Shake Hands With The Treeman

Posted by scottsplatter on

This is really quite remarkable. An Indonesian man has what dermatologists are now suggesting is Human Papilloma Virus. Under normal circumstances the disease generates small warts on the skin, like plantar warts etc. There is also an STD version of the infection.

In this man’s case however he has an immune system that isn’t able to contain the warts, and they have blossomed root like branches that have pocked his body and entirely consumed his hands. It has cost him his family and ability to work, and it would seem from looking at him many other simple activities in life. Now an American doctor is hopeful that a treatment of synthetic Vitamin A will get the warts under control.

Edit: Unfortunately on reviewing the archive it appears the original pictures and video are no longer available.

Spookatorium 017

Posted by scottsplatter on

Well, this was intended to be the second annual Halloween episode… it is a bit late. Listen to it through pumpkin shaped headphones if you will. Halloween is a time of year and a feeling in the air, not simply a day on the calendar.

This episode looks into ghostly sightings and communication with the dead through various gadgetry. Our first stop is among the urban legends and paranormal sightings on a secluded lane known as Zombie Road in western St. Louis County. And looks briefly at investigations by missourighosts.net and the Missouri Paranormal Research Group.

Then it is off to 1930’s Britain for a peek at the contraptions of the Askir-Jobson Trianion Guild, who with information they claim to have received from a deceased colleague created devices to facilitate communication with spirits.

Another person who more recently claims to have received instructions from entities on building a device to communicate with the dead is Frank Sumption. His creation, quaintly called “Frank’s Box” or “The Ghost Box” uses more modern electronics to create what he believe is a live EVP receiver. You can check out the schematics for the device here, Coast to Coast AM did a show on the subject as well that you can check out here, and I have included a video of the device in action for you to judge for yourself.

Finally, we take a look at the theories behind the talking board, or Ouija board, from the Spiritualist and Atomatistic points of view. You can find a mess of Ouija stories and transcriptions here at the Grave Addiction site and I’d recommend checking out the Museum Of Talking Boards for a great photo gallery of various talking boards over the years.

In addition the ghastly harmonies of the following break up the sound of my voice…

LOUIS ARMSTRONG
THE ROHAN THEATRE BAND
BLACK MAYONNAISE
HADIT
THE DEAD BROTHERS
ULTHAR
MERCYFUL FATE
GOATVARGR
BAUHAUS
MONDBLUT
SCHLOSS TEGAL
DARVULIA
THE HANDSOME FAMILY
THOSE POOR BASTARDS
SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES
HEID
AH CAMA-SOTZ

With background accompaniment from
GEOMATIC
A MURDER OF ANGELS
INNANA
BRIGHTER DEATH NOW

Thanks again for having a listen, my apologies for the lateness of the episode. The next one should come much faster, and I have a few stories saved up for the site as well.

Professor Gruntsplatter’s Spookatorium 017

– Prof. Gruntsplatter

Crypto Happenings: Follow Up

Posted by scottsplatter on

This is a follow up the the story posted below about the alleged Chupacabra in Cuervo, Texas. DNA tests have been conducted on the creature, using material from its head and have determined that it is a Texas Coyote. Livescience.com also recently ran an article called “How Monsters are Made” which explores this as well as a recent Bigfoot sighting a bit closer.

Their premise is that frequently it is simply disease that give normal animals the appearance of something extraordinary. It’s a theory that I have held in relation to the myths of “monsters” through history as well. How often were the horrible creatures of legend simply regular people afflicted with some sickness, mutation or deficiency that science was unaware of and the general populace had never witnessed? The examples I could give might seem insensitive now, but in times of limited knowledge and dubious science those things we empathize with now could certainly have been perceived as monstrous.

– Prof. Gruntsplatter

Crypto Happenings

Posted by scottsplatter on

This story has made the rounds for a bit, but I was sort of holding off to see if anything new came out of it. In July of 2007 in Cuero, Texas, two curious creatures were hit by cars in the area. Some believe them to be chupacabra, others a disheveled coyote. The linked article is from Earthfiles.com, and includes some investigation, photos and an interview with the rancher who was most involved. I had two other articles from a local paper and an AP feed that I wanted to include here for a bit of balance and I sat on it too long and they are no longer available.

Looking at the photos, the front legs look like they have been broken severely and healed poorly. In that situation a feral animal would learn to move with it’s hind legs, I’ve seen domestic animals do the same thing. So the anatomy of shorter front legs when compared to the chupa-mythos on this animal leaves a little to be desired for me. It’s certainly a curious specimen, and the interview is intriguing, but it seems a lot of potential research wasn’t done for what may or may not be legitimate reasons.

