The “British Bigfoot” – A Supernatural Beast

Original article by: Nick RedfernSeptember 15, 2020

Just a few days ago I wrote an article here at Mysterious Universe titled “Bigfoot: Why Can’t We Get the Proof?” It demonstrates that the Bigfoot creatures are not what they appear to be. In other words, they are something far more than just unidentified, North American apes. They are much weirder than that. As I noted, the creatures seem to be impervious to bullets. No Bigfoot DNA has ever been found. There are cases of the creatures vanishing – literally – in front of people. And the list of high-strangeness goes on and on. The same goes for the “British Bigfoot.” Yes, as amazing as it might sound, the U.K. has a long history of strange, hairy creatures in its midst and that resemble Bigfoot, too. And guess what: the U.K.’s Bigfoot is just as weird as its American cousin. The scenario of such creatures roaming around the U.K. is, even I have to admit, absurd. As The Commonwealth notes: “The UK is just under 1,000 km long and just under 500 km across at the widest point.” On top of that, the population of the U.K. is around 63 million. That’s a lot of of people and not a great deal of land for a hairy giant – or entire colonies of them – to hide in. So, the idea that something like Bigfoot could exist in the U.K., and never get caught or killed, is ridiculous. But, people do see such things.

Tales of hairy “wild men” date back centuries, one being the “Orford Wild Man,” which was reportedly seen in the 12th century. As Myths and Legends state: “The wild man of Orford is like many other characters of folklore. He stayed away from people, was big and heavy and very hairy. He had a human face but could only make grunts or cries. Where the wild man of Orford is different, is that he came from the sea and was caught in a fisherman’s net.” Now, let’s take a look at one of the strangest stories; that of a beast called the “Man-Monkey.” It’s a hair-covered humanoid that haunts the old Bridge 39 of the Shropshire Union Canal. The creature – that had bright, glowing eyes – was first encountered at the bridge in January 1879. Since then, the creature has been seen on numerous occasions. This is no normal animal, however. Witness say the hairy thing vanishes in a flash of light. It shape-shifts into a four-legged beast. And, the fact that it has been seen for more than 140 years demonstrates this is no normal animal. Then, there’s the “Beast of Bolam.” In the early 2000s, there was a spate of Bigfoot-type activity at Bolam Lake, Northumberland, England. Jon Downes – of the Devon, England-based Center for Fortean Zoology – traveled to the area and actually saw the monster. Bizarrely, as Jon noted, the thing was shadow-like. That’s right: a Bigfoot-type animal, but one that was far more shadow than flesh and blood.

Also, there are those stories of the British Bigfoot seen at ancient stone circles. Several sightings of such a creature were made at the Rollright Stones in the late 1970s. At The Rollright Stones website, there’s this: “This complex of megalithic monuments lies on the boundary between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, on the edge of the Cotswold hills. They span nearly 2000 years of Neolithic and Bronze age development and each site dates from a different period. The oldest, the Whispering Knights dolmen, is early Neolithic, circa 3,800-3,500 BC, the King’s Men stone circle is late Neolithic, circa 2,500 BC; and the King Stone is early to middle Bronze Age, circa 1,500 BC.” How curious that such a hair-covered man-beast should lurk around the ancient stones. It’s not alone though.

Bigfoot-like things have been seen at another ancient site: that of Staffordshire’s Castle Ring. The Cannock Chase Council say of Castle Ring: “The site is believed to have been occupied between 500BC and 43 AD, and is one of the earliest pieces of evidence of settlement in the Cannock area. It was built by the resident Brythonic tribe of the area, the Cornovii. It was likely the site was a combination of defensive feature, ceremonial site, stockade, communication beacon and symbol of power to those who saw it. Their main residence was a hill fort on the Wrekin (near present day Telford) which stood near the centre of their tribal lands, while Castle Ring is near their borders with the neighbouring Coritani tribe (who occupied lands centered on present day Leicestershire).” I have no less than eight reports of large, lumbering, hairy man-beasts seen within the Castle Ring between 1976 and 2012. In every case the monsters had blazing red eyes and stood to around seven-feet in height. In other words, they closely resembled the Bigfoot of the United States. Also like the U.S. Bigfoot, the creatures of Castle Ring have the ability to dematerialize.

It’s hard to say what, exactly, the “British Bigfoot” really are. What we can say, though, is that such immense animals cannot live in the U.K. and not be found and captured – if they are flesh and blood in nature, which they appear not to be. There’s not enough wild land for the creatures to successfully hide in for centuries. And, most important of all, there is no fossil record of ancient apes in what is now the U.K. I have to say, though, that I have spoken to numerous, credible people who have seen these things. The only answer is that just like the American Bigfoot, the U.K.’s equivalent is something supernatural. And, it should be investigated by paranormal experts, and not by zoologists or even by cryptozoologists.

MODERN SIGHTINGS?

Dozens of eyewitness accounts and a few intriguing photographs suggest that this flying monster, thought to have died with the dinosaurs, might still exist

They were the largest creatures to ever attain flight. With wingspans reaching nearly 40 feet, pterosaurs ruled the prehistoric skies for over 100 million years, until they died out with the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago.

Or did they?

There have been many modern-day sightings of creatures that by eyewitness description sound like pterosaurs.

There are also intriguing rock carvings and even photographs that suggest that this species of amazing flying monsters could have survived extinction, could have soared through the skies of the southwestern United States until very recently, and might still exist in small numbers in remote parts of the world.

Pterosaurs were not dinosaurs, but a family of large flying reptiles (“pterosaur” means “winged lizard”) that includes the pterodactyl and pteranodon. The pterosaur stood on two rather spindly legs and had wings composed of a leathery membrane that stretched from the animal’s extremely long fourth finger to its body. Despite their appearance, they were not related to birds (as dinosaurs are theorized to be), and were highly successful flyers that might have dined on fish and insects.

MODERN SIGHTINGS

Although there seems to be no hard evidence that pterosaurs did not die out millions of years ago – no pterosaurs have ever been captured and no bodies have ever been found – sightings have persisted.

Stories of flying reptiles have been recorded for many hundreds of years. Some think that tales of the “mythical” dragons in the lore of many cultures around the would could be attributed to the sighting of pterosaurs. Here are some more modern accounts:

May, 1961, New York State – A businessman flying his private plane over the Hudson River Valley claimed that he was “buzzed” by a large flying creature that he said “looked more like a pterodactyl out of the prehistoric ages.”

Early 1960s, California – A couple driving through Trinity National Forest reported seeing the silhouette of a giant “bird” that they estimated to have a wingspan of 14 feet. They later described it as resembling a pterodactyl.

January, 1976, Harlingen, Texas – Jackie Davis (14) and Tracey Lawson (11) reported seeing a “bird” on the ground that stood five feet tall, was dark in color with a bald head and a face like a gorilla’s with a sharp, six-inch-long beak. A subsequent investigation by their parents uncovered tracks that had three toes and were eight inches across.

February, 1976, San Antonio, Texas – Three elementary school teachers saw what they described as a pterodactyl swooping low over their cars as they drove. They said its wingspan was between 15 and 20 feet. One of the teachers commented that it glided through the air on huge, bony wings – like a bat’s.

September, 1982, Los Fresnos, Texas – An ambulance driver named James Thompson was stopped while driving on Highway 100 by his sighting of a “large birdlike object” flying low over the area. He described it as black or grayish with a rough texture, but no feathers. It had a five- to six-foot wingspan, a hump on the back of its head, and almost no neck at all. After consulting some books to identify the creature, he decided it most looked like a pterosaur.

AFRICA’S KONGAMATO

While other reports of pterosaur-like creatures have come out of Arizona, Mexico and Crete, it is out of central Africa that some of the most interesting anecdotes have come. While traveling though Zambia in 1923, Frank H. Melland collected reports from natives of an aggressive flying reptile they called kongamoto, which means “overwhelmer of boats.” The natives, who were occasionally tormented by these creatures, described them as being featherless with smooth skin, having a beak full of teeth and a wingspan of between four and seven feet. When shown illustrations of pterosaurs, Melland reported, “every native present immediately and unhesitatingly picked out and identified it as a kongamato.”

In 1925, a native man was allegedly attacked by a creature that he identified as a pterosaur. This occurred near a swamp in Rhodesia (now Zambia) where the man suffered a large wound in his chest that he said was caused by the monster’s long beak.

In the late 1980s, noted cryptozoologist Roy Mackal led an expedition into Namibia from which he had heard reports of a prehistoric-looking creature with a wingspan of up to 30 feet.

Monsters!

The state of Maine sits at the top northeastern point of the U.S. One of the smaller states (thirty-ninth), and also one of the least populated (forty-first), Maine is considered the safest state in the country in relation to crime. Maine is home to earmuffs (they were invented there), the world’s largest rotating globe (Eartha is more than forty-one feet in diameter), and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Filled with forested parks, low mountains, picturesque lakes, and lined by rocky coastlines, it is not only one of the most beautiful states in the union, it’s also home to quite a few monsters.
Cassie, Maine’s sea serpent

The monster nicknamed Cassie was first seen off the coast of Maine in 1779 in Penobscot Bay, when future U.S. Navy hero Edward Preble (just an ensign at the time) aboard the ship the Protector saw a sea serpent on the surface of the water. On closer examination, the creature stirred, and raised its head about ten feet out of the water before diving into the depths and disappearing, according to a story in The Bangor Daily News. A similar sighting was reported the next year in Broad Bay when sailors observed a serpent about 45 feet long raise its head out of the water on a long skinny neck before diving out of sight.

Cassie has been seen all along the coast of Maine, many times from 1912 to the 1940s. In 1958, fisherman Ole Mikkelsen, saw a 100-foot long serpent with a large head, and tail like a fish. The creature seemed to watch Mikkelsen and a fellow fisherman as they spread their fishing nets before it swam away.

The last reported sighting was in 2002 by a woman who wished to remain anonymous. She called a science museum claiming to have seen something near Biddeford that looked like the Loch Ness Monster.
The Pocomoonshine Lake Monster.

Pocomoonshine Lake Monster

The Algonquin Indians of Maine have seen a monster in Pocomoonshine Lake for centuries. Legend has it the monster is a result of a disagreement between an Algonquin shaman, and a chef of the Micmac. The Micmac chief turned into an enormous serpent, which the shaman vanquished and tied to a tree next to the lake. Since then a serpent-like creature nearly sixty-feet long has been seen swimming in the lake.

