I’m the author of The New England Grimpendium (2010, Countryman Press) and The New York Grimpendium (2012, Countryman Press), each a travelogue of my experiences exploring macabre sites, attractions, and artifacts in those regions. Some of the stuff I got to see as a result of those projects includes Jack Kevorkian’s paintings, Troma Studios, a brain collection, a ship graveyard, tons of mummies, a pirate’s cave, and a book made of human skin. The New England Grimpendium won a Lowell Thomas Silver Award from the Society of American Travel. That was a good day for my bio because at the time it was the only writer bio on the planet without the word “award-winning” in it. My second book got a The New York Times review, where it was described as, “droll and gruesome...readers might die laughing, gag on its tasteless subject matter, or even shed a tear or two.” Another good day for the old bio.
Here on OTIS, I chronicle my visits to hundreds of oddities of culture, art, nature, and history across the country and world. The Peter Iredale shipwreck. St. Michan’s crypt. MacTonight. Also those times in between the oddities where I discovered a surprise basement in my garage and invented the candy drinking game. Sometimes I define oddity as “that which sticks out to me personally.” Other times as, “Anything I can write a post about.”
My work has appeared on CNN.com, the website for The Atlantic, Rue Morgue magazine, the book American Exorcist, and other places where people stick writing. I’m currently striving with no success for publishing interest in my middle-grade fiction book called Death and Douglas, about the son of a mortician and the murderer who haunts his town. The book sags a bit in the middle.
I’ve got a wife, a daughter, a penchant for port, and I celebrate Halloween for a month and a half. Send me an email at ockerjw@gmail.com or hit me up on the OTIS Facebook page or Twitter if you want to talk oddities, start a lifelong friendship, or if you’ve got a cool theory about the universe. I’m also looking for a patron to underwrite my life so that I can remove those first two sentences from this bio.
FAQs:
1. When did OTIS start?
June of 2007. It debuted with entries on the War of the Worlds monument in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey; Three Mile Island in Middletown, Pennsylvania; Elvis’ Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, The Awakening statue, then in Washington, D.C.; the Great Pyramid of Egypt; and the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant West Virginia.
2. Do you do OTIS for a living?
You’re just saying that to hurt me.
3. Why do you put yourself in the photos?
At first it was because they were my own private pictures. Then, when I started the website, it was proof that I had been to those places. Eventually, it just became a thing. The “I” in OTIS, and all that.
These days I regret it because I always have to get into shots even when I don’t want to and I’ve inadvertently chronicled the deterioration of my body and fashion sense over the past half decade.
4. Do you travel alone?
I've done a lot of solo travel, but it's a bit rarer now. These days, I'm usually accompanied by my wife, who is a professional photographer, and my daughter. When they can’t come, I have a couple of friends who are usually up for a jaunt. I'll always dig a good solo trip, though, especially since Odd Things We've Seen sucks as an acronym.
5. What’s the coolest place you’ve ever been?
Long answer: I don't know, because I’m always the most into whichever oddity I’m researching/planning a trip to/just came back from. Plus, how do you compare four-foot-tall carnivorous lilies with statue of Jim Henson talking to Kermit? That said, I usually do answer this when I’m asked, just for the sake of the conversation, although I am always lying.
Short answer: The Capuchin Crypt in Rome.
6. How do you find and get to all these sites, especially considering FAQ #2?
That’s an extremely long answer. Like book-length answer. Wish there was a place where we could write book-length answers.
7. Are there better sites than OTIS for finding oddities to travel to?
Totally. Atlas Obscura, for one. Roadside America, for another. Both of these are way more comprehensive than OTIS. What you’ll get here, though, is a consistent and honest firsthand experience of every oddity, since I’ve personally been to everything posted on OTIS. Also, a unified editorial voice and plenty of original photos of each site.
8. Do you have a giant travel budget?
No, not at all. I’m as worried about the fate of Social Security and whether the size of my TV is embarrassing just like most people. A large percentage of the entries on OTIS focus on sites that are free to see, minus a couple of gallons of gas. I just really try to take advantage of time and place.
9. What’s the one thing in the entire world that you’d like to see if given the opportunity tomorrow?
The Elephant Man’s skeleton.
10. Have people really asked you these questions frequently?
Yes…as long as we both disagree on the definition of the word frequently.
June of 2007. It debuted with entries on the War of the Worlds monument in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey; Three Mile Island in Middletown, Pennsylvania; Elvis’ Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, The Awakening statue, then in Washington, D.C.; the Great Pyramid of Egypt; and the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant West Virginia.
2. Do you do OTIS for a living?
You’re just saying that to hurt me.
3. Why do you put yourself in the photos?
At first it was because they were my own private pictures. Then, when I started the website, it was proof that I had been to those places. Eventually, it just became a thing. The “I” in OTIS, and all that.
These days I regret it because I always have to get into shots even when I don’t want to and I’ve inadvertently chronicled the deterioration of my body and fashion sense over the past half decade.
4. Do you travel alone?
I've done a lot of solo travel, but it's a bit rarer now. These days, I'm usually accompanied by my wife, who is a professional photographer, and my daughter. When they can’t come, I have a couple of friends who are usually up for a jaunt. I'll always dig a good solo trip, though, especially since Odd Things We've Seen sucks as an acronym.
5. What’s the coolest place you’ve ever been?
Long answer: I don't know, because I’m always the most into whichever oddity I’m researching/planning a trip to/just came back from. Plus, how do you compare four-foot-tall carnivorous lilies with statue of Jim Henson talking to Kermit? That said, I usually do answer this when I’m asked, just for the sake of the conversation, although I am always lying.
Short answer: The Capuchin Crypt in Rome.
6. How do you find and get to all these sites, especially considering FAQ #2?
That’s an extremely long answer. Like book-length answer. Wish there was a place where we could write book-length answers.
7. Are there better sites than OTIS for finding oddities to travel to?
Totally. Atlas Obscura, for one. Roadside America, for another. Both of these are way more comprehensive than OTIS. What you’ll get here, though, is a consistent and honest firsthand experience of every oddity, since I’ve personally been to everything posted on OTIS. Also, a unified editorial voice and plenty of original photos of each site.
8. Do you have a giant travel budget?
No, not at all. I’m as worried about the fate of Social Security and whether the size of my TV is embarrassing just like most people. A large percentage of the entries on OTIS focus on sites that are free to see, minus a couple of gallons of gas. I just really try to take advantage of time and place.
9. What’s the one thing in the entire world that you’d like to see if given the opportunity tomorrow?
The Elephant Man’s skeleton.
10. Have people really asked you these questions frequently?
Yes…as long as we both disagree on the definition of the word frequently.
