Tag Archives: Bigfoot

If you think Bigfoot is an interdimensional being, you’ve lost your footing

By | October 6, 2015
13 Comments

A person making an extraordinary claim may feel very special. A couple that I met recently who do paranormal research described some acquaintances’ behavior during an investigation of a supposedly haunted place : a woman “swooned” as the spirit overcame her. It was all very dramatic, they said. I’ve seen similar when one ghost hunter of a… Read More: If you think Bigfoot is an interdimensional being, you’ve lost… »

Stone-throwing wall-thumpers: Review of Australian Poltergeists

By | April 14, 2015
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Paul Cropper sent me a copy of his new book with co-author Tony Healy, Australian Poltergeist: The Stone-throwing Spook of Humpty Doo and Many Other Cases. He must have known how much I love this topic and was eager to learn about various cases around the world. I learned about the concept of poltergeists before… Read More: Stone-throwing wall-thumpers: Review of Australian Poltergeists »

Neutrality and the wood ape report

By | March 12, 2015
18 Comments

It’s very difficult to be truly neutral. In most situations, you can only get somewhere by taking a side and exploring it. Last week’s hubbub regarding the Wood Ape report that I posted on Doubtful News was illustrative of a number of different issues that arise when attempting to learn more about and assess an… Read More: Neutrality and the wood ape report »

Sykes paper is a clarion call for higher standards for cryptozoology

By | July 2, 2014
21 Comments

The highly anticipated paper from B. Skyes regarding DNA testing of anomalous primates has been published and is, thankfully, freely accessible. In 2012, the team from University of Oxford and the Museum of Zoology, Lausanne, put out a call for samples of suspected anomalous primates – Yeti, Bigfoot/Sasquatch, Almasty, orang pendek. The samples, if accepted,… Read More: Sykes paper is a clarion call for higher standards for… »

A Bigfoot book that is incredibly relevant 30 years later

By | April 23, 2014
3 Comments

Once again, I’ve finally gotten around to a classic cryptozoology text. MAN! I missed out on this one for so many years. John Napier’s Bigfoot: The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality ©1972 is one of the best Bigfoot texts I’ve read. I’m sure it’s because Napier was a scientist, a paleoanthropologist and primatologist… Read More: A Bigfoot book that is incredibly relevant 30 years later »

A ruse by any other name still stinks

By | January 10, 2014
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As one who runs a website about weird news, it’s been a crazy start to the year. A number of hoaxes proliferating around the media the first week of this year. They are passed on almost with the same respect as actual news. If you resolve to do anything this year, resolve to doubt the… Read More: A ruse by any other name still stinks »

No, you are not the new Jane Goodall: My Twitter exchange with Melba Ketchum

By | December 6, 2013
14 Comments

I had a discussion with Melba Ketchum today on Twitter regarding her continued claims that Bigfoot will be proven true.  Some of it spilled over to Facebook – her favorite communication outlet. I was surprised she responded and it went on for quite a while. For those of you who missed it, good for you. But… Read More: No, you are not the new Jane Goodall: My Twitter… »

Defending the faith of cryptozoology

By | September 11, 2013
8 Comments

My latest post, regarding the rational vs non-rational response to the new cryptozoology book by Loxton and Prothero, Abominable Science, went live on Huffington Post yesterday. Cryptozoology Gets Respect While Bigfooters Behave Badly. When critical thinkers approach the subject of Bigfoot (or cryptozoology in general) with a focus on the evidence, they are met with… Read More: Defending the faith of cryptozoology »

Ketchum’s Galileo Gambit

By | February 24, 2013
5 Comments

One of my essential reading blogs, Respectful Insolence, has resurrected an older post on The Galileo Gambit. It was timely. It was in reference mainly to the day to day parade of quackery that passes by in the media. Orac coined the term “Galileo gambit” to describe a very common ploy used by quacks – they… Read More: Ketchum’s Galileo Gambit »

Facts? You keep using that word, Bigfoot hunters.

