Zak Bagans: Separated at Birth?

Blogging Changed My Life!

Kindle
Nook

Find out what happened over the last 3 years of this blogger's life. I went from an insecure and unhappy housewife to a successful single author and built a blog that became well loved and respected. I tell how my life changes occurred because of the confidence I gained from blogging and finding my secret talents. I share how to build your blog, design your blog, and make connections with your online "tribe." I wish this book had been out there when I started blogging, but half the adventure was serendipitously finding out the benefits of blogging.

Arizona Ghostbusters!

On my recent hobble in the Zombie Walk downtown at Halloween time, I was most impressed with the Arizona Ghostbusters team. I've seen them at other events (hey, I'm in the ghostie industry, of course I've seen them), but at this event, they put on a most intriguing display with their costumes, ambulance and the body bags lined up. It set the mood for the zombie walk!

When the walk began, they turned on their siren lights and started the way down the street with their ambulance. Thousands of zombies began to moan loudly and with the city high rise lights around us, it took on a very surreal atmosphere. These guys seriously know how to party with the zombies!

So, I decided to ask them a bit more about their purpose and found them to be the most kind-hearted and fun-loving guys!

The team was started several years ago by Matt Haynes. They made up costumes, got an ambulance and completely revamped it (named EctoAZ) and showed up as fun figures at charity events.



Everyone loves the Ghostbusters franchise and they add an exciting element to loads of charity events from MS to cancer, food banks to charity walks. At the enormous zombie walk recently, they collected nearly a ton of food for local food banks! They also work to get toys for children in the hospital and at Christmas time and take this messenger of goodwill position to heart.

These charming ambassadors of smiles and hope exemplify the American way of helping others and bringing joy through beloved symbols, like the wonderfully geeky and widely adored Ghostbusters! I can't think of a more feel-good sensation than dressing up as a Ghostbuster, riding in a souped up ambulance, and helping make our community happier, healthier, stronger, and full of hope.

How can you not smile when you see this?



**P.S. Thanks Gnostalgia for the fantastic "Ode to Liz" poem for my zombie housewife character.**

Patterson-Gimlin: Did You Ever Notice...?

I was rewatching the film, trying not to be distracted by the context in which it was made; someone going in search of BF and getting her on film.

1. What strikes me about this is when you watch her strides. It isn't just the gait, but look at the head specifically. As an ex-model/pageant gal, I had extensive training on how to walk without my head bouncing up and down. Humans step off on the ball of their foot and it causes a rise and drop in our height. This figure on film appears to be keeping a level head and the conclusion is that it does not step off on the ball of its foot. To do this, one would have to rest the weight on the hips and use the legs to remain slightly bent and have enormous leg muscles, as well as a mid tarsal break that bends the foot in the center to put the heavy weight on a larger portion of the foot. We're talking about snowshoeing versus walking. As well, she appears to sway side to side a bit when walking which would to me mean perhaps a very wide pelvis. Runway models walk with one foot in front of another and this creature seems to walk the opposite, creating a kind of rocking side to side motion instead. Try walking with your feet wide apart and walk flat footed, not stepping off your toes. Interesting gait, huh? Would definitely support a much heavier weight.

2. Bigfoot doesn't run. Why doesn't she run? Well, most encounters with BF have been in the woods. When my team went on their first hunt, we studied the context of where BF lives more than just looking for the creature. We wanted to learn how she/he uses the woods to hide. Just one step to the left or right and a team member only 20 feet away disappears into the brush and tree trunks, darkness and shadows. What does BF do in the open? This is not a creature that would seem to be built or have the gait to be a runner, though she should be able to trot away in some large sprinting strides for a distance. Why didn't she run when she looked right at the horses and men? Well, lesson #1 as a creature in the woods--if you run, you're asking for a chase. A creature running away screams "I'm the victim, you're the bigger stronger one." Perhaps it is in her dignity and DNA that she is the biggest creature to contend with and running is only for prey.

3. For someone who wanted to film, BF, it's the placing of the recording on the film that interests me. He used the end of his film to film it. He ran out of space. He spent 3/4 of the time bouncing like shit until he got a few seconds of still shot. If he were someone who hoaxed it, it seems rather messy and vague.

I spent my entire life laughing at the film and in the past few years, I stopped and gave it some real consideration. It is a piece of work and probably one of the most replayed films of a supposed cryptid ever made. I try not to let my mind be cluttered with the context in which it was taken. These men certainly did not make it big or create a fortune off of this film, though nowadays it could be worth a great deal. There were no computers then, no cable channels and only local networks that were too conservative to show exploit it. So, it didn't benefit them so much taking this film as a guy with a cellphone camera could profit from today. I still don't think anyone can absolutely say for sure if it was genuine, but it has been examined within an inch of its life (44 years) and still the jury is out.

