The 1492 Light Sighting

Christopher Columbus. The great explorer of the Americas. Not only did he bring two continents to Europe's attention (although he always believed he had found South-East Asia) he also saw something strange.

At 10pm, 11 October 1492, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, often believed to be near Watling's Island, a strange light was spotted in the distance by a number of crew members, including Columbus himself. The light was described as that of a candle, that moved up and down. The voyagers believed this to indicate land and followed the light to, what is now, Guanahani in the Bahamas. The identity and precise location of this light have been debated to this day.

One explanation is that it was a torch or other light brandished by a native American hunting, either on land or in a canoe on the water. However, Columbus' log mentions that the wind was very high and so this is considered unlikely. Another, more unusual explanation, is that the light could have been caused by bioluminescent protozoa that sometimes covers the rocks in the area. But, Columbus and his crew reported the light as being like a candle flame that moved, rather than an immobile glowing blob. Finally, a similar explanation could be the worm Odontosyllis enopla, a Caribbean species that glows during the mating season. But again, this explanation has a problem - Odontosyllis enopla only glows for a few days after the full moon and Columbus' log notes that the moon was only in its first quarter phase that night.

My thoughts: I have no explanation for this. Maybe they were mistaken or perhaps it was an optical illusion or a reflection in the water from something? Who knows?

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Mysterious Mysteries

Here you will find all of the mystery posts on this blog, organised into rough categories:

Mysterious Disappearances
Chryse Island

Unknown Origins
1492 Light sighting

Paranormal Activity
Hope Diamond


Want something different? How about dinosaurs? Or horror?

Chryse Island

We begin our journey into the unknown with a mysterious island that disappeared in the 2nd century A.D. Called Chryse (cry-see), it was a small island off the coast of Lemnos that was said to have harboured an impressive temple dedicated to the deities Apollo and Chryse - the goddess Chryse is not mentioned anywhere else and her worship seems to have been confined to this island.

Our only sources of information on this island come from Sophocles (who very briefly mentions it in passing as the location where the mythical figure Philoctetes was bitten by a snake on his way to Troy) and Pausanias, an Ancient Greek explorer. Pausanias wrote that the island was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami sometime before the 2nd century AD. Did this island ever exist? If it did, how come nobody else mentioned it? Many historians believe that Pausanias made it up and never visited many of the places he wrote about. Could Chryse be one of these fictionalised accounts?

However, there's just a little bit more. Some archaeologists believe that a sunken landmass off the coast of Lemnos, called Kharos Bank, may be the remains of this ancient island. However, investigations so far have proven inconclusive.

My verdict: I believe that Chryse Island never existed. It's most likely that Pausanias heard about it from some bloke down the pub and reported it as fact in his book. As far Kharos Bank, it just seems like a bunch of rocks at the bottom of the sea to me. But what do you think?

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Universal's Wolf Man (1941-2010)

Universal's last classic monster only received one solo outing before becoming embroiled in a civil war with the other monsters that will last throughout the 1940s. Interestingly, however, the Wolf Man was portrayed by the same person in every film (in the classic era that is), something that Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and the Mummy couldn't do.

The classic werewolf received its first major outing in 1941 in The Wolf Man, directed by George Waggner and based on a screenplay by Curt Siodmak. But it's not quite as traditional as you might think.

Plot: Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is visiting his home in Wales after his brother's death to reconcile with his estranged father Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains). There, he becomes enamoured with a local antiques store owner Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers). Everything seems peachy until he rescues Gwen's friend Jenny (Fay Helm) from an apparent wolf attack and gets bitten. A local gypsy woman (Maria Ouspenskaya) informs him he will become a werewolf, but surely werewolves are just a myth right?

My thoughts: This is where the idea of the werewolf was popularised. However, two important elements are missing. There is no transformation sequence as the filmmakers deemed it too technically challenging (despite Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde being able to pull it off 9 years earlier) and there is also no full moon to be seen. That is because in this version, the transformation is not triggered by the full moon but by the flowering of the Wolfsbane, a plant traditionally used to kill wolves. As for the film itself, Chaney gives a very good performance of a conflicted character and you really feel like his curse is genuine (although he goes over the top with this in the sequels). Lugosi's back but only in a very small, minor role near the beginning. Definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of classic horror.

From the classic to the not-so-classic. After The Mummy (1999) revitalised interest in the classic monster, Universal Studios decided to bring back another one. Directed by Joe Johnston (the guy behind the disaster that was Jurassic Park 3) and based on a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self. With an all-star cast how could this possibly go wrong?

Plot: Ben Talbot is missing. His fiancée Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) contacts Ben's brother Lawrence (Benicio del Toro) to do something. Lawrence arrives back home where he has an uneasy reunion with his father John (Anthony Hopkins). Ben's mutilated body turns up and the finger of suspicion points to the gypsies who have brought a dancing bear with them. As the locals try to arrest said bear, another creature turns up, killing many and biting Lawrence on the neck. Inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving) is tasked with getting to the bottom of the mystery.

My thoughts. Meh. It's certainly atmospheric. And that's about it. The story is overly complicated with a "plot twist" everyone can see coming from a mile off. The acting is so wooden, even with acting powerhouses like Del Toro, Hopkins and Weaving, they deliver their lines with so little emotion and expression. Even Nicholas Cage and Keanu Reaves could give more convincing performances. And the CGI sucks, it doesn't work at all. Stick to the original, I say.

What's next? Remember that war I mentioned...?

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