Here’s another one that is a bit more amusing than anything else….

Reported on the 18th of October out of Charleston, South Carolina a woman called 911 to report that she may have just hit a giraffe… in South Carolina. The caller says there were two crossing the road, she tried to avoid them and struck one damaging the side mirror of her car. She believed it to be a giraffe because it was “”bigger than a horse.” Police who spoke to the woman felt it “may have been a large deer,” the caller did not want to file an official report. There is an audio clip of the 911 call with the article. It is highly unlikely that there were two giraffe roaming along the highway in South Carolina that day, the eye witness reports it was larger than a horse, and the police admit all they have to go on is the witness account. I haven’t seen any follow up on this, or even if the police did investigate what she may or may not have run into.

Johnny One Leg’s Great Adventure

Posted by scottsplatter on

This is one of those stories that is almost too absurd to believe…

John Wood had to have his leg amputated following a plane crash that killed three members of his family in 2004, including his father. If the story ended there we’d all stop for a second to feel for the guy and go back to what we were doing. The story however does not stop there.

When the leg was amputated Mr. Wood put in a request with the hospital that he wanted the leg after it was removed. It was his wish to have the bones to hold onto so that when he eventually died he could be cremated as a “full man.” To his surprise, he was presented, not with the bones, but with the fleshy leg and foot combo by the funeral home attending to the matter. He kept the leg in his freezer and despite becoming a bit of a macabre joke, all was well.

Then Mr. Wood got behind on his bills and his electricity was shut off. It was decision time for Mr. Wood, but after the plane crash, loss of family and amputation he wasn’t going to take another hit from the power man. He cut the screen from his front door, wrapped the leg in it and tied it to a a couple posts to let it dry in the sun. Once it dried he put the remains inside his barbecue smoker for safe keeping.

He eventually became homeless and was living out of a van which he also ultimately lost. His family had put all of his belongings in storage for him while he dealt with his situation. Eventually the bill for the storage space went unpaid and the contents of his storage space were put up for auction. Including the barbecue.

Enter Shannon Whisnant, the buyer of the smoker from the storage auction. He found the leg, and notified the police. Wood’s family saw the story on the news and came forward with their story. Crazy eh? Well… there is more. After surrendering the leg to police Wishnant has since changed his mind and decided he paid for the leg and wants it back to use in a Halloween display in intends to charge admission to and is willing to go to court to fight to have it back. The police have said “he doesn’t have a leg to stand on”. (yes, the police really did say that) they will return the leg to Mr. Wood to hang on his rear view mirror or whatever his next great idea is.

– Prof. Gruntsplatter

Spookatorium 016

Posted by scottsplatter on

Greetings onlookers, a new episode is up featuring the delicate melodies of the following…

NAZCA
DANTE’S VOODOO CABARET
DOWNLOAD
SPEKTR
IN GOWAN RING
POSSESSED
GRINDERMAN
PITCH SHIFTER
CAT RAPES DOG
DELLAMORTE
FRED LANE
SISTERS OF MERCY
NOVEMBER NOVELET
ARCANA
DIAPSIQUIR

With background accompaniment from
DEVA-LOKA
NOVATRON
ATOM INFANT INCUBATOR

Beyond that I also give a quick recap of recent articles from the site and offer up some new coverage. A collection of escape artists are seeking to set the world record in a one day relay of over 80 escape performances, while a grizzled old school freak takes the law into his own hands.

A pillar of the pharmaceutical industry is working on a virtual reality rig that gives the user a window into the schizophrenics world, and then there is this look at how schizophrenia fits into the evolutionary chain.

Another team working on solving our world’s energy issues are looking at cow stomachs as the golden ticket to solve our woes… environmentalist/animal rights advocates heads explode at the conundrum.

There are couple of stories from the lab regarding brain surgeries with unexpected results. One involving a skull that passed its expiration date, and another where a young boy is catapulted into the land of posh.

Also a look at some research on the Orb Phenomenon from researchers associated with NASA and the Vatican where they find that orbs are indeed of paranormal origin. I think the question remains quite open, but they feel convinced.

That’s it for this episode, next one should come much sooner. The Spookatorium Caravan relocated in the last month and I will be able to get going now on some of the additional things I want to do to make the show better. Including finding a better microphone solution…

Professor Gruntsplatter’s Spookatorium 016

Keep your wiggle funky,

– Prof. Gruntsplatter