Has a yippie figured out the mystery of the C-4 found in the New York City Marble Cemetery? Earlier this week 10 pounds of the explosive was discovered by a volunteer working Open House NY there—it turned out to be over 12 years old, and was first discovered last year. According to the Villager, Dana Beal (pictured) says he thinks he knows how it first got on the grounds. more ›

The Montauk Monster reared its deteriorating head way before the official start to summer this year, and now Newsday has a new twist on the raccoon theory. They report that Montauk Monster 1.0 "was part of an elaborate summer celebration complete with a makeshift Viking-themed funeral for the animal," according to a 32-year-old Shelter Island man. He said they found the dead raccoon last 4th of July weekend and made it part of the yearly custom on the island called Nanapaushat, where "you gather all the dead (animals) on your property and surrounding area and you cremate them, to celebrate the cycle of birth and death." He declares, "Sometimes it's just a raccoon. It's not from Plum Island, it's not a monster from space. Sometimes the answer is the easiest." Fine, anonymous pragmatist, how do you explain the fact that the deputy town clerk in town has never even heard of this ritual? And what about all those other Montauk Monsters? And this map from Gawker? And all the time that elapsed before speaking up? Back to the drawing board... more ›

Newsday and Gawker, the first sources to publish the two original photos of the Montauk Monster, are now a little suspect of the ongoing "buzz" this creature is maintaining. As such, they did a little digging and end up back at one of the first theories: could it be a viral marketing scheme? Their dissection of the creature results in more confusion--albeit organized, bullet-pointed confusion--and raises points for each case (it's real, and it's fake). In the end, there are some "untied loose ends" in the hoax theory...but there's also this Splinterheads movie site. Oh, and that shifty-eyed girl behind the first photo, who may or may not be related to the filmmaker. UPDATE: The movie site has taken down the photo--see their original posting here. more ›