The Marines found the bone as they scraped a shallow trench. Long, dry and unmistakably once part of a human leg, it was followed by others. They reburied most of them but also found bodies. Three of the graves were close together; in another was a skeleton still wearing a pair of glasses. The Marines covered the grave and told their successors to stay away from it.
Observation Point Rock sits a few hundred metres south east of Patrol Base Hassan Abad, where a company from 2/8 Marines has been stationed for the past seven months. It is a lonely and exposed outpost 20 metres (65ft) above the surrounding landscape, which has been in Nato hands since it was captured from the Taleban in 2008.
Groups of Marines are posted to guard it, usually for a couple of months at a time, and “the Rock” has acquired a peculiar reputation. American troops widely refer to it as “the haunted Observation Point”.
It is hard to say how much the 100F (38C) heat, round-the-clock guard shifts and months spent living in trenches and peering out of sandbagged firing points have gilded the legend of OP Rock. The only break from the tedium, apart from dog-eared magazines and an improvised gym, has been small-arms or rocket-propelled grenade attacks from the Taleban, usually on a Sunday morning.
But as Sergeant Josh Brown, 22, briefed his successor when a detachment of men from Golf Company was swapped for an incoming contingent from Fox Company, he warned of the strange atmosphere and inexplicable phenomena that plagued OP Rock. “The local people say this is a cursed place,” he said. “You will definitely see weird-ass lights up here at night.”
Others in the outgoing unit had reported odd sounds. “It is weird what you hear and don’t hear around here,” he added.
Each successive detachment that guards the Rock appears to add its own layer to the legend, which has spread through the Marine units pushing into southern Helmand.
There is talk of members of the Taleban entombed in caves below; the bodies buried on the summit are identified confidently as dead Russian soldiers from the ill-fated Soviet invasion.
Corporal Jacob Lima’s story is the latest addition. One night he was woken by the sound of screaming. It was Corporal Zolik, a Marine who has since been moved to a unit farther south. “He was yelling and begging me to go up to the firing point he was guarding,” Corporal Lima, 22, told the men taking over from him. “When I got there he said that he was sitting there when he heard a voice whisper something in his ear. He said it sounded like Russian. He begged me to stay in there with him till he was relieved from guard duty. After that he really didn’t like standing post up there.”
The Marines’ predecessors, a unit of Welsh Guards, also produced tales of the unexpected. “The Brits claimed to see weird things, hear noises,” Corporal Lima said. “Lots of them said it’s creepy at night, especially from midnight till 4am. You see a lot of unexplained lights through night-vision goggles.”
Its elevation has clearly made the Rock a natural defensive position for centuries. It is not a rock, though it resembles one. Medieval arrow slits and the remains of fortified turrets on its eastern flank show that this was once a large mud fort that collapsed in on itself and was probably built upon in turn. The locals say that it dates back to Alexander the Great, and another similar structure is visible in the distance to the south, part of a supposed line of such forts built at some point in Afghanistan’s history of invasion and war.
When US Marines seized the post last summer they dropped a 2,000lb (900kg) bomb on one side, collapsing part of the structure on to what its current occupants claim was a cave where Taleban fighters were sheltering.
“This place really sucks,” said Lance Corporal Austin Hoyt, 20, putting his pack on to return to the main base. “The Afghans say it’s haunted. Stick a shovel in anywhere and you’ll find bones and bits of pottery. This place should be in National Geographic — in the front there are weird-looking windows for shooting arrows. You know, they say the Russians up here were executed by the Mujahidin.”
He looked meaningfully at his successors and prepared to leave.
via Times Online
Showing posts with label Paranormal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paranormal. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Researchers: Jim Morrison "Ghost" Picture Not Fake
In 1997, rock historian Brett Meisner visited late Doors frontman Jim Morrison's grave at Paris, France's Pere Lachaise cemetery. His assistant took a photo of him at the grave, and that was that.
But five years later, he looked at the photo and saw something kind of frightening: A very faint image in the background that looked like Morrison.
The image made its way onto the internet and is also discussed in a new book, Ghosts Caught On Film 2: Photographs Of The Unexplained.
The book says researchers can not account for the faint image in the background. They've decided it can't be a trick of the light, and have also ruled out the image being manipulated (Photoshop, etc.) in any way.
Maybe Morrison's "ghost" is to blame for all the vandalism on his grave that caused authorities to put a fence around his tombstone?
Or not.
At any rate, Meisner says the Morrison photo screwed up his life.
"Part of me wishes that I never stepped foot into the graveyard in the first place," he told the Daily Express.
"I'm partly to blame for talking about it in the first place. I should have kept it to myself.
"I've had strangers come to my home at all hours of the night wanting to talk to me saying they had messages from Jim.
