Mystery of The Black Stick Men

I consider myself to be a fairly skeptical guy. Granted, I tend to take most paranormal encounter stories at face value.I generally believe that people have had an experience which is meaningful to them, whether that included a paranormal aspect is up for debate in my mind, but for the person the encounter was most certainly real. As such, I very rarely come out strongly on the side of paranormal phenomena being imagined or in some sense not “real”. I’m finding it hard to keep my open-mindedness about today’s relatively recent phenomenon which we are going to discuss. The Black Stick Men are paranormal creatures which, not entirely unlike the Black Eyed Kids, seem to have been born on the internet.

The origin or at least the modern fascination with this phenomenon seems to stem from a 2009 Listverse article entitled “Top 10 Modern Paranormal Phenomena”. All the usual suspects of the paranormal world make an appearance on this list; chupacabras, dog-headed men, shadow people, etc. Among the more normal, paranormal, menagerie the author snuck in a strange report of something he called “Black Stick Men”. From the site:

The black stick man is another entity encountered in modern times. Not to be confused with the shadow man, incredibly he is even stranger. Stick men are supposed to look like totally black, thin, stick figure drawings, such as teachers would make in kindergarten. They have been reported as between average height to impossibly tall. Their heads are just a black circle with no facial features being discernible. They are totally two dimensional, without any depth.

Usually they’ve been sighted walking along roads at night, or at transitional times such as twilight or just before dawn. Bizarrely, some have reported them wearing what appears to be a top hat.

Their walk is described as a weird “lolloping” gait. They are surprised when actually seen, and have followed unfortunate witnesses on occasion. Their pace remains leisurely as they approach. Obviously to be pursued by such an otherworldly creature would be anything but pleasant, and those who have encountered them have been understandably terrified. So far however, apart from being bizarrely frightening, they have done no physical harm, and ultimately just disappear.

Attempting to wrap my head around this “phenomena” is a whole lot harder than most of the paranormal creatures I’ve discussed here at Forteania in the past. Regardless of how bizarre the Black Stick Men might be, it doesn’t seem to stop people from having encounters with them. Author Martin J Clemens, at his Paranormal People Online site, has a great write up about this phenomenon which I recommend checking out. In his post, he points out that the comments section of the original Listverse article has a few examples of encounters with Black Stick Men. Clemens points readers to the following comment:

“In 1982, when I was a student nurse at Warley Hospital, Brentwood in Essex, England, I encountered a ‘stick person’ in the grounds of the Hospital as I was walking home one night. It lopped across the roadway having been, seemingly, pressed up against a wall. It stopped when it saw me and raised it’s arms in fright and quickly walked off into the undergrowth. It was very tall with very thin, extremely long arms and legs and a very small oval head. Totally black and no obvious clothing. I saw no face even though it emerged very near a street lamp and so was well illuminated. I was terrified and to this day, no-one believes me…”

Everyone’s favorite website AboveTopSecret, has a thread dealing with this topic. From the thread I was led to a forum posting on the Fortean Times message boards from 2003, predating the 2009 listverse article, where the anonymous poster reports a Black Stick Man encounter which was supposed to have occurred back in 1978. From the forums:

Simon

“The following account is slightly shortened but otherwise unchanged and comes from my diary record for Tuesday, 31st October 1978. Only the names have been changed. We were all aged between 15 and 17 at the time. The Loose Valley referred to is near Maidstone in Kent. My diary record also indicates that there was a new moon on that night.

"I will record a rather unpleasant experience which took place tonight. A group of about ten of us were sitting chatting in the Loose Valley at about midnight. After about 45 minutes Will leapt to his feet slapping his head saying there was a bee in his hair; he looked absolutely terrified. Both Dorothy and I saw the outline of a tall, thin figure wearing a hat dancing behind him. Will said later it was if a terrifically loud buzzing was coming-up through the top of his head. However only Rachel heard any buzzing.

We partially satisfied ourselves that it must have been a bees' nest, and so we moved a little distance away. As we moved away Dorothy and I saw a ring outlined in the grass which enclosed where we had been sitting. Eventually it started raining so we headed for Rachel's house. As we left I turned around and saw the same thin black figure walk across the opening between the trees to where we had been sitting.”

Here is another account from the same Fortean Times forum thread. Another anonymous poster recounts their experience with the Black Stick Men:

This is my first post. I wanted to share an experience that happened to me some years ago, for which I have no explanation but still to this day I'd like to see if anyone out there has any ideas to contribute. The fact that I stumbled across these accounts on the FT website of black silhouette figures confirms a lot to me, namely that myself and a friend are not alone in something we experienced. Please read on!

