Phantoms and Monsters

Film Project Renews Interest In Scottish Monster Legend
This Week on 'Beyond the Edge' Radio - Sunday, June 20th - 9:00 PM ET
The Swimming Idol - Isla Mujeres, Mexico
The College Professor - Abductee
'Knobby' Identified?

Film Project Renews Interest In Scottish Monster Legend

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 10:02 AM PDT

Above: the 'Brocken Spectre' at Ben MacDhui, some say the supposed image of the Fear Liath Mor or 'Big Grey Man'. Left: Prof. Norman Collie

In 1925, a respected and well known climber Professor Norman Collie reported to a stunned audience at a meeting of the Cairngorm Club his experiences with the Fear Liath Mor (as the 'Big Grey Man' is known locally) on Ben MacDhui in 1891. Collie explained that he had been coming down from the peak when he heard footsteps behind him. At first, shrouded in mist, he rationalized that it must just have been an echo of his own footfalls. "I was returning from the cairn on the summit in a mist when I began to think I heard something else than merely the noise of my own footsteps. Every few steps I took I heard a crunch, then another crunch as if someone was walking after me but taking steps three or four times the length of my own. I said to myself 'this is all nonsense'. I listened and heard it again but could see nothing in the mist. As I walked on and the eerie crunch, crunch sounded behind me I was seized with terror and took to my heels, staggering blindly among the boulders for four or five miles nearly down to Rothiemurchus Forest. Whatever you make of it I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben MacDhui and will not go back there again by myself I know." Collie never returned to the mountain, and to his dying day firmly believed there was "something very queer about Ben MacDhui."

Ben Macdhui is the biggest mountain in the Cairngorms, Scotland and the second highest in the UK. The summit rises from the southern part of a huge sub-arctic upland unique in the British Isles. It is a harsh environment where nothing grows except the hardiest of alpine plants. When the cloud rolls in summits can be shrouded for days…in winter the weak northern sun often does not penetrate the deep glens for weeks.

During the World War II, Peter Densham was a mountain rescue worker, locating and saving pilots who had crashed in the Cairngorms. One day he was at the top of Ben MacDhui when a heavy mist started to fall. He sat and waited for conditions to improve. After a while he began to hear strange crunching noises and suddenly felt a presence close by. He stood up to investigate, but was immediately seized by a feeling of panic. Before he realized what was happening, he was running down the mountain, dangerously close to the sheer cliff edge. He said afterwards 'I tried to stop myself and found this extremely difficult to do. It was as if someone was pushing me. I managed to deflect my course, but with a great deal of difficulty.' Densham would later state "...tell me that the whine was but the result of relaxed eardrums, and the Presence was only the creation of a mind that was accustomed to take too great an interest in such things. I shall not be convinced. Come, rather, with me at the mysterious dusk time when day and night struggle upon the mountains. Feel the night wind on your faces, and hear it crying amid rocks. See the desert uplands consumed before the racing storms. Though your nerves be of steel, and your mind says it cannot be, you will be acquainted with that fear without name, that intense dread of the unknown that has pursued mankind from the very dawn of time."

Another mountaineer Alexander Tewnion wrote an account of his 1943 experience for The Scots Magazine: "Of all the experiences that have come my way, one stands out above all others in its strangeness. This was when I shot the Fear Liath Mor, the Big Grey Man of Ben Macdhui. It happened like this. In October 1943 I spent a ten day leave climbing alone in the Cairngorms. Rations were short then, and I carried a revolver and ammunition to shoot any hares or ptarmigan that came my way. One afternoon, just as I reached the summit cairn of Ben Macdhui, mist swirled across the Lairig Ghru and enveloped the mountain. The atmosphere became dark and oppressive, a fierce, bitter wind whisked among the boulders, and, fearing a storm was imminent, I took hurriedly to the Coire Etchachan path. Above Loch Etchachan the path angles easily downhill. I was swinging along at about five miles an hour when an odd sound echoed through the mist - a loud footstep, it seemed. Then another, and another. Spaced at long intervals!"

