Phantoms and Monsters

Strange Howling, Footprints and Other Evidence Reported In Central Illinois
Just the Facts? - Psychic Links to Caylee's Murder, Kamikaze Son and the 2011 Kecksburg Festival
Searching For The Alaskan Sea Monster

Strange Howling, Footprints and Other Evidence Reported In Central Illinois

Posted: 19 Jul 2011 12:34 PM PDT

There's something amiss in the backwoods of Chatham, something potentially big. Lately there's been talk around certain areas of town of an unusual howling and screeching sound as well as evidence of some very large footprints.

Since June there have been at least five to six instances of residents discovering or hearing evidence that the infamous Bigfoot may be lurking somewhere in the Chatham community. One case in particular has garnered some attention from local police, as well as a few proclaimed Big Foot experts.

On Wednesday, June 15, 2011, Michael Patrick's mother was getting the liner to her pool changed at her residence, when workmen noticed an abnormally large footprint under the apple tree in the back yard and brought the footprint to Patrick's attention.

Over the years Patrick and his mother had, at times, heard bizarre noises, but had always passed them off as coming from some common forest animal. But they weren't the only ones that had heard the sounds either. The night before the footprint was found a neighbor had also commented about unusual sounds.

"My neighbor has a German Shepherd, and it heard something that night that spooked him. The dog went outside to investigate, but came back cowering, now it won't leave its owner's side," Patrick said.

Unsure about what exactly the footprint was, and concerned for his mother's safety, Patrick called the Chatham Police Department. An officer came to investigate the scene, but was unable to determine what might have caused the print.

"The responding officer stated that there was a large footprint approximately 18 inches long and 8 inches wide, and it appeared there were five claw marks," Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief, Vernon Foli said.

To give you an idea how big 18 inches is, retired NBA center Shaquille O'Neil's feet are approximately 15 inches long, and he wears a size 23 shoe. The average human being's foot measures approximately 9 ½ inches. Most shoe size charts end at a size fifteen shoe. An 18-inch footprint is about the size of a healthy newborn baby. Considering the size of the print, it's understandable for a person to show a little concern if they found such a print in their yard.

Patrick documented his discovery on Facebook where he struck up a conversation with a friend. Patrick's friend knew John Winterbauer, a Bigfoot investigator. Winterbauer in turn contacted local Bigfoot expert Stan Courtney.

Courtney has documented sightings and gathered sound recordings and evidence of Bigfoot for years. He has interviewed over two hundred witnesses who have seen Bigfoot.

"I literally know hundreds of people who've seen these animals. There have been lots of them in central Illinois. I've recorded lots of sounds that other researchers and witnesses believe come from these animals. People in Springfield don't realize it, but there have been a lot of reports from the Sangamon River around Riverton." Courtney said in a previous interview.

Courtney said that there have been five to six other reports of finding footprints and howling in the Chatham area since June.

So why is Bigfoot in Chatham? Well it's hard to say really. Patrick's property does back up to a wooded stream which flows into Lake Springfield. Courtney proposed that the creature was drawn to the house because of the apple tree that grows in Patrick's mother's back yard.

Stan Courtney explained to Patrick that the apple tree might have somehow been interpreted as a gift of food. In the past the Patrick's had noticed that apples from the tree had been picked, but only to a certain height. They believed that the culprit was a wily raccoon, but the large footprint seemed to suggest otherwise. Courtney told Patrick that a creature such a Bigfoot will usually return the favor, and present a gift of its own as a show of appreciation in the form of a dead animal or a strange arrangement of flowers.

The day after his meeting with Courtney, Patrick discovered the Sasquatch's gift, a decapitated rabbit, near his mother's house. In Courtney's account he stated that the rabbit had, "its head pulled off, not bitten or cut, but just simply pulled off."

Since that strange June evening, no more incidents have occurred at Patrick's mother's residence. You might think that such a strange series of events would frighten most people in to staying out of the back yard, but the occurrence has not deterred Patrick's mother from going about her normal routine.

"She's not scared, she continues to do her yard work, she thinks it's neat. My mom has never been skeptical of it." Patrick said.

While his mother may not be skeptical of what happened, others aren't ready to pin the event on Bigfoot just yet. Vernon Foli posed a possible explanation, albeit an indirect one.

"One thing I can tell you is that approximately ½ mile south of this location is the former Grindstone Valley Zoo that use to have exotic animals. The zoo is no longer in existence but the owner is Brad or Larry Reynolds and he still has some animals at this location," Foli said.

