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Wednesday 9 September 2015

Britains Haunted Skies!

 
As an historian and bibliophile I only tend to recommend or purchase books that I think will contribute to my own knowledge or to add to my own data base.

If you read the "About" at the top of this page you'll see I've been involved with the strange and unexplained and this started before I had even reached the age of ten because of personal experiences.  At school I got involved in a couple of mysteries.  And while at Greenway Secondary Boys School, Southmead, Bristol, I decided that I had heard enough family talk and ghost stories -I wanted to learn more and the paranormal eventually led to my getting involved in UFOs in 1974.

So, I have read a lot.  I have seen a number of "UFO Encyclopaedia" over -too many- years. They were so-so and generally focussed a lot on the United States -or were just pot-boiler explain-it-all-away type books that tended to have the author(s) heavy slant to them.

I initially read volume 2 (1960-1965) of Haunted Skies with the ennui that decades looking at these things bring. But I was impressed.  There is a mass of information in the book and a lot of fresh information dug up by the authors -Dawn Holloway and John Hanson.  Photographs, maps, sketches and more.  When I finally put the book down I decided that I really had finished a good book -and I am buying the rest!

Haunted Skies has been set the challenge to be "The Encyclopaedia Of British UFOs" and with eleven volumes to date it certainly is turning into that.  Have I written that I highly recommend the books yet?  Well, I do!

Now if you are interested then visit the Haunted Skies web site and buy through that -there are unauthorised copies being sold by others and the authors get no money from those sales!

http://www.hauntedskies.co.uk/index.html

John Hanson  Dawn Holloway




John Hanson is a retired CID Officer in the West Midlands Police and first became interested in the UFO subject in January 1995, after colleagues sighted a UFO hovering over some trees. This was the trigger for his curiosity; prior to that the very mention of UFOs and ‘flying saucers’ was impossible for him to accept as having any reality in the modern world. The publication of ten Volumes of Haunted Skies which painstakingly catalogue thousands of reports of UFO's/Close Encounter experiences by the public from 1940 onwards, is a project that John and his partner Dawn Holloway have been working on for many years.

Their objective is to educate the public and therefore have published the books at their own expense since the inception of the project.






Notable cases covered in the ten published volumes to date include:

The David Daniels case in which a man who alleged he was an alien actually met up with Admiral Lord Hill-Norton and Ralph Noyes, former head of the MOD.

An investigation into the Rendlesham Forest incident of December 1980, including amazing photographic anomalies from Rendelsham Forest itself.

The Rendlesham Forest incident will also be the subject of a future book looking at events from Colonel Halt's angle.



Eventually, Hanson and Holloway will have provided valuable historical volumes showing that Britain truly had Haunted Skies!

Pterosaurs Filmed Over Idaho and China! Really..?


From unexplained sightings of mythical and prehistoric creatures to UFOs; it's pretty safe to say that humans relish a good mystery.

And this bizarre footage captured in Idaho will surely whet the appetite of conspiracy theorists around the globe.

In the clip, which was captured by an amateur filmmaker, a huge bird-like creature flies across the sky over Boise, Ohio.

The bird-like creature was captured by an amateur filmmaker flying in the sky over Boise, Ohio
The bird-like creature was captured by an amateur filmmaker flying in the sky over Boise, Ohio


Its huge wingspan is immediately noticeable as is the distinctively large backwards-pointing crest, which protrudes from its skull.

As it glides through the sky with ease it flaps its wings a few times before flipping forward and looking towards the ground.
It then straightens itself back up and flies off into the distance and the video maker loses sight of it.

Zoomed in footage of the flight shows the bizarre creature up close and the claws attached to its wings - similar to a bat - are visible.
The huge wingspan of the creature was immediately noticeable as was its distinctively large backwards-pointing crest
The huge wingspan of the creature was immediately noticeable as was its distinctively large backwards-pointing crest


However there are no more clues as to whether the footage is in anyway genuine.
As expected the video has received a number of comments from sceptical YouTube users since it appeared online.

User Hades wrote: 'Super fake the shadowing is off and the wing flap doesn't match up,' while melody06 said: 'Special effects.'
A number of skeptical people have taken to YouTube to dismiss the footage as being fake
A number of skeptical people have taken to YouTube to dismiss the footage as being fake

YouTube user rasha singh offered a possible explanation by simply commenting: 'It's a bat.'
 
The Pterosaur, which means 'winged lizard', was a flying reptile and the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight.

