Crypto Theory: Are Cryptids Demons, Pt. II

Hey, everyone.

This blog entry is brought to you by my new novels: Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens and Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight. You can buy ROCCO here and HOMCOF here. HOMCOF is also available for free download until Sunday, and ROCCO is actually about demon slayers which is funny because...

 

Finally, after so long I'm getting to demons. I know I said I was going to cover demonic activity this week, but instead I'm returning to Crypto Theory, specifically the question "Are cryptids demons?" Now, why am I doing that?

Well, I've said this before, but in case you haven't heard, I am a practicing Catholic. And back before the celebration of Fatima (Oct. 13th), I read an article that sort of scared the hell out of me. It was written by a Monsignor Charles Pope from the National Catholic Register. The article was called The Times are Urgent and We Must Heed the Warnings of Our Lady. In it, he says that he believes a great calamity will descend upon the world. For his references, he lists a number of visions of the Blessed Mother where she urged us to repent of our sins lest we should suffer for them, both good and bad people alike. In fact, there was once a similar vision and calamity. At the vision of Fatima, Mary urged us that prayer, specifically the Rosary, and devotion to her Son were the only things that could save us and that the advent of the calamity would be preceded by great lights in the sky. A few years later, the Northern Lights were able to be seen as far south as Africa. A year after that, Germany annexed Austria and invaded Poland the year after.

Msgr. Pope goes on to say more about the evils that were released by WWII and about how our pride and stubbornness has doomed us. From there, he goes into the next impending doom soon approaching, but I won't go into it here because it would take me away from my point; just know that he urges everyone to repent of their sins, and to pray for the conversion of sinners. But, before I continue, I must admit that I was scared of writing this blog entry because it is a mix of religion and cryptozoology. I am afraid of losing my cryptozoology audience, but considering I ain't getting paid for these blogs, what difference does it make? Also, I read another blog that said my blog should be a representation of my brand, and two elements of my brand are the Catholic faith and cryptozoology as can be seen in my book, Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens (buy it here). So, what the hell.

Now, what does Fatima have to do with cryptids besides the obvious demon connection? Well, a couple of days before, I watched a video called True Skin Walker Encounter in New Mexico. To sum up, a woman was at her in-laws and they were tormented by a skinwalker all night, and she asked what was she supposed to do to prevent other such instances from happening. Her in-laws apparently dealt with it by prayer, but she said she was an atheist. But while I was reading the comments, one woman said that the reason why these encounters happen is because people don't believe in God meaning they don't have any spiritual protection. At first, I just thought she was a Bible Thumper. Yes, I a devout Catholic do get tired of other Christians constantly heralding doom. But then, after I read the article by Msgr. Pope, my mind began to tick.

On the one hand, it seems like cryptid sightings and hauntings, whether residual or demonic, seem to be on the rise. On the other hand, we didn't used to have a place where people who experienced these things could connect with others and tell their stories. We may not be doomed, just more aware. But, let's say that cryptids are evil, that they are demons, and that there has been a spike in sightings--what has caused it and how do we prevent it? Well, it's no secret that tensions have risen all over the United States, politically and religiously, as well as in other places of the world. And, if people are seeing monsters and demons because they don't believe in God and are terrible sinners, then it would make sense for the Devil to have a firmer grip on the world and be able to terrify us with his minions. But, the problem there is that we then have to go around and start asking people who have seen these things what their religious affiliation is and how well they practice their religion. But, going back up to the story about the skinwalker, why weren't three believers over one atheist enough to prevent such an encounter from happening? So, maybe they're not related. But to be honest, is that a risk worth taking? I mean, what's it going to cost anyone to follow God's commandments better? A couple of sins not on their souls, and they get to go to Heaven and never see a Dogman? Doesn't sound so bad if you ask me.

 

 

Anyway, I hope to have that blog post about demon activity up in two weeks as I'll be trying a new writing schedule. And I may just keep up the posts about demons coming as promotion for my book. What fun. But, until then...

 

Keep writing, my friends.

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Spiritual Warfare: Is Divination Evil?

Hey, everyone.

So, whilst I was thinking of topics to write about on the subject of ghosts and whatnot, I realized I didn't know a lot about ghosts. When it comes to the paranormal, I'm more of a cryptozoologist. But then I remembered, there is one other topic I'm well-versed in when it comes to the paranormal: spiritual warfare.

Well, I'm not well-versed, but I'm certainly no layman. From my Catholic background, I eat this stuff up. Hell, my first serious novel, Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens, is about demon slayers, and the concepts of the world and enemies are based on Catholic doctrine and Catholic demonology. Back when I was a youth minister, I actually led a few "seminars" in which I lectured on the book An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabriele Amorth. And since then, I've garnered quite a few resources on exorcisms, demonic activity, and spiritual warfare.

So, that brings us back to the blog post for today. Originally, I was going to try to tackle the theory of what ghosts actually are, but my sister knows a hell of a lot more on that subject than I do. So instead, I decided to look at a subject that gets a lot of attention and buzz, but one that many mainstream religions don't seem to look at in depth, and that is...

That's right; is divination evil? Now, I said this is a topic that many mainstream religions don't seem to look at, but it is one that many of them have taken a stance on. So, the question is, is their stance justified? Is their attitude banning the use of divination a fair cop? Let's take a look at divination and see if we can't puzzle something out.

The Mainstream Perspective

So, to begin with, I want to look at the mainstream perspective of divination, and with my Catholic background, this should be a cinch.

So, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2115 says this:

God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.

Now, paragraph 2115 seems a little on the fence about divination. On the one hand, God can reveal what He may to whom He pleases, but the Catechism is urging every mother's son what calls himself a good Christian to place himself under the Providence of God. Providence, when capitalized, means divine guidance or care. So, 2115 is a bit vague, but paragraph 2116 lays down the law:

All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

So, that seems quite clear on the subject as whole. But, there are a few problems:

1. Most psychics who use divination don't work in a capacity to control time, history, or other people. In fact, many psychics, including card, palm, and rune readers, use their gifts to help others find their way out of troubled situations and inform them which path of life is best suited for them at the current moment.

2. Many diviners will tell you that while they can predict the future, they don't necessarily. They use their talents or methods to "read" the current energy of the universe so as to see the issue from an outside perspective so they can then advise their clients or themselves on the best course of action. In fact, something palm readers will tell you is that your future is "in your hands, not on them."

3. As for the mention of clairvoyance and mediums, the Catholic Church has documented and recorded several moments of psychic phenomenon that they saw as God given. For instance, Ed and Lorraine Warren were the only two laymen ever allowed to conduct exorcisms because of their talents. St. Padre Pio is documented to have been psychic, and could even levitate and bilocate. And, both me and my sister have our own psychic abilities: my sister is a bit of a medium and I possess clairsentience.

