A Trip to The Point...Lost in Space and Time
by Ken Stilgebouer
This article was offered by my friend & colleague paranormal researcher / author Rosemary Ellen Guiley in her recent newsletter. I was given permission to reproduce it here. You can subscribe to her monthly newsletter at Strange Dimensions - www.visionaryliving.com
[Note: A mysterious traveler stumbled into Point Pleasant, WV, or "The Point," during the Mothman Festival on the weekend of September 18-20. He interacted with a number of people, including me, my husband Joe, and our friends Ken Stilgebouer and Lee Scott. He was completely disoriented in time and space. Was his predicament a case of human confusion -- or did something strangely go wrong on his road trip?
Ken Stilgebouer, a veteran explorer of the mysterious, pieces together the traveler's bizarre odyssey, and makes a comparison to The Mothman Prophecies. I've changed the traveler's name to a pseudonym...Ro]
Ron woke up in his three-bedroom ranch home in Hobart, Indiana, excited about getting on the road. It was Friday, September 18, and he was going to the 2015 Sentinel Summit in Greenville, South Carolina. Ron had joined Heritage Action for America so that he could support the Republican goals of limited government and a better America. Ron was excited to know that he would be able to see the Republican Presidential candidates speak on Friday night and then attend regional breakout groups for the Sentinels on Saturday so that they could further plan their activities for the upcoming election.
Ron’s bags were packed, his leather portfolio was filled with all of his important Sentinel documents, he had his GPS, and he was ready to drive to Greenville. The drive seemed simple enough. Take I-65 to I-64 to I-75 to I-40 to get dumped into Greenville. It would be a long drive--ten hours to cover 670 miles, but if he left at 6 AM he should arrive in time for the Presidential candidate speeches scheduled to begin at 5 PM. As it was, Ron didn’t get out the door until after 8 AM, and was now hoping he would be able to attend a few of the speeches.
It was 2 PM when Ron rolled into Louisville, KY. He stopped for a quick bite, got back in the car and continued on I-65 as it veered to the east and turned into I-64. Ron was now heading for Lexington, KY, where he had planned to merge onto I-75 and continue south towards Greenville, SC. Ron noticed that he was beginning to lose some time and that he should hurry if he was going to attend any of the speeches. He failed to notice that there was something wrong with the GPS and that it was no longer directing him to his desired destination.
Speeding past the I-75 turnoff, he continued east on I-64. It was close to 5 PM when he hit Huntington, WV, and he was now worried that he might not be going the correct way to Greenville. The GPS had failed completely and now only showed a green background with no streets. Ron figured that if he continued to follow I-64 east it would eventually take him to I-95 where he could turn south again and head for Greenville.
“It would be nice to have a map,” Ron thought and he exited from the highway in Huntington to search for a map. Finding a map would prove to be a challenge. Ron checked drug stores, liquor stores, grocery stores, and gas stations without luck. He finally found a West Virginia map and, satisfied with that, decided to move on. At least he would get to Virginia.
By the time his map search was over, the sun had set and Ron was driving east on Route 2 parallel to I-64. He figured he’d catch Route 60 back to I-64 and would be back on track. Fatigue had set in, however, and Ron then missed his turn and continued on Route 2 as it slowly turned north to Point Pleasant. With the fatigue came the confusion. “I should have planned this better,” Ron muttered to himself.
It was late when Ron arrived in Point Pleasant. He spied the Lowe Hotel, the only hotel in town, and decided to book a room. It was the annual Mothman Festival weekend, and normally all rooms are booked months in advance. Fortunately for Ron, a single room was available due to a late cancellation.
While he was checking in at the desk with Marcia Finley, the daughter of hotel owners Rush and Ruth Finley, Ro and Joe arrived, much later than usual, and came up to the desk. It was a few minutes before 9 PM. Ron was talking about being in town for "the meeting." Marcia assumed he was with the Mothman Festival and pointed to Ro and said, "Here's one of your fellow speakers."
Turning around, Ron said to Ro, "Ah, then you must be a Sentinel." Ro looked at Ron quizzically and responded that she was a speaker at the Mothman Festival and inquired if he was here for another conference. Confused, Ron thought that maybe he might be in the wrong town and asked how far he was from interstate 95. Ro responded, "A long way," and Ron was more mixed up than ever.
