Wide Atlantic Weird

It's a quiet night in the woods by the cabin, and the stars are out. That means it's time for a tale of UFOs - but this one is darker than usual. Released the same year as Whitley Strieber’s influential book Communion, and spawning a TV movie/miniseries that was broadcast just a year before the debut of the X-Files, Intruders (1987) remains a key artefact in the history of the development of UFO lore. In particular, it massively popularised the idea of UFO abductions.

In this episode, Cian focuses on the 1992 TV miniseries (recommended, by the way) to learn how the various elements of abduction lore were coming together at this time. Missing time, blinking lights, little grey men, and inter-generational hybrid breeding programmes - it's all here in BUDD HOPKINS' INTRUDERS: HOW ALIEN ABDUCTIONS GOT SO POPULAR.

NOTES:

Zora Neale Hurston from Paranormal Women by Allison Jornlin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQoCULsdiMY

History Now on NVTV

https://www.nvtv.co.uk/shows/history-now-episode-one/

Hookland on Twitter

https://twitter.com/HooklandGuide?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Violet Hour Media

https://twitter.com/violethourmedia

Intruders by Budd Hopkins (1987)

https://www.amazon.com/Intruders-Budd-Hopkins/dp/0345346335

Intruders TV Movie (1992)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ9Wqw6mCJ0

From Other Worlds by Hilary Evans (1998)

https://www.amazon.com/other-worlds-Hilary-Evans/dp/0762101083

UFO Investigation Manual (2013)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UFO-Investigations-Manual-Present-Haynes/dp/085733400X

In 1969, a small group of international monster-hunters came to the wind-swept west of Ireland in response to a spate of recent lake monster sightings. They were a colourful bunch, and included one Ted Holiday, a John Keel-like figure who came to believe that lake monsters were mystical symbols of ancient evil, just as UFOs were symbols of good. Join us for a romp with this monster-hunting expedition in lakes barely big enough to hold a monster, find out the weird biological theories that were tossed around to explain the monsters, and above all, revel in a time when it was believed that SCIENCE would uncover that unlikely beasts still roamed this earth!

Crack a beer and join us at the cabin in the woods to find out what lurks beneath Galway's péist-ridden lakes!

SOURCES:

The RTE video of the 1969 expedition:

https://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/2770-weird-and-wonderful/682212-hunting-for-monsters-in-connemara/

The Somali Elephant Shrew

https://www.sciencealert.com/long-lost-elephant-shrew-has-been-rediscovered-in-africa

Sharon Hill on Supernatural Creep, Skeptical Enquirer

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/supernatural-creep-the-slippery-slope-to-unfalsifiability/

World Famous UFOs, Colin Wilson

https://www.amazon.com/Ufos-World-Famous-Colin-Wilson/dp/0752517856

Review of Ted Holiday's Goblin Universe by Nocturnal Revelries

https://nocturnalrevelries.com/2020/04/12/the-goblin-universe-ted-holiday/

Mystery Animals of Ireland by Dick Raynor

http://www.dickraynor.co.uk/irelandindex.htm

Strange But True by Colin Wilson

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6883039-strange-but-true

Irish Lake Monsters by BCSCC

https://www.bcscc.ca/blog/?p=52

The Legendary Iris Peiste by Malintra Shadowmoon

https://www.deviantart.com/malintra-shadowmoon/art/The-Legendary-Irish-Peiste-319046775

Mothman has been done. A lot. So here at the cabin in the woods, we said we wouldn't cover this weirdest of all cryptid creatures unless we had a personal take on it. So in this episode, we investigate extra elements associated with the Mothman mythos. In 1966 and 1967, the West Virginia town of Point Pleasant endured a 13-month period of seeming invasion by MIBs, UFOs, and a winged bird-like creature known as the Mothman. Writer John Keel immortalised this period in his 1975 book the Mothman Prophecies.

That much is known by most fans of the strange. So here we investigate:

-witness Linda Scarberry's love for a visiting Swedish UFO researcher

-an earlier British Mothman story from 1963

-how genuine was Keel about all this anyway?

-who were the Ultraterrestrials?

