Haunted Locations and Legends - Part Three

I will occasionally offer a collection of ghostly and strange tales from previous posts...enjoy:

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Ghost Walker Of Natuashish, Labrador

Click for video

Not much information with this video other than it is from Natuashish, Labrador (I've actually been there....but that's another story).

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Macabre Book 'Bears Image Of Hanged Priest's Face'

A 17th century book believed to be bound in the skin of a priest executed for treason appears to bear a "spooky" image of his face on the cover, according to the auctioneers who sold the book in 2007.

The account of the death of Gunpowder Plot conspirator Father Henry Garnet is described by experts as "rare and macabre".

He said: "It's a little bit spooky because the front of the book looks like it has the face of a man on it, which is presumed to be the victim's face."

A True And Perfect Relation Of The Whole Proceedings Against The Late Most Barbarous Traitors, Garnet A Jesuit And His Confederates was printed by Robert Barker, printer to the king, and published in 1606, only months after Garnet's execution. Garnet's involvement in the plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament was controversial. He claimed he knew about the conspiracy but was not involved. Some scholars now believe that he was most likely trying to prevent the action against James I rather than conspiring against him.

But Garnet was found guilty of treason and executed in May 1606. The king ordered his hanging but he was spared the cruelty of being drawn and quartered.

According to legend, a piece of bloodstained straw found at the scene of his execution started to develop an exact image of the priest's face, which auctioneers now believe has happened to the centuries-old book.

Mr Wilkinson, who will sell the book in its wooden box, said: "There's nothing I can do about the poor victim now."

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Spirits at World Famous Brookdale Lodge Protesting Changes



santacruzsentinel - If somebody started looting your house, you'd be upset too, right?

That's how paranormal investigator Erich Breger says the spirits at Brookdale Lodge, now renamed Brookdale Inn & Spa, have been feeling lately. Breger, the lead investigator with California Paranormal Investigations, took his team to the famed Santa Cruz Mountains resort late Thursday night to see if they could draw the local haunt's haunters out from the shadows and find out why all the ruckus.

Brookdale employees, particularly the cooks, have said they've seen increased paranormal activity since the previous owners sold the business and began taking with them old furniture, clippings and memorabilia.

"I think why it's happening is there is definitely a defiling that's going on here," said Breger, a Boulder Creek man with an intense stare, raspy voice, suit and black trench coat.

Brookdale Inn & Spa has long been thought to be haunted by the spirit of a little girl -- among others -- who drowned in the creek that runs through the dining area. During the 1940s and '50s gangsters made the lodge their home, and some legends say they buried bodies under the floor.

Opened in 1870, the lodge has been featured on "Ripley's Believe It or Not" and has hosted notables such as Marilyn Monroe and President Herbert Hoover.

In recent weeks, there have been reports of shadowy figures. Employees in the kitchen have reported hearing bangs. Chef Juan Diaz said he and a cook saw a pot do a full rotation while sitting on the burner about two months ago.

"It was all full of water so it was heavy," said Diaz in Spanish. "And we saw it spin around like somebody was moving it."

Then there was the incident this summer with the swinging doors to the kitchen, said Diaz.

"They opened like somebody was coming in but there was nobody there," he said. "Then they opened again like somebody was leaving."

Bartender Jonelle Badger, who has worked at Brookdale Inn & Spa for a year, says she's only heard stories of strange occurrences from her co-workers.

"I've never had an experience here that would lead me to believe there was a ghost," she said.

But Breger, the fleet manager at Ocean Honda when he's not tracking spirits, said his team thinks something was definitely going on Thursday night. His fellow investigators include Ed Hayes, Ronaldo Williams and Shelly Crowley, all of Brookdale and Boulder Creek. The four walked the different levels of the lodge Thursday night with equipment such as an EVP [Electronic Voice Phenomenon] monitor, EMF [Electro Magnetic Field] monitor, infrared cameras and a Ouija board. Breger said he and his team will review their evidence in more detail tonight.

"Based on what we've gathered so far there is definitely something going on there," he said.

Breger said he's never been scared of anything he's experienced in 15 years of pursuit. He also takes his team out to wrecking yards to look for spirits involved in fatal vehicle accidents.

"It's a totally untapped resource," he said.

As for skeptics of paranormal activity and investigation, Breger said he doesn't blame them.

"Until you experience something," he said, "it's one of those things where you have to show me the proof."

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Documented Case of Real-Life Demonic Possession

An American woman who levitated, demonstrated paranormal psychic powers and spoke foreign languages unknown to her was clearly demon possessed, according to a board-certified psychiatrist and associate professor of clinical psychiatry at New York Medical College.

The unnamed woman, with a long history of involvement with Satanic groups, was observed by a team of priests, deacons, several lay assistants, psychiatrists, nuns, some of whom also had medical and psychiatric training, levitating six inches off the ground while objects flew off shelves in the same room, according to Dr. Richard E. Gallagher, who documented the case in the February issue of the New Oxford Review.

"Periodically, in our presence, Julia would go into a trance state of a recurring nature," writes Gallagher. "Mentally troubled individuals often 'dissociate,' but Julia's trances were accompanied by an unusual phenomenon: Out of her mouth would come various threats, taunts and scatological language, phrases like 'Leave her alone, you idiot,' 'She's ours,' 'Leave, you imbecile priest,' or just 'Leave.' The tone of this voice differed markedly from Julia's own, and it varied, sometimes sounding guttural and vaguely masculine, at other points high pitched. Most of her comments during these 'trances,' or at the subsequent exorcisms, displayed a marked contempt for anything religious or sacred."

The subject would have no recollection of speaking these phrases upon recovering from the trance-like state, according to Gallagher.

"Sometimes objects around her would fly off the shelves, the rare phenomenon of psychokinesis known to parapsychologists," reports Gallagher. "Julia was also in possession of knowledge of facts and occurrences beyond any possibility of their natural acquisition.

"She commonly reported information about the relatives, household composition, family deaths and illnesses, etc., of members of our team, without ever having observed or been informed about them," he said. "As an example, she knew the personality and precise manner of death (i.e., the exact type of cancer) of a relative of a team member that no one could conceivably have guessed. She once spoke about the strange behavior of some inexplicably frenzied animals beyond her direct observation: Though residing in another city, she commented, 'So those cats really went berserk last night, didn't they?' the morning after two cats in a team member's house uncharacteristically had violently attacked each other at about 2 a.m."

Julia requested a Roman Catholic exorcism ritual, convinced from the beginning of her consultations that she was under demonic attack.

"The exorcism began on a warm day in June," Gallagher recollects. "Despite the weather, the room where the rite was being conducted grew distinctly cold. Later, however, as the entity in Julia began to spout vitriol and make strange noises, members of the team felt themselves profusely sweating due to a stifling emanation of heat. The participants all said they found the heat unbearable.

"Julia at first had gone into a quiet trance-like state. After the prayers and invocations of the Roman Ritual had been going on for a while, however, multiple voices and sounds came out of her. One set consisted of loud growls and animal-like noises, which seemed to the group impossible for any human to mimic. At one point, the voices spoke in foreign languages, including recognizable Latin and Spanish. (Julia herself only speaks English, as she later verified to us.)

"The voices were noticeably attacking in nature, and often insolent, blasphemous and highly scatological. They cursed and insulted the participants in the crudest way. They were frequently threatening – trying, it appeared, to fight back – 'Leave her alone,' 'Stop, you whores' (to the nuns), 'You'll be sorry,' and the like.

"Julia also exhibited enormous strength. Despite the religious sisters and three others holding her down with all their might, they struggled to restrain her. Remarkably, for about 30 minutes, she actually levitated about half a foot in the air."

The purpose of Gallagher's paper, he says, is to "document a contemporary and clear-cut case of demonic possession." He explains that even those who doubt such a phenomenon exists may find this case "rather persuasive."

"Possession is only one and not the most common type of demonic attack. Possession is very rare, though not as exceedingly so as many imagine," he concludes. "So-called 'oppression,' or 'infestation,' is less rare, though hardly frequent either, and sometimes more difficult to discern accurately."

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The Mysterious Whipporwill Valley Road

What's a New Jersey town without at least one creepy legend? Any sprawling town with acres of woods and nearly 350 years of local history must have at least one, right?

In Middletown, that legend is called Whipporwill Valley Road — a dusty, unpaved roadway that snakes through the Chapel Hill section of town and where it's rare to see another person.

Through the years, a handful of tragic events has given this road an air of legend and mystery. It's not surprising, then, that this winding dirt strip has taken on a sort of cult status for local teens who consider driving down the road in the middle of the night with friends an adolescent rite of passage.

