Year: 2014

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The Island of Lost Dolls

Ready for a creepy vacation? And this time you don’t have to go to Romania or somewhere crazy far away to visit. Welcome to Isla De Las Munecas, or “The Island of the Dolls”. Located south of Mexico City, this abandoned island is accessible by nothing more than a rowboat, but you might want to plan for a quick escape as well.

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Thousands of creepy dolls and doll parts hang from the trees over every part of the small island. Nearby mainlanders claim the dolls move on their own at night. How did these horrible things get here? What kind of crazy person does this? And why?

 

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The answer is, a strange loner in  nearby Xochimilco named Santana Barrera. Locals would see him in the town digging through trash cans and dirty canals. It turns out he was looking for these abandoned dolls. Santana believed that the spirit of a young girl was willing him to collect these dolls and hang them up all over his island to repel evil spirits. He also believed that the dolls were truly ‘alive’ and would at night roam around the island killing animals. Sadly, Santana was found dead from drowning on the island in 2001. You can only imagine the stories that circulate about that. But the dolls still remain, waiting for whoever is brave enough to visit the strange island.

 

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Not me, mind you. but, you know, whoever. Brrrr.

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The Spider-Sisters Finally Find Love

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Meet Ganga and Jamuna Mondal, 45 year old conjoined twins who have spent a lifetime on the road with a traveling circus in India. Sadly, the pair were abandoned by their impoverished family when they were teenagers who believed they were a ‘sign of God’s fury’. Fortunately for them, they were found by the circus and have lived their lives in relative comfort. But not so much human comfort.

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Enter Jasimuddin Ahmad, a school teacher and part time sound engineer for the circus. ‘It was love at first sight. When we met Jasimuddin we both felt this was a man who would truly love us. And he does – he loves us straight from the heart,’ said Ganga. Jamuna added: ‘We have been very happy since he came into our lives. We have suffered in the past but we don’t want to suffer anymore. We really hope to spend the rest of our lives with him.’

I’m not one to stand on ceremony, but their community is, which is why they have no plans at this time for a formal union of any kind. But it’s a love story for two women who thought they’d never find someone and I say, whatever works.

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Cryptozoologist raising funds to study Lovelock Cave Giants

Despite my colleague Chris Cox’s article the other day (see A Bad Day for Bigfoot), I remain optimistic that there will be some proof of an unknown, living, upright-walking primate found — eventually.

As cryptozoologist Scott Marlowe points out in response to that article, “The researchers DON’T claim any sweeping generalization whatsoever. They are simply reporting on those samples they worked with — and say as much in the report.”

“Good science is about patience, not easy gratification.”

Well now Scott is putting his money where his mouth is (or more accurately, your money). Marlowe is starting a GoFundMe campaign to raise $10,000 to conduct a DNA study on the skeleton of one of the mysterious Lovelock Cave Giants. According to his GoFundMe page:

Having located the remains of one of the Lovelock Cave “Giant” skeletons, and verifying that the keeper of it is willing to permit me to extract a tooth for the purpose of doing a DNA study on the creature, I am attempting to raise the funding necessary to complete the expedition and subsequent DNA work upon it to determine its origins and phylogeny.

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In 1911 mummified remains were found by guano hunters in Lovelock Cave, a large rock shelter in Nevada’s Lake Lahontan region. According to legend, these skeletons belong to a cannibalistic tribe of red-haired giants.

Known to the Paiute indians as the Si-Te-Cah, these cannibals were at war with the Paiute until a number of tribes came together and trapped the Si-Te-Cah in Lovelock Cave, started a fire and asphyxiated them.

There may be some factual basis for the legend. During a 1924 expedition, some human bones found in the cave showed evidence that they were split to extract the marrow, which may indicate cannibalism. In addition several large fiber sandals were found in the caves, one measuring a whopping 15″. Now that’s a Big Foot!

If you’ve ever wanted to be a part of a potential new discovery, I’d say here’s your chance. To help Scott reach his goal, you can contribute to his study here:

Red-Haired Giant Research

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BUY 1 GET 1 FREE to the Museum with your Alamo “The Elephant Man” ticket

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Today at MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD show your Alamo Drafthouse ticket for tonight’s screening of “The Elephant Man” and get BUY 1 GET 1 FREE admission to the Museum!

Come to the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz tonight at 7pm for a special screening of the David Lynch classic THE ELEPHANT MAN.

The Museum of the Weird’s own sideshow performer “Obi-Juan” Martinez will be on stage doing some old-school sideshow acts and maybe a surprise or two!

The BUY 1 GET 1 FREE admission to MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD is good for all day Wednesday and Thursday, July 9 and 10, but you must show your Alamo Drafthouse ticket to qualify! Limit 1 free admission per ticket.

