our theme for today is "creepy"

okay...

a few weeks ago i professed that, although i had already been cultivating an (un)healthy interest in the weird and unknown, it was doug moench's big book of the unexplained that reinvigorated my interest in all things paranormal/cryptozoological/supernatural. since then i've searched, scanned, and gooogled through countless sites, countless books, and countless obscure magazines to find any and every bit of info on any and all bizarre creatures and strange occurrences. most of the time i'm totally transfixed by stories and personal accounts of such encounters, although there has been occasion where i've been less than impressed by either the tale or the telling. or both.

as far as fun stories and good information go, though, i thought i'd pony up a few of the books and websites where I'VE found some interesting, astounding, and yes even chilling, posts. especially if you're reading them late at night, in the dark, with the wind howling through the eves and a pack of coyotes howling in the back yard. (no, i am not kidding...)

so, for your amusement, enjoyment, and edification, here are a few books/sites that i recommend;


the mothman prophecies by john keel
if you saw the movie, okay. it was fun, kinda creepy, and contains one of the best "jumps" of the past 10, maybe 20 years. but if you really want a scare, you've gotta read this book, the true accounting of what all went down in the west virginia town of point pleasant back in the mid-to late 60's. the movie did what it could to make a story (with some kind of through-line) out of these events, but having them related by an actual journalist makes this more real than a fictionalization could.

the interrupted journey by john g. fuller
actually, i like the 1975 made for tv movie of this much better than the book if only for the incredible performances by james earl jones and estelle parsons. the two play barney and betty hill, the first recorded alien abductees in the ufo incident. this movie terrified me as a kid mostly due to jones' recounting of his encounter with the visitors while under hypnosis. chilling. if you ever get a chance to see this, do yourself a favor. and turn the lights out. (bet you'll have 'em back on before it's over.) oh yeah, and read the book first. the facts are fascinating.

communion by whitley strieber
gave me nightmares. the movie's kinda creepy too. or maybe that's just walken.

and rather than list all the books by loren coleman, the unrivaled king of cryptozoology, i'll just send you over to his site at www.lorencoleman.com. everything you might ever need to know about crazy creatures and weird events is here and cross referenced with just about every other site on the subject. we all bow to the king. i especially recommend his books mothman and other curious encounters and bigfoot: the true story of apes in america.
just for starters.

more on this subject later. i'm sure we'll be talking about mr. coleman more...

remember, send in tales of your own encounters and experiences. it's nice to share.

see ya saturday.
todd

this is entry 13.