Another Death From Pope Lick Monster Hunting?

A New Fatality

Louisville, Kentucky media has confirmed that two adolescent females on the Pope Lick Train Trestle were stuck by a train near Pope Lick Road, and Taylorsville Road, in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday night, May 26, 2019.

One teen is dead, per the dispatch supervisor, and the condition of the other teen is unknown. The Norfolk Southern train was operating in general freight service at the time of the incident, according to the corporation, and was en route to St. Louis.

The new incident was reported around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, May 26, 2019, near Taylorsville and Pope Lick Road, according to Louisville Metropolitan Police Department.

One sister of the victims responded to Travis Ragsdale's reporting of the incident for WDRB News.

The following is her tweet:

There is no confirmation of this tweet, to date.

The Pope Lick Monster

The most recent death previous to this event was when a train hit and killed a woman from Ohio in 2016, who was looking for the Pope Lick Monster.

The area is known to be "notoriously dangerous" as it is alleged to be the home of the Pope Lick Monster. The creature is said to be part human and part goat.

The Pope Lick Monster is the subject of an urban legend and popularized in YouTube videos, as well as a 1988 film, The Legend of the Pope Lick Monster (director Ron Schildknecht); and a 2013 episode of Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America (in "Ozarks"). There is also a haunted attraction themed after the tales surrounding the Pope Lick monster called the Legend at Pope Lick located at Pope Lick Park in the Parklands of Floyds Fork.

There are signs telling those in the area to keep away from the train trestle.

Deaths on the Trestle

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, in 2018 in Kentucky 10 people died while trespassing on train tracks and 16 were injured. There have been a number of deaths and accidents at the Pope Lick trestle since it’s construction.

The Pope Lick Trestle has gotten a lot of attention over the years due to a local legend. Suicides, near-misses, and homeless people's death have all been discussed by local authorities.

There were at least two confirmed deaths in 1987 and 1988, and many injuries and close calls, attributed to "Legend Tripping" looking for the Pope Lick Monster. The weekend before the 2019 incident, rumors were circulating that a death body had been found underneath the trestle.

The most recent acknowledged death before 2019 happened in 2016 when a woman was hit by a train while searching for the legendary monster.

Bain of Death

Before 2019, in 2016, Roquel Bain and her boyfriend Dave Knee decided to go to a paranormal event at the nearby Waverly Hills Sanatorium, a well-known haunted location often highlighted on "ghost hunter"-type reality programming. But with some time to fill, the couple decided to explore the Pope Lick Trestle and actively see if they could sight the Pope Lick Monster. Bain met her tragic fate there.

Roquel Bain, 26, the victim of the Pope Lick Trestle accident of 2016.

Ohio tourist David Knee is shown with girlfriend, Roquel Bain, 26. Bain died outside Louisville while searching for the famed Pope Lick Monster atop a train trestle with boyfriend Knee, 41, who survived by hanging on the edge.

For more on the Roquel Bain death, see:

"Woman Killed Searching For Pope Lick Monster," Cryptozoonews, April 24, 2016.

"Photo Exclusive: Trestle of Death Claims A Monster Hunter," Twilight Language, April 25, 2016.

As recently as the weekend of the May 2019 Pope Lick train trestle death, Twitter showed groups of people searching for hauntings at the Waverly Hills site in Louisville, located near Pope Lick. Individuals often going to one location end up at the other.

The Pope Lick Monster and the train trestle are said to be part of the Big Lick Triangle, a "window area" of high strangeness or Fortean activity.

h/t Craig Woolheater for this initial breaking news.

His Eyes Are Now Wide Shut: Uri Dowbenko Dies

Update: On June 22, 2019, I received this note:

My name is Tara Dowbenko. I am the daughter of Uri. I am so grateful you wrote an article about him. I want you to know how much it means to me. It was hard watching such an incredible being drink them self to death. I finally found a picture of him and his art, which he would probably be mortified to see on the internet if you do end up posting it. This was taken about 10 years ago. Thank you so much for acknowledging him.
I love your blogs by the way. I'm glad I found them. Thank you.
All the best, Tara

>>>>

Steamshovel Press publisher Kenn Thomas writes that is has been confirmed. "Uri Dowbenko died April 29 [2019] at age 67. He was a good friend, a regular Steamshovel contributor and a fabulous artist....Salut, Uri! It'll never be the same."

