Ghost Fest 4 Expo: Philip Morris and the Bigfoot Mystery

         On Sunday September 19, 2010, I dropped in at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California to visit Ghost Fest 4 Expo .  This was a paranormal event that featured seminars presented by experts in the field, an exhibit hall with vendors of products and services related to psychic activities, a museum display, and special haunted tours. 

        The event was kicked off on Friday the 17th and included a live broadcast of George Noory's Coast to Coast radio show.  The weekend included a world premiere of a movie called The Dead Matter.  There were also other stage presentations and special events.

       Due to other commitments I was unable to attend most of this event, but I did make it for the final hours.  I was accompanied by my daughter Angelina and her significant other, Ray.  Most of the crowds had dispersed by the time we arrived and actually the Sunday attendance was much less than the previous two days had been.  When we got inside things were a bit dead (excuse the pun).

       We were greeted by an exhibit hall filled with fortune tellers, clairvoyants, psychics, ghost hunters, and other paranormal professionals.  There were very few attendees in the hall and most of the exhibitors were visiting with each other.  Tarot card readers and palm readers tried to lure me into their booths to tell me my fortune.  I'm not sure why they couldn't foresee that I wasn't going to be interested and that certainly didn't add to their credibility in my eyes.  They all seemed to be very nice people though.

          I asked one psychic where I could find the speaker I came to see and she graciously led me to one of the event information stations where the representative could answer my questions.   I would have thought she could have just psychically known where I should go.  But I guess I may be running this joke into an early grave. 

         I was told that Philip Morris, the speaker whom I had come to see, would be speaking down in the Boiler Room--shades of Freddy Krueger!  Our group headed into the bowels of the great ship Queen Mary to see if we could find Philip.

   

          Let me digress a moment to explain the Queen Mary for those who don't know what I'm talking about.  The Queen Mary is the grand English ocean liner that was first put into operation in 1936 and stayed in operation until 1967 at which time she was retired to Long Beach and opened as a tourist attraction.  The docked ship now has a hotel, restaurants, and convention facilities, as well as having portions open for the public to tour.  One of the featured draws is the supposed haunting of the ship with frequent ghost sightings and supernatural occurrences having been reported. 

         The three of us found Philip Morris on the second level of the ship waiting for his slated lecture to begin.  I have been friends with Philip for over forty years and have worked for him for most of those years.  Philip is the founder and owner of Morris Costume Company in Charlotte, North Carolina. Morris Costumes is the largest U.S.distributor of costumes and other related supplies.  I had not seen Phil for well over a year and it was good to catch up on things with him.





From left to right: Philip Morris holding Bigfoot costume, Arlee Bird with ghostly light shining upon him, Angelina, and Ray.    (Photo taken by Whit "Pop" Haydn) 



          Philip gave a presentation about the most famous reputed Bigfoot filmed sighting which was in 1967.  The legendary creature was captured on film in the wilds of Northern California by one Roger Patterson.  The film caused a sensation throughout the world as the evidence of Bigfoot's existence.  There was one problem according to Morris--the film was a hoax.

          Phil tells how he was specializing in gorilla costumes in the early days of his costume business.  Patterson had gotten word of this and contacted Morris Costumes about buying a suit.  After he had purchased the suit and gotten some advice from Philip Morris, Patterson made some modifications to the suit to make it appear like he would imagine the legendary Bigfoot might look.  With the help of a local man hired to wear the customized suit, Patterson and a friend went out into the wilds and filmed the short episode.

        The story has been featured on television specials and in numerous articles.  Also, Greg Long, a paranormal researcher, wrote a book called The Making of Bigfoot which includes Morris's version of what happened.   A Google search will turn up numerous references to the Morris connection to the Patterson film.  

          There are many who dispute the claim made by Morris, including many Bigfoot advocates who really want to believe that the film is real.  Several witnesses have stepped forward to concur that they were aware that the film was a hoax.  The evidence that Philip Morris offers in his presentation is very convincing.  The arguments against the evidence are speculation.

           As Phil states, "I've been talking publicly about this for years now and haven't been sued yet."

           Philip Morris certainly now has his name attached to legendary film, which by the way is not taken very seriously by the scientific community, but the controversary rages on and may never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. 

             It was good to see Philip Morris.  He is one heck of a storyteller and could entertain you for hours.  Our visit was far too short, but we all had things to do and places to go. 

          While visiting Phil I met "Pop" Haydn, a Los Angeles magician who has also been friends with Phil for forty some years.  Since I had forgotten my camera, Pop graciously consented to take the picture you see above with Philip and me, my daughter, and her beau.   I hope to have a feature in the near future about Pop Haydn, who sounds like another interesting fellow.  Whit "Pop": Haydn is pictured below posing with Philip Morris and a replica of the infamous Bigfoot costume.  You might enjoy visiting his website.

             Before leaving I had Philip sign my copy of The Making Of Bigfoot.  Phil didn't write the book, but his contribution to the hoax is highlighted in the final chapter of the book.  If you would like to purchase a copy of this book you can follow the above link.  Phil will autograph your copy as well if you like.  Sounds like a pretty nice Christmas present for the Bigfoot fans in your life.

             Have you seen any of the Bigfoot television documentaries?   Have you read the book by Greg Long?   Had you heard the story about the Philip Morris costume?    What is your opinion of the controversy?

               Tomorrow's debate will deal with the existence of Bigfoot type creatures.  I hope you stop in to leave your views about that.