You can reserve your tickets here

 

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The Haunted, Alien Hotspot, Dimensional Portal Forest of Hoia-Baciu

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Right off the bat, I’ve got to give full credit to a website called “Travel Creepster”. You gotta give props for that as a concept. It was through one of their posts that I first discovered the bizarre forest of Hoia-Baciu in Romania where for the paranormal, it’s always business time.

This small 1 square mile forest located to the west of the city of Cluj-Napoca has a lovely biking trail and facilities for paintball, airsoft and archery. It’s also thought to be absolutely terrifying and filled with all manner of bogeymen, time distortions, ghostly visitors, ufos, etc, etc. While the locals have traditionally been wary of the place, which has had its share of urban legends associated with it, not until relatively recently a story was reported widely that created infamy for the woods.

In the 1960’s a biologist named Alexandru Sift started investigating the very odd trees that fill the forest.

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He never did find an explanation for the shape of the trees, but after a series of scientific surveys, Alexandru claimed that he constantly felt the ‘shadows’ were watching him, and experienced mysterious sound phenomena, such as giggling female voices, rustling, and chattering teeth. His experiences have been shared by many, many visitors to the strange forest, especially the experience of ‘living’ shadows.

Later in 1968, a ufo was photographed above the forest, which has been held up by Ufologists since as one of the more plausible pieces of photographic evidence. Visitors reporting strange lights and floating orbs here is relatively commonplace, as is the strange effect reported by hundreds of people upon entering the forest of experiencing extreme nausea, panic attacks, headaches, and even skin burns. Is this UFO radiation? Geiger Counter wielding visitors say no, but what’s causing these unpleasant symptoms?

There are TONS of stories relating any number of other bizarre things associated with the woods, my personal favorite being the little girl who entered the forest, disappeared for years, and eventually exited with no awareness any time had passed and who hadn’t aged a day. Stories such as this have led to conjecture that a time or dimensional portal lies within the woods. Regardless of WHICH paranormal thingee is goin’ on in them thare woods, I’d imagine it’d make a great destination location for anybody interested in the otherworldly.

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A Bad Day for Bigfoot

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I’m sort of gobsmacked that it took this long for anyone to actually do this, but Michel Sartori, an entomologist at the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne, Switzerland and his co-author Bryan Sykes, a prominent human geneticist at the University of Oxford, have gathered ‘bigfoot’ and ‘yeti’ hair samples gathered from various cryptid museums and submitted them for DNA testing.

Sykes believed that science hadn’t really given a fair shake investigating claims of ‘anomalous primates’ and suspected that they might actually be remnant neanderthals. Certainly, they wouldn’t be the first species believed to be extinct only to pop up in the modern age. Cryptozoologists were more than happy to help as well, like Loren Coleman, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine. “The proper scientific point of view is not to dismiss any hypothesis out of hand but simply to subject it to testing,” is the thought of Norman MacLeod of The Natural History Museum in London, author of an accompanying commentary on the research. And we agree.

But unfortunately…

Of the more than 30 hair samples gathered for testing, none were unidentified. They were found to be from bears, horses, porcupines, cows, and members of the canine family. “I cannot say that the sasquatch or related animal does not exist,” says Sartori, “But at the moment I have no evidence of the existence of these creatures.”

The most interesting thing to come from the study was that one of the bear samples matched DNA from a polar bear bone found in 2004 which was dated as being 10,000 years old. Although the result is still preliminary and requires further testing, it certainly stirred up interest and speculation that perhaps the ‘yeti’ sightings are not in fact a new species of hominid but instead a new or very, very old unknown species mix of a polar and brown bear.

While the study didn’t yield the results desired, at least for cryptozoologists, I would imagine that they were glad just to know for sure what they had. While it may not have shown proof for the existence of a Sasquatch as previously speculated, perhaps we’ve gotten the first lead in this mystery as to what the source of the hundreds of sightings over the years actually were. Would you be terribly disappointed to find out Bigfoot was a unknown species of bear instead of a primate? From a cryptozoological point of view, it seems like a win either way.

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Conjoined Twins about to beat long-held longevity record

This Saturday, history will change…forever. At least in a Guinness Book of World Records sort of way. Already extremely rare (like, between 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 200,000) and with only a 25% chance of early survival, while a staple of the traveling freakshow (although many were faked), conjoined twins aren’t exactly something you see every day. Which is why Ronnie and Donnie Gaylon of Beavercreek Ohio are celebrating.

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The brothers are about to hit the 62 years, 8 months and 7 day mark, which will make them the longest lived conjoined twins in recorded history. They’ve been counting down for months and have been excitedly marking down the days on the calendar. Hoping the Guinness Book contacts them in October when they celebrate their 63rd birthday is hopefully going to be the absolute cake topper for the pair.

Having lived in poor health for years, the community raised 170,000 dollars for the brothers to renovate their home where they were being cared for by their younger brother Jim and his wife. “It was to the point where they couldn’t do anything on their own anymore,” said Jim. But since getting community help and a special bed donated by Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, their health and disposition has greatly improved.