I was walking from a friend's house to my own, in the early hours of the morning after a night of general chat while I was at university here in London, UK – specifically, a relatively leafy suburb called Brockley in South-east London. I had drunk only everyday tea or soft drinks all night and had consumed no drugs whatsoever. I'd simply gone without sleep. The time was around 6am and dawn was literally breaking when a friend and I found ourselves walking down my street to where my apartment was located, when we saw a figure walking up the street towards us. The word we coined later to describe its movement was 'lolloping' - a kind of up-down bouncy walk. It took a few seconds for the two of us to realise this was no human being. I asked my friend: "See that man?" "Yes," was the reply. "It's not a man, though, is it?" I found myself asking. "No,' said my friend, sounding scared. "It isn't."

The creature was entirely black and like a cardboard cut-out, flat and one-dimensional. It had no features at all, and it had arms that hung down to its knees. It seemed to be ignoring us, then it seemed to realise we could see it and it began to 'lollop' faster towards us.

We ran to my front door and hid in the hallway as quiet and unmoving as possible when we saw the thing - we felt it was male - approach the front door and appear to look through the glass from the way its head moved up and down and around. It then turned away.

We didn't sleep for some time after that, discussing what we saw. It was shaped like many descriptions of 'greys' but both myself and my friend came away with the impression that what we saw was either of this world or from another parallel dimension. To all intents and purposes, it appeared to be sauntering along the road enjoying the walk before it became shocked to see us staring at it in horror. We instinctively felt this was not a creature to try and communicate with, this was not something that it was good to be near. We might have been wrong but neither myself nor my friend would ever like to see this creature or others like it again, though I'd love to get some ideas on what it was. We felt that if this creature had somehow gotten hold of us, we would not be around today to tell the tale to anyone who might believe us or at least give the story open-minded consideration.

The Fortean Times thread is full of other accounts of encounters with these mysterious entities. I highly suggest you check it out for some more creepy tales of Black Stick Men.  Just what in the world are these things? Even considering the things I’ve discussed on this blog in the past, these entities seem beyond the realm of the possible. I’m not discounting them, after all reality is far stranger than fiction at times. I can’t even begin to think what these creatures may actually be. Figments of the imagination of the witnesses? Sure, may be in some cases.

A part of me can’t help but be suspicious of their modern appearance. True, most of the stories you’ll read will be from the 60’s or 70’s. Yet people only began to relate these strange encounters recently. Could this be because the events were simply too bizarre for the people to recount. Fearing that they would be at best dismissed or at worst ridiculed? I can certainly see how that might be the case. I can’t help shake the suspicion that these entities might be a modern myth in the making, not entirely unlike our friend the Black Eyed Kids. As always, I’d love to know what you all think. Feel free to post your opinions in the comment section below.

Grave couldn't hold this musician

It's been said that the only things certain in life are death and taxes, but in the case of a South African musician death may not be so certain after all. Apparently not even the grave could hold this talented artist. From The Guardian:

The South African music scene has been rocked by the claim that a Zulu singer has returned from the dead. Police are investigating a man who says he is Khulekani Mgqumeni "Kwakhe" Khumalo, one of the best known figures in traditional maskandi music, who died in December 2009.

"It really is him," Khumalo's grandmother, Zintombi Mseleku, told South Africa's Sunday Tribune. Mseleku is one of several relatives - including the singer's daughter and two common-law wives - who insist the man who appeared on 29 January is the person they laid to rest two years ago, at a funeral attended by many local politicians and journalists. "There is no way I can get confused over Kwakhe," Mseleku said. "He is looking a little worn, and his cheeks are less chubby, but it's him."

Perhaps not surprisingly many local officials are begging to differ. The article continues:

Officials are less convinced. The purported Khumalo was arrested on Monday and questioned by police. They have taken fingerprints and DNA samples; test results are due later this week. If the man's DNA matches the material on file, officials are expected to exhume the musician's body. Otherwise, he may be charged with fraud.

Not content with simply keeping him for his musical ability, Khumolo told curious onlookers that had gathered at his house that he was to be turned into a Tokoloshe. Which, according to Bantu and Zulu traditions, is a dwarf like water sprite that is said to be quite mischievous in its behavior. 

Tokoloshe mask (from the Guardian article)

Personally I'm going to file this one under the "interesting if true" category. Follow this link to read the rest of the article. South Africa has a rich culture of supernatural beliefs which seem to make Khumalo's story a bit more easier to swallow. Honestly if you are interested in learning more about their beliefs I suggest you check out this site. I found it to be pretty informative. In the end, I suppose we will have to await DNA testing to prove that this musician has found a way to conquer death. Or if a fairly clever con-artist has a found a new scheme. 

