Buzz
Exploring the shadowy depths of the unexplained and supernatural, you'll encounter a plethora of terms frequently used to describe these phenomena. Each term has an origin story, often tied to intriguing individuals whose contributions are worth discovering.
10. Vincent Gaddis – The ‘Bermuda Triangle’
The Bermuda Triangle stands as one of the world's most renowned enigmatic locations, with a history stretching back centuries. Long before the infamous disappearance of Flight 19, even Christopher Columbus documented peculiar lights and erratic compass behavior in the area now known as the Bermuda Triangle.
The term 'Bermuda Triangle' was first introduced in 1964 by writer Vincent Gaddis in an article for Argosy magazine. Featured on the cover was the story of the vanished Flight 19, and Gaddis’s naming of the region as the 'Bermuda Triangle' breathed new life into the legend. In his piece, Gaddis detailed notable disappearances, such as the Marine Sulphur Queen tanker in 1963 and two KC-135 Air Force jets the same year. He claimed that over 1,000 individuals had vanished in the area over the past 20 years, with the US military admitting they were 'baffled.' Gaddis remarked, 'The Bermuda Triangle highlights that, despite advanced technology, our world remains vast enough for people, ships, and planes to vanish without a trace.'
Navigational challenges in the Bermuda Triangle stem not only from weather but also from unique natural phenomena, such as the alignment of true north and magnetic north, which can disrupt compass readings. Gaddis’s use of terms like 'menace' and his description of a mysterious 'hole in the sky' added an air of foreboding to the region. However, the area’s disappearance rate is comparable to other heavily traversed oceanic zones.
9. Charles Richet – ‘Ectoplasm’
Ectoplasm is considered the material from which ghosts are formed. During the Victorian era, seances became immensely popular. Skilled mediums used clever tricks to persuade audiences they were manifesting spirits in tangible forms. Common items like cheesecloth, and sometimes even animal parts, were used to mimic a strange, supernatural substance that Charles Richet first named 'ectoplasm.'
Before dismissing the concept as mystical nonsense, it’s worth noting Richet’s impressive scientific background. A Nobel Prize winner for his research on anaphylaxis and allergens, as well as groundbreaking work on the nervous system and anesthesia, Richet approached ectoplasm with a scientific mindset. Given that living cells contain plasma, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable to theorize the existence of other forms of plasma in the universe.
The concept of ectoplasm was documented in seances as early as the 1870s, but Richet formally introduced the term in his 1923 book, Thirty Years of Psychical Research: Being a Treatise on Metaphysics. He described it as a tentacle-like, filamentous substance originating from a medium’s body but capable of detaching. He also observed that it appeared to interact with and explore the physical world.
Richet didn’t invent the word; it had a scientific origin before becoming linked to spiritual phenomena. The Oxford English Dictionary records its first appearance in 1883, describing the gelatinous structure of an amoeba.
8. Ivan T. Sanderson – ‘Out-Of-Place-Artifacts’ (‘Ooparts’)
Ivan T. Sanderson, like many paranormal researchers, began his career in legitimate science. Educated at Eton and Cambridge, he traveled globally, collecting specimens for prestigious British museums and even served the British Ministry of Information during World War II. Stationed in New York City during the war, his career shifted from traditional science to the public spotlight. Starting as a respected nature writer, he transitioned to television and radio, where tales of the unknown, paranormal, and monstrous captivated audiences more than his earlier work. By the 1960s, he focused almost entirely on unconventional science, popularizing Bigfoot, founding the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained, and publishing his own magazine.
Sanderson not only popularized Bigfoot, inspiring wealthy individuals to finance expeditions to find the elusive creature, but he also introduced the term 'Ooparts,' or 'Out-of-Place-Artifacts,' to describe objects defying conventional scientific explanation. He argued these artifacts, often found embedded in geological layers where they don’t belong, hinted at unexplained phenomena beyond our understanding.
Writers like David Hatcher Childress have embraced Ooparts as a key element of paranormal studies. Citing examples such as ancient Roman coins discovered in Latin American burial sites or Assyrian-inscribed stones found in the Americas, Childress and others propose extraordinary theories to explain these anomalies, suggesting ancient civilizations crossed the Atlantic long before recorded history.
7. John Wall, Lucien Blancou & Bernard Heuvelmans – ‘Cryptozoology’ And ‘Cryptids’
Cryptozoology stands as one of the most recognized pseudosciences, with its name’s origins as mysterious as the creatures it investigates. The term first appeared in print in 1959, in a book by French author Lucien Blancou. Blancou dedicated his work to Bernard Heuvelmans, whom he hailed as the 'master of cryptozoology.' Heuvelmans claimed to have coined the term, though Ivan T. Sanderson independently conceived the same word around the same time.