They existed 228 to 66 million years ago and contrary to popular belief were not dinosaurs, but were instead close cousins to the prehistoric monsters.
The Pterosaur was a flying reptile and the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight
The Pterosaur was a flying reptile and the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight

Right, now here is the video in question:
And this one: 
 Now, okay, we have never seen a real pterosaur flying around.  Or have we? 

Fellow investigator-researcher, Stan Gordon deals with "Thunderbird" sightings in his book Really Mysterious Pennsylvania (2010) and his new book, Astonishing Encounters: Pennsylvania's Unknown Creatures, also deals with some flying mystery creatures.  In fact, I guess it's fair to say it's a subject a lot of people have written about -some quite dubious.

But this video footage: is it a genuine pterosaur?  No.  Why do I say that?  Because the whole thing is far too rigid and to "look back" is so mechanical...and the "feet" are obviously used as flight stabilisers because there is no real movement in them.  
Do I have to mention the end of the video?  That cheap old movie trick -you know, they are not going to crash a real aircraft or helicopter so when one does go down it dips behind a big building, hill or even -ta-daaaa!- a clump of trees.  If it was still flying why run, camera down as in so many cryptid videos?

Don't get me wrong -this is good fun but not the first pterosaur remote control device:

 80" Marston Pterodactyl radio controlled airplane flying at Visalia California, 2005. See the kit at PteroWorks.com

Oh, and regarding the Idaho pterosaur, need I remind everyone of the 2012 (?) footage of an alleged 'Pterosaur' filmed in flight, Yantai City, Shandong Province, China?

I rest my case.

Alleged UFO Crashes -Book

Some Things Strange & Sinister

My thanks to Steven who is quite right: if I mention my book deals with alleged UFO crashes and the Berwyn Mts/Llandrillo incident I ought to put a link to the book!

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-14958906.html

And it is currently on discount until the end of October, lucky you!

Lies and Defamation -The Berwyn Mountains 'UFO' Case UP-DATED!!

I just received the  most faked email ever! Sent from an "untraceable mobile phone device", I'm told which means someone wants to really "big up" their lives.  I make no comment here:

SECRET SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
WASHINGTON,DC 20528,USA.
 
Berwyn Mountains, Wales/UFO Investigators

Good day,Terry.
 Thank you for the update on this matter.

This is the Department of Homeland Security we have vital mission:
 to secure the nation from the many threats we face as well as internet 
Fraud. This requires the dedication of more than 230,000 employees in 
jobs that range from aviation and border security to emergency response,
 from cyber security analyst to chemical facility inspector. Our duties 
are wide-ranging, but our goal is clear - keeping America safe.
 
We are happy to inform you that your continued assistance regarding the 
Berwyn Mts incident funds valued at US$700,000 have been 
approved by the Treasury Department of the United States for continued 
operational funding and Black Information assessment.

Kindly get back to us for further directives.
 
Terry,note: Do not reply to any e-mail that comes from the FBI Director JAMES COMEY
 III. This may be an attempt to destabilise your current operations.  The FBI 
Director does not e-mail people; He will rather send an agent to your door step in 
person.

PLEASE DIRECT YOUR REPLY TO (mike.tepmpler@gmail.com)
 
Thank you and have a good day.
Signed:M Templer
Foreign Special Investigations Unit
 
******************************************************************* 

On the 7th September, just two days ago, I posted this:

Correcting The Record...AGAIN!!


In 1974 there was an alleged UFO crash in the Berwyn Mountains of North Wales. It was nothing alien though a great deal has been made of it.  There is also confusion in some accounts with the 1979 incident that I was involved in and the helicopter I was in "had a bit of a prang" as the flier put it.

You can read about the 1974 event here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwyn_Mountain_UFO_incident

Now, yes, as I wrote in Some Things Strange And Sinister, I do have fragments from an alleged "crashed UFO".  Graham Birdsall of UFO Magazine at one point tried everything to get pieces from me including, at one point before a solicitor became involved, threatening to reveal to the UFO community that I "was a British intelligence agent whose job it was to infiltrate UFO groups".  If he had asked nicely at the outset he might have gotten a fragment!

My big mistake was passing along a piece to Margaret Fry and including what I told her was "a completely false account by a hoaxer" but...oh boy.  Despite giving her the results of tests she told me she had the material tested and it "was unlike any material on Earth!"   I go into full detail in the book and the photos of metallic and other fragment are shown in photographs.

I wrote and urged and even spoke to Mrs Fry telling her the facts and asking her not even to mention my name if she decided to publish any of the things she was telling me.  "The truth must out!" she told me.  When her account was published it was all there and my name was included as I was silly enough not to realise that "They" had made sure my informant was discredited!

