“What you have now is a very fuzzy, dusty and weak image,” he said. “Then for the sake of completeness I have added the bloodstains, the burns, the scorching because there was a fire in 1532,” Garlaschelli says of his creation. Citing an interest in mysteries of history and the world, he took initiative to try and replicate the shroud years ago, until he finally happened upon this process. Now he says a similar shroud lookalike could be produced in as little as a week. Garlaschelli is also famous for the alleged debunking of myths such as Will-o’-the-Wisp, Kirlian photography and martial artists claiming to produce “touchless knockouts”.

In an opposing viewpoint expressed by Barrie Schwortz at the website Shroud.com, it appears that Garlaschelli may not be the first to claim iron oxide as a source for the mysterious images on the shroud. “It is apparent immediately that (Garlaschelli) knows very little about the actual Shroud of Turin,” Schwortz sasy. “He is not the first to suggest that the Shroud image was produced by red ochre pigment (iron oxide). In fact, he is at least the fourth to have proposed this theory in the last 30 years. Of course, this issue was anticipated by the STURP team in 1978 and a number of highly sensitive tests were performed that determined there was not enough iron oxide on the Shroud to be visible without a microscope. Iron oxide does not constitute the image on the Shroud. They also determined the image areas of the Shroud contain no more iron oxide than the non-image areas. It is more or less evenly distributed across the entire cloth.”

“Obviously,” Schwortz continues, “if the image were made in the manner detailed in the article, we would still find thousands of particles of iron oxide embedded into the image fibers of the linen and these would be clearly visible with just a good magnifying glass. Yet the microscopy done directly on the Shroud in 1978 revealed no such thing. These particles just don’t go away on their own.”

It is interesting to note that, in accordance with what Schwortz asserts about the presence of iron oxide, pollen spores around the forehead (where a crown of thorns was placed on Jesus according to tradition) and other minuscule traces of various substances have in fact been located on various parts of the shroud. STURP’s instruments could detect quantities as small as parts per billion of any substance; interestingly, no paints or pigments (including iron oxide) were included with the team’s findings in 1978. Schwortz also points out that “iron oxide is also a by-product of retting linen and the minute quantities found on the Shroud were pure and most likely the result of the retting process. The iron oxide used in red ochre pigment has many impurities and is rarely if ever found in its pure form.”

Regardless as to just what may have really caused the images to appear on the mysterious Shroud of Turin, debate over the ancient relic’s authenticity will no doubt rage on, in spite of what anyone–scientist or spiritualist–can present as evidence.

For those of you reading this on Facebook, here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDe1h58_EIA&feature=player_embedded

Robert, like myself, is a student of the unexplained, fringe science and arcane mysteries. Fluent in close to a dozen languages, Robert has traveled most of Europe in search of the truth behind a variety of UFO related phenomena.

Along these same lines, about a year ago my friend and mentor Brad Steiger sent an email requesting a round-up of favorite monsters (Brad often sends questionnaires to his friends and associates for purposes of outsourcing opinions on such matters, resulting in a lot of great compilations that appear in his books). At the time, although I won’t dispute Bigfoot being a personal all-time favorite, I couldn’t help but feel that the Pacific Northwest’s hairiest humanoid giant (with the prolific nature of sightings he and his cousins garner around the globe) seems to dominate lists of “top ten favorites”. Similarly, although she’s relatively concentrated in her specific locale, Scotland’s Lady of the Loch “Nessie” also ranks high among those mysterious monopolizing monsters, with her constituents in various lakes and oceans around the world also garnering a lot of attention. Finally, I have to give credit to those rascally little soft-organ-suckers from the Southern extremities, the Chupacabras, who have spent the last two decades making a name for themselves among the top-ranking cryptids (as well as, strangely, morphing from green-scaled alien monkeys into hairless reptile-dogs with exaggerated canines… no further comment).

However, I feel like there are weirder monsters… scarier monsters… that are often forgotten on such lists. If you’ve listened to interviews with me in the past, you’ve probably heard of a few of these. However, since they are too often forgotten, I figured I would post for you here at The Gralien Report my own “Top Ten Scariest Monsters” list, bearing in mind that all of these are supposed or theorized to actually exist in various capacities… when such things call your belief system and reality into question, what do you choose to believe? Although I question virtually everything presented here (not taking a completely skeptical stance against the possibility, by any means), there is a wide margin of collected evidence which suggests the baddies presented here are worthy of further speculation. You be the judge… but above all, enjoy!

