Phantoms and Monsters

Humanoid / Cryptid Encounter Reports 8
Thames River Continues Ecological Recovery
Video: UFO Encounter in North Carolina - 2/18/10
Video: Stunning Landslide Footage - Maierato, Italy

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 02:14 PM PST

The following are previous humanoid / cryptid encounter reports received by various agencies worldwide:

STRANGE LIGHTS + UNKNOWN CREATURE = PERMANENT ABDUCTION

Location/Date: Randfontein, Gauteng, South Africa - April 18 2000 - 6:00 PM

The witness' mother and himself were driving to the local pharmacy when suddenly he saw a very bright light right next to the car; he tapped his mother on the shoulder to get her attention. The light was disc-shaped and stayed with the car for a few minutes until they decided to stop underneath a streetlight to look at it. The light suddenly shot away at incredible speed, one moment it was there....the next it was gone.

Around the same time two teenage boys had been walking in the street, possibly the previous night, when they spotted a strange "creature" (not described) following them. It seemed to walk on four legs and it moved very fast. Both boys ran with the creature closely behind them. They noticed that it seemed to shy away from the streetlights. Once they noticed this they stood still under a streetlight while the creature waited in the dark for a while, it then disappeared.

When the boys got home they told the parents what happened. The next morning one of the teenagers was reported missing from his home. A search was conducted but to this date his whereabouts remain unknown.

Source: NUFORC
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TWO GIANT 'BLACK BIRDS'

Location/Date: Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania - June 26 2002 - 9:30 PM

The primary witness had stepped out on his back porch when his attention was drawn to two huge black "birds" which were approaching from the north. His first impression was they were Herons, but soon realized that the color was wrong, and "they were huge, much larger than any bird I have ever seen." The two huge birds landed at the top of a very tall coniferous tree. The witness stated that the wingspan appeared to be wider than the branches, just below where they had landed. The body size was estimated to be about six feet from head to tail. The oddest feature was the shape of the wings, which according to the witness appeared to be bat-like. The tree where the "birds" landed seemed as though it would break from their weight. The witness yelled for others in the house to come outside to look. Another family member was able to see the huge black birds as they passed overhead, and headed for some woods. After checking the size of the branches where the birds had landed, the witness estimated that the wingspan would have been close to 12 feet or somewhat larger.

Source: Stan Gordon
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CHICKEN-CLAWED BEING

Location/Date: El Verde, Puerto Rico - late October 1973 - 9 PM

Ana Dominguez and Jose Alemar accompanied by their daughter and others were visiting an area near where their youngest son Jose Jr. had mysteriously disappeared 3 months before. While Jose was in a nearby ranch house, Ana and her daughter stayed in the car, which was parked near the road waiting for his return.

Suddenly from the left side of the car, they both heard what they thought was Jose's voice, saying loud and clear; "Negra open the car door, I'm back." The voice repeated the same thing again, and suddenly the girl pointed at something outside the car. Ana Dominguez then saw a terrifying looking being standing outside the car, leaning on the windshield and looking in. The creature was described as tall, thin, with a huge egg shaped head, long pointy ears, and two huge black oval shaped eyes. The being was leaning on the windshield and had placed a "hand" on it. The hand was long and skinny, with three long thin fingers, somehow resembling those of a chicken claw. No other facial features could be seen, since it was dark outside.

Both witnesses now in a panic began screaming and pushing on the car horn. When Mr. Alemar and the rest arrived the strange being had disappeared. To this date, both mother and daughter are convinced that the voice they heard had been that of Jose Alemar, however they are not so sure if it was audible or telepathic.

Source: Evidencia OVNI
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LITTLE MAN IN BRIGHT COLORED CLOTHES

Location/Date: near Chester, California - September 1956 - 3:00 PM

Four people were bow and arrow hunting in the Wilson Lake area near Chester, CA; the party split into two groups. An off duty sheriff of Butte County, who was with his sister, noticed a small figure through the manzanita bush. His sister was about 150 yards away as he was sat in a clearing when he heard gravel rolling downs a slope behind him. He stood up and saw the figure about 70 feet away.