Then a man, Scott Felton (?) contacted me and re-stated all of Mrs Fry's claims and I made it very -very- clear that her account was wholly wrong and that I had nothing to do with it and nothing more to do with Ufologists on the subject.  Now, my letter to Mr Felton (and email) give my address as Bristol.  So, imagine my surprise when I read this:

" In the mid-90s, Margaret Fry received in the post, a sample of metal (see Appendix Three) from a man in South Wales called Terry Hooper.  He claimed he'd received samples from an airman who stated he'd been involved in clearing up the debris from the Berwyn UFO crash. He decided to pass these on to persons involved in the UFO scene. There is no proof that other samples existed, only the word of Terry Hooper supported the assertion.

That however was just the start. As will become apparent, the supplying of the metal sample to Margaret Fry was an attempt to seed disinformation into the UFO community. Whether Terry Hooper targeted Mrs Fry as he was part of the plot or whether he was not part of the plot and approached Mrs Fry randomly isn't clear as this guy refuses to cooperate. He certainly wouldn't cooperate with me when I approached him. He did claim that he didn't believe the metal had come from a UFO crash, but that could be just him attempting to look innocent."

As this idiot would know if he carried out even the most basic of research -Sach's UFO Encyclopaedia or any number of publications including Flying Saucer Review, BUFORA JOURNAL that I contributed to since becoming an active investigator in 1974, or if he had bothered reading the brief CV I sent him- he would find I have far greater credibility than someone who places Bristol in "South Wales" (?!!).

Also, I had known Margaret Fry from BUFORA as well as Contact (UK) and we corresponded up until the early 1990s until I took a rest.  Had he asked Margaret Fry about me?  BUFORA for whomn I did a lot of work?

No, he decided to make me part of some secret conspiracy and totally ignore everything I explained to him -including a pdf of the chapter from my book dealing with the case- because I would not send him fragments nor be interrogated by him on a subject I made very clear was a hoax and the only reason I supplied Margaret Fry with any fragment was because she asked me to in the hope of finding out if it was the same as another sample she had.

This is British Ufology at its best.  Totally ignore every fact you are given because it does not suit your narrow minded world view so blame an unknown man from South Wales who refuses to cooperate -and Felton knows full well who I am because I just checked the email I sent him and my cv is attached.

John Hanson of The Haunted Skies project has photos of the fragments and my account -I think I may have sent him a fragment, too.

Felton's entry is so defamatory that I think a solicitor needs to get involved.  Seriously, you try to defame me in print or online you better apologise.
************************************************************************
So I thought I'd be fair and give these people a chance to correct their "errors" and sent an email:


 Subject: Scott Felton & Berwyn Mts Case
 To: "conwyufogroup@btinternet.com" <conwyufogroup@btinternet.com>
 Date: Monday, 7 September, 2015, 18:52
 
 
 
 
 I am contacting you regarding the
 extremely inaccurate and defamatory account by the above on
 your The Berwyn Mountains UFO
 Incident - 23rd January 1974 site.
 
 I am currently
 discussing the matter with my solicitor.  My response
 to this defamatory piece of trash is given here.
 
 http://terryhooper.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/correcting-recordagain.htmlhttp://
 
 Unless a prominent apology is presented on the page I SHALL
 proceed with legal action.
 
 Terry Hooper
 Active UFO investigator (since 1974),
 researcher,lecturer,  author, TV and radio consultant
 and former member of BUFORA, Contact UK, British Flying
 Saucer Bureau, colleague of Lord (Brisley) Clancarty,
 contributor to BFSB New as well as editing publication and
 contributing to Flying Saucer Review. as well as noted
 naturalist.
             
Let  me point out that the additions after my name were not to show off but to make these people check their facts.  The link to this blog would have shown them how long it has been here and would allow them to check with other Ufologists and publications.  Also, my name is on technical wildlife papers -I am the most easily checked person in ANY field of interest and I'm all over the internet.

But do they respond to my email?  No. That I object to outright lies and falsification of facts -which is what the person involved has done, seemingly with his colleagues' support- is 'proof' that I have been "tipped off" which is why I "just appeared".  

This puts me in the position that I have to take steps to stop this. It means legal action against Margaret Fry, Scott L. Felton and the Conwy UFO Group as a whole.  Look for the truth by following facts -yes.  My exaggerated claims, lies and defamation of people who were chasing UFO sightings and studying reports decades before they got involved -no.

I give these parties one last chance to apologise and correct the record no later than Friday, 11th September, 2015