LO!

Magazine Overview

LO! magazine, Issue #4, dated December 1995, presents itself as "THE INTELLECTUAL NEWSLETTER THAT CHALLENGES THE MIND." This issue delves into a variety of mysterious and unexplained phenomena, ranging from local legends and ghost stories to scientific anomalies and cryptid sightings.

The Blue Lady of Moss Beach

The issue opens with "The Blue Lady of Moss Beach," detailing a popular ghost story from Northern California. The Moss Beach Distillery is known for its romantic ghosts, and the "Blue Lady" legend was recently featured on the NBC TV series "Unsolved Mysteries." The story recounts a tragic affair from about 70 years prior, involving a beautiful young woman dressed in blue who met a sophisticated, dangerous man. Despite being married, she fell passionately in love with him, conducting secret rendezvous. Tragedy struck during a November storm when she died in a car accident on her way to meet him. Her ghost is said to wander the beach, sometimes calling out to children, warning them away from the cliffs. The legend also mentions a second woman who, upon discovering the lover's infidelity, committed suicide by jumping off the cliffs.

Commuting Pigeons?

Another peculiar report details pigeons in London observed using "the tube" (the Underground) to commute. Following an inquiry by New Scientist, readers shared accounts of pigeons knowing where to go, which lines to take, and at what stations to disembark. One reader, Lorna Read, described a pigeon calmly hopping on the Northern Line carriage at King's Cross and exiting at Euston.

Giant Sea Waves

This section discusses ocean waves that towered 100 feet, the highest ever recorded in the North Atlantic. These waves formed during two East Coast winter storms in recent years, one in 1991 near Nova Scotia and another in 1993 during "The Storm of the Century." These monster waves were nearly twice as high as those typically seen in a hurricane and 50 percent larger than "100-year waves." Vincent Cardone, a meteorologist, expressed surprise that such waves could occur off the U.S. East Coast, as previous data suggested 100-year waves should be no higher than about 72 feet. The heights were recorded by ocean buoys deployed by Canada.

Cosmic Ray Mystery

A mysterious force hurling particles at Earth with immense energy, defying known physics, has brought scientists to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago. Researchers, led by Nobel laureate physicist James Cronin, aim to detect these ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. Two known rays have been measured with energies 100 million times greater than those produced at Fermi, with scientists noting that even the explosion of the largest stars couldn't produce such particles according to current physics laws.

Another Arkansas Ghost Light

This article revisits the "Gurdon Light," a mysterious luminous apparition seen north of Gurdon, Arkansas, on the Union Pacific Railroad tracks since 1931. Hundreds have reported seeing this strange pulsating light, believed to be the ghost of a railroad employee named Will McClain. McClain was murdered by a worker named Lewis McBride in December 1931 after McClain fired him. McBride confessed and was executed in 1932. The light, which appears at irregular intervals, sometimes fades, changes, or revolves, and has been captured on film. Despite scientific investigations offering explanations like swamp gas or headlights, locals remain convinced it's a ghost. One account describes the light following a train and then disappearing into a graveyard, only to reappear over Will McClain's headstone.

New York State Kangaroo

This piece reports on sightings of a kangaroo in Webster, New York, starting July 6 and 7. Two residents, Carol Catalino and Margaret Casciano, reported seeing the marsupial. Lt. Robert Steinorth of the Webster Police Department suggested it might have been a deer hopping on its hind legs due to injured front legs. While the "real" kangaroo is believed to have moved on, the "kangaroo" appeared in a parade in a costume. Carol Catalino maintained it was a real kangaroo, describing eye contact and a long, thick tail.

Washington Bigfoot Reported

Paul Freeman, a former U.S. Forest Service employee, claims to have witnessed Bigfoot again, this time with two witnesses. On August 5th, in the Blue Mountains of Washington, he and two other men reportedly saw a tall, hairy creature, about 8 feet tall and tan-brown. They collected hair samples, plaster footprint molds, and noted signs like a strong odor and twisted trees. They were unable to capture the creature on camera due to poor lighting.

New Search for Bigfoot

Following earlier unsuccessful searches in China's Hubei Province, a new government-sanctioned search party is being organized for "Bigfoot" (or the "Abominable Snowman"). This survey will combine high-tech aerial equipment with ground observers, deploying balloons with infrared-sensing instruments 2,000 feet above the forest.

Publisher and Subscription Information

LO! is published quarterly by the United Aerial Phenomena Agency, P.O. Box 347032, Cleveland, Ohio 44134. Editors are Allan J. Manak and Rick R. Hilberg, with Carol J. Hilberg as Managing Editor. Subscriptions are $7.00 for four issues or $13.00 for eight issues, with an additional $3.00 per year for subscriptions outside the U.S.A.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue of LO! magazine are ghosts, unexplained lights, unusual animal sightings, and cryptids, alongside reports of extreme natural phenomena like giant waves and high-energy cosmic rays. The editorial stance appears to be one of presenting intriguing, often anecdotal, accounts of mysteries from around the world, sourced from various publications and local reports, without necessarily endorsing them as definitive fact but rather as subjects worthy of intellectual consideration and curiosity.