Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Witchcraft blamed as man grows genital organ on face 

Now starring in the Vagina Monologues!

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:41 AM

Famous criminal profiler posts BTK profile 

The BTK investigation is attracting nationwide attention. Many people want to assist with the case. Now a nationally known profiler wants to help catch the serial killer.

Investigative criminal profiler Pat Brown says the public should be given more details about the case. Her website, The Sexual Homicide Exchange, is dedicated to giving the public a detailed profile of high-profile killers. She says the more people know about a serial murderer, the easier it is to identify them. Brown put together one of the only public profiles on BTK and posted it on her website.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:18 AM

Expedition to hunt 'lake monsters' 

CHINESE scientists will launch an expedition next month to search for fabled "lake monsters" in north-west China's Xinjiang region, state media reported.

For hundreds of years there have been rumors in Xinjiang's Altay Prefecture that mysterious monsters live in the prefecture's Kanasi Lake, devouring livestock, the Xinhua news agency said.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:51 AM

A year later, bizarre bank robbery killing yields more questions than clues 

An excellent article on the horrible death of Brian Wells, unfortunately better known as the "Pizza Bomber". This is one of the stranger cases in the Hex Files, complete with mysterious deaths, shadowy perpetrators, a desperate race against time, and a body in a freezer.

Two of the primary witnesses are dead, one under questionable circumstances. The other, a mechanical tinkerer familiar with robotics, later revealed to police that he had the body of a murder victim hidden in his freezer. Wells's brother, who appears to have a confidential source, claims that a "group of men" forced the collar on Brian. This indicates a well-organized operation involving many people.

Wells was forced to complete a series of elaborate directions in addition to the bank robbery, even though the designers of the bomb knew it would explode in 55 minutes. This means the masterminds behind this crime miscalculated the most important part of their plan--the timeline-- or it indicates that robbery was not the primary motive.

If the robbery was not the primary motivator, then what was? Other scenarios have been mentioned, notably revenge. This seems unlikely. Brian Wells was, by all published accounts, a nice, unassuming guy with no enemies. Brian's brother seems to think it was a warning by one group of criminals to others as a demonstration of their power. It could have also served as effective advertising for the perpetrators's nefarious talents. If this senario is true, I would imagine that the perpetrators took video of the event. I also assume that one or more remote cameras were stationed at Brian's final planned destination. These cameras might still be in place, though I imagine great pains were taken to remove them.

One possibility: The entire event was a success in that it worked as planned. The robbery was never the motive. The motive was to put an average man through the paces and see how far you could push him. Brian Wells's life was sacrificed to an experiment in controlled behavior, literally a "Game of Death". This type of operation could serve a variety of intelligence and espionage purposes, but it does answer one question: How do you create suicide bombers in cultures with no jihadists?

The FBI has released some of the instructions given to Brian, complete with intentional mispellings and curiously stylized handwriting. I think the writer has an artistic background.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:24 AM

"Uh, Doc? I don't think this is working ..." 

A Tanzanian man who went to a witch doctor in search of the power to resist bullets and knife attacks died when ritual cuts made on his body proved fatal.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:55 AM

Couple suffered strokes in 'bizarre' coincidence 

At the controls of his single-engine aircraft, William Truman, 62, of Melvin Village had a stroke Aug. 9 and lost consciousness. Moments later his wife, Diane, 60, also suffered a stroke.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:52 AM

Preservations fret over future of Upton Cave 

Historians have long pondered the uses of a mysterious stone chamber that sits on private land in Upton. Now that the land's been sold, officials fret that development of the property could keep them from every discovering its secrets.

The chamber, known as the Upton Chamber or Upton Cave, is a man-made cave that some estimate to be between several hundred to several thousand years old. It's located on a roughly 7-1/2-acre parcel of land which overlooks Mill Pond.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:31 AM

A mystery entombed 

Buried in this article on a tomb restoration is the curious notation of more missing skulls.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:10 AM

Shropshire ghost 

A Shropshire ghost looks set to be one of the first in the county to be honoured with a plaque as councillors discuss the idea to celebrate their haunted heritage. Wem's spooky past centres around a ghostly photograph.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:15 AM

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Another Juarez Mystery 

Homicide investigators who came from California to El Paso in May concluded that the body of a young woman found last year on the West Coast was not that of a missing Chihuahua girl, but their extensive DNA testing on mothers of disappeared Chihuahua women led to a stunning revelation.

