Lair of the Beasts: Monsters at the Space Center

A Houston Horror

This week, I’m pleased to announce, my new book is published: The NASA Conspiracies: The Truth Behind the Moon Landings, Censored Photos, and the Face on Mars. And while the book focuses, for the most part, on such issues as UFO sightings by astronauts, it also addresses claims that NASA may have some knowledge of incidents involving unknown animals, as I will now demonstrate.


There can be very few people who have not at least heard of the exploits of the notorious Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a bizarre, flying creature that was made famous in the 2002 movie The Mothman Prophecies that starred Hollywood crowd-puller Richard Gere and that, in turn, was based on the book of the same name penned by the late authority on just about everything paranormal and supernatural, John Keel. But, Mothman is not the only strange, winged monster that has been seen in the skies of the United States. One particular case implicates NASA in the story.

Back in 2004, I interviewed a woman named Desiree, whose father worked at NASA’s Houston, Texas-based Johnson Space Center, and who had a story to tell that was bizarre in the extreme. That does not mean, however, that we should dismiss it as being one of no merit, or one that lacks any meaningful value – only that we should view it with open minds and minds that are receptive to challenging ideas and bold, new paradigms.

It was late one night in 1986, said Desiree, when her father returned from his daily routine at the Johnson Space Center. There was nothing particularly unusual about that, she elaborated, as her father was occasionally required to work late into the night. On this particular night, however, things were very different: her father was clearly deeply distressed and even seemed to be on the verge of lapsing into a full blown anxiety attack.

After Desiree and her mother were finally able to calm him down, her father told a wild and extraordinary story: while walking to his car that night, he had seen, to his complete and utter horror, perched on a nearby building a large man like figure that was utterly black in color, and that seemed to have a large cape draped across its shoulders and back – and with two huge, wing like appendages sticking out of each side of the cape. Looking more bat -like than bird-like, the wings made a cracking noise as they slowly flapped in the strong, howling wind.

The creature, Desiree’s father told his amazed family, had clearly realized it had been seen. Not only that: he gained the very distinct impression that the beast was actually relishing that it had been noticed, and was even seemingly deriving some form of deranged, evil pleasure from the fact that it had struck terror into the heart of the man.

He could only stand and stare, frozen to the spot in complete and abject fear. The sheer horrific unreality of the situation – namely that of seeing a large, dark, gargoyle like entity, looming ominously over him from a rooftop at NASA’s Johnson Space Center – finally hit home with full force and Desiree’s father raced for his car, flung open the door, slammed it shut, and then sped off into the darkness. He did not attempt to look back even once.

Not surprisingly, the family suggested that reporting the encounter to his superiors might not be the wisest move. Desiree’s father agreed – for a short while, anyway. After a few weeks, however, the strange event was still gnawing steadily away at his mind and nerves, and he eventually confided in his immediate superior who, to his great surprise and relief, revealed that this was not the first time such a vile entity had been seen late at night roaming around the more shadowy parts of the Johnson Space Center. In other words, he was not going crazy or hallucinating: the beast was real and he was not the only witness, either.

Indeed, a secret file on the matter had reportedly been opened some months earlier; primarily because on one occasion, and in the very same location where the winged fiend had been seen, the remains of two dead and horrifically-mutilated German Shepherds had been found – their bodies drained of significant amounts of blood. And as a result of this latest encounter Desiree’s father was himself grilled intently about his experience by “NASA security people who were flown in from somewhere in Arizona – that much I know,” as Desiree succinctly worded it.

As for the flying monster, reportedly at least, it was never seen again.

Nick Redfern’s new book is The NASA Conspiracies: The Truth Behind the Moon Landings, Censored Photos, and the Face on Mars (New Page Books, 2010).

By Nick Redfern

Lair of the Beasts: Monsters at the Space Center

A Houston Horror

This week, I’m pleased to announce, my new book is published: The NASA Conspiracies: The Truth Behind the Moon Landings, Censored Photos, and the Face on Mars. And while the book focuses, for the most part, on such issues as UFO sightings by astronauts, it also addresses claims that NASA may have some knowledge of incidents involving unknown animals, as I will now demonstrate.


