Monday 29 April 2013

HAUNTED EARTH MOVE TO VIMEO - IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ


As some of you are aware, as from May 1st 2013, I will NO LONGER be sharing videos on Youtube.

My explanation for that is on the April edition of the Haunted Earth Show.

Instead I have opted for Vimeo, as their site provides much better quality HD which isn`t available on Youtube.

This site is a major draw for the film industry as a whole, and appeals to many professionals looking for a great platform to share their work.

Vimeo - A very professional layout with better quality video.

My new link address to the new site is here : https://vimeo.com/constantine99999

I hope you will take the time to go over and subscribe or follow this page. Vimeo has many similar features to Youtube, but without Google interference or the `haters`.

The Youtube videos will still remain for you to see, so in that regard there will be no change.

With the new Vimeo page, you can still comment on videos and share from there to your favourite sites or blogs.

Throughout 2013 you will see major improvements in the videos provided, and lots more interesting locations. And still with me and the team out there shooting great video for you to enjoy.

I hope to see you all over there :)

Chris Halton

Here is my very last video on Youtube.






Saturday 27 April 2013

THE NEW HAUNTED EARTH SHOW - APRIL 2013

Amid the church ruins where in 1931 Orwell witnessed a full apparition

Well, it`s that time of the month where once more I share with you all the latest edition of the Haunted Earth Show.

This month we have a special video on a ghostly event witnessed by the author George Orwell, which follows through with a night investigation.

Also a video report from my home, and importantly, an announcement regarding Haunted Earth severing ties with Youtube. Courtesy of Google.

Show itinerary:

00:39 Important and special announcement (please review)
02:48 Orwell`s Ghost - A special report and night investigation (documentary).
20:08 Ghost Story - Filmed onsite report on a ghostly tale.(mini documentary)
24:41 Home paranormal investigation (regular feature)
32:12 Viewers questions (regular feature)
34:04 End of show.




HONG KONG`S `CURSED` PROPERTY DATABASE



It's a well known part of Hong Kong urban lore that an apartment where a violent death took place can often be bought for as much as 10-30 per cent off the market price.

Depending on the type of death -- suicide, natural death or gruesome murder -- the house will become more or less hongza; a Cantonese term that literally translates as "calamity house" but effectively means the house is haunted.

Less well known is that secretive databases that collate hongza addresses are playing on local superstitions to effectively control prices in one of the world's most expensive real estate markets.
The problem with hongza is that it spreads.

Not only will a violent murder affect the price of the apartment where it took place, it will likely slash thousands off neighboring apartments -- and even the whole building.

"Databases don't specify which apartments, data is incomplete: if an apartment has 30 or 40 storeys there's a high probability all will be affected," said Jacklyn Pun Ka-Yan, sales director at Many Wells Property Agent.
Published information might specify the floor, but not the apartment where the death occurred. In some cases, only the building's address appears.

"I think they should make it clear, they should not just state the entire floor as haunted," Patrick Fong, whose flat is listed on the same floor as a hongza apartment, told CNN.

Once a property is listed on a database, however, there's no way out, says Pun. Owners have little recourse in getting their properties removed from hongza lists.

Meanwhile, the more than 5,000 real estate practitioners in the city, according to figures from the Society of Hong Kong Real Estate Agents, are bound to keep tabs on hongza properties following a 2004 court decision making it compulsory for estate agents to report houses with a dark history.

The case found against Centaline Property, one of Hong Kong's best-known real estate agencies, after a buyer pulled out of a transaction in 2001 when he discovered the apartment he planned to buy was hongza.
"If an estate agent acting for a purchaser knows, or ought to have known of the occurrence of a tragic incident in a property, and knew or ought reasonably to have known that this would materially affect the value of the property, that agent would owe a duty to alert its client to that fact," Judge Benjamin Yu said in the judgment which also acknowledged that property values could be reduced 'between 25 to 30%' in the case of a murder or suicide in a flat.

The agency was ordered to pay almost $40,000 as a result of failing to "obtain information in relation to the properties," Judge Yu wrote in his decision.

This information is now supplied by unaccountable databases that have no oversight into how the lists are compiled.

Repeated attempts by CNN to reach the most widely used information website, hk-compass.com, were unsuccessful. The page does not display the names of its managers.

Its contacts are listed behind Web Commerce Communications Limited with phone numbers under a Malaysian country code. WCC supplies an identification service, but does not run the website, one of its employees told CNN in a phone interview.

Website hk-compass.com sells hongza data to realtors for about $42 a year, according to the price list on the site.

"We can only report the case to the authorities, we can't do anything because we don't know who is behind this," said Diamond Shea Hing-wan, President of the Hong Kong Owners' Club.

Meanwhile, Shea says, authorities have shown little enthusiasm for tackling a problem that is costing Hong Kong homeowners millions of dollars.
"We have contacted the Estate Agents Authority, but there's no action," Shea said, adding that he could only urge property owners to contact Shek Lai-him, a Hong Kong lawmaker who represents realtors on Hong Kong's professional constituency government.

Repeated interview requests with Shek were ignored and attempts to speak with the Transport and Housing Department were declined.
A murder or unnatural death in a Hong Kong apartment can severely affect the re-sale value - downwards 

For one disgruntled property owner, who asked to only be identified as Mr Chan due to the stigma associated with owning a cursed home, the solution to the problem is simple.

"I think the government could regulate the website so that the addresses on it are more detailed," he said.
Squarefoot, another hongza database, had 3438 entries in their database, as of October 2012, the company told CNN. In some cases, only street addresses are listed, information that could effectively depreciate the value of whole buildings.

The final number of property owners affected by a hongza listing is impossible to estimate and, with huge fortunes won or lost in one of the region's most volatile property markets, few want to talk about it.
"The government will try not to do something they don't think they can handle right now," said Eddie Hui, Professor at the Department of Building and Real Estate of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Source: CNN


PARANORMAL ENTHUSIASTS SNAP GHOST IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE PUB


A local paranormal group believe they have captured photographic evidence of a ghost in a Wisbech pub.

Xstream Paranormal, which is made up of a group of enthusiasts who meet monthly in Outwell, were at The Globe in Wisbech Market Place when they
took the spooky picture.

Landlady Michelle Deller, who runs The Globe with husband Phil, said: “We were doing a planchette session when the door to the bar opened and closed again. The outside door was locked and everyone else was in the bar. Vivien [one of the investigators] was taking pictures all around to see if she could get anything and she happened to take one just at the right moment when the door opened.”

Pareidolia - or a ghost?
Michelle said she wasn’t surprised when the team came back to her and said they had found a ghost on the picture. She calls herself “open-minded” and has experienced phantom smells in the pub, such as fresh bread.

Xstream Paranormal were very excited to get the photo and Vivien Powell said they had the image checked out by an expert who could find no explanation for the ghostly figure, which appears to be wearing some kind of naval uniform.