Another account suggests Heuvelmans credited Sanderson with inventing the term. However, the word 'cryptozoological' predates both, appearing in a 1941 review of Willy Ley’s book, The Lungfish, the Dodo and the Unicorn. Subtitled 'An Excursion into Romantic Zoology,' the book explored a collection of mythical and fantastical creatures, blending fact and folklore about these enigmatic beings.
While 'cryptozoologist' and 'cryptid' seem inseparable, 'cryptid' wasn’t introduced until 1983. John Wall proposed the term in a letter to the International Society of Cryptozoology, suggesting it as a scientific-sounding label for unknown or unusual creatures, replacing earlier, less formal terms.
The definition of 'cryptid' sparked debate for years. By 2004, the cryptozoology community settled on a classification system dividing potential cryptids into four categories: species appearing outside their known range, known species with undocumented variations (e.g., size or color), creatures resembling extinct species, and entirely unknown or undocumented entities.
6. Jenny Randles – The ‘Oz Factor’
When people describe UFO encounters, they often mention an unusual sense of calm during the experience. In 1983, British author and paranormal researcher Jenny Randles coined the term 'Oz Factor' to describe this dissociative state, inspired by the fictional land of Oz.
Randles believed the Oz Factor revealed significant insights into these encounters. She argued that the calmness experienced by witnesses indicated aliens were targeting not just their physical bodies but also their consciousness. She developed this concept while investigating a case where one man saw an alien craft while another saw nothing. Randles proposed the idea of a 'zone of influence' around UFOs, suggesting only those within this zone could perceive and remember the event.
Through extensive research and interviews, Randles identified recurring patterns in witness accounts. She noted a mental 'tingle,' a feeling of being called, the disappearance of background noise, and a sense of isolation. She found that most encounters involved an average of 2.6 witnesses, leading her to conclude that these events targeted individuals, isolating their consciousness and disrupting the usual flow of information between the brain and the external world, akin to entering the magical realm of Oz.
5. Alfred Watkins – ‘Ley Lines’
Today, ley lines are often associated with paranormal theories, believed to form a global network of energy connecting distant locations. Whether tied to New Age beliefs, dowsing, or magnetism, ley lines are steeped in mysticism, though their origins were far more grounded.
In 1921, Alfred Watkins was traveling through the English countryside when he paused atop a hill. He noticed a striking pattern of straight paths below, linking ancient barrows, churches, standing stones, and old trees. Watkins described this revelation as a 'flood of ancestral memory.' He later mapped these lines, calling them 'ley-lines,' and proposed they crisscrossed the entire country. By September 1921, he presented his findings in his first lecture on the subject.
Watkins’ theory was rooted in historical context. He believed ley lines were remnants of ancient pathways used by early inhabitants for trade and travel. These routes connected significant locations, which he termed 'beckon sites,' and included markers like churches, cairns, and monoliths. Watkins suggested these straight lines were the shortest routes between points, used by craftsmen, pilgrims, and traders navigating the landscape.
After Watkins passed away in 1935, his Straight Track Club, which focused on mapping ley lines, disbanded. Despite failing to gain mainstream archaeological acceptance, John Mitchell later reinterpreted ley lines as mystical pathways forming an energy grid that linked Britain’s ancient landmarks.
4. Ivan T. Sanderson (Again) – The ‘Devil’s Graveyard’ And The ‘Vile Vortex’
In the 1970s, Ivan T. Sanderson published a diagram and article in speculative magazines introducing his concept of the '12 Vile Vortices.' Titled 'The Twelve Devil’s Graveyards Around the World,' the article expanded on his earlier work on the Bermuda Triangle. Sanderson claimed these 12 global locations experienced unusually high rates of disappearances involving planes, ships, and people, linked to unique electromagnetic patterns.
Sanderson argued these areas formed a distinct global pattern, spaced at 72-degree intervals. The 12 vortices included the North and South Poles, the Bermuda Triangle, the Algerian Megalithic Ruins near Timbuktu, Karachi in Pakistan, the Devil’s Sea Triangle near Iwo Jima, Hamakulia (southeast of Hawaii), the megaliths of Sarawak in Borneo, Nan Madol in Micronesia, the heart of Inca culture in South America, Easter Island, and Gabon in West Africa. Following his publication, Soviet researchers proposed a theory aligning these vortices with a dodecahedron model, suggesting the 12 vortices fit perfectly within this geometric framework.
David Hatcher Childress also explored the concept of vile vortices, attempting to map what he termed the 'world grid.' Some theories suggest these sites, where electromagnetic anomalies and mysterious disappearances occur, are weak points or gateways to other dimensions. According to writer Nicholas R. Nelson, when these vortices open, people vanish.