Dowbenko worked in different mediums so he could capture the apparent meanings he was attempting to understand.

The process of painting itself may actually facilitate the retrieval of past memories, as well as revelations or knowledge stored in the archives and libraries of other dimensions.
The purpose of my art is to transform the world. ~ Uri Dowbenko, 2004

People ask me — Uri, why do you paint? “Because I want to see something I have never seen before. I want the painting to always look like it’s moving even though it’s a ‘stationary’ painting.” ~ Uri Dowbenko, 2012

The intellectual, detailed author of a range of discussions grounded in a diversity of conspiracy theories,  Dowbenko was no stranger to in-depth analyses. The titles of some of his articles give a quick overview of the many topics he had touched. These include "Bob Hope: Thanks for the (Sordid) Memories," "Dirty Secret: Drug Czar Walters and the Iran-Contra Connection," "Dirty Tricks, Inc.: The DynCorp-Government Connection," "Up Against the Beast: High-level Drug Running," "New (Reptilian) World Order," and "Masonic Ritual Murders AKA Jack the Ripper," to name a few.

Now the eyes of one so aware are closed, and I, for one, will miss his oft-cryptokubrological and twilight language insights.

Uri Dowbenko wrote in his "Eyes Wide Shut: Occult Entertainment," a 1999 online article for Steamshovel Press:

If you've been puzzled by the title Eyes Wide Shut, you're not alone. According to ritual abuse and mind control survivor Arizona Wilder, it's a satanic cult term which means that whatever you've seen here is not to be revealed to anyone... or else.
"Monarch [mind control] programmers use this term," says Wilder in a recent interview. "It was so cult [like]," she continues. "Put him [the Tom Cruise character] in a double bind."

Dowbenko, examining the mystery deaths in the field, noted in his Eyes Wide Shut essay:

It may also be significant that the film's director Stanley Kubrick died suddenly. Mozart, a mason, died soon after revealing masonic mysteries in his opera, The Magic Flute. Author Stephen Knight, whose book, Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1975) revealed Victorian London's Whitechapel Murders as the work of ritual masonic killers, also died mysteriously. And William Morgan, author of Freemasonry Exposed (1836) was kidnapped and allegedly murdered by masons.

So naturally the question arose, what was Dowbenko's cause of death? Kenn Thomas answered on social media, rather matter-of-factly: "Drank himself to death. Cirrhosis."

Hoodwinked: Watching Movies with Eyes Wide Open (2004)

"In Hoodwinked: Watching Movies With Eyes Wide Open, one of America's foremost alternative media analysts, Uri Dowbenko, deftly deconstructs popular and influential movies ranging from The Matrix, to Fight Club to The Truman Show, to Wag the Dog, and so many others. This 336-page compendium of cogent observation and informative insights is organized into six major sections: Poli-Sci-Fi (Political Science Fiction); Illuminati, Mind Control and Other PsyOps; Into the Mystic; Secrets and Lies of History; Pop Idolatry: Sex & Death and Other Games; and Government-Business (Scams) as Usual. Thoughtful and thought provoking, Dowbenko's commentaries are rife with a humorous intelligence and attention-gripping iconoclasm that makes Hoodwinked 'must' reading for students and critics of American cinema." --Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI, USA)

"All movies pack a hidden message, and nobody on the planet can decipher and quantify this subliminal jabber better than conspiracy genius Uri Dowbenko. Hoodwinked is a nonstop disturbo thrill ride of cinema insights and savage critical vision. Dowbenko is an excavator of buried revelations... Enlightening, hysterical and - unlikeliest of all - sanctified by truth." --Jerry Stahl, Author of Permanent Midnight

"Hoodwinked is fantastic. Dowbenko's intelligent and humorous insights put Roger Ebert to shame. The book gave me a new pair of 3-D lenses to view and uinderstand the subtext and real meaning behind many of today's movies." --Brian Hall, Executive Producer, Conspiracy Con

Bushwhacked: Inside Stories of True Conspiracy (2003)

“Bushwhacked is well sourced and packed with new revelations. The chapter on MK-ULTRA alone makes it worth the read. It's in the best whistle-blower tradition. Compelling stuff. Highly recommended.”

