Mutology Data and Deaths: Tom Adams and Gary Massey

Tom Adams (foreground) and Gary Massey (in the background) in the vehicle they called "Thing," which hit many roads on the way to investigate cattle mutilations. This was NOT the Volkswagen Type 181 "Thing," which was a two-wheel drive, four-door, convertible, manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen from 1968 to 1983.

Instead, according to Christopher O'Brien, this was the personal nickname that Gary Massey and Tom Adams gave to Massey's 1970s' Dodge van that was retrofitted to have four-wheel drive (as pictured below).

Cattle mutilations began in earnest in Illinois, Kansas, and Texas, in the early 1970s. A few of us began filing news clippings and exchanging reports with each other. I corresponded with a few people about the incidents. Jerry Clark, Mark Hall, and Lou Farish were three of my correspondents regarding the topic. 

Another passionate collector of incidents was Tom Adams, of Paris, Texas, who kept track of the cattle mutilations, as well as the (often black) helicopter sightings, via letters and in his publication called Stigmata. He was an especially well-informed researcher and loyal correspondent whose speciality was this one topic.

Traveling west from Texas in 1970, Tom Adams and Gary Massey drove to Colorado to research the 1967 "Snippy the Horse" mutilation case. Adams dove deeper into cattle mutilation cases after that. In 1978, he began publishing his newsletter Stigmata.

Tom also wrote The Choppers and the Choppers: Mystery Helicopters and Animal Mutilations (privately published by Tom Adams).

Out of this grew "mutology," the study of animal mutilations (most specifically cattle mutes, as they were called).

But what became of Tom Adams? And his friend and associate, Gary Massey?

Christopher O'Brien and Loren Coleman, June 27, 2018.

Christopher O'Brien, on the road in weird and mysterious America...

On June 27, 2018, a successful author and long-time cattle mutilation researcher visited me in Portland, Maine. He shared some partial answers to the mysteries of Adams and Massey.

Christopher O'Brien pointed me to some information he had posted in 2015: 

Thomas R. Adams (1945-2014) helped this fledgling investigator/researcher immeasurably from early 1993 through 1999. He sent me hundreds—possibly of thousands of pages of documents to help get me up-to-speed about the cattle mutilation phenomenon (and other peripheral subjects) in the mid-1990s and spent hundreds of hours with me on the phone.
I last saw him in 1999 —just before he dropped completely out of the field w/ no explanation. Weirdness has ensued ever since and myself and most of his other researcher friends have never spoken with him again. The prevailing theory is that he burnt out and probably became a hard-core Christian, but that's not for certain. What is for certain, is that in 1999, one of the most important figures in the "cattle mutilation" community disappeared off the radar screen for over 15 years. Now word comes (9 months late) that he died, alone in his Paris, TX house...He died on August 20, 2014 after not showing up for work for a couple of days. ~ Christopher O'Brien. Source.

Thomas R. Adams May 6, 1945 Paris, Lamar County, Texas, USA - August 20, 2014 Paris, Lamar County, Texas, USA. Cremated, Location of ashes is unknown

The Paris [Texas] News, Sunday, August 24, 2014, Page A7 - Thomas Richard Adams, 69 of Paris, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, at his home. Cremation was under the care and direction of Bright-Holland Funeral Home.
Thomas, the son of Jack T. and Hazel Evelyn Hutchison Adams, was born May 6, 1945, in Paris. He graduated from Paris High School and attended East Texas State University. His career at Flex-O-Lite spanned many years, and following that he worked several years at the Dollar Store.
He was preceded in death by his father on July 27, 1976, and his mother on Aug. 21, 2004. He was also preceded in death by his grandparents, James Thomas Adams, Ida Hugh Cochran Adams, Judge W. A. Hutchison and Edna Denison Hutchison.
Survivors include several cousins including a first cousin, Patsy Daniels and husband Clyde. Source.

David Perkins

Also to be consulted is "The Late Great Tom Adams: Thoughts on the Passing of Thomas R. Adams (1945-2014)" by David Perkins, Easter 2015.

Tom Adams in 1996.

"Itʼs unclear whether at the time of his death, Tom even knew of Gary Masseyʼs apparent suicide in 2010." ~ David Perkins.

