Flying Monsters of Africa

At Mysterious Universe I take a look at some of the very weird flying creatures of Africa.

Here's the link.

Time-Travel and Time-Travelers

A cool new article from Brent Swancer on time-travel, and allegedly real time-travelers. Check it out...

A Story of Two Chupacabras - Or Of Something!

A new article from me on the Chupacabra...

 

Men in Black, Cybernauts, and The Avengers

That's the subject/title of my other new Mysterious Universe article, which starts like this:

Nope, that’s not the title of another terrible movie on the you-know-which channel. It’s something entirely different. Last year I wrote an article here at Mysterious Universe on the possibility that at least some portions of Albert Bender’s story of his early 1950s encounters with the Men in Black may have been inspired by an obscure, old British movie. Its title: The Man in Black. You can find the article here. Similarly, in 2013 Rich Reynolds penned an article on another movie which he felt may have had a bearing on Bender’s experiences. Here’s the link to Rich’s article. There are actually more than a few such examples on record, most of them being fairly obscure.

The world of television may have inspired such things, too, albeit specifically post-Bender. Such as the 1960s-era UFO-themed TV show The Invaders. Or, could we be looking at something even more controversial? Namely, the idea that fiction and imagination can have a direct – but not understood – effect and influence on what passes for reality. Some might be inclined to suggest that the so-called “Slenderman” phenomenon is an example of the latter. But, right now, it’s back to that aforementioned world of television.

Mystery Big Cats - 10 Years On

Over at Mysterious Universe, there are a couple of new articles from me. The first is a look back at a 10-year-old book, Mystery Big Cats from Merrily Harpur. Here's the link, and here's how the article begins:

Now and again, I’ll write an “anniversary”-themed article for Mysterious Universe. And that’s exactly what I have done today. The subject: a certain, important book which has been overlooked or dismissed by many. And that’s very much to their cost. The book under the microscope is Merrily Harpur’s Mystery Big Cats. As its title suggests, it’s a full length study of the so-called “ABCs,” or “Alien Big Cats” which are reported every year throughout the UK, and in the hundreds, no less. What are they? Where do they come from? These, and many more, are the questions that Merrily asked back in 2006. They are questions that are still being asked a decade later. And those questions are just as valid, too.

Mystery Big Cats is a book which is all things: informative, insightful, thought-provoking, and written by someone who has a keen appreciation, awareness and knowledge of her subject matter. Merrily also has a fine understanding of British folklore, history, mythology, and the complex mysteries inherent in the conundrum that has come to be known as the British Big Cat. Mystery Big Cats is essential reading for anyone wanting to develop a good understanding of the subject, and what may very possibly lay at its heart.

Midnight In The Desert - Tonight

For those who maybe interested, I'll be on Midnight In The Desert, with Heather Wade tonight, speaking about my new Women In Black book. Here's the link to the show.

UFO Murder

In a new article, Rich Reynolds addresses the issue of ufological deaths "by murder," focusing on James Forrestal and Wilhelm Reich. Check out Rich's insightful article here.

Bigfoot - Reviewing A New Book

Over at Mysterious Universe, I review a new book on Bigfoot, titled Wood Knocks.

Here's the link, and here's how the article starts:

Wood Knocks Volume One: Journal of Sasquatch Research is, as the title suggests, the first in an ongoing series of books on the Bigfoot controversy. Published by David Weatherly’s Leprechaun Press, and with excellent cover artwork from Sam Shearon, the book is a collection of papers on a wide variety of Bigfoot-themed issues. If you’re interested in the mystery of Sasquatch, and various other, similar creatures reported throughout the world, then you’ll likely want to get a copy of Wood Knocks.

 The book begins with an excellent paper titled “Giants of the Piney Woods.” The author: Lyle Blackburn, who penned The Beast of Boggy Creek and Lizard Man. I have known Lyle for about four or five years (he lives just about twenty minutes’ drive from me), and can state that when it comes to Bigfoot, Lyle definitely knows his stuff. And that shines through in his paper. Many people associate Bigfoot with the vast forests of the Pacific North West. Lyle, however, demonstrates that Texas’ Piney Woods have a long history of sightings of large, hair-covered creatures that fit the description of Bigfoot. Lyle writes in an atmospheric fashion that skilfully captures the eerie nature of those woods. And, of course, he presents a sizeable body of Bigfoot-based testimony and data spanning decades. The Sulphur River, Caddo Lake (which borders Texas and Louisiana), and the Sabine River are just a few of the Bigfoot hot-spots that Lyle discusses.

Motorhead - Live

Had to get this: the new Motorhead live CD, which is excellent. Recorded just 2 months before Lemmy's death, not only is the production very good but it shows Lemmy's sheer determination to keep on going on, despite terminal cancer, and still being able to play a full Motorhead set at 70! There won't be another Lemmy...

The Dangers of UFO Obsession

That's the subject of a new Mysterious Universe article from me, which you can find here.

And here's how it begins...

Time and again I tell people that if you’re interested in UFOs, don’t let the subject rule and dictate your life. The same goes for every other aspect of Forteana, too, whether it’s Bigfoot, ghost-hunting, lake-monsters, etc, etc. I don’t know why I bother though. They seldom listen. But, they should. As someone who has been in the UFO subject for more than a few years, I have seen plenty of what I call ufological screw-ups of the personal kind. By that, I mean people who – step by step and bit by bit – go down a pathway that ultimately takes them far away from reality and into a world of downright unreality. And that realm of unreality is rarely, if ever, a positive one.

Now, don’t get me wrong: after all, I write books, I write articles, and I give lectures on the world of the paranormal, and on a regular basis. But, I’m very good at keeping a balance. Unless I’m out of town for a gig, or doing a radio-show to promote a new book, I work from roughly 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday to Friday. And that’s it. When 5-ish comes around, I’ll close the Word document of the relevant book I’m working on and forget about it until the next morning. Evenings during the week are all Forteana-free. As for weekends, there’s no writing, no researching, and Bigfoot is nowhere in sight (or in mind). Nessie and the Men in Black? They can all wait until Monday morning comes around. Evenings and weekends are for something else: it’s called a social life. For me, that’s soccer, friends, women who look like Abby from NCIS, cold beer, and going to see a band etc., etc.

Not A Woman In Black, But...

 

Rich Reynolds shares a creepy story and references my new Women In Black book. Check it out...

Mothman At 50

A new article from me, which focuses on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Mothman encounters in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Here's how it starts:

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the start of the wave of Mothman encounters that hit Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It all culminated, in December 1967, in the disastrous collapse of the town’s Silver Bridge and the tragic deaths of dozens of people who, very unfortunately, were on the bridge at the time. But, what was the Mothman of Point Pleasant? And how did the legend begin? To answer those questions we have to go back to the night of November 12, 1966, when five grave-diggers working in a cemetery in the nearby town of Clendenin were shocked to see what they described as a “brown human shape with wings” rise out of the thick, surrounding trees and soar off into the distance.

Three days later, the unearthly beast surfaced once again. It was late at night when Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette – two young, married couples from the area – were passing the time away by cruising around town in the Scarberrys’ car. The four were puzzled to see in the shadows of an old TNT factory what looked like two red lights pointing in their direction. These were no normal lights, however. Rather, all four were shocked and horrified to discover that, in reality, the ‘lights’ were the bright red eyes of a huge animal that, as Roger Scarberry would later recall, was “…shaped like a Mothman, but bigger, maybe six and a half or seven feet tall, with big wings folded against its back.”