James  

.http://www.pf-pc.ca

It has since been identified as a Skate fish (it's a bottom dwelling ocean fish) with it's wings folded to the side. It's interesting to note that they don't have any bones!

But as a side note, that part of Russia, has a high rate of UFO sightings!

Personally, I would never eat an alien... not only would it be unethical to eat an intelligent being, but there is no guarantee that they are not poisonous to us (they may or may not be carbon based life forms)

Village residents from the Rostov region of Russia caught a weird creature  two weeks ago after a strong storm in the Sea of Azov. The shark-looking creature was producing strange squeaky sounds. The fishermen originally believed that they had caught an alien and decided to film the monster with the help of a cell phone camera. The footage clearly shows the creatures’ head, body and long tail. The bizarre catch was weighing almost 100 kilograms, the Komsomolskaya Pravda reports.

However, ufologists and scientists were greatly disappointed when they found out that the fishermen had eaten the monster. They said that they were not scared of the creature so they decided to use it as food. One of the men said that it was the most delicious dish he had ever eaten.

Chairman of the Anomalous Phenomena Service, Andrei Gorodovoi, stated that the creature, which he could see on the short video, was an anomalous being. However, it could hardly be described as an extraterrestrial form of life, he added. Gorodovoi rejected the version about mermaids too. “There are many legends about mermaids living in the Sea of Azov. Nevertheless, specialists of the Service for Anomalous Phenomena have never confirmed those fairytales. On the other hand, we do not deny the possibility of other forms of life in the Sea of Azov,” the ufologist sad.

A spokesman for the Rostov-based zoo, Alexander Lipkovich, contacted local ichthyologists and asked their opinion about the Azov alien. “They said that the fish bears resemblance to a sturgeon. It was an extremely interesting individual. I have never seen anything like this before in my whole life,” the specialist said.

 

Green bomber worm

a giant pitcher plant that captures mice and rats

a type of slug called the "Aiteng Ater" that dines on insects

a frog with emerald bones

another frog with green blood

a minnow with fangs (hense the name: Dracula minnow)

Unfortunatly, they are mostly (if not all) very small.  Larger ones are rarer to find.

Cetainly does make one think though.

Bad news Julie, is that you need to get a government grant & permission (not only with the Canadian government but various countries where you will be needing permission to enter and excavate) , plus hold a PhD in archeology (or work under an archeological team and they will  only accept students in the archeology field at the very least)), plus realizing that what ever you will find, automatically belongs to what ever government owns the land.

I had an opportunity back in cegept to go on an excavation dig over in Egypt along the coast line that my professor has been working on for a number of years. as a student, it would have cost me $5,000.00 and that didn't include  finding a place to stay for the few months I would be there. So he told me everything about it. it's not easy to get permission to start digging & looking for lost relics.

Most accounts of the Jersey Devil legend attribute the creature to a "Mother Leeds", a supposed witch, although the tale has many variations. According to one version, she invoked the devil while giving birth to her 13th child, and when the baby was born, it either immediately or soon afterwards transformed into a devil like creature and flew off into the surrounding pines

According to legend, while visiting the Hanover Mill Works to inspect his cannonballs being forged, Commodore Stephen Decaturr sighted a flying creature flapping its wings and fired a cannonball directly upon it to no effect. Joseph Bonaparte, eldest brother of Emperor Napoleon, is also said to have witnessed the Jersey Devil while hunting on his Bordentown, New Jersey estate around 1820. Throughout the 1800s, the Jersey Devil was blamed for livestock killings, strange tracks, and reported sounds. In the early 1900s, a number of people in New Jersey and neighboring states claimed to witness the Jersey Devil or see its tracks. Claims of a corpse matching the Jersey Devil's description arose in 1957. In 1960, the merchants around Camden offered a $10,000 reward for the capture of the Jersey Devil, even offering to build a private zoo to house the creature if captured.

TORONTO — A First Nations community in northern Ontario may be giving Loch Ness a run for its money.

Reports from the remote community a few hundred kilometres south of Hudson Bay say a strange creature was pulled from a local creek earlier this month — a creature some are calling a monster.

Photos of the furry, bald-faced creature were posted on the official website of the Big Trout Lake  community and have since caused a flurry of speculation on the Internet.

According to the website, two local nurses were hiking near the creek when they noticed their dog Sam sniffing something in the water.

The dog pulled the 30-centimetre-long dead creature from the water and the two women snapped some photos of it.

Its strange appearance has led to speculation it may be the mythical Ogopogo, the Chupacabra or some other marine monster, like the Loch Ness Monster. Others have pointed out it could be a water-logged bear cub or otter.

from the Ottawa Sun: http://www.ottawasun.com/news/canada/2010/05/21/14032846.html

Image found here from The Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/big-trout-lake-monster-sparks-internet-speculation/article1576748/

my opinion: looks like to me a drowned otter, with it's facial fur fallen off from early decomposition.