Ron took his bags to his room and wandered out to find something to eat. He was not sure if he was in Greenville, SC or Point Pleasant, WV.
Later in the evening, Ro and Joe were having a late dinner at the Iron Gate when they met up with the famed paranormal investigators Ken and Lee, aka Those Guys, who joined them for a glass of wine. Ro mentioned that there must be another conference in Point Pleasant because she had met a man who thought she was a “sentinel” at some kind of event. Ken and Lee replied “interesting” and asked for a refill of their wine glasses.
The Mothman 5K was run from outside of the Lowe Hotel on Saturday morning at 8 AM. Ken and Lee ran the course. There was some time after the run and prior to the award ceremonies for a quick breakfast, so Ken and Lee dashed inside the hotel to fill up on sausage, biscuits, bacon, gravy, eggs, hash browns, and coffee.
In the buffet line, a tall, well-dressed and trim man began to chat with Ken and Lee. It was Ron. Ken and Lee were heading to a table to sit and eat when Ron asked if maybe “the meeting” was behind the swinging doors where other diners were eating. Ken said, “I doubt it,” and so Ron joined Ken and Lee for breakfast.
Ron then told Ken and Lee his story of getting lost, his GPS failing, and taking forever to find a map. Once he did find a map he was finally able to get to where he needed to be – or so he was convinced. It was so confusing, all of the driving around, but he was here now and able to attend “the meeting.”
During the discussion Ron never made eye contact. Ken looked at Ron’s eyes and could see the confusion as if Ron thought he was in the right place but knew something was very wrong about it. Ron told Ken and Lee that it took forever for him to find the Greenville Hyatt but now that he was here he could attend the Sentinel meeting. Ken and Lee did not tell Ron that he was terribly off course and was in the Lowe Hotel.
Ken and Lee stood up to go to the 5K awards ceremony. Ron stood with them and said, “Well, I guess it’s time to go to the meeting,” to which they replied that they were not going to the meeting but to the 5K awards ceremony. Ron never noticed that Ken and Lee were wearing sweaty running clothes, which should have tipped him off that they were not Sentinels.
The 5K awards ceremony was held outside of the front entrance of the Lowe. While the ceremony was going on, Ron left the Lowe Hotel, portfolio in hand, and walked across the street. He tried to open the doors of the Mothman Museum with no luck. Spotting a person at a side door, he rushed over and asked if the meetings were going to begin soon. It was explained to Ron that this was a museum and that no meetings were planned.
Ron returned to the Lowe Hotel and began to review all of his paperwork for the event. The confusion began to clear and Ron realized that he was in the wrong town and wrong state. At checkout he discussed his plans with Ruth Finley to return back to Hobart. Having realized that he was over 350 miles from Greenville, he decided it would be fruitless to carry on, and the return home was his best option. Ron checked out.
But he did not immediately leave town. Later in the day, Ro entered the hotel and saw him sitting in the lobby, talking on his cell phone with a file folder on his lap. She overheard him say he had figured out how to get to the Greenville Hyatt.
After that, Ron disappeared from Point Pleasant.
Ron’s story is very similar to the character John Klein in the movie The Mothman Prophecies. Klein is based on John Keel, the original investigator of the Mothman sightings and wave of high strangeness that occurred in 1966-67. Klein, a newspaper columnist, leaves work to drive home and ends up in Point Pleasant, hundreds of miles from home, and has to check into the Lowe Hotel. Ron also ends up in Point Pleasant very confused about how he ended up there. Ron’s mind has trouble resolving this conundrum and floats between thinking he is in Greenville, SC, or very far away from his destination. His lucidity comes back on Saturday morning when he is forced to realize that the only event happening around him is the Mothman Festival.
It makes one wonder if this type of time and space displacement event may occur more often than we know, or if it is a harbinger of things to come.
[My comment on Ken's account of this episode of strangeness: Other time and space displacements have been reported in West Virginia, especially the area around Seneca Rocks, which I document in Big Book of West Virginia Ghost Stories, The (Big Book of Ghost Stories)
Like Ken says, do these events happen more than we realize? Perhaps they are not reported, but passed off as confusion, mistake, or hallucination...Ro]c. Visionary Living, Inc.
