Phantoms and Monsters |  |
- Historical Tales of Talking Poltergeists
- South America’s Procession of the Damned / Malaysian 'Oily Man' Phenomena
- Fortean / Oddball News - 9/22/2010: UFOs, Moses and the Asian Wildman
- Buffalo Ballroom's Underworld and 'Other World' Legacy
| Historical Tales of Talking Poltergeists Posted: 22 Sep 2010 02:37 PM PDT  A reader recently sent me an inquiry about poltergeists and if these entities had an ability to talk or communicate with a voice. There were a few modern reports, but I wasn't sure if these were exaggerations produced by the witnesses. So I decided to look over some of the prominent historical cases and post a few that exhibit authenticity even though the commentary may be a bit folksy.John Arnason, in his "Icelandic Folklore and Fairy Tales", gives an account of "The Devil at Hjalta-stad" as written by the Sheriff Hans Wium in a letter to Bishop Haldorr Brynjolfsson in the autumn of 1750. "The sheriff writes: "The Devil at Hjalta-stad was outspoken enough this past winter, although no one saw him. I, along with others, had the dishonour to hear him talking for nearly two days, during which he addressed myself and the minister, Sir Grim, with words the like of which 'eye hath not seen nor ear heard.' As soon as we reached the front of the house there was heard in the door an iron voice saying: 'So Hans from Eyrar is come now, and wishes to talk with me, the ------ idiot.' Compared with other names that he gave me this might be considered as flattering. When I inquired who it was that addressed me with such words, he answered in a fierce voice, 'I was called Lucifer at first, but now I am called Devil and Enemy.' He threw at us both stones and pieces of wood, as well as other things, and broke two windows in the minister's room. He spoke so close to us that he seemed to be just at our side. There was an old woman there of the name of Opia, whom he called his wife, and a 'heavenly blessed soul,' and asked Sir Grim to marry them, with various remarks of this kind, which I will not recount." "I have little liking to write about his ongoings, which were all disgraceful and shameful, in accordance with the nature of the actor. He repeated the 'Pater Noster' three times, answered questions from the Catechism and the Bible, said that the devils held service in hell, and told what texts and psalms they had for various occasions. He asked us to give him some of the food we had, and a drink of tea, etc. I asked the fellow whether God was good. He said, 'Yes.' Whether he was truthful. He answered, 'Not one of his words can be doubted.' Sir Grim asked him whether the devil was good-looking. He answered: 'He is far better-looking than you, you ------ ugly snout!' I asked him whether the devils agreed well with each other. He answered in a kind of sobbing voice: 'It is painful to know that they never have peace.' I bade him say something to me in German, and said to him Lass uns Teusc redre (sic), but he answered as if he had misunderstood me." "When we went to bed in the evening he shouted fiercely in the middle of the floor, 'On this night I shall snatch you off to hell, and you shall not rise up out of bed as you lay down.' During the evening he wished the minister's wife good-night. The minister and I continued to talk with him during the night; among other things we asked him what kind of weather it was outside. He answered: 'It is cold, with a north wind.' We asked if he was cold. He answered: 'I think I am both hot and cold.' I asked him loud he could shout. He said, 'So loud that the roof would go off the house, and you all would fall into a dead faint.' I told him to try it. He answered: 'Do you think I am come to amuse you, you ------ idiot?' I asked him to show us a little specimen. He said he would do so, and gave three shouts, the last of which was so fearful that I have never heard anything worse, and doubt whether I ever shall. Towards daybreak, after he had parted from us with the usual compliments, we fell asleep." "Next morning he came in again, and began to waken up people; he named each one by name, not forgetting to add some nickname, and asking whether so-and-so was awake. When he saw they were all awake, he said he was going to play with the door now, and with that he threw the door off its hinges with a sudden jerk, and sent it far in upon the floor. The strangest thing was that when he threw anything it went down at once, and then went back to its place again, so it was evident that he either went inside it or moved about with it." "The previous evening he challenged me twice to come out into the darkness to him, and this is an angry voice, saying that he would tear me limb from limb. I went out and told him to come on, but nothing happened. When I went back to my place and asked him why he had not fulfilled his promise, he said, 'I had no orders for it from my master.' He asked us whether we had ever heard the like before, and when we said 'Yes,' he answered, 'That is not true: the like has never been heard at any time.' He had sung 'The memory of Jesus' after I arrived there, and talked frequently while the word of God was being read. He said that he did not mind this, but that he did not like the 'Cross-school Psalms,' and said it must have been a great idiot who composed them. This enemy came like a devil, departed as such, and behaved himself as such while he was present, nor would it befit any one but the devil to declare all that he said. At the same time it must be added that I am not quite convinced that it was a spirit, but my opinions on this I cannot give here for lack of time." In another literary work where the sheriff's letter is given with some variations and additions, an attempt is made to explain the story. The phenomena were said to have been caused by a young man who had learned ventriloquism abroad. Even if this art could have been practiced so successfully as to puzzle the sheriff and others, it could hardly have taken the door off its hinges and thrown it into the room. ********** Donald Ban and the Bocan - Scotland: An 18th Century 'Talking Poltergeist' Case A similar account titled "Donald Ban and the Bocan" by W. A. Craigie, M.A. was added to "Folk-Lore: A Quarterly Review of Myth, Tradition, Institution & Custom Being The Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society and Incorporating The Archaeological Review and The Folk-Lore Journal" in 1895: "It is fully a hundred years since there died in Lochaber a man named Donald Ban, sometimes called "the son of Angus," but more frequently known as Donald Ban of the Bocan. This surname was derived from the troubles caused to him by a bocan—a goblin—many of whose doings are preserved in tradition." "Donald drew his origin from the honourable house of Keppoch, and was the last of the hunters of Macvic-Ronald. His home was at Mounessee, and later at Inverlaire in Glenspean, and his wife belonged to the MacGregors of Rannoch. He went out with the Prince, and was present at the battle of Culloden. He fled from the field, and took refuge in a mountain shieling, having two guns with him, but only one of them was loaded. A company of soldiers came upon him there, and although Donald escaped by a back window, taking the empty gun with him by mistake, he was wounded in the leg by a shot from his pursuers. The soldiers took him then, and conveyed him to Inverness, where he was thrown into prison to await his trial. While he was in prison he had a dream; he saw himself sitting and drinking with Alastair MacCholla, and Donald MacRonald Vor. The latter was the man of whom it was said that he had two hearts; he was taken prisoner at Falkirk and executed at Carlisle. Donald was more fortunate than his friend, and was finally set free." "It was after this that the bocan began to trouble him; and although Donald never revealed to any man the secret of who the bocan was (if indeed he knew it himself), yet there were some who professed to know that it was a "gillie" of Donald's who was killed at Culloden. Their reason for believing this was that on one occasion the man in question had given away more to a poor neighbour than Donald was pleased to spare. Donald found fault with him, and in the quarrel that followed the man said, "I will be avenged for this, alive or dead." "It was on the hill that Donald first met with the bocan, but he soon came to closer quarters, and haunted the house in a most annoying fashion. He injured the members of the household, and destroyed all the food, being especially given to dirtying the butter (a thing quite superfluous, according to Captain Burt's description of Highland butter). On one occasion a certain Ronald of Aberardair was a guest in Donald's house, and Donald's wife said, "Though I put butter on the table for you to-night, it will just be dirtied." "I will go with you to the butter-keg," said Ronald, "with my dirk in my hand, and hold my bonnet over the keg, and he will not dirty it this night." So the two went together to fetch the butter, but it was dirtied just as usual." "Things were worse during the night and they could get no sleep for the stones and clods that came flying about the house. "The bocan was throwing things out of the walls, and they would hear them rattling at the head of Donald's bed." The minister came (Mr. John Mor MacDougall was his name) and slept a night or two in the house, but the bocan kept away so long as he was there. Another visitor, Angus MacAlister Ban, whose grandson told the tale, had more experience of the bocan's reality. "Something seized his two big toes, and he could not get free any more than if he had been caught by the smith's tongs. It was the bocan, but he did nothing more to him." Some of the clergy, too, as well as laymen of every rank, were witnesses to the pranks which the spirit carried on, but not even Donald himself ever saw him in any shape whatever. So famous did the affair become that Donald was nearly ruined by entertaining all the curious strangers who came to see the facts for themselves." "In the end Donald resolved to change his abode, to see whether he could in that way escape from the visitations. He took all his possessions with him except a harrow, which was left beside the wall of the house, but before the party had gone far on the road the harrow was seen coming after