At MTV beach concerts, sunburned masses moshed to the No. 1 hit "All the Small Things." But frontman Tom DeLonge — the one with the angsty, adolescent singing voice — had been nurturing an offstage hobby that was decidedly out of the mainstream.

With his first record-deal payout as a fledgling teenage rock star, DeLonge had bought a computer to research the prospect of intelligent life beyond Earth. And after Blink-182 made him a fortune, he further indulged his fascination with the paranormal.

He co-wrote a 700-page novel about UFOs.

He brainstormed a film about skateboarders who become paranormal detectives.

He produced websites buzzing with stories about Bigfoot and disintegrating mummies.