The Occult Section

Loren Coleman is currently the world’s leading cryptozoologist, having written such books as Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America, Mysterious America, and Cryptozoology A to Z. He has also appeared on and consulted for many TV shows, such as MonsterQuest, Weird Travels, In Search Of…, and many more. He runs the websites Cryptomundo and The Cryptozoologist, and is also the curator of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

Recently, I reviewed the book Monsters of New Jersey: Mysterious Creatures in the Garden State by Loren Coleman here on The Occult Section. I loved the book, as I tend to do with any of Mr. Coleman’s writings, and it left me wanting more. So I decided to contact Mr. Coleman to see if he would be gracious enough to grant me an interview. Even though he is an extremely busy and dedicated professional, he graciously agreed to answer my questions.

Jason Stroming: Loren, thank you for taking the time to talk to us here at The Occult Section.
Loren Coleman: You are welcome. This is my busiest time of year, so I appreciate your patience with me getting back to you to answer your questions intelligently.

JS: I recently had the chance to read your newest book, Monsters of New Jersey. Can you tell us how that project came about?
LC: Stackpole approached me about writing a book on cryptozoology for them, and their editor Kyle Weaver had in mind a series for the states. I was interested, as regional books are fun to write.

JS: So out of the 50 states, what made you decide to focus on New Jersey for this book?
LC: Stackpole made that decision, based upon their readership research.  The Jersey Devil, it appears, is a favorite of the NY media, so perhaps that came into play in their choice.

JS: Did you spend a lot of time in NJ while researching the book? And if so, what about it surprised you, cryptozoologically speaking?
LC: I have spent a great deal of time in NJ, over the years, in exploring the cryptozoology history of the area. Indeed, an early and important cryptozoology conference took place there, and I was able to meet Richard Greenwell, Patrick Huyghe, Richard Ellis, and some other significance figures in the field there too.

JS: Were there other New Jersey monsters that you came across that didn’t make it into the book, perhaps for being too “out there?” The giant wooden English-speaking bird comes to mind, but even he got mention in the book!
LC: What giant wooden English-speaking bird? That sounds more mythical than cryptozoological, and we decided to exclude myths vs legends from the book.

JS: Getting away from New Jersey a bit here. One of my favorite cryptid cases, and one that you basically broke open, was that of the Dover Demon. Like the Jersey Devil, the Demon doesn’t seem to fit into any neat cryptozoological archetype. Do you have a theory as to what you think it may have been?
LC: The Dover Demon, other than vague links to Little People and Merbeing stories, is one of those cases that I have always been happy to say “I don’t know” about it. Some accounts, frankly, we have to not be afraid to say “we do not have any clear answers about this one!!”

JS: Another favorite of mine, and one which you have written about extensively, is Mothman. Do you think that this was yet another cryptid that just eludes easy classification? Or was it just a number of different phenomena (UFO sightings, monster sightings, etc.) that all got mistakenly lumped into one “weird” penomenon?
LC: Mothman, Lizardmen, and Dover Demon-type “cryptids” are on the edge of cryptozoology due to some writers. But if you look at them from another angle, they are merely out-of-the-mainstream cryptids.  They are all worthy of our attention.

JS: Are there any well-known (or even not so well-known) cryptids that you don’t believe exist? And why?
LC: I don’t “believe” in any cryptids. I accept or deny the evidence of the animals being reported, scientifically.

JS: New animal species are being discovered all the time. In your opinion, which has been the most significant in recent years?
LC: A hundred years ago, the answer would have been the okapi and mountain gorilla. Fifty years ago, I would have said the coelacanth. Today, the discovery of the saola, Homo floresiensis, and some of the other animals from Asia are the most important. But every new finding is important to show that new animals are being discovered every day, and these are large species, folks.

JS: If you had to hazard a guess, which currently undiscovered cryptid do you think has the best chance of being discovered in the near future?
LC: The current “celebrity cryptid” that will be found next and make a lot of news will be the Orang Pendek from Sumatra in the next 25 years.