A bone fragment from the finger of a skeleton that Chihuahua state police said belonged to 19-year-old Neyra Azucena Cervantes indeed matched the DNA in the mouth swab conducted on her mother, officials of the Alameda County (Calif.) Sheriff's Office said Monday.

But the skeleton's skull, pierced by a bullet, is not Neyra's, officials said.

If Neyra was killed as part of some sort of occult ritual, her skull may have been kept as an occult talisman or as an oracle. This also may explain the secret rituals of the Order of Skull and Bones.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:31 PM

Monday, August 23, 2004

Israeli study proves hypnosis can double IVF success rate 

If Israeli professor Eliahu Levitas has his way, women undergoing IVF treatment will all have the benefit of a hypnotist at their bedside.

According to Levitas's team from Soroka Hospital in Beersheva, hypnosis can double the success of IVF treatment. Levitas's study of 185 women found that 28% of women in the group who were hypnotized became pregnant, compared with 14% of those who were not.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:29 PM

Ancient Mosaic and Ships 

AN ARCHAEOLOGIST has unearthed a colourful 3rd Century mosaic in Verulamium Park, St Albans, during building works on the ancient hypocaust and mosaic site.
And speaking of the ancients . . .

Archeologists have discovered the remains of two ancient Greek ships in the eastern part of the Aegean Sea near the islands of Chios and Samos, the Greek ministry of culture said Monday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:07 PM

Freak 'egg inside egg' stuns producer 

A free-range egg producer on the mid-north coast of New South Wales is scratching her head over the appearance of a giant egg with a second egg inside it.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:10 AM

Atlantis "Evidence" Found in Spain and Ireland 

An empire filled with riches, it was an awe-inspiring civilization west of the Strait of Gibraltar's Pillars of Hercules cliffs—until it was defeated by ancient Athens and consumed by a cataclysmic natural disaster.

From National Geographic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:06 AM

Group believes Onondaga Lake holds mysterious power 

Dowsing and the spiritual at Onondaga Lake.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:57 AM

Friday, August 20, 2004

'Weird N.J.' authors follow up with 'Weird U.S.' 

Weird N.J., the cult newsletter that became a magazine that became a best-selling book, has broadened its abnormal horizons, as a new book,

"Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets."

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:31 PM

Is this the work of the Zodiac Killer? 

Two soon-to-be-married camp counselors who were reported missing earlier this week were murdered in their sleep on a Sonoma County beach, authorities said.

The bodies of Lindsay Cutshall, 23, of Ohio, and Jason Allen, 26, of Michigan, were discovered in sleeping bags about three miles north of Jenner on Wednesday afternoon when sheriff's deputies were rescuing a stranded hiker, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:13 PM

Police turn BTK probe to former WSU professor, poem 

Wichita Police on Friday issued a new call for the public's help in the BTK serial murder investigation.

Lt. Ken Landwehr said FBI profilers have confirmed a connection between a letter police received in May, former Wichita State University professor P.J. Wyatt, at right, and the folk song "Oh, Death."

Wyatt, a professor who taught an English literature class at WSU, used the song in her class during the 1970s -- when most of the BTK murders occurred. Wyatt died in 1991.

A link at the bottom will show you the traditional lyrics and BTK's version. There's also a link to listen to the song.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:07 PM

Thursday, August 19, 2004

'Satanic priest' at center of manhunt 

The U.S. Marshals Service is after several fugitives, including a "satanic priest" believed to be hiding in Juárez, officials said Wednesday.

Juarez has a history of Satanic activity and "Marshals have received information that the 28-year-old, blue-eyed blond has been involved in occult rituals in Juárez."

Juárez is also the site of over 340 murders of young women over the last decade. The murders are the subject of Simon Whitechapel's Crossing to Kill: The True Story of the Serial-Killer Playground.

