Posted in Uncategorized on September 10, 2012| 3 Comments »
Ken Gerhard has a new, as yet unnamed book coming next year on the subject of Mothman, Man Bat and other flying fearsomes. He asked me to create a new illustration for it and said I could post as a sneak preview. For more on the book you must ask Ken. All I know is I want a copy!
Illustration of Man Bat copyright Linda S Godfrey
Posted in Uncategorized on August 29, 2012| 5 Comments »
The recent tragic death of a Montana man killed on a highway as he tried to imitate a Bigfoot reminded me of another hoax effort: the so-called Gable films of Michigan, part one and part two. The costume of choice in both states was a ghillie suit, a stringy, head-to-toe covering hunters often wear for camouflage in the woods.
The Gable films were made by amateur video buff Mike Agrusa as a sort of homage to the cryptid known as the Michigan Dogman. Agrusa added wire coat hanger “ears” as you can see in his intentionally grainy still at left, and was at least smart enough not to step onto a busy highway as he was filmed.
He confessed his part in the ruse on national television in the season four finale of
Mike Agrusa in Ghillie Suit copyright Linda Godfrey
Mike Agrusa in Ghillie Suit copyright Linda Godfrey
History Channel’s Monsterquest . I was part of that show’s interview team and witnessed a re-creation of Agrusa’s performance. The ghillie suit was not convincing in person, and was effective in the video mostly due to the poor quality of the vintage film Agrusa used in order to make everything in the 2007 vid look as if it dated from the 1970s.
The Montana man was not so crafty – – or lucky, may he rest in peace.
I have written many times about hoaxing’s impact on the field of cryptozoology. Although I don’t believe that impact is ever as big as hoaxers would like it to be, staged “encounters” can waste the precious time and resources of investigators, endanger public safety by startling motorists, and as we have seen, may prove very risky for the hoaxer.
One near-death incident I like to cite is that of the Choccolocco Monster, the creation of several teenagers in Alabama in the spring of 1969. Two of the boys provided transportation to and from various highway sites while the third, Neal Williamson, jumped out at cars after donning a cow skull and some type of long garment.
Once word got out that a ” monster” was on the loose in Calhoun County, creature hunters began to cruise the country lanes with rifle-toting passengers literally riding shotgun. After Williamson had been fired upon once or twice he hung up his cow skull for good and waited 32 years to confess it to a local newspaper.
As for the Montana incident, I think the most important statement in the CNN link above is: “But authorities received no calls from drivers thinking they had seen Bigfoot, the station reported.”
The Montana hoaxer gave his life in vain.
Several people have tried to hoax sightings of the Beast of Bray Road over the years, but none that I know of correspond to a credible sighting report. And even if an observer is occasionally fooled, this does nothing to prove that other sightings are invalid.
Let’s hope that this tragedy at least serves one purpose — giving other would-be pranksters great pause.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 25, 2012| 7 Comments »
Track next to hand of Sandra Schwab
My illustration of dogman face, copyrighted 2012 all rights reserved
In 1983 me and 3 other friends were out driving around the Hubertus/Holy Hill Area. I was 18 at the time and The time was late evening around 11:30pm or so, as I drove through the winding wooded road, up ahead in my headlight beam we all saw a wolf walk across the road on 2 legs, after it cleared the road it got down on all fours and ran off into the woods briefly looking back at us. We never reported this because who would believe 4 teenagers joy riding at night, but I did tell my family and a few close friends. I’m still in contact with 2 of people who saw this with me. Now at age 47, I thought I would share my story with you since you have been recording sightings. The main thing that was ingrained was that it walked on 2 legs across the road. I remember saying wolves don’t do that, do they? The girls were scared and told me to start driving to get out of the area. It was summer time or we wouldn’t have been out that late, and the trees had heavy foliage.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bigfoot, cryptid, cryptozoology, kettle moraine, monsters, sasquatch, tree knocks on July 11, 2012| 55 Comments »
The branch
If a tree branch falls in the forest …
Sunday, July 8, 2012, at about 7:30 PM, I decided to take a short hike in a little area of southern Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine area that I’ve walked for about 19 years without incident. While strolling along next to a deep kettle, a huge bowl-shaped depression left by the last glacier, I noticed three young saplings had been bent over by someone or something to form a perfect rainbow-styled arch. I know this sort of formation can happen naturally, but some people believe Bigfoot creates these tree sculptures for various reasons. Anyway, it made me start wondering if this could be a good habitat for a Sasquatch.