The being was about four-feet tall with very human looking facial features, and wore brightly colored clothes, consisting of green, tight fitting pants, a gold jacket over a tan pullover shirt, and low brown boots. Brown hair protruded slightly from under a red and gold cap. No buttons, zippers, or other fasteners were visible. It's general stature was entirely human and could have passed for a small boy except that it's features were those of a 35 or 40-year-old man. His hands appeared normal and he carried nothing.

After staring at one another for about a minute, the little figure whirled around and leaped up the gravel slope in 20-foot strides, until it cleared the top and disappeared. The man's sister saw the figure only briefly and thought it was just another hunter. The man returned to the site later but could find no traces.

Sources: CUFOS & MUFON

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Thames River Continues Ecological Recovery

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 10:26 AM PST

theglobeandmail - by Ellen Himelfarb - Two weeks ago, as I read to my daughter from a picture book about a nubbly seahorse, I wondered: Why must children's books abound with creatures their audience is unlikely ever to see?

The very next day, I had to eat my words when news broke that a small colony of short-snouted seahorses (Hippocampus hippocampus) was living just a few kilometres away in the sludgy Thames estuary. The Zoological Society of London had kept schtum about the discovery for 18 months, while it lobbied to have the species protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Finally, this month, the act was modified to include the spiny seahorses, along with the water vole, angel shark and Roman snail.

Time was London's waterways were about as savoury as a Victorian privy. Now, the same river that 50 years ago was declared biologically dead - depleted of oxygen and reeking of sulphur - is clean enough to house some of our most threatened storybook characters.

The rehabilitation of the Thames began in the 1960s, when London started investing in water treatment and ended the dumping of raw effluent into the water. Today, with tighter regulations on riverside industry, water quality has pretty much plateaued, so the sudden appearance of seahorses cannot be readily explained.

"We're not quite sure why they're here," says Neil Dunlop of the Environmental Agency, "but there hasn't been a massive improvement [in the Thames] since the seventies and eighties."

He attributes the seahorse sighting to improved monitoring rather than filtering.

Nevertheless, the return of river life has been increasingly evident. In 2004, a piranha and a seal were found within days of each other near the Thames shore. Soon after, there were sightings of oysters, Dover sole, cockles and salmon, searching for a stream in which to spawn.

Even more exciting, in 2006, was the appearance of an 11-year-old northern bottlenose whale that had lost its way in the frigid Thames. Rather than join its pod in the Atlantic, it ended up skirting the North Sea, finding the river's mouth and visiting Chelsea instead. It died shortly after a rescue crew tried to lead it back out - it was not the Thames that killed her, but dehydration, likely caused by the lack of suitable food.

"The whale came down the wrong side of Britain and followed her natural instinct to go back to the west coast," says Alison Shaw, an environmentalist at the Zoological Society. "If it [the Thames] was really revolting, she might have turned up her nose and swum away."

Londoners are clearly enjoying the river's bounty. On a recent trip along London's Regent's Canal, I happened by two Sunday fishermen hauling out of the murky water a bass that must have weighed 16 pounds or more. The way they were congratulating each other, and the way the masses soon gathered, it seemed unlikely they had ever experienced a catch that impressive. Nowadays, fishermen are five to a yard along the canal, fishing for bass as well as perch, carp, bream, chub and pike - though it's not just fish that have returned.

Along the New River, a waterway constructed in North London during the 17th century, it has become commonplace to spot herons or egrets - a sight equivalent to spotting a flamingo in New York's Washington Square Park. And no fewer than three esteemed London restaurants source their fish - including sea bass and salmon - from within the city's ring road, the M25.

