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#LostMonsterFiles

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bigfoot<p>You do have to wonder how serious the <a href="https://squatch.online/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> team are taking their investigation into <a href="https://squatch.online/tags/ABSM" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ABSM</span></a> . Out in the field with <a href="https://squatch.online/tags/Spotify" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Spotify</span></a> open ?? What’s that about…</p>
Sharon A. Hill<p><strong>Lost Monster Files is a cryptid bust</strong></p><p>It would be awesome if there were no more faked-science TV shows. Back in 2017, I <a href="https://sharonahill.com/scientifical-americans/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">published a book</a> on how amateur paranormal researchers <em>pretend</em> to do science. Around that time, there were so many TV and YouTube shows of people doing this – staging “investigations” using sciencey-looking gadgets and language and playing at being experts – that <a href="https://sharonahill.com/paranormaltv/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">I couldn’t keep track of them all anymore</a>. Unfortunately, they are still going strong.</p><p>Cryptozoology is my favorite fringe subject, but it’s not fringe anymore, it’s <a href="https://moderncryptozoology.wordpress.com/pop-goes-the-cryptid/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">mainstream</a>. We can credit <em>Monster Quest </em>and <em>Finding Bigfoot</em> for the current popularity of self-styled cryptozoologists looking for mystery creatures. The latest cryptid show is <em>Lost Monster Files</em> on Discovery channel based on the files of Ivan T. Sanderson. It’s not low budget, but it’s low on originality and almost insultingly dumb.</p><p>I realize that people want to be on TV and hope make a living doing stuff like this, but I argue that these shows make the audience less knowledgeable about the topic because of the dumbing-down of the presented scenarios, and the exceptionally poor content passed off as “facts”.</p><p><strong>Recap</strong></p><p><a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-is-another-sciencey-sounding-disappointment/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Episode 1 explored the Carolina Chupacabra</a> and the content failed to include anything interesting or new except what they seemingly made up. A condensed show can hardly begin to explore the complex history of the legendary creature and its strange cultural evolution. However, all history and much of the interesting details were entirely ignored for a ridiculous plot and very silly conclusion.</p><p><a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-produces-some-abominable-research/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Episode 2 covered Sanderson’s work on ABSMery</a> (the study of abominable snowmen accounts). The cast goes to British Columbia to follow up on an old Sasquatch/Bigfoot account. They confuse us without enlightening or even entertaining us. They find nothing.</p><p><a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-thunderbird-episode-flies-in-the-face-of-reason/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Episode 3 is on the Thunderbird</a> where the team finds an eagle’s nest but concludes, laughably, that there might be a still-living Teratorn or unknown giant eagle here.</p><p>I took a break from watching the show because it was worthless to me. I was curious, however, so I binge-watched the (hopefully) last three episodes.</p><p><strong>Bernard is ghosted</strong></p><p>Episode 4 was on the Minnesota Iceman, or “wild man” as the show calls it. The Iceman was a very popular sideshow promoted by Frank Hansen in 1968 depicting a body of what people thought of as a “cave man” frozen in ice. The team, as usual, ignores much of the important parts of the tale – that the Iceman model that was used still exists, that Hansen made money off it, and that <a href="https://tetzoo.com/blog/2023/8/14/minnesota-iceman-part-1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Sanderson conducted his inspection of the body with Bernard Heuvelmans</a>. Mention of Heuvelmans is entirely absent from this show, even though his history is entwined with Sanderson’s. While these extractions were done for time limitations, it makes the cast appear clueless to those of us who know that actual history. For drama, one half of the cast goes to the old Hansen farm to look for the real Iceman body they believe is buried there. The other half goes to the remote location where Hansen supposedly shot the creature where they have an “infrasound” experience. (Again. They had a similar thing happen in episode 2, which was also dropped with no consideration). The best find they come up with is a footprint, which they do not show on camera in any detail, but gush over it, claiming it matches Sanderson’s information about the creature having a really big toe. They conclude with misguided blather about evolution connected to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denisovan" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Denisovans</a>. They totally don’t know what they are talking about.</p><p class=""><strong><em>Heuvelmans is entirely absent from this show </em><br><em>even though his history is entwined with Sanderson’s. </em></strong></p><p><strong>Deception island</strong></p><p>Episode 5 sent the team to Kodiak Island in Alaska to find out about the Kodiak sea monster. This was probably the worst episode. It was boring and, tracking with all the other episodes, absurd in premise. Their suggestion is that a plesiosaur twice the size of a blue whale (just all sorts of wrong) could still be living in the offshore ocean trench. Really reaching for an exciting conclusion, they suggest that the chemicals dumped after WW2 could have caused a genetic mutant to appear as a monster 30 years later. Ironically, the episode closed with a voiceover of Sanderson talking about truth and deception.</p><p><strong>The cave “dragon” final episode</strong></p><p>Episode 6 took the cast into a cave in Arkansas where they actually found something! The subject cryptid was the Gowrow – a made-up legend of a giant, spiny backed lizard. What caught my attention for this was the appearance of a USGS hydrologist discussing groundwater. I’m certain his words were cut and edited to lose all meaning because the jumbled word salad spewed about aquifers and caves was rubbish. Summing up their misinformed ideas about how water moves underground, they suspected that the Gowrow creature was travelling between a surface pond and cave systems via underwater passageways (they erroneously called “the aquifer”). This is a well-worn and mistaken idea often proposed for lake monsters that large creatures use subterranean passageways (through rock) to the ocean. The average person doesn’t know how groundwater moves, and this episode shows that ignorance in spades.</p><p>“Finding all that water in [the cave] was a gamechanger,” says Brittany, who seems to be the one to say the most ridiculous things in the show. Caves are created by water and typically still have water in them because they are under the surface.</p><p>The team descends into a cave. The location is not shown, but the implicit suggestion is that they “found” it, and it’s unexplored. This is clearly false, because the cave is too large and accessible for it to be unknown. It is extremely dangerous for inexperienced people to go a mile into a cave system like this, and there were no safety precautions shown for white nose syndrome protocols. </p><p>They find evidence of an alligator in the cave. And, they actually find the alligator.