CryPtoReports.com

Mothman

Nothing helps the tourism industry of a small river city like a monster.

Or so it seems in usually quiet Point Pleasant, W.Va., a bit less than three hours east of Cincinnati. It has a population of roughly 5,000, and its downtown is nestled comfortably, quietly behind an Ohio River floodwall painted with attractive murals.

But on Saturday, Sept. 20, its Main Street will explode with the bizarre activities of the eighth annual Mothman Festival, which, along with the Mothman Museum, has made the city the focus of monster-based tourism. Both are promoted by Jeff Wamsley, a good-humored local resident with a love for pop culture and the supernatural.

The mythic Mothman of West Virginia is supposedly a humanoid creature with huge wings and piercing red eyes, capable of standing and flying. It was first seen by two young couples on Nov. 15, 1966, in a ruggedly mysterious outlying area called TNT, where it chased their car to the edge of the city. Other sightings followed, and Mothman became like the Pacific Northwest’s Sasquatch – only mothier.

During World War II, the TNT Area was a classified, 8,000-acre area used for the manufacture of dynamite. It contained some 100 camouflaged concrete igloos for storage. There were two power plants, and the first Mothman sighting was made near the now-demolished North Plant. Today, a portion of the area is a wildlife preserve, but it still contains three hidden and abandoned – and very dark! – igloos that can be entered by tourists. The other igloos are still out there, but sealed and reportedly leased to private concerns.

The Mothman Museum, which stays open all year although hours vary by season, runs bus/walking tours of the area throughout the summer and also during the festival, often with Wamsley as guide. Before a recent one, he made guests sign a disclaimer. “It states if we get chased by a creature, we don’t get sued,” he says, joking.

The free festival has become the city’s biggest event, drawing an estimated 4,500 people last year. Visitors this year will be able to tour the museum, have their pictures taken by a 12-foot (life-size?) Mothman statue, hear eyewitness accounts of Mothman encounters, buy a “Mothman frappuccino” at local souvenir shop the Point, watch the premiere of a new Mothman movie called “Dark Wings” at the historic State Theater, admire Miss Mothman contestants, hear the Mothman Band and other musical acts, and take TNT Area tours. (Bus tours cost $19.95 and were supposed to be booked and paid for by Saturday; call 304-812-5211 noon-5 p.m. daily for any late vacancies.)

“Of all the history we’ve got, it’s that darn old Mothman that brings in the business,” says Carolin Harris, whose Harris Steakhouse has its best days during the festival. “People want to see what they don’t know. So we say Point Pleasant has history and mystery.”

That history includes the Tu-Endie-Wei Point Pleasant Battle Monument State Park, with its 84-foot granite obelisk and memorials marking what locals call the first battle of the American Revolution.

Source: news.cincy

People have reported seeing what they can best describe as a creature in Cameron Lake, just 30 kilometres west of Parksville, and John Kirk wants to find out what it is.

Kirk co-founded a B.C. group dedicated to hunting unidentified animals, or cryptid, and said he and his fellow members of the Scientific Cryptozoology Club have been fielding calls from people who say it’s time to take a closer look. The author of In the Domain of Lake Monsters plans an expedition to Cameron Lake to look for scientific evidence on Sept. 19.

This initial inspection will determine whether or not people are mistaking natural phenomenon for a cryptid, Kirk explained.

Once he and his team rule out things like submerged rocks or logs, they will return for a more in-depth analysis. So far, people have described the creature as long and serpent-like.

One woman captured a photograph of a similar silver shape, an indication that it could be a fish, which would be just as interesting for Kirk because there are no known species of fish in the lake that can get that big, he explained.

The 70-member club has experienced field researchers from all around the world but its small size and small budget often limit the expeditions they can go on. Oceanside Tourism, which represents both Parksville and Qualicum Beach, contacted the group and offered to sponsor the trip.

“We’ve gotten some feedback from people who are concerned that if we find something it will stop people from swimming but it doesn’t stop people in Okanagan,” Kirk said. “There are no reports of anyone getting attacked at one of these lakes. In fact, it’s a great tourist attraction. People make an absolute fortune on this type of thing.”

Lakes in the province are notorious for creature sightings, according to Kirk, who said there are 39 lakes with some sort of sighting reports. With very few of these sightings confirmed, Kirk does not expect to find anything in Cameron Lake his first time out.

Source: canada.com

A TEAM of investigators will scour Windermere in a hunt for a legendary monster that is claimed to lurk in its deep waters.

