New Rash of Werewolf Sightings in Britain

The cryptozoological community has seems to have become obsessed with sightings of werewolves, renamed 'Dogman' for a more broad moniker. Books, documentaries, and even a symposium have emerged from the recent excitement. 

New sightings of such creatures have started to emerge with more frequency, and they are being taken more seriously. 

The most recent set of sightings of bipedal wolf-like creatures have come out of Hull, East Yorkshire in England.

This 'flap' of sightings began in the late fall of last year when a witness claimed to have encountered a tall, dark dog-like creature that was walking on its hind legs. 

Many of the sightings, including the one above, have happened around the Barmston Drain, a channel dating back to 1798, and the industrial areas around the Drain. 

One of the witnesses also claimed that she saw one of the creatures walking with its hind-legs and all fours; “It was stood upright one moment. The next it was down on all fours running like a dog. I was terrified. It bounded along on all fours, then stopped and reared up on to its back legs, before running down the embankment towards the water. It vaulted 30ft over to the other side and vanished up the embankment and over a wall into some allotments.”

There seems to be an old history of bipedal wolves in East Yorkshire. There is an old legend of a wolf creature which had very bad breath, known as 'Old Stinker'. 

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Bigfoot Touches Witness's Vehicle in Fayette, Pennsylvania

Fayette County, Pennsylvania is a hot spot of the weird. Everything from strange cats, to Bigfoot, to UFOs are frequently seen there. Recently, an interesting new report has emerged from the area.
Four days ago an anonymous witness contacted Jim Brown, a researcher of the unexplained, about an encounter with two unusual, large creatures.
The encounter was five days ago and has garnered some attention for an interesting aspect of the report, one of the creatures actually touched the witness's vehicle.
The full report is on Pennsylvania based researcher Stan Gordon's website. You can find it here.

This is not the only time a Bigfoot creature has physically interacted with the vehicle of the witness in Pennsylvania.
Stan Gordon discusses an unusual encounter in his first book, Really Mysterious Pennsylvania where the witness's car actually was damaged by a tall, white colored, ape-like creature.
The book is highly recommended, you can buy it here.

Early Sightings of Slenderman

The Internet seems to be abuzz about sightings of tall, thin men, garbed in all black, for the past few years. Such a creature has been dubbed ‘Slenderman’ and is the subject of many fictional short stories known as ‘Creepypasta’. While many simply dismiss claimed encounters as kids with overactive imaginations which are fueled by the mass of stories, there are some researchers who have taken a more serious look at possible encounters. There is a common theory that Slenderman is a thought form (for information about thought forms, click the link here)

One of the most interesting parts of the Slenderman enigma is that some have connected him to various stories and creatures throughout world mythology. One only needs to do a quick search and they would find a multitude of information on mythological creatures that Slenderman is similar to.

I am including two stories, both from the late 1800's, of creatures which seem like relatives of the Slenderman. Both are courteously provided through Albert Rosales’ extensive database, he can be found here.

Location. East Moorestown, New Jersey

Date: October 1885 Time: night

There were reported sightings of an apparitional figure by trainmen and others near the East Moorestown station. On one occasion startled members of a train crew thought they had hit someone walking along the track, only to find no trace of the ostensible victim. “Ignorant to this affair, Mrs. Cassidy, an intelligent lady of Moorestown, and her sister, walked over the track at this point a few nights after. She said yesterday, ‘We were walking slowly along, and I was never thinking of ghosts. I suddenly cast my eyes to the right and cried out: ‘Oh my! Look there. What is that?, and my blood stopped in my veins and I was paralyzed with fear, for right in front of me stood a tall, thin figure, dressed in black, with a crape veil over its face. It could not have come in that door there and must have been nearly seven feet tall. My sister said, “Oh that is some widow,’ but it suddenly whirled away with a whizzing noise like pheasants make when they rise and fly away. Then my sister was frightened and we both went down town. I met my brother and told him about it. He said we were cowards, but came back with us to the place we saw the ghost. It was quite light, as the moon was just breaking, through the clouds. “When we arrived at the place my brother saw it too, and started to run after it, but it suddenly vanished. It did not seem to have any feet, and though I don’t believe in ghost, it was the queerest looking thing I ever saw.”