So, although the Catechism was written as the be all, end all book on Catholic beliefs, there seem to be a few things it leaves out. Hell, I could go on with even more exceptions where people of the faith have had psychic or intuitive experiences. And, the objections from psychics and diviners go on as well. Speaking of which...

The Diviner's Perspective

Now, this seems obvious at first glance. Of course diviners of all sorts are going to say that divination isn't evil. But, there was an article I found, and it bugs the hell out of me that I can't find it now, that was doing some myth busting on Tarot. One of the myths was whether or not Tarot was evil. I didn't read the analysis that went with it, but the TL;DR notes said something along the lines of "sort of" or "can be."

Now, before you all fly off the handle, let me explain how and why I think the person writing the blog came to that answer. But first, a story. This story is about a girl who got a Ouija board, better known as a witch board, for Christmas. During her interactions with it, it said it was going to kill her uncle. The girl's mother, fearing what could happen, took holy water and blessed the board. From then on, the board never answered any question directly and only said things like "time will tell." And the uncle didn't die.

But, there is another story where a boy and his aunt were messing around with a witch board, and what followed their dabblings was a nightmare for both of them as the boy became horribly possessed by a demonic entity and required a fierce exorcism to cleanse him.

Now, that first story I told about the witch board, that girl was my sister, the girl's mother was my mother, and the uncle was my uncle, and it is all 100% true. As for the second story, that's 100% true too, and is the real-life story for the inspiration behind the movie The Exorcist. So, what can we learn from these two stories? Firstly, not everything that comes out of a witch board will come to pass, but if you're not careful when using one, sh*t can hit the fan. So, where does that leave us on the topic of divination?

Well, the way I look at it is this: there are supernal powers out there: positive, negative, and neither, and they want to be found. So, they will do what is necessary to be found. Hell, I once asked a very devoted Catholic woman that if I got a quarter, had it blessed by a priest, and then flipped it before a major decision, would God use it to communicate with me. Her response was that God would talk to me through a fortune cookie if He thought I'd listen to it.

The point here though is that Tarot, runes, scrying, witch boards, etc. create an opening to us from external sources. Obviously, this is problematic as we have no way of controlling what comes to us, although many psychics and readers will say things like "imagine yourself surrounded with light" or "that only the very best advice comes out of the reading." This is their way of making sure evil doesn't interfere with their readings, but honestly, as a person raised Catholic and as person who is well versed on the trickery of the Devil and who knows the efficacy of invoking God's name as a means of dealing with evil, why bother with all this light and "very best" garbage? Just go straight to the source. You may say, "Oh, well, I don't believe in God like you do," or "I'm not Catholic." That's not an excuse. You're messing with forces with which you are a plaything. Take it from me, having God the Father watching your back works, and it works a damn sight better than all that new age crap. But that begs the question can divination be used under God and still work?

Well, that's a difficult question to answer. I've been doing my research, and there's a lot of stuff written about this. One such thing comes from the book of Deuteronomy, 18: 10-11:

Let there not be found among you anyone who causes their son or daughter to pass through the fire, or practices divination, or is a soothsayer, augur, or sorcerer, or who casts spells, consults ghosts and spirits, or seeks oracles from the dead.

Basically, this says everything that Catechism 2116 said. But, by mentioning the Catechism 2116, I'm sure you all remember me bringing up paragraph 2115 which said "God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints." So, what makes these "prophets" special that they can receive visions of the future but others can't?

Well, the biblical definition of "prophet" is different from what we think. According to an article on Judaism 101, a prophet is a "person chosen by G-d to speak to people on G-d's behalf and convey a message or teaching. Prophets were role models of holiness, scholarship and closeness to G-d. They set the standards for the entire community." And in regards to the act of prophecy, the webpage says further "prophecy is not a gift that is arbitrarily conferred upon people; rather, it is the culmination of a person's spiritual and ethical development. When a person reaches a sufficient level of spiritual and ethical achievement, the Shechinah (Divine Spirit) comes to rest upon him or her. Likewise, the gift of prophecy leaves the person if that person lapses from his or her spiritual and ethical perfection."

But, that isn't to say that divination is totally banned. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, the proper method for people to inquire about the future was to use the prophets, use dreams since "God would often reveal Himself to His chosen ones in a dream," and could consult the Urim and Thummim, a type of "lot oracle." If you Google them, they look like flat discs and were probably used a bit like dice. So, if God allowed for these sorts of practices, does that mean they're okay?

I'm not too sure. Honestly, I'm not going to give my blessing one way or the other. I have dabbled in runes and Tarot, but I use them as a means to communicate with God since He tends to be a quiet talker. I mean, Matthew 6: 25-34 tells us not to worry about anything and that God will provide all that we need. "Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil." But, there are times when sometimes we do need a bit of extra or immediate guidance. In those cases, I believe in asking God to send you sign, but make sure you establish what the sign is and what it means so that God can communicate effectively with you. (Remember my question about the quarter?) In that case, some methods of divination such as runes and Tarot might be permissible, but use your own judgment and always proceed with caution.

Next week, I think I'll continue with the spiritual warfare theme and I'll be giving some tips on how one can recognize demonic activity. A lot of people are quite ignorant of how evil works and what it looks like. So, that should be quite useful.

Keep writing, my friends.

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God & Bigfoot: Why Don't People Believe In Both?

Hey, everyone.

Before I begin with this week's topic, I wanted to let you all know that the re-writes for my book Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan are done, and the new version is uploaded. And, good news, I didn't increase the prices like I threatened to do. I did some research, and I thought better of the whole thing. But, I did update the copyright info. That alone makes Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan a worthy purchase.

Anyway, onto tonight's topic, I would like to vent a little about something that bothers me about the whole paranormal community. I know I said I was going to do something about ghosties this week, but I completely forgot what it was. So, instead I'm going to focus on...

That's right. How come people don't believe in both God and Bigfoot? It's drive me nuts to be honest. Therefore, I'm going to vent about people who believe in God, but not ghosts or cryptids, and vice versa, people who believe in the paranormal, but not God. This is something that really burns my ass besides a fire about three feet tall. So, let's talk about it.

I have a friend who's a Christian--I'm a practicing Christian myself--but, she doesn't believe in cryptids and the paranormal. I've talked about her before, but once when she and I were talking about the Mothman, she said something to the effect of it not being real, to which I responded that over a hundred witnesses over a period of 13 months would disagree with her. She then said that they should all get their heads checked--I didn't speak to her for a year.

But, there was another time when we were texting back and forth. Somehow, Bigfoot came into the conversation. I think she said something to the effect of not believing in Bigfoot, at which point I said something like, "You believe in Jesus, but not Sasquatch?" She said she was surprised to hear me compare Jesus to Sasquatch, but the comparison doesn't seem all that surprising to me. Think about it: how many people alive today have seen Jesus? Even if you count visions, and not drug or psychosis induced visions, the number is still pretty slim. Now, if you ask how many people have seen Bigfoot, the number gets quite a bit more substantial.