Fellow investigator Jo Williams said they had some success with the planchette, a wooden device that holds a pencil and allows spirits to communicate through writing. They got the name ‘Nelly Lovegrove’ who was apparently a former landlady, and the name ‘Gordon’.

They picked up a clear EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recording of a voice saying “No” while conducting the planchette session which they also believe is genuine.

Jo added: “We’re stumped as to who the figure in the photo is, so if anyone can help us with information, we would be grateful.”

The team also recently did an investigation at the Tower Ballroom in Wisbech and believe they managed to get a partial apparition there. However they are still going through the data.

Source: FenlandCitizen


POLTERGEIST TERRIFIES FRENCH FAMILY


When it comes to paranormal activities, a freaked out French family living in a supposed haunted house in the French village of Mentque-Nortbécourt, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, claim to have seen it all.

They’ve witnessed oranges floating across the room, violent attacks by soap trays and earlier this month members of the spooked family were hospitalized after being hit by flying chairs, the regional Voix du Nord newspaper reported on Wednesday.

According to the local newspaper the family have reported that the strange happenings have been going on since last July. To prove they were not going mad they have brought in others from the village, including the mayor, to witness the events.

“It’s becoming dangerous,” the mother told France 3 television. “My friend had to go to hospital this week after getting hit in the head by stones. It’s serious.”

Paramedics were called earlier this month after one member of the family said he was hit by a flying chair in his face and a soap tray on the back.

The local diocese has sent in an exorcist to try to banish any troublemaking evil spirits that may reside in the home, local television reported.

The ghostly goings-on have become so bad that the family have pleaded with authorities to move them to a new home.

According to the Voix du Nord, the family were first given temporary lodging in a campsite, but now have no fixed accommodation. The local council in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region have told the father they are taking care of their case.

The strange happenings in Mentque-Nortbécourt have grabbed the attention of the media in France, with TF1 television asking whether it’s a case of “paranormal phenomenon or a just a village joke”.

Although numerous people have lived at the home in recent years, it seems none of them reported any flying chairs.

Source: TheLocalFrance


Thursday 25 April 2013

ANNOUNCEMENT - APRIL`S EDITION OF THE HAUNTED EARTH SHOW

Tune in to this page on Saturday, April 27th 2013 to view the April edition of the Haunted Earth Show.
The show will be aired at 11pm GMT or, 6pm EST, and will have lots of paranormal interest videos and views from me, your host, Chris Halton. Additionally in this months show we have a special feature which includes a night time investigation.


In July 1931, the famous author and writer, George Orwell (1984 - Animal Farm) was researching a book at St Andrew`s Churchyard, in Walberswick, Suffolk.

George Orwell - Experienced the paranormal
Orwell was sat in the church grounds by a ruined section of this medieval building when he saw in broad daylight a ghost of a man.
Orwell wasn`t a church goer, and had even less interest for the paranormal. So for him to witness and write about his first paranormal experience was something quite unique. The ghost it later transpired, has been seen before and since, and it is unlikely Orwell would have known of it.






Whilst inside the church (which was built in 1492 - the same year Columbus discovered America),
I recorded a number of scenes for the show. Here is an interesting experience that defies logical explanation.
The microphone used was a professional Sennheiser.







Sunday 21 April 2013

A HOODED GHOST IN AN ENGLISH MUSEUM


'GEORGE the ghost' has been popping up on staff at Gloucester's City Museum for as long as they can remember.
The Victorian building, in Brunswick Road, is so haunted that some staff members have been left too scared to go into certain parts of the museum.

But museum assistant Nigel Taylor-James, who has worked there since 1989, says George is a friendly soul.
"From what I have seen he has a medieval appearance, with a hooded outfit made from simple cloth," said Nigel.

"I've seen him three times. Each time he looks at you and then makes a hasty exit. He doesn't stay around for long.
"Before I had seen him I was a non-believer. It is one of those things that you have got to see with your own eyes to believe.

"He is like an apparition. I have never been scared at the time. It is not a scary experience, more one of surprise."
There are a number of theories as to who George could be.

The museum was opened in Victorian times but a much longer history can be found on the site.

In Roman times it was at the edge of the city and a Roman skull has since been found.
But the nearby Greyfriars friary church would have had its graveyard nearby. And there is evidence of a Roman cemetery in the vicinity too.

Museum curator David Rice said: "I have been here for 13 years and over that time lots of people have come to me and said they had seen him.
"I have seen something myself and there have been many incidents of doors opening and closing, footsteps and strange noises.

"The museum is filled with thousands of people's belongings from all around the city and it was once a place were human remains from excavations were kept.
"Some people have come to me scared after they had caught a glimpse of him.
"He's usually around in the daytimes but the museum is closed in the evenings so he may well have free rein of the place. He's a friendly ghost anyway."

Source: ThisIsGloucester


Tuesday 16 April 2013

GHOSTLY NOISES PICKED UP ON RADIO MICROPHONE ON HAUNTED EARTH SHOOT

St Andrews Church Walberswick
Coming up in this month`s Haunted Earth Show is a shoot on a new production investigation called, `Orwell`s Ghost`.
In July 1931, the famous author and writer, George Orwell (1984 - Animal Farm) was researching a book at St Andrew`s Churchyard, in Walberswick, Suffolk.

George Orwell - Experienced the paranormal
Orwell was sat in the church grounds by a ruined section of this medieval building when he saw in broad daylight a ghost of a man.
Orwell wasn`t a church goer, and had even less interest for the paranormal. So for him to witness and write about his first paranormal experience was something quite unique. The ghost it later transpired, has been seen before and since, and it is unlikely Orwell would have known of it.

Here is an extract of a letter to a friend where he describes his experience:

Above is W’wick church as well as I can remember it. At about 5.20 pm on 27.7.31 I was sitting at the spot marked*, looking out in the direction of the dotted arrow. I happened to glance over my shoulder, & saw a figure pass along the line of the other arrow, disappearing behind the masonry & presumably emerging into the churchyard. I wasn’t looking directly at it & so couldn’t make out more than that it was a man’s figure, small & stooping, & dressed in lightish brown; I should have said a workman. I had the impression that it glanced towards me in passing, but I made out nothing of the features. At the moment of its passing I thought nothing, but a few seconds later it struck me that the figure had made no noise, & I followed it out into the churchyard. There was no one in the churchyard, & no one within possible distance along the road—this was about 20 seconds after I had seen it; & in any case there were only 2 people in the road, & neither at all resembled the figure. I looked into the church. The only people there were the vicar, dressed in black, & a workman who, as far as I remember, had been sawing the whole time. In any case he was too tall for the figure. The figure had therefore vanished. Presumably an hallucination.

And this is a sketch made at the time showing where and how he saw the ghostly man.



Whilst inside the church (which was built in 1492 - the same year Columbus discovered America),
I recorded a number of scenes for the show. Here is an interesting experience that defies logical explanation.
The microphone used was a professional Sennheiser.




