Reports of winged beings have long been included in the more obscure reports of cryptozoological and ufological weirdness from around the world. Arguably, the most famous of all such incidents was detailed throughout John Keel’s investigations of the “Mothman,” which occurred in West Virginia in the late 1960s. Since that time, Mothman has become the predominant image in most people’s minds when it comes to envisioning a winged monstrosity of the cryptozoological variety. There are, however, other instances involving claims where such creatures have been witnessed, and though details about their existence are far more obscure, they bear a variety of similarities to folkloric traditions from various cultures around the world. Strangely, among these similarities are parallels having to do with the alleged creature’s interaction with their habitat and surroundings, as well as a prevalence of sexual aspects to their dealings with humans.

One recent discussion addressing unidentified winged monsters detailed encounters with an alleged “gargoyle” seen near the vicinity of the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. This was presented by the astute Scott Corrales at Inexplicata, where he shared some unique accounts that included a physical attack sustained by an area local. According to Corrales, “some people have identified (the monster) with the Chupacabras, yet others believe it is a differnt, elusive and sinister entity whose lair is in Barrio Ensenada, amid the ruins and tunnels of the Guanica Sugar Mill, where the skeletons of its victims can be found.”

Arguably, the manner in which this story is presented here has a folkloric overtone, with it’s tales of an old abandoned building in which the creature now resides. One might assume that if the creature’s victims were really piled up beneath an old sugar mill, a criminal investigation would have ensued to uncover the remains and find the culprit. However, before substantiating the claims with physical evidence Corrales presents that, as stated earlier, does involve an attack one man claims he received from the creature, it would be interesting to ponder those folkloric elements for a moment. After all, when comparing this story to the circumstances presented in reports of the alleged Mothman creature, we begin to see some striking similarities.

Much like the “Gargoyle” of El Yunque is said to inhabit an abandoned sugar mill, Point Pleasant’s Mothman creature similarly inhabited an abandoned TNT factory in the area. There could be a number of reasons for this similarity; one being that, as a matter of tradition, monsters always tend to reside in a dark and dangerous lair. Think of legends involving dragons and other mythic beasts, whose caves must be entered by a brave soul in order to liberate an afflicted populace from the dangers the monster in question presents to them. It would be fitting, supposing there was indeed some physicality to the existence of creatures like Mothmen or gargoyles, that people would uphold this tradition by similarly assigning them a “dragon’s lair” of sorts, whether or not the creature actually resided there at all. Or perhaps, much like the notion of a haunted house and the ghosts, bogey men, and other terrors that hide within, the psychological extensions of one’s own fear of the location itself could actually manifest, to some degree, in the presence of a devilish creature similar to a Mothman, dragon, or in this case, perhaps a gargoyle.

Ruminating on the folkloric archetypes present in this circumstance, while interesting in terms of the psychology of the experiences reported, does little to fend against the problems we’re presented by the very real physical attacks some witnesses have described. Corrales goes on to describe a man, whose only given name is “Valdo,” who was apparently attacked by the winged beast near Guánica Lagoon in the mid-1990s:

“He was injured in his stomach, his [abdominal] fat could be seen,” noted a witness, describing the injuries suffered by a man on his belly and back, caused as if by “an animal’s claws.” The witness soberly expalined that the wounded man lifted the t-shirt he put on after the attack, saying that a “large winged” animal took him by surprise in his back yard and attacked him.

The description of physical attacks made by monstrous winged animals isn’t specific only to Puerto Rico’s gargoyle. Over the years, a horrific creature called Popobawa has been described by residents of Zanzibar and nearby locales, and much like it’s western cousins, the creature is said to have wings, and bears a penchant for physically attacking its victims. Popobawa’s attacks differ, however, in that incidents involving the creature have a predominantly sexual nature; strangely, men have claimed the creature will enter their homes at night and sexually molest them, promising to return if they don’t share the terrifying experience with others. Though the gargoyle of El Yunque isn’t described as a sexual deviant like Zanzibar’s Popobawa, there are other creatures present in the culture and traditions of the region that are more similar in this regard, which makes for a fitting point from which we’ll diverge away from the exclusive conversation of winged monsters, instead drawing parallels between those whose presence is accompanied by strange sexual circumstances.

