Nick Redfern's Blog, page 63

It Defies Language!

Coming soon from good mate, Greg Bishop. Not to be missed!

An Improvement...

Well, I thought Monday night's episode of The X-Files (the 3rd of 6 new episodes) was a good return to form after the first 2, which were crap. Lots of humor and a shape-shifting monster dressed as Carl Kolchak from The Night Stalker !

Stupid Sid

37 years ago today, Sex Pistols "bass-guitarist" Sid Vicious OD'd on heroin and died. He was 21.
I have put "bass-guitarist" in quotes, because in reality he could play the bass about as well as I can pilot a Jumbo Jet. He had the image, but no talent.

As an example, most of the bass work on the band's 1977 album, Never Mind The Bollocks , was played by guitarist Steve Jones. Sid managed to twang his way through the song, "Bodies," and that was about it.

It's a pity that one of the best bands that ever existed is so often identified with waster-junkie Sid, who contributed next to nothing to the band - aside from his leather jacket, spiky hair, and sunken cheeks. In other words, he looked the part. But that was it.

Dying at 21 from a heroin overdose doesn't make you an icon or a legendary figure. It makes you a dickhead.

UFO or Mind-Games?

And another one, this one on a famous UFO event of the 1970s that, just perhaps, was not a UFO event, after all. You can read the full article at Jimharold.com . Here's how it starts:

What if one of Ufology’s most cherished cases turned out to be something very different? Something far more down to earth, but of a distinctly conspiratorial nature. Yep, I can see the daggers being drawn already. Too bad for the belief-driven. There’s nothing worse than a mind made up. And there’s nothing better than shaking things up and addressing alternative theories when it comes to the matter of UFOs. After all, none of us really know what the truth is, when it comes to the UFO phenomenon. So, thinking outside of the box is vital. All of which brings us to a certain, famous UFO event of late 1973.

On the night of October 10, 1973, two men – Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker – were fishing on the banks of Mississippi’s Pascagoula River. All was going fine. That is, until approximately 9:00 p.m. rolled around. That’s when all hell broke loose. Yet, it all began relatively calmly. It didn’t stay that way, however. As they fished, Parker and Hickson suddenly noticed a light in the distance. Not only that, it was following the river and appeared to be coming in their direction. Which was not necessarily a good thing.

More on UFOs & JFK

As a follow-on to my previous article on JFK, Guy Banister, and UFOs, there's another one from me at Mysterious Universe which expands on the controversy. Here's how it starts:

In response to my recent article, “UFOs, JFK, and an Enigmatic Character,” sixteen people contacted me to see what I thought about the allegations that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination – on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas – had a connection to the UFO issue. The reason being that the aforementioned article was focused on a man named Guy Banister. He was someone who investigated a number of UFO reports while working as a special-agent of the FBI in 1947. He was also someone who turns up in numerous books on the Kennedy assassination. Usually, from a sinister and conspiratorial perspective.

It’s fair to say that within the field of Ufology, there are more than a few people who believe – or suspect – that JFK was whacked to prevent him from blowing the lid on his knowledge of the UFO phenomenon. I’ve written about aspects of this highly controversial issue before, and it’s worth noting just how many connections there are between UFOs and the killing of JFK. Or, to be absolutely correct, the assumed connections. Ufology is, at times, very good at putting pieces of a ufological puzzle together. On other occasions, however, the field is guilty of leaping to conclusions based on nothing but assumption and by playing the extraterrestrial equivalent of “ Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon .”

UFOs, JFK, and an Enigmatic Character

That's the title of a new article from me, and you can find it right here...

Mothman and a 1967 movie

What's the connection between Mothman and a certain 1967 British horror-movie? That's the question I raise in a new Mysterious Universe article titled "Blood Beast Terror Versus Mothman!. You can find it here , and here's how it begins:


No, thankfully, that’s not the title of some new, awful movie of the cheaply-made and badly-acted kind. And where the special-effects are anything but special. You know the ones I mean. And you know where you can find them, too. I’m focusing my attention on something else: a 1967 movie that has more than a few similarities to the saga of one of the world’s most famous and strange creatures. We’re talking about the legendary Mothman, immortalized in John Keel’s book, The Mothman Prophecies . As for the movie, it’s called The Blood Beast Terror .

If you fail to take notice of the opening credits to The Blood Beast Terror you could easily be forgiven for thinking you were watching one of those old, classic Hammer Film Productions. Why? Simple: it stars Peter Cushing, who – alongside Christopher Lee – was Hammer’s most famous face. But, Cushing wasn’t exclusive to Hammer. The Blood Beast Terror was a production of Tigon British Film Productions. Tigon’s other credits included The Blood on Satan’s Claw and Witchfinder General . The Blood Beast Terror was made in late 1967 and was first shown in British cinemas in early 1968.

"Nessie" - Coming in September

Coming from Llewellyn Publications in September of this year is my book, Nessie: Exploring the Supernatural Origins of the Loch Ness Monster . As the sub-title suggests, this is not a book that makes a case for the creatures of the loch being surviving plesiosaurs! Nope, it's way stranger than that...

Here's the publisher's info on Nessie :

"Deep in the black-as-ink waters of Loch Ness lurks a long-necked, hump-backed monster known as Nessie―a legendary creature that has fascinated the world for many decades. Presenting an in-depth study, complete with supernatural theories, historical data, hot spots, photographs, and more, Nessie is a must-have for anyone interested in the Loch Ness Monster. Join Nick Redfern on a fascinating journey into the supernatural origins of Nessie, exploring ideas that go far beyond normal. Since the first sighting, the creature has been steeped in the world of supernatural strangeness. Discover how Nessie is connected to the occult, the surprisingly dark first-hand encounters, other mysterious monsters that live in Loch Ness, and much more."

Over at Mysterious Universe...

...I highlight my favorite monster-movies ;

...I take a look at monsters that are close to home ;

...And I address the matter of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and the U.S. Government .

A bunch of new articles

There are a few new articles online from me:

1. This one on the escape of a Gorilla in 19th century England ;

2. The mystery of the missing cats .

3. A strange tale of UFO Garbage!

4. Secret files: Roswell and Rendlesham .