Update to Napoleon the Abductee

******Update******

Thanks to Ken Summers of Moonspenders for finding the following. As it turns out my thinking that this read like something out of the Weekly World News wasn't too far off the mark. 

Follow the link to see essentially the same article about the implant found in Napoleon's skull from an edition of the Weekly World News circa 1997. 

Until next time Forteans, stay classy!

Napoleon; Politcal Figure, Military Leader, Alien Abductee?

It's probably telling of my age and generation that when I think of Napoleon Bonaparte I immediately think of him travelling along side Wyld Stallyns in their time travelling phone booth. 

Pictured above the cast of the greatest movie ever

If I think back hard enough I could remember some stuff about Waterloo and him dying of a stomach ulcer. But I can honestly say I don't remember hearing about this in history class.

Alien Chip Found in Napoleon’s Skull?

PARIS – Scientists examining the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte admit they are “deeply puzzled” by the discovery of a half-inch long microchip embedded in his skull.

They say the mysterious object could be an alien implant – suggesting that the French emperor was once abducted by a UFO!

“The possible ramifications of this discovery are almost too enormous to comprehend,” declared Dr. Andre Dubois, who made the astonishing revelation in a French medical journal.

“Until now, every indication has been that victims of alien abduction are ordinary people who play no role in world events.

“Now we have compelling evidence that extraterrestrials acted in the past to influence human history – and may continue to do so!”

Dr. Dubois made the amazing find while studying Napoleon’s exhumed skeleton on a $140,000 grant from the French government.

“I was hoping to learn whether he suffered from a pituitary disorder that contributed to his small stature,” he explained.

I'm willing to go out on a limb and assume this isn't real. The whole thing reads like a Weekly World News article. But who knows? Stranger things have happened. Anyway follow this link to read the story for yourself. Thanks to Disinfo for the bringing it to my attention. Let me know what your thoughts are, because I will tentatively call BS on this one.

Now if you'll excuse me I have this sudden urge to go watch Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Later.

Crop Circle enigma solved? Not likely.

Evidently this is Crop Circle week here at Forteania, which is odd given how I don't really find the phenomena all that interesting. I know different strokes for different folks. Anyway, as a follow up to last nights post; here is an interesting BBC news story that I found via an AboveTopSecret thread.

'Stoned wallabies make crop circles'

Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite", a government official has said.

Lara Giddings, the attorney general for the island state of Tasmania, said the kangaroo-like marsupials were getting into poppy fields grown for medicine.

She was reporting to a parliamentary hearing on security for poppy crops.

The article continues here.

Above: The work of wallabies that are "tripping" on Opium?

Look, I'm all for non-paranormal explanations to supposed paranormal phenomena. Just take a look at my recent post about the supposed Belgian Triangle UFO photo Hoax. But I think that alternative explanations need to be at least some what reasonable. I mean this almost sounds like a joke.

I understand that it might be possible for “stoned” wallabies to create some of the simpler Crop Circle patterns that have been seen from time to time, but others I doubt. I would be more willing to buy into the microwave theory I discussed last night for some of the more intricate designs. Besides, while this could explain away the Australian Crop Circles it would still leave the ones seen around the world. Unless of course the wallabies are going on extended “trips”.

Life happens.

Hey there readers, sorry it's been a few days since my last post. Life has been pretty hectic here the last few nights. So I'm back with just a quick little post in order to get your opinion on what you think.

The video below is purportedly of "poltergeist" activity. It looks interesting, but as with most things that are found on the internet (and YouTube in particular) I take it with a grain of salt, at best. At worst I can only assume it's a hoax. Anyway have a look for yourself and let me know what you think. Until next time, take it easy!

Here's the link to the guys site that is videoing this "activity". And here is a link to the relevant discussion over at the AboveTopSecret website.

What I've learned from the Phil Imbrogno fiasco

As I mentioned the other night, a then new thread had appeared on Above Top Secret that was authored by David Beidny. Rather than going back through it all, you can follow this link for my post about it or go to the thread at ATS for more info, I would like to spend a little bit of time telling you what this has taught me about the ufological 'field'. For the most part they are a bunch of bratty kids in a sandbox. All I have seen in that thread on ATS, is a good portion of veiled insults and misquotations and other such immature behaviors. I would say that I am shocked by this, but really I'm not.

Regardless of what comes of the Phil Imbrogno degree fiasco, I now have even less desire to be involved in the ufological issue. (Wonder why I prefer the moniker 'Fortean Philosopher'? It's not just that I identify with Charles Fort's world view) Now to be fair there are a good number of reasonable people that participated in (and are still participating in) that thread at ATS. But some bigger name people have been really just fighting back and forth about the issue. Not too shocking I know. I can't understand why people can't just disagree and still be civil.

