Decemystery (2024) 11: The Durham Force Field

When it comes to Fortean mysteries—or any type of mystery, really—there’s something about ones that lack much, if any, information that makes me excited. It’s something I’ve come to love in the past couple of years; it sets off a fire inside me that causes my mind to wander.

Now, sure, I hate making an abundance of assumptions, but I do enjoy a good rabbit hole—especially when I’m one of the first people to go down it—if not the first person to do so. There’s a certain thrill to it if that makes sense. If it doesn’t, then perhaps I enjoy covering ridiculous stuff a bit too much.

Regardless of how I feel, there’s one place that best exemplifies this thrill, and that’s what’s known as the “Fortean Map.” If you’ve been visiting this blog since 2021 and haven’t stopped under the assumption that it’s dead, thanks to the content droughts that have plagued it ever since 2022, then you might be familiar with that name. If you aren’t, it’s a massive map that someone made; it’s filled with a plethora of mysteries from across the planet.

As it stands, I’ve visited it a total of four times: twice for Decemystery 2021 (where I wrote about “The Elevator Riddle” and “The Signal of Isla Han Samar”) and twice during last year’s Decemystery duology (where I covered “The Groves Kurt Incident” and “Terry Lopi’s Disappearing Barn”). This year will mark the fifth and sixth times I’ve visited it.

Now, each time I visited the map in the past, I’ve covered something that I now refer to as a “Fortean Map Enigma.” They’re stories that have little to nothing about them available on the Internet. In the previous four write-ups, I’ve labeled them as stories made up by the map’s creator for fun. Today, however, all of that’s about to change because there’s a new possibility at play, and it all but makes me want to go back to the previous four write-ups and reexamine them with a fine-toothed comb.

So, for our inaugural visit to the Fortean Map, we’re taking a trip across the Atlantic Ocean and going to good ol’ England—northern England, to be exact. It’s here where we’ll find something labeled The Durham Force Field. On its own, that name is fascinating and would pique my interest. However, the summary given makes border on irresistible. In fact, I considered writing about it last year. However, I believe I swapped it out with Terry Lopi’s case.

Ah, but I digress. Come along, dear reader. Let’s discuss another Fortean Map Enigma and find out how everything’s about to change with these cases!

Decemystery (2024) 10: The “Butterfly” UFO of Willow, Alaska

 

Here’s a fun fact for you, dear reader: I’ve never had a schedule for Decemystery that has remained the same from the moment I began work on the inaugural write-up to the capstone. The reason for that is because of that thing called “time constraints,” and maybe the desire to cover some other story because it intrigued me more than another one. ADHD will do that to you.

More often than not, it’s due to time constraints. When you’re consistently on the clock, sacrifices must be made, and that can lead to seeking out a shorter and simpler case to fill a slot. That’s what happened today—and I think it’s easy to see why if you read yesterday’s entry. The Man From the Box left me mentally fatigued, so I needed something that would be easier and would make me feel less stressed.

Boy, I wish I could say that today’s story provided that.

With something like the Man From the Box, the exhaustion came from how much there was to it and how disappointed in myself I was for not knowing what I believed were crucial details. I’m sure this disappointment will remain when these write-ups go up, and I’m still working on the tail-end of Decemystery 2024 (unless I get really lucky and manage to finish it before December 10). Regardless, the exhaustion I felt originated from my own shortcomings as a person; those shortcomings are something I can overcome, though. I hope to do so when 2025 rolls around.

In the case of today’s Decemystery entry, the exhaustion and stress were brought about by something much more comical. Every now and then, there are stories I find that make me feel like I’m trying to decipher ancient texts or I’m piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. In other words, the grammar or punctuation (or both) are terrible.

That’s the case with today’s story.

Some may ask why I’d bother writing about a story that stresses me out. Well, this one’s special. It’s not only a peculiar UFO story; it’s one that I was able to make sense of somewhat easily. It also has a plethora of baffling details that I believe will make for a fun read and will allow me to have far more fun than I did with yesterday’s story. So pack your bags, dear reader, because we’re headed to America’s Last Frontier! This is the story of The “Butterfly” UFO of Willow, Alaska!

Decemystery (2024) 3: The 8-Foot-Tall Alien of Fort Wayne

 

Anyone who’s known me for even the slightest bit of time knows that if there’s one thing I’m adamant about, it’s the existence of extraterrestrial life.

In my humble opinion, it’s completely outlandish and downright foolish to think that we’re alone in the universe. While we may not have concrete proof of aliens yet, my tinfoil hat likes to believe that we’ll get a confirmation in my lifetime.

However, despite such adamancy on my end, I don’t blindly believe every single claim made or label every UFO report or sighting as real. After all, it’s remarkably easy to fake both. A creative mind can weave a believable tale, and basic photographic trickery can make a convincing flying saucer image. I’m sure that I could achieve the former if I put my mind to it. The latter less so; I’m certain it would look like trash. Then again, that would be par for the course with most UFO pictures, wouldn’t it?

