My condolences Loren.

Doug, Larry, Cheryl, and Nicole, I’m sure, are doing what is best for John and the family, and I respect what they must do to get through the next few days.

Thank you for your comment Doug.

We’re working with the family to find a place where John’s papers can be properly preserved and accessible. From what I’ve seen, John was more likely to keep files of his own writings than of his sources, but whatever he kept will be preserved.

The statement is to note that in the midst of the wave of celebrity deaths hitting this point in our contemporary history John Keel’s death to many anomalists, Forteans, and yes, cryptozoologists is a big deal.

I am not allowing this thread to be pulled into a debate by MJ fans who seem to miss the whole point of the Huyghe comment.

Keel was significant to “our world,” as defined by the masthead of this blog. This is not some statement on the importance, character or fame of Michael Jackson to his fans, but is all about Keel. I shall make certain this blog stays with that focus.

Thank you for understanding.

On the other hand, both were eccentric geniuses, both were misunderstood wildly in their lifetimes, both were very reclusive and isolated near the end of their lives, both enjoyed very controversial careers, and both spoke to specific longings in the human heart in all of us. Both ended up in debt, too.

Both him and Jackson were larger-than-life and unforgettable. For better or for worse. I wish Keel was more of a “household name” on the level of Jackson but I’m comforted by the fact that there are STILL thousands, if not millions of folks out there who have been made “Fortean” enthusiasts because of Keel and his like. In that way, I am happy. Both will be sorely missed.

But, Matt, I would not hold out any hope for any types of organized files from Keel from the 1960s/1970s, which is when Strange Creatures from Time and Space was compiled. John wrote news articles and magazine articles, then those were reworked for his books.

Keel had been in and out of hospitals, nursing homes, and ER rooms so often in the last ten years, we have to be realistic about what the non-academic Keel saved and maintained in his small apartment. He seriously told me once a small dog of his destroyed a works-in-progress manuscript. Also, people have had to clean up his place, lately, and even though I trust those folks, John was not maintaining his domain well.

The family just became aware of John’s death after reading Cryptomundo on Monday and then located the body in the hospital’s morgue. My grief covers John’s departure and the disposition of his works for future researchers and students of Keel. I have to trust that those dealing with John and his archives now will make the best decisions for his legacy.