Jason Colavito (born 1981) is an American author and independent scholar specializing in the study of

fringe theories A fringe theory is an idea or a viewpoint which differs from the accepted scholarship of the time within its field. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of fringe science, as well as similar ideas in other areas of scholarship, such a ...

particularly around ancient history and extraterrestrials. Colavito has written a number of books, including ''The Cult of Alien Gods'' (2005), ''The Mound Builder Myth'' (2020), and ''Legends of the Pyramids'' (2021).

Biography

Colavito attended Auburn High School, in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...

, and graduated summa cum laude from

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology and journalism in 2003. Colavito's work has largely focused on debunking " alternative archaeology". His work has been cited in by John Kelly in a ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' opinion column'','' by Stephen Winick and Firas Al-Atraqchi in ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' opinion pieces, and other publications, as well as on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

. In 2005, Colavito authored ''The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture'', published by Prometheus Books. In the book, Colavito explores the influences of H. P. Lovecraft's

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...

on the popular works of

Erich von Däniken Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (; ; born 14 April 1935) is a Swiss author of several books which make claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling ''Chariots of the Gods?'', published in 1968. Von D ...

(author of ''

Chariots of the Gods? ''Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past'' (german: Erinnerungen an die Zukunft: Ungelöste Rätsel der Vergangenheit, link=no; in English, ''Memories of the Future: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past'') is a book written in 1968 by ...

'') and

Graham Hancock Graham Bruce Hancock (born 2 August 1950) is a British writer who promotes pseudoscientific theories involving ancient civilizations and lost lands. Hancock speculates that an advanced ice age civilization was destroyed in a cataclysm, but th ...

, as well as its overall influence on "extraterrestrial pop culture". In 2008 Colavito's ''The Science of Horror, the Horror of Science'' was published. The book examined the history and science of the

horror genre Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...

with a particular focus on providing a broad overview and introduction to the subject. A reviewer in the

Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982 is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its principal acti ...

concluded "Academia aside, this is among the finest introductions to the horror genre I have read." and commends his

epistemological Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

approach to analyzing the genre. In 2018 the

SPLC The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white sup ...

referred to Colavito as an independent scholar with an expertise in the convergence of fringe theories with contemporary politics. In 2021, Colavito published articles regarding

UFOs An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

in Slate and The New Republic. He was also interviewed for an article in Slate about the links between ancient aliens conspiracies and contemporary right-wing conspiracies like

QAnon QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...

Publishing

According to his website, Colavito offers out-of-print works about alternative history, the occult, and speculative fiction through his

print on demand Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which book copies (or other documents, packaging or materials) are not printed until the company receives an order, allowing prints of single or small quantities. While oth ...

business ''JasonColavito.com Books''.

Bibliography

His work has appeared in publications such as ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'', ''

Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...

'' and ''

Skeptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...

'' magazine. ; Books (as author) * ''The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture'' (2005). Prometheus Books * ''Knowing Fear: Science, Knowledge, and the Development of the Horror Genre'' (2007).

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic and reference works, as well as general-interest adult nonfiction. Its president is Rhonda Herman. Its former ...

* ''A Critical Companion to

Ancient Aliens ''Ancient Aliens'' is an American television series that explores the pseudohistorical and pseudoarchaeological ancient astronauts hypothesis, past human- extraterrestrial contact, UFOs, government conspiracies and related pseudoscientific top ...

Seasons 3 and 4: Unauthorized'' (2012).

Lulu.com Lulu Press, Inc., doing business under trade name Lulu, is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution platform. By 2014, it had issued approximately two million titles. The company's founder is Red Hat co-founder Bob Young. Lu ...

* ''Faking History: Essays on Aliens, Atlantis, Monsters, and More'' (2013).

CreateSpace On-Demand Publishing, LLC, doing business as CreateSpace, is a self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The company was founded in 2000 in South Carolina as BookSurge and was acquired by Amazon in 2005. History CreateSpace publishes books conta ...

* ''Unearthing the Truth: An Unauthorized Commentary on

America Unearthed ''America Unearthed'' was an American entertainment television series, the first original series to air on the A&E Networks channel H2. The show premiered on December 21, 2012, and was produced by Committee Films of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The p ...

Season One'' (2013). CreateSpac * ''Cthulhu in World Mythology'' (2014). Atomic Overmind Press * ''Jason and the Argonauts Through the Ages'' (2014). McFarland & Company * ''The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race"'', 2020

University of Oklahoma Press The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established i ...

* ''The Legends of the Pyramids'', 2021 Red Lightning Books ; Books (as editor) * ''A Hideous Bit of Morbidity: An Anthology of Horror Criticism from the Enlightenment to World War I'' (2009). McFarland & Company * ''Unseen Horror: 15 Tales of Invisibility and the Macabre'' (2011). JasonColavito.com Books * ''The Faust Book: And Other Early Stories of Dr. Faustus'' (2011). JasonColavito.com Books * ''Moon Men!: A Lunar Anthology of Proto-Science Fiction, A.D. 2001835'' (2012). JasonColavito.com Books * ''Theosophy on Ancient Astronauts'' (2012). JasonColavito.com Book * ''Pyramidiots: Outrageous Theories about the Great Pyramid'' (2012). JasonColavito.com Books * ''Foundations of Atlantis, Ancient Astronauts and Other Alternative Pasts: 148 Documents Cited by Writers of Fringe History'' (2015). McFarland & Company ;Books (as translator) * ''The Orphic Argonautica'' (2011). JasonColavito.com Books * ''The Xipéhux'' (2012). JasonColavito.com Books

Biography

Publishing

Bibliography

References

Further reading