Murderer Henry Lee Lucas claimed that he would kidnap children and take them to Juarez for human sacrifice as part of his membership in a cult called the "Hand of Death". Lucas' claims should be taken with a grain of salt, but some might remember Henry Lee Lucas as the only condemned inmate spared from lethal injection by then-Governor George W. Bush. He commuted Henry Lee Lucas' death sentence to life in 1998.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:16 PM

Mysterious murder spawns documentary 

In the quiet town of Villisca, Iowa, an unknown murderer ripped through a home, killing eight people in their sleep with an axe.

Even though Kelly and Tammy Rundle weren't around to experience the traumatic event first hand, they found themselves immersed in the perilous details and lasting effects.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:06 PM

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Seeing Centaurs 

The new issue of FATE magazine has a great article from Jerome Clark about Centaurs. Looks like a good issue, as well. I'll probably pick it up, if only to see the new direction Editor-in-Chief Phyllis Galde is taking the magazine.

Link found at The Anomalist.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:03 AM

Southern Oregon Bigfoot Lore  

Have you ever seen a Bigfoot trap? I hadn't. With pic and directions to the trap, if you feel like a road trip.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:32 AM

Craigsville's mystery animal slinks into myth 

Craigsville residents are still talking about the big cat Joe Rowland spotted on his property July 19, but no one has seen it lately.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:25 AM

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

The Coincidence Theorist's Guide to 9/11  

Absolutely freaking brilliant. A must read from Rigorous Intuition.

Send this link to as many people as possible.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:26 PM

Monday, August 16, 2004

Sex, Lies, and Terrorism  

Here's a great essay on the mysterious Golan Cipel-- Gay Governor Boytoy, "security expert", and former 'anti-terrorism' czar of New Jersey-- from Justin Raimondo.

Some highlights, taken out of context.

"In his capacity as an "information officer" at the Israeli consulate, from at least February 1996 until April of ’99, Cipel made appearances at the events of such groups as American Veterans of Israel's 1948 war, and also churned out an enormous volume of propaganda."

"Kushner is quite a character. Under investigation for tax evasion and election code violations, he recently made headlines when he sent his sister a tape of her husband having sex with a prostitute. The sister had been cooperating with prosecutors looking into the real estate mogul, and Kushner, a noted philanthropist, exacted retribution."

"New Jersey is key terrain in the real war on terrorism: Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco was commandeered by the terrorists on 9/11 and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers rushed the hijackers. The anthrax letters were mailed from New Jersey. Newark has recently been put on orange alert as the U.S. braces for a pre-election terrorist strike."

"Even before McGreevey's election in November, administration sources said, Cipel toured the state – visiting refineries, nuclear plants, bridges, and seaports – to make an inventory of security needs. McGreevey said Cipel has already offered ‘invaluable insights’ into a variety of security matters, both large and small. ‘He's someone who thinks with a different set of eyes, and that is very hard to find,’ McGreevey said.

So this guy was out there "inspecting" nuclear plants – if that doesn’t set off alarm bells, then we might as well pack it in, because we're all doomed."

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:07 PM

Super ant colony hits Australia 

I'm blogging this for my dear friend Sonya who lives in Melbourne. Watch out girl! The Ants is coming!

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:03 PM

Seljord serpent filmed? 

Swedish monster hunter Jan-Ove Sundberg believes he may have crowned several years of searching for Norway's legendary serpent in Lake Seljord by catching the beast on film, newspaper Varden reports. Sundberg is studying a 20-second clip before releasing it publicly.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:08 PM

Sobhraj gets life imprisonment  

His face showed surprise, shock and then finally anger as a Kathmandu court on Thursday sentenced the legendary
Charles Sobhraj to life imprisonment.

Sobhraj is a murderous sonofabitch and prison is too good for him. Here's hoping it's rougher in Nepal than it was in India.

I first read about Sobhraj in Thomas Thompson's Serpentine.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:57 PM

3 Malaysians Acquitted of Ritual Killing 

A court on Monday acquitted three Malaysians charged with killing an American woman in 2001 in an occult ritual to obtain lottery numbers.


A sacrifice to Kali.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:26 PM

Country music legend slips quietly away 

Great article on the passing of Roy Logan Queen.