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/d2LWxeWEGIo" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/shorts/d2LWxeWEGIo</a></p><p>I searched for more information about an alligator discovered in a cave in Arkansas and found nothing. According to the show, they were 80 miles from natural alligator habitat. There is no way this animal was native to this cave because it was too cold to comfortably exist here. It seems likely that it was let loose here. I’m not saying it was planted, it could have been released by an irresponsible person, but I can’t trust anything on this show. </p><p><strong>Common threads in the episodes</strong></p><p>Over the six episodes, there were common threads:</p><ol><li>Oversimplification. In order to appeal to the non-technical viewer, to fit in an hour time frame, and to help the narrative, every scenario, find, and explanation was oversimplified, often to the extent that it was wrong. It was framed as “Sanderson studied this” + “There is a uptick in sighting of something like that in this area.” Therefore, “Sanderson was on to something, and we are going to just jump in and finish what he started.” This is a dull, banal, and misleading premise. Thus, my opinion is that this show makes people less well-informed on the topics covered.</li><li>Lack of expertise. Almost no experts appeared in the show. As I noted in t<a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-is-another-sciencey-sounding-disappointment/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">he first review</a>, the cast were hardly what I would consider “experts”. They spoke unintelligently about complex topics like evolution, zoology, geography, and history. The writers and research team for this show did a poor job. Brittany, in particular, was not even coached on how to pronounce words correctly. For example, “Cuvier” as in Georges Cuvier, is pronounced “curvier”. Twice. There is no excuse for such sloppiness.</li><li>Sham inquiry. I was entirely unconvinced that the investigation shown on screen was legitimate. It looked staged, heavily edited, and scripted to serve the pre-set narrative. This is typical of all paranormal nonfiction shows that <a href="https://sharonahill.com/scientific-or-scientifical/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">attempt to portray a “scientific” approach</a>, which instead shows the cast <a href="https://sharonahill.com/cryptozoology-sham-inquiry/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">playing pretend scientist</a>. It’s a cheap and lazy ploy. </li><li>Extreme conclusions. The obviously weak and questionable evidence was hyped as convincing and used to bolster their pre-existing narrative that they were successful in showing that something mysterious was going on. That’s how an entertainment show is structured. This is <span>not</span> for educational purposes. But that message is not always understood by the audience.</li></ol><p>In conclusion, this was a typical <em><a href="https://sharonahill.com/category/scientifical/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">scientifical</a></em> paranormal TV show with hype and no substance. It wasn’t even entertaining. For anyone who knows anything much about cryptids, this show was a total dud.</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/alligator-cave/" target="_blank">#alligatorCave</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/arkansas-alligator/" target="_blank">#ArkansasAlligator</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/bigfoot/" target="_blank">#Bigfoot</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptid-tv-show/" target="_blank">#cryptidTVShow</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptids/" target="_blank">#cryptids</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptozoology/" target="_blank">#Cryptozoology</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/discovery-channel/" target="_blank">#DiscoveryChannel</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/evidence/" target="_blank">#evidence</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/ivan-sanderson/" target="_blank">#IvanSanderson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/lost-monster-files/" target="_blank">#LostMonsterFiles</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/minnesota-iceman/" target="_blank">#MinnesotaIceman</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/review-of-lost-monster-files/" target="_blank">#ReviewOfLostMonsterFiles</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/television/" target="_blank">#television</a></p><p><a href="https://sharonahill.com/?p=9045" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">sharonahill.com/?p=9045</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>
JamesGlandonJr<p>New episode tonight! <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a></p>
JamesGlandonJr<p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/AEWDynamite" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AEWDynamite</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TBS</span></a> <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/AllIn" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AllIn</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ChrisHayes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ChrisHayes</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MSNBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MSNBC</span></a><br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LastWord" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LastWord</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LawrenceODonnell" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LawrenceODonnell</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MSNBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MSNBC</span></a> <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ExpeditionUnknown" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ExpeditionUnknown</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JoshGates" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JoshGates</span></a> - &quot;Dive for America&#39;s Pirate Loot&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus<br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> - &quot;Cave Dragon of Arkansas&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus <br />Mystery at <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/BlindFrogRanch" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BlindFrogRanch</span></a> - &quot;Evidence Unleashed!&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus <br />The <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TonightShow" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TonightShow</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JimmyFallon" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JimmyFallon</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/NBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NBC</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/FallonTonight" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FallonTonight</span></a> </p><p>(2 of 2)</p>
JamesGlandonJr<p>New episode tonight! <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a></p>