What do you think of the film?

The Best Post the Readers Ever Wrote!

I haven't done this in a while, but it's a blast. I go through posts and extract random comments written by the readers and share them. When you read these, you begin to realize what a very weird blog this is if these are the comments. Thanks for being so amazingly hilarious! I love y'all!

"You should stuff yourself in the Thanksgiving turkey, then jump out when she's just about to carve."

The one all the way in the back... behind the clown one... what is that a devil?

"Oh no!!! I used to have nightmares of Fweddy the Magic Fwoot, then I became a flutist. Ironic much?"

"big foot got a nice ass."

"That whole cb cactus thing has the makings of a great horror movie. Candycane!!"

"Wish that I could be one of those monkeys!"

"Maybe I should start posting bikini shots? No, that would probably cost me Followers!"

"I think I am going to be sick now."

"I was going to write something witty and groundbreaking but after seeing those photoshopped pics I think I had a seizure."

"well in my head i am there in the pillow fight fantasy."

"Thanks for showing a picture of a douche bag."

"You don't scare me, Pinn-dorkio! I've got a bag of termites with your name on it! (Am I really fighting with a doll?)"

"hahah, I wonder if the nipple clamp shot will get the vid removed from youtube."

"You just posted on my site (for all to see) that you think I'm a douche. Thanks a lot!"

"autumn, i'm mothman, except for the question that asked about how i was in my fam growing up & i had to admit rebelliousness...so, most mothman, 1 part chupacabra!"

"We had a blue, glass eye cup in the bathroom when I was a tot. I am still positive it is some kind of extradimensional demon-viewing monocular. Either that or a WW2 era torture device. Maybe both."

"I can remember as a kid seeing those things hanging up on the showers. God help me, I can still see that shit in my head ! Why ...why ???????"

"I still think that checking with an expert with puppets is a good idea."

"Haha. I love bread and ham stories!"

"Hmmmm... I get no visits from a sweet voice. Maybe I need drugs."

"You can have the room divider just stay out of my tub!"

"That swinging gate sounded like an ejaculating moose."

URBEX: Nature Takes On Buildings: Nature Wins

I've photographed many dozens of abandoned places and I have a lot of fascinations about them, including the contents left behind, the signs of life once being there, and especially the way nature reclaims the structures. Here's some examples of why nature always wins--

Just Like Bacon-Everything Is Better With Bigfoot!

The 70s was, well, Bigfoot heaven--



Ask me why I'm such a BF freak? It's hard to grow up in that era and not be totally terrified by this documentary (below) and "Legend of Boggy Creek"



I actually had to sneak out to see this one--



I came home and immediately donned a ton of clothing and heavy gloves and helmet and went into the woods in search of him (I was afraid he might bite).



You can't be inundated with this stuff and not be affected.



At the same time period, in our boring elementary school classes, teachers were showing old-fashioned reel films (yeah, I'm fucking ancient) of lost tribes being found all over the globe. There were still a lot of unknowns in a world we thought we knew pretty good, having Jacques Cousteau and astronauts to explore beyond our prior limits.



I was as scared and fascinated by Bigfoot as I was of tall guys. Little did I know, I'd grow pretty tall myself and still have a thing for the tall ones.



I sometimes envied BF for claiming the woods as his home. I never wanted to leave them. I spent most of my waking hours exploring.



I don't mind the notion of sharing my forests with this man-relative. When people thought of him as a pure ape form and not at all human, I always knew that for him to hide so well and walk erect, he was much closer to us on the evolutionary scale.



How about a Bigfoot Toy? I'm hoping to find this one for sale somewhere in someone's garage debris.



**I'd like to thank Shawn at Bigfoot Evidence for the shout out about my F'ing Bigfoot LAUGH episode!**

Upcoming Posts

This is cryptid month at GHT, but there will be posts about other things, as well, such as some great interviews I'm conducting with Alex Hearn from AZCRO (Arizona's Crypto Team), The Arizona Ghostbusters Team, and the "Liz" zombie inside of me is excited to be interviewing the Department of Zombie Defense and the very girlie side of me is giggling with delight to get to meet them in person. As well, on the 15th, I'm having an awesome cryptid-themed giveaway you really don't want to miss.

