Crypto-Blog

Bigfoot body found?

2008-08-15T18:00:00.003-05:00

If you haven't heard already (you probably have) a couple of guys in Georgia claim that they have found a dead Bigfoot. As expected, there are many that are calling this a hoax. Today, reporters grilled the men that are behind the claim. Rightfully so, as this is not the first time one of these men have claimed to have found a Bigfoot. That first claim turned out to be a hoax.

DNA tests are supposedly in progress and the men are sticking to their claims that this is the real deal.

Stay tuned, this could be a huge story in the making!

New Episodes of Monster Quest.

2008-06-16T09:02:00.003-05:00

I was checking my channel guide the other day and noticed that there are new episodes of Monster Quest on the History Channel. There are at least two new episodes that I know of, one has to do with a supposed Vampire-like creature that is killing domestic animals in rural North Carolina. The other episode is about Ghosts. I have yet to watch these episodes, but I have set my DVR to pick them up next time they are aired.

So, for you Monster Quest fans out there, set your DVRs!

Also of note, I am in the process of reading The Beast Of Bray Road by Linda S. Godfrey. So, stay tuned for my upcoming review of this book.

Destination Truth Season 2.

2008-05-04T14:46:00.002-05:00

Well, unfortunately for fans like me, Destination Truth season 2 finished last week. After seeing the entire season, one feeling stood out: disappointment. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the show. It is very entertaining and Josh Gates is one of the most witty and intellectual TV personalities I have seen in a while. Let's just say it, he makes the show. Now, some may disagree. You may say, "it's the search for the creatures that make the show!". That is a large part of the appeal, but Josh ties it all together in a fun-to-watch way.

So, let me get back to why I felt disappointed about the show this season. They didn't find anything, well other than a supposed yeti track. That's basically it. Now, I enjoy the stories of the creatures and the search for them in the dead of night is a nice touch. However, I felt like there was little to no progress made on the search for any of the creatures they looked for. You can't blame the effort, they travel around the globe for Pete's sake. I don't know, I just feel a bit let-down.

I do hope the show comes back for another season, or 5. Maybe next time they can actually look in the good ole' US for some creatures. I just hope this time they find something, anything.

Here's to hoping they come back. Who knows, I may try and contact Josh myself and see if he permit me to do a little interview with him.

Stay tuned!

Destination Truth back on March 5th.

2008-02-17T11:00:00.002-05:00

As most of you know, I am a big fan of the Destination Truth show on the Sci-fi Channel. Well, much to my delight, the new season of the show starts on Wednesday March 5th! So, set those DVRs!

On the subject of Cryptozoological-related TV shows, the Monster Quest show on the History Channel wrapped up it's first season a few weeks ago. The final episode of the show was one of special interest to me. It was about the sightings of a wolf/man/bigfoot-like type creature in the wilds of Wisconsin. Many people may recognize it from it's 'given' name: The Beast Of Bray Road. For years, I have had much interest in the stories of this alleged creature. Maybe it is due to the 'werewolf' aspect of these sightings or maybe it's due to the amount of sightings that have been and continue to be reported. That's right, sightings of creature are still being reported to this day!

Well, I did enjoy this episode of Monster Quest as it dealt with numerous sightings and actually went through the trouble of giving lie-detector tests to several of the people who reported sightings. As for the results of the tests; well, I won't spoil it for you. Watch the show, it's a great episode and good finale to a great season of this series. Let's hope it comes back for another season!

As a matter of a fact, if you like the show like I do, Email The History Channel and let them know how much you like it and want another season!

Well, that's it for now.
Stay tuned for more Cryptozoological stories!

Memoirs of a Monster Hunter... not so much.

2008-01-20T15:46:00.000-05:00

So, I finally finished Nick Redfern's recent book Memoirs of a Monster Hunter: A Five-Year Journey in Search of the Unknown. Redfern is well-known in UFO circles and has written numerous books on the paranormal. Paranormal... not something that I normally associate with Cryptozoology but for Redfern it most certainly does.

