photo credit: Josh Lowe | Thrash Magazine

Along with the islands of Hawaii, Rhode Island is the only American state to never officially recorded a Bigfoot sighting. Ever.

Ken DeCosta , founder and director of Rhode Island Society for the Examination of Unusual Phenomena, chalks it up to geography. Non-existant are the dense forests of Pennsylvania or Oregon that seem to breed sightings. If you’re looking for the King of Cryptids in the Biggest Little State in the Union, you might want to get comfortable.

“Catch up on some of your reading,” adds DeCosta.

But past experiences don’t alway portend future results, which is why Ken is excited about a new lead. A story from a middle-aged housewife that could very well break Rhode Island’s streak of futility. DeCosta recalls speaking with the woman, who was reluctant to tell her tale to even her husband for fear she’d look crazy.

In September of 2003, the then 44-year-old mother of two drove up Tower Hill Road when a bipedal, hairy, 6-foot beast walked in front of her car. After locking eyes with the creature and getting a good look at it’s ape-like facial features, the massive beast slammed it’s hands into the hood of her vehicle, leaving a few dents.

So this summer, DeCosta and his gang are going to head out to Tower Hill Road and stake out the scene. It most likely will be fruitless so RISE UP also plans to investigate a few other Tower Hill phenomenon including phantom hitchhikers and an intensely creepy specter of a dead little boy’s bicycle reported by passing motorists.

But maybe, just maybe, that woman was right. And maybe, just maybe, Ken and his team can catch a glimpse.

Hear that Hawaii?

Recordings reportedly capturing the voices of the dead are nothing new, but we couldn’t help but wonder what some of the oddest things ever uttered via EVP were. We contacted Chris Page, the founder of Ohio Researchers of Banded Spirits to find out:

Most Common: TIED between “Help!” (including derivations ‘help me’ and ‘help us’) and “Get out!”

Chris Says: At times they’ve even gotten mixed messages from a single spot that is particularly packed with paranormal activity. For example it happened once while investigating an insane asylum. “There’s going to be more than one spirit running around,” Chris added. He stopped short of speculating that it might have just been one schizophrenic specter.

Whoops From Beyond The Grave: When asking one spirit how it shuffled this mortal coil, Mike’s team was answered with “accident.”

At Least They Used The Magic Word: Two or three ghosts have requested that the paranormal investigators “please check” into the circumstances of their demise.

Sassiest: While recording in an abondoned Victorian home, investigators asked a spirit if they were one of the maids who worked the residence. The response, “Hell No!”

Chris Says: “It was angry, like ‘how dare you!'”

Trust Me, I’m An Expert: During an investigation of a sprawling home built on an indian burial ground, investigators made their way to library where they recorded the words, “you’ll die.”

Chris Says: A family abandoned this house after hauntings (including visions of floating severed heads and being thrown out of bed by unseen forces) reportedly became too intense to ignore. Mike aded it was the scariest single quote they’ve captured.

Dead Language: Again, at the indian burial ground house, while trolling the grounds recorded a voice saying “Tuebor.” After much researching, the team discovered it meant “I will defend” in Latin.

Blue State: The team has recorded spirits mentioning Presidents Clinton and Roosevelt.

Double Talk: Once asked a group of spirits, “Can you see us?” only to receive the answer “Can you see us?”

Child’s Play: Often while the ghost of child is being investigated, researchers will record “mommy.”

Chris Says: Nothing is creepier than the child spirit recordings.

Thanks to Chris and the Ohio Researchers of Banded Spirits for help with this.

King of Pop Michael Jackson may not have opened up his 50-show run in London’s O2 Arena, but the good news is he’s currently appearing in the homes of heart-broken fans nightly. Or at least that’s the word from folks who claim that MJ’s apparition has been ambling into their bedrooms since the icon passed.

Such sightings have been reported on every continent. From Japan to the Philippines, Sweden to Spain, South Africa to Nigeria and Brazil to the US devastated fans are claiming that Michael Jackson has paid them a post-mortem visit.

This according to AllNewsWeb.com. They also alert us to a piece of CNN footage that some people believe is irrefutable proof Jackson’s ghost is haunting Neverland. The spectral vision seemingly passes by the frame at 8:22. You can see a screen grab at right.

In the NBA, they’re called crossovers or ankle breakers. An offensive player moves convincingly enough one way that a defender follows, only to realize he’s been had when the ball handler darts the opposite direction.

