Late to the Game(s) - Retro! Reissued! Remastered! Oh my!

 We used to see a lot of variety in the types of UFOnauts reported. So what happened? And why does everyone see the stereotypical "grey" alien today? by Jeremy D. Wells If you ask most folks to draw an alien, you know what you are going to get. Short guys. Large heads. Big eyes, that are often solid black. Reduced or non-existent nose, lips and ears. Grey skin. This is the common conception of an alien around most of the world. Or at least, it has been for the last 40 years. But that wasn't always the case. In the 1940s and 1950s, and on up through the 60s, the stereotypical alien, at least in the United States, was the "little green man from Mars," typified by his short stature, green skin, and antennae. Think the Great Gazoo from the Flintstones cartoon. But while the little green man dominated cartoon and television depictions of aliens, what those who encountered UFOnauts saw was much different. Beings with some of the features that would be associated with...

By Jeremy D. Wells There are few taboos more universal than that against eating human flesh. Even in societies where ritualistic cannibalism was practiced, it wasn’t common. For instance the   Fore   people sometimes ate their deceased loved ones, finding it more respectful and loving than allowing them to be eaten by insects. Other groups performed rituals that aren’t strictly speaking cannibalism, but still fall under the endocannibalism umbrella, such as the consumption of cremated remains practiced by the   Yanomami .   The other type of ritualistic cannibalism,  exocannibalism , is often seen as a means of terrorizing or expressing dominance over a defeated group. This type of cannibalism also includes the idea of absorbing the prestige or power of a defeated foe by consuming their body. Neither of these, though, describe what Russian cannibal Yegor Komarov engaged in when he confessed to taking a “ nibble ” from a St. Petersburg businessman two years ...

By Jeremy D. Wells Those familiar with Land Between the Lakes, in western Kentucky, have probably heard some creepy tales from the area. Dogman reports, in particular, are especially prevalent in the park. They’re even the subject of an upcoming film from   Small Town Monsters   –   Dogman Territory: Werewolves in the Land Between the Lake. But not everything strange in this national recreation area is a toothy, slavering beast. Some things are much more subtle, and much more terrifying. Writing in to Lon Strickler, at his Phantoms and Monsters website,  one reader recounted a tale  that took place 20 years ago, when they were only 17 years old. The reader had accompanied his father on a bow hunting trip into the park during the early autumn, intent on relaxing, maybe catching up on some reading, and just enjoying the natural beauty of the area. As he walked through the woods that morning, something he had done on many occasions, enjoying the sights and smells o...

  By Jeremy D. Wells Ohio is regarded by many students of Forteana as ground zero for strange and spooky occurrences. But one county in Ohio might just be the weirdest. Nestled between the Ohio River to the south and the rolling farmland of central Ohio to the north, and on the edge of Ohio’s Appalachian foothills, Adams County is probably best known for the Serpent Mound. This massive effigy mound, in the shape of the eponymous serpent, with curled tail and open mouth – according to some interpretations – swallowing an egg, is among the best preserved examples of these ancient earthworks, believed to have been built by the prehistoric Adena culture. The county is also chock-full of geological anomalies, with three different physiographic regions (the Dissected Illinoian Till Plain, the unglaciated Outer Bluegrass Region, and the Shawnee-Mississippian Plateau) represented and numerous exposed rock outcroppings displaying a variety of marine fossils. These include abundant example...