"At first it was sort of interesting to see how many people felt a spiritual bond with Jim and the photo, but now the whole vibe seems negative."
In fact, Meisner literally wants to remove the negative from his life. He now says he plans to donate the photo and negative to an organization.
Here's a quick video about the picture:
via ChartAttack
But five years later, he looked at the photo and saw something kind of frightening: A very faint image in the background that looked like Morrison.
The image made its way onto the internet and is also discussed in a new book, Ghosts Caught On Film 2: Photographs Of The Unexplained.
The book says researchers can not account for the faint image in the background. They've decided it can't be a trick of the light, and have also ruled out the image being manipulated (Photoshop, etc.) in any way.
Maybe Morrison's "ghost" is to blame for all the vandalism on his grave that caused authorities to put a fence around his tombstone?
Or not.
At any rate, Meisner says the Morrison photo screwed up his life.
"Part of me wishes that I never stepped foot into the graveyard in the first place," he told the Daily Express.
"I'm partly to blame for talking about it in the first place. I should have kept it to myself.
"I've had strangers come to my home at all hours of the night wanting to talk to me saying they had messages from Jim.
"At first it was sort of interesting to see how many people felt a spiritual bond with Jim and the photo, but now the whole vibe seems negative."
In fact, Meisner literally wants to remove the negative from his life. He now says he plans to donate the photo and negative to an organization.
Here's a quick video about the picture:
via ChartAttack
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Ghost hunting woman falls to death at 'spooky' university building
TORONTO — The death of a woman who may have been looking for ghosts in a Gothic-style building where a professor was murdered several years ago is a tragedy that should serve as a warning to all thrill seekers, a paranormal investigator said Thursday.
Police were called after the 29-year-old woman fell several storeys during the early hours at the University of Toronto building.
"The general public has a lot of misperceptions," said Sue Durroch, co-founder of the Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society.
"Because of the Hollywood-ization of ghost stories and fictional ghost stories, people get these impressions that a spooky looking building must be haunted or if there's a tragedy associated with it, it must be haunted. Of course, that's absolutely incorrect."
Early in the day, Toronto police Sgt. Dave Vickers was reported as saying the woman and a 34-year-old male friend were in the building because they thought it was haunted.
Const. Wendy Drummond later refused to confirm any ghostly connections, saying only that the pair was trespassing and exploring the roof-top area.
The man crossed from one roof to the other, but a wire the woman was holding onto gave way and she plunged to her death, Drummond said.
In January 2001, 50-year-old artist and lecturer David Buller was found stabbed to death in his studio in the building at 1 Spadina Crescent.
The unsolved killing may have fed rumours that the building, erected in 1875, is visited by ghosts.
The building contains the University of Toronto's art department, office space, some classrooms as well as the Eye Bank of Canada.
"It's a regular U of T building," said university spokeswoman Laurie Stephens, adding the school was unaware anyone considered it haunted.
Ghost tours do take place at other university buildings but 1 Spadina Crescent is not among them, said Richard Fiennes-Clinton, a guide with Muddy York Walking Tours.
He said he had never been able to unearth ghost stories related to the structure but said he could understand why some might believe otherwise given the building's imposing style.
The ghost research society, which has had a website for almost 13 years, also said it had never had any reports or even queries related to paranormal activity at the building.
"Because it's kind of a Gothic looking building, maybe they were under the impression somehow it was haunted. It looks kind of eerie," Durroch said.
"You can enjoy ghosts and hauntings, you can do so safely without breaking any laws or trespassing. Thankfully, this is an isolated case in Canada but there have been several similar incidents in the United States where tragic circumstances were the outcome."
Fiennes-Clinton stressed there are safe and legal ways to explore supposedly haunted places.
The school said it appeared neither the man nor woman were students.
Police have called the woman's death "suspicious" but said they had no reason to suspect foul play. An autopsy and toxicology tests were pending.
They said they had no reason to release any names.
via Canadian Press
Police were called after the 29-year-old woman fell several storeys during the early hours at the University of Toronto building.
"The general public has a lot of misperceptions," said Sue Durroch, co-founder of the Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society.
"Because of the Hollywood-ization of ghost stories and fictional ghost stories, people get these impressions that a spooky looking building must be haunted or if there's a tragedy associated with it, it must be haunted. Of course, that's absolutely incorrect."
Early in the day, Toronto police Sgt. Dave Vickers was reported as saying the woman and a 34-year-old male friend were in the building because they thought it was haunted.
Const. Wendy Drummond later refused to confirm any ghostly connections, saying only that the pair was trespassing and exploring the roof-top area.
The man crossed from one roof to the other, but a wire the woman was holding onto gave way and she plunged to her death, Drummond said.
In January 2001, 50-year-old artist and lecturer David Buller was found stabbed to death in his studio in the building at 1 Spadina Crescent.