However, unlike Cassie, this monster isn’t confined to the water. The Pocomoonshine Lake Monster has been reported to be able to leave the lake, and drag its gigantic body across land to nearby lakes. A sawmill owner claimed to have seen the Pocomoonshine Lake Monster’s trail in 1882. The man said the monster’s track was four feet wide, and three feet deep.

The White Monkey

First seen in the 1500s, the White Monkey (as Europeans called it) of Saco River has lurked in the areas around the river for centuries. Described as a white-skinned man with webbed fingers, the White Monkey may be the result of a curse laid upon Europeans when a group of drunks kidnapped an Indian woman and her child, and threw them off Saco Falls. The tribe shaman cursed the waters, and the White Monkey reportedly killed three white men each year. Although the White Monkey was last seen in the 1970s, the most famous sighting was by a twelve-year-old Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church in the 1800s, according to etravelmain.com.
Hunters have sought an enormous white moose near Bangor, Maine, for more than a century.

Hunters have sought an enormous white moose near Bangor, Maine, for more than a century.

Specter Moose

A giant white moose weighing nearly 2,500 pounds, standing fifteen feet tall, and having antlers that stretch ten feet, has been sighted around Bangor, Maine, for more than 100 years. In comparison, an average male moose can weigh about 990 pounds, stand around six feet tall, and have an antler span of around six feet.

Called the Specter Moose because of its color, hunters have sought this enormous moose since the 1890s. Sightings of the Specter Moose were reported in 1917, and again in 1999.
Maine Bigfoot encounters stretch back to the 1800s.

Maine Bigfoot encounters stretch back to the 1800s.

Bigfoot

Although I’ve tried to limit “Exploring American Monsters” to creatures unique to each state, I have occasionally allowed Bigfoot in this series if the big friendly fellow is important to a state. Bigfoot sightings in Maine stretch back to the 1800s. The first account in the early 1800s published in the book “Camping Out” by C.A. Stevens, involves a trapper who was “ripped apart” by a creature. Although some people suspected a mountain lion, the trapper’s body had been beaten against a tree.

According to a story in The Bangor Daily News,” in 1895, two women and three boys picking blueberries saw a bipedal creature that “looked like an immense African monkey.” In 1942, two sisters who were fishing in Meddybemps Lake when two “hair-covered giants” stole their fish. Sightings of the “Durham Gorilla” began in July 1973, and lasted until mid-August. The sightings began with a group of boys riding bicycles saw something they thought looked like a giant chimpanzee.

Wendigo

This creature is an Algonquian Indian legend that involves a malevolent spirit that possesses a human body, and gives the person a taste for human flesh. Depicted as everything from a hairy human with sharp teeth and bulging eyes, to an emaciated human-like creature with antlers, to an ice giant that moves in a whirlwind, the one constant in all Wendigo legends is that it is a cannibal. People are susceptible to Wendigo possession if they are cursed, or have resorted to cannibalism during a famine.

Humanoid Creature Captured on Video in Australia

DOUGLAS SHIRE– An explorer in Australia captured the images of what he calls a “Nephilim” creature attached to the roof of an undisclosed cave in Douglas Shire earlier this week.
Nick Malicki, who calls himself the Nephilim Hunter, claims he and his team didn’t spot the oddity until hours later when reviewing the footage at home.

“Normally I know the smell of these things but one of the guys had a flaming torch so I couldn’t catch his scent over the kerosene,” Malicki said.
The 20-second-long video was taken by a pole-mounted camera and shows a humanoid-like grey figure hiding in an alcove inside a cave at a classified location the researcher dubs “The Eye of Ra”. When Malicki points a flashlight in that direction, the purported creature appears to move its head in what looks like an attempt to shield its eyes from the bright beam. A closer look suggests that there could also be a second, smaller individual being carried by the bigger one in a primate-like fashion…

To watch the video and read the full story, go to cryptozoologynews.com.

Top 10 Monsters for the modern age

THERE ARE CREATURES that lurk out there in the dark, that haunt the isolated forests of the world, that hide in the icy depths of the deepest lakes. They appear unexpectedly and inexplicably, then vanish just as mysteriously, usually leaving witnesses dumbfounded, frightened and, unfortunately in most cases, without a shred of evidence. Yet the eyewitness stories of these creatures persist, haunting the darkness as well as our imaginations. Here, for your consideration (and in no particular order) are the top 10 most mysterious, unexplained creatures of all time. Some are more likely to really exist than others, but we’ll leave that judgment up to you.

1. Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Yeti

These hairy apemen are probably the most consistently witnessed unknown creatures in the world. Whether they are called Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti, Skunk Ape or Yowie, they have been seen in isolated woodlands and mountain areas in virtually every corner of the globe. And the descriptions – from the North American northwest to Florida to Australia – are remarkably consistent:

taller than an average man (seven to eight feet)
covered with long brown or auburn hair (or white hair in the case of the Yeti)
a strong, repugnant odor
large feet, as evidenced by castings of footprints
an aversion to man
a piercing, eerie howl

The vast number of sightings, many by highly reliable witnesses, gives Bigfoot, in my estimation, the best likelihood of being a real creature as yet unknown to science. But what is it? A missing link? Some ancient relative of humans that somehow has survived in the wilderness? An unknown species of ape?

We may find out someday soon. Sightings seem to be on the increase as mankind encroaches deeper and deeper on the wilderness. And technology may aid in the search. The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization recently announced its intention to place motion-triggered digital webcams in various areas of US forest where the hairy beast has been seen. This 24-hour surveillance with potentially thousands of computer-based witnesses looking on will dramatically increase the chances of obtaining credible evidence.

For the diehard skeptic, nothing less than a captured specimen will do – or at least some other tangible evidence. And one that could qualify has recently emerged: an impression of Bigfoot’s butt. No kidding. Researchers in the American northwest have found what appears to be the impression in the ground of where a large hairy primate has sat. Hey, he’s got to rest those big feet sometime.

2. Loch Ness Monster (and other Lake monsters)

Despite excellent expeditions with sophisticated electronic equipment, the lake monsters of the world continue to elude scientists. Yet spontaneous sightings by good witnesses, although rare, persist.

The Loch Ness monster, or Nessie, is undoubtedly the most well-known of these aquatic mysteries. But other deep, cold lakes around the world have their own legendary beasts: Chessie in Chesapeake Bay, Storsie in Sweden’s Lake Storsjön, Selma in Norway’s Lake Seljordsvatnet and “Champ” in New York’s Lake Champlain among others.

Descriptions of this creature, too, are amazingly similar:

a large creature with a long neck
a horse-like head
a humped back

Most sightings report the humps protruding from the surface of the water (which skeptics dismiss as being almost anything, from schools of fish to floating logs), but occasionally a lucky witness will see the creature stretch its neck high above the water and look around a bit before submerging.

Photo and video evidence is rare. And although some of the photos are tantalizing (most notably the famous “flipper” photo taken by the Rines expedition in 1975), most such “proof” is fuzzy or inconclusive at best.

If the creature does exist, many researchers suspect that it could be a kind of plesiosaur – an animal from the age of the dinosaurs that is thought to have become extinct more than 66 million years ago. Could a lineage of these incredible creatures possibly have survived?

3. Chupacabra

Even though some sightings date back to the 1970s, El Chupacabra – “the goat sucker” – is primarily a phenomenon of the 1990s, and its fame has largely been spread by the Internet. The sightings started in earnest in 1995 with reports coming out of Puerto Rico of a strange creature that was killing farmers’ livestock – chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbits and, of course, goats – sometimes hundreds of animals in one evening. The farmers, who were familiar with the killing practices of wild dogs and other predators, claimed that the methods of this unknown beast were different. It didn’t try to eat the animals it killed, for example; nor did it drag them away to be devoured elsewhere. Instead, the creature killed by draining its victims of blood, usually through small incisions.

Then came the bizarre eyewitness descriptions:

about the size of a chimpanzee
hops about like a kangaroo
large glowing red eyes
grayish skin and hairy arms
long snake-like tongue
sharp fangs
quills running along its spine that seem to open and close like a fan
some believe it may even have wings

Toward the end of the ’90s, the sightings of Chupacabra began to spread. The creature was blamed for animal killings in Mexico, southern Texas and several South American countries. In May and June of 2000, a rash of incidents took place in Chile, according to certain newspapers there. In fact, some of the most incredible claims yet came out of those sightings: that at least one of the creatures was caught alive by local authorities, then handed over to official agencies of the US government.

What is it? Theories abound, including: an unknown but natural species of predator; misidentified known predators; the result of genetic experimentation; an alien. Most serious researchers consider Chupacabra merely folklore, perpetuated by over-enthusiastic locals immersed in superstition or a penchant for telling tall, exaggerated tales.

Yet you can be sure that we haven’t seen or heard the last of Chupacabra.

4. The Jersey Devil

There is a terrifying creature, they say, that haunts the dense pine barrens of New Jersey, and its frightening appearance earned it the name of The Jersey Devil. The legend of the Jersey Devil dates back to about the mid-1700s when it was considered an omen of disaster or war, but multiple sightings did not begin until the early 1900s. Some researchers claim that more than 2,000 witnesses have reported seeing the creature over the centuries. Although rare, sightings continue up to the present day.

Descriptions vary, but these are the most commonly cited attributes:

about three-and-a-half feet high
a head like a collie dog and a face like a horse
a long neck
wings about two feet long
back legs like those of a crane
horse’s hooves
walks on its back legs and holds up two short front legs with paws on them

It’s interesting to note the similarities to Chupacabra!

Unexplained animal deaths and mutilations have been blamed on The Jersey Devil. Dozens of eyewitnesses claim to have been frightened out of their wits by it. What could this creature possibly be? The theories are similar to those cited for Chupacabra, but something scary definitely seems to be out there in the New Jersey woods.

5. Mothman

For about 13 months beginning in November, 1966, a series of bizarre sightings took place around the area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Aside from a spate of UFO reports and claimed poltergeist activity, several witnesses came forward with descriptions of an astonishing creature that may have been the focal point of all the weird goings-on. As detailed in John Keel’s classic book, The Mothman Prophecies, hundreds of witnesses allegedly saw a large, winged humanoid being.

Here is how they described it:

approximately seven feet tall
a wingspan over 10 feet wide
gray, scaly skin
large, red, glowing and hypnotic eyes
able to take off straight up in flight, traveling up to 100 miles an hour
liked to mutilate or eat large dogs
screeched or squealed like a rodent or electric motor
caused radio and television interference
had some mind control powers.

Dubbed Mothman by a local newspaperman, the creature seemed to have a peculiar affect on those with whom it came into contact: they began to “channel” information from what Keel called “ultra-terrestrial” entities. Keel himself was affected in this way, receiving “prophecies” from some unknown origin that were, more often than not, oddly less than accurate.