The Imbrogno thing, one way or another, is certainly gonna be an opportunity for Ufology to reassess itself. As I stated in the post the other day, if Imbrogno has or doesn't have the degrees that he claims to this doesn't make him any more or less qualified to go running around looking for UFOs. People, both inside and outside of the field, fail to keep in mind the fact that at the moment there is no 'Degree in Ufology'.

This will probably be the last time I bring this up until I see more information one way or another, because it ultimately doesn't change anything for me. In my reality tunnel, there still exists an actual, external and quite possibly Non-Human, element behind some UFOs. Whether Phil Imbrogno has  a degree doesn't change this for me.

Fall from grace?

Earlier today I was browsing around Above Top Secret, as is my habit, when I came upon a thread that was started by none other than David Beidny himself. Since he left the Paracast, and it subsequently started going down the drain for the most part, I had thought he was all but out of the Ufological 'field'. Apparently he just got out of the public side of it, rather than just dropping out completely. Anyway back to the thread that he started, it was entitled 'Phil Imbrogno gone from field – he faked his credentials'.

The gist of the thread is that through some background checking Lance Moody has discovered that Phillip J Imbrogno apparently didn't attend MIT like he has claimed a number of times in the past. Imbrogno has been involved in Ufological and Paranormal research now for over 30 years having gotten his start by co-writing a book with J Allen Hynek called Night Seige. The book documents the strange Hudson Valley Sightings of the early 1980's. While Imbrogno definitely isn't a household name, like Stanton Friedman probably is, within the Ufological community he is at least fairly well known.

Most recently he had teamed up with Rosemary Ellen Guiley to write a book called The Vengeful Djinn, where they theorized that potentially some paranormal events may in fact be caused by the Djinn which are creatures from pre-Islamic Arabic religions that were eventually incorporated into Islam.

As of this moment Imbrogno has not said anything publicly one way or another to defend himself or to call the charges utter rubbish. So I am going to reserve my judgment until or unless he responds to the accusations. If true however, I can only say that I am terribly disappointed. Not because this revelation would some how discredit the ufological field (it does a good enough job of that on it's own), but because whatever positive effect he would have had is now nullified. It saddens me that someone like this would allegedly forge documentation or outright lie about their educational background.

Don't misunderstand me, it's not that he couldn't or shouldn't be taken seriously if in fact he doesn't have the degrees. That is not what the issue is here. I realize that some people can only take those with degrees seriously, but I don't think you should ignore someone who may not have a degree from a school. The real issue here would be the fact that he had lied about it for so long.

Really though it shouldn't come as a complete shock to me as this field has a long history of charlatans, liars, and con men. Hopefully Imbrogno will come forward and ultimately set the record straight. Until then I will hold off passing judgment on him. How about you? What are your thoughts on this situation?

Odds and Ends

Tonight is a very slow night for me. I had a test earlier in my religion class and then I had to come home and start work on my presentation for my psychology class. We have to give a 5 to 7 minute presentation on a disease, in my case I will be presenting on Alzheimer's Disease. It doesn't sound like a lot, the 5 to 7 minutes part, but I almost always end up having stage fright right before I get up to do a presentation. Which is funny because people tend to think that I am quite naturally happy in front of a group. And depending on the location, and my familiarity with the topic I can be. But I just have a bad feeling that I will get nervous and mess up somehow. Inevitably I will just sike myself up and get it over with as early as possible. Luckily I have to present on the first day, so I will probably go like 2^nd or 3^rd (never first because I like to gauge the classes reactions to other people's presentations first).

The start of the summer semester coincided almost perfectly with my decision to begin blogging again. I had originally started blogging back in October of 2010, which was also when I tried my hand at podcasting (which if you really want to you can find those episodes here). For one reason or another though I quit working on the blog and didn't really think anything more about it until earlier this year when Tim Binnall gave a call for new writers for his site, Binnall of America. As I was sitting at work listening to the podcast, I suddenly said 'Fuck it, why don't I try to write for BOA'. This caused many curious stares from my coworkers that apparently had never heard of 'BOA' before. Long story short after I wrote my first couple of columns for BOA, I sorta put it all out of my mind and went on about my

business as usual. But for some reason on a Sunday in May, May 8^th to be exact, I decided to start blogging again. I figured a couple of things; 1) that people must obviously care what I have to say, 2) my insights would be unlike any other ever in the history of the Fortean, 3) it can't be that hard to blog.

