A Government Secret In Plain Sight

That's the title of my new Mysterious Universe article, which starts like this...
 
"Sometimes, as I know from experience, the world of officialdom goes to great and extreme lengths to ensure that something of a secret nature remains a secret. On other occasions, however, the situation can be very different. A secret can be hidden in plain sight, with very few people having any awareness of it at all. Even though they might see it on a regular basis. All of which brings me to the photograph directly below. No, it’s not the entrance point to the legendary Hangar 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Nor is it the the doorway to some underground section of Area 51, Nevada. It’s something very different, but still intriguing in its own right.

"The photo shows my father, Frank Redfern, pointing at one of a number of large, thick, tall doors at the Chase Leisure Center in the town of Cannock, Staffordshire, England (which has since been dramatically refurbished – this photo was taken back in the summer of 2000). You may well wonder, why on earth would the below-ground level of the center – which is dedicated to providing the people of Cannock access to exercise machines, a swimming pool, etc. – need such vast and powerful doors made of solid, thick wood and metal? They look like they might be able to withstand an earth-shattering explosion, right? Yes, that is exactly what they look like! And there is a very good reason for that."

A Roswell 20th Anniversary

This week (actually yesterday) marks the 20th anniversary of a certain aspect of the Roswell affair that many might have forgotten about. But I haven't. You can find out what it is in my new Mysterious Universe article.

The Bigfoot Book...

Received in the mail today copies of my new book with Visible Ink Press: The Bigfoot Book: The Encyclopedia of Sasquatch, Yeti, and Cryptid Primates.

If you've seen my earlier book with Visible Ink Press, The Zombie Book, it's the same format: 150,000 words, 400 pages, and around 200 A-Z entries.

So, as well as well known things like "B for Bigfoot," "Y for Yeti" etc, there are a lot of obscure Bigfoot-type creatures listed from Africa, South America, Europe, the Far East, and much more.

Plus, entries on Bigfoot in movies, TV shows, history, legend, and on what Bigfoot might really be, and 120 photos/drawings/paintings.

Also entries on some of the more controversial aspects of Bigfoot, such as the "infra-sound" issue and Bigfoot/UFO theories.

"Something" in the Water...

Both of today's Mysterious Universe articles deal with sightings of large, unidentified fish in English waters. Giant eels? Catfish? Sturgeon? Or something else? The jury is still out.
 
Here number one...

And here's the second...

MIB, Dragons, Secret Aircraft and More

There are four new articles from me at Mysterious Universe:

1. I take a look at an old movie that may have influenced some of Albert Bender's experiences with the Men in Black.

2. A strange story of a "secret aircraft" that may have crashed in the UK.

3. UFOs, two researchers and the Government.

4. A review of Karl Shuker's book on dragons.

The Invaders and Indrid Cold - Synchronicities

My latest Mysterious Universe article is a 2-piece one on the 1960s TV show, The Invaders, Indrid Cold, Mothman, and a few strange synchronicities.

Part one starts like this:

"In January 1967, a new sci-fi series was launched on ABC. The brainchild of Larry Cohen and brought to life by QM Productions, it was titled The Invaders. It starred actor Roy Thinnes as a man named David Vincent. He finds himself plunged into a nightmarish, paranoia-filled world in which hostile aliens are secretly attempting to take over the Earth. Over the course of two seasons and 43 episodes, we see Vincent doing his utmost to thwart the invasion and warn the public, the media, the military, and the government of the growing extraterrestrial threat amongst us.

"Although I’m not much of a fan of sci-fi (horror and mystery movies are more my thing), I do like The Invaders, which comes across like a combination of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Fugitive, and with more than a few Cold War fears thrown in, for good measure. Plus, it’s clear to see how the show inspired the likes of The X-Files and the short-lived 1990s series, Dark Skies."

And here are the opening paragraphs of Part two:

"Part 1 of this article introduced you to two issues: (a) the 1967-1968 ABC show, The Invaders, which starred Roy Thinnes as a man doing his very best to thwart an alien invasion of the Earth; and (b) the matter of Mothman and a certain Indrid Cold – the latter being an alleged alien who changed the life of a West Virginian man, Woody Derenberger, in 1966. But that’s only the start of things.

"I also mentioned in Part 1 how, in 1967, a certain episode of The Invaders was aired. Its title: 'Panic.' It dealt with an alien (played by Robert Walker, Jr.) who is infected with a deadly virus. Anyone and everyone he touches is literally frozen to death in mere moments. It’s up to Vincent to try and bring the alien’s murderous reign to an end – which he does.

Men In Black Weirdness

Well, this is a bit weird...

I was just finalizing the Word document of my new Men in Black book, to finish up the edit before it goes to publication when, at that very moment, I heard a bang from one of my rooms, so I checked it out.

