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This news came about a few months ago from National Geographic. A team of explorers found a previously undiscovered city after following leads from what were essentially little more than rumors. After pinpointing a possible location, the team discovered and mapped extensive plazas, earthworks, mounds, and an earthen pyramid. The city belonged to a tribe that thrived 1000 years ago, and then disappeared. The city was known to fables as the White City, or the "City of the Monkey God".

The city was able to survive the Spanish conquest due to it's remote location. The city lies in an inhospitable region, in the remote valley of La Mosquitia, deep in the Honduran rainforest. Using modern technology, the archaeologists were able to uncover some pretty interesting things.

Perhaps the most interest piece to come out of this location is the head of what Fisher called a "were-jaguar". This could indicate that the tribe followed a shamanic based religion. Many shamanic tribe used hallucinogenic substances that could lead the shaman to believe he was transforming into another creature, in this case a jaguar.

Unlike the Mayan society that was in the area, this tribe is largely unknown. Archaeologists do not have a name for the tribe but hopefully the Honduran government can secure this location so that we might learn more.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03... Reported Loch Ness citing via satellite  that was later revealed to be a boat.

Recently there has been a increase in sightings of what people believe to be the Loch Ness Monster, after a 18 month absence of sightings. The Woodland Trust conservation charity has put forth an explanation that rather takes the fun out of the whole Loch Ness Monster story. They believe that what people are seeing is nothing more than logs.

They claim that the logs have been washed out by rivers from nearby woods and that these logs are what the reporters of sightings are seeing. A spokesman for the trust said

First sightings of the Loch Ness Monster date back to the 6th century, when Saint Columba came across locals burying a man by the River Ness. They stated that the man was swimming when he was attacked and mauled by a "water beast" which ultimately dragged the man under. The beast apparently attacked Saint Columba, but Columba made the sign of the cross and commanded "Go no Further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once." The beast miraculously retreated. Most modern interest comes from a picture known as Surgeons Photograph. The picture claimed to show the head and neck of a sea creature. The image wasn't debunked until 1975 and was revealed to have concentric ripples surrounding the beast when there should be waves. In 1993, a documentary named Loch Ness Discovered found further discrepancies and the image, though instantly recognizable, has been discredited.

The idea that a creature would still be living in the loch going on 16 centuries is very much beyond the realm of science but it certainly plays on our desire for fantastical things to exist. I was able to find an alleged video that was taken November 6th and claims to show "Nessie" but it has since been removed. Photo Credit: Stanislav Grigoryev

Satellite images uncovered a massive 902 foot wide geoglyph in Urals in Siberia. The geoglyph appears to resemble a moose and archaeologists have announced that the site predates the most famous geoglyphs, the Nazca Lines of Peru, by thousands of years.

Two years ago researchers determined that the site was created 6000 years ago, based on the stone working style, called lithic chipping, that was used in it's creation. Since then, further discoveries at the site lead researchers to estimate that the creation was probably between 3000 and 4000BC.

According to the report in The Serbian Times:

Head on over to The Serbian Times for more details on this discovery. Chariot linch pin from three angles, showing the intricate decoration at the ends. - Source: University of Leicester

I love when history is unearthed that challenges us to think of our ancestors in a new light. I stumbled across two new articles today that do just that. they involved the unearthing of strange ancient things that could rewrite history, or certainly fill in some blank spots.

The first has to do with an ancient cult complex that might have been the site of worshiping to a storm god or a god of war. The site is located in Israel and, while the site has not been fully excavated, it appears to be quite a large complex. The courtyard alone measures approximately 52 feet by 52 feet.

At the site, archaeologists discovered a number of items that seem to indicate cult worshiping behavior. Among those items were facemask fragments (mostly the nose), Jars as large as people, and charred remains of animals that may have been used in sacrifice. While it is not certain who was worshiped here,  Baal, the Canaanite storm god, is definitely a possibility. There is also the possibility that a female goddess might have been worshiped at the site.

Check out more on this interesting story here.