— Gordon Thomas, author of Seeds of Fire and Gideon's Spies

Uri Dowbenko does not shy away from a thorough examination of issues which impact each and every citizen. Bushwhacked provides a searing commentary on the conspiracies of our time, as well as connecting the dots often missed by mainstream corporate media.”

— Jim Marrs, author of Rule by Secrecy, Alien Agenda, & Crossfire

“Bushwhacked is jammed with articles on corruption in US Government — unbelievable endemic corruption going right to the top in all administrations. What can we do about it? The solution, originated by former FAA investigator Rodney Stich, is in the book.”

— Antony C. Sutton, author of America’s Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull and Bones

Dowbenko penned the essence of his biography on his website, which serves as the template for this overview of his life, an obituary of sorts:

Artist, writer & publisher Uri Dowbenko was born in Chicago in 1951 to Ukrainian parents who came to America after surviving the Nazi German and Soviet Russian onslaughts. Raised in Western Pennsylvania, his artistic and writing career began in high school, when he founded an unsanctioned politically incorrect newspaper called The Lamb an alternative to the official school paper called The Ram. He went to school at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Vienna in Austria. At age 19 he took an "early retirement," rounding out his education by taking a cross-country journey across Europe and Africa - from Egypt to East Africa, then to Senegal, which took a year to complete. He once characterized that he now had "the rest of his life to work."

In 1973, Dowkenko moved to San Francisco and attended the San Francisco Art Institute and the School of Holography, where he became a holography instructor and was involved in producing many of the first white light and multiplex holograms ever made. His "Exhibit of White Light Holograms" (three-dimensional photographic images made with lasers and mirrors) was shown at Foothill College, San Jose State University, California Institute of the Arts, and Seattle Art Museum.

Dowbenko's book Homegrown Holography: How to Make Holograms in Your Own Low Cost Studio (Watson Guptill) was one of the first practical handbooks on the art and science of holography ever published.

In 1987, he moved to Montana, where he continued his advertising, marketing and publicity business, commuting to Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area to meet with clients.

Dowbenko's writing included hundreds of articles, movie reviews, interviews and investigative writing pieces for Fortean Times, Nexus Magazine, New Dawn Magazine, Paranoia Magazine, Steamshovel Press, Media Bypass Magazine, National Review, Spotlight, Nationalist Times, Chronicles Magazine, Nitro News, and other publications. He was considered one of Alternative Media's foremost writers and media analysts and a distinctive voice of modern American journalism.

In 2000, he became the founder of Alternative Media websites -- Conspiracy Planet, Al Martin Raw, Steamshovel Press and Conspiracy Digest, as well as the founder and publisher of National Liberty Press, which published The Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran Contra Insider by Al Martin.

Described as one of the hottest books in print, The Conspirators by government whistleblower Al Martin is his memoir and a firsthand account of his experiences with the Bush Cabal, most notably his former associates, Oliver North and General Richard Secord. Nexus Magazine has hailed the book as a "sensational expose" and it has been called a "tour de force" by Eye Spy Magazine.

Dowbenko's book, Bushwhacked: Inside Stories of True Conspiracy, has been described as "Compelling" and "Well sourced, packed with new revelations." His book Hoodwinked: Watching Movies With Eyes Wide Open is a collection of the most politically incorrect movie reviews ever published -- classic movies from the 1990s Golden Age of Movies.

Regarding his artwork, Dowbenko had become so frustrated by the unfulfilled potential of holography as an art medium that he took an artistic hiatus for more than 20 years. That ended and he resumed his art late in his life.

Dowbenko's spiritual quest has become a common metaphor for life itself, as his art, primarily large-scale muural-size oil paintings -- described as "Matta 2.0" -- which he himself calls "Metaphysical Landscapes," can be experienced as a meditation as well as a graphic representation of other dimensions and realities.

Uri Dowbenko was a member of the National Arts Club and the Author's Guild.

Is this a photograph of Uri Dowbenko, with some of his art?

Finding a picture of Uri Dowbenko on the Internet is difficult. As Kenn Thomas indicated, "Uri was computer averse."

Stanton T. Friedman Dies

In Stanton Friedman's New York Times obituary of May 21, 2019, his appearance in popular culture was noted. Below is my remembrance of Stan that appeared on May 14, 2019.

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American physicist and flying saucer investigator/author Stanton T. Friedman living in Canada, has died.  Friedman was returning from a speaking engagement in Columbus, Ohio, when he died suddenly at the Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday night, May 13, 2019, according to his family.

Stan's last photographs were taken of him at George Noory's Live Stage Show, at the Lincoln Theater in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, May 11, 2019. Here are pictured (l to r, above): Stan, Tom Danheiser, Mary Ann Winkowski, George Noory, Lori Wagner, and Jim Harold.  (Coast to Coast AM Courtesy Photo).

An individual picture of Stan was shared by Jim Harold.

The Lincoln Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, syncs with the #Lincoln and #Columbus name games in Fortean literature. The Lincoln Theatre opened on November 26, 1928 as the Ogden Theatre. It was designed in the Egyptian Revival style, renamed the Lincoln in 1939 and continued operating as a movie theater through the 1960s. It has become a performance venue since then. The Lincoln Theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Stanton Friedman's last playbill, sadly.

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Stanton T. Friedman with Loren Coleman (l) and Tim Binnall (r) shared good times, at the talks during the 2015, Nova Scotia conference.

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Stanton T. Friedman was a dual citizen of the USA and Canada and lived in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, just across the Maine border from the USA.

Kathleen Marden, a co-author and friend, who first reported widely that on June 30, 2014, Stan had a heart attack, was one of those who confirmed Stan's death of May 13, 2019, as did his family and reporter Tim Binnall. Stan was 84 years old; his birthday is July 29, 1934.

Friedman formerly called himself "The Flying Saucer Physicist," because of his degrees in nuclear physics and his work on nuclear projects, according to separate ufo encyclopedia authors Ronald Story and Jerome Clark.

A word about the terms "UFO" versus "flying saucer": Friedman has consistently favored the use of the term "flying saucer" in his work, saying "Flying saucers are, by definition, unidentified flying objects, but very few unidentified flying objects are flying saucers. I am interested in the latter, not the former."

Stan with me at the International Cryptozoology Museum in 2014.

Because Stan was a prolific speaker at UFO-related conferences, his biography is well-known to most in the field. I've been a speaker at several conferences where Stan was a speaker too.  At a Nova Scotia conference in 2015, I drove my car from Maine, and because Stan was without a vehicle, I became his personal driver for the weekend. I got to hear Stan's stories during many drives, and many meals we shared. The conversations, believe it or not, were not about "flying saucers." Every one was about his family.

Stan Friedman grew up in Linden, New Jersey, and married twice. He first married Susie Virginia Porter; he divorced her in April 1974. He adopted three children with his first wife and had one daughter with his second wife, Marilyn. His story was about adoption and re-discovery. Stan's private stories were of love and connections. Perhaps someday a book will be written of that part of his life.

Paul Kimball introduced his uncle to the audience at a conference in Nova Scotia.

Stan Friedman relocated to Marilyn's native New Brunswick in the early 1980s. Stan's nephew is UFO film & television writer, producer, director, and author Paul Kimball. Along with Marilyn, Stan leaves behind his daughters Rachel and Melissa (David Parsons), a grandson, James Kenneth (Luzelle Carranza Aquino) and a great grandson, James. He was predeceased by two sons, Sean and James Leo. 

Stanton Friedman drawing by Nick Shev.

Nuclear physicist-author-lecturer Stanton T. Friedman received his BSc. and MSc. degrees in physics from the University of Chicago in 1955 and 1956.  To put himself through college, Stan worked as a waiter in the Catskills. It was there in the “Borscht Belt” that, as he would say, he "first laid eyes on a lobster and danced with debutantes."

Stan was employed for 14 years as a nuclear physicist by such companies as GE, GM, Westinghouse, TRW Systems, Aerojet General Nucleonics, and McDonnell-Douglas working in such highly advanced, classified, eventually cancelled programs as nuclear aircraft, fission and fusion rockets, and various compact nuclear power-plants for space and terrestrial applications.