The full video will appear (complete with a night investigation) very soon!


Sunday 14 April 2013

LOCH NESS MONSTER SIGHTINGS AND WITNESSES BEING RE-EVALUATED


It is 80 years since hotel manageress Mrs Aldie Mackay first reported seeing a "whale-like fish" in the waters of Loch Ness.

Now an academic at St Andrew's University is trawling through 1,000 eye-witness accounts since to see what they can tell us.

He wryly notes more than a few hotel proprietors among typical spotters. So is "Nessie" just a conspiracy to boost tourism?

It was 14 April 1933 and Mrs Mackay, manageress of the Drumnadrochit Hotel, was driving with her husband along the road to Inverness.

As they drove, she glanced out across the still calm waters of Loch Ness towards Aldourie Castle. There, in the water, she saw something.

Mrs Aldie Mackay, manageress of the Drumnadrochit Hotel, said she saw a "beast" in the loch on 14 April, 1933
In a rare interview years later, she described the moment to marine biologist and founder of The Loch Ness Project, Adrian Shine.

"She said it was black, wet, with the water rolling off it," he says.

"It went in a circle, round and down. She yelled at her husband "Stop! The beast!"

It is an interesting remark, Mr Shine says.

It is widely regarded as the first "modern sighting" of a monster in the loch.

"But the fact that she said "the beast"... It's as though she knew there was something strange in the loch," Mr Shine says.

There was already one account of a monster in the area dating back to the Middle Ages.

According to Adamnan's account of the life of Saint Columba, believed to have been written in the 7th century, the Irish monk saw a "water beast" in the River Ness.

But Mrs Mackay's sighting opened the floodgates.

Police inspectors, bank managers, students, town clerks, lorry drivers, clergymen, forestry workers, office workers, water bailiffs and fishermen were all among the people who claimed to have seen the monster.

Marine biologist Adrian Shine says he has made a living out of being a sceptical Loch Ness investigator

Tourists and 'Nessie hunters' flocked to the area. There were traffic jams around the loch.

There were even a few celebrity spotters such as authors Gavin Maxwell and Sir Compton Mackenzie.

Dr Charles Paxton, a research fellow and statistical ecologist at St Andrew's University, has so far sifted through 800 of the 1,000 recorded sightings.

And, he adds, a sizeable number of cafe and hotel proprietors, including Mrs Mackay herself.

Certainly there was much to be gained from the legend.

According to Visit Scotland, Nessie tourism brings in more than £1m to the area per year.

So was Mrs Mackay motivated by cynical thoughts of her bank balance?

Mr Shine believes not.

"She was far from a self-publicist. It was her husband who told the water bailiff, and she stayed anonymous in the newspaper report.

"She didn't say anything for two reasons. Firstly, because she thought she would be seen as self-advertising.

"But also because they used to say for people who had seen something in the loch "take more water with it"… suggesting they were drunks."

But there are plenty of people who have made a living from Nessie, including Mr Shine himself, who now runs the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition out of Mrs Mackay's old hotel.

"I don't conceal that I first came seeking fame and fortune, that there was a wildlife mystery and I was the one to solve it," he says.

"I have become more sceptical over the years, but oddly enough I have made a living out of being a fairly sceptical investigator.

"But I do believe the vast majority of witnesses are sincere…and not drunk," he adds.

What does Dr Paxton - who is using the Loch Ness phenomenon to analyse how science handles anecdotal and low frequency data - think?

He has trawled through old newspaper clippings, reports, books and records from the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau of the 1960s and 1970s, for all recorded sightings that peaked especially after the infamous 'surgeon's photograph' of 1934.

Highly respected British surgeon, Colonel Robert Wilson, claimed he took his photograph on 19 April 1934, while driving along the northern shore of Loch Ness. It was later revealed to be a toy submarine outfitted with a sea-serpent head.

"I suppose it is possible that people have an agenda," Dr Paxton says.

"But I stress that I believe the vast majority of people are reporting the truth. They believe they have seen something strange.

"Now there might be a lot of people who are mistaken, but I think they are sincere."

The Drumnadrochit Hotel, which is now the Loch Ness Centre
In fact, Dr Paxton says, analysing the eye-witness accounts may tell us more about ourselves than whether or not the Loch Ness monster exists. He is due to publish the results of his study later this year.

"I am carrying out a statistical analysis of Loch Ness monster accounts since 1933, specifically looking for clusters in terms of what is reported," he says.

"In some cases there are multiple witnesses, or witnesses giving multiple accounts of the same event, which allow us to test eyewitness consistency.

"These cases are very interesting because they allow us to consider whether certain witnesses have a tendency to see Nessie more than might be expected by chance alone."

He could have chosen another unexplained phenomena to analyse - ghost sightings or Big Foot, for example - but as a former aquatic biologist, Nessie appealed to him.

On Sunday, a boat will set sail onto the still calm waters of Loch Ness.

Onboard will be Dr Paxton, Mr Shine, and a number of other 'monster hunters', Loch Ness experts, and Visit Scotland representatives.

They may not agree when it comes to Nessie, but there on the loch they will raise a glass of whisky to Mrs Mackay and 80 years of the legend of Loch Ness.

Source: BBC




CULTURAL SIMILARITIES OF THE PARANORMAL


It’s striking sometimes how similar the supernatural creatures and lores of cultures that seem far apart from each other are.

VARIOUS cultures around the world, especially those centred upon, or derived from, animism have beliefs in the supernatural, of things and events incomprehensible to the human mind. It is a cultural universal, and we are all familiar with frightening stories of things that go bump in the night.

Whether we choose to believe in them or not, we are always surrounded by tales of the supernatural, in literature or movies, or from personal accounts of friends and families.

This fascination with the unknown gave rise to the subculture of ghost hunting and the camping tradition of telling ghost stories.

Mexican `Day of the Dead` Festival
Some cultures even celebrate the dead (and the undead), like the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival, the Mexican Day of the Dead and, of course, Halloween. In Japanese folklore, every year, ghouls and ghosts take to the streets during the summer nights. It is known as Hyakki Yagy (Night Parade of 100 Demons).

Hyakki Yagy is a famous theme in Japanese art. On these days, the ghouls and ghosts come out to play, and supernatural occurrences are at their peak. Recently, I picked up Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide for a fun read, and interestingly, I can’t help but make comparisons to our own versions of yokai, the supernatural creatures of Japanese folklore. One of them is the zashiki warashi, a child poltergeist who haunts and inhabits houses. Although it loves to play pranks on people, it is considered harmless. The Japanese believe that a zashiki warashi brings good fortune to the house it inhabits and that the family will prosper as long as it stays.

But if the house is neglected, then the child spirit will leave, and that’s when the real problem comes. As it leaves the house, so does the good fortune and the family will be left in ruins – bankruptcy, disaster, domestic strife.

