Myths and Monsters

Have you witnessed a mystery out there, a sighting that needs to be investigated? 

Contact James at: wisconsinauthor@yahoo.com

New tests place shroud in time of Jesus

March 30, 2013. 

Although the Vatican makes no claim on the shroud's authenticity as a relic, Pope Francis introduced a special TV appearance of the burial cloth on Holy Saturday.



(Photo: Barrie M. Schwortz, AP)

New scientific tests on the Shroud of Turin, which went on display Saturday in a special TV appearance introduced by the Pope, dates the cloth to ancient times, challenging earlier experiments dating it only to the Middle Ages.

Pope Francis sent a special video message to the televised event in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, which coincided with Holy Saturday, when Catholics mark the period between Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The Vatican, tiptoeing carefully, has never claimed that the 14-foot linen cloth was, as some believers claim, used to cover Christ after he was taken from the cross 2,000 years ago.

Francis, reflecting that careful Vatican policy, on Saturday called the cloth, which is kept in a climate-controlled case, an "icon" -- not a relic.

But Cesare Nosiglia, the Archbishop of Turin and "pontifical custodian of the shroud," said the special display on Holy Saturday "means that it represents a very important testimony to the Passion and the resurrection of the Lord," The Telegraph reported.

A new app, called Shroud 2.0, display images of "The Shroud of Turin" along with scientific and theological interpretations prepared with the Diocese of Turin and the International Center of Sindonologywhich is the scientific study of the shroud. (Photo: Vincenzo Pinto, AFP/Getty Images)

The burial shroud purports to show the imprint of the face and body of a bearded man. The image also purportedly shows nail wounds at the man's wrist and pinpricks around his brow, consistent with the "crown of thorns" mockingly pressed onto Christ at the time of his crucifixion.

Many experts have stood by a 1988 carbon-14 dating of scraps of the cloth carried out by labs in Oxford, Zurich and Arizona that dated it from 1260 to 1390, which, of course, would rule out its used during the time of Christ.

The new test, by scientists at the University of Padua in northern Italy, used the same fibers from the 1988 tests but disputes the findings. The new examination dates the shroud to between 300 BC and 400 AD, which would put it in the era of Christ.

It determined that the earlier results may have been skewed by contamination from fibers used to repair the cloth when it was damaged by fire in the Middle Ages, the British newspaper reported. The cloth has been kept at the cathedral since 1578.

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He also said his tests also supported earlier results claiming to have found traces of dust and pollen on that shroud that could only have come from the Holy Land.

The latest findings are contained in a new Italian-language book — Il Mistero Della Sindone or The Mystery of the Shroud, by Giulio Fanti, a professor of mechanical and thermal measurement at Padua University, and Saverio Gaeta, a journalist.

Fanti, a Catholic, used infra-red light and spectroscopy – the measurement of radiation intensity through wavelengths -- in his test. He said the results are the outcome of 15 years of research.

The Telegraph also reports that a new app, sanctioned by the Catholic church and called "Shroud 2.0," allows anyone to use a smart phone or tablet to explore the shroud in detail.

(Source: Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY4:25p.m. EDT March 30, 2013/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/30/shroud-turin-display/2038295/)

Contributing: Associated Press

Bigfoot Lurking in Kansas?

by Melanie Thomas

on February 26, 2013 in Edge (Kansas State Collegian)

With the emergence of several TV shows, numerous movies and the quirky Jack Link’s “Messin’ with Sasquatch” commercial campaign, there’s little chance that anyone is unaware of the legendary creature Bigfoot.

But is there a possibility that this famed creative could be roaming Kansas? Some researchers and fans believe so.

“There’s ‘squaches pretty much everywhere,” said Carter Buschardt, investigator for Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization and a firm believer in the existence of Bigfoot.

BFRO was established in 1995, and, according to its website is, “a virtual community of scientists, journalists and specialists from diverse backgrounds” who investigate the phenomenon through field and laboratory work.

Buschardt, who lives in Kansas City, Mo., has been researching the Bigfoot concept for about five years and investigating for BFRO for about a year and a half.

While sightings cover the entire nation, some are closer to home than others. There have been numerous Bigfoot sightings near Wichita, Salina, Manhattan and Pratt, Kan., and several places in Riley County, including near Tuttle Creek State Park.

