Ghosts in the news!

6th

Seen a ghost lately? For a special few, it’s like having Casper around

Calling spirits or exchanging ghost stories is usually one of the most thrilling ways to keep your party going strong. But if you’re one who has actually experienced something paranormal, you’ll agree that it can really freak you out.

Not long ago, television actor Mouni Roy decided to move out of her house because she was convinced it was haunted. Media executive Nidheesh Vaasu also shifted out of his earlier house because of a presence. “There were two entities. One of them would keep pulling my leg and constantly disturb me when I would try to sleep. I later found out that there had been a premature death in the house some time back.”

Full Article

6th

Woman claims husband using spirits to get divorce. Will her claim stand up in court?

MY husband has used supernatural means to get me to divorce him.

He unleashed a spirit at me.

That's what Madam Tan, 45, a receptionist who lives in the Lakeside area claims.

We are not using her real name because she doesn't want her two sons, aged 18 and 20, to be affected by her case.

Madam Tan says she is not planning to start divorce proceedings now, she is gathering evidence just in case. She even called the Singapore Paranormal Investigators (SPI) to verify the presence of 'evil spirits' in her 4-room flat.

Will her case stand up in court?

Lawyers who spoke to The New Paper on Sunday said they had not come across legal cases here involving paranormal activities before.

Full Story

6th

In Bardstown, Ky., people are willing to pay for the privilege of spending a night in jail - and a haunted one at that.

You would think doors flinging open, electrical appliances turning off and on by themselves, and the sound of footsteps when nobody is around, would discourage most visitors, but visitors come from all over the globe to spend the night in the Jailer's Inn in anticipation of ghostly encounters.

McCoy says he gets his share of visitors who claim to be paranormal experts, psychics, or just "sensitive to the supernatural."

McCoy guarantees anyone who wants to can experience spirits in Bardstown.

Full Story

6th

Found this article on BBC today and thought it was interesting seeing as we've had quite a few Birds=Heralds of Death threads.

The screech of an owl is a bad omen in Kenya, taken as a sign that death will strike soon.

However, in Kiawara village near Mount Kenya, Paul Murithi, 30, has defied his community's cultural and traditional norms to rear owls as a tourist attraction.

He has no time for the superstition about owls being omens of death.

"I often used to hear these owls hoot, and I never had a relative die or anything like this."

"If someone dies, the previous night those creatures cry a lot - so I just don't like it," said one woman in the village, who urged Mr Muthithi to stop tending the owls.

But another neighbour was more positive: "We think it will bring development to the area, as a tourist attraction," he said - a view which is echoed by the local authorities.

"There is nothing wrong with this young man as long as he has not broken any rule in keeping the owls," says Ben Kariuki, the area's chief.

"We urge other villagers not to associate this young man with anything sinister, as he is merely earning his bread."

6th

Owen Tomkinson was a British soldier who died of cholera in the northern Indian state of Bihar in 1906.

Nothing unusual about that, but people of Ekbalnagar in Gaya town where Mr Tomkinson is buried, believe that his ghost stops residents and passers-by and demands tea and cake.

So much so that to placate the dead soldier's ghost, they offer tea, biscuits and home-baked cakes at Mr Owen's grave at a two-acre burial ground, where he lies buried with hundreds of other Britons who died in the area.

Sexagenarian Mohammad Basir says he had an encounter with the ghost some five years ago early one morning.

"He stopped me but after shaking my hand became invisible," says Mohammed Basir, a small time businessman.

The oldest English resident of Gaya town, Arthur Wakefield, is appalled by the ghost stories surrounding Mr Tomkinson.

"This story about his ghost demanding tea and biscuits is just hogwash and part of the local superstition," he says.

But residents of Ekbalnagar - the most backward neighbourhood in Gaya town - still keep queuing up at Mr Tomkinson's grave to offer tea and cakes.

Full Story

6th

Article from the Ilford Recorder UK.

A YOUNG mother has pleaded with Redbridge Council to be re-house her and her daughter because their home is haunted.

They believe they are being spooked by the same ghost which terrorised a three-year-old girl nearly 10 years ago.

The family from Hainault, who do not want to be named, have reported eerily similar unexplained phenomena to that experienced by the girl, which the Recorder reported in January 1997.

Then the girl's family were told by a neighbour that a man had been killed in the house years earlier.

The dead man, thought to have been a wife-beater, was stabbed to death by his twin sons during a bout of violence more than 50 years ago.

The petrified single mother and her daughter have now moved out and say they have pleaded with Redbridge Council to re-house them.

The sound of fighting, shouting and breaking glass, which may have blighted the home half a century ago, can still be heard claim the family.

In 1997 the young girl was so frightened at hearing screaming and shouting in her bedroom she refused to sleep there.

A family member told the Recorder this week: "Every single thing is the same as what was reported nearly a decade ago.

"I'm a spiritual person myself, a healer, and I sense their presence."

The Recorder reported how the family, who had moved in the previous September 1996, discovered the loft was fully carpeted and contained hidden compartments in the walls and drawers.

Every door in the house was fitted with three inside locks, and a bag found hidden behind a bathroom shelf hid diaries from the last 15 years, crammed with strange entries, newspaper cuttings and photographs.

A Redbridge Council spokesman said: "We do not have a policy for moving people who allege that a property is haunted.

"But we do take account of all the circumstances when a person requests a move from one property to another."

6th

Ok this should be a warning to all of us!

WORTHINGTON A teenager out looking for ghosts with friends was shot in the head and critically wounded near a house considered spooky by local teens, police said Wednesday.

.....

A man who lives in the house, Allen S. Davis, 40, was charged in the shooting and told reporters Wednesday from jail that he was trying to drive off trespassers and didn’t intend to hurt the teen girls, whom he called juvenile delinquents.

So it seems sage and whitelight arent enough, lets add bullettproof vests to our list of protect!