The stones we see today represent Stonehenge in ruin. Many of the original stones have fallen or been removed by previous generations for home construction or road repair. There has been serious damage to some of the smaller bluestones resulting from close visitor contact (prohibited since 1978) and the prehistoric carvings on the larger sarsen stones show signs of significant wear.

Construction of the Henge
In its day, the construction of Stonehenge was an impressive engineering feat, requiring commitment, time and vast amounts of manual labor. In its first phase, Stonehenge was a large earthwork; a bank and ditch arrangement called a henge, constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. It is believed that the ditch was dug with tools made from the antlers of red deer and, possibly, wood. The underlying chalk was loosened with picks and shoveled with the shoulderblades of cattle. It was then loaded into baskets and carried away. Modern experiments have shown that these tools were more than equal to the great task of earth digging and moving.

The Bluestones
About 2,000 BC, the first stone circle (which is now the inner circle), comprised of small bluestones, was set up, but abandoned before completion. The stones used in that first circle are believed to be from the Prescelly Mountains, located roughly 240 miles away, at the southwestern tip of Wales. The bluestones weigh up to 4 tons each and about 80 stones were used, in all. Given the distance they had to travel, this presented quite a transportation problem.

NEW - More information on the Stonehenge Bluestones! Click Here.

Modern theories speculate that the stones were dragged by roller and sledge from the inland mountains to the headwaters of Milford Haven. There they were loaded onto rafts, barges or boats and sailed along the south coast of Wales, then up the Rivers Avon and Frome to a point near present-day Frome in Somerset. From this point, so the theory goes, the stones were hauled overland, again, to a place near Warminster in Wiltshire, approximately 6 miles away. From there, it's back into the pool for a slow float down the River Wylye to Salisbury, then up the Salisbury Avon to West Amesbury, leaving only a short 2 mile drag from West Amesbury to the Stonehenge site.

Construction of the Outer Ring
The giant sarsen stones (which form the outer circle), weigh as much as 50 tons each. To transport them from the Marlborough Downs, roughly 20 miles to the north, is a problem of even greater magnitude than that of moving the bluestones. Most of the way, the going is relatively easy, but at the steepest part of the route, at Redhorn Hill, modern work studies estimate that at least 600 men would have been needed just to get each stone past this obstacle.

Once on site, a sarsen stone was prepared to accommodate stone lintels along its top surface. It was then dragged until the end was over the opening of the hole. Great levers were inserted under the stone and it was raised until gravity made it slide into the hole. At this point, the stone stood on about a 30° angle from the ground. Ropes were attached to the top and teams of men pulled from the other side to raise it into the full upright position. It was secured by filling the hole at its base with small, round packing stones. At this point, the lintels were lowered into place and secured vertically by mortice and tenon joints and horizontally by tongue and groove joints. Stonehenge was probably finally completed around 1500 BC.

Who Built Stonehenge?
The question of who built Stonehenge is largely unanswered, even today. The monument's construction has been attributed to many ancient peoples throughout the years, but the most captivating and enduring attribution has been to the Druids. This erroneous connection was first made around 3 centuries ago by the antiquary, John Aubrey. Julius Caesar and other Roman writers told of a Celtic priesthood who flourished around the time of their first conquest (55 BC). By this time, though, the stones had been standing for 2,000 years, and were, perhaps, already in a ruined condition. Besides, the Druids worshipped in forest temples and had no need for stone structures.

The best guess seems to be that the Stonehenge site was begun by the people of the late Neolithic period (around 3000 BC) and carried forward by people from a new economy which was arising at this time. These "new" people, called Beaker Folk because of their use of pottery drinking vessels, began to use metal implements and to live in a more communal fashion than their ancestors. Some think that they may have been immigrants from the continent, but that contention is not supported by archaeological evidence. It is likely that they were indigenous people doing the same old things in new ways.

As Legend Has It
The legend of King Arthur provides another story of the construction of Stonehenge. It is told by the twelfth century writer, Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his History of the Kings of Britain that Merlin brought the stones to the Salisbury Plain from Ireland. Sometime in the fifth century, there had been a massacre of 300 British noblemen by the treacherous Saxon leader, Hengest. Geoffrey tells us that the high king, Aurelius Ambrosius, wanted to create a fitting memorial to the slain men. Merlin suggested an expedition to Ireland for the purpose of transplanting the Giant's Ring stone circle to Britain. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the stones of the Giant's Ring were originally brought from Africa to Ireland by giants (who else but giants could handle the job?). The stones were located on "Mount Killaraus" and were used as a site for performing rituals and for healing. Led by King Uther and Merlin, the expedition arrived at the spot in Ireland. The Britons, none of whom were giants, apparently, were unsuccessful in their attempts to move the great stones. At this point, Merlin realized that only his magic arts would turn the trick. So, they were dismantled and shipped back to Britain where they were set up (see illus. at right) as they had been before, in a great circle, around the mass grave of the murdered noblemen. The story goes on to tell that Aurelius, Uther and Arthur's successor, Constantine were also buried there in their time*.

