Seriously. Someone who was a self-declared sceptic was given a copy of UFO Contact? as a gift. He laughed and said he would "see if I get time to read it".
My guess was that he might just so that he could throw things back at me as being wrong. He was, after all, not beyond a bit of debunking. That was in December 2017. Today he wrote this:
"It is unsettling. I checked several sources you mention in the hopes of finding something amiss there. Nothing. I am now in my 67th year and your bloody book has me convinced something is going on. It's too hard to dismiss. I hate you!"
There was a big Smiley after that last comment.
I know how he feels, though: going into the project I thought I was going to come up with other conclusions. "Ruth Syndrome" he called "a mind-blower!"
Humans have always been fascinated by reports of strange and mysterious beasts prowling the Earth. But are they fact or fantasy? What were the mystery beasts that killed people in France during thec 17th and 18th centuries? Are there Bigfoot-like creatures in the UK? What about the reports of werewolves? Are humanoid bat-like creatures flying around the United States and UK?
I was told that it was probably a good idea not to reveal all of the contents of the new book. Fair enough. It is 324 pages with lots of photographs. If you have read one of my previous books then I will point out that this new look at the chupacabra is expanded on. I have also managed to draw some conclusions on certain previously unidentified beasts.
In UFO Contact? I looked at the faults in Ufology and how the subject needed drastic overhauling and I do the same here regarding mystery animal research which seems to be full of charlatans and liars out to make money rather than look for the truth. I try to give anyone approaching the subject matter some advice and guidelines but 'cryptozoology' and 'cryptozoologist' are two words they ought not to use.
IGNORE the "only ships from North America" as that is just a site message error
Here are some of the contents:
The Monster of the Forest of Mouliere
The Beast of Lyonnais
The Beast of Cevennes, Gard and Vivarais
The Beast of Sarlat
The Beast of Gevaudan
British Man Beasts
Bigfoot and Werewolves in the West Midlands
The Strange Creature in Repton Woods
Bigfoot Returns – To Kent!
Werewolf!
The Curious and Frightening Case of the Hull Werewolf
The Gnome of Girona
The Caponi Close Encounters and Photographs
Return of the Shark Killing Thing –a Possible Identification
The Dingellchough Mystery Creature
The Unidentified CorfuSea Creature
Strange Sea Creature Found In Persian Gulf
The Devil of Gatagon
The Supernatural Invasion: Slender-man and Black Eyed Kids
The Sheep Killer of Niali
Mystery Creature of the Bay of Flamanville
Things Caught on Camera –Fact and Fiction
The Bat Creatures
The Owl-man
The British Pig-man and Snake-man
The Pictish Beast
Shunka Warak'in –A Hyena Too Far?
The Chupacabra
I am guessing that the conclusions in the chapter on the Shunka Warak'in and the famous stuffed and mounted specimen are going to really upset some cryptozoologists.
Since 1947 it has been claimed that UFOs/flying saucers are
evidence of aliens visiting the Earth.
Since the 1950s claims of encounters with landed craft and alien beings
were talked about but not taken seriously.
In the 1960s the subject of UFO abduction was a
"slow-burner" until the whole "Grey" abduction phenomenon
and claims made by researchers such as Budd Hopkins, Prof. John Mack and Dr
David Jacobs and Whitley Streiber.
But is there evidence to back up any of the claims -and what
about those encountering Alien Entities but who were not abducted?
Are these people all hoaxers, psychotic or suffering from
some other mental illness as some claim?
Are those people who were exposed by Ufologists against
their wishes, people who wanted to report what happened and then just get back
to their everyday lives -thrust into the media glare against their will?
And if US authorities were so interested that in one case at
least they broke into the home of two abductees and this was later proven -why?
Why did a hard core of these people never want publicity or
to make money from what happened to them?
Above all, why did a major UFO landing incident take place
on a US Inbterstate road in front of a large number of observers (all willing
to talk to investigators) never get investigated? If it were not for a radio
presenter interviewing and taking notes we would know nothing of the case -it
would be labelled "insubstantial".
James and Coral Lorensen -the Scopolamine Kids; using a very
notorious "truth drug" on alleged UFO witnesses and selling stories
to newspapers. An investigator (a
veteran) showing a witness images of "aliens" encountered in other
cases before any memories were retrieved.
Worst of all, the constant "pissing competition" and breaches
of trust between UFO investigators.
2017 is the time to assess the past evidence and look at the
faults within Ufology.
Not everyone is going to be happy -debunkers or ufologists.
Three weeks ago, archaeologists in Egypt found a massive black granite sarcophagus in Alexandria, untouched for 2,000 years - and fleet-footed rumour quickly got to work.
Could it contain the remains of ancient Greek leader Alexander the Great, or (less appealingly) a deadly curse?
