Carl Alves's Blog, page 48

Alien Sightings Part 8: Roswell and the Men In Black

The most famous UFO incident in the world occurred in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. It is widely believed that US military forces intercepted a UFO and maintained it in Roswell in Area 51. The following day, the Roswell Daily Record reported that the RAAF (Roswell Army Air Field) captured a flying saucer on a ranch in Roswell. The military claims that they had retrieved debris from a high-altitude surveillance balloon from a classified operation, but conspiracy theorists put no credence to this cover story. The incident faded from public scrutiny until 1978, when physicist Stanton Friedman interviewed Major Jesse Marcel, who was one of the people who had recovered the debris. Marcel claimed that the military covered up the recovery of an alien spacecraft. In 1989, mortician Glenn Dennis gave a personal account of how alien autopsies were being carried out at the Roswell base. UFO theorists believe that this base is a large scale military operation dedicated to recovering alien craft and aliens.

Men in Black

In Maury Island in Washington on June 21, 1947, six circular UFOs were spotted hovering over the island. They were described as being doughnut-shaped with a hole in the center and rows of windows on the outside. Debris fell from the UFOs, killing the dog of sailor, Harold Dahl, who witnessed this while scavenging for driftwood in the Puget Sound in Washington. Later this same seaman claimed that men dressed all in black arrived at his house and threatened him if he said anything about this incident. Two UFO investigators went to investigate the incident and collect the debris. On their return flight, their plane crashed and they were killed in the accident, leading people to believe that the plane was sabotaged due to the classified material they were carrying. It is speculated that the debris was the result of a US military operation gone wrong, but UFO experts disagree.

The Croning by Laird Barron

The Croning starts off in medieval times with an evil dwarf claiming the baby of the queen unless she can tell him his name. The spy she launches to lsame earn this information fails miserably. Fast forward in time to Donald Miller in the fifties, a descendant of this spy, who nearly is killed in Mexico in a strange ritual while searching for his wife. The story jumps back and forth in time in interval of thirty years, leaving the reader to piece together what has been going on with Don and his wife, who it is clear to the reader but not to Don that she isn’t just an anthropologist that she claims to be. Lurking behind this is a Cthuluian creature known as Old Leech and the servants of Old Leech, who are creatures somewhere in between aliens and monsters.

The prose in this novel is high quality. Laird Barron is a skilled and talented writer, which is evident in this story. The skeleton of the plot is also a good one. Donald Miller gets jostled around by forces greater than him, and the reader can feel his confusion as the story moves along. On the down side, the story is difficult to follow at times. The jumping around in time makes it tough to follow, as well as the holes in Don’s memories. I would also criticize the lack of originality of the Old Leech and his followers, which seem to be taken right out of an HP Lovecraft story. Despite these things, I found the novel to be an enjoyable read, and something that fans of horror fiction will want to read.

10 Questions with Blake M. Petit

1. As a teacher, are you ever concerned about the content of your writing being too explicit, and do you ever purposely tone it down?

I was a writer before I was a teacher, so that wasn’t really a concern when I started out. Even so, the stuff I write isn’t particularly explicit to begin with. My work falls pretty much into the PG-13 territory. I don’t write graphic sex, the violence in my books isn’t particularly gory or reproducible, and the language is relatively mild. I AM careful to make sure my online persona isn’t anything that my students, their parents, or my school would be upset about, but with my standard sensibilities, it’s not really that difficult.

2. Who has been your biggest influence as a writer?

It’s hard to nail down any one specific influence. Obviously, as anyone who has read any of my Siegel City stories knows, I’ve been a comic book fan my whole life. I think the biggest thing I take away from that, though, isn’t even the superhero thing, but the shared universe thing. I like when different stories connect in a larger tapestry, which is something I got from Marvel and DC Comics I suppose, as well as (to a lesser extent) writers like Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, or William Faulkner.

3. When you developed your cadre of superheroes for Other People’s Heroes, did you purposely shy away from ones that would be similar to those found in the DC and Marvel Universes?