This book documents Redfern's experiences while searching for reports and stories of 'Monsters' across the US (mostly Texas). While the book does lean towards the paranormal , it does have what I would loosely describe as Cryptozoological sections. There are chapters on Bigfoot, a lake serpent, the Chupacabras and the Beast of Bray Road. There are several other chapters that deal with Goat-men, spirits, spectral zombies, feral women, as well as others.

Looking at the list of subjects covered, one would think that this book would be full of sightings, reports and stories of encounters with these 'monsters'. While, the beginning chapters do have an adequate amount of stories from various sources, mostly from people living in Texas, since that is where Redfern was living while writing this book. Even though Redfern does tend to give a paranormal spin to the encounters, these stories and reports do make for an entertaining read. However, once these stories start to diminish towards the middle chapters of the book that's where things start to stray.

Now, I don't mind reading about a writer's various experiences while writing a book. I mean, the book does have the word 'Memoir' in the title afterall. However, Redfurn's book has a lot, and I mean a lot of personal stories. Not stories of 'Monsters' as one would expect, but stories of plane rides, hotel stays, restaurant meals, conference speaking engagements, and what can only be described as meaningless coincidences. By the end of the book, I was having a very tough time plowing through the last chapters because of the endless stories of what Redfern had to eat one night and what he drank and what effect that had on his digestive tract. That is the main problem I had with this book.

Now, I know that I am no Pulitzer Prize winner. However, I do know what I like and for the most part, I did not like this book. If you are looking for a book that deals with sightings and reports of Cryptozoological creatures in a scientific manner, look elsewhere. Although, if you want to read about the mundane adventures of Nick Redfern in countless airports and restaurants; well, look no further.

Destination Truth on SciFi Channel returning!

2008-01-09T20:14:00.001-05:00

For the fans of Destination Truth on the SciFi channel, you will be happy to hear that the show is returning with new episodes this Spring. It seems that the subject of Cryptozoology is really starting to catch on. I have also heard that the Monster Quest series on the History Channel is doing quite well and is getting decent ratings.

I am a big fan of both shows, especially Destination Truth. The first season this past year was a big surprise for me and quickly became one of my favorite shows on TV.

So, set your DVRs! Shows like this don't come around too much, catch them while you can.

Also, stay tuned for my review of Nick Redfern's recent book Memoirs of a Monster Hunter.

2007-11-18T10:23:00.000-05:00

Well, it certainly has been a while since I have updated this blog. A series on the History Channel has brought me back here to update. The series is called Monster Quest. You can view the website for the show here. The series is actually very well done. One of the best series of Cryptozoology related shows I have ever seen.

I do plan on returning to this site and updating more regularly. I know there are other Cryptozoology-related sites out there with far more resources and name recognition than I have. That may have initially deterred me from returning here, but not anymore. I want to return to this blog and post news and stories from the field of Cryptozoology.

I hope my readers return as well.

Serpent-Like Creature Filmed at Lake Champlain

2006-03-04T16:10:00.000-05:00

I was looking for some Cryptozoology news stories to post here and ran across a surprising new video.

The video, was taken on Lake Champlain by a couple of local fisherman.

After watching the video, one can easily make out what appears to be a serpent-like creature underneath the surface of the water. Other bits of the video show the creature swimming, that too appears to be serpentine in nature.

I invite all of my readers to watch the video and make your own conclusions. It is very interesting to say the least.

Stay tuned for more Cryptozoology news!

I'm back!

2006-02-28T20:24:00.000-05:00

After having the Crypto-Blog hacked by someone, I have had it restored once again and I am back up and running. Stay tuned as I get things ironed out and we get back to the lates Cryptozoology News.

Weekly Update

2006-02-05T10:59:00.000-05:00

Now that the Crypto-Blog is back I am going to try weekly updates for a while. I will still update throughout the week, especially if something of great Cryptozoological importance happens.

So, let's get to the news shall we?