6th

For those that dont know the name, this guy was a legend!, hopefully we havent heard the last from him

Ed Warren, who along with his wife pursued the unusual career of ghost hunter and whose cases included what would become the basis for "The Amityville Horror," died Wednesday at his home in Monroe. He was 79.

Warren firmly believed in ghosts, demons and other unworldly creatures - and in helping people deal with these unwanted visitations. He would answer the phone at all hours to counsel panicked homeowners from across the country, who couldn't find anyone else to advise them when their furniture started flying.

"Most people snicker," said Tony Spera of New Milford, who is the Warrens' son-in-law. "But if it happens to you and you know it is real, it is frightening to have your bed shaking in the middle of the night, or have the covers suddenly pulled off you."

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6th

Ok this is a fantasically bizzare one from Farmers Weekly Interactive!
www.fwi.co.uk

Tell of your ghoulies and ghosties
Farmers Weekly

Ghosts are a topic sure to spark lively debate around any dinner table or pub bar.

It's a polarised subject - you either believe or you don't, and I must admit to falling into the latter category.

I'm a sceptic to all things ethereal.

At a push, however, I'll confess I secretly hope to be proved wrong and I suspect I'm far from being alone in that.

There's certainly something that cuts to the core of our senses where the supernatural is involved.

Even as a non-believer, reading about, watching or ultimately being in the presence of something inexplicable sets the hairs on end.

Farms seem to be a recurring theme in many haunting tales.

And the history and isolation of such places suggest that if ghosts do exist then a farm would be a good place to find one.

Many fields, farmhouses and village pubs claim to have had a paranormal manifestation.

When you begin to wade through the documented sightings, you get an idea that with that amount of evidence perhaps there is something to it.

Hounds from Hell stalking chickens in Essex, miracle healing fields in Flintshire, Roman chariots plummeting into ditches in Wythall, phantom pigs fighting and snorting on moonless nights in Cholesbury, mysterious pipe music emanating from under a farmhouse in Arbroath - the list goes on and on.

And for each of these more distinctive hauntings, there seems to be dozens of reports of the plain old bump-in-the-night type incidents.

But the proof is in the ectoplasm and one sure-fire way to convert any sceptic of the supernatural is to come face-to-face with a ghost.

No heres the best bit!

So with that in mind, Farmers Weekly is going to conduct our own ghost-hunting experiment.

We want to find Britain's most haunted farm or farmhouse with a view to sending an unlucky reporter and photographer along to look for sightings or signs of ghosts.

So if your farmhouse or farm buildings are home to unearthly goings on - and you think it could qualify for the accolade Farmers Weekly's Most Haunted House 2006 - then email us telling us why by 8 September at fwfarmlife@rbi.co.uk

There's a 200 prize on offer for the occupant of the winning house - so don't delay, make your presence felt by emailing us.

6th

Festival attacked over paranormal 'nonsense'

The British Association was attacked yesterday for giving credence to heretical ideas such as telepathy, out of body experiences and life after death at the largest science festival in Europe.

Anecdotal evidence from two hospices raised questions "about the continuation of consciousness after death" said Dr Peter Fenwick of the Science and Medical Network, which explores "the interface of science, medicine and spirituality".

Dr Fenwick bases his "new model of dying" on reports of death bed visions, such as visitations by deceased relatives, and spooky coincidences, such as clocks stopping when someone dies.

Dr Rupert Sheldrake, funded by a scholarship to investigate unexplained phenomena, presented the results of tests, published "in peer-reviewed journals," and replicated by the Nolan sisters — "a 1980s girl band" — in which subjects who thought they might be telepathic were contacted by four "senders" many miles away.

He said: "Subjects were able to guess who was calling or e-mailing them before they picked up the receiver or received the e-mail with average hit rates of more than 40 per cent, significantly above the chance level of 25 per cent, suggesting that telepathy was indeed involved."

Prof Deborah Delanoy, of Northampton University, said: "People seem to be able to respond at a psychophysiological level, a physical biological level, to remote thoughts and intentions that another is directing towards them."

Full Story

6th

TELEPHONE telepathy, the spooky feeling that tells you when someone is going to phone, really exists, scientists heard.

Parapsychologist Dr Rupert Sheldrake insists the phenomenon is far more than just coincidence.

In tests, 45 per cent of volunteers correctly “guessed” which of four randomly picked callers were about to phone them.

Repeated hundreds of times, the odds against this happening were “1000 billion to one”, said Dr Sheldrake, from Cambridge University.

But his research, together with that of two other paranormal investigators, sparked huge controversy at the BA Festival of Science in Norwich.

Some leading members of the research community did not think they should have been allowed a platform at the meeting, organised by the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA).

Dr Sheldrake has previously spoken of his theory of “morphic fields” which he believes psychically connects people who have close relationships.

He said the new findings supported the idea that extra sensory perception works best between individuals with an emotional bond.

Full Story

6th

ONE of Rotherham's oldest buildings is going to be examined by paranormal investigators after a series of spooky goings-on were reported by staff.
The Northern Ghost Research and Investigation Team is to visit Rotherham Civic Theatre on Saturday and spend the night monitoring potential paranormal activity.
The group, formed in 1998 by Patrick James Firth and his wife Keren, uses electronic equipment to detect readings.
It was called in after several reports of strange activity at the venue, which was originally opened in 1867 as the Doncaster Gate Congregational Church.
It welcomed audiences for the first time as a theatre in 1960.
Several employees will watch the proceedings, which start at midnight, including box office assistant Angela Gardner.
She said: "Over the years people have reported seeing a ghostly figure on the stage which vanishes into thin air and a lady all dressed in white was seen floating down the stairs in the auditorium by an ex-member of staff.
"I find myself drawn to an area near the stage where there is an eerie cold spot that can't be explained, and when I'm leaving the building after the night shift I often get the hair-raising feeling that someone is watching me but when I look there is never anybody there. It sends shivers down my spine."

