Strange State - Paranormal Mysteries In Oklahoma And Around The World.

The Cowled and Covert

2008-08-29T09:24:00.003-04:00

From "Hoodwinks: A Look at Hooded Entities" by Michael D. Winkle (The Anomalist #10, 2002)"

"One night in 1985 my younger brother Mark drove down a dead-end road off 81st Street and Riverside Drive in Tulsa, Oklahoma, just to see where it went. Back then the area was quiet and wooded; later the road "punched through" to 91st Street and became part of Riverside. My brother rolled a few hundred yards until he reached the end, a dirt turn-around surrounded by trees; to his amazement, several figures in black, monklike cowls dashed out of the reach of his headlights as if taken by surprise. . ."

I wonder if there are other Oklahoma tales of mysterious, hooded figures. In writing Strange State, I encountered one or two tales of shadowy figures but none featuring hoods. If any readers know of local tales - or even out of state legends - please feel free to pass those along.

PEOPLE ON A PERILOUS PRECIPICE WITH PLANET X

2008-08-28T08:53:00.003-04:00

From an article in The Canadian, "Canada's new socially progressive and cross-cultural national newspaper", entitled "Humanity's Crossroads and Extraterrestrials: US Professor Zecharia Sitchin's Planet X":

"According to my research, PX, the size of Jupiter, is presently in our solar system and is heading towards Earth. It is in a retrograde orbit. Its overwhelming magnetic properties and gravitational field has catastrophic effects on nearby celestial bodies. A source on the Internet [Oh, thank God there is a 'source' on the Internet to bolster the following statement! CH] states PX will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere in June, 2009. Now it can be seen by satellite or observatory telescopes. As it nears the Earth, its mass, magnetic and gravitational effects will be apparent in severe climate change, frequent and higher magnitude earthquakes and volcanic activity, and other geological disturbances.

The projected time of a PX close encounter is the end of 2011 - 2012. I am convinced that PX is a starship inhabited by a hostile race of ETs called the Nefilim; a race of giants that once inhabited Earth during the Sumerian civilization and for thousands of years prior to that era."

Not one to be left out of the fast-paced world of baseless proclamations, I will also astound you with what my "research" has uncovered. Some of you may be troubled by the "New World Order" implications of the following, but it seems that through ancient Sumerian texts I have learned that frogs and toads are far better at making swimwear than all the fashion houses combined. So good are they that their increasing mass-extinction threatens humanity in untold ways. A time is coming, with global temperatures rising, that humans will need to seek the cooling reprieve of our lakes and oceans. And where will the frogs and toads be? That's right, Planet X (PX). You see, they are not really dying out. Sources on the Internet tell me they are being "beamed" aboard PX, an intergalactic deathstar of sorts since they are the progeny of the 'Nefelim'.

Well, you heard it here first kids. I know, I know. As Dostoyevsky said, "Sarcasm is the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded."

But then, he's like old or dead or whatever.

ALIEN INTRUDER CAPTURED ON FILM?

2008-08-27T18:33:00.002-04:00

A Florida couple claiming to have long been the victim of alien visitations and abductions purports to have finally captured an extraterrestrial on video. Watch the video and decide for your self.

Wave To Big Brother

2008-08-26T09:31:00.006-04:00

While I am not usually a paranoid, conspiracy-driven person, I must say I feel the subtle encroachment of the technocracy when one can view their own home on the Google Street View feature to their mapping software. Read: you are being watched. Well, maybe not you but your house may.

What began as handy street maps - often more relevant than the ones you would spend good money on - with driving directions and distances, has now grown to include satellite imagery and now street scans.

Not everyone is too happy about Google's new toy.

As with many forms of invasive technology, we don't yet know what this may mean to our privacy and safety. Is this unwittingly giving criminals intelligence to select targets more efficiently? Providing them with greater information concerning you and your home? Or worse yet, will those nefarious Girl Scouts now have the tools to send smartly forward their ever-advancing legions of Snickerdoodle Stormtroopers? Calories, girls! Think of the calories!!

