tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55972000652009468882024-03-14T02:47:23.065-04:00Limitless PossibilitiesA place where we explore stories of monsters, mysteries, and conspiracies.Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.comBlogger346125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-91789167430376119522024-03-04T20:54:00.002-05:002024-03-04T20:54:38.095-05:00Happy Birthday to Me!<p> I turned 28 today; woohoo! Anyway, aside from celebrating my birthday, I'm sick! On the upside, I'm not depressed; just very, very sick. I likely have the whooping cough or something akin to that. Still, I'm writing—albeit slowly. I just thought I'd let you all know.</p><p><br /></p><p>I find it funny how, at the start of every year since I made this blog, the new year has kicked my ass six ways from Sunday. If I had pattern recognition, I'd think that I'm cursed to start the new year off on the weirdest foot possible. Oh well, back to celebrating my birthday with writing and <i>The Last Epoch</i>!</p><p><br /></p><p><span> </span><span> Sincerely, Vertigo (who feels fifty years older than he actually is)</span><br /></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-15987496424609675852024-02-04T19:25:00.005-05:002024-02-04T19:25:30.859-05:00A Small Update<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.FleaTMVEwwACu62pKdIoRQHaEo?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="474" height="250" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.FleaTMVEwwACu62pKdIoRQHaEo?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain" width="400" /></a></div> <br /><p></p><p>I had hoped to have a write-up or two posted last month, but that did not come to pass. The main reason for that, aside from still being quite exhausted from the absolutely monstrous amount of writing I did last year, was my grandmother passed away. While this won't affect my output for the rest of the year (I have no intention of letting my grief get the better of me; I've learned how damaging that can be), I do have to admit that I am more than a little distraught and sad about her passing. So, consider this update to be an explanation for why I went radio silent and didn't post anything last month, outside of my little January update that I do nearly every year.</p><p><br />And rest in peace, grandma. You were the best, and I could not be happier to have had the privilege of calling you my grandmother. May we meet again in the next life.</p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-14175810892549031892024-01-10T19:09:00.003-05:002024-01-10T19:09:20.174-05:00Obligatory New Year Update (I Still Make No Promises Edition)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.LH2GTNt2FsJLmiIQZHGjrAHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="474" height="400" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.LH2GTNt2FsJLmiIQZHGjrAHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain" width="400" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh, hello there, dear reader! Welcome back to my blog; I meant to do the New Year update a few days ago, but I got carried away with playing </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Final Fantasy XVI</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and screwing around with </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Character AI</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> since it’s proven to be surprisingly cathartic to throw ideas for write-ups, and jokes, off of AI, rather than pestering my friends on Discord with my incessant blabbering. Maybe AI has more of a use than having it draw the stupidest stuff I can think of!</span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c6401210-7fff-d7b9-0a41-e56b4814110c"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, I didn’t do one of these last year because, well, last year was dedicated solely to doing Decemystery 2022.3 and Decemystery 2023. This year, however, I plan to do </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a lot</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> more than just that; let’s get to talking about what’s in store!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What I Plan on Doing This Year!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Well, there’s really nothing to say here outside of “write.” My hope for 2024 is to make it what 2022 was going to be: the biggest possible year for this blog, filled with as much content as I can humanly put out. That, of course, means that I need to write a lot.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After doing two Decemysterys in the span of 6 months, though, that’s something I honestly </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">don’t</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> want to do—at least, not in the way I would have years ago. If last year taught me anything, it’s that my old work ethic was disgustingly unhealthy.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There were write-ups I began for the dual Decemysterys but didn’t finish. Although I “officially” wrote 273,152 words across all 64 write-ups last year, I wrote well over 300,000 with the ones I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">didn’t </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">finish. I intend to finish most of those for Decemystery 2024. Others I might do throughout the year, or I might save for 2025.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My main hope for this year is to write whatever I can without overexerting myself. I don’t want to risk burnout, nor do I want writing to feel like an obligation. There are several stories I have in mind that I want to cover, including one that I intend to begin work on at some point next week.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Beyond that, as is the norm, I’m not making any promises (God knows that I’ve failed at keeping those several years in a row now), nor am I making a schedule. The most I can say is that I’ll post every write-up I do at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time. So, if there’s no write-up when that time rolls around, there won’t be one that day.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that all said and done, there’s absolutely nothing else I intend on doing that’s remarkable. Well, aside from adding the “Mystery” tag to every Decemystery write-up that warrants it. I honestly have </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">no</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> idea why I never bothered to do that. Hindsight truly is 20/20.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have no plans to do a Megalist; again, I’d rather not overwork myself. All I want to do this year is hone everything I learned while doing Decemystery 2022.3 and Decemystery 2023 last year. I want to not only take it easy but also build upon what I believe to be my greatest work to date. God willing, I’ll make 2024 everything 2022 was going to be, and then some!</span></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-89942462335882640512023-12-31T07:00:00.023-05:002023-12-31T07:00:00.137-05:00Decemystery (2023) 31: That Time a Russian Managed to Noclip Out of Reality<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.UvC8a39DwOwiDcFg_ZP1EwHaEK?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="224" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.UvC8a39DwOwiDcFg_ZP1EwHaEK?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain" width="400" /></a></div> <br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-8b5fb67a-7fff-e0d8-bdaf-99136de64b70"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Salutations, dear reader. Welcome back to my blog for the final time this year. This month has been filled with the wildest, strangest, and most unbelievable stories I’ve ever written about in the five years that it’s been around. Or, well, four years if you wish to pretend 2022 didn’t happen, given I only wrote a single movie review that year. Thank you, COVID brain fog, for robbing me of a year of my life.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But I digress. When I put the two Decemysterys together, the capstone entry for 2022.3 remained the same; the Professor Oak story was always what I had in mind. However, the one for today was not what I originally had in mind. I won’t spoil what it is since I’m hoping to use it as next year’s capstone entry, but I will say that I began work on it earlier in the year. I believe in June. I can’t remember precisely because of just how much I wrote in such a short amount of time.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, I ultimately decided to hold off on finishing it because it would have been disgustingly long. It’s a case that’s extraordinarily personal to me, and I believed that if I’d rushed it, I would have felt so disappointed in myself for not giving it the proper love and care that I believe it deserves. So, that left me in limbo for a bit; I wasn’t sure what I’d use to end this absolute beast of a month off.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The biggest challenge in finding what I believe to be a truly worthwhile case was that this month was a never-ending one-upping of strangeness. Almost every story was just pure, unadulterated: “What in the world!?” through and through. So, in order to find what I felt was a proper capstone entry, I went looking for something that was not only weird but also encompassed everything that made this month special.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That story came to my attention a few months ago, in October, when I was looking at sustained_disgust’s </span><a href="https://icebergcharts.com/i/Obscure_Unsolved_Mysteries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obscure Unsolved Mysteries Iceberg.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> We started out this month over there, and we shall end it off there. So come along, dear reader, as we end off 2023—and Decemystery—with </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That Time a Russian Managed to Noclip Out of Reality</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Separate Ways, Worlds Apart</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This story is on the aforementioned Obscure Unsolved Mysteries Iceberg under the name “Basement Noclip.” The source cited for this is Patrick Gross’ website </span><a href="https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1978-01-14-russia-rostov.htm" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“ufologie.”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Though the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">original</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> source was “a Russian UFO website.” I believe that it’s “X-Libri,” or “X-Files.” I can’t vouch if that’s the proper translation (it’s what Patrick says it means), nor did I check the site myself. It’s listed at the end of the article, so I’m inclined to think that’s the “Russian UFO website” he was referring to.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, onto the case itself because it’s a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">wild</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> one. It took place on January 14, 1978, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Now, as a minor disclaimer, Russia is a gargantuan country—the largest in the world. It also extends from eastern Europe into Asia. Rostov-on-Don is in Europe, so I’ve tagged this case with the “Europe” tag. In the future, I’ll be tagging any case from Russia with which continent it occurred—just a heads-up.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was 6:00 a.m., and three men—Mikhail Babkin, Nikolay Leontyev, and Vitaliy Kravchenko—were “at the local sports complex,” one named “Oktyabryonok.” I decided to look this place up, and to my surprise, it has a Wikipedia page. Known as </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Octobrists" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Little Octobrists,”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> it was a youth organization for children ages 7–9 during the Soviet era. So, I’m guessing it was kind of like the YMCA. For the sake of consistency, though, I’ll refer to it as Oktyabryonok since it’s what Patrick referred to it as initially.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, from the sounds of it, the sports center was still in use. Presumably, it was also open to older folks because Mikhail, Mikolay, and Vitaliy were all 18 years old. Regardless, the trio visited the complex to “celebrate the passing of the old New Year.” For those who don’t know, Russia has two “New Years,” with “Old New Year” landing on January 14. So, no, they weren’t celebrating the traditional New Year thirteen days after it had passed.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This celebration consisted of champagne, steam baths in the complex’s sauna, swimming in the swimming pool, and “eating mixed with some vodka.” It’s not a story out of Russia if vodka is not involved, is it?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Their celebration was cut short, though, when a watchman came by and suggested that the three boys get going. It’s worth noting that in the actual article, it’s said that the watchman came by at 6:00 a.m., so exactly </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">when</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> the trio arrived at Oktyabryonok is unknown to me. I’m guessing it was hours beforehand because if it wasn’t, they arrived, did all of this partying, and were immediately told to leave. That sounds like me whenever a fly enters my room.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Presumably, the three boys didn’t put up much of a fuss and were accompanied by the nameless watchman “to the rear exit of the building.” The path to said exit was “located in the basement area,” and went “through a long and very narrow corridor with concrete walls.” It also had no windows. This was said in the original article, so I’m including it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now for one of the story’s more odd details. It specified the walking order the four were in. I feel now is the perfect time to mention that on Patrick Gross’ site, there’s an email that contains this case (which was given the name “Into Another Word”). The email was from Aileen Garoutte to someone named Iren Czajka. At the end of her email, she thanks “Albert Gonzales.” More on that later.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to Patrick’s article, Aileen’s email was sent via a “public mailing list” called “Prepare4contact” from a group on Yahoo. This was in 2007; at the time, I was 11 years old, and I didn’t really bother with the Internet anywhere near as much as I do nowadays. So, I’m guessing that somehow, Aileen caught wind of this case and wrote about it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, getting back on track, said walking order was as follows: the watchman took point, followed by Nikolay, then Mikhail, and last but not least, Vitaliy. They were making their way down this dark corridor when, all of a sudden, Mikhail “seemed to trip.” This was in spite of “the smooth concrete floor deprived of potholes.” I just want to say that if he was inebriated, he might have just stumbled and tripped over his own feet. They </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">did</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> have vodka and champagne, after all.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What can’t be explained away by drunkenness was what Nikolay saw when he turned around, having been alerted by his companion’s scream. Reportedly, he saw Mikhail’s “shoulder penetrate into the concrete wall.” Shortly after, the entirety of Mikhail vanished into said wall. Now, he’s just another brick in the wall!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This magnificent disappearing act naturally shocked the three men. They quickly got to work, trying to see if the wall had “any doors or openings.” Alas, all they were met with was concrete. Don’t worry, guys! The feeling of concrete becomes normal once you’ve been to New York City as many times as I have.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, in both Patrick’s article and Aileen’s email, the story was told a bit backward. You see, after Mikhail vanished into the wall, we’re told what he saw. I know, I know; that’s a major spoiler. Well, too bad, now you know he wasn’t eaten by the wall, nor did he fall into the Michigan Blue Hell (more on that bad boy later).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As much as I love creative storytelling, I cannot stand it when it’s done like this. I prefer my stories to be chronological. So, for this write-up, we’ll defy our sources and tell it like a normal story instead! Did this really warrant two paragraphs’ worth of text? Don’t ask questions that you know will have a stupid answer.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The exact details of the watchman, Nikolay, and Vitaliy’s search aren’t given. All we’re told is that they spent “about an hour running across the complex in complete despair” as they searched for Mikhail. Eventually, though, they found him.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Apparently, Mikhail was found “screaming inarticulate remarks” and believed that only five minutes had passed. Time passing differently in different realities isn’t unheard of. I have no idea why because I can barely comprehend time as is.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, at some point (we’re only told that it was “later”), Mikhail told his companions what had happened. His story was, and I mean this in the kindest way imaginable, absolutely bonkers. Everything I’m about to tell you is what’s written in Patrick’s article. I did not make </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">any</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of this up.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mikhail claimed that he “had suddenly entered a small and dark room.” He guessed that it was the “fourth-story floor” of whatever structure he was in. This was quite alarming given he was, you know, just in the corridor of a basement.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I do want to note that the definition of a “story” (or “storey” for my British readers) is different in various countries. Assuming that Mikhail was abiding by the European way of labeling floors, this would be the fifth-story floor he was on. If he were going by the American way of doing it, it’d be the fourth-story floor. I figured I’d just include that since I mentioned the differences back when I covered </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2023/12/decemystery-2023-19-gargoyle-at-window.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Gargoyle at the Window</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">earlier in the month.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, then, back to the story. To the left of Mikhail was “an object like a medical examination chair.” Meanwhile, ahead of him was “a slightly opened door.” Near it was “a narrow window,” where he could see “treetops” that were “covered in dense green leaves” that moved due to heavy wind.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The vibrant foliage surprised Mikhail since it was the middle of winter in Russia. Yet, here, it looked like it was summer and daytime outside. It sounds like he’s at the dentist’s office I used to visit when I lived in New York. He ought to see if the elevator works because the one there sure as heck didn’t!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In a trance-like state, Mikhail went through the door that lay ahead of him. It led to a room that, much like the first, was in dire need of some sprucing up. It, too, was a rather depressing sight to behold.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On the ceiling was a “round platform” that emitted “a faint light.” Just like the previous room, there was another “medical chair,” which was against a wall. Unlike the previous room, this one lacked any windows. So, there was at least one difference, and it was arguably the worst possible one. No windows? Man, the interior designer for this place sucked*!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">*</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> In the interest of fairness, I would do no better.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mikhail went on to say that he “felt very lightheaded” and moved “like a robot” toward another door. This one led “into the strangest room yet.” I wish I could say that this room resembled something out of an M.C. Escher painting, but that was not the case. Instead, it was “absolutely dark, with some bright areas visible in the inky darkness.” That doesn’t sound like it was absolutely dark, but who am I to judge?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The light that was scattered around the room “seemed to hypnotically influence” Mikhail, who’d become “numb” and was “unable to look away from the lights.” Out of curiosity, I decided to look up if light can actually be hypnotic. To my surprise, a quick Google search told me that, yes, it is possible. I feel like I might have known this at some point but forgot because it wasn’t necessary information. Still, reading it is a bit surreal.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, hypnotic lights (which are later described as “pulsating patches of light,” despite them not having been described as pulsating beforehand, but whatever) weren’t the only things in this room. No, there were other entities in the room. Five of them, to be exact.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, how these entities got into the room is a bit vague. Patrick Gross’ article says that they “appeared” in front of Mikhail, which makes it sound like they manifested out of thin air. This would make a lot of sense—in my opinion, anyway—given what they’re about to do. They sound like interdimensional beings more than extraterrestrials.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At the same time, I have to wonder if they were already in the room, but Mikhail didn’t notice them at first; the lights illuminated them, and his sudden realization that he wasn’t alone made it seem like they’d appeared. The only reason I’m harping on this is the wording genuinely threw me for a loop, and I’m curious if pointing it out will lead any of you to feel the same.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now that I’ve shined a pulsating spotlight on that wording choice let’s get back on track. These beings were described as being “black” and “humanoid.” Their height and build weren’t given, which makes me think that Mikhail didn’t get a good look at them. This, to me, is a major letdown because of the next detail: the shape of their heads.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyone who’s read this blog before will know by now that we’ve discussed some really wild-looking aliens. </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2020/12/decemystery-2020-22-dade-city-flower.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Robotic alien flowers</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/12/decemystery-2021-29-giant-space-brains.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">giant brains that had telepathy</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/12/decemystery-2021-20-arboreal-abomination.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">arboreal monstrosities</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2023/12/decemystery-2023-16-alien-tree-stumps.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(twice!)</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2023/12/decemystery-20223-5-space-penguins-of.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">alien penguins</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and many other aliens that I can’t be asked to list off. My main point is that we’ve discussed some really bizarre-looking beings that truly redefine the word “strange.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The beings here may or may not have been extraterrestrial. Really, based on </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">how</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Mikhail got there, I’d say it’s safe to say they were interdimensional in some way, shape, or form. However, given the prevalent theory that aliens are interdimensional beings, I feel that I need to say this right now: I’ve never heard of aliens like this.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You see, these aliens—or whatever they were—had heads that “appeared rectangular in shape.” This makes me think Mikhail fell into the world of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hey Arnold!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Well, great. Now Helga’s going to start stalking him around Moscow or wherever in Russia he resided. I know I said he was in Rostov-on-Don at the start, but I don’t know for certain that he lived there. For all I know, he could have been on a road trip with his friends.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I feel like nobody who’s not around my age will get that reference. God, I feel old.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One of these beings was “slightly hunched over and appeared to be working some kind of device that gave off light,” though it was later said that it “did not illuminate the surrounding area.” I find this detail rather interesting, though I have to wonder if maybe the light was just dim.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Besides producing a light that produced no light (now there’s a sentence), this device was “not big” and looked similar to a “corncob.” If you have no idea what that looks like, here’s an image of it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.2qMGfqudgF4fUvmkuiIX4AHaMo?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="469" height="400" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.2qMGfqudgF4fUvmkuiIX4AHaMo?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain" width="235" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>Clearly, these beings had just discovered popcorn and were trying to figure out how to replicate their newest discovery.</span><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All joking aside, the device had “a pointy end,” and was aimed at Mikhail. Before he could contemplate what it may or may not do, he “heard a male voice inside his head.” It had one very simple yet ambiguous question to ask.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This one?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A second voice then spoke in his head. This one’s gender wasn’t given.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">No not him.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This response was truly horrifying to me because it forgot the comma after “no.” I cannot think of a more terrifying phrase that could be spoken.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Upon realizing that their guest wasn’t the “one” they wanted, the first voice spoke back up. This one was, presumably, also inside of Mikhail’s head.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Memory erasure is necessary.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This, unsurprisingly, terrified Mikhail. Whether by the power of those amazing things called “survival instincts,” divine intervention, or Red Bull, he “seemed to snap out of his confused state” and bolted for the door he’d come through.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Upon going through it, he found himself back in the corridor he’d been in earlier. Behind him, a “door closed” with “a loud slam.” When he looked at the wall, he noticed that the door had vanished. I was originally going to ask if the beings he saw gave chase, but I feel this answered the question before I could ask it (that being a rather amusing “yes”).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That, much to my disappointment, is where the story ends, and it’s at this point Aileen’s email ended by thanking “Albert Gonzales.” Patrick Gross mentioned that this was likely meant to be “Albert Rosales,” whom I’ve brought up a few times this month—not to mention in the past. He wrote a series of books on Humanoid Encounters that’s incredibly fascinating and well worth reading.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Patrick’s main reason for suspecting that Aileen meant Rosales was due to “the format of the story,” including an “HC Addendum,” which Rosales usually included in his writings. I don’t exactly know what that means off the top of my head, which makes me feel rather dumb.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Patrick went on to note that Rosales’ recounting of the story was a fair bit shorter. In it, he nixed “any mention to the fact that the alleged witnesses had celebrated” on the Russian New Year. He also didn’t mention that they’d consumed any champagne and vodka. Should Rosales’ version of events be accurate, that means we have no idea when this event took place, which makes things infinitely more difficult.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, I did try to look up Mikhail Babkin for additional sources. To my delight, I found one article on </span><a href="https://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2016/10/lost-in-alternate-reality.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Phantoms and Monsters</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, but it was the same story with no additional information. It did, however, mention something called “Unknown Worlds” by a writer named “Alexey K. Priyma.” I attempted to find anything else online but to no avail. Apparently, some other articles cited the book, so I’m inclined to believe that Alexey is a prominent paranormal researcher.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Beyond that, there’s no other information on this case. There could be some that I overlooked, but there’s one tiny issue. </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5598197.Mikhail_Babkin" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mikhail Babkin is the name of a Ukrainian author.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> That makes finding information about the Mikhail mentioned in this story a whole lot more difficult. In fact, it was to the point that I thought this story may have been outright fabricated, and someone picked that name, thinking nobody would recognize it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, I’m getting ahead of myself. Given that the story is now done, and I can’t find any other paths to go down, it’s time for us to jump into the theories for one final time this month—not to mention this year. So, come along; let’s speculate on what, exactly, the truth of this case was!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. Mikhail noclipped out of reality</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh my goodness, this theory’s going to give me a migraine by the time I’m done with it. I’ll try to keep it as short as possible because I could be here for quite some time; heck, I could do a second write-up if I had the time and patience. Why? Well, because a very prominent Conspiracy Iceberg entry is tied to this theory.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s known as the Michigan Blue Hell, and it’s been on my to-do list since Decemystery 2019. It is, to the best of my memory, the story that outright made me create the very first Conspiracy Megalist. It’s also been planned for every single Decemystery at one point or another—barring Decemystery 2023. The only reason it wasn’t planned was that I forgot about it until this write-up. Had I not forgotten, I may have tried to write it. I have a good feeling I would have foregone it, though.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">God willing, I will cover it next year; for now, however, I want to quickly go over it so you guys have some context for this all. The Michigan Blue Hell is located in the state of Michigan—the state that looks like a pair of mittens if you don’t know which it is. In this very specific location, there’s a spot where you can “clip out” of reality and fall into an endless void of blue sky. It gets its name from the “blue hell” in video games; that’s the area you fall into if you clip out of the game’s map. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is so much more to the Michigan Blue Hell that I cannot go over without making this write-up disgustingly bloated and difficult to follow. However, I believe it’s necessary that—at the absolute least—you know the bare minimum for this theory. As for the Michigan Blue Hell itself, I’ll try to get around to it next year. I make absolutely no promises, though, as I haven’t been very good at keeping them over the years.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory posits that Mikhail somehow, in some way, noclipped out of reality and ended up in another universe. He found the Russian equivalent of the above-mentioned Michigan Blue Hell. Only, instead of falling into an endless void of blue, he fell into an office building occupied by telepathic beings with weirdly shaped heads.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I genuinely don’t know where I stand on this theory. On one hand, I find it quite remarkable that the eyewitnesses would be willing to give their names; most people would never dare do something like that. They’d be ostracized from their community until they were lost in the Siberian tundra.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At the same time, I can’t find anything on Mikhail Babkin, which makes it </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> difficult to accept this story as true. And if you think that’s only exclusive to Mikhail, no, it’s not, but we’ll get to that in a later theory. Until then, let’s move on to the next theory—and let’s not let that fact blind us. Or, at the very least, let’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">try</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> not to let it blind us.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. They just lost track of Mikhail, and he was knocked unconscious because he fell</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, I’m going to keep this theory short because there’s very little to it that wasn’t said in the name. This one posits that Nikolay and Vitaliy, along with the watchman, lost track of Mikhail, who at some point tripped, hit his head, and was knocked unconscious. They were alerted to his brief scream and began their search.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While unconscious, Mikhail dreamt the entire story up. I’ve heard </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">far</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> wilder stories from people who were knocked out; there’s a rather famous Reddit post from a guy who was knocked out in a fight and dreamt an entire other life. Now, granted, that story sounds </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">really</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> questionable to me, but I haven’t done enough research into it, and I don’t know enough about how the brain works to judge it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory, in my eyes, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">could</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> work if not for two things. The first is, as I said earlier, I can’t find anything on Mikhail and his companions; that’s really questionable to me. However, you can brush it off as him mentioning the whole “they said I tripped and hit my head” thing to other Fortean researchers and being dismissed. So, when he submitted this report, he excluded it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming that wasn’t the case, though, one has to wonder how the watchman wouldn’t have been able to find Mikhail unless he, too, was drunk. I guess Mikhail could have awoken far sooner but been wandering around in a daze. Though, you’d think they would </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">eventually </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">come across each other.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’d also wonder how his friends never found him, but if they were heavily inebriated, I’m willing to bet they wouldn’t have been able to tie their shoelaces. Oh well, that’s this theory; I think it’s the second most likely. God, I can’t wait to be done with this; I want to sleep.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Delirium tremens</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There was a theory put forward on Patrick Gross’ website about this being a case of “delirium tremens” (or “shaking frenzy”). They occur from alcohol withdrawal. I don’t know a thing about that, so I can’t say with any confidence if this happened because of that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A quick visit to Wikipedia told me that they can happen after a month of heavy alcohol consumption. I’m not a doctor, and Wikipedia is a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> unreliable source, so I don’t know how probable this could be. I don’t feel comfortable taking any guesses either; I don’t think it’s my place to pretend I know a single thing about doctor stuff.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One thing I do know, thanks to writing this month’s collection of mysteries, is that alcohol can cause hallucinations. Sadly, that’s about where that knowledge ends; apparently, we don’t know precisely why booze can make people hallucinate. If I’m wrong about this, I’d greatly appreciate any corrections.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Even if we disregard that, though, one has to wonder exactly how this could have happened without that watchman having notified the families of the boys. As Patrick said, and as I echoed, if the watchman had escorted them out, they were likely intoxicated. It’s hard to imagine they weren’t aware they were drunk by the morning.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Overall, I doubt this was the case, but I also don’t know anywhere near enough about the condition to properly judge it. From the sounds of it, though, it doesn’t seem that likely. But, again, don’t take my word as gospel since I’m not one of those smart doctor people.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. Aliens</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just for kicks, I figured I’d include this. I’ve heard theories that aliens have set up shop here on Earth and have bases on it. This theory is that Mikhail accidentally stumbled into one of those bases.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not really sure how likely this would be since, from the sounds of it, this </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">definitely</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> was in another world. I mean, the land outside of whatever structure Mikhail was in didn’t resemble Russia during the winter. Unless the case didn’t take place in January. In that case, that calls into question so many other things that I can’t begin to organize my thoughts properly. Look, I’m writing this the day before it’s going to be posted; all I want to do is rest. Please, don’t judge me too much!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Beyond the potential inconsistency with the date, not to mention my cries for mercy, I don’t really think this sounds like an extraterrestrial encounter. It’s far from the most outlandish and ridiculous, but it doesn’t really sound like a close encounter with our space-faring friends. Really, it sounds like Mikhail went to another dimension or world.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If there are encounters with aliens that involve falling through things and winding up in other places or worlds, then I’d reevaluate this theory. However, as it stands, it doesn’t strike me as likely, at least not with the minimal knowledge that I have. Remember, I may be fascinated by this stuff, but I’m not a guru. I’m just some guy with a blog.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. A hoax</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is a theory that Patrick Gross put forward, and I honestly understand why very well. This is a very weird case; it’s one that I think requires a considerable amount of goodwill to believe at face value. I’m someone who’s definitely on the side of believing in other realities and dimensions, but this case is </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">definitely</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> one that leaves me asking tons of questions.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, one must ask what there was to gain from making the story up. In fact, I have to wonder how it was first reported on; sadly, I can’t find that information (though that may fall squarely on me). Assuming it was reported to a ufologist like many fantastical stories of this nature are, one has to wonder if the eyewitness had some kind of incentive.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Generally, with reports like this, the incentive is virtually nonexistent. Unless they’re hoping for clout by promoting a book on the topic, they only have ridicule to gain from publicly talking about their experiences. While I doubt alien abduction a great deal, I cannot imagine anyone who genuinely believes a bunch of Greys abducted them will boast about it to everyone they know and love—unless they want to alienate said family members.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is one thing that does make this case rather unique, though. The name of the eyewitness is publicly available. Of course, as I said above, I couldn’t find </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">anything</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> about him online. Still, I decided to look up the other two men; maybe they had some stuff on them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Well, looking up Nikolay Leontyev gave me a result for a man named </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Leontiev" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nikolay Leontiev</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, who served in the Russian army and fought in the Russo-Japanese War. He was also an explorer, geographer, and writer. However, the Nikolay we were looking for doesn’t appear to have anything online.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Meanwhile, Vitaliy Kravchenko is a lot more interesting. For starters, </span><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0470393/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">there was an actor with the same name who died in 1966.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> There’s also a Russian minister who gave Church services; one of them was posted last week on YouTube and was entitled </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxlBTdKNtKc&ab_channel=LivingHopeBibleChurch-Sarasota" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“The Interruption of Christmas.”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> The former was obviously not our man, and I have no idea if the latter was. It’s not like two people having the same name is an anomaly.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That does beg the question as to how no Russian ufologists or Fortean investigators ever attempted to track down these three men. Given the incredible nature of this case, you’d think someone out there would have tried to find them. Yet, as it stands, that doesn’t appear to be the case.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As a result, I’d say this theory has a decent amount to work with. But we’re not done with the theories; we still have a few to go. So, without further ado, let’s continue on to our final meme theory of the year!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. The world from the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Take on Me</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> music video</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, with 100% fewer pencil sketches and 101% less amazing music! Oh, the interdimensional humanity!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I lean </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> heavily toward this being a hoax solely because I can’t find anything on the eyewitnesses. Their names are readily available, yet there’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">nothing</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> about them. Seriously, no prominent Fortean investigators, ufologists, or anyone decided to go and pay them a visit? That’s absolutely mind-blowing to me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, of course, I do accept that it’s possible they maintained a low profile throughout the years. That’s extremely plausible and wouldn’t shock me. Plenty of people who have had unexplainable experiences aren’t going to be happy to blabber about their ordeal.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The issue I have is that we </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">do</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> know their names; they’re right there. If they were pseudonyms, then I think that should have been specified. Otherwise, I expect that these folks were comfortable with their identities being public knowledge.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yet, apparently, they weren’t comfortable enough to talk to anyone else outside of the person who originally wrote about this (assuming it wasn’t one Mikhail who wrote about it originally). That’s some bizarre logic to me, but I suppose I can’t judge too much. I’d probably do something odd like that, too.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Aside from that fact, the other big thing that makes me question the veracity of this case is the sheer wild nature of it all. A guy claimed he fell through a solid concrete wall and into another world. That’s not just weird; that’s absolutely mind-altering insanity. That’s the kind of thing that would make me wonder if the eyewitness had dropped DMT and seen some Machine Elves.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s one thing when I read about a “Time Slip” or something else enigmatic like that. Sure, I’ll be skeptical, but there’s a lot that you can make an argument for. Maybe timelines got a bit wonky, or something caused time to become a bit distorted. Will I believe it? Eh, it’ll depend on how well you can sell it to me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With this case, though, there’s no way you can sell me on a man falling through solid concrete into nothingness. That’s just pure, unadulterated craziness. That just strikes me as a few dozen bridges too far. Am I willing to listen to those who believe it? Of course, I like to maintain an open mind when I can. However, as it stands—with the way this was presented to me—this is absolute nonsense. Though I must admit, it’s entertaining nonsense.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And so, with that, Decemystery 2023 comes to a close. This was an absolutely colossal undertaking of a project, one that I hope to never again do in my life. As much as I love writing and all things unsolved, Fortean, and strange, doing this amount of writing—almost all of it from July until now, the day before this goes up—was nightmarish. I wrote over 270,000 words across all 64 write-ups. That number is almost certainly near, or over, 300,000 if we count the write-ups I began but didn’t finish.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Writing all of these write-ups one after another, with little to no break in between, was like running a never-ending marathon. I cannot, for the life of me, do it again if I tried. I wouldn’t want to even try that. There comes a point when I have to wonder if what I’m doing is even healthy. A fair number of my friends repeatedly told me to “take breaks,” which I did, albeit usually only for a day or two.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It wasn’t until this past week that I finally began to seriously unwind. Prior to that, I think the longest break I took was in August when I had my health scare, which was caused by my blood pressure dropping due to an accidental medication change. That was something I hope to never again experience. Especially since I had to go to the ER.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, I digress. Now that I’m finally done with </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">all</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of this writing, I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">am</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> going to take a break—a very long one. No, I won’t abandon the blog like I did last year; God willing, that will </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">never</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> happen again. If it does, I’ll be heartbroken like never before. 2022 was an absolute nightmare of a year for me, and I don’t want to have another year like it ever again.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, for what I intend to do to start my 2024. For the next few weeks—maybe two or three—I’m going to just relax. I’m going to take it easy; I’m going to recharge and, as God is my witness, make 2024 the biggest and best year for this little blog. Until next time, though, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading! And have a happy, healthy, and amazing new year, dear reader!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsRlNiIzuSVfanpWlsRNv5EHVAt_8JXXhibIOI0qUlAQH-6dJuoDeTI5wdkGCyxD3iO0pleoqQOv832LXLftVtpqLDgrjjl1rOmHOJSEzhmJwFXTeIaOie4_-K6vHp8JixdU94FSRkQTD51-pNuE1lSDZMyTjnjl6IABV6U8hEoExuK4cn284y9VMiw/s5634/Picsart_23-12-27_21-07-47-565.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2130" data-original-width="5634" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsRlNiIzuSVfanpWlsRNv5EHVAt_8JXXhibIOI0qUlAQH-6dJuoDeTI5wdkGCyxD3iO0pleoqQOv832LXLftVtpqLDgrjjl1rOmHOJSEzhmJwFXTeIaOie4_-K6vHp8JixdU94FSRkQTD51-pNuE1lSDZMyTjnjl6IABV6U8hEoExuK4cn284y9VMiw/w400-h151/Picsart_23-12-27_21-07-47-565.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-bb100197-7fff-c956-26be-67991e7a439e"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Credit to my friend, 2001 Honda Civic, for this little image.</span></p></span></div>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-3161671546935821592023-12-31T06:00:00.040-05:002023-12-31T06:00:00.150-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 31: That Time Professor Oak Kidnapped A Child<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://wallpapercave.com/wp/wp10354187.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="566" height="400" src="https://wallpapercave.com/wp/wp10354187.jpg" width="283" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> <span id="docs-internal-guid-de9631fb-7fff-b0e1-a11f-56f76a80d863"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Content warning: this write-up contains mentions of child sexual abuse.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This month has been filled with an absolutely massive amount of weirdness. From space penguins to vampiric caterpillars and tongue monsters to dancing bulls, this December takes the cake as the strangest of them all. Though, as is the case with Decemystery, I’ve saved the oddest story for last. For the capstone of Decemystery 2022.3, I have whatever you can call this story.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite being a rather harmless series on the surface, Pokémon has had a bizarrely large amount of controversy surrounding it throughout the years. While nowadays, it’s primarily criticized for the lackluster graphics and, in the case of the two most recent releases, polish, its early days had some other criticisms. From one side, you had PETA lambasted it for animal cruelty. On the other side, you had some religious groups accuse it of being Satanic for teaching evolution.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Today’s story will take us back in time to that time period, a time when video games had controversies that didn’t involve loot boxes and microtransactions. No, it was a simpler time. So to round off this Decemystery, let’s discuss </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That Time Professor Oak Kidnapped A Child</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. This one’s going to be a doozy.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The First Article</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I initially found this story on sustained_disgust’s </span><a href="https://icebergcharts.com/i/Obscure_Unsolved_Mysteries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obscure Unsolved Mysteries</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> iceberg chart. </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This iceberg provided so much content for this month I have to wonder if I’m liable to be sued for using it. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We’ll definitely be returning to this iceberg next year—a lot. I want to cover a </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ton</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of other stories from it.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How this story was even found is a mystery to me, but hey: I’m not gonna question it. It originates from a website called </span><a href="https://www.rumormillnews.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">rumormillnews.com</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which appears to be an incredibly old website. Their “Old Archive” dates back to 1999, and today’s story was first posted in 2001. It’s still younger than me, which makes me feel ancient. I may as well be a fossil by now. Anyways, the site is dedicated to alternative news and whatnot; a lot of talk about the New World Order (NWO) and what have you. I have to wonder if this was one of the first platforms for discussing those theories. If it is, I’m surprised I’d never heard of it until I found this story.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for the story itself, we’re going to need to do a bit of foundation laying. In order to understand it in its entirety, we need to read through the thread this originates from. That’s a lot easier said than done because this isn’t a video, so I can’t read it to you. I considered copying and pasting it here, but I’m worried about being removed from Google’s indexing. Even though I don’t make a cent for my writing, I’d rather not screw myself over on the off chance I ever do get paid for this.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nevertheless, for this section, I’m going to go through the first post of the thread and what it’s trying to get at. At least, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability. If you want to skip this section and instead read it for yourself, </span><a href="https://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi/read/8378" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">click here.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> You’ll need to scroll all the way down to find the other articles. Otherwise, let’s see how badly I do this (spoiler alert: I do a truly horrendous job).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first post (or “article”) made was on April 9, 2001, by “RogueButterfly.” The article, entitled “POKEMON IS MIND CONTROL,” is a part of “The Reptile Report #0003-051499.” I’m guessing the numbering has to do with other articles RogueButterfly wrote, but I can’t verify that on account of a hacker who supposedly deleted 300,000+ posts on September 25, 2014. So unless a user of Rumor Mill News can explain it, that’s just my theory. As an addendum, based on a sign-off message at the end of this post, I believe RogueButterfly to be a woman, so I will be referring to her as such.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In this article, RogueButterfly admonishes Pokémon, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Psychological Association, with the latter two being labeled as “complete and absolute frauds.” Rogue came to this conclusion—which she says took “less than two hours” of their life—after listening to an 8-year-old tell them about Pokémon for half an hour, then watching the show for an hour. Since Pokémon episodes are 30 minutes each, Rogue viewed a whole two of them. Hope they weren’t two of the filler episodes!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After that, RogueButterfly explains how she was introduced to Pokémon. Two nights prior to the article’s posting, she “GUARDED” two children when their mom went to an AA meeting. Yes, guarded was in all capital letters. Any use of all caps in any quoted part isn’t of my own doing; it’s how this stuff was written. Rogue’s relationship with the mother isn’t given, but I’m guessing they know each other; suburban life in the early 2000s was a different time.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rogue continues by saying that one of the kids, a young boy, showed his Pokémon cards; she says she had never heard of Pokémon prior to this, which I find rather surprising. At this point, the franchise was 5 years old, and it was </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">huge</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Though I guess nothing gets big enough to where nobody is aware of it.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, Rogue goes on to state she asked the kid to explain what Pokémon was. This went about as well as you could imagine; Rogue decries that what the youngling said was “so complicated, so foreign, so bizarre, that I made an appointment with him to watch the show the following day.” Pro-tip to anyone out there: never ask a child to explain their favorite thing to you. It’ll never be done in a manner that doesn’t make it sound as complex as quantum physics.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The following day, at 3:30 (presumably in the afternoon because otherwise, this just got super weird), Rogue arrived to watch their first episode of Pokémon. This is where everything goes downhill—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">fast</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. The kid “provided a running interpretation of what was going on.” Despite that undoubtedly helpful assistance, Rogue was barely able to keep track of the characters. Fair enough, this is a cartoon; I doubt Rogue and the young lad decided to watch the first episode, but I digress.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Compounding Rogue’s inability to keep up with the show, the young boy said there were “over 1,000” characters. I’m gonna call shenanigans since, unless the boy is counting every background character who doesn’t speak, there weren’t that many characters in Pokémon. Also, this is why you don’t trust the word of an 8-year-old child when they try to describe their favorite thing to you. It’s never accurate, but hey: at least they tried.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now for the point where everything goes downhill even faster. These characters included some that “EVOLVE through as many as three stages.” You can probably tell where this is going, but if you can’t: Pokémon is Satanic. As are many, many other things.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, Rogue states that the show’s pace is “SUPERSONIC,” which must be seriously upsetting if a Zubat was behind that. On top of this were these two sentences; I refuse to reiterate them because they made me laugh—a lot:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The dialogue at times sounds exactly like Japanese. When the young boy talked about it at times I thought he was SPEAKING JAPANESE!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Cue </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Vapors</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-jT3wp7uh_g" width="320" youtube-src-id="-jT3wp7uh_g"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>From here, things get incredibly hard to follow. I watched Pokémon as a child, specifically the Kanto and Hoenn sagas, but I haven’t since then. The last time I ever bothered to watch it was when I looked up a few episodes of the Unova saga. I never cared to watch the Johto storyline, and I’m not sure if that’s what Rogue was being shown. Not that it matters because the way it’s described is rather incoherent.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">First, Rogue says she asked a question “about what was going on,” to which the boy replied, “They miss their owners.” Rogue proceeded to prod for information and was eventually told that the “owners” were, in fact, “trainers.” This revelation proceeded to rock Rogue’s world. Take a look!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Trainers! TRAINERS??? What are they being “trained” to do?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Prior to this, Rogue had said, and I quote, “I did not see or hear anything that indicated that,” I have to wonder if she was paying even the slightest bit of attention to the show. The Pokémon anime never lets an opportunity go by to let you know that Ash Ketchum’s whole life revolves around becoming the greatest Pokémon trainer to ever live. So methinks Rogue wasn’t as alert as she would like to think. ‘Tis but a hunch, though.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After this comes this paragraph. Truth be told, I don’t understand </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">any</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of it. Maybe it’s because I don’t watch cartoons anymore, or maybe it’s because my memory is that bad. Either way, I want it to speak for itself:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Between the two episodes a real person, the announcer, was talking and between him and the camera a “fan” kept the image of him FLASHING! This is a hypnotic trance inducing technique!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think Rogue’s talking about that person who announced what show’s coming up next, but I have no idea what else they’re talking about. At the time, the Pokémon anime was airing on </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Kids’ WB!</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and I don’t recall there being a live-action announcer. My only guess is that it was a local station thing. Whatever the case, the way it’s written is baffling to me.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After this, Rogue brings up that the next episode was about how “the greatest achievement is to become a POKEMON BREEDER!” That’s it. That’s all there is. I guess there weren’t any questions asked here. Though strangely, I think I remember an episode like this. Or maybe it’s some MK Ultra memory trickery.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The rest of the post has nothing to do with Pokémon; I mean, almost none of it. This is where the conspiracy element comes into play. I know that the write-up is about Professor Oak kidnapping a child, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t note what Rogue had to say about the New World Order and other stuff.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For starters, you have Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. Also, you have Rogue, who claims that at some point before who-knows-when, the young lad she was watching Pokémon with had gotten his “PASSWORD” and subsequently went to the store and purchased his “ball” that had some stuff in it. She goes on to say that “HE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO TELL HIS PASSWORD.” </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To digress for a moment, I initially thought this may have been a promotional bit for Pokémon Gold and Silver; the games were released in Europe on April 6, 2001, which was the day prior to all of this initially started (April 7). Although Rogue mentioned the American Psychiatric and American Psychology Associations, a lot of conspiracy theories can somehow, in some way, be traced back to the United States, and I wondered if that was the case here. Especially since, in the second post (which is about the Professor Oak stuff), Rogue spells “favored” as “favoured.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, like any big-brained moment I have, my hopes were dashed and thrown into a sewer drain. Rogue is from Canada, as stated in the second post on this thread. So unless a certain part of Maple Syrup Land got the game at the same time as Europe (which would be bizarre in my eyes), I once again perceived myself to be sharper—and smarter—than I really am.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, Rogue posits that this behavior—of not telling someone a “password”—is being done to encourage children to not tell secrets. It’s taking a lot of self-restraint to not make some snarky remark about how any child, no matter how much you discipline them, will inevitably keep some sort of secret. Kids do that. They’re kids. They’ll keep secrets if it means they’ll get candy or toys. God knows I would have done that when I was younger.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rogue, however, didn’t see it this way—and something tells me she still doesn’t. In her mind, Pokémon is all about “MIND CONTROL” and that “our children are UNDER ATTACK!” She likens it to tobacco companies, which utilize tactics to influence children to smoke when they grow older. While I don’t agree with Rogue in regards to Pokémon being mind control, I do agree with tobacco companies sure as heck do their best to make smoking look appealing. Don’t smoke; it’s bad for you. Do play Pokémon, though. Especially the third, fourth, and fifth-generation games. They’re all amazing!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The next two paragraphs are truly something else—mainly thanks to some of the metaphors used. I won’t quote them because I try my best to not include vulgar or inappropriate language when it isn’t necessary, and to be honest, using it here would be in incredibly poor taste. If you wanna see what the metaphors are in all their glory, read the actual post; it’s hyperlinked near the start.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Starting things off, Rogue alleges that the American Psychiatric and Psychological Associations are in on this; she says she knows thanks to “logic” and that “it’s so SIMPLE!” I can’t help but think she already implied they were in on this earlier, but for me to suggest that someone’s repeating themselves is laughable, given how often I repeat myself.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After that accusation, Rogue says she would be a “HUMAN HURRICANE” and would demand “THAT THIS BE STOPPED IMMEDIATELY.” I can’t help but think the lack of an exclamation point there really takes away from the intensity of it all. I also can’t say I’ve ever heard the term “human hurricane.” That is certainly a new one for me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rogue continues by touting that the mind control mentioned earlier, coupled with the diabolical actions of the two aforementioned associations, is “destroying our children” and “violating their minds and turning them into remote-controlled units.” Guess it didn’t work on me; go figure that I’d be left out of the fun. I was always the black sheep when I was younger.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m going to let the remainder of this paragraph speak for itself since it’s yet another one that made zero sense to me—a recurring theme with the mad ramblings of a Canadian woman who thinks Pokémon is a product of Satan (AKA: Whitney’s Miltank).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Since neither of the APA’s, as powerful as they are, have lifted one finger to put a stop to this, they are obviously in cahoots with this cold-blooded pyramid scheme. I would say they have helped to make this happen and are getting rich from the suffering of these children and their families.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not sure how any of this is a pyramid scheme. In fact, I’m not even sure how we got here; this started out talking about watching two episodes of Pokémon, and now we’re discussing television being used to dumb down children and a type of financial fraud. My only guess is that both APAs are profiting off of the mental conditions caused by television, which would be an interesting theory to look into if not for one fact: television has been around for longer than the early 2000s. Though even in the 1960s (when I’m guessing Rogue was a fair bit older than the kids she was “guarding”), “9 in 10 people” owned a television set by the end of the 1960s. So Rogue </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">surely</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> knew more than a few people who owned one unless she lived in some secluded community.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever, I digress for the six-billionth time this month. The next paragraph I cannot, in good faith, let speak for itself—nor can I reiterate it since it contains a metaphor that made my stomach churn. The gist of it is that “your television set is your own private satanic altar” and that it’s violating the minds of children “WITH YOUR BLESSING.” While I know there are plenty of people across the world who view television in a negative way, the manner in which Rogue went about expressing her anger towards it disgusted me greatly, and I wish she’d done it in any other way than the one she went with. The last thing I needed to read was how television is harming a child in a manner similar to John Wayne Gacy.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once that’s done, Rogue says… this:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The NWO plan is to steal a child’s mind and turn them into mind-controlled slaves, tuned in their their OWNERS!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP! You’re living on The Mean Planet and you best not forget it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to </span><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/mean-planet" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dictionary.com</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, a “mean planet” is:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a hypothetical planet that coincides with a real planet when the real planet is at perihelion and that moves in an orbit at a constant velocity equal to the mean velocity of the real planet.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So… I guess that means we don’t live on the real Earth? I’m really trying to not sound like a complete and total dipstick; I genuinely don’t know what most of this means. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, so it’s entirely possible I’m merely unfamiliar with this, but wow. To say that I feel lost is an understatement. At least I understand what Rogue means when it comes to the New World Order. So I’m not completely lost!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After that, Rogue quotes Talking Heads’ song </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Life During Wartime</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. I’ve never listened to it (I’ve only ever listened to their banger of a song </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Psycho Killer</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">), but I’d like to take this opportunity to say one thing. Under no condition should Rogue ever be allowed to listen, let alone read, </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT_ZpHgiIKo&pp=ygUPaHlwbm8ncyBsdWxsYWJ5&ab_channel=TrainerDerek" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hypno’s Lullaby</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></a></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rogue ultimately signs off as “Jana Janus” with “Omnipresent On The Mean Planet” underneath it. From what I could tell, Jana is a female name of Persian origin, hence why I speculated her to be a female at the start. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That, dear reader, is the thread that started all of this. You would be forgiven for having completely forgotten that this write-up was about Professor Oak having allegedly kidnapped a child.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Truth be told, I had to contemplate if I wanted to keep </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">any</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of this in. I don’t like to be a judgemental jerk when it comes to one’s beliefs, but a lot of what Jana said began to unsettle me. There was something about the sheer level of resentment she held towards not just Pokémon but television as a whole that deeply disturbed me. I think it’s because I hadn’t seen anything like this outside of TV shows and movies where an old person rants about how TV is dumb. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, though, I decided to keep it for two reasons. The first was a very selfish reason: I didn’t want to scrap all of the work I had done. While I know I bemoaned in some write-ups this month about the pacing of the article, I genuinely couldn’t get myself to throw out everything I had done here. Feel free to yell at me in the comments; that may genuinely help me to realize that not all of my work needs to stick around.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second was that this was the post that started this all. While I could have summarized it better, the whole thing was unlike </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">anything</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I had ever read. I’ve seen some unique outlooks on life and technology, but seeing Pokémon of all properties being the progenitor for this type of resentment was awe-inspiring. I just had to share this; it ultimately became the entire post as opposed to a “greatest hits” kind of thing.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, before we move on to the main story, I do want to say that if you do agree with Jana, that’s perfectly fine. I don’t mean any disrespect, nor will I judge you for believing such things; far be it from me to criticize you for your beliefs. That said, if you’re going to post what you think online, I firmly believe you should look over what you’ve written and make sure it’s coherent. Because when you don’t, you get this, and this was a nightmare to trudge through.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, without further ado, let’s get into the reason you’re all here: Professor Samuel Oak somehow breaking free of his virtual prison to kidnap a child. This is gonna get… </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">interesting</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Minds Unraveling at the Seams</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">First thing first: </span><a href="http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi/read/8379" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">this post</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> went up a mere </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">minute</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> after the first; the first went up at 11:53 p.m., while the second went up at 11:54. I’m guessing Rogue had everything written down and then pasted it, or the website allows for scheduled posts. Either way, I just wanted to make a note of that.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This post is considerably longer than the first and contains a lot of stuff I don’t care to get into. Just know that this is “The Reptile Report #111499” and starts off with details on how much </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Pokémon: The First Movie</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> grossed at the box office. I remember watching that movie on VHS. I didn’t like it because Mewtwo scared me as a child. I loved that short about Pikachu’s vacation, though. That was super cute.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jana’s post starts by giving more details about the 8-year-old she talked about previously; she details how he lacks a father and how his mother is on welfare and is an alcoholic and chain-smoker. Honestly, that’s really depressing to read, and I hope that the mother defeated her addictions and that the kid, along with his half-sister, are doing well themselves.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In this particular case, the boy’s half-sister went to visit her own father for five weeks, so the lad was feeling left out. Understanding how he felt, Jana decided to take him on an impromptu vacation. She also mentions that the boy’s uncle is Jana’s son and is an alcoholic; this uncle is also the “extent of his ‘relatives’ in British Columbia.” I wish this had been mentioned in the first post because learning about it here initially threw me for a massive loop. I figured Jana was a friend of the boy’s mother or a neighbor, but no. she’s a relative. Oh well, this is a post on the Internet, not a book.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jana’s vacation was simple: go on a camping trip with the lad. Or, as Jana herself put it, a “super vacation.” The way this is all written is strangely adorable and is such a stark contrast to the previous post, which felt like an older woman going scorched Earth on Pokémon, that a part of me couldn’t help but wonder if the same person wrote it. Fear not because it is, but to showcase what I mean, here’s the third paragraph in its entirety. Seriously, this comes across as incredibly wholesome compared to </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">everything</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> we went over above.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When I saw my “grandson” the day after his sister left, I firmly decided to see to it that he had a super vacation, one that would place him on equal footing with his sister and his friends. It was a super vacation, not only for him but for me also. We hiked, boated, went to the beach, watched the whales, had campfires, roasted marshmellows, rode our bicycles, dined on delicious vegetarian foods and had a wholesome, healthy time together with plenty of fresh air and outdoor fun. For intellectual stimulation we checked out books from the library on edible plants and went on nature walks locating and identifying them. Every night he read stories to me before bed. I had found some old books, Christian based, filled with character building stories such as the The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Ugly Duckling and The Little Red Hen. There was no television available so Pokemon was not much of a topic except for the following story he told me after he had been with me for a few days.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It can’t just be me, right? I swear, if it is, I’m checking myself into a psych ward and telling them that Internet posts are giving me literary psychosis.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh well, let’s not linger. Jana says that, just prior to the vacation, her kinda-sorta-maybe grandson (I won’t lie, I have no idea how closely related she is because I suck at family lineage) called “the 800 number for Pokémon’s headquarters in Ontario.” At least, she thinks it’s in Ontario. I honestly don’t know if The Pokémon Company has headquarters up in Ontario, but I do know Nintendo had offices in Toronto, which is Ontario! The keyword is “had” because </span><a href="https://pokemonblog.com/2022/02/09/nintendo-has-shut-down-its-offices-in-toronto-canada-and-redwood-city-california/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">they shut down in February 2022.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> So maybe this is what the lad and his friend called? No idea; someone, please tell me if I’m missing something here.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This next part is one that I need to let speak for itself because there are so many points where I want to interject that I’d be here for a dozen paragraphs constantly butting in and asking questions. So, here it is, in all its uninterrupted glory:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just before he came on vacation with me his school friend had called the 800 number for Pokemon’s headquarters in Ontario (I think) and indicated that he wanted to be “tested”. The appointment was made for six o’clock in the evening, on the steps of the local elementary school (in Surrey, BC) that was closed for the summer (aka AN ABANDONED BUILDING). The friend contacted my “grandson” and another boy and they all showed up at the school at the agreed upon time. They “knew” not to tell their parents.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">First things first, this is the point where I realized that they were Canadian. Yeah, I know Jana mentioned British Columbia earlier, but when I first found this story, I went straight to the part about Professor Oak. Call me dumb, but I wanted the good stuff before reading the larger story. I’m impatient at times, alright? Don’t judge me for this when you can judge me for a plethora of other things, like rambling about unnecessary details or going on pointless tangents!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Second: what in tarnation is this “test” jibber jabber? There’s no way—there’s no possible way—that an 8-year-old told a representative of a company they wanted to be tested. The only way that could make sense is if it was focus group testing, which is done to get an opinion (among many other things) on a product. Given this was 2001, it’s possible it could have been for </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which was released in Japan in 2002, but I imagine that focus testing would be done in Japan and not Canada. The games weren’t released internationally until 2003!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Last but certainly not least, even if this was focus testing, that’s usually done via survey or in a group. There’s no way in Maple Tree Hell it would be done at 6:00 in the evening, outside an “abandoned building,” and as we’ll soon see: inside a van with two grown men. It’s so surreal typing these sentences; I feel like I’m on a fanfiction website reviewing some troll’s piece of literary genius. God, if I drank, I would be six bottles of malt liquor deep right now. The things I’ve read have done irreparable damage to my brain; why not drag my liver down with it?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Getting back on track: Jana’s quasi-grandson went to the meet-up spot and waited. Lo and behold, a Pokémon van arrived. Its windows were purportedly covered by Pokémon posters, preventing anyone from seeing what was inside. This sounds like a great setup for some bizarre </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Saw</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> parody where a child is kidnapped by Jigsaw and must complete a Nuzlocke playthrough of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Pokémon Silver</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> using Chikorita as their starter. God, I hate Chikorita; I can’t stand Cyndaquil either. Totodile is the only acceptable Johto starter, and you can’t change my mind.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">From the van’s side door emerged two men; one was 27 years old, while the other was 36. How Jana knew this detail, I don’t know. Maybe her “grandson” took a guess, maybe the men told him, or maybe Jana assigned two ages. I don’t know, and at this point, my allotment of caring has run dry, like a Californian lake during a heatwave.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, these two men told Jana’s nameless grandchild that they were the ones who’d be conducting the tests. As a result, he entered the van; I have no idea where this kid’s friend is, so I’m guessing Giratina yanked him into the Distortion World before he arrived at the meet-up location. Once inside the van, the two men told him that he was the winner of something, so they gave him Pokémon paraphernalia and a poster. This is what Jana said anyway, and I’m not about to question this more than I already have.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After being given the gifts, the “testing” began. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll let Jana do the talking.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He stated that during the “testing” one man was whispering constantly into something he thought was a walkie talkie. He found out after that he was talking to Professor Oaks who was inside the van and only came out when the “test” was over. Professor Oaks is a cartoon character in the Pokemon cartoon series. Professor Oaks congratulated my “grandson” on his abilities and he was the one who presented him with the prizes.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t know if “Professor Oaks” was intentional or not. If it was, then the two men who greeted her “grandson” were, somehow, both Professor Oak. This is quite fascinating, given canonically, he’s 50 (at least that’s the age given in the fourth Pokémon film. I’m going to hazard a guess and say that Jana made a typo and meant that Professor Oak was somewhere inside the van, probably in the shadows or something, and stepped out after the testing was over. Whatever the case is, holy smokes: real cartoons! Here I thought the conspiracy that Bugs Bunny is a Native American spirit was the wildest thing related to a cartoon I’d ever read.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5264c5fc-7fff-057a-ae8e-0250d0496608"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After that, I have to admit that I deeply considered scrapping this entire story. The next part has a really unsettling feel to it. As has been the case throughout this write-up, I’ll let Jana do the talking.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My “grandson” did not tell his mother anything about this. When I asked him why, he said he just “knew” he shouldn’t. On further questioning about this, he admitted that the men said that parents shouldn’t be told because they might interfer.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-237072de-7fff-7e66-93f4-e8fffb1ba6eb"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yeah, when I first read that, I felt my stomach drop. Like, that’s all I felt. I got this really uncomfortable feeling, and a part of me really wanted to scrap this whole story. However, after putting so much work into it, I didn’t want to can it.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though you know what the best part is? The thing that ties this all together so truly awfully? That’s where the story effectively ends. Yeah, if you were anticipating a really uncomfortable turn for this story, you needn’t worry.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh, don’t get me wrong, there’s still more. But if you were hoping for something in the way of answers, additional sightings, or Jana providing anything else, then you’re better off trying to breathe in outer space. The next paragraph contains the penultimate reference to her grandson:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Needless to say I was alarmed. Men meeting with little boys at 6:00 p.m. at an abandoned school? Strange men testing children without their parents knowledge or permission? Talking secretly with someone inside a van that has its windows covered hiding someone inside while the “testing” is going on? TESTING FOR WHAT??? And finally a CHARACTER from the cartoon series appearing in “reality” from inside the van? WHAT IS GOING ON? This is all wrong. What were these men doing to these children? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO MY “GRANDSON”? It’s obvious that something criminal is taking place or the children would not be “impressed” with the need to keep it a secret from their parents.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After that, Jana mentions a child who swallowed a Pokéball and quotes a news article about it. She also says there are grown men out there looking for “pets” (children) to train them for “some weird kind of competition.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">From there, Jana quotes a news article about the infamous Porygon episode that caused seizures in Japan and an article about Manga. I skimmed it, but it has nothing to do with this story as a whole.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are more posts on the thread—including two from Jana—but neither mentions her grandson. </span><a href="https://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi/read/8380" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One is about an inappropriate commercial</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> where two men are in a bathroom, and one is trying to coax out his poop. </span><a href="https://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi/read/8444" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The other is less bizarre</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and is a response to a </span><a href="https://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi/read/8417" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">reply someone else made;</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> the person talked about an introduction video to Pokémon that they saw. This individual believed it to be related to child sexual abuse.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As much as I’d hate to say it, that’s effectively where this all ends. Seriously, that’s all there is. It ends on an incredibly bleak and uncomfortable note; I rode a laughter-induced high from how goofy it sounded that Professor Oak appeared in a van to feeling deeply unsettled to being here. Now I’m damn near exhausted. I tried to find more information on this, but all I got were Sasquatch sightings. Those are certainly interesting in their own respect, but definitely not in the same ballpark as this story.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My next course of action was to look up Jana’s name. This yielded no results, but that wasn’t too much of a surprise. I imagine it’s likely an alias judging by the results I got for both “Jana” and “Janus.” The results for the post history of RogueButterfly on Rumor Mill News also showed the account last posted on August 25, 2001. The last post was about Jews conspiring against her. In fact, a fair number of her posts had to do with Jews. Well, there goes my Google indexing; make sure to try Bing if you wanna find me!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Joking aside, after that, I gave up. Seeking out additional information wasn’t worth the struggle—not in my eyes, at least. So without further ado, let’s leap into the theories.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. It was the ravings of a mentally ill person</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Admittedly, there aren’t any concrete theories. In fact, I don’t think there are any theories, </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">period</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. As such, I can only speculate what the truth was here. So to kick things off, I want to get one of the most obvious theories out of the way: that this was all the product of a mentally ill person who was seeing things where there was nothing.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Well, in this case, “seeing” ought to be replaced with “convincing herself things occurred when nothing actually had happened.” But I digress. I want to stress something right now: I, obviously, don’t mean any ill will toward Jana. Assuming everything that was posted wasn’t some elaborate troll (which I sincerely doubt), I’m not here to point and laugh at her and whatever emotions she felt at the time.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, when it comes to mental illness, people say and do an array of odd things when it gets the better of them. It’s within the realm of reason that she may have interpreted what her grandson said in a really, really horrific way when in reality, he may have gone to some promotional event. While there, he saw someone dressed up as Professor Oak, who gave him some gifts for getting a question right.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It is also worth noting that children are terrible at describing things. It’s possible this kid tried to explain something and ended up conveying it in a manner akin to being kidnapped. Is that likely? Ehh, maybe not in this case, given the specifics. Is it possible? In my humble opinion, yeah. God knows I was the worst at describing things when I was 8 years old. I still suck at giving descriptions; that’s why I refuse to write creative fiction anymore! Anyway, onto the next theory; I don’t want to linger here anymore as I have a fair bit more to stay about it when we get to my personal take.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. Child predators</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory… is definitely one that I did not want to have to include. In fact, its mere inclusion was one that made me reconsider covering this story. Anything that involves a child being hurt—especially in a sexual manner—breaks my heart. I’ve known people who’ve been violated by others, and to say it makes me angry is an understatement. I also feel avoiding this theory would be disingenuous. It doesn’t take a mathematician to tell that, at the very least, Jana speculated that the supposed “Professor Oaks” were child predators.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Suffice it to say, I do all I can to avoid stories about these monsters. I do everything I can nowadays to not cover unsolved cases of child rapists or cover conspiracies about the elite being child diddlers. I never feel comfortable covering them because I always feel like a colossal dick if I make even the slightest joke. Heck, I feel like kind of a dick having made jokes prior to getting to the part where Jana’s grandson refused to elaborate on what happened in the van. In some ways, I feel like a dick for even </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">speculating</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> that these folks may have been child predators since there isn’t much to go off of. No matter what way I cut it, I feel like a dick, and that makes me not want to complete this write-up.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nevertheless, deleting what is by now several thousand words of progress would be a gargantuan waste of my time (see: around 24 hours of it), and I’m not about to demoralize myself because of one bump in the road. So, about the theory, there isn’t a whole lot to discuss in the way of what ensues. It simply posits that the two Oaks were, in fact, a group of really evil humans.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There’s plenty of precedent for this; there’s a reason why parents tell their kids—or really tell </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">anyone</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">— to never get into cars with strangers. You never know who that person may be on the inside. These men were in a van with the windows covered by posters of a wildly popular children’s game, lured one into it, and then told him not to tell his mom, lest she “interfere.” By accounts, it sounds like something a group of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">extremely</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> unsavory individuals would do in order to cause adverse harm to a minor. And yes, I am doing everything I can to not outright type a sentence that would make my stomach churn so hard, it’d implode and become a black hole. Sue me.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, there are a few issues with this theory. The first is one I mentioned during the story itself: we have no idea where Jana’s grandson’s friend was. Even though Jana said that he and his friend (or friends, given there were supposedly three boys there) went to the meet-up spot, we only know what happened with Jana’s grandson. It’s possible that details were simply omitted, but I find it rather odd.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second is that I couldn’t find any reports of any unsolved crimes of this nature from around this time. Admittedly, I didn’t look to see if there were any unsolved crimes of this nature from that period, so I may have outright missed it. Nevertheless, I feel a case involving people abducting children while dressed as Professor Oak would have become quite infamous.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Last but certainly not least is the story of calling the 800 number. This has a possible explanation in that the kids used it as a cover story to hide the fact they were kidnapped. Or the kidnappers told the kids to tell any adults about it. A lot of predators often have these cover stories ready to hand out if needed—at least, that’s what it seems like from the true crime stories I’ve read. There are a plethora of cases I haven’t read because they make me want to cry. Heck, I haven’t bothered to learn about John Wayne Gacy because it makes me depressed.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I do have to wonder why this supposed Pokémon office—which was in Ontario—scheduled a meet-up in British Columbia. Driving from one to the other would take 38–42 hours. Flying, meanwhile, is roughly 4 hours. Call me crazy, but I feel there’s a major impracticality here unless there are Pokémon-related offices across Canada.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nevertheless, this is arguably the most plausible theory (besides the first). The next two are less plausible, but I still firmly believe they warrant inclusion. The first hinges on me being incredibly stupid (which is certainly plausible), while the second hinges on a big dose of dickishness that only a child and produce. So, without further ado, let’s get into ‘em.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Focus group testing</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, I will rescind what I said above. I may consider myself to be stupid, but I doubt I’m stupid enough to have overlooked something here.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m including this theory solely to add a bit of levity after the previous one. Frankly, I don’t want to linger on the horrific possibility of child sexual abuse for the remainder of the theories section. Let’s try to have a bit of fun with the possibility that this was focus testing.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Admittedly, I have no idea how much focus testing has gone on in the Pokémon series. It certainly can’t be much, given every game after </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Black 2</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> & </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">White 2</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (outside of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Legends: Arceus</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) has been lazy as hell. So Game Freak certainly hasn’t been looking to public opinion on their upcoming design choices a whole lot!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though, hey, let’s assume they did do some focus testing. I have never heard of doing it inside of a van—let alone a van that you apparently get “tested” in. If this was a focus testing session, then I have no words. It’s the first one I’ve heard of being done outside of a controlled environment—like an office building or studio. Unless Game Freak had to go to Canada for some reason and used a van as their backup office. That would help explain why </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Scarlet</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> & </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Violet </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">feel like they were coded in about half an hour.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Beyond that, though, this theory seriously hinges upon me being an idiot and not knowing how focus testing goes. If I am right, then it hinges on Game Freak doing focus group testing in the most preposterously creepy way imaginable in a country where they don’t have a studio. Personally, I doubt that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A prank</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Children can be demons. They can pull the cruelest pranks imaginable while thinking it’s the funniest thing since discovering the word “fart.” For this theory, we have a scenario like that: Jana’s grandson and his pals decided to pull a prank. Why? I don’t know, but since these are theories of my own creation, I’ll say that it was because her grandson was displeased at her dislike of Pokémon. I remember when I was young, and an adult didn’t like something I liked, I would get really pissy about it. Why? I dunno, I was young, and I was stupid. Children can be the biggest jerks on the planet and will lash out whenever they feel wronged.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming Jana expressed disapproval towards Pokémon in front of her grandson, it’s possible that he told his friends about it, and they told him to pull a prank to mess with her. Alternatively, he did it of his own volition because he wanted to screw with her.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is, in my eyes, quite possible, but given the way that Jana appears to have raised the kid herself, I doubt he would’ve been prone to doing something malicious like this. Though, as I said more than enough above, children can be royal jerks. Never put it past one to get petty revenge against you if you insult something they like. This includes but is most certainly not limited to Pokémon. God help you if you laugh at their attempt at getting revenge, or they may try to kick you in the knee.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I hate it when MissingNo. eats the theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As I have said several times now, I considered outright scrapping this story. I went into it with the mindset that this would be a light-hearted, silly conspiracy or some incredibly bizarre happening. Granted, in hindsight, I should have known that wouldn’t be the case thanks to the word “kidnap” I used (on the iceberg, it’s listed as </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Professor Oak sightings</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">), but you must realize something: I am a dumb person. Contrary to what you may think based on my ability to write thousands of words about the stupidest things you may ever grace your eyes upon, I am not intelligent. I am, at best, of below-average intelligence and have the foresight of someone dive-bombing into a vat of boiling oil.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The only reason I didn’t delete all of this and substitute it with another story was that a good friend of mine implored me to wait a day before making such a rash decision. Prior to that, the more I looked over everything I had written, the more and more uncomfortable I got. As I mentioned earlier, stories involving children being sexually abused </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">deeply</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> disturb me; I do everything I can to avoid them. While I’ve covered a few in the past (like when I inexplicably brought up Daisy’s Destruction in a write-up on friggin’ snuff films—what the hell was I thinking?), I was still in the mindset of trying to be super serious about my craft (rather than being much more carefree like I am nowadays).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That discomfort eventually became fear.I had this mindset that somehow, in some way, this story would be seen as “exploitative” or “inappropriate” because I’d been so light-hearted </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">before</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I got to that part where I speculated that this was about child predators. Though, I have a feeling I am overthinking things. Whether I am or not, I have to say that I never in a million, billion, trillion, or quadrillion years would I have imagined this going down a path of child predation.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Even now, I can’t help but look at that bit and wonder if maybe I’m wrong to leave it in. Heck, I can’t help but wonder if I’m wrong to even </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">post</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> this. There’s just something about this that gives me an inexplicably bad feeling. No other story, be it one I’ve written about or have skipped over, has left me with this feeling. I’m sure that, at some point, I’ll get a comment telling me I’m a terrible person for this write-up, and if I do, I definitely deserve it. But until then, it’s hard to scrap all this work or to change what I said since I think experiencing the gut punch I felt at that moment really hits hard.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And yet, I have that content warning at the very start; my logic is impeccable, and my intelligence is equal to a thousand galaxy brains!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Well, onto my take. I can’t see this being a case of the stupidest focus testing or the ravings of a mad woman. The former is too stupid to be real, while the latter feels off. While I think Jana is wrong about TV (I’ll get into that a bit more in a few), I can’t imagine her being so hateful towards Pokémon that she fabricated this all—or was that deluded.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The prank theory seems plausible, but I don’t know if a child would really conjure up a story this creepy. But hey, kids are strange, and there are more than a handful of reasons I’m not keen on having any. My inability to handle the wrath of a child scorned for not getting a toy is but one of them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That leaves me with one theory, and it’s the one that makes me depressed. Judging by everything that was said by Jana, my mind immediately gravitates towards that of a group of child predators; I already said why earlier, and I don’t think it bears repeating. Having grown up in a suburban environment, I know the stereotype of the creep in a van, and it sounds uncannily similar to those warnings I got as a young lad.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given the allure of free stuff related to a child’s favorite thing, and given how </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">insanely </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">popular Pokémon was at the time, I cannot imagine this being anyone else. Unless Professor Oak himself outright materialized in the real world, this is the only theory that makes any sense to me. And quite frankly, if it is the case, I hope the sick bastards who did this are burning in Hell.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now onto one last thing: Jana’s opinion on TV. This is just something I want to toss out there, but I certainly don’t agree with her on this. At least, not entirely. I do think letting television raise a child is a terrible idea. The same goes for a tablet and other electronics. If you’re going to have a child, raise it like an actual human. Don’t stick it in front of something and let unsupervised media raise it for you. You never know who—or what—will end up influencing its still-young mind.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This story was a rollercoaster of emotions; I’m not sure when I last felt myself go through the motions like I did here. Quite frankly, I hope to never do it again. As interesting as it was to cover this all, I’d rather focus on stories where I can be upbeat and energetic, not uncomfortable and lethargic. I also know that I’ll look into stories a lot more carefully after this, so I don’t end up feeling like complete trash after I finish one.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thankfully, we have one more story left, and it’s one where there are no dour, uncomfortable topics. Best of all, it’s not a morbid story. So assuming you’re reading this before that story goes up, make sure to check it out or go read it now; either works fine. Also, as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p></div>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-46237206339265759622023-12-30T07:00:00.037-05:002023-12-30T07:00:00.138-05:00Decemystery (2023) 30: The Glowing Dancing Bulls<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.hyGW4-DLVmbJUGgwkWoaSgHaE7?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="474" height="266" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.hyGW4-DLVmbJUGgwkWoaSgHaE7?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" width="400" /></a></div> <div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I believe I’ve said this on this blog before, but I like to dance, slow dance, to be exact. I don’t know why, but I find it relaxing and soothing. Unfortunately, I have no one to dance with, so I often dance around my room alone. Not that it matters that much because I’m not exactly the best dancer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thankfully, I have my writing; that means I’m not at risk of hurting my dance partner. Also, it means I get to go down all sorts of weird rabbit holes that lead to all sorts of strange, bizarre discoveries. That includes today’s story. For the penultimate entry of Decemystery 2023, we have the tale of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Glowing Dancing Bulls</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Come along, dear reader; this is gonna be a really memorable one!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What Kind of Magic Spell To Use?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like plenty of stories this month, I found this one when looking through sustained_disgust’s magnificent </span><a href="https://icebergcharts.com/i/Obscure_Unsolved_Mysteries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obscure Unsolved Mysteries Iceberg</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, so all credit goes to him. The reason I found it was I wasn’t feeling like covering any stories I’d initially picked out; it was by pure chance I saw this one, and I knew right away that it needed to be covered. By God, I am so glad my impulsiveness didn’t go away as I aged because this is an awesome story.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This story originates from a website called </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111027211151/http://www.ufofreeparanormal.com/stories/viewstory.php?sid=164" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ufofreeparanormal.com</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which appears to be defunct now. Thankfully, it was archived; the person who posted about it was known as </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obiwan</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and their </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111009111512/http://www.ufofreeparanormal.com/stories/viewuser.php?uid=1" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">user page</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> has a </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ton</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of stories that are so getting their own write-up next year. However, I won’t linger on this because if I do, I’ll end up being here for ages, going over the incredible material I’ve stumbled across thanks to sustained_disgust’s Iceberg Chart. Anyways, onto the story for real now!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obiwan received an email—at least, I’m guessing he did—on July 11, 1998, from a man going by “Scott.” I won’t lie; I’m rather dense (I’d say I’m somewhere up there with Neutron Stars), so please excuse my ignorance when it comes to the formatting of emails, especially on archaic websites. Scott sent this email to “Ghost Discuss,” which I’m assuming Obiwan operated. It’s either that Obiwan posted about this after finding it on another website. It also has some reviews that I cannot read as they weren’t archived; it appears that on this site, you were allowed to “review” these stories and could have chapters. It’s kind of cool, but that does make me wonder if this (or some of the other stories) were works of creative fiction.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever the case may be, the name of Scott’s email was “Bizzare Occourance Or An Overactive Imagination? ( VERY long ).” He begins by saying he’s “posting something that I’ve thought about posting” since he “joined this list.” I don’t know what that list is, but knowing that this isn’t the first story Scott emailed, which makes me want to browse through Obiwan’s posts even more.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also, this is further proof that I’m destined to write about weird stuff but seldom experience it for myself. I would say that I should move to where Scott’s from, but he doesn’t say (I’ll touch upon this later if you happened to find this story when browsing through the </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ohio</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> tag).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, this event happened to Scott “years ago,” though he cannot remember exactly how old he was; he estimates he was nine, so we’ll run with that guess. It was the summer of 1984, and he was staying with his grandparents (his mother’s parents) for the weekend; they lived “out in the country” roughly fifteen minutes from where Scott himself lived. This makes me think Scott’s from Iowa since that state has a few cities and then nothing but cornfields. At least, that’s my understanding of Iowa.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whether or not Scott was from the land of corn is irrelevant; he goes on by saying this occurred on a Friday night. He was staring out a “large picture window” as he waited for his grandfather to return from work. As he waited, a dense fog started to form, and it grew thicker as time ticked by. This caused Scott’s grandmother—the only other person in the house—to worry that her husband would get into a wreck. They should just be glad they don’t live in Antonio Bay.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Several more minutes came and went; still, there was no sign of Scott’s grandfather. Then, all of a sudden, Scott “saw what looked like two lights coming up the road towards the house.” Initially, he believed the lights to be headlights on his grandfather’s car. However, he quickly realized there was a problem: these weren’t the correct colors. One was lemon yellow, while the other was pink. Sounds like a Pikachu and a Jigglypuff got into a scuffle over an Oran Berry.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite these lights clearly not belonging to his grandfather’s car, Scott still opted to watch them. At an indeterminate pace, they drew closer to the house, their motives as mysterious as the reason for wanting to make a sequel to Dirty Dancing.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Eventually, Scott yelled for his grandmother to come and look at the lights. However, she declined as she was preoccupied with making dinner. This honestly surprises me as I would think she’d be concerned that her grandson was seeing strange lights drawing close to the house. Though I guess she figured he was seeing passing headlights, though I can’t say I’m familiar with colored headlights. If those are—or were—a thing, let me know.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Scott continued to watch the lights draw closer and eventually got up to convince his grandmother to come look at them. At that point, they were “not much more than fuzzy colored blobs” on account of the thick fog. Honestly, if I didn’t know any better, I would think they were hunters in ghillie suits with colored headlamps. My assumptions aside, Scott’s grandmother’s reaction to his statement was “something along the lines of, ‘Good. He’s finally home.’”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This reaction was presumably not what Scott had in mind, so he informed her that the lights didn’t appear to be those of a car. He also told her about the bizarre coloration of them; I think that would be the first thing I’d mention, but I digress. At Scott’s insistence, his grandmother finally went to look for herself; he arrived before she did because, like any child, it’s law that you arrive at the location you want an adult to be before they’re there. Lucky for him, the lights were still there. In fact, they’d drawn closer, and it appeared something was beginning to emerge from the fog.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Wanting a closer look, Scott’s grandmother got close to the window and leaned forward. When Scott asked what they were, his grandmother said she had no idea, but it was beginning to scare her. Remember, older readers: when a kid sees a strange light, you should always check. Otherwise, you end up in a situation like you’re about to read.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">By this point, the lights “were almost to the house.” It’s also here where Scott reflects on a detail that even I hadn’t thought about when I first read this story: these lights must have been </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">extremely </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">bright, given how visible they were first seen. This is something that piqued my interest since I very rarely give thought to it when I read about a story involving a mysterious bright light. I just thought I’d chime in with that since it actually shook me a bit. Yes, this story shook me a bit. The story is about glowing, dancing bulls that appeared from the fog. I know, that probably sounds absurd.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, it was at this point that the lights had finally taken on an actual form. It was also at this point that Scott and his grandmother must have thought they were losing their minds. I will allow Scott to do the talking here because there’s no way I can reiterate this in a manner that does it justice.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What we saw looked to be two cows, both bulls, dancing along the road on their hind legs. (**No, this is NOT a joke.**) One was glowing yellow, the other was glowing pink. Each of the "bulls" had a front leg, "arm" draped over the shoulder of the other. They were heading toward the driveway.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m reminded of this movie I saw when I was younger: </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Barnyard</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. You know, the Nickelodeon movie with the talking cow, Otis, voiced by Kevin James. That description above sounds like something out of that movie.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like any sane human with a pulse, Scott’s grandmother fainted at the horrifying sight of an animated Kevin James character dancing in real life. Luckily, she landed on the couch that Scott had been on; he kept watching the colored animals dance. Well, I guess he at least made sure his grandmother didn’t land on the floor.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to Scott, the dancing mystical bovines kept dancing “until they got to the driveway.” Once they did, they changed course, like they were going to make their way up toward the house. Then, they faded away. Someone should try to get Kevin James on Dancing With The Stars and then perform this as their routine.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, after an unknown amount of time (Scott guessed it was “more than a minute or so”), he turned away from the window and looked at his grandmother. She was still unconscious, and he “had no idea how to revive her.” So, being a kid, Scott tried to shake his grandmother awake. Then he talked to her, but that didn’t work either, at least not at first. She awoke after a bit and looked back to the window. I guess she was also enraptured by the otherworldly performance of the spectral bovines.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As Scott’s grandmother looked outside, Scott himself asked what they’d seen and if it was gone. This is probably the most relatable bit of the story: a child pestering an adult with questions about something exciting that went on outside and wanting updates every ten seconds.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Eventually, Scott’s grandmother sat him down on the couch and told him not to speak a word of this to his grandfather. Scott asked why because he was a kid, and when he’s told not to do something, he needs to know why, or else he’ll do the exact opposite of what he’s told. Presumably, his grandmother did not learn this from raising a child once, and so she didn’t tell Scott why; she just told him to “keep quiet about it.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When Scott’s grandfather arrived home a few minutes later, Scott immediately ran to him and told him the whole story about the colorful dancing bulls that had made his wife faint on the couch. Being a good husband, Scott’s grandfather asked his wife if she was okay; she replied in the affirmative. More than a little displeased that something caused his wife to faint, he retrieved his shotgun and went outside. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While the strangest episode of Man vs. Wild went on outside, the most rerun episode of Child vs. Elder played inside. In this thrilling episode, Scott was reprimanded “very loudly, for disobeying her orders” for the heinous act of informing his grandfather of the dancing My Little Bovine characters on his property.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, after several minutes, Scott’s grandfather returned. According to him, he found no trace of the strange creatures. I just want to chime in and say that if I’d been told that there’d been two glowing bulls dancing outside my home, I’m not sure I’d go out looking for them. That could be the next stage of Mad Cow Disease. They could also be radioactive—or worse, they could be undercooked, and that’s why they’re dancing. They survived the slaughterhouse, so now they’re celebrating. What would Gordon Ramsay say?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Regardless of what the chef may say, this is where the first part of this story ends. According to Scott, his grandparents refused to talk about what happened that fateful evening. And so, not long after that, Scott convinced himself that he’d been hallucinating, that it was all in his head. However, three years after the event, it would all come back; it’s here where the inclusion of the </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ohio</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> tag comes into play. While I have no idea where Scott’s grandparents live, this text story takes us to the Buckeye State.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One day, Scott was hanging out with a girl he called “A” in the email. For this write-up, I’ll be referring to her as “Alaina.” At the time, Scott resided in Ohio, and Alaina’s grandparents lived behind his place. As a little addendum, Scott mentions a “railroad bed” that was across Alaina’s grandparents’ yard, which he’s apparently mentioned in other stories of his. I now have an even greater urge to go looking for more of his stories because railroads are fascinating to me; I have no idea why, but they are.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Railroads aside, Alaina approached Scott one day and mentioned that she “had seen something very strange the previous night.” Being a good friend, Scott asked what she’d seen, to which Alaina brought out a Shakespearean-length speech about how Scott would think she was worth throwing into a mental institution if she told him. Not wanting to listen to a 12-year-old’s rendition of Hamlet, Scott pointed out how Alaina had brought up the subject, so she clearly wanted to tell him.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Defeated by the impeccable facts and logic of her fellow 12-year-old, Alaina conceded defeat and began her story. The previous night, she was struggling to fall asleep, so she took to staring out her bedroom window. Suddenly, it began to get foggy; the rapscallions were doing burnouts nearby.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Except they weren’t. Within the fog, Alaina claimed that she saw “two glowing lights” make their way across a nearby pasture. One was yellow, while the other was pink. It’s here where Scott makes a note of how he had told nobody about his sighting of the dancing bulls. I imagine so, given your friend was worried she’d sound crazy, Scott.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Alaina continued, saying that as the lights “got closer to the railroad bed, they began to take on solid shapes.” After that, she stopped telling her story, likely thinking she sounded completely insane. However, Scott pushed her to continue, and so she did. As Scott put it:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After a few minutes "A" said, almost in tears, that the lights took on the shapes of cows. Bulls. Each bull had a front leg draped over the shoulders of the other. Both appeared to be dancing along on their hind legs. They were moving toward the railraod bed. Toward "A" 's Grandparents' house.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I cannot get over that misspelling of “railroad.” That really hurts my soul. Also, I’m guessing these two bulls have some sort of affinity for elderly people because, both times, they danced toward the home of an old couple. Is this some sort of distortion in time where the memory of a couple dancing at their wedding got mixed up with the memories of two bulls? Woo, baby, that’s some Christopher Nolan level of oddness.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, Alaina said that, after seeing the sight of two bulls dancing, she ceased watching them and took cover beneath her blankets until the Sun rose. Remember, folks: blankets keep you safe from 99%* of all scary things.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">* Safety from vengeful Japanese spirits is not guaranteed.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.5455609436a2f9f40e00405f6d577a1c?rik=HRucd0iRHxgaDA&riu=http%3a%2f%2fimages2.fanpop.com%2fimage%2fphotos%2f14400000%2fKayako-Saeki-the-grudge-14427208-500-333.jpg&ehk=hUoextYSF9psoM9Omdhy%2f7C7wE7b%2b0m32STu7qmdAI4%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></a></div><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once Alaina had finished her story, Scott told his own experience with the spectral dancers of the bovine kind. He doesn’t say how Alaina felt about knowing her friend saw the same thing, which is honestly a shame in my eyes.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For Scott, though, this led him to believe that what he saw that one night wasn’t “a hallucination brought on by the dense fog and car headlights or something like that.” That led him to ask one very simple question.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyone have any ideas?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Well, Scott, I wish I could know those ideas your fellow peers had, but it doesn’t appear they were archives. So, unfortunately, I cannot find out what they had to say, a truly heartbreaking thing in my eyes. Luckily, we still have a </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ton</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of theories to go over. So, while the story may be over, this write-up is far from done. So come along, dear reader; it’s time to dive into one of our longest theories sections in recent memory!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. Interdimensional entities</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here’s a healthy game: do one pushup every time this theory has been mentioned this month. It could help you start a great fitness trend, or it’ll just cause exhaustion; hopefully, it’s the former.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you don’t know the song and dance for this theory by now, then fear not: I will explain it once more. Basically, our reality overlapped with another one, and these beings from that world appeared in ours for a bit. It’s kind of like when your radio picks up a broadcast from another station for a brief period. Instead of a radio, it’s reality, and instead of a broadcast, it’s colorful dancing bulls.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As overused as this theory is by now, this is arguably one of the very few theories that make sense in my eyes; I’ll explain why when we get to my personal take. However, aside from the usual flaws (namely, the lack of hard proof when it comes to the existence of other realities), there’s one major issue: Alaina’s sighting.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In my time reading about all sorts of Fortean strangeness and paranormal oddness, I cannot say I’ve ever heard of this theory being used like this, at least not with entities that weren’t outwardly intelligent. In fact, they didn’t even appear to be bovines at first. They appeared as indeterminate masses within the fog before taking on the appearance of dancing bulls.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nevertheless, this theory—to me—works better than it has throughout most of this month. That’s nothing short of a miracle if you ask me, but I digress; we still have a boatload of theories to go over, so let’s get to them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. A couple of nature spirits</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve already made it apparent that I know absolutely nothing about nature spirits, so I won’t make any snarky remarks about this. That said, I cannot say I’ve ever seen anyone talk about two bulls dancing around late at night. I have the story of </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0l3pYCZOIU&pp=ygUbNGNoYW4gZ3JhbmRwYSBhbmQgdGhlIGZsYW1l&ab_channel=Chass" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Gramps and The Flame</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, though, so I feel that counts for something, right? I hope it does.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Look, I won’t try to pretend I know anything about this. I don’t know if any Native American tribes have spirits like this or if any Celtic or Pagan sects have spirits like this. The only thing I get when I look up “dancing bull spirit” is some liquor that’s for sale. So, I can’t add much to this theory beyond speculation of my own.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have heard some stories of nature spirits appearing (just look at the write-up I did of the spirit moose from 2 years ago). Though generally, those spectral animals appear to humans, they confront them or help guide them. In this case, the animals were dancing—like humans. I don’t know if there are nature spirits that are said to do this, but this story really breaks the norm on what very little I understand about these spirits.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If anyone wants to educate me, I would greatly appreciate it. For now, I’m going to end this theory with a summary: nature spirits appeared dancing for some reason and left me scratching my head—a lot.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. The ghosts of bulls</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We’ve already talked about ghost mammoths and ghost moose on this blog, so I don’t think this theory is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">that</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> crazy. The dancing part still is, but the part about them being ghosts most certainly isn’t in my eyes.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The spirits of animals being seen are by no means novel. I’ve heard of people seeing the ghosts of pets. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any stories of farmers seeing deceased farm animals, but I’m sure there’s one out there that I haven’t found. With all of that said, as I said before, there’s one thing that drags it down: the dancing part.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Never in my life have I heard of a ghostly animal, let alone two of them, being seen dancing—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">twice</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. This is something I feel morally obligated to stress: they were dancing! The bulls were dancing! And I thought space penguins were wild, but dancing bulls make me think I fell into the Twilight Zone.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Maybe there’s something out there that I don’t understand when it comes to bovines or the paranormal (or both), but this theory falls apart when I get to the dancing part. It’s the dance of death but performed by bulls.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A hoax</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Another healthy game: do another pushup every time I’ve used this theory. Before long, you guys will be in great shape thanks to my inability to not reuse the same theories endlessly in one month.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve said many times this month that I fail to understand why someone would make up a story and not post it to a large website. From what I can tell, this site was relatively large for its time, so I can’t say that here, and because of that, I think this theory is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">highly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> possible.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The only issue is how Scott has posted stories before this one. I can’t help but think folks would’ve begun to suspect that maybe he was fabricating his experiences. Of course, some people are gullible and will only believe what reinforces their beliefs. I sure as heck know; I’ve gone on Twitter! Or X, rather. Whatever that cesspool is called by the time this gets posted.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. A trick of the light</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The tricks light can pull are getting increasingly more and more elaborate. If it keeps this up, people may start to suspect it’s got some ulterior motives.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is another rather plausible theory, though it’s one that succumbs to the pitfall that is “I have no idea how something works.” In this case, I honestly don’t know how light and fog could create something like this.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whenever I hear the explanation of how something that was caught on camera wasn’t paranormal or otherworldly but light reflecting off of ice particles or something else, I nod along and pretend I understand. There are a lot of things that I refuse to ask questions about because the 5-hour long lecture needed to explain it to some dimwit like me isn’t worth it. I won’t understand it, quite honestly, and my time could be better spent playing Pokémon. I’m sorry, scientists who stumble across this blog. I respect your work, but my pea-brain cannot comprehend some things.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, I have to concede that light can produce some pretty phenomenal tricks. You needn’t look further than that “city in the sky” that appeared in China that one time. I still see people debate about that from time to time, actually.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The idea that a kid was fooled by passing headlights, fog, other light sources, and anxiety doesn’t sound that insane to me. Though that’s assuming my science is right and not as real as the science in a Fast & Furious movie. I don’t have a big-brained science friend I can call upon, so you’ll have to trust me (something I wouldn’t do; I don’t trust myself to be honest).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. People in furry costumes</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I almost left this theory out because—and I’m not joking here—I didn’t think of it. No, I’m not joking; I completely forgot to include this theory at first. I still cannot believe that my friends and family call me smart.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">During the story, I mentioned the idea that early on, it sounded like this could have been two folks in ghillie suits. That in and of itself could have been a theory, but it isn’t since it’s very apparent that these were glowing, dancing bulls. Glowing, dancing Bulls that apparently formed into physical beings via fog. It’s an interesting way of traveling if I do say so myself.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, while it may not have been people in ghillie suits, there are still people who dress up as animals for one reason or another. This was one that sprang to mind really early on since I could imagine two furries going out and dancing at night, especially if they were at risk of being ostracized by family and friends for their hobbies.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I don’t know how prevalent that was in the 1980s, particularly the concept of being a furry, but I imagine it existed in some capacity. I mean, it was the 1980s, and if I’ve learned anything from my parents, it’s that the 80s were wild. It’s like the 1960s, but with crazy hair. So, I imagine there was a budding furry community somewhere.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, there are a few major issues with this theory. The first is Scott’s claim that the figures more or less materialized. Last I checked, furries were still physical humans and not capable of being incorporeal. If they can do that, then that’s pretty wicked.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second issue is Scott’s insistence that they looked like bulls. Presumably, this means they were large, hulking animals that looked to weigh 1,100 and 2,200 pounds (500 and 1,000 kilograms). Now, call me crazy, but I doubt most humans can dance around in a costume so realistic that it replicates that weight and muscle mass, especially for any prolonged period of time, without passing out from dehydration.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The third issue, and most obvious, is the fact Alaina saw the same figures. Maybe they were stalkers or something, but I doubt that given Scott only saw them once. It’s possible it was a coincidence, but that would be one incredibly bizarre coincidence. As such, I’d say this theory is on flimsy ground. It’s still sturdier than most, though.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. A hallucination</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is one that makes my brain hurt. I’ve heard of shared hallucinations, but the circumstances behind this story make it hard for me to wrap my head around. Ignoring how Scott himself threw the notion out after Alaina told him her story, I don’t know what would have caused Scott to have hallucinated in the first place—outside of Carbon Monoxide. However, given Scott never mentioned that as having been a possibility, I’m hesitant to put that forward. I also don’t think it would have caused two people to hallucinate the same thing three years apart. But what do I know? There are those stories of DMT Machine Elves. So maybe Carbon Monoxide can cause you to hallucinate glowing, dancing bulls.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8. Actual dancing bulls</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is what happens when you put chemicals in the water. The bulls begin dancing like they’re Looney Tunes characters. Stop putting water in the chemicals! I mean chemicals in the water! Whichever is correct, don’t do that!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In all seriousness, I feel there’s no reason not to mention this. The theory is that they were bulls that were dancing. I don’t think I can add anything else; they were just dancing bulls. God, how the heck has my life led to this? Once upon a time, I had aspirations. Now I am here, sitting on my bed, talking about dancing bulls. I frickin’ love it—unironically.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">9. They were bulls that had evolved to become something unimaginable</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you couldn’t tell, I’m grasping at straws. If you could tell, then I beg you to please help me make sense of this story because I think holes are forming in my brain.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The concept of animals mutating is by no means something novel; I think that’s how evolution happens. I didn’t do well in biology, so please don’t judge me that much. That said, I put forth this theory solely so I could do a call back to that bit I did about Mad Cow Disease causing this. Seriously, I’m needlessly proud of that when I wrote it. Does that make me narcissistic?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">10. They were bulls that escaped from some government facility</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh, look, a theory that I didn’t conjure up because I wanted to mess around for a bit. Next, you’ll tell me that I’m a serious writer and not some dingbat who operates a blog for fun!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is actually one that I thought of because of the numerous claims that a lot of cryptids are, in fact, actually escaped government experiments. You’d be amazed by how many theories like that there are; El Chupacabra, Mothman, Bigfoot, and so many others fall into that category. Heck, just look at a story we covered earlier this month: The Tuttle Bottoms Monster.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I cannot find anything to back this theory up because there’s nothing on it outside of Scott’s email. Ain’t that just a crying shame? Actually, it kind of is because I would love to do a deep dive into this theory. Alas, my health likes to screw me over six ways from Sunday, so we’ll likely have to wait until, like, 2025 or 2026 when there’s this thing called “consistency” in my life.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">11. Aliens</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is only here because I wanted a dozen theories in total. Also, I have heard of some incredibly bizarre aliens, and I should not be shocked in the slightest if there were aliens that looked like this. Beyond that, I just wanted the aforementioned dozen theories in total. You cannot prevent me from achieving my incredibly innocuous goals; I wield the power of the keyboard </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> editorship!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">12. It was two Tauros taking part in a Pokémon Contest </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After being decorated in pink glitter and other frilly stuff, Tauros had but one task: dance for the judges! And dance he did; he even danced with another Tauros he was competing against.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let me get something out of the way; the theories today were all fun and games. Like plenty of stories, I typically have to “make up” theories since the sites I find the stories from lack them. What theories are presented tend to be rather biased; the author (or authors) are believers or skeptics in whatever topic we’re discussing. This is normally not the case when I’m covering an unsolved crime, but I digress. Today’s story was a case of me having to throw things at the wall, and I absolutely went overboard for one reason: I have absolutely no idea what this could have been.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">No, this isn’t hyperbole; I am not trying to make some exaggerated bit about how confused I am. I genuinely have no clue—not even the slightest one—as to what in the world this could have been. Although I tend to attempt to rationalize many stories on this blog, I do so because I have a rule when it comes to cases of the paranormal and generally anything that falls under that umbrella. I aim to disprove it first by any and all means necessary; I got this when I watched Ghost Hunters when I was younger. If I cannot disprove it, then there may be something more than meets the eye here.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With this story, there’s evidence beyond the word of a stranger on the Internet. That naturally means I need to take their word at face value. That’s a tall order, but I’m a gullible man who operates a blog on the Internet. So fine, I’ll do that; I have nothing to lose by doing so. Except I do: this story has my head spinning like the Wheel of Fortune. Maybe one day, it will stop on something awesome, but as it stands, there is no stopping it!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, enough rambling. Let me go through the theories as I presented them up in their section. At the very end, I’ll settle on one—maybe. Honestly, I don’t know what I think anymore.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The idea that these were interdimensional beings—as much as I feel odd saying it, is one of the theories that I would be willing to put some Monopoly money on. As absurd as it is to say that given I’ve made it something of a forced meme this month, the level of bizarreness within this story is enough for me to look at this and go, “Yeah, sure, these things were from another dimension.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, there is the issue of Alaina having seen these things, too. While I am of the opinion that coincidences do happen, I find it incredibly implausible that our reality may have overlapped with the same one, and these things just so happened to be doing the exact same thing. Is it possible? I guess, though I believe that’s a lot to ask.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, it’s possible that the beings in that reality do that or that it’s some kind of wildlife. Still, I cannot really wrap my head around such a coincidence happening. To me, it’s the only major issue with the theory, at least, outside of a more glaringly obvious one.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That other issue I have is that I need to take the word of a complete stranger—and one on the Internet at that. If I’ve learned something in my life, it’s that I should seldom, if ever, do that. Though here, I feel like I may as well do it; it’s one of the few times I’ll ever get to do it. So, for once, this theory is one I can actually subscribe to.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second theory—that these were nature spirits—is one I won’t get into. Setting aside the fact that I’m Roman Catholic, I have absolutely no understanding of this concept. What little I did prior to getting COVID and being left with brain fog, I don’t believe I’m in any place to theorize on what spirit this may have been. So, I’m not going to touch this one; sorry to disappoint those who wanted to see me ramble for several paragraphs as I attempted to figure out other belief systems.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on, the theory that these were the ghosts of bulls is one I think is silly. I believe in ghosts, so the idea that the spirits of bulls exist isn’t complete nonsense to me. However, the dancing aspect throws this whole theory into the blender. I genuinely have no idea why the ghosts of two bulls would be dancing. In fact, I don’t even think bulls know what dancing is.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, I could be completely ignorant and have no idea what I’m talking about; I’ve already made it apparent that I am far from the most intelligent person on Earth. So maybe there’s something out there that I don’t know. Maybe animal spirits are prone to dancing. If that’s the case, then this theory would make a tad bit more sense since these two spirits may have (for some inexplicable reason) latched onto Scott. Or maybe I’m growing increasingly desperate for answers to this story. That may be the reason. No, actually, that is the reason.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The fourth theory—that this was a hoax—is one that I think is exceedingly possible. The only thing that holds me back from fully believing it is the fact I haven’t read Scott’s other stories. In order to do that, I’d need to go through Obiwan’s stories; that is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a lot</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> easier said than done since I don’t know what ones are archived, nor do I know how many Scott himself sent in.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, while I think that it’s possible this story is complete hogwash, I feel it would be disingenuous of me to discredit it without at least seeing if it’s as unbelievable as Scott’s other experiences. That said, if it was fake, then this is one of the strangest made-up stories I’ve ever come across, and I would love to know what inspired it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The theory that this was a duo of furries is one I’m torn on. The fact Alaina saw the same figures is the biggest issue, without a doubt. Well, unless two folks were stalking Scott (presumably since it sounds like he met Alaina only after he moved to Ohio). The fact they were seen by both only once, and from a distance, leads me to think this isn’t the case. I also feel there would have been a more concrete conclusion to this: that the duo were doing illegal activities.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, let’s set aside the speculation on illegal happenings. Truth be told, I could actually believe this theory—easily, in fact. I’d chalk the intangible appearances of the figures to the fog, plus the mind of a child being rather unreliable. Scott’s grandmother could have also been taken aback by the odd costumes. The lights, I’d assume we’re nothing more than lamps or something else inside or on the costumes.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I do have to question how on Earth these two were able to dance around in just large costumes, especially without some sort of coolant. But, hey, I don’t know much about furries; maybe some practice moving around in those costumes. If they do, then that’s some dedication to your craft. I wish I could say I spent that much time trying to learn how to write.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The hallucination theory is one that I genuinely cannot, for the life of me, understand. As I said earlier, outside of Carbon Monoxide, I feel Scott would have mentioned if that had been the case since, well, I doubt Carbon Monoxide would only cause this one hallucination before you die from it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Besides that odorless killer, I don’t know what could have caused Scott to hallucinate. Unless he was sick or something else felt bad happened that he failed to mention, I can’t wrap my head around this one. If a doctor or someone else far more knowledgeable happens to read this, I would appreciate a possible explanation.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The theory that they were dancing bulls—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">actual</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> dancing bulls—is one that I honestly made up for laughs. Admittedly, I didn’t know where to take it, but I just wanted it there. Indeed, my level of silliness after a while with this write-up likely went too far, but I care not. This was a story I wanted to have fun with since I wrote it in the wake of a severe mental health crisis, so please excuse my excessive goofiness. Though if anyone knows if bulls are capable of dancing, I would love to know!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for the theory that this was some sort of incredibly strange evolution of bull, I just made that one up for my own amusement. Like I said, I wrote this in the wake of a mental health crisis, so please excuse the absurdism. It’s worth noting that I wrote every story this month out of order (something I did during Decemystery 2021), so this was written in August. It’s going to be really surreal if I ever reread this in the future and see how my mentality varies so wildly. It’ll be like a time capsule mixed with a swirly straw.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on, though, I don’t think these were bulls that escaped some facility or even actual bulls. Last I checked, they lack the ability to disappear; unless there’s a species of bovine out there that can camouflage, I have no doubt in my mind that these were real bulls.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for the facility part, I don’t get why the US government would be experimenting on bulls to make them dance unless zoos were in desperate need of new attractions. Though I don’t get why this would be what they would have settled on, the mere concept of dancing bulls seems rather silly. Maybe it was for circuses, but again, that seems rather silly. I can think of plenty of other ways to attract people than dancing bulls. I also question how these things would escape unless this dance allowed them to vanish. Though if that’s the case, surely someone would have called in when they were visible.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I digress, though; I don’t want to harp on that one thing like I’m MauLer (even if I thoroughly enjoy his content). Moving on, I don’t think they were aliens. As I said, I inserted that theory more as a way to get to a dozen theories, though I also know that many stories like this sound alien in nature. There have also been so many different kinds of aliens we’ve discussed on this blog that it’s honestly hard for me to not think that these things weren’t aliens. In fact, to some degree, I have to wonder if they were extraterrestrial in nature.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The main issue with this theory is the lack of any UFO sightings. Generally, stories like this coincide with reports of strange lights in the sky. So, for this story to be an apparent one-off makes me doubt this. This also goes for Alaina’s encounter, which lacks anything else beyond her seeing these things and then nothing else.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Last but certainly not least is the theory that these were a group of Tauros. This one seems very plausible. I like it. Yup, there is nothing wrong here; case closed.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, after all of that rambling, what do I think this was? I still don’t know. No, really, I still have no idea. If you forced me to pick, though, I guess I’d say interdimensional entities. Go ahead and ring a bell, like Chase Elliott’s won a NASCAR race; I’ve finally caved and have accepted interdimensional beings as the explanation! By golly, I think Hell has frozen over! But truthfully, I don’t feel comfortable with any of the other theories as it stands. My friends are going to look at me like I’m a lunatic.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On one final note, it’s been a while since this section has been this long. My self-conscious levels are off the charts; I hope none of you minded!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This ended up being significantly longer than I expected. Seriously, I thought this would be only a few thousand words long. It’s almost always the stories I think will be short that end up being longer than James Cameron’s Titanic. Oh well, no big deal; I hope you all enjoyed this story! And as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p></div>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-4825308050876185752023-12-30T06:00:00.011-05:002023-12-30T06:00:00.143-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 30: The Giant Lunar Spider<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.YLyC_hacYoxXyhQYjrUMOAHaFx?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="474" height="311" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.YLyC_hacYoxXyhQYjrUMOAHaFx?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-af862060-7fff-e91c-5710-92c1ed053530"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve made it no secret that I am deathly scared of spiders. I cannot stand the sight of them; if I see one—even a small one—I will freak out and ask someone to kill it for me. In spite of that fear, though, I find them fascinating, and as I said earlier this month, stories of giant spiders remain one of my favorite topics to read about. I guess it’s my adoration for horror; being scared is quite fun. Well, it’s fun when the thing that’s doing the scaring isn’t anywhere close to me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the case of today’s story, the thing doing the scaring is nowhere close to me—or any of us, for that matter. Rather, it’s on Earth’s closest neighbor, the Moon! So, for the penultimate story of Decemystery 2022.3, we have the otherworldly account of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Giant Lunar Spider</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">! Come along, dear reader, and get ready to experience a whole new level of arachnophobia!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fly Me to the Moon</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just like a great many stories from this month, I found this on sustained_disgust’s </span><a href="https://icebergcharts.com/i/Obscure_Unsolved_Mysteries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obscure Unsolved Mysteries Iceberg</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; I’m beginning to think that iceberg needs its own tag so people who visit it can find write-ups for the entries on it. I’ll consider it. Anyway, the entry has a link to a podcast called </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Z28PRJiVBSvaHQkjg1TlC" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Monsters Among Us</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which I hadn’t listened to until writing this. From what I listened to, it’s a great podcast and more than worth your time if you like cryptids and general High Strangeness topics. Today’s account—which was first told </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Z28PRJiVBSvaHQkjg1TlC" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in an episode from March of 2018</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—begins at 36:50 for those who want to listen to it for themselves.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, full disclaimer: I’m conveying this from the podcast; there is no written account of this. So, just to make things absolutely clear, all of this comes from the show’s host, Derek Hayes. I say this because I had an unnecessarily difficult time trying to figure out how I wanted to format this. In the end, I’m going with my regular style of just retelling the story in my own words. Never let it be said that I understand the term, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our story begins “7 or 8 years ago” (2012 or 2011) in Big Bear City, California, which is in southern California. A part of San Bernardino County and 27 miles (46 kilometers) from San Bernardino itself, Big Bear City has a population of 12,738 as of the 2020 census. Remember this for later since it’s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">extremely</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> important. Anyways, it’s here where our eyewitness—who called herself Clarissa—resided. Side note: I don’t know if that was a pseudonym or not. It probably isn’t, as Clarissa later claimed that the podcast was recommended to her by Derek’s fiancé, Sarah.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, one day, Clarissa had six friends come to visit. The group went to the “north shore” of a lake to go fishing and to spend time together. It’s here where Clarissa and another friend—Jordan—would see the titular creature.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">About an hour before sundown, Clarissa noticed some bats “zip around.” This drew her attention to the sky, where she saw our friendly neighbor, the Moon. She described it as “big and bright,” despite the Sun not having set yet, and that it was “a little bigger than a half moon.” As she looked up at our celestial neighbor, Clarissa claimed to have seen something; it was “three-quarters the size of the Moon,” but lacked any sort of distinguishing features. This thing was an enormous, black spider.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Or, well, it was kind of like a spider.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To briefly hit the brakes, Clarissa’s description of this thing isn’t like that of a spider—not in the scientific sense. Spiders, like scorpions, are arachnids; they have eight legs. Insects, meanwhile, have six legs. According to Clarissa, this creature—which she compared to a “black spider’s shadow”—had either four or six legs. In spite of this discrepancy, I’ll still be referring to the figure as a spider on account of the story’s title. Still, I thought I would make a note of this.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hitting the gas pedal once more, the unholy abomination quickly skittered from the dark side of the Moon and made its way across the “bright side” before disappearing around the right-hand side. Clarissa noted that it “never extended past the Moon,” but instead “wrapped around it.” I have to admit, that mental image is utterly terrifying and makes me squirm.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Luckily for Clarissa, she wasn’t the only one who saw this thing. As I said before, a friend of hers named Jordan also saw it. The two both confirmed what the other had seen. Unfortunately, no one else saw it. Upon checking the Internet later, Clarissa found no reports of anyone else claiming to see the spider-like figure. In the end, Clarissa submitted her story in case any other reports came in down the line. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And with that, our story comes to a close; Clarissa never saw the giant spider-like shadow-thing again, nor does it appear to have appeared for anyone else. Such a fact makes me unbelievably happy because I love space travel, and I do not want space to be filled with creatures of this size.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, even though our story is over, I want to go over one other thing. So, before we jump into the theories, let’s talk about a movie!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Life Imitates Art (or vice-versa)</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is something that sprang to mind when I initially saw this story on the iceberg, and I wanted to mention it here because I found it interesting. Back in 2011, a film was set to be released entitled </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Apollo 18</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. It was a found footage horror movie about an eighteenth Apollo mission; officially, there were only 17. Now, this was around the title that Paranormal Activity was at the height of its popularity, and everyone wanted a piece of that found footage pie. Just scrape together the bare minimum to get some actors and a set, and then you can dump the movie in theaters. Odds are, it would make a profit. Thanks, Oren Peli!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the case of Apollo 18, though, things were different. Instead of a movie about ghosts—incorporeal beings that you can’t see—there were aliens! Aliens are—more often than not—physical entities you can see. This was evident in the first poster released for the movie; take a look at it below.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.IJGPb5n1Awogwnt8aO0ckgHaK8?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="474" height="400" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.IJGPb5n1Awogwnt8aO0ckgHaK8?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" width="271" /></span></a></div><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have to admit, that poster is really eye-catching. It also helps that the release date was going to be my birthday, which had me quite hyped at the time. I like found footage movies, astronomy, conspiracy theories, and horror. So, this movie sounded like it would be right up my alley. Alas, it was not meant to be; Apollo 18 got delayed—a lot. It was delayed five times before finally being released on September 2, 2011. Additionally, Wikipedia “moved ten times.” I’m guessing this means that its release date was shifted an additional five times, but I can’t remember if this was true or not. This was twelve years ago, and honestly, my memory of that time is hazy at best.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Regardless, I bring this movie up for a few reasons. For starters, I think it’s a bit underrated; while the film didn’t get good reviews, I enjoyed it for what it was. There were some genuinely decent moments, and the idea behind the movie was pretty solid in my eyes. Sure, there are plenty of things I can (and absolutely would) criticize, but the idea of killer aliens on the Moon that slaughtered some astronauts is a terrifying idea. Though I’m not here to review a movie, no, I’m here to bring up an odd similarity between this movie and Clarissa’s sighting. This means there’s going to be a spoiler for this decade-old movie; feel free to skip to the theories if you want.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Are you good?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Are you sure?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, let’s get to the spoilers!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You see, the aliens in Apollo 18 are spiders; well, sort of. The rocks on the Moon—or at least some of them—are spider-like beings that infect the astronauts and eventually kill them. This is a </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">stark</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> contrast to that poster I showed above, which, to me, makes it seem like it’s going to be something akin to a clawed monstrosity and not a creepy crawler. Admittedly, that may have at one point been the case; Apollo 18’s script was supposedly being rewritten during shooting. Bob and I believe Harvey Weinstein had a hand in the film’s production, and both are notorious for meddling with movies they helped produce (like </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Scream 4</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though I digress, I think this section has gone on for too long. My point is: Given the film’s release in 2011, though, I can’t help but find the sighting of a gargantuan spider on the Moon to be a rather amusing coincidence. As for Apollo 18, I’ll write about it next year in full—hopefully. I would like to do more </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What Could Have Been</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> write-ups; it’s been over two years since the last one. Until then, let’s finally get to the theories!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. Clarissa and Jordan were drunk</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I left this detail out from the end of the story so I could discuss it here—albeit extremely briefly. According to Clarissa, she and Jordan had both had some alcohol, but not enough to do much as be tipsy. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">From what I know, alcohol can cause hallucinations, but it’s very rare. Personally, I imagine if you drank so much that you saw a spider-like being crawl across the Moon, you would be seeing a lot more, like a hospital, so you could get your stomach pumped. Nevertheless, it’s possible this was the case; I could also be wrong, and it only takes a bit of alcohol to hallucinate. If that is the case, let me know!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. A hoax</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll freely admit I don’t believe this theory to be the case, given the apparent connection between Clarissa and Derek’s fiancé. However, it’s still a possibility, and let’s face it, nobody is ever mature enough to not pull a prank. I mean, I screw with my friends all the time. If one hosted a podcast, there’s a good chance I would submit a story to mess with them for a cheap laugh on my end.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, that’s solely coming from me, and I know myself pretty well. I don’t know Clarissa, and I really do not want to accuse a stranger of perpetrating a hoax. I’m not someone who likes to accuse people of being liars or a hoaxer until I’m absolutely confident they’re full of it. In this case, I have no reason to believe that Clarissa was fabricating this. She has nothing to gain from it—not that I can see. I mean, as I said before, Derek’s fiancé recommended the show to her. Unless she really wanted to screw with him, I don’t get why she would make this up. Oh well, moving on before I go in circles like a dog chasing its tail!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Some gargantuan interdimensional arachnid</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As exhausted as it may be by this point, it’s hard for me to not use this theory here. The claim that many cryptids—and High Strangeness creatures as a whole—are from another dimension demands it! Of course, I understand if you want to throw a rock at me for putting this forward once again.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given the sheer impossible size of this thing, this theory has some firm ground to stand upon. Of course, if you don’t believe in the idea of alternate dimensions or realities (or both), then you toss it in the trash. If you do, however, then I feel it would depend on if the laws of physics are the same there. If they are, then this theory is implausible across the board—and the interdimensional board.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. An alien</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You know, as I’m beginning this theory, I’m getting paranoid and anxious at the thought of spiders. As it turns out, my fixation with stories of giant arachnids still fills me with terror. It mystifies me as to why people consider me “smart” when I do this to myself.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is as straightforward as it gets: it was an alien. Whether or not you want to consider it anything like the creepy crawlers from Apollo 18 is entirely on you. The main point is that this was some sort of alien life form on our closest neighbor. That’s by no means a novel idea; there are a </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ton</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of theories—be they conspiratorial in nature or not—that aliens reside on the Moon. Heck, there’s a popular claim that the Nazis made it to the Moon and live there now! That theory was also used as the basis for a movie, 2012’s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Iron Sky</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve made it no secret that I firmly believe in the existence of aliens, though I am extremely skeptical of alien abductions. In the case of aliens on the Moon, I’m also highly skeptical. I do think aliens have visited Earth—I see absolutely no reason for them to not want to see what life on another planet is like. However, taking up residence on the Moon not only seems very risky (given if we found them, that could cause a pretty dicey situation) but to bring their Moon-sized pet spider with them would be bizarre. It would also reveal that they took up shop there and would garner some potentially unwanted attention.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On one final note, there’s also the matter of how a creature of that size is simply way too big to exist. But I already went over this, so I won’t repeat myself. Just know that the odds of this being an extraterrestrial are quite slim. However, if everything we know about physics is wrong, then it becomes considerably more possible! I’m not sure about the plausibility aspect, though.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. A bat that flew in front of the two</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve already said it this month, but I have mistaken things for being bigger than they really are when I don’t get a good look at them. It also happens when I’m taken by surprise. As such, this is a theory of my own, and I don’t think it’s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">that</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> crazy. Then again, I’m relatively biased in that regard.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To me, it’s well within the realm of reason for someone to get shocked and think they saw something else, especially if it went by incredibly quickly. Given my own experiences with mistaking various creepy crawlers for something else or for being way larger than they actually are, I can see Clarissa and Jordan mistaking a bat for whatever this was. Though, again, I am a bit biased. After all, it’s a theory of my own making.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. Something went by the Moon and cast a shadow across it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This was a theory that Derek put forward, and it’s one I’m torn on. Assuming it was a funnily-shaped space rock, I feel that it should have made the news in some capacity and that amateur astronomers would have noticed it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Alternatively, it could have been a UFO that made the shadow. Even with the “disclosure” stuff going on, I doubt there would be confirmation of this thing’s existence, given its apparent size. I doubt any government official would want to reveal that a gargantuan UFO was anywhere close to Earth; that would cause an absurd amount of panic.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nevertheless, this theory is extremely plausible. I just question how nobody else saw it. Unless, of course, they were told to remain quiet on the matter.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. J’ba Fofi became an astronaut</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In an act of defiance, one J’ba Fofi became an astronaut; what was seen was its very first trek across the lunar surface.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll be blunt here: no, I don’t think this thing exists. There is absolutely no way that a creature of this size cannot possibly exist. Not only would it be crushed under its own weight, it would probably screw up the Moon’s orbit; it would also have no food. This thing, plain and simple, is not real. If it’s some interdimensional abomination, then I guess its mass didn’t come with it since it didn’t obliterate the entire solar system with said mass.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, even then, that requires the dimension it’s from to allow for something of such size to exist. Assuming the laws of physics are not the same across all dimensions and realities, then sure, fine. Maybe our reality overlapped with another, and two people briefly bore witness to the horrors of another world. However, do I think this was an actual thing from our world? No, absolutely not. I’d sooner believe that the Earth is flat before I believe that there’s a spider that can be seen crawling across the entire Moon. I also refuse to believe that absolutely no one other than these two people saw it. To paraphrase CinemaSins, “Nobody who watches the sky for a living saw this thing?”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, I don’t know where I stand on what Clarissa saw. Assuming she wasn’t lying for whatever reason, I’d hazard a guess and say she saw a bat fly in front of her, didn’t get a good look at it, and thought it was some sort of enormous spider. Given the claim of how quick it was and the apparent lack of any features, I can imagine a bat may have zipped in front of her and Jordan, and they were taken aback and thought they saw something else.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Alternatively, the idea that something passed in front of the Moon is extremely plausible to me. In fact, it’s arguably more likely since—unless Clarissa and Jordan were tipsier than they claim—it would be a bit silly to mistake a bat for a giant spider. Either way, that’s where I stand on the story. I know it isn’t the most exciting explanation, but I’m not sure there exists any biological creature the size of a celestial body. Still, it’s an interesting story and definitely one of the more unsettling to imagine.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This was a really difficult story to write about; I kept looking around, expecting to see an eight-legged horror on my wall or somewhere close to me. Heck, even now, I’m feeling paranoid. Though luckily, the abomination we discussed today cannot possibly be real. At least, I hope it can’t; I know it could be a reality in my dreams, and that is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">more</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> than bad enough. However, I would love to know what your thoughts are on this case and if you think that there’s somehow some truth to it. Let me know in the comments below. And as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></span></p><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-19594436884301882322023-12-29T07:00:00.028-05:002023-12-29T07:00:00.135-05:00Decemystery (2023) 29: The Light with a Thousand Voices<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwdDo7aWIAAtct5?format=jpg&name=small" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="630" height="166" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwdDo7aWIAAtct5?format=jpg&name=small" width="400" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-d96079b0-7fff-99e8-1eff-b489e1021c31"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’d like to take this moment to say that the header image for this write-up has absolutely nothing to do with the story itself. I had it picked out months upon months ago when this was going to be about a much different case but ultimately decided to hold off on covering it until a future date. However, I loved the close-up image of the owl from the film “The Fourth Kind” so much that I opted to keep it. It’s one of the very few things about that movie I actually like.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, why did I go on a paragraph-long tangent about that movie? Well, you see, I have absolutely no conceivable way to introduce this story. With this story, I could not—in any natural way—begin it without forcing the writing process to begin. The only way I could get everything in motion was a tangent; that’s the only way, in my eyes, this write-up could begin </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">naturally</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When I plan out Decemysterys, I like to save the weirdest for last, specifically the final week, since I like to round out the year with a week of extraordinary strangeness. The thing is that this month has had a lot—and I mean a whole dang lot—of weird stories. To try and say that the last week of this month was any stranger than the previous weeks of this month would be ridiculously hard to sell.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think the perfect example would be one of the first stories we covered this month, that of </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2023/12/decemystery-2023-4-bagodemon.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Bagodemon.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> That monstrosity, whether you agreed with my assessment of it being a hoax or not, was said to move around by launching its arm at trees and sticking to them like it was made of gum. To call that “strange” would be like saying the Tsar Bomba was a firecracker.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, today’s story is one that I cannot begin to introduce to you. It’s not a story that can be “described” or be eased into. It’s something that you just need to experience; you need to read it for yourself in order to bask in the incomprehensible madness that it offers. It sounds like something out of an H.P. Lovecraft story; someone awakes to see a radiant light, and within it, he hears a thousand voices in it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was a story I randomly found while combing through NUFORC’s archives. My hope was to find an easy UFO sighting to write about so I could finish this month’s write-ups quickly. Instead, I found… whatever the heck this story was. So come along, dear reader, as we explore the story of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Light with a Thousand Voices</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Blinded by the Light</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As stated in the intro, </span><a href="https://nuforc.org/sighting/?id=56269" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found this story on NUFORC</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (National UFO Reporting Center). For the uninitiated, they investigate UFO and extraterrestrial reports; they’re unaffiliated with the United States government. I’ve refrained from explaining what NUFORC is most of the times that I’ve mentioned them this month because their name is self-explanatory. They research UFOs; that’s really all you need to know.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The thing is, this case has absolutely nothing to do with UFOs. At least not directly. As you’ll see later, the eyewitness—whom I will refer to as Marcus for this write-up—</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">might</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> have seen an alien in his room. For now, though, let’s start at the beginning.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our story took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia, on June 1, 1997, but was submitted on April 17, 2007. Remember this for later, as it’s extremely important. Anyway, Marcus’ tale began at around 1:00 a.m. (hey, I don’t need to tell my 24-hour time-readers what time it was!) when he found himself suddenly awoken. He bolted upright in his bed, which was adjacent to his grandfather’s room.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why Marcus had awoken, he didn’t know, but he was “sweating and breathing hard.” So, evidently, something scared him awake. Yet, as far as he could see, there was no reason for such an unwanted intrusion on his beauty sleep. Still, he speculated that he “may have been afraid” or sensed imminent danger.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It wouldn’t take long for Marcus’ belief to be confirmed. Shortly after he awoke, his room was suddenly filled with a brilliant light, which poured in from his room’s windows, one of which was directly in front of his bed. Interestingly, this light did not quickly illuminate the room. Rather, it was “much slower” than “conventional light.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I want to hit the brakes for a moment here because this desperately needs to be addressed. Given that this story is from Bolivia, I’m willing to bet that Marcus’ native language isn’t English. As a result, I’m almost certain that what I’m about to say is a byproduct of that. Nevertheless, I must ask what, exactly, he meant by the light filling his room at a slower speed than “conventional light.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As most, if not all, of you are aware, light is the fastest thing in the universe. It travels at a speed of 671 million miles per hour (a little over 1 billion kilometers per hour). By all accounts, the light should have filled Marcus’ room instantly. Otherwise, filling it “much slower” is a broad statement since </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">everything</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is slower than light.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I want to say that what Marcus meant was that the light slowly seeped in, kind of like when you slowly open the door to a dark room. Normally, light would fill a room instantly; you would never notice it filling. It’s just there; you cannot observe it the way you could observe water fill a room.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Should my assumption about the light-into-a-dark-room analogy be correct, this raises an important question: was the light passing through any curtains? Or was the source of said light descending or ascending, since we don’t know </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">where</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> it first appeared?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The only reason I harped on this aspect is my obsession with astronomy; I once wanted to be an astronomer, and there are some details that stick out to me. Light is one of them. While I’m not a scientist, saying that something is slower than light sticks out to me since, as I said before, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">everything </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">is slower than light.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, let’s move on from that tangent since I don’t desire to begin repeating myself. Aside from how the light was slower than normal in filling his room, Marcus also noted that it wasn’t blinding. This is arguably the most vital detail when it comes to tying this case to extraterrestrials, as some abductees have mentioned a bright light that doesn’t blind them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unlike those abductees, Marcus didn’t find himself lifted out of his bed or transported into a medical room with crazy machinery. Instead, he remained in his bedroom, gripped with terror and finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. He also found that he wasn’t able to call for his grandfather; he attempted to yell, but no sound came out. Keep this in mind for later because it’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">extremely</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> important.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unable to call for help, Marcus looked around his bedroom. He noticed that “the light seemed to suck all the color out of everything,” which left “only a black outline and white where color should be.” I have to admit that I don’t really understand what he meant here, but I want to say that the various objects in his bedroom were represented by black outlines, while everything else was white, like they’d been outlined with a sharpie. If I’m wrong, feel free to let me know, but I think this is what he meant.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After a bit, Marcus was filled with a “terrifying sense” that he was the only one in his home who was awake—and that he wasn’t supposed to be awake. It was at this point that the aliens realized they forgot to fill the anesthesia machine with an anesthetic, and they’d actually filled it with smoke for a fog machine. Silly aliens, you’re gonna make them feel like they’re in the film </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Mist</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Joking about criminally underrated horror films aside, Marcus soon heard “what sounded like a thousand people whispering.” Indeed, the title of this write-up wasn’t hyperbole or clickbait. In Marcus’ own words, he could hear the whisper of a thousand people. However, he also likened it to what he imagined “inhumanly large power lines buzzing with electricity” may sound like. I actually looked this up and found a video on YouTube of power lines buzzing (see below), and I can’t imagine that a thousand people whispering sounds anything like it.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gQI1jLi_f74" width="320" youtube-src-id="gQI1jLi_f74"></iframe></div><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After “what seemed like an eternity,” Marcus saw the “shadow of a figure” creep across his window, the “impression” of its body passing by. It was at this moment that Marcus realized that he wasn’t dreaming; he was awake, and this was really happening.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Then, as suddenly as it began, the light receded, plunging his room back into darkness. Once it was gone, Marcus found himself “sweating profusely and cringing.” Being a sensible man, he did the natural thing and wrapped himself in his blankets. At some point, Marcus finally got back to sleep—he estimated it took him “hours” to do so.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All told, this event lasted four minutes. Given the circumstances surrounding this case, that’s quite a while, and I have to wonder how he remembered the amount of time it lasted a decade after it occurred. Unless he was guessing, it’s not stated in the report.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As unfortunate as it is, that’s where the case ends. We’re not told if Marcus ever told any of his friends or family about the surreal experience. That genuinely frustrates me because I have to wonder if maybe someone else in the house awoke at the same time and experienced this but opted not to discuss it. That’s not unheard of—I mean, this case is proof of that—and I wish Marcus told us.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Alas, without anything else to go on, that brings us to the end of this case and the gateway to the theories. Given the vague nature of this mystery, there are a considerable number of theories for us to go over. In fact, I could likely dig through my treasure trove of wild possibilities and have somewhere around 15 if I tried hard enough. However, since I’m writing this the night before this goes up (thanks, procrastination), I’ll refrain from going overboard.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, without further ado, let’s dive bomb into the theories and have ourselves a grand time!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. Aliens</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our inaugural theory is the one that I expected to subscribe to when I first came across this case. After all, I found it on NUFORC, so it would stand to reason that this had to do with aliens, right? Well, let’s take a quick gander at this because I think it warrants a bit of scrutiny.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">First of all, the shadow that Marcus saw wasn’t given a clear description. Granted, the way he described it made it sound like he couldn’t discern its appearance. But aliens—especially the classic Greys—have a very iconic appearance. Their heads have to have about 85% of their body mass, and their eyes are large enough that you could mistake them for dartboards if you put little numbers on them. It’d be impossible to mistake them for anything!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Next, I’ve never heard of an alien encounter or alien abduction that involved hearing “a thousand voices.” I’ve heard of telepathically communicating with aliens, but never “I decided to open 1,000 tabs on my computer and listen to 1,000 different songs.” That sounds like an interesting experiment, though, and I have to imagine it would hurt my ears.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite those two issues, there is one thing going for this theory—and it’s a major point in its favor. A lot of alien abduction cases involve the abductee seeing a white light—one that’s described as not hurting their eyes. Is it a universal thing? No, but it is a thing that’s been reported.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s possible that maybe, just maybe, someone else in Marcus’ house was abducted, and he somehow awoke when he wasn’t meant to. How likely is that? Well, despite my ardent belief in extraterrestrial life, I’ve never been a big believer in alien abduction. I’ve often wondered why aliens would bother abducting random people. However, we do dissect frogs, and I’m sure frogs wonder why we dissect them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Overall, though, that’s the only way I can see this working. However, I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock in it—at least, I personally wouldn’t. I’ve never heard of an alien abduction case where someone else awoke in another room and experienced the bright light phenomenon but nothing else. If someone can point me in the direction of a similar case, though, I would be ecstatic to read up on it!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. A night terror</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When I dream, I prefer happy dreams. Take a guess how often that happens. If your answer was “not often,” you would be correct! Have a make-believe bottle of water from yours truly.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Night terrors are those things you get that make the day suck because you slept terribly. They’re intense, scary, and are all around unpleasant. They can be caused by stress and other outside effects. I actually looked up the reasons for them, and there are </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a lot</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of causes. No wonder I’m prone to them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is easily the most likely theory for a multitude of reasons. The first and foremost reason, in my eyes, is that when Marcus tried to call out for his grandfather, nothing came out. This is a textbook case of “dream logic” and something I’ve experienced more times than I care to count. I either try to say something, yell, or produce any sort of sound, yet nothing comes out. Or, if something does, it’s this weirdly muted noise that reminds me of trying to talk underwater.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There’s also the matter of him regaining control of his body when the light receded. You can argue that the light was some kind of nerve agent employed by aliens, but I’ve woken up when night terrors hit a weird climax. Given Marcus said he saw a weird shadow figure before waking up, and I’ve had similar night terrors that involve scary beings, I’d say that’s a point in the theory’s favor. Though, hey, I freely admit that that’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> biased.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The main flaw with the theory is that you’d think Marcus would know if he was dreaming; he would have likely woken up in a different position, not sitting upright like when he “woke up” the first time. I actually agree, but I believe there’s an explanation for that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As I said at the start, Marcus submitted his account in 2007. This incident happened in 1997, a decade earlier. That’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">far</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> more than enough time to have forgotten a critical detail like waking up from the night terror. If something triggered the memory, it’s possible that he completely forgot it was a dream. Especially if, at the time, he was very young. Marcus never gave his age in the report, so I have no idea how old he was.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Overall, I’d say this theory is extremely likely, but it isn’t the final one. So, rather than prolong this, let’s continue onward.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Sleep paralysis</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh, look, it’s my favorite experience known to mankind. I sure do love to have this. It in no way, shape, or form makes me want to scream until my lungs implode like dying stars.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For those of you who don’t know, I have a very unpleasant history of sleep paralysis. I’ve had it numerous times, and every single time, it makes me miserable the following day. That may explain why I’m such a miserable human being. That, or it comes with having been born and raised in New York. You decide, dear reader!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Because of my history of sleep paralysis, I would consider myself an unlicensed professional in what may or may not be sleep paralysis. The keyword there is “unlicensed,” so don’t take anything I say with any level of doctoral authority—seriously. Even though I’m not actually going to provide medical suggestions or diagnoses, I still don’t want anyone to think I’m an actual doctor.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sleep paralysis occurs when a part of your brain wakes up, making you aware, but another part is still asleep. So, you’re paralyzed, but not in the sense your spine decided to suck at breakdancing without your permission.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given the whole “paralysis” thing, it’s unlikely that Marcus jolted awake and then had sleep paralysis. In fact, I don’t even know if you can have sleep paralysis while sitting upright. If you can, the detail Marcus gave about having difficulty breathing is in line with sleep paralysis. That’s a very common symptom of it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, I have no idea if it’s common for people to see bright light while experiencing it. I’ve never once had that happen; I’ve seen “sleep paralysis demons” several times, but never </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">anything</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> like this. I don’t want to immediately dismiss everything because I’ve never experienced it, though, so I’d say that there could maybe be a really odd set of circumstances that happened to lead to this happening. But it feels a tad unlikely.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A hoax</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll keep this theory brief on account of it being extremely self-explanatory. If you don’t already know, I tend to hesitate when labeling something as a hoax if there’s no apparent gain to be had from perpetrating said hoax.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In this case, I cannot think of anything that was gained from it. Of course, it’s always possible it was made up as a joke. Someone may have wanted to see if they could get their story onto a UFO website. Perhaps they wanted to prove to a friend or family member that UFO sites will publish anything.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, there’s no way to prove that. So, like many instances of this theory, it’ll really boil down to whether or not you believe Marcus’ claim. Given the nature of this story, that should be just as easily done as it is said. After all, this story is nothing if not outlandishly fantastical.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. An angel</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This was a theory that I considered nixing, but a friend of mine brought it up, and as a result, I felt more inclined to keep it. I’ve heard of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">many</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> cases where people say they’ve received messages from deceased loved ones, angels, or even Jesus. Heck, a few claim that God Himself has spoken to them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">These “messages” have numerous explanations. Of course, some believe them to be genuine. I’m a religious man, and I certainly am not opposed to the idea of receiving a message from a deceased loved one. Though I do often wonder why an angel or Jesus would come to a random person to deliver a message, that’s not relevant here.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Another explanation is that these are merely dreams. A lot of these “messages” are received while someone is sleeping. This is sometimes actually presented as proof that the messages are real and that when we dream, we can communicate with higher beings and whatnot. This idea is one that I would love to do a full-blown write-up on in the future, so for now, just understand that you can use it to either disprove these messages or prove them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The third explanation that I’ll mention, and the final one, is mental illness. In some cases, illnesses such as schizophrenia can result in a person claiming they’ve spoken to God or they can hear God talk to them. It’s, unfortunately, something that’s been known to happen, and it can drive people to do terrible things.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The reason I went over these possibilities is that this theory definitely has some root merit at first glance. Should you believe in this concept, it fits the bill of the first theory. However, there’s one very glaring flaw and one that goes against what people typically claim when they speak with an angel. Namely, they don’t experience an overwhelming fear.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While memes about “Biblically accurate angels” tend to lean into the line “be not afraid,” we can safely say that this wasn’t one of them. If anything, it sounds closer to a demon or shadow person—or sleep paralysis demon that, somehow, got a hold of a search helicopter’s light.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unfortunately, I know of no story involving someone seeing a demon that not only lasted one night but was anything like this. So, if this was a demonic encounter, it’s truly one-of-a-kind. If it was an angel, then it’s the only time I can think of someone being scared out of their mind after seeing it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I also have no idea why they heard all of those voices—or the sounds of electricity. The only explanation I can think of is that the angel wished to drive Marcus insane by giving him a thousand messages to deliver to various people. Personally, I think that would be quite a cruel thing to do to someone.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. An interdimensional being of light</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory was one I figured I would add primarily for entertainment value; I doubt it holds any water, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include another “interdimensional being” theory this month. Go ahead, hate me if you will, but I want this year to end on a high note.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As we’ve discussed numerous times this month, the concept of interdimensional beings is one that I certainly view as possible but am usually quite hesitant to subscribe to. With this case, I doubt it’s the answer. I’ve never heard of a case where an interdimensional entity brought a light show with them. Nor am I familiar with any that were this dreamlike.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, it’s possible that this was a one-of-a-kind encounter with a truly wondrous (not to mention terrifying) interdimensional being. However, if you asked me to put money on it, I’d pass. It doesn’t align with what I personally have read and heard in my time researching these types of cases.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. Light when you’re half-asleep</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That’s it; that’s the meme theory. Don’t deny it; you’ve woken up in the middle of the night, and everything feels like it’s a thousand times brighter than normal. Don’t even get me started on noise!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you ask me, I think Marcus had an extremely vivid night terror. Speaking from experience, night terrors have a tendency to just begin. I’ve had dreams that have turned into them out of nowhere; shortly before I wake up, something unbelievably horrifying and vivid happens, and I find myself jolting awake. There’s no rhyme or reason; it just happens.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If I had to guess how this all went down, I’d say that Marcus was asleep until the “light” vanished. After that, he awoke. Odds are, he didn’t fully realize it because of his panic. Again, to speak from personal experience, I’ve had night terrors that I’ve woken up from and felt were real. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Marcus felt the same way and still did a decade after the fact when reminiscing on it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, assuming that this wasn’t the case, I really don’t know where I’d fall on this matter. The story strikes me as too bizarre to be a hoax, and it doesn’t align with alien encounters. Unless someone else in the house was abducted, and this was the first case of someone else being woken up by a nearby alien abduction, it doesn’t fit the bill in my eyes.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It doesn’t feel like an angelic encounter on account of the terror Marcus felt. I feel that, if this were an angel, he would have felt at peace and ease. I doubt he would have wanted to scream and run away in a frenzied panic. Unless this was </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsT6Ld-IOZk&ab_channel=SamSatheesh" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a fallen angel</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, but I digress. That’s a story for another time.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The sleep paralysis theory, meanwhile, is arguably the most plausible, but I’ve never heard of an episode of it like this. I’ve also had it countless times in my life, and I’ve </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">never</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> had anything like this. Though I’m not the only person on Earth to have had it, so I wouldn’t be shocked to learn if this was something that could happen.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As a result, if I had to have a secondary take, I would settle on sleep paralysis. Maybe some really weird circumstances happened where it produced this odd photo-negative effect, and Marcus ended up seeing Mister Negative. There’s a comic book reference for all you comic fans out there. Take it to the bank and relish in it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And so, with that, another Decemystery comes to a close; this one was truly one of the most dumbfounding cases I’ve ever come across. To call it wild would be an understatement. But I’ve already spoken enough about what I think and how I feel about it—</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">far</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> more than enough. Yet, in spite of that, I have to admit that I loved writing about it every step of the way.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are few cases that manage to make me feel as alive and happy as this one did. There was never a moment where I felt bored, frustrated, or eager to just finish it—well, barring how this is being written the day before it goes up. Aside from that, though, this is a case I would love to revisit for the sole purpose of reliving the sheer fun I had with it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I wish to know what you believe happened to Marcus. Was this a night terror? Sleep paralysis? Aliens? Leave a comment and all that fun stuff. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-26296929090275143132023-12-29T06:00:00.012-05:002023-12-29T06:00:00.137-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 29: The Vampire Caterpillar of Scotland<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/RUP-BTzuAOPHwpkxfZQV0-SkfiThlkh4mH-CbuExn2v1bExBnxZAxmavBdXweoqTs9YrqSkQeKMNwJpMGRQsXA=s1200" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/RUP-BTzuAOPHwpkxfZQV0-SkfiThlkh4mH-CbuExn2v1bExBnxZAxmavBdXweoqTs9YrqSkQeKMNwJpMGRQsXA=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div> <div><span id="docs-internal-guid-1b81ff04-7fff-51bb-f95f-d30936190106"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A needless bit of detail: I’m listening to “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith while I write this. A lovely piece of music for a story like this; it’s my specialty to have inappropriate background noise while writing about absolute silliness.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As I have said countless times, I pick some stories solely for the name. It’s just how I operate; I know that plenty of folks gravitate toward eye-catching titles. Trust me; I have friends I talk to—they’re just Internet friends. Nonetheless, if I ask them which story piques their interest more, ones like </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Space Penguins of Tuscumbia </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">will be chosen over </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Kecksburg UFO Incident</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> nine times out of ten.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Names carry a lot of weight, and that’s one reason I chose today’s story. With a name like </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Vampire Caterpillar of Scotland</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, how could you not want to learn about it? Vampires are awesome, and caterpillars are interesting. Put them together, and you have an unbeatable duo! Right? Well, the only way to find out is to dive into this enigmatic tale of vampirism in the form of a giant creepy crawly! Also, I choked on a piece of a chocolate chip cookie shortly before writing this part. Still listening to Aerosmith, by the way.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Blood For the Blood Caterpillar, Skulls For the Skull Butterfly!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, here’s something quirky about today’s story. I found it on the ObscUrban Legend Wiki, which you should be familiar with if you’ve read this blog before. While snooping around the web for more information, I found that this was on that Wiki not once but </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">twice</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. It’s under two different names; the first is </span><a href="https://obscurban-legend.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire_Caterpillar" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Vampire Caterpillar</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and the second is </span><a href="https://obscurban-legend.fandom.com/wiki/Giant_Vampire_Caterpillar" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Giant Vampire Caterpillar.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> For some reason, the former gives a different name to the eyewitness (Godfrey). I have no idea why that is, so I’ll be using the more commonly given name (Geoffrey). The latter of the two links has more information and was made five years after the not-as-giant vampire caterpillar. So I’m guessing whoever made it was either unaware of the first article or didn’t want to edit it (or didn’t know how to).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now then, onto the story proper! Our story originates from the 1978 book </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Creatures of the Outer Edge</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> by Jerome Clarke and Loren Coleman. If you’re curious, I did not buy this book to find additional information as I have no money to spend. You can thank Google for not letting me run ads on this blog.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, within the pages of the aforementioned book is a very peculiar little tale from Edinburgh, Scotland. If you’re curious as to where the story was first found, we’ll get to that later. Now, reportedly, on November 23, 1904, a 23-year-old man named Geoffrey Anderson was walking home. It was dark outside, though the exact time isn’t known; the most detail I could find was on a blog called </span><a href="https://bridgetomagona.blogspot.com/2018/04/vampire-caterpillar-23rd-november-1904.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Bridge to Magonia</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> that says it was “evening.” So I’ll pretend it was a foggy, foreboding Scottish evening.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That spooky atmosphere didn’t deter Geoffrey, but that was about to change. As he made his way by a shop, he saw a horse and carriage, which was about 20 yards (18 meters) away. That guess was apparently given by Geoffrey, and I want to say that I have absolutely no idea if they use yards in Scotland. I tried to look it up, and I was unable to get a concrete answer. Regardless, the horse stood across from the previously mentioned store. Nearby was a gutter where, as Geoffrey said, “it falls into the drain.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Then, everything in the septic truck hit the fan. According to Geoffrey, a “vague black shape” roughly 4 feet (1.2 meters) long and 2-and-a-half feet (76 centimeters) “high” rose out of the gutter. It lacked any noticeable legs. Topping things off, it had an hourglass shape to it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All of that makes me envision this creature as more of a slug rather than a caterpillar, which I don’t need, given we’ve already covered two slug cryptids this month. God, I can’t stand slugs. They’re so disgusting looking.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unlike a slug, though, this creature was quick. It also moved like a caterpillar—a “huge one,” as Geoffrey put it—towards the horse. Then, out of nowhere, it jumped. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Out of curiosity, I decided to look up if caterpillars can jump, and to my nonexistent surprise, they can. I also checked if slugs could, and, to my surprise, they can! Take a look at the videos of the two critters jumping down below.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I0SoLG38oEE" width="320" youtube-src-id="I0SoLG38oEE"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TVj991ExTwQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="TVj991ExTwQ"></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>Okay, so the slug is thrashing more than it is jumping, but </span><a href="https://kuow.org/stories/northwest-wildlife-you-ve-never-heard-of-jumping-slugs" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">KUOW</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (a part of the NPR network) had an article on if they can jump and claimed they can! So now my nightmares will be plagued with jumping caterpillars and thrashing slugs. Just what I needed. My love for writing will be why my dreams continue tormenting me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, let’s get back on track. Yes, the giant caterpillar-like creature jumped. It leaped towards the horse’s throat and clung onto it “like a Limpet.” Then, within a second, it vanished. What is it with stories of giant insects and them disappearing this December? Also, if you don’t know what a Limpet is, it’s a type of aquatic snail; </span><a href="https://uh.edu/engines/epi2996.htm" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">its teeth can be thirteen times stronger than regular steel.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Pretty incredible stuff.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although the creature had disappeared, the horse’s fear had not. It reared up and threw its hooves around, trying to strike whatever had landed on it. Hoofy Balboa is gonna go places, I tell ya!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At some point, presumably in the immediate aftermath, a passer-by came along. Seeing the spooked horse, they went up to the horse’s head and, with Geoffrey’s assistance, calmed it down.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Geoffrey ends his report with a couple of interesting details. The first is that, despite the evening having been dark, the streets were well-lit. Amplifying this was the shop windows, which “rendered the illumination greater.” In spite of this light, he was unable to provide any clear description of the creature’s appearance.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That leads us to the second and arguably more important detail. Geoffrey said that his mind was preoccupied at the time of the sighting with “simple, everyday objects of no great moment.” This is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">exceedingly </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">important, so keep it in mind for later when we get into the theories.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s here that the story comes to an end. I’m unsure as to who Geoffrey reported his encounter; none of the articles have that information (nor did Geoffrey say who he went to). So whether he went to a police station or simply sent a letter to someone who specialized in the field of weird stuff is up for debate.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I do want to make a note of one odd quirk in this story, so let’s jump into it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A Vampiric Hunt For More Info</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As is the case when it comes to doing these write-ups nowadays, I almost always have the “research” section. I don’t know why I feel obligated to say that like it’s something new, but I always imagine that each write-up could be someone’s first.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Looking up this story isn’t going to yield a whole lot of results. There are a few results for some Wikis, like the ObscUrban Legend Wiki, </span><a href="https://paranormal-strange.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire_Caterpillar" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Paranormal Strange Wiki</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (which is where I got the header image from), and </span><a href="https://urban-legendpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Giant_Vampire_Caterpillar" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Urban Legendpedia Wiki</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. There’s also a result for a website called </span><a href="https://h2g2.com/entry/A26740820" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">h2g2</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (which is named after </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and was posted in 2007). All of these sites were in line with one another. Well, aside from Geoffrey’s name being Godfrey on one of the ObscUrban Legend Wiki pages. I still don’t understand where that detail originated from. Still, it’s nothing but consistency when it comes to more information and dates.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, there’s one website that has a significant discrepancy from all of those sites. One of the first places I visited when doing research for this write-up was </span><a href="https://exemplore.com/paranormal/Scottish-Vampires" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Exemplore</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which had an article on “Scottish Vampire Legends.” It’s a pretty interesting read, especially if you’re big on legends involving vampires. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, we aren’t here to go over the bigger picture. No, we’re here to make a story needlessly complicated. Nothing can ever be simple because if that were the case, my mental health would be significantly better. The version of the Vampire Caterpillar that Exemplore tells took place in either 1899 or 1900. So the year this took place is inconsistent; the date is still the same, though, as are the other initial details. Geoffrey was walking home, the street lights and shops illuminated the area, and there was a horse and carriage.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The differences don’t stop there. According to the article, Geoffrey saw the entity come out of the drain as opposed to the gutter. Admittedly, this may have been the case with the original story, but the way it was worded made it sound like it emerged from the gutter. Here’s that part for the sake of transparency:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Suddenly from the gutter, where it falls into the drain, rose a vague black shape about four feet long and two and a half feet high, but without any visible legs.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To me, it sounds like the entity emerged from the gutter and not the drain.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on, though, the entity was what Geoffrey described as a “black mass,” which isn’t that much different than a “vague black shape” in my eyes. What </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">is</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> different, however, is how Geoffrey claims the “mass changed into a shape similar to that of an hourglass.” In its new form, it was “about four feet [1.2 meters] long and two feet [0.6 meters] wide.” Our glorious vampire caterpillar no longer has any apparent height; now, it has width.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The next few details are the same as the version we went over before. The entity lacked any noticeable legs and moved in a manner akin to a caterpillar but was faster than one. Then, it leaped onto the horse’s throat and clung to it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now comes the most significant variation, and it’s one that completely changes the whole story in my eyes. Once this happened, Geoffrey and a passer-by ran to the horse to assist it. However, as they did, the black mass disappeared before their eyes. Thankfully, the horse wasn’t hurt, and the two men calmed it down after a couple of minutes.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That change, above all the others, obliterated the theory I had on this story. Lucky for me, I cannot find any other websites that tell this version of events. Unlucky for me, the author of the article—Helen Murphy Howell—is from Fife, Scotland, so I imagine she would know the story better than most. It’s possible this version of events is noted in that book I mentioned at the start of this write-up, but given she doesn’t make a note of it (but h2g2’s 2007 article does), I cannot say for sure.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nevertheless, the version I went over appeared to be a direct quote from Geoffrey, so it’s possible the version Helen told was a retelling she heard. It could have also been embellished. Or maybe the version Jerome Clarke and Loren Coleman wrote about was a retelling. I honestly have no idea, but for the sake of consistency, the theories will be centered on the one we went over. I will give my personal thoughts on the one Helen told after them. Before we get to the theories, though, there’s one last thing I want to make a note of.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">i like to lik the bluud</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This really has no business being mentioned, but I’m going to do it nonetheless. The entire time I was writing about this, I kept imagining the caterpillar as the insectoid version of the creepypasta character </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Funnymouth</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. It was funny—in my humble opinion.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6P5ynv7rOqybcgm-ywkSMLKicoFsGSFZAjOaq1uJsZj3N_lCS_dN3OwhM81eDcOqrqvCbMk91Jlb07_bsx5Lme0hyKz1JyqEYEb-BT6l3zpsjwlBICUmCS_V9LVPmeyo5SV6V_koXXEtGy5zDy0xcQ-py7W16yYsvR-fMq9IzFiXfi9d1GyzbA_4XrA/s1346/Funnymouth.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1346" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6P5ynv7rOqybcgm-ywkSMLKicoFsGSFZAjOaq1uJsZj3N_lCS_dN3OwhM81eDcOqrqvCbMk91Jlb07_bsx5Lme0hyKz1JyqEYEb-BT6l3zpsjwlBICUmCS_V9LVPmeyo5SV6V_koXXEtGy5zDy0xcQ-py7W16yYsvR-fMq9IzFiXfi9d1GyzbA_4XrA/w400-h198/Funnymouth.webp" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">i like to become the butterfly.</span></div></span><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, onto the theories!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. It was a cryptid</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Kicking off our theories is a rather obvious one: that it was a cryptid. As we’ve discussed this month with the story of the giant beetle (I hope I remember to add a hyperlink there once that story goes up), giant insects (heck, giant creepy crawlers in general) are by no means novel. Reports of them exist from all over the world.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, in this case, the ability to vanish is not something I find often in cryptid reports. Usually, when it comes to that, it’s less a cryptid and more of a straight-up ghost (more on that later). However, in some other instances, they have odd supernatural powers. I should probably do a write-up on that someday.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, it would be wrong to exclude this theory entirely because of that one detail. So, who knows, maybe it was a more enigmatic-looking cryptid that had wings, and Geoffrey didn’t see it fly off. Or maybe, just maybe, it was less of a cryptid and more of a supernatural entity.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. It was a hoax</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ah, what’s a story about some kind of cryptid without the theory that it was a hoax? It’s the quintessential theory for these stories!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In this case, the idea is that Geoffrey made the whole thing up. For what reason, I sadly cannot say with any degree of certainty. It may have been a prank to try and scare people, a bored youngster wanting to cause a bit of mischief. That isn’t unheard of, and it’s been done before.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, this theory becomes a bit harder to prove if the version where Geoffrey and another person both saw the entity is true. Unless the two were friends and were both in on it. Alas, I have no idea if that’s the case. Still, it’s possible.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. It was an alien</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If I had a dollar for every mystery that featured a theory about aliens, I would be a Washington, DC, insider. For that reason, I’m glad I don’t have that kind of money.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is admittedly a theory of my own, but I’m including it because the United Kingdom and its surrounding territories have had a lot of UFO sightings. Also, weird, indescribable masses being seen and then disappearing have often been blamed on extraterrestrials.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, is there any evidence to back this up? Well, no. I don’t believe there was a rash of UFO sightings around this time, and as far as I can tell, this thing was only seen once. Still, I thought it was worth mentioning. You can never go wrong with aliens!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. It was a hallucination</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This ObscUrban Legend Wiki has this as a theory, and I honestly don’t know how it would work. Regardless of which version you go with, the horse was very apparently spooked and tried to attack the creature.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I digress, though. Hallucinations are a common explanation for a lot of strange experiences. Whether caused by mental health conditions, carbon monoxide, or illegal substances, you can count on them to provide strange sights.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With this, however, it’s flimsy at best. Unless Geoffrey left out a part where he tried to attack the mysterious entity and then scared the horse, it doesn’t seem likely. It’s even less likely with the version where both Geoffrey and the passer-by saw the creature. Still, collective hallucinations are a thing, but I’m unsure if they work like this.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. It was a ghost</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Animal ghosts aren’t novel by any stretch of the imagination. I remember seeing my</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">yellow lab the evening after he was put down in 2020. My mom also swore she saw him in the backyard that night.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In this case, though, we aren’t talking about seeing the ghost of someone’s pet. Rather, we’re talking about something known as a “Zooform.” I had never heard of this until I was writing about this story.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Apparently, back in 1990, a man named Jon Downes coined the term. Zooforms are “entities and apparitions which adopt or seem to have a (quasi)animal form.” So, in other words, ghosts that take on the guise of an animal. If you want to know more, check out an article Loren Coleman wrote called </span><a href="http://www.cryptozoonews.com/zooforms-cryptids/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Are Zooforms Cryptids?”</span></a></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s a pretty interesting theory, but I have no idea why a ghost would take on such an odd form. Surely it would be more practical to take on the guise of a dog or something else like that. Though I guess if this was a demon or something, it would make sense to be an incomprehensible abomination. The sins of Edinburgh have been made manifest; it’s going to steal your bagpipes!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. It was a “bio-phantasmal manifestation”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The ObscUrban Legend Wiki has it listed as a theory. I’m not going to pretend I know for certain what a “bio-phantasmal manifestation” is. Up until this story, I’d never heard of it, and if I had, I sure as heck don’t remember what it is.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If I had to guess, based on the definitions for “biological” and “phantasmal,” it would be a living figment of one’s imagination or living illusion. That makes this theory sound like a needlessly complicated way of saying, “It’s a tulpa.” Of course, I may have gotten the definition of one word wrong (or maybe both), so I could be magnificently dense.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming I’m right, though, that would mean someone—or a group of people—more or less willed an entity into existence. Whatever this creature was was its vessel—or the entity. That’s my understanding of tulpas, at least; I don’t have the best grasp on them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The simplest version I can give, for those who found that explanation too complex, is tulpas are things you will or think into existence. It’s a very popular theory when it comes to supposed sightings of Slender Man and The Rake. In this case, though, I don’t know of any being that looks like this. But I guess it isn’t the most absurd idea out there.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. It was a nature spirit/spirit animal</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I went over what these are—albeit briefly—when I talked about </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/12/decemystery-2021-4-spectral-moose-of.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Spectral Moose of Maine</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> back in 2021. Basically, they’re guardians of nature and the wilderness. Sometimes, they help those who are in need of it if they become lost in the forest or woods. Other times, they exact vengeance on those who harm nature, be they poachers or some other evil person.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve heard some stories of these spirits out in more urban areas, but I can’t remember any exact details. They’re nowhere near as common, and on top of that, I can’t name a single one where they tried to harm another animal. I guess it’s possible it was a malevolent spirit, but I wouldn’t imagine them taking on such an obtuse form, like an hourglass-shaped caterpillar.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I’m no expert in the field of nature spirits and spirit animals, so I could be wrong. Maybe this was some evil entity that wanted to harm nature. If someone who is much more well-versed in this kind of stuff happens to read this, I welcome any and all information since it could help in future write-ups I do. God knows I need it after covering both this and those ghost cows.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8. It was a misidentification</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I initially had this as an offshoot of the first theory but gave it its own simply because I thought it was way different enough for a few reasons. Cryptid sightings can, and usually are, explained as cases of misidentification. Even the most ardent cryptid enthusiast (like yours truly) will concede to this. When your adrenaline is pumping, and your fight-or-flight instinct has kicked in, you’ll be hard-pressed to say that what you saw—and were possibly being pursued by—was what you believed it was. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That would apply here in its purest form: Geoffrey would have been caught completely off guard and, after reporting it to whoever he went to, couldn’t remember what he saw. So, with the imperfect thing known as “human memory,” he filled in the gaps as best he could. The end result was something that is now known as “The Vampire Caterpillar of Scotland.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The question then becomes, what could Geoffrey have seen that he mistook for a 4-foot-long, 2-and-a-half-foot-tall vampiric caterpillar? Well, I have my own theory, but I’ll save that for when I give my personal take. As far as I can tell, though, there aren’t any theories presented on any website that covered this story. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">9. It was a “bogey story”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This was a theory I saw on the ObscUrban Legend Wiki, and it stuck with me—more than the majority of the other theories. Mostly because it explained a lot of the oddities; unfortunately, it created a few other questions.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For those unfamiliar, a “bogey story” is a story meant to scare children into behaving. There are a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ton</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of them that exist in every culture around the world. I’ve heard of ones about monsters that go door to door looking for kids who don’t eat their vegetables or disrespect their parents. If the parent says they have, it takes them away. In other cases, there are monsters that lurk in the forests and come out at night to take kids away.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">These stories serve one purpose: to keep kids in line so they obey their parents and any curfews set by them. Sometimes they work, other times they don’t. It depends on the child. I personally never had any bogey stories told to me, but then again, I had so many health problems when I was doing that I doubt I would have really cared if some gremlin tried to take me away. I would have been too much of a medical hassle for it to deal with.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, this theory does have a bit of weight to it. It could definitely be used to scare kids into not staying out late or the giant vampire caterpillar kill them. It would more than likely scare children since the prospect of being drained of blood by a giant insect is quite terrifying.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, there are a few issues with this story. For starters, I don’t know why a newspaper would run a bogey story. Second, I can’t find any documentation of a bogey story like this existing. The closest is a story that the ObscUrban Legend Wiki page for the giant vampire caterpillar references: the </span><a href="https://obscurban-legend.fandom.com/wiki/Awd_Goggie" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Awd Goggie.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> According to that article, the Awd Goggie is a creature that parents around Yorkshire told their kids about so they wouldn’t wander into woodland orchards on their own.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If they did, they ran the risk of being devoured whole by the Awd Goggie, a monster that typically appeared as a massive caterpillar. It would “move invisibly through the trees and descend on any children who tried to steal the tripe fruit he protected.” If he caught the child, then they were his meal. Man, European children were told some messed up stories. Here I was taught if I disobeyed my parents, I’d get grounded. European kids? If they disobeyed their parents, they would be eaten by giant insects. No wonder they’re always so miserable.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">10. It was Funnymouth</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">O)_(O</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll go through the theories and give my personal take on them since there were so many.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t think it was a cryptid. It’s interesting, but I’m not entirely sold on it. I feel if this was a cryptid, it would have been seen by more people and would have a bigger presence in Scotland’s folklore.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t believe this was a hoax. Unless the story was fabricated for </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Creatures of the Outer Edge</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, I’m skeptical. Even then, I think you’d be better off making up a story that’s considerably less absurd.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not feeling the extraterrestrial theory. Not this time, anyway. Stories of insectoids from another world are fascinating, but I don’t think vampiric alien caterpillars are a thing. If they are, I must know where I can read about them because, holy smokes, I’d love to write about them!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The hallucination theory is probably the weakest of all of them. Even the meme theory holds more weight. While collective hallucinations are something I’ve heard about, this feels way too preposterous. Especially given the horse’s reaction.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I actually don’t think the ghost theory is that crazy. Granted, I believe in the paranormal and am definitely biased, but I don’t think it’s the wildest thing to ever be presented. That said, if it was a ghost, I don’t get why it would appear once and then never do so again. I’ve heard of one-time hauntings, but this feels far too random. Unless one of Geoffrey’s family members passed away, and this was their way of saying goodbye. If that were the case, what a bizarre way of saying “so long.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m indifferent to the nature spirit/spirit animal theory. If there are malevolent nature spirits, then I guess this would technically make sense. But I don’t get why it lunged at the horse and not Geoffrey. Unless the specter despised horses. In that case, what a jerk. Horses are graceful animals!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think the bogey story theory is plausible, but I question the lack of documentation. Still, I think it holds enough water to be possible.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Funnymouth theory is my favorite, and I am totally not biased.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now for my theory on what this might have been. Honestly, I think Geoffrey did misidentify it. Personally—and I must stress that this is purely what I think since this will likely sound absurd—is that it may have been a bat. From what I know, the largest bat found in Scotland is “The Noctule.” They grow to have a wingspan of 15–16 inches (37–40 centimeters) and can fly upwards of 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour). Here are three pictures I found of The Noctule for your viewing pleasure.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.scotlink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Noctule-Emerging-from-Tree-Hole-1-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="800" height="352" src="https://www.scotlink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Noctule-Emerging-from-Tree-Hole-1-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.northumberlandbats.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Noctule-bat-Alan-Roe-1024x768.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://www.northumberlandbats.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Noctule-bat-Alan-Roe-1024x768.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scotlandsnature.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/noctule_dennis_atherton_flickr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="800" height="349" src="https://scotlandsnature.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/noctule_dennis_atherton_flickr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>What a cute critter.<p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Continuing on: if Geoffrey was caught completely off guard, I would bet my bottom dollar he didn’t get anywhere close to a clear look at it. This isn’t unprecedented either; a story I covered in 2021 called </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/12/decemystery-2021-28-red-devil-bat-of.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Red Devil-Bat of Chester</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> involved a supposed bat with a wingspan of 3 feet (0.9 meters) flying into a home. Like with this story, it was nighttime, though the creature didn’t disappear into the aether. Instead, the residents rolled the fiend up in a carpet, beat it, and then threw it out of a window.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I don’t think the monster necessarily disappeared in this case. I think Geoffrey was so shocked by the sudden appearance of the creature he simply missed it flying off, especially if the horse reared up and made a fuss.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is one thing that does put a hole in this theory, and it’s one thing that I can’t precisely counter. In my eyes, bats running do not look anything like caterpillars when they move. Take a look at this gif below.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.tenor.com/JEuSoN5Q5DAAAAAC/crawling-worlds-weirdest.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="498" height="225" src="https://media.tenor.com/JEuSoN5Q5DAAAAAC/crawling-worlds-weirdest.gif" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yeah, I won’t lie: if you look at the video from earlier of a caterpillar moving (and then jumping) and compare it to that gif, the two don’t look anything alike. The only argument I can give is the same one I’ve given: human memory is imperfect. Though even that, I think, can only be used so much. Sure, a bat (if it was one) darting out and scaring a horse would definitely take anyone (or almost anyone) aback, but the two are definitely different enough.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On top of that, Geoffrey did say the creature was 4 feet long. That’s also quite hard to counter with “human memory.” However, in this case, I will stick to my guns for one reason and one reason only: I have, in the past, mistakenly remembered plenty of small animals as being </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">considerably</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> bigger. House centipedes, spiders, and beetles are the most common culprits. When I look back, I swear that one house centipede I saw was the size of something like a dinner plate. It’s simply the memory, especially since I saw it when I turned my head, and it was scurrying down the wall. I was on the computer, I was caught entirely off guard, and I ran away from that monster (house centipedes </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">are</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> monsters, and you can’t change my mind).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I should also mention that the time I saw that house centipede was during the day; I can’t remember the exact time, but I want to say it was around noon or so. This leads me to what I believe is the elephant in the room: Geoffrey’s statement that it was “well lit.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Look, I have no idea how “well lit” it was, but light does not immediately mean you can discern how big something is. Especially when you aren’t focused on the world around you. Remember, in Geoffrey’s own words, his mind was preoccupied with “simple, everyday objects of no great moment.” When I noticed that house centipede, I was on the computer. I only saw it out of the corner of my eye.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming the lighting was good enough, I think he may have seen a shadow cast by the bat, been fixated on that, and then been more preoccupied with the horse since it freaked out.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Because of my own personal experience, I can easily believe mistaking a bat for something borderline otherworldly. That may sound ridiculous—and believe me, I understand if you think that—but it makes perfect sense to me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To round this bit of rambling off, I want to circle back to what I said during the eighth theory. Mental clarity is one key aspect you need to convey an experience. It’s something that becomes dubious at best when reading—or hearing—reports of cryptid encounters. If Geoffrey really did see something, I sincerely doubt it was what he thought it was, especially if it leaped out in front of him and caught him completely by surprise. For that reason, if he truly did see something, I’d say it was more than likely a Noctule Bat. Of course, it is possible the whole thing was something else entirely. But I lean more towards a bat being mistaken for something it most certainly wasn’t.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But What If Exemplore’s Version is True?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">First of all, for this theory, I’m going to hold the mindset that Jerome Clarke and Loren Coleman got it all wrong, and the way they told the story isn’t true. Frankly, I don’t think they did, but I want to at least give my thoughts on this variation because if I don’t, I’ll kick myself until the day I die.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, truth be told, I cannot rationalize this version. Geoffrey may have embellished it, though that’s impossible to be certain about. There doesn’t appear to be any statement from the passer-by, despite them apparently being an eyewitness too.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming it was a bat like I speculated above, it’s possible the two didn’t notice it fly off. However, I feel it’d be hard to not see it take flight. I also think the whole shape-changing aspect really puts a damper on that. While sure, a bat stretching its wings out would change its appearance, it wouldn’t give it an hourglass shape.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Honestly, I’d have to say this sounds like a ghost. Of course, it’s entirely possible this version isn’t accurate—or is a hoax. But, if I were to treat it as the true version, I think it’d be some ghost animal. I mean, it’s that, or I shrug. For that reason, I greatly prefer the version where I had what I felt was a concrete answer to it all.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I never could have imagined a story about a giant vampire caterpillar would be this long. It’s always the most unsuspecting ones that end up being the lengthiest—and occasionally the most fun.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In this case, I had a pretty good amount of fun. It definitely became rather frustrating when it came to the variation from Exemplore, but that didn’t ruin it for me. Though I wish that site had cited a source. Unless I’m blind and missed the citation. Feel free to tell me if I did; I know for a fact that my eyesight is atrocious.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also, have a clip of my favorite Scotsman ever: Groundskeeper Willie.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i2q0T7QXETs" width="320" youtube-src-id="i2q0T7QXETs"></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>Now then, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!<p></p></div>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-76833908865980238502023-12-28T07:00:00.007-05:002023-12-28T07:00:00.138-05:00Decemystery (2023) 28: The Vampire of Ward End<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Drews_Lane%2C_Ward_End%2C_Birmingham_-_factory_front_2000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="800" height="216" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Drews_Lane%2C_Ward_End%2C_Birmingham_-_factory_front_2000.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <span id="docs-internal-guid-9de7a333-7fff-a4a1-517b-ac521d634745"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hello, dear reader! Let me tell you about something: I’m prone to wanting to write about things if they piqued my curiosity enough. That means I’ll abandon plans to cover a story if I stumble across something that catches my eye. This write-up right here is an example of that; I found it by complete accident and was like, “I want to write about this.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve already discussed vampires once this month, and it’s not the last time we’ll be covering them (no, the finale comes tomorrow in spectacularly weird fashion). So come along; this is the story of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Vampire of Ward End</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61OacBp+0NL._AC_SL1008_.jpg" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There Are Some Very Good Reasons to be Afraid of the Dark</span></a></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found this story while I was browsing through the Paranormal World Wiki, though this isn’t featured on that site. No, the story I was looking at was something the Wiki called </span><a href="https://paranormal-world.fandom.com/wiki/The_Vampire_of_Lochmaben_Castle" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“The Vampire of Lochmaben Castle.”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> It’s an interesting enough case, nothing remarkable; it features a photo of a vampire taken in the late 1990s, which was pretty neat. I may cover it one day, but for now, I didn’t think there was enough to justify adding it to Decemystery—even though </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">plenty</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of entries this month could easily have the same argument made against them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, the source given for the story of Lochmaben’s vampire was a site called </span><a href="https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“The Paranormal Database,”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> which documents stories from across the United Kingdom. It boasts that it’s cataloged over 13,700 stories—be they cryptozoological, paranormal, folkloric, or everything else that falls into that category. This means that I now have a new site to dig into to find writing material; thank God for finding things when I’m nearing the end of this arduous writing project. It would have helped if I’d bothered looking for other websites </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">before</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> beginning this marathon.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The page featuring the Lochmaben vampire was </span><a href="https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/reports/vampdata.php" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">devoted to vampires and werewolves,</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> two mythical creatures that go together like me, and long unannounced absences from playing World of Warcraft for long periods of time. Nobody who reads this will understand that joke, but I promise you there’s one friend of mine who would. Anyway, if you scroll down to the fifth entry, you’ll find one called “Vampire Attacks.” This is our story, and it’s extremely short.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Back in January 2005, on Glen Park Road, Ward End, in Birmingham, England, there were supposedly reports of a black man (some sources claim he was Somalian) in his twenties who “bit another man” who was walking. After biting his first victim, the vampire pounced on a woman and bit off a chunk of her hand. What happened after that isn’t said, but we can assume the vampire fled the scene. It’s also worth noting that The Paranormal Database doesn’t say what time of day this happened.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While we may not know when this attack took place, we do know one thing for certain: police publicly stated they never received any reports about an attack of this nature. As a result, they labeled the case as an urban legend. This prompted me to seek out additional information, as I was curious if there was anything else I could find about the story.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oddly, yeah, I could. This case apparently became big enough that British media picked up on it; it’s even mentioned on the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_End" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Wikipedia page for Ward End</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, along with two other odd cases. The first involved rocks that were thrown at the windows of five different homes on Thornton Road between late 1981 and early 1982. Despite footage cameras being set up to capture the perpetrators, none were ever caught on camera; the rock-throwing, however, was. Additionally, no fingerprints were found on any of the rocks. This later became known as </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton_Road_poltergeist" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Thornton Road Poltergeist</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which I was only vaguely familiar with.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The other case was less a case and more an award of sorts. Back in 2006, Tarmac, a “heavy building materials company,” made a list of the United Kingdom’s “spookiest roads.” Coming in tenth was a road known as “Drews Lane,” which is in Ward End. Apparently, you can hear “invisible cars” that drive on the road.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, let’s circle back to the part about the British media reporting on this. From what I can gather, this all began when the Birmingham Evening Mail reported on the attack. I can’t find the original article, but don’t worry: </span><a href="https://pressgazette.co.uk/archive-content/birmingham-vampire-slayer/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Press Gazette</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is here to help us fill in the blanks. Apparently, at some point around the turn of the New Year, a “family was attacked.” During this attack, one of them was bitten. It’d help if I could find the original article on the attack, but I can’t. If I had to guess, I’d say that it’s possible the attacker bit their victim either to escape a hold or they were drugged out of their mind.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That’s at least what the Press Gazette said. I’m not sure if their version is accurate, but I’ll assume that it is. So, with that out of the way, I now want to head on over to The Birmingham Mail (I have no idea whether or not this is the same paper), as they made some lists that provided some additional insight. The one that I want to cite was </span><a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-myths-charlie-chaplin-tolkein-6741169" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">posted on May 31, 2017.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> The article, which is about “21 Myths of Birmingham,” has our vampiric friend at the very end, so I assume he came in first.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to this list, the first attack occurred in December 2004, as opposed to January 2005. This discrepancy may be due to the aforementioned attack having occurred on New Year’s Eve—assuming that was a real attack, anyway. Alternatively, it could be chalked up to the hysteria that ensued in the wake of the original article, as some people claimed that they’d heard of other similar attacks. There were claims that other victims were bitten when they answered their doors. You know, it’s said vampires can’t enter your home if they’re not invited in. Was this vampire breaking the rules of vampirism!?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All rule-breaking aside, the article offers some additional details on what this vampire could do. The first and most vital is that it refers to him as a “nocturnal predator,” so I can only assume this means he didn’t strike during the day. This would mean he wasn’t breaking all conventional rules of being a vampire—a major relief because I was worried this guy was going around during the day being one of those cringe-worthy nu-vampires. As we all know, those are basically the worst things to have ever been created.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Additional details mentioned include red eyes, the ability to turn invisible, and that our fanged friend could turn into a dog. It’s also said that he might have bitten a dog. Others allege that he wasn’t a vampire at all and that he was someone who’d gotten rabies via a dog bite. This prompted the man to want to “transmit it to others in the same way.” Quite a peculiar goal, but I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s happened in the past.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Eventually, this led to mass panic; </span><a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/birmingham-ghost-stories-aliens-ufos-10864432" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">another article from The Birmingham Mail about local ghost stories featured a comment</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> from an “online commenter” who had the following to say:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We weren’t allowed to leave the house and had the door locked at all times.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">From what I can gather, this isn’t hyperbole; this was genuine fear the residents of Ward End—heck, Birmingham as a whole—felt. To circle back to the Press Gazette article, the Birmingham Evening Mail found themselves flooded with calls from people who said they’d caught wind of “similar incidents.” These calls came in weeks after the original attack. Don’t take my word for it, though. Here’s what Jim Levack, the news editor at the Mail, had to say:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We were getting about 10 calls a day. It spiralled out of control and became ridiculous. People were emotional and upset so eventually we put in calls to the police who confirmed that there had been no other reports.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How these rumors and claims started, I don’t know—not for certain, anyway. A </span><a href="https://brummedout.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/brum-legends-2-the-birmingham-vampire/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">WordPress page</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> dedicated to Birmingham had an article on the case. It linked to </span><a href="https://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=363872" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a forum that had a thread from January 2005.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> On there, some people were discussing the rumor, with the original post saying that the rumor “spread like wildfire” throughout Birmingham schools. Again, I have no idea if that’s where they started or if that’s where they caught on.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The poster also mentioned that, at one point, police at some point caught the vampire, only for it to bite the bars off of its jail cell and escape. In another instance, they surrounded him, but he turned invisible (and then presumably escaped). If he turned invisible, I have to wonder why they wouldn’t try to grab him; presumably, if he’s invisible, he didn’t teleport. Oh well, whatever; my logic is likely flawed, and he probably pulled a Spring-heeled Jack and leaped away.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever the case may be, the story was eventually picked up by national media, like The Guardian—which had </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/17/samjones" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">two</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/18/britishidentity.stuartjeffries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">articles</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I could find about the vampire. From there, we arrive back at the conclusion from earlier: law enforcement issued a statement that they never received any reports of people being bitten by a supposed vampire; it was all a case of mass hysteria. Nothing more, nothing less.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite that, I still want to go over some theories since I’m not one for changing the format of anything—at least not radically. So, without further ado, let’s dig into the whopping two theories (plus the obligatory meme theory) that exist for this vampiric tale!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. A real vampire</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As wild as it may seem, there have been reports of vampires. Not people with that rare condition that makes their skin sensitive to the Sun and light, but the blood-sucking monsters of the night. I actually wrote about one of the most famous, The Croglin Vampire, but lost the write-up; I posted it on another site that no longer exists, and it wasn’t archived (something that I wish I’d done myself in hindsight). I’m still mad about it to this day, as I considered it to be one of my sharper pieces at the time. I intend to do a rewrite, but I wish I had the original since I recall having made a few jokes that I thought were great. God willing, I will write about it next year so I can at least have it remade.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh well, enough of me being mad about the past. My point is that vampire sightings do exist; whether or not you consider them to be the fabled monsters of legend is, of course, up to you. Personally, I’m deeply skeptical; I doubt there are undead monstrosities lurking around the dead of night, drinking on the blood of the living. However, I guess the folks of Ward End heavily disagreed since they believed it to be real.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While the lack of any police reports easily debunks the story, there’s one thing I want to bring up still: the idea that the whole thing was covered up. No, I have no source for this, but there are claims that cryptids that have killed people have been covered up to prevent panic and tourism from taking a nosedive.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A good example of that happening is tied to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Beast of the Land Between the Lakes</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, a cryptid that I desperately need to cover. I briefly went over it a few times this month, but I will again because I find the case fascinating. Allegedly, two hairy bipedal monstrosities slaughtered a family that was camping. The feds came in and helped to sweep it under the rug. Of course, no evidence exists to back the story up—none that I know, at least—but it’s a claim that’s pretty popular.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you want to have a bit of fun with your tinfoil hat, you can argue that something similar happened here, only with MI5 (or MI6, whichever you Brits think is more secretive and sinister). Is it likely? I have no idea; I know practically nothing about how efficient the British government is at covering things up, but I’m sure that someone who reads this may try to put together a cohesive theory. If you do, let me know since I would love to write about it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. An urban legend</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are two sides to every coin, and this is the other side of the coin that makes up today’s theories. This one posits that the whole thing was an urban legend created thanks to mass hysteria. How did such a thing catch on? I have no idea; that’s one mystery I cannot answer, but this theory has a lot more going for it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For starters, there were no police reports related to people being bitten by a man who knocked on their doors. This is easily the biggest strike against the whole story, and it’s one it can’t recover from. It’s not unlike John Carter’s box office returns, only it can’t do a tax write-off to account for losing close to a quarter of a billion dollars.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The next issue is that the reports stopped almost as soon as they began. If there was a vampire, you’d think it would have been around for a bit longer than a few weeks. Unless the whole thing was kept very hush-hush—and effectively at that—there’s no way this happened. I have to admit that it was a strangely enthralling story to research and just as fun to write; I need to do more like this because this was a breath of fresh air.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Tony Blair</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Is this guy still relevant? I don’t know, but I’m gonna say that he is, at the very least, a vampire.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Needless to say, I don’t think this actually happened. There’s no proof to back it up, and I believe there’s no conceivable way to cover up a vampire being on the loose. If people started dying because they were drained of blood every night (or so I would believe it to be every night), there’s no way you could keep that from being public knowledge. If there’s a case like that, however, I would seriously love to know.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, I do have one question—one that’s been burning inside of me ever since the start: why on Earth did this all start? I know The Birmingham Evening Mail published a story that triggered this, but I mean, why did this one incident apparently trigger a case of mass hysteria? Why this one; why did it become such an issue that people genuinely believed there to be a vampire on the loose? Maybe I had to have lived there to understand, but it boggles my mind that this apparently took off like it did.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And so, with that, our write-up comes to a close. While it may have been one that had the answer given extremely early on, I thought it still warranted being covered. It’s incredibly difficult to cover 64 mysteries one after another without beginning to feel burnout. As such, I thought it was time to spice things up and have another case that wouldn’t require many theories and would instead let me tell a straightforward story. And so, with that, I bid you all adieu; stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-47523326386709303762023-12-28T06:00:00.005-05:002023-12-28T06:00:00.145-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 28: The 2010 Bratislava UFO Sighting<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnxAKJWg73FOx3ZQ4XNgO9h4UlcCs-ziugWTltwBCfn7Ry1tJBz1D9nBOXog_0EGkbsPmJLrU9ptTF7CcCEbANtKaQ1amkxLcEUCUyBf4CKHADbdvz7jH2n4fE3YNt3Ze9IJnT-U133JFDExGVie-A80X0re-ZeUTbSw7u3sHJYjeVnVxXpteA-c1xA/s1500/Bratislava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnxAKJWg73FOx3ZQ4XNgO9h4UlcCs-ziugWTltwBCfn7Ry1tJBz1D9nBOXog_0EGkbsPmJLrU9ptTF7CcCEbANtKaQ1amkxLcEUCUyBf4CKHADbdvz7jH2n4fE3YNt3Ze9IJnT-U133JFDExGVie-A80X0re-ZeUTbSw7u3sHJYjeVnVxXpteA-c1xA/w400-h266/Bratislava.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <span id="docs-internal-guid-74be874c-7fff-5897-5fa1-b66181723143"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hello, hello; welcome back to Limitless Possibilities, the only place on the Internet where one man can spend several thousand words talking about UFOs and not think to himself, “Will my readers get bored of this topic?” I am that man, and today, I am here to talk to you about another UFO sighting.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, there is a reason why I’ve covered so many of these cases. The first is that I do find them genuinely interesting; it’s interesting to take a gander at them and speculate on whether or not they really happened and, if they did, what was actually seen. What can I say? I like to think about things.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The other is that I thought it would be a smart idea to do 64 write-ups; I got properly started in July—and am still writing at the tail end of December. It just so happens that UFO sightings are the easiest topic to cover without covering the most bottom-of-the-barrel nonsense that can be written off in 150 words. Sure, I did that with </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2023/12/decemystery-20223-17-brooklyn-subway.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">one story this month</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, but that was an exception to the rule because I found something more unusual within its nonsense.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, that brings me to this case. Yes, it’s another UFO sighting, but it’s quite interesting in my eyes. The eyewitness claimed to be a pilot, which is always interesting. When someone’s familiar with aircraft, it definitely comes across as more credible—to me, at least. So come along, dear reader, as we travel to the nation of Slovakia to discuss </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The 2010 Bratislava UFO Sighting</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Interstellar Red-eye Flight</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like many UFO reports from this month, I found this one on </span><a href="https://nuforc.org/sighting/?id=78713" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NUFORC.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> It took place on November 2, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. (18:30 for my 24-hour time readers) in Bratislava, Slovakia. I know that detail may come as a major shock to most of you—it’s not like it’s stated in the case’s name or anything.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On an odder note, the report claimed that there were zero observers to the event. I’m going to guess that the eyewitness—who I’ll refer to as Oliver—made a mistake or forgot to fill in that area, so it defaulted to zero as a result. If he intentionally did that, then that’s an incredibly bizarre move because it’s explicitly said that there were two (or three; I’ll get to that later) witnesses to this UFO.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, our eyewitness—as I just said—was Oliver, an airline pilot who, at the time of the sighting, wasn’t a believer in UFOs. That is, until the night of this sighting. Oliver was “standing at a busy bus stop during rush hour,” ready to get home after a day of work. While he waited for the bus, his eyes caught a glimpse of something in the sky.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Roughly 4,000 feet (1.2 kilometers) in the sky was a “bright red light.” He also noted that the clouds were at 3,000 feet (0.9 kilometers) and were “thin and broken.” I want to say right here that I find it interesting that he knew how high up the light and clouds were, but I’m willing to bet that pilots can make these kinds of guesses with more confidence than the average Joe. So, I won’t harp on it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, initially, Oliver believed that this was an airplane. That, on its own, isn’t anything remarkable. You can look outside any day of the week and likely catch a glimpse of an airplane flying overhead. However, there were two things about this one that were rather odd. The first is that it was producing a “bright red light.” Now, airplanes do have red lights on them, which Oliver pointed out in his report, stating that airplanes have a green light on the left and a red one on the right. However, this object was nothing like that; it was “one big red light with what looked like an aircraft strobe light coming from the center.” That gives the term “red-eye flight” a whole new meaning.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second thing, and the one that’s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">far</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> more interesting, is that this airplane was coming </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">toward</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Oliver. Now, that’s how Oliver worded it, and when I first read this, I had to take a moment to wonder why in the world this man decided to stay there and not run out of the way of this potentially doomed airplane. However, apparently, it was flying quite slowly, and he thought it might be a helicopter. I still think that him not running away like a bat out of Hell is silly, but I’m willing to let this slide a teensy bit.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My gripes with how Oliver reacted aside, he quickly realized that whatever was coming toward him wasn’t a helicopter either. What, exactly, it was is a mystery, but I love how Oliver worded it in his NUFORC report, saying the light was “simulating an aircraft.” There’s something about that that comes off as so passive-aggressive, and I absolutely love it. Like, it wasn’t a </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">real</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> aircraft being flown, just a simulated one. You know, those aliens have been awfully silent since Oliver dropped his diss track.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On a more serious note, Oliver didn’t have to look far for confirmation of what he was seeing. Next to him was a woman who was also watching the UFO sluggishly make its way to who-knows-where. Now, there may have been a third person with them, but I’m not sure due to the way Oliver worded the next part. According to him, the woman was only looking at the UFO “because the guy standing next to her was watching it.” I don’t know if that guy was Oliver or if it was another man who was waiting for the bus. Both sound plausible, but for the sake of consistency, I’ll assume he was referring to himself.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like any good UFO eyewitness, Oliver decided to pull out his 2010-era mobile phone to grab a picture of the aircraft. However, in what I consider to be this story’s oddest aspect, Oliver said he had the feeling that he was looking at something that wasn’t actually an aircraft. That’s not a niche theory—at least, I don’t believe it to be; there’s a prevalent theory that UFOs are biological beings akin to jellyfish. I might do a write-up on that one day, but I digress; back to the story!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While I’d love to say that Oliver snapped a glorious low-quality photo of the UFO, he did not. By the time he’d prepared to take a picture, it had “gone into some clouds,” and his bus had arrived. Before boarding, he looked around to see if he could find the aircraft and spotted it “as a white circular fuzzy disk” that was traveling “through the clouds” en route to Austria. In total, the sighting lasted four minutes—a fair bit longer than most UFO sightings we’ve gone over this month.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that, our story draws to a close. It’s a relatively typical UFO sighting that I believe was made all the more interesting by the eyewitness being an experienced pilot. It lends a lot more credence to it and coupled with another eyewitness (or eyewitnesses, should there have, in fact, been a third person at the bus stop), it definitely strikes me as a story worth telling—and I hope that more stories like it find more publicity one day.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though, with Oliver’s story now told, it’s time to ponder what, exactly, this may have been. Was it really an alien ship, or was it something of this Earth? Like any good UFO case, there’s no shortage of theories for us to dig into—and trust me, my fingers hate me for that very fact. So, once more, let’s go over them!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. Military aircraft</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To kick things off, we have the oh-so-popular theory that this was a military aircraft. This theory really doesn’t work for a multitude of reasons in this case. For starters, Oliver was a pilot. While it’s possible that this was some kind of aircraft he wasn’t familiar with, 4,000 feet isn’t exactly flying altitude. I’m sure that some aircraft fly at that height, but if we’re talking about, say, a fighter jet, the answer is a resounding “No.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fighter jets tend to fly at 50,000 feet (15 kilometers). Not only that, they’re absurdly loud; I’ve heard one fly over me, and it was one of the loudest things I’ve ever heard. I didn’t have noise-canceling headphones on, either, so I thought my eardrums were going to have their own Mount Vesuvius moment and explode.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, it is possible this was some sort of top-secret military aircraft, something that Oliver had never seen before that he wasn’t meant to see. However, if that were the case, there are a few major questions that need to be asked. The first is why the Slovakian military was testing this aircraft near a bus stop during rush hour. It seems like a remarkably simple mistake to make and one that could potentially cause a lot of people to ask Slovakia what they’ve been tinkering with, especially since this aircraft apparently produced no sound.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The next issue falls squarely on me since I’m not a native of Slovakia. I have no idea how much money they spend on their military annually. I know for a fact it’s nowhere close to the amount the United States spends, but that goes without saying. From what I can tell, though, they’ve spent around 2 billion US dollars on their army each year since 2019.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given the amount of money that would likely need to go into producing and perfecting an aircraft like this one, I sincerely doubt this was some sort of top-secret aircraft. That isn’t to say it’s impossible, but given the sheer amount of money needed to produce something like this, I doubt Slovakia’s military budget is going to cover it. Unless other nations pooled money and resources into this to assist, but I digress. I don’t want to go in circles and discuss a plethora of hypotheticals when I’ve discussed this more than enough throughout this month.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, I doubt this was anything from Slovakia’s own army, nor do I believe it to have been a super secret military airplane. Is it possible? Sure. Is it probable? Though, hey, maybe the United States was test-flying their own fancy planes out in public. It wouldn’t be the most absurd thing we’ve done in a foreign nation!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. An alien spacecraft</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have gone over this theory so much this month that I want to challenge it to a Pokémon battle so I can show it how little I want to associate with it. Unfortunately, I still have some write-ups left to do, and this is one of them. I also can't challenge text that I’ve written to a Pokémon battle, either, but I can dream.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you don’t already know, I’m an ardent believer in extraterrestrials. There’s no two ways about it; I firmly believe in them. With this case, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that this sounds like an alien spacecraft. The perpetual bright light is a classic UFO, and the apparent lack of sound is also a staple of them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If there’s anywhere that this falls flat, it’s not with the theory so much as it’s with Oliver’s behavior. No, I wasn’t expecting him to run around in circles in a panic. However, the fact he stood there as the UFO was apparently coming toward him was downright baffling. While shock can make people pull a “deer in headlights,” this was flabbergasting to read.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Additionally, I find it weird that he still didn’t try to snap a picture of the UFO. He had four minutes to do so, yet he didn’t make an attempt. That’s awfully convenient—and silly. At least </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">try</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to take one, man!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However—and this is a major “however”—it does need to be stated that Oliver’s first language likely isn’t English. It’s probable that a lot of stuff was lost in translation, so he may have meant that the UFO looked to be going over him but wasn’t descending (like it was going to crash).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The lack of a picture can also be brushed off by shock and surprise. I still think he should have tried to get one, though. I mean, even after the bus arrived, he apparently saw it enter the clouds. It would be better to at least </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">try</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to get a photo. But, hey, maybe the lighting wasn’t good.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In short, this theory primarily works, but it has some issues with the circumstances surrounding the story. Of course, if you don’t believe in aliens, I doubt this theory works by default, so there’s also that. I leave it up to you to decide if aliens are real, though; I’m not going to dictate what you do and do not believe.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. A sky jellyfish</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This could be considered something of an offshoot of the previous theory. It’s also one that really needs its own write-up because there is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a lot</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to it that I don’t have time to go over. I’ll keep it as brief as I can, though, because I mentioned it during the main story, and I think you all deserve an explanation.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, admittedly, I don’t know a whole lot about this theory—at least, not in the sense that I could recite most of it like I can record the story of the Hinterkaifeck Murders or Mothman. Nevertheless, I do know that it’s a surprisingly prevalent idea that’s been around for a while. If memory serves, Kenneth Arnold—the man who coined the term “flying saucer” back in 1947—believed the so-called “flying saucers” were biological beings.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As silly and absurd as that may sound, it’s a serious view some hold. I don’t know who—or what—popularized it, but claims of jellyfish-like entities in the sky exist, and some have gone so far as to say UFOs themselves may, in fact, be some sort of biological life form that lives in the atmosphere. This has led some to refer to them as “atmospheric jellyfish,” which I believe is an entry on one of the many Conspiracy Icebergs floating around the Internet.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, on to this theory itself. I wanted to include this because Oliver said that he questioned if what he was looking at was an aircraft. If I had to guess, he probably meant that he’d begun to doubt that it was a human aircraft, not that it was some sort of biological life form living in the sky. Despite that, I wanted to include this in case that is what he meant. If it was, I’m personally a bit doubtful on a personal level, but I do like the idea of UFOs being some kind of life form. It’s one of the more surreal and borderline Lovecraftian theories I’ve seen out forward in my time.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. It was something else entirely</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is basically a combination of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">every</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> other possibility. I did this because, as I said at the end of the main story, my fingers hate me quite a bit. Trust me when I say that carpal tunnel syndrome sucks like a black hole.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll keep these theories as brief as possible so I don’t end up repeating myself. For starters, it’s possible that this was some sort of atmospheric phenomenon. I’m not a scientist, so I can’t say with any degree of confidence what this may have been, but I’m sure someone </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">far</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> more intelligent than me could put something forward. The only issue is that whatever this was, it sounded like it was being flown by intelligent life.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One other possibility is that this was a weather balloon. This is arguably the most likely since there have been countless instances of a weather balloon being mistaken for an alien spacecraft. Assuming that this was one, and the setting sun distorted its appearance, it’s possible Oliver mistook it for a regular UFO. It may have also had lights of its own so others wouldn’t fly into it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, there’s a major issue with that theory. Namely, weather balloons fly even higher than fighter jets—upwards of 100,000 feet (30 kilometers). While it’s possible this one, for whatever reason, was being blown </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">significantly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> lower to the ground than normal, I’d say that’s rather unlikely. Then again, I don’t know a lot about weather balloons, so take my word with a grain of salt.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lastly, it could have been a hoax. I would have made this its own theory, but in all honesty, I’m so burned out from all the writing that I want to be done with this month before I run screaming into the woods. Seriously, I yearn for nothing more than a vacation; please remind me to never write 64 write-ups in 6 months ever again!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On a more serious note, I don’t believe this to be anywhere close to absurd enough to be labeled a hoax. While Oliver’s behavior could be called into question (like him not running away when he said the UFO looked like it was coming toward him), I doubt this man’s first language is English. So, I’m willing to give him a pass in that regard.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. My patience with writing the 64 write-ups for this month</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">that’s</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> where it went! Geez, I was looking for it. I don’t know how it fell through time, but it’s nice to know it went somewhere and didn’t end up in limbo. Now, to find out how to get it back before I take my laptop and throw it out of my bedroom window.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This sounds like another textbook case of a genuine UFO sighting. While it’s possible that Oliver misidentified something else—possibly a weather balloon—I think this was more than likely an alien ship. The vibrant light, odd movement, and lack of any apparent noise make me think so. Couple that with Oliver’s field of expertise being aviation, and I think you have a UFO sighting that strikes me as a lot more credible than your average “I saw a light in the sky” case that’s reported practically daily.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, I do think it’s worth stressing that just because Oliver’s a pilot, that doesn’t mean he’s immune to fault. It is very much possible that he mistook something for an alien spacecraft. As I just said, it could have been a weather balloon. It’s always worth keeping this in mind since you and I weren’t at the scene when this happened—unless you happen to be one of the other folks who was waiting for the bus with Oliver. In that case, do tell me if he missed any additional details!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite that factor, it’s always healthy to keep a teensy bit of skepticism in mind since we need to take the word of a stranger at face value; there’s no real way for us to independently verify any of this without tracking the person down. And, let’s face it, that would be a really creepy thing to do. I digress, though; overall, I think this was more than likely a genuine alien spacecraft. My second best guess would be a weather balloon. Everything else doesn’t strike me as plausible.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On one final note, I want to say that it’s the day before Christmas Eve, and I’m in my bedroom still writing this year’s Decemystery (or, rather, Decemysterys). Man, I hope that next year, I finish before December so I can take the entire month off and relax with my family. I’d say that I did that last year, but I was depressed out of my mind on account of not having written for almost all of it. 2024, please be nice to me like 2023 was (for the most part; I’d rather not have any health crisis’ next year).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I hope you all enjoyed this little journey into the realm of UFOs; I know we’ve gone down this path a great deal this month, but it was the easiest topic to cover given the incredibly tight timeframe I had to work with (especially since the first half of this year was rocky at best). I know that’s cheap of me, but I wanted to make sure I actually finished this month on time. But I digress; I just hope that you all enjoyed this case as much as I did. So, until tomorrow, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-71623311861795341542023-12-27T07:00:00.001-05:002023-12-27T07:00:00.128-05:00Decemystery (2023) 27: The Tajikistan Cloud Monster<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/30/75/06/23318945/3/rawImage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="800" height="288" src="https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/30/75/06/23318945/3/rawImage.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-3bbb5e6a-7fff-62f2-e5a2-ebe610a9feef"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just a quick FYI:</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> That image has nothing to do with today’s story, directly anyway. I simply went with it because I didn’t want to use my S-tier Microsoft Paint skills today.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, greetings! Welcome back to my blog, the little place where I ramble on for thousands of words about something weird I found on the Internet and share with you! Given that this is one of two ongoing Decemysterys, that means I’ve been posting daily. That also means I’ve been sitting on my bed for months now, typing and subsequently making my carpal tunnel worse. Ah, but that’s beside the point; no, you’re likely here to read about something strange.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lucky for you, I have a never-ending supply of weird stories. After all, I spend most of my time reading about strange happenings from around the world; it’s one of the few things I do day in and day out. So, for today’s serving of Fortean goodness, I present to you the story of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Tajikistan Cloud Monster</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">! Come along, dear reader; it’s time to dive into the world of alien sightings once more!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Cloudy With A Chance of Aliens</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like many other stories I’ve written about this month, I found this on sustained_disgust’s </span><a href="https://icebergcharts.com/i/Obscure_Unsolved_Mysteries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obscure Unsolved Mysteries Iceberg.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I feel like most of the things I’ve written about this month will begin to blend together due to me using so many of the same sources. It’s going to be surreal looking back on all of these write-ups in, say, five or so years.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, the iceberg’s entry has a link to </span><a href="https://www.ufoinfo.com/1980-humanoid-sighting-reports-compiled-by-albert-rosales/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ufoinfo.com</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which, for some reason, has a homepage that advertises a casino game. I’m guessing this site is quite old and that it’s not </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">quite</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> dedicated to UFOs anymore; just a hunch. If you don’t trust that link, then </span><a href="https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1980-august-ufo-alien-sightings/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">thinkaboutitdocs.com</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> also has the story written up; both sites are extremely similar content-wise, though ufoinfo’s page has writings from Albert Rosales. If his name rings a bell, he wrote a book series that compiles hundreds upon hundreds of various humanoid sightings. I own it, and I </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">highly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> recommend you read it if you’re into that kind of thing.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, then, onto the story. It took place in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan; one night in August of 1980, a man—who I’ll refer to as Aziz—was on his way home. As a quick side note, I have absolutely no idea if Aziz is a common name in Tajikistan, but I saw it listed as a relatively common one and, honestly, I figured it would be better to go with that than an Americanized name, like Josh or Derrick. Anyways, during Aziz’s late-night trip, something in the sky caught his attention. It was a cloud, and it was being illuminated by the Moon…</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And there was something on top of it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to Aziz, this thing was “as white as snow” and had “black bead-like eyes” along with “a long white tail.” It also jumped on the cloud, which created either fog or steam. That makes me think this wasn’t actually a cloud but some sort of weird alien hoverboard. I digress; we won’t be getting an answer, and I doubt we ever will.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The alien either took notice of Aziz or wanted to see what was on the world below, so it descended to the ground and got off of its sweet ride. I want to note that both ufoinfo.com and thinkaboutitdocs.com say that the creature “descended back to earth,” though it isn’t stated if it had ever been on the ground before now. Though, hey, maybe my reading comprehension is just that bad; I wouldn’t be surprised whatsoever.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unsurprisingly, Aziz was terrified at the sight of an extraterrestrial; not helping matters was that the thing was walking towards him. So, he did what I think most people would do: he “fell to the ground and covered his head with a coat.” Normally, I’d snark at such a silly action, but I’m pretty sure most aliens could kill me in a hundred ways with their brains. So, I won’t judge; I’d probably give up, too.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whether by God’s good graces or the alien’s weakness was brand-name coats, the next time Aziz looked up, the alien was getting back onto its alien-brand-name cloud ride. With that, it disappeared; I don’t know if it vanished into thin air or if it took off back into the heavens above. Either way, that is where Aziz’s otherworldly encounter ended. And, honestly, it’s all I could find on this thing. The sources cited for this story didn’t have anything else to add. The only thing of note that I found was another extraterrestrial encounter that took place in Tajikistan in August of 1980, known as </span><a href="http://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1980-gissar-ridge-tajikistan-alien-encounter/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Gissar Ridge Encounter.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I won’t be going over that, though, as it’s unrelated and is nothing like this one.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, before we jump into the theories, I do want to note that this isn’t the first time I’ve talked about something walking on a cloud. Back in 2020, I wrote about </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2020/05/mystery-cloud-giant.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Cloud Giant</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which also involved—shock of all shocks—something walking on a cloud. I really need to rewrite that article; I need to rewrite almost everything from before 2021, actually. Anyways, with all of that said and done, let’s now jump into the theories. Well, what few there are since this story really didn’t offer much to work with.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. An alien</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The theories for this story are, unfortunately, going to be aggressively bare bones on account of there being extremely little to this story. Nevertheless, I’ll try to add as much substance as I can.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first and most obvious theory is that this was an alien. There are tons of different kinds of aliens—at least in the realm of ufology—so this theory isn’t that wild. Though, I must say, the being described in this encounter isn’t one I’m familiar with. Then again, there wasn’t much detail given, so that may be the issue. If I had to guess, I’d say it was a Reptilian, but that’s likely because I’m thinking of the Pokémon Kecleon.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for why the alien would be on Earth, I have no idea. There are numerous reasons that an alien may want to visit Earth: gawk at the wildlife like we do when we visit zoos, find resources, or something else. That said, I have absolutely no idea why this particular alien decided to fly off when Aziz hid beneath his coat.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I do want to touch upon the whole “cloud” angle. Personally, I’m unfamiliar with accounts of aliens riding around on clouds; this is new for me. However, there are plenty of stories regarding clouds that resemble UFOs, along with other weirdly shaped clouds. You needn’t look further than the header image for this write-up. You can also find plenty of news articles on clouds that look like UFOs.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, these supposed alien ships are explained away as pareidolia. That’s the phenomenon where you think you see a shape or image in something where there’s nothing. You know, like the infamous Face on Mars. It’s some mountains and shadows that create the illusion of a face. With UFO-shaped clouds, it’s the same deal.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nevertheless, there are people who believe these clouds to be something more: clouds hiding UFOs, some sort of cloaking technology, or something else entirely. Personally, I think they’re just clouds; I remember seeing an angry, alien-like face on the tiles of a bathroom floor once. I also saw a cloud that looked like a steam engine. You can see any number of things if you look hard enough.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My dismissal aside, I have to admit that this story definitely has me tilting my head. I don’t remember ever hearing a story of an alien—or anything, really—riding on a cloud. In a video game or work of fiction, yes, but never in real life. Truth be told, if this story did happen as it’s described, that would make me rethink my stance on the whole “cloud-cloaking” concept. So, the story can take pride in that; I may write about that concept more in the future. For now, though, let’s go on to the next theory!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. A hoax</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t think I’ve ever looked at this theory before and gone, “What can I say about this?” Today, that changed. What a tremendous accomplishment on this story’s part.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s a given that someone will doubt an experience another person has, regardless of whether it’s paranormal or not. In this case, I can guarantee that more than a few people will read this story and laugh at it until their sides are in orbit. There’s nothing wrong with that, mind you, but I also have no idea why Aziz would have made up this story. Mainly because I have no idea what kind of person he is (or was).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, if Aziz did have some reason—any reason—to make this up, then yeah, I could see it. But given the lack of information, that requires a pretty hefty leap of faith. At least, in my eyes, it does.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. An interdimensional being</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I considered not including this theory, but then I remembered the cloud-cloaking thing. Yes, I forgot that initially. My memory is magnificently bad. God, I wish it was better.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To circle back to the cloud stuff from the first theory, you may be familiar with ring-shaped clouds. If not, here’s an image of one; this one got pretty famous, and it went viral some years back:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CqcdG0nWgAAHxZ7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="800" height="264" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CqcdG0nWgAAHxZ7.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>To me, it looks like the sky is trying to propose to the ground. But that’s just me; what do you think?</span><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I remember there being a fair bit of speculation on what this was. One of the more prominent theories I saw was that it was a portal of some sort. Some thought it was a portal to an alien world, while others thought it was a portal to another dimension.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, most dismissed it as a case of pareidolia or some other naturally occurring phenomenon. Though, given the connection with clouds, along with the being in today’s story outright riding on one, I can’t help but wonder if maybe it was some interdimensional being. But maybe I’m just losing it. That would not shock me in the slightest if I’m to be honest with you all.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. Cloud</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He was trying to warn people about Sephiroth. We should have listened.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I honestly don’t think I can take a definitive stance on this story since there are so many questions I have. I’d love to know if Aziz had been drinking, had a history of mental illness, had slept well, or really anything else. I’d also love to know who he originally told this story to. It might have been a group of Russian UFO researchers, but I’m not entirely sure. The main source for this encounter—as far as I can tell—is “UFOZONE Russia,” but I can’t find any site by that name. It’s possible that it’s defunct now or that it changed its name.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Either way, the only other site I found that documented this story was </span><a href="https://www.fern-flower.org/en/facts/fact-1605631209" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">fern-flower.org</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which has a bunch of other strange sightings from across the globe. It also says that Aziz hid under a cloak instead of a coat. Unfortunately, that’s the only other place I can find information on this story; it’s quite frustrating since, without anything to go on, I find this to be a case that’s incredibly hard to believe in. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At the same time, that difficulty in buying into this story isn’t enough for me since I have no idea why Aziz would do that. Maybe it’s because I’ve been writing so much lately, and I’m approaching the point of burnout, but this story, in particular, highlights why I’m often hesitant to dismiss a story as a hoax. If the person has no reason to make it up, I don’t believe they would just fabricate one for the heck of it. So, with a story like this—one that is so outlandish that it would be laughed at by pretty much anyone who isn’t an ardent believer in extraterrestrials—I cannot fathom the idea of it being a hoax.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Honestly, if I needed to choose a theory, I’d probably say it was some kind of alien. However, with so little to go on, I can’t say that with much confidence. Still, it’s the only theory I do have an iota of confidence in. So, I guess it can take that to the bank. I wish I knew more about this story, though. Like, there </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">has</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to be more out there, right? This cannot possibly be it. At the very least, there have to be more reports like it. I guess I know what I ought to look into at some point next year!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Well, that was certainly an interesting little journey. I wish there was more to it, but being able to touch upon the links between clouds and UFOs was fun; I really want to dive into that topic more down the line. Hopefully, next year or the year after. Anyway, until tomorrow, I hope you enjoyed this story, and as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-15574143351592530452023-12-27T06:00:00.002-05:002023-12-27T06:00:00.152-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 27: That Time Someone Saw Mickey Mouse<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.CCzOOt0UGOSO-AIIaU6PhgHaIg?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="474" height="400" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.CCzOOt0UGOSO-AIIaU6PhgHaIg?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" width="349" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span id="docs-internal-guid-70d93280-7fff-0867-c040-40683ce544d9"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Growing up, I was a big fan of Disney. Mickey Mouse was one of my favorite things, as were Mickey’s friends. I also adored Winnie-the-Pooh; I still do to this day. The Hundred Acre Wood is easily my favorite place in the entire world of Disney.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So color me surprised when I saw a story featuring ol’ Mickey Mouse in real life. This was a story I didn’t intend to cover this month, but I simply couldn’t wait. So let’s take an impromptu trip to Disney World. This is the magical story of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That Time Someone Saw Mickey Mouse</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">! Yeah, it’s gonna be one of those stories.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a299d49f-7fff-0100-b7f2-4636cf351056" style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqPLswCvU_Q&ab_channel=NoMoreStars" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Did Somebody Mention the Door to Darkness?</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found this story thanks to sustained_disgust’s phenomenal </span><a href="https://icebergcharts.com/i/Obscure_Unsolved_Mysteries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obscure Unsolved Mysteries Iceberg</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; if you haven’t checked that Iceberg out, you really should. Anyways, the origin of this story is from the Fortean Times, specifically, the first volume of “It Happened To Me! Real-Life Tales of the Paranormal.” The Iceberg links to the book on the Internet Archive; if you want to read it, </span><a href="https://archive.org/details/timesforteanforteantimesithappenedtomevol.1reallifetalesoftheparanormaldennispublishing2010/mode/2up?view=theater" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">click here to do so.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> If I ever get the chance (which, God willing, I will), I’ll read through it to find some stuff for future write-ups.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our story takes us to </span><a href="https://archive.org/details/timesforteanforteantimesithappenedtomevol.1reallifetalesoftheparanormaldennispublishing2010/page/n153/mode/2up?view=theater" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">page 154,</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> under the “Outlandish Apparitions” section. It’s here where there’s a story with the title “Disneyfication of Terror.” I never thought I would type those words, and I hope it’s not the last time because it’s almost as magical as Disney World itself. Anywhoozle, our story takes us over to England. In 1992, a man named Stanley Shoop mailed the Fortean about an experience he had sixty years prior in his grandparents’ old home.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In this humble, presumably ancient abode in Elstree, Hertfordshire (British names are the greatest names to type), Stanley had an experience most peculiar. He says that, when he resided at this house, he was to never open the door to the basement as it was “very dark.” There was also a “steep flight of steps” past the door. The only time Stanley or his twin brother were allowed to so much as open the door was when his grandparents were around.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Being a child of five or six years of age, Stanley obeyed these orders like I obey traffic laws in Grand Theft Auto. And so, one day, Stanley opened the door, revealing a “very real, very solid figure filling the entire doorway.” This figure was the one and only Mickey Mouse. Yes, you read that right: Mickey Mouse, the character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ubbe Ert Iwwerks. Somehow, he had finally found his way across the Atlantic and into England. By God, I think The Mouse™ has done it at last! He’s finally conquered Europe!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Stanley went on to say that seeing this iconic humanoid rodent “gave me the fright of my life.” What he did after seeing this strange entity isn’t said. Rather, Stanley goes on to say the following:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When I was not much older and wiser, I knew that I couldn’t possibly have seen a fictional character, but at that time - and to this day - the figure was very real.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’d normally be quite ticked off that we weren’t told anything else, but I’m more than willing to give Stanley the benefit of the doubt, given this was apparently six decades ago. That said, that is where our story ends; quite a unique note if I do say so myself. It isn’t often you see the person who saw something Fortean outright say they doubt what they beheld.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In spite of these doubts, I have used what I learned from watching </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fantasia</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and playing </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Kingdom Hearts</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to conjure up some theories. So come along; let us discuss them!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. It was an alien</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, this is me being more of a goofball since I’m typing this the day after a UFO hearing that Congress held here in the United States (July 27). Although you have to admit that a humanoid mouse would certainly be an alien-looking creature! Don’t lie to me, dear reader! </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. Stanley was half-asleep and mistook a shadow for Mickey Mouse</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given I can’t find any theories due to the lack of documentation about this case, all of these come from the mind of yours truly. The first is that Stanley was half asleep, saw a shadow, and thought it was Mickey Mouse. I’m pretty sure most of us have had a moment like this and can relate. Or would it just be me? I hope it isn’t just me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory, I think, has a pretty solid foundation, but I know there are a fair number of flaws. Namely, we don’t know </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">when</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> this all took place, whether it was day or night, to be exact. We also don’t know if any sunlight would illuminate the area near the basement. While Stanley says it was dark, whether it was immediately dark once you opened the door or grew increasingly dark as you descended isn’t said (I imagine it’s the latter, though).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is also the matter of the figure appearing “very solid,” though you can argue that this was just the imagination of a child (more on that later). Nevertheless, this is—to me—one of the most plausible theories. However, we still have a fair number left, so let’s not disregard them just yet!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. It was Mickey Mouse</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m doing my absolute best to not make a reference to NASCAR Champion Chase Elliott right now, lest a few of my friends develop an insatiable desire to crucify me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Admittedly, this theory really hinges on your belief in either tulpas or something akin to them. While I have my own obtuse beliefs on things like that, I can’t say they apply here at all. I only included this because I thought it would be incredibly biased of me to leave the “it was real” theory out; I always try to maintain an unbiased mindset when I write about anything.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So yeah, that’s kind of it. It really was Mickey Mouse. I suppose to a child, this would be the greatest thing in the world. To anyone else… I guess it would depend on who you are. Personally, I’d be more than a little bit unsettled at seeing Mickey Mouse in real life.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. It was a ghost</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are theories and legends that spirits will take on the appearance of something non-human for one reason or another. In fact, there’s an incredibly prevalent legend in England known as </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Black Shuck</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. If you’re familiar with stories of hellhounds or any sort of ghostly animal, then I have a good feeling you know of ol’ Shuck. If not, it’s said to be a large, black dog said to be an omen of death. Others, however, say that it’s not an evil spirit and can be a companion of sorts (before it disappears, at least).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While Black Shuck is said to be a hellhound, there are some who say that evil spirits can take on the appearance of one; that concept applies here. A ghost took on the form of Mickey Mouse—or at least something that resembled Mickey Mouse. As preposterous as that may sound, it is a concept that’s been floated around the paranormal community. I may one day get into more detail about this theory since it’s a lot more detailed than this half-baked explanation I’ve given it here. While I’m at it, I’ll also one day talk more about Black Shuck, I… well, I’d say I promise, but we both know that promises and I go together like salt paper cuts.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. It was an interdimensional entity</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I admit, I could have nixed this theory, but given how prevalent it is when it comes to so many other Fortean stories, I thought it would have been dang near criminal to nix it. After all, interdimensional entities constitute a significant part of “High Strangeness” encounters, so why exclude that?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I won’t give the whole song and dance about what these things are; I’ve done it before in several other write-ups. Also, if you’re visiting this blog, I sincerely doubt you’re some passerby who clicked a random link (though if you are: thank you for reading; I hope you stick around!). Anyways, interdimensional entities: they’re entities from another reality that either learned how to cross over into our world or appeared because our realities overlapped for one reason or another. You understand this? No? Too bad; I never got my teaching degree because the education system sucks.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That concept applies here; an interdimensional being that resembles Mickey Mouse briefly appeared in our reality (be it of its own volition or otherwise), gave this kid a terrible fright, and then went back to its own world where it likely told its friends about how it scared some kid. Laughs were had, beers were consumed, and songs by Mickey Valli and the Four Seasons were listened to.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now remember to study for the test; it’s tomorrow, and I expect you to get an A+!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. It was the product of a child’s imagination</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When it comes to a child seeing anything fantastical, this theory is almost certainly the first one to be put forth by anyone. You don’t need a degree in psychology to know that children can, and almost always will, exaggerate anything they see—be it to their benefit or not. Though sometimes, they genuinely believe what they see. That’s more or less the case here; Stanley, at the time, thought he really did see Mickey Mouse, but now doesn’t. Simple as that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. It was a Heartless</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdCiLgSIF6w&ab_channel=KHDecoder" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">C O M E G U A R D I A N!</span></a></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given we weren’t told by Stanley </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">when</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> he saw Mickey, it’s hard for me to say what I think happened. Nevertheless, I do have two theories I feel incredibly confident in.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first is that Stanley was half asleep and mistook a shadow for Mickey Mouse—or what he later thought to be Mickey. Admittedly, I don’t know when the character became iconic in England, but I’m willing to bet that when reflecting on the experience, Stanley thought it looked like Mickey. Anyways, I put a lot of stock in this theory because I’ve had a lot of experiences akin to this when I first woke up or even shortly after the fact.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Where I sleep, there’s a smoke alarm. I’m prone to waking up during the night, and a few times, I’ve mistaken the side of the smoke alarm for a giant centipede on the wall. Suffice it to say, I have had a few moments where I’ve wanted to grab a kitchen knife and slash away. Though once my eyes adjust, I realize it’s a smoke alarm.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming that Stanley decided to be a little bit mischievous at night when his grandparents were asleep, I’d say this is pretty likely. Though I think the second theory I have is a bit more plausible. Well, in my eyes, it is.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That second theory is that it was nothing more than the product of a child’s imagination. As dull as that may be to many, children are the masters of saying they saw something incredible where there was nothing remarkable. A child could mistake a coat rack for a six-armed, twelve-legged abomination straight out of a Lovecraft story. Throw in a lack of light and the chaotic mind of a five or six-year-old, and you have a recipe for seeing something where there was nothing.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, it makes for a fun little story. Especially since it involves such an iconic character. Or perhaps it’s just me who thinks that. We may never know.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thus ends another Decemystery entry. It wasn’t one of the longer ones, but I nevertheless found it interesting. If nothing else, I had a lot of fun writing about it. There’s something about these bite-sized ones that always makes me feel happy inside; I think it’s because I get to share something really obscure with you all. Or maybe it’s dopamine. I dunno, but hey: I’ll take whatever happiness I can get nowadays.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, I would love to hear what you thought of today’s story. And as always: stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-89967107921215038942023-12-26T07:00:00.016-05:002023-12-26T07:00:00.250-05:00Decemystery (2023) 26: Boneless<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/fe/20/8d/fe208d1bcc9d7935832ade8a3b39b6d5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="735" height="289" src="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/fe/20/8d/fe208d1bcc9d7935832ade8a3b39b6d5.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-b7727f2b-7fff-1506-08c9-d34f5581b9cf"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I did say that today would have two stories about giant slugs. I only wish I’d been lying because this one is considerably more horrifying. Oh well, I’d rather delay this; the sooner we’re done with it, the sooner I won’t have this uneasy feeling in my stomach. Strap in, dear reader; this is the story of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Boneless</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Boned</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found today’s story while browsing the </span><a href="https://cryptidarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Boneless" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Cryptid Archives Wiki.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> It’s a worthwhile Wiki if you want some cryptid rabbit holes to go down. It’s also where I’ll be telling the story from—for the most part. Now then, onto the story now!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also known as “It,” but hearing no relation to the Stephen King character of the same name, Boneless hails from the Peak District in Derbyshire, United Kingdom. It’s described as an “enormous, black, slug-like creature somewhat resembling a whale.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is where I have to hit the brakes; what you just read was one of three descriptions I came across for this thing. That one seamlessly merges the repulsiveness of the slug with the majesty of the whale. A truly marvelous achievement if you ask me, given both animals are nothing alike.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second description is that it looked like a giant slug, but it had the head of a whale. As you’ll soon read, this is the description given by the first eyewitness. It’s also kind of funny to imagine since, if you take it literally, the head sounds like it would be hysterically disproportionate to the rest of the body. Even funnier—in my eyes—this description is the basis for one of the most plausible theories, so keep it in mind.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The third description is that, upon closer inspection, the creature looked more like a massive whale rather than a slug. I won’t get into this one because it’ll derail this write-up before it even gets going, so I’ll save it for later. For now, just know that this creature’s appearance isn’t consistent; for the sake of this write-up, we’ll be going with the appearance given by the first eyewitness. It looked like a slug but had the head of a whale. You’ll see why when we get to the theories section.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, back to our regularly scheduled cryptid write-up. One night, in September 1950, a railway man named John Davies was going home in Longdendale Valley on his motorbike. During his ride, however, he felt a sudden need to brake. As he did so, he saw something, something that was as unexplainable as it was unbelievably disgusting.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It looked like a large, black slug, but with the head of a whale and eyes like one, too. Exactly how large it was is, for some inexplicable reason, not stated. If it was, none of the sources I went to for this write-up stated it, which is baffling given this thing doesn’t have that high of a bar to clear to be the largest slug alive today. The largest terrestrial slug—Limax Cinereoniger—can grow to be 11 inches (30 centimeters), so this thing was, presumably, quite a bit larger.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though I digress, John watched as this thing slid along the road, making a “scraping noise” as it did so. Eventually, he got off his motorbike to pursue the strange creature. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find it. With the minimal details given, I sadly have to wonder how John lost sight of this thing, but I could be greatly oversizing this abomination’s size in my mind. Regardless, he was later quoted (by whom, I don’t know) as saying the following about the slug-whale thing:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">...it was like a massive black slug sliding across t’road and up t’moor. It had a head just like a whale and a white eye with a black pupil going round and round.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I find that detail about the pupil going around interesting, but I don’t know why. I guess it just sounds really weird to me. But whatever; John later learned that he wasn’t the only one to see this creature—which became known as “Boneless” for its seemingly boneless body. I know, an incredibly creative name.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One of those eyewitnesses was one of John’s friends, who I’ll call Charles for no relevant reason whatsoever. One day (or night, it isn’t stated), Charles was out and about when he saw Boneless “sliding across the valley below Ogden Clough.” Purportedly, yet another friend of John’s friends—who I shall call Jack—also saw Boneless in the same location but at a different time.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How many times Boneless was seen, and for how long, isn’t clear. </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Cryptozoology/comments/i4zq53/comment/g0nrpp6/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to a user in a post on Reddit about “lesser known UK cryptids,”</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> it hasn’t been seen since the 1970s—which is an </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">extremely </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">important thing to remember for later. That said, this is Reddit, and it isn’t exactly the most reliable source of information, so also keep that in mind. Nevertheless, it’s the only place I found anything resembling a possible date for when this thing was last sighted.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Normally, this is where the story would end. However, the Cryptid Archives Wiki cites </span><a href="https://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-top-ten-paranormal-beasts-in.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Karl Shuker’s blog,</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and it does have a teensy bit of additional information, three things to be exact. For starters, Karl states that “there are many British folktales” that tell of something known as either “Boneless” or “It.” It could be my definition of what a folktale is, but this makes me think that whatever Boneless is—or was—its story has been around for much longer than the sightings of this cryptid. That’s likely the case as Karl says that John spotted “a bona fide Boneless” as opposed to </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Boneless. Of course, I could be mixing up a folktale with something else. Still, I wanted to make a note of that.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Second, Karl wrote that Boneless had a “near-shapeless” appearance until John drew closer. After that, he claimed that it resembled a whale. I, honestly, have absolutely no idea how this is the case. Then again, I still have no clear idea how large this thing is (or rather, was), so for all I know, this thing was the size of a Blue Whale, and it was sliding around the road like it was riding a sled on snow.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The third and final bit is something that I’ll be expanding upon in the theories section. According to Karl, both John and Charles were “convinced that whatever it was, it was definitely evil” and fled in terror after seeing the creature. I have no idea if John got off of his motorbike to investigate at first or not, so that’s up in the air.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, with that, the trail runs cold. As I said, there is a Reddit post that states that sightings ceased after the 1970s. Whether that is true or not, I cannot verify because this story appears to be incredibly obscure. So, if anyone knows more about it, do let me know. For now, though, let’s dive into the theories, and trust me, there’s a lot to go over here.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. An evil entity</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you read the write-up on The Crimean Slug, you’ll know that I brought up this theory. The reason I did is it’s actually mentioned in </span><a href="https://cryptidarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Zooform_phenomena" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">an article on the Cryptid Archives Wiki</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; that theory originates from Karl Shuker. It’s one of the many controversial theories of his; I’ll expand upon it now since it’s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">significantly </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">more relevant now than it ever was with The Crimean Slug.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to Karl, this thing may be a case of the “Zooform Phenomenon.” What’s that? Well, a Zooform is an entity that looks like an animal but isn’t; it’s a demon or some other supernatural being that has taken on the appearance of one. That’s my understanding of it, but I could be totally wrong.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At the absolute least, I know the Zooform theory has been used to explain the large black dogs seen around the United Kingdom, the most famous of these being the Black Shuck. While some of these dogs are seen as guardians, most believe them to be hellhounds or demons in the form of a dog.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are tons of other cryptids that are suspected to fall into this category; Mothman, The New Jersey Devil, and Am Fear Liath Mor (also known as The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdui) are also popular candidates for Zooform beings. However, they aren’t the central focus of today’s story, so let’s get back to ol’ Boneless.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As Karl mentioned on his blog, John and Charles both believed that what they saw was evil; they fled in terror after seeing it. This was no ordinary giant slug-whale; this was an </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">evil</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> slug-whale; this was the anti-slug-whale.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At least, that’s supposedly what the two men believed. Only Karl Shuker touts this claim, though he’s no doubt done more research into this story than I have, so I won’t go to war with a man who’s written books and has the title of “Doctor.” I have nothing to my name other than a blog and a championship in an AI racing series. Not exactly much to boast about in the way of research on a cryptid.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To Karl’s credit, he does have a book on Zooform cryptids, so it’s likely that he expands upon it there. If nothing else, it likely explains the theory considerably better than I do. As for how Boneless fits into all of this, there is a bit more to why it may be a Zooform being than just the feeling John and Charles got. Purportedly, the area surrounding Longdendale has garnered a reputation for weird happenings, including “unexplained lights.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I, sadly, don’t know any of these strange happenings. However, to play the devil’s advocate, this wouldn’t be the only moor to have a reputation for odd occurrences. In the southern United Kingdom, in Dartmoor, there’s the infamous </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hairy Hands</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> legend. Supposedly, if you drive along the road, a pair of disembodied hairy hands will grab your steering wheel and cause you to drive off the road. What a dick thing to do; would any insurance company cover that?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In all seriousness, this theory has gone on for long enough; it deserves its own write-up. So, in short, Boneless is some sort of demon or supernatural entity that took on the appearance of a slug-whale. Certainly not the weirdest thing you could take on the appearance of.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. A cryptid</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">An interesting thing to note is that Boneless is not the only slug cryptid out there. </span><a href="https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Mulilo_Slug" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Mulilo Slug</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, a 6-foot (1.8 meters) long and 1-foot (30 centimeters) wide slug from Africa, purportedly also exists. Just thought I’d mention that since our next theory is that Boneless was also a cryptid!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yeah, I know, far from the most groundbreaking theory out there; it goes without saying that a “massive” slug that also resembles a whale would more than likely be something unknown to science. Though without any guesses as to how large Boneless was, it’s possible this was a 2-foot (0.6 meter) slug, which would only be a foot longer than the largest known terrestrial slug.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever the case may be, I don’t think there’s enough to go off of here. Maybe there’s some big ol’ slug trudging around in the United Kingdom. Though I feel that we would have found it by now. Then again, most of us can’t find our keys when we lose them, so I don’t think it’s too crazy to say there’s a giant slug somewhere out there.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. A tall tale</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given Karl Shuker himself said that Boneless’ roots are in the realm of folktale, I feel this theory has more than enough sturdy ground to stand on. There are a lot—and I do mean </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a lot</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—of folktales, legends, and fables that end up surviving because people—young and old—claim they saw them.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming that Boneless did begin life as a folktale, it’s possible that John, Charles, and the others saw something running around. Having heard the story (or stories) as wee lads, they figured that this was it; this was the real deal. So, they convinced themselves that this was Boneless and not, say, a large animal running around for some reason.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, I don’t exactly know if Boneless really did begin life as a folktale. Nevertheless, plenty of stories basically devolve into that type of thing. You needn’t look further than the story of The Bunnyman. I really ought to finish that write-up. Maybe next year; now, onto the next theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. An escaped Bri’ish government experiment</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Because of my incessant goofiness due to my emotional high (see: bipolar) demands that I be as obnoxiously silly as possible, let’s cut loose and have a few silly theories.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is, admittedly, not the most ludicrous thing. If you read the write-up on The Tuttle Bottoms Monster, you’d know that theories of escaped government experiments are surprisingly prevalent. But, hey, what do you expect when animals are used to test all sorts of medicines and other things?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t know how common they are in the United Kingdom, but given every country has enough conspiracy theories involving their government to fill a dozen encyclopedias, I’m willing to bet there are more than enough about MI6 trying to create the next great soccer (or football for my European readers) player so they can finally win the World Cup. Maybe next time, Britain! For now, Lionel Messi is the GOAT.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I’m a bit skeptical as to why something like this would be made. Aside from what I just said, I can’t think of a practical use for a creature like Boneless. Even as a weapon, it seems inefficient. But, hey, what do I know? It isn’t like governments aren’t good at wasting money. Just ask mine: the United States. We’re the top dog at wasting money.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. An interdimensional slug</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m a creature of habit, and I cannot—and will not—leave this theory out when it’s applicable in any capacity. So, like a headache that won’t go away, the theory of interdimensional shenanigans returns. If you don’t know the basics of this theory by now, something about realities overlapping. Think of it like your fruits got mixed up with your vegetables. Two different things got mixed up, and now one is where the other is. Only in this case, it’s a gigantic slug-whale, and it’s in our world.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why did this happen? I think the only man who could have answered that was H.P. Lovecraft, and he’s been dead for some time. My guess is that someone left a door open, and the slug-whale wandered in. You know, like when you leave a door open for too long, and a fly gets in. My mom used to tell me not to do that, and I never learned. I still haven’t; I really am a creature of habit. Most of them are bad habits.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh well.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. An alien slug</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m well aware that any credibility I may have had is going to be torpedoed by the increasing number of meme theories I have. However, I would like to remind you that this story involved a creature “somewhat resembling a whale” sliding around on land. So, I would like to believe I’m allowed to have a bit of fun before I return to semi-serious mode.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The theory here is that aliens—after discovering that they had a pest onboard their Alienmoboghini Murciélago—decided to drop it off on Earth. Now stuck on Earth, this slug-whale abomination made do with its predicament and got to work understanding life on Earth.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Such a task was easier said than done, given it’s a massive slug-whale thing, so it wouldn’t make friends. MI6 would also no doubt want to dissect it. So it hid out in the middle of nowhere, occasionally being seen by passersby. It eventually died of old age, and no one has found its non-existent carcass (on account of it having no bones).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It also never got a Boneless gf. Pour a glass of water out for Boneless, dear reader. 😔✊ Okay, now back to being serious with the next theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. An escaped (or released) pet snake</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is, without a doubt, the theory with the most substance to it (outside of the first one). It’s also a theory I found mentioned in one place and only one place: a YouTube video about snail and slug cryptids.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The video, entitled </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlXDd8mH9aw&ab_channel=cmkosemen" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All About Snail and Slug Cryptids! A Comprehensive Guide</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, comes to us from a YouTube channel named </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@cmkosemen/featured" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">cmkosemen</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and is, as you might have guessed, all about snail and slug cryptids. I didn’t watch the entire thing, but I noticed that it featured The Crimean Slug immediately before Boneless. I didn’t watch that bit, nor did I watch it and go to cite it in that write-up. Why, you may ask? Don’t ask questions I cannot provide answers to; I’m not paid to write.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/028/961/cover6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/028/961/cover6.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>Dang it.</span><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In all seriousness, I did listen to the segment after finding the video, and while there are some things I could have mentioned, it wasn’t anything I deemed super necessary. It was, by and large, more of what I said: children are devious and clever, or maybe it was some sort of entity.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I also felt that mentioning the video here for the first time is considerably better since, with this story, it actually gave me something I didn’t think of—nor was it mentioned </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">anywhere </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">else. Then again, this story was hardly mentioned anywhere outside of a few Wikis and that one Reddit post on lesser-known British cryptids.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, getting back on track, Boneless’ segment comes right after The Crimean Slug; skip to 1:00:55 if you wanna watch it. If not, it doesn’t provide anything new in the way of details. It has John’s quote and mentions how others had seen it. That’s honestly a shame since I had really hoped there’d be more to this story, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. I genuinely hope that I’m overlooking something because I’d love to hear more stories about it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My disappointment aside, the video did give some useful information. For starters, it provided a bit of information on Zooforms, along with a book that Karl Shuker had helped write; it also gave a few theories on what it may have been (a tall tale or a hallucination; more on the latter at the very end of this theory).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, the real treasure was the theory about what Boneless may have been if it was “real” (as the narrator said). That being “Boneless” was not some giant slug or slug-whale, but rather an escaped—or released—exotic snake.