Zashiki warashi
Zashiki warashi is very much like our toyol. The toyol is a child-like ghoul believed to be a manifestation of an unborn child. It is kept by its master to do his or her bidding, usually stealing or other petty crimes. It’s commonly rumoured that whenever someone becomes rich that the person is keeping a toyol. The toyol, like the zashiki warashi, loves to play pranks on people but is considered harmless.

Nuke kubi is a female creature who can fully detach her head from her body. She looks like a normal woman during the day but turns into nuke kubi at night, with her head flying off in search of human prey. Because of her appearance as a woman during the day, it is thought that the nuke kubi may have human spouses.

To kill a nuke kubi, one needs to find her immobile body and move it somewhere else. The nuke kubi will die if she cannot reconnect with her body by sunrise.

Again the nuke kubi is strikingly similar to our penanggalan, a flying head with its intestines attached. It is believed that the penanggalan is a woman who practices black magic. The woman is able to detach her head, along with her intestines, from her body, and flies in the dead of the night in search of blood, preferably from an infant or a woman giving birth.

To kill a penanggalan, one needs to find her headless body, fill it with broken glass and nails so that when she tries to reattach to her body, her intestines will be severed by the sharp objects.

Penanggalan has many other variations in other South-East Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Sceptics and non-believers usually apply logic and common sense to brush aside beliefs in the supernatural. Perhaps there are certain explanations for these happenings, like sleep paralysis where our mind is aware but our body shuts down. It’s logical for those who have experienced it to claim that they have been held down by a spirit while sleeping.

And often in fear, our mind plays tricks and we may conjure images or shadows that would further intensify our own fears. Often stories like this would end with the person praying and the spirit going away, but praying is a form of meditation and helps calm the body down, hence “releasing” the spirit.

Chinese `Hungry Ghost` Festival
Some stories of ghosts are lessons or advice to children, like the hantu kopek who preys on children at night. It’s probably so children are encouraged to come home by dusk or else risk being kidnapped by this creature.

Or like the Japanese kappa, a water yokai who drowns children lest they swim too far out. Both these stories are intended to scare children for their own safety.

But I’d like to think that we’re not the only beings living in this world, or worlds. The human eye is limited and there is still so much more that humans do not know about this world. Do we brush aside the possibility of the otherworldly just because we can’t see, or refuse to see?

Story: TheStarOnline

STRANGE COLLECTION FROM FORMER SPIRITUALIST CHURCH UP FOR AUCTION


The mainstay of spirit communication - the Ouija Board

Ghost-writers are routinely used for celebrity biographies.

But a Tyneside bookshop is selling contraptions believed to be used by ghosts – spirits who wanted to communicate with loved ones they had left behind.

Keel Row Bookshop in North Shields now contains several pieces from a former Spiritualist church – including matter from “the other side”.

The collection, known as an “archive”, reflects the history of the Gateshead Psychical Society.

Anthony Smithson, who owns the bookshop, said: “This is shining  a light on a sort of British subculture.

Apparently this phial contains `ectoplasm` in solid form!

“ There was more of an interest in Spiritualism after the First World War and the Spanish Flu outbreak, because so many people lost their lives. The idea of contacting people who had gone must have seemed more appealing.”

From the mid-19th Century the movement became more organised in some countries, with several hundred UK churches active by the 1920s.

One of these stood at 93 Coatsworth Road in Gateshead, and the archive has preserved some of the things believers felt were important. Those with North East roots might want to know if a relative’s name is among those in the Gateshead society’s ledger.

Early mass produced example of a planchette - used with Ouija Boards

The book shows the organisation’s income and spending between 1937 and 1939, and Anthony said it provided a glimpse of the society’s everyday activities.

As well as several documents and a haul of Spiritualist tape recordings, the archive contains more practical artefacts.

These included the Ever-Ready Electrical Medical Coil – a wooden box containing a battery with  wires and electrodes springing from it.
Used perhaps for electrolysis treatment?
Anthony, of Bideford Gardens, Whitley Bay, said: “What it’s supposed to cure I have no idea, but it was definitely for ailments.”

The coils were reportedly used to treat skin problems in the first half of the 20th Century.

Anthony, 41, has owned Keel Row Bookshop, on Fenwick Terrace, for seven years and acquired the archive privately last year.

He added: “I’m going to try and sell it as a complete archive.”

Source: ChronicleLive


Saturday 13 April 2013

THE ILLINOIS POLTERGEIST


Recently, and while researching for new material to share on this blog, I was fortunate to come across this archived newspaper story regarding a case of poltergeist activity in Illinois, USA on August 17th, 1957, and reported in the  Daytona Beach Morning Journal.


The paper stated that a `newspaperwoman` named Mrs Wayne Soltwedel, a journalist for Joliet Herald News said that whilst she was visiting a home in the town of Rest Haven, Illinois, USA, a soap and soap dish `flew off the bathroom wall`, and a stuffed kitten literally "jumped" off a television set twice, and magazines slipped mysteriously from an end table to the floor.

Mrs Soltwedel was assigned to look into the complaints of a Mr and Mrs James Mikulecky, and their 15 year old granddaughter, Susan Wall, that `spirits had been bothering them`.

They cited the following activity and events.

A week ago, after they had gone to bed, a crotcheting needle which had been placed on a sewing box in their patio, came flying into a bedroom. They restored the needle to the box but it soared out again - this time landing in the living room.

Later during the week, a shoehorn from a bathroom medicine cabinet flew into the living room.
A salad Mrs  Mikulecky was preparing to toss, tossed itself all over the kitchen floor.

Typical representation of poltergeist activity
Apparently chairs moved up into the air unassisted, and as high up as 5 feet, and in the end the family abandoned the home to seek refuge with a relative, Mrs May Viasek, about half a block away. But it didn`t help.

At the Viasek home, potatoes jumped without aid out of the sink. Additionally, tomatoes leaped upward and splattered the kitchen ceiling, and a cabbage struck Susan Wall in the back of the head.

While ironing one day Mrs Mikulecky found herself surrounded by bouncing mothballs.
Considering another flight, Susan began packing but twice had to retrieve a tube of toothpaste that wouldn`t stay in her suitcase.

At this point, police were notified, and Mrs Soltwedel paid a visit to the Viasek home. She says she is mystified by the apparently free movement of lifeless objects in the house.`

Of course then, a possible explanation for such activity would have been blamed on ghosts, `demons` or fakery, but this case draws strong similarities to the activity of the `Rosenheim Poltergeist`, a subject covered on this blog previously, and can be reviewed HERE.

The common denominator in both incidents was a young female. Anne Marie Schneider at Rosenheim, or in this case, Susan Wall who `took` the poltergeist activity with her from her grandparent`s home, to the Viasek house. It seems more than possible.that the activity may be produced by a subconscious psychokinesis with the then teenaged Susan, which led to her being completely unaware of the causation.

