Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Archeologists may have solved mystery of the 'Lost Colony'  

Two separate teams of archeologists claim they have unveiled objects that may be traced back to the first English colony in the New World.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:17 AM

A Thrift Store Find Yields an Astronomical Mystery 

A good mystery is often where you find it. Photographer Meagan Abell recently made a discovery during a thrift store expedition that not only set the internet abuzz, but also contains an interesting astronomical dimension as well.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:33 AM

Sunday, August 09, 2015

‘Granny Ripper’ Case: Cannibalism, Occult Sacrifice Suspected in Slayings of 11 People  

Police in the Russian city of St. Petersburg say they are investigating cannibalism and occult sacrifice as motives in the suspected slayings of at least 11 people by a pensioner dubbed the “Granny Ripper.”

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:21 AM

A Florida Sheriff Is Investigating a 'Witchcraft'-Related Triple Murder  

Sometime last week, probably on Tuesday night, a visitor entered the residence of the Smith family on Deerfield Drive in Pensacola, Florida, without much trouble. This alone was a bit unusual given just how reclusive the Smiths were; after all, some of their neighbors of many years have never even spoken to them, much less stepped inside their home.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:19 AM

Thursday, August 06, 2015

John Keel: Ahead Of His Time  

In today’s world of Ufology it’s not even remotely strange to hear accounts of “hybrid babies,” “hybrid children,” “black-eyed children,” and alleged alien-driven genetic experimentation.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:32 PM

Historic UFO Battle of 1665 Left Many People Very Sick 

On April 8, 1665, around 2 p.m., fishermen anchored near Barhöfft (then in Sweden, now in Germany) reported seeing ships in the sky battling each other. After the battle, a dark object hovered in the sky.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:28 PM

The Mythic Child-Stealing Thunderbirds of Illinois | Atlas Obscura 

At approximately 8:10 p.m., the Lowes were cleaning up after their al fresco dinner, the kids still playing outside. And that's when it happened.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:26 PM

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

THE CHICKEN BOY OF ILLINOIS 

On the Old Holland road near Calumet, ILL, lives a German family with a 12-year-old boy who is a remarkable phenomenon. He is a boy in every particular, as far as form and feature are concerned, but there the similarity ends. In every attribute of mind and matter he is exactly like a chicken. He moves like a chicken, eats like a chicken, scratches like a chicken, flaps his arms arid crows, and sleeps on his feet crouched in a corner. These strange traits were imparted to him by a surgical operation, wherein the blood of a live chicken was conveyed into his veins to sustain life during a protracted siege of fever in which his own blood turned almost to a colorless liquid. Mention of his case is made in two medical books of resent date, and the case attracted some considerable attention five years ago, when the operation was performed; but, singularly enough, nothing of it crept into the newspapers.

As the reporter drove up to the house the boy was seen standing by the gate. He could not be mistaken, for, while two or three other children, like him yellow-haired and blue-eyed, evidently his brothers and sisters, were playing around, he stood perfectly quiet, leaning against the fence with one foot drawn up, as a chicken sometimes stands, and with his head turned to one side and dropping on his shoulder. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping, precisely as a chicken sleeps – its left foot drawn up and the head under its right wing. The noise of the buggy seemed to awaken him. He gave a somewhat startled look, put his foot down and shook himself as a chicken ruffles its feathers, and, starting off with a short, quickstep, ran into the garden, where, a moment afterward, apparently forgetful of what had alarmed him, he stopped and began scratching with one foot in some soft earth beside a pine box, on which stood a saucer of corn meal and a rusty tin pan half full of water. These, it was afterward learned, were placed there regularly every day for him to feed upon. The boy's mother, it was learned, is dead. She died about two years ago. The father was away from home, at work in the Pullman car wheel foundry. The boy, whose peculiar characteristics make him an object of so much interest, is named Charley Wolfson. The driver of the buggy who conducted the reporter to the house said that he had heard that up to the time of his affliction the boy was a more than commonly bright child. Since then he has insisted on laying out of doors, going under cover only when it rained, and seeking shelter only in some of the outhouses along with the chickens. He never wears any hat, not even in the coldest weather, and never talks or takes any notice of things more than a chicken. One of the children, the oldest girl, evidently about 10 years of age, at the reporter's request called the boy by making a clucking sound, but he would not consent to be caught, and immediately ran away as an effort was made to take him. The girl said that he often sat on the fence, and not in frequently was found at sundown perched on the limb of a tree. 

