Year In Review

More Otter Nonsense

An old drawing of the animal described by Mr. and Mrs. George Spicer seen crossing the road near Dores, Scotland, one of the two examples examined today. Ten days ago, I posted what became a very popular entry here (+125 comments), “Otter Nonsense”. In discussing my appearance with Joe Nickell on CNN’s “Paula Zahn Now”, I noted that Nickel used a broad brush in debunking Lake Monster accounts. The major “skeptic” argument presented during the CNN interview was Joe Nickell quickly telling and returning again to statements that all Lake Monster reports could be explained as being otters. While some [...]

Mystery Fish Postcard Solved? Megamouth?

Could the solution of the mystery fish photograph on an antique postcard (first noted at Cryptomundo on November 29, 2005) be at hand? Could this postcard reveal evidence of a beached megamouth shark decades before the species was officially verified? (Click on image to see full size version the Mystery Fish Photo postcard, enhanced by shockbeton) Mystery Fish head, click to enlarge. Does the head of the megamouth look similar to that of the Mystery Fish’s head from the old postcard? The above photograph (and the one below) of this 2004 megamouth are courtesy of Ton & Marjan of the [...]

Abominable Snowmen Are Hot!

New images and news of Yetis being celebrated are demonstrating a growing renewed interest in the ancient hairy ones of the Himalayan Mountains. Above is a new image of the Yeti by artist RobRoy Menzies (pictured below), who was profiled over the weekend on his local NBC affiliate (click here). Menzies’ illustration is intriguing because he is showing how these creatures can seemingly merge with their environment. No doubt a rare few Abominable Snowmen, who are more often reported to be reddish-brown than white, are lighter colored. Perhaps there’s a winter coat color phrase that is off-white in rare cases, [...]

Missouri River Monster Captured

A report from May for your consideration… A Terrible Fish Story A strange monster was captured recently [during May] in the [Missouri] river opposite Canton, by some fishermen, in their seine, while dragging for fish. We know not what to call it, or what it looks like, or how to describe it, for it is unlike any creature of earth, air or water, that we have ever seen. It is not a fish, nor is it an alligator, or crocodile, or a turtle, but resembles the pictures we have often seen in books of the mythical dragon. It is a [...]

California “Sea-Ape”?

A California Mermaid – The account of the voyage of Hernando Grijalva to the Gulf coast of Lower California, (1823,) describes a mermaid which Grijalva professed to have seen. The object[,] when seen near by, resembled nothing more than a monkey. It leaped out of the water and jumped back again, with its hands moving very quickly, and then looked us in the face; floating in the water as in an attude [sic] of sitting, until a bird disturbed it, when it dived down again and came up on a short distance from us; we saw it for more than [...]

Old Sea Serpent Sighting

A Monster in the Sound The Portchester Journal assumes the responsibility for this story: “Last Friday [August 10, 1877], while a gentleman and lady were sailing on the Sound, between Byram shore and Captain’s Island light, their attention was attracted by a queer hissing noise, and a roaring sound, and they soon discovered, not an eighth of a mile distant, a monster of the deep advancing rapidly. This monster stood up straight, was apparently as large round as a hogshead, and showed an enormous head and exhibited not less than fifteen or twenty feet of his length. Her advanced a [...]

Department Deals with Dover Demon “Detectives”

Last night, Saturday, April 21, into the early morning of Sunday, April 22, 2007, I was on the “Dover Demon” radio special broadcast by “Spooky Southcast,” for two and a half hours. It was good to celebrate the exact anniversary of the Dover Demon sightings this way, and to join current investigators from the area, on the air. Of course, like some people who decided to go to the specific sites of the encounters, I would have enjoyed being on Farm Street in Dover last night, as well. But it sounds like some people went a bit overboard in their [...]