Eyewitness Accounts

Alton Mystery Animal

Click image for full frame image Troy Taylor, an Alton, Illinois, publisher and investigator, has passed along some new photographs of a mystery animal that was seen for two days, around his town recently. Click image for full frame image Taken by Tom Westley, Taylor notes that the photographed animal frequented the corner of Third and Langdon before it moved on. Click image for full frame image Interestingly, stripes were seen on it by some people, while others said they were sure it was a bobcat. But most of us can clearly see something else here, and these good photographs [...]

Flashback: Houston Bat Man

Fifty-three years ago on this date in 1953, a mysterious encounter occurred at 118 East Third Street, Houston, Texas. The sighting will forever be characterized as the “Houston Bat Man.” Is it more bat or man? Even thoughts of Mothman flitter about, as the thing was first compared with a moth. The story has been mixed up in the lore of “winged weirdies” and, probably inappropriately, within the David Grabias 2002 documentary, In Search of the Mothman. * * * According to witness testimony, at 2:30 a.m. on June 18, 1953, Mrs. Hilda Walker, Judy Meyers and Howard Phillips were [...]

Storsie To Resurface

The forthcoming Storsjoyran Great Lake Festival on July 27-29, 2006, will have the local “president” Ewert Ljusberg of Jämtland making his annual speech to the region, again marked by a new imaginative and spectacular entrance. According to John Gammon’s June 17, 2006, Pollstar article, the idea is to top last year’s stunt: In 1996 [Ewert Ljusberg] rode in on a seven-ton elephant, which was making a guest appearance while en route from a Spanish to a Swedish circus, but he topped that in ’99, when he tried to float down in a huge air balloon. He missed the main 20,000-capacity [...]

Crikey! Thylacine Update

Australian cryptozoologist Debbie Hynes has sent along the following update to be shared with you: There have been a lot of sightings down there. There are two thylacine "hot-spots" in Victoria. One is the Portland area – as far inland as Ozenkadnook and west as far as the Koorong, a coastal national park in South Australia, next door to Victoria. The other is he so-called Foster-Wilson’s Promontory-Wonthaggi "Triangle". The animal (thylacine?) is part of local legend, being known as the "Wonthaggi Monster", and the small country town of Foster even has a billboard on its outskirts boasting of "Coming Attractions". [...]

New Skunk Ape Sighting

There’s been a new Green Swamp (“Skunk Ape”) sighting. We have permission of Scott Marlowe to pass this along to Cryptomundo readers. Here’s the details, uncensored: This record was first created on 6/9/2006 Month = 5 Day = 27 Year = 2006 Season = Spring Region = 5 City = Lakeland County = Polk FIPS = 12015 Zip Code = 33803 Longitude = Latitude = Source = Direct Type = Terrestrial Cryptid = Swamp Ape Sighting Summary = Pangea Institute field group watched and was paced by a Swamp Ape seen by team members Narrative = The team had gone [...]

Mammoth Cave Mystery Cat Sightings

This is a frame from the video of a cougar taken in Willmar, Minnesota, which lead to the capture of the animal on February 1, 2006. Most people didn’t believe the reported cat was anything more than a figment of people’s imagination before the video. Meanwhile hundreds of miles away, officials in other locations are confronted with similar situations with less imagery. Nevertheless, sometimes it becomes “official business,” merely based on the where and the who of the encounters. Take, for instance, the events unfolding now in Kentucky. What happens when the United States federal government has to deal with [...]

Okapis Rediscovered!

Thought extinct for 47 years in the Congo’s Virunga National Park, the okapis have been rediscovered! Okapis are important in the history of romantic natural history. The animal was used to symbolize the International Society of Cryptozoology (1982-1995), and was the centerpiece of the organization’s logo. The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is a beautiful animal, a true “living fossil”. I have observed them in St. Louis, Chicago, San Diego, and every zoo I can find that has any. Last weekend, I was able to observe for several minutes over the space of three hours, the 21-year-old male, born in the San [...]