JS: I know you reside in Maine, and your Cryptozoology Museum is in Portland. Stephen King bases a lot of his stories in Maine and I think a lot of people must think there is a lot of “high strangeness” there because of that. Do you have any favorite odd accounts from Maine?
LC:  Too many to repeat.  The fact that in central Maine there is a large dark animal, like a mysterious black cat or hynea-like creature, is still terrorizing people and livestock is one of the under-discussed secrets of the state.

JS: You’ve been “monster hunting” since you were pretty young. Can you share with our readers one of your favorite personal experiences from your travels?
LC: They all are my favorites and that’s why I’ve written over 32 books, including my newest one next month, True Giants, about Gigantopithecus.  The books that have become classics, Mysterious America and Cryptozoology A to Z, certainly review my travels and give a good feel for my favorite topics, experiences, and stories, such as my Dover Demon investigation or my black panther examinations.

JS: Before you go, can you give us any ideas or hints about what you’ll be working on next?
LC: Well, several trips are in the works, as well as books.  Besides True Giants that will be out next month, there are two or three books for next year.  One is Bigfoot in Maine, another is Monsters of Massachusetts, and the third is Mothman: Evil Incarnate.  I have several other books in the works. My books on Tom Slick, also, could be made into a movie in the next couple years.

JS: Thank you so much for your time Loren, it’s been a real pleasure!
LC:  Thank you too and Happy Halloween!

Again, I would like to thank Loren Coleman for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to talk to me. As a paranormal investigator, and with any field, it’s always amazing to be able to talk with the people who inspired you to follow in their footsteps.

Technorati Tags: bigfoot, book reviews, celebrity, cryptozoology, dover demon, jersey devil, loren coleman, monsters of new jersey, mothman, sasquatch

Being a paranormal investigator, I come across all sorts of weird phenomena, but one of the weirdest things I’ve come across is partisan opinions in the field of the paranormal. It truly irks me when people believe in one aspect of the paranormal and then ridicule people who believe in another aspect of the paranormal. For example, people will take pictures of dust and believe whole-heartedly that they have evidence of “orbs” or ghosts, and then goof on someone for believing in Bigfoot. To me, that is both ironic and hypocritical. I’m not saying that if you believe in ghosts you have to believe in UFOs or the Loch Ness Monster, but ridiculing others who believe in the paranormal when you yourself believe in the paranormal is just idiotic. Anyways, The Wall Street Journal (did I really just type that?) illustrates my point pretty well:

DENVER—There has been plenty of partisan rancor across Colorado as Election Day approaches. Here in the capital, it’s out of this world.

Ballot Initiative 300 would require the city to set up an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission, stocked with Ph.D. scientists, to “ensure the health, safety and cultural awareness of Denver residents” when it comes to future contact “with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles.”

Promoting the initiative: Jeff Peckman, a silver-haired entrepreneur who lives with his parents. “Low overhead,” he explains. Mr. Peckman is a firm believer in intergalactic life, though he has never been personally contacted by an alien. That gives him more credibility, he says; it’s harder to dismiss him as biased.

Mr. Peckman has recruited about 20 volunteers for his campaign.

They face an impassioned opposition led by Bryan Bonner, who dismisses the unidentified-flying-object buffs as delusional if not outright frauds.

The hallmark of all truly serious and professional paranormal investigators: dressing up like vampires.

One thing about Mr. Bonner: He spends his spare time crawling through spooky spaces, deploying remote digital thermometers, seismographs, infrared cameras, electromagnetic field detectors and Nerf balls in pursuit of evidence of the paranormal. He is, in short, a ghost hunter.

And he has rallied his colleagues at the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society to fight Initiative 300 as an embarrassment to science—and to Denver.

“This is about the reputation of the city,” Mr. Bonner says.

Replies Clifford Clift, a Colorado UFO researcher: “The paranormal group is saying we’re outlandish?”

Initiative 300 made it to Tuesday’s ballot on the strength of roughly 4,000 voter signatures. It starts from the premise that intelligent aliens have been visiting Earth for decades, but the federal government has conspired to keep that quiet.

“We need to get this out of the realm of the Tooth Fairy and into the realm of diplomatic protocol,” says Ricky Butterfass, who works on the campaign.

He and several other volunteers spent a recent afternoon hanging flying-saucer posters on a college campus in Denver. More than a few students brushed past with bemused looks. But those voters who stopped to talk seemed taken by the concept, especially when they learned that the ET commission would be financed by donations, not tax dollars.