Present Day Stonehenge
Situated in a vast plain, surrounded by hundreds of round barrows, or burial mounds, the Stonehenge site is truly impressive, and all the more so, the closer you approach. It is a place where much human effort was expended for a purpose we can only guess at. Some people see it as a place steeped in magic and mystery, some as a place where their imaginations of the past can be fired and others hold it to be a sacred place. But whatever viewpoint is brought to it and whatever its original purpose was, it should be treated as the ancients treated it, as a place of honor .

The modern age has not been altogether kind to Stonehenge, despite the lip service it pays to the preservation of heritage sites. There is a major highway running no more than 100 yards away from the stones, and a commercial circus has sprung up around it, complete with parking lots, gift shops and ice cream stands. The organization, English Heritage, is committed to righting these wrongs, and in the coming years, we may get to see Stonehenge in the setting for which it was originally created. Despite all its dilapidation and the encroachment of the modern world, Stonehenge, today, is an awe-inspiring sight, and no travel itinerary around Britain should omit it.

Why is it that modern society is so interested in the concept of building a time machine, therefore allowing an overlap of past, present, and future?

One answer could be our need to escape the rapid pace of modern time. To see how a reaction to social conceptions of time could place within the realm of mythology, we must look at the changing interpretations of time through history, and their representation in religion and story.

GREAT TIME

Greek mythology describes an eternal, heavenly home for their immortal gods. Chronos was their god of time. Like the Greeks, other ancient cultures (such as the Maya, aboriginal Australian, and Egyptian peoples) believed and wrote about a cosmic, eternal time where their gods resided. You may be thinking that religions today, take Christianity for example, still have a separate, heavenly time. However, there is a difference.

Eastern religious beliefs deserve special mention, not only because are they still practiced, but also because they are beginning to have attraction and influence on certain circles of the Western culture. The concept of "great time" receives even more emphasis due to the massive scale of their historical mindset. Unlike the individualist ideology to which were accustomed today, these believers are individually insignificant next to the lives they had been and would become. This can be demonstrated through the story of a Hindu myth. It is the story of Indra, who is the King of the gods. Indra becomes consumed with pride and vanity, but is put in his place by a small boy who says, "I saw the ants, O Indra, filing in a long parade. Each was once an Indra. Like you, each by virtue of pious deeds once ascended to the rank of a king of the gods. But now, through many rebirths, each has become again an ant. This army is an army of former Indras..." It is interesting to consider the effects this mindset might have -- for example, an emphasis on the continuation of the species rather than on the exceptional status of an individual.

LINEAR TIME

The two primary mythic figures of Christian time are Father Time and Father Christmas. Father Time is most noticeable as a presence in paintings and stories in the 17th century.

He usually holds an hourglass, which can represent his relation to technology and progress, as opposed to earlier time gods (such as Cronos), who hold agricultural tools. Father Christmas, a modern version of St. Nicholas, marks the end of each year, the progression of time. Like past time gods, his presence represents the progression of the years, and makes us think of our mortality. In his book Patriarchs of Time, Samuel Macey points out the interesting combination of this figure of time with the materialistic holiday that Christmas has become. He justly observes that "in an increasingly bourgeois society we recognize that time is money, and that we must value both for our material well-being." In his opinion, this is what time has come to represent.

Linear time is carried out into modern beliefs. However, it differs slightly from Christian time, because it extends before and beyond the human. The image of time has become the marching on of minutes, hours, and days. The mass production of clocks occurred at the same time as the Industrial Revolution in England, between 1660 and 1760. Since then, we have become aware of increasingly smaller and smaller divisions of time. If you want to know the exact time to the second, for example, you can just visit the U.S. Naval Observatory.

TODAY'S TIME

So what does this imply about today? In a media-driven nation, is the myth bound to be more complex? Or is it more marginalized in the search for true information?

J.B. Priestly, the author of Man and Time, states that the myths of today take place within the realm of science fiction. One of the themes most consistently represented in science fiction is that of time travel. Today's myth, then, presents the story of escape from and rebellion against the modern progression of time. This can be beneficial, as it allows a sort of mental return to circular time, in which the individual does not die, but is immortal. It can also be dangerous, if we lose motivation to use the time we have in a beneficial way as we instead search individually for removal from it.

A good place for more information on mythology is Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fables.