- Mexico Weekly Ledger, March 06, 1884,

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:30 AM

Sunday, December 28, 2014

HAUNTED BY A BROWNIE 

Perry, Mo., October 6. - This community is somewhat stirred up over the report that a spirit's knocking could be distinctly heard at the farm-house of John G. Brown, one-half mile west of this city.

Your correspondent visited the place last night and gleaned the following from the occupants of the house: Mr. Ingerham said: "The first noise heard was last Friday night. I thought it was caused by rats. Upon investigation, however, I found the noise changed position.

My sister-in-law seemed to be the medium, and she began to interrogate the spirit, which would answer some of the questions by three knocks and some with one. Ever since the first observance the mysterious noise there has been strange sounds around the premises.

Your correspondent made a thorough investigation of the house, heard three distinct knocks to each of the following letters of the alphabet; A, B, C, E, I, L, and M. No answer was made when the other letters were called. The lady who seems to be the medium is very much excited over the matter, as her name has been repeatedly called and three knocks were clearly heard each time. The knocking ceases when a light is brought into the room, or when too much unusual conversation is indulged in. A least twenty-five persons visited the place last night, and to-night no doubt the number will be doubled. Everyone is anxious to have the mystery explained. – IWW

- Mexico Weekly Ledger, October 14, 1886

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:00 AM

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

New Mode of Suicide (1906) 

New York Oct 15 - A Rio Janeiro dispatch published here says that Viscount Almeida, a well-known member of society, committed suicide in a novel manner. He invited a number of his friends to dinner and afterward led them to a cage of lions that he had hired from a traveling menagerie. When all were watching the animal and chatting, the Viscount opened the door of the cage and entered. The lions pounced on him and he was fatally mutilated before he could be dragged out. It is said he was overwhelmed by gambling debts.

- The Hartford Herald (KY), October 17, 1906,

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:44 AM

Tuesday, December 09, 2014

A FALLEN STAR - A Once Famous London Actress Picking Coal in Kansas City (1873) 

The Kansas City Times says: The recent arrest of a number of poor coal pickers in West Kansas City, resulted in the discovery of the identity and the present home of a once very popular actress, who made her debut in, and for a season drove the play going public of London, wild over her beauty and power of delineation. Mrs. Caroline Whittlesey, or, as she was better known, the "Brighton Pearl" appeared on the stage in Drury Line about twenty years ago, and after a brilliant season of favor and popularity suddenly – faded from the London stage, and for several years was lost to the public eye. When next she appeared before the footlights, it was as Mrs. Whittlesey in the Theatre Royal, Hull, Yorkshire.

These brief outlines of this woman's remarkable history were given by herself to a neighbor, who has by kindness and attention to the child of this gifted and eccentric woman – a little girl of thirteen years, who was caught by a railroad watchman a few days ago, in the act of filling her little basket with coal from the cars of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Mrs. Whittlesey appeared in behalf of her child, and her calm lady-like manner, and pale, careworn face, was all the eloquence required to release the little girl from the watchman's grasp. This man, to test the woman's word as to her poverty and destitution, visited her shanty, a rude, unplastered hovel in the bottoms near the rail road track. The contents of the home of this once brilliant woman is a vivid contrast to her fine palatial residence, furnished her while the mistress of the late Lord Denbigh. A clean but humble bed, a few chairs, a table, a number of relics of the stage, such as play bills, portraits, etc, and a sewing machine, comprise all her earthly possessions. Although poor and pinched by poverty this woman preserves all the dignity of a queen Elizabeth, a character she has no doubt filled to perfection some day, long, long ago. She came to Kansas City about five years ago and has lived here since the death of her husband in 1870, by her own exertions as a seamstress. She wears upon her finger a handsome ring with the Denbigh coat of arms engraved thereon. She says, when she left the stage in 1853 she did so to become the wife of Lord Denbigh, with whom she went as his wife, to Geneva and thence to Florence, where they lived in retirement several mouths. On his death her claims as his wife were set aside, and having neither money nor friends she abandoned her claims and again returned to the stage, and for several years was a popular provincial favorite in England, Australia and Canada. While in England in 1860 she married a young Englishman named Whittlesey, with whom she lived many happy years in domestic quiet. She says she has been compelled to send her child to gather coal, to assist in ekeing out the scanty support won by her needle.

Among the curious mementoes of her early life Mrs. Whittlesey preserves nothing with such jealous care as a folio of play bills giving her "cast" in plays for several years in England, Australia and Canada. This lady still retains some trace of that remarkable dash and beauty which made her the favorite star of the London stage twenty years ago.

