In the pantheon of odd and obscure holidays, October 20th stands out as a date which may be of particular interest to paranormal enthusiasts as it happens to be National Sasquatch Awareness Day. The concept was first proposed back in 2009 by way of a Change.org petition, presumably meant to mark the anniversary of the filming of the iconic Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film on October 20th, 1967. Although the idea initially received middling support online, it has since slowly grown over time, not unlike the legend of Bigfoot itself.

This year, the burgeoning holiday caught the attention of Oregon television station KPTV, who dispatched reporter Joe Vithayathil to The North American Bigfoot Center which is located in the ironically named city of Boring and helmed by ‘Finding Bigfoot’ star Cliff Barackman. Reflecting on the impact of the Patterson-Gimlin movie, he mused that the footage was “the best and the first footage obtained of a Sasquatch and its one of the only ones that holds up to that level even now.”

Meanwhile, indicative of how October 20th holds a special place in Sasquatch lore, Nebraska governor Pete Ricketts signed a proclamation recognizing the date as ‘Bigfoot Crossroads of Nebraska Day.’ Honored as part of the decree is Harriett McFeely, who operates a museum devoted to the cryptid in the city of Hastings that made headlines earlier this year when it acquired a flag believed to have been shredded and braided by Bigfoot.

Although National Sasquatch Awareness Day has yet to achieve the level of notoriety afforded to Extraterrestrial Culture Day or World UFO Day, which is inexplicably two separate dates, it’s likely only a matter of time until it becomes as much a part of the paranormal calendar as those aforementioned celebrations once word about it grows. To that end, it would seem that perhaps the only thing holding the holiday back is, ironically, a lack of awareness that it exists.

A humanoid-shaped object descending upon a village in India sparked fears of an alien invasion until authorities identified the ‘visitor’ as merely a life-size Iron Man balloon. The bizarre panic reportedly occurred on Saturday in the community of Dankour when residents spotted what appeared to be some kind of entity floating in the sky. Their mystification quickly turned to concern when the flying humanoid slowly began falling from the sky and ultimately landed around some bushes near a canal.

Given its aerial origin and the fact that the strange entity appeared to be moving after it had come down to the ground, many villagers suspected that it was some kind of ET and refused to go near it. Fortunately, a call to the authorities squashed their concerns about an alien invasion as it was soon determined that the ‘space brother’ was, in fact, a helium balloon depicting Iron Man which had falling from the sky because it started to deflate.

As for why it seemed to be moving once it touched down, a police spokesperson explained that “a part of the balloon was touching the flowing water in the canal which had led it to shake.” Authorities blamed the balloon’s humanoid shape and the robotic-looking design for why the villagers had believed it was an alien. After checking to ensure the object was harmless, cops confiscated the balloon and are now trying to figure out who set it loose in the first place.

This is a good one.

Apparently the skull is made entirely of fiberglass and the black cushioning is made of leather. Via Neatorama.

A chain of discount stores in England is under fire for selling incredibly inexpensive Ouija Boards as part of their seasonal Halloween offerings. Poundland is the British equivalent of the popular ‘dollar store’ found here in North America and, as one has likely surmised, sells a variety of goods for merely one pound. While discount-hunting shoppers undoubtedly appreciate the savings, customers were reportedly taken aback when they recently noticed that the chain’s Halloween products for the year included a Ouija Board.

Images of the infamous alleged supernatural communication device quickly popped up on social media with many people expressing concern that the Ouija Boards would be easily accessible for children since they’re priced at, of course, only one pound. “Someone should go in and buy the lot…save them getting near any kids,” wrote one worried customer online. The sentiment was echoed by another irritated individual who declared “most adults don’t even know how to use them correctly, never mind kids.”

Others observed that the tumultuous nature of this year makes the prospect of a Ouija Board falling into the wrong hands particularly problematic. “The last thing we needed in 2020 was Poundland to start selling Ouija Boards,” declared another person on social media. While people online called for the chain to pull the ‘talking boards’ from store shelves, at least one individual argued that the furor was overblown. “I love the way people are thinking little six-year-old Britney is going to cause a zombie apocalypse with their Poundland board with some letters on it,” they laughed, “has everyone gone mental?”

While the spooky season has only just begun, a delivery driver in Arizona has likely already had enough Halloween hijinks for the year following a frightening encounter with a spooky prop stationed outside of someone’s home. The amusing moment, which was reportedly captured by a doorbell camera earlier this week, occurred at a residence in the city Glendale when the unnamed man walked up to the porch to drop off a package. As he was stepping forward to leave a large envelope at the front door, the driver pauses for a moment to admire the Halloween decorations and then things took an unsettling turn.

Suddenly, a life-size doll of an old woman sitting in a chair bellows “I told you to stay away,” startling the man and causing him to take a step back. Eyeing the mannequin with apprehension, his concern is well founded as it then springs up out of the chair towards him, causing the terrified driver to unleash a terrified scream as the animatronic prop laughs in a sinister fashion. After getting his bearings, the man simply leaves the package by the door and understandably muses aloud, “I’m getting too old for this.”