Charlie Carlson
Encyclopedia
Sanford, Florida
Sanford is a city in, and the county seat of, Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 38,291 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 50,998...
), is an American author, novelist, actor, and film producer. Known as "Florida's Man in Black", or "Master of the Weird", Carlson specializes in the paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
, strange events and places, and many historical books. Carlson has also produced and acted in radio shows and movie productions related to his genre.
Military service and early career
Charlie Carlson joined the US ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and spent two tours in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse) and after twenty-five years retired as a Command Sergeant Major. Carlson went on to become a showman of outdoor attractions, including owning a circus sideshow.
Writing and acting
He began his writing career as author of several Florida history books and the Civil War. In 1997 he began writing about Florida folklore and published the successful book, Strange Florida and, in 1999, portrayed Professor Charles Morehouse on the then-named Sci-Fi Channel'sSyfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
Curse of the Blair Witch. He has produced and appeared in several television documentaries related to Florida history and unexplained phenomena. He is a frequent guest on Florida talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
and is the author of the 2005 best selling book, Weird Florida and in 2006 published his first fiction novel by Luthers Publishing, Ashley's Shadow.
He is a contributing writer to Weird Hauntings and Weird Encounters, both by Sterling Publishing
Sterling Publishing
Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. is a publisher of nonfiction titles, with more than 5,000 books in print. Founded in 1949, it publishes a wide range of nonfiction and illustrated titles in categories which include art, biography/autobiography, body/mind/spirit, crafts, culinary, do-it-yourself,...
.
Current activities
Mr. Carlson currently lives on the east coast of Florida, and is one of the founding members of the Grand Order of Weird WritersGrand Order of Weird Writers
Grand Order of Weird Writers is a writers' organization founded by authors Charlie Carlson and Linda S. Godfrey based on the Weird US series of books started by authors Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman. The term "weird writer" applies to a special group of authors who have established a strange legacy...
.
In 2008 he was producing an independent film entitled Henry Blackhart Is Dead, by Blue Heron International Pictures about a legendary haunting set on the east coast of Florida
Space Coast
The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around Kennedy Space Center , where NASA launched space shuttles until the last one on July 8th, 2011 at 11:29am; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, site of unmanned civilian and military space launches...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and was acting in The Cleansing, about a real-life cleansing ceremony
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
in a haunted building. He also produced and was featured among the cast for Hunt For the Devil, a ghost hunting
Ghost hunting
Ghost Hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts.Typically, a ghost hunting team will attempt to collect evidence claimed to be supportive of paranormal activity...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
In 2010 he became the host of his own PBS television show, Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled which aired nationally and received a 2010 Telly Award.
As actor
- Curse of the Blair Witch
- Hunt For The Devil
- The Cleansing
- Stix and Stones
As narrator or host
- Night With Johnny Duncan
- Paranormal Florida
- Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled