Reader Information

Friday, October 23, 2015

Daily 2 Cents: The Stanley Hotel to Become Horror-Themed Museum -- Viet Cong Ghost Patrol -- Rare Cow-Colored Catfish


The Stanley Hotel to Become Horror-Themed Museum

If that hedge maze wasn’t enough, The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is buying into its Shining links even more: It’s hoping to redesign its entire building to become a horror-themed museum and educational center.

The Denver Business Journal reported the news. Basically The Stanley Hotel, which was the inspiration for Stephen King’s book, has released plans to make a 43,000-square foot museum–which would also have places for students to make, edit and screen their films. The downside is that it’ll cost about $24 million, so now the hotel is trying to raise the money. It’s starting with the State of Colorado’s Regional Tourism Act, which could get it an $11.5 million credit, and will move on from there.

So what would this museum include? “Multiple indoor and outdoor entertainment venues, including a 500-seat auditorium; a 30,000-square-foot interactive museum and discovery center that would feature rotating exhibits; a 3,000 square-foot soundstage; classrooms and workshop spaces; and post-production and editing suites.” Here’s a rendering from MOA Architecture of the project:

The Shining Hotel Is Looking For $24 Million To Become the World's First Horror Museum
While The Stanley was Stephen King’s inspiration the novel The Shining, it bears no real connection to the Stanley Kubrick film, despite the name. The hotel is named after F.O. Stanley, the man who originally bought the land, making it nothing more than an eerie coincidence.

Despite that, it remains a tourist destination for horror fans, and hosts an annual horror film festival. This expansion would only bolster its role as a hub for horror fans–if it happens, that is. - The Shining Hotel Is Looking For $24 Million To Become the World's First Horror Museum

**********

Viet Cong Ghost Patrol

1968 – Vietnam, near the Cambodian border

Patrick called in to tell of an experience he had while serving in Vietnam.

“I'm going to relay a story that goes back to 1968. I was drafted and sent to Nam because of the tremendous turn-over of people and whatnot. I was in the infantry and we were in a small firebase close to the Cambodian border. It was an evening where it was our turn to go out and set up an ambush. We set it all up, we had everything's laid out so that if Charlie came walking along, we could do our thing. One guy was awake, the rest of us were asleep. That gentleman woke us all up. There was six of us and we all saw a small party of Vietnamese coming at us. They were armed and whatnot. At the appropriate time, we sprang the ambush and nothing happened. I mean they just kept on walking through it, not even looking at us. It was the most crazy thing that happened over there, while I was there. You know, when we let go with a claymore, you know something goes. And it was the most, I mean the country itself is a spiritual country but then to have that happen. I never experienced anything like it and I doubt I ever will. And I never told anybody about it.”

Source: Coast to Coast - October 31, 1993

Transcribed by Jamie Brian


**********


Rare catfish that looks like a cow caught by a fisherman in Oklahoma

Such was the case in Oklahoma where an unidentified fisherman recently caught a catfish that looked like a cow with a white body and black spots, as first reported by KFOR News in Oklahoma City.

Austin Claunch posted the photos on Oklahoma Fishing Fools, a public group on Facebook, and asked, “Has anyone ever seen anything like this?? This fish was caught at Lake Eufaula.”

Turns out, a handful of fishermen on the site said they had seen catfish that look like cows before, though the coloring of this catfish was far more vivid and representative of a cow than those posted by others.

So what’s up with the catfish that looks like a cow?

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation explained it this way in an email to GrindTV: “It was just a regular channel catfish. Piebald’s are abnormalities in the animal kingdom. They occur occasionally in most all animal species. It was just a genetic malfunction.”

Piebald is defined as spotted or blotched with black and white. The rare catfish was also described as a leucistic catfish, which is essential the same as piebald.

**********

'Your children look delicious. May I have a taste?'

Police in Champlin, Minnesota, say a 38-year-old woman was arrested and has admitted sending anonymous threats to a family that said she wanted to taste and lick their children. Police say the woman was upset because the children made noise and left items in her yard. Carrie Pernula was arrested on Friday and faces possible charges of gross misdemeanor terroristic threats and stalking. Word of the threats spread quickly through social media and neighbours say both they and the family were terrified.

The first anonymous threat arrived on Sept. 27 by mail. The two short sentences said: “The children look delicious. May I have a taste?” The family lives in a Champlin neighbourhood and they have two elementary school students. Terrifed, they called the Champlin Police Department and posted on a Champlin community Facebook page, saying in part, “Opened our mail today to this letter. Obviously my stomach started doing somersaults.” Then, the family began to receive magazine subscriptions.

“Instead of a name on the address label it said things like ‘tasty children’ along those lines,” Champlin Deputy Police Chief Ty Schmidt said. Champlin police traced the magazines and last Friday arrested Carrie Pernula. Police say she admitted to the threats. “She was angry because the kids were leaving things in her yard and I think being a little noisy, being kids, the way kids are,” Schmidt said. The neighbourhood is full of families with young children. - Woman Allegedly Left Neighbors ‘The Children Look Delicious’ Notes

**********

Hey folks...trying to get back into the swing of things. I haven't said much, but I've been suffering from a 12mm x 8mm kidney stone, which finally passed on Saturday (along with 7 others). I picked up a nasty infection because of this...so I was cutting back. The blog and other things should be getting back to order soon. Thanks for understanding. Lon

**********

TODAY'S TOP LINKS

This Drone Is Going To Find Bigfoot

11 of the most bizarre divorce laws from around the world (including killing a cheating spouse)

CIA Threaten 9/11 Researchers Who Discover Explosive Evidence

20 Mind-Blowing Alien Contactee / Abductee Cases, Part 1

The People Who Drink Human Blood



Water Horse Of Lake Champlain II (Volume 2)

The Loch Ness Monster: The Evidence

Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes

North American Lake Monsters: Stories