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is both incredibly plausible and explains a lot. For starters, here in the United States, a lot of people release their pet pythons into the wild when they get too big. Exactly why these morons bought these animals to begin with if they can’t care for them in the first place is beyond me. And I apologize for hurling an insult out that like since I try my best to refrain from doing so as often as I can, but seriously: if you buy a python and cannot care for it as it gets older (and significantly larger), you’re a moron of the highest caliber. The same goes for if you buy an alligator or any other animal along those lines. Don’t buy animals you cannot care for!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on, the United States is a much different place than the United Kingdom, especially in climate. Here in the United States, Burmese Pythons are an invasive species in the state of Florida. I mention this because that species of python can grow to be 10 to 16 feet (3 to 4.8 meters) long. I’ve actually held one of them at a fair when I was much younger; they are beautiful creatures but heavy. My father, on the other hand, disagrees and fears snakes almost as much as I fear spiders and centipedes.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Meanwhile, over in Britain, the largest snake—as far as I can tell—grows to only be roughly 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. This shouldn’t be a surprise, though, as Britain’s climate is nothing like the United States. So pythons aren’t going to be something natural over there. That doesn’t mean you can’t own them as pets; </span><a href="https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/other/royalpython#:~:text=Although%20most%20royal%20pythons%20in,royal%20python%20as%20a%20pet." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">royal pythons are bred in captivity</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and you can own them. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, what am I getting at? Well, as the narrator of that video said, it’s incredibly plausible that some rich person bought a python (a rock python is mentioned by the narrator) or an anaconda. When they realized that caring for an animal like that is incredibly difficult and not as simple as caring for, say, a dog, they let it loose and went home. To add my own theory, they likely bought another one because it makes for a great talking piece. God willing, the snake didn’t kill the dipstick’s other pets.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory does have three problems, though. For starters, there’s the “scraping noise.” I tried to look up if snakes could produce such a noise as they slither, but I naturally got nothing. I did, however, learn that snakes can produce noise as they move around. </span><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/video/no-1-sign-theres-snake-120215108.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACHcabS-y0GcSdbguerGHL8JaM9eAIkWzi8_TaFijLmp-kqjjKG-gRnEoZ_Uoe5qRgdKbzkdrVzh7_Cac4_klvB6B-tKvmTH9f-E5Vjyq6I6A6p7J8h_lizdK33BDKXaIrvURY-52IG_3CxPgjtn8qxM73XR1SETxTqFdNmnLPOv#:~:text=Snakes%20are%20likely%20to%20make,side%20of%20batten%20type%20insulation." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Per an article on Yahoo</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> about how to identify if you have a snake infestation problem:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Michael Dean, a pest expert and co-founder of landscaping website Pool Research, says that if you're dealing with a snake, these strange noises are likely to come from enclosed or dark spaces, such as your walls, crawlspace, flooring, or attic. Snakes are likely to make a crinkling paper noise or a slow-moving, scratching noise similar to that of sandpaper, per the Wildlife Company, an animal control company.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“This type of noise is generally made by snakes as they crawl over the paper side of batten type insulation. Their scales will scratch against the paper as they crawl across,” the Wildlife Company says. “This noise will cross a ceiling very slowly if it is made by a snake. If you hear this, crawlspaces and attics need to be inspected for snakes.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Granted, this is from within a house, not out on a road in the middle of the night. Nevertheless, I never knew this, and I wanted to share it. However, I was not done, so I went to the next source of irrefutable information, a viable source so powerful it rivals that of Harvard and every other reputable location on Earth. That’s right, I went to ChatGPT.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Truth be told, I did this because I was getting sick of not getting the information I wanted, and I figured that asking an AI would be easier than repeatedly rewording what I wanted; much to my amusement, the answer ChatGPT gave me was the exact same one I’d been getting. I asked if an anaconda could make noise as it slithers. The answer I got was this:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hello! Anacondas are large and heavy snakes that primarily move by slithering. While they don't typically produce sounds in the same way that some other animals do, their movement can still generate some noise.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When an anaconda slithers, its body comes into contact with various surfaces like vegetation, leaves, and the ground. These interactions can create rustling or shuffling sounds, especially if the snake is moving through dry leaves or undergrowth. Additionally, the scales on an anaconda's body might rub against each other as it moves, creating a faint rustling sound.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, these sounds are generally quite subtle and might not be easily audible from a distance, especially if the anaconda is moving in a natural environment with other ambient sounds. The majority of the noise produced by an anaconda’s movement would likely come from its interactions with the environment rather than from the snake’s weight itself.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Quick disclaimer for those curious: I dislike AI. That said, I do love using it to make the stupidest images possible. Here’s something I had CrAIon make after Denny Hamlin was disqualified last year at Pocono due to excessive tape on his car’s front grill.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1005602399437717566/1005608737509216357/craiyon_184936_Denny_Hamlin_eating_scotch_tape.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="657" height="400" src="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1005602399437717566/1005608737509216357/craiyon_184936_Denny_Hamlin_eating_scotch_tape.png" width="329" /></span></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>Goofy stuff like this is the only thing that I think AI is useful for. Change my mind (you can’t).</span><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As you can see, though, this isn’t exactly going to produce a “scraping noise.” I sincerely doubt that John mistook any of those sounds for that type of noise, either. Unless he misremembered later on and it was his motorbike’s engine.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second issue is a tad bit more expendable. I have no idea how large Boneless was; that information is mentioned </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">anywhere</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. I’ve said this multiple times now, so I won’t go on some tangent. Though without anything to go off of, I can only imagine how big this supposed slug-whale was. It could have been as long as a rock python, a green anaconda, or a reticulated python. Those snakes are anywhere from 9 feet (2.7 meters) to a world record length of 32 feet (9.7 meters).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The third and final issue is the head. Admittedly, I can kind of see how one may mistake a snake’s head for that or a whale, especially at night and while scared. However, it is rather odd. Though I can’t imagine rationality is going to be on full display when you think you’re seeing a gigantic slug-whale.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, I can see how this theory would work. It’s honestly one of two that work, and it’s the only one that I think works in any capacity outside of the Zooform theory. Man, talk about a showcasing of two opposites.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On one final note, I mentioned how that video posited Boneless may have been the product of a hallucination. I considered including it, but in all honesty, I doubt it. If the only sighting had been from John, I would have. However, given Boneless had been seen a fair bit before, I doubt the entire area was experiencing the same hallucination of a giant slug-whale. Unless the locals were all taking LSD, but I feel that’s beside the point; moving on now.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8. An incredibly swole slug</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This was a slug that hit the gym with the utmost dedication. As time went on, it got the body every slug desires; now, it can show off its gains to the other slugs and make them jealous.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1067628580953137266/1145415426231255193/Picsart_23-08-27_13-51-43-973.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1067628580953137266/1145415426231255193/Picsart_23-08-27_13-51-43-973.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A special thanks to my friend for photoshopping this absolute god-tier picture for me. You’re the best!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For a while, this story was in the same situation as The Crimean Slug. I had no idea what to make of it, absolutely none. It wasn’t until I found the theory about an escaped snake that I found something that actually made sense to me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I won’t go on some massive tangent since I think I did above; I think I effectively gave my take there. Some rich bozo bought a snake, couldn’t take care of it, and let it out into the wild. Odds are, people unfamiliar with such large snakes thought it was some enormous slug or slug-whale. Its strange appearance was due to having just eaten something.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Additionally, snakes like the rock python and green anaconda can live for up to 20 years. This would explain why sightings stopped in 1970. The snake just flat-out died due to old age. Or someone might have run it over; you decide, oh dearest of readers.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I will acknowledge the issue with the scraping noise. I do think that human memory is imperfect (I have said countless times on this blog). I am also more than a believer in the paranormal; I’ve had a few unexplainable experiences that I have tried to rationalize but have been unable to.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, the Zooform theory, as I read before, is a bit on the far-fetched side. At least, what little I’ve read. The idea that some supernatural entity took on the form of this near-shapeless slug-whale only to aimlessly wander around is incredibly silly. At least with stories like Black Shuck, the dog followed alongside people or, in other instances, watched them. Mothman flew after a car, and The Big Grey Man followed hikers.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Boneless, meanwhile, slid around like a dog fetching a ball on a slippery floor. Maybe it’s because I’m not some paranormal entity, but I cannot imagine there’s anything to be gained from doing such a thing. Maybe its actions are far beyond my comprehension, and what it was doing was a means of opening a portal to another world, but I cannot believe this.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could help to explain it; I’m more than willing to bet that I missed something or haven’t read enough. I will concede that I’ve been racing against the clock to write, and my life has been hectic beyond belief for the past, like, 3 years (with the last one being exceptionally harsh). So, I wouldn’t put it past me to have not gotten something.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In short, though, I think this was a case of misidentification. Some rich imbecile let a snake out into the wild, and eventually, it died of old age.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This story reinforced my absolute disdain for slugs, disgusting creatures that skeeve me out like few others. Like, seriously, slugs are disgusting animals. If I could, I would go back in time and tell myself not to bother with covering this story; it was rather difficult to cover, actually. For whatever reason, this was an extremely annoying story to make work. The material, despite appearing rather strong when I first found it, ended up making me feel like nothing ever came to life. Kind of funny, given the story’s about something called Boneless.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh well, whatever. Despite my disdain for slugs, I know they have their place in the ecosystem, but man, do they gross me out. I sincerely hope that nothing like The Crimean Slug or Boneless exists. If they do, then I think I’m moving to Greenland. I’ll take my chances with the polar bears.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though with that, it’s time to officially end the write-up. I hope you enjoyed this little foray into the unknown, and as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-25484693255770058892023-12-26T06:00:00.001-05:002023-12-26T06:00:00.149-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 26: The Crimean Slug<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.meming.world/images/en/thumb/1/1b/The_What%3F.jpg/300px-The_What%3F.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="300" height="325" src="https://en.meming.world/images/en/thumb/1/1b/The_What%3F.jpg/300px-The_What%3F.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span id="docs-internal-guid-e5827d77-7fff-4f3b-a105-b434ccc3b7a6"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In my life, I’ve seen only one or two slugs; I believe I was 9 or 10 years old at the time. The poor fellas had salt poured on them by the kids I called my friends. Their reason for doing this was “it made them look like scrambled eggs.” You know, in hindsight, this behavior really explains why they are the way they are today.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lucky for me, I did not end up like them. Unlucky for me, I’m here to talk to you about not one but two stories related to slugs. You see, I don’t like slugs. In fact, I don’t like anything that’s small and crawls on the ground. They all scare and gross me out. That’s why today, I’m going to be telling you the story of larger-than-normal slugs, starting with </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Crimean Slug</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Just saying: the fact they’re larger actually makes this considerably worse.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">An Eastern European Horror</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found today’s story on the </span><a href="https://itsmth.fandom.com/wiki/Crimean_Slug" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s Something Wiki</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, though it’s been posted on the </span><a href="https://obscurban-legend.fandom.com/wiki/Crimean_Slug" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ObscUrban Legend Wiki</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and </span><a href="https://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2016/11/humanoid-encounters-slug-monsters-on.html?m=0" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Phantoms and Monsters.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> However, the original source is an article from Krymskaya Pravda, which is a newspaper from Ukraine. Though I digress, let’s dive into the story.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our story takes place on November 18, 1998, in Dalekoye, Crimea, which was at the time a part of Ukraine but is now a part of Russia. I love geopolitics as much as I love slugs, but due to this having occurred in 1998, I’ve tagged this story as having taken place in Ukraine.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, on this November morning, four boys from “the local elementary school”—Eldar Islamov, Anton Kireichev, Server Devlyatov, and Alyesha Alyabyev—had to use the bathroom. A brief digression: Google Documents keeps telling me to change “Devlyatov” to “Devyatov.” I’m keeping it as the former, as that’s what every source says Server’s surname was. However, if you know why I keep getting told to change the spelling, please let me know.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Getting back on track: While en route to the bathroom, the boys “heard a strange, guttural sound” emanate from behind them. Curious, they turned around to see what it was.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What the four boys saw was not a slug. Rather, it was a humanoid entity that stood 1.7 meters (5.5 feet). For the remainder of this thing’s description, I’m going to let what I believe to be the original news article do the talking because, woo boy. This creature sounds like something out of a horror movie.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The alien had a large head, not in proportion to its body, two huge red eyes and a square flat body. Its long arms touched the ground and ended in three clawed black fingers. The legs of the entity were black and straight. The rest of its body was semi-transparent, smoke in color. The boys noticed neither hair, nor mouth, ears nor nose.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nice to see Kevin Smith got around to making a sequel to </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tusk</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Understandably, the four boys were petrified at the sight of this thing—which they later dubbed “The Slug.” Personally, I would have named it “God’s Mistake.” Tell me what you would have named it in the comments!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anywhoozle, regardless of my own thoughts on its name, it approached the boys, eventually settling on one of them. Which of the four was picked isn’t specified, but it placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder; the boy would later say he “felt neither heaviness nor pain.” Even stranger, his skin would turn red where the thing had laid its hand, but he felt pain nor a burning sensation. I’m not sure how long this redness lasted, but it presumably went away at some point. If it didn’t, then that must make for one helluva party story.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Knowing that you shouldn’t let strangers put their hand on you, the boy tried to push it away. Whether he managed to push the thing off isn’t made clear, but during this altercation, the group noticed the alien-slug-thing had some kind of device with a button on its elbow. For whatever reason, it pressed it, and it was “sucked through the wall of the school building.” I guess this high-tech alien gadget turns the nearest structure into a Hoover vacuum. Good to know aliens haven’t made their gizmos foolproof!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although it was absorbed by the wall of the school, the alien-slug-thing’s red eyes were still visible through it. For how long isn’t stated, but I must admit that it’s an unsettling image to imagine. Eventually, it disappeared entirely, and the boys ran back to their classroom, screaming.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unfortunately for their teacher, the boys were inconsolable; one of them stuttered uncontrollably. Presumably, that one attempted to explain what had happened. Though I’m admittedly projecting, given my own issues with speaking. So, let us continue.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">From that day onward, the four boys “feared going to the toilet alone” lest they encounter the horror they knew as “The Slug.” Lucky for them, that was the one and only sighting of that freakish being.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, there is one last thing of note. Supposedly, there was a rash of UFO sightings “reported around the area in 1998.” Unfortunately, none are mentioned in any of the sources I mentioned at the start.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Alas, that is where the story of The Crimean Slug comes to a close. Writing about this was felt; it’s short, and I had a hard time trying to make it feel fun. I blame that on how little substance there is. Still, in spite of that, there are some theories, and so that’ll more than makeup for it. So come along, let’s not be sluggish in getting to ‘em!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. An alien</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let’s start off with the most obvious theory, that this was an extraterrestrial. I don’t think there’s any feasible way to think of this thing as anything other than this—and I mean that solely based on its appearance. It doesn’t sound like anything other than an alien; no animal on Earth looks quite as appalling as this thing. Well, outside of centipedes </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Alien visitation to Earth is a controversial topic. I have friends who believe in aliens who think it’s absolutely ridiculous that they’ve come to Earth; their reasoning is that they have absolutely no reason to do so. At the same time, I have friends who think the exact opposite; they believe that aliens have come to Earth, with some believing that they assisted us in advancing.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Honestly, I think both sides have some interesting arguments. However, in the case of this story, the circumstances surrounding it are absolutely goofy. This sounds like someone who went on a wildlife tour, tried to pet an animal, and got the reaction they didn’t desire. Humiliated—or perhaps scared—they left partway through their vacation.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Seriously, that’s what this sounds like; an alien tried to pet a wild animal (in this case, a young human), and when that didn’t go as planned, they realized they screwed up. I have to imagine this dingbat went to whatever the extraterrestrial equivalent of Starbucks is afterward to calm down. I guarantee you: this goofy dingus is the reason they have “Don’t Pet the Humans” signs in outer space.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, there is no concrete way to prove this. Yes, there was that red mark on one of the children, but I couldn’t find anything about that. So whatever the case was with that mark, it doesn’t appear it was anything special. On top of that, it doesn’t appear the alien left any footprints or drag marks (since its arms stretched down to the ground). Though it’s possible nobody checked for either of these, it’s a shame if that’s the case. Oh well, onto the next theory!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. The kids made it up</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ve said this before: children can be absolute demons, but that’s to be expected. They’re kids; they get into mischief and will look for ways out of getting into trouble. I’d argue it’s possible the four made this up to get out of trouble for some reason, but their apparent fear sounds too genuine. Unless they were genuinely afraid of getting into trouble. Though for what reason, I have no idea. Still, I felt this was worth mentioning.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. A case of misidentification</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Children can be demons, but they can also be extremely dumb. I speak from experience since I was at one point a child. I remember when I thought I knew everything when I was 10. Nowadays, I believe I know practically nothing about anything outside of losing at Chess.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While the ages of the four boys aren’t given, I’d argue that doesn’t matter that much. If a wild animal approaches you after making some weird sound, I’d say there’s a good chance you’re going to freak out. That’s the idea behind this theory: the boys encountered an animal—likely one with some disease or that was wounded—or got scared out of their minds.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I believe this theory can explain a lot of supposed alien sightings. However, there’s one issue here—and it’s a really big issue. This thing doesn’t sound like </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">any</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> animal I’ve ever heard of. Honestly, I’m trying to think of an animal that fits it, and I’m drawing a blank. Though admittedly, I don’t know the wildlife in Crimea, so that’s not a shock.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My one guess is that it may have been an escaped primate; I know that they sometimes drag their arms. However, I do question why it didn’t attack them when they ran off. Unless it got scared since it was in unfamiliar territory, or maybe they got incredibly lucky. On the flip side, the lack of a mouth, nose, and hair is a major stroke against this theory. Though I’m willing to chalk that up to shock and the unreliable thing known as human memory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A cryptid (this is some next-level cryptiding)</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I remember when I wrote that first conspiracy Megalist, there was this entry for “Advanced Cryptozoology.” I still don’t know for certain what that means, but I have to imagine that something like this is involved.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is a lot like the previous one, only instead of a case of misidentification, it was an actual undiscovered species—or some unknown animal. Exactly what on Earth it could be is beyond me, but I hope to never meet it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. A demon</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have to say: It’s shocking just how rarely this explanation is used for stories like this. Given how disturbing a lot of these creatures tend to be, you’d think some religious people would put forth the idea that they’re demons—or of some unholy origin. Seriously, reread the description of this creature:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The alien had a large head, not in proportion to its body, two huge red eyes and a square flat body. Its long arms touched the ground and ended in three clawed black fingers. The legs of the entity were black and straight. The rest of its body was semi-transparent, smoke in color. The boys noticed neither hair, nor mouth, ears nor nose.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think I fought this thing in Diablo IV! I swear, it was a boss in one of the acts.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, let me be fair here: I know that not everyone is religious. Heck, I know that not every belief system operates the same when it comes to evil spirits—or negative energy, or anything of that nature. So, I can’t pin the blame on others for this not being a theory. Honestly, I’m doing this goofiness solely for fun, nothing more, nothing less.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, it does genuinely shock me that things like this don’t get called demonic-looking. It is definitely something I would label as being bad news.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though anyways, let me get to the theory. There is a theory—admittedly one that isn’t widely accepted—that some spirits take on the guise of animals when in the world of the living. This has been used to explain the legend of things like Black Shuck and other supposed “Hellhounds.” Demons on Earth take the form of something to get close to humans.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That, on its own, is quite interesting, but this obviously has one flaw. The Crimean Slug looks like something you’d run away from if you so much as saw a tenth of its foot. Though, hey, maybe the demon dropped its facade. I’m not a demonologist, so I can’t say with any level of certainty. All I know is that if I ever saw it, I’d shoot it with a super soaker filled with holy water.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. A being from another reality</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I figured I should spice this theory up since saying “an interdimensional being” was getting a bit stale. Don’t worry; it’ll be back to the way it was the next time it’s proposed.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, all jokes about how common this theory has been this month; I’ve got to be honest when I say that this is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">far</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> from the most egregious use of it. The idea here is simple: a traveler from another reality (or dimension, pick whichever word you desire) came over to ours for a visit. When the kids panicked because this fellow had a look only a mother could love, it got the heck out of Dodge by using its interdimensional traveling suit.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I feel the need to get into the specifics isn’t necessary—not this time. It’s a case of (interdimensional) tourism gone horribly awry; nothing more, nothing less. The only thing I could add is that your mileage will vary; if you don’t believe there are realities out there, then you probably want to beat the crap out of me for using this theory so much this month. To that, I say: I intend on running this so far into the ground we’re gonna end up in another dimension come December 31!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. A prankster</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m including this theory as I think it is somewhat plausible. There isn’t much to it; a creep who was waiting near a school in a costume wanted to scare some kids. Given the incredibly depraved things people have been known to do near schools, this wouldn’t shock me in the slightest. The only issue is the whole “being sucked into the walls of the school.” Though that could have been a product of a traumatized child’s mind, the reality is that the person ran off.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8. It was an escapee from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Someone get a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan to solve this.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is a story where I have two takes; I know that may seem like cheating, but hear me out. Given the lack of information on this story, I didn’t want to outright dismiss it or blindly trust everything I read. That’s something I see some folks do when they read about mysteries—be they Fortean in nature or unsolved crimes. Heck, I’m guilty of it; I won’t try to put myself on some sort of pedestal. I’m prone to blindly jumping to conclusions.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As such, I wanted to view this story through two lenses. That of a believer and that of a skeptic. So, let’s start with the former since it’s far easier. It’s also the longer of the two since I’ve got a bit more to talk about (and explain).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Should this story be genuine and this is not in any way, shape, or form exaggerated, then I’d say that it was an alien. I’m an ardent believer in extraterrestrials. While I’m a bit iffy on whether or not aliens visit Earth, the UFO sightings in the vicinity are what does it for me. If—and I mean </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">if</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—there’s a sighting of an extraterrestrial, then the one thing I always wonder is if there were UFO reports nearby. Unless aliens are taking Stargates or using jetpacks to get here, I doubt they just popped up like they loaded an old save file.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With the UFO sightings, though, I can at least come to the conclusion that some species of aliens wanted to do some sort of research. Unfortunately, they were too ugly, and things went south due to their hideousness. It isn’t always what’s on the inside that matters most. When you look like The Crimean Slug, you’re gonna get judged solely based on your looks.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But, yeah, that’s my first take; now for the second one. This is significantly harder because I have no real idea how I’d rationalize this unless it was all fabricated. If it was, then I have absolutely no idea why. It’s possible it was a prank, but I have no idea why unless the boys made it up to explain why one of them had a mark on him. If that’s the case, then they got insanely lucky that their teacher presumably believed them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The only thing I can guess is it was a case of misidentification; the boys were so terrified of some disfigured—or gravely ill—animal that wandered over and approached them. Alternatively, it could have been an escaped primate. Either way, the part about being sucked into the walls kind of bothers me. While I know I mentioned the faultiness of human memory, it’s one of those details that’s a thorn in my side.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If that wasn’t the case, I could see it being some sort of incredibly bizarre and disturbing prank. I wouldn’t put it past some screwed-up creep to do something like this for their own disgusting pleasures. This theory would also help to explain the lack of facial features.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, though, I honestly lean towards this thing being an alien. It’s one of those stories that has too many things about it that stop me from rationalizing it. Though, it is possible the entire thing was made up for the news. That wouldn’t shock me in the slightest. If you know this to be the case, do let me know! Until then, I’m gonna say it was aliens. Yay, I can finally say it was aliens for once!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It isn’t every day that I can say that I actually say that I believe aliens to be behind a mystery I covered, so this is going to be one I remember fondly. It was a great deal of fun to write; that’s becoming increasingly common as I get back into the swing of writing, though.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-61531360352507190082023-12-25T19:00:00.015-05:002023-12-25T19:00:00.142-05:00Decemystery (2023) Bonus Entry: The Screaming Stars<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/140303123004-dark-sky-westhavelland.jpg?q=w_3888,h_2592,x_0,y_0,c_fill" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/140303123004-dark-sky-westhavelland.jpg?q=w_3888,h_2592,x_0,y_0,c_fill" width="400" /></a></div> <span id="docs-internal-guid-42eccfb7-7fff-a0cd-a6e1-e41da232bec7"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hello, hello; Merry Christmas! It’s time for the second Christmas Day bonus entry; this one is going to be vastly different than many other write-ups I’ve done. Today, we’re going to be looking at a 4chan greentext story. If you don’t know what those are, they’re basically bullet-point stories. I thoroughly enjoy reading them; they come in all kinds of genres but are normally comedic in nature.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, full disclosure: greentexts are by absolutely no means true stories. Sure, some may be, but to take them as true without question is a stupid thing to do. After all, this is 4chan we’re talking about. The site is notorious for pranks and spreading lies for a laugh. However, I want to share one of my favorite scary greentexts with you guys; this will still read like any other write-up from this month (or in general), but just know right off the bat that what you’re about to read isn’t being viewed as a “real” mystery.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that out of the way, for Decemystery 2023’s bonus entry, look to the heavens and gaze in wonder at the infinite cosmos. This, dear reader, is the story of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Screaming Stars</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Look How They Shine For You</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The earliest post of this story was on October 30, 2013; it was </span><a href="https://archive.4plebs.org/x/thread/13644080" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in a “Nope Thread.”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> These threads are staples of the /x/ (or paranormal) board and are where users often share scary stories—be they allegedly true experiences or creepypastas. More often than not, the original poster asks for the former; a fair number of them read like the latter, though.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, in this particular thread, the tale of the “Screaming Stars” </span><a href="https://archive.4plebs.org/x/thread/13644080/#13645481" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">was shared by someone using the name “The Librarian,”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> who archived various scary greentext stories. As such, I’m inclined to believe this story predates this post, but it wasn’t archived for whatever reason. Despite that, I’m still giving this write-up the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2010’s</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> tag since The Librarian claimed to have been arching “since 2011,” so I’d hazard a guess and say that this was posted around then. There’s one other thing I want to add here, but I’ll get to it later since it’ll be more relevant then rather than. Now, with all of that said, on to the greentext!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The story centers on someone who I’ll call “Anon” because I am woefully unoriginal. Anon’s little brother, who’s 7 years old, had a telescope and liked “to look at the stars and watch things,” which sounds a lot like me when I was little and wanted to be an astronomer. Only I didn’t have an older sibling, but that’s beside the point.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One day, around three weeks prior to when this story occurred, Anon’s little brother spent “literally the entire night looking at one part of space from his room.” Not once did he move from where he was standing, nor did he bother to eat. I have no idea if this was at all hyperbolic (then again, this </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">is</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> a greentext story), but if it by some absurd chance wasn’t, then man, kids are simultaneously the most impatient and most patient humans on Earth. I cannot imagine sitting around staring at one part of space for an entire night. I’d go mad.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Eventually, Anon’s little brother fell asleep; funnily enough, I myself want to go to bed since, at the time of writing, I slept like absolute trash the last few weeks. But, I digress; at around noon the following day, the little astronomer awoke from his slumber. At this, Anon went and asked what he’d been looking at. That was when this story took a turn from “a kid doing something weird” to “a kid who’s going to grow up to visit R’lyeh.” You see, Anon’s brother responded by saying:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I was looking at the screaming stars.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, being a rational, level-headed 4chan user, Anon did not immediately see to his spaghetti’s untimely exit from his pockets. No, he merely asked what his brother (whom he referred to as a “little brat,” which I must admit is about the most endearing thing I’ve seen a 4channer ever say) meant by that. Like any kid, Anon’s little brother responded by explaining the entire thing in the most upfront manner possible.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There’s a place I found where, if you look at it, you can hear screaming.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Naturally, Anon thought his little brother was making it up, but the little Galileo insisted that what he’d found was true and said that he would “prove it” to him. Being a good older sibling, Anon took his brother up on that offer. So, that night, at around 11:00 p.m. (23:00 for my 24-hour time readers), he went to see these “screaming stars.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Upon entering the room, Anon saw the telescope; it hadn’t moved since the previous night. Whether or not his brother was in the room is unstated, but it doesn’t appear that he was. Regardless, Anon peered through the telescope and up at the sky above. It was during this that he heard something: faint screaming. Slowly but surely, it got louder.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How long Anon stared at this sky isn’t said, but he eventually had to “look away.” It’s only now that I realize that his little brother willingly stared at this portion of the sky, listening to the screams. I’m not sure if I find that disturbing or bizarre. Maybe a mix of both.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After collecting his bearings (and his spaghetti), Anon went to his mother and told her that she should take his little brother’s telescope away. I imagine this greatly upset the aspiring Nicolaus Copernicus, but Anon did not say so; it’s possible that his mother told him that she would do no such thing. Whatever the case, Anon ends off by saying the following:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m never going to look at the stars again.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That’s where Anon’s tale ends. Like most greentexts, it’s anticlimactic and leaves you with many questions and few—if any—answers. I can’t provide you with any answers, though I do want to touch upon one aspect of the story that I mentioned at the start: when it was first posted.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You see, in the thread I linked at the start of this, </span><a href="https://archive.4plebs.org/x/thread/13644080/#13677896" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">one user replied to The Librarian—along with an image</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of what I believe to be the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">original</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> post. Unfortunately, when I tried to click on it, it gave me an error message. So, I’m guessing it wasn’t properly archived. I doubt there were many—if any—variations since the response merely criticized The Librarian for censorship, to which The Librarian retorted with the following:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Everything entered into the Personal Stories section of the archive censors anything more than “hell”. This is done to keep it both worksafe, and available to younger readers (you didn’t think I'd limit myself to /x/, did you?) I stand by it, since for its advantages, I don't think anything has been lost.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The rest of the archive remains unchanged, though.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, if I had to guess, all that was censored was vulgarity of some sort. Of course, I could be wrong, but I’m relatively confident in my assumption.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Outside of that little bit, that’s where the story ends. It’s one of my favorite greentexts out there; it’s short, sweet, and deeply unsettling. I had considered covering more of them this month, but I didn’t want to devote so many entries to stories from 4chan, especially when you can chalk most—if not all—of them to works of fiction. This one is no different, but for the sake of entertainment, I’ll still go over the theories. I picked most of them from </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/greentext/comments/zwb4fg/anon_hears_the_stars_scream/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a post on the greentext subreddit</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; anyway, let’s dig in!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. It was real</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For our inaugural theory, we have one that has a bit of truth to it. Despite how, in space, no one can hear you scream, there is still some semblance of noise in the frigid, dark void of space. You see, </span><a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/accessibility/transcripts/Professor-Bill-Chaplin-Asteroseismology.aspx" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">stars do produce sound.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I won’t get into the specifics since I genuinely don’t understand it, but stars produce “music.” Unfortunately, it’s produced at a frequency too low for the human ear to hear. Perhaps this is a good thing because I can imagine astronauts would go insane if they could hear the “songs” of every star in the Milky Way (of which there are 100 billion).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whether Anon miraculously heard these songs because his hearing rivals that of Superman or he heard something else entirely is up for debate. The main point of this theory is that Anon (along with his little brother) did, in fact, hear </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">something</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. That assertion is lofty, to say the least, and it has exceedingly little to back it up. I’ll go over a few of those issues in the next theory, but I will point out one thing that does work in this theory’s favor.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There’s a weird phenomenon known as “Sky Trumpets” that has been reported from around the world. I actually wrote about it back in 2020 for that year’s iteration of Decemystery, but I deleted it before it went up because I was incredibly dissatisfied with it. To put it bluntly, it was half-assed, like most of the entries for that year’s Decemystery; I have no idea if I’ll ever revisit the story because I don’t find it that interesting.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, Sky Trumpets, some people report hearing incredibly loud sounds coming from the sky. These sounds lack any discernible point of origin. Some believe them to be made by angels in Heaven (the trumpets sounded before the fulfillment of prophecies in the Book of Revelation), while others think they’re sonic booms or being made by some secret government weapon.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Officially, there isn’t a concrete answer for what produces these sounds. Some propose a strange phenomenon of some sort, but there are plenty who aren’t satisfied with it. Whatever the case may be, it’s possible that Anon could have heard one of these so-called “Sky Trumpets,” but it happened to sound closer to a faint screaming rather than a trumpet. Perhaps the sky was hitting a lot of bad notes that night; I have no idea.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have no idea how likely it would be for this phenomenon to occur in rapid succession, let alone for nobody outside of Anon’s little brother to hear it, but I believe this to be the one and only plausible explanation. We’ll go over some others in a bit, but those are from the replies to the aforementioned post on r/greentext. If there’s another plausible explanation, do let me know.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On one final note, I want to share a random fun fact with you. I decided to Google how many songs have ever been released in history. The exact number isn’t known, but Google put it at anywhere between 97 million and 230 million; these figures are probably off, but let’s just go with them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming that every star in the Milky Way was to play one song that was released in history—up until now—that would mean that anywhere from 00.01% to 00.02% of our galaxy’s stars would be playing a song. The remaining 99,903,000,000 to 99,770,000,000 would be without one.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. It was made up</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is the most probable theory for a multitude of reasons; I’ll go over a few of them, but the main reason is simple: it’s a greentext story. They are, by and large, fictitious. Are some of them real? Sure, but when it comes to the horror-themed ones, that’s a lot harder to prove. You’re relying on the word of a 4chan user; that’s a leap of faith I’m sure few would be willing to take.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The next issue is, well, nobody else outside of Anon and his little brother reported this phenomenon. While it appeared that the screaming was only audible when looking at the sky, one has to wonder if anyone else on Earth just so happened to hear that. Sure, the sky is different across the planet because, well, Earth is in perpetual motion, and everything in the universe moves (including stars). My point is that, surely, someone somewhere experienced something similar. Even if it was at a different point. However, as far as I can tell, there has never been any report of the stars screaming.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are many other issues with this, most of them not worth mentioning on account of them entering retreading territory. However, despite that, we’re not done with theories; nay, we have some more to go over, so let’s continue.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Anon forgot to take his meds</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is where we start to get into the theories put forward by the previously mentioned Reddit post. The first one is one that I believe most would think of: that Anon was mentally ill and had an auditory hallucination. This is by no means something outlandish; people with various mental illnesses can and do suffer from auditory hallucinations. Perhaps the most well-known illness to cause them is schizophrenia, though others can trigger them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On its own, this theory is very likely, though it has one glaring flaw. Assuming that Anon didn’t hallucinate what his little brother said, it’d be rather odd for him to have heard the screaming. Now, granted, it’s possible that his brother made it up to tease him, but I’d find it rather peculiar to still hear the screams. Unless he deluded himself into hearing them, I have no idea how schizophrenia works or the hallucinations that can come with it. So, do excuse me in that regard.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Aside from that issue, this would be a relatively safe bet—at least, I think it would be. Of course, if you’re skeptical of a 4chan post about hearing screaming from the sky, I would totally understand. I, too, feel quite skeptical that Anon heard anything other than “Sneed” being screamed from the heavens.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. Anon discovered what drove Lovecraft mad</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, this theory has a weird bit of history behind it. I originally intended for the first write-up of 2022 to be about the idea that the works of H.P. Lovecraft were real. I have extremely little recollection of how I intended to write it because this was at the start of 2022, close to two years ago (as of the time of writing, it’s Thanksgiving). I also haven’t read about the theory, but I recall it being something of a meme theory; some people, specifically on 4chan, believe that Lovecraft knew of other dimensions and higher beings. I think it’s part of the “Schizopill” meme that some people on /x/ use. I could be wrong, though; I’ll need to look into it next year if I get the opportunity.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, getting back on track, our fourth theory is loosely tied to that. The idea is that Anon, along with his brother, heard the screams of some great, cosmic horror—or its victims. If you want to tie it into a Conspiracy Iceberg entry, you could say that it was the cosmic scream of the Boötes Void Leviathan, which I mentioned in </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/07/megalist-introduction-and-summary-of.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the second Conspiracy Megalist I did back in 2021.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> As a side note, I hyperlinked an image in that entry and said that it was of the Boötes Void. I was wrong; the image I hyperlinked was of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnard_68" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Barnard 68, a dark nebula.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> My bad!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My error correction aside, I don’t think I need to get into why this theory isn’t worth considering. Aside from the lack of evidence of a gargantuan behemoth going through space like it’s some planet-eater, I doubt it would be able to emit a sound that only two people on Earth could hear. Though, hey, why should that get in the way of a bit of good old cosmic horror? It sure hasn’t prevented me from enjoying the heck out of Lovecraft’s works!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. Anon has tinnitus</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tinnitus is a condition where people hear a ringing or buzzing sound in one or both of their ears. The cause for this condition can vary, but I believe the most common is prolonged exposure to loud sounds (such as being close to airplanes).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not familiar with tinnitus (I do have family members who have it, though), so I don’t know if it can sound like screaming. If it does, then I can see why one may think this could be the case, but I’d be absolutely dumbfounded if Anon was unaware he had it or, if he did know, didn’t realize that was what he was hearing. I know that fear can cause irrational thinking, but </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">surely</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, you could differentiate a ringing or buzzing sound from screaming.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. Anon heard the distant sound of an airplane</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, so this theory isn’t actually mentioned in the r/greentext post. However, it’s one that sprang to mind, and I felt like sharing it because, hey, I have nothing better to do on a lazy Thanksgiving evening outside of writing and eventually going to sleep!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is simple: Anon heard the roaring of a plane’s engines but mistook it for screaming. He probably got spooked by what his brother said and immediately drew to the conclusion that the stars were screaming.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Admittedly, much like the previous theory, this one’s on shaky ground. While it’s not impossible, I’m skeptical if someone would actually mistake a plane’s engines for the stars screaming. Then again, this is /x/ we’re talking about. They’ll mistake just about anything in the woods for a Fleshgait. Then again, I mistake my fire alarm for a centipede at night, so who am I to judge?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. Bing bing wahoo</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Go ahead and insert a Super Mario Galaxy reference here. I’m too lazy to do so myself.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think I made my stance on this story rather clear at the start: I don’t think it’s true. Like the vast majority of greentexts, I believe it’s a work of fiction intended to scare the reader. To me, it reads like someone who’s a fan of cosmic horror (specifically Lovecraftian horror) and decided to try their hand at making their own short horror tale.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, on the off chance that this wasn’t made up, I’m a bit stumped. I feel like the best bet would be that he and his brother heard the faint sound of an airplane, however, much like with the tinnitus theory. I would be rather dumbfounded if Anon couldn’t differentiate the sounds of several cars or an airplane from screaming. Is it possible he did? Sure. Is it likely? I sincerely doubt it. Then again, people can and do make silly mistakes, especially when scared.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Outside of that, I simply think that this is too fantastical to be real. The idea that this could have been some sort of cosmic horror or something akin to that is really silly. But, hey, that’s just me; I’m open to counterarguments.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that, our write-up comes to an end. Even though I doubt this story was real, I don’t care. It remains one of my favorite horror greentexts, and it never fails to unsettle me. There are many more like it—plenty of them being scarier in my eyes, and I really hope to share more of them with you all next year! But that’s for next year; this month’s over, and there are many wild stories that remain to be shared. So, until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p><br /><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-36904057547605829352023-12-25T18:00:00.012-05:002023-12-25T18:00:00.138-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) Bonus Entry: The Ghosts of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.ad31f9072469b229559adac6d2abcde2?rik=gKSgypRc0aklUg&pid=ImgRaw&r=0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="800" height="279" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.ad31f9072469b229559adac6d2abcde2?rik=gKSgypRc0aklUg&pid=ImgRaw&r=0" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-370b0396-7fff-1dea-7051-cf8f0fcec315"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Good evening, dear reader! Merry Christmas to you; have a seat near the fireplace. I have a story for you. A few of them, actually. This write-up isn’t focused on any one case or report; it’s more of a collection that I’ve amassed when researching the topic.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When I was putting together this year’s Decemysterys, I wanted to cover some stories related to NASCAR. Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to all of them; the one about the Talladega sabotage ended up being considerably longer than I thought. So, I decided to forego most of the other stories.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There was one, however, that I kept. One that I thought was simply too good not to cover. You see, one of the most iconic tracks in all of motorsports stands in Indiana. It’s known as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, nicknamed “The Brickyard,” and it’s a beast that has a bloody history. So, for our first Decemystery bonus entry, we’ll be talking about </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Ghosts of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Come along, dear reader; let’s go ghost hunting!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A Brickyard Bash</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This write-up will cover a grand total of five stories. However, before we get into them, I want to give you a quick history lesson on why people say the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (which I’ll refer to as IMS from here on out, for the most part) is haunted.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Aside from its age—having been constructed in 1909—IMS as a track has seen a great deal of death. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatalities_at_the_Indianapolis_Motor_Speedway" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In total, 74 people have died there</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, making it the deadliest racetrack in the United States. By comparison, the second deadliest track is Daytona International Superspeedway, which has seen 40 people die on it.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite those numerous deaths, all but one of the ghostly happenings I found have ever been linked to one person. As such, I don’t believe it’s necessary for me to dive into the grisly details of any of them. However, if you want to, the hyperlink above leads to a Wikipedia page that details the casualties the track has seen. You can also find an array of videos on YouTube about Gordon Smiley, whose death, in particular, is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">notorious </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in the world of motorsports and occurred at IMS. But I digress; let’s get into the meat of this story—or, rather, stories!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Story #1: Dale Earnhardt’s Strange Experience</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is the account that kickstarted my interest in doing this write-up; I first heard it from a YouTuber named </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@NBRRacing" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NBR</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, entitled </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH-ihQ-nTQs&ab_channel=NBR" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5 NASCAR Ghost Stories & Urban Legends.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> It’s the first story in the video. Unfortunately, NBR doesn’t recall where he initially heard the story, so unless one of you knows, that’s up in the air as far as I’m aware.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, onto the ghostly encounter. On August 5, 1995, the Brickyard 400 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the second time. Because of this story’s date, along with two others, I’m marking this write-up with the </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1990’s</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> tag. Anyway, while the inaugural event the prior year was won by Jeff Gordon, the second running of the Brickyard 400 would be won by Jeff Gordon’s rival, Dale Earnhardt. Gordon fans were in shambles at their driver losing, much like how I am in shambles every year as a Denny Hamlin fan. If I had a certain meme, I would have posted it here, but I don’t have it, not unlike Denny Hamlin and a championship trophy. Maybe this year; it’s only the first week of October at the time of this writing. I doubt it, though.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, enough tangents; I promise I won’t go on anymore (for a bit). After scoring a win at IMS, Earnhardt celebrated with burnouts, a trophy, and kissing the bricks at the start-finish line (a tradition at the track). This celebration continued into the evening, which I don’t find surprising given the track is arguably the most famous in the entire United States. Eventually, as the Sun had begun setting, Dale decided to take one lap on a motorcycle. Whether or not he owned the bike, I don’t know, but I would hazard a guess and say he did.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Regardless, Dale began his lap around the track. All seemed fine until he got to the halfway point on the back stretch. At this point, those still at the track noticed Dale speed up. Initially, they assumed he was just having a bit of fun; he was, after all, a NASCAR driver and a damn good one at that. So, it isn’t like going fast was alien to him.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, that changed when Dale arrived back at the track’s front stretch. Reportedly, he was “pale-white” and “visibly shaken.” Unfortunately, who—or what—scared him isn’t known. All that’s known is it was enough to make him want to leave the track as quickly as possible.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although the origin of this story appears to be unknown, I did try to seek out additional information, mostly because I swore I’d read details about what Dale had seen. Unfortunately, I came up empty-handed in that regard. One thing I did find was from a </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/INDYCAR/comments/1304wry/something_i_heard_on_youtube/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Reddit post</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (one that we’ll be revisiting later), where a user named “justheretoparty12” </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/INDYCAR/comments/1304wry/comment/jhv0hfj/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">made a comment</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> about Dale’s supposed paranormal experience. They stated that, aside from the rather obscure nature of the encounter, his son—Dale Earnhardt, Jr.—has said his father wasn’t big on motorcycles. No one else who was close to Dale Earnhardt, Sr., has ever commented on the story either.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Beyond that, my efforts to Google were fruitless. Luckily, there was one other lead, and it came from the video’s comment section. According to a commenter named “hobeone1192”, it originates from 4chan’s /x/ board. Unfortunately, that was also a dead end. I combed through the 4plebs archive but found no results for this story or the other one related to Dale (which was about the fate of the car he died in). Almost every reference to Dale Earnhardt is related to the lost photos of him after he died at Daytona.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll say right now, it likely wouldn’t be </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">that</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> hard to figure out if this story is true or not. Most people who worked with Dale are still alive; the man who employed him, Richard Childress, still owns and operates his team. Heck, he’s still fielding the #3 car (even if the driver of it is as talented as I am at driving).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On top of that, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. frequently posts on Reddit. However, I don’t know if he would know anything about this. Nevertheless, it may be worth a shot for a paranormal enthusiast who’s a NASCAR fan—like me! Alas, the NASCAR subreddit’s moderators are, more often than not, quite tyrannical (from what I’ve heard). So, I don’t want to risk being banned from there. Anyway, we have three more stories to get through, so let’s jump into the next one!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Story #2: A Spriit’s Autograph</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This story comes from the comment section of NBR’s video. A user named “johnmick9457” (who I’ll refer to as John from here on out) left a comment detailing a weird incident involving his then 8-year-old son at the 1994 Indy 500.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to John, his son wandered off—presumably before the race. Thankfully, he returned unharmed. While John doesn’t say if he asked his son where he went (or if he even knew in the first place), he does state that his son showed him an autograph he got from a driver on his “program.” I’m not entirely sure what a program is, but a Google search yields results for memorabilia. So, I’m going to assume it’s something along those lines. If any Indycar fan can explain it better, I would greatly appreciate it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, John didn’t think much of his son’s claim. After all, what better way to commemorate a sporting event than an autograph? So, he put it in the back of his mind and enjoyed the race, which would ultimately be won by Al Unser, Jr., his second Indy 500 win (his first having come two years prior). As a fun fact for any sports fans reading this: this would also be the ninth Indy 500 victory from a member of the Unser family, who have a historic nine Indy 500 victories to their name. Besides Al Unser, Jr.’s two wins, his father—Al Unser, Sr.—won the legendary race four times, while his uncle—Bobby Unser—won it three times.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Upon arriving home, John went to look at his son’s program to see which driver had signed it. As it turns out, it was Eddie Sachs. This surprised John as Eddit died in 1964. I won’t go into detail out of respect for Eddit, but he died during the 1964 Indy 500 in a horrific crash that caused his fuel tank to erupt in a massive fire. There are several articles and pages detailing the events, but I don’t feel comfortable getting into the specifics of this one.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After realizing that a man who’d died three decades earlier had given his autograph, John showed his son a picture of Eddie and asked if he was the man who signed his program. John’s son responded in the affirmative and continued to do so despite Eddie having died all those years ago. Presumably, he still insists on this.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That’s where this story ends, though I do want to linger on it for a bit longer due to the replies. For starters, John responded to one user who asked if he still had the autograph; John said he wished he did, but it was “either lost or stolen.” It’s a rather convenient reason, but I’m willing to play the devil’s advocate here; even the most prized possessions can go missing, especially decades after the incident.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s possible that John could have thought the whole thing was done by an old fan of Eddie’s. We have Elvis impersonators; there’s no reason to think there wasn’t one die-hard (and weird) Eddie Sachs fan out there who dressed up as him on the 30th anniversary of his death. One commenter actually posits this, noting that people make a living off of it. Exactly how on Earth people make a living off of it will forever be beyond me, but it’s a reality. Man, people pay for some weird things.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on, another person questioned him about his son “wandering off,” which I think is odd but far from the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard of. I remember when I was a kid, I wandered off in a bookstore and got separated from my parents. Kids are good at doing stupid things; I wouldn’t necessarily blame John for losing sight of his son at a racetrack. Still, it is a bit on the odd side that it just so happened this one time he got separated; he saw the ghost of a dead racer.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The two most eye-catching comments, however, are way down the reply chain. The first I want to go over is from “whatamisupposedtodohere9173,” whose comment was made a month before the time of this writing (which, again, is in October). They had this to say:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is a joke btw my comment is a joke.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not sure what they’re referring to: if there was a comment left that has since been deleted, if they’re trying to troll John and pretend they’re an alternate account of his, or if that actually is an alternate account of John’s and they’re confessing to the whole thing being a hoax. Whatever the case may be, it caught my eye, and I needed to make a note of it here. Now, then, onto the next comment—which serves as our third story!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Story #3: An Intruder at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I considered not having this be the third story, but I ultimately decided to since it technically is one. Besides, having five stories feels a bit more special than four.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second comment comes right before the previous one, but it’s considerably longer, so I wanted to save it for after. Well, that and I wanted to have it be its own story, but I digress. It was posted by “kylegonzales5997,” who I’ll just refer to as “Kyle” from here on out. According to Kyle, his uncle worked at IMS from 1987 to 1994, then from 1998 to 2006. He told stories to Kyle about the track and how it was a pretty creepy place at night (though I feel that goes for a lot of empty venues after dark).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One time, while working security, Kyle’s uncle was on the back stretch of the track. During one patrol, he noticed “a man standing in the middle of the track” with his arms folded. After that, Kyle’s wording becomes a bit hard to understand due to the lack of punctuation and overall clarity. As such, I’ll let the remainder of the comment do the talking for me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">[A]s he passed the second viewing mound which he instantly stopped on the other side of the viewing mound and ran to the fencing to try to find whoever it was only to find out nobody was there or anywhere on the back stretch that night only him</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think what he’s saying is that his uncle didn’t immediately register the man’s presence, but when he did, he ran over to the location but saw no one there. If that’s the case, that’s pretty spooky. However, I can easily see it being an intruder who wanted to explore the track after dark, and they ran off to hide after seeing Kyle’s uncle patrolling nearby. Again, the comment’s clarity is a bit on the iffy side.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, with that, this story comes to an end. It’s short but spooky in my eyes. I also think it’s the easiest one to plausibly explain, given it’s not uncommon for people to break into closed-off areas to do a bit of late-night exploration. But, I once again digress; it’s time for us to move on to the fourth creepy tale from IMS!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Story #4: The Old Lady of the Speedway</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our next story is a very short one and takes us to Reddit, specifically, to the Indycar subreddit. On September 7, 2023, a post was made entitled “</span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/INDYCAR/comments/16cyjts/haunted_racing/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Haunted Racing</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">,” which was also </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/16cuvh6/haunted_racing/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">posted to the NASCAR subreddit.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> The user, who said they were making a series by the same name on YouTube, enquired about haunted tracks and their spooky happenings.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/INDYCAR/comments/16cyjts/comment/jznpitm/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One of the replies</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to the Indycar post came from a user named “ShadowDN4,” who claims to have spoken to “a few people who were around Indy” back in the 1960s and 1970s. I’m unsure if the people Shadow spoke to worked there or attended the races frequently, but I’m going to go out on a limb and guess it’s the former. Either way, these folks told stories of someone known as the “Old Lady of the Speedway,” who “watches over the speedway.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That’s, unfortunately, all there is to the story; Shadow didn’t go into any greater detail aside from saying it’s “one of the odder mythological things about the speedway.” I tried Googling the legend, but I only got results for women who’ve raced at the track. It’s possible it’s a little-known bit of lore, which isn’t unheard of when it comes to old structures from anywhere on Earth. Nonetheless, I can’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment that there isn’t more out there.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Story #5: Tony Stewart’s Spooky Overnight Stay</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our fifth and final story brings us back to the realm of NASCAR, and it’s a first-hand account. As I said in the introduction to the Talladega write-up, Tony Stewart was my favorite NASCAR driver growing up; the dude was an absolute beast of a NASCAR driver. He’s the only driver in the sport’s history to have completed “double duty” on the same day; that’s racing the entire length of the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day (in this case, back in 2001). So, in total, he raced 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) on the same day. To call him amazing would be an understatement. To then learn that he had a strange experience at a track like IMS is nothing short of exciting to me, and that he spoke about it on video had me unfathomably stoked.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On May 4, 2022, Tony Stewart uploaded a video onto YouTube entitled “It’s May, and that means Indy.” In the video, he went through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum and talked about the track’s history, his time racing there, and various other things. If you’re a motorsports fan, it’s definitely worth watching; </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pje9qdHLHuY&ab_channel=TonyStewart" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">click here to watch it in full.</span></a></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Where things get interesting is the six-minute mark (which you can view for yourself below since I decided to embed the video in this write-up for once). According to Tony, he ran the Indy 500 and then the Winston Open at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina (which is nine hours from IMS). When all was said and done, he arrived back at IMS at around 1:00 a.m., presumably exhausted from having partaken in two races. If you’re wondering why he drove from IMS to Charlotte and then back, Tony resides in Indiana. Presumably, he got permission to stay overnight at IMS as something of a quasi-layover.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pje9qdHLHuY" width="320" youtube-src-id="pje9qdHLHuY"></iframe></span></div><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, despite the probable exhaustion, Tony was still awake and alert enough to notice that the track was a bit off—just a bit. As adamant as any grizzled motorsport veteran can be, Tony adamantly claims that the track that night was “alive,” brimming with noise. One of the other men in the video, Doug Boles (the former President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway), chimes in, saying that he’s heard similar accounts from people who’ve worked at the track.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tony continues by claiming to not believe in ghosts or anything of that nature. Despite that, he asserts that the amount of noise and apparent activity outside the garage (where he was staying) was akin to when there was a race going on. Yet, the track was empty as could be; no one was around, and nothing was physically going on. That’s where his account ends, though it’s not the only one like it. There are two others like it, both of which I want to go over.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first comes from the comment section of Tony’s video and is from a user named “shaneshamblin1983,” who claims to work at Indy and purports to have had the same kinds of experience as Tony. He described the feeling as “not spooky at all,” but instead “very warm” and welcoming. Shane rounded off the comment by thanking Tony for telling his story since he’d been ridiculed for claiming the track was haunted. I’m not going to lie; I feel bad for the guy if he’s being truthful. That has to suck; to experience something strange and then have your coworkers make fun of you.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, the other account comes </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/INDYCAR/comments/1304wry/comment/jhv3iak/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">from a comment left on a Reddit post</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—specifically one made on the Indycar subreddit. A user named “therhoff99” said that he slept overnight in the infield. During the night, he awoke and “walked to the fence line in turn three” for fun. While he didn’t experience anything paranormal, he said the track nonetheless felt alive. In his own words:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is some sort of energy around there that just amplifies the sounds and breezes and echos that flow through there. No one else was awake but man the Speedway felt awake.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Interesting stuff, if you ask me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that, the stories of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway conclude. I tried to seek out as many reports as I could, but these were the only five I was able to find. I’m sure there are more out there, perhaps on old forums, but even then, covering five separate accounts in one write-up—especially when I’m on the clock—was excruciating. However, if I do ever find more stories, I will do a follow-up write-up. Though I sincerely doubt I will do it for Decemystery, I’d rather take the time to find as many as I can. Until then, let’s get into the theories; let the green flag wave once more!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. It’s really haunted</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, I have to make a huge disclaimer here. Given the nature of this write-up—what with it being about a series of alleged ghost sightings—this theory isn’t going to focus on any one experience. By that, I mean we’ll be ignoring them by and large; I made this decision due to time constraints. As of the time of this writing, I still have 30 write-ups left to complete, and devoting a theories section to each story is not something I have any desire to do. While I’m sure most of you would understand, I want those unfamiliar with this blog to at least have an explanation as to why this section will be heavily generalized.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, with that out of the way, let’s dig into the theories with the first one. That theory is probably the most obvious one: IMS is haunted. It’s good to know there’s precedent in the real world for a supernatural spin-off of the </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fast & Furious</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> movies. I cannot wait for Vin Diesel to fight Ghost Rider, Davy Jones, and James Dean. I’m sure it will be just as sensible as the past five films.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Joking aside, this theory is entirely dependent on your stance on ghosts and the supernatural as a whole. I doubt there’s any way I could sway your mind unless I dragged you to a haunted location and something happened that neither of us could explain. Given I believe in ghosts, I can only speak from my rather biased point of view. Still, I’ll try my best to remain unbiased.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s said that a lot of spirits tend to linger around places that have special meaning to them; given the bloody history of IMS, it’s hard not to see why the souls of those who died are there. I think Gordon Smiley, who I mentioned near the start, is a good example. His death, while it would have been extremely quick, was violent. His car exploded after hitting the wall at 200 miles per hour (321 kilometers per hour). If we’re to look at this purely from the angle of what paranormal lore states, then yeah, I would say it’s more than likely the track’s haunted.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, as is the case with any sort of paranormal happening, there’s no proof to back it up. Sure, there are reports, but those only go so far. To make matters more complicated, it would be quite hard to perform a ghost hunt as IMS is not only still in use but holds several races each year. It’s also quite large, so I doubt a few random folks would be able to “chase” any spirits around without having to run a few miles. Maybe that can be the next great Olympic sport: </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ghost Chasing</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It would require a considerable amount of convincing to perform a paranormal investigation. I sincerely doubt any higher-up at NASCAR or Indycar would want the track’s reputation to become “tainted.” Sure, it’s seen a considerable amount of death, but most—if not all—motorsport fans know of the dangers these sports have. However, not everyone is keen on going to a haunted venue. In fact, plenty actively steer clear of them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On top of that, haunted locations occasionally attract trespassers. It’s possible the track could be vandalized by those seeking a cheap thrill. They could get seriously hurt if they weren’t careful, but I digress. Speculation aside, let’s move on to the next theory; I believe we’ve talked about this one enough.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. None of it is true/There is a rational explanation</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory, like the previous one, is a broad stroke on my end; it encompasses pretty much every view a skeptic could hold. But I won’t generalize, as I know that skepticism doesn’t immediately equal being an ardent nonbeliever. Nevertheless, I wanted a broad stroke due to this write-up being five stories in one.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, unlike the previous theory, I’ll get into the specifics of each story a little more as it’s considerably easier to go over the skeptical side of things for me. However, I won’t do a deep dive into them; I’ll keep it as brief as possible. Again, I’m doing this due to time constraints, so I do apologize. I have no one to blame but myself.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll go in the order of how they were covered earlier, starting with the Dale Earnhardt story. This story is arguably the weakest of the four; I have no idea where it originates from, nor do I know if anyone has ever bothered to ask someone who worked with Dale about it. I voiced my thoughts on this during the main story itself, but it’s a massive strike against the story and one that puts an enormous hole in it that can’t be ignored.