According to experts who have now unsealed it, it's a no to both.
Instead, it revealed three skeletons and red-brown sewage water, which gave off an unbearable stench.
Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities had appointed a committee of archaeologists to open the relic, which was unearthed at a construction site.
According to Egyptian news outlet El-Watan, they initially lifted the lid of the tomb by just 5cm (2 inches) before the pungent smell forced them from the inspection scene entirely. They later prised it open with help from Egyptian military engineers.
"We found the bones of three people, in what looks like a family burial... Unfortunately the mummies inside were not in the best condition and only the bones remain," said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Image copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGESImage captionThe tomb was found to contain three skeletons, believed to be those of ancient Egyptian army officers
Addressing media fears that disturbing the tomb could trigger an implacable Pharaoh's curse, Mr Waziri declared: "We've opened it and, thank God, the world has not fallen into darkness.
"I was the first to put my whole head inside the sarcophagus... and here I stand before you ... I am fine."
Despite that, the site has now been cleared of people amid fears the sarcophagus could release lethal toxic fumes, Egypt's state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram says.
Are mummies' tombs dangerous?
Scientists have debunked the infamous "Mummy's Curse", but are there other threats in ancient tombs?
Lord Carnarvon, financial backer of the excavation of Tutankhamun's burial site, died from an infected mosquito bite shortly after they opened the chamber in 1923.
Since then, rumours have swirled that mould or bacteria survived in the sealed area and caused or contributed to his fate.
But F DeWolfe Miller, professor of epidemiology at the University of Hawaii, told National Geographic that there's no real danger.
"We don't know of even a single case of either an archaeologist or a tourist experiencing any negative consequences [from bacteria or tomb moulds]," he told the magazine.
Experts have said the three individuals in the Alexandria sarcophagus may have been soldiers in the time of the Pharaohs.
The skull of one is said to show cracks which point to an arrow injury.
An alabaster bust, its features weathered beyond recognition, was also found with the tomb.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe huge sarcophagus weighs almost 30 tonnes
The structure is almost two metres (6.5ft) high and three metres long, and is the largest of its kind ever found intact.
It weighs in at 27 tonnes (59,500lb), and is believed to date from the early Ptolemaic period, which began in 323 BC after the death of Alexander the Great.
Archaeologists will now study the sarcophagus in depth to pinpoint when its occupants lived, and how they died.
An indigenous tribesman who is the sole survivor of a brutal massacre of the rest of his tribe has been captured on video after decades living alone in the jungle.
The man – known locally as ‘the man of the hole’ due to his habit of digging holes to sleep in – has survived in the Amazon jungle of Rodonia for 22 years.
He was captured in a video released by the Brazilian agency for indigenous affairs (Funai), attempting to fell a tree.
He is thought to have his own papaya and corn plantations in the area.
Footage shows the man cutting down a tree (Funai)
The tribesman is believed to hunt forest pigs, birds and monkeys with a bow and arrow, entirely alone.
He was first spotted in the jungle in 1996 – but strict laws which forbid contact with isolated tribesmen has meant he has been left alone.He’s believed to be the only survivor after farmers attacked his tribe, killing the other five people, in 1995.
Survival International says he is in his 50s, and survives alone in an area surrounded by ranches.
The group says it’s ‘extraordinary’ he has survived alone for so long – given that farmers and land grabbers are interested in his territory.
There are thought to be 113 uncontacted tribes living in the Amazon. Experts have reports sightings of 27 of these.
"Hi. How's it going? Not been in touch in a long while--" to which can be added "I read your blog regularly".
The person saying or writing that is, of course, lying. I don't even try to catch them out any more. It's just a waste of my time.
You see, I can guarantee the person concerned either wants publicity for something they are doing or, far far more often -they want information. One person (who I know actually ripped my work off on his own blog) told me how interesting a chapter in one of my books was (I can tell you 100% he never bought a copy -no one did) and "I'd be interested in seeing all your notes on the case -and maybe a hi res copy of the photo if you can send me that".
No "please" even. I was feeling playful (ahem) so asked "The black and white photo or the full colour version on the back cover?" He fell for it: "Oh, the full colour one is best". Well, as there was no colour photo on the back of the book it makes you wonder.
Another person told me how he was on hard times and he couldn't buy one of my books -could I please send him a pdf? Aww. No. See, that is one of the oldest tricks around and when I did a check on the person I found he was fully employed and worked writing articles for Fortean and UFO publications. A pdf would be on the net and illegally downloaded by the end of the day.
My books contain every reference you would need to follow up on a case. There are photographs and maps and original "long since lost" according to some of the modern top notch researchers (I use that word -researchers- sarcastically). How did I find them? I did long, tedious research. No cut and paste cribbing from someone who cribbed from someone else. First hand research and I no longer give it away to charlatans, frauds and other bunko types. They want my research then...they need to buy my books.
