At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Wednesday 31 December 2014

SNOWMEN IN MALTA

I don't know what to make of climate change.  Today they have been making Snowmen in Malta, which is only two spits away from the African coasts.  How does Maltese Freezing tie in with Global warming?  I think they should rename it Weather Chaos.




LAKE MONSTER TYPES

This article, to be found on Dale Drinnon's website Frontiers of Zoology, deals with what he describes as "alternative lake monsters".

Bet they're not as alternative as I am.


Have a look....

MAINE COON CAT

The Maine Coon Cat is a well-known breed of cat, but a singular legend attaches to it.  It is said to be descended from the hybrid of a cat and a raccoon.  Experts tell us there is no possibility that this is true.  The likelihood of a cat and a raccoon even wanting to mate is remote.

Maine Coon Cat

GRUNCH ROAD MONSTER

This is one of America's local monsters, said to disport itself in Grunch Road, New Orleans.  Just what it is is anybody's guess, but it sounds better avoided, if you happen to meet it when strolling about New Orleans.

now read on.....

SEVERAL KINDS OF BIGFOOT?

Such a notion is held by a number of cryptozoologists, some of high prominence.  Here's an article on the topic.

now read on.....

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This New Year's Eve in Weird...

1870: The Nunda Times reports "a strange beast like a kangaroo" seen "hovering" around Moscow, New York, "promiscuously" attacking stray dogs. The editor writes, "We hope he will kill off most of the dogs before the hunters bag him." In fact, they never do.



1947: Greek cafĂ© proprietor Nick Danilatos suffers a broken arm aboard a train en route from Redfern to Newtown, New South Wales, when he's attacked by something "white, transparent, and misty like steam," reaching through an open window to strike him. He sues he Commissioner of Railways for negligence and wins £819, at a trial where testimony suggests his assailant may have been supernatural.



Tuesday 30 December 2014

IS THIS A FLEEING BIGFOOT?

Follow the link and see the photograph.

now read on.....

DISCOVERY OF SMALL AMERICAN DINOSAUR

This dinosaur, compared in size with a rabbit, is the first one with horns to be discovered in America.

Aquilops


now read on.....

STRANGE CREATURE IN ZIMBABWE

This creature was allegedly seen in the 1950s.

now read on.....

CROP FORMATIONS IN MEXICO

Were these formations accidental or designed?
Image courtesy Lon Strickler


now read on......

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 30...

1916: Conspirator seeking to liberate the Russian monarchy from "mad monk" Grigori Rasputin assassinate the libidinous "prophet," with considerable effort, in Saint Petersburg. (Old Style calendars log his murder on December 17).



1974: A female motorist runs over "a metallic spider" near the Turnpike Bridge in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. She describes the think as 12 inches tall, with eight jointed legs and a body that glowed in the beams from her headlights. Her husband returns to the site soon afterward but finds nothing.


Monday 29 December 2014

MYSTERY CREATURE OF SOUTH AFRICA

What is the Inkanyamba?

Does it look like me?


now read on.....

BRENTFORD GRIFFIN

Reported creature of London - hoax or not?



now read on.....

MYSTERIES OF SALT FORK STATE PARK

Mysteries at Salt Fork State Park, Ohio, include, not alone Bigfoot, but disembodies voices, mystery lights and audible footsteps made by apparently invisible walkers.

now read on.....

BEWARE THE BIGFOOT

In Oklahoma, Bigfoot are fierce.

now read on.....

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 29...

1974: Multiple witnesses in Lumberton, North Carolina, report seeing bright lights in the sky, at the same time a family of four calls police to describe a humanoid figure dressed in a "silver and black suit with some sort of helmet" prowling around their home in Forest Acres. Deputies search in vain.



1979: Four-year-old Antonita Tamayo vanishes from her home in Arroyo Sujayar, Albacete, Spain, somehow eluding search teams with tracking dogs for three days. On the fourth, officers find her in a wooded area, apparently unfazed by cold or exposure. She tells rescuers that a tall woman dressed in white, carrying a torch, kept her warm and fed her during her absence.