I was wrong on literally every single one of those points. Well not entirely wrong, rather I was just naïve about the whole process. The first thing I learned was that blogging was not nearly as easy as I had originally assumed it to be. Especially because I set the bar fairly high for myself. I was going to have new quality posts every single night. After all the sites that I like to frequent are the ones that, you know, update daily. To top it off, I couldn't have picked a worse time to start blogging. Less than a week into the venture, I started back at school. That would be night classes of course. And so most evenings I have to juggle between homework, the blog, reading (my ever growing reading list is evidence I can't spend much time with books). Typically I manage to get out a fairly decent post every now and then. But it can be pretty tough sometimes.

But if it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. Really I have enjoyed working on this blog. It's been a crazy experience over the last couple of months. Watching the readership grow, seeing my blog listed on other people's sites. Especially sites of those that I admire and have a lot of respect for. Plus I've gotten a chance to talk with people I probably wouldn't have otherwise. So while it can sometimes be a huge pain in the butt to work on this blog, it's definitely a labor of love. It's come pretty far in just the two months that I have been posting at it, I can't wait to see were it will be by the end of the year. Or even the next year. It's success is thanks to you, whoever you are reading this right now. Maybe this is your first time here at Forteania (and if so let me say thanks for stopping by!) or you have been here for a little while. Thanks for sticking around and thank you to those that have commented.

In the end however I'm really doing this blog for selfish reasons. I think that I am hoping to learn something by doing this. Other wise whats the point right? Well that's all for tonight, this post was a bit rambling and I apologize for that. I just had to get these thoughts out, you know how it goes. I need to get going, because I actually have some down time so I can try and make a dent into my ever-expanding reading list. Until next time this is your friendly neighborhood Fortean Philosopher saying “Where's the beef?” (That can't still be copyrighted can it?)

Black Bear ur I mean Bigfoot Evidence Press Conference

Earlier this evening I had the 'wonderful' opportunity to watch the Sanger Paranormal Group's Bigfoot Press Conference via Live Stream. This was actually the first time I had watched any event by using Live Stream. I was actually pretty impressed by the site it's really cool idea. Basically it allows a person to give a live view of whatever event that they wish to show. As a matter of fact, I know of some podcasts that use Live Stream to allow you to watch them record. Anyway back to the actual press conference itself.

It was scheduled to begin at 7 pm EST, or 4 pm PST as the actual press conference took place in California, and since I had had a test tonight in my class I was able to get out early. I arrived home about 6:45 pm and noticed a tweet from Lon Strickler of Phantoms and Monsters (which is a pretty cool blog) mentioning that the Sanger Paranormal Group Bigfoot Press Conference was starting. So I dutifully followed the link to the live stream so that I would be able to relay to you dear readers, who were unable to view the conference, exactly what was going to go down.

The actual press event didn't begin until around 7:08 pm or so. During that time I logged into the Twitter chat that they had so that I would be able to live tweet what my reactions were to the “news”. So throughout this post I will be referring to those tweets so that you can get an idea of what exactly was going on during the event. Here was my first tweet:

Well that's debatable, the main guy just said we have the "best evidence" of bigfoot ever - #spsradio live on http://livestre.am/Jx9t

The main speaker, I can't find his name, had made a reference almost immediately to the fact that they had, at the conference, the best evidence available proving the existence of Bigfoot. But rather than jumping right into that they spend the first 15 minutes or so showing footprints that could easily be a human footprint. After a couple of footprint photos they move on to footage of “Bigfoot”. I don't know exactly what a Bigfoot is supposed to look like however I will say that this image is clearly a black bear.

Clearly a black bear and not 'Bigfoot'

All the time that they were showing this footage of the “Bigfoot” the main guy continually made reference to the fact that this wasn't a guy in a suit. So much so that I actually made the following remarks during the event:

Me thinks he doth protest too much - #spsradio live on http://livestre.am/Jx9t

"It's not a person in a suit" has been said more time than anything else thus far - #spsradio live on http://livestre.am/Jx9t

It seemed pretty clear from the still photos and videos that they showed that their 'Bigfoot' was really nothing more than a black bear. So here we were not even 20 minutes in and already I was having some clear reservations about the whole fiasco. But hey, I'm an open minded kind of guy so I figured, “What the Hell? I'll keep watching” (soon I would come to regret this as we shall see).

At this point they just continued going on and on about the “Bigfoot” videos/photos from earlier. When it had gotten to that point I said this:

OK so we've seen the black bear, where is the Bigfoot? - #spsradio live on http://livestre.am/Jx9t

The conference had been going on for about 30 minutes or so, so I decided to summarize everything that had taken place up to this point:

"Not a guy in a suit x 5, Black bear images x 6, and a bullshit story" Yep that sums it up - #spsradio live on http://livestre.am/Jx9t

Finally at this point they graciously moved on to far more convincing “evidence”. Here is that convincing evidence:

Better than the Patterson-Gimlin Film?

