Phantoms and Monsters

Giant Bumble Bees / Gigantic Scorpions
Paranormal Activity at Newspaper Building Grabs Local Headlines
The Devil's Tramping Ground - Chatham County, N.C.
Tenant Hides Dead Friend Under Sofa For 10 Years

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 12:34 PM PDT

THE BUFF TAILED BUMBLE BEE

This is a widespread and common bumble bee. The large, conspicuous overwintered queens are often among the first bumble bees to appear in spring, often occurring in late February/early March. Nectar sources are scarce at this time. They are black with a dull yellow band just in front of the wings, and another across the middle of the body. The abdomen of the queen is buff colored, but workers are very similar to white-tailed bumble bees. This species nests below ground.

Only the young fertilized queens survive the winter, having hibernated in a protected place such as a hole or under moss. They emerge in spring, each queen starting up her own colony or taking over an existing colony. The queen makes pots of wax and pollen into which the first eggs are laid. After about three weeks, the first infertile female workers emerge and take over the nectar and pollen gathering and cell building, while the queen concentrates on egg laying. The larvae are reared on pollen and nectar. The males appear in summer and towards the end of this season, both male and female bumble bees fly out and mate. Males are not allowed to re-enter the nest after mating and soon die. The fertilized queen will then start searching for a safe place to hibernate but both the workers and the old queen die with the first frosts or spell of cold weather.
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Gigantic Scorpion Fossil Found in Scotland

bbc - A cast is being made of tracks left by a two-metre long ancient animal in north east Fife.

The tracks were made by a giant six-legged water scorpion called Hibbertopterus as it crawled over damp sand about 330 million years ago.

It is the largest known walking trackway of a eurypterid or any invertebrate animal.

The tracks were discovered by Dr Martin Whyte from the University of Sheffield while he was out walking.

Scottish Natural Heritage, which is funding the project, described the find as unique and internationally important because the creature was gigantic.

It said the fossil would be moulded in silicone so that more people could see and research it.

Richard Batchelor from Geoheritage Fife, said: "The trackway is in a precarious situation, having been exposed for years to weathering.

"The rock in which it occurs is in danger of falling off altogether.

"Removing it and housing it in a museum would be prohibitively costly but moulding it in silicone rubber and making copies for educational and research purposes means that we can still see and research this huge creature's tracks in years to come."

The animal, which is related to modern-day scorpions and horseshoe crabs, was about two metres long and about one metre wide.

'Geological treasures'

The trackway, which is preserved in sandstone, consists of three rows of crescent shaped footprints on each side of a central groove.

The groove was made by the tail of the animal as it dragged over the sand.

This contrasts previous fossil evidence which suggested that the creatures lived in the water for most, if not all of the time.

SNH geologist Colin MacFadyen said: "Helping to conserve this important find is vital for our understanding of this period in evolution.

"Such finds as this highlight that all over Scotland there are no doubt other geological treasures awaiting discovery."

Giant Bumble Bees / Gigantic Scorpions

Paranormal Activity at Newspaper Building Grabs Local Headlines

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 11:54 AM PDT

oakdaleleader - For years the Oakdale Leader building (Oakdale, CA) on South Third Avenue has been rumored to host more than just the employees on the payroll. Stories of mysterious happenings, odd sounds, and even an apparition sighting or two have abounded, shared among the community from past and present employees but now it's official — The Leader office is a hot bed of paranormal activity, at least according to the investigators with the Western Region Paranormal Research (WRPR) group following an evening spent in the building.

Saturday night, April 17, the investigation group based out of Ceres converged on Oakdale and set up their sophisticated equipment in the hopes of catching evidence that there's more to the stories than just someone's active imagination.

The results were enough to keep the investigators chattering for days.

"Our first thoughts were, there is definitely activity in the building. It could be residual or it could be a spirit. We won't know until we get feedback from the cameras," shared WRPR co-founder Barbara Rubis-Johnson. "The whole team was psyched."

Editor Marg Jackson, who has been with the Leader for 17 years, was on site for the investigation and was curious to see what the team would uncover as she has experienced more than a few freaky incidents that were difficult to explain logically.

"One evening, working late, I had my daughter at the office with me and saw her go past my door, out of the corner of my eye," Jackson shared. "I went back to check on her, because I assumed she went to the break room but when I got there, the lights were out and she wasn't there.

