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Richard Freeman | |
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![]() Richard Freeman, photographed in October 2000 | |
Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
Occupation(s) | Author Journalist Lecturer Cryptozoologist |
Organization | Centre for Fortean Zoology |
Richard Freeman (born 1970) is a cryptozoologist, author, zoological journalist, and WebTV Presenter. He is also the zoological director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ), [1] [2] and co-edits both the journal, Animals & Men [2] and several editions of the annual CFZ Yearbook.[ citation needed ] Freeman has written, co-written, or edited a number of books, and has contributed widely to both Fortean and zoological magazines, as well as other newspapers and periodicals, including Fortean Times and Paranormal Magazine.[ citation needed ]
He has also lectured across the UK at events such as the Fortean Times Unconvention, the Weird Weekend, Microcon [3] and at museums and universities such as the Natural History Museum, the Grant Museum of Zoology, Queen Mary, University of London and the Last Tuesday Society.[ citation needed ]
Richard claims an early obsession with the classic science fiction series Doctor Who (with Jon Pertwee) had sparked an interest in all things weird. [2] [4] He studied zoology at Leeds University. [5] After school, he became a zoo keeper at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire and became head keeper of reptiles, working with more than 400 exotic species from ants to elephants (but with a special interest in crocodilians).[ citation needed ] After leaving the zoo, he worked in an exotic pet shop, a reptile rescue centre, and as a gravedigger.[ citation needed ]
Whilst on holiday he learned of the CFZ and bought a copy of the Centre's journal, Animals & Men, which left him impressed enough to subscribe and begin contributing. [5] He eventually became the CFZ's Yorkshire representative, then moved to Devon to become a full-time member of the Centre.[ citation needed ] He is now the zoological director [1] and co-editor of Animals & Men.[ citation needed ]
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(November 2018) |
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! – Season 4 Episode 1: Cryptozoology [10]
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor of folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.
The Yeti is an ape-like creature purported to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. In Western popular culture, the creature is commonly referred to as the Abominable Snowman. Many dubious articles have been offered in an attempt to prove the existence of the Yeti, including anecdotal visual sightings, disputed video recordings, photographs, and plaster casts of large footprints. Some of these are speculated or known to be hoaxes.
Bernard Heuvelmans was a Belgian-French scientist, explorer, researcher, and writer probably best known, along with Scottish-American biologist Ivan T. Sanderson, as a founding figure in the pseudoscience and subculture of cryptozoology. His 1958 book On the Track of Unknown Animals is often regarded as one of the most influential cryptozoology texts.
The Mongolian death worm is a creature alleged to exist in the Gobi Desert. Investigations into the legendary creature have been pursued by amateur cryptozoologists and credited academics alike, but there has been little evidence found to support its existence. It can be considered a Cryptid or a mythological animal.
Karl Shuker is a British zoologist, cryptozoologist and author. He lives in the Midlands, England, where he works as a zoological consultant and writer. A columnist in Fortean Times and contributor to various magazines, Shuker is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cryptozoology, which began in November 2012.
The Yeti are fictional robots from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They were originally created by Henry Lincoln and Mervyn Haisman, and first appeared in the 1967 serial The Abominable Snowmen, where they encountered the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria.
Loren Coleman is an American cryptozoologist, author and television personality who has written over 40 books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology. He is also the President, Founder and leading Director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
The Ebu Gogo are a group of human-like creatures that appear in the folklore of Flores, Indonesia. In the Nage language of central Flores, ebu means "grandparent" and gogo means "one who eats anything". A colloquial English equivalent might be something like "old glutton".
In Pahang Malay folklore, the Seri Gumum Dragon is a legendary giant serpent locally called Nāga and commonly described as taking the form of an Asian dragon, that inhabit the Chini Lake in Pahang, Malaysia. There have been a variety of legends associated with the creature in the oral literature. The notable one is related to the origin myth of the lake itself, while another legend narrates about a love story between female Seri Gumum and a male Nāga called Seri Kemboja that leads to the origin myth of Tioman and Lingga Islands.
Darren William Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author and science communicator.
Nicholas Redfern is a British best-selling author, journalist, cryptozoologist and ufologist.
A Ninki Nanka is a legendary creature in West African folklore.
On the Track of Unknown Animals is a cryptozoological book by the Belgian-French zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans that was first published in 1955 under the title Sur la Piste des Bêtes Ignorées. The English translation by Richard Garnett was published in 1958 with some updating by the author and with a foreword by Gerald Durrell. A revised and abridged edition was published in 1965, and a further edition in 1995. It is credited with introducing the term cryptozoology and established its author as the "Father of Cryptozoology."
The Bukit Timah Monkey Man, commonly abbreviated as BTM or BTMM, is a legendary creature said to inhabit Singapore, chiefly in the forested Bukit Timah region. The creature is often cited as a forest-dwelling hominid or primate, and is also accounted for as being immortal; however, its exact identity remains unknown, and its existence disputed. Documentation of the BTM is sparse and scattered; the creature is largely considered a product of local folklore.
Boris Fyodorovich Porshnev was a Soviet historian known for his works on popular revolts in Ancien Régime France and a doctor of social sciences working on psychology, prehistory, and neurolinguistics as relating to the origins of man.
T. Peter Park is an historian, a former librarian, and a prolific Fortean commentator on anomalous phenomena. According to Chris Perridas, Park is "a foremost Fortean authority on H. P. Lovecraft and the cultural impact his writing has had on our culture through folklore."
Ken Gerhard is an American cryptozoologist and author often featured on various television programs. His works include "The Essential Guide to Bigfoot," "A Menagerie of Mysterious Beasts," "Big Bird: Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters" and "Encounters with Flying Humanoids: Mothman, Manbirds, Gargoyles and Other Winged Beasts." He is also the co-author of "Monsters of Texas".
Anthony "Doc" Shiels was an English-born artist, magician and writer. After attending the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London, and briefly studying at the Andre Lhote Academie in Paris, he moved to St Ives, Cornwall. He arrived in 1958 and stayed in the area until 1963 taking full part in that key period of British Modern Art. In 1961, following the resignation of Barbara Hepworth, he was made a member of the committee of the influential Penwith Society of Arts. In St Ives he ran the progressive 'Steps Gallery', where he showed artists like Brian Wall and Bob Law. He had several solo exhibitions in London mainly at the Rawinsky gallery just off Carnaby Street.