That gave me the idea to pick up a stick and bang on a nearby tree a few times, just as a lark. I’ve never been sure about the efficacy of having a crowd of Bigfoot hunters pounding trees en masse, but I think it might not seem so much of a threatening invasion if there are only one or two people hitting a tree – keeping in mind that we still don’t know for sure what such knocks might mean to a ‘Squatch.
I knocked three times. Nothing. I tried several more rounds of three knocks each and then suddenly I heard what sounded like a return knock coming from down in the kettle. I knocked several more times and received responses. While there are homes dotted around this area of the Kettle Moraine, there was absolutely no one else around and the kettle was on private land too overgrown for even diehard hikers. The slopes of many of the kettles are also very steep and quite treacherous for humans to navigate, so I thought it unlikely some jokester was down there.
After a few more knocks I heard the unmistakable sound of something very loud crashing through the underbrush toward me. I couldn’t see anything, however, and the sound then stopped at least 50 feet away from the ridge where I was standing. I probably should have run but I was in denial that it could be anything dangerous and instead I whacked the tree again. I heard another crashing charge toward me. Again – idiotically — I hit the tree. There was a period of silence accompanied by muted scuffling sounds that seem to be getting farther away from me, and then I heard another knock from down in the kettle. I answered and it did too, except this one was accompanied by what sounded like wood tearing. I thought that was strange but I answered anyway and then there were two knocks again accompanied by the sharp sound of splitting wood. I gave my tree two sharp thwacks, reasoning that I was still close enough to the public pathway that I was probably safe, and then it happened.
I heard a deafening crack and watched in disbelief as a huge branch that I later measured to be over 20 feet long and at least 8 inches in diameter seemed to tear itself free from a giant old oak tree rooted in to the bottom of the kettle. The branch was at least 30 feet above the base of the tree but because I stood on a ridge it was directly at my eye level. I could not see anything moving the branch before it fell horizontally and thudded on the forest floor below. One end of the branch was covered with fresh green leaves and there was fresh wood on the tree where the branch of cracked off so I knew this was not a dead or hollow tree ready to shed its limbs. There was almost no wind and it was a blue-sky-white- cloud kind of day with great visibility, about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I could think of no plausible reason for that healthy limb to have cracked off the tree at that moment, and that’s when I realized that only some truly massive force could have done it. That’s also when I dropped the stick and ran.
I wanted to go back before dark to have a look at the tree limb and reassure myself that it really happened but I was not going in there by myself. I called my friend Sandra Schwab, an experienced investigator, and she immediately grabbed her 21-year old daughter, Natalie, and drove to meet me. Although I was still in shock, the three of us plunged in and made our way down to the bottom of the kettle where it was easy to find the torn branch. We were astounded by the size of it and by its obvious freshness. We confirmed it was easily 8 to 10 inches in diameter and over 20 feet long, counting the smaller branches at the end of it. We peered up at the tree and could see a freshly broken spur where the branch had been only a half-hour earlier. It was at least 30 feet above the ground.
The tree split into a fork about halfway between the ground and where the branch had been, but it still looked like a really tough climb even for Bigfoot. But when we walked around behind the tree, we saw a pile of logs and small branches that seemed to have been deliberately collected on the ground to use as a stepping stone to a higher perch where it could’ve sat unobserved to tear the branch away from behind.
You can see the freshly splintered remains of the branch — 30 feet up from the tree base!
As it happened, we found an oval patch of bark that had been rubbed off the branch leaving very fresh wood underneath. It was about the size that I imagine a Bigfoot hand would be based on many witness observations. Moreover, Natalie found the piece of bark that had been rubbed off lying not far from the branch. It was buckled in two places and had shred marks as if something with very strong nails had dug in and applied great force to it. It also stank strongly of musk. Since Natalie had already handled it and there did not appear to be any skin shreds or hair that would be useful for DNA, we each inspected it in turn; I smelled that musk odor on my own hands the rest of the night. We also found bare spots of ground that reeked of musky urine. Whatever the massive force was, it was rank.
