C.A. McAllister

I am C.A. McAllister, the Wizard of Wisconsin and Keeper of the Dairyland Deep Lore. My goal is to spread the love and knowledge of Wisconsin history and folklore as much as possible through art and humor. I am skilled in the arts of tritschology, takwin, and a tyromancy (the three essential Ts of Sconnie Sorcery). This website serves to collect and link my various projects.

My main current project is the creation of an illustrated book detailing all of the legendary creatures of the Greatest State of Wisconsin. From the well-known ones like the hodag or the beast of Bray Road, to the truly obscure Wisconsin legends like the Lake Michigan lizard fish or the squawhookus. The third draft of the book has been finished following feedback from a volunteer test reader, and I am now submitting the project to potential publishers. If this does not bear fruit, I will be self-publishing.

Gnomelore

I have the distinction of being the world's foremost expert on the topic of Wisconsinite gnome legends, showing that if you pick a topic obscure enough and then dedicate yourself to its study, you can easily unlock the title of "world expert" in that given field. I have meticulously researched and documented the forty-two different Gnome Tribes of Wisconsin. Gnomelore is quite possibly THE most important type of lore, and so to share these great findings, I have established a comprehensive online database of Wisconsin gnome legends including all my sources on such an illustrious topic.

Hail to King Krandlemas and Queen Krandlwen, the rightful rulers of Wisconsin's Gnomes. May their reign be eternal.

MSPaint Documentaries

My biggest contention with the public school system is that there isn't nearly enough of an emphasis on State and local history. We Wisconsinites have such an amazing history, and yet hardly any of it gets covered by our history classes growing up. Instead, we spend a disproportionate amount of time studying the history of different parts of the country, while neglecting our own. The little bit of our own history which is taught tends to skip over the most interesting and amazing parts! It sadly seems to give a false impression that nothing noteworthy happened in our Great State. Many Wisconsinites don't even seem to realize we have our own founding father, much less recognize what an amazing and interesting character that de Langlade truly was.

To rectify this at least in part, I've begun making documentaries on Wisconsin's history and folklore (and, of course, the history of the folklore) using the finest of MSPaint technology. Thusfar, I have made videos covering the Great Milwaukee Bridge War, the hodag legend and the history of its creation by Gene Shepard, the history of Wisconsin's Spiritualists and the Whitewater legends they inspired, the story of how we became America's Dairyland (and the story of our Greatest Governor, William Dempster Hoard), the forty-two gnome legends of Wisconsin, and the Dubuque Limburger Cheese Duel (and history of Monroe limburger). I have been told by one teacher that he shows the Bridge War video in his class, which still amazes me. As long as I can spread the good word of our state's history, this project is a success!

Currently I'm in the process of making a video on the history of the windigo legend, and all the ways it has changed over time. My dream is to one day make a documentary for the great Sieur Charles Michel Mouet de Langlade, but to do the man his due justice it will necessarily be very long.

Haykal Project

I am a practicing member of the Baháʼí Faith. We Baháʼís perform daily readings of our Scriptures twice daily. To help me in this, I designed a small webpage that selects random verses from the Hidden Words, so that I can pick a verse at random for these daily readings. I plan to eventually expand this to cover other books. If, somehow, this tool can be of benefit to others, it is freely available for anyone to access.

Special Thanks

Thanks be to God, the Glory of the Most Glorious, for Creating Wisconsin, the wondrous land of milk and honey (but mostly milk) that may or may not be the location of the literal Garden of Eden.

Thanks be to my daughter, for being adorable and inspiring me. May our adventures never end!

Thanks be my associates over at the Wampus Society, for their aid and insight in fearsome critter lore. Truly, there has never been a more knowledgable group of experts assembled for this niche topic of folklore!