Legends told over the years (and cited by Weird N.J. magazine) include:

Seeing and hearing witches.

A tall, looming tree that takes on human shape after dark.

A mysterious, rogue truck driver who wildly races up and down Whipporwill Valley Road.

Several Middletown teens who have driven on the road said that, while they have yet to actually encounter any of these purported presences, the road does possess an indefinably creepy feel.

One Middletown High School North senior, Joe Clements, 18, has gone as far as making a video of himself and friends driving down the notorious road in the dead of night.

Titled "Driving on Whipporwill," the video starts off with a narrator ominously explaining: "Six friends set out on what they thought was a harmless trip to Whipporwill Valley Road."

The video ends suddenly when the car full of screaming teens spots something, in affectionate homage to "The Blair Witch Project." Clement's video can be viewed at YouTube.com.

Another popular legend attached to Whipporwill Valley Road tells of witches burned at the stake when Europeans first populated Middletown in the 1700s, according to Weird N.J.

According to the legend, before the witches were burned, they placed hexes on all the local farmers who had accused them. All the farmers reportedly died 10 months later of a mysterious, undiagnosed illness.

Ironically, the farmers are said to have been buried just 10 feet away from the witches, who were buried 10 feet outside of the town cemetery. Some visitors who have driven down the road, according to Weird N.J., say they have felt bumps in the road that could have been the original graves.

In time, the witch legend was forgotten, but revived years later in the early 1960s, when remnants of an abandoned mansion that stood in the Whipporwill woods burned to the ground.

While the appearance of the supernatural has never been verified scientifically, Whipporwill Valley Road has a well-documented history of tragic and bizarre incidents.

The most recent incident happened in December 2006 when the body of Nello Caizza, the 76-year-old caretaker of a private residence at 160 Whipporwill Valley Road, was found submerged in near-freezing pool water. Police said Caizza had, apparently unknowingly, driven a John Deere tractor over the pool's plastic cover, which ripped, sending him and the tractor into the water.

Caizza, who had managed the 44-acre property for roughly 20 years, was pronounced dead at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank. The death ultimately was ruled an accidental drowning.

When Fred Lazzati, 58, a worker for the Middletown Public Works Department, wasn't spotted by his co-workers on Sept. 1, 1989, they assumed he had come in early, as was often the case, and already was at work in another area.

About 8 a.m., workers found Lazzati's body near a road grader on Whipporwill Valley Road near Chapel Hill Road.

His death upset coworkers in the department, where he had worked for six years.

Public Works Director John McGowan at the time described Lazzati, of Viola Avenue in the Leonardo section, as "your basic construction guy; a hard worker."

Lazzati, who had a heart condition, died from a massive heart attack, the coroner ruled.

On March 6, 1982, Nancy Clark of Fair Haven was stabbed to death by Thomas W. Baliff, who had picked up Clark while she was hitchhiking. Her fully clothed body was found in an area off Whipporwill Valley Road.

Baliff, who was AWOL from the Marines at the time of Clark's murder, pleaded guilty, admitting he stabbed her several times with a 6-inch double-bladed bayonet. He was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.

Baliff, now 48, made an appeal for parole in 2004 that was denied by the New Jersey State Parole Board.

There also have been a few near-fatal accidents along the dirt road. On Dec. 17, 2006, two boys — Alex Nazath, 17, and Andrew Aulicino, 16 — rescued three teenage girls whose vehicle had swerved off the road and landed partially submerged in a creek adjacent to Whipporwill Valley Road.

Aulicino used his pocket knife to cut the seat belt that one of the girls still was wearing.

Roughly two years earlier, two Monmouth County men stole a Jeep from a Highlands driveway and crashed it on Whipporwill Valley Road.

Police found the stolen vehicle unoccupied, but arrested the two men based on their fingerprints found on the vehicle and from a telephone call made on a mobile phone that was left accidentally in the Jeep.

Middletown police arrested Ronald Remp, 23, of Keyport and Christopher Martin, 19, of Highlands. The two young men were eventually convicted of auto theft and given two- to four-year sentences.

Fortean / Alternative News: Fukushima Equals Ten Chernobyls, Argentina UFO Commission and Snakes on a Train

Fukushima Now Ten Chernobyls into the Sea? Workers Sacrificing Themselves

New readings show levels of radioisotopes found up to 30 kilometers offshore from the on-going crisis at Fukushima are ten times higher than those measured in the Baltic and Black Seas during Chernobyl. …

The health impacts on workers at Fukushima are certain to be devastating.

After Chernobyl, the Soviet government sent more than 800,000 draftees through the seething wreckage. Many stayed a matter of 90 seconds or less, running in to perform a menial task and then running out as quickly as possible.

Despite their brief exposure, these “liquidators” have suffered an epidemic of health effects, with an escalating death toll. Angry and embittered, they played a significant role in bringing down the Soviet Union that doomed them.

At Fukushima, a core of several hundred workers essentially sacrificed themselves in the early stages of the disaster. They courageously entered highly contaminated areas to perform tasks that almost certainly prevented an even worse catastrophe.

David Brenner, the director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center, said of the workers: “Those are pretty brave people. There are going to be some martyrs among them’.“

“I don’t know of any other way to say it, but this is like suicide fighters in a war,” said University of Tokyo radiology professor Keiichi Nakaga.

Since the disaster struck in Japan, about 800 workers have been evacuated from the damaged nuclear complex in Fukushima. The radiation danger is that great.

However, CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod reports that a handful have stayed on the job, risking their lives, to try to save the lives of countless people they don’t even know. The exact number of workers is unclear and has been reported to be anywhere from 50 to 180.

Although communication with the workers inside the nuclear plant is nearly impossible, a CBS News consultant spoke to a Japanese official who made contact with one of the workers inside the control center.

The official said that his friend told him that he was not afraid to die, that that was his job.

Cham Dallas, who led teams responding to the Chernobyl disaster, said that kind of response is not out of the normal for some workers in the nuclear energy sector.

“(In) my experience of people in the action area of nuclear power is much like that,” Dallas said. - xenophilia

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Argentina: Official Commission To Study UFOs is Presented

Source: Clarin.com.ar
Date: 05.27.2011

Scott Corrales - Inexplicata - Consisting of experts in various fields, it came about due to the number of sightings in the country.

As Clarín informed readers a few weeks ago, the official Comisión de Investigación de Fenómenos Aeroespaciales (Aerospatial Phenomena Research Commission) was presented yesterday at noon, consisting of both civilian experts and Argentinean Air Force (FAA) personnel.

Operating out of the Condor Building, the FAA’s current headquarters, it will start to receive reports in coming days – through the www.fuerzaaerea.mil.ar website – on sightings, and begin work on the most representative cases of recent times.

It is a dependency of the General Major Secretariat of the Argentinean Armed Forces and will consist of technicians attached to the National Meteorological Service, engineers, pilots from the National Administration of Civil Aviation, radar and satellite positioning technicians, computer experts and geologists.

The inaugural ceremony was presided by Capt. Mariano Mohaupt, the FAA’s spokesman. Also present was Brig. Gen. Ernesto Omar París, Secretary General, who remarked: “This commission will conduct a scientific study of aerospatial phenomena. With this we have achieved an important goal for our institution.”

From its origins, the FAA was strengthened by the collaboration of civil aeronautics experts. “Today it seeks to attract members of society who may provide their experience in the study of these events, which require a higher degree of certainty,” stated Mohaupt.

Mostly, these will be experts who have been working for several years in the field of ufology. Among them are Alberto Brunetti of the Grupo Investigador de Fenomenos Aeroespaciales Desconocidos (GIFAD); Carlos Alberto Iurchuk, systems analyst and independent researcher of sidereal phenomena, and Carlos Fergusson, coordinator of the Red Argentina de Ovnilogia (Argentinean UFO Nework – RAO). There will also be collaboration from Andrea Simondini of the CEFORA group, which also studies these cases. One of the reasons that led to the creation of this new agency is “the increase in sightings by people. However, the goal is not to prove the existence of life on other planets, but rather, to approach unknown phenomena from a scientific perspective and reach the truth. Because these are ultimately the goal of our study,” according to Mohaupt. The team also includes Marcelo Módica of Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), specializing in satellite information. It will be in charge of “examining the terrain and analyzing images received.”

Among the benefits to be gained from the amalgamation of civilians and military men, Fergusson notes that “there will be great progress in means and methodology. It is crucial to reach the scene of the events and have scientific assistance. There will also be a system of witness interviews that will prove very useful.”

And while technology assists these anomalies hunters, something more is always needed. “It is true that the Internet made us independent, because if you approach any observatory and ask for a sky chart, they’ll turn you away. Astronomy, except back in the 1950s, is very reluctant to approach this subject,” adds Brunetti. The reason for this mistrust is that “they look at the skies all the time, but do it through a telescope, which looks beyond the atmosphere. In other words, a UFO could fly in front of them and it’s likely they won’t see it.”

Among the procedures to be undertaken, the first thing is to dismiss the possibility of movements in the sky. “There is no need to create false expectations among the people. For this reason we have a decision-making body that will evaluate items and dismiss those that are speculation,” explains Simondini.

Astrologers often pick up objects that they cannot explain. “The first thing is to eliminate the passing of a satellite, space junk, balloons or weather capsules, rockets, meteorites ...even the International Space Station (ISS) can lead one to confusion,” says Iurchuk.

Great stuff! Thanks Scott

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Spain: The Astún Yeti (2007)

By Javier Resines

Inexplicata - The story we remember today in our blog prompts us to take a small step back in time. Small, in that we are going back to late May 2007, which isn't so far away from us...

Taking advantage of the good weather, Carlos S. Ollés - the event's protagonist - decided to make a visit to the Pyrenees with his two daughters. In the afternoon, as they walked back toward their car, having visited the ski slopes of Astún, the eldest daughter pointed out a footprint that caught her attention beside the trail. The small group approached and attested that the mark on the ground indeed resembled that of a bare foot - albeit an enormous one - and with a disproportionately large big toe.

This was not the first time that Carlos came across mystery in the form of a footprint: in 1992, on the opposite slope of the same mountain, he was with a group of friends in the valley of Canal Roya, heading toward the summit of Pico La Raca along a trial when he discovered some strange prints in the snow. According to his own account, "they were larger and deeper than normal, and the big toe was most prominent of all." He was likewise startled by "the distance between strides, which were somewhat impossible to follow given the sloping terrain."

What creature could have left those unusual marks in at least two separate occasions, separated by a distance of some 10 kilometers? An unknown hominid that dwells in the Pyrenaic Region, or a tourist bent on playing a joke?

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Snakes On A Train

Hundreds of rail passengers fled in terror when dozens of deadly snakes were found on a train travelling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi in Vietnam. A guard and conductor were checking tickets as passengers got on in the central city of Quang Ngai on Thursday evening and spotted the live king cobras and cobras under a seat.

People fled the carriage as panic broke out, and the smuggler was able to escape in the chaos. The reptiles, which are extremely venomous and can kill a human within just 30 minutes, were being carried in four see-through cloth bags.

One passenger, Pham Van An, 20, said: "Some of the snakes were very big, and looked terrifying. Most people ran away. But some people went to look at them and the cobras rose up. Then police took the snakes off the train." Officers handed the snakes over to Quang Ngai province's wildlife protection officers for release into the wild.

Nguyen Van Han, chief of the Quang Ngai Forest Protection Department, was unable to say how many snakes were in the bags, but said they weighed a total of 45kg (99lb). Authorities believe the endangered creatures, which are protected under Vietnamese law, were to be sold to restaurants in Hanoi. - sky

Fortean / Alternative News: Tasmania UFO Mystery, 'Majority Report' Reality and Saint's Head Sold

Tasmania UFO sighting remains a mystery

A Tasmanian man has described as "spooky" an unexplained flashing object he saw in the night sky above Launceston last week.

The lights flashed white and green for several minutes before turning out in the sky high above the tree line, he told the Launceston Examiner.

Brendon Hill first saw the flashing lights above Mayfield on Thursday night from his backyard balcony at Riverside.

He then witnessed the same lights on Saturday night.

"On Thursday I dragged my three mates outside to show them and they were bewildered - none of them could describe what they saw or could come up with an explanation of what it was," Mr Hill said.

Mr Hill looked at the site of the flashing lights through his binoculars the next day and said he could not see anything that would generate the same pulsing light.

"There are no buildings or towers in that area that could generate that much light - it was very strange how I couldn't see anything during the day," he said.

On Saturday about 9pm Mr Hill saw the flashing lights again and this time caught them on his video camera.

"It made my hair stand up on my neck," he said.

"It seems so unhuman, it doesn't resemble anything I have seen before and after seeing it with my own eyes it feels very spooky."

A Bureau of Meteorology Launceston spokesman said no sightings of Mr Hill's description were reported to the office.

However, there were reports of the Aurora Australis - or southern lights - which sends bright green and red lights flashing across the sky .

"The Aurora is more of a swirling, wave-like look across the whole sky: it does not sounds like his description," the spokesman said.

Launceston Air Traffic Control also did not have any reportings of the lights.

The Australian Defence Department was unable to comment.

Mr Hill said he had no reason to believe it was anything man-made.

"I don't mind if it turns out to be something really boring because it would put my mind at ease," he said.

"It's annoying not knowing what it was. My mind keeps ticking over trying to figure out what it could be." - smh


Click for video

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Terrorist 'pre-crime' detector field tested in United States

Planning a sojourn in the northeastern United States? You could soon be taking part in a novel security programme that can supposedly 'sense' whether you are planning to commit a crime.

Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST), a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programme designed to spot people who are intending to commit a terrorist act, has in the past few months completed its first round of field tests at an undisclosed location in the northeast, Nature has learned.

Like a lie detector, FAST measures a variety of physiological indicators, ranging from heart rate to the steadiness of a person's gaze, to judge a subject's state of mind. But there are major differences from the polygraph. FAST relies on non-contact sensors, so it can measure indicators as someone walks through a corridor at an airport, and it does not depend on active questioning of the subject.

The tactic has drawn comparisons with the science-fiction concept of 'pre-crime', popularized by the film Minority Report, in which security services can detect someone's intention to commit a crime. Unlike the system in the film, FAST does not rely on a trio of human mutants who can see the future. But the programme has attracted copious criticism from researchers who question the science behind it.

So far, FAST has only been tested in the lab, so successful field tests could lend some much-needed data to support the technology. "It is encouraging to see an effort to develop a real empirical base for new technologies before any policy commitments are made," says Tom Ormerod, a psychologist in the Investigative Expertise Unit at Lancaster University, UK. Such testing, he adds, could lay the groundwork for a more rigorous randomized, controlled, double-blind study.

According to a privacy-impact statement previously released by the DHS, tests of FAST involve instructing some people passing through the system to carry out a "disruptive act". Ormerod questions whether such role-playing is representative of real terrorists, and also worries that both passengers and screeners will react differently when they know they're being tested. "Fill the place with machines that go ping, and both screeners and passengers start doing things differently."

In lab tests, the DHS has claimed accuracy rates of around 70%, but it remains unclear whether the system will perform better or worse in field trials. "The results are still being analysed, so we cannot yet comment on performance," says John Verrico, a spokesman for the DHS. "Since this is an ongoing scientific study, tests will continue throughout coming months."

Some scientists question whether there really are unique signatures for 'malintent' — the agency's term for the intention to cause harm — that can be differentiated from the normal anxieties of travel. "Even having an iris scan or fingerprint read at immigration is enough to raise the heart rate of most legitimate travellers," says Ormerod.

Steven Aftergood, a senior research analyst at the Federation of American Scientists, a think-tank based in Washington DC that promotes the use of science in policy-making, is pessimistic about the FAST tests. He thinks that they will produce a large proportion of false positives, frequently tagging innocent people as potential terrorists and making the system unworkable in a busy airport. "I believe that the premise of this approach — that there is an identifiable physiological signature uniquely associated with malicious intent — is mistaken. To my knowledge, it has not been demonstrated," he says. "Without it, the whole thing seems like a charade."

As for where precisely FAST is being tested, that for now remains a closely guarded secret. The DHS says that although the first round was completed at the end of March, more testing is in the works, and the agency is concerned that letting people know where the tests are taking place could affect the outcome. "I can tell you that it is not an airport, but it is a large venue that is a suitable substitute for an operational setting," says Verrico - nature

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Skull found in back yard of Brooklyn house

While most were pottering around in the garden, enjoying the sunshine this weekend, one police officer was guarding a three-foot mound of earth.

Earlier on Saturday, workmen, digging in a backyard in Brooklyn, New York, had unearthed part of a skull, pieces of vertebrae and a few teeth.

Current owner of the 19th-century, three-story brownstone, Sean Green, didn't seem too disturbed by the grisly find however.

'Growing up in New York, not much surprises me,' he told the New York Times. 'Of course, there’s a skull in my backyard.'

Just who the remains belong to or how old they might be is today still a mystery. But by Saturday evening anthropologists from the medical examiner's office were at the scene examining the area.

Floodlights were assembled so they could continue into the night.

The house, which sold for $950,000 in 2004, on Greenpoint's Kent Street, was built in 1856.