-the 2017 Chicago Mothman flap

-original newspaper reports of the Scarberry sighting

-the lasting legacy of the Prophecies within paranormal culture

NOTES:

The Saucer Life Podcast

https://saucerlife.com/

American Lore Theatre Charlotte Ahlin Interview

https://www.americanloretheater.com/post/design-a-stunning-blog

AP Magazine Interview With Hakan Blomqvist

http://www.apmagazine.info/index.php?id=852&option=com_content&view=article

Loren Coleman's Article on Cryptozoonews

http://www.cryptozoonews.com/mothman18/

The Mothman Prophecies by John A Keel

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/cienciareal/mothman_prophecies/mothman.htm

In Research Of Podcast (Blake Smith & Jeb Card)

https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/in-research-of-william-blake-smith-q8IyYbhNXOj/

Flying Saucer Review March-April 1964 (Saltwood Mystery Article)

http://www.noufors.com/Documents/Books,%20Manuals%20and%20Published%20Papers/Specialty%20UFO%20Publications/Flying%20Saucer%20Review/FSR,1964,Mar-Apr,V%2010,N%202.pdf

Allison Jornlin at the Hythe Kent Mothman Sighting Location

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_llCmVF6ipM&t=221s

Article from Point Pleasant Register, Nov 16th 1966. From Mothman Wiki

https://themothman.fandom.com/wiki/Couples_See_Man-Sized_Bird...Creature...Something

Marcella Bennett's Sighting from the Mothman Wiki

https://themothman.fandom.com/wiki/Marcella_Bennett%27s_Mothman_Sighting

You're very welcome to the cabin in the woods once again! Usually on Wide Atlantic Weird, we investigate real-life stories of ghosts, monsters and UFOs, taking a critical, almost-academic look at the origins of these tales.  This episode is something a little different, and something very special. Just this once, we’re proudly presenting a short AUDIODRAMA (an audio play) about the birth of the Bigfoot phenomena in California in the 1950s, and the various eccentric characters who first went in search of this beast. This episode, Wide Atlantic Weird presents: DAWN OF THE WILD.

SHOW NOTES

Cast:

Narrator - Jo Hart

Jean Brown - Faye Sewell

Cleve Grounds - Ali Keane

Selwyn Ahern - Cian Gill

Tom Slick - Fionn MacSkool

The Ghost Trail on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyswG_oLkVQV9vQNnpJj1_A

Scuts Link

https://thescuts.bandcamp.com/

Owen Schinkel

https://slidingdutchman.com/

Kylie Anderson

https://kyliekaymusic.com/index.html

Loon Sound by NicStage

https://freesound.org/people/nicStage/sounds/432603/

Cricket Sound by InspectorJ

https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/sounds/352514/

Bell Sound by InspectorJ

https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/sounds/415510/

Wilhelm Bigfoot Scream by Wilhelm_Screaming 

https://freesound.org/people/wilhelm_screaming/sounds/213383/

Growl Sound by JosephPharoah99 

https://freesound.org/people/josepharaoh99/sounds/366837/

Night Forest Sound by LionRoar0905 

https://freesound.org/people/lionROAR0905/sounds/518310/

Camera Click Sound by Bratok999 

https://freesound.org/people/Bratok999/sounds/173564/

Camera Flash Sound by sjturia

https://freesound.org/people/sjturia/sounds/370892/

Horror Suspense Drone by Hybrid_V

https://freesound.org/people/Hybrid_V/sounds/320830/

Town Hall Sound by KentDavies959

https://freesound.org/people/kentdavies959/sounds/466663/

Cian cracks a can of Native IPA at the cabin in the woods to investigate a classic American haunting from Georgia, USA. The Walsingham Ghosts case has a spectacular series of dramatic elements: poltergeists break the neck of a dog, manifest invisibly in front of a mirror, drip blood onto a dinner party, and manifest as a horrifying blue floating human head! Follow the investigation as Cian traces this story from London spiritualists to expat ghost-hunters in HORRIFIC HAUNTINGS: IN SEARCH OF THE WALSINGHAM GHOSTS.

