Weekly News Round-up 7/2/12

A blogger on NJ.com posted an article claiming that shows about the paranormal are dangerous to the viewers, because they tend to ignore the science. The article is here. What do you think?

Another strange creature has washed up in New York. You can see pictures of it here.

There's been another big cat sighting in England. You can read about it here.

Weekly News Round-up 5/9/12

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Some people now believe that some lake monster sightings can actually be blamed on large sleeper sharks. The full article is here.  Sounds like a plausible theory to me-what do you think?

A small, fox-like mystery creature is being spotted in the UK. Read about it here.

AllNewsWeb posted a video of a strange round object in a remote wooded area  that some are claiming may be a UFO. You can see it here.

This week in paranormal news...

I came across this video of some weird activity in Blockbuster. Do you think it's real?





STV posted an article about the paranormal calls received by the local police in Tayside. You can read it here.


A photo of a strange looking creature in Rochester was posted on DemocratandChronicle.com. a $7 dollar reward is being offered for its capture.

Creature Feature: The Ohio Grassman

                                     
                       

The are a lot of primate-like cryptids described in the stories and legends of the world. North American is especially fond of these creatures with unique variations in the Pacific area, Florida, and the Midwest. For now I’m going to focus on one local to me, the Ohio Grassman.

The Ohio Grassman is basically some sort of unknown ape. It’s thought to be 4-8 feet in height and is usually described as having a red or brown tint to its fur. It’s been spotted throughout various locations in Ohio but the largest concentration of sightings are from the northern part of the state. Sightings have occured in urban areas, fields, and woodland locations.

 

There are a couple of traits the Ohio Grassman exhibits that are not usually described with other ape-like cryptids. The first thing unique to the Ohio Grassman is the ability to build living structures. Several large nest-like structures have been found that people claim belong to these animals. The nests are mostly built out of vegetation and tree branches. The other thing unusual about the Ohio Grassman is that it’s been seen traveling in groups. People who believe in this creature claim it lives in small family groups which migrate in order to find food and resources.



Could this be an Ohio Grassman structure?



Of course, if these animals are really travelling in numbers, it seems strange that real evidence of their existence hasn’t been made available. But maybe there are a small number of these guys hanging around. For now I’m going to just keep my eyes (and ears) open.

Do you think the Ohio Grassman could be a real creature? What about the other ape-like cryptids in the US and the world?

Creature Feature: The Banshee

To continue celebrating St. Patrick’s day, I thought I would talk about another Irish creature, the banshee.

The Banshee is a female Irish spirit with the ability to foresee death or appear at the death of someone important. The banshee legend also exists in parts of Scotland as well. In the Irish legend she is actually only tied to five specific families- the O’Neills, the O’Conners, the O’Briens, the O’Grady’s and the Kavanaghs.

Banshee’s can take on many different forms including old women, young maidens, crows, weasels or other wild animals. In female form she is usually thought to wear a black, white or grey cloak and have fair colored hair.

The most memorable part of the legend is the banshee’s cry, which is supposed to sound like the cross between a woman’s wailing and an owl. Banshee’s are not thought to travel long distances but will mourn a death of someone even living a great distance away. Some legends also say that the banshee carries a silver comb which she will often leave on the ground to entrap anyone who tries to pick it up.

It’s easy to see how people could hear strange cries at night and attribute them to something supernatural or see a bird or other animal before someone died and think it to be a banshee in disguise. There haven’t been any recent banshee sightings in years making this legend one that may just fade into history books and legends.

http://www.irelandseye.com/animation/explorer/banshee.html

http://merganser.math.gvsu.edu/myth/banshee.html

Creature Feature: The Mongolian Death Worm

In the southern part of the Gobi desert, a monstrous worm is thought to live under the sand by many of the locals. It’s become the subject of many stories mostly because it sounds like something strait out of a science fiction novel.

The Mongolian Death Worm is thought to be 2-10 feet in length. It hibernates in the sand most of the year but emerges to feed on various local plants. The Mongolians say that it has strange projections on both ends, is a dark red color and has the ability to spew poisonous acid and deliver a deadly electric shock when threatened. Touching the Mongolian Death Worm means instant death because of its high level of toxicity.

While many people have gone looking for it, no one has come back with any evidence that it actually exists. Most of the Mongolian stories are based on legends and folklore passed down from previous generations. Of course, the desert is very large and there’s always the possibility that an undiscovered creature like this could be living away from the eye of humans. Real or legend, this is one monster I hope I never cross paths with.

Clark, Jerome and Coleman, Loren. Cryptozoology A-Z. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Pages 186-187