Phantoms and Monsters

Evidence Indicates Predator Black Cat Roams Dorset, UK
Extraterrestrials May Not Be Visible To Us
Apparitions and Mystery Prevail at Scottish Pub
Holier Than Thou Missionaries Behaving Badly In Haiti

Evidence Indicates Predator Black Cat Roams Dorset, UK

Posted: 24 Feb 2010 03:31 PM PST

bbc - What looks like a 'big cat' has been spotted 30 times in West Dorset since Christmas, according to a man who is trying to discover the truth about the legendary big Dorset cat.

Photographer Alan McNamee, from Bridport, is convinced of the existence of the animal.

He has now assembled a team who are ready to respond to sightings as they are reported.

Alan saw the animal close up in 2004 - an experience he said was "scary".

Shaken

He said: "I was working late one night at home and I heard a noise. I went downstairs and looked outside, towards the fields at the back of my house, and I saw that the hedge was thrashing about.

"Then I saw a large cat with a badger in its mouth.

"It leapt onto a bank and disappeared.

"It completely shook me up."

Alan called the police who visited the scene immediately.

He said: "The police returned the next day to have a look at the area [in daylight] and they confirmed that they had found paw prints."

New sightings

Alan's interest has now been renewed after a series of new sightings, and he has contacted a team of experts, including a 'big cat' expert and a specialist vet, to help establish the truth.

Alan said: "I'm hearing of several sightings a week. [The people who see it] are just people going about their normal business.

"The last sighting was Friday evening [19 February 2010].

"A woman was driving over the A35 [between Bridport and Dorchester], and it was running across a field.

"I have also had land owners who have said they have seen it.

"And all of those sightings are of a similar format.

"It's farmers finding unusual footprints on their land, or sheep or cattle being attacked.

"The animals have two punctures in their neck and their internal intestines are gone.

"They have a broken back, there's no blood, and some have been dragged to the top of a tree.

"But to drag a heavy sheep across a field for a 100 yards, over a fence and up a tree - that's not the work of a dog or a fox."

Evidence

Alan is now waiting for the next sighting, with the hope that he can get to the scene immediately and find enough evidence or remains that can be recorded and analysed.

This needs to be carried out as quickly as possible after an animal attack as this is the key to gathering evidence which can determine what the creature is.

"It's vital we get there within a few hours after a kill, to take photos, take DNA and look around for anything else."

"Everyone says the same thing [about the creature] - it's black, its tail is as long as its body, it's bigger than a labrador and a good 6ft [1.8m] in length.

"There are key things that people see, and what they say is close by, that are key to each sighting."

Report it

Alan has this advice for people who think they might have seen it:

"The first thing to do is to make a note of where you've seen it, and then report it straight away to the police."

PC John Snellin, Wildlife Officer for Dorset Police, says all reported sightings are taken seriously.

He said: "We get the sightings fairly regularly and most are from level-headed people.

"It's a fascinating subject but we wouldn't scare monger - we need to keep it in proportion.

"It's not a policing priority but all reports are recorded, but, by my reckoning, there have been nothing like 30 sightings [reported to the police].

"But if you do see one, don't approach it - call the police. It is very likely to just run away."

Black puma

PC Snellin believes the animal could be a black puma, and one theory is that it was released into the wild after the 1976 Dangerous Animals Act was made law, which banned keeping dangerous animals as pets - but PC Snellin thinks it is very unlikely an animal would have survived that long, or gone on to breed.

Alan McNamee's theory is that it could be an animal that is privately owned, but not officially registered, and is occasionally "let out" to hunt, but PC Snellin believes this is too unlikely as it would be difficult to control.

PC Snellin said: "It's not like calling in a black labrador."

Whatever the truth, Alan McNamee is hoping to get to the bottom of it.

He said: "Most sightings have been in a triangular area between Weymouth, Dorchester and Winterbourne Abbas.

"But there is something out there causing the damage [to the animals] and it's not a dog or a fox.

"It's a predator."