Anyway, I bring this up because it’s time for us to head back into the realm of extraterrestrials and to do something a little bit different.

You see, in this blog’s life, I’ve covered a lot of weird alien sightings, and I don’t mean traditionally weird. I mean things that are just purely outlandish. I’m talking about stories of aliens that resemble metallic flowers, telepathic brains, beer cans, an “arboreal abomination” (that’s still a wickedly awesome name), multi-colored pyramid, penguins, tree stumps, a giant slug, a cloud, and aliens that apparently carjacked two drunk guys in Idaho.

Today, I want to ease off the weirdness. I know that’s really uncharacteristic of me, but I think it’s healthy if we don’t examine an absurd alien sighting. Instead, I want to look at one that’s just a really tall extraterrestrial. For those who think there won’t be an annual helping of “what kind of alien is this,” don’t worry; there’s a really weird alien sighting planned for near the end of the month. As it stands, though, I want to focus on a more traditional alien sighting.

Hailing from the great state of Indiana, home to the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway and more colloquially known as the “Middle Finger of the South,” today’s Decemystery story is The 8-Foot-Tall Alien of Fort Wayne! Come along, dear reader; it’s time to head to the land of the Hoosiers and see if extraterrestrial life walks among us!

Decemystery (2022.3) Bonus Entry: The Ghosts of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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.

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.

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 The Ghosts of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Come along, dear reader; let’s go ghost hunting!

Decemystery (2022.3) 3: The Alvin Sea Serpent

I’m pretty sure that at some point in this blog, I mentioned that one of my earliest dreams was to be a marine biologist. If I didn’t, then I have now. Sea life fascinated me to no end as a child, and even nowadays, it does. I love to swim, I hope to take scuba lessons at some point in the near future, and sea cryptids are easily some of my favorites to read about.

With that said, I must concede that the sea is a terrifying place. It’s easy to die, there are plenty of ways to become stranded, and you never know what may mistake you for a tasty meal. And don’t get me started on the horror story that is narcosis. I’m surprised I haven’t seen a movie incorporate that to mess with the audience’s heads for a bit.

I digress, though. We aren’t here to fear the ocean and its many ways to kill us. No, we are here to look at one of its deepest secrets—quite literally. Back in 2020, I went over the Mariana Trench Sea Serpent (and bone pit), which I should rewrite since it’s a rather poorly written and researched piece. Despite that, that cryptid is unique for how deep underwater it was seen; today’s story is a very similar case.

Known as the Alvin Sea Serpent, this creature holds the distinction of being considered the deepest aquatic cryptid ever to be seen at a staggering 5,000 feet (1,524 meters). That’s nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) under the sea! So come along; let’s investigate one of cryptozoology’s deepest enigmas!

Decemystery (2021) 29: The Giant Space Brains of Palos Verdes

Remember when we talked about the Long Prairie Cans? Remember how I said that there were two stories—one of which was the one about the cans—and how I picked both? This was the other one. In hindsight, I should have covered this one before I posted the Gargantuan Globulous, Kinnula Humanoid and Arboreal Abomination write-ups. The only reason I didn’t was I thought this was perfect for one of the final stories. Oh well, no harm, no foul.

Anyways, today’s story is known as the Giant Space Brains of Palos Verdes. With a name like that, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that it’s not only the craziest extraterrestrial story I’ve come across, but it’s also truly one of the most insane stories I’ve ever come across, period. So come along, it’s finally time we talk about these… things.

Decemystery (2021) 17: The Kinnula Humanoid

First things first: here’s a random fun fact for you. This is the last intro I’m writing—and it’s on December 12th, not long before this story goes up. Really good job on my part for doing these stories out of order, but that isn’t even the best part.

No, the best part is I have no idea where I originally found this story. I was scrolling through my list of mysteries that I have, and I noticed the name. It caught my eye because stories that involve the word “humanoid” always intrigue me, so I had to know. When I looked up the name, I was greeted with results from the ObscUrban Legend Wiki, the Cryptidz Wiki, and the It’s Something Wiki. That kind of answered where I found it, but which one it specifically was from is beyond me. For the sake of keeping in with the fact I’ve found nearly every story from the ObscUrban Legend WIki this month, we’ll say that that’s where I found it.

Anyways, the thing that brought back memories of what this story was about was when I saw this image, plus the one you can see as the header. It was the image that I hyperlinked that reminded me of what the story was, and why I picked it. It was a good old alien sighting, and I live for them!