The next thing that I saw was about the discovery of remains of an Iron Age chariot by the University of Leicester. Archaeologists from the University unearthed a cache of bronze fittings from the 2nd and 3rd century and it is suggested that they were buried as a religious offering. Nora Battermann, from the University of Leicester was one of the students who made the discovery. She said: "Realising that I was actually uncovering a hoard that was carefully placed there hundreds of years ago made it the find of a lifetime. Looking at the objects now they have been cleaned makes me even more proud, and I can't wait for them to go on display."

To view some of the images from the find, click .

Quite a busy week in the world of weird news. Cigar shaped ufo's over Ukraine, Proof of the Big Bang, and more.

I didn't have an opportunity to research and write up an article this week but I didn't want to leave everyone hanging. Here is a list of some recent fun and weird articles I ran across recently:

Tragedies are like the most delicious chocolate cake to conspiracy theorists.

Late last week, Malaysian flight MH370 disappeared over the South-asian Sea.  It was only a few minutes before you heard reflections on the supposed Bermuda Triangle.  So far no wreckage has been found and no black box recording to give us their last thoughts before the passengers left the skies, one way or the other.  Our only physical evidence, as of this writing, is oil trails found in the ocean.  But then again, the ocean has so much lost fuel on the surface that one could probably fuel a hundred cars for a hundred years.

You will see this video in the next weeks, months, even years.

It was supposed taken on a Malaysian flight years ago, but it could easily be used for proof of unknown aircraft being attracted to the airline even back then - possibly biding their time.  But more realistically, someone is going to post this as being a film by one of the passengers aboard the fateful flight to try and drum up attention.  We could have easily done that, but my cohort and I are as smugly tactful as we are handsome and goateed.

Knee-jerk reactionary declarations are the difference between those who take the study of the unknown seriously and those who are wearing tin foil hats.

At this time, we can only give our thoughts (or prayers if you're that type) to the crew and passengers aboard and we will dissect the "truth" that's being hidden from us once we start collecting evidence. Image by kahunapulej

The world of Cryptids, or creatures that have been talked about but never proven to exist, spans every continent. Whether they are figments or our imagination, or actually elusive creatures trying to avoid human population is a mystery in most of these cases. Everyone knows a Cryptid or two, be it Big Foot or the Chupacabra, but I wanted to look into one of the lesser known creatures.

In Tanzania there is a creature known as the Popobawa, Swahili for Bat-Wing, who has been said to terrorize the locals. The creature earned its name due to the shadow it casts in flight. There is some debate as to whether it is a creature or if it is a demon or spirit. The Popobawa is a fairly new Cryptid, with first reports of it turning up in the mid 1960's. The creature is hard to detect due to its ability to change shape that is usually most active in the evening, though there are reports of the beast in the daytime.

In April of 1995, the Popobawa was reportedly terrorizing Tanzania, wandering around naked with a tail and a jar of medicine. The people who would come across the creature first noticed it's terrible odor and it was said that it could split open walls and doors to enter houses in such a way that one could not see any sign of entry. The Popobawa would then sexually victimize the inhabitants of the household, leaving them in pain the next day. This horrific event terrorized the local neighborhoods for weeks, until the Popobawa was reported to have died. The Popobawa reportedly died when a mob found a man with a tail and bad stench and they speared him repeatedly. The Popobawa was said to have attacked a woman the next evening

A very similar tale came out in 2007 when men in Dar es Salaam, also in Tanzania, were said to be in fear of sexual attackers. They blamed the Popobawa and were said to be sleeping in groups and had smeared themselves with pig oil to deter the beast. It seems that this creature has a way of inspiring panic among the people in the neighborhoods of alleged attacks, and with good reason.

A demon who is only interested in breaking into your home to rape is not something to be taken lightly. Tanzania is a place that is known for their belief in black magic and this likely makes it easier for the belief in the Popobawa to take hold. I found an article from Reuters in 2011 that stated that hundreds of albinos were allegedly killed for black magic purposes, and much worse. This dabbling in Black Magic certainly would make the people of the area open to the suggestion of the Popobawa, and could explain why it rears it's head from time to time. Photo Via Edwin Lee

It's most common form of paranormal experience in our modern age, allegedly, but is not yet a mainstream name alongside silvery flying discs and smelly ape like men who walk across highways.  Anyone may have had an experience with them, but dismissed it as a trick of the light, while some people have the type of experiences that go beyond explanation.

