Music for Monsters

A couple of days ago, I received an email that went as follows:

"Hey Mr. Redfern,

"My name is Tim Grieve-Carlson. I recently recorded album of music inspired by Bigfoot, ghost lights, and forteana in general. It's been released on The Zone, a netlabel which offers it as a free download. The entire things is only 22 minutes long, and I think you will enjoy it, even if it isn't punk rock.

"If you do take the time to listen to it and enjoy it, I would really be honored and appreciative if you could throw a link on There's Something in the Woods. I don't stand to make any money from people downloading it, but I worked very hard on it and I'm proud of the final product. I think people with an interest in cryptozoology will enjoy it."

Here's the link to where you can download the entire composition - which is indeed an atmospheric one, and very suitable for playing while out in the woods looking for something monstrous!

Monsters of New Jersey and Loch Ness

1. The CFZ's Richard Freeman reviews Monsters of New Jersey by Loren Coleman and Bruce G Hallenbeck. Here's the link.

2. Check out the new blog on the creatures of Loch Ness.

Texas Monsters

A couple of days ago, I was hanging out at Ken Gerhard's apartment down in San Antonio, Texas, and he was telling me had recently been interviewed by local TV about his cryptozoological research, and our book, Monsters of Texas. Well, the good news is that the interview is now online, and can be found here...

The Master-Otter

Dr. Karl Shuker has an excellent new post on Ireland's legendary Master-Otter, but with a twist: the beast may have made its home in Scotland, too...

Cthulhu Commentary

Micah Hanks, good friend and keeper of The Gralien Report, digs into the strange and twilight world of H.P. Lovecraft's diabolical Cthulhu...

Who are the Mutilators?

Cattle-Mutilations don't really fall under the banner of Cryptozoology; however, as they involve animals and are distinctly weird events, I figured you might find my latest post at Mysterious Universe to be of interest. Yes, it deals with the mysterious-mutes, but if you are a disciple of the notion that the mutes are the work of aliens from some far-away world, you may not like what you are about to read. The real picture may be even more ominous...

Bownessie?

All I'm willing to say about this new photograph right now is: hmmmmm....

News of the Mothman Kind

Yep, old red-eyes is back in the news...

Bridge Beasts

A couple of days ago I started blogging (on a regular, 3-times-a-week basis) for Mysterious Universe. My second post (uploaded today) focuses on the connection between strange beasts (such as England's Man-Monkey, the Goat-Man of Texas, and Mothman of Point Pleasant) and old bridges. Here's the link...

Desert Monsters?

Well, yes...kind of!

As someone who spends a lot of time on the road, doing investigations into this and that, I always look forward to a trip that takes me deep into the heart of mysterious, desert locales.

One such experience occurred just a couple of months ago. It was early December of last year when I spent just under a week roaming around the deserts of California with the likes of Andy - The Mothman's Photographer - Colvin, Greg Bishop, Adam Gorightly, and a few other Fortean figures.

And it was while checking out those same desert locales that I took the following photos. Real desert monsters? No! But, I do like to think of them as cool creations of a near-crypto kind!

Creature Stuff

As I've been offline since last Wednesday, I figured I'd just do one post today, alerting you to some of the stuff that has been going on in the last few days.

1. A new, so-called Montauk Monster, which will undoubtedly prove to be a decaying animal of a very down-to-earth nature, and not something unknown! Just because it looks weird, doesn't mean it actually is!

2. Searching for Sasquatch...

3. Richard Freeman on the trail of a hairy man-beast...

4. Profiling Loren Coleman.

Bigfoot & Officialdom

Here's an interesting article I missed when it was published (in January). From good friend Micah Hanks, it delves into the world of Bigfoot and officialdom...

The Shropshire Mammoth

Dr. Karl Shuker tells the notable story of the Shropshire Mammoth...

Texas Crypto

One I missed from late last month: a round-up of a whole variety of Texas-based crypto info, news and developments from 2010 from good friend SMiles Lewis.

Investigating the Woodwose

When it comes to a study of the British Bigfoot, as my latest Lair of the Beasts column at Mania.com demonstrates, there's one creature that is a vital component of the puzzle: the Woodwose...

We Had A Visitor...

Well, perhaps I should not have joked the other day about The Devil's Footprints putting in an appearance in our back-garden! With the snow fresh and deep, we had a visitor in the early hours. Okay, it wasn't really the Devil, but it's nice to see that wildlife is alive and thriving in Arlington, Texas!

Mothman Returns?

Over at Phantoms and Monsters, there's an interesting story developing about recent sightings of a Mothman-style beast somewhere along the Ohio River.

