For years, I have been fascinated in the evolution of cryptozoological thought. There are clear fractures happening in the field, but I don't really see a ton of discussion about it in public. Yet, I have had plenty of personal conversations with a variety of researchers about the changes. So, I decided it would be valuable to the field to ask a variety of researchers, all with different approaches and expertise, the same five questions about the field today. Hopefully, the differences in answers will be valuable information on the diversity of thought in the field.
For my last interview, I talked to my friend Brian Parsons, you can read that here. For this one, I spoke to the one and only Stan Gordon.
Stan Gordan is Pennsylvania's premier researcher into the unusual and unexplained. Having been involved in the field for over 60 years, Stan has amassed an incredible number of cases. He has written three books on the unexplained and produced a documentary about the Kecksburg UFO Crash, on which he is the lead authority. He can be found at his website www.stangordon.info.
1. What is cryptozoology as you see it?
Stan: My long journey into this interesting and controversial field of research began just as the term cryptozoology was being introduced to the public. My interest in researching Bigfoot and cryptids, as well as other anomalies, began when I was 10 years old in 1959. I was a kid interested in science and electronics who had heard radio discussions about people claiming to have seen strange creatures, and I was curious to learn if these accounts were true.
It was my understanding back in those days that cryptozoology was basically a quest to investigate, document, and search for animals that were not known. Many of the mystery animals reported from land and sea worldwide are likely specimens that have never been catalogued and confirmed by the scientific community. Years later, researchers from various backgrounds, including some of those who have been trained in the science fields, continue to pursue the ongoing strange reports of creatures that have not been scientifically confirmed.
2. Where do you think cryptozoology is headed in the next few years?
Stan: My answer to this question is based on discussions that I have had with others who are involved in this field. In speaking with other researchers in the field, they are more open minded and willing to at least listen to witnesses and investigate cases where some high strangeness details are associated with a Bigfoot or other cryptid encounter.
There is a growing body of data being gathered by researchers throughout the country and around the world that indicates that some of these mystery beasts act much stranger than normal flesh and blood creatures. In the last few years, many other investigators have now come forward and are discussing some of the same strange details associated with Bigfoot reports that I was writing about in the 1970s. I think we will be hearing more discussions, for example, of strange luminous balls of light being observed in association with Bigfoot encounters or observed in areas that have a long history of Bigfoot sightings.
With the introduction of the internet, reports of mysterious creature sightings from around the world are easily accessible. Many of the experienced cryptozoologists of past years are no longer with us. I feel that in the future, there will be new teams of younger researchers that are now getting involved to seek out answers to the continuous reports of Bigfoot, Thunderbirds, water monsters, and more.
3. Who do you think (living or deceased) has had the biggest impact on the state of cryptozoology in today's world?
Stan: I would have to say that it was the late Ivan Sanderson that influenced myself and others to use a scientific approach to investigating such reports. I was also very interested in the findings of the late John Keel. My investigations of some Pennsylvania strange creature encounters of the late 1960s and early 1970s, turned up some similar details as to what Keel had uncovered during his research and investigations into the Mothman mystery and other strange cases. There are some great researchers out there, such as researcher and author Nick Redfern, who are willing to speak out about the unusual cryptid cases that are taking place that defy easy explanations.
4. What, if any, have been cryptozoology's biggest contributions to modern science?
Stan: I think that this field has raised the awareness that there may well be undiscovered creatures large and small that need to be confirmed and catalogued for science. It might also encourage those in the science field to take a more serious approach to look into reports of mysterious creatures.
5. Why do you think that paranormal and ufological subjects have been gaining traction within the field of cryptozoology?
Stan: I feel that the reason that these topics are gaining traction is that more and more cases are surfacing where these two subjects seem to interact, and some UFO and Bigfoot researchers are becoming more open minded and are coming across cases similar to what I have been finding for years. There are similarities and likely some connection with various anomalies associated within the UFO, cryptid and the paranormal field.
For decades, many of those involved in the UFO and Bigfoot research community refused to take a serious look into any correlation between the two phenomena. Beginning in 1970 and continuing for many years, I led teams of research specialists including scientists and engineers to investigate UFO, Bigfoot, and cryptid incidents that were reported in Pennsylvania. I began to conduct in-the-field investigations of these cases in 1965 and realized as my investigations increased over the years, that many Bigfoot sightings, just as with UFOs, could be explained as various types of misidentifications.
There were, however, many very detailed Bigfoot encounters that could not be easily dismissed. Early on, I was of the opinion that Bigfoot was an unknown animal. I was not expecting to be exposed to the strange series of Bigfoot cases that took place during the 1970s. That is when we began documenting numerous Bigfoot encounters that had high strangeness details, and cases when Bigfoot and UFOs were seen together. Those well documented cases changed my perception of what was taking place.
There were cases where we observed trails of large footprints with long strides in various ground conditions including heavy snow that just ended abruptly without an explanation. Reports from various witnesses of seeing in daylight a Bigfoot suddenly just vanish and then reappear at another nearby location and a incident with a woman who fired at a Bigfoot with her shotgun only a few feet in front of her. It vanished in a bright flash of light.
While I am not suggesting that we are dealing with visitors from another planet, more information has been surfacing that suggests that we are dealing with a phenomena that has a physical and non-physical component to it. I learned from communicating with some very active Bigfoot researchers in the 1970’s that they had also received similar strange incidents, but they didn’t want to discuss or publish their findings for fear of being ridiculed by fellow investigators. These types of incidents appear to be increasing and are now being discussed seriously on radio and podcast shows. Some well researched books have been published in recent years that are covering these same topics.
6. What is the current focus of your research?
Stan: One focus of my current research are the sightings of black panthers in the Keystone state. Some of these out of place animal reports occur in the daylight and at close range. Witnesses ,in past years and as recently as 2020, described seeing an animal that looked like what they saw in a zoo. This melanistic version of a jaguar or leopard has been reported for years in areas where they should not exist. Interestingly, such reports have also occurred at locations where Bigfoot sightings were also taking place or in areas that have a history of other mysterious events.
I am investigating some recent sightings of Thunderbirds as well. I continue to receive reports of other even stranger cryptid as well.
I am also looking into cases here in Pennsylvania where it appears that a particular geographical location or private property seems to be the focus of repeated paranormal events along with UFO and various types of cryptid activity. Some of these locations have had a long history of strange incidents. Some of the events that have taken place are similar to what have been reported at the Skinwalker ranch in Utah.
One more widespread area that is very active is the Chestnut Ridge that spreads through sections of Westmoreland, Fayette, and Indiana counties in Pennsylvania and continues to a few miles outside of Morgantown, West Virginia. Strange incidents are reported yearly but the areas along sections of Westmoreland and Fayette counties are quite active.
There continue to be reports of small spheres of light or other unusual luminous objects being reported in active Bigfoot locations and some have actually been seen and associated with a Bigfoot encounter.
I am also obtaining details from eyewitnesses who are describing various strange happenings during their encounters with Bigfoot and other cryptids. In some cases, the cryptids appear startled when they realize they can be seen by the human observers.
Reports of odd electromagnetic fields (EMF) disturbances associated with Bigfoot encounters have been reported over the years. There have been cases of UFOs moving low over cars and the vehicle lost power until the object moved away. Although rare, there have been incidents also reported where a Bigfoot walked near a car, and when it did, the vehicle lost power until the creature moved out of the area. Some of these cases occurred in Pennsylvania. I am continuing to research these types of cases as well.
The more I know about the phenomena the stranger it is. I said years ago, “The phenomena is so strange it protects itself.”
