ATLANTIS RISING

By Brad Steiger

Galde Press, 2007 • 193 pages, $14.95 • ISBN: 978-1-931942-32-4

Reviewed by Scott Corrales

Inexplicata gives this book five stars (* * * * *)

About thirty years ago, a schoolboy walked into a local bookstore and noticed a misplaced book: a paperback with a Frank Frazetta cover had been inadvertently placed in the science fiction section when it should have been in the esoterica aisle (as it was called back then). Intrigued, he leafed through it and found himself spending at least half an hour reading at the store, too irresistible to put down. After buying it, he continued perusing its contents on the bus back home; the next day, the book accompanied him to school, where he read it during class time, keeping it from the watchful, restless eyes of Sister Lewis Marie.

The book with the Frazetta cover was called Atlantis Rising, its author was Brad Steiger, and the inquisitive schoolboy was me.

Atlantis was always a name to charm anyone with an interest in antiquity, real or legendary. Comic books like Korg: 70,000 BC pitted cavemen against red-tunicked Atlanteans with high technology, Robert E. Howard’s Conan The Barbarian was set in the centuries after the fall of Atlantis. Movies about Atlantis and its lethal death rays filled the afternoon hours: Captain Nemo found Atlantis; James Bond destroyed it in The Spy Who Loved Me. In the 19th century, supporters of the lost continent rioted in the streets for love of their idealized paradise. But all of these references were clearly framed in the realm of fiction. Atlantis Rising was the first book in paperback form to reach an audience who knew about Atlantis, but not nearly enough. A book that reach deep into the bag of mystery to give its readers a feel for the multiple and marvelous theories regarding the lost continent in what we tentatively refer to as the “real world”.

It took Brad Steiger’s gift of making the arcane accessible to the unspecialized reader, supporting his texts with facts, figures and dates, to make the drowned continent emerge from its watery grave on paper. A reader who might have heard of Ignatius Donnelly’s Atlantis: The Antediluvian World was now treated to the prophecies of Edgar Cayce, the underwater research of Dr. Manson Valentine, the possibility of Atlantis still surviving in our day and age as an undersea civilization responsible for UFO phenomena, and the possibility that certain mystics among us were in touch ­ through what later became known as “channeling” ­ with entities from the lost continent. No longer was Atlantis confined to the sword-and-sandal world of Harryhausen’s Atlantis: The Lost Continent (and its convincing ray gun) but a place, or at least a concept, approached by these multiple theories.

Particularly stunning was a chapter whose title still carries a distinctive ring in later years ­ “An Inner Earth Empire of Masters and Monsters.” It is quite possible that to many readers, this was their first taste of the writings of Richard Shaver and theories involving the Elder Race and their descendants: the Apollonian Teros and the insanely Dionysian Deros, misguidedly using the “mech” of the Elder Race to cause mayhem among surface dwellers and further debase themselves. No concept or image could be further from the concept of a pseudo-Grecian Atlantis whose towers, brave warriors and fair ladies slipped into the drink after a storm that forever changed the world and made the Atlantic Ocean supposedly unnavigable for generations.

It’s difficult to render an objective opinion on a work that has meant so much to so many over the past three decades, and is now available to a whole new readership thanks to Galde Press. My own reading of Atlantis Rising was set against the background of Puerto Rico’s nearly constant UFO activity in the 1970s and the belief that the island was one of the remnants of the lost continent, a notion bolstered by the presence of the enigmatic mountain rainforest of El Yunque and the affirmations of many sensitives and mystics of its affiliation to the sunken continent. Human disappearances at this site, and the reports of impish beings, could easily feed into a belief of Dero mischief. The contemporary reader will be treated to theories and cases that go beyond the routine paranormal fare of ghosts and Roswell, and those who read it in the past may find themselves remembering concepts that faded from memory over the years under the weight of new information and insights.

The bottom line: if you are a student of the paranormal, read Atlantis Rising. If you are interested in the possibility of a pre-human civilization whose legacy surrounds us in the shape of inexplicable works of architecture and strange artifacts, read Atlantis Rising. If you are an enthusiast of the Atlantis of fiction, expand your horizons by reading this book and you may never think about comics, movies or boardgames the same way again. I can only hope that thirty years from now, some other young person sets aside whatever electronic entertainment the future has in store for them and comes across a copy of this seminal work. Read it and be enlightened!

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Wonderful Strange: Ghosts, Fairies and Fabulous Beasties

by Dale Jarvis

Flanker Press • P.O. Box 2522, Station C, • St. John’s, Newfoundland A1C 6K1.

2005, 219 pages, $14.95 (Canada) • ISBN: 1-894463-76-5

Reviewed by W. Ritchie Benedict

Islands can be strange and mystical places. If you don’t believe me, ask the Hawaiians, and for that matter the British and the Irish. It must be something about the isolation, cut off from the mainland or the continent, that produces such wonderful folklore, and, of course Newfoundland is no exception. Performer, researcher and writer Dale Jarvis covered the many ghosts of Canada’s 10th province in his last book “Haunted Shores” and in this new one he casts his net far wider to come up with fairies, sea serpents and the ever popular giant squid of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fame. This is not to say that the ghosts are neglected this time around, as there are so many, it would take several books to do them all justice.

