Cryptomundo's Top Ten Worst Bigfoot Stories of 2009

Loren Coleman at Cryptomundo brings us Top Ten Worst Bigfoot Stories of 2009

What's my favorite worst story? Not sure I have one, they all make me sad; but then again, as I always rant about the UFO arena, Trickster games are to be expected, and that's true for crypto world as it is for any other estoeric/paranormal/Fortean realm.

I suppose my favorite worst is number 7 on the list:  "Teen Created Nutmeg State’s Bigfoot Hoax" about what police found after investigating a woman's report to police she had seen a Bigfoot:

Police threw out a dragnet, and said they searched and found a 16-year-old male subject dressed in a gorilla-like costume. The teenager told officers he was standing at the intersection of Unquowa and Sturges roads, waving at passing cars while friends watched.

I'm always amazed at people who think it's funny to put on a Bigfoot type costume and run around highways and the woods...there are so many trigger happy people out there who shoot at anything that moves that has fur. And if they think it's a Bigfoot, many people wouldn't hesitate to kill themselves one. 

As Coleman himself says in the post, "Thank goodness we get to start all over again in 2010."  

Following Bigfoot Ballyhoo

Linda Newton Perry's Bigfoot Ballyhoo is a blog I've posted about here recently; I also had turned on the "follow" feature to her blog. I say "followed" because she's removed me from the follow option.

Newton-Perry is a Christian and has said her religious views don't allow her to condone the paranormal. Because I have a Bigfoot blog that focuses on the high strangeness aspects of Bigfoot research, linking to my blog or supporting it, even by mentioning it I guess, conflicts with her personal beliefs.

A few days ago, Newton-Perry responded to the e-mail I had sent her by reposting it her blog:

Thank you for the good words....Regan, I , however, can not list paranormal sites. My Christian beliefs prevent me from delving into that subject. I do not believe Bigfoot is in anyway paranormal. I believe he is flesh and blood and placed in the animal kingdom for a purpose. I respect your right to believe as you wish and I ask that you respect mine. Thank you for participating on this blog and I look forward to hearing more from you.

Seems she’s changed her mind about looking “forward” to “hearing more from” me.

This is a sensitive subject for researchers. If you put yourself out there as a researcher, you have an obligation to be honest to the data. As I asked in my previous post: if your religious views conflict with data, where does your responsibility end? If you reject, hide, or ignore data you don't like because it conflicts with your views, are you an honest researcher? I don't know, I'm asking. I asked that question in a spirit of discussion. I had asked in my previous post, what would Linda Newton-Perry do with, say, the recent BF report from the Oregon teacher who had a recent Bigfoot sighting on the Oregon coast if that teacher had included some weird detail like, BF dematerializing in front of her? Or a UFO appeared next to it? Or any other of the high strangeness things that have been reported by some Bigfoot witnesses?


Newton-Perry didn't answer, either directly to me, or on her blog. She preferred to ignore the question and remove me from the follow feature. Certainly her right to do so; but I wonder where that leaves the Bigfoot reports that are coming her way? What if, as I asked previously, one of those reports she’s posted on her blog contained "weird" data? Would Newton-Perry lie about it? Hide it? I think these are legitimate questions.

Since Newton-Perry writes for two newspapers about Bigfoot, has a Bigfoot blog, and has published books about Bigfoot, these questions are valid and assuming her participation in this discussion is sensible.

Newton-Perry said her beliefs don't allow for paranormal Bigfoot beliefs but as I pointed out, not all Christians share that opinion. For example Stan Johnson (deceased) was a Christian who had many so-called paranormal encounters with Bigfoot including telepathic communications and rides on space ships.

Like the UFO subject (sans Bigfoot) religious beliefs come into things, and there’s a variety of beliefs and opinions within any particular religion. I know Christians who believe UFOs and related entities are demonic, and don’t want to have anything to do with the topic. I also know Christians who don’t believe that at all. And everything in between.

On the one hand, if Newton-Perry believes, as she says, Bigfoot is strictly flesh and blood, and not paranormal, that’s fine. Many BF researchers, as we know, believe that, regardless of their religious beliefs. But again, the question is, what would a researcher do -- Christian or not -- with a ‘weird” BF report that came their way?


This post of mine isn't to pick a fight or become one of those self appointed gurus of UFO or Bigfoot research. Not me! This field, like the UFO field, has its share of the pompous, arrogant, and self-important. This field is also full of just plain mean people who have no problem openly insulting others. This isn’t about insulting anyone, making fun of anyone’s religion, or picking fights. It’s about sincerely asking questions concerning research. If you can’t participate in that then should your work be taken seriously?

To be fair, we all have our buffers and lines we won't cross. Concerning Bigfoot, I haven't found mine yet. (UFOs and related subjects, maybe, but that's another blog and another post entirely.)

I wish all researchers the best, except, those that promote a kill policy. I just can’t get past that, and well, that’s the way it is.

But as always, the question that’s been asked many times by many a Bigfoot researcher, what to do with those high strangeness reports? Not a new question, but one that won’t go away.

Bigfoot Ballyhoo Blog and Non-Paranormal Bigfoot Beliefs

I've been commenting on Linda Newton Perry's Bigfoot Ballyhoo blog, and emailed her earlier today. This is what I sent her:

I've been following your blog recently and have been enjoying it. I've posted about it on my blogs: Frame 352 and my Oregon blog at the LOWFI site.

I wonder if I could post something at your blog.

I just want to say how much I appreciate the fact your blog is active, has photos, and respects the privacy of witnesses.


Aside from the importance of reporting sightings, etc. the question surrounding the lack of response--and respect--from police and authorities are important, and need to be asked. Ask over and over until things change. At least be a squeaky wheel!

I wanted to let Linda know of my appreciation for her hard work concerning Bigfoot, and I had in mind possibly doing a "guest blogger" kind of thing, possibly about the apathetic and stone walling attitude from police and other authorities.

Linda kindly posted the above on her site, with the following comments:

Thank you for the good words....Regan, I , however, can not list paranormal sites. My Christian beliefs prevent me from delving into that subject. I do not believe Bigfoot is in anyway paranormal. I believe he is flesh and blood and placed in the animal kingdom for a purpose. I respect your right to believe as you wish and I ask that you respect mine. Thank you for participating on this blog and I look forward to hearing more from you

.

I absolutely respect her views and agree to disagree. I have a question for Linda and other researchers as well, who don't think there's anything paranormal about Bigfoot: what do you do with those reports?

If, say, the teacher that saw a Bigfoot cross the Oregon coastal highway added some sort of high strangeness element, well, what then? Ignore it, delete it, reject the report altogether, edit the report? I believe these are valid questions for any Bigfoot researcher.

In fact, I know Christians who don't believe as Linda does; for example, Stan Johnson, a Christian, had a life time of high strangeness or paranormal Bigfoot encounters.

Despite the differences in philosophy, Linda's blog is enjoyable and active, and she respects witness confidentiality.

More About Beeping

This originally appeared in my Orange Orb column for UFO Magazine. Related is my article Beeping Bigfoot on UFO Digest Somewhat related are the recent posts on Strange Planet, and Damn Data, which inspired me to comment on my blog Mothman Fluttereings about mechanical voices.

Beeping in Varied Encounters

In April I wrote a piece for UFO Digest called Beeping Creatures. In that article, I discussed the beeping, electronic and other strange, often mechanical sounds associated with some Bigfoot and other anomalous creature encounters. These sounds also occur in meetings with aliens and entities and UFOs.

Sometimes these sounds seem to come from the creature (Bigfoot) or the alien. Other times, these sounds seem to come from within the person, as if the sound is beamed (or “beeped” ) into his or her head. I’ve been awakened many times by a strong beeping sound coming from inside my head. It’s a definite, strong electronic sound. It isn’t coming from any outside source (as in any outside source, like a truck or alarm clock, ) and for some reason, I associate it with the color green. That lime-green “Matrix” type color. (In fact, years ago when I was experiencing a lot of UFO activity, I had a very strange experience. I awoke abruptly from a deep sleep to find that a computer type screen was being projected right before my eyes; it was all I could see. nothing but rows and columns of green numbers rapidly scrolling on a black screen. This made me very uncomfortable, but the screen stayed there, whether I closed my eyes or not. Lots of strange things happened in that house concerning UFOs and paranormal activity.)