If we extended our search wider, say physical evidence, I'd say we have about as much evidence for the existence of Bigfoot as we do Jesus. And if we think of the Bible as being equivalent to footage or pictures, the effect of both the Bible and the footage is about as believable and controversial as each other. Some may argue that Jesus has a lot more believers, but remember, Jesus was big long before Sasquatch was a thing. Give Bigfoot some time, and maybe he'd be just as big.

"Bigfoot is not bigger than Jesus."
John Lennon
(True quote that.)

And, you have to ask yourself: what's more believable: an extent, upright walking creature, stomping around the world's badlands, scaring the hell out of hikers, or a carpenter who lived 2,000 years ago, called himself the Son of God, died for our sins, resurrected, and then ascended to Heaven? I think Bigfoot takes that round. But in my mind, the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. Even in the case of Bigfoot being an extent version of Gigantopithecus, why should that cause anyone to disbelieve that Jesus wasn't the son of God?

Another thing that often irritates me is people who claim that if word got out about aliens being real, all the world's religions and governments would be up to their noses in sh*t, and my question is why? If aliens exist as true ET's, then maybe they already know about Jesus, or maybe they're just the next great challenge for missionaries. And just because flying saucers buzz through our atmosphere doesn't mean your taxes aren't due. And especially when dealing with the American IRS; do you think they're going to care you saw Gray? No. The country has expenses. Pay up! Even if Trump walked on stage tomorrow, and said, "My fellow Americans, aliens are real. And, we have one here with us today. Come on up here, Gary!" do you know what I'd do? I'd go, "Someone had better pick up that phone... because I f*cking called it!" And then, I'd go back to work.

Another thing to think about is how do you think Jesus worked all those miracles? How did he turn the water into wine? How did he raise Lazarus from the dead? How did he multiply the fishes and loaves? How did he walk on water? Some will say it's because he's the son of God. But do you know what that means? That means God is paranormal phenomenon! And if God's paranormal, why can't other paranormal phenomenon exist? If Jesus can rise from the dead, why can't Dogman and Bigfoot walk the earth? If Moses could split the Red Sea, why can't aliens be real? Because your pastor told you one existed and the other didn't? Come on, now; is that any basis of reasoning?

It's just amazing to me what sort of limits people put on their beliefs or even their perceptions of the world. It's either all science, or all religion, or all magic. (I'm not endorsing practices of magic.) There's no middle ground where everything could exist. Skeptics are one thing, but people who can see the unbelievable one way and can't see it another way, it's just kind of frustrating. I think all the phenomenon could be linked, unfortunately, I'm not a field researcher, so I don't know a lot of what other people know.

Generally, I don't tell people to keep an open mind because there are some things you should definitely close your mind to, but for the people who are out there, for the people who are getting to the bottom of the phenomenon whether it's God, Dogman, ghosts, or aliens, keep an open mind and maybe you'll uncover something truly mind blowing.

Sorry about the rant. I'll try to keep it together better next week. And, I'm sorry this is two days late. I've had a couple issues occur in my life recently. If you're the praying sort, send a few Hail Mary's this way. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Keep writing, my friends.

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Crypto Theory: Are Cryptids Extraterrestrials?

Hey, everyone.

So, unless I can think of something else to do or say on the origin and species of cryptids, I think this will be the last one I'm going to write for now. Crypto Theory will still be around, but the origin theories of cryptids might be gone for a while.

Also, I want to remind you all of my book Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan. I'm still in the middle of edits right now and pestering my Old Man for his review. But, if you don't care about those things, then buy it today. The prices are still $.99 for Kindle and $4.99 for paperback.

Anyway, for this week's post of Crypto Theory, I'm looking at the theory of...

That's right. Are cryptids extraterrestrials? Are they aliens from another planet? Sounds strange, but there is some evidence and witness testimony to suggest just that. Let's take a look at some of it.

Exhibit A: MIB's Be Creeping

Sometimes when a cryptid sighting is reported, it isn't unusual for Men in Black, usually associated with UFO phenomenon, to be seen immediately after. We're all familiar with how nefarious the MIB's stalked people during the Mothman incident, but there are stories of the MIB's being around during other times. In Nick Refern's book Three Men Seeking Monsters, he tells of a witness who saw a cryptid while camping up in the mountains one day. Immediately after, three men in black suits, which were ill chosen clothes for the environment, appeared They asked the witness if he saw anything strange a few minutes ago. The witness answered in the negative and the MIB's told him they might be by later to ask him some more questions. They never did.

In the episode "Wilderness: UFO Bigfoot, Lake Pepin Monster, Cajun Werewolf" from Monsters and Mysteries in America, there's tell of an unusual tale where several teens saw illuminated Sasquatches that they claimed were from outer space. And then, I don't remember if it was the same episode or not, but there was an episode where a Bigfoot had tried to leech power from a trailer park home's generator. A boy took a picture of a footprint left by the beast, and suddenly an MIB appeared in front of him. The MIB took the picture from the boy and then rubbed out the footprint with his own shoe. The MIB then reportedly disappeared.

So, next time you see something strange and a man in a black suit suddenly appears, think twice about what you tell him.

You might want to be especially
discretionary when these two role up.

Exhibit B: Lizardman and the Reptoids

When it comes to aliens and extraterrestrials, everyone is familiar with the Greys: little grey men with huge heads and big, black eyes. But, what some people may not know is that there are different kinds of aliens seen all over the world. Some report aliens with blonde hair, blue eyes, and flawless skin with a beauty that is otherworldly, some report seeing aliens that look like a hybrid between Greys and humans, but one of the most popular is the Reptoids.

I can't say much about the Reptoids other than they match descriptions of Lizardmen. But, in an episode of Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit, "Lizardmen, Reptilian Creatures, & Alien Abductions," they discuss the possibility that Lizardmen are from outer space. In this particular episode, they talk to two supposed alien abductees, one who claims to heal people with alien energies and can even speak their language. They also interview a therapist who works as an alien abductee counselor helping people come to terms with their close encounters of the third kind. According to the therapist, reptilian ET's are common sightings and she says the face that people are left with PTSD afterward shows that the witnesses are being honest.

Exhibit C: Dogman

Doubtlessly, many of you are skeptical that your beloved Dogman could be an alien. But according to one witness in Linda Godfrey's Real Wolfmen, that's exactly what they are. In 2005, she was contacted by a man who had received training in remote viewing, a psychic ability that allows people to see others from great distances, and sometimes, from other times. According to the man, before humans arrived on Earth, a werewolf-like alien species visited Earth and left its commandos behind waiting for the time when humanity destroys itself.