"In fact, she was still seated at the desk up front when I went there. So she wasn't who I saw go past my door. And no one else was in the building."

Other incidents have ranged from a television in the break room turning on by itself, lights that were turned off being back on and unexplained 'bumps' in the night in various parts of the building.

Prior to the night of the investigation the team spent time learning the building's history as well as took a walking tour. The actual investigation night, two "sensitives" as they are called, walked through the building at different times so as not to influence one another and another team member, Fred Schumacher, also known as the "debunker" went through and documented spots with electromagnetic feedback so as not to include any potential readings that could be explained logically.

The nonprofit organization has traveled as far as Nevada to conduct their investigations, which have consisted of private residences to businesses and their services are always free of charge.

Rubis-Johnson explained her interest with the paranormal, saying, "I started years ago and I've always been fascinated by it. I'm getting up there in age and I want to know where I'm going. I've always believed there's something on the other side."

Co-founder Dave Hirschman and Rubis-Johnson teamed up to form their own group after parting ways from a different investigation group.

"We were brought together by a common interest," Hirschman said.

And since then the group has grown to include several members, all dedicated to researching the unknown world of the paranormal.

When the team arrived at the Leader, the sensitives, one them being Iesha Bayona, identified several spots of interest within the building, such as the layout table and the area used by Creative Services.

The layout table, an indescribably heavy piece of furniture that is no longer used for its original purpose and simply catches dust and stacks of bundled newspaper, caught several impressions from Bayona.

"It could be because the wood absorbed the energy of people from the past," Bayona explained. "But I'm getting a lot from this right here."

Several times the equipment the team used registered temperature drops in conjunction with directed questioning as well as K2 monitor spikes, which would detect Electromagnetic Fields (EMF).

EMF detectors are often used in these types of investigations for they pick up energy sources and fluctuations in electromagnetic fields. It is believed that spirits are comprised of energy, thus when they are present they disrupt this electromagnetic field, causing a spike on the K2 monitor.

The "hottest" spot in the building was the Creative Services department, where several K2 monitors spiked at the same exact time in correlation to several "yes/no" questions. During this time, the investigators were also recording the sessions with sensitive equipment to pick up any Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP).

Although the investigation is still preliminary, Rubis-Johnson was excited to find four distinct EVPs within the footage thus far. The Leader will do a follow-up once the findings are officially released.

"We learn something new each time because each spirit is different. They all have different personalities. You have to have an open mind and you can't be afraid, especially when you're on an investigation," Rubis-Johnson said. "And whenever there's an older building there's always something. But even a new building can tell us things because of the land it's on."

Paranormal Activity at Newspaper Building Grabs Local Headlines

The Devil's Tramping Ground - Chatham County, N.C.

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 11:27 AM PDT

The Devil's Tramping Ground is a barren circle in the forest in the Harper's Crossroad community near Bennett, North Carolina. It is the subject of some of North Carolina's oldest legends. For at least the last hundred years, nothing has grown within the 40 foot ring and the phenomenon is thus far unexplained. A United States Geological Survey team could uncover no scientific explanation for the lack of growth within the ring.

Stories about the ring are well known in local communities. These include the disappearance of objects left within the ring overnight, and strange events occurring to those brave enough to spend the night within its boundaries.

Legend says that this is the very place the devil himself can rise from the depths of fiery hell, and come to earth. It's at this place, the devil walks in circles on certain nights and brings his evil into this world.

Hunters who have had rabbit hounds in the area say that dogs refuse to enter or cross the area of the Devils Tramping Ground. Men on horseback say that horses react the same way. They refuse to cross or go in the area of the Devils Tramping Ground.

Over the years paranormal investigators have been to the area of the Devils Tramping Ground many times but have never been able to prove what it is or is not. It is a known historical fact that vegetation will not grow there. Scientists from the US Geological Survey team have been to the area to find out why nothing will grow there but they could not find any reason for the absence of vegetation in the area of the Devils Tramping Ground.

Stories about the Devils Tramping Ground are well known in the area and its said you can carry and place a large rock in the center of the path there and in the morning it will be moved over out of the way. The area is also said to frighten some people and they refuse to go any where near the area.

