Friday, November 30, 2007

America Ate My Brain 

Part One and Part Two at Rigorous Intuition.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:42 AM

Giant Sloth in Ohio River Valley? 

Cryptomundo takes a look.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:27 AM

Creating the Paranormal 

The mind can tap into psychic phenomena. Can it also create physical phenomena?

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:22 AM

Old Bible pages are answer to a church's prayers 

Wind, water and woodpeckers have taken their toll on a Shady Cove church, but a 400-year-old Bible is funding its repairs. Requests to purchase pages of the stained and tattered Bible are pouring in from across America.

"I'll tell you what, it has been quite a journey," says Jack Bacon, pastor of the Shady Cove Assembly of God Church.

The pastor believes God sent him the water-stained book, which was purchased for a buck at a yard sale, as a way to fund $30,000 worth of repairs.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:55 AM

Absinthe Is Back 

Want to party like it's 1899?

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:43 AM

The mystery of sleep 

Why do we sleep? More than 80 years after the world's first sleep laboratory opened in Los Angeles, and in spite of intensive investigations of the sleeping brain, we still do not know the answer.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:37 AM

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Richard Leigh, RIP 

Richard Leigh, one of the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, has died.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:05 PM

Town near Orlando attracts tourists to commune with Spiritualists 

The scent of incense hangs in the air as one passes between the columns saying "Welcome Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp." So does a musty odour.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:33 AM

Real-life medium stars in creepy Christmas classic 

A clairvoyant actor who’s had extraordinary encounters with ghosts will star in a classic creepy Dickens play in Broadstairs this Christmas.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:27 AM

Muslim Justice at the End of a Whip? 

Two highly publicized cases of women who face the ancient sentence of lashing with bamboo whips have aroused an outcry in the West, but the practice is common in some parts of the world, and such sentences aren't extreme examples, experts say.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:13 AM

Tai Chi takes Borders, and Olympics, by storm. Softly 

When next year's Olympics unfold in China's capital city of Beijing, one of the new sports on show will be one of the world's most ancient physical disciplines.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:10 AM

Lake Monster Legend Lives On In Northern Maine 

For centuries people in Scotland have talked about a monster lurking in Loch Ness, called "Nessy." It turns out, just a few hours away from Bangor there is talk of a similar creature named "Ponik."

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:05 AM

Roman artifacts found at London’s Olympic site 

Roman pottery and a coin from the Iron Age have been found on the site of the aquatics center planned for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:03 AM

TRIP TO A SACRED SITE 

Remnants of Mayan human sacrifices can still be seen in cave in Belize.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:01 AM

Motorist reports strange object in sky above I-5 

A motorist who is a high school football coach is seeking more information about a strange object he says he saw in the skies above Camp Pendleton late Tuesday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:43 AM

US author to unveil Washington's Masonic past 

A sequel to the blockbuster thriller "The Da Vinci Code" is set to lift the veil on mysterious Freemason symbols carved into the very fabric of the historic streets and buildings of the US capital.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:39 AM

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Nazi hunters scour South America for notorious SS doctor 

Aribert Heim, a one-time concentration camp doctor known as "Dr. Death" for his sadistic experiments on inmates, is now the focus of a last-ditch effort to hunt down Nazi war criminals in South America.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:19 PM

10 Things your science teacher was wrong about 

Interesting. Via Fark Geek.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:50 AM

'Human skin book bears image of hanged priest' 

A 17th century book believed to be bound in the skin of a priest executed for treason appears to bear a "spooky" image of his face on the cover, auctioneers said today.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:12 AM

'About as spooky as a tea-towel' 

Is that ectoplasm or cheesecloth? A ghost or a sheet? Adrian Searle attends a very strange exhibition - and wonders how these pictures ever fooled anyone.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:09 AM

Vancouver turns to native legends for mascots 

The mascots -- or "critters" as their designers call them -- incorporate elements from real animals such as killer whales and coastal bears with those of mythical beings such as the sasquatch and the thunderbird of Indian legend.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:04 AM

Testimony set to begin in Hosanna Church case 

The incendiary Hosanna case erupted in April 2005 when the former pastor of the church allegedly confessed to abusing many children as part of occult rituals, such as drinking cat’s blood. Arrests of other church members quickly followed.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:03 AM

Search For Sasquatch In The Tri-State 

Whether you believe in its existence or not, the creature known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch has impacted cultures on every continent.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:56 AM

Ancient Greenland mystery has a simple answer, it seems 

Did the Norse colonists starve? Were they wiped out by the Inuit – or did they intermarry? No. Things got colder and they left.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:50 AM

CIA Drug Planes Caught in Mexican Standoff 

At least four men have already paid with their lives in Mexico during the ensuing confusion which followed the crash of the CIA-connected Gulfstream business jet which was carrying more than 4 tons of cocaine as well as an yet-unspecified amount of heroin, in the jungle outside of Merida in Mexico's Yucatan on September 24th of this year.