them. "Stop, stop," said Donald; "if the harrow is coming after us, we may just as well go back again." The mystery of the harrow is not explained, but Donald did return to his home, and made no further attempt to escape from his troubles in this way." "If the bocan had a spite at Donald, he was still worse disposed towards his wife, the MacGregor woman. On the night on which he last made his presence felt, he went on the roof of the house and cried, "Are you asleep, Donald Ban?" "Not just now," said Donald. "Put out that long grey tether, the MacGregor wife," said he. "I don't think I'll do that to-night," said Donald. "Come out yourself, then," said the bocan, "and leave your bonnet." The good-wife, thinking that the bocan was outside and would not hear her, whispered in Donald's ear as he was rising, "Won't you ask him when the Prince will come?" The words, however, were hardly out of her mouth when the bocan answered her with, "Didn't you get enough of him before, you grey tether?" "Another account says that at this last visit of the bocan, he was saying that various other spirits were along with him. Donald's wife said to her husband: "I should think that if they were along with him they would speak to us"; but the bocan answered, "They are no more able to speak than the sole of your foot." He then summoned Donald outside as above. "I will come," said Donald, "and thanks be to the Good Being that you have asked me." Donald was taking his dirk with him as he went out, but the bocan said, "leave your dirk inside, Donald, and your knife as well." "Donald then went outside, and the bocan led him on through rivers and a birch-wood for about three miles, till they came to the river Fert. There the bocan pointed out to Donald a hole in which he had hidden some plough-irons while he was alive. Donald proceeded to take them out, and while doing so the two eyes of the bocan were causing him greater fear than anything else he ever heard or saw. When he had got the irons out of the hole, they went back to Mounessie together, and parted that night at the house of Donald Ban." "The bocan was not the only inhabitant of the spirit-world that Donald Ban encountered during his lifetime. A cousin of his mother was said to have been carried off by the fairies, and one night Donald saw him among them, dancing away with all his might. Donald was also out hunting in the year of the great snow, and at nightfall he saw a man mounted on the back of a deer ascending a great rock. He heard the man saying, "Home, Donald Ban," and fortunately he took the advice, for that night there fell eleven feet of snow in the very spot where he had intended to stay." ********** The Bell Witch: An American Haunting  Tennessee is home to one of the most disturbing ghost stories of all time: The Bell Witch, which was one of the earliest American versions of a talking poltergeist. As with all traditional American folk stories there is modification and exploitation in the media. There are several books about the witch, but many Americans heard the story for the first time in the film An American Haunting, which was released several years ago and based on actual events. After reading the some of the original accounts of the haunting, I was surprised on how accurate and detailed the production was. The Bell Witch is a story about John and Elizabeth Bell and their children, who lived in Adams in Robertson County in the early 1800s. Some of the original commentary from one of the children follows: "Kate Bates was a member of our small community. One day, she and my father argued over a business deal. Over time, she became more and more displeased with my father, and legend has it that she cast a spell over my family, cursing us to be haunted for life. "From then on, our family was visited by an apparition or ghost. She wasn't a friendly ghost, so we referred to her as a witch. She became known as the Bell Witch. "At first, the Bell Witch couldn't speak, and she communicated in soft, whistlelike sounds. Gradually, her voice developed, and she felt free to communicate with us verbally. In the meantime, she was torturing our family. At night, my sister and I would lay in bed gripping our covers tightly because she would be pulling them off from the end of our bed. "Occasionally, she would hit us or scratch us, and she wouldn't stop even when we cried. She teased and tormented everyone in my family except for my younger brother, John Bell Jr. She liked John and would protect him from harm and would harm those who were cruel to him. "Eventually, the Bell Witch killed my father by poisoning him. She put black, poisonous liquid in his food. The curse of the Bell Witch continued for years, so my brothers, sisters and I were forced to leave home. Our friends and neighbors would often come and stay in our home to experience the haunting for themselves. We even had visitors from other cities who traveled to Adams just to see or hear the Bell Witch. My parents would feed and house our visitors, hoping that the visitors would experience the haunting, too. "The people living in Adams were so tired of the Bell Witch and her trickery that they excommunicated her