Perhaps I'm just being paranoid.

Distant Water Colored Memories..

2008-08-25T07:19:00.002-04:00

I recently caught an episode of Unsolved History (God only knows when it aired originally) that looked at three of the earliest and biggest news-making UFO encounters: Arnold's infamous sighting, Roswell, and the notorious Skyhook entanglement in KY.

As a part of this show, which seemed on the surface to be genuinely unbiased yet gave off subtle dismissive vibes, a memory experiment was conducted by a cognitive psychologist to test if those who claim they witnessed events at Roswell may have been prone to suggestion and confabulation. A group was gathered, taken out into the desert, hurriedly shuffled along a path past a tableau reminiscent of the Roswell crash (debris, armed military personnel) and then only questioned about what they had seen once an entire month had gone by. This presumably gave their memories time to stew and get confused with other stimuli. To verify what they had said was true or false, each participant wore a camera mounted on a helmet to show their point of view.

When the witnesses were interviewed, it was said, their recollections were inaccurate and colored with all sorts of interpretive perceptions, extrapolations, and false memories. However, on camera, we only see a witness interview with one participant. This makes me wonder if the team at Unsolved History wasn't trying to massage their data, or at least our perception of it. We learn no statistics only the blanket announcement that memory is susceptible to error, given enough time.

While this can be true, it also ignores the relevance of eye-witness testimony. If recall counted for nothing, witness testimony would be irrelevant in court.

In the end, I came out of the episode with the impression that Unsolved History was unduly satisfied with both their experiment and conclusion. And that overall, it seemed to have an agenda to pursue by forcing this and other inconclusive experiments down our throats like square pegs as if they were the final word on the matter.

I'm a firm believer in debunking. Debunk away, I say! I don't, however, approve of sloppy, lazy, self-confident debunking, which I believe this to be.

Parazona Interview

2008-08-22T07:10:00.003-04:00

I'd like to extend thanks to the folks at Parazona Radio for having me on last night. It was a great show, with good energy and some great points of view. And to those who endured my ramblings. :-D Going forward, I wish them much success with their show. For those of you unfamiliar with the program, click here.

My Interview Tonight On Parazona

2008-08-21T09:20:00.002-04:00

You can catch my interview tonight on PARAZONA where I will discuss my book and forthcoming novel.

The Question Remains, Will The Pending Reptilian Invasion Have Horns?

2008-08-20T10:26:00.002-04:00

I love this sort of stuff. You know, in the way you really can't stand something but you say that you do in a flourish of irony (okay, sarcasm).

Reptilian_Invasion

Knowledge of Horned Super Race Subject to Cover Up

I would like to say this all reads like good science fiction, but I can't even be that generous. It's the same spurious - and always paranoid - proclamations of the sinister based on illogical, disconnected conclusions or simply born of the ether. A mythological patchwork stitched tenuously together with threads culled randomly from third-hand sources like chatrooms and Fate.

Yeti Legend Dies Off In The Face Of Progress

2008-08-19T11:05:00.005-04:00

The San Francisco Chronicle examines the inexorable demise of the Yeti legend in the small Himalayan country of Bhutan, which until recently had done a good job of keeping progress at bay.

One wonders if, in time, a similar extinction will face the various ape-men legends of North America. As hoaxes pile up higher than evidence, and bodies remain elusive, will anyone care in another ten years? Will it seem a quaint fascination of the 20th Century, which bled onto the New Millenium only to die an ignominious death at the hands of, say, Reality TV? Time will tell.

Explorer I Antigravity Theory Doesn't Get Off Ground

2008-08-19T10:44:00.004-04:00

This site posits that antigravity was discovered in the Sputnik-era launch of the United States' own satellite, Explorer I. However, they claim, the discovery was quickly quelled by - who else? - the nefarious Government (with a capital G).

