Monsters or Tulpas? in "Three Men Seeking Monsters"

THREE MEN SEEKING MONSTERS: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape Men, Nick Redfern, Paraview Pocket Books, 2004, 264pp, indexed.

When I heard Nick Redfern talk about chupacabras this summer at the American Ghost Society's summer conference in Decatur, IL, I thought his accent sounded a little odd. I'd known Texans in the Army and his didn't quite compare.  Turns out Nick is an English transplant and this book is the result of a six week monster hunt through England prior to his departure to the US.

Nick Redfern, Jon Browne, and Richard Freeman agree to go search out the origins of an assortment of monster stories throughout Britan, and England abounds with them. Devil dogs, Bigfoot-type humanoids of various sizes, big wild felines, and lake monsters, as well as others which are hard to even describe. Their freewheeling journey takes them from the south all the way up to Loch Ness, whisked off in Redfern's van, the Mystery Machine (no Scooby Snacks, but plenty of liquid libation at pubs along the way).

It's an amusing account of three unconventional people researching the unconventional.

What I found the most interesting point raised by Redfern results from an interview with a witch in appropriate black dress and purple cloak, Sarah Graymalkin of Falmouth.

Graymalkin tells the trio she believes the fantastic paranormal creatures of England are actually mental constructs called tulpa in Tibet. The tulpa is skillfully created by mental focus. Once created, it can theoretically achieve a separate life of its own.

A little side-trip here. There's a famous case years ago in Canada. A number of psychics with similar interests wanted to determine if a ghost could be created out of whole cloth.

They set out to do it, naming their ghost, creating a description and backstory for it, thoroughly constructing a complete history. Then they began focusing their energies on mentally visualizing the ghost as real. After some time at this, they began to get response such as table knocking.  They were so successful the ghost wound up doing things it was not "programmed" to do.  They had, in the context of Nick Redfern's witch's explanation, created a tulpa that had achieved an independent existence.

In her discussion with the trio, Graymalkin gives examples of experiences of which she knows with mind-creatures.

Perhaps this tulpa more resembles the tulku, which Graymalkin explains is a variant mind-creature designed to outlive its creator.

However, insists Graymalkin, there is another layer to this explanation. Tulpa are not really created out of thin air, but derive from Cormons. These are presences which coexist with us in a separate dimension and can be called up as is done with the tulpa. According to the witch, the ancients had the talent to summon Cormons.

Redfern and friends come to believe that the monster stories they encounter are due to Cormons. The Loch Ness Monster is among the best known because despite its large size and the limits of its habitat it simply cannot be pinned down. Other examples involve fleeting glimpses of things which may be seen several times, and by credible witnesses, but never seen again, leaving behind only legends of something that on its face seems totally ridiculous.

Interesting book, quick read, very light stuff.