Yep. In case you can't make it out, it would appear that the truck glass had been attacked by something with paws. At this point they handed the microphone over to a forensic expert who proceeded to give a a 15 minute explanation on how this smudge could have been a bear or a mountain lion, but it also could have been a gorilla. This was somehow proof that it was a Bigfoot, now to his credit the 'forensic' guy made it pretty clear at the end of his spiel that he hadn't ruled out that it was just a bear.

Get off my screen you damned dirty ape!

By this point I was getting ready to turn the thing off, it was obvious that there wasn't going to be any real conclusive evidence. (Not that I had suspected there would be, but remember this guy is open minded). But then my ears pricked up when I heard the word DNA sample. I have to admit I was a little excited. Not because the DNA could 'prove' a Bigfoot, after all you would need to have something to compare it to, but it would allow for them to show what it wasn't.

Now hang on to your hats because this is where things get too much for me to handle. Someone from the audience asked if they have had the DNA tested yet. The reason that they didn't do this yet was because of how expensive DNA testing can be. But never fear faithful Bigfoot aficionado, you can help them get this DNA tested. All you have to do is give them money!

Yes dear readers you heard correctly, they are asking for 'donations'. It was at a this point that my patience had been tried one too many times during this 45 minute conference. I actually left at this point. I would like to provide you a quote from Who Forted?:

Complete and utter waste of time. They've just asked for money. Accidental wide shot of empty chairs in hall. Game over. #BigfootPressCon

I closed the live stream window at this point, because I was done. Between the insistence that the figure “wasn't a guy in a suit”, the all too human “Bigfoot” footprints, and the request for money. I had had enough. Not surprisingly we are left with nothing more than what we he had before we began. So basically if you didn't catch the press conference, count yourself lucky. Now if you will excuse me I need to go look at some Billy Meier photos, at least the one-armed Swiss farmer tries a little harder than these 'Paranormal Investigators'. Good night fellow Forteans!

Words can't even describe

Credit to Disinfo for the find

Bigfeet (or whatever the plural of Bigfoot is, Bigfooti?)

As I noted in one of yesterday's post, tomorrow evening on the east coast and earlier in the afternoon pacific time, Sanger Paranormal Group is set to release their 'evidence' of Bigfoot. Before the actual event, however, I would like to take a moment to point something out.

In their press release that Sanger Paranormal Group sent out to media outlets, I guess to stir up interest, they mentioned that their 'evidence' was the best the Cryptozoological community has seen since the Patterson Gimlin Film. So dear readers what I will be doing tonight is giving you access both to the Sanger Paranormal Group's 'evidence' and the classic Patterson Gimlin Bigfoot footage. My question to you will be, which do you find more convincing?

All I will say is this, if both are hoaxes at least Patterson and Gimlin put far more effort into their video. Without further ado here are the respective evidences. Let me know what you think!

First up is the Patterson Gimlin footage originally shot in 1967.

"Face print" of Bigfoot found by Sanger Paranormal

OK Forteans that is all for now, like I said let me know what you think about these two pieces of 'evidence'. 

Fortean Philosopher

-Tony

Disclosure.....of the Bigfoot kind?

Loren Coleman over at Cryptomundo (which is a great cryptozoology blog you should all be checking by the way) has an interesting post that came up earlier. Here is a little snippet about it, follow the link below to learn a more.

For Immediate Release

*********** MEDIA ADVISORY**********

Potentially the Most Convincing Evidence of Bigfoot Since the Patterson Film of 1967

We have an full upper body impression including half of its face On the passenger side window of a pickup truck

And on the drivers side window, the Nostrils, Nose and Lips of a Bigfoot

Who: World Media – Please RSVP to SangerParanormal@aol.com
We will contact you to confirm your attendance

What: No, it’s not a Bigfoot in a Freezer and we are not affiliated with those guys in any way. This evidence was captured during an expedition in the High Sierra’s of California during the Memorial Day weekend of 2011.

For more on the press release follow this link here. Personally I'm happy about two specific items in relation to this story. First as they went out of their way to mention that this isn't another 'Bigfoot in a Freezer' we can all rest assured this isn't a hoax. Second since the press conference is scheduled for June 23^rd we only have two days left until we discover that this was in fact a hoax. More Fortean goodness coming later.

For more thoughts and opinions on this be sure to also check out Who Forted?'s take on these shenanigans.

Alien Resistance Movement?

Short post tonight Fortean fans. I will be back tomorrow with your regularly scheduled posting stuffs. In the meantime please show your support for Beyond Best Evidence giving what you can. Also I will leave this here for your enjoyment.