Let's talk about shadow people.

It's easy to dismiss - you see a shape in the peripheral.  Something moves.  Maybe at the same time something you had swore was set sturdily on the shelf has fallen off.  Maybe it's a mouse.  But the shape was larger than a mouse.  It was the size of a soccer ball.

Or even worse, you are walking into a room and there's a small child on the floor, in the shadows.  You walk past, then double take and it's gone.  Again, easily dismissed.

But what happens when, in broad daylight, you walk into your living room and there, standing straight up and perfectly shaped, are two figures as black as night?  Contrasted with the sunlight coming through the window, they stand out like a match in a dark cave.  And they turn to you and you swear that in the shadow you see the definition of a jaw.  And maybe you even see the eyes - and the eyes may be burning red like a classic fantastical villain.

Skeptics believe it's a trick of the eye, much like how pressure on the eye lids can cause black "spots" to appear or how our eyes adjust when going from pitch black to bright day.  Maybe it's over active imaginations, fears caused by being alone or a grab for attention.

I usually blame that for my own experiences.

When I was 19 I had moved into my first apartment which I shared with no one.  It was just me and the dark figure that would appear in the corners of my room.  All I saw was part of a shoulder and a head, but he would move into the shadow of my open closet door, where he could hide between door and wall.  Or crawl across the ceiling from the far corner towards my bed, a writhing mass of darkness that ebbed and ungulated.  The closer it got, the more I attempted to control myself and think it was shadows thrown up by cars moving on the road below, but the more I had a voice in my head insisting, DEMANDING I remain afraid.

And then I felt the weight of a full grown adult human sit on the edge of my bed, the springs in my bed actually groaning.  I jump, I kick out and there's no one on the foot of the bed to connect my kicks to.  I sleep with the closet light on that night - a nineteen year old man.

It was probably me being alone.  Even when, as an eight year old boy I saw the shape of a man behind my stepfather at the dinner table, staring.  Light and shadows are everywhere and our eyes can't always perceive them the same way others do.  Maybe the shadows are caused by a hallucination or a stray light.

And maybe sometimes those hallucinations can sit on the edge of your bed.


If anyone else can share their own experiences or if you want to laugh and point, please feel free to share in the comments below. Sea serpent reported by Hans Egede, Bishop of Greenland, in 1734. Henry Lee suggested the giant squid as an explanation. Source: Wikimedia Commons

On the morning of March 27th 1885, at 8:30 AM several passengers meander around the deck of the San Francisco ferryboat Garden City. The trip is like any other for the passengers as they are passing between Alameda and Goat Island, later called Yerba Buena Island.  J.P. Allen was on his way to work at the Bank of California and was on the deck with several other residents of Alameda when they notice a disturbance in the water. The passengers noticed what they described as a huge black monster that raised it's head and neck 10 feet out of the water. The creature had it's mouth open wide, displaying a two foot wide opening with sharp pointed teeth. The creature looked around and then dove back into the water, it's sixty foot tail thrashing the water as it disappeared into the depths.

The story above, from the San Francisco Chronicle on March 28th 1885, is the first documented sighting of the Sea Serpent of San Francisco that I was able to dig up but it certainly isn't the only report. I recently stumbled across the topic of SF's own Nessie and what blew me away the most was that I have lived in or near the San Francisco Bay Area for my entire life and it is only now, some 30 years later, that I hear about this piece of cryptozoology.  The ocean is a vast place and we are constantly discovering new species, though not usually of this size. It is at least moderately conceivable that a large creature might go missing or undiscovered. I would also wager that it is much more plausible that a large creature could remain undiscovered in the ocean, as opposed to a lake like the Loch Ness.

