Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Ghost Cities Explained, UFOs Too?

Following this headline-grabbing sighting of a Chinese 'ghost city', I thought I would take a moment to share with you a section from Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma on the unusual phenomenon at the heart of this and how it might relate to UFO sightings.

Few people realize that our atmosphere is capable of creating some rather bizarre phenomena. In fact, it is capable of creating one of the most confusing sights of all – a mirage.

A mirage occurs when light, passing through air layers of different densities, refracts (or bends) towards the denser air. Usually we see a mirage as the sky reflecting on the ground. However, another type of mirage can cause an image of something on the ground to appear in the sky.

This particular type of mirage, known as a superior mirage, forms in a condition called temperature inversion. This is when the air in one layer of atmosphere is colder than the layer directly above it. When this occurs, light rays refract toward the colder, denser air (downward). This refraction causes the image of an object or light source to appear above its actual position. The rate, at which the temperature rises in relation to height, changes the way those light rays travel from that object to our eyes.

This effect can make the image appear in the sky even when it is well below the horizon. These images can also seem distorted and appear projected far above their actual position. They can appear taller, shorter, larger, smaller or any combination of these. Images can even appear inverted or multiplied.

The most common form of a superior mirage is a looming mirage. These have usually appeared over large bodies of water when the liquid is colder than the air above. The same thing can occur in deserts, where the ground (especially during the spring and fall) can cool down much more rapidly than the air. Because of this illusion, the object will often appear to be “floating” in the sky. If there is a great deal of refraction occurring, then the object(s) can appear very high in the sky.

This may be the cause of such sightings as “flying ghost ships” and UFOs. Dr. Ivan Sanderson, who is something of an authority on UFOs as they relate to water, stated in his book, Invisible Residents, that “by actual account, over 50 percent of all so-called ‘sightings’ of UFOs have occurred over, coming from, going away over, plunging into or coming out of water.”

The atmospheric inversion necessary for this phenomenon to appear most often occurs during the night and can last for long periods. It is at night that earthbound lights can become part of a superior mirage. Headlights, refracted into the sky, can appear larger, faster and seemingly capable of impossible aeronautical maneuvers.

Many individuals who have claimed to see UFOs say they can travel at high speeds and suddenly make a ninety-degree turn. It is possible that the headlights of a car, traveling down a road, can become part of a mirage, which projects them high into the sky (under the proper circumstances). The lights on this vehicle could appear to be a high velocity UFO making an amazing ninety-degree turn when it’s simply turning a corner. Because of the exaggeration of the mirage, these two small lights can appear larger, faster, or even become a “squadron” of lights.

In the book Rainbows, Haloes and Glories, Robert Greenler recounted an instance of a superior mirage appearing over Lake Michigan. The people of Grand Haven, Michigan saw city lights and a flashing red beacon floating over the lake. The nearest city, however, was Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which lies seventy-five miles away – well below the horizon. And the looming mirage of what might have been Bristol England was seen regularly for several years from a vantage point in Alaska.

This is a strong, scientific case for some sightings but it hardly explains them all. There are sightings all over the world in many different types of atmospheric conditions. They cannot all be mirages. Some UFO sightings still defy explanation. Those sightings will continue to fuel the debate, challenge science, and spark our curiosity.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Highway Heebie Jeebies

Missing persons of a similar profile and their abandoned vehicles in vicinity to one another....Serial Killing Truckers....Mysterious plateless vehicles roaring like a bat out of hell....Here's one to instill trepidation in your next lonesome trek along some desolate highway.....

Click To Read

Thursday, June 23, 2011

"Family" of Sasquatch Prints Reported In New Mexico

Near Glorieta, NM, a source (going solely by the moniker "bonobomichael") has written online (via Associated Content) that he and a companion had heard that state police were looking into reports from campers about huge footprints seen near La Queva Creek in the town of Glorieta. The pair decided to investigate for themselves and discovered huge tracks (in various sizes) that ran for nearly a mile in the sandy soil before petering out near a rocky outcropping.

Read more HERE

Bonobomichael didn't take any pictures--at least, none are posted--so we really only have his word on this. As a self-described artist, I would think the man would have access to a camera and the foresight to bring it along should he decide to investigate sasquatch tracks. The man has interest in UFOs, getting stoned and writing pointless anecdotes that sometimes touch upon all things bigfoot.

