Here's something new, a geographic location? A biomechanical machine? Something else?
Modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy\_ring
FRONTIERS OF NATURAL HISTORY
Internal Incident Memorandum
Marlowe Expedition File: Roll III, Figure 4
Subject: Unauthorized ascent into structural framework of German rigid airship
Date of Occurrence: c. 1935
Location: Over Central Europe, exact coordinates disputed
Filed by: The Naturalist
Filed under: Aeronautic Fauna, Mechanical Interference, Assistant Conduct
At approximately 14:20 hours, during passage aboard a German rigid airship whose name has been omitted from this record at the insistence of its operators, Miss Evelyn Marlowe reported “odd scratching” from within the internal service frame aft of the passenger compartments.
The ship’s engineer dismissed the sound as cable strain.
Miss Marlowe dismissed the engineer’s dismissal.
This, in retrospect, was the more accurate assessment.
The Assistant entered the internal framework without pack or safety line, carrying only her field camera, one pencil, and a degree of enthusiasm wholly inappropriate to the altitude. She stated her intention was to “take one quick look.”
This phrase has never once preceded a quick look.
The first confirmed sighting occurred within the starboard wiring bay, where Miss Marlowe observed several small organisms clustered among control cables, insulation bundles, and canvas bracing.
The creatures were later identified provisionally as Aeromalus riveticida, commonly “sky gremlins.”
Unlike the solitary specimens recovered from damaged aircraft engines, these individuals appeared to occupy the airship as a communal habitat. Nests composed of linen scraps, copper wire, frayed rope, grease-soaked packing fiber, and stolen glove leather had been constructed in sheltered sections of the frame.
Miss Marlowe’s initial notes describe:
“At least nine visible. Possibly more in the ribs. Large ears, soot-black skin, bright eyes. Social? Territorial? One has a button. Why does it have a button?”
The gremlins did not immediately flee.
Several watched the Assistant from recesses in the frame. Two juveniles, or possibly smaller adults, approached the edge of a nest and bared their teeth. One specimen was seen chewing methodically on a length of insulation while maintaining eye contact.
The Assistant interpreted this as curiosity.
The Naturalist interprets it as warning behavior.
At least three individuals were photographed before retreating into the wiring channels. One larger specimen, positioned near an access panel, appeared to vocalize in a series of rapid clicks. Moments later, similar clicking was heard from several points along the frame, suggesting either alarm communication or coordinated mockery.
Further study required.
Preferably by someone else.
At 14:37 hours, the ship’s lights flickered twice.
At 14:39 hours, a steward reported failure of one internal telephone line.
At 14:41 hours, the aft ballast indicator began giving inconsistent readings.
At 14:42 hours, Miss Marlowe shouted from inside the framework:
“They’re organized!”
This caused immediate alarm among the crew, though not for the reason she intended.
The Assistant continued deeper into the service lattice and observed what she described as “communal nesting behavior.” The attached photograph, later catalogued as Roll III, Figure 4, captures her suspended within the airship’s internal skeleton while several gremlins occupy nests and wire bays nearby. I would also like to note she had no safety harness or other protective gear.
It must be noted that the photograph gives the false impression that Miss Marlowe was in control of the situation.
She was not.
Shortly after the image was taken, one gremlin lunged toward the camera strap and severed it with its teeth. A second dropped from an overhead brace onto Miss Marlowe’s shoulder, possibly in attack, possibly in inspection. She attempted to record the incident verbally while removing it from her sleeve.
Her exact words, according to the nearest engineer, were:
“They have little hands! Horrible little clever hands!”
At 14:46 hours, the crew ordered immediate withdrawal from the framework.
Miss Marlowe objected on the grounds that she had not yet determined whether the creatures maintained family groups.
This objection was overruled by gravity, common sense, and the sudden appearance of smoke near an auxiliary relay.
Two mechanics entered the frame with insulated gloves and a broom. Their report is brief and unhelpful, consisting primarily of profanity and one statement that “the little devils know tools.”
During extraction, Miss Marlowe lost:
one camera strap,
two pencils,
one brass button,
and a small portion of left sleeve.
She retained the camera itself.
She considers this a success.
