Nick Redfern's Blog, page 122

The Monster of the Castle

"Back in the 1930s, a strange and sinister story surfaced of a diabolical beast rumored to haunt an old Irish castle. According to two ghost authorities of that long gone era, Marchioness Townshend and Maude Ffoulkes, '...the truth of this story was vouched for to Mr. Reginald Span by the Vicar of the Anglican Church, Arizona, as it happened to some friends of his when they once rented a picturesque castle in the South of Ireland.' And, with that said, read on. "So the very weird saga goes, late one particular night, in the latter part of the 19th century, a certain 'Mrs. A' was sitting alone in one of the castle’s bedrooms, awaiting the return of her husband. Suddenly, there was the distinct and unmistakable sound of one of the doors banging in the corridor outside the room. More disturbingly, footsteps could be heard, too. Someone or something was creeping around the old castle..."  That's how my new article at New Page Books' Creature of the Month page begins... 

Profiling Britain's Wild Men

There's a new article from me at Mysterious Universe which digs into one of my personal, favorite areas of research - that relating to "British Wild Man" reports. It begins like this:

"A specifically English term that dates back hundreds of years, the Woodwose or Wodewose – possibly derived from a combination of wudu, which means forest, and wasa, that translates in today’s language as being – was, essentially, a hairy wild man of the woods, whose rampaging form can be graphically seen to this very day in countless pieces of priceless medieval European artwork from countries including Germany, Italy and Britain."

Strange Intruders - Reviewed

Over at Mysterious Universe , I review the new book from David Weatherly: Strange Intruders .

And here are the opening paragraphs of the review:

"Back in May 2012, I reviewed David Weatherly’s excellent book, Black Eyed Children , which is a great study of the entire, perplexing BEK phenomenon. Well, on the heels of that book is yet another release from David. His new one is Strange Intruders , which includes a foreword from Mysterious Universe regular, Micah Hanks. And the good news is that, just as with his first book, David’s latest title is a fine read. It’s also one guaranteed to provoke the proverbial chills and thrills.

"After Micah sets the scene with an atmospheric opening for what is soon to follow, David gets right into the heart of the action. And, in this case, the action is David’s personal studies of a wide body of anomalous entities that, to varying degrees, manipulate, torment, terrorize and even feed upon the unlucky souls who happen to cross their paths. If you think that our otherworld visitors are all about 'love and light,'  forget it. They’re not."

The Dulce Underground Base - A New Book

Available now is a new book I'll definitely be getting a copy of: Dulce Base: The Truth and Evidence from the Case Files of Gabe Valdez, written by Greg Valdez.

As many of you will know, the story of the alleged "underground alien base" at Dulce, New Mexico is one that has played a major role in UFO/conspiracy circles for years. Check out, for example, Greg Bishop's book, Project Beta .

But now we have a further look at the controversy surrounding Dulce, as you'll see from the book-description, as detailed below by the publisher:

"FINALLY YOU WILL GET THE TRUE STORY AND EVIDENCE BEHIND THE MYSTERIES SURROUNDING DULCE, NEW MEXICO. SEE WHAT AND WHO IS BEHIND THE CATTLE MUTILATIONS AND THE ALLEGED UNDERGROUND ALIEN BASE IN DULCE. YOU WILL ALSO HEAR THE STORY OF PAUL BENNEWITZ AND SEE WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON THE JICARILLA APACE RESERVATION. FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU WILL SEE SECRETS THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW.

"In 1976, Gabe Valdez became one of the leading investigators into the cattle mutilation mystery that was spreading across the United States; based on his employment with the New Mexico State Police. As he started investigating the mutilations on the Gomez ranch outside of Dulce, New Mexico, he stumbled into much more than he bargained for.

"His investigative findings led to a close friendship with Paul Bennewitz who was involved in a massive government-authorized disinformation campaign originating out of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The harrowing tale of Paul Bennewitz led to the story of the alleged underground alien base near Dulce, New Mexico.

"For the first time, you will see what really happened in Dulce during the 1980 s and you will see what the government does not want you to know. This true story is full of plot twists that were intentionally created by Air Force Intelligence and other clandestine Intelligence agencies associated with the United State Government.

"This book will separate fact from fiction and you will final be able to see the truth. Get ready to read about military projects that are still currently classified and get to the bottom of this mystery. You will now have access to photos and evidence belonging to Paul Bennewitz and others which tell a very interesting story which have never been released to the public."



That's me (above) with Gabe Valdez, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2009. Below, and taken on the same day, a shot of Greg Bishop at the grave of Paul Bennewitz.

Sherlock, a Sub, and a Monster

My latest Lair of the Beasts article at Mania.com  delves into the world of a certain movie-cryptid, and begins like this:

"Now and again I’m asked what my favorite monster-movie is. In conversation, people often assume it’s something like the original version of King Kong, or perhaps Godzilla, or, maybe, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Well, it’s none of those. Nor, thankfully, is it one of those awful, cheap, made-for-TV productions filled with D-list actors and over-sized sharks and crocodiles that are continually thrust upon us.
"Actually, my answer is very different. I would have to say that my all time favorite creature-feature is a 1970 production, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. To which, many might reply: 'Say what?'"

Flying Triangle UFOs? Not Ours...

 My latest Mysterious Universe article focuses on that one particular type of UFO - namely, the Flying Triangle - that many believe to be "secret aircraft."  There are, however, very good reasons why we should consider these craft as something far different to the creations of military agencies - and I spell them out in the article...   

Death on Dartmoor...

Not long ago, I reported on what was described by the British media as a sinister example of the ritualistic killing of a pony on the wilds of Dartmoor, England. You can find the post right here.

Well, we are now assured that it was all down to nothing stranger than natural causes.

You can read the new revelations and conclusions here (but I also recommend you take note of the comments that follow the article...)  

Roswell: Underground Origins?

Over at Mysterious Universe  I have a new article that discusses one of the most controversial theories for what happened outside of Roswell, New Mexico in the summer of 1947. It's a theory that has nothing to do with aliens or secret experiments. It's much, much weirder...

Final Events & Monster Diary: Hardbacks

  For those who may be interested, Patrick Huyghe and Dennis Stacy's Anomalist Books have just published two of my books in hardback that were previously only available in paperback.  They are Monster Diary and Final Events , both of which are available now.



 

The "Texas Chupacabras" - Not An "Unknown"

  Every now and again I get asked questions about the so-called "Texas Chupacabras." Many people (mainly because of the name that has been applied to it) assume it's a totally unknown animal, like Bigfoot, the Yeti, or Nessie, etc.  It's not. At all. In the slightest. Unlike those other creatures, we have hard, physical evidence of the Texas animals, in the forms of bones, preserved body-parts and skulls. I own such a skull (no not my skull lol), and it's clear they are coyotes of some type, as DNA has clearly demonstrated this.  But, what's weird is that there appear to be certain genetic abnormalities with the "Texas Chupacabras" that makes it something very different to (as some believe it to be) just a hairless coyote.  There are reports of over-elongated jaws, very short front limbs (giving it strange hopping-like movements), and much more. So, the "Texas Chupacabras" is not an unknown animal, but a known one that for some odd reason may be physically changing by the generations...  The picture accompanying this - taken a couple of days ago - shows the skull of the one I own, which was given to me by MUFON legend, Walt Andrus.