In my debut novel, Fantastic America, that’s just how the international TV News coverage begins. Ashley Monahan is on hand to make a live report as Salt Lake City, becomes a focal point for magical energy unlike anything in recorded history. Experts scrutinize events like it around the world, government agencies, and private citizens alike. None of them understand what they see.
These events are only the beginning of a longer period of change that humans have not seen in thousands of years. The return of magic also heralds the return of creatures of myth and legend, along with people who can use magic. Magic is inherently dangerous, even to those who can wield it. Magical creatures or any creature empowered by magic can be deadly.
The earliest news from magical event sites make no mention of magic at all. Modern society is so far removed from all things mystical, that no one reporting on the events recognizes magic. Even after hordes of zombies appear, the scientific (and medical) communities find it impossible to admit magic is at work. Only Ashley’s reporting finally breaks through the modern sensibility that magic might be responsible.
As more creatures appear and the first hints of magic users reach law enforcement, the truth becomes impossible to ignore. Phantom animals that disappear, fires that burn without consuming any fuel, shadowy monsters that fade into the night, and ghosts that hold conversations with the living are just the first signs of change. Folk remedies and mystical guidance once thought superstitious becomes essential to survival. No one ignores the spreading weirdness for long, as paranormal bumps in the night become actual menaces to society.