I'm busy right now preparing the zombie housewives book for the publisher to review. I'm also preparing in the next couple weeks to release my ebook "How Blogging Changed My life." I was going to call it the Ghost Hunting Theories Blog book because it has many posts from the blog in it, but it's really a story of how blogging can bring out your strengths and your courage and change your life. Y'all know from the Hug-A-Blogger blog and this blog that I've got a real fondness for my tribe and for helping fellow bloggers. I hope the book will inspire people to find their true selves in blogging.

There are more upcoming books but there are too many to even discuss. When Julie and I feel established in getting to print, we plan to make a trip to Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum to base our book "Spirit Vessels: Why Some Buildings Are Haunted" based upon the qualities in that structure. Of course, that trip will include some bizarre place to stay, things to see, and so much to share on our blogs, it will blow your minds. We have some very unusual things planned and hope to be doing that in the springtime.

So, stay tuned and know that I've got some things up my sleeves (now that it's finally weather here to wear sleeves). I will be avidly following your blogs to see what's up this season for y'all, my tribe.

Seriously Creepy-Wickedly Awesome!

Y'all know, I live all year long just to see what Pumpkinrot is doing. Here's his 2011 Halloween video. Seriously--amazing! My favorite horror filmmaker--I just love that he not only makes amazing Halloween cards and art, but he gets what the season should be about--alternate universes of magic and mystery, autumn and tradition.

Bless you, Pumpkinrot, filmmakers could learn a helluva lot from you about what we want.

Haunted Hotel Rooms

Pack your bags, book the room!

Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, CO: Rooms 1302, 401.

Hotel San Carlos, Phoenix, AZ: Room 706.

Sheraton Reed Hotel, Chattanooga, TN: Room 311.

Jefferson Hotel, Jefferson, TX: Room 19.

Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego, CA: Room 302.

Langham Hotel, London, UK: Room 333.

Hotel Vendome, Prescott, AZ: Abby's Room.

Noftsger Hill Inn, Globe, AZ: Room 3.

Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill, NC: Room 252.

The Heathman Hotel: Portland, OR: Room 703.

Crescent Hotel: Eureka Springs, AK: Room 218.

Gargoyle Seeds

The Devil Pod, also known as Bat Nut, Goat Head, Bull Nut, and Buffalo Nut, is the seed pod of Trapa bicornis, an aquatic Asian plant. Glossy and black, it averages 2 1/2 - 3 inches from tip to tip, and when dried and oiled, its surface texture is similar to that of a chestnut or buckeye. However, depending on the way it is viewed, this naturally sculpted botanical oddity looks like nothing so much as a leering goat-horned devil, an enraged bull demon, a gargoyla, a flying bat, or an alien chupacabra! The illusion of an evil face appears on both sides of the pod, and the two faces are usually quite different in visage.

From here:
In China, the Bat is a lucky animal, because the name "Bat" (Fu) sounds just like the word for happiness (Fu), so to the Chinese, who know this plant as the Ling Nut, the image it shows is of a Bat and it is considered a lucky food to eat.

Although the seed inside the pod is edible when cooked, the Bat Nut's rarity in the United States and its bizarre shape have led to its use as an offering on altars to some of the darker gods. While it is not native to Africa, Europe, or South America, it would not be out of place on a modern altar dedicated to cthonic tricksters such as Eshu-Ellegua-Legba of West Africa, Hades-Pluto of the ancient Mediterranean, or Maximon of Guatemala.

A more positive use for the Devil Pod is to ward off evil, and for that purpose it can be placed above a doorway, facing outward as an apotropaic guardian, much in the manner of ancient Tibetan door demons. Likewise, it makes a splendid inclusion in mojo bags of the types commonly known as "Jinx Breaker," "Keep Away Enemies," or "Run Devil Run."

I've made mojo bags for friends for special occasions. One friend, carries a mojo bag for safe plane flights. I would suggest placing a gargoyle seed, a photo copy of the plane ticket and a piece of amethyst inside a mojo bag. I'm not entirely certain of what the people at the TSA might think, but should it be in your suitcase, it should offer you the same protection, as you are both headed to the same destination at the same time.

Having Fun With Bigfoot

This is an ongoing theme with Julie and I's trips--we run into BF remnants everywhere (har har)









On our Bigfoot hunt, we came back to the car to find this message "Human Go Home!"

I've also contemplated if Bigfoot is a berry crack whore and if his butt looks human.

Then, for the Bigfoot hunt, I made homemade Bigfoot marshmallows. Wanna know how?



