Healthwatch: John A. Keel
Posted by: Loren Coleman on April 8th, 2009
On March 25, 2009, John A. Keel, famed for his work on Mothman, turned 79 years old.
The photograph above was taken in January 1994, and has Keel as the man in the middle. Fifteen years ago, but it seems like yesterday.
I have just learned from Doug Skinner, his trusted friend, that Keel has been transported by ambulance to a hospital, due to health issues. Keel’s problems appear to revolve around old age and diabetes, with the complications including anemia and edema. In general, John is getting weaker, and finding it harder to walk.
This is not a time in which he is entertaining visitors, other than one or two close friends, of course. Keel is in the hospital to attempt to pull himself out of some of the present low points regarding his health concerns.
Our thoughts are with John, for a speedily recovery.
Here’s a snippet of Doug Skinner speaking at the 2002 FortFest about John Keel and Mothman:
Help keep the wolves from the door here too, please today, April 8th and beyond, with a click and then please…remember, your $20 with others really does help…
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
I’m sorry to hear of Mr. Keel’s health problems. I’ll be praying for his speedy and steady improvement.
His books have provided me with many hours of creepy entertainment and have been a major influence on my attitudes toward the paranormal and cyptozoology.
Our prayers are with Mr. Keel.
In the late 80s (or was it the early 90s) I was a regular attendee of John Keel’s Fortean Society meetings in Manhattan. While the speakers at the monthly events were hit and miss, the conversations after the talk at a nearby restaurant were always fascinating, mainly because that’s when Mr. Keel could stretch out, relax and do what he did best: tell some scary stories. Mr. Keel is still my favorite writer on Fortean topics and offers up some of the most interesting and exciting theories to try to explain strange events. I, too, wish he has a speedy recovery. Good luck, John.
A speedy recovery most fervently wished for, Mr. Keel!!! 🙂
I am praying for Mr. Keel’s comfort and recovery.
Sad news. I wish Mr. Keel the best and hope for a strong recovery. His writing means a lot to me. I think The Mothman Prophecies is a work of genius.
I truly do hope Mr. Keel gets better. The Mothman Prophecies is my all time favorite book, and he truly does seem like a kind man.
Get well soon!