Monsters are Real!

A look at mysterious creatures around the Lone Star State.

I’m pleased and proud to announce the release of Monsters of Texas, co-authored with my good friend, the very brilliant Nick Redfern and published by CFZ Publications. This work is the culmination of several years of research by Nick and Myself. Together we’ve covered a myriad of mysterious beasts across the Lone Star State, no easy task considering the region’s great size. In addition to unpublished reports of Big Birds and giant, flying things, we’ve included a variety of man-beasts around the state such as Lake Worth’s Goat Man, Bigfoot, the legendary Wild Man of the Navidad and even werewolves. We also present the entire story of Texas’ blood sucking Chupacabras, since it came onto the scene a few years ago. Sea serpents and lake monsters of various types are discussed, as well as extraordinary creatures like gargoyles, dinosaurs and a dubious character known as the Dancing Devil. Notable Texas tall tales like the Jackalope and the Donkey Lady are mentioned, as well as unusual animals – enormous fish, feral monkeys and black panthers to name a few. In addition, some of Texas’ top monster hunters are profiled. There’s something for anybody whose interested in cryptozoology, anomalous occurrences or just Texas culture and folklore. Check out – The Monsters of Texas! Now available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

Sea serpents have been reported for centuries, even in the Gulf of Mexico

As the ominous specter of a massive oil spill looms over the Gulf of Mexico, I can’t help but to have a sick feeling about its potential impact on the abundant wildlife that inhabits its depths. Corals, sponges, crustaceans, fish, birds and countless other life forms depend on an ecological balance that is being thrown into turmoil as, mankind’s reckless abandon rears its ugly head. If history is any indicator, there might be an extraordinary animal swimming deep, within those waters. A creature that is known primarily from legends dating back thousands of years. The great Sea Serpent is a monstrous, snake-like beast that has been described by sailors around the world for centuries, though scientists do not support its existence. Surprisingly, the Gulf region has produced some noteworthy reports. During May 18th, 1872, the entire crew of a Norwegian ship claimed to have encountered a sea serpent that was 200 feet long, off the coast of Galveston. In 1899, another ship in the Gulf  had a run-in with, an enormous reptile that appeared to be seventy-five feet long and possessing of long fins and flippers. That same year, a Captain Carrol claimed he spotted a serpentine sea monster that was covered in green hair! A particularly colorful account surfaced in 1908 and was published in the New York Times, though it may have been a retelling of the 1872 sighting. In the article, a Captain G.A. Olsen and four crew members described a sea monster two-hundred feet long and as big around as a flour barrel. As the thing moved off, they noticed giant rattles on its tail, reminiscent of a giant rattlesnake! I can personally attest to the fact that the Gulf harbors some macabre creatures, having once dredged up an oarfish off the Galveston jetties. Oarfish are rarely seen, deep sea fish with a slender body that can obtain lengths close to thirty feet; a likely sea serpent candidate if we are to air on the side of skepticism. Or, perhaps we should embrace the possibility that gigantic, prehistoric reptiles still roam the deepest seas though now sadly, they may be in danger of extinction.

It’s difficult to conceive of any monsters that might be affiliated with Easter, unless we consider Virginia’s bizarre Bunny Man. Most likely it is an urban legend that may have sprung out of some inexplicable encounters with a mysterious being. Irregardless, it is a legend worth repeating. Just west of Washington DC lies the tiny, little hamlet of Fairfax Station. Teenagers from the area are familiar with rumors of a diabolical being that belongs in a category all its own. According to local historians, during October of 1970, there were several people near wooded areas who, encountered an ax wielding fiend; a man dressed in a bunny suit no less! The attacks made the local newspapers and eventually a story surfaced about an escaped mental patient who had murdered his entire family on Easter. Soon after, the bodies of skinned rabbits began to appear around the area, left conspicuously hanging on fences. There is even an old stone, railroad bridge that local teens dare to brave around Halloween. Allegedly, this is the primary haunt of the Bunny Man and he has been known to jump on the roofs of unsuspecting cars as they pass underneath. I suppose the only connection between Bunny Man and cryptozoology is that the general area has produced occassional Bigfoot reports, and the nearby town of Bowie, Maryland has a similar legend about a shaggy Goat Man. The relationships are ambiguous, unless we consider that Bigfoot creatures are often associated with various anthropomorphic bogeymen in urban legends all over North America. But, for now at least, we must leave the Bunny Man in that fringe region known as the goblin universe.

Very recently, National Geographic Channel premiered a new series dealing with the unexplained, titled Paranatural. The first episode featured yours truly in search of the sinister Chupacabra, a blood-sucking creature that has been reported all over Latin America since 1995. Of course, in recent years the name has also been attached to the weird, hairless canids that have been appearing with regularity on ranches around Texas. Apparently, these vampire dogs have been preying on helpless farm animals, allegedly draining the blood out of their victim’s bodies. Despite similarities in predation, the Texas creatures differ greatly from the original Chupacabra, which was first described by residents of Puerto Rico. The Puerto Ricans characterized their monster as standing upright, with enormous, red eyes and a mixture of reptilian and mammalian characteristics. For the National Geographic investigation, we concentrated on the Texas version. I staked out a property near Fayetteville, Texas where many of these macabre canines have been sighted with regularity over the past year. The research team and I employed various gadgets and traps, including thermal imaging, night vision and a tranquilizer rifle, in an attempt to capture one of the beasts alive. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in drawing one of the elusive animals into our hands. There was one surprising development during the filming; a road-killed chupie that had been collected by local landowner Harvey Hayek. After a brief examination, its remains were sent off to scientists at Texas Tech University for analysis. For the results of their findings, tune in to National Geographic Channel and check out Paranatural – Chupacabra!

'Chupacabra' shot near Columbus, Texas - Photo Courtesy of David Vasut ©2005

There’s something about Texas winters. During January and February of 1976, dozens of citizens in South Texas (from the Rio Grande Valley to San Antonio), were reporting sightings of enormous, flying creatures. The noteworthy encounters began on New Year’s Day of the Bicentennial, when two teenage girls in Harlingen observed a man-sized, vulture-like bird leering at them in their yard. It apparently left behind impressive tracks that were six inches long and over an inch deep. Within a few days, Brownsville resident Alverco Guajardo had a run-in with a winged monster that he described as being, “Like a bird, but not a bird,” Guajardo stated that the monster looked like something, “Not of this world.” A week later, Raymondville resident Armando Grimaldo was rushed to a hospital, after he claimed he was attacked by a gigantic, bat-like beast that descended from the sky, tearing at Armando’s clothing with its claws. As media outlets around the world spread the news about the strange encounters, many more eyewitnesses came forward. Some described animals that resembled airplane-sized, leathery-skinned pterodactyls. Including three school teachers from San Antonio’s south side, who pulled over their cars on the way to work in order to watch two, prehistoric reptiles soaring overhead. Reports died down significantly by the end March 0f 1976, but sightings occasionally still surface. It has been almost three years since my first book on the subject of the Big Birds was published and I’m very pleased to report that a new book is on the way, which promises to update my flying creature research over that time. Stay tuned for some fascinating, new reports and in the meantime… keep watching the skies!  ^v^

My book is available from most online major book retailers

While researching the recent San Antonio Sasquatch incident, it occurred to me that the Alamo City has a notable history of mysterious hominid reports. Beginning in November of 1974, when a man named John Martinez sighted a Bigfoot creature while hunting rabbits with his friend Rick on the outskirts of the city. The following year, Sasquatch expert Dr. Grover Krantz received a letter from a gentleman who was fishing at a secluded lake thirty miles north of San Antonio. The man wrote about how he had heard a loud splash and when he glanced across the lake, he spotted an eight or nine foot tall creature on top of a limestone cliff. When the eyewitness looked through his rifle scope, he could observe that the man-like being was covered in long, gray fur and had a cat-like head. The next day, the man investigated the location where he had seen the thing and found trampled brush, broken branches and an overturned boulder. There were some highly publicized reports which emanated from Kelly Air Force Base on the south side of San Antonio, during the summer of 1976. First, a telephone worker named El Olivarri saw a seven foot, hairy Bigfoot lurking in his backyard one morning. A week later, his next door neighbor Rose Medina heard her dog barking and when she looked out her back door, she was horrified to see a three-foot tall, furry animal sitting on her back porch. Rose estimated that the being was about as big as a nine year old child and had an apelike appearance. The creature became startled when someone opened up a window and it ran off on two legs. There were other reports of activity in the area for a couple of weeks and then the hysteria seemed to die down. Very recently, I spoke to a young man who confided in me that he encountered a white colored, eight-foot tall Bigfoot about a decade ago, while riding his dirt bike at the intersection of Loop 1604 and Guilbeau Road on the City’s west side. The witness also noticed a dead pig nearby. In addition, there is a documented report from 2005, from a couple who were cleaning a trailer in a newly developing, residential area at Interstate 10 and Bandera Road. At first, they heard something banging on the walls of the trailer. When the woman looked outside, she spotted a tall, hairy, manlike figure leering at her from behind a tree. The woman was able to observe that the creature had a pointy, conical-shaped head. All things considered, it would appear that San Antonio must be counted among the places where Bigfoot is said to roam.

A newspaper clipping from 1976, describing Bigfoot reports in the Alamo City

On Tuesday, December 01st, I received news that there had been a Bigfoot report on the west side of San Antonio the previous night. Since that time, I have been involved in an ongoing investigation of the case, which has received quite a bit of publicity. I’ve spent considerable time at the sighting location, which lies a mere twelve miles from my home and have also been allowed access to the original police report. Unfortunately, the eyewitnesses cannot be located, but there is their recorded 911 call, which has been made public. Here’s what we know – Just before midnight, a police officer responded to a call from a homeless woman named Jennifer. The woman and her boyfriend claimed that they had witnessed a huge, hairy, figure on two legs, pick up a dead deer and then carry it away. The couple, who apparently were living in a tent in the woods, also reported that the creature emitted a foul odor and that it made screeching and howling noises as it retreated towards a nearby water tower. The responding officer found the witnesses to appear completely sober and rational, but understandably frightened. He decided not to search for the creature and the police have been reluctant to have any further involvement. The somewhat residential location, which lies near the intersection of Loop 1604 and Highway 151 near Sea World, is wooded and lies next to a water treatment facility. Understandably, the eyewitnesses have since moved out of the area and because the weather has gotten cold and wet in the interim, there is speculation that they could be staying in a nearby homeless shelter. The phone number listed on the police report is bad. It rings a department store, frustrating all attempts to track the couple down and raising more questions than answers. Reporter Joe Conger and I determined that the sighting probably took place at a dump site, where a bag full of food belonging to the eyewitnesses, along with the remnants of an abandoned campfire were left behind. My own searches of the area have revealed no tracks, hair or other evidence and I have not been able to locate any remains of the alleged deer. GCBRO investigator Rick Tullos discovered one track-like impression that was thirteen inches long and I have found a number of animal bones strewn throughout the area and some empty food containers, so a lot of animals are probably drawn to the spot. The local news stations have been running broadcasts about the incident and I have been made aware of two other Bigfoot sightings in the area, within the past decade. There has also been rampant speculation that the culprit could be an escaped monkey from Southwest Research facility (ironically founded by Bigfoot pioneer Tom Slick), based on incidents at a southside body shop where workers encountered an animal resembling a monkey. It goes without saying that Jennifer’s description does not resemble a monkey, nor are monkeys known to carry off deer. On one trip out to the sighting location, I heard some loud, brush popping noises in the woods, but couldn’t pinpoint the source. Less than a week after the report, the area was plowed over by heavy machinery, strange timing indeed.

