Swamp Monsters

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 [...]

Why Mokele-Mbembe Is Not A Rhino

The Emela-ntouka has been an unknown animal of some confusion in Africa. A few chroniclers have felt it was merely another named cryptid representing the sightings of the Mokele-mbembe. But as revealed by an image seen here exclusively at Cryptomundo in the past, it appears to be a beast unlike the saurapod-like Mokele-mbembe. Click on image for larger size Copyright: Michel Ballot – Mokélé – Mbembé CAMEROUN 2004 On page 219 of one of my field guides, coauthored with Patrick Huyghe, we noted, among several different kinds of alleged “dinosaurs” in Africa, “one animal is called by locals the emela [...]

Boss Snakes Observed

Attention to Chad Arment’s newest book, Boss Snakes: Stories and Sightings of Giant Snakes in North America will be worth your time. First, let’s start with the obvious. Big snakes do exist. But various cryptozoological questions remain: Are there unknown species? How big do they get? And where are they found? Fluffy, above, who is thought to be the longest captive snake in the world at 24 feet long, drew record fans (1.53 million) to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in 2007. The reticulated python is 15 years old and weighs 300 pounds. It will keep growing, and may live [...]

South Africa: New Mermaid Sighting!

From Curious Encounters, Faber and Faber, 1985. In recent years, Merbeings have taken on the appearance of Lizardpeople, as above, and the Merman and Mermaid roots in the sightings seemed to have been fading. Most reports of Merbeings generally seem to be from over a hundred years ago or are lost in the fog of folktales and legends. But that can all change in an instant. Coming to us from South Africa, from the weekend of January 12-13, 2008, is a new sighting of a more traditional Merwoman, indeed, a nearly classic Mermaid. Herald reporter Aldo Pekeur details the breaking [...]