A Crypto Round-Up

If, like me, you spent the holiday weekend having a good time and forgetting about Bigfoot and Nessie for a few days, then there's quite a bit to report on that we both missed! So, here's a round-up of what's been going on:

Story 1: For me, the most important - and very welcome - news is the forthcoming release of Neil Arnold's new book, Mystery Animals of Kent, about which the accompanying publicity blurb says:

"...The only book on Kent worth reading.....real investigations into real events. The counties first ever book to explore Neil's research into strange creatures. Bizarre encounters with trigger-happy hunters. Grisly photographs. Satanic threats in the witching hour. The facts on British 'big cats' and hundreds of sightings dating back centuries. Eye-witness testimony. Blue Bell Hill - Britain's weirdest place ? Urban monster legends. Historical reports of dragons, man-beasts and phantom hounds. From monster fish to the phantom cat-ripper...The only book for Halloween. The only book for a black Christmas...this is what it's like being out in the field.Forget the 'Blair Witch Project'...this is Kent."

Neil has set up a blog to promote the book, which can be found here. I'll keep you posted concerning the publication date of Neil's book.

Story 2: And equally good news: publisher Tim Beckley has just released a 4-book set of Charles Fort's classic titles: Wild Talents; Book of the Damned; New Lands; and Lo!

Here's what Tim has to say about the books:

"I first purchased a copy of one of Charles Fort's books when I was about 13 years old. It was perhaps my first inkling that there were others who were interested in probing that which remains just on the other side of the unknown. I'm very proud to be able to present Fort's works in a large print, large format edition, as I believe this will open up his works to a whole new audience."

And as Tim also notes: "Charles Fort was a collector of strange tales which he gleamed from dusty newspapers and out of print scientific journals. He spent over 20 years in public libraries in the UK and later in America where he combed the shelves of the NY Public Library in search of the strange and unknown. This resulted in 4 works of approximately 1,000 pages pertaining to the most unusual subjects you are likely to read about anywhere in any era. . .and the stories are well researched and documented.

"Fort's works have long been sought after and were finally made available long after his death. We are proud to be able to present the following four volumes in never before presented large print editions. The books in this set are: 1. WILD TALENTS -- 2. BOOK OF THE DAMNED -- 3. NEW LANDS. 4. LO!

"In a breezy easy to read style Fort presents hundreds of episodic tales from the borderland of human understanding such as. . . Strange Disappearances. . . The Man Who Couldn't Drown. . . Mysterious Cattle Rippers. . . Blonde Beast of Patagonia. . . Human Vampires. . . Lake and River Creatures. . . Bizarre Slayer of Sheep. . . Spontaneous Human Combustion. . . Mirages of Cities and Towns. . . Phantom Figures. . .THe Original Cat Burgler. . . Original UFOs and Airships. . . Submarine Objects. . . Possible UFOnauts. . . Fossils in Meteorites. . . AND MUCH MORE."

Here's the link to purchase the new editions. I strongly recommend them if you haven't got them already. As Tim correctly notes, all of Fort's books contain cryptozoological gems - and some little-known ones too.

Story 3: Here's today news from The Anomalist (and I recommend you check out the pages from the last few days as there are loads of crypto stories posted there):

A Big Find: Huge Fossilized Footprint Found Herald-Citizen. Cookeville, TN, resident Harold Jackson and a friend, while strolling along property Jackson owns on the banks of Great Falls Lake near the Caney Fork River, discovered a rock with a large left footprint impressed into it. A subsequent trip to the same location uncovered what appears to be the right footprint of the same creature. Has Jackson discovered evidence of a prehistoric Bigfoot? With photo. Meanwhile, a list of cryptids has been released with few surprises, but there are some lesser-known creatures mentioned in Top 10 Most Wanted Monsters Cryptozoologists Want to Nab, and conspicuously missing, perhaps, from that list are Two Brazilian Bird People & An English One.