Tom Cassidy, Louis Certain, Tom Morany and William Budd, four incredulous citizens concluded to ferret out the mystery and bravely face the foe. Friday night, after coming from their work on the railroad, they visited the haunted spot, determined to shoot the rascal who would penetrate such a humbug on the community. Tom Cassidy described their meeting with the ghost thus: “We were walking along the road, not thinking of the thing just then, when a tall, thin form, too large to be a man, stood in front of us. It was dressed in woman’s clothes and its face was craped. It wore something on its legs that looked like gum boots and its tall form swayed to and fro, like the boughs of trees when the wind blows through them, and made a similar noise. Louis Certain yelled out, “My God what is that ghost?” Then Bill Budd drew a revolver, and he ran a square following it. He could not get nearer than ten yards to it, and when he thought he was gaining on it, it suddenly disappeared in the woods. The strangest part of the affair was that the ghost ran along the sandy road and when we afterward examined the road not a track or trace of one could be found.” William Budd said, “I am a very fast runner, but I couldn’t keep up to that thing. I don’t believe it is human, for it does not run like a man. I wanted to fire at it when it ran away from me, but the other fellows told me not to shoot, and then when I was going to draw the infernal thing disappeared. I never did believe in ghosts but that is one.” One man said: “John Dargan’s horse saw it on the road, near Gillingham’s house, on Thursday night, and frightened at it. People say they cannot get a horse in Gilligham’s stable on account of it. Their house is empty and some think it stays there.” Isaac said he saw it come out of Gillingham’s yard and it looked like a man seven feet tall. He passed it and it disappeared, but he was certain it was not a human being.The ghost has been seen at various times by different people along the track, and all bear testimony to its great size, its somber appearance and the whizzing noise it makes as it sails along. Large crowds have congregated to see the mystery, but it generally appears when only three or four are present. Some of the citizens say that just two years ago a similar apparition clothed in white was seen at the same place. It manifested itself to a great many in the community and some think it but a reappearance of the old ghost, clothed in black.

Source: Jerome Clark IUR summer 2003

And here is another report, in which multiple creatures are seen:

Location. Fredrikstad, Norway 

Date: late June 1881 Time: late evening

The witness lived in a house close to an old church in Fredrikstad and worked in western Fredrikstad and would return home in the evening; it was often quite late before returning home, as it was a long way to walk. Then one evening a few days after midsummer, he was sitting together with his wife next to the window eating a meal when they suddenly saw several completely black human-looking creatures standing outside the church gate, on the road that went past the church wall. He thought these figures were strange-looking and his wife thought the same, but thought no further on the matter at the time, as the road was usually well travelled by both driving and walking people. But their attention was attracted by these creature’s strange movements and appearance. They were all of equal height and very thin, a long smock hid their feet. They had small heads without any head-dress or gear and their arms were held straight forward on all of them which made it look like they had only one arm. They seemed to play and dance with each other, going back and forth, ‘compared to the movements of the northern lights on a winter’s light’. Stunned he asked his wife what kind of strange people were these, but she didn’t answer she just stared. Suddenly and in an instant they all disappeared at the same time appearing to walk directly into the church wall, the witness estimated that there must have been 10 to 12 figures. A few moments’ later three more appeared again on the road, making the same movements as the first ones, and disappeared on the same spot on the wall, and they never saw them again. It had been rather light outside and it happened relatively close to the witnesses so they were convinced that it had not been a trick of the light or confusion. The incident lasted about 10 minutes.

Source: Ole Jonny Braenne in Magonia exchange list, quoting “Spokelser” (Ghosts) 1913, pages 10-11

I think that these reports, and others like them, are possibly their own phenomena which has gone unnoticed so far. This could be an important addition to the realm of the paranormal. For more information on Slenderman, check out Slenderman: From Fiction to Fact by Rev. Robin Swope.

What do you think? Tell me in the comments!

Thought Forms

Throughout the world there are beliefs pertaining to the power of thought, the most abundant idea is the possibility of ‘thought-forms’. Thought-forms are a popular idea between many occult researchers and scholars. The idea behind a thought-form is simple, they are exactly as they sound, a kind of creature, force, or object brought into existence purely through the power of one’s mind. There are numerous accounts of encounters with the paranormal and phenomena that could potentially be explained through the unconscious  thought-forms. Some examples of this are poltergeists, some cryptids, ghosts, and UFOs/extraterrestrials.

Thought-forms are generally said to be created through extreme concentration and focus on whatever it is said person or persons want to be brought into existence, often times, according to legend, the creation ends disastrously for all those involved. Unconscious thought-form creation is slightly more complicated, though never mentioned in any belief system or myth, some theorize if enough people believe in the existence of the same thing, eventually it will come into existence, for example, after the first Bigfoot prints were popularized, the idea of a large ape-like creature exploded, even after the prints were admitted to be fakes sightings of Bigfoot persist, because of this, some think that the immense belief in the creature literally brought it into existence.

The best known example of thought-forms in myth, and where most modern ideas within the subject of thought-forms originate from, comes from the ideology of the Tibetan monks. The monks believe that if you meditate and fast in a specific way, you can potentially bring to existence, a tulpa. Tulpas are specialized thought-forms, they seem to require specific rituals to bring forth, but afterwards, they follow their creator’s commands. Tulpas also begin as invisible to all other than their creator, but as they gain strength, they are able to be seen by others. There are also accounts of tulpas becoming strong enough to develop their own will and break free from the commands of their creator.

There are many issues with the existence or possibility of thought-forms, but many occultists claim that somehow, thought-forms are able to break the laws of physics to come into existence.

What do you think? Could thought-forms explain some or all paranormal phenomena? Or is this all superstitious crap? Tell me in the comments

Sources

Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical; and Paranormal Experience by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

The Directory of Possibilities edited by Colin Wilson

The Encyclopedia of Ghost and Spirits by Rosemary Ellen Guiley.