The Official GRALIEN REPORT “Top Ten SCARIEST MONSTERS”

1) BLOOP: In the summer of 1997, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) managed to record a bizarre series of underwater sounds with an array of deep-sea moored hydrophones, formerly used for tracking Soviet submarines. “Bloop” is the name given to one particular ultra-low frequency underwater sound detected by NOAA, the source of which remains unknown. Scientists and marine biologists who have studied the noise report that it “matches the audio profile of a living creature,” although no animal on Earth exists that could have produced the sound. Due to the unique frequency of the recorded “Bloop”, scientists claim the creature emitting the noise “would have to be several times the size of the largest known animal on Earth, the Blue Whale.” Even stranger, the estimated coordinates from which the noise emanated (50 degrees South by 100 degrees West) marks a point furthest from most land masses in the South Pacific Ocean. This coincides almost perfectly with the location of the sunken city of R’lyeh in H.P. Lovecraft’s story The Call of Cthulhu, in which a monstrous alien is revived from beneath the Pacific depths at this same location. The frightening results of NOAA’s research leave us to ask, “was Lovecraft right?”

2) HOMO HADALIS: This term is borrowed from author Jeff Long’s fictional name for subterranean proto-human creatures living below the Earth in his novel The Descent. Though Long’s interpretation of a separate branch of humanity living in elaborate cave systems beneath the surface world is purely fiction, there are occasionally reports of similar creatures that come to light in Fortean circles. Many hominid researchers  have supposed that creatures like Bigfoot may even exist below the Earth in caves, hence their apparent ability to hide themselves and seemingly “disappear” when pursued. Such may be the case with “cavemen” witnessed in the Cannock Chase wilderness preserve in Britain, believed to cover extensive cave systems beneath its rolling hills. However, even more creepy than relic hominids are reports of white-skinned, eyeless “people” sometimes witnessed above ground, often moving on all-fours. Are these denizens of a world that exists below us, or anthropomorphic figments of our collective imaginations?

3) POPOBAWA: This horrific demon-rapist is a devilish cross between Mothman and the Assyrian demon Pazuzu (who was often depicted with a long snakelike phallus; see image at right). Popobawa is known for crawling into open windows, sexually molesting his victims (often males), and promising to return if they don’t tell others of their experiences. Many have cited the creature as the collective fears of people in locales like Zanzibar, where reports of Popobawa are prolific. However, those who have encountered the monster would tell you otherwise…

4) BIG YELLOWS: These giant, glowing man-ape entities were first reported by combat marines during the Vietnam War. Fast, aggressive, and impervious to machine gun fire, author Martin S. Caidin gave a startling account of their existence in his 1993 book Natural or Supernatural? A Casebook of True, Unexplained Mysteries.

5) MOTHMAN: The only “conventional” cryptid to make this list, Mothman’s strange flutterings are renowned among fringe science studies, demonology, interdimensional physics, and cryptozoology alike, landing it the number-five-spot in this collection. Reportedly seen in Charleston and Point Pleasant, West Virginia from November 12, 1966, to December 1967, most descriptions of the Mothman detailed “a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large wings” (sometimes erroneously referred to as “moth-like”, although reports generally indicated the creature more closely resembled an owl). Following the tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15th, 1967 (see image at right), reports of the strange entity diminished, after which sightings virtually ceased. Believed by many to be some kind of “harbinger” for misfortune, the Mothman and the mythology surrounding it is widely studied by a variety of experts in a number of fields, and to this day remains a mystery.

6) THE BEAST OF LE GEVAUDAN: From 1764 to 1767, one (or possibly several) man-eating wolf-like animals were said to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan (today known as département of Lozère), in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France. Described by a number of frightened witnesses, the monster was said to have formidable teeth and very large tails, a reddish fur, and “an unbearable odor” (see image at left). The creatures killed their victims by tearing at their throats with their teeth, with an estimated 210 attacks, resulting in 113 deaths and 49 injuries. 98 of the victims were partly eaten by these animals… but what were they? Theories range from wolves to cross-breeds between large wild dogs and their wolfen kin; with a history of presumed encounters with these creatures dating back as far as 1693, is it possible that several generations of mixed-breeding of this sort could have produced wildly aggressive “monsters” that terrorized the French countryside for decades?