from the town and ordered her to live in a cave on the outside of the city, where she still lives today. "If you are brave enough, you can go to Adams, Tenn., and visit the cave where the Bell Witch was sent to live. However, I want you to be very careful! The Missing Headstone The latest chapter of Middle Tennessee's famed Bell Witch story could be titled "The Tale of the Homesick Headstone." It begins in 1860, when the 22-year-old great-granddaughter of John Bell died and was buried in the family cemetery, her rest undisturbed until the headstone disappeared about a century later. It ends earlier this month, when the missing marker turned up in Nashville, upside down and broken in two. "The stone was found in Madison," said Tim Henson, a local historian and curator of the Adams Museum in the Robertson County town. "It was used as a stepping stone in someone's yard for at least 41 years." Now the marker is in its rightful place. Getting it there had its spooky moments, which seems fitting for a member of the family at the center of one of the South's most celebrated ghost stories. In 1817, an angry spirit took up residence on the Bell farm in Adams, about an hour's drive northwest of Nashville. Some people identified her as Kate Batts, an eccentric woman who believed John Bell had cheated her in a land deal. She tormented the family, slapping, pinching and pulling the children's hair. She sang hymns, preached and plagued their father, who fell into recurring bouts of illness until he died in December 1820, a terrible smell on his lips and a mysterious bottle of black liquid nearby. The tale has been the subject of books and movies, including An American Haunting (2006). And townspeople and tourists say Kate still haunts today, throwing salad spoons and blue balls in the air. The supernatural Bell mystique may extend to the headstone of Mary Allen Bell Coke, if the story its finder tells is any indication. The marker had made its way to a trash bin in Madison, where a homeowner found it years ago and added it to the lawn. "A contractor from Springfield, working on that house, brought it home," Henson said. The contractor, Janie Hudgens, was intrigued and went online to research the dead woman. That led to funeral director and Bell descendant Bob Bell in Springfield, who called Henson. Hudgens said that after she and husband Sparky found the stone, she made it her mission to find out where it came from. "I'm from Alabama, and we respect the dead there," Hudgens said. "When we found the headstone, that bothered me. For three nights straight, I was on the computer till 3 or 4 in the morning looking for where the tombstone belonged." The night before they were to give Henson the marker, they were in bed with the room dark when the screen came to life, static crossing its screen. Not long after she turned it off, "it came on again, and it was on the page about the Bell family." Then there was the wind, which she said "blew the deadbolt-locked door open." As she told Henson, "I think this stone wants to get home." Henson recently took it to the cemetery and placed it on the grave, but that was just for a brief visit. It'll remain in storage until it can be safely and securely displayed. "We just want to place it back in the Bell cemetery that it belongs in," he said. "We know within a foot or two where it's supposed to go. We want to put it back so that it can't be taken away again." Sources: Lange, Andrew - "The Book Of Dreams And Ghosts" Arnason, Jon - "Icelandic Folklore and Fairy Tales" www.stavacademy.co.uk www.wikio.com Curran, Bob - "Vampires ：A Field Guide To The Creatures That Stalk The Night" www.munseys.com Craigie, W.A. - "Folk-Lore: A Quarterly Review of Myth, Tradition, Institution, & Custom Being The Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society and Incorporating The Archaeological Review and The Folk-Lore Journal," Vol. VI.—1895 tennessean.com NOTE: technically, none of these cases were really poltergeist activity...most likely these were instances of non-human entity possession. The infamous 'Enfield Poltergeist' case was probably a possession where the victim channeled an entity...Lon Historical Tales of Talking Poltergeists  |
| South America’s Procession of the Damned / Malaysian 'Oily Man' Phenomena Posted: 22 Sep 2010 03:16 PM PDT  Scott Corrales of Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology has produced another fine article on a variety of strange apparitions and humanoid sightings throughout South America. I have followed up with a few similar 'oily man' apparition reports and anecdotes from Malaysia:South America's Procession of the Damned By Scott Corrales (c) 2010 The recent news stories surrounding the "Hopping Phantom of Calchín" led us to remember other similar experiences involving improbable transient creatures that appear in our midst out of nowhere. These apparitions are sometimes bestial, sometimes quite normal, and at others completely otherworldly. Raul Núñez of the Instituto de Investigacion y Estudios Exobiologicos (IIEE) in Chile has drawn our attention to a case featured on his website (www.iiee.cl). The lengthy report bears the title "¿Qué