Possible Alp Sightings in Austria

On August 20th, I posted a request (posted below) from a Finnish reader, Tapio Mäkinen, for volunteers in an expedition to the Waldviertel region of Austria in search of the Alp. Since that time there have been several sightings of large bat-like creatures in the area. Here are a few of the images:

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One of my Finnish readers, Tapio Mäkinen, alerted me to an expedition to the Waldviertel region of Austria in search of the Alp. He is looking for interested parties to join him once he arrives on location. His website is The Finnish Hunter. He states: "We're leaving Saturday August, 27th and staying two weeks. First we're going to spend two-three days in Vienna to assemble local resourses, but then we're (as soon as possible) going to Zwettl and on out into the woods." Tapio can be contacted through his website.

His description of this cryptid (edited for comprehension): "For you who not are familiar with the Alp it's an ancient creature. It's described in old books and art like "Nachtmahr" (“Night-mare”) by Johann Heinrich Füssli (1802). It was first mentioned in the 16th century and most of the myths about this creature were made up during the 19th century.

The Alp is a sort of huge bat with humanoid features with longer legs and arms. Since there are no clear pictures of this creature one has to rely on eyewitnesses when it comes to it's appearance.

It's covered in fur and is believed to be closely related to flying foxes. The humanoid features are hard to explain but it might be a misunderstanding (it has arms). Most likely it's a thicker part of the humerus and radius bone that might look like arms.

The size of the Alp is disputed and there is a misconception that they are the same size as a full grown man. There is no evidence that this would be the case, quite the opposite. The proportion between the body and the wings are 1:5 or 1:6. An Alp the same size as a full grown man would need a wingspan of about 10 meters to fly. This has never been recorded. The wingspan is more likely 4-5 meters and this would give it a length of about one meter.

There are many differences between a flying fox and an Alp but this is the closest relative. The wingspan of a flying fox is just under 2 meters, so the Alp is bigger.

Pteropus or Flying Fox

The myth about the Alp being a vampyre originates from the myths about vampyre bats. There are bloodsucking bats but they are very rare. It was during the 19th century the myths about the Alp as a vampire began. There were no records of the Alp being a bloodsucker before 1817. The myths about vampyres from the 18th century through the beginning of the 19th century incorporate other creatures and present them as vampires. The stories that the Alp is a blood sucking vampyre has never been proved. There are also myths about the Alp being a shapeshifter and haunt it's victims by entering their mind and giving them nightmares (the appearance of the Alp is enough to give you nightmares, I'll admit that).

My extensive research shows that the Alp is a distant relative to the flying fox. It's extremely shy and has a very long lifespan. There are creatures that can reach almost 200 years. The explanation that the remains of a dead Alp have never been found is that it's a very small population, they live long and in isolated areas. There are probably only 6-8 individuals left and they are spread out over central and eastern Europe. Where they breed, how they nest and other question remains unknown."

The remainder of this post can be found at In Search of the Alp...Lon

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What Was It? Strange Winged Creature in Arizona

I received the following email from J.B.C. in Mesa, Arizona. They describe an unknown winged creature that was perched at their home. Tell us what you think this cryptid may be:

Hello, Lon and all;

I enjoy reading your blog, though I am not the type who sees a UFO or spiritual entity every time there is a shadow or flash, I am open-minded and respectful of others. I have had my share of strange experiences, and hardships, but now I am a happily "normal" wife and mother just about to turn 30.

The experience I'd like to share with you happened in the summer of 2002. I was 20, still living at home in a rental in east Mesa, Arizona with my 18 year-old brother and my mother. As you may know, Arizona has a typically 6 month long scorching, dry summer climate, and being a transplant from beautiful Northern Cali it was hard for us to adapt.

Anyhow, it was a hot summer night in late May or early June. My brother had just graduated high school and I was working full time during the day. We spent our evening talking and laughing and playing music, it really was a memorably enjoyable night. At about 10:30 I noticed that the front porch light had again burned out, as it had been doing for about 18 months prior to that. In fact, both of the lights over the driveway and 3 lights in our backyard were continually ceasing to function and it seamed I was always buying bulbs and expensive strobe light bulbs. I don't know if this is some how connected to what happened next.

First I must add that our front door was set back into the house with the garage protruding. Our front yard was much deeper than the backyard and was over shadowed by 3 velvet mesquite and a china berry tree, and various species of cholla cacti. So the street light did little to penetrate the den of darkness.

I turned the lamp light to my bedroom which was really an office nook right next to the front door, which had a large latticed picture window with run-of-the-mill blinds. I opened the blinds and the light flooded the wall of the garage. What I saw made my skin crawl. There on the stucco wall was some "thing". It was only about 10 to 12 feet from where I was standing. The only way to describe it was that it looked like a giant headless moth. I called my brother over excitedly. I clearly remember our conversation.

"What do you suppose that is?"

"I have no idea! It must be a bat of some sort."

"But we only have micro bats here in Arizona. And I have always heard that bats hang upside down."

"I guess it could be a giant moth. We do live in the desert."

"I thought moths were attracted to light. The lights are all burnt out again".

