Giants, sea creatures and ghosts, oh my!

The Cardiff Giant.

Some of you may be aware of this little piece of American folklore, while some of you might live right near Cardiff, NY and not be familiar with the story.

It begins in 1868. It was a time when people were more likely to take the written word of their holy books as literal truth (a practice which, sadly, continues in some degree to this day, to the detriment of humankind), not recognizing the fact that the words themselves were put down by the hands of men. I think we can all agree that the hands of men (and women) are fallible, and often driven by the writer's own agenda.

The tendency to interpret their holy books literally was more widespread back then than it is now, and the Old Testament of the Bible makes mention in several places of a race of giants. (See http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v7/n1/ot-giants) So that means that, at least at one time in the history of our world, there were honest to god giants roaming the earth. Right?

Think David and Goliath

George Hull, a cigar manufacturer of Binghamton, NY, was an atheist who had experienced a heated debate with a Methodist minister. Hull scoffed at the unlikely tall tales he claimed the Bible held, while the minister vehemently argued that the stories in the Bible were all to be taken as literal truth. Hull considered the people who maintained that belief to be gullible, and thought to profit from these circumstances. He commissioned the construction of a sculpture of a giant man from 5-ton block of gypsum. The resulting 10-foot stone man was then hammered with knitting needles to create the look of pores in skin, and treated with acid to make it appear aged and weathered. He then had the statue shipped to the farm of his cousin, William Newell, in Cardiff, NY, just south of Syracuse. Hull and Newell buried it behind a barn.


On a side note, my husband has family in Cardiff. His grandmother, Maude (whose name was not really Maude) and her common law husband Buggy (whose name is not really Buggy) lived in Cardiff for many years. Buggy lives there still. Just because it makes me happy, I'll share here a photograph taken in front of the Cardiff house: my husband, our firstborn son, Grandma Sue and Great-Grandma Maude.

Four generations

Meanwhile, just down the road

One year later, Newell hired some men to "dig a well" on his property. And, gasp! They uncovered the remains of what appeared to be the corpse of an ancient giant man! So old, in fact, that he seemed to have become petrified!

Within mere days, Newell and Hull had obtained a license to exhibit the Giant, erected a tent over its "burial site", and charged 50 cents for admission to come view this wonder they had discovered. So many people flocked to see the remains of the Giant that they even constructed a food tent, cider stand, and carriage service at the site for all of the paying tourists. Within less than three weeks the men had made approximately $7,000 in admission fees.

Note the placement of the leaf. We wouldn't want to scare anyone with this:

Giant peen.

Cardiff was too small to put up all of the tourists now making their way to see the exhibit, and as a result, the economy in Syracuse was booming. With such a financial interest, Syracuse businessmen paid Newell $37,000 for 3/4 interest in the Giant. The Giant man's remains were exhumed and transferred to an exhibition hall in Syracuse.

Circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum made a generous offer to buy the Giant, but was refused. Not one to take no as an answer, Barnum had a plaster replica made of the giant and displayed it in his own show, hawking it as the real thing. There was, in fact, a time when both the original fake giant man and Barnum's copy of the fake were both on exhibit in New York City; Barnum's drew more crowds, and earned more money.

Professionals were called in to examine the remains. Geologists and paleontologists, among others, came to look at the Giant. Almost all of them declared it a fake. Hull finally confessed his scheme. As the hype wound down, the Cardiff Giant was relegated to storage for many years before being acquired in 1947 for display at the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, NY (http://www.farmersmuseum.org/).

The Farmer's Museum has many other interesting things to check out, such as a "village" of genuine 19th century buildings from around rural New York that were relocated and restored piece by piece, including a doctor's office. Very cool.

Speaking of Cooperstown...

I kind of love Cooperstown, NY. Due in no small part to this book:

Groff's novel takes place in a town called Templeton, which is actually Cooperstown (from where she hails). The map of Templeton on the inside cover even features the Farmer's Museum. But Groff is hardly the first novelist to come from and write of Cooperstown. Ever heard of James Fenimore Cooper? He wrote The Last of the Mohicans, and Cooperstown was founded by his father, U.S. Congressman William Cooper. The younger Cooper and the people his characters' may have been modeled after also feature in Groff's book. (If you ever visit Cooperstown, I also suggest you visit the Fenimore Art Museum: http://www.fenimoreartmuseum.org/).

One of the biggest (and you can take that written word literally) themes of The Monsters of Templeton is the sea monster in Glimmerglass Lake, aptly named "Glimmy." In her book, Groff creates her own part of New York State mythology and folklore. She somehow manages to make this monster and its story into something profound and touching. 

This is not Glimmy, but "Champ", the alleged monster of Lake Champlain at the border of New York and Vermont. Also sought after by P.T. Barnum, that greedy rascal.

In real life Cooperstown, it's actually Otsega Lake. Cooper first called it Glimmerglass in his books, and there now is Glimmerglass State Park and Glimerglass Opera on its shores. Also right on its banks is the Otasaga Resort Hotel. Fancy stuff.

And like any "historic hotel of America" worth its salt, there are stories of hauntings at the Otesaga Hotel (as well as at the historic village at the Farmer's Museum!) There was an episode of SyFy's Ghosthunters where the members of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) investigated the hotel. (See http://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2010/03/haunted-history-of-cooperstown-ny-and.html)

TAPS also hosted an event called "The Ghosts of Cooperstown." Members of the public could stay with them at the hotel for two nights and perform investigations on a few of the hotels floors, and also at the historic village section of the Farmer's Museum. People could also attend different talks, the topics of which included the history of the Ouija board, cryptozoology, and demonology. Chip Coffey was there, among others. 

My own sister and mother attended this event, and they had a blast! The second night included a dinner with the some cast members of the TV show, including Grant, Jason, Britt, and Amy. There was an auction during the dinner for different prizes and such. My sister won the prize to participate in a light painting.

 

My sister, Sarah, as part of a "light painting" with TAPS members Amy and Britt; they're the ghosts trying to communicate with her during her investigation at the Otesaga!

My lady mother with Jason Hawes from ScyFy's Ghosthunters

My sister with Jason Hawes of TAPS

Oh, and there's something about baseball in Cooperstown, too :)

And so, for those of you still with me and reading, perhaps now you know a little bit more about my neck of the woods in Upstate New York now than you did before. I hope you enjoyed the post :)