JASON COLAVITO
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Legends of the Pyramids
    • The Mound Builder Myth
    • Jason and the Argonauts
    • Cult of Alien Gods >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Foundations of Atlantis
    • Knowing Fear >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Hideous Bit of Morbidity >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Cthulhu in World Mythology >
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
      • Necronomicon Fragments
      • Oral Histories
    • Fiction >
      • Short Stories
      • Free Fiction
    • JasonColavito.com Books >
      • Faking History
      • Unearthing the Truth
      • Critical Companion to Ancient Aliens
      • Studies in Ancient Astronautics (Series) >
        • Theosophy on Ancient Astronauts
        • Pyramidiots!
        • Edison's Conquest of Mars
      • Fiction Anthologies >
        • Unseen Horror >
          • Contents
          • Excerpt
        • Moon Men! >
          • Contents
      • The Orphic Argonautica >
        • Contents
        • Excerpt
      • The Faust Book >
        • Contents
        • Excerpt
      • Classic Reprints
      • eBook Minis
    • Free eBooks >
      • Origin of the Space Gods
      • Ancient Atom Bombs
      • Golden Fleeced
      • Ancient America
      • Horror & Science
  • Articles
    • Skeptical Xenoarchaeologist Newsletter >
      • Volumes 1-10 Archive >
        • Volume 1 Archive
        • Volume 2 Archive
        • Volume 3 Archive
        • Volume 4 Archive
        • Volume 5 Archive
        • Volume 6 Archive
        • Volume 7 Archive
        • Volume 8 Archive
        • Volume 9 Archive
        • Volume 10 Archive
      • Volumes 11-20 Archive >
        • Volume 11 Archive
        • Volume 12 Archive
        • Volume 13 Archive
        • Volume 14 Archive
        • Volume 15 Archive
        • Volume 16 Archive
        • Volume 17 Archive
        • Volume 18 Archive
        • Volume 19 Archive
        • Volume 20 Archive
      • Volumes 21-30 Archive >
        • Volume 21 Archive
        • Volume 22 Archive
    • Television Reviews >
      • Ancient Aliens Reviews
      • In Search of Aliens Reviews
      • America Unearthed
      • Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar
      • Search for the Lost Giants
      • Forbidden History Reviews
      • Expedition Unknown Reviews
      • Legends of the Lost
      • Unexplained + Unexplored
      • Rob Riggle: Global Investigator
    • Book Reviews
    • Galleries >
      • Bad Archaeology
      • Ancient Civilizations >
        • Ancient Egypt
        • Ancient Greece
        • Ancient Near East
        • Ancient Americas
      • Supernatural History
      • Book Image Galleries
    • Videos
    • Collection: Ancient Alien Fraud >
      • Chariots of the Gods at 50
      • Secret History of Ancient Astronauts
      • Of Atlantis and Aliens
      • Aliens and Ancient Texts
      • Profiles in Ancient Astronautics >
        • Erich von Däniken
        • Robert Temple
        • Giorgio Tsoukalos
        • David Childress
      • Blunders in the Sky
      • The Case of the False Quotes
      • Alternative Authors' Quote Fraud
      • David Childress & the Aliens
      • Faking Ancient Art in Uzbekistan
      • Intimations of Persecution
      • Zecharia Sitchin's World
      • Jesus' Alien Ancestors?
      • Extraterrestrial Evolution?
    • Collection: Skeptic Magazine >
      • America Before Review
      • Native American Discovery of Europe
      • Interview: Scott Sigler
      • Golden Fleeced
      • Oh the Horror
      • Discovery of America
      • Supernatural Television
      • Review of Civilization One
      • Who Lost the Middle Ages
      • Charioteer of the Gods
    • Collection: Ancient History >
      • Prehistoric Nuclear War
      • The China Syndrome
      • Atlantis, Mu, and the Maya
      • Easter Island Exposed
      • Who Built the Sphinx?
      • Who Built the Great Pyramid?
      • Archaeological Cover Up?
    • Collection: The Lovecraft Legacy >
      • Pauwels, Bergier, and Lovecraft
      • Lovecraft in Bergier
      • Lovecraft and Scientology
    • Collection: UFOs >
      • Alien Abduction at the Outer Limits
      • Aliens and Anal Probes
      • Ultra-Terrestrials and UFOs
      • Rebels, Queers, and Aliens
    • Scholomance: The Devil's School
    • Prehistory of Chupacabra
    • The Templars, the Holy Grail, & Henry Sinclair
    • Magicians of the Gods Review
    • The Curse of the Pharaohs
    • The Antediluvian Pyramid Myth
    • Whitewashing American Prehistory
    • James Dean's Cursed Porsche
  • The Library
    • Ancient Mysteries >
      • Ancient Texts >
        • Mesopotamian Texts >
          • Atrahasis Epic
          • Epic of Gilgamesh
          • Kutha Creation Legend
          • Babylonian Creation Myth
          • Descent of Ishtar
          • Berossus
          • Comparison of Antediluvian Histories
        • Egyptian Texts >
          • The Shipwrecked Sailor
          • Dream Stela of Thutmose IV
          • The Papyrus of Ani
          • Classical Accounts of the Pyramids
          • Inventory Stela
          • Manetho
          • Eratosthenes' King List
          • The Story of Setna
          • Leon of Pella
          • Diodorus on Egyptian History
          • On Isis and Osiris
          • Famine Stela
          • Old Egyptian Chronicle
          • The Book of Sothis
          • Horapollo
          • Al-Maqrizi's King List
        • Teshub and the Dragon
        • Hermetica >
          • The Three Hermeses
          • Kore Kosmou
          • Corpus Hermeticum
          • The Asclepius
          • The Emerald Tablet
          • Hermetic Fragments
          • Prologue to the Kyranides
          • The Secret of Creation
          • Ancient Alphabets Explained
          • Prologue to Ibn Umayl's Silvery Water
          • Book of the 24 Philosophers
          • Aurora of the Philosophers
        • Hesiod's Theogony
        • Periplus of Hanno
        • Ctesias' Indica
        • Sanchuniathon
        • Sima Qian
        • Syncellus's Enoch Fragments
        • The Book of Enoch
        • Slavonic Enoch
        • Sepher Yetzirah
        • Tacitus' Germania
        • De Dea Syria
        • Aelian's Various Histories
        • Julius Africanus' Chronography
        • Eusebius' Chronicle
        • Chinese Accounts of Rome
        • Ancient Chinese Automaton
        • The Orphic Argonautica
        • Fragments of Panodorus
        • Annianus on the Watchers
        • The Watchers and Antediluvian Wisdom
      • Medieval Texts >
        • Medieval Legends of Ancient Egypt >
          • Medieval Pyramid Lore
          • John Malalas on Ancient Egypt
          • Fragments of Abenephius
          • Akhbar al-zaman
          • Ibrahim ibn Wasif Shah
          • Murtada ibn al-‘Afif
          • Al-Maqrizi on the Pyramids
          • Al-Suyuti on the Pyramids
        • The Hunt for Noah's Ark
        • Isidore of Seville
        • Book of Liang: Fusang
        • Agobard on Magonia
        • Book of Thousands
        • Voyage of Saint Brendan
        • Power of Art and of Nature
        • Travels of Sir John Mandeville
        • Yazidi Revelation and Black Book
        • Al-Biruni on the Great Flood
        • Voyage of the Zeno Brothers
        • The Kensington Runestone (Hoax)
        • Islamic Discovery of America
        • The Aztec Creation Myth
      • Lost Civilizations >
        • Atlantis >
          • Plato's Atlantis Dialogues >
            • Timaeus
            • Critias
          • Fragments on Atlantis
          • Panchaea: The Other Atlantis
          • Eumalos on Atlantis (Hoax)
          • Gómara on Atlantis
          • Sardinia and Atlantis
          • Santorini and Atlantis
          • The Mound Builders and Atlantis
          • Donnelly's Atlantis
          • Atlantis in Morocco
          • Atlantis and the Sea Peoples
          • W. Scott-Elliot >
            • The Story of Atlantis
            • The Lost Lemuria
          • The Lost Atlantis
          • Atlantis in Africa
          • How I Found Atlantis (Hoax)
          • Termier on Atlantis
          • The Critias and Minoan Crete
          • Rebuttal to Termier
          • Further Responses to Termier
          • Flinders Petrie on Atlantis
        • Lost Cities >
          • Miscellaneous Lost Cities
          • The Seven Cities
          • The Lost City of Paititi
          • Manuscript 512
          • The Idolatrous City of Iximaya (Hoax)
          • The 1885 Moberly Lost City Hoax
          • The Elephants of Paredon (Hoax)
        • OOPARTs
        • Oronteus Finaeus Antarctica Map
        • Caucasians in Panama
        • Jefferson's Excavation
        • Fictitious Discoveries in America
        • Against Diffusionism
        • Tunnels Under Peru
        • The Parahyba Inscription (Hoax)
        • Mound Builders
        • Gunung Padang
        • Tales of Enchanted Islands
        • The 1907 Ancient World Map Hoax
        • The 1909 Grand Canyon Hoax
        • The Interglacial Period
        • Solving Oak Island
      • Religious Conspiracies >
        • Pantera, Father of Jesus?
        • Toledot Yeshu
        • Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay on Cathars
        • Testimony of Jean de Châlons
        • Rosslyn Chapel and the 'Prentice's Pillar
        • The Many Wives of Jesus
        • Templar Infiltration of Labor
        • Louis Martin & the Holy Bloodline
        • The Life of St. Issa (Hoax)
        • On the Person of Jesus Christ
      • Giants in the Earth >
        • Fossil Origins of Myths >
          • Fossil Teeth and Bones of Elephants
          • Fossil Elephants
          • Fossil Bones of Teutobochus
          • Fossil Mammoths and Giants
          • Giants' Bones Dug Out of the Earth
          • Fossils and the Supernatural
          • Fossils, Myth, and Pseudo-History
          • Man During the Stone Age
          • Fossil Bones and Giants
          • American Elephant Myths
          • The Mammoth and the Flood
          • Fossils and Myth
          • Fossil Origin of the Cyclops
          • Mastodon, Mammoth, and Man
        • Fragments on Giants
        • Manichaean Book of Giants
        • Geoffrey on British Giants
        • Alfonso X's Hermetic History of Giants
        • Boccaccio and the Fossil 'Giant'
        • Book of Howth
        • Purchas His Pilgrimage
        • Edmond Temple's 1827 Giant Investigation
        • The Giants of Sardinia
        • Giants and the Sons of God
        • The Magnetism of Evil
        • Tertiary Giants
        • Smithsonian Giant Reports
        • Early American Giants
        • The Giant of Coahuila
        • Jewish Encyclopedia on Giants
        • Index of Giants
        • Newspaper Accounts of Giants
        • Lanier's A Book of Giants
      • Science and History >
        • Halley on Noah's Comet
        • The Newport Tower
        • Iron: The Stone from Heaven
        • Ararat and the Ark
        • Pyramid Facts and Fancies
        • Argonauts before Homer
        • The Deluge
        • Crown Prince Rudolf on the Pyramids
        • Old Mythology in New Apparel
        • Blavatsky on Dinosaurs
        • Teddy Roosevelt on Bigfoot
        • Devil Worship in France
        • Maspero's Review of Akhbar al-zaman
        • The Holy Grail as Lucifer's Crown Jewel
        • The Mutinous Sea
        • The Rock Wall of Rockwall
        • Fabulous Zoology
        • The Origins of Talos
        • Mexican Mythology
        • Chinese Pyramids
        • Maqrizi's Names of the Pharaohs
      • Extreme History >
        • Roman Empire Hoax
        • American Antiquities
        • American Cataclysms
        • England, the Remnant of Judah
        • Historical Chronology of the Mexicans
        • Maspero on the Predynastic Sphinx
        • Vestiges of the Mayas
        • Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel
        • Origins of the Egyptian People
        • The Secret Doctrine >
          • Volume 1: Cosmogenesis
          • Volume 2: Anthropogenesis
        • Phoenicians in America
        • The Electric Ark
        • Traces of European Influence
        • Prince Henry Sinclair
        • Pyramid Prophecies
        • Templars of Ancient Mexico
        • Chronology and the "Riddle of the Sphinx"
        • The Faith of Ancient Egypt
        • Spirit of the Hour in Archaeology
        • Book of the Damned
        • Great Pyramid As Noah's Ark
        • Richard Shaver's Proofs
    • Alien Encounters >
      • US Government Ancient Astronaut Files >
        • Fortean Society and Columbus
        • Inquiry into Shaver and Palmer
        • The Skyfort Document
        • Whirling Wheels
        • Denver Ancient Astronaut Lecture
        • Soviet Search for Lemuria
        • Visitors from Outer Space
        • Unidentified Flying Objects (Abstract)
        • "Flying Saucers"? They're a Myth
        • UFO Hypothesis Survival Questions
        • Air Force Academy UFO Textbook
        • The Condon Report on Ancient Astronauts
        • Atlantis Discovery Telegrams
        • Ancient Astronaut Society Telegram
        • Noah's Ark Cables
        • The Von Daniken Letter
        • CIA Psychic Probe of Ancient Mars
        • Scott Wolter Lawsuit
        • UFOs in Ancient China
        • CIA Report on Noah's Ark
        • CIA Noah's Ark Memos
        • Congressional Ancient Aliens Testimony
        • Ancient Astronaut and Nibiru Email
        • Congressional Ancient Mars Hearing
        • House UFO Hearing
      • Ancient Extraterrestrials >
        • Premodern UFO Sightings
        • The Moon Hoax
        • Inhabitants of Other Planets
        • Blavatsky on Ancient Astronauts
        • The Stanzas of Dzyan (Hoax)
        • Aerolites and Religion
        • What Is Theosophy?
        • Plane of Ether
        • The Adepts from Venus
      • A Message from Mars
      • Saucer Mystery Solved?
      • Orville Wright on UFOs
      • Interdimensional Flying Saucers
      • Flying Saucers Are Real
      • Report on UFOs
    • The Supernatural >
      • The Devils of Loudun
      • Sublime and Beautiful
      • Voltaire on Vampires
      • Demonology and Witchcraft
      • Thaumaturgia
      • Bulgarian Vampires
      • Religion and Evolution
      • Transylvanian Superstitions
      • Defining a Zombie
      • Dread of the Supernatural
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves and Vampires and Ghouls
      • Science and Fairy Stories
      • The Cursed Car
    • Classic Fiction >
      • Lucian's True History
      • Some Words with a Mummy
      • The Coming Race
      • King Solomon's Mines
      • An Inhabitant of Carcosa
      • The Xipéhuz
      • Lot No. 249
      • The Novel of the Black Seal
      • The Island of Doctor Moreau
      • Pharaoh's Curse
      • Edison's Conquest of Mars
      • The Lost Continent
      • Count Magnus
      • The Mysterious Stranger
      • The Wendigo
      • Sredni Vashtar
      • The Lost World
      • The Red One
      • H. P. Lovecraft >
        • Dagon
        • The Call of Cthulhu
        • History of the Necronomicon
        • At the Mountains of Madness
        • Lovecraft's Library in 1932
      • The Skeptical Poltergeist
      • The Corpse on the Grating
      • The Second Satellite
      • Queen of the Black Coast
      • A Martian Odyssey
    • Classic Genre Movies
    • Miscellaneous Documents >
      • The Balloon-Hoax
      • A Problem in Greek Ethics
      • The Migration of Symbols
      • The Gospel of Intensity
      • De Profundis
      • The Life and Death of Crown Prince Rudolf
      • The Bathtub Hoax
      • Crown Prince Rudolf's Letters
      • Position of Viking Women
      • Employment of Homosexuals
      • James Dean's Scrapbook
      • James Dean's Love Letters
      • The Amazing James Dean Hoax!
    • Free Classic Pseudohistory eBooks
  • About Jason
    • Biography
    • Jason in the Media
    • Contact Jason
    • About JasonColavito.com
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Search

