Nick Redfern's Blog, page 44

Encountering Fenris, "The Wolf-Horror"

That's the subject of a new article from me . And here are the opening paragraphs:


Gareth Knight says of Dion Fortune that she was “…born Violet Mary Firth in Llandudno, North Wales on 6th December 1890, the daughter of parents with an active interest in the Christian Science and Garden City movements and the running of hydro-therapeutic establishments. Her interest in occultism was sparked in 1916 when, as a psychotherapist, she came across the startling work of Dr. Theodore Moriarty, who became her first esoteric teacher and inspired her series of short stories The Secrets of Dr Taverner.”

 Fortune, who died in 1946 at the age of fifty-five, was someone who had success in creating creatures and entities of the mind, and who then unleashed them into the world around her. Although not necessarily deliberately. We are talking about what are variously referred to as thought-forms and Tulpas. Fortune’s experiences made it very clear, however, that creating a mind-monster can be a potentially dangerous exercise. It is something that each and every one of us should take careful heed of. Fortune’s story is as fascinating as it is disturbing.

Secret Societies...Available Now...

Out now is my new book, Secret Societies . Here's where you can purchase it . And, below, is the publisher's info on the book...

Claims and counter-claims. Accusations and allegations. NSA spying and suppressed evidence. Cover-ups and threats. Documented connections and intrigue. Suggestions of a New World Order. Are we to believe the coincidences are mere chance? Might the paranoid be on to something? Who really holds the levers of power? History admonishes us to be vigilant of hidden plots and nefarious agendas of governments and the powerful.

Shedding light onto sometimes sinister and coercive groups, Secret Societies: The Complete Guide to Histories, Rites, and Rituals is packed with details on nearly 200 organizations, their histories, found members, backgrounds, and suspected conspiracies. It uncovers and examines the hidden, overlooked, and buried history of some of the most notorious groups, including the Illuminati, the Freemasons, Skull and Bones, World Bankers, the Secret Government, and extraterrestrial invaders, to name a few.

Tracing the chilling and corrosive affects of powerful cliques and their plots, it exposes their deep reach into the operations of today's world. Providing gripping details, presenting the facts, and letting the reader decide, this revealing work probes the hidden agendas and agreements of secret cabals and associations. Along the way, it debunks myths and presents the evidence on an invisible world of influence and power.

Men In Black - Worldwide

Over at Mysterious Universe I have a new article on the worldwide nature of the Men in Black. Here's the link , and here's how the article starts:

Brent Swancer’s recent feature on Men in Black in Japan has prompted me to write an article showing that the creepy and strange MIB are seen just about here, there and everywhere. In 2005, I spent a week or thereabouts in Puerto Rico. I was there with Paul Kimball’s Redstar Films crew. The subject of the shoot: the Chupacabra. While we were there, we met a number of interesting witnesses, including one guy who had encountered not just a Man in Black, but a Woman in Black too.

Late one night, some years earlier, he jumped out of bed to the screams of his pigs – he was a breeder and seller of the animals. And, given that this was his only source of income, he raced to the back-door, grabbed a handy machete and a flashlight, flung the door open, and charged out into the muggy darkness. The scene was one of carnage. The bodies of a number of dead, blood-splattered rabbits – which the farmer also kept – were strewn about the yard, many torn to pieces. And one of his prize-pigs was dead, too, lying on the ground.

A Bunch Of New Articles

There is a fistful of new articles from me at Mysterious Universe . In no particular order, they are...

1. A conspiracy of the atomic kind in Australia .

2. Men in Black & the Philadelphia Experiment .

3. Life after death in animals .

4. Vampires and the military .

5. A few stories of the Black-Eyed Children .

A President, A Comedian, And Dead Aliens - Allegedly...

That's the subject of a new article from me. The weird (very weird!) story can be found right here...

Communion At 30

Over at Mysterious Universe , I have a new article on Whitley Strieber;'s book, Communion . Why? Because the book was published 30 years ago last week. You can find my thoughts and observations on the book as I take a look back to 1987.

The Reporter Who Knew Too Much

There is a new book review from me at Mysterious Universe . Its title: The Reporter Who Knew Too Much . The author: Mark Shaw. It's a very good book, too!