I don't say this to disparage his testimony; rather, to give you a fuller understanding about who made this report. Read through his oeuvre on Associated Content and decide for yourself if this seems like a credible witness.

Other blogs have begun picking up this tale without questioning the man who made it. I have to wonder about his sobriety at the time of his adventure.  I wonder about his strong interest in sasquatch and peculiar ramblings about the creature running about downtown Santa Fe.  I'm curious as to why he didn't take any pictures or casts.  I also wonder if the State Police ever actually investigated any such claims by campers, which doesn't seem likely.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

2nd Annual Paranormal Photo Hoax Contest

Strange State's 2nd Annual Paranormal Photo Contest begins accepting submissions August 1, 2011.  Click here for the join the flickr group, check out the rules, and try your own hand at fooling us all.

Next Finding Bigfoot To Investigate Mountaintop Sighting?

Check out this post at Cryptomundo

NEW LOCH NESS SIGHTING

For the first time in a long time, Nessie has been spotted plying the waters of that famous Scottish loch.

Local shop owners, Simon and Jan Hargreaves, spotted the mysterious creature while gazing out their shop's windows, which overlooks Loch Ness. They spotted something oddly-shaped swimming through the water. It dove beneath the surface for half a minute or so, before breaching the depth once more.

Working on the lake, the pair are accustomed to what is normal and what isn't. This wasn't normal. For one, the Hargreaves felt the creature was far too long-necked to be anything as ordinary as a seal.

The couple, who've only owned the shop for about a year, insist they aren't making these claims to seek any sort of publicity. And "Nessie" hunter Steve Feltham, who lives on the lake, is inclined to agree.

"I'm excited by the fact it was locals who had seen it," Feltham said.

But if one cannot see motive in the new store owners' wish to drum up publicity in a global recession, he may lack a certain degree of cynicism.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Mysteries of Mons: Horrible Hounds and Haunted Heavens (or perhaps merely German experiments)

Is there any truth to the seemingly tabloid tale that took hold of the press during World War I? Purportedly witnessed by soldiers, an unearthly creature near the Belgium town of Mons savaged friend and foe alike. One report suggests there was some truth to the legend
As printed in an August 10, 1919 edition of The Oklahoman:
WEIRD FRENCH HOUND IS DECLARED REALITY
Teeth Marks Left on the Wounded as Proof.
Montreal, Canada, Aug. 9.--

That weird legend of No Man's Land, the gruesome epic of the "hound of Mons," has, according to F.J. Newhouse, a returned Canadian veteran, been vindicated throughout Europe as fact and not fiction. For four years civilian skeptics laughed at the soldiers' tale of a giant, skulking hound, which stalked among the corpses and shell holes of No Man's Land and dragged down British soldiers to their death. An apparition of fear-crazed minds, they said. But to the soldiers it was a reality and one of the most fearful things of the world war.


"The death of Dr. Gottlieb Hochmuller in the recent Spartacan riots in Berlin," said Capt. Newhouse, "has brought to light facts concerning the fiendish application of this German scientist's skill that have astounded Europe. For the hound of Mons was not an accident, a phantom, or an hallucination--it was the deliberate result of one of the strangest and most repulsive scientific experiments the world has ever known.


Teeth Marks in Throats.


What was the hound of Mons? According to the soldiers, the legend started in the terrible days of the defense of Mons. On the night of November 14, 1914, Capt. Yeskes and four men of the London Fusiliers entered No Man's Land on patrol. The last living trace of them was when they started into the darkness between the lines. Several days afterward their dead bodies were found--just as they had been dragged down--with teeth marks at the throats.


Several nights later a weird, blood-curdling howl was heard from the darkness toward which the British trenches faced. It was the howl of the hound of Mons. From then on this phantom hound became the terror of the men who faced death by bullets with a smile. It was the old fear of the unknown.


Howl is Heard.


Patrol after patrol, during two years of warfare, ventured out only to be found days later with the telltale marks at their throats. The ghastly howl continued to echo through No Man's Land. Several times sentries declared that they saw a lean, grey wraith flit past the barbed wire--the form of a gigantic hound running silently. But civilian Europe always doubted the story.


Then after two years, while many brave men lost their lives with only those teeth marks at the throat to show, the hound of Mons disappeared. From then on the Germans never had another important success.


"And now," says Captain Newhouse, "secret papers have been taken from the residence of the late Dr. Hochmuller which prove that the hound of Mons was a terrible living reality, a giant hound with the brain of a human madman."


Hound Had Human Brain.


Captain Newhouse says that the papers show that this hound was the only successful issue of a series of experiments by which Dr. Hochmller hoped to end the war in Germany's favor. The scientist had gone about the wards of the German hospitals until he found a man gone mad as the result of his insane hatred of England. Hochmuller, with the sanction of the German government, operated upon him and removed his brain, taking in particular the parts which dominated hatred and frenzy.


At the same time a like operation was performed on a giant Siberian wolfhound. Its brain was taken out and the brain of the madman inserted. By careful nursing the dog lived. The man was permitted to die.


The dog rapidly grew stronger and, after careful training in fiendishness, wa taken to the firing line and released in No Man's Land. There for two years it became the terror of outposts and patrols.

If this sounds vaguely like the premise to an X-Files film, you're not too far off. Read this and watch the weird Russian "experiment".

In a May 2009 issue of Fortean Times Alistair Moffatt points out that no such person as Captain Yeskes was with the London Fusiliers, citing the name as a Canadian or American one. To him this meant the tale likely arose from Canadian's imagination. Moreover, the Battle of Mons occurred in August 1914, not November and that the tale of the Hound of Mons likely came from a spurious account about one of Captain Max von Stephanitz's experiments in breeding German Shepherds. Stephanitz is the man credited with the breed as it is known today.

Mons is also know for another spectacular tale: The Angel of Mons.

In 1914, Arthur Machen wrote a story entitled The Bowmen about a group of English soldiers who were under heavy fire from advancing German troops at Mons. One of the men jokingly said: 'May Saint George be a present help to the English!' It followed that Saint George appeared alongside the ghosts of bowmen present at the battle of Agincourt in 1415. The story was pure fiction, but in a style well ahead of its day, Machen wrote it as if it had all been reported truthfully from soldiers on the front.

And people began to believe it.

In fact, the bowmen soon became angels and various soldiers came forward to declare they had actually witnessed the event. Scientists, psychologists, psychics, occultists, and the like all weighed in with different theories on what the manifestation had been.

Then, in 1930, a story was printed in several papers that claimed a former German intelligence officer could back up this story--with an equally fantastic one.

Colonel Friedrick Herzenwirth originally told a New York paper that the 'Angles of Mons' were nothing more than motion picture images projected onto foggy cloudbanks from German aircraft.

Friedrick stated that the object was to instill superstitious fears in the British, but the plan was flawed. Instead of being frightening, the awesome images were a galvanizing force for their war-tattered foes. The British saw Saint George; whereas, a projected woman was seen as the Blessed Virgin by Russians and Joan of Arc by the French. It was this subjective nature that ultimately led to the experiment's downfall.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Sasquatch Video Is Good, But Hardly Evidence



I like this video. It doesn't impress me as evidence, but it does impress me that it may not be a hoax. I don't know WHAT is coming out of that doubtlessly cold water, but there do seem to be two of them and they are darkly-clad or, okay, even covered in hair. Even if you rented a couple of monkey costumes from the shop to play a hoax, would you risk your deposti to get them soaking wet. Would the joke be worth it to subject yourself to the freezing mountain stream? Granted, we could be seing drysuits and not darkly wet hair or fur. The resolution simply isn't there. Another telling point is that the subject of the video is clearly our-trip-down-the-rapids and remains so. We aren't affronted by any "Dude! What the bleep is that" moments, for which I'm grateful. These men are focused on the river and not worried about something on the shore. Makes sense.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Mysterious Blob Washes Ashore In Barbados...Sea Monster?


Read More Here
Barbadians examine the mysterious 'globster' that washed
ashore June, 1 2011. 


















Could this be related to the 'sea monster' spotted by Barbados fishermen last November?