When Is It OK to Discuss a Fringe Historian's Background?

4/27/2014

103 Comments

 
It’s no secret that fringe history writers don’t like critics, and they also tend to have double-standards when it comes to criticism. To take a recent example, Scott Wolter called me a “hate-blogger” on his website earlier this year and then went on the radio to plead that unkind words directed at him were inappropriate: “So why are we having these arguments, people attacking me, criticizing me? Let’s stop already, OK?” Similarly, the previous year he said that I was driven by “religious zealotry rather than truly scientific thinking” before asserting that only factual arguments were valid rhetorical points.
While Wolter’s double standard is perhaps the most clearly defined, it is also visible in the work of other fringe theorists. Giorgio Tsoukalos, for example, has frequently attacked mainstream archaeologists and Egyptologists for being dogmatic, conspiratorial, and so on, but brooks no criticism of himself or his ideas. He has held a grudge against me for more than a decade for having once asked him some critical questions when I was in college. He called me “malevolent.”

But the claim I’ve been running into more and more frequently is that it is inappropriate to ever mention the background, motivations, or qualifications of a fringe history figure. Surely it is relevant, for example, to understanding Wayne May’s advocacy of diffusion from the Old World to the New that May is a Mormon with a literalist view of the Book of Mormon, indeed an extremist view of its literal truth.

Instead, while the fringe figure is free to attack the critic’s background or to make wild accusations of dark conspiracies, his critics are to be restricted to offering only bone-dry recitations of fact. Obviously, this is self-serving, creating a double standard that benefits only the fringe theorist. We all know that the audience fringe writers wish to reach does not judge claims based only on evidence and reasoning but rather on a combination of logos, pathos, and ethos, the facets of rhetorical argumentation. Fringe writers want their critics to abandon the elements of argumentation in favor of syllogisms while they retain access to the full range of rhetorical expression.

But there is a point buried beneath the hypocrisy. In terms of evaluating claims, the identity of the claimant isn’t relevant. But is criticizing fringe history limited only to the specific claims fringe historians make? I would argue no, and for this reason: Fringe historians make their work about themselves, and as such their motivations, background, personalities, and controversies become inseparable from the ideas they offer. This isn’t limited just to fringe history, of course.

Right now I’m reading Irving Finkel’s new book The Ark before Noah, and it is a mainstream book that proposes some new ideas about the transmission of the Flood myth. But it is impossible to talk about this without acknowledging that Finkel himself makes the first quarter of the book into an autobiography, explaining his Jewish heritage, his background in cuneiform studies, and his years of experience in Assyriology and in curating Near East antiquities for the British Museum. He made himself the central actor in the story, and the book (at least in its early chapters) therefore is as much the story of how Irving Finkel translated a new tablet as it is about the contents of that tablet. This is what separates his popular treatment of the subject from his academic journal articles on the same, and it is a completely legitimate way of writing a popular book. But, as with writers like Malcolm Gladwell, it promotes the identification of the idea with the author.

Similarly, fringe historians make themselves the heroes of their own narratives, making their work less about the specific claims in the work than about the cult of personality surrounding the author, whose life and times serve as fodder for self-hagiography designed to give concrete form to what originates as ephemeral speculation.

Consider the opening words of Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods (1968): “It took courage to write this book…” It begins with the author mythologizing himself! The remainder of the book offers frequent authorial interjections where the author, as hero, talks directly to the reader as truth-teller and sage. Is this enough to warrant us entering into evidence the fact that von Däniken is a convicted felon, or that the court-appointed psychologist found him to be a compulsive liar? Perhaps not by itself, but the fact that there is no way to evaluate his claims scientifically since, by his own admission, he makes no claims, merely asks “questions,” renders it all but impossible to discuss “facts” independent of the man. But here von Däniken has little ground to complain if someone does bring up his conviction because he made the fact more than relevant in his sequel, Gods from Outer Space (1970), where he opens the book by announcing that he had written it “during my imprisonment.” The implication was that von Däniken was a martyr for having dared to dream too big. In Chariots he has already told readers that a conspiracy was afoot to suppress his work: “scholars will call it nonsense and put it on the Index of those books which are better left unmentioned.” In its sequel, his dark warnings have come to fruition at the cost of his liberty.

Let’s take another case. Robert Temple, the ancient astronaut theorist who misunderstood the ancient sage Oannes as a space-frog from Sirius, presents himself as a scholar and takes great pains to cultivate that image through membership in scholarly organizations and through what he describes as visiting professorships at universities. Strictly speaking, it isn’t relevant to the question of flying space frogs that Temple’s memberships are in organizations like the Royal Astronomical Society open to anyone with cash, or that the schools where he claims to be a professor could not or would not confirm his employment. But if it is forbidden to examine his biography, how are we evaluate his unverifiable assertion that “certain security agencies, most notably the American ones” were working to destroy him and discredit his Sirius Mystery to hide the truth of the space frogs? Again, Temple made such assertions in print, in his own 1998 update to The Sirius Mystery—to which assertions he in 2009 added the “hypnosis community” among his enemies—and cast himself as the hero who boldly risks the censure of the CIA and the world’s hypnotists to bring you the truth about aliens and mind control.

The works of David Childress don’t even pretend to be logical arguments; they are travelogues whose effectiveness depends entirely upon the reader identifying with the character of “David Childress, World Explorer” and taking him for a rotund and jolly guide to mystery and adventure. It is in this character that Childress as writer proposed himself as the honest broker who uncovered a vast Smithsonian conspiracy, during a period of his career (1984-2004) when he identified himself in print as a “maverick archaeologist.” To point out that Childress was no professional archaeologist—that he never even completed a bachelor’s program—was directly relevant to evaluating the image of the honest broker who could be trusted to present undocumented claims truthfully, and thus whether there was any reason to give credence to his second- and third-hand anecdotes about Smithsonian efforts to destroy tons (literally tons) of artifacts “they” don’t want you to know about.

And what of Graham Hancock, who more than any other fringe writer of his generation made a career out of personalizing his theories as the work of a globe-trotting adventurer? When Hancock admitted that he developed his ideas while high on marijuana and that he had since moved on to ayahuasca and used the drug to meet with and battle demons, I received criticism for having discussed what Hancock himself admitted. But Hancock has made drug use the centerpiece of his philosophy, seeing it as a tool to exploring consciousness, based on his own personal experiences. How can we possibly evaluate his ideas independently of Hancock himself if the two are now one and the same?

The list goes on and on, of course, because it must. To be a fringe theorist is to cast oneself as the hero of one’s own story. It is the prerequisite of a successful fringe history book; all of the modern successes are personal narratives. This is, to an extent, a marked contrast to, say, Ignatius Donnelly’s Atlantis: The Antediluvian World (1882). Donnelly didn’t cast himself as the hero of his story, nor did he declare that there was a conspiracy to suppress the truth about Atlantis. His book is remarkably free of personal pronouns—about three-quarters of all appearances of the pronoun “I” occur in quoted matter. For what it was worth, Donnelly, a politician, saw himself as writing a scholarly book and making a scholarly argument, little different from what the British prime minister, William Gladstone, was doing across the Pond, producing works like Juventus Mundi (1869) that similarly argued for a widespread Phoenician influence on history. Today’s fringe historians, by contrast, see themselves not as proposing new analyses of established history as Donnelly and Gladstone did, but as opponents of mainstream academia, knights-errant titling against ivory towers.

Von Däniken spoke perhaps for all when he said in a 1974 Playboy interview that “There are only a few of us working on my theory, and it’s like a war we have to win.” It’s impossible to think of Donnelly saying the same, nor of admitting as von Däniken did that he was willing to fabricate evidence to win over readers.

You may argue that discussing von Däniken’s defiant assertion that he would fake evidence if he felt like it is a personal attack that isn’t relevant to whether aliens really influenced history, but as I hope I have shown, fringe history is only partially about its own claims. Its larger part is the presentation of the author as hero and the creation of an enemy (usually mainstream scholars) to better cast the author in a heroic light and create loyalty in the audience, who will then buy more of the author’s work to help him on his never-ending, rarely successful quest to overcome the forces of the eternal enemy.

This, then, is the real reason fringe figures feel comfortable launching their own personal attacks against their critics but cry foul when a volley is returned. Each and every time a critic points to personal factors or motivations that could distort or call into question the veracity and trustworthiness of the author, it cuts into the heroic image that is the heart of being a fringe scholar. Why do you think so many identify themselves with Indiana Jones?

This brings us to the difficult case of the diffusionist writer Frank Joseph. Joseph was convicted of child sex abuse, and under the name of Frank Collin he headed an American Nazi party.
Picture
Frank Collin, now Frank Joseph, as Neo-Nazi leader. Today he is one of the most prolific fringe history writers, authoring dozens of books on Atlantis, Mound Builders, and other lost races.
Because of connections he made while in prison, he played a prominent role in promoting the allegedly ancient Old World artifacts of the Burrows Cave hoax, and in his works on fringe history he promotes a diffusionist worldview that posits an ancient global white master race from Atlantis, Lemuria, and Mu. He is allegedly a pagan, following rites similar to those Himmler wanted to see restored to Germany.

How much of this is relevant to any specific claim he makes? What of his worldview in general? Is his Nazi connection relevant to discussing the fact that his view of history places white people in a privileged position?

There are no easy answers, but I know this: Other fringe historians recognize the problem. Despite the fact that Joseph was the longtime editor of Ancient American magazine, worked on an investigation with David Childress, published books featuring works from fringe writers including Wayne May and Scott Wolter, and originated the modern versions of many fringe history claims, today his name is never spoken in works of fringe history aimed at a general interest mainstream audience, even when directly relevant to the subject at hand. Scott Wolter, for example, makes no mention of him in his various discussions of Burrows Cave, including in his books and on America Unearthed—even though Frank Joseph is the only person other than Russell Burrows who claims to have seen inside the cave and could “confirm” its contents. Similarly, he is not mentioned in Wolter’s discussion of the alleged Aztec pyramid of Wisconsin despite having literally written the book on the subject (Atlantis in Wisconsin, 1995) and originated the modern legend of the pyramid in FATE magazine in 1989. The omission is striking and tacit testimony that the personal stories of fringe history advocates are relevant, at least in terms of how the public perceives claims.

So, in short, if it is wrong for me to mention the background of Frank Joseph in evaluating why he believes that Native Americans were not
“dynamic” enough to build great works (yes, that is his word, from Atlantis in Wisconsin), then those who believe it is wrong need to turn their ire first to the History Channel and TV producers and demand that they put Frank Joseph on TV. And if they will not, ask them why.
103 Comments
Only Me
4/27/2014 08:34:55 am

Superb article. I fear, though, that you may have committed the literary equivalent of wasting your breath.

For those like me, who believe a person's background (the sum of their experiences) is a key factor in how that person interprets the world, you stated what we already accept. For the rest, who cringe at the evaluation of anything personal-even if introduced and used by the person being critiqued-your words will fall on deaf ears.

Still, I like that you addressed the issue, instead of knuckling under to the whining of those you investigate and their supporters.

Reply
Steve StC
4/27/2014 09:27:18 am


In this ongoing drama you're chronicling, you'vey written yourself into the role of the martyr.

Specifically, Webster's definition - "a person who pretends to suffer or who exaggerates suffering in order to get praise or sympathy."

Are you looking for sympathy, Jason?

This from ThoughtClusters.com
One of the most destructive behaviors in any relationship is the existence of someone with a martyr complex. As the definition from Wikipedia explains, a “person who has a ‘martyr complex’ desires the feeling of being a martyr for its own sake, seeking out suffering or persecution because it feeds a psychological need.” The characteristics of such persons include

- They have the need to be a victim and complain always and relentlessly.
- They take little initiative in trying to fixing any complaint.
- If any problem is solved, but in a different way than what they proposed, the problem still exists, as far as they are concerned.
- If any problem is solved according to their solution, they will find another problem to complain about.
- If any problem is solved, it is because they complained about it.
- They complain about problems that do not concern them in the least.
- They do not appreciate any good things being done.
- They lie and twist facts to prove their point.
- They selectively forget, ignore or avoid any facts that may conflict with their point.
- They resort to name-calling when everything else fails.

Reply
Matt Mc
4/27/2014 09:33:46 am

Thanks for the great description of Mr. Wolter.

Never thought of him as having a martyr complex but it fits.

And well you got me thinking Steve

this seems to fit you very well

The definition of an internet troll:

In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people,1 by posting inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog), either accidentally[3][4] or with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[5] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[6]

source http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/133608/another-word-for-a-troll-not-on-the-internet

Steve StC
4/27/2014 03:14:10 pm

Matt MC, do you think Jason incapable of handling his own defense? Do you think him so weak that you must leap to protect him?

I think I was very clear that this was addressed to Jason. When I said he's written himself into the role of the martyr, most people would have understood that I was addressing Jason, not you Matt MC. But yours was a mildly clever retort (for a high school student).

The article from ThoughtClusters.com is a wonderfully related piece for this blog. Jason has written himself in as the martyr, yet he does nothing to fix the problem he perceives. He maintains this blog so as to perpetuate himself as the victim who complains "always and relentlessly." -

Oh, I can't believe they're attacking me…

This one in particular, "They complain about problems that do not concern them in the least."

Jason is not a scholar. He's not an academic. He does not work in academia. Yet he complains that SW attacks academics.

Anyone's attacks against academia do not concern you Jason. You are not an academic. Your livelihood is in no way threatened by SW's statements about academia. Yet you continue to complain about SW's statements about them.

"They lie and twist facts to prove their point." You and I have already had several exchanges about how you openly added words to my website to bend the goals of my DNA study to meet your needs. That's called a lie. There are several other examples I could point out where you clearly have been very fast and loose with the facts to support your notions.

"They take little initiative in trying to fixing any complaint."
You do nothing to fix the travesty you perceive. You literally do nothing to find any real solutions to that tragic and epic problem you are at war against.

"They have the need to be a victim and complain always and relentlessly." This is a major theme of your blog posts. Someone attacked you. Poor you. Please everyone, feel sympathy for Jason who is over here toiling away to bring you the truth about fringe history.

I think it would be very useful for Jason to consider what motivates his behavior on this blog. Then he could take some of the sanctimony out of his posts.

Only Me
4/27/2014 04:55:16 pm

From precisely what, or whom, do you think Jason needs defending, Steve? You? You're the one rolling a plastic Easter egg into the room while shouting "Grenade!", expecting everyone to duck for cover. Your comments are irrelevant, as anyone can repost them, switching out Jason's name for any one of the men in his article, or even yours.

But that's the point, isn't it? It's amazing how you dedicate so many words to say absolutely nothing at all.

You've complained in the past about people "mind-reading" you, yet you speak as if you know the inner workings of Jason's mind. When did you become a psychologist or FBI profiler? Wouldn't that make you one of those dreadfully gauche academics?

People with genuine concerns and who can discuss them without defaulting into antagonistic argument don't become trolls around here. It's happened to you because you've spent month after month, day after day, doing nothing but complain about each and everything you read in a hateful, snobby, childish way, and in the process, have repeatedly, intentionally, insulted pretty much anybody who has something substantive to say, or has had the gall to disagree with you. You turned yourself into a troll by being a dick.

Jason Colavito link
4/27/2014 11:38:33 pm

Steve says I shouldn't comment when it doesn't directly affect me; since Steve isn't mentioned in this article, he therefore needs to stop talking under his own rules.

To be a martyr one would need to suggest that damage had been done to oneself, and no one has damaged me through the backhanded compliment of offering unkind words.

Walt
4/27/2014 08:36:59 am

Wolter is a little different than the rest of those fringe authors since he claims to use science. He dismisses peer review and academia, but he praises professionals since, he says, they've accepted his work. According to History's short bio of Wolter, he "developed a new science called archaeopetrography." Seems to me someone who cares more than I do could verify if that's true, and what other professionals think of it. Peer review aside, where's the informal discussion by professionals of this new science?

I do think an author's background is fair game. I also think peer review works fine, even if a little outdated. But, in Wolter's case, even if you give him those two complaints of his, there's still plenty to discredit using just "science".

Reply
Jason Colavito link
4/27/2014 09:00:56 am

Since Wolter has not published on his new science (a recurring theme), there isn't much to discuss. As given in his popular works, it isn't a new science at all but just looking at things through a microscope and applying relative dating schemes. It's not new and is known as "archaeological petrography" (and sometimes even as archaeopetrography) among archaeologists.

Reply
Irna link
4/27/2014 09:10:51 am

Archaeopetrography is not "a new science developped by Wolter", it has been used for years by archaeologists for the study of lithic material, as part of archaeometry!

Reply
Irna link
4/27/2014 09:12:15 am

Sorry Jason, I didn't see your answer before commenting!

