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.

Swimming Octopus Mimics a Flounder

Octopus and their kin are known for their intelligence and various formidable habits. In previous studies, octopus have not only learned how to twist the lid off a jar, but research involving cuttlefish have shown remarkable instances of communication between members of the same species. Also known as “chameleons of the sea” for their ability to alter their skin color at will very rapidly for camouflaging purposes, cuttlefish also change color as a means of communicating with their kin. Even stranger, certain varieties have been witnessed making symbols and gestures with their arms that seem to indicate communication on some basic level.

One popular study involved filming a cuttlefish as it made various strange gestures, then placing a television directly through the glass from a tank holding another of the creatures while the footage played before it. As the cuttlefish on the television screen began making gestures, the observer through the glass would replicate the symbols, as though acknowledging receipt of the “message.” Below is a video from Live Science showing some of the various extraordinary methods cuttlefish use to communicate, including an intimidation technique that involves causing large dark “eye spots” to appear on its lower body, to create the illusion of a large fish:

Please keep in mind, the views expressed in these essays cover a wide array of opinions that do not necessarily reflect those of the moderators of this site, or even this contest. The are intended only as commentary or satire, and should be enjoyed as such!

That being said, our first place prize goes to Vance Pollock, an amatuer historian and researcher who provided this hilarious essay for us, based on actual historical events:

I nominate Pauly Shore and Barbara Streisand in the demon category, Richard Simmons and Dick Clark for their unexplainable immortality (no further comment) and the allegedly late Ronald Reagan because he is a cyborg.

I once saw a clip of Reagan receiving a crystal award statuette. A protestor leapt to the stage, snatched the crystal and smashed it on the ground, at which point Reagan visibly “shorted out” and had to be rolled off on a hand cart.

A great many mortals can see through the spell of Shore and Streisand, much like characters from They Live without sunglasses.

Upon learning of his prize winning essay, Mr. Pollock provided this video to accompany his essay:

Second place goes to Scott Lyall, an independent investigator in the UK:

For my money, the best film to deal with a Fortean topic was the BBC’s Ghostwatch. Briefly, it was a feature length drama broadcast on Halloween 1992 that purported to be a live broadcast from a poltergeist infested house on a London council estate. It starred a number of celebrities playing themselves, which confused many viewers into believing they were watching a real live broadcast. The line between fact and fiction was also blurred by it referencing various real life cases (it borrowed to an extent from the infamous Enfield poltergeist case). Even knowing it was a drama, I kept forgetting myself as the events escalated, especially with the fleeting appearances of the ghost in the background of a number of scenes and the gradual exposition of extremely unpleasant nature of the history of the house, though the OTT ending where the TV studio was taken over by the polt and the host possessed kind of blew the believability.

The tricksterish aspect to it is a delight-the makers of this were genuinely bemused by the outrage caused by viewers being duped. It had been conceived, filmed and advertised as a drama and they’d no intention of fooling people. But yet it was one of the BBC‘s most complained about programs, and has never been repeated. A suicide has been laid at it’s door, and allegedly two cases of post traumatic stress disorder in children who viewed it.

Reaction to films can often depend on the context you see them in, and I first saw Ghostwatch in a house where someone had died six months previously, and I knew I’d have to walk home through a dark wood that local rumour held to be haunted and where I’d an odd experience a few years earlier that I’d interpreted as a ghost! That combined with the juxtaposition of the supernatural in a mundane setting was a heady mix for my 17 year old mind, giving a genuine chill I’ve not experienced again since.

Oddly, this seems to be the fictionalised blueprint that most ghost hunting programs now follow- but don’t let that put you off!

Third place goes to John Colaw, former director of Skywatch Kansas, who submitted the following:

False-flag public UFO disclosure is imminent, as predicted by Werner Von Braun in 1977. Von Braun correctly predicted a sequence of threats – communism, then terrorism to be followed by asteroids and culminating in a staged alien invasion. Governments all over the world are releasing UFO reports, the US soon to follow suit. Black triangles are likely ours; harbingers of imminent false UFO disclosure. Consolidation of power and weaponization of space are the goals. True disclosure competes with this agenda-driven false disclosure. Economic collapse coupled with invasion fears will empower the New World Order, unless genuine UFO disclosure occurs first.

One of the most credible reports of such phenomenon stems from a Chilean news reporter, Cecelia Lagos, who was interviewed by MSNBC and CNN networks. Lagos described “seeing the sky change colors outside her window as her house shook.” Lagos describes “I saw through my window, while I was still in bed, I saw the sky changing colors, it was absolutely surreal. I really thought it was the end of the world…I don’t know I hope you understand me because I’m not exaggerating really because I saw it through my window like that. That was the most terrifying thing seeing the sky changing colors with the terribly, amazingly, strong movement of the earth, I thought, ok…this is mother earth… the earth opened up and buildings crumbled into the earth …like in the movie 2012…”

Obvious comparisons have begun to be made to 2012 prophecies, especially with the apparent recent proclivity for earthquakes around the world at present. One observer in the Western United States (who prefers to remain anonymous) shared the following observations with the Gralien Report:

We (not necessarily you) are living right on the fault here, and a lot of us cannot sleep lately, at all. By ‘a lot’ I mean like 60% of the people I know around here, and by ‘lately’ I mean the past 45 days. There are a lot of other symptoms besides sleep loss. Here’s the basic problem however. The USGS maps have, for about the past 60 days, shown a shocking upsurge in activity to put it lightly. At least a 400% increase in earthquakes in general. Zero warnings from the USGS. There’s a lot to this story and it began prior to Haiti when I started telling people that the USGS maps showed that the ENTIRE PACIFIC PLATE was in motion and no one was paying attention! People utterly scoffed at me. Then we had a 4.0 in milpitas. Some days later, -while I was writing a craigslist post- asking people to prepare and explaining this situation, there was a 6.5 off the coast of Eureka. Then, short time later, Haiti 1.