We talked for a moment and stood next to the glass panes adjacent the front door, the bedroom light illuminating all the while, and the "thing" did not stir or move. We decided it was about 18 inches to 2 feet long from blunt top to winged bottom. It was very clear yet very dark, almost black, no antennae visible. It hung on the wall like a moth but was about the size of a medium-sized fruit bat, which I believe only exist in Asia? It was about five or six feet off the ground. My mother came and had a look and shuddered and refused to stand near the door. We were both young and curious and my brother said "Let's go have a look at it then." We swung the door and security screen open and he took a step over the door jam. I was suddenly struck with an unreal, unearthly fear and grabbed his shoulder. He looked back at me and later said I had the most wholly terrified look on my face that he had ever seen. I am afraid and tingly even writing this. Without a word he stepped back inside and we locked both doors and closed the blinds and camped out in the living room, only going to sleep after several thoughtful conversations.

The very next morning at sun up I went out to the wall with a tape measure and my brother and mom stood at the door and directed me as to where and how high and how long this thing had been planted. There was no trace of anything, the dust on the stucco looked the same all around, no residue or anything. When they were both satisfied with the positioning I read the tape measure: 28 inches. My mother walked back into the house and has absolutely refused to speak of it since.

My brother and I are both keenly interested in animal/insect/plant life via books, and media, and I have taken an MCC course in Southwest biology, and neither of us have ever seen or heard of anything matching its description. My husband was raised here and said the only thing he could think of that size was an owl, but this was no owl. What was it? Perhaps it is a real animal we could not identify. Has someone had a similar experience or know what it could be? We are not exaggerating people, we are level-headed and analytical. Thank you for your time.

Best wishes,
J.B.C., Mesa, Arizona

NOTE: OK folks...any idea what this was? Possibly a young thunderbird or other cryptid? Described as headless...possibly a juvenile Mothman? Tell me what you think...Lon

Update: What Was Seen Flying Before Russian Rocket Crash?

UPDATE: photo (above) that was published in the Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario) online edition

This photo was forwarded to me...it is supposed to be Karakoksha, the village near the rocket crash site

I received an interesting email this morning from Yevgeni in Riga, Latvia. I may regret posting this but here it is for you to peruse and judge. It has been edited for spelling though I left it mostly intact:

"My brother lives 3 kilometers east to Karakoksha in Altai Rep. Russia the area around where rocket crashed. Please be known that they had many sightings of two large birds about 1 week ago. They were not identified but were seen by people in area many times last week. A man says it was just like a mothman from US and because it had red eyes and bat wings and shaped like a human man. He say this mothman comes before bad times or disasters. Maybe this is what we have. I live in Riga, Latvia but am in contact with him each day. Yevgeni N."

Russian Altai Republic in dark blue

I also receive a email from a reader in Canada who saw a dark anomaly in a photograph (below) of the Progress cargo rocket that was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan...the same rocket that crashed minutes later in the Russian Altai Republic.

I have looked at other launch photos and have not noticed the anomaly. Below is a recent news report on the launch and crash:

Villagers around Russian rocket crash say they're sick

Villagers living in the vicinity of a Russian rocket crash are complaining of ill health possibly caused by toxic space debris, officials in Russia's Altai Republic says.

Eight residents of the remote central Asian Choisky district were found to have developed similar symptoms after a Progress rocket booster smashed into Taiga forest after a failed Wednesday space shot, staff at a local hospital said.

All lived in the vicinity of the village Karakoksha and were suffering from increased blood pressure, coughs and fever, Interfax reported.

A Progress cargo rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in neighbouring Kazakhstan on Wednesday evening left its planned trajectory and, breaking into pieces, crashed some 1,500 kilometers downrange.

The third stage of the booster struck ground in the Altai's Choisky district. An estimated 1.5 tons of highly-toxic liquid fuel was likely still on board, according to local news reports.

Exposure to the fuel could cause headaches, nausea and breathing difficulties.

Russian mission control officials sometimes rely on the help of residents of Russia's Central Asian and Siberian districts, the main landing area for Russia's space programme, to locate space objects returning to Earth.

But health officials denied there is a link between the Progress rocket's crash and possible health problems of Altai district residents.

"We have checked the area and waterways in the vicinity, and our tests have shown there has been no contamination," said Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief health inspector, in comments to Interfax. "These complaints must have some other cause."

The Progress rocket crash destroyed a Russian government GLONASS navigation satellite. The failure followed an August 18 launch by a Proton rocket, also from Baikonur, which caused the total loss of a Russian government communications satellite by placing it in an incorrect orbit.

Russia's national space agency has announced a wide-reaching investigation into the country's rocket fleet and the Baikonur cosmodrome, as a result of the two accidents. - timeslive

NOTE: If other images or information surfaces, I will update...Lon

What Was Seen Flying Before The Russian Rocket Crash?

This photo was forwarded to me...it is supposed to be Karakoksha, the village near the rocket crash site

I received an interesting email this morning from Yevgeni in Riga, Latvia. I may regret posting this but here it is for you to peruse and judge. It has been edited for spelling though I left it mostly intact:

"My brother lives 3 kilometers east to Karakoksha in Altai Rep. Russia the area around where rocket crashed. Please be known that they had many sightings of two large birds about 1 week ago. They were not identified but were seen by people in area many times last week. A man says it was just like a mothman from US and because it had red eyes and bat wings and shaped like a human man. He say this mothman comes before bad times or disasters. Maybe this is what we have. I live in Riga, Latvia but am in contact with him each day. Yevgeni N."

Russian Altai Republic in dark blue

I also receive a email from a reader in Canada who saw a dark anomaly in a photograph (below) of the Progress cargo rocket that was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan...the same rocket that crashed minutes later in the Russian Altai Republic.

I have looked at other launch photos and have not noticed the anomaly. Below is a recent news report on the launch and crash:

Villagers around Russian rocket crash say they're sick

Villagers living in the vicinity of a Russian rocket crash are complaining of ill health possibly caused by toxic space debris, officials in Russia's Altai Republic says.

Eight residents of the remote central Asian Choisky district were found to have developed similar symptoms after a Progress rocket booster smashed into Taiga forest after a failed Wednesday space shot, staff at a local hospital said.

All lived in the vicinity of the village Karakoksha and were suffering from increased blood pressure, coughs and fever, Interfax reported.

A Progress cargo rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in neighbouring Kazakhstan on Wednesday evening left its planned trajectory and, breaking into pieces, crashed some 1,500 kilometers downrange.

The third stage of the booster struck ground in the Altai's Choisky district. An estimated 1.5 tons of highly-toxic liquid fuel was likely still on board, according to local news reports.

Exposure to the fuel could cause headaches, nausea and breathing difficulties.

Russian mission control officials sometimes rely on the help of residents of Russia's Central Asian and Siberian districts, the main landing area for Russia's space programme, to locate space objects returning to Earth.

But health officials denied there is a link between the Progress rocket's crash and possible health problems of Altai district residents.

"We have checked the area and waterways in the vicinity, and our tests have shown there has been no contamination," said Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief health inspector, in comments to Interfax. "These complaints must have some other cause."

The Progress rocket crash destroyed a Russian government GLONASS navigation satellite. The failure followed an August 18 launch by a Proton rocket, also from Baikonur, which caused the total loss of a Russian government communications satellite by placing it in an incorrect orbit.

Russia's national space agency has announced a wide-reaching investigation into the country's rocket fleet and the Baikonur cosmodrome, as a result of the two accidents. - timeslive

NOTE: If there is further information I will update this post. Honestly, I think this is a lot of 'happenstance' but something may come of it. I do hope these large bird sightings, if true, become part of the story when more local interviews are conducted...Lon

In Search of the Alp

One of my Finnish readers, Tapio Mäkinen, alerted me to an expedition to the Waldviertel region of Austria in search of the Alp. He is looking for interested parties to join him once he arrives on location. His website is The Finnish Hunter. He states: "We're leaving Saturday August, 27th and staying two weeks. First we're going to spend two-three days in Vienna to assemble local resourses, but then we're (as soon as possible) going to Zwettl and on out into the woods." Tapio can be contacted through his website.

His description of this cryptid (edited for comprehension): "For you who not are familiar with the Alp it's an ancient creature. It's described in old books and art like "Nachtmahr" (“Night-mare”) by Johann Heinrich Füssli (1802). It was first mentioned in the 16th century and most of the myths about this creature were made up during the 19th century.

The Alp is a sort of huge bat with humanoid features with longer legs and arms. Since there are no clear pictures of this creature one has to rely on eyewitnesses when it comes to it's appearance.

It's covered in fur and is believed to be closely related to flying foxes. The humanoid features are hard to explain but it might be a misunderstanding (it has arms). Most likely it's a thicker part of the humerus and radius bone that might look like arms.

The size of the Alp is disputed and there is a misconception that they are the same size as a full grown man. There is no evidence that this would be the case, quite the opposite. The proportion between the body and the wings are 1:5 or 1:6. An Alp the same size as a full grown man would need a wingspan of about 10 meters to fly. This has never been recorded. The wingspan is more likely 4-5 meters and this would give it a length of about one meter.

There are many differences between a flying fox and an Alp but this is the closest relative. The wingspan of a flying fox is just under 2 meters, so the Alp is bigger.

Pteropus or Flying Fox

The myth about the Alp being a vampyre originates from the myths about vampyre bats. There are bloodsucking bats but they are very rare. It was during the 19th century the myths about the Alp as a vampire began. There were no records of the Alp being a bloodsucker before 1817. The myths about vampyres from the 18th century through the beginning of the 19th century incorporate other creatures and present them as vampires. The stories that the Alp is a blood sucking vampyre has never been proved. There are also myths about the Alp being a shapeshifter and haunt it's victims by entering their mind and giving them nightmares (the appearance of the Alp is enough to give you nightmares, I'll admit that).

My extensive research shows that the Alp is a distant relative to the flying fox. It's extremely shy and has a very long lifespan. There are creatures that can reach almost 200 years. The explanation that the remains of a dead Alp have never been found is that it's a very small population, they live long and in isolated areas. There are probably only 6-8 individuals left and they are spread out over central and eastern Europe. Where they breed, how they nest and other question remains unknown."

A recent sighting

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THE ALP - DEMON OF NIGHTMARES

The Alp, from German lore, is a vampiric spirit, or demon, who can shape-shift. They are often described in german legends as appearing in nightmares as a bogeyman or an incubus.

