GHOST HUNTERS

It may seem early to be considering 2017's Halloween trends, but it is not only a season of anticipation, it is also one that can take months of planning, whether it's a yard haunt, a party, or costume gathering. Let's see where 2017 is headed - COSTUMES ( Spirit Halloween costumes used in the photos here) Live action movies like "Beauty and the Beast" and superhero/scifi movies like "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" will definitely influence costuming this coming season. Star Wars is still making the rounds. Inflatable costumes are a new trend that you will be seeing at Spirit Halloween store and likely the other outlets. I'm not real impressed for a few reasons - claustrophobic effect and also who wants to go to a party and no one knows who the frag they are? I mean, aren't Halloween parties about finding someone? How do you eat, drink, use the bathroom??? I see this stupid trend lasting one season max. Steampunk influences are making more of a ...

The ocean takes up the majority of the surface on our world and yet so little of what is in it is known to us. Upon occasion, we come across some real mysteries, tantalizing glimpses that make us wonder. For a long time, the giant squid (above) was a legend until it was finally filmed underwater. What other legends might tell us what is in the sea? One creative thinker in 1570 drew up the sea monsters that lay in the waters outside of Iceland. Scientist and artist, Abraham Ortelius had some very fanciful ideas of what awaited the seafarer. He also pondered what might live in the Pacific Ocean. In 1644, another artist/scientist drew up what he thought might lurk in the waters off of Africa. Willem Blaeu had quite an interesting vision. In 1727, Peter Kolb envisioned a sea lion of interesting characteristics - In present day, we still run across things in the sea that puzzle us. Here is one such thing photographed at Hook Island. It was estimated to be 75-80 feet long and to this day the...

Art by Luis Carrasco ( LINK ) I often note in my research how local and native legends repeat themes, whether it's encountering giants or great floods. Another running theme among all cultures are a group of "wee ones" who are small, mischeivous and sometimes playful. Often times, these beings are called "goblins." And, often times people report seeing them today. Goblins ( WIKIPEDIA ) A goblin is a monstrous creature from European folklore, first attested in stories from the Middle Ages. They are ascribed various and conflicting abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. They are almost always small and grotesque, mischievous or outright evil, and greedy, especially for gold and jewelry. They often have magical abilities similar to a fairy or demon. Similar creatures include brownies, dwarves, gnomes, imps, and kobolds. Then, there was the "Hopkinsville Goblin" case -  The Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter has oft...

Life-long explorer, adventurer and researcher, Don Monroe, has a million stories to tell, only he's been on the road nonstop, busy hiking the back country in dozens of countries, climbing the highest peaks and crawling in the deepest caves to understand this natural world we live in. He has hunted, tracked, trapped, cast footprints, talked to Native people, continued several-decade long ongoing research projects, devoured tons of research books, and ultimately sought answers about every aspect of nature and all the mysteries within. During those travels, he came across many unusual things. What I am presenting now is one of them -  Don Monroe and a researcher friend named Massey, were up at about 7000 feet on Anaconda Range in Montana. They were tracking a bear when Don noted something sticking out of the ground, just a bit of something, but didn't look like a regular rock.  In this remote area at that elevation, the idea of running across something man-made was unlikely. He s...