I, of course, have problems with this. Chiefly, how many scientific discoveries (of worth) have ever been dropped? Think about even the most contentious finds of recent years: stem cells, cloning, biological and nuclear weapons... For moral reasons or just plain old self-preservation each has been under attack in hopes of terminating research into these fields with few exceptions. Yet, the research continues covertly, in other countries, and even by our own government. You can't keep - for better or for worse - monumental, life-altering discoveries down.

And an effective way to defy gravity? During the Cold War? Please. More money was thrown at the military complex during the Cold War than before or since. They were wasting it hand over fist on all sorts of worthless inventions with the aim of gaining the advantage. You cannot tell me anyone would have squashed such an enormous discovery with far-reaching economic and military applications.

See, it's not enough to have an outlandish theory but you have to have proof - or at least some logic.

Ghostly Lament Still Eludes Investigation

2008-08-15T08:11:00.007-04:00

A classic Oklahoma ghost tale centers around a cemetery in Arapaho wherein a disembodied voice cries out regretfully, "Oh no! Oh, my God! Robina has not been saved!" Legend claims the spectral voice belongs to a man named George Smith whose 19 year old daughter, it is said, died in 1936 in a terrible auto accident. His greatest lament, apparently, was not that his daughter's life was snuffed out so quickly but rather that her soul had not yet been saved by the church.

Among those legend claims have heard the phenomenon was a minister who held a graveside service in March 1979. A year later, Cecil and Sharon Rutherford stated they, too, had heard the voice. Something over a decade later, a geologist attempting to find answers came back not with scientific reasons but his own encounter with the phantom phrase.

At some undetermined point in time, the Central Oklahoma Paranormal Studies group ventured to Arapaho cemetery to collect EVP recordings of George Smith's eerie lament. Unfortunately, nothing fruitful was gathered. Of course C.O.P.S. went during the night (as so many groups do - what's up with that?) and, by all reasoning, it seems the voice has been heard in the daylight hours. Could it be this group went at the wrong time?

Either way, I wonder why more haven't attempted to collect what was once considered something of a regular occurrence. C.O.P.S. was the only group I've found so far who've attempted EVP work at the cemetery. Had others long ago determined this was nothing more than a folk tale, an urban legend? If others have examined this phenomenon, did they come back with proof that George Smith still cries out for his daughter's salvation?

AND THIS, FOLKS, SUMS IT ALL UP...

2008-08-15T08:07:00.001-04:00

"Instead, Biscardi said he plans to keep the body at an undisclosed location while scientists, including two Russian hominid specialists, study the creature. Biscardi said the entire process will be filmed and then released as a documentary."

It's a publicity stunt to sell the bigfoot version of Alien Autopsy. Bored. Moving on...

And more...

2008-08-14T15:42:00.003-04:00

For some pretty damning evidence against the authenticity of the Georgia Bigfoot, click on over to Blogsquatcher where some hidden gems have been uncovered that show a much clearer evolution of this hoax.

Bigfoot Body Or Clever Hoax?

2008-08-14T09:09:00.005-04:00

By now, many of you interested in such things have no doubt heard of the purported Bigfoot body found by Georgia Sasquatch hunters, Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer in the forests of that state. A pending press announcement will make the news official, but in the meantime skeptics and the hopeful are dissecting what scant information exists like anxious children on Christmas Eve. So far, just one photo of the body as it rests in a freezer has been released to the public. The folks at Where Light Meets Dark have an interesting analysis of what this "corpse" really is.

The X-Files: I Wanted To Like

2008-08-12T14:59:00.001-04:00

Was anyone else less than thrilled by the second film in an otherwise wildly successful franchise? Opinions?

Round Up Of Other 1952 Sightings

2008-08-11T11:06:00.001-04:00

1952 - There are 39 unexplained UFO reports recorded in the UFOCAT database for this day. Most are lacking any detail and so fall into the category of "insufficient information." All but five come from the United States . For a map of the distribution of those reports from the USA with known geographical coordinates, click here. Below are seven of the more interesting cases:

1952 - At 1:30 a.m. radar operators on the ground in Osceola , Wisconsin witnessed several clusters of up to 10 small radar targets and one large target. The small targets moved from southwest to east at 50-60 knots (60-70 mph), following each other. The large object moved at 600 knots (700 mph). One hour total time. The pilot of a F-51 Mustang in flight confirmed a visual sighting of one of the targets. (Source: Condon Committee investigation files; Don Berliner, Project Bluebook UFO Unknowns).