Alps are considered to be a butterfly vampire and a released by the horerczy demon. (A horerczy is a German demon that releases vampiric butterflies out of his mouth.) Alps suck the breath out of humans. Not only do they appear as butterflies, they can also take the form of cats, pigs, birds, and sickly dogs. They also always wears a magical hat that gives the alp supernatural power and invisibility.

The alp are said to wait until people are asleep and will cause awful dreams. It enters the sleepers mouth as a form of mist or a snake and attacks with its evil eye. They also can sexually molests both males and females, drinking blood through the nipple of men and women. They also drink milk from women’s breasts as well as from cows. If you are a woman and want protection against the alp, it is said if you place your shoes next to your bed pointing them towards the door. It is also said that if a child’s mother used a horse collar to help with the difficulties of childbirth while that child was born, that child is at a high of becoming an alp. - bloodylexicon.com

AN ALP IS CAPTURED

"A cabinetmaker in Bühl slept in a bed in his workshop. Several nights in a row something laid itself onto his chest and pressed against him until he could hardly breathe. After talking the matter over with a friend, the next night he lay awake in bed. At the stroke of twelve a cat slipped in through a hole. The cabinetmaker quickly stopped up the hole, caught the cat, and nailed down one of its paws. Then he went to sleep.

The next morning he found a beautiful naked woman in the cat's place. One of her hands was nailed down. She pleased him so much that he married her.

One day, after she had borne him three children, she was with him in his workshop, when he said to her, "Look, that is where you came in!" and he opened the hole that had been stopped up until now.

The woman suddenly turned into a cat, ran out through the opening, and she was never seen again." - Bernhard Baader, "Alp," Volkssagen aus dem Lande Baden und den angrenzenden Gegenden - 1851

Messenger, Harbinger or Omen?

I received an email last evening in response to several of the Mothman related posts made on 'Phantoms and Monsters'. I attempted to keep the content as original as possible:

Hello sir - a friend referred me to your articles about strange occurrences in West Virginia. The Mothman encounters stirred memories of an incident that took place when I was a girl.

The strange incident took place near Powellton, WV in December 1934 - I was 8 years old. At the time, my father worked for Elkhorn-Piney Coal. He and the other miners from our area would take a train to the mine each day.

The day before Christmas Eve my father mentioned an unusual sighting he and the others on the train had while traveling back home that evening. As they looked out towards the east they noticed a very large bird flying above the trees. My father was a very conservative man and didn't believe in any nonsense but this large bird really caught his attention. He described it as a freakish sized owl very dark in color. It also seemed to look at the train as it flew over the trees. Nobody on the train could figure out what it was. The mere fact that my father even mentioned it suggested that it must have been an extraordinary sight.

My father was scheduled off from work for 3 days during the Christmas holiday. On December 27th, he was getting ready for work but said he felt poorly. My mother was concerned because he had a high fever and awful chills. She insisted he stay home and telephoned the doctor. My father was reluctant on staying home and put up a good argument but my mother was not going to back down. She put him to bed and waited for the doctor.

Well, we waited for hours until the telephone rang. The operator told my mother that the doctor was at McDunn - there had been a horrible train explosion. She couldn't talk but said that the doctor's wife asked her to contact us. My mother was pale when she told my father what had happened. I remember they both started praying and crying. For years both of them thought the large bird was an angel sent by God as a warning and that my father's life was saved for a reason.

My father never went back to the mine. It turned out that he had contracted polio though he was very lucky since he survived it with only a slight limp. We soon moved away to a small town in Kentucky where my father found the calling and become a Pentecostal preacher. He told his story of survival to anyone who would listen until the day he died. Thank you sir, Emma

NOTE: the disaster that Emma was referring to was the Locomotive Boiler Explosion at McDunn. On December 27, 1934, a boiler in a locomotive hauling mine workers at McDunn in Fayette County, WV exploded, resulting in the death of eighteen miners.  Interesting story...Lon

-----

The witness from Communion With The Mothman wanted to answer inquiries from the readers:

Lon...I saw the comments to my post and wanted to respond without them knowing who I am. If it's OK with you I'll give you the responses and maybe you can post them.

First of all, the one said "..wait a minute. It was December when this happened...seems a bit odd to be camping at that time of the year." My response is that it was unseasonably warm and we were coming from an area that was hours away to the north. We also were used to camping in all kinds of weather and enjoyed doing this. In the 1960's a lot of people did this all year long. The other two remarked that the post was hard to follow, jumping around a lot. If they would tell me what they needed to know perhaps I could answer that for them.

The first time I talked to a neurologist about my childhood and how bad it really was, they wanted to know how I and the others had survived it all. I've had traumatic childhood amnesia most of my life and most of that "wasn't" caused by my home life. This is what my doctors told me. They knew what I'm just now dealing with in the form of memories that are resurfacing. People don't understand when they read something for fun. They don't understand that this did happen. This creature is real and there's more than one of them. Lon, thanks for being understanding.