1. The hunt for Bigfoot continues in Malaysia.

As I have reported a few times on this blog, Malaysia seems to be the hotbed of Bigfoot sightings and news this year. Since several sightings late last year, there has been a surge of interest in the area. So much so, that Malaysia is launching expeditions to search for the creatures.

2. The Creature Appreciation Week photo contest ends.

I have reported on this contest recently and expressed my dislike for it due to it's encouraging of fake photographs. The contest itself is now over, submissions ended on February 3rd.

As some of you know, Loren Coleman is involved with the contest as can be seen in an interview on the Duel Masters website. Knowing that Loren is involved and that the contest is aimed towards children I am willing to give it a chance. However, I still have reservations about the whole thing as I believe it will just encourage people to fake more photographs which in turn could hurt the field of Cryptozoology. I guess time will tell.

3. British government planned to hunt Nessie with dolphins.

As much as this sounds like a tabloid story, it appears it was true. The Mirror, a UK newspaper is reporting that according to declassified documents, officials in Margaret Thatchers regime planned to hunt for Nessie with dolphins imported from America.

It appears that the dolphins were going to be trained to hunt for the supposed creature in the loch while strobe lights and cameras were attached to their backs. I don't think the project got too far off the ground however. Thinking about it though, I suppose the plan could have worked. With dolphin's echo-location they could have been trained to search for large objects in the loch. We all know that dolphins were and probably still are being trained by the military to do various duties such as finding underwater mines.

Still, this is a strange story.

4. Supposed dead Chupacabra turns out to be Coyote.

There has been a story (graphic picture)out for a while about a weird animal that was shot in Texas. Some people even said that it may be the legendary Chupacabra.

Well, the dead creature turned out to be a hairless coyote.

Well, that is the Cryptozoology news for this week. Stay tuned as now that the Crypto-Blog is back I will continue to report Cryptozoology news and work hard to bring exclusives to all of my readers.

Welcome back!

Downtime

2006-02-04T20:09:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the downtime recently on the Crypto-Blog. It seems that during recent maintenance Blogger deleted all of my current blogs, including this one.

It has taken nearly two weeks to have the Crypto-Blog restored.

For all of you who are still tuning in, thank you. I am working hard to keep this blog going so please hang in there with me.

Now, let's see what news I can dig up.

Lack of Updates

2006-01-21T13:06:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the lack of updates the Crypto-Blog this past week or so. I am in the process of changing jobs and moving so the updates may be a bit sparse for a little while.

What I may do however, is a weekly recap of Cryptozoology stories.

Let me know what you think of this idea in the comments.

Cryptozoology Photo Contest

2006-01-13T09:05:00.000-05:00

I am sure most of you are aware of the $1 million reward that was announced last year by Dual Masters trading cards(owned by Hasbro). The reward was "to encourage the public to assist in the safe capture of a Bigfoot, Yeti, Lake Monster, Sea Serpent, or other cryptozoological specimen" .

A few days later, it was announced that the reward was retracted due to safety reasons.

However, there was another contest announced soon after that. In this contest Dual Masters were going to offer smaller cash prizes for "the best photos that help to perpetuate the mystique surrounding legendary creatures".

Personally, I have had mixed feelings about this contest. If you go to the Dual Masters website you will see the news about the contest as part of their "Creature Appreciate Week" which started in late October.

My first concern, are the photos they have on the site. Now, I am sure these are just there to promote the contest but they are all obvious fakes. Most done with photographic manipulation techniques, i.e. Photoshop.

What most alarms me though is what is stated in the rules for the contest:

Entrants may use photography tricks and/or staging of props and/or other elements within the photograph in their attempt to create a photograph that helps further the myth and allure of finding a mythical beast.

That right there tells me they do not want legitimate photographs of these creatures. They want fakes.

In my opinion, this is not what Cryptozoology needs. This would just encourage people to submit fake photographs for this contest. If we are ever to legitimize these creatures we need serious, scientific study. Not contests like this.

I have some more news about this contest as well. I won't write about it right now. I will very soon though.

Stay tuned!