6. Elves and Fairies

There aren’t many people who take seriously the existence of elves and fairies in today’s society. Yet there are people who will swear on the heads of their grandchildren that they have seen them with their own eyes – just as plainly as others have seen ghosts, Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster.

The stories of elusive little people are as ancient as civilization itself and can be found in virtually every culture on Earth. Most familiar to us are the legends of elves, dwarfs, leprechauns and trolls from Europe and Scandinavia. They have been the subject of dozens of children’s fairy tales, books, myths and inebriated tales. William Shakespeare made them central characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Generally, fairies were described as tiny ephemeral beings with wings who resided in forests.
Elves, dwarfs and leprechauns were likewise residents of the forest. Unlike fairies, however, they were quite human in appearance – except for their diminutive size. They were often pictured as having their own miniature civilization, hidden away from the human world.

On a summer night in 1919, 13-year-old Harry Anderson claimed to have seen a column of 20 little men marching in single file, made visible by the bright moonlight. He noted they were dressed in leather knee pants with suspenders. The men were shirtless, bald and had pale white skin. They ignored young Harry as they passed, mumbling something unintelligible all the while.

In Stowmarket, England in 1842, a man claimed this encounter with “faries” when walking through a meadow on his journey home: “There might be a dozen of them, the biggest about three feet high, and small ones like dolls. They were moving around hand in hand in a ring; no noise came from them. They seemed light and shadowy, not like solid bodies. I… could see them as plain as I do you. I ran home and called three women to come back with me and see them. But when we got to the place, they were all gone. I was quite sober at the time.”

Elves and fairies were considered quite real in past cultures, and were a familiar part of their rich folklore. In today’s technological society, perhaps, we’ve simply replaced them in our imaginations with little gray aliens.

7. The Dover Demon

Dover, Massachusetts was the location of the sighting of a bizarre creature for a few days beginning on April 21, 1977. Although the creature, which became known as “the Dover Demon,” was only seen by a few people in this short period of time, it is considered one of the most mysterious creatures of modern times.

The first sighting was made by 17-year-old Bill Bartlett as he and three friends were driving north near the small New England town at around 10:30 at night. Through the darkness, Bartlett claimed to have seen an unusual creature creeping along a low stone wall on the side of the road – something he had never seen before and could not identify. The other boys did not see it, but it was obvious to them that Bartlett was shaken by the experience. When he arrived home, he told his father about his experience and sketched a drawing of the creature.

Just a few hours after Bartlett’s sighting, at 12:30 a.m., John Baxter swore that he saw the same creature while walking home from his girlfriend’s house. The 15-year-old boy saw it with its arms wrapped around the trunk of a tree, and his description of the thing matched Bartlett’s exactly.

The final sighting was reported the next day by another 15-year-old, Abby Brabham, a friend of one of Bill Bartlett’s friends, who said it appeared briefly in the car’s headlights while she and her friend were driving. Again, the description was consistent. This is the creature they allegedly saw:

about four feet tall on two legs
hairless body with rough-textured skin
long, spindly peach-colored limbs
a large watermelon-shaped head, nearly as big as its body large glowing orange eyes.

Subsequent investigations into this unusual case turned up no hard evidence for the reality of the creature, but neither was there evidence of a hoax nor a motive for perpetrating one. Skeptics suggested that what the teenagers saw was a young moose, while UFOlogists who looked into the case wondered if there was an extraterrestrial connection.

8. The Loveland Lizard

This remarkable creature has earned its place in the annals of the unknown primarily because of the credibility of the involved witnesses: two police officers on two separate occasions.

The scene is the early hours of March 3, 1972. A police officer is cruising on Riverside Ave., which runs for a few blocks along the Little Miami River in Loveland, Ohio. On the side of the road he sees what he at first thinks is a dog lying there. He slows his vehicle on the icy road to avoid hitting the animal should it get up and run in front of him. He nears the animal and stops his patrol car, at which point the creature quickly stands on two legs to a crouching position. Illuminating the creature with his headlights, the officer can now clearly see that it is not a dog at all, but something he cannot explain:

three to four feet tall
50 to 75 pounds
leathery skin
possibly wet, matted hair on its body that made it look textured possibly a short tail
a head and face like a frog or lizard

Whatever this creature was, it looked at the officer briefly, then leapt over the road’s guard rail toward the river.

The officer reported the odd sighting to the police dispatcher, then later returned to the scene of the incident with another officer. All they found was evidence that something had scraped the hillside as it made its way down to the river.

The creature may have been completely forgotten had not a second police officer seen it again two weeks later. The second officer also at first thought the thing lying in the middle of the road was a dog or roadkill. When he got out of his car to haul it to the side of the road, it got up, climbed over the guard rail this time, all the while keeping its eyes on the officer, and disappeared toward the river. His description of the creature pointed out the same frog-like characteristics. A subsequent investigation uncovered only one other possible sighting around the same time; a farmer claimed to have seen some kind of large, lizard-like creature. It thereafter became known as the Loveland Lizard or Loveland Frog.

What was it? Good question. If is was a frog or similar amphibian, it’s the largest one ever recorded – and the only one known to get up and walk away on its hind legs.

9. Living Dinosaurs

We were all awestruck by the incredibly realistic digital effects of the Jurassic Park movies, and tantalized by the possibility that cloning of long-extinct dinosaurs might one day be possible.

But what if dinosaurs are still alive? What if some dinosaurs have somehow survived extinction to coexist with us today? Some people believe they actually might have. Living dinosaurs!

For over 200 years, rare but fascinating reports have filtered out of the dense isolated rain forests of Africa and South America that native tribes – some of which live very much as they have for thousands of years – were familiar with large creatures that can only be described as resembling sauropods, like the apatosaurus.

The tribes had names for them, such as jago-nini (“giant diver”), dingonek, ol-umaina, and chipekwe. In 1913, Captain Freiheer von Stein zu Lausnitz, a German explorer, was told by Pygmies of a fearsome creature they called mok’ele-mbembe (“stopper of rivers”). This is the description of mok’ele-mbembe provided by the natives:

smooth brownish gray skin
approximately the size of an elephant; at least that of a hippopotamus; possibly about 30 feet long
a long, flexible neck
a vegetarian diet, but would kill humans if they came too close

During an expedition to search for mok’ele-mbembe in 1980, cryptozoologist Roy Mackel and herpetologist James Powell allegedly showed pictures of local animals to the natives, all of which they correctly identified. When they showed them an illustration of a large sauropod, they identified it as mok’ele-mbembe.

Aside from the testimony of these tribespeople (which some skeptics have written off as making fools of the white man), the evidence for living dinosaurs is scant. Supposedly, a few explorers have found extraordinarily large footprints (as large as a Frisbee), and in 1992, a Japanese expedition is said to have about 15 seconds of film footage taken from an airplane that shows some large shape moving in water, leaving a V-shaped wake. Unfortunately, it could not be identified.

Recent expeditions in search of mok’ele-mbembe have taken place. They explored the Likoula region of the Congo for four weeks with the official mission objective of a “scientific investigation and analysis of reports of a living dinosaur.” Unfortunately, again, they returned empty-handed. New expeditions will undoubtedly continue to search for living dinosaurs. The prospect of actually documenting a find is just too tempting.

10. Spring-Heeled Jack

He appeared out of the shadows of 19th century London nights, attacked his victims with dreadful scratches, then bounded away with superhuman ability before he could be apprehended.

The case of Spring-Heeled Jack, as this creature came to be known, is one of the most baffling to come out of Victorian England, and one that has never been solved or fully explained. According to most accounts of the story, the attacks began in 1837 in southwest London. Polly Adams, a pub worker, was one of three women accosted by Spring-Heeled Jack in September of that year. He allegedly tore her blouse off and scratched at her stomach with iron-like fingernails or claws.

His victims painted a bizarre portrait of the ghoul:

man-like, but with a hideous face
sharp iron-like fingernails or claws
tall, thin and powerful
glowing eyes
the ability to spit blue flames from his mouth
wore a dark cloak over a tight-fitting white oilskin suit
some claimed he wore a helmet of some kind
the ability to jump incredible heights and distances

The attacks continued into early 1838, prompting official action by the Lord Mayor of London who declared him a public nuisance, and resulting in at least one vigilante group that systematically tried to capture the creature, all without success.

Rumors of sightings persisted into the 1850s, ’60s and ’70s. In these cases, he is said to have frightened people with his appearance, slapped army sentries, and in each case leapt away to the astonishment and frustration of those who tied to catch him. Interestingly, Spring-Heeled Jack never killed or seriously hurt anyone, except 18-year-old Lucy Scales who was reportedly blinded temporarily by the searing blue flames Jack vomited into her face.

Who or what was Spring-Heeled Jack? A clever if diabolical maniac? An alien? A demon?

Strange and unexplained

The emela-ntouka – new corroborative evidence for the Congo’s cryptic ‘killer of elephants’?
In 1982, following his return to the USA in December 1981 at the end of the second of two expeditions to the People’s Republic of the Congo (formerly the French Congo), veteran American cryptozoologist Prof. Roy P. Mackal revealed to an astonished media and general public that the elusive swamp monster that he had been searching for in the Congo may conceivably be a living dinosaur!…

Giant Salamander sighted in Kyoto, Japan
On the 4th of July a normally nocturnal dog-sized Giant Salamander decided to take a walk alongside the Kamogawa River in down-town Kyoto, Japan. People were apparently so shocked by the sight of the rare creature that the police were summoned to the scene…

Can you guess this howl?
Alright, squatchers. Let’s see if you can figure out what type of animal makes this sort of sound. Put on your headphones and listen closely. This audio was posted by Project Bigfoot on YouTube and one person thinks it’s could be the Loup-Garou of Louisiana. The Loup-Garou! pronounced (RUE-GA-RUE) is a bipedal dog-like creature that roams the swamps…

A “Yeti” in Cuba in 1962?