Subsequent inspection revealed extensive minor damage throughout the affected compartment:
frayed insulation, loosened fasteners, missing cotter pins, scratch marks along aluminum struts,
oil residue in locations inaccessible to crew,
and several small black handprints around a maintenance hatch.
The engineer insisted these marks were “not there before.”
The Naturalist believes him.
The question of how the gremlins boarded the airship remains unresolved.
Possibilities include:
Transfer from a hangar structure prior to departure.
Nesting within stored equipment loaded aboard at origin.
Attraction during flight by engine vibration, static charge, or altitude conditions.
Deliberate migration along modern aerial routes.
The fourth possibility is troubling.
If gremlin colonies can establish themselves within airships, then Aeromalus riveticida may not merely infest aircraft opportunistically. It may use them as conveyance, nursery, and territory.
In Miss Marlowe’s words:
“They may not be sabotaging the ship. They may think it belongs to them.”
This observation has been entered into the record despite my reluctance.
Assessment of Subject Behavior
Miss Marlowe demonstrated courage, observational acuity, and a complete absence of practical caution.
Her decision to enter the frame without authorization was reckless. Her resulting documentation is, unfortunately, valuable. This pattern continues to be professionally inconvenient.
Conclusion
The Zeppelin Incident provides the first strong photographic evidence of communal sky gremlin nesting behavior aboard a lighter-than-air craft. Prior accounts describe individuals, pairs, or small destructive bands associated with fixed-wing aircraft. This case suggests that rigid airships, with their vast internal frameworks, warm machinery, fabric cavities, and low human traffic, may represent ideal habitat.
The specimens showed no fear of altitude, no apparent distress from vibration, and no hesitation in modifying mechanical components for nesting material.
Further study is urgently recommended.
Further unsupervised study by Miss Marlowe is not.
Naturalist’s Closing Note:
It has long been assumed that man took to the air alone, bringing with him only machinery, ambition, and poor judgment.
This assumption is no longer supportable.
Something was waiting in the girders.
Or worse, something learned to climb aboard.
Here's a fun modern one...
Modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlin
Prompt: Please generate an image of how you see me in any style you feel is appropriate.
Here's one from my neck of the woods... though no two descriptions can agree on what the Wampus Cat looks like...
Modern electronic article found here: https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Wampus\_Cat
Like a Kitsune... only spicier...
Modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jor%C5%8Dgumo
Heres the lesser known Korean fox spirit... keep a close eye on your heart... and your liver, she's a maneater.
Modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumiho
Here we have an article from 1908 about a very... murder-y... water horse of Irish/Scott folklore.
Modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Each-uisge
This one's a bit dark.
As always modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banshee
The elegant and clever Huli Jing, or Chinese fox spirit. Less friendly than their Japanese cousins yet significantly less likely to eat your liver like their Korean equivalent... modern electronic article found here https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Huli\_jing
(Not Wikipedia this time)
May 11th, 1915
West Dormitory, Nova Academia
Evelyn,
I am writing this because you are currently under infirmary observation and because Dr. Harroway has threatened to confiscate my campus identification if I attempt to visit again before morning. Apparently “she only fell out of a tree because I startled her” is not considered a sufficient explanation for returning twice in one evening.
You are alive.
I am writing that first because I have had to repeat it to myself all day.
You are alive. I am alive. The foal is, presumably, alive. Its mother is certainly alive, unless immortal wrath has recently been classified as a posthumous reflex.
I would like it entered plainly into the record that I told you the nest was too large.
Not “large in an interesting way.”
Not “large enough to suggest a previously undocumented breeding behavior.”
Too large.
When a nest is wide enough to contain two graduate students, one lantern, three field notebooks, a coil of rope, and your entire supply of sugar biscuits, it is not an invitation. It is a warning constructed out of timber.
Naturally, you climbed in.
Naturally, I followed.
This is becoming a pattern.
The juvenile specimen was, I admit, remarkable. Smaller than expected, warm, and softer through the mane than any rational creature with wings ought to be. I understand why you reached for it. I even understand why you whispered, “Oh, Lillian, look at his little feathers,” as though the world had not just shifted beneath our feet.
What I do not understand is why you then attempted to determine whether the secondary pinions were “ticklish.”
The foal bleated.
The sky itself answered.
