A "Slenderman" Development...

My latest Mysterious Universe feature is on a strange entity that began as an Internet meme in 2009, and which, many believe, strode right out of the domain of fantasy and into the real world. Its name: the Slenderman.

The article isn't an overview of the phenomenon, however. Rather, it highlights a Slenderman-type encounter that occurred specifically before the phenomenon began, something which leads to a notable question:

Did the 2009 creation of the Slenderman meme create a Tulpa-like, living equivalent? Or did a real, earlier Slenderman exist before the fictional one was looming on the horizon?

The encounter in question was published (and takes up a whole chapter) in my book, There's Something in the Woods, which was published in 2008, one year before the Slenderman phenomenon began. So, there's no chance that the witness could have been influenced by the Slenderman tales, since they hadn't even begun when the book was published. Plus, the incident itself occurred in 2001, no less than 14 years ago.

The article starts like this:

"You may have seen the recent publicity given to a story coming out of the U.K. of sightings in and around Britain’s Cannock Chase woods, of something described as looking like the legendary 'Slenderman.' It’s a fictional character created in June 2009 by Eric Knudsen (using the alias of 'Victor Surge,' at the forum section of the Something Awful website), who took his inspiration from the world of horror fiction.

"The Slenderman (also spelled as Slender Man) is a creepy creature indeed: tall, thin, with long arms, a blank (faceless, even) expression, and wearing a dark suit, it sounds almost like a nightmarish version of the Men in Black. While there is no doubt that Knudsen was the creator of what quickly became a definitive, viral, meme, people have since claimed to have seen the Slenderman in the real world."

Goatman: Flesh or Folklore?

If you have read my books Memoirs of a Monster Hunter, There's Something in the Woods, Wildman, Monster Diary and (with Ken Gerhard) Monsters of Texas, you'll know I have done more than a few investigations into reports of so-called "Goatmen" across the United States.

Well, the good news is that in 2014, a full-length book on this subject will be published. You can find the info here.

PS: The photo above shows the Old Alton Bridge at Denton, Texas, which is home to a Goatman legend.

Castle Ring: On Film

If you have read any of my cryptozoological books (particularly Wildman and There's Something in the Woods) you'll know that one particular area that fascinates me is Castle Ring, an Iron Age hill-fort on the fringes of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, England.

To say that Castle Ring is a weird place is an understatement, as it has been the site of all manner of odd encounters with bizarre beasts, ghostly entities and UFOs.

Well, for those who know of (or who want to learn more about) Castle Ring, you should definitely check out the Paranormal Cannock Chase blog of Lee Brickley.

One of Lee's friends owns one of those small remotely-piloted drone devices and, just a few days ago, he used it to obtain excellent footage of Castle Ring from above.

You can find the film here, which really captures the eerie and ancient atmosphere that still dominates Castle Ring to this very day. Check it out!   

Paranormal Cannock Chase

Here's some excellent news!

A new blog has been created by British paranormal researcher, Lee Brickley. The theme is the many and varied tales of paranormal activity, strange creatures, UFOs, and much more of England's Cannock Chase - an expansive and captivating area of very dense woodland and heath.

As you may know I've written extensively on the Fortean "things" of the Cannock Chase.

My book, There's Something in the Woods, has a chapter on the "Chase Werewolf of the German Cemetery" saga of 2007. Wildman includes a wealth of material on Bigfoot-type creatures seen on the Chase. One chapter of On the Trail of the Saucer Spies is devoted to a reported UFO crash somewhere on Cannock Chase in 1964. And Monster Diary delves into a strange saga filled with dark rituals and occult masses in the woods after sunset.

When, from the mid-80s to the early-90s, I worked as a van-driver and forklift driver for a local paint-and-wallpaper company, my daily deliveries often took me across the Chase, something which made me look at the place in a new light.

The reason being that every now and again I would hear tales of high-strangeness from some of the customers who knew of my paranormal interests. Sightings of big-cats, wallabies, and wild boar on the loose were typical topics of just a few of those tales.

In other words, the Cannock Chase is quite a place, which is why I'm very pleased that Lee has decided to create a blog solely devoted to studying, and reporting on, this particular locale - which is only a short journey from where I lived as a kid.

Lee already has three posts up at his blog (one on the werewolf controversy, a second on orbs and triangular-shaped UFOs, and the third being his introduction to the blog and its aims and goals).

If you are already familiar with the Cannock Chase, or are wondering what's really afoot, check out Lee's Paranormal Cannock Chase blog, which you can find right here...

 

All the photos above are from my own collection and show various places of paranormal interest on and around the Cannock Chase.

A Cattle Mute Caught in the Act?