GHOSTS, HAUNTINGS & POLTERGEISTS:

Strange noises, unexplained cold patches? Is your house haunted? 
It’s not easy living in a haunted house — all those strange noises, all those unexplained cold patches. Fortunately, ridding your home of apparent paranormal activity can be a relatively straightforward exercise. With a sense of adventure and the right tools, you shouldn’t even need to engage the services of a psychic…

Branford’s Harrison House site of the unexplained
The 1724 barn-red Harrison House is (gasp) haunted. Really haunted, scarily, hair-raisingly haunted. As vouched for by a professional group of paranormal investigators —members of Northeast Paranormal Investigations Society who recently spent a couple of evenings seeking spirits at the dwelling…

LOST WORLDS:

Mysterious earthen rings predate Amazon rainforest
A series of square, straight and ringlike ditches scattered throughout the Bolivian and Brazilian Amazon were there before the rainforest existed, a new study finds…

HUMAN MYSTERIES:

Meet Chiquita: A tiny, blonde, 500-year-old Wyoming mummy
Chiquita, a 500-year-old mummified infant found in Wyoming, was born with anencephaly, a condition in which a fetus’ brain and skull do not develop fully. George Gill and Maxine Miller, of the University of Wyoming, examined Chiquita in the 1990s and determined that she was Native American and born around the year 1500…

Cryptids of the night and other strangness

THE FULL MOON rose above the mountain in the cloudless night, shining like a pale yellow lantern into the farmer’s bedroom. But that is not what awoke him. It was the chickens. Their panicked cries had awoken him before, and it meant they were under attack. Wild dogs had gotten into the coop, the farmer thought, or perhaps a wolf. He leapt from bed, grabbed his shotgun from the bedroom corner and hurried outside. He checked the gun for cartridges as he jogged barefoot past the long, soft shadows cast by the moonlight toward the chicken coop. The predator will die tonight, he thought, as he pushed open the small door to the coop. He burst in and took aim. But he did not shoot. Instead, he froze, his senses overwhelmed by the sight before him. Several chickens lay dead in the dirt around the clawed feet of a creature the farmer had never seen before. This was no dog, no wolf. It stood on two feet at about the height of a small child. It had dark, scaly skin and a ridge of porcupine-like spines running across its head and down its back. In its short arms ending in sharp claw-like hands, the creature held a chicken to its mouth. It was not eating its prey, but seemed to be sucking the life from it. It turned to face the farmer, its red eyes blazing, and dropped the chicken to the ground. It hissed, baring its large blood-stained fangs. Then it screeched – an unearthly, terrifying noise that drove the farmer backward into the doorway. The creature, with its front claws dangling, hopped like some mutant kangaroo toward the farmer. Dumbstruck, he stumbled backward out of the coop as the creature hopped past him with another deafening shriek. The farmer was knocked to the ground, and he could feel rough, scaly skin of the creature as it passed, and felt the warm, sickening smell of its putrid breath on his face. The creature sprung onto the roof of the coop, spread short, dark, bat-like wings, and with two bounding hops flew away into the darkness. It was only then that the farmer remembered he had his shotgun. He brought it to bear, but it was too late. The creature from hell had disappeared with one last shriek that echoed off the distant mountains.

Although this might sound like some horror story fantasy, it is actually based on the eyewitness accounts and experiences of those who have encountered the enigmatic creature known as el chupacabras – “the goatsucker.”

The description, however, also seems to fit a number of other strange creatures that have been seen over the decades – creatures people have identified as gargoyles, the Jersey Devil and the Monkey Man. It’s worth examining the similarities and considering whether these all might be sightings of the same mysterious creature.

CHUPACABRAS

The now-famous chupacabras first came on the scene, as far as we know, in the summer of 1975 when several farm animals in Puerto Rico were found dead. The bodies had strange puncture-like marks on their necks. The sightings intensified in the 1990sas the chupacabras’ appetite seemed to grow. In some cases, farmers reported that literally hundreds of their animals were inexplicably slaughtered. Invariably, the animals were not eaten by any predator, but were horribly mutilated or drained of blood – hence the name, “goatsucker.” In 1991, a male dog was found dead, with nothing inside. “It was as if all had been sucked out through the eyes,” the report said. “It had empty eye sockets and all the internal organs had disappeared.”

For a while, the carnage seemed to be confined to the island of Puerto Rico, but toward the end of the 1990s and into the 2000s, sightings began to be reported on other Caribbean islands, in Mexico, Central America, Chile and even the southern U.S. in Florida, Arizona and Texas. In April-June in Chile of 2002, in fact, it was reported that authorities had even captured the chupacabras, which may have been taken away by people representing the U.S. government.

The descriptions of the creature over this time has remained fairly consistent:

• three to five feet tall
• dark gray facial skin
• coarse hair on the body, and several reports said it has a chameleon-like appearance, with the ability to change from purple to brown to yellow
• black eyes, or glowing orange or red eyes
• a wolf-like or canine nose
• sharp fangs
• short forearms with three-fingered claw-like “hands”
• a row of fins, spikes or quills running down the length of its back
• stands on two powerful-looking hind legs and clawed feet
• often hops on the ground, like a kangaroo, rather than walks (at least one witness claimed it could leap as far as 20 feet in one bound)
• some reported bat-like wings that enable the chupacabras to fly
• it makes a hissing noise that often makes witnesses nauseous

The chupacabras phenomenon continues up to this day, with the recent reports of attacks continuing to come out of South American countries, including Chile and Argentina. In many of these cases, chupacabras – although not seen – was blamed for the deaths of chickens and other farm animals that were mutilated and drained of blood.

THE JERSEY DEVIL

The legend of the Jersey Devil dates back to about 1735, by most accounts, in Leeds Point, New Jersey. A Mrs. Leeds, the story goes, upon discovering that she was pregnant for an unlucky thirteenth time said that the child might just as well be a devil. Folklore says that this prophecy came true, and that Mrs. Leeds gave birth to a horrific creature with a horse’s head and bats wings. Ever since, the legend goes, the creature has been haunting the pine barrens of New Jersey.

No one takes the legend seriously, of course, but the Jersey Devil has been blamed over the years for a number of mysterious livestock deaths and eerie cries in the darkness. And the first sighting in the 20th century occurred in 1909 when a Pennsylvania postmaster allegedly saw the glowing monster flying over the Delaware river. Less than a month later, the flying creature was spotted by a policeman in Burlington, New Jersey. A few days later, a woman in Philadelphia claimed to have seen a similar monster in her backyard. And that evening it was seen by two more police officers in Salem, New Jersey, and the next night by a fisherman. Note their collective descriptions compared to chupacabras:

• a ram-like head with curled horns
• long, thin wings (other accounts reported short wings)
• four short legs, the hind ones being longer than the forelegs
• walks on its back legs and holds up two short front legs with paws on them
• glowing eyes
• a head like a dog and face like a horse
• alligator-like skin
• able to breathe fire
• about three feet high (some described it as much larger)
• hoof-like feet
• one witness described it as looking like a winged kangaroo
• another called in monkey-like

There are distinct differences in the descriptions, but there are also many interesting similarities.

Although the Jersey Devil is alleged to have been seen over the years, none are taken as seriously by researchers as the 1909 sightings.

GARGOYLES AND GRIFFINS

Most of us are familiar with gargoyles only as silent and still (if scary) stone carvings perched high on cathedrals and ancient castles. And griffins are the mythological creatures having the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Stuff and nonsense, according to any skeptic. But, believe it or not, there have been eyewitness accounts of bizarre creatures that were likened to gargoyles and griffins. And it’s hard to dismiss the comparisons to chupacabras. In fact, one witness described chupacabras as being a “gargoylesque creature.”

Apart from mythology, the legend of real griffins dates back to at least the 11th century when Britain’s King Charles II allegedly gave a griffin as a gift to his mistress. Another griffin was said to be captured by a scientist who traveled with the great explorer Captain Cook in the 18th century.

These accounts are not considered to be true, yet there is a more modern report that may be worth noting. In 1985, an Englishman named Kevin Chippendale spotted an unknown creature flying near the rooftop of an apartment building. He described it as looking like “a dog with wings” and “having a long muzzle and four legs with what looked like paws.” Being of the British culture, he likened it to a griffin – in fact, the creature has become known as the Brentford Griffin. But we have to wonder if the very same sighting had taken place in Puerto Rico or Chile what the witnesses would call it.

And gargoyles might not be just stone carvings or lovable Disney characters. In an article for Unknown magazine entitled “We Saw a Gargoyle,” Ron Bogacki recounts how he and several other young adults met face to face with a gargoylesque creature. The encounter took place in 1981 in an Elmhurst, Illinois park. Hanging out on a summer night around the park’s gothic mausoleum, the four teenagers were awestruck by an incredible creature sitting atop the mausoleum’s stone wall. They described is as being large – perhaps 9 feet tall, if standing – with dark gray leathery skin, a muscular body with strong arms, golden horns on its head, huge wings and a long curling tail. They were close enough to have smelled its breath, which they described as “full of the stench of decay and sulfur.” It soon flapped its wings, flew straight upward and disappeared.

The description given isn’t much like the usual chupacabras, but it’s difficult to disregard the depictions of the chupa as also being gargoyle-like. If what these teens saw in the park was a “goatsucker,” it was the mother of all chupacabras.

THE MONKEY MAN

Throughout May, 2001, the paranormal news was all abuzz with the sightings and antics of a bizarre creature that was terrorizing villagers in India. It was no laughing matter; a few deaths were attributed to the panic surrounding these sightings. The first attacks took place in East Delhi and soon spread to other cities and villages. The entity was quickly dubbed “Monkey Man” because of its size and simian-like agility.

On one night alone, on May 14, 50 attacks were reported in East Delhi. The following morning, a pregnant woman fell down a flight of stairs to her death after hearing cries by neighbors that the monkey was coming. Physicians confirmed that those who were attacked were bitten by some kind of animal. And researchers have pointed out that the creature most probably was not a monkey since the Indians were quite familiar with monkeys, which are commonplace there and frequently come into the villages.

The creature was described as:

• about four feet tall
• quite agile, like a monkey (at least one report of a chupacabras said that the face was “simian”)
• sharp, metal-like claws
• glowing or flaming red eyes

* * *

There are many unanswered questions about all of these monsters, the primary one being: Are any of them real at all? Or are they the product of mass hysteria – myths fueled by panicked imagination? And if they are real, are they merely misidentified animals known to science?

If we are to take these eyewitness accounts at face value – or at least consider that they might be at least partially true – then we have a far more perplexing and unsettling mystery to solve. If the stories are to be believed, what are these creatures? Where do they come from and where do they live? The similarities raise the possibility that they might be the same or related creature. Their sporadic appearance, bizarre description, fierce attacks and elusive behavior have elicited many theories as to their origin, including genetic mutants, aliens, living dinosaurs, demons and interdimensional beings. Like so many things in the paranormal realm, about all we can do is speculate and wonder.

Real proof or just another science project?