By | April 26, 2012
3 Comments

“You are Not Entitled to Your Own Bigfoot Facts” is my latest piece up on Sounds Sciencey. It’s a continuation on this piece which still gets a lot of hits on the site. In this one, I take to task some self-styled Bigfooters who consider speculation as “fact”. It gets pretty silly… Self-styled Bigfoot researchers… Read More: Facts? You keep using that word, Bigfoot hunters. »

Why I give up on Bigfoot sites and forums

By | April 2, 2012
33 Comments

I’m going to have a bit of a rant. This post is mostly opinion. However, it is based on actual situations that can be documented. It’s about cryptozoology forums and how they don’t work. I’ve posted before about how I stopped visiting Cryptomundo because my comments were not posted as they were critical of the… Read More: Why I give up on Bigfoot sites and forums »

Bigfoot “facts” for kids?

By | August 10, 2011
23 Comments

Bigfoot Evidence has posted a link to a website called “Is Bigfoot Real” [refrain from clicking unless absolutely necessary] which contains a page called “Bigfoot Facts for Kids”. The so called “facts” given are as follows: Well! It’s the Internet, we can pull facts out the air, I guess. I submitted this comment to the… Read More: Bigfoot “facts” for kids? »

Your friendly neighborhood mon$ter

By | August 8, 2011
5 Comments

In a post on Skeptoid blog, I suggest that paranormal-based tourism, such as ghost tours and monster festivals, which are growing in popularity, border on fraud. “Even if there are long-standing legends of strange events occurring at some location, to suggest that a place is haunted just to freak people out is contemptible.” “Ghost tours… Read More: Your friendly neighborhood mon$ter »

Cryptids in music-related logos

By | June 13, 2011
2 Comments

I was noticing something… First the Sasquatch music festival, now RockNess. Cool. Besides their use in TV and print advertising, famous cryptids are being associated with not only local fairs and events but also big name music festivals. I suspect it’s because it helps with tourism to the area, but also cryptids make for fine,… Read More: Cryptids in music-related logos »

Paranormal-themed nonfiction TV: A list

By | April 24, 2011
6 Comments

I was writing an article when I realized I needed a clear idea about when this whole amateur investigation reality-television thing became popular. So, I started a list. (I’m a good Googler.) Here is a list of TV shows (series) that portray the paranormal as real or examine it as possibly real. Some are reality-type… Read More: Paranormal-themed nonfiction TV: A list »

Monster Stories from Pennsylvania

By | February 10, 2011
4 Comments

Pennsylvania is the locale for oodles of strange stories, from the ghosts of Gettysburg to Thunderbirds of the northern forests, from the Jersey Devil sightings along the Delaware to UFOs in Kecksburg (and all across the state).  A 135-page book by Patty A. Wilson chronicles, specifically, Monsters in Pennsylvania: Mysterious Creatures in the Keystone State.… Read More: Monster Stories from Pennsylvania »

Studying modern day amateur scientists and researchers or “What the hell was that?”

By | August 10, 2010
10 Comments

I’m off inside my own head these days… My main project is my Masters’ thesis in Science and the Public. I started gathering data this summer; fall will be consumed with crunching data, making sense of it and writing it up. I’ll graduate in February, barring any unforeseen disasters. The hardest part about a thesis… Read More: Studying modern day amateur scientists and researchers or “What the… »

Response to Cryptomundo from Ms. Idoubtit

By | January 15, 2010
28 Comments

I will attempt to post this response to Cryptomundo later today regarding Loren Coleman’s commentary on my previous blog post. We shall see if it appears uncensored: Mr. Coleman: I’m disappointed in your response to my post but I thank you for paying it some attention. I understand that you have taken personally my thoughts… Read More: Response to Cryptomundo from Ms. Idoubtit »

The Decade in Cryptozoology: fun, frivolity and frustration

By | January 13, 2010
19 Comments

The 21st century in cryptozoology began with promise of scientific investigation and attention. Available technology and dedicated researchers came together over the internet to share ideas and data. Their goal was to amass a body of evidence compelling to the scientific community and the greater public. They sought biological evidence and, as always, credibility and… Read More: The Decade in Cryptozoology: fun, frivolity and frustration »