Books

Pinky Expedition: Investigative Breakthrough

Sometimes when investigating cryptids, it’s not how you ask but who and what you are asking about that gets some more insightful answers. It was a good day in the Pinky expedition journey. On Thursday, March 13, 2008, besides checking out more wildlife along the St. Johns River and at the Zoological Park of Sanford, I had a major investigative breakthrough. I decided to stop by the Historical Society of Sanford, to ask about sightings of “Pinky,” the alleged dinosaur of Florida. I was interested to find out if any old news archives might exist. What I stumbled into was [...]

The Hobbit Hunt

The discovery that Homo floresiensis survived until so very recently, in geological terms, makes it more likely that stories of other mythical, human-like creatures such as Yetis are founded on grains of truth….Now, cryptozoology, the study of such fabulous creatures, can come in from the cold.Henry Gee, editor of Nature, “Flores, God and Cryptozoology,” 2004 editorial. The time is assuredly upon us to expand the Hobbit hunt. The systematic study of Proto-Pygmies in Oceania seems tied to the probable findings of future fossil evidence for Homo floresiensis beyond Flores. What is being discovered in Palau appears to be the latest [...]

Crypto-Belfast Rocks!

Not just another night in Belfast: Above, the Wild Safari company’s Megatherium, the Giant Ground Sloth, is the 4.5 inch replica that David Oren used to ask the people of the Amazon about what they were seeing in the jungle. Mr. Orrin Harding, at my talk, showed a special interest in the model, and the irony of his name and Dr. Oren’s was not lost on him. Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, with a population of 6,381 (2000 census). So close to the ocean, located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River on Penobscot Bay, you can [...]

He’s Back: Lizard Man

Wetzel’s “It” by Bill Rebsamen from Mysterious America (page 273). In 1970, John A. Keel’s book Strange Creatures from Time and Space was first published. I’d been corresponding with Keel for several years by then, and had been feeding him reports, cases, and sightings of reptilian creatures in North America. Keel turned my files into over a third of the foundation for his wonderful Chapter 10, “Creatures from the Black Lagoon.” For decades, I’d been gathering and analyzing accounts of these cryptids. I began to write about them in Fortean Times, and then in my books, honoring Keel’s terminology, by [...]

Scare Fest Appearance

It has just been announced that I will be a presenter at The Scare Fest, the biggest Horror and Paranormal Convention in the Southeast USA. The event is three horror-filled-days on September 12, 13, and 14, 2008. I am intrigued to learn that this gathering will take place in the heart of Fayette County, Kentucky! The Scare Fest will be held at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky, one of the largest convention centers in the state. I’ll have to explore the twilight language significance of the Fayette Factor while I am there. Here’s some more info from the [...]

Madagascar’s Cryptids

Harry Trumbore’s drawing of Madagascar’s kalanoro, from The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates. New species of lemurs keep being discovered in Madagascar. But there’s a long history of other cryptids being reported from the world’s fourth largest island. Besides the big three (Kalanoro, Elephant Bird, and Man-Eating Tree) that have historically been most discussed in cryptozoological and cryptobotancial circles regarding Madagascar, what lesser zoological cryptids are discussed from there? What other strange animals exist in the literature, many of which were noted in passing at Cryptomundo, after I first published information from near that corner of the [...]