Meet Ron Lanham and Joe Perdue the artists and researchers behind "Wild & Weird West Virginia". Both work with various media and use it to create art based on sightings and legends local and world wide. They use this art as a platform to help promote discussions from individuals who may have witnessed something but who are afraid to talk about it. The paranormal is more accepted now than ever before with more media coverage and states embracing their legends for tourism rather than hiding from it. Their art can be found in shops across the country and on line by clicking the SHOP tab. In 2020 after many years of talking about it they started the popular "Wild & Weird Radio" Podcast with the late artist and investigator Wayne Barnes and announced a new research project called the "West Virginia High Strangeness Collective" as well as founding the states first "Wild & Weird CON", a true multi-day paranormal expo and convention. The two have sense been featured in various publications, multiple projects with Small Town Monsters, Animal Planets "Finding Bigfoot", Discovery+, consulted for Productions with Travel, and were named the bigfootforums.com 2022 Bigfoot Researchers of the Year.
Welcome to Wild & Weird West Virginia
VENDOR APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Bell Bottoms optional but a good time is pretty much mandatory
Join us and some incredible vendors for the second year of the BIGFOOT PARTY IN THE PARK! "Woodbooger Jamboree"! Last year the event was packed with visitors from around the state supporting local artists and vendors. This year we invite you once again to spend the day with us. Craft Fair, Food Trucks, Bigfoot Q&A presentation, music and fun. Attendees feel free to bring your own chairs, blankets, acoustic instruments and jam in the shade. Vendors there are still space available as it is a massive area. APPLY HERE
ALL VENDOR SPOT ARE SOLD OUT FOR FWMC 2023
Join us for the re-imagining of the Flatwoods Monster Convention, hosted by Wild & Weird WV, Dave Spinks World of Weird and The Flatwoods Monster Museum. This will be a true recognition of one of the best UFO events not just in West Virginia but on the east coast. With over 1200 free parking spaces, on site lodging and large vendor and speaking hall, this is the largest celebrations of its kind in the state.
Shortly after 7 pm on September 12, 1952 a group of three children Edward May, Fred May and Tommy Hyer spot a fiery object crashing to earth on a nearby hill. The boys thinking it must be a meteorite decide to go investigate. The May boys drop by their home to tell their mother Kathleen. Along with Eugene Lemon (a National Guardsmen) and two other children, Neil Nunley and Ronnie Shaver and one of the boys dog, ( some claim it was a neighborhood dog), decide to go in search of the fiery visitor.
They arrive on the Fisher Farm where the object had descended, allegedly the dog went ahead of them and came running back toward them. A thick noxious fog is all around and Lemon reported seeing a red pulsing light at the top of the hill and pointing his flashlight in that direction revealed what he said looked like a tall humanoid form with a round red face surrounded bay a pointy hood-like shape.
The creature was said to have been ten feet tall, dark green or black body with eyes that emitted a greenish-orange light. Lemon claims he dropped the light as the creature began to hiss and spew out what some called a noxious mist as it moved toward them. This sent the group scurrying down the hill and back to the house to report the incident .
Local law enforcement arrived on the scene as they were already in the area looking for a downed aircraft. They reported they saw nothing and smelled nothing. The next day the area would be investigated again , this time by a local reported who found what he said were “skid marks' or what some interpreted as tracks as well as an “odd gummy substance”. The story was carried country wide and was taken seriously by UFO research groups of the day. The US government also took it serious enough to include it in their Project Blue Book investigation.
Join us and our guests as we shine a spotlight on this amazing historical event and celebrate one of West Virginias most important legends.
High Strangeness At Salt Fork Ohio
REAL LIFE SURPRISE ENCOUNTERS
Full Report of the Wild & Weird CON
Sightings Now Available
West Virginia's largest all inclusive Paranormal Conference returned with incredible vendors, speakers and a few surprise guests. The VIP Night hike by Hellbent Holler turned out to be an amazing experience for all those who attended when an unexpected encounter occurred and was captured on camera! The next day even more high strangeness ensued and was witnessed by several of our guests. Wild & Weird CON definitely lived up to it's name and we can not wait to see you all again next year! You can view event photos and extras in the gallery shortly.
AN EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PODCAST RELEASE
What did we capture on our thermal? This footage has now been looked at by multiple researchers and all agree it's something that should not have been there and it appears to be very large.
MOTHMAN FESTIVAL BREAKS RECORDS
After two years West Virginia's largest cryptid celebration returned and it returned to record numbers. It was an honor to speak at this event which locals are estimating topped over 20,000 attendees on the first day alone. The crowd was huge but everyone was polite and had a great time finally being back. The Mothman Festival is definitely back and we are already making plans for next year! To everyone we met, there were just too many to name. Thank you all for making this an amazing show. Tune into Wild & Weird Radio this weekend for a rundown on the event.