Communion With The Mothman

I received this anecdote from a friend who has shared her paranormal experiences previously though none of the accounts have ever been posted on 'Phantoms and Monsters'. The following remarkable narrative may very well add credence to the Mothman phenomena and, frankly, I have no reason not to believe the account. I have not edited the original text except for a few minor errors. I would encourage reader comments and input:

Lon - I've had some experiences with Mothman since the end of Feb. and its still occurring. This isn't something that can be put in with the Mothman report from Middletown, Ohio of May of this year, at least in total.

-----

In 1967, two weeks before the collapse of the Silver Bridge, a phone call came to our house south of Lancaster, Ohio. It was from dad's friends in southwestern W.Va. Someone else in our house answered the phone and dad was busy watching the evening news so he yelled to whoever answered it to ask them what they wanted. The answer was that they had some trouble over in W.Va. and needed dad to come down. He asked what the trouble was and the person on the other end said it was a big bird. Well, we'd just seen a piece on this on the news and the anchor who reported it laughed about it. Dad laughed and said that was a good one and to tell the person this and then hang up.

A short time after the phone rang again. This was when long distance cost an arm and a leg so dad asked what was going on and again it was that they had this big bird that had done a lot of damage and they needed help to hunt it down. He took the phone call then and we all heard him saying, "All of my guns and all of my ammunition?? What the heck is going on down there?" There were a couple of okays and then I heard him ask why this man's daughter needed to talk to me. It was explained to me that this youngest girl had what they thought was an imaginary friend but asking to talk with me was a good sign that she was coming out of this mentally and emotionally and I was to play along. It was supposed to be for her own good. I was nine years old and she was maybe a few months behind me. I got on the phone and she asked if this was (my name) and I said yes. I asked what her name was and she said what it was. I'd met her once before and she was very introverted and really didn't mix with us. She showed us rocks and bugs but didn't really get involved in getting to know us. That's why I was shocked that this girl asked for me by name. I told her she had a good memory and she said it wasn't her memory that she got my name from! I thought, OK, she's a bit touched as they say, LOL.

I asked where she got my name in order to ask for me and she said it was her friend who was a man - but wasn't a man. I said, "Okay, who is this friend and what does he want with me?" She began to relate that in the course of talking one day he told her my name and said he wanted her to contact me and ask me to come down there to talk to him. I said I'd have to talk to my parents first. I got off the phone and dad wanted to know what was up with this girl. I said there was no way she knew my name. He asked where she got it then. I told him and he got a little alarmed and called their house to ask some questions about this man that 'wasn't a man' and who he might be. They assured him that it wasn't anyone near them as they were out on a quiet country road with only a few neighbors. She said this friend of her's wasn't one of them. They'd checked the woods where she said she'd met with him and never found any footprints or signs that anyone had been there with her. So, because this was urgent we packed up quick and headed down there from central Ohio.

We waited in line to cross the Silver Bridge across from Point Pleasant. A cross member on the top of this bridge on our side of the river was swinging back and forth as it was not attached on one end. The bridge clanged and made all sorts of racket when a car was crossing it. I was told to sit back and rest my eyes because the sunlight was very bright that day and I was getting hot. I felt my eyes get heavy - like I was slipping right into a comfortable rest. The next thing I knew I heard screaming and found myself horizontal above my brothers clawing at the window screaming to be let out that the bridge was going to go into the river. Dad got me calmed down and asked when this was going to happen. I had to rest, I was exhausted. So, I sat back slipped once again and again....found myself across my brothers with my siblings holding my legs and ankles to keep me from going out the window. I realized I was screaming again and clawing at the window. I asked what was going on and they all said I'd been OK and then suddenly lunged for the window to claw my way out while screaming hard. Mom said to beat me for it and so did my siblings. Dad on the other hand told them to hush while he walked me through what I was seeing when I woke up doing this.

I was in a vehicle and it was falling off that bridge into the river below and I saw every inch of the fall to the water and below the water even. I was horrified when it was slow enough for me to see all of this clearly. Dad asked if we'd get across OK that day and when we were supposed to go back home. I searched my mind and saw it was OK to cross. He had me tell him what would cause the bridge to fall and then show it to him on the other side once we got there. When he saw what I'd seen in my mind on the Ohio side before we got to the W.Va. side he was utterly horrified.

Structurally that bridge should not have been in use at all. I won't go into that part but to say that I got it absolutely right on each and every count. He was quiet all the way there except occasionally he would ask me when this would happen. I remember looking in my mind and telling him it would happen in about two weeks. Two weeks to the day we were sitting watching the TV when a news alert came across to say it had fallen into the river. Mom got a calendar right away and checked it to make sure how long it had been. She cried a bit and then asked me to come over to her. She thanked me for saving all their lives. I'd forgotten all about what happened two weeks prior because it was traumatic not just for my visions but for what happened at the people's house!