As I wrote in Beeping Creatures, in relation to UFOs, this beeping sound is sometimes heard in connection with UFOs. Bonnie Meyer, in her book Alien Contact: The Messages They Bring, writes, in a section titled “Scanning”:

”If you are hearing a lot of beeping sounds, it is probably a small scanning instrument. This scanning is kind of like a mind probe. I doubt you could tell the difference where or who it’s coming from.”

The beeping sound was heard by Barney and Betty Hill during their experience. This experience has been related many times, including most recently in Stanton Friedman’s and Kathleen Marden’s (Betty HIll’s niece) book Captured! where the beeping was described as:

. . . “code like,” with several beeps, a pause, then more beeps. Were the beeps some kind of alien Morse code?

UFO researcher Raymond E. Fowler, who’s also an “experiencer” (we must come up with a better word for that!) himself , has experienced this beeping sound while asleep:

January 27, 1995: I awoke twice to a electronic beeping sound. the second time I thought it was my watch alarm sounding and actually reached to shut if off before the beeping stopped. My right nostril is still sore.”

This experience was repeated:

I woke up again to a electronic beeping sound and again reached for my watch alarm, but it was not the watch. My right nostril is still sore. ~ ”Synchrofile: Amazing Personal Encounters with Synchronicity and Other ~ Page 188

In UFO Mysteries: A Reporter Seeks the Truth, author Curt Sutherly recounts the story of UFO witness Harold Butcher . In 1965 Butcher, was working on his parents farm in New York state. Butcher noticed that the animals were panicking over something, at the same time, the milking machine Butcher was working abruptly stopped:

”Looking out a window, Harold saw a large elliptical object land about a quarter-mile away. The object emitted a smell of burned gasoline and a red vapor clouded its rim. A strange beeping sound was heard. the object departed by ascending straight up into the clouds.

I was surprised at the number of responses that I received about the article. Many people e-mailed me to tell me they’ve heard these same sounds, either from outside but in the context of a UFO or Bigfoot sighting, or from within their heads, again, concerning UFO and/or paranormal activity.

One person said the article was “the most startling article” he’s read in years, because he’s experienced the same beeping sound, along with other sounds, in connection with alien “intruders” as he put it.

Another person said he spent a lot of time going back and forth between Southern California and Mexico, where he spent a lot of time on the beaches. He and several friends witnessed UFOs on more than one occasion in the desert. He and a group of about four friends heard a strange beeping sound one afternoon on the beach. They felt as if they were moving in slow motion, and couldn’t explain the frightened feeling they had. Throughout this experience, they felt as if they were in a trance; aware of their surroundings but unable to move. This is common in UFO and other paranormal encounters.

Greg Taylor, who runs The Daily Grail website, sent me an e-mail along with his article Her Sweet Murmur: Exploring the Aural Phenomenology of Border Experiences.

Taylor outlines several seemingly diverse paranormal events that share one thing in common: beeping and other sounds. Upon seeing a UFO, Marian “apparitions,” experiencing an OOBE, and so on, many individuals hear beeping, singing, roaring, clanging, bells, . . .(all of which I’ve experienced, particularly with OOBEs.) Furthermore, these experiences are often validated by others, which confirms these unusual encounters with sounds as being a true paranormal or UFOlogical event, and not just someone’s imagination. Taylor theorizes that this fact points to the likelihood these varied phenomena, while very different, come from the same source. (An idea that many other researchers share.)

The article received the most e-mails and comments of any article I’ve written. Obviously this type of encounter, in spite of its high strangeness factor, has been experienced by a lot more people than we might have assumed.

Sources:
Synchrofile: Amazing Personal Encounters with Synchronicity,Raymond Fowler.
Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience: The True Story of the World's First Documented Alien Abduction Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden.

Alien Contact: The Messages They Bring, Bonnie Meyer
UFO Mysteries: A Reporter Seeks the Truth: Curt Sutherly

The Daily Grail
http://www.dailygrail.com

"Conversations With Bigfoot"

New site: Bigfoot Hub, has a link to Dr. Gordon Langley's 1975 Conversations With Bigfoot. (Thanks to Blogsquatcher for the link.) Bigfoot is from space, it seems:

IVES: What happened? Who are you?
BF: My name is Shadarue. It indicates that I am of the moon families and it signifies the pale green color in the moon’s ring.
IVES: What happened? 5
BF: We cannot speak where vision is sufficient. I’m sorry.
IVES: I’ll go for help. My car is back on the skid road, I’ll get a doctor, it won’t…
BF: No.
IVES: It won’t take long. Doctors can do amazing things.
BF: Death is more amazing.
IVES: You don’t understand – they can save you. It is serious but they can save you. But I must go now.
BF: No. Stay to ease my spirit forth.

My favorite quote from this story is what the following explanation of Bigfoot/Shaarue's, who is explaining what they can, and cannot (or will not) do:

"We do not pull rabbits from a hat. But we can become rabbits."

Love it.

Linda Newton-Perry's Bigfoot Ballyhoo Blog

(You can also find this post over at my Western Oregon blog on the L.O.W.F.I. site.)

A Bigfoot blog that I've recently become aware of is Linda Newton-Perry's Bigfoot Ballyhoo. A lot of activity there, the latest concerning news of Bigfoot sightings in the coastal areas of Waldport, Siletz, etc. Exciting for me personally (I live vorcariously) since I often travel through those areas, in fact I hope to relocate there soon.

Newton-Perry is an author who writes a couple of Bigfoot related columns for local newspapers, and has written a few children's books about Bigfoot.


About the above sightings in that area; aside from the Bigfoot sighting reports themselves, is the discussion about the treatment of reports and witnesses from the local police, which is very negative, even heavy handed. I find that interesting; why are the police (and other authorities in the area) so reluctant to accept such reports, and why are they going so far as to be rude, almost libelous, in their treatment of witnesses?

Was Flix a Hoax?

A visitor to my Oregon blog on the L.O.W.F.I. site left the following comment concerning my post on Flix, the creature in Conser Lake, Oregon:

Just browsing that bit from the book and noticed a number of errors, among them “Devers-Conner, about 30 miles south of Millersburg”. The name of the area is Dever-Conner and Conser Lake is only about 5 miles NW down the Willamette River from Millersburg.

…I don’t want to kill the buzz, but I can say I’m an Albany native and my family’s been here for a few generations now. My great aunt and uncle have both told me that the Westby boys were “trouble makers” and recalls them bragging about having fooled a number of people who provided original accounts of Flix. This is non-existant. Nobody in the area knows or cares about the legend. Reports of the creature fall within a relatively short period and have not occurred since, which could relate to the relocating of locals, their involvement, and their word of mouth in the hostel-size community.

Flix was cool to believe in when we were kids and growing up a few miles as a crow flies from Conser Lake (and a few blocks from the Conser family), but the legend is truly garbage. I wouldn’t promote it any further or set any store in what you read concerning it. Fooled!

I have several emails and letters from people who lived in the area at the time of Flix's visit. Two people are adamant that it was a hoax, but offer no proof, not even evidence, only their opinion. Others have had their own Bigfoot sightings (of a non-Flix and more mundane nature) or share their memories of the event as an exciting and weird mystery.

However, as I replied to Spencer, the person who left the following comment,on one level, with stories like this it's not important if the story is "true," a statement that might be misunderstood. I'll try to explain myself further at some other time but I'm taking a break from getting ready for work this morning. I couldn't resist posting this for now however. So this is what I replied to Spencer, and if the Flix story was a hoax by the Westby brothers, I sure would love to hear more about that! As I mentioned to Spencer and I've mentioned elsewhere, if Flix was just some teens in a big heavy hairy suit, they were more than stupid for risking their lives since people were coming in from all over to shoot at the "monster."

Spencer: thanks. The quotes are as if from other sources…

As to the story itself: for a Fortean, it’s moot if there literally was a Flix or not in Millersburg. There are so many weird little elements and synchronicities, behaviors, responses and events that echo the story of Flix that’s part of the intrigue of the story.