Doctors in our area do not know what’s happening and are starting to seriously wonder, because -everyone- has been sick, mothers and children more than the men in general (children are more sensitive and women have -wombs- essentially a natural Earthquake detector). None of the people I know have connected their malaise to the plate activity, and usually when I suggest it they simply look sickly or yell at me. This isn’t going to work.

Meanwhile, scientists have discovered a new ‘deep tremor phenomenon’ which essentially indicates a likely 9.0 quake somewhere near puget sound in short order.

While it is wrong to stir panic unnecessarily, I consider it absurd to remain silent when something this obvious and this serious is clearly happening right now. There are probably other causal factors, maybe many, but this particular vector appears common, obvious, and largely unacknowledged – probably due to these factors.

Certainly, large amounts of geomagnetic activity could be a factor in sickness or other disorientation that might occur in conjunction with (or in this case, leading up to) earthquakes. Similar to the earlier reports of colored lights and strange phenomenon reported earlier in Chile, are any readers privy to information regarding similar illuminations or other activty occurring in the Western United States?

Special thanks to Reality Sandwich for the link to CNN transcripts.

Popular Paranormal: A Closer Look at Paranormal Themes in Popular Culture

McCollum is a member of the L.E.M.U.R. Paranormal Investigation team, led by Joshua P. Warren, and will be featured in his first nationally televised appearance tomorrow night (Monday March 1st) on National Geographic’s Paranatural. This fellow will no doubt continue to become one of the newest movers and shakers in the esoteric community… be sure and check in at his site often to learn more about his observations into the link between movies, books, media, and the unexplained.

When he’s not hunting UFOs and reading conspiracy books, Chris enjoys playing soccer and praising the exploits of the Great Flying Gople of Denmark.

We do mostly Bluegrass, but we also throw in a good bit of old time country, folk, and even an occasional jazz or rock song (whatever comes to mind… or occasionally, whatever arrives at the tip jar written on the back of a five, ten, or twenty dollar bill)! If you’d be interested in hearing what a Gralien playing Bluegrass might sound like, follow this link, where you can learn about my new album, as well as hear some sample audio:

Runners of the Green Laurel

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.

Although I was skeptical about the nature of the phenomenon we videotaped during our visit (featured in this video segment), we proceeded after the taping with an extensive analysis. Although the cause remains unknown, we were able to determine two things that seemed to rule out operator error:

1) The light observed was not a reflection, since the cameras being used were fitted with night vision apparatus using tight Velcro straps that fit snugly over the body of the camera (mostly for stability; this also blocked any ambient external light sources completely).

2) You can, in fact, produce colors with the night vision goggles, if they are used in close enough proximity to a plasma discharge (i.e. a lightning bolt, or even “lightning globe” novelty lamps available at most variety stores). Below is a photo of such a device used in a dark closet, photographed through a pair of night vision goggles by LEMUR investigator and Gralien Report Correspondent Mobius:

Now that my new book, Magic, Mysticism and the Molecule has been available for purchase through Amazon.com and other distribution outlets for a few weeks, I am able to provide a very special offer for those of you who would like to buy the book directly through this website.

Later in this update, I will be providing a special offer code which, if you click on the link below and go directly to my e-store, will give you ten percent off your purchase! Here’s the link:

Purchase Magic Mysticism and the Molecule!

Once you follow this link and arrive at my e-store, directly below the image of the book’s cover you’ll see a button that says “Add to Cart.” After you click this, you’ll be redirected to the checkout area, and near the bottom of the page (just above the “Check Out” button) you’ll see an entry box, and beside it the words “apply discount.”In the box, all you have to do is enter the discount code below and you’ll receive 10% off your purchase:

5RN2APWV

It’s that simple! Be sure to pick up a copy today, since the book is full of in-depth information and analysis about a variety of topics I’ve only had time (and space) to touch on previously here at the Gralien Report. Thanks for your support, and most of all, enjoy!

At long last, our BIG National Geographic program is slated to air this Monday, March 1, 9pm east coast US (New York) time on the National Geographic Channel.

Our team has captured some truly weird and amazing stuff. As usual, I was skeptical and doubtful when I first saw the footage. After analysis, I realized what we got was truly out of this world.

Using 3rd Generation Night Vision technology, Dean Warsing (www.UFONightShift.com) was able to capture something at Brown Mountain we cannot explain. It was enhanced by Brian Irish, assisted by Chris McCollum.

If you tune in, you might even catch a (very fleeting) glimpse of yours truly (although I was on set, most of the work I did was off-camera… you know what they say about guys like me having a face made for radio, right?).