Table of Contents

• The Disappearance of Dennis Martin

• This Week in Weirdness

• Lore and Legends: The Ropen of Papua New Guinea

• Reader Story: The Clapping Man

The Disappearance of Dennis Martin

On June 14, 1969, six-year-old Dennis Martin vanished while on a family camping trip in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. His family had gathered for a Father's Day outing at Spence Field, a grassy area near the Appalachian Trail. Dennis was last seen by his father as he wandered off to play a game of hide-and-seek with other children. Moments later, he was gone.

Despite one of the largest search efforts in the history of any American National Park, involving over 1,400 people, the National Guard, and the Green Berets, no definitive evidence of Dennis was ever found. The search covered nearly 60 square miles in 8 days and another 7 days later the search was abandoned. It is still the largest search in Great Smoky Mountains history.

There are 3 main theories about Dennis’s disappearance. The first is that he simply wandered off, got lost, and succumbed to the elements. This is unlikely as it would be nearly impossible for the massive 15 day search to yield nothing if he simply wandered off. The second theory, that he got attacked by an animal of some kind, is equally unlikely for largely the same reasons. The third theory however, is much more compelling.

About an hour after Dennis went missing a hiker named Harold Key and his family reported hearing an "sickening scream" and saw a large, dark figure moving through the woods with what looked like a bundle of cloth or clothing over it’s shoulder. This sighting took place about 5 miles from where Dennis disappeared.

Smoky Mountain folklore has long included tales of wild men who live off the land, avoiding human contact, with many reports of encounters with strange figures lurking in the woods.

A few years after the disappearance, a man claimed to have found skeletal remains in the park, however, he kept the find to himself until 1985 for fear of prosecution (he was harvesting protected plants) and nothing was found when the area was searched. To this day, the case remains unsolved, leaving behind a haunting mystery that continues to fuel speculation and send chills down the spines of locals and adventurers alike.

This Week in Weirdness

• A new cattle mutilation has been reported in Chouteau Montana. Police are not releasing details but suspect foul play.

• Scientists captured the first ever footage of a Colossal Squid. At only 30cm long it doesn’t quite live up to it’s name, but this is still an incredible discovery.

• The closure of the Wright-Patterson Airforce Base’s airspace in December 2024 has been attributed to a strange formation of stealth drones, according to witnesses.

• Scientists may have found the strongest evidence of alien life yet by detecting “biosignature” chemicals in another planet’s atmosphere.

• A US navy official has come forward with another Tic-Tac UFO sighting (shocking I know).

Lore and Legends: The Ropen of Papua New Guinea

In the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea, locals speak of a terrifying creature known as the Ropen. Described as a massive, featherless flying creature with a wingspan of up to 15 feet, the Ropen is said to emit a brief glow as it flies through the night sky.

Sightings of the Ropen often occur near coastal areas, where it is believed to feed on fish. However, some legends tell of the creature digging up fresh human graves to eat the remains. Eyewitnesses often describe a leathery, bat-like creature with a long tail, and a prominent beak, traits that have led some researchers to theorize that the Ropen could be a surviving pterosaur. Others believe it has more extraterrestrial origins, as a good portion of Ropen sightings only report strange lights in the sky.

Unlike some other “relic dinosaur” cryptids, the Ropen was not fabricated by creationists (an interesting rabbit hole that will be explored in future articles) as it was first reported by biologist and believer of evolution Lucy Evelyn Cheesman in 1935. She briefly investigated the lights (now called the “Ropen lights”) and believed they were not man-made.

Multiple expeditions have been launched in attempts to document the Ropen. Researchers have ventured into Papua New Guinea armed with cameras and thermal imaging equipment, claiming to have captured fleeting, unexplained lights in the sky. Unsurprisingly, no physical evidence of the Ropen has ever been recovered, yet its legend persists.

Whether a misidentified fruit bat, an unclassified animal, or alien craft, the Ropen is a defining legend in the “unidentified flying creature” niche of cryptids. Its story is a tangled web of folklore and eyewitness testimony, and it remains a mystery still waiting to be solved.

Reader Story: The Clapping Man

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