1952 - At 12:30 p.m. USAF personnel near Ennis , Montana were alerted that UFOs were coming from the direction of Seattle , Washington and headed toward their position. Twelve of them saw two to five flat disc-shaped objects fly over. One hovered for 3-4 minutes, while the others circled it. The sighting lasted 30 minutes. (Sources: Project Blue Book files counted in official statistics, case no. 1747; Don Berliner, Project Bluebook UFO Unknowns).

1952 - Langley AFB, Virginia . At 2:30 p.m. USAF Captain D.G. Moore, of military air traffic control, sighted a UFO coming toward the air base that flew at an estimated speed of 2,600 mph below an altitude of 5,000 feet. It was in sight for two minutes. Twenty minutes later Captain Moore and electronics technician W. Y. Hope tracked a UFO on radar moving away. The object stopped for two minutes, then moved away again very, very fast. Total duration four minutes. (Sources: Kevin Randle, Invasion Washington: UFOs over the Capitol; p. 275; Don Berliner, Project Bluebook UFO Unknowns).

1952 -At 3:44 Herbert Mitchell and his employee in Merced , California sighted a dark, discus-shaped object, trailed two lengths behind by a silvery light. It tipped on its side, dove, hesitated, and then circled very fast. They watched it for two minutes. (Sources: Project Blue Book files counted in official statistics, case no. 1738; Don Berliner, Project Bluebook UFO Unknowns).

1952 - In Wichita , Kansas at 12:35 p.m. USAF shop employees Douglas and Hess saw a bright white circular craft with a flat bottom at the Municipal Airport . The object flew very fast, and then hovered 10-15 seconds over the Cessna Aircraft Co. plant. Their sighting lasted five minute sighting. (Sources: Project Blue Book files counted in official statistics, case no. 1739; Don Berliner, Project Bluebook UFO Unknowns).

Historic UFO Account

2008-08-07T09:40:00.004-04:00

Sidney Eubank had been driving down a stretch of US 81 south of Waukomis, OK on the evening of July 30, 1952 when his car was buffeted by the wake of an enormous disc that flew dangerously low to his car, forcing Eubank off the road. He turned just in time to catch the object dash away to the west at amazing speeds. A short time later, a breathless Sidney Eubank reported the bizarre encounter to nearby Enid police officer, Sgt. Vern Bennel.

Truly a craft unkown to mankind or the misinterpretation of some unfamiliar craft out of Enid's Vance Air Force Base? Given the age of the story and lack of extant data, it is likely no one will ever know. This story, too, will join countless others in the ever-growing pile of interesting but otherwise fruitless accounts of Unidentified Flying Objects.

This account was chronicled by famed ufologist Jacques Vallee in the book "Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings".

Explaining Psychic Phenomena?

2008-08-05T09:13:00.001-04:00

Perhaps. Click Here

Finding A Balance Between Preserving Prehistory And Fueling The Future

2008-08-05T09:08:00.002-04:00

HERE

Oklahoma Filmmaker Looks Beyond The White Sheet To Find What Really Haunts

2008-08-05T08:42:00.005-04:00

Spellbound stories received a heads up about this documentary, shot by Norman, OK filmmaker David Burkhart. In the feature-length film (of which only a portion can be viewed here), Burkhart attempts to examine not only the mechanics of a now-nototious haunting at the University of Oklahoma, but larger existential themes surrounding death, fear, and loss.

While Burkhart's cinematography is commendable, the editing is a bit abrupt at times and his self-narration seems to affect a hoarser, deeper register that walks a thin line between promising documentary and any given episode of Weird Travels. Together with a subtle score comprised of little more than plodding notes from the piano and a haunting synth harmony, the narration takes on an almost Carteresque aspect reminiscent of early X-Files.

