Black Dogs - A Connection?
Today’s post is a little off-track. Or, depending on your views as to what lies at the heart of the UFO mystery, it’s either way off track, or right on target. Decide for yourselves.
As an author myself, I’m always interested to receive copies of new books to review - on any and all aspects of that which, collectively, comes under the heading of Forteana in general, as well as UFOs in particular. Indeed, I was very pleased when, two days ago, a hefty package of titles arrived in my mailbox, courtesy of Bob Trubshaw’s British-based Heart of Albion Press, a company that puts out some great titles on British folklore, cryptozoology and unsolved mysteries.
One of the titles contained in that aforementioned package was Phantom Black Dogs in Latin America, written by Simon Burchell. Few people who have read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, can forget those immortal words uttered by Dr. James Mortimer to the world’s most famous fictional detective: “Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!”
It may come as a surprise to some people to learn that Conan Doyle’s novel was actually based upon real legends of giant, devilish hounds that were said to haunt Britain’s villages and countryside, bringing doom, tragedy and death in their spectral and demonic wake.
Yep: Britain has a long, rich and varied history of encounters with what have generally become known as “Phantom Black Dogs.” Usually much larger than normal dogs, they are said to possess a pair of large, glowing eyes (very often red); they frequent graveyards, old roadways, crossroads and bridges; and are almost unanimously associated with the realm of the dead.
In some cases, the beasts appear to be demonstrably evil; while in other reports evidence is exhibited of a helpful - perhaps even concerned - nature. But whatever these critters are, they are not your average flesh and blood animal. Not at all. They might just be your worst nightmare.
At this point, some of you may be thinking: “That’s all well and good; but what in the name of MJ12 does any of this have to do with UFOs?”
Well…here’s where things get interesting. Although many of the old-school, die-hard ufologists hate to admit it, there are numerous cases on record within Ufology that have more than a fair share of the paranormal about them. Not only that: there are more than enough cases on record to suggest a connection between the Phantom Black Dogs and whatever it is that lies at the heart of the UFO puzzle.
For example, around 6 years ago I spoke with a couple who had seen a classic Phantom Black Dog at the site of the infamous UFO landing at Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England in December 1980.
And ten years ago or more, I listened intently to a chap named Nigel Lea relate details to me of his own encounter with such a beast while driving through Britain’s sprawling Cannock Chase forest (which is only a stone’s throw from where I used to live in the old country) one night in the early 1970s. In Lea’s case the dog had literally manifested in the middle of the road directly after a small, aerial blue ball of light had slammed into the tarmac - amid a torrent of sparks - a couple of hundred yards ahead of his car.
Precisely what all of this means, I confess I do not have the foggiest idea; other than that it just reinforces my belief that the Phantom Black Dog of British folklore is no more a physical, flesh-and-blood beast, than UFOs are nuts-and-bolts spaceships piloted by dwarfish, humorless, bald geezers whose gene-pool has gone belly-up.
And this brings me to Simon Burchell’s new title. Running at 38 pages, Phantom Black Dogs in Latin America is obviously very much a booklet rather than a full-length book. But that doesn’t detract from the most important thing of all: it’s pages are packed with case after case, each offering the reader little-known and seldom-seen information on the definitive Latin American cousin to Britain’s more famous counterpart.
Now, I need to stress that this title doesn’t delve into the UFO puzzle at all; but it does reveal a lot about the nature of the spectral hounds. And so, if, somewhere, there is a tie-in between both issues, then for anyone interested in pursuing this aspect of the UFO puzzle further, Burchell’s report may be considered required reading.
What impresses and intrigues me most of all about Burchell’s publication is the truly startling wealth of similarities between those creatures seen centuries ago in England, and those reported throughout Latin America in the last 100 years: namely, the diabolical, glowing eyes; the association that the phantom hound has with life after death; how seeing the beast may be a precursor to doom and tragedy; its occasional helpful and guiding qualities; the fact that the animal is usually witnessed in the vicinity of bridges, crossroads, and cemeteries; its ability to shape-shift and change in size; and not forgetting the most important thing, of course, its perceived paranormal origins.
Burchell also reveals how the legends of the phantom black dog of some Latin American nations - such as Guatemala - have been exploited by those with draconian and outdated morals. For example, there are widespread tales of people that enjoy having a drink or several incurring the dire wrath of the phantom black dog - which, as Burchell says: “…was certainly popularized by the Catholic Church which used this legend and others as moralizing tales.”
Winged hounds - whose appearances and activities smack strongly of the modern day Chupacabras of Puerto Rico and UFO lore - are discussed; as are copious amounts of data that make a link with tales of a truly dark and satanic nature.
Burchell also reveals intriguing data suggesting that at least some tales of the black dog might be based upon cultural memories and stories of very real, large and ferocious hounds brought to the New World by the Conquistadors centuries ago - “savage and ferocious dogs to kill and tear apart the Indians.”
That said, however, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of reports of the phantom black dog in Latin America parallel those of Britain to a truly striking, eerie and extraordinary degree - in the sense that they appear to be something other than flesh-and-blood entities.
A Brit, Burchell lived in the highlands of western Guatemala for three years, and knows his stuff. And his is a great little publication written by someone with a passion not just for his subject matter, but for the cultures and countries that appear within its pages.
As Burchell states: “Although the Black Dog may appear at first glance to be a British or north European phenomenon, it exists in essentially the same form across the entire length and breadth of the Americas. Much has been written upon the presumed Germanic, Celtic or Indio-European origin of the legend but such an origin would not explain how a highland Maya girl can meet a shape-shifting Black Dog at a Guatemalan crossroads. It appears that the Black Dog, much like the poltergeist, is a global phenomenon.”
With some great new data on Phantom Black Dogs now in hand, and with a few fragmentary tales linking the subject with UFOs and strange aerial phenomena, maybe it’s time for a comprehensive study to be undertaken of a potentially very interesting connection between the two.
Readers outside of the UK should note that Phantom Black Dogs in Latin America is only available from Britain; and therefore if you wish to purchase a copy, it is recommended that you contact the publisher Bob Trubshaw for shipping rates, payment methods, etc. at albion@indigogroup.co.uk
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Apr 19 2007 
April 19th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Technology, Nick. Technology. (No Magic or Mysticism…Nuts & Bolts for us Earth-Folks!)
-Jason (Pondering the nature of a wireless mind/machine interface & artificial telepathy.)
April 19th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Jason:
We’ll see! It may ironically be both. I alluded the other day to some Crowley and Parsons-esque research undertaken at Los Alamos years ago.
This involved tech-type characters of a very scientific nature, but delving into some very occult and paranormal areas as a means to “invoke” and “control” non-human intelligences as part of some hair-brained operation that turned very dark.
As I mentioned, I persuaded some of these people to speak to me (and which some of them have, and so it’s no big secret as aspects of my inquiries have reached some interesting characters), and I’ll be publishing it all in the near future.
It comes across like high-tech wizardry (and I mean that literally; not in terms of just being far-out….man)
Nick
April 19th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
For “Boy in the Machine” and Nick I have Arthur C. Clarks laws to recite to you;
1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3.Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Now number three has always interested me with a couple of my own follow up questions. If that is the case, what kind of technology could a god or a demon wield? Would that not be or appear paranormal? Could it be reversed engineered? If so, would you want to?
Jess
April 20th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Jess
Interesting questions. Could we reverse engineer such technology if it existed? Possibly; and if there is even a remote chance it exists and could be engineered, I’m guessing someone would try.
Should we? That’s the big question…
If we can harness something that is radically different to the technology we already have and that channges things for the better: yes.
But the experiences of the people at Los Alamos shows that such things come with a price…
April 20th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Jess:
“3.Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Yes, but remember that ‘magic as an explanation’ is a panacea, and one often prescribed by quacks. I believe Clarke was thinking along the lines of the famous ‘Cargo-Cult’, meaning that technology has been mistaken for ‘magic’ while not claiming that ‘magic’ itself is an explanation.
Any researcher/author/whatever who claims UFO’s are paranormal and/or involves ‘magic’ automaticly attracts my dislike/condemnation. These crystal-gazing, wand-wavers might as well be claiming that Area 51 is staffed by Kiebler elves.
“If that is the case, what kind of technology could a god or a demon wield?”
Using my trusty, ‘Star Gate’ wisdom, there are no Gods, only false Gods.
I believe what you were trying to properly state is “What type of technology would an advanced race have?”
I personaly believe that the answer is that an advanced race will merge with their technology, and not just in our puny concept of ‘cyborg.’
-Jason
April 21st, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Wow, I can’t believe no one, (especially the author) has made the one connection between the black dogs and UFO’s that jumps to my mind immediately! Sirius. The Dog Star. The star worshipped by Ancient Egyptians as “the Son behind the Sun”. They believed in entities that lived on Sirius and contacted humans. They also believed that Annubis, the dog headed god, was guide to the underworld. Certain tribes in Africa also believed that humanity’s progenetors came from Sirius and bestowed us with consciousness and (among other things) Cannabis, (who’s name means two dog star). Crowley also stressed the importance of Sirius’ galaxy as twin to our own. The Star Seed Transmissions also make reference to beings from that galaxy who influence human events. In fact, I’ve found that the majority of occult works that I’ve come across have some mention of Sirius and it’s galaxies inhabitants and it’s name means THE DOG STAR.
April 21st, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Wow, I can’t believe that no one (especially the author) has made the one connection between these black dogs and UFO’s that jumped right out in my mind! Sirius. Sirius is the famed “Dog Star”, legendary in ancient Egypt and Africa as the sun of a galaxy twin to our own, who’s inhabitants visit earth to influence human events. Crowley makes reference to it, and it is also (I believe) home to the beings who transmitted “The Star Seed Transmissions” to it’s author. Certain tribes in Africa claim that beings from Sirius were the progenetors of mankind bringing us, (among other things) consciousness and the plant Cannabis (Who’s name means two Dog Star). Note also Egypt’s Annubis, the Dog-headed God of the underworld. Sirius’ occult signifigance is incredibly vast, and almost all references indicate visitors from that galaxy. Again, it’s name IS the Dog Star!!!
April 21st, 2007 at 10:39 pm
“the Phantom Black Dog of British folklore is no more a physical, flesh-and-blood beast, than UFOs are nuts-and-bolts spaceships piloted by dwarfish, humorless, bald geezers whose gene-pool has gone belly-up.”
But Nick, you assured me you were far from dwarfish!
[Sorry, I couldn't resist!
[...ooer! All of a sudden, I have this weird growing sense of you, even as you were writing those words, thinking 'I bet he won't be able to resist!
[Damn you, Redfern! You set me up! YOU-SET-ME-UP! You made me your patsy, maaan! You made me your patsy! I ain't nobody's stinkin patsy, maaan...etc., etc.,...
[Or then again, maybe you didn't.]
April 21st, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Jason:
You said:
“Any researcher/author/whatever who claims UFO’s are paranormal and/or involves ‘magic’ automaticly attracts my dislike/condemnation.”
That is actually what a certain percentage of ufologists have *always* done when they don’t believe something; but when they can’t disprove it either. They condemn it and/or they condemn the meesenger.
And that is what a certain percentage of ufologists will *always* do until “the proof” and “the truth” one day surface, whatever that proof and truth may be.
So, in your own words, there is a theory and a person you don’t agree with, so you condemn it/them. Big deal. That is something we all know and love and its name is: Ufology.
Ufologists 50 years ago - who are now nothing but forgotten names and faces, worm-fodder and dust - did exactly the same thing; but it never helped them find the answers.
Merely saying you personally condemn the message and the messenger because you don’t agree with the theory, is, frankly, a waste of typing time; because it’s proclamation without evidence.
Instead, present evidence as to *why* a particular theory is wrong and *why* it should be condemned; and also diligently dig deep and show us why another theory is correct. That’s something that *is* worth doing.
My comments are applicable to all aspects of ufology, not just the paranormal angle.
April 21st, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Ravens:
The Sirius angle is an interesting one, and has been cited before (I’m pretty sure I have a reference here somewhere to it that was published in a Black Dog paper a few years ago. I’ll have a look and if I find it, I’ll post it.
Could be worthy of further research.
April 21st, 2007 at 11:35 pm
No reason to speculate what I am properyly trying to state Boyinthemachine. . .
The concept that UFOs are nuts and bolts machinery piloted by well meaning inhabitants from another planet who just happen to be visiting Earth to enlighten us on our evil ways and save us by spewing new age propaganda is about the most ridiculous concept I have ever entertained.
What I am properly trying to express is that I think UFOs are anything except interplanetary space craft.
At the risk of suffering your dislike and condemnation and perhaps Lord forbid being called a wand waving crystal gazer. (although those are habits my ancestors gave up millenia ago..) I would say that UFOs in my opinion are obviously interdimensional and from Earth origionally. They are what ancient peoples worshipped for ages and modern peoples classified as demonic. The technology they wield is occultic and magical. Wrap your mind around that.
Jess
April 21st, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Alan,
Not a single post goes by without me thinking: “I bet Alan won’t be able to resist replying to this one.”
Well, most posts I think that. Or maybe some of them. Well, occasional ones really. Okay, I’ll admit it: there was one time. I think. LOL.
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:00 am
Raven:
Sirius was not called ‘The Dog Star’ by the Egyptians. Nor was Sirius identified with any dog, excluding also dog-like deities such as Anubis.
Instead, Sirius was identified with Isis and the annual flooding of the Nile.
-Jason
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:29 am
“Merely saying you personally condemn the message and the messenger because you don’t agree with the theory, is, frankly, a waste of typing time; because it’s proclamation without evidence.
Instead, present evidence as to *why* a particular theory is wrong and *why* it should be condemned; and also diligently dig deep and show us why another theory is correct. That’s something that *is* worth doing.
My comments are applicable to all aspects of ufology, not just the paranormal angle.”
Nick:
‘Magic’ is and can never be an explanation or theory of anything, therefore it is impossible to ‘disprove’ it because it has never been shown to exist prior. (FYI: I am fascinated with the subject/history of ‘Hoodoo’, so I do know a thing or two about the topic of magic. I am also smart enought to ‘compartmentalize’ this aspect of interest so as not to contaminate any logical/scientific inquiry.)
Magic isn’t and will never be an alternative ‘theory’ simply because theories are testable. Theories can be either verified or eliminated via standard testing procedures and scientific experimentation.
Claiming that ‘magic’ solves the UFO phenomena is about as absurd as when the staff of Project Bluebook claimed ‘unknown’ explained away the cases bearing such label.
It all sums up to this:
1.) If UFO’s are ‘real’ then they must obey the exact same physis we obey. If the phenomena doesn’t obey physics then there are only two possible options.
a.) UFO’s aren’t ‘real’ and can be attributed to a grab-bag mixture of misidentifications or misunderstandings of natural phenomena or man-made crafts, as well as out-right hoaxes/chicanery.
b.) UFO’s are ‘real’ but represent a technology far superior to our own, implying much of their operations/construction/method of propulsion, etc., elude us.
That’s it folks. There aren’t any other choices at the buffet.
You can chose to believe whatever you may, but if you don’t chose either of the options above, then you aren’t eating at the dinner-table.
Likewise, you can watch a game of baseball from the stands, but if you want to play then you have to pick one or the other team. Otherwise, you are simply a bunch of imaginative children playing in the streets with sticks and dirt-clods. (there’s a time and place for such activity, mind you, but when it’s time to act like an adult…)
-Jason
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:50 am
“The concept that UFOs are nuts and bolts machinery piloted by well meaning inhabitants from another planet who just happen to be visiting Earth to enlighten us on our evil ways and save us by spewing new age propaganda is about the most ridiculous concept I have ever entertained.”
Hey-Hey-Hey…Why did you tack-on all that extra stuff, implying that it somehow sums up the so-called ‘nuts-n-bolts’ theory? (It certainly doesn’t.)
“What I am properly trying to express is that I think UFOs are anything except interplanetary space craft.”
O.K. I follow you.
“At the risk of suffering your dislike and condemnation and perhaps Lord forbid being called a wand waving crystal gazer. (although those are habits my ancestors gave up millenia ago..) I would say that UFOs in my opinion are obviously interdimensional and from Earth origionally. They are what ancient peoples worshipped for ages and modern peoples classified as demonic. The technology they wield is occultic and magical. Wrap your mind around that.
Jess”
O.K., Jess, I’m not going to argue with a belief, but I would like to point out that you share as much a ‘new-age’ take on the phenomena as you judge ‘ridiculous’ above.
I would very much be intersted in hearing an alternative theory to the UFO phenomena, but alas, people don’t seem to understand the differnce between a scientific theory and an assortment of vague statements founded in fantasy.
-Jason
April 22nd, 2007 at 1:38 am
On a slightly less whimsical note, NIck, apropos ‘black dogs’: is it a coincidence the animal these dwellers on the threshold between realms’ve taken the form of is precisely the same animal who’s own mysterious evolvement from the Wolf seems in some way tied into our own emergence as homo sapiens?
Is it also a coincidence that the word ‘dog’, at least according to me, is derived from the same root as words like ‘doctor’, ‘daughter’ and ‘ductile’, and the latin verb ‘ducere’, “to draw on, to lead; to be drawn on, to be led,” not to mention, (again, according to me), an ultimately close etymological relationship to the words ‘eight’, ‘door’ and ‘god’?
Is it also a coincidence we see glimpses of certain esoteric spiritual groups going back to prehistory who apparently modelled their relationship with God on that of the Dog’s’ interaction with Man, viz the mysterious Calebs, (’the Dogs’) in the Old Testament, whose function in the Middle-Eastern spiritual ecology seems to be a veiled correspondence to that of the Bodhisattvas, a category of individual supposedly unique to Buddhism?
Finally, if you agree it’s not a coincidence, signal this by barking out loud twice, cocking your leg up at an angle of not less than ninety degrees, and promising to urinate on the first front door other than your own you encounter today, (here’s a suggestion, why don’t you pay Greg Bishop or, better yet, Craig Woolheater a visit today), the sacred syllables, “Woof, woof!”
O no, silly me, that’s the Masons!
April 22nd, 2007 at 8:49 am
Jason:
I am pleased that you understand a thing or two about magic.
What many in Ufology don’t know (although closer friends do), is that I have for many years practiced ritual magic regularly, usually with respect to my fascination with Tulpas, and attempts to create and invoke such entitities.
You may not believe that “magic” works (and for the uninitiated, I am not talking about Penn & Teller, rabbit-out-of-the-hat, or saw-the-hot-chick-in-half Vegas type magic) or that it exists or is a testable theory. But it works.
Tulpa phenomena is absolutely real and is not something to screw around with - it can create psychic backlash, and all sorts of problems.
There are a couple of archetypal Tulpas that are easy to create after sustained practice and altered state concentration: one is the classic tall, cloaked figure that approaches your bedroom and invokes terror (a nifty form of assassination for the Intel services that leaves no evidence of anything other than death by natural causes - i.e. scared shitless. Not that such a thing has *ever* been done, mind you…).
I’ve had much success with that one.
If I were to say right now that tonight I am going to engage in a ritual to ensure that everyone on this list suffers from sleep paralysis at 2AM tomorrow morning and sees a cloaked figure in their bedroom that that oozes hate, then one or two might experience it.
You would probably say that’s due to auto-suggestion from me bringing it up. But you’d be wrong, Jason. This stuff works.
Now, to an extent (shock!), I actually agree with you that it isn’t fully testable as to how and why it works.
But…it works.
List: there won’t actually be any invoking of cloaked entitites tonight, so sleep easy.
One other thing, Jason: you say that other theories are testable. Some are: but the fact is that for all the testing, theorizing etc that has taken place, no one still has the answers to the UFO puzzle. So, it’s irrelevant. It will only be relevant when the this theory or that theory is proven correct.
April 22nd, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Hi all,
Responding to various points out of the above interesting discussion:
Jason - you seem to draw a line between ‘magic’ and technology, when it could be possible that magic is a technology of its own. Magic is intrinsically connected to consciousness (ritual magic is the business of altering states of consciousness), and has been practiced throughout human history, from shamen to Golden Dawn types. While modern (physicalist) science believes consciousness arises out of brain processes, there are certainly a number of well-credentialled scientists who believe that consciousness may be an integral and fundamental building block of the cosmos (Roger Penrose would be among the most notable). Certainly, there is the example of quantum mechanics relying on the observer, which suggests something along these lines. Perhaps magic is the original ‘lost technology’ (due to the influence of organised religion and physicalist science over the past 500 years)?
You said “Magic isn’t and will never be an alternative ‘theory’ simply because theories are testable.” I don’t see why you would jump to this illogical conclusion? There are a number of scientific ways to progress - the most obvious to me would be to look for patterns in the manifestation of ‘magic’ experiences, to establish whether there is a repeating, underlying mechanism. Further, we can test for information transfer - ie. can we find an example of information transfer between ‘magic’ experiences which does not use the known methods. There is a history of this in the ‘book tests’ of psychical research with allegedly discarnate beings (I’ve also seen a suggestion from a scientist on testing the ability to retrieve ‘objective’ information from the DMT realms which would be a similar experiment). To throw your hands in the air and say “it’s magic, it’s untestable!” seems to me to be a most unscientific thing to do (not least because you’re not thinking rationally, on the basis of an existing bias against a certain result).
Beyond my belief that scientific investigation is possible though, I must also state my opinion that science is a tool that can explore only so far. Science was developed for exploring the physical world, and though we can apply it to manifestations of psychic phenomena in the physical world, it may not necessarily provide an answer - it can’t cross the threshold, so to speak. I know every physicalist will be perturbed by the above comment, thinking it’s a copout, but they need to understand the circular thinking in their own logic (that science describes the physical world extremely well, therefore it is the ultimate tool, therefore reality is defined by science, therefore reality is the physical world). Nevertheless, as I mentioned above, science still does offer us a chance to test the phenomenon in a negative fashion - by removing all aspects of physical explanations - such as through anomalous information transfer, impossible physical motions, etc.
Having said that, you could be completely right. I just think all avenues should be explored - without prejudice (just some common sense).
Nick - lovely to see you come out of the pentacle inscribed cupboard, so to speak. While some may reject investigating ‘hoodoo’ as unscientific, I for one applaud any researcher willing to get ‘down and dirty’ to better understand the topic (next, I expect you to gain a PhD in astrophysics and spacecraft construction…don’t disappoint me now).
And as for your mention of Los Alamos and magick…goddang, you’ve got me salivating. What immoral act do I have to perform to get a sneak peek at this research?
Kind regards,
Greg
April 22nd, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Nick,
If politics make strange bedfellows than UFOs make the strangest indeed.
Don’t take this the wrong way but I never thought I would agree with a ritual magician on anything however I find most of your writing (reading saucer spies right now…) and the majority of your opinions at least compelling if I havn’t agreed with them completely.
My questions based on your comments is this. I have had what I call night terrors that fit the description of the cloaked entity. Once it was so awful I actually had a grand mal seizure related to the event. (I am not prone to seizures and they could not induce one in me in the sleep/ EEG lab) Is this always a human inspired attack or do these entities do this on their own sometimes?
Jess
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:06 am
Jess:
I don’t think the cloaked entities are always human inspired and there has been debate as to whether or not the alleged creation of these things by the human mind may not be a creation as such after all; but may be an invocation that opens a doorway instead.
Personally, I believe that there is a cloaked entity that is not made from the human mind; and it is one that has been reported on many occasions (usually in “sleep paralysis” type situations).
However, there is no doubt (I know because I’m one of them) that some people have also tried to create a Tulpa style form along the lines of the pre-exisiting “cloaked entity” phenomenon.
So, in other words, there are at least 2 things going on, I think. Maybe more. And, of course, the question of where the original form of the “thing” came from if not the human mind.
There are other proto-forms that have been tied in with the creation of Tulpas: larged, man-like winged entities; black dogs; hairy manlike creatures, large cat like creatures; and serpents.
Interestingly enough, these are all the staple “creatures” of cryptozoology.
Check out the name Franek Kluski and some of the “animals” that materialized during his workings. Classic cryptozoological driven imagery.
It’s slightly off track but it’s things like this that lead me to believe that many cryptozoological “things” do not have physical origins in the way we understand it.
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:19 am
Greg:
Cool comments. Actually, the whole story re Los Alamos etc will be in the public domain very soon now for all to see. Literally just finishing up some final pieces.
I would stress that I have never kept my interest in such issues as a secret; it’s just that a lot of people in “nuts and bolts” ufology do not accept this as being related to their field of research, so as a result it rarely comes up in conversation.
But to me, the work of the shamen is far more relevant to finding the actual answers to the puzzle than utilizing something like the Freedom of Information Act ever will be. Or standing outside at night with a pair of binoculars.
Many researchers assume that after 60 years of UFO research, the UFO community has a lot of answers. However, it does not. It has a lot of data and a a lot of testimony; but no firm answers. Not a single one.
I have come to realize that taking a conventional route to try and get these answers fails because the intelligence behind the UFO puzzle is not conventional and it is not nuts and bolts. But it is accesible by more archaic and alternative means.
I will admit, however, that there is a blurry line (and a crossover) between what might be a created Tulpa style thought form and what might be an entity that pre-exists without human interaction to create it.
Whatever this phenomenon really is, it may actually straddle both areas.
Re the PhD’s: hmmm, now there’s a thought…LOL
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:29 am
Alan:
No I don’t think a lot of this is coincidence at all. There’s no doubt at all that ancient man saw dogs as being a spiritual creature; and there are numerous tales linking spectral dogs with the afterlife and impending death.
Kerberos of Greece(Cerberus in Latin); the dogs of Yama (King of the Dead) of Indian mythology; the list goes on, right to the black dogs of Britain.
The wolf angle is an interesting one and a newly published book I would definitely recommend to you is “Howls of Imagination: Wolves of England” by Paul Williams, which is a great study of how mythology and superstition have molded our views of the wolf.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:57 am
For what it’s worth:
I hold Bachelors in Science in Nursing from a prestigious college and consider myself a curious agnostic in these matters. Never seen something that could really qualify as a UFO, I was involved with a pagan group and was voted least likely to see/hear/feel any damn thing at all, etc. I am always on the lookout for the anomalous yet ready to skeptically evaluate it when it rarely presents. I am not “a true believer” of anything.
Many years ago a friend and I decided to go for an impromptu hike up a long street that had a lovely, very well lit building at the top that she had always wondered about. It was dark and 10 PM or so as we started up the hill on foot. We were nervous and making wise cracks about being murdered by a serial killer once we got up there. As we rounded a corner we began to realize that we were at a cemetery, and at the far end was a very well lit mausoleum type building. We were kind of odd kids and had spent some time in local old cemeteries; randomly cleaning up graves, bringing flowers and generally being no harm to anyone, so the fact that it was a graveyard didn’t freak us out as much as it might have to others.
Until we both became aware of the very large presence of a black dog seen quite clearly against the lit areas. Yet despite how well it should have been defined, it was seemingly made up of shadows more than flesh and bone. We both saw this thing at the same time, saw it turn towards us and break into a run. Well, that seemed like my que to exit, but my friend for some reason was pissed at being made frightened (she was like that) and stood her ground. Not being willing to leave my best friend to be slaughtered by even a devil dog, I turned back and we both saw the thing just melt away as it came lopping towards us. Nothing happened from that point on, no major disasters, we continued our tour seeing nothing else amiss and returned home. I think about the incident from time to time and can no more explain it today as when it happened. My friend was actually quite phobic of dogs, but I am not. I have never seen it before or since, but may look into it now that I know it’s a “thing”. This happened in Northern California, FYI.
May 16th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Fae-Struck:
Wow, many thanks indeed.
This is a very intriguing account.
The cemetery angle is particularly notable because (literally) right now there are reports circulating of huge dog-wolf like creatures at a large cemetery on the Cannock Chase forest, England - close to where I used to live in the UK, and cited in the original article above.
Weirdly, the Cannock Chase cemetery dog-creatures seem to have the ability to walk on their back legs too, and this has now given rise to dark tales of werewolves on the loose in the little villages of the Cannock Chase.
There are countless reports on record of spectral dogs tied to cemeteries, as well as the dogs vanishing when either (a) they approach people; or (b) people approach them.
The cemetery angle is equally intriguing given that the black dog (centuries ago, at least) was seen as an ill-omen or a forteller of death.
Many thanks again for taking the time to share this.
Nick