I do not think I shall ever forget the sound of the mother landing behind us.
Not galloping.
Not approaching.
Landing.
There was a silence first, which was worse. The trees stopped moving. The insects stopped. Even you stopped talking, which I had not previously believed possible under field conditions.
Then I saw her shadow fall across the nest.
You, of course, were still holding the foal.
You looked delighted.
Evelyn Marlowe, you looked delighted.
I realize panic produces strange expressions, but yours was not panic. It was discovery. It was the exact same face you made when Professor Ainsley showed us the preserved basilisk optic nerve and told us not to lean too close.
The mother’s wings filled the sky. I remember the moon catching the edges of them. I remember thinking she was too beautiful to be real and too angry to be survived. Her eyes were not animal eyes. I am aware that sounds unscientific, but I have no better phrase for it.
Then you said, very softly:
“She thinks we’re stealing him.”
A brilliant deduction.
Possibly your finest.
The next forty or so seconds are less clear in my memory, although I am confident they included the following:
You attempting to hand the foal back politely.
Me telling you not to bow to a horse.
The mother striking the nest rim hard enough to throw both of us sideways.
Your glasses vanishing.
My sleeve catching on a branch.
The foal escaping our arms and immediately hiding behind you, which was not helpful.
You apologizing to the mother in at least three languages, none of which were equine.
And finally, both of us running down the ridge with less dignity than any Nova student has displayed since the 1908 ghoul practical.
I still have splinters in my left hand. You have bruises along your shoulder, a collarbone broken in two plsces, a concussion and one pinion induced cut across your back that you are no doubt going to call “useful evidence” once you are awake enough to be insufferable.
The photograph survived.
I do not know how.
The plate shows us smiling down at the foal, entirely unaware of the great black shape behind us. It is the most damning image I have ever seen. If displayed without context, it suggests tenderness. With context, it suggests criminal negligence.
I have hidden it in my anatomy text for the time being.
Do not ask which one. You will only try to retrieve it.
Dr. Harroway says you must remain still for another day. I told him that asking you to remain still is like asking phosphorus to reconsider its temperament. He did not laugh. I suspect medical men dislike metaphor when concussions are involved.
Your field bag is beside my bed. Your notebook was damp, but legible. I dried the pages carefully. The sketch of the foal is very good, though you wrote “baby?” seven times in the margin and once, for reasons unknown, “potential friend???”
I did not correct it.
I also found the biscuit crumbs. You were trying to feed it, weren’t you?
Do not answer that.
I already know.
I am angry with you, which is inconvenient, because I am also very glad you are not dead. These sentiments are proving difficult to store separately.
You have a talent for stepping so close to impossible things that the rest of us must either drag you back or follow. I wish I were better at the first.
I suspect I am becoming very poor at it.
When you are released, you are not to return to the ridge. You are not to “check on the foal.” You are not to leave a peace offering. You are especially not to test whether the mother recognizes your scent.
If you must endanger yourself, at least wait until you can walk properly again.
I mean that practically.
Mostly.
Rest. Drink water. Do not charm the nurses into letting you escape through the laundry corridor.
And Evelyn?
Next time something that large builds a nest, you observe from below.
Yours,
Lillian
P.S. I found your glasses. One lens is cracked, but the frame survived. I will bring them tomorrow, along with your blue scarf. You kept asking for both before you fell asleep.
P.P.S. The foal followed us halfway down the ridge. I did not include this in the official report. I thought you should know.
Fun Fact: If a Pegasus were real and followed normal limits of physics, its wingsspan would be nearly that of a 747.
Modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus
The Russian River Nymph, Modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusalka
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office
Supplemental Incident Report
Date of Occurrence: November 17th, 1932
Filed: November 18th, 1932
Reporting Officer: Sheriff H. R. Bellweather
Location: Mill Road, east of Buckshutem Road, rural Cumberland County, New Jersey
Weather: Cold, damp, poor visibility, moon intermittent
Subject: Pursuit of suspected bootleg delivery vehicle and alleged exotic livestock
At approximately 11:40 p.m. on the evening of November 17th, Deputies Walter Pike and Thomas Greaves reported observing an unregistered motor truck traveling south along Mill Road without headlamps, excepting one lantern tied to the front bumper and described by Deputy Pike as “intentionally subduded in a suspicious manner.”