JamesGlandonJr<p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/AEWDynamite" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AEWDynamite</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TBS</span></a> <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/WWENXT" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WWENXT</span></a> live on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TheCW" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TheCW</span></a><br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/AllIn" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AllIn</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ChrisHayes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ChrisHayes</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MSNBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MSNBC</span></a><br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LastWord" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LastWord</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LawrenceODonnell" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LawrenceODonnell</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MSNBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MSNBC</span></a> <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ExpeditionUnknown" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ExpeditionUnknown</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JoshGates" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JoshGates</span></a> - &quot;America&#39;s First Train Robbers&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus<br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> - &quot;Kodiak Sea Monster&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus <br />The <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TonightShow" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TonightShow</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JimmyFallon" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JimmyFallon</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/NBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NBC</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/FallonTonight" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FallonTonight</span></a> </p><p>(2 of 2)</p>
JamesGlandonJr<p>New episode tonight! <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a></p>
JamesGlandonJr<p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ExpeditionUnknown" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ExpeditionUnknown</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JoshGates" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JoshGates</span></a> - &quot;Invisible Enemies&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus<br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> - &quot;Mystery of the Minnesota Wildman&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DestinationsoftheDamned" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DestinationsoftheDamned</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ZakBagans" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ZakBagans</span></a> - &quot;The Asylum&#39;s Prophet&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus <br />The <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TonightShow" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TonightShow</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JimmyFallon" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JimmyFallon</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/NBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NBC</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/FallonTonight" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FallonTonight</span></a> </p><p>(2 of 2)</p>
Sharon A. Hill<p><strong>Lost Monster Files Thunderbird episode flies in the face of reason</strong></p><p>Here I am again with a review of the third episode of the Discovery Channel show Lost Monster Files (LMF). In the previous posts, I explained how I was left unimpressed by the quality of evidence and the dramatically overreaching explanations suggested by the cast. This episode continues the trend of mashing together the existing lore, the background from Ivan Sanderson’s (not) “lost” files, eyewitness stories, and their field investigations to produce an incoherent and rather insulting show for anyone who knows anything much about cryptid history. </p><p>This episode, they took up the Thunderbird – a legend of an enormous bird in the forests of Pennsylvania. It’s a history I know fairly well. LMF forgets all that or just condenses it into one stinky regurgitated pellet of barely recognizable bits, and, instead, focuses on recent claims along Chestnut Ridge, part of the Allegheny Mountains southeast of Pittsburgh. </p><p>As with the previous two episodes, it starts with the sensationalized claim that “a creature has been terrorizing” the place…</p><p>Except they can’t find it, so… not very terrifying.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ImR9_Y4Bo" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ImR9_Y4Bo</a></p><p>They do tell us about the most famous account of a thunderbird: the attack on 10 yr old Marlon Lowe in 1977. Marlon is still alive. They interviewed him at a Pennsylvania location. The details are sparse, as usual, but <strong><em>they fail to mention</em></strong> this incident took place in Lawndale, Illinois. That’s rather important considering this is all about PA. They also never examine the implicit claim that the bird lifted him. The drawing shown with the story depicts a child lifted by his foot into the air even though Marlon was never actually lifted this way (or at all). It is not possible for birds to lift more than their own weight, and they are very lightly built. But, nevermind, whatever.</p><p>I notice that the show never seems to give ample time to note all the critical information that might help viewers understand the stories – they have a set agenda to push and can’t fit too much into a short format. This is the rotten part of TV shows like this; they present a skewed story to the audience, who probably won’t fact-check and will assume these actors are doing something akin to actual research. </p><p>They head to Chestnut Ridge where a farmer says a huge bird, larger than he’s ever seen, has been spotted three times on his land. Unfortunately, he compares its size to the large birds in the area including pelicans and storks, except neither are not found anywhere near here. Oops. </p><p>The attempt to lure a large bird at the farm with (trigger warning) dead rabbits is a failure, but the producers can’t stop themselves from giving Brittany an ambiguous “hit” by claiming she sees a large bird (that looks for all the world like a super common turkey vulture). It disappears without her seeing it fly away. Nevermind, whatever.</p><p>The show then throws at us a ridiculous story that the local airport has caught mystery objects in the air over the ridge that are unidentifiable as planes. Therefore, these might be large birds or they might be military planes. Is it really possible that several large birds are flying repeatedly, unnoticed, but show up on radar and are mistaken for planes. Really? REALLY? </p><p>The team hikes up to an area they think might have nests spotted by a drone. (It’s a tiny hot spot among the roasting rocks. Nevermind, whatever.) They find a deer skull that Brittany says was pecked at by a beak. And they find a large “pellet” regurgitated by a bird of prey. It’s 3-4 inches long. A 3-inch pellet is not unreasonable for an eagle. They also find remains of a normal-sized raptor nest, long abandoned. All of this is not very unusual, except they make it so. </p><p>The DNA result on the pellet shows it’s from an eagle but the DNA is mixed with all the animal remains in it. So they suggest it might be something that <strong>ate</strong> an eagle. I am not making this up – they really are reaching that far. They end up concluding that the animal might be a (long-extinct) Teratorn or an eagle with gigantism, both of which are baseless because a regular eagle will suffice to explain the findings. </p><p>There are a few more obvious points where the episode egregiously misleads viewers.