A physician, Moses H Seley, lived there from 1905 when he arrived in the city from Russia, until his death in 1967, aged 89, according to his New York Times obituary.

Dr Seley practiced out of the home. There are other houses from the same period on the street and a church dating back to 1853.

Mr Green's neighbors didn't appear too worried by the find either.

'Everybody will be talking about this for the next three years,' Chris Mottalini, a 32-year-old photographer, told the Times.

'It makes sense that there would be a body or two buried in these backyards,” he said. “It doesn’t mean there was foul play.'

Another June Sung, 29, who is planning to get married in her back garden later this year told the paper: 'I hope we don’t find anything in our backyard.

'That would derail the wedding plans.' - dailymail

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Saint's head sells for 3500 Euros

Visitors queue for the auction in Co Meath at which St Vitalis's head was sold for €3,500. Ciara Wilkinson

THE reputed head of 14th-Century Italian saint St Vitalis of Assisi is on its way to the US after being sold for €3,500 at auction.

It was purchased by an unnamed phone bidder in Los Angeles during the sale in Duleek, Co Meath, yesterday.

St Vitalis was a Benedictine hermit and, following his death in 1370, he became known as the patron saint of those suffering from genital disease.

According to legend, the monk was a promiscuous youth -- but then repented.

In a bid to atone for his sins, he went on many pilgrimages to shrines and other holy places in Italy and Europe, before spending the rest of his life in poverty near Assisi.

The skull of the saint, enshrined in an antique glass case, had been in the keeping of a Co Louth family for many years.

It was included in an antique auction at Annesbrook House in Duleek by Oldcastle auctioneer Brendan Matthews.

Bidding for the skull opened at €2,000 and rose in €100 stages, before being sold in less than a minute for €3,500 to an unnamed phone buyer.

The sale had generated widespread international interest, according to Mr Matthews. "We received phone calls from all over the world about this -- from all sorts of crackpots and oddballs. We received about 100 different bids in advance," he said. - independent

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Monkey 'witch'?

"In an incident described as 'barbaric' by the Community-led Animal Welfare (Claw), residents chanted 'kill that witch!'," The Star newspaper reported on Monday.

It reported that the monkey wandered into the settlement last week Monday, May 23, and was pelted with stones, shot at by police, and then burnt to death.

The monkey fled the mob and temporarily found shelter in a tree, but was pulled out, put in a bucket and doused in petrol.

"Someone struck a match. (The monkey) got out of the bucket and dropped down dead. They continued throwing stones at it," Kagiso resident, Tebogo Moswetsi was reported as saying.

Moswetsi was woken up by friends on Monday morning and told about the monkey. They said it was going around Kagiso "talking to people".

He said he joined in the case as he was curious. He was the resident that climbed the tree and brought the monkey down.

"I feel guilty, I shouldn't have taken it down from that tree. I dropped it down after someone poured petrol on it. I had no choice," Moswetsi said.

Claw manager, Cora Bailey, arrived at the scene and said she was devastated.

"I felt devastated. You could barely tell it had been a living creature. There were very small children who looked very confused and frightened."

Bailey explained animals fell victim to superstition, especially because they did not understand that such animals wander into townships because their natural habitat was destroyed or it was separated from its troop.

"It was a quest to find a family," she said.

Johannes Bapela, also a Kagiso resident, called Bailey after calls to police failed to deliver results, he told The Star.

"They beat it up, then set it alight. I couldn't sleep that night because it was too traumatic," he said.

He called the claims of witchcraft "totally baseless" and added it was more mob mentality than anything else.

Warrant Officer Solomon Sibiya could not confirm that police shot at the animal, the newspaper reported.

"I enquired, but I don't think it's something that was reported," Sibiya was quoted as saying. - timeslive

Beware the Snallygaster

The Blue Ridge Mountains area was settled by German immigrants beginning in the 1730s. Early accounts describe the community being terrorized by a monster called a Schneller Geist, meaning "quick spirit" in German.

It has been suggested the legend was resurrected in the 19th century to frighten freed slaves.

Reports of a strange flying beast known as the Snallygaster first appeared in Frederick County in early February, 1909. The story was carried prominently in Middletown's Valley Register, a weekly newspaper, for about a month, when the story mysteriously died.

In the early issues, the flying beast seemed to be everywhere at once: New Jersey, West Virginia, Ohio, and headed this way. It was reported to have created quite a stir in New Jersey, where its footprints were first discovered in the snow.

The first person to see it, James Harding, described it as having enormous wings, a long sharp beak, claws like steel, and one eye in the middle of its forehead. He said it made shrill screeching noises and looked like a cross between a tiger and a vampire.

A vampire may have been a good description, for it was reported to have killed a man, Bill Gifferson, by piercing his neck with its sharp bill and slowly sucking his blood.

It was also seen in West Virginia, where it almost caught a woman near Scrabble, roosted in Alex Crow's barn, and laid an egg near Sharpsburg, where it was reported some men had rigged up an incubator to try to hatch it.

T.C. Harbaugh, of Casstown, Ohio, wrote a letter to the Valley Register in early 1909, telling of a strange beast that flew over his area making terrible screeching noises. Harbaugh described it as having two huge wings, a large horny head, and a tail twenty feet long. He said it looked as though it was headed this way.

Sure enough, the Snallygaster was first sighted in Maryland by a man who fired a brick-burning kiln near Cumberland. The strange beast was seen cooling it's wings over the outlet of the kiln. When the beast's sleep was disturbed by the man, it emitted a blood-curdling scream and angrily flew away.

It was also shot at near Hagerstown, sighted south of Middletown at Lover's Leap, and seen flying over the mountains between Gapland and Burkittsville, where it was reported to have laid another egg...big enough to hatch an elephant.

Sightings of the Snallygaster were creating such a commotion that at one point it was reported that President Theodore Roosevelt might postpone a trip to Europe so that he could lead an expedition to capture it.

Apparently the Smithsonian Institute was also interested in the beast. From the description provided by a sighting at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, they determined the strange beast was a Snallygaster.

The last sighting in Frederick County in 1909 occurred near Emmitsburg in early March. Three men fought the terrible creature outside a railroad station for nearly an hour and a half before chasing it into the woods of Carroll County.

Twenty-three years passed before the Snallygaster appeared again in Frederick County.

First reports were received from just below South Mountain in Washington County. Eyewitness accounts claimed that it flew toward them from the Middletown Valley.

The beast was often seen flying back and forth over the area and was described as being as large as a dirigible, with arms resembling the tentacles of an octopus. The creature appeared to be able to change its size, shape, and color at will.

Although the creature made no attempt to harm any of the residents of the Valley, most people sought the safety of their homes as it flew overhead.

All descriptions seemed to indicate it was the Snallygaster, last reported in these parts on March 5, 1909. As the life expectancy of a Snallygaster is only about twenty years, the most logical explanation seemed to be that the latest sighting was the offspring of the 1909 creature, possibly hatched from one of the eggs laid near Burkittsville.

Since the Snallygaster appears so rarely, the Middletown Valley Register requested that local residents sighting the creature provide as accurate and detailed a description as possible for scientific purposes.

Two such residents, Charles F. Martin and Edward M. L. Lighter, were able to provide the necessary information. While driving a truck on the National Pike just east of Braddock Heights, they spotted the Snallygaster flying about twenty-five feet overhead. They thoroughly confirmed the descriptions published the previous week.

The Snallygaster finally met his end in a way some might envy. The creature was flying near Frog Hollow in Washington County when it was attracted by the aroma of a 2500-gallon vat of moonshine. As the beast flew overhead, it was overcome by the fumes and dropped into the boiling mash. A short time later, revenue agents George Dansforth and Charles Cushwa arrived on the scene. They had received information about the still, but were rather startled at the sight of the dead monster in the vat.

The two agents exploded five hundred pounds of dynamite under the still, destroying the remains of the Snallygaster and John Barleycorn's workshop.

A great deal has been written about the Snallygaster since 1909. It has appeared in countless articles in the Middletown Valley Register, Frederick News Post, and other area newspapers. Is has also appeared in the Baltimore Sun, National Geographic, and Time Magazine.

In 1976, the Washington Post sponsored an unsuccessful search for the Snallygaster, as well as other strange Maryland creatures.

-----

 

Snallygaster: German "schnell geiste", a Pennsylvania Dutch term meaning "quick spirit" or "fast spirit" often associated with those strange draughts that slam doors, topple over lightweight objects, or scatter papers. The visual or physical appearance of the Snallygaster is confusing since there are several variation narratives, some having roots in the dragonlore of the early settlers. Thus, the Snallygaster more often has similarities to dragons, green and scaled, and winged.