Semi-gory pics if you're sensitive to that sort of thing.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:48 AM

Update: Everyone wants a piece of the D. B. Cooper legend 

One man suspected he worked with D.B. Cooper at a Kent glass business. A Spokane woman claimed to have rented a house to him. Several family members of dismissed FBI suspects insisted their relative was the right guy -- and one person claimed to be Cooper.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:44 AM

More Big Cat Sightings 

SPECULATION that a big black panther-like creature is roaming the countryside continued this week with more people reporting sightings.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:38 AM

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Top Ten Cryptozoology Stories for 2007 

Loren Coleman counts them down.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:04 PM

Radar Runs Down the Latest Developments in the Foxy Knoxy Murder Case 

Steve Huff has the lowdown.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:06 AM

Ancient Roman road map unveiled 

Cool. Via Fark.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:46 AM

Undercover restorers fix Paris landmark's clock 

For a year from September 2005, under the nose of the Panthéon's unsuspecting security officials, a group of intrepid "illegal restorers" set up a secret workshop and lounge in a cavity under the building's famous dome. Under the supervision of group member Jean-Baptiste Viot, a professional clockmaker, they pieced apart and repaired the antique clock that had been left to rust in the building since the 1960s. Only when their clandestine revamp of the elaborate timepiece had been completed did they reveal themselves.

This may be the same folks who were showing movies below Paris. Via Boing Boing

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:43 AM

Shennongjia 'wild men' leave footprints 

The investigation into the Shennongjia "wild men" made great progress when witnesses identified two footprints left along the Licha River where the two mysterious creatures had been spotted.

With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:35 AM

Waunlwyd beast seen on the prowl by dog walker 

Wales has Alien Big Cats too.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:33 AM

Keepers of the Lost Ark? 

Christians in Ethiopia have long claimed to have the ark of the covenant.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:31 AM

Spooky critter conjures chupacabra 

For the believers among you, chupacabra is mysterious creature said to attack and suck the blood out of goats and other farm animals.

Chupacabra or Xoloitzcuintli? With video segment.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:29 AM

The secrets which lie below 'Çemberlitaş' 

A chamber said to lie underneath İstanbul’s famous 1,700-year-old Çemberlitaş monument, also known as the Constantine Column, is thought to contain items that once belonged to Jesus Christ.

According to some, this chamber contains soil from Christ’s grave, original pieces and nails from the cross, a clay bowl, bread crumbs, a stone that belonged to Moses, a scepter believed to have belonged to Lot, an axe that belonged to Noah and a seven-armed candlestick believed to have belonged to Solomon -- all of which were thought to have been brought to İstanbul during the rule of the Emperor Constantine.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:12 AM

Russian Pilots Stumbled Upon New Anomalous Zone 

Pilots of one of the air clubs of the Omsk Region of Russia have found that flights over the ruins of the Pokrovskaya Fortress often result in failure of flight-navigation instruments and spinning of the compass magnetic needle.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:55 AM

Far Out: 101 Strange Tales From Science's Outer Edge 

For two years, Mark Pilkington, the fantastic Fortean behind Strange Attractor Journal, explored these weird experiments, scientific failures, and downright kookiness in his column Far Out that appeared in The Guardian's science supplement.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:07 AM

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Former agent says Kennedy assassination thwarted weeks before president's death 

Right-wing radical and Kennedy denouncer Thomas Vallee, had arranged to be off work for JFK's visit, Vallee, an expert marksman, was arrested with an M1 rifle, a handgun and 3,000 rounds of ammo. But then there was the phone call to federal agents from a motel manager concerning what was she saw in a room rented by two Cuban nationals.

Via Covert History.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:34 AM

Weird Trail Cam Photo 

Cryptomundo brings the funny.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:28 AM

D.B. Cooper, where are you? 