Ingredients

* 1 unflavored gelatin (2 1/2 teaspoons)
* 1/3 cup cold water, for gelatin, plus 1/4 cup for syrup
* 1 cup sugar

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 cup cold water. Allow gelatin to soften, about 5 minutes. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water and sugar, and stir over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring, and place a candy thermometer into sugar water; wipe sides of pan with a wet brush if sugar crystals have splattered up. Boil sugar until temperature reaches the soft-ball stage (238 degrees). Remove syrup from heat; add to softened gelatin. Using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, hand-stir the mixture a few minutes to cool; place bowl on the mixer stand. Beat on medium high with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form and the marshmallow mixture holds shape, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer marshmallow mixture to a large Ziploc bag and cut off the tip of it so you can squeeze it onto a pan sprayed with Pam. Let them sit and dry for a few hours before storing in an air-tight container. May toss them in powdered sugar so they don't stick together.

Grave Bandits: Upcoming Zombie Movie

You might have gone onto their site during our Blogger Virtual Zombie Walk. This movie just released it's official trailer. It comes out in early 2012. I'm excited about this one. The folks working on it are really sharp and it promises to be pretty creepy-rama!

Eat of the Flesh, Drink of the Blood

There is an intriguing article about the role of religion and zombie culture and how the two are linked. After all, the correlation about Jesus rising from the dead and Christians eating his flesh and drinking his blood are pretty zombie concepts. See how this talented writer brings it together. Of course, in the case of toteism in religion, it's the belief that you can bring the spirit of a being into you when you consume it. In the case of zombies, however, it's really all about the nourishment. It is an interesting debate, however, and has drawn in lots of curious people. In fact, at the zombie walk, there was in fact a Jesus zombie among the thousands of hobblers on the downtown street.

Zombie Rap

The Real Laww

I really like this one. I'm working on a dance routine to it.

Southwestern Blog

My son's fiancee, Jenn, has started an amazing blog that I just adore. Like everything she does, it's got heart, talent and intelligence. My Southwestern Life is a fresh view on crafts, culture, food, and lifestyle. I just love her focus. She's told about events she's attended with some amazing photography (her and my son Alex have started a photography business and you might seen his photo on a button on this blog on the right hand side). She's an amazing cook and craftswoman with wonderful taste. I highly recommend following this blog so you can see what life in the southwest is like, the way it influences the style of everything from recreation to food, decorating to art.

Ebook Publishing: Pros and Cons

"Josiah: Undead Cowboy" Kindle Nook
A ghost town, a closed down gold mine with vampires inside, and a jaded undead cowboy guarding it.


"Was That a Ghost?" Kindle Nook
Find out if you encountered the unexplained using the "Trinity of Relevance," quizzes and examples, then what to do next.


"Don't Go There! A Flash Horror Anthology" Kindle Nook
Large collection of horror short stories, timed so you know how long it takes to read each and fit them in your schedule.


"Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition) Kindle Nook
Photographs and psychic reads of abandoned locations in the desert.

I spent over 20 years trying to get published traditional routes. I don't consider myself a poor writer. So, what's the deal? Well, getting published became harder and harder without someone representing you (and taking a plump cut). The ironic thing about ebook publishing is that it has changed the publishing industry forever. You know how indie music and online music exchanging hurt the big stupid music companies that were spitting out godawful stars like Britney Spears? You know how movie studios are hurt by indie moviemakers who are making what people actually want to see? You know how newspapers are taking a nosedive because people can get news online or cable? Well, thankfully the publishing companies are eating humble pie now.

Still, is it worth going ebook publishing? Well, it is our future and unavoidable. In the negative, you have to ask yourself first--Am I willing to be my on editor? my own typesetter? Book cover designer? Promoter? Agent? PR? You literally have to be able to do it all. Putting the book up on Kindle and Nook and other sites is easy enough, but they also have not made them document friendly as far as taking a word documenting and plunking it down without it looking odd on readers. If you have a lot of photographs in your book, it could be a hot mess. Even if you think you can get attention and publicity, you might sell a dozen books a month if you're really cranking. It's not an easy industry. Without hard copies of a book for people to thumb through and with so many ebooks being online, the chances of someone finding your book are very slim. To get print copies of your book in print-to-order, you might need to transfer to PDF format and need an expensive Adobe program for that as well as understanding a helluva lot about running these programs and getting the layout right. You also have to set up accounts with every place you deal with and constantly check in and rush around trying to get people to read and review your book or know it exists. It's enough to make you want to just start writing books with titles like "How To Get More Sex" just so people find your book! Even with all of this, you still are completely vulnerable to grumpy pants trolls going on and giving your book a bad rating and if only a handful of people have rated your book, it can weigh it heavily. You have to remind yourself constantly that when reading reviews, if there's one sourpuss in a group of people who loved it, everyone knows that this guy has a burr in his pants.