Sunday 28 December 2014

A THOUGHT ON GIANTS

Legends about Giants are frequently invoked to help bolster evidence for the existence of Bigfoot and other large unknown anthropoids.  However, what investigators should do is to differentiate between different kinds of Giants.  Some may reflect traditions of genuine Bigfoot-like creatures, but some or less likely to.

The categories into which I would divide Giants are as follows:-

(a) Mythological Giants  These would mainly be Giants remembered from their encounters with gods and would include such beings as the gods of Greek and Norse mythology.  These are often on an equal footing with the gods and will sometimes intermarry with them.  They should not be regarded as likely to preserve any reminiscence of real gigantic humanoids.

(b) Etiological Giants  These are Giants believed to have been transformed into geological features.  Mount Atlas, turned to stone by the Gorgon's head would be an example.  Once again, these cannot be used as reasonable evidence for the existence of large humanoids.

(c) Ordinary Giants  These would simply be taller than the people recording their existence.  A small person of Mediterranean origin encountering a person of Norse origin might describe him as a Giant.

(d) Category Four  These are Giants preserved in oral lore.  These could  mean that the groups in whose lore they feature might well have encountered large unknown humanoids/anthropoids in days agone and may even still be encountering them.


Giant

ARIZONA BIGFOOT STUDY PLANNED - PART 1

This study is in the pipeline.

now read on....

ARIZONA BIGFOOT STUDY PLANNED - PART 2

Details of this forthcoming enterprise.

now read on.....


UNKNOWN ANIMAL DISCOVERED

An unknown animal skeleton has been discovered in Azerbaijan.

now readon.....

Saturday 27 December 2014

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD




On This Day in Weird, December 28...

1948: Douglas DC-3 No. NC16002 vanishes with 39 passengers and crew members in the "Bermuda Triangle," while en route from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami, Florida.



1984: Richard Saunders reports invasion of his home in Myers, Georgia, by three humanoid figures who claim they come from another planet, delivering cataclysmic predictions for Earth's future.


MARTIANS NO MATCH FOR SANTA

A movie with seasonal context and interplanetary content may be hard to find, but we have managed to dig one up.  It's called Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, but I cannot vouch for its standard, as I have never had the privilege of seeing it.  However, follow the link and you will find details of it.



now read on.....

WHERE DID KOMODO DRAGONS FIRST COME FROM?

The Komodo dragon of Indonesia is a creature at whose existence science scoffed, until that existence was established.  However, research indicates that it did not actually evolve in Indonesia.

Komodo dragon

DRAGONS

An interesting essay on Dragon Lore.



now read on......

UFO ABDUCTIONS IN EUROPE

This is a handy gazeteer of sites of alleged European UFO abductions.




now read on.....


*        *        *        *       *         *           *            *           *
NEW SEA-SNAIL DISCOVERED

now read on.....

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 27...

1981: Four boys walking their dogs on England's Hackney Marshes find a trail of large three-clawed footprints and sight "a giant great growling bear-like creature." Police search the 5,000-acre marsh, finding no beast but tracking several sets of footprints that end abruptly.



2007: A 29-year-old motorist crashes his car into a light pole in Wenatchee, Washington, afterward blaming the accident on a "pterodactyl." A police breathalyzer test reveals minimal traces of alcohol in the driver's system He receives a citation for reckless driving.


Friday 26 December 2014

FEAST OF STEPHEN

Today, 26th December, is the feast of St Stephen, the first recorded martyr of the Christian Church.  It is a public holiday in Ireland and Catalunya.  People often remember it, however, as the setting of the carol Good King Wenceslaus.

The Wenceslaus is question was the Duke of Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic.  In the Czech language his name was Vaclav.  He lived in the 10th Century and was murdered.  The Christmas carol does not contain historical material.  It was published in 1853.  It may have been based on an original poem by V.A. Svoboda.  When it appeared in English, critics said it would not last long.