Saturday is 36th anniversary of hijacker's leap into legend.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:09 AM

Worlds Before Our Own 

Before its recent rebirth at Anomalist Books, my book Worlds Before Our Own had a rather bizarre publishing history. When the book was first released in October of 1978, the initial reviews were the most scathing that I have ever received. One reviewer was so offended by my arguments for a global prehistoric civilization and my presentation of mysterious "man-made" artifacts found in the deepest, most primordial geological strata that he called for the book to be burned. - Brad Steiger

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:06 AM

Friday, November 23, 2007

Who killed David Kelly? 

Nigel Jones reviews The Strange Death of David Kelly.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:57 PM

Texas Professor Claims Proof Of Star Of Bethlehem 

The Star of Bethlehem has befuddled scholars throughout the ages. Now, a Texas law professor claims to have scientific proof that the Star was real, and not purely biblical myth. He has another major discovery as well, which resulted from his study of the Star.

With video.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:45 PM

Town recalls heyday of UFO sightings 

Two decades ago, the area around the Florida Panhandle town of Gulf Breeze was the center of sightings of unidentified flying objects.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:34 PM

The Mystery of the Rosetan People 

It seemed like a virtual fountain of youth, with a heart attack mortality rate roughly half the rate of every surrounding community. Same water, same neighborhood, same occupational mix, same income level ranges, same races. So what was the difference and why?

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:27 PM

Mobula Ray pictures reveal spectacular leaps 

Cool pics.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:16 PM

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Posthumous book claims Ford knew of CIA coverup in Kennedy assassination 

According to the publisher of a new book, who appeared on Fox News Wednesday morning, the last living words of former President Gerald Ford fingered the CIA in the orchestration a cover-up of Kennedy's assassination.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:47 PM

Expert trying to identify mysterious bird flying around S. Texas 

More sightings of a huge flying creature, originally reported by KENS, have prompted an investigation to determine if it is a monster or myth.

Via Daily Grail.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:56 AM

Bigfoot garden sculpture 

Cool!

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:47 AM

Wi-Fi causing autism? 

According to a study by Dr. George Carlo in Australasian Journal of Clinical Environmental Medicine, the signals emitted by Wi-Fi routers cause metals to be trapped in brain cells, thereby accelerating the onset of autism.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:36 AM

Pastor missing since 1980 found 

The pastor of a Hammond church who mysteriously vanished in 1980 in what was described as an abduction by a satanic cult has been rediscovered as an Arkansas mayor.

Don LaRose admitted to newspaper reporters Tuesday he left his wife and two daughters behind in Hammond. He said he fled because he was about to be abducted by a group of shadowy figures who had kidnapped him in New York five years earlier.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:35 AM

Haunted America 

The Lemp Mansion has been on many top 10 lists for the most haunted place in America. Located in St. Louis, Missouri, the Lemp Mansion is the site of one of the greatest economic downfalls in American history, and possibly the site of one of the greatest hauntings.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:35 AM

A Real Life Indiana Jones Adventure Revealed 

Press release.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:27 AM

Tree man who grew ‘roots’ may be cured 

An Indonesian man whose body is covered with extraordinary tree-like growths has spoken of his hope that an American doctor will cure his unique condition and help him rebuild his family life.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:26 AM

Down munchkin memory lane 

The actors who played Oz's Munchkins finally get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:24 AM

Roman grotto linked to mythical founder 

Archaeologists on Tuesday unveiled an underground grotto believed to have been revered by ancient Romans as the place where a wolf nursed the city's legendary founder Romulus and his twin brother Remus.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:23 AM

Man (Re)Builds Mexican Island Paradise on 250,000 Recycled Floating Bottles 

Very very cool. Be sure to watch the video. Via Fark.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:14 AM

Possible shipwreck found in Ocean Shores 

A mystery has washed up on the beaches of Ocean Shores – a possible shipwreck.

With video.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:13 AM

A Literary Mystery: Solved 

A local journalist has proposed a solution to a century-old mystery central to one of Henry James’s novels.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:12 AM

Mystery Of Horse Bones Found In 17th Century Yorkshire Lime Kilns 

Members of the Ingleborough Archaeology Group are now looking for clues to the significance of the strange burial. One theory is that the remains were ritually buried to ward off evil before the kilns were abandoned.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:08 AM

Restored sign marks site of 1692 massacre 

On Oct. 23, 1692, the only Indian raid in what is now Georgetown occurred. Benjamin Goodrich, his wife and two daughters were killed, and a third daughter was taken captive.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:04 AM

Dog walker spots UFO 

Has anyone seen a mystery light hovering over Cross in Hand?

