Phantoms and Monsters

Reader Mail: Returning Phantom / Strange Encounter
NASA Discovers Lost Soviet Lunar Robot
EVPs of Classroom Activity Detected in 19th Century Maine Schoolhouse
MUFON: Oklahoma UFO Encounter

Reader Mail: Returning Phantom / Strange Encounter

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 10:42 AM PDT

The following anecdotal accounts were recently received from our readers:

OLD MAN HAYES

This is a true story. When I was about twelve or so my family moved into a rural neighborhood called Hayes Glenn. It was some old farm land owned by a man named Mr. Hayes. We built a new home on five acres and moved in the winter of 1986. About a year or so later another house was being built next door to us. Being kids me and a good friend would hang out in the house while it was being built. One day we were just sitting in the unfinished house talking when we both heard foot steps coming down the hall right toward us. They were very loud because there was no carpet on the concrete foundation so they could clearly be heard. I looked down the hall and there was no one there. Thinking the owners were there we ran out of the house but I soon realized there was no body there.

A couple of weeks later I awoke up about two in the morning. My room was on the side of our house that overlooked the property that the house was being built on. I don't know why but I looked out of the window and clearly saw an old man standing outside of the house. I could see him in the moonlight. I went and woke my mom up but when she got to my room he was gone. Nothing else happened. The house was finished and a couple of years passed. I happened to be talking to a friend's dad who lived in the area. He was a police officer who, about 10 years before all of this, handled the case of old man Hayes...the farmer who had hung himself in a barn exactly were the neighbors house was built.
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CLOSE ENCOUNTER AT A STOP SIGN

About two years ago, I had an experience which I will recount to you. I have been speaking of this more, but it took some time to reconcile.

I believe it would have been early March. I am an interiorscaper, which means I take care of plants in offices and estates. At the time, I had the contract to maintain the plant material in the executive offices at Electronic Data Systems in Plano, TX. Because I maintained the plants for the highest level employees (ceo, cio, etc..), I would do my work pretty much in the middle of the night by escort of their security personnel. I had the contract to do this work for them since 1998.

Once a week, I would leave my home, where I live in a country setting, and travel about 45 minutes in to Plano to do this work. On this morning, it was about 2:30am. I had loaded my van with my work materials, and started out on a very cold and unpleasant morning. It had been raining and the wind was blowing. I had my windshield wipers on because the wind was blowing water off the trees, though it wasn't raining at the moment. I turned on the residential street to make my way out and to the main roads. As I approached the first stop sign, my headlights illuminated a being.

This is how I describe it: First, I must comment that I was immediately struck by a terrible fear. I believe my neck hairs stood on end, and I realized later that I had popped out in a complete sweat. I never sweat, and it was very cold, but my shirt had huge armpit rings by the time I reached the toll road. So I instantly knew that I was seeing something very out of the ordinary at the first second.

I would say this being was about five feet tall. It crossed the road on the cross street in front of me. I had probably 10 or so seconds as my van approached the stop sign, and I had my foot on the brake pedal already when I saw it. (I was traveling slowly anyway). It was a glossy white color, and I could not discern any clothing. It was the same glossy white from its head to its feet. It did not turn its head to look at me, so I do not know what the eyes looked like. It moved in a very strange fashion. It did not seem to have any bend at a knee area, and shuffled rather than walked. The arms were very long, much longer than a person's, and they hung down much past where one would expect knees, and also had no bend where one would expect elbows. I believe the hands were large. The head was not very big, nothing like one sees looking up pictures of 'greys'. There was nothing threatening in its manner, but I was terrified, nonetheless. I must say it took every ounce of courage for me to turn my head to the left in the direction it had gone when I came to a stop at the stop sign. I saw nothing there, and I floored it and got the hell out of there.

Nothing strange or unusual happened on the rest of the trip, although I was really scared. And nothing has happened in all the time since then. I wish I had known that there would be no consequences from seeing it and I could have saved myself a lot of anxiety. I would love to see it again, if I could know for sure that again there would be no consequences, and I could look at it from behind an army of people who probably believe me to be deluded or a liar.

Obviously, I have no idea what it is. Except to say that I know it is not human. I guess it could be an alien from space, or a creature from another dimension.

