Catching up with Tree Man of Indonesia



Tree Man with his child

 Back in 2007, Dede Koswara became a kind of celebrity when his undiagnosed skin condition gone out of control made headlines.
Koswara first discovered the growths when he was fifteen following a cut to his  knee. The warts began to spread to the rest of his body, eventually reaching his face. For a time, he worked for a circus act just to make money. At one time, bugs were living in the growths.

For the past two years, doctors continually remove the growths, but there's not yet a cure to provide sustained relief. The condition, known as Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia, which is apparently the cause of wart and horn growths, has never been linked to such an excessive case before. Doctors still cannot say why the growths that resemble tree roots on his upper body and on his feet are so pronounced.

Treeman's Condition Worsens in 2008



 Back in 2007, Dede's life seemed entirely consumed by his disease and he feared an entire take-over of his body. Living in poverty and constant pain, his story brought him to the attention of a doctor in the United States. One of the treatments offered was daily doses of Vitamin A - seems simple enough, but to a poverty-stricken man living in Indonesia suffering in this way, it was more than a hopeful opportunity.

Four pounds of tree-like tissue was removed from his body. After his condition did seem to improve and he was able to use his hands again (becoming a Sudoku addict) without causing himself pain, things eventually went downhill again in 2008. Dede underwent two more skin graft surgeries that year and has had ten surgeries to date. The roots of the warts have reached his bones which is not making treatment easy.

Mothman in Weird US TV Clip

Too bad this show doesn't air anymore, I love the books.

As a follow-up to my last post, Mothman: An Icon of American Monster Folklore, here's a clip from "Weird US" regarding the Mothman and more recent interviews with the original witnesses.

The Mothman, an icon of American monster folklore.

Witness Sketch

This is for Esther, who asked for more Mothman. He's a bit worn out as far as more recent folklore goes, but you have to love a scary mystery, so here it goes.

Mothman. Hoax? Maybe in part. There's no doubt, however, that more than one someone, saw something that scared them. According to witness testimonials, he's a seven-foot tall winged humanoid with bright red eyes that glow in the dark, whom emits an evil, harsh shriek. Sightings of something akin to this description first occurred in 1966 on November 15th. Two teenage couples driving past the abandoned World War II TNT factory north of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, claimed to see two glowing red orbs in the night. Looking more closely, they claim to discern a tall man-like creature, with wings folded against his back. The creature, they said, chased their car at speeds of 100 miles per hour.   They drove to the Mason County courthouse and explained what happened to Deputy Millard Halstead, who stated later, "I've known these kids all their lives. They'd never been in any trouble and they were really scared that night. I took them seriously."

It didn't stop there. Since the kids were so genuinely afraid, townspeople were out at the TNT factory the following night, searching for any explanation. Some camped and even brought their families, hoping to witness the Mothman and to obtain evidence. At the same time, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Wamsley, and Mrs. Marcella Bennett, with her baby girl, were driving to visit their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Thomas, who lived in a small house near the abandoned igloos, the concrete dome structures erected during WWII to store dynamite). As they were leaving their friend's house, a figure appeared near their parked car. Mrs. Bennett later described the creature as initially lying down, slowly getting up from the ground, large and gray, with glowing red eyes. While Mr. Wamsley was on the phone with the police, the creature walked onto the front porch and looked in at them through the window.

On November 24th, four more witnesses stepped forward, claiming again to have seen the creature flying above the TNT factory. The following morning, a Thomas Ury told the police he'd seen a creature of the same above description, standing in a field only to fly away. Mothman took the media by storm.  

Mothman Newspaper Clippings

All the descriptions of the Mothman were similar, yet with minor differences. Inconsistencies aren't major, however, due to the different experiences of the witnesses, their circumstances at the time of each particular event, given light, weather and location. One witness claimed, "It stood taller and broader than a man, walked in sort of a halting shuffle on humanlike legs, and emitted a squeaking sound." Another stated, "The red, glowing eyes, set into the shoulders, seem to have been more terrifying than either the size of the creature or span of its batlike wings." Several witnesses heard a mechanical humming as the creature flew. All witnesses described feeling absolute terror; "I’ve never had that feeling before. A weird kind of fear. That fear gripped you and held you."