You don't get to hear much about cattle mutilations in the UK. At least, I don't!

But, I do have one case in my files that wasn't so much a cattle mute, but nearly a mute. Perhaps. Maybe. I dunno!

Anyway, I have summarized the details in a new Mysterious Universe article which starts as follows:

"Back in January of this year I gave a lecture for the Orange County, California chapter of the Mutual UFO Network, MUFON. While there, a member of the audience asked me if there had ever been any reports of cattle mutilations in the UK, where I was born and brought up. When I asked the man if he meant mutilations of animals by what might be perceived as extraterrestrials, he replied: “Yes.” Well, that’s a tricky one to answer.

"In my books, There’s Something in the Woods and Monster Diary, I discussed a variety of highly disturbing animal mutilation events in the UK. Some of those cases involved sheep. In other cases, cats were the victims. And in a few, horses were the unlucky ones. Moreover, I have also discussed other such incidents from the UK right here, at Mysterious Universe. Here’s one example and here’s another. But, I have to say that all the cases of animal mutilation I came across in the UK seemed to be linked to occult sacrifice, rather than to UFOs, as the links above will demonstrate."

And here's the article in full...

The Cult of the Moon Beast

Over the years I've done more than a few investigations into strange and disturbing mutilations of animals in the UK - much of which was prompted by the fact that, as a kid, I lived only about 5-minutes from where the very controversial saga of George Edalji (pictured below) went down. In other words, as the Edalji affair was known all across the little villages of the area I grew up in, I was exposed to the phenomenon from an early age.

But, we're not talking about attacks by so-called "Alien Big Cats" or anything along the lines of cattle mutilations.

Rather, we're talking about ritualistic sacrifice and the summoning up of strange and bizarre beasts as a consequence and result of those sacrifices.

In my 2008 book, There's Something in the Woods, I detailed a series of such events that occurred in Devonshire, England in 2006; and my 2012 book Monster Diary reveals my findings on an ancient Scottish group - the Taigheirm - that got up to similar things in centuries-past, and which may still exist.

One of the weirdest stories that falls into this category came to me in 2000 by a guy named Rob Lea. It's a very odd and lengthy saga filled with conspiracy, werewolves, slaughtered sheep, and much, much more.

And Rob's story is the focus of my latest Mysterious Universe post.

Peacock High-Strangeness

This is weird. Well, kind of...

In Wisconsin new reports have surfaced of sightings of peacocks and Bigfoot. So what? Well, this is not the first time peacocks and bizarre beasts have appeared in the same story.

In 2004, me and Jon Downes (pictured proudly posing below in the El Yunque Rain-Forest), of the British-based Center for Fortean Zoology, traveled to Puerto Rico with the SyFy Channel's Proof Positive show to film an episode on the Chupacabras. While we were there, Jon and I headed out to a farm high in the hills where the owner had lost an entire collection of peacocks to what he believed was the diabolical predator, the Chupacabras.

As the crew filmed, a familiar story was told to us of animals drained of blood; of vampire-style puncture wounds on the necks of the birds, and of an overwhelming paranoid fear that would pervade the entire area after darkness fell.

Moving on, in my 2008 book, There's Something in the Woods, I related the strange saga of a large, monkey-type creature seen crossing a field and a road next to the ancient Chartley Castle, Staffordshire, England in 1986. Yep, that's the castle:

The same field was the site of a Crop Circle I investigated in 2006 - inside of which were a number of peacock feathers (see the photo at the top of this post).

And here's the field and the Crop Circle:

Then, there are the following words of good mate Neil Arnold that appear in his Shadows in the Sky book. There's no attendant beast in this case, but it's still a weird peacock-themed saga:

"One of the most baffling ghost bird stories appeared on the BBC website in November 2006 under the heading, ‘Ghost peacock baffles rescuers’, after motorists in East Sussex had claimed to have run over a bird that left no trace. The mystery began when a female witness, driving on the A267 near Five Ashes, called wildlife rescuers to say she’d hit a peacock. The following day a lorry driver also claimed to have run over the bird. Rescue co-ordinator Trevor Weeks, examined the site of the alleged road kill but could find no trace of the bird. The arches of the lorry were examined but no sign of blood or feathers could be found..."

So what does all this mean? Damned if I know! If only John Keel or Charles Fort were still around to help us figure it out...





A Giant-Sized Saga...

I've investigated a hell of a lot of weird shit in my time, and have heard just about everything, but this story - outlined in a new post from me at Cryptomundo and at length in my 2008 book, There's Something in the Woods - is just about the strangest...

Cattle-mutilations, giant insects, black helicopters, huge flying ants and more are all integral parts of a story of (literally!) monstrous proportions!