Matt Mc
4/27/2014 08:40:51 am

To be fair Frank Joseph was featured in the History Doc about Nazi's in America

Reply
Jason Colavito link
4/27/2014 08:57:34 am

I believe that was in archival footage, and as a Nazi.

Reply
Matt Mc
4/27/2014 09:04:27 am

That is true. The Military channel just aired the documentary recently and indeed the footage was from the 70's and there was not mention to his venture into the world of fringe theories.

Matt Mc
4/27/2014 09:06:43 am

Sorry not the Military channel anymore, so I should of said American Heroes Channel

CHV
4/27/2014 10:39:09 am

>>>Similarly, fringe historians make themselves the heroes of their own narratives.

In addition to playing the martyr card whenever someone calls them on their cherry-picked nonsense.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/27/2014 11:14:50 am

I dunno …

The "Colavito" Family … "Italian," yes … ??? Hmmmmm … "The Mob" … ??? "La Cosa Nostra" … ??? THEY'RE "Italian," right … ??? Hmmmm ...

Do the ideas, claims, behavior, history, associations of OTHERS (from the PAST) somehow so thoroughly contaminate MY (PRESENT) ideas, claims, associations … as to render them automatically SUSPECT … ???

My own family background, you see … is Swedish on both sides … Ever since I was a young boy I was fascinated by "the Vikings," and "the Sagas" … and, yes, the Kensington Rune Stone …

Now, the "Vikings," of course had a reputation that was … ummmm … "unsavory" -- little things like theft, piracy, pillage and rape … Carrying off Irish girls captured in raids …

Further, one contemporary noted that their personal habits were … less than "Minnesota nice" … E.g., they didn't bother to "wash themselves after having sex …"

So what … ???

Hey … !!! How about this … ??? Discuss FACTS and their interpretations, ideas, and claims … and STOP posting up photos of guys in neo-Nazi costumes …

Reply
Mandalore
4/27/2014 11:23:21 am

Do you use the Viking sagas as a basis for your own ideas, interpretations, or actions? Otherwise, your analogy doesn't apply. Some fringe thinkers directly base some of their ideas on men like Frank Joseph and have personally worked with him. You are purposefully misconstruing direct and indirect influences.

Reply
Jason Colavito link
4/27/2014 11:36:32 am

Exactly. Unless Phil was ordained by a Viking his analogy is a false one. Many fringe theorists have worked with Frank Joseph, published their work with Frank Joseph, carpooled to conferences with Frank Joseph, and took their ideas from works by Frank Joseph.

My Italian relatives were spotless in their honesty; however, on the other side of my family, my great-grandfather was a notorious bootlegger and was not Italian at all.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/27/2014 11:38:03 am

And … Scott Wolter is NOT a "neo-Nazi" ...

Mandalore
4/27/2014 12:05:12 pm

Good point Phil, Wolter is not a neo-Nazi. But then again, who said that he was? Its not on this page.

Rev Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 02:13:41 am

Sorry about that mistake. I'm a huge dumbass! I apologise and will not visit this site ever again.

Only Me
4/27/2014 11:40:49 am

Oh, Phil, it would be SO easy to associate your status with the past sins of the Church and its members, just to bloody your nose with your own analogy, but I won't go there.

All Jason is doing is stating his viewpoint. If that is difficult for you, then you have a problem with people seeing things in ways you do not. That is your problem. Not his.

Opinions, which is what all of these comments (and the article) are, are like noses. We all have one. We all have an ass as well, but that's no reason to behave like one.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/27/2014 12:15:53 pm

Yes …

Jason has put up this blog in order to express his views … and he has provided it for interaction with OTHERS -- who may or may not SHARE his views …

Where is the problem … ???

Only Me
4/27/2014 01:07:25 pm

The problem is you. You want to discuss facts, interpretations, ideas and claims, yet you consider it taboo to also discuss how those things are affected or colored by the personal experiences, beliefs and motives of the people who use them. This is especially true, when, as Jason pointed out, the individuals inject themselves to such a degree, their identities and their work are considered one and the same.

How many times has Jason been accused of jealousy, for not having his own TV show, because he's made it known that he has been interviewed for possible appearances on different shows? This might be valid if such interviews had actually led to any appearances, but it isn't, because they haven't.

How many times have you been attacked solely on the fact you are a reverend, therefore, to the attacker, you're part of the machine that has caused so much suffering in the name of a religion?

Do you get it yet? Do you see how someone's background can shape another's opinion of someone, for good or ill?

Jason is exploring the opposite side of the coin. How the backgrounds of fringe authors shape THEIR opinions, interpretations, beliefs, motivations, etc. Why should we NOT discuss the reasons behind convicted felons,drug users, or conspiracists who are trying to rewrite human history so they can make a dishonest dollar?

You're asking us to talk about a zebra, without mentioning that it has black and white stripes, because that somehow isn't relevant to discussing why it is a separate member of the equine family tree.

KIF
4/27/2014 01:49:05 pm

The problem lies with your inability to understand the critical method

Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/27/2014 04:20:56 pm

Scott Wolter is NOT a "neo-Nazi" OR a "white supremacist" OR a child molester …

So the ONLY reason to bring up such notions in direct connection TO Scott Wolter … is to try to SMEAR scott Wolter …

It's disgusting ...

Only Me
4/27/2014 04:37:34 pm

Ah, but NO ONE has said that Scott IS a neo-Nazi, white supremacist or child molester. His only association with the individual that fits all three, is his willingness to adapt and promote that individual's work with his OWN pro-Templar/pre-Columbian European exploration narrative...while avoiding any name-dropping of said individual. You should be more disgusted with Scott's willingness to accept the ideas and associate with such dubious characters, even defend them (Jacques de Mahieu, anyone?).

By the way, I notice a distinct lack of outrage on your part when Scott, or anyone else, is attempting to smear Jason or one of his readers. Just sit there in your hypocrisy and be hypocritical.

CHV
4/27/2014 04:52:34 pm

Jason is correct in pointing out that historical revisionism often has fascist roots. The Nazis turned it into a quasi-religion, and the modern Republican Party loves to re-edit history on a daily basis to serve a pre-existing narrative.

KIF
4/27/2014 10:47:13 pm

But those who are repeating the old racial theories ARE NOT RACISTS THEMSELVES. Jason is 100% WRONG calling such people racists. Erich Von Daniken and Co ARE NOT RACISTS. Even sceptics have limitations. It would be laughable IN THE EXTREME for anti-Racist groups to take people like EvD seriously because they recognise without any difficulty that EvD is not really a "racist". STOP CALLING THESE PEOPLE RACISTS BECAUSE IT IS BACKFIRING AGAINST THE SCEPTICISM

Matt Mc
4/28/2014 12:49:05 am

I do not read Jason post as saying that any of the people mentioned beyond Frank Joseph are racists or neo-nazis. I do garner from his post that people are choosing to work with known racists and are helping (whether it is willing or not) to spread ideas that stem from racist beliefs.

I think discussion like this are very important. You do not need to be racist to help spread racists ideas. In fact racist ideas are very interwoven into the fabric of Western Society and we see the affects on a daily basis. Sometime it is more in your face like Cliven Bundy's recent comment (and he himself does not see his comments are racist and has stated he did not mean from them to be construed that way). In fact Bundy is a good example of the problem of not talking about ideas and concepts of what forms racism and how a lack of understand about how simple words and ideas can affect people. I look at what Jason is doing as not condemning an individual but rather saying how embed that racist beliefs are in fringe thinking. So embed that the people that choose to be the public face have either unknowingly or just did not care that amongst there ranks are known racists. It would be great to see Hancock, Childress, or Wolter simply say something like this is my theory and while I do not support it there is a darker side to it and have a little discussion about that. Not to simply blow off the racism that is there by ignoring.

And my guess is those who are crying fowl of Jason's comments and prompting of a discussion are not the kind of people who have to deal with the overt and covert facets of racism in our society. I also truly believe that none of the people discussed aside from Joseph have racist beliefs they just are willing to ignore the racism that is in the background much like the average person in the US today, just because it is not talked about does not mean it is not there and that it does not hurt people on a daily basis.

Mark L
4/28/2014 02:16:23 am

KJF, I believe von Daniken has spouted some pretty unpleasant stuff about other races in the past, so "HE'S NOT RACIST" is not strictly accurate (even though it's irrelevant to this discussion, as his racism or otherwise was not brought up).

Jason Colavito link
4/28/2014 04:13:18 am

KIF, EVD did in fact make some pretty racist claims. I wrote about them before: http://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2014/01/the-astonishing-racial-claims-of-erich-von-daniken.html

Judith Bennett
4/27/2014 05:28:27 pm

Personally speaking, I wouldn't work with anyone I knew to be a white supremacist or child molester. I don't think that's a particularly radical stanch, indeed I'd hope that all decent people would shun such associations.

Reply
KIF
4/27/2014 10:42:58 pm

It's impossible to try and to reason with the irrational. For example, Ron Story demonstrated that EvD's ancient astronaut claims were hokum during the 1970s. Nevertheless the ancient astronaut proponents keep marching on regardless, totally immune to their absurdities, and we've had the like of Zecharia Sitchin come and go in the meantime

Reply
KIF
4/27/2014 10:49:24 pm

USING FRANK JOSEPH'S NAZI PAST IN ORDER TO CALL ERICH VON DANIKEN AND COMPANY "RACISTS" IS RUBBISH. SUCH ACTIVITY WILL BACKFIRE AGAINST SCEPTICISM

Reply
KIF
4/27/2014 10:52:24 pm

ANTI-RACIST GROUPS WILL NEVER TAKE ERICH VON DANIKEN AND COMPANY SERIOUSLY. THEY WILL REGARD THE ACCUSATION WITH LAUGHTER. WHICH ANTI-RACIST GROUP WILL ENDORSE SUCH ARGUMENTS....?

Reply
KIF
4/27/2014 11:07:41 pm

James Churchward (1851-1936) and Guy Ballard (1878–1939) peddled the fantasy of Lemuria. Lewis Spence (1874-1955) peddled Atlantis. These were racist views that were also peddled by Nazis. But Churchward, Ballard and Spence were not Nazis, nor were they racists in the same vein that Nazis were racists. There is a DISTINCTION that needs to be recognised and acknowledged.

Mark L
4/28/2014 02:17:50 am

KIF, the article didn't call EVD a racist. Calm down man!

Lynn Brant
4/28/2014 12:27:31 am

When critics probe the backgrounds of "scientists," they are doing what the scientists themselves should have done - disclosing their potential sources of bias. If you sidestep real peer review, you get hit with journalistic review instead. Justice.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 04:34:58 am

MANY (skewed) understandings of the evolution/history of life were for a long time directly tied back into 19th century classical "Liberal" ideas of "competition" and "progress" … So what … ???

In any contemporary discussion of "evolution," is it really necessary to preface EVERY analysis or consideration with dire warnings about how even a VERY sound scientific understanding has some … *questionable* … forebears … ??? Why … ??? Who says so … ???