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Russian Space Enthusiast Raises 1 Million Rubles to Prove U.S. Moon Landing
Vitaly Yegorov has managed to raise over 1 million rubles online to fund a new lunar satellite mission.
The space enthusiast and PR specialist had become so disillusioned with conspiracy theories suggesting that the Apollo moon landings were a hoax that he decided to take it upon himself to prove once and for all that the historic moon missions actually did take place.
With the backing of a group of engineers, Yegorov set up a fund-raising campaign on the Russian equivalent of Kickstarter to raise money for the construction of a satellite that he hopes to launch in to orbit around the moon where it will take high-resolution images of the Apollo landing sites.
To his surprise the campaign managed to exceed its 800,000-ruble milestone within days.
An employee of private aerospace firm Dauria Aerospace, Yegorov has long maintained an interest in space exploration and had been contemplating a satellite mission to the moon for some time.
While the initial funds raised won't be enough to get the satellite off the ground they will help to ensure that the research stage of the mission comes to fruition.
It could ultimately cost somewhere between $5 and $10 million to build and launch the spacecraft.
Whether the mission, which is tentatively scheduled for 2020, will be able to silence the conspiracy theorists and prove that the moon landings did indeed take place however remains to be seen.
"To question it means to question the very competence of all the Soviet space specialists," Yegorov told the Moscow Times. "It was completely impossible to deceive people like this. They would have called their bluff immediately, if there was any doubt." - Russian Space Enthusiast Raises 1 Million Rubles to Prove U.S. Moon Landing
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Psychic Healer at Bombay Hospital
Bombay Hospital runs a department that specialises in psychic healing, a procedure that contravenes accepted medical practice and shuns such traditional methods as surgery, radiology, medication, or even, as this correspondent discovered, a physical examination of the patient. The unit, headed by Ramakant Keni and designated the Parapsychology Department, offers a form of healing that is not recognised by the Medical Council of India or its Maharashtra chapter, both of which have granted Bombay Hospital official recognition as a medical facility.
Dr Kishor Taori, chairman of the Maharashtra Medical Council, confirmed to Mumbai Mirror that Keni's department was illegal. "The hospitals that receive recognition from the council may practice only those procedures that are included in our guidelines," he said. "Parapsychology is not such a procedure and this practice may come under scrutiny if a complaint is filed with us."
This doesn't appear to deter Keni, who said he obtained a diploma in medical science from Goa Medical College in 1944, and has "treated" patients at Bombay Hospital for close to 50 years using psychic healing methods that include communing with the dead.
Mumbai Mirror visited him for a consultation on Monday. Outside his chamber, Room No. 21, a sign described Keni as a geriatrician and parapsychologist. Inside sat a genial man in a crisp grey jacket, a wispy beard framing his chin. "I don't need X-Ray, CT scan, MRI or even a stethoscope to diagnose you," he said. "I don't need to feel your pulse or ask about your medical history. 'We' can diagnose you just by looking at your face." Keni clarified that he used the plural pronoun to indicate the dead souls that were present in the room. "I have a direct conversation with these souls," he explained. "They tell me which medicines I should prescribe to you." Following this little performance, Keni held my thumbs in his prayer bead-encircled hands, and pronounced his diagnosis: neck pain (partially true), excessive consumption of junk food (incorrect) and a history of typhoid and jaundice (incorrect).
With that the consultation ended - Keni said he charges Rs 1,500 per visit, but that his fee was proportional to the gravity of the disease, and could range up to Rs 10,000.
The parapsychologist deflected questions about the qualifications that enabled him to practice his trade. "Do you think I am a quack? Why do you go into my background instead of looking at the work I do?" he demanded. On being pressed for an answer about his academic record, Keni said, "I did a three-year diploma course from Goa Medical College in 1944. I renew my registration with the Maharashtra Medical Council every five years."