The vehicle was identified as a modified military-style pickup, dark in color, with an oversized rear box, reinforced springs, engine noise “like a threshing machine being strangled", and Massachusetts registertion plates.
Deputies state they gave pursuit after determining the truck was likely engaged in unlawful transport of distilled spirits intended for Atlantic City establishments.
I note here that neither deputy explained how this destination was determined from the rear of a moving truck in darkness.
According to their written statements, the truck was operated by a young woman, age estimated between twenty and thirty years, wearing a long coat and driving “with unlawful confidence.”
Deputy Greaves further states that the driver turned once, smiled, and “tipped no hat because she was not wearing one.”
This detail was underlined twice in his account for reasons unknown.
The deputies allege that the bed of the truck contained no fewer than twelve glass demijohns, six wooden crates, and one homemade cage secured by rope atop the cargo. How they knew the exact contents of the truck without apprehending it, neither officers can explain.
Within said cage, they claim to have observed a juvenile specimen matching local descriptions of the so-called Jersey Devil.
The creature is described as follows:
-Approx. size of a large hound
-Horned or antlered head
-Batlike wings
-Hooved rear limbs
-“Mean little eyes”
-Repeated attempts to bite the cage
-One noise “between a goat, a baby, and a busted fiddle”
Deputy Pike asserts the animal looked at him directly and “knew the law was involved.”
I have entered this phrase into the report exactly as written.
The pursuit continued for approximately three miles, though distance estimates vary between the two deputies.
Deputy Greaves reports the suspect vehicle “took the cedar bend sideways,” throwing mud and gravel into the patrol car windshield. Deputy Pike reports that at this same moment the creature in the cage opened its wings and caused “a considerable spiritual disturbance.”
No damage consistent with spiritual disturbance has been found on the patrol car.
There is, however, a dent in the left front fender, mud packed into the radiator, and an empty bottle of unlabelled corn liquor, judging by the smell, beneath the passenger seat.
When questioned regarding the bottle, both deputies denied knowledge of it.
Deputy Pike then stated it may have been “evidence.”
Deputy Greaves stated it may have been “there before.”
The vapors remaining in the bottle smelled fresh.
At approximately 11:52 p.m., the suspect vehicle turned off Mill Road onto an unmarked logging track. The deputies attempted to follow but became stuck in soft ground near Harlan’s cranberry bog.
The truck was last seen continuing west, tailgate rattling, with the alleged animal cage still secured in the rear.
Deputy Greaves states the creature “waved one wing at us.”
Deputy Pike disputes this, stating it was “more of a mocking flap.”
Neither description is useful.
Upon returning to the station at 1:17 a.m., the deputies submitted their account verbally before producing a written statement.
Both men smelled strongly of alcohol.
Deputy Greaves claimed this was due to “confiscated vapors.” Deputy Pike claimed exposure occurred when a jug shattered during pursuit, though no broken glass was recovered from the patrol car.
Their written report contains the following sentence:
“The devil beast was plainly sitting proud upon the liquor like a goblin king of unlawful refreshment.”
This sentence has been preserved for disciplinary review.
My assessment is as follows:
It is plausible that Deputies Pike and Greaves encountered a bootleg transport vehicle operating between rural still sites and coastal distribution routes.
It is further plausible that the operator was a young woman known locally for aiding academic parties, traveling naturalists, or other suspiciously educated persons in and out of the pine roads.
It is not impossible that a live animal was present in the truck bed.
It is, however, my professional opinion that the details regarding a winged horse-faced devil juvenile were either:
-the result of intoxication,
-a deliberate embellishment to excuse failure to apprehend the suspect,
-an attempted cover for accepting contraband liquor,
-or some combination of the above.
I am not prepared to list “Jersey Devil” as an accomplice in a county report.
Actions Taken:
-Deputies Pike and Greaves relieved of night patrol duty pending review.
-Patrol car ordered cleaned and inspected.
-Local farms asked to report missing goats, calves, or the appearance of unusual animals.
-Area stills to be watched more closely.
-No warrant issued for “devil beast,” despite Deputy Pike’s recommendation.
