It has been a while since I have updated Cryptoworld, partly because I have been busy with other projects, but mostly because there hasn’t been a great deal of (weird) news that I have found interesting enough to write about.

I must confess I have even considered closing Cryptoworld, but there seems to be a steady readership of some of the older articles, and there are plenty of people making new and interesting comments every week.

Over the last few days I decided to write down a list of the pros and cons for keeping Cryptoworld alive, and surprisingly keeping it alive came out as a clear winner. So over the next few weeks I am going to start making some changes, expanding the topics covered, redesigning a few areas and generally giving the whole site a shake up.

Your comments and suggestions would be appreciated, especially if you have an idea that would help improve the usability of the site or make the user experience more enjoyable. Suggestions for new topics or perhaps a re-visit to an old story would also be good. Basically I would like to hear what you do and don’t like about Cryptoworld.

Comments are open, so let me know what you think.

Beaches, Caves, Nymphs and Dragons

Well, Cryptoworld is back from a well earned break in very-sunny Kefelonia. The island is beautiful and although it is technically a tourist destination, it is really easy to find a quiet spot away from the bright pink bodies - that are laid out like sausages on the beach, sizzling in the sun. They almost look like a kind of offering to the Greek sun-god Helios!

If you delve back before the earthquake of 1953 and the second Word War, even before Louis De Bernieres Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, you will find a whole wealth of magical history, find weird and wonderful natural geological sights and stories of strange creatures and monsters.

Continue reading →

I know I know, it was only a few days ago that Cryptoworld disappeared for a vacation - well although we did sit in the sun and mess around in a swimming pool for a few days, we were busy researching some Wiltshire mysteries, black dogs, haunted houses and the like, which we will write about soon.

But in the mean time, well for the next two weeks, Cryptoworld is off to Greece, nothing too exciting, no expedition in search of cryptids (unfortunately). But we will probably be sweating in the hot sun and no doubt drinking some local poison way into the early hours.

We are off to the Greek island of Kefalonia, and plan to explore some of its weird history. Updates will probably be far and few, so if you don’t hear anything, don’t worry - we are probably just up a mountain or exploring a cove somewhere.

So (yassas) goodbye for now, see you in two weeks.

Cryptoworld will be out of communication range for a few days as we are going to explore the surrounding Wiltshire countryside.

If all goes to plan we should be back on Saturday, so if you leave a comment or try and contact us, you may have to wait a few days for a response.

Lets hope the weather holds, speak to you all soon…

Thanks to everybody for pointing out there was a problem with the site over the weekend. Something weird happened to the database and caused the pictures in the articles and gallery to stop working.

I spent most of yesterday (Monday) trying to work out what was causing the problem, but in the end had to drop the database tables for the pictures and reload/start again. A bit a pain as I had to go through every post and re-link the pictures.

The Mongolian Expedition Gallery is still not working properly, but I intend to resolve that this afternoon, but if you notice anything else going a bit weird - please let me know via the contact form .

Thanks again, Dave

Weird Weekend 2005

It’s that time of year again! Craziness with the CFZ!

So if you have nothing better to do over the weekend of the 18th-20th August, then I highly recommend you head down to Devon and have some damn find crypto-fun!

Highlights will definitely include some alcohol, giggles, a damn good meal or two and Richard Freeman looking very dapper in his Gambia-Stained Safari Suit… nice!

A recent mailer from CFZ’s Jon concerning the Weird Weekend is as follows:

For the seventh year running, devotees of the weird and wonderful, the strange and supernatural, and the downright odd will be converging into Devon for what has become the biggest event of this type of the year. The weekend of 18-20th August, will see the little North Devon village of Woolfardisworthy (Woolsery), becoming the weirdest village in the land!

The ‘Weird Weekend’ was the brainchild of Jonathan Downes (46), Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology the world’s largest cryptozoological (mystery animal research) organization.

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[inspic=15,right,,thumb]Up to 25 people where injured at this years annual Cheese Chase at Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire (UK).

