Zoological melodrama – Hutton on dragons
Professor Ronald Hutton gives a fantastic and entertaining lecture on why we have dragons worldwide.
Pop cryptid chatter: Beards and encryptids
Pop cryptids items: Representation at cryptozoology conferences, the EFF incorporates cryptids into their promotional drive and the passing of a well-loved author and artist.
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.
Location and imagination equals ‘cryptid’
Cryptids have increasingly become associated with location and entertainment and less connected to the failed scientific endeavor of cryptozoology. Long live the cryptids!
Vatican releases Supernatural Standard Operating Procedures
The Vatican issued revised standard operating procedures regarding claims of religious supernatural phenomena. It includes an out for them to declare an event as supernatural.
Suspicious photos of alleged thylacine revealed by pop wildlife biologist
New photos claim to show a thylacine in Tasmania. Distributed by a popular television personality who popularizes mysterious animal sightings, the photos and the backstory appear bogus.
A class in cryptozoology: When you know too much
A review of an online class in Cryptozoology 101 via Universal Class reveals incomplete, and erroneous content creating a misleading presentation of the field.
Fantasy metals – not all Bolognium
Exploring fantasy metals in media highlights their ubiquitous role as story elements with qualities such as rarity, strength, and magical powers. Used in education, they exemplify impossible chemistries to contrast with real-world elements. Unobtainium, Adamantium, Vibranium, and Mithril serve as plot devices while Orichalcum, Dilithium, and Red Mercury exist as quasi-real earth materials clouded by extraordinary myths.
Uh oh, earthquakes add to these Strange Times
The earthquakes in New Jersey were unexpected and frightening. The events added to the general nervousness from the population prone to catastrophe thinking.
Eclipse Anxiety 2024
Amidst misinformation surrounding the April 8 solar eclipse, many in the US succumb to unfounded fears. While eclipses are natural, predictable phenomena, rumors of catastrophes, like earthquakes and power outages, persist. Authorities prepare for human, not celestial, issues as crowds gather to view the event. Though there isn’t a connection between such natural events and disasters, superstitions and doomsday predictions thrive, exploiting public misunderstanding and religious sentiments.
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.
Moodus: The Place of Bad Noises
Machimoodus is historically well-known as the literal “place of bad noises” based on native legends that were subsequently both promoted and twisted by colonists in New England. Today, the Moodus noises of East Haddam, Connecticut are still a popular tale as people interested in natural anomalies hope to hear them when they visit.
Up on a Pennsylvania housetop, a metal mystery
A large piece of metal of unknown origin appeared on the roof of a Philadelphia home. It did not come from a plane. And, Schuylkill notes update.
The Curse of the Souvenir Rock
Popular lore warns that if you take a rock or object from a sacred land, a curse will fall upon you until you return the object. Find out the origin and purpose of the curse legends. Video presentation.
When every flash is an earthquake light, we have lost the plot
Media outlets label electrical flashes during earthquakes as “earthquake lights”.
Mysterious Schuylkill notes saga continues
Called “Schuylkill Notes”, the mystery of weird notes appearing in random places and packaging in Pennsylvania continues to garner attention. Who is doing this and how?
Rapid deep freeze can lead to frost quakes
Frost quakes can occur when water saturated ground undergoes rapid deep freezing. The energy release causes noise and shaking.
What’s with these latest opinion polls on ghosts and cryptids?
Two sets of survey results asking about the reality of questionable entities show high rates of belief in ghosts, Bigfoot, and other cryptids.
Ghost belief in the US varies widely by year and source
U.S. surveys results for the question “Do you believe in ghosts?” vary widely every year showing there is no discernible increase or decrease in paranormal belief.