The ground was too hard for tracks but we saw various places where the wild ginger and other plants were strangely flattened. And our adventure was not over.
We climbed the ridge behind the tree and looked down into the adjoining kettle. Suddenly, Natalie gasped that she saw it! Sandra and I both turned toward where she was pointing. But it was too late — it was out of our view. Natalie did not see the entire body but said she saw what looked like a tall biped covered in tan fur that was lighter than the numerous deer in this area. She said it was moving quickly but not running and not walking like a human exactly, either. The word she finally settled on was “striding,” in very long strides, as it disappeared into the brush. I should add that Natalie had been a skeptic on the idea of Bigfoot, but is no longer.
We stood there staring and hoping to get a glimpse of it again when we heard a very menacing growl from somewhere in the kettle below us that was like nothing any of us could recall. If only I would have turned my camera on and switched the dial to video I could’ve recorded it, but the sound was over before I could come to my senses and make my move. (If I had been smart, I also would’ve brought my digital audio recorder.) We all felt that the growling was a warning to leave and decided that was the prudent thing to do since it was fast getting dark and we did not want to be lost in those woods with a creature strong enough to tear an 8 inch branch off a live oak tree.
9×4 section of bark found next to tree
We returned the next day to have a better peek at the back of that tree. I was looking for fur tufts or other clues that we might have missed. We didn’t see any but did notice much of the top surface of the branches piled behind the tree had been rubbed smooth on top as if it had been used often. There were no other sounds or incidents, and the musky smell was gone.
Ironically, my plan for Sunday evening had been to take a drive over to Rock County to some other active sites. Instead I ended up being where – and when — something was actually happening. This illustrates the point I often make that both Bigfoot and the Dogman have large territories to roam and are just as likely to be seen in any favorable habitat — whether someone else has seen them there already or not. The key is to know what kind of places they prefer and to be alert to subtle clues. And then it still takes luck.
Because Natalie actually saw some kind of tall, furry creature and the three of us heard that strange growling, I feel a lot more confident thinking that this may have been a Bigfoot rather than some other unknown phenomenon. I don’t believe it was a Dogman because I think that a canine would have a very difficult time scaling a tree like that much less use its canine arm structure to tear off a giant branch. Bears can climb but can’t knock on trees with sticks. And it would’ve been next to impossible for most any human to have done what I witnessed without using an axe or other equipment.
And I may have had a previous glimpse. In May of this year, I was walking in the same area when I heard a medium-sized branch crack off a tree at the top of a kettle just behind the side yard of a nearby home. I looked just in time to see it drop as something very long and covered in light tan fur also descended quickly into foliage below. The only thing I could think of at the time was that it might have been the tail of a mountain lion that had just alighted from its perch, breaking the limb as it did so – rather a stretch in itself. Now I wonder if it was the arm of a Bigfoot that had just snapped off a tree branch while standing hidden below! There just aren’t many critters around here with light-colored fur.
I’m still rather in awe of the experience and I think that I will see and hear that giant branch falling off the oak tree for the rest of my life. Was it Bigfoot? I can’t prove it, but I can’t come up with any other explanation other than that it was the most extreme coincidence imaginable, considering the way everything happened. And Natalie did see something. I will let you all know if there’s more to the story!
(Location must remain confidential since the kettle itself is on private land and owner does not want disclosure of the site)
Looking up at tree from behind — broken spur at top right
Posted in Uncategorized on May 21, 2012| 5 Comments »
Monsters and camp stories just seem to go together. but this recounting of a young teens experience in 1961, strikes me as much more than a mere campfire tale. He tells it so well that I’m going to just put it in his own words, leaving out names since I don’t have permission to give them. I think it’s a fascinating look at Bigfoot behavior in many ways, particularly in regard to interest in humans and human activities. Coincidentally, the report came in while I was at Creature Weekend 2012 in Cambridge, Ohio. (The photo above was taken in their resort lobby) Enjoy!
