Enigmatic baffling acts of silliness are the legendary Trickster’s method of operation. The allusive nature of many types of paranormal phenomena make investigation feel as though one is chasing the Trickster, a sentiment shared by many seasoned researchers.
I grew up in the southwest, and with some American Indian history in my family, I took a special interest in the legends of the Trickster. Often funny, it seemed that the purpose of the Trickster and/or its stories were to humble humans by demonstrating our ignorance, keeping our egos in check when we get too full of ourselves. It is this haughtiness that usually causes people to dismiss indigenous mythology, but although I was also scientific minded, I kept an open mind.
One of the pioneers of cattle mutilation investigation, David Perkins, believes that perhaps the paranormal is actually a part of this Trickster phenomenon. He believes that cattle mutilations, among other phenomena, seem to be convoluted by design. In a lecture he gave in the San Luis Valley of Colorado many years ago, he suggested that perhaps it is even a function of evolution. He posited that this allusive trickster force drives us to aspire and not rest on our scientific laurels. When we strive for answers, we make discoveries and further our knowledge and understanding of the world.
Another colleague and friend, Nancy Talbott of BLT research, has also expressed a similar possibility. BLT has been at the forefront of the scientific research of Crop Circles. While recently pondering this playful intelligence I offered my ideas about the Trickster. She was under the impression that the legend of the Trickster was of a negative force, although I have never seen it that way. She agreed that it seems as though intelligent forces are using these enigmatic methods to drive us forward in understanding.
Scientists for the National Institute of Discovery Sciences (NIDS) were left with similar thoughts when they investigated a strange ranch in Utah. NIDS was an organization created by Las Vegas, Nevada real estate mogul, Robert Bigelow, for the scientific study of anomalous phenomena. They purchased a ranch in Utah where residents had claimed experiencing a myriad of strange unexplainable phenomena. Cattle Mutilations, sightings of UFOs, balls of light, strange animals and entities were some of what residents and later scientists experienced at the ranch.
I spoke with Colm Kelleher, NIDS’ lead scientist, and co-author, with journalist George Knapp, of a book on the Utah ranch, Hunt for the Skinwalker. The Skinwalker is an American Indian legend of a witch that can take the form of an animal to make mischief, a legend I always felt similar to the Trickster. Kelleher expressed the opinion that whatever was going on at the ranch seemed to always be one step ahead of them. It would also avoid their cameras or recording devices. It is important for science that a phenomenon be repeated, but the anomalous activities on the ranch were unique, never repeating. All of this frustrated the team so much that the research was all but halted. Fortunately, the events were documented in the book. Although scientific understanding may have been unattainable, Kelleher and crew were able to walk away with a handful of experiences to dispel any doubt of the existence of phenomena beyond our understanding.
In a recent interview with UFO researcher James Moseley, who has been following the UFO phenomenon since the 40’s and writing about it since the 50’s, he actually brought up the Trickster when describing his current view on the paranormal. Such an inscrutable conclusion frustrates many researchers. Sometimes rival, sometimes friend, Jerome Clark has written about Moseley saying that he has, "entertained just about every view it is possible to hold about UFOs, without ever managing to say anything especially interesting or memorable about any of them."
However, Moseley isn’t alone in his conclusion that perhaps answers to paranormal phenomena are not as cut and dry as many feel. Famous researchers, Jacques Vallee, John Keel, and J. Allen Hynek, among the researchers I have already mentioned, have felt similarly. I suggested to Moseley that his alternative suggestions make him a bit of a Trickster figure in this field, challenging the rest of us to expand our purview when searching for answers.
Taking this theory a little further, perhaps the Trickster is a force that not only manifests itself in paranormal phenomena, but in us all. It is well known that humans, considering themselves artists, create many of the Crop Circles. Furthermore, some of these people feel that they are under the influence of divine forces and that their circles hold the same magic as the ones created by yet unknown mechanisms. If nothing else, by introducing their circles anonymously amongst the real ones, the human circle makers make it more difficult to study the circles scientifically.
There is also no doubt that we often surprise ourselves by our own enigmatic behavior. How many times have you reflected on your own actions and thought, “Wow, why did I do that?” When it is hard enough to understand why we do the things we do ourselves, it is no surprise it is often difficult to understand the actions of others. For instance why politician do what they do will always be a mystery much harder to crack than the paranormal.
In this pragmatic, scientific society, it is difficult for some to think that perhaps no matter how many answers we uncover there is no end to the questions. This concept reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Einstein, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”
The Trickster could be nature’s device to ensure that while we enjoy continued and ever increasing success in scientific understanding, that we will always be guided toward new horizons to revel in awe as we step forward in never ending journeys of discovery.
If you have stories of the paranormal you would like to share, email me at paranormalreporter@gmail.com. You can also reach me on Facebook and Twitter, where you can keep up to date on the latest paranormal news.
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