</p><p><strong>Location, Location, Location</strong></p><p>They fail to explain locational information about the Thunderbird. The main tales of modern Thunderbirds took place in Illinois, and in the <a href="https://thepennsylvaniarambler.wordpress.com/2022/04/24/the-black-forest-thunderbird-part-one/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">“Black Forest” of north central Pennsylvania</a> in the 1970s. They could have at least mentioned that. Sanderson had known about the reports in the Black Forest area, but I never heard Chestnut Ridge mentioned until extremely recently. </p>The Lowe incident took place near Chicago. Typical Thunderbird tales are from the Black Forest in northcentral PA. The Chestnut Ridge area extends from east of Pittsburg down into West Virginia. None of these spatial relations were provided in the show.<p>Perhaps the people producing this show are just clueless about the US. When they showed examples of the Alleghenies, they stuck in what appears to be a photo of the Alps. This is not Pennsylvania or anywhere in Appalachia:</p>Screen capture. I attempted to trace this photo but I suspect it might be AI generated. It looks more like the Bavarian Alps than any other location.<p><strong>Area of High Strangeness</strong></p><p>The area of Chestnut Ridge has recently been surging as an area of all kinds of paranormal activity. The fact that Thunderbird sightings have also been escalating in the past year is <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/mysterious-thunderbird-sightings-pennsylvania/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">certainly related to more people looking for strange things, and more people willing to take their claims seriously</a>. However, that does not mean that large unknown birds really exist here. You name it and people have claimed it in the Chestnut Ridge area – Bigfoot and other cryptids, UFOs, Bigfoot coming out of UFOs, earth lights, hauntings, portals, etc.</p><p><strong>How to hide a huge, flying thing that millions of people are looking for</strong></p><p>Of all mystery animals, those that fly, and that are excessively large, are the hardest to keep hidden. Millions of people are active bird-watchers and migration routes are monitored. Every year, citizen scientists all over the country take part in a bird count, actively cataloging birds. It’s absurd to suggest that even off track migrants won’t be noticed (they frequently are, and it makes for <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/historic-sea-eagle-sighting-thrills-birders" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">big news</a>), or, that they deliberately hide from human binoculars.</p><p>After three episodes, LMF is formulaic, contrived, and non-credible. There is a pattern of outright carelessness, ignorance, and disrespect for the topic of cryptozoology and, frankly, it dishonors Sanderson’s memory. It’s very difficult to fit nuance and reason, let alone an entire investigation, into a 45-minute program. When you try to do that with a cast who pitch sensationalistic nonsense, and producers that are making stuff up, you end up with a very awful result.</p><p>Episode 1 review: <a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-is-another-sciencey-sounding-disappointment/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Lost Monster Files – Carolina Chupacabra review</a><br>Episode 2 review: <a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-produces-some-abominable-research/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Lost Monster Files produces some abominable research</a></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptid/" target="_blank">#cryptid</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptozoology/" target="_blank">#Cryptozoology</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/discovery-channel/" target="_blank">#DiscoveryChannel</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/eagle/" target="_blank">#eagle</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/ivan-sanderson/" target="_blank">#IvanSanderson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/large-birds/" target="_blank">#largeBirds</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/lost-monster-files/" target="_blank">#LostMonsterFiles</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/pennsylvania/" target="_blank">#Pennsylvania</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/review-of-lost-monster-files/" target="_blank">#ReviewOfLostMonsterFiles</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/television/" target="_blank">#television</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/teratorn/" target="_blank">#Teratorn</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/thunderbird/" target="_blank">#Thunderbird</a></p><p><a href="https://sharonahill.com/?p=8832" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">sharonahill.com/?p=8832</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>
JamesGlandonJr<p>New episode tonight! <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a></p>
JamesGlandonJr<p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ExpeditionUnknown" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ExpeditionUnknown</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JoshGates" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JoshGates</span></a> - &quot;Search for Pan Am&#39;s Clipper&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus<br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> - &quot;Thunderbird of Pennsylvania&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DestinationsoftheDamned" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DestinationsoftheDamned</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ZakBagans" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ZakBagans</span></a> - &quot;Nazi Portal to Hell&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus <br />The <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TonightShow" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TonightShow</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JimmyFallon" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JimmyFallon</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/NBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NBC</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/FallonTonight" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FallonTonight</span></a> </p><p>(2 of 2)</p>
Sharon of the Strange Times<p>Lost Monster Files produces some abominable research | Sharon A. Hill <a href="https://bsky.brid.gy/hashtag/cryptid" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#cryptid</a> <a href="https://bsky.brid.gy/hashtag/monsters" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#monsters</a> <a href="https://bsky.brid.gy/hashtag/LostMonsterFiles" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#LostMonsterFiles</a> <a href="https://bsky.brid.gy/hashtag/television" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#television</a> <a href="https://bsky.brid.gy/hashtag/Fortean" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Fortean</a> <a href="https://bsky.brid.gy/hashtag/cryptozoology" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#cryptozoology</a> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-produces-some-abominable-research/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">sharonahill.com/lost-monster...</a><br><br><a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-produces-some-abominable-research/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Lost Monster Files produces so...</a></p>