Roy Logan Queen was 91 at the time of his death and had been retired only two years from a professional career that spanned 73 years. He is credited by many as having introduced St. Louis to country music by way of his program on radio station KMOX.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:10 PM

D.B. Cooper legend back in the money with movie's release  

I didn't realize this painful looking film revolved around the legend of D.B. Cooper, but I am happy that Burt Reynolds is working. I didn't even recognize him in the commercials.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:04 PM

Long live the King 

From August 16, 1977: Elvis Presley, whose singing and style revolutionized popular music in the 1950s, has died.

Or did he?

Suddenly, I feel like a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:59 PM

Relic linked to Seahenge  

A simple carved wooden figure could hold the key to an amazing new theory about the true meaning of Norfolk's Seahenge site.

With very cool pic!

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:46 PM

Theater Review | 'Believe in Me... A Bigfoot Musical' 

"I could believe in something, if something believed in me back".

And people say the theater is dead.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:38 PM

Israeli Espionage: When a Honey Trap Goes Bad A Governor Resigns  

Is the gay governor's paramour an agent of Mossad?

It is strange that "In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, McGreevey appointed Cipel to a newly created post of homeland security adviser without any background check or official announcement." For 100K a year, no less.

Stranger still to post a foreign national to this office. Kissinger, he ain't. Makes you wonder how many politicians are being blackmailed, for cash or influence, by agents of foreign powers.

Here's an interesting Cipel timeline from Slantpoint.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:34 PM

Cannabis may block growth of brain cancer  

Time to start smoking more pot.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:20 PM

Bizarre burial find on Orkney  

Today it seems positively bizarre that a body would be buried in the middle of a workshop and that life would then have carried on as normal.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:17 PM

Pollutants cause huge rise in brain diseases 

The numbers of sufferers of brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease, have soared across the West in less than 20 years, scientists have discovered.

The alarming rise, which includes figures showing rates of dementia have trebled in men, has been linked to rises in levels of pesticides, industrial effluents, domestic waste, car exhausts and other pollutants, says a report in the journal Public Health.

This pattern also coincides with the rise in the use of cell and cordless phones.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:14 PM

Group Discovers John the Baptist Cave 

Archaeologists said Monday they have found a cave where they believe John the Baptist anointed many of his disciples - a huge cistern with 28 steps leading to an underground pool of water.


However, others said there was no proof that John the Baptist ever set foot in the cave, about 2 1/2 miles from Ein Kerem, the preacher's hometown and now part of Jerusalem.


If they could only find his monogrammed swim trunks.....

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:09 PM

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Research unlocks the mystery of the miraculous healing powers of honey 

Honey has long been considered powerful folk medicine and now it looks as if science is finally catching up.

Research undertaken by Dr Shona Blair, at Sydney University's School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, has shed some light on the unusual antibacterial activity of certain types of honey, leading to a greater understanding of the ability of some honeys to kill pathogenic bacteria and promote wound healing.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:59 PM

New Police Appeal in Drowning Mystery 

Murder hunt police today issued a fresh appeal for information in a bid to solve the mystery of a drowned parish councillor with an interest in the occult.

The body of 56-year-old Peter Solheim was recovered from the sea by fishermen five miles off Black Head, on the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:56 PM

Mysteries of "Rhoda's grave" may not be as sinister as some believe 

Somewhere between Lebanon and Trenton, tucked inside a treeline next to a farmer's field, a small family cemetery has drawn interest from and fostered stories for several generations of local folks.

"Rhoda's Grave" has long been an obsession for teenagers angling to frighten their peers along with the morbidly curious. We've all heard of "urban legends." This, then, is a "rural legend."

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:54 AM

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

St. Augustine fans learn 'Ringo Starr' was a hoax 

A Ringo Starr look-alike who signed autographs and posed with locals turned out to be an imposter, according to reports in the St. Augustine Record.

The fake Starr also conned the Home Shopping Network into booking him for a two-hour special..

Here's another version of the article with a picture of the fake Ringo.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:15 AM

Urban legend averts would-be robbers? 

Is it an urban legend if it actually happened?

A young woman working a night shift alone is approached by someone offering discounted perfume. A few innocent sniffs of the samples renders the young woman unconscious, allowing the "perfume salesperson" and a couple of waiting partners in crime to quickly rob the business.

