In The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep (NY: Tarcher/Penguin, 2003), I wrote that the aquatic cryptids seen in Lac Pohénégamook are “supposedly” some of “the ugliest-headed monsters around.” But “ugly” does not translate into disrespect or unloved in my book, and perhaps it is time to send the Poniks a little more love than usual. For centuries people in Scotland have talked about a monster lurking in Loch Ness, called “Nessy.” It turns out, just a few hours away from Bangor there is talk of a similar creature named “Ponik.” Natives [...]
Florida Confusion Continues
My gosh, now the media is throwing in Chupacabras to explain the Orangutan-Fox Squirrel-Spider Monkey reports from Baker County, Florida. Also, the Skunk Ape, Bigfoot, and something called the “Taylor Wild Man” are being pitched too. At least, they haven’t caught on to the Cryptomundian theory that it is a tree-stranded otter. Mark Lyons observes the trap set by FWC. Look, up in the tree. It’s a plane, it’s a bird, it’s … well, no one knows for sure exactly what it is. A sighting three weeks ago of what appeared to be a large, orange colored monkey in a [...]
BBtv Visits the International Cryptozoology Museum
BBtv, which is the popular blog site Boing Boing’s new television outlet, has broadcast their feature on “Cryptozoology” today, November 20th, 2007. Celebrity personality Xeni Jardin writes of the program: Cryptozoology with Loren Coleman and BBG’s Joel Johnson By Xeni Jardin Yeti, sea serpents, Sasquatch — fantasy creatures or flesh-and-blood biological oddities? Boing Boing Gadgets editor Joel Johnson visits the Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine to explore these cryptid enigmas and more. Joel speaks with the museum’s founder, blogger and cryptozoology expert Loren Coleman, who is also the author of Mysterious America. To view the video, click on “International Cryptozoology [...]
The Sasquatch Gang Chapter Comics
The Sasquatch Gang movie opens next week, and a good article about the illustrations in the film can be found here. The Sasquatch Gang is broken into chapters, each separated by a comic-book-style illustration by artist Shawn McManus (“The Sandman,” “Swamp Thing”). Here are some samples, which give a feeling this movie may be weirdly Fortean and Bigfoot-aware. There are more examples, and you can make these bigger at the Comic Book Resources site.
The Curious Case of Mr. Holmes and the Mystery Ape
“Perhaps when a man has special knowledge and special powers like my own, it rather encourages him to seek a complex explanation when a simpler one is at hand.” ~ Sherlock Holmes, in The Adventure of the Abbey Grange. The serial melodrama apparently continues. To tell you the truth, when I read the headline to the story late last night (November 18, 2007), “Bear trap set for mysterious ape,” I chuckled to myself. I immediately thought: “Dang, someone’s decided to finally attempt to catch Jacobs mangy bear.” But I read on, and was more startled than enlightened by what I [...]
Watch the Skies! Here Comes Birdzilla!
Get ready. They are coming. Not by land or sea, but by the airwaves. The invasion has begun. They are here! Have you noticed that when the thoughtful pieces on cryptozoology turn up, the segments are populated by “friends of the family,” commenting on the subjects under discussion? Have you also noticed the manufactured tension in these appearances? Often the media naturally sets up the “good cop, bad cop” scenario for their stories, and you should expect to see it again this week (if not on the History Channel, certainly in the stories done in the wake of “Birdzilla”). How [...]
Official Reportedly Explains Away “Orangutan”
Or does he? As often happens after a clear, concise sighting of something remarkable that then cannot easily be captured, a state or government authority, contrary to local officials, is quoted by the media in an attempt to “explain away” the reports. Charles Fort called this the “Wipe,” for it was a frequent technique for disposing of the uncomfortable reality of the data that would not disappear. It often was the media trying to move on from the story, as much as the quoted “expert.” In the recent case from Florida, those that reported the “orange or red ape” in [...]
Update Vote Count: “Best Cryptozoologist”
Thank you for enjoying yourself and voting for the “Best Cryptozoologist.” We have now broken all records set in 2006, thanks to Cryptomundians. As you may recall, Paul Kimball opened his “2007 Zorgy Awards” for voting, based on the nominations he had received, a few days ago. He included a new category for voting this year (9th down on his list): “Best Cryptzoologist.” Here’s an update: Kimball reports that the folks from Cryptomundo are “rocking the vote” in his tallies. Of all the polls, as of mid-November, the “cryptozoologist” one is getting the most votes. The others have barely brought [...]
“Bigfooters” Know-It-Alls During Ape Investigations
The unfolding story of the sightings and examination of “orangutan sightings” in Florida has taken a new twist. Apparently, at least one self-proclaimed “Bigfoot investigator” from an unidentified “Bigfoot research group” is messing with the local authorities in Florida. I’ve never found it an effective forensic interviewing technique to use terms like “Bigfoot” with local wildlife or law enforcement officers, let along eyewitnesses, in terms of gathering primary information. Let’s be frank. That’s just not good form, and totally unscientific to boot. Take what people say as their experience of the animal being seen. Record it, ask more questions and [...]
Sasquatch Anatomy
A new article about Professor Jeff Meldrum’s investigations can be found in the December 2007 issue of Scientific American Magazine. The article involves the late Paul Freeman, and for more on Freeman, click here. Here’s a preview summary of the Scientific American Magazine article, from their website: One overcast Sunday morning in 1996, Jeffrey Meldrum and his brother drove to Walla Walla, Wash., to see if they could find Paul Freeman, a man renowned in Bigfoot circles as a source of footprint casts. Meldrum–who has followed Bigfoot lore since he was a boy–had heard that Freeman was a hoaxer, “so [...]
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