Both the Pombero, as well as its lesser-known cousin, Kurupi, are entities credited with sexual molestations and general mischief in Guarani culture and other parts of Latin America. Much like Zanzibar’s Popobawa, the Kurupi is characterized by its abnormally large male genitalia, though the traditions surrounding the Kurupi show that it, unlike Popobawa, favors the opposite sex, having been blamed for the occasional impregnation of women. A similar myth, stemming from further south in Chilean lore, involves the goblin-like Trauco, a creature which carries a stone hammer representative of its sexual potency. It too is accredited with luring human women away for purposes of breeding with them.

In truth, if one were to canvass the traditions and superstitions of various countries and their people, it would no doubt show that similar sexualized encounters exist in a variety of cultures. Malaysia’s Orang Minyak, a ghost-like serial rapist in Maylay traditions that attacks young virgins, caused localized panic in 2005 during a surge of encounters young women had with a strange man entering their bedrooms at night. The following description is given at the Wikipedia entry on the creature:

In short, the orang minyak is a supernatural serial rapist that is hard to see and hard to catch. Some have speculated that the orang minyak is a regular criminal who uses black grease as a night-time camouflage. Due to the use of black grease, it makes the orang minyak hard to catch, as pursuers would not be able to hold on to him. However, in some encounters with the orang minyak, the situation is not explainable from a non-supernatural angle.

Further compounding the sexual nature of such supernatural encounters is the similar manner in which UFO abductees claim their captors often show a preoccupation with the genitals. The most widely accepted rationale for this among ufologists has to do with the premise that human “specimens” are being used as breeding stock, of sorts, for an elaborate intergalactic hybridization program. In short, our alien visitors are dependent on using human genes in order to bolster their own waning reproductive facilities. Again, however, if we were to attempt to look at this from a purely folkloric perspective, the noted parallels existing between faerie traditions in the British Isles compared alongside modern abduction reports; or the similar consistencies between UFO lore and archetypal mystic encounters that shamans divulge, might have us believe that the persistence of sexual encounters throughout illustrates something deeper and, fundamentally, an aspect of our humanity which remains nested curiously within the psyche.

What does all this mean, in the end? Does it dispel the notion that winged devils, the likes of which have been seen in Puerto Rico and other locales worldwide, could exist in a physical sense? This may not be the case, but the physical nature of the occurrences, whether they be violent intrusions in terms of attacks, or the more psychologically intrusive molestations, also points to an inherent psycho-sexual relationship that exists between experiencers of strange phenomenon and their otherworldly assailants. Perhaps the intrusive aspects that so often manifest in supernatural experiences may represent, if anything, an ongoing internal struggle for dominance in the human character, obliquely defying humankind’s conquests as a species hitherto on this planet.

Not a bad thing, perhaps, to be reminded that for all our strengths, we are not without our weaknesses… whether they be actual, or merely perceptions thereof.

When FATE published the piece, I was thrilled not only to see they had run with the idea, but that they had hired an illustrator to depict a frightened Albert Ostman, surrounded by Sasquatches in a moonlit forest. The style was unmistakable, even without having to give credit, but with certain excitement I read the caption of each panel, which bore the legendary insignia “R. Crumb.”