Stan became interested in UFOs in 1958, and since 1967, he lectured about them at more than 600 colleges and 100 professional groups across the United States, Canada, and worldwide, in addition to various nuclear consulting efforts. He published more than 90 UFO papers and appeared on hundreds of radio and TV programs including on Larry King in 1997, 2007 and twice in 2008, and many documentaries. He was the original civilian investigator of the Roswell Incident and co-authored Crash at Corona: The Definitive Study of the Roswell Incident. TOP SECRET/MAJIC his controversial book about the Majestic 12 group, established in 1947 to deal with alien technology, was published in 1996 and went through 6 printings. An expanded new edition was published in 2005.

In 2016, Fact Fiction and Flying Saucers by Stanton T. Friedman and Kathleen Marden, was published.

Stan was presented with a Lifetime UFO Achievement Award in Leeds, England, in 2002, by UFO Magazine of the UK. He co-authored with Kathleen Marden (Betty Hill’s Niece) of a book in 2007: Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience. His book Flying Saucers and Science was published in June 2008 and went into several printings. His Science Was Wrong with Kathleen Marden, was published in June 2010.

Stanton Friedman, one of the leading authorities on UFOs, was pictured taking part in a parade in McMinnville, Oregon, in 2013. His work was also celebrated in New Brunswick, and the City of Fredericton declared Aug. 27, 2007, Stanton Friedman Day. On July 2, 2010, he was inducted into the Roswell UFO Hall of Fame.

Stan provided written testimony to Congressional Hearings, appeared twice at the UN, and was a pioneer in many aspects of ufology including Roswell, Majestic 12, The Betty Hill- Marjorie Fish star map work, analysis of the Delphos, Kansas, physical trace case, crashed saucers, flying saucer technology, and challenges to the S.E.T.I. (which he characterized as "Silly Effort To Investigate") cultists.

Stan T. Friedman had spoken at more MUFON Symposia than any other individual. Over the years, he lectured in 10 provinces, 50 states, and 19 countries.

The world of "flying saucers" and ufology thought has lost a giant. 

All who meet him were touched by his magic and enthusiasm.

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Some photos of Stan with more friends and colleagues: Deborah and Audrey Starborn Hewins, Kathleen Marden, Allison Jorlin, and Greg Bishop.

Stan Friedman's last interview at the Roswell UFO Festival served to be prophetic. He talks of being tired, and the lose of tolerance he has for so many connections between his speaking engagements and getting back to Canada. It will be recalled, it was at his Toronto airport connection from Columbus to back home where he died.

BTW, some remembrances have credited Stan with "founding the Roswell UFO Museum." Praise for Stanton T. Friedman has been out-of-this-world, deservedly. But he was not the founder of the Roswell NM UFO Museum. That honor goes to Glenn Dennis (March 24, 1925 – April 28, 2015), who was a eyewitness to the 1947 Roswell UFO incident. The Museum opened in Sept 1991.

A public visitation will be held at the York Funeral Home on Friday, May 17, 2019 from 4-8pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the International UFO Museum & Research centre in Roswell, New Mexico.

Trump Makes The World Go MAD

President Donald Trump took aim at Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, at a “Make America Great Again” rally on May 8, 2019, by calling him “Boot edge edge.”

Trump returned to Buttigieg on May 10, 2019. In an interview with Politico, Trump declared that "Alfred E. Neuman cannot become president of the United States.”

Asked about the insult, later on May 10, 2019, Buttigieg told Politico, “I’ll be honest, I had to Google that. I guess it’s just a generational thing. I didn’t get the reference. It’s kind of funny, I guess. But he’s also the president of the United States and I’m surprised he’s not spending more time trying to salvage this China deal."

Social media was hit on Mother's Day with a flood of images from MAD Magazine covers, reminding people that while Trump and Buttigieg might be done with MAD, MAD is not done with them.

As someone pointed out, there may already be an "Alfred E. Neuman" in the White House.

MAD Magazine has zeroed in on Trump in the past, and Trump seems to love the attention.

MAD has ways of predicting the future too. See below.

For more on the above, see "'That Myth Is Dead': An Artist, Writer And Editor From MAD Magazine Talk Trump's America."