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:02 AM

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Watch the Skies! Here Comes Birdzilla! 

Cryptomundo takes a look.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:05 PM

Ghost Wants Impounded Car Back 

With video.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:59 PM

Mysterious Florida animal may by squirrel 

Maybe. Or maybe not.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:48 PM

Honestly, is that really Abe in 3-D? 

Civil War enthusiasts this weekend will get a rare glimpse at what a handful of scholars are calling the most significant find of its kind in generations: a pair of stereoscopic photos, purportedly of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg before he delivered his famous address.

Via Fark.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:39 PM

Spirits of the Old West hang around ghost towns 

The ghost towns of the American West recall a desperate era. Located on high plains and open deserts where sandstorms and cold winter nights embalm any semblance of life, these towns still whisper their legends to anyone willing to stop and listen.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:37 PM

1800s artifacts arise from ashes of Jocko Lakes fire 

Whose cache was this? What happened on this remote mountain bench well over a century ago that left behind such a complete stash?

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:30 PM

The model and the rake 

A murder from 1916.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:38 PM

Mysterious Jet Crash Is Rare Portal Into the “Dark Alliances” of the Drug War 

Paper Trail for Cocaine-Filled Plane that Crashed in Yucatán Suggests Link to U.S. Law Enforcement Corruption in Colombia.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:22 PM

Friday, November 16, 2007

The Shunka Warak’in is back! 

More than a century ago, a wolf-like creature prowled the Madison Valley, killing livestock and letting out screams that one account said would leave a person's hair standing on end.

A bullet from a Mormon settler's rifle ended the animal's life and triggered stories of the creature that were passed along through generations of family history and local folklore.

The only evidence of the creature's existence was a missing taxidermy mount and a grainy black-and-white photograph of that mount - which fueled strange speculation about what kind of animal it really was.

Now after 121 years, the taxidermy mount has been found. The creature that once spooked some of the Madison Valley's first white settlers has come home.

This is big cryptozoological news. Cryptomundo takes a look. Here's the Wiki page. Importantly, the mount was found in storage at the Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello. How many other important specimens are stored away in dusty museums?

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:32 AM

Researchers plan to extract Indiana murderess's DNA from old letters 

They dug up Belle Gunness the other day.

Or did they?

Was the headless skeleton exhumed from the unmarked grave in Forest Home Cemetery the remains of the notorious 'Lady Bluebeard,' who lured perhaps dozens of men to her northwest Indiana farm, took their money, then killed and dismembered them?

Or was it what many historians and amateurs have claimed all along - the remains of a woman Belle beheaded and planted as herself before her farmhouse was torched because she feared her crimes were about to be discovered?

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:58 AM

Yabba Dabble Doo: How Aleister Crowley Introduced the Iconic Gray Alien 

It is common within UFO and abduction narratives to find references to Whitley Strieber's groundbreaking and now classic book, Communion. Although there were several abduction oriented books before its publication, and many varying depictions of the gray alien, for whatever reason, that particular book and its cover image seemed to finally cement the UFO/abduction phenomenon and the image of the alien into our consciousness.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:57 AM

Wildlife Officers Investigate New Ape Sighting 

Wildlife officers were back in Baker County on Thursday trying to confirm new sightings of a large, hairy primate in running loose in the woods.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:55 AM

Explanation of mysterious 'Tianchi monster' 

A senior researcher from the National Academy of Science of The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said the "Tianchi monster" a Chinese photographer caught on film last month is probably the mutated offspring of trout stocked by the North Korea 40 years ago.

With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:51 AM

UFO activity above Cyprus 

With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:45 AM

Glass beads discovery questions Spaniards colonization route in US 

The discovery of glass beads and ancient slivers of iron in South Georgia, US, might prompt historians to reconsider the exact path that Spaniards took during their first successful colonization expedition in North America.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:29 AM

Book Claims Superheroes New Gods 

Comic Book History Links Creators, Industry Artists To Occult.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:16 AM

Surfer dude stuns physicists with theory of everything 

An impoverished surfer has drawn up a new theory of the universe, seen by some as the Holy Grail of physics, which has received rave reviews from scientists.