You’re correct that “Reports of the creature fall within a relatively short period and have not occurred since,” which often happens with stories like this. A strange creature pops up, hangs around for a while, then leaves. It entirely possible Flix was a hoax by the “troublemakers” — although, why they would risk their lives by getting shot at is a question.

I’ve heard from several people who lived in the area at the time and they are still, after all these years, interested, so I wouldn’t say “nobody cares” but no doubt many are convinced it’s all a hoax and have moved on.

Either way, the story, as a story and part of the Bigfoot/Big Hairy Monster lore, remains.

Bigfoot in West Virginia

UFOs, et al has an enjoyable and interesting article on Bigfoot in West Virginia: Bigfoot Migration Route Goes Through West Virginia?, which details the experiences of musician Kris Allen (Marshall Tucker Band, Southern Thunder) who's seen Bigfoot several times, and is working on a documentary about the creature.

The accounts are full of interesting details, including the reaction of Allen's two dogs when in the vicinity of a Sasquatch. Animal responses to the weird are a good indicator that something isn't right; whether it's UFOs, ghosts, or strange creatures like Bigfoot, dogs, cats, cattle, birds, etc. react atypically during these events.

West Virginia is Mothman country too, by the way. Just a reminder :)

Mythical White Stag Photographed

With lovely photos.

Stanislav Szukalski

Artist and author Stanislav Szulalski believed that humans breed with Yeti. Here's an excerpt from the Paranormality site:

Zermatism : is a form of pseudoscience which was intended to show that all languages came originally from a single ancient language and that all art could be distilled down to a single series of universal symbols. The theory was conceived by a man called Stanislav Szukalski who was born in Gidle in Poland around 1893 and died in 1987. "According to his theory, differences in races and cultures were due primarily to inter-species breeding between near-perfect ancestral beings and the Yetinsyn (humanoid creatures reputed to live in remote Himalayan valleys which some people call Abominable Snowmen".

Szulalski was an awarded artist with certainly interesting ideas. His art was well known in his native Poland; sadly, he had to leave when the Nazi's invaded Poland; here's more from the Mad Professor site:

Shortly after the Nazis bombed his museum out of existence, Szukalski came to the United States, where he toiled away in obscurity, living in a small apartment in Glendale, California, until he died at the age of 93.

More from Mad Professor on Szukalski's beliefs on human/Yeti relations:

He was chiefly occupied with his self-made science of "Zermatism," a grand theory that explained the origins of humans and culture. He drew over 40,000 illustrations to accompany his research. One of the most interesting things about Zermatism was Szukalski's dead-serious belief that Yetis had at once time mated with human beings, producing two races -- pure and superior humans, and inferior, troublemaking Yeti-human hybrids. The two races have been at war with each other, culturally and politically, for thousands of years.

Mad Professor has a lot more on Szukalski, including images.

Szukalski is a new discovery for me, and I'm looking forward to exploring more about him. Truly fascinating.

Bigfoot Thread Warning

As I've posted here many times, the James Randi message forum has dozens of separate threads on Bigfoot. At last count I think it was around forty. That's forty individual threads devoted to a creature they "know" doesn't exist. Adding to the surreal nature of this fact is a recent warning on the JREF site admonishing those who enter to behave or they'll be suspended. Apparently all these threads have driven the mods mad and due to " the numerous, egregious, and repeated breaches of the Membership Agreement that this topic seems to generate" the warning has been issued.

Discussion needs to be "friendly and lively" when dealing with "the creature called Bigfoot." So behave!

Bigfoot researchers Melissa Hovey and Monica Rawlins, in an interview from February of this year.

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Read about the McMinnville UFO gossip and more!

Felton, California: Bigfoot Discovery Day

Bigfoot Discovery Day! in Felton, California (Santa Cruz mountains) October 17th. Wish I could be there . . .

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Was there a "third, and "lost" Trent (McMinnville, OR) photo?"

Rabid From the Ukraine to Maine

A couple of strange items found on Rense.com... one about a rabid wolf attacking people on the “premises of the Chernobyl atomic power plant” in the Ukraine. Altogether, six people have been attacked by the rabid wolf.

My love for the wolf naturally drew me to this story, as well as the general Fortean weirdness of both this story and the strange events surrounding Chernobyl in general. (Visit the Village of Joy blog for a series of disturbing and vivid photographs of the aftermath of Chernobyl.) In a somewhat related tangent, I just found out the other day my great-grandfather's first name was Wolf. He, and my grandfather, were born in the Ukraine.

A wolf isn’t the only rabid creature in the area; it seems a rabid cat attacked several people in “one of the townships in Crimea” -- the cat has been killed.

Domestic cats are turning up rabid in Maine, with 42 rabid cats this year so far, according to an item posted on Rense.com.

(also see my post Killing the Wolf on Oregon L.O.W.F.I.

Loren Coleman: New Home for Crypto Museum

After years of hard work it's finally paid off; new home for the crypto museum. Read all about it on Loren's blog Cryptomundo.

On Blogsquatcher: "Recent Posts"

On the Blogsquatcher blog, a post about "recent posts" on other Bigfoot blogs, with kudos to researcher Autumn Wiiliams and Linda Martin. I very much like what Autumn has to say about Bigfoot research:

Those of you who know me well know that the only strong stance I take related to the nature of bigfoot is that I REFUSE to take a strong stance on WHAT bigfoot is or is not. I have some suspicions, but that’s all they are. Suspicions. Something akin to conclusions that have been tentatively reached in order to form hypotheses and direct my field research. If they don’t work, I immediately head back to the drawing board, rather than sticking to hypotheses that don’t serve me well.

I know Blogsquatcher quotes that as well, highlighting her comments, but it's so worthwhile, I had to repeat it here. I'd also paraphrase Autumn's sentiments here regarding BF research to say the same about the UFO phenomena, but that's another story! Unless of course, it's a Bigfoot-UFO encounter, then . . . :)

A great quote from Lesley Gunter (The Debris Field, Gray Matters, etc.):

Owls always get blamed for fortean/alien stuff, they are the weather balloons of the paranormal creature world.

Owls; the weather balloons of the paranormal!

New BF Thread on JREF, and It's a Good One!

Now this is the stuff we're talking about here at Frame 352. Bigfoot roaming around military bases, and so much more.

New thread on the James Randi message boards, (making this, oh hell, I've given up counting long ago, 40 different threads maybe, on the same topic: Bigfoot.)

OORAH! Bigfoot and Marine Corps Base Qauntico in Virginia.

So very cool.

Chris Holly: "Creatures!"

Chris Holly very kindly gave me persmission to repost her article here. You can also read her article on my blog Women Of Esoterica, and >UFO Digest.

CREATURES!

I can remember when I was a child listening to stories about sightings of Big Foot being seen all over the world. I read reports almost daily about people seeing large unknown biped creatures. Many fit in with the hairy human type creature we all now think of as Sasquatch, or Big Foot. I think with the long-standing history of reports concerning this creature that there is without question some truth to all of these sightings.

I have read many articles about huge cats seen where huge cats do not belong. Many have told me that they have seen animals that do not fit in or are natural to the surroundings they are seen. I wonder at times how this is happening or if these creatures are being transported by some source or time slip to be sighted in places they do not belong?

My interest has been drawn to those who have had encounters with creatures that do not fit in with any living creation we know on this earth. I find some reports to be what I consider another level of visitation that we just now are starting to understand. Could we have doorways from other dimensions or times on this planet that allows for visitors from places other then this universe. Could we also have visiting beings from other layers of time or dimension dropping by and then simply vanishing back to where they have come?

I hear reports from Mexico about flying human shaped beings. I have read many reports from those who tell us that aliens have crossed their path. Look at the recent article about a man and his son in Northport Florida who have reported aliens visiting their home at night. I read the mans experience and watched his video report and wonder if what he witnessed fit in more with unknown creatures rather then aliens from space?


He reported a reptile hoofed flying creature with glowing eyes that made me think of moth man reptile being reports I have heard over the years.



