Here’s the most I’ll say about this one: I was fairly unimpressed with what appeared to be an object visibly wobbling as though appended from a string. So far as the “extreme acceleration manoeuvre” the witness describes, it looks more like the object was being passed in front of the tree in the background, as the cameraman conveniently dawdles long enough for the object to remain concealed there before panning to the right of the tree, as though the craft had simply vanished (in fact, between 4:03 and 4:06 in the video above, one is almost given the impression that the object is still visible, dangling directly in front of the tree, though the extremely poor quality of the video, as well as the jerky camerawork, makes this virtually impossible to discern).

Glancing at a few of the comments YouTube users were leaving, my opinion on the matter appears to be part of a greater consensus:

“Nobody would start recording before running back to film, and if they did; they sure the hell would not keep the camera pointed forward the whole time. It’s easy to see that this was done for dramatic effect. You can also see the object wobbling, they did a poor job constructing it.”

“It acted like one of those ‘contactees’ UFO’s. It moved like the wind was tugging the string it was dangling from.”

“4:03 fake.”

These days, it’s easier than ever before to create deceptively simple ruses for the sake of entertainment, or sometimes for the sake of trying to skew facts and conceal inconvenient truths. For instance, during the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a big stir was made about what appeared to be Photoshopped images released by BP depicting various stages of the cleanup process (BP later acknowledged that they had in fact doctored the images). Similar occurrences “crop” up (yes, the pun was intended that time) with UFOs, again thanks to the availability of video and photo-editing software.

But in a way, I’m almost glad to see that we’ll occasionally still be treated to charmingly simplistic fakes, the likes of our recent “Norwegian UFO.” There’s something strangely comforting–perhaps nostalgic–about viewing UFO videos and images that, by comparison, would make Billy Meier’s saucer photos look like incontrovertible evidence of an extraterrestrial presence. Much in the same spirit of the famous “Contactee” era photos, these folks represent a lasting faction of those who are willing to put a little sweat into constructing simplistic hoaxes and pull the wool over people’s eyes; but in this case, it doesn’t look like anybody is really being fooled. However badly these sorts of hoaxes may be executed, in the long run, the more of them we continue to see, the easier it should be in the future to discern “the real thing,” if and when that ever arrives.

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.

There’s simply nothing on all of Mars quite like it: Orcus Patera, a long, elliptical Martian depression situated between two sibling volcanoes, Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons, is a nearly 235-mile-long anomaly. Especially on its furthest side (far right in the image above), a rim protrudes from the depression, rising nearly to an elevation 6000 feet above the surrounding plains. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the use of “patera” in the strange crater’s name denotes a complex or irregularly shaped formation. “However, despite its name and the fact that it is positioned near volcanoes, the actual origin of Orcus Patera remains unclear,” the agency states at their website.

There has apparently been a good bit of speculation as to what might have caused the appearance of this strange anomaly, and Friday, the latest answer ESA officials provided only lends itself to more controversy:

The most likely explanation is that it was made in an oblique impact, when a small body struck the surface at a very shallow angle, perhaps less than five degrees from the horizontal.

This mention of a “small body” seemed to fuel imaginative speculation as to what sort of an object might have been the culprit. Lewis Page, writing for The Register this morning, said “Plainly, we’re talking here about an alien spaceship, its propulsion crippled, attempting a very-high-velocity glide landing through the evanescent Martian atmosphere–and cocking it up.” But if this were the case, could there still be debris located nearby? “There has to be a sporting chance,” Page continued, ruminating over whether “the alien ship yet lies preserved within its eternium-powered force bubbles, sealed within the now-cooled lake of molten rock it created as it crashed.”

So far as an actual solution to Orcus Patera’s strange shape, it seems we may be dealing with an area of the Maritan surface where an object (more likely a meteorite) entered the planet’s atmosphere at an angle that allowed it to glance the surface, possibly scraping by only to ricochet back into space again. Thus, the long lasting “alien skid mark” remains, decorating Mars with yet another strange, yet curiously wonderful natural landmark.

Image courtesy of ESA archives.

Seems like all we’ve been hearing about is this “thing” that showed up in photographs taken by a motion activated game camera last week in Texas. Now, after an official investigation, the cause of the object has been proven to be a technical glitch with the camera; this according to Fletcher L. Gray, Texas MUFON chief investigator:

“For some unknown reason, the camera shutter was remaining open, and (as) the infrared strobe fired it would catch a bank of lights. The strobe has 14 LED-type bulbs across and with five bulbs vertical, with a total of 70 LED bulbs. If you look at the photo of what was called a “UFO,” you will count 14 lights that matches the 14 bulbs in the camera.”

