In many countries, the joyous feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated on December 6th. However, in countries like Austria, Germany, and Hungary, St. Nicholas travels with a frightening companion named, Krampus. While St. Nicholas rewards all of the good boys and girls with presents and treats, Krampus handles punishing the bad ones. Krampus is usually seen with a bundle of sticks he switches the bad children with. Even worse is the bag he wears on his back, which he uses to haul away the particularly bad ones for him to feast on at the end of the day. We don’t know about you, but the idea of a horned beast beating children or eating them for dinner is much stronger motivation for being good than a jovial and sweet looking St. Nicholas.
Krampus Day is typically celebrated on December 5th with a Krampuslauf, which is where people dressed as Krampus run through a town. These Krampus runs are taking place in more and more locations across the globe as the legend gains popularity. The Krampuslauf in Graz, Austria is one of the biggest runs and is known for its amazing display of costumes. This is definitely one of the trips on the list of “must do trips” for the team at Believe It Tour.
Even though we’re a little late on wishing you a Merry Krampus and reminding you to be good for more than goodness sake, we felt it was time for a Believe It Tour Krampuskarten (a Krampus card). Please heed our warning this Christmas season to be as good as you can be in the hope that St. Nicholas comes knocking at your door instead of Krampus.
Are you still looking for that one-of-a-kind item that will absolutely thrill and completely excite the people you’re getting gifts for this holiday season? Here are some great ideas to help fill Santa’s bag.
Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost Shirt
There is still time to order from our Believe It Tour store. You’ll find merchandise like the Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost T-Shirt, which is perfect for late night paranormal investigations. Extraordinary artifacts from mysterious places like sand gathered from what is thought to be the Lost City of Atlantis off the Island of Bimini. There are even some fun toys for all of you Zombie lovers.
Now when you want to get specific with your favorite cryptozoology subjects you can head over to our other store, Bigfoot Surplus. The original supplier of Bigfoot merchandise that has something for everyone from active field researchers to pop culture followers. The most popular item is the real Bigfoot track cast from the Patterson Gimlin film site of 1967. Followed by the favorite Bigfoot t-shirt designs for men, women, and children. There are even some special holiday items that are perfect stocking stuffers.
Patterson Film Site Track Cast
If you’re interested in supporting other active cryptozoloogists or Bigfoot researchers there’s even a holiday Bigfoot gift bag stuffed with many of the favorites from Bigfoot Surplus that are offered at a special price. A portion of the proceeds from this holiday gift will be going to our friends at the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
If you want to be reminded of Bigfoot all year round, our friend Sharon – The Bigfoot Field Reporter, put together a 2012 Bigfoot Researcher Calendar with each month featuring a different Bigfoot researcher. (It even features your’s truly along with fellow Believe It Tour explorer, Diana Smith, for the month of June).
The countdown has begun, so hurry and finish up your Christmas shopping with some very unique gifts that all the cryptozoology enthusiests, ghost hunters, or UFO trackers on your list will really appreciate and love.
Fitting for Halloween our spooky photo collection from the recent Believe It Tour – Old Haunts trip is now available for viewing. This includes the days spent in Transylvania visiting all the legendary Dracula locations.
Believe It Tour’s official tour guide, Michael Esordi, also shares images from his search for other vampire and werewolf hotspots. Plus other creatures, legends and folklore from the region of Michael’s roots.
Days away from the favorite holiday of Believe It Tour, Halloween. Here is our Ghoul Log to get you all in the spirit of the night. Makes for a great background loop to play at your Halloween party too.
In planning the Believe It Tour trip to Michigan, there is no doubt that we would have to cover the legend of the Nain Rouge that haunts Detroit.
To learn as much as possible about the Nain Rouge I started corresponding with an expert on the topic, Josef Bastian. Josef is the author of the book aptly titled, Nain Rouge, and will be guiding us to some of the historic locations in Detroit tied to sightings of this creature.