Look …

NOT EVERY understanding of "cultural diffusion" and "migration" of peoples is rooted in, contaminated by, automatically suspect due to association with, neo-Nazi or other racialist ideological nonsense ...

Reply
Matt Mc
4/28/2014 05:03:09 am

You are quite correct in asserting that not every understanding is rooted in racism or like mind sets. Sadly the Templar-Holy Bloodine/quest for the grail one does. Even if that is not the path of the given researcher it must be noted culturally these concepts can in modern times be sourced to eugenics or Nazi origins.

It is my belief that by not acknowledging them and discussing them a given researcher can unwittingly can be spreading racist ideas. There is nothing wrong with saying while x topic has in the past been tainted by Nazi's questing for the grail and has been misused by i eugenicist in the past to forward not so noble ideas, we need to look beyond the social and racial misuses and exam the topic itself and in that in examination we can also explore why this topic can be appriopated by racist groups in the hopes that in the future it will not

Reply
CHV
4/28/2014 08:50:27 am

>>>You are quite correct in asserting that not every understanding is rooted in racism or like mind sets. Sadly the Templar-Holy Bloodine/quest for the grail one does.

I would agree with that. The message it seems to send (esp in North America) is that native peoples were too incompetent to possibly develop concepts like astronomy or engineering on their own without the saintly white Templars holding their hands.

Only Me
4/28/2014 05:14:11 am

"Neo-Nazi or other racialist ideological nonsense"

So, racist roots or influence from corrupt ideology is nonsense to you? Now I see why you don't want to talk about it. You don't see a problem or acknowledge how such ignorance can bring these ideas back into the limelight.

What's being addressed are the ideas that have no basis in fact, are singularly speculative, often tainted by racist or ideological agendas and being touted by individuals who either don't care or choose to ignore the ramifications of their promotion of these ideas.

A very sound scientific understanding has passed scrutiny, is supported by facts and evidence and remains viable until new evidence or facts are discovered that supercede or bolster it. Name one of the proposed ideas touted by the likes of EvD, Hancock or Joseph that can say the same.

No, not every proposal of cultural diffusion and migration has bad roots, but, too many ideas of the past WITH bad roots has been swept under the umbrella of either cultural diffusion or migration. Which category does the Mound Builder myth fall under? Or the Lost Tribes of Israel? What about the Atlanteans or Lemurians?

Every facet of a hypothesis must be open for debate; otherwise, why do we need methodology, fact or evidence? Let's accept every idea at face value...we wouldn't want to dig too deep and find dirty laundry that reminds us of our tendency for iniquity.

Reply
Clint Knapp
4/28/2014 05:58:54 am

Glancing through the comments I'm seeing a pattern emerge that seems to underscore another trait common to the fringe community: uncritical reading.

Those who appear to have actually read the article in full have worthwhile things to say about the topic at hand, while others simply lash out at conclusions drawn only in their own heads.

Phil would like us to discuss only the "facts", so here's a fact; Jason has not, in this article or any other, accused Scott Wolter of being a neo-Nazi pedophile- only of working with one (Joseph HAS published Wolter's articles) and exploiting the fringe claims of said Neo-Nazi convicted pedophile. Phil appears to believe otherwise.

KIF would like to read mentioning Frank Joseph's background as equivalent to drawing a parallel that allows one to call EVD a racist based, apparently, solely on the fact the EVD section of the article directly precedes the Frank Joseph section- even though there is no comparison ever made between the two outside of KIF's one-liner, all-caps rants.

Uncritical reading might allow one to draw these parallels based, again, entirely upon the fact that two people's names appear in the same article. However, if one actually read the entire article word-for-word, as some of the more lucid commentators have, it becomes clear that neither of these scenarios is ever brought forth.

Indeed, each fringe theorist mentioned is an entirely self contained case until the second-to-the-last paragraph which only briefly lists the ideas of Frank Joseph that have been exploited- without credit- by some of those authors.

In summation; literacy is a wonderful thing when exercised properly. Improperly used, however, it becomes nothing more than a tool for the ignorant to climb up on to shout their woes at the heavens. While the loudest voice may be the most easily heard, it is not necessarily worth listening to.

Reply
Bride of Snarkenstein
4/28/2014 11:03:46 am

Several posters have proven themselves to be trolls, including Phil Gotsch, Steve St. Clair, KIF and Gunn. They hope they can discredit Jason by misstating what he says. They are fooling anybody.

Reply
Bride of Snarkenstein
4/28/2014 11:05:56 am

oops, typo! They *aren't* fooling anybody.

Clint Knapp
4/28/2014 04:28:12 pm

Oh, I'm well aware of the main cast of trolls Jason has following him around, but if I learned anything from Norwegian folklore it's that the only way to get rid of a troll is to drag them kicking and screaming into the light of day.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 06:15:37 am

To "discuss" Scott Wolter in a breezy article which PROMINENTLY features a photo of a guy in Nazi costume, with swastika banners in the background … is OFFENSIVE … it's PREJUDICIAL … it's VILE … it is the WORST kind of ideological PROPAGANDA (posing as "intellect") ...

Reply
Matt Mc
4/28/2014 06:35:09 am

How is this discussion of Wolter and other fringe theorists and their connection to Frank Joseph not relevant to the topic at hand which is the fact that Frank Joseph has worked with or published more than a few of these theorists material.

Is your objection only to the picture of Joseph himself? Or is it that a working connection between these people can be drawn to Joseph?

I do not understand your argument its like discussing the history of documentary filmmaking and when talking about Leni Riefenstahl only focusing on her merits and contributions to filmmaking and not mentioning her connection to the Nazi Party. She has stated many many times over her life that she was just a doing the work she was hired for and did not support or believe in the Nazi parties beliefs.

Like has been said many times no one thinks that these people are racist, they however have ethically chosen to work with known racists and perhaps unknowingly helped progress racist themes by not exploring the origin and history of those themes. I know I was disgusted when Stormfront started promoting AU as pro-white propaganda and I know that ethically if I was involved in a show or program that was promoted by people like that I would of spoken out loudly and admittedly that I opposed those beliefs just like if I found out I was working for an exleader of the American Nazi party I would stop all contact and say I am sorry that I worked with them.

The truth is these people do have ties to Frank Joseph whether they where aware of his history or not. Their work has and is being misconstrued by racists to use to promote a theory and they remain silent. The silence does not dictate support at all but it also does not say they are opposed.

Reply
Only Me
4/28/2014 06:40:48 am

Oh, so Scott carpooling with Joseph, engaging in lengthy discussions with him, having him publish Scott's articles and adopting his work for Scott's episodic "investigations" on AU didn't bother you. But that picture has gotta go!

It's okay, you already explained yourself. Racism and corrupt ideology are nonsense, remember? Scott is not a Neo-Nazi, white supremacist pedophile, remember? So why the feigned outrage?

You're out of gas, Phil. Pack it up and go home.

Reply
Clint Knapp
4/28/2014 06:46:16 am

Cry to the heavens, loud voice.

Notice how Phil doesn't care about any of the other people mentioned in this article? What of Erik Von Daniken or David Childress? Von Daniken receives just as much criticism and none of it linked to Joseph. Childress's involvement, directly, with Joseph is mentioned before any mention of Wolter's articles published in Joseph's collection.

You're allowing your own prejudices to get in the way, as usual. Scott Wolter isn't the center of the world, or even this piece. He's just one in a longer list of more well-known names. In the grand scheme of things, he's even a footnote in fringe history and only relevant to anyone because he hosts a show that exploits the claims others have made. He's only relevant to this conversation because his own comments to and about the writer of this article directly correlate to the topic at hand.

Reply
terry the censor
5/4/2014 11:25:12 am

Phil, ask Scott why he is professionally associated with such a vile man.

You are incapable of honest discussion. You should turn in you collar.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 01:21:48 pm

Innuendo ...

Only Me
5/4/2014 02:08:34 pm

Phil's "truth": personalize, propagandize, perpetuate

Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 02:39:11 pm

LOL …

So you love to gossip … Not my Problem ...

Only Me
5/4/2014 03:14:37 pm

If reading an article and not seeing the "innuendo" you so desperately want to be real is "gossip", so be it.

Continue the repetition of your invented "Big Lie"; repetition does not equal true.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 03:35:44 pm

You enjoy breathless dramatic gossip -- "Do you know that [……..] has associated with [……] … ???"

Only Me
5/4/2014 04:10:42 pm

You're entitled to have a personal opinion of me but that doesn't mean I'm going to care what it is.

Association is relevant when it concerns how someone readily enters a relationship with an individual who believes in an ideology that promotes the superiority of one group of people over everyone else...and has no problem with the sins committed to prove that superiority.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 04:47:44 pm

Another visitor to these blogs -- who is NOT a friend of Scott Wolter -- has wisely pointed out that "guilt by association" is in itself a "Fascist"-"Stalinist" habit …

So … Be careful ...

Only Me
5/4/2014 05:47:04 pm

What makes you believe I'm Jason's friend? I've never met the man; I only know he exists because of this blog.

Don't confuse the fact I'm serving as a counterpoint to your recent activities with friendship. You'd be wrong on yet another matter.

RLewis
4/28/2014 06:47:50 am

Maybe I'm missing something, but this article doesn't appear to be specifically about SW. His name is only mentioned three times. Many other names are more prominently identified.

Reply
Rlewis
4/28/2014 06:50:04 am

Well, actually 5 times (2 twice as "Wolter" only)

Reply
Clint Knapp
4/28/2014 07:01:33 am

You're right. It's not. It may lead with him as an example, but only because his example is the most recent and easily recognized by the readers of this blog.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 07:18:56 am

The skilled propagandist knows that repetition of "The Big Lie" can be very effective …

So I will continue to continue to COUNTER it with the truth ...

Reply
Matt Mc
4/28/2014 07:26:07 am

So is the truth that these fringe theorists including Wolter have not worked with Frank Joseph?

That they have not written for a magazine that was run by Frank Joseph?

What is the truth Phil?

Are you saying that Frank Joseph was not a well known Nazi? that he was not the editor of a magazine that published works from Wolter and the others? That they have not shared time together outside of working? That they never worked at conventions together?

So none of this is the truth?





Reply
Lynn Brant
4/28/2014 07:39:49 am

The truth is that Scott Wolter is not a racist, but he is willing to associate with anyone he feels can advance his best interests. It's not about Scott's politics, it's about his poor judgement.

Matt Mc
4/28/2014 07:49:04 am

I see no implication that Wolter himself is a racist nor is it mentioned anywhere in Jason's writing.

Wolter has however has worked with and for a known racist. That is a fact. That however in no way says Wolter (or the others) are racist. It could however cause one to question personal ethics of those who choose to work for and participate in events with Joseph.

If that is what you are getting at, they why not ask Wolter and the others why they choose to work with someone like Joseph? And if they were unaware of his previous affiliations why have they not spoke out after finding out about his past.