-The Leavenworth Weekly Times, November 6, 1873.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:22 AM

Monday, December 08, 2014

Satanic Ritual Trial 

A teenager accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl during a satanic ritual, before disfiguring her body and killing her, is on trial in the US state of Texas.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:37 PM

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Legendary Nibelung Treasure May Have Been Found By A Guy With A Metal Detector 

Maybe. Still cool.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:19 PM

Monday, January 27, 2014

'Stone Age' Sweden's 'Atlantis' relics uncovered  

Swedish divers have uncovered Stone Age artefacts left behind by Swedish nomads about 11,000 years ago, which has prompted some to claim that Sweden's Atlantis may have been found.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:53 PM

Sunday, January 26, 2014

DNA test of 7,000-year-old tooth overturns popular image of light-skinned European hunter-gatherers 

The Spanish team started their work after a group of cavers stumbled upon two skeletons in a deep and complex cave system high up in the Cantabrian Mountains of northwest Spain in 2006.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:11 PM

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Roman head hunters in England: Researchers analyze skulls with gruesome results  

Scores of skulls excavated in the heart of London have provided the first gruesome evidence of Roman head hunters operating in Britain, gathering up the heads of executed enemies or fallen gladiators from the nearby amphitheatre, and exposing them for years in open pits.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:00 PM

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Ronald Reagan and the occultist: The amazing story of the thinker behind his sunny optimism  

The Gipper's warm "morning in America" worldview was directly shaped by his reading of occult thinker Manly P. Hall.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:29 AM

Mystery of Earthquake Lights Traced to Electrical Charges in Rocks 

The strange phenomena of earthquake lights—sometimes resembling bluish flames, lightning strikes, or floating orbs—can be explained by tiny crystal defects in certain rocks that can release electric charges, according to National Geographic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:27 AM

Bremen UFO 'looked like a plane but was louder'  

The airport said on Monday night that the UFO showed up on its radar several times over three hours from 6.30pm to 9.30pm.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:37 AM

New Zealand Shipwreck Points To 18th-Century Race To Colonize Island 

The recovered vessel is the country’s oldest-known shipwreck — dating more than 50 years before Captain James Cook’s landing — and hints at a 'space race' among colonial powers to reach the remote isles.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:29 AM

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Have We Found the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island? 

Remote-sensing techniques have unearthed clues to the fate of settlers who mysteriously disappeared.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:42 AM

Monday, December 02, 2013

Uncovering New England’s Viking connections  

The Hub might seem to be a strange place to honor a medieval Icelandic-born adventurer, but for centuries New Englanders have theorized that Erikson led a thriving Viking settlement here around 1000 AD, more than six centuries before the Mayflower set sail.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:19 PM

The Lake Monsters of America  

Cool map from Atlas Obscura.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:14 PM

4,000 year old skull discovery shows young women were sacrificed in ancient China  

The skulls were found in what appears to have been a mass grave at the Shimao Ruins, the site of a neolithic stone city in the northern province of Shaanxi.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:16 PM

Strange Creature Spotted In The Mekong River  

Interesting. With crappy video.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:50 PM

Sunday, December 01, 2013

Is this the oldest theater in the United States? 

Newly discovered photos may prove that a small-town Kansas theater is the oldest in the US.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:34 PM

Dead Sexy 

A Polish coffin company uses models to model their models. With behind the scenes video.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:17 PM

The Mystery of Dimes Appearing From Nowhere and Other Strange Phenomenon 

Stories about dimes appearing mysteriously are common around the world, even in places where dimes are not used as money.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:39 PM

REVERSE-ENGINEERING A GENIUS (HAS A VERMEER MYSTERY BEEN SOLVED?) 

David Hockney and others have speculated—controversially—that a camera obscura could have helped the Dutch painter Vermeer achieve his photo-realistic effects in the 1600s. But no one understood exactly how such a device might actually have been used to paint masterpieces. An inventor in Texas—the subject of a new documentary by the magicians Penn & Teller—may have solved the riddle.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:09 PM

Pursuing Immortality 

A renowned computer scientist and inventor, Kurzweil, 65, decided decades ago that mortality wasn't for him. He didn't have to die, and he wasn't going to, if he could help it.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:00 PM

Pyramid Schemers 

Egyptian authorities are in uproar after two German students scraped away some ancient writing to "prove" the Great Pyramids are 20,000 years old.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:52 PM

Was King Arthur Scottish? 

