The Occult Section

Holy crap. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since “The X-Files” pilot episode aired. I watched the first episode when it premiered. I was 10 years old. And after that first episode, I subsequently taped every single episode, bought magazines, books, soundtracks…and can thank David Duchovny for pushing me right into puberty (even after all his, er, follies, I still have a really really creepy totally normal – I swear – crush on him). Don’t believe me? Ask my friends. Actually, don’t, they know far too much.

But I digress. 20 years, y’all! wow!

It’s been 20 years since “The X-Files” opened to viewers’ wanting-to-believe eyes, and the hit paranormal investigation drama’s creator, Chris Carter, doesn’t quite know what to make of that phenomenon.

“Scully, would you think less of me as a man if I told you I was kind of excited right now?”

“It’s surreal,” he told a sold-out crowd Sunday at the Hero Complex Film Festival shortly after entering to a standing ovation. “It’s like an X-File…. Twenty years’ missing time.”

Asked what he might do differently if he made the show now, he said, “It was of its time…. You probably could make the show today, but, I don’t know why, it just feels like it was made exactly when it should have been made.”

The festival’s closing night was devoted to the acclaimed Fox series, and included screenings of three fan-picked episodes – the pilot, which he wrote, “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” and “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose.”

Carter said the pilot scene in which FBI special agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), a skeptical scientist, first meets her new partner, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), a crusading believer in aliens and conspiracy, wasn’t just their introduction as a duo to the audience, but to him as well: “That’s the first time they really acted together. They didn’t audition together for the parts. We really cast them separately, so we didn’t know there’d be that chemistry. What you were watching was really a kind of test, and it ended up working.”

David, if you’re out there reading this…call me!

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I’ve always admired Peter Byrne and his swagger. One of the original Bigfoot hunters, Byrne hasn’t really been mentioned much in the news lately, and I haven’t really seen him on many of the TV shows. I guess he’s been busy actually searching for Sasquatch lately, instead of making the TV rounds. And I say, good for him. I was happy to see that he’s still very active, and thought I’d share this story with you. If you don’t know who Peter Byrne is, check him out.

Peter Byrne has been engaged in what he describes as the “Big Searches” for almost his entire life; his Bigfoot search alone has spanned 50 years.

His first experience was in the 1960s, working in northern California.

Later, he was drawn back to California by the well-known 1967 film made by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin outside Orleans, Calif. It is purported to be the most credible evidence of Bigfoot’s existence. While skeptics have dismissed the film, Byrne finds it credible.

“Gimlin is still living in Yakima and he is regarded as a man of great integrity,” Byrne said. “Lots of people have tried to discount it, but it could be real.”

 Today, Byrne continues his quest to find Bigfoot.

“I do two things,” he said. “I write. I’ve published 13 books.”

The 13th book is coming out in a few weeks, called “Monster Trilogy,” a three-part guide book on how to find Bigfoot, Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster. He has been in searches for all three.

He also works with a loose-knit group of people on the Oregon Coast, all interested in sighting Bigfoot.

Byrne said in his writings that technology would one day allow the world to verify the existence of Bigfoot and his group uses motion-sensor cameras set up in areas of what Byrne describes as credible sightings in the Coast Range. So far, the cameras have yielded images of other wildlife, but no Bigfoot.

He also researches recent and historical sighting reports. The last credible report from where the researchers were looking was in 2006, Byrne said.

Interest in finding Bigfoot has resurfaced, he said.

“There is tremendous interest — something like 30 websites, lots of letters, but there are no other organized projects at this time,” he said. “There was a group in the Olympic Peninsula, but they were all working guys … and there was a group in Kentucky, but that fizzled out.”

Despite man’s encroachment on the wilderness areas of the Pacific Northwest, Byrne isn’t surprised that the creatures remain largely elusive.