Via the Anomalist.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:07 AM

What the Dickens!: author in search for his 'holy grail' manuscript 

AN author is on the hunt for his Holy Grail - a missing manuscript relating to Charles Dickens which has not been seen for 80 years.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:07 AM

African Crucible: Cast as Witches, Then Cast Out 

In parts of Angola, Congo and the Congo Republic, a surprising number of children are accused of being witches, and then are beaten, abused or abandoned. Child advocates estimate that thousands of children living in the streets of Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, have been accused of witchcraft and cast out by their families, often as a rationale for not having to feed or care for them.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:03 AM

Russian 'killed UK diver' in 1956 

A former Russian frogman has claimed that he killed British diver Cdr Lionel "Buster" Crabb, who disappeared while spying on a Soviet warship in 1956.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:01 AM

ON SET WITH FRANK MILLER AND "WILL EISNER'S THE SPIRIT" 

Nice article with a first look at Frank Miller's one sheet for the movie. I can't say I'm too impressed with the poster - it has all of Miller's macho Sin City-ish style but none of Will Eisner's humor. Still, I have hope for the movie.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:00 AM

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

New Cryptid Ape Reports in Florida 

Cryptomundo takes a look.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:53 PM

O'Hare UFO pics 

On November 6, 2006, pilots, mechanics and managers from United Airlines witnessed a metallic disc-shaped object hovering over the United Airlines Terminal at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:55 PM

Bigfoot, where art thou? 

Will somebody please snap a good photograph of Bigfoot or Sasquatch or whatever his name is?

See also: The Hunt for Bigfoot

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:58 AM

Was U.S. in Business with Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel? 

Two weeks after the MadCowMorningNews exclusively reported suspicious connections between the owners of the two American-registered planes busted with multi-ton loads of cocaine during the past 18 months on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, the Mexican Attorney General confirmed that both planes were used by the same smuggling operation.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:57 AM

Ellington Stone analysis yields no answers 

A team of geologists and archaeologists from the University of Illinois examined the two-inch-thick limestone slab but couldn't determine the age of the carvings on it. This came as a major disappointment to Lee Politsch of Quincy, who spent a big part of his life trying to prove the Ellington Stone was a marker left in 1671 by the famous French explorer, Robert Cavelier de LaSalle.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:53 AM

Ancient Maya elite binged on big game, loved furs 

Ancient Maya rulers devastated big game in Central America and Mexico by bingeing on deer meat and flaunting jaguar fur in an early example of poor resource management, new research shows.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:39 AM

Former pilots and officials call for new U.S. UFO probe 

An international panel of two dozen former pilots and government officials called on the U.S. government on Monday to reopen its generation-old UFO investigation as a matter of safety and security given continuing reports about flying discs, glowing spheres and other strange sightings.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:37 AM

Woman killed in exorcism 

A 22-year-old woman has been killed during an exorcism ritual in New Zealand, drowning in the house of a relative as up to 40 family members looked on, police said yesterday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:36 AM

7 Missing Wonders 

Many of history's most famous shipwrecks, tombs and relics are still missing.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:32 AM

Prepare for burning ring of fire 

In the hills of north-eastern India, it is called the bhut jolokia, or ghost chilli. Anyone who tries it, they say, could end up an apparition.

"It is so hot you can't even imagine," says Digonta Saikia, working in his fields in the midday sun. "When you eat it, it's like dying."

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:28 AM

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald still an intriguing mystery 

What began as a plan to put together a simple documentary on Michigan history has turned into an investigation into the sunken Edmund Fitzgerald.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:21 AM

Great Ape Mystery is Talk of First Coast Town 

Folks who live there say nothing much happens in Glen St. Mary. But some excitement came to the little North Florida town -- in the form of an escaped ape. Or did it?

Skunk ape or something else?

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:19 AM

Grisly Murder Case Intrigues Italian University City 

Two weeks ago, no one here apart from her friends knew who Amanda Knox was. Now in jail, she has emerged as the central character in a killing that has baffled and intrigued this scenic university city, which every year attracts thousands of students from other countries, particularly the United States and Europe.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:17 AM

Sin, revenge in trial during early 1900s 

Book review of THE DEVIL'S GENTLEMAN: Privilege, Poison and the Trial That Ushered In the Twentieth Century, by Harold Schechter.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:15 AM

Clues to a weighty mystery in Egypt 

Ancient illustrations show the Egyptians relied on the Nile to transport their enormous stone obelisks, floating the carved monuments to their destinations on barges.