Could the print have come from an animal from the old zoo? The Reynolds had kept large animals such as buffalo, antelope, elk, deer, tigers, leopards, monkeys, and zebras while the zoo was open. Or could it be a bear footprint? It's widely believed by many that there are no bears in Illinois, but with their presence in neighboring states, Wisconsin and Missouri, would it be so far fetched to think that there are indeed bears in Illinois?

At this point it's hard to tell what exactly made the footprint, but with other accounts of strange happenings and unusual howls and screeches in Chatham, many residents are raising an eyebrow.

"I definitely don't think it was a hoax, and it was more than just a coincidence. I think that people should just be a bit more vigilant and careful, because you never know what you're going to find out there," Patrick said. - sj-r

Just the Facts? - Psychic Links to Caylee's Murder, Kamikaze Son and the 2011 Kecksburg Festival

Posted: 19 Jul 2011 03:27 PM PDT

Psychic links in Caylee murder case

Casey Anthony walked free today after spending three years in an Orlando, Florida, jail having been acquitted of the murder of her two-year-old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony, as well as aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter.

Although she escaped the death penalty, Casey was found guilty of four misdemeanour counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer, for which she received a one-year jail sentence and a fine for each count. With credit for time served and good behaviour, Casey – who has been described by some as "America's most hated woman" – was released in the early hours this morning, under very tight security.

Psychics, inevitably, claimed to know the whereabouts of Caylee soon after her disappearance was reported by her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, on 18 July, 2008 – a month after she had last been seen.

In fact, the help of a Virginia psychic, Ginette Matacia Lucas, who uses remote dowsing to locate missing people, was apparently enlisted by the defence team to search for the child and appears to have been accurate enough to take them to within 50 yards of where Caylee's remains were eventually discovered,

According to Ginette, the grandmother sent her a teddy bear that belonged to Caylee, which she placed together with a pendulum beside by her bed. She then dreamed about the location of the child's body and phoned in the early hours of the morning to convey this information to those hired by the family to assist with the investigation.

Dominic Ginette then says she spoke with Dominic Casey, the family's private investigator, on his cell phone while he searched the area she had indicated. This search was filmed by Jim Hoover, a private investigator who had volunteered his help. Dominic Casey had called Hoover on 14 November, 2008, telling him that Caylee was dead and he knew where her remains were. He did not say how he knew.

All of which indicates that Ginette Lucas came close to leading the private detectives to Caylee's remains. In a high profile and very complex case that will be very familiar to American readers of this Blog, the psychic's involvement may not be as clear-cut as it seems. Speculation has even suggested that Dominic Casey was not speaking to Ginette when he was searching (see Fox video below), but possibly to the person who either murdered her or disposed of her remains.

Hoover said that Dominic Casey never said who he was speaking with on his mobile phone the 15th and 16th when they searched. He has also testified that there was a close bond between the fellow private detective and Caylee's grandmother. There is also the question why, if the remains were where the psychic indicated, they were not found by the searching investigators, but were discovered in the area a few weeks later.

In an interview with Nancy Grace, CNN Justice presenter, Ginette has publicly testified to her role in the case. It can be heard here. Gale St John, another psychic who worked with the Anthony family, led a team of psychics who drove 'blindly' around Orlando looking for the missing child and was subpoenaed to give evidence in court. She also claims to have come close to Caylee's remains.

It's a puzzling case, in which Caylee's mother's defence indicated that the child may have died in her grandparents' pool and implicating her father (the girl's gransdather), George Anthony, in disposing of the body. While the jury found there was not enough evidence to charge either Casey, the American public are clearly angry with the verdict.

I suspect it's a case we'll be hearing a lot more about in the future, though whether that sheds any more light on the involvement of psychics remains to be seen. - paranormalreview

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Alligator found in Ontario stream

An alligator is cruising through the murky waters of an eastern Ontario pond. The reptile has eluded capture for almost three weeks.

The local police chief is warning area residents to be cautious when fishing near the Mill Pond near Mill St. in Stirling, a town 30 minutes northwest of Belleville.

"Someone called in and said there was an alligator in the pond," said Stirling-Rawdon police chief Brian T. Foley. "Um, yeah, OK."

He scrambled Sgt. James Orr to the pond. The officer scoured the area for days but saw nothing. Word quickly spread through the small community and morphed into an urban legend — the area's own Loch Ness Monster.

Ron Main, intrigued by the story, figured the alligator would swim for warmer, shallower waters from the deep part where it was first spotted. He was correct. A three-foot long alligator swam through the pond.

But Main didn't have his camera. He went back last Friday night and found the alligator in the same area once again. That time, he snapped a blurry photo and posted it to his Facebook page.