7) THE GOLEM OF PRAGUE:  In sixteenth century Prague, “the Maharal” Judah Loew ben Bezalel, then chief rabbi of Prague, was said to have created a golem–a man made from mud–to defend the Prague ghetto from anti-Semitic attacks or “blood libels”. According to legend, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II warned that the Jews in Prague were to be either expelled or killed. In order to protect his community, the rabbi made the Golem out of clay from the banks of the Vltava river by moonlight, and brought it to life with Kabbalistic magic detailed in the Book of Formation. Some accounts say the golem became increasingly violent, while others say the golem fell in love, and when rejected, he became the violent monster as seen in most accounts (this account strongly resembles the scenario outlined in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein). Interestingly, a manuscript was discovered in a library in Germany centuries after the Maharal’s actions took place, alleged to have been written by one of his students. The manuscript stated that neither story was true, and that the golem, after finishing his civic duties under the Maharal’s guidance, was led into the attic of the 12th century Alt New Synagogue in historic Prague, where it was “deactivated” by its master and hidden beneath a pile of religious manuscripts. Afterward, the Maharal forbid entry into the attic by anyone “for safety reasons” concerning fire hazards, etc, with only one historic mention of a successor to the Maharal entering; the Rabbi was said to emerge with a pale face from fright, and re-instated the Maharal’s orders that the attic be closed. No one has entered since.

8 ) THE HIGHGATE VAMPIRE: The 1970s vampire craze, spurred on by the release of Bram Stoker’s character Dracula into the public domain, also witnessed the arrival of “The Highgate Vampire”. This dark entity (resembling Mothman in various capacities) was said to lurk among the graves in Highgate Cemetary in London. Psychic researcher David Farrant actually camped in the area in December 1969. In a subsequent letter to the Hampstead and Highgate Express on February 6th, 1970, he described having glimpsed a supernatural “grey figure”, asking if other locals had ever seen anything similar. Of the variety of ghosts said to haunt the cemetery (based on reader responses) were “a tall man in a hat” (often associated with the vampire), as well as a spectral cyclist, a woman in white, a face glaring through the bars of a gate (also associated directly with the vampire), a figure wading into a pond, and a “pale gliding form”. Years ago, during an interview with Farrant (with whom I remain in contact), I was told that the entity had red, hypnotic eyes, very much like the Mothman in description. Farrant also told me that he believed ley lines running near the cemetery may have had attracting forces conducive to manifestations such as Highgate’s “vampire”.

9) ENERGYZOA: UFO researcher Trevor James Constable called them “critters”, and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote fiction describing “terrors” that may exist in the skies. As we know, truth is stranger than fiction, and NASA has speculated that plasma-based “energetic life forms” might be capable of forming spontaneously in the vacuum of space. Could such formations, if they exist, account for various luminescent blob-like UFOs reported over the years?

10) SKY SQUIDS: Initially intended as a joke for savvy Gralien Report readers, I blogged about a cluster of Mylar balloons filmed over Mexico last year, purported by Latin American Ufologist Jamie Maussan to be a UFO. In months that followed, bizarre reports of squid, octopus and jellyfish-like UFOs began to be reported over England and other locales, including one such incident which led to the destruction of a windmill. What are these objects? Are they strange alien craft, or are they atmospheric life forms unto themselves, similar in nature to “Energyzoa”? Might they be Cthuloid entities from vast distant star systems… or even worse, could they being something else, perhaps some cult-oriented ancient deity with powers that surpass the devils and demons of our worst nightmares? YOU DECIDE…

…which marks the anniversary of another Chupacabra discovery in nearby Cuerto, Texas, dating back to 2007. Fox News reported on the find in an article titled “Texas Woman Claims to Have Found Mythical ‘Chupacabra’ ” on the same date two years ago. Although both critters are likely coyotes or foxes suffering from mange, it is strange synchronicity nonetheless that the two reports would both appear at the same time of year, right down to the exact date. Does this indicate any sort of trend about weather, habitat, feeding habits, etc that might indicate what causes these creatures to appear at specific times? Or, in the likely case that it is a known animal suffering from effects of a skin condition, does this provide insight into a cause for the ailment?