Scotland may have a new, ancient celebrity to call its own, according to an amateur historian.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:43 PM

Monday, November 25, 2013

Ancient Hieroglyphics 

A corespondent of the Wichita Eagle writes as follows:

On the south side of the Smoky Hill river, ten miles west of the present site of Ellsworth, and near Cedar Bluff, is a cave in the sandstone rock, where in 1860 the writer discovered on the side of the cave, among ancient hieroglyphics and nearly overgrown with moss, the name and date, "TVREDORE, 1786," neatly cut in Roman characters. This name was supposed to have been cut in the rock by one of a party of Spaniards who in the latter part of the last century attempted to reach the Missouri river from the ancient Spanish settlements in New Mexico, to treat with Missouri Indians and found a Catholic mission. Their motives being misunderstood, the party were ambushed when near their destination and entirely destroyed.

-Neosho County Journal (Kansas), September 14, 1872

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:04 AM

Friday, November 08, 2013

New hammerhead shark species discovered  

A team of University of South Carolina researchers has made a remarkable discovery: a rare new breed of hammerhead shark it has dubbed the Carolina hammerhead.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:21 PM

Man Buried Alive In Brazil Rises From Grave, Gives Mourner Quite The Scare  

It's not every day you see someone climbing out of a grave.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:23 PM

Russian Scientists Grow Pleistocene-Era Plants From Seeds Buried By Squirrels 30,000 Years Ago  

On the frozen edge of the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia, in an ancient pantry harboring seeds and other stores, an Arctic ground squirrel burrowed into the dirt and buried a small, dark fruit from a flowering plant.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:19 PM

Thursday, November 07, 2013

Angler stunned after hooking rare unidentified fish in South China Sea near Malaysia  

The mystery fish, caught by Sapar Mansor, has a large head and is covered with sharp spines on the top and bottom of its body.

With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:06 AM

Thursday, October 24, 2013

NECROPANTS NECROPANTS OMG NECROPANTS 

Just when I think I've seen everything...necropants. Not safe for work or anything else you might be doing.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:32 PM

The Kinderhook Creature and other Monsters of New York  

A few years ago Hallenbeck wrote Monsters of New Jersey, and his is newest book -- Monsters of New York -- looks into the existence of creatures such as Champ, the Adirondack Bigfoot, the Kinderhook Creature and other creatures he believes are walking, crawling, and swimming around the Empire State.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:29 PM

BIGFOOT IS MY NEIGHBOR! 

Is sandy imprint proof of bigfoot? Man says sasquatch has moved next door.

In search of Bigfoot? Enjoy one of these outings while you're at it.

'Yeti is real': Holiday picture of footprint is proof that Bigfoot exists claims climber.

Alberta a hotbed in the hunt for Bigfoot.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:22 PM

Tears of Blood: Strange Health Condition a Medical Mystery 

A young man from Tennessee suffers from a peculiar medical condition which has been termed as a medical mystery. He sheds tears of blood.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:12 PM

How cold sores could unlock the mystery of human migration: Mutation of herpes virus mirrors movement of ancestors out of Africa 

The different genome variations in the cold sore virus have been hitchhiking their way around the world for tens of thousands of years.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:35 PM

Could mystery hum be amorous fish?  

Bees do it, birds do it, fish do it....

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:31 PM

Mystery of the panther  

The elusive large cat that was the cause of much media attention around Mid-Canterbury a couple of years back may have made its way into our patch, with one of the Herald's own delivery drivers spotting something very panther-like on his early morning run near Fairlie a week ago.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:26 PM

Scientists finally unravel mystery of why kettles whistle 

Researchers have finally worked out why kettles whistle - a problem which has puzzled scientists for more than 100 years.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:25 PM

Gatton murder cold case solved author Stephanie Bennett 115 years  

A Brisbane Grandmother is convinced she's solved one of Australia's most baffling and enduring murder mysteries.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:21 PM

Oarfish mystery: Earthquake rumours over beached giant snake-like fish in California 

Giant snake-like fish washed up onto Californian beaches in recent days may have died a result of the seismic activity under the seabed that occurs days or weeks before an earthquake, scientists said.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:19 PM

Mystery of the Yeti solved by Oxford Academic 

Bryan Sykes, a professor of Human Genetics, concluded that there is evidence that the famous creature is a sub-species of brown bear.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:12 PM

Wilkie Collins: The mystery of the first detective novelist  

Biographer Andrew Lycett explores the shadowy world of the 19th century author, Wilkie Collins.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:10 PM

Baby-snatchers or scapegoats? Mystery girl case shines spotlight on Roma 

For generations, children growing up in Europe have been warned not to wander away from their parents in case a "Gypsy" would steal them.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:09 PM

Archaeologists unearth a 6,500-year-old mystery 

"To find preserved organic material like this from this period is incredibly rare in Britain."

