The Truth is Out There…

…not just a tagline of the X-Files and a movie. From movies about Aliens to Harry and the Hendersons to Conspiracy Theories, pop culture’s fascination with these unknowns has been around for centuries and I am sure will be around for centuries more until the definitive answer is found. Science and common sense have always been at odds with the thinking of the unknown and possibilities of unknown life when sufficient scientific evidence and documentation of events eludes them. As we continue to discover new species daily, continue to explore the vast universe and uncover new evidence that actually proves conspiracy theories right, can we really eliminate the possibility of the unknown? There is no exact science, so for now the truth will remain elusive.

The Undiscovered and Cryptozoology: Aliens, Vampire, Werewolves, and Zombies… Oh My!

The term cryptozoology was first used by Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans to characterized the study of “hidden animals”, the existence of known animals in places where they are not expected to occur, and animals though to be extinct. The idea came from the discovery of exotic animals through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries such as the gorilla, giant squid and the coelecanth. The primary interest of cryptozoology today are animals such as the Loch Ness monster and other lake monsters, Bigfoot and other living hominoids, and the idea of living dinosaurs.( Animal Planet- Cryptozoology Facts and The International Cryptozoology Museum)
Aliens are considered non legal residence of a country whoops that’s not the kind we are talking about. Extraterrestrials aka aliens is defined by the dictionary as any being from another world. Simple enough. The most famous alien incident as we know took place in Roswell, NM in 1947 where several people claimed a UFO crashed and bodies were removed to Area 51. A video of the autopsy appeared years later however critics could not agree on the authenticity. The most popular sighting of aliens would be UFOs or unidentifiable flying objects. There are an average of 70,000 reported UFO sightings each year worldwide with an average of 192 per day with no UFO having ever been tracked on radar entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Interesting stats that 1 in 5 Americans believe in alien abductions with men more likely than women to believe and 1 in 7 Americans say they know someone or they have encountered a UFO. According to UFO experts, the Men in Black really do exist as they have been hammering on the doors of witnesses ever since the first appearance of UFOs in 1947. (damn Mormons always knocking on the door at the most inopportune times) (News Realities)
Vampires are mythical or folkloric beings who feed off the life essence such as blood from living creatures whether they are living or dead. Vampires go back to prehistoric times, however the term vampire was not popularized until the 18th century when an influx of vampire superstition came to Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe although local variants gave them different names such as vrykolakas and strigoi. The increase belief led to mass hysteria even in some cases lead to corpses being staked and people accused of vampirism. Modern vampire writers such as Stephenie Meyer, Anne Rice, Stephen King and countless others drew inspirations from the rich oral tradition. The most famous vampire would be Bram Stoker’s Dracula who drew his inspiration from Romanian Prince Vlad Tepes (1431-1476) who was not an actual vampire and seen as a national hero in Romania. Vlad Tepes also known as Vlad Dracul, a name he receives from his father who belonged to the Order of the Dragon which were Knights who upheld Christianity and defend the empire against the Ottoman Turks. One of the most famous “true vampires” was Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) who was accused of biting the flesh of girls she tortured and bathed in the blood to retain her youthful appearance. One of the earliest accounts of vampires would be ancient Sumerian and Babylonian myth dating to 4,000 B.C. which talks of ekimmu or edimmu (one who is snatched away) a type of uruku or utukku (spirit or demon) who if not buried properly will return as a vengeful spirit to suck the life out of the living.(Vampire Facts and Vampire Types)
Where as in Native American legends a skin walker is a person with the supernatural ability to turn into any animal he or she desires, a werewolves is a human with the ability to shape shift into a wolf or a wolf like creature either through a curse, affliction or purposely. The transformation is usually associated with a full moon. In the religion and cultural lore of the Southwestern tribes, skin walkers are witches who alter their shapes to resemble their desired animal even inherit their speed, strength or cunning. Most cultures around the world have their won shape shifting legends as the best known around the world are werewolves who have been around as far back as the 1500’s when they appeared in European legends, while in India they believe in were-tigers, in Africa there are stories of were-leopards and were-jackals and Egyptians talk of a were-hyena. Some Native Americans believe the skin walker can use a person’s spit, hair, clothing or shoes to place a curse or inhabit the mind of a person and control their behavior. Locking eyes with one can also lead to sickness and death. So it just goes to show you that you can’t trust anyone or at least carry some silver on you because you never know when you might need it.(Skinwalker Facts, Skinwalker Ranch and Werewolf Facts)
Zombies or the Walking Dead are defined as animated corpses resurrected by mystical means such as witchcraft, a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness yet ambulant and able to response to stimuli and in modern terms applies to an undead being in horror fiction like you guess it the Walking Dead. Since the 19th century, zombies have received notoriety in North American and European folklore. There are many different types of zombies in stories and movies throughout history, so how do we know which one we will be fighting? Although it is best to prepare for all types such as in Zombieland, most experts and survivalist believe viral zombies will be the stuff of nightmares for us all therefore the best guide to use would be Max Brooks’ Zombie Survival Guide to fight these zombies. Just for your information the types of possible zombies include Viral/Parasitic Zombies, Radiation Zombies, Experiment-Gone-Wrong Zombies, Voodoo Zombies and of course my favorite “Rise from the Dead” Zombies.” According to Live Science, the Oxford English Dictionary claims the word “zombie” first appeared in English around 1810 when historian Robert Southey mentioned it in his book “History of Brazil.” This “zombi” though referred to the West African deity and would later be defined as the vital, human force leaving the shell of a body and ultimately a creature in human form lacking the self-awareness, intelligence and soul or flesh eating zombie we know and love. The folklore was imported to Haiti and elsewhere from Africa through the slave trade.(Survival Facts and Random Facts)

Conspiracy Theories or Hidden Truth

A conspiracy theory tries to explain an important social, political, or economic event as being caused or covered up by a covert group or organization. These theories are often dismissed as claims of paranoia and can be linked to urban legends. When events have significant impact on our lives we try to make sense of the events in a spiritual, political, moral or scientific way. Sometimes such events make use look deeper for meaning until we are satisfied. The features and reasoning behind a theory can build up over time with many people adding their opinion whether an argument for or against making the conspiracy grow such as the Kennedy assassination where many films and books were made leading some to believe the actual culprit may have been lost under the theory.
Conspiracy theories have become part of pop culture from Roswell to the death of Princess Diana and they persist in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Conspiracy theories offer an alternative outlook on historical events even though its based on little to no evidence and sometimes misinterprets the evidence. The theories range from valid possible interpretations of events to the truly bizarre beliefs in an alternate reality. Conspiracies happen in all walks of life as it is illegal to conspire, conspiracies are cloaked in secrecy which adds to its speculative nature as well as the excuse used to mask the lack of evidence in more unreal theories.( Explanations, Comprehensive List, Some More Lists and Proven to Be Real Conspiracy Theories)

Do you believe? Until Next time the search for truth continues…

DISCLAIMER: These playlist are awesome but are not mine nor the videos. The opinions and views expressed here are not mine and are left up to the viewer and reader to decide what is truth and not. So don’t take yourself so seriously! In my opinion, the subject matter is interesting as people all over the world believe in the above so maybe there is some truth to it or not who cares believe what you want. As in all situation the believer or the accused however you view it has the burden of proof. The alleged guilty are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law…sorry, I just always wanted to say that.