Journal of the Bizarre

If Hollywood has taught us anything about werewolves, it's that they are scary, dangerous, and are often teenagers who like to play basketball. These lycanthropes are humans who have the ability to transform into wolf-like creatures during a full moon. Werewolves have superhuman strength as well as an incredibly developed sense of smell and hearing.

In other words, werewolves are not recommended as pets for children under the age of 12.

Of course, the best way to avoid a werewolf encounter is through prevention. Since a full moon usually occurs only once a month, this should be easy. However, at some time or another, you may find yourself walking down the street one night and, before you realize that there's a full moon, a hungry werewolf may already have sunk his fangs into your neck. This can certainly ruin your evening.

According to legend, the only way to kill a werewolf is by shooting it with a silver bullet. Unfortunately, this method was devised back in the day when the p…

Much has been written on the myth of the "black-eyed children"- a favorite topic among paranormal researchers and ghost story aficionados.  According to legend, these creepy-looking kiddies with large coal-colored eyes pop up at night, tapping on windows and scaring the bejeezus out of the people who encounter them.

In most accounts, these black-eyed children seek permission to enter your home or car, asking to use a phone or for some other favor.  In practically every case, these mysterious individuals appear at night.  Witnesses claim that one look into their black eyes invokes a strong feeling of horror, and sightings of these creepy kiddies have been reported in virtually every corner of the globe.

Some paranormal researchers, such as David Weatherly (who has recently published a book on this very topic), believe that "black-eyed children" are demonic in origin.  Others believe that these children are alien in origin.  Still others insist that they are inter-dim…

After a five year project studying the DNA obtained from 100 samples which may have come from Bigfoot, veterinarian Melba S. Ketchum believes that she has found evidence which suggests that the mythical cryptid exists.

At team of researchers at DNA Diagnostics in Nacogdoches, Texas, under Ketchum's direction, believes that Bigfoot may be a human relative which developed over 15,000 years ago as a hybrid between humans and an unknown primate, states a story published by the Huffington Post on November 30.

Ketchum's research suggests that Bigfoot is descended from the impregnation of a female human by an unidentified primate.  The team claims to have discovered three nuclear genomes belonging to the creature known as Sasquatch or Bigfoot.  The research team was comprised of experts in the fields of genetics, forensics, pathology, and other related disciplines.

While this is encouraging news for Bigfoot believers, Ketchum's study raises many questions.  Under what circumstance…

Two months ago, a photo circulated showing a woman riding on the back of a manatee at Fort DeSoto Park, which attracted the attention of Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County.  The sheriff held a news conference on Oct. 2, pleading with the public to help identify the woman in the picture.

This week, the heinous cold-blooded criminal has finally been captured!

Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez, of St. Petersburg, was taken into custody without incident when police arrived at her place of employment, dragging the 53-year-old Sears employee to jail, where the nefarious outlaw was later released on $1,500 bail.



Gutierrez, who admitted having committed this most egregious offense, stated that she did not know that it was illegal to use a sea cow as a boogie board.  However, Florida's Manatee Sanctuary Act states: “It is unlawful for any person at any time, by any means, or in any manner intentionally or negligently to annoy, molest, harass, or disturb or attempt to molest, harass, or …

Very few people would be surprised if they were told that certain mega-corporations like Walmart, Monsanto, BP, or Halliburton were "evil". In reality, some of the world's most villainous and diabolical companies are those which make products or offer services most people around the world love. Here are some examples of companies which seem harmless on the surface, but have a verifiable track record of pure unadulterated evil.



Regis Corporation: Equal Rights Amendment?  Can't say we ever heard of it.



If you've ever gone to the mall or a shopping center for a haircut, then you've probably given your business to the Regis Corporation, a Fortune 1000 company which owns and operates thousands of salons under the name of Smart Style, Supercuts, Cost Cutters, Mastercuts, and Trade Secret. How can a company that offers budget-priced mullets to the American public be evil, you ask?

Well, let's look at recent lawsuits which have resulted in multi-million-dollar cl…

It's that time of year again, when the leaves begin to fall and children go trick-or-treating, and people all over the world grow nostalgic for the 1975 cult classic film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  The Halloween season is also the time of year for candy, and nothing satisfies our cinematic sweet tooth like the 1971 favorite, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  These two beloved films have become autumnal favorites, but have you ever stopped to take notice how much these two films have in common?  We have!  Below you will find a list of similarities between the two movies, ranging from the painfully obvious to the downright obscure.





1. Both films have an eccentric main character.  Willy Wonka is a mad candymaker, while Dr. Frank-N-Furter is a mad scientist.

2. Both films are adaptations.  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is an adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a film adaptation of Richard O…

The cryptozoology world has been abuzz lately, thanks to photos of an "unknown creature" which was captured on a trail cam by members of Extreme Expeditions Ltd. during a recent two week expedition in Washington State's North Cascades National Park.  On September 4 of this year, the team's trailcam captured what appears to be a large figure crouching by the remnants of a campfire while the team of researchers slumbered nearby.

A film clip and photos of the creature (which can be viewed on the Extreme Expeditions Ltd. website) were analyzed by Jeff Meldrum, Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho State University and Ian Redmond, a field biologist.  While Meldrum and Redmond could not explain the creature, they also could not conclusively rule the footage as fake.  On October 21, Extreme Expeditions published the independent analyses conducted by crytozoologists Dale A. Drinnon and Damian Bravo, which speculates that the "mystery creature" possessed a…

Skeptics who attempt to refute alleged Bigfoot sightings have offered countless explanations over the years; some more reasonable than others.  One explanation which deserves more attention is the possibility that many of these sightings can potentially be traced back to circus train derailments. 

Dozens of wrecks involving circus trains took place during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting in exotic animals turning up some strange places.  One such incident took place in 1893, in a heavily-forested region of central Pennsylvania shielded by the Bald Eagle and Nittany Mountains.  On Memorial Day, 1893, a tragic train wreck involving the Walter L. Main Circus occurred three miles north of the town of Tyrone.  Five people were killed, and scores of circus animals escaped, unable to be captured.

According to the June 2, 1893 story which appeared in the Democratic Watchman:

"Of the animals, all escaped from their cages. Early arrivals at the scene say that strange animal…

"Bagel Head" forehead injections, in which saline is inserted into the forehead in order to produce a donut-shaped protrusion, have become all the rage in Japan.  While this form of extreme body modification may sound bizarre to the Western world, this trend has been growing in popularity among the Japanese since 2009, when the "bagel head" form of self-expression was pioneered by an artist by the name of Keroppy.

Now, thanks to a recent episode of "National Geographic Taboo" which aired on September 27, American audiences are getting their first glimpse of the trend and, judging by the popularity of the term "Bagel Head" in Google searches in recent days, it just may be a matter of time until this form of body art sweeps across the U.S.

This leads us to wonder what's next in the world of body mods.  Perhaps elective amputations will be next the next form of extreme modification, as trend-conscious teens lop off fingers and toes in order to m…

Since opening in 1905, New York's famed Belmont Park has been called one of the world's finest horse racing tracks.  As every sports fan knows, the Belmont Stakes constitutes the third leg of the Triple Crown.  Naturally, this track has seen its share of memorable finishes.  One such finish took place on June 4, 1923.  What made this race noteworthy, however, was the fact that it was won by a dead man.

On the home stretch, a horse named Sweet Kiss took the lead, spurred on by a jockey named Frank Hayes.  Hayes had never won a race before, and the spectators in attendance who noticed the slumped jockey on the thoroughbred's back thought the young rider was merely 'showboating', riding the horse one-handed, relaxed as a dog sleeping in front of a fireplace.

But when the horse crossed the finish line it became quite evident that Frank Hayes was more than just "relaxed"- the jockey dropped out of the saddle, lifeless.

It was later determined that Hayes had d…

Anyone who pays attention to odd news headlines may have heard about a Bigfoot sighting which took place in Kentucky's Daniel Boone Forest a week ago today.  According the the story which appeared on Sept. 12 in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (read the original news story here), a woman who plunked down 75.00 to join a group of paranormal researchers in a late-night Bigfoot hunt claims that her group stumbled across the fabled cryptid as it attempted to eat a deer.  Claims the woman who spotted the creature, "When the flashlight hit his eyes he immediately turned his head and moved his body and turned the opposite direction we were in."  The creature then fled into the eastern Kentucky wilderness.

This alleged sighting, we're afraid, has more holes than a hunk of Swiss cheese, which leads us to believe that this sighting is, at best, the result of overactive imaginations.  At worst, it may be an attempt to con simple-minded folks out of their money.

One should be skept…

When one thinks of dangerous professions during the 19th and 20th centuries, we tend to think of those who worked in the mining, railroad, and lumber industries.  The circus profession, however, was just as dangerous as crawling through coal mines or felling timber.  Hundreds of acrobats and performers have met their demise beneath the brightly-colored big top, and while every death is unfortunate, some are more memorable than others.  Here are a few circus-related deaths which can be described only as bizarre.

Suicide of a Clown

The image of the sad clown is poignant because clowns exist to bring smiles to people's faces.  Perhaps the only thing sadder than a sad clown is when a clown decides to take his own life, which is exactly what Charles Rench did in 1908.  Rench was a renowned clown with W.W. Cole, P.T. Barnum, and the Irwin Bros.  He was so successful that in 1886, at the age of 16, the Barnum circus presented him with "a magnificent gold-headed cane" as part of …

To the people of Australia, Edward "Ned" Kelly was either a cold-blooded killer or a folk hero, depending on one's point of view.  From the age of 14, Kelly pursued a life of crime as a small-time highwayman and robber, but it wasn't until Kelly and his gang killed three policemen that the infamy of Ned Kelly spread throughout the world.  Kelly's escape from authorities was a hot news story of the time, but it was his final standoff with police which turned him into a national symbol, elevating Kelly to the level of notoriety reserved for the likes of Bonnie and Clyde and Billy the Kid.

On June 27, 1880, the Kelly gang arrived in the tiny railroad outpost of Glenrowan, determined to sabotage the tracks in order to prevent pursuit by police train.  When the two police trains later arrived, Ned and his gang attempted to derail them, but to no avail.  The lawmen engaged in a shooting match with Kelly and his gang, who were dressed up in home-made metal armor and hel…

From 1917 to 1922, the Bolshevik-led Red Army battled the anti-Communist White Army during the Russian Civil War.  By the end of 1919 the Bolsheviks had taken the cities of Omsk and Kiev, and had successfully repelled the White Russian siege of Petrograd.  However, the Bolshevik's momentum would be short-lived as the White Army, after retreating across the Baikal, regrouped and joined forces with Gigory Semyonov's Transbaikal Cossacks.  As the Red Army's losses began to mount, especially in Poland, the Bolsheviks attempted to gain a competitive advantage by embracing new technologies, sometimes with disastrous results.  Such is the sad tale of young inventor Valerian Abakovsky and his Aerowagon.

Abakovsky was a Latvian-born inventor who earned his living as a chauffeur for Cheka, the state security organization created by Lenin.  His position granted him access to many high-ranking Soviets and, although details are scarce, Abakovsky most likely used his influence within t…

Paypal mogul Peter Theil made headlines earlier this week when he announced that he has offered a grant to a Missouri-based startup which plans on using a 3D bioprinting process in order to create edible meat.

Modern Meadow, the company who plans on producing these "man-made" steaks, claims that its technology can be used to precisely layer mixtures of cells in a specific structure.  This technology has been around for a few years, and was originally intended to create medical-grade tissue for patients.  Modern Meadow, however, plans on becoming the first company to apply 3D bioprinting technology to food production.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2189677/Paypal-founder-Peter-Thiel-backs-company-aiming-create-3D-printed-meat.html#ixzz242vLZ

Last month, Harvard University researchers published their findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, findings which suggest that fluoride significantly lowers the I.Q. of children.  The study, which was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences on July 20, implies that fluoridation of drinking water has an adverse effect on children’s neurodevelopment. 

Read Alex Newman's report for The New Americanhere.

Every few months it's not usual to come across a story in the news about rainstorms which cause frogs, fish, snakes, and other animals to fall from the sky.  Those of a particularly religious bent may interpret these freak storms as some kind of divine omen, or perhaps a Biblical prophecy, while others doubt the veracity of these news reports and write them off as hogwash.  However, these types of storms do occur, and they have been taking place for as long as man has had the means to record history.

Surprisingly, science has been able to explain this phenomenon for quite some time.  Here's the explanation.

For a storm to cause a downpour of critters, a few things must take place.  First, there must be what meteorologists call a "waterspout", which is a tornado that forms over water, rather than on land.  Waterspouts are relatively common, and are the result of a high-pressure weather system before a thunderstorm.  Waterspouts are similar to regular cyclones in the se…

Earlier today, the U.K.'s Mail Online reported on the alleged find made by divers at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.  The supposedly metallic disc-shaped object, initially discovered by sonar in May of last year, is curved at the sides and is surrounded by a strange rock formation which researchers have been unable to explain.  The mysterious rocks which surround the object are said to be covered in some type of soot, which researchers have also been unable to explain.  The Swedish team, Ocean X, which is investigating the object has released photographs showing a 985-foot track which leads to the sunken object, leading many people to believe that the object crashed into the sea and then skidded to its current location.  The anomalous object currently sits 285 feet below the waters of the Gulf of Botnia.

However, there is another reason why this discovery is of particular interest to UFO researchers.  According to the Ocean X team, electronic equipment mysteriously stops working whe…

Just days after it had been reported that Bulgarian researchers have unearthed the corpses of "vampires" (see our previous post), Discovery News reports that knuckle bone and other remains found on an island in Bulgaria may have belonged to John the Baptist.

The bones, which were discovered inside of a marble tomb on the island of Sveti Ivan two years ago, have been the focus of exhaustive research by Oxford University.  The bone from the right knuckle has been dated to the first century, which coincides with the saint's period of preaching.  Recently, scientists from the University of Copenhagen analyzed the DNA of the bone fragments and concluded that they belonged to a male of Middle Eastern descent.

While these findings cannot conclusively confirm the identity of the famously-beheaded saint, the relics were originally discovered inside of a small box which had been inscribed in ancient Greek.  The inscriptions allude to John the Baptist, and also mention the date June…

Bulgarian archaeologists recently excavated the graves of two skeletons believed to be vampires from the Middle Ages, a discovery which helps shed new light on the development of the classic vampire myth.

Bulgarian researcher Bozhidar Dimitrov explained that the two skeletons, found near a monastery in the coastal town of Sozopol, had been stabbed through the midsection with metal stakes.  Surprisingly, this was not an uncommon burial practice during the Middle Ages.

According to popular beliefs at the time, people who were deemed to be evil during their lifetimes were often stabbed in the chest with an iron or wooden stake prior to burial in order to prevent them from returning from the dead.  Dimitrov explained that the stakes were intended to keep the corpses in their graves and to prevent them from crawling out of the ground at midnight and terrorizing the living, a myth which was prevalent among the pagan cultures of the period.

Dimitrov also explained that over 100 skeletons impal…

Many of us may remember the classic episode of The Twilight Zone from 1960, "A Most Unusual Camera", in which three bumbling crooks get hold of a magical camera which takes pictures of the future.  Recently, in Wichita, a boy named Addison Logan purchased an old camera at a yard sale which may be a real-life "magical" camera- or at least a camera worthy of mention in the Journal of the Bizarre.

According to a story which appeared on May 25 of the Wichita Eagle, Addison Logan, 13, had decided to accompany his grandmother, who was driving around Wichita in search of yard sales.  Although Addison admits to liking yard sales, he probably would not have accompanied his grandmother if not for the fact that he had recently broken his arm in a dirt bike accident.

After stopping at three yard sales, the 13-year old boy spotted an item which had caught his attention, and for one dollar Addison bought himself an old Polaroid camera.

Once at his grandmother's house, Addis…