There is a tradition that knights are sleeping under Mount Blanik in the Czech Republic.  It is said they will awaken and defend the Czechs when the need arises.  In Wenceslaus Square, Prague, there is a statue of Wenceslaus and it is said this will come to life and lead the Czechs.


Thursday 25 December 2014

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 26...

1945: Coal miners trapped by an underground explosion near Fourmile, Kentucky, report seeing a "door" open in one wall of the shaft, emitting bright light and a man dressed as a "lumberjack." He tells the miners they'll be rescued safely, then goes back inside the "room" and shuts the door.



1947: Three girls report a sighting of the Virgin Mary at Pleskop, near Vannes, France.





ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD


On This Christmas Day in Weird...

1924: Twilight Zone creator Rodman "Rod" Serling born in Syracuse, New York.



1959: A group of children in Buenos Aires, Argentina report a short, dark humanoid figure flying across an open field at a height of 15 feet above ground.



1998: Theatrical release of Mighty Joe Young, a remake of the 1949 original.


Wednesday 24 December 2014

CHRISTMAS WISHES

We would like to wish all our readers the compliments of the Season and this includes those who, for one reason or another, may find Christmas a melancholy time.  We're thinking of you.

COULD BIGFOOT EXIST?

Problem of his North American existence assessed.

now read on....

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD




On This Day in Weird, December 24..

1909: Sisters Eve, Gladys and Gwen Ruffle wake in the bedroom of their home, in Fernhurst, West Sussex, drawn to a light in the night sky outside. From their window, they behold "two golden doves" flying close together, an "angel" appearing when their wingtips touch. After several moments, the angel disappears and the doves fade more slowly.



1965: An unnamed man wakes in his home at Oroville, California, to the sound of a "bouncing ball" in his bedroom. Sitting up, he sees a short, elf-like figure standing at the foot of his bed, grinning from ear to ear. Before diving under his covers, the witness notices the creature's "odd and rough" appearance, but misses its departure while hiding.


Tuesday 23 December 2014

ORIGINS OF SANTA CLAUS

It has long been thought that Santa Claus had his origin in the person of the obscure Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who delivered gifts or punishments (according to their behavior during the year) to Dutch children on his feast day, December 6th.  The Dutch, it is felt, brought this practice to America.

However, it is not quite so simple.  The Pennsylvania Germans had a character named Pelznichol with a black face, wearing old clothes or skins, carrying a whip for bad children and comestibles for good ones, who was the Christmas gift giver.

He may in origin have been the European wildman.  Somewhere along the line, he probably merged with Saint Nicholas.  He was, however, rather frightening.  His face is described as 'hideous'.

In 1821 a publication called The Children's Friend calls him Santeclas, but this is not the first time this name appeared.  In 1822 the famous poem Visit of Saint Nicholas also called The Night Before Christmas appeared and that more or less presented a complete picture of Santa Claus with his flying reindeer.  This portrait was augmented by a picture by Thomas Nast published in 1863.



In Continental Europe the gift giver was often called the Christkindl (Christ Child) depicted often by a teenage girl as a sort of angel rather thatn Jesus Himself.  This led to the name Kriss Kringle being sometimes applied to Santa Claus in the United States.

In England a personification of Christmas called Father Christmas appeared in the 16th Century.  He was a character in Ben Jonson's Christmas Masque (1616).  Persons have seen the Norse god Odin as his prototype, but there is very little evidence that Odin had remained in the English folk consciousness since the times when the Norsemen ruled the kingdom of York.

The two characters were to amalgamate.  Now their names are used interchangeably in Britain.  The term Santa Claus reached England in the 1870s.

Santa Claus acquired a red bobble hat in 1931 when Swedish artist Haddon Sundblom drew him wearing one for a Coca-Cola advertising campaign.

CHUPACABRAS!

A general account of this creature of modern legend.



now read on.....

ALLEGED BIGFOOT SIGHTINGS

This list claims to give the Top Ten Bigfoot Sightings over the past 5 years.

now read on.....

WHAT ARE THOSE BIRDS?

A couple of birds mentioned in Christmas carols are fairly obscure.  They question of what they are shall now be addressed.  Sit up and pay attention.