While this "knockout perfume" story sounds plausible, it is, in fact, an urban legend that has been circulating through e-mails since November 1999. On Nov. 8 of that year, Bertha Johnson of Mobile, Ala., reported to authorities that she had smelled an unknown substance offered by a stranger and woke up in a different neighborhood with $800 missing. An article about the reported robbery appeared in the Nov. 10, 1999 issue of the Mobile Register newspaper, and shortly thereafter, the story - with embellishments and omissions - began to jump from e-mail inbox to inbox across the Internet.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:58 AM

Coming to a Wal-Mart near you. 

An amateur ghost-busting kit for householders who suspect their home might be haunted is being tested prior to possible full-scale production, it emerged today.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:43 AM

Cult link probed after gory wedding murder 

Filipino police have arrested four people for murdering a wedding guest, roasting and eating parts of the body and serving some of the remains at the reception, they said on Wednesday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:28 AM

Strange Signals 

A great article on Numbers Stations, espionage, and the weird music of Akin Fernandez.

In the annals of recorded music, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything rivaling the ambition and absurdity of "The Conet Project".

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:04 AM

Young bones lay Columbus myth to rest 

A centuries-old historical row over the whereabouts of the body of Christopher Columbus appeared to have been solved yesterday when scientists in Spain conceded that the corpse buried at Seville's gothic Santa Maria cathedral was not that of the famous explorer.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:33 AM

Monday, August 09, 2004

'King Kong' damsel Fay Wray dies at 96 

Good-bye, lovely Fay.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:06 PM

Millions in U.S. Face Mega-Wave from Island Collapse 

The bad news is tens of millions of people along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada may drown if the slow slippage of a volcano off north Africa becomes a cataclysmic collapse.

But the good news is the world is not likely to be destroyed by an asteroid any time soon.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:50 AM

Memory of BTK plagues Otero 

The heartbreaking tale of Charlie Otero.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:25 AM

Tai chi eases ailments of seniors, confab told 

A growing body of scientific evidence suggests tai chi helps ease the ailments of older adults suffering from chronic disease.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:15 AM

Pilgrimage of the Da Vinci code-breakers 

Edna Smith was doing a brisk trade in the Rosslyn Chapel gift shop yesterday. Among the popular staples of silver Celtic jewellery and souvenir videos being snapped up by eager tourists, one item in particular is helping to swell the coffers.

Anybody want to guess?

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:11 AM

Hypnosis reveals certain pains may begin in the brain 

MEDICALLY unexplained pain, such as lower back pain, may begin in the brain and is not simply imagined by the sufferer.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:00 AM

Closing in on a missing legend  

The hunt for the Lost Siskiyou Caves.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:54 AM

A Movie as Cagey as That Mysterious Nessie 

An article on Zak Penn's controversial film "Incident at Loch Ness".

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:47 AM

Sunday, August 08, 2004

Chupacabra? DNA Testing Underway 

It's a story that's attracted worldwide attention. A strange animal was shot dead on a south Texas farm and no one can seem to identify it. It's prompted some to wonder if it's the famed Chupacabra.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:18 PM

Playbill News: Moonchild Lands at New York Fringe  

Based on actual events, Moonchild "examines the relationship between a young, broke and struggling L. Ron Hubbard and the brilliant, half-crazed rocket scientist Jack Parsons, a Satanist and disciple of the infamous Aleister Crowley."

Has anyone seen or read this play?

For further research I recommend the excellent Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons by John Carter and Bare Faced Messiah by Russell Miller. Both books are highly illuminating.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:19 AM

Magician George Johnstone dies at 85 

George Johnstone, a magician-comedian who appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and who opened for Elvis, died Thursday in Burnsville of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 85.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:59 AM

Jordan seizes more Iraqi artifacts 

Jordan has seized approximately 700 ancient Iraqi pieces of art along the Jordanian-Iraqi border since the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq in April 2003. All of the art works had been stolen from Iraqi museums.