Sea Serpents have often held a fearsome place in folklore, but the reports we have in modern times seem to indicate that these creatures  are not aggressive towards people.  This seems to be the case with a more recent sighting of the SF Sea Serpent.  In 1983, a 100 foot long creature was spotted by a construction crew working on a section of the road north of the Golden Gate Bridge.  The beast was said to be black in color and was writhing and coiling its body around in the water.

Two years later the Clark brothers, Robert and William, were sitting near a sea wall when they spotted a creature and claimed to catch the serpent on film. They were watching sea lions playing in the water when they noticed what they thought was another sea lion swimming in their direction. They recalled that the creature raised itself out of the water about 10 feet, much like the report in 1885, and it lunged forward, attacking the sea lions. They reported seeing the serpent arcing in the water, resembling several rubber tires rolling in the ocean.  I was not able to locate the video they claim to have recorded and the only thing they seem to publicize are some really poor quality stills from the film.

The stories of a sea serpent certainly ignite the imagination, but what if there is a perfectly logical explanation for the sightings? In researching this topic I ran across an article from October of 2013 that offers a possible explanation for this creature. Much further down the coast of California, between Catalina Island and the Southern California coastline, an 18 foot serpentine sea creature was found by a marine science instructor who was snorkeling.  Jasmine Santana enlisted the help of 15 people to pull this creature, who was found deceased, onto the shore for further investigation.

The fish, it turns out, was an Oarfish. They have been known to grow up to 36 feet  in length.  It is entirely possible that an oarfish was seen further up the coast of California as well, though they aren't known for breaching the surface or chasing sea lions. If the oarfish did approach the surface, it could look like a rippling serpent as the oarfish moves by rippling and undulating it's dorsal fin.

We may never know if it is a serpent or an oarfish that has called the San Francisco Bay home but it looks like visitors to the area may have more to look for on the trip out to Alcatraz.

If you are interested in reading the original article from 1885. you can find it here. To Native Americans from the Great Lakes to the Southwest, the skies offered the greatest mystery.  It brought the cleansing rain that gave life, a gift from the Great Spirit.  But also it brought the destructive lightening that tormented the flat, tree-less lands and the ice and snow that could mean death to an entire tribe. They watched the skies for danger, but up there the skies were looking down at them.  With a great dark shadow and a shriek, the thunderbird roamed these lands and it was her that brought the storms.  When white men colonized the lands and the Natives dwindled, the thunderbird stories dwindled.  Until the modern age that is, but with a new twist.

While the giant predatory birds live only in the legends, they have found time and again to visit the modern day occasionally.  But these stories seem to be more in the line of cryptozoology or mistaken identity than thunder clashing gods.

It's 1977 and two great shadows fall over the lawns where three children are playing hide and seek.  Looking up, they see two giant birds swooping down.  One boy runs and jumps into the nearby swimming pool as he's chased by a great black form.  While this is occurring, the second bird descends on 10-year-old Marlon Lowe, gripping him in its talons and raising up with it's prey.  Marlon's mother watches in horror as the boy fights the creature off.  She runs to him as the two large shapes fly away into the trees.  This would be one of the only reported instances in America of a bird of prey attacking a human being.

They would not be the only ones to report the creatures, either before or after.  Several witnesses saw the birds flying among the trees or landing on fences, "man sized" one person reported, staring with cold eyes at the people observing them back.

It's the most famous story of "giant birds" in modern history, but many doubt it was some new, undiscovered species of child-snatching bird.  Many witnesses, after researching the bird, claim it was a California or Andean Condor or an African/Eurasian vulture, possibly an exotic pet or zoo escapee.  Even Marlon's mother, a witness, claims the creature matched the description of a Californian condor.  Some researchers even believe the bird wasn't meaning any harm at all, but had escaped from a raptor show, where it was attempting a "shoulder landing".

So if we disregard this as a case of mistaken identity, what about the other great bird stories of North America?

In 1890, two Arizona cowboys shot what they claimed to be a giant bird.  They dragged it back to town and showed it off.  Only this bird was different than anything they had seen.  It's skin had no feathers and it had the head "of an alligator".  Was this a case of a modern day pterodactyl sighting or a hoax?  The pterodactyl had in fact been discovered in the west already in fossil form, so the cowboys could have had knowledge of the prehistoric beast.  And besides, as any modern day dinosaur researcher knows, flying reptiles likely had feathers.

