Back in the Office

Hey spotters,

I've been out of town for a few days, so sorry for the lapse in reporting (I was attending San Diego Comic Con--I've got some cool pics to share soon).

For now, here's a few monster headlines from while I was out:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/dead-monster-washes-ashore

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.2408905.0.yeti_hairs_examined.php

Bigfoot Theory

Bigfoot sightings often coincide with reports of UFOs, and many paranormal researchers have suggested a possible connection. Here's an interesting article about the sasquatch/alien connection.

"I Was a Teenage Chupacabra"

Oh man, have I got a perfect story for your Friday morning ('cause I know the first thing everyone does when they get to work is check my Monster Spottin' blog).


Anyway check out this story from a paranormal reporter who encountered some wild characters, particularly one from a guy who told a very detailed story about being an alien hybrid.

Monsters, monsters everywhere...

It's no surprise that people in WA love their Bigfoot, but this article about Sasquatch chalk art prooves it.

Here's further proof that Oklahoma loves them some Bigfoot too. (Yes, yes, Oklahoma... I know... I should have said more about you in the book... there, I admit it.)

And in San Jose, CA a Private Investigator is on the case...

Finally, here's a story about a chupacabra... in Michigan?

Videos

Hi spotters,

After watching that crazy trailer for Zombie Haiku, I thought I'd re-post the videos I created last year for Monster Spotter's Guide.

Here's one about a taxidermied monster head that my sister and brother-in-law came across when they were vacationing in Kentucky. The video was meant to be funny, but the story is true. They really met a guy who had this thing in his house. We keep talking about going back to check it out... one of these days.

Monday Headlines

Hi Spotters,
I had a very busy weekend... my family has a whole slew of summer birthdays, so it involved a lot of over eating and getting sunburned. Here's some headlines for your monday:

Here's a very scientific blog post about globsters (sea monster carcasses)

Last month there was a notable Sasquatch sighting in British Columbia

An astrophysicist claims to know the secret behind a Phoenix, AZ UFO sighting from 11 years ago... he claims the lights to have been made by secret man-made technology and plans to tell his story this weekend. Read the article here

Friday Headlines

Holy bat-pants, Bat-Man
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=130394

River monster escapades
http://paranormal.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=paranormal&cdn=newsissues&tm=4&gps=76_62_1020_595&f=22&su=p504.1.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.medwaymessenger.co.uk/news/default.asp%3Farticle_id%3D44267%26newspage%3D1

Crystal skulls found to be fakes (Indy movie found to be lame)
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=130397

Zombie Haiku

I posted about this book earlier (it's a must-read for fans of zombie movies). Check out this video promo for the book that is up on YouTube. Hilarious... and impressive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd1Ws9QnmZY

White Giraffe

Not exactly a monster, but a legendary creature nonetheless (and one of my favorite animals, btw)... check out this story about an elusive white giraffe in Tanzania.

You CAN Go Home Again

Hope everyone had nice 4th of July weekend. I went to visit my dad and my grandfather who live in Waynesville, NC, which is nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. I always dig getting to visit my dad, who loves telling stories and was one of the motivations for writing my book. He started telling stories about "painter" cats living in the mountains, which is a popular area legend that panthers live in the mountains even though large cats supposedly no longer populate the region.

Phantom felines that appear in places they do not belong or possess some sort of attribute that makes them seem almost supernatural are one of the most enduring and likely real scenarios that fall under the watchful eye of cryptozoologists.

My dad always tells a story about using a can and a leather string coated in bees wax to make panther sounds to frighten his neighbors. As a monster enthusiast you might think I'd be annoyed that he would be responsible for such a hoax, but I mostly think it adds to the legend giving it a very folklorish quality. I've asked my dad, who was a game warden for about 15 years, if he thought large cats might still live in the mountains and he agreed it was possible. Appalachia is full of remote areas where a small population of cats might still be able to evade frequent contact with humans.

It's always good to visit back home.

Here's a couple of headlines from the weekend for you:

A gorilla type creature has been terrorizing the Phillipines

Here's a recent posting about some UFO sightings that occurred in Cuba throughout history

Bigfoot & UFOs... Oh My...

Right after my book came out an Oklahoma reporter grilled me because I didn't write about Bigfoot as an Oklahoma monster, instead covering giant octopii in their lakes (the article is reprinted here in this blog called "Boy In the Machine"). I told him that Bigfoot wasn't exclusive to any state and was pretty much a worldwide phenomenon.

So... um... here's another report of Bigfoot in Oklahoma...

http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/features/local_story_183104454.html

And since Bigfoot and UFOs are such good buddies... here's a UFO story:

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=129628

A Monster Read

If you like zombies you should check out this book: Zombie Haiku by Ryan Mecum

It's a fun as a horror film... pretty twisted, quite cinematic with polaroids of the undead swarming across town, and at times very funny. Like a Romero movie in scope, this book takes you from the early days of a zombie plague to the inevitable grim conclusion-- and does it all in the 5-7-5 haiku syllable structure. Crazy or genius? You be the judge. Either way I bet you'll be entertained.

Making Friends with Authors

One of the fun things about having written a book is that I get to occasionally sign books at book festivals and meet other authors. A couple of months ago I was at a book festival in Lexington, KY and met a very nice young woman named Jennette Fulda who wrote an amazing, funny weightloss memoire titled Half Assed. Check out her blog at http://www.pastaqueen.com/

We are still keeping in touch and she had a recent booksigning in South Bend, Indiana and sent me this photo of my book on display "right by the cash register". (And right beside a couple of Max Brooks books... pretty cool).Very nice of her, don't you think?