Wide Atlantic Weird

Latest Episodes:

Bigfoot Before 1958 Part 1: The Prehistory Of A Legend Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

In 1958, enormous footprints found near Bluff Creek, California made Bigfoot a worldwide phenomenon, elevating the mystery primate to cryptozoological superstardom. But believers have always maintained that ideas about Sasquatch predate this key year, both in the legends of Native Americans and in the reports of white settlers.

In this episode of Wide Atlantic Weird, Cian relocates to his cabin in the woods for summer and cracks open a bevy of Bigfoot reports that predate 1958 to find out just how this myth might have come about. He also cracks open a Mirror Pond Pale Ale.

Hear from the diary of Elkanah Walker, the missionary who wrote about hairy giants and hidden tribes in Washington State in the 1840s. Wonder at the stories of the Seeahtik, the mystery tribe who seemed both flesh-and-blood as well as supernatural, and could use hypnotism to hunt their animal prey.. Visit the cabin where a number of Bigfoot lay siege to five miners at Ape Canyon in 1924. And discover the works of JW Burns, the man who coined the term ‘Sasquatch,' and was indirectly responsible for the very first opportunistic Bigfoot festival.

After all, there must be something behind the Bigfoot mania that’s swept America and the world since 1958 – right?

Sources:

Oregonian Articles, 1924

Mrs Wakeman Vs The Antichrist, 2014, Robert Damon Schneck

Introducing B.C.'s Hairy Giants, 1929, JW Burns

Mysterious Entities of the Pacific Northwest Part 1, 2007, Joe Nickell

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Monsters Of Britain: Plesiosaurs and Alien Big Cats (with Neil Philips from UK Wildlife Podcast) May 28, 2019

Show notes

Cian is joined by naturalist and wildlife photographer Neil Philips to discuss what makes British monsters different (and sometimes similar) from their international cousins (American monsters in particular). From the leafy woods surrounding the Wide Atlantic Weird bunker, they discuss the history of Nessie sightings, the Owlman of Mawnan, the Canvey Island Monster, and the incredibly bizarre Alien Big Cats phenomenon. It seems that even when these creatures ARE literally real, as some mysterious big cats turn out to be, the phenomena still inevitably develops a shroud of mysticism, fakery and blurry pictures that imitate the lore surrounding Bigfoot and other cryptids, confusing the issue. And the guys return to the confounding subject of the British Bigfoot, again delving into the murky world of a supposedly British monster that appears to have been copied wholesale from his transatlantic origin.

Remember, we want to believe - but only if the evidence is good enough!

Sources:

Neil Philips’ UK Wildlife Page

Hunting Monsters, 2016, Darren Naish

Books On The Loch Ness Monster, 2019, Darren Naish

Bigfoot at Hanningfield Reservoir

Arthur C Clarke’s Chronicles of the Strange and Mysterious, 1987, John Fairley & Simon Welfare

Cryptids In Classic Fiction: The Desrick On Yandro by Manly Wade Wellman May 13, 2019

Show notes

When it comes to the beasts that hide from man, nobody did backwoods Americana mystery creatures quite like Manly Wade Wellman. His character John the Balladeer was a guitar-slinging hobo who wandered the Appalachian mountains, encountering mythical creatures from North Carolina folklore. In this episode, Cian relaxes in the forest outside the Wide Atlantic Weird bunker and reads one of the best Silver John stories, The Desrick on Yandro. For anyone who enjoys monsters, folklore, and mid-20th century pulp stories, this is truly one to enjoy (while sipping your finest, cheapest rotgut bourbon, of course.) When Silver John discovers a legend about a mysterious cabin on top of a mountain called Yandro, he takes a step into a world haunted by one of the most imaginative collections of weird beasts in all of fiction. Enjoy.

Cryptids in Classic Fiction: The Horror-Horn by E. F. Benson May 07, 2019

Show notes

When reports of the so-called 'Abominable Snowman' first filtered from the peaks of the Himalayas to Western Europe during the golden age of mountaineering, English writer of classic ghost stories E. F. Benson took the trendy new idea of the mysterious hairy mountain-dwelling apemen and wondered what might happen if they existed not only in remotest Asia, but in the Alps too. 'The Horror-Horn,' written in 1922, tells the tale of daring, winter sport-loving Englishmen who inadvertently come into contact with the European version of the Yeti.

