Called among other things, portal areas or window zones, these areas can be found around the world. Examples include England's Cannock Chase, Vermont's Bennington Triangle and the infamous Skinwalker Ranch in Utah.
Of course a new book about such an area is always of interest to me and I've just read one that fits the bill perfectly. Monsterland by Ronny Le Blanc.
Monsterland itself is an area of Leominster, Massachusetts. Within its boundaries are reports of UFOs, Bigfoot, and glowing orange orbs that dart around in the sky. The book covers all of these topics and gives us a good picture of Monsterland.
Le Blanc quotes well known cryptozoologist Loren Coleman who gives us a great description of the area:
"...Leominster State Forest, a 4,300 acre parcel of forested land that includes the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation, containing the largest known area of old-growth forest east of the Connecticut River in Massachusetts. The entire greenway is composed of hardwood forests, alpine meadows, ponds, streams, and wood and shrub swamps. The area supports a rich and diverse wildlife and bird population.
Findings of Bigfoot tracks are so frequent in the area of Southern Leominster that it is known by residents thereabouts as "MONSTERLAND," a name that began during the time of sightings by local citizens of a hairy-manlike creature off Route 2 in the 1950's and 1960's."
The book covers historic accounts from the region, along with modern ones and Le Blanc's personal journey is an integral part of the text as he takes us along on some of the curious things that he has found in his explorations, all interwoven into the strange fabric of Monsterland.
Ronny also gives us the full story on what turned into a "life changing event" for Bill and Julie Penning. The discovery of a Sasquatch track and a report that caught the attention of the crew of Finding Bigfoot and led to an appearance on the show.
Some researchers aren't comfortable with the potential interconnection between various types of phenomena. Mention UFOs and Bigfoot in the same sentence and you'll see some eyes roll at the least, or fits of anger at the worse. I'm glad to see that's not the case in this book. It stood out to me that Le Blanc goes into his research with eyes wide open and seemingly without any preconceived notion of what the explanation may be. This is key to exploring such areas.
Monsterland, the area itself, is not a region that has received much attention or documentation so Le Blanc has done a great service to those who research such zones of high strangeness and unusual phenomena in general.
I recommend this book for those with an interest in Sasquatch, UFOs, and the interconnections of different types of phenomena. And of course, if you enjoy reading about zones of weird events, this is one to grab.
Personally, I'm now looking forward to a chance to go and explore Monsterland (the actual place) myself!
Monasterland is available at Amazon.com
I willingly admit, that I'm one of those close-minded people that doesn't like to mix my UFOs with my squatches, although both topics I find very intriguing. I wonder why I'm so against mixing the two?
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds fascinating to me. I live in mass but have not heard about Leominster mass. I might have to take a ride someday and spend some time there just finished your book on black eyed children and found it fascinating. I've heard of them but have not encountered them
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing such a great book. -Debbie.