I recently took my daughter to the London Aquarium, and we saw the seahorses on display there. She loved it. But with more than 100 species - from porpoises and dolphins to otters - now inhabiting the nearby Thames, it occurred to me: We could probably now find a greater level of biodiversity in the wilds of Central London than at the city's aquarium - which is exactly as it should be.
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originally posted 4/9/08

Rare Seahorses Breeding in Thames River

bbc - Colonies of rare seahorses are living and breeding in the River Thames, conservationists have revealed.

The short-snouted variety are endangered and normally live around the Canary Islands and Italy.

Experts at London Zoo said the species had been found at Dagenham in east London and Tilbury and Southend in Essex, over the last 18 months.

The revelation coincided with new laws which came into force on Sunday to give the creatures protected status.

The seahorses, or Hippocampus hippocampus, are now protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

They are usually found in shallow muddy waters, estuaries or seagrass beds and conservationists said their presence in the Thames is another good sign that the water quality of the river was improving.

Monitoring work

Alison Shaw, from London Zoo, said: "These amazing creatures have been found in the Thames on a number of occasions in the last 18 months during our regular wildlife monitoring work.

"It demonstrates that the Thames is becoming a sustainable bio-diverse habitat for aquatic life.

"It is not clear how endangered short-snouted seahorses are because there is little data known, particularly in the UK, so every scrap of information is valuable.

"Now they are protected conservationists are more relaxed about telling the world they are there."

Both the short-snouted and long-snouted seahorse are kept and bred in the aquarium at London Zoo in Regents Park.

Aquarists are studying their life history and behaviour so their wild habitats and requirements can be protected.

Video: UFO Encounter in North Carolina - 2/18/10

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 09:49 AM PST

Click for video

MUFON witness statement - February 18, 2010 (unedited): I was outside smoking a cig, because we dont smoke inside the house, messing around with a laser i have for my rifle, hi powered green laser.
decided i was going to get my rifle out of my truck, turned around after locking up, was walking back to the house, when i saw a blue light, it was really bright, going left right left right, real fast. i stopped, confused at what i saw, we live near an airport, so i thought maybe i was misinterpreting a plane or whatever, then the light stopped, and started doing very tight, and very fast figure 8 pattern, i ran to the door, yelling for my brother, he and his girlfriend came out, and saw what i saw. a bright blue light doing tight and fast figure 8 patterns, i shined it with my laser, (generally, it was kind of far away and hard to judge)
instantly, the blue light stopped. i turned the laser off, and the blue light in the sky turned bright green, and then shot up in the air, a few miles i would guess. it then started doing huge loops, while flashing blue, black, blue, black. i ran inside and grabbed my camera and beat on my father's door yelling for him to come, we went outside, and he also saw it, i got a short recording of it, maybe 1:30 one min 30 seconds.
doing some pretty strange things, but not like what we (me, bro, and his GF) saw. my mother came out and saw the last bit of it, it was maneuvering in strange patterns away from us, towards the south. it went behind the tree line, and that was it.
i was excited, i actually had people see what i see on a regular basis.
and caught it on camera, though crappy quality, i know its authentic.
i see strange things in the sky, quite often, 2-3 times a month usually.
i tell my family about them, but they never believe me, and ive never been fortunate enough to have them with me at the time, or be near a camera until this evening.
im kind of shaky, my nerves are rattly at the moment, its normal and goes away after a little bit, but probably not tonight because i was able to get witnesses, and video.
if there is anyway you can clean this video up some, id like a copy of it, if thats is fine by you guys, id pay for if it necessary.
thanks

NOTE: the screen captures were difficult to enhance because of the low quality of the video. Since there was no specific location given in North Carolina it's hard for me to determine if other similar sightings have been reported in the general area. I will say that this encounter was somewhat similar to the Cape Fear River report described below...Lon
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MUFON Investigation - UFOs / Lost Time - Cape Fear River, NC

A Hope Mills man was recently on the Discovery Channel after claiming to see UFOs while fishing at the Cape Fear River.