Seeing it had a big effect on me. I have never been in the least bit afraid outside in the night (I breed and raise horses, and I have spent many, many nights out in the barn by myself waiting for a mare to foal) but I was very nervous outside after that. I also began to dread going to that account. It was eons before I could go by that stop sign without feeling that fear.

I have had some unusual experiences in my life, but nothing like this. I do not know what to make of this experience, other than to acknowledge that there is much more to this world than we know. I come from a well-educated family of engineers and economists, and they would have preferred no family member of theirs have an experience like this, which puts on in a category of 'kooks'. Kate

Reader Mail: Returning Phantom / Strange Encounter

NASA Discovers Lost Soviet Lunar Robot

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 10:13 AM PDT

NASA - A Soviet robot lost on the dusty plains of the Moon for the past 40 years has been found again, and it is returning surprisingly strong laser pulses to Earth.

"We shined a laser on Lunokhod 1's position, and we were stunned by the power of the reflection," says Tom Murphy of UC San Diego, who leads the research team that's putting the old robot back to work. "Lunokhod 1 is talking to us loudly and clearly."

Almost forgotten in the lore of the Apollo-era space race, Lunokhod 1 was one of the greatest successes of the old Soviet lunar exploration program. In 1970, Time magazine described the robot's historic landing:

"Three hours after reaching the Moon aboard the latest unmanned Russian Moon probe, Luna 17, Lunokhod I (literally "moonwalker") lumbered down one of two ramps extended by the mother ship and moved forward … thus taking the first giant step for robotkind on another celestial body."

The remote-controlled rover traveled almost 7 miles during its 11 month lunar tour, relaying thousands of TV images and hundreds of high-resolution panoramas of the Moon back to Earth. It also sampled and analyzed lunar soil at 500 locations.

Then Lunokhod-1 was lost – until last month when NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter found it again. The recovery is described in an earlier NASA press release.

On April 22, Murphy and his team sent pulses of laser light from the 3.5 meter telescope at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, zeroing in on the target coordinates provided by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. A laser retroreflector on Lunokhod 1 intercepted the pulses and sent a clear signal back to Earth.

"We got about 2,000 photons from Lunokhod 1 on our first try. After almost 40 years of silence, this rover a lot to say," notes Murphy.

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Apollo astronauts placed three other retroflectors on the Moon to allow laser ranging of the Moon's orbit. Assisted by a fourth reflector on Lunokhod 2, a twin of Lunokhod 1 that landed in 1973, these mirrors constitute the only Apollo science experiment still operating.

Eric Silverberg, now retired from the University of Texas, was in charge of the lunar laser ranging activities at the McDonald Observatory from 1969 until 1982. "During that time," he recalls, "we successfully ranged all three of the Apollo corner reflectors and the Lunakhod 2 reflector. We also tried to range on the first lunar rover but had only one possible (but not definite) detection on Dec 31, 1970. Our lack of knowledge of the location of the rover and the pressures of keeping up with the Apollo program caused us eventually to lose interest in Lunakhod 1."

"When I read that Tom Murphy had discovered returns from the lost rover I was very surprised and elated," says Silverberg.

Murphy's initial reaction was disbelief: "The signal was so strong, my first thought was that our detector was acting up! I expected the rover's reflector to be degraded and dull after all this time, so I thought, 'this couldn't possibly be it.' But it was."

"This reflector is even strong enough to let us get measurements in lunar daylight – a first for this experiment!"

Silverberg continues: "The fact that Lunokhod 1's reflection is now stronger than that of its twin is a mystery. This may yield important clues as to why all of the reflectors are weaker than in the first decade after landing."

With Lunokhod 1 back in the fold, the laser ranging study can get up to full throttle for the first time.

The scientists are using laser ranging to push hard on Einstein's gravity theory "to see if we can break it," says Murphy.

"Our telescope shoots out laser pulses that travel from Earth to the Moon and ping the reflectors. Because these are all 'corner-cube reflectors,' they send the pulse straight back where it came from. We scoop up as many of the returning photons as possible."

The round-trip travel time pinpoints the Earth-Moon distance. With repeated measurements, over months and years, the scientists can trace the Moon's orbit with millimeter precision.

Einstein's theory of gravity (the Theory of General Relativity) holds that the mass and energy in massive objects like the sun make space curve, and this curving tells objects around the massive body how to move. The curvature actually makes the Earth and Moon fall toward the sun.