I seem to remember the U.S government assuring everyone that the museums hadn't been looted at all.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:55 AM

Sea serpents, beach giants, boiling seas 

Before the Age of Discovery could even begin, mariners had to conquer the greatest obstacle of all: their dread of the unknown.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:49 AM

Police Arrest Witchdoctors  

Nigerian police said on Thursday they had arrested 30 witch doctors on suspicion of carrying out human sacrifices after finding 50 mutilated bodies and 20 skulls in an area of thick bush known to local people as the 'Evil Forest'.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:46 AM

Port Henry celebrates "Champ" the lake monster 

For the last 18 years people have been coming to the small village of Port Henry to celebrate a day in honor of Lake Champlain's very own lake monster, Champ.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:38 AM

Red Adair, 89, oil well firefighter, dies 

Bless you, Red Adair. You'll be missed. They don't make 'em like you anymore.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:34 AM

Friday, August 06, 2004

The snow cone dates back to ancient China 

Mmmmmmm, ancient snowcone.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:18 PM

Symbol on local church has centuries-old origins  

Before it was hijacked by pirates, the skull and crossbones was a staple of early Christian iconography.

Interesting article on the Jolly Roger, the Templars, and possible pirate connections.

Or should I say, Templarrrrrs.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:11 PM

Magician, 93, To Drive Downtown Blindfolded  

The magician is none other than John Calvert, who also played The Falcon for RKO in the 1940s.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:57 PM

Bridge-leap survivor a mystery 

Cops are searching for the family of a suicidal teenager who miraculously survived a leap off the Brooklyn Bridge, police said yesterday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:46 PM

A mystery resurfaces  

The fate of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who vanished while diving on the Great Barrier Reef, is now a film.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:44 PM

Ireland Is Lost Island of Atlantis, Says Scientist 

Atlantis, the legendary island nation over whose existence controversy has raged for thousands of years, was actually Ireland, according to a new theory by a Swedish scientist.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:40 PM

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Monster Shark Tooth Found 

A massive 7 1/4 inch serrated shark tooth was found in a coastal river bed in South Carolina by fossil hunter Vito Bertucci. The fossilized tooth belongs to carcharodon Megalodon, a prehistoric 70-foot, 70,000 pound version of our modern-day Great White.

"It's possible they went deep, trying to avoid pods of Orca, which may have been their only enemies. If so, then members of the species may still be around."

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:08 AM

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Lake’s legend lives? 

Seeing is believing.

Five Maryland residents vacationing here say they had a close encounter with Champ, Lake Champlain’s lurking legend last week.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:42 PM

Art detectives seek to unravel mystery of the mannequin 

Staff at a stately home have discovered a rare 19th century mannequin used as a body double for the Paris aristocracy, and art historians are now trying to solve the mystery of its origins.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:36 PM

Monday, August 02, 2004

A new Kennedy conspiracy theory emerges 

The Kennedy family has had its share of conspiracy theories visited upon it, but the latest is really a doozy!

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:01 PM

Priest gets life for 'SMS murder' 

A court in Uppsala found Helge Fossmo, 32, guilty of inciting Sara Svensson to shoot his wife by sending mobile phone text messages he said came from God.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:21 AM

The Erotic Mind Control Story Archive 

Erotic stories that manage to fetishize Mind Control. Adults only!

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:10 AM

How brainwashing came to life and thrived  

The term "brainwashing" was first popularized by Edward Hunter, in his 1951 book, "Brainwashing in Red China." Brainwashing was his translation for a Chinese term "hsi-nao," meaning, roughly, "cleansing of the mind."

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:04 AM

Woman says she is being harassed by witch 

A black candle, a cat’s paw, dead fish and feces are what a 37-year-old woman believes is proof that she is being harassed by a neighbor who claims to be a bruja, or witch.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:01 AM

Her unusual hobby has become the one thing she can't escape 

A nice article on the escape artist Cindini.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:50 AM

Fate magazine owner takes weirdness in new direction 

Phyllis Galde has no gills. She can't dissolve into mist before your eyes. Her eyes don't have the cat-like slits that TV aliens have.

It's disappointing, because as the new owner of a magazine specializing in UFOs, sea monsters, ghosts, Bigfoot andfish-people, you expect her to be a little more... unusual.

"I just try to be a level-headed Norwegian and have some common sense," said Galde, a 58-year-old Lakeville grandmother who looksapple-pie normal.

But normal is only skin deep. Her life revolves around the bizarre, as reflected in the pages of her magazine, Fate, the 56-year-old journal of the paranormal.

