Milwaukee Writer Explores ‘American Madness’ as well as Wisconsin Legends in New Books

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Photo by Megan Berendt

Tea Krulos

Milwaukee writer Tea Krulos has always sought out subcultures, eccentrics, followers of the less taken paths. His latest book, American Madness, grew out of one of his previous books, Heroes in the Night, which concerned people dressed as superheroes of their own making who patrolled the streets of their towns. Most were benign figures, DIY community helpers; only a few played vigilante (usually with bad results).

Krulos’ interest in RLSH (Real Life Superheroes) led to a guy named Richard McCaslin, aka the Phantom Patriot. The “mainstream RLSH community” shunned him, he was arrested for a fumble-jobbed “raid” on Bohemian Grove, the exclusive Northern California estate where conspiracy theorists claim the power elite conduct satanic rites. He did time. But Krulos was intrigued and maintained contact, in-person and by internet, for several years (McCaslin killed himself in 2018).

While not a comprehensive history, American Madness contributes to an understanding of our society’s contemporary conspiracy subculture through close observation. Krulos attended meetings and trade fairs held by several groups, watched their videos, read their blogs and learned about QAnon, Pizzagate, 911 and Sandy Hook deniers and a slew of twisted believers who once would have been beyond the margins—relegated to the back pages of the National Enquirer—but are now threatening the mainstream. 

Krulos chronicles his encounters, mostly through contact with the comic book-obsessed Phantom Patriot, as he goes in and out of a multiverse of rabbit holes. American Madness’ subtitle sums up the theme: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness.

Simultaneously with American Madness came the publication of another book by Krulos, Wisconsin Legends & Lore. Although the aggregation of Indigenous folklore, lumberjack tales, urban legends, river monsters and ghost stories from the Badger State is more anodyne, the material Krulos collects touch in different in a different manner on unconventional ways of understanding reality. I asked Krulos (an occasional Shepherd Express freelancer) some questions.

How do you define yourself as a writer? The topics of your books, including the two new ones, are very different but there does seem to be a consistency in attitude.

I like writing about a variety of things, but those stranger than fiction stories with elements of mystery and weirdness are just irresistible to me. I’ve always been interested in subcultures and social movements. American Madness follows the path I began to lay down in my first three books. Wisconsin Legends & Lore is different from my other books as it’s a collection of folklore, but many of these stories I heard about while writing my second book, Monster Hunters. 

Tell me a little about your methods of research. Some of your books seem to grow organically from years of experience. Do you ever feel anxiety about reaching out to angry people on the fringe?

I try to read and research as much as I can, but I think a key part for me is getting out and having experiences to write about, whether that's exploring a prepper bunker, going on a ghost hunt, or attending a flat earth conference. That's my favorite part of writing—experiencing and interviewing. I don't usually feel anxiety. I approach people and tell them I want to write about them, and if they tell me to go to hell that might be part of the story or I just find someone else I can connect with on some level. I never intend to make fun of or rip on people I write about, I think that helps. 

Why do many people have the need to organize their lives around a conspiracy theory?

Fear and anger often drives it. I think it’s a way of coping and trying to understand how this crazy world works. Conspiracies give comfort in blaming bad things on an organized evil that is all connected. It’s easier for some people to organize this all into a plot in their mind rather than admitting the world is just chaos sometimes or that things are many shades of grey instead of stark black and white. I also think some people just have a personality that’s more susceptible to it. Sometimes this is good—it keeps people from being scammed, but it’s a strange mindset of being selectively skeptical.  

Why do you think conspiratorial thinking has grown so prominent?

Conspiracy has really exploded during the pandemic. It's a combination of the fear and anger I mentioned, absorbing a lot of viral conspiracy media online, and having a president who constantly promotes conspiracy theory helps normalize these ideas. In American Madness I write about a guy I met, Richard McCaslin, who some might describe as a “crackpot.” But when you compare his ideas with Trump, who comes out crazier? So it really is a bad brew of the pandemic, civil unrest, and politicians weaponizing these beliefs that has led to this conspiracy renaissance period. 

How do the people of American Madness connect with the current political environment? Are most conspiracy theorists Trump supporters or is it a bi-partisan mindset?

It’s been shocking to see a lot of the people I write about in the book—Alex Jones, David Icke, Roger Stone, QAnon, Anti-vaxxers, and more in the news these last few months. Conspiracy theorists can be bi-partisan, I know of several examples of liberal conspiracies, for instance liberal anti-vaxxer advocates. But the biggest and most frightening growth is definitely with Trump supporters. This year QAnon, the cult-like conspiracy group that believes Trump is almost like a Messiah-figure, has been in the news a lot. They believe some really wild stuff and they have a number of candidates running for office. One of them, Marjorie Taylor Greene, looks like she will clearly win in November.

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