In this edition: Cryptozoology diploma, Past and future of Small Town Monsters, Modern resurgence of mokele-mbembe, Fresno Nightcrawler – Is it a cryptid? Frogman Festival in March, Cryptid biographies, Book review: A Natural History of Sea Serpents
A mishmash of monster mentions. A quick book review, a link to info on the latest Bigfoot hoax and dogman programming, and an upcoming must-have volume for pop cryptid fans.
I’ve written twice on Flat Eartherism. On Spooky Geology – Anti-globular convictions: Flat Earth belief explodes in popularity On this blog with thoughts on the 2018 Behind the Curve documentary – Flat-earthers as scientifical Americans. I’ve also been covering some news about them on occasion with my Weekly Weird newsletter but not so much recently,… Read More »
Researching the Paranormal: How to Find Reliable Information about Parapsychology, Ghosts, Astrology, Cryptozoology, Near-Death Experiences, and More By Courtney M. Block, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2020. 342pp. There has not previously been a book specifically about how to research the paranormal. Academic librarian Courtney Block aims to help those who may feel embarrassed or confused… Read More »
Long ago, my interest in paranormal topics became jaded because popular books were repetitive, full of the same information and stories as the last one. For decades, books written on cryptozoology and ufology advanced no closer to definitively documenting or explaining these phenomena. Some advocates are persuaded that the many similar stories and imaginative speculation,… Read More »
A review of Chasing American Monsters: Over 250 Creatures, Cryptids, and Hairy Beasts by Jason Offutt (2019). I’ve been thinking a lot about cryptozoology lately. While consuming content about many other subjects, I see excellent examples in cryptozoology to illustrate public attitudes towards and understanding of science, paranormal thinking, colonialist themes, misperceptions about evidence, media… Read More »
Every once in a while, I remember one of the books from my childhood that I recall with great fondness. Thanks to the Internet, I can usually find a blurb on what I had long discarded or gave away. I have been trying for a while to locate a kids activity book about monsters that… Read More »
It’s been a long while since I did a “doubt and about” post detailing what’s going on. I’m in a weird space right now. I don’t really feel like talking about anything but I also want to share some things. Going by that last sentence, I am admitting that I am inconsistent. I have internal… Read More »
I am enjoying my latest read. It’s George Hansen’s The Trickster and the Paranormal (2001). George and I met years ago at a parapsychology conference in Gettysburg. Even though he is a critic of organized skepticism, he’s just as much a critic of shoddy paranormal research. And, his criticism of CSICOP is not unjustified, for… Read More »
“The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster” by Brian Regal and Frank J. Esposito, dispels myths about the ‘Jersey Devil’. Rooting the legend in 17th-century quarrels, politics and media-driven hoaxes, they argue that the monster is a misinterpretation of stories from the Leeds family, rather than a supernatural creature.
“Ghosts in Popular Culture and Legend” is an exhaustive, cross-referenced encyclopedia chronologically exploring ghost depictions from ancient times to modern pop culture. Besides films, TV, literature, and games, emphasis is also laid on representations of women as ghosts, writers, and mediums.
Check out my recommended lists of books for the serious and credible ghost researcher.
Michael Mayes’ book ‘Shadow Cats: The Black Panthers of North America’ provides a comprehensive exploration of black big cat sightings in North America. The various theories considered include melanistic jaguars, cougars, or giant feral cats. Mayes argues most sightings are likely misidentifications of other animals. Although the book sometimes lacks academic rigour, it remains a significant contribution to cryptozoological literature.
Steve Parsons criticizes amateur ghost investigators for sensationalizing paranormal inquiries without adhering to scientific guidelines in his book, ‘Ghostology: The Art of the Ghost Hunter’. He argues that investigations get lost amid personal ambitions, useless data, and lack of awareness about the subject’s history. Parsons calls for practical and ethical standards for paranormal investigations and recommends his book as a guide to help investigators avoid common mistakes and misleading conclusions.
The book “The Narcissist Next Door,” written by Jeffrey Kluger, explores the concept of narcissism, particularly in figures of authority. It claims Donald Trump as a prime example of an overinflated ego in a leadership role: something that can prevent an organization from functioning efficiently. The book highlights that individuals with narcissistic attributes, such as inflated self-importance and lack of empathy, tend to be influential in various sectors including politics, Hollywood, and academia.
Lisa Morton presents another version of the history of ghosts in Ghosts: A Haunted History (Reaktion Books, London, 2015). In this case, it is an international popular history of ghosts in philosophy, literature, movies, television and pop culture. It is general and short, but good. The glossy pages are full of illustrations. The theme of this, and other… Read More »
There are three books that are explicitly titled “Confessions of a Ghost Hunter” – from 1928, 1936 and 2002. There is also one called “Confessions of a Reluctant Ghost Hunter” by Von Braschler (2014) that I confess I didn’t read. A defunct Facebook page and website also of the same name appears to be related. Several… Read More »
In the classic book Psychology of Superstition, Gustav Jahoda writes that beliefs are not just in our heads, they affect our behavior, and that self-fulfilling prophecy is not uncommon in human affairs (p. 8). Many events seem trivial and unspectacular, but when placed into a paranormal context, they take on a new and enhanced meaning.… Read More »
I’m still doing research on the Stone Tape idea, as a paranormally-curious geologist does. I was interested in obtaining a book by T.C. Lethbridge because his name comes up repeatedly as a promoter of the concept. It’s been a tricky thing to trace the origin without having easy access to the literature in print. I’ll… Read More »
I’m researching the history of the Stone Tape “theory” of haunting for Spooky Geology. It’s something I’ve been working on in bits and pieces for several years now. I’ve watched the teleplay/movie The Stone Tape and have keyed into any mention of the idea from various paranormalists. One website mentioned that some paranormalists may have… Read More »