The Two Disappearances of Ian Hamilton

The Two Disappearances of Ian Hamilton

Soldier. Activist. Lawyer. Rector. Scottish nationalist Ian Hamilton has worn all of these hats throughout his notorious career. Hamilton distinguished himself as one of those flitting gadflies who always shows up in the middle of some outlandish controversy. Two episodes in his colorful life have attained legendary status: a pair…
April 20, 20206 Comments
The Other Black Panther

The Other Black Panther

A reader of yesterday's cryptid post responded with a comment that blew my sighting out of the water: I've heard and seen one of the anomalous big cats during one of my excursions to visit family in Missouri, but I don't think it was any sort of phantom. They do…
March 25, 20209 Comments
Phantom Animals

Phantom Animals

Cataloging reports of unknown animals--cryptids to folks in the business--is one of my guilty pleasures. Who doesn't love a goose bump-raising tale of giant footprints in a creek bed or anomalous shrieks in the night? Sometimes, though, the juxtaposition of familiar critters in impossible places can be just as unnerving. It’s…
March 24, 20208 Comments
The Beale Cipher

The Beale Cipher

The human drive to plumb the depths of mysteries has led to astonishing achievements. It has also driven untold souls to obsession, madness, and ruin. According to frontier legend, hunter Thomas J. Beale struck out from Bedford County, Virginia at the head of a thirty-man expedition headed west. Legend has…
March 16, 202011 Comments
Someone Was Watching

Someone Was Watching

His parents told him the strange noises coming from the wall vent were just the normal sounds of an old house settling. They said the sour smells were fumes from the nearby plant wafting through the drafty windows. They didn't believe him when he told them of finding chairs and…
March 12, 20204 Comments
Return to Mel’s Hole

Return to Mel’s Hole

Art by Chris Holm Continued from our previous tale of high strangeness. In December of 1999, Mel Waters returned to the United States after two years of running a wombat rescue in Australia. He'd intended to visit friends and family for the holidays, but the government had other plans. They…
February 7, 20207 Comments
Mel’s Hole

Mel’s Hole

Mel Waters had always flown by the seat of his pants, and in the summer of 1995 his freewheeling lifestyle was catching up to him. With his finances circling the drain and his marriage on the rocks, Mel purchased a tract of rural land west of Ellensburg,Washington where he hoped…
January 30, 202011 Comments
Croglin Grange

Croglin Grange

Image by Jason McKittrick Back in Cromwell's day, the Fisher family left their ancestral home in Cumberland and moved south to more spacious accommodations. Loath to sell their old farmhouse called Croglin Grange, they leased the one-story home to Amelia Cranswell and her two brothers. The Cranswells enjoyed a peaceful first…
January 17, 202011 Comments
Ticking Time Bomb

Ticking Time Bomb

Astute pundits are rightly alerting us that the impeachment circus is a distraction to hide legislative shenanigans from the people. But not even the most cynical among them could have guessed just how strange some of those shenanigans are. The House quietly voted last week to require the Pentagon inspector…
December 19, 201914 Comments
Lost Boy-Finders Connection?

Lost Boy-Finders Connection?

Cryptid researcher Bob Gymlan presents a detailed account of a truly chilling missing persons case: the disappearance of six-year-old Dennis Martin from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Multiple oddities intersect to make this case deeply disturbing--doubly so for parents of young children. Still, forewarned is forearmed. Gymlan--along with investigator…
December 5, 201928 Comments