Alien Resistance Movement

Words can't begin to describe this group. Just do yourself a favor and check it out. OK well until next time this is your friendly neighborhood Fortean Philosopher saying, do your part to help fund the greatest UFO movie ever!

Oops I did it again

So I recounted not too long ago (see here), that I was officially done with the UFO/Alien part of Above Top Secret (ATS). That lasted all of a couple of days, as I could not resist this thread 'You people do know that these “Aliens” or“UFOs” are in reality demonic spirits?'. I mean come on, how could I not respond to this kind of thread. Especially given that I finished Nick Redfern's excellent Final Events and the Secret Government Group on demonic UFOs and Aliens. The original poster opened with this amazingly well thought out point.

I've been researching this topic heavily for about 2 years, cause I wanted to debunk these claims. Well, what I stumbled upon I didn't really expect. I wasn't religious until about a year ago, after I discovered what I know about these things. I've been reading many books, including one called "Behold a Pale Horse" by Bill Cooper. Everyone here is pretty familiar with him, right? Well, his writings are not what made me decide they were demonic. I've been reading some of J. Allen Hynek's books. This man was a very well respected researcher in the UFO field. He, like myself, wanted to debunk this nonsense. He came to the conclusion that these are extra dimensional beings, or demonic spirits. Now I needn't to tell you that Hynek was not religious. Hynek died a few years back.. Anyways, the scriptures do talk about this subject. Let me post a scripture here..

Revelation 16:13-14

King James Version (KJV)

13And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

These demonic entities are working miracles, trying to get everyone together, so they can fight God at Armageddon.

I've also been reading Aleister Crowley's writings, which are very hard to understand being that I have no experience in magick. But Aleister Crowley made a drawing of a spirit he had conjured up. This spirit looks exactly like what we would call "The greys" today.

Actually I had pointed this out in a recent post too. Anyway, I read through about three pages of garbage before I got fed up with the craziness in the thread. So finally I had to post the following.

I will be honest and upfront, I only read the first 3 pages of posts. (That in and of itself should get me an award of some kind). I only have this to say, and if you have read any of my other posts here it will not be unfamiliar to you. To you the OP I say this, '2 years' of research is not enough time in this field to reach any conclusion. Whatsoever. Period. This is the same problem that I have with the wide-eyed 'True Believer's' and the Pseudo-skeptics. In this crazy field of assorted Fortean topics, you can never really be sure of anything. Could it be demons? Yes it COULD be. But is it necessarily? No. Just as it isn't necessarily Aliens from Zeta Reticuli nor atmospheric conditions or misidentification of classified craft.

Having said that however, it really could be all of those things. The main thing that we need to keep in mind, but we will not and my response here will likely be ignored as it always is, is that we just don't know. Keep repeating that to yourselves. Is there some kind of phenomenon at the heart of the UFO enigma, I think so. But what it is, I'm not ready to say just yet. Simply because I don't know. Just my 2 cents

Yeah I know, I'm just wasting my time. But really I couldn't resist. For what it's worth if you really want to dive into the UFO/Demon thing, Nick Redfern's book is a great place to start. OK for real this time I'm definitely done with the UFO part of ATS. Maybe. Probably.

Quick someone get David Icke!

On my way to class tonight I discovered that my school is likely being infiltrated by the same Shape-shifting Reptilian Aliens that David Icke has been warning us about for years. See the Picture below if you don't believe me!

Alright I'm kidding, no harm intended Mr. Icke. Anyways a real post is coming later tonight, this is just something to hold you over until then. 

p.s. For what its worth I have a few of David Icke's books. They are interesting if nothing else, although I believe about 0% of them.

Mid-day Update

This has been sort of a strange week for me and for Forteania. For most of the week I have been unable to post the regular content that you have become accustomed to over the last month. Mostly this is because of my summer classes, which I need in order to complete my college degree. Because I was pretty immature a few years back I actually dropped out of college instead of finishing my Associates Degree (or the first two years of school in the US). So now I have decided to go back in order to most likely pursue a Biology Degree (I'm not 100% sure about that but it seems the most likely option). To make an exceptionally long story as short as possible, I decided to start back during the summer semester with just a few classes in order to get back in the swing of things.

Well that didn't really help too much. This week, more so than when I started about 3 weeks ago, has really kicked my ass. As a result the Forteania has suffered a little bit. But no more! I have decided to try and dedicate some time in order to get the posts that you have come to know and love from Forteania. So later tonight you will see a more 'typical' Forteania post. Only because I have really enjoyed doing this blog and it seems to be getting some positive reaction. It has been really good for my writing as well and it is a great outlet for some of my crazy theories about all things Fortean. So anyways check back a little bit later tonight for an actual post!