More Malaysian Bigfoot News

2006-01-09T20:23:00.000-05:00

Malaysia, it seems could already be the Bigfoot hotspot of the year. With so many news reports and sightings coming from the Southern Malaysian Jungles as of late.

A recent article tells more details about what is happening in Malaysia recently. I guess you could call it "Bigfoot Fever".

The article goes into a little detail about how there are plans to capture the creature on film using motion-sensor cameras placed in the jungle. Which I think is a great idea, since these cameras have been recently used to uncover a new species of mammal in the jungles of Borneo.

In the article there is also a story of a Bigfoot being shot and killed a few years back in a neighboring state. However, when a zoologist went back a year after the shooting the carcass was no longer there.

I do hold out hope that something will be found in the jungles of Malaysia. Something that will make scientists around the world sit up and take notice.

So stay tuned for updates on this story and many others!

Stabilized Patterson Footage

2006-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Now, we have all seen the famous Roger Patterson/Bob Gimlin Bigfoot video before. The grainy, shaky video is ingrained in most people's minds when they think of Bigfoot.

The video's authenticity has been in question since it was filmed in 1967. Since then it has been featured in just about any and every TV show about the creature.

What some of you may not have seen is a stabilized version of the footage.

In this version, each frame is meticulously compared to the last and lined up. When it is played back the camera shake is accounted for and the main part of the image is stable. There is also another movie on the page that repeats and zooms in on a few key frames of the footage.

Now, I don't want to bring up the old debate of whether or not this footage was of a real, unidentified primate or just a guy in a suit. I do think this stabilized video was pretty interesting though, and worth a mention.

So, sit back and enjoy this update on a piece of Bigfoot history.

Hunt for Bigfoot in Malaysia

2005-12-29T15:26:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday vacation, now lets get back to some Cryptozoology news.

It seems that there have been some sightings of a Bigfoot-type creature in the jungles of Malaysia. So much so, that the Johor National Parks Corporation is planning to catch the creature on camera.

The eye-witness descriptions of the creatures are very similar to reports from the United States. The creatures are reported to be about nine feet tall, covered in hair and possess a strong odor.

Now, I am all for scientific expeditions to determine the existence of these creatures.

However, why do I feel somewhat skeptical that serious, scientific studies will be conducted then?

"We are sitting on a wonderful opportunity by way of the Bigfoot research to spur ecotourism in Johor, taking the cue of Loch Ness in Scotland," Chow said.

He said the Bigfoot of Endau-Rompin could be promoted like the Loch Ness monster, which brings in millions of tourism dollars for Scotland through tours and souvenirs.

Is this just a case of sensationalism in order to bring tourists into the area that supposedly has had these sightings?

I can't answer that for sure. Let's just hope that real science doesn't take a backseat to tourism and marketing ploys.

I am going to keep an eye on this, so stay tuned for updates on this story and many others!

Holiday Wind-Down

2005-12-20T08:07:00.000-05:00

Things have slowed down lately as far as Cryptozoology news goes. The Christmas holiday is upon us this weekend and my posts on here will probably be sparse for the next few days.

I will be back after Christmas though and I am going to continue posting the latest Cryptozoology news. Going into the new year I am going to try even harder to secure some exclusive stories, interviews and field reports that you cannot see anywhere else.

Also, don't forget about my feed that you can subscribe to.

Stay tuned!

On The Lighter Side

2005-12-15T07:28:00.000-05:00

All of you who read my blog, know that I take the subject of Cryptozoology very seriously.

Having said that, I do like the humorous side of things as well. So, speaking of humorous, I ran across an interview with none other than Bigfoot himself.

This interview is actually related to a book that has recently come out called "Me Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir". The title should tell you that it is meant as a joke. I have yet to read the book but I am planning to and will give a full review soon.

For now though, let me leave you with a memorable quote from the interview with Bigfoot:

Q: Pardon my asking, but what's the deal with your, um, scent?