In The Twelve Days of Christmas obscure avians called "colley birds" are mentioned.  This name is so obscure that it has been sometimes changed into "calling birds".  In fact, the colley bird, which is first mentioned in a version of the carol written down in 1780, is the European blackbird, also known as the merle or ouzel.  It is an English dialect name.

Less easy to explain is the carnal in the carol The Carnal and the Crane.  None can say with certainty what this is, although according to guesswork it is a crow.  Is it even a bird, though?

At least we all know what a crane is.


Crane



EPISODE IN NEW JERSEY

What were these mysterious robed figures?

now read on.....

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 23...

1938: Museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovers the first "modern" coelacanth in a South African fisherman's catch.



1977: Italian theatrical release of Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century.


Monday 22 December 2014

SANTA CLAUS AND REINDEER

The Reindeer or Caribou was the last animal to be domesticated and this is thought to have taken place 3000-7000 years ago.  However, we cannot be really certain of this.  We are dealing with times before recorded history.

The Naskapi Indians of Canada believed the Reindeer had a sort of headquarters called Caribou House, surrounded by cast-off antlers.  The Caribou House was the residence of a being called the Caribou Master, a human who had married a doe and been transformed
into a caribou.

The names usually given to Santa's reindeer come from a poem The Night Before Christmas (1823).  Though often ascribed to Clement C. Moore, some doubt remains about the authorship.  In this the deer are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Cupid, Comet, Donner and Blitzen.

The character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented by Robert L. May (1901-76).  The song was released by Gene Autry in 1949.

AFRICAN CRYPTIDS

Interesting guide to the cryptids of Central Africa.

now read on.....

MOKELE MBEMBE

This African cryptid is thought to be a possible surviving dinosaur.

Apatosaurus - the same creature?


now read on.....

POSSIBLE BIGFOOT VIDEO

Is this Bigfoot crossing a road?

Not me!

HAWKER AND THE FAIRY

This is a sighting mentioned by Hawker, the eccentric vicar of Morwenstow, in a letter he wrote, of a strange being.

Hawker


now read on.....

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 22...

1967: The cabin cruiser Witchcraft vanishes off the Florida coast, within sight of Miami,, logged by some paranormal investigators as a victim of he "Bermuda Triangle."


Saturday 20 December 2014

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 21...

1978: Witness Minnie Cook, age 88, saw a Sasquatch locally known as "Knobby" outside her home in Toluca, North Carolina.





ACCOUNT OF BIGFOOT SIGHTING

This one was reported from the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho.

now read on.....

BIGFOOT FILM SCRUTINIZED

A close look at an alleged Bigfoot video taken at Greenwater Park, Saskatchewan.

read and view.....

GORILLAS GET CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS

At the  Zoo in Bristol, England, gorillas are given a Christmas treat.

Gorilla


now read on....

THE DAEDALUS SEA SERPENT

For those unfamiliar with it, an account of the famous sea serpent sighting by the ship Daedalus.



now read on.....

INSECTOID CREATURES

Follow the link to Phantoms and Monsters Insectoid Archive.  (You'll need to scroll down).

FURTHER ARTICLE ON CALIFORNIA MONSTER

This deals with strange monsters washed up on beaches in the past.

now read on.....

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 20...

1968: From the monstrous but human department, the still-unidentified "Zodiac" killer murders teenagers David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on Lake Herman Road, in Benicia, California.



1977: Iowa's Oskaloosa Herald reports the sighting of a 10-foot-tall Sasquatch with "bristly-like fur" at a rural home near town.


Friday 19 December 2014

MONSTERS OF LAKE BAIKAL

Monsters are said to dwell in this vast Siberian lake.

Lake Baikal


now read on.....

BIZARRE CREATURE ON CALIFORNIA BEACH

What is the strange creature found on the beach at Santa Barbara?

now read on.....

ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD



On This Day in Weird, December 19...

2011: A driver and his passenger see "something tall and black, about 7 feet tall, run real fast across 12th Street" in Lawrenceville, Illinois.