But how did the big blocks get to the river from the stone quarries, hundreds of yards away?

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:03 AM

Awesome Or Off-Putting: Project Serpo 

So everyone knows about the supposed Roswell, New Mexico UFO crash, and most people have heard that some little grey aliens were found at the crash site. One offshoot of the story that many folks haven't heard is that one of the big black-eyed beings survived. This creature is said to have been treated well enough to have developed an affinity for his captors.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:00 AM

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Age-old practice of speaking with the dead is gaining popularity 

The age-old practice of mediumship has received a pop-culture boost in recent years.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:38 PM

One for the Gipper?; Shedding light on recent George Gipp rumors 

For someone who's been dead and buried for nearly nine decades, George Gipp has been in the news an awful lot lately.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:06 PM

Star Realtor Stein's assistant admits to killing 

The mystery surrounding the Upper East Side murder of celebrity Realtor Linda Stein was solved Friday when her personal assistant confessed, police said.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:04 PM

Service to mark ship's sinking 

For more than three years, Roscoe Clark has spent nearly every day scouring the Great Lakes region for answers to one of its biggest mysteries: the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:59 PM

RIP Norman Mailer 

Norman Mailer, the pugnacious two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who jabbed and bobbed his way, sometimes literally, through an extraordinary career as one of the most original and audacious voices in postwar American letters, died today. He was 84.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:34 PM

Two guns owned by Mexican folk hero Pancho Villa up for auction 

And Calamity Jane! Via Fark.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:32 PM

Friday, November 09, 2007

In Coney Island Creek, Hulk of a Yellow Submarine Sticks Out 

On long, luckless days when the bluefish and striped bass aren’t biting, the men who fish in the Coney Island Creek sometimes reel in their lines and contemplate one of the area’s enduring mysteries: the wreck of the yellow submarine a few hundred yards from the southern shore of the creek.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:23 AM

Mysterious Sky, Soviet UFO Phenomenon 

Book review.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:19 AM

Nov. 9, 1888: Jack the Ripper Strikes for the Last Time ... Or Does He? 

Although five is the number accepted by most so-called "Ripperologists," no exact body count has ever been established.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:17 AM

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Photography since the 1850s 

Not particularly strange or mysterious but very informative.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:48 PM

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

The story behind an ancient book's final home in Virginia 

Tucked between the binding of a 16th century pigskin cover lies 515 pages of treasure.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:28 PM

Did Egyptian king unleash a curse on treasure seekers? 

The discovery of a 3,000-year old Egyptian tomb was the greatest day of an archaeologist's life but for those who helped him it was the beginning of the end.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:17 PM

Defense: New evidence may clear 'West Memphis Three' 

Defense attorneys for death row inmate Damien Echols say they have uncovered forensic evidence that could spare their client's life and help clear his co-defendants as well.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:11 PM

ANTONIO VILLAS BOAS: "TOTAL ABDUCTION" 

Today, some fifty years later, we are reopening the investigation into the first reported UFO abduction case in modern history: the legendary Antonio Villas Boas incident that took place in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Hitherto unpublished photographs and interviews shed new light on the case and produced startling revelations.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:09 PM

Unidentified Ancient City Found in Chongqing 

According to Chongqing Evening News, a mysterious ancient city sits atop a mountain in the Shilongman Community of Shijia Village in Bei'e District. Built along the mountain, this ancient city looks ominous and steep, covering a 10-acre area. There is no record of the existence of this city, and even local heritage experts were not aware of its existence.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:03 PM

Study: Marijuana Doesn’t Hurt a Teen’s Grades or Relationships 

Teenagers who smoke marijuana only — and not tobacco as well — have a stronger social life, are more adept at sports and have equally as good grades as those who smoke weed and cigarettes, a Swiss study found.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:59 PM

Big Brother is listening to your cell phone calls 

For example, Pudding Media has introduced an Internet phone service that uses what people are talking about over the phone to generate targeted advertisements, which are then displayed on the phone screen. In order to do so, however, the California-based company must eavesdrop on its customers’ phone calls.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:58 PM

Fresh Doubt About Suicide Theory: Was 'Mad' King Ludwig Murdered? 