Christopher O'Brien reports that Massey set his house on fire, shot his dog, and then shot himself dead.

Gary Massey was born March 5, 1948, Virginia, and died September 7, 2010, at Sulphur Springs, Hopkins County, Texas. He is buried at Restlawn Memorial Park, Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Gary Mac Massey, 62, of Sulphur Springs passed away Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010, at his residence. A private family burial will take place at a later date.
He was born March 5, 1948, in Virginia, the son of J.L. and Robbie Kathlyne Melton Massey.
Survivors include his mother, Robbie Kathlyne [Melton] Massey of Sulphur Springs; one brother and sister-in-law, Brad and Holly Massey of Sulphur Springs; and two nieces, Cara Thompson and Meredith Massey of Sulphur Springs.
He was preceded in death by his father (J. L. Massey, 73, August 21, 1920 - February 2, 1994, Sulphur Springs, Texas). Source.

Thanks to Chris for reminding me to dig deeper for the exact bio details on Adams and Massey, for the record. 

Christopher O'Brien is the author of

The Mysterious Valley (1996)

Enter the Valley: UFOs, Religious Miracles, Cattle Mutilations, and Other Unexplained Phenomena in the San Luis Valley (1999)

Secrets of the Mysterious Valley (2007)

Stalking the Tricksters: Shapeshifters, Skinwalkers, Dark Adepts and 2012 (2009)

Stalking the Herd: Unraveling the Cattle Mutilation Mystery (2014)

+++
More historical context

Two books, both appearing in 1976, pictured below, did much to break the silence about the cattle mutilations happening in the West.

The legacy of these early years continues with highway signs in New Mexico and continued reports from the Southwest to Colorado (2009) and Canada (2006).

h/t to Martin Willis for hosting C.O.

Mystery Death: Mac Tonnies, 34

Why do some people die so young, and all we hear is that they passed away of "natural causes"? The two pieces of information do not compute.

Mac Tonnies, 34, a rising intellectual presence in Fortean thought, the "Posthuman Blues" blogger, and the author of the forthcoming book, The Cryptoterrestrials (Anomalist Books, 2010), has departed this plane. He was found dead in his apartment on Thursday afternoon, October 22, 2009. Reports indicate that there was no foul play or suicide involved, and "natural causes" are being blamed for his sudden and unexpected death. There is some indication that he may have been feeling "faint" in the days leading up to his death.

I never met Mac, but he did correspond a few times with me. In April 2008, he was curious about a mysterious graffiti artist that had popped up in his town, who was leaving iconic Nessie stencils around and about. He wrote me and asked if I'd heard about any other incidents like it happening around the country. I posted a brief note on CryptoZooNews about the cryptoart.

The title of Mac's forthcoming book, The Cryptoterrestrials, also, of course, interested me. In talks I had with his publisher, Patrick Huyghe, I understood it would be a book that extended the thoughts of John Keel's ultraterrestrials. I looked forward to seeing what new take Tonnies had on it all, and was open to hearing if cryptozoology played into his intellectual ponderings.

Mac Tonnies had the potential to ask some challenging questions. That seemed to have scared some people.

Strangely, Mac's name appeared at the end of the "death list" of people that a group of extremely youthful ufologists placed in their infamous posting of March 22, 2008, 19 months or so, before the day of Tonnies' death. The so-called "RRRGroup," in their "UFO PROVOCATEUR(S)" blog entry entitled "Death(s) will clean the UFO palate," listed the names of people whom they almost seemed to be wishing would die more quickly so the "future" of the field could dawn more quickly.

They wrote:

When ufology’s old-guard passes on – Dick Hall, Stan Friedman, Kevin Randall, John Schuessler, and even the 60ish Jerry Clark to name a few – taking hangers-on and sycophants with them (and you know who they are), the UFO palate will be cleansed.

That is, the mummified concepts of ufology will be washed away, and new paradigms will be allowed to flourish.

Standing in the wings already is a group of middle-agers who, while not particularly astute about the UFO history and inclined to be cavalier with their observations and characterizations of ufology and UFOs themselves, think they are the news faces of ufology, which is a mantle they hope to change.