Listening to Coast to Coast, I was shocked to hear about bigfoot in southeastern Wisconsin. Let me tell you about my experience. Keep in mind that I am a college graduate and a recently retired high school teacher. I do not belong to any strange sects; in fact, I’m rather nerdish. Truly, I’m quite believable.
In 1961 I was a 15 –yr old summer school student at St. John’s Military School in Delafield, Wisconsin. I lived in one of about 20 cabins that were organized in a semi-circle in a forested area. In the 20 cabins lived other boys who were my age. At the center of the semi-circle, there was a night lamp on a high pole; vision was excellent. Under the light pole was a water fountain. The pole and fountain area is where group meetings took place.
One night (I don’t remember the time – perhaps 1, 2 or 3 AM), I awoke to see a very large ape-looking creature who was drinking out of the fountain. The creature had to bend awkwardly to reach the fountain because it was at his knee level. By observing the awkward bend, I was able to ascertain that his/her height must have been enormous. Instead of drinking , the creature would spray the water out of his/her mouth and into the air. Then he/she would return for another gulp – and spray again! Due to the light, I had a very clear view. I was amazed but not yet frightened.
After leaving the fountain, the creature took long strides and entered the first cabin. He/she stayed inside for less than one second. It seemed that as soon as the cabin door shut behind him/her, it instantly opened and he/she left the cabin. I noted that the creature had to “duck” in order to enter the cabin. Vision was not that great at the first cabin. The doors were rudimentary cabin doors with a spring and no latch.
After leaving the first cabin, the creature continued to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, ect. cabins, spending 1 second inside each. I began to think that this behavior was consistent with a counselor doing a “bed check” – but I was really curious about the huge size and hairiness. My cabin was about the 12th cabin. As the creature went cabin-to-cabin, my vision was getting better and better – and I slowly began to feel frightened. Keep in mind that vision was excellent at the fountain, but when the creature entered the first cabin, I could not see very clearly.
By the time the creature was preparing to enter the cabin next to mine, the student inside the cabin let out a huge shout. “Help!” Truthfully, I was getting ready to scream also. Upon hearing the scream, the creature immediately sprinted with long strides to the rear of the cabins and disappeared into the forest. The creature ran through bramble and briar that would be difficult for a human to negotiate. As the creature approached the cabin next to mine, I did get a very good look. BIGFOOT!
The boy who screamed was traumatized. A couple days after the incident, his father came to Delafield to take him home.
Curiously, St. John’s summer camp lore had a legend about the creature. There were many stories about the creature.
Needless to say, I plan to investigate this one further!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged cryptids, dinosaurs, Mokele Mbembe on February 27, 2012| 2 Comments »
Mokele –Mbembe: Mystery Beast of the Congo Basin by William J. Gibbons, Coachwhip Publications 2010
My absolute favorite comic strip as a kid was Alley Oop, the beautifully drawn adventures of a caveman with a very sweet ride: a savvy stegosaurus named Dinny. This fantasy of humans getting to share real time with living dinosaurs has fueled mass media entertainment from The Flintstones cartoons to Michael Crichton’s tale of resurrected saurians, Jurassic Park. But in the end, say scientists, their lovely bones and fossils show that all the dinosaurs perished in a mass die-off many millions of years ago.
Or did they? What if, in the deepest, least accessible parts of the African continent, a small relict population of something like an Apatosaurus lives on? The Congo’s legend of the creature called Mokele-Mbembe insists that is exactly the case. And author Bill Gibbons is one of a small group of investigators to have made that trip in person – several times.
Other adventurers had traveled to western mid-Africa from as early as 1776 in search of huge, long-necked semi-aquatic beasts reported by local people and missionaries. Gibbons covers all these previous expeditions in proper detail before delving into his own considerable efforts that began with his first trip in 1985. Gibbons lays out a meticulous account of his expeditions, including not only a thorough record of creature lore and sightings reports but his own trials with sickness, risky travel situations, and local people that were often not cooperative. He also experienced a striking religious conversion during his first trip and shares his epiphany as an integral part of his story.