“It’s an enormous area — a huge area,” he said. “There’s an official Federal Aviation Administration figure about planes lost in the Pacific Northwest since World War two. Of 52 planes that crashed, 20 probably went into the ocean, 32 are still not found in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. One has a senator’s body aboard, also representatives from Alaska. The families are still looking for the plane … We’re not talking about Rhode Island. This area is three times the length of the Himalayas.”

Asked why his search for Bigfoot has endured so long, Byrne said, “I’m still fascinated by the possibility of there being an unidentified primate living out there.” Native American history, old records, letters by missionaries and miners, “sightings by thoroughly dependable people,” all support the idea, he said.

And when asked why he thinks others continue to take up the quest, he talked about the last great mysteries of the world.

“The wonderful thing about Bigfoot is that anybody can go after it,” he said. “Take a weekend. Drive into the mountains. Take a chance.”

He’s absolutely right, and it’s one of the reasons why my paranormal group, the New York Paranormal Society, has also dedicated itself to researching Bigfoot. In an age where every mildly semi-famous haunted location now wants to charge ghost hunters to come in an investigate claims of the paranormal (we proudly refuse to pay any location to investigate, by the way), Bigfoot hunting is free. What’s better than that?

Technorati Tags: bigfoot, books, cryptozoology, ghost hunters, himalayas, loch ness monster, media, News, olympic penninsula, pacific northwest, paranormal, people, peter byrne, sasquatch, thoughts, yeti

I’m usually pretty bored by lake monsters as a cryptid, as I just don’t see much evidence to support their existence, and most photos of the alleged monster either look like obvious fakes or waves in the water. But I do think a statistical analysis of Loch Ness Monster sightings would be interesting, and similar to what has already been done with Bigfoot sightings. Real or imaginary, the patterns should be very telling.

AN EXPERT delving deep into the history of Nessie spotters is to reveal his findings on the 80th anniversary of the first modern-day sighting.

Dr Charles Paxton, a statistical ecologist from St Andrews University, is working on the first catalogue of all known sightings of the Loch Ness monster in modern times.

The researcher will present his findings at a conference this weekend, organised as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

The special event organised by the St Andrews academic marks the 80th anniversary of the first official sighting of Nessie.

It was in April 1933 that Drumnadrochit hotel manageress Aldie Mackay reported “something resembling a whale” while on the road from Inverness.

Dr Paxton, a research fellow at the University’s Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, is interested in how science handles anomalistic and low frequency data.

He will analyse all reported sightings for consistencies or patterns that could be explained by natural phenomena.

He said, “I am carrying out a statistical analysis of Loch Ness monster accounts since 1933, specifically looking for clusters in terms of what is reported. In some cases there are multiple witnesses, or witnesses giving multiple accounts of the same event, which allow us to test eyewitness consistency.”

There have been more than 1000 recorded sightings of ‘Nessie’ and Dr Paxton has so far sifted through over 800 of these cases.

Although he wryly notes more than a few hotel proprietors among the typical spotters, Dr Paxton says that ‘everyone’ sees Nessie, from ordinary locals to clergymen.

He said: “Everyone sees Nessie from aristocrats and celebrities such as Gavin Maxwell and Compton Mackenzie to ordinary folk and children.

“Professions include cafe and hotel proprietors, chauffeurs, police inspectors, bank managers, students, town clerks, lorry drivers, clergymen, forestry workers, office workers, water bailiffs and fishermen.”

In some cases, spotters saw Nessie more than once.

Dr Paxton said: “These cases are very interesting because they allow us to consider whether certain witnesses have a tendency to see Nessie more than might be expected by chance alone.”

The researcher has trawled through old newspaper clippings, reports, books and records from the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau of the 1960s and 1970s, for all recorded sightings that peaked especially after the infamous ‘surgeon’s photograph’ of 1934.

He explained, “Although the first recorded sighting of a monster-like creature at Loch Ness was by St Columba in 565AD, it was Mrs Mackay’s sighting in 1933 that launched the myth.