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Extraterrestrials May Not Be Visible To Us

Posted: 24 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST

telegraph - Lord Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society and astronomer to the Queen, said the existence of extraterrestrial life may be beyond human understanding.

He made the remarks shortly after hosting the national science academy's first conference on the possibility of alien life.

"They could be staring us in the face and we just don't recognise them. The problem is that we're looking for something very much like us, assuming that they at least have something like the same mathematics and technology," he said.

"I suspect there could be life and intelligence out there in forms we can't conceive. Just as a chimpanzee can't understand quantum theory, it could be there as aspects of reality that are beyond the capacity of our brains."

Lord Rees used the conference in January, entitled The Detection of Extra-terrestrial Life and the Consequences for Science and Society, to ask whether the discovery of aliens would cause terror or delight on earth.

He told Prospect magazine that improved telescopes made the chance of finding extra-terrestrial life "better than ever".

But Dr Frank Drake, the world's leading "ET hunter", told the conference that satellite TV and the "digital revolution" was making humanity invisible to aliens by cutting the transmission of TV and radio signals into space.

At present, the Earth is surrounded by a 50 light year-wide "shell" of radiation from analogue TV, radio and radar transmissions. But although the signals have spread far enough to reach many nearby star systems, they are rapidly vanishing in the wake of digital technology, according to Dr Drake.

The scientist, who founded the Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence organisation in the United States, said digital TV signals would look like noise to a race of observing aliens.

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Apparitions and Mystery Prevail at Scottish Pub

Posted: 24 Feb 2010 07:42 AM PST

stv - A fearless landlord is being sought to take over one of Scotland's most haunted pubs after a series of ghostly sightings.

For decades, regulars at the Burnett Arms Hotel in Kemnay, Aberdeenshire, have spoken of paranormal activity and apparitions.

Local legend has it that the spirit of Maggie Duffton, who died in 1934, still haunts the property.

Just days ago housekeeper Fiona Reid had a hair-raising encounter with a spirit - thought to be her own grandfather.

Miss Reid, 47, came across the ghost when she went upstairs to investigate the cause of a fire alarm going off in the loft.

She said: "There was definitely someone standing in the corner of the loft. It was a dark figure.

"Something drew me to walk towards it, then it disappeared right in front of my eyes. I can't explain it."

Miss Reid said she heard countless eerie tales about the pub as she was growing up in the village.

But nothing would prepare her for what she discovered lying on the floor as she backed away from the figure.

She added: "On the floor was an old newspaper from 30 years ago. I picked it up and here is a picture of my grandad on the front of it. It was about a foot away from where I saw the figure standing. I can't believe I didn't run away.

"My grandad was Robert Reid, a local councillor - he died years ago. I'm pretty sure it was him."

Last week, Belhaven Pubs began looking for a new owner to take over the haunted bar after it went onto the market for the first time in three years.

Current landlord Malcolm Edwards, 30, insists he has not been scared out of the pub, but said he was moving on to run another hotel.

In June 2008, Mr Edwards hired a stone mason to demolish a cellar wall to try and put an end to local rumours about coffins being buried under the bar.

One was alleged to contain the skeletal remains of the former owner Maggie Duffton and the other containing piles of cash.

Nothing was found behind the 2ft-thick granite wall, but spine-tingling incidents and a spooky presence continued to be experienced by staff and customers.

Mr Edwards added: "Apparently one of the barmaids, who used to be the cleaner many years ago, said a figure walked through a locked door one day and asked to speak to Norman.

"And the previous owners reported seeing a woman floating around late at night in a pink wedding dress.

"But my advice to any prospective owners would be not to worry - I'm sure the ghosts here are pretty friendly.
_____________________
Originally posted 6/19/08

Burnett Arms Hotel Ghost Mystery

The Burnett Arms Hotel in Kemnay is said to be haunted by the ghost of former owner Maggie. Her coffin is rumoured to lie in a walled-up vault in the hotel cellar. Now hotel boss Malcolm Edwards, is determined to uncover what really lies behind the wall. Within the next few weeks, Malcolm intends to smash through into the vault and reveal the truth.