Story HERE

6th

In 2005, Mr. Palmer accurately predicted hurricane Katrina and the prices of gold and oil. In this latest list of predictions, an earthquake in the Phillipines, US military actions in the Middle East and North Korea take center stage. The following predictions cover the timeframe of September 2006 to January 2007.

[ClickPress, Wed Sep 06 2006] Psychic Jeffry R. Palmer has released an updated list of predictions for 2006 which include a startling look at future world events. In 2005, Mr. Palmer accurately predicted hurricane Katrina and the prices of gold and oil. In this latest list of predictions, an earthquake in the Phillipines, US military actions in the Middle East and North Korea take center stage. The following predictions cover the timeframe of September 2006 to January 2007.

Earthquake in Phillipines, centered near Butuan causes severe damage and destruction on September 7th, 2006. Earthquakes are also felt in Japan, New Zealand and Pacific Islands on this date and for several days, perhaps weeks following the 7th of September.

On September 26th or the morning of the 27th a major hurricane will hit the Gulf Coast, New Orleans will again be affected with heavy flooding and damage caused by high winds. Mississippi will also suffer a great deal of damage by this hurricane.

October 10th through October 11th. Tropical storms will bring heavy rains, flooding and severe wind damage to several Carribean islands.

Common household products will be found to contain cancer causing elements. Mouth Wash, Tooth Paste, Perfumes, and some Shampoos, for instance will be found to contain carcinogens or in some way combine with other elements to create cancer causing agents. Late 2006

In December of 2006, a whistle blower within pharmaceutical industry exposes an industry wide practice of marketing several drugs which are known to be dangerous and ineffective, a particularly popular arthritis drug is spotlighted as being extremely toxic.

Syria becomes the new stage for a war against terrorism. Israeli and US troops attack Hezbollah compounds and facilities in Syria in December of 2006.
This action heralds what can only be described as an all out war in the middle east. Several european countries including France and Germany join with US and Iraeli forces as fighting spreads to Iran. Bombing by air and sea reaches a level never before seen. The entire middle east becomes a war zone. By the middle of 2007, oil will be valued at $130 US per barrel of crude.

North Korea will continue to test long range missles in 2006, against the protests of the international community. This act will prompt US naval actions in the Pacific which includes the destruction of North Korean missle launch sites. Diplomatic relations between US and China sour when China sides with North Korea in missile testing issue. It is later confirmed that the Chinese government has been supplying long range missle technology to North Korea.

The price of gold will reach $725 US by the end of 2006

Early in 2005 Mr. Palmer's documented predictions foretold that gold would reach at least $600 per ounce by the end of 2006, that oil would reach $70 per barrel, that a war would be fought in Lebanon and that a hurricane would flood all of New Orleans. Few would have believed that every prediction made at this time would come to pass, and yet incredibly they have! Visit http://the-psychic-detective.com now to learn what the future has in store for you.

Personal psychic readings by Mr. Palmer are also available through the http://the-psychic-detective.com web site. These psychic readings are kept in strict confidence, cover all aspects of life, are extremely accurate and detailed and are very simple to purchase. Mr. Palmer even offers a 100% money back guarantee to clients if they aren't completely satisfied with thier readings. This is something which is absolutely unheard of in the psychic industry.

Mr. Palmer is the author of several book dealing with the subjects of metaphysics and paranormal phenomena. His articles and columns have been featured in several popular international magazines. And his amazingly accurate and detailed predictions have captured the attention of an international audience

STORY HERE

6th

Paranormal beliefs, from prophetic dreams to Atlantis

Millions of Americans, particularly women, share paranormal beliefs and experiences "that don't fit under any religious umbrella," says Christopher Bader, one of the Baylor University sociologists analyzing the Baylor Religion Survey.

Overall, 52% of people surveyed say they believe in prophetic dreams. More than 40% agree that places can be haunted and that ancient advanced civilizations, such as Atlantis, once existed, just as writers from Plato to psychic Edgar Cayce have described.

One question, however, drew such wide agreement that Bader suspects researchers' intent was unclear. "We asked whether 'Some alternative treatments are at least as effective as traditional medicine,' " and 74.5% said yes. "We were thinking of crystals, aromatherapy. ... But people may have read the question to mean acupuncture, vitamins or herbs," which have been scientifically studied and are widely used.

About 25% use the Internet or books to research the prophecies of 16th-century astrologer Nostradamus, ghosts, yoga, astrology and UFOs, the survey found.

Findings don't surprise Matthew Gilbert of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, which promotes research of "the frontiers of consciousness."

"People are embracing a larger reality of what it means to be human. ... Maybe those who have unusual experiences recognize that while their religion didn't explain them, it doesn't mean they didn't happen."

Article here

6th

Bigfoot out of fashion in Malaysia; ghouls and goblins take center stage.

A group of Malaysian myth investigators who claim to have a footprint mold of a giant, man-like "Bigfoot" creature said Friday they intend to sell it to raise funds for their next project _ determining if three ghoulish, mummified figures are real.

The group Seekers-Malaysia, which has a reality TV program in Malaysia, said money raised from the sale of the alleged sasquatch footprint would be used to research the "three mummified ghouls," and to purchase new paranormal equipment, said spokesman Adrin Emman.

The three supposed shriveled, skeletal-like creatures with razor-sharp teeth were provided for research purposes by their owner Bukhari Abdullah for two weeks. Pictures released by the group show one figure no larger than a human hand, while another appears to be the length of a human body.

Stories about Bigfoot captured headlines in Malaysia last year after three fish farm workers reported seeing giant human-like creatures in southern Johor state's Endau Rompin reserve. Seekers-Malaysia claims to have molded a Bigfoot footprint _ three times the size of a human head _ during an expedition to the area earlier this year.

Bigfoot fever has since waned in Malaysia, with smaller creatures popular in Malaysian folklore now taking center stage.

