Decemystery (2024) 24: The Hopping Creature of Gardnerville

 

It’s Christmas Eve, the night before the happiest, jolliest, most wondrous time of the year. I wonder what I’ll be doing that day. I hope it’s nothing stressful!

Anyway, if you read the write-up on “The Day the Earth Screamed” the other day, you’d know that I said that I had “easier stories” to fall back on if I needed to switch up the schedule for this month if it came to that. Lo and behold, yes, it did; today’s story wasn’t intended to be covered. I had another alien account in mind, but I’m at the point where I want to be done with writing so I can stop treating clocks and calendars with the same level of fear that I’d treat being cornered by a pit bull.

Because I want simple stuff, I went over to About, my favorite defunct online repertoire of stories; the despair I feel whenever I’m reminded of that is enough to turn me into a Sock and Buskin mask. God, I need to find more websites like it.

Oh well, I can do that when I’m not racing against the clock. So, what’s today’s impromptu tale of strangeness? Well, honestly, I don’t really know. It’s one that I picked out at pure random and went with because the title was interesting to me.

No, really, that was why I went with it. I’ve mentioned in the past—but I don’t think recently—that I’ve covered some stories because of their name. Even if I haven’t read the case, I’ve gone ahead and said, “I want to cover that,” to myself. This has backfired on more than several occasions, but since when have I ever learned my lesson? I’ve done Decemystery since 2018 (2022 doesn’t count) and have yet to learn how to temper my workload.

I digress, though; today’s mystery takes us over to Nevada, a state that—strangely enough—has yet to be featured on this blog outside of a write-up from 2019 where I (haphazardly) covered the theories surrounding Stephen Paddock, the man who perpetrated the 2017 Las Vegas Massacre.

However, when it comes to cryptids or UFOs, Nevada has been noticeably absent. It’s been mentioned numerous times, thanks to Area 51, but it’s somehow slipped through the cracks otherwise.

No longer, though! Today, we’ll be discussing something that I call The Hopping Creature of Gardnerville. Come along, dear reader; it’s time for us to head on over to one of the United States’ most culturally notorious states, a place that has become synonymous with gold, gambling, and oh-so-many more salacious things. Strap in because the land of Sin City is finally getting the spotlight shone on it!

Decemystery (2024) 14: The Brisbane Gremlin

 

Have you ever had one of those days when you didn’t want to do something, but you knew you had to do it because if you didn’t do it, you’d feel like a sloth? That’s me as I type this. As of writing, I got done with the previous Decemystery entry, and a part of me wants to do little more than slack off by playing a Pokémon ROM hack. Maybe Renegade Platinum; I’d like to do a playthrough where none of my Pokémon faint.

Alas, not writing will make me feel irritated at myself for being lazy. As such, I must continue the grind; I need to write more. Some may say that it’s unhealthy to push myself to write when I want to take a break. I concur, but I have a secret weapon to get the best of both worlds. It’s called “making sure the upcoming stories are easy enough to write so I don’t stress myself out.” By doing this, I won’t exhaust myself, and I can also have the time of my life without worrying about overworking myself.

I attribute this tactical move to Douglas MacArthur, who I’m pretty sure once said something along the lines of, “Duty, honor, country, write about simple things to make life easy.” I’m pretty sure he said that before the infamous Battle of Time Constraints.

Anyway, now that you know my mindset for today’s write-up, let’s get down to business. While I may be in the mood to slack off, I’ve had my heart set on today’s story because it was one that I was really eager to cover from the get-go. Then, when I was reading it over, I realized something rather bizarre.

I’d picked out the wrong story.

Indeed, when I was making a Google Document of links for stories I’d cover, I’d mistakenly copied the wrong one (likely due to being half asleep since I often gather stories before I go to bed) and hyperlinked it. However, upon reviewing the story, I found that it was far more than adequate for this month.

As for the other story, I’m sure I’ll find it again one day. Who knows, maybe while writing about this mystery, I’ll have stumbled across it again and worked it into the schedule. It’s not like there have been several stories that I’ve already scrapped due to not feeling like writing about them.