The story gets more weird. In fact, the Mothman was only one of several weird things going on in Point Pleasant during this time. UFO’s were reported, including strange encounters with men in black suits. Nick Diamond writes that "The Grinning Man, as many refer to him, was supposedly in Point Pleasant as well.  The best known Grinning Man was Indrid Cold, who appeared during the Mothman sightings. The first encounter was on November 2nd of 1966.  A man by the name of Woodrow Derenberger was driving home after work when he heard a sudden crash behind him.  A strange vehicle shaped like an old furnace firing soot and embers at both ends sped by him and stopped, blocking off the road ahead.  A tall thin man stepped out of the car and approached Mr. Derenberger.  He approached with a broad grin on his face and said his name was Indrid Cold.  The two men had a brief conversation about the Mothman sightings, and then Mr. Cold left."

On January 11th, 1967, sightings of Mothman were again reported, this time over Point Pleasant's Silver Bridge, and then several sightings occurred after the bridges collapse (46 people died in the Ohio River). The Silver Bridge connected Point Pleasant, WV to Gallipolis, Ohio.



Mothman Statue Caption, Point Pleasant WV

 A Mothman statue stands in Point Pleasant, welcoming tourists who come interested in the Mothman story. There's a museum and the whole shibang, obviously.

North American Sandhill Crane

One of the earliest theories that surfaced, aside from the supernatural ones, was that a Sandhill Crane was being mistaken for the alleged Mothman. This bird, which can stand up to seven feet tall, was a problem in surrounding areas at the time. This bird can glide on air without flapping its wings for a longer period of time than the average bird and also lets out a fantastic shriek, possibly like the one described by witnesses.

John Keel wrote a book entitled, "Visitors from Space: The Astonishing True Story of the Mothman Prophecies". His theory that the sightings occurred as precognitions to the collapse of the Silver Bridge. The movie The Mothman Prophecies starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney was based on Keel's book (the accuracy of his book, stemming from his original investigation and translating over to the book has been questioned) . While the reader may or may not buy the supernatural side of the book, a large amount of fascinating first-hand accounts are included.

Mothman Photo? 2003

A Mothman festival occurs every September in Point Pleasant. Why not? Whether the Mothman (named after a Batman character) was real or not, the witness testimonials seem genuine and terrifying. The town brings in revenue thanks to Mothman, and boy, do they go all out. Visitors can take a hayride through the abandoned TNT area - although this past year, illegal explosives were found inside the igloos and the area was shut down.

Newer sightings have occured, some with photos and some from other parts of the world. The following 2003 photo was evaluated on History Channel's "Monster Quest". One conclusion was reached that the very Mothman-esque thing at the peak of the bridge is actually, a trashbag. Thoughts, anyone? There is a second photo of the alleged trashbag flying off the bridge.

World Trade Center Mothman

Then there's this photo, that circulated widely via e-mail forwards - and don't we all love those? This photo was apparently taken on the day of the September 11th attack in NYC by a Steven Moran.

So... the mystery continues.

Bow-Nessie, England's Lake Monster, with photos and video

I had a feeling today was going to be a good day for paranormal news stories making the front page.

Pickles/Harrington Bow-Nessie Sighting 2011

I didn't have to dig for today's cryptid sighting. Fresh from the press, couple Tom Pickles and Sarah Harrington spotted what they called an "enormous snake" last Friday February 11th 2001, while kayaking on England's largest lake, Lake Windemere. It may not be the Scottish Loch Ness monster, but her English counterpart is close enough with sightings occurring eight times in the past five years.

"It was petrifying and we paddled back to the shore straight away. At first I thought it was a dog and then saw it was much bigger and moving really quickly at about 10 mph," stated 24 year old Pickles. "Each hump was moving in a rippling motion and it was swimming fast. Its skin was like a seal's but its shape was completely abnormal—it's not like any animal I've ever seen before."

Bow-Nessie or Wells Catfish?