“After the initial reports, there were traffic jams all around the loch.. in 1933-1934 the Loch Ness monster became a massive global phenomena.”

The one-day conference ‘Nessie at 80’ is co-organised by author Gordon Rutter, who specialises in the paranormal, and will be held at The Counting House in Edinburgh.

During the special Nessie event, Dr Paxton will be joined by Nessie experts from around the world who will talk about the biology of the Loch, the history of the monster as a folkloric entity until 1933, the post 1933 history and the history of cinematic portrayals of the Loch Ness monster.

Dr Paxton is still analysing the data and will publish his findings in full later in the year.

To me, the more interesting things about this conference would be the history of Nessie in folklore, and how it has been portrayed in the movies, as everything from a gentle horse-like creature to a bloodthirsty dinosaur composed of bad CGI (thanks, SyFy Channel).

Technorati Tags: bigfoot, cryptozoology, debunking, great britain, hoax, lake monster, loch ness monster, media, nessie, News, paranormal, people, picture, scotland, thoughts, UK

Aliens, witch hauntings, mythological creatures, whatever the reason for gathering, one thing is for sure, the paranormal give us an excuse to dress up and celebrate the paranormal mysteries in life. There are a many groups and organizations that host gatherings for these creatures or events annually. Whether these creatures exist or not, time has shown their possible presence inspires people to put on their costumes on for occasions other than Halloween. Here are a few of the most popular in the world today.

Alien Landing at Roswell

To thousand, even millions, July of 1947 will forever live in infamy as the day an actual alien landing was covered up. Summertime in sunny New Mexico is enough of a reason to gather and socialize on its own but the historical controversy of the possible alien citing has caused many young people to adopt an alien theme to their summer fun. Every first weekend of July the people of Roswell host UFO festival where people can come dressed in their own imagination of what our possible neighbors form above might look like. There are a couple ways to approach this in your costume. You can go with the classic green, round, extended shape head. You can try themes from famous movies depending on the effect you’re going for. For scary I recommend the original Alien look with and extended head. A professional walker’s helmet is actually a really great way to pull this off naturally if you paint it black. Other ideas include the soldier alien looks from Independence Day, the vicious but comical look from Mars Attacks, or the timeless E.T. It’s important to dress in the alien that fits your personality. Wearing regular human clothes with an alien face seems to be gaining more and more popularity as people like to give the impression they are “in disguise”.

Bigfoot

Everyone who has ever walked into the woods knows somebody who has claimed to see a Sasquatch or the famous “Bigfoot”. This larger-than-life creature has been claimed be spotted most abundantly in the Pacific Northwest started out mostly being cosplayed as a giant, black-furred, mountain man. Since then different versions of Bigfoot have been portrayed, most notably the Sasquatch in Jack’s Links commercials. The good thing about this creature is that our culture has taken to naming events after it such as fitness runs in the mountains, motocross races, and other outdoor fitness competitions. All of these events are appropriate for “Bigfoot” attire; the key with these costumes is to not look too much like Chewbacca and not too much like a basic Gorilla. It definitely helps to be tall but I have personally seen shorter men pull it off. The key is the fur; don’t worry too much about a mask. Some face paint or even mud along with patches of fur on the body can be enough strut your inner mountain woods monster.

Nessie

The famous Loch Ness monster has spawned many toys, T-shirts, a few cartoon characters based on the beast, but most of all it plays a huge role in the spirit of Scotland’s annual Roch Ness Festival. Taking place in late June, every year music fans gather around the famous lake and go nuts for a day. Some people like to penetrate the crowd easier by getting a few friends together and putting on a multi-person costume of Nessie. Given the fact that Nessie is said to have enormous size in addition to a neck longer than a giraffe it can be hard to pull off this costume alone. Still, the music festival is known as “its own monster” by the locals because you never know what’s going to happen.

Marie Sumner never grew out of playing dress-up. She writes to share her passion and offer advice to others regarding kids costumes, anime conventions, renaissance fairs, paranormal citing celebrations and other fun dress-up events.