I hope this helps others, Lon, but I can't have identifying information come back to me about this for certain reasons. I will continue. We drove a long time before arriving and dad went in to talk to these people as we set up our tent to sleep outside. The man came out and said to put it away because we wouldn't want to be sleeping out there with the troubles they had down there. It didn't make sense to any of us how a big bird could be scaring these people that bad but they were scared badly. While the adults got the low down we kids went up into the woods to take care of the imaginary friend thing. The older kids checked everything out to make sure there was no one and nothing to harm us when they left. We were not far into the woods and it was not all that thick with growth. The driveway was pretty wide and it was a sunny day. They all left and I put my younger brother with her brother about 15 ft. from us at the edge of the woods. We all grew up in the woods so there was nothing any of us didn't know how to deal with if confronted with it. We were well practiced. I just wanted to get this over with but the girl was being timid. She said I'd think she was nuts. I laughed and said that sometimes people don't understand but they need to give it time to sink in. I gained her confidence and so she opened up.

She said "he" would scare me if I saw him straight on. I said there wasn't much that scared me anymore with three brothers that challenged my life at every turn. She looked worried and said he was special and didn't look like us. Well, I thought he was disfigured or something but no that wasn't it either. I said that sooner or later if I was to talk to this man I'd have to see him in order to understand what he wanted to tell me. I was thinking that maybe there was some wildlife around there that she wasn't familiar with that she couldn't see clearly so it had scared her. No, she said that wasn't it either. She said I had to promise not to look unless he said it was OK. I said I didn't want to be close to him then if I needed to take off in a hurry. She said I couldn't do that because it would upset him. I let out a Ha! and she just gave me a look and said this was very important to her because he'd been very nice to her and been a good friend when she had no others. Okay, so I appeased her a bit and said I'd play along and be extra nice so I could get this over with. She kept saying not to be alarmed and said she had been the first time she saw him. She said he was very big. I was thinking she must have lost it bad.

I saw movement and there was something looking like a very tall spindly marionette up next to these skinny tall trees. I asked her how she and her siblings had accomplished that. I was laughing but she was looking at me like she had no idea what I was talking about. Then it walked out from the trees without any visible support! I was like okay, there's got to be a sensible explanation to this so I asked if I could move forward after awhile to get a better look. I told her I could take this. Well, she asked him and said he said it was OK. Before that though he wanted to talk to my mind, she said. I thought, oh my God, she's really in La La Land, poor girl, stuck in the sticks of W.Va. and she's lost it! Well that thing moved again as if shifting from side to side in a standing position. That was human like. I begin to hear this man's voice in my mind and it's conversing with me. It's all like 'happy to talk to me finally' and 'so excited by my coming to see him' ...I thought I'd caught this girl's insanity and hit myself at the side of my head to shake this voice out of my head. She asked what was wrong. I told her! She said that was normal. I had news for her but not yet! I had been ordered to see what this was about. This voice seems to be rifling through all my memories like wildfire and then downloading high quality video....like being there in my mind about that bridge falling and other things in the future. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me so I tried to maintain my balance mentally by reminding myself that I was just playing along and this would all play out to be an elaborate hoax.

I inched closer and closer to the edge of this driveway and then a drop off where the bulldozer had shoved the dirt for it. Movement caught my eyes and I looked down to see these big orange bird feet! I thought, oh my God what is that doing in the woods! I took a very slow, very meticulous look up the legs attached to these feet and they looked stork-like. The feet shifted by one picking up and then the other doing it. It was human like in movement but also bird like. I let my eyes go very slowly up the legs, to the body, ick! and then the chest, also ick! because I could count the ribs! There appeared to be scant feathers on it's skin which was greyish. It was a mix of this bright green color and greyish brown. The more I looked the worse it got but I gritted my teeth and kept my thinking to a minimum. I looked at these wings folded behind it's back but yet out a bit to the sides. I could see through them a bit but they looked leathery and stretchy. I looked at the shoulders which in truth were topped with sharp bumps which I realized were from the wings being folded behind it's body. I inadvertently got a good look at it's head and a wave of revulsion hit me and I said I was going to just back up slowly to get a better look from a distance. I think it picked up that I was scared of it. I heard it in my mind again and it was upset that I was scared of it. I explained with my mind, crazy as that sounds, just thinking I'd seen some people who were disfigured in my time and this was scary too. I'd just have to get used to it. I did want to get out of there with my life unscathed. This was nuts. This thing wanted to chat with me and I wanted to go to the bathroom really bad. I told the girl this and she said we'd have to go to the house. He told her, and I heard it too, that he knew I was scared and he was very upset. Then, he got into a part of my mind that showed what I went through at home and somewhere else, a big building in a big city that I didn't remember except in bits. He was livid at me seeing the entire breadth of whatever that was about. I told them both out loud that this wasn't right for this girl or I to be talking to him.

He said his kind didn't want any of them mixing with us because it was dangerous for them. He'd shown me where they were from, and it wasn't this planet. I was feeling dizzy and my brother saw me stagger a bit. I said I had to go and this girl had to help me down to the house, so we were going to leave now and she and I were about to be in big trouble because I wasn't allowed to keep such a secret. I got out of the woods OK and got up against their garage and wet my pants. Then I felt like I was losing control of my body and was shaking all over. My brother went and got dad. I told him to stay close to the garage because it was out there somewhere and it was huge. He thought I was nuts but I told him sternly that this man that wasn't a man but was a huge creature with wings and big orange feet. He laughed and I said "I wasn't laughing and we had to get into the house."

