Seldom does so fertile a mind emerge from the crowd-consciousness of Terra Firma that its psychic influence resounds across cultures, generations, and in all likelihood, other worlds.Then again, to think anything less of a scribe and scholar the likes of Alan Moore, inventor of Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, would be outright heresy.

A gentle recluse of a man, to mention here that Moore resembles (far more than vaguely) a towering wizard ascending the steps of Sauron’s lookout is almost passe’; although in truth, there is far more magic behind Moore’s wizardry than merely what he commits to paper while envisioning fantastic universes… in fact, Moore claims to have had some limited contact with other realms–actual anomalous foreign states of being–in very real ways.

But before we detail Moore’s actual magical experiences, we must afford a brief lineage of his influence through art. Tremendous laud and praise has echoed the man’s exploits, especially since his magnum opus Watchmen helped initiate the Dark Age of comics (achieved in tandem with Frank Miller’s publication of another comic classic, The Dark Night). In Moore’s story, characters ranging from Dr. Manhattan, a glowing nudist embodying the atomic prowess of all the universe, to a poverty-stricken, schizophrenic conservative with a shape-shifting face mask called Rorschach, made an eternal mark on not only the comics industry, but also the way stories would be told in the genre forever after; departing from the conventional story lines of super-hero rags typical to the 1980s, offering instead what became some of the most mature Cold War commentary imaginable within the colored panels of a comic book.

Such mind-expanding storytelling doesn’t come naturally to just anyone; therefore, it is hardly surprising that Moore’s personal experiences reflect a little less of the mundane sorts of things that transpire during most people’s daily lives. “I’ve had years of bizarre hallucinogenic magical experiences,” Moore recently told the Guardian. Moore took time during the interview to describe Unearthing, a new audio-project he has undertaken which is semi-autobiographical, making frequent mention of one of his greatest influences, author Steve Moore. It was Steve who apparently introduced Alan Moore to another of his lifelong passions, the study of magic, and during an abrupt manifestation one evening, the unrelated-Moores together witnessed Steve summon Selene, a Greek moon goddess, in Alan’s study. Moore notes that the experience was likely hallucinatory, although he and his companion were adamant they were “both seeing the same hallucination behaving in the same way” (a tulpa, perhaps?).

Alan’s unique experiences didn’t end with his introduction to Selene, however. The author also describes how 0ver the years he has “communicated with entities that may well have been disassociated parts of my own personality or conceivably some independent entity of a metaphysical nature.” Moore’s accounts, though no doubt limited in scope with the scant descriptions afforded here, bear remarkable similarity to those of psychonauts, individuals who have used psychedelic drugs to enter altered states of consciousness, in which many similar experiences occur. Could some of Moore’s strangest characters have been entities he met while in these altered states?

If such were the case, it would hardly diminish the extraordinary mental prowess Moore exhibits; if anything, it might seem only fitting that the magic Moore has managed to spin around his words for years had stemmed from knowledge of something a bit beyond the conventional. Then, however, it would also be apparent that Moore, rather than being a master-crafter of fiction, had all along been a historian of sorts instead, although the lands and peoples he documented belonged to a realm wholly apart from our own. Regardless, whatever the mage’s mind maketh, it will be well-received and heartily praised: Hence go forth, oh Mightiest Moore, and create.

Anomalistics of the Mage: Alan Moore and the Beyond is a post from: Mysterious Universe

As the latest addition to the Ihegboro family of England, even in her infancy young Nmachi has caused shock and amazement not just among her parents, but much of the scientific community as well.

After all, Ben and Angela, her folks, both deny having any family history outside their native Nigeria; and yet inexplicably young Nmachi was born blue-eyed and blonde haired!

Without a doubt, the baby’s name, meaning “Beauty of God,” takes on a meaning that runs deeper than most realize. Commenting on the astonishing birth, Nmachi’s mother told reporters recently that her new daughter “is a miracle baby.”

Indeed, the beautiful newborn is quite the genetic anomaly, since doctors have determined that the blue-eyed youngster does not suffer from albinism. Also, Mr. Ihegboro is quick to assert his certainty that his wife has remained faithful to him, stating that “Even if she hadn’t been, the baby still wouldn’t look like that.” Indeed, to deny that the miracle-child does bear striking resemblance to her proud parents seems harder to conceive than the possible alternatives.