Now Stay Put! Texas Bigfoot Hunters Endure Lengthy Investigation

Members of the TBRC, Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy, are in the midst of what they term Operation Endurance, a 45-day continuous investigation of a known hotspot in eastern Texas. Unlike the typical one-night-stand approach, the TBRC hopes this effort will produce results through a long-term presence. I'm keen to see what evidence comes out of this, as I have often proposed this technique for cryptozoological expeditions and various paranormal investigations as well. Rarely has scientific evidence been gathered "over the weekend" when everyone had a some time to spare. I hope TBRC's model will encourage similar groups to explore this possibility.

Read More

Friday, June 17, 2011

Have Paranormal TV Shows Finally Jumped The Shark....er....Ghost?


Bagans works his swagger

Premiering tonight on the Travel Channel, Paranormal Challenge stars manga-haired Zak Bagans as the host of TV's most unlikely game show reality competition.  Two teams are ostensibly sent forth into a haunted location to gather the most evidence of paranormal phenomena. The findings of each team is then judged by a panel that includes Bagans and three other "nationally recognized paranormal experts".

Almost imperceptibly over the past few years, paranormal programs have sold their souls to the devil of ratings, sacrificing what marginal respect they may have once possessed. And they've taken much criticism for their efforts. However, now we've reached a new low that must exist somewhere between Dante's 8th and 9th circles: reality competition shows. Is this paranormal TV's jump-the-shark moment?

I would have thought the death knell was rung when well-supported claims of trickery were levied against Ghost Hunters.  But you can't keep a good fan down. The show plowed on, quite nicely too. Had it not, we mightn't be in this situation. I suppose for the casual, LOL! OMG! That's so funny! viewer it's not a big deal. But for many, researching the paranormal is important to them and they take it seriously. When it all becomes a game, respect falters and it then becomes that much harder for these men and women to pursue their goals. Imagine trying to persuade property owners of a much-coveted location that you're not just "messin' around" when, from their perspective, the proof is incontrovertible: Paranormal Challenge.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bigfoot Indie Flick In The Works


Filming has begun on an independent venture entitled "The Lost Coast Tapes," which finds a 'cynical investigative journalist and his...team' deep in Northern California's majestic Humboldt County attempting to debunk a man's claims of having found a dead Bigfoot. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse and the crew find themselves chronicling their own fight to survive an 'unseen horror'.

Written by Bryan O'Cain and Brian Kelsey, the Corey Grant-directed project smacks of the much-abused faux cinema verite style known as 'found footage' employed ad nauseum since the Blair Witch Project by such films as Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity. In that sense, it would become like so many clones of the Matrix that sought that same fight-by-wire action style or "bullet time" effect. It's been done.

But! I can forgive them this IF their story is strong. If they can use this style simply as a medium to elevate their story and not a crutch upon which it must limp. Trust me, I'm rooting for them. There has yet to be a Bigfoot film that does the topic justice. The market is overly-saturated with blood-soaked, jiggly-boob offerings. I've long said it's high time for a smart, important work.

Will this be it? We will just have to wait. The film, which is currently in principle shooting, won't see release (in whatever fashion) until next year. I think this will give them time to work out any potential kinks.

PARANORMAL AMERICA

Sociologists Christopher Bader and F. Carson Mencken of Baylor University and Joseph Baker of East Tennessee State University examine the American fascination with the paranormal:

"Paranormal America is an authoritative but extremely readable analysis of an important but often ignored subculture. This fine book explains how many people seek personally-relevant meaning in a chaotic and often alienating world. In these pages we learn much not only about believers in ESP, Bigfoot, and astrology, but also about the general ways in which all human minds make sense of our perplexing position in the universe." William Bainbridge, author of Across the Secular Abyss: From Faith to Wisdom

"While this academic work showcases an astounding amount of research, the quick pacing and engaging language keep it from being a dry report of BRS findings. It is accessible to any reader with an interest in the convergence of paranormal beliefs and religion. The thought-provoking narrative will not disappoint experts on the topic." -Library Journal starred review "

But this fascinating book calls into question that easy explanation. The authors convincingly show that believing in flying saucers or some other paranormal subject -- Bigfoot, ghosts, astrology, psychics -- is not fringe at all. More than two-thirds of Americans accept the reality of at least one such phenomenon." - Washington Post

Bigfoot Faceplants? Or A New Round Of Hoaxes?