There can be very few people who have not at least heard of the exploits of the notorious Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a bizarre, flying creature that was made famous in the 2002 movie The Mothman Prophecies that starred Hollywood crowd-puller Richard Gere and that, in turn, was based on the book of the same name penned by the late authority on just about everything paranormal and supernatural, John Keel. But, Mothman is not the only strange, winged monster that has been seen in the skies of the United States. One particular case implicates NASA in the story.

Back in 2004, I interviewed a woman named Desiree, whose father worked at NASA’s Houston, Texas-based Johnson Space Center, and who had a story to tell that was bizarre in the extreme. That does not mean, however, that we should dismiss it as being one of no merit, or one that lacks any meaningful value – only that we should view it with open minds and minds that are receptive to challenging ideas and bold, new paradigms.

It was late one night in 1986, said Desiree, when her father returned from his daily routine at the Johnson Space Center. There was nothing particularly unusual about that, she elaborated, as her father was occasionally required to work late into the night. On this particular night, however, things were very different: her father was clearly deeply distressed and even seemed to be on the verge of lapsing into a full blown anxiety attack.

After Desiree and her mother were finally able to calm him down, her father told a wild and extraordinary story: while walking to his car that night, he had seen, to his complete and utter horror, perched on a nearby building a large man like figure that was utterly black in color, and that seemed to have a large cape draped across its shoulders and back – and with two huge, wing like appendages sticking out of each side of the cape. Looking more bat -like than bird-like, the wings made a cracking noise as they slowly flapped in the strong, howling wind.

The creature, Desiree’s father told his amazed family, had clearly realized it had been seen. Not only that: he gained the very distinct impression that the beast was actually relishing that it had been noticed, and was even seemingly deriving some form of deranged, evil pleasure from the fact that it had struck terror into the heart of the man.

He could only stand and stare, frozen to the spot in complete and abject fear. The sheer horrific unreality of the situation – namely that of seeing a large, dark, gargoyle like entity, looming ominously over him from a rooftop at NASA’s Johnson Space Center – finally hit home with full force and Desiree’s father raced for his car, flung open the door, slammed it shut, and then sped off into the darkness. He did not attempt to look back even once.

Not surprisingly, the family suggested that reporting the encounter to his superiors might not be the wisest move. Desiree’s father agreed – for a short while, anyway. After a few weeks, however, the strange event was still gnawing steadily away at his mind and nerves, and he eventually confided in his immediate superior who, to his great surprise and relief, revealed that this was not the first time such a vile entity had been seen late at night roaming around the more shadowy parts of the Johnson Space Center. In other words, he was not going crazy or hallucinating: the beast was real and he was not the only witness, either.

Indeed, a secret file on the matter had reportedly been opened some months earlier; primarily because on one occasion, and in the very same location where the winged fiend had been seen, the remains of two dead and horrifically-mutilated German Shepherds had been found – their bodies drained of significant amounts of blood. And as a result of this latest encounter Desiree’s father was himself grilled intently about his experience by “NASA security people who were flown in from somewhere in Arizona – that much I know,” as Desiree succinctly worded it.

As for the flying monster, reportedly at least, it was never seen again.

Nick Redfern’s new book is The NASA Conspiracies: The Truth Behind the Moon Landings, Censored Photos, and the Face on Mars (New Page Books, 2010).

By Nick Redfern

Lair of the Beasts: Castle Ring Monsters

A Magnet for Mayhem

By Nick Redfern
October 09, 2010

While reports of weird creatures literally abound throughout the length and breadth of the British Isles, there is one specific area of the country that certainly seems to act as an absolute magnet for such high-strangeness: it is called the Castle Ring. Located in the village of Cannock Wood, Staffordshire, and inhabited more than two thousand years ago, the Castle Ring is an Iron Age structure commonly known as a Hill Fort, and stands 801 feet above sea level.

 

On May 1, 2004, Alec Williams was driving passed the car-park that sits at the base of the Castle Ring when he was witness to a dark, hair-covered, man-like entity that lumbered across the road and into the attendant trees. Williams stated that the sighting lasted barely a few seconds, but that he was able to make out the shape of its monstrous form: “It was about seven feet tall, with short, shiny, dark brown hair, large head and had eyes that glowed bright red.”