“I don’t really believe in extraterrestrial life, but if we set something up like that, we’d be prepared for anything,” said Brandon Coby, 23 years old, a biology major at the University of Colorado. “You can’t go wrong with it.”

That logic drives the ghost-hunters at Rocky Mountain Paranormal nuts. Mr. Bonner, a founder of the group, says he has no problem with anyone scanning the skies for UFOs. But he does object to giving the saucer seekers credibility by setting them up with an official commission and posting its findings on the city of Denver’s website, as Initiative 300 requires.

Compared to that, he says, his profession is a model of discretion.

“The world is full of ghost-hunters,” Mr. Bonner says, “but we’re not trying to get ourselves affiliated with the city government.”

Ok, so where do I even start? Why is Mr. Bonner opposed to this? Perhaps it’s because another paranormal field is getting recognition over his chosen field of interest? He claims that his profession is a “model of discretion.” Then why is it that every ghost hunting group on the planet is trying to get a TV show, radio show, book deal, or other form of media appearance? According to Mr. Bonner’s own website, his group has been on The Larry King Show, The Peter Boyles Show, Fox News, The Scariest Places on Earth, Is It Real?, and Ghost Hunters. Very discreet.

Now I have to say that I have no problem with groups that seek media attention. I have been on TV numerous times with my group, and some of my best friends in the paranormal field have gotten tons of media exposure. But my point is that any positive media attention on the field of the paranormal as a whole should be supported by investigators of the paranormal, regardless of their chosen field of study. It’s stupid to complain that ghost hunting doesn’t get enough attention, or isn’t taken seriously by the scientific community when you are simultaneously trying to discredit the UFO or Bigfoot community. Again, support does not have to equate to belief. But I think if there is more unity in the paranormal community, then everyone benefits. If the government starts seriously researching UFOs, it may make it easier down the line to get support for other areas of the paranormal. Say, for example, ghost hunting, Mr. Bonner…

Technorati Tags: alien, aliens, bigfoot, colorado, cryptozoology, elections, extraterrestrial, ghosts, haunted, humor, News, paranormal, people, supernatural, thoughts, ufo, ufos

I know it’s been quiet around here the past week or so, but The Occult Section staff has been busy with a variety of personal and professional obligations which have kept us from posting as frequently as we’d like. But that’s Halloween season for paranormal investigators, free time is extremely limited. But this week it’s back to blogging…

In addition to my passion for the paranormal, I’m also a huge video game geek. My Xbox 360 is one of my most prized possessions (which is kind of sad, if you think about it…but whatever, man). So as you might have guessed, paranormally-themed video games always grab my attention. I’ve always thought a cool video game would be where you could go around and hunt for Bigfoot, and now it seems I might be able to do just that. A new add-on pack for what I nominate for game of the decade, Red Dead Redemption, will let you fight hordes of zombies in the Old West, but it also looks like you can hunt Bigfoot too. If this screenshot is accurate. The folks over at G4 have the story:

We know the upcoming Undead Nightmare pack for Red Dead Redemption will feature unending hordes of zombies, a hefty single-player story campaign, new multiplayer modes, and new weapons, but it appears the DLC will also include a few more surprises of the “WTF?” variety. At least, that is if this teaser image that Rockstar just posted on its blog is any indication:

Skeptical Inquirer magazine has already informed me that they believe this is one of the video game characters in a gorilla costume, most likely Nigel West Dickens.

I never thought I’d say this again, but round up the posse, and let’s take a break from killing thousands of walking dead in this wild west setting to track down and take out Bigfoot once and for all.

Technorati Tags: bigfoot, humor, News, people, red dead redemption, thoughts, video game

So the UFOs that were spotted over Manhattan (and blogged about by us yesterday) weren’t UFOs at all. It seems as though the mystery has been solved! Story courtesy of the Daily News.

All those theories about Wednesday’s mystery UFO sightings over Manhattan are about to go “pop.”

A Westchester elementary school believes the puzzling orbs floating over Chelsea were likely a bundle of balloons that escaped from an engagement party they held for a teacher.

Roswell all over again!