The folks at Sanger Paranormal are gearing up for a media statement on the 23rd, but images of their "find" have already crept out. What the organization claims to have stumbled upon is a "faceprint" of some bigfoot-like creature on the window of a car parked in the wilderness near Fresno, CA. As well, a nearby track--only measuring 12"--was discovered in the mud.  However, in light of recent hoaxes (the GA Bigfoot, for one), cryptozoologists like Loren Coleman are remaining skeptical.

Read More At Cryptomundo.com

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

American Ghost Hunter, A New Documentary From Ryan Buell

Putting The Paranormal In Perspective

In recent times, I have noticed more paranormal researchers stepping back from their work, taking stock, and reassessing what it is they want to gain from their endeavors.

Across the board, there appears to be an abandonment of the dogma that has for so long held down their research and, in many cases, a cessation to the work itself. Many are now refocusing their energies on family, career, and personal growth. Gone are the angry diatribes that harangued readers about government cover-ups or the lamentations on proper paranormal protocol.

The first I noticed step aside was Blogsquatcher who wrote thoughtfully about Bigfoot, etc… However, prior to his departure, he posited increasingly fantastic explanations for crypto phenomena. It seemed a harbinger of things to come, of his own dissatisfaction with the answers at hand. Others in recent times followed similar paths. The infamous Ghost Divas broke up due, in large part, to conflicts over the didactic nature of paranormal research—a dictate that says: we’ve got the answers, follow the plan. Now I’ve seen rumblings from Paul Kimball as well as the UFOiconoclast(s) that speak of the same dissatisfaction and need for perspective.

More and more, I see researchers who are crawling forth from the morass of stagnant thought and seeking to embrace the unknown. I think I can count myself among these. In all honesty, I don't think we're going to find many answers--at least not by the methods most are choosing to employ.

I think maybe it is time to put down the EMF detectors and get back to using our eyes, but more importantly to enjoying ourselves, our families, and our interests. In my research as a writer of paranormal mysteries, I have often conducted my own investigations. I tried all the tricks--lots of them, at least. And I've read all the research (both of merit and of disgrace) without once feeling as if someone had really broken through. I think if there is a scientific explanation, it may involve a quantum leap forward in our understanding of the universe(s) around us. We're not there yet. So, I'm not surprised that so many have decided to say, "You know what? It's not worth all this trouble."

On my last few ghost hunts, I did just that. I hunted ghosts. I gave myself over to the experience. And, frankly, I enjoyed myself. For the first time in a while, I enjoyed the adventure. I'm not saying throw science out. No, I still firmly believe we need solid scientific work to understand these phenomena. Nor would I ever advance that what I had been doing was anything more than thrill-seeking. I'm just saying that I don't think any of the old ways are working, that any of the old ideas are germane, and that we are any closer to understanding these mysteries than we were at the dawn of the 20th Century.

There are a great many problems in our world that could use the same concerted effort so many have put into fruitless pursuits. So, I say let us pursue all that goes bump in the night, keep our eyes open and learn what we can, but remember to keep some perspective about it all. Who knows, you may just find yourself falling in love with it all over again.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Selling Haunted Homes In A Nightmare Market

"LOMO" Scratch House









Interesting read on the legalities of selling psychologically impacted houses, vis-à-vis haunted houses or locales where murders took place. Whereas the article level-headedly examines the potential legal woes and psychological associations when it comes to selling and/or purchasing such property; not surprisingly the comments are of the be-careful-what-you-wish-for variety. These invariably descend into friend-of-a-friend stories about purchasing a haunted home (a g-g-g-ghost!) and opening portals to demonic realms and otherwise giving your soul over to Ann Coulter.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Amsterdam's Haunted History

Montelbaans Tower (Montelbaanstoren) was erected in the early 1500s to defend the ship yards from Utercht attacks. Apparently, thought it's not clear, something tragic happened to a family as they fled to the tower's safety. Since then, the same family reappears each June 2nd, reliving those terrible last moments as they fled unsuccuessfuly to the tower. Later, it became a clock tower and now serves as offices for the city water department.

