Dark Visions: Personal Accounts of the Mysterious in Canada

David M. Kelly is a teaching assistant at Brock University in St.
Catharines.

Dubbed “Canada’s Mr. Mystery,” John Robert Colombo is becoming
increasingly respected among serious students of the occult and
paranormal—and rightly so. Sadly, Dark Vision falls well short of his
usual fine work.

The book comprises personal accounts of extraordinary experiences
(claimed by Canadians) ranging from Native legends to extraterrestrial
abductions. None are totally convincing and few are particularly
entertaining. For the most part, they are lacklustre and boring, which
is not Colombo’s style at all. A less charitable critic might go so
far as to suggest that he has been “scraping the bottom of the
barrel” to assemble this collection. Conspicuous by its absence is the
usual depth and perceptiveness Colombo normally weaves into his prefaces
and introductions.

The collection is a disappointment, but as one golfing acquaintance put
it, even a grand master can have an occasional off day on the links.