Insert Xenu joke here.
September 20, 2011 3:41 PM Subscribe
can't-believe-I'm-asking-this-filter: How would I go about finding more information on celebrities/public figures who have been accused of being supernatural or not human?
I am completely fascinated by the recent strange episode involving a man accusing Nicholas Cage of being a vampire, based on the "proof" of a Civil War-era photograph. He is trying to sell the photo, obvs, so he may or may not be in earnest about his beliefs re: Cage's undeadness. It might just be a (hilarious) joke; the auction for the photo has been removed, so it's hard to tell.
But the whole thing made me wonder if any other modern (say, Enlightenment on) celebrities or public figures have been publicly accused of being supernatural creatures (or any other kind of interloper) in dead earnest and with accompanying "proof". Preferably by otherwise-reasonable people. I seem to be having trouble coming up with the right string of keywords to search on this—can you help, either with examples or ideas on searching?
I think plain old witchcraft accusations are a little short of what I'm wondering about—I'm more interested in people accused of actually being not human (good or bad), rather than of being humans that do bad things.
I am completely fascinated by the recent strange episode involving a man accusing Nicholas Cage of being a vampire, based on the "proof" of a Civil War-era photograph. He is trying to sell the photo, obvs, so he may or may not be in earnest about his beliefs re: Cage's undeadness. It might just be a (hilarious) joke; the auction for the photo has been removed, so it's hard to tell.
But the whole thing made me wonder if any other modern (say, Enlightenment on) celebrities or public figures have been publicly accused of being supernatural creatures (or any other kind of interloper) in dead earnest and with accompanying "proof". Preferably by otherwise-reasonable people. I seem to be having trouble coming up with the right string of keywords to search on this—can you help, either with examples or ideas on searching?
I think plain old witchcraft accusations are a little short of what I'm wondering about—I'm more interested in people accused of actually being not human (good or bad), rather than of being humans that do bad things.
Well, David Icke thinks that most of the US Presidents and a number of other famous people are lizards. Maybe tracking down other conspiracy nuts would be a good place to start.
posted by phunniemee at 3:50 PM on September 20, 2011
posted by phunniemee at 3:50 PM on September 20, 2011
You can find quite a lot of videos on Youtube where video compression artifacts are used as "proof" that someone is a reptilian with a glitchy hologram disguise. I have no proof whether or not the creators of these videos are "otherwise-reasonable," however. I think both Tom Cruise and Barack Obama have corresponding reptilian videos.
posted by RobotHero at 3:53 PM on September 20, 2011
posted by RobotHero at 3:53 PM on September 20, 2011
I saw the Nicolas Cage Civil War Photo Ebay Auction and it looked comically obviously photoshopped to me.. Think it was a joke.
That isn't to say that there aren't more serious accusations out there.
posted by jozxyqk at 3:54 PM on September 20, 2011
That isn't to say that there aren't more serious accusations out there.
posted by jozxyqk at 3:54 PM on September 20, 2011
Response by poster: Clarifying note: I don't think Nicholas Cage is a vampire. But this intersection of reality-based weirdness (celebrity culture) and crazytown weirdness (vampires!) is totally delicious. There's an interloper/"They walk among us!" feel to it that is totally fascinating to me.
Thanks for the answers so far—adamrice, crank.net is great, thanks!
posted by peachfuzz at 3:58 PM on September 20, 2011
Thanks for the answers so far—adamrice, crank.net is great, thanks!
posted by peachfuzz at 3:58 PM on September 20, 2011
Louis CK asked Donald Rumsfeld if he was a lizard man once on Opie and Anthony. AND HE REFUSED TO DENY IT!
posted by DeltaZ113 at 4:48 PM on September 20, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by DeltaZ113 at 4:48 PM on September 20, 2011 [4 favorites]
The Count of St. Germain was rumored to be immortal, among other things.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:34 PM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:34 PM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Rasputin seems like a good example.