 

Interestingly, Williams stated that as he slowed his vehicle down, he witnessed something akin to a camera flash coming from the depths of the woods and heard a cry that he described as “someone going ‘Hoooooo.’” The beast did not resurface, and a shell-shocked Williams was forced to continue on his journey, wondering what on Earth had just taken place.

 

Just over one year later, on June 8, 2005 to be absolutely specific, in an article titled Hunt For Dark Forces at Chase Monument, Chase Post writer Sarah Taylor reported that “paranormal investigators are set to swoop on one of the area’s oldest monuments to find out what dark forces lie beneath it.”  As the newspaper noted, “a team of real-life ghost-busters’ had determined that the area of Gentleshaw that surrounds Castle Ring lay upon a ‘psychic fault.”  Indeed, the whole area surrounding Castle Ring has been a hotbed of unusual activity for years – and not all of it revolves around weird beasts.

 

For example, commenting on the high-strangeness at the Ring, Sue Penton – of Paranormal Awakening, a group affiliated to the Association for Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena – said: “There have been reports of strange music being heard up there. It is such a high place there have been lots of UFO sightings there, too.”

 

This was amply echoed by Graham Allen, who at the time was the head of the Etchinghill, Rugeley-based Staffordshire UFO Group, and who had taken over the reins from the group’s founder, Irene Bott, several years earlier: “Obviously, Castle Ring is the highest point on the Chase which makes it a good place for UFO spotting. There have been numerous incidents of UFOs, which could be because you are more likely to see something from a high point.”

 

Allen elaborated that: “There have been reports of something landing there in the 1960s. From a research point of view there are a high number of reports around ancient sites. One argument could be that ancient sites have been located there because of the incidents of UFOs and natural phenomenon. There could be locations where there could be magnetic influences in the ground which have been attributed to earth lights.”

 

Moreover, relatively close to the Castle Ring is an old, disused windmill, which, it is widely believed and accepted by local historians, was constructed upon the now-crumbled remains of ancient, pagan burial ground. Ghosts of the miller’s children, who local legend says suffocated in a flour-silo, are said to haunt the mill to this day, and the folklore of the area tells of a strange black figure that appeared just before the tragedy.

 

Could this perhaps have been the same dark figure which Alec Williams saw near the Castle Ring in 2004? Equally as strange are the reports from the village of Cannock Wood – from which the Castle Ring lies in a north-west direction – of a ghostly nun that has been seen in the vicinity of an ancient well.

 

In September 2005, the local media reported that the aforementioned Paranormal Awakening investigation group had recently completed a nighttime investigation of the Castle Ring in an attempt to try and chronicle the strange activity that had been reported there for years.

 

A spokesperson for the group said: “The Cannock Chase local authorities were kind enough to give permission for PA to conduct its research. Indeed, we are extremely grateful to them for being so open-minded as to allow us to conduct our research at this historical and most important monument. The group’s results are stunning and have created yet more questions than we have answers. We appear to have obtained a very strange mix of UFO and genuine paranormal activity.”

 

Midway through February 2006, the Chase Post elaborated as follows: “A paranormal investigations group say they have evidence of strange, dancing lights and ghostly figures at the area’s most ancient monument.”

 

On one tape, said the Post, one of the group’s members is heard to exclaim: “Tell me that isn’t a big black shape walking towards me.” The Post added that: “A mystery male voice responds, ‘There is!’”

 

Of course, it should not be forgotten that large, dark shapes and strange lights were both staples parts of Alec Williams’ 2004 sighting near the Castle Ring, too. Whatever is afoot at the Castle Ring, it seems to show no signs of going away anytime soon...

 

Nick Redfern’s latest book is Final Events – a study of UFOs and the occult.

http://www.mania.com/lair-beasts-castle-ring-monsters_article_125677.html

Lair of the Beasts: Castle Ring Monsters

A Magnet for Mayhem

By Nick Redfern
October 09, 2010

While reports of weird creatures literally abound throughout the length and breadth of the British Isles, there is one specific area of the country that certainly seems to act as an absolute magnet for such high-strangeness: it is called the Castle Ring. Located in the village of Cannock Wood, Staffordshire, and inhabited more than two thousand years ago, the Castle Ring is an Iron Age structure commonly known as a Hill Fort, and stands 801 feet above sea level.

