CROP CIRCLES NOT A HOAX

That's the startling claim of former Catholic seminarian Regis Schilken, author of the occult thriller The Oculi Incident -- and an expert in the miraculous and the bizarre!

"Science denigrates crop circles as hoaxes," Schilken revealed to the Weekly Universe in an exclusive interview! "In studies of cereology or ago-glyphs, as the study of crop circles is called, scientists feel that most if not all crop circles can be explained by human ingenuity. But there is convincing evidence that all crop circles are not man-made!"

On November 22, 2005, Schilken wrote in an email to the Weekly Universe:

"Your current story in WEEKLY UNIVERSE literally cracked me up. It is absolutely hilarious but full of falsehoods.  ...  Crop circles are a COMPLETE HOAX. Your story probably caused many laughs among my friends, but I am a complete and total disbeliever in crop circles."

Yet in an email interview last August, Schilken wrote to us: 

"It seems that science as a whole denigrates crop circles as hoaxes.  In studies of cereology or ago-glyphs, as the study of crop circles is often called, scientists feel that most, if not all can be explained by human ingenuity. 

Yet, there is some rather convincing evidence [our emphasis] that ALL crop circles are not man made. 

1.  Some have appeared overnight with no evidence of tracks leading to or from.
2.  Plants which would normally break if bent severely remain curved and unbroken.
3.  Some stems seem intertwined in patterns which would require an impossible amount of time.
4.  The plants which should have broken continue to grow normally.
5.  Compasses appear not to work near or inside some crop circles.
6.  Plants with nodular stalks seem to have unusually darkened, enlarged nodes.

"Some rather convincing evidence" were Schilken's words. Sure sounded to us like he believed in crop circles.

About himself, Schilken says: "In each of us is a personal knowledge that answers can be found, otherwise we would not search. I was a seminarian for 5 years because I thought priests and other religious persons had an inside track to God -- to the Wholly Other. But I discovered that religious belief is built on Faith, and I did not have that intense Faith.

"But it defies reason to think that mankind is the ultimate end of evolution. I believe that evolution is following an intelligent plan. The universe is not heading for entrophy. Just the opposite. A wristwatch left alone could never figure out its purpose. If it had intelligence it may see that it is moving and running down, but it could not figure out why it's doing so."

Regis Schilken is the author of The Oculi Incident, an occult thriller about a Catholic priest who investigates miracles.