Now, while this is certainly an interesting theory, there are some problems with the story. For one thing, Linda lost contact with the witness because he said the Dogmen found out about his remote viewing, and they believed turnabout is fair play, so he stopped. Another issue is that he claims the Dogmen he saw were of the Anubis variety, which isn't a very popular one. But, what really shoots hole in this story is that if the Dogmen aliens landed on Earth at a time before humans were the dominant species, why didn't they just take over it then? Why come, drop off a few commandos, leave, wait for humans to settle in, and then wait for humans to destroy themselves? They could've dominated the planet long ago if they had just usurped humans while we were still evolving. Know what I mean? It's an interesting theory, and it could explain a few things about Dogmen, but I don't put much stock in it.

Do you think Anubis Dogmen
look just as goofy as the Egyptians
depict them?

Exhibit D: El Chupacabra

When thinking of the stereotypical el Chupacabra, we typically imagine a creature that is short, has bulbous eyes, and doesn't look like anything on his planet. Being short and having big eyes sounds very Grey-like. And, according to some eyewitnesses, they have seen Chupacabras cavorting around satellites where UFO's often appear, and their footprints have been found around UFO landing sites. One such claim is made by an investigator in the episode "El Chupacabra" on Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit. And, in that episode, Argentinian locals claimed NASA personnel may have captured el Chupacabra specimens and taken them back to the US.

There's definitely a resemblance.

Unfortunately, I'm not much a ufologist, so I don't know much about the alien phenomenon and how it might be connected to cryptozoology. It could be that both UFO's and cryptids are caused by the same phenomenon, such as a portal through the dimensions or that they're both demonic in nature. However, if there are any cryptids out there that are aliens, I'd put money on el Chupacabra, Mothman, and Lizardman just because they're so weird and different from anything we've ever seen before on Earth, and because they do have some ties to UFO's. Hell, Lizardman might even have ties to the US Air Force.

But, that's going to do it for now. I apologize for the brevity of this post, but like I said, I don't know much. Next week, I'll be writing about ghosts, but I'm not sure in what capacity. I will return to Crypto Theory eventually though. I would like to briefly examine the activity around the Land Between the Lakes area, a well-known area to some cryptozoologists. But, anyway, I'll see you next time.

Keep watching the skis! I mean, skies. Keep watching the skies, my friends.

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Crypto Theory: Are Cryptids Real Animals?

Hey, everyone.

So, I'm continuing my series of Crypto Theory. I don't know how long this will go on for, but considering that "crypto theory" is such a generic name, any theory regarding cryptozoology, even if it's not about the origin and species of cryptids, is fair game. Now, some of you probably don't have an issue with me writing about cryptids, but I do want to do something with ghosts and spirits in the future.

Also, I want to remind you all of my book Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan. The prices are still $.99 for Kindle and $4.99 for paperback, so they're still cheap. Get'em while they are. I'm in the middle of edits right now and expecting my first reviews any day now.

Anyway, in this post of Crypto Theory, I'm going to be looking at a more basic theory for the origin of cryptids, and it is...

 

That's right; are cryptids real animals? I mean, are cryptids animals that have evolved on our planet? If we were to study them, could we actually trace their DNA back a few thousand years and find that their ancestors resided on our planet? Well, let's take a look at this.

Many scientists and experts in the field of cryptozoology study cryptids from the perspective that they are real creatures, typically some form of animal, which might actually be working against the field when it comes to skeptics because certain cryptids are too weird to actually be real. But, what if the theory hath authority? What if cryptids are real flesh and blood animals?

Consider Bigfoot: he's been around for decades, is seen all across the world, and may even have a sound ancestor in the form of Gigantopithecus. And, there are claims from multiple sources that we have hair and blood samples of the creature. In the episode "Sasquatch Attack" from MonsterQuest, they covered a story where a cabin in Northern Ontario had been ransacked during the winter. To prevent it from happening again, the owner placed a board full of screws just outside the front door. Well, it yielded some results because when the owner returned, he found a large, bloody track left on the board. Investigators managed to scrape off a sample of blood and find a hair. The results from the hair were in inconclusive with the morphologist saying it looked like it came off a wild human. And, for the results of the blood sample, they found human DNA, but mixed with a bit of primate DNA.

Is this the answer to all the riddles?

Another thing about Sasquatch is that there are several different kinds of him out there: Bigfoot, Yowie, Yeti, Menk, Grassman, Skunk Ape, Monkey Man, and they all have their own look, build, fur, and sometimes smell. This would suggest a population of Sasquatch, and more than that, this would suggest a diverse population, possibly even different species. And thanks to all of the eyewitness accounts, Bigfoot researchers have come up with a number of different types of Bigfoot meaning there could be different species out there.

These are all pretty terrifying.

Add to all this, Bigfoot is not the only cryptid out there to have different types. Regarding the Dogman, there are seven recognized variants, most of them wolf-like and some of them are the spitting image of an actual werewolf. So, it seems like there are multiple species of Dogman out there. But wouldn't that mean there are Dogmen out in the wild breeding? Well, if you ever listen to the podcast Dogman Encounters Radio, there are stories of Dogman pups. In episode 137, "A Dogman Named Stripes!", investigator Josh Turner interviewed a man who supposedly rescued a pup from his dead mother and raised him. He called him Stripes because of a specific pattern on his chest, and that led to a life-long friendship and a lot of other interesting phenomena. The man who raised Stripes believes he was saved from his burning house by Stripes.

There's no two ways about it:
Dogman is definitely scarier than Bigfoot.

That sounds really unbelievable, but it isn't the only report of Dogman pups. If you read Linda Godfrey's Real Wolfmen, she mentions a sighting in Kentucky, Land Between the Lakes area, where a witness supposedly saw a Dogman female and three pups cross his path through the middle of a forest late one night. (Don't worry. He was in a truck.) And at some point in Linda Godfrey's work, she made an argument for what she calls the "Indigenous Dogman." Unfortunately, I can't find the source, but with it, she discusses the possibility of wolves evolving the ability to stand on two legs and use their front paws like hands.

The Indigenous Dogman
by Godfrey herself.

Let's change gears here and take a look at Lizardman. The most popular theory for Lizardman is that he's some sort of extraterrestrial, but there are some who believe him to be an evolved dinosaur. Dale Russell, a paleontologist, looked at the dinosaur Troodon and its evolution, and noted several interesting changes in its physiology and brain size. He theorized that if Troodon had escaped the Cretaceous extinction, it could have continued evolving into today, and it would resemble a human in its posture, hands, and capabilities.

"Hey, we're related!"
*rawr?*

That does sound a little nutty, but remember the Coelacanth, a fish that showed up 10,000 years after he was supposed to be dead? Looking at some other cryptids, notably lake monsters, some of them look like certain marine dinosaurs, like the Plesiosaur or even the Mosasaurus. Carry that point a little further and I'm sure some of you are familiar with a cryptid known as Mokele-mbembe, the one who stops the flow of rivers, living in the jungles of the Congo. According to reports from the local tribes, they describe a creature not all that dissimilar from an Apatosaurus. What's really interesting, is that if you dig deeper into local legends, you can find other dinosaur-like cryptids such as Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu which is supposed to resemble a Stegosaurus.