The unsolved killing may have fed rumours that the building, erected in 1875, is visited by ghosts.
The building contains the University of Toronto's art department, office space, some classrooms as well as the Eye Bank of Canada.
"It's a regular U of T building," said university spokeswoman Laurie Stephens, adding the school was unaware anyone considered it haunted.
Ghost tours do take place at other university buildings but 1 Spadina Crescent is not among them, said Richard Fiennes-Clinton, a guide with Muddy York Walking Tours.
He said he had never been able to unearth ghost stories related to the structure but said he could understand why some might believe otherwise given the building's imposing style.
The ghost research society, which has had a website for almost 13 years, also said it had never had any reports or even queries related to paranormal activity at the building.
"Because it's kind of a Gothic looking building, maybe they were under the impression somehow it was haunted. It looks kind of eerie," Durroch said.
"You can enjoy ghosts and hauntings, you can do so safely without breaking any laws or trespassing. Thankfully, this is an isolated case in Canada but there have been several similar incidents in the United States where tragic circumstances were the outcome."
Fiennes-Clinton stressed there are safe and legal ways to explore supposedly haunted places.
The school said it appeared neither the man nor woman were students.
Police have called the woman's death "suspicious" but said they had no reason to suspect foul play. An autopsy and toxicology tests were pending.
They said they had no reason to release any names.
via Canadian Press
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
They really do serve ‘spirits’ at Herr Ridge Inn
Results of a recent paranormal investigation at The Inn at Herr Ridge are discussed at the local restaurant and inn recently. Owner Steve Wolf, right, and his daughter Stefany, along with general manager Beth Senseney, listen as details are reviewed by Mason Dixon Paranormal Society founders and lead investigators Stewart Cornelius, left, and Darryl Keller. The group is pictured listening to electronic voice phenomena (EVP) recordings made by the investigators at various places throughout the facility in August.
A local paranormal investigation group, the Mason-Dixon Paranormal Society, conducted an investigation of the Inn at Herr Ridge last month, and revealed their findings Saturday with its staff.
Beth Senseney, general manager at the inn, told the Times that the group established that there is at least “residual paranormal activity” in the old inn and its associated structures.
The Inn at Herr Ridge (also known as Herr Tavern & Public House), 900 Chambersburg Road, was established in 1815, and served as a field hospital for the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the July 1, 1863, engagement between the Southern troops and the Union forces at the Battle of Gettysburg.
The wounded from the battle were, more frequently than not, deposited in impromptu field hospitals, typically local farm houses, barns, and, in the case of Herr Ridge, the tavern.
It was not uncommon for observers to note that amputated arms and legs could be found in piles next to these buildings up to the winder sills, or in the corners of the rooms where surgeries were being performed, and often “blood flowed in streams along the aisles and the open doors...”
There are those today who believe the suffering endured by the dying was so great that “something remains”...either portals in time, or in the form of lost souls, afraid of the light (the path to heaven) out of fear of being judged of being a part of one of the most horrendous carnage in American history, or still around for reasons yet unknown.
Inn owner Steven Wolf, who has operated the business since 1976, noted that a considerable amount of paranormal activity has been experienced by the inn’s employees and guests over the years.
He said one that especially stood out in his mind was when someone ordered a beer, but there was no one there.
He said the furniture seems to be rearranged on occasion.
He attributes much of the activity to the “house ghost,” Fred Herr (Frederick Herr),” who purchased the tavern in 1828.
Other employees tell of not uncommon unexplained incidences which suggest that when the inn staff say they serve spirits, there is more to the claim than the intended purpose.
Some of the activity reported includes whispers, even calling the names of the employees, cold spots, glasses and silverware flying off tables, even knives and forks falling blade or prongs first and stuck to the floor, computers just starting to type gibberish on their own, extinguished lamps relighting, lights going off or on, unexplained crashes in the kitchen area, knocking and the sounds of boots walking about.
One employee was looking for a glass of water she had left sitting somewhere else. Giving up, she returned to her desk to find it sitting there, frosted over.
Darryl Keller, founder and lead investigator for the Mason-Dixon Paranormal Society (masondixonghosthunters.com), told the Times that the only real evidence of activity from beyond the realm of the living obtained thus far at the inn was 16 electronic voice phenomena (EVP) which included, reportedly, a spirit identifying herself as Hazel.
When the organization conducted its “scientific” investigation on August 21, the group amassed some 57.8 hours of videos, thermal imaging and photographs, the bulk of which revealed nothing.
The group did conclude, however, that “there is paranormal activity,” he said. “To what extent we’re not certain.”
“We plan on returning to Herr’s,” he said. “We’re just not sure when.”