So, what are the pro's of ebook publishing? Being able to give publishing companies the finger and move on. The more you experience feedback from the direct audience (readers), the sooner you can work your skills and become a better writer. Having been published and showing that you've already been out there in the public and your book rated and so publishers will have more to go on when you present yourself as a published author to their company. Doing ebooks is simpler in that you can go to publish much sooner than publishing companies that can line books up years ahead of time. Places like Kindle and Nook send you a check periodically for your royalties (70% if the book is 2.99 or more) and you get a tax form at the end of the year. Some people do make millions in ebooks, but you are very unlikely to have that happen unless you are in a genre that is wildly popular, such as paranormal romance (think "Twilight" crowd) and if you spend 24/7 on publicity and getting it to catch fire. I suggest having a few 99-cent offerings so people can taste your writing and see if they want to bite the higher priced stuff.

Ultimately, putting up an ebook says something to yourself as a writer--I am legit. For that alone, it's worth the sweat and tears, insecurity and anxiety.

I have a few upcoming ebooks--

"Philia: Sex in a Dark Place" An erotic/horror short story collection
"Ghost Hunting Theories Blog Book" A 99-cent collection of the best of GHT's theories about the paranormal, how I built up the blog, how I grew the blog.
"The Hunt: Ghosts" First in a 3-part paranormal romance series about a paranormal investigation team.
"The Thicket" A paranormal romance about a Pagan community in the hills of West Virginia.

Hoping to go to print--(in the market for publishers, want these in hard copies)

"Zombie Housewives of the Apocalypse"
"Kickin' Up Dust! (Getting Lost to Find Ourselves)"
"Spirit Vessels: Why Some Buildings Are Haunted"

Cryptid In Arizona Or Aberration?

This big cat was supposedly hit by a truck in Northern Arizona and weighed about 250 pounds (usual mountain lions are 80-100). Does this make him a crypto? Doesn't look like anything else but a mountain lion who had great genes and a good life because he was able to develop a fine body, like a top athlete.



Still, makes one wonder how a beast that size can live so long unknown in the fairly sparse forests near Williams. Jeez, I hope that doesn't mean BF will be hit by a truck when someone poses next to his corpse and has him stuffed. A creature this magnificent should be treated with dignity. Men that pose with carcasses make my stomach turn.

Cryptid Month: Jersey Devil

Wikipedia:

Most accounts of the Jersey Devil legend attribute the creature to a "Mother Leeds", a supposed witch, although the tale has many variations. According to one version, she invoked the devil by saying "let it be the devil" while giving birth to her 13th child, and when the baby was born it was named Lucas, it either immediately or soon afterward transformed into a devil-like creature and flew off into the surrounding pines.

The Jersey Devil remained an obscure regional legend through most of the 18th and 19th centuries until a series of purported sightings in 1909 gained it press coverage and wider notability. Today, the Jersey Devil is considered to be more in the realm of popular culture than folklore.

During the week of January 16 through 23, 1909, hundreds of people reported encounters with the Jersey Devil. Newspapers of the time named it "Phenomenal Week" and the public reaction has been called the Devil's "most infamous spree." Reports initially concerned unidentified footprints in the snow, but soon sightings of creatures resembling the Jersey Devil were being reported throughout South Jersey and as far away as Philadelphia and Delaware.[13] The widespread newspaper coverage led to a panic throughout the Delaware Valley prompting a number of schools to close and workers to stay home. Among alleged encounters publicized that week were an attack on a trolley-car full of passengers in Haddon Heights and an attack on a social club in Camden. Police in Camden and Bristol, Pennsylvania supposedly fired on the creature to no effect

So far as the Jersey Devil is concerned, of all the cryptids, there are a handful I wish were real. This is one of them. The urban legend is dark, spooky, and the Pine Barrens are one freaky-feeling place.



("The 13th Child")



So, what's your vote on the Devil--does it exist?

Join Some Crypto Blogs!

I love following crypto-themed blogs and following interesting crypto websites. It's a thrill to hear what the gossip is in the close-knit community of eager adventurers and explorers. Plus, I like men in olive and khaki, not necessarily camo, though. To me, camo's are like what blue eyeshadow is to women--instantly trashy.

Fashion statements aside, here's the community I follow and why I do.

