Psychokinesis is all around us, as Michael Grosso shows us, from the mundane to the miraculous. Paying attention and being present, on the other hand, is key to unleashing one's inner potential, he shares a few tips for realizing it. Another way to wield one's inner power is through dreaming or allowing oneself to dream. A new study illustrates New Attitudes Towards Dreaming based upon new research. Kelly Bulkeley's interpretation of the data in the seventh paragraph of his essay seems problematic, especially in light of the religious or spiritual question raised from the research. And finally we join Alex Tsakiris with Brian Hayden with a somber, "Let us prey" as they run the gamut on the Anthropology Of Power And Evil, and the time-honored tradition of wielding "paranormal" powers to separate fools from their money. (CS)

Most folks reckon nowadays chupacabras are merely mangy critters, which mainstream news outlets conflate the sightings into something spectacular. But mange isn't the only explanation, according to Mike Mayes, who suggest some folks might be keeping these chupacabras as pets. (CS)

To be blunt, corvids are really awesome. We reckon they're smarter than octopodes, and maybe with a lick more of sense than us hairless apes with government-mandated tracking devices. Whenever something new comes up about our fine, feathered friends, like Scott Johnson's investigation, we're all over it like white on rice. Not only is it a drag to be around someone who's a bummer for H. sapiens, but also for ravens. Ravens aren't the only ones susceptible to negative human foibles, true believers. Take the concept of Green-Eyed Pets in the sense of envy, rather than bearing eyes of purest jade. Grayfaces argue humans are projecting their insecurities upon little, furry meat machines. People with actual hearts, on the other hand, know critters are vulnerable to one of the deadly sins. Except "heart" and "empathy" won't hold water in a court of science, which is why Paul Thagard takes the argument to the arena of grayfaces to fight on their own terms, while making them sweat. (CS)

Despite all the hubub going on with the White House and Congress, at least one outlet hasn't forgotten one of the weirdest stories still puzzling spooks and civilians alike. But is Dan Hurley right in sharing his insights with such large audiences? Folks, whether stationed in Cuba or not, are highly impressionable. Staying within the confines of Latin America, Panchali Dey just returned from This Small Town Experiences "Rain Of Fish" Once Or Twice A Year and boy howdy it's really strange. Also falling from the sky, about 47 years ago, is D.B. Cooper, and Marcos Ortiz reckons he's found the real McCoy. Literally! Find out more about the identity of Richard McCoy in Part Two. Bookending our fortean roundup with more mass hysteria, Hayley Stevens dissects her Night At The Mausoleum whereupon she tackles the MacKenzie Poltergeist and the cottage industry surrounding this notorious haunt. As you will discover, sometimes the tall tales are more dangerous than the actual ghosts. (CS)

Will the colonization of Mars bring out the best in us, or the worst? It's the question posed by Naia Carlos and Scott Solomon over the future of humanity as we know it. Stranger still, after a few generations they might not be human as we know it. While you're at it, dig Solomon's TEDx Talk on Evolutionary Biology On Mars. Heaven forbid these new humans surpass their forebears, joining the roll of otherworldly civilizations who transcend reality as we know it. For a thorough overview, check out Kevin Randles's discussion with Dr. Dan Farcas On Hypercivilizations. Topics include the Department of Defense's interest in unidentified aerial phenomena, what constitutes a hypercivilization, and the mysteries behind alien abductions. Even if humans don't thrive, nor speciate, on the red planet, their remains will be a testament to human tenacity and hubris. Who knows what future archaeologists will make of them in the coming aeons, but now Korey Haynes and Scientists Are Gearing Up To Look For Fossils On Mars. Realistically they're not going to be massive like dinosaurs nor megafauna, but robots will be sifting the sands in hopes of uncovering those that may have creeped upon its long-lost blue-green surface. As for Earth, Cara Giaimo's Seeing Red In The Fossil Record. Scientists and laity alike make guesses about the shades and tints used by ancient beasts, but those educated guesses are becoming more educated with advancements in technology and two new fossils of tiny red mice unearthed in Germany. (CS)

Why not? immortality is the gift that keeps on giving. Let's keep late-stage capitalism on life support by ensuring workers are drowning in debt from college loans, mortgages, and payments for immortality treatments so they can warm a desk chair for several hundred years while pretending to look busy using Excel? Sequoyah Kennedy does a deep dive into this seemingly dark future of exploitation. We can only hope Mysterious Universe will take advantage of this, rather than Vietnamese dong, for everyone's sake. Sometimes it feels like one needs an immortality treatment to fully appreciate Brent Swancer's exhaustive investigations into lost forteana. Take, for example, The Strange Miracle Of Nebraska's "Lucky 15". Those fifteen being choir members who were perpetually prompt yet one evening they were late much to their own benefit. As always the story doesn't end there, true believers! Also highly deserving of methuselean renown is Nick Redfern, shuffling through mountains of documents covering everything From Noah's Ark To The CIA to determine if the mystery behind Mount Ararat is the product of conspiracy or, more nefariously, bureaucracy. (CS)