I recently had a friend tell me that he was part of an odd encounter that occurred when he was a child. He told me about an upright two-legged animal with clawed type hoof feet that tried to bang through a door at a cabin in the wilderness of the Midwest where he was staying with family members one winter. He told me that the people inside the cabin kept the door barricaded until the morning light. The thing on the other side of the door spent hours trying to pound its way through the door. When they opened the door the next morning to investigate they found a badly clawed door and strange foot prints in the snow that were made by a two-legged animal. The tracks walked around the cabin, on the roof of the cabin and then off into the woods. The stride was long and deep indicating a heavy tall creature. The men in the cabin were hunters and not one of them ever saw tracks or footprints like those left by their night visitor. The family never knew what it was that tried to entire their cabin that night.


When I was a teenager on Long Island New York I experienced along with my entire family and a group of friends a unknown creature that spent one night tormenting us. This creature had gotten into our home while my family was not home and waited for us to return. When it was discovered something was in the house with us we quickly ran outside. The creature stayed in the house taunting us with turning the lights on and off, pounding on the walls and howling in heart stopping screams of anger. It wanted to trap us in the house and went wild when we would not cooperate.


The police were called to search the area. They found a rope he was hoping to use, clawed walls and a putrid smell left behind. A few weeks later this horrible creature returned to my neighborhood again to try and grab a family. He ripped a large window out of a nearby house wood casing and all trying to grab a 17-year-old girl watching TV in her family room. Her mother chased the creature off with a shotgun. The ordeal was terrifying for all involved. The creature was never found. What this thing was or where it came from remains a mystery to this day.


I had dinner recently with old friends whom I had gone to college with years ago. Both the husband and wife had careers working in agencies that involved security for the United States. Both were well trained to deal with dangerous situations. The woman was retired but the husband was still working. As part of his job this man carried a weapon.


They told me about a experience that they had a few years ago while on vacation. They were spending a week on the end of Long Island near Montauk Point. One afternoon they decided to drive around the less populated wooded areas that cover the end of Long Island. They had packed a lunch and were driving along a deserted road looking for a place to set up lunch in the back of their truck. They found a lovely area along the side of the country road. The wife jumped into the bed of the truck to set up their little chairs and table so they could begin their lunch. The husband decided to look along the side of the wooded road to see if he could locate a secondary dirt road he was told about that was suppose to be the entrance to a civil war building he was hoping to see. The wife was in the back of the truck busy with her cooler while the husband walked close to the side of the road along the woods.



The wife and husband both heard it at the same time. It was a strange clucking animal sound. It was loud, close by and unlike anything they had ever heard before. Both of them immediately froze in response to this odd out of place sound. The woman stood up to view where her husband was standing. He stood motionless. They both stood silently listening. They listened only a few seconds when they heard it. Foot steps adjacent to where her husband was walking. They were heavy breaking sticks and crushing leaves. Both this man and his wife were trained to know the difference between the normal sounds of the forest and its animal life and that of sounds not normal to the area. These steps were of something more human like and structured. Not the fluttering random steps of an animal. They were methodical and keeping pace with the man. She watched as her husband stood perfectly still. He slowly turned around and looked at his wife. She knew at once they were in trouble.



The woman dropped the lunch on the floor of the truck, jumped over the side and quickly got into the truck and started it. She placed her foot to the floor fish tailing down the road as quickly as she could get that truck to travel. She flew up next to her husband who now stood feet planted in a squat position with his gun drawn facing the woods. She slammed on the brakes and screamed at him to get in. The second he jumped into the truck she took off flying down the road wanting as much distance between them and whatever was in those woods.



When her husband opened the door of the truck to jump in she was able to glance towards the side of the road where he had his weapon aimed. There in the woods she saw two red glowing eyes looking towards them from the woods. They were about 7 feet in the air making what ever was looking at them at least 7 to 8 feet high.


As they were racing down the road away from the thing in the woods her husband shaking and still holding his weapon could only stutter “Did you see it? It was not human.”



The husband told his wife he knew something large and intelligent was following him along side the road in the woods. It would stop when he did and back off from sight when the man tried to get a look at it. He told his wife it was huge at least 8 feet tall with an outline that appeared wide and square in form. He told his wife it had red colored eyes that had a glow that would turn on and off in the dark woods. The man was shaken and convinced it was not of this world.



The couple returned to the hotel they were staying and packed up and left the area. They thought about reporting the event to the local police but decided to handle it differently and more effectively by way of connections they had made over their careers. They told me that they were able to have a search of that area done with trained professionals and dogs but came away without anything that could explain what they had seen that day.


I have no reason not to believe my friends. I do know them to be special people who have devoted their lives to the safety of my country and without question not the type to tell a story like this unless it happened. They do not want anything other then to get this story out to others and to tell people to be careful where they go and to make sure they are prepared for the unknown in such settings.


Having encountered a creature I could not explain in my lifetime I can only come to the conclusion that creatures do wander our planet that are unknown and not human. I think that the case in Northport Florida needs to be watched along with other stories that people tell about these creature type beings that seem to visit at their whim and then disappear into the night, or woods or for that matter your back yard!
Chris Holly very kindly gave permission to repost her article here. You can also view it atUFO Digest and my blog Women Of Esoterica.


I am not sure what these creatures are that so many people encounter. They could be aliens however they could also be beings from another dimension or time. I am not sure why we encounter these creatures I just know too many report these unknown beings for them to not be something we need to investigate along with all the other unknowns of the paranormal world. I do know once you do encounter a being that is not from your time dimension or world – you never forget it!


I wonder how many others out there have had encounters with creatures they cannot identify. One day we may have answers to all these strange events. For now I can only warn you all to always pay attention to your surroundings and please – be careful out there!


♥ Copyright © 2008- 2009 Chris Holly all Rights Reserved
Chris Holly’s Paranormal World- http://endlessjrny.blogspot.com/
Email chrishollyufo@yahoo.com

Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology: Bigfoot, Beyond Our Borders

Great article from Scott Corrales on Bigfoot in other countries: Bigfoot Beyond Our Borders. Very informative and highly interesting. Hat tip to Professor Hex for the link.

Monster Quest and Exotic Pets

This week's MQ was about big cats in the North Eastern part of New York. Sightings of large black cats, attacks . . . and good evidence they're around, from the claw marks in tree bark, prints, etc. Theory is that the cats seen are black leopards, escaped from, or let go, by their owners.

The most disturbing thing about the program is the fact that people insist on keeping tigers, leopard and other big cats as "pets" -- MQ even showed a man who kept cougars and sold baby cougars as pets! Aside from animal rescue places, animal reserves, and a Sigfrid and Roy kind of thing, no one should, no one needs to, have big cats as pets.

Many owners have been attacked by their "pet" tiger, lion, etc. This is a surprise? You try being kept in a cage for years and see what happens. It is literally criminal that it is legal to keep exotic animals as "pets."

I realize MQ isn't in the business of being political; it's entertainment. And it's implied in various MQ episodes that keeping wild animals as pets is dangerous, stupid, and to a lesser degree in their implication, cruel. But I would like to see more of a definitive statement towards support of legislation that outlaws keeping exotic animals as pets.

UPS Man Brought Me . . .

The Life and Times of a Legend: Bigfoot, by Joshua Blu Buhs. I'm looking forward to reading this one, I've only just skimmed it but looks good, and seems to be from a folklore-sociological perspective than either "belief" or outright debunkery, but we'll see.

1993 Pizza Hut Commercial

"The Beast . . . " : Cheap Thrills on Monster Quest

I enjoy watching Monster Quest, but two things disturb me about the show: the exploitative nature of the program, and the caviler attitude towards animals by producers and many of the guests. Sometimes watching the program I get the feeling I'm at a cheesy carnival or a scene from Freaks, being urged to come inside and see the gruesome chicken woman.

I'm surprised at the lack of compassion and respect towards animals often shown by Monster Quest producers, and by extension, many of the "researchers" who appear on the program.This was very clear in the Hogzilla episode, also the feral dog episode. The other night Monster Quest aired "Killer Chimps" -- another episode that seemed more focused on delighting in horrific attacks on humans by chimps kept as "pets," rather than the insanity and utter idiocy of keeping chimpas as pets in the first place. I realize it's clearly stated that keeping chimps as pets - or any wild, "exotic" animal -- is ridiculously stupid by MQ showing the effects of these attacks, nonetheless, the emphasis seemed to be on the garish and exploitative.