Swan River Press:

http://www.swanriverpress.ie/

Monsterfuzz Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/monster-fuzz/id1512013782

The Ghost Trail on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyswG_oLkVQV9vQNnpJj1_A

Horror Ambience Sound by Klankbeeld

https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/133100/

Usborne Haunted Houses, Maple & Myring, 1979

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunted-Houses-Spectres-Usborne-pocketbooks/dp/086020247X

My (Now Corrected) Article About The Walsingham Ghosts

http://ciangill2.blogspot.com/2010/05/potboiler-origins-walsingham-ghosts-and.html

True Ghost Stories (1915) by Hereward Carrington

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44625/44625-h/44625-h.htm

San Francisco Examiner, 29 Nov 1891

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37328919/the-san-francisco-examiner/

Brooklyn Eagle, 05 Dec 1891

https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/37328598/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/

In 1921, an Anglo-Irish explorer leading a reconnaissance expedition on Mount Everest reported seeing strange footprints on the slopes of that mighty peak. Newspapers around the world went into a frenzy, speculating on the existence of a race of strange creatures in the high snowy peaks of the Himalayas. It was to be the beginning of the West's fascination with the Yeti. At the cabin in the woods, Cian uses this story to delve into the fascinating worlds of 1920s Everest expeditions, 1950s cryptozoology, the liminal world of the Anglo-Irish, colonial era-spy adventures in remote locations, and the tale of the only Asian bear ever to live in Mullingar. Pour yourself a whiskey for this episode: HOWARD-BURY'S FOOTPRINTS: THE DISCOVERY OF THE YETI.

SOURCES:

Anomalies by Garth Haslam

http://anomalyinfo.com/Stories/1921-colonel-howard-burys-sighting

Howard-Bury Article by Jason McKevitt

https://mullingarhistory.wordpress.com/2020/04/04/lt-col-charles-howard-bury-the-great-adventurer-of-belvedere-house/

Yeti: An Abominable History by Graham Hoyland

https://geographical.co.uk/reviews/books/item/2841-yeti

Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance by Charles Howard-Bury

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39421/39421-h/39421-h.htm

Abominable Snowman: Legend Come To Life by Ivan T Sanderson, 1961

https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/abominable-snowmen-legend-life/author/ivan-sanderson/

Cian takes another trip into the realms of folklore. A stray Reddit tale introduces our host to the Native American legends of disembodied voices that mimic humans to trick and trap travellers in the wild. Always a fan of campfire lore, Cian investigates this idea as it turns up in contemporary legends, the original mythology of native peoples, and how folks have used the idea of malevolent forest spirits in classic fiction. And as some traits cross over with Irish mythology, Cian invites Mr Andrew Byrne to talk about similar legends from the old sod. One again, there'll be history, mystery, mythology and even some Tolkien as we trace the history and origins of this idea.

Join us for a beer at the Cabin In The Woods. There's a campfire burning, and we're ready to tell stories in this episode: FOR FEAR OF LITTLE MEN: VOICES IN THE WOODS.

Up the airy mountain

Down the rushy glen

We daren't go a hunting

For fear of little men

(William Allington)

From NWHikers

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7968453

From the BFRO

http://www.bfro.net/legends/penutian.htm

In the summer of 1985, a strange phenomenon broke out all over Ireland. Statues of the Virgin Mary were seen to move, hover and speak. Whether this was an example of mass hysteria or a manifestation of the country's discomfort with modernization, it's a story that straddles the worlds of the religious and the Fortean. Join Cian for a beer at the cabin in the woods as he dusts off a classic episode on this topic!

It sometimes seems the human need to believe in unspoiled wildernesses full of large, overlooked creatures knows no bounds! And it feels like there's hardly an 'impossible' animal that doesn't have some folkloric core of supposed 'real life' sightings. And so it is with the woolly mammoth. At the cabin in the woods, Cian nurses a beer and investigates an almost-forgotten tale: the legend of the living mammoth of Siberia. This case is going to take a deep trek into the musty wilderness of the cabin's library: childhood monsters books, 1950s cryptozoology tomes and of course, 19th century hoax newspaper stories. It's a fine example of how myth and reality blend over the years to create a legend. This episode: TALES OF LIVING MAMMOTHS: KIND OF A BIG DEAL.

Mammoth Video from 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWlq4OtmEFo

Encyclopedia Of Cryptozoology

https://cryptidarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Woolly_mammoth

On The Track Of Unknown Animals, Bernard Heuvelmans, 1955

https://books.google.ie/books/about/On_the_Track_of_Unknown_Animals.html?id=AIwpAQAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

The Most Mysterious Places On Earth, Nick Redfern, 2013

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-most-mysterious-places-on-earth-1

National Geographic Article on McClure's The Killing Of The Mammoth

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2012/02/08/shooting-the-last-mammoth/