We all got into the house and the girl was livid with me for saying I wasn't supposed to tell and now he was angry with her. My head hurt really bad. The adults got their guns out. Phone calls were made and in short order men with guns in pickups and cars came flying into their driveway. Dad wouldn't allow me to tell mom or that woman what I'd seen...no one. I wanted to cry but felt stunned, shocked, very hard. They got me cleaned up and we all sat trying to be quiet. We tried to listen to what was going on.

That was an awful experience. The men went into the woods leaving the women with guns. They soon came back as it was almost dark. We began to see these huge stick looking figures darting past the picture window out front and then the back windows, and the kitchen door and windows. There was more than one of them. All the guns got loaded and we were put into the middle of the house. There was clawing at the roof, siding and windows. This went on for hours and I finally just went to sleep. I was hot and probably in shock so I just went to sleep.

Everything eventually went quiet and it stayed that way for hours. I woke up needing to go to the bathroom. There was a window so someone had to stand there with a gun as I went. Something came to the window and began to claw at it. By then I didn't know what this was or why it was happening. I was given a magazine and put my whole mind on it and read. When I did this all stopped outside. I got tired and quit doing that while wondering what was going on and it began all over again. We could all hear the tin being torn off the roof. I went back to sleep and everything was quiet the rest of what was left of the night.

The next day we packed up and started home. Dad asked before we got to the bridge if we'd be OK crossing it. I looked in my mind and saw it was OK. They wanted to know this over and over again. I was sure. On the Ohio side of the river my brothers and sisters began to talk about what was going on. Something big swooped down at the car and began to claw at it. This happened off and on all the way home. We could hear this thing holding on to the top of the car!! Once home I was sent to my room and told to go to sleep. Well, I didn't. I was listening to what they were saying downstairs. One of my brothers ran downstairs and said there was noise on the roof. Dad told them to go outside and look to see what it was. My brother returned pale looking and said it was a huge bird like thing with glowing red eyes. Dad said that wasn't funny. My brother said he knew it wasn't but this was true. Dad went out and sure enough he came back to say yes it was true. They were all upset and I was up under the roof that was being torn off. My family was watching shingles coming through the air and landing on the ground out back and front. They got the guns out and I was told to lay down and go to sleep. It was OK for awhile but then it started again.

My brother came to me and said to look out my window. He told me to look at these little red glowing lights outside. They were eyes. I could see huge spindly wings out there walking around on the ground. It was like they were on their elbows. It was really creepy. Dad took a gun out and then I heard him yell to me saying they were going to hurt him if I didn't say he never hurt me. I said I wasn't allowed to tell lies and he asked me nicely to be nice for him. So, I did. I told them I was OK and I was with my siblings who were older and took care of me. He was scared and we could see several of them out there near him. We saw him back slowly into the door.

I felt they were in my mind asking what I wanted most in life. I remember thinking I just wanted to run around and have fun like other kids did. I went to sleep and it was quiet until about 2 am. I woke up to the sound of my older brother's voice asking what we were doing outside with these things and what were they. How did I get outside? My younger brother was behind me and we were running through what I thought was a tunnel on the lawn. I woke up more and saw it was these things lined up with their wings arched over like a tunnel and we'd been running through them! I was horrified and our older brother saw this. He said dad had sent him out and dad was hanging out the window telling us quietly that it was OK, we weren't in trouble but we should come in because it's really late. I looked at my brothers and asked what was wrong with dad. The older brother said dad was really scared to come outside because those things wanted to hurt him. I asked how he could tell! He laughed a little and said he'd never seen him like this before and said he'd woke him up and "asked" him to go out and get us back in the house. We both dropped our jaws and said, "He asked you?"

We went inside and went right to bed before we got beat for it. We never did and the next day it was like no one wanted to talk about it. My younger brother kept asking what those things were and wasn't it funny that dad was so scared of them. My head hurt. I was diagnosed with traumatic childhood amnesia in 1983 but I have a photographic memory. Okay, so I had no memory of these things until some years later. It was difficult to wrap my head around all of this, still is. Earlier this year, end of Feb. 2011 I started to again hear the voice of this thing in my mind. It showed me ripples in a pond. I didn't know what that was supposed to be for and I was busy working so I pushed it out of my mind. My mind was being pulled to Middletown, Ohio on the map. I thought OK, what's this about, spit it out, I'm pretty busy these days. No explanation.

This continued and still is happening even now. I was looking at other things about archeology and up comes information about the thunderbird, dragons, snakes, and how it applies to Native American culture. I'm Shawnee and a direct descendant of Tecumseh. I've still got this unknown 'man' in my mind and he seems to want to chat but I'm thinking these things eat people and people have been known to disappear after seeing these things. I'm thinking I was lucky and blessed to be alive after seeing it that close twice! So, Lon, if you would, say a prayer for me. I'm still very busy with work, photography for home inspections and craft work I have at home. Still from time to time this voice is in my mind. This thing wants to be friends with me but there seems to be something important he wants to convey to me.

I just keep shoving it out of my head. I'm not so sure this thing isn't evil. I mean it did kill a big dog over in W.Va. in 1967. It or they tore it into tiny bits and there wasn't much left of it. If you'd like to turn this into a report I'm sure it would take a lot of work to take out anything that would ID me in any way. I want people to be helped by knowing that these things are real. I can't explain what they are about but I know they are real. Thanks.