Bigfoot’s Existence Backed by DNA, Video, Say Sasquatch Genome Project Researchers New York Daily News

Did we inadvertently time-travel back to last fall? Melba Ketchum and gang once again give a press conference and reveal the findings of the Sasquatch Genome Project. They also reveal “for the first time” some photos of supposed Bigfoot…that we’ve already seen before. Ketchum says the genetic study of over 100 samples shows a unique human hybrid previously unknown, which is the same thing she said last year. There is nothing new here and her study has been debunked time and again. We believe that it is likely her study does actually contain real evidence of Sasquatch, but her samples were proven tainted and the results were published in a bogus journal. At this point, her best bet is to scrap the original study and start from scratch, because despite all the controversy we really do think her team is on the right track. But still, we wonder if the photo featured on this page is a sleeping Bigfoot, a shag carpet, or a dead horse…Scientific American says that Ketchum’s DNA study is so “deeply flawed” that it proves Bigfoot’s existence is Unlikely [but] Only If You Know What “Unlikely” Means. Then again, Scientific American’s definition of unlikely apparently means “having too many reports of Bigfoot sightings” and not enough concrete evidence like bones or scat. It’s the skeptics’ best and most-used argument but it’s a tired one that’s been hashed and rehashed. There are problems on both sides of the issue here and the same dead horse is being beaten by two different sticks.

Bigfoot: Real creature or elusive cryptid dream?

A great article I wanted to share. My personal thaughts and views about Bigfoot have been growing as of late. Do we have an unknown humanoid creature that is very elusive even to this point in time, making our forests home? I believe so yes. Read on and judge for yourself:

North America has its own monster. While Scotland has its Loch Ness sea serpent and the Himalayas has its Abominable Snowman or Yeti, North America lays claim to Sasquatch or, as he has been nicknamed, Bigfoot. Sasquatch – a 7- to 8-foot-tall man/ape – has been sighted in North America for centuries. Before the European invasion, Native Americans were very familiar this “hairy giant” that lived in the wilderness.

One of the earliest recorded sightings of Sasquatch by a white man occurred in 1811 near what is now Jasper, Alberta by a fur trader named David Thompson. Since then there have been many sightings of the creature in Western Canada, and in many states of the U.S., especially the Pacific Northwest, Ohio, and even as far south as Florida, where the swamp-dwelling beast is known as theSkunk Ape.

Is Sasquatch mere legend or a remarkably elusive reality? What’s the evidence? Personal accounts of sightings are plentiful and deserve weight because of their numbers. Physical evidence, such as footprints and hair samples, is rarer, and recordings on film and video rarer still. Here’s a look at some of the best – and always controversial – evidence for the existence of Sasquatch.

FOOTPRINTS

He isn’t called Bigfoot for nothing. There have been more than 900 footprints attributed to Bigfoot collected over the years, having an average length of 15.6 inches. The average width is 7.2 inches. That’s one big foot. By comparison, the foot of a 7-foot, 3-inch basketball player – a rarity, to say the least – is 16.5 inches long but only 5.5 inches wide.

Through 1958 and 1959, Bob Titmus and others found numerous Bigfoot tracks in the area of Bluff Creek where the famous Patterson/Gimlin film was shot several years later.

In 1988, wildlife biologist John Bindernagel of Vancouver Island found massive footprints in the snow and heard a “whoo-whoo whooop” call in the woods. His evidence includes 16-inch, human-like footprints found in Strathcona provincial park while hiking. In addition, Bindernagel said he heard a strange, ape-like call at a friend’s cabin near Comox Lake in 1992. Bindernagel said he knows of no other creature in North America that makes such a call, and he believes it was a Sasquatch trying to communicate with its own kind.

DWELLINGS AND GRAVES

Although by no means verified or authenticated, there have been claims of discoveries of Sasquatch dwellings and even burial sites:

Dallas Gilbert says he has had several encounters with Bigfoot, but his most controversial claim is for that of a possible Bigfoot community and burial site. Gilbert’s story is weakened by his reluctance to disclose the exact location of the site. However, he has told The Daily Times of Portsmith, Ohio, “There are places where you can see territorial markings and snaps that the creature has made in the trees. There are even canopies and bows made of trees for him to sleep under.” The burial site is marked by a stone, according to Gilbert. “It looks like a tombstone almost,” Gilbert said. “You can see the outlines of the creature’s eyes, head and his teeth.” No corpses or other remains have been recovered from the area, so all we have is Gilbert’s word on these claims.

In 1995, Terry Endres and two friends were researching an area known for Bigfoot sightings for a local cable TV show. They chanced upon a large, dome-shaped structure constructed of branches and brush. It was large enough for three full-grown men to sit in and was obviously not a natural occurrence.

SOUNDS

Not many people have heard the lonely, chilling cries and howls of Bigfoot. But those who have, and know the sounds of the wilderness, say it’s an unforgettable sound like no other.

Outdoorsman Bill Monroe, a writer for the Portland Oregonian, recounted his experience in an article for the newspaper. Monroe was elk hunting when the stillness of the late afternoon was broken by an eerie sound. “The deafening screaming, choking, belching moan from the ridge was chilling.” he wrote. “The kind of scream that sends mothers scurrying to find their children. The kind of scream no cougar or bear could ever squeeze from their throat… unless it was their last. Piercing, echoing, guttural; a single, horrible high-pitched-yet-throaty, inhuman, unnatural creation of Steven Spielberg that makes your skin crawl.”

In 1984, Bruce Hoffman was prospecting for gold near the Clackamas River. He told investigator Greg Long this story: “I had to park a couple hundred feet from the river, and I had to walk a little ways back towards the small stream that was running into the river. And just before I got to the small tributary, I would say from one-eighth of a mile to a quarter of a mile away, down in the woods I started hearing this yell, or a call. The sound had a base tone, a muscular sound to it, and the sound got loud. You could hear how it went up through the trees and up to the sky. The sound traveled about three to four miles to the ridge of the mountains. You could hear the sound hit the mountain.”

SMELLS

Invariably, the sighting of a Sasquatch is accompanied by a very strong, very foul odor.

In June, 1988, Sean Fries was camping on the north fork of California’s Feather River. “I climbed into my tent and lay down on my bedroll. I let my dogs run around because they always stay close to camp. I started to dose off when suddenly I woke up. It was dead quiet – no crickets, nothing, and my dogs came running into my tent shaking. I grabbed my rifle and flashlight and stepped outside the tent. I couldn’t see anything, but I had that sensation of being watched. Then I heard some very heavy footsteps right behind me in the trees. There was also a very strange odor, almost like a cross between a skunk and something dead. This thing circled my camp site all night long.”

SIGHTINGS

There is no shortage of Bigfoot sightings, some being more compelling than others and sounding more authentic. Here are some examples, from experienced outdoorspeople, that lend credence to the legend:

Clayton Mack, a Native American of the Nuxalk nation, knows the Canadian wilderness and its creatures as well as any man alive. A reputable grizzly bear hunter for 53 years, Mack relates this tale: “I was fishing in Kwatna all my myself in August. I had a 30-foot boat with a single-cylinder engine. I got to Jacobson Bay, about 15 miles from Bella Coola, when I saw something on the edge of the water. It was kneeling down-like and I could see his back humping up on the beach. It looked like he was lifting up rocks or maybe digging clams. But there were no clams there. I turned the boat right in toward him. I wanted to find out what it was.

“For a while there, I thought it was a grizzly bear, kind of light-color fur on the back of his neck like a light brown. I nosed right in toward him to almost 75 yards to get a good look. He stood up on his hind feet, straight up like a man and I looked at it. He was looking at me. Gee, it don’t look like a bear, it has arms like a human being, it had legs like a human being, and it got a head like us. I keep on going in toward him.

“He started to walk away from me walking like a man on two legs. He was about eight feet high. He got to some drift-logs, stopped and looked back at me. He looked over his shoulder to see me. Grizzly bear don’t do that, I never see a grizz run on its hind legs like that and I never se a grizzly bear look over his shoulder like that. I was right close to the beach now. He stepped up on those drift logs and walked into the timber. Stepped on them logs like a man do. I watched as he went a little higher up the hill. The wind blew me in toward the beach, so I backed up the boat and keep on going to Kwatna Bay.”

In 1995, Paul Freeman, a veteran Bigfoot hunter, Bill Laughery, a former game warden followed the sound of odd screams that were heard in the Blue Mountains of southeast Washington state. Joined by Wes Summerlin, a local resident, they hiked to an area where Bigfoot tracks had been found. In a clearing, the men found several small trees twisted, broken, and dripping sap. Caught on the trees were large clumps of long black and brown hair (see below). They they caught sight of a seven-foot ape-like creature and heard the screams of two others. They observed the creature through binoculars at a distance of 90 feet, eating yellow wood violets. The trackers also found droppings two to five inches long, full of half-eaten carpenter ants, and fallen trees that had been pulled apart for the ants inside.

HAIR SAMPLES

Tufts and strands of hair thought to come from Sasquatch have not added to the weight of evidence for the reality of the creature. Most hair samples tested prove to be that of bears or other non-primates. Promising samples were obtained in 1995 by Freeman, Laughery, and Summerlin (see above):

The hair samples gathered by the three men were sent to Ohio State University for DNA analysis. Dr. W. Henner Fahrenbach “determined microscopically that the hair appeared to have come from two individuals of the same species, that it differed in color, length, and hair growth cycle between the two sets, had not been cut, and was indistinguishable from human hair by any criterion.”

Ultimately, the tests were inconclusive. The researchers said that the “DNA extracted from both hair shaft or roots (hair demonstrably fresh) was too fragmented to permit gene sequencing.”

PHOTOS / FILM / VIDEO

Photos, film footage, and video of Sasquatch are extremely rare. At worst, they are murky, fuzzy, and inconclusive. At best, when they are clear, they are highly controversial and suspected of being hoaxes.

The Patterson/Gimlin film is by far the most famous and most scrutinized footage ever taken of Bigfoot. Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin shot the footage in 1967 with a 16mm camera while on an expedition to find the elusive creature in the Bluff Creek area of the Six Rivers National Forest in Northern California. Large footprints had been found in this region in previous years. Debate among various “experts” over the authenticity of the film has been ongoing for 30 years. In recent years, some people have come forward to claim that they participated in the hoaxing of the film, but even their testimony has been called into question. (See “No, Bigfoot Is NOT Dead”)

In September, 1998, David Shealy took 27 photographs of the 7-foot-tall creature in the Everglades. “I had been sitting up in the tree for about two hours every night for the past eight months,” Shealy said. “I dozed off for a little while, and when I woke up, I saw it coming straight at me. At first I thought it was a man, but then I realized it was the skunk ape.” Shealy followed the tracks of the animal and made what he said could be the biggest skunk ape discovery: small footprints he says appear to be from a baby skunk ape. Shealy now estimates there are between nine and 12 skunk apes roaming the Everglades, and said most people who have spotted the creature usually see them in groups of three or four.