-Closet Anomalist Tony

Psychic couldn't foresee bad tip?

It may come as no surprise to readers of this blog that I have some interest in supposed psychic abilities. Whether it's telepathy, psychokinesis, or communicating with the dead. Also I don't think its a terrible idea for the police to use psychic tips or sources. However that should definitely come with some reservation. This story below exemplifies why.

Texas officials check report of bodies

[Updated at 8:30 p.m. ET] Officials have conflicting information about a report that bodies had been found on a property in Texas, a federal official told CNN.

Earlier, a federal official said at least 20 bodies had been found at a home in Hardin, Texas.
According to Capt. Rex Evans of the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, the office "received a call indicating there was a crime scene here."
"Investigators have responded to the scene," Evans said. "We have found some circumstances that have raised some questions. And we have requested a search warrant. As soon as that warrant arrives here at the scene we will further our investigation."

Follow the link above for more info on the story. But according to the report, the tip came from a local psychic. But perhaps in this case they could have waited for another more 'reliable' tip to come in.

As with last night this will also be shorter post, school is kicking my ass more than I thought it would. Be sure to let me know what you all think about this. Until tomorrow night this is your friendly neighborhood Closet Anomalist saying have a great one!

Sorry short post tonight

I have to study for another exam tonight and then I will be passing out. I apologize for not doing a proper post tonight guys and gals. But I wanted to share this interesting piece of information and see what you all think about. 

Quote:

The rumors are finally confirmed, during a special screening of ET: The Extra-Terrestrial at the White house in 1982, Ronald Reagan did make a comment about everything in the movie being true. However, Spielberg says he is pretty sure Reagan was only joking around.

For more check out the link here.

Personally I never really put any stock into this story myself, but what about you? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Until next time, take it easy Forteans! 

More pictures! This time of Ghosts!

Following on last night's theme of famous UFO photos, I have decided tonight to showcase some famous Ghost photos. As with last night I will leave the judgment up to you as to the authenticity of the purported phenomena that has been captured by the camera.

First up is the Brown Lady

This is a photo that is believed to have capture the spirit of Lady Dorothy Townsend who was the sister of England's first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole. Her ghost had been sighted off and on for about two hundreds years when finally she was 'captured' on film. The person that was able to capture the photo you see above was Indra Shira a photographer who had been hired to take pictures of Rainham Hall. According to his testimony, as Shira was preparing to take an image of the staircase he saw a shadowy smoky form appear to take the shape of a girl and had his assistant take the shot. The result is seen above. Experts that have examined the photo have found no evidence of either forgery or fakery.      

Up next is the Tulip Staircase Ghost

When the Rev. R. W. Hardy and his wife were on vacation from Canada to England in 1966, they decided to visit the Queen's House. This was a place that Charles I had built for his wife, Henrietta Maria, which is situated on the Thames below London. While they were sightseeing and taking pictures to remember their trip, the Reverend decided to snap a photo of a staircase (I promise there isn't a pattern developing here I promise). They didn't have the film developed until they returned to their home in British Columbia, once they had they noticed the above photo that appears to show a cloaked figure ascending the staircase.      

The Back Seat Ghost

This next one is fairly straight forward when compared to the last two. A husband and wife went to the graveyard where her mother was buried in order to take photographs  (because who doesn't do that right?). When the wife was returning to the car, she decided to take a picture of her husband who was alone in the car. Or at least he was supposed to be. Upon development of the photos, the wife immediately recognized that the person sitting in the back seat was in fact her mother.    
 
And last but by no means least is the Hampton Court Ghost

This last one is both the most recent one available and the most intriguing. The above is actually a still frame from a CCTV recording of a cloaked figure opening a door at the Hampton Court in West London. Many tourists had claimed that they had seen the figure while on tour of the palace. But it wasn't until the CCTV footage (which you can view here) that seemed to provide some evidence to support this claim. Follow the link to see the footage for yourself, but if you can I will summarize it for you. Basically a figure in what appears to be period dress bursts through the doors in the frame and steps through, then proceeds to close the doors one at a time. Apparently no staff was present at the time, as this occurred after hours. No explanation has been offered and it hasn't been seen since.    

The problem with Ghost pictures is really the same as with photos of any Fortean phenomena, namely that people are going to assume that it was faked. Especially if it's too good to be true. I offer the above images simply for your enjoyment, maybe you hadn't seen them before and so you were able to learn something. Well that's all from me tonight loyal readers. I am off to bed, I have work and then class tomorrow night. Take it easy!