welcometomyweird

[welcometomyweird]

The Case for Sasquatch

Among other projects I currently have in progress, I recently began outlining a book about American folklore and the place and uses it can have in the practices of Neo-Paganism. It’s not exactly a topic wherein one would expect to find a section on relict hominoids, more commonly known as Sasquatch in North America, but once my gears started turning, it made a lot of sense. Now, before you roll your eyes and scroll on by, hear me out.

The chapter is tentatively titled “Cryptid Consciousness” (an obvious play on “Krishna Consciousness”) and the chapter suggests the potential power in what the creatures represent. Cryptid lore is essentially the fairy lore of America and anyone who has ever been curious about magical practices that are alive and well today knows that there are plenty of books on fairy lore and the magic that can be done with it. So, what “magic” can be done with Bigfoot? Well, I will tell you.

As I have stated, my position on relict hominoids and other so-called “cryptids” is a loud and confident, “I don’t know.” I am completely agnostic. Until I am looking any of these creatures in the eye, I have no idea if they truly walk among us or if they’re just folktales and urban legends. However, when you take the time to really examine “Bigfoot”, what is he/she/it?

Indigenous Americans have known of these creatures for centuries. Many tribes saw the “Hairy men” as another tribe of people. In many areas, these stories are still being passed down. There is actually a wonderful of “Sasquatch Tracks” about this (ST 044). I’m not saying that this is evidence of a corporeal existence, but these stories are significant in that they gave us an insight into what these beings symbolize and how that fits in to today’s practicing Pagans.

Many people who come into Neo-Paganism are looking for a way to connect with the natural world around them. Modern humans are getting more and more disconnected from nature and, quite frankly, from reality altogether. (The internet is not a real place people. Get outside, walk on the beach, touch grass, dance in the rain.) It is this desire to reconnect, to find harmony and balance with nature that relict hominoids come in. Real or not, they symbolize that connection, that ability to live in total harmony with our natural environment.

If they are real, they have the ability to do everything they need to do to survive and not leave a trace. Modern humans can’t do that. We can’t resist the compulsion to leave something to prove we exist. Don’t believe me? Take a walk in a local park. Count how many trees have people’s initials carved into them. You don’t see Sasquatch doing that. You don’t see Sasquatch at all, but that’s the point. If they exist, they don’t leave anything behind that would tell us definitively that they’re among us.

Honestly, the more I think about this, the more I am starting to lean toward the corporeal reality of relict hominoids. That “Crimson Peak” quote I used in my post about ghosts can almost apply to Sasquatch, too. In fact, there have been more Sasquatch sightings reported in the last century than there have been sightings of wolverines, yet we have no trouble believing that wolverines exist. Make that make sense because I can’t.

If we choose to accept the existence of Sasquatch, my suppositions that they live so harmoniously with nature that they don’t leave physical traces, which is entirely possible, it explains a lot. It explains why they were able to live alongside pre-colonial Indigenous Americans because they lived very much the same way. Take only what you need, waste nothing, leave no trace. It explains how they have managed to avoid the trackers and scientists attempting find them. These wild places are their home. They know every nook and cranny. I don’t care how much survivalist training you’ve had or how many books on tracking you’ve read. If someone or something doesn’t want to be found, they won’t be. Their way of life also explains why they really want nothing to do modern people, We’re greedy, prideful, wasteful hairless apes. They have no use for us because we don’t respect the land.

Again, this is all speculation. I don’t know what they are or if they are.  No one really does. All we have are the stories we hear and one ancient video clip from a guy who was allegedly caught with his proverbial trousers down as he was intending to perpetrate a hoax when an actual “Bigfoot” (forever known as Patty) walked into the frame. I don’t call it irrefutable evidence, but the late John Keel had printed on his business card, I’m “Not An Authority On Anything.” I’m just weird chick tossing ideas out into the void.

Until next time, my strangelings.

Peace, love and cheesecake.

#sasquatch #sasquatch tracks #cryptids #bigfoot #relict hominoids

[welcometomyweird]

Something in the Sky

On the subject of cryptids, I have always been and remain agnostic. My attitude is that stories are great and they're fun to hear, but until I see the thing... in the wild... with my own eyes, all these creatures are are stories. Until they walk right up to me from the woods, Bigfoot, Mothman, the chupacabra and all the haints and boogers that go bump in the night are just urban legends. (Wow! I need to take a break from Old Gods of Appalachia.)

Well, my dear strangelings, as fate and Charles Fort would have it, it turns out that I have actually seen a cryptid... or cryptoid? I'll get into the debate in a bit, but there doesn't seem to be any agreement on what category this critter falls into. Due to the uncertainty, there isn't much in the way of good and well researched information. Even the photographic evidence (as you can see above) doesn't give us a whole lot to go on.