Location of the San Antonio Sasquatch sighting on 11/30/09

As November draws to a close, I can’t help but to remember Lake Worth Texas’ ‘Goat Man’, which caused quite an uproar during the latter part of 1969. Sadly and ironically researcher Sallie Ann Clarke, author of the classic book – The Lake Worth Monster of Greer Island, Fort Worth Texas, passed away earlier this month. Clarke was an aspiring writer and detective who, like many other residents in Fort Worth had read of the goat man’s exploits, as reported by the local newspaper and reporter (now UFO writer) Jim Marrs. The monster first had been reported by three couples who were parked by the shore of the lake  in early July. They had run into the police department in the middle of the night claiming that, “A scaly, white goat man,” had jumped out of a tree and onto the roof of their car. The following evening, the area was overrun by curiosity seekers and self-proclaimed monster hunters, who were duly rewarded when a hairy, white, manlike creature (presumably Bigfoot), climbed up a cliff overlooking an area known as ‘the Pit’ and thrust a spare tire at a crowd of thirty or so people, causing them to run to their cars and flee. Apparently, there were even some sheriff’s deputies present at the incident, which must rank as one of the most witnessed monster encounters ever. Sallie Ann Clark became a regular among the throng that gathered at the lake for the ensuing months and subsequently penned her now famous book, admittedly mixing in a little fiction to make it more exciting for the readers (something she later regretted after seeing the monster herself). There was even a photograph taken by a business owner named Alan Plaster, which alleged to show the monster, though it was ultimately too out of focus to be conclusive. The last sighting of the beast involved a man named Charles Buchanan, who claimed he was sleeping in the bed of his pickup truck by the lake one November night, when the creature began to drag him to the ground. Thinking quickly, Charles shoved a bag of uneaten chicken into the monster’s mouth. It apparently worked, since the thing lumbered off and dove into the lake, swimming away with the bag of chicken still clenched in its teeth! The events of 1969 were commemorated this past October at the Greer Island Nature Center, at a festival honoring the 40th anniversary of the goat man. For more info about the Lake Worth Monster and recent evidence discovered by investigator Nick Redfern and myself, check out Nick’s excellent book – Memoirs of a Monster Hunter, available at major book retailers.

First, I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and positive feedback that I have received regarding The Real Wolfman, which aired on the History Channel during the week of Halloween. Overall, I think the producers did a nice job addressing lycanthropy and I feel honored to have been involved with such an enduring mystery. Now that I have had time to sit back and digest the show’s impact, I’d like reveal some of the research that did not make the final edit. I regret that the episode did not include our investigation of Victor, the wild boy of Aveyron, a French, feral child who was discovered living in the woods during 1797. Victor’s behavior was reportedly animalistic to say the least. Could some werewolves have been savage, wild humans? Also, I don’t recall if the show truly broached the topic of ergot, which is a grain fungus that can cause hallucinations and other psychosis. There have apparently been entire towns that have succumb to its mind altering symptoms, due to eating infected bread. Could the Beast simply have been a mass hallucination? In addition, there was a torture museum in Marvejols that Duke and I visited. There on display for all to see, were the implements of torture that the inquistion employed in past centuries, in order to keep the masses in line; sound reinforcement that the church’s witch hunts may have had a hand in the ensuing werewolf panic. Also, I regret that the show did not include my visit with French cryptozoologist Jeanne-Jacques Barloy, who was the first investigator to use computers, in order to build a cumulative model of the Beast of Gevaudan. The brilliant Barloy is quite a character and had some memorable moments! Ultimately, I confess that I am still not 100% convinced about the guilt of Jeanne Chastel. I mean, why didn’t anyone ever notice the hyena in Chastel’s care, with so much reward money being offered… and where did a poor, outcast like Chastel acquire a rare animal in the first place? With so many eyewitnesses to the Beast, why didn’t anyone report Chastel prowling the area? I feel a more likely scenario is that there was an escaped hyena running around loose at the time attacking people and also a serial killer who took advantage of the situation. Maybe it was Jeanne Chastel, maybe it wasn’t. The rulership of the time more than likely took advantage as well, in order to scare the legions into submission. Chastel, an excellent hunter, shot the creature and probably embellished the event for selfish reasons. In retrospect, the Beast was the result of composite identity.

250 years later, the Beast of Gevaudan is still a world class mystery

This Wednesday, October 28th my long awaited werewolf documentary will premiere on the History Channel (9pm EST), with a re-broadcast later that evening and then again on Halloween. For the investigation, I had the distinct pleasure of pairing with one of the top criminologists in the United States and together we traveled to France to look into one of the most famous legends in that nation’s history. La Beté (The Beast) as it became known, was allegedly responsible for a three year killing spree in the mountainous and remote Gevaudan region during the 1760s. Up to 102 victims, mostly children and women may have fallen victim to the monster, which witnesses described as resembling a werewolf. Eventually, the king became concerned and dispatched entire batteries of soldiers to deal with the blood thirsty menace. Hunts were undertaken and many wolves killed. But, in 1767 a hunter named Jean Chastel apparently dispatched the Beast with a lone silver bullet. Whatever became of the creature’s body is still unknown, though it was said to have been paraded around the region before being presented to the king in a smelly and decomposing state. Amazingly, my partner and I were able to reach some startling conclusions about this enduring mystery that spans more than two centuries. Tune in to see the story behind The Real Wolfman!