Experts have suggested that some rare form of genetic mutation may be the cause. Head of Human Genetics at Oxford University Bryan Sykes commented that children born with as much hair as young Nmachi is quite uncommon. “The hair is extremely unusual. Even many blonde children don’t have blonde hair like this at birth.” So what did cause Nmachi’s unusual appearance?

While theories abound, Nmachi’s father Ben offered recently that “we understand life is very strange.” However strange the circumstances, the young “miracle baby” was born into a loving family, with two excited–though somewhat perplexed–siblings, and will no doubt have a happy upbringing to look forward to. And yet, perhaps as the rather unfortunate proliferation of racist sentiments continues to outbreak in various parts of the world and the political sphere (namely in the United States), perhaps Nmachi’s birth is symbolic of other things, too: a sound reminder that, no matter what our physical appearance may be, people just aren’t that different after all.

The Anomalous Infant: Blonde Baby is a “Miracle” is a post from: Mysterious Universe

You’re strolling home from a late dinner with friends, and as you cross the street and begin walking along the sidewalk that carries you the next few blocks to your home, a familiar chain of events begins to occur.

In anticipation of the sudden apprehension that emerges as you pass beneath street lights which, inexplicably, black out as you walk beneath them, you feel a slight chill. You’re also concerned about there being less light to guide your path along an otherwise dark street, but there seems to be no way to prevent the curious and inexplicable way in which you cause street lights directly above you to malfunction.

SLI, or Street Light Interference, is one of the most often overlooked–albeit one of the strangest–purported phenomenon in the modern era. Recently, I received a copy of Hillary Evans’ new book SLIders: The Enigma of Streetlight Interference, new from Anomalist Books. One considered an urban legend, nowadays more and more people have begun to acknowledge that, indeed, some individuals appear to have a propensity for knocking out streetlights, and even influencing other electronic devices with some (perhaps unknown) biological function.

A self-proclaimed bibliophile, Evans has spent decades studying strange phenomenon around the world, and has held positions as wide and varied as a policeman in Palestine to a twice Council Member of the Society for Psychical Research. “Though trivial at first glance,” the author notes, “closer study shows SLI to be a complex process, rich in paradoxes and contradictions. If true, however, the claims carry profound and exciting implications for science and for our knowledge of human potential.” Is there truly some strange power to influence electrical devices that some humans wield? If so, what may be the reception given it by the mainstream scientific community, or will it instead be shunned, only to continue finding best recognition from the camps of folklore and urban legends?

Evans’ book seeks to demystify this lesser-known of Fortean subjects, and his book delves into the best treatment the subject had been afforded yet. For more information about SLIders, follow the link below:

SLIDERS: The Enigma of Streetlight Interference

The Curious Case of the SLIders is a post from: Mysterious Universe

If you could anticipate subtle changes in the environment with your five senses in ways that others can’t, how would you imagine this occurring? What if, when someone was being dishonest, you could collect an odd greenish hue emanating from them in your periphery? Or what about a noticeable electric sensation tingling the tips of your fingers when you shook hands with someone who found you attractive?

Using one’s imagination, it’s interesting to consider how things might appear around us if, rather than using extra-sensory perception (ESP), heightened awareness could be achieved using our five known senses. What would people’s innermost thoughts sound like as they rattled past one’s earlobes and into the consciousness of an unsuspecting eavesdropper? What would emotions like love, happiness, sadness, or fear smell like if they had particular aromas?At the Ask Doc Paranormal website, a recently ordained minister named Lydia from Butte, Montana, claims she can actually sense through smell whether couples she is marrying are compatible. “When couples stand before me, I can sense by scent alone, if these two individuals are meant for each other,” she claims. Lydia also says she has, in the past, been able to “smell” subtle differences in DNA and other minute traces of the human condition around graveyards and spooky locations. Lingering around places where the dead lay dreaming seemed to be having a bit of a negative impact on her life, so Lydia decided she would “do something positive for humanity” and undertake ministerial duties, whereby allowing her to unite young couples in holy matrimony.

Specifically, Lydia describes catching “the acrid odor of marital misery” around the time she has couples take their vows, even describing one incident where an elderly couple in their late 80s and early 90s married, only to have things turn sour the night of their wedding dinner! The newly wedded bride, disgusted with her husband’s excessive love of scotch, “packed her bags, moved into a retirement community, and filed for divorce.” Lydia claims about 40 percent of her marriages end up this way… and that her overactive olfactory can detect it before it happens!