For over a century, Crazy King Ludwig's death has been ruled a suicide. But now, a new theory, based on a mysterious, bullet-ridden coat, has it that the Bavarian monarch, builder of Bavaria's fairytale castles, was actually shot. And maybe he wasn't insane after all.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:05 PM

The ghosts of Arthur Conan Doyle 

A new biography illuminates the passion behind the creator of Sherlock Holmes: newly published letters show the role of the supernatural.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:02 PM

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

The UFO I saw hovering over Astoria 

Opinion piece with a personal story thrown in.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:09 PM

Several UFO sightings in Kirkby skies 

SUTTON'S experts on the unexplained, the Ashfield Paranormal Investigation Team (TAPIT), are looking into reports of strange objects in the night sky on Saturday.

See also: UFO Travel: Aliens Light Fires in Sicily

And: The 1958 Fontes Saucer Briefing

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:28 AM

The CIA's Control of Candy Jones 

Review at Bookslut.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:24 AM

Lawsuit against Robinson reinstated; local woman accuses priest of rape, torture 

An Ohio appellate court yesterday reinstated a 2005 lawsuit filed by a Toledo woman alleging that Gerald Robinson, the Toledo priest convicted last year in the 1980 murder of a nun, was part of a group that repeatedly tortured and raped her in satanic rituals when she was a child.

See also: Was jailed priest in satanic sex ring?

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:20 AM

Lesy takes you on a Wisconsin Death Trip 

Today, the small Wisconsin town of Black River Falls, for example, is a tourist's and camper's destination, but according to the weird findings of writer Michael Lesy, it was the last place on Earth you'd want to be in late 19th century.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:12 AM

Seeing Things : Ghost Polaroids 

The exhibit was a collection of Polaroids taken of ghostly forms and messages that appeared only on film in a Los Angeles home. I naturally expected the photographs to be a hoax. I believe in ghosts, monsters in my closet, Buddha and God at 4am when I hear a bump in the night. But otherwise, I'm a natural-born skeptic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:10 AM

Area 51's Robotic Spy Bird 

With pic and links to video.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:07 AM

Ancient beast cloning near, scholar says 

Professor says extinct animal cloning is only 20-30 years away.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:04 AM

Sobhraj poised between freedom, fresh fight 

Sobhraj, once a dominant name in the underworld of several countries and wanted by police forces for forgeries and thefts targeting foreign tourists, became convicted for murder for the first time in Nepal.

See also: The Sobhraj saga in Nepal

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:56 AM

St. Louis History You May Not Have Known 

With lots of video and a section on Jack the Ripper suspect Francis Tumblety.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:53 AM

Pennsylvania's bigfoot mystery continues 

There are some new developments in the saga of the mysterious photos taken by hunter Rick Jacobs in September.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:39 AM

Mystery Big Cat Spotted in St Leonards 

Dog walker Doreen Newlyn thinks she may have encountered the mystery Beast Of St Leonards.

But Doreen, and her cocker spaniel Shadow, didn't see just one beast they saw a family of three creatures stalking around near the council refuse tip off Bexhill Road.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:32 AM

Wilhelm Reich and Orgone Accumulators 

One of the more controversial figures in medical science, psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich has become a sort of Che Guevara of the industry. Claiming to have discovered a force that permeates all life, Reich went on to build and promote orgone accumulators, devices he designed to capture the so called "orgone energy" (a weather machine followed, based on the same concepts).

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:50 AM

Monday, November 05, 2007

Sending his cancer a signal 

John Kanzius, sorely weakened by leukemia treatments, drew on his lifetime of working with radio waves to devise a machine that targets cancer cells. The miracle: It works.

Via Daily Grail.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:47 PM

Wedding Picture Appears Paranormal 

With video. Via Fark.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:36 PM

Da Vinci's clockwork car and other weird vehicles 

Leonardo da Vinci is renowned for his forward-thinking sketches and intricate designs, which included blueprints for a bicycle, a submarine, and a helicopter. But you can't win 'em all. Da Vinci also designed a three-wheeled wagon-like device -- often referred to as the clockwork car -- that never really lived up to the hype.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:51 PM

Riverside man on the trail of Bigfoot 

By day, Perez toils as a licensed union electrician. But his life's work is as a dogged researcher and investigator, hot on the hard-to-follow trail of Bigfoot.

See also: Road to Bluff Creek

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:49 PM

Expect the unexpected in Florida's 'wildlife' 

In addition to being called the Sunshine State, Florida also could be known as "where the wild things are."