According to casino.org reporting statistics, the Southeastern US is not a particular UFO "hot spot." Nonetheless, here are four cases from the Mutual UFO Network Case Management System, courtesy of Roger Marsh, each with its own special interest. First up is a low-flying, rectangular object, seen by a cigarette-smoking couple rather before midnight. The thing emitted a painful "deep, low, thrumming hum," then "tilted to its side and then zoomed off." A Rectangular Object Described Over Alabama produced no perceived sound, but the sighting left the female witness nauseated and her husband's cellphone on the fritz. The Flying Disc Reported Over Florida performed "impossible" aerial maneuvers. And a South Carolina UFO Disappeared Into 'Portal', per the headline. That last word may have been supplied by someone other than the witness, whose "Long Description of Sighting Report" makes no mention of the word "portal," stating the round object "looked like it was moving into another dimension or something." The witness also said two rather interesting and enigmatic words kept coming to mind afterwards. (WM)

We like to believe the truth is out there, waiting to be discovered, so it's particularly edifying when tidbits slip through at times and places where we really weren't looking. Micah Hanks profiles the published work of Muriel Wylie Blanchet which describes her family's adventures boating along the British Columbia coast--and some strange creatures and icons she met along the way. This Canadian province is known for its Squatchy activity, with Bigfoot Sightings At Pitt Lake among the most prevalent. The Hairy Man often seems to just want to be left alone, but there are still reports of mischief and vandalism that point to great strength and a dislike of visitors. Perhaps the initials of BC are secret code for Bring a Club. Or Be Careful. (CM)

Rich Reynolds hates Facebook, especially for what it seems to do to people, particularly ufologists in this case. He explains why in this article. With The Mathematical Impossibilities [sic] of Extraterrestrial Visitation Rich lays out his case for probabilities being against the notion of ET excursions to Earth. A reader asks what about all those things people are seeing? For one thing, Almost 1,000 Canadians Reported Seeing UFOs Last Year. Vice's Mack Lamoureux summarizes the Chris Rutkowski-led "2018 Canadian UFO Survey," a fascinating breakdown of the prior year's UFO reports, which may be accessed through links in the article. Quebec, Canada's Gal Post writer Lilly Nice relates one foreign sighting with In Thailand Filmed a UFO Inside a Strange Red Cloud. We didn't see the "high speed flying object of unknown form and origin," but the cloud certainly is eerie and eerily beautiful. (WM)

Man certainly films something, although "flying" is not what is being done. Floating, or perhaps sinking. Or deflating. But if you want to look up to get frightened, mark June 7 on your calendar because Seth Breedlove has done it again. “Terror in the Skies” — A New Film From Small Town Monsters focuses on all things winged and creepy, from prehistoric bird sightings, to Mothman, flying humanoids, and more. (CM)

People are silly, especially those strung out on candy. (And then they're sleepy--don't ask us how we know this.) But using some of those sweets as Nessie bait is both silly and a tribute to the power of advertising. We're glad the Old Girl is getting publicity, even though it promotes tooth decay. On a more serious note, Glasgow Boy investigates Finlay's Monster and Cobb's Speedboat, and makes an intriguing suggestion. Given that Finlay had spotted the wake of something large in the Loch just several weeks prior to Cobb trying to break the speedboat record, it would have made sense to delay the trial. Could it be that Nessie played an unwilling role in the calamitous end of John Cobb in 1952? (CM)

Fox News has a rather belated article on the Navy's apparent recent course correction, borrowed from the New York Post's Steven Greenstreet. But it is noteworthy that "mainstream media" is continuing with the story. Space.com has itself borrowed from The Conversation an article pondering Why is the Pentagon Interested in UFOs?. Iain Boyd downplays the almost-incredible flight characteristics displayed by the 2004 "tic tacs," as well, perhaps, as the capabilities of the integrated sensor system the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group possessed at that time. But he does make the hard-to-refute argument that what the Navy seems to be doing is a Good Thing. A Good Thing for publicity, too, as History writers Missy Sullivan and Greg Daugherty say These 5 UFO Traits, Seen by Navy Fighters, Defy Explanation. These characteristics demonstrate a qualitative "leap" such that experts have to invoke "breakthroughs" in physical technologies to keep vehicles demonstrating such as designed by earthly engineers. The outrageous figures being thrown about for the Nimitz objects' performance are supported by That SCU Analysis of the 2004 Tic-Tac [UFO] Encounter, which report remains impressive to Rich Reynolds. Rich's suggestion of a possible "Mother Ship" is, of course, a conjecture based upon human understanding, but it is not unreasonable and is supported to some degree by other UFO sightings. And if someone hasn't looked into this possibility, they should to whatever extent is possible after 15 years. (WM)

Nick Redfern rounds up more tales of monkeying about on mainland UK and speculates on the "supernatural nature" of these hairy scary critters, with accounts going back to Norman times. He follows on with The Weird Saga of a Welsh Wild Man who in days of yore was making a proper nuisance of himself in Snowdonia, leaving the locals both hungry and angry. A hirsute thief who moved with "the skill and precision of a deer," he found himself minus a hand thanks to an axe-wielding local lady. (LP)

Troy discoverer Heinrich Schliemann must be turning over in his grave--or maybe not, as Jason Colavito is in his wheelhouse in this rejoinder to yet another relocation of a fabled yet potentially real ancient place or story. Colavito fairly demolishes the claims of one Bernard Jones through literary and historical arguments alone. Rest easy, Heinrich. In other archaeological news, Paul Seaburn tells us how a 1,000-Year-Old African Coin Could Change Australia's History. "Making history is tough. Changing it is even tougher," concludes Paul on this interesting story, which has some weaknesses in supporting its proponents' claims, but just could add to an improving understanding of old trade patterns. And noteworthy is the role that modern technology--in the guise of micro-CT scanners and eBay(!)--plays in this case. (WM)

Comedian/Actor John Cleese has made no secret of his interest in the survival of consciousness beyond death. This video of his discussion with Dr. Jim Tucker from the Division of Perceptual Studies (DoPS) at the University of Virginia on this topic will prove fascinating to anyone with a similar interest.  But it does raise a significant question: Can You Trust Your Earliest Childhood Memories? Apparently not, as studies suggest the infant mind, while capable of forming memories, is not capable of forming lasting ones. And so we pose two questions to these researchers: What if an infant's first memory is of adult life (just not the current one)? More importantly, what if that first memory is of a Silly Walk? (CM)

This earliest and least known of three older UFO cases concerns a crash-retrieval in New Mexico in 1945. It's an interesting, detailed, and of course potentially significant tale. Micah Hanks gives the background to and offers a Leon Davidson explanation for The 1952 UFO Incident Over Washington: What Really Happened?. Hanks also notes a significant flaw to Davidson's covert ECM operation diagnosis. The next two posts deal with one of the iconic CE-II physiological cases, the 1967 Manitoba Stefan Michalak incident. Sam Thompson's UFOlogists to Converge on Site of 1967 Falcon Lake Encounter is a straightforward mainstream media account of the original event, upon the occasion of its 2019 commemorative activities held on May 18-20th. The article features interviews with the late Michalak's son Stan and with Canadian investigator Chris Rutkowski. UFOs at LAC: The Falcon Lake Incident - Part 1 is an official Library and Archives Canada podcast transcript delving further into the encounter and subsequent events, with another Canadian author, Palmiro Campagna, joining Michalak and Rutkowski. (WM)

Easily one of the most important UFO-related works ever is Jerome Clark's The UFO Encyclopedia, now in its third edition. Kevin Randle has Jerry on to discuss the latest incarnation of this massive, highly informative and readable, compendium. Kevin rightly emphasizes its source list at the end of each entry. For those intending to do research or just to find different sides to an issue, this feature is invaluable. Kevin and Jerry discuss the mystery airship wave of 1896-7, which turns out to have been a worldwide phenomenon; Clark's particular "take" on that matter, which is influenced by his own separation of "event" from "experience" anomalies; and his distinction between UFO abductees and contactees. (WM)

Keeping things going on the Big Story and launching off of the recent Navy reporting about-face, former government insider and TTSA's Chris Mellon contributes an opinion piece to The Hill. Mellon leads with "Since 2015, dozens of Navy F-18 fighter jets have encountered unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAPs)...off the East Coast of the United States, some not far from the nation's capital." Mellon's statement, restricted to the last four years and East Coast, is interesting. He also scathingly analyzes systemic issues within the military and "almost feudal security apparatus" that inhibit information flow and actions based therefrom. Mellon links to a Navy Times article, which well illustrates both the seriousness and lack of background the mainstream media may now be bringing to this subject. The relatively straightforward Aliens, Ahoy! Navy Developing Guidelines on Reporting UFO Sightings credits the "GO FAST" video as the catapult for TTSA's appearance on everybody's radar and has "former Sens. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii" as openly backing, in 2017, the establishment of the AATIP--both men having been dead for some time by that year. Mellon correctly notes "one possible, disturbing conclusion: A potential adversary of the United States has mastered technologies we do not yet understand to achieve capabilities we cannot yet match." (WM)

Recently the forces of nature came together over Argentinian skies to produce what many are calling a sign from Heaven, courtesy of perfectly timed sunlight and cloud formations. Regardless of whether you're on Team Angel or Team Coincidence, the image is beautiful and worthy of at least a small degree of awe. Want something to roll your eyes at? Skeptical Sightings: Texas Chupacabra, California Flying Humanoid and British Witches will make you slap your forehead and wonder if the human race is doomed. (The answer is yes, if survival is connected to gullibility.) Ridiculous stories going viral puts the credibility of serious paranormal researchers at risk, and leaves the rest of us with bruises on our foreheads. You've been warned. Consume your media carefully. (CM)

In what might seem a belated April Fool's story, Naomi Rea reports that a University of Bristol research associate with the unfortunately suspicious name Cheshire seems to have claimed to have solved--in just two weeks after an initial "series of 'eureka' moments"--a translational puzzle that rivals the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs. "Not so fast!" -- says Paul Seaburn, echoing a gaggle of scholars who claim that The Code of the Voynich Manuscript HAS NOT Been Solved ... Yet. Seaburn's article well captures the crux of the issue, although History Today dissenter Dr. Kate Wiles herself errs in calling "hieroglyphics" a language rather than a writing system. Jason Colavito contextualizes the news in his University of Bristol Backtracks Furiously on Voynich Manuscript Deciphering Claims. Colavito rather aptly characterizes the academic brouhaha. (WM)

Now this story is flat out intriguing. Back in 2003 on the island of Flores in Indonesia there were found skeletal remains of what were nicknamed Hobbits, aka Homo Floresiensis. It just so happened that Flores was already home to stories of a small, hairy people known as the Ebu Gogo, who seemed to have similar characteristics to those assumed for the Hobbits. Were the Ebu Gogo and Homo Floresiensis the same? Nick Redfern thinks it likely. Then In Search of Sumatra’s Mysterious Ape: Orang-pendek he shares reports of another small hairy non-human primate. Elusive, with tremendous upper body strength, and a spectacular mane of hair, the similarities between this cryptid and Sasquatch are most likely not coincidental, but they are for the time being impossible to prove. (CM)

More themes working themselves out in news about the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and To The Stars...Academy of Arts & Science (TTSA). Billy Cox describes the "reservations" FOIA-author extraordinaire John Greenewald raises about a relatively small point behind the release of three gun-camera videos of UFOs. The back-and-forth highlights some of the problems with how the "revelations" that began on December 16, 2017, have been handled, and raises implications in Billy's mind for future potential "whistleblowers." Alejandro Rojas writes The X-Files Revealed: The Paranormal Roots of the Pentagon's UFO Program. This article provides a brief history of the AATIP and its predecessor, the Advanced Aerospace Weapons Systems Application Program (AAWSAP). Rojas mentions a related documentary by George Knapp and the nearly-imminent tv series Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation, a collaboration between the History channel and TTSA. Former AATIP head Luis Elizondo and others in the field promise this series will knock our collective UFO-themed socks off. Jason Colavito seizes upon the media and merchandising aspects of TTSA with In New SEC Filing, To the Stars Academy Reveals a Portrait of a UFO Infotainment Business. Much of what Jason says is, at this company's early stage, not particularly surprising. Some of his "catch-phrases" are rather unfortunate. (WM)

You know how people like to say Canadians are never impolite? After reading this story they may well say we don't get out much either. We love our river monsters as much as the next country, but please don't call any of our beasties the Loch Ness Monster. Seriously, buy an atlas. Paul Seaburn digs a little deeper into this story with More Alleged Water Monsters Spotted in Canadian Lakes and Rivers and comes out and says what we are too polite to say ourselves: That's a photograph of a log.  Not a monster. You want to find a monster? Ask a park ranger. Parks Manager Spots a Monster in Canada’s Kamloops Lake. Not only was this fellow rational and informed, he was Twitter savvy and had his photo posted with invitation to comment pretty much immediately. No we don't know what it was in the lake, but we like this guy and hope he keeps us up to date with his investigation. (CM)

UFO sightings old and new. Lon Strickler describes two different pre-Kenneth Arnold Ft. Duchesne Uintah County, Utah, sightings. Robbie Graham continues his worthwhile canvassing of the state and history of ufology in UFOs Around the World: Norway. Terje Toftenes answers Robbie's standard questions, and a trailer for Toftenes' The Portal: The Hessdalen Light Phenomena is included in the article. And Tim Binnall presents a short video whose most interesting characteristic is who captured it in Watch: Turkish Airlines Pilot Films UFO? (WM)