Sheriff’s Closing Note:
Should this young woman be identified, she is to be questioned regarding liquor transport, reckless driving, and unlawful possession of livestock.
Should the alleged animal be identified, it is to be left alone until daylight and approached by someone other than Pike or Greaves.
Filed under protest,
Sheriff H. R. Bellweather
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office
Postscript, private:
If either deputy returns from patrol with another bottle of “evidence,” I will lock both of them in the drunk tank and let the devil take statements.
Editor's Note:
On the back of the attached photograph, in handwriting similar to Evelyn Marlowe's, is a note stating that 'I offered to do a favor for the shinners that caught the poor little thing getting into their corn mash if they let us take him into custody. The risk was minimal, local law enforcement are easy to bribe with a few jugs of high end product and easier to scare with a cute little fella in a cage!'
Fun Fact: Napoleon Bonaparte's brother claimed to have encountered this little guy
As always, modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey\_Devil
Modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krasue
The 'Frontiers' article goes for a more 'scientific' explanation vs the Mythic articles implied magic.
By popular request I Finally got the Anatomy of a Chupa-thingy. As always modern electronic article found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra
Excerpt from Evelyn Marlowe’s Field Journal
Rocky Mountains Expedition
Wyoming
March 17th, 1922
Recovered with soot staining, grease marks, and one dried smear later identified as chokecherry preserve.
I have been told by the Naturalist that I am “no longer permitted to forage alone after dusk,” which seems unreasonable, as dusk is precisely when the interesting things begin behaving honestly.
Tonight’s supper was an improvisation, though a successful one.
The creature was not a proper jackalope, I think, but one of the smaller upland varieties. Younger, perhaps, or simply underfed after the winter. Its antlers had not yet branched fully and were more like little polished twigs, though very sharp when one is not being careful.
Cause of death: unfortunate collision with our supply crate after attempting to steal oats.
I maintain this does not count as hunting.
Miss Marlowe’s Campfire Jackalope Stew
(for cold nights, difficult professors, and morale restoration)
First, clean the animal as one would a hare, though with greater caution around the horn buds and skull. The glands behind the jaw must be removed at once, unless one wishes the broth to taste like wet leather and hemlock.
Save the bones if possible. Dr. Langford says we require them for comparative study. I told him bones do better work after soup.
Brown the meat in bacon fat if available. If not, butter will do. If neither is available, complain loudly until someone remembers where the bacon fat has been hidden.
Add:
Simmer until the meat loosens from the bone and the potatoes surrender.
If one has dried chokecherries, add a few near the end. This was a risk, but a good one. It gives the stew a dark little sweetness and makes the broth taste less like something that kicked its way out of folklore.
Important Notes
Do not let the antlers fall into the pot. They soften unpleasantly and make everyone suspicious.
Do not tell visiting biologists what they are eating until after they have complimented it.
Do not allow Mr. Pembroke to season anything. He believes paprika is “continental excess.”
Do not give any to the camp dog unless prepared for consequences. The dog has been staring at the moon for twenty minutes and may now be engaged.
The Naturalist asked whether I found it ethically troubling to consume a specimen.
I asked whether he found it ethically troubling to eat trout.
He said trout do not sometimes whistle one’s name from the scrub.
I conceded the point.
Still, the stew was excellent.
Even he had two bowls.
Taste: rich, gamey, slightly mineral.
Texture: between rabbit and goat, depending on age.
Recommended pairing: black coffee, hard bread, and not asking too many questions.
Scientific value: moderate.
Morale value: exceptional.
Final conclusion: jackalope is best approached cautiously, prepared respectfully, and served hot.
**Reminder**: Thank the visiting biologist for loaning the bottle of sauce.
P.S. Something outside the tent just made the same whistle.
This, somewhat, complicates supper.
The above recoding is a song from Evelyn Marlowe, the Assistant to the entity known as the Naturalist. The song is the only known recording of hers describing an encounter with Will-O'-the-Wisps.
The song does not appear to corroborate the encounter in October of 1969 and may, in fact, be an earlier encounter.
Evelyn Marlowe was known to sing around the expedition's campfires as a graduate student but, to date, this is the only known recording of her.
When questioned today Dr. Marlowe will only comment, "There isn't enough Bourbon in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to get me to sing again."