This not only seems logical, but familiar as well. In fact, days ago this had already been proposed by folks on various hunting forums, although no one (to my recollection) had gone into detail about the internal mechanics of the camera make and model, or the fact that the LEDs might have been self-contained within the camera. Since the camera itself had been producing the anomaly, this would also explain the “drift” I mentioned the other day.

Looks like whitetail deer in the Texas area won’t have to worry about aliens abducting them, and can feed easily again (at least until hunting season arrives).

Image by Windell Oksay via Flickr.

Below is a closeup of the object in question:

…And finally, the image below shows the same landscape during daylight hours for comparison:

Along with the photos sent, the individual also shared some basic information about the circumstances:

I have viewed this in zoom, negative and to be truthful, it sort of makes me wonder about what is really out there. I first thought they were Canada Geese night flying, but when I measured the distance between the light area’s, they are too identical to be Geese or any other sort of bird. I also noted that the object is “Between” the two sets of utility wires, eliminating the chance of a reflection off the wires. I am sending copies of the originals and the camera info and other pertinent information is still there. Please have your experts look at them and see if they can come up with an explanation.

I had initially been hopeful that an anomaly similar to the alleged UFO photographed recently in Texas–which, at present, remains unidentified–might have appeared. However, once I took a look at the images above, I wrote back to the gentleman in a correspondence earlier today about my take on the more recent “anomaly”:

This appears to be a moth or insect whose flight pattern and proximity to the lens, combined with the shutter speed on the camera being used, resulted in an image that displays several of the insect’s wingbeats cycling over the duration of its flight the instant the photograph was taken. There are a variety of websites that refer to this sort of anomaly as a “rod” (I’ve also heard the term “skyfish,” as these were once believed by some to be biological life forms that were presently unknown to science).

In fact, the Wikipedia article on Rods has a very detailed photograph, obtained using a long exposure, depicting moths swarming around an outdoor light, that details the same sort of thing. The photographer got back in touch with me after I forwarded this information along, and somewhat relieved, told me he’d just as soon prefer not to have any “anomalies” hovering around his trail cam airspace, though he joked that “bugs and bats are ok.” Truth be known, this is a very simple identification error, and even though most conventional photography can capture things the eyes can see also, the manner in which those things are represented on film might still cause even the best trained eye to wonder occasionally.

With hunting season only weeks away, I can’t help but wonder what other anomalies might show up in trail camera snapshots this year. Do you have an odd photograph taken by a motion camera that you can’t explain? If so, email them to us at info@gralienreport.com. Who knows… maybe you’ll be the next to capture images of a trail-cam UFO!

If you visit any bookstore and browse the metaphysical/new age section, you’ll likely find several titles dealing with “doomsday prophecies” associated with the year 2012, as well as a few that pair this more loosely alongside cultural trends that include UFOs, meditation, and a variety of other speculative sciences. No matter which angle you may choose to approach this from, it appears the end of the world has become a rather fab trend, of sorts.

Some might argue we’ve been living in “the last days” since time began, and somehow Earth has only managed to extend its lease long enough to get us to this point; hence, we’re long overdue on our metaphysical mortgages, and things are bound to turn sour before too much longer. Whether or not this is actually the case, authors certainly aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed the trend, and see that the popularity associated with a cataclysmic demise of life as we know it as something worth tapping into. New York Magazine recently featured an article about the growing number of films, particularly upcoming titles yet to be released, that will be dealing with thematic images of a world in it’s death throes. “Hollywood is assuming that we’ve subconsciously accepted the world is ending,” the article reads, “and are interested in having that general anxiety represented, in entertaining fashion, on the big screen.”

That this would occur now comes as no particular surprise. The NYM article lists the oil spill in the Gulf, as well as “racial and religious friction” among the reasons people’s outlook seems so bleak. Other factors worthy of consideration might include Iran’s insistence on developing a nuclear program, as well as the notion of countries like the U.S. and Israel having to take military action against them in order to prevent the outbreak of more conflict in the Middle East; all this on the heels of an already overdrawn conflict in Afghanistan. Or consider the growing rate of unemployment Americans presently struggle with, compounded by threats of a double-dip recession and a weakening dollar. With all the trouble people face today, some may find it hard to look to the future with a forecast of anything but the worst.