While various groups continue to try and prove or disprove that which lies outside the realm of science using science, for some who work and dine at Inn at Herr Ridge, there is little doubt that “bodies disappear; but spirits linger,” as expressed after the Civil War by Union General Joshua L. Chamberlain, no matter what scientific equipment may say.
via The Gettysburg Times
Group seeks to find mysterious activity at local businesses
LANCASTER, OHIO -- A team of investigators gathered around the back door of Tammi Jo's Cafe hoping to uncover the source of mysterious, paranormal activity.
The Ohio Paranormal Seekers group, T.O.P.S., spent the early morning hours Saturday carefully combing through Westerman's Tuxedo Junction, Tammi Jo's Café and the Paperback Exchange in search of the source of paranormal activity.
Using specialized equipment including gadgets designed to detect abnormal electromagnetic fields, thermometers and digital recorders to hopefully catch indistinguishable voices, the team split into smaller groups and covered each business simultaneously.
Once assembled into each business, team members darkened the room, turned on their recorders and readied their cameras, hoping to harness a ghost.
T.O.P.S. co-founder Brent St. John led a team in Westerman's Tuxedo Junction.
"You have to provoke them sometimes," St. John said. "It can be the only way they come out."
St. John is no stranger to paranormal apparitions, having caught orbs and other ghostly encounters on video tape.
"I've seen doors open, things tapped and shadows move across the room," he said.
Lead T.O.P.S. investigator Chad Houghs said of the evidence collected, the team was able to determine at least one discernible spirit.
"There's possibly two, but we caught a male -- that we know for a fact," Houghs said after reviewing some of the audio feeds his team produced.
The main concentration of paranormal activity occurred in the basement level below the Paperback Exchange, Houghs said.
"We all had some personal experiences there, and we did catch some EVPs," Houghs said.
Electronic voice phenomena, or EVP, are recorded sounds that often sound like speech. Houghs said many members of the team caught their own EVPs in each business.
"This is just like putting a puzzle together," Houghs said. "We're just coming across some of the evidence now."
After the Saturday night investigation, Houghs surveyed other business owners downtown about the male spirit the team uncovered.
"The bookstore used to be a barber shop, and I spoke with some local barbers who said they knew of someone who committed suicide there a long time ago," Houghs said. "I was shocked when one of them told me that."
Houghs said definitive answers about the investigation will take time.
"I definitely want to go to the library and find out some more information," he said. "I think we're going to put this puzzle together eventually."
via LancasterEagleGazette.com
The Ohio Paranormal Seekers group, T.O.P.S., spent the early morning hours Saturday carefully combing through Westerman's Tuxedo Junction, Tammi Jo's Café and the Paperback Exchange in search of the source of paranormal activity.
Using specialized equipment including gadgets designed to detect abnormal electromagnetic fields, thermometers and digital recorders to hopefully catch indistinguishable voices, the team split into smaller groups and covered each business simultaneously.
Once assembled into each business, team members darkened the room, turned on their recorders and readied their cameras, hoping to harness a ghost.
T.O.P.S. co-founder Brent St. John led a team in Westerman's Tuxedo Junction.
"You have to provoke them sometimes," St. John said. "It can be the only way they come out."
St. John is no stranger to paranormal apparitions, having caught orbs and other ghostly encounters on video tape.
"I've seen doors open, things tapped and shadows move across the room," he said.
Lead T.O.P.S. investigator Chad Houghs said of the evidence collected, the team was able to determine at least one discernible spirit.
"There's possibly two, but we caught a male -- that we know for a fact," Houghs said after reviewing some of the audio feeds his team produced.
The main concentration of paranormal activity occurred in the basement level below the Paperback Exchange, Houghs said.
"We all had some personal experiences there, and we did catch some EVPs," Houghs said.
Electronic voice phenomena, or EVP, are recorded sounds that often sound like speech. Houghs said many members of the team caught their own EVPs in each business.
"This is just like putting a puzzle together," Houghs said. "We're just coming across some of the evidence now."
After the Saturday night investigation, Houghs surveyed other business owners downtown about the male spirit the team uncovered.
"The bookstore used to be a barber shop, and I spoke with some local barbers who said they knew of someone who committed suicide there a long time ago," Houghs said. "I was shocked when one of them told me that."
Houghs said definitive answers about the investigation will take time.
"I definitely want to go to the library and find out some more information," he said. "I think we're going to put this puzzle together eventually."
via LancasterEagleGazette.com
Monday, June 15, 2009
Latest Crop Circles – 15 June 2009
Below Milk Hill, near Alton Barnes, Wiltshire. Reported 13 June 2009:
View more pics of this crop circle HERE.
Wayland's Smithy Long Barrow, near Odstone Hill, Oxfordshire. Reported 12 June 2009:
View more photos of this crop circle HERE.
South Field, Alton Priors, Wiltshire. Reported 13 June 2009:
CLICK HERE to view more photos of this crop circle.
