Nick Redfern's World of Whatever...: Mothman Vs. Mothra

Nick Redfern brings a neat little comparative exercise to Mothman, using the pop culture classic film Mothra and specifics of the Mothman phenomena. Nick Redfern's World of Whatever...: Mothman Vs. Mothra

And, just because Mothra is one of my favorite films, here's a clip!

Finding Bigfoot: A Lovely Comment

I posted on my blog Frame 352: The Stranger Side of Sasquatch the other day a link to Nick Redfern's article Lair of the Beasts: Proof of Bigfoot. Nick muses on the question: if we find Bigfoot, then what? What would that mean, how would it impact all of us, including Bigfoot of course.  I wrote that, in the end, I hope we never do find proof of Bigfoot -- proof exists, for the witnesses that have been fortunate to see one, as to the rest, I fear for the aftermath and the welfare of said Bigfoot. Anyway, I thought the comment left by visitor "eunoterpsiac" to the blog was lovely, in part:

For me, I'm content to believe that we have a supernatural entity that is happy to exist on the fringes of human understanding, perhaps just to observe or monitor our progress (if we dare call it that) and maybe even step in to our reality once in a while to keep us on our toes. . . . if we accept that our hairy compatriots are not simple, corporeal critters, but a race of beings who must live here with us (even if it's in part an interdimensional relationship) then I think it's best to just share the woods with them respectfully and be thankful for any encounter we may be graced with.

You can read the full post and comment at Frame 352.

Coleman Comments on Redfern: Cryptids Are Not Totally Elusive, Actually

At Cryptomundo, Loren Coleman comments on Nick Redfern's recent Monsters and Proof article on elusive cryptids:Cryptids Are Not Totally Elusive, Actually. Coleman doesn't think much of what Redfern has to say, not surprisingly. Comments that follow are interesting --- Redfern's thoughts have generated controversy.

I think Nick's views have been misunderstood. Coleman comes from a place where cryptids -- all cryptids -- are "real" in a flesh and blood sense. Like nuts and bolts UFO researchers, the idea of an "other" is not to be entertained. I'm not sure I agree 100% with Redfern, but I do think that some high strangeness events involving weird creatures do have a paranormal component. It is possible these entities are of both worlds, manifesting as physical beings one moment, behaving as phantoms the next.

Colemanm in his response, offers the standard definitions of cryptozoology and cryptids; maybe a new term should be offered so as not to offend the flesh and blood types who are stuck in their assertion that only "real" animals exist. The belief is that, while so far elusive, they are not in any way preternatural.

Nick responds to Coleman at Cryptomundo.
I found the following comment by Redfern very interesting:

One last point: some people (although certainly not you) seem at times to react with barely concealed hostility to my Tulpa-style views. But why? If Bigfoot exists, what does it matter if it’s some sort of ape, or something infinitely weirder that is connected to the human mind?

I think it's because (again making a connection to UFO studies)the idea there is more than just the concrete and tangible in our world conflicts with a worldview, a mindset, that doesn't allow for such "silliness." People are people, and our beliefs, including the pride some hold in stating they have no beliefs, color how we approach things. As to Bigfoot; those that think of Bigfoot as simply an animal (forgetting that we too are animals) places Bigfoot in the lesser than category. Bigfoot is a "giant ape," and so, still just a big dumb animal. Not as dumb as most, but still less than us. And since it's less than, we can do what we like with it. Bigfoot as a big old ape is familiar, we get it. It's something we can handle. Tulpas, shape shifters, aliens, fairies, Djinn, tricksters, are truly elusive and something we cannot get a hold of. It's gotten ahold of us, not the other way around. Much safer to deal with the flesh and blood thing we can grab onto, and possibly, control.

Nick Redfern's "There's Something in the Woods...": Animal Deaths & National Security

Nick Redfern, at his blog Monster USA, has a perspective on the animals deaths the world has been witness to since right before the new year:

"An issue that has not been addressed at length, however, is that relative to concerns that elements of the government may have with respect to these events. Is there official, behind-the-scenes worry about what is presently afoot? Very possibly."

Animal Deaths and National Security, analyzes declassified FBI documents that reveal very disturbing facts about biological warfare.

Owls Flying In From the Blogosphere

A couple of my recent posts have been about England's Owl mascot used in an advertising campaign. Nick Redfern sent me this image of an owl painted on Giant Rock. Nick took the photo about three weeks, when he was visiting Giant Rock (along with Andy Colvin, author of the Mothman's Photographer series, Greg Bishop, and Adam Gorightly. Sounds like a fantastic trip!)

Owl painted, Giant Rock Ca by Nick Redfern 2010

At hidden experience, Mike Clelland, who writes frequently about owl encounters and has his own eerie history of owliness, wrote about an owl episode December 20th: Owl an a cold winter's night.  Make sure you read the comments that go with his post.

And from Dan Mitchell's Luminosity: Owls, Aliens, and The Hale-Bopp Comet a beautiful article, as usual, about a spooky encounter. After relating strange encounters involving owls, Dan writes of yet another:

In 2004 this owl issue arose once again. At that time I was living in a second story apartment building with my wife and our newborn son. At night I would hear an owl right outside my sons bedroom window. When he would cry at night, I'd go into his room only to see this enormous owl standing either on the power lines directly outside the building (at eye level) or on the auto garage roof a few yards away from our building. This had become an almost nightly occurrence, which on a very profound level was disturbing to me because around this time I was becoming aware of many abduction stories and was having some communication with people involved in the phenomenon. The simple fact that it would stare directly at me was very disheartening. There was this sense of powerlessness involved in that I was dealing with something supernatural that didn't just go away because I wanted it to.

Dan ends his post with conclusions of his own about the appearance of owls in his experiences -- conclusions I tend to agree with. Something is intentionally using the owl; as image, as go-between from the mundane to the liminal. . .

As Mike Clelland wrote in his post: "I'm not sure what any of this means, but I feel obligated to pay attention." Same here!

Lair of the Beasts: Monsters at the Space Center - Mania.com

Juicy Fortean crazy out there stories (a good thing!) from Nick Redfern about NASA and Mothman. Yes, NASA and Mothman. Who knew?
Actually, the story gives support to the idea that the government had something to do with manipulating energies and opportunities within the Mothman event.

Lair of the Beasts: Monsters at the Space Center - Mania.com

New Book: Monsters of Texas

Authors Ken Gerhard and Nick Redfern have a new book: Monsters of Texas. Promises to be a good one! Read more about the new release from CFZ Publications here.