Afficianados of all things ghostly will know about the infamous black dogs that prowl the fens and marshes of Great Britain. Well, Watson’s Cove has one too, and it is connected with buried treasure and pirates. Pirates, it seems, had a nasty habit of killing a cabin boy to guard their loot, and in this instance, it was necessary to kill the boy’s dog as well. Consequently the region is “dogged” by a large black animal with glowing red eyes, with sounds of a shaking chain (possibly from the metal lead or leash). Meanwhile, a ghost at Signal Hill, has a habit of holding his hat in his hands, which is understandable I guess, as he happens to be headless.

An island off an island presents a real picture of isolation. As Newfoundland has a number of smaller islands off its shores, it should come as no surprise that many of them are troubled by phantom lights and strange apparitions. With Fishot Island, a girl hunting molasses got more than she bargained for. She entered a house that had been deserted for many years to go exploring. When passing through the kitchen, she noted the table was empty, and upon returning was terrified to notice a jar of molasses sitting on the table. When she got outside, she saw an old woman in a white gown, staring expressionless out of the window.

It is one thing to see the ghost of a person, but what are we to say about the phantom of a large object, such as a sailing ship? There is an entire section on such ships, ranging from the classic deserted ship mystery of the Resolven in 1884, to the rapping trapped riveters of the Great Eastern (Jarvis explodes the myth by stating there were plenty of manholes to provide a quick exit). One of the weirdest spectral ships on record is the fiery Greek galley said to appear in Placentia Bay. Decidedly off course to say the least, and possibly dating as far back as 700 B.C., it is described as a large ship with two banks of oars on either side. The curious thing is that it appears to be in flames. Did a Greek ship meet with tragedy in its exploration of the New World eons ago?

Almost as ancient is the early encounter of the Vikings with something that looked like a uniped, around 1009 A.D. This being with one leg bears some uncomfortable similarities with the whatsis that bounded over rooftops in Devon in 1855, leaving tracks in the snow. I was surprised to learn that Newfoundland has its own lake monster, known as “Cressie,” a denizen of Crescent Lake. Sightings have been reported as recently as 2003. Mermen and mermaids have been a feature offshore, but perhaps not as much now as during their heyday in the 17th Century. The mermaids have an unusual habit of trying to climb into boats, with one case occurring in 1610, and another in 1912. Jarvis gives a number of examples of individuals who have experienced the “Old Hag” phenomenon. In a recent case in December 2003, a researcher named Sarah Cahill, who had grown up hearing about the hag and studying it in folklore classes, found it no laughing matter when she was staying at a friend’s house in Dublin. She was terrified when something apparently got in bed with her and she had the distinct impression if she viewed it head on, that it would be an ugly old woman staring at her.

Nearly as sinister sometimes, are the visits people have to what we would call Fairyland, a place not as gossamer or Disneyfied as we think. Many in Newfoundland are descended from Irish stock, so it is an interesting question whether some fairies came with them or are native to the island. One very strange tale involves a man walking along Roache’s Lane. He is suddenly transported into a different dimension in the middle of a forest, surrounded by tall trees. This reverie was interrupted when the trees vanished and he found himself miles away from his original starting point. Another eerie tale, has a man lured into a forest by the sound of his son’s voice, which seems to come from everywhere and nowhere. On returning home, he found his son had been there for several hours. Yet another case concerns an elderly woman who vanished for 11 days and her claim that she was helped by the fairies.

Omens, poltergeists, curses, vanishing hitchhikers, and the Flying Dutchman ­ you will find them all in these pages, and more. If anything, you will find this stronger than the first book, as it offers more variety and a lot more chills. There is a balanced approach, where Jarvis is not reluctant to point out the flaws in some stories, while nevertheless aiming to convince with actual interviews with some of the witnesses.

A valuable contribution to the folklore of the Canadian Maritimes.

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Kahuna Power: Authentic Chants, Prayers and Legends Of the Mystical Hawaiians

By Timothy Green Beckley

Global Communications • P.O. Box 753 • New Brunswick, NJ 08903

Website: www.conspiracyjournal.com

2007, 193 pages, $20.00 ($5. S&H) • ISBN: 0-938294-47-4

Reviewed by Brent Raynes

At long last, the revised version of Kahuna Power by Timothy Green Beckley has just been released! As many readers of my column Reality Checking probably already know, Hawaii is not just any ordinary chain of beautiful islands in the Pacific and a tourist trap for vacationers looking for fun in the sun on breathtaking beaches, although there’s nothing wrong with any of that. But it’s also a magical and mystical land where all sorts of unexplained occurrences frequently transpire, and it’s a genuine treasure trove for paranormal investigators. While our focus in my column was mainly on the mysterious fiery spirit known as the akualele, these majestic islands are also the home of the Menehune, the Hawaiian version of the leprechaun, as well as a wide variety of supernatural entities, the most popular being the volcano Goddess Pele. This book also explores Kahuna spiritual beliefs and magical practices, herbal remedies, legends, chants, prayers, and some about the Hawaiian language.

Kalani Hanohano, who provided us an indepth amount of information on the akualele phenomenon in two of my recent Reality Checking columns, is pictured in Kahuna Power, and his work briefly described. Kalani once edited Full Moon, a highly respected publication that delved deeply into the akualele and other folklore of the islands, and was no doubt an invaluable source of information for this author’s investigative efforts.

Tim Beckley initially visited the islands back some two decades ago. Recently he returned to Hawaii again, and initiated a follow-up to his earlier investigative work. Therefore, this is an updated, expanded edition of Kuhuna Power that was originally published back in 1987. The book contains a variety of great illustrations and photographs, and is loaded with much fascinating information. In fact, Hawaii’s Bishop Museum has praised this book.

I also highly recommend it!