3. Albert Bender And Gray Barker – ‘Men In Black’
The Men in Black are among the most unsettling figures in modern folklore. Often appearing after UFO encounters, they are described as military-like figures with peculiar physical traits, suggesting their creators had a vague understanding of humanity but lacked firsthand experience.
However, their origins were rooted in a joke—one that was rather cruel.
In the 1950s, Albert Bender established the International Flying Saucer Bureau and launched the magazine Space Review. Despite its official-sounding name, the organization had only one member: Bender himself. He operated it from a skull-decorated room in his stepfather’s home, which he dubbed 'The Chamber of Horrors.' Later, he appointed Gray Barker as the chief investigator.
Around this time, Project Blue Book concluded that UFOs were not the threat some, including Bender’s organization, claimed. Although his one-man operation wasn’t specifically mentioned, the report pushed Bender over the edge. When he announced the closure of his organization to a local newspaper, he claimed three men in dark suits had visited him, threatening him to stop publishing UFO-related information.
Gray Barker recognized the potential of this story. In 1962, he persuaded Bender to write a book about his experiences. Flying Saucers and the Three Men described Bender’s alleged astral projection to an alien base in Antarctica, where he encountered aliens with three genders and later saw the Men in Black. Barker, however, had already fabricated the Men in Black narrative in his own book, They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers, where he invented the entire story.
The story has a tragic undertone: Barker viewed his work as entertainment, never expecting it to be taken seriously. To bolster the Men in Black myth, he even sent fake letters to UFO publications using forged Department of Defense stationery. Meanwhile, Bender may have genuinely believed the Men in Black were after him, a delusion that Barker’s storytelling popularized in pop culture.
2. Jean Paul – ‘Doppelganger’
The concept of a doppelganger, meaning 'one who goes twice,' is undeniably eerie. This idea dates back to ancient Rome, where effigies of deceased emperors were used in symbolic rituals. These effigies were tended by doctors, mourned by subjects, and publicly cremated, a practice later adopted in medieval Europe. However, it wasn’t until the 1790s that writer Jean Paul introduced the term 'doppelganger.'
In 1796, Jean Paul authored Siebenkas, a tale of two men who were so alike in appearance that they could swap identities without detection. Despite their identical looks, Siebenkas and Leibgeber had contrasting personalities. Their decision to marry unsuspecting women led to humorous situations typical of 18th-century storytelling.
Jean Paul was deeply fascinated by the separation between appearance and personality, often crafting unsettling narratives where protagonists faced situations that split the mind and body. In The Invisible Lodge, unnamed doppelgangers took the form of wax dolls replicating human characters, highlighting the disconnect between our physical and mental states. In Hesperus, the protagonist creates a wax replica of himself, leading to a mental detachment from his body. By his third book, Siebenkas, the themes became even more complex and challenging to interpret.
The book was so unconventional that it was banned by censors, who found it confusing and without purpose. Despite this, the term 'doppelganger' endured, albeit with a twist. Initially, the characters were referred to as doppeltganger, which Jean Paul defined as 'the name for people who see themselves.' Interestingly, 'doppelganger' originally described two courses served simultaneously in a meal, rather than consecutively.
1. J. Allen Hynek – ‘Close Encounters’
The phrase 'close encounters' gained fame through Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but it was astronomer Josef Allen Hynek who first coined the term. He categorized seven types of encounters, ranging from the First Kind (observing objects in the sky) to the Seventh Kind (human-alien hybridization). The origin of these terms is as intriguing as the encounters themselves.
Hynek served as a consultant for Project Blue Book, the infamous US Air Force initiative to investigate UFO sightings. Initially a leading skeptic, he later became a prominent advocate for studying UFOs with the same rigor applied to other scientific phenomena. His interest in the occult and Rosicrucian writings predated his involvement with Project Sign in 1948, the Air Force’s first effort to uncover the truth behind what they suspected was advanced Soviet technology.
For years, Hynek dismissed UFO sightings as meteors, planets, or weather balloons. However, after interviewing numerous military pilots, he began to reconsider his stance. By 1966, he distanced himself from official programs and urged the formation of a scientific committee to address what he saw as a genuine and significant concern.
Hynek’s credibility in his field suffered a major blow. By 1968, colleagues who once respected him grew increasingly dismissive. His 1972 book, The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry, aimed to restore scientific legitimacy to UFO studies by introducing a classification system for close encounters. However, the astronomical community largely rejected his efforts, especially after he appeared on television and joined a panel of experts assembled by The National Enquirer.
