Tom Verde became interested in eerie phenomena when he was researching supernatural encounters for a public-radio program. He discovered that Maine has a rich history of supernatural occurrences and colorful legends, so he decided to write a book about them.
In the line of duty, award-winning journalist Tom Verde has attended a witch's Sabbath in Salem, Massachusetts, crawled into a hibernating bear's den in northern Maine, chased moonshiners across the backwoods of Virginia, been chased himself by Cape water buffalo in the South African sveld, tried to bribe his way into the forbidden chapel of the Ark of the Covenant in northern Ethiopia and trekked, solo, across the desert of Maine. He has journeyed throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the U.S. on assignment for public radio's former weekly travel show, The Savvy Traveler, as well as the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Copley News service, Marketplace and NPR's environmental show, "Living on Earth." His work has also appeared in a host of national magazines, including Newsweek, Travel & Leisure, Reader's Digest, National Geographic Adventure, and Art News. He has also been a producer for iToors, a travel podcast company that produces audio guides to destinations worldwide and hosted a series of a public radio talk shows on religion for Connecticut Public Broadcasting.
In 1999/2000, Verde spent several months retracing the ancient frankincense trail for a public radio series on the history of the trade route. Traveling by camel, dhow, on foot and in four-wheel drives, his journey took him across the Arabian peninsula and through five countries. In 2000, he also produced a public radio series on the history of Cairo, for which he received a National Headliner Award for Best Radio Documentary Series as well as a New York Festivals Award. Other awards and honors include the ICI Educational Foundation and American University School of Communication Journalism Award for Excellence for his business writing at "Marketplace" as well as several Lilly Foundation/Religion Newswriters Association scholarships for the study of Islam, and Hartford Seminary awards for excellence in Biblical scholarship.
Verde's fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine as well as in several regional and international literary magazines. He is the author of three books, Maine Ghost & Legends published by Down East Books, as well as two volumes in the American Profiles series, Twentieth Century Writers 1900-1950 and Twentieth Century Writers 1950-1990, both published by Facts on File.
He lives in Pawcatuck, CT and holds an M.A. in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations from Hartford Seminary in Hartford CT.