The Legend of the Nain Rouge As Told By Josef Bastian
The Nain Rouge (or Red Dwarf) had been a part of the natural world, existing long before the coming of humans. In the region the Chippewa called “Meicigama”, meaning great water, The Nain Rouge made his home near the narrow straits between the two lakes. This was the area that the later French settlers were to name “Detroit”, or the straits.
As the Steward of Straits, the Nain Rouge was responsible for keeping harmony and balance in the natural world near the straits of the great river. He befriended all living things; plants, animals and eventually the native tribes that began to settle the land.
It was not until the French settlers arrived that the Nain Rouge began causing trouble. It seemed that Antoine de Mothe Cadillac and his band of explorers bought some land from the natives, while stealing other tracts of land without cause or permission. The Nain Rouge could feel the discord resonating around him and knew that he must confront Cadillac and his men.
At first, the Nain Rouge was cordial and diplomatic. All this changed when Cadillac welcomed him into his quarters, only to mock him and decry his stewardship over the land. A quarrel began and soon turned into an angry brawl, causing great injury to Cadillac and his officers. The Nain Rouge was beaten mercilessly during the fight and fled from the settlement in anger and pain.
It is said that as he ran away, a curse was flung from his lips onto the entire region of Detroit. The curse, it is rumored, befalls anyone who creates evil of their own will, empowering the Nain Rouge with greater and greater strength throughout the centuries.
Now, the Nain Rouge is often seen just before a tragic event; a harbinger of doom that revels in the downfall of humanity.
Recently, there have been many more sightings of the Nain Rouge. He seems to be growing in power.
Some say the times are bad. Some say it is only getting worse.
Mercy Brown’s life:
Mercy Lena Brown, born 8/2/1872, was the fourth of six children of Mary (Arnold)
and George Thomas Brown. Her father George was a farmer in rural Exeter, RI and an upstanding member of the community. Historians believe Mercy’s life and aspirations were similar to those of other young women of her upbringing and time: she helped to care for her younger siblings, tended the farm and home to sustain the family’s livelihood, and probably dreamed of getting married and having a family of her own.
The tragedy:
Tuberculosis (TB), known as “consumption” for the way it slowly ravished its victim’s bodies, was the leading cause of death in the 19th century and caused widespread panic since there was no cure for it at that time. One symptom of TB was that its victims coughed up large amounts of blood, which some construed as evidence of evil and vampirism.
Among its victims were Mercy’s mother and sister in the late 1800s and her only brother, Edwin, began to show symptoms in 1890. By the autumn of 1891, Mercy contracted a rapidly progressing form of the disease known as “galloping” TB and died on January 17, 1892. Until the ground thawed enough for burial, Mercy’s body was stored inside a crypt near the graves of her mother and sister at the Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Exeter.
Rural families were less likely to contract TB since they were in sparsely populated areas, but since several members of the Brown family had been affected, a classic New England hysteria, not unlike the Salem Witch Trials, descended upon the town.
The legend begins:
Mr. Brown was besieged by villagers who believed one of his deceased family members was the cause of his son Edwin’s prolonged illness. Brown, himself, did not accept the theory but agreed to an investigation supervised by medical examiner Harold Metcalf, MD, of Wickford, Rhode Island.
Upon arriving at the cemetery, Dr. Metcalf found villagers had unearthed Mercy’s mother and sister. The villagers believed that if blood ran from the heart, it was proof the corpse was the culprit. However, there were no signs of blood in either corpse. Dr. Metcalf then examined Mercy’s body from the crypt. Her lungs showed diffuse tuberculosis and her heart had blood in it. Dr. Metcalf knew this would not have been unusual given it was stored in cold weather for a brief period of time, but villagers interpreted it as fresh blood. A fire was kindled atop a stone wall near the grave sites, Mercy’s heart was removed, and reduced to ash before she was buried, which seemed to satisfy the villagers. It was said that the ashes were fed to Mercy’s brother Edwin in the hopes of curing his own TB, but that detail remains unverified and Edwin died later that spring.