Since all this collective unrest seems to be lingering like storm clouds overhead, would it be surprising if the stranger elements of our existence began to manifest elsewhere, rather than merely in books, film, and entertainment mediums? Perhaps not. Troubling times have long been associated with strange phenomenon, whether the anomalies in question are representative of something yet to come (an omen, perhaps), or maybe resulting from the inner fears of groups of individuals that somehow become externalized. Carl Jung’s theories about UFO phenomenon culminated around this notion, suggesting that people’s concerns and fears resulting from Cold War sentiments might be somehow “projected,” resulting in the appearance of strange airborne objects that held an underlying archetypal significance:

One can hardly suppose that anything of such worldwide incidence as the UFO legend is purely fortuitous and of no importane whatever. The many thousands of individual testimonies must have an equally extensive causal basis. When an assertion of this kind is corroborated practically everywhere, we are driven to assume that a corresponding motive must be present everywhere, too. Though visionary rumours may be caused or accompanied by all manner of outward circumstances, they are based essentially on an omnipresent emotional foundation, in this case a psychological situation common to all mankind. The basis for his kind of rumour is an emotional tension having its cause in a situation of collective distress or danger, or in a vital psychic need. This condition undoubtedly exists today, in so far as the whole world is suffering under the strain of Russian policies and their still unpredictable consequences.

With the sort of knowledge we have today that pertains to various testing of secret government aircraft and the like, it’s safe to say that Jung’s fundamental thesis was incomplete; but perhaps it wasn’t completely inaccurate. Many would argue that the hard evidence and nuts-and-bolts elements that accompany many modern reports does, if nothing else, suggest there is a physical quality to many reported incidents involving UFOs (i.e. burn marks at an alleged landing site, etc). However, there are certainly circumstances, many of them having to do with death, dying, and the end of humanity as a species, that also bear archetypal significance.

One of the more physical aspects of the UFO phenomenon spanning the last several decades deals with the claims of UFO abductees. Many theories have been presented over the years as to what the underlying nature and causes of this phenomenon may be, ranging from the sudden recollection of psychologically-embedded birth-memories and endogenous mystical experiences, to the obvious inference that some people have actually been taken hostage by extraterrestrial beings. What is particularly interesting about the phenomenon is that, even with the prevalence of claims of the latter, these instances often bear strong similarity to mystical experiences and shamanic visions that are in no-way oriented with UFO literature.

Take for instance the case of Betty Andreasson, recounted in Ray Fowler’s book The Andreasson Affair, in which the witness claimed to have been abducted by alien beings who communicated telepathically with her. After taking her aboard a spacecraft where a physical examination took place, Andreasson was taken to a strange landscape with vivid red and green colors and odd, alien flora and fauna. She was finally brought before a large bird, which caught fire as she stood before it, nearly burning her alive. Once the flames had consumed the bird, from the ashes a gray “worm” emerged. While in the presence of all this, Andreasson was told a variety of things, including the profound love this entity, which she perceived essentially to be Jesus Christ, had for her. She was imparted with secret wisdom, along with the impression that a second coming or other world-changing event might occur in the near future.

Of Betty Andreasson’s strange encounter, Dr. Kenneth Ring noted in his article “Near-Death and UFO Encounters as Shamanic Initiations: Some Conceptual and Evolutionary Implications” that, “anyone who reads it cannot help but notice that it is chockfull of the symbolism of the (shamanic) initiation, a fact that several other commentators have pointed out and of which Betty herself seems aware.” Indeed, the giant flaming bird is an obvious match for the legendary phoenix, once commonly used in Christian iconography for the symbolism its death and re-birth presented.

Others who have described encounters with aliens sometimes recount being shown visions of end-of-the-world scenarios. Dominique Callimanopulos, describing an investigation he and UFO researcher John Mack undertook together at a primary school in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1994, shared the following story from a young girl called “Elsa” in his article “Exploring African and Other Alien Abductions“:

(The student) told us that she thought the beings wanted to tell us something about our future, about how “the world is going to end, maybe because we don’t look after our planet or the air.” She said she felt horrible inside when she got home that day. “Like all the trees will go down and there will be no air. People will be dying. Those thoughts came from the man–the man’s eyes.”

Is it possible that a correlation might exist between people’s experiences with the unexplained and a sense of future disaster or conflict? The few instances illustrated here hardly provide enough information for a clear, plausible theory in this regard, but they nonetheless express a serious notion which might illustrate how people’s general stress, tensions and fears might exist in tandem with manifestations of otherworldly phenomenon. Perhaps this even represents some of the more unique psychological functions of the mind, in the sense that some of the processes that dictate humankind’s behavioral coping mechanisms may still allude our understanding. If this is the case, arguably they will continue to do so for some time; let’s just hope the world doesn’t come to it’s untimely demise before we’re given a chance to solve the mystery.