Buschardt recounted a sighting reported in Pottawatomie County that was never made official due to the requests of a nearby Indian reservation.

“A lady … saw one, and one of her best friends, a school bus driver up there, hit one with her school bus. It busted her window,” Buschardt said.

On Jan. 29, crew members from Animal Planet’s “Finding Bigfoot” television show visited Salina, following reports of Sasquatch sightings northeast of the city. Although the crew took some video, they reported not finding any evidence of Sasquatch activity.

There is a good reason that Sasquatch sightings are relatively rare, Buschardt said.

“‘Squatch are as intelligent as you or I are, just in a different way. They’re good at maintaining their distance from humans,” Buschardt said.

Buschardt believes that the Sasquatch species is intelligent because the creature is likely an offshoot of the giant ape Gigantopithecus, an extinct genus that the fossil record suggests existed for millions of years but became extinct about 100,000 years ago. He said that it is possible both humans and Bigfoot developed from Gigantopithecus, but in different ways, giving them different types of intelligence.

“We’re smart at building rockets and computers. They’re smart at surviving off the land and staying unseen,” Buschardt said.

Buschardt is not the only person who is interested in the sightings of Bigfoot in Kansas. Crew members from “Finding Bigfoot” recently made a trip to Wichita to hold a meeting to discuss sightings in the area.

Buschardt, along with six witnesses he had spoken with, attended the meeting. The meeting invited anyone in the area to share about any encounters with Bigfoot and provide information about sightings in Kansas.

But not everyone is as certain as Buschardt about the existence of Bigfoot at all, never mind whether he lives in Kansas. Lauren Ritterbush, associate professor of archaeology, believes that Bigfoot is not a real creature, but that it “serves a mythological role in our society.”

Referencing “Bigfoot Exposed,” a book by anthropologist David J. Daegling, Ritterbush explained that she, like Daegling, believes that Bigfoot’s mythological purpose may be as an “eco-messiah” of sorts.

According to Daegling’s book, as an eco-messiah, “Bigfoot signifies wilderness and the power of nature. The Sasquatch is the eco-messiah, for if we understand this monster we might overcome our ambivalent relationship with nature.”

“Bigfoot Exposed” claims that “this symbolic aspect of Bigfoot is rarely talked about among advocates,” who, Buschardt confirmed, “are all pretty much outdoor people.”

But while this theory could explain much of the reasoning behind the continued search for Bigfoot, it cannot say for certain whether Bigfoot does or does not exist as a real, physical creature. In “Bigfoot Exposed,” Daegling wrote, “we only know for certain that the Sasquatch is meaningful.”

Glenn Sipes, junior in industrial engineering, said that he “most certainly” believes that Bigfoot exists.

“There’s no reason to believe that it doesn’t exist. You can’t disprove something that you haven’t found,” Sipes said.

Sipes said he doesn’t look down on those who don’t believe in Bigfoot.

“There’s no proof that it doesn’t exist, and there’s no proof that it does exist, so it’s logical to believe either way,” Sipes said.

There are K-State students on the other end of the spectrum, too. Steven Kelly, graduate student in English, holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and now focuses his study on cultural studies in English literature.

Kelly said that while he doesn’t believe Bigfoot exists as a real, physical creature, he does think Bigfoot plays an important social role as a myth.

“The evidence, to me, shows that Bigfoot does not actually exist, and that Bigfoot is in fact a myth and not real, but the fact that the myth isn’t true doesn’t mean it’s not important,” Kelly said. “Myths are critically important to gluing people together into group cohesion. They’re big parts of identities.”

Kelly said he thinks one reason people are drawn to Bigfoot is the mystical nature of the creature.

“People don’t always need a reason for believing in something,” Kelly said.

Kelly also said that the commercialization of Bigfoot plays a large part in its popularity.

“There’s an industry around Bigfoot. The media is part of that industry, so they put out the shows to get people to watch TV, to watch the shows that advertisers and companies are paying for to keep the networks alive,” Kelly said.

Sipes said that it was a movie, “Harry and the Hendersons,” that first made him believe in Bigfoot.