The One Who Stops the Flow of Rivers

So, it seems like there's a decent argument for cryptids being real animals. Some of them do have roots in our past or even look like animals living today, some of them obviously breed, and for some of them, we have actual blood and hair samples. The evidence seems to point to an undeniable conclusion. For me personally, I don't put much stock into this theory except where Bigfoot is concerned. I think he's real, but not necessarily an animal. I think he's more likely a dead end branch of our own evolution. As for the others, I tend to think of them as being manifestations of our imaginations like I discussed last week--fantasy becoming reality. But, if fantasies can become realities, then what difference is there between a manifestation and a real animal? Both are real, right?

Next week, I'll be looking at another origin theory. This time I'll be investigating the claims that cryptids are extraterrestrials from outer space. If you want to make sure you don't miss it, join my Cryptids and Paranormal mailing list here. See ya next week.

Keep writing, my friends.

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Tales of Horror Excerpt: Becoming the Dragon

Hey, everyone.

Continuing with the idea of posting excerpts from my book Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan, here's another one, this time from Becoming the Dragon. It's still only $.99 for Kindle and $4.99 for the paperback. Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07435BPQR.

And if you want to make sure you don't miss any excerpts or updates on my books, subscribe to my Books and Other Writings mailing list: http://eepurl.com/c0sMdb. And if you're into cryptozoology and the paranormal, why not subscribe to that mailing list so I can keep you apprised of the world of weird: http://eepurl.com/c0sNW5.

Alright, here's the excerpt. It's from my short story Becoming the Dragon. This one is about Elliot Fraser who goes to see a card reader on his birthday. And while she tells him he's destined for greatness, it's not in the way he wants.

“Ariola?! What is it?”

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. “Look, I have to be honest with you. The Black Tarot has another name. It’s called… Tarot Draconis, Filius Satanae. It’s Latin for ‘The Tarot of the Dragon.’” Ariola looked at Elliot. “‘The Son of Satan.’”

Elliot was silent for a few seconds. He tried to make words, but his mouth wouldn’t move. Finally, he said, “What? What are you talking about?”

“This tarot was made for the explicit purpose of predicting the coming of the Dragon, the Son of Satan, and to be used by him… during his reign of terror.”

Elliot’s eyes darted back and forth. His mouth was agape. But after a tense ten seconds, he laughed.

Ariola stared at him.

 “Whoo! What a story! I’ve got to tell you, Ariola—er, I mean, Madam Mystique,” he said dramatically again. “This has been quite a night. You really went all out. If my mother was here, she’d say, ‘See, Elliot?! I told you all fortune tellers are evil!’ Then she’d slap me upside the head!” He laughed again. Then rubbed the back of his head and cringed.

“This isn’t a joke! Look!” Ariola stood. “Look at the cards! Do you see what shape they make?”

“Yeah. I saw. It’s a star.”

“You fool! From your perspective that’s what it is, but when you’re where I was sitting, it makes an inverted pentagram!”

“So?”

“It’s the Satanic Star! This is the only spread that can be used with this tarot. I tried using a different spread, but the tarot forced me to use this one!”

Elliot gave her a pitying look. Then he smiled. “You really don’t have to carry on like this. I’m amused. Really, I am.”

“You idiot! Look. Look! The first position, the past, the Fool, carefree ignorance. Describes you perfectly! The second position, the present, the Servant, one who doesn’t know his own will. The third position, the immediate future, the Tower, tragedy. The fifth position, hidden influences, Lucifer! Lucifer! Enlightenment and unholy benediction.”

“How can benediction be unholy?”

“And the final position, the future on the current path, the Dragon! The Dragon! The Son of Satan!”

“And what about the fourth card?”

“Possible future on an opposing path, Death. Either as in change or an actual death.”

Elliot regarded the cards. Eventually, he said, “Okay… so what does it mean?”

Ariola sighed and collapsed into her chair. “It should be pretty obvious.”

Elliot’s eyebrows rose. “You’re saying… I’m the Dragon? I’m the Son of the Devil?!”

“Seems so…”

“Can’t be.”

Ariola shook her head. “What?”

“I’m not a fool and I’m not a servant. I know exactly who I am, what I’m doing, and where I’m going!”

Ariola shook. “Do you?!”

“Yes! I am Elliot Fraser. Thirty-four. Six-foot-three, white male. I’m a computer programmer for Vitech where I just got a promotion because of all the hard work I do, and I live in Clinton Township.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I am the result of all my own choices. They were good choices. The right choices. No one’s controlling me.”

“Really? Tell me: what are your dreams?”

“My dreams?”

“Yes. What’s something you’ve always wanted or wanted to do?”

Elliot thought for a minute. “I’d always wanted my fortune told.”

“That’s pathetic.”

“You talk that way about your own business?”

“You don’t dream of getting a card reading. You get one to make sure you’re on the right path, and if not, then how to change your path. No one aspires to one day sit in the chair opposite me. There must be something else. Anything else.”

Elliot sat down; he was quiet for a while.

“Really?! Nothing?! There’s not anything else in the whole world you want?"

Elliot mumbled a response.

Ariola cocked her head. “Say that again.”

Elliot mumbled louder.

“Did you say, ‘friends?’”

Elliot looked down. “Nobody likes me. And I don’t know why. I’ve tried all my life to be friendly and sociable, but people either ignore me or make fun of me behind my back. They have no respect for me and even make fun of me to my face.”

Elliot put his head on his hand. “In truth though…” he began, “I want it all,” he said with a hungry voice. “Friends, money, power, women… I want everything.”

“What’s stopping you?”

Elliot gave a hopeless shrug. “I’m Elliot Fraser. I’m a thirty-four year old computer programmer for the crummiest company in the industry. I only took the job so that I could be close to my mother so I could take of her. Which I only did because she guilted me into it. Said she would die if I moved out. Add to that, my hobbies are boring, I never do anything I actually enjoy. Women cringe at the sight of me, my bosses think I’m incompetent and a pushover.”

“But you said you got a promotion.”

“Yeah, because I’ve been putting in a lot of work because I haven’t had a weekend off in six months. They thought that since I was there all the time that I could do more work. They gave me a special computer that can access the most important systems and programs, but it’s dull work. Dull, dull, dull!

“My life…” Elliot stopped, but he looked like he was trying to say a word.

Ariola thought it may have started with an “S.” She ventured, “Sucks?”

“Yes! Geez. I’m too scared to even curse.” Elliot rubbed the back of his head again.

“I see,” said Ariola.

Elliot sighed. “This is the first decent conversation I’ve had with a person since… I can’t even remember when.”

Elliot was quiet for a while. He then leaned over the table. He picked up the Fool. “The Fool, huh? Yeah, that sounds like me. I try my damnedest to stay in the dark about how my life actually is because the more I look at it, the less I like it.” He put the Fool down. Then he spun the Dragon around with his finger. “What is the Dragon?”