Sharon A. Hill<p><strong>Lost Monster Files produces some abominable research</strong></p><p>The Discovery Channel’s new series “Lost Monster Files” (LMF) is promoted as a cryptozoology program that uses a team of experts that consult the archives of “founder of cryptozoology”, Ivan T. Sanderson, in their investigations of modern claims of unclassified animals. <a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-is-another-sciencey-sounding-disappointment/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">See my review of the first episode for more background</a>. The second episode, titled Snow Beast of Ruby Creek, is about the team looking at Sanderson’s files about ABSM or the Abominable Snowmen in British Columbia. </p><p><strong>ABSMery</strong></p><p>It may be a jolt to viewers fairly new to the subject of cryptids to encounter the term <em>ABSM</em>, which this episode drops early and fails to explain adequate. Sanderson used the term ABSM as shorthand for <em>abominable snowmen</em> – his generic umbrella term for what we now might call “hairy hominins” referring to Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti (and variants), almas, relict hominids, etc. Sanderson wrote the 1961 book <em>Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life</em>. It’s a good book, fun to read, and an excellent history of the search for these creatures worldwide. I would recommend this books to anyone who watched this episode, particularly the cast, who show no sign that they even knew it existed. By consulting just this book, you can get a much-expanded version of the historical bits mentioned in this LMF episode. </p><p>Portions of the episode that reference Sanderson’s files include the Chapman incident in British Columbia (see more below) and “classified” documents in Russian regarding research into creatures in Asia. They treat the Russian research files as something new and surprising. All reasonably well-read cryptid researchers know that Russia has a long and continued history in seeking out the Yeti and other hominoid varieties. This is neither new nor shocking. But the show says nothing more about it, leaving the viewer more misinformed than when they started.</p><p><strong>Source of the files – not “lost”</strong></p> <p>In the last post, I mentioned that I didn’t know anything about this collection of files by Sanderson stored in Michigan. I have since found out more thanks to input from others who knew about it. The files are held by Michael Swords who received them in 2011 via contacts from Sanderson’s society, SITU. From Swords’ <a href="https://thebiggeststudy.blogspot.com/2011/03/society-for-investigation-of.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">blog</a>:</p><p>“<em>There is an internet legend that these archives have been severely depleted by sticky-fingered knowledge-thieves. Again, who knows what all MIGHT have happened in the past, but my eyeballs say that the VAST majority if not all of the famous SITU files [even dating back to Sanderson and the early years; i.e. Sanderson’s own file creation] ARE STILL EXTANT AND RIGHT HERE IN KALAMAZOO.</em>“</p><p>They are not hidden or lost. Others have been able to access them on request as Swords welcomed as “keeper” of the collection. The comments to that announcement run for years and include a March 2024 comment by Swords noting, “We are engaged with a documentary team as I write.” This is undoubtedly the LMF team. </p>Swords is credited in the episodes. Swords picture of Sanderson’s binders. These are the same as what is shown in LMF. <p><strong>Search for the Canadian ABSM</strong></p><p>When introducing Sanderson’s ideas, Charlie describes the ABSM characteristics: 9 feet tall, sharp teeth, white-haired. This is misleading in so many ways. This is the old fashioned idea of the Yeti, a term never used in the show. The Yeti is known from the Himalayas, not North America. The show chooses to use the clunky, outdated term ABSM throughout while clearly talking about a Sasquatch/Bigfoot in British Columbia. I expect this might be confusing to viewers by not mentioning the word Bigfoot but clearly describing it in its well-known locale. The idea of white-hair makes little sense either since even Yetis (and variants) usually were brown- black- or red-haired. Certainly, the ABSM of the Pacific Northwest is rarely described like this. </p> Has the cast learned cryptozoology from 1964’s <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer_(TV_special)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?</a></em> <p>The Chapman case from 1941 involves a close up sighting of a not-white-haired wild man creature experienced by a mother and several children at their homestead in Ruby Creek near the Fraser river. A 7.5 ft tall being came out of the forest, entered the house, and removed a barrel of salted fish as the family stayed outside. Sanderson visited the Chapmans and refers to the mystery creature in the 1961 book as a Sasquatch. The LMF crew do an extremely cursory review of the case. They speak to one modern witness, Dave Victor, who describes encountering a rock-throwing creature while fishing in the Fraser River. The viewers are asked to accept the witness story as described, as correct and accurate, and to extrapolate that the creature experienced by both the Chapmans and Victor is the same and is still in the area. Even though no one has collected solid evidence of a Bigfoot/Sasquatch after over 100 years of active searching, this cast of a TV show is convinced they will be the ones to do it in a few days of camping. Sure. </p><p><strong>Field work</strong></p><p>The cast splits up with the two trackers, Troy and Justin, following a trail up Hope mountain from the Fraser River. They find tracks that they never show in detail or try to identify (seemingly because they are mundane), but never see any animals. They assume they are tracking a bear. The show pushes the idea that there may be a “grolar” hybrid bear here. A “grolar” or “pizzly” is a rare hybrid grizzly-polar bear. There is no logical reason to propose such a creature here and it’s done simply to make an unexciting episode more dramatic. These hybrids are very rare and are found farther north, closer to the Arctic polar bear range. It’s one of many ridiculous claims made in the show to jazz it up. </p><p>The rushed and non-believable climax of their adventure is during the night at the summit where it appears (it’s not clear) that logs are moved or thrown at them, and they experience “infrasound” blasted in their direction. None of this is verified or even decently described. I burst out laughing at the several “What the hell was that?!” exclamations. It’s just like watching Ghost Hunters! They never reveal that “THAT” is anything at all beyond their fear-stoked imagination.</p><p>Meanwhile, Brittany and Charlie have hauled a crap-ton of equipment of all sorts into the woods to try to find the creature they are “convinced” exists here. They use laser beams, infrared cameras, and a drone. Equipment display is the most common ploy to be <a href="https://sharonahill.com/scientific-or-scientifical/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">scientifical</a>. The beams and IR cameras do nothing useful here. The drone appears to spot a cave that they investigate but the dots are not connected. All the events feel contrived, even faked. </p><p>Brittany sits alone at night waiting for something to happen. She hears scratching and runs out to find a tree ripped up by a bear. We are made to think this just happened. The lasers and cameras saw nothing. This certainly looks like bear scratches, but that the scene feels manufactured to look surprising. Later, she’s in a hunting blind after stringing salmon up as bait. She hears a noise, rushes out and finds a disturbed patch she calls a footprint. They use the scanner to record it, and later make an effort to match a cast in Sanderson’s archive of a Yeti footprint (from Asia, but none of this is mentioned). This is another ridiculous claim. You see nothing but noisy data over which they have drawn toes. </p>Stinky fish attracted not one hungry critter.