Technorati Tags: alien, aliens, bigfoot, chewbacca, cosplay, cryptozoology, extraterrestrial, flying saucer, ghost, ghost hunters, ghost hunting, ghosts, haunted, haunted house, haunted houses, haunting, loch ness monster, marie sumner, media, nessie, News, paranormal, people, picture, sasquatch, supernatural, thoughts, ufo, ufos, yeti

If only…

One of my other passions in life, besides the paranormal and all of the other weird stuff we blog about here, is video games. I don’t talk about it much because, well, I’m usually too busy writing about the paranormal or playing video games. Or working. Working takes up a lot of my time these days. Anyways, a while back I did a story about how one of my favorite video games ever, Red Dead Redemption, was adding some downloadable content featuring zombies and, best of all, Bigfoot. Now, let me just say, if you haven’t played Red Dead Redemption yet, do it. Now. And if you complete the game without being even a tiny bit of an emotional mess, you have no soul. I should warn you now, there be spoilers ahead…

I’ve always felt that paranormal video games were really an under-exploited goldmine. Sure, there are plenty of over-the-top video games, where you play some God-like vampire or undead person or what have you. But why not a game that’s more realistic? Not too real, because that would be boring, but something a little closer to reality. And yes, these are the kinds of things I think about on late-night train rides home from Coney Island.

So imagine my joy when I found out that Assassin’s Creed III would feature side missions featuring Sasquatch, UFOs, and a sea monster. I love the Assassin’s Creed games, and adding a little paranormal element seemed like a stroke of genius. Think about it: the game takes place right before the start of the Revolutionary War, in Boston and New York City and the surrounding wilderness (or frontier, as it’s called in the game). What better place to spot Bigfoot from afar than in the wilderness outside of Boston? Or a UFO hovering in the as-of-yet non-light-polluted skies of New York City? Or  Sea monster swimming around Cape Cod?

Don’t get me wrong, Assassin’s Creed III is great, but these little paranormal gems I was so excited about turned out to be duds. Here’s the spoilers, kids. First of all, the sea monster turns out to be some guy’s rickety diving suit, used to scare other sailors. Fine, I can live with that. Anyone who reads this blog knows I’m not big on sea serpents and lake monsters anyways. The UFO? It turns out it’s not a flying saucer, but some reflective umbrella stuck in a tree. And again, I can live with that. What more could a Native American assassin in 1776 do to a UFO besides look at it? No, the one that hurt was Bigfoot. Turns out that old Sasquatch is a just a big hairy dude who shuns civilization and wants to be left alone. So he lives in a cave and dresses up like a monster to steal the provisions he needs. Now, a real Bigfoot in this game would have been a really interesting side mission. Granted, it may have taken away from the main storyline for some of us (i.e., me, because I’d just keep searching for Bigfoot), but an assassin, using his tracking skills to find Bigfoot, would have been a really inventive and interesting side mission.

I get that not everyone believes in the paranormal, and obviously the developers don’t, as they made everything paranormal in the game easily explainable. But the whole premise of the game is based on aliens from the past leaving super-advanced technology for us dumb humans so we can figure out the riddles of the universe and avoid out own eventual demise. Oh, and we have machines that let us sit in them and relive past lives. So yeah, I’m a bit disappointed that they rely so heavily on paranormal elements (the aforementioned over-the-top elements), but then make the more intriguing, vague and subtle mysteries so bland and unremarkable. But that being said, I’m still glad they were in the game, because they were still fun. Hunting for the paranormal usually leads to rational, mundane explanations anyway, so I gues in reality, I got my wish for a more realistic paranormal video game experience after all.

I just started a mission about a ghost story involving a haunted lighthouse. Hopefully this one has some real thrills. And, maybe like Red Dead Redemption, there will be some future downloadable content with some more interesting paranormal elements. Hintedy hint hint, Ubisoft.

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