Jonathan Downes
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| Jonathan Downes | |
|---|---|
 Jon Downes at Loch Ness, November 2005 | |
| Born | 1959 (age 64–65) Portsmouth, England |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 🏢 Organization | Centre for Fortean Zoology |
Jonathan Downes (born 1959) is a cryptozoologist and Fortean writer. He is Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology.
Biography[edit]
He is currently (since 1994) the editor of Animals & Men; the journal of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, and since 2012 has been the editor of Gonzo Weekly, a digital music magazine, between 2007-10 was the editor of The Amateur Naturalist (formerly 'Exotic Pets') - a magazine published by CFZ Press, the editor of the online magazine blog 'Cryptozoology:Online', and from January 2003 until August 2007 was the Deputy Editor of Tropical World magazine, a tropical fish magazine published in the UK. From 2012-3 he was the editor of UFO Matrix magazine, published by 11th Dimension Publishing. He has also edited and contributed to several other publications over the years.[1][2]
According to his autobiography and other writings, as a child he lived in Nigeria, and then Hong Kong (then a British Crown Colony), and returned to the UK in 1971, when his father was 'invalided out' of the Hong Kong government. He was educated at Bideford Grammar School, (1971-6) and later West Buckland School (1976-7) from which he was expelled. He worked as a nurse for the mentally handicapped between 1981–90 and between 1990 and 1994 ran the fan club for Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel.[1][3][4]
Cryptozoology[edit]
In 1992 Downes founded the Centre for Fortean Zoology, arguably the world's largest cryptozoological research organization. He is vocal in his opinion that cryptozoology should not be considered to be a branch of paranormal research. Although he has written a number of books on UFOs and other Fortean subjects (sometimes in collaboration with his friend and colleague Nick Redfern), he considers cryptozoology to be a branch of mainstream zoology, rather than anything more esoteric.[5]
Selected publications[edit]
- Take this Brother may it serve you well (1988)
- Riding the Waves (with Kim Andrews) (1990)
- El Grand Senor (with Kim Andrews) (1991)
- Road Dreams (1993)
- Smaller Mystery Carnivores of the Westcountry (1996)
- The Owlman and Others (ISBN 1-905723-02-4 Search this book on
., 1997) - The Rising of the Moon with Nigel Wright (ISBN 0-9544936-5-6 Search this book on ., 1999)
- Weird Devon with Richard Freeman and Graham Inglis (ISBN 1-899383-38-7 Search this book on ., 2000)
- UFOs over Devon (ISBN 1-899383-37-9 Search this book on ., 2000)
- Weird War Tales with Nick Redfern (2000)
- Weird War Tales Volume 2 with Nick Redfern (2000)
- The Blackdown Mystery (ISBN 1-905723-00-8 Search this book on ., 2000)
- Only Fools and Goatsuckers (ISBN 0-9512872-3-0 Search this book on ., 2001)
- In the Beginning - Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume One (Ed)(2001)
- The Number of the Beast - Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume Two(Ed) (2001)
- The Monster of the Mere (ISBN 0-9512872-2-2 Search this book on ., 2002)
- Monster Hunter (ISBN 0-9512872-7-3 Search this book on ., 2004)
- Strength through Koi (ISBN 1-905723-04-0 Search this book on ., 2006)
- The Call of the Wild - Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume Three (ISBN 978-1905723072 Search this book on ., 2007)
- The Island of Paradise: Chupacabra, UFO Crash Retrievals, and Accelerated Evolution on the Island of Puerto Rico (ISBN 978-1905723324 Search this book on .) (2008)
- The Song of Panne (Being Mainly about Elephants) (ISBN 978-1909488366 Search this book on .) (2015)
Politics[edit]
Downes describes himself as "basically an anarchist".[1] As an artist, and indeed in many other ways he was primarily influenced by anarcho-punks Crass, "not really by the music, but by the D-I-Y attitude." He has always maintained the opinion that "in many ways it is more important to be heard than to get paid for it," and the CFZ, his music and films have always been disseminated along broadly anarchist and libertarian lines.
Appearances in Media[edit]
- Penn & Teller: Bullshit! - Season 4 Episode 1: Cryptozoology[6]
- Lost Tapes - Season 1 Episode 8: 'Death Raptor'
- Slenderman Killings: Beyond Evil (2016)
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Downes, J `Monster Hunter` (autobiography), ISBN 978-0-9512872-7-9 Search this book on . (CFZ press, Exeter, 2004)
- ↑ In Search of the Mad Gasser | Articles | Features | Fortean Times UK Archived 3 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Fanthorpe, L and P `The World's Most Mysterious People` (Hounslow Press, Canada, 1998)
- ↑ Redfern N `Three men seeking monsters` (Paraview, NYC, 2005)
- ↑ CFZ Website
- ↑ "Showtime: Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Season 4 Episode 1". Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2011. Unknown parameter
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External links[edit]
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