Barbury Castle, near Wroughton, Wiltshire. Reported 14 June 2009:
To view more photos of this crop circle, please CLICK HERE.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Dr. Steven Greer of UFO Disclosure Project speaks June 18 in Denver
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Steven M. Greer MD, founder and director of The Disclosure Project will be speaking June 18, 7:00 pm in the Tivoli Student Center at Auraria Campus in Denver, Colorado. His presentation “Contact & Disclosure: Countdown to Transformation”, will address environmental upheavals, deteriorating world economies, government instability, and the mysterious year 2012. Greer will also explain why ET contact and disclosure are important to ease humanity through this transformation.
His riveting talk at the campus in July 2008 was a clear sign that government secrecy about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitors to Earth was coming to an end. At his keynote address, Dr. Greer will review past briefings with world leaders and outline current Disclosure Project initiatives to brief those in Washington DC and other world capitals on the UFO subject. His July 18 presentation is also in support of the Denver ballot initiative to create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission. Signatures for the ballot initiative petition will be invited at the event.
Dr. Greer launched the worldwide Disclosure movement to end UFO secrecy. He is currently advising members of Congress, foreign heads of state, and figures very close to the Obama Administration on how to best control currently illegal classified projects related to UFOs. These projects, which are embedded within a number of military, intelligence, and corporate operations, have been managed without the oversight of Congress or the President of the United States since at least the late 1950s.
Greer coined the term ‘Disclosure’ with the historic Disclosure Project Press Conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on May 9, 2001. At the press conference, over 20 military, government, intelligence, and corporate witnesses presented compelling testimony regarding the existence of extra-terrestrial life forms visiting the planet. They also offered testimony on the reverse engineering of energy and propulsion systems of these craft. Over 1 billion people heard of the press conference through webcasts and subsequent media coverage on BBC, CNN, CNN worldwide, Voice of America, Pravda, Chinese media, and media outlets throughout Latin America. The Press Conference webcast had 250,000 people waiting online to connect -- the largest webcast in the history of the National Press Club.
Dr. Greer has provided briefings for the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Director of Intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many members of Congress, among others. For the most part, these senior leaders have been systematically denied access to projects connected to the UFO subject.
Dr. Greer stated,
These projects have been managed illegally for over 50 years and as such constitute a grave threat to our US national security. The central reason for the secrecy is directly connected to the corrupting influence of special interests in the oil, energy, and financial sectors, since the Disclosure of the sciences related to UFO energy and propulsion systems would quickly end our addiction to oil and coal. This secrecy, aside from being illegal, has denied humanity wondrous new sources of energy generation that would rapidly solve the environmental and energy crises. In this sense, the reason for the secrecy is simple: old-fashioned greed and lust for power...”
Recently, Dr. Greer has been working with senior members of a G7 country to initiate open contact with the extraterrestrial civilizations that are responsible for some of the UFO sightings around the world. This historic breakthrough will be reviewed at the lecture. A workshop on the CSETI contact protocols will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2009. Advance Registration is required for the workshop but not the lecture.
Jeff Peckman, chief proponent of the Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission ballot initiative, will introduce Dr. Greer at the June 18 lecture. The public is invited to both events.
Lecture:
Tivoli Student Union - Turnhalle Room
Thursday, June 18, 2009
7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Admission: $10 at the door
900 Auraria Parkway
Denver, CO 80204
Map
For more info: www.DisclosureProject.org/Events.htm, www.extracampaign.org
UFO and Paranormal Enthusiasts Invade Kansas City July 18 - 19
Kansas City, Missouri (PRWEB) June 12, 2009 -- The annual Mysteries of the Universe Conference always attracts people interested in the unexplained. The event is scheduled for July 18 and 19, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri at the Intrigue Park Place Hotel. The conference is the largest of its type held in the area and is back by popular demand.
The Mysteries of the Universe Conference is co-sponsored by Quest Investigation Group and Missouri MUFON. Conference director Margie Kay said that Internationally known researchers will present scientific evidence for the existence of UFOs, ghosts, and other strange phenomena, which people are eager to hear more about.
Lecturers include Kathleen Marden, niece of famous UFO abductees Betty and Barney Hill and co-author of "CAPTURED! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience"; Stan Romanek, author of the bestselling book "Messages," and guest on Larry King Live, Coast-to-Coast AM and 20/20 will discuss his UFO experiences, the scientific study of his case, and show real video and photos of UFOs and aliens; Ted Phillips, engineer and physical and trace evidence researcher, will talk about the famous and very strange Marley Woods in Missouri; Heidi Hollis, guest on Coast-to-Coast, Jeff Rense, and collaborator with Stephen Spielburg on "Taken," author of "The Secret War: The Heavens Speak of the Battle," will speak about Shadow People and their agenda; Todd Sheets, host of the popular "Nightwatch" Radio Show, will discuss his haunting investigations; Stacey Allen McGee,International Director and Founder of the Alternate Realities Center will lecture on Cryptozoology and lead a class on ghost hunting; and Dr. Jack Kasher, regional director of MUFON and professor emeritus of physics and astronomy at the University of Omaha will lecture on the Strange Case of Alana Andrews.