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:07 PM

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Prehistoric Code Found In Clay Balls From Mesopotamia May Represent First Data Storage System 

Researchers studying clay balls from Mesopotamia have discovered clues to a lost code that was used for record-keeping about 200 years before writing was invented.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:03 PM

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Isaac Newton Died A Virgin And 9 Other Facts About The Brilliant, Bizarre Physicist 

Isaac Newton today is venerated as one of the greatest scientists who ever lived -- the father of classical mechanics and co-creator of calculus. But in his day...

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:49 AM

30,000 year old Brazilian artifacts throw wrench in theory humans first arrived in Americas 12,000 years ago  

The artifacts come from the Serra da Capivara national park in Brazil’s northeastern Piaui state, on the border of the Amazon and Atlantic Forests, which attracted the hunter-gatherer civilization that left behind this hoard of local art.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:29 AM

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Rare Tommy Johnson 1930 Blues 78 Rpm Record Goes for $37,100 on Ebay 

The record, Tommy Johnson on the Paramount label from 1930, is one of only two known and verified copies.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:31 AM

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Nazis ‘offered to leave western Europe in exchange for free hand to attack USSR’  

Hess’s journey to Britain by fighter aircraft to Scotland has traditionally been dismissed as the deranged solo mission of a madman.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:36 AM

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Music score may have secret code leading to Nazi gold, filmmaker says  

A Dutch filmmaker has organized a series of digs for lost Nazi riches in a small Bavarian town -- spurred by a sheet of music some claim is actually a coded treasure map.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:57 AM

Jack the Ripper mystery solved by top detective after 125 years 

Sure it is.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:55 AM

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Once-Majestic Cities That Sank Beneath The Ocean 

Great photos.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:14 AM

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Century-old message in a bottle found in Tofino  

A Courtenay man made the discovery of a lifetime when he came across a bottle containing a message dating all the way back to 1906.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:46 AM

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Iron Age Massacre Uncovered; Victims Slaughtered, Defleshed By Mystery Attackers  

Archaeologists working at a massive Iron Age excavation in England have uncovered chilling details of an apparent massacre that occurred close to 1,800 years ago.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:43 AM

Bigfoot in Nebraska 

Teen's hairy run-in with 7-footer probed as Bigfoot encounter.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:19 AM

Friday, September 06, 2013

That mummy found in a German attic contains human bones 

According to the German newspaper Kreiszeitung, CT scans and X-rays revealed a fairly intact human skeleton, including a skull with an arrowhead lodged in one of its eye sockets.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:31 PM

Meet the mysterious men behind Oklahoma's monument to Azathoth 

Eric Piper and J. David Osborne aren't cultists (that we know of), by they did build a 300-lb. monument to the dark Lovecraftian god Azathoth and left it on the lawn of the unsuspecting Paseo Grill in Oklahoma City two weeks ago.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:23 PM

5 Hikes To Ruins In Los Angeles  

You'll feel like a backyard archaeologist as you explore old zoo cages, tram lines, youth camps, ranches, and even a commune built by Nazi sympathizers on these five hikes to ruins in Los Angeles.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:13 AM

Thursday, September 05, 2013

Mysterious Amazon Web Tower Baffles Scientists  

"I have no idea what animal made that," Norman Platnick, curator emeritus of spiders at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, told LiveScience.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:00 PM

Cthulian Food Helmet Sustains You With Algae  

The Old Ones have come to feed you. Or feed on you.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:07 AM

Declassified spy photographs reveal lost Roman frontier 

Research by archaeologists at the Universities of Glasgow and Exeter has identified a long wall that ran 60 kilometers from the Danube to the Black Sea over what is modern Romania. It is considered the most easterly example of a man-made frontier barrier system in the Roman Empire.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:56 AM

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Bus Killings Allegedly Committed By Woman Seeking Revenge For Past Sexual Violence 

They said they were looking into claims made over the weekend in an email from the self-styled "bus driver hunter," who said she is seeking revenge on behalf of fellow women who she alleged had been abused by bus drivers in Ciudad Juarez, which is across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:54 AM