Urban Legends: The Giant Cockroach

Urban legends are often based on truths. Our real fears, the elaborate retellings of actual events, cultural frameworks, beliefs and values, regional lore, and good old scare and thrill the hell out of  your friends are part of urban legends.

One I remember that I believed was the giant cockroach at UCLA. Story was, scientists at UCLA raised a cockroach the size of a poodle to test pesticides. This cockroach -- the size of a small dog -- was resistant to all poisons. Nothing would kill it. In fact, it seemed to like the stuff. Finally, the scientists had to kill the giant cockroach by shooting it with a gun.

Why did I believe this? Aside from the fact I was gullible, and young (although, how young is young before you're stupid? I was 19 or 20.) I lived in L.A. UCLA was big time smart. Scientists knew everything. Working hard to improve things for the rest of us. Cockroaches were also smart. We were told we'd perish in a nuclear event, but not cockroaches. They'd survive. L.A. cockroaches were disgusting and brazen. Who wouldn't want to see the bastards die? And ones the size of poodles? Pandering to our fears -- I can't think of anything more terrifying than that.

All reasons for my belief of this tale.

I haven't done research on this regarding origins of this tale. Simply remembering the story when it was told to me. We were in a roomful of people; the person telling it, I remember, believed it. Or, was a good actor.

A Favorite UFO/Fortean Event: The Kentucky Goblins

A favorite anomalous event, one that remains a mystery more than fifty-five years later. That is the Kentucky, or Hopkinsville "goblins." Small, alien looking creatures terrified the Sutton family in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in 1955. Shots were fired, the sheriff notified. No one has resolved the mystery, though of course there are dozens of theories. And of course, the skepti-bunkies will tell you they've solved it long ago. (See debunker Joe Nickell's --"Mr. Owl" -- theory here.)

Were the Kentucky goblins aliens from outer space? Owls? Drunken, paranoid hallucinations? Elves? Inner earth entities? Two recent articles discuss this classic case.


Greg Newkirk at Who Forted? wonders if these beings haven't returned:Have the Kentucky Goblins Returned? Exclusive Photos! | Who Forted? Magazine Newkirk shares an email he received about strange creatures in the Kentucky/West Virginia area. Strange creatures that, the writer comments, seem to be coming from an "abandoned mine located on the edge of my property." Another email, more details, and... the strange path leading to the origin of a name. And, there are photos!

Newkirk asks the right questions. I empathize with his curiosity combined with skepticism. (I too have been contacted at times with tales of strange sightings and weird beings, but you always wonder if the person is honest, on crack, or what. The anomalous explorer wants it so much to be something to explore, and yet. . .) I think the first photo of the alleged being is outright fakery but really that's beside the point. In the true Fortean mileau, it doesn't matter.

Micah Hanks considers the Hopkinsville goblins as being of inner earth, and gives us more background on the original event:The Goblin's Grimoirie: Hopkinsville Reprised, or the Hollow Earth? Hanks references Newkirk's article and wonders if the beings weren't from innter earth after all.

Abandoned mines as homes for strange beings -- including Sasquatch -- a theory that has been discussed before. Wm. Micheal Mott wrote about beings living inside the earth in his classic Caverns, Cauldrons, and Concealed Creatures.

 

(Photo: Ivan T. Sanderson with goblin replica. Soure: http://www.johnkeel.com/?m=201204)

The Kentucky Hopkinsville goblins are often associated with UFOs; thought of to be aliens. There are similarities to the "greys" after all. (Assuming the greys are aliens as well.) But then we have other enticing ideas about what these "goblins" might be. Not from outer space, but inner earth. There's an idea these beings are aliens from space but also of the earth; entities of both realms. The Hopi tradition speaks of the ant people, who now live underground, but came from the skies originally. Descriptions of the ant people parallel the grays, and, the Kentucky goblins.

Here's an interesting explanation of the origin of the word "goblin" which contains a reference to mines:

Standard scholarship holds that English took goblin from the French gobelin. The problem with Goblin this is that, while Middle English had the word goblin as early as 1320, there is no record of the French word gobelin until the 16th century. Interestingly, a 12th century cleric called Ordericus Vitalis mentions Gobelinus as the name of a spirit which haunted the neighbourhood of Évreux. It is possible that gobelin evolved from the ancient Greek kobalos "rogue, knave", via the Medieval Latin cobalus. If so, it is related to the German kobold, and hence to the name of the metal cobalt.

German silver miners (that's German miners of silver, not miners of "German silver") named cobalt after the kobold, a "goblin or demon of the mines" as it was not only worthless but caused sickness. Nickel (a German name for "the devil") has a similar origin.
~ Source: Take Our Word for It.

Whether or not Greg Newkirk's contact was telling the truth or playing trickster, the idea itself is a valid one. Many traditions tell of entities that live inside the earth. It is possible the goblins seen that August night in 1955 in Kentucky were indeed inner earth dwellers.

Entering the Orchid: A Glimpse Into the Orb?

 Red Canna, Georgia O’Keefe, 1923 (University of Arizona Art Museum)

Progress, maybe, or something, on my experiment here with intent, conscious recall, retrieving memories of the Orange Orb sighting. . . as I do every night, I go through a sort of meditation/prayer/vision routine. I wasn't thinking consciously of anything to do with UFOs, the paranormal but mundane things, when suddenly my head sort of exploded in a burst of orange. (Sharing a similar experience with this.) As that was happening, I felt myself, not leaving my body, as has happened many times with OOBEs, but a sort of reverse OOBE; I was falling inward. Falling into my third eye, into the orange, and then a large flower shape appeared that was an off white, cream color, oval or almond in shape, that opened to reveal another shape. This shape was more of a figure with an inverted triangle head, very faint. It had eyes, that were closed, but as I "zoomed" or fell in closer, it abruptly opened its eyes, which were the typical huge black eyes of the so-called grays.