Sadly, I cannot find any further reference to this incident, and one can only assume that as Susan reach maturity, the incidents stopped.

Another curiosity for me was why Susan wasn`t living at home with her parents. Could poltergeist activity there be the cause, or was the move to her grandparent`s the catalyst required to trigger these events?
We will probably never know.

Story: Chris Halton
Reference: Google News Archive


Friday 12 April 2013

MURDER WEAPONS FOUND IN HAUNTED HOUSE FOLLOWING WITCHCRAFT KILLING



Arx Mortis - Alleged haunted house

Tools used to dismember the body of Amanda Taylor were found in a haunted house recently. Alleged killer Ronald Weems tells authorities his friend hid the tools there. Weems is accused of killing Taylor with a nylon strap over a child support check.

Authorities in Muscle Shoals, Alabama discovered the dismembered remains of 32-year-old Amanda Taylor in December 2011. Ronald Weems and other suspects were caught and are currently on trial for her murder.

Weems allegedly strangled the mother of three in his mother's basement. It is believed that the two of them got into an argument over a child support check that they stole from Laurel Pruett. After Pruett threatened to call police, Weems tried to cover the crime up by killing Taylor. Weems and Pruett have a young daughter together that is in Weems' mother's custody.

Ronald Weems - strangled Taylor
Weems was eventually arrested and charged with Taylor's murder. Pruett was also arrested and charged with supplying a false alibi for Weems. Friends of Weems, Matthew Fox and Ashley Greenhill were also arrested for abuse of a corpse.

Matthew Fox - Dismembered body
Fox testified that he helped dismember the body and hid the tools in a haunted house located in Killen, Alabama.

Greenhill was on probation for child abuse and theft and is facing life in prison if convicted of abuse of a corpse.

Ashley Greenhill is accused of abusing Taylor`s remains
Weems accused Ashley Greenhill of killing Taylor, claiming it had to do with witchcraft.

Prosecutors believe that the music that Weems listened to influenced the crime. Weems is a juggalo, which is a groupie of the underground hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse.

All four suspects are currently on trial for their crimes against Amanda Taylor.

Source: Examiner


SKELETONS DISCOVERED ON A HOUSING SITE WHICH PREVIOUS OCCUPANTS CLAIMED WAS HAUNTED


The site blocked off from public view
SKELETONS, believed to be human, have been discovered under a car park near Godalming station.

Neighbours became suspicious about what was going on behind the big blue hoardings at the Station Road and Priory Orchard site after work on an affordable housing development seemed to abruptly come to a halt recently.

When routine archaeological surveys were carried out, a number of skeletons that were thought to be human were discovered.

Work has now been halted as the necessary surveys are carried out to establish exactly how many are interned in the ground and how the development can proceed.

Alison Pattison, of Godalming Museum, said: “I know a large amount of skeletal material has been discovered.

“My understanding is that they are orientated as though it is a Christian burial set-up.

“The find is very interesting indeed as the location is of course very close to the church but not close to the graveyard.”

She did not rule out the possibility that the site could be a ‘plague pit’, a mass grave in which victims of the Black Death were buried, but said she thought it unlikely due to Godalming’s small size.

One of the exposed burials
Mrs Pattison explained that if what the council was planning to build would interfere with the site, it would have to be fully excavated.

She said she did not know how many skeletons had been found, but skeletal material has been identified in several pits across the site.

She said that according to the museum’s Victorian maps, before the car park existed, the site formed part of the garden of a large house.

Rob Poulton, of the Surrey County Archaeological Unit, confirmed that it had done the work on behalf of Waverley but did not wish to comment further.

A Waverley Borough Council spokesman said: “In October last year, the council closed the car park at Station Road, Godalming, to develop a new affordable housing scheme to provide 14 council-owned homes for rent for local people.

“Work began immediately to prepare the site for development, including securing the site, liaising with the utility companies and commissioning routine surveys, including an archaeological survey.

“This survey is still ongoing and has uncovered a variety of items dating back across several centuries including bones, pottery and flintwork indicating local settlement activity, as is common with this type of survey.

“The survey will need to be completed before the bulk of the building work proceeds.

“However, the demolition of the Priory Orchard building on the site is due to start shortly and this will assist with the timely completion of the survey.”


A Miss Whiteman, who works at Scully Scully hair salon in the High Street, said her family lived there for six months while their current house was extended.

During that time she said they had a number of strange experiences, which she believes were supernatural. She also suffered recurring dreams of a person being buried at the house.

She said: “I have seven brothers and four sisters, and while living at the house we experienced some very strange things.

“The first time I noticed something I was in the house alone while the rest of my family were out at school and work.

“I could hear children laughing, talking and moving about upstairs and I knew none of my siblings were at home to make the noises.

“It scared me and I told my parents when they got home but didn’t really think much of it. But then more and more unexplained things happened.

“There was one bathroom where the tap continuously was turned on full when no one was in there but we knew there was nothing wrong with the plumbing as my dad checked it regularly.

“My younger brother’s heavy cot in my parents’ room continuously appeared in the middle of the room, moving from its original position, and one night I woke to find all the windows in my bedroom wide open when before I fell asleep they were all properly closed.

“What scared us the most was when my younger brother, who is three, fell down the stairs.

“When my mum picked him up and comforted him, he told her that a ghost had pushed him.

“There were several more things that happened on a daily basis and what really sends shivers down my spine, after reading about the skeletons, is that I had a recurring dream about someone being buried at the house, which would really play on my mind the next day.

“Before we moved in we were very sceptical about ghosts but experiencing all these strange happenings at Priory Orchard has changed all of our minds and we have no problems at the new house.”

Godalming author John Janaway has written multiple books on the town’s history, including The Haunted Places of Surrey.

He said: “I don’t know of that site being haunted in particular and I remain agnostic when it comes to ghosts.

“However, the nearest reported haunting I know of is at Brook House, just up the road, and its garden does reach right down near that site.

“I have my own theory about how those bones ended up where they did.

“The site is near the church and that church has gone through many stages of development over the centuries.

“It started out with the Saxon core, pre-1066, and has been extended over the centuries.

“I think what may have happened is when the various developments have taken place, graves have been displaced, with the bones ending up in the positions they were found in.

“It appears the bones discovered are anything from Saxon to 14th century, so my theory would fit with this. All we can do is await the dating of the bones.

“I know nothing about haunting in Priory Orchard but the site does indeed have a very interesting history.”

Priory Orchard is set to be demolished as part of the affordable housing scheme.

Source: GetSurrey


View Larger Map

A view of the site before the hoarding was put in place.



Wednesday 10 April 2013

CORNISH HELL-HOUNDS AND THEIR LEGENDS



Few areas of the UK are as deeply swathed in myth and mysticism as Cornwall.
And this week’s CCN Fortean Report moves on from modern-day UFO sightings to one of the great popular spook stories of all time – the accursed ‘Black Dog’.