A vendor trade show accompanies the event, and authors will sign books.
Registrations are recommended in advance. The cost is $59 by June 20, and $70 after June 20 or at the door. Advance Registrations are recommended. Special hotel rates are available prior to June 20. Please visit http://www.mouconference.net for more information.
The media is welcome and press passes will be available in advance of the event. Margie Kay and some of the speakers are available for interviews.
Contact:
Margie Kay, Conference Director
Missouri State Section Director for MUFON
816-833-1602
http://www.questig.org
Monday, February 9, 2009
Haunted Hassayampa Inn
I came across this ghost story today and thought you guys might enjoy it:
Examiner
The four-story Hassayampa Inn in Prescott, AZ was named after a nearby river. It has an exterior of red brick trimmed in white, and its own bell tower. The bell tower seems to be the source of a well known haunting at the Hassayampa.Shortly after the Hassayampa Inn opened on November 20, 1927, they say a newlywed couple checked into the hotel to spend their honeymoon. The husband stepped out to buy ‘a pack of cigarettes’ and never returned to his bride. ‘Faith’ as they call her, waited restlessly for three days. Depressed and all alone, the deserted woman hung her self in ill-fated bell tower.Now guests and employees see her wandering in the halls wearing an off-white wedding gown. They report feeling her presence in Room 426—which has been named ‘Faith’s Room’. Lights turn on and off –objects seem to move or fly by—and sometimes her apparition has appeared sobbing near the doorway to the balcony.I had my own encounter with Faith a few years ago when I was up in Prescott on business. The hotel staff knew I was a paranormal investigator and was eager to see what would happen when I stayed in ‘Faith’s Room’. I noted that every time I put my key in the door (they since have gone keyless) a spark of static electricity would shock me. EMF readings maintained a steady 2.9 in the room throughout the evening. At midnight, I turned off the lights and TV. I crawled into bed and settled in for a good night’s sleep.Suddenly, about 1:00am I woke from a sound sleep to the TV blaring. All the lights in the room were turned back on. I hopped out of bed, turned everything back off and laid back under the covers. Then I felt someone—presumably Faith—sit down on left side of the bed. I slid my foot under the covers and pushed her off the bed. She sat back down in the same spot. Again, I pushed her off with my foot.I felt a supernatural battle about to unfold. To my right, I could hear ‘someone’ in the bathroom filling a glass with water. Then, there was a presence hovering over me with the glass. I covered my face expecting to be drenched—yet peeking thru the cracks of my fingers—as I didn’t want to miss what was about to happen. I saw the glass tip, but nothing poured out! As soon as it tipped over, it faded away and disappeared. There was no sign water or the glass. Faith had her revenge and all was quiet in the room once more.Other staff members speak of a tall man dressed in a long brown coat they call the ‘Night Watchman’. He has been seen sitting in the hotel lounge reading a newspaper. A staff member spoke to him, but he did not respond. When she turned to speak to him again, he was gone. The lonely looking man has also been seen in the lobby, and witnesses say they have watched him walk through the lounge to shake and secure the entrance doors.So, next time you are headed up to Prescott, reserve a room at the Hassayampa Inn. Check into ‘Faith’s Room’—if you’re lucky, you might have a ghostly encounter of your own. And don’t worry, the night watchman will make sure you are locked in safely for the night.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
South Jersey Ghost Research Investigation
Burlington County Prison Museum
Mount Holly, NJ
The Burlington County Prison Museum is located in Mt Holly, NJ. The prison was built in 1811 and was designed by the famous architect Robert Mills (the designer of the Washington Monument). It is a large rectangle building made of stone and iron that looks more like a castle from the outside. It was used continuously as a jail until 1966. Since then, local legends spoke of the ghosts that inhabited the building. One in particular was the ghost of Joseph Clough, a convicted murderer who killed his mistress. He was held in the death row cell which consisted of an eye hook in the floor where he was always chained and an extremely small window. He was eventually hanged. The guards and other prisoners began to report hearing his moans and chains rattling from that cell. The guards and inmates also reported seeing someone in the empty cell as well as objects levitating in the cell.
They also reported having their tools disappear when they turned their backs only to find the missing items in another room or on another floor later on in the day. Eventually some workers were leaving early so they would not be the last ones in the building.
On the second visit, Dave Juliano obtained an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) seconds after the motion detector was triggered, of a man's voice saying "go out here."