“He’s the Son of Satan.”

“But what does that mean?”

“The Dragon is pure evil and brings great suffering with him wherever he goes. He makes Hell on Earth.”

“Okay, but what does that actually mean? What evil does he cause?”

Ariola shrugged. “All of it? Rape, murder, theft, human sacrifice. Blasphemy? I don’t know. He’s the ultimate villain.”

“I see.”

Elliot swiveled the card back and forth a little. It made Ariola’s skin crawl.

“Is there any way of confirming that I’m the Dragon?”

“What do you mean? That’s what the tarot was made for. It was made to predict the advent of the Dragon and to be used by him during his conquest.”

“Is that truly what the cards are saying though?”

Ariola looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re a card reader. Is there any way to see further into the future? Or to confirm this?”

“I can draw another card and see if it offers any hints…” Ariola did so and she dropped it next to the Dragon. The image was of a woman in shackles wearing black robes that barely draped around her body leaving her bust exposed. “Huh. The Oracle.”

“What does it mean?”

“It just means ‘future events.’ It’s one of those cards that doesn’t make sense by itself. But, I have no idea what it could mean.” Ariola looked up at Elliot, and the second their eyes met, a shiver went down her spine.

Elliot looked down at the spread, but after a beat, he stood up. “Well, I think I should be going. Mom has to take her pills before she goes to bed, and she’ll beat my ass if I don’t remind her. Good night.” Elliot grabbed his umbrella and disappeared into the storm.

Ariola was alone. She was very confused. It wasn’t every day someone hears that he’s the Devil’s progeny and then just walks off as if they had just been wished a good morning. Elliot had seemed worried and disgusted before, but now, he didn’t seem to care. Why? What made him change his mind so suddenly?

Ariola stared at the Oracle. She really didn’t like it. Somewhere in her mind, she heard glass shattering and a woman screaming. She felt as if something had “arms” around her—they were cold. She felt trapped, abused, and scared. She felt violated, but couldn’t figure out why or in what way.

Crypto Theory: Are Cryptids Manifestations of Imagination?

Hey, everyone.

I'm back with another theory on the origin and species of cryptids, and as I mentioned last week, I believe this is most likely the answer for many of the cryptids we see. And it is...

That's right, manifestations of our imaginations. Or, to put it another way, psychokinetic (PK) manifestations. But that begs the necessary question: what is a PK manifestation? Well, have you ever heard of the Law of Attraction? The idea that you attract into your life whatever you focus most on? It's sort of like that. A PK manifestation is where your thoughts and feelings coalesce either into an entity or activity surrounding you. Generally, this is what most poltergeist activity is, but PK manifestations can become spirit-like, and in some rare reports, they can actually be 100% physical.

Going back to Three Men Seeking Monsters (seriously, buy this book), in chapter 9, when Redfern, Downes, and Freeman meet Mother Sarah Graymalkin, the old witch who told them about the Cormons (if you need a refresher, read my first post here), she explains that the reason why cryptids exist is because of our belief.

"They coexist with us because we want them to exist with us and for no other reason."

The witch then goes on to explain Tulpas which are entities that attain "a form of reality after being created solely in the imagination." According to Graymalkin, it takes an incredible amount of skill to bring these things into reality, but the real problem is when a Tulpa succeeds in crossing into reality of it's own volition and works against its creator's will. As proof, Graymalkin sites the works of spiritualist Alexandra David-Neel who created a Buddhist monk that went rogue and Polish medium Franek Kluski who had spectral animals of all sorts appear during his séances.

One such animal was a large cat.

It is at this point that Graymalkin goes into Cormons, but later she adds how they feed off emotion, especially the emotion of those who believe in them.

"You don't realize that while you are looking for these things, believing in them and telling others about them who also become emotionally charged believers, they are manipulating you and your followers as their food source. That is all you are: a source of emotional food for the beasts."

Graymalkin goes into even greater detail, but I don't want to ruin it for you. But basically what she's on about is that cryptids exist because we want them to exist and we put forth the emotional effort and energy into believing in them. An idea I can't help but link to the Native American belief of how talking about shapeshifters can actually "bring them on" as mentioned by Potawatomi member John Warren in the MonsterQuest episode "America's Wolfman."

The Native American Skinwalker or Shapeshifter

So, basically, my theory is that the Dogman and a number of other cryptids including the Lizardman, Jersey Devil, and lake monsters are actually created through fictional stories. And, as time has passed, the stories have gone on. As a result, they've made to the modern day where we have books, movies, and podcasts that help spread belief in strange creatures. So, cryptids are being seen more and more because belief, time, emotion, and energy are being put into them, meaning we are actually the reason for their existence. Sort of makes you wonder why there's a part of the human psyche that wants to believe in monsters. But, it's a good thing no one puts serious belief into dragons. Home owner's insurance would be astronomical.

Anyway, next week I'll be looking into another theory for the existence to cryptids. This time, I'm going to muse on the possibility that cryptids are real flesh and blood creatures. If you want to make sure you don't miss it, consider subscribing to my cryptid and paranormal mailing list here. I'd really appreciate it.

Keep writing, my friends.

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Tales of Horror Excerpt: The Serpent

Hey, everyone.

Continuing with the idea of posting excerpts from my book Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan, here's another one, this time from The Serpent. Unfortunately, you can't download if for free anymore, but it's still only $.99 for Kindle and $4.99 for the paperback. Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07435BPQR.

And if you want to make sure you don't miss any excerpts or updates on my books, subscribe to my Books and Other Writings mailing list: http://eepurl.com/c0sMdb. And if you're into cryptozoology and the paranormal, why not subscribe to my mailing list so I can keep you apprised of the world of weird: http://eepurl.com/c0sNW5.

Alright, here's the excerpt. It's from my short story The Serpent. It's about a research team looking for a lake monster. They find it, but what it's not something of our world.

The village of Ontonagon settled on either side of the river that bore its namesake. Its inhabitants were only beginning to wake up and carry out the mundane tasks of small town living while an expedition was getting underway at the local docks.

A group of men, six strong, were preparing a boat on the shimmering waters of Lake Superior for a three-day search of the fathomless depths for a rare and unique phenomenon. To search for this phenomenon, they loaded some unique equipment including scuba gear, a sonar, various cameras including an underwater camera, a couple of long, short wooden chests, and a hydrophone.

At that time, a seventh man approached the dock from Ontonagon holding a cheap, gas station coffee and wearing sunglasses to hide the disappointment in his new surroundings.

“Ah! Dr. Dorian, I presume!”

“Mr. Burke?” replied Dorian to a bearded and slightly overweight middle-aged man.

“Correct, sir!” he said, shaking Dorian’s hand. “When did you get in?”

“Last night. Geez, that’s a small airport.”