<p>But wait, there is more. Brittany and Charlie investigate a rock cave where they find fish bones. They declare they are fresh (without any justification) and take samples that are sent for DNA testing. They also insist no bear could have done this (but ignore the possibility that a raccoon or other smaller could have). The DNA tests come up inconclusive. That means – you guessed it – it’s a mystery animal because it doesn’t match a known species! (That’s not how it works.)</p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p><p>The premise of this episode is absurd. We are asked to accept that a group of newcomers who helicopter into the woods looking for the abominable snowman will solve the mystery of a sighting from 1941. </p><p>Nothing of any interest is found in this episode. They can’t even find normal animals. However, in sifting through the dregs of data, they draw bullseyes and say “SEE! We are awesome.” Outrageously, they conclude that they have ruled out all known species and that this is a new species they were so close to documenting. They suggest they will leave game cameras out and revisit the place in 6 months. </p> Sanderson’s wheel of classification that the cast uses to exaggerate and misrepresent their poor bits of data and shoddy research. <p>The quality of the show is not improving after the first episode and I can reasonably guess that it won’t. The writing is dumb, and the cast appear as ignorant and like phony performers to anyone who knows even a little bit of cryptid history. </p><p>I realize that I am not the audience for this show. I know too much and can’t shut off critical thinking while watching. Furthermore, I have set expectations too high. This is the incorrect way to consume any TV show, even those portrayed as nonfiction. Television is intended to be passive and entertaining, a distraction from real life. The viewer is not supposed to check facts. It doesn’t matter if the presenters are unqualified. It only matters that it is interesting to watch. The problem arises when the programming tacitly asserts that it depicts legitimate research, that the events are real and happened as shown, and that the “talent” are doing science so the results are solid. That’s what Discovery Channel programming does best – play up pretend research as new, credible knowledge. Thanks to a generally poor understanding of how reliable knowledge is formulated, the audience has been lulled into thinking that what one sees on TV (or on the news station, or said by a person with a platform) is true and should be accepted. Instead of being disposable entertainment, viewers will unfortunately retain the idea that investigations can be meaningfully done by actors doing sciencey things and hyping their baseless claims on a small screen. This is how we all get dumber. </p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/abominable-snowmen/" target="_blank">#AbominableSnowmen</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/absm/" target="_blank">#ABSM</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/bigfoot/" target="_blank">#Bigfoot</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptid/" target="_blank">#cryptid</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptozoology/" target="_blank">#Cryptozoology</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/discovery-channel/" target="_blank">#DiscoveryChannel</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/grolar-bear/" target="_blank">#grolarBear</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/ivan-sanderson/" target="_blank">#IvanSanderson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/lost-monster-files/" target="_blank">#LostMonsterFiles</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/paranormal-television/" target="_blank">#paranormalTelevision</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/ruby-creek/" target="_blank">#RubyCreek</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/sasquatch/" target="_blank">#Sasquatch</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/sciencey/" target="_blank">#sciencey</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/scientifical/" target="_blank">#Scientifical</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/yeti/" target="_blank">#Yeti</a></p><p><a href="https://sharonahill.com/?p=8811" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">sharonahill.com/?p=8811</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>
JamesGlandonJr<p>New episode tonight! <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a></p>
JamesGlandonJr<p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/AEWDynamite" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AEWDynamite</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TBS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TBS</span></a> <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/AllIn" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AllIn</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ChrisHayes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ChrisHayes</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MSNBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MSNBC</span></a><br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LastWord" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LastWord</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LawrenceODonnell" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LawrenceODonnell</span></a> on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MSNBC" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MSNBC</span></a> <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ExpeditionUnknown" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ExpeditionUnknown</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/JoshGates" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JoshGates</span></a> - &quot;Petra&#39;s Secrets Revealed&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus<br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/LostMonsterFiles" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LostMonsterFiles</span></a> - &quot;Snow Beast of Ruby Creek&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus <br /><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DestinationsoftheDamned" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DestinationsoftheDamned</span></a> with <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ZakBagans" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ZakBagans</span></a> - &quot;Cursed Shores&quot; on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Discovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Discovery</span></a> and on demand on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/MAX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MAX</span></a> /#DiscoveryPlus </p><p>(2 of 2)</p>