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:47 PM

Sea 'sister of Nessie' 

The Loch Ness monster may have an ancestor - a mysterious sea creature washed up in the Orkney Islands 200 years ago.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:38 PM

A Ghost Goes Out For Beef Jerky & Pork Rinds 

One Austin, Texas business caught what they believe is some kind of spirit on their security camera.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:32 PM

Search Ending for Mystery Lion 

The search for an African lion in Greenbrier County may be over, without anyone catching sight of the creature.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:26 PM

Secret Messages of the Ancient 

The history of mankind is full of secrets nobody has succeeded in completely resolving. Unless, of course, aliens are considered.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:21 PM

Sunday, November 04, 2007

The Fabulous Moolah, RIP 

Lillian Ellison, better known to the world as The Fabulous Moolah, has died. She was 84. To more than one generation, Moolah was more than just a woman wrestler -- she was women's wrestling.



Rest in peace, Moolah. You earned it.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:54 PM

Friday, November 02, 2007

(Some) Justice for Janet Chandler 

A jury answered the question asked by the documentary "Who Killed Janet Chandler?" when they found four security guards guilty of her brutal kidnapping, rape and murder.

The disgusting details are here. Brought to you by the quality employees of Wackenhut.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:17 PM

Was Vlad So Bad? 

Count Vlad (the Impaler) Tepes may have been the model for Bram Stoker's famous Dracula, but in Romania he is celebrated as a national hero.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:05 PM

A witch story, Newell man accused of using occult powers to seduce women 

This is part one of a series taking a look at a “witchcraft trial” held in Hancock County in 1969.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:04 PM

Sasquatch: Best Evidence 

He may be the best-known - and most elusive - of all cryptozoological creatures in North America. How good is the evidence for the existence of Bigfoot?

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:01 PM

Plan 9 from outer space 

Fears of an alien invasion created greater alarm in the US than the threat of a Soviet nuclear attack.

Good article.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:52 PM

'Goat sucker' actually a hairless coyote 

The results are in: The ugly, big-eared animal found during the summer in southern Texas is not the mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra. It's just a plain old coyote.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:57 AM

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Ancient Polynesians were among the most skilled navigators in history 

A stone tool discovered on a remote Pacific island has provided the first hard evidence that ancient Pacific mariners were extraordinary seafarers.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:20 AM

A quantum theory of dreams? 

A physicist claims to have come up with the first successful use of quantum theory to explain features of consciousness in research hailed as a landmark in efforts to bring mathematics to bear on the mysteries of the human mind.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:14 AM

Aliens or ancestors? The mysteries of ancient Sichuan 

Since 1929, more than 10,000 relics, dating between 5,000 and 3,000 years ago have been unearthed in the city's Sanxingdui Ruins. The excavations have yielded some of the most significant Chinese archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

Neat pics.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:10 AM

Growing up in Coffin House 

The house in which I grew up was haunted by a cloud of cold mist, a mysterious woman in white, and an entity we called "the conductor," since he walked around wearing a mourning coat and carrying a baton in one hand.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:07 AM

Spooklights' source is still unknown 

Floating lights that bounce up into the treetops, appear to be about the size of a basketball and frequently are seen in pairs haunting the area where Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri converge.

Via Daily Grail.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:05 AM

Mystery of Chinese antiques runs through Old Town 

Walt Sutter was a very public man with one very intriguing secret.

In 1937, Sutter built an eccentric house where Tacoma Avenue North met Carr Street in Old Town. Inside he displayed art and artifacts, many of which he said came from the Dragon Throne Room in China’s Forbidden City.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:48 AM

The 'mystery sage' 

"My body felt like it was a palette of paint thrown on a canvas and slowly moving down it."

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:44 AM

Poe’s death a mystery 

The mysterious aura surrounding the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe captured and held the attention of the Mountain Ridge High School freshman class Wednesday morning.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:21 AM

Ex-Manager for Ramones Beaten to Death 

Linda Stein, a pioneer in New York's punk music scene who later became known as a real estate "broker to the stars," was beaten to death inside her Manhattan apartment, the medical examiner ruled.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:05 AM

State joins search for African lion in W.Va. woods | Journal News 

A state agency is using a video camera and raw chicken to help determine whether the king of the jungle is prowling the woods in Greenbrier County.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:47 AM