A: Bigfoot have interesting natural musk. It very masculine, very European. Smell like leather, ocean, ranch salad dressing and cat puke. Ladies go crazy for it.

So, just crack a smile(I know you want to) and enjoy the interview.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled Cryptozoology news...

"Cat-like" Creature Seen in Ohio

2005-12-13T07:49:00.000-05:00

Cryptozoology-related news is kind of slow lately, as some of you may have noticed.

There is an article however about a "cat-like" creature spotted in Granville, Ohio area. The article contains several photos of the animal, a few of which you can see below:

The first thing I think when I see the pics; this is just a normal house cat. I see nothing to convince me otherwise.

However, the man in this article, who took these pictures is adamant that the animal is quite large. He estimates it weighed as much as 80lbs and had a tail that was 3ft long.

Without proper measurements, the scale in the photographs is hard to determine. The trees that the cat is walking amongst could be quite small or quite large. It is difficult to tell.

Right now, I am sticking with my original feeling about these photos. This is nothing more than a large house cat. Although, it is not uncommon for captive wild animals to escape or be released in this country. So, I suppose time will tell what the animal really is.

Stay tuned for updates on this story and many more!

New Mammal Species Possibly Discovered

2005-12-07T06:13:00.000-05:00

The World Wildlife Fund has announced that it has pictures of a mysterious mammal species from the jungles of Borneo.

The animal, which has been described as resembling a mix of a cat and a fox was photographed twice by motion-sensor cameras setup in the jungle.

Here are small versions of the original pictures:

As you can see from the pictures, the animal does somewhat resemble a lemur but scientists are almost certain that the animal is a new species of carnivorous mammal.

If you want to view the original, higher resolution pictures you can go here and here. The originals are of somewhat poor quality, most likely due to them being taken at night. They are of good enough quality however to convince scientists that this is a new species.

Maybe the WWF should put some motion-sensor cameras in the forests of the pacific northwest or other areas of concentrated Bigfoot sightings. I wonder if they would capture anything. I wonder if they did capture anything, would scientists be so eager to declare a new species of primate. Somehow, I think not.

There just seems to be a taboo when it comes to Bigfoot and Cryptozoology that most people just discard them as something paranormal or nothing but a hoax.
For example, as I was watching CNN today and they had this story about the new mammal discovery in Borneo. The CNN show was Anderson Cooper 360 I believe. Anyway, he was talking about the photos and saying that he didn't believe it. He said the photos were too much like a Yeti sighting. That he just wouldn't believe it.

If people won't believe photos like these from a respected wildlife organization like the WWF are real then how are they going to believe that photos and videos of Bigfoot are real. I guess some people just don't want to take the time to do the research. They just want to live their lives, oblivious to anything that may burst their fragile, little bubble.

There is a larger world out there, one that is full of mystery and discoveries waiting to happen. As a matter of a fact, if it wasn't for our sense of wonder then most of us reading this right now would not even exist.

New Bigfoot Pics

2005-12-06T08:21:00.000-05:00

Well, they are purpoted to be pictures of Bigfoot anyway.

The pictures and a story to go along with the sighting can be found on the BFRO website.

I have posted a few pics from the site below.

(Please note that these images are just crops. The original images can be found at the BFRO site.)

As with most supposed Bigfoot photos, there isn't much detail in these. A video of this encounter would have certainly been better. Although, in the photos one can see what appears to be a humanoid figure on the other side of a snowy hill. From the sequence of the photos, the figure may be walking down the other side of the hill away from the cameraman.

The scale of the figure and the hill is hard to determine. It does appear to be a large hill from the photos, as one can see what appears to be pine trees on the right side. If you also look closely in the photos, you will see that there appears to be many tracks leading up the hill to where the figure is.

I can't say for certain what made these tracks, it could be people, animals or even Bigfoot.

Until someone visits the site of this encounter and determines the scale of the figure photographed, we can't know for sure what is in those pictures.

Anything can be faked nowadays so let's hope someone visits the area soon and comes back with an update on this.

You can bet I will keep an eye on this story and post any developments on this blog.