Sightings of ghostly Black Dogs in the Duchy were interpreted either as portents of death, apparitions from the ‘other side’, simple manifestations of evil, or the embodiment of Satan himself.

Sometimes the ethereal visions turned out to be nothing more than forlorn lost farm dogs, and village hysteria would be ended abruptly by a no-nonsense farmer going and catching the errant beast.
But other bizarre sightings continue to fascinate to this day.

Superstitious tales of devil-dogs flourished in Cornwall’s thriving mining and maritime communities, so our first this week, and one of the most widely known, is the much-feared ‘Black Dog of Penzance Harbour’.

THE BLACK DOG OF PENZANCE

There are numerous accounts of the black dog which is said to appear at the harbour in Penzance.
Addicoat and Buswell recount the tale of a French sailor who spoke to his crewmates of a small black dog which had been pestering him around the harbour, and had even tried to board the boat.
But none of his crewmates had seen the dog as it disappeared whenever anyone else tried to look for it.
That evening the sailor, reportedly a usually healthy man, became gravely ill and within a few hours he was rushed to hospital where he died later that night.
The same authors recount a further tale, dating from roughly the late 1960s, of the crew of a boat moored in the harbour for the night.
The crew went to the Dolphin Tavern, on Quay Street and opposite the harbour, where they spent several hours drinking.
One of the men was charged with returning to the boat early in order to check that all was well.
On the return of his crewmates he informed them that he had been accompanied all the while by a small and very friendly black dog which had boarded the boat shortly after his return, but had disappeared shortly before they had returned.
The following day the boat was fishing out in Mount’s Bay when a ferocious and unexpected storm arose.
After a while, the storm died down and at that moment one of the crew exclaimed, “Man overboard!”.
It was the fisherman befriended by the black dog.
He was never seen again.
As a harbinger of doom the Penzance black dog seems to fit the pattern from elsewhere in the British Isles, but the dogs here are reported as being small and quite friendly, unlike the majority of the reports of their much larger cousins elsewhere.

THE HOUNDS OF WHEAL VOR MINE

Deane and Shaw recount the tale of the hounds of Wheal Vor Mine, though the account is based on that of Robert Hunt, originally published in 1865 and often reprinted.
Wheal Vor is in Breage in West Cornwall and was, in the 19th century, one of the larger mines in the area; it covered almost 4 square miles and was described by the historian Joseph Yelloly Watson as resembling a small town.
The account given by Hunt is here reproduced in full.
“About thirty years since, a man and a lad were engaged in sinking a shaft at Wheal Vor Mine, when the lad, through carelessness or accident, missed in charging a hole, so that a necessity arose for the dangerous operation of picking out the charge. This they proceeded to do, the man severely reprimanding the carelessness of his assistant. Several other miners at the time being about to change their core, were on the plat above, calling down and conversing occasionally with man and boy. Suddenly the charge exploded, and the latter were seen to be thrown up in the midst of a volume of flame. As soon as help could be procured, a party descended, when the remains of the poor fellows were found to be shattered and scorched beyond recognition. When these were brought to the surface, the clothes and a mass of mangled flesh dropped from the bodies. A bystander, to spare the feelings of the relatives, hastily caught up the revolting mass in a shovel, and threw the whole into the blazing furnace of Woolf’s engine, close at hand. From that time the engineman declared that troops of little black dogs continually haunted the place, even when the doors were shut. Few of them liked to talk about it; but it was difficult to obtain the necessary attendance to work the machine.”
Neither Hunt or Deane and Shaw give any further details of the case.
Mid 19th-century newspaper reports of a coroner’s inquest into a very similar accident were published on August 19, 1856, only 9 years before Hunt’s account was first published.
The elder of the two miners is therein named as John Richards, aged 39, of Wheal Vor United Mine.
The cause of his death is given as by the sudden and premature explosion of a hole he and his comrade were preparing.
The name of his young comrade is not deemed worthy of notice.
Of course, a similar accident could also have occurred about 20 years previous to this one.
There are a number of features within Cornish mines named after black dogs.
A Black Dog Footway is named at Chacewater Mine in a document dating from 1788 and Black Dog Shafts are named at Wheal Jane and Great Wheal Busy12 in the latter half of the 19th century.

THE HELSTON HELLHOUND

Walkers reported seeing “the Helston Hellhound” overlooking the Coronation Park boating lake in early 2006. Two witnesses insisted the animal was “the size of a donkey and with a large tail”.
Although nobody has got up close to the creature, which sits at the top of the hill, some locals say it is already becoming a part of modern folklore.
A woman too stricken with fear to be named said at the time: “It’s been seen several times by a few people.
“It just stands there looking down at the lake and then goes off.
“A few people have seen it but it always disappears just when you look up at it. It could just be a very big dog. At one point we thought it was a donkey because it was so big.”

THE BLACK DOG OF LINKINHORNE

Deane and Shaw also note the account of a black dog, “as big as a calf, with eyes as large as saucers and a foaming mouth”, witnessed on several occasions on the road between Linkinhorne and Rilla Mill.
The case occurred in the latter months of 1936, the original account appearing in The Cornish and Devon Post in 1937, later summarised by local folklorist William Henry Paynter.
The black dog was seen on a stretch of the road known as Bangors Hill and, according to the locals, was interpreted as either the canine ghost of a miner who had been killed at the nearby Marke Valley Mine at Upton Cross, or the ghost of “Carlo”, a black retriever dog “that ran under the axle of the old coach which used this particular stretch of road between Launceston and Bodmin”.
The dog had been regularly seen during the night and was even seen during the daytime.
Paynter declared that “the alleged ghost was becoming a public nuisance, for people of the district were afraid to venture out after dark.”
Eventually the explanation for the sightings was discovered (a fact not mentioned by Deane and Shaw) in the guise of “a grey farm dog, with a long chain which has been straying in the parish”.
The dog was caught in mid-February 1937 by a local farmer and the sightings thereafter ceased.

DARLEY’S GHOST

From Linkinhorne again, in tandem with the neighbouring parish of North Hill, comes a rather more substantial case of insubstantiality.
A black dog has often been seen padding along the few miles of roads (primarily the B3254) between Darleyford in Linkinhorne and Battens in North Hill.
Darley is the ancestral home of the Darley family.
They acquired Battens by marriage to the Vincent family in the 17th century and the black dog has always been understood to be the ghost of Vincent Darley of Battens, who died on February 8, 1764; though he occasionally puts in an appearance in human form.