So, what is this squiggle in the sky? I was asking myself the same question when I came across it back in the twenty-teens. The name given to it is "sky serpent". Now, while I saw a total of twelve of these things almost a decade ago, I just learned that they're a thing last week.

"Twelve?" Yes, twelve... four groups of three over a period of about twenty minutes. My guess is it was possibly a migration. They were moving in a southern direction over the city of Boston in late summer or early fall. I only saw them because I looked up while stretching a kink out of my neck. Were it not for that... knot... I would have missed them entirely. City people don't look up, especially in Boston. We keep our eyes down and mind our business.

I wasn't the only one who saw them. The one friend who always seems to be with me when weird shit happens was there. Because we were both looking up and watching these things, a few other people looked to see what had us mesmerized, then a few more. Pretty soon, there were a couple dozen people just watching this sky parade.

The photos aren't mine, but they illustrate the problem of getting photos of aerial phenomena. Unless you have professional equipment and you KNOW it's going to be there, photos will always be crappy. Don't believe me? Take a picture of the moon with your phone. Even the "good" ones I have are mostly lens flare.

Having said that, I mentioned the words... THE words at the root of the debate. Are sky serpents creatures or crafts? Ufologists say they're the former and crypto zoologists say they're the latter. (Of course, I would find the critter that defies classification.) Yes, they move through the sky, but they seem to be organic. They move like snakes or eels. I may not know much about UAP, but I haven't seen anything in the historical record describing extraterrestrials getting out of or off of one of these. (Perhaps Mr. Hanks will find something and correct me.)

What I have seen in the scant literature on the topic of "sky serpents" appears to draw comparisons with the traditional depiction of dragons in Chinese and Japanese art. No, I am not saying dragons are real, but if ancient cultures had seen these sky serpents, I can see how that would give rise to myths about dragons. Had my mother been with me, that is precisely what her conclusion would have been.

Biological entity or extraterrestrial craft, my big questions are: Where are they coming from? Where do they go? Why have we not seen one on the ground?

Obviously, I have no answers. No one does because the people who typically study this kind of thing aren't interested. I've only seen them myself the one time. I did see a video in a Facebook group I belong to. One of the members got footage at about 30,000 feet while on a flight... assuming it's not doctored. That's how I became aware that those weird flying whatevers I saw were a known phenomenon.

Has my position on cryptids changed? Nope! Bigfoot is still gonna have to sit down next to me and ask for a cigarette. Mothman is going to have to read my tarot cards. That said, if the pros don't want to invest the time and energy into getting something close to answers about these "sky serpents" then maybe I finally a cryptid to hunt.

#cryptozoology #cryptid #sky serpent #uap

[welcometomyweird]

Let’s Do The Time Warp Again!

I’ve been re-listening to a lot of older episodes of Astonishing Legends. Today, I was listening to an episode dealing with the phenomenon of missing time. Of course, it got me thinking back because I have had my own experiences with wonky time. (Honestly, if it’s Fortean, I have encountered it at some point. I’m a magnet for this stuff.) 

My most perplexing experience with weird time happened in about 2002 or 2003 at a friend’s house which is also a magnet for all things bizarre. The house is very much a liminal space, both in a physical and metaphysical sense. It’s on the line between two cities (or very close to) and it’s either situated at the convergence of lay lines or there’s a limestone or quartz deposit or something under the house that seems to generate energy for the most woo-woo stuff you can imagine. I’ve had a number of weird experiences there, but this is the only time when we seem to have departed this reality for an extended period of time and dropped back in with absolutely no recall of what happened in those missing hours. 

It was late spring, I believe. I had gone with my best friend, Beth (tragically, no longer with us) to visit our friend Rachel at her home where literally anything is possible. We got to the house somewhere between noon and 1pm. As usual, we brought food and the three of us sat in the living room for what only seemed to be about an hour, maybe and hour and a half. However, when we looked at the time on the cable box, it was a little after 8pm. The three of us then spent another hour or so trying to figure out what the hell happened to those missing hours because we KNEW that we hadn’t been there that long.

Yes, I know that time flies when you’re having fun and anyone who knows me and my friends knows that it doesn’t take very long for the giggles to start. I used to go to the gym with another friend and it was real easy for us to lose track of time and end up working out for 90 minutes rather than our usual 45. Losing small amounts of time like that is completely normal . We all do it. Losing several hours? Not so much. To this day, I still have no idea what happened. 

