The Monster of Manhattan

You may have seen this in the news lately - but be careful, some viewers may find these pictures disturbing.

With its bizarre face and freakishly human-like fingers, this creature's bloated carcass has recently washed up under New York's Brooklyn Bridge.
It was discovered by a passer-by, and has since sparked a guessing game amongst the locals, trying to guess what it is.
Many theories suggest that it is either a giant rat or a pig (the city's Park Department shrugged this off as a "pig left over from a cookout"), but with its five-fingered hands it doesn't seem to bear resemblance to any known creature.

The following photos of this creature have been taken by Denise Ginley, who told the New York Daily News, "It is almost certainly not a pig. The most obvious sign being the lack of cloven hoof..."

"The Monster of Manhattan"

There are many interesting theories on what this curious creature is - the most applaudable being that it's simply the bloated carcass of a rat - and that the water has rubbed the hair off. This seems likely as a giant rat has been found in a Footlocker not long before.

Some even claim that the Manhattan Monster is related to the Montauk Monster, an unidentified creature that washed up in 2008 (I may write an article on this later).

The Montauk Monster, 2008

The Montauk Monster has left the residents too scared to swim.
What do you think these creatures are? Please let me know in the comments!

High School Students Capture Sasquatch on Video

Some high school students have captured a strange sighting of a yeti that could possibly lead to Sasquatch hunters coming to Pocatello, Idaho where the creature was sighted.
It was accidentally captured by the students when they were out near the west fork of Mink Creek on a school project. They say they could see it watching them from the ridge.
"It just didn't look human-like. I don't know what it is, it's not a bear, it's not a moose or anything It was big and bulky and black," says the student who did not want to be named.
I found this news clip that gives a few more details - and the students' footage may lead to a future expedition.

News Bite - UK's Top 10 UFO sightings

Hi there,
I was just browsing on MSN and came across this interesting article about the UK's top 10 unexplained UFO sightings.
Check it out!

UK's Top Ten UFOs

Although I don't usually refer to MSN when writing articles, I just feel like sharing this one with you.
Some incidents sound mind-boggling - one in particular, the Dark Peak the RAF managed to get involved, searching for a wrecked plane.

The UK - home to bad weather, great TV and tea - not to mention UFOs.
Read the article and tell me what you think!

New Expedition Set - Search for the Mokele Mbembe

Sorry for the long wait guys - had a veeeeeery long blank moment there (I promise it won't happen again!)

Some very exciting news has come up - Stephen McCullah has launched a new expedition (called the "Newmac Expedition") in Africa's forests to search for the Mokele Mbembe - thought to be a real living dinosaur.
McCullah and his colleagues have launched a fundraising campaign, in hope to raise $27,000 for the expedition, which is scheduled to begin on the 26th of June this year.

"We are in the process of looking at live methods for capture of large animals. We will be attempting to bring a tranquilliser rifle, but there are many issues and unknowns we will have to overcome to subdue an animal like Moleke Mbembe with a tranquilliser."

The Moleke Mbembe is a creature similar to the Loch Ness Monster.
It is usually sighted at around the Congo Basin, and all expeditions before had failed to gather any solid evidence supporting its existence.
Despite this, there have been many sightings of it, like this still from an eyewitness video:

To look at my older post on the Mokele Mbembe, click here.


I'll be eagerly waiting for their results, and I wish them best of luck!
What do you think? Is this expedition going to be time well spent, or will it fail like all the other former expeditions?

Please tell me in the comments!

News Bite - The Icelandic Worm Monster

It's been in the news lately - an amateur photographer has apparently captured footage of Iceland's legendary Lagarfllót's Worm - their equivalent to Scotland's Loch Ness Monster.
Iceland is known for their belief in trolls and fairies, but could there also be a giant, 100 metre, poison-spitting serpent living under their glacial rivers?

The photographer captured this sighing at a glacial river in the east of the country. It apparently shows a snake-like creature slinking through the water underneath the ice.

According to legend, the monster grew from a tiny worm after a girl placed a gold ring on it in hope to increase the size of her jewellery.
Things didn't go according to plan, and on her return, she found that the ring didn't grow - the creature did.
Terrified, the girl threw the creature into the lake, where it kept on growing into a ferocious beast, capable of spitting a deadly poison.

