RIP John Keel

keelJohn Keel, the legendary Fortean author of such books as “The Mothman Prophecies” and “Strange Creatures From Time and Space,” died last week in New York at the age of 79. As I only knew Keel second-hand, through my friend Doug, I don’t have much to offer in the way of a eulogy. As we’ve discussed his work here on the site several times in the past, however, I thought that I should at least note his having passed. I, for one, will miss his work, and hope that, if there is an afterlife, he’s finding it to his liking… Those looking for a more fitting tribute are encouraged to check out the one from author Loren Coleman on the Cryptomundo site, which includes the following quote from Keel:

“I abandoned the extraterrestrial hypothesis in 1967 when my own field investigations disclosed an astonishing overlap between psychic phenomena and UFOs… The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary beliefs.”

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3 Comments

  1. Lyle
    Posted July 8, 2009 at 9:53 am | Permalink

    The Crypto site also has a bummer of a story about his last months. Real depressing.

    http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/keel-end/

    RIP

  2. Meta
    Posted July 8, 2009 at 12:52 pm | Permalink

    There’s a Mothman statue in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where all the weirdness took place. Keel was there in 2003 for the the unveiling.

    Local obit for Keel:
    http://www.mydailyregister.com/pages/full_story/push?article-‘Mothman+Prophecies’+author+dies%20&id=2901827-‘Mothman+Prophecies’+author+dies&instance=secondary_news_left_column

  3. Posted July 9, 2009 at 8:35 pm | Permalink

    My friend Doug Skinner, a longtime associate of Keel’s, has a nice, short piece on his site about the author’s passing, which includes a very nice childhood picture of Keel with his Charlie McCarthy figure. (Ventriloquists call them “figures,” not “dummies.” I learned that the hard way.)

2 Trackbacks

  1. […] and will feature, among other things, seldom-seen animated shorts by the late Fortean researcher John Keel, author of The Mothman Prophecies. Jalopy, the theater where all of the films will be shown, is at […]

  2. By Mothman lives on, scares ten people per mile on March 5, 2014 at 10:19 pm

    […] it’s been almost five years now since the world lost John Keel, his legacy apparently lives on. I just received the following from my friend Jeff. This is the […]

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