“‘Harry and the Hendersons’ … is an encounter that’s obviously faked, but could legitimately happen in my mindset,” Sipes said.

While both sides can provide evidence to support their viewpoints, it is up to individuals to decide what they believe about the existence of Bigfoot. But one thing is for certain: Bigfoot will likely stick around for years to come, whether he lives on in the wilderness or as a myth that continues to circulate the nation.

'Beast Of Tenby,' Mysterious Creature, Found On English Beach; Experts Weigh In

Seriously, what on earth is this?

A mysterious, distorted carcass has been discovered on an English beach, baffling masses.

The bloated body, dubbed the "Beast of Tenby" and the "Beast from the East" by the English press, has been widely debated, according to the Western Telegraph.

The beast was discovered over the weekend by local resident Peter Bailey, 27, who came across the creature while taking a walk.

"I was taking my dog for her evening walk across the south beach when she started acting out of character by howling and running round in circles," Bailey told the Western Telegraph. "I ran up to her to see if she was ok and then I came across this hideous looking carcass. I could see it had little hair left on it's decomposing body. Immediately I thought it was a horse but it had claws like a bear and a body of a pig. Surprisingly it didn't smell."

The site posted a picture of the beast on Facebook, where it was shared hundreds of times and widely debated.

The Sun reached out to Swansea University's College of Science professor Dr. Dan Forman, who said while it was "difficult to say," the creature's five toes hinted that it might be a badger. Meanwhile, the Western Telegraph reached out to several animal experts, who suggested it could be either a badger or dog.

The debate has apparently even reached city government.

“We did get a call on Friday evening to say a Jack Russell had been washed up on Tenby's South Beach but our staff couldn't find it," Pembrokeshire council representative Len Mullins told Wales Online.

The mysterious creature reminds some of the Brooklyn Bridge "monster" discovered in July and the "Montauk Monster," which washed up on a Long Island beach in 2008. That creature appeared to have a beak, claws, and almond-shaped eyes like an alien, according to New York Magazine.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/beast-of-tenby-creature-found-beach-photo_n_2782057.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Finding Bigfoot Weekly Recap

February 24, 2013

There was a lot of action on this week's episode of Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot." What made Matt Moneymaker and the team the most excited were tree knock-overs on two consecutive team investigation nights, although the trees could not be located. They estimated that the trees falling were at least a 1/2 mile away with a valley in between them. 

The pig callers who came on their final night supplied some humor to the episode, unwittingly, as Matt and Bobo reacted to the god-awful imitations of curly-tailed friends. 

Finding Bigfoot Weekly Recap

February 18, 2013

The investigators of Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot" explored the unknown jungles of Indonesia in search of the elusive Orang Pendek on the Feb. 10, 2013 episode. 

Perhaps a distant relative of North America's Bigfoot, the Orang Pendek is just 3-4 feet tall, half the size of Sasquatch, and not as shy either. Many of the local sightings caught O.P. by surprise, usually too preoccupied with eating to notice villagers walking by. 

There was physical evidence discovered in this episode by Analyst Cliff Barackman on his solo investigation, but the episode conclusion came without mentioning any DNA results, which leads me to believe it was from a known animal. Cliff was the perfect person for the solo search, since witnesses said that the orang pendek was the same color as Cliff's gray hair. 

It seemed the investigation was cut short after Renae and Matt heard what they believed to be a tiger. So, in the end, no, they did not Find Bigfoot.

I am excited about next Sunday's episode as the team, Matt Moneymaker (Founder and President of the BFRO), Ranae Holland (Field Biologist), James (Bobo) Fay (Field Investigator), and Cliff Barackman (Bigfoot Expert) travel to Tennessee to search for Sasquatch. 

For episode schedules, go to http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot/tv-schedule.htm. 

Source: http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot

Bigfoot DNA Tests: Science Journal's Credibility Called Into Question

Posted: 02/14/2013 2:20 pm EST  |  Updated: 02/14/2013 3:53 pm EST

Bigfoot is real ... maybe.

After months of waiting for a peer-reviewed scientific journal to publish findings on the validity of alleged Bigfoot DNA evidence, the time has come for answers. But is there enough empirical evidence to finally confirm that the elusive, tall, hairy man-beast of North America really exists? Maybe, but questions have now been raised about the scientific journal publishing the findings.

In November, after a five-year study of purported Bigfoot (aka Sasquatch) DNA samples, Texas geneticist Melba Ketchum and a team of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology, were anxious for their findings to be published in a scientific journal. On Wednesday, their research appeared in the DeNovo Journal of Science, which seemed to confirm Ketchum's research about the reality of Bigfoot.

But according to GoDaddy.com, DeNovo was first registered as a domain on Feb. 4, 2013 --- anonymously and for only one year.

The current edition of DeNovo is listed as Volume 1, Issue 1, and its only content, thus far, is the Bigfoot research.

Also, on Ketchum's Sasquatch Genome Project website, she writes, "It has been a long and tedious battle to prove that Sasquatch exists. ... Trying to publish has taken almost two years. It seems mainstream science just can't seem to tolerate something controversial, especially from a group of primarily forensic scientists and not 'famous academians' aligned with large universities, even though most of our sequencing and analysis was performed at just such facilities."

Ketchum then explains how one journal agreed to publish her findings, but then was advised not to by its lawyers because such a controversial subject "would destroy the editors' reputations (as it has already done to mine). ... Rather than spend another five years just trying to find a journal to publish and hoping that decent, open minded reviewers would be chosen, we acquired the rights to this journal and renamed it so we would not lose the passing peer reviews that are expected by the public and the scientific community."

And therein lies the potential problem: Did Ketchum "buy" this journal, and begin its new existence under the name of DeNovo just over a week ago in order to get what appears to be a favorable peer review of her Bigfoot studies? That's the big question being raised by numerous people at this point.

According to a press release by Ketchum's Sasquatch Genome Project, the study, "which sequenced three whole Sasquatch nuclear genomes, shows that the legendary Sasquatch is extant in North America and is a human relative that arose approximately 13,000 years ago and is hypothesized to be a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with a novel primate species."

A total of 111 specimens of alleged Sasquatch hair, blood, skin and other tissues formed the basis of the study. These samples came from many individuals and groups at sites covering 14 states and two Canadian provinces.

On her Doubtful News website, skeptic and geologist Sharon Hill raises many questions about Ketchum's claims.

"I clicked on the DeNovo site and was appalled at how amateurish the site is. It's full of stock photographs, very poorly coded, there are errors all over it and it's very difficult to navigate," Hill told The Huffington Post.

"[Ketchum] documented that she acquired the rights to this journal. We don't know what journal that was. I still can't find it and that's a little fishy," said Hill. "And then she renamed it so they would not lose the peer reviews that they had. It looks suspicious. This is not how science works."

Also, on the DeNovo site, the journal itself is identified as both DeNovo and DeVono.

It would be a huge story if all the work done by Ketchum and her team ultimately leads to scientific confirmation of the reality of Sasquatch. But at this point, the new wrinkles about the DeNovo Science Journal have only added to the credibility issues by a foot or two -- a Bigfoot.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/bigfoot-dna-results-final_n_2681135.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Colorado Researchers Say DNA Proves 

Bigfoot Is Real

(credit: CBS)

2-13-2013

DENVER (CBS4) – Bigfoot is real. That’s according to a group of Colorado researchers who say they have hard evidence proving its existence.

Researcher Dave Paulides is convinced the reality of Bigfoot isn’t as fuzzy as the photos from people who claim to have seen the mythological creature.

“This DNA is like nothing else in the world,” Paulides said.

Paulides says Bigfoot looks approximately 7 to 8 feet tall and weighs in at a whopping 800 to 1,000 pounds.

“It’s easy to say a lot of things are crazy. If you lived underground your whole life, the belief that 400 people could fly in a plane would sound crazy,” Paulides said.

Source: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/02/13/colorado-researchers-say-dna-proves-bigfoot-is-real/

Finding Bigfoot Weekly Recap

February 11, 2013

The investigators of Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot" narrowly missed another chance to capture a Bigfoot on camera as they explored South Dakota on the Feb. 10, 2013 episode. 

