This past week on Coast to Coast AM, we explored a number of fascinating topics, including the cattle mutilation phenomenon, 'spirit animals,' and the sociology of paranormal research groups. And here at the C2C website, we told you about an intriguing new study of possible Amelia Earhart distress signals, a weird darkness that enveloped part of Siberia, and a woman who claims to have used telepathy to survive a harrowing cougar encounter. Check out our look back at some of this week's C2C highlights ... In Coast You Missed It.
The infamous cattle mutilation phenomenon was covered extensively on Sunday night's program by way of an appearance by researchers Carl Nally and Dermot Butler, who detailed this history of this perplexing mystery. They noted that, in most instances, 'mutilation' is really the wrong term to describe the incidents as these unfortunate creatures appear to have been carved up with surgical precision. As to what may be behind the phenomenon, the duo mused that "someone or something" seems to be conducting a survey of the animals and, clearly, isn't trying to hide the aftermath of gruesome research.
This past Tuesday would have been Amelia Earhart's 121st birthday and the famed aviatrix found her way into the news once again via a new study which examined potential distress calls made by the lost pilot after her disappearance. The intriguing research project found a whopping 57 such radio signals believed to have come from Earhart and they paint a grim picture of her final days. Pieced together, the calls indicate that she and her navigator Fred Noonan crashed on an island in the South Pacific, where they suffered debilitating injuries that appear to have led to their demise as the radio signals reportedly stopped after a week.
Physician-turned-shamanic practitioner Sarah Bamford Seidelmann discussed her surprising career change on Thursday night's program and explained how it was inspired by her connection with 'spirit animals.' Specifically, she said that the decision to pursue this path came from a message imparted to her from a taxidermied walrus that communicated with her on a 'symbolic level.' Since that time, Seidelmann has specialized in connecting with wild animals as she believes that they provide powerful insights which can help a person improve their lives should they emulate the characteristics of these creatures, such as the fearlessness of a shark.
Speaking of psychic communication with animals, an Oregon woman believes she did just that when she encountered a mountain lion that had wandered into her home. Lauren Taylor became something of a viral sensation thanks to her vivid recollection of the strange experience in which she purportedly 'spoke' to the big cat using telepathy. The amazing six-hour-long incident, she says, culminated with her sending images of how the cougar could escape from her home and, remarkably, the fearsome feline followed her imparted instructions exactly as she had sent them.
When it comes to the paranormal, one of the more fascinating facets of the field may be those who research these anomalies. And on Tuesday night's program, sociologist Marc Eaton talked about his work learning about these researchers by embedding himself in ghost hunting groups. Among the many insights discovered during the process, he said, were that paranormal investigation teams are often reticent to ascribe something as supernatural. On the contrary and as opposed to what skeptics might think, the groups generally begin by suggesting mundane explanations for the oddities they encounter and only turn to the paranormal when there seems to be no other solution.
Meanwhile, one of the weirder mysteries we've seen in a while unfolded in Siberia when a huge swath of the region was shrouded in darkness for three hours and no one is quite sure why. Although it was initially suggested that the strange event was due to smoke from a nearby wildfire, the case took a puzzling turn when one official insisted that could not be the case. This, in turn, led to speculation that the darkness had a more exotic origin such as some kind of clandestine military operation or, as one witness put it, "this can only be explained by a UFO."
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