Bilk - no 046 - 1992 03

Magazine Overview

This is BILK #46, published in March 1992 by Ulrich Magin in Germany. The magazine focuses on unusual phenomena, including cryptids, UFOs, and folklore.

BEHEMOTH

Loch Ness

The article notes that the most recent issue of Nessletter (#23 105) details the Loch Ness Project's investigation plans. However, the monster itself plays a minor or nonexistent role, with the team's work directed at lake morphometry, seismic work, and small organisms. The Times (January 18) reported on Japanese interest in the Loch Ness Monster, suggesting the tourist board should emphasize it in Asian campaigns. The Mannheimer Morgen (December 28, 1991) reviewed new betting quotas in Great Britain regarding evidence for Nessie's existence.

Tatzelwurm

A historic overview of Tatzelwurm sightings from 1673 to 1969 is presented, based on an article in Pursuit 22:1 by Luis Schönherr. While the article includes sightings from Yugoslavia and reports of dragons, a story from Mongolia is considered out of place.

Bibliography

The weekly "Zeit" (November 15, 1991) featured an article about a British landscape artist planning to erect a pyramid at the shore of Lough Abisdealy, Eire, a location known for monster sightings. Notes on Beckjord's Cryptozoology Museum in Malibu are referenced from Pursuit 22:1, and a report on the recent wave of monster sightings in Lake Erie is mentioned from Fotean Times 60.

ISIS

Initial Bipedalism

Francois de Sarre has provided a further compilation of his articles on his theory of initial bipedalism, referencing publications in 3°Millenaire and Parasciences Transcommunication. The theory appears to link early human locomotion with mythological narratives.

Abducted by Mermen

This section expands on previous discussions in BILK #45 regarding mermen-related abductions and pregnancies, comparing them to modern UFO abduction reports. Fortean Times 60 reports on women in Swaziland being abducted by mermen, aligning with older European stories. The article then delves into Brazilian folklore, where fishermen believe dolphins can transform into humans. These transformed dolphins, known as "chicas preciosas" (beautiful girls) as females and hiding their blowholes as males, are said to lure human women, particularly to dance and sleep with them. A specific case from Bria Grande, Rio Negro, is cited where a woman became pregnant from a dolphin, giving birth to a child with a dolphin's head and two spouting holes. An informant of Jacques Cousteau confirmed that this belief is fading, with dolphins no longer transforming into young people. At Pucallpa, Peru, Cousteau encountered an old fisherman who claimed a dolphin lady, transformed into a young girl, visited him. The fisherman resisted her advances due to fear of witchcraft. He also confirmed that girls unexpectedly pregnant believed they had been raped by dolphins. The article mentions a case where a mother's strong pains during pregnancy were attributed to a dolphin, resulting in the abortion of a fetus resembling a fish or grey dolphin. The practice of noting a dolphin as the father on birth certificates in former times is also mentioned. A functionalist analysis suggests that the embryo's fish-like appearance might have contributed to these legends. The article broadly connects these stories to other marine creatures worldwide (dolphins in South America, mermaids in Africa and Europe, seals and selkies in Scotland, sharks in the South Seas) that share the ability to transform, lure humans to their death, or abduct them. This phenomenon is categorized under neo-cryptozoology, dealing with mythical rather than biological creatures, and is presented as nearly identical to UFO abduction stories. A previous story from BILK about a Philippine woman giving birth to a fish is recalled as a related piece of this puzzle.

LEVIATHAN

The "Sea Monster" of Marseille

An article in "Tauchen" (Munich, January 1992) by Patrick Mouton is mentioned, discussing a painting in the Grotte 'Henri Cosquer' cave, dated ca. 18,000 BC. The painting depicts a creature that could be a seal, penguin, or turtle, with the author questioning its identification as a penguin or turtle and suggesting "Fabulous beast" as a more fitting description.

Movie

German TV channel RTL showed an Italian-French movie from 1984, "Der Monsterhai," directed by John Old Jr., which combined elements of giant sharks and giant octopuses attacking swimmers off Florida. On January 24, German TV ARD aired a documentary on sea serpents, "Seeschlangen – Mythos und Wirklichkeit," by Sigurd Tesche.

KRAKEN

Giant Octopuses

German TV finally screened a film, shown on November 11, of giant octopuses off Washington, filmed with divers. The film showcased these intelligent creatures moving across the ocean bed and interacting with crab baskets. The largest specimen observed had a diameter of 5 meters (18 ft).

Bibliography

"Strange 8, p.38" is cited for an article on the capture of giant squid and possible cycles. Michel Raynal and Michel Dethier have written a comprehensive article in French on the "Florida giant octopus," including sightings, sonar data, and scientific analysis, concluding that the creature likely exists. This paper was published in the Bulletin de la Société neuchâteloise des Sciences naturelles.

USO (Unidentified Submerged Object)

Light Wheel

The Soviet research vessel "Vladimir Vobyrov" reportedly observed a giant lightwheel in the sea in the Gulf of Bengal in 1976. The CENAP Report 188 (October 1991) references a National Enquirer report from March 30, 1983, which describes a real UFO emerging from the sea. Russian ufologist Nikita A Schnee investigated the case, finding it to be unexplained. A book by Marina Popowitsch, "UFO Glasnost," provides a fuller account of the sighting, referring to it as an enigmatic light wheel.

Lake Constance

According to the Salzburger Tagblatt (June 14, 1977), reprinted in Cenap Report 1/92, two customs officers at Hagnau reported seeing a "ball of fire or burning plane" crash into Lake Constance. Searches for oil traces were unsuccessful.

Bibliography

Cenap Report 1/92, p.23, refers to a UFO sighting over the island of Rügen in east Germany. Lights traveling over the sea were identified as probable planes. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (November 8, 1991) reported an incident where the American submarine "Spadefish" collided with the trawler "Le Nohic" in the British Channel.

WHALES

Mass Strandings

In Tasmania, 117 dead and 51 living "grind" whales stranded at Hobart. Just three days later, 409 whales of the same species stranded on the coast of Patagonia, discovered north of Comodore Rivadavia. A 24-ft Bryde's Whale stranded in South Carolina on January 29.

MIXED BAG

Mysterious Submarines

Fortean Times 60, p.64, mentions mysterious submarines in Swedish waters.

Dolphin Incidents

A Briton was cleared of charges of sexually exiting a dolphin at Newcastle, a theme echoed in the "Isis" section of this issue. Rheinpfalz and The London Times reported on this. Separately, a Chinese schoolgirl saved a dolphin that had swum up a river from the South China Sea, preventing it from being cooked by arranging for its transfer to a zoo. Rheinpfalz reported this event.

Other Incidents

A 21-year-old swimmer was attacked and killed by sharks off Mombasa, according to a Reuter report in Die Rheinpfalz. Two small piranhas were caught in the Garonne River in France in September 1991, as reported by Utrechts Nieuwsblad.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue of BILK include the investigation of cryptids like the Loch Ness Monster and Tatzelwurm, the exploration of ancient myths and folklore concerning shapeshifting creatures (mermen, dolphins), and the reporting of unexplained aerial and submerged phenomena (UFOs, USOs, mysterious submarines). The magazine also covers unusual animal behavior and incidents, such as mass whale strandings and shark attacks. The editorial stance appears to be one of open inquiry into anomalous events, drawing connections between historical accounts, folklore, and modern reports, often framing these within the context of neo-cryptozoology and comparing them to UFO abduction narratives. There is a clear interest in the intersection of myth, biology, and unexplained phenomena.