CLOSE CONTACT

There are very few cases of close contact or physical contact with Sasquatch. And many that have been reported are quite suspect:

Stan Johnson claims to be one such “contactee.” Stan says he first met the 7-foot-tall wild man when he was a boy near his home in the Ozarks. Every day after school, Stan says he would meet the Sasquatch in the woods and talk with him. Since then, he’s had several other encounters and believes the creature comes from another dimension. Johnson’s is a strange, strange story.

Stories of interest from around the Net

Gargoyles of the Lone Star State Mysterious Universe

Jersey’s got its devil. West Virginia has its Mothman. Texas has… gargoyles? Good ol’ Nick Redfern’s got a clutch of tales from America’s belt buckle featuring these stony nightmares in the sky. This ain’t prosaic stuff, since one of the yarns from a west Texas town draws a parallel with Arthurian legend. Further down the rabbit hole, Craig Woolheater caught wind of Werewolves In Maine with a nifty sighting report. We’re tickled that SKiss would be more flustered if the creature wasn’t a lupine, affirming her suspicion that her hubby has gone off the deep end.

Giant Anacondas And Other Super-Sized Cryptozoological Snakes ShukerNature

Titanoboa was as long as a semi truck, but paleontologists reckon they’ve been pushing up the daisies for millions of years. Enter Karl Shuker and a file folder brimming with tales of relict ophidians. There are many reasons to be skeptical, the sheer number of accounts in recorded human history may point to the truth lurking in the darkest jungles.

Robert Newman: ‘The Universe Richard Dawkins Imagines Couldn’t Exist For Five Seconds’ The Telegraph

We gather that one must live in a monarchy to effectively prove the emperor has no clothes. Best known for skewering capitalism, western imperialism, with accompanying historical foibles, Robert Newman’s set his sights on atheist messiah Richard Dawkins. Dominic Cavendish wants to show you how Robert deconstructs Dawkins with more class and wit than Ricky Gervais can ever aspire. After all, if it is a dog-eat-dog world, how many cannibalistic canines do you know?

A History Of Elves LiveScience

Long ago and far away, before greys entered our consciousness, elves held sway in the night and the shadowy corners of our minds. Ben Radford runs down the evolution of these fair folk over the centuries, musing upon their persistence in pop culture. Having whet your appetite, hie thee to your local bookseller to acquire Sherry and Brad Steiger’s Real Encounters, Different Dimensions, and Otherworldly Beings. Encyclopedically enumerated for your pleasure, those merry Steigers cover more than pointy-eared entities. Don’t just take our word for it, the man so nice they named him thrice, Paul Dale Roberts just scratches the surface to tickle your fancy for this volume. A fitting centerpiece of any fortean’s library. Less cut and dried isThe Neuroscience Backlash covered by Rich Reynolds. Citing several skeptical treatises upon free will, psychology and neuroscience, it appears mainstream scientist authors have inadvertantly provided an explanation for alien abductions. Rounding out our section, almost as a non-sequitor, is Alejandro Rojas with a UFO Video Over Belfast Believed To Be Flying Entity. Funny bit is there have been similar sightings in the past, and the facts have borne out the object or entity was only a balloon.

American Indians in Twelfth-Century Germany #2: The Portuguese Beachcombing’s Bizarre History Blog

Huzzah! Dr. Beachcombing, with a little help from his friends, has found the original Portuguese text claiming American Indians made their way to Germany. Why is this so important? Rather than working on a secondhand account, Beach can give an accurate translation, check for apocrypha, making the tale far more compelling. Rummaging deeper in our grab bag of maverick news, we find Andrew May tut-tutting how an Ig Nobel was foisted upon a paper covering The Scarab And The Stars. While everyone was giggling over dung beetle astrology, the scarabs are more concerned with preparing their brooding balls than cracking jokes about human foibles and fables. Floating high over Anomalist Towers is a Ghost Blimp piloted by no other than Henry Paterson. He regales us with a story of the flying Mary Celeste and its unsolved mystery. Finally, don’t miss picking up Richard Toronto’s latest War Over Lemuria: Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer And The Strangest Chapter Of 1940s Science Fiction. Chronicling the singular life of Richard Shaver, from institutionalization, travelling cross-country, and a collaboration with Ray Palmer setting the UFOlogical field on its ear. Even if you don’t pick it up, John Rimmer admirably runs down this engaging biography as befitting a Pelicanist.

News of interest

Dead East River Monster Confounds New Yorkers, Animal Experts

Ah, nothing says summer like the smell of BBQ wafting through the air, the sounds of kids playing in the pool, afternoon thunderstorms and freaky, bloated,mysterious carcasses washed up on the beach. It really is becoming a summer tradition, this time with a new one popping up on the shore of the East River in New York. The “official” consensus is that it’s a pig, which is pretty remarkable considering pigs generally don’t have claws. A reluctant Loren Coleman has the rest of the story of That Bloated Beast Under Brooklyn Bridge. On a much gentler (and less disgusting) note, Beachcombing brings us tales of Victorian encounters with Mutant Hares, Modern Satyrs and Centaurs. Being Victorian, the witnesses in all cases reacted exactly as you would expect, giving a discreet shriek and running ladylike away from the strange creatures. In an encounter with a giant mutant rabbit, one woman defied her upbringing and actually struck the oncoming beast with her parasol. Then, we presume, she shrieked and ran away.

FOIA Request to CIA re Its Knowledge of the Roswell Incident UFO View

UFO Magazine’s Larry Bryant wants to see the elusive box full of Roswell secrets that former CIA agent Chase Brandon claims he saw. Supposedly, via the Freedom of Information Act, the contents of that box should be released to him and anyone else curious enough to file a request with the CIA. While it’s a worthy endeavor, we think it’s highly unlikely the request will be granted. Whether that is because the CIA will conveniently lose the files or because it simply doesn’t exist in the first place is the question of the day. UFO Iconoclasts delve deep (really deep) into the nature of UFOs and wonder about the possibility of Quantum UFOs: Entanglement?

‘Chasing UFOs’ Stars Blast Their Own Show Huffington Post

There seems to be a serious lack of communication going on between the “Chasing UFOs” crew and the NatGeo channel because the show’s crew complains that they were not aware of the ominous sounding “major shift in programming flavor” for the channel and say that NatGeo is less concerned with the truth than with entertainment value. NatGeo is trying to mop up the publicity disaster by saying basically that the crew of the show knew what they were signing up for. We think they should just be sent to their respective corners to take a timeout and think about what they’ve done.

Hypnosis Is No Laughing Matter The Guardian

After years of ridicule and being dismissed as a party trick, hypnosis is now attracting attention from scientists because its effects are very real and can be proven. Recent research has discovered that during a brain scan if a person is asked to fake being hypnotized, the resulting brain activity is very different than that of a person who is genuinely hypnotized. Meanwhile, there’s a good chance you’ll run into hypnotists and scientists alike at the 55th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association in Durham, NC.

10 Civilizations That Disappeared Under Mysterious Circumstances io9

There’s nothing quite like reading about lost civilizations to really make you feel your mortality. What happened to the huge cities of these ancient people? Oftentimes, the civilization that abandoned these locations were advanced, which makes it even more puzzling. Did they simply move on to be closer to food and water sources? Were they conquered by invaders? Was there something more sinister behind the disappearances? It seems that just when archaeologists have settled on a date when we humans truly began to be civilized, more evidence surfaces (literally) to prove otherwise. Archaeologists uncover Palaeolithic ceramic art dating back to the last Ice Age that redefines our timeline and knocks the discovery of ceramics back several thousand years. Lastly, the Pelicanist reviews Nick Redferns The Pyramids and the Pentagon which deals with the notion of ancient advanced civilizations and ancient artifacts and their impact on modern times: Pyramid Selling. The Pelicanist calls it “cleverly written” and says there is something for skeptics and believers both.

Have Vietnam¹s Wildmen Killed Humans? Cryptomundo

Loren Coleman shares a story from artist Jeff H. Johnson concerning reports of wildmen seeking revenge for the killing of their kind in Vietnam. There is an equally disturbing story in the comments about US soldiers in Vietnam having to recover bodies quickly because “apes” would come out of the forest and eat them. As the commenter says, “there are no apes in Vietnam”. Coleman points out that there could very well be a lot more of these sorts of stories from that part of the world but we will likely never hear them. Forteania bids happy birthday to Momo the Missouri Monster – 40 yrs On. The tall, hairy, smelly and infamously dog-eating creature was spotted only during a brief period in 1972, but Missourians haven’t forgotten him.

The Probability That You Are Dreaming Right Now? 1 in 10 Brain Pickings

Want to give your brain a jolt? Consider this: you may be asleep and dreaming right this moment. Brain Pickings tells us that it is very likely and that with way our brains work and the nature of dreaming, it could be impossible to discern the difference between reality and dreaming at times. There is no real way to tell. We’d hope that our brains would come up with something a bit more interesting than the mundane details of our daily lives though. It’s a bit frightening to realize how easily our brains are manipulated, and on a more serious note Loren Coleman gives us another example of this as he takes an unconventional look at the bigger picture surrounding the recent Aurora tragedy. The sensationalism of the story has saturated the media resulting in some very defined images being imprinted on our cultural conscious already. The fallout from the tragedy casts a long shadow over pop culture and may augur further developments in Aurora: Synchromystic Wonderland.

UFO Sightings On The Rise: A Study Saul Star

Canada seems to be the most recent UFO hotspot with an average of 3 sightings reported each day. Ontario seems to be getting the most attention though, according to this study. Break out the Barry White album, it’s time for Part 2 of Eros & Ufos: The Repressed Sexual Aspect of Mystical Experiences (Part 2). Sexual repression has always led to troublesome results throughout history and and alien abduction may be yet another result. Intrepid Magazine’s Red Pill Junkie wonders if alien abductions are related to the same repressed energy that is theorized to be the cause of poltergeist activity. It would certainly explain the popularity of UFO reports involving tall, beautiful Venusians in the 1950s and 60s.