An ongoing exhibit at a museum featuring dozens of creatures from Malay folklore has drawn tens of thousands of visitors. Among the featured exhibits at the Shah Alam Museum include a supposed preserved mermaid, the apparent shriveled skeletal remains of a half woman-half snake, and a purported goblin trapped in a bottle.

The museum says it has invited a team of researchers from "Ripley's Believe It or Not" to research the exhibits.

A large number of Malaysians, especially in rural communities, believe in the supernatural, but such beliefs have also been criticized for going against the tenets of Islam. A majority of the Malaysia's 26 million population are Muslim.

Article HERE.

6th

New licensees at a Cornish pub have reportedly fled after their first night in the job – because of the pub’s ghosts.

Reports in the local press in Cornwall say the couple were last seen making a hasty exit in the early hours ofd the morning – still wearing their pyjamas.

The 17th Century Last Inn at Sennen, is known locally for its paranormal activity.

Paul Bennett, general manager of Land's End, the company which owns the pub, told This is Cornwall: “We employed a new management couple at the First and Last Inn, Sennen and they commenced employment last week.

“They suddenly left on Saturday morning for no explained reason and we are still trying to contact them.

"There is some speculation that there has been recent supernatural activity at the Inn.”

Article HERE.

6th

WHISPERING a sentence over and over like a mantra, from a soundproof booth on the stage of the small concert hall in St George’s Hall, Liverpool, two artists will tonight perform a curious musical experiment.

Echoing the Davenport Brothers’ sellout seances there in 1865, performed inside a cabinet, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s hour-long work, Silent Sound, will use strobe lights, and subliminal and very low frequency infrasound to try to implant that secret sentence in the minds of their audience.

Master of ceremonies and psychopomp, guider of souls, will be Dr Ciarán O’Keeffe, a 35-year-old academic learned in the ways of the paranormal. A modest star in the media firmament – he is resident sceptic on LIVINGtv’s Most Haunted – O’Keeffe explores how infrasound may explain some of the paranormal.

The concert, with music by Jason Pierce, leader of the band Spiritualized, will test how subliminal information, embedded below conscious hearing levels, might be transmitted. Subtle but powerful forces will be at work and pregnant women or those with heart conditions have been warned not to attend.

Highly-charged situation

O’Keeffe will be in his element, part of an experiment into anomalous mental states, working with artists trying to push the boundaries of the way the mind works. As psychological consultant, he has helped the artists create what is promised will be “a highly-charged situation”.

The Enquirer met up with him at a British Psychological Society conference at Lancaster University. He and his French wife Gaelle Villejoubert had jointly written, with two Liverpool academics, a paper on hindsight bias in shooting incidents such as the Harry Stanley case.

Harry Stanley was shot by police who mistook a table leg in a carrier bag for a shotgun. Such traumatic events sometimes provoke a sort of déjà vu, with people feeling they knew all along the event would happen. Not paranormal perhaps, but a bit spooky.

Forensic psychology

O’Keeffe has a great appetite for crossover research topics like this. A psychology lecturer at Liverpool Hope for three years, he does forensic psychology, profiling for the police, and is active in Music Space, a North West charity using music therapy with Parkinson’s Disease patients at Broad Green Hospital in Liverpool.

But his abiding fascination, since he saw the film Ghostbusters as a youngster, is with the nature of the paranormal.

His official website, theparapsycholgist.com, offers a telling quote from the great scientist Henri Poincare about his approach to what might seem a wacky byway of academia.

Under the website banner “Exposing the facts...letting you decide”, Poincare’s quote asserts that science is built of facts like a house is built of stones but cautions “an accumulation of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house”. That seems to be how O’Keeffe sees parapsychology.

Heap of stones

Parapsychology is a heap of stones in need of an architect, then?

His interest, he says, is investigating the idea that individuals can somehow perceive, process and respond to information “that is acquired without the mediation of their known senses”. The night before he’d been doing just that.

In a medieval vault in Coventry he had been trying to establish if infrasound – very low frequencies below 100 hertz – could be related to the vibe in a “haunted” place. It was an idea put forward by the late Vic Tandy, in a seminal paper entitled Something in the Cellar.

Tandy and others had picked up on research which suggests that infrasound may induce odd feelings and create images in peripheral vision. Like EMF, electromagnetic frequencies, such phenomena may give ghosthunters a scientific handle on subjective experiences, offering a rational, scientific explanation.

Dandyish

O’Keeffe’s enthusiasm for these exotic realms is obvious and infectious. Yet he’s down to earth, not in the least flamboyant or dandyish and there’s no hint of Mephistopheles in his manner. Genial and approachable, he sees his job as a field worker testing new theories in situ using rigorous empirical measurement. Not easy in a domain where emotion, feelings and beliefs too often determine the “facts”.

He tends to avoid media interviews, knowing instinctively that tabloids can have a field day with florid accounts of hauntings and ghost hunters. Last year he got slightly burned when the Daily Mirror carried a story alleging he had “exposed” a medium he has worked with as a “fake”.

Born in Norwich to an Irish father and Swiss mother, O’Keeffe was raised in Somerset up to the age of 12 and then in High Wycombe. He had a Catholic education but lapsed in his mid-teens, Catholicism displaced by an increasing fascination with ghosts and the paranormal. He loved the Gothic, he says.

Ghost writers

HP Lovecraft, MR James, Clive Barker, all the horror and the ghost writers: he devoured the literature. “I was the local ghost hunter aged 18, with *stories in the local papers. It makes me cringe now,” he says wryly. But the die was cast and he even tried, prompted by Ghostbusters, to study parapsychology at Columbia.

After a gap year travelling the USA, he majored in music and psychology at America’s Washington College. Following three years’ nursing psychogeriatrics, he did an MSc in investigative psychology at Liverpool University. His doctoral work focused on psychics and mediums and the advice they give.