Robert Crumb has illustrated comics and album artwork for decades, though the majority of his best-known work generally falls well outside the so-called “mainstream” art audiences. With his rich, colorful style (somehow, it remains colorful even when it appears in black and white), he has long been a fan of musicians in particular, even taking occasional forays into the performing arts himself with his group “R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders.” A regular contributor to magazines like The New Yorker, Crumb’s depictions of Sasquatches, namely in a strip called “Whiteman meets Bigfoot” in Home Grown Funnies, no. 1, published in 1971, garnered the attention of FATE back around 2000 (see image above). Loren Coleman of Cryptomundo shared his own admiration in a 2007 post titled “R. Crumb and Bigfoot”:

I feel honored that my column, “Mysterious World: Bigfoot-like Creatures Roam the Eastern U.S.” appeared in the November 2000 issue of that Fate. Thus, as such things go, my column has been vaguely associated with and said to be partially responsible for R. Crumb’s artwork. It probably was just a coincidence, but it is one of those cool cosmic overlaps that I appreciate being part of, especially since I always liked his comix, like Zap.

Bigfoot hasn’t been the only paranormal theme that Crumb has tackled in recent years, however. Another cover he did for FATE depicted an alien standing by the bed of an individual, awakening with certain discontent to find the odd, infantile visitor peering at him (this may have been based on one of Whitley Strieber’s recollections, detailed in books like Communion). Additionally, Crumb illustrated a series of strange mystic experiences described by Phillip K. Dick, in which his mind became host to a variety of religious iconography, even detailing what appeared have been a possible past-life regression.

The family’s interests in the strange and unusual don’t appear to be held only to Crumb, however. Robert’s daughter, Sophie, shortly after the publication of my article in 2004, emailed me and said she was a reader of FATE who enjoyed the supernatural also. An artist like her father (and a good one at that), Sophie even offered to do future illustrations for articles or other projects I might undertake! It was very nice (and even humbling) to receive a personal endorsement from the Crumb family in this way, and it’s amazing to see that Robert’s legenday prowess has seen a healthy continuation in Sophie’s artwork, too.

Who knows… Robert Crumb, with his odd tastes, perverse sense of satirical humor, and tremendous talent, may very well be a cryptozoological phenomenon all to himself, waiting to be discovered. Fortunately, you can discover him right now, and visit his website by clicking here.

I preface this report with a healthy spattering of curmudgeonry because within the last 48 hours, mere miles from Headquarters here at the Gralien Report, something extraordinary allegedly occurred: a Shelby, NC man has claimed to have had an encounter with a six fingered, 10-foot-tall humanoid with “beautiful hair.” Local media has referred to the creature as a Bigfoot.

The basic story goes like this: Shelby resident Timothy Peeler made a 911 call pertaining to a June 5 encounter in which he claimed to have seen a Sasquatch, described as “upwards of 10 feet tall” and having a call similar to “a night bird.”

Some aspects of the story do differ between reports featured by various local media outlets. For instance, the creature’s “beautiful hair” was described by the Charlotte Observer as having yellowish-blond hair, whereas the Shelby Star’s report detailed how the creature “sported dark hair, Peeler said, with a grey beard stretching to its navel.” These descriptions seem to conflict somewhat, although both accounts mentioned the creature having long hair and a beard, as well as the rather peculiar characteristic of six-fingers on each hand. Police filed a report for a “suspicious person,” but were said to have kept an open mind regarding Peeler’s extraordinary claims.

And they are indeed extraordinary claims, as if that aspect of this peculiar yarn needed further clarification. No less, the Shelby area has quite a history of this sort of thing, dating back to sightings of a creature in the 1970s called “Knobby.” Said to be a monster of similar size and stature to what we might refer to as “Peeler’s Pilfering Primate,” Knobby drew quite a bit of interest from thrill seekers and adventurers who took to the woods around High Point, NC, and neighboring areas in search of what they believed was a Bigfoot.