Especially when it comes to human types, this is a rather odd thing to have manifest in the psychic realms of predictability. When it comes to animals, using the senses in extraordinary ways is an everyday occurrence… but what happens when, for instance, a feline is able to catch the scent of death before it happens?

Earlier this year, the English Telegraph reported the story of Oscar, a black and white feline who had been hanging around the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island. There, the furry fellow has a rather odd reputation for being able to sense the oncoming death of patients, who he often will accompany in their last hours by laying beside them. Geriatrician Dr David Dosa found the cat’s ability so unique that he compiled a report detailing 50 instances where he observed the cat’s appearance preceding the death of a patient Oscar had visited.

Dosa supposes that Oscar is able to detect ketones, which are biochemicals given off by dying cells that create a distinct odor some animals can perceive. In fact, there are also a variety of reports where dogs have the apparent ability to smell cancer. Therefore, could it be possible that a handful of humans, like Lydia the minister, might also be able to detect minute scents that are indicative of things to come?

The Smell of Fear: Anomalous in the Olfactory? is a post from: Mysterious Universe

I was a bit surprised to read the news today, and see that there were legitimate warnings about various equipment failure, disorientation, and other oddities that may occur as the result of a massive solar flare expected to bombard Earth’s magnetic field sometime in the next 12-15 hours.

Solar flares and the resulting geomagnetic storms they cause here on Terra Firma can often contribute to a variety of strange things; for instance, Auroral activity will also likely increase, and even an increase in activity at  popular locations associated with “ghost light” phenomenon can be expected.

Perhaps I’m being a bit too cryptic here, but I must admit that something else had been tugging at my synapses as I consumed all this information: could a massive solar storm, in addition to potentially wiping out the electrical grid and thrusting us into a second dark age, turn all of humanity into flesh-devouring zombies?

Sure, it’s unlikely. What probably got me entertaining such ideas was the arrival of one of Brad Steiger’s new books in the mail yesterday, Real Zombies, the Living Dead, and Creatures of the Apocalypse. Similar in format and focus to last year’s Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside, this book will no doubt become the definitive edition that probes the actual plausibility of zombies and mindless denizens of death in folklore and history.

The notion of flesh eating “deadites” stems back to the earliest written works of our time, with references in the Epic of Gilgamesh to zombie-like monstrosities controlled by the goddess Ishtar, who “threatens to raise the dead and have them devour the people unless her father gives her the Bull of Heaven.” Also in the classic “Arabian Nights” series, a story called The History of Gherib and His Brother Agib deals with an outcast prince who battles a family of ravenous ghouls that are very similar to zombies, and converts them to Islam.

I’ll be looking forward to digging into Brad’s book today… especially in the event massive power outages are occurring across the globe. However, I must give one final word of warning: in case you see strange people wandering the city streets in the aftermath of such outages, be sure and lock your doors, and keep a flame thrower, shotgun, or hatchet nearby, lest ye be consumed by the dead who devour the living!

The Living Dead and the Zombie Archetype is a post from: Mysterious Universe

Most cab drivers have their share of horror stories, especially those who work late-night shifts. Many of these involve robberies, or occasionally even encounters with strange freaks of nature that would cause even the most skeptical among us to consider whether life from other planets might exist right here among us.

But for New York cabbie Mahmoud Seck, what initially appeared to be an attempt at robbery by a gun-wielding assailant ended up becoming far more terrifying.

A Fox News Report detailed how the suspect, a Latin American man wearing a scarf and cap, was picked up by the driver at Lexington Ave. and 130th street in Manhattan, then taken to West 180 St. and Davidson Ave. in the Bronx. “Once there, he pulled out a gun and tried to rob the driver,” the report said. At this point, while the passenger attempted to rob him, Seck struggled with the man, who, rather than using the gun, suddenly began biting the cabbie on the neck in an act of aggression that has been described as something “that would make Bram Stoker blush.”

The photograph (which can be seen here), taken by the dash camera in the taxi Seck had been driving, depicts a young man with glowing eyes and a sadistic-looking smirk; even vaguely reminiscent of serial killer Richard Ramirez. In his book Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside, author Brad Steiger makes the case that characters such as Ramirez, due to their apparent blood lust and habitual desire to inflict pain and suffering, are the modern counterparts to the folkloric vampires of days past. Here again, perhaps we’ve seen that the classic depiction of the vampire is indeed alive (or at least undead) and well, even a place as densely populated as present-day New York.

Terrifying New York “Vampire” Assaults Cab Driver is a post from: Mysterious Universe

Throughout history, a surprising number of fiction novelists have managed to spin plot elements into their stories which, though they had no idea at the time, would later prove to have startling ramifications in the real world.

In many instances where such startling similarities have occurred, names, dates, and places have even accurately been named, as though the authors had somehow tapped into actual future events and predicted their outcome.

One of the more startling instances of such “psychic novelist” activity involved Edgar Allan Poe, who managed to predict with frightening detail an exact series of events that later transpired at sea aboard a seagoing vessel called the Mignonette. In his longest (and arguably his strangest) story, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, the ship carrying the narrator and its crew encountered a freakish squall, in which only a handful of men survived. Among them was a lowly cabin boy named Richard Parker, who later was cannibalized in what was then known as the grim “custom of the sea.” Though this series of events was conjured from Poe’s mind, decades later the Mignonette was destroyed under almost identical circumstances, where a sudden 40-foot wave capsized the ship. Among the survivors–and first to be killed and cannibalized–was the cabin boy, whose name was none other than Richard Parker! Captain Tom Dudley, along with those who had helped devour young Parker, were later discovered alive, and were tried for murder.

Another instance of science fiction predicting strange incidents that would occur later involves Alexander Kazantsev, who wrote what appeared to be fiction based on an actual event, the Tunguska blast of 1908, in his 1946 story “A Visitor From Outer Space.” In the story, an alien spacecraft attempting to get water from Lake Baikal in Russia explodes in mid air. Although it is widely known that Kazantsev was perhaps the first to link aliens to the Tunguska event, in 2009, Russian Naval documents dealing with UFOs also revealed that 50% of all encounters with UFOs they reported had occurred under or near water. Strangely, a 1982 encounter military divers reported dealt with the appearance of “three humanoids clad in silver suits at a depth of 50 meters,” which resulted in the death of three of the divers. Perhaps Kazantsev had been closer to being accurate with his story than even he realized!

Then take into consideration Pulitzer Prize winner Norman Mailer, who managed to weave a strange psychic prediction into the plot of his novel Barbary Shore, in which a Soviet spy character is living undercover in a New York Boarding House. The setting for the novel is based loosely on the apartment building in which he lived while writing it, and strangely, after its publication it was revealed that a soviet spy had actually been living upstairs, just as written about in Mailer’s fiction! Perhaps Mailer had his own affinity for psychic phenomenon, as this great quote illustrates with its mention of “psychic bullets”:

In America all too few blows are struck into flesh. We kill the spirit here, we are experts at that. We use psychic bullets and kill each other cell by cell. –Norman Mailer

Jules Verne, one of Edgar Allan Poe’s proteges, also went on to be rather predictive with his fiction. Verne discussed the future of space flight in his book From the Earth to the Moon, which ended up describing events uncannily similar to what later became NASA’s real Apollo Program. In the story, three astronauts are launched from the Florida peninsula and later recovered through a splash landing. Also, in the book the spacecraft in question was launched from what Verne called “Tampa Town.” Tampa, Florida is approximately 130 miles from NASA’s actual launching site at present day Cape Canaveral.

So next time anybody brings up the old phrase “truth is stranger than fiction,” you’ll have no problem correcting them; if anything, it’s often apparently only as strange as the fiction that predicted it!

Fiction is Strange, but is Truth Always Stranger? is a post from: Mysterious Universe

The Chinese Communist Party often relies on the modern skylines of Beijing and Shanghai to show off their “progress” to the west. What they don’t show however are areas that lack some of the basic buildings essential to the community, schools for example.

In 1994, the residents of the Miao Village, in China’s Guizhou province, took matters into their own hands and constructed a school.

They certainly picked an interesting spot.

Photos by Reuters

Reminds me of Little Lamplight from Fallout 3.

via [Oddity Central]

China’s Cave School is a post from: Mysterious Universe

China’s Yu Zenhuan, the nation’s undisputed “hairiest man”, was only 2 years old when his parents first noticed abnormal amounts of hair growing from his ear canals. Over the years his condition worsened and now thick hair covers nearly 96% of Yu’s body.

But Yu may still have a chance of living a normal life, and is now undertaking laser treatment to have his hair removed. For the treatment to be effective, every hair on his body will have to be zapped individually with a laser.