The Radio Is On
Nearly 100,000 downloads later Wild & Weird Radio is proving to be not only entertaining but educational as well. Join your hosts as they explore the Wild & Weird World where ever you listen to your podcasts or watch them on video our youtube channel and keep an eye out for more appearances of Wild & Weird Radio at various CONs and Expos in 2022. If you would like to book please feel free to reach out.
To all of you who have taken this journey with us we thank you!
NEW EPISODES EVERY FRIDAY
Join us every Friday at 8PM est for a new premiere episode of Wild & Weird Radio on our YouTube Channel. We will be available during the LIVE premiere for Q&A.
Thank you to all who came out
Thank you Wytheville!
It was a full house at the Wytheville UFO Fest for our speaking engagement
It was an incredible show and we met a lot of amazing people.
Thank you for sharing your personal accounts with us and for
supporting Wild & Weird West Virginia! Next up is the Mothman Festival.
We have been extremely busy with all the projects we are working on and we finally got to reveal some of those Top Secret projects to the public! We released our latest editions to the Wild & Weird UFO Fleet ( UFO Replicas) and they were a hit. We also signed several copies of Dave Spinks new books, Cooking with Cryptids and the New Revised Edition of West Virginia UFOs which Ron contributed artwork and case files for. The cookbook has several recipes that Joe provided and is an amazing collection to the kitchen or your cryptid library!
After years of wanting to go , we finally landed in Kecksburg PA. Home of the famous 1965 space acorn crash, this small town hold a very large 3 day party to celebrate the event. After a two year delay the festival returned and with it came thousands of visitors from around the world and maybe beyond! Enjoy this short video of the event. We will see you all there next year!
Check our EVENT CALENDAR to see where we will be next. If you are wanting us for your event contact us to check availability.
The first Woodbooger Jamboree#2 is coming MAY 20th at John Slack Park in Racine WV. This event was huge last year and we expect it to be even bigger this year. Get there early and plan to stay all day, food trucks , vendors and workshops and much more fun.
We Pride ourselves on being "Ambassadors of the Paranormal" here at Wild & Weird West Virginia. We put a lot of work into not only promoting West Virginia but also in getting the public used to the idea that it's OK to have and talk about strange phenomena. Not only can it be therapeutic, it can also benefit the entire state especially in some of the smaller counties. We are honored to be asked to help out, feel free to contact us.
The West Virginia High Strangeness Collective
We are not just artists who sell paranormal themed items, we are experiencers and researchers who are convinced there are actual answers to some of these deeper mysteries. We also believe the only way to find those answers is to work together and share our data. This is the building block of the WVHSC , a research and investigation network designed to gather and record data on various paranormal incidents as quickly as possible in an attempt to help find answers to these wild and weird occurrences in the mountain state and beyond. We are comprised of many professional individuals with unique skill sets that contribute to the general mission of the group. If you have had an encounter or sighting you would like to talk about, please feel free to contact us.
To date we helped many individuals come to terms with their encounters with the unknown and helped find answers or at least point them in the right direction. If you have had an encounter and are looking for answers reach out to us by clicking on CONTACT tab. All personal data is kept strictly confidential.
HAVE YOU SEEN SOMETHING YOU CAN NOT EXPLAIN?
We believe the only way in which we can find answers to some of the mysteries surrounding us, is by looking at every submitted case. If you have had an encounter and would like to have it added to our data base , or if you would like some possible answers or resources, please click on the REPORT A SIGHTINGS tab below and fill out the simple online form. All data is kept confidential and only shared among case members . We will screen the initial report and may send a more detailed questionnaire if we think it is warranted.
JOIN THE WILD & WEIRD TALK GROUP TODAY
Are you interested in UFOs, Cryptids and the paranormal and staying up to date with real world events relating to these topics? Are you looking for a group that is fun and drama free? If so, you are looking for the Wild and Weird Talk group. We work very hard to keep this site free from drama, and spam plus you can share your accounts without fear of being ridiculed. You will also get real time updates on all things related to our other projects and events. Just answer the 3 membership questions and we will approve you ASAP.
NOTE: You must answer question #3 above all others stating that you agree to the rules or we will not accept.
Wild & Weird Workshops
In 2021 we held our first Wild & Weird Workshop and the results were amazing. With this ongoing series you will get to learn great techniques, such as pouring your own special Wild & Weird Workshop Cast , how to properly collect data, basic tracking, proper load out an more.
More dates coming soon.
Merchadise
We try our best to keep our online content FREE for everyone. We get support from you, our fans who have helped us by purchasing our items in our etsy shop or at shows. That means as long as we have the continued support of everyone out there, we will keep making even better content for our Podcast and creating more workshops and events in order to reach out to as many people as we can..
Catch us in these films
Watch , rent , buy etc On the Trail of UFOs: Dark Sky, The Mothman Legacy, and Beyond the Trail: The West Virginia Wildman and more by Seth Breedlove of Small Town Monsters.
