The truth is in here. Literally. While umpteen books exist as episode guides to THE X-FILES — that little TV series that became a cultural phenomenon in the mid-’90s — Jane Goldman’s THE X-FILES: BOOK OF THE UNEXPLAINED — VOLUMES I AND II delves into the facts behind the fiction. The books saw original release among the show’s height in 1995 and 1996, but now they’re combined into one hefty — and we do mean hefty — tome to tie in to this summer’s new big-screen adventure. THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE may have fizzled, but Goldman’s books remind us how much the franchise once sparked and popped. When I was a grade schooler and a fervent “member” of the Arrow Book Club in school, I loved ordering all the nonfiction titles that tackled the cryptozoological, even if that term never appeared in them. From Bigfoot to the Bermuda Triangle, the real-life mysteries of the unknown fascinated me, especially when supplemented with supposed photographs and artist’s renderings. Goldman’s work immediately reminded of all that. And no wonder, because they tread the same territory. Whether the subject at hand is an alien invasion, a monster sighting or some other baffling occurrence, the author looks into the legends behind it (often urban), examines the evidence (if any), debunks the myths (of which there are plenty) and presents the facts (little though they may be). To justify the title, each exploration into the enigmatic is tied directly to one X-FILES episode or another. For example, the popular “Ice” episode (y’know, the one with the Arctic worm that burrows under your flesh) helps kick off a look at “Weird Nature,” while the space-squeezing character of Tooms informs a section on “Human Enigmas,” such as people who use their faces as pincushions, the oddly deformed and assorted sideshow freaks. Artificial intelligence, genetic manipulation, voodoo, vampires, psychic detectives, supposed miracles, UFOs and the real FBI comprise several other chapters, with much more in between. Print is large, pages are slick, and photos are plentiful, with tons of oddball pics from around the world (both solid and suspect), and tons of screencaps of Mulder and Scully to drive home the link even further.