He said: "We are intending to break down the wall in the near future and villagers are invited to come and watch. It should be an exciting night."

Malcolm, 28, who took over the bar last October says that whisky and gin might not be the only spirits in the hotel. I do not believe in ghosts. And I have never seen a ghost, not even Maggie and I have been here for a while now," he said. "But there is certainly a presence here. I have felt something near me when I have been alone – though it is hard to explain."

The story goes that three coffins were donated after Maggie's death in 1934. One coffin supposedly lies in Kemnay cemetery, while the other two are buried in the vault below the ladies' toilet in the hotel. One holds Maggie's cash, and the other her body. It is claimed her body has never left the pub since her death.

Staff down the years have described a ghostly presence in the hotel. Some regulars have even spotted Maggie passing through the lounge in a pink wedding dress. One former owner, Sandy Elrick, described how his dad had "many conversations" with the ghost of Maggie in the lounge bar.

And Malcolm said one of his staff has seen the apparition. He said: "One of my bar staff was doing some cleaning during the night and suddenly saw someone coming through a locked door. The person asked for someone called Norman but we have no idea who Norman is."

Sources:
www.eveningexpress.co.uk
paranormal.about.com
www.pressandjournal.co.uk
local.stv.tv/aberdeen

Holier Than Thou Missionaries Behaving Badly In Haiti

Posted: 24 Feb 2010 07:09 AM PST

cnews - Angry crowds in a seaside slum attacked a group of Voodoo practitioners Tuesday, pelting them with rocks and halting a ceremony meant to honour victims of last month's deadly earthquake.

Voodooists gathered in Cite Soleil where thousands of quake survivors live in tents and depend on food aid. Praying and singing, the group was trying to conjure spirits to guide lost souls when a crowd of Evangelicals started shouting. Some threw rocks while others urinated on Voodoo symbols. When police left, the crowd destroyed the altars and Voodoo offerings of food and rum.

"We were here preparing for prayer when these others came and took over," said Sante Joseph, an Evangelical worshipper in Cite Soleil, near the capital's port, who joined the angry crowd in a concrete outdoor civic centre.

Tensions have been running high since the Jan. 12 earthquake killed an estimated 200,000 people and left more than 1 million homeless. More than 150 machete-wielding men attacked a World Food Program convoy Monday on the road between Haiti's second-largest city of Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince. There were no injuries but Chilean peacekeepers could not prevent the men from stealing the food, UN spokesman Michel Bonnardeaux said.

Religious tension has also increased: Baptists, Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientologists, Mormons and other missionaries have flocked to Haiti in droves since the earthquake to feed the homeless, treat the injured and jockey for souls. Some Voodoo practitioners have said they've converted to Christianity for fear they will lose out on aid or a belief that the earthquake was a warning from God.

"Much of this has to do with the aid coming in," said Max Beauvoir, a Voodoo priest and head of a Voodoo association. "Many missionaries oppose Voodoo. I hope this does not start a war of religions because many of our practitioners are being harassed now unlike any other time that I remember."

Voodoo, or Vodou as preferred by Haitians, evolved in the 17th century when the French brought slaves to Haiti from West Africa. Slaves forced to practice Catholicism remained loyal to their African spirits in secret by adopting Catholic saints to coincide with African spirits, and today many Haitians consider themselves followers of both religions. Voodoo's followers believe in reincarnation, one God and a pantheon of spirits. Voodoo leaders say that although they do not believe in evil spirits, some followers pray for the spirits to do evil.

"There's absolutely a heightened spiritual conflict between Christianity and Voodoo since the quake," said Pastor Frank Amedia of the Miami-based Touch Heaven Ministries who has been distributing food in Haiti and proselytizing.

"We would give food to the needy in the short term but if they refused to give up Voodoo, I'm not sure we would continue to support them in the long term because we wouldn't want to perpetuate that practice. We equate it with witchcraft, which is contrary to the Gospel."

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