Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Monsters of the Deep

You may have seen this video that supposedly shows a 'sea monster' beneath an oil rig.



Well, the mystery has been solved. It is a Deepstaria enigmatica, a type of jellyfish discovered in 1968. View images here.

New Ripper Theory Surfaces (Like A Bloated Corpse Fished From The Thames)

According to an Express UK article, detective Trevor Marriot asserts that there never was any such person as Jack The Ripper. Marriot postulates that a drunken journalist faked the earliest letters and that the rest was filled in with hoaxes, etc.

But as the Anomalist points out, there are a number of holes in this theory:

"This is a bold claim and it's not the first to be made about the identity of the vicious killer who terrorized Victorian London and left behind a trail of five bodies and most likely a lot more that were never accounted for. This new theory, dreamed up by detective Tervor Marriot, proposes that Jack the Ripper never existed at all but was instead dreamed up by a "drunken journalist" who faked the initial letter to the editor. Marriot claims there was a string of unsolved murders in the area that may have been committed by the same person but that the details of the prostitute murders were entirely fabricated. However, this theory has some awfully big holes in it that Marriot seems to ignore entirely, including his belief that Jack wore the clothing of a wealthy gentleman and would never have survived being on the dangerous streets of London at night. His proof? The countless images of Jack the Ripper that pervade the media showing him dressed in a top hat and cape. Nothing in any eyewitness account mentions a man in a cape and in fact, much evidence points to the seemingly obvious fact that a devious, intelligent murderer like the Ripper would think to disguise himself in different clothes! We don't put much stock into this new theory but we also aren't convinced by many of the other theories either, from Patricia Cornewell's ridiculous claims about artist Walter Sickert to the belief that The Ripper was a woman. The truth is that no one will ever solve the mystery behind Jack the Ripper's identity and he will live on in legend, which is probably exactly what he wanted."

Although, I have to say I read Cornwell's treatise on Sickert as the Ripper and I found it compelling. To call it ridiculous is to say that it had no merit whatsoever. Was it airtight? Hardly. But she made some rather intriguing correlations and deductions. Plus, she did what few others have done well: looked at the forensic science.

I agree, though, that we are unlikely to ever know who the Ripper was. Each year the case grows colder and the layers of time build up like a patina to obscure the truth. But a breakthrough may await us still and I think that's part of why the Ripper legends keeps us so fascinated.

Monday, September 9, 2013

A Para-Star Is Born--But At What Cost?

Sure, she got her closeup in the end--but it cost some poor dude his life. I am, of course, referring to the character of Norma Desmond from the film Sunset Boulevard. In a similar manner, all that infighting, backstabbing, and the jealous hoarding of evidence that comprises so much "paradrama" has finally reaped its reward.

CNN recently covered the childish shenanigans that have erupted over the years as disparate paranormal teams have moved away from investigation and into promotion, wherein all roads lead to pitching their pilots to various networks in hopes of becoming the next big paranormal reality stars.

So now, what was once a community embarrassment safely contained within, has become national news that can be looked on in few other ways than as a black eye for the whole of the paranormal investigation world.

Read more at CNN

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Book Looks at Paranormal in America

Two sociologists from Baylor University have spent several years researching and studying the people who support or believe in the paranormal and the result is Paranormal America. The result is an easy to read but highly scholarly work that brings some surprises including the fact that this once outlaw point of view is more common and that instead of supporters being easily identified by fitting into some stereotypical caricature - they are more and more mainstream and frighteningly 'normal'.

Brimming with engaging personal stories and provocative findings, Paranormal America is an entertaining yet authoritative look at a growing segment of American religious culture.


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

TACKY HOLIDAY SWEATERS JUST GOT AWESOME

You know those tacky Christmas sweaters that look like what
you'd get if a holiday threw up all over Bill Cosby? I mean, they even
 have tacky Christmas sweater theme parties! Well, they just got a
bit awesomer. Now you can get sweaters featuring Krampus,
Satan, Aliens, Sasquatch, Wu Tang Clan symbol, and more...