Other members of the SJGR observed an apparition in one part of the building and found a single barefoot print on a dust covered floor of what was once the prison showers. SJGR investigations also yielded numerous photos, video clips and EMF (Electromagnetic Field) readings.
The November 2000 investigation was filmed for a television show later aired on MSNBC. An EVP of a spirit voice saying "Go out there" was recorded right after a motion sensor detected unseen movement in the Death Row Cell.
November 2003’s investigation yielded two unexplained temperature drops of 24 degrees and 13 degrees in the middle of a cell block on the second floor.
In May of 2002, two EVPs were obtained in addition to multiple EMF readings.
In March of 2005, 14 EVPs were recorded, motion sensors were triggered six times, and two EMF readings were obtained.
Some of the EVPs are what we consider “A-Class”, meaning the words are clear to everyone who hears them. On this trip a female’s voice saying “Johnny, deny it” was recorded, in addition to other spirit voices interacting with investigators saying “No” in response to the question “Is anybody in here?”, and “What is it?” as an investigator shows another investigator a possible anomalous photo.
In March 2008 SJGR filmed an episode for a new show on Living TV in the United Kingdom called "Conversations with a Serial Killer." The basis of the program is to have a psychic visit places and try to contact deceased killers to see if they will confess and give more information about their crimes. Director Dave Juliano was using a laptop computer to attempt to record EVPs when he obtained “You keep ordering us around,” in response to the questions being asked by the television host and psychic.
This is the first time a pairing of these technologies has yielded consecutive apparition photos.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Ghost Hunters Seek Northern Ireland Apparition
UPI.com
COALISLAND, Northern Ireland, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Paranormal investigators are flocking to a Northern Ireland village after locals reported dozens of encounters with a ghost known as the "white lady."
The apparition has been the subject of dozens of reported sightings during the past six weeks near the ruins of a farmhouse just outside the village of Coalisland, The Daily Mail reported Friday.
Villagers described the purported ghost as an old lady with a sad expression, but none have been able to give any details about the woman's face.
Locals said up to 60 parked cars loaded with ghost hunters hoping for a glimpse of the white lady have lined the sides of the road near where the sightings were reported at midnight.
Warren Coates, of the Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association, speculated that the ghost may be the spirit of a woman who died in a car accident in the area.
However, some were more skeptical of the paranormal claims.
"If you ask me, it's more likely to be a reflection of the moon on the river that flows through the area. Although the talk is that what was seen was in the shape of a person," said Desmond Donnelly, a Sinn Fein councilor.
COALISLAND, Northern Ireland, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Paranormal investigators are flocking to a Northern Ireland village after locals reported dozens of encounters with a ghost known as the "white lady."
The apparition has been the subject of dozens of reported sightings during the past six weeks near the ruins of a farmhouse just outside the village of Coalisland, The Daily Mail reported Friday.
Villagers described the purported ghost as an old lady with a sad expression, but none have been able to give any details about the woman's face.
Locals said up to 60 parked cars loaded with ghost hunters hoping for a glimpse of the white lady have lined the sides of the road near where the sightings were reported at midnight.
Warren Coates, of the Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association, speculated that the ghost may be the spirit of a woman who died in a car accident in the area.
However, some were more skeptical of the paranormal claims.
"If you ask me, it's more likely to be a reflection of the moon on the river that flows through the area. Although the talk is that what was seen was in the shape of a person," said Desmond Donnelly, a Sinn Fein councilor.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Ghost hunters search for spirits in Russ House
A team of ghost hunters spent last Saturday evening looking for spirits in the Russ House, and plan to come back soon to see if they can spot the "burning bride of Bellamy Bridge."She is the central figure in what may be Jackson County's best-known ghost story.
Saturday's trip to Marianna, though, was a search for recordable evidence that the refurbished Russ House is inhabited by unseen residents as well as serving as home to the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.
The Big Bend Ghost Trackers team has come to the conclusion that, while paranormal activity was not particularly high that night, "there is without a doubt something there," according to group founder Betty Davis.
The team used a variety of devices. One was an electronic magnetic field detector, which picks up "fluctuations in magnetic, electric and radio/microwave energy levels. Paranormal investigators believe that anomalous readings in those energy fields are a sign of a ghost," Davis explained in an e-mail about the visit.
According to Davis, the device registered a "medium-high" reading just after an "ectoplasm" was seen floating in the room. An ectoplasm, Davis explained, is "a misty, slightly foggy substance" that is considered by believers to be "residue left over by a spirit who was recently in an area."
This substance was seen where the Russ family nursery used to be, Davis reported.
Whether one believes in ghosts or not, there have been eerie reports at the Russ House over the years. The elevator is said to move up and down the floors when no one's aboard to push its buttons. The sound of footsteps have been reported in empty rooms. Objects are said to have inexplicably moved from place to place, seemingly on their own.