Those people include Paul Kimball, Nick Redfern, Greg Bishop, and Mac Tonnies.

...Once the old-guard is gone, and the mid-lifers dismissed because of their foolishness, the young crop of UFO mavens’ newer ideas will hold sway with the public and media....

Blood mixed with ink.

I wrote in their comment section at the time:

It seems incredible to really read these words: "...the young crop of UFO mavens’ newer ideas will hold sway with the public and media, because this new generation isn’t conscripted by former old-think about UFOs, presenting instead original thought and pursuit of the UFO mystery..."
Being a radical Fortean observer watching the coming and going of all matter of writers, researchers, and theorists in the last four decades, you have given me a good chuckle.

Every "new" generation sees themselves as having the "real" solutions or the next best outside-the-box suggestions. Of course, it will only be something you will reflect upon when the next generation after you, the new group of "Young Ones" start nibbling at your aging heels, [and] says something similar to you.

It's always been that way, and it will continue so into the future.

Besides being intellectually dishonest, such a critique as the one from the RRR group has no sense of history or reality. But in terms of karma, frankly, I think it is bad form to put names out there of people you almost seem to be wishing were dead. I am shocked, therefore, to see that Mac Tonnies, the last name on the RRR list, along with Dick Hall, the first one, both now have died. Sad indeed.

The tributes for Tonnies, as often happens in a surprising death like this are pouring in from his deep friends. I recommend those of Nick Redfern, Greg Bishop, and many other of his true friends.

Mac's last tweet was on October 18th, 2009, and he pointed to "sculptural manifestations of audio footage."

I want to leave you with Mac's own words, as he has summed up his own life, here below, from his self-authored biography. Good-bye, Mac:

I'm a Kansas City, Missouri-based author and essayist. I blog daily at Posthuman Blues and tweet religiously. My latest book is After the Martian Apocalypse (Paraview Pocket Books, 2004), a speculative and generally well-received examination of extraterrestrial intelligence on the Red Planet. I'm presently at work on a new non-fiction book titled The Cryptoterrestrials: Indigenous Humanoids and the Aliens Among Us, excerpts of which I've posted on my blog. If you're in the mood for a multiplex Fortean anthology, my essay "The Ancients Are Watching" is included in 2008's Darklore Vol. II. (My first book, Illumined Black, is a collection of naively "Blade Runner"-ish science fiction short-stories. It can still be found in used-book stores and on Amazon.com.)

I've been a guest panelist at ConQuest, Kansas City's premiere science fiction convention. More recently, I've lectured in the United States and Canada on subjects ranging from exoarchaeology to transhumanism and have appeared on programs such as Coast to Coast AM, Strange Days . . . Indeed, 21st Century Radio, The Paracast, Binnall of America, and Radio Misterioso. My first play, produced and directed by Paul Kimball, debuted in Halifax, Nova Scotia in late 2007. In early 2009 I appeared as the "investigator" in an episode of "Supernatural Investigator," a Canadian program covering fringe beliefs and esoteric science. I also make an appearance in "Best Evidence," an award-winning UFO documentary.

I spend an inordinately large portion of my time pursuing unpopular ideas and esoteric theories with what I sincerely hope is balanced skepticism. I'm a member of the Society for Planetary SETI Research, a group that seeks to use scientific methodology to explore the possibility of extraterrestrial artifacts in our solar system. I read voraciously; preoccupations include cosmology, nonhuman intelligence, UFOs, consciousness studies, and futurism. Writers I admire include William Gibson, Philip K. Dick and William S. Burroughs.

I tend to think in the future-tense. I'm a skeptic, agnostic and existentialist; I perceive reality as a kind of consensual hallucination that forces us to define our sense of identity without recourse to faith or superstition. I have a deep affinity for 80s pop music; some of my favorite bands are The Cure, R.E.M., Portishead, Talking Heads, and The Smiths. Favorite film-makers include David Cronenberg and David Lynch. I can regularly be found haunting the Country Club Plaza, taking pictures, reading cyberpunk novels, and marinating my synapses in espresso. And I'm a voracious doodler.

