Men in Cryptozoology

Happy Birthday Debunker of Yeti!

Today, July 20, 2007, Sir Edmund Hillary is 88 years old. Hillary’s name will always be linked, in my mind, to his World Book Encyclopedia-supported trek to Nepal in 1960, supposedly, to search for the “Abominable Snowman.” In reality, it actually allegedly was more about a spy mission against the Chinese, hidden in the media glare of a debunking Yeti expedition. The members of Hillary’s team (1) bought a bear skin that was declared to be a Yeti’s so it could be revealed to be a bear’s, (2) obtained a ritual religious object known to be made in imitation of [...]

Cryptofiction and Coelacanth Scales: Sterling E. Lanier Dies

Sterling Edmund Lanier, 79, who just died in Sarasota, Florida, harkens back to an era of early cryptozoologists and adventurers. Lanier worked as an editor at Chilton Books in the 1960s, alongside Ivan T. Sanderson, also an editor at Chilton. Chilton Books in 1961 published Sanderson’s famous book, Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life. Sanderson and Lanier moved in similar natural history and publishing circles for a few years. Lanier wrote the foreword for one of Sanderson’s friends, Roger A. Caras’ 1964 Chilton-published book, Dangerous to Man; Wild Animals A Definitive Study of Their Reputed Dangers to Man. Born in [...]

ChampQuest Director’s Disappearance Deepens

Missing: The virtual vanishing of Dennis Hall, the founder and director of ChampQuest, is upsetting seekers and friends. Dennis Hall is shown above during the happier days of the U-Haul Champ promotion. Used with prior permission. For months, Lake Champlain Monster hunter Dennis Hall has not been able to be located. His old website, ChampQuest.com is now posting this message: “Gone. The requested resource is no longer available on this server and there is no forwarding address. Please remove all references to this resource.” Attempts to reach Hall that I have made to his (old?) telephone number in Paton, Vermont, [...]