This, of course, wasn’t my only dance with weird time warps, it’s just the one that scares me the most. Not knowing what may have happened in those missing hours is really uncomfortable. I’m not going to say “It was aliens” because I don’t believe that, but I don’t have any real solid explanation for what did happen. And for those wondering if we were drinking or puffing on African laughing grass, the answer is no. I’m allergic to cannabis and not much of a drinker and my friends are real respectful of that. Nor were there more illicit substances involved. My ONLY vice is caffeine. 

My other brushes with weird time went the other way. It was almost like I went through a time rift and managed to get where I was going far sooner than should have been possible. The first time it happened, I was by myself. My mom and I were working at the same coffee shop, but we worked different shifts. I didn’t drive, so the walk between work and home took 20 to 25 minutes. On this particular day, I wasn’t due to work for another 2 hours, so I hadn’t even gotten ready to leave. Mom called the house and asked if I could come in early. I asked how early and she said “Now”. She then explained that one of our co-workers had passed out behind the counter, was unconscious and there was an ambulance on the way. Coming from a performing arts background, getting changed into my work clothes in under 3 minutes wasn’t out of the norm. Getting from our home to work in 5 minutes absolutely was. Mom asked how I got there so fast and I honestly had no idea. I still don’t. 

The second time, mom was with me. The background story is way too long, so I’ll sum it up as well as I can. Mom and I had gotten together with friends in Boston. The train ride between Beverly and Boston is around 40 minutes. My father had had a medical emergency that required hospitalization while we were gone. When mom found out, we cut our day short and headed back to the train station. The train ride back only took about 10 or 15 minutes. Again, can’t really explain how that happened.

Getting theoretical, if we accept that time is not linear (which I do), then that could possibly explain these time warps. It could also very well explain deja vu and residual hauntings. And it’s really not all that modern a concept. I have a book by Stephen Blamires called “Magic of the Celtic Otherworld” in which the author discusses some of the beliefs of the pre-Christian Irish Celts. In his book, Blamires explains that the Irish didn’t see time as something linear. They believed the past, present and future were happening at the same time and very often the timelines crossed or sideswiped each other. (Could Celtic knotwork be their “written” record of this belief?) In the words of the Tenth Doctor “It’s really a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.” 

It is possible that in those latter cases, the crisis factor could also play a role. Much like the adrenaline rush that makes it possible for a 115 pound woman to lift a car off of a toddler, maybe that same fight or flight response had a more metaphysical effect and opened a rift in the fabric of time. Honestly, I don’t know. I have no answers. All I know is what I’ve experienced. 

The missing time is always going to bother me. I have huge chunks of memory of my childhood missing. I remember talking to an acquaintance about that and she suggested that it could mean I was sexually abused and I blocked the memories. I quipped that it could also mean I was abducted by aliens. While her theory may actually hold some water with regard to the missing chunks of my childhood, it doesn’t explain the missing time my friends and I experienced together. And, no, I will not be undergoing recovered memory therapy. That’s how the Satanic Panic really got started. I’m not messing with that nonsense. 

So, that’s me and my strange relationship to time. Like I said, if it’s Fortean, it will inevitably find me. If you’re looking for Sasquatch (or more properly, relict hominoids), just bring me with you. Brown Mountain Lights in North Carolina? I’m not much for hiking, but for the right people, I’ll do it (cough... Micah Hanks). If I can get Mothman Festival booked for one of my clients, he’ll probably put in an actual appearance. At this point in my life, absolutely nothing will surprise me. 

#astonishing legends #missing time #fortean

[welcometomyweird]

Change the F*cking Channel

This one is kind of... well... VERY political and I will make no apologies. We’re living in a time where simply being human is political. If you don’t think so, you haven’t been paying attention. And you NEED to pay attention.

There is an amazing podcaster by the name of Micah Hanks. While better known for his eponymous show centering on UFO/UAP phenomenon, he did have a great current events podcast called Middle Theory which I have binged a few times. One of the recurring themes on the show was the issue of “cancel culture” and... yeah... I have things to say on the subject. 

No, I’m not taking Mr. Hanks on. On the contrary, we’re very much of a similar mind on the topic. Mr. Hanks, in my opinion, expressed the pitfalls of cancel culture rather sensibly and eloquently. I just want to take a few moments to share my feelings on it.

I was born in 1980. If you remember the 1980s, you remember that it was the “liberal” left declaring war on music and video games. (Take a breath. I’m a Progressive Liberal, so you’re not gonna be getting MAGA bullshit. And if you want MAGA bullshit... go somewhere else.) Tipper Gore, Al’s missus, is the reason why nearly every album in my metalhead kid brother’s CD collection had a parental advisory label. It’s been “liberals” decrying simulated violence in video games for violent actions among young people. (Not, of course, addressing issues like home life, mental health issues, bullying, etc.) 

