Great Monsters Have Something to Say

by Kevin Candela

The defining fiction of my childhood, perhaps my whole life, is the Godzilla series. When I was a kid, other kids would rip on me because I dug Godzilla and not so much "American" King Kong. They thought Godzilla was silly and Kong "respectable". They're both tragedies, of course, but the tragedy of Kong is about human/American desire to "grab the unknown and stick it somewhere where one's own species can gawk at it at their leisure". And since we're "hunting Bigfoot", we're still doing it. In fact we almost HAVE to "bring in a body" in this age of digital deception. Yes, this is an aspect of human nature. And it's an important one to scrutinize--hence Kong, despite the ridiculous "I'm in love with a nearly hairless little kewpie doll" aspects--is necessary and critical to our culture. That's why it was iconic even in the early Sixties.

The Encounter That I Want To Forget

by Jodie Bares

To this day, I am still very frightened to watch The Exorcism of Emily Rose.  I made it a good forty-five minutes into the film and once this demonic face melted onto the screen, I had to shut it off.  This was a movie, but it’s not the first time I’ve seen something like that.

The other evening, my husband and I were talking about the film and he asked me why I like paranormal things if I don’t like to be scared watching horror movies? My answer: “because I’ve seen things that are very similar to the things they show in that movie.” I only ever told him part of the story, and I’ve done the best to suppress a few little details, but that particularly demonic face on the screen triggered a memory that I thought I had deeply buried.

If Two Barflies with Boards and Ropes Make You Feel Safe, You Should Probably Not Read This

by Kevin Candela

It’s funny what people will believe if it makes them feel safe. Secure. In control. 

Like the way two career bar sots in Great Britain claimed they were behind the crop circle phenomenon. This happened back in the Nineties. The biggest service I could do for these attention-seeking “gentlemen” here would be naming them, so that isn’t going to happen. But you remember these “everyman” (if the average man spends his days in a bar, which probably isn’t the case) types and their boast that they were behind the crop circle phenomenon. Claiming to use no more than two-by-fours and ropes, these guys said they went here and there making patterns in the crop fields.

Hunting Cryptids ‘Round the World: Mexico and Latin America Pt 2

by Jodie Bares

Two weeks ago, we began our journey into the cryptids and unknowns rooted in Mexican and Latin American culture.  This week we will continue our search for the unknown and a few more creatures looking in the jungles and the shadows...

It is said that there is a Bigfoot type creature lurking in Mexico.  Called The Sisimite (also referred to as “The Olmec Ape”), it has been reported in three Mexican states: Campeche, Chiapas and Quintana Roo, which is known to be covered in lush jungle. Its nickname comes from an artifact that was found during an archaeological dig at an Olmec site, that carbondatedback approximately two-thousand years.  Mexico Unexplained describes this creature with the following, “The Sisimite has been described as a hairy ape-like creature, much larger than a human, with the face of a human.  It has only 4 fingers and no thumbs, and, in some cases, it has been described as having backwards-facing feet. Sisimites walk upright, like humans.  They let out high-pitched screams but have no language.  They are generally regarded as being hostile to humans and have been accused of kidnapping people. Their apelike fur has been described as ranging from a chestnut color to pitch black.  They have no protruding ears and their noses are flat…”

Of Tinfoil and Ostrich Feathers

by Kevin Candela

It's pretty much always been "the move": If someone is telling you something that frightens you, something you don't WANT to believe (whether it's true/real or not), the least witty among us will go for the cliche. 

Let's call it THS - Tinfoil Hat Syndrome. And let's be clear, it's not about discourse, or argument, or disagreement of any kind. When someone tells you to put on your tinfoil hat, or suggests you're already wearing one, this is their equivalent of holding up a cross to ward off vampires. Because a vampire is "bringing them bad news" too. Not that they'll actually consider the possible existence of vampires, which I will neither confirm nor deny here.