Would you send your teenager into the Alaska wilderness to work for people you never met? On June 9, 1973, 16-year-old Michael Travis put an advertisement in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner looking for work. What he got was more than he bargained for. Michael accepted an offer to help an older couple build a lodge at Melozi Hot Springs—a remote camp north of the Yukon River. The couple is shocked when they see a boy step out of the bush plane, instead of a capable man they sorely needed. Michael must prove his worth and learns quickly this beautiful land can turn deadly – handing out hard lessons. Confronted with bears, hordes of mosquitoes, and the realization he is truly on his own, Michael gradually earns his place among his employers and becomes an Alaskan.

Into the Wild meets Helter Skelter in this riveting true story of a modern-day homesteading family in the deepest reaches of the Alaskan wilderness—and of the chilling secrets of its maniacal, spellbinding patriarch. When Papa Pilgrim, his wife, and their fifteen children appeared in the Alaska frontier outpost of McCarthy, their new neighbors saw them as a shining example of the homespun Christian ideal. But behind the family's proud piety and beautiful old-timey music lay Pilgrim's dark past: his strange connection to the Kennedy assassination and a trail of chaos and anguish that followed him from Dallas and New Mexico. Pilgrim soon sparked a tense confrontation with the National Park Service fiercely dividing the community over where a citizen’s rights end and the government’s power begins. As the battle grew more intense, the turmoil in his brood made it increasingly difficult to tell whether his children were messianic followers or hostages in desperate need of rescue. In this powerful piece of Americana, written with uncommon grace and high drama, veteran Alaska journalist, Tom Kizzia uses his unparalleled access to capture an era-defining clash between environmentalists and pioneers ignited by a mesmerizing sociopath who held a town and a family captive.

An introduction to the history, natives, geography, cities, and modern problems of the largest state.