Now, it wasn’t just the left, of course. Who could forget the late Jerry Falwell’s homophobic crusade against the Teletubbies? And, as a child of the 80s, I clearly recall conservatives losing it over shows like He-Man, She-Ra, Rainbow Bright, The Care Bears, The Smurfs, and my personal favorite, Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Why? These shows promoted tolerance, inclusion, environmentalist ideologies and, in the case of Captain Planet, Neopaganism. They weren’t wrong about that, but being a Wiccan kid, that’s why I loved this stuff. But, you know, you can’t promote tolerance and inclusion because that’s a threat to “traditional values”. (Translation: Christian values) 

Back in the 80s and 90s, when both sides were being painfully stupid about what American kids should and should not be allowed to consume, the general public seemed to have the same attitude. If you don’t like it, don’t consume it. 

What the ever-loving fuck happened? Look, most reasonable people can agree that there are some ideas that are harmful. Calling for violence against any individual or group is bad, regardless of how you might feel about them. Hate-speech is unacceptable at any time. However, due to the 24 hours news cycle and it’s 10 second sound bites as well as the proliferation of social media, there is no room for nuanced discussion. Some public figure says something that gave you boo-boos on your feelings, cancel them.

Like I said, I consider myself to be a Progressive Liberal, but I come from a more moderate/centrist time. I come from a time when it was possible to have well reasoned and measured dialogue about opposing viewpoints. I come from a time when the fringe elements didn’t have 24/7 platforms to barf up their conspiracy theories or their anti-whatever manifestos. I come from a time when schools promoted critical thinking. *sigh* Those were the days...

Obviously, we had people try to limit what could and could not be disseminated, but we had ways around it. If you remember the 90s, you know it was all about independent media. Independent music labels, pirate radio, independent coffee shops with open mic nights, zines... man, I miss my teens! This was how Generation X and “Elder Millennials” got by the censorship. And now... they support censorship because that was cancel culture is. 

Let me give you all a little more perspective. My parents were Boomers. When they were kids, there were only 3 broadcast television networks and a handful of AM/FM radio stations. Print media was how most people consumed the daily news and news media was forbidden to report on anything BUT the news. No pundits pontificating and giving their opinions. They just gave you the facts. (It would be great if we could get back to that.) When my parents were young, the married couples could not share a bed in films or television. Lucille Ball broke ground for women’s rights when she refused to hide her pregnancy on her show, “I Love Lucy”. (She also helped get Star Trek made, so praise her name, nerds.) 

Compare that to today. We have hundreds of thousands of podcasts spanning just as many genres and topics. Mr. Hanks has half of them! (I tease with love. He only had 3... for now.) Broadcast television is almost dead, but it’s still out there with hundreds of channels and then you have the growing number of video streaming services. Social media is.. well, it’s a cesspool, but it’s there. We are in a time where we actually have too many options for our entertainment and for our information. And yet... one show, one person, one song, one “something” sets off a small demographic and everyone has to come out in force and demand that he/she/it/they get “canceled”. Why? Change the fucking channel. Find something else. You have the freedom to choose... just like everyone else. 

Alright, I’m done. End rant.  

#cancel culture #Micah Hanks #middle theory #politics #generation x

[welcometomyweird]

My Favorite Ghost Stories

“If we go by mere testimony and experience, more people have seen a ghost than have seen a kangaroo… yet we firmly believe in kangaroos.” – Dr. Alan McMichael (deleted scene from “Crimson Peak”)

Ghosts! Let’s talk about them! Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s no denying that ghost stories are a perennial favorite when we are looking for entertainment. We tell them around campfires and at slumber parties. Halloween is prime “spooky” time and, at one point, even Christmas was big for telling ghost stories by the hearth or by candlelight. (Charles Dickens wasn’t the only game in town. Look up M.R. James.)

The best ghost stories are the true ones. The ones that individuals have actually experienced. One of the very first books I ordered from the Scholastic catalog was a book called “Phone Call from a Ghost”. It was a YA collection of true ghost stories and I loved it. I read that book so many times that it fell apart. Why? Because it was validation that my experiences were not unique.

I live in Massachusetts. I don’t just live in Massachusetts. I live in Essex County. I live in witch hysteria central. The Salem Witch Trials are so named only because that’s where the actual trials were held. The accused and the accusers came from all over the county. The main cemetery in my town was once the farm of an accused (but not convicted) witch. While there may not have been anything metaphysical about her, she was kind of a 17th century Ma Barker. I don’t know if it’s because of that activity during her life, the property is still extremely active.

And that’s pretty much life here. You can’t throw a stone and not hit someplace haunted, whether it’s known to be or not. The three experiences I’m about to share are the most interesting because they all happened in daylight and one them was a shared experience with a friend. So, if you’re a non-believer, you probably should have checked out when you saw the title of the post. Now would be a good time to dip if this isn’t your kind of thing.