Quite the opposite, actually. The point of view character in Other People’s Heroes is someone who has grown up around superheroes his entire life, and it was a lot more effective for me to use the superhero archetypes that DC and Marvel established instead of having to explain every tidbit about them. So instead, I’ve got the character who’s kind of LIKE Superman, the one who’s kind of LIKE Iron Man, the team that’s kind of LIKE the Fantastic Four, so that the reader immediately knows everything that’s important. That way, it’s a lot more fun later on when I pull the rug out from under them and show them that, in truth, these characters aren’t really like the heroes they’re familiar with after all.

4. Who is your favorite writer?

I’ve always had trouble ranking a number one, because a lot of it depends on the mood I’m in. At any given moment, my favorites would include the likes of Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Mark Twain, and Dave Barry.

5. Name me your favorite superhero that you created and one that previously existed and why?

I didn’t expect it, but I really got to be a big fan of my character Animan – the one whose powers allow him to take on the identities of dozens of different animal-themed superheroes. It’s such a versatile concept that I got to use him in a lot of unexpected ways. Other people’s heroes? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) I’m old school, I love Superman and I think the Thing from the Fantastic Four remains Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s greatest creation.

6. What current writing projects are you working on?

At the moment I’m working on a few different things. Most importantly, I’m finally taking another crack at a the sequel to Other People’s Heroes -- I’ve done a few short stories and another novel, The Pyrite War, all set in the Siegel City universe, but this will hopefully be a true novel-length second adventure for Josh Corwood and company. I’ve also just started work on another book (as of yet untitled) that is intended to unify the characters from my other “shared universe,” the world of The Curtain, which is inspired by fantasy and monster movies much the same way the Siegel City tales are inspired by superheroes.

7. How was your experience in podcasting Other People’s Heroes?

Not what I expected. I’ve co-hosted a comic book and pop culture podcast (the All New Showcase) for years, so I thought tackling an audiobook would be easy. Nope. The editing, the voice acting, the concentration level required are all drastically different from a conventional podcast. I enjoyed doing it, I got a great response, and I very much would like to do it again with my more recent books, but it’s such a time-consuming process that I haven’t been able to carve out the opportunity to do it in quite a while.

8. What made you start writing?

I’m going to blame that one on having a good teacher. (Hello, Mrs. Meliff, wherever you are!) Back in fifth grade my class was given a creative writing project and I simply fell in love with the process. For the first time in memory, I actually felt like I was good at something. I knew, intellectually, that somebody had to write books and comics, but it had not really occurred to me before that it was a legitimate option for ME. By the time I got to middle school I’d started creating pantheon of characters and stories to go with them. Most of those have been lost to the sands of time. Trust me, the world is better off for it.

9. What is your best quality as a writer?

I think it would have to be my ability to see patterns. I very much enjoy the process of where stories come from and how one story can influence another – I’ve written whole studies on the evolution of horror movies or the different versions of the same character over the years. Seeing those patterns makes me think about storytelling in a specific way, and once you know what those patterns are and how they work, you can start to look for ways to subvert them and surprise people, even if you’re using elements as familiar as time itself.

10. If you could pick one other author to collaborate with on a novel or story, living or dead, who would it be?

Isaac Asimov, because the man was one of the great Renaissance writers of the 20th century. He dipped his toes in virtually every kind of storytelling, which is a quality I admire greatly. Also, he was incredibly prolific, and I would hope working with him would force me to stop procrastinating so much and get a little work done.

Other People’s Heroes by Blake M. Petit

In his novel Other People’s Heroes, Blake Petit puts together an interesting premise. It’s a combination of the Justice League and the Legion of Doom run by a professional wrestling federation. In the world he created, in Siegel City, there is a cadre of superheroes and super villains except the heroes aren’t always good and the villains aren’t always bad. They play characters much like in pro wrestling with staged rumbles between the good guys and bad guys. Right off the bat, this is a cool concept, which definitely made me what to read more. Josh Corwood is a very ordinary guy who finds out by accident that he has superpowers. His is that he can replicate other people’s powers when in close proximity to them. He’s also a reporter, who when indoctrinated to what’s going on in Siegel City, wants to expose the scam. However, when he befriends some of the heroes, including Miss Sinista, he has a change of heart.