Sojourning with his wife, Journalism professor Steve Burnip started the recent string of "Bow-Nessie" sightings on the lake back in 2006 reporting they had seen a "giant eel" somewhere between 15-20 feet long with two humps. Ian Winfield, a fish ecologist for the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Lancaster University, believes this couple (and perhaps the others) could have seen a catfish, as they have been introduced to a lot of English lakes for angling. “The Wells catfish comes from mainland Europe and can grow to about 500cm and weigh up to 306kg and there have been numerous records of catfish washing up dead in Cumbrian lakes,” said Mr Winfield.

Mr. Burnip says of the most recent picture being called the clearest Bow-Nessie photo ever taken: “I know what I saw and it shocked me, it had three humps and it’s uncanny the likeness between this and what I saw five years ago.”

Here's an intriguing video, where a strange V-shaped ripple affects the lake surface seemingly out of no where during filming of LAKES TV.

Vampire movie "Let Me In" deserves a serious look.

"Twilight" is so yesterday. Absent are the tense, silent and many times uncomfortable moments between teenage girl and teenage vampire. In Matt Reeves' remake of "Let Me In", the theme is adolescent (as in, 12 year old) loneliness. However, the film's story isn't new. It's a remake of the Swedish English speaking movie of the same title, based on the book Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

Kodi Smitt-McPhee (see movie "The Road) plays Eli, the twelve year old boy who lives in an apartment complex in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Bullied daily at school, (and that's some serious torture he puts up with), Eli sits at home at night spying on his neighbors with a telescope and fantasizing about how to destroy the mean kids at school. He carries around a knife, and never uses it except to jab at a tree and pretend to stab those he hates in his room.

While spying through his telescope in the dark one night, he watches the new neighbors arrive - an older man and a young girl. She doesn't go to school. She comes out a night, barefooted in the snow. Her name, Abby. With the innocence and openness of a twelve year old, he accepts her this way and she becomes his only friend. He waits for her each night, and doesn't question her weirdness until much later. He suspects abuse, but never says it out loud - he can hear yelling through the wall where she lives on the other side.

Then - people start dying. A teenager. A runner from the apartment complex. Meanwhile at school, Eli is still putting up with his bully. The yelling is continuing on the other side of his wall. I'll stop there.

The movie, while much more simple than the book its based on, touches some real issues that "Twilight" and "True Blood" don't come anywhere near. That's what makes this movie so compelling. You can believe it, despite the fact the vampire stuff is going on. A vampire movie, that's believable? OMG.

It's not just believable, it's moving. I'm fond of stories that touch on the loneliness of human beings, the uncertainty of life. It's universal, it's in all of us - the fear of being alone - and sure, vampires work here. This is a movie that deserves your attention, even if it's just to make you aware of what some kids have to go through as young people in school and at home. This story is very, very human - ironic, yes?

Chinese magician commands fish, activists claiming animal cruelty

I spent the majority of this video trying to decide whether or not I could actually see the magnet in the orange goldfish's bellies! Since magnet implants are really the only way to pull this off, I won't even bother suggesting that I could be wrong. The attached video shows six fish swimming in formation, allegedly commanded by the magician.

Chinese magician Fu Yandong performed this trick two weeks ago for the Spring Festival Gala on Chinese Central Television and after animal rights activists jumped, his second planned performance was cancelled for unknown reasons. Convenient. Activists came to the same conclusion as the rest of us - magnets. Either implants or he fed them magnets, so as to inable him or someone else to drag them alongside each other from underneath.

Fish Magnets? ... or magic? Uh... let me think.

Having been promoted as one of the highlights of the Lunar New Year holiday last week, Yandong's agent confirmed the cancellation. This past Monday, fifty-three non-government organizations asked TV stations not to show the magic trick, due to a copycat effect that woud likely ensue. However, Hunan Television has in fact booked Yandong to perform the trick, where the magician will apparently tell the secret (which isn't magnets, he says). This is in contradiction to his previous statements where he refused to give up the secret, sticking with magician code.

I can't wait to see what he managed to come up with between the first airing and the unveiling of the secret. So, stay tuned.

The Voynich Manuscript: Alien Language, Code, or Nothing At All?