The synchronicity between dates was startling enough, at least in terms of the obvious coincidences… but the sudden appearance of Chupacabras and “mystery canines” around this time of year seems to be further enforced by the fact that today’s San Antonio discovery wasn’t the only reported “Chupacabra” discovered today. As it turns out, NewsOn6.com out of Oklahoma also had a similar story posted today, along with photos of the mystery beast:

Woman Says Chupacabra Found Near Stilwell

What is the likelihood that two separate discoveries of alleged “Chupacabras” would turn up on the anniversary of a similar discovery from 2007 (which, I must note, did take place in the midst of an almost identical rash of other reports occurring at the time)? Perhaps the big picture here has more to do with why these creatures begin appearing in these locales around this time of year in general, but I do admit finding a bit of enjoyment in such apparent coincidences, especially when they are Fortean in nature.

Maybe we can name September 1st “National Chupacabra Day”… what do you think?

As I read the news on my Blackberry forty five minutes later, I grimly thought to myself of the old adage, “things happen in threes”. Could this end up being the case today? Now, our worst fears may be confirmed as synchronicity threatens to strike yet again… indeed, details are slowly emerging regarding what may be the death of a third celebrity; a shocking conclusion to today’s unsettling round-up.

Indeed, rumors are emerging that suggest that an on-set accident may have claimed the life of actor Jeff Goldblum earlier today, the third celebrity to pass away within the last twelve hours. Below are two links that are presently carrying the story:

Actor dies in New Zealand?

Jeff Goldblum too? Another Rumored Death

Stephen Kral of manolith.com reported on the alleged incident earlier today:

According to reports from a New Zealand newspaper – and lots of action on Twitter – actor Jeff Goldblum died early this morning after a fatal fall. The alleged death occurred while on set in New Zealand when Goldblum fell over sixty feet off a nearby cliff. As of yet no other news source has picked up the story, so it’s probably false. That said, he is currently filming a movie titled, “Morning Glory“, but no word on where it’s filming.

Again, these reports speculating on the death of actor Jeff Goldblum are as-of-yet unconfirmed. Meanwhile, as a variety of other websites across the internet continue speculation, several others are decrying the rumors as a hoax. More on this startling turn of events as it develops…

In the meantime, Uri Geller is joining Shepard Smith on FOX NEWS live as I type this (8:18 PM EDST) discussing the death of Jackson, who he called a close friend, describing “times where he had had ‘rows’ with him, alluding to “things that shouldn’t have been given to him”. Geller claims, while administering a hypnotic state to Jackson, that he asked the singer about allegations that he had molested children, to which Jackson replied “absolutely not”.

Celebrity news sources and media networks are focused solely on the information regarding the passing of the self proclaimed “King of Pop”, and news commentator Larry King commented only minutes ago via his Twitter account that “I interviewed Michael Jackson when he 12 and with the Jackson 5.” No doubt, many others in the media and entertainment industry will be mourning the loss of this icon, in addition to the passing of Farrah Fawcett a mere five hours earlier, within miles of the UCLA Medical Center where Jackson was confirmed dead. Please keep all these individuals and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

UPDATE: I’ve been away from internet connections for a few hours (as of 11:52 PM EDST). However, by now the Jeff Goldblum “death hoax” is coming to a close, as corrected information about the origins of this internet rumor are now coming to light:

Website Hoax: Jeff Goldblum Not Dead

From the link above:

FakeAWish.com allows users to type in a celebrity name – such as Jeff Goldblum – and spits out a fake news story saying he has “died while filming a movie in New Zealand early this morning” after falling off a cliff.

Yet synchronicity seems to prevail… how strange that a story like this would get circulated on a day that happened to coincide with the deaths of two other celebrities? (To be honest, this may not be so much true synchronicity as it is merely an odd coincidence, but the more mystic-minded among us would perhaps remind us that “there are no coincidences”). Who knows… although I must mention that my friend Eileen of The Paranormal Casebook and many others are pointing out the death of Ed McMahon earlier this week. Though it wasn’t a third death to occur today, I guess we have to give kudos to synchronicity for not letting us down on our “rule of threes”, at very least.