Stay tuned.

New Loren Coleman Interview

2005-12-01T06:33:00.000-05:00

Browsing around the web as I usually do, I ran across the Phenomena Magazine website which has a recent interview with Loren Coleman.

The interview, which has three parts, is probably the most in-depth interview I have ever read when it comes to Loren Coleman. It goes back all the way to his childhood, how he became interested in Cryptozoology, about his day job (he is retired now), John Keel, his thoughts on Bigfoot being captured and even a bit on the Loch Ness Monster.

A very good read for anyone who would like to know a little bit more about the most influential person in Cryptozoology today.

So, grab a cup of coffee, read the interview and stay tuned to this blog for more Cryptozoology news!

Bigfoot News

2005-11-28T07:24:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice long Thanksgiving weekend, for those of you who celebrate it. Now, it's time to get back to business.

The BFRO.net site has a news story about a video that was taken in New York State about 8 years ago.

The footage (there is a link to the video on the page) is dark and of somewhat poor quality. When watching the video, keep your eye on the tree behind the man speaking. You will see, what appears to be something swinging in the tree.

The BFRO site claims that the thing swinging around in the tree in the background is a baby Sasquatch or an ape. They seem to discount a monkey, as they think it would be too small. They also claim that the ape explanation is unlikely because of laws banning the ownership of such animals in that area of the country.

After watching the video a few times, I am not sure what to make of it. There does appear to be something swinging in the tree in the background. What that something is, I can't tell. I don't think anyone can tell with certainty what is in the tree.

The video is intriguing, but inconclusive. That's usually the problem with videos like this. They are usually of poor quality. We sometimes get to see a good-quality video of Bigfoot. Most of the time however, these are declared to be hoaxes.

Unfortunately, I don't think a video is going to solve the Bigfoot mystery. We are going to need physical evidence to figure this out once and for all.

Amateur Bigfoot Video

2005-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

I was browsing the web, looking for some interesting news stories and ran across this site. The site has a video on it that is purportedly of Bigfoot, actually a couple of Bigfeet it appears. According to the website, the video was shot in Sonoma County in California.

From the video you can see something cross from right to left down the hill, then a few seconds later as he pans the camera over you can see another one cross from left to right closer to the cameraman. At this point he appears to make the amateur mistake of trying to zoom in way to far and the whole thing goes out of focus. Before it goes out of focus at the end, you can still make out how the thing walks. Which is somewhat like the creature (or person) filmed in the famous Patterson video.

Here are a few screencaps from the site as well:

Of course, the first thing I asked after watching the video was "Is it real?". I can't answer that unfortunately. I do know that this is either a video of some large, unknown hominids or it video of a couple of guys in fur suits. Unfortunately, there are a lot of hoaxes out there when it comes to sightings like this. Anyone can buy a gorilla suit and go walk around in the woods while their friend films them.

I am leaning towards the hoax side of the fence on this one right now. It is hard to determine either way though.

I would like your opinions on it as well.

What do you think? Is it a hoax or is it real?

Mysterious 'Blobs' Debunked

2005-11-15T06:23:00.000-05:00

There are many stories of mysterious 'blobs' or 'globsters' washing up on beaches across the world. These sightings have been documented for over 100 years now. In the past a lot of these 'blobs' were thought to be the carcasses of The Giant Octopus.

Well, the chairman of the Biology Dept. at the University of South Florida believes these 'blobs' have a much more mundane explanation. More specifically, he believes these 'blobs' are whale blubber.

The article goes into detail about what happens when a whale dies. The blubber becomes separated from the skeleton of the whale. This blubber then washes up on shore. That is a simplified explanation of what happens.

I do believe that some, if not most of the 'blob' or 'globster' sightings can be attributed to whale carcasses. However, there are a lot of mysterious creatures in the world's oceans. Many of which we have yet to identify.

Until the oceans are fully explored, we can only sit back and wonder about what creatures live beneath the waves. To me, that sense of wonder is what makes Cryptozoology so fascinating.