Since then, however, there is rarely a year that goes by without someone claiming to see a pterosaur or giant bird in the southwest United States or across the border in Mexico.  It seems to be the hotspot.  An old story I heard passed around told of a man on the Texas/Mexico border who went outside to use his outhouse and saw a large, "man sized" black shape land in the yard near him, folding great wings near its body.  And even in 2008, several Texans spotted an "army brigade" of giant birds flying alongside commercial craft.

As for attacks on people, there is no evidence of birds taking away children in America, but several in Europe and other countries.  Several stories from Norway and the Alps have been verified.  But despite this video, which is a fake, we are likely not in danger from birds from the sky.

But are they real?  Did the Native Americans draw their stories from real encounters with giant flying birds?  Or were they simply exaggerating the size of common animals?  Or was it a combination of both, maybe a primal memory of the great teratorns that likely would have easily preyed on the children of nomadic Pleistocene hunters?  Or the hunters themselves?

I say keep watching the skies. Julia Pastrana - The Monkey Woman of Mexico. If that isn't a name fit for a circus I don't know what is. Julia Pastrana, known sometimes as La Mujer Mono (the Monkey Woman) was an oddity of the mid 19th century. She was often in the company of giants, freaks, and outcasts. Her career started in 1854 where she was billed as "The Marvelous Hybrid or Bear Woman". She was brought out and displayed by her handler, known as M. Rates, at the Gothic Hall on Broadway in New York. The legend was that she was a servant girl to the governor of Sinaloa , Mexico when she was discovered by Rates.

"Julia Pastrana, a Spanish dancer, was a remarkably fine woman, but she had a thick masculine beard and a hairy forehead."

Julia was one of many "oddities" who were paraded around the world for public viewing. She has been described as "The Great Freak of Nature", "Terrifically Hideous", and even as "The Nondescript". This last description somewhat eluded that she might be a unique species and perhaps the missing link between the animal world and ours. Charles Darwin even made mention of her in the book The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication noting "Julia Pastrana, a Spanish dancer, was a remarkably fine woman, but she had a thick masculine beard and a hairy forehead."

What she also had was a terribly tragic life. Her early career, however, was quite prosperous, as she lived in a time when crafty managers had created a massive world-wide industry, centered around uniquely disabled people like Julia, which offered a way for them to earn gainful salaries and improve their comfort of living. Through this industry she was able to travel from rural Mexico to London, Berlin, New York, and many other places. Julia had several managers in her career. She married her last manager, a Mr. Theodore Lent, and she became pregnant in 1859 in Moscow. Due to her small frame and narrow hips, doctors were concerned that she could have a difficult childbirth.

She gave birth on March 20, 1860 to a baby boy covered in hair.  Her child died before he was two days old and Julie died five days later. She was only 26. Her husband lost not only his wife, but also his income. Mr. Lent sold the body of Julia and his son to a Professor Sukolov at Moscow University. The Professor had the bodies dissected at the Anatomical Institute and had the bodies embalmed to preserve them. The six month process preserved the bodies so they retained their color and form and those bodies were them places in a museum at the university, drawing large crowds and money for the university.

Once Mr. Lent learned that his wife and child were earning money after their death, he took his marriage certificate to the American consul and Sukolov was compelled to return the remains to Lent. In 1862, Lent traveled to England and began displaying Julia, in one of her costumes, and his son, in a sailor suit, taking them on tour. While on tour in Sweden, Theodore Lent met another hairy woman who suffered from a similar condition as Julia and he married her. He continued touring with his new bride, Zenora, masquerading as the sister of Julia Pastrana. He toured with the remains of his wife and child into the 1880's.

Over the next century, the mummies moved from owner to owner, from fairs in Germany to Circuses in Norway and Austria and all around Europe. The body was in storage in the 1970's and then went missing after there was a break in at the storage facility. The body of the mummified son was lost after being consumed by mice and Julia's body went missing.