Christopher Bledsoe Sr, former owner of Bledsoe Properties, was the centerpiece of a documentary-style show on the cable channel called, UFOs over Earth.

The show, which ran on Dec. 13, featured UFO investigator interviews with Bledsoe, who claimed he, his son and three friends saw three bright yellow circular objects hovering over a wooded area as they were fishing on the Cape Fear River in 2007.

Producers with the show flew from California in June and spent several days videotaping and doing interviews.

The experience moved the Fayetteville native from being a skeptic to now, devouring any bit of information about extraterrestrial life, he can, Bledsoe said Sunday.

"Imagine seeing something as big as a school bus hovering in the air," Bledsoe, 47, said Sunday. "It scared the bejesus out of me."

Several years ago, Bledsoe grappled numerous lawsuits and community scorn from scores of angry homeowners and suppliers who accused his company of unfinished repairs, unpaid for work. Eventually, Bledsoe quit the construction business and paid out thousands in liens and settlements.

Although he is unemployed, Bledsoe's reputation seems be on the upswing.

Since the broadcast, hundreds of messages of support and interest in his UFO claims have crowded his Google e-mail account from places as far as Canada, Poland and Sweden. A wave of attention has beset the Bledsoe household. Last month a specialist in hypnosis spent days talking with Bledsoe about a possible book, he said.

Bledsoe is also in demand as a speaker on UFO sightings.

"I've never believed in UFOs and I never thought of such stuff," Bledsoe said. "But now, this might become one of the biggest cases in the world.

NOTE: The Bledsoe family has been kind enough to contact me and corroborate the information that was presented to the MUFON investigators...Lon

Video: Stunning Landslide Footage - Maierato, Italy

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 08:16 AM PST

Click for video

xinhuanet - Residents of a southern Italy town were evacuated on Tuesday following a dangerous landslide which brought down an entire hillside, state media reported.

During the weekend the area around Maierato, a town in the Calabria region near the Tyrrhenian coast, had been hit by heavy rainfall.

So far a total of 2,300 residents have been evacuated by the authorities, according to state television Rai that broadcast an impressive amateur video of the landslide, showing people escaping and the hillside coming down and burying the town under debris and mud.

Mayor Sergio Rizzo described the scene as "apocalyptic." However, no deaths or injuries have been reported.

In recent days the entire region has been severely affected by mudslides. Towns around Cosenza have also been evacuated this week due to floods which destroyed a water main on Monday, leaving thousands of homes without tap water.

In October a mudslide in the Sicilian city of Messina killed 37 people and left more than 700 homeless. Another landslide struck in November the island of Ischia, killing one person and damaging buildings.

Many Italian small towns, especially in the south, have been built with no sound criteria and are thus insecure.

During the weekend the area around Maierato, a town in the Calabria region near the Tyrrhenian coast, had been hit by heavy rainfall. So far a total of 2,300 residents have been evacuated by the authorities. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

According to the civil and environmental protection agency, 70 percent of Italian communities are threatened by water damage, enhanced by abuses, deforestation and unplanned building.

The Italian environmental group Legambiente said on Tuesday that every town and city in Calabria has areas at flood risk due to widespread unregulated building and inadequate water drainage systems. The study estimated that 60 percent of the towns are at high flood risk for heavy industry. As many as a quarter reported hospitals, schools and hotels in the area are also subject to flooding threats.

Following the Messina disaster in October, civil protection chief Guido Bertolaso called for a nationwide strategic plan to safeguard areas at risk of natural calamities.

Bertolaso said that illegal building and inadequate flood prevention measures bore much of the blame for the tragedies striking Italy. The impacts of the floods, according to the civil protection chief, were "predictable" just like those of the earthquake that hit L'Aquila in April and caused more than 300 deaths, where many houses had been constructed with no legal standards and procedures.

His appeal for a national anti-calamity plan was later backed by President Giorgio Napolitano, who warned that failure to upgrade the country's infrastructure would result in more deaths in the future.

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