Considered a cultural icon in their homeland, kangaroos are believed to exist only in their native Australia. But alas, perhaps all the wonderful treatment kangaroos get Down Under just isn’t enough; in spite of our scientific understanding that the creatures are endemic to Australia, anomalous appearances of the creatures elsewhere have occasionally turned up over the years, lending to theories of “Screaming Kangaroos” and large marsupials existing in parts of the United States.

Before we delve into reports of the creatures here in the states, it might be interesting to note that kangaroos were actually considered to be kind of anomalous even before their introduction to mainstream Western audiences. Europeans have long regarded kangaroos as strange animals. Early explorers described them as “creatures having heads like deer without antlers which stood upright like men, and hopped like frogs.” The use of “heads” in the plural sense is no typo, mind you; initial sightings of the creatures carrying their young led many to perceive them as having what appeared to be a second head growing out of their abdomen. Such factors no doubt helped lead Europeans back home to dismiss them as travelers’ tales up until their eventual capture and classification.

Here in the United States, reports of what have been called “phantom kangaroos” have been chronicled for decades, namely by researchers like Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman. In the state of Tennessee going back as far back as 1934, an “atypical kangaroo” was reportedly killing and partially devouring several animals, including German shepherd dogs in mid to late January. One witness, Reverend W. J. Hancock, described the animal as “looking like a large kangaroo, running and leaping across a field.” Another witness, Frank Cobb, claimed to have found a dismembered Alsatian, which he believed had been killed by the phantom marsupial. According to legend, a search party was formed, which followed the kangaroo’s prints to a nearby cave, where the trail ran out. The alleged “killer kangaroo” was never apprehended.

In addition to raising many eyebrows, this report raises a variety of questions; kangaroos, known to be strict herbivores, wouldn’t be killing and devouring small animals, let alone German shepherds. Additionally, the only reliably documented case of a kangaroo attack resulting in a human death occurred in New South Wales, in 1936, where a hunter was killed after trying to rescue his two dogs from a fight that had ensued with a kangaroo. The only other suggested causes for violent behavior among kangaroos includes extreme thirst and hunger, which may be worthy of consideration as a factor in this case, having occurred during the winter of 1934. Still, over the last few years there have been a number of attempts to label the story as a hoax by the late Horace N. Minnis, of the Chattanooga Times. Historians have pointed out, however, that Minnis was not a newspaper correspondent for the area at that time, though many newspaper writers of the period were known to “create” news of this sort when daily news in their area was lacking. Regardless, the video below illustrates kangaroos and their destructive potential, with their unique ability to balance on their strong tails and kick with their massive feet:

Some four decades later in the early morning hours of October 18, 1974, Officer Michael Byrne and Leonard Ciagi of the Chicago police were called after a kangaroo was allegedly seen standing on someone’s porch. After a brief search that ensued, in this incident the officers did in fact locate a kangaroo hiding in a nearby alleyway, but were unable to capture it. Jerome Clark detailed the strange account in his book Unexplained! 347 Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena.Soon after the incident in Chicago, Clark points out that kangaroo sightings were being reported in other parts of Illinois, as well as Wisconsin. A kangaroo was seen on October 19 by a paperboy, and again on the 23rd in Schiller Woods on Chicago’s Northwest side. Another police officer claimed to see the kangaroo on November 1 in Plano, just outside the city. The creature reportedly leaped eight feet from a field onto a nearby road. Half an hour later the leaping phantom was seen again, this time all the way back in Chicago city limits.

For three days after this rash of sightings in Illinois the animal was witnessed in the surrounding countryside, preceding another series of eyewitness accounts that began in Indiana. Four years later in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, two men managed to photograph a large phantom kangaroo beside the highway; the image has since become famous among Fortean circles of study.

Brian Joseph related a peculiar sighting at The Daily Grail, which occurred in Northern California in 1981 after several evenings where “screaming” had been heard in the woods nearby:

I caught sight of something in a clearing about 200 feet away from me. I thought that it was a deer sitting down the same way a dog sits down. My dog caught sight of it the same time I did and started to run towards it. Thats when I realized that it was not a deer, it took huge hops, looked like a kangaroo and let out a repeated burst of the sound that I had been hearing for months. The dog chased and the thing hop/leaped and turned. The dog followed a bit into a brush area and then came back out, the same as other times that the sound had been heard. This was in the days before the internet so trying to find out information on it was not easy. I tried to find out what type of sounds kangaroos make and anything I found never mentioned a bird like noise or anything like that. I also wondered if it was somehow associated with a UFO that myself and another person had witnessed in the area in late 1980.

