Kenn Thomas (June 12, 1958 – September 22, 2023) was a conspiracy writer, archivist, and editor and publisher of '' Steamshovel Press'', a parapolitical

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

magazine. Thomas, who was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, wrote over a dozen books on various conspiracy topics. These included ''NASA, Nazis & JFK''; ''Maury Island UFO'', about the possibility that Fred Crisman was connected to the assassination of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

; and ''The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro'', about the Inslaw affair. In 2004,

Feral House Feral House is an American book publisher founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey and based in Port Townsend, Washington. Feral House is known for its taboo and provocative publications, but has had significant influence in both underground circles an ...

published a new edition of ''The Octopus'', extending the suggestion of connections to the post-

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

world and

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

. Feral House published a new edition of ''Maury Island UFO'' in 2011 as ''JFK & UFO: Military-Industrial Conspiracy and Cover-Up from Maury Island to Dallas.'' Thomas called his research interest "parapolitics", the study of conspiracies of all colors—from alien abductions and the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...

, to the

John F. Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas gove ...

and the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' called his work "on the cutting edge" of conspiracy. His name became a by-word for a conspiracy theorist, enough so that baseball was described in print as involving "enough fishy behavior to keep Kenn Thomas swarming for years." Thomas appeared at Conspiracy Con in 2003 and 2007.

Bibliography

* '' Acid: A New Secret History of LSD'', David Black (introduction by Kenn Thomas), Vision, UK, 2003, paperback, * ''The Arch Conspirator'', Len Bracken (introduction by Kenn Thomas), AUP, US, 1999, paperback, * ''The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold'', Acharya S (introduction by Kenn Thomas), AUP, US, 1999, paperback, * ''Cyberculture Counterconspiracy: A Steamshovel Web Reader'', Book Tree, US, 2000, (2 volumes) * ''Inside the

Gemstone File The Gemstone File is a conspiracy theory document attributed to Bruce Porter Roberts. In 1975, "A Skeleton Key to the Gemstone File" appeared and is generally attributed to Stephanie Caruana. The "Key" is purportedly a synopsis of Roberts' documen ...

'', Kenn Thomas and David Childress, AUP, US, 1999, * ''The Little Book of Conspiracies: A Paranoiac's Pocket Guide'', Joel Levy (introduction by Kenn Thomas), Thunder's Mouth, US, 2005, paperback, * ''Maury Island UFO: The Crisman Conspiracy'', IllumiNet, US, 1999, paperback * ''Mind Control, Oswald & JFK'', AUP, US, 1997, paperback * ''NASA, Nazis & JFK: The Torbitt Document & the Kennedy Assassination'', Adventures Unlimited Press, US, 1996 paperback, * ''The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro'', with

Jim Keith James Patrick Keith (September 21, 1949 – September 7, 1999) was an American author and conspiracy theorist, best known for the books ''Black Helicopters Over America'' and ''The Octopus'', co-written with Kenn Thomas, detailing theories aroun ...

, US, 2005, paperback, * ''Parapolitics: Conspiracy in Contemporary America'', AUP, US, 2006, paperback, * ''Popular Alienation: A Steamshovel Press Reader'', IllumiNet, US, 1995, paperback, * ''Popular Paranoia: A Steamshovel Press Anthology'', AUP, US, November 2002, paperback, * ''Saucers of the Illuminati'', Jim Keith (introduction by Kenn Thomas), AUP, US, 2004, paperback, * ''Secret and Suppressed II: Banned Ideas and Hidden History into the 21st Century'' Feral House, US Oct. 2008, paperback * ''Shadow Government: 9/11 and State Terror'', Len Bracken (introduction by Kenn Thomas), AUP, US, 2002, paperback, * ''

William Cooper William Cooper may refer to: Business *William Cooper (accountant) (1826–1871), founder of Cooper Brothers * William Cooper (businessman) (1761–1840), Canadian businessman * William Cooper (co-operator) (1822–1868), English co-operator * Wil ...

: Death Of A Conspiracy Salesman'', various with contribution from Kenn Thomas, Inner Light, US, 2001, paperback,

References

External links

Steamshovel Press (official site)

Nov. 22, 2009 appearance on ''Coast To Coast''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Kenn 1958 births 2023 deaths Date of birth missing 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American conspiracy theorists Maury Island incident Writers from St. Louis