Pasó en Cutún en 1976?" (What Happened in Cutún in 1976?) and is written by Sergio Alcaya, a systems engineer who has taken it upon himself to re-open the case, which is one of the strangest I've heard of, and straddles the "high-strangeness" no-man's land of UFO, paranormal and parapsychological investigation. Cutún is a community in northern Chile's Valle de Elqui, a tourist destination favored by the country's contactee groups as they endeavor to make contact with the ever-present "kindly space brothers", a South American Sedona, if you will. But it appears that a particularly virulent poltergeist event also occurred here, one that draws our attention due to the presence of a Man-in-Black with a singular characteristic not reported in other cases. In February 1976, a man named Nicasio Torres, the protagonist of the story, barged into the home of his neighbors, Angel and Gabriel Orrego to ask for help. The brothers did their best to calm him down and asked him to tell them what was going on. Gasping for breath, Torres told them that absolutely impossible events were taking place inside his modest home: stones were raining on his roof, but out of thin air. Assuring him that a childish prank was probably involved, the Orregos send Torres on his way, only to have him return the next day asking for assistance – the stones were now falling into his house, through the roof. Another person interviewed for the story recalled that whenever Nicasio Torres came looking for help, "all the dogs in the area would start to howl." Neighbors who lent their assistance in the case reported seeing doors and windows that wouldn't close despite their best efforts, showers of rocks and human bones (including bones that came through windows without shattering the glass panes), intense whistling noises within the Torres home that drove every one out, and a rag doll – used as a pin cushion by the lady of the house – that would leap about, chasing Nicasio Torres's small daughter, and was seen to jump out of one of the open, uncloseable windows. "Many parapsychologists and mentalists," writes Alcaya, "tried to find solutions to the phenomena taking place in Cutún, but none of them was truly effective. Neither the crosses made of Palquí, which were destroyed by invisible hands only minutes after having been placed, nor holy water were powerful enough against the phenomenon." A pair of Argentinean parapsychologists urged the Torres family to place an altar in honor of Our Lady of Andacollo within the house, but on three separate occasions the same angry force toppled the plaster image. "When the parapsychologist learned that the force present within the home was too powerful to face, he decided to leave the area quickly, never to reappear." So far we have the makings of a poltergeist account that could sprung from the pages of Hereward Carrington's Haunted People or a similar text devoted to the more frightening aspects of parapsychological research. The case received considerable media coverage and Alcaya's interviews include newspaper clippings from 1976 describing the grisly events at Cutún. But there is an aspect that brings the incidents surrounding Nicasio Torres and his family into UFO/paranormal arena: the presence of a Man-in-Black (MIB), and a very different one at that. Haydé Carvajal, one of the witnesses and a friend of Nicasio's wife Rosa, had a fascinating story to tell. One evening, both women were startled by the sudden appearance of "a pale, black-haired man of average height, who asked if Nicasio was home." When told that Mr. Torres was at work, the strange figure said that "he would wait for Nicasio at five minutes before midnight over there," pointing at the summit of Cerro Cutún, a hundred meters distant from the house. This strange character "had red eyes". Gabriel Orrego also remembered the strange figure, telling the interviewer: "I was never so frightened in my life as when I had to face that man. He came around three times looking to Nicasio, always saying the same thing to [Mrs. Torres]: "Tell him I'm waiting for him – he knows where to find me." "The conclusion reached by several parapsychologists looking into the case," recalls Orrego in the interview, was that the MIB represented "an agglomeration of negative forces." Orrego had the chance to run into the character in broad daylight elsewhere in the community. "I noticed the man's presence and I went out to challenge him, however, when I came to within four meters of this character, I was able to see that [he was] a pale man wearing a brown blazer, impeccably clean shoes and black hair, passing in front of the gate to my property. I saw him and was paralyzed. To my surprise, this man was floating some 50 centimeters off the ground, and made a sudden, ninety degree turn to look at me fixedly and deeply. For the first time ever, I knew what fear really was, and I broke into a sweat. The man made another ninety-degree turn and continued on his way before vanishing down the road." Other people also saw the bizarre apparition. Cab driver Nelson Alcayaga and his wife Ruthy Chelme saw a man "wearing a brown or green three-piece suit" drifting in the air