Chapter 15: Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Part 15

NARRATIVE of WARD COURIER/CONFERENCE with TED BENNETT, Continued

September, 2007

BUFFALO, NY

"But to stick to the main theory here, there may be a handful, maybe thirteen, of the originals out there, ones that are truly powerful and truly original. The legend-cycle about the Skulls maintains that they could be connected to each other and used to further somebody's goals in the world."

Bennett's eyebrows went up. "The thinking goes that if the Skulls are ever brought together in close proximity, it is a moment of decision for the world. Now, whether this is revelation or disaster or world peace or the cure for AIDS or the Van Halen reunion or some other option, I don't know. So most if not all of the original Skulls are hidden. The rumors put them in the Americas, though. All the lines of this story-cycle have that in common. These are Native American objects."

"There are a couple of famous skulls in museums," said Bennett, scanning a page in his folder. "London. Paris. Washington."

"I know about those," I said. "They are pretty primitive. It's hard for me to believe any of them would be members of the original thirteen or whatever number there was. Just my opinion. Now the one they call 'the Mitchell-Hedges Skull...' That one is a fascinating object."

"Let's focus on that one," said Ted Bennett.

"The Skull of Doom," I said.

"Is it real?" said Bennett.

"You mean, 'authentic'?" I said. "One of the original thirteen? If any one of those has ever been found by the white world, my guess is that the Mitchell-Hedges Skull is the best candidate. It is a marvelous piece of handiwork. It's also controversial. There are people who are convinced it was made recently, like around 1900, by fairly modern technology. There are those who maintain devoutly that we can't figure out how it was made, and that it could go all the way back to the Ice Ages if not another star system."

"Tell me about that one," said Bennett.

"Well, the Skull of Doom is the most anatomically correct of the known skulls. It's not in the style of workmanship of any known Native American culture. Except for the fact that it's a solid piece of quartz crystal, it's remarkably true-to-life. It's the only one that has a detachable jaw like that image you showed me in the photo, and it's life-size. It's so anatomically natural that you can do a craniofacial reconstruction of it. It looks like a real person."

That clearly caught Bennett's attention. I felt like I had to walk him back. "But there's almost no detail in here," I said, "without somebody willing to argue an opposite point. Even its discovery is a mystery.

"Mitchell-Hedges always claimed that he - or his daughter - found his skull in a temple in Belize. There's contradictions with that claim. There are people who say they have records of a skull like his being made in Germany of quartz crystal that maybe came from Brazil, and that it was even sold at an auction. Mitchell-Hedges never mentioned the skull in his book on the expedition that allegedly found it. It was only later that he started hyping the tradition. Now, whether he was keeping it a secret at the time or what, I don't know. That's not uncommon in this subject-area. But there's very little you can take at face value about Mitchell-Hedges."

Bennett looked impressed. "You seem very well prepared on this subject," he said.

"Almost anybody who keeps his feelers out in the general paranormal could tell you something about the Skulls," I said. "I've been interested in them myself for a long time. I keep up on most of the currents that affect Native American tradition. I did write those articles recently, too.

"Anyway, Frederick - F. A. - Mitchell-Hedges was a character. I think his nickname might have been 'Mike.'" I chuckled. "'Mike' Mitchell-Hedges. He and his adopted daughter Anna had the tendency to get unlikely nicknames. Anna was 'Sammy.' 'Sammy' Mitchell-Hedges. She just passed away, by the way. Last spring."

"Mitchell-Hedges was sort of a combination of Indiana Jones and Baron Munchausen and P. T. Barnum and The Most Interesting Man in the World of the Dos Equis commercial. His goal seemed to be to make himself look exotic and famous and sell himself as an adventurer with books like 'Danger Is My Ally.'" I chuckled and repeated the melodramatic title. Bennett shared the smile.

"You can't date a hunk of rock," I said. "If it shows up out of context you can't tell much about it. If it's a unique object, an artifact, you can guess when it was used or worked by the circumstances in which you find it and what you know about other artistic trends in the region or the society that seems concerned. If anyone ever did find a Crystal Skull in an original setting, one that clearly demonstrated ancient Native American use and interest, it would throw a whole new light on a lot of things, including all the other Skulls. It would be theory-shattering. That would be real interesting to a lot of people, me included."

Bennett did his best to hide his thoughts, but I got the feeling something had hit a nerve.

"If somebody found one of those things and put it on the market," said Bennett, "what would you expect it to be worth?"

"If it was one of the big one-piece jobs like the one in the London museum, I wouldn't say it was worth too much. Not if it just turned up at an estate sale. There are too many of those around. But if somebody found one in an ancient burial, or at a tomb or a temple or a pyramid, and it was documented... That would be interesting. And if somebody found one of the special kind, like the one with the detachable jaw, and it was for sure not a recent fake... That would be worth something."

"What do you figure it would bring?" said Bennett. "The special one?"

"You're not talking real high finance here," I said. "They're curiosities, collectors' items. I think the most famous one, the Skull of Doom, may be valued at around $150,000. That would be my guess. Half million tops. I'm sure you guys can look that up. It might be insured for a million and a half pounds and they're probably hoping it does catch fire. You can use it to make a bit of money at talks and tours and fairs, and I'm sure it could earn a good living for its owner. I watched the thing from twenty feet away at Anna Mitchell-Hedges' lecture at Lily Dale in the late 1990s. At the end I lined up and touched it, right in the middle of the forehead on the third eye. The event probably brought in ten grand for Sammy and the Dale. Still, making money on the Skull is not that easy from my perspective. You still have to have good lines out, good marketing and promotion. For me, if I had a $150K loan that I was going to have to pay back, I'd use it for law school."

"Could there be a collector out there who would pay more for it?" said Bennett.

"A good salesman could probably find one," I said. "I bet Tom Cruise would give you a lot if you could guarantee him it was a holy relic of Scientology."

"Do you have any other idea why anyone would get desperate to get one of these?"

"There are people in the world who would knife you for a ten-spot," I said. "But for most of us, it would be silly to take too big a risk to get one. They're famous, but they aren't that valuable. I mean, acquiring one of those things and then selling it... It would have to be way underground. What a network you'd have to have to pull that off! I think if you ended up with one of those things and were trying to unload it, it would almost be a fire sale or a fence operation, especially if you were the thief. It would be hot. You wouldn't get anything like what it could get if it was legitimately sold. They could all be fakes, anyway."

I thought back to the photo of the jaw. "Has somebody found a new Crystal Skull?" I said. "Is that what this is about?"

"There's been a bit of buzz out there in the underground markets in antiquities," said Bennett. "We wouldn't want you go advertising, but if you did happen to hear anything yourself in your own circles, would you please let us know?" He passed me his card.

"It is in my subject area," I said. "I should be able to get some discreet information without bringing your name into the picture. I'm starting to get curious myself."

"That's just what we thought," he said, nodding as he stood and extended his hand. "Thanks for your time."