Black Matthew haunts the whole city. A 13th century highwayman, magician, and thief, Matthew gambled his way through the city using his knowledge of dark magic to ensure he would come out on top each time. Well, until he ran afoul of the devil. Now his tortured soul wanders the narrow streets and canals hoping for a bit of luck.

Some believe the ghost of Anne Frank (or other family members) still clings to the cold corners of the home where the family hid from the Nazis, as so poignantly and tragically illustrated in Frank's famed diary.

During the Spanish Inquisition, the Catholic Church executed many, especially those they thought guilty of witchcraft. Amsterdam was especially hard hit by the Council of Blood's tyranny. Ghosts abound here; surely, they must, and Dam Square is where they are likely to be found. Many accused witches were burned in the plaza that is home to the Palace, which served as city hall from 1655 to 1808 when it became a royal residence.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

THE DEATH ROADS

Trisecting the expansive heath between the villages of Laren and Hilversum outside Amsterdam are three arrow-straight roads of ancient origin that meet unwaveringly at St. John's cemetery. These are the Doodwegen, of "death roads". Since before medieval times, these paths have served as ceremonial avenues for transporting the dead to their final resting place. This practice may have been instilled by Viking culture, which has a similar practice. If so, it is a tradition imparted among those in ancient Britain as well as Germany. Perhaps it is a tradition that has been embraced by Germanic peoples for a very long time. Alternatively referred to as spokenweg (spook or ghost road), there are not surprisingly tales of phantom funeral processions that spring up from time to time around these paths, which had been largely forgotten until their rediscovery in the 20th century.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Paranormal Normandy

France's Normandy coast is probably best known for the D-Day Invasion of World War II or the many painters who famously captured its beaches, pastures, and "light". But there are also mysteries here that defy explanation...

In April 1918, a violent poltergeist outbreak occurred at a home in the famed shipping town of Cherbourg along France's Normandy Coast.

In July 1910, a fantastically large black bird or bird-like object plummeted into the seas off that same-said Normandy coast and vanished. Several sailors on a nearby vessel witnessed the event.

Normandy's Calvados Castle was also home to a poltergeist that lasted from October 12, 1875 to January 30, 1876, terrifying occupants and locals.

In Puys, near the seaside town of Dieppe, two women heard ghostly shounds of a WWII air raid on August 4, 1951.

A recent psychic-led ghost tours of Mortemer abbey would have you believe it is haunted by a requisite lady-in-white and a handful of murdered monks.

Psychic Fails, Media Jumps The Gun--NO BODIES IN TEXAS

Following the advice of a psychic, Hardin, Texas police, a la Medium, set out on to investigate her claims of a mass grave containing dozens of dismembered corpses.

Officials checked out the location, on a rural farm 50 miles northeast of Houston, only to discover not one single body. The media, however, voraciously reported that as many as 30 hacked up remains were found, childen included. After a thorough search by Captain Rex Evans and the officers of the Liberty County sheriff department, it was determined that no homicides occurred on the premises, nor were any bodies ever disposed of at the farm.

County officials are now looking to charge the woman who gave the tip with having given false information and creating 'havoc'.

Joe Bankson, a long-haul truck driver was away from his home while the search was undertaken. He's mystified as to why his family had been targeted in such a manner. As for the blood reportedly found on-site, his daughter's ex-boyfriend slit his wrists weeks before. Bankson cleaned up most of it, but apparently not all. The ex-boyfriend is currently in a psychiatric hospital.

This might be a good soap box moment to harangue readers on the dangers of purported "psychics". However, that may be something of a foregone conclusion. Instead, it might be warranted to recall some thoughts I had on the media in this day and age--especially since it involves another figure who has been in the media as of late...

READ MORE HERE

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Azores, Mysteries of the Mid-Atlantic

A cluster of nine volcanic islands makes up the Portuguese region of the Azores, some 900 odd miles west of Lisbon.  Located along the tectonically active Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the islands are known for their agriculture and tourism.  However, they are not without their mysteries either.

"I was on the computer at my home on the suburbs of Ponta Delgada in the island of São Miguel," writes an individual to MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, about an event in June of 2009. "My mother went to open the door of our house when she noticed a strong light over a mount some miles away. Immediatly she called me and I went to see it. At first I thought it was an emergency flash light but then it started moving in different directions until it disapeared during few seconds. Then it appeared again for a little bit and then disappeared completely. The object was kind of oval shape, very bright white light."

