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Strange Intruders by David Weatherly (2013)

Strange Intruders is David Weatherly's follow up to The Black Eyed Children. In speaking with David, it seems like was supposed to be the first book, but the material for cases of Black Eyed Children being so overwhelming, he decided to dedicate a book to that first. This book, does cover that a little bit more, as their is a chapter on it. David presents some new cases and a few that stand out as different in this book. But that is just one of the many unusual beings and encounters covered by this book.

Starting with the Djinn, then moving into Shadow People, Pukwudgies, Grinning Men, the Slenderman, and much more. You can read about the strange monkey men of India, the mad gassers that unleashed their strange attacks in the early part of the 20th century, and even a bit about the infamous Spring Heeled Jack. There are strange Reptoid encounters, and much more.

Not an excessively long book, just around 170 pages, it is packed full of stories and encounters, including one of his own with a Grinning Man. David sites John Keel as an inspiration, and that is apparent in his writing and work. Well written, and very hard to put down. Highly recommended.

You can order the book through Leprechaun Press.

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Mountain of the Dead: The Dyatlov Pass Incident by Keith McCloskey (2013)

The Dyatlov Pass Incident is a true mystery. Something happen in 1959 to a group of skiers in the Ural Mountains that defies any kind of easy explanation. All 9 were found dead, after fleeing their tent that night, slashing their way out, with no supplies and unprepared for the excessive cold outside. They were experienced at this type of camping, and why they would do this is beyond puzzling. They all died of hypothermia, some with even more puzzling injuries. So what happened to them? Keith McCloskey does a fantastic job in laying out their final days. He paints a picture of the Soviet Union at that time, and their trip up the mountain. You get a feel for who these people were and the environment they were living in. He then gets down to describing how they were found, and the condition and location of the bodies. It’s a hard to put down book. Keith attempts to give ample voice to the various theories and take things apart to examine the facts thoroughly. At no point does he claim to have a complete solution, nor does he ignore evidence. He presents what we know, how we know it, and possibilities. He does have his own thoughts on the matter, of course, which he expresses, but not in a way that feels like he is stating the definitive last word by any means. If you are new to this mystery or not, this is the book you want to read. Unnerving, fascinating, and just an overall good read. Highly recommended.

Keith's website: www.keithmccloskey.com.
Website for the book: www.dyatlov-pass-incident.com

 

Buy on Amazon.

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Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind by Graham Hancock (2006)

Graham Hancock never ceases to impress me. That is not an easy task, and Supernatural, again, does the trick. I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this book, I had read very little about it, but knew that it had little to do with his previous works. One of the things that I admire about Graham is that he approaches things so open, with respect and wisdom. A sense of wonder is always present. He never gets so caught up on a theory that he starts losing his balance, he is very aware that he may change his mind further on down the road as more information comes to light. This is what is lacking in so much paranormal and fringe work. This piece starts off a bit slow, working its way through the various cave art around Africa and Europe, and discussing the various theories on what they mean. Where he goes from there is fantastic. I have always held that there are strong connections between the fairy faiths, UFO’s, angels and demons, etc., as well as occult experiences. However, I had never thought to add into that Shamanic and trance experiences. Graham manages to strip back yet more of the disguise, and show the connections between them all (not so much on the occult side of things, though). It expands on the ideas of researchers like Jacques Vallee, and manages to tie in even more of the puzzle. At no point does he, however, present you with a set theory or idea. He is not someone to push things, and that continues here. Graham explores the various ideas and research conducted on altered states of consciousness, and pokes around in some DNA theories, and tries to show, more than anything, the connections, and possible correlations between what seem like widely separated subjects. Also, not one to sit by and use other people’s work as a substitute for direct experience, he travels to see said cave paintings, just as he dove on undersea ruins, and traveled to lost cities for past books. He also experiments with various mind altering drugs, in order to really understand what he is writing about. His experiences and conclusions make it all the more valuable. Once again, he antagonizes the dogmatic, however unintentional, in an honest and open exploration of ideas. It’s something that science as a whole could benefit from. You don’t have to agree with anything he concludes here, or anywhere else, but he pursues his course with honesty and integrity. He is open minded and logical. He doesn’t shun science, but isn’t afraid to speculate, either. Well worth the hefty read. You may walk away with a new way of looking at the world...

 

Buy It on Amazon.

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Jadoo by John Keel (1957)

I had wanted to read John Keel's Jadoo: The Astounding Story of One Man's Search into the Mysteries of Black Magic in the Orient for a very long time. Out of print, and sometimes hard to find, I finally picked up a reasonably priced copy of it. Running roughly 250 pages, it is one hell of an interesting read. Keel is known, of course, most famously for The Mothman Prophecies, and overall as a UFOlogist. But this book is before all that. Published in 1957, this was his debut, and chronicles his life traveling around the Middle East in search of unusual stories. He delves into the secrets of snake charmers and mystics. He learned the rather interesting Indian Rope Trick. He searches for a Yeti in the mountains near Tibet. He does all this by the seat of his pants, with almost no money, and encounters plenty of problems. It's a very entertaining read, and through it all, despite his overall skepticism, he finds some truly unexplainable things out there. At the same time, you can really feel what he is describing, from the squalor of certain areas, to the majesty of others. It's a look at another culture that you don't often see from our world.

In short, if you like Keel's style, his frank, and humorous approach, you will like Jadoo, and I would highly recommend tracking down a copy.

 

Below is a home movie that he took of the snake charmers he talks about in the book... Kind of interesting that it exists, especially since he had to sell all his equipment to have money to live on shortly after this. Would love to see more footage from the events in the book.

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