The Nemesis Theory stems from the discovery of a crater 10 km in diameter which is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. (Muller 2001)  This period of extinction resulted in the death of 95% of all living creatures. (Yarris 1987) 

Evidence Supporting the Nemesis Theory:

For one to first consider the Nemesis Theory, one must first accept the notion that mass extinctions have occurred periodically. By examining the fossil record of marine fossils, Dave Raup and Jack Sepkoski have gathered data showing the statistical estimation of extinction as shown in the picture on the right. The arrows are plotted every 26 million years and as one can see, they correlate for the most part to the peaks of extinction. The dinosaur icon refers to the end of the "Age of Reptiles." This graph displays a periodicity of extinction, essential to the Nemesis Theory. This regularity of extinction has also been shown to exist from data collected from fossil genera of Raup and Sepkoski. (Muller 2001)

Evidence for the Nemesis Theory can also be found with the discovery of high concentrations of iridium which is only found in extraterrestrial objects such as comets. (Morris 2001)  These traces of iridium can be found in samples of limestone at more than 25 sites around the world. They provide a geological history of the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the Tertiary Period, which marks the extinction of the dinosaurs. (Yarris 1987)  Between the limestone of these two periods which is known as the K/T boundary, is found a layer of red clay. When tested, this layer of clay was found to be 600 times richer in iridium than that of the surrounding limestone layers. It has been shown that the iridium found at the 25 different sites come from the same source. By measuring the concentration of elements that are usually found with iridium such as gold and platinum, it can be determined through a comparison of the ratio of the elements that the iridium is a result from one unifying source such as a comet. (Goldsmith 1985) 

With a further contemplation of the iridium data collected from the limestone, it has been deduced that the presence of iridium was a result of a collision of a comet with a 6 mile diameter, with the earth. (Morris 2001)  An impact of such magnitude, would cause fine dust particles to rise into the stratosphere; blackening the sky and leaving the world in perpetual darkness. (Yarris 1987)  These conditions would create an uninhabitable environment and therefore the extinction of living creatures.  

Another line of evidence not based on terrestrial effects, is found by cosmic ray exposure.  Meteorites created by comets have been shown through cosmic ray exposure to have fallen to earth at approximately during the same time of the last three extinctions.  Cosmic ray exposure is determined by measuring certain types of isotopes, such as Neon 21 in meteorite samples. It is used to discover the time since formation, the meteorite spent orbiting the solar system.  The meteorites that would indicate an impact of a comet would be a high- iron or "H chrondites" which receive their high- iron content from the iron rich cores of asteroid or planets that were blasted by collisions with comets.  A correlation of these "H chrondites" have been found with the occurrences of mass extinctions; giving further evidence of the Nemesis Theory. (Yarris 1987)

With the discovery of paleomagnetism, the reversals of earth's magnetic field another piece of evidence was added to the Nemesis Theory. (Morris 2000)  It was hypothesized that when a comet hit the earth, water near the equator due to extreme temperatures, evaporated and turned into ice and snow on polar caps.  Due to conservation of angular momentum, a redistribution of mass would be a great enough agitation to alter the magnetic field.  These geomagnetic reversals, through the research of Dave Raup to have occurred 296 times and approximately every 30 million years; correlating with the theory of the death star. (Yarris 1987)  

A drop in sea level which would result from a bolide impact would also occur.  This  has been shown to exist at the K/T boundary. (Yarris 1987)

The probability of a companion star also gains support by the fact that more than 50% of stars in a galaxy are in a binary system, which would lead one to conclude that a "death" companion star to the sun to be a probable reality.  

Rival Hypotheses:

Volcanoes were first though of as an explanation for the mass extinctions that have occurred throughout earth's history, however they do not explain the periodicity of extinction periods.  They also do no explain the existence of high concentrations of iridium. (Yarris 1987) 

Meteorites could also account for extinction, yet due to the randomness of their nature, they can not explain the recurring cycles of extinction either. (Goldsmith 1985)

With an acceptance of the bolide impacts originating fro  the Oort cloud, varying sources of gravitational pull that would result in a comet shower also arise.  Molecular dust clouds found in the Milky Way were considered, yet the dust clouds would be too thinly dispersed to cause enough gravitational force.  Another source comes from a hypothesized 10th planet called "Planet X".  This theory however would require an inner disk in the Oort cloud which could not remain stable. (Yarris 1987)  

Arguments Against the Nemesis Theory:

Some argue that the extinction of the dinosaurs would not happen in 1 to 2 years, yet would occur gradually with the decline of species and would use this information as a negation of the Nemesis Theory.  However the Nemesis Theory does not require an immediate extinction of life, for some forms of life could have survived the first the impact and later be killed by another impact that would hit at later time. (Goldsmith 1985)

Others argue that the proposed elliptical orbit of the Nemesis star would not be able to be maintained and that the companion star would have long left our solar system. Yet the developers of the Nemesis theory state that the orbit is not constant with time and that the orbit was once closer to that of the sun.  Objects such as passing stars would have; through their gravitational field, caused the orbit of the Nemesis to become larger and less stable. (Muller 2001)