Reader Response: Philippines UFO Strangeness, Saved By A Spirit and Odd Video

Hello Lon,

I just read your story about the mass UFO sighting in Farmington, New Mexico in the '50s and I just want to share with you that very similar sighting that happened here in the Philippines. I am definite that this happened on a December 24, Christmas Eve, but I am not certain about the actual year. It was, however, in the 1990s, maybe '98 or '99. Neither me nor any of the other witnesses have reported this to any authorities or researchers.

But first, let me backtrack a bit to a fantastic series of sightings that happened prior to the one that is similar to the Farmington sighting.

Our first UFO sighting happened a few years before this, at a "UFO Symposium" held by actor Roy Alvarez and writer Augusta Almedda at a local park in Quezon City. At first I assumed it was all a sham and I had the same conviction throughout the symposium. I was with my mother and brother and we came to attend just out of curiosity. The duo spoke of some weird things involving the Philippines and I felt then it was all baloney. However, at the end of their talk, when darkness fell, they invited us to come with them to a clearing in the park, which had a lot of trees. There, they told us to look up at the sky. It was a clear sky and at first I didn't notice anything extraordinary except that there seemed to be a lot of stars. Suddenly, one of the stars started to move. Then another, and another and another. Suddenly, the entire sky was alive with stars that were moving in all directions. I know it is hard to believe but we all saw it. There were a lot of us there in that clearing, including several media personalities. I felt like I was dreaming. A few moments later, my mother and brother said they saw a big saucer pass by but I was talking to someone at the time and was not able to see it. However, I did see the next one. It looked something like a jackstone or a big cross that ROLLED heavily and majestically across the sky. I remember the feeling of awe as I looked up at it.

Anyway, this event was hardly mentioned in the media and I don't think it was reported anywhere but I can assure you that we never forgot it. A few months after this episode, my brother and I were walking to the grocery store near our house at around 7 or 8 PM when we suddenly saw what appeared to be two jumbo jets that were about to collide. I cried out and pointed at them and just as I pointed, and just before the collision happened, the "jet" on the left suddenly veered sharply to its left, toward us! It swooped left and down so suddenly and sharply that my knees began to wobble. I cried to my brother, "Kukunin na nila tayo! (They're going to take us now!)" The craft suddenly shone a very bright, large white light and when the light decreased in size, the craft was right above us, just on the tops of the coconut trees. It was triangular and almost black, totally quiet. We watched it fly over us and then fly upward, passing the moon. At that time, I had no idea that there were triangular UFOs but my brother and I were certain that this was definitely not a plane or any kind of aircraft we knew.

Probably a year after this incident, I was at home with my mother when suddenly we heard a kind of a sonic boom and then what seemed like a jet fighter zooming by. We went outside and there were indeed I think three fighter jets that had just passed us. This was quite unusual but we did not have time to wonder about this for just right on the tail of the jets we saw, in broad daylight (this was about 9 or 10 in the morning), a group of what appeared to be flying disks. There was a group of seven or eight white disks in triangular formation. They were moving steadily across the sky. At the rear was a bright white light that was moving in a weird wobbly way. And at front, at the head of the formation, just like in the Farmington sighting, was a bright red light. I remember joking that this must be Santa and that was Rudolph's red nose. Anyway, I guess our excited shouts were heard by the neighbors who came out of their apartments and also saw the formation. Soon we were a large group and everyone was shouting "Oh my God!" "Ano 'yan? Ano 'yan? (What is that?)

Anyway, I just wanted to share my stories, especially since there hardly seems to be any other reported sightings in the Philippines. More power to you and thank you again.

Regards,
Myra

**********

IS IT A BIRD OR A PLANE...OR WHAT?

Hello mate,

As a cryptozoology freak I found this interesting clip from the 90's, filmed in the Alps region in Austria.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be0sKCY_nYA

Something (I'm convinced it's not a bird or a plane) is flying by in the background. What do you think?

It would be interesting to hear what your readers think? The clip is kinda crappy and no sound but someone tried to analyze the clip.

Take care,
Andy

**********

SAVED BY A SPIRIT

In the spring and summer of 1973 my cousins, Uncle and I lived a 2 story house built in about 1900’s. My cousin Teresa and I took care of her 5 and 6 year old brother and sister while her Dad traveled for work. It is a small town and every one knew he was frequently gone. One night at about 2am I heard Teresa call my name. I quickly got up and or headed for her room. She met me in the hall and asked if I had called her. I said you called me and she said no she hadn’t. We decided we weren’t sleepy any more and went to her room to sit and talk and look out the front window. We sat in the dark and talked.

We noticed a car driving slowly in front of the house. It would speed up when it went past then circle the block and come by again. We watched it pull up to the side of the street and stop. 2 men got out and headed to our house. We went down stairs and waited. They tried to open the front door. We flipped on the lights opened the door and met them with a shot gun and rifle. Needless to say they were shocked. Their statement was “we were just coming for a visit”. We said we don’t know you and if you ever come here again next time we will shoot. They left and never came back. To this day we think our ghosts saved us. Things around the house were always moving and we would hear noises but we were never scared, after all they did save us. - T.S.

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