Cullan Hudson's Blog, page 41

PA Locals Corral Mystery Animal

This interesting historic account was brought to us by Cryptomundo and the letter 'H'

Catch Strange Animal
Hopping Along Highway

Washington, Pa., Aug. 22 (AP) – An "animal without a name," which goes for vegetables and nuts in a big way, had the townsfolk puzzled today. No one could identify it.

The "watcha-call-it" has been viewed by hundreds since Saturday, when, hopping along the road like a kangaroo, it was corralled by a group of men and boys.

Its rear legs are like a kangaroo's, its head and ears resemble those of a squirrel, and the eyes and nose bring to mind a rabbit. Its hair varies from brown to green.

Game Protector Carl Stainbrook is investigating whether the animal escaped from a carnival sideshow.

"I never saw anythink (sic) like it," he said. "I searched through a book on the mammals of America and can't find anything like it."

Source: Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading Eagle
August 22, 1939

Without knowing the size of the animal or much else, it's hard to speculate on what it could have been. My top contenders, however would be: Ornate Tree Kangaroos, Wallabies, and Pademelons.

Of these, a Pademelon is the most squirrel-like.

Ancient Irish Burials Hint At Long-Held Belief In The Undead

Archaeologists working near Kilteasheen, Ireland unearthed two skeletons from the 8th century buried with stones in their mouths. The reigning theory is that this was done to prevent their return from the grave. There, too, seemed something special about where they were buried since the two men were buried at different times and were of drastically different ages and yet laid to rest together, sometime in the 700s. Middle Ages burials elsewhere have associated this practice as a way to deal with potential vampires and other undead. However, the folklore surrounding that tradition didn't emerge throughout Europe until the 1500s. Still, the archaelogists from the Institute of Technology in Sligo think this may still have been done to prevent revenants, a term for ghosts or animated corpses. It is likely these men were outcasts from the whole of society, such as criminals or victims of some unexplained disease. This would explain why such lengths were taken not only to bury them in a special area, but also to make sure they stayed buried.

The Wild Boy

Emerging from a German forest like a wraith, an English-speaking 17 year old boy revealed to locals that he had been living in the wild for more than five years with his father who had died two weeks prior. After a simple burial in a shallow grave beneath a cairn of stones, the boy followed his father's instructions and ventured north to where he could be discovered by local citizenry.   It seem the pair had fled into the woods in a survivalist mode after Ray's mother (whom he called Doreen) had passed away. The two men lived a nomadic life, moving from place to place and calling tents and huts homes.   When authorities examined the boy, there were no indications that he had been physically or psychologically abused; his health, too, seemed in good condition. Ray had little recollection of his life prior to living in the woods with his father.   However, given that he had been 12 at the time, I find this somewhat hard to believe. I have to wonder if there isn't some underlying trauma at work that has yet to manifest itself. If anything, his socialization skills have doubtlessly been truncated by an less than ideal existence in the woods.

Learn more HERE

Is Latest OC UFO Work Of Famed 'Hoaxer'?

Orange County, CA residents spotted a mysterious light last night that appeared to change colors and shift about the sky. If one witness is to be believed similar lights have been spotted elsewhere in the country recently.No explanation has yet been presented as to what may hve caused the unexplained sight. You can watch a local news report here.
Could this, though, be the work of infamous hoaxer Linn Murphy who has long played the UFO prank on hapless OCers? In the middle of the last decade, Murphy flew an RC disc outfitted with colored lights, pausing football games and generating traffic problems. Considered a nuissance by some and a rebel by others, Murphy's pranks. In reality, he mightn't be either.
Read more about this curious fellow here.

Mysterious Geoglyphs Across Middle East Puzzle Scientists

Read more about these mysterious formations that have been likened to
Peru's famous Nazca Lines and which may be well over 2000 years old.

Minions of Misery Award Nomination

I was nominated for a 'Minions of Misery' award by Keith Pyeatt, author of Struck! and Dark Knowledge. In the same fashion as Miss America must abstain from drug-fueld orgies with congressional aides throughout her reign, I also have certain requirements to meet in order to fulfil the honor bestowed upon me.

Firstly, I must mention a DARK BOOK: Well, all the truly dark books I know are securely locked up deep within the hidden recesses of the Miskatonic University library in Arkham. But there is one that slipped out, and I'd be remiss not to mention it here: The Mound. That's right, in fulfilment of the honor bestowed upon me, I'm gonna plug my own stuff. Deal! Seriuosly, it's the perfect supernatural thriller to curl up with as we head into the haunting season.

Secondly, I am compelled to reveal a DARK SECRET about myself. Yeah.... You're not ready for all that. Instead, I will reveal a slightly interesting tidbit: when I travel, I usually wear several t-shirts that I've designed myself. These are great conversation starters about my work and often function better as a promotional tool than shoving a business card in someone's hand, since it calls upon them to be curious about you.

Lastly, we come to the DARK MOVIE: This one is obscure. It's the made-for-TV horror flick from 1981 called "This House Possessed," starring Parker Stevenson that included the scariest shower scene since Psycho. This film--atrocious as it is--really impressed itself upon my tender young psyche and has remained with me all these years.

