We found this Video over at Randi.org. Looks like a bunch of Russians sitting around with their Babushka having a good time, until about five minutes in (the video is half an hour so fast forward) when he takes a set of cups and appears to miraculously break holes in them using only his mind powers and body energy.

Is this man’s show simple trickery or a miracle of a semi-religious nature? I talked to paranormal investigator James Randi about the purported miracle and he believes that this video is a demonstration of clever slight of hand, with possible explanations ranging from spray solvents to compact invisible lasers hidden in the sleeve. What do you think?

Since the dawn of civilization man has been asking the big questions: Why are we here? How did we come to be here? Is there a god? Is Bigfoot an alien?

Chris Noel, Bigfoot enthusiast, author and investigator may not be able to shed much light on the first three, but in an interview with the Tampa Examiner he tackles the big question of Bigfoot’s origins.

-For more great drawings and caricatures by Nick Worthey, check out his website.

Another Ghost Video. This one, taken in a Mexican Museum, has the added bonus of the security guards chatting it up about the improbable feat they’re witnessing.

photo credit: nicely85

Glowing Monkeys: The gift that all of us have always wanted but never dared admit it. Now our collective dream has become a reality. We are Weirdthings are pleased to announce that Japanese scientists have created transgenic glowing monkeys. Check it out.

British reality TV star Jade Goody lost her battle with cancer in March. Now her mother claims that she has been witness to two paranormal visitations from her daughter. Creepy stuff from the UK, find out more about it at Holymoly.com

Image Credit: Alison Smith

For those of you that didn’t check out Der Spiegel’s headlines for today, you might have missed the title of this article:

Man Uses Live Swan to Beat up Victim

We did a double take too. According to Der Spiegel: the assailant, a Mr. Sebastian P., grabbed a passing swan from the bank of the River Munich by the neck and wielded it like a club, repeatedly striking his victim with the feathery armament. His victim, an east German tourist identified as Steven L., was not harmed in the altercation, nor was the winged billy club used in the beating. The assault weapon flew away unharmed.

Now you can write this off as random drunken Germans beating each other with the most convenient hitting implement, or you could take a closer weirdthings look. We believe this was no mere drunken shenanigan.

There is only one ancient order that is trained in the art of hand to swan combat:

Ninjas!

(more…)

An Indonesian Paranormal TV show is touting the above video as the real deal. This ghost video starts off looking like it’s going to be incredibly lame, with a person in a white gown slowly crossing the screen. Then suddenly with no explanation the figure takes to the sky, jumping to a tree before mysteriously exiting via the top edge of the frame. Why the cameraman didn’t follow eagerly with his lens? We don’t know.

Vyacheslav Agapov and Konstantin Chiliskin were unsuccessful, amateur treasure hunters from the Kaluga Region of Russia, who were searching for buried coins with a metal detector in Velino Village. Behind the long standing Velino Church, built in 1772, they struck pay day, or more accurately a jewel studded pot that contained religious icons. On the side of the pot was an engraving that read: ““Property of Velino Church”.

Both men immediately felt uneasy about the previous owner of their big find. After all, ancient Russian armies are one thing, god is in a league unto his own. But Apapov and Chiliskin did not let their apprehensions stop them from calling a friend named Roman, who immediately contacted antique dealer who offered the treasure hunters $20,000 for everything they had, no questions asked.

Moments went by as Roman, Agapov and Chiliskin tried to decide what to do with their loot, then apparently god stepped in to assist in their decision making process. Roman reported hearing a mysterious voice and feeling someone hit him on the back of the shoulder repeatedly. After this incident, the group decided it might be best to return the religious relics to the church.

These clips were taken at a house on Cleveland’s historic Franklin Avenue. Investigate, inspect, let us know.

photo credit: Loren Javier

Something is amiss in Siberia once again. The wild leek crop, that is a staple food of the Shor people of the Siberian tundra, is being gobbled up by an unknown creature. The cryptid takes only leek plants and leaves only numerous, large, mammalian footprints.

This is the same region that Cryptozoologist Igor Burtsev mounted his failed expedition to search for yetis sighted near Azasskaya Cave. Weirdthings reported on that back in March. Fourteen more sightings of a big-foot like creature with reddish brown fur have been reported in the region. Maybe Burtsev should try stuffing his tent with leeks and let the Yetis come to him next time around.

The Mayor of Newtown in the UK has called for a paranormal investigation at her Mayor’s Chambers after she apparently sensed an “otherworldly presence”. A British paranormal team was summoned to her office and found that they agreed with Mayor Sue Lawson’s assessment, read the full article in the County Times.

This video has been making its way around the interwebs in recent days. Looks like someone walking by, then a table moving to us. We’ll keep on searching.

You may have heard that Jennifer Love Hewitt just called it quits with her fiance, actor Ross McCall. But according to James Van Praagh, she could have saved herself a year of her life and horrible heart break if she had only known what he knew. The two work on the show “Ghost Whisperer” together. Apparently using his handy psychic sense to pick up the signals emanating from the ether of the universe Van Praagh was able to pick up and decode a spiritual signal telling him that the celebrity relationship was doomed. Praagh believed that McCall was afraid of the married life, but selfishly, did not tell Hewitt…why you ask? Well according to the Times of India Van Praagh said:

“I did not want to break her heart, knowing it would be broken in a few weeks anyway”

But exactly who is this James Van Praagh character and what are his psychic qualifications? The below video by visual artist Jose Alvarez (Perpetrator of the famous ‘Carlos hoax‘ in Australia is our favorite one about Van Praagh, and we believe that it says it all:

…and Part 2

Elmo doesn’t really love you, in fact, he wants to kill you. Or so found out a Florida two-year old named James when his talking Elmo doll started making death threats. Elmo was behaving well enough, until one day the adorable toddler’s mother changed the batteries and the doll’s language took a Chuckiesque turn. It stated saying “Kill James”. How creeped out would you be, if the doll you had bought for your toddler started ordering his demise?

After the family made a media stink about the incident last year, Fisher-Price, makers of the foul mouthed doll, promised to launch an investigation and replaced the offending, lovable, red mop-head.

-To hear an audio recording of the doll saying “Kill James” click here.

Check out the above video while we lament the state of popular media for ever allowing this to become news. From this incident we can surmise one thing about God: he draws like a five year old given crayons for the very first time. Though to be fair, salami might not be his best medium, toast has been shown to be a much more effective vessels for heavenly images delivered from on high.

We’re also glad to see that Nancy Simoes’ friends put her claim through rigorous analysis before accepting it as a bonafide miracle. As CBS4 reported on Nancy’s Neighbors comments:

“I totally believe her 100 percent,” said one neighbor. “Me too,” said another. For twenty years this South Florida family has fried salami as a breakfast meat. “We ended up all liking it. We just do it. No words come out. No letters. No circles. It’s just fried salami,” said Natasha Batista, who is the daughter of Simoes.

And that’s more than we need to conquer our incredulity. One point of contention, there are entities we know exist that like salami an awful lot. We think if there was anything paranormal going on here, the salami was trying to spell out the word DOG. A possibility apparently lost on Ms. Simoes.

This ghost video has been circling around the internet since 2007. Do you think it’s real “100% proof” of ghosts, or just a bizarre man screaming like a baritone school girl?