The maintenance people had been working on something on the outside of one of my exterior walls the last hour. And, the vibration of their hammering and tools had shaken a framed picture off my interior side of the wall and it had fallen to the ground and shattered the glass. 

It just happened to be a framed, old letter written by Albert Bender, the man who pretty much kicked off the whole Men in Black thing in the early 1950s. 

I know it was the vibration of the maintenance tools that caused it to fall off and shatter, but the coincidental timing of me closing the MIB file and the MIB picture falling to the ground and the glass breaking at the exact same time was, er, "interesting." 

But shit like this happens all the time LOL.

Megalania: Still Among Us?

Is Australia home to a giant monitor lizard - Megalania - that is supposed to have become extinct tens of thousands of years ago? Well...maybe...

Check out one of my new Mysterious Universe articles.

Roswell Slides = Puke on the Sidewalk

"Well, more than two months have now passed since the Roswell Slides were unveiled in Mexico. Or, rather, since the slides of a dead, mummified child were unveiled, and the entire house of cards came quickly crashing down. But, I’m still being asked about the slides affair – and particularly so on radio shows – and Chris Knowles has a new article on the subject at his Secret Sun blog. So, there’s still some life left in a discussion of the slides.

"All this brings me to the subject of today’s article: how will the slides impact upon the future of research into the Roswell affair? It’s a question that’s not easy to answer. My prediction, however, is that the impact will almost certainly be negative. Such was the extent to which we were told and assured that this was, finally, the proof we were waiting for, I suspect many will be highly suspicious of anything and everything that surfaces in the future on the 'R Word.' They won’t just be suspicious; they will be skeptical too. And quite rightly."

That's how my second Mysterious Universe of today begins. You can find it right here.

Crop Circles and Confiscated Computers

That's the title of a new Mysterious Universe article from me, on a "stranger than fiction" saga that occurred back in 2000.

Surreal barely begins to describe it.

And here's how it starts...

"In the latter part of 2000 a Welshman named Matthew Williams was arrested by the British Police Force for causing criminal damage to a field in Wiltshire, England. He admitted creating – under cover of darkness – a highly elaborate Crop Circle of the type that many researchers of the phenomenon assert cannot be made by human hands. Well, yes, actually, they can. And they are.

"Since then, Matt has been variously described as a Crop Circle hoaxer, an outright liar, a charlatan, and most absurd of all, a 'government agent' dispensing disinformation, specifically to muddy the waters concerning who or what is responsible for the Crop Circle mystery. The real story is far stranger."

A Visit To Alaska

Photos from a trip I made to Alaska (for the first time and to shoot a TV show) a couple of months ago, a very cool place!

Enthuzed!

Thanks to Facebook friend Tania Poole of Victoria, Australia, for her sister's (Jac) just-arrived alien stickers - you can find out more about Jac and her work at www.enthuzed.net Check it all out!

"Be Careful What You Ask For"

Yep, there are some aspects of the paranormal that should be approached very carefully and with caution...

My new Mysterious Universe article...

Two Articles And A John Keel Audio

There are two new Mysterious Universe articles from me, one on UFOs and the media, and the other on sightings of strange creatures at castles in the UK.

And for John Keel fans, there's a new audio edition of his classic, The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings.

Penthouse and Smashed Guitars

As some of you may know, I do a lot of feature writing for Penthouse magazine. The March issue contained a 4-page article from me on the history of rock stars smashing their guitars on stage. The article is now online at the Penthouse website - and you can find it here.

Suicide and Synchronicities

That's the topic of a new Mysterious Universe article from me, on a curious series of events that occurred a couple of days ago.

It starts like this...

"Well, July 1 was a strange day for me; in fact, a very strange day. It was one filled with synchronicities concerning a specific place in England. Or, depending on your own personal perspective on synchronicities, it was simply a series of random coincidences that only appeared to be something more. I have no solid opinion on what causes synchronicities, except to say that I seem to get a hell of a lot of them. Why, of course, is the big question, since – as with July 1 – any intended meaning behind what happened eludes me. So, with that said, read on.

"Around 9:00 a.m. on July 1, I headed out to do a bunch of chores around town. I always like to have music on when I’m driving, so I chose one of my favorites, the UK band, Veronica Falls. In my view, their best song is 'Beachy Head,' a song about the UK’s most notorious spot at which people choose to take their own lives. Well, since the song is a good, catchy one, I let it play a couple of times. Nothing strange about that, except for what happened later."

Is Ufology Dying?

That's the question I ask in my latest Mysterious Universe article.

As for the answer, maybe.

Or, at the very least, a change in direction and a less visible presence in the future.

Here's the article.