Green Fireballs

When you think of a UFO, you probably think of a shiny, metal spacecraft in the shape of a disc. That is what is portrayed as the “classic” UFO, but interestingly enough, most UFO sightings are simply moving lights that have an unknown origin. One case of these strange sky lights is known as the Green Fireball Wave of 1948-1951.

Green fireballs are literally what they sound like--giant, green, round objects that appear to be on fire. The fireballs were seen throughout the southwestern United States, although they seemed to cluster in New Mexico. The first known sighting of the fireballs was on December 5, 1948. The objects were seen twice by two pilots who were flying over New Mexico, 22 minutes apart. Many just shrugged the encounter as a meteor, but the witnesses insisted it was not a meteor. The military was more concerned.

The next day, the Air Force formed a study of the fireballs. Two of the investigators encountered another fireball under similar circumstances as the two pilots. The Air Force then contacted Lincoln La Paz, a well known expert on meteors, to consult on the study. La Paz later encountered one himself and concluded, due to the lack of speed and sound, that the fireballs were not, in fact, meteors.

After study of the atmosphere from the places where encounters happened, La Paz found that there was an unexplained amount of copper particles in the atmosphere. La Paz said that this was more proof that the fireballs weren’t meteors, because there is no evidence showing copper particles coming from meteors.

Eventually the study decided to try and photograph the objects. Project Sparkle came from this, the official title for the attempt to photograph the fireballs. Due to lack of funding and equipment failure resulting in no pictures, Project Sparkle was shut down. Those who were involved speculated from their observations that the objects weren’t natural but were artificially made, some say by extraterrestrial craft.

Unusual lights are still seen in the sky today, the most famous being the Marfa Lights in Texas and the Naga Fireballs seen above the Mekong River in Thailand.

Sources

Strange and Unusual Phenomena by Jerome Clark and Nancy Pear

The UFO Encyclopedia by Jerome Clark

How Can Cryptids Stay Hidden?

When discussing cryptids, such as Bigfoot or Mothman, I seem to be faced with the same question, time and time again. This question seems simple but could really be quite complex if you really think about it. The question is, “If these creatures exist, how do they stay hidden against hundreds of people looking for them?”

There are many answers to this question, and which answer you use normally depends on your point of view on the specific cryptid or type of cryptid in question. I will briefly explain the three major answers to the question.

The first answer is nothing more than trying to show that there are still plenty of areas not properly explored by man, or are so vast and inaccessible that it gives large animals a fair amount of living space without needing to stray into more densely populated areas. This is normally used by believers in the specific cryptids existence or at least those who are open to the possibility.

The second is simply that the cryptid doesn’t exist and that sightings are simply nothing more than misidentifications or flatout fabrications. Thus there is no ‘real’ animal to be found. Most professional debunkers use this for nearly everything.

The third answer seems to divulge into the very strange, it can be summed up in two words, multidimensional beings. This idea has seemed to grow in popularity and has a large number of supporters. Basically those who support this idea think that since most cryptid encounters seem to have many paranormal parallels to it, the creatures most likely come from another dimension or something similar. This idea seems more logical for some cryptids but not for most of them.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology by Michael Newton

Cryptozoology A to Z by Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark

The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings by John A. Keel

Fear the Djinn

“If you fear one thing in life, fear the djinn.” This is the message on the back cover of Rosemary Ellen Guiley’s groundbreaking book, The Vengeful Djinn, coauthored by Philip J. Imbrogno. In the book the authors explain the basics within the world of the djinn and what they could be doing in the world of today. So what are the djinn? And why are they so alarming to many occult scholars and researchers?

According to Islamic legend, the djinn are a race of interdimensional beings, born of a smokeless fire, who have nearly endless amounts of power. It is said that the djinn have the ability to shapeshift into any form, can fly and teleport, are able to become invisible, have super speed and strength, can influence thoughts and dreams, and are able to possess people. They almost sound like super villains. It is said that while the djinn aren’t evil they are certainly tricksters, and their tricks may not be the most pleasant.

The djinn were said to be the original inhabitants of the Earth, but eventually they enraged Allah, for when he created man, Iblis, the leader of the djinn, protested Allah’s commandment to bow before Adam, the first man. This story has been repeated as the Christian story of the fall of Lucifer, it is considered by many scholars that Lucifer and Iblis were the same being. Allah, enraged over the disobedience, condemned Iblis and his djinn to another dimension.

Many occult scholars are alarmed by the djinn for two reasons, because the djinn are obviously more powerful than humans and they want their world back, and second because they can be used to explain virtually any unusual happening. Guiley drew significant parallels between the djinn and fairies, extraterrestrials, UFOs, ultraterrestrials, cryptids, shadow people, ghosts, and even poltergeists.

So what do you think? Are the djinn as scary as some think? Or is this all just superstition and needless fear? Tell me in the comments.

Sources

The Vengeful Djinn by Rosemary Ellen Guiley and Philip J. Imbrogno

The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

A Field Guide to Demons, Vampires, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack

An Encyclopedia of Occultism by Lewis Spence

Real Vampires, Night Stalkers, and Creatures from the Darkside by Brad Steiger