It was about 2 this afternoon and I was outside up on the ladder painting trim when the world shook for about 2 seconds with a loud boom, I could feel the ladder shake. Mom came running out thinking I had fallen off the ladder. I knew what it was… The Seneca Guns. These booms have been reported here since the 1800′s and nobody knows what they are. Over the years I have read investigative reports but they can not figure it out. No seismic record, no military exercises and certainly not airplanes. Weather was clear and bright with mid 60′s temp.

The term Seneca Guns came from James Fennimore Cooper in a short story he wrote in the 1800′s about unexplained booms heard around Lake Seneca in New York.

I have heard the noise about five times since we moved here. Interesting, with absolutely no explanation. There was no echo or follow up sounds. Just one big boom and tremor that lasted about two to three seconds. As I said, I have been through this at least five times in the last 15 years and the next day discussion is always the same.

The newspaper had a nice article about it today. Same old story, same old theories. Nobody knows for sure but they said that they checked the seismic records for yesterday and there was nothing. One theory is that it was a massive slide of the continental shelf but I would think that if it was related to land slides in the Atlantic there would have been a seismic tremor.

There was an interesting posting on the Weather Underground, one of my favorite sites for weather, about this with some good links.

The Next Day…

Friends of ours said that about 10:30 this morning (Saturday, 11/6) their apartment shook and there was a loud boom. All the neighbors were out trying to see what it was. I was here at my desk at that time and heard or felt nothing. When I mentioned the boom yesterday (Friday) at 2 they said they were in the condo and did not hear or feel a thing. It is a distance of about 10 miles.

Here is a report from a guy south of us who heard both booms and a third also:

“I felt a large one yesterday (11-5-2010) in Kure Beach around 2:15pm, large enough to rattle the front door and just felt another smaller one today (11-6-2010) around 10:10am, much smaller than yesterdays but still noticeable, then a smaller rumble around 10:20. I was just Googling to try and find out what it was and stumbled upon this article. Interesting phenomenon for sure.”

The two today were of a lower intensity which would explain why I did not hear them.

Other related articles online:
Star News Online: Booms rattle Southeastern NC residents for second time…
Scientists hear Mystery Boom from Space
Star News Online: Mysterious Booms rock Cape Fear region
Seneca Guns or Mistpouffers on Wikipedia

So, what do you think? Sonic booms? Geological? Atmospheric? Non-disclosed military exercises?

What we are really drawn to, in so many ways, is the outer edge. The places we can’t see into. The dark, the hidden. We love to imagine things greater than ourselves, mysterious, monstrous, or powerful. We can venture down any number of, what may seem logical, passages to come to conclusions that suit us. Often, the passage we choose is the one that supports what we believe. After all, why would we venture down passages that contradict what we hope is true?

Human’s often pick and choose data to support their beliefs, ignoring contradictory data. We jump to conclusions, make assumptions, and ignore the obvious if it goes against what we hold dear. Like a child, apprehensive, afraid to grow up and shed childish ways, many of us hold on to our beliefs, and remain conveniently ignorant so we can avoid hard truths.

I used to believe in a god, ghosts, UFO’s, Bigfoot, and other supernatural, paranormal or cryptozoological mysteries. A strong imagination loves to find adventure, wander, and wonder about strange, and amazing things. What if Bigfoot is real? What if aliens, or time travelers are visiting our planet in amazing spaceships? What if ghosts of the long dead can interact with us?

A common denominator, for me, is the sense of mystery and excitement I get from reading scary stories, or watching shows about UFOs or mysterious monsters. I love that stuff, always have. But I’ve come to recognize it as an entertaining sidetrack for my imagination, not evidence of a paranormal reality lurking behind some wispy, magical veil.

I’ve had strange experiences, heard noises, voices, seen strange lights, but I always looked for a logical explanation. I always knew their was some rational explanation for what I experienced, and I didn’t make the jump to supernatural, or unexplainable. Sure, the events were scary, and uncanny, but in that respect I consider myself lucky to have experienced them. Because they were neat, and entertaining.

I’m still entertained by ghost stories, the notion of extraterrestrials soaring overhead in UFOs, and by tales of mystery creatures like Sasquatch, Mothman, or Nessie. I still love it all, but I don’t believe it all. Could Bigfoot exist? Sure, it’s possible, thought not probable. Nessie? Less so. Mothman? I’d consider that an incredible stretch of the imagination inspired by sightings of known, but misidentified, creatures. It’s all still fun nonetheless.

There is nothing wrong with imagination, and being entertained by these things, but if one doesn’t admit they could be wrong in considering these things part of reality, they are not fully evolving as individuals. There are many reasons we believe, and not all of them can be turned off like a switch. Maybe people believe in such things because it makes them feel good, or because they are unwilling to admit that our world could be so mundane compared to imaginative fantasy.

