The Fortean/paranormal/conspiracy thread

[Surf Digby]

And what's wrong with the Loch Ness monster?

 

 

Although if anyone's ever considering going to the exhibition, don't bother. While waiting to go in, you're played a video telling you that it's an impossibility for there to be a monster as there's not enough food to support it by some guy with a monotonous voice. Then you go in, and it shows you the Surgeon's Photo and tells you it's a fake. Then you go into the next room for the story behind the Surgeon's Photo, all in the same monotonous voice.

 

It kills any sense of wonder whatsoever, and it's not really any fun either.

[Undefeated Steak]

I have nothing against the Loch Ness monster theory. If anything, I applaud them for turning a floating log into such a money spinner. If the Malaysians have anything about them then tourists will soon be able to buy MH370 pin badges and scarves.

[Egg Shen]

good post matbro, enjoyed that lil read

[Onyx2]

I've recently started reading about the Egyptian pyramids and some of the facts (or more precisely, unanswered questions) are baffling. I've never cared much for the Loch Ness or Big Foot-type theories and some of the helmets who talk about the moon landing being faked and 9/11 being an inside job are enough to stop me looking further into things like that. Can anybody recommend some good books or online sources on the pyramids for a novice in the field?

Depends what you're after. When I was about 16 I read Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock. It blew me away as an impressionable teenager, with stories of him nervously crawling the catacombs and pondering the mathematical coincidences of Giza. It picks on loads of subjects in a pseudoscientific way, discussing Great Years, Crustal Displacement and Orion Correlation Theory.

 

I picked it up about six years later, remembering it to be a cracking read, and was astonished how sloppy and provocative it was. It's delivered with all the subtlety of the guy who did the voiceovers at the end of the Batman TV show. It's still enjoyable, and gives you a good place to start reading from, but keep the sceptical part of the brain engaged when doing so.

[matbro1984]

That was great! Thanks for that, man - makes me want to do the trip myself, looks like a load of fun. Really want to try that Alien Burger too.

 

I went with a company called Adventure Photo Tours - actually I believe they are the only company still offering the tour. Whereas in the 90s with the X Files at it's peak there were coachloads going out there every day, now APT are the only ones left, doing the tour on Wednesdays only.

 

Also - the alien burger isn't made of real aliens. I did ask... and swiftly realised it's a "quip" the poor waitress probably hears every day and has to feign laughter to.

 

It really is fun, and a part of the world you're never likely to just happen upon. You could hire a car and drive out there yourself but a few things would trouble me about that:

 

1 - You have to negotiate your way out of Las Vegas, which is a tough ask in itself.

2 - If you don't know exactly where the fuel stops are, you're buggered

3 - Getting to any entrance of the base is not easy, given it's not on maps, the road itself is little more than a dirt track in places so a regular rented car will be a very bumpy ride! there is a scenic viewpoint only accessible by 4x4 too.

4 - We visited the entrance that is geographically closest to the base, there is another entrance further north which actually has a gate and a fence and so on, that features in this BBC documentary. If visiting the same entrance we were, and you're not paying attention, then you could pass the sign by accident. This can and does happen... the likely scenario is an interrogation, a hefty fine, and a plane ride home later that night.

 

Much better off getting a tour, and some friendly company for the (long!) journey.

[Loki]

I bet it was out of this world.

[Undefeated Steak]

I bet it was out of this world.

 

I assume it was served on a saucer?

[Steve Justice]

Jeez, stop with the probing questions.

[King Pitcos]

Has this been posted in here before? A nutnut wrote a song about 9/11 and made a music video of himself singing it:

[Kaz Hayashi]

Has this been posted in here before? A nutnut wrote a song about 9/11 and made a music video of himself singing it:

 

oooh my.

 

How did you discover this? It's just.. wow

[Kookoocachu]

Has this been posted in here before? A nutnut wrote a song about 9/11 and made a music video of himself singing it:

You got lost on YouTube too?

[King Pitcos]

My mate emailed me the link.[/Petey] The fella signed up to a songwriting forum to plug the song... Three years after uploading it.

Edited May 31, 2014 by King Pitcos

[seanz25]

Has anyone read David Hatcher's book Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest? Looking at buying it on amazon but don't want a book that's overly complicated as I'm not really familiar with the Southwest Area all that well, however the subject it's self does interest me. Any help would be great!

[HarmonicGenerator]

I don't know if it qualifies for discussion here, but I just read this story about two girls who were inspired by a figure named Slender Man to stab their friend 19 times. Slender Man is a fictional creation, but these girls claim they were on their way to meet him. The article refers to him as a 'phantom' and a 'boogeyman', and I wonder if the fact he's an online construct draws parallels with things like Spring-Heeled Jack or other characters who took on a life of their own in the real world. Is this the modern equivalent of that kind of paranormal mythmaking?

[Surf Digby]

I'd liken it more to things like Candyman or even Blair Witch, where it's something that started out purely and openly as fiction, but crossed over into urban mythery through trolls and stupid people believing it to be real (or at least based on a real event) and pushing that angle.

 

Spring Heeled Jack was a sort of reverse of that, in that he was a real character who became so overhyped in the press and through Chinese whispery word of mouth that his antics took on a supernatural reputation.