There are no known photographs, drawings, or letters from Mercy Brown. The only remaining item is a patchwork quilt she made, which is currently in the possession of distant relatives. Accounts of what happened that March in Exeter were found among Bram Stoker’s belongings and were said to be inspirations in writing Dracula, the 1897 horror novel.
To learn more and help a good cause, come to the Believe It Tour – True Blood Drive on Friday, June 24, 5-8pm at the Rhode Island Blood Center.
Am I the only one that’s wondering where the real James “Bobo” Fay is on Animal Planet’s show Finding Bigfoot? Watching the episodes, I feel bad that Bobo is basically used as a prop. A Squatch stand-in if you will.
Bobo Fay and Mike Esordi looking for Bigfoot tracks near Orleans, California
In real life, Bobo is quite a character and a very funny guy. All of us in the Bigfoot community, that have been on expeditions with Bobo or have just hung out with him at a Bigfoot event, know that he’s much more animated than portrayed on Finding Bigfoot.
I’ll never forget the time, at the opening of the Bigfoot Wing at the China Flat Museum in Willow Creek, California, when I was having lunch during the break with Bobo, Daniel Perez, and a few others. This was the first time I met Bobo and he had me in stitches. Between the serious stories Daniel was sharing and the side commentary that was provided by Bobo it made for quite an entertaining afternoon.
Don’t get me wrong, Bobo takes the research side extremely seriously and he’s very knowledgeable about the subject. He just knows how to have fun along with all of that.
Knowing what it’s like to be in the field with Bobo, I can’t help, but think that Finding Bigfoot would be a much better show if they included some of the real Bobo rather than just the big guy that makes for a good Squatch comparison.
The Believe It Tour fundraising auction is going full swing with several collectible items already sent off to winning bidders. However, don’t worry about missing out since there are still more great items to be posted.
Today, we started accepting bids for one of the highlight items in the auction. It’s an authentic Bigfoot footprint cast from the legendary Patterson-Gimlin film site of 1967 in Bluff Creek, California. Not only is this one of the most famous tracks for Bigfoot enthuiests, but it’s been signed by Bob Gimlin, which makes this a very collectible piece.
In addition to the winning bid receiving the plaster cast, the lucky recipent will also receive a 5×7 photo of Bob Gimlin autographing the cast. The photo will look great displayed next to the cast.
Bid on the Bob Gimlin autographed Bigfoot cast – CLICK TO BID
To view all the other items up for auction and to keep an eye out for up coming items please visit the Help Support the Tour page. Thanks and good luck bidding!
Before Finding Bigfoot became a show on Animal Planet, finding Bigfoot is what the Bigfoot researchers I know spend hours upon hours of their lives trying to do. The team of Matt Moneymaker, Cliff Barackman, James “Bobo” Fay, and Ranae Holland were fortunate enough to have their research documented for a new TV show.
I am just as excited as many others I know, to watch Finding Bigfoot tonight. The part I was disappointed to learn was all the negative press on the fact that producers of the show added in wood-knocking without marking it as a simulation. Knowing Bobo and Cliff and how serious they are about Bigfoot research it’s a shame to have their work tainted in the eyes of the viewers that only hear the negative side of the story.
For me, I am all for introducing Bigfoot research to more people. I will gladly be watching this evening and try to view it as someone unfamiliar with the field to see how they might perceive it. I’m sure after the show many of us will be discussing the show and if it was helpful to the many dedicated researchers out there trying to find Bigfoot.
Bobo Fay, Diana Smith, and Mike Esordi on the road to Bluff Creek. Our own Finding Bigfoot during Believe It Tour Calfornia
Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet Sundays at 10pm. After watching the show let us know what you think.
A few days ago a huge carcass of a strange creature washed up under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, on the Manhattan side. Covered in scales with a head that resembled a pit bull, this decaying mystery beast had people making all sorts of claims. However, the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation has come out to say it is nothing other than an Atlantic sturgeon.
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