The strange noises he had heard seemed to lead him to refer to the creature as being a “screaming kangaroo”. Indeed, kangaroos make noises, but in this example the noises sound more reminiscent of the “grunting” various species of deer make.

Reported causes for the appearance of “phantimals” of this sort can indeed be linked to escaped pets also, though phantom ‘roo appearances have been documented in parts of Europe and other locales as well. Where else could these unique animals have come from? Are Kangaroos capable of more mischief than we give them credit, or just perhaps, are they able to use those powerful back legs for swimming long, long, long distances?

Hey, as unlikely as this sounds, they obviously seem to get around!

Based on what was described, I’m not convinced that what the witnesses actually saw wasn’t a raccoon. I asked if this creature had appeared to move upright or on four legs, to which she said she wasn’t certain. As for the mysterious “scratching” sounds on the roof of her car, the clawed paws of a raccoon certainly would be the most likely solution, and the raccoon hypothesis nonetheless explains the fur she and her boyfriend described seeing in the creature’s silhouetted outline also. Whether or not the folks who shared this story were actually accosted by a strange little “man”, North Carolina and many other parts of the world nonetheless have folk traditions and histories that involve “little people”, presumed to be spirit folk, which sometimes do appear to cause mischief.

The Southeast has a long tradition held among the Cherokee Indians regarding “little people” who inhabit caves and other small subterranean dwellings throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Often mischievous in nature, these beings are known to appear under peculiar circumstances, and though most are known to be helpful and benign by nature, it is advised in native traditions that one who witnesses a little person should ignore them, so as not to draw attention to their presence. The Cherokee divide these spirit folk into three categories: the Rock People, vengeful and angry dwarfs who are known for accosting lost travelers by tossing stones at them for invading their space; the Laurel People, generally regarded as tricksters; and the Dogwood People, who are the most helpful and kind-hearted of the Little People.

Though such legends are traditionally considered Native beliefs, I find it interesting that the most fascinating accounts of contact with the Little People I have collected from the region don’t originate from the Cherokee themselves, but instead were told to me by locals living in the more remote areas around Western North Carolina. J.R. Sutton, a friend of my family I had known while growing up, had lived near the Cherokee Indian reservation decades ago, and told me about an encounter with “little bearded folks of short stature” he had observed on one occasion. Sutton always used to keep horses, and one afternoon while tending to them he said he was astonished to find three small people sitting on the bare back of one of the animals. “I looked at this and thought they were kids,” Sutton said. “Then one of the little fellers looked around at me and he had a long beard.” Sutton expressed some degree of superstition about the encounter, adding that he “was familiar with the legends, and didn’t want to bother the little folks.” Were the small, bearded dwarves Sutton encountered in his pasture that afternoon the same mischievous spirit folk the Cherokee have told of for centuries?

Two counties away, an even stranger encounter with a little person took place. John Capps, an entrepreneur and Western North Carolina native, lives with his wife on a remote piece of property stretching over an entire mountain on the outskirts of Buncombe County. One day several years ago, John had ridden a golf cart to the base of the mountain to collect a few bundles of firewood to bring back up to their house. The entire property has a peculiar air, and near the area where he had stopped, John has since told me about a large, curious-looking rock with a wide, flat top, which locals say was once used in Indian rituals. “I was loading up the wood down there at the base of the mountain, when I looked over and saw this strange looking little man. He was kinda leaning against a tree, and was wearing these little coveralls, just standing there.” John winced as he searched for words as he related this story to me, saying “he had a funny little look on his face. I’ll tell ya what it was—it was a little shit-eatin’ grin. That’s the best way I could describe it.”