"I am not unduly imaginative, but my thoughts flashed instantly to the well-known story of Professor Norman Collie and the Fear Liath Mor. Then I felt the reassuring weight of the loaded revolver in my pocket. Grasping the butt I peered about in the mist, here rent and tattered by eddies of wind. A strange shape loomed up, receded, came charging at me! Without hesitation I whipped out the revolver and fired three times at the figure. When it still came on I turned and hared down the path, reaching Glen Derry in a time I have never bettered since. You may ask, was it really the Fear Liath Mor? Frankly, I think it was. Many times since then I have traversed Macdhui in mist, bivouacked on it in the open, camped near its summit for days on end on different occasions - often alone, and always with an easy mind. For on that day I am convinced I shot the only Fear Liath Mor my imagination will ever see."

An artist's rendering of the Fear Liath Mor or 'Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui'

Since that time, many people have reported a strange being or felt an overpowering sense of impending doom or panic while on the mountain. One of the most recent encounters occurred in the early 1990's when three men were walking in a forest just outside Aberdeen. One of the men noticed a human-shaped figure running across the trail not too far ahead of them. He told his friends, and when they all looked in the same direction they saw what they described as 'a strange, not-quite-human face.' A few weeks later, the same group was driving in the area when they realized they were being followed by the same tall, dark being. The creature kept pace, even at speeds of 45 miles an hour, but eventually tired and gave up the chase. Again, these men felt a distinct sense of terror and foreboding.

What is the Grey Man of Ben MacDhui? Some say that it's merely a myth...that climbers of Ben MacDhui are letting the high altitude, grim surroundings and legends get the best of them, making them perceive they see something that isn't actually there. But in many cases, those who have seen and experienced the phenomena are respected scientists and mountain climbers...the sort of witnesses who should not be prone to suggestion.

One theory is that the mountain is home to Bigfoot-like hominids. In fact, in 1965, huge footprints were found in the snow. They measured 14 inches and seemed to show a creature with an enormous five foot stride between footsteps. But the hominid theory has many detractors. While the Cairngorm Mountains are rugged, they are not comparable to the Himalayas or other major ranges where these hominids have been reported to roam. Could a breeding population of humanoids stay mostly hidden in such an area for centuries?

Almost all the reports have a strong paranormal/supernatural aspect to them. In many cases, the Grey Man seems more like a demon or a ghost than a living, breathing creature. Then there is an extraterrestrial or alternate universe theory…namely, that these creatures are able to move in and out between our world and another plane. Many visitors to the mountain notice sensations of strangeness, depression and terror...some have actually noticed 'boundries' where these emotions suddenly start and stop. Novelist Joan Grant's experience on the mountain gives a excellent account of this phenomenon. Overcome by sudden fear while climbing the mountain, she became convinced something was pursuing her. She ran down the mountainside and described "I had run about a half a mile when I burst through an invisible barrier behind which I knew I was safe. I knew I was safe now, though a second before I had been in mortal danger; knew it as certainly as though I were a torero who has jumped the barrier in front of a charging bull." Prof. Collie and most all other "victims" of Ben MacDhui described this same feeling of passing through a barrier and becoming "safe". Ben MacDhui also has a strange, almost subliminal "ringing" or singing that is literally felt in the air. This tone has no explainable source other the mountain itself.

The legend of the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui is to be made into a movie by an amateur film company. Carrbridge Films is run by young people from the Cairngorms National Park. In order to raise £2,500 for a new camera, Carrbridge Films has offered sponsors "perks" such as roles as associate producers. Director Fergus Thom, 18, said the project was one of the company's most ambitious.

Inspiration for the film, called Broken Spectre, include the account from Prof. Collie. Mr. Thom said: "We're all very excited to be embarking on another big project and look forward to getting out and about and capturing all the wonderful locations we have on our doorsteps. Having said this, we also have a lot of work ahead of us to prepare the plot and screenplay."

The group hope to complete the film by early next year.

Click for video

Sources:
mysterytopia.com
www.biggreyman.co.uk
www.bigfootencounters.com
www.wormwoodchronicles.com
www.newanimal.org
www.scottishhills.com
news.bbc.co.uk

Film Project Renews Interest In Scottish Monster Legend

This Week on 'Beyond the Edge' Radio - Sunday, June 20th - 9:00 PM ET

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 09:00 AM PDT

This week on Beyond the Edge Radio - Sunday, June 20th at 9:00 pm ET
Hosts: Eric Altman & Sean Forker

* * * * * *
Special Guest: Karen Frazier - Author of Avalanche of Spirits: the Ghosts of Wellington

Karen Frazier is a paranormal journalist and the managing editor for the magazine Paranormal Underground. She also produces and moderates the Paranormal Underground Presents podcast, which features interviews with leaders and innovators in the paranormal field.