I was once told by the publisher of a cryptozoological journal "Anything you forward or tell me I will plagiarise, old boy!" I chuckled. I never actually realised that he was a plagiarist con-man. In fact, in the late 1990s he was quite "willing" to let me work on British non native cat reports for him. By that time I had been working on this with UK police forces since 1977. Luckily, I remained an outsider and thank the gods I did!
There is always someone out there willing to rip you off. If you are a newbie and have done research and out of the blue a 'publisher' tells you he would be willing to look at your work and perhaps think about publishing some of it...well, that sounds great, right? What next -book? TV work? Far more likely you'll be called names when you complain that your work has been ripped off. "Perhaps think" is the important part of the sentence there.
Posts I have written for this blog have been ripped off -it comes with the internet. It is why I do not post original research findings and why I would never ever publish a witnesses name -but names, addresses and phone numbers is what some of these bunko-men want. I recall cooperating with a regional UFO group in the UK and we all agreed, even the report forms had "Confidential" in red ink across the top of the page even though confidentiality is, according to the printed form, "guaranteed". So imagine how I felt when I had a news item pointed out to me by my grandfather -the witness name and area he lived in was detailed. I phoned him and asked why he had gone to the newspaper when he had me promise I would not divulge his identity?
What followed was a horror story. He had heard a knock on his door one evening and on opening it found 10 members of the UFO group waving the report form at him. What went on that evening was awful for the witness. After that I decided that, unless under control by me and only then with the express permission of any witness, no one would ever find out who reported what.
Ufology, cryptozoology, ghost hunting -they are full of similar stories. New researchers should not be bullied or pushed into giving out any witness information. A witness who has spoken to you and given you valuable research information should expect the absolute strictest confidentiality from you. Can't guarantee you can give that assurance? Might stand in the way of a TV appearance? Go get another hobby.
Just be warned. This is not a fun time hobby so you can play Mulder and Scully. And if you find a solution to a case but don't want to upset the witness or don't have the guts to tell them -again, get a new hobby!
I am not cantankerous. I am just very serious about my work.
I realised that I really should have explained why it is so important to ascertain who or what is killing seals and if they are facing hunger because of depleted fish stocks.
We have sharks and other predators that pass through British waters -some moving into the area due to the sea warming up. One would expect that sick, weak seals would therefore provide easy food sources since predators do take fit and healthy ones so a weak seal is less effort. So how long before sharks begin to go hungry? Possibly a very long time since sharks tend to have a wide variety of prey.
As I pointed out in two of my books, however, Man has been fishing on an industrial scale for a very long time and in most cases had no interest in what fish populations were, or how young the fish were -they were simply interested in money. We saw nets being brought in so that was supposed to stop fishermen taking young fish that were too small and so of no modern (real) commercial value. Fishermen have also dredged up the sea floor to make catches causing any amount of damage to the environment and species of flora and fauna there.
As two fishermen I had a conversation with about ten years told me loudly: "We don't give a **** -this is our living and that puts food on the table". Long term effects of over fishing was of no real concern to them.
We know that in certain areas fishermen will lure in seals and kill them. Illegal but no one catches them -so what? We know certain fishermen put devices in and alongside lobster pots to kill seals. Again, if not caught they just keep doing this.
I have seen photographs of seals that have been shot -now, how on earth did that happen? I have seen the evidence of seals that were bludgeoned by fishermen. So we can call this Explanation 1.
I have also seen photographs of seals killed by what could only be a spiral device -a propeller. The wounds seem quite obvious. However, why did the seal hearing and seeing the craft coming towards it not swim away? Because it was weak and unable to? There is also the speedboat used by sporty types for fun and I have heard reports of these being steered at seals and even dolphins. So Propellor driven craft could be seen as Explanation 2.
We then have unknown or known diseases that affect seals could this be a major problem if they are weaker due to hunger? Older seals cannibalising younger ones is a possibility but not in high numbers so we'll class this as Explanation 3.
I have not seen any signs of "mysterious" deaths. Deaths that do not fit into 1-3 above. Does it exist?
Smaller prey or vegetation are eaten by fish and these fall prey to other aquatic dwellers including seals (themselves prey). Now, if we suppose that there are any large and unknown sea dwelling species out there and they survive the pollution and man-made hazards at sea, how would they cope if another chunk of the sea food chain goes?
So in looking at any seal deaths the "mystery" deaths if they exist, are just part of an overall problem. Just how many seals are recorded dying around the British and Irish coast -and are other aquatic species also being found -there are large numbers of whale strandings each year.
This is why I am interested in finding out just what is going on.
