100+ Starlings Drop From the Sky, Lie Dying

dailymail - It was like a grisly scene from a horror film.

On Sunday night, over a quiet Somerset house, scores of swooping starlings tumbled out of the sky and fell, dead, into a single front garden.

Covering an area 12ft across, more than 100 birds carpeted the garden, each with blood oozing from its beak and curled up claws.

Most had died, although some flapped lamely, clearly in pain until the RSPCA put them out of their misery.

Householder Julie Knight, 53, returned to her home in the quiet village of Coxley at 4.15pm to find the macabre scene, which has mystified experts.

An RSPCA expert said the cause of the deaths was 'a mystery', adding that the only plausible explanation was that the flock were being chased by a bird of prey and hit the ground as they changed direction

Julie, a nurse, said: 'It was like something out of an horror film - like Hitchcock's The Birds - it was absolutely terrifying.

'The sky was raining starlings. One of my neighbours saw them. They seemed to just fall out of the sky. About 70 were dead straight away.

'The only way to describe what they looked like is that they seemed to have had a fright and were petrified.

'We called out the RSPCA and their animal welfare officer took a few away in cages and euthanised the rest.

'There must have been over 100 birds in total. I've been a country girl all my life and I've never seen anything like it.'

Some of the bodies fell into the boughs of a tree, where a number of distressed surviving birds perched. Just six survived.

The uncanny scene in Mrs Knight's garden mirrored that of an episode of cult Channel 5 hit Flash forward, in which a flock of crows falls out of the sky in Somalia.

Similar incidents of flocks of birds plummeting to earth have been reported all over the world, with pesticides and collisions sometimes being blamed.

Mrs Knight added: 'I'm worried about what could have killed them because I have a young grandson and two cats that are often in my garden.

'My only thoughts are that the birds, who are greedy in nature, had been eating crops sprayed with weedkiller and were poisoned - but it's all very weird.'

Lloyd Scott, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: 'This is one of the oddest things I've ever heard about.

'We've certainly never come across anything similar.'

He said it was unlikely that the birds had flown into each other in confusion.

'Starlings have natural habits and behaviour, when flying around in a murmuration they relate each movement to the seven birds closest to them.

'They are hardwired into doing this and on instinct they stay away from each other.'

He speculated that the birds may have flown into a glass conservatory while taking part in their sky dance, but Mrs Knight insisted they had simply fallen out of the sky.

Post mortems on the starlings carried out today proved inconclusive.

They were all found to have physical injuries - with most suffering either broken wings or a shattered beak - but no underlying health problems or toxins which could explain their sudden deaths.

RSPCA spokesman Helen Cohen said the cause of the incident was 'still a mystery'.

She said: 'We were informed that a lady had reported many dead or dying starlings on her property. This is obviously an extremely unusual occurrence.

'Tests were carried out on some of the birds and they were found to have physical injuries but we could find no evidence of any health issues which could explain what had happened.

'We know they did not strike power cables because they would have fallen directly beneath and there are none nearby.

'The only possible explanation we can think of is that something has caused the flock to suddenly change their direction of flight and caused them to hit the ground.

'It could have been that a bird of prey could have scared them into doing this, but it is still a mystery really.'

100+ Starlings Drop From the Sky, Lie Dying



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Strange Beings I Have Encountered

Chris Holly's Paranormal World - My life has been filled with strange events, encounters and people since I was a small child. Besides encounters that I would consider alien in nature I have had experiences with those I have not been able to qualify as human, alien or something else. Three of these happenings stand out in my mind as experiences with the strange and unidentified.

The first event occurred when I was in my early teens. I lived on Long Island New York at the time. It was the mid 60s and most of the Island was still rural small towns minus the crowded areas and malls that it has become today. At that time there were a few big Department stores that we would travel to shop. My mother liked Gertz which was a favorite at the time of many of the mothers. The Gertz we shopped in was located in Bay Shore along the south coast of Long Island.

My mother would visit Gertz about once a month or so to shop for the family. I would usually go along in hopes of talking my mother into buying me something new, as teenage girls do. During our trips to Gertz my mother would often point out an albino family by whispering for me not to stare but look when able at the unusual family also shopping in Gertz. It seemed we would notice this family shopping almost every time we were in the store. My mother would comment on how well dressed the entire family was at all times. I found a family of albino’s extremely odd and could not help watching them as we shopped for bargains at Gertz.

The five members of the albino family all were 6ft or over in height including the mother and daughter. The male members stood between 6ft –3 inches to 6ft- 5 inches. They were extremely tall people. When they walked through the department store they stood a head above most of the other shoppers.

Each of them had thick full pure white hair. They were beautiful people with high cheekbones and straight model like features. Their skin was white – pure white. They all had the same color eyes, which were clear, big, and very light blue. They kept to themselves. They would stay together when they shopped and seemed to be quiet and polite.

Even as a teen I thought about the possibility of two beautiful albino people who looked so much alike in height, looks and facial features meeting and marrying. Although it may be possible I knew the odds had to be nearly impossible. I continued to run into this family when shopping or walking along the main street of the town of Bay Shore for most of my teen years.

Time passed and life moved on. I never forgot this unusual family. Years later while attending college in the late 1970’s I came upon an article that talked about the eye problems that went hand and hand with those who were albino. I also read that the eye color of the typical albino runs towards the pink or reddish tint. I know that there are degrees of the condition which would have a lesser or greater effect on things like eye and skin color (or lack of it) in those with this condition. I could not find anything concerning albino’s who had clear big blue eyes.

I tried to find out if there were blue-eyed albinos or if this oddity could run in an entire family but came up empty handed in my search. I am not qualified to answer the question to the chance of this happening but feel at best it would be a very rare occurrence.

I thought about this family and had to admit that finding two tall beautiful blue-eyed albinos who married and had three tall beautiful blue-eyed children was either an incredible happening or they were not a family of albinos!

Later in life I came upon a site on the Internet that talked about the Tall Whites. While investigating the site I came to an artist’s drawing of the alien species called the Tall Whites. I was stunned as I looked at the same tall people with the same beautiful faces – white hair, blue eyes and high cheek bones as the albino family that use to shop for their clothes and house wares in Gertz department store in Bay Shore , Long Island , New York in the 1960’s.

I will never know if that strange gentle family of tall beautiful people was simply a very rare family of human albinos or if they were a group of entirely different beings?

I often wondered about that family or group of people. I have tried to search a few times to see if I could find some type of information about a family fitting that description but always came up empty handed. Maybe they still live in that area; maybe they split up and moved away to another city, state- or planet!

The next event in my life that brought me to experiencing extreme strangeness occurred when I was 16 years old.

It was a summer night in 1967. I was out with my friends but needed to return to my home at dark to return the car I was driving. My family was out and my house empty. When my friends and I drove up to my house we were met with a strange light show going on by someone in the house turning lights on and off in a frantic display of speed that would be impossible for the average human. It was almost as if the lights inside and out were set on a rapid line something like you see at Christmas time when music is set to outside lights for a holiday display. That was not yet available in 1967. Along with the strange light show we could hear a growling loud howling coming from the house in anger at the fact we would not enter the house.

The police were called and the house searched to find an overpowering putrid smell filling the house, claw marks on the walls, my clothing ripped to shreds in my room and a small chair placed behind my bedroom door with a rope and large knife lying next to it on the floor. The house smelled for days after. The police searched the area and could not find anyone of anything. They did think this thing escaped via a large water pipe tunnel system that ran in front of our street into a state park and then out to the Great South Bay.

This thing returned two weeks later to my neighbor’s house right next door. This family also had teenage girls. The people were in the home at the time. This thing tried to enter the house by ripping a large wooden window frame and all out of the side of the house to reach for one of the girls sitting near the window watching TV. The mother was at home and ran with a shot gun after hearing the window being ripped from the house and fired at the thing reaching in to the house for her daughter. The woman described the thing as a reptile looking fish colored being with a long arm with long claw like fingers. She shot the creature and it took of howling in to the night. Again the police searched but could not find it.

I could not wait to move from that house. The smell and sound of that creature has stayed with me my entire life. I do not know if it was some kind of human or some other type of creature, I just know I never want to come across it again.

I realize people do not believe me when I tell this story. I cannot do a thing about that. I do know this happened and it was one of the events in my life that make me still shake in horror to this day and one that will stay and haunt me until the end of my life.

The last experience with a strange being is not frightening however so different I never forgot about the man.

I was in my late 20s at the time. It was in the 70’s. I was working in New York City at the time.

I was working in research and worked with people from three large universities on a joint project. Pete was one of the people I worked with on a daily basis.

The moment I laid my eyes on Pete I knew he was different – very different.

Pete was a small man. He was slight even frail looking except for large extremely well defined arms. He looked like a typical nerd right down to his pocket protector who spent hours lifting weights. He had thin little legs and wild light colored hair that he wore in an Albert Einstein type disaster. My bet was that the nest on top of his head had never seen a comb.

Pete had the most unusual eyes I have ever seen. They were bright almost as if they were omitting some type of light. They would dazzle anyone talking to him so that you had to look away as keeping eye contact was simply impossible. His eyes would look different all the time ranging from a deep blue all the way to green or grays. They had many different pigments that made one color seem to mix to the next if you did try to look straight at him

Pete told me he was once a lawyer, and an architect and a scientist but now was back in school and would shortly be a medical doctor. Pete had a soft speaking voice and was not only smart he was without question a gifted genius. Pete told me how he finished his first blast through the university system at age 16 and kept going since trying out different things along the way. It seemed Pete could not find one area of interest that would hold his attention for any amount of time. Pete held a law degree, a PhD. in physics and was a licensed architect. Pete was now going to get his medical degree.

Pete had a photogenic memory and could repeat anything he had read or learned in complete detail. Pete was not like the rest of us.

I talked to Pete for hours. He was fascinating. The key was to talk to him one on one in a way he felt comfortable. Pete told me how he had suffered a lifetime of ridicule because of his differences and found it very hard to form friendships. I remarked about his unusual eyes but Pete simply looked away a bit uncomfortable while he explained them as a family trait and nothing more.

During our work time together Pete and I became friends. I will remember Peter for the rest of my life. During our time working together and as friends Pete told me a few startling things.

Pete told me that he could travel outside his body at will. He just blurted this out while we sat on a bench in Central Park drinking coffee and eating muffins during our work break one day.

“I can leave my physical body and travel with my mind to where ever I want to go you know” I just looked at him and mumbled something like “What are you talking about?”

Pete then told me that he was able to leave his body and travel with his mind to see what or whom he wanted whenever he wanted. Pete told me he was born with this ability.

Not wanting to insult my friend and not sure what was going on I could only think to say. “Where do you go and what have you seen lately?” Pete then said something that stunned me as if he had hit me with a laser gun.

“I went to your house to see what was going on” You were helping your son build a volcano for his science project and your dog was throwing up. Oh by the way the dog is eating an old seat cushion hidden behind that old shed in the back. That is what is making him sick.”

I do not think I moved even blinked. He was absolutely right!

I just sat there. Pete looked at me and said. “You have always known I was not like you or the others. Why are you acting so shocked at this?”

Pete and I talked for a few hours that day. Pete told me he was just not like other humans. For one thing his IQ was far greater than anyone could imagine and his ability to use his brain and natural abilities were more advanced or different then the everyday human. Pete knew he was different all his life. His parents raised him to understand this and also provided him with what Pete needed to reach his full abilities.

Pete was one of a kind. I just did not know one of what kind. When I asked Pete straight out if he was a human Pete just turned his head side to side as if he was looking at me for the very first time but he did not answer me.

Pete also told me he was a situs inversus totalis, which means he was born with a total reversal of his body’s organs. Everything that we have on our left is on his right. His heart is even located differently. Pete placed his hand over his beating heart and indeed it was not where it should have been.

Pete told me his life had been difficult as he tried to fit in with a population of people who were not like him. I did not know what to do or say to Pete. I told him I considered him a friend but did ask him not to visit me with his mind without my permission. Pete agreed, but oddly enough I did not believe him and think he peeks in whenever he wants to!

I long ago lost contact with Pete. I did hear he was doing great things in medicine and living somewhere in New England. I always knew Pete was very different. I never understood how or why he was the way he was. I often wonder if Pete is a super human or something else. I guess I will never know. I did try to ask Pete but he would not tell me.

Through all my experiences with the unknown including odd people or beings I have stumbled across in my life I find I am left with more questions than answers. It is clear to me that we know very little about this earth and our universe.

I do not have the answers to why the people I wrote about in this article are the way they are. I have no answers to most things considered strange or unknown. I do know many events, experiences and sightings that take place daily continue to be unexplained and left to that known as the paranormal. One day we will open our eyes and minds to understanding all of these things. Until then I am afraid we will remain lost in the Dark Ages of our own blindness when it comes to that which we find too odd to investigate or consider among that which is strange or unknown. I do hope I live long enough to one day understand what we now refuse to know.


Thanks to Chris Holly at Chris Holly's Paranormal World. Inquiries and comments can be directed to the author through her site.
Copyright © 2008-2010 Chris Holly all Rights Reserved


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Kangaroo Sightings Persist In Japan's Mayama Mountains

abc.net.au - It may seem odd, but the locals swear it is true. People in a Japanese mountain region have reported a number of kangaroo sightings, and journalists are now trying to stalk the marsupials.

The descriptions given by the apparent eyewitnesses seem close enough. For years they have spoken of a beige animal with large ears, one to 1.5 metres tall, that stands by the roadside and then hops away.

The sightings were all reported in the Mayama mountain district of Osaki city in Miyagi prefecture, a community of 441 households, located about 350 kilometres north of Tokyo.

The city has received about 30 reports of "kangaroo-like animals", including three cases since December, when the mountain area was often covered in snow, said local official Tetsuya Sasaki.

"People aged in their 40s to their 60s have said they have spotted what looked like kangaroos while travelling to and from work in the early mornings and evenings," said Mr Sasaki.

Rumours about kangaroo sightings started about seven years ago, and television crews and newspapers have set up hidden cameras in the district, but have so far failed to capture an image of a kangaroo.

As a joke, "some people have put up 'kangaroo crossing' signs on their roadside properties," Mr Sasaki said.

Kangaroos are on show at many Japanese zoos and can be imported by individuals.

UFO Photo Touted As Best Ever In Argentina

Click images for larger version

Alejandro Mikitiuk snapped this photo on December 12, 2:38 pm local time....that is being touted as the best Argentinean UFO photo of the decade.

Mr. Mikitiuk was taking photos of a house that he was building on his property in the Sierras Bayas district of Olavarria, Province of Buenos Aires. Photo analysis performed by Patricio J. Barrancos yields a "positive" result: "there is a solid object in flight at low altitude and at a relative distance from the indirect witness."

inexplicata.blogspot.com/
ciencia-ovni.blogspot.com/

Flying Humanoid Reported in California - 3/3/10

MUFON witness report - 3/3/10 - California (unedited): I was in a friends backyard and he suddenly starts telling me that he had been mowing his lawn and just by happenstance caught something out the corner of his eye. He looked up to see what he immediately called a Flying Man. He looked at it for 4-5 Secs and yelled out to his brother who was working with him to come quickly and see this thing. His brother ignored him. He ran over and dragged his brother to the spot. His brother could not see it and walked away. He watched for a few seconds and again went and dragged his brother to the spot at which time neither could see it. Viewed from it's left side and below, it was a 7' tall man in a Copper Colored fitted shell that was metallic looking reflective material. It was 1.30 pm in the afternoon ,bright sunshine and mostly blue skies. The Flyer was ascending at a 35 degree incline at walking speed. From its elevation he thought it might have left the ground 30 secs prior. He estimates it was eighty feet away at about 30' elevation ( right over a telephone poll he used for distance) and he had a clear unimpeded view. The flyer had a forward tilt, Ski Jumper attitude and was climbing slowly and silently.

The shape was immediately recognizable as a man wrapped in an aerodynamic shell. The hooded head and shoulders were smoothed together ,the chest was large 3' plus across. It tapered down to what was obviously feet pointing down.

He really wasn't thinking about it too deeply because it didn't make sense to him. He had never heard about the Flying Humanoids and was relieved to have me give some credence to his account. His brother was non responsive to the whole affair and only after I told them about this phenomenon did he think his brother might have actually seen something. Which is strange because he was uncharacteristically being yelled at to come quickly. He said his brother was definitely worked up, instantly. We looked at a map and determined the starting point might well be a Big Church that takes up a large area.

He drew the Flyer and captured its simplicity. The brothers are keeping their eyes to the sky.

NOTE: there have been numerous 'flying humanoid' reports, mostly in northern Mexico and the Baja. I have reported on several of these sightings at The Flying Witches of Monterrey, Mexico, Flying Humanoids Reported Over Mexico...Again!, Flying Humanoid / UFO - Moctezuma District, Mexico City, 'Mothman-Like' Creature Reported in Guerrero, Chihuahua, Mexico and The 'Flying Humanoid' Phenomenon...Lon

M6 Crash / Paris Accident Being Investigated - Vehicle Occupants 'Disappear'

prlog - Details of a recent car crash in Paris are now surfacing after an embargo placed by the authorities on reporting the incident has now been lifted.

Speculation has been rife about the links between the incident in Paris and the recent crash on the M6 as it is clear that both have some level of unexplained activity and both crashes have been subject to strict reporting guidelines.

Full details are unclear at this time but it is understood that two vehicles were involved in the crash and that it took place near the Eiffel Tower, although the exact location is being kept secret. Parisian traffic police were keen to play down several rumours that have started to circulate amongst those who witnessed the crash surrounding the events that led up to it.

These include alleged witness statements that claim a bright light could be seen emanating from at least one of the vehicles before it collided with the other. In other statements, witnesses walking on the nearby pavement were reported to have seen the occupants of one of the vehicles ‘disappear’ momentarily at one stage.

The Parisian traffic police have denied the validity or existence of the statements and also confirmed that there were four bodies present in the vehicles; two in each. All were male and were said to have been badly burnt in the subsequent fire after the crash.

When questioned about why they won’t name an exact location for the crash, the police have put out a statement saying that ‘we wish to keep the location secure whilst the investigation continues and we are aware that such a location would attract people wanting to speculate on the reasons for the crash. This would jeopardise the integrity of the scene and any evidence that is still to be uncovered’

Further details of the investigation to follow.

Mark Collins
Freelance Journalist
Writer for VoloLegal / VoloMed
____________________
Originally posted 1/27/10

Highway Accident May Have Involved Paranormal Activity

NOTE: This incident would make a great script for 'Fringe' or the former show 'The X-Files'. A reader in Birmingham, UK commented on this vehicular accident and the questions surrounding it. I started to dig and found the following information. Investigators reveal they are unable to explain certain facts surrounding this specific M6 pileup (in Birmingham) and point to evidence corroborating rumors of paranormal activity may be partly to blame.

A leaked report into the recent crash on the southbound carriageway of the M6 just outside Birmingham shows that the investigation team are struggling to provide credible explanations for some of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The pile up involved seventeen vehicles, including three trucks but miraculously no one was killed although several people were taken to hospital for minor injuries.

One anonymous source closely involved with the investigation said there are three specific areas they are finding increasingly difficult to explain; the tachometer readings of one of the the trucks, the CCTV footage taken at the time of the crash and also the lack of physical evidence to show drivers were present in three of the vehicles.

Details remain closely guarded but it is understood the tachometer readings clearly show that the truck’s speed reduced dramatically about one minute before the accident. The CCTV footage is alleged to show a thin white line across the southbound carriageway, again timed at about one minute prior to the crash.

No one from the crash investigation team is willing to go on the record to either confirm or deny these reports and it is understood that the entire investigation has now been turned over to another police department based in London; although again, no one would confirm of deny this.


THE DIARY

The following diary entry was recently discovered:

Whilst I wasn't there when the accident happened, I am able to piece together a rough version of events from the subsequent confrontations with Silverton that happened as a result of it.

It was always going to be the case that the traders were keen both to stop my progress to Paris and also disrupt any other operations that were taking place by other members of the group that would interfere with their activities; that was a constant and never ending threat. Although neither myself or Roy could have imagined what lengths they would have gone to in order to derail our mission.

Effectively the events that were now taking place could have had serious repercussions for the timeline if they weren't thoroughly vetted prior to action, and I didn't think that would be high on the traders list of priorities.

But while Roy and I were left pondering how we could best deal with our accidental guests, further developments were ensuring our return to the twenty first century was going to be fraught with incident.

A serious accident had taken place on the M6 at the precise location we now found ourselves standing at the time we left our vehicles. So, whilst we were looking around in disbelief at the abandoned and overgrown motorway wondering what our next move was, the vehicles we were meant to be driving were out of control and causing the accident.

This crash involved about fifteen vehicles and blocked the M6. Miraculously no one was killed but there were several serious injuries and the motorway was closed for the rest of the day and long into the night as the investigations into the accident took place.

The duration of the closure was not entirely due to the time it took to clear up the carriageway, it was due to the meticulous nature of the investigation; and this was led by Roger Silverton.

Roger wasn't part of any police force based in Manchester, he was part of a division of special branch that was based in London. This division specialised in events that were of an unexplainable nature; namely UFO sightings, psychic phenomena and other such incidents. Obviously this gave whoever Roger really was the perfect cover to track and intercept us whilst staying on the right side of the law.

Because of the nature of the accident on the M6, Roger's division of special branch were notified and he was first to attend the scene; no doubt aware of our proximity because he was tracking our movements.

Roger would have greeted by an assortment of tangled vehicles all badly disfigured from the accident and dried blood stains on the inside of these vehicles; except three and this was the reason for the call to Roger's division by the accident investigation team.

The three vehicles we drove were devoid of any human tissue or blood to signify the presence of someone behind the steering wheel at the time of impact.

One thing I learned prior to getting embroiled in my current situation was that the police and also the media treated anything that could be construed as paranormal as a standing joke; there was always another, far more logical explanation. This was great for us as we could be secure in the knowledge that apart from disappearing in front of someone anything we said would be dismissed as pure fantasy.

But this accident could change that as, for the first time, significant evidence was now available to suggest that the M6 accident was not a straightforward, human error collision.

NOTE: this is a very strange incident. From what I am able to gather, this online diary entry (which I feel is a blog entry for a fictitious story) was written prior to the accident. As well, there are no explanations as to how this diary entry has been determined to be related to this incident, though the references are eerily similar. Was this a pre-cognative experience? Time travel? Movement between dimensions? I checked news articles and the following seems to be the accident in question M6 crash closes motorway in Birmingham. If anyone has further information in regards to this incident, please post a comment...Lon

Sources:
www.birminghammail.net/
www.prlog.org
1of26.blogspot.com

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Marketing Bulgaria's Rabisha Lake Monster

novinite - The world famous monster Nessie from the Loch Ness in Scotland is about to get a rather tough competitor – the Water Bull from the Rabisha Lake in Northwestern Bulgaria.

Even though the Water Bull and Nessie seem to be of very different species, the Water Bull of the Rabisha Lake is set to conquer the world going in the footsteps of the Loch Ness Monster, Emil Tsankov, Mayor of the town of Belogradchik has told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency).

Belogradchik is a small, though, rather famous and picturesque town in the Bulgarian Northwest. First and foremost, it is known for the Belogradchik Rocks – absolutely miraculous rock formations stretching for some 30 km in the western part of the Balkan Moutain (Stara Planina).

Over the past year, the Belogradchik Rocks did pretty well in the competition for the New Seven Wonders of the World, and even though they failed to make it to the finalists, they have found a spot on the prestigious reserve list. The other amazing thing near Belogradchik is the Magurata Cave with its enchanting paintings by prehistoric people.

And the third world-class tourist attraction the Belogradchik Municipality wants to add to its portfolio has to do with the Monster of the Rabisha Lake.

Mayor Emil Tsankov has submitted an application to the EDEN (European Destinations of Excellence) contest, a EU-wide project focusing on sustainable development. The topic of the 2010 edition of the contest is “Water as a Force of Life and Prosperity” which made the Rabisha Water Bull a rather logical participant.

With the funding that the Belogradchik Municipality hopes to get, it plans to promote the legend about the Rabisha Lake Monster and to resurrect the local traditions related to the mysterious creature.

The Rabisha Lake – Bulgaria’s Loch Ness

The Rabisha Lake (“Rabishkoto Ezero” in Bulgarian) is located between the villages of Tolovitsa and Rabisha, in the Belogradchik Municipality, to the northwest of Sofia.

It is the largest lake in Bulgaria’s interior even though with its area of about 1 square km it is much more modest in size than the Loch Ness.

The Rabisha Lake has a tectonic origin. It was formed in the Quaternary Period, some 2,5-3 million years ago, and its depth reaches 30-40 meters.

“The lake has never been explored in detail so it is not unknown exactly what sorts of species from previous periods it is the home of,” Mayor Tsankov told Novinite.com.

One thing that stands out about the Rabisha Lake is the fact that it is an endorheic lake – no rivers flow out of it. This has turned it into the object of many folk tales and legends of medieval Bulgarians who believed that water had to be in circulation all the time.

Thus, the people in the region thought the lake was bottomless, and was therefore the home of many scary creatures common to the Slavic mythology.

The Legend about the Water Bull, the Rabisha Lake Monster

There are various legends about the Rabiska Lake Monster but Mayor Tsankov has picked the most “credible” one – which dates back to the 18th century – in order to focus their project on it.

The legend has it that a fearful monster inhabits the lake. Unlike Nessie and many other lake monsters, however, this one is no dinosaur; it is a lot more human-like, and is actually more like a minotaur.

The Rabisha Lake Monster, the so called Water Bull, has the head of a bull, the body of giant, strong man, and the tale of fish.

In order to keep this terrifying beast at ease, the local people would offer as a sacrifice to it the most beautiful young girl in the entire region in order to buy their safety. They would hold a procession taking the girl to the Rabisha Lake where it would get on a boat together with many wonderful gifts, and would fall pray to the monster.

It is exactly this procession with a gorgeous young girl, lavish gifts, and songs and dances that a major focus of the project to revive the Rabisha Lake legend, together with some other traditional folklore customs of the region. These customs and ceremonies will be shown to tourists and guests, and they will actually be invited to participate in them.

“The terrible story of the annual sacrifices to the Water Bull actually has a happy ending,” Tsankov explains with a smile. “The most gorgeous girl in the world was born one day in the village of Rabisha. When she grew up and the time came to offer her as sacrifice, she was placed in a boat and taken to the middle of the lake.

“However, when the Water Bull saw her, he was so enchanted by her that instead of killing her, he fell in love. He asked his sister, who was a sorceress, for help, and with her powers she made the beautiful girl immortal. The Water Bull took his young wife to the bottom of the Lake, and never came back for more prey. The two of them are still believed to live happily down there.”

Water Bull or Wels Catfish?


Huge Catch!

Click for video

What might have given rise to such a legend (there are actually a number of local legends about the Water Bull Monster in the Rabisha Lake which have slight variations)? Assuming of course the actual Bull doesn’t hang around down there.

The Rabisha Lake is actually proven to be the home of real water monsters – gigantic wels catfish have been caught there. The largest ones reach 5 meters in length, and a weight of 350 kg!

The Belogradchik Mayor says there are also various reports of spotting these fish monsters near the surface of the Rabisha Lake – mostly in the months of April and May – even though the wels catfish usually spend most of their time on the bottom of the lake.

“This huge fish – a real monster – might have been cause of Water Bull legend in the first place,” Tsankov thinks.


A giant Wels Catfish caught in Rabisha Lake

Legend or no legend, the development of a brand new tourist product has been initiated, and the 24 Chasa Daily and the Belogradchik Municipality have already announced a competition for taking a photo of the Rabisha Lake Monster, and everyone is welcome to participate.

Hopefully, the photos of the enthusiasts rushing there will not capture any dinosaur, Nessie-like monster in the lake as this is going to throw into disarray the tidy plans of the municipality about its Water Bull.

Of course, Mayor Tsankov actually is much in favor of advertising the Water Bull as “the Bulgarian Nessie” in order to benefit from the world renown of the Loch Ness Monster.

The Papua New Guinea Pterosaur

NOTE: I received an email from Jonathan Whitcomb at Live Pterosaur: "Last month I interviewed an eyewitness who lives in the Manus Island area of Papua New Guinea. More interesting than his short sighting one night is the account from an older man: The "kor" (a new name to me, probably the same species as the ropen of Umboi Island, or at least similar) creatures attacked some Japanese, during World War II, with a devastating response from those Japanese. I believe this story, for my contact seems to be credible."

The following is posted at his blog:

Japanese World War II Ship Shelled Pterosaur Caves

February 18th, 2010 at 5:29

Three days ago, I received an email from R.K. (anonymous), of the Manus Island area of Papua New Guinea. (We starting communicating earlier this month.) The nocturnal flying creatures that he described to me–I believe they are ropens–were common and were dangerous to local fishermen previous to the early 1940’s, when their numbers declined. In these northern islands, the creature is called “kor.”

Here is part of R.K.’s account of the Japanese retaliation against the creatures that had attacked them:

”...it was the japs [Japanese miliary] on the island who were attacked by the kor. They [Japanese soldiers] apparently shot several wounding them then followed them to cves [caves] and blew [blew up] the entrances. They called ships fire on the hills and pounded them for several hours.”

R.K. asks an interesting question: “I wonder if there is a record of that somewhere?” Perhaps there is an old Japanese veteran who knows about this or has written about the battle with those creatures. If so, perhaps the word used for those creatures would be “dragons."
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The Kor of Northern Papua New Guinea

R.K., of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, reports that the glowing nocturnal flying creature of those northern islands is called “kor.” Descriptions strongly suggest that they are at least similar to the ropen of Umboi Island, perhaps the same species: glowing with various colors, a long tail, “skin all over it,” and a few creatures growing to a large size. A few American investigators (some of them exploring in some areas of Papua New Guinea) are convinced that these are living pterosaurs.

According to what R.K. has learned from some older villagers, the kor catch fish “by skimming slowly around on the ocean surface, then as the light under their wings and belly glowed bright and attracted fish, the korr would swoop in . . . ” and “they eat in flight.”

But these are not just old reports. R.K. has reported his own encounter [early 2010 report]: “Two years ago we took a boat out to investigate and could see the lights soaring over us and heard flapping of wings.”

Older web page reports of smaller “ropens” around Manus Island (as if these were a different species because of size) are questionable. One kor was large enough to kill an islander in the 1960’s (according to R.K., this was the last human death from an attack). Perhaps the reports of smaller creatures come from the larger number of younger ones. Larger ones are reported to eat turtles and even young crocodiles. Some animals continue to grow throughout their lives; perhaps the kor, on occasion, also grows to a large size.


Click for video - Three men describe the pterodactyl-like creature of Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea. They saw the giant "ropen" (about 1994) flying over Lake Pung.
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World War II Veteran Saw Giant Living "Pterodactyl"

Duane Hodgkinson, now a flight instructor in Livingston, Montana, in 1944 was stationed near Finschhafen, in what was then called New Guinea. After he and his buddy walked into a clearing, they were amazed as a large creature flew up into the air. The men soon realized that it was no bird that started to circle the clearing. It had a tail “at least ten to fifteen feet long,” (book Searching for Ropens, 2007) and a long appendage at the back of its head: apparently, a live pterosaur.

Jonathan Whitcomb, a forensic videographer, interviewed Hodgkinson, in 2004, and found his testimony credible. In 2005, Garth Guessman, another experienced ropen investigator, video-taped his own interview with Hodgkinson and the session was analyzed by Whitcomb, who became even more convinced the World War II veteran was telling the truth: The man had seen a ropen.
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INVESTIGATIONS

In late 2006, Paul Nation, of Texas, explored a remote mountainous area on the mainland of Papua New Guinea. He videotaped two lights that the local natives called "indava." Nation believed the lights were from the bioluminescence of creatures similar to the ropen of Umboi Island. The video was analyzed by a missile defense physicist who reported that the two lights on the video were not from any fires, meteors, airplanes or camera artifacts. He also reported that the image of the two lights was authentic and was not manipulated or hoaxed.

In 2007, cryptid investigator Joshua Gates went to Papua New Guinea in search of the Ropen for his TV show Destination Truth. He and his team also witnessed strange lights at night and could not confirm what they were.

In 2009, the television show Monster Quest conducted an expedition in search of the "demon flyer" but found no evidence of the creature. Later, they had a forensic video analyst examine the Paul Nation video. The analyst could not definitely conclude what was causing the lights, but ruled out vehicles and campfires believing the footage was of a pair of bioluminescent creatures perched in a tree that later take flight.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ropen


Click to video 1


Click for video 2


Click for video 3

As well, here is the YouTube page with the MonsterQuest clips - Flying Monsters

Photos: Plasma Anomalies - Southwest Utah

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NOTE: my friend, 'Fearless' from southwest Utah, forwarded these images yesterday. Not sure what to make of these other than it resembles a plasma (or 'ectoplasmic') manifestation...though, not sure if it is spiritual, extra-dimensional or something completely different. I have posted an earlier submission below to give you an idea of what she has experienced previously. Any thoughts? Lon
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Mysterious Probes and 'Reptilian' Orb? - Southwestern Utah


The following photos were sent to me from 'Fearless' in southwestern Utah (approx. 140 miles from Groom Lake). The resolution was low but the photo technician was able to enhance two of the photos (without retouch or pixel manipulation) to form these remarkable images. 'Reptilian' is the first word that comes to mind. As well, the other photo looks like some type of probe. The photo technician stated... 'the photos are so small and of such low resolution, that this is about all I can do without actually changing anything. As for the first orb, it is obviously a 'probe' of some type. It is not clearly defined, except that it appears to have 'light protuberances'.

The 'face' appears (to me) to be reptilian. There is a what appears to be a 'snout' angled to the foreground, with eyes set close to the top of the head, somewhat to the sides looking forward. The facial distort appears to be due to motion blur, some other unknown factor, or a combination of both.'

'Fearless' states the following:

We had an extensive lightening storm about 8 miles from my home. I was trying to capture lightening. I took over 400 photos within a 30 min period. During that time, I saw the many lights coming toward my house...from the south to the north. They seemed to be coming away from the lightening. I saw the bright light, then several more. The large disc was silver in color, which I have seen several times in the local area. It seemed to be hanging just watching me. I noticed the 'face' after downloading. It attached itself to the metal dolly handcart. It appears in several of the photos, in different stages of manifestation. I really didn't notice any smells....but I do smell ozone quite often while I'm taking these kinds of pics. I see alot of activity out here.






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