She is the Director of Production & Public Relations with Ghost Knight Media, LLC, and is the author of several books: Avalanche of Spirits: The Ghosts of Wellington, Lessons of Many Lives, which she co-authored with hypnotherapist Melissa Watts, and Supernatural! Exploring the Mysteries of Our Universe, which is due to be released early in 2010. She is also the creator of The Namaste Project, and she is currently writing her book about her experiences with 100 Days of Namaste.

Karen wasn't sure whether or not she believed in ghosts until she visited the site of the Wellington avalanche disaster for the first time on July 11, 2009. Now she's pretty sure she's a believer.

* * * * * *

Weekly Segment Host:
Scott "Hackenslash" Walton - "BTE Movie News and Reviews"

This Week on 'Beyond the Edge' Radio - Sunday, June 20th - 9:00 PM ET

The Swimming Idol - Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 08:34 AM PDT

I received the following email from Tony P. in reference to a very unusual sighting:

I would like to tell you about something I experienced during my honeymoon in Isla Mujeres, Mexico in 1989.

I was with my wife and another couple, sitting at a waterfront restaurant overlooking the shallow bay between Isla Mujeres and Cancun on the mainland. Only five miles long and less than a mile wide, Isla Mujeres is a rocky expanse of limestone and scrub vegetation dotted with a few small resort hotels and white sand beaches. There are a few remnants of Mayan structures still evident in the center part of the island, some containing small carvings of Mayan deities or idols.

As we were sitting enjoying the balmy weather, I spotted something unusual about 150 yards offshore, moving slowly but steadily across the gentle waves of the bay toward the mainland. I strained to see what it was, but couldn't quite make it out. It almost looked like an animal's head sticking out of the water, but I could detect no paddling or other limb motion that would explain its slow, steady progress across the bay. I considered for a moment that it might be one of the island's ubiquitous iguanas paddling across to the mainland, but quickly dismissed that possibility due to the upright and squarish aspect of the moving shape. I also considered whether it could be a piece of driftwood that was being blown across the bay by a light wind or current, but it did not appear to bob or move erratically like a piece of driftwood or flotsam would. Its forward progress appeared to be steady and purposeful, as if propelled by something - fins or limbs of some kind - just under the surface of the water.

I pointed this out to Lincoln, the fellow that was sitting with us, asking if he could make out whether it was a living creature or something inanimate being pushed across the surface. Having told us earlier that he had very acute vision (20/10), I expected that he would be able to make it out, and he did. He hesitated for a moment, then announced in an incredulous tone that it appeared to be a small, vaguely human-like head and shoulders facing the mainland as it moved slowly across the surface of the water toward the mainland. He stood up to get a better look, then said, "you won't believe this, but it looks like a small stone idol moving through the water." Judging from the distance, the visible portion above the surface appeared to him to be about a foot tall. Neither my wife nor Lincoln's lady friend could make it out, but they could see that something was moving across the water.

We all challenged Lincoln - accusing him of pulling our leg, but he insisted he was not kidding at all, and we all looked at each other in amazement, wondering what it was that we had just experienced. Lincoln tried to keep it in view as it moved away, getting smaller as it went, and he indicated that it eventually disappeared from view as it approached the surf of the distant shoreline. He said the shoreline was too far away to determine if anything exited the water in that vicinity. We all laughed nervously about it, but I'm sure all of us were a bit spooked by the experience.

I certainly will never forget it.

Lon, have you ever heard reports of idols or statues appearing to move on their own?

Thanks!

Tony P.

NOTE: Tony is requesting feedback from anyone who may have experienced a similar incident...Lon

The Swimming Idol - Isla Mujeres, Mexico

The College Professor - Abductee

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 08:04 AM PDT

Chris Holly's Paranormal World - My recent interviews with the group of Real Time Abductees has been incredible. I have been talking with the abductee group of four and have decided to write about each abductee separately before writing about what they had to say as a group.

The group of people I refer to as real time abductees are people who were going along their normal day fully awake and aware of their surrounding when they were over taken against their will . The people in this group all remember the start of their abductions and being returned. They all have little or no recall of the lost time while they were taken. They do have flashes of recall concerning what took place during the encounters.

The group of real time abductees I was able to join together consisted of three women and one man. I recently wrote an article about the man's experiences. I will be writing about one of the three women today.