I digress, though. Yesterday, I briefly mentioned sightings of children seeing gremlins. Today, we’ll be talking about one such incident. Come along, dear reader; it’s time for us to head to the Land Down Under and investigate the mystery of The Brisbane Gremlin!

Decemystery (2024) 9: The Man From the Box

 

So, here’s a fun little story for you. Today’s write-up was set to be a part of Decemystery 2022 before all of that fun stuff with brain fog happened. I then had it lined up for last year’s duology and got very close to beginning work on it. However, if memory serves, I figured it’d be way too much work, so I decided to forego it.

Now, it’s October. I’ve been slowly progressing through these write-ups—by which I mean that I still have 24 of them to go (counting this one). I’m looking at my schedule and notice that today’s story is one of the five “purge survivors.” If you don’t know what those are, I scrapped Decemystery 2024’s original schedule, though five stories survived. Why did that happen?

Brain fog. Again.

Anyway, seeing this story’s name made me wince a bit. The momentum I’d built up from the previous two write-ups was something I’d hoped I could hold onto; they were brisk and easy to cover. This one’s almost certainly not going to be either of those things due to the websites we’ll be visiting.

For a brief moment, as I sat on my bed, I considered delaying this story for the third year in a row. Not only would it save me a lot of time, but it would take some stress off my back. However, I knew if I did that, it would only prolong the inevitable (which would be a full-blown delay into next year). So, ultimately, I opted against that. I didn’t want this to become another version of Julia or Shades of Death Road (both of which have been on my to-do list since 2019).

However, that’s not the only reason I didn’t want to push this story into next year. Personally, I believe this to be one of the strangest and creepiest supposed firsthand accounts with the Fortean one can find online. So, I think it’s about time we finally look over the story of The Man From the Box. Come along, dear reader; let’s take a look at a case that’s been collecting dust in the recesses of my archive of mysteries!

Decemystery (2024) 7: The Purple Monster

 

I want to paint a picture for you, dear reader. I want you to imagine that you do what I do; you write about the weird stories you’ve read online, in books, and heard in various videos you’ve listened to throughout your life. You’ve amassed a library’s worth of the craziest stories that anyone can imagine—their validity notwithstanding.

Now, I want you to imagine that you’re talking to a friend—any friend will do—and you get on the topic of your writing. You decide to tell them about how you’ve found a few odd stories that you’re considering covering and that one of them, in particular, is really peculiar. This prompts your friend to ask you, “What’s the weirdest story you’ve ever read?”

For most, this would be a very simple question to answer. Heck, for some people who even know more—and I use this word incredibly loosely—“obscure” cases like the Isdal Woman, you could name at least a few contenders for that title.

Personally, that question is impossible to answer. It seems like each year, there’s a new candidate who challenges something like the Oviedo Dick Monster for the dubious honor of “Weirdest Story I’ve Ever Read.” And if you’re wondering, that case is most likely the case I’d label as the strangest I’ve ever read.

However, I can’t say with absolute certainty because today’s Decemystery entry is a masterpiece in oddness. Is it as weird as that phallic-shaped monstrosity from Florida? No, definitely not. But that doesn’t minimize just how strange it is—not by a long shot. So come along, dear reader; it’s time to delve into the archives of About yet again as we take a look at the story of The Purple Monster!

Decemystery (2022.3) 24: The Humanoid Phoenix

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.

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.

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 The Humanoid Phoenix, 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!

Decemystery (2022.3) 9: The Fence Fiend

 

A random fun fact: I had no idea what to tag this write-up with. I’m 99% sure it’s a story about a ghost, but it also struck me as a humanoid encounter. In the end, I went with both because that felt like the safest option.

Anyway, hello, hello; welcome to my blog. This is where I write about the weirdest mysteries and other Fortean goodness that I find. As of the time of writing, I want to stop writing because I’m pretty sure I’ve written more in the past six months than I have in my entire life, from birth to throughout my time in the god-forsaken public education system to playing World of Warcraft. Seriously, carpal tunnel hurts; why do I lack foresight of any kind?