THE HOUND OF ST AUSTELL

The following tale was related by one Samuel Drew, co-author of The History of Cornwall, and relates to an incident that occurred in his youth, and whilst he was apprenticed to a cordwainer called Baker who lived at Tregrehan Mills in the parish of St Blazey, adjacent to the, now large, town of St Austell.
“There were several of us, boys and men, out about twelve o’clock, on a bright moonlight night. I think we were poaching; but it was something that would not bear investigation. The party were in a field, adjoining the road leading from my master’s to St Austell, and I was stationed outside the hedge, to watch and give the alarm, if any intruder should appear. While thus occupied, I heard what appeared to be the sound of a horse, approaching from the town, and I gave a signal. My companions paused, and came to the hedge where I was, to see the passenger. They looked through the bushes, and I drew myself close to the hedge, that I might not be observed. The sound increased and the supposed horseman seemed drawing near. The clatter of the hoofs became more and more distinct. We all looked to see who and what it was; and I was seized with a strange, indefinable feeling of dread, when, instead of a horse, there appeared coming towards us, at an easy pace, but with the same sound which first caught my ear, a creature, about the height of a large dog. It went close by me; and, as it passed, it turned upon me and my companions huge fiery eyes, that struck terror to all our hearts. The road where I stood, branched off in two directions, in one of which there was a gate across. Towards the gate it moved; and, without any apparent obstruction, went on at its regular trot, which we heard several minutes after it had disappeared. Whatever it was, it put an end to our occupation, and we made the best of our way home.
“I have often endeavoured in later years, but without success, to account on natural principles, for what I then heard and saw. As to the fact, I am sure there was no deception. It was a night of unusual brightness, occasioned by a cloudless full moon. How many of us were together I do not know, nor do I distinctly, at this time, recollect who the men were. Matthew Pascoe, one of my intimate boyish acquaintances, was of the party; but he is dead, and so probably are the others. The creature was unlike any animal I had then seen; but from my present recollections, it had much the appearance of a bear, with a dark, shaggy coat. Had it not been for the unearthly lustre of its eyes, and its passing through the gate as it did, there would be no reason to suppose it any thing more than an animal, perhaps escaped from some menagerie. That it did pass through the gate, without pause or hesitation, I am perfectly clear. Indeed, we all saw it, and saw that the gate was shut, from which we were not distant more than twenty or thirty yards. The bars were too close to admit the passage of an animal of half its apparent bulk; yet this creature went through, without effort or variation of its pace. Whenever I have read the passage about the ‘lubber fiend,’ in Milton’s L’Allegro, or heard the description of the ‘brownie,’ in these legends of other days, I have always identified these beings, real or imaginary, with what I, on this occasion, witnessed.”
The road referred to is in all likelihood that known as Trenowah Road which runs between Tregrehan Mills and St Austell.
Samuel Drew was born in 1765 so the incident probably occurred towards the end of the 1770s.

THE BLACK DOG OF WHITEBOROUGH

Deane and Shaw also make brief mention of a black dog which “once appeared to a group of wrestlers on Whiteborough, a large tumulus on St Stephen’s Down near Launceston, as they were finishing the day’s sport.
The earthwork was once believed to be “the burial place of the giants and their gold.”

Source: CornwallCommunityNews


STRANGE STONE STRUCTURE FOUND UNDER THE SEA OF GALILEE


 Sea of Galilee
A giant "monumental" stone structure discovered beneath the waters of the Sea of Galilee in Israel has archaeologists puzzled as to its purpose and even how long ago it was built.

The mysterious structure is cone shaped, made of "unhewn basalt cobbles and boulders," and weighs an estimated 60,000 tons the researchers said. That makes it heavier than most modern-day warships.
Rising nearly 32 feet high, it has a diameter of about 230 feet. To put that in perspective, the outer stone circle of Stonehenge has a diameter just half that with its tallest stones not reaching that height.
It appears to be a giant cairn, rocks piled on top of each other. Structures like this are known from elsewhere in the world and are sometimes used to mark burials. Researchers do not know if the newly discovered structure was used for this purpose.

The circular structure was first detected in a sonar survey of part of the sea in the summer of 2003.
The structure was first detected in the summer of 2003 during a sonar survey of the south-west portion of the sea. Divers have since been down to investigate, they write in the latest issue of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

"Close inspection by scuba diving revealed that the structure is made of basalt boulders up to 1 meter long with no apparent construction pattern," the researchers write in their journal article. "The boulders have natural faces with no signs of cutting or chiselling. Similarly, we did not find any sign of arrangement or walls that delineate this structure."

Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse (CHIRP) provided the researchers with more information on the structure. It indiciated that its "western face is somewhat steeper than the eastern part."
They say it is definitely human-made and probably was built on land, only later to be covered by the Sea of Galilee as the water level rose. "The shape and composition of the submerged structure does not resemble any natural feature. We therefore conclude that it is man-made and might be termed a cairn," the researchers write.

More than 4,000 years old?

Underwater archaeological excavation is needed so scientists can find associated artifacts and determine the structure's date and purpose, the researchers said.
Researcher Yitzhak Paz, of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ben-Gurion University, believes it could date back more than 4,000 years. "The more logical possibility is that it belongs to the third millennium B.C., because there are other megalithic phenomena [from that time] that are found close by," Paz told LiveScience in an interview, noting that those sites are associated with fortified settlements.

An ancient city

If the third-millennium B.C. date idea proves correct it would put the structure about a mile to the north of a city that researchers call "Bet Yerah" or "Khirbet Kerak."
Putting all the data together researchers found that the structure is cone shaped, about 230 feet (70 meters) in diameter and nearly 32 feet (10 meters) tall. It weighs an estimated 60,000 tons.

During the third millennium B.C. the city was one of the biggest sites in the region, Paz said. "It's the most powerful and fortified town in this region and, as a matter of fact, in the whole of Israel."
Archaeologist Raphael Greenberg describes it in a chapter of the book "Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant" (Eisenbrauns, 2011) as being a heavily fortified 74-acre site with up to 5,000 inhabitants.

Scuba divers investigated the structure revealing that it is made of basalt boulders up to 3.2 feet (1 meter) long. The rocks are piled on top of each forming what appears to be a cairn. In this image an arrow points to a 4 inch (10 cm) fish beside the structure.
With paved streets and towering defences its people were clearly well organised. "They also indicate the existence of some kind of municipal authority able to maintain public structures ..." Greenberg writes.
The research team says that, like the leaders of Bet Yerah, whoever built the newly discovered Sea of Galilee structure needed sophisticated organization and planning skills to construct it. The "effort invested in such an enterprise is indicative of a complex, well-organized society, with planning skills and economic ability," they write in their journal paper.

Paz added that "in order to build such a structure a lot of working hours were required" in an organized community effort.

Future exploration

Paz said that he hopes soon that an underwater archaeological expedition will set out to excavate the structure. They can search for artifacts and try to determine its date with certainty.
He said that the Israel Antiquities Authority has a research branch capable of excavating it. "We will try to do it in the near future, I hope, but it depends on a lot of factors."

Source: FoxNews



Tuesday 9 April 2013

HAUNTED KENT LOCATIONS


With its many orchards, allotments and open green spaces, Kent more than justifies its unofficial title of ‘the Garden of England’. However, there is another reason why some people are drawn to the region – as well as being England’s garden, Kent is one of the country’s most haunted counties.