However hard these kinds of tales may be to believe, I’ve gathered numerous accounts from what seem to be credible witnesses over the years, describing large, human-like beings who purportedly live in the remote mountains of Western North Carolina. Early Cherokee legends described what they called “Chickly Cuddly” (under various phonetic spellings), as well as Tsul Kalu, a slant-eyed giant in Cherokee lore respected as a “god of the hunt” whose name was later bastardized by European settlers into “Judaculla.” Similar legends of large natives with strange eyes turned up in the stories of South Carolina Cherokee, who said they had befriended gigantic people who traveled from the west and stayed with them for a period centuries before the arrival of settlers. On one occasion, an elder living on the Cherokee Reservation in Western North Carolina shared a number of stories dating back to the 1950s about “the woolly ones,” human like creatures covered in black hair that sometimes emerge from the steep hills around the Kanati Fork late at night.

More recently, I’ve had descriptions shared with me of tall, hairy creatures that resemble humans seen elsewhere in neighboring counties, as well as smaller monkey-like creatures that tend to be seen more around remote portions of Madison County on the west end of the state. If the reports do represent true and accurate recollections of encounters with non-human entities, what are they? Are the creatures some kind of undiscovered North American primate, or as one witness described to me years ago after seeing a strange “thing” raiding his aunt’s chicken house, could their identity be anything as simple as “a crazy old man” (albeit a large one)? Regardless, the legends–even if that’s all they amount to–will live on, and fascinating tales of encounters with hairy non-human entities in our remote woodlands will continue to fascinate us around late-summer campfires and cookouts.

“Bigfoot” image by strobetec via Flickr.

Mac was a very good friend of mine; and like all his friends I was shocked to the core when he passed away suddenly and tragically in October 2009, at the age of only 34.

But, I am pleased to say, Mac’s latest – and, inevitably, final – piece of work ensures that his memory, legacy and ability to think outside of the conventional ufological box will live on. That work is The Cryptoterrestrials: A Meditation on Indigenous Humanoids and the Aliens Among Us.

Like Vallee and Keel, Mac rightly recognized that UFO encounters could not be dismissed as the ravings of lunatics, the tales of the fantasy-prone, or the lies of those seeking fame and fortune. But, he was also careful not to get sucked into the near-viral mindset that practically screams (take a deep breath): UFOs = alien spaceships piloted by little gray chaps from across the galaxy, who are on a mission to save their dying race by stealing our DNA, eggs and sperm.

Rather, Mac – right up until the time of his death – was chasing down the theory suggesting that the UFOnauts may actually represent the last vestiges of a very ancient race of distinctly terrestrial origins; a race that – tens of thousands of years ago may have ruled our planet, but whose position of power was thrown into overwhelming chaos by two things: (A) the appearance of a “debilitating genetic syndrome” that ravaged their society; and (B) the rising infestation of a violent species that threatened to eclipse – in number – their own society.

They are the Cryptoterrestrials. And that violent species that blusters around like an insane, unruly and spoiled child, and that has done more damage in its short life-time than can ever be truly imagined, is, of course, us.

Along with the photos sent to Downes (which can be viewed at his blog), Paula provides the following information:

1) One bite from a snake this large contains enough venom to kill over 40 full grown men.
2) The head alone is larger than the hand of a normal sized man.
3) This snake was probably alive when George H. W. Bush was President.
4) A bite from those fangs would equal being penetrated by two 1/4 inch screwdrivers.
5) A snake this size could easily swallow a 2 year-old child.
6) A snake this size has an approximately 5 and 1/2 foot accurate striking distance.
7) Judging by the size of the snake, it is estimated to weigh over 170 pounds. How much do you weigh?

Having been raised with a lot of outdoor activities growing up, over time I’ve learned to respect all wild animals I’ve encountered in the forests, which range from bobcats and black bears to this fellow’s close (and much smaller) cousins seen in the Appalachian Mountains. Rest assured, I wouldn’t be looking forward to hiking as much if I thought there were a lot of snakes out there that were this size!

Editor’s Note: Downes notes that this image has not been verified by photographic experts as of posting this, and several viewers have commented that it may be a hoax using forced perspective. However, based on the photos, it does appear to show an extremely large snake, regardless of the measurements provided with the photos.