By measuring the Moon's fall through curved spacetime, the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation--APOLLO for short--may yet find a crack in Einstein's great edifice of General Relativity. That's how science moves forward.

So far, lunar ranging results support Einstein. But a funny looking old rover may shine, or at least reflect, new light on the subject.

NASA Discovers Lost Soviet Lunar Robot

EVPs of Classroom Activity Detected in 19th Century Maine Schoolhouse

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 10:44 AM PDT

pressherald - When Renee Alling and her team of paranormal investigators checked out the Readfield Historical Society last fall, they found something that begged another visit to the former schoolhouse, built in 1823.

As they reviewed their audio recordings, Alling said, the investigative team detected a teacher delivering a grammar lesson and sounds of a chalkboard being cleaned.

In addition, some sort of occult force seemed to interfere with the team's walkie-talkies.

"When we listened to our recording," Alling said, "it sounded like footsteps walking toward us."

On Saturday, Alling and a different group she's founded, Everything Paranormal of New England, will return to the Readfield Historical Society, hoping to experience the same phenomena, learn more about them, and perhaps detect some new paranormal activity.

"This place is haunted," said Alling, who lives in Sanford.

Alling and six other investigators will set up audio recorders and cameras and stake out the historical society building Saturday night.

Florence Drake, the Readfield Historical Society president, will be especially interested in the investigation's outcome.

She and the society's board heard a presentation of paranormal evidence last fall, but Drake said many of the recordings weren't clear enough to discern exactly what was happening.

"Some of the spirits, or whatever they are, I'd like them to speak a little more clearly, more loudly and clearly," Drake said, "something I could play to our members and say, 'Here. This is going on.' "

While Drake said she's had paranormal experiences in the past, she's never had those experiences in the Readfield Historical Society building.

"There's nothing weird about this place at all," she said. "It was a nice school for 132 years."

Alling became interested in the paranormal when she and her family moved to Maine from Texas 11 years ago. They moved into a house built in 1900 and started noticing something was awry.

"My daughter's seen a little girl in her bedroom, dressed in Victorian clothes," Alling said, adding that her son has seen and heard his share of the metaphysical. "There's voices and stuff moving and unexplainable crap," she said.

The newfound interest in ghostly phenomena led Alling to join an investigators' group and, later, to found one of her own. Her investigations have taken Alling and her team to towns across Maine, where they've investigated private residences and historical buildings.

"I think it's great fun. It's wonderful," Drake said. "It lets people see a different angle, almost like parallel existences, in a nonthreatening way and in a nonsensational way."

Alling said the investigations seek to prove or disprove, and understand the spirits that might live in historical buildings.

"They're not going to hurt you," Alling said. "Most of the time, they're trying to communicate with you."

If the investigators turn up anything at the Readfield Historical Society, it will be a reflection of whatever took place in the building while it was a school.

"If anyone's here, it's just the kids and teachers," Drake said. "All they're going to get is rampant happiness, if they get anything."
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Paranormal Researchers and Investigators of Maine - Investigation of Readfield Historical Society

On October 17th, 2009, PRI-ME conducted an investigation at the Readfield Historical Society and Schoolhouse in Readfield Maine. The building was erected in 1823 and held a schoolhouse on the first level and a chapel on the second. When the chapel moved to the Union Meeting House in 1828, the second floor was converted into a classroom for the older students, making it a two-story schoolhouse.

Today, the building has been made into a museum, with the first level schoolroom restored. The majority of the exhibits are located on the second level, with a plethora of items which were used by Readfield residents long ago as well as old letters and notes from a variety of people. On the first floor, the schoolhouse holds an annual event named "A Day In A Rural Schoolhouse," where children from a local school get to experience what it may have been like on a typical school day in the old building.

While there were no actual claims of paranormal activity in this building, we were excited to see if we could possibly catch some evidence of anything unexplainable. Nobody had been there late in the evening, when it is said that paranormal activity is most likely to occur. Also, some of the theories that exist claim that while a specific structure or land might not be haunted, items that are held within that space may hold some type of supernatural attachment. Certainly, Readfield would be a great place to test these theories out!

We set up two DVR cameras, one on the first level and the other on the second. Also, we placed stationary voice recorders on each level. Each of us had a voice recorder which we carried with us throughout the investigation and Louie had a handheld camera which he took with him.