Chimps, who obviously should never be kept as pets, become extremely dangerous when they reach sexual maturity when kept in captivity and not bred with other chimps . One chimp easily has the strength of five men; their attacks are horrific and often fatal. I have nothing but sympathy for the human victims of such violent attacks.

But the chimps who attacked were not "beasts" as referred to in the episode, or even the lurid "Killer Chimps" -- though the program presented cases where, sadly, humans were killed by chimps. However,the anthropomorphization of the chimpanzee as some sort of science-fiction/horror monster, practically giving it supernatural powers of evil intent, is lazy and dishonest and simple cheap exploitation.

Another episode that bothered me was the fish episode wtih the two yee-haws gratuitously handling fish and laughing at their discomfort for no other reason than they could.

I realize it's all entertainment, whether it's Paranormal State, Ghostbusters, UFO Hunters or any show at all. If it airs on television, the bottom line is money. Within that context however Monster Quest has an opportunity to go in a certain direction; they've decided that putting the emphasis on the gross, vulgar and titillating is easier and more appealing than at least a semi-serious quest for so-called monsters. Instead of focusing on the lurid, and putting a "when animals go mad" veneer on things, the program could focus more on the quest and less on the competitive "man vs. beast" angle.It's too bad Monster Quest sometimes chooses to go down this road of sensationalizing animals and making them objects for garish entertainment.

"Hogzilla" Monster Quest clip



Clip from Todd Browning's 1932 film Freaks, with alternate endings. . .




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A Flying Bigfoot in the Blue Mountains

(Thanks to Lesley at The Debris Fieldfor the link.) On the Bigfoot Sightings blog, Linda has a great post about "Flying Bigfoot" in the beautiful Blue Mountain range in the Pacific Northwest. (the Blue Mountain range is in the north east part of Oregon, extending into the south eastern part of Washington state.) Linda reports that witness "David N." saw a Bigfoot -- flying! Visit Linda's site for more, including a link to the Blue Mountain Trackers Bigfoot Research Update site.

image source here.

Cool Beans: Links to Moi on the JREF

A Trickster's Realm column I wrote awhile back on the JREF threads on Bigfoot, as well as this blog, got the notice of one of the more snarly skeptics over there.

On Blogsquatcher: "Bigfoot Intelligence in a report from Alabama"

Very interesting report from Blogsquatcher, who discusses information he's received on an encounter with Bigfoot in Alabama. I liked this description of the startled reaction when the witness saw the BF:

I had looked in every dang tree around the place. It spooked the heck out of me when he seemed to appear from nowhere. It was like he had been let down from the sky on a rope.

I don't think he was suggesting BF did come from space, just that it seemed so. . .(although, if not from outer space, another dimension, as some speculate? But I'm digressing...)

It does get a bit weirder however. If you want to know more, visit Blogsquatcher to find out!

"She Speaks Yeti??!!"

Watched The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor on cable tonight; I wasn't disappointed, because I expected it to be what it was. Just a fun silly escapist movie, not as good as the first one, though Michelle Yeoh was, as always, just wonderful to watch. When the characters trekked to the Himalayas I joked that they'd soon run into a Yeti. After our heroes find themselves in a lot of trouble in the Himalayas, the Yeti -- a few of them - come to their aid, having been summoned by the daughter of the Michele Yeoh character. Amazed at the arrival of the super sized, warrior Yeti, one character says of the daughter: "She speaks Yeti???!!!!" In this movie, the Yeti were on the side of good, helping to defeat evil. Yeah for the Yeti!



image source

Lisa Shiel, bigfoot researcher and author of Backyard Bigfoot, has a good post at the UFO Magazine blog: Water Gods: UFOs, Bigfoot, Fairies.

Bigfoot is paranormal, like it or not. So are fairies, UFOs, and the Loch Ness Monster. Does this mean they don't exist, or that they have no physical form? Of course not.

Something connects all these paranormal phenomena. Today I'd like to talk about one particular commonality between those phenomena—an affinity to water.

Read on for more at the UFO Magazine site. Also be sure to read Bruce Duensing's comments. Really, it makes sense!

Blog Find: Oregon Bigfoot, Gable Film Update

I don't think I knew there was an Oregon Bigfoot blog, how could I have missed that? Quickly realizing after checking out her site that, duh, it's Autumn Williams, Oregon bigfoot researcher... who runs Bigfoot.com. But here it is, with an update on the Gable film. Hat tip to Blogsquatcher for the link.

Revisit with the Lake Worth Monster

Link on the Professor Hex blog: Couple Say They Saw Lake Worth Monster Forty Years ago.

Link on Professor Hex takes you to the article, with the famous photograph of a ridiculously bulky white Bigfoot like type being.

Like other BHMs (Big Hairy Monsters) stories, it appeared from nowhere, did its thing, then left.

The Lake Worth Monster — aka Goat-Man — hasn’t been seen regularly at the Fort Worth Nature Center since a very memorable summer 40 years ago when all of Texas seemed to buzz with the news that a hairy, scaly 7-foot man-goat-beast was terrorizing the good citizens of Tarrant County.

"Every so often, it will come up in conversation," said Suzanne Tuttle, manager of the Nature Center. "Somebody will say, 'I remember when that happened.’ "

Here's a very interesting comment about Sallie Ann Clarke, who wrote a self-published book about the monster titled The Lake Worth Monster of Greer Island. The book was a "quick-draw and slightly tongue-in-cheek book" about the creature. Clarke has had many strokes and can't speak, her memory isn't good, but her husband says this, of her book:
C

Clarke has always regretted the way she wrote her book, he said, because after she published it, she saw the monster on three occasions.

Twenty years ago Salli Clarke said this:

"If I’d seen it before I wrote the book, the book would have been quite a lot different," she told the Star-Telegram in 1989. "It wouldn’t have been semi-fiction. It would have been like a history."

The article goes on to say that many have come forward with stories of their being involved in hoaxing, or playing pranks on people at the time. I get the feeling these happened after the fact; in other words, something anomalous was going on, and others had their fun at its expense.







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Redfern on Radio Tonight

Nick Redfern will be a guest Acceleration Radio, with Bruce Collins, discussig his book There's Something in the Woods and British Bigfoot.5PM to 7PM Pacific Time.


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The "Eel Siren" of Maine

Fascinating entry on Bigfoot researcher Linda Martin's Bigfoot Sightings blog:
Maine: Report of a humanoid that may be reptilian. A woman that Linda has been in contact with shares her life long encounters with a reptilian she also refers to as an "eel siren." This isn't, as Linda comments, a Bigfoot report, but I agree with her response to this story: sometimes some stories are so intriguing that aren't Bigfoot reports you have to share.

As I commented at her blog, as weird as this story of the "eel siren" is, there are plenty of stories of encounters with reptilians. I know of a couple in Washington state who are obviously living in some kind of anomalous portal zone, where they have heavy UFO activity (and fighter jets following), along with both Bigfoot sightings and reptilian sightings. There's a lot more to that whole situation that I'll probably report on eventually.

Anyway, fascinating story, visit Linda's blog to read all about it.

Book Find: Exploring the Himalaya

Neat find: Exploring the Himalaya by William O. Douglas. I found this book in the discard pile at work. 1958, Landmark, hardcover. Pretty good shape; has the typical school stamps all over it.

Naturally, the first thing I did was to look up Yeti in the index. There isn't a listing for Yeti, but there is for Abominable Snowman.

...the people of Sikkim believe there is such an animal. When I was in Sikkim, I visited with the Maharaja - ...a devout Buddhist. He told me that he believes the abominable snow man exists - that one night at Gangtok he looked out the window and saw one racing across his lawn.

Here's a reference to Yeti, with descriptions:

Many hillmen believe that any abominable snow man will kill them. the hillmen call it the yeti. It is supposed to be of either the bear or ape family - grayish with a pointed head and about four or five feet tall. Tenzing, the famous Sherpa, told me that he believes the yeti exists and that it is an ape.