Another Azorean UFO was captured on video while a television crew was recording near Caloura, São Miguel on February 28, 2010.



It was September 20, 1954 on the island of Santa Maria that a guard at the local airport watched in shock as a UFO landed. He was further astounded when a strange being emerged, walked over to him, and spoke in a strange language he could not understand. Must have been English--or Spanish. Neither of those languages were of much help to me while I was in Portugal.

It could be that all this UFO activity is linked to the fabled Lost City of Atlantis. Or perhaps not. But these islands were the favored locale for Ignatius Donnelly who, in 1882, wrote Atlantis: The Antediluvian World, a treatise (if you can call it that) wherein Donnelly established many of the concepts popular culture ascribes to the mythical lost civilization, such as advanced technology and the connection to the New World.

And finally, while not on the islands themselves, the following account does relate to Portuguese UFOs AND it has a picture to look at...

"I was in a vacation in Lisbon and in 19 september 2010 I made a trip to Sintra. I took this picture from a balcony from Sintra Pacace. The strange thing was that I didn't see anything with my eyes, only later, in the evening, when I reviewed all photos in that day."

Monday, June 6, 2011

Haunted Kent

The County Kent in southeastern England is among the most haunted. With its verdant, rolling fields bisected by hedge-darkened lanes, it calls to mind a much older England--and its ghosts.

Most famously, Canterbury Cathedral--the famed destination in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales--bore witness to the assassination of Thomas Beckett in 1170 and Archbishop Simon Sudbury in 1381. The latter is said to roam the grounds attempting in vain to reunite his head with his body.  Nell Cook, a one-time servant, was poisoned by her employer.  It seems she was having an affair and he would have none of that. Not quite dead (but surely on her way), she was buried beneath a passageway known as the Dark Entry. It's said should you encounter Nell's ghost, you'll soon perish yourself. However, sources indicate her entire story is nothing more than a fabrication by Canterbury native, R. H. Barham, an author of local stories.

The Chiselhurst Caves, hand hewn from soft chalk by one group or another over the past 8,000 years, are a complex labyrinth stretching for more than 20 miles.  A lady in white appears now and then over the placid waters of a small pond deep within the system. Perhaps she was a sacrifice upon a Druid altar that can be found down below as well.

It has been said that the sorrowful wails of a Roman child can be heard emanating from the vicinity of Recolver Castle. It makes sense; the bones of such a child were unearthed on the grounds.

Lady Blanche de Warenne was killed on Good Friday 1264 at Rochester Castle during a siege.  She must have died from an arrow to the chest, for her ghost has been spotted in just such a tragic state.

Orbs of light, inhuman screams and several phantoms are among the phenomena one might witness at the Theatre Royal in Margate.

Above the famed White Cliffs of Dover stands both haunted Dover Castle and an ancient Roman lighthouse affixed to a Saxon church.  The sounds of tortured screams can be heard in the spaces below the castle, victims of medieval torture. Some witnesses have felt phantom hands touch them as they moved about the old structure.  Legend says two ghosts haunt the area around the lighthouse: a Roman solider and a monk dressed in black robes.
 
[UPDATE: 6/7/11] As an addendum, I found just today an entry in a book by the Bord's (England's best-known chroniclers of the curious) regarding an unnamed witness who had been roused from his tented sleep in an orchard by a strong gale. Glancing outside to see how bad the weather was faring, he was surprised to glimpse "round globules of fire" dancing across the tops of the apple trees.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Paris: City of Lovers--Even Long After Death!

It is said that sometime during the second World War, a French woman had an affair with a Nazi officer.  Her husband, a member of the resistance, learned of this and left without a word. She waited for him long past midnight on the Pont Marie, a bridge in the city of Paris where they had agreed to meet, hoping he would change his mind. He did not, but she waited and waited until her heartsick body succumbed to the frigid winter. Legend says her spirit lingers there still, awaiting the love she took for granted.

A jealous, spurned lover pushed the object of his affection from atop the famed Eiffel Tower according to some sources.  The woman can, at times, be heard laughing before a frightened "NO!" is struck and a plummetous scream is heard fading into silence.