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The autograph from Eddie Sachs is one that I honestly like a lot. It’s heartwarming and made me smile, though it does suffer from two major problems. The first is that we have to rely on the word of a complete stranger on the Internet. I’ve mentioned in the past that this is risky since there’s normally no way to verify anything they say. Now, granted, I’ve gone out and trusted the words of strangers more than once, be it for biased reasons or something else; I’m sure others have, too. So, realistically, this reason hinges more on how much trust you’re willing to put into a random person on the Internet.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second problem, however, is one that’s a fair bit more damning. As far as I can tell, nobody else noticed Eddit’s spirit. While his death occurred three decades earlier, it’s wild to me that nobody—absolutely nobody—noticed him. Admittedly, it’s possible that the area where John’s kid saw him didn’t have heavy traffic, so there were no additional witnesses. I also know that not every ghost story involves everyone seeing the spirit (especially when it comes to kids). However, I can’t help but think that at least one other person should have recognized him.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, moving on, the third story has the same problems as the previous one but is arguably the most grounded of all the accounts. I’d say the likeliest answer is that Kyle’s uncle saw an intruder. There are some issues with that idea, though; namely, how did he get inside? I don’t know what security at IMS is like or was like whenever this happened, but I cannot imagine it was that lax.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On top of that, Kyle’s wording makes it sound like his uncle waited a bit before reacting. If that was the case, then he did a bad job at being a security guard unless he really didn’t register it at first. Still, that sounds like something a security guard should be the most alert about someone or something being where it shouldn’t be.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite that, I would label this account as the most levelheaded. It can be explained in a multitude of ways and has nothing overly bizarre about it. It’s just a shame it has to be taken at the word of an Internet denizen. I hope you like having to take several dumptrucks of salt when reading a paranormal story!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for the fourth story, the legend of the old woman is one that I have zero documentation of. Like, there is nothing as far as I can tell; this is one that has a Reddit post, and that’s it. It’s a very old-fashioned type of legend, so it’s possible that, somehow, it became a part of the track. Alas, without any reports online from people who saw this woman, it’s one I would confidently label as “dubious.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Last but certainly not least is Tony Stewart’s account. The main argument I’ve seen skeptics out forward was that headlights and noise from passing cars from outside the track led him to think that it had “come to life.” You could argue that his exhaustion from running two long, arduous races (along with the trip to and from the tracks) helped him to mistake noise from outside the track as coming from within it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, given Tony’s adamance, it’s unlikely anyone would be able to plausibly change his mind—along with the other accounts that we went over today. Still, there is (in my eyes) enough evidence to put forward a plethora of rational explanations. After all, the human mind is great at tricking itself.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. The Racing Gods cursed it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I wasn’t really feeling up to making a meme theory, so I asked some friends of mine. One of them, a fellow who goes by </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2001 Honda Civic</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, posited a theory that opened my eyes; all credit goes to him as a result.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He put forth the idea that the “Racing Gods” cursed the land after the track was temporarily abandoned, thanks to World War II. This curse led to numerous deaths throughout the years. Also, the exhaust fumes contribute to the drivers generally being stupid.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not sure if the history checks out, but I think the science of exhaust fumes leading to drivers not knowing how to drive sounds reasonable. I think my friend’s onto something here. Something bigger than anything I’ve ever covered. Or maybe delirium is beginning to overtake me. You decide!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I already said that I believe in ghosts, so I think you all know what my stance is. Yes, I think the track is haunted. It’s been the scene of numerous violent and untimely deaths. I can’t imagine that everyone is resting peacefully. With that said, I don’t think all five of the stories we went over are true. While I may think ghosts are real, I don’t consider myself to be blind. Last I checked, I still have eyesight (even if it isn’t as good as it once was).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The one story I’m highly skeptical of is the first one we went over: the one about Dale Earnhardt getting the fright of his life. The man’s life is very well-documented as he was arguably one of the greatest racers in the United States—perhaps the world. While I know that not everything is known about him, I find it difficult to imagine something like this would be a little-known fact. I imagine someone who worked with—or for—him would have spoken about it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, of course, I could be wrong. However, until I see a source, this is the one account we went over that I’m deeply skeptical of. As for the others, none of them strike me as implausible. I’ll go over them one at a time for the sake of brevity.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tony Stewart’s encounter isn’t anything abnormal in the realm of the paranormal; I’ve heard people say that historical areas “come to life” at night. A good example is the old Yankee Stadium, which I’ve outright been told in person would come alive at night. So, to me, this one I’m inclined to believe. Though, it is within the realm of reason that it could be an error on Stewart’s end.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The autograph is harder to give my thoughts on since it comes from a random comment on the Internet. It could </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> easily be a hoax. If I’m to assume it’s not, I can see the spirit of someone who died there returning to watch the race. At the same time, however, I could see a stranger appeasing a child with a fake autograph for the sake of making their day. However, I sincerely doubt that, as it feels like a major stretch. So, this is one where I have to lean towards it being either a hoax or an autograph from beyond the grave.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given nobody noticed Eddie, nor did anyone see him vanish, I’m iffy on this one. Then again, we don’t know where John’s kid saw him; it’s hard to say where I stand on this one. If I had to pick, though, my inner believer sways me toward saying it really happened and that Eddie came back on the anniversary of his fatal wreck to watch the race. However, that belief isn’t unshakable, so I’m sure it could change.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on to the third story, I’m on the fence. Again, I have to take the word of a complete stranger on the Internet. However, I can easily buy into what’s said as it isn’t outlandish to me. Desolate places have creepy feelings to them, especially at night. Couple that with the idea of someone breaking into the track to explore, and I can see this having happened.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, it could have been a ghost, but I’m a tad skeptical here. I’m not sure why, but this strikes me more as someone who wanted to see the track and somehow got in. Then again, I don’t know if the security at IMS is as bad as it was at Talladega back in 1974. So, I’ll just make a broad assumption here and call it a day; I’m not risking jail time for trying to break into a racetrack to learn if the security is good or not.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for the old woman, that one comes across as a legend. A lot of old buildings and locations have stories of female specters, and I think this is one of those instances. Unless the spirit of someone’s sister, daughter, or wife died at the track (which, as far as I know, didn’t happen), then this one strikes me as a legend and nothing. Of course, she could have been buried where the track was built. We’ll likely never know, unfortunately.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite the skepticism with the final two stories, I do think it’s more than likely that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is haunted. Of course, proving that would be exceedingly difficult, but I have enough faith to stand by that belief. Call me crazy, but I’ve experienced enough weird stuff to take that stance.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I have to wonder how many other racing circuits are haunted. I only know of one other off the top of my head, and we’ll be getting around to it next year. Well, assuming all goes well. If you know of any additional haunted tracks, do let me know!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And so, the first of two bonus entries comes to a close. As I said at the beginning, I had a handful of NASCAR Mysteries planned, but time really began to get tight. I won’t lie; I do feel a tinge of disappointment not getting around to the others, but this one and the Talladega write-up were excruciating to cover. Given my passion for NASCAR, I didn’t want to do anything short of my best possible work with them. Even then, I still feel there’s so much more I could have added, gone over, and rambled about for </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ages</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. However, I didn’t want to pad this out for thousands of additional words.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yet, I can’t help but feel like that would have added so much—and not just in terms of the word count. For whatever reason, I feel like all the potential random fun facts would have been super interesting to even those who don’t watch the sport. Still, deep down, I know it would be distracting and more than likely obnoxious. Oh well, I digress; I hope that you guys enjoyed the two forays into the more mysterious side of NASCAR. While most view it as a sport where people race in circles, there’s so much more to it than that. I hope these two write-ups helped to showcase that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for the other bonus entry, it will be something radically different, something much closer to this blog’s norm, and I think you’ll all really like it. It’s peak strangeness of the greatest kind, the kind that I think most of you read this blog for. Until then, however, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-24362207250594090352023-12-25T07:00:00.018-05:002023-12-25T07:00:00.259-05:00Decemystery (2023) 25: “It will come over the hill when it comes.”<span id="docs-internal-guid-d64802e5-7fff-330e-5650-45dfaa8e3329" style="font-family: arial;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://wallpapers.com/images/hd/ominous-hills-in-black-and-white-otxgx5r2hrev8p6u.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://wallpapers.com/images/hd/ominous-hills-in-black-and-white-otxgx5r2hrev8p6u.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I debated on how I should introduce this story. You see, I’m really bad at starting up stories (I’ve said that before), but I’m especially bad when the story is in quotes. I’ve done it only once, and that was three years ago. So, when it came time to kickstart this write-up, I was left wondering how to do that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, I decided to just jump into it; this is the story of something known as </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“It will come over the hill when it comes.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> This is going to be a </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">really</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> weird one, dear reader!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_DoLc7edx8&ab_channel=GlenBrown" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“What’s that coming over the hill?”</span></a></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found this story while browsing sustained_disgust’s </span><a href="https://icebergcharts.com/i/Obscure_Unsolved_Mysteries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obscure Unsolved Mysteries Iceberg</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and I’d been quite interested in it for some time. There was one issue, however: It was originally posted on the </span><a href="https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/the-dog-that-turned-into-green-mist-cows-standing-on-hind-legs-other-cases-of-gibbering-insanity.4630/page-11#post-1595024" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Forteana Forums.</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> For reasons I don’t know, I was IP banned from there despite never having made an account there. I’d like to think that someone got really upset that I covered </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/12/decemystery-2021-16-dog-that-jumped-out.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the story of the dog jumping out of the wall</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and had me banned. Regardless of whether that’s the case or not, it took me a bit to actually muster up the energy to bypass said ban (see: using phone data; I know, very hard work on my end).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once I did accomplish the arduous task of turning the Wi-Fi off so I could view the forum, though, I decided to cover this story. That decision came at the start of September; I say this because I want to be able to read just how disjointed all 64 of these write-ups were written. Hello, future me! Make sure you browse the forum some more because, hot damn, there’s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a lot</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of good stuff there!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This story was posted by a “retired user” named RillatonCup; they read about it in Richard Cavendish’s book “The Powers of Evil.” I decided to look up that book, and judging by Richard’s Amazon author page, there are two books with that name. One is from 1975 and is entitled </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/powers-Western-religion-magic-belief/dp/039911484X" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“The Powers of Evil in Western Religion, Magic, and Folk Belief.”</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> The other, meanwhile, is from 1993 and is entitled </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Powers-Evil-Richard-Cavendish/dp/1566192323?ref_=ast_author_dp" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Powers of Evil.”</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Both appear to be about the same thing, though being centered on the various powers of evil—demons, faeries, and other supernatural beings. If these are the same book or are a part of the same series, then I’m not aware, as I’m not big on occult knowledge. I know that’s the mark of someone who’s deeply into Fortean oddness, but I’m extremely cautious when it comes to anything like that.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, onto the actual story! According to RillatonCup, within the pages of Richard’s book, there’s a story of a couple known as Mr. & Mrs. Smith (insert your own Brangelina joke here). One evening, back in 1940, Mrs. Smith was talking to her husband. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she said, “It will come over the hill when it comes.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Understandably, Mr. Smith was confused out of his mind and asked his wife what the heck she meant. However, Mrs. Smith had absolutely no recollection of ever saying such a sentence. This sounds like a great setup for a Halloween-themed episode of a 1990s sitcom if you ask me, but I digress.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After this strange little occurrence, Mrs. Smith “became nervous about being in the house after dark.” Unfortunately, what she was nervous about wasn’t specified, but it wouldn’t take too long for that fear to be made manifest. Three months after her ominous statement, Mrs. Smith awoke her husband in the middle of the night; the time was finally upon them. That which was making its way over the hill was near. It must’ve been one heck of a large hill.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Suddenly, the couple heard one of their home doors open, followed by a “heavy, wet tread upon the stairs.” Whatever had broken in was coming up to see them—and there was no hill to it down this time. Presumably, the stairs made it easier to climb as it wouldn’t slip.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Terrified, the Smiths held each other as they waited for their home intruder to arrive. Eventually, their bedroom door was thrown open, and they saw what had broken into their house. And it’s here where I must let the story do the talking because, by God, this is one of the most unbelievably strange things I’ve ever read. Have I said that this month? I’m pretty sure I have, but this thing is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">really </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">something else.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As the Smiths clung together, the door swung open and a hideous thing waddled in. It was bloated and naked with skin blotched green, purple and yellow. It had a head that almost came to a point at the top, long earlobes that nearly reached to its shoulders, webbed feet and a thick bull neck.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Well, now we know why this thing took three months to get over the hill. It was criminally out of shape.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This… </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">thing</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> paid no mind to the Smiths despite it having the appearance of something that would devour every living thing it saw. Instead, it crossed their room and approached their window; upon reaching it, it vanished into thin air.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After that, I have no idea what happened. Somehow, the story got around and made it into the book; whether Richard Cavendish interviewed the couple himself is something I genuinely do not know. However, he got wind of the story, and he also got a quote from Mrs. Smith; here it is in full:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was horrible and the absolute essence of evil… I have never experienced anything so dreadful before or since and I hope I never shall, God willing. I still experience the same horror when I talk about it or write about it as I am doing now. I have never been able to discover why I saw it and I have never been able to find out what it was.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And that’s where the story ends. The Smiths never saw the thing again, nor did anyone else. As far as I can tell, this abomination unto God’s green Earth only climbed one hill, and it was for the Smiths. Such perseverance, and it was all so it could walk to a window and disappear. What a remarkable achievement.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m sure if I shelled out the money for the books, I could find more on this. Though I’m an unequivocally cheap man and don’t want to buy a book for one story. The other posts on the forum didn’t provide much else for me, either. So, I apologize to anyone who was hoping for more information. Luckily for you and me, there are a few theories for us to go over, so let’s dive into them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. A work of fiction</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For our inaugural theory, we have one that I’m sure more than a few of you thought while reading the story: that this was all nonsense. I can’t say I blame you if you thought that; the lack of readily available information, coupled with the supremely far-fetched sound of the entity, makes it a difficult tale to believe. At least, it does to me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, there are a few issues with this theory. For starters, I can’t actually disprove it. I have no idea if Richard Cavendish has a history of fabricating stories or not; if he does, then this theory’s plausibility skyrockets a thousandfold. Otherwise, it would be odd for this to be the one story he made up. That is certainly plausible, though, especially if he wanted to make some sort of point. But I think it’d be exceedingly risky to do; I’m probably being stupidly naïve for doubting someone would make a story up for a book, though.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on to the next issue is the lack of any information on where this took place. This </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">can</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> be explained away, though, if the Smiths didn’t want that to be known, so I’m willing to let this slide. Still, I feel that by now, it would be fine to let it be known. Though I don’t even know if Cavendish himself is alive, so whatever.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Another problem, and this one is more of a personal thing, is I have never in my life heard of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">anything </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">like this thing. I have heard of plenty of wild things in my life—believe me, I think this month more than proves that—but this is certainly in the top ten strangest-sounding beings I’ve heard of. Because of that, I must admit that it’s a bit too much to take at face value; I find myself doubting it solely because of the sheer oddness of it all.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To round things off is the issue of documentation. I only found this story thanks to sustained_disgust’s iceberg. No Wiki I know of mentioned it, no Reddit article exists, nothing. The only other place I saw this mentioned was </span><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/valhahazred/art/RetroCryptids-Overhill-890328566" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a Deviantart drawing someone did of the creature.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Said drawing looks like a Rancor—a sentiment shared by the only commenter. Still, I think it was a pretty decent drawing (even if the colors and shape of the head don’t match up). Besides that, there’s nothing available on this case—not that I saw, anyway. If there is, then I missed it, and I hereby decree that my awfulness at research has gotten even worse. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-3ff656e9-7fff-0755-61eb-4026bed6aa8a"></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I did, however, get someone to make a drawing, which you can view below. A user on Discord by the name of Chooka Bear. He had an AI draw it and then polished it with some hand drawing. I, honestly, know absolutely nothing about art, but seeing this thing visualized made me think of Grimace if he got covered in green paint. In spite of that, I still find it unsettling to look at. If I ever get the opportunity, I want some other friends to give me their own renditions of this thing so I can look over them.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1154571993870512129/1165122655180050453/IMG_6224.jpg?ex=6545b407&is=65333f07&hm=7f7880d38953636c903b2afbc9faf0aeb9881af558f94e18fd0b076968c341b2&" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1154571993870512129/1165122655180050453/IMG_6224.jpg?ex=6545b407&is=65333f07&hm=7f7880d38953636c903b2afbc9faf0aeb9881af558f94e18fd0b076968c341b2&" width="225" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, onto the next theory!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. An interdimensional being</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unlike the creature in this story, this theory never leaves. Luckily, it isn’t being shoehorned in by me for a cheap laugh; it’s actually more than deserving of being included. A lot of the stories brought up on the thread sound like cases of interdimensional beings; they even talked about the giant beetle outside the airplane window!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Exactly why this thing decided to cross dimensions, assuming there wasn’t some sort of dimensional overlap, is beyond me. I also have no idea why Mrs. Smith had momentary precognitive capabilities only to immediately forget about said capabilities.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, this thing’s otherworldly appearance and apparent disregard for anything and everything around it makes me think it wasn’t entirely physically “here.” While it was able to open doors and produce wet-sounding steps, it isn’t said if it left any trail behind it, be it slime, mud, or rainwater. It also disappeared into thin air, which is something I’ve heard interdimensional beings like to do. It’s like they’re rabbits in hats; only everything is a hat. Still, it isn’t the last theory, so let’s continue onward.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. A demon</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This appears to be what Mrs. Smith believed the bloated abomination from nowhere to be. Truth be told, I can’t say that I blame her. This thing sounds like it was plucked from wherever damned for the sin of gluttony go and ordered to climb a large, steep hill.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As is the case with anything else, I want to clarify something: I’m not a demonologist. Heck, I don’t even use that specialization in World of Warcraft when I play a Warlock (Affliction is so much more fun). The most I know is that demons aren’t nice, tend to cause havoc, and their presence leads areas to feel considerably warmer. That explains why Death Valley is so hot; California is infested with demons!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My apologies to my readers who are from California.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In all seriousness, this theory kind of bothers me. While yeah, I believe in demons and whatnot, I don’t exactly get why this thing would have barged into the Smiths’ home, waddled up to a window, and then disappeared. If it was a demon, it was clearly uninterested in everything around it—unless it was blind or in a food coma. I wish there was more I could say, but I genuinely don’t know what else to add. So, let’s climb the hill to the next theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A giant Playdough monster</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m almost certain I made something like this thing when I was a kid, so I think it’s safe to assume that someone probably handcrafted this abomination and gave it sentience. Also, I loved Playdough. That stuff was awesome. Too bad I suck at arts and crafts, so I can’t claim I was actually responsible for this story. Oh well, maybe when I learn what anatomy is.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming that Richard Cavendish didn’t fabricate this story to further a point he wanted to make, my best guess is this was some sort of interdimensional being. I mean, I have absolutely no other idea what this could have been. If it was a demon, it was the most oblivious demon to ever plague the circles of Hell. If it was an alien, which I </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">sincerely</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> doubt, it’s one of the most repulsive aliens I’ve ever heard of.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unfortunately, I can’t really do much to draw up a concrete stance; I don’t have a whole lot to work off of. Though that’s also what makes this story incredibly alluring to me; as others on that thread pointed out, this story is insanely pointless. There was no known outside influence to this incident; no Satanic ritual, ancient burial ground, or anything like that. This thing just appeared after a vague warning. That, to me, makes everything so much creepier—and admittedly a bit harder to believe.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll freely concede, though, that it’s probable that if I read Cavendish’s books, I would more than likely have a better picture of what this thing may have been. Until I maybe decide to buy them, though, my guess is this was some interdimensional being, or Cavendish made it up. Maybe one of you knows a bit more to help me settle on one of those two.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you or a loved one has trouble climbing hills, I recommend buying cleats. For everyone else, tune in tonight for this year’s bonus entries! Until then, have a very merry Christmas, and as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-73603864187056413702023-12-25T06:00:00.026-05:002023-12-28T21:56:08.150-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 25: The 1974 Talladega 500 Sabotage<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/1b/64/a7/78/aerial-view-of-facility.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="550" height="266" src="https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/1b/64/a7/78/aerial-view-of-facility.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span id="docs-internal-guid-30419fa8-7fff-b104-7fd7-b59916823359"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This write-up is dedicated to my closest friends, most of whom I know thanks to my love for NASCAR. To each and every one of you, thank you for being among the greatest folks I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I make it no secret that I’m a die-hard NASCAR fan. My late grandfather was a Dale Earnhardt, Sr. fan, and it’s thanks to him that I got into the sport. The very first race I watched—in full—was the 2004 Daytona 500, won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. I remember being really unhappy because I wanted Tony Stewart to win. My reason was I liked the color orange, and Stewart’s car was orange (he was sponsored by Home Depot). I envy my 8-year-old mind; the littlest things made it happy.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also, as a random fun fact for those who don’t watch NASCAR: the number in a race’s name refers to the number of miles raced. This fact has no actual bearing on today’s write-up; I just wanted to share it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, I eventually stopped watching NASCAR for quite a while; I forget the exact year. However, last year, I spontaneously decided to resume watching it. To my delight, my love never faded as I’ve been following it religiously once more. In fact, I attended my first race this year—the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. It was awesome!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though, I digress; this isn’t meant to be about the life and times of yours truly. No, we’re here to talk about a mystery—and as you can likely tell, it’s related to NASCAR. It’s one I’ve had my heart set on writing about for the entire year. It’s also one that has an incredibly small amount of documentation; I honestly cannot believe a case like it isn’t talked about much more.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But let’s not delay any further. With the engines roaring with life and the green flag waving in the air, let’s get the show underway. This, dear reader, is the story of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The 1974 Talladega 500 Sabotage</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Terror at the Trioval: The Talladega Curse</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To kick things off, I want to provide a bit of background information on the 2.6-mile (4.2-kilometer) behemoth that is Talladega Superspeedway. I primarily want to do this since most articles, posts, and videos that contain information on today’s story go into detail on something known as “The Talladega Curse.” While it doesn’t have any major connections to the 1974 sabotage, I feel it does deserve an explanation.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The legend of Talladega’s curse is murky; there exist a few variations of its origin. One version claims that an unnamed Native American tribe raced horses upon the ground where Talladega Superspeedway was built. During one of these races, a chieftain was thrown off of his horse; he was severely wounded from the fall. In his final moments, the chieftain cursed the land. I’ll get into the exact details of this curse in a little while. For now, there exist more variations that I want to mention.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The next version is a classic in the realm of the paranormal. Some say that Talladega was constructed at the site of a Native American burial ground. Anyone who knows about ghosts will know that Native American burial grounds are notorious for being haunted. However, I’ll say this right now: I don’t believe the track itself is haunted, at least not beyond one account that I’ll go over in a little bit.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A third variation, and the final one that I know of, is that a Native American shaman placed a curse upon the land. This occurred after a local tribe was driven out of the area by another for cooperating with Andrew Jackson and his forces. This has to do with the Trail of Tears; if you’re a history buff who isn’t familiar with this, then I’ll leave that up to you to research. I don’t want to digress into a topic as bleak and horrific as that one.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, regardless of which version you subscribe to, one thing remains the same: there’s no proof. There is absolutely nothing to substantiate any of the stories; as far as I can tell, there is nothing that states there were horse races where Talladega Superspeedway now stands. Nor is there any proof for any burial ground (or burial grounds) at the track’s site. Given the correlation between intense hauntings and burial grounds—be they of Native American origin or not—you would think Talladega would be haunted. However, as far as I know, there has only been one paranormal event.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Said event took place during the 1973 Talladega 500 (now known as the YellaWood 500, which serves as one of the sports’ playoff races). During the race, NASCAR Rookie of the Year Larry Smith was involved in a wreck that resulted in extremely severe head trauma. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 31 due to his injuries.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now for the one paranormal event that I mentioned earlier. On lap 90 of the same race—after Smith’s untimely death—NASCAR champion Bobby Isaac suddenly pulled onto pit road and parked his car while leading. There was nothing wrong with it; as far as his team was concerned, this decision was illogical. However, all would be explained when Bobby told them that he was quitting; he had no desire to race any longer. In his own words:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I wasn't afraid I was going to wreck. I don't have anything to prove to myself or to anybody else. I know how it feels to win and lose. I know how it feels to be a champion. And now I know how it feels to quit. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It just entered my mind at that moment, I decided to quit and that was that. Bud Moore didn't know I had quit until after the race. I didn't know about Smith at that time.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I got those quotes from </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181211134744/https://www.racing-reference.info/showblog?id=2297" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">racing-reference</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which had a small article on “Urban Legends” from NASCAR (we’ll be revisiting said article later). I don’t know if they were said in the same interview or not; to be on the safe side, I put them in two separate paragraphs.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Regardless, Isaac didn’t completely quit. He continued to race part-time until 1976 (though he didn’t partake in another race for the remainder of the 1973 season). However, the following year—on August 13, 1977—Isaac collapsed on pit road during a late-model race at Hickory Motor Speedway; he was revived but would sadly die the following day from a heart attack brought about by heat exhaustion. He was 45-years-old.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Two-time NASCAR champion Ned Jarrett, who was a close friend of Isaac, later told reporters that, after being revived from his collapse, Isaac confided in him about his decision to quit racing. According to Jarrett, Isaac told him that the reason he parked his car during the ‘73 Talladega 500 was due to him hearing a voice. This voice told him to “get out of the car,” or he would die.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The exact nature of this voice remains a mystery; as far as I can tell, Isaac never elaborated upon whether or not it was a disembodied voice or something more akin to his subconscious. Don’t take my word for it, though. Per </span><a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nascar/news/the-day-a-strange-voice-told-bobby-isaac-to-get-out-of-his-race-car" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NBC Sports</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, here’s a quote from Isaac’s widow, Patsy, where she recalled Isaac’s sudden retirement that fateful day:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As soon as he got out of the car and was able to get to a telephone, because we didn’t have cell phones then, he called me and repeated to me exactly what had happened to him in the car.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He said a voice told him that he needed to get out of the car, and so he radioed to Bud Moore. He said, ‘Find somebody to fill in the car. I’ve got to get out.’</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t know what that experience was. I don’t know if he felt it was an intuition or if it was actually a verbal voice. I know that it impacted him enough that he was not going to stay in the race car.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He had always said that it was not because someone had gotten killed earlier in the race, and that person was from Catawba County, and he knew them. That’s all I can tell you is what he told me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As far as I can tell, that is the one and only instance of anything conceivably paranormal occurring at Talladega; the other things tied to the track’s supposed curse are more unfortunate in nature. Drivers, pit crew members, and even the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) president have died at the track. All of these events have led to the belief that Talladega Superspeedway is cursed or jinxed.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on from that is a truly terrifying moment in NASCAR history. In 1987, a catastrophic wreck occurred during the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_Winston_500" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1987 Winston 500</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; the car of NASCAR champion Bobby Allison went airborne and tore apart 100 feet (30 meters) of the track’s catch fence. Thankfully, two steel cables prevented the car from entering the grandstands and killing any of the spectators. This incident led to the implementation of restrictor plates, though, and has been mentioned as a part of the track’s supposed curse.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All of that leads us to today’s story. It is, by association, tied to that curse (which I intend to write about in full at some point in the future, maybe next year). You’re free to keep that in mind if you want, but as far as I can tell, it doesn’t appear that anyone out there thinks it’s the product—or byproduct—of some ancient curse. Well, not seriously, anyway.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that, however, you now know a bit of the dark history of NASCAR’s fastest and largest oval track. Now, it’s time to get into the meat of the story, one of the sports’ most bizarre and perplexing moments. Let’s get into the mystery that—amusingly enough—took place the year after Bobby Isaac’s sudden retirement.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Big One Redefined</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our story begins on the morning of August 11, 1974, in Talladega, Alabama. NASCAR teams are getting ready to inspect their cars before the Talladega 500. If you’re like me and aren’t good with cars, this is when the teams are hoping that NASCAR officials don’t notice how much they’ve cheated. Lucky for them, this was around the time when I’m pretty sure that most of the cars weren’t abiding by the convoluted NASCAR rulebook.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On this day, however, whether or not the teams were following the rules would be the least of NASCAR’s problems. As the teams looked over their cars, some found that they’d been sabotaged. Tires were slashed, </span><a href="https://www.northstarmotorsports.com/tech.tips3/#:~:text=Having%20said%20all%20that%2C%20what,is%20another%20effect%20on%20handling." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">toes were loosened</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, as were various bolts and gas tanks were filled with sand (and, in one instance, Coca-Cola). Seatbelts were also cut, along with oil and brake lines. It was a dumpster fire of a scene, to say the least, and one that would begin one of NASCAR’s most enduring mysteries.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s also where I need to pump the brakes because there’s a lot I need to address. The first thing is that I don’t know the exact number of cars that were damaged. I’ve seen it be as low as 10 and as high as 24. An article from </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/12/archives/pettys-vandalized-car-wins-by-a-hood-oliver-wins-follmer-quits-the.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The New York Times</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> says that “a dozen” were sabotaged. Meanwhile, a report from </span><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5PdSMCW0AEwwjE?format=jpg&name=large" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Greenville News</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, dated August 14, 1974, shows the number of cars affected as between 16 and 20. Credit to </span><a href="https://twitter.com/nascarman_rr/status/1122484042195140608" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">nascarman</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> for being the one who posted the image of The Greenville News article. We’ll be revisiting that tweet in a little while, by the way.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, this lack of clarity presents a rather frustrating conundrum, one that I dwelled on for far too long when writing this. Simply put, I have no idea which of those two aforementioned news reports is true. If I had to guess, judging by </span><a href="https://www.driveraverages.com/nascar/race.php?sked_id=1974021" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">driver averages</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, I would say that The Greenville News is likely more accurate; apparently, 23 of the 48 cars fielded at the race didn’t finish. However, to put a damper on things, I don’t know if all of those cars were tampered with or if some gave out for unrelated reasons. If I had to guess, the number of cars sabotaged is probably somewhere around 15. Though, that’s my guesswork at play, so don’t take it as gospel.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With all of that now out of the way, there’s one other thing I want to quickly go over. I know I’ve been stalling a lot, but this story is anything but easy to write about. Anyway, that thing is the extent of the damage done to the sabotaged cars. For reasons I cannot explain, documentation on this case is poor. Despite how many people could have died, it never became big news. You would think the dolled-up vultures known as mainstream journalists would flock to this story, but they never did.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As a result, there’s a bit of inconsistency with the information. Worst of all, The Greenville News article, which could have held a lot of valuable information, is locked behind a paywall. I know I should pay for access to newspaper archives, given that I write about unsolved mysteries and the like, but I have no funds. Please donate to my non-existent Patreon so I can spend it on everything other than what I need so I can fulfill my fantasy of being a real content creator.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nowhere is that inconsistency more apparent than with one claim about foreign substances being put into the gas tanks of the sabotaged cars. Besides sand (and Coca-Cola), it’s also been said that dirt and sugar were poured into them. The claim about dirt may just be a substitute for sand (or vice-versa), but the one about sugar I saw on an </span><a href="https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=mcgee_ryan&id=3361184" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">article from ESPN</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which inexplicably says that this race was the Winston 500 rather than the Talladega 500. The former of those two races is now known as the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEICO_500" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Geico 500</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and is one of the four “Crown Jewel” races of NASCAR (the other three being the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That error aside, I think—and I must stress that this is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">purely</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> what I think—they got the claim about sugar mixed up with an incident from 1983 at </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverside_International_Raceway" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Riverside Raceway.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Before the start of one race, Bobby Allison’s crew found that his car’s gas tank had been filled with sugar, </span><a href="https://www.speedsport.com/other-series/racing-history/allison-vs-waltrip-a-rivalry-for-the-ages/#:~:text=Strangely%2C%20the%20season%20finale%20in,Their%20sources%20remain%20a%20mystery." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">along with the tires having been slashed.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> The culprit was, as far as I know, never caught, but it’s believed that a fan did it. If you want to read about it, </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/08/sports/sports-people-sabotage-on-track.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">here’s an article run by The New York Times.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I recommend keeping this incident in mind for later, though, because it ties into the aforementioned most prevailing theory. Now, with </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">all</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of that said and done, let’s get back on track. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While the exact number of cars sabotaged, along with the extent of the damage done to them, is a bit murky, there is one thing that is consistent. That being that ten of the top eleven qualifiers were affected. To me, this indicates that whoever did was a fan; I doubt a random person—or group of people—got lucky enough to target the top ten. But, more on that later. For now, let me finally address who was affected by the sabotage. While I don’t know everyone, racing-reference did name ten of the drivers; they are as follows (along with the position they started in):</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#1: David Pearson</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#2: Bobby Allison</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#3: Richard Petty</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#4: Donnie Allison</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#5: Buddy Baker</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#6: Neil Castles</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#7: Coo Coo Marlin</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#8: Cale Yarborough</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#9: Joe Frasson</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">#11: James Hylton </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">From what I can tell, Frank Warren—who started tenth—did not have his car tampered with. You know, given the man’s been ousted as a child molester, it’s a shame we didn’t strap him into one of those sabotaged cars and push it off a cliff with him in it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As a result of the sabotage, the race was delayed for three hours. Even after the event started, several competition cautions were flown so crews could inspect the cars to make sure there wasn’t any undetected damage. I have no idea if any additional damage was found, but Wikipedia claims that two wrecks occurred early in the race due to oil that had spilled onto the track. So, I imagine there was some tampering that had been overlooked.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the end, the race was completed; Richard Petty, NASCAR’s winningest driver in its highest division, narrowly defeated David Pearson. However, despite the race’s completion, many were still less than happy with the saboteurs’ actions. If this surprises you, then I recommend you never play with a jack-in-the-box.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of those whose emotions could be filed under “negative” was Buddy Baker, who was quoted as saying that the sabotage was “attempted mass murder.” He maintained this stance decades after the race. Here’s a quote from the previously-mentioned ESPN article:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">They never caught the person or people who did it. I said then that if they ever catch him, he should be charged with attempted mass murder, because that’s what it was.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Honestly, I agree with him, but more on that later. For now, let’s focus on the investigation. Or, well, what little I can find on it. As I said before, the documentation of this case is poor, and the investigation into this case is a prime example of that. Though, I suppose it’s possible there wasn’t much evidence left behind—or the cops have remained tight-lipped on the matter. Why they would still be this quiet almost half a century later, I don’t know; I guess that’s how they do things in Alabama.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The one place I could find some decent information on the investigation was on a </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/4ufnaj/stupid_question_has_anyone_ever_sabotaged_another/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Reddit post</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> from June of 2016 asking if another team had ever sabotaged a competitor’s car. In this post, </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/4ufnaj/comment/d5pdrhv/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a user named GHOSTY</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> posted an excerpt from a book called “</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Early-Laps-Stock-Car-Racing/dp/0786479345" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Early Laps of Stock Car Racing</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">,” which was written by Betty Boles Ellison. As such, for the next bit, I’ll be taking the excerpt as gospel; a pretty stupid idea, all things considered, given it says that eleven cars were sabotaged as opposed to the 16–20 that I mentioned earlier. But when you’re like me and cannot find information to save your life, you take what you can get.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to the book, investigators believed the perpetrators to have been “racing insiders” as they knew who the top qualifiers were. They also stressed that they did not believe this to have been the work of another team sabotaging the competition. Admittedly, I think it would be rather easy to determine if this was the case since I imagine they would sabotage everyone but themselves. Then again, I wouldn’t put it past Rick Ware Racing to attempt that nowadays and still screw themselves over.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I digress, though. Talladega County Sheriff Gene Mitchell would say that the culprit hid inside a van within the garage area. After everyone had left the track, they got out and did their work. Exactly how they got there, I have no idea. As far as I know, neither do detectives. My best guess is that the culprit (or culprits) has access to the area. I know that nowadays, NASCAR has in-field tickets and VIP passes, which allow you to visit the garage and see things up close, but I don’t know if they had those back in 1974. If I had to guess, they probably did; I may be a fan of the sport, but I’m not a historian.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, this doesn’t answer the biggest question that I imagine most of you have: how did nobody see this guy at any point? Well, the answer to that is easy—and it’s also quite silly. According to Sheriff Mitchell, security at Talladega at the time “was based on keeping someone out rather than catching someone who was in there.” Additionally, the garage was only guarded from the outside by two security officers. So, presumably, none of them went inside to check if someone, or something, was in there. I have some thoughts on this, but I’ll wait until later to expand upon them. For now, I want to circle back to nascarman’s tweet, which had a reply that shared </span><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5P0AxRWsAARKGv?format=jpg&name=medium" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a part of a news article.</span></a></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While the article is not shown in its entirety, it does have a few additional details from Sheriff Mitchell. Apparently, the guards would “walk around the garage area once or twice an hour, but not through it.” He also said the two guards were on duty the entire night but never reported any disturbances. Again, I have some thoughts on this, but I’ll wait to expound upon them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sheriff Mitchell also stated that the only person who’d gone into the garage area was a telephone repairman. However, “he was accompanied by a deputy the entire time.” Neither of them saw any sign of an intruder, and the fence surrounding the garage was intact. So, yeah, the saboteur (or saboteurs) we’re almost certainly hiding somewhere the entire time. Honestly, that’s deeply unsettling to imagine.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on from that, this lack of interior security would be changed in the wake of this incident. Talladega track manager Don Naman added a 10-foot fence with barbed wire, high-powered lights, and a handful of sentry dogs to ward off would-be intruders. I hope none of those dogs ever marked their territory on a car.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, this next bit is exceptionally interesting, and it ties into what I said earlier about the sugar in Bobby Allison’s car in 1983. According to Sheriff Mitchell, there were other instances of attempted sabotage prior to this one. The first involved Lennie Pond (whose name is incorrectly spelled as “Lenny”), whose car was tampered with at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It’s also here where we’re finally returning to </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210427235506/https://www.racing-reference.info/showblog?id=2354" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">racing-reference</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to look at that article on NASCAR urban legends. I hyperlinked it once more so you don’t have to scroll all the way back up; I’m slowly learning the concept of convenience!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A few weeks before the Talladega 500, on July 28, NASCAR held an event at Atlanta Motor Speedway: the Atlanta 500. During the start of the race, Lennie Pond discovered that the car’s wedge had been altered. If you don’t know what “wedge” is, it has to do with the car’s weight and affects how well it turns. That’s a very loose explanation; if I got anything wrong, feel free to correct me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, due to this wedge adjustment, Lennie ended up spending a fair bit of the early race making pit stops to fix it. Ultimately, he finished fifth after qualifying fourth. He would later say that someone had sabotaged his car, being quoted as saying that “it’s the only answer” he could come up with. He later added:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I can’t prove it, but I will always believe it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For reasons not given, Sheriff Mitchell said that there didn’t appear to be any link between this event and the one at Talladega. However, he </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">did</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> believe there was a link between an incident at Darlington Raceway earlier in the year and the incident at Talladega. For those curious, Atlanta Motor Speedway is only 2 hours and 20 minutes from Talladega, while Darlington is 5 hours and 53 minutes away. Just figured you ought to know that.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, the incident at Darlington. Prior to the start of the </span><a href="https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/1974_Rebel_450/W/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rebel 450</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—which occurred on April 7— Bobby Allison and his crew discovered that someone had put a “strange substance” in his Chevrolet’s gas tank. Team owner Roger Penske was later quoted as saying the following: </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It may have been something we picked up, but it looked more like sweepings off the floor.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This “strange substance” would later be identified as wheat. As I said at the very start, I’ve been to Darlington Raceway, and I cannot really vouch for wheat being something you bring to the track. Though, hey, maybe it was different in 1974.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever the case may be, the identity of who did this remains unknown. Allison would also go on to score a second-place finish, losing to David Pearson. So close!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This act of sabotage-by-wheat was enough for Sheriff Mitchell to suspect this incident was linked to the sabotage at Talladega. Don’t take my word for it, though. I’ll let The Early Laps of Stock Car Racing do the talking.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He [Sheriff Mitchell] said it was unusual to put wheat in a gas tank.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Great detective work, Sherlock!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That brings us back to Talladega, though. It’s also here where I have to admit that I get a bit confused. According to the aforementioned Early Laps of Stock Car Racing, Bobby Allison was “suspicious” due to the “earlier incident.” So, he inspected his own car and found wheat; this prompted him to notify the other teams.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I could be a complete moron here, but I have no idea if Allison did this </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">after</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> finding it in his car’s gas tanks at Darlington or if wheat was also used during the Talladega sabotage. I think it’s referring to the incident at Talladega, but if that’s the case, this book is the only source that says wheat was put into the gas tank of Allison’s car. That said, it would explain Sheriff Mitchell’s stance that this was linked to the Darlington sabotage.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever the case may be, this is ultimately where the story hits a dead end. No progress was made in the case; no suspects were ever made, nor were any leads received. As far as I can tell, the investigation died before it ever got going.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, there is one thing I want to draw attention to before we get into the theories. Back in 2002, there was a thread made over on </span><a href="https://forums.autosport.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Autosport Forums</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> entitled </span><a href="https://forums.autosport.com/topic/35231-sabotage/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Sabotage.”</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> It’s about what you’d think: incidents of sabotage in auto sporting events.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One response to this was from someone named Jim Thurman, who had the following to say as a response to a post about the sabotage at Talladega:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Glad someone mentioned that. That was a *major* incident. There were other security problems with the garage area at Talladega, but nothing quite to that level.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There also was signifigant sabotage at a NASCAR Late Model Sportsman race at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1971 or 1972. Engines tampered with, brake lines and oil lines cut, etc.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I know I have reports on these events if anyone would be interested in more detail.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unfortunately, nobody ever asked about the incident at Ontario Motor Speedway. I tried to look it up, but there doesn’t appear to be anything online about it. I would greatly appreciate it if someone out there who knows more about this would leave a comment with details; otherwise, I’m stumped as to what Jim meant. Given the similarities, I have to wonder if it was by some incredible chance linked to the Talladega incident.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that, however, the story of the 1974 Talladega 500 sabotage comes to an end. The checkered flag has waved, but the winner remains a mystery. It’s kind of like if L.W. Wright had won and never been found. In spite of that, however, we do have a fair number of theories to discuss. So, let’s head to the Ruoff Mortgage Victory Lane to talk about them. I also promise to never again say that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. A hippie cult initiation</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our first three theories take us to the comment section of a video by </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@NascarNixon" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">friskynixon</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> entitled </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7LXMCe0dfQ&ab_channel=friskynixon" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NASCAR’s Unsolved Mysteries</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; it’s where I first heard about this story if I’m not mistaken. Regardless, this theory—and the two after it—will take us in a variety of directions. The first is a really fitting one since I’ve been replaying </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">: a hippie cult was behind it.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A user named “MrWolfSnack” responded to a commenter who wondered who could have been behind the sabotage. He pinned it on hippies, claiming that they had “cults” that would “teach people how to destroy engines and company property.” He continued by saying these cultists and their recruits would then run around during the night and cut locks. They would then sneak in and “destroy the vehicles by ruining the engines.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I want to say right off the bat that I have absolutely no clue if “company property” refers specifically to NASCAR or if these cults targeted wealthy car dealers. If Mr. Wolf meant the former, then that would make sense, given the other two instances of sabotage at southeastern NASCAR events (Darlington is in South Carolina, Atlanta is in Georgia, and Talladega is in Alabama). It would also explain why the perpetrators appeared to know what they were doing; they’d have had prior experience.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, there is one issue—and it admittedly falls heavily on me. I have absolutely no idea how common these supposed ”hippie cults” were. I mean, I know that cults exist; I know that The Manson Family was a thing, too. The thing is, judging by what I know, groups like that aren’t something that pops up like dandelions. At least, that’s my understanding of it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I also don’t really get how a group like this couldn’t be tied to similar events in the area at the time. While NASCAR wasn’t as Bigfoot as, say, the NFL or MLB in 1974, it was still a major act of sabotage at a sporting event. Surely somebody on the police force would hear about it and go, “Hey, we’ve had other reports of cars being tampered with in the area.” I know that it’s Alabama, and they have a stereotype, but give me a break.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, though, this theory isn’t without merit. As I said, groups like this have existed, and depending on whatever deranged agenda they had, I can definitely believe they’d want to target a NASCAR event. Remember, NASCAR was (and still is) a southern sport. Get enough radicals together and let them loose, and they’ll target whatever their opposition likes in hopes of ruining their fun. But I digress; I don’t want to get political. So, let’s move on to the next theory—which is extremely political.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. Radical environmentalists</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory and the previous one are extremely similar; a lot of hippies tend to be staunch environmentalists. As a result, you could consider this to be an offshoot of the previous theory. The only reason I didn’t make it one is due to the vagueness of Mr. Wolf’s original comment coupled with my own ignorance when it comes to hippie cults. I also didn’t want to make it seem like they were inseparable.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory was put forward by a commenter named “kiboe685,” who claimed that a group of “radical environmentalists” perpetrated the sabotage. They allegedly operated late at night and presumably did this due to the CO2 emissions the vehicles put out. Admittedly, that part is on me since—judging by a quick Google search—the CO2 Greenhouse effect became mainstream (for lack of a better word) in the 1970s. Or so says </span><a href="https://history.aip.org/climate/co2.htm#:~:text=During%20the%201970s%2C%20the%20greenhouse,from%20deforestation%20and%20cement%20manufacture)." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The American Institute of Physics.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> If I’m wrong, please let me know.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory has one major issue, like the previous one, and many that come after it. That is the issue regarding how the culprit (or culprits) got into the garage area. Whether they snuck in, had inside help or something else is all more than plausible, but it seems like a lot of effort, and you’d think </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">someone</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> would have seen them. But I digress; let’s save the rambling for later.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although there is that obvious issue, this theory is by no absolutely no means outlandish. Eco-terrorism was a big thing in the mid-20th century; I recommend giving </span><a href="https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/the-threat-of-eco-terrorism?fbclid=IwAR274Yyp0piwtgc3JofYpSdlp3ft8a3fy-7p4iyGwdApvQJNZl_X-jFxlqY" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">this archived report from the FBI a read to learn a bit about it.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> These folks would bomb oil pipelines and whaling vessels and put metal bars into trees. I’m no big-brained professor or anything like that, but I’m not sure you’re going to win over the hearts and minds of the general populace with these actions. Just a hunch, you know?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming that an eco-terrorist cell had caught wind of NASCAR being at Talladega, it’s possible they wanted to try and make a statement by tampering with the cars. Whether they’d hoped to cause a wreck or just wanted to cause property damage, I don’t know. Though, I’d hazard a guess and say that Buddy Baker’s statement about it being “attempted mass murder” is likely correct.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, I can’t prove any of this, but I do think it has a lot of merit—far more than I did when I first read about it. Seriously, when I first read the comment, I scoffed. I had no idea eco-terrorism was a huge thing in the mid-1970s. You learn something new every day!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. The drivers did it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is the third and final theory I found from friskynixon’s video; this one ties into the greater part of NASCAR’s history. I’ll do my best to keep it short so we aren’t here for another twenty paragraphs.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To start things off, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: the 1969 Talladega 500. Nicknamed “The Worst NASCAR Race Ever” due to repeated tire failures, this was the first time a NASCAR race was held at what was then known as Alabama International Motor Speedway. It’s also a race that demands its own write-up. However, I don’t believe I could do it justice; I recommend you watch </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5p6TajVQI8&ab_channel=S1apSh0es" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">this video by Sl4pSh0es</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> for a great history lesson. To make a long story short, though, those repeated tire failures led to the drivers boycotting the event and NASCAR President Bill France outright giving spectators free tickets to the 1970 Daytona 500.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, the race </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">would</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> be run; Goodyear (whose tires nowadays are about as reliable as snake oil) “flew in a new set of tires” for the race that didn’t blow out like the Firestone tires NASCAR had been using. In spite of that, however, the race is still remembered as the worst (or one of the worst) in the sport’s history. I have to wonder how it compares to the 2022 All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway; that one was nothing short of an abomination! At least Ryan Blaney still won.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, that is but one of the many controversies to have befallen Talladega. I won’t go over any of them, but there is one I want to zero in on. As I said earlier, the safety in NASCAR circa 1974 was—to put it politely—atrocious. Talladega was by no means an exception to this; Larry Smith died during the 1973 Talladega 500. However, that was the first death at the track during a NASCAR event. So, despite the notoriety the circuit has, it’s not known for being a place where competitors have lost their lives. In fact, throughout its time as a NASCAR venue, only three people (including Larry) have died. The track with the most deaths is Daytona International Superspeedway, which has been the site of 14 driver deaths.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second death came on August 17, 1975, during the Talladega 500 when DeWayne Louis “Tiny” Lund and J. D. McDuffie collided on the track’s backstretch. Lund would sadly die at the scene. In an eerie coincidence, McDuffie would die 17 years to the day at Watkins Glen when the Talladega Sabotage occurred.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That finally brings us to this theory. According to a commenter named “amesgentry13,” there was a rumor that had gone around that the drivers themselves sabotaged the cars in an effort to get the race canceled. Apparently, many of NASCAR’s top drivers still had no desire to race at Talladega, so they concocted a plan to stage a sabotage and “make it look like there was a legit threat.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the time I spent researching this theory, I didn’t see this theory—or the previous two—mentioned anywhere outside of this video. However, this theory, in particular, piqued my curiosity since it’s actually something I could absolutely see being done. There are more than a few NASCAR drivers who are very vocal about their thoughts; Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Kevin Harvick are three who immediately come to mind. So, the idea that something like this could happen during a more “wild west” period in the sport’s history isn’t far-fetched.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, it does raise the question as to how nobody saw them sneak into the garage area. Sure, the security guards—or security team as a whole—could have been paid off (God knows that bribery isn’t some foreign concept), but you’d think that after nearly half a century, </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">someone</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> would have come forward and admitted it. Secrecy is hard to maintain among a group of people; the more in on it, the more likely someone will spill the beans. I cannot imagine that an inside job like this would be taken to the grave by all involved.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite that, it isn’t what I’d call impossible or even implausible. After all, the saboteurs were said to have known what they were doing. Given the drivers’ expertise in this field, they would understand better than most how to tamper with the cars. They would also definitely have the money to keep people quiet. But I don’t want to get sued by someone’s estate for insinuating that they were responsible for a crime, so let’s move on.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A psychotic fan/A group of psychotic fans</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Remember when I mentioned that “one prevailing theory?” This is that theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just to preface: In my eyes, I believe that this was done by a group of people. I can’t imagine one individual managing to sabotage this many cars on their own, especially without someone helping to alert them if a security guard was passing by. I think there had to be around three or four perpetrators in total. With that said, though, I wanted this theory to view things from both angles, so I won’t be explaining it purely from the one I think is true.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is really simple, given it’s arguably the safest bet. NASCAR fans, like any kind of sports fan, can be really stupid. That’s just the way it is; you can’t argue with it. Though, I digress. Unlike the previous theories, this one has something going for it that most others don’t: an explanation for how the saboteurs got into the garage. Though, it’s only if my history is not wrong.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As I stated earlier in the write-up, NASCAR sells in-field tickets and VIP passes, which allow you to go to the garage and see the drivers and cars up close. If they did sell these back then, then this would definitely be how they got there; they could have slipped off somewhere and hidden until the track closed. It’d be difficult but not impossible. Alternatively, someone who worked in the garage could have snuck the perpetrator[s] in via a van. As weird of a thought as that is, it would work and would easily explain how they got in and remained undetected.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever the case may have been, the motivation for the sabotage can easily be taken in one of two ways. The first is that the saboteurs were fans of a certain driver and tampered with the competition so they would win. That didn’t work, given Richard Petty—whose car was a part of those sabotaged—won the race.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The other route is that the saboteurs wanted to see a big wreck. Talladega is known for “The Big One,” which is a term used for a large-scale wreck that happens there. It’s a staple of Superspeedway racing, but Talladega, in particular, is notorious for it. I think the plan here was to have it happen in spectacular fashion but with absolutely no regard for the safety of the drivers. What’s sad is that I’ve interacted with so-called NASCAR fans who want to see absolutely nothing more than the worst possible wrecks; it’s quite sad, really.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, had the plan succeeded as I believe it was intended to, NASCAR wouldn’t be around today. The safety of the sport back then was, to put it bluntly, horrible. While nowadays, it’s still dangerous (though I feel that goes without saying), there hasn’t been a death in the Cup Series since 2001 (when Dale Earnhardt, Sr. died). Concussions still happen, but the last death occurred over two decades ago. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Had the sabotage been done for this reason, I cannot imagine the scale of death that would have happened. It likely would have been NASCAR’s Le Mans Disaster; it would have absolutely been a sport-ending catastrophe. Thankfully, the saboteurs failed, and the damage was seen before anything horrific happened. One can hope that such a plan never succeeds—ever.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. The security guards</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I saw a theory somewhere, I believe on Reddit, from someone who asked why nobody had looked into the security guards more. As far as I can tell, they were cleared of any wrongdoing, but I wanted to include this nonetheless.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Realistically, I believe that this theory would be the easiest explanation. It would explain how the saboteurs got in and out so quickly; they were there the whole time and were working. It’s the perfect plan if you think about it. Okay, maybe not perfect, but it would be better than anything I could think of.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are two flaws to this theory. The is that there’s no apparent motive. Unless the security guard (or security guards) embodied the “crazed fan” theory, then they would have had to do this for laughs. Given the amount of work and risk, I can’t imagine going through all of that for a laugh. Though, I will concede that not everyone is the same.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The second issue is the amount of coordination. Presumably, there was a supervising officer who would have noticed the guard, or guards’, absence. Unless they took turns sabotaging during their rotating shifts, this seems like an absurd amount of effort for extremely little payoff. Though, again, maybe it was a great amount of payoff for whoever did this.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With all of that said, I do have to admit that it’s remarkable how security never once got alerted to the saboteurs. So, it wouldn’t shock me if whoever did this either worked in security, knew one of the security officers, or flat-out monitored their patrol routes up until the day of the sabotage. In fact, I’m honestly amazed there wasn’t a larger-scale investigation into this aspect. Then again, I could have overlooked it when researching this story. I’m nothing if not a poor investigator.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. A disgruntled employee</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory, along with the one after it, both come from Bobby Allison. It’s simultaneously one of the most believable and, in my personal opinion, weirdest. I’ll elaborate on why I find it weird when we get into my personal take; for now, I want to focus on the theory itself. So, to start it off, here’s a quote from Allison, per racing-reference.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The possibility of a sickness like that could exist in a lot of areas. It could have been done by a former competitor or even a NASCAR employee. The guard at Talladega was not asleep, there just wasn’t enough security.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We’ll get into the competitor theory next. For now, a former NASCAR employee, could that be our saboteur? Well, yeah, absolutely. Disgruntled employees can and have taken revenge on places of work many times. Sometimes, the way they go about taking revenge ends in tragedy; there’s a term for this: </span><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_postal#:~:text=Going%20postal%20is%20an%20American,usually%20in%20a%20workplace%20environment." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">going postal.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Instances of employees going postal are, unfortunately, not necessarily uncommon, especially in a high-stress environment. That’s just the way things are; additional mental health funding would likely do wonders. But this is not the time for political soapbox standing.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that said, most incidents usually involve the employee using a gun or other deadly weapon to murder those who wronged them before usually taking their own life. I cannot make one specific instance where the employee sabotaged something so that they would make a fool of their former employer. I’m sure it’s happened, but I cannot think of a notable one.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On top of that, disgruntled employees would almost certainly be among the first suspects questioned. I cannot imagine that law enforcement overlooked potential troublemaking workers when going through their list of potential culprits. That’d be like not questioning a significant other when someone is murdered. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nevertheless, this theory has a lot of merit to it, and it is anything but improbable. However, I’d be absolutely dumbfounded if the cops didn’t rule out any former employees within the first few days. If that truly is the case, then Talladega County’s police department was in dire need of restructuring back in the summer of ‘74.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. A former competitor</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is the other theory from Bobby Allison, and it’s one that I genuinely have no clue about. Although it would explain the meticulous nature of the sabotage, I haven’t the faintest idea as to which “former competitor” could be behind this. Mostly because I don’t know who held a vendetta or grudge against NASCAR. Sure, there have been drivers who’ve had serious grievances with the sanctioning body, but never to this extreme. At least, not that I know.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, assuming there was one competitor—or would-be competitor (who didn’t qualify for a race)—out there who was absolutely furious at NASCAR, I could see this being the case. At the same time, though, I think there are a couple of major problems. The first is: how on Earth did they sneak in?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assuming the driver (or whoever they were) was ejected, I cannot imagine they were willingly let back into the venue. That would mean they had to have snuck in, and I doubt there’s a stock car racer out there who moonlights as Sam Fisher. Though, if there is, then I’d love to meet them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The one way I can see the question of how they entered being answered is if this person didn’t qualify. If they didn’t get their big break but held no sort of outwardly apparent ill will, they could have still gotten in and his. Then, beneath the cover of darkness, they exacted their revenge. After that, they could have pulled a Sam Fisher and snuck out—assuming that’s how they got out.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Even then, though, there’s the matter of the second problem: why take the anger out on the drivers? Their equipment isn’t given to them by NASCAR. The teams pay for that; this would do nothing but hurt the teams and not NASCAR as a whole. While they could have been hoping to have the event canceled, I think there would be much better ways to go about this without screwing over innocent folks. You know, like vandalizing the track.