Read on for more pics.

I’m trying to think of a clever wookie/bigfoot/yeti joke to finish off here but I keep getting hung up on one simple question… how did he land such a cute girl?

Click here to view the embedded video.

China’s Hairiest Man Undergoes Laser Treatment is a post from: Mysterious Universe

A Philidelphia resident has reported an encounter with a 3 foot tall, 3 legged, single eyed creature, in what must be one of the most bizarre reports ever filed with MUFON.

Preceding the encounter on the 15th of August 2009, the witness reported seeing a luminescent orb buzzing above their building, and then shortly after the somewhat amusing interaction with the Tripod creature, a man sized Preying Mantis was seen staring at the witness though a window.

Read on for the full MUFON report…. oh and there’s a Thunderbird too, just for good measure.

MUFON witness statement: “On 8-15-2009 at 2:45am I was buzzed for about 5 seconds by a 4 foot round luminescent orb on the roof of the building that I work in, in Philadelphia . It materialized about a foot away from me, blocking my way and making a buzzing sound, it then took off and dematerialized in approximately a 6 feet distance. At this time I decided to turn around and leave the roof.

About an hour later at 3:45am I was walking through a machine room on the roof, near the same location of the orb, when I encountered a 3 foot tall triped creature. It was standing by an electrical transformer looking up at the conduits. I observed it for about 30 seconds from a distance of four feet before it turned around and noticed me. I was looking down at it! It had a beautiful baby blue eye which was moving rapidly, just one, a long eye lid and rubbery looking legs with bulbous feet. I could see it was starting to panic because it started stomping his feet like a mad skunk or jumping up and down and making a high pitch squeaking sound almost like a cats toy. I was blocking it’s way to the open roll up door leading to the roof behind me. I put up an open hand in a gesture to let it know that I wouldn’t hurt it and backed up towards a different part of the machine room, away from it’s path to the door, but kept my eye on the creature. I watched it walking down the isle slowly when it started to move. It stopped where I had turned to get out of its way, it then turned and looked me over for a couple of seconds. I couldn’t help myself and started to laugh at it. I felt like a child who saw a monkey for the first time or something! I got the impression that it was thanking me but I think I also offended it because it started to leer at me and it’s eye changed to a lighter color. I could be wrong, it may have took a bow! The triped then took off running in the direction of the door disappearing behind machinery in the area. I didn’t feel threatened in any way by this creature but I was quite sure that cornering it was a bad idea! In hindsight of this encounter I’m left with a feeling a of wonder. The buildings electrical generator was permanently shut down about a year ago.

On this same morning I’m doing my paper work in the control booth, and a larger than man sized Praying Mantis comes up to the window and just stairs at me for about a minute. I did not feel comfortable with this encounter considering the nature of this kind of insect. I sat there and didn’t move a muscle until it left. I have also heard screeching sounds in the roof machine room, in the direction of the roll up door which made my hair stand up on the back of my neck around the same time for 2 nights.

The next night 8-16-09 I’m mopping the floor in the machine room, on the roof and I come back to the sink to fill my bucket and there was a little springs and clip neatly arranged next to each other on the floor in front of the sink. I think the triped came back. There was no one else in the machine room. Was it trying to tell me something, were they gifts or was it trying to help me? I don’t know. Its a mystery! The triped may have been back the next night too, but I didn’t see it! It had moved stuff around like a toddler would have. It was into everything exploring I guess.

On 8-18-09 at around 3:00am I was witness to a giant bird above Eakins Oval with a 40 foot wing span or better, it had rectangle shaped wings and no tail feathers, I didn’t see any feet or head either. All I could make out was the huge wings with all of the feathers moving in the breeze and there were hundreds of them, there were no primary feathers that I could see. It looked like a enormous kite. I’m a bird watcher and never seen a bird like this before. I was really quite fed up with all the paranormal stuff happening to me at this time so I watched it for about 4 minuets and decided to just ignored it and go on about my business before it did something really weird and unexplainable. “Wow ” A Sumerian god come to earth! An angle maybe? I can take see an alien off my bucket list! Nothing else has happened since.”

A true report on non-human encounters? Glimpses of other dimensions? A fictional tale of tomfoolery? Or simply too much (or too little) medication?

Via Phantoms and Monsters

Tripedal Creature and Mantis Entity Encounter is a post from: Mysterious Universe