Saturday in the Park with Ghosts

Anyone who knows anything about Essex County knows that… there’s not much to do up here. And if you don’t know, now you do. Yeah, there’s Salem, but you can pretty do everything there in about 2 or 3 hours. When I need culture or good people watching, I go to Boston. For a number of years, I had a standing “date” with a friend of mine where we would meet up and just go adventuring in Boston.

In Boston, there are a few great spots that kind of serve as a nice respite from the noise and chaos of the city. The Christian Science campus is one of those places. (Ironic, I know, as both my friend and I are practicing witches.) There’s just a strong sense of calm and peace around the property and the architecture is absolutely gorgeous.

Well, on one very sunny summer Saturday, my friend and I were walking across the campus to the benches by the Mary Baker Eddy Library. The way the benches were set up at the time, there were two sets of two benches, each set having one bench facing Massachusetts Avenue (Mass Ave) and one bench facing the church. I didn’t say anything at the time to my friend, but I very clearly saw two men on the Mass Ave facing bench, engrossed in conversation. Consequently, I passed up that bench and went to the church facing bench. He didn’t say a word to me, but my friend also instinctively chose the church facing bench.

When we sat down, we both glanced over to the Mass Ave facing bench. Both of us being inclined toward men, it was going to be a casual look, you know. A quick little check out. Simultaneously, we both said “Huh, that’s weird” because when we looked at the bench… it was empty. My friend asked me what I thought was weird and I told him that I had seen two men on that bench. He told me he had also seen two men there. I described one man, he described the other and we had seen the exact same people. We looked around and there was no sign of them. They had completely vanished.

Revolutionary Spirit

This one also takes place in Boston. I was in the city by myself this time and I was heading to the Borders that had once resided near Downtown Crossing. I am a creature of habit and tend follow familiar routes when getting from point A to point B. The reason for this is that I kind of like to shut off the conscious mind and just run on autopilot while I’m trying work stuff out in my head. This was a retail therapy day and that was the mode I was in.

I was crossing a street and a corner I had crossed hundreds of times. This was the corner outside the old customs house. As I crossed the corner, I heard what sounded like a gunshot and smelled gun powder. At the same time, I felt someone grab me around the waist and pull me back and away from the building. I spun around to confront my assailant and there was no one there. Not a soul… on a Tuesday, at midday, in Boston. This was weird enough, but the phantom grabber set me on edge.

Hours later, I’m heading back the same way to get to the train station. This time, I just happened to look down and I see a memorial inlaid into the place where I had been grabbed and heard the gunshot. That corner was marked as the spot where the Boston Massacre occurred. The Boston Massacre happened on March 5th. The date that this experience happened was March 5th.

Dead President

This one is my favorite ghost story and probably my very first. This incident happened at a local beach in the summer of 1989 and, despite happening in broad daylight on a crowded beach, no one but me knew what had happened. You might want to buckle up for this one.

I have never learned to swim. I’m not as embarrassed about it as an adult as I was when I was a kid. When you’re a kid, you want to be included, so you won’t admit to some things because you don’t want to be left out. I was no different. I was spending the weekend with a friend and her family and they decided they wanted to have beach day. I never told my friend or her parents that I couldn’t swim. The only one in her family who knew was her then 16 year-old brother (about whom I was crazy) and he wasn’t with us that afternoon.

My friend and her younger brothers kept egging me on to get out into the ocean and I was feeling like a loser just sitting on the beach making sand castles. Thinking I was doing something smart, I found an old stone boat launch and I thought that if I kept the boat launch under my feet, I would be fine. And I was for a while. I kept going out a little farther. First to my waist, then to my chest. When I got to where the water was up to my chin, I slipped on some seaweed or got caught under a wave or something and I went under and immediately started panicking.

As I was flailing helplessly in the water, someone jumped into action to help. I very clearly remember an older, heavyset man with sandy hair and a thick mustache helping me up and out of the water. He was wearing what looked like red swim trunks and a striped tank top. There was nothing otherwise remarkable about him. He looked like any middle-aged dad you’d see with his kids at the beach.

Once I finished coughing up salt water and could finally see straight again, I looked around to see where he went because I wanted to thank him. He was nowhere to be seen. I spent nearly an hour scouring the beach and the park trying to find this guy and I couldn’t find him. I even described him to people and no one had seen him. I was 8 years-old, almost 9. I wasn’t automatically thinking “ghost”. I just thought it was odd that he didn’t stick around to make sure I was okay.