At that moment, I had a vivid lucid dream experience. I "shouted" "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" which sounds very funny right now, but at the time, I was almost pissed at the idea this pop-culture icon that's become a cliche and a joke in many ways, appeared to me. Arriving first almost invisibly, as a shadow, a faint outline, then becoming more defined, sharper in detail and image --- for what? Was this an accurate and literal mind post-card, a psychic encounter of something that is just as it appears, or something created out of my own mind because it's familiar, no matter how silly?

If looked at with the tools of imagery and metaphor, maybe this was a sign that I'm getting somewhere, and these images: orange light, oval petal, small gray, are offered because they are familiar acting as guides. Guides to what, is yet to be discovered.

The Watercolor Alien Ant

Untitled, watercolor 1979? by James Rich


This painting is a watercolor Jim did many years ago, when we were first together. I remember when he painted it. It's a small watercolor on paper; about 18" by 18". He was going through his old portfolios last night and found it.

I told him it was an "interesting painting" and that it reminded me of an alien; some kind of alien painting. He said he had no idea what was going on when he painted that; what he was thinking or why he painted it. No recollection of the inspiration or what he was trying to do.

He asked me what I meant by "alien painting" I said, well, it immediately, for some reason, just screamed alien and spaceship at me. I have the impression the ant is female, very large, "alien," and is holding something, some sort of tablet. Jim looked at it and said he saw what I meant. I reminded Jim of all the giant insect alien stories; usually praying mantis type creatures, or giant grasshopper type beings some speak about in connection with UFO encounters. After he looked at it he said it reminded him of a female being as well; probably because of the way it's sitting and the long robe or whatever it is it/she is wearing.

It was at that time that Jim and I were experiencing a lot of unusual UFO events, including an episode of missing time. I had my "Geisha Woman Alien" dream during that time frame.

Speaking of alien insectoid beings, in a bit of synchronicity I was listening to George Noory last night on C2C. (By the way, say what you will about him, and I have, he is a goof ball in many ways, but he was defending the medical marijuana use law in California, so good for him) and he and a caller were sharing praying mantis stories. Not in the context of aliens or UFOs however, more mundane than that. And earlier today I read Richard Thomas Room 101 column on Binnall of America, where he writes about Ghosts, Aliens, Yeti and the Late Great Nigel Kneale British "father" of sci fi television and movies. Which inspired me to post something on my blog Frame 352: The Stranger Side of Sasquatch with this image:

I'm deathly, pathologically afraid of insects. I had some chilling experiences as a child -- I won't go there, far too personal and wrapped up in family dysfunction abuse horrors -- but at the same time, I don't like to see people just stomp on insects for no reason. (There was also a weird event in Crescent City, California, involving a Japanese beetle, alcoholic abusers though not to me, hmm, a theme here I see, and I kid you not, a real life scene with "Deliverance" type redneck hillbillies, complete with shotguns and a truck full of pitbulls. But I digress.) (And there was another thing with a bumble bee when I was a kid, and my sister as well, I found out years later, that has to do with missing time and high strangeness.)I'll certainly go out of my way to kill bugs in the house, depending on what kind; wasps, etc. Others I take outside. Well, okay, I try to get Jim to take them outside, but the point is, I don't like killing things if I can help it.

Well, that all took a weird turn, I see. As disjointed as all this might seem, one thing stands out: a conflicting relationship with insects. I like some of them, they're pretty, many are harmless, etc. Others I am fearful of to the point of vomiting. People with encounters with giant insectiod alien beings report both terrifying experiences, as well as ones of learning, wisdom and beauty. Why this contrast? Are our mundane encounters a relfection, on a symbolic level, of these experiences?

Insectoid Aliens on UFO Mystic

Good post on UFO Mystic by Greg Bishop on "insectoid aliens." As I commented over there, I've been working on the same idea past few days; synchronicity.

Speaking of posting, I haven't been writing much, or, I have, but it's all just in various stages. I can't seem to get beyond the desktop to the blog. A lot of it has to do with a combination of working full time and health stuff. (nothing major, but a lot of very irritating things that add up to one big crappy thing. After awhile, it gets you down.)

Back to insectoids. Nothing creepier to me than insectoid aliens. I don't particularly like insects to begin with, though I admit my responses to them are illogical. I won't kill them "just because" I try to get them to go outside. Unless they're a spider, then I make my husband deal with it. I can't abide people who just go around stomping on bugs outside simply because they can. If there's a wasp in the house, or even outside in my yard, I kill the bastard. Ladybugs don't bother me. Who doesn't like butterflies; I grow plants to specifically attract them to the yard.

Praying mantis; they're fascinating to watch but also kind of creepy, and the idea of a giant praying mantis is truly terrifying. The idea of giant bugs of any kind, including ladybugs and butterflies, is terrifying.

And then I had my strange bee encounter as a child. Wow, just thought of that one. More to come.

Anyway, good post on UFO Mystic.

Trickster's Realm: 'Popcorn Machine Aliens'

Latest Trickster’s Realm: Popcorn Machine Aliens,about memories of aliens, on board craft, and giant insectoid creatures, by moi.

Also on BoA (Binnall of America:) Lesley’s Grey Matters: on Ian Punnett and C2C, Tina Sena’s Estoericana: The Witching Hour, where she writes about 3:00 am being the weird hour (as have many a UFO experiencer; indeed, that does seem to be the hour,)
Wrath of Joe’s Whiter UFOlogy? and Khyron’s The K-Files.

Plus all the great audio interviews Tim Binnall has done over the past two seasons!