And of other expeditions:

Britishers have photographed an apelike footrpint with five toes made by some unknown animal in the high snow. ...Japanese expideitons to the Himalya have brought confirmatory evidence that the yeti actually exists.

What that "confimatory evidence" is isn't stated.
There's also a reference to a female being; possibly a yeti or yeti type creature, or something different:

There are also legends about a mysterious snow woman. She is said to have only one leg and she always carries a pipe between her lips. She frequents the high snow fields and whistles at passers-by. Her whistle is thought to entice men ontlt he glaciers, where she devours some and makes love to others.

Still at it: Bigfoot Links on the James Randi Message Board

Well, they're still at it at the JREF message boards; link after link after link after. . . about Bigfoot. I stopped counting long ago, there were so many and a girl has other things to do after all! But I think the count a few months ago, when I stopped keeping track, was close to forty separate threads about Bigfoot. For something they are so damn sure doesn't exist, they sure do go on about it!

So, just finished lurking over there and saw the first three threads in the "general skepticism and paranormal" section are about Bigfoot. The next three aren't, then the seventh one is back to Bigfoot again. Next two aren't, then another BF thread. On the first page alone, with 30 threads, eight are about Bigfoot. I don't think any other subject has generated so many different threads; maybe UFOs and psychics would be the next two categories.

I'll be on Women's Paranormal League Tonight

So try and listen if you can. 5:00 p.m. Pacific time on Blog Talk radio.

Monster Quest on Feral Dogs: Shame on them!

Not about Bigfoot or any other anomalous crypto creature, but dogs. On my animal blog Teme: Irresponsible Monster Quest: Feral Dogs.

Update: Matthew Johnson’s Oregon Cave BF Sighting

In July of 2000, Matthew Johnson saw a Bigfoot in the Oregon Caves National Monument national park. Here's an update, with video interview.




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On Blogsquatcher: All in our minds?

The Blogsquatcher has an interesting post: Giving the "It's all in yer mind" theory some ammo You know how uber skeptics like to say, in complete seriousness, that Bigfoot is simply all in our minds? Blogsquatcher thinks it's ridiculous too, but he takes this idea in a different direction, even while acknowledging he isn't exactly in agreement with it. He is however, willing to explore the idea and put it out there, which I appreciate;too many BF as well as UFO writers don't like to stray too far from their comfort zones.

Blogsquatcher discusses Jung, archtypes; quotes from a Daily Grail review of Benny Shannon's The Anitpodes of the Mind and asks some intriguing questions,and asks if we might share a knowing of "half man half animal" even within our minds. The use of consciousness shifting drugs takes explorers, or psychonauts into these realms, but more specifically, shared imagery regardless of culture.

If Bigfoot is a paranormal creature and not just a big hairy ape, maybe a fairy or damion, as Patrick Harpur (Damonic Reality) or Lisa Shiel (Backyard Bigfoot) suggest, it's possible we can access a place where Bigfoot resides; a place where our minds are able to travel to, aided by substances such as ayahuasca.

I'm not sure what to think of this either, but it is very interesting, and, like the subject of UFOs and encounters with that phenomena while having ingested psychotropic drugs, it isn't all just a case of simple hallucinations and general tripping. Work done by Hancock, McKenna, Lily, Lear, Pinchbeck, tell us that it isn't that simplistic.

Related items:

Feeling a Lack of Control? Bigfoot Can Help

Fairies, Bigfoot, and Hauntings

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Kewaunee Lapseritis on UFONAUT Podcast

Kewaunee Lapseritis, B.A., M.S., MH will be the guest on Jesse Randolph's UFONAUT Radio podcast to discuss psychic Bigfoot. Airs Sunday night at 7:00 pm PST.

Silver Suited Aliens vs. Bigfoot

Update: I added a little oil pastel drawing I did a fear years ago of the silver suited being I saw. . .


Watching Monster Quest last night -- a good episode, about Bigfoot -- and Jim says to me that he'd rather see a Bigfoot than an alien. I agreed. Then he said he has "no doubt extraterrestrials exist -- none" -- and that he "doesn't want to know more, since "we've both probably been abducted anyway." That's the second time he's come out and said that in recent months. Hmmmm...

I think it would be a true gift and an incredible experience to see a Bigfoot. My only hesitation would be one of my qualms about losing credibility; after all, both Jim and I have seen several UFOs, have had episodes of missing time, and a life time of paranormal experiences including ghosts, psychic experiences,astral journeys, hell, we're walking, talking Fortean weirdos. I'd be afraid people would think I was just making it up; that I saw Bigfoot. If I were ever to see one. On the other hand, screw 'em. If I were ever fortunate enough to see a Sasquatch, well, lucky me and then I'd know what I know about that.

As to abductions, while I think something really, really extraordinary happened, I still can't get to the place where I think abductions are a literal event. I've never seen an alien in the waking state, unless, my silver suited alien childhood memory is literally exactly as I remember it. For some reason, I remember it as real, and yet, always place it in some disjointed category of "other" -- not asleep, not awake, not not real, but not . . well, maybe it's just plain old denial. By the way, my column in this issue of UFO Magazine is about silver suited aliens. Nice how I got my plug in, eh?


As to the Patterson-Gimlin film, Jim is 99% sure it's authentic footage of a real Bigfoot, and is almost as sure there is a Bigfoot as he is sure there are aliens. He's leans a tad towards being in favor of aliens. For myself, while I have no doubt at all Bigfoot exists -- for one thing, just what is it all these witnesses are seeing, if not a Sasquatch? -- I am minuscially less sure the P-G film is of a real Bigfoot. I want to believe it's so; I just can't see one way or the other. Some days it looks indubitably like a real creature; swaying breasts, arms, the way it's looking back. Other days it's looks phony; the weird white face showing through and mask like appearance of the fur on the face, the bottoms of the feet.

But, as MQ pointed out last night, the analysis done on the original footage shows that blurring has a lot to do with the way the images come across, as well as the film 's translation to video, etc. No human could fit into a suit like that, the technology that would cause things like fur swaying wasn't invented back in the 1960s, when the film was shot, and, it turns out after analysis the creature was taller than thought, 7ft or more tall. And yet I can't be 100% sure, as much as I want to be.

It doesn't matter however. I believe (yes, I said "believe!") Bigfoot exists. What exactly is Bigfoot, who knows, but if nothing else I can't ignore the countless eye witness reports of people who say, in all sincerity, they've seen a Bigfoot.

The Electric Bigfoot

The Blogsquatcher (a favorite BF blog)reports on the electric feeling and manifestations in some of the high strangeness Bigfoot reports. As weird as it may sound, there are many, separate references to this sensation in different accounts. Fascinating; I love items like this. I really receommend reading the item and following the links over at Blogsquatcher.

"Bigfoot is not an alien"

Zack Kopp asks questions of author Chris Noel on Bigfoot in this articulate and interesting interview:Bigfoot is not an alien: Chris Noel interviewed Thanks to Bobbie Short's Bigfoot Newsletter for the link.



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Yachats, Oregon: Woman Faces Jail Time for Feeding the Bears

In the beautiful, peaceful coastal town of Yachats, a woman is facing jail time for feeding the bears.

Karen Noyes has been feeding bears for years, ever since one showed up as she was providing food to the birds outside her Yachats home.

“It scared me,” she said. “Then I thought ‘why should I feed them and not him?’ ”

Her neighbors and a Lincoln County prosecutor have an answer to the question. They say Noyes’ actions put herself and the community in danger.

“She created a situation where bears weren’t afraid of people anymore,” Deputy District Attorney Elijah Michalowski said. “People were telling her she needed to stop, yet she refused. She not only put herself at risk, she put all her neighbors at risk.”

Noyes, 61, is being tried this week on charges of harassing wildlife and recklessly endangering another person. If convicted, she could be ordered to pay fines and spend time in prison. Before the trial, she told The Oregonian newspaper that she once fed as many as 25 bears on a regular basis, but is now down to six. “They are perfectly safe,” she said. “They are timid and really sweet.”

Bears are a big problem in the coastal area; but it's we who have created that problem. Our actions have set in motion the situations that have forced bears to come closer to humans, our habitats, invade our space. We've been invading theirs, along with destruction of their habitats.

