Charlie Carl Carlson, Jr. (December 31, 1943 – August 30, 2015), was an American author, novelist, actor, and film producer. Known as "Florida's Man in Black", or "Master of the Weird", Carlson specialized in the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. No ...

, strange events and places, and many historical books. Carlson also produced and acted in radio shows and movie productions related the genre.

Military service and early career

Charlie Carlson joined the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, c ...

and spent two tours in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

with the

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a mul ...

(Blackhorse) and after twenty-five years retired as a

Command Sergeant Major A command sergeant major (CSM) is a non-commissioned rank and position of office in the United States Army. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted member of a color-bearing Army unit (battalion or higher). The CSM is ap ...

. He earned several decorations including the United States Legion of Merit. After retirement, Carlson went on to become a showman of outdoor attractions, including owning a circus sideshow.

Writing and acting

He began his writing career as author of several Florida history books and the Civil War. In 1997, he began writing about Florida folklore and published the successful book, ''Strange Florida'' and, in 1999, portrayed Professor Charles Morehouse on the then-named Sci-Fi Channel's ''Curse of the Blair Witch''. He has produced and appeared in several television documentaries related to

Florida history The history of Florida can be traced to when the first Native Americans began to inhabit the peninsula as early as 14,000 years ago. They left behind artifacts and archeological evidence. Florida's written history begins with the arrival of Europ ...

and unexplained phenomena. He was a frequent guest on Florida

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

and was the author of the 2005 best selling book, ''Weird Florida'' and, in 2006, published his first fiction novel, ''Ashley's Shadow''. He was a contributing writer to ''Weird Hauntings'' and ''Weird Encounters'', both by

Sterling Publishing Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. is a publisher of a broad range of subject areas, with multiple imprints and more than 5,000 titles in print. Founded in 1949 by David A. Boehm, Sterling also publishes books for a number of brands, including AA ...

Current activities

Mr. Carlson lived on the east coast of Florida, and was one of the founding members of the Grand Order of Weird Writers. In 2008, he was producing an independent film entitled ''Henry Blackhart Is Dead'', by Blue Heron International Pictures about a legendary haunting set on the east coast of Florida during the Great Depression, and was acting in ''The Cleansing'', about a real-life cleansing ceremony in a haunted building. He also produced and was featured among the cast for
Hunt For the Devil
', a

ghost hunting Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters use a variety of ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. In 2010, he became the host of his own

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

television show,
Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled
' which aired nationally. In 2012 PBS released his new television show, Weird Florida: On the Road Again.

Bibliography

*''When Celery was King'' *''I Got my Dress Tail Wet in Soda Water Creek'' *''History of Bookertown (Co-writer)'' *''First Florida Cavalry Regiment'' *''History of Monroe (Co-writer)'' *''Strange Florida I'' *''Tux and Tales of a Wizard'' *''Weird U.S.(Contributing writer)'' *''Weird Hauntings (Contributing writer)'' *''Weird Encounters (Contributing writer)'' *''From Fort Mellon to Baghdad'' *''Seminole County's Curious Files'' *''Swedish History of Seminole County, FL. '' *''Weird Florida'' *''Ashley's Shadow'' *''Strange Florida II''

Filmography

As actor

*'' Curse of the Blair Witch'' *''Hunt For The Devil'' *''The Cleansing'' *''Stix and Stones'' *''Zombies from Cyber Space''

As narrator or host

*''Night With Johnny Duncan'' *''Paranormal Florida'' *''PBS Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled'' *''PBS Weird Florida: On The Road Again''

As producer

*''Harry Blackheart Is Dead'' *''Safe Haven''

References

External links

Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Charlie 1943 births 2015 deaths People from Sanford, Florida 20th-century American novelists American horror writers Novelists from Florida American occult writers American male film actors United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army soldiers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Film producers from Florida 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers