Map of Bigfoot Sightings Provides Interesting Insights

A map of 92 years worth of Bigfoot sightings provides some interesting insights, according to Joshua Stevens.

Every now and then a dataset comes along that just has to be mapped. This is one of those times.

Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Skookum. Yahoo. Whatever you call it, the towering man-like ape is a folklore staple. From stories of Yeti in the Himalayas to Wildmen in the Pacific Northwest, people have been talking about and trying to find the creature for ages. Occasionally, some form of evidence – like Patterson’s famous 1967 film – emerges and either feeds our fascination or gets dismissed as a hoax. In either case, it’s easy to see why believers search for proof and skeptics remain doubtful.

Through archival work and reports submitted directly to their website, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization has amassed a database of thousands of sasquatch sightings. Each report is geocoded and timestamped. Occasionally, even photos and videos of the alleged evidence are included. I’m not quite sure how I stumbled across this, but I’m glad I did.

After crawling the data and converting it to a more convenient format, I mapped and graphed all 3,313 sightings that were reported from 1921 to 2013: Read more

Djinn or Genie: Are They Real or Folklore?

Stories of djinn or genie have been around for thousands of years, says Martha Decker, but are they real or folklore?

Djinn or Genie are they real or folklore? Do they come from the paranormal world or another dimension? Djinn have been around through religion and folklore for thousands of years. Most Americans often think of I Dream of Jeanie when they think of the Djinn or the genie that grants three wishes. They are mentioned in Islam, the Bible and other religious books. Read more

The Worst Paranormal-Related Crimes of 2013... So Far

The saying that there's no such thing as bad publicity doesn't apply to the paranormal field. A lot of people have made a negative impact on the paranormal hobby in 2013, says John Albrecht, Jr.

So far this year there have been a lot of people that have made a negative impact on the paranormal hobby. This year we've pretty much seen it all, from thieving paranormal investigators, to a ghost hunting murderer, to spirit seeking meth makers, and even a ghost busting rapist. Read more

Hunter Believes He's Killed a Chupacabra

Matthew Harrell of Leake County, Miss., shot a strange creature that he believes may be a chupacabra. The authorities' explanation is so ridiculous that it's insulting. It's like calling a UFO swamp gas or the planet Venus.

A Mississippi man shot a strange creature he believes to be a chubacabra -- a legendary creature that most experts believe to be nothing but a myth. Watch video

How to Analyze Ghost Audio

Once you have obtained your ghost audio, the next step is to analyze it.

If you are very careful to know your equipment and conduct your sessions, the ultimate step of a paranormal investigation is analysis. Many ‘hunters’ listen back to recordings on site; while this can be useful in directing a session, be sure to go back and analyze later anyway. 

While I realize that not everyone can use a professional audio or video software like ProTools or FinalCut Pro, these are the gold standard for digitizing audio and video. Be sure to read the manual and any online forums for the sound or video programs you use to see what kind of quirks they might have, and what their limitations might be. Read more

5 Giant Cryptids from Around the World

Cryptids includes not only unknown species, but super-sized versions of known species, says Christy Gordon.  Any of these five of these would be at least as scary as Bigfoot.

Though cryptids like atmospheric beasts and sheepsquatch are fantastical creatures unlike any known animals, some cryptids are merely super-sized versions of existing species. Name an animal or insect and chances are good that someone, somewhere (or several people in numerous locations) claim enormous versions of the creature exist. With that in mind, here are five giant cryptids from around the world. Which do you find the most terrifying? Read more

Psychic Accused of Planting Fake Spirit During Ghost Tour

A psychic has been accused of hiding a man in an attic to make knocking noises on the ceiling during a hotel “ghost tour."

A British psychic who claims he can speak to the dead is accused of planting fake spirits during a ghost hunt. Chris Date, who prefers to be called "Knight Guider," hosted a ghost tour on Friday at the (allegedly) haunted Halfway Hotel in Llanelli, South Wales. Read more

How to Record Real Ghost Audio

If you want to try your hand at ghost hunting, The Ghost Diaries explains how to record ghost audio or electronic voice phenomena the right way.

So how can you be sure what you are hearing is actually paranormal?

First, and I cannot emphasize this enough, TAG YOUR AUDIO in all your EVP sessions. If your stomach growls, say that. If you hear someone next to you move, say so. Of course if you yawn, or sigh, or whisper to yourself, be aware enough of all these things in yourself and your fellow researchers and say something on the tape. It is hard to do this when you are nervous, but it can also help you focus and not become flustered by your own nerves.

Be sure your EVP sessions are isolated from outside noise as much as possible – this may be difficult with other researchers or stray noise from an active urban environment, so be extra careful to tag car sounds, voices, weather changes, whatever. Read more