Julia's body was found in the basement of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Oslo. It was placed there after the mangled body was found in a ditch in 1979 by police and was largely forgotten. Fortunately, in 2012 the National Commission for research on human remains suggested that Julia should be returned to Mexico for burial after the remains had been identified. In February of 2013 Julia was finally buried in Mexico and her exploitation was officially at an end. This week I read all over the Internet about the Ghost Ship Lyubiv Orlova floating menacingly across the ocean from Canada towards the United Kingdom. The menacing part was due to the fact that there were allegedly a group of cannibal rats aboard the 40 year old ship. The theory was that the rats had to be cannibals as there was no food on the ship. I secretly had my fingers crossed, hoping that this Ghost Ship story was true. If it was it would sure make for one hell of a story.

After some digging, it seems that no one currently knows where the Lyubiv Orlova is. The Irish Coast Guard believes that the boat sank, but others argue that if it had sunk then the life boat emergency beacons would have been tripped, which they have not. Either way, the ship doesn't seem to pose much threat.

Ghost ships are a thing that captures my imagination. The thought of a massive vessel floating, perhaps with a purpose, makes me think about the history of such great vessels. Ghost ships are the stuff of legend. Take the most famous Ghost Ship, The Flying Dutchman.

The Flying Dutchman is cursed and is unable to make port. The first reference to this legendary ship is found in A Voyage to Botany Bay in 1795.

I had often heard of the superstition of sailors respecting apparitions, but had never given much credit to the report; it seems that some years since a Dutch man-of-war was lost off the Cape of Good Hope, and every soul on board perished; her consort weathered the gale, and arrived soon after at the Cape. Having refitted, and returning to Europe, they were assailed by a violent tempest nearly in the same latitude. In the night watch some of the people saw, or imagined they saw, a vessel standing for them under a press of sail, as though she would run them down: one in particular affirmed it was the ship that had foundered in the former gale, and that it must certainly be her, or the apparition of her; but on its clearing up, the object, a dark thick cloud, disappeared. Nothing could do away the idea of this phenomenon on the minds of the sailors; and, on their relating the circumstances when they arrived in port, the story spread like wild-fire, and the supposed phantom was called the Flying Dutchman. From the Dutch the English seamen got the infatuation, and there are very few Indiamen, but what has some one on board, who pretends to have seen the apparition.

Sadly, aside from late night glimpses of a glowing ghostly ship, the Flying Dutchman  is not known to cause any harm to anyone. The Cannibal Rats may have a leg up on the menacing factor.

There are two additional Ghost Ships that I will add here that I think one up the Flying Dutchman and the Lyubiv Orlova. The first is the Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait, which is described as a three of four masted schooner with white sails that become fully engulfed in flames as the observer watches. Some theorize that this ship is a warning of an oncoming storm. There have been rescue attempts to save the ships crew from the fires but the ship always vanished before the rescuers can get there.

The second ship is the Eliza Battle. a river steamboat from the 1850's that was destroyed in a fire in 1858. The folklore surrounding this ship is that it can still be seen on cold and windy nights on the same river where the ship originally burned. The ship, like the Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait, is also seen engulfed in flames and is viewed as an omen or foretelling of impending disaster. I am not sure which would be a worse ship to encounter - one with cannibal rats or one engulfed in flames.

Image by Ryan Dingman Greeting card that says "Greetings from Krampus"

As Christmas approaches, most of us will conjure images of a portly and jolly Santa Claus with his reindeer. delivering presents to all the good boys and girls. That is a pretty friendly images of a man who rewards good boys and girls and give coal to the bad ones. In looking into Santa Claus type figures from around the world and through history it is apparent to me that the lump of coal is a pretty light punishment.

Take Belsnickel, for instance. Belsnickel is a grumpy Santa alternative who hails from the Germanic region. He arrives at homes a few weeks before Christmas and would inspire terror among children because, like Santa, he always knew who was good and who had misbehaved. He wears torn, ragged, and filthy clothing and he would carry a switch in his hand and would beat the bad children. Aside from his short stature, he looked very much like a normal human. Belsnickel served as a reminder that there was still time for the beaten kids to straighten up before Christmas day.