This is one of a handful of reports of encounters passed down over the years that deal with strange, anthropomorphic lizard-like “people.” Arguably, the most famous of all “Lizard Man” reports deals with what was called “The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp,” a strange creature witnessed around the town of Bishopville, South Carolina, as well as various other swampy locales throughout the surrounding Lee County in the 1980s. However, earlier reports of lizard-like humanoids exist which (surprisingly) date all the way back to 1878! Have these “creatures” from the fringes of reality existed alongside us for longer than we realize?

Blogger J.S. Holland of the website LousivilleMojo.com shared the following strange account with his readers late last month:

In the October 28, 1878 issue of the Courier-Journal, there was a peculiar story of a “Wild Man of the Woods” being captured somewhere in the wilderness of Kentucky – they didn’t specify where exactly – and placed on public display in downtown Louisville for the public to gawk it.

The mysterious humanoid creature was said by eyewitness accounts to be over six feet tall, and possessing eyes twice as large as a human’s. Try to picture that for just a moment – pretty horrifying if you think about it.

What intrigues me most of all about the sketchy details of this Courier-Journal news report, though, is that the monster-man in question purportedly had scales instead of skin.

Indeed, many of the late nineteenth century reports of this sort were often either confabulation on the part of tall-tale-tellers, or even silliness dredged up by the journalists of the day when local news was less than worthy of reporting, and they were struggling to compete with other area dailies–hence the “creation” of the occasional Tom Foolery (just ask Mark Twain).

Nonetheless, within a century of the reports of a “scaly wild man” in Louisville, a different kind of scaly critter would turn up a little further east in Loveland, Ohio. First witnessed in 1955 by an area businessman, the report entailed the appearance of three or four three-foot-tall humanoids with frog-like faces gathered together beneath a bridge. One element pertaining to this encounter that provides a slightly more UFO-oriented air dealt with a strange object one of the creatures had been wielding, which emitted sparks, according to the witness. Again in 1972 a frog-like “man” was witnessed by several area police officers on two occasions early in the morning near the Little Miami River. One officer, Mark Mathews, managed to fire of a shot at the creature as it fled the scene. He described it as being “three to four feet tall, 50 to 75 pounds, leathery skin, possibly wet – matted hair on its body that made it look textured, possible tail, a head and face like a frog or lizard, and could leap over the roads’ guard rail.” The same year, an encounter occurred at Thetis Lake, British Columbia, involving a monster resembling “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” that prompted an official investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Later, Russell Van Nice, who had been present among the original witnesses to the encounter claimed “it was just a big lie,” accusing his friend, Mike Gold, of “trying to get attention,” and calling him a “habitual liar.”

Finally, following our chronology of Lizard Men that appear in various locales, Bishopville SC’s creature differed from the diminutive “Loveland Frogs” particularly in size; reportedly seven feet tall and more aggressive than its Northern kin, the most famous account was reported by then-teenager Christopher Davis:

I looked back and saw something running across the field towards me. It was about 25 yards away and I saw red eyes glowing. I ran into the car and as I locked it, the thing grabbed the door handle. I could see him from the neck down – the three big fingers, long black nails and green rough skin. It was strong and angry. I looked in my mirror and saw a blur of green running. I could see his toes and then he jumped on the roof of my car. I thought I heard a grunt and then I could see his fingers through the front windshield, where they curled around on the roof. I sped up and swerved to shake the creature off.

The creature was seen several more times following Davis’ sighting before it sank back into the waters of Scape Ore Swamp again, returning to the fringes of obscurity. Occasionally, there are still reports of Lizard Men in the area; in October 2005, a woman in the nearby town of Newberry phoned police to warn them she had “seen two creatures resembling the Lizard Man outside her home.” Responding officer Michael Kennedy merely told the woman that “(they) just like to check on humans from time to time.”

