An Open Letter to Monster Quest

For those who do not know, Monster Quest is a show on the History Channel that delves into the world of unknown crytids. The show takes the hour to look into physical evidence to prove the existence of such creatures.

The best part of the show is the individual cases of the witnesses and reenactments of the experiences and encounters of the week's creature featured. Most of the witnesses seem very reliable and quite sure of what they saw.

The main problem of the show is each episode seems to promise some type of conclusive evidence, and then such evidence peters out in the end. The best example of that is from the 2 hour episode on the Abominable Snowman. After sitting through two hours, only one footprint was deemed to possibly be unknown. The prints in the snow were melted tracks of deer and other animals. The supposed head of the yeti turned out to be a yak like animal. Another words, no real conclusions.

In a nutshell, last nights episode was the same. The "Gable Film" footage of the so called werewolf was the focus for the main evidence, along with a huge paw print. Well, the paw print turned out to be a mud print of a wolf, and the deep mud itself made it look much larger than it was. The Gable film turned out to be a hoax. That probably was the most interesting part of it, but when they showed it, it did look like a man was crawling in a suit. No other evidence other than the reenactments was shown.

Maybe it is too much to want some real DNA, or other evidence to show that a cryptid really does exist. But I am getting more tired each episode with the teasers that I will actually learn something I didn't already know from the books of researchers out there.

reply to post by kidflash2008


That was the FINAL show!

www.cryptomundo.com...

Here's Loren Coleman on the Gable Film:

www.cryptomundo.com...

[edit on 25-3-2010 by drew hempel]

You're acting like the DNA is out there just waiting to be picked up. MQ can't test evidence they don't have, or that doesn't exist. You need to accept the possibility that none of these animals exist. If you don't do that, you're just as bad as a skeptic that denies the possibility that they are real.

The problem MQ has is that they just don't find anything. Most people don't find anything. People have been looking for Bigfoot for 50 years and you can count the pieces of good evidence on your fingers. MQ going into the woods for a weekend aren't going to find anything. It's not like MQ is purposely not fidnign any evidence. It might jsut not be there.

That said, MQ has gone downhill really fast. The Lizard man one a couple weeks back was just awful. Problem is, they need to fill an hour show even if they fidn no evidence or anything. And they need ratings. If they started the episode with "We didn't find anything", you'd change the channel.

reply to post by Esoterica


I use DNA as an example of the evidence I wish it had. I know the evidence will not jump on their lap, but I keep hoping something will be found.

I guess the same style every week is what is making me quite tired of this show. I also agree that the lizard people episode was pretty bad. The main thing is the Flatwoods sighting was that of an extraterrestrial, not a cryptid. And the Starchild skull needs a special episode where all the DNA tests can be done to determine if the father was human or non human.

I do agree it is a show that needs to fill in an hour. It also needs people to watch the whole hour along with all the ads. I did need to write this to blow off some steam, as I am sure many agree with me on the show. The subject is too important to get such shabby treatment.

reply to post by drew hempel


Thank you for the link, and now this thread is moot as Monster Quest has been canceled so History Channel can do more logging and Pawn Stars reality type shows.

I wonder where subjects like this will be done now?

reply to post by kidflash2008


Ahh bummer. The kids and I loved watching this show.

reply to post by kidflash2008


The Gable film turned out to be a hoax? Bummer... I missed that part because I was watching Mythbusters. I thought it looked like a bear when they showed it and I was sure that's the conclusion they would draw.

The thing is no one should be turning to a TV show for scientific evidence anyway. Usually if a discovery is made and validated by actual science it would be announced along official channels. I think many scientists would be excited if these cryptids turned out to be real, think of the knowledge of human ancestry we could gain if we found concrete evidence of bigfoot.

I much prefer Destination Truth to Monster Quest but I wouldn't trust any evidence from either show, they're on TV and therefore shouldn't be taken so seriously.

I have to agree with the OP about the evidence and the prolonged agony of ending up where I was information wise when I started watching the show.
As for the Destination truth team, I do prefer their research and think Josh does make it a light hearted experience with serious science behind it. The last episode with the "Mermaid" and the "great Wall of china" was pretty decent due to the fact they were the first paranormal investigation on the mad path o fthe "great Wall" and they do risk physical harm.
But, (Here we go again) there is no conclusive and tangible evidence to sway the verdict's one way or the other for the proof neccesary to lay such stories to rest. Besides the personal experiences, there never seems to be conclusive and unarguable evidence.
OP your posted thread wasn't a waste, it has merit and I feel the same as you.

I always loved that video. It was well done and just goes to show that there are talented people out there. I found this site that explains a lot of the hoax in detail. Michigan Dogman Hoax

reply to post by Titen-Sxull


Well now we know what happened to Jael --

forums.syfy.com...

Syfy orders 'Paranormal Investigators' reality series, to debut July 15 AddThis Feed Button By Christopher Rocchio, 03/17/2010 Syfy announced it has ordered Paranormal Investigators, a new reality series that will follow a team of specialists as they attempt to uncover supernatural and paranormal occurrences caught on camera. The series is currently slated to premiere Thursday, July 15 at 10PM ET/PT.

More Jael on vid here:

current.com...