Statement:

Consciousness is a potential technology; we are exquisite machines, nothing less than sentient patterns. As such, there's no convincing technical reason we can't eventually upload ourselves into matrices of our design and choosing. It's likely the phenomenon we casually call "intelligence" will cease to be strictly biological as we begin to merge with our machines more meaningfully and intimately. (Philip K. Dick once wrote that "living and nonliving things are exchanging properties." I suspect that in a few hundred years, barring disaster, separating the animate from the inanimate will probably be an exercise in futility.) Ultimately, we have two options: self-mutate by venturing off-planet in minds and bodies of our own design, or succumb to extinction.

Sun God Polito Killed By Lightning

A Ukrainian politician who had tried to revive an ancient pagan cult was killed by lightning on Saturday, July 4, 2009, while on a fishing trip. Did this occur about the same time John A. Keel passed away in the USA?



Vasily Chervoni (above) was on a fishing trip near the village of Derazhnoye and suffered a direct lightning hit during a thunderstorm. He was taken to a hospital where he died shortly afterwards, the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda reported on Monday, July 6, 2009.

The newspaper noted that the late politician was a close friend of Ukrainian President Yushchenko and had at one time occupied the governor’s post in Rovno Region. A former activist in the Soviet youth movement Comsomol, Chervoni started an independent political career in the early 1990s with radical Ukrainian nationalists. At some point, Chervoni joined the religious movement Runvera – a Ukrainian sect that seeks revival of obscure ancient cults, in particular, the worship of the sun god Dažbog.

In 1992, Chervoni was excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church. When he was retired from the governor’s post in 2006, all Orthodox churches in Rovno Region had a special prayer thanking the Lord for deliverance.

The Sun God: Dažbog



Dažbog (above) was one of the major gods of Slavic mythology, most likely a solar deity and possibly a cultural hero. He is one of several authentic Slavic gods, mentioned by a number of medieval manuscripts, and one of the few Slavic gods for which evidence of worship can be found in all Slavic nations.

While the meaning of Dažbog’s name is not completely clear (as is the case with most other Slavic gods), taking into account several different versions of the name, most scholars agree the root dažd- or daj- is derived from root of the verb dati "to give."

Thus, according to most scholars, Dažbog would be "giving god," "god-giver," "god-donor," deus dator. This is particularly interesting since the Proto-Slavic word for god, *bagu (> Common Slavic *bogъ), the suffix of Dažbog's name, is argued either to be of Iranian origin (being related to Indo-Iranian etymons such as Old Persian baga, Sanskrit bhaga), or being semantically influenced by Iranian source, both being ultimately derived from PIE root *bʰag-, whose reflexes in both Slavic and Indo-Iranian came to mean both "deity" and "wealth, share."

Translated literally, Dažbog would be "giver of fortune." This echoes the ancient Indo-European concept that the deity is, in essence, an entity which gives wealth and abundance, an indication, perhaps, that Dažbog is a relic from common Proto-Indo-European religion, or even that this was not a name for any particular Slavic god, but a general epithet of a deity.



The Slavic god Svarog had two sons: Svarožič, who represented fire on earth, and Dažbog, who represented fire in the sky and was associated with Sun. Svarog was believed to have forged the Sun and have given it to his son Dažbog to carry it across the sky.

Pagan Slavs left their footprints across the region in a significant number of toponyms whose names can be associated with them and by discoveries of multi-headed statues in various Slavic lands. For example, the four-headed god Svantevit had a white horse and is represented by obelisks such as these.



Keelian Connection

I'm reminded that during the mid-1960s, John A. Keel became literally obsessed with collecting Fortean news clippings of bizarre deaths of people, livestock, and other animals killed by lightning. He would send copies of such newspaper articles to me and others, and requested that his correspondents forward any such events mentioned in local papers. For a time, Keel privately published a newsletter, Anomaly News, in which he would fill the pages with little offset copied news items of all such lightning deaths he could discover.

It is intriguing that Keel would die in New York City on July 3rd and Chervoni's lightning event is listed as July 4th. Of course, with the different time zones, maybe, in some strange Fortean twist of fate, the lightning strike and Keel's death occurred more closely in time that we realize. John would have been happy with this bit of synchronicity.