To understand Utah and the people living here, Darren M. Edwards seeks out stories of the supernatural. His latest book, Supernatural Lore of Southern Utah, draws on over 200 interviews to explore the role of the supernatural in local cultures and the human psyche.
Edwards does not set out to prove or debunk accounts of ghosts, curses, or other supernatural phenomena. Instead, he explores what the experiences mean to the people involved and how their accounts fit into larger cultural ideas.
“To me, it's far less interesting to say, you know, ‘This person says they saw a ghost, but that can't factually be true,’ than it is to say, ‘This person had this experience. And what does that mean?’” Edwards said.
Accounts of supernatural experiences provide particularly intriguing insights into the human psyche, Edwards said. “It's a way for us to express and explore ideas, that even subconsciously, we're not comfortable doing in other ways."
Southern Utah has a complicated history, with persecuted Mormon pioneers settling in places already occupied by indigenous people. Sites like Grafton, a Mormon pioneer ghost town near Zion Canyon, are layered with spiritual significance.
“You are raised to be proud of your pioneer heritage, and the trek west, and the hardships. But you're not taught at all about the bad thing that happened, … the Indigenous — pushed out, driven out, had their culture erased," Edwards said. "That's why I think you can't just tell one side, ... you have to look at things from all different angles."
Edwards earned his Master’s degree in literature and writing at Utah State University and currently teaches part-time. He specializes in research-based creative nonfiction.
“In creative nonfiction, you're always digging for a deeper meaning – what's beneath the narrative. You know, what can this story tell us about being human?” Edwards said.
