Nick Redfern November 11, 2020
There’s no doubt that when people have close encounters with the likes of Bigfoot, M.I.B., and even lake-monsters, emotions soar high. Amazement and excitement are obviously two emotions that stand out. Then, there is the matter of fear. Of course, should you be lucky enough (or unlucky enough!) to run into a Bigfoot, a Nessie, and so on, there’s going to be a little bit of concern, particularly if your encounter is an extremely close one. All of this is totally natural. There is, however, another angle that relates to the fear aspect. It’s a very strange and creepy aspect. It’s as if all of these abominable “things” can deliberately instill high levels of terror in us. With that said, let us have a look at some examples of this “created terror.” We’ll begin with Scotland’s most famous monster. You know the one, of course: Nessie. Or, rather, the Nessies. There’s no doubt that, in terms of Nessie lore, July 22, 1933 was both history-making and groundbreaking. That was the date upon which Mr. and Mrs. George Spicer had an encounter with a large and lumbering beast at Loch Ness that, clearly, as Mr. Spicer’s words demonstrated, they wished had never occurred.
Most people would likely love to see one of the Nessies. Not the Spicers: it was a traumatic and terrifying event they tried their very best to forget. As the pair drove along the road that links Foyers and Dores, and in a southerly direction, Mrs. Spicer suddenly screamed. And she had a very good reason to scream. Somewhere in the region of 600 feet in front of them a bizarre-looking animal loomed out of the bushes that dominated the roadside – and it vanished down towards the loch. If that had been me I would have been amazed and excited. The Spicers were not. George Spicer described the animal as being hideous, an absolute affront against nature. What particularly struck Spicer – and which provoked his comments – was the way the thing moved. It did not do so like any normal animal. Rather, it lumbered across in a series of odd jerks and coils; something which, for Spicer and his wife, was reminiscent of a massive, writhing worm. They even felt there was something malignant and not right about the beast. For the Spicers, they wished they had never seen the terror-inducing monster.
Now, let’s move onto Bigfoot. There are far more than a few reports on record in which witnesses in close proximity to Bigfoot have reported feeling inexplicably terrified, nauseous, confused, disoriented, dizzy, light-headed, and physically unable to move. This may not be due to sheer terror and the pounding flood of massive amounts of Adrenalin coursing through the bloodstream. The culprit may be something called infrasound. In simple terms, infrasound is an extremely low frequency sound, one which is significantly lower than 20HZ, the typical extreme of human hearing. Melissa Adair, an expert on the hairy thing of the woods, says: “People who work with elephants have reported, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, disorientation and weakness as a result of being exposed to the infrasound that elephants produce. The known effects of infrasound on humans include feelings of intense fear or awe. Bigfoot researchers have reported similar symptoms that seem to come on suddenly when out in the field. Are we being ‘zapped’???” That may be exactly what is happening.
I have countless cases of the Men in Black and the Women in Black who were terrified by their creepy visitors. Yet again, though, it wasn’t a normal sense of fear. Rather, it was an inexplicable, over-the-top sense of terror. A perfect example comes from “A Hesitant Believer,” who had a very bizarre experience in Florida in 2008. He told me: “I worked as a bar manager at a sports bar in Tampa, Florida, and at 2:00 AM I cashed out the servers and sent them home and closed down the kitchen. The bar itself closed at 3:00 AM, but my last few barflies stumbled out before 2:30. I closed out the credit cards, counted the register, abused my free credits on the jukebox, and sat down to wait out the clock. At about ten minutes to three a couple walked in. I told them it was last call and cash only at this point, and locked the doors behind them, not even really paying attention to them (rude, I know, but after 12 hours, give me a break). When I did notice them, I began to feel uneasy [italics mine]”
“AHB” continued: “He had incredibly pale skin that showed blue veins underneath (I had turned on all of the house lights by this point, so they stood out in stark contrast), a very high forehead, prominent cheekbones, and deep-set, large, brilliant blue eyes, possibly the most vibrant blue I have ever seen. He had thin, dry, unhealthy-looking silvery-grey hair pulled back in a ponytail, with seemingly random dark brown patches in it, as if he gave a half-assed attempt to dye it and gave up halfway through the process. The woman, who was about 5’6, emaciated, and looked about mid-20s, wore a black evening gown with elbow-length satin gloves and had a clashing bright green knit shawl around her shoulders. She had a short bob haircut with bangs, though it really looked like a poorly cared-for wig. She had the same high forehead, cheekbones, and blue eyes as her partner, although her eyes were more narrow and slightly slanted. Neither one had eyebrows. The whole experience seemed dream-like to me, and I almost wanted to believe I had hallucinated it.”