1. Bigfoot Evidence. Love this blog. Shawn does an amazing job putting up a few posts a day on BF-related info. He gets awesome interviews and I am not kidding when I say, I read EVERY SINGLE POST! Basically, if you follow him, put him on your Blog List so you see the news posts as they pop up. With his blog alone, you know everything you ever need to know in the BF community. In fact, I will be doing a cryptid-themed giveaway in conjunction with this blog on the 15th--so don't miss that!

2. North American Bigfoot. I love this one for a couple of reasons--cute Cliff Barackman from Travel Channel's "Finding Bigfoot" and the fact that he puts up videos explaining things from behind the scenes you didn't know from the episodes. Wow! I love transparent researchers. He also has a sense of humor like mine and doesn't seem to mind me occasionally doing a LAUGH episode about his fun-loving enthusiastic group.

3. Cryptomundo. Loren Coleman is sort of the Stephen King of Bigfoot in that he has more books out on the subject than anyone I know. He knows everyone, has been everywhere, has asked big questions, has sought interesting answers, and every single day, his site keeps you up on all things crypto. It's probably the most quoted site I know on the subject. Smart guy. Honestly a big kid at heart about the subject of cryptids.

4. Bigfoot Lunch Club. This one is fun. I like to go here and see what he's knocking around. It's inquisitive, playful, and informative. I feel like I'm part of a BF happening when I jump on and check out the posts and comments.

5. The Lost Coast Tapes. This is purely self-indulgent, but it's a BF movie coming out that sounds like it's going to be a winner and after seeing that godawful "Boggy Creek," I seriously need something to give me new images in my head. I'm looking forward to this one and I check out the progress from time to time to be sure it's coming out to the theaters and when!

The Freeman Bigfoot Video

Who was Paul Freeman? A forest service worker turned Bigfoot hunter who collected plaster casts of prints that displayed dermal ridges. These have been one of Jeff Meldrum's most prized proof of an undocumented creature in the woods of Washington State. The dermal ridges reportedly were not human nor were they ape, but somewhere in between.

The footage above was taken in 1994 by Freeman in Washington State. It's debated over often.

I tend to use the same things that I do when I'm working with ghost witnesses, I begin here with the context in which the event happened. This man had been seeing and hearing things in the woods and finding lots of footprints. He started going out with his video camera and got this footage.

When I look at the film, the things that captures my eyes first is the jumpiness as he's studying the footprints. He then hears something snap in the woods and lifts the camera straight up, dead on one spot in the woods, no longer bouncing, and miraculously of all the places he puts the camera still, it is dead center in the scene of BF walking through the woods. He doesn't pan around trying to find the culprit. He kinds of knows where it's coming from as if it were rehearsed.

Then, he speaks out loud at a fairly normal level "there he goes." I feel like the way he's commenting is to the people who will be viewing it and the wording sounds like he knew this guy was going to come out and walk by--once again feeling rehearsed. That's kind of an odd point of view. If I were alone in the woods and following the tracks and filming them to share and looked up and caught that clearly a BF going by, I'd likely be extremely quiet, hoping it doesn't see me, maybe even step back. There would be no commentary as if an audience will be viewing it later on.

I don't have any reason to wonder about the man's character. I'm sure he had the best of motives for filming this. I do wonder at how it was filmed and how perfectly ideal the viewing was and how he shook the camera the entire time, except the very moment BF stepped out, he was still and following him while he was in sight. So, he had the ability to still the camera for the special shot, but not the rest of it. He gave it the appearance of being natural by shaking the camera, but then stilled it at an opportune moment. If you ever see UFO footage, people desperately try to zoom in or rush to get a better view and end up with sketchy shooting. Not this guy. Once BF goes out of sight, he starts jumping around and filming places that are no where in the vicinity of where BF was. It seemed like he was buying time for someone to get out of sight completely.

I'm not sure about this one. I think I put it in my -- close but no cigar category. The BF's walking style, the context, the way it was shot -- doesn't add up for me. Of all the places in the woods and all the tracks to follow, he managed to be right in the BF's present location, lift his camera and voila--there he is???

What's your take on it?

Fact or Faked Reviewed

Why? Why? Why?

Rods--Re-ally??? Bugs, solved long ago!

Bad UFO--Re-ally??? U-F-Os?????? `nuff said! I am quite done with UFO episodes. I know Ben is excited by them, but Ben, honey, there are only so many ways to test these and we're are soooooo sick of them all!

This new team member (I'm not bothering to learn her name because they will change the cast around if they make another season) is so posed and spokesmodel'ish that she doesn't fit in with the geeks. She's also overly perky which makes her seem kind of dullwitted since the others are trying to pretend what they're doing is important. The chemistry on the show is shot to hell. None of them seem to blend together at all.