Like I said silence almost comes across as acceptance and Jason did not encourage nor influence any of these individuals to choose to work with and alongside (or take a car ride) with a well known Racist and convicted pedophile. They all choose to do that and regardless of the fact that they agree with Joseph or not the fact still remains that they choose to make someone like that a part or step in their career. It really is a sad thing and I know if it were me I would be disgusted in the fact that I let someone like that in my professional or personal life.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 07:34:24 am

I am saying that ANY implication or vague hint of a notion that Scott Wolter is … a neo-"Nazi" … or a white supremacist … or a racist … is a VILE calumny … It is a LIE … It is sheer HATE speech ...

Reply
Matt Mc
4/28/2014 08:09:14 am

No one is saying he is a racist, he is just willing to work with and for them.

There is a difference there

Clint Knapp
4/28/2014 08:32:23 am

If you believe Jason guilty of lies, hate speech, and libel; tell your "friend and professional colleague" to sue him for it. See how that goes. If it IS hate speech, if it is nothing but lies, a court of law will rule it such.

More likely, however, is that nothing will come of it at all because your claim is categorically false and any rational human being can see that. By all means, though, continue to scream from your pulpit. It is endlessly entertaining to the rest of us.

As another fringe heavy-weight of far more consequence, Zecharia Sitchin, was fond of saying: "The record speaks for itself."

Gunn
4/28/2014 08:13:42 am

Well, looking through the filter of Wolter's and Colavito's sullied and muddied KRS, we yearn for clarity, don't we? In this regard, I don't mind trying to understand more precisely, along with the Blog Host, why this bloody, extra mud is on the KRS. But I wish the reason for the Blog Host to expose all the possibly negative underpinnings of Wolter's personality and character were because of a noble conviction related to our dear, tarnished, stoney friend. If only Calavito's deep concerns over Wolter's mischief were rooted in protecting the image of our Dear Friend.

But alas, this is not the case. In the end here, we still have two mini-villains battling it out, seemingly unconscious of the ill-effects heaped upon our silent, stoney Friend. Yet, the KRS is a punching bag in all this, then too being punched by what would seem to be a "conspiratorial-type" in the Academic World, who would lead our children away from the KRS, and all it portends on the surface to be.

I see nothing wrong with looking into the backgrounds of people who choose to put themselves forth publicly, for profit. This should be well understood upfront by the contenders, so there is no surprise when skeptics choose to look into their backgrounds. There should be nothing to hide, or else one shouldn't put himself or herself out there. Criticism therefore comes with the territory.

I, too, find it a problem when someone wants to take pot-shots without expecting any in return...no matter who fires first.

I thought Jason's opening rundown was well done in the blog heading, and I also think this was a subject needing to be examined. The subject matter was about fringe thinkers, and there is nothing wrong with examining why they think the way they do, including why they advocate for their fringe ideologies.

The problem in Wolter's case is that he falls into the category of fringe/non-fringe thinker, which means he is right about some things and wrong about some things. The discussion would be easier if he were wrong about everything, but in my opinion, he's not. What he's doing and why is a mystery, still, even after all the discussion.

I see both Wolter and Colavito as persons in trouble with history, insofar as truthful history up here is concerned. Neither one seems to mind dumping on the image of the KRS; one with impure ideology, the other with outright dismissal. In the end, each man is worthy of my admiration, and my attacks...and I always treat my prisoners well, with time off for good behavior, etc.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 12:13:58 pm

As long as anyone continues to try to SMEAR my personal friend and professional colleague (25+) years … I will continue to rise to his defense …

Scott Wolter is NOT a neo-"Nazi" or a white supremacist or a racist … nor does he sympathize with any such views ...

Reply
Matt Mc
4/28/2014 01:04:46 pm

But he has worked with and for them.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 02:25:21 pm

People … are just … people …

During my (thus far) sixty five years, I have met -- and ASSOCIATED with !!! -- many people from all manner of backgrounds and points of view … I have known a couple of persons whom I consider to be "living Saints," but they are EXCEEDINGLY rare and always have been … The Incarnation of "God" is more uncommon still …

I have ALWAYS paid my taxes dutifully on time, even during those federal administrations in which I considered the federal budget to be borderline obscene …

In forty years as a parish pastor, chaplain and counselor, I have ministered with and to persons who were outright … notorious (I cannot "name names," due to data privacy and security concerns) … But I don't consider myself somehow contaminated or compromised …

But … I do simply REFUSE to cooperate with or indulge in a "Calvinist" Kangaroo Court ...

Reply
CHV
4/28/2014 03:29:49 pm

That's just it: people aren't always just people.

I cannot speak for others, but I would never, ever associate myself with any former or current Nazi or WS no matter how much I may have in common with that person in other areas. I wouldn't even take a phone call from that individual, much less shake their hand or inhabit the same building.

But that's just me.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 03:48:37 pm

ALL the more reason to know who DOES -- or does NOT -- harbor disgusting neo-"Nazi" or stupid white supremacist or dippy racialist ideas, yes … ???

Scott Wolter is NONE of the above ...

Matt Mc
4/28/2014 04:17:58 pm

Phil we are sticking to the facts

It is a fact that Wolter has never said or done anything in a public manner that indicates he is a racist.


It is a fact that Wolter choose to write for a magazine that was run by a well known racist and pedophile.

It is a fact that Wolter has been know have interacted with said person several times over the years in both a professional and personal manner.

It is a fact that a lot of the theories that Wolter talks about do have racist origins or appeal strongly to racist groups



Those are the facts. Nothing more nothing less. None of them make Wolter a racist. I would say they do make one question his ethical choices but not a racist

Remember Rev. its about that facts and that is what we should discuss

Matt Mc
4/28/2014 03:48:03 pm

Again I say that I do not think that Wolter is a racist. He just has chosen ethically to work for and with one in the past.

That was his choice. I think Wolter is a smart enough person to have been aware of who Frank Collins is and he chose to work with him anyway despite Collins/Josephs past.

Why he did this I cannot say. I can say that I would not have made the same choice and if I found out I did work with someone like that I would do whatever I could to distance myself from that person.

This is not a kangaroo court, you choose to see it that way. I do not think Wolter is a racist or a bad person, he is just a person who has made what some could and can see as a bad choice. That is all.

Reply
CHV
4/28/2014 03:59:31 pm

Phil: I did not say that Wolter was a neo-Nazi or a racist. I said that I would never allow myself to associate with such people professionally or otherwise - not for a day, not for a nanosecond.

Only Me
4/28/2014 04:06:57 pm

At this point, Matt, just quit trying to reason with Phil. He is locked into his common habit of repeating the same statement, because he has nothing further to argue. He is also violating the comment policy rule of "a single repetition of the same argument".

Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 04:35:47 pm

WE … ALL … AGREE … then … ???

Scott Wolter is NOT a neo-"Nazi" OR a "white supremacist" or ANY sort of "racialist" …

So …

When Scott Wolter is DISCUSSED … let's just leave all the prejudicial CRAP out*of*the*picture ...

Reply
Clint Knapp
4/28/2014 05:17:43 pm

We agreed on that before you said a word, Phil. No one ever said he was either. That was all on you. You're the one who read it that way, no one else.

Will Jason, or anyone else, forget about or stop pointing out when he espouses ideas created out of racist agendas or by ex-Neo-Nazi convicted child molester Frank Joseph? Nope. Probably not.

This isn't your blog, Phil. You do not set the agenda for discussion and you have no right to censor anyone. If you want it to stop, then advise your "friend and professional colleague" to do his due diligence on the crap he puts his name behind so he can't be seen to be promoting any racial agenda at all.

If you have such a problem with it; you would do well to remember that you make the conscious decision to come here every day to read it. You make the decision to ignore when the roots of an idea are firmly planted in racism, and you make the decision to defend those ideas and the people who put them forth.

Most of us try rather hard to ignore that you're here waving your "Reverend" title around and expecting us to give a damn about what you say because of it, but frankly it's disgusting to see a man who is supposed to be a spiritual leader of any stripe act in such an obviously spiteful manner. You defend Scott Wolter because he's your friend, but you do it by purposely distorting the truth and making nearly-libelous accusations toward Jason and the commentators of this blog who have to put up with your preaching every time Wolter's name is so much as mentioned in an article.

Instead of sitting here day after day telling us how wrong we are for daring to criticize your friend for any reason, look deep within yourself and ask why you're really here. Ask yourself why you feel so driven to compromise your own credibility by attempting to cover up the truth, and ask yourself if you'd want your parishioners to read the things you say here.

Jason: I apologize for this, and I understand if you delete this comment. It does venture close to personal attack territory, but I simply could not hold silence on this matter any longer. I appreciate everything you do here, and found this article- like every other- an informative and thoughtful look into the world of fringe authors. It simply sickens me that trolls like Phil have to keep trying to drag your work down into the reeking abyss they choose to live in.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/28/2014 04:47:57 pm

… and INDEED …

Rev. Phil won't NEED to post the same defense of Scott Wolter again and again and again … if and when the Wolter BASHERS stop posting the same CRAP again and again and again …

Sauce/Goose // Gravy/Gander ...

Reply
Only Me
4/28/2014 06:16:17 pm

If and when Scott stops doing interviews and going on tours to promote the same fictional crap again and again, there will no longer be a need to address the issue.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/29/2014 04:36:12 am

As the old saying has it, "Imitation is a form of flattery …"

Only Me
4/29/2014 02:49:08 pm

Then it's nice Scott is flattering real scientists and academics by aping their expertise with his pseudoscience.

Varika
4/29/2014 03:39:05 pm

Getting to the meat of the article, and ignoring the trolls, I would say, it is OK to discuss the past of ANY person who has published a work, so long as what you're discussing is a matter of public record. I mean, it's wrong to go digging in their trash to find out what they had for dinner and tweet about it--there ARE such things as stalking laws, after all, and they're there for a reason. But if someone is on record as being a pedophile, or on record as being a compulsive liar, then absolutely that is okay to discuss. We discuss how JK Rowling wrote most of at least the first book in the Harry Potter series sitting in a pub, and we discuss how Rev. Dodgson was a pastor who might or might not have had an inappropriate relationship with young Alice, and we discuss who Shakespeare left his second best bed to in his will. Why is it perfectly okay to talk about these things when it's fiction, but not if it's non-fiction? Sorry, but even the most high-brow academic works--and I've had to read my fair share of those--have a brief about the people who produced the study, and if there isn't a brief, then you're supposed to put the study into a pile marked "DUBIOUS CONTENT: DISCARD." And then discard it. Why? Because part of evaluating a scholarly work is evaluating the reliability of the authors. A study about the health impact that was performed by a drilling company is inherently less reliable than a study by an independent research facility or by the CDC.

Just as an example of a study where more SHOULD have been investigated about the author: the Wakefield autism/MMR vaccination study. Wakefield had some financial considerations that weren't made clear, and his study passed peer review and was published--and because it was unethical and fraudulent and posited a completely false causation, children were left hospitalized and even dead from measles, mumps, or rubella who could have been entirely saved. Now, this whole case was a case of deliberate fraud. But doesn't that mean that we NEED to talk about Wakefield's scurrilous behavior to discuss his writings? And since he proved so disastrously and flagrantly dishonest with one paper, doesn't that mean that the rest need to be regarded with suspicion?