All in all, I was impressed with the potential this film demonstrates. Its rough, but nonetheless apparent, artistry is what sets it apart from so many paranormal documentaries that take their cues from Ghost Hunters or any of the litany of shows found on the History or Travel channels.

However, what most impressed me was hearing how Burkhart abandoned his first impulse of a straight documentary on a haunted location and those who investigate such things (namely Oklahoma City Ghost Club) for a more personal look at the greater themes of life and death. Noting early on in the film that his own father's passing profoundly affected him, it is easy to understand his desire to not only contemplate the existence of life beyond death but to physically face his fears regarding it by filming his solo stay in OU's haunted Cate Center.

While still in production, Burkhart's teaser on YouTube is bound to cultivate an audience eager for its release as a feature length film that will invariably tour local and regional film festivals and hopefully find distribution.

If you would like to read more about the Cate Center haunting, may I [insert shameless plug] recommend purchasing a copy of my book, wherein I examine the events surrounding this ghostly locale?

Historic Bigfoot Account

2008-08-01T11:16:00.000-04:00

Elkanah Walker was a 19th Century missionary who witnessed to the Spokane Indians of Washington State. During his stint with the Spokanes, Walker's base of operations lay roughly 25 miles northwest the now eponymous city of Spokane. In a journal entry dated April 16, 1840, he wrote:

"They (the natives) believe in the existence of a race of giants which inhabit a certain mountain off to the west of us. Thismountain is covered with perpetual snow. They inhabit its top...They hunt and do all their work in the night. They are men stealers. They come to the people's lodges in the night, when the people are asleep and take them or put them under their skins and take them to their place of abode without them even awakening. When they awake in the morning, they are wholly lost, not knowing in what direction their home is..."They say their track is about a foot and a half long...They frequently come in the night and steal their salmon from their nets."

Walker also wrote later about Mt. St. Helens: "it is inhabited by a race of beings of a different species, who are cannibals and whom they hold in great dread."

Mystery, Conspiracy Surrounds Fiery Crash

2008-07-31T09:29:00.004-04:00

In the wee hours of May 14, 2008, a noctilucent object shot like turquoise fire through the sky south of Las Vegas and crashed to earth just outside Needles, California.

Frank Costigan, a former security chief for Los Angeles Intl. Airport, witnessed the object's fiery descent and swears it was no meteor. "It was bright," he said, "bright enough that it illuminated the ground."

Costigan claims the object slowed down at one point before speeding up again. Eventually, the phenomenon ducked behind a hill. Costigan expected to hear the loud report of a crashed meteorite, but instead, all was silent.

A few hours later, David Hayes, who owns a Needles radio station, saw a phalanx of odd vehicles with government plates pulling off the highway. One he described as a large truck surmounted by a dome and a superstructure reminiscent of a stealth fighter. He thought it might have been some type of military surveillance vehicle. Hayes goes on to claim that once he made eye-contact with one of the soldiers, the man followed him to his job. He could see one of the nondescript dark vehicles parked outside the KTOX station.

A third Needles resident, a man known only as "Bob" or "R.B.", claims he saw the object land with a thud approximately 100 yards west of the Colorado River where he lives in a houseboat.
Thinking a plane had crashed Bob attempted to call 911 but was unable to get cell reception. He was just about to move his boat when he heard the sound of approaching helicopters. Looking skyward, Bob spotted five flying in formation - one of which was a skycrane. Several minutes later, a glowing oval-shaped object about the size of a "semi-trailer" was retrieved and the helicopters retreated toward Las Vegas.

According to reports that came in to the radio station, the Laughlin, NV airport was deluged with a constant stream of arriving Janet planes, the aircraft that shuttle Area 51 workers.

But these facts cannot yet be confirmed because, it is reported, the Laughlin Airport has no one on tower duty after 6 pm.