On such topics an ingrained and proper scepticism soon emerges with no need for prompting. “In my TV work I am an academic trying to put across a sceptical argument. Do I believe in the paranormal? In individual cases it’s not about belief, it’s about being open-minded about possibilities.

Paranormal explanation

“The difficulty for me is when people ask me ‘Have you seen anything which would convince you?’ There have been a few incidents in haunting investigations that have made me question what I am seeing but I haven’t given it a paranormal explanation yet.”

His caution is understandable. TV academics tread a tricky line between simplistic populism and being, he says, the man in the suit wheeled on at the end to give gravitas to a sensationalist show. Ethics is vital in the ghostbusting business, he says.

“One thing I’ve been doing is mop up on cases where if it hadn’t been for the unethical behaviour of the ghost hunting group or the medium, there just wouldn’t be a case. Some do operate unethically: they are not empathic or sympathetic to the mental states of people they deal with. And they charge.”

Paradox

Here we touch on the paradox at the heart of paranormal investigation. Many people, both subjects and investigators, have an investment in beliefs they want to be true. Some mediums and investigators will project those beliefs on to the cases they encounter. So is there something out there, behind the material veil, or not?

O’Keeffe is wary of glib answers to that. He assesses every case on its merits, he says, being as objective as possible. He cites the poster on Fox Mulder’s office in the X Files, “I want to believe”, and re-phrases it as “I want to know the truth”. Infrasound and EMF may be part of the truth, as may hypnogogic sleep states and many other possible physical explanations.

Yet it is early days in this line of research. There is some evidence that infrasound can trigger feelings of awe or otherness; that transient electrical fields can affect the temporal lobe and create visual hallucinations and the sense of an immaterial presence. But neither phenomena is unequivocally proven.

An impact

And there may still be irreducible paranormal events which remain beyond scientific explanation. “If I found that infrasound or EMF were the cause, then I would be so happy that I had made an impact. But if I disprove all these theories and still people are having experiences and we can’t find an explanation for them...

“Then I’ll be in that camp, of those who say I am looking at something which is paranormal, something that science just cannot explain.” Yet he agrees that infrasound looks, provisionally at least, to be a good bet for defining some paranormal experiences as within the rational world.

But the boundary between the rationally explic-able and the paranormal is blurred, adds O’Keeffe. “The field can go in either direction depending on what particular phenomena we are looking at. With one experience we might find it is infrasound. We might find it is EMF. Or a combination of both.

Telepathy

“With telepathy we have a phenomenon in the parapsychological domain. Paul Stephens at Edinburgh, with a physics background, has been looking at the idea of us creating electrical signals enabling a psychic to communicate with a client. This encapsulates telepathy as a tangible idea that we can test.”

In a way, he says, that makes it more fascinating, though it would no longer be paranormal. There’s a parallel, he agrees, with the historic shift from primitive magic to modern science, alchemy becoming chemistry. Television, pictures beamed through the ether, is magic until you understand how electromagnetism works.

Article HERE.

VPN

6th wrote:

For those that dont know the name, this guy was a legend!, hopefully we havent heard the last from him

werent the warrens money scamming frauds who made a fortune from the Amityville Horror?

6th

Is that a question or your opinion?

If its your opinion that fine, if its a question then imo the answer is no. The film was based loosely on a case they were involved with but hollywood did there thing with it - remember it was a film not a documentry.

VPN

no that was a question. i havent made my mind up about the warrens - theres as much info claiming they were frauds as there is claiming they arent. though to be honest, i find it hard to find info outlining work they've done which has come up with results. apparently they charge $750 per 30 min phone consultation. thats not good.

6th

No its not good but these people werent priests doing gods work - they were in business. I really dont see the problem making money from it. The call outs they did to peoples houses where free, they made there money from the lecture circuit. If you could make a living out of doing what you are passionate about would you?

6th

The great thing about them is the ammount of low key work they did, it wasnt all for the media. For me the remarkable stuff are the small jobs where they made a difference in normal, everyday peoples lives.

I really dont understand peoples feeling about making money. These peope have a talent and us it to make a living. Footballers get paid crazy money to do something they are good at, they dedicate alot of time to what they do, do you think they dont genuinely love what they do coz they get cash?

Anyway the majority of stuff you will find out there on the Warrens will be the hyped stuff but there are hundreds of testimonials from people that they helped on smaller cases. They got the message out there and highlighted the paranormal to many people who many not have had an interest if it wasnt for them.

6th

As I said the Warres made their money mainly through lectures. Of course they got money for Amityville & The Haunted but sure if they said no to money for them I would question their sanity. The whole $750 for a phone consultation is something I believe has been completely exhaggerated. I know they did phone interviews for TV & Radio but I dont think it was huge money.

6th

Hearing voices in your head is so common that it is normal, psychologists believe.

Dutch findings suggest one in 25 people regularly hears voices.

Contrary to traditional belief, hearing voices is not necessarily a symptom of mental illness, UK researchers at Manchester University say.

Indeed, many who hear voices do not seek help and say the voices have a positive impact on their lives, comforting or inspiring them.

Human diversity

Researcher Aylish Campbell said: "We know that many members of the general population hear voices but have never felt the need to access mental health services.

"Some experts even claim that more people hear voices and don't seek psychiatric help than those who do."

Some who hear voices describe it as being like the experience of hearing someone call your name only to find that there is no one there.

People also hear voices as if they are thoughts entering the mind from somewhere outside themselves. They will have no idea what the voice might say. It may even engage in conversation.

The Manchester team want to investigate why some people view their voices positively while others become distressed and seek medical help.

Ms Campbell said: "It doesn't seem to be hearing voices in itself that causes the problem.

"What seems to be more important is how people go on to interpret the voices."

She said external factors, such as a person's life experiences and beliefs, might influence this.