From deep within the library of the Wide Atlantic Bunker, your host Cian explores what these initial Yeti reports were like, what Benson might have known about the Abominable Snowman at this time, and why even a 'fate worse than death' at the hands of a female Alps Yeti might not have been the scariest thing about this oddly Lovecraftian tale. So grab yourself a beverage, snuggle into a comfy armchair while the wind whips outside your window, and enjoy this reading of Cryptids in Classic Fiction.

Sources:

AnomalyInfo.com: Colonel Howard-Bury's Yeti Sighting

The Horror-Horn by E. F. Benson, etext

Only A Paper Moon: The Inevitable Apollo Moon Landing Hoax Episode (with James Lynch) Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

Somehow the Wide Atlantic Weird Bunker has gotten itself blasted into Earth orbit, and from there, host Cian samples a fine session IPA and speaks with Apollo buff James Lynch about the technical details behind one of the original Big Three conspiracy theories: the Apollo Moon Landing Hoax. They dissect why people believe conspiracy theories in general, why the Apollo landing was ripe for a campaign of distrust, and what this meant for the time in which it happened. They discuss Bill Kaysing, the guy who first invented this idea, the 2001 Fox documentary and the rebirth of the theory in the 2000s. Learn why NASA didn't photograph stars and why the Apollo lander looked so damn rickety. It's a fundamental conspiracy theory and deserves a deep-dive, so get ready to take one giant leap for podcast listeners and blast off for the great unknown (or at least a studio in Nevada)!

Sources:

Buzz Aldrin Punches Bart Sibrel

Nardwuar, Bill Kaysing Interview

National Post Article on Moon Hoax

Capricorn One

Alternative 3

Sputnik Sound Effect

Saturn Radio Sound Effect

The Yowie: Australia's Bigfoot, Or An Invented Cryptid? Apr 04, 2019

Show notes

NOTE: the style and format of the show was very different back in these days! But we think you'll still enjoy it.

Cian is fascinated by the origins of cyptids and mysterious animals. How do these beliefs get started? Often we’re sold the idea that a creature has been reported for centuries, or has its origins in local folklore. And sometimes it’s clear that a creature has actually been invented (or rebranded) relatively recently, and its supposed history is just a fiction. From the woods outside the Wide Atlantic Weird bunker, he *enjoys* a can of Fosters and gets stuck into this hairy topic.

THE YOWIE: This hairy wildman is, bluntly described, Australia's answer to Bigfoot. It became incredibly popular during the 1970s as the result of one man's journalism. Suddenly, it seemed that Yowies were everywhere! But do the roots of the Yowie myth go back any further? Is it fair to make a connection between this modern cryptid and 19th-century sightings of 'wildmen' and 'Australian gorillas?' Listen on to find out, mate!

THE MINNESOTA RUNESTONE: When an Irish journalist visits a remote town in the cold north of the US, she finds a community that is united in its belief that Vikings visited the area in medieval times, unrecorded by conventional history. As it becomes clear that this belief has some very strange undertones, things get weird. Based on a true story (ish!).

References:

Graham Joyner, The Hairy Man Of South Eastern Australia

Graham Joyner, The Australian Gorilla: An Insoluble Problem

Does The Yowie Exist?

Joe Nickell, Skeptical Enquirer Searching For The Yowie

Tony Healy & Paul Cropper, The Yowie: In Search of Australia’s Bigfoot

Darren Naish, Hunting Monsters, Arcturus, 2016

The Strange World of Post-Truth and the Death of Expertise (with Dónal Gill) Mar 23, 2019

Show notes

Conspiracy theories, UFO folklore, fringe beliefs - they all have something in common, and it's something worrying. A thread of anti-intellectualism runs through them all. Cian decides to find out what's really going on and enlists the help of his brother Donal, PHd student and lecturer in Political Science, to get to the bottom of several important mysteries. Why is conspiracy thinking more rampant than ever? Why is this a danger to the very fabric of democracy? How is all this related to Trump, Brexit, and other populist happenings? And is it worth going to see the never-ending KISS Farewell tour? Find out in this special Wide Atlantic Weird interview episode. Various topics Cian has investigated in previous episodes have been leading up to this, so tune in to find out how his travels through the various alternate realities of paranormal belief have led to his deepening suspicions that all is not right in the world of fringe thinking.

Links:

The Gillbillies Facebook Page

Loco Bronco Facebook Page

Send In The Clowns: The 2016 Creepy Clown Panic Mar 12, 2019

Show notes

NOTE: the style and format of the show was very different back in these days! But we think you'll still enjoy it.