Tales exist around the South Mountain region where the Snallygaster is a monstrous bird preying on young children. Literary accounts of the Snallygaster were printed in the local newspapers. These narratives were most likely invented tales by two rival editors. To end the rivalry caused the Snallygaster demise; sent plummeting headlong into a boiling vat of whiskey. Such a just end for this unseen spirit. Of interest to scholars is the nature of the various tales likely invented, those which were patterned after Dragonlore, the absence of Native American influence, and its connection to Pennsylvania Dutch lore.

NOTE: even though the Snallygaster is said to be the 'Maryland Monster' you rarely hear much about it...though there have been a few 'hunts' conducted within the Patapsco and Cunningham Falls State Parks in recent years. I even heard that a Snallygaster den was located near Camp David at one time. Believe what you may...Lon

Sources:
"Ghosts and Legends of Frederick County" - Timothy L. Cannon and Nancy F. Whitmore
www.monstropedia.org
www.pantheon.org
"Don't Eat the Devil: A Dirty Hands Guide to the Meat of Baltimore" - 1998 - Rob Wallace and Chris Lease
www.baltimoremd.com
www.unknown-creatures.com
americanmonsters.com
"Weird Maryland: Your Travel Guide to Maryland's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets" - 2006 - Matt Lake

Triangular UFO Encounter - Patapsco State Park, MD - 3/22/1978

On Wednesday, March 22, 1978 at approximately 11:00 p.m. EST, Gary Oickle, 24, his brother David, 22, and two friends, Barry Smith, 22 and Ken Cabot, 25 were around a campfire talking in Patapsco State Park at the Baltimore & Ohio railroad tunnel. Barry and David were about 50 feet away from the others when they noticed a strange object in the southeastern sky which disappeared over a ridge in the distance. They watched the object for about 10 seconds and could see no particular details except a rough shape. Barry described it as a flat looking object.

They then walked back to the fire to tell the other two about what they had seen when another similar object appeared directly over the four of them from behind a ridge to their north. The object was described as a huge triangular shaped object with large windows and three white lights at the corners. The size was estimated from "a quarter the size of a football field" to "150-200 feet on each side". The object moved very slowly, hovering at times, in a southeastern direction following the contour of the ridges just above the trees.

When it appeared above them it was very low, approximately 200-250 feet, and made a sound like a "quiet wind" or "quietly rushing waterfall". The witnesses watched the object for approximately 15 to 20 seconds until it disappeared behind the trees. Three of the witnesses thought they could see the shadow or silhouette of a figure at the windows. Three of the witnesses also reported seeing a bright star-like object in the southern sky immediately after the sighting. Two of them said the star-like object changed colors; blue, green, yellow, red, repeatedly, while the other thought the object may have been a helicopter or something in the distance.

Two of the witnesses thought that the large triangular object had a "metallic" or "bluish-gray" color, but all four agreed that it had three white lights at the corners and a blinking red light on the top.

None of the witnesses were frightened by the experience but, quite the contrary, were very curious and even yelled at the object hoping it would land. All had also read something of UFOs previously but none had seen anything like this before. - APRO, April 1978 - By Joe and Doris Graztao

NOTE: this is an area very familiar to me since I have lived near there for almost 30 years. The area has a lot of paranormal connection and history. One of the most haunted facilities in the world, Henryton Center, is situated nearby. There have been sightings of Bigfoot-like creatures since the early 1970's. There are many ruins within the park including a church, houses, etc...in fact, this is the actual location where the 'Blair Witch Project' was filmed. Triangle UFO sightings are not uncommon in this part of Maryland...there have been several reports over the past few years. Lon

Fortean / Alternative News: Syfy 'Haunted Collector', Cougar in Garage and 10-yr-old Boy Drags Alligator Home

Haunted Bayou/Library Ghost - Sneak Peek - Haunted Collector: Series Premiere



Syfy 'Haunted Collector'

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Boy, 10, drags alligator home from canal

Florida wildlife officials say a 10-year-old boy dragged a nearly 6-foot alligator home from a nearby canal.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers were called to the Rockledge home of Michael Dasher on Wednesday after the boy's grandfather saw the alligator in the front yard.

Michael told the officers he had been fishing with friends when something big caught the hook and snapped the line. The boy said the alligator ran at him, so he started hitting it with sticks and jumped on its back.

Michael dragged the alligator home and suffered only minor scratches on his hands and arms. Wildlife officers measured the alligator at 5 feet 9 inches long.

The officers let Michael off with a stern talk but no charges. They'll release the alligator back into the St. John's River. - tbo

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North Korean dictator executed a woman after she rejected his advance

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's love life is spotted with disturbing facts, shedding light on the dictator's "ways" of managing his personal life.

Yun Hye-yong was the lead singer of Kim's former favorite band Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble, according to author Chang Jin-song, who was formerly affiliated with the North Korean Workers' Party and has inside stories of the regime.

His book "Kim Jong-il's Last Woman' describes how the dictator ordered Yun's songs to be used for the mass gymnastic performance "Arirang", and even attended a concert with her. She was seated right next to him, a rarity. The dictator had also sent officials to Europe to buy her elaborate stage costumes and accessories.

But all in all, the dictator who was used to being in control and having his way, failed to win Hye-yong's heart despite the favors, for her heart was already taken.

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She was in love with the band's pianist.

Kim's agents discovered their relationship via a phone tap and Yun's life was suddenly in peril.

Choosing death over being discovered alive, both Yun and her lover jumped from the roof of Mokran House, an official banquet hall.

The pianist died on the spot, but Yun was resuscitated and then executed in 2003 while she was in a coma with an IV drip.

Kim had four "wives"

Some reports explain that Kim was officially married once to Kim Young Sook, and the other three are mistresses.

Kim's first mistress, Song Hye-rim, was a North Korean film actress. She was married to another man at the time they met, but Kim forced her husband to divorce. She is believed to have died in Moscow in 2002. They had one child, Kim's eldest son Kim Jong-nam.

Second mistress Ko Young-hee was a Japanese-born ethnic Korean and a dancer. She was First Lady until her death - reportedly of cancer - in 2004. They had two sons, Kim Jong-chul and Kim Jong-un. Jong-un was hand-picked by his father among the sons to succeed him.

Kim Ok, his third mistress, virtually acts as North Korea's first lady and accompanies Kim on visits to military bases and meetings.

Ok was introduced to the public's eye in July of 2006. She is a piano major at a university in Pyongyang, and is believed to have married the leader in June 2004 after his third wife died.

While mistresses Song Hye-rim and Ko Young-Hee were not exclusively trained to entertain Kim, Kim OK was selected for such a purpose and often entertained him.

She was most recently spotted travelling with Kim in China. Ok strengthened her influence after nursing the reclusive dictator since his stroke back in August 2008.

More Lovers?

Aside from his four "wives", Kim is known to have a number of illicit lovers. One such lover, an actress by the name of Woo In-hui, was publicly executed for speaking out about her relationship with Kim. - ibtimes

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Family find mountain lion in garage

Michelle Taylor shudders when she realizes she may have been sharing her garage with a mountain lion for the past three days. “I think it was in there since Sunday night,” the Hesperia mother of five said, with neighbours reporting they had seen a mountain lion roaming the area since Friday.

California Fish and Game, Hesperia Animal Control and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Hesperia station officials worked together to get the young cougar out of the Taylors’ garage and back into its habitat on Tuesday morning. Michelle Taylor called 911 after her husband, Jesse Taylor, rooted around the garage in search of what he thought was a raccoon or other small critter.

Instead, less than 3 feet from him, he spotted a large paw and the face of the mountain lion. Authorities responded to the home and learned the family had secured the frightened animal in the garage.

Officials worked for nearly two hours trying to coax the animal from the Taylor family’s garage, but ultimately had to tranquilize the mountain lion. The lion was a young male. The mountain lion was examined and then taken to the San Bernardino National Forest where it was released. - vvdailypress

Mysterious Killer Canid Stalking Bowen Island, B.C.

Residents of a small community in British Columbia have a mysterious killer in their midst and are taking steps to protect their pets, farm animals and small children.

An animal thought to be part timber wolf has been stalking Bowen Island, just off the coast of Vancouver, for about six months -- preying mainly on dogs and cats.

"Anyone who has family, has pets, and anyone who has seen it, seen the way it looks at you, knows that it's dangerous to have around," said island resident Stacey Powers.

Her husband John recently caught the animal on video, and saw it snatch a gosling out of a nearby pond.

The animal has "shown no fear of coming up close to the house," he said, "and obviously you don't want to have a concern that he's there and all of a sudden the kids are in his range." The family is keeping its pets indoors and young children nearby.

A local veterinarian believes it is part dog, part wolf and that it may have been abandoned after being brought to the island.