This novel has a very fast pace to it. There is little fluff, which I enjoyed since most novels tend to be overwritten. Petit employs a light style and humor, and never takes his story too seriously. The collection of superheroes in the novel is pretty cool. They don’t necessarily have the typical superpowers found in the Marvel and DC universes. I give Petit an A+ for originality. The writing is also good and the climax explosive. If I were to offer some criticism, the use of humor in spots seems forced and the idea of less is more should have been employed. Also, some of the action sequences, especially at the finale were a little hard to follow. All told, this was a fun novel that I recommend reading.

The Story Behind the Story: Monstrous

I think that clowns are a great vehicle for horror fiction. For one thing, many people fear clowns for reasons unknown to me. Another thing I like is that you can put them in macabre and twisted situations that can make them scarier than most other villainous types of characters. When I set out to write Monstrous, I had an idea for a clown story using a little person as a clown. Having been mistreated and abused his whole life, my clown wanted revenge on society. He had been teased for being a midget clown his whole life, even though he feels that he has much more to offer.

The setting I wanted to use was a babysitting scenario, so I had the idea of having this macabre statue in the house that disturbed the baby sitter, but convincingly looked like a statue. When she learns that it is a real clown on a murderous rampage, she must do everything she can to not only save herself but the two children she is babysitting.

What didn’t work about the first version of the story that I wrote was that the clown was a regular person who used a knife to attack the babysitter. That story just didn’t resonate. When a magazine editor pointed this out to me, I knew I had to do something more memorable and, in a strange way, more believable. So I decided to make the clown a supernatural character that while in statue form was actually made of porcelain. He then transforms into flesh and blood before attacking his victims. It didn’t seem realistic to me that the clown would have been able to go unnoticed unless he was an actual physical statue. Then to make it more interesting, I gave the clown retractable, sharp claws that he uses to attack his victims. I liked this version of the story much more than the first version. Pick up a copy of Blood Reign Lit if you would like to find out more.

Alien sightings Part 7: The Grinning Man and the O’Hare Airport sighting

The Grinning Man

In 1966 in Elizabeth, New Jersey there was a UFO sighting. In the days following, the residents of the area spotted a humanoid figure they called the Grinning Man. The first to witness this humanoid were two boys – Martin Munov and Jimmy Yanchitis as they were walking home. Yanchitis spotted him standing behind a fence. He had no eyes and ears and his face was covered with a strange grin. He wore a green, one-piece suit that reflected the streetlight. The man later identified himself as Indrid Cold. A month after the first incident, Woodrow Derenberger encountered the Grinning Man after nearly running into him on the road, this time in West Virginia. Derenberger claimed the Grinning Man could communicate with him telephathically and claimed to be an alien from the planet Lanulos in the galaxy of Genemedes. There have been repeated sightings of the Grinning Man over the years.

UFO O'Hare airport

On November 7, 2006, a UFO described as a metallic, saucer-shaped craft was spotted hovering above O’Hare airport as reported by 12 airline employees for about two minutes hovering over Gate C-17. Independent witnesses also spotted the object as it shot through the clouds at a high velocity leaving a clear blue hole in the clouds. The FAA at first denied that they had any information about this UFO sighting. Later, after reviewing communication tapes, they concluded that this incident was caused by a weather phenomenon.

Alien sightings Part 6: The Kecksburg UFO Landing and the Alien Abduction in New Hampshire

Kecksburg, Pennsylvania

On December 9, 1965, a large unidentified, acorn-shaped object landed in the woods in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania. This object was seen by thousands of people in six states and in Canada, starting near Michigan before landing in Kecksburg. Reportedly hot metal debris fell over Michigan and Ohio starting grass fires. Witnesses in Western Pennsylvania also reported hearing sonic booms. The object was about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and had mysterious symbols written on its side. The military quickly descended on the area removing the object on a flatbed truck, and prevented residents from going near it. An explanation of the object was never given until decades later, when it was reported to be a Russian satellite.