Due to the location of the building and general noises made by the investigators, it was difficult to listen for any unexplained noises while we were on the location. A few times, we thought that we had heard a bump or bang, but these random noises could be explained as car doors closing or traffic. However, upon review of our equipment, we were able to pick up a few unexplainable voices which we are certain were not made by any of us or other outside contamination. During setup, one of the stationary recorders on the first level picked up a barely audible voice that sounds like it could be female. The words are difficult to distinguish, but the voice is there, nonetheless. During the investigation, a recorder picked up another barely audible voice that seems to be saying either "no" or "hello." During a break, a few of us were having a conversation on the first level. At this time, we were able to catch a voice which sounds like someone whispering "quiet." The last clear one that we caught happened during our final EVP session at the end of the investigation. We are not sure of what is being said, but the voice is unfamiliar to us.

While we were able to get some possible evidence of paranormal activity through our digital voice recorders, we believe that this evidence does not provide us with enough proof to determine that the Readfield Historical Society is in fact haunted. The voices that we captured cannot be distinguished as either a residual or an intelligent haunt, nor did we capture any photographic or video evidence. It is certainly a place that is filled with very interesting history and artifacts, though! We are very thankful for the opportunity to investigate such a fascinating place and hope to stay in contact with the board of directors!

NOTE: Go to the PRI-ME.org investigation page, scroll down to EVP audio file...Lon

Sources:
www.pri-me.org
www.pressherald.com
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com
www.readfieldhistorical.com

EVPs of Classroom Activity Detected in 19th Century Maine Schoolhouse

MUFON: Oklahoma UFO Encounter

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 09:27 AM PDT

MUFON witness statement - 5/26/2010 - undisclosed location in Oklahoma - unedited: I woke up early and went to the kitchen sink to get a drink of water and saw the super bright light that at first I thought was the moon. The object lowered to almost ground level then illuminated the area in the woods all around it. We live in a home that is built on the side of a hill and the light was right on top of the hill where we live. After a few minutes I noticed that a beam of light was shining towards the north west and it stayed in that area for approx 3 min. The object then suddenly shined a beam of light to the southeast area. The other area that had been illuminated in the opposite direction was then dark. The "moon" doesn't shine light in different directions. I woke up my husband and by the time I got back to the laundry room door window to show him what I was witnessing the light had dimmed. It was almost like they were watching me and knew I had gone to get another witness or something. He went back to bed half asleep.... and then is when it started shining a bright light in the two different directions (at different times). I woke him up again and he came and looked at it but was so sleepy he just said oh..it's the moon. I pointed out to him that we could only see one side of the tree's that was all lit up and he just said he was going to bed. I watched the light until it disappeared. It appeared to fade then just disappear. The woods are heavy behind our house up on top of the hill and when this object was illuminating the area all the tree's you could see very good. It was scary..I kept going from one window to another window to get a better look at it and trying to get my camera to work.

Hopefully you have had someone else in Oklahoma that saw this object. Whatever it was it was huge. There was no noise at all. It was a bright white light but big and you couldn't see any outline. I was looking at it through a lot of tree's so it was just a large large light.

The funny thing about it and the timing I thought might have something to do with the fact that I had started burning some brush piles next to our driveway that is right on the south of where this object was seen the day before. The fire had caught an old oilfield rubber hose that was very long on fire and it had burned very slowly all night. I wondered if this from the air could have sparked the objects attention. The next morning when I went up to look at the area where I'd seen the object I could tell that the rubber hose had continued to burn all night very slowly. The spot where the object was seen is a large open area where we had bulldozer work done the day before to clean up an old oil well site. There was fresh dirt and bulldozer tracks and hoe tracks and I only saw one little area that looked funny. It was a half circle with ridges precisely spaced. I don't know but the track hoe could have made this impression in the dirt. I did take a few pictures of the dirt. During the sighting that early morning when I tried to take pictures my camera's battery was dead. By the time I got it half way charged I only got a few pictures and none showed the bright light, only one picture showed anything unusual and it shows 2 red lights in the upper right hand corner.

This was my experience and what I saw.

NOTE: this report was posted at MUFON just a few minutes before I noticed it. I'll admit, it's unusual...the tracks are very strange. Any ideas? Lon

MUFON: Oklahoma UFO Encounter

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