The search follows years of reported sightings of a big creature in the lake, the most recent being in July when Lake District hotelier Thomas Noblett was hit by a three-foot wave as he was swimming.

A chartered boat will take to England’s longest lake on September 19 with celebrity and sports psychic Dean Maynard at the helm. He will be joined by Windermere photographer Linden Adams who claims to have seen ‘Bownessie’ – the nickname for the monster – from a viewpoint on Gummers How in 2007.

There will also be people with cameras dotted around the shoreline to capture any unusual activity.

“Linden Adams and I are really geared up and ready for the challenge ahead and we hope to find some concrete evidence something big does exist in the lake,” said Mr Maynard.

In 2006 The Westmorland Gazette reported how Huddersfield University journalism lecturer Steve Burnip, of Hebden Bridge, saw a serpent-like creature emerge from the waters as he stood at Watbarrow Point across from Waterhead.

He described it as being 15 to 20 feet long with a little head and two small humps following in its wake. He said it looked like a giant eel.

“I am absolutely convinced that there is a big creature in the lake,” said Mr Burnip. “I am really pleased that there is a renewed interest in it because I know what I saw.

“I can see it in my head now, this grey lump and the humps breaking the water like you see in the classic Loch Ness pictures. There is something in there, something quite big and elusive.”

Mr Adams, whose picture of the creature was studied by photographic experts after appearing on the front page of the Gazette, said: “I looked at it through binoculars and the naked eye and what I saw was huge.

“A lot of photographic experts have had the opportunity to look at the pictures and they are still baffled.”

Ecology experts have told the Gazette that catfish are sometimes introduced to lakes by anglers. They believe that what could be being seen is the Welsh catfish that originates from mainland Europe.

Source: westmorlandgazette

Making big news in China this week is a story about Himalaya’s legendary Yeti or Bigfoot.

For centuries rumours of a half-man, half-ape that roams the upper Himalayas have circulated. The creature said to stand 3 metres tall has been allegedly seen by many locals as well as hikers visiting the area. In Chinese Yeti is often referred to as ‘Xueguai’.

A number of locals living near the Nepalese border claim not only to have seen the creature, but to have collected strands of its hair. Now, it has been reported that a team of scientists have collected these strands and have already confirmed that they do not belong to any local known animals.

The scientists plan to do further testing on the hair strands.

One theory regarding the Yeti is that the sightings of the supposed cryptid are in fact that of a rare bear that lives in the area but is unknown to scientists. The scientists hope to settle this mystery with the DNA tests.

Source: allnews

There are reports that an object visible in Loch Ness on Google Earth could be the Loch Ness monster.

A search of the loch, using the website’s satellite images, reveals what appears to be a light coloured object with a rounded front and a number of protrusions.

The object can be seen in the middle of the loch, across from the village of Invermoriston.

Over the years a number of theories about the existence of the Loch Ness monster have been put forward, including the possibility that sightings are a result of mis-identification of regular animals, birds, or objects such as trees.

Others maintain that there is a so-far unknown type of creature in the loch, possibly a surviving example of an otherwise-extinct type of dinosaur, or else a previously-unknown species of a known animal like a seal.

Over the years the loch has been subject to analysis and exploration using a number of means, including sonar, underwater video and unmanned submarine. While many of these projects recorded nothing unusual, others produced results that could be interpreted as proof of Nessie’s existence, including a picture of what could be the fin of a large creature as well as sonar contact with what could be a large object moving underwater.

Source: news.stv

The Bigfoot creature may have been captured on a remote trail camera placed in the Sierra National Forest, based on photography evidence released by Sanger Paranormal Society.

Investigator Jeffrey Gonzalez said Tuesday night that multiple cameras were put in place in this remote area on Memorial Day weekend, and retreived on June 7, 2009.

Gonzalez said they did not immediately see the evidence, but upon closer inspection, noticed what appears to be the Bigfoot creature.

Gonzalez said a group returned to the site to review the exact capture spot after many theories surfaced once the original image was released in early July.

The tree stump theory was ruled out, he said, because the “dark object” is not there. Gonzalez said the bear theory does not stand up either, because the image does not have a snout on the head.

“You can see features of a human face such as the nose, mouth and chin,” Gonzalez reports.

“The arms on a bear, when standing, do not hang that far down. We also took measures on how high this thing was. According to the leaves and the branches that were covering the object’s face, the tape measure said it was between 8 and 9 feet tall. The same camera that took the picture of the object also took pictures of other objects such as black bear and deer, which does not resemble the object in any way.”