While living on the east coast of the United States the woman I will be writing about in this article had her first lost time experience as a young professor at a local New England College.

It took place in the late 70's when she was teaching a night course . She lived about ten minutes from the campus where she taught. She followed the same schedule each week. She finished her night class at the same time . She was newly married and made it a habit to quickly leave once the class ended so she could make it home quickly to have some time with her new husband before the day ended.

It was her routine to leave the campus making it home between 8:45 and 9P.M. after her night class. She did not stop along the way home and always took the exact same route.

The night of her first lost time abduction she finished her class on time and walked to her car like she did every other night . She remembers walking to her car with another professor. All at this point was completely normal. She started her car and headed towards the parkway she traveled to drive home. She remembers the highway having the usual light traffic. Nothing seemed unusual up to that point.

That is all she remembers.

Her young husband however was at home waiting for her to return. Her usual time had come and gone and she did not return home. Once she was an hour late he called the school. They told him she left on time . He waited another half an hour and called the police to see if there had been any accidents. None were reported.

Once she was two hours late he started to call family members and friends. He called his brother and asked him to come over to man the phone so he could follow her normal route in case she was broken down on the road.

The woman's husband traced her route but could not find her. He searched the campus as well as every place he could think of that she may have stopped on the way home.

Now nearly three hours late the husband decided to return home and to call the police. He decided to call the local hospitals before calling the police to see if she had run off the road or become ill on the way home.

As he was on the phone with one of the local hospitals he heard her pull in to the driveway.

The young college professor was ill and confused. She was shaking and upset. Her car was burned on the hood . trunk and roof. The inside of the car had a horrible odor of sulfur, mold and chemicals. She was bent over in stomach pain and vomiting. She had a fever.

She remembered driving home on the parkway. The next thing she recalls is waking up in a dark parking lot on the passenger side of her front seat. Her keys were in the ignition however the car was cold dark and not running. She told her husband she was the only car in the lot of what appeared to be a large factory of some kind.

She was dizzy and had a terrible headache. Her eyes burned and she felt ill all over as if she had the flu. She did not know how she got there. She had no memory of driving to this place. She had no idea what this place was . She did not recall falling asleep or feeling ill when she left the campus. She was frightened and confused.

Alone and terrified she started her car and started to drive looking for a way out of the large empty parking lot. She found an exit and could see lights ahead and drove towards them. She did not recognize her surroundings and still had no idea where she was. She kept driving until she found a large sign for a main expressway she knew ahead. She followed the signs and entered the ramp to the expressway. She drove for a few miles before finding signs along the expressway that indicated she was far from her home. She stayed on the expressway for two hours in the direction of her home town .Finally she f found her way back to the highway that took her home. It took her nearly three hours to get home.

When she arrived home her husband had to help wash the awful smell off of her and get her to bed. She was covered with the same smell from the interior of the car. She had a red rash similar to hives on her back . She was weak. sick to her stomach and terrified.

She did not know how she was taken to that parking lot and how she was able to cover what should have been a six hour car round trip car ride in three hours. She had no idea what happened . The ordeal left her so frightened she was not able to stay alone or return to work for about two weeks after the incident.

The burns on her car could not be explained. The smell took days of washing to remove from inside the car. The young professor refused to drive alone at night from that point on. Her husband knew something horrible happened to her yet could not explain what. He drove her to and from work during her night class's and still does to this day.

Over the years this abductee and her husband have both experienced lost time events. They were both taken twice while on vacation . The ordeals were so traumatic it forever ended car trips or visiting locations that are not fully populated .

Their shared encounters were very much like that of the first one she had driving home from the college campus. They would be driving to a destination and could remember when they started out and what they were talking about as they were on their way when without warning they would find themselves in their car miles away from their destination in places they did not know feeling ill and disoriented.

The time they last recall before the encounters begin and the time they wake up in a strange location usually is about three hours of lost time. The distance away from their original starting point also has been further than it would have been possible for them to have driven in the time that was lost.

The college professor and her husband decided to end all car trips after their last lost time event which occurred in 2003. They refuse to make it easy for these frightening disturbing events to take place.

This couple is very concerned about their privacy concerning these events. They both hold positions that could be damaged seriously if they were labeled as people believing they were having abduction encounters.

The few times this couple tried to discuss their abduction events with family or friends were met with rejection, insult and warnings for them to stop mentioning ridiculous things. Without any support at all this couple has had to keep this part of their life hidden.