Whatever the reason, when our world is explored through science, you find that it really is very far from mundane.

That’s what is called using “Occam’s razor,” which states, “entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity,” or, the simplest explanation is often the most accurate, so we need not offer explanations that require additional assumption. Whether the hunter is part of the hoax, or is the victim of a hoax, is unclear. But what is abundantly clear is that it is either a hoax, or a coincidence.

What coincidence? Maybe a guy walked by the camera in his snow suit or something. As for a hoax, there are many things one could wear to perpetrate such a hoax. A ghillie suit, which hunters use as camouflage, could be used to make a bigfoot hoax, but often they aren’t quite this dark. And if this is a ghillie suit, it’s a cheap one.

I would lean toward a snow suit coincidence, or a gorilla suit. And here’s a gorilla suit that would work perfectly in the trail camera photo (see image at right). A post over at Cryptomundo.com seems to support the idea of a hoax.

If we want to know for sure that creatures like Bigfoot are real, and find evidence to support that claim, we need to be able to weed out the crap. This is crap.

Surgeon's Photo of Hoaxed Loch Ness Monster

The following year a surgeon brought forth a photograph he had taken of the alleged creature, which has become one of the most iconic images attached to the legend. That photo has been subsequently proven a hoax — nothing more than a sculpted neck and head attached to a small toy submarine, being towed, or tugged along the surface of the loch.

Anecdotal evidence, and interesting photographic evidence has piled up since then, but many are proven hoaxes, and others are not substantial enough to be considered difinitive proof of the existence of a mysterious loch-dwelling monster fondly referred to as Nessie.

Enhanced 'Fin' photo taken during Rines' Loch Ness Expedition.

One image does stand out as at least more perplexing than others before, and it has become another of the most famous photos associated with the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster. It was captured during an investigation of the loch by Robert Rines.

A true renaissance man, Rines was founder of the Academy of Applied Science, and held a Bachelor in Sciences from M.I.T., as well as a Ph.D. He helped devlop the Microwave Early Warning System during his service in World War II, as a U.S. Army Signal Corps officer.

Rines was also an accomplished musician and composer, creating music for Broadway and off-Broadway plays. He held over 800 patents, and his inventions are at work behind technologies like high-resolution image-scanning radar and ultrasound scanning, the ladder of which has been used for both underwater searches for the wrecks of the Titanic and the Bismarck, even the Loch Ness Monster, as well as ultrasound imaging of the internal human body.

Rines passed away on November 1, 2009, at the age of 87.

The original version of Rines’ photo does not truly reveal much more than bubbles and underwater turbulence. Subsequent enhancements of this photo have produced an image that bears an incredible resemblance to a diamond shaped flipper. But it seems that these enhancements were made to bring out what people wanted to see.

Rines’ contributions to science, education, and his other areas of endeavor somewhat overshadow his investigative acheivements at Loch Ness, but he was part of the hunt as it were. And is heralded by many as someone who has brought great proof to light in support of the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. But when his findings are looked at for what they are, we see that he actually may have done more in proving there is really nothing there.

Click Here for more information on Robert Rine.

There is a story of a Russian girl, Lisa Hlupinoy, who has gone missing after venturing into the woods near her home with some male friends. Apparently all efforts to find her have been exhausted and authorities have given up. Strangely, there is no mention of her on any missing person database, and no original news story about her dissappearance can be found on the web.

All I can find are very few articles churning out the same nonsense about abduction by a UFO, a theory proposed by UFOlogists. Experts of course. It’s also mentioned that police turned to a psychic for help in the investigation.

If the story is for real, and it is confirmed that the boys had nothing to do with her dissappearance, then it is likely she was abducted, but most likely by some sicko right here on earth, in an automobile, not a UFO.

Let’s hope, that if it is for real, the girl is found safe.

All News Web – Did a UFO abduct 11 year old Lisa?.

It’s a good thing I won’t find them lurking around my house! I mean, spiders are cool, I’ll catch one every so often and stick it in a jar just to study it for awhile, but if I EVER saw a spider with a 4 to 5 inch legspan I wouldn’t go looking for a jar, I’d go looking for the door!

Scientists Discover Largest Orb-weaving Spider.

The world watched as a homemade helium balloon, resembling a silvery, saucer shaped UFO, soared at altitudes reaching an estimated 7,500 feet. We were transfixed, all believing that a little boy was trapped on that balloon, accidentally launched while his parents were not present. As the story unfolded we learned that the balloon had been recovered and the boy was not aboard. We thought the worst: the boy had fallen out of the balloon and was probably dead.

People reported seeing something fall from the balloon, and authorities searched the ground along the flightpath of the balloon. They found nothing.