Gonzales said that Bigfoot investigator David Raygoza has been visiting this location for six years after an elderly Native American pointed it out to him.

He told David that this spot in the forest was sacred Indian land and that weird things happen here. He said David has had many individual sightings and has collected footprints, but has never captured anything with a camera until now.

Returning to the exact spot where the image was captured, Gonzalez said that the angle of the hill is 45 degrees, which would make it difficult for a bear to stand upright. He also said the the object is clearly brown in color, ruling out the black bear.

The Bigfoot creature has been reported in many different parts of the country during the 20th century, including an “outbreak” during 1973 and 1974, primarily in southwestern, Pennsylvania, and investigated by Stan Gordon. During that period, hundreds of Bigfoot sightings were reported as well as hundreds of UFO reports. No photographic evidence exists from that time, although Gordon collected many foot prints in that region.

Source: Examiner

A mysterious looking body found along the shore of Okanagan Lake might be the remains of the legendary Ogopogo, an expert says.

Dan Poppoff found the 1.2-metre-long carcass last month while he was kayaking in the lake, close to Kelowna.

The Kelowna resident immediately called Arlene Gaal, who has written three books about the legendary sea creature and documented sightings of the Ogopogo for the last 30 years.

A day later, he sent her a photo of the carcass.

“I told him he had my attention right away,” Gaal said.

She told him to store the body in the freezer and has arranged for two scientists to analyze DNA from the tail.

The carcass had a spinal cord and vertebrae, which made it one of the first interesting discoveries she’s seen in the last 30 years.

“This is something very important to the scientific community. What we’re looking at is an unidentified species and this might open the door to this mystery,” she said.

Like Scotland’s mythical Loch Ness monster, evidence of the Ogopogo’s existence is largely anecdotal.

Since 1978, about 1,000 sightings of the Ogopogo have been recorded in the Okanagan. Every year, at least five people come forward to say that they have seen the sea monster.

Two sightings have already been reported in 2009. Those who claim to have seen the animal say it resembles a whale in its size, the way it moves and the commotion it creates when it emerges from the water.

“We’re looking at a definite large animal that is swimming in the Okanagan Lake. I’m sure of that,” Gaal said.

Source: canada.com

There has been a mysterious looking specimen found on the shores of Lake Okanagan that could possibly be linked to “Ogopogo”. There will be a tissue sample sent to scientist in Ontario to do some DNA testing and then the specimen itself will be sent to Alberta to be examined.

A Kelowna resident named Dam Poppoff found the specimen about two weeks ago as he was going along in his kayak at the far end of Lakeshore Road. The specimen is said to measure a little over a meter long and is being kept in Poppoffs freezer. Poppoff has not yet claimed that the strange carcass is indeed an example of Ogopogo but he said he is very interested on finding out exactly what the strange creature is.

Poppoff contacted long time Ogopogo researcher and writer Arlene Gaal with information about his findings. Gaal has since set up the tissue sample and carcass to be observed by unnamed researchers , Gaal did not want to identify the researchers so they could work without any distractions. Its not yet known when the results will be available or a match made as to what this creature actually is , but many in the cryptozoology world are waiting in anticipation.

This would ofcourse be a major find if it is indeed a yet unknown creature. Lake Okanagan has been the site of many sightings and reports of Ogopogo over the years yet to produce any solid evidence of the creature existance. We will track this story and hopefully have some more information to report.

Tonight is the Monster Quest special investigations episode on Bigfoot !  The show tonight will look directly at sasquatch evidence such as the Freeman footage, Patterson-Gimlin Film, sighting patterns, and foot cast. The will go indepth on all these area’s so should be a great episode for anyone interested in Bigfoot.

CRITICAL EVIDENCE:

“Frightening encounters with the legendary monster known as Sasquatch are reported in almost every state of America. These run-ins with terrifying upright hairy beasts date back centuries and sightings number in the thousands. Despite the many Sasquatch reports, skeptics point to the lack of evidence as compelling reason for the creature being merely a myth. Now, however, new analysis of the best existing evidence could finally uncover proof of this elusive beast. A special MonsterQuest investigation gathers together the critical evidence – from startling videos to tracks, prints and sighting maps. State of the art analysis may finally give definitive proof that Sasquatch is among us.”

Monster Quest airs tonight at 9:00 pm Eastern Time on History Channel.