"They are a mixed-up species. They are part domestic with the instincts of a wolf," said Dr. Alastair Wescott. "They don't react normally and so people can't manage them, and so dumping them is a common thing to do."

It is thought to be a young male weighing about 90 pounds.

Missing pet signs are posted all over the island. The animal has killed at least three dogs, more than a dozen cats and two sheep. Many deer carcasses have also been found.

The municipality has set up a hotline, bought a tranquilizer gun, and enlisted both Westcott and a professional trapper to find the animal.

Once caught, it is expected to be euthanized. Rescue organizations have been contacted, but the animal's behaviour has been so vicious they say there's no chance of rehabilitation. - ctv

Click for video

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Hunting the wolf-dog of Bowen Island

Since appearing on Bowen Island, B.C., in December, an animal believed to be a wolf-dog hybrid has killed five dogs, six sheep and “more cats than we even know” says Chris Buchanan, the island’s bylaw services supervisor. It has taken numerous geese, raided two chicken coops and littered the island with deer carcasses.

“He’s definitely getting more bold,” says Stacey Powers, a resident of this 50-square-kilometre island located 20 minutes by ferry from West Vancouver. “I definitely don’t let my dog out, or my cats, or my kids.”

The island’s only veterinarian, Alastair Westcott, mounted a private campaign to stop the animal, his $2,000 high-powered tranquilizer rifle purchased especially for the task. He is intimately acquainted with the animal carcasses strewn about the island by the creature, but is yet to spot the canine itself.

“It’s my nemesis,” he says.

This week, local authorities — who have advised Bowen Islanders to “take precautions when hiking, or when allowing small children or pets outdoors unattended” — called in a professional trapper. He arrives just as the animal has begun targeting sheep. The attacks have come at dawn, with the animal leaping into a pen and tearing the throat out of several lambs and ewes in a matter of minutes.

“When he kills the sheep, he doesn’t really eat them … it almost seems to be a game,” says Mr. Westcott.

Normally, wolf-plagued communities need only call up the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, which sends in a team to capture or kill the animal. However, after officers examined some grainy video images of the Bowen Island creature, they determined that the animal was an escaped wolf-dog hybrid – and thus out of their jurisdiction.

Private attempts to kill the creature have been hampered by an island-wide ban on firearms.

“As you can appreciate, Bowen Island is a bedroom community to the Greater Vancouver area … the province has determined this is a no-shooting area,” says Cpl. Don Southern with the Bowen Island RCMP.

Illegal or not, local gun-owners are keeping their rifles close at hand, says resident Ed Booiman. In January, Mr. Booiman was the first Bowen Islander to get a good look at the creature when he came upon it eating his pet Sheltie. “Everybody’s hoping that someone will take this animal down,” he says.

The island’s mailboxes, bulletin boards and trailhead signs are now plastered with posters instructing residents to report sightings to a dedicated “Hybrid Hotline.” When residents phone in the animal’s position to the hotline, Mr. Westcott attempts to head it off by taking up a position in one of seven hunting blinds he has set up around the island.

“Initially, I just went out for a couple hours every few days or so,” says Mr. Westcott. “Now, it’s three to four hours a day.”

Wolves are notoriously hard to hunt, especially in a thickly wooded island about half the size of Manhattan. The municipality of Bowen Island has left traps for the animal, but to no avail.

In February, a loose wolf-dog was shot and killed by a farmer on nearby Salt Spring Island after it killed more than a dozen of his lambs. After discovering lamb carcasses on his property, farmer Ted Akerman grabbed his 12-gauge shogun and spent the night staking out his flock from the cab of his pickup truck. He was able to kill the dog when it came back for his sheep in the morning.

“People come to the island with a dog they can’t handle and they leave it here,” says Mr. Akerman. “I’ve had ferry workers tell me about people coming over with a big dog, and when they come back they don’t have it.”

Although domestic wolves are illegal in B.C., residents are allowed to own wolf-dog hybrids.

“It’s one of the real messes of wolf biology that people want to breed them because they think it’s sexy to have a wolf – and then they get loose and disappear,” says Bob Hayes, former wolf biologist for the Yukon Territory. The B.C. SPCA has long taken a strong stance against ownership of wolf-dog hybrids. “Crossing a wolf and crossing a dog generally undoes 12,000 years of domestication,” says Robert Busch, general manager of operations for the B.C. SPCA. The animal may seem friendly and dog-like, but it can easily “snap” and revert to its wild state.

Mr. Westcott still suspects that the animal could be a common wolf. - nationalpost

Original post: Wolf-dog hybrid puts B.C.’s Bowen Island in ‘lockdown’

Fortean / Alternative News: Mystery Sea Creature, UFO Kills Trees and BTE 2011 Summer Movie Blockbuster Show

Mystery Sea Creature Has Experts Baffled

The “monster” was snapped off Seacombe Ferry at 9am yesterday by photographer Mark Harrison.

Paul Renolds, from the Blue Planet Aquarium, who studied the photos, said: “It is virtually impossible to actually identify, but this is the time of year when large numbers of basking sharks, the second largest shark species in the world after whale sharks, head towards waters off the Isle of Man.”
Sea creature captured in the Mersey by Mark Harrison

He added: “If it is not a basking shark, it could be a smaller species of whale or a dolphin because there are around 23 different species in UK waters.” - liverpoolecho

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UFO Killed Four Trees

MUFON CMS - 1-13-2011 - Virginia - unedited: I'd had extensive dental work done the day before (a number of x-rays, root canal, etc.) and one of my teeth was aching. It was about 2:00 a.m. and I was having trouble sleeping and rather than bother my wife I left the master bedroom and lay down on the futon in my study. I finally fell asleep only to be awakened by a strange buzzing/humming noise. At first I thought it was coming from outside, an airplane maybe.

But after a few seconds I realized it was in my head. It sounded like a microwave oven, but without the heat. I couldn't move even though I was fully awake. My entire skull was vibrating. It wasn't unpleasant, just weird. After a minute of this I began to get scared. I thought I might be having a medical event of some sort. With great effort I was able to move one arm and reached my wristwatch on the end table (it's a Citizen Eco-drive with luminescent hands). It was exactly 3:08 in the morning.

As I stared at the watch the humming slowly subsided. Once it ended I could move freely again. I sat up and looked around. The house was completely still. Only the light of the single street light across the street broke the darkness.

I got up and walked from room to room, but nothing was out of the ordinary. My wife was sleeping soundly. There was no sign of the cats. Then I thought I heard something from the roof. I went to a window overlooking the back yard and looked up at the sky. It was an overcast night, but I was certain I saw the curve of something rather large over the house. It was very dark, but it caught the light from the street just enough for me to think it was metallic of sort. It couldn't have been more than thirty feet above the roof (our house is a rancher). I hurried to the back deck but by the time I opened the slider and looked up again, the object was gone.

I didn't know what to do. I went back inside and went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. There were droplets of blood coming from my right nostril. But, other than that, I didn't appear to be any worse for wear. I returned to the study, turned on the TV for a while and stared at the screen for quite a long time, not taking much of anything in.

To cut to the chase, about two weeks later I went out to get the Sunday paper and noticed that some of the pine trees nearest my house appeared to be dead. The needles were all reddish brown. I called an arborist I'd done business with in the past and he took a look at them. He agreed that they were dead and should come down (these trees are 60+ feet tall). After he dropped the first tree he came to and asked me how long they'd been dead. I said I thought couple of weeks. He said this wasn't possible because these trees were totally devoid or sap and moisture. In his experience it takes months, maybe a year for a pine to dry out this completely. I stood by my story. They were all still green around Christmas time. He said I must be mistaken. So, I asked him, what do you think killed the trees? He said it was either last summer's drought or insects. I pointed at all of the neighbors' trees. They are all healthy and thriving. Not a single one for two blocks around is dead. He shook his head and said it was strange, but he didn't know what else to say.

Of course I didn't tell him that I thought might have UFO killed them. That's the last thing I need in my neighborhood.

As a PS I'd like to add that strange things have been happening to us ever since I saw a UFO a few years ago. I won't go into them here. I feel like I'm living in my very own sci-fi movie. And I don't much like it. Even my wife has mentioned odd dreams and thoughts.

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Feet found on two islands identified as Surrey man's

Two feet found on Valdes Island and Westham Island in 2008 belonged to a 21-year-old Surrey man who'd been reported missing four years earlier, the B.C. Coroners Service announced Tuesday.

Westham is at the mouth of the Fraser River while Valdes is 18 nautical miles away, across Georgia Strait.

The feet, in matching Nike size 11 running shoes, were found on Feb. 8 and June 16. They were among seven that washed ashore on the Gulf Islands and the south coast between August 2007 and October 2009, attracting media attention the world over.