Although Gibbons was never able to get that definitive proof, he does a good job of compiling all known data and evidence of Mokele-Mbembe and of several other mysterious beasts. I do wish that the book included a standard index! But Gibbons hopes to return for another shot at filming this creature. As a fellow seeker of elusive and anomalous animals, I wish him the best of luck, and I think that Alley Oop would say the same.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged beast of bray road, Bray Road, dogman, Linda Godfrey, werewolf, werewolves on December 31, 2011| 11 Comments »
Believe it or not, Thursday was the 20th anniversary of my original news story on the creature I dubbed The Beast of Bray Road. Little did I know what it would lead to! And yes, although similar creatures are reported to me regularly from all over the US, the Beast is still spotted on Bray Road. The most recent credible report was from a middle-aged couple who saw it cross the road near Hwy NN and then easily hop a fence, all on two legs. They said its shaggy fur “flowed” in the wind.
My first book on the topic, “The Beast of Bray Road,” is now out of print but can now be had on Kindle (used book copies are quite pricey!) That was published in 2003, and fall 2012 will see my 5th book dealing with unknown, upright wolf-like creatures “Real Wolfmen – True Encounters in Modern America” from Tarcher/Penguin. No one is more surprised than I am at the creature’s longevity.
Will there be more? That depends entirely on whether enough new cases come to me or if some truly amazing evidence comes to light. I am starting to wonder if the mystery will ever be solved, but I do intend to keep investigating.
The year changes tomorrow as I enter my 21st decade of creature-seeking, and the hunt begins anew…
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Jack the Ripper, Milwaukee, murder, redrum, werewolf on November 14, 2011| 1 Comment »
Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel carries a very humorous column by Jim Stingl about the most unfunny stabbing of a man by two Milwaukee women. The stabber-in-chief said they were just trying to achieve a risque form of entertainment they called spirit werewolfism. Since many of my book titles include the word “werewolves,” I received a call from Stingl — of whom I am a fan — who wondered if I had any thoughts on the bizarre event.
I told him that it seemed like an eerie replay of a 1989 event where one Deborah Kazuck and a woman friend lured a man to their apartment and then ambushed him by leaping from behind the shower curtain with an ax. They chased him while shouting Redrum! (murder backwards). They explained later that they were trying to invoke the spirit of Jack the Ripper by “kacking” someone.The kackee survived, as did the werewolf spirit victim, but both suffered severe injuries. Stingl, in fact, wrote a 1996 column about Kazuck’s possible release from a mental hospital
The parallels seem amazing to me, as does the fact that both these cases are obvious instances of mental illness. In 1989 Jack the Ripper was popular as a violent power symbol, and right now it’s the werewolf. I’m not sure what the next big anti-hero fad will be, but I advise lonely single guys in Milwaukee to be very very careful of any woman’s apartment decorated with posters of, say, the devil. And for safety’s sake, they may want to consider dating upright canines or lady Bigfoot instead — at least no one I know of has been sent to the hospital by those creatures.
Posted in Life, strange creatures, Uncategorized, werewolves, tagged beast of bray road, dogman, fan art, michigan dogman, werewolf, werewolves on November 3, 2011| 2 Comments »
I’m a fan of fan art. I am always tickled when people send images inspired by my books on upright creatures, and am often amazed at how accomplished these efforts are. Here are two sculptures created by the Wentz family which runs a backyard haunted attraction in Ogden Utah. The first looks like a classic hellhound…
And the second is surely a Manwolf, although a bit nekkid. Kudos to the Wentz’s!
And then there is this painting by California eyewitness Anthony S. Chaney. It includes a lot more background than I reproduced here, and is a great rendition of the dogman described by many other witnesses.
I also receive many notes from writers, musicians and film makers that my research has inspired them to create something werewolfish. I applaud all original efforts and say go for it! After all, there is no more perfect metaphor for the tortured soul of an artist than the transformative loup-garou!
(Image copyrights belong to individual artists, used by permission)
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged MIB, Paranormal, Redfern, Steiger, UFOs on June 2, 2011| 5 Comments »
Co-authored with Sherry Steiger, this 354-page tome takes readers on a meet-and-greet with intergalactic (or home-grown!) visitors of every type and description. There are the Blonde Nordics that look like us, the Reptilians that look like big lizards, and the robots that look like all sorts of things. There are creatures that want to probe us, some that seek to enlighten us and others that appear to view us as breeding stock. All of this unwanted attention begs the question: why are they so interested in humanity? The remainder of the book explores the unsettling possibilities.