The next day we learned that the boy had been hiding above the garage, apparently after being scolded by his dad for playing around the balloon. He was hiding alright, but we found later that it was because he needed to be out of sight while the hoax was perpetrated. Someone who had gone into the home commented that in order to get into the attic the boy would have needed quite a boost.

Heene and his wife met in acting school and had appeared on the Reality TV show Wife Swap. As the story of the balloon boy hoax unwinds, we learn more about the egotistical, desperate Richard Heene, who wanted to gain publicity in order to launch his own reality TV show.

Take one look at the antics of Richard Heene and you see an idiot caught up in his own ego, trying to become famous. Watch the home video released of the accidental balloon launch, and you’ll notice two things: the kid wasn’t on the balloon in the first place (Heene knew it), and Heene also exhibits his lack of self control, throwing a tantrum and kicking at the launching deck, after realizing his wife forgot to hold on to a tether to prevent the balloon’s launch.

Former business associate to Heene and a fellow science enthusiast, Robert Thomas, has come forward with info about Heene and his scheme. According to Thomas, Heene wanted to get his TV career started with an alien hoax that would be “Bigger than Roswell.”

Like Heene’s story, but on a grander scale, the Roswell “incident” was a complete fabrication. The story was inadvertently created by UFO proponents and “investigators” after the fact, which actually involved a downed high altitude balloon used in the top secret Project Mogul defense system employed by the US Military.

Heene’s story comes nowhere near Roswell lore. What Heene has done is effectively make himself, and his family, a mockery in his attempt to gain fame. He’s a loon, and — I was just about to say I’m amazed, but I’m really not — that mass media would spend so much energy on a story like this. They’re giving the guy what he wants.

Heene was looking for the limelight, but he’s made a fool out of himself trying to get there.

Yes, it’s true, a DNA test done on a bone fragment from the skull alleged to be that of Adolph Hitler, which was found by Soviet military personel outside Hitler’s bunker, has been confirmed to be that of a female, and not Hitler’s noggin after all.

What does this mean? Is Hitler alive? Did he manage to escape? Is there some massive conspiracy among world powers to keep the “truth” of Hitler’s vanishing act a secret from the rest of us?

No.

Basically it means that the skull found outside of Hitler’s bunker was that of a woman, and someone made an assumption which is now known to be incorrect.

When I first read this headline I decided to browse the web to see if I could find some details. I recommend a quick read of the subject at www.physorg.com.

When you think about it, darkness is a key element in most situations that bring us a chill or a fright. When is the best time to drive down that creepy road, stroll past the cemetary, consult a Ouji Board, or tell spooky tales? After dark, of course.

Light illuminates our surroundings, and when light is on we have no need to suspect that anything is lurking nearby. We can clearly see it is not. But switch off that light and darkness closes in.

We humans are fairly rational creatures most of the time, and even in the dark we are pretty certain that nothing is lurking “out there” to get us. But there is a part of our brains that doesn’t sleep easy, and it’s linked to our very distant ancestors, who existed millions of years ago. Their survival, and ultimately our existence, relied on such autonomous workings of the brain.

The thrill and excitement we feel is a direct result of an adrenaline rush prompted by the fight or flight response. It is a sort of alert mechanism that operates without any direct thought. This response, which originates in a part of the brain called the amygdala, would have prompted our ancestors to run from potential danger, or prepare to face an attacker, even if nothing were there. Better safe than sorry.

The amygdala is like an early warning system, and it ensures that no time is wasted in thinking about what to do. Before we know what is happening, our autonomic nervous system — which controls many involuntary functions such as heart rate, breathing, and pupil dilation — is ramped up and the adrenal glands are prompted to get busy with their adrenaline production.

In rapid succession we may get goose bumps, a tingle up the spine, and then our blood pressure will rise, and our breathing will increase, causing us to become more alert. Heightened senses allow us to keenly monitor our surroundings, and we may tense up, preparing to run or stand and fight once our internal alarm is satisfied that something really may be there to harm us. It just takes one more bump, crack or rattle from the darkness beyond, to set us off.

This process can be fully appreciated if you happen to visit a haunted house attraction this Halloween. Pay attention to your involuntary reaction as you walk slowly down that darkened corridor, anticipating the shock and fright that’s waiting around the corner. You can try to control yourself, but that ancient part of your brain doesn’t really care what you think. It is interested in just one thing: your survival. Fear, real, or imagined, has turned it on. Better safe than sorry.

We feel a great sense of relief, and that rush of adrenaline, accompanied with an increase of blood and oxygen to the brain, gives us a sort of “high,” which makes it fun to get scared. Round that corner may lie danger, and you will be prepared to kick, punch, and scream, or quickly turn and run. You’re amygdala will see to that.