They put a huge fan out in the desert and tossed shit in front of it (likely scenario--just bring me my generator) and then tried hanging a top hat on a fishing line (top hat, really?) and then they got a large Mylar balloon shaped like a spaceship and flew it overhead (remind you of another episode?)

Bugs in a netted tent, lights, camera--rods! Yada yada yada.

Fellas at Syfy--get with the program--totally revamp and make Ben the producer and let him fix this runaway train of tedium and repetition. `Nuff said.

Ghost Hunters & Fact or Faked Tonight

Looks like FoF tonight is doing rods--long since already proven as insects and (drum roll)... a flying saucer. What's up with FoF, huh? They're doing things we already know and things that are just stupid like the moving swing on the swingset. And WAY TOO MANY UFO STORIES! Where's Bigfoot? Where's Jersey Devil? Where's anything but flying saucers??? You know, I'm reviewing it tomorrow and I will be honest.

If you are still one of the few watching GH, here's what's up on there - The Bloodiest 47 Acres--



(If you want to have fun with this video above, just imagine the guys are talking about their contract with GH and their gig on the show)


What are my favorite shows on TV?
1. Destination Truth
2. The Walking Dead
3. Finding Bigfoot
4. Big Bang Theory
5. Two and a Half Men (love the addition of Ashton-totally refreshed it!)

Let's List Cryptids

To start off this month of cryptid-themed posts, let's begin with a fantastic list of countries and cryptids! We hear a lot about Bigfoot, Yeti, and Nessie, but the amount of cryptids reported around the world are vast and terribly intriguing. Let's just take a dive into the big pool of unknown critters waiting to be found or proved figments of local's imaginations.

Tasmania: Thylacine "Tamanian Tiger" (a creature that did exist and is thought to be extinct)

Iceland: Lagarfljots Worm. Supposedly occupies a fresh water lake.

Java: Ahool--a giant bat.

Puerto Rico: Chupcabra--goat sucker creature.

Congo Region/Africa: Mokele-Mbembe. Supposed Sauropod dinosaur.

Sumatra: Orang-Pendak. An ape-like creature.

British Columbia: Caddy--a sea serpent.

North America: Thunderbird.

Pakistan: Barmanu is a reportedly hair humanoid.

Andes Mountains: Ucu--Bigfoot-like creature.

Australia: Yowie--Bigfoot-like creature.

Worldwide: "Globsters" are giant globs that wash up on shores.

Indonesia: Ebu Gogo, 3-foot tall hairy people with pot bellies and long arms.

Pakistan: Barmanu--Bigfoot-like creature.

Africa: Mngwa--a tabby marked cat but as large as a donkey.

As you can see, this is quite a variety!

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Interview with Arizona "Seeker of Bigfoot Encounters"

I had an interesting and enlightening interview with an Arizona man who goes out in search of Bigfoot. I guess calling him Bigfoot hunter is a wrong description, as this very intelligent and insightful man seeks encounters with Bigfoot. In fact, he leaves him a basket of fruit as an offering at his search sites.

Steve from Desert Bigfoot group has seen the creature twice. One time, he saw it walking between the trees, upright, and large. The other time, he saw BF's eye staring back at him through a nightvision scope from a very close distance as the creature peered out curiously from behind a tree. He said that was so shocking that he had a bit of a time getting over the surprise and realization that he was seeking encounters with a creature who is curious, smart, and substantially larger than humans.

When you go onto their site, be sure and check the tabs, especially the audio one which gave me shivers!

I'm impressed with this seeker of BF and the team he works with. They are very well decked out to cover ground within a mile of the periphery of their base camp with audio and visual and nightvision. They're ready to debunk and evaluate evidence and come to conclusions and make changes in their style of seeking. I think what impresses me the most is that they aren't out for glory or a TV show or a name in cryptozoology. Even though they are sitting on some pretty awesome evidence, they seek only to get answers to their own questions about this hairy critter.

As a ghost hunter, I find that many of the techniques that BF hunters employ are similar including infinite patience. And, like a ghost hunter, they must listen to sounds and see shadows moving and debunk on the spot. There is a lot of sensory input in the dark woods at night, as there is at a haunted location. To be able to set up equipment in the proper places, evaluate the present sights and sounds and then review the data in the end involves a great deal of quick thinking, adaptability to be able to test theories on the spot, and a burning desire to have an encounter with a creature that few have interacted with.