Still, that wasn’t the biggest reason I picked it. No, that reason goes to the fact that I have a friend from Finland. Last year, I’d had her pick out a story that I was going to cover for that year’s Decemystery, but I didn’t. Then, I had thought about doing it this year, but I didn’t because it would’ve taken too much time to do. So I scrapped it and have no idea when I’ll get around to covering it (especially since I have some plans for next year). So, I opted to do this story for her.

So come along, dear reader. It’s time to talk about the green scuba suit extraterrestrial known as the Kinnula Humanoid. And to my dear friend: I hope you enjoy this.

Decemystery (2021) 7: The Jetpack Men of Kazakhstan and Los Angeles

Jetpacks are really fun to think about. You strap ‘em on and with the press of a button, you can take off into the sky and fly around. It’s almost like you’ve got wings, except you need not flap them to keep soaring. Nay, you just hold that button down and rise up. Finally, short people can reach the top shelf at the local Wal-Mart!

In real life, jetpacks do exist, but their usage is rather limited and as far as I’m aware, they aren’t something you can easily purchase. A quick Google search yields that a JB10 Jetpack, made by the Jetpack Aviation Company, costs a staggering $290,000 over here in the United States. Meanwhile, their JB11 Jetpack has a starting price of #340,000. So I guess if you’re filthy rich, you could buy one, but I doubt it’ll come in much use in your day-to-day life.

With that said, jetpacks would have quite a bit of use in the military and certain other fields. After all, having an aerial advantage over your land-restricted enemy would be amazing. Though again, I don’t believe there’s ever been a scenario where a jetpack unit has been deployed into a warzone. Hopefully one day, I can hear about how Delta Force defeated some bad guys while dabbing through the air.

I digress; let’s get to the point. While jetpacks are a reality, but not to the full extent that your favorite piece of entertainment media may showcase, there have been some weird encounters with folks using jetpacks. In fact, there are two stories from two areas—at two separate times in history—involving “Jetpack Men”. So come along, let’s talk about the Jetpack Men of Kazakhstan and Los Angeles.

Mystery: William Bradford Bishop

Last December, I covered the story of a man named Robert William Fisher. If you’ve either forgotten who he is (or was), or simply haven’t read that write-up, he was a man who murdered his wife and children and blew up his house. It’s a very dark and morbid tale of a seemingly normal, well-to-do man who hid his true self with terrifying grace.

That wasn’t the only story I had in store that was like that though. I had another one in mind, but after I was done writing about Fisher, I realized that the two were extremely similar—to the point that they were nearly interchangeable content wise. As such, I opted to scrap the second one and instead cover it this December. Though the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this month has had a lot of very silly, offbeat stories that really showcase a bit too much of the goofy side of unsolved mysteries. So I decided to yank it from this year’s Decemystery and instead cover it today.

As such, after yesterday’s short tale of a terrifying spectre that resides in your mirror, I thought that I should balance the length paradigm by having today’s story be a lengthier, much more thorough write-up. So without further ado, let’s dive into the world of a fugitive who disappeared into thin air with the story of William Bradford Bishop.

Mystery: Slender Man

Over the course of this little blog’s history. I’ve gone through a fair number of weird little stories. Blair Adams, the 3X Killer, and the 2006 Volleyball Incident are three that, in my eyes, are some of the strangest. They all have elements that really make them stand out in a sense that defies what we as a species accept as the norm.

In the case of Blair Adams, we see the elements of something that has no puzzle pieces to connect. Every piece that exists paints the picture of a disturbed man, but one who realistically has no enemies unless we’re to speculate on a darker and more sinister secret at play. As such, it shows how sometimes, we just consider the more fantastical theories when there’s nothing else to go off of.

With the 3x Killer, there’s really nothing to work with. It’s the embodiment of strange in every realistic capacity. So much so that I had to stop and wonder if I was potentially chasing a fictitious story. All of this stands out in how it showcases that reality is stranger than fiction.

Last, but certainly not least, the 2006 Volleyball Incident introduces is to a different kind of strange. It makes one wonder how the powers that be may be working against you to program you to react to tragedies by tampering with media coverage. This sort of thing I’ll cover in more detail, but there’s a lot of coverage of this kind of thing on many, many websites that specialize in conspiracies and the like.

All three of these stories have something in common though. They’re all based in reality. While the 2006 Volleyball Incident is admittedly a conspiracy theory, it’s nonetheless something that hits close to home due to the topic at hand: a sociopath causing harm to many people for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

That brings us to today’s story. It introduces to us a new sort of deviation from the norm—and it’s a very heavy deviation at that. While the aforementioned three stories all diverge in a way that remains in the realm of reality, this one doesn’t. It instead takes is to the realm of fiction.

Last month, I briefly touched upon Shadow People. I need to revisit as the time limit I had on writing about them made me leave out a lot of details (and I was beginning to get very ill). One of those details was how belief can, in the eyes of some, allow for the manifestation of whatever the believer wishes could be real. This element ties into the belief that Shadow People are a product of the energies and emotions that someone emits.