While swimming in the pond is rare, many people fish the waters from the shoreline and walk their dogs on the water's edge.

"It's big enough to take ducklings, goslings or even small dogs like a chihuahua," Foley said.

The alligator hasn't been seen since Friday. The police have relinquished the hunt to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is currently investigating.

Anyone who spots the reptile is urged to call police or the provincial ministry. - thestar

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Man commits suicide by flying plane into mother's house

A man flew his plane into his estranged mother's home after telephoning her to say he was 'dropping by'.

Konrad Schmidt, 47, flew the rented light aircraft past the building three times before crashing into it at high speed.

There was a huge explosion and fireball but, incredibly, his mother Rosemary, 68, survived because she was in the basement at the time of the suicide attack on Saturday afternoon.

Neighbours helped rescue her from the burning shell of her house in the Swiss village of Oberhallau, 50 miles north of Zurich.

Mrs Schmidt, who is being treated for shock, told police that shortly before the crash her son telephoned her from the cockpit to say: 'Are you home? I am just going to drop by.'

Witnesses said there was 'no possibility' that it had been an accident. One said: 'He had all these flypasts. He was lining himself up. And then he did it. It was like seeing a mini re-run of 9/11.'

Schmidt, who had been a keen hobby pilot for many years, had hired the Diamond Aircraft DA42 earlier on Saturday.

In the past two years the unemployed electrical engineer had suffered depression and financial problems.

Neighbours said he had a long-running feud with his mother. 'They had a lot of heavy issues over a lot of things,' one said. 'They did not have a good relationship.'

Media reports said Schmidt's father Otto was a senior pilot with national carrier Swissair, and was rarely at home during his son's childhood.

Konrad was brought up almost single-handed by his mother, and after his parents' marriage crumbled he was left bitter and disillusioned. He blamed Rosemary for the split, while his father moved out and died from cancer shortly afterwards. - dailymail

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Crop Circles: Alien Connection Proven?

When I first asked RSR if they were looking for a writer to cover UFOs, Aliens, and the Illuminati, I was pleasantly surprised by the response. My Managing Editor Geno McGahee responded with an "absolutely," and here we are. The topic of choice today are the crop circles and whether or not they are legitimate, and having some inside information on this topic, I can answer this simply by saying: yes…and no.

First, let's talk about what is hurting the UFO enthusiast's community. It is the willingness to believe everything and anything that comes out regarding UFOs and aliens as legitimate without investigation. That poster that says "I want to Believe" with the UFO says it all, but this mentality hurts our cause and the more that time passes, the less and less serious this topic is taken. The Government is on the board. They have won the round, convincing the public that not only are UFOs nonsense but that anyone that believes in them is batty. Never underestimate the power of the media.

I am happy to say that my finances are in order and that it has allowed me to travel the world and speak to various people regarding the topic of Crop Circles. I have been on stakeouts in areas that have seen many crop circle formations and have examined the activity.

The least favorite activity for a UFO buff is the art of dismissal. Can it be dismissed as a natural or man made event? If so, then you must lean that way. If not, then you can further examine the evidence and follow it to a reasonable conclusion. The majority of the crop circles can be explained and have been created by the hand of man, but there are those so complex, emitting energy that could not be applied via the hand of man, that you must seek the source elsewhere.

The 2008 crop circle in Wiltshire is evidence of extraterrestrial involvement. The crop circle, 150 feet in diameter, is a coded image, representing the first 10 numbers. From all of my sources, the first contact made with aliens from our government was done through numbers.

Remember what I said as well about UFOs being invisible to the naked eye. When I speak to the farmer that owns the field where this crop circle was made, I never ask them if they saw any UFOs or spaceships. It is irrelevant because I know they are already there. They are everywhere. I only need to see the location, do my tests, and come to a determination.

The 2008 Wiltshire incident had the characteristics that I look for. 1. It was an overly complex crop circle, a near impossible proposition for people to do, especially so in the dark. 2. It emitted energy that we were able to pick up and prove, something that you do not get when a man-made crop circle is discovered. In face, it is the easiest way to tell the difference between the two.

I have heard from a very high source in the US Government that there is a campaign, started in the 1970s, where the government will train and pay citizens to produce crop circles and then come forward later, admitting that they did it, to get the people away from UFO involvement. This plan has worked like a charm, but there are certainly flaws if you investigate enough.