Fast forward 17 years and I walk into my U.S. Government class at the local high school. My seat faced a poster of all the of the presidents from Washington to then president Clinton. My eyes were kind of absently scanning the poster when they stopped on a familiar face. I got up and walked over to the poster to get a closer look and make sure I was seeing who I thought I was seeing.

My teacher looked at me like I had three heads and asked what was wrong with me. I asked him what connection (if any) did William Howard Taft have to our town. He said he didn’t know off the top of his head. I spent the evening at the library going through records. That’s where I found it. Where the park is now had been Taft’s summer residence when he was president of the United States. That boat launch I was on had been his boat launch. His carriage house is still on the property. So, nearly 60 years after his own death, he stood in the breach between me and mine.

Those are just a few of my experiences. Gods know I have so many more, but I picked these because I feel like most ghost stories seem to happen after dark and most of mine haven’t. Mine almost always happen in daylight hours. Even in my apartment! One day, I was turning to walk out of my pantry and I saw the faint image of a man in the doorway. I said “excuse me” and he stepped aside. I don’t know who he is, but I’ve seen him a few times. At least he’s polite.

If the non-believers managed to get this far, bravo. I’m sure you haven’t changed your minds and that’s fine. I just hope that when it’s your turn and it’s your story, you have a more open mind.

#ghost #paranormal #ghost stories #massachusetts

[welcometomyweird]

Somewhere Out There

The night sky has always been magical to me. I know all the science, but that's part of the magic for me. Yes, the moon only reflects the light of the sun and doesn't shine with its own, but it doesn't make it any less breathtaking when it's full and casting that light on a blanket of fresh snow. The light of stars that died thousands of years ago still shining down on us, twinkling like diamonds against a deep blue velvet sky.

The night sky also represents space. I am a lifelong Trekkie. "Space, the final frontier..." I think, because of my Star Trek fandom, that I have never questioned whether or not there is other life in our universe. It's not "if" they are out there for me. My questions have always been "where are they" and "who are they". And... as a very young child, I tried very hard to find out.

How, you ask? Brace yourself for some hard core dorkiness. My first attempts were by sending "psychic" messages. Well, I was 6 and when you're 6, sending "psychic" messages consists of squeezing your eyes shut as tight as you can and thinking really hard. I actually remember my mom catching me and asking what I was doing. I shushed her and told her I was trying to talk to the aliens.

Second method of attempted communication was through song. Music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember and is one of the most universal languages on the planet. I thought that my "psychic" messages didn't get a response because of the language barrier. Maybe a song would get through. Even if they couldn't understand the words, maybe the melody and the emotion conveyed might make a connection. The first song I sang was "Somewhere Out There" from the animated film "An American Tail". Yeah, I know, but there was a method to my madness. I figured if I was trying to make contact with beings outside of my planet, there was likely another child somewhere else in the universe trying to do the same.

Third try was just music. I had been at a street fair where I paid 50 cents for a little cedar flute. I would sit on my back porch making up little tunes ans playing them into the night, hoping they would find their way to someone across the cosmos.

"Did any of that work?" Well, maybe... I can't be sure. There was something pretty traumatizing that happened when I was 10, but I will only be telling THAT story to Micah Hanks. (Hopefully, he checks his Twitter DMs because my email bounced back.) Be it suffice to say that if I was freaked about NOT seeing the Jersey Devil at 34, what I DID see at the age of 10 really messed me up. And that's assuming it actually did happen and wasn't just a very lucid dream.

I still feel very certain that there is extraterrestrial life. I am certain that they have visited. I just think people are wrong about why they're coming here. If they were going to attack us, they have had ample opportunity, so I don't believe they're a threat. They've also had plenty of opportunities to extend the olive branch and convey a message of peace and friendship, so that's not it either. No, I think they just like to watch. I think we're the trash reality show the rest of the universe watches. We're either a guilty pleasure or a scared straight program. Whatever the case, they go home feeling a lot better about themselves. You occasionally get a brave/crazy one who chooses to engage with us. That's where we get the now infamous "Tic-Tac" video. What's on that video isn't E.T.s taking aggressive action. It's intergalactic punk kids drag racing with our Navy pilots. Who knows? Maybe they watched "Top Gun" and thought it looked like fun and wanted to try it themselves.

And so ends this foray into Forteana. So, I've done cryptids and E.T.s. I guess ghost stories are next. You're in luck there. I have way more of those. (I live in New England!)

#uap #extraterrestial life #micah hanks

[welcometomyweird]

The Devil Down Below

In my weird world, I try to maintain a healthy balance of belief and skepticism. I question everything, especially the things in which I profoundly believe. It’s just a biproduct of an insatiably inquisitive mind. However, there is one category of the paranormal or Forteana or whatever you want to call it that I just can’t really take seriously.