Also, that guy Giorgio Tsoukalos is pretty into "proving" that various people in various time periods are/were/will be aliens...
posted by Ginkgo at 7:24 PM on September 20, 2011
Also, that guy Giorgio Tsoukalos is pretty into "proving" that various people in various time periods are/were/will be aliens...
posted by Ginkgo at 7:24 PM on September 20, 2011
The St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church recognizes John Coltrane as a saint, citing in its mission that the San Francisco-based church has "come to understand John Coltrane in terms of his sound and as sound in meditative union with God." The musical ministry and parish (recommended viewing) "seek to invoke the Spirit of God through sound praise, which consists of the Coltrane Liturgy: a combination of Divine Liturgy of the African Orthodox Church and the Twenty-third Psalm, with the melodies, harmonies and rhythms of Saint John Coltrane's masterpiece: A Love Supreme."
posted by prinado at 7:55 PM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by prinado at 7:55 PM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
I also saw that Nicholas Cage photo and found it extremely amusing. If you're into this kind of weirdness, definitely look into Al Bielek, and the entire Montauk Boys "conspiracy". Notice I put conspiracy in quotes, because even for a "conspiracy" this is some extremely far-fetched, unbelievable stuff. It is however very, very entertaining to read, and features all kinds of people who have supposedly lived many different lives, don't age, come back as other people in different time periods, and (my personal favorite) created clones of Jesus with blood from his crucifixion who are currently orbiting Venus in a spaceship waiting to descend to Earth and begin the "second coming". Yikes! Enjoy the weirdness!
posted by EvilPRGuy at 8:02 PM on September 20, 2011
posted by EvilPRGuy at 8:02 PM on September 20, 2011
The Weekly World News archive probably has something like that. I was weirdly mesmerized by that photo too. Even though the 1800s dude looked like younger Nicolas Cage, not the weathered and balding 2011 Cage--the fact that he's visibly aging like a normal person kind of belies the vampire thing, right? It's too bad, because a world where celebrities are secretly 200-year-old vampires is a world I want to live in.
If you want to know who I think is a supernatural being, it's Project Runway's Tim Gunn, who I'm pretty sure is some sort of elf. Not only is he weirdly compelling in a way that suggests magical powers, he kind of has pointed ears. See this clip for evidence. Tim Gunn=elf. Or maybe wizard.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 8:04 PM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you want to know who I think is a supernatural being, it's Project Runway's Tim Gunn, who I'm pretty sure is some sort of elf. Not only is he weirdly compelling in a way that suggests magical powers, he kind of has pointed ears. See this clip for evidence. Tim Gunn=elf. Or maybe wizard.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 8:04 PM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yeah, this was my all-time favorite tabloid cover.
posted by heatvision at 7:34 AM on September 21, 2011
posted by heatvision at 7:34 AM on September 21, 2011
Nikola Tesla was widely held to be many mutually exclusive varieties of supernatural, he hated it.
posted by Blasdelb at 9:53 AM on September 21, 2011
posted by Blasdelb at 9:53 AM on September 21, 2011
Re: identity issues more generally, a while ago, some rappers claimed to be extraterrestrials/ not human (in their music) and more recently some female musicians have been using cyborg/android identities. I think it's an interesting perspective on the sociological stuff going on with OMG LIZARD VAMPIRES! NOT LIKE US!
Dr. Octagonecologist - "Earth People", "halfsharkalligatorhalfman"
Robyn - "Fembot"
Janelle Monae - ArchAndroid album
posted by momus_window at 11:38 AM on September 21, 2011
Dr. Octagonecologist - "Earth People", "halfsharkalligatorhalfman"
Robyn - "Fembot"
Janelle Monae - ArchAndroid album
posted by momus_window at 11:38 AM on September 21, 2011
Also, Robert Johnson (supernatural musical ability, courtesy of satanic deal) and Marie Leveau (ageless Voodoo priestess).
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:47 PM on September 21, 2011
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:47 PM on September 21, 2011
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posted by dhammond at 3:47 PM on September 20, 2011