Enter the Tentacled Snake: the And 1 Mixtape baller of the Homalaspinae group of colubrids.

As illustrated in this video, TS is known to body fake snakes into fleeing the wrong direction, namely into the predator’s mouth.

Thanks to Weird Things reader Dodd Vickers for the video.

During the course of this holiday weekend packed with alcohol, fire works and alcohol it’s likely you worried about your mortality. Well take heart in the tale of James Leininger, a young boy whose family claims he is the reincarnated soul of a World War II fighter pilot.

Leininger first began spooking his parents with a preternatural understanding of antique military aircraft, followed by gory crayon drawings of aerial battles with Japanese airplanes which gave way to horrific night terrors involving a violent, suffocating death inside a cockpit. Little Jimmy’s parents eventually narrowed down which soldier’s soul was trapped inside their son after the boy mentioned a specific aircraft carrier he was stationed on.

They’ve since “confirmed” their findings with the pilot’s family and war buddies.

Also, you can read about this experience in their NEW BOOK Soul Survivor AVAILABLE NOW at all your finer literary retailers.

Thanks to Weird Things reader John Houdi for the tip on this story.

Titled “This is how you suck face.” From Pharyngula.

Bees decided to derail the ninth inning of a Major League Baseball game at PETCO Park yesterday in San Diego. According the MLB.com, a swarm of over 2000 flew into the stadium from center field, over the seats in left before settling into a jacket which was quickly abandoned by a ball girl.

The game was delayed, a local bee keeper was called and the game was resumed after a 52-minute delay.

Amusingly, MLB.com got comment form the manufacturer of the jacket which apparently served as a fun new hive for the swarm.

“To our knowledge this is the first time that bees have swarmed Majestic on-field MLB apparel,” Majestic said in a statement. “We can only guess that the bees are attracted as Major League players to the warmth and comfort of our performance fabrics.

“However, players and fans should rest assured that our product testing has shown no risk from swarming bees. We regret the inconvenience and Majestic will be providing the affected ballgirl a replacement jacket shortly.”

Good to know.

Find one mutilated animal carcass wrapped in a white sheet and left in a public park, shame on you. Find another? Shame on a Staten Island neighborhood that’s now convinced they’ve been engulfed by evil spirits.

Although authorities are unsure who is responsible for the acts, it hasn’t stopped residents from assuming they’re the results of Santeria or Voodoo rituals. One woman, is even taking matters into her own hands by dousing the spots the carcasses were found with holy water.

“This is not good, doing this,” said Nancy Kelcho of Port Richmond, who was walking her Scottie, Tara Lynn, this morning when a friend pointed out the mutilated animal. “This is evil. I just pray to God to take away the evil spirits.”

Ms. Kelcho, a firm believer in the supernatural, chanted prayers this afternoon as she sprayed holy water on the ground, and at one point gasped, “Evil! Evil! Evil!”

And this isn’t the first time Staten Island has had to deal with occult gangs, according to this SILive.com article, in August 2005, a couple walking their dog discovered six decapitated chickens positioned in a semicircle, their heads placed in a wooden bowl at the center.

photo credit: MaxDug

The life of a truck driver will never be confused for a glamourous one.

Tight deadlines, long hauls and little sleep all make things dicey for the men and women who pilot these freight-toting behemoths across the world’s highways. But in South Africa, it’s even worse. A 2002 report published in the South African Journal of Science found that civil unrest and unkempt truck stops were more prevalent in the historically troubled nation. The industry even has a staggering HIV rate thanks to a reckless promiscuity culture amongst many drivers.

Finally, the government is stepping in to do something about it.

The Letaba municipality in the north of the country will hold a cleansing ceremony aimed at clearing the road of evil spirits that are believed to contribute to the accidents that have claimed many lives in the past five years, this according to local news source Sowetan.

She said the accidents had been going on for some years and it was time that something was done to make sure the carnage stopped.

She said the ceremony, which will include prayers, will be attended by municipal officials, traditional healers, chiefs, pastors, officials from the department of transport and communities from 11 villages.

“The area is quiet at the moment, but the prayer meeting is vital to save lives,” said Kgamedi Seshoka, spokesperson for the Modjadjiskloof police.

You read that, Ghost Road? You’re days of hectoring convoys are over!

We’ve all been there, you’re making a pastrami sandwich on toasted rye when you become enveloped in fear because a Civil War-era general’s spectral remains has come upon you seeking misguided vengeance because you’ve grown similar facial hair to a defected private who sealed the General’s fate when he gave away his position to the enemy in exchange for a bottle of rye.