My incessant whining aside, it’s Decemystery. That means it’s time for yet another mystery; pretend I threw confetti here because I’m too lazy to get a jpg of some. Anyway, today’s story is one that, as I said earlier, feels like a weird mixture of a humanoid encounter and a paranormal mystery. While that may sound stupid since ghosts are normally said to be the spirits of dead humans, you’ll see what I mean in a little. But enough dilly-dallying; this, dear reader, is the tale of The Fence Fiend!

Decemystery (2023) 8: The Creepy Clown in the Bedroom

 

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. Like arachnophobia and agoraphobia (and many others), it’s one of the most common phobias in the world. Personally, I was never afraid of clowns. Many of my friends and family members, however, are, and I get it. They have permanent smiles along with zany makeup and are generally uncanny to look at. Not to mention, some of the most iconic villains are clowns: The Joker and Pennywise are two examples. Couple that with a serial killer like John Wayne Gacy—who worked as Pogo the Clown—and you have a happy-go-lucky image that can easily be warped into nothing less than a monster.

Of course, phobias are irrational fears; clowns aren’t all interdimensional beings, murderous psychopaths who like to screw with a billionaire who dresses up as bats, or unspeakable human trash like John Wayne Gacy. Despite that, phobias can be exceedingly difficult to deal with, and Coulrophobia is no different. That, to me, is what makes stories of creepy clowns so interesting; I’m not someone who’s acutely fearful of them, but I know many who see someone in scary clown makeup and react like I do when I see a spider or any other creepy crawler.

That brings me to today’s Decemystery entry. It’s a very simple tale: no aliens, no cryptids, nothing but a scary sight in the bedroom. So, come along; it’s time to dive into the story of The Creepy Clown in the Bedroom. Look, I couldn’t think of anything snazzier; I’m running on fumes over here.

Decemystery (2023) 6: The Fragosa Jelly Man

You know, I sometimes like to go back and skim through my old writing. I do this because it’s interesting to see how far I’ve come as a writer; for example, I was able to write introductions without feeling like I was slamming my head against a wall of jagged rocks and diamonds. I hope my insurance covers that because, by the time I finish every write-up for this month, I’m gonna look like ground beef mixed with Freddy Krueger!

So anyway, now that I’m done bemoaning my problems, let’s talk about today’s story. It’s one that actually forced my hand on something I’ve needed to do for a while on this blog: redo the tags. While I don’t think I’ll have done it by the time this article goes up (it’ll depend on if I want to dedicate the time to it), I know that a lot of topics I focus on aren’t tagged properly.

Allow me to clarify by using today’s central focus, The Fragosa Jelly Man, as an example. Humanoid encounters are something we talk about a lot on this blog, yet it wasn’t until this write-up that I finally made a tag—aptly named “Humanoid Encounter”—for it. The reason I did this is, as wild as it may sound, this story doesn’t fit any other category. So come along, dear reader; it’s time to dive-bomb into the gelatinous tale of Spain’s very own Jelly Man!

Decemystery (2023) 5: The Pennsylvanian Pumpkinhead

 

Finding a header image was a real pain; I poached this one from Fine Art America, so all credit goes to them. Or, well, to Cavan Images, I honestly have no idea if the two are associated, but I figured I ought to give credit where credit is due.

Oh well, I digress. Good day, dear reader. Pull up a chair; I have a story to tell you. If you remember reading this blog in the grand old year of 2020, you may recall a write-up I did entitled “The Subway Man.” It wasn’t much of a mystery, not in my eyes, at least. A woman saw a tall man in a New York City subway and was put off by him. I still find that remarkably rude, but it’s New York City. Many of the people there aren’t known for being the friendliest folks on Earth.

Anyway, I consider that to be a “non-mystery,” a story that I don’t think is a mystery but is nevertheless on websites dedicated to mysteries. Today’s story is one of those non-mysteries, although it isn’t quite as cut and dry as The Subway Man. I call it The Pennsylvanian Pumpkinhead, and while it’s nowhere near as goofy as it sounds, it’s still pretty weird. So come along, let’s see what lurks in the forests of Pennsylvania!