               I know cryptozoology is super popular with a lot of people. My mom was all-in on Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster (drew the line at the Chupacabra, though). I, however, just can’t get into it. I don’t believe in the corporeal reality of cryptids. On the other hand, I do believe in the power of the human imagination and myth and their ability to give a form to our fears, thus creating these monsters and when we continue to tell stories about them, we feed more energy into them and keep them alive.

               Now, why I am going on record with this? Because I may have had a cryptid encounter while on a road trip with friends. I say that with extreme caution because the cryptid in question was not part of the mythology I grew up with. I had not heard of it prior to the incident and would not learn of it for another six years after the event. So, can one even have this kind of experience under these circumstances? Let’s find out.

               In November of 2014, I went on a road trip down the East Coast of the United States with some friends of mine. We were heading to Florida for a cruise. I live in Massachusetts and my friends live in Maine and it snowed a couple of days before we headed out. Needless to say, the three of us were really looking forward to the stunningly blue waters of the Caribbean.

               Day one of our trip, we stopped off in the ladies’ hometown of Clifton, New Jersey for a pitstop. After getting some great food at hole-in-the-wall sandwich place, we hit the road again. Not long after resuming our journey, I started feeling a little funky. The vibe was just off and I got abnormally quiet. When asked what was up, I mentioned that I was picking up on something that was making me really uncomfortable. This was when I was told that were driving by the Pine Barrens.

               Now, I know Jersey folks reading this just went, “Oh, yeah. I get it.” I didn’t. The only thing I had heard about the Pine Barrens prior to this trip was that the New York mob allegedly makes people disappear there. I knew nothing else.

               As stated, I’m not a cryptid person, but I am a ghosts and true crime person. There is more crossover between those two subjects than most people realize, so knowing where we were, I just thought, “Okay, ghosts of ‘missing’ people.” The problem was that what I was feeling wasn’t coming from the direction of the trees. The feeling was coming from above, like something was looking down and watching us. Whether it was keeping up with the or perched on the roof, I have no idea. I never bothered to look. I just knew that there was something up there. And whatever it was stuck with us for almost an hour.

               We stopped off for the night in this weird forgotten outpost in Eastern North Carolina called Roanoke Rapids. I was still feeling a little wonky and it took a while to finally get to sleep. By morning, I decided not to think about it. I had my very first Waffle House breakfast (why do we not have this in the North?) and we continued on our way to Miami.

               Fast forward to January of 2020, just before all hell broke loose. I had started listening to a podcast called Haunted Places and they dropped an episode about the Pine Barrens. I remember seeing the subject and saying, out loud, “tell me something I don’t know.” Well, they did. The very first story they told was about Mother Leeds and the Jersey Devil.

               The Jersey Devil was not in my internal “Tobin’s Spirit Guide”. Yeah, I had heard of the hockey team, but I didn’t know where the name came from. So, I sat and listened to this story while searching for other podcasts that had covered it and doing an obsessive amount of Googling. Not because I wanted to believe, but because I wanted to find an explanation.

               In the interest of full disclosure, I do have anxiety and while major adrenaline spikes are typically stress induced, I do occasionally get the odd random spike here and there. So, for anyone saying “Oh, well, it could have been an anxiety attack”, I know. But I also know that they don’t usually last that long. This feeling hung out for quite a while. Whether it was JD or not, that energy followed me to North Carolina. My anxiety doesn’t do that, so there was certainly an unseen something that decided to hitch a ride.

               In conclusion, there is no conclusion. This is the nature of Forteana. These are things that are 100% reliant on individual experiences and those have had them have no idea what they experienced. Was it the Jersey Devil? Maybe. Was it a random and unusually persistent anxiety attack? Perhaps. I really don’t have any way of actually knowing. I just know where I was and what I was feeling at the time. Those are the only facts I have and the only one I can give. I still don’t believe in cryptids as a physical reality, but I can honestly say that they are very intimidating thought forms.

#cryptid #cryptozoology #jersey devil #forteana

[welcometomyweird]

The Library Is Open

I’m starting something new today. Every Tuesday, I will be posting a tarot related topic. It seems that even in the 21st century, with the the ubiquity of the internet and everyone and their cousin giving tarot a go as a side hustle, a lot of people have never had a reading, don’t know where to go and don’t know what to ask. (Where have you all been?) So, I am here to help. Let’s get started.

Where to Start

Had we been having this conversation 20 years ago, I would have directed you to the now defunct Witch Vox website and told you to look for local occult shops. But since we are now living in the 3rd decade of the 21st century, Believe it or not, a lot of readers (except for me) do have business listings and you might even be able to find a Yelp! review. However, I would advise against putting a whole lot of stock in a review because, like so many other things in life, you get out of your tarot reading what you put in. 