The West Lothian Incident Forteania

In 1979, a Scottish forestry worker Robert Taylor ventured into the woods off of a highway in Dechmont Law. He encountered a saucer-shaped craft on the ground and was attacked by two metal spiked spheres that dragged him toward the ship. He awoke later with torn pants and was unable to talk. The “official” explanation for his strange experience? Venus! Not only was the planet responsible for his sighting but it also apparently triggered a seizure and hallucinations, despite the fact that local police found evidence that something had landed in that spot. We suppose that all the weather balloons were grounded that day. In another infamous case, the powers that be took quite a different tactic of disinformation and ordered the main eyewitness to continue spreading his tale of the The Aztec UFO and Psy-Ops. Apparently, what he reported seeing (a crashed UFO with several dead aliens) was so outlandish that they figured he was doing a pretty good job spreading disinfo himself.

Classic Cryptid: The Legend OF The Loveland Frogmen Who Forted

Frogmen stalked the banks of the Little Miami River in Loveland, Ohio in 1955 and were reported in three separate incidents. The creatures were described as tall, bipedal frogs and in one incident, one of them seemed to be brandishing a metal wand. No official explanation was ever given but it’s interesting to note that “frogmen’ were a part of local Native American lore long-before the modern sightings. Beachcombing has a report of a 1980 encounter with The Trolls That Tuck You In from 1980 and the most unbelievable part of the story is that the witness went right to sleep after being tucked into bed by several tiny people that mysteriously appeared in her hotel room. And on a final note, Paranthropology Vol. 3 No. 3 Now Available to Download.

Monsters from the Shadows of Reality

     ASK ANYONE interested in the subject to name a crypto creature – an animal reported to be seen but unknown to science – and he or she will probably come up with Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster or perhaps even El Chupacabras. They have been sighted, allegedly, on numerous occasions.

As any reader of this website knows, however, people see all kinds of creatures – animal-like beings that don’t fit neatly into scientific or even cryptozoological categories. People will swear to you that they saw them with their own eyes. Strange creatures. Creatures that seem to have been spotted perhaps only once in a given area, and never again. So are they real? Do they exist in our physical reality or are they products of imagination and misidentification? Or do they exist in some other reality and pay only brief visits to our dimension, living on the outskirts of our perception?

Consider these reports of bizarre creatures from readers:

ROSWELL REPTILIAN

Mark was caring for his parents’ ten-acre estate in a remote valley near Roswell, New Mexico, famous, of course, for its alleged UFO crash. “This valley is surrounded by mountains to the west (Sacramento), the Permian Basin in the east, and the Carlsbad caverns to the south,” Mark tells us. “This basin is very ancient; it was once the shoreline of an ancient sea.

“The Bottomless Lakes State Park is within this basin and is the result of many strange legends both ancient and recent, with countless rumors of individuals who see things come out of the water, people being chased by strange creatures, sightings for UFOs, and the list goes on. Legends of creatures that live in these lakes are old and as mentioned keep occurring to this day.

“As I was waking up one morning around 10 a.m., I walked outside to get a breath of fresh air. My uncle, who lived directly behind us, had a dog named Ono. Ono was half pit bull and half blue heeler. Directly east of us was a field, and as I happened to look east in the field, Ono was chasing a creature that stood approximately 2½ to 3 feet tall. This creature was light brown in color and was definitely reptilian. I just stood there watching as this creature and Ono disappeared out of sight. I was not frightened, just in awe and disbelief of what I was actually witnessing.

“My cousin had seen the creature around the same time and several days later, my aunt, uncle, mom, and I had seen unusual tracks that were not, to our recollection, of any known animals of the area. I know what I witnessed and science cannot tell me otherwise.”

THE MONSTER OF BENBROOK LAKE

Benbrook Lake is a small body of water on the southwest side of Fort Worth, Texas, created by the Army Corp of Engineers as a flood control reservoir in the mid-1900s. It was here that Jack L. had his unusual sighting.

“The heat brings all manner of animals to the water at sunset,” says Jack. “Deer, armadillo, fox, raccoon and possums all frequent the dark, green pool, but I’m not exactly sure what I saw there in the waning glow of dusk on October 20, 2005.

“I had arrived at Holiday Park on the lake’s western shore around 6:15 in the early evening, but the thermometer still registered in the 90s. There wasn’t another soul in view except for a lone hobbyist flying his radio-controlled airplane some 200 yards away. I fanned out my blanket and settled down to stretch in preparation for my daily swim.

“I happened across a set of large, strange tracks that led into the water where I routinely swam. Although unusually large, I attributed the tracks to a pair of Great Danes that I had seen running with their owner earlier in the month. As the sounds of the lake began to filter into my awareness, I heard someone trudging through the underbrush and reeds that fronted a small patch of woods to my right, which separated me from the point on the shoreline where I went into the water. It never registered that there were no other vehicles or evidence of swimmers nearby. I walked slowly back to my blanket and collapsed to soak up the heat.

“As I rolled onto my left side, I saw it. I say ‘it’ because I don’t really know what ‘it’ was. It had dark fur and was large… perhaps seven or eight feet tall. It was pushing through a stand of reeds about 200 yards from me. The reeds came up to my chest, but only reached the animal’s waist. It appeared to walk upright, grunting in a belabored manner. The animal had turned away from me so I could not make out any facial details. I wheeled about to see if there was anyone within earshot, but the lake was deserted now. I can’t describe my fear. I quietly and quickly collected my stuff and strode back to my truck for safety. I sat quietly and watched the animal disappear into the woods.

“I was shaking. Several minutes passed before I cranked the truck and headed home, primarily because I was afraid I would see the creature along the winding lake road that lead out of Holiday Park. I returned to the site two days later and found sufficient evidence that something large did move about the reeds. It appeared as though something large had nested there. I don’t know what I encountered, but I still swim and bike at Benbrook. Perhaps, someone will corroborate what I saw.”

FOREST WHITE-CLAW

Zion and his buddies had built a fort to play in within a wooded field on the outskirts of town. It was a place to hang out and engage in pretend defense against imaginary enemies. What they didn’t count on was an intruder of an altogether strange sort.

“It was maybe three in the afternoon when school got out,” says Zion. “I decided to call my friend Eric to see if he would like to go to the fort. His mom always made him stay home and eat dinner first, so I told him I would just meet him there. We started building onto the fort.

“At about 5:00 p.m. it started getting dark, so we decided to head back. As we packed all of our stuff, both Eric and I noticed something slowly coming out of a bush about 150 yards north of us. Acting quickly, we dove silently into the fort. We sat there for at least five minutes.

“It was the size of a large wolf, but dark black with long, large, white claws. It did not look like anything Eric or I had ever seen before – nothing we could compare it to. As it vanished from our sites, we cautiously started back. We made it out of the forest where we came to an abandoned house. We did not plan on stopping, but noticed that about 100 yards on the path the creature was standing on all fours looking at us.

“We stood paralyzed as it slowly walked toward us. All of a sudden it stopped. We got a good look at it. It had dark yellow eyes and not one look of mercy on its face and a row of bright white teeth showed. All of a sudden, we heard a noise behind us. We quickly turned around to see a doe and a fawn running out of a thorn bush. We turned around and the creature was gone. Seeing the chance, we ran home. We made it home, but not one memory of that animal will ever leave my mind. We have not seen it since then.”

CHUPACABRAS ROADRUNNER

There have been many claims for Chupacabras sightings, some of them in the southern U.S., especially Texas. Although there is no consensus about what Chupacabras might be – descriptions vary widely – Dub and his wife Ann think they might have spotted a creature that fits a common description in 2004.

“We were driving home late at night in East Texas near Crockett,” Dub relates, “when we saw something run right across the road in front of us. It was about ten feet in front of our car. We both later on drew a picture of what we saw and they look almost the same.

“The features we both noted were: About four to five feet tall and ran on the two hind feet. The knees bent backward, not forward as a human’s. It made it across the road in three or four seconds. It had the body of a slim small child, not like a fat kangaroo. The arms chugged back and forth like a person running. The head had a pointed chin and a pointed top at the back like a rooster’s comb. The body looked gray or some other dark color. The thing looked to be an alien to both of us. We have never seen a picture of any [conventional] animal that resembled what we saw. It seems there have been many sightings of such a thing in the past. These are found on the Internet under Chupacabras.”

LIZARD MAN

It was also in Texas that a reader, calling himself The Kid, saw something larger when he was 12 years old. “My grandpa had taken us hunting up near Big Springs in west Texas,” he says. “We rode our jeep up the side of the mountain, when suddenly, two families of quail appeared. My grandpa was still teaching my two younger brothers to hunt, so they went with him to follow one family, and I followed the other all by myself.

“I strode up the mountain, and I carried with me only my shotgun and a bag full of shells. I scratched my foot on a very large rock. I howled in pain. I tended to my wound for a few minutes. I heard ducks nearby and knew that there had to be a nearby pond where I could wash my cut. I headed toward the sound. I stepped on a twig and six ducks flew off away from the pond. I figured the sound I made had scared them off, so I kept walking there.

“I was at the shore splashing water on my leg when I heard another splashing sound. I looked up and saw a man leaning over, drinking from the pond. It only took me a few seconds to realize that this was no ordinary man. This man had scales and a lizard’s head! I was petrified – I couldn’t move a muscle. I stood there watching the deformity drink, when all of a sudden I saw it jerk its head up. It eyed me for what seemed like hours. It jumped in the water and started to swim toward me. All I could do was shoot at it. I shot three shells, and then I heard the dreaded click. I ran and ran and ran. I met up with my grandpa, and he didn’t believe me. Would you blame him?”

LEERING GARGOYLE

Seeing a bizarre creature out in the remote wilderness is one thing… but seeing one in the landscaping of your own home is quite another. In August 2005, Greg stepped outside his apartment building to smoke a cigarette. “As I was turning to head back indoors,” he reports, “a gleam in a nearby shrub (about 20 feet away) caught my eye. I looked more closely and saw what, for all intents and purposes, was a face leering at me. At the moment, I thought how unusual that the evening lighting and the arrangement of the shrub’s branches and leaves would create such a startling effect. So I walked closer to the bush, wishing I had a camera to capture this unusual optical illusion.

“At about five feet from the shrub, I stopped dead in my tracks. This was a face – a very malevolent face that looked like a gremlin from the movies. Its eyes were focused intently on mine and it was perfectly still, although a slight breeze was rustling the rest of the bush. Disbelieving, I shook my head, closed my eyes, and opened them again. The face was still there, still looking at me.

“I thought it must be a cat, raccoon or possum and took another step toward the face. At that moment, I felt a wave of such hostility that it practically took my breath away. I looked more closely now and could see green and darkly mottled ridged eyebrows, brilliantly white (almost mesmerizing) pupils, rubbery-looking pointed ears, and a very large mouth partly opened in what appeared to be a sneer – or a threat.