It is also interesting to note, that while Needles is hardly a sprawling metropolis, these three witnesses and their unconfirmed data all seem to share a suspicious connection. Costigan, for instance, does investigative reporting for Hayes, according to reporters. And as for "Bob" - neither he nor his houseboat can be found. So, was he real?

Local reporters questioned multiple agencies and possible eye-witnesses. Nothing. An unconfirmed report from a military watchdog group does seem to confirm the presence of one helicopter in the area that morning.

For a more exhaustive look at the crash near Needles, check out this link: earthfiles

UFO's? I Think Not...

2008-07-29T19:16:00.003-04:00

CLICK HERE to see what Rense is reporting as UFO's. In my own humble opinion, they are out-of-focus videos of some tiny organisms, perhaps zooplanktons of some sort. Not one frame is in focus, which causes suspicion, and in several you can detect the tiniest bit of motion, as if parts of the whole are moving. Of course, the might just be the unfocused lights on someone's surge protector strip. Who knows. But other than the dubious word of the filmshooter, there is nothing that tells us these objects are in the sky. Judge for yourself.

Fall Can't Come Too Soon For Bigfoot Fans

2008-07-28T10:02:00.002-04:00

The dog days of summer may be pressing down on us like a wet blanket in the sun, but none are looking forward to Autumn more than Bigfoot enthusiasts. For those in the Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas region, two prominent events are slated for this coming October.

The weekend of October 3rd and 4th, you can attend the Honobia Bigfoot Festival, which is held in Honobia, OK - deep in the Kiamichi Mountains, a Bigfoot hotspot that has been the site of numerous research expeditions and documentaries.

The Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy will hold its annual conference on Saturday, October 18 2008. The event, held in Jefferson, TX, will run from 9:00am to 6:00pm. For more information, click_here .

More Bigfoot News From Cherokee County

2008-07-25T10:12:00.004-04:00

Investigator, D. W. Lee, recently spoke to the Tahlequah Daily Press, about his long-standing efforts at tracking down Bigfoot. Via his Stillwell, OK-based organization, Mid-America Bigfoot Research Organization, Lee has been able network with other area researchers and track these hirsute hominids, which are said to roam the dense woodlands of Oklahoma.

In Lee's opinion, the race of creatures - collectively referred as "Bigfoot" - represents a here-to unkown species of primate. He further breaks them down into three different types, all based on their disparate visages, which range from humanoid to gorilla-like to plainly monstrous.
Lee's research has also led him to believe that while harmless, they will hunt in packs for prey such as deer.

However recent incidents in Cherokee Co, such as those reported by Sheryl Mast, beg the question: just how "harmless" are Bigfoot? As with any wild creature, regardless of their perceived passivity, the possibility for violence exists, especially if territory or offspring are viewed as being in danger.

Mast's traumatic encounters do not stand alone.

Peggy and Margaret Hance grew up in the Lost City area of Cherokee County. Over the past quarter century, the two have experienced numerous incidents involving an aggressive Bigfoot.
The Hance's claim rocks, lumber, and even a dead cat have all been hurled violently at their home. On one occasion, a smaller - perhaps a juvenile? - Bigfoot attempted entry into their house.

They watch from the forested shadows. They watch the children play or catch the bus to school. Even Peggy's husband found himself in one creature's sights once as he worked in his tool shed. He turned, startled to find one standing in the doorway watching him. A local sheriff's deputy managed to catch one in a spotlight one evening, as well.

Countless times the women have smelled the creatures' foul stench, heard their chilling cries, and caught glimpses of them dashing in and out of the woods. They describe the animals as tall with reddish-brown hair that walk upright. Each has a hairless countenance, and females, hairless breasts. When one leaves after visiting, a wake of enormous tracks can be found.

For such a rare and rarely reported spectacle with dedicated researchers going their whole lives without even a single glimpse, can tales of multiple, aggressive sightings be believed? Reports such as this indicate a potential for finding plenty of quality trace evidence. So why has it not been gathered an analyzed? Or, if it has, where are the findings and what do they tell us?