For more info, here's the first account, and here's the latest update.

Cannock Chase Woes

As regular readers of this blog will know, I often highlight accounts of the many and varied strange creatures that have been reported in and around England's Cannock Chase woods - situated only a few miles from where I used to live.

Well, now there is this bureaucratic atrocity to deal with that may very well change this wonderful locale forever...

And click here for more info on this idiotic move by the powers-that-be, and where you can learn more about what is afoot.

Never Mind The Spectral Bullocks

Yes, I know it's sacrilege to mangle the title of the Sex Pistols' classic album of 1977, but it had to be done! Neil Arnold gives us a taster of what's to come in his soon-to-be-published, Haunted Ashford book.

Shadowcass on Lycanthropes...

Shadowcass delves into the beasts of the full moon...

Stan Gordon on New Bigfoot High-Strangeness

I just received this from Stan Gordon, whose latest book, Silent Invasion: The Pennsylvania UFO-Bigfoot Casebook, I recently reviewed.

Pennsylvanian’s Encounter Mysterious Creatures, and UFOs During 2010
From Researcher: Stan Gordon
www.stangordon.info


Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects were frequently reported by residents of the Keystone State during 2010. Among the other odd events reported were encounters with strange creatures such as Bigfoot and giant birds, unexplained sounds, strange sky flashes and anomalous photographs. Reports of such mysterious events which crossed my desk during 2010, originated from 49 counties in Pennsylvania. In 1969 I established a hotline for the public to report UFO sightings. Today I still receive current reports concerning UFO sightings, Bigfoot, and any type of strange incidents from across Pennsylvania at 724-838-7768, or via email at paufo@comcast.net.

The information on cases which I receive are either reported to me directly, or originate from other sources, including various local and national researchers, many of which I have contact with. Also some reports are received from various local or national organizations. For example, The National UFO Reporting Center, www.nuforc.org and the Pennsylvania chapter of the Mutual UFO Network, www.mufonpa.com also receive UFO reports from this state. The Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, (PBS) www.pabigfootsociety.com conducts field studies searching for evidence of Bigfoot in the state.

It is now approaching 52 years that I have been investigating and collecting information on these ongoing yearly strange accounts that originate from Pennsylvania. During that time period, I was involved with the investigations of thousands of very strange events. During the many on scene investigations that I was involved with, there were some cases where some interesting physical evidence was observed at the scene. I personally, however, have never had a UFO sighting or had an encounter with Bigfoot.

I began my field investigations after the Kecksburg UFO incident in 1965. Since that time it has become clear that many UFO sightings, creature encounters, and various paranormal events when properly investigated are determined to originate from a natural or man-made source. There are some incidents of this nature that occur year after year, however, that are not easily explained away. Some of the UFO observations reported during 2010 could be explained as bright planets and stars, meteors, conventional aircraft, and Chinese lanterns or similar home made hot air balloons.

UFO Incidents

Reported UFO sightings from across Pennsylvania started in January and continued throughout the 2010 year. Some of the UFO reports which came to my attention, can be found at: http://www.stangordon.info/sightings.htm.

A number of UFO sightings were reported from various statewide locations on May 26, 2010. I interviewed a woman, who along with her passenger was traveling on a busy roadway in the metro Pittsburgh area. On that morning, they observed a bright silver metallic disc shaped object rotating in circles as it moved steadily across the sky. An attempt to take a picture of it was unsuccessful.

On July 5th close to Jeannette in Westmoreland County, two people watched a bright yellow-orange light move across the sky that seemed to be pulsating or rotating. The object passed overhead, and 3 white lights positioned in a triangular pattern were attached to the underside of a darker silent object which moved towards the east. On July 17th, also near Jeannette, another witness reported a bright star-like object high in the sky that began to pulsate and grew larger in size. It pulsated 2-3 times, then the object became dim, and soon just vanished.

On the evening of July 18th, in Hempfield Township outside of Greensburg, several independent observers that I interviewed observed a bright orange-yellow glowing object moving slowly across the sky. One of the observers took several color photographs before the object seemed to accelerate as it moved off in the distance sky. One picture clearly shows three white lights in a triangular pattern. (Note: For several months there were numerous reports of luminous glowing objects being reported. It is quite likely that some of these reports can be attributed to someone launching Chinese lanterns or other similar home made hot air balloon devices.)

Mini-UFOs

There were a number of reports of close range observations of small sized UFOs. Over the years I have received a number of similar types of reports.