Alien Abduction of 1961

In 1961 Barney and Betty Hill claimed that they had been abducted by aliens while driving in a car in a rural part of New Hampshire. After their abduction, the aliens put them through intense physical examinations, which were the basis of alien abduction claims to follow. Betty Hill claimed to have seen a bright light in the sky moving below the moon and thought it was a fallen star. They stopped at a scenic picnic area. Once there, using binoculars, Betty saw a spacecraft with multi-colored lights. They got back in the car, and later the object descended quickly at them. Barney had a gun, and got out of the car. Using the binoculars, he spotted eight to ten humanoids looking out of the vessel’s window. They got back in the car as the craft continued to descend toward them. They heard of series of beeping and buzzing sounds and their minds dulled. While inside the ship, they saw 3D star maps. This was the first widely publicized stories of alien abduction. They later maintained their stories under heavy scrutiny, even while under hypnosis.

Alien sightings Part 5: The Disappearnce of Felix Moncla and Fire in the Sky over New Mexico

The Disappearance of Felix Moncla

In 1953, an Air Defense Command Ground Intercept radar controller at Truax AFB in Madison, Wisconsin picked up a blip on the radar. Felix Moncla, a United States Air Force pilot, chased after this unknown object in an F-89-C Scorpion jet from the Kincross Air Force Base. He was in the process of pursuing a UFO, flying over Lake Superior, when he vanished in thin air. According to ground control officials, they had sighted both Moncla’s jet and the UFO on a radar screen. When Moncla reached the exact spot that they had found the UFO, both objects on the radar screen became a single blip, and then they both vanished. An expansive search was formed and neither the jet or the UFO was ever found. Air force experts believed that his jet was chasing after a Canadian jet, a claim denied by the Canadian Air Force. There was no explanation of the lack of a crash site.

Fire in the Sky over New Mexico

In 1949, respected astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered the dwarf planet, Pluto, reported seeing eight rectangular lights over Las Cruces, New Mexico. On a separate occasion, he claimed to see green fireballs in the sky. Because of Tombaugh’s credibility, these gave credence to UFO sighting claims and put down in the minds of many the government’s claims about the Roswell, New Mexico incident.

Alien sightings Part 4: UFO Attack of Los Angeles and Carson Sink Incident

Attack of Los Angeles

During World War 2 in 1942, shortly after the Japanese attacked an oil facility in Santa Barbara, California and three months after the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor, the US naval anti-aircraft installations detected a swarm of unidentified objects, about 25 all together, to the west of Los Angeles, which were assumed to be Japanese vessels. In addition, shortly after the initial UFOs, there was also a large balloon-like object with flares that trailed it. The anti-aircraft batteries fired upon the objects, but none of the artillery hit the targets, which were flying in speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. When fighter planes arrived on the scene, the UFOs were gone. Originally, this was thought to be an attack by the Japanes, but Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox called the incident a “false alarm” and later attributed it to a lost weather balloon.

Carson Sink


Two experienced military pilots claimed to have come across three unidentified flying vessels while flying B-25 crafts on a flight from San Francisco to Colorado. As they were flying over Carson Sink, which is east of Reno, Nevada, they spotted the unidentified vessels coming in their direction reportedly flew three times faster than their own jets. After a few seconds, the vessels sped away from them and they lost the UFOs. Sixty years later, this incident is still officially classified as unexplained.

Alien sightings Part 3: UFO Flight over Delaware and the Jimmy Carter Sighting

UFO flight over Delaware

On a Friday the 13th in July in 1860, a pitch black cloud followed by an object approximated to be 200 feet in length, flew through the sky over Wilmington, Delaware. The object had a tail that sparkled like a rocket according to eye witnesses. Others described it as being enclosed in a pale blue cloud. The UFO moved in a straight line and was tailed by three glowing balls. After an eight minute flight, the UFO changed direction and disappeared from sight.

Jimmy Carter


In 1973, before he became the president of the United States, Jimmy Carter filed an official report stating that four years earlier when he was the governor of Georgia, he saw in the sky a light that turned from white to blue to red to white again. He had been in the process of visiting the Lion’s Club in Georgia. The object was self-luminous and as bright as a full moon. The light got brighter and brighter until it eventually disappeared. At the time he believed that this had been a UFO, but later changed his story when he ran for presidency and put it down as military in nature.