And here is how the review begins:

Last night I finished reading a really good book. Its title: The Reporter Who Knew Too Much . Its subtitle pretty much nails the subject-matter: The Mysterious Death of What’s My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen. The author is Mark Shaw, a former criminal defense attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, ESPN, and USA Today. Kilgallen was an interesting person, someone who I have written about previously here at Mysterious Universe. You can find one such article here . Here’s another .

Born in Chicago in July 1913, Kilgallen was someone who, without the benefit of a college degree, rose up the ranks in the field of journalism. She became one of the most popular – and, at times, hated and even feared – figures in the media. Dorothy was also someone who moved effortlessly in the worlds of high-society, Hollywood, politics, government secrecy, and deep and dark conspiracies. She was buddies with Marilyn (do I really need to tell you her surname?) and hung out with Ernest Hemingway. She was also someone who was the subject of extensive surveillance – by several agencies of the U.S. intelligence community. This latter point is hardly surprising, however, as will soon become very apparent.

Reviewing The Brimstone Deceit

At Mysterious Universe I review Joshua Cutchin's new book, The Brimstone Deceit , which is a really good read.

Here's how the review begins:

Available right now is the new book from Joshua Cutchin, The Brimstone Deceit . Its subtitle: An In-Depth Examination of Supernatural Scents, Otherworldly Odors, and Monstrous Miasmas . You may recall that in May 2015 I reviewed Josh’s previous book, A Trojan Feast . You can find the review here . In many ways, the two books are of a similar nature. Whereas A Trojan Feast was focused on the connections between Fortean phenomena, strange entities and food, Josh’s new book revolves around odors and the world of the unexplained.

Before I tell you what this new title from Anomalist Books is about, it’s important I explain what it’s specifically not about. This is not a book about how Bigfoot stinks to high heaven because it lives in the woods and never bathes. Nor is it a study of alien halitosis. Rather, this is a fascinating 445-pages-long book on how certain, specific odors play significant roles in countless paranormal events and incidents. Josh’s work makes it very clear that numerous supernatural phenomena of the kind that many would suggest have no connection to each other, are, in reality, connected to incredible and deep degrees. In that sense, Josh goes down the path taken by John Keel, who came to believe that the many and varied unknown “things” which intrude upon our world are somehow all part and parcel of something bigger, something interconnected.

UFOs & Radar: The 1950s

Over at Mysterious Universe , I take a look at three intriguing radar-based UFO encounters from the 1950s...

Beyond Boggy Creek - Reviewed

Over at Mysterious Universe , I review the new Bigfoot-themed book from Lyle Blackburn, Beyond Boggy Creek .

And here's how the review begins:


Beyond Boggy Creek: In Search of the Southern Sasquatch is the new book from Lyle Blackburn. If you are into Cryptozoology, you will know of Lyle’s two previous books, The Beast of Boggy Creek and Lizard Man . If you enjoyed those two titles, then you will definitely want to get your hands on his new one. As the title of the book suggests, Lyle’s latest release focuses on Bigfoot in Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and more. There is no doubt that when people think of Bigfoot, they often picture large and lumbering hair-covered man-beasts roaming around the forested wilds of the Pacific northwest. But, that’s not always the case. As Beyond Boggy Creek reveals, there is a huge body of data, sightings, and encounters suggesting that whatever the southern Bigfoot is, it’s thriving just fine.

I read the book over three nights (sadly, they weren’t dark and stormy, which would have been ideal weather!). And, I can tell you, for sure, that it makes for very intriguing reading. One of the reasons why the book is a definitive page-turner is because Lyle is a skilled and atmospheric writer: he sets the scene, draws the reader into the stories, and provides captivating case after case. There is another reason why this book is an important one for Cryptozoology: Lyle is someone who spends a great deal of time in the woods , swamps and wild places in the South. In other words, most of the material presented in the book comes from Lyle’s own, personal investigations and interviews – which is always a good thing. With that all said, now let’s take a look at the content of Beyond Boggy Creek . If you thought there was nothing new to say about Bigfoot, it’s time to think again.