John William Harden (1903-1985) of Greensboro, N.C., journalist, newspaper editor, author, advisor to North Carolina governors and textile executives, and founder of the state's first full-service public relations company had this to say of the 'Devil's Tramping Ground:'

There, sometimes during the dark of night, the Majesty of the Underworld of Evil silently tramps around that bare circle-- thinking, plotting, and planning against good, and in behalf of wrong.

Click for video

Click for video
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Information - North Carolina Museum of History

There's a piece of land 10 miles east of Siler City, in western Chatham County, that's as creepy as they come. It's a perfect circle, 40 feet across, lying just off the highway. Nothing grows inside the circle. Dogs and wildlife won't step inside it, and birds won't land in it. There aren't even any rocks or sticks within this unnatural ring. It's called the Devil's Tramping Ground.

Early settlers in Chatham County first saw the circle in the 1770s. Since that time some people have planted grass and vegetable seeds in its soil, but nothing has ever come up. Others have put objects inside the circle only to find them gone the next morning. A few brave folks have tried to spend the night in the circle, but something—a noise, a moving object, or a ghostly shape—has scared them away.

What caused this eerie ring on the ground? Over the years stories and legends have grown up about it. An American Indian legend says that generations of Indians danced in the circle at celebrations. The Great Spirit now protects the spot to honor members of the tribe who were driven from their lands by European settlers. Another Indian legend says that Chief Croatan, a great tribal leader, was killed in the circle during a battle and is buried there. The Great Spirit keeps the circle empty to honor him.

One story about the circle is really out of this world. It says that visitors from outer space landed there in a UFO! Another story says that magic treasure is buried deep in the ground. But the best-known legend also explains the name of the circle.

According to this legend, every night the devil walks around in circles thinking up evil plans. At the first light of day, he turns into a bat and flies off to carry out his plans. His tramping throughout the night leaves the ground bare and grim. Some people think that a farmer who owned the land where the circle lies made up this story to keep hunters off his property. Even if this is true, it doesn't explain the mystery.

There are also believable explanations. One explanation says that the circle is on the site of a molasses mill that used horses or mules to pull the mill wheel. It was their hooves that damaged the ground. Yet other mills at that time didn't leave such circles.

Scientists finally stepped in to solve the mystery. They found that the soil in the circle has a high level of salt. And they know that the spot was an ancient salt lick for bison and deer. This explains why nothing will grow there, but it doesn't explain why the area is a perfect circle or why it has lasted so long.

NOTE: I vaguely remember visiting this place back in the 1960's during a family trip. I really don't know that much about it but my relatives who lived near there swear something is going on, ex. disembodied voices, strange lights and apparitions...Lon

The Devil's Tramping Ground - Chatham County, N.C.

Sources:
hubpages.com
en.wikipedia.org
ncmuseumofhistory.org
www.visitnc.com
www.welcometonc.com

Tenant Hides Dead Friend Under Sofa For 10 Years

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 10:10 AM PDT

telegraph - The dead man, Denis Pring, 73, had been living with a city council tenant Alan Derrick, who has learning difficulties.

The inquest heard Mr Derrick did not want to tell the authorities that Mr Pring had died because he was worried he would be evicted.

The coroner recorded an open verdict into Mr Pring's death at the hearing in Flax Bourton, near Bristol.

Mr Pring, a former warehouseman, is believed to have died at some point between April and June 1998.

The inquest heard that he had been living in the flat unofficially.

Mr Derrick, the dead man's friend and drinking partner, had invited him to stay there because he had nowhere else to go.

But when he died suddenly, Mr Derrick panicked and worried that he might be evicted.

He covered up the body with cushions and two armchairs and carried on living in the flat in Bedminster, Bristol, for the next 10 years without reporting the death.

Neighbours complained to the council about foul smells from the flat but although council officers visited twice the body was never found.

Mr Pring's skeleton was discovered in January 2008 when cleaners were brought in after Mr Derrick was evicted from the flat following a county court order.

Council officers who visited the flat believed the smell came from the lavatory.

The council said procedures for looking after vulnerable people had now been changed.

The council's deputy chief executive, Jon House, acknowledged a "more active intervention nine or 10 years ago", and a " healthier dose of common sense", might have led to Mr Pring's body being found earlier.

He said: "I apologise unreservedly both to Mr Pring's family and to the residents of neighbouring homes for the distress they have endured."

Tenant Hides Dead Friend Under Sofa For 10 Years

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