Context

"If a person is struggling to overcome a trauma or views themselves as worthless or vulnerable, or other people as aggressive, they may be more likely to interpret their voices as harmful, hostile or powerful.

"Conversely, a person who has had more positive life experiences and formed more healthy beliefs about themselves and other people might develop a more positive view of their voices."

Past studies have found that people who hear voices have often had a traumatic childhood.

Ms Campbell said stigmatisation could also play a role.

"If a person starts hearing voices and also holds the beliefs of some of society that this means they are mentally ill, it is going to cause them more distress. It also stops them talking about it to others."

Professor Marius Romme, president of Intervoice, a "hearing voices" charity, said: "Because of the fears and misunderstandings in society and within psychiatry about hearing voices, they are generally regarded as a symptom of an illness, something that is negative to be got rid of, and consequently the content and meaning of the voice experience is rarely discussed.

"Our work and research has shown more than 70% of people who hear voices can point to a traumatic life event that triggered their voices; that talking about voices and what they mean is a very effective way to reduce anxiety and isolation; and that even when the voices are overwhelming and seemingly destructive they often have an important message for the hearer."

Paul Corry of the mental health charity Rethink said: "Rethink welcomes this investigation, which we hope will help support our campaign to bring mental health issues into the mainstream."

BBC Article HERE.

6th

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Colombia's chief prosecutor hired a psychic who hypnotized his staff and even performed an exorcism over a voodoo doll in exchange for a government paycheck and use of an armored car.

The ensuing scandal has mesmerized the nation.

The federal prosecutor, Mario Iguaran, says he hired Armando Marti last year to help his stressed-out staff deal with a crushing caseload and to improve human relations.

Marti, a self-described clairvoyant, claims to have implicated corrupt workers in illegal wiretaps and bribery during the months he spent roaming the prosecutor's fortified bunker, hypnotizing officials and writing up classified reports for Iguaran about staff loyalty.

He says workers confessed to deep secrets and ratted out colleagues as they stared into his eyes. The operation, according to leaked documents published by Semana, was code-named Mission Perseus of Zeus.

The revelation that Marti was granted unfettered access has plunged into scandal one of Colombia's most respected institutions, an independent body responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes in a nation torn by decades of violent, drug-fueled conflict.

In one incident, recounted by Marti to Semana, he performed an exorcism to neutralize a voodoo doll found stabbed with needles in the wastebasket of Iguaran's former top assistant.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Marti called the Semana article, titled "The Federal Prosecutor's Rasputin," accurate but sought to dispel the emphasis it placed on black magic.

"My work didn't consist of witchcraft or anything paranormal, but scientifically proven techniques to boost morale and release tension among the staff," he said.

The fact that Marti rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful came as little surprise in Colombia. What scandalized Colombians were revelations that the federal prosecutor's office paid the psychic up to $1,800 a month and authorized him to carry a pistol, an employee badge and to ride in a government-issued armored vehicle.

On Monday, Iguaran delivered a televised apology to the nation for the "unfortunate incident that began as something folksily quaint but that has now ended up affecting the institutional well-being of the federal prosecutor's office."

He said he had ordered his office to terminate its contract with the consulting team to which Marti belongs.

Article HERE.

6th

Ghosts & Pirates ... what could be more fun?!

It's a fact that Blackbeard, also known as Edward Teach, was killed in a gruesome battle in 1718 off Springer's Point, a wooded Eden that lines an area by Ocracoke Inlet called, aptly, Teach's Hole.

It's not a fact, as legend would have it, that his headless body swam around his ship Adventure five times before giving up the ghost, so to speak. Nor is there a shred of evidence that the buccaneer buried his treasure beneath the dunes on Ocracoke.

As part of a documentary he is filming about Blackbeard, Raleigh filmmaker and historian Kevin Duffus thought it would be interesting to dispel, or - who knows? - confirm, the legends at the place of his undoing, where it's said that his beheaded body still roams at night.

"One reason I wanted to conduct the paranormal investigation is if we were able to contact Blackbeard, I could have saved a lot of time in my research by speaking to him myself," Duffus said with a grin. "On the more serious side, I wanted to attempt to put an end to the legends, or myths, of his headless corpse walking the lonely beaches along Teach's Hole channel."

When Rodriguez, who runs East Coast Hauntings Organization in Washington, N.C., reached the shore by Teach's Hole, she and para psychologist Sonya Holley, holding detecting equipment, scanned the spartina grass between the windswept cedar trees for any spirit energy.

"Did you lose yours - he still with you?" Rodriguez asked Holley.

As they searched, the sinking sun spilled deepening shades of red and purple onto the water. Jumping mullets occasionally flung themselves out of the water in search of bugs or menhaden. The gentle lap-lap of the water on the beach was marred by the incessant buzzing of mosquitoes alerted to dinner.

"It feels hinky," Holley responded. "He feels like he's right here."

That means, she said, that there's a sense that something happened at that spot.

While the sky darkened, the women moved further down the beach, eventually finding a total of eight spirits, a least two of whom were "running" around them, they said. The presence is akin to a feeling under the skin, or a pressure, Rodriguez said, and males and females exert different types of energy.

"There's some interaction between sensitive people," she had explained earlier. "To me, it might be something interdimensional. It's like a thin point. Somehow, when they open up, there's some kind of energy exchanged or released."

Holding two dowsing rods - bent brass rods with copper sleeves on the handles - Rodriguez stood in the grass and asked a series of questions requiring "yes" and "no" answers. For a no, the spirit energy moves it in an "L" shape; for a yes, they're crossed in an "X."

After a time, it was learned from the spirit that he was an American Indian who had lived on Ocracoke in the 1600s.

The few details provided about the others said they were not related by blood and were unfamiliar with each other in life.

"Did you know any pirates?" Rodriguez asked, the rod handles held steady by unmoving hands.

One rod whipped out to the side, forming an "L."

