Michael J. Bielawa

Historian Michael J. Bielawa has authored several regional histories and his essays have addressed such diverse topics as the mysterious creature of Lake Champlain, Bridgeport Connecticut’s crying stone statue, and the bizarre disappearance of a Hartford [CT] minor league baseball manager, as well as baseball symbolism in James Joyce’s, Ulysses. Mike has lectured on behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts in Baton Rouge [LA] and he is a moderator for the Connecticut Humanities Council's Literature for a Lifetime discussion series.

Since the mid-1970s Michael has conducted research, interviews and journeyed extensively throughout the northeast in search of the unexplained. His latest book Wicked Bridgeport is the result of these passionate quests. During Bielawa’s travels he has uncovered secret rooms, interviewed a Massachusetts witch, searched for mythical creatures and pirate treasure, inspected haunted houses and toured New England ghost towns. He has served as a guest curator to the Barnum Museum and as a special consultant to the Fairfield Museum and History Center. Most recently Mike lectured at the Fairfield Museum on Katharine Hepburn focusing on the four-time Academy Award winning actress’s summers spent in Stratford [CT] while performing at the American Shakespeare Theatre.