Some 3000 spectators watched this years event, cheering on contestants from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States, as they raced 200 metres down a steep slope after the wheel-shaped Double Gloucester cheese, decorated in a blue and red ribbon.

Out of the 25 people hurt, 12 were spectators, one of whom was hit by one of the hard, dinner-plate-sized cheeses used in the race.

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[inspic=27,right,,thumb]This week, the Egyptian geologist Dr Aly Abd Barakat visited central Bosnia, to give his views on the hills that amateur archaeologist Semir Osmanagic claims are 12,000 year old pyramids. After visiting all three sites, named by Osmanagic as the Bosnian Pyramids of Sun, Moon and Dragon, Dr Aly Abd Barakat said the hills did appear to be primitive human-made pyramids of uncertain age.

Huge stone blocks have been found at the sites and it was Dr Baraket's conclusion, that they were made manually and polished in a similar way to those of the Egyptian Pyramids. The purpose of polishing is believed to reflect sun light, making the Pyramids visible from a great distance.

Continue reading →

With the resent wave of TV programs and tabloid interest in all things weird, it seems that more and more people are believing in monsters, ufo’s, ghosts and previously poo-pooed subjects, but why? Are we all so totally fed up with reality TV and stories of war that we need something new to stimulate our tiny minds? Maybe? But I think this is an exciting time, if more people are looking for these things, the greater the chance of actually finding something tangible, and the more evidence they find the more they will want to look. But it’s interesting how we can swing from cynic to believer so quickly. More than half of the UK population believe in UFOs, and a staggeringly large amount of Americans are convinced the US Government are in contact or in league with Aliens. Are they? Should we be worried?

Loch Ness Monster?

Bigfoot, Nesse and Monster hunting have become big business, with more and more expeditions being planned all over the world, and with large rewards for the capture of some of these beasts you can understand why. Believe it or not, a $1 million reward for the capture of the Loch Ness Monster has been announced! Yep you read it right - Loren Coleman has said the bounty would be paid by a US firm who has an interest in cryptozoology (the study of hidden, rumoured or unknown creatures). Who is this firm and why do they want a live Nesse? Are they planning a Nesse-World theme park? Apparently, the cash will only be paid if it’s captured ‘Alive’, pictures won’t do - so put your cameras away and go buy yourselves a very large fishing net!

Mokele-mbembe footprint?

Another fascinating, but slightly bizarre reason for an expedition is planned by Creation Generation. A quick glance at their Mission Statement will explain! But nerveless, the 2006 expedition to Equatorial Africa, in search of Mokele-mbembe (The Living Dinosaur) sounds very interesting indeed. Previous expeditions in the 80s and 90s turned up some interesting information and eyewitness accounts. The team believe Mokele-mbembe is a real living animal and not just a legend. A semi aquatic animal, a strict vegetarian, but probably very dangerous if approached.

Japanese expeditions in 1988 and 1992 resulted in frequent observations of a large animal moving around in a lake as if foraging on the bottom. And a joint search by CryptoSafari and the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club in 2001 were told by witnesses that the mokeles were not forest-dwelling animals, they lived solely in rivers and swamp pools and only ventured ashore to eat the leaves of trees. If discovered, the Mokele-mbembe would definitely be the greatest zoological discovery of all time.

Mongolian Almas?

Extreme Expeditions are planning to return to Mongolia in 2006; their expedition in 2003 to look for the Allghoi Khorkhoi (Death worm) was the inspiration for our trip this year. This time they are looking for the Almas, a strange apelike creatures allegedly resembling Neanderthal man. They are also hoping to revisit some areas where the Allghoi Khorkhoi has been sighted. The CFZ and Cryptoworld are also planning expeditions next year; Cryptoworld would like to re-visit Mongolia to follow up reports of the Allghoi Khorkhoi, and there is talk of a trip to New Zealand, investigating stories of the Giant Gecko lizard.

The next 12 months are definitely going to be an exciting time, if you’ve been on an expedition, or have an idea for one that you would like to share with us, please contact Cryptoworld via our Contact Page.