"No," she said, interpreting.

"Did white men come in ships?"

"No."

"Are you happy that you're talking to us?"

"No."

"Do you know that you are dead?"

"Yes."

After several more questions, Rodriguez said it seemed like the communication was becoming more difficult. When one response said that the entity was aware of "the light," she advised the spirits to go to the light if they wanted to leave.

While she was working, Holley and others took photographs. When a spirit is present, a white orb often is evident in photographs. Considered to be energy bursts, they are usually not visible to the naked eye. Cold spots have been reported to have been felt in the area where an orb appeared.

Orbs were seen in numerous shots taken by two different cameras and photographers at Teach's Hole.

Rodriguez, 52, who has a degree in psychology, has been doing selective paranormal work for no charge for the past five years. She said spirits' energy has a force of charged ions similar to plasma. In their presence, she said, batteries, electrical sockets and lamps are routinely drained of energy.

Even though Blackbeard didn't make himself known that night, Duffus said the eight spirits - seven of whom were identified as men - may indeed have been part of Blackbeard's crew.

"The fact is, Christine and Sonya were really communicating," he said. "There's no reason they couldn't be pirates pretending to be Native Americans."

Edward Teach, born about 1680, was more likely named Edward Thatcher, or Thatch, Duffus said. Most of his life is a mystery, but much that is known - including his violent death at the hands of the Royal Navy - was memorable.

A big man, Blackbeard was said to have woven wicks laced with gunpowder into his full black beard, according to a description on the North Carolina Maritime Museum Web site. To enhance his image even more, he wore a crimson coat with two swords, and bandoliers holding pistols and knives across his chest.

Known as the richest, most ruthless and most bloodthirsty pirate in history, Duffus said, the amazing thing is that the pirate's name appears in the true recorded history for only about two years.

Yet Blackbeard is a household name nearly three centuries after his death.

"He sort of understood the value of good marketing," Duffus said.

When Duffus went back to Teach's Hole for a second night, he stood at the same spot preparing to take more footage, and shared some tales about Blackbeard with Holley. While he chatted, Rodriguez shot a photograph.

Above Duffus' head, the photograph later revealed, hovered a large misty orb.

Article HERE.

6th

Despite a spike in curiosity of the supernatural, science has abandoned any meaningful experiments.
By Deborah Blum, DEBORAH BLUM is a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and the author of "Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof Search for Life After Death."
September 24, 2006

A HUNDRED years ago, one of the most ambitious of research projects was launched, a study that linked scholars and mediums on three continents. Its purpose was to discover whether living humans could talk to dead ones.

Newspapers described the work as "remarkable experiments testing the reality of life after death." The scholars involved included William James, the famed American psychologist and philosopher, and Oliver Lodge, the British physicist and radio pioneer. They saw evidence for the supernatural — in this world and perhaps the next.

In one instance they made a request to an American medium while she was in a trance. The request was in Latin, a language the medium did not speak. The instructions included a proposal that she "send" a symbol to a British medium. During her next trance session, the American began asking about whether an "arrow" had been received. Later, comparing notes, the researchers discovered that during the American's first trance, the English psychic had suddenly begun scribbling arrows. It was only after a series of similar, equally unexpected results that the researchers published their findings.

Could any study produce results more provocative, more worth pursuing — more forgotten — a century later? For many, the dismissal of such Victorian research represents a triumph of modern science over superstition. But — and I admit that this is an unusual position for a mainstream science writer — I believe that it may instead represent a missed opportunity, a lost chance to better understand ourselves and our world.

Curiosity about the supernatural has not diminished over the last century. The last few years have, in fact, seen a surge in occult-themed TV, including such popular dramas as "Medium," parodies such as "Psych" and reality-themed shows featuring professional mediums or paranormal investigators. On the radio, "Coast to Coast AM with George Noory" focuses on supernatural issues and boasts 2.5 million listeners. Paranormal organizations, schools for mediums and practicing psychics flourish.

What has diminished is the interest of academic researchers on a par with James and his colleagues — and, correspondingly, the quality of the science. Yes, there are paranormal investigators using modern technology to hunt for the heat signature (in the infrared) of ghosts or the energy of a spectral communication (electronic voice phenomena). There are even a few accomplished university scientists exploring the supernatural, although often on the side and covertly. But there's nothing as sophisticated, at least in design, as the Victorians' work.

In addition to the ambitious "cross-correspondence" study cited earlier, the Victorian scholars ran an international survey of reported ghost sightings, particularly those tied to the death of a relative or friend. Tens of thousands of people in multiple countries were interviewed; hundreds of volunteers sifted through the reports, rejecting those that lacked independent witnesses or documentation. They concluded that "death visitants" occurred more than 400 times above chance.

By comparison, a telepathy study, presented this month at an annual meeting of the British Assn. for the Advancement of Science, involved 63 people asked to say in advance which of four friends or relatives was calling on the telephone. The answers were 45% correct, which, the researchers pointed out, was considerably above the 25% expected through chance.

I confess that this a rather silly and unconvincing experiment — too small and too poorly controlled to prove anything. But I've seen plenty of orthodox research studies that made claims based on even sketchier experiments. So it doesn't convince me, as it did a host of angry British scientists, that telepathy is merely "a charlatan's fancy." It convinces me that we need smarter science on all levels.

Why do so many people report visions, voices or sensations of friends or relatives at the moment of the other's death? Is it wishful thinking, hallucination, undiagnosed mental illness, a human tendency to stamp meaning onto events, a remarkable pattern of liars, genuine telepathy, a visiting ghost? All those possibilities have been raised, and none have been adequately researched.

"Either I or the scientist is a fool with our opposing views of probability," James wrote. The risk of appearing foolish, he believed, was the least of the dangers. There was also the risk of failing to investigate the world in all its dimensions, or making it appear smaller and less interesting than it really is. He worried about a time when people would become "indifferent to science because science is so callously indifferent to their experiences." He worried that a close-minded community of science could become a kind of cult itself, devoted to its own beliefs and no more.

