Odd accounts and strange tales orbit around Shasta

Locals didn't find the ads, posted at the laundromat or running in the SuperSaver, to be strange at all.

A number of people, in fact, reached out to Brian Wallenstein the "researcher looking to gather stories and information" for a book on Bigfoot and UFO sightings.

A woman named Rudi emailed to report that she'd seen a bright disc hovering above Mt. Shasta. She attached a photo from a ski resort snow cam that showed a luminous speck. (Credible, Wallenstein thought.)

A man named Larry recounted his own research — including telepathic communication with "them" — conducted in preparation for the day extraterrestrials would reveal themselves to earthlings. (Too out there, Wallenstein decided.)

People pulled him aside to share anecdotes of mystery lights and star gates, or to whisper the names of neighbors and brothers with tales to tell.

Secondhand accounts flowed in: about the forest ranger who casually spoke of spotting a Bigfoot east of McCloud, and the deer-hunting couple from Weed who came across a bright chrome vessel on a dark mountain road.