Also because the Nemesis Theory is not precise; extinctions occurring within a range of 26 to 30 million years, that the theory is invalid. (Muller 2001) However, this apparent problem in the theory can be explained by passing stars which would cause a deviation in the orbit of the death star, resulting in a change of a few million years, without disrupting its orbit. (Goldsmith 1985)

The Search for Nemesis:

The ultimate evidence, supporting the Nemesis Theory, would of course be the actual discovery of the Nemesis star.  It is predicted that the Nemesis is probably a red dwarf star with a magnitude between 7 and 12.  Its size is believed to be a third of the sun's and 1/1000 as bright. (Yarris 1987)  It is thought that the Nemesis star is right under our noses; being able to be seen with a pair of binoculars.  The reason it has not been discovered is that though all stars have been catalogued, only a few of their distances have been measured; making it difficult for scientists to pin point which star could be the Nemesis. (Muller 2001)

The search for the Nemesis in underway at the Leuschner Observatory in Layfette California with an automated telescope.  To determine which star is the Sun's companion star, photographs of 5,000 red stars have been taken along with the measurement of the apparent shift in position determined by a second photograph picture taken 2 to 6 months later.  A little change in position indicate that the stars are far away.  However, stars that are close enough to possibly be the Nemesis will show a significant shift in position. (Muller 2001)   It is guessed that the Nemesis star will be discovered in the Hydra constellation. (Yarris 1987)  

Conclusion:

It has been shown through evidence such as iridium, that comets are the probable cause for the mass extinction that have occurred on Earth.  This information coupled with the evidence for the periodicity of mass extinctions, give validity to the Nemesis Theory which should lead to its greater acceptance.  Hopefully however, future generations of humans will not be around to see the actualization of the theory into law.

The appellation "Abominable Snowman" was not coined until 1921, the same year Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Howard-Bury led the joint Alpine Club and Royal Geographical Society "Everest Reconnaissance Expedition"^[13][14] which he chronicled in Mount Everest The Reconnaissance, 1921.^[15] In the book, Howard-Bury includes an account of crossing the "Lhakpa-la" at 21,000 ft (6,400 m) where he found footprints that he believed "were probably caused by a large 'loping' grey wolf, which in the soft snow formed double tracks rather like a those of a bare-footed man". He adds that his Sherpa guides "at once volunteered that the tracks must be that of "The Wild Man of the Snows", to which they gave the name "metoh-kangmi".^[15] "Metoh" translates as "man-bear" and "Kang-mi" translates as "snowman".^{[3][5][11][16]}

Confusion exists between Howard-Bury's recitation of the term "metoh-kangmi"^[13][15] and the term used in Bill Tilman's book Mount Everest, 1938^[17] where Tilman had used the words "metch", which cannot exist in the Tibetan language,^[18] and "kangmi" when relating the coining of the term "Abominable Snowman".^{[5][11][17][19]} Further evidence of "metch" being a misnomer is provided by Tibetan language authority Professor David Snellgrove from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London (ca. 1956), who dismissed the word "metch" as impossible, because the consonants "t-c-h" cannot be conjoined in the Tibetan language."^[18] Documentation suggests that the term "metch-kangmi" is derived from one source (from the year 1921).^[17] It has been suggested that "metch" is simply a misspelling of "metoh".

The origin of the term "Abominable Snowman" is rather colourful. It began when Mr Henry Newman, a longtime contributor to The Statesman in Kolkata, using the pen name "Kim",^[6] interviewed the porters of the "Everest Reconnaissance expedition" upon their return to Darjeeling.^{[17][20][21][22]} Newman mistranslated the word "metoh" as "filthy" or "dirty", substituting the term "abominable", perhaps out of artistic license.^[23] As author Bill Tilman recounts, "[Newman] wrote long after in a letter to The Times: The whole story seemed such a joyous creation I sent it to one or two newspapers'".^[17]

Misidentification of Himalayan wildlife has been proposed as an explanation for some Yeti sightings, including the Chu-Teh, a Langur monkey^[42] living at lower altitudes, the Tibetan Blue Bear, the Himalayan Brown Bear or Dzu-Teh, also known as the Himalayan Red Bear.^[42] Some have also suggested the Yeti could actually be a human hermit.

