COSMIC DEBRIS: Exorcist Medal?

Cashing in on The Exorcist. "Officially recognized by the Catholic Church" ... for what it's worth.

From Fate, Volume 26 - Volume 4, April 1974.

THE CRASH AND THE CANNIBALS by Theodore Clifford

Sexed up exploitation potboiler based on the infamous "Alive" Andes Flight Disaster of 1972, churned out just a year afterwards. Reads like a 70s TV movie-of-the-week with hardcore inserts, as a cast of drug dealers, terrorists, movie stars and more spice up the real life story of cannibalism, which is allotted a few measly pages amidst the melodrama. "Theodore Clifford" is undoubtedly a pseudonym of copyright owner Sylvia Von Block, a pulp writer who was no stranger to noms de plume. The striking cover design merits mention as effective graphic art, with just a stock photo of some mountains and a little cutout jet silhouette bracing us for impact.

2/4

Lancer Books, 1973

COSMIC DEBRIS: Eckankar Book Club

"The ancient science of soul travel!" Eckankar founder Paul Twitchell was certainly a character! You can visit eckankar.org for more information.

From Fate, Volume 26 - Number 4, April 1974.

THE UNKNOWN by Brad Steiger

One of Steiger's earliest books, yet another rapid fire goulash of ghosts and ghouls. No table of contents, no intro, no outro, just a slam bam surfeit of spooky tales, most of them one or two pages at most. Sources? Forget about it! Steiger recycles two ghost ships from Frank Edwards' Strangest of All, the Marlborough and the Iron Mountain, both of which somehow became posthumous paranormal mysteries after disappearing in the treacherous Antarctic Circle iceberg fields and "running aground after hitting an obstruction," respectively. Other entries include the lurid "Castle Freak" legend of the Monster of Glamis, a pair of GIs' death premonitions in Vietnam, and myriad and sundry ghosts too many to count.

Popular Library, 1966

COSMIC DEBRIS: Power of the Maya

What a friendly looking guy! From Fate, Volume 26 - Number 9, September 1973.

BEYOND BELIEF by Stefan Elg

Sturdy little volume of Forteana that impresses right from the start with a striking cover, and goes on to reveal that "it is another modern fallacy that vampirism no longer exists." Fear not, for author Stefan Elg (if that is his real name) has reams of articles and news accounts detailing vampires, ghosts, poltergeists ... and one very feeble spectral werewolf. 

A frightening fact: vampirism is more prevalent in religious but "spiritually backwards" areas such as Eastern Europe and Ireland.

Tower Books, 1967

MAPS OF THE UNKNOWN: Track of the Orm

From The Great Orm of Loch Ness by F.W. Holiday. Courtesy Avon Books, 1970 (original pub. 1968).

COSMIC DEBRIS: A UFO Detector

From UFO: Interplanetary Visitors, by Raymond E. Fowler. Courtesy Bantam Books, 1979 (original pub. 1974).

THE GREAT FLYING SAUCER MYTH by Kelly L. Segraves

A Biblical bait and switch! An apt description of this religious tract posing as a UFO paperback, as well as Segraves' theory concerning the fallen Sons of God in their guise as friendly Space Brothers.

Segraves is a forgotten founding father of modern Creationism whose bibliography reflects his high energy approach, staking out topics that are now taken for granted as Creationist hobby horses. He writes with wry humor, secure enough to have a little fun as he goes. Great delight is taken in knocking down Erich von Daniken's poor historiography. It's interesting to note that he and von Daniken were basically on the same side of the culture war, with von Daniken hoping that his sci-fi gloss would reinvigorate interest in the Bible and "traditional values," while Segraves saw his gloss as dross and took issue with von Daniken's sloppy writing. This tension is also evident when Segraves attends a UFO conference run by nominal Christians who have strayed too far into the occult for his liking.

Beta Books, 1977 (original pub. 1975)

COSMIC DEBRIS: Leo Sprinkle's Saucer Dreams

Authors Kagan and Summers run headlong into the shaky foundations holding up hypnotic regression as used by Ufology. From Mute Evidence by Daniel Kagan and Ian Summers, Bantam Books, 1984.