William B. Van Huss

Author/Researcher

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William Van Huss is the author of “Saucers Over Appalachia: The Great UFO Wave of 1973 in the Tri-Cities” and “The Mad Gasser of Botetourt County: Reconsidering the Facts”. He earned a B.A. in History from King University and has also written on Bristol history and the history of the Appalachian Trail. 

 

William and his wife, Robin, are the founders of Saucers Over Appalachia Festival, Wytheville UFO Fest, and Mystic Novelty Co. 

Susan Swiatek

Virginia MUFON - State Director

Susan Swiatek has been the MUFON Virginia State Director since 2003. She has organized the International Fortean Organization conference since 2014. She began publishing the Journal of Abuction-Encounter Research in 2007. Sue has lectured widely and contributed art and writing to many books including, Ron Story’s Extraterrestrial Encylopedia, Richard Hall’s The UFO Evidence – Part II and MUFON 50 Years 1969-2019. She and her husband Rob Swiatek, who served on the Executive Committee of the Fund for UFO Research (FUROR), have been married since 1994.  

Ron Lanham & Joe Perdue 

Field Investigators

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Experiencers and Researchers

of all things High Strangeness

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Ron Lanham and Joe Perdue are researchers, field investigators, and experiencers with decades of combined work exploring high strangeness across Appalachia and beyond. As creators of Wild & Weird Radio, the Wild & Weird WV brand, and co-directors of the Small Town Monsters series Paranormal Horizons, Ron and Joe have become two of West Virginia’s most recognized voices in the world of the unexplained. Their investigations span topics like Bigfoot, UFOs, and encounters with non-human intelligences, and they’re known for presenting credible, peer-reviewed data including multi-sensor imagery that challenges conventional explanation. Whether through their podcast, art, or social media presence, they’ve built an inclusive community that helps others feel seen, heard, and less alone in their own strange encounters.

In addition to their media projects, Ron and Joe are the founders of the West Virginia High Strangeness Collective, a collaborative research group that shares evidence and supports experiencers across the region. Their down-to-earth style and data-driven approach have made them popular presenters at events across the country. At Saucers Over Appalachia, they’ll be sharing recent findings from their work on Paranormal Horizons, highlighting the patterns and possibilities that emerge when investigators stop separating phenomena—and start asking what ties them all together.