In 1912, antique book dealer Wilfrid Voynich came across an odd item. The Voynich Manuscript, as it is called, was found hidden inside a chest for sale by the Society of Jesus, just outside of Rome. The letters, some of which resemble Latin, are unlike any characters in known language. Currently, the book resides in Yale's Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Something akin to the DaVinci Code in fiction, this book is the real deal. For decades, scientists and scholars have attempted to figure out what language, if any, is within the book. Only one thing has been determined, and only very recently.

The pages of the book are made of animal skin which make it possible to carbon-date for age. Carbon-14 dating puts the book's creation in the 15th century, roughly between 1404 and 1438. The first book ever to be printed off a press is the Gutenburg Bible, which was created in 1453. The oldest book that we know of? The Diamond Sutra, a scroll printed on paper using wooden blocks in China 1,300 years ago.

So, is it a coded writing? This would make sense for the time period. According to Kevin Repp, curator of Beinecke Rare Book Library, "Fears of heresy or witchcraft among them".

The drawings are suggestive of botanical, marine and even astrological items/creatures. Physicist Greg Hodgins of the University of Arizona said, "Who knows what's being written about in this manuscript, but it appears to be dealing with a range of topics that might relate to alchemy. Secrecy is sometimes associated with alchemy, and so it would be consistent with that tradition if the knowledge contained in the book was encoded".

Computers can't even figure this book out. The language literally doesn't exist and on top of that, the latest coding programs can't find a single code within. Therefore, top researchers are concluding that it might not say anything at all and perhaps there are much smaller codes hidden throughout.

No mummies damaged during Cairo museum's break-in



Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egyptian Antiquities

 Dr. Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's antiquities committee since 2002 and made minister just last week, clarified an earlier statement yesterday for BBC. The two mummies originally thought to be damaged during the break-in and looting in Cairo's Egyptian Museum were not mummies at all, but two skulls swiped from the CT machine.

Egypt's cultural treasures are secured, Dr. Hawass said. "The Valley of the Kings is safe, the pyramids are safe, 24 museums are safe, the synagogues and the monasteries and the Muslim monuments are completely safe."

On his website, Dr. Hawass wrote that 70 antiquities were broken included a statue of boy pharaoh King Tutankhamun atop a panther and other artifacts from later periods, all of which can be restored.

Mothman Sighting, Doomsday Capsule and Bigfoot Hoax

Definitely a weird week.

Recent Mothman Sighting near Cincinatti, Ohio. Witness claims to have watched a deer pass in front of her car - except when she turned to look at the animal at the side of the road, it was not a deer. Red eyes and wings. Not very deer-like. From the looks of it, I think she might have been texting while driving, too. Shame, shame.

Russian man, military engineer, determined to outlive 2012 Armageddon builds a Doomsday Capsule. This is like Buzz Aldrin claiming that aliens are the real deal. Makes you wonder... Seth Brogan seems to think George Lucas has his own doomsday spaceship. This whole thing is catching on.

Bigfoot Sighting Caught on Film, Catches Attention of Discovery Channel, Students Fess Up. After a woman caught a snapshot of an alleged Bigfoot, Discovery Channel called in for interviews. The woman did some research of her own and found the culprits responsible for her experience. Will Discovery Channel still do the interview?

New Ghost Hunters Airs in Feb 2011

So I've gotten some not so nice feedback regarding my current thinkings regarding the Ghost Hunters of SyFy. May I point out to this particular reader that I was one of you! I, too, aside from being a freelance writer for some years at Penn State and having the chance to interview these guys several times, was in fact a serious fan of the show!! Show aside, the cast members are super nice, were always awesome about interviews and were just plain fun to be around.

However... my heart and many, many others were broken when the Fort Delaware footage showed up on YouTube. Now I haven't done any research on this since that happened, so yes, I admit that I haven't done any follow-up looking into any of that. I basically abandoned the show. I happen to live in Delaware now, so I have heard claims coming out of the fort backing up my position on this.

Even so and upon the request of a reader, I will give the show another chance. I will tune in to the new season, which begins on SyFy channel on Wednesday 23rd. Ahh... I can remember looking forward to Wednesday night all week long... whilst my husband barked at me through every commercial how the whole show was staged and I said, "No, it's not! No, it's not!"

So there. I'll watch it already, okay!?