There is an alien connection to crop circles, a communication that we have shared with them for years, based on the number system, something that we both fully understand. I will gladly say that 99% of the crop circles that you see are man-made, commissioned by our government and the governments of other countries, but there is that 1%, a proven communication by extraterrestrials, and it must be taken seriously. - ringsidereport

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Genetic confirm: All non-Africans human beings are part Neanderthal

If your heritage is non-African, you are part Neanderthal, according to a new study in the July issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution. Discovery News has been reporting on human/Neanderthal interbreeding for some time now, so this latest research confirms earlier findings.

Damian Labuda of the University of Montreal's Department of Pediatrics and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center conducted the study with his colleagues. They determined some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals, but only in people of non-African heritage.

"This confirms recent findings suggesting that the two populations interbred," Labuda was quoted as saying in a press release. His team believes most, if not all, of the interbreeding took place in the Middle East, while modern humans were migrating out of Africa and spreading to other regions.

The ancestors of Neanderthals left Africa about 400,000 to 800,000 years ago. They evolved over the millennia mostly in what are now France, Spain, Germany and Russia. They went extinct, or were simply absorbed into the modern human population, about 30,000 years ago.

Neanderthals possessed the gene for language and had sophisticated music, art and tool craftsmanship skills, so they must have not been all that unattractive to modern humans at the time.

"In addition, because our methods were totally independent of Neanderthal material, we can also conclude that previous results were not influenced by contaminating artifacts," Labuda said.

This work goes back to nearly a decade ago, when Labuda and his colleagues identified a piece of DNA, called a haplotype, in the human X chromosome that seemed different. They questioned its origins.

Fast forward to 2010, when the Neanderthal genome was sequenced. The researchers could then compare the haplotype to the Neanderthal genome as well as to the DNA of existing humans. The scientists found that the sequence was present in people across all continents, except for sub-Saharan Africa, and including Australia.

"There is little doubt that this haplotype is present because of mating with our ancestors and Neanderthals," said Nick Patterson of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University. Patterson did not participate in the latest research. He added, "This is a very nice result, and further analysis may help determine more details."

David Reich, a Harvard Medical School geneticist, added, "Dr. Labuda and his colleagues were the first to identify a genetic variation in non-Africans that was likely to have come from an archaic population. This was done entirely without the Neanderthal genome sequence, but in light of the Neanderthal sequence, it is now clear that they were absolutely right!"

The modern human/Neanderthal combo likely benefitted our species, enabling it to survive in harsh, cold regions that Neanderthals previously had adapted to.

"Variability is very important for long-term survival of a species," Labuda concluded. "Every addition to the genome can be enriching." - discovery

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2011 Kecksburg Festival to Feature UFO Conference

The sixth annual Kecksburg Old Fashion Days & UFO Festival will be held on September 17th and 18th at the Fire Station in Kecksburg, PA. Festivities begin with a parade on Saturday at 2 pm. Prizes will be awarded for the best alien float and alien costume, as well as prizes for some other events. Additional events on Saturday will include the Bucket Brigade, Bed Race, and the Hay Bale Toss. The famous Burn Out Contest begins at 7 pm. The Two Man Band performs from 8:30-11 pm. The Social Hall houses the Arts and Crafts exhibits and UFO/Bigfoot /Paranormal displays both days. The grounds are open until 11 pm on Saturday.

On Sunday, you can enter or check out the Classic Car and Bike Show from noon until 5pm. Bring your appetite and enter the second annual "Out of This World UFO Hot Dog Eating Contest" at 1 pm and listen to music by Katrina Lynn nearby on the stage. The First Annual Kecksburg UFO Conference will be free and will be held from 2-5pm. New this year is the Kids Pedal Power Tractor Pull for kids ages 3-10 years at 3 pm.

The Mount Pleasant Township community of Kecksburg has become the focus of international interest as a result of a famous UFO incident that occurred near there in December of 1965. The incident involves a fiery object that reportedly fell in a wooded area near this rural community. A number of independent witnesses found a large metallic acorn shaped object with strange hieroglyphic-like symbols that was semi-buried in the ground. Later that evening, the military arrived in the area and apparently recovered the object and hauled it away, never to be seen by the public again. A number of Kecksburg firemen took part in the 1965 UFO event, also.

Commemorating this historical local event includes a large UFO, Bigfoot and other Paranormal display as well as speakers. Pittsburgh area investigators and research organizations will be on hand both days in the Social Hall along with the Arts and Crafts show. Those scheduled to attend include Stan Gordon, Author and UFO-Bigfoot Researcher. Gordon will attend both days and will be signing his two new books for the Kecksburg V.F.D. Gift Shop display. Also attending will be Eric Altman, Director of the (PBS) Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, John Ventre, Author and PA State Director of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). Dave Dragosin, Assistant Director of the PBS for Western Pennsylvania, Brian and Terrie Seech, Center for Unexplained Events (CUE), Keith Bastianini, UFO Researcher & Graphic Artist, and Jim Brown, Electronics Lab, Independent Research Associates.