The twins performed in circus sideshows up until 1991 when they retired, and since getting all the help, they’ve been able to regularly attend baseball games, go fishing, and have a normal life. But the big goal is to outlast the famous Chang Twins.

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More power to you, Ronnie and Donnie. The Museum of the Weird is rootin’ for ya! The Chang’s reign of long-lived terror will finally be over.

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The Most Dangerous Museum in the World

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Ed and Lorraine Warren: two of the most controversial and famous figures in the history of the paranormal. Haven’t heard of them? Well, of course you have. Indirectly, maybe. The 2013 film “The Conjuring” had Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson playing the two adventuresome occultists as they tried to save a family from their severely haunted home in Rhode Island. But did you know that “The Haunting in Connecticut” and “The Amityville Horror” were also based (loosely) on some famous hauntings that they were involved in? And that’s far from all, as many of the most infamous haunted locations in the 20th century were investigated and reported on by the couple, who claim to have looked into over 10,000 cases over the length of their career.

Of course, there’s been no end of skeptics of the pair over the years. The Amityville Case was pretty much entirely debunked point by point and the pair’s claims on cases such as their exorcism of a ‘werewolf demon” got them more than a few sharp looks. But that has never stopped the legions of fans from following their exploits.

Recently with the exposure to their history that came with “The Conjuring” Lorraine (sadly now widowed) has appeared in lots of media to talk about their experiences and give tours of the museum they built below their home in Connecticut, filled with some of the creepiest artifacts ever collected in one place. Not the least of which, and certainly the biggest lure to seekers of the creepy, is their rag doll named “Annabelle”.

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A creepier looking version of the doll was featured in “The Conjuring” but the actual doll’s story is just as frightening: bought in the 1970’s the doll would move about on its own and leave handwritten notes for the family who bought it. When it started spontaneously leaking blood, they thought it was time to get professional help and called in a medium who claimed the doll had been possessed by the spirit of a girl named Annabelle who had died under mysterious circumstances on their property, and just wanted a family to be loved by. Welcoming the spirit in their home, the family learned the most important rule about dealing with the dead: they lie.

After several of their friends were attacked by the doll (seriously), the fam got clued in that something was rotten in Denmark, and it probably wasn’t the ghost of Hamlet. Cue the Warrens who got called in by a priest who realized the case was beyond his abilities. Ed and Lorraine concluded it was an inhuman demonic spirit inhabiting the doll that was given power when attention was paid to it by the medium. They had an exorcism performed and took the doll with them when they left.

It didn’t take. Even on the way home with the doll in the car, their vehicle was buffeted about the highway dangerously. The doll would spontaneously levitate and move about their residence. Many people, especially those who verbally doubted the veracity of Annabelle’s power, were hurt and killed over the years while it took up residence in their home. Eventually they moved her into the basement and put her in a specially made locked case with warnings all over it. But even then, one loud doubter died on his way back from the museum.

You can still go to Lorraine’s home and take the tour, where you can see voodoo dolls, cursed mirrors, and any number of reportedly paranormally infested items that all have stories behind them and with some, fatalities. But Annabelle seems to be the one to be polite to. Or steer clear of entirely.

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NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE.

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Classic Sideshow Acts: The Girl into the Gorilla

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A crowd is brought into a darkened tent. A beautiful girl is in a cage, often in jungle clothes (tiger-skin bikini and the like), and she stares forlornly out into the crowd. Sometimes it’s explained that she’s a genetic abnormality found deep in the forbidden jungles of the Amazon. Sometimes, she was the sad by-product of a mad scientist’s experiments. Regardless, the crowd knows what they’re there for: this beautiful girl to change into a gorilla right in front of their very eyes.

This trick, or varieties of it, has been a staple of the sideshow since the 19th century and it’s still performed today in a variety of forms. The technique is called “Pepper’s Ghost”, named after the British scientist and inventor John Henry Pepper who expanded upon and improved an earlier trick called the “Dircksian Phantasmagoria”. Using angled glass, lights, and a second identical room that is slowly transposed or morphed onto the primary, the concept is used daily at Walt Disney World in The Haunted Mansion, is seen in the Bond movie “Diamonds are Forever”, various museums in the UK, and even in an episode of the children’s show. “The Magic School Bus”.

Regardless, we miss the wonder of the original sideshow effect, as the woman became a beast, burst through her bars and chased the screaming audience out of the tent past carnies prepared for the mad rush of laughing and scared locals. While we don’t (currently) have a Girl-to-Ape attraction at The Museum of the Weird, we like to think we capture the spirit of these traveling shows. The next time you’re in Austin, Texas, make sure to come see us down on historic 6th street…and prepared to possibly run screaming out of a room yourself!