Although the Steigers provide plenty of firsthand accounts of encounters with UFOs, abductions and other human-alien interactions, I like the chapters that interface with little-known historical details best. My favorite is titled Nazis and the Aldebaran Aliens. It illustrates the amazing lengths – including outer space — der Fuhrer and his Nazi minions would go to in their quest for world domination. As it turns out, Hitler not only believed in aliens but coveted alien propulsion systems to the point of obsession. According to the Steigers’ research, part of Hitler’s plan involved highly trained psychics working in secret societies. The psychics said they received plans from aliens to make saucer-type vehicles that some say actually worked until rival aliens stopped them. The very complex story left me wondering how much we really know about our own history.
In the final chapters, the Steigers examine the true nature of these visitors, and suggest that far from being new arrivals, these so-called aliens may always have been with us. The Steigers also recommend that until the true nature of “grays,” “Nordics” and other non-Terrans is known for sure, we not invite personal experiences with them. I think that is probably wise.
The book includes a bibliography and comprehensive index, which makes it not only a compelling read but a valuable research resource. I give Real Aliens, Space Beings and Creatures from Other Worlds two opposable digits and three antennae up!
Men in black, mysterious figures in black suits that pop up at UFO sighting scenes like mushrooms after a spring rain, have become so solidly entrenched in pop culture that very popular – and imaginative – movies have been made about them. Nick Redfern’s new book tracks their history from the days when MIB were esoteric lore known only to UFO geeks, to today’s guys with cool shades who show up on your local theater screen. The real Men in Black are far more sinister than I had guessed.
The book was especially persuasive to me personally since it includes the experiences of colleagues I’ve come to know and trust over the years including Brad Steiger, Marie D. Jones and Raven Meindel. The terror they and many others experienced was subtle – compared to sightings of, say, Bigfoot or werewolves — yet very traumatic.
Sporting black suits and hats some have compared to those of the Blues Brothers, Men in Black started showing their pale and unexpressive faces in the middle of the 20th Century, around the same time flying saucers entered the public consciousness. Witnesses and researchers of the UFO phenomenon found themselves threatened and harassed – often in unexplainable ways – by the lurking strangers who usually drove shiny black cars. Scarily, MIB continue these terror tactics to present day, sometimes updating their transportation to black helicopters or other vehicles.
In my book, Strange Wisconsin, I reported an incident told me by a farmer in western Wisconsin who was deer hunting with his children when the three saw a UFO rise from a nearby tree top and then shoot off over a field. They were so terrified they decided to forget hunting and just leave, but as they exited the woods they saw a convoy of shiny black pickup trucks heading single file across the field in the same direction the UFO had gone. Just the sight of so many new trucks in the sleepy area was strange enough, but where did they suddenly come from and why would they all take off across someone’s field in mid-November? What was their connection to the silver, discoid craft and how did they know it was there?
Readers will discover similar weird anomalies in every tale in Redfern’s book. And after grounding readers in many frightening examples of the MIB mystery, Redfern spends the second half of the book wrestling with possible explanations for the creepy figures. Redfern notes that strange people clad in black have appeared to those dabbling in occult studies and practices throughout history. If this is true, perhaps the MIB are not connected to aliens from space at all. Redfern explores such disparate possible origins for them as elaborate thought- forms created by human imagination, time cops from far in the future and perfectly human secret agents.
Author and MIB researcher Colin Bennett is quoted extensively in the book, and he comes to the conclusion that the MIB entities appear to “eat” human energy generated by the fear they provoke. This was interesting to me because I have often said the same thing about the unknown, upright canines I have studied and written about for the past 19 years. Are strange creatures, MIB, UFOs and other scary phenomena part of some massive, unknown entity that exists just one step above us on the psychic food chain? Perhaps unreality bites.
Whatever MIB may be, Redfern and the many experts he consults agree they are not desirable company. There is one simple weapon that seems to work against them but I won’t give that away here. I’ll just say that to be forewarned is to be fore-armed, and that you will want to read this book to know what to do before the MIB come calling on you.
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