Work on the missing feet has helped the coroners service "tremendously" advance its investigative techniques in determining identity, coroner Stephen Fonseca said in an interview from Burnaby.

Four of the feet have been traced to three Lower Mainland males, and their families have been notified. Three feet remain unidentified; two belong to the same female and one to a male.

Fonseca wants people to know the missing feet "are absolutely not suspicious.

The community doesn't have to feel threatened."

When the feet first appeared, some speculated that the cause could be serial killers, gangland initiation rites or other criminal activity.

However, preliminary analysis indicated that the feet all separated from the bodies naturally while in the water and not through violence.

The appearance of so many feet in a relatively short time could have a lot to do with media coverage prompting people to notice shoes on the beach they might otherwise have overlooked, Fonseca said.

The news stories "brought so much more attention to running shoes," he said. "People went looking."

Many people do go missing in the ocean and Fraser River, he said, "and so it's not unreasonable in the future that might be related to these cases."

Running shoes are buoyant unlike hiking and work boots, making the former more likely to be found, Fonseca said.

It's unclear if the remaining feet will be identified, "but we will never give up," Fonseca said.

"It's not just the feet for us. There are a number of other human remains cases that we are paying equal attention to. They also have loved ones sitting at home, waiting for us to call.

"Our process has been to accept a missing persons case and query it against all our human remains. We don't want to target just the feet."

Investigators use various techniques in determining identity. When a missing person file is handed to the coroners service, "we want to know everything about that missing person. The police run queries on their side ... and I've analysts here in my unit that see it from the opposite side.

"We don't have the luxury of knowing they have blond hair and blue eyes.

We just have bones," Fonseca said.

Everyone who has been reported missing to the coroners service by the police now has a geographic-information profile. "We have lots of missing people but if we know they went missing in a lake ... and there's no way that lake is feeding into the Fraser River, we can exclude the feet from being related to this person.

"We know our model works well and our analysts are becoming very experienced with these complex cases. What we've learned, we've passed on to other provinces."

It's important to remember that behind all the scientific models and analysis, there are grieving families waiting to hear about their loved ones, Fonseca said.

"We're responsible for making identifications in this province and we take that seriously, but that's not really what it's about," he said. "Every day there's a family out there that might not know what happened, has no idea where their daughter or son has disappeared to. The goal is reducing that societal and familial suffering."

Fonseca has spoken to families of those people he has identified over 35 years.

"You only truly understand the impact you're making when you sit down with them and they bring out these huge binders of all the investigation they've done. You get to see how desperate they are for closure.

"They need to know what happened and they live it every single day." - timescolonist

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2011 Summer Movie Blockbuster Show!

This week we kick off summer 2011 with our very own Scott "Hackenslash" Walton of BTE Movie News and Reviews as he joins Eric and Lon to discuss and preview the upcoming 2011 Summer movies. Whether it's Green Lantern, Pirates of the Carribean, Captain America, Transformers, Harry Potter, Scott "Hackenslash" Walton will join us for an hour to review the upcoming movie blockbusters of the summer. This is going to be a fun show with movie talk. So grab the popcorn and a soda, find a comfy chair in the theater and sit back and enjoy a night at the movies!


Join Eric Altman, Lon Strickler and the crew LIVE each Sunday at 10 PM ET as we go
Beyond the Edge!

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Strange 'Messages' on Leaves

In Serra city, leafs of trees - by ten years, have presented a strange phenomenon. Inscriptions, religious figures and others appear on the surface of the leafs. The images are like embroideries produced by combination of numerous tiny perfurations. The local population belives that the inscriptions are messages of Our Lady. The house where the tree stays became a pilgrimage place.

The first inscription, appeared sixteen years ago and was found by house owner, Mrs. Maria Aparecida D'Ávila. Since then, the inscriptions don't stop to appear in leafs of all trees of the propriety. A specialist in insect explain that the marks probably were not made by ants.

The expert on insects, Marcelo Teixeira explain: The called "leafcutter ants", like the known "saúvas ants" (Atta), they cut peaces of leafs, like if using scissors. This is not the case. However, many people say they saw ants embroidering the leafs (guided by God). The former residents have moved but an association takes care of the house, which receives thousands of visitors.

During a retirement, drawings, similars to that appear on the leafs but much bigger, appeared on the wall. The Church says that there is no divine or supernatural phenomenon in the leaves, but does not condemn people that want pray at the site

Haunted Locations and Legends - Part One

I will occasionally post a collection of ghostly tales from the past...enjoy:

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Malayan House Comes 'Alive' at Night

Many flock to Jalan Bellamy for the Ikan Bakar while others may recognise the road as home to one of the country’s oldest international school, Alice Smith.

The road has not changed much since the country’s pre-independence days and remains a quiet path that most city dwellers do not use.

With old government quarters hidden by the large trees on the road, the aroma of fish being grilled waft out from Gerai Seri Menanti and Seri Melaka while the chatter and laughter of children from the Alice Smith school livens up the atmosphere.

Rosemary Alder Duckworth who lived at 5, Jalan Bellamy from 1947 to 1949 remembers the days when housing was scarce in post-war Malaya and when most houses on the street housed two or more families.

“A few families would share a home and we were very surprised to find house No 5 empty.

“We moved in but for the next two-and-half years, we had a lot of problems, especially with servants who would just disappear in the night without even collecting their pay,” said Duckworth.

She had come to Malaya with her family when her father, Frederick Victor Duckworth, was appointed the last British adviser of Selangor.

The family managed to trace a few of their former workers and they recounted tales of paranormal activities that took place in the servants quarters and kitchen.

“We then realised that the house was not snapped up because it was considered haunted. Many of the servants told us that they would be jolted awake from sleep and see blinding lights circling on top of them. Some said they even saw vegetables flying around the kitchen,'' said Duckworth.

She had the chance to speak to the Richardson family who had lived in the house before the war and they confirmed the unusual sightings in the house.

“Corinne Richardson was one of those who lived in the house and she related an incident that took place one night.

“She told me she was awakened by loud banging noises and saw an old Chinese man standing next to her bed. Corinne’s sister, who was in the room, also saw the man,” said Duckworth.

“Corinne asked the man what he wanted but there was no reply and the man just walked away. The banging noises, however, continued. Corinne told her parents and although they looked everywhere, the man was not found.''

The Richardsons later found out that at the exact time that Corinne saw the old man, the chief of a nearby village on Jalan Bellamy had passed away.

“When she was shown a picture of the village chief, Corinne recognised him as the old man who had appeared in her room.''

During the Duckworth family’s stay at the house, the haunting worsened and they had to conduct an exorcism ceremony.

Other than this, the family enjoyed their stay on the quaint Bellamy road.

“It was a very quiet and nice residential area with big trees. said Duckworth.

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Girl's Ghastly Death Leads to Haunting Legend

Prosperous times in Niagara County came in the first half of the 1800s and brought many beautiful homes and mansions, some rumored to be haunted.

A mansion on a hill in Lockport's Lowertown briefly claimed a reputation as haunted due to the tragic fire death of a young girl. Mrs. Albert Gagliardi lived in the house as a youngster in the early 1900s and wrote a 500-word essay about it.

Edward Bissel built the Gagliardi house in 1829, according to late County Historian Clarence O. Lewis. A flourmill owner, Bissel decided to build his house high on a hill opposite the Lake Avenue Bridge over the Erie Canal.

The next year, Dr. Jonah Skinner, the first Lowertown doctor, built his house next door. Later that year, Judge Nathan Dayton built his elegant home on the same hill.

Bissel sold his house to Albany Land Company Agent Lot Clark, who in September of 1835 put it on the market with this ad in the Niagara Courier: "Valuable property for sale. The house and lot formerly occupied by Edward Bissel with adjoining lands are offered at a bargain. The house is one of the best built and best furnished in the western part of this state. It is pleasantly situated near other fine dwellings and good society. The out buildings consist of a barn, stables and carriage house. A garden and an orchard of choice fruit adjoins the house; also 40 acres of land. Apply to Lot Clark."

Rev. Piedmont, Mrs. Gagliardi's father, bought the house in 1917. She wrote, "Way up on a hill in the center of an acre of land stood a huge stone house with four Roman pillars holding up the front veranda."

This was her first impression of their new home. The second came moments later when, on their way up the hill to the house, they saw a sign tacked to a tree with huge black letters proclaiming "Haunted House."

Some time before the turn of the century, the rumor went, a young couple with two children, a 9-year-old girl and a baby, occupied the house. One night, the young girl was left alone to watch the baby while the mother ran an errand. Somehow a kerosene lamp overturned, starting a fire in the baby's crib. The girl ran over and beat out the flames around the baby, but her clothing caught fire. She dashed toward the front door but collapsed in the hall there and died.

