Folklore

FeeJee Mermaids & Other Gaffs

The easiest pseudocryptozoological exhibition items to have, of course, are often the gaffs and hoaxes. Among those in most cabinets of curiosities are the Feejee mermaids and the furred trouts, both taxidermy fakes. I have my share. I use them to let people know these objects are often shown as “almost real” specimens. Most honest sideshow owners displaying them often merely only ask “What is It?” or “Is it Real?” But slowly the drift has been, perhaps due to eBay, for people to present these items as cryptozoological, from “unknown animals.” For cryptozoologists, we need to be aware of this [...]

Where To Dig For Hobbits

What’s wrong with this drawing? (The answer is below.) Homo floresiensis, the “Hobbits” of Indonesia have been in the news again lately. This week it was announced that the dig will start up anew at the same cave where all the previous discoveries have been made on Flores. First, a flashback: How important and significant is the discovery of this species to cryptozoology? The editor of Nature, Henry Gee, in a 2004 editorial entitled “Flores, God and Cryptozoology,” wrote: The discovery that Homo floresiensis survived until so very recently, in geological terms, makes it more likely that stories of other [...]

Searching For the Ropen in New Guinea: “Destination Truth” Makes Contact From Rainforest

I have heard from Neil Mandt (above), the executive producer for "Destination Truth," the new series that will be appearing on the Sci Fi Channel this spring. He’s been corresponding with me for some months now, and decided to give Cryptomundo an exclusive on what he and his crew are up to right now. One location the series explored was Johor (above) to investigate reports of the Malaysian Bigfoot. Another they are going to deal with is Mongolia. Incredibly, thanks to modern technology, Neil emailed me yesterday – from the rainforest – to give me an update and exclusive on [...]

“Yeti” Photographed

The famed coelacanth researcher and dinofish.com site author Jerome Hamlin sends along the above photographs. Hamlin writes: Here’s a picture of a “Yeti” that approached our car at a gas station in India last April! I thought of you when I snapped it. I was quite impressed by the outfit and in the heat. I think his idea was to approach tourist cars for money. He’s worth it. I have him on video as well, making hissing growls. I was also surprised by the cultural influence. Many of these far away places have learned to parody themselves in situ! Our [...]

The Real Lost World Revisited

This image of the movie poster may be clicked to enlarge it. The Real Lost World is set to re-broadcast on December 17th, after having recently premiered. Frankly, I thought the triple-layered treatment (old real expedition re-creations, clips from the movie based on Doyle’s book, and the new expedition) was visibly intriguing and worked well for television. I enjoyed the program, especially with regard to how Dean Harrison’s role as cryptozoologist was used for action, tension, and innovativations in some scenes. One link to The Lost World that I have been fascinated by is the fact the book served as [...]