The idea I’m getting at is this: what if Shadow People aren’t limited to that manifestation? What if other entities are also products of such acts? Such a concept is likely to be laughed at, but some believe it. Our central focus today is one of the more popular “creations” of this belief.

Known as Slender Man, this creepypasta character is one that originated from a contest on the website Something Awful. Since he’s become a horror icon around the world, some have come to say the tall, thin, faceless monster of Internet legend really lurks in the forests of the world. So take a gander and see if this is true or not.

Mystery: The 3X Killer

When I began planning A World of Terror, I knew I wanted a roughly 25-75 split of unsolved and known serial killers respectively. This split was so I had a larger focus on the minds of those we know—whether they be those the public knows or a more obscure name—and a smaller focus on the names that chill the everyman, torment detectives, and captivate the amateur sleuths of the world. With this mindset, I got to work finding names that truly defined those three categories.

Two that instantly sprang to my mind were the Zodiac and the Monster of Florence. The former is known around the world as one of the most infamous unsolved crimes—and mysteries as a whole—in history, rivaling the likes of Jack the Ripper in popularity. The latter meanwhile is the European counterpart to the Zodiac, but a significantly more sexually motivated killer. He's also believed by some to also be the Zodiac; the idea being that he fled the United States and went to Italy to continue his rampage.

As I went through numerous stories, lists, and files on unidentified serial killers, I realized something. Many of these individuals echoed any other madman with a gun or knife. There was little to separate them from the sea of other unidentified person who terrorized a neighborhood or city. This forced me to make a decision: either I changed my 25-75 split or I had to dig deeper into the pool of serial killers I'd amassed for stranger stories that I'd otherwise save for a lazy, rainy day to write about.

I contemplated this a bit before deciding that the idea of reducing the split would hinder my ultimate point, which is that while law enforcement can end the terrible reigns of truly evil people, not all will be caught. There are instances in which local police are ill equipped to handle a situation like a serial killer, the killer themselves is one step ahead (the Zodiac falls into this category as an example), or the killer may in fact have law enforcement training and knows how to leave behind little to no evidence.

With that in mind, I got to work digging through what I call my bag of strange. The mysteries and crimes that are more enigmatic than they are chilling or creepy. Stories like the Prophecy of the Popes fall into this category. Their nature is something that I try my best to save for once in a blue moon as they I believe minimize the subjects that I wish to present when discussing a mystery.

Today's mystery is one that fell into that category, but has slowly moved out of it. Known as the 3X Killer (known from here on out as 3X), this mystery is one that I've very rarely seen talked about. The YouTube channel Criminally Listed has covered it, which pleased me and there is a Reddit post on these murders. On the flip side, this story lacks a Wikipedia page. This actually led Tyler—this blogs coauthor—to outright ask me if this mystery was even real, though the details to the mystery itself didn't help matters. It wasn't until he found a New York Times article from back in the 1930s that he realized I wasn't joking about any of this and everything regarding 3X wasn't a joke or exaggeration.

I don't blame him for that skepticism either. Most serial killers are people who murder for the thrill—be that sexual or not—they get from taking another person's life or for extreme hatred towards another gender or race. In the case of 3x, neither of those are applicable. His actions and motivations are much closer to those of a hitman that was hired by an organized crime syndicate.

This isn't terribly uncommon given the time period. The 3X murders happened back in 1930 and as we'll learn, America back then, especially in New York City, had a very real and serious problem with the Mafia. Someone like 3X wasn't necessarily abnormal to everyday life. What him stand out however was how he treated what he did. You see, most hitmen do their job and collect their pay. Should a cop or federal agent have come their way, they'd what they could to make sure they looked the other way. The Shotgun Man is someone who fit this description should you believe the stories of him. Hush money was powerful back then and as we've seen in cases like Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein, it's still powerful.

No, what made 3X stand out was his vocal nature. He sent many letters to the press explaining what he did, why he did it, and what could be done to end his reign of terror before he claimed more lives. This action is something I've rarely, if ever, seen done. 3X seemed to hold the entirety of New York City for ransom and his demands were centered on one man and one many only. This paints a very peculiar picture for the psyche and profile of the man, which we'll discuss after we've covered the story itself. All I'll say for now is that I don't believe that 3X was a man who didn't know what he was doing.

All of this and more is why for this Halloween, we'll take a look at what I consider to be one of the most bizarre serial killers in the world; a crime spree that reads more like a hybrid of a Mission: Impossible film and David Fincher's Zodiac. The final thing I'll note is that, as stated at the very beginning this story will be expanded upon when I get to the World of Terror entry for 3X. That entry will expand upon the journalistic, psychological, and other criminological elements of the case—to the best of my amateurish ability anyways. For the time being, let's go over the case.