This tragedy caused the mother to have a breakdown, and she was admitted to a mental institution. The fire burned the wainscoting in the front hall, and the charred boards were replaced but were not an exact match, so it was obvious where the fire had occurred.

Mrs. Gagliardi said the side door consisted of a huge window that went to the floor: "One had to reach down, grasp a handle and pull the window up, step inside and pull the window down."

Beautiful marble fireplaces graced all 17 rooms on the two floors, including the large kitchen. The ceilings were 14 feet high.

"Now the stairs were what really fascinated us. They were winding stairs starting from the first floor and winding their way to the second floor and then to the attic. If one stood at the bottom one could see the attic door.

"The whole stairway and banister and rail were made of the finest black walnut. At the rear of the second story were the servants quarters consisting of a kitchen and four bedrooms."

Many beautiful homes were built in the Lockport area due to prosperity brought by the opening of the Erie Canal. Likewise, commerce brought prosperity to Lewiston, accounting for many fine homes built there.

A Lewiston resident, Mrs. Lucy W. Hawes, wrote a glowing description of the fine Lewiston homes in 1887. She wrote, "Lewiston had advantages denied to other Western New York communities. Her main or Center Street was the great overland route across the continent.

"Great lines of stages loaded with travelers headed for Niagara Falls. Lewiston was the custom port and the distributing post office. Sometimes 30 ox teams conveyed merchandise up the Portage Road to Niagara Falls and Buffalo." About the homes, she wrote, "Nearly every house had its hand carved walnut stair rail, high ceilings, floor length windows, candelabra, pianos, marble fireplaces in every room and other evidence of the prevailing prosperity of that early period."

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The Chase Vault (Moving Coffins of Barbados)

There is a vault in a West Indies cemetery that prefers its coffins in disarray. An entire family was buried within - the Chase family. One by one, family members both young and old would die and be carefully placed in their eternal resting place - until the father (rumoured to be one of the most hated men on the island) was interred. When the ground keepers opened the door to store him within, all the coffins seemed to have scattered themselves about the floor.

The strange occurrence happened again and again. Some reports say people could actually hear the coffins moving themselves while locked inside the cement sealed vault.

Many a strange thing has happened in the West Indies - not the least of which is the case of Barbados' self-moving coffins. The story goes that the family Chase had a crypt in a local cemetery to hold all the family members who'd passed on. The first to be housed in the edifice was Mrs. Thomasina Goddard in or around 1807. She was followed by two year old Mary Ann Chase in 1808 and then by another child - Dorcas Chase in 1812.

Those coffins were all very well behaved until the family head - Thomas Chase - was to be placed inside. Thomas, as we've already stated, is said to have been one of the more despised men on the island. When the crypt was opened to place him inside, the other coffins seemed to have moved themselves from their orderly places.

Those in the funeral party were angered at the finding, supposing heartless robbers to be responsible. This thought was soon abandoned as nothing was missing from the coffins, nothing of value had been placed inside in the first place, and (most significantly) the door to the burial site was a huge stone cemented in place. To open it, the cemetery workers quite literally had to do so with a hammer and chisel. The stone was also said to have been so big, a team of at least four men would be needed to move it. Confused, the townspeople placed the freshest body inside and resealed the vault.

The newest coffin was a 240 lb. lead coffin, an extremely difficult thing to toss about for anyone looking to drag it around until money fell out.

In 1816 another burial was to take place - this time for eleven year old Charles Brewster Ames. Again the coffins were everywhere but in their proper places. The 240 lb. lead coffin of Thomas Chase was also in the wrong location. The crypt had been completely sealed and, again, had no signs of tampering or forced entry.

52 days later, another burial was to take place in the crypt. A large crowd gathered for this one, and they weren't disappointed. This time the cement-sealed door was closely examined before opening, with no strange findings. Again the coffins had thrown themselves about. There was a difference this time in that the first coffin that had been placed inside - the only one made of wood - had been badly damaged by the tussle. A reverend was called in to check the scene, but left with no new insight. Once again the vault was sealed.

In 1819 another family burial was needed. The vault was opened with all the same results - except the wooden one found damaged the last time had not been moved one single inch. The governor of the island (Lord Combermere) had enough at this point and ordered his own investigation - nothing was found. This time sand was scattered on the ground to catch the footprints and movements of any pranksters. The governor's own seal was placed in the hardening cement, then the vault was ordered sealed until the next family tragedy.

But the governor couldn't wait that long.

Less than a year later the head-of-state ordered the crypt opened, this time only in front of himself and several friends. The seal was perfectly intact upon arrival, but the coffins were still scattered. Some of them had even flipped upside down, and one was lying halfway up the stairs leading to the door. The sand so carefully placed before gave away no footprints or signs of water. The governor then ordered the coffins removed to a new burial site, and the crypt was left open. It's standing open and empty to this very day.

We don't know about you, but we're not scared of it at all.

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The Haunted Castle of Oldenburg Princess

The right for long-term rent of Castle of Oldenburg Princess of the 19th century – one of the main sightseeing sites of the Voronezh Region of Russia – has been put out for tender.

According to psychics and ufologists, the Castle of Oldenburg Princess is not only a sightseeing site but also an anomalous zone with strong paranormal activity: it is known that here people often fall down in a faint; rats, mice, and flies do not dwell in the castle, and besides, tourists mark sudden and frequent camera breakages.

In 1879 this estate near the Russian city of Voronezh was a wedding present of the emperor Alexander II to granddaughter of Nicolas I Grand Duchess Eugenya Romanova (married name Oldenburg). The Princess used to visit the castle very often.

After 1917 the castle’s owner migrated to France. The new Russian authorities used the building as a school, then as hospital and library. 30 years ago the building was admitted to be no longer suitable for exploitation.

Now the region’s administration hopes that a new investor will restore the castle and the nearby park and make it the main sightseeing of the Voronezh Region.

Earlier the press wrote that Prince Michael of Kent (great grandson of the Russian Tsar Alexander II) wanted to purchase the castle while being on their visit to Voronezh in spring 2007. However, Prince was refused as the local authorities explained that the castle was registered as federal property and therefore could not be sold.

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Poltergeist Forces Family to Flee Home

A poltergeist that has forced a terrified Carlisle family to flee their home is to be "cleansed" by a vicar.

Spooky happenings prompted Allison Marshall, 27, to bundle her family out of the house in Mardale Road, Raffles, in the middle of the night.

Carlisle Housing Association, which owns the property, has now arranged for a priest to step in and end the family's nightmare.

Allison and children Rebecca, three, Emily, four, Shannon, seven, and Aaron, eight, enduring a series of bizarre happenings at the house that has been her home for four years.

She and her children are now staying with her mother Lesley Whitewick, 46.

The drama began last week with a catalogue of inexplicable happenings, which included household objects hurtling around the room and sudden and unexplained drops in the temperature in the house.

They continued with the mysterious appearance of a skull image in a picture frame in a glass display cabinet and disturbing noises in the dead of night, including a child sobbing.

A family friend called in a clairvoyant, who claimed he saw the image of a child in a dressing gown.

Allison said: "I don't really want to leave the house so it would be better if they could do something to sort it out and get this thing out of my house. If they can't get rid of it I'll have to move."

In a statement, Carlisle Housing Association said: "Carlisle Housing Association takes any situation which is causing distress to its tenants seriously and will offer support and assistance where it can.

"Two members of CHA Housing Management team visited the tenant on Monday morning to assess the situation and also arranged for the local vicar to contact her separately.

"We appreciate the distress Miss Marshall has voiced and will continue to offer her our support."

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Historic Boston Hotel Has Haunted Past

The story: The third floor is the paranormal hotspot at this historic Boston hotel. Charlotte Cushman, a renowned 19th century stage actress who played both male and female roles (Lady Macbeth as well as Hamlet), died in 1876 in her room on the third floor. Now, one of the elevators often travels on its own to the third floor, even when no buttons are pushed.

More haunting: Charlotte isn't the only ghost suspected to haunt the third floor of the Omni Parker House. A businessman died in Room 303. Guests and staff have reported the smell of whiskey and raucous laughter. After a large number of guest complaints, the room was converted into a closet.



Spooky visits: Some surprised guests have reported seeing Harvey Parker, the hotel's founder, in their rooms asking about their stay. Mr. Parker died in 1884.

History and legend: The Omni Parker House was the gathering place for "The Saturday Club," a group that included Longfellow, Thoreau, Dickens and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Since Longfellow's favorite room was on the third floor, many suspect the elevator is returning him upstairs after a club meeting.