The bizarre episode of mass hysteria known as the 2016 Clown Panic gets centre stage in this episode as Cian downs a can of Brooklyn lager in the bunker and gets down to investigating a modern case of an anomalous phenomenon.

THE 2016 CLOWN PANIC: Cian remembers following this case as it happened. Has time given us any insights? Was this a flash-in-the-pan case of mass hysteria, or does it fit into patterns of other weird beliefs from history? Learn how the original clown sighting from Greenville, South Carolina created a meme that went worldwide by October 2016. (NOTE: I mistakenly date the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film to 1968. It was in fact shot in 1967. Geez, you guys!)

DEVIL'S CHOICE: A short fictional piece. On a Reddit page dedicated to 80s nostalgia, one contributor remembers a strange, scary Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book about a scary house in the woods. A house haunted not by ghosts, but by cultists straight out of the 80s Satanic Panic. The more she reads, the more sucked into the world of the book she becomes. And the book seems to know what choices she has made ...

SOURCES:

The Guardian: Clown Sightings, The Day The Craze Began

New York Times: Creepy Clown Sightings in South Carolina Cause A Frenzy

Irish Independent: Creepy Clowns Armed With Chainsaws Enter Dublin City School

The Ballad of Alex Jones and Joe Rogan Mar 09, 2019

Show notes

Cian downs a Theakston's Old Peculiar and gets a little serious in this episode about conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his frenemy and all-round bro Joe Rogan.

See, conspiracy theories are no longer a silly fringe interest that we can afford to dismiss. They are mainstream, and are having serious effects on world politics. So we might as well understand them. And what better place to start than with the hilarious feud between Alex Jones and Joe Rogan?

Alex Jones is a despicable human being. His worldview is dangerous and incredibly popular. We cannot afford to simply smirk because he sounds like a loon. Yes he says silly things about frogs, but he says not-silly things about people, and other truly silly people act on this. Joe Rogan is a guy who has a lot of influence, and should know better than to entertain Jones quite so often.

Listen and find out why all of this is more serious than it sounds in a rather intense episode of WIDE ATLANTIC WEIRD!

The Secret Rulers Of The World (Jon Ronson)

New York Times: Conspiracy Theories Made Alex Jones Very Rich. Now They May Bring Him Down

Forbes: Alex Jones and Joe Rogan Made Peace With A Bizarre Podcast

Joe Rogan Vs Alex Jones 2 (PingTr1P)

The First UFO: The Kenneth Arnold Sighting Feb 10, 2019

Show notes

NOTE: the style and format of the show was very different back in these days! But we think you'll still enjoy it.

Join Cian by the fire to discuss paranormal and unexplained topics in this spooky episode of Wide Atlantic Weird. Oh, and have a fine ale at hand too!

THE FIRST UFO: In 1947, pilot Kenneth Arnold saw nine, shiny, disc-shaped somethings flying in formation over Mount Ranier in Washington State, and the world was never the same again. Over 70 years later, people are still arguing about what he did (or didn’t see). Whatever the truth, this encounter proved to be the beginning of the modern UFO movement. Everything that has followed – flying saucers, alien greys, abductions, the X-Files – has its roots in the Arnold sighting. So what really happened? Who was Kenneth Arnold, anyway? And should we take his report seriously? Why do people say that newpapers really invented flying saucers? This report finds Cian being less sceptical than usual as he dives into this seminal case.

AMERICAN EUGENICS: Cian shares an anecdote about his time working in the US, at a site that had once been fundamental in the history of the American eugenics project. Creepy graveyards, Hell’s Tunnel, the body hold: Cian seems to wind up living in places that are a magnet for urban legends and unsettling history, and this time he discovered that the remnants of some of America’s darkest doings are still to be found today.

THE PINE BARRENS EXPEDITION: A fictional piece. When a dedicated eugenics scientist takes his crusade to the New Jersey Pine Barrens in the 1930s, he hopes to meet some the most degenerate people the US has to offer. There’s nowhere better for him to begin his plan to rid the country of undesirables. But what he finds in those swampy depths goes to show that what’s desirable can mean different things to different folks.

Daily Grail: Re-Evaluating The Kenneth Arnold UFO Sighting

The Coming Of The Saucers, Kenneth Arnold & Ray Palmer

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