There have been some more reports of the creature being sighted in the forest, but cryptozoologist Loren Coleman is skeptical.
"What concerns me most is the robotic look of this creature."
"If you look at its head, it appears like somebody's put a constructed anaconda head there, and behind it, the natural movement of a snake should give a much more flowing curve to the sections."

Watch the video and tell me what you think!

Slenderman

You've probably heard of Slenderman - the urban legend and popular Internet meme.
His popularity started when a photoshop contest on the forum Something Awful. The objective was to create creepy pictures to fool people thinking that they were genuine.
On June 10th 2009, user Victor Surge posted in a thread containing the first known mention of Slenderman, a tall, slender creature wearing a black suit, white shirt and necktie with a blank white face and many limbs extending from the back.
Slenderman since then has inspired numerous fan art and music tributes.

Despite knowing that Slenderman was made up by Victor Surge, many poeple claim to have sighted him, and he appears in the background of many photos. However, knowing that he was created using Photoshop, can we be sure that these sightings weren't faked?

What do you think? Does Slenderman really stalk children in the streets or does he really just stalk the Internet? Please tell me in the comments!

Fairy Sightings - Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello everyone!

As you know Valentine's Day is shortly on its way, and I want to show you a few fairy sightings.
First, a quick note on fairies.
Fairies, in Cryptozoology, are considered to be a kind of sprite, angel or winged humanoid. They appear often in myth folklore.

For more information on fairies, take a look at my older post HERE.

I've found this really interesting forum called "Fairy Gardens," where adults come and document their own sightings, photos and eyewitness accounts. Although the site itself doesn't look very convincing, the people taking part in the forum have contributed very detailed accounts. Some stories may seem laughable, and some photos not very convincing, but I thought it would be worth sharing it with you.

Here is one taken by couple Andrew and Susan Macleod:

Andrew says, "My wife was trying out our new digital camera one evening in our back garden, which apparently was the spring equinox although I am not sure as to the significance of this, the moon was full so Sue wanted to take a picture of it with the huge corona."

Here is another taken by the couple:

If you want to take a look at the forum, click HERE.

Fairies - what do you think?

Have a happy Valentines Day, and please tell me what you think in the comments!

Requested - Griffins

Someone called Zenith commented requesting for a post on Griffins - well here it is (and I'm very sorry if I'm late!)

Griffins are found in Greek and Ancient Egyptian folklore. They are depicted as creatures with a lion's body and with the head and wings of an eagle (though some early versions show it to have the front limbs of a lion.) As the lion is traditionally considered king of the beasts and the eagle considered king of the birds, the Griffin is thought to be incredibly powerful and majestic.

Griffin sighting are rare, but here's one at the Taj Mahal (though it's likely to be faked.)

If any of you have requests, please let me know!

Chinese Dragons

Hi to all of you and a happy New Year!
There's a lot to look forward to - the London Olympics (I couldn't get tickets...), the Diamond Jubilee and finally, the end of the world (maybe. I'm sceptical.)

Anyway, as it is the New Year, I thought that it would be sensible to write an article about the Chinese Dragon, although this year's Chinese New Year is on the 23rd. Also, this year happens to be the Year of the Dragon. What a happy coincidence.

The Chinese Dragon is a serpentine-like creature found in Chinese legends and folklore. It has many counterparts found in other folklore such as Japanese and Korean.
In traditional Chinese art, they are depicted as long, colourful serpentine-like creatures with four legs. Each foot has five toes (Japanese ones have four,) and the ankles are decorated with a beautiful feathery plumage. The dragon also has similar plumage around its face (sometimes resembling facial hair) and also has deer-like antlers on its head.

A Chinese dragon depicted in traditional Chinese  art.

Sometimes the Chinese dragon is thought to be a supernatural being due to its ability to fly despite its physique, much like a sky serpent.

There have recently been sightings of Chinese dragons (take a look at my post HERE).
I found this one while browsing on the Internet, but couldn't find any information on this picture. If you know anything like a time and a place, please say so in the comments!

It appears to be some kind of long, fiery creature, but it may just be some fire.
What do you think it is? Please comment below!