If something as fantastic and implausible as the existence of reptilians in our midst could have any fact to it, how do these creatures manage to elude us so easily? Can we suspend our judgment long enough to consider the variables, or is it better to doubt their existence altogether? The reports persist–though infrequently–and the mystery surrounding alleged encounters with non-human entities of this world will no doubt continue to thrive, just as these strange, scaly watchers in the darkness may have been able to do for so long.

David and Rhys are great guys, and on this week’s edition they caught up with me to discuss “Sasquatch Language”:

Micah A. Hanks on “The Cryptid Factor”

Also, be sure and tune in to next week’s program as well, in which I was invited back to discuss giant deep-sea monstrosities and the enigmatic “Bloop” noise. Hopefully there will be other future appearances as well, since these guys have a very entertaining (and light-hearted) show. Don’t miss it!

Back in late 2005, I traveled to Puerto Rico with good friend, Canadian Paul Kimball of Red Star Films, and his crew, which consisted of Paul’s brother Jim, John Rosborough, and Findlay Muir. The purpose of the week-long trek was to make a film – road-trip-style – that would see me and Puerto Rican Orlando Pla (a local expert on the beast) on a quest for the truth about the monstrous thing said to be roaming the island: namely, the Chupacabras.

Well, I’m pleased to say, the production – titled Island of Blood – is now available as a 3-part installment, which you can find at the link below this email. Enjoy… or be very afraid!

And as Paul himself says: “It’s always fun when I have a new film that premieres, and today is no exception. This time it’s not on television (although it will probably wind up there in one form or another at some point), or in the theater, or the other usual media – nope, this time it’s right here, free of charge, direct to you. The Island of Blood is a low budget, lo-fi, slightly tongue-in-cheek, mostly serious look at the chupacabra phenomonon in Puerto Rico with my good pal Nick Redfern and Puerto Rican researcher Orlando Pla. It also features interviews with real witnesses, and an official government investigator of the phenomenon.”

Click here to visit Nick’s blog on “The Island of Blood”

Watch CBS News Videos Online

The Garcia family of Horizon City says they were shocked to see 30 of their animals turn up dead overnight earlier this week. After looking at how they were killed, the only explanation they have is the Chupacabra.

The strange bite marks present on the dead farm animals seems to indicate two sharp fangs used to bite and suck blood from the creatures. Upon noticing the two-pronged bite marks, the Garcias said “The first thing that came to our head was the Chupacabras.”

Early reports of the Chupacabra in the Western world date back to a rash of reports from Puerto Rico in 1995, during which the classic “symptoms” of an alleged Chupacabra residence came to the attention of the mass media. However, the strange case of “The Vampire of Moca,” in which strange animal slayings of farm animals occurred in the Puerto Rican town of Moca in 1875, may actually predate the now-famous 1995 reports. Still, reports of “vampires” in the folklore of Latin American countries date back several centuries, and modern Ufologists have considered whether such reports might have some factual basis in the existing mythology surrounding what is now called the Chupacabra.

Most recently, the Chupacabra has made headlines after a series of dogs and coyotes suffering from mange and other skin diseases have contributed to reports of “hairless dogs,” often equated with reptiles for their hairless appearance, a number of which have been discovered dead. In nearly every circumstance, evidence strongly suggests that the creatures were merely canines suffering from various ailments.

Still, the earliest reports of alleged “Chupacabras” detail monkey-like, green-skinned (or scaled) creatures with glowing eyes, frills running the length of the spine, and even “bat-like wings” in a few reports. The question, it seems, lies in when exactly the cultural perception of these proposed mystery beasts began to equate their appearance with canines, rather than the traditional alien-like creatures that early encounters detail. Does this indicate that there is an overt cultural aspect to interpretation of what are reported as Chupacabra attacks and encounters? Or, on the other hand, does it merely mean that early reports of Chupacabras differ so greatly from those reported in the last two-to-four years because the “canine” creatures being discussed aren’t actually a match for “true Chupacabras”–whatever they may actually be?