Sharon A. Hill<p><strong>Lost Monster Files – Carolina Chupacabra review</strong></p><p>The Discovery Channel’s new series “Lost Monster Files” (LMF) is promoted as a cryptozoology program that uses a team of experts that consult the archives of “founder of cryptozoology”, Ivan T. Sanderson, in their investigations of modern claims of unclassified animals. The first episode, titled <em><a href="https://go.discovery.com/video/lost-monster-files-discovery-atve-us/carolina-chupacabra" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Carolina Chupacabra</a></em>, aired on 9 October 2024. Here is my review about the content and conclusions.</p><p><strong>Not a promising start</strong></p><p>There is not a lot of reliable background information on this show on the web. There was <a href="https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/new-series-lost-monster-files-reopens-recently-unearthed-decades-old-archive-famed" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">a press release</a> and that’s about it. The episodes listed in various places are jumbled and they are not yet airing on the usual streaming services (that is, it’s not on <em>Discovery +</em>). Here is the official blurb for the first episode:</p><p><em>In the premiere episode, the group investigates a series of strange livestock mutilations in the Smoky Mountains that locals fear could be tied to the infamous Chupacabra, which has terrorized the Southwest for decades.&nbsp;Using journals and evidence from Sanderson’s archive, the team investigates a rash of deadly encounters in North Carolina to try and document this killer canine…and the possibility that the creature could be migrating east.</em></p><p>Interestingly, I also found this alternate wording on another TV listing site that was more or less the same except for this part:</p><p><em>…the team attempts to uncover the identity of this killer canine and whether or not it could be part of a<strong> secret government testing program</strong>.</em></p><p>Right from the start, with the intro (<em>“A horrifying, blood-sucking beast is terrorizing Appalachia…”</em>), and the hint of conspiracy mongering from what might have been an earlier draft blurb, we’re in outlandish BS paranormal territory. The episode ends up NOT going there, at least, but I can’t help wonder if that was an editing decision. Before we get to the content, let’s check out the show’s “experts.”</p><p><strong>A Team of “Experts”</strong></p><p>From the press release: </p><p><em>The team includes field scientist and tech expert Charlie Mewshaw, cryptozoologist Brittany Barbieri, predator experts and wildlife trackers Troy Lillie and Justin Igualada, and former CIA officer and FBI agent Tracy Walder. Following evidence and theories buried away for decades and chasing up-to-the-minute encounters, they aim to bring fact to fiction by documenting one of these legendary creatures for the first time.</em></p><p>In the intro, we also are told that all of these people are “experts”. Obviously, we are meant to find them credible and experienced in investigating mystery animal claims. Mewshaw says he has several degrees, </p><ul><li>Barbieri is listed as a “cryptozoologist”, and the others are touted for their experience and knowledge. My idea of experts must be different than the producers as <span>none are zoologists or biologists</span>. Barbieri, is known as a paranormal researcher who has interest in UFOlogy. She has given herself the title of cryptozoologist like many others in that field. But her <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4731065/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">IMDB bio</a> states Actress, Writer and Producer. </li><li><a href="https://charliemewshaw.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Charlie Mewshaw</a> is an author, podcaster, and artist (and now “program host”) who cites his “natural resource science” background. It’s unclear what that means but it that is not “biology” or “zoology”.</li><li>Troy Lillie is Brittany’s brother. His job, according to Facebook, is Co-Owner of Crocstar clothing and produces crocodile-related conservation media content.</li><li>Justin Igualada is a wildlife handler and alligator wrestler.</li><li>I don’t doubt that CIA/FBI person Tracy Walder was what she said but it doesn’t actually have any value to a show about mysterious animals unless they are going to focus on eyewitness accounts (which seems like the way it’s going to go) or government secrets (which also might be the direction they are headed).</li></ul><p>So, from my point of view, this is a team of people who call themselves experts but they haven’t done much, if any, scientific research, published papers, and undergone peer review for their work. Discovery producers can call them “experts” and won’t get in trouble for it. I’ll drop in here a reminder that Sanderson himself had a degree in Zoology. Calling oneself an “expert” is usual for paranormal content, so this flummery is almost expected. </p><p>If I’m wrong about any of these assertions, feel free to let me know. The reason I’m irked by this use of “expert” in a presumably zoological show is because, if you are going to do animal investigations regarding interpretation, conclusions, etc., that is framed as scientific, you had better have some legit cred and know how science actually works. None of these people have that, though it will not be obvious to the casual viewer. This is a <em>Monster Quest</em>-style show where people are pretending to do science and look very serious-minded, but their conclusions mean little because the results are contrived without peer review and critique. Scientific discoveries aren’t legitimized via TV show.</p><p>Oh dear, I’ve shown all my cards already. But it’s no surprise that I deeply despise this ‘I play a scientist/researcher on TV’ gambit. It is how many nonfiction mystery docu-shows are formatted, which is, unfortunately, promoting misinformation to the audience. My choice would have actual scientists talking about this stuff, but, I’d bet they are busy creating actual knowledge.</p><p>At least LMF does not appear to be manufactured fiction like previous Discovery Network shows. And, it is possible that the content <em>could</em> be informative. Plus, we all know that <em>Monster Quest</em> was useful in getting people interested in animals. Some of those people undoubtedly realized that the MQ content was not altogether reliable; that it was solely entertainment, not scholarship.</p><p><strong>Episode 1: A tale of two chupacabras</strong></p><p>I’ll hit the few points that stuck out to me in this episode.</p><p><strong>Sanderson is emphasized as “the” founder of cryptozoology.</strong></p><p>I’m going to assume that the people reading this have some background in the history of cryptozoology. The program uses Ivan T. Sanderson’s ideas as a foundation, and maybe nothing more than a plot device. I’m a bit concerned about that. Sanderson was problematic but I enjoy his writing without taking it too seriously. The narration tells us Sanderson was “the” founder of cryptozoology. The press release says “a” founder of cryptozoology, which is more correct. There is no mention of Bernard Heuvelmans (“father of cryptozoology”) so far, but they do head to Minnesota… </p><p><strong>Where is the archive from?</strong></p><p>The archive of recordings, papers, binders, casts and animal remains are said to have been “lost” for 50 years and that this team got access to it in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I don’t know the background for this. Sanderson’s paper are known to be in the archives of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. I do not know the difference between the collections. Could this content be some of the material taken from his Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (<em>SITU</em>) headquarters in New Jersey? It was known that after his death people made off with stuff from the headquarters. The origin story of the archives is not addressed in the first episode.</p><p><strong>Hybrid canids and the chupacabra</strong></p><p>For this episode, the link to Sanderson, who wrote back in the 1950s and 60s, is that he considered that hybrid wolf-like canids could account for mystery animals in the US. This is the show’s jumping off point to discuss livestock deaths by mystery canids in both North Carolina and Texas. Brittany, Troy and Justin visit farmers in Appalachian North Carolina who report seeing a large canid and experiencing livestock deaths. Notably, the creature is said to be bigger than a coyote with some reporting “glowing green eyes”.