“UFO? They’re crazy – those are our balloons!” said Angela Freeman, head of the Milestone School in Mount Vernon. “To me it was the most automatic thing. But it’s all over YouTube.”

A parent was bringing about 40 iridescent pearl balloons to the school for language arts teacher Andrea Craparo when the wind spent a bunch away around 1 p.m.

“They looked big and they were all together, so it looked like one UFO,” said fourth-grader Nia Foster, 9.

Awestruck gawkers began calling the NYPD and the FAA starting about an hour later when mysterious flying objects appeared over Manhattan.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said the wind was blowing south at 5 to 10 m.p.h. at the time which would make the engagement balloon theory possible.

Police have said they believe the puzzling objects were likely balloons.

The sky was very clear at the time, making high-flying objects extremely visible from the ground.

Also, helium-filled balloons tend to change shape at high altitudes as the gas expands – making them look abnormal from below, experts say.

As with anything related to the paranormal, other possibilities abound. Following with the balloon theory, some suspected an event in Times Square where a number of yellow balloons were released to celebrate a joint-tourism agreement between New York and Madrid.

Then there is author Stanley Fulham, a retired NORAD officer who recently published a book predicting the world’s major cities would be visited by UFOs on Oct. 13.

He did not return calls – and there was no word on his whereabouts.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/14/2010-10-14_ufo_nyc_kids_say_no_mysterious_floating_orbs_were_escaped_balloons_from_teachers.html#ixzz12SWiXmOk

Technorati Tags: alien, aliens, balloons, bling, brooklyn, chelsea, dyker heights, engagement party, engagement ring, faa, federal aviation administration, manhattan, new york, new york city, norad, paranormal, people, roswell, shiny objects, shiny things, thoughts, twitter, ufo, ufos

I live in the East Village, so I’m kind of oblivious to most things that happen west of 6th Avenue. Thankfully I have eagle-eyed friends who send me stories such as this from the Daily News when I’m too busy paying attention to the recent bomb scare in the cemetery right behind my apartment (it wasn’t me, I swear!).

So! With that said – Jason usually writes about the UFO-type stories, but I’m claiming this one because 1. it was over Manhattan, and b. it involves SHINY OBJECTS. My favorite things!

Photo via twitter @jasondiamond

A mysterious shiny object floating high over Manhattan‘s West Side set off a flurry of reports and wild speculation Wednesday that a UFO was flying over the city.

Police and the FAA said they began getting flooded with calls starting at 1:30 p.m. from people reporting a silvery object hovering high over Chelsea.

Law enforcement sources said they believed the object was likely some sort of balloon, but as of late Wednesday they had not confirmed exactly what it is.

A Daily News reporter could see a tiny, silver dot floating approximately 5,000 feet above 23th St. and Eighth Ave., where dozens of people gathered late in the afternoon to catch a glimpse.

“It’s been hovering there for a while. I’m just kind of baffled,” said Joseph Torres, 49, of Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, who spotted the object after leaving a movie. “How can it be ordinary? There is something going on.”

Despite clear skies, it was not easy to make out the tiny object shimmering overhead.

“You really have to look up to see it,” said one witness, who gave only his first name, Rico. “It’s a little crazy. I guess that’s why they call it an unidentified flying object because they don’t know what it is.”

Not long after the first sightings, messages began appearing on Twitter linking to a month-old press release announcing the publication of a book by a retired NORAD officer predicting that UFOs would buzz the earth’s major cities on Oct. 13.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it received several calls to its operations center but after reviewing radar data, the agency could not find anything out of the ordinary.

“We re-ran radar to see if there was anything there that we can’t account for but there is nothing in the area,” said spokesman Jim Peters. “There was some helicopter traffic over the river at that time and we checked with LaGuardia Tower. And they said they had nothing going low at that time.”

“Nothing that we can account for would prompt this kind of response,” he said.

Peters said if it was a weather balloon or any kind of organized balloon release, authorities should have been notified in advance. Police officials said they had received no notification.

They’re watching us!!! Everyone run!!!!!!!

Technorati Tags: alien, aliens, brooklyn, chelsea, dyker heights, faa, federal aviation administration, manhattan, new york, new york city, norad, paranormal, people, shiny objects, shiny things, thoughts, twitter, ufo, ufos