And, as should be obvious here, I have come to agree with him.

Full Article HERE

6th

NORTH ADAMS — The small wooden table began to shake and slowly rise from the floor as the chanting of "lift, lift, lift," filled the darkened hall of the Masonic Temple on Church Street during the final hours of Saturday night.

"I need everyone to focus their energy on those surrounding the table," psychic medium Maureen Wood said.

Table tipping

As the voices rose and the rhythmic chant rang out, the four people — who were touching the table's edges with just the tips of their fingers — began to run across as the "flying" table jerked its way around the room.

Wood, a member of the New England Ghost Project, was leading the "table-tipping" exercise, as part of the second night of "Contact II." The three-day conference, held at the former Houghton Mansion, was the second installment of the Berkshire Paranormal Conference, which began as a collaboration of the Ghost Project and local ghost hunters the Berkshire Paranormal Group.

Earlier in the day, Steve Wilson, a certified shaman in Mayan and Tibetan traditions and American Indian, took about 30 conference participants on a vision quest to find their totem animals.

"Animals come to us to remind us who we are. We need to reconnect to the animal kingdom, the tree kingdom, the rock kingdom, so we can balance our lives and remember our beginnings. Animals are not afraid of death — it's part of the eternal circle," Wilson said. "We are the ones who are afraid of death and can not accept it."

Animal guides

As the room was slowly engulfed with the aroma of sage, Wilson called on the "Creator" and great eagle to guide the participants in their journeys.

"It's a big evolution to be here today — 25 years ago you wouldn't be sitting here talking about things like ghosts," he said. "I believe we're being driven toward finding higher states of love. You don't know how thankful nature is when we connect. We have forgotten the old ways and the Earth is not happy."

As the vision quest came to a close, Wilson reminded the group that not everyone would see their totem animals. Then he asked if anyone wanted to share.

Immediately a woman in a white sweater shot her hand into the air.

"I saw a moose. It was really big. It showed me water," she said.

A majority of the group came in contact with their totem animals, or animal guides who will help them with specific problems in their lives.

Other animals included a turtle, a raccoon, a bear, a fox, a crow and a deer.

"The deer came very close to my face. It was right here," one man said as he held his palm close to his face.

"It's a message of self-sacrifice," Wilson said. "We connect with the animals because our souls are in need. They want those pieces back, so they can be whole."

Electronic voice phenomena expert Karen Mossey explained the art of capturing messages from the spirit world in white noise Saturday night.

"I like the cheaper digital recorders. They have plenty of static and noise to help capture the EVPs. The messages are usually short in duration — the longest one I have is one minute and 44 seconds," she said. "When you listen to a tape, you'll unusually hear some precursor sounds before the EVP. You start to hear clicks and pops. We believe those are breaks in the dimension — which they need electrostatic energy to communicate."

Mossey, whose work has appeared in the movie "White Noise" and the television series "Ghost Whisperer," played EVP samples. One clip included a man calling her crazy.

"It's very important to remember you're dealing with the afterlife. You're dealing with people and their personalities don't change when the go to the other side," she said. "People are people. For us, they're validating the continuance of life after death."

However, Mossey said not all EVP transmissions are the dead trying to communicate.

"There are imprints of words and feelings that are left behind. You have to realize that everything you say is out there."

A part of the proceeds from the conference go toward the Masons' restoration efforts at the former mansion that once belonged to the city's first mayor, A.C. Houghton.

Masons Nicholas and Joshua Mantello, who founded Berkshire Paranormal, believe the spirits of Houghton and his daughter, Mary, and family chauffeur John Widders, still roam the halls of the mansion. The three are linked to a tragic 1914 accident, in which Mary was killed.

"In 1914, the Houghtons purchased a Pierce Arrow touring car. It sat nine passengers," local historian Paul Marino said. "On Aug. 1, 1914, Mr. Houghton decided to take a pleasure drive to Bennington. Mr. Houghton and Mary were joined by Dr. and Mrs. Hutton of New York City."

Fatal trip

He said the party left the city at about 9 a.m. that morning and by 9:30 had reached Oak Hill Road in Pownal.

"One of the written accounts refers to it as the daunting Oak Hill Road, when actually it's a gentle grade about a 1/2 mile from Pownal Center. But as the story goes, the car came to a point where the road was being worked on. On the right side of the road, a team of horses was approaching," Marino said.

Apparently, Widders was traveling 12 miles per hour when he overcompensated and gave the horse team room to pass. Coming too close to the road's left shoulder, he could not navigate the upcoming corner and rolled the car down an embankment three times.

"All of the men escaped with minor injuries. Sibyl Hutton was killed instantly when the car rolled on her. Mary, the only one not ejected from the car, was taken to North Adams Regional Hospital," Marino said.

Mary died later that day. Widders, overcome with grief, would commit suicide several days later. Mary's father, seemingly giving up, died Aug. 11.

Conference participants also had a chance to roam the mansion over the weekend.

Images from the night:




Unfortunately it appears they are not just "touching the table's edges with just the tips of their fingers" but have them hooked under the tables edge.

Article HERE.

6th

Ofcom is considering responses to its consultation on ways of reducing the impact of adverts for unhealthy food and drink products on children.
The communications regulator is responsible for setting standards for the content of television and radio broadcasting under the Communications Act 2003.
The broadcasting code includes the 9pm watershed which applies to television. It says material unsuitable for children should not, in general, be shown before 9pm or after 5.30am.
......... Demonstrations of exorcisms, occult practices and the paranormal claiming to be real are also banned before the watershed.
Ofcom can fine or even revoke the licence of most broadcasters which repeatedly and deliberately breach the Code.

From Metro UK HERE.

Catilla

Does that mean the Mona the Vampire is gonna be taken of air!