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Then again, anger is known to lead to irrational decisions. So, it’s possible that said irrationality led to a poor lapse of judgment. It has been known to happen; I can vouch for that very well. Anyway, onto the next theory—which is a relatively fun one to think about.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8. Another team sabotaged its competition</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although investigators ruled this possibility out, I still want to make a note of it. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The world of NASCAR is competitive; it’s a sport, after all. When it comes to the crews for each team, though, they are fiercely loyal. When drivers fight, the pit crews can—and more often than not, have—join in. To put it bluntly, the pit crews follow the driver like a duck follows its mother. However, instead of an avian matriarch, it’s a 3,300-pound (1,496-kilogram) stock car driven by someone who looks like Brad Keselowski.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/96/94/79/969479b311ce5bfa2f89389c48316d42.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="300" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/96/94/79/969479b311ce5bfa2f89389c48316d42.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>I am so sorry to any Brad Keselowski fans out there.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, I’m not going to throw stones at glass houses; I’m anything but a dapper-looking man. But, I could not resist one jab at Bad Brad. Anyway, this theory does, like a few before it, offer an explanation as to how the saboteur got into the garage. While I don’t know if pit crew members are allowed in there during the night, they could have a plausible enough reason, like leaving something there. Though, I imagine they would have been accompanied by a security guard.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There really isn’t much else to say here. As far as I know, no team has gone out of their way to sabotage the competition, and if it hasn’t happened nowadays, I sincerely doubt it happened back then. At least, certainly not on a scale this large. Though, hey, perhaps I’m wrong, and there’s a retired pit crew member somewhere out there, laughing it up as he recalls the time he tried to screw over his driver’s challengers at Talladega. That would make for one wild story.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">9. Vengeful spirits</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This isn’t a completely serious theory, but it is one nonetheless. Given this story’s ties to the supposed Talladega Curse, it stands to reason the wrathful spirits would take issue with the race there. No, there isn’t a reason why this had not occurred before this incident, nor why it hasn’t occurred since it. But, hey, one-off hauntings have happened before. Just look at the time someone saw J.D. McDuffie’s ghost at Watkins Glen. Or you could wait until next year’s Decemystery since we’ll likely go over that story next year. Either one works, really.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, my point is that there have also been numerous instances of ghosts—specifically poltergeists—causing adverse harm to people and affecting physical objects. You needn’t look any further than practically any episode of Ghost Adventures, where the host will claim he’s affected and feels a presence from whoever died reading the newspaper two centuries ago thanks to explosive diarrhea. My very poor attempt at a joke aside, this theory can stand on its own—even if it’s only from a paranormal lore standpoint.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unfortunately, that’s about where this theory’s good run ends. Aside from there being no concrete proof that Talladega itself is haunted, I sincerely doubt that a group of vengeful spirits would perform a one-off sabotage before never being seen or heard from again. Last I checked, most hauntings occur due to the spirit having unfinished business. I doubt that business here amounted to, “I’ve always wanted to screw with a stock car.” But, hey, what do I know? I’m not a ghost (though I sure as heck am pale enough to be mistaken for one).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">10. Ross Chastain</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Melon Man strikes again! This time, he bent the timeline so he could wreck the competition before he was even born!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Through the sheer power of the Chastain family’s watermelon farm in Florida, Ross was able to go back in time to make sure that Richard Petty won. This, somehow, altered the timeline so that Ross would be born and would pull off that wall ride at Martinsville in 2022 to make it into the final round of the NASCAR playoffs. Thankfully, he lost the championship to Joey Logano.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know that I’ve had trouble coming to the conclusion with some stories. Usually, it’s because there are two theories that I’m torn on. With today’s case, however, I find that almost all of them are plausible. I can’t remember the last time I came across a mystery where almost every theory struck me as perfectly reasonable.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The hippie cult theory is, to me, more than realistic. While I’m usually hesitant to pin the blame on a cult, the 1970s were a weird time, and hippies—to the best of my knowledge—could be an odd bunch. Get a weird, fringe group who wants to stick it to the man, and you’d end up with something intense happening.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The eco-terrorist theory, as I said in the theories section, can easily be lumped together with the previous one. Given the rise of climate change concerns back in the 1970s, I can easily see some deranged environmentalists trying to create a sport-ending wreck if it meant “saving the environment.” Human life be damned; think of the trees!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Disclaimer: that was something called a joke, a concept that I know many are unfamiliar with. As such, I wish to say that you should, in fact, help to protect the environment, as it’s important. You should </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">never</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> commit terrorism under </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">any</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> circumstances. Thank you for listening to my PSA because I know many people are too stupid to understand simple things.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for the theory that the drivers did it, there’s precedent regarding them not liking the idea of racing at Talladega. Just the previous year, a driver died at the track; I cannot imagine those who already didn’t want to race there were enthusiastic about returning a year after that incident. So, I can definitely see them trying to get the race canceled. If this is what happened, then I cannot imagine how much of a punch to the gut it was when “Tiny” Lund died the following year at the exact same race. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The psychotic fan (or fans) theory was, at first, the theory I subscribed to. In fact, I was so confident in it that I actually wrote a take for it before I’d even finished the write-up itself. Ultimately, I ended up reconsidering my stance; some of the original take was used for that theory’s explanation, though!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite that, I still believe it to be the second-most probable theory. If there is one thing I know about NASCAR fans, it’s that some of them have absolutely zero regard for the safety and well-being of the drivers. I’ve seen it first-hand, so I can absolutely believe that one—or a group of them—would do something like this in hopes of seeing a massive wreck. Exactly why people think this way or want this to happen is beyond me. I guess I don’t get it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The security guard theory is, in my eyes, the second weakest. I think it’d require way too much coordination unless nearly everyone was in on it. Though, if that were the case, I have no idea why this happened one time. I would imagine they would have done it more times for whatever idiotic reason they had. Nevertheless, as I said in the theories section, this is the one that explains the whole incident the easiest. I don’t think any other theory comes close; the guards had access and could no doubt easily go in and out without being questioned about it. At least, I think they could.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on, though, to the disgruntled employee theory. I said that this one was, in my eyes, one of the most believable, her also one of the weirdest. Well, it’s time to elaborate on the latter aspect.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I, personally, don’t understand why someone would decide to target their former place of work but not actively cause damage to their employer’s pockets. As I said, NASCAR doesn’t supply the teams with the cars or anything like that. Maybe it was different back then—I don’t believe it was based on what I know—but the cars belonged to the teams. If it was a former employee, then all they did was screw over the teams, not their boss (or bosses).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If their intention was to hurt the track’s reputation, I doubt one incident like this would be what ruined Talladega. If Talladega survived a driver dying there the previous year, an act of sabotage wouldn’t be what breaks the camel’s back. It’s small potatoes compared to a competitor dying. However, I will concede that the employee may have had some vendetta against those teams. If that were the case, then I admit that I’m just dumb for going on this tangent.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Carrying on, the idea of a former competitor being responsible is one that I’m not fully sold on. I pretty much gave my thoughts during the explanation of that theory when I went over it earlier; I can’t add much more to it. Well, I can add this: this is the biggest example of a sore loser I’ve ever seen. And here I thought </span><a href="https://frontstretch.com/2023/06/24/aj-allmendingers-car-cheated-up-cole-custer-sure-thinks-so/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Cole Custer complaining about AJ Allmendinger’s being “cheated up”</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Toby_Christie/status/1672734125470392320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1672734125470392320%7Ctwgr%5E8e69fed63c628e17d6f24c8fd8b19b4a37b3b21f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffrontstretch.com%2F2023%2F06%2F24%2Faj-allmendingers-car-cheated-up-cole-custer-sure-thinks-so%2F" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">was the worst crybaby moment in NASCAR I’d ever see.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Sorry, Cole. Maybe next time, you won’t be up there with the likes of Harrison Burton in the Cup Series.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moving on, the thought of someone—presumably from a smaller team—pulling a Tanya Harding on the competition is weirdly amusing to me. Especially given they would have gotten away with it. I have no idea how that would be possible since, as I said earlier, you’d think they would leave their car (or cars) untouched.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though, hey, police work isn’t always stellar. If my time having read and researched unsolved crimes has taught me anything, it’s that law enforcement can be corrupt, comically inept, or both. So, hey, maybe the police force in Talladega County circa 1974 was missing a few sets of functioning eyes. Do I actually think that? Not quite. I doubt someone who was willing to put their job on the line like this would have kept their mouth shut.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The vengeful spirits theory is, without a doubt, the weakest theory. I may be an ardent believer in the paranormal, but not in this case. I don’t think ghosts pulled off an act of sabotage. If they did, then I would love to know why they never attempted it before or after. I would also greatly appreciate knowing why this track doesn’t have a reputation for being absurdly haunted. If Indianapolis Motor Speedway has one, then I think that Talladega sure as heck should, too!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, in the interest of all fairness, the theory that ghosts did it isn’t the most ludicrous thing ever proposed on this blog. I mean, it could have been interdimensional environmentalist terrorists or something along those lines. No, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to mention interdimensional beings. Not even NASCAR is free from it. It will take over this blog until all I can say is the word “interdimensional.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Last but certainly not least is the Ross Chastain theory. This one I definitely, absolutely, most undoubtedly think is true. I say with the utmost confidence that he did, in fact, do it. Trust me, guys. I have sources on the inside who know all about his immortality and time-traveling capabilities.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, now that I’ve given my thoughts on every theory, it’s time to reveal the theory I’m the most partial to. If you can pretend there’s a drumroll here, do so. Okay, drumroll done; it’s the eco-terrorist theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That theory is, in my eyes, the most plausible. There’s precedent for those groups being highly active during that time period; the science on the CO2 Greenhouse effect was just kicking off, and NASCAR is known as a southern sport. I can absolutely see a left-wing fringe group pulling this off in hopes of sending a message.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I also think there was more than one saboteur; as I said during the theory that this was done by NASCAR fans[s], I personally cannot see this being a one-man operation; I think there were three or four perpetrators. Of course, that doesn’t mean it was impossible. But, in my eyes, it would be exceedingly difficult (and needlessly risky).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The only thing I can’t answer is how the culprits got into the garage area. I’ve said that numerous times throughout this write-up, and I’ve put forward ideas as to how they could have gotten in, but I still can’t settle on one. If I had to decide, I’d say they had some sort of access into the in-field, and someone inside helped them to hide.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever the case may be, they got in without having to force their way in (since, you know, the fence wasn’t damaged). Once the track had closed for the night, they got out from hiding and got to work; one or two watched for the guards while the rest sabotaged the cars. Alternatively, it’s possible they knew the rounds of the guards beforehand and monitored the time carefully. Either way, they made sure not to make noise when security was nearby.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once they were done, they either hid until daylight or snuck out of the track. More than likely, it was the latter, as I think they would have been caught once the teams arrived the following morning. You know, the more I type about this, the more it sounds like some weird parody of a Mission: Impossible movie. I really want to see someone make this as a short film now.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That’s my half-baked take, though. Admittedly, it’s absolutely goofy and almost certainly not true, but it’s all I’ve got. This is a weird case and one that I had a lot of trouble trying to piece together due to the sparse information available on it. So, if my take sounds like something out of a bad spy story, then please place the blame on the lack of documentation first. Then, place the blame on me for not being a very good writer.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’d also like to elaborate upon my stance that this was attempted mass murder; as I said, I agreed with Buddy Baker earlier. This is something I’m adamant about; I cannot imagine that the perpetrators didn’t know they were putting the lives of the drivers at risk. Given that, based on what I read, they were meticulous about the whole thing, I have to imagine they intended for someone—if not everyone—to be hurt in some capacity. As such, I wholeheartedly agree with Buddy. This was attempted mass murder.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With all of that said, there is one other thing I want to give my thoughts on. That is the theory that this incident was tied to a previous act of sabotage. Honestly, I’m skeptical—very skeptical, in fact. I don’t think that the tampering with Lennie Pond’s car at Atlanta Motor Speedway was done by the same saboteurs. Instead, I think it may have been a crew member who accidentally botched up the car’s setup. Human error is a thing, and it’s possible that’s what happened there. That said, it could have been sabotage. I’m just iffy, is all.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the case of Darlington, I must admit that I do find it a bit more compelling. Assuming that wheat was used there and at Talladega, I do find that to be exceptionally specific. However, at the same time, it isn’t impossible that the perpetrators of the Talladega sabotage knew of the Darlington incident and simply copied it. Copycat criminals exist, after all. Though I don’t know how common they are, especially with something like this. So, do keep that in mind.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I also have to point out that I have no idea if security at Darlington (and Atlanta, for that matter) was as lax as it was at Talladega. If it was, then I’m absolutely flabbergasted as to how NASCAR did not beef up security after the incident at Atlanta. Perhaps it’s that glorious thing known as “hindsight” in action, but I would expect them to detect a weird pattern after two drivers had their cars screwed within the same season in the same region of the United States (the Southeast).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At the same time, however, this is NASCAR we’re talking about. Their officiating is extremely questionable at best. There’s a saying in the community that the only thing consistent about the sport is its inconsistency. The rules are seemingly made up on the fly, things change based on the mood of the sanctioning body, and caution flags sometimes wave for no apparent reason. Seriously, phantom cautions are the biggest joke in the sport. Perhaps, in the future, I’ll write about them; there is </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/isl57a/comment/g58m5dm/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a pretty interesting conspiracy surrounding Kurt Busch being screwed out of a win at the 2015 Auto Club 400.</span></a></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But I digress. My main point is that I’m skeptical any of these events were linked. Rather, I believe they were the work of lone wolves or separate fringe groups. Of course, I could be wrong—I almost certainly am, to be honest. However, that’s my stance on this theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On one final note, I want to give my take on this story’s relationship with the supposed Talladega Curse. Personally, I don’t think this should be lumped with it. At its core, this strikes me as a crime perpetrated by some demented individuals. A curse isn’t a prerequisite for that sort of thing to happen. Though, hey, that’s just me and my two cents.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Writing about this story was an absolute blast and was easily one of the greatest writing experiences of my life. Having the opportunity to talk about one of my greatest passions in life like this was nothing short of a dream come true. Best of all, it isn’t the last mystery related to NASCAR we’ll be discussing today; one of the bonus entries will be some spooky happenings at one of the sport’s most historic tracks.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, as it stands, our time at Talladega Superspeedway has come to a close. Like I said near the start, I intend to write about the track’s curse at some point in the future. When, exactly, I don’t know; it may be next year, or it could be even further down the line. I try not to create timetables as I’m terrible at following them. If I had to take a guess, though, I would say next year, maybe for Decemystery 2024. I make absolutely no promises. Heck, at this point, I refuse to even make a schedule for myself. If I did, I would have covered both Julia and The Carmel Crawler this month.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh well, whatever. While I may refuse to make any sort of schedule, I can safely say that I have a fair number of mysteries related to NASCAR that I hope to cover next year. Even if you aren’t a fan of the sport, I truly believe that it will be beyond fascinating and will offer a crazy insight into the sport as a whole. But that is for the future, and the future is as bright as the Sun. So, until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p></div>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-66211663861924656772023-12-24T07:00:00.023-05:002023-12-26T21:08:36.593-05:00Decemystery (2023) 24: The Television Demon<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/04/11/16/77/360_F_411167751_8E8hKbQ6KAaOAM63gheqJQF9C3Z0Y29W.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="300" src="https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/04/11/16/77/360_F_411167751_8E8hKbQ6KAaOAM63gheqJQF9C3Z0Y29W.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-89630fa0-7fff-374c-e61f-c71919707785"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hello, dear reader! I hope your Christmas Eve morning is a fantastic one; if you aren’t reading this on Christmas Eve, then I hope your day is still amazing. Anyway, welcome back to my blog; it’s time for another round of Decemystery fun. This story is one that caught my eye for a multitude of reasons, not the least being its title.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When I was a wee lad, I remember two horror movies very fondly: The Ring and The Grudge. If you weren’t alive back then (2002 and 2004, respectively), they were American remakes of two Japanese horror films: Ringu and Ju-On. Their success led to an abundance of Asian horror films being remade here in the United States. Most of them were absolute trash. In fact, I think the aforementioned two films were the only ones that were deemed good in some capacity.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, those two movies had a huge influence on me. The Grudge scared the living daylights out of me as a kid; that croaking will forever haunt my nightmares. Meanwhile, The Ring always stuck with me for the visual of a ghost crawling out of a television. It’s equal parts surreal and terrifying; I absolutely adore it and wish more horror movies did more creative things like that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That brings us to today’s story. When I was searching for things to write about, I stumbled across an account that reminded me a lot of The Ring. I knew right away that I had to cover it; there was no way I was passing up the opportunity to cover something like that. So come along, let’s take a look at</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Television Demon</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Poor Signal Reception</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found this story on </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111017025421/http://paranormal.about.com/library/blstory_december04_05.htm" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">About.com</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which we’ve visited quite a bit this month. There, it’s titled “Big Screen Ghoul,” which I have to admit is a pretty eye-catching title. However, I changed it since I always associate the “big screen” with movie theaters and not a home television system. So, for the sake of consistency, I’ll be calling the entity in this story ”The Television Demon,” rather than the “Big Screen Ghoul.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5d06162d-7fff-d7be-b66b-bb44574e1f5f"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, it’s time to get into the story proper. The exact date isn’t given, so I tagged this write-up with the “Unknown Date” tag. That said, I suspect it occurred around the time it was posted to About, which was November 2004. A man named Brando submitted an account about an experience he had after arriving home from work. It was around 11:00 p.m. (or 23:00 for my 24-hour time readers), and Brando wanted nothing more than to relax after a hard day of doing whatever he did for a living. So, he went to his refrigerator and grabbed a beer. Then, he sat down in front of his “big screen TV to relax.” I’m not sure what he planned on watching, but I’ll pretend it was Law and Order. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">During this riveting episode of Dick Wolf’s never-ending law drama, Brando’s television screen “turned completely orange.” At first, Brando thought that his television’s turner had gone out. Being the technically illiterate dipstick that I am, I had no idea what this was. I’d be lying if my mind didn’t immediately go to Ted Turner, but no, it has nothing to do with him. Apparently, it’s what allows your television to get various stations. If I’m wrong, please correct me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Brando’s first course of action was to grab his remote and “hit some buttons.” This did not work. Even the power button has decided to go on strike. So, Brando found himself sitting before a television with an orange screen. Insert your own modern-day political joke here; I know at least one person reading this wants to do it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Suddenly, Brando saw something. It was a face—or, it was sort of a face. He said that it lacked eyes and only had a mouth. I don’t know if it had a body or if it was a disembodied head. Either way, it “got larger and larger on the screen,” so I’m guessing it made its way toward him. Then, despite not having eyes, it “looked” at Brando and screamed, “I got you!”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This, unsurprisingly, scared the living 240p soul out of Brando. He got his keys and bolted out of his apartment before making his way to his girlfriend’s home. Presumably, his television’s new resident watched the entire time with its non-existent eyes. Alas, everything after that was unavailable for viewing; luckily, you and I can enjoy it. Before he arrived at his girlfriend’s home, Brando called her up and told her about his incident, to which she laughed. I hope she wasn’t driving when he called her.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Upon arriving at his girlfriend’s home, Brando “made her come back” to his apartment. I have no idea why he’d want to go back to the place where some eyeless demon screamed, “I got you!” to him, but whatever. Brando’s girlfriend agreed to go with him; when they got back, the two found the television screen had turned black. What’s more, it wouldn’t turn on.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Brando rounds off his story by saying he thinks about the incident every time he watches television. He also says he has no idea why it happened. In a postscript, Brando claims that he brought the television to a repair store, only to be told the technician was unable to find anything wrong. Because of that, his beloved TV would never turn on again. Pour one out for what I believe was an early-to-mid 2000s television set.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that, the tale of The Television Demon comes to a close. There’s something deeply unsettling about this—aside from the memories it brings back about The Ring. The idea of being confronted by something through a screen gives me the same sense of discomfort I get when I imagine something watching me from outside my window. It’s just flat-out terrifying to me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, as per the norm, there are some theories to go over—quite a few, in fact. So, without further delay, let’s jump right into them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. A hoax</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let’s just get this one out of the way; I’m sure most of you know the song and dance now like you’re a seasoned Broadway performer. People fabricate stuff all the time; it’s the norm on the Internet. However, with today’s story, I do think it has a bit of merit—more than normal.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given this story was posted in 2004, two years after the release of The Ring and the same year as The Grudge, it’s possible that Brando wanted to write his own story after watching one (or both). I should note that The Grudge rode </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">heavily</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> off of the positive reception The Ring got; I remember DirecTV’s pay-per-view advertisements boasting that it was “more terrifying than The Ring.” I have no idea why I remember that nearly two decades later, but I do.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, I can’t prove that Brando made all of this up; it’s impossible unless, by some absurd chance, I got in contact with him or someone could prove it for me. So, rather than take in circles for an eternity, let’s move on to the next theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. A demon</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There’s a popular bit of paranormal lore that states spirits can screw with electronics. This has been seen in a lot of movies, but I don’t think it’s ever been utilized to its fullest extent. I would love to see a ghost draw all of the power from a television or computer to manifest itself in electrical glory. I think it’d look insanely cool.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, my point is that this theory posits that a demon—or some other malevolent entity—possessed Brando’s television. Right off the bat, I will say that this theory would explain why the television broke without any apparent cause. A demon did it through its demonic powers. No one would ever suspect a thing! However, that’s about all it has going for it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Exactly why this demon would have done this is not clear at all. In fact, virtually nothing is. How the demon got into Brando’s life lacks any explanation, why it chose him, and if anything happened after he saw the ghoulish face (despite the thing having said it “got” him) are all left unanswered. Unless Brando posted additional stories down the line (which I don’t know if he did), the thing that was on his television did nothing. How anticlimactic.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On top of that, I’m not all that familiar with demons—or ghosts in general—possessing televisions in order to appear before people. While it’s a neat concept, I cannot make any other story where a spirit decided to do a ghostly rendition of the Max Headroom broadcast hijacking. If you know of any others, feel free to let me know. Until then, this theory really lacks anything going for it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Brando fell asleep and had a nightmare</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Have you ever had a dream that was influenced by the waking world? For example, I once had a dream that was influenced by an episode of Mysteries at the Museum that was on; I believe it was about something that happened during the American Revolutionary War. It was really strange to experience since it felt less like a fully-fledged dream and more like a weird daydream. I remember a snowbank and people marching. I want to say it may have had to do with Benedict Arnold, but I can’t remember for certain.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, that’s what this theory is about. Brando fell asleep without realizing it, and something on the television influenced his dream. As a result, he had a nightmare about a creepy, eyeless demon that said it had finally gotten him. It’s like me when I’m playing Pokémon, and I finally get the one I want after hours of looking.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The main problem with this theory is that it doesn’t explain what caused his television to break. In truth, I don’t think any of the theories do, but this one in particular leaves it without an answer entirely. The best I could do is say that, by coincidence, the screen burned out or something malfunctioned. By some odd chance, the technician didn’t catch it. That, or they were trying to get him to buy a new one since they would make more money that way. Or they were lazy and didn’t want to do work. If I’m to be honest, the latter two wouldn’t surprise me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. The beer was spiked</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This wasn’t a theory I actually had. Rather, it was one a friend sent me that I found rather entertaining, so I figured I’d use it. I’m sure she won’t mind. At least, I sure hope she won’t!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, all she had to say was that the beer was spiked—presumably with some sort of hallucinogen. After that, he saw the creepy demon on his TV. As for how it broke, all she had to say was, “Magic.” I can’t argue there.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the interest of fairness, alcohol can cause hallucinations (I’ve mentioned this before), but it usually requires a great deal of alcohol for that to happen. Not a single beer. I also doubt the television would break because one man decided to drink a beer. Unless Brando damaged it himself without realizing it. However, in that case, I imagine the technician would have been able to determine that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. Interdimensional tomfoolery</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To receive this theory, please pay for a bigger service package.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. It was Ted Turner</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He destroyed the television because Brando didn’t watch enough TBS.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Based on what little there is, I have to say that I think Brando more than likely fell asleep without realizing it and had a nightmare. Granted, that doesn’t explain everything, but it’s possible his television screen burned out, and neither he nor the technician realized that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If I had to hazard a guess, it’s possible that Brando fell asleep and, on the television, there was an ad for The Grudge. As I said earlier, DirecTV’s pay-per-view promos for the film advertised it as being “more terrifying than The Ring.” So, I imagine that maybe Brando heard that in his sleep and dreamt of something evil on his television.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, that take is primarily based on things that have happened to me. I’ve had dreams influenced by what was on my television. I’m also relying on this story, which occurred around the time The Grudge was released; Brando never stated when it happened. If it happened prior to The Ring having been released, then I have no idea. It’s still possible it was a vivid nightmare. Or, it was completely made up. I think both are </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> likely if this happened before 2002.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that, we can safely turn off that television without any fear of some demon appearing and giving us a terrible fight. It’s all thanks to the cable company’s extended warranty on any and all beings of the afterlife not being able to get through their advanced firewall—or something. I’m pretty sure I just upset a lot of tech students with that statement.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, I would love to know what you think the truth behind this story is. Did Brando dream it up? Was it a hoax? Or did a demon possess his television? Leave a comment letting me know. And as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-65463540589323381452023-12-24T06:00:00.002-05:002023-12-24T06:00:00.149-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 24: The Humanoid Phoenix<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.xfQSFNZHxE0F__C3GpIQJQHaEo?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="474" height="250" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.xfQSFNZHxE0F__C3GpIQJQHaEo?pid=ImgDet&rs=1" width="400" /></span></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-bd3d4e13-7fff-cc0a-f4ce-d99a9bf5668a" style="font-family: arial;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s the eve before the happiest time of the year—or so the saying goes. Indeed, today is Christmas Eve; I wish you all the merriest of ones. I have no idea what I’ll be doing when this post goes up, but I’m sure it will be peaceful. God knows that I need it after writing 64 write-ups one after another.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With those festivities in mind, let us get to the write-up. I love humanoid sightings; stories of Pale Crawlers, aquatic humanoids, and all other manner of human-like creatures fascinate me. Though, arguably the most interesting to me is the winged humanoid, beings like the legendary Mothman captivate me like little else.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, for today’s story, we’re headed down to Texas. It’s there where we’ll find a report of a winged humanoid that is truly out of this world. It’s not just strange; it’s downright dumbfounding. It’s known as </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Humanoid Phoenix</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and even though the story is absurdly short, it’s nonetheless worth hearing about. So come along, dear reader, and let us celebrate Christmas Eve with one of the weirdest humanoid encounters I’ve ever read!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A Blaze of Glory</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I initially found this story on the </span><a href="https://paranormal-world.fandom.com/wiki/A_Humanoid_Phoenix" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Paranormal World Wiki</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; it’s called </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A Humanoid Phoenix</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> over there. I shamelessly copied the name because, well, it’s fitting. Also, as I have said in the past, if you like the content on this blog, I </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">highly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> recommend you check that Wiki out, as the content there is fantastic. As for where this story first popped up, it was on a website called </span><a href="https://truehorrorstoriesoftexas.com/man-sees-bird-like-humanoid-burst-into-flames-donna-tx/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">True Horror Stories of Texas</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which is dedicated to, well, scary stories from Texas. Ghost stories, UFO sightings, cryptids; it’s all there for you to read and enjoy from the citizens of the Lone Star State! If you’ve had a scary experience with something unexplainable, you can send it there. I, personally, have not, though I consider the continued use of Texas Motor Speedway in NASCAR to be unexplainable and terrifying. So, maybe I’ll submit that and see if they’ll post it.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dear True Horror Stories of Texas</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I had this horrible encounter the other day. I saw my favorite sport at the worst track on their schedule. The racing was atrocious, and there was no worthwhile strategy. The tire wear was inexcusably poor, there was little passing and worst of all, they still refuse to reconfigure it so it can make use of the amazing intermediate package the Next Gen car has.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This track is Texas Motor Speedway, and it is the worst thing to happen to NASCAR since Brian France took over the sport and implemented the playoffs system. As I bore witness to the race, I was left petrified. I saw countless emotionless faces staring at the track; it was like they were all collectively mind-controlled by Moloch’s brother, NASCARloch.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I, however, had the blessing and protection of Dale Earnhardt, Sr., on my side, so I was able to resist his influence. Unfortunately, I was powerless to stop the demonic ritual that was the 2023 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life, and I fear I will never recover from it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Signed, Vertigo</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think it’s believable enough; what do you think?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Joking aside, let’s get to the story. It took place in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna,_Texas" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Donna, Texas</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which, as of 2020, has a population of 16,797. It’s located in the very southern part of Texas, near the United States-Mexico border; just a random fun fact for you geography fans out there.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, on August 12, 2018, a person going by “Gavin S” submitted a report to the site about a strange experience he had the previous year in September. Late one night, Gavin was taking a walk. It was around 12:30 a.m., and he was in front of an </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-E-B" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">H-E-B</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (for those unfamiliar, H-E-B is a grocery store chain). After about 30 minutes, Gavin looked up at the night sky. Exactly why, I don’t know; the number of details given in this account is absurdly minimal, but more on that later.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever the reason for this 1:00 a.m. stargaze, Gavin saw something that he described as being half man, half bird with eyes that glowed red. Its wings were also “aa long as a van.” I don’t know what kind of van, but I’m guessing a minivan. If that’s the case, then its wings were anywhere from 16 feet (4.8 meters) to 22 feet (6.1 meters). By comparison, the bird with the longest wingspan—the wandering albatross—has a wingspan of 12 feet (3.6 meters). So, this thing’s wings were quite large. I guess that makes sense; there’s a saying that everything is bigger in Texas.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That saying must clearly extend to one’s struggles, as Gavin claimed that this winged fiend was having trouble flying. After an unknown period of time, though, it finally took flight. As it did, it burst into flames.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And that’s all there is to the story. Gavin didn’t elaborate on anything else, which leaves me with an absurd number of questions. Though I’ll wait to get around to them, for now, I want to address one thing before we get into the theories.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Over on the Paranormal World Wiki, there’s a tag called </span><a href="https://paranormal-world.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Burning_Man" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Burning Man</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> As you can surmise, the tag is for stories involving people who are suffering from excessive heartburn; their entire bodies are now ablaze, and they could use something to alleviate their pain. In total, there are five articles (counting that of The Humanoid Phoenix). I’ll quickly go over the other four since I found them extremely interesting.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first is the absolutely horrifying story of </span><a href="https://paranormal-world.fandom.com/wiki/Body_Burn_in_the_Jo%C3%A3o_Prestes_Filho" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">João Prestes Filho</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, a man who burst into flames and died from his severe burns. I’ve been wanting to cover this story since 2019 but have never gotten around to it; I have no excuse as to why. No one knows exactly why—or how—he caught fire, but some claim that a UFO attempted to abduct him but caused him to get set on fire. Others say it was ball lightning, while a third theory is that it was a case of spontaneous human combustion. </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM7gzjbNXxw&ab_channel=BedtimeStories" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Bedtime Stories</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> did a great video on this case; if it interests you, I highly recommend giving it a listen. Just a fair warning, though: it’s a bit graphic. Then again, it’s about a man who basically melted from being set on fire; what else would you expect?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The next three stories I had never heard of until I went over their articles. The second is entitled </span><a href="https://paranormal-world.fandom.com/wiki/Rage_of_the_Hardin_Monster" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rage of the Hardin Monster</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and took place in 1885 on Diamond Island in Illinois. One night, a duo of fishermen were out, well, fishing, when they encountered a fiery phantom. It was said to have emerged from a lake and floated 120 feet (36 meters) in the air. Both men made it off the island, and the specter eventually departed this world after three years. I might write about this story next year; it’s genuinely interesting.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The final two stories took place in Germany, with the first being from 1125—just under 900 years ago! This one was known as </span><a href="https://paranormal-world.fandom.com/wiki/The_Railbach_Burning_Man" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Railbach Burning Man</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and it lives up to its name in the most literal way possible. A multitude of people saw a man running around while on fire; he expelled fire from his nose and mouth as he did so. Some of the witnesses also claimed they could see the figure’s “burning ribs.” This guy’s heartburn is unreal; get him some Tums! Okay, that’s the last heartburn joke, I swear.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">These sightings went on for an unknown amount of time until they just stopped. Like, that’s it. There is no concrete timeframe for how long they lasted. My guess is it was seen over a period of time due to it being spotted “for quite some time,” but I don’t know for certain.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Albert Rosales, the author of the outstanding </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Humanoid Encounters</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> book series, posits that this was an extraterrestrial. The author of the Paranormal World Wiki, meanwhile, theorizes that it was an elemental of some sort. Of those two, I agree with the elemental theory since I question the practicality of a spacesuit that makes you look like you’re on fire. Unless you believe that will ward off people from approaching you, I think there are better ways to go about achieving that. Just my two cents: I’m not an interstellar traveler.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Last but not least is the story that bears the most resemblance to The Humanoid Phoenix. The Paranormal World Wiki article is entitled </span><a href="https://paranormal-world.fandom.com/wiki/Burning_Man_of_the_Black_Forest" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Burning Man of the Black Forest.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Unlike the previous flaming man, the year this occurred isn’t known; the article simply states that it was during “medieval times.” If we go by Wikipedia, that’s anywhere from the 5th century to the 15th century. Well, I have a 1 in 1,000 chance to be right. Those odds aren’t </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">that</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> bad, all things considered!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once again, over in Germany, the denizens of a village near the Black Forest saw a mysterious humanoid; this one, the Paranormal World Wiki compared to the Fantastic Four character “The Human Torch.” Honestly, it’s a really good comparison, as this mysterious figure was seen flying while on fire. God, I want a good Fantastic Four movie so badly. One of these days, I’ll get it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The villagers watched the fiery man soar through the sky until it landed atop a Church steeple. Not taking kindly to what they believed to be a demon, the locals began to pelt the humanoid inferno with rocks. This went on for some time until the being flew off and was never seen or heard from again. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The final story does bear a slight resemblance to The Humanoid Phoenix, though I’m hesitant to take it at face value. It’s possible it was a fable or case of mass hysteria that was documented. Though I digress, I wanted to make a note of these stories due to their categorization on the Paranormal World Wiki.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With all of that said and done, the radiant story of Texas’ Humanoid Phoenix comes to an end. It is, without a doubt, one of the most unique humanoid stories I’ve ever read about. It’s also one of the most vague; I can visualize this thing in a dozen different ways, but I feel no closer to knowing what it looks like. Despite that, there are a handful of theories, so let’s go over them!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. An interdimensional hothead</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I want to start off with this theory because both it and the next one lack much substance in this case. However, they’re often associated with humanoid encounters, so not including them would be almost criminal in my eyes.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is a very popular theory that the strange humanoid creatures—like Pale Crawlers—are from another dimension. How they appear to us varies from person to person, with some claiming they appear when our reality overlaps with theirs. Others, meanwhile, say that they’ve mastered the art of interdimensional travel. I question how Pale Crawlers are intelligent enough to traverse dimensions, but I digress. Appearances can be deceiving.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the case of today’s humanoid enigma, this theory can reasonably be applied here. A strange being seen once and only once. Whether it was here of its volition or not, I have no idea; it’s next to impossible to say, given the lack of information given to us by Gavin. Still, it </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">technically </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">works, so there was no point in exempting it.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. An extraterrestrial bird-man</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Much like the theory above, this one technically works. There is a popular theory that many strange humanoids are of extraterrestrial origin. An example of this is that Bigfoot itself is an alien; this originates from when a rash of Bigfoot sightings occurred after a supposed UFO landed in Pennsylvania, I think. It’s a pretty interesting rabbit hole to go down if you haven’t; I’ll try to get around to it in 2024. I make no promises, though.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I know that there is one particular humanoid—one who has a pair of wings and heavy ties to UFO culture—I could mention. However, he has his own theory, so let’s focus on this one as a whole. Realistically, that’s easier said than done. As far as I know, there were no UFO sightings—or a plethora of them—when The Humanoid Phoenix was seen. While the two don’t need to go hand in hand, they often do. I believe it would be odd for this one instance to be an exception.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On top of that, the lack of details on what this being looked like makes it hard to determine if it was at all alien in appearance. Many winged humanoids don’t look human—not completely, anyway. In this case, however, Gavin described it as being “half man, half bird.” If I take this at face value, my immediate thought is it resembles a human male with bird wings. While there are claims of human-like aliens (for example, Nordic Aliens), they aren’t winged beings.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, that doesn’t immediately mean that this theory is bunk. However, due to the lack of details provided, I feel it has a lot of uphill traversing to do. And given Gavin’s never come forward to provide additional information, that traversing is likely to never begin once more. Anyway, onto the next theory!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Mothman</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Remember when I mentioned that there was a humanoid being with ties to UFO culture? Yeah, it’s this fellow; I’m sure most of you knew that, though.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory was put forth by True Horror Stories of Texas. I can kind of see where they’re coming from; people claim to have seen Mothman outside of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. This is true for the New Jersey Devil, too, but I’ve got a write-up planned for next year that will go over those claims in </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">significantly </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">more detail. So, I’d rather focus on Mothman and Mothman alone for now.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I won’t sit here for a few thousand words rambling on end about Mothman, but I do want to address two things. First, assuming that The Humanoid Phoenix was an alien, then Mothman’s ties to aliens do lend some credence to that theory. Of course, your belief in said lore is going to dictate whether or not you buy into that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Secondly, the claims of Mothman outside of his home turf of Point Pleasant are very iffy. There are a bunch of different cryptids that are said to be Mothman; Owlman and The Black Bird of Chernobyl are two that I can name off the top of my head. The latter is more notorious due to it being seen not long before the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Those two examples, however, are not without flaws. For starters, both stories are from Europe; Owlman was seen in Cornwall, England, while The Black Bird of Chernobyl was seen in Ukraine. Unless Mothman flew across the Atlantic Ocean or was transported there via UFO, there’s no way it got there. I guess it could have also boarded a plane and somehow blended in with the passengers, though I think that’s a tad bit too unrealistic.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There’s also the matter of Chernobyl’s winged-fiend sometimes being described as a literal bird—albeit a very large one (its wingspan was said to be 20 feet—or 6 meters). So, unless Mothman can change his radically alter his appearance, I’m skeptical. If you want a bit more detail on this story, go read the write-up I did earlier this month on </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Canadian Spiderbat</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But I digress. Despite all of that, there is one issue that dwarfs all others. That issue is the fact we don’t even know what this thing looked like. Gavin never gave a description beyond it being “half man, half bird.” That’s such a vague description that it could resemble anything from a man with bird wings to an </span><a href="https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Arakkoa" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Arakkoa from World of Warcraft.</span></a></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’d also like to add that Mothman’s never described as being susceptible to malfunctioning pyrotechnics. If your local cryptid begins to explode unexpectedly, I recommend calling the company you acquired it from and filing a complaint. They aren’t meant to be combustible in any capacity.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, while I can see why someone may put this theory forward, I don’t think there’s anything to really go on, thanks to Gavin providing no usable details. I’m beginning to detect a pattern here.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3b. A winged humanoid</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory was an absolute nightmare to write; I struggled for way too long on it. The main reason for that was simple: I had absolutely no idea how to word it. After the previous theory, I felt like I was treading the same ground. It also felt like I’d need to begin to get highly opinionated, which I didn’t want to do. In spite of that, I felt that nixing the theory would be a bad move. So, I’ll keep this extremely brief for the sake of my patience. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory is arguably the one that makes the most sense—barring the one after this. It also doesn’t suffer as much from the lack of details provided by Gavin. At least, not in the same way. I’ll elaborate upon this when we get to my personal take.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Really, that’s all I can say. For whatever reason, I cannot think of anything else to say; this is one time when I feel like I’m at a loss for words with a theory. I’m truly sorry, folks.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A hoax</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our penultimate theory is the first one that doesn’t fall victim to Gavin’s lack of details! In fact, it heavily benefits from that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To keep this theory considerably shorter than the other ones, Gavin’s lack of information on everything is more than a little eyebrow-raising. In fact, I’d argue that it makes this theory the only one that has anything to work with, but I digress.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory does have one major issue: the lack of any clear reason for Gavin to fabricate this. My best guess would be he wanted to troll, but I’d rather not play the guessing game with someone’s intentions. It makes me feel like a jerk.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. The biggest fan of the Phoenix Suns</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is what happens when your dedication to a sports team hits a fever pitch. You become a mascot for them. In this fellow’s case, they turned into a bird-man.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As I’ve said numerous times this month, I’m hesitant to label things as hoaxes. After all, there isn’t anything to gain from fabricating the story; there is no monetary gain, no publicity, nothing. In this case, however, I have to go against that notion: I </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">fully</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> believe that this story is a hoax.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first issue I take with this story is the public location where this occurred. As far as I can tell, there was only </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">one</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> witness to this. It was at a park, outside of a grocery shop. I don’t know if H-E-B is a 24-hour store or not, but I would assume that there would be other stores nearby. Presumably, that would mean there would be someone else who would have seen this thing in the sky </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">erupt in flames</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. That would result in a lot of light because, you know, fire creates light. That’s why fire is used to illuminate places. It’s fire; it doesn’t decrease light—unless you’re engulfed by it. In that case, it’s lights out for you because you’ll be dead, but I digress.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Additionally, if this thing burst into flames, I have to question how nothing caught on fire. Granted, Gavin didn’t describe how high up in the air this thing was (I’ll get into that in a moment), but I find it surprising how nothing ended up turning into a makeshift wicker man.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But, hey, it was 1:00 a.m., so perhaps there weren’t many folks out. I mean, it was the middle of the night. Or perhaps it’s super rural; I’m not from Texas, nor have I ever been there. Even if we accept that I take a lot of grievances with Gavin’s exceedingly short account. I know that not everyone is going to describe things in detail or convey how they felt, but Gavin’s story is offensively short. It’s five sentences long, 71 words in total. Don’t believe me? Here’s the entire thing for your reading pleasure!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I was walking down the park in Donna Texas in front of H-E-B. So, I was walking for a good 30 minutes and it was 1:00 am. As I looked up, I see a man half man, half bird. His eyes glowed red and as he spread out his wings, his wings were as long as a van. He flew but struggled and when he flew he bursts into flames.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, here’s a list of a dozen things that I wish Gavin had included so we could get a clearer idea of what this thing was like.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. How high in the air was this thing? Was it close to the ground, or was it high enough that he couldn’t make out any real detail? It seems like Gavin could tell that it was male, given he used a male pronoun. Admittedly, though, this could have just been his own decision, but I digress.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. How large was it? This ties a bit back into the previous question, but he gave an estimation of its wingspan. It would be great to know how tall it was. Was it the size of a human? Smaller? Larger? This would actually help with comparing it to Mothman and other winged humanoids.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. What did it look like? Gavin described it as being “half man, half bird,” but he never elaborated upon </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">what</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> it looked like in that regard. Did it have the body of a human? Was it completely human but with wings? Or was it comparable to a harpy?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. What happened after it burst into flames? This question, in particular, aggravates me. I cannot believe that anyone who saw something unexplainable would not give details about what that thing—whatever it may have been—did. Gavin, buddy, I need to know: did this thing disappear, or did it fly off? Did any embers remain? Did you run away? I could keep going, but I think you all get the point. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. Did </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">anybody </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">else see it? Did you see any other human—an actual human, mind you—nearby? This would be greatly useful to know.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. Has anyone else seen this thing? As far as I can tell, that’s a no, but it would be nice to know if there were murmurings of a weird creature in the area.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8. What prompted you to look up to the sky? Did you hear it flapping its wings? Was it pure chance? Given you said it was struggling, I imagine something caught your attention. I can understand wanting to stargaze (I like to look up at the night sky from time to time). In this case, however, I’d love to know if you heard this thing before you saw it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">9. Were there reports of an explosion that night? I cannot imagine that this thing erupting in flames went unnoticed by everyone. Then again, maybe it didn’t create a large burst of fire. I don’t know because Gavin didn’t elaborate on the size of it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">10. Did you ever mention this to anybody else? I’m genuinely curious since it would be interesting to know if there were local legends of something like this creature.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">11. Did it at all notice you? I’m genuinely curious if it was at all aware that someone else was nearby; a lot of cryptids tend to be timid, and I’d be curious if this was, too.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">12. Why didn’t you try to take a picture of it? This took place in the 2010s; did you not bring your phone with you on your late-night walk? I feel that it would be quite important to do so, lest you get hurt while outside, especially during a period when there aren’t going to be as many people out and about.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There you go, dear reader. There are a dozen questions that I firmly believe Gavin should have addressed in his recounting of this experience that, for some inexplicable reason, he didn’t. Make sure you don’t make the same mistake should you write about your own unexplainable experience!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although Gavin had nothing to gain from making up this story, I cannot put any stock in this story being anything other than a hoax. Though with all of that said, I will echo the Paranormal World Wiki and say that I’m more than willing to accept that I am wrong. If there are other reports like this one—be they from Donna, Texas, or elsewhere on Earth—then I would love to know. I know the story of The Burning Man from the Black Forest is a bit similar, but I’m deeply hesitant to take the word of something from the medieval era at face value, especially when it was only seen once. As for the Hardin Monster, that one sounds more paranormal in nature than physical.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, as it stands, I do not believe this story whatsoever. I’m sorry, but this one has too many holes in it for me to buy into. That said, it is one of the most eye-catching cases in my opinion. It isn’t often that I see someone claim they saw something resembling a phoenix. Maybe next year, I’ll try to find reports of actual phoenixes.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And so, with that, yet another Decemystery entry comes to a close. This one was an unreasonably large amount of fun to write about; I haven’t the faintest idea as to why, but I had the time of my life covering it. I do, however, wish there was more I could have covered. Alas, it was not meant to be. But, anyway, I would love to know your thoughts on this case. And as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-8635970344463548452023-12-23T07:00:00.011-05:002023-12-23T07:00:00.251-05:00Decemystery (2023) 23: The Oklahoma Fly Man<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWRhMTY4NTgtYTljZi00ZGQzLWE3NWMtMmNjNzRkZmUyZjIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc1NTYyMjg@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="525" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWRhMTY4NTgtYTljZi00ZGQzLWE3NWMtMmNjNzRkZmUyZjIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc1NTYyMjg@._V1_.jpg" width="263" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span id="docs-internal-guid-246243bb-7fff-a850-58cc-39c96750411a"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have had some really bad experiences with Flies. I remember once when I was playing Dead Island; one was inside our house; this little bastard decided to fly near me, so I clapped at it, hoping to kill it. No dice, though, but it decided to fly in front of me like, “Haha, you missed!” To this day, I swear it momentarily gained sapience because there’s no way it didn’t know what it was doing.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh well, it got it deserved because my mother eventually killed it. I’m incapable of doing anything worthwhile when it comes to insects; I’d resort to throwing television to try and kill a gnat. Too bad I’d miss it; further proof that I’m incapable of doing much of anything outside of finding weird stories on the Internet.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, now that you know my history with pests that had wings, you can likely guess why I picked today’s story. Well, outside of the name (which I’ve said plenty of times, I pick stories if the name is eye-catching). With a name like </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Oklahoma Fly Man</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, I knew right away that there was no way I’d pass up the opportunity to cover something that brings to mind memories of both </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Fly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and my utter disdain for those aerial jerks. So come along, dear reader; it’s time for yet another tale of high strangeness!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A TERROR UNLIKE ANY OTHER! The Humanoid Insect in the Sooner State!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This, like a great many stories covered on this blog, is one that I stumbled across while browsing the Internet. Unlike those, the original had its page deleted; in fact, almost all of them were. I don’t know if it was vandalism or something, but yeah. I initially found this story on the High-Strangeness Wiki. I didn’t save it, and had it not been for the story also being on the </span><a href="https://paranormal-strange.fandom.com/wiki/Oklahoma_Fly_Man" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Paranormal-Strange Wiki</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, I wouldn’t have been able to cover it.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One thing I need to say right off the bat is that I have no idea who wrote this post or where it originates from. There’s no source given, which leads me to suspect that the person who wrote it posted it there. I tried to dig around on the Internet, but I got nothing, so unless someone knows: I think this story begins and ends at the two aforementioned Wikis.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now then: this story is clearly written by someone whose first language is not English or who is very young. This can be seen from the first sentence; take a look:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Oklahoma Fly Man is a flies humanoid in The Fly horror movie.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What I believe this is meant to say is that the Oklahoma Fly Man is a humanoid fly, like the one in the horror movie </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Fly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. I know this because, as you’ll see later, the author of this piece is adamant that the creature looked like that character.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, let’s finally get into the story. According to the person who wrote this, “he” was at “this grandmother’s house in Henryetta, Oklahoma.” Let me just say right now: I won’t harp on the English for the entire write-up (you can read it for yourself if you’re curious to see the rest of the grammatical errors). I wanted to give one more example. Also, “he” is someone named Manuel; he isn’t named until later in the post. I don’t know why as it’s a vital bit of information, and withholding it is rather silly. My guess is that Manuel is somehow related to the narrator of this story.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One night, while staying at his grandmother’s, Manuel awoke during the night; he needed to use the bathroom. After getting out of bed, though, he noticed he wasn’t alone, for he had a late-night guest in his bedroom. What is it with this month and people having uninvited visitors when they’re in bed? One person has a bipedal fox, another had the Joker in her closet, and now this fellow has a Fly Man.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Indeed, there is no hyperbole in the title of today’s story. Manuel’s late-night guest was a “human-sized fly” that reminded him of the character from </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Fly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—the </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">original </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fly from 1958. The post emphasizes that Manuel was reminded of that film and not the 1986 remake starring Jeff Goldblum. I honestly find it endearing how much this article stresses how Manuel was reminded of the black-and-white film. A shame I’ve not seen either movie; I hear both are amazing, though.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anywhoozle: standing 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from Manuel in front of the door was a “life size man fly with big hanging wings in the shadow!” I must reiterate here that I haven’t seen the movie, but looking up the monster: it doesn’t appear it had wings. Though, wow, the makeup of that thing is deeply disturbing. Man, makeup and practical effects are truly amazing.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Manuel claims that this creature’s body was “bigger” and like “a whole fly.” Based on the image above, I’m guessing he means that it was akin to a bipedal fly rather than a humanoid fly or in whatever way you would want to describe the thing from </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Fly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. As you may be able to tell: I’m vaguely familiar with how the body swapping worked in that movie; I never read the story it’s adapted from, by the way.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, now that we’ve established not only my ineptitude for seeing horror classics but also that this creature is something of a bipedal fly, we can now move on to something I personally found quite funny. According to Manuel, this thing was around 5'6" (1.7 meters). When I first read that, I got a really good laugh out of it because the actor who played the original scientist in </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Fly</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, Al Hedison, was 6'1". Then I realized the writer said “body” and not “the creature itself.” Sometimes, I wonder how I made it out of grade school.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to the writer, Manuel—despite being so young—didn’t believe this enormous fly to be real. Confident in this stance, he took a step toward the doorway. However, as he did, the giant fly mirrored his movement and took a step toward Manuel. Thanks to the “indirect moon light,” it ended up “revealing every detail; hair, claws, and huge scary fly eyes and mouth.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite this clearly not being caused by sleepiness making a shadow appear like something it isn’t, Manuel still didn’t believe this thing to be real. His urge to use the bathroom, however, was; very much so.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To digress for a moment: I always hear on these paranormal television shows about how kids are more susceptible to the paranormal than adults. Something about their innocence or something like that. Reading this, though, I also have to wonder how infuriating it must be for a ghost or demon that, after weeks or months of biding your time, the moment you strike results in the kid being like, “Haha, you aren’t real, but my Transformers action figures fighting this Tyrannosaurus Rex is! Roar, boom, kaboom! Oh no, Optimus Prime is hurt! Save him, Ratchet!”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Digression over; back to the story. Undeterred by the thing before him, Manuel took another step forward. In his mind, this was all his imagination, and he would pass through the creature without anything happening.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unfortunately for Manuel, he was wrong; the fly reached out for him with its “big hairy fly claw!” I actually had to look this up, but flies do, in fact, have claws. I should have known they did, but for whatever reason, I didn’t. So yeah, thank you, random story I found on the Internet. You taught me something about flies.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now faced with the aggression of my fourth grade English teacher—I mean this abomination spawned from Beelzebub, Manuel was instilled with terror and backed away from the creature. Once he was an adequate distance away, he did what I do when I see any sort of creepy crawler: scream for someone. In this case, it was his grandmother who had been sleeping in the bed adjacent to his.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like a flyswatter out of Hell, Manuel’s grandmother jolted awake and flicked the lights on. This caused the bipedal fly from Dante’s unspoken circle of Hell to disappear. If only it was that easy with normal-sized flies; maybe I would like summertime considerably more.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What happened after that isn’t said, but I imagine Manuel’s grandmother told him it was just a bad dream and, after some consoling, all was fine. As for what is known, the writer of the post states that Manuel’s an artist and “has lived his entire adult life as a christian.” Because of this, he believed that what he saw was a demon of some sort. I’ll get into this more in the theories section.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To end this story, I want to present the final sentence as it was written; I’ve tried to convey it on my own, but there’s one thing that keeps throwing me for a loop. Here it is:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Having just turned 60 he was confident that what he saw that night was real and not figment of his imagination though he understands why some might doubt his story.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Initially, I had to go back and check to make sure that it was said that Manuel was young when this happened. When I did, I kept trying to write the paragraph for this bit, but I couldn’t make it work due to the usage of “having” so suddenly. I feel really stupid, but it genuinely felt like a rug pull. I don’t think I’ve ever had this happen to me, and it feels weird.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, assuming Manuel is in his 60s now, that would mean this likely happened at some point in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I honestly wish this had been said at the start of the article because finding this out now feels out of place.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With that, though, the story of The Oklahoma Fly Man comes to an end. As short as it is, there are a surprisingly large number of theories. So come along; let’s dive right into them!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. A demon</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m pretty sure if I tried hard enough, I could get Jason Blum to fund a movie about a demonic fly. If only I knew how to write and not ramble like a lunatic.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let’s start off with this one; it’s the theory Manuel believes in, and it’s the one that piqued my interest the most. Some of you may know this, but for those who don’t, Beelzebub is known as the “Lord of the Flies.” Yes, Beelzebub is an actual figure in theology and not something made up for Queen’s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Bohemian Rhapsody</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. While the title of “Lord of the Flies” may seem kind of weird when taken at face value, I always interpreted it as meaning he was something akin to the Lord of Decay and Pestilence.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m no demonologist; I barely know theology on a level that would make me an adequate grade-school religious teacher. That said, I do know enough about the paranormal to know that ghosts—be they benevolent or malevolent—gravitate toward children due to their innocence and purity. So I can at least try to speculate on what happened here; it won’t be much, but I’ll try.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given Manuel was young, it’s possible a demon tried to harm him or possess him. As I said before, Beelzebub is known as the Lord of the Flies, and this thing was itself a fly (a sizable one, too). From the perspective of a Roman Catholic, my instinct would be that it was a demon. As such, I’d need one holy flyswatter delivered to me like it was the holy hand grenade.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why exactly it decided to appear is beyond me; perhaps it had been there since the house was constructed, and it had been biding its time. If I had to guess: it wanted to latch onto Manuel but ran off because it felt threatened by an adult presence. I honestly don’t know, given my knowledge of this stuff is really poor, and because it creeps me out, I don’t feel like getting in too deep.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s also possible someone who has visited played with a Ouija Board and let it in. I don’t play with those things because I don’t own one, nor do I want to tempt fate, and I also have no one to use it with. I have no friends, and from what I hear, you can’t play with it alone. Nice to see I can’t even mess around with paranormal objects when alone; I truly am as lonely as the loneliest number in the world: one.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now why this possible demon only appeared once is something I cannot explain. Unless Manuel’s grandmother blessed the house, but that’s not said. So, without any confirmation from Manuel, I’d like to think that it was scared off by the presence of an elderly woman. Even demons know that the elderly are not to be trifled with. Anyway, onto the next theory!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. A lucid nightmare</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m pretty sure this was the basis for defeating Freddy Krueger; lucid dreaming, that is. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t seen A Nightmare on Elm Street. At least, I can’t remember if I have. You know, it’s a miracle I can even remember how to write after not having done it consistently since 2021.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lucid nightmares are like lucid dreams, only they’re nightmares. That means they aren’t fun, and you have an increased chance of waking up with spaghetti falling out of your pockets. You wouldn’t want that, trust me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s possible that Manuel dreamt this all, and as time went on, he began to fill in the gaps in his memory. Eventually, he believed that it actually happened when it actually hadn’t. I believe there’s a term for this, but I can’t remember its name off the top of my head. If you know it, feel free to leave a comment telling me.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, this theory is one of my own, but I figured it was worth mentioning since I’ve had some dreams that I’ve thought were real. Heck, some of them I was adamant were real while </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> the dream, only to wake up not long after. So, to me, it seems plausible that it may have all been a dream. It would explain why a supposed demon only appeared once for seemingly no reason and then never appeared again (unless we go with the two ideas I presented in the previous theory).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. Sleep paralysis</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not going to lie: a giant, bipedal fly wouldn’t be the weirdest sleep paralysis demon I’ve ever heard of. I once saw a Facehugger from </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Alien</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> leap onto my blanket once. I still have no idea why I didn’t feel a sense of panic when that happened. Man, sleep paralysis is weird.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you’ve been reading this blog for any allotment of time that amounts to “a bit,” you likely know that I’m no stranger to sleep paralysis. If you didn’t know that, then you do now! Anyway, sleep paralysis can lead you to see some wild stuff. Seriously, it’s amazing what some folks have seen; I really ought to do a write-up on it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, this is as it says on the tin: Manuel had sleep paralysis and thought it actually happened. This is admittedly very flimsy, given Manuel claims to have been walking at the time, but he’s presumably recounting the events of something that happened over half a century ago. Like the previous theory, I’d say it’s possible he could be misremembering things. The human mind is as fascinating as it is unreliable; this is why I didn’t pursue a career in psychology or psychiatry.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. Manuel was seeing things</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The reason your parents always gave you a bedtime: all the monsters come out to do the monster mash. This fellow is one of the ones who stands in the corner and watches everyone having fun; he does nothing but complain about the music selection. A real </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">buzz</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">kill…</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">God, I’m lame.