John found the odd demeanor of the little man disconcerting, and decided to ignore the fellow, climbing into his golf cart and heading back up the mountain. “I got back up there to where I was unloading the wood, and I turned around and saw the same little character about twenty yards off, watching me just like he had done all the way down at the base of the mountain. He scared me to death, and for days I wouldn’t go anywhere without my wife riding around with me. I even started carrying a gun.” Before long, John’s wife began to wonder about what might have scared her husband, who was normally a calm, laid-back individual. “I finally told her, and she just said ‘I’ll fix this’.” John’s wife was one-quarter Cherokee herself, and also knew the legends regarding the Little People very well. “She got in touch with some family members who knew the native stories, and whatever they did to ask the little man to leave seemed to have worked.” John and his wife never saw the entity around their property again.

Further East, near the town of Winston-Salem lies what is called the Single Brother’s House in the historic Old Salem Village and Gardens. The building was originally used as a communal home for unmarried men in the area, which had been a Moravian settlement. It is here that encounters with a ghostly entity called “the Little Red Man” were said to occur up until a few decades ago. Perhaps the most famous encounter with the Little Red Man involves the granddaughter of a resident of the house named Betsy. “Little Betsy” as she was called had suffered from a childhood illness which caused deafness, though she maintained the ability to speak. One day Betsy returned from playing in the garden and told her grandmother about seeing “a small man wearing a red cap” who had beckoned her to come and play. Legends say that the entity, though seemingly harmless, was encountered again in the cellar of the building while an important public figure was visiting the house. This prompted his removal, and a minister was asked to come and exorcise the strange little fellow from the property. Winston-Salem’s “Little Red Man” was never again seen.

More recently, another strange incident involving similar phenomenon was reported across the United States in California, as related by a woman named Tammy to Jason Offutt, author of Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us (of which, I might add, Patrick Huyghe of Anomalist Books was kind enough to send me a review copy. Keep an eye out for my review of this fine book in an upcoming Gralien Report post).

Tammy reported that she and her children had lived on a lot with five houses “and one very spooky old barn.” Tammy had begun to notice that “none of the neighbor’s animals, or stray animals for that matter, would go anywhere near that barn.” Eventually, strange things began to occur around the area, and one evening Tammy finally says she heard a “very freaky, very evil-sounding chuckle.” Looking in the direction of the sound, Tammy and her son witnessed what she called “a gnome”. Offutt describes for us what this strange man of diminished proportions looked like: “The entity was about two to three feet tall. Baggy black pants hung from its waist and the “creature” wore a gold-colored shirt. It had a salt and pepper beard and hair that ran from beneath a red, pointed hat.” By all accounts, it appeared to be a traditional gnome; and a creepy one, at that!

Of course, reports of “creepy gnomes” aren’t restricted to the United States. In fact, readers of this blog may recall posts around March of 2008 dealing with a “creepy gnome” seen around the Salta province of Argentina. Strangely, this creature was described as looking very much like a typical gnome as represented in Germanic folklore; culturally, this creates a few problems. To quote myself from the original article, “For the reasons above, culturally there are many problems with a “gnome” appearing in Argentina; for instance, these creatures are a part of the folklore of mostly northern and eastern Europe, having been known famously by such names as Kaukis and Tomten in Germanic traditions, as well as Barbegazi further south in France. Having been a part of the culture of this region for centuries, one might find it more credible if reports of a “gnome” were seen here, especially with his trademark pointed hat.” Apparently, these creepy gnomes no nothing of culture when it comes to where they decide they want to appear.

Are there indeed strange, very small “spirit folk”, or “fairies” which exist in remote areas around the world? Could they be strange, hidden races of “hobbits” which exist primarily underground, hidden from view? Or could they be mere folklore, nothing more than legends that represent some weird archetypal element in the human psyche?

Of course, as a researcher of a variety of alleged cryptozoological wonders, this story reminds me of a term I’ve thrown around in various Fortean circles for years now. Indeed, these little Marmosets must be the closest I’ve come to seeing what I’ve always referred to as a “Fire Monkey”.

Fire Monkeys are a bit of a meme I helped create, born during a succession of live broadcasts of my buddy Joshua Warren’s radio program, Speaking of Strange (for which I am both executive producer and occasionally a guest fill-in host). My brother had initially joked about Fire Monkeys within the context of an imaginary cryptid that he said “tormented hillbillies”, especially mechanics, while working in wooded areas on hot summer afternoons in the American  Southeast. At one point, I recall the creature being discussed with renowned cryptozoologist Mark A. Hall on the program several years ago, and then being snuffed out, only to return to the annals of obscurity… for a while, at least.