“Ontonagon is a small town,” said a third man with a slender and scrappy build. “We’re lucky to have an airport.”

“Dr. Dorian,” said Burke, “this upstanding fellow here is Michael Hicks, our historian.”

“Welcome to the expedition,” said Hicks.

“Pleasure,” said Dorian, sipping his coffee.

“Let me introduce you to the rest of our crew,” said Burke.

Dorian followed Burke aboard a well-worn fishing boat called the Ripley. Despite its appearance, the hull, sole, and deck all seemed to be structurally intact. The cockpit was a little larger than necessary and the flying bridge had been redone and updated at some point. It’s clean, plastic renovations didn’t match the wooden frame of the Ripley.

“These are our two technicians,” said Burke. “This is William Gorman, our sonar man, and Bill Hudson who’ll be handling the underwater camera and hydrophone.”

Gorman was a slender man with a no-nonsense air and short hair. Hudson however was a little pasty and unimpressive with a round face.

“Tell me, something, Mr. Gorman,” began Dorian, “do you know how to work a sonar?”

“Do you think four years of active duty in the Navy is enough?”

“Oh? Yeah, that’s impressive. And Mr. Hudson—”

“Hudson’s fine, Dorian.”

“Doctor Dorian, if you please. I didn’t get a Ph.D. for fun, you know.”

“Then why did you get it, Doctor Dorian?”

“Because I like fish and junk.”

“You a marine biologist or something?”

“Close. I’m actually a marine zoologist. Marine biology covers both plants and animals, whereas I specialize in animals only.”

“Oh, good. We could use a man like you on this team.”

“So I’ve heard. Anyway, Hudson, do you have a lot of experience handling underwater cameras and hydrophones?”

“I did an internship at NOAA.”

Dorian raised his eyebrows. “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration? Damn. This crew is a little more technical than I thought it would be. I just expected a bunch of Michigan bumpkins.”

“Present,” said a man from the corner of the cockpit. He looked to be in his sixties and wore a fishing vest and hat. He was slicing up fish and dropping the parts into a giant barrel before him.

“What?”

“I’m a Michigan bumpkin.”

“This is Lance Fox,” explained Burke. “He’s our Lake Superior expert and a local fisherman.”

“Mr. Fox,” said Dorian, regarding him.

“Lance is fine.”

“Why are you slicing up fish, Lance? Will we be chumming the waters?”

“You never know.”

Dorian frowned.

“And finally,” began Burke, “the skipper of our ship is Bobby Quint.”

“Robert,” corrected a man from atop the flying bridge. He appeared to be in his fifties with bushy mutton chops and a mustache. He had a hard face and wore a fishing jacket similar to Lance’s vest. “And don’t call me skipper. Or Robert. Just Quint. But if you call me Quinty, I’ll be throwing you overboard. And there’s no need to call me ‘Captain’ unless you intend on permanently joining my crew.”

“I think I’ll stick with Quint,” said Dorian.

“Good man. And who are you?”

“Gentlemen,” said Burke, “this is the renowned marine zoologist, Dr. Christopher Dorian.”

The others were quiet.

“Never heard of him,” said Quint.

“Well, if you lived in Miami, you would,” replied Dorian.

“Don’t get snarky with me, Dorian. I don’t care who you were in the world. You slip up out here and you’ll be tossed overboard. This ain’t Miami.”

“Obviously...”

“What’s a ‘renowned’ marine zoologist doing in Michigan?” asked Hicks.

“I asked him to join us,” said Burke. “It took some convincing, but I’m sure he’ll be perfect!”

“Burke assured me this would be the crowning achievement of my career,” said Dorian.

Hicks laughed.

“I know how you feel.”

But then Burke said, “Oh, come, come, gentlemen. This is an extraordinary adventure. As far as we all know, we are the first ones to ever launch a scientific expedition in search of the elusive Superior Serpent!”

“Basically, Lake Superior’s Loch Ness monster,” quipped Quint.

“In a matter of speaking.”

“Oh, geez,” mumbled Dorian. He looked at his coffee. “I wish this was scotch.”

“And that’s why you’re here?” said Hicks. “You really believe that this will be the crowning achievement of your career?”

Dorian shrugged. “It could be. What are you doing here?”

“I’m a historian. I know the shores of Lake Superior, its history, and its legends like the back of my ass.”

“As for me,” began Hudson, “this ain’t my first sea monster hunt, man.”

“Let’s hope it’s not your last,” said Burke cheerfully.

“What about you, Gorman?”

“You see all sorts of crazy shit in the military. There are plenty of things out there that the top brass never perfectly explains. I’m going because I want to be closer to the truth of this world.”

“Lance?”

“I grew up with stories about the Superior Serpent. I don’t think it exists personally, but what an incredible find it would be if it did exist. Plus, I’d like to know who my competition is.” Lance chuckled.

“Quint?”

“I don’t give an ass rat’s about monsters. I’m just here to steer the boat.”

“What’s your interest in all this, Burke?”

“My dear fellow, I am a cryptozoologist! It is my business to look for weird and wacky creatures that may be unknown to science. Why, I spent an entire year in Puerto Rico looking for el chupacabra. And then there was my brief sojourn in Virginia digging up clues about the lizardman. My passion is to search the world over and look for monsters!”

“You ever find any?”

Burke chuckled. “If I told you, I may have to kill you.”

“That sounds familiar,” said Gorman. “Except none of the higher-ups ever joked about it.”

Hicks eyed Dorian.

“What?”

 “Are you really just here for the career boost? I mean, if you’re so renowned, why take the gamble on such a shitty little backwater investigation like this? And why are you ‘renowned?’ No one here has ever heard of you.”

“Dr. Dorian is renowned,” began Burke, “because he is slated to be one of only a handful of people who will be working at the South Pacific Research Facility.”

Some eyebrows rose.

“Isn’t that part of the Deep Sea Research Program?” said Lance. “The one where they’re building research facilities on the ocean floor?”

“That’s right,” said Dorian. “The South Pacific facility will be just off the coast of South America.”

“But they’re not supposed to be finished until 2065.”

Dorian shrugged. “That’s only five years away.”

“How’d you get that distinction?” asked Gorman.

“About a year or two ago, I was part of a paleontological research team in Chile that was looking for extinct marine reptiles. During a dig, we came across a full fossilized skeleton of an unknown marine reptile.”

“Wait a second,” said Hudson. “I think I heard about this in the news. There was something strange about the skeleton, wasn’t there? Like, someone said it looked like the Biblical Leviathan?”

“Yes…” sighed Dorian. “One of the grad students said that. Anyway, it was an unusual find because it didn’t look like anything we’ve seen before. Dr. Cope said he thought it could be an early ancestor to the Tylosaurus. But the reason it shook the paleontology community was because of its dragon-like skull. It wasn’t long and narrow like a regular marine reptile’s head. It was shorter and almost ended in an overbite like a crocodile’s. And it had several horns sticking out the back of its head.”

