Monster Hunters - In Print

Received in the mail today, a review-copy of Tea Krulos' just-published book, Monster Hunters: On the Trail with Ghost Hunters, Bigfooters, Ufologists, and Other Paranormal Investigators.

I'll be reviewing it at Mysterious Universe next week.

Of me and several Texas-based good friends in the field of creature-seeking, Krulos says:

"[Lyle] Blackburn is a part of a certain Texas school of cryptozoology that includes his colleagues Ken Gerhard, British transplant Nick Redfern, and Cryptomundo blog founder, Craig Woolheater. They are a little bit more metal than your average cryptozoologist."

Published by Chicago Review Press, it looks to be a good read!

Texas Bigfoot Gig - Reviewed

Over at Mysterious Universe, there's a mini-review from me of this past weekend's Original Texas Bigfoot Conference (see yesterday's post at this blog for photos from the event).

You can find it here, and it begins like this:


"On Friday, September 17, I drove from my Arlington, Texas home to Jefferson, Texas, where I was due to speak the following morning at the Original Texas Bigfoot Conference. It was an event organized by Craig Woolheater (of Cryptomundo), and which saw a number of good, intriguing presentations, and a crowd of almost 200 people. And a great time was had by one and all.

"Most of the speakers rolled into town late on the Friday afternoon. As well as me, they included Lyle Blackburn (author of Lizard Man and The Beast of Boggy Creek) and Ken Gerhard (who penned Big Bird! and Encounters with Flying Humanoids). Also there were John Kirk (who wrote the excellent In the Domain of the Lake Monsters) and Rob Riggs (of In the Big Thicket)."

Cryptomundo Merchandise

For those who may be interested, Craig Woolheater has a line of merchandise to promote his website, www.cryptomundo.com, including a Mothman t-shirt with the words "Cryptomundo" written across it. 

Since I have no shame and never say no to free black t-shirts, I agreed to promote it here, there and everywhere! 

Check out Craig's site for all the cool info!

Bobcat Goldthwait's "Willow Creek" Reviewed

Over at Cryptomundo, you can find a new review from me of Bobcat Goldthwait's new Bigfoot-themed movie, Willow Creek.

Here's the link...

And here's an extract from the review:

"...I won’t spoil the ending, by giving away too much of the plot. But, I will say that Willow Creek is a truly excellent film. It also serves to demonstrate that low-budget does not mean low on quality. And, very refreshingly, you don’t have to deal with a cast that needs to go back to acting-school. Unlike the 'stars' of so many of those cheaply-made pieces of monster-movie crap that appear on TV on a regular basis (you know the ones), the actors in Willow Creek do a great job. Indeed, the quality of the acting is such that you actually find yourself forgetting you’re watching a movie..."

A Monster-Themed Night at the Museum

On Saturday, January 26, I'll be speaking about my books Monster Diary and Wildman at the Austin, Texas-based Museum of the Weird.

And I won't be the only one lecturing either!

Here's the full schedule (from the organizer), below, with a link at the foot of the post where you can find out more about the event.

A CRYPTOMUNDO NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

Saturday, January 26th, 2012
3:00pm to 10:00pm

Museum of the Weird, in conjunction with the world's foremost website on all things cryptid, Cryptomundo.com, will be hosting a very special event on January 26th at the Museum of the Weird in Austin, TX:

Cryptomundo Night at the Museum!

Featuring an all-star line up of world famous cryptozoologists, experts and authors, it's sure to be a night of entertainment, intrigue and mystery as we explore the unknown creatures that lurk in the darker corners of the world we live in!

Please come out and join us for the festivities!

Speaker presentations and author book signings include:

Lyle Blackburn, frontman for rock band Ghoultown, writer for Rue Morgue magazine and author of The Beast of Boggy Creek.

Nick Redfern, author of Wildman! The Monstrous and Mysterious Saga of the British Bigfoot, Monster Diary: On the Road in Search of Strange and Sinister Creatures, The World's Weirdest Places, and Memoirs of a Monster Hunter.

Ken Gerhard, author of Big Bird! Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters and  Monsters of Texas.

Dave Coleman, author of The Bigfoot Filmography.

The event starts at 3:00pm and goes until 6:00pm, then a break for dinner and to explore 6th Street and downtown Austin.

It resumes again at 8:00pm with a special screening in the Museum's Weird Theater of the '70s drive-in classic Creature from Black Lake.