Then you realize it’s just a mosquito that flew into the bug zapper. Don’t let this happen again!

Thanks to the Ohio Researcher of Banded Spirits who’ve published this handy checklist of tell-tale signs of a real-deal otherworldly infestation so you can know the difference between a genuine haunting and a stress-induced panic attack…

1- Unexplained Noises

2- Doors opening and closing

3- Lights turning on and off

4- Items Disappearing

5- Unexplained Shadows

6- Strange domestic animal behavior

7- Feeling of being watched

8- Psychokinetic phenomena–seeing a door open

9- Feeling of being touched

10- Whispers and Muffled voices

11- Cold or Hot spots–major temperature changes

12- Unexplained smells

13- Objects moving

14- Physical Assault

15- Hand or Foot prints

16- Apparitions

They also list mice, settling house noises, plumbing rattles and odd headlight reflections as natural phenomenon commonly mistaken for proof of the supernatural.

Bart Cutino found big foot.

For a fleeting 2007 moment in Naches, WA he and the one of the legendary wood apes locked eyes. He describes the encounter to The Monterey Herald…

“About 20 to 25 seconds later, it stepped out from behind the tree and dropped on all fours, knees on the ground, arms extended and did this little head rotation in my direction,” Cutino says. “At that point I knew what it was, and it was surreal. It wasn’t scary. I just couldn’t believe it was happening.”

He says the Sasquatch propped itself momentarily onto its right shoulder and inched itself forward, at which point Cutino began snapping his fingers, trying to get the attention of a colleague who was 30 yards away, near a truck containing recording equipment.

Read the rest of the encounter AFTER THE JUMP!

Read the rest of this entry »

Please follow the cues for this YouTube playlist throughout the post.

In the sewers of North Carolina lies a strange creature. Pulsating and wiggling in the first video on this playlist. Could it be of alien origin? CHUD? A metaphor of a chemical society gone too far?

Apparently none of the above. According to the How Stuff Works blog this thing is called Bryozoa. It’s a 350-million year old primitive animal life form comprised of smaller, ickier life forms. Which brings us to video number two, as it happens, down on the Bayou they don’t take to kindly to 350-million year old primitive animal life forms. Watch as a pair of Bryozoa are blown to bits by way of a M1 Springfield 30.06 rifle. And Rage Against The Machine.

But just when things have come to a shocking conclusion, we get the cliff hanger. Those gun nuts got the wrong guy/thing. The inquisitive minds at Deep Sea News consulted an expert on Bryozoa and he claims the sewer video features a pulsating look at Tubifex (video number three, please) a collection of worms that normally are found at the edge of polutted streams. In the NC sewer video, he claims that they’ve gathered around each other and the movements are caused by one worm contracting, which stimulated all the others to move.

Credit to Brian Brushwood and Dodd Vickers for digging through this mess on Twitter last night.

Hello all.

My name is Justin Robert Young. I am the editor at large for this site.

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you Sean McCabe, the only editor this site has ever known will no longer be with us. We are grateful for all of his hard work and dedication, without which we could have never gotten this blog off the ground. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward.

As for the future? It’s bright.

First, I am officially amputating the “at large” from my title and assuming the role of interim editor. Second, you will hopefully see some new contributers to these parts. Third, we hope to be much more interactive with you guys. Email any and all tips, videos, pics or personal stories to JustinRobertYoung@Gmail. Feel free to hit up both the @WeirdThingsCom Twitter or my personal @JustinRYoung account as well. This is a (weird) community after all.

So, yeah, my name is Justin. Pleased to meet you.

This video, filmed by the Greater Central Ohio Paranormal Society, is being touted on the main page of Ghost Videos as evidence of a ghost girl. Are we the only ones who don’t really see…..anything of interest at all?

We were saddened today to find out from Cryptomundo that Chris Davis, the originator of the South Carolina Lizard Man legend was shot to death at his home in a drug related incident.

According to Davis’ reports: on June 29, 1988 he was changing a flat tire at 2 AM on his way home from work, when he was attacked by a seven foot tall, humanoid, bipedal lizard creature. In Davis’ account he was able to start the car and drive away while the lizard man clung to the top, eventually falling off when Davis swerved the car from side to side.

This is how the American crypto-classic Lizard Man was born. The question now is will the story live on without its central character?

Check out this dramatic investigation of St. Peter`s Church in Essex.