Yet again, there was a feeling of things not being as they should be, and a growing fear of the strange pair. Just perhaps, all of these strange creatures have the ability to utilize infrasound when it’s needed. An intriguing and unsettling theory, to be sure. Mysterious Universe
The Draugr: The Deadliest Monster of All?
Nick Redfern October 28, 2020
There is one particular monster of the night that just about everyone has heard of, regardless of whether or not they have an interest in the subject. It’s the vampire, of course. For the most part, the image of the vampire has been dictated by popular culture, such as movies, television shows, and novels. The vampire of the past was typically presented in the form of a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit and cloak. Today, though, Hollywood’s vampires are far more likely to resemble a cross between Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. That the vampire is such an integral part of horror-fiction has led to the assumption that blood-sucking monsters of the night don’t exist outside of the imagination. There are those who are at variance with that. With that said, let us now take a look at one particular, alleged type of vampire. It’s time for us to move on to Scandinavia, circa 1,100 years ago, we have tales of a violent and incredibly powerful monster, of human-looking proportions, known as the Draugr.
Mythical Creatures and Beasts tell us: “Draugr are the ghosts of dead Vikings and dwell in their graves. They possess super human strength and can increase their size at will. They appear from the graves as wisps of smoke and carry the strong stench of decaying flesh. They slay their victims in many ways including crushing them while in their gigantic forms. These monsters enjoy devouring flesh and drinking the blood of their unfortunate victims. Animals that choose to scavenge near any graves occupied by Draugr were said to be driven mad by the control and power of these evil mythical creatures. These entities were said to often come back even after being defeated. Cutting off the heads, burning the bodies and throwing the ashes in the sea were some of the many methods used to mutilate their bodies after defeat. Being absolutely sure these menacing evil spirits were dead and gone was imperative. To prevent the return of dead Vikings, scissors were placed on their chests along with bits of twigs hidden in their clothing.”
The alternative name for this particular beast is the Aptr-gangr. Both roughly translate as “one who walks after death.” This particular vampire wasn’t just partial to human blood, though: it was also a cannibalistic-type of creature that had a taste for human flesh. Scandinavian lore maintained that to ensure the dead never rose up and attacked the living, all human bodies should be buried in horizontal fashion. If a corpse was interred even slightly angled, there was a very good chance that it would return as a dangerous Draugr. Even failing to pay the newly dead the respect they deserved might cause a man, woman or child to come back as a Draugr – and come back quickly, too. These creatures were not just ferocious drainers of blood and eaters of flesh, though. They also had a fascination for gold and silver and millennia-old treasures, which they would obsessively hoard. They also possessed supernatural abilities, too, including the power to turn themselves into a form of thick fog – which, in that ethereal form, prevented them from being killed. After all, it’s impossible to plunge a wooden stake into fog. As a result, putting an end to a Draugr was an arduous and highly dangerous task.
At Mythology wiki, there is the following, intriguing information: “After a person’s death, the main indication that the person will become a draugr is that the corpse is not in a horizontal position. In most cases, the corpse is found in an upright or sitting position, and this is an indication that the dead might return. Any mean, nasty, or greedy person can become a draugr. As noted by Ármann, “most medieval Icelandic ghosts are evil or marginal people. If not dissatisfied or evil, they are unpopular”. This is the prime way that draugr share characteristics with ghosts, since any person can become a ghost. In many Western mythologies, ghosts are generally people with unfinished business or those who are so evil their spirit makes an impact on the place they lived. Ghosts and draugr refuse to follow the prescribed path of death, selfishly staying on Earth when they are supposed to move on.”
