Monsters in UFO

The new issue of UFO Magazine includes an interview with me about my latest book, There's Something in the Woods, much of which delves into the controversial world of the British Bigfoot - and particularly so in Britain's Cannock Chase woods.

As I say in the interview:

"Previously, my UFO books have been strictly on UFOs; and my crypto-zoology books have been strictly on unknown animals. But the new book is slightly different. Basically, it chronicles my investigations into a whole range of weird phenomena that I dug into over the course of the last two years – both in the United States and in my home-country of England – and some of them were focused on UFO-related phenomena, and others were on strange creatures. And there were more than a few cases that crossed over into both camps.

"I need to qualify that with a statement first. When I first got involved with both the UFO issue and with crypto-zoology, I took pretty much a black-and-white approach: Bigfoot was a giant ape, and UFOs were nuts-and-bolts spacecraft. And, in some cases, that may be so. But, as witnesses, researchers and investigators of both areas will be fully aware, there are those incidents that are far less easy to reconcile in literal terms of this or that. I’m talking about where you seem to find evidence of both UFO and crypto data in one particular incident: a so-called cross-over case, as I like to call them.

"I’ll be the first to admit that many researchers are very against the idea that it’s anything other than all black-and-white. But there’s clear evidence, time and again, that in places where there is one paranormal mystery present, there is often another, too. And very often, this occurs in areas of dense woods and forests – hence the title of the new book, and the fact that it covers various subjects and things that have manifested in the woods of both America and Britain."

Lecture News

Well, I just got back from giving an illustrated lecture at Baylor University, Waco, Texas on the subject of cryptozoology.

I dug deep into some of the data in my new book, There's Something in the Woods, including (a) information on the British Bigfoot; (b) stories of unusual creatures seen in the vicinity of crop circles; and (c) the crypto mysteries of Texas's Big Thicket.

I also delved into such matters as Mokele mbembe; werewolves; lake-monsters; accounts of still-living pterosaurs; the Chupacabras; and much more of a monstrous nature.

Normally, I lecture to audiences who are already deeply acquainted with the subject matter in hand; however, this was a slight departure, in the sense that those in attendance - approximately 130 in number - were students at the university, many of who had little previous exposure to the world of crypto.

And the result?

I'm pleased to say that it was very positive, with a good variation of questions asked both during the lecture and in the immediate aftermath.

I also detected more than a passing interest in some of the stranger, paranormal-style aspects of cryptozoology - such as those exhibited by the British Bigfoot - which I thought was intriguing.

The British Bigfoot at Waco

Tomorrow I'll be driving to Waco to give a lecture at Baylor University on the British Bigfoot, cryptozoology in general, and my book There's Something in the Woods. I'm looking forward to seeing what the response will be from the students. Doubtless there will be a high degree of controversy and debate - which is always good, however, when it comes to lecturing! On Friday, I'll post my report on how the day went.

The British Bigfoot and the Paranormal

Neil Arnold writes:

"The October 2008 issue (28) of Paranormal Magazine features an excellent set of articles pertaining to bizarre creatures which have been mentioned in Monster! The A-Z Of Zooform Phenomena. The best of these is Nick Redfern's superb article on the possibility of a British Bigfoot, and there's also articles by Janet Bord on paranormal manimals, Editor Richard Holland goes in search of phantom black dogs, and also writes about other animal spirits."

Check it out! You'll find much on the Man-Monkey of Ranton; the Wild-Man of Orford; the man-beasts of England's Cannock Chase woods; the hairy creature of Castle Ring; the Bigfoot of Southern England; and much more...

A New British Bigfoot Report

Once again, Britain's Cannock Chase woods are a veritable hotbed of weirdness.

Yep, after a bit of a lull, here's a newly reported sighting (although the event is said to have occurred last year) of an alleged Bigfoot-like creature in the area.

I've said it before and I will say it again: if these reports aren't hoaxes (and I'm convinced most of them aren't), then the Cannock Chase Bigfoot has to have paranormal origins.

Indeed, having grown up only a couple of miles from the woods, I know the exact area that the witness is talking about very well.

And, there is no way that a 7-to-8-foot tall man-beast can exist on the Cannock Chase (yes, it's of an impressive size and very dense in places, but it's not that big and it's surrounded by towns and villages), avoid detection and also leave behind no evidence of its "den" (or wherever it lives) or its eating habits - which would have to be huge, given the sheer size of the creatures reportedly seen in the woods of the Chase.

Literal ape-men? No. Some sort of phantom of the night? Yes.