More than that, the other doctors involved in the Wakefield paper also must be judged by their involvement. None of them did anything to stop the fraud, or even to unmask the fraud; that was left to outside investigators when the results of the study couldn't be replicated. Either they were also engaging in fraud--which means they aren't reliable sources--or they are so incompetent they shouldn't be practicing medicine--which also means they aren't reliable sources.

That's why Scott Wolter hanging out with Joe Franks is so troubling. It's not that Scot Wolter is a neo-Nazi or a pedophile because of it. It's that Scot Wolter either doesn't think that there's anything wrong with bigotry and child abuse, or he's so incompetent that he can't recognize the harm in espousing such a person's views. Because it's not even that Scot Wolter hung out with him once that's the problem, really. It's not that he had an awesome time on a road trip. People are complex, and it's entirely possible to have an amazing time even with an outright sociopath--after all, many of serial killers have been family and community oriented. But to turn around and go, "Hey, I know this person is a total bigot, but that can't possibly influence his ideas about anything! I'll just take these up as my banner ideas, not for fictional works, but as the One True Path!" Well, sorry, he's just destroyed his own credibility all by himself. Now not only is his TV show suspect, his professional work needs to be gone over with a fine-toothed comb, too.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
4/29/2014 04:11:37 pm

As I have ALWAYS understood and affirmed -- ALL ideas and claims and interpretations are entirely FAIR*Game for VIGOROUS discussion and heated debate …

But I REJECT the idea that character assassination and trial by innuendo are either appropriate or helpful ...

Reply
Only Me
4/29/2014 04:46:42 pm

When you can find a clear example of Jason engaging in character assassination/trial by innuendo on this blog, feel free to reject it.

Reply
Max
4/30/2014 04:00:24 pm

Of course it's fair to discuss a person's background. "It goes to determine the credibility of the witness, your Honor."

Professional scientists and historians are obliged to present their credentials when seeking publication all the time.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 02:36:46 pm

Yes … "Background" and "credentials" (and actual real world EXPERIENCE) do matter …

The rotten stinking fruits of innuendo, gossip, and character assassination, however, SHOULD have no place at all ...

Reply
Only Me
5/4/2014 03:18:50 pm

Then why are you practicing the very "rotten stinking fruits" you feel have no place? You've carried over this behavior on two newer blog posts that have nothing to do with Scott or Nazis.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 03:39:58 pm

Ummmm …

I am NOT the guy who keeps on keeping on try-try-trying to sully Scott Wolter with neo-esoteric-crypto-proto-"Nazi" junk ...

Only Me
5/4/2014 04:12:08 pm

Rehashing the same false argument demonstrates the weakness of your position.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 04:44:21 pm

Exactly …

Continuing to TRY to besmirch Scott Wolter as some variety of "Nazi" sympathizer is a VERY weak and foolish thing ...

Only Me
5/4/2014 05:08:46 pm

Once again, trying to distort what was said demonstrates your accusations are baseless.

Your stategem of personalize, propagandize and perpetuate has failed.

Clint Knapp
5/5/2014 02:15:35 am

Scott Wolter's credentials: Bachelor's in Geology. Cup of coffee he pretended was an Honorary Masters.

Neither of which make him a professional archaeologist or give him any credibility or relevance in the field beyond determining the strata of a find or the composition of (but not dating or legitimacy of) an artwork made of stone.

To pretend otherwise is folly.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/5/2014 03:03:32 am

Many archaeological teams routinely include a geologist, who is index called upon to examine materials/artifacts made of "stone" …

But indeed, as far as I'm aware, while Scott CONSULTS with archaeologists in the course of his investigations, he does not conduct or supervise any "digs" ...

Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 05:18:44 pm

My sparkling gem strategy is to continue to rise to defend the character of my friend and professional colleague whenever he is unfairly attacked …

Get Over It

Reply
Only Me
5/4/2014 05:28:06 pm

Your friend was never unfairly attacked.

Deal with it.

Reply
Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 05:34:39 pm

Yes … He has been ...

Only Me
5/4/2014 05:39:13 pm

No, he has not.

Rev. Phil Gotsch
5/4/2014 05:45:11 pm

LOL …
nyah nyah

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Blog
    Picture

    Author

    I am an author and researcher focusing on pop culture, science, and history. Bylines: New Republic, Esquire, Slate, etc. There's more about me in the About Jason tab.

    Become a Patron!
    Tweets by JasonColavito
    Picture

    Newsletters

    Enter your email below to subscribe to my newsletter for updates on my latest projects, blog posts, and activities, and subscribe to Culture & Curiosities, my Substack newsletter.

    powered by TinyLetter

    Blog Roll

    Ancient Aliens Debunked
    Picture
    A Hot Cup of Joe
    ArchyFantasies
    Bad UFOs
    Mammoth Tales
    Matthew R. X. Dentith
    PaleoBabble
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Alternative Archaeology
    Alternative Archaeology
    Alternative History
    Alternative History
    America Unearthed
    Ancient Aliens
    Ancient Astronauts
    Ancient History
    Ancient Texts
    Ancient Texts
    Archaeology
    Atlantis
    Conspiracies
    Giants
    Habsburgs
    Horror
    King Arthur
    Knights Templar
    Lovecraft
    Mythology
    Occult
    Popular Culture
    Popular Culture
    Projects
    Pyramids
    Racism
    Science
    Skepticism
    Ufos
    Weird Old Art
    Weird Things
    White Nationalism

    Terms & Conditions

    Please read all applicable terms and conditions before posting a comment on this blog. Posting a comment constitutes your agreement to abide by the terms and conditions linked herein.

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    RSS Feed

Picture
Home  |  Blog  |  Books  | Contact  |  About Jason | Terms & Conditions
© 2010-2023 Jason Colavito. All rights reserved.