After managing it for years, she bought the 20,000-circulation monthly magazine in March. Now, from a house on a leafy cul-de-sac, Galde runs a modest empire of weirdness from around the world that lists actor Dan Aykroyd and artist R. Crumb as fans.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:44 AM

Con men guilty of bribing N.O. cop 

Hidden in this story is the fact that one of the men convicted, conman and master safecracker Mitchell Schwartz is 93 year old and has a record dating back to 1930. Oldest crook in America?

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:31 AM

Riddle of Mona Lisa is finally solved: she was the mother of five 

Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the world's most enduring symbol of feminine mystique, is actually a portrait of the virtuous wife of a family friend, who had five children including two daughters who became nuns.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:05 AM

Promethean Ambitions: Alchemy and the Quest to Perfect Nature 

A review of William R. Newman's new book.

Among the secrets revealed in this unusual history of alchemy is Leonardo da Vinci's recipe for making artificial pearls "as large as you wish" - take a small genuine pearl, dissolve it in lemon juice, dry the paste into a power, mix it with egg white, let it harden, then grind and polish.

A less appealing recipe might be one the philosopher John Locke proposed for creating a toad or a serpent by using a duck or a goose.

Over the course of a millennium, the annals of alchemy tell of all manner of generation, transmutation and transfiguration.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:02 AM

A new breed of pilgrim hunts the elusive Holy Grail 

`The Da Vinci Code' inspires thousands of book sleuths to visit Scotland's ancient Rosslyn Chapel.

People who work at Rosslyn Chapel have heard it all: how the Ark of the Covenant is concealed in a pillar; how the mummified head of John the Baptist is buried in the floor; how invisible energy lines link the chapel to the site of England's biggest outdoor rock festival.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:55 AM

Ancient Ohio earthwork remains a mystery today 

The 1,348-foot-long Serpent Mound remains Ohio's biggest mystery.

No one knows who built the ancient earthwork in southern Ohio or when it was constructed, but it was obviously a major religious or mythical symbol to its makers.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:12 AM

Baby Mystery Animal Caught, Identified 

Is the Maryland Myster Animal a fox?

Dr. Michael Herko -- a vet at the animal hospital -- and the man who caught the fox say it is not the mysterious creature videotaped in July, but a relative.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:05 AM

I Stole 16 Million 

Herbert Emerson Wilson was a yegg—a peeler, a jinny artist, a safecracker—one of the best that ever lived. During his long criminal career he knocked over enough banks and businesses to amass huge fortunes.

Another fine Ramblehouse publication.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:35 AM

Sunday, August 01, 2004

The Case of the Horrifying Mystery Writer 

This article on strange mystery writer Author Harry Stephen Keeler (1890-1967) is from NPR. I've got to try to find some of it. A sample of one of his plots:

X. Jones of Scotland Yard: A man is found strangled to death in the middle of a lawn, yet there are no footprints other than his own. Police suspect the "Flying Strangler-Baby," a killer midget who disguises himself as a baby and stalks victims by helicopter.

Many of Keeler's books are kept in print by the fine people at Ramblehouse. Some of their non-Keeler titles include A HASHISH HOUSE IN NEW YORK by H.H. Kane, a short description of a visit to a New York hashish house "that seems to have been written around 1910", and THE PRIVATE JOURNAL & DIARY OF JOHN H. SURRATT, The Conspirator.

The Professor says check it out.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:31 PM

Elmendorf Chupacabra Really A Deer? 

This excellent article on the supposed Elmendorf, Texas "Chupacabra" (which has aleady been compared to the Maryland Mystery Animal) brings up the animal's resemblance to the muntjac deer, a small antelope-type animal.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:20 PM

Trap Set, New Pictures Taken Of Md. Mystery Animal 

There's a new set of pictures of the Maryland Mystery Animal. This is a really strange looking beast.

Jay Wroe, the man who photographed the creature more than two weeks ago on his property, thinks there's more than one animal.

"Last Sunday, I came out back in the back yard and I came upon this thing -- it didn't see me," he said. "I saw it. I stopped. I immediately froze and this thing was hideous looking. This is not the same one that I saw and filmed on camera. This thing was brown and had gray spots and it was the size of a cat."

Anybody have any ideas?

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:47 PM