Have you ever undergone a frightening or traumatic experience, during which you felt the presence of another nearby who provided comfort and support, even if no such person had actually been there? In his 2008 book The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible, author John Geiger deals with peculiar instances of survival against the extreme, where individuals felt they were accompanied by a ghostly presence. Reports of this phenomenon range from prisoners of war, aviators and astronauts, to even survivors of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. “All have escaped traumatic events only to tell strikingly similar stories of having experienced the close presence of a companion and helper,” Geiger writes.
One fascinating instance of Geiger’s “Third Man Factor” recounts an unusual Himalayan encounter that took place in 1953, during which the famous and rugged Austrian mountaineer Herman Buhl was first to scale the Nanga Parbat, a 26,660 foot peak located in the Himalayas, making it the world’s ninth tallest. Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Michael J. Ybarra noted at the time of publication how Buhl “climbed by himself and not far from the summit was forced to spend the night out in the open without a sleeping bag or tent… Buhl survived—in part, he later wrote, because he sensed that he shared the ordeal with a companion.” Indeed, Buhl had described having “an extraordinary feeling,” and the sense “that I was not alone.”
This report is interesting, not only because of the unusual paranormal aspect of sensing a “presence” nearby when there was, in fact, no one at all, but also due to its similarity to an earlier encounter where the survivor claimed he had been rescued by none other than the legendary Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas. Could Buhl’s experience shed some light on the true nature of one of the oddest reports of a Yeti ever told?
Recently, my brother Caleb shared a link with me to the music video above, featuring the group Old Man Markley and their song “For Better, For Worse.” Although I perform several times a week with a variety of Bluegrass and acoustic ensembles myself (which, curiously, end up falling somewhere between Bill Munroe and Bad Religion in terms of sound), it was not immediately clear to me why I had been made privy to this clip… and then the Sasquatch appeared.
Watching the video, which humorously pokes fun at gory horror films of the past where Bigfoot wreaks havoc on unsuspecting campers and the like, I was reminded of a few favorites worthy of mention here. After all, most people who follow cryptozoology know of flicks along the lines of The Legend of Boggy Creek; still, there are a number of others which, though lacking in authentic documentary-style presentation like Boggy Creek showcased, still earn a B+ for over the top hilarious Sasquatchery.
Perhaps no vile nemesis of any hero in classic literature is as renowned and studied as Beowulf’s legendary adversary, Grendel. While studying the famous battle between Beowulf and the aforementioned beast for a new book I’m spending time writing at present, I began to notice a variety of interesting parallels, ranging from associations between Grendel and his alleged descent from the biblical Cain (boy, this reminds me of another curious “Fortean Folk Devil” report divulged on this site just a while ago) to more modern reports of Bigfoot-like creatures in the United States, as well as part of Europe and abroad.
I won’t get to all of those right now, but in passing, there is one very striking similarity I’d like to address. It pertains to a classic rendering of Grendel that was procured by J.R. Skelton, an illustrator of children’s books in the early twentieth century (see above), and its similarity to a well known image of a purported “Skunk Ape” from the American Southeast.
Ever wondered what a popular alien “Gray” might really look like? What about a reptilian being… or even a mix between the two?
Apparently you aren’t the only one who’s imagination has tried to muster images of the strange and surreal… and in the case of an up-and-coming new artist in the Fortean community, Ryan Mott, his imagination has resulted in some fantastic renderings of our favorite alien oddities from distant parts of the galaxy.