[edit on 25-3-2010 by drew hempel]

Yes I usually go into what is this [innapropriate language] , and an enormous amount of bad words to describe this in other places but ya they make you think that theres some kind of really interesting thing where youer goingto get to see what there looking for or something that pertains to that and in was something else and they waste and hour or 2 of your time and say well we didn't get it this time
Ya its almost fraud
I think those things are out there and they've talked aboutthem on other website but they are ofetn elusive
I think they did find a baby ogopogo or something but never heard anything about it

Esoterica
your incorect, theres too many witnesses but if they didn't find something they shoudkl just tell us instead of making us watch this show for an hour
why make the show if they didn;t find anything

reply to post by kidflash2008


I would also like to point out, with regards to last nights episode. The three people that they selected to go out in the woods were hilarious. The only one with any credibility was the tracker. The Native American and that other woman were so funny and not credible.

You could almost tell the tracker was annoyed by some of the comments the other two were making.

And I'm shocked that they were not attacked by wolves. Some of these shows(MonsterQ, Destination Truth) put the hosts and participants in some really dangerous situations. Not from a possible encounter from a mythical beast but from a fall off a cliff or attack by a known dangerous animal.

Anyone who is knowledge with the outdoors, does not hike or roam around in the woods or mountains at night. It is dangerous for many reasons. And every episode of Destination truth, they will cut to commercial at least twice, only to return showing how someone almost fell off a cliff. And I'm not sure what the point of the FLIR thermal camera is, and how they gain any evidence from it. "hey there is something on the FLIR at night in the woods"...NO Sh*t, there are f-ing animals in the woods.

Sorry, had to rant

reply to post by trailerparkreuniun


www.cryptomundo.com...

baby ogopogo. Thanks.

Naw it's not a coincidence that to "forge" metals = forgery and to "fabricate" materials = fabrication.

Kind of like a Fake Book in music -- is it live or memorex?

hplusmagazine.com...

Maybe the next level of paranormal reality shows will be on robots and computer A.I. -- virtual reality is the big thing now.

You may want to turn your attention to Paranatural on National Geographic Channel. It is a new series and so ffar has 2 shows. One was about Chupacabra, didn't watch that. The second was "Mystery Lights" ( Marfa, Brown's Mt. etc.) Pretty decent show thus far.Paranatural link

Hey I just joined but I have been a long time forum lurker... Anways I wanted to share what I wrote too the network because MQ was a show I always looked forward to but they definitely needed to improve their expedition work...
Anyways: As a graduating college student with a minor in psychology and zoology I'm extremely dissapointed that your company is discontinuing MonsterQuest when there is so much that still needs to be covered and explained. Your program does a good job elaborating about the creatures but I feel your tracking methods are too amatuer to get any real evidence especially when you're making noise and shining lights around in the dark while you're hunting for clues. I live in the NW and have heard many first hand accounts from loggers that have worked near Mt. St. Hellens before it blew and I know there was an elaborate cave system there especially around Ape Canyon before the eruption. So many people watch your program and if your expeditions actually went to the untouched wilderness places that I know you haven't scractched in the NW I feel you would definitely find corraborating evidence for the unknown... especially in the labyrinth of unexplored caves.

reply to post by iamcamouflage


I do agree with you about the two people who were "sensing" what was out there. They were there purely for the entertainment part of the show and added absolutely nothing to what was going on. I also did catch the man stating about the animals making noises. Ya think?

I will try the National Geographic Channel, although they are known to heavily edit shows in the skeptics and debunkers favor.

reply to post by kidflash2008

In South Africa we haven't seen the last mentioned episodes. I love Monster Quest, even if much turns out debunked urban legend. With the giant squid episode they really got some great footage, albeit of a creature that was already proved elsewhere.

What I am livid about is the total lack of feedback on the following program that made radical claims of sasquatch DNA. It was titled "Sasquatch Attack" (November 2007), and followed a group of "professionals" having a boys' own adventure in the woods of Ontario.

The guys were spooked by stones flung on a roof of their isolated cabin. Furthermore, blood and hair was found on anti-bear spikes at the cabin's entrance.
One lab said the samples were too contaminated to be analyzed, but one of the program's intrepid scientists claimed he removed galvinizing from the sample, and concluded it was primate hair. Most sites (too many to mention here) said further tests were pending to confirm the results. That was in 2007!
Where are the other results? Can anybody tell me?
Why Monster Quest why? I cannot sleep until I hear the promised results!

See: en.wikipedia.org...
www.cryptomundo.com...


[edit on 26-3-2010 by halfoldman]

reply to post by halfoldman


It turned out those DNA results were inconclusive as the matter had been exposed to the elements too long a time. No data could be drawn from it.

I was one who was very hopeful when they claimed to have the DNA and thought it would help at least identify if it was a bear doing the damage as some have claimed.

The best evidence the show has obtained is footprint (and in some cases handprint) casts. The eyewitness accounts also are good, but do not really prove anything.

All DNA tested in the show has been found to be of a known animal or inconclusive.

reply to post by kidflash2008


As far as finding "alive" creatures, why is it that the remains of so called "giants" ( all over you-yube ) have not been openly discussed, nor are these findings in any museum. DNA CAN be extracted from these..Aye?