 

On May 1, 2004, Alec Williams was driving passed the car-park that sits at the base of the Castle Ring when he was witness to a dark, hair-covered, man-like entity that lumbered across the road and into the attendant trees. Williams stated that the sighting lasted barely a few seconds, but that he was able to make out the shape of its monstrous form: “It was about seven feet tall, with short, shiny, dark brown hair, large head and had eyes that glowed bright red.”

 

Interestingly, Williams stated that as he slowed his vehicle down, he witnessed something akin to a camera flash coming from the depths of the woods and heard a cry that he described as “someone going ‘Hoooooo.’” The beast did not resurface, and a shell-shocked Williams was forced to continue on his journey, wondering what on Earth had just taken place.

 

Just over one year later, on June 8, 2005 to be absolutely specific, in an article titled Hunt For Dark Forces at Chase Monument, Chase Post writer Sarah Taylor reported that “paranormal investigators are set to swoop on one of the area’s oldest monuments to find out what dark forces lie beneath it.”  As the newspaper noted, “a team of real-life ghost-busters’ had determined that the area of Gentleshaw that surrounds Castle Ring lay upon a ‘psychic fault.”  Indeed, the whole area surrounding Castle Ring has been a hotbed of unusual activity for years – and not all of it revolves around weird beasts.

 

For example, commenting on the high-strangeness at the Ring, Sue Penton – of Paranormal Awakening, a group affiliated to the Association for Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena – said: “There have been reports of strange music being heard up there. It is such a high place there have been lots of UFO sightings there, too.”

 

This was amply echoed by Graham Allen, who at the time was the head of the Etchinghill, Rugeley-based Staffordshire UFO Group, and who had taken over the reins from the group’s founder, Irene Bott, several years earlier: “Obviously, Castle Ring is the highest point on the Chase which makes it a good place for UFO spotting. There have been numerous incidents of UFOs, which could be because you are more likely to see something from a high point.”

 

Allen elaborated that: “There have been reports of something landing there in the 1960s. From a research point of view there are a high number of reports around ancient sites. One argument could be that ancient sites have been located there because of the incidents of UFOs and natural phenomenon. There could be locations where there could be magnetic influences in the ground which have been attributed to earth lights.”

 

Moreover, relatively close to the Castle Ring is an old, disused windmill, which, it is widely believed and accepted by local historians, was constructed upon the now-crumbled remains of ancient, pagan burial ground. Ghosts of the miller’s children, who local legend says suffocated in a flour-silo, are said to haunt the mill to this day, and the folklore of the area tells of a strange black figure that appeared just before the tragedy.

 

Could this perhaps have been the same dark figure which Alec Williams saw near the Castle Ring in 2004? Equally as strange are the reports from the village of Cannock Wood – from which the Castle Ring lies in a north-west direction – of a ghostly nun that has been seen in the vicinity of an ancient well.

 

In September 2005, the local media reported that the aforementioned Paranormal Awakening investigation group had recently completed a nighttime investigation of the Castle Ring in an attempt to try and chronicle the strange activity that had been reported there for years.

 

A spokesperson for the group said: “The Cannock Chase local authorities were kind enough to give permission for PA to conduct its research. Indeed, we are extremely grateful to them for being so open-minded as to allow us to conduct our research at this historical and most important monument. The group’s results are stunning and have created yet more questions than we have answers. We appear to have obtained a very strange mix of UFO and genuine paranormal activity.”

 

Midway through February 2006, the Chase Post elaborated as follows: “A paranormal investigations group say they have evidence of strange, dancing lights and ghostly figures at the area’s most ancient monument.”

 

On one tape, said the Post, one of the group’s members is heard to exclaim: “Tell me that isn’t a big black shape walking towards me.” The Post added that: “A mystery male voice responds, ‘There is!’”

 

Of course, it should not be forgotten that large, dark shapes and strange lights were both staples parts of Alec Williams’ 2004 sighting near the Castle Ring, too. Whatever is afoot at the Castle Ring, it seems to show no signs of going away anytime soon...

 

Nick Redfern’s latest book is Final Events – a study of UFOs and the occult.

http://www.mania.com/lair-beasts-castle-ring-monsters_article_125677.html