On Sunday, Kecksburg will hold their First Annual Kecksburg UFO Conference in their newly constructed EMS building with more seating and a new sound system. The speaker event will be held from 2 to 5pm and will be free to the public. Scheduled to attend are as follows. Stan Gordon will present a synopsis of the December 9, 1965, Kecksburg UFO incident and will give an update on recent UFO and strange creature reports from the area. John Ventre, PA State MUFON Director, will give a presentation entitled "The Case For UFOs". Eric Altman, the Director of PBS, will discuss his groups work and introduce the 3rd speaker, Dave Dragosin, who will give his presentation "Pennsylvania Bigfoot Sightings As Related Through Artist Sketches". Questions and answer sessions will be as time permits.

Join us for great food, family fun, and free entertainment. All about forty miles from Pittsburgh at Claypike and Route 982. For information call 724-423-9540 or 724-423-2580. Also check out the Kecksburg V.F.D. website: www.kecksburgvfd.com

Searching For The Alaskan Sea Monster

Posted: 19 Jul 2011 11:40 AM PDT

Alaska may have its own version of the Loch Ness monster, according to prominent cryptozoologists who say a video shows a mysterious marine animal, which they believe is a Cadborosaurus.

Meaning "reptile" or "lizard" from Cadboro Bay, Cadborosaurus willsi is an alleged sea serpent from the North Pacific and possibly other regions. Accounts generally describe it as having a long neck, a horse-like head, large eyes, and back bumps that stick out of the water.

The footage, shot by Alaskan fishermen in 2009, will make its public debut on "Hillstranded," a new Discovery Channel special that will air Tuesday evening at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

"I am quite impressed with the video," Paul LeBlond, former head of the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of British Columbia, told Discovery News. "Although it was shot under rainy circumstances in a bouncy ship, it's very genuine."

LeBlond, co-author of the book "Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep," said the animal is "the least unlike a plesiosaur," referring to carnivorous marine reptiles thought to have gone extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

Sightings of Cadborosaurus have been reported for ages. In 1937, a supposed body of the animal was found in the stomach of a whale captured by the Naden Harbour whaling station in the Queen Charlotte Islands, a British Columbia archipelago. Samples of the animal were brought to the Provincial Museum in Victoria, where curator Francis Kermode concluded they belonged to a fetal baleen whale.

The animal's remains, however, later disappeared. James Wakelun, a worker at the whaling station, last year said that he saw the creature's body and "it wasn't an unborn whale."

Like other cryptids — animals whose existence is suggested but not yet recognized by scientific consensus — Cadborosaurus has otherwise existed only in grainy photographs and eyewitness accounts. The 2009 video, therefore, "adds to its authentication," LeBlond said.

John Kirk, president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, agrees. In an issued statement, Kirk described the video as being "important. They (the fishermen) simply don't know what they have got in terms of the creatures in this video."

While many have speculated that Cadborosaurus is actually a frill shark, a large eel, or some kind of fish, LeBlond counters that it cannot be a fish due to the way Cadborosaurus moves.

"It must be a mammal or a reptile, since it oscillates up and down in a vertical plane, which eliminates sideways-oscillating fish," he explained.

A possible new believer in Cadborosaurus is Andy Hillstrand of "Deadliest Catch" television show fame. He told Discovery News that he might have seen the enigmatic animal while filming "Hillstranded," the Discovery Channel special that features the 2009 footage.

Hillstrand and his brother Johnathan traveled to sites in Alaska where Cadborosaurus has been spotted. Referring to one location, he said, "We saw a big, long white thing moving in the water. We chased it for about 20 minutes."

"Spray came out of its head," he continued. "It was definitely not a shark. A giant eel may be possible, but eels don't have humps that all move in unison. I've never seen anything like it before."

Hillstrand speculates that whales, following salmon, might be pushing the animals closer to shores and in the view of humans.

While he understands the controversy and skepticism over such sightings and claims, Hillstrand believes the many fishermen who have reported seeing the animal "are not a bunch of fruitcakes. These are people who are familiar with the local marine life."

In order for a cryptid to gain scientific credibility, more physical evidence must be obtained. LeBlond said, "We cannot go out in the ocean poking everywhere, but we are always on the lookout for new accounts."

Hillstrand, on the other hand, isn't ruling out another Cadborosaurus-related trip.

"We live in Alaska, so we might investigate Cadborosaurus again in future," he said. "We are always up for an adventure." - msn

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