What Not To Do

I’m sure a lot of skeptics reading this are already rolling their eyes. Look, you don’t believe in this stuff. That’s fine. No one is telling you that you have to, but when you do go to a tarot reader, you can’t just say “Tell me what’s going to happen in my future” and expect to get something intelligible. That isn’t the “own” you think it is. It just makes you look like an asshole. It’s like going to your doctor and saying “Tell me what’s wrong with me” without telling them what your symptoms are.

Help Us Help You

As stated above, vague questions get vague answers. It’s not always skeptics attempting to debunk readers who ask vague questions. There are an awful lot of people who just don’t know what to ask. They know they want a reading, but they have no idea what information they want. Believe it or not, there are a few very popular subjects that readers commonly get asked about. Those are love, money and health. So, those are good places to start. If you do want to know something more specific, just ask. “My mom has been sick. Is she going to get better or should we be making arrangements?” (Yes, I’ve had that question.) “I feel like my partner is pulling away. Is there something going on or is it all in my head?” You get the idea. Just say what’s on your mind. 

Exceptions To The Rule

Exceptions to the “be specific” rule would be general collective readings, as done by my Twitter buddy Adam Keith (look him up on YouTube. He’s fucking amazing... and sexy as hell) and Year Ahead readings, which are what I am currently focusing on as we are down to the last few weeks of 2022. There are also so many readers who post “Daily Tarot” cards to help those seeking it set their intentions for the day. 

It’s Not Us

So, you had a reading and the news wasn’t great? Well, that’s life, Pookie. Any reader worth their sea salt is going to tell you the truth whether you want to hear it or not. I tell my first-time clients to buy a bag of M&Ms if they want sugar coating. I just did a Year Ahead reading for a friend and her cards were terrible. Even the “good” cards were just a lighter shade of black. We just interpret the messages we’re getting. We’re not trying to “pull” anything on you. In fact, the readers who are trying to pull one over on you are the ones who only ever tell you what you want to hear. If all you ever get is good news, you’re probably being lied to. 

We’re Not Doctors

We don’t even play them on TV. It shouldn’t have to be said, but sadly, it does. While I am sure there are some people out there with MDs and PhDs who also read tarot, I don’t personally know any. If you are having a physical health crisis, go to your primary care doctor or the ER. If you are having a mental health crisis, dial 998. Psychics of any variety are not replacements for these professionals. It’s not that we don’t care. We just don’t have the training and qualifications to give the help you actually need.

Que Sera, Sera

Well, not really. My father was a reader and I used to hear him tell his clients “The cards only reveal what is likely to happen based on your current patterns of behavior. They cannot tell you what will unequivocally be.” My line is “The only things truly fated in life are birth and death. Everything else is up to us. The cards just help us make better choices.” So, if you do get bad news, know that you can change the outcome by simply making different choices. I always try, whenever possible, to give my clients a road map of all the detours around the crisis so they can avoid it. There is nothing more heartbreaking for me than hearing that something I warned a client about happened as revealed in the cards. It means the client gave up. I don’t like that. Never go into a reading with a fatalistic mindset. You have choices. You always do. In the words of Captain Planet “The power is yours!” 

Alright, I think that’s enough for now. I’m sure other readers are seeing this and already drafting some scathing critique. Good for you! I don’t care. You work whatever way you want to work. I’ll work the way I want to work. This isn’t a science. It’s an art and art is subjective. Deal with it. (Like I said, no sugar coating here.) 

If anyone would like a reading from me, you can reach out to me here or email me at [email protected]. I may not get back to you right away, but know that I will get back to you. Yes, I charge, but I work cheap. 

About the image: These cards are from the Somnia Tarot by Nicolas Bruno. If you read, these cards are fantastic. If you just like tarot art, these cards are fantastic. I cannot recommend these enough. In fact, I recommended them to Adam and now he uses them. 

#nicolas bruno #somnia tarot #adam keith #tarot #tarot readers #tarot readings

[welcometomyweird]

Welcome To My Weird

If no one has noticed, the big social media platforms are dumpster fires now (not that they haven’t always been). We’re kind of getting to a point where just regular people need to have their own websites just to have some semblance of control over what they see and how they engage with people. And that is why I’ve come here. I’m not a web designer and I’m not paying stupid amounts of money annually to have Wix or GoDaddy host my inane ramblings. 

As the title would suggest, this is just whatever crazy thoughts happen to pop into my head. Those who want to go down that rabbit hole are more than welcome to follow me here. If you can relate of have questions, reach out. If I’m not your jam, there are plenty of others blogs for you to enjoy. You can just move on... quietly. There is literally no point in leaving nasty comments. It just makes you look like an asshole.