Image by Desmond Kavanagh via Flicker.

I had a discussion about this with a forestry and natural resources major from Clemson, SC, only weeks ago, who asked me the question above. While we spoke, I admitted there have been some strange things captured by trail cameras, such as the infamous “Jacob’s Creature” photos. The official explanation for the creature in these images was said to be a mangy bear; though this doesn’t seem entirely likely based on what the photos and later analysis detail, it doesn’t rule out other possible explanations that may not warrant anything out of the ordinary. That’s why, of all things, the notion of strange aerial phenomenon being captured by a motion-sensitive camera seems even less likely than a flesh-and-blood critter wandering into view, just in time to say “cheese.” Still, stranger things have happened, as the video below shows us: what is the weird object hovering in the background of these Texas trail camera photos?

Writing for the LA Times‘ outdoor and adventure blog Outposts, writer Kelly Burgess included testimony from a Fort Worth, Texas resident named Lisa Brock-Piekarski, who noted that “There’s nothing back there but trees and sky. There’s no hills, no buildings, nothing back there. It’s all flat.” Nonetheless, the strange row of illuminations appeared in not just one, but several consecutive images taken throughout the evening, which appeared to show a large, airborne object in the distance.

What we do know about the camera is that it operates using infrared, rather than a flash, and is motion-activated, like the majority of cameras of this type used for hunting and wildlife observing. Brock-Piekarski told reporters they’ve captured falling stars, but nothing quite as uniform as the object in these photos. “Anytime there’s a meteor shower or anything, you can see it a lot better, but I’ve never seen anything like that.” Brock-Piekarski’s land is also in Archer City, which is just 20 miles south of Sheppard Air Force Base in nearby Wichita Falls. Local station KXAS-TV (who did the piece featured in the video above) contacted the base, but said officials “did not immediately return requests.”

When viewing the individual photographs (several were posted online here) one can see that the object in question moves slightly, drifting to the right over a period covering at least an hour just before dawn as the time stamp on the photos indicates. One of the earlier images bears a time stamp of 5:18 AM, whereas two later images took place consecutively at 6:06 AM and 6:07 AM. Photos taken as the camera was triggered by game in the area after sunrise, occurring several minutes before 7:00 AM, show a clear background; nothing but open sky is visible in the distance behind the location of the strange object from only an hour earlier.

So what was it? Some outdoor enthusiasts, posting anonymously on the site Texas Bowhunter Forums, have suggested everything from droplets of water gathered along a spider’s web, to a string of LED lights. Another item of speculation might involve the potential for mirages, perhaps due to city lights in the distance reflected off moisture pockets present in the atmosphere (this sounds very similar to the classic debunkings of the Project Bluebook era, but it can indeed occur). However, none of these suggestions would explain the peculiar way the object appears to “drift” over the course of the morning as the photos show. Until further information about the location and other contextual details emerge, the identity of this strange illumination over Texas will likely remain unidentified. However, if you have any information about this or other sightings of strange aerial phenomena in Archer City or other Texas locales, please email them to info@gralienreport.com.

After being brought up recently on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, a surge of interest in the 2006 incident prompted a brief interview with Hilkevitch, who recounted some of the pertinent details on camera. Below, you can hear his take on the story, which remains one of the most widely-documented UFO cases in recent years.

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.

On numerous occasions in my life, both professionally and on a casual basis, I’ve had conversations with individuals who claimed to possess psychic abilities. Most often I’ve been unimpressed, but I’ll admit that there have been a few exceptions, albeit those of the rarest variety. Sparing those seldom few, for the most part my experiences have failed to showcase anything I found particularly extraordinary, although in their wackiness they have left me with good fodder for future conversations and storytelling.

One such instance occurred years ago, after I was invited by a researcher and acquaintance of mine to travel out of town with him, hoping to meet with friends of his that he said were under “psychic attack” by some bizarre malevolent forces. Upon our arrival, speaking with the residents in question certainly revealed a curious set of circumstances; rather than anything supernatural or particularly “evil,” what I found was far more interesting in its more mundane aspects… but no-less potentially dangerous.

For these poor folks, lightning had indeed struck twice; several times, to be accurate. The story related to us detailed how electronic devices in the home of these individuals had been repeatedly destroyed by lightning, which had been striking their home with startling frequency. Their home, however, was built mostly around a metallic frame and outer structure, since one of the residents suffered from terrible allergies that made her very susceptible to sickness from mold–particularly the variety that grows on damp or rotting wood. Additionally, they sat at the peak of a very high ridge, mostly bare from the cover of trees and other tall objects, making them an easy target for the forces of nature.

