October has a way of bringing Arizona’s stranger stories back to the surface.
Maybe it’s the cooler nights. Maybe it’s Halloween. Or maybe a state filled with old mining towns, lonely desert roads, unexplained lights and generations of stories doesn’t really need much help getting weird.
Whatever the reason, there are several opportunities around Arizona this month to dig a little deeper into the stories that live somewhere between history, folklore and the unexplained.
From the Mogollon Monster and the Red Ghost to Victorian séances and UFO encounters, October is shaping up to be a pretty good month for anyone curious about Arizona’s stranger side.
The Mogollon Rim northeast of Payson, Arizona. Photo by Richard N. Horne, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Arizona’s desert monsters take center stage
On Saturday, October 10, Get Ghosted Phoenix is hosting Monsters of the Desert: Arizona Cryptids & Local Lore in Phoenix.
The 90 minute presentation explores some familiar names in Arizona folklore, including the Mogollon Monster, Red Ghost, Thunderbird, La Llorona and mysteries surrounding the Superstition Mountains. The program combines historical reports, eyewitness accounts, photographs and audience discussion. Get Ghosted Phoenix
The Mogollon Monster is probably Arizona’s best known cryptid, our own version of the large, hairy creature stories found throughout North America.
But the Red Ghost may be even stranger.
Stories dating back to Arizona’s territorial days describe a massive reddish camel roaming the desert, eventually becoming connected to a bizarre tale involving a dead man strapped to its back.
Then there are the Superstitions, where lost treasure, disappearances and unexplained stories have been piling up for generations.
Whether you believe any of it is another question.
The stories themselves are part of Arizona.
Monsters of the Desert begins at 7 p.m. October 10 at Parkwood Studios in Phoenix. Tickets are listed at $35. Get Ghosted Phoenix
Monsters of the Desert event information and tickets
The Rosson House in downtown Phoenix was built in 1895. Photo by Tony the Marine, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Phoenix’s Victorian past gets a little darker
If ghosts are more your speed, one of downtown Phoenix’s most recognizable historic homes has been leaning into the season.
The Rosson House Museum was built in 1895 and remains a remarkably preserved piece of early Phoenix. During October, The Square PHX offers special Séances & Spiritualists Tours exploring the Victorian fascination with communicating with the dead, spiritualism and some of the darker customs of the period. The tour even ventures into the Rosson House attic, an area not normally included in the experience. The Square PHX
There’s just one problem if you’re hoping to go this year.
They’re already sold out.
Every remaining Séances & Spiritualists Tour currently listed for October is sold out. The Square PHX
That doesn’t mean the Rosson House is off limits this month. Regular guided tours continue, and Halloween night brings something different.
On October 31, the Rosson House hosts the 18th annual PoeFest, with performances of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven taking place every 20 minutes on the house’s entry stairway. The Square PHX
Even without the paranormal stories, walking through a restored Victorian house from 1895 in the middle of downtown Phoenix feels like stepping into a completely different Arizona.
Rosson House Museum tours and information
Then there are the lights in the sky
Arizona’s connection to UFO stories runs deep.
The Phoenix Lights remain one of the most famous mass UFO sightings in American history, but interest in unexplained aerial phenomena around the state certainly didn’t end in 1997.
On October 24, Phoenix MUFON will host investigator and television producer Ben Hansen at the Arizona Heritage Center in Tempe.
Hansen’s presentation will tackle two subjects: the possible social effects of UAP disclosure and reported UAP encounters involving police officers and pilots. Hansen has worked in security, emergency management and government investigations and has appeared on numerous television programs dealing with UFOs and unexplained phenomena. Phoenix MUFON
The meeting runs from noon to 3 p.m. Admission is $15 cash, and you don’t have to be a MUFON member to attend. Phoenix MUFON
Phoenix MUFON October meeting information
Believe it or don’t. The stories are still worth telling.
Part of what makes Arizona interesting is that the landscape seems built for stories.
There are forests where people swear something large moves between the trees. Desert legends that have survived for more than a century. Victorian homes with stories that refuse to disappear. Strange lights over one of America’s largest cities witnessed by thousands of people.
Some have historical explanations. Others live comfortably in folklore. A few continue to leave questions.
You don’t have to believe every story to enjoy chasing one.
And around Arizona this October, there are plenty waiting to be found.