If you have an interest in the paranormal and would like the chance to find out more, then going to look for a brand new property in Kent could be a good idea. Here are just a few of the reasons why the county has become famous among ghost enthusiasts.

Chislehurst Caves


Beneath Chislehurst, on the outer fringes of south-east London, lie a series of dark passageways that have fascinated and terrified visitors for many years. The caves, which are entirely manmade, run to more than 20 miles in length and were hewn by hand from chalk and flint.

The first mention of the caves is found in records dated circa 1250, with historians believing they were used as mines until the 1830s. They also functioned as a large air raid shelter during the bombing of London in the second world war.

Many local people believe the caves are haunted, with countless scary experiences reported over the years. Some visitors have recounted seeing the ghosts of children, with the sound of crying or youngsters playing echoing from the walls. Others have been spooked by hearing footsteps, voices and sudden screams in the dark.

One of the most famous legends of the caves concerns a lady in white, who has been seen ‘floating’ across what is known as the haunted pool. A section of the caves is open to small groups of visitors, although you must be accompanied by a guide.

Pluckley


Pluckley is known as the most haunted village in England, a title it received from Guinness World Records in 1989. At the time, 12 different ghosts were believed to inhabit the area, although some locals have said there are even more.

Located near Ashford, Pluckley is also an extremely picturesque and unspoilt village – qualities that made it an ideal filming location for ITV’s drama series The Darling Buds of May in the early 1990s. However, it is the many sightings of paranormal activity that continue to attract the majority of visitors.

Such is the village’s reputation that a large number of ghost enthusiasts and thrill-seekers now visit Pluckley from around the UK each Halloween. The most famous ghosts include the highwayman and the watercress woman, who is said to haunt the area around Pinnock Bridge. This figure is reputedly the ghost of an old gypsy woman who burnt to death after she fell asleep while smoking a pipe.

Theatre Royal, Chatham


The Theatre Royal in Chatham has stood unoccupied on the town’s high street since it closed in 1955. The previously grand building is now earmarked for demolition, although the mischievous spirits that have made it their home may have other ideas.

A large amount of ghostly activity was reported when restoration work began on the structure in the 1980s, with several apparitions said to haunt the theatre. Witnesses have reported seeing a spectral figure in most parts of the building, as well as experiencing the strong smell of tobacco in the auditorium.

 Source: Anglotopia


ANOTHER `GHOST` LONDON UNDERGROUND RAILWAY STATION TO BE OPENED TO THE PUBLIC



Mysteries buried deep underground in London’s labyrinth of Tube tunnels could soon be coming to the surface.

Exploring London Underground’s abandoned stations, or ‘ghost’ stations, is limited to just a couple of small TfL-led tours a year. Tickets sell out quickly despite virtually no publicity, as the curious clamour to see parts of the city which have been closed off to the public for decades.

Now, one of the most historically significant of London’s ghost stations, Down Street, is set to reopen as a tourist attraction – 80 years after closing to passengers.

The enterprise is the creation of Ajit Chambers, founder of The Old London Underground Company, and following four years of careful planning he now has a consortium in place to acquire the lease for the site.
During the Second World War, Down Street, which lies on the Piccadilly line between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner, served as an underground bunker for Winston Churchill and his war cabinet.
The plan is to recapture that moment in the station’s history in an interactive World War II exhibit and open it up to tourists.

But Down Street isn’t the only station on the project’s route map. Ajit has submitted proposals to bring 26 abandoned Underground stations back to life as money-making entertainment venues.

There are plans already in place to convert Brompton Road, another Tube station acquired by the MOD to help in the war effort, from an antique Underground station building into a heritage tourist attraction – climbing wall and roof-top restaurant included.

Ajit said: “In a credit crunch some projects will deliver revenue in a sustainable fashion, others will purely be political moves. This project is both – it delivers revenue created from state-owned assets, as outlined by David Cameron, and highlights any bad political behaviour hampering projects that are crucial to London’s growth.

























 "I based my model on Alcatraz, which is a tourist attraction that was assisted by the mayor of San Francisco, and designed the Ghost Station Project, with the assistance of our mayor Boris Johnson.”

Since setting out on the project in 2009, Ajit, a former City banker, has been in constant talks with TfL and the MOD about gaining access to the stations. With many of the sites sitting alongside a live railway, both Boris and TfL have needed convincing that it can be done safely and without dipping into the public finances before fully backing the project.

Ajit has already secured £20 million from a private investor to finance part of the scheme, but to roll out the project across all 26 forgotten Tube stations, smaller seed investors are being sought.
News titles from around the world have now featured the project. The Old London Underground Company website received 700,000 views in just 48 hours after being featured in a BBC article online.
Project partners are also now queuing up to get involved. Ajit is currently in talks with the owners of the Dominion Theatre about a possible collaboration.


















“I have also found a section of track that was used to take people to the Dominion Theatre. This site is of particular interest to me as the nearby section holds the tunnels that secured the Elgin Marbles in the Second World War,” added Ajit.

“The most exciting thing is that there will finally be a project that will harness the spirit of London – opening the ghost stations in the world’s oldest Underground system.”



Story: Rail.Co

Further reference:
GHOSTS OF THE LONDON UNDERGROUND
GHOSTLY STATIONS OF THE LONDON UNDERGROUND


Monday 8 April 2013

FBI MEMO CONFIRMS UFO CRASH WITH BODIES!

 Former FBI Director J Edgar Hoover

A 63-year-old memo sent to the legendary FBI director J Edgar Hoover has become one the most read files on the internet with its report of flying saucers and 3ft tall aliens.

The single page note tells a story as intriguing and far-fetched as anything investigated by Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in the popular television sci-fi drama and has been viewed a million times.

In vague terms, it describes how a United States Air Force investigator had reported three flying saucers being recovered in New Mexico in the early Fifties with each one “occupied by three bodies of human shape but only 3ft tall, dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture”.

The report added: “Each body was bandaged in a manner similar to the blackout suits used by speed fliers and test pilots.”

A high-powered radar system was blamed for bringing down the saucers in a remote area of desert after interfering with the UFOs’ controlling mechanisms.

The neatly-typed memo, dated March 22, 1950, was sent by FBI field office chief Guy Hottel.



However, to add to conspiracy theorists’ suspicions of government attempts to cover up visits by extra terrestrials, the informant’s name has been redacted in black ink.

The memo, first made public in the late Seventies, appears not to be linked to the 1947 Roswell case when US Air Force officials said they recovered a UFO in the New Mexico desert, only to say later it was a research balloon.

The practice of FBI agents investigating UFO sightings on Hoover’s orders ended in July 1950.

The electronic FBI reading room, the Vault, holds about 6,700 items.

Source: ExpressNewspapers