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Have you ever woken up during the night or really early in the morning and thought you’d seen something? You know, when you have to rub your eyes because you’re super tired but either need to use the bathroom or have to get ready for school or work? I’m sure you know; that’s what this theory posits. Manuel was half asleep and saw a shadow (or shadows) that looked like a giant fly.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is arguably the most down-to-earth theory, and it’s one I’ve used before this month. It’s one that has helped to explain some experiences I’ve had in my life, too. The human mind is wild, and when it’s still half asleep, it can make you see some weird stuff.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, the only real issue is why this giant fly appeared to reach toward Manuel. That could have also been in Manuel’s mind, but it’s still really strange and makes me tilt my head in confusion. It feels a little more human than imaginary. Though, hey, the imagination of a child is unparalleled. To them, anything can be real and the most epic and awesome thing in the world.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. It was made up</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think that this theory has been a part of nearly every Decemystery entry this year. It’s become one of my constants, seated alongside self-loathing and self-doubt. The only difference is while those two are real, this theory proposes that this story isn’t.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The things people will do for a cheap laugh are not limitless, but they’re large in number. That’s why this theory is a staple of write-ups like this; people like to laugh at those who are into these topics.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There’s really nothing to discuss here. Someone wrote the article to make people waste their time reading it (and possibly buy into it). The only flaw in the theory is what I’ve said in the past: it feels low-effort. Normally, I’d expect a larger platform so you could fill more people. Though it’s possible the Wikis that I found this story on get more traffic than I’m aware of.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also, I am covering this story, so if this is a troll, they succeeded. Totally worth it, though, because I had so much fun covering this.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. An alien</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Aliens and insects have a bizarre history, and it’s one I believe I’ve talked about before on this blog. I really need to devote a full-blown write-up to it one day. For now, it’s worth noting that there have been a lot of reports of extraterrestrials that resemble humanoid insects. I guess the fear of being invaded by aliens, coupled with the common fear of insects, was a no-brainer for early Hollywood. Too bad that creativity is dead nowadays.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also, as a little fun fact: a lot of B-movies in the US from the 1950s and 1960s had aliens that resembled giant insects. There was also a nickname given to these creatures: the BEM (Bug-eyed Monster). That abbreviation was the basis for the Pokémon Beheeyem (pronounced the same way: BEM). Its pre-evolution, Elgyem, is named after the LGM (Little Green Man). I always found that really cool.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, onto the theory. There is, admittedly, very little to go off of beyond what I said above about sightings of aliens that look like humanoid insects. Given reports of creatures like Mantis Man, you could argue there is precedent; Mantis Man has been known to disappear shortly after it’s spotted. Though why this fellow didn’t make like a tree and log out from Earthling’s server when Manuel saw him is beyond me. I guess there was a fight going on in the bathroom, and it wanted to protect Manuel.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In short: this theory falls squarely on you; if you believe this was an alien that, the moment it saw the light come on, teleported back to its ship: more power to you. Just make sure to remember their weakness is 1950s-era light bulbs.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. An interdimensional being</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m starting to think I ought to make an Interdimensional tourism agency. This theory has been popping up in nearly every write-up. Maybe I can use that “law of attraction” thing I heard about to get someone from another dimension to notice my idea.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first thing I wanna mention is that there is a theory that Mantis Man is an interdimensional being. As such, everything I said in the previous theory about that fellow can be said here. I only say that because I deem it necessary. Okay, now on with the theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like an ungodly number of theories this month, I have talked about interdimensional entities ad nauseam. Seriously, I did these write-ups out of order (a rather goofy choice on my end, but it just happened), so I can’t help but feel I picked an absurd number of stories with this theory—and I haven’t even written every story with it yet. Still, let us dive into it a bit.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The concept of multiple dimensions is by no means a new one; you know it, and I know it. The idea of visiting other dimensions is also not new, so we need not go over it, which means all there is to say is: in a dimension where intelligent life consists of giant bipedal flies, one decided to visit ours and, after being noticed by a potentially angry grandmother, it left. That’s probably for the best because I don’t think a grandmother would take kindly to her grandson being scared by a giant fly.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Regardless of a grandmother using something to beat the living heck out of a giant fly, though, we have yet to discover any other dimensions (or realities, really), so this theory rests solely on your belief in them. If there is one out there where these things exist, I’d prefer to never visit it because tiny insects scare me. I don’t want to know if my heart would survive seeing a human-sized one.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8. A cryptid</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You may laugh at the notion that this was a cryptid, but just think about how many of those elusive suckers cease being seen! This bipedal bugger was seen only once, and he vanished when that light came on; he did what I’m certain every cryptid does when the light hits ‘em: </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">poof</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Admittedly, this theory is really flimsy since I can’t think of any other cryptid that bears any resemblance to this one. Still, I wanted to include it because some classify Mantis Man as a cryptid. Otherwise, there isn’t a single thing I could add. If there are reports of giant flies from anywhere, though, I would love to read about them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">9. It was an Interdimensional alien demon fly who causes lucid nightmares and sleep paralysis</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Because why the heck not?</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">10. Christopher Bell</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He went back in time to celebrate his Truck championship. Also, I’m certain that one friend of mine is going to be ecstatic to see me give C-Bell some level of acknowledgment. :)</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is yet another case where I’m torn on how I feel, albeit on a very, very personal level this time. Let’s start with the personal aspect since it’s the shorter of the two theories I hold: that it was, in fact, a demon.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Being a devout Roman Catholic, I am naturally someone who believes in the afterlife and many other things related to that. Those beliefs include demons; it comes with the territory. Given what I said earlier about Beelzebub and the general sinister nature of everything in this story, there’s a part of me that’s inclined to side with Manuel. I don’t know why, but this is one story that really messes with my head in a way that few do. So, on a very personal level, I feel like this was some sort of demon. Why it only appeared once, though, is something I cannot answer.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At the same time, I also believe this may have been nothing more than a case of someone being half asleep; someone perceiving shadows to be something they aren’t. I’ve done this many times in my life when waking up in the middle of the night; I’ve mistaken the shadow of a smoke alarm for a large centipede, another shadow for a mouse, and I’m certain I’ve mistaken other shadows for other things.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given Manuel was young, it’s more than likely his overactive mind got the better of him. It happens; he was a kid, and kids aren’t known for having the most rational of minds. I also don’t doubt that he would believe it throughout the years if it was traumatic. After all, he was a kid.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, I must admit that my inner religious self does get this bad vibe from the whole thing. No matter how hard I try, I can’t fully shake it; it’s like an actual fly that won’t leave me alone because I have a bright screen on. If only I had RAID, but for bad feelings. Maybe that would help me to be less emotionally messed up in the head.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All of that said, if I had to decide, I think Manuel was half asleep, and that caused him to see something that wasn’t there. Alternatively, it’s possible it was a weird attempt at a troll. Though, as I’ve said in the past, I feel like there are better ways to go about getting attention. But hey, it technically worked, given I just spent thousands of words covering it! As I said earlier: it was totally worth it because it was tons of fun to cover.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And so another Decemystery entry comes to an end. I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed writing it; it was a delightfully odd story that I wrote at a high point in my life. I can only hope that, when this goes up, I’m still experiencing just as much positivity. Anyway, as always: stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-28328169040048432102023-12-23T06:00:00.009-05:002023-12-23T06:00:00.132-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 23: Terry Lopi's Disappearing Barn<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/80/36/d18036b8fef7b9935519892426580942.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/80/36/d18036b8fef7b9935519892426580942.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span id="docs-internal-guid-5ecb3bb2-7fff-8444-e0e0-13287549056d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I won’t lie; I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to think of an introduction for this story. I swear, this is the hardest part of these write-ups; it wasn’t always that way. Oh well, I shouldn’t complain too much about my woes because today’s story is one I alluded to earlier this month!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Back when I wrote about The Kentucky Horsewalker, I said that I hoped there were no stories of disappearing barns. Well, surprise, surprise, there are. One of two safe havens for one man in Utah disappeared; that’s like a 50% Defense nerf! But what could cause one man’s barn to up and vanish? Well, come along, dear reader, let’s find that out; it’s time to dive into the story of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Terry Lopi’s Disappearing Barn</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">________________</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh no, even the silly title has disappeared!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is the second story to originate from the </span><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1tMKhZlGMme7LsmkPsVTUN7UV-BE&ll=41.862665500000034%2C-111.99139740000001&z=8" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fortean Map</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; I had only intended to cover The Groves Kurt Incident this year, but I’m prone to changing my writing plans on the fly. Nowhere is that more evident than with Decemystery—trust me on that. I had planned to cover this story, nixed it, added it again, nixed it again, then added it yet again. This story was thrown around like its name was </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dead Island 2</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, onto the story. Back in 1978—the date isn’t given, sadly—and takes place in Newton, Utah. Funny thing, actually; I brought this story up to a friend of mine who’s from Utah; he immediately wanted to know more. When I told him it was from Newton, his immediate reaction was that he had no idea where that was.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As it turns out, Newton is a very small community in the northern part of the state; its population, as of 2019, is estimated to be 817. Back in 1970, it was a mere 444. Keep this in mind because it’s going to be incredibly important for later.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Getting back on track: On this unknown day, a man named Terry Lopi awoke and was ready to take on the day. A farmer, Terry had a to-do list: do whatever a farmer in Utah does, go to the grocery store, and feed his animals. And so Terry did just that; he went out to get groceries and feed his animals. However, when he got back, there was something missing: one of his two barns.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yes, that’s right, one of his barns was missing. The dirt that surrounded the foundation where the barn used to be was there. However, nothing else was. Exactly what was inside the barn isn’t mentioned, but I’m guessing hay, some animals, and tools. Whatever it may have been, it was all gone.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To make things even wilder, the Fortean Map says that Terry’s trip only took him a mere hour. So someone, or something, managed to disassemble this barn and took both it and its contents, then hightailed it out of there.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And that’s it; that’s where the story ends. Like The Elevator Riddle, The Signal of Isla Han Samar, and The Groves Kurt Incident, no links or references were left in the summary. As you can imagine, I have extreme doubts about this story. However, I didn’t want to go into the theories section acting like Cole Phelps. So, I did a bit of research; allow me to talk about what I found.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Barnstorming</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first thing I want to talk about is the idea of someone stealing a barn. That, to me, sounds like the single most preposterous thing to steal. Yet, by some ungodly chance, it </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">has</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> happened. The best part? As far as I can tell, the case was never solved. Yes, somehow, a band of devious thieves out there managed to steal a barn and got away with it. The only articles I can find on the case are from when it was initially reported, which was back on (and around) April 7, 2015.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/authorities-at-a-loss-in-case-of-iowa-barn-theft/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to CBS</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, over in Welton, Iowa, Sally Ruggeberg found that some thieves had “cut 24-foot-long sections of beams, walls, and floors from the 100-year-old barn on March 10.” According to the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, there are no known suspects. Honestly, that’s flabbergasting since I can’t fathom who would want to steal a barn—a century-old one at that.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, Sally’s of the opinion that it was “a crew” who stole the barn. She suspects that they “likely used power tools and a generator” since the property’s electricity had been turned off the previous autumn.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rounding things off, Deputy Tom Christoffersen said that a surveillance camera was set up in hopes of getting evidence should the thieves have returned. Unfortunately, they never did. I guess they only wanted the barn.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although that’s where CBS’ article ends, I found additional details from an article on the </span><a href="http://desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2015/04/06/stolen-barn-welton-iowa-farm-ruggeberg/25367631/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Des Moines Register’s site.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> While the article itself begins roughly the same, it has some quotes from Sally that give insight into what she wanted to do with the barn.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to Sally, her intention was to respectfully take the barn as she (or the Ruggeberg family as a whole) had done with the house that had stood on the property. The keyword in that sentence is “respectfully,” Sally stated she had a “salvage plan” since “the boards from the barn would be valuable.”</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">By taking the barn down, the Ruggeberg family “would have a continuous 37 acres of tillable land.” With the barn gone, Sally and her family had that, though not in the way she had wanted it. In Sally’s own words:</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">People could say, “So what?” It was going to come down, anyway. But that’s not it at all. It’s the disrespect. It’s not like we put it out to the curb. It wasn’t our garbage. This is our land. It is not for the taking.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As far as I’m aware, this case has never been solved; there are no suspects. If I’m wrong, do inform me; I may revisit this one in the future, though. But, with all of this in mind, I now know one thing for certain: Terry Lopi’s situation has precedent.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, I lied; I knew a bit about that story, including said precedent. I had tried finding information on this story in the past and had seen passing glimpses of articles of the story above, but I only skimmed them. It still doesn’t make it any less surreal, though.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, as I said just two paragraphs ago, we now know this story—that of Terry Lopi—has some merit to it. However, what about the man himself? Is he real? </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/12/decemystery-2021-12-elevator-riddle.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/12/decemystery-2021-23-signal-of-isla-han.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">last</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> three Fortean Map stories have been met with a resounding “no,” but is this one any different? Well, let’s find out.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Something I Found That I Want to Mention But Couldn’t Fit Into the Previous Section</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found a weird bit of information on a website called </span><a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2015/04/who-steals-a-barn-iowa-thieves-thats-who/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Modern Farmer</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> that had run an article about the barn theft case. Get a load of this:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In Iowa, where more people were convicted in 2011 (the latest figures) of farm-related thefts than for stealing cars, lawmakers are considering upping the penalties for these types of crimes. It’s unclear if barn theft would qualify.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m not sure what to say about this, but I wanted to share it. Anyway, onto the next section, for real!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Farming For Answers</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The final stop before we get to the theories is that I wanted to see if I could find any record of a man named Terry Lopi. I tried checking Find A Grave, but I got no results for a man named </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/search?firstname=Terry&middlename=&lastname=Lopi&birthyear=&birthyearfilter=&deathyear=&deathyearfilter=&location=Newton%2C+Utah&locationId=&memorialid=&mcid=&linkedToName=&datefilter=&orderby=r&plot=" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Terry Lopi</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> or </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/search?firstname=Terrence&middlename=&lastname=Lopi&birthyear=&birthyearfilter=&deathyear=&deathyearfilter=&location=Newton%2C+Utah&locationId=&memorialid=&mcid=&linkedToName=&datefilter=&orderby=r&plot=" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Terrence Lopi.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Granted, it’s possible that he’s still alive; the Fortean Map pin doesn’t state how old he was. Though given that 1978 was 44 years ago, I imagine Terry would be quite old now. At the same time, Newton’s small population likely means they would be a tightly-knit community that wouldn’t want to put all of their news out there to the world on something like the Internet. But, hey, I know little about small-town values and what they’re like, so I won’t make too many broad assumptions.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My next destination was to look around on Bing; I’ve found that Bing tends to give me the results I want more often than Google. However, in this case, I didn’t get that when I looked up both </span><a href="https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=161&q=Terry+Lopi&cvid=aa15f8dd444b4a97b7249d79bd7de464&aqs=edge..69i57j0l6j69i61l2.807j0j1&FORM=ANAB01&PC=HCTS" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Terry’s name</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and </span><a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=terry+lopi+barn+theft&qs=UT&pq=terry+lopi+b&sc=8-12&cvid=7DD677CDD4D34088A66374603625A4FB&FORM=QBRE&sp=1&ghc=1&lq=0" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">when I added “barn theft” after it.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Interestingly, when I looked up the former of those two, the third result I got was from Newsweek for an article entitled </span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/old-macdonalds-stolen-barn-farm-theft-rise-329735" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Old MacDonald’s Stolen Barn: Farm Theft Is on the Rise.”</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> It was about the Ruggeberg case and details a few other instances where unusual things (things I won’t mention here because they’re disgusting) were stolen from farms. Unfortunately, Terry’s story was not among those things.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In fact, no matter how much I looked, Terry Lopi was nowhere to be found. Sure, people by that name exist; it isn’t like the name is something, but none of them appear to be the man in question. The one we’re looking for—the one who had one of his barns stolen in a mere hour while he went for groceries—is nowhere to be found.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, with that, our story comes to a close. Like the other three Fortean Map stories, this one concludes on a very open-ended note; it’s like a movie or video game that ended on a cliffhanger but never got a sequel. Woe to those who wanted to see the Snyderverse come to fruition or the two fans of the Dark Universe. Though lucky for us, there are some theories, so let’s get into them!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. It was made up for the Fortean Map</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let me get the theory that will make me feel like a colossal jerk out of the way first. I talked about how I hate this theory because there’s a very real possibility the story is real, but I simply can’t find the source of it. As a result, I feel like I’m calling the maker of the map a liar or something along those lines. So, let me stress: I don’t mean to sound like that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Given the astonishing lack of information on this story, it’s hard to not think of this story like the many, many meme entries on the various Iceberg Charts that are out there. A little joke slipped in to send people in wild goose chases for the amusement of the creator. If that’s the case, I’ve gone on three of them, and truthfully, I’ve enjoyed all three. There’s something about these stories that always end up being among the most enjoyable.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, if that isn’t the case, then I can only guess it was in some incredibly obscure book; the map’s creator heard it from a friend or family member or read it on a fringe website. I think that the book hypothesis is the most plausible due to my own experience with knowing a story about minotaur sightings in New York from a book. Also, I still haven’t found that book between the time I wrote about The Groves Kurt Incident and this story. I’m convinced I will never find that book unless I go to some mega library.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In short, there’s a lot going for this theory, but there are plausible reasons to not buy completely into it. Now, onto the next theory.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. The map’s creator got a story from Utah mixed up with the Iowa story</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I didn’t say it earlier, but man, people are willing to steal some really absurd stuff, huh? Never thought that barns—alongside their contents—would be the target of robberies. I guess everything really does have a price.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This was a theory I thought of because of one very basic reason: human error. Given how long it must have taken to make the map, I wouldn’t be shocked if the creator got exhausted and got two stories mixed up and thought the story from Iowa was from Utah.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Human error is, in my eyes, one of the most likely explanations for a lot of supposedly strange things people report seeing or claim to experience. In this case, I wouldn’t be shocked if the map’s creator was exhausted and winged it with the barn robbery from Iowa.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. It did happen, but it never got major coverage due to Newton’s small population</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t know how it is in other parts of the world, but I’ve heard that small towns in the United States are incredibly close-knit; some outright don’t take kindly to outsiders. It’s like everyone in the town is a family, and when someone stays, it’s akin to a stranger staying at your house. That could make for a great horror movie, actually.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, not everything makes the news, especially news from super small towns. For this theory, we have the idea that the story really didn’t make it out of Newton; maybe it made it to some surrounding communities, but it didn’t go beyond them.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, how did the map’s creator catch wind of it? Maybe they knew someone from said area. Or, again, maybe an obscure book or fringe website. Honestly, that explanation can be used to explain so many of the most absurd stories I cover. They originate from the weirdest parts of literature and the Internet. I can’t wait until I fall into that category!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. The barn was eaten by a black hole</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Okay, the next seven theories are just memes; I couldn’t resist messing around with this story. Why? Honestly, the story is ripe for some wonderful silliness. So feel free to skip to my personal take if you want; I just wanted to goof around. Otherwise, let’s have some fun!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our fourth theory posits that a black hole ate it. Somehow, breaking all known laws of physics and other things that I have no understanding of, a black hole formed within Terry’s barn. It proceeded to eat it before dissipating and going back to space. How that works, I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure that everyone who reads this blog, who also loves science and physics, wants to beat the heck out of me. Don’t worry, dear reader (or readers), I’m way ahead of you!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. Interdimensional beings stole it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Who said that interdimensional beings couldn’t be criminals, too? That’s why the interdimensional FBI exists! Also, do a push-up every time I say “interdimensional” during the theories section from here on out. You’ll get a decent workout if you don’t already go to the gym (you actually won’t).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory posits that a bunch of interdimensional rascals decided to steal Terry’s barn for reasons unknown. Perhaps they want to pull a Walter White and start up some sort of interdimensional drug trade. Or maybe they really wanted a barn. Either way, their intentions are unknown. I just hope they got some good value out of that barn.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. Aliens stole it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If interdimensional beings didn’t do it, then it must be aliens. It’s the natural hierarchy of High-Strangeness suspects.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Through the power of interdimensional magic, quantum technology, and antigravity, the aliens abducted the barn and everything inside of it while leaving the dirt. It’s like a side activity in a video game, only considerably less fun, and you can’t retry as many times as you want.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The reason the aliens wanted to take this barn is unknown. If I had to guess, they wanted to probe the farm animals, wooden beams, and barn door. Or maybe they really needed it for their Feng Shui on their home planet in some other galaxy. I wonder if they could be charged with robbery if they ever returned to Earth. Or would the lack of intergalactic law on our end let them get off scot-free? Food for thought.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. Bigfoot stole it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">An interdimensional fiend known for stealing cattle, hay, pets, and keys, the demon known as Bigfoot upped its game. Seeing the beautiful barn belonging to Terry Lopis, Bigfoot decided to use its hellish powers to cause a portal to the 17th circle of interdimensional Hell to open. And that’s all InterDantemensional ever wrote about this beast. Lazy bum.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8. The government stole it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just like your tax money, the government stole Terry’s barn.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">9. Terry Lopi’s evil twin stole it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As it turns out, Terry has an evil twin named Larry. In an effort to mess with his twin, Larry stole the barn with his interdimensional gang of interdimensional Larrys. They dismantled it with interdimensional tools and then sold the wood to interdimensional beings for several </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">American dollars so Larry could build his own barn somewhere else in Utah. Such a dastardly act; one has to wonder what Larry did after building his own barn!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">10. stole it</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What!? No, it’s not possible! How could that devious trickster steal part of the theory!? Now, I’ll never be able to stop him! :(</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like with The Groves Kurt Incident, I do feel bad for doubting this story’s veracity, but I would be lying if I said I thought this story was legitimate. There’s nothing on it outside of the entry on the Fortean Map; it’s mentioned there and only there.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On top of that, I find it hard to believe that someone could steal an entire barn in only an hour. Granted, I have no idea how demolition works, but I imagine taking an entire without leaving any sign that you were there is rather hard to believe. Then again, I have no idea if any clues were left behind at the Ruggeberg barn theft, nor do I know if there were any guesses as to how long it took to steal that barn.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, at the same time, I must echo what I said not only in The Groves Kurt Incident but in many other write-ups. I am not a great researcher, and as such, it’s </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> possible I didn’t look hard enough. As such, I could very much be wrong in doubting this story’s legitimacy. However, until I’m proven wrong, I’m gonna press X to doubt with this one. I’m just not feeling it. Still, it was a blast to write about! Also, I hope you enjoyed your possible workout with me saying “interdimensional” a bunch. :)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This isn’t the last tale from the Fortean Map that lacks information, and I hope to get to some (if not all) of them next year. While they may not have a satisfying conclusion, I love covering them; the journey is always worth it. Until then, we have plenty of other stories to go over! So, as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p><p></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-60971110960422587412023-12-22T07:00:00.016-05:002023-12-22T07:00:00.138-05:00Decemystery (2023) 22: The Giant Golden Mosquito of Missolonghi<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://img.marinas.com/v2/16de4f49570c0d1d11d3df19d9ddd2f8f5eeead49de43bc90c66cc282e8562aa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://img.marinas.com/v2/16de4f49570c0d1d11d3df19d9ddd2f8f5eeead49de43bc90c66cc282e8562aa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-87734752-7fff-c71d-cc57-fafa3b321186"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Growing up in suburban New York, I was accustomed to summers being filled with mosquitoes. I hated it with every fiber of my being. It was made worse by my friends talking about West Nile Virus and talking about how mosquitoes would be the death of me and the rest of us. Thankfully, I didn’t die because of those winged demons, so I can continue to write about the wild mysteries I find.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For today’s Decemystery entry, we’ll be taking a trip over to Greece. Somehow, this country has never been featured in a write-up on this blog until today—despite thousands of years of history being readily available for me to cover. Well, better late than never!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Today, we’ll be headed to one of Greece’s many coastal areas—specifically Missolonghi (or Messolonghi; I’ve seen it spelled both ways, but I’ll be going with the former). It’s here where one Greek citizen’s world would be changed forever; I am not good at setting a dramatic mood, I know. Anyway, come along, dear reader; this is the story of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Giant Golden Mosquito of Missolonghi</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">! Would you believe me if I told you that this was a UFO sighting? Yeah, this is a UFO sighting. Trust me, I’m just as confused as you (possibly) are.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Annual Intergalactic Blood Drive</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I couldn’t think of a good name for the story, so I went with that. I know it’s not exactly silly like most of the others, but let’s not focus on my lack of creativity. No, I’d rather focus on the giant mosquito-shaped UFO.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like a fair number of UFO stories this month, I found this one while browsing through </span><a href="https://nuforc.org/sighting/?id=55654" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NUFORC’s archives.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> This is definitely going to be a regular thing come next year because there are a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ton</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of stories on there that I want to go through, but I digress. Like plenty of NUFORC reports, the individual decided to remain anonymous, so I’ll refer to them as Kostas.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our story took place on March 7, 2007, in Missolonghi, Greece. Located on the western side of the country, Missolonghi, as a municipality, has a population of around 36,000 nowadays, while the city itself sports a population of around 14,000. I believe this sighting occurred in the city (or “town,” as Kostas referred to it), though I could be wrong. I, honestly, don’t know much about Greece despite being of Greek heritage.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My abominable knowledge of my own ancestral homeland aside, Kostas’ sighting was actually two separate events in rapid succession; the first happened from 7:30 to 7:35 p.m., while the second was from 7:40 to 7:42 p.m. (19:30 to 19:35, and 19:40 to 19:42 for my 24-hour time readers). I have no idea what happened in the five minutes it was gone, as Kostas never elaborated upon it, but we’ll pretend it activated a cloaking device.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for what happened while it was visible, the sun had set an hour prior. Kostas was on the balcony of his flat (or apartment for us Americans), presumably doing some stargazing, when all of a sudden, he saw a vibrant, golden object that resembled a cigar. I feel obligated to note here that cigar-shaped UFOs are among the most commonly seen UFOs out there; they’re described as resembling cigars. If this surprises you, I wish to also inform you that they are called UFOs because they’re flying objects and are unidentified.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My snarkiness aside, this was no ordinary cigar-shaped aircraft. No, it was also bright (like any good UFO; I guess they forgot to turn their high beams off) and had a “protruding thinner extension” along with a “vertically protruding” one from the upper part of the craft’s main body, which Kostas said was “a little longer” than its extension. As a result of these various protrusions, the UFO resembled a mosquito.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pngarts.com/files/4/Mosquito-Transparent-Background-PNG.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="620" height="226" src="https://www.pngarts.com/files/4/Mosquito-Transparent-Background-PNG.png" width="400" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>Call me uneducated, but this seems like a pretty inefficient design for a spaceship, let alone any sort of vessel. But I’m no architect. I barely understand how to format papers, let alone construct a ship. When I played Kingdom Hearts III and was designing my Gummy Ship, I just slapped blocks around and put guns on them without much regard for how mobile it was since, in my mind, the only things that mattered were how much health the ship had and how much firepower it sported. I think it’s safe to assume I know nothing about what is and isn’t well-designed.<p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Topping things off, the Midas-touched UFO was also stationary, which begs the question as to how Kostas lost sight of it for five minutes—and it’s not like it stopped being immobile. He outright stated in his report that “It remained immobile at the same spot on the horizon both times it appeared.” My only guesses are that he stopped looking to go find a camera (though that begs the question as to why he didn’t send in a picture), or it disappeared before reappearing. I’ve heard of UFOs having cloaking devices, and I know that some claim interdimensional beings can phase in and out of our reality, but there’s nothing to go off of here, so I’m at a loss.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As for the ship’s size, I don’t know. Kostas said that it was “many miles in the sky” and “was three times bigger than the size” of the stars that were visible. Given how small stars tend to appear, I have to guess that this thing was not only very high up in the sky but also not that big. I could be wrong (I’m abominable at math and measuring things), but I’m doubtful that this was going for the Guinness World Record for Biggest Fort Knox-approved UFO.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are a few other smaller details, like how some protrusions were aiming toward the sea; these various details honestly make me envision a cricket-shaped UFO more than a mosquito, especially since cigars are relatively thick. I would compare a mosquito’s body to a cigarette more than a cigar, but I digress.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Kostas ended his report by saying that he believed the UFO was “hovering over the Ionian Sea” near the island of Cephalonia. When it disappeared or flew off, I have no idea; Kostas’ report just ends there without any resolution. There is an addendum placed after this, however, but I want to save that for the first theory because it ties into that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To say that the ending to this is anticlimactic would be an understatement. I desperately wish there was more to this than was given, but unfortunately, there is none. I’m also not familiar with any other UFOs that resemble mosquitoes; cigar-shaped ones, absolutely, those are innumerable. But ones shaped like everyone’s least-favorite blood-sucking insect, no. Nevertheless, that is where our case ends, so let’s dig into the theories because there are quite a few for us to go over!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. Misidentification</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our first theory is one that I’m sure many ardent UFO believers have come to resent; I can’t say I blame them since I sometimes find myself frustrated by how people will label even the most unexplainable UFO reports as cases of misidentification. With this one, however, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a possibility. Why, you may ask? Well, in the report, it’s stated that there’s a military airbase located “a few miles” southwest of Missolonghi. Sadly, I’m not sure which airbase this is (unless it was relocated at some point), but I want to go off of the assumption that there was one for the sake of argument here, nonetheless.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s by absolutely no means unheard of for people to mistake military aircraft, especially ones doing training exercises, for UFOs. This is especially apparent if one creates a sonic boom; I recall one instance where people heard a sonic boom from a test flight, and they thought the world was ending. Indeed, some folks can be easily frightened by unfamiliar sights in the sky, even if they’re of earthly origin.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the case of this particular UFO, I’m unfamiliar with any aircraft that resembles a mosquito. The first thing that springs to mind is an Osprey, which some might recognize due to a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> recent crash </span><a href="https://apnews.com/article/osprey-crash-grounded-japan-air-force-920c0ad16e005adbb0ff22548d7b11c4" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">that led to the grounding of an entire air fleet.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> That particular model, the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Boeing_V-22_Osprey" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, had its first flight in 1989 and was formally introduced on June 13, 2007; it’s also apparently capable of remaining stationary—no word on if it can disappear for five minutes at a time before suddenly appearing.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, the date of its formal introduction does make me think this might have been one of them, and Kostas didn’t recognize it, but an Osprey looks nothing like a mosquito; here’s an image of an Osprey to go along with the image of a mosquito from earlier.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/-/media/sites/magazine/2021/04/200720-n-gr168-1206s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="800" height="228" src="https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/-/media/sites/magazine/2021/04/200720-n-gr168-1206s.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, granted, this does have two vertical protrusions that do point toward the sea, and Ospreys can fly quite high (then again, it’s an aircraft, so that isn’t a surprise). However, these protrusions come out from the sides of the main body and not from where the head would be. Kostas also described the UFOs as being “thin,” which, as you can plainly see, there’s nothing “thin” about an Osprey. Well, except for the wheels.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The most important thing to note, though, is that Kostas noted the UFO was “golden.” Now, I genuinely don’t know how well-known this is, but gold is very heavy—heavier than iron, steel, and many other types of metal. It’s also one of the densest metals on Earth. That makes me </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">incredibly</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> inefficient for just about anything, aside from pretty jewelry and having the most ostentatious-looking rims on your car.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, it’s possible that this wasn’t actually made out of gold but rather painted a gold color for some reason. Maybe it was a test craft, or it served some special purpose. I would say either is acceptable, though I don’t know of any Osprey that has been painted such a color, nor do I know if Greece has any (or if the supposed air base had any at the time).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, if this wasn’t a military aircraft that Kostas mistook for some sort of mosquito-shaped spacecraft, there are some other explanations. It could have been a balloon, a cloud that looked vaguely resembled a mosquito, or some kind of straight-up hallucination brought about by sleep deprivation or stress. All three are, in my eyes, very plausible and have been known to happen; the latter would explain why nobody else apparently noticed this thing and why it didn’t move.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unfortunately, there’s no information to go off of in the way of Kostas’ own mental state, so that’s all speculation. Though, I will say that I could easily see it being the case if he were sleep-deprived or highly stressed. I can speak from experience that sleep deprivation can make a lot of things appear all sorts of weird; couple that with stress, and I’m certain I could mistake a hot air balloon for a flying quarter or nickel. But I digress; we still have quite a few theories to go over, so let’s continue.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. A top-secret government aircraft</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory, by and large, has the exact same issues as the previous one—namely, when it comes to the weight of gold. If this were indeed an experimental aircraft, it would require some serious power for it to stay airborne.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unlike the previous theory, that issue is largely irrelevant because we’re doing nothing more than speculating here—in this case, about hypothetical technology that we may or may not have. So, let’s put on our ever-so-fun tinfoil hats and speculate!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s believed by some that we’ve had the capabilities of things like antigravity and many other things you see in science-fiction media. Light speed travel, teleportation, cloaking devices, power armor, and so many other awesome gizmos. I’m also pretty sure there are claims about how to live for an incredibly long time, but that’s likely in a different camp.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The reasons for these things not being made readily available vary from person to person. Some think the funding scientists receive is simply too great to let go of. Others think it’s being withheld because it would shatter our understanding of science and reality as a whole. Then, of course, you have those who doubt such things exist at all. I’m sure there are other explanations, but those three are the ones we’ll be going with for this theory.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Depending on which camp you fall into will dictate if this theory is plausible or not. I, personally, like to think humanity is a lot more advanced than we actually are, though the idea of antigravity is one that’s always made my head hurt—mainly because physics and anything like it confuse me. Despite that confusion, I do think if we had the capabilities to reverse gravity, it would stand to reason that a hefty metal such as gold wouldn’t be a burden to any sort of aircraft.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, that would require such technology to exist, and as it stands, we don’t publicly know of it. I also doubt the military, be it the Greek military or any other nation, would boast about having such technology. Well, unless it’s North Korea, I could see them bragging about it. Anyway, on to the next theory—and it’s a really fun one!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. An alien spacecraft</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’ll get one thing out of the way right off the bat because it’s a staple of extraterrestrial lore. A lot of people claim that the Anunnaki—the gods whom the Sumerians worshiped—used us as slaves to mine for gold. Why, exactly, they wanted gold of all things, I cannot imagine; I would much prefer emeralds, but that’s just me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, the point I want to make is that if you want to play the UFO lore game, you could say that this was an Anunnaki ship, and they evidently made use of the gold we gave them. Against all odds, it didn’t weigh down their spacecraft to the point they LARPed as Chicxulub. Is this possible? Well, given how advanced UFOs tend to appear, I would say yes. While I’m </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">extremely </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">skeptical of the claims surrounding the Anunnaki for a multitude of reasons (reasons I’ll briefly touch upon when we get to my take), it’d be silly to doubt that aliens couldn’t make good not to weigh down their spacecraft.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Additionally, alien ships are nothing if not oddly shaped, and the design of this thing is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of. Replicating the body of a mosquito for your spacecraft would be on-brand for extraterrestrials. Whether or not it’d be efficient in the way of traversal, I don’t know, but I have to imagine that whatever alien race this was, it performed quite well since they managed to hover in place over Earth (not to mention how they got to us).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On the downside, that unfamiliar ship design does make me a bit skeptical of this all. Generally, when there’s a UFO sighting, I always look to see what it looks like, be it saucer-shaped, a bright light, triangle-shaped, cigar-shaped, or really any other iconic UFO look. Although this was apparently a cigar-shaped aircraft, the protrusions are baffling and leave me wondering what practical purpose they would serve. I’ve heard of putting decals and whatnot on cars, boats, and planes, but having things sticking out of your spacecraft sounds really silly.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Despite all of that, I will say that if this were any kind of aircraft, I think it being of alien origin would make the most sense. While it’s not impossible for it to have been some sort of human craft, I don’t think there’s anything that resembles it—even an Osprey has too many differences for my liking. I also doubt we’d make something this needlessly complex; humans typically strive for the most efficient design possible, and this doesn’t sound efficient </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">at all</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. But, hey, I’m not an engineer, so I won’t pretend I’m an expert. That’s just my two cents in a section of this write-up where my two cents aren’t meant to be. Anyway, on to the next theory!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A giant insect</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I hope you didn’t think we were done with giant insects this morning! No, like any good infestation, the idea returns with a vengeance with this theory. In this case, the theory originates from the mind of your trulys. Indeed, I’m putting this one forward myself because I’m not about to let my hatred for all things insect-related go without being discussed. Why would I do that? That’s easy: I wanted to mention, once again, just how much I absolutely despise anything that can be deemed a creepy crawler. That includes mosquitoes, which I believe I’ve made quite apparent by now are near the top of my insect hate list!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now that I’m done telling you all for the ten-thousandth time just how much I hate bugs, it’s time to get to the theory. Suffice it to say, this is </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">deeply</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> unlikely. Aside from Hoverflies, which can hover in one spot for 5–10 seconds (I only learned about this when writing this; </span><a href="https://hgic.clemson.edu/little-hover-flies-are-a-big-beneficial-insect/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">it’s quite a fascinating read</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">), there aren’t any insects out there that can float in the air for minutes on end. This thing also lacked any wings from the sound of it, so I doubt it was a giant mosquito.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, granted, if you want to put on your tinfoil hat and get all sorts of conspiratorial, you could say that this was some kind of gigantic interdimensional mosquito that can fly on its own without the use of wings and briefly appeared in our world, albeit in some type of stasis. However, not only would that be a monumental stretch, but it would also be truly dumbfounding that it was only noticed by one person. It’s also worth noting that this thing, based on Kostas’ description, lacked any legs. So unless these interdimensional mosquitoes evolved not to need legs (which would be quite odd), I doubt this was a big ol’ bug.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Though, hey, maybe I’m wrong, and this was a prelude to a real-life version of the video game series </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Earth Defense Force</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Everyone better suit up because before long, we’re gonna have giant ants and robots invading! Man, those games are cheesy; I ought to play them again one of these days.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. A hoax</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There isn’t a whole lot to say about this theory that hasn’t been said a plethora of times this month. People make stuff up all the time for an array of reasons, be it clout, attention, or just for a laugh. With this story, it’s certainly possible and even plausible. Especially since nobody else apparently noticed this thing—aside from Kostas. It also apparently vanished for five minutes, but we weren’t told </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">how</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> it did so, which bothers me a lot.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, there doesn’t appear to be any major gain from fabricating this story; unless Kostas wished to make a point by making the case up, it’s one of the many instances of this theory being here out of pure obligation. I personally wouldn’t put much stock in it, but it’s far from the most preposterous idea in the world. I mean, you could go with the previous one.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. Ares</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Aside from being the Greek god of war, he’s also known as the god of bloodshed. Given mosquitoes drink blood, I feel it’s possible that this was Ares masquerading as a giant, golden mosquito as he looked for some blood to shed—and perhaps causing an untold amount of property damage and jacking up the property value of Missolonghi. Just Greek deity things, am I right?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have to admit that I don’t know where I stand when it comes to this case. I’ve devoted way more time than I care to admit to drawing up a conclusion, but none of them resonated with me in any capacity. I doubt this was a hoax, as it doesn’t really strike me as elaborate enough, but I wouldn’t rule it out. I also doubt this was some experimental aircraft; if it was, then its design is incredibly goofy.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The only two theories that struck me as plausible were that Kostas mistook something for this mosquito-shaped UFO or an actual alien spacecraft. However, in the case of the latter, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a UFO like this one. Cigar-shaped ones, yes, but never ones that resemble a mosquito. If there are other cases like it, I would love to know, but as it stands, this is one-of-a-kind.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If I had to pick between one of those two, I’d say that the misidentification theory strikes me as the most likely. Given how the UFO apparently vanished for 5 minutes yet never moved, I wouldn’t be shocked if Kostas mistook something in the sky for a UFO. I wish I had more to say, but I genuinely spent far too long trying to decide what theory sat best with me. Of all the UFO cases this month, this one ranks as one of the most difficult—if not </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> most difficult. I wish that weren’t the case, but this was one where I basically threw my hands up and conceded to the story. I know that’s really pathetic, but I couldn’t come to a concrete conclusion.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On one final note, I want to circle back to the Anunnaki. I’ve debated on if I want to give them their own write-up for a while and I don’t know if I will. There are days I feel I should and days where I think it’d require way too much work to cover everything there is to the case. Heck, I don’t even know that much about them; I’ve never been that interested in Sumerian civilization. However, given I said I’m skeptical of the Anunnaki being aliens, I feel I should touch upon that now. After all, they are one of the most infamous aspects of the ancient aliens theory; I would be remiss if I didn’t address my stance on them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Anunnaki have been thought of by some as humanity’s creators; they came to Earth and bred with our ancestors, and we were the offspring. This, in my honest opinion, sounds like absolute nonsense, though I think Ridley Scott took a liking to it because a very similar event was showcased at the start of his 2012 film </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Prometheus</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, where an Engineer drinks a liquid and dies; his DNA going on to I believe create humanity. I have no idea if Scott knows of the Anunnaki stories or not, but they’re somewhat similar.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I will concede that I haven’t read much into it, and I’m someone who’d much rather give a theory the benefit of the doubt before I dismiss it, but I always thought the idea of humans being the offspring of aliens was absurd. There’s something about it that strikes me as so outlandish that it’s hard to take seriously. I think it’s the idea of aliens visiting Earth and, for some reason, deciding to mate with a primitive species of sapient creatures. As far as I know, there’s no real explanation for such an action, but I could be wrong. If I am, do let me know in the comments!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There’s much, much more to this theory than that, and while I was tempted to go on about other aspects, I don’t want to draw this out for another several thousand words. My point is that I doubt the Anunnaki exist in the way some believe them to, but I may still write about them since it’s a fascinating case nonetheless. If you’re into extraterrestrials, ancient civilizations, or both and want a rabbit hole to go down, the Anunnaki are </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">seriously</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> worth your time.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have to say, I feel quite bad that I couldn’t draw up a real take for this case, but I was left utterly lost with this one. So, I shall instead resort to you guys; what do you make of this oddball UFO sighting? Leave a comment and all that hoopla that people put at the end of their content. I, honestly, can’t be asked to do that because I’m writing this after I got a flu shot, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have gotten a slight reaction to it. Call it a hunch because I feel a bit stuffy. Anyway, until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597200065200946888.post-59981851474224178712023-12-22T06:00:00.037-05:002023-12-22T06:00:00.136-05:00Decemystery (2022.3) 22: That Time Someone Saw the Joker in Their Closet<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/unanything/images/1/18/We_live_in_a_society_bottom_text.png/revision/latest?cb=20190218054246" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="620" height="258" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/unanything/images/1/18/We_live_in_a_society_bottom_text.png/revision/latest?cb=20190218054246" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-b5c5ccba-7fff-eb76-bc18-8ca42d0b3bfa"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I remember as a child that I, for whatever reason, never had a real fear of monsters under my bed or in my closet. I guess that’s because I slept on a couch (I still do—old habits die hard) and because my duodenal ulcers hurt too much for me to be afraid of the dark.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I will admit that closets can be pretty dang scary. Tight, enclosed spaces with little-to-no light are unsettling. For me, though, my fear isn’t some monster leaping out to attack me while in them. No, it’s if there’s a spider in there with me. That chick from The Grudge could be in there, ready to kill me, and I’ll still be more terrified of the spider that’s as big as the tip of my pinky finger. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although I never got to experience the fear of monsters in the closet, though, plenty have. In today’s story, someone found that fear to be all too real; our eyewitness insists that it was neither a dream nor her imagination. Indeed, this lady believes that one of the most iconic villains in comic book history was peering out from her closet. So come along, dear reader, let us dive into the story of </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That Time Someone Saw the Joker in Their Closet</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now I Know That Life’s A Tragic Comedy</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There, I got my reference to </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Joker</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> out of the way. Now, I don’t have to think about where to slot one in.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Like plenty of stories before it and plenty after it, this comes to us courteous </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">sustained_disgust’s </span><a href="https://icebergcharts.com/i/Obscure_Unsolved_Mysteries" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obscure Unsolved Mysteries Iceberg.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> That links us to a site that we’ve visited plenty of times in the past: the </span><a href="https://paranormal-world.fandom.com/wiki/Joker_in_the_Closet?so=search" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Paranormal World Wiki</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which is a terrific site if you want some really obscure Fortean goodness. I also found another story on there earlier this month, which featured a creepy clown; what a coincidence that was totally not planned by me! Anyway, that site cites the source of this story as </span><a href="https://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2016/09/daily-2-cents-joker-in-closetand-shoes.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Phantoms and Monsters</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which has been the source of a few stories for this month’s Decemystery duology. Wow, a trifecta of sources that I’ve used in the past; maybe one day, I can have a quadfecta of sources I’ve used. Unfortunately, today is not that day, as Phantoms and Monsters’ Lon Strickler cites the original source of this story as </span><a href="https://www.darknessradio.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Darkness Radio</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which I have never listened to but I’m vaguely familiar with. According to the site, they’re associated with The Hozler Files, which I’ve seen a few times when watching the Travel Channel.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, let’s move on. The eyewitness of today’s story is given two names; Paranormal World refers to her as “Corinne,” while the article on Phantoms and Monsters names her Karen. I have no idea which is correct, as I cannot find the episode that this is from. Don’t get me wrong, the podcast has a backlog. It’s just that scrolling from 2023 all the way back to 2016 (this story apparently comes from an episode posted on August 29, 2016) is not on my “to-do” list for a July morning after I slept like garbage, and while I feel sick. Feel free to lambaste me, but I’m not about to find out something as innocuous as a name, especially when these are the only two websites I can find this story on. Or maybe three if you count </span><a href="https://urban-legendpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Joker_in_the_Closet" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Urban-Legendpedia</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> copying and pasting the write-up on Paranormal World, but that could be the author of that Wiki posting their work to another site.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I digress, though. Personally, I prefer the name Corinne, so I’m going to use that. My sincerest apologies to anyone named Karen who’s reading this. Nothing personal, I promise. Now, our story takes place when Corinne was 6 or 7 years old. Exactly when this took place isn’t stated in Lon’s article, but Paranormal World says it was in the early 2000s, so we’ll go with that.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At that time, Corinne resided in La Puente, California, and lived with her parents and two sisters. For those curious, La Puente is in Los Angeles County, so for once, we have a story that doesn’t take place somewhere in the middle of nowhere! On the downside, it’s in Los Angeles. Truly one of the worst fates an American can be met with.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, in this humble abode, Corinne’s room was shared by her and her two sisters. In it were “sliding closet doors,” which, more often than not, didn’t close all the way. It would be this closet where Corinne would see the scariest thing since Jared Leto portrayed The Joker in that awful Suicide Squad movie in 2016. Only now do I realize that this story was posted the same month that that movie was released; an interesting coincidence (in my eyes).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One night, Corinne woke up; she didn’t know the time, but everyone was sound asleep. As she looked around, her eyes caught sight of something. Peering out around the closet door, his fingers “wrapped around the frame of the door,” was “an orange glowing man.” Given Corinne’s bed faced the closet doors, this man was staring directly at her—and he had a devilish smile. To me, it sounds like this fellow had one wicked tan and was unnecessarily happy about it.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to Corinne, outside of the orange glow (that she said came from within), the figure resembled Batman’s archenemy: The Joker. Specifically, Cesar Romero’s Joker from the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(TV_series)" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1960s television series.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> If you’re curious, here’s a picture of Romero, plus an image from the Paranormal World article.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fsmedia.imgix.net/e3/56/70/8a/e977/4458/88d2/c939408e0be9/joker-movie-batman-1966-cesar-romero.jpeg?rect=0%2C0%2C1266%2C634&auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&w=650" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="800" height="201" src="https://fsmedia.imgix.net/e3/56/70/8a/e977/4458/88d2/c939408e0be9/joker-movie-batman-1966-cesar-romero.jpeg?rect=0%2C0%2C1266%2C634&auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&w=650" width="400" /></span></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjghQShRsgljYhxKY4S348Wk2tgq8EAczRYSz5IRzP-7tqluke2nJ3J7qDOMyZsf5CfDikztxlTxS3PCXK1xNa5NPes_hmK7kWSuoo0BQ2DlI5iCdFurgXczQvnZR5sq5-BROxaKF2X55TTATZb4lVEEfQ0rHS0dgryAOu039nt0cgDHcKvhs5nO_beqw/s846/Joker_in_the_Closet.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="846" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjghQShRsgljYhxKY4S348Wk2tgq8EAczRYSz5IRzP-7tqluke2nJ3J7qDOMyZsf5CfDikztxlTxS3PCXK1xNa5NPes_hmK7kWSuoo0BQ2DlI5iCdFurgXczQvnZR5sq5-BROxaKF2X55TTATZb4lVEEfQ0rHS0dgryAOu039nt0cgDHcKvhs5nO_beqw/w400-h315/Joker_in_the_Closet.webp" width="400" /></span></a></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p>Fun fact: </span><a href="https://groovyhistory.com/cesar-romero-joker-batman-mustache" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Romero refused to shave his mustache for the makeup.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> How /devilish/ he was.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Understandably terrified and unable (or unwilling) to make a sound, Corinne turned over and buried her face into her pillow. The next time she looked up, it was daytime. Hastily, she went to her parents about what had happened. To her dismay, they told her it was just a dream.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Corinne didn’t—and still doesn’t—believe that. She recalled how her heart raced and how difficult it was to breathe while she hid her face in her pillow. Both of these details </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">really </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">make me think of sleep paralysis, but I’ll save my thoughts on this for later.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Corinne’s encounter with the strange Joker-like entity wouldn’t be the only odd experience she would have in that house. According to her, she saw a pair of shoes take a step on their own. She also saw her Barbie doll fall over, only to sit back up by itself.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although those other two experiences were unsettling on their own, the night she saw the Joker stuck to Corinne like a tick. So, from that day onward, she couldn’t sleep unless there was a light on. Lucky for her, it doesn’t seem like it ever returned to stare menacingly at her ever again. I guess he was captured and sent to Arkham Asylum.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That’s where our story ends. According to Lon Strickler, the story was transcribed by “JLB,” so thank you to whoever you are. Anyways, while this may have been a one-time encounter, there are plenty of theories as to what the reality is. So come along; let’s dig into ‘em!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Theories</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1. A dream</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dreams are interesting. Sometimes, you can’t remember them. Other times, you can. I can, unfortunately, remember a lot of dreams. More often than not, they ruin my day because of how awful they are. Quite frankly, I think dreaming of a demonic Joker looking at me would be preferable to some of the incredibly depressing stuff I’ve dreamt of.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although Corinne insisted that what she saw wasn’t a dream, our inaugural theory is that it was nothing more than that. Some dreams can be incredibly vivid; I cannot count the number of times I’ve had a dream that felt unbelievably real. Even if the circumstances were far too good (or bad) to be true, the whole thing feels like reality. This includes times I’ve had the ability to fly or reverse time. As a pointless fun fact, the latter of those two is a way I’ve come to know when I’m dreaming. Despite that, those dreams still sometimes feel like reality.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, a fair number of dreams I’ve had were within the place that is now my old home. I’d say that it’s within the realm of reason for Corinne to have been dreaming, but she thought it was reality. I know that in some of my dreams, I’ve had trouble breathing. It is, after all, a dream; they seldom make any sense.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. Sleep paralysis</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">very</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> prone to sleep paralysis and have seen my fair share of weird things when I’ve had it. As such, when I first read this story, I immediately thought this may have been an episode of that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Most of you are likely familiar with sleep paralysis, but for the few who aren’t, it happens when you “wake up,” but a certain part of your brain is still asleep. As such, you can’t move your body, but you can still look around. It’s like you’re half asleep—literally. During this time, you may experience hallucinations; people have reported seeing some weird stuff, and I myself have seen a fair number of “sleep paralysis demons.” I once saw a dark, feminine shadow figure jittering around before it walked over and ran its hand through my hair. I wrote more about the things I’ve seen </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2020/05/mystery-sleep-paralysis-demons.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">here.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I also fixed the broken image but decided to remove the caption below it. Also, I really should rewrite that piece.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyways, this theory realistically fits what happened remarkably well. An intense feeling of fear at seeing something is common with sleep paralysis (for rather obvious reasons: you can’t move), but there’s also the matter of it being hard to breathe. While Corinne said she had buried her face in her pillow, I feel it’s worth mentioning that </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a lot</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of people (myself included) experience difficulty breathing during sleep paralysis. While it appears that this was probably caused by Corinne having buried her face in her pillow, I do have to wonder if Corinne, while (potentially) having sleep paralysis, woke up and then buried her face into her pillow.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I also know that your heart rate increases during sleep paralysis (as does your blood pressure, apparently). I remember this happening when I saw the aforementioned feminine shadow figure; I recall thinking that I was going to have a heart attack. It was easily the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life, and I hope to never have it happen again.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, though, this theory hinges a lot on my own experiences. While I know first-hand accounts are crucial, I must stress that I’m more or less projecting here. So, take this with a grain of salt; we still have a fair number of theories left.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. It was all made up</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It can’t be a write-up on Limitless Possibilities if I don’t include a theory that it was all nonsense. Gotta keep the trend going!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">People do a lot of weird stuff for attention, and nowhere is that more apparent than on the Internet. The denizens of the Internet will fabricate encounters with cryptids and ghosts or flat-out pretend to be someone they aren’t. Why? Beats me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This theory posits that this was one of those many cases. I personally doubt that, as this story doesn’t appear to have been spread around all that much. If it was a hoax, I imagine there would have been a bigger push to have it be in the eye of paranormal enthusiasts. I also imagine it would have been posted to 4chan or Reddit. But that’s just me; maybe Corinne wanted it that way.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. A poltergeist</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In many ways, this is the theory that fits the best with this story—at least to me. While the sleep paralysis theory is one I can identify with a lot, this one helps to explain the things that Corinne mentioned at the end of her account. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For the uninitiated, poltergeist means “noisy ghost” in German. They’re known for moving and throwing objects, scratching people, banging on walls, and generally being as accommodating as a wild hippopotamus. Suffice it to say, poltergeists are not good house guests; rather, they’re real dicks. Of course, such an opinion depends on whether or not you believe in ghosts. I personally do, and as such, I am of the opinion that if you have a poltergeist in your home, you ought to have an exorcist expel it from your house, lest it drive you to grey hair by the time you’re 23.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now granted, not every ghost that moves things is a poltergeist; some simply misplace things, like putting a shoe in another room or putting your keys on the bathroom sink. These actions, however, aren’t noisy; they aren’t like banging shoes on the floor to imitate someone walking. They also don’t happen in the same house where someone sees an orange-glowing Joker wannabe.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This story, however, did have shoes being banged on the floor and involved a Joker wannabe (who just so happened to glow orange). Could it have been a coincidence? Maybe. Is it likely? Probably. Do I think so? Ehh, let’s wait until we get to my take.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5. An interdimensional being</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Coming in at number five, we have the theory that this was a being from another dimension. Given I’ve gone over how this theory works enough times to create a “best of” list, I won’t linger here. Basically, our dimension and another one overlapped, and Ronald McDonald’s demonic cousin appeared in some girl’s closet. I can hear the Interdimensional FBI approaching fast.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">6. Aliens</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t know why, but the fact I saw aliens presented as a theory is the least surprising thing I’ve ever seen in my life.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This was brought up on the Paranormal World Wiki. Its origin is something I’m unfamiliar with, but I have to admit that it sounds </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">incredibly </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">fascinating. The article brings up how tons of people have seen “phantom clowns,” which my younger readers likely know about due to the 2016 clown fiasco. Yeah, it goes back farther than that, but I don’t think it was ever as big as 2016.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, these sightings of phantom clowns are discussed in the book </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultraterrestrial Contact</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> by Philip J. Imbrogno. Within the pages of said book, one case is discussed: someone saw a “clown-like entity” near where a UFO was sighted. I didn’t read the book, but I want to say that this is the story of Sam the Sandown Ghost Clown, who we’ll be going over next year if all goes well.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Regardless, Sam’s a case of a weird clown-like entity being spotted with a UFO, and likewise, this </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">could</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> be a similar case. Of course, I think it’s bizarre that this alien just so happens to look like Cesar Romero’s Joker. But hey, weirder things have happened. Some folks say they’ve seen aliens that look like </span><a href="https://www.vertigo22.com/2021/12/decemystery-2021-29-giant-space-brains.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">giant brains.</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Why would a demon-clown alien be so different?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7. It was Noam Chomsky</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When society and linguistics meet, you get a demon Joker in your closet. Don’t think too hard about it, or you may turn into one!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My Take</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To be honest, I’m torn between the sleep paralysis and poltergeist theories. Lemme start with the latter, though, as I think it’s the more controversial of the two.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I obviously doubt everyone who reads this blog is a believer in ghosts; I can’t force you to believe in them, and I sure as heck have no intention of doing so. Though, being the person I am, I do believe in them. I’ve had some really unexplainable experiences in my life that I know happened to me. As such, I think ghosts are as real as my ceiling fan.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That belief does produce a bit of bias, and with this theory, I see little reason for this person to have fabricated this story. She has nothing to gain from it, and given how obscure it is, I think doing it as a prank is on the underwhelming side. Is it possible it was a prank? Absolutely. Do I think so? No.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As such, I feel the poltergeist theory covers every base remarkably well. A ghost took on the guise of a scary clown and gave some poor girl a terrible fright (it’s worth noting that children are more susceptible to the paranormal—or so they say). Why? Who knows; as I said earlier, poltergeists are dicks.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That said, I find it odd that the ghost appears to have simply stopped being around. Maybe it finally moved on, maybe it realized this girl didn’t care, or maybe there was more to the story that Corinne left out. It’s also possible she and her family moved. Still, I find that peculiar.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On the other hand, though, I think the sleep paralysis theory is extremely likely. Having had plenty of sleep paralysis hallucinations in my life, I know that you can see some vivid and ridiculously scary things. I wouldn’t doubt that Corinne, even if she’s adamant that she experienced this while awake and simply didn’t know at the time what she was seeing was in her head.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of course, that’s just me. It’s entirely possible that all of this was made up, or maybe it was a vivid dream that was impacted by the real world. Perhaps Corinne was sleeping with her face in the pillow, and that breathing difficulty she felt was because of that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Or maybe it was aliens. Because when all else fails, just say that aliens were (or are) behind it. 0% failure rate, trust me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This story is definitely one for the books; while far from the wildest thing we’ve discussed on this blog, this certainly struck a chord with me. It’s yet another instance where something </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">sounds</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> incredibly absurd but never reaches the heights I would have expected. Nonetheless, it’s still rather surreal; someone claims to have seen an orange-glowing Joker in their closet that looked like Cesar Romero. It’s hard not to look at that and think it’s a joke.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Oh well, to round things off, I’d love to know what you think of this all. Was it a ghost, an alien, sleep paralysis, a dream, or something else entirely? Let me know in the comments below, and as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!</span></p></span></div>Vertigo22http://www.blogger.com/profile/14230808165047143799noreply@blogger.com0