Update: Olaf the Giant Images
Posted by: Loren Coleman on February 14th, 2007
Click on image for full size version
This is a followup to the previous posting, “Olaf, Grover Krantz and Bigfoot”.
Craig Heinselman looked in his files and shares what he found: this terrible archival photocopy from the Chronicle Telegram, Elyria, Ohio, for September 23, 1985. It’s something, but merely reinforces how we can’t “see” this object.
I will use this location to place any better images of Olaf the Giant that are sent in to Cryptomundo.
Thank you all for looking.
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 read the previous Olaf article about Grover Krantz and was disappointed to find “Olaf” was probably a gaff.
I thought we might be talking about Homo Gardarensis – the “giant Viking” connection perhaps?
Where is he now?…. After reading this, I did a little research on the net and the “Fantastic Museum – Closed” was the last known place to find “Olaf the Giant”.
Please see the “previous posting,” noted above, for what is known and not known about the whereabouts of Olaf the Giant.
After my museum closed in 1994, I assume the Giant was taken to one of the other Museums (both using the name Fantastic) in either Oregon or Yakima Washington.
So the last year date I can confirm is 1994. I have attempted to follow up to no avail so far but I have the probable connections to locate him. It will just take a bit of time. A ‘bit’ being not much.
I’ll make some calls again tomorrow.
I’ve “inverted” the dark/light areas in part of the image so that Olaf is more discernable. However, I can’t for the life of me figure out how to upload the image and send it to you.
I must be having a “stupid” day.
The “ethnic viking” was generally shorter and more robustly built than today’s Scandinavian.
“Viking giants” would have been as extraordinary and as much a wonder as “giants” are today.
Some Vikings were 6.5 ft tall and the nobility may have been taller than your average Viking. See this posting on “How Tall Were The Vikings?”
But the reality of the heights of Vikings and the whereabouts of this gaff seem rather unrelated.
Olaf located. He currently resides in the basement of a building in Southern Washington, (I’ll leave it at that for the moment) in storage (!). Unfortunately there was a flood and I understand he was damaged. To what extent I don’t know yet but will be on the phone with someone who ‘has’ him under lock and key. Story developing and as I get info put together, I’ll pass it on. I am also going to try and get the Letter from Grover (at least a copy) and pass it on to Loren if I snag it.
Poor Olaf….unloved and unseen…and waterlogged?
Thanks Doug.
Yes! poor poor Olaf, even if he is a gaff, he is worth preservation.
Aww, thats terrible, he sounds great fun.
(not as fun as the very real Guache mummy the BM lost in the 60s…)
alright- don’t know anything about this story, but hows this… Olaf is a bigfoot corpse brought back by the vikings who visited and settled in parts of north america…