“I thought dragons were reptiles,” said Quint.

“Depends on who you ask,” replied Burke. “Some people consider them to be a type of ‘serpent’ which can be a vague term for anything long and snake-like.”

“And so finding this dragon-like marine reptile is how you secured your position at the deep research facility?” asked Hicks.

“More or less. The investors were interested in seeing if there’s anything alive today in that same area that has gone undiscovered. Thinking me an expert, they supported my nomination.”

“But that’s not all!” said Burke. “You were also quoted in an interesting article in an issue of Marine Life magazine.”

“Yeah…” said Dorian, sighing again. “In Miami, we were testing claims that dolphins are psychic. We left children that couldn’t swim in a tank of water. They had life jackets, and we were nearby, so they weren’t in any real danger. But they were still in distress. It was our hope that the dolphins would save the children by pushing them to the edge of the tank where we could grab them.

“We developed other tests—I can’t really tell you about them as I wasn’t in charge of the experiments. Hell, I barely understood the pseudoscience mumbo-jumbo that the head researcher was throwing around. But the other tests included testing the psychic prowess of other marine animals including whales, certain kinds of fish, and even sharks. In some of the tests, both the whales’ and sharks’ results were better than random.

“So, I said that in theory it’s possible that sharks are psychic. Marine Life grabbed onto that quote and used it to headline the article. So…”

“So, you’re no stranger then to marine paranormal phenomenon?” said Gorman.

“Indeed!” said Burke. “And that’s one of the reasons why I asked him to come with us.”

“Look,” said Dorian, “it was just a theory, and I barely believe that dolphins are psychic. Hell, I don’t even believe in human psychics. And I don’t believe in sea monsters.”

“But you must have some interest in the subject,” concluded Hicks.

“How so?”

“Look where you are. And by your own free will.”

Burke suddenly looked excited.

Dorian’s eyes narrowed. “Like I said, it’s for my career.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Burke!” called Quint. “Do we intend to find this super snake or what?”

“You’re so right, Quint. We must hurry.”

“Then finish packing the gear and let’s get on with it!”

Everyone except for Dorian ran around and finished loading up the boat. When they were done, Quint started the boat’s engine and took off heading west along the shoreline of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

As they went, a mountain ridge raised out of the ground back on the mainland. There looked like there as something covering the mountains.

“What is that?” Dorian asked. “Looks like a burnt out forest.”

“It’s a burnt out forest,” said Hicks.

“Okay… Why is it burnt out?”

Hicks looked at Lance, and they both shook their heads.

“Well?”

“It used to be the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. It caught fire and burned down about six years ago.”

“Bummer. Shame to lose a whole state park like that.”

“You’re telling me,” said Lance. “I grew up with the Porkies. Hiking, camping, fishing, skiing, boating. There wasn’t anything you couldn’t do in the Porkies.”

“Had to watch out for the black bear though,” said Hicks.

“Yeah. They could be a problem. My father always carried a gun.” Lance looked back at the forest longingly. “I’ll never forgive that bastard.”

“Your father?” said Dorian.

“No, the asshole who burned it down.”

Dorian lifted his eyebrows. “It wasn’t a natural disaster?”

“No. It was man-made.”

“I hate people.”

“Join the club,” said Hicks.

Dorian turned back to the cockpit. “So, Burke, what the hell are we looking for?”

“The Superior Serpent!”

“No shit. But what exactly is it? What does it look like?”

“Oh! Well, there are quite a few interesting tales. About a year ago, a woman and her daughter said they saw a big black snake-like creature floating on top of the water. The woman estimated it to be twelve feet long.”

“Sounds like a log to me.”

“Not so! They watched it for nearly ten minutes before it submerged itself. In another tale, a local of Ontonagon says he saw it while bowfishing. He said that a long, black serpent swam up to the surface, chomped down on his catch as he was reeling it in and took it away, bow, arrow, and all! He estimated it to be fifteen feet long and a foot wide!” said Burke with a squeak.

“That’s… pretty big. Had he been drinking?”

“No,” said Lance. “That was Clark Lewis. He never touches the stuff.”

“The last report—”

“Is mine,” finished Hicks. “I was doing some research near the Presque Isle River. We’re coming up on it now,” said Hicks, pointing to an open waterway. “When suddenly, myself, a ranger, and two state officials saw this big, black serpent swimming around the mouth of the river. We walked to the beach for a closer look and the thing surfaced. We didn’t get a very clear look at it, but I swear to you…”

Dorian leaned in.

“It had burning red eyes.”

Dorian looked disappointed. He looked down at his coffee wishing once again it was scotch.

“You don’t believe me.”

“Why would I? I mean, burning red eyes? On a sea creature? Have you been watching too many movies?”

“Hardly. What’s really interesting is that the creature has its origin in Native American myth. The Ojibwe called it the ‘misiginebig.’ It translates to ‘great serpent,’ and was said to have horns on its head and eat humans. It was a natural enemy of the Thunderbirds.”

“Naturally!” said Dorian. “You know those Thunderbirds. They hate serpents swimming around the lakes and pissing in the rivers. The Thunderbirds drink that water.”

Hicks shook his head.

As they neared the Presque Isle River mouth, Quint slowed the boat. “Burke! We’re here.”

“Good. Hudson! Drop the hydrophone and let’s see what we can pick up.”

Dorian furrowed his brow. “What’re we listening for? Fish don’t typically make any noise.”

“There’s a theory,” explained Burke, “that some sea monsters use echolocation. There’s a recording from Lake Champlain where a sophisticated creature of some kind was definitely using echolocation.”

“Is that right?” Dorian laughed. “The stories say it’s a serpent, which means it’s likely an eel, but damn echolocation! That would imply we’re chasing a mammal. What the hell?”

“If you don’t like the adventure so far, you can jump out,” said Hicks.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“Hudson!” said Burke.

“Hydrophone is in the water,” he replied, lowering a black cable over the side. “Now, we just have to hook it up to the computer.” Hudson stepped down into the cabin. He opened his laptop and started clacking at the keyboard.

“The rest of you,” said Burke, “keep your eyes peeled.”

Quint took out a newspaper and started reading it.

A few hours passed and they bobbed up and down on the Superior.

“Hudson?” said Burke. “Anything?”

“So far zippo.”

“Perhaps we should try a different location.”

“Maybe, boss.”

Burke was about to tell Quint to move the boat when Lance came into the cabin. “Hey, Burke. I don’t like the look of the sky. It’s starting to get a little sketchy. I think a storm is moving in.”

“How much time do we have?”

Lance shrugged. “Two hours or less.”

“That’s plenty of time.”

“I don’t think—”

“Burke! Burke!”

“What is it, Hudson?!”

“Holy shit! Listen to this!”

Burke took the headphones from Hudson, and as he listened, he was torn between a smile and perplexity.