Though the circumstances seemed to indicate to me a fairly clear explanation as to what may be causing this, my fellow researcher offered a different perspective: after consulting with a pair of psychics, he had determined that an ancient evil extraterrestrial presence inhabited the mountain, and it wanted our mutual acquaintances to leave! Startled though I was, shortly after this revelation I managed to excuse myself from the company politely, and on my way to the car, one of the residents walked me out, expressing sadness and concern about what they’d been told.

“If I can offer you any advice,” I told her, “it would be not to believe everything you hear.” With that, I thanked her for her hospitality (and a very nice cup of Earl Grey tea), hopped into my car and made a beeline back to town.

The moral of this story isn’t that all people who profess to have psychic abilities are wackos or liars trying to get attention for various reasons. What it does illustrate for us, however, is that there are certain times when even the most overtly bizarre speculation can harbor potential danger, especially on the most impressionable minds. For instance, in the circumstances above, the inhabitants of the house in question were told they should leave, based on the speculation of a couple of “psychics” whom neither of the residents had ever met. What’s worse, they were told this in the midst of obvious circumstances that should have indicated with uber-clarity that natural causes were to blame. Of course, I was aware of the degree of desperation these individuals had expressed, having suffered so much loss over time, and easily understood how they might have opened their minds to speculation that involved otherworldly forces acting upon them. It’s a shame that those who are the most emotionally susceptible in these sorts of scenarios will almost inevitably place themselves in harm’s way. Though I’m able to vouch for the good intentions of my acquaintance, these individuals still might have even become prey for other less-scrupulous individuals, had the circumstances been different.

A similar instance where good intentions still managed to fall scientifically-askew was detailed recently by Bad Science Columnist Benjamin Radford, in an article he wrote at Space.com. Radford details the story of Courtney Brown, founder of an organization of psychics called the Farsight Institute, which had studied mysterious features they found in a NASA photograph of the Martian landscape. Brown, with the help of a group of remote-viewing psychics, claimed that he had confirmed the presence of a large, metallic channel or pipe that appeared to be spraying some liquid substance over a large area. Radford disagreed, stating, “This is completely unscientific, because there is no verifiable, third-party data to support or refute either Brown’s interpretations or the psychics’ information. Just because Brown sees something that he thinks resembles a spray, a pipeline, or a dome doesn’t mean it’s actually there.”

Perhaps the worst element here is that Brown, just like many other amateur skywatchers who, honestly enough, have found what appeared to be anomalies on the surface of Mars and other celestial bodies, coupled his speculation with “verification” he received from psychics in the absence of verifiable evidence. This wouldn’t be the first time speculation, rather than facts, have been used to prop up odd and outstanding claims: I’ve heard well-known former Air Force pilots and military officials speak with a straight face about trees that grow on the moon, and men of science that will insist that lunar archaeological sites exist that would make 2001: A Space Odyssey look like a fact-based PBS documentary. We’re all entitled to our opinions, but to be honest, sometimes those opinions involve information that is just too far-fetched to even take seriously.

That said, in conclusion I’ll leave you with one final boring campfire tale from the Gralien archives: A few years back, I was sitting down for a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale with my pal and prolific conspiracy author Jim Marrs, and we’d been talking about Lunar anomalies, disinformation, and the like. I was aware that Jim knew a lot of folks in positions of power and influence (many of them former military officials) who sometimes recounted bizarre things about space and, in particular, NASA missions. “Jim,” I asked him (loosely paraphrased), “some of that stuff is kinda hard to believe. Do you buy any of the stories these guys are telling?” Jim grinned and thought for a moment, and then replied, “I think they believe it!”

Sometimes, that’s all that really matters, anyway… virtually anything can exist, so long as it’s believable in the eye of the beholder. This makes interesting food for thought, especially if we begin to question what really constitutes reality. After all, how much of what we see around us exists, based almost solely on our perception of the phenomenon alone? Would a person inclined to believe in Bigfoot go through much of their life in fear of gigantic monsters, after a late-night encounter with an unidentifiable creature? What if that creature had actually been a bear? Would that matter to the witness, who went on believing it had been a tremendous manlike beast, especially if they were never told otherwise? Indeed, our perception of reality, at least on a base level, actually dictates to some degree what we believe, and hence, alters how we see the world.

Looking at things from this perspective, far be it from me to ever tell a psychic they’re wrong about their abilities; according to their perception of reality, they may indeed have some ability to transcend the five known senses… but I can’t guarantee my reality will ever be affected by it!

Image by Greg Younger via Flickr.