Several years later, I remember calling in to speak with Josh remotely after a brief hiatus I had taken from the program, at which time he asked me what kinds of reports I had been gathering during a series of field investigations I had been involved with at the time. “Well Josh,” I confided, “It seems that my research has led me back to that dreaded fiend-of-all-fiends,” I told him. “Yes, I’m referring to the infamous FIRE-MONKEY!” Josh and I had a good laugh about it, and for a few days had forgotten about the poor little flamin’ critter yet again. The following week’s broadcast featured me as guest host for Joshua, and during the second hour of the program I recieved a phone call from the nearby town of Waynesville, N.C. The caller recounted a rather peculiar story, telling me that “he had seen a greasy-looking Fire Monkey while hiking with his cousin in the Blue Ridge Mountains.” Amused, I told the caller that I was interested in this report, and hoped he would follow up with any updates he may receive in the future. “Furthermore,” I said, “I invite anyone else who sees what they believe to be a Fire Monkey to call in to this program and share your experiences.” Within days, we were recieving a variety of stories and photographs (many of which were obvious fakes) detailing encounters with “Fire Monkeys”. Joshua, Mobius and I were so amused by this that we commisioned a talented artist friend of ours, Lee Brooks, to design a “Fire Monkey” logo for the Speaking of Strange web site. Around the same time, L.E.M.U.R. researcher and a good friend of mine, Vance Pollock, contributed a sighting from the late 1970s of a “phantom baboon” witnessed just outside Charlotte, North Carolina. By now, I was just waiting for the next report of a Fire Monkey, when I was also made privy to reports of “Big Yellows”, gigantic pipedal ape-men who glowed yellow, witnessed in Vietnam by a group of US Marines decades ago as discussed in Martin Caidin’s book Natural or Unnatural? What had unfolded before me, it seems, was an entire sub-category of cryptozoological reports involving “glowing ape-men” seen around the world. Incredibly, it was almost as if the Fire Monkey had manifested into a tulpa, physically entering the realm of my psyche and screaming its primal presence to me.

But in all seriousness, the Speaking of Strange staff and I have enjoyed musing over Fire Monkeys for some time now, and reports of Marmosets with feet that glow green only further deepen the enigma that surrounds my favorite fictional cryptid; which, if such news stories continue to be reported, may no longer be so easily classified as imaginary, after all!

The synopsis reads as follows:

Two American filmmakers go to Transylvania to collect stories of vampires (strigoi in Romanian), werewolves and ghosts. They find that belief in these creatures still exist in the small villages of the Carpathian mountains. This pod showcases interviews with Romanian villagers who share their experiences about vampires.

In the video, one man describes “making a pact with both priests and the devil” in order to rid himself of a powerful strigoi that had been haunting him, stating that such measures “are the way of the world”. Indeed, the extremities of good and evil, as well as fact and fantasy continue to converge…

Mexico Creature Report

After a long discussion with Josh earlier this evening prior to his appearance on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, a sad story involving the capture and slaying of a small, unidentified creature was related to me (visit the link above for a full color photo of the animal). So many questions remain (regarding the story available at Warren’s website), but I have been told the following regarding laboratory tests being performed on the creature’s remains at present:

* The creature appears to bear traits that are primarily mamallian, but also displays elements which are amphibian in nature.

* The creature’s teeth did not have roots, like most mammals. Instead, the teeth were “shark-like” in that, lacking roots, they were all but able to be pulled out.

* The odd eyes and thin, gray skin of the animal were reminiscent of creatures known to live underground. This, paired with the length of time described in the account of drowning of the creature given by the Mexican ranchers who found it, may again suggest a creature that was not only subterranean, but perhaps amphibious, also.

In addition to these elements, other bizarre features (like a strikingly human ankle and foot) exist on the specimen. If the creature were to be a “real” find, would it be appropriate to make the allusion to Homo Hadalis, that is, the creatures living underground in Jeff Long’s novel The Descent, by giving them the same name?

For the full story, visit Josh’s website. For more as it develops, I’ll be keeping an eye on this one. Conversely, I’d recommend keeping your eyes on this blog in the meantime!