Bears are magnificant, but they're no house pet.

I'm all for the bears, but I'm also for common sense, and like to live a while longer; at any rate, don't want to leave this plane because I was mauled to death by a bear. I'm fearful when I walk about in a lot of areas out there because of the bear population having come closer; literally in everyone's backyards.

It's sad to think that probably, this can only get ugly, but I'll still hold out some hope humans will use both compassion and common sense.


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Keep UFO Hunters on the Air

Lesley posted this on Women Of Esoterica, and I'm passing it along. Please sign the petition and keep UFO Hunters on the air!

Bill has just finished filming for Season 3 and I don't know if there will be a Season 4. Maybe you -- plus some pals -- can write to the network and let them know you would like to see more episodes:

http://www.history.com/global/feedback/contact.jsp?site=HistoryChannel.com&NetwCode=THC

or you can sign a petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/uf0hunt/petition.html

Either way, it can't hurt, and it just might help!

Keeping hope alive!

Thanks!

nb

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Groovy Book Find from Micah Hanks

Micah Hanks at The Gralien posts about his book find:The Long Walk, by Slavomir Rawicz and a chapter on the Yeti:

I recognized the book instantly, having heard about it before in various cryptozoological circles. Interestingly, one of the final chapters of the book is called “Strange Creatures”, and deals with a sighting of two Yeti during the men’s trek across the Himilayas. Having initially spotted them from a distance, Rawicz and his company had believed these might be bears or some other animals they might use for food. However, upon nearing their potential prey, they began to realize these weren’t any creatures they had ever seen before. Rawicz’s account of the strange sighting reads as follows:

To find out, read Micah's blog!


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Ray Wallace, Mark Chorvinsky: A Look Back

More than ten years ago or so, when I was in the folklore graduate program at the University of Oregon, I made copies of any references to Bigfoot that I came across in the archives. I just found in my files notes about a field work project done by a student in the 1970s where Ray Wallace (April 21, 1918 − November 26, 2002) is mentioned. I have the original paper somewhere, but can't seem to find it; when I do, I'll post more about this.

Wallace of course was the man who "killed Bigfoot" -- upon Wallace's death,it was revealed he faked giant BF footprints and family members ran around in BF costumes. This, according to much of media and the uber-skeptic, "proved" that there was no such thing as Bigfoot; it was all just Ray Wallace, having a huge joke on the rest of us. But according to some accounts, Wallace had researched Bigfoot quite a bit in his day. He collected tales of Bigfoot from many sources, including many Native American Bigfoot tales. There is a reference in a student folklore field research paper to an informant named Kenny Spencer of Toledo, Oregon, who:

read in his forestry book at Pacific Lutheran University that Tom Slick (oil millionaire and Bigfoot researcher) and Ray Wallace were classed as authorities on Bigfoot as they have done more research on Bigfoot than anyone in the world. (Layton)

According to this report, Wallace:

bought a diary from an old miner’s grandson in Eureka, California (Joe Ellison) that tells about three, giant-sized, hairy people that used to attack Indians and the miners in 1849. (Layton)

Wallace was clearly aware of Bigfoot tales, and was interested enough to collect them. It seems that at that time and in that area, at least, Wallace had a reputation for knowing about Bigfoot, enough to get him mentioned as someone who has done “more research on Bigfoot than anyone in the world.”

Linda Layton’s student report contains several short tales told by Wallace about Bigfoot sightings, encounters and captures.

Wallace's contributions to Bigfoot research were ignored by almost all in the field, according to the late Fortean writer and Strange magazine publisher Mark Chorvinsky, who passed away in 2005. In a 1994 article for Strange, Chorvinsky wonders why this was, and asks if the photo (shown here) was of a real Bigfoot, or a "guy in a suit." Wallace had sent the photo to Strange editor Mark Opsasnick; Wallace would not reveal the name of the person who took the photograph:

Here is a picture of a female Big Foot... I bought it, the negative, from a photographer who was up near Mt. St. Helens in March taking pictures when he saw this giant sized female sitting on a log asleep as she was so heavy with a baby inside of her that she could not move very fast, he said she would have [been] easy to capture while sleeping on this log on an old abandon[ed] loading site where they loaded out logs several years ago. He said she was just sitting out in the warm sun and went to sleep."

As to Wallace's contributions to Bigfoot research, Chorvinsky cites Opsasnick:

Bigfoot expert Mark Opsasnick, author of The Bigfoot Digest, opines that, "If one does objective research into the origin of Bigfoot, it is obvious that the role Wallace played in the creation and development of Bigfoot cannot be ignored. He was there when the term 'Bigfoot' originated in 1958 as an important player in the case surrounding Jerry Crew, and Roger Patterson consulted with him repeatedly. This is a fact ignored by the contemporary Bigfoot investigators." Opsasnick concludes that, "It is quite conceivable that if there had been no Ray Wallace, there would be no Bigfoot as we know it today.

Sources: Layton, Linda: July 18, 1971, Randall Mills Folklore Archives, University of Oregon

Mark Chorvinsky,New Bigfoot Photo Investigation, Strange Magazine, 1994

Oregon "batsquatch" update

A bit of an update on the Oregon "batsquatch" on my blog Mothman Flutterings: Demons, lambs, and batsquatch in Oregon

Demons in My Neighborhood: Beware the Batsquatch

On the heels of a strange night of UFO related stuff, I woke up to find an interesting e-mail in my account. It was from someone who lives in my area (Lane County, Oregon) and who has a friend about ten miles from my home, out Lorane Highway, who thinks he saw a Batsquatch at 1:00 a.m. on his property. I receive e-mails from people all the time, but this time I just had an odd feeling; suspicious, yes, but admittedly intrigued. For awhile. As you'll see, by the evening, after an exchange of a few e-mails, I decided to have nothing to do with any of this.

Here's the first e-mail, the one that appeared in my mailbox. The only thing changed is the exclusion of the name of the sender:

I trust the person that saw it. It was near Eugene, off of the Lorain Highway, about five miles from town.

Can it be baited with a lamb? I'm thinking of putting shark hooks with 3/32" braided steel leader in the lamb's fur along the back. I want to tether the lamb near the edge of a field near the woods. I am concerned about coyotes getting the lamb first.

Do you know anyone game for this? Do you know anyone with a night vision scope? I know this sounds a bit crazy, but I'm willing to try. I want to work quickly while it may still be in the area.

The "thing" was about 15 ft. from the witness at about 1:15 A.M. behind his house. He accidentally locked himself out of his house while working in his garage late last night. He went around to the back of his house to climb in through a window. He heard something and used the light from his cell phone, pointing it in the direction of the sound. The thing had a human form only quite large over seven feet with red reflecting eyes and very large wings. It jumped into the air flying off with the sound of massive air displacement with each wing stroke.

I tried to tell him it must have been a bear or a really large bird. He is really sure of how he described the creature. This is a very trustworthy 19 year old young man. He usually comes into town every day. He is staying home to protect his home now.

I hope you respond.


Thank you,

I was a bit unnerved at the idea of using a live lamb, or any animal, as bait. And the whole thing just sounded off to me. What was this person doing at 1:00 a.m., working in his garage (possible, but, ... sort of screamed crank freak to me) and how did he manage to lock himself out of the house in the country? Again, possible -- it's not that any of these things are strange in themselves, but overall, I just had a strong intuitive reaction that this all seemed off somehow.

I wrote back:

Certainly interesting if true.

I have to tell you however that your idea of using a lamb --or any other live bait -- repels me. I do not support such an action. I hope you reconsider. While finding proof or strong evidence of anomalous creatures is always the goal, there are other factors to consider when collecting such evidence. Using live bait is not one of them.

I've never heard of Batsquatch in this area, though I know there are reports of the creature in Washington state.

Another reason why I'm suspicious is your spelling of Lorane -- unless you don't live in the area.

I'd like more information; do you have an image from your friend, for example?
I recommend reporting this to MUFON if you're truly interested. They have qualified field investigators.

Night vision scopes have revealed very interesting things, mainly UFOs, that can't be seen with the naked eye. If you have a scope, try it.