One well publicized expedition to Bhutan reported that a hair sample had been obtained that, after DNA analysis by Professor Bryan Sykes, could not be matched to any known animal.^[43] Analysis completed after the media release, however, clearly showed that the samples were from the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) and the Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus).^[44]

In 1986, South Tyrolean mountaineer Reinhold Messner claimed to have a face-to-face encounter with a Yeti. He has since written a book, My Quest for the Yeti, and claims to have actually killed one. According to Messner, the Yeti is actually the endangered Himalayan Brown Bear, Ursus arctos isabellinus, that can walk upright or on all fours.^[45]

In 2003, Japanese mountaineer Makoto Nebuka published the results of his twelve year linguistic study postulating that the word "Yeti" is actually a corruption of the word "meti", a regional dialect term for "bear". Nebuka claims that the ethnic Tibetans fear and worship the bear as a supernatural being.^[46] Nebuka's claims were subject to almost immediate criticism, and he was accused of linguistic carelessness. Dr. Raj Kumar Pandey, who has researched both Yetis and mountain languages, said "it is not enough to blame tales of the mysterious beast of the Himalayas on words that rhyme but mean different things."^[47]

Some^[who?] speculate that these reported creatures could be present-day specimens of the extinct giant ape Gigantopithecus. However, while the Yeti is generally described as bipedal, most scientists believe Gigantopithecus to have been quadrupedal, and so massive that, unless it evolved specifically as a bipedal ape (like Oreopithecus and the hominids), walking upright would have been even more difficult for the now extinct primate than it is for its extant quadrupedal relative, the orangutan.

Good Legend Canwebada.

Good Job!

This story, one of the most popular of all urban legends, asserts that the New York City sewer system is infested with deadly alligators. In the most popular versions, the animals were brought north from Florida by people who wanted to keep them as pets. When the gators started getting too big and violent, they were released into the sewers. This story dates back to the 1930s, when sensationalist newspapers started reporting countless stories of alligators being found in and around New York City, with some even claiming that police were making regular trips underground to hunt the creatures down. Nearly all of these stories are false, and the few that are true almost undoubtedly concern animals that escaped from local zoos, but the sewer alligator story has continued to be passed down through the years, and it still exists today in many different forms.

Is this another myth....or does everyone have an animal inside of them waiting to come out?

Many people also believe that the giving of treats and placing pumpkins on a doorstep was a tribute to the Otherworlders. Several legends have stemmed from Halloween. If you know of any, feel free to comment.

As theories may point to a natural or explainable reason for the mysteries in the Bermuda Triangle, there are other theories that point to phenomena that cannot be easily explained. Many believe that the Bermuda Triangle sits over the spot of the lost city of Atlantis. Another supernatural theory is that UFOs frequent the area over the Bermuda Triangle, and that the victims of these vanishings have been abducted by aliens.

The Bermuda Triangle continues to be a source of intrigue and mystery for many. As most of the vanishings that have taken place here remain unsolved, the mystery widens.

 There are variations of this sexual demonic legend. In Zanzibar, what is known as the "Popo Bawa" generally preys on men and only in their own beds. In the Chilo‚ Province of Chile, a wretched little dwarf, known as El Trauco, woos young naive women and then seduces them. Ịn Hungary, a Liderc is a demonic sexual predator that flies under the cover of darkness and will appear as a wispy apparition or a fiery light.

Any one of the above succubus' can be blamed for unexpected or unwanted pregnancies, especially in unmarried women, though one can imagine this might be a convenient fabrication to get out of unsavory rumors!

Some confuse the incubus with the legendary "Old Hag" syndrome but it is not. The Old Hag episode is usually restricted to a feeling of great pressure on the chest and not a ghostly sexual encounter. Another difference between the incubus/succubus encounter from the Old Hag is that the former is not always unpleasant while the Old Hag is mostly accompanied by a feeling of death, suffocation and just trying to survive.

Because the incubus and succubus are generally experienced during the sleep state or coming in and out of it, experts feel that it is an imaginary experience and not a real one, however, telling this to the person who has just gone through it, they find that hard to believe as it feels as real as intercourse itself. Who can say for certain if these events are real or imagined but until you've experienced yourself it's hard to determine or judge.

The furry man-monster of the North American continent has achieved such legendary status that the term "Bigfoot" is in danger of becoming a generic label applied to any big hairy creature that walks like a man. The following discussion will focus on the "original" Bigfoot, the seven-foot apelike beast sighted in the woods of the Pacific Northwest and in Canada, where it is traditionally known as Sasquatch.

Some Bigfoot hunters believe that the creature's earliest history can be found in ancient Native American legends, particularly in the tales of the Witiko, or Wendigo, a giant spirit-beast from the lore of the Algonkian tribe. Others argue that Bigfoot seems to be a 20th century phenomenon, and any earlier documentation of the creature's existence is tenuous at best. If Bigfoot has indeed been known to Native Americans for ages, it's only in the past hundred years that persons of European descent have begun to report seeing him.

