Mysterious New Mexico
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''Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment'' is a 2014 collection of thirteen investigations conducted by author Ben Radford into cases involving claims of the paranormal occurring in or with significant connections to
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
.


Overview

This book describes the author's use of scientific techniques to investigate thirteen cases of purported paranormal phenomena. Interviews were conducted with people connected to the events and places involved in the legends surrounding the KiMo Theater, El Santuario de Chimayo, the
crystal skull Crystal skulls are human skull hardstone carvings made of clear, milky white or other types of quartz (also called "rock crystal"), claimed to be pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders; however, these claims have been refut ...
found in the
San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, making it the largest alpine valley in the world. It extends from the Continental Divide on ...
, and the hot springs of Ojo Caliente. The case of the
West Mesa murders The West Mesa Murders are the killings of eleven women whose remains were found buried in 2009 in the desert on the West Mesa of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Several suspects have been named, but none were arrested or charged. While the killings were ...
is the backdrop for a series of interviews with psychic detectives who claim the ability to help police solve such crimes. Other cases required more literary and historical research, such as the Aztec UFO Crash, The Loretto Chapel's Staircase, reports of sightings of the legendary Thunderbirds, the apparition known as
La Llorona (; ) is a vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned in a jealous rage after discovering her husband was unfaithful to her. Whoever hears her crying either suffer ...
, and Santa Fe's La Posada Hotel. The basic elements of the story of La Llorona, a legend usually associated with the Hispanic culture, for example, are traced back to a German folktale from 1486. Practical experiments were required for a third group, including determining the origin of The Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost, the reports of hauntings at the Old Cuchillo Bar, and an investigation into the power of
labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
s. The author also places the stories in their cultural context and points out the commonalities shared by the folklore and legends of the supernatural across cultures. Radford characterizes the work done for this book as "taking the claims seriously and offering serious investigation."


Reception


Press coverage and reviews

Two of the investigations recounted in this book received press coverage before its publication. The ''
Albuquerque Journal The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was ...
'' covered Radford's investigation of the KiMo Theater in 2009. Both television station
KRQE KRQE (channel 13) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with CBS and Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to ''de facto'' The CW, CW owned-and-operated ...
and ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' reported on Radford's experiments to identify the cause of the images widely known as the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost in 2007. In an article for the "Pasatiempo" section of the ''Santa Fe New Mexican'', Robert Nott interviewed Radford about his investigative methods and the psychology behind belief in supernatural phenomena. Regarding the book, Nott wrote, "Using both forensic techniques and journalistic inquiry, Radford makes a pretty good case that La Posada de Santa Fe is not haunted by the ghost of Julia Staab, that a little spirit boy named Bobby does not haunt Albuquerque’s KiMo Theatre, that the Miraculous Staircase in Loretto Chapel isn’t that miraculous, and that La Llorona is nothing more than a rural legend." A reviewer for the ''Cibola Beacon'' was impressed with the author's scholarly research, citing the "17 references in the 21 pages devoted to the worldwide phenomenon known as 'La Llorona, a "five-page index," and, "copious references at the end of each chapter." Skeptical writer and podcast host Susan Gerbic wrote, "You can almost see how he is thinking this through, how best to investigate it. Where are the actual claims that can be tested, researched? Then once he has done that he leads us through the investigative process." She later added, "the importance of original research—going back to the first source s Radford doesand not relying on secondhand (and more likely fifthhand) stories—cannot be stressed strongly enough." In October 2014, Lesley Anderson of ''Fast Company'' wrote an article profiling both the author and his investigative techniques in the case of the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost.


Awards

* Finalist for New Mexico Book Co-op's 2015 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in the "Nonfiction – other" category. * 2015 Border Regional Library Association's Southwest Book Award. * 2015 Southwest Book Design Award from the New Mexico Book Association. * 2015 Silver Winner of PubWest Book Design Awards for Adult Trade Book, Non-Illustrated


References

{{Reflist, 30em 2014 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Books about magic New Mexico culture Supernatural books University of New Mexico Press books Works about skepticism