I would seriously like to hit the road with this team in the future and I will, of course, report back what we encounter. I cannot think of a more well-covered, experienced and intelligent group to hang with. Their attitude about the big fella is one of respect, awe, and curiosity. Discoveries are made with those three qualities!

Abandoned Mansion

While shooting at the charming abandoned building I put up recently on the blog, my son and his fiancee and I found an abandoned mansion next door. We wandered in and got some amazing pics.









*Don't miss Liz the Zombie's Newest post*

Bigfoot: Do My Genes Make My Butt Look Human?

There's a lot of hoopla surrounding Dr. Melba Ketchum's results from the Bigfoot Genome Project. Even though everyone associated with the study of samples submitted are sworn to secrecy, much has leaked out. But, like any other endeavor to shut people's traps, we really don't know how accurate any of the leaks are.

Let's just look at the rumors that are circulating and their implications:

I am not going to make this an intellectual discussion with a lot of big words. Even though I'm in the medical field, I find that kind of talk drivel. Basically, the first rumor comes down to this--many have hinted that BF's mama was 100% human, but daddy might have been more primitive. Honestly, that sounds like most of the humans I know.

So, would this make Bigfoot a human? Well, let's look at some slight shift in human DNA and the changes that can result. Let's take albinism and Down Syndrome. A little shift in DNA and voila! These variables in our DNA make it possible to have a huge variety of humans, with vastly different looks and capabilities. Of course, all variables of humans are still human.

But what makes us all human?

Does the 100% blood of a human mother lineage make BF a human or does the half that is from more primitive man make him ape? If a person has a genetic disorder that creates severe global developmental delay, does that make him not human because he cannot communicate or understand? Does BF, because he has no language we understand and lives in a primitive existence, be a human only with developmental delay? Would raising him amongst us show a level of intelligence that astounds us or could that bit of ape genes make him only as trainable as a chimp? Remember ape genes are 98% similar to ours, but that 2% makes a huge difference in language, intelligence and walking upright.

If this rumor were true, it may be a relief to realize that BF is not all beast, but then it also opens a new can of worms that none of us are prepared for. We might have a feral cousin in the woods who has been surviving on his own, but he might be that missing relative that would explain much of our own process of arriving as homo sapiens. This creature, walking erect for quite some time, has had the same free hands we had to fashion tools and be intelligent. Perhaps the very reason he has not been caught as of yet is that he is very cognizant of himself as a thinking, living, breathing, spiritual and physical being and also understand the "others" (man).

My problem with his concept is simply that, though it might be possible for a primitive man to mate with a modern human, the result should be like a liger (lion/tiger) or a better example is the mule which is bred from a female horse and a male donkey. These creatures are able to breed, but the offspring are sterile. In other words, the gene roulette wheel stops with the liger and the mule.

The other rumor is that all the samples tested were 100% human! What the hell does that mean? Well, without knowing the basis on which samples were taken, it means humans contaminated the samples or...it means BF is purely a feral human. However, even in humans that tiny genetic difference can change appearances drastically. How? Well, let's look at a genetic condition that could create an unusual appearance.



Hypertrichosis, a condition of overgrowth of hair all over the body is passed down through a family line. What if Bigfoot is a result of inbreeding amongst very rural families or tribes in Early American who have managed to have, generation to generation, hidden their ways like the Amish, inbred to the point of carrying on pituitary growth disorders and hypertrichosis? Could the reason some people see what looks like wild people and others see what looks like apes be different members of isolated families?

Here's where it gets even hairy (pun intended). How is it that places as isolated geographically as Australia and as vast as China, Russia and the United States have Bigfoot-like sightings with slight differences in appearance that might relate to breeding in isolated regions? This makes the case for an actual creature and not a band of wild rednecks.

Around and around this puzzle goes and where it stops--no one knows until we have a BF in the flesh and blood to examine. The other option is that, if it is true that some twisted hunter shot a BF and its baby (rumor) and got a sample from those and submitted them and they came out human, we can all baffle even more over the mystery that is BF. Otherwise, hair, blood, and other stray samples can easily be from humans in the woods. Unless you pluck a hair from BF or shoot a hole in his cute furry butt, you're not going to be able to get a true sense of him genetically because everything else could be our own blasted leavings in the woods. And, should a sample of DNA come up with mutations, we can't take those as a baseline for BF because if you were to sample someone with Trisomy 13, they would not represent baseline for typical human genes. In this case, we would have to herd up a helluva lot of BF's to find out what his standard genes look like and given that my entire lifetime they've been looking for the fella and not capturing him, I'm thinking in our lifetimes we won't know just what exactly a BF is genetically or in classification with any certainty.