After James Twiss, a retired chief of police officer, saw Sasquatch through a thermal imager (although not one that can record), the team followed leads from members of the local Lakota tribe. Cliff Barackman stayed overnight but uncovered no video, audio, or physical evidence that the creatures were there. He did see an American Bison though. 

The rest of the team followed up on tips from residents, who all seemed credible. From there, they narrowed down their search to a ridge where a water source was found and plenty of food could be available to a family of Sasquatch. One knock was all that came from their last night in the investigation. Still, all four believed that Bigfoots could live there and most likely do. 

I look forward to the show every week, but this one left me frustrated, again. The witness stories are always cool, but the team hardly ever finds anything. At least most of the time they hear something (something more than a single knock). 

I am excited about next Sunday's episode as the team, Matt Moneymaker (Founder and President of the BFRO), Ranae Holland (Field Biologist), James (Bobo) Fay (Field Investigator), and Barackman (Bigfoot Expert) travel to the Island of Sumatra Indonesia to search for Sasquatch's distant relative, Orang Pendek. 

"Destination: Truth" fans will recall Josh Gates' journey through the unfamiliar jungle and caves to find Orang Pendek. It will be interesting to see how the "Finding Bigfoot" team fares out of their element. 

For episode schedules, go to http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot/tv-schedule.htm. 

Source: http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot

Is 2013 the year Bigfoot's existence is confirmed? 

The search for Sasquatch is at an all-time high with the popularity of Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot" and the numerous reports already coming in for 2013! So, it leaves cryptozoologists asking will 2013 be the year. 

Not the year of its discovery, as many people have already seen it and know it exists, but for the proof to be presented to the masses with the backing of prestigious scientist testimony and physical evidence. 

In November of 2012, Dr. Melba S. Ketchum announced to the world that she has DNA evidence that Sasquatch is alive and well. 

[Dr Melba S. Ketchum is the founder of DNA Diagnstics, Inc.  based in Nacogdoches, East Texas.

She heads a team proficient in laboratory genetics for human beings and all manner of animals too. Amongst her previous forensic work was testing DNA found in the debris of the World Trade Center in 2001. Until November 2012, she wasn't out to prove the existence of Bigfoot.

Yet all that changed five years ago, when she began collecting samples of hair, which donors claimed had come from Sasquatch.  Her genetic investigation has only now reached a conclusion; and it's one which many of her peers would be surprised to read.

Bigfoot does exist; and mitochondrial DNA confirms that it shares a common mother with human beings.  The evolutionary division occurred around 15,000 years ago.

Dr Ketchum told a press conference, in November 2012, that "... (Sasquatch) do have human in them.  There is human sequence interspersed in their genome."

All told, the DNA Diagnostics team were able to compile 'three whole genome sequences from three different individuals'.  The results appear to have shocked Dr Ketchum too.  She further explained, "That was the first time that I saw something which gave some unusual results."]

It should be noted that Ketchum was the person that Josh Gates of "Destination: Truth" went to with his YETI evidence. It may be that the DNA from Nepal matched that found in the U.S.! It is theorized that Sasquatch came from Asia to North America across the land bridge once above the Bering Strait. 

Physical evidence of Gigantopithecus, an extinct genus of ape that existed from roughly nine million years to as recently as one hundred thousand years ago, in what is now China, India, and Vietnam, placing Gigantopithecus in the same time frame and geographical location as several hominin species. Gigantopithecus blacki were the largest apes that ever lived, standing up to 3 m (9.8 ft), and weighing up to 540 kg (1,200 lb). These dimensions match up with many of the Bigfoot sightings. The average height of of Bigfoot in eye witness reports is just under 8 feet. 

  

There are still hoaxers out there releasing bogus videos on youtube. Who can forget the Sasquatch costume stuffed into a cooler? It's unfortunate that hoaxers make it hard for serious cryptozoologists to gain credibility. But I hope to capture real video this summer as I travel north in Wisconsin to conduct my search. 

TIPS IN YOUR SEARCH: If you are OUT THERE looking for Sasquatch, please remember to respect its existence. We don't need a body to prove bigfoots exist. Cast footprints, take lots of video and photos, check for hair evidence, and be aware of the other KNOWN animals that live there, i.e. snakes, bear, wolves, and coyotes, etc.