Famed Pascagoula Abductee Passes

This caught my attention since it happened near a town that's only about 40 minutes away from me.
On the evening of October 11, 1973, Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker claimed to have been abducted by aliens while fishing near Pascagoula, MS. The two heard a strange droning, looked up, and spotted two flashing blue lights coming from a domed, cigar-shaped vehicle in the sky. The men recalled that it must have been between 30 an 40 feet across and 8 to 10 feet high as it levitated 2 feet from the ground.
Suddenly, a door opened to reveal three man-sized beings who seized the two fishermen and levitated them inside. Parker fainted, but Hickson managed to stay lucid. He recalled the creatures as being pale and wrinkled without any eyes and only slits for mouths. Their heads, which were possessed of strange "carrot-like" protuberances that seemed to mimic the placement of ears and a nose, sat atop their shoulders with no discernible neck. Their hands were like the claws of a lobster and their single leg terminated in an elephant-like foot. Their movements, Hickson thought, were oddly mechanical.
The two men were examined by some sort of device that seemed to scan their bodies, according to Hickson. Parker had no recollection, but later hypnotic regressions revealed some vague tid bits. Twenty minutes later, the two men were taken back to their spot on the river bank.
Too frightened to move, the pair sat in their vehicle for nearly an hour, drinking whiskey. Although, I'm not sure how this would have deviated from their intended post-fishing routine...
The pair decided at last on a course of action. They contacted the folks at Keesler Air Force Base who informed them that they were no longer interested in such reports and that they should probably contact the local police department. So, at 10:30 that night, Hickson and Parker entered the Sheriff's office, catfish in tow, to tell their tale.
While the Sheriff wasn't sure he bought their tale (I'm thinking strong whiskey breath might have contributed to this conclusion), he did think the men were sincerely disturbed by SOMETHING that happened on the river that evening.
According to a secretly taped interview (later transcribed by NICAP), the men's story continued even after the Sheriff left them alone, lending credence to the belief of many that their story--fantastic or not--was true.
In the days that followed, the spoke to no one about the event, but co-workers could tell something wasn't right with the men. It wasn't before long that the men got a call from the Sheriff, complaining about reporters that were now hounding him for information on the case. The two men each blamed the other for leaking the story to the press. In short order, the whole area was soon buzzing with the tale.
According to research by famed UFO researcher Jerome Clark, the men were taken to the Air Force base to be examined and debriefed by military intelligence.
The story was going national quickly and the men found themselves in front of UFO big wigs like James Harder and J. Allen Hynek. Hickson acquiesced to a polygraph that determined that, at the very least, he BELIEVED the story he was telling. But research by other journalists revealed that the fishing spot at which the men claimed the incident transpired was in full view of two 24 hour toll booths and neither attendants on duty at the time heard or saw anything strange that evening.
The stress of it all soon took its toll and the two fled 150 miles north to hide out with family.
Many years later, Parker (who no doubt knew all the details of Hickson's account by then) claimed to have lied about fainting and he actually remembered it all. But he had more to offer.
In addition to the bizarre carrot men, a small female being grabbed his man junk and injected a needle into the underside of his shaft. She communicated with him telepathically; informing him his abduction had a purpose. Parker said that nearly 20 years past without out incident and then one evening he encountered the craft again. Aboard was the same female being who informed him that the two shared the same God, the Bible was truth, and that she and her kind wished to live on Earth but could not because of humanity's war-like nature.
The excuses carrot nosed beings will come up with as to why they didn't call the next day. Tsk, tsk, tsk...
The two kept a fairly low profile in the decades following, only occasionally speaking about the event. Hickson co-wrote a book on his experiences. He passed away September 9, 2011.
Maybe it was all a prank that got out of hand--so out of hand that these two men felt ensnared by their own lies. I could see that. Maybe they really did see something strange that night, but maybe their drinking began a bit earlier than the bit of whiskey to calm their nerves and the details got a bit confused. Or perhaps we should be watching out for more than just snakes, gators, and creepy banjo-pluckin' inbreds on the rivers and streams of Mississippi.

Art Inspired By Classic Halloween Motifs

I love this stuff! Reminds me of Hallowe'en of yesteryear,
and the illustrations of favorite holiday children's books.

Experimenting With Time--And Dreams

The seemingly precognitive dreams of John William Dunne, an Irish-born aeronautical engineer [1], were chronicled in his 1927 essay entitled "An Experiment With Time." Dunne began to theorize that time exists simultaneously at all points and that his dreams, which he recorded unerringly, could find analogs in the real world within a 24 hour timespan in either direction of his predictive visions. Dunne's tome would go on to inspire writers such as T. S. Eliot, William S. Burroughs, Robert Heinlein, and C. S. Lewis. You can read a deeper analysis of the work at Professor Solomon. [2]

An Eerie Soundscape To Haunt Your Senses

Enjoy a haunted "soundscape" from The Haunted Gallery blog, a site where you can also find designs for bringing sound more effectively into your haunted house or haunted trail experience.



"Picture a blustery late November afternoon. The sky is grey and sinister looking and threatening an unseasonably late thunderstorm. Ill tempered wind rakes the leaves of a single gnarled tree in an old dreary churchyard. Nearby, a gravedigger chips away at the at a neat little square in the chilly ground. Eerie church bells mourn that death has claimed another for his own. Listen carefully to the subtlety of the atmosphere... the scavenging crows overhead, the frigid bite in the air, careful hammering of each coffin nail... Oh, where you not aware? Why, of course, this grave belongs to you. Rest in Peace..."