“Shaken, I hurried back into my apartment, locked the door, and looked out the front window only to see that the thing was still watching me. Keep in mind that I was looking at it from a different angle now, yet it held its form and appeared to have slightly turned its head toward me. Then I understood something. I had caught a glimpse of some legendary elf- or gargoyle-like creature, and I wasn’t supposed to. The malevolence I felt and the hypnotic stare of the creature were its warnings to me to back off.

“What would have happened if I’d walked right up to the thing in the bush? I’m glad I didn’t, by the way.”

BLACK LUNAR MONSTER

The woods are home to all kinds of creatures, of course, but most of them can be readily identified. Occasionally, one is sighted that is not so easily named. Braydon and his friend Tony were walking in a wooded area near Bardstown, Kentucky between 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight. “Did you hear that?” asked Tony. “Hear what?” Braydon replied.

They both listened. Tony was about to say something else when a black-skinned, orange-eyed creature just walked right by them. “I was startled for a sec, then I was scared stiff,” Braydon says, “for it was now looking right at us. I whispered, ‘Run!’ Before we started running, the creature ran in the opposite direction.

“It was about five feet tall on all fours and looked like a mix between a pit bull terrier and a giant bird with no wings. It doesn’t really walk on all fours, but kind of leaps. No fur.”

CREATURE ON THE GARAGE

Hollywood has created many memorable and terrifying fictional monsters over the years, but what Adam saw in December 2005 at his home in North Hollywood, California seemed very real to him.

“I was inside my garage all day and night organizing things,” Adam says. “I was finishing up when at approximately 9:30 p.m. I was shocked by a large crash and smash against my closed garage door. At first I thought it was maybe a drunk homeless person that fell against the garage door, or kids outside throwing a football around. So I slowly and quietly listened and walked out of the garage to hear what it was.

“As I got around to the front of the garage, I didn’t see anyone. I decided to keep quiet and just listen for any movement. Then I heard something on the roof of the garage. I went into the garage and grabbed my flashlight. I returned outside and looked on top of the garage, which is 12 feet high – and there it was in the night, crouching on all fours. I didn’t need to turn the flashlight on, but I did.

“When I flashed the light on the thing, it looked back at me with glowing yellow eyes. At first I thought it was a cat, but it was too large. Possum, no; mountain lion, no. It kept looking at me for about 30 seconds. I still thought it could be a cat until it turned its head away from me. ‘Oh my god,’ is all I could say. My brain had never seen an animal such as this one.

“Its head was that of a dog, its snout wasn’t long, it was medium and flat. It scared the hell out of me. It had a nubby tail, but its head was unusual, like no animal I’ve ever seen. It was about 3½ to 4 feet long, looked about 40 pounds, gray or black fur like a cat. After those 30 seconds of confrontation, it leaped off the garage with amazing ease, and thundered through my backyard, jumped over a 7-foot fence and was gone.

“It wasn’t a cat; it was too heavy and clumsy, like a dog, yet it wasn’t a dog because it jumped off a 12-foot-high garage. It wasn’t a mountain lion because it was gray and black and it had a dog face. It was a different creature that possibly related to a cat or dog, but much more evolved and quicker.”

In the news!

GHOSTS, HAUNTED PLACES AND POLTERGEISTS:

Paranormal report: The great orb debate
Dave Schrader, Kris Williams, John Zaffis, and Nina De Santo talk orbs…

Council to relocate Newbiggin Hall ‘haunted’ house family (video)
A family who fear their house is haunted can move to a new home, council bosses have agreed…

BBC haunted by Roy Castle
It has emerged that the ghost of Roy Castle has been haunting BBC Television Centre in London’s White City since his death from lung cancer in 1994…

Four notorious haunted places at St. Cloud State University
Seems as though there are more than a couple spots on campus famed for their unexplainable, and at times frightening activity…

Curious conversations with talkative ghosts
There seems to be some evidence that a former resident, who passed away recently, may still be occupying it in some form…

Who’s afraid of ghosts?
In his free time, Petty Officer 1st Class David Frees likes to take a step beyond the unknown…

EARTH MYSTERIES:

Crop circle communication
An interesting phenomenon that has been happening throughout history is the crop circle.

CREATURES:

Loch Ness Monster-like animal filmed in Alaska?
The alleged sea serpent has a long neck, a horse-like head, large eyes and back bumps that stick out of the water…

Bigfoot tracks spotted in Lincoln’s old stomping grounds
The same area where Abraham Lincoln came to fame (Chatham, IL, a suburb of Springfield) has experienced a rash of unexplained howls at night and some giant footprints investigated by police…

Ken Chaplin’s Ogopogo: Twenty-two years later
On July 18, 1989, a 42 year old car salesman from Kelowna, BC captured something on tape. Ken was a Okanagan Valley native, having lived near the lake all his life…

Patagonian monsters and manlike apes
A petroglyph seems to depict something distinctly shorter and stouter than the regular human stick figures surrounding it…

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA:

Psychic helps professor find father
For decades, Prof Sorpong Peou believed his father to be dead – executed by the Khmer Rouge. But a vivid dream and the insistence of a psychic have led the family to an emotional reunion in their home country, Cambodia…

HUMAN MYSTERIES:

Shock as girl vomits strange objects
Residents of an estate in Nakuru were recently left in shock when a 12-year-old girl started vomiting strange objects…

Woman grows full-sized nipple on the sole of her foot
Lily Allen proudly showed hers off on television, Mark Wahlberg’s famous for his and just last week, Zac Efron was forced to deny he has two.

What’s new in the paranormal news

CREATURES:

“Finding Bigfoot” hoax exposed – by the cast!
The TV show Finding Bigfoot has a lot of critics debunking the evidence that the legendary cryptid really exists. That now includes the people who appear on the show itself…

An editorial: What impact will “Finding Bigfoot” have?
Loren Coleman: It seems like a good time to take a long-term look at what influence and impact the Finding Bigfoot series may have on the future interactions of television and cryptozoology, especially as they relate to what educational role Finding Bigfoot is filling for youthful students of cryptozoology and hominology…

Sasquatch, man, ape or something else?
For the first time, scientists from many disciplines put the most compelling Sasquatch evidence under the microscope and apply forensic science to the on-going mystery. ..

Sea monster sightings debated
Sea monsters like those described in ancient mariners’ tales down the ages really could exist, some experts claim. But they are probably not Jurassic Park-style survivors from the dinosaur age…

Is the government hiding evidence of Bigfoot?
Every now and then one does hear rumors that the “government” is hiding a carcass of Bigfoot, or a Sasquatch was taken from the ruins of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens…

Sea monsters really DO lurk beneath the waves, scientists claim
From krakens to gigantic sea serpents, terrifying monsters of the deep have haunted the imaginations of generations of mariners. Now experts in marine life claim sea monsters might actually exist…

GHOSTS, HAUNTED PLACES AND POLTERGEISTS:

A closer look at ‘ghost hunting’ shows, the pros and the cons
Here are my reviews of my four favorite ghost hunting shows. You are welcome to share the pros and cons of your favorite shows in the comments section…

Haunted Niagara: Urban legends or a glimpse into the paranormal?
Laurie Collins-Koehn: Niagara has been called the most haunted region in Canada and I decided to learn more about the folklore of this area.

GHOSTS, HAUNTED PLACES AND POLTERGEISTS:

Is Rose Hill Cemetery haunted?
Although the only thing living in the cemetery seems to be a vivid history of Matawan, even the tour guide, Al Savolaine of the Matawan Historical Society, claimed the cemetery is haunted…

Personal experience creates a paranormal believer
About two hours north of Phoenix lies the small town of Jerome. It is nestled into the side of a mountain overlooking a beautiful valley and is full of art, amazing food, and site seeing. Oh yeah, and ghosts…

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA:

Nurse claims psychic abilities led to persecution
Lori Niell, a former occupational nurse in Colorado Springs, says she unfairly lost her job because of her psychic abilities…

LIFE AFTER DEATH:

Whoopi Goldberg was a nun in previous birth
Hollywood actress Whoopi Goldberg was apparently a nun in her former life, according famous psychic twins Linda and Terry Jamison…

EARTH MYSTERIES:

Strange fruit: The costs and benefits of rural mysticism
Whether extraterrestrials or pranksters are to blame, in the Wiltshire countryside crop circles are costly: around £1,000 each, says Tim Carson, a farmer in the village of Alton Barnes, whose land has been dotted by 125 circles since 1991…

HUMAN MYSTERIES:

Out-of-body experiences linked to neural instability and biases in body representation
Although out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are typically associated with migraine, epilepsy and psychopathology, they are quite common in healthy and psychologically normal individuals as well…

LOST WORLDS:

A lost world? Atlantis-like landscape discovered
Buried deep beneath the sediment of the North Atlantic Ocean lies an ancient, lost landscape with furrows cut by rivers and peaks that once belonged to mountains. Geologists recently discovered this roughly 56-million-year-old landscape using data gathered for oil companies.

Paranormal News Update

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA:

Want to participate in a psychic experiment?
“Primetime Nightline: Beyond Belief” is looking for twelve male volunteers in the New York City area to participate in a fun experiment for an upcoming segment about psychic powers…

CREATURES:

The Lake Utopia Monster
Everyone is familiar with Nessie or the Loch Ness Monster, but few people outside the local area of Lake Utopia or in the field of cryptozoology have heard about the Lake Utopia Monster…

Claims sea monster lives in fjord
A diver conducting an investigation of Geirþjófsfjörður believes he may have found evidence of a sea monster living in the fjord…

Flying cryptid sightings: Weird bat-like creatures / large bioluminescent birds

GHOSTS, HAUNTED PLACES AND POLTERGEISTS:

Nottinghamshire Police witchcraft, ghost and UFO reports
Nottinghamshire Police received more than 80 reports of ghosts, witchcraft and UFO sightings in the last six years…

Haunting of Hyde Hall
Over the past 200 years, Hyde Hall has evolved from a prestigious family home in Cooperstown to a National Landmark. Starting July 6th, a tour will take a look at the home and its history with the paranormal, as told by ghosts of past and present…

Scary amateur video shows paranormal activity in kids’ bedroom
A family captured paranormal activity or evidence of ghosts when they set up a video camera in their children’s bedroom after being told that there were unexplained noises and shadows in the room. ..

Simon Cowell isn’t spooked by haunted house
Simon Cowell has confessed that he has become fascinated with the idea of ghosts and the afterlife…

FORTEAN PHENOMENA:

Man struck by lightning for sixth time
An Upstate man has again disproved the old adage about lightning never striking the same place twice after being struck for the sixth time on Monday.