R. Lee

And, the response to my e-mail above:

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009, 8:22 AM

Hello Regan,

Sorry about the misspelled name. I am a long time resident of Eugene. Yes, the town is spelled Lorane, I was in a hurry. I don't know what other bait may draw it. The witness tried to get photos of the footprints but it was raining hard off and on all day (and some that night) so it was really muddy and he was not able to get a good photograph of any prints.

It has been reported these are probably taking small farm animals so I think a lamb would be a good bait. Do you object to this on humane grounds? I don't know how else to prove this creature exists other than to catch it. I doubt anyone has really ever tried so it may not be wary of such an attempt. It was within 20 or so feet from the boy's house so it is not that afraid of human dwellings.

I don't think photographs or eye witness accounts are going to be enough evidence of this things existence. It has probably moved on by now anyway. The Willamette Valley is a likely corridor for the thing moving North and South foraging. The Coast Range is probably the habitat it prefers (in the foothills). There is probably a humane way to capture this using nets, but it would take more time and equipment than for which I have resources.

I will contact MUFON to see what they think. This thing may still be in the woods nearby the boys house so hopefully someone is near Eugene to investigate.

I give it another try; I admit, while feeling squeamish, I am also still curious:

Is it possible to make sketches of the prints, how do they compare to known animals in the area, for example, and is there an estimate as to size?

I object because I do not believe in using animals gratuitously. I don't believe we have the right to "prove" the existence of a creature if it means sacrificing a living creature. I'm absolutely against it, don't approve of it, and will not support such an act.

Frankly, I don't care much for capturing, alive, and certainly not dead, such creatures.

Interesting theory about the range. . . . it's quite possible. Assuming this is a true story.

Well, I admit my curiosity is most certainly aroused here -- I am interested, in at least giving you a call. This might have to wait until the weekend, due to my work schedule...I might be able to get out there Sunday. I'm not sure if MUFON would be interested, there's no Eugene MUFON chapter, -- try Autumn Williams, Bigfoot researcher, she lives in the area.

I realize it's not Bigfoot, still...

As I say, I am interested but I do not know why, am also suspicious. We'll see.

But whatever, I encourage you to not use a live animal, or, kill one to use the body, for "bait" -- my values, my opinion, but there you go.
R. Lee

And I send along this as well right after the above:

One more thing about the lamb; I didn't say this at first because I realize it would sound odd but here goes; the whole symbolism of sacrificing a lamb to an unknown, so-called "monster" -- well, speaks for itself. The obvious religious (and I am NOT religious in any way) symbolism is one thing, but there's also the idea of extending an invitation to this thing. By setting out a living (or even dead) creature with the intent -- the invitation -- of showing itself, and coming into your home, your life, you have no idea what you're asking for, and what might happen.

R. Lee

Things get testy; I receive another e-mail where I'm told he thinks I would have been "all over this" and I'm really tired of hearing about tying up some poor lamb on hooks, bleating into the wilds of the night. Below is the last e-mail I've received (so far) with my reply:

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009, 6:02 PM
Hi Regan,

I have seen both UFOs and demons / monsters. I am afraid of neither. In fact, I would relish having trapped or captured such as they are no friend to mankind.

I've seen plenty of UFOs as well, ....as to "monsters" no, I haven't. Do you consider the Sasquatch a "monster" or worse, a "demon?" To be killed? I sure hope not.

As to this so-called "Batsquatch" -- whatever it may be, to think it's a "demon" -- well, it scares me there are people such as yourself that think this way.

The lamb was just a suggestion as there is an abundance of them right now it being Spring. I can buy a small one for about $20.00.

So? I hope you do not. For what purpose? To prove to who, the world? that such a creature exists? Then what? Is your ego that important? I'm asking out of a genuine need to understand this urge to want to capture a "monster," and to use a live animal as bait, as if it's your right to do with what you will with other creatures. It isn't your right.

I have shark fishing gear. I would like to have a large net also. There is an old abandoned barn right down the hill that would make a good ambush point.

Groovy, but I don't sanction such thinking or desires, and want no part of it.

I would have thought you would jump at the opportunity to try this.

I've written many times on-line that I don't think capturing a creature is right. Who are we trying to prove it to, and why? Isn't the personal experience of a sighting enough?

Once caught, if alive, such a creature is then a prisoner of science and the authorities, to do with what they will. Is this right? Not in my world view.

Demons feed off of fear. When faced with them, don't be intimidated and yes, I am a believer in Jesus as the Christ, Son of God. Demons are actually cowardly when they are confronted with faith in God. I am concerned for the safety of the young man that told me the story. His faith may not be strong enough to sustain him.

I accept that evil exists, and that negative and "evil" entities exist, but as to the religious interpretation of a Christan or any other religious construct, no, I don't believe these things are "demons," nor do I believe God, Christ, Allah, or whoever has anything to do with it.

But back to the creature, assuming it exists. IF it exists, why the assumption it's a "demon?" This is very backwards, superstitious thinking, and, very dangerous. It's just a creature. Because we don't understand it, or know where it comes from, doesn't make it "the devil." Is a rabid animal Satan? Is any animal, doing what it does, a "demon" because it kills, or scares, or ...?

I hope you reconsider; it all sounds very stupid, arrogant, thuggish, dangerous and irresponsible, both for the humans involved and the creature.

R. Lee

Batsquatch has been reported in Mt. Shasta, and in Washington state. I'm not sure about Oregon but I haven't found anything. Who knows what, if anything, is going on out there on Lorane Highway. Speaking of Lorane Highway, that is the location of where I saw my "orange orb" sighting (and the hovering silver orb that emitted a beam of light) and experienced missing time.

Maybe there's something mysterious out there after all.

"Sasquatch, Real or Imagined? You Decide"

A beautiful article about one man's childhood experience, his cultural roots, and his thoughts now on Sasquatch.

Read about the McMinnville UFO gossip and more!

Elusive Babyfeet in Lane County, Oregon

A two part article on Bigfoot in Lane County, Oregon.North America's Elusive Babyfeet.


Read about the McMinnville UFO gossip and more!

Nick Redfern Responds: Burn, Nick, Burn!

Recently Nick Redfern shared his thoughts about paranormal Bigfoot; specifically, about a case from 1985 involving a Ouija board and the subsequent apparition of a Bigfoot like creature in his article A Paranormal Bigfoot. In Bigfoot Fundamentalists: Burn Nick Burn! Redfern writes on the Mania.com site about the comments he received about that article. Redfern received more e-mails than usual in response to that article, some o which bordered, as he writes, on the psychotic:

But what angers me more than anything else, are those who champion the “Bigfoot is just a giant ape” scenario with a definitively rabid (and, at time, vaguely threatening) zeal of a type that would make any, and all, religious fundamentalists (whether from the Deep South or the Middle East) glowingly proud.

But, what interests me most of all is the rabid (and, indeed, almost psychotic) approach that such commentators occasionally display in their e-mails.

It’s not that one may disagree about the nature of Bigfoot; debate is a given, disagreement on what BF is, or is not, is to be expected. But it’s the shrill, over the top, fanatical and downright hateful reaction to the idea that some consider Bigfoot a paranormal creature.

As Nick asks:

So what if I proclaim that Bigfoot may be paranormal? So what if I don’t accept the notion that Bigfoot is just an ape of unknown origins and/or type?

Should that result in vitriolic e-mails to me from a variety of Bigfoot researchers displaying a self-righteous zeal that any stance beyond that of “Bigfoot is an ape,” is somehow dangerous and wrong?

The same can be said of many UFO researchers who have similar reactions when it comes to different theories. And these often nasty responses come from within; we expect them from the uber-skeptic fundie-debunker faux-skeptic crowd, but from fellow explorers of the Fortean realms?

I’ll end with what Nick says about BF being paranormal, or, not:

And here’s the thing I find most baffling of all: why should it even matter if Bigfoot is flesh-and-blood or paranormal? The answer is: it shouldn’t. Only the facts and a determination to get to the truth – whatever that may be - should ultimately matter. But, it does apparently matter – to some, at least.

Exactly. IF the truth is the goal, then we go where the data takes us. And a lot of that data, like it or not, includes encounters that clearly go beyond the “flesh and blood big ape” idea.