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Legends of the Pyramids
    • The Mound Builder Myth
    • Jason and the Argonauts
    • Cult of Alien Gods >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Foundations of Atlantis
    • Knowing Fear >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Hideous Bit of Morbidity >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Cthulhu in World Mythology >
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
      • Necronomicon Fragments
      • Oral Histories
    • Fiction >
      • Short Stories
      • Free Fiction
    • JasonColavito.com Books >
      • Faking History
      • Unearthing the Truth
      • Critical Companion to Ancient Aliens
      • Studies in Ancient Astronautics (Series) >
        • Theosophy on Ancient Astronauts
        • Pyramidiots!
        • Edison's Conquest of Mars
      • Fiction Anthologies >
        • Unseen Horror >
          • Contents
          • Excerpt
        • Moon Men! >
          • Contents
      • The Orphic Argonautica >
        • Contents
        • Excerpt
      • The Faust Book >
        • Contents
        • Excerpt
      • Classic Reprints
      • eBook Minis
    • Free eBooks >
      • Origin of the Space Gods
      • Ancient Atom Bombs
      • Golden Fleeced
      • Ancient America
      • Horror & Science
  • Articles
    • Skeptical Xenoarchaeologist Newsletter >
      • Volumes 1-10 Archive >
        • Volume 1 Archive
        • Volume 2 Archive
        • Volume 3 Archive
        • Volume 4 Archive
        • Volume 5 Archive
        • Volume 6 Archive
        • Volume 7 Archive
        • Volume 8 Archive
        • Volume 9 Archive
        • Volume 10 Archive
      • Volumes 11-20 Archive >
        • Volume 11 Archive
        • Volume 12 Archive
        • Volume 13 Archive
        • Volume 14 Archive
        • Volume 15 Archive
        • Volume 16 Archive
        • Volume 17 Archive
        • Volume 18 Archive
        • Volume 19 Archive
        • Volume 20 Archive
      • Volumes 21-30 Archive >
        • Volume 21 Archive
        • Volume 22 Archive
    • Television Reviews >
      • Ancient Aliens Reviews
      • In Search of Aliens Reviews
      • America Unearthed
      • Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar
      • Search for the Lost Giants
      • Forbidden History Reviews
      • Expedition Unknown Reviews
      • Legends of the Lost
      • Unexplained + Unexplored
      • Rob Riggle: Global Investigator
    • Book Reviews
    • Galleries >
      • Bad Archaeology
      • Ancient Civilizations >
        • Ancient Egypt
        • Ancient Greece
        • Ancient Near East
        • Ancient Americas
      • Supernatural History
      • Book Image Galleries
    • Videos
    • Collection: Ancient Alien Fraud >
      • Chariots of the Gods at 50
      • Secret History of Ancient Astronauts
      • Of Atlantis and Aliens
      • Aliens and Ancient Texts
      • Profiles in Ancient Astronautics >
        • Erich von Däniken
        • Robert Temple
        • Giorgio Tsoukalos
        • David Childress
      • Blunders in the Sky
      • The Case of the False Quotes
      • Alternative Authors' Quote Fraud
      • David Childress & the Aliens
      • Faking Ancient Art in Uzbekistan
      • Intimations of Persecution
      • Zecharia Sitchin's World
      • Jesus' Alien Ancestors?
      • Extraterrestrial Evolution?
    • Collection: Skeptic Magazine >
      • America Before Review
      • Native American Discovery of Europe
      • Interview: Scott Sigler
      • Golden Fleeced
      • Oh the Horror
      • Discovery of America
      • Supernatural Television
      • Review of Civilization One
      • Who Lost the Middle Ages
      • Charioteer of the Gods
    • Collection: Ancient History >
      • Prehistoric Nuclear War
      • The China Syndrome
      • Atlantis, Mu, and the Maya
      • Easter Island Exposed
      • Who Built the Sphinx?
      • Who Built the Great Pyramid?
      • Archaeological Cover Up?
    • Collection: The Lovecraft Legacy >
      • Pauwels, Bergier, and Lovecraft
      • Lovecraft in Bergier
      • Lovecraft and Scientology
    • Collection: UFOs >
      • Alien Abduction at the Outer Limits
      • Aliens and Anal Probes
      • Ultra-Terrestrials and UFOs
      • Rebels, Queers, and Aliens
    • Scholomance: The Devil's School
    • Prehistory of Chupacabra
    • The Templars, the Holy Grail, & Henry Sinclair
    • Magicians of the Gods Review
    • The Curse of the Pharaohs
    • The Antediluvian Pyramid Myth
    • Whitewashing American Prehistory
    • James Dean's Cursed Porsche
  • The Library
    • Ancient Mysteries >
      • Ancient Texts >
        • Mesopotamian Texts >
          • Atrahasis Epic
          • Epic of Gilgamesh
          • Kutha Creation Legend
          • Babylonian Creation Myth
          • Descent of Ishtar
          • Berossus
          • Comparison of Antediluvian Histories
        • Egyptian Texts >
          • The Shipwrecked Sailor
          • Dream Stela of Thutmose IV
          • The Papyrus of Ani
          • Classical Accounts of the Pyramids
          • Inventory Stela
          • Manetho
          • Eratosthenes' King List
          • The Story of Setna
          • Leon of Pella
          • Diodorus on Egyptian History
          • On Isis and Osiris
          • Famine Stela
          • Old Egyptian Chronicle
          • The Book of Sothis
          • Horapollo
          • Al-Maqrizi's King List
        • Teshub and the Dragon
        • Hermetica >
          • The Three Hermeses
          • Kore Kosmou
          • Corpus Hermeticum
          • The Asclepius
          • The Emerald Tablet
          • Hermetic Fragments
          • Prologue to the Kyranides
          • The Secret of Creation
          • Ancient Alphabets Explained
          • Prologue to Ibn Umayl's Silvery Water
          • Book of the 24 Philosophers
          • Aurora of the Philosophers
        • Hesiod's Theogony
        • Periplus of Hanno
        • Ctesias' Indica
        • Sanchuniathon
        • Sima Qian
        • Syncellus's Enoch Fragments
        • The Book of Enoch
        • Slavonic Enoch
        • Sepher Yetzirah
        • Tacitus' Germania
        • De Dea Syria
        • Aelian's Various Histories
        • Julius Africanus' Chronography
        • Eusebius' Chronicle
        • Chinese Accounts of Rome
        • Ancient Chinese Automaton
        • The Orphic Argonautica
        • Fragments of Panodorus
        • Annianus on the Watchers
        • The Watchers and Antediluvian Wisdom
      • Medieval Texts >
        • Medieval Legends of Ancient Egypt >
          • Medieval Pyramid Lore
          • John Malalas on Ancient Egypt
          • Fragments of Abenephius
          • Akhbar al-zaman
          • Ibrahim ibn Wasif Shah
          • Murtada ibn al-‘Afif
          • Al-Maqrizi on the Pyramids
          • Al-Suyuti on the Pyramids
        • The Hunt for Noah's Ark
        • Isidore of Seville
        • Book of Liang: Fusang
        • Agobard on Magonia
        • Book of Thousands
        • Voyage of Saint Brendan
        • Power of Art and of Nature
        • Travels of Sir John Mandeville
        • Yazidi Revelation and Black Book
        • Al-Biruni on the Great Flood
        • Voyage of the Zeno Brothers
        • The Kensington Runestone (Hoax)
        • Islamic Discovery of America
        • The Aztec Creation Myth
      • Lost Civilizations >
        • Atlantis >
          • Plato's Atlantis Dialogues >
            • Timaeus
            • Critias
          • Fragments on Atlantis
          • Panchaea: The Other Atlantis
          • Eumalos on Atlantis (Hoax)
          • Gómara on Atlantis
          • Sardinia and Atlantis
          • Santorini and Atlantis
          • The Mound Builders and Atlantis
          • Donnelly's Atlantis
          • Atlantis in Morocco
          • Atlantis and the Sea Peoples
          • W. Scott-Elliot >
            • The Story of Atlantis
            • The Lost Lemuria
          • The Lost Atlantis
          • Atlantis in Africa
          • How I Found Atlantis (Hoax)
          • Termier on Atlantis
          • The Critias and Minoan Crete
          • Rebuttal to Termier
          • Further Responses to Termier
          • Flinders Petrie on Atlantis
        • Lost Cities >
          • Miscellaneous Lost Cities
          • The Seven Cities
          • The Lost City of Paititi
          • Manuscript 512
          • The Idolatrous City of Iximaya (Hoax)
          • The 1885 Moberly Lost City Hoax
          • The Elephants of Paredon (Hoax)
        • OOPARTs
        • Oronteus Finaeus Antarctica Map
        • Caucasians in Panama
        • Jefferson's Excavation
        • Fictitious Discoveries in America
        • Against Diffusionism
        • Tunnels Under Peru
        • The Parahyba Inscription (Hoax)
        • Mound Builders
        • Gunung Padang
        • Tales of Enchanted Islands
        • The 1907 Ancient World Map Hoax
        • The 1909 Grand Canyon Hoax
        • The Interglacial Period
        • Solving Oak Island
      • Religious Conspiracies >
        • Pantera, Father of Jesus?
        • Toledot Yeshu
        • Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay on Cathars
        • Testimony of Jean de Châlons
        • Rosslyn Chapel and the 'Prentice's Pillar
        • The Many Wives of Jesus
        • Templar Infiltration of Labor
        • Louis Martin & the Holy Bloodline
        • The Life of St. Issa (Hoax)
        • On the Person of Jesus Christ
      • Giants in the Earth >
        • Fossil Origins of Myths >
          • Fossil Teeth and Bones of Elephants
          • Fossil Elephants
          • Fossil Bones of Teutobochus
          • Fossil Mammoths and Giants
          • Giants' Bones Dug Out of the Earth
          • Fossils and the Supernatural
          • Fossils, Myth, and Pseudo-History
          • Man During the Stone Age
          • Fossil Bones and Giants
          • American Elephant Myths
          • The Mammoth and the Flood
          • Fossils and Myth
          • Fossil Origin of the Cyclops
          • Mastodon, Mammoth, and Man
        • Fragments on Giants
        • Manichaean Book of Giants
        • Geoffrey on British Giants
        • Alfonso X's Hermetic History of Giants
        • Boccaccio and the Fossil 'Giant'
        • Book of Howth
        • Purchas His Pilgrimage
        • Edmond Temple's 1827 Giant Investigation
        • The Giants of Sardinia
        • Giants and the Sons of God
        • The Magnetism of Evil
        • Tertiary Giants
        • Smithsonian Giant Reports
        • Early American Giants
        • The Giant of Coahuila
        • Jewish Encyclopedia on Giants
        • Index of Giants
        • Newspaper Accounts of Giants
        • Lanier's A Book of Giants
      • Science and History >
        • Halley on Noah's Comet
        • The Newport Tower
        • Iron: The Stone from Heaven
        • Ararat and the Ark
        • Pyramid Facts and Fancies
        • Argonauts before Homer
        • The Deluge
        • Crown Prince Rudolf on the Pyramids
        • Old Mythology in New Apparel
        • Blavatsky on Dinosaurs
        • Teddy Roosevelt on Bigfoot
        • Devil Worship in France
        • Maspero's Review of Akhbar al-zaman
        • The Holy Grail as Lucifer's Crown Jewel
        • The Mutinous Sea
        • The Rock Wall of Rockwall
        • Fabulous Zoology
        • The Origins of Talos
        • Mexican Mythology
        • Chinese Pyramids
        • Maqrizi's Names of the Pharaohs
      • Extreme History >
        • Roman Empire Hoax
        • American Antiquities
        • American Cataclysms
        • England, the Remnant of Judah
        • Historical Chronology of the Mexicans
        • Maspero on the Predynastic Sphinx
        • Vestiges of the Mayas
        • Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel
        • Origins of the Egyptian People
        • The Secret Doctrine >
          • Volume 1: Cosmogenesis
          • Volume 2: Anthropogenesis
        • Phoenicians in America
        • The Electric Ark
        • Traces of European Influence
        • Prince Henry Sinclair
        • Pyramid Prophecies
        • Templars of Ancient Mexico
        • Chronology and the "Riddle of the Sphinx"
        • The Faith of Ancient Egypt
        • Spirit of the Hour in Archaeology
        • Book of the Damned
        • Great Pyramid As Noah's Ark
        • Richard Shaver's Proofs
    • Alien Encounters >
      • US Government Ancient Astronaut Files >
        • Fortean Society and Columbus
        • Inquiry into Shaver and Palmer
        • The Skyfort Document
        • Whirling Wheels
        • Denver Ancient Astronaut Lecture
        • Soviet Search for Lemuria
        • Visitors from Outer Space
        • Unidentified Flying Objects (Abstract)
        • "Flying Saucers"? They're a Myth
        • UFO Hypothesis Survival Questions
        • Air Force Academy UFO Textbook
        • The Condon Report on Ancient Astronauts
        • Atlantis Discovery Telegrams
        • Ancient Astronaut Society Telegram
        • Noah's Ark Cables
        • The Von Daniken Letter
        • CIA Psychic Probe of Ancient Mars
        • Scott Wolter Lawsuit
        • UFOs in Ancient China
        • CIA Report on Noah's Ark
        • CIA Noah's Ark Memos
        • Congressional Ancient Aliens Testimony
        • Ancient Astronaut and Nibiru Email
        • Congressional Ancient Mars Hearing
        • House UFO Hearing
      • Ancient Extraterrestrials >
        • Premodern UFO Sightings
        • The Moon Hoax
        • Inhabitants of Other Planets
        • Blavatsky on Ancient Astronauts
        • The Stanzas of Dzyan (Hoax)
        • Aerolites and Religion
        • What Is Theosophy?
        • Plane of Ether
        • The Adepts from Venus
      • A Message from Mars
      • Saucer Mystery Solved?
      • Orville Wright on UFOs
      • Interdimensional Flying Saucers
      • Flying Saucers Are Real
      • Report on UFOs
    • The Supernatural >
      • The Devils of Loudun
      • Sublime and Beautiful
      • Voltaire on Vampires
      • Demonology and Witchcraft
      • Thaumaturgia
      • Bulgarian Vampires
      • Religion and Evolution
      • Transylvanian Superstitions
      • Defining a Zombie
      • Dread of the Supernatural
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves and Vampires and Ghouls
      • Science and Fairy Stories
      • The Cursed Car
    • Classic Fiction >
      • Lucian's True History
      • Some Words with a Mummy
      • The Coming Race
      • King Solomon's Mines
      • An Inhabitant of Carcosa
      • The Xipéhuz
      • Lot No. 249
      • The Novel of the Black Seal
      • The Island of Doctor Moreau
      • Pharaoh's Curse
      • Edison's Conquest of Mars
      • The Lost Continent
      • Count Magnus
      • The Mysterious Stranger
      • The Wendigo
      • Sredni Vashtar
      • The Lost World
      • The Red One
      • H. P. Lovecraft >
        • Dagon
        • The Call of Cthulhu
        • History of the Necronomicon
        • At the Mountains of Madness
        • Lovecraft's Library in 1932
      • The Skeptical Poltergeist
      • The Corpse on the Grating
      • The Second Satellite
      • Queen of the Black Coast
      • A Martian Odyssey
    • Classic Genre Movies
    • Miscellaneous Documents >
      • The Balloon-Hoax
      • A Problem in Greek Ethics
      • The Migration of Symbols
      • The Gospel of Intensity
      • De Profundis
      • The Life and Death of Crown Prince Rudolf
      • The Bathtub Hoax
      • Crown Prince Rudolf's Letters
      • Position of Viking Women
      • Employment of Homosexuals
      • James Dean's Scrapbook
      • James Dean's Love Letters
      • The Amazing James Dean Hoax!
    • Free Classic Pseudohistory eBooks
  • About Jason
    • Biography
    • Jason in the Media
    • Contact Jason
    • About JasonColavito.com
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Search