</p><p>Meanwhile, Charlie and Tracy pay a visit to Phyllis Canion, owner of the iconic “chupacabra” that was killed and taxidermied in Cuero, Texas. Canion’s DNA test showed that the strange animal was a coyote with a mix of Mexican red wolf. However, it is notable that the “wolf” portion could have been introduced generations ago, <a href="https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/uc-davis-team-says-chupacabra-is-likely-coyote-wolf-mix/273-413564189" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">according to information from UC Davis</a>. In LMF, however, the DNA result is said to include a “unknown” portion as well. Much is made of this “mystery” as I will circle back to in a bit.</p>Phyllis Canion with the mounted version of the hairless animal killed near her Cuero, Texas ranch. <p>In North Carolina, a stake out by the crew with a live goat as bait resulted in a brief glimpse on infrared video of a canid shape racing through the area. Almost unbelievably, the animal ran into a pole they placed in the ground to act as a hair trap, dislodging it. It left not hair, but skin. The skin sample was sent for DNA testing and the result was said to be exactly the same as Canion’s result, leading to the team to conclude that it’s the same species of animal.</p><p><strong>Blood-sucking beast</strong></p><p>The history of the cryptid called a “chupacabra” is socially complex and rather confusing. If you know, you know. Throughout the episode, the cast states that it would be awesome to finally get proof of whatever the “chupacabra” is. However, not only is Canion’s animal referred to as a “chupacabra” (so we already know that, in this four-legged chupa-form, it’s a coyote), but the legend of other sightings are assumed to be factual, as if this is all one-in-the-same “new” species of animal that “drains the blood” of livestock. At no point is there ever mention of the fact that canids do not and cannot “suck” blood. Dead animals don’t bleed because blood quickly coagulates. If the carcass is “mutilated” by scavengers after it is deceased, there will not be blood everywhere. The cast appears to be egregiously ignorant of how biology works. Or the whole vampire angle is emphasized for creepy effect.</p><p><strong>Ridiculous conclusion</strong></p><p>A trendy idea by non-scientists in the fantastical cryptid scene is that dire wolves are still living out there. There is <strong>zero</strong> scientific evidence for this, not even a hint that they exist, with the youngest remains dated at about 10,000 years ago. LMF suggests that the “unknown” portion of the two DNA results <em>could</em> represent dire wolf, vindicating Sanderson’s hybrid idea. However, we do have DNA from extinct dire wolfs and it shows they diverged from other wolf lines nearly 6 million years ago. The animals in question are not part dire wolf. The real conclusion, no matter if you believe or not, is that these animals are weird looking coyotes. Wolf-like canids readily hybridize. The DNA mix appears to not be unusual as it is common for southern coyotes to have red wolf DNA, but, here, the gaps are exploited as “mysterious” for dramatic effect (and as misinformation). </p><p>Barbieri and Mewshaw casually decide, on the basis of dubious reports and DNA conjecture, that both animals belong to a new species that they call “Lykos sphinx” – and inappropriate and nonsensical name. Zoological names must be based on specimens, and be published, not a hot take from a TV show. This is undoubtedly the stupidest part of the show, even outdoing the gross sibling jibes (which are sort of realistic and funny) and gratuitous sexist reference about Brittany asking to talk to other witnesses. </p><p>I’m not buying much of the “evidence” in this presentation. The premise of a blood sucking, green eyed, ravenous beast is supported. Coyotes, and many other things, kill livestock and there are several explanations for why a body remained uneaten. I’m not even convinced by the bite marks on the dead pig shown. Too many questions remain unanswered and the anecdotes are also unconvincing. LMF appears to be another in a very long parade of samey pseudoscience paranormal shows. The <a href="https://sharonahill.com/scientific-or-scientifical/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">scientifical</a> cast appears to want to use the gimmick that Sanderson was prescient in thinking about cryptids decades ago. I feel this is reaching, and it doesn’t land well. I will watch a few more episodes to see.</p><p><strong>Real mystery animal out there?</strong></p><p>I don’t want to end on that note – there is something interesting to me going on with animals like the one Phyllis Canion found and I would like to know more from actual experts. The Cuero specimen has some unique characteristics, and I wonder if more than one animal like this has been documented. In a way, these pseudo-chupacabra animals are cryptids in that the legend is growing and outpacing the ability of scientific information to reach the public. </p> <p>Sometimes called “Texas blue dogs” for their hairless, blue-skinned appearance, some show hairlessness beyond typical patterns of sarcoptic mange, and have unusual jaws, eye color, leg length, etc. I cannot find that there was ever a published article on these specimens, if they fall within the range of morphology for coyotes, and if this ties into the claims about these hybrid animals as a population or an anomaly. It would make an actual good show to hear more about this and see what’s real and what has been exaggerated. </p><p class="">For more info on the history of the chupacabra, check out Benjamin Radford’s <em><a href="https://moderncryptozoology.wordpress.com/2016/03/05/tracking-the-chupacabra-b-radford/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Tracking the Chupacabra </a></em>(2011)</p><p>More: <a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-produces-some-abominable-research/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Episode 2, ABSM and the origin of the files</a> and <a href="https://sharonahill.com/lost-monster-files-thunderbird-episode-flies-in-the-face-of-reason/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Episode 3, Pennsylvania Thunderbird</a></p><p></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/chupacabra/" target="_blank">#chupacabra</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/coyote/" target="_blank">#coyote</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptid/" target="_blank">#cryptid</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptozoology/" target="_blank">#Cryptozoology</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/dire-wolf/" target="_blank">#direWolf</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/dna/" target="_blank">#DNA</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/ivan-sanderson/" target="_blank">#IvanSanderson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/lost-monster-files/" target="_blank">#LostMonsterFiles</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/monster-quest/" target="_blank">#MonsterQuest</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/paranormal-tv/" target="_blank">#paranormalTV</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/phyllis-canion/" target="_blank">#PhyllisCanion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/review-of-lost-monster-files/" target="_blank">#ReviewOfLostMonsterFiles</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/sciencey/" target="_blank">#sciencey</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/scientifical/" target="_blank">#Scientifical</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/texas-blue-dogs/" target="_blank">#TexasBlueDogs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/tv-show/" target="_blank">#TVShow</a></p><p><a href="https://sharonahill.com/?p=8791" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">sharonahill.com/?p=8791</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>
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