The dark side

I always assumed that Loren Coleman belonged to the moderate, flesh-and-blood, Bigfoot-is-an-ape school of cryptozoology. Maybe he did once? In this book, by contrast, the author goes out on a limb, paying homage more than once to John Keel, the bete noire (pun unintended) of both cryptozoology and ufology.

Despite the Keelian angle, only one chapter of "Mothman and other curious encounters" deals with the bizarre events that supposedly took place in Point Pleasant in 1966-67. The rest of the book deals with lizard monsters, mad gassers, chupacabras, werewolves, orange demons with spindly fingers, black dogs, the Flatwoods Monster, Batsquatch...well, should I continue? Coleman even takes the Men in Black seriously! The only "classical" cryptids mentioned in the book are the Thunderbirds.

Coleman doesn't know what to make of all this (as behoves a good Fortean, I suppose), but he does seem open to the "ultraterrestrial" hypothesis of Keel, according to which all these creatures are fundamentally similar and hail from a supernatural reality ("the superspectrum") beyond our own. But what is their purpose?

Several chapters are devoted to decoding the "message" of the daimonic creatures. Thus, Coleman claims that monsters usually show themselves on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and that they have a special affinity for June 24, St. John's Day or Midsummer. He mentions the phenomenon of flaps, and the idea that certain areas ("windows") are more susceptible to paranormal activity than others. One such place is Skookum, a valley in Oregon notorious for its Bigfoot activity.

Keel believed that the ultraterrestrials lived in a kind of symbiotic relationship with humans. They feed on our energy and are therefore dependent on us. In one sense, they are demons: "ufology is really demonology" is a classical Keel quip. The creatures often predict disasters, some of which seem to happen. On the other hand, they also play a role in humanity's spiritual development, forcing us over the threshold to the superspectrum kicking and screaming. If we listen to them, they will become divine messengers and harbingers of a positive transformation. Coleman summarizes Keel's views in a remarkably objective manner.

If Coleman wants to pursue this subject further, perhaps he should rise above Keel and read, say, Patrick Harpur?

I can't say "Mothman and other curious encounters" thrilled me. Perhaps I already read too many books on this subject. Perhaps it's just badly edited, with Coleman jumping back and forth between descriptions of sightings, tributes to his old friend Keel, and attempts to analyze the ghost stories he has collected. The analysis isn't very deep. At one point, the author jokingly says that many of his readers will accuse him of joining "the dark side" - I suppose belief in Mothman and MIBs are no-noes in more respectable cryptozoological circles.

However, Coleman is clearly not fully indoctrinated in the mysteries of the eternal twilight...yet! When he joins us, I'll let you know through the usual channels...

Be afraid, kids, be very afraid! :-0