The event is $10 and includes admission to the Museum of the Weird and the movie (dinner and drinks not included).

Space and seating is extremely limited, so we recommend buying your tickets early!

And here's where you can find out more...

A Night At The Museum

From Craig Woolheater, of Cryptomundo:

Come join Cryptomundo and The Museum of the Weird, http://www.museumoftheweird.com/, for an afternoon and evening of fun and frivolity on Saturday, January 26:

Schedule of Events:

 3-6: Tour of Museum
Speaker presentations and author book signings
Lyle Blackburn: The Beast of Boggy Creek
Nick Redfern: Wildman! The Monstrous and Mysterious Saga of the British Bigfoot, Monster Diary: On the Road in Search of Strange and Sinister Creatures, The World’s Weirdest Places, Memoirs of a Monster Hunter
Dave Coleman: The Bigfoot Filmography
6-8: Dinner @ Chupacabra Cantina, http://chupacabracantina.com/
8-10: Movie night at the Museum: Creature from Black Lake
10-?: Drinks @ Jackelope Bar, http://www.jackalopebar.com/

Quest for the Hexham Heads

Over at Cryptomundo I have a new post on what - for me, anyway - is without doubt the most anticipated book of the year: Paul Screeton's Quest for the Hexham Heads. If you're into real-life cases involving werewolves - but ones of a definitive paranormal nature - this particular saga is one you won't want to miss. I promise!

Monstrous Killers

From today's Anomalist:

"Have Vietnam¹s Wildmen Killed Humans? Cryptomundo. Loren Coleman shares a story from artist Jeff H. Johnson concerning reports of wildmen seeking revenge for the killing of their kind in Vietnam. There is an equally disturbing story in the comments about US soldiers in Vietnam having to recover bodies quickly because "apes" would come out of the forest and eat them. As the commenter says, "there are no apes in Vietnam". Coleman points out that there could very well be a lot more of these sorts of stories from that part of the world but we will likely never hear them."

UFOs, Slugs and Worms...

Further to that weird-but-intriguing story I posted yesterday which was provided by Stan Gordon and that focused on a recent case involving a UFO and a slithering slug-like creature, here's a a new post from me at Cryptomundo on a very similar case.

This one appears in my newly-published book, The Pyramids and the Pentagon, and revolves around a 1962 event concerning a weird ball of light (still a definitive UFO) and a writhing worm-like animal in the ancient, famous stones at Avebury, England.

In fact, I'm reliably informed that this very stone - at the forefront of this photo - is where all the wormy action occurred...

Two cases, half a century apart, both UFO-themed and both involving very similar creatures. Is this just a one-off coincidence? Or does anyone know of any other cases of a similar nature?

And, of course, folkloric tales of weird worms on the loose are rife in old English folklore and legend, such as the famous Lambton Worm, shown below in an 1890 illustration:

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!

The Flatwoods Monster Speaks...!

...Well...kind of...in a way...

Check out my latest post at Cryptomundo that fans of the 1952 saga of the notorious Flatwoods Monster will not want to miss.

It's an audio-fest of monstrous mayhem!

The Hackney Horror

On May 24, over at Cryptomundo, Loren Coleman posted an intriguing article on a series of curious photos said to show a weird-looking animal at England's Hackney Marshes. You can find Loren's article right here.

As many within Forteana will know, the marshes are legendary for sightings of odd things, including (rather astonishingly and controversially!) bears, both physical and ghostly.

And, you can find more from me on these additional rogue-like cases from Hackney Marshes at Cryptomundo.

First, there's this one, that links to a feature good mate Neil Arnold (pictured with me above a couple of years ago) wrote on the Hackney mysteries.

Second, is this story, which reveals the latest news and theories on the creature - which, of all things, ties in with a UK rock band!

And, finally, there is this post from me, which covers an issue raised in the previous article. Namely, that of a famous Canadian dog and its ties to Cryptozoology...

Reviewing Orang-Pendek

Right now, Richard Freeman, of the Center for Fortean Zoology, has an excellent new book out on the mysterious orang-pendek of Sumatra. Richard has now been on no less than four expedition to Sumatra in search of the beast, and his book - ORANG-PENDEK: Sumatra's Forgotten Ape - is definitive reading for anyone interested in the issue of unknown apes, strange man-beasts and much more - both in the modern era and the past.

And, if that has got you interested in learning more about Rich's book, you can find a new review of it from me over at Cryptomundo.