1826, United States, a Spring-heeled Jack: two men encounter a 'ghost' with 'a flame' coming from mouth and nostrils. It vanishes into air.

1873, America: a giant 'ghost': 'from a huge misshapen head gleamed a single fiery eye, flame from the nostrils of the terrible creature.'

1912, Nebraska, Bridgeport is jittery over sightings of 'a mysterious ghost'. Residents recall 'mysterious disappearances a few years ago.'

1970, New York, Randallsville: boy sees ghost, throws knife at it. Next day knife is found 'embedded into a gall of a jelly-like substance.'

1987 Michigan, an 'animal attack' on a Luther cabin sparks tales and rumors of Dogman, 'a half-man, half-dog creature lurking in the woods'.

1866 Chicago: man sees 'a demon' of 'titanic size'. Covered in 'hide like a rhinoceros', bluish flames and smoke from nostrils and mouth.

1927, Oregon: hunting for curios, a man finds 'a horned human skull' half buried in the sand. It has two horns, one broken off 'years ago'.

1881 Illinois, a ghost haunts a Decatur graveyard, resembling 'a gigantic man headless and armless', moving swiftly 'though it did not walk'

1901 New Jersey, Woodcliff is terrorized by a ghost, 'a white, gliding object'. At first cat-sized, but as it approaches becomes man-sized.

1967, Winter, Surrey. Pulling over on a dark, lonely road, a motorist notices a huge figure with foul odour and glowing, oblong-shaped head.

1984 October, glowing ufos pursue truckers Bob and Jackie Bair for three days acros three US states, small winged creatures attacking them.

1960 Baltimore: scalped by a weird fireball entering her home. Two mystery men visit to tell her not to talk about it

1926 Kansas, Wichita: the 'radio mystery house' picks up radio broadcasts while there is no radio in the house.

1955 Kentucky; the Sutton farmhouse is besieged by a horde of small silvery creatures with pointed ears and claws.

1947 China, in August, villagers and peasants complain of a child-stealing amphibious monster.

1928 Salvador, what strange monster washed up out of the sea?

1950 New Jersey, Wildwood: on January 9, Ethel Evans takes a picture of a 'flying saucer' coming in from the sea.

Austria, Vienna, 1869: a woman is arrested who "performed blood lettings on little girls to bathe in their blood, to maintain her beauty".

1930-1931, hundreds of US newspapers publish the Missing Eskimo village yarn on their front pages. Discounted in 1976

1897, Ontario, Ottawa: Professor Wiggings is certain that Martians send messages. The same year Wells' War of the Worlds is serialized.