Near Derry in July, a man who was taking a walk observed a pale white solid sphere that appeared to be about 2 inches in diameter. The slow moving object was observed about 15 feet above the ground, and approached the witness to a distance of about 15 feet. The witness watched as the object moved around some trees, then continued on in the distance. In August, near Norvelt, a witness reported observing a rectangular object about 8-9 feet long, rounded in the front, with a soft white glow to it. The object was observed as it moved about 3 feet above the ground, and was about 15 feet from the observer.

On November 24th, on the Youngstown side of the Chestnut Ridge, two witnesses observed a red spherical object about 60 yards away in a wooded area. One of the observers moved closer to the object to try to figure out what it was. The object, which was about 3-4 feet off the ground, was of an unusual configuration. The observer who approached to about 70 feet from the object said that it looked somewhat like, “a ball with the top quarter cut off.”

The man explained that the top quarter was the “orb,” which was flat on the bottom section. The entire object was estimated to be about 60-72 inches long, and about 30-36 inches high. The silent object was a solid red color, but non-glowing with a colored edge, and a bottom. While the object remained motionless, some sort of white spark was observed emitting from the bottom section. The object slowly moved off, made some direction changes, then with great speed moved over a hill and was lost from sight.

Strange Creatures: Bigfoot and Thunderbirds

Bigfoot sightings continue to be reported yearly from various locations across Pennsylvania. Westmoreland and Fayette Counties continue to be active areas where such reports have historically originated from. In June, two people say that they saw a 7-8 feet tall man-like creature covered with tan-brown hair at dusk in Derry Township. I also interviewed a fellow who had been a hunter for many years, but it wasn’t until one early morning in July that he saw something he could not explain. The event occurred in Allegheny County, near a tree line. The witness observed a man-like creature covered with reddish-brown hair, that stood at least 7 ½ feet tall from a distance of about 50-60 feet. The creature was very broad shouldered, and had very long arms. The creature was observed for about 40 seconds.

The Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society (PBS) also received a number of reports of possible Bigfoot sightings from Fayette, Westmoreland and Cambria counties. One case they investigated occurred in April near Scottdale. A man was awakened by his dogs barking at something outside. He investigates and hears sounds like a woman screaming. He looks outside to see a large creature on all fours walking around the yard. The creature than stands up on two legs. It is described as about six feet tall, very thin, and covered with dark hair. The creature with arms swinging, walks off into the woods near the house. The PBS investigates and finds one possible track that measured 16 inches long.

There continues to be observations of giant birds with oversized wingspans reported from areas of Pennsylvania. There has been a long history of such observations from the Keystone State, as well as other parts of the United States. Many accounts refer to such observations as “Thunderbird sightings.” Some of these sightings are likely misidentifications of known bird species observed from various distances and under various lighting conditions. Some reports however include close range observations with detailed accounts.

One such incident occurred on August 26th in South Greensburg in Westmoreland County. It was just getting dark when four people at a cookout heard a “swoosh” sound causing them to look to the sky. A tremendous bird was flying over a tree in the yard about 30-40 feet overhead. It was estimated that if the bird was on the ground, it would stand between 4 ½ and 5 feet tall. The entire body was either darkish brown or black in color. The body width was about 25-30 inches wide.

It was the size of the wingspan which was estimated to be 10 feet or more that impressed the observers. The observers watched as the huge bird flapped its wings as it moved down the road, taking about 20 seconds to go a distance of about ¼ mile as it moved off over some trees. It was just a short distance from this location where in September of 2001, another witness saw a huge dark bird with a massive wingspan flying over the traffic on Route 119.

For information on recent Pennsylvania UFO, Bigfoot and other strange incidents, visit my website at: www.stangordon.info.

To report strange incidents in Pennsylvania, I can be reached at 724-838-7768 or e-mail me at: paufo@comcast.net.

My Wife, Dana

Please spare a thought for my beautiful wife, Dana, who has been diagnosed with a (thankfully mild) case of pneumonia. We're assured Dana will make a full and quick recovery, but she's feeling pretty crappy right now. Fortunately, she is on good medicine and antibiotics, drinking lots of fluids, and getting plenty of hot soup inside her. Dr. Nick is taking good care of her.

Snowy Texas!

Well, who would have thought it?! The normally sunny Dallas-Fort Worth area is today covered in snow and ice, and the wind sounds like it has been lifted straight from the soundtrack to some old 1960s Hammer-horror film! And, as this photo (just taken) shows, even my Union Jack flag looks pummelled by the weather.

All we need now is a Texas equivalent of The Devil's Footprints to put in an appearance!