Davis said the team came to the Russ House based in part on a chance meeting with Mary Pettis, vice president of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.
Pettis recently went on a "ghost hunt" sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in Monticello, where she has family. In fact, her uncle, the late Ben Ervin, had been instrumental in getting the old Monticello Opera House back in operation and was active in other community affairs there.
Pettis still has other family members living in the area, and visits from time to time.
At the end of the ghost tour that Pettis had learned of by chance, the guide asked whether anyone had had a paranormal experience.
Pettis had heard stories from others about the Russ House, and she's had some spooky experiences of her own as she worked late into the night on one Chamber project or another.
Sometime last year, she and her daughter saw something they still can't explain. Pettis's daughter was keeping her company in the otherwise empty house one night and put a soft drink can on her desk.
All of a sudden, it started to move. It shifted about a foot, with no "sweat-stream" trailing behind it that might explain the movement as the result of condensation.
Wide-eyed, Pettis and her daughter left immediately.
Pettis sad she has also witnessed the elevator moving from floor to floor with no one aboard.
She said she's talked to elevator experts who told her that, because of its particular operational style, it shouldn't be able to move? even if it were to malfunction ? without someone there to push the button.
She's also heard footsteps on the upper floors when she was there alone.
And there there were the peculiar reactions of her dogs on separate late-night visits to the Russ House.
Her male mastiff weighs more than 150 pounds and cuts a formidable figure as a guard dog when she's there alone. She typically lets the dog make a run-through of the house to make sure no intruder is lying in wait.
One night, he came to a skidding stop near the back staircase and refused to go further. Growling deep in his throat, the dog seemed uncharacteristically afraid, and his eyes started glinting with a silvery glow.
Her large female mastiff reacted similarly at the same spot in the house on a different outing. Both were anxious to leave, and Pettis was ready to oblige.
While she's not ready to say she believes in ghosts, Pettis acknowledges that she's seen some things she hasn't been able to explain away.
And she's not the only one. Many visitors to the house have reported odd experiences to staff, and some people swear that the ghost of Joseph W. Russ resides within the walls of the house he built.
Russ committed suicide in his bedroom there on Feb. 7, 1930, around the time of the infamous Wall Street crash and as the Great Depression had descended on the country.
News of his death appeared in the newspaper a few days later, and one item reads, in part, that "in a fit of despondency last Friday night, Joseph W. Russ, leading citizen of Marianna and one of Jackson County's largest property owners, fired a bullet into his brain."
Davis explained various theories that would fit with this belief.
Some believe that the spirits of those who die unexpectedly tend to stay behind in their familiar and favorite environs, and may not realize they're dead.
The "burning bride of Bellamy Bridge" has had multiple reported sightings through many decades and various incarnations of the tale abound.
Davis and her group are working out the details of a return visit to Jackson County in hopes of getting what they would consider evidence of her presence at the old iron bridge.
They'll be traveling with Dale Cox, a historian who lived here for many years and has written extensively of the local past.
By DEBORAH BUCKHALTER
Jackson County Floridan
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Woman's Amazing Ability Wreaks Havoc On Street Lamps And Appliances
Debbie Wolf from Britain claims to be one of a growing number of "sliders," - people who believe that their very presence wreaks havoc on household appliances, radios, light bulbs and street lamps. The term was coined by paranormal writer, Hilary Evans, who says Miss Wolf's abilities bring on unusually strong effects.
When Debbie is feeling stressed or excited, she claims these emotions cause street lamps to go out, digital clocks to scramble, and even her refrigerator's freezer to defrost itself! She says she has no control over her power, and that she has to be in the right mood in order to have any effect on her surroundings. "I have to be completely lost in my thoughts - usually thinking deeply about something that is troubling me."
Miss Wolf's unexplained ability has been dubbed Street Lamp Interference syndrome, or SLI by experts, and she has been compared to characters in the hit series, "Heroes," a program about ordinary people who develop superhuman abilities.
Miss Wolf says her work has never been affected by her ability, and it's a good thing because she works as a pathology support officer at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
Professor Richard Wiseman, who studies paranormal phenomena at the University of Hertfordshire, suspects SLI is caused by "observer bias". He said: "Street lamps are going on and off all the time because they are faulty or because their timers aren't set properly. People only have to walk under a couple of lamps going off to think that they might be the cause."
Source
Technorati tags: sliders, SLI, street lamp interference syndrome
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Ghosts Caught On Tape!
Do you believe in ghosts?
No?
Well, watch this documentary, and you might just change your mind.
Ghosts On Tape
Technorati tags: ghosts, paranormal
No?
Well, watch this documentary, and you might just change your mind.
Ghosts On Tape
Technorati tags: ghosts, paranormal
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