Historian answers questions about the origins and meanings of mysterious creatures
A historian/folklorist answers questions posed to Reddit and Quora regarding monsters and myths – worth a look!
Category Archives: Briefs
Who ya gonna call… for a Bigfoot sighting?
A local Bigfoot report has me thinking about what I would do if I had evidence showing something strange.
Cryptid town festivals still going strong
Family-friendly, small town cryptid festivals are a growing trend with new events appearing every year across the US.
What happened in the effort to make Bigfoot the state cryptid of California?
Legislation to make Bigfoot the official state cryptid of California has stalled.
The Haunted story un-Smurled
What really happened with the Smurl haunting.
If I don’t believe in cryptids, why am I here?
People ask, “If you don’t believe in cryptids, why are you so interested in them?” Here’s why.
Not a mystery beast, just a dog
Recent examples of people who see a monster when it’s really just a dog.
What is happening *Right Now*
Click on this post to see my thoughts about interesting stuff happening right now. Last updated on the date shown.
The mythical world of Safari Ltd cryptids
Cryptids created by Safari, Ltd. lean towards the supernatural and creative depictions. The new Jersey Devil offering is top-notch.
UK survey respondents love earth mysteries
New poll results about paranormal belief in the UK show that “earth mysteries” are really popular across the pond. Many complications make it difficult to make sense out of poll numbers reflecting levels of paranormal beliefs over time.
Strange Times for 4 August 2024
In the news: The werewolf/dogman stuff is still steadily rolling out and gaining momentum. A new crop circle cost the farmer some significant damages. And, an excessively exaggerated “haunted” location now has another kooky claim.
Freaky Friday newsblips for 19 July 2024
Weird news and info: Square crop circle, a bad cuppa tea, MTG might be a reptilian, free lessons from Dr. Ken Feder
Listen: In Research Of… San Andreas
Musing on the 1979 episode of In Search Of episode about the San Andreas fault and earthquake movies.
News blips: Not trying to scare you
Not trying to scare you or anything but three news stories this week are slightly unsettling – giant waves, hailstorms and killer pythons.
News blips: Prattle and hum
New research on “the hum”. Facebook fakes take a very weird turn. Scammers are everywhere online.
News blips: Havana syndrome evaporates and headlines burn up about plate tectonics
A new study further dispels concerns that Havana syndrome was caused by a secret weapon. And new research about plate tectonics in the Atlantic is wildly exaggerated.
A bouquet of interesting news for 11 Jan 2024
News briefs: Arizona jaguar, megalodon tooth, Gigantopithecus blacki, resuscitating a pine marten, hawk killing law, magpie attacks.
Updating this website for 2024
Updating stuff on the website and making a mess! Apologies and thanks for sticking around.
Cleaning up and consolidating
I’m consolidating my online stuff these days.
End of an era: the last Skeptic’s Dictionary newsletter
Dr. Robert T. Carroll created the Skeptic’s Dictionary – a source I have used for, oh gosh, over 10 years now. I was upset to hear of Bob’s serious illness. I consider Skepdic.com to be a PRIMARY go to source for skeptical reference. With nearly 800 entries, I have, by default, linked to his site for… Read More »