During the 1900s, the Colonist newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, ran several stories about people spotting "monkey-men" in remote wooded areas. In the 1920s, British Columbia schoolteacher J. W. Burns wrote extensively in newspaper and magazine articles about reports of giant hairy creatures. Burns's writings were responsible for popularizing the term "Sasquatch," which he identified as a derivation from the language of the Coast Salish Indians. Sasquatch quickly became known among the general public of western Canada, long before tales of such a creature ever found notoriety in the United States.

Following the publicity surrounding Eric Shipton's 1951 photograph of a Yeti footprint, interest in Sasquatch increased dramatically. John Green, a newspaper publisher in British Columbia, began reporting Sasquatch sightings in 1955. Green initially intended this coverage to be purely a circulation booster for his small newspaper, and some of his reports were completely fake -- such as an April Fool's story about Sasquatch kidnapping a young woman. But over time Green became genuinely captivated by the creature, and his extensive compilation of stories and sightings made him the leading Sasquatch authority of his day.

One Sasquatch spotter Green interviewed was William Roe, a trapper, who claimed to have a close encounter with a female of the species in 1955, while hunting on British Columbia's Mica Mountain.

"The thought came to me that if I shot it I would probably have a specimen of great interest to scientists the world over," Roe said. But he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger on his rifle. "Although I have called the creature 'it,' I felt now that it was a human being, and I knew I would never forgive myself if I killed it," he said.

The publication of Roe's account would later inspire another man to step forward with his own Sasquatch experience, which he said had happened more than thirty years before. Albert Ostman, a 64-year-old retired lumberman from British Columbia, went public in 1957 with a tale he had kept to himself since 1924, for fear of being ridiculed. Ostman's story was the most dramatic report ever in the history of Bigfoot studies: a first-person account of abduction by Sasquatch.

While on a camping trip near Vancouver Island, Ostman found that something had disturbed his supplies and food on two nights in a row. A Native American trail guide had warned him about the presence of local Sasquatches when Ostman set up his camp, and this was the first time Ostman had ever heard of the creatures, but he didn't think they could be the culprits messing with his gear.

Then one night Ostman was shaken awake to find himself being indelicately carried away inside his sleeping bag. The opening of the sleeping bag was held shut, and Ostman had no choice but to be dragged along the forest ground for what he estimated to be 25 miles, nearly suffocating. After what seemed like a three-hour ordeal, he was thrown to the ground in a heap, and emerged to find himself in the company of four Sasquatches. Ostman described them as a family, with a father and a mother and their pair of offspring, one male and one female. He indicated that the adult male, his kidnapper, was over eight feet tall and powerfully built, covered in dark hair all over. The children, though smaller, were still about seven feet tall.

Ostman said the Sasquatches chattered amongst themselves in a seemingly intelligent language, and although they did not hurt or threaten him, they were determined not to let him leave. Their lair was inside a small valley enclosed by cliffs, and the adult male stood guard at the only apparent entry passage. Ostman suggested that he may have been selected as a prospective mate for the young female.

Ostman claimed that he was held captive for a period of six days. In that time he formed a tentative bond with the younger male, who became fond of sampling Ostman's snuff. That gave Ostman an idea. He offered his snuff to the adult male, which impulsively dumped the entire container into his mouth. The tobacco rush incapacitated the big Sasquatch in short order, making him writhe on the ground in overwhelming discomfort. Ostman seized the opportunity to escape, and never told anyone his fantastic tale until three decades later, when it seemed the world might be ready to listen. As unbelievable as his story may seem, many of those who heard Ostman tell it firsthand remarked that his earnest demeanor made it come across as surprisingly convincing.

Ostman's "sleeping-bag snatch" remains the most elaborately detailed account of Bigfoot contact, but as any amateur Cryptozoologist knows, it is far from the most famous sighting of the creature. That honor belongs to 952 frames of 16mm film, shot one fine day in the California woods.

The Patterson Film

Capturing the fleeting sight of a seven-foot apelike creature retreating into the Northern California wilderness, the Patterson Bigfoot film is among the most renowned artifacts in the field of paranormal study. The footage has achieved iconic status even among the public at large, and forms the foundation of many Bigfoot hunters' beliefs.

The controversial reel of film was shot by Roger Patterson, a former rodeo rider who had become deeply fascinated with Bigfoot after reading press reports about the creature in 1957. He wrote and self-published a book in 1966 entitled Do Abominable Snowmen of America Really Exist? Patterson then set out to film a documentary about sightings of Bigfoot.

On October 20, 1967, Patterson and his friend Bob Gimlin were riding on horseback in the wilds of California's Bluff Creek valley, with Patterson carrying a rented 16mm camera to shoot some atmospheric footage for his planned film. He ended up filming a lot more than just scenery. Patterson and Gimlin spotted a huge, dark-furred, bipedal creature hunched over in the middle of a creek. The beast rose to a full height that Patterson estimated at seven feet, four inches, and began walking toward the woods. Thrown to the ground after his horse reared up in fright, Patterson anxiously yanked the movie camera from his saddlebag and began shooting. The day's filming had left him with only 28 feet of film in the camera, but he managed to record the alleged Bigfoot's image briefly before it fled from view.