Tossing It Out Tuesday: Myth or Reality?

          Dragons and unicorns, fairies and leprechauns, a myriad of other fantasy creatures--many of us want to believe.  There are entire entertainment franchises based on vampires, werewolves, and zombies.  With Halloween coming we will soon see many of these characters depicted by children and adults alike.  These characters have been much beloved as the fanciful fear of fictions and the romanticized representatives of the netherworlds.   They are the stuff of legends of ancient times and the what-could-be if we just stifle our sense of logic.

             Why have these creatures been increasingly embraced in modern literature?  The Dracula character is said to have been inspired by one Vlad the Impaler from 15th century Romania, and not a decent human by any means.  Stories of vampirism probably go back to prehistory.  

           Why is vampirism considered to be "romantic"?   If you really think about it, sucking the blood of another human seems rather perverse--to me at least.  The true vampires of mythology were pretty horrid, disgusting creatures.   In recent depictions those negative perceptions have been tossed out in favor of the brooding beautiful vampire.  Which depiction should really be tossed out?    Are these supernatural creatures of modern lore healthy for our young people to be embracing?

          When I was young I was a big fan of horror movies.  Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, and other monsters of those days were spooky, but not really graphic.  Blood was rarely seen and much of the time killing was off-camera.   Somewhere in the 50s or 60s things began to take on more reality.  By the 70s special effects started achieving highly realistic levels.  There has been no turning back since that time.

          Today's younger generations take gore and graphic violence for granted.  They also have an open minded acceptance for supernatural realms that once might have been considered to be of a dubious nature. There are some styles, entertainment trends, and philosophical or spiritual outlooks that parents might want ask if they want their children to be embracing.   Should any of this be tossed out?  Or is it all just harmless fun?

         Tomorrow I'll be considering the Bigfoot legend as I report on my recent visit to Ghost Fest 4, a paranormal expo held at the Queen Mary, and my visit with Philip Morris, an expert on the famous Bigfoot film footage.   I hope you'll join me for this post and then return on Thursday to join the debate on whether Bigfoot really exists.

Close Encounters of the Blog Kind

           The future was the topic on this blog over the past week.  In the week to come I'll be looking at the past.  Tossing It Out is a site where Time and Space sometimes go out of kilter and we might not know where we've been or where we are going.  That's what Saturdays are for--to get us oriented.

            If you've missed what's happening, next week marks the One Year Anniversary of Tossing It Out.  I'm not going to make any huge deal out of it.  No contest, no giveaway--nothing like that.  Oh, I might dance around my office in my pajamas and wave the flag or something.  But no confetti (I don't want to clean it up) and no champagne (at least I don't think so). 

          What I'll be doing is just having some peaceful blog reflection as I look at my year of blogging and ponder life in general.  I'll be starting Monday by looking back at my Top Ten TV Shows--I'll be saying more about this later in this post.  Then for the next three days I'll be indulging in tossing out my memories of Tossing It Out and giving a hint about what's to come in the future.

            Finally, on Friday I'll be participating in the Writing Compelling Characters Blogfest hosted by Elana Johnson, Jennifer Daiker, and Alex J. Cavanaugh.  Last time I looked there were 111 participants--sounds like a great way to meet some new bloggers and add new followers to your own blogroll.  If you haven't yet, get over there right now and sign up.

                             An Unexpected Surprise!

             Last weekend I got a surprise email from Larry at  DiscConnected.  He said he was coming over from Phoenix to Downey, California, which is near where I live, to see progressive rock group Spock's Beard in concert.  He offered that I might want to see the concert and at the same time we could meet in person.  Though I was vaguely familiar with Spock's Beard, I didn't know that much about them, but I was very interested in seeing them.  Most of all though I wanted to meet Larry whose blog I've been following for a while now.  After all, other than my own family members who blog, I have never met a real live blogger in person.   What an opportunity!

          Now it was odd enough that someone nearly 400 miles away from me was telling me about a concert that I didn't even know about that was five miles from my house, but to think that Larry was going to drive this distance to see some band seemed surprising.  Turns out he is a big Spock's Beard fan and they rarely play in concert in the U.S.   After seeing them in concert now I too am a huge fan.  What a concert!  This was one of the best bands I have seen.  If you ever have the opportunity you must see them.   Larry gives a complete rundown on the show and our meeting complete with pictures on his site.   Hope you'll check it out.

Larry Cavanaugh (DisConnected) (r) visiting in lobby before the show with Spock's Beard's extraordinary guitarist Alan Morse (on left)

                                       Blogfest Fun!

            If you haven't signed up yet there is still time to join up for Alex J. Cavanaugh's Top Ten TV Show Blogfest.  That's coming up this Monday.   I'll be there--will you?

  And If You're Near Long Beach, CA This             Weekend

          This weekend at The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California I'll be visiting Ghost Fest Expo 4 , which is an event dealing with paranormal activities and other unique phenomena.  George Noory of Radio Coast to Coast will be there with a line up of speakers who will be presenting special seminars and exhibits.  I'll be there visiting my ex-employer and good friend Philip Morris, who will be speaking about the Bigfoot Hoax film.   I posted about this Bigfoot Hoax story back in March.

    Become A Follower of Tossing It Out!

        As of this writing I am poised to hit 400 followers.  I'm hoping to hit this milestone this week to coincide with the first blog anniversary.  If you aren't following yet, please hop on board and enjoy the ride.  And be sure to tell all of your friends, neighbors, and family.