Then there is Krampus, a beast-like creature hailing from the Alpine countries. Krampus was a companion to Saint Nicholas who was the malevolent counterpart to the kind gift giving Saint Nick. If you were particularly naughty, Krampus might even kidnap you and take you away. Traditionally, young men would dress up as Krampus during the first week of December and roam the streets to frighten children. Krampus is described as being a hairy, demonic-like creature with cloven hooves and goat horns.

I think our kids get it easy compared to these traditions. I would take coal any day.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belsnickel Mark Twain is justifiably lauded as one of America’s great authors and humorists. He also died before he was able to finish all the works that he wanted to put down on paper. At least this is the story according to Emily Grant Hutchings.

In the mid 1800s to early 1900’s spiritualism was in it’s heyday and the Ouija board was used to attempt communication with the spirit world. People would try to conjure up the thoughts of famous people of the day. Mark Twain was no exception. Twain, who died in 1910, was a worldwide celebrity as his novels, short stories, and essays were wildly popular.

Enter Emily Grant Hutchings. Emily was into spiritualism and in her exploration of it she had been invited to join a small psychic research society meeting in St. Louis. This was in March of 1915 and it was at these meetings that she met Mrs. Lola Hays. Mrs. Hays claimed to be highly proficient with the Ouija board and the two began contacting the supposed spirit of Mark Twain.

The spirit of Mark Twain began spelling out several sentences through Mrs. Hays, and a relationship developed between Emily and Lola where Emily would dictate the letters Lola spelled out on the board. Lola claimed that she never looked at the board because she didn’t want to influence things with her own desire.

According to Emily’s own writing of how the story was written “As far as possible, we sat twice a week on Mondays and Fridays… We usually worked uninterrupted for two hours with no sound save that of my voice as I pronounced the letters and punctuation marks over which the pointer of the planchette paused in its swift race across the board.”.  Emily stated that, “Three evenings in succession we had had trouble with the planchette.  It had seemed to me that Mrs. Hays was trying to pull it from beneath my fingers.  Meanwhile she had mentally accused me of digital heaviness.”  Emily said that Mark Twain wanted Lola to be passive and that it is up to the ‘Hannibal girl’ to receive the transmissions. The town of Hannibal, where Emily was from and where Mark Twain grew up, seemed to be the connection that allowed Emily to be the conduit for Mark Twain’s afterlife novel.

Emily maintained that though both of them were seasoned writers, that  “Neither Mrs. Hays nor I could have written the fiction that has come across our transmission board.  .  .  .  Our literary output is well known, and not even the severest psychological skeptic could assert that it bears any resemblance to the literary style of ‘Jap Herron’ “ .

Jap Herron was published by Mitchell Kennerley in 1917 as “Jap Herron - a novel written from the Ouija board – Mark Twain via Emily Grant Hutchings.” Twain’s daughter, Clara Clemens and the owners of the copyright on the pen name Mark Twain - Harper and Brothers - sued Kennerley in 1918. An agreement was made to stop distribution of the book and all known copies were destroyed. Harper and Brothers dropped the suit.

So was the book written by Mark Twain? I feel that Emily’s credibility begins to crumble when you look into her history before she met Mrs. Hays. See, this wasn’t her first spiritual book writing experience. Prior to this, she had worked with a woman named Pearl Lenore Curran and together they contacted a spirit by the name of Patience Worth. It was actually Emily who, in 1912, had purchased an ouija board after an experience of contacting the spirit of a relative. Emily coaxed Pearl Curran to use the ouija board with her and on June 22, 1913, the first communication of a “Pat-C” came through. Shortly thereafter, they began to communicate with Patience Worth who supposedly lived in the mid 1600s.

This first spiritual writing experience ended because Emily wanted to rewrite the dictated story that came through from Patience Worth but Pearl didn’t want to alter the story. The two parted ways and Emily went on to search for other spiritual writing experiences. Emily seems to have great fortune in contacting spirits who want their stories written.

Source 2 Jap Herron Novel


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