Patterson and Gimlin discovered that a number of footprints had been left behind, and they preserved them in plaster casts. The tracks were fourteen inches long and five inches wide. But these trophies were almost insignificant in comparison to the prize inside Patterson's camera.

In the ensuing three decades, the 952 frames of Patterson's Bigfoot film have been submitted to all manner of examination and analysis. (The famous "Frame 352" from the film is shown on this page.) The creature has been classified as female, because of its apparent breasts. Theorists have extrapolated descriptions of everything from its psychological bearing to its eating habits on the basis of its behavior in the film. Minutiae of the creature's physiognomy, such as the exact way in which it moves its neck, and its unusual method of distributing its weight as it strided, have led many to conclude that this could not be a man in a suit.

But many others feel certain that Patterson's Bigfoot was a fake. Being established in the "Bigfoot business," Patterson stood to profit from fabricating film footage of the creature. Bigfoot expert John Napier pointed out that the footprint casts were physiologically inconsistent with the height of the creature and the length of its stride as shown in the film. If the creature was a fake, everyone agrees that it was a remarkably skillful one. The only known source of such a high quality of costume and makeup in 1967 was the movie special effects industry, and in fact there is strong evidence that this Bigfoot came from Hollywood.

After lengthy investigations and interviews, journalist Mark Chorivinsky has found that the consensus among the movie-effects industry professionals is that the film depicts a prankster in a skillfully crafted costume. In fact, many state that the falsity of the Patterson film has been common knowledge in the business for years. The makeup artist Chorivinsky found most frequently associated with the Bigfoot film is John Chambers, a legendary elder statesman in the field of monster-making. Chambers is best known as the makeup mastermind behind the Planet of the Apes films. His innovative and highly articulated ape masks won him an Academy Award in 1968. Chambers created monster costumes for dozens of other movies and TV shows, including The Outer Limits and Lost in Space. Chorivinsky reports none of the makeup professionals he spoke with had firsthand knowledge that Chambers had created the Patterson Bigfoot, but a large number of them either felt that it was widely accepted that he was responsible for it, or else reasoned that Chambers was the only artist at the time skillful enough to have crafted such a costume.

Chambers, who currently resides in a Los Angeles nursing home in frail health, has recently told interviewers that he had nothing to do with the Bigfoot seen in Patterson's film. Nevertheless, the circumstantial evidence implicating Chambers's involvement is compelling. The Patterson film was shot in 1967, in the same timeframe that Chambers was working on Planet of the Apes. Chambers often did uncredited work, and would not have been opposed to a project in which his contributions would remain unknown. The Patterson Bigfoot shows evidence of having a water bag under the fur in the stomach area, a trick used to make a gorilla suit move like real flesh. This liquid stomach technique was developed by Charlie Gemora, with whom Chambers had worked at Paramount. Chambers created monster suits for Lost in Space in 1965 and 1966 which look very similar to the creature in the Patterson film, only with a different head. Chambers may have recycled them to fabricate the Patterson Bigfoot.

Perhaps the most striking evidence is the fact that Chambers is known to have participated in another Bigfoot hoax: The Burbank Bigfoot. This was a 7' 4" Bigfoot carcass painstakingly built in Chambers' Burbank garage over a plaster body cast of actor Richard Kiel, best known as the villain Jaws from the James Bond movies. It is unclear who commissioned the Burbank Bigfoot or what became of it, but one account explains that it was created to be part of a traveling sideshow.

In October 1997, upon the thirtieth anniversary of the Patterson film, new reports surfaced to confirm that Chambers had concocted the creature. This time, movie director John Landis stepped forward to verify what he said had been known among Hollywood make-up artists for years. "That famous piece of film of Bigfoot walking in the woods that was touted as the real thing was just a suit made by John Chambers," Landis said. The director said that Chambers had revealed this secret to him when they worked together on Beneath the Planet of the Apes in 1970.

But the case is far from being closed just yet. A number of Bigfoot authorities, notably Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, vehemently refuse to accept the Chambers connection to the film, and insist that the creature might be real. A new study by the North American Science Institute has concluded that Patterson's Bigfoot is genuine, and computer enhancement analysis suggests that the creature's skin and musculature are that of a living animal, not a hairy suit.

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History

Perhaps the ocean is to remain a secret to man, a mystery, to keep us away from the power nature truly has over man. This mystery can serve as a warning and to inspire awe into men's heart, looking at the greatness and power this great Creation.

Other people believe that the Triangle houses the famous lost city of Atlantis. No evidence has been brought forth to prove this theory, but many claim to have seem or "felt the powers" of the lost city.

A brief history, many more stories each day....