Both of them fear being known in connection with the lost time events as much as they fear the actual events . It is sad that those being taken must live this way without help due to the public and media's reaction and abuse to those suffering the ordeals. We have a great deal to learn on this earth.

This woman is the most traumatized of all the abductees I have spoken to concerning her encounters. She is so fearful of what has happened to her and her husband that she becomes extremely upset and emotional when discussing their experiences.

She is terrified someone will try to hypnotize her against her will and is determined to never recall any of what happened during her lost time events. Her terror is so over whelming that she lives in constant fear that she may recall what took place.

She is angry at those involved with researching or reporting the paranormal as the first thing they try to do is expose the privacy of those enduring the events followed by wanting to hypnotize the abductees to fully recall the abduction. She feels that the selfish motives of those in the paranormal field is based first and foremost on personal gain or fame with the last consideration being discovery or truth of what is happening to so many who are taken. She also fears being thrown in to one box with those who report false experiences. She knows that they are a main reason she has been laughed at and warned not to discuss her experiences.

She fights all attempts of recall and quickly shakes off any flash of memory she may have. This woman is absolutely horrified of what happened to her. Her fear is so powerful she has blocked all recall in order to prevent facing what happened to her during her encounters.

She has suffered many odd physical problems over the years. She has had many miscarriages including unexplainable massive bleeding as well as finding she has severe damage to her reproductive system. She also suffered strange weight changes going from being obese to thin in a short period of time without any changes in her eating habits.

She is extremely fearful of talking about her encounters. She fear that being honest will only bring her ridicule and career problems. She also feels that the medical community may turn their backs on her and refuse to help her if she ever mentioned her lost time abductions encounters.

This woman has closed down completely to who or what has been taking her. The only thing she will say is that they are so horrific she cannot allow her mind to ever go there.

This woman lives in constant fear and does not trust anyone or anything. She believes the government is not a protector of the human race and that they are powerless against those who do take us.

This woman has been deeply and seriously wounded both emotionally and physically by whatever has been taking her over the last 30 years.

I can say that her message to humanity is to brace for impact as she feels we are all in for some very difficult times. This woman has warned me that we should never feel that creatures out there are here for our benefit . She does not feel they are here to take over the world or do the planet extreme harm . She does believe they are here for self motivated reasons only. Her feelings are of fear and anger for being taken against her will and used like a lab rat.

I have no idea what or who is taking this woman but will tell you that I know fear and this woman's terror is real.

She does not seem to have any sense of communication or mission from her kidnappers. She sadly seems to be only terrified by them.

I will talk more about the thoughts of this woman as I write about my time with the abductee group.

Meeting with this woman has been difficult as I do not wish to bring her any harm or upset. She does have many opinions on the subject of UFO's and those interfering with the human race without permission . I will be writing more about that after I have completed my articles about each of the four abductees I was lucky enough to group together and spend time talking to.

For now please pay attention to your surroundings and be careful out there.

Thanks to Chris Holly at Chris Holly's Paranormal World
Copyright © 2008-2010 Chris Holly all Rights Reserved
chrishollyufo@yahoo.com

The College Professor - Abductee

'Knobby' Identified?

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 07:51 AM PDT

I received this email today in reference to the 'Knobby' sighting in North Carolina. I have asked for more evidence and commentary from the reader:

Hi Lon,
I have debunked "Knobby". I am positive that it is my cousin "Clarence" the biker. He has the same ZZ Topp beard long scraggly hair and get this, Clarence has six fingers on one hand and regular five on the other, (I can't remember which is which though). We've tried for years to keep Clarence from rootin' around in folks' garbage to no avail. He's a pretty gentle guy for being 6'9" though and appears much bigger. Got to be Clarence... Just sayin'

NOTE: if other evidence comes forward, I will update this post. Here are the links to previous posts: Recent 'Knobby' Sighting Rekindles North Carolina Legend and Knobby: 'This thing was 10 foot tall....six fingers on each hand'...Lon

'Knobby' Indentified?

Have you had a close encounter or witnessed something unusual?
Send us an email

Become a fan of 'Phantoms and Monsters' at Facebook

Listen to our segment
'Strickly Paranormal: For Those Seeking the Truth!'

New 'SPECIAL OFFER' Category
BUY 2 and get the 3rd FREE!

Anomalist Books - works on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries. Please check out their excellent and diverse catalog