Keni's overseer, Bombay Hospital's medical director, Dr Rajkumar Patil, was equally evasive when questioned about the parapsychologist's antecedents. "I need to check his file. The office is closed now. I will have an answer for you tomorrow," he said, on Monday. Mumbai Mirror's queries on Tuesday were met with hostility. "What is your purpose in seeking this information?" Dr Patil asked. "Send us a letter and we'll decide if we should reveal this information to you." Subsequent messages and mails to him remained unanswered.
Two prominent doctors to whom Mumbai Mirror directed questions about Keni's practice dismissed it as "quackery" and "illegal". "Parapsychology is not a medical treatment. It is not taught by any of the recognised medical universities in India," said Dr Suhas Pingle, secretary of the Indian Medical Association's Maharashtra wing. "People like Keni prey on those with a weak mind. And Bombay Hospital should disclose why it is running such a department."
Dr Sandeep Walavalkar, consulting psychiatrist and member of the Indian Psychiatrists Society and its Mumbai chapter said, "Ramakant Keni is involved in an unlawful and unethical practice. Doctors from Bombay Hospital should speak up against his bogus methods." - Man appointed 'psychic healer' at Bombay clinic
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Large Bi-Ped Chases Child From Woods
around 1973 or 1974 - Harford, Bel Air, Maryland
Kelly called in to tell of something weird that happened to him when he was a child:
“I was a private investigator for almost 15 years. I'm 50 years old now but this happened when I was a child. I grew riding horses in the woods with my friends. My brothers rode dirt bikes so i learned to ride dirt bikes as well. So three of us are on a dirt bike, we were small so we could all fit. We are riding through the woods where we've ridden many many times times, it's called Harford Glenn, it's in Maryland. And i wanted to get off the bike. I got off the bike and my friends took off down the trail. We know this area like the back of our hands. Soon as they go down the trail, I hear a very loud thud and I could feel it, it was heavy. Now, I have horses. I know 15 hundred pound animals feel like when they stomp their feet and glide so I know what a heavy animal sounds like when they hit the ground. This was a biped, it was two-legged and I heard thud, I heard some brush move I heard thud thud thud thud thud and it was getting closer to me and I had instant fear. Now I’ve never been afraid in the woods ever and I've ridden my horse many times as a kid by myself or been in the woods by myself. I had instant fear and instant panic and this thing was running towards me in long heavy strides and i took off running down that trail like nobody's business screaming at my friends. I caught up to them on the dirt bike and i was screaming, just yelling and screaming for them to stop. They stopped and i jumped on that bike and I said, 'Go! Go! Go!' We took off up the trail and back to my friend's house which, we were not far from houses at all, it was amazing. I was terrified. I was absolutely terrified. They had to take me home. My brother's went out and searched the area, they didn't find anything but they did find large footprints. Large footprints – like 12 or 13 inch footprints. Like Bigfoot foot prints. Now this was at a wildlife sanctuary called Harford Glenn in Maryland and the road was a dead end road right to the woods. We rode the horses from the farm which was maybe a mile away, all through this area, all through the woods everywhere. We knew this area like the back of our hands. We grew up in these woods. Yeah, it was biped. It was biped. It was large big and heavy and I'm used to 15 hundred pound animals. I know what they sound like when they stomp their feet, when they jump, when they land on the ground, you know, all these kinds of things, this thing was big and heavy and a biped. This was in Bel Air, Maryland. My hand to God, everything I’m telling you is true. I'm shaking right now telling you. It as a marsh wet land area. There was houses on the outskirts of it.”
Source: Coast to Coast Radio - September 29, 2013
Transcribed by Jamie Brian
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I had previously mentioned something about placing audio on the blog, newsletter and Facebook referencing paranormal / cryptid odd & ends and Arcane Radio. I would likely upload on Sunday or sometime during the weekend. Well, I may start this sooner than later. If you have a few suggestions on what I should include, feel free to comment. Lon
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Hi folks...today's 'Daily 2 Cents' is the only post for today. Vanessa was admitted to the hospital on Weds. evening. She was barely eating and was becoming lethargic. She is now in the ICU and being monitored. The newest CAT scan showed a cavity in her lung...they assume that it's an infection. Just wanted to keep everyone updated. Thanks again for your continued support. Lon
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