toward them, as they drove along in their car. "The impression we had was that this man was floating toward us only centimeters off the ground, and Nelson hit the brakes, nearly flinging us against the windshield. When we looked again, he was gone." This blend of supernatural factors appears to be a constant in cases emerging from South America. On the other side of the Andean Range, Argentina has supernatural beliefs that combine native lore and European ceremonial magic. For those who believe that magic comes in two colors only, "red magic" can be obtained only through blood sacrifices, such as through Santería rituals. Red magic, it is believed, can be an offshoot of black magic if the blood employed in the ritual comes from someone else or through a sacrifice, and can come from white magic if it is one's own blood. The belief in this third variant of occult lore is widespread, far from sophisticated urban centers like Buenos Aires or Mendoza, and it is a source of fear for the small farmer or landowner. This fear was exacerbated in the summer of 2002 by the high-strangeness events accompanying the wave of cattle mutilations that swept over Argentina and spilled over into neighboring countries. On the night of June 20, 2002 personnel at the Puente Dique bridge over the Rio Colorado saw an object "giving off a powerful red light" whose intensity waxed and waned as it moved in bursts. Jorge Martinez, an operator at the bridge, added: "some say the lights are connected to the dead animals." The lights were now appearing elsewhere in the country and causing physical effects in humans and machinery alike. Argentina's TELAM news agency reported that two young girls--Gabriela and Miriam del Valle Salto, ages 7 and 13 respectively, had been hospitalized in Santiago del Estero (northern Argentina) after having witnessed "multicolored lights". Other locals attested having seen potent violet lights in the sky: one woman said that an intense light shone outside the windows to her home while the internal lighting system dimmed. The mysterious lights seen over the town of Fernandez Robles between June 11-14, for example, were able to interrupt television signals, cause TV sets to shut down "without any interruption to power supply" or even change channels on the receivers. The strange lights gave rise to much paranormal speculation. Residents of La Chiquita in northern Argentina blamed the mutilations on "red magic", an appellation possibly derived from the color of the strange lights that were seen hovering at treetop level over darkened fields. Daniel Acuña, crossing the darkened fields of La Chiquita on his way to work, saw the lights, which prompted him to remark "it was like an evil light, which I was told was those who practice red magic." The luminous presences had been seen prior to the mutilation of a horse (tongue ripped out, anus and eyes missing) in the vicinity--a death which deprived a local widow of her only means of earning a living, since the animal was used to haul coal and firewood for sale. Strange lights in the wilderness had been a factor decades earlier: In August 1968, disturbing luminous forms were reported over Santa Fé, Argentina, in the dark winter nights of the Southern Hemisphere. Farmers setting out on their chores were greeted by the surprising sight of circular burn marks on their properties following these sightings. Livestock losses mounted as a "sort of radiation" in the region was blamed as the cause. During these troubled times (as Argentina was experiencing political unrest as well ) a local family witnessed a jeep carrying four men in black coveralls drive up to their home. One of the men asked the owner what was the best way to get off the property. UFO sightings over the region ceased shortly after the incident involving these jeep-riding MIB. In cases like the Cutún "poltergeist" – to find a convenient drawer to place it in – research or accident usually provide an answer in the end: the accursed property was built over a burial ground or something similar. But random manifestations of strange and unsavory figures, who remain for a brief period in our midst before disappearing and becoming part of the Fortean menagerie, often lack a provenance. In April 2004, the Argentinean town of Justo Daract was disturbed by a strange entity dubbed El uñudo (the clawed one) by the local media. Newspapers like Diario de la República ran the story of a child who had been attacked by the unknown entity. Multiple witness cases soon emerged, such as the group of young women who encountered the creature – a frightening, black-masked entity with taloned fingers -- as they left their night school classes at 23:00 hours. Local radio reporter Maura Avila spoke to several local witnesses. "I was informed that there was a great deal of movement in Barrio Norte, near the hospital, and we headed there just as the police arrived. We learned that El uñudo had appeared -- a character who has gained notoriety in Justo Daract because he/it has been appearing for several days now, and has now terrified an 11 year-old on the corner of Liniers and Los Andes [...] Those who claim having seen El uñudo [say] that it doesn't have human form, rather an animal one, adding that it walks on four legs and hops, being capable of very swift movements." Avila added that the locals had discussed the existence of "black magic cults" in the area and feared that El uñudo could have been an entity summoned during the course of some unspeakable ritual – especially as the timing of these manifestations coincided with Easter Week. As has occurred only recently with the "Hopping Phantom" in 2010, the good people of Justo Daract formed search parties aimed at tracking down El uñudo: aided by the local police and members of the neighborhood watch, found themselves walking along the train tracks in the dark due to a report that claimed the creature had climbed to the very top of the grain silos by the rails. The dangerous climb to the top of these structures revealed nothing of interest. On 8 April 2004, another young woman returning home at 03:00 on her bicycle reportedly saw the strange character jumping from one rooftop to the next at the 331 Viviendas neighborhood of Justo Daract. Terrified beyond words, the girl pedaled furiously back to the local bus station – ten city blocks away – in order to take the bus home. Drivers and workers at the terminal attested to her distraught condition. Something strange – whether human or not – was scaring the hell out of the locals. Descriptions of El uñudo now ranged from "large and with a mask and horns; small and apelike, black or brown, with a nude upper torso and covered with tattoos; walking upright or on four legs; leaving goat-shaped hoof prints; climbing trees, pipelines or metal silos; jumping over wire fences and large lagoons, swift and elusive," according to El Diario de la República. Other sources reported that despite their failure to locate the supernatural intruder at the grain silos, officers had managed to apprehend the creature at some point, but that it eluded capture in a display of inhuman strength and "the slippery nature of its body" – a quality it shared with the Malaysian orang minyak or "oily man" who became a focus of mass hysteria in the 1960s. NOTE: you can find Scott Corrales' Facebook page here. Scott always posts interesting items. Below I've added some of the Malaysian Orang Minyak (Oily Man) reports and anecdotes...Lon ********** posted 9/19/2009 Young Women Groped By Apparition in Malaysia  taragana.com - A horny orang minyak or 'Oily Man', a ghost in Malay culture, is said to be terrorising about 300 families in Sungai Petani, picking homes where there are young women. According to Kosmo!, Nurshahirah, 17, revealed that she was awakened at 5.40am on September 14 after she felt a warm sensation on her left ear, and when she opened her eyes she saw an apparition with curly hair and thick moustache standing by her bed. "I was even more shocked when the ghost took off his kain pelikat and started to fondle himself," the Star Online quoted her as saying. Nurshahirah, who lives in Taman Keladi, said she felt powerless to ward off the apparition who started to grope her body, and that it was as though a charm had been placed on her. In another incident, housewife Fatimah, 42, revealed she heard her two daughters crying out when they were woken up at 5am by dark apparitions that molested them. Her 15-year-old daughter told her that she had been "violated" by a ghost. "At first I thought she was talking in her sleep but she insisted that she was molested by a ghost before it moved to the kitchen," Fatimah said. She said her 14-year-old, too, cried and ran from the living room, saying a dark apparition had molested her. "My 14-year-old daughter said she managed to kick the ghost who wore a kain pelikat and black singlet when she felt her body being touched," she revealed. "She screamed and the ghost ran out of her room," she added. Fatimah said she gave chase with a parang but the apparition disappeared. She also said the apparition could have placed a charm on her family because none of the neighbours heard her daughters' screams. _______________________ The Orang Minyak  The The Orang Minyak is one of a number of supposed ghosts in Malay culture. Orang Minyak means 'oily man' in Malay.There exist several different versions of the legend and the creature. According to one legend, popularised in the 1956 film Sumpah Orang Minyak (The Curse of the Oily Man) directed by and starring P. Ramlee, the orang minyak was a man who in an attempt to win back his love with magic was cursed. In this version, the devil offered to help the creature and give him powers of the black arts, but only if the orang minyak worshipped the devil and raped 21 virgins within a week. In another version it is under control of an evil bomoh or witch doctor. Another movie based on Orang Minyak was produced in 2007, showing this theme remain popular until now. As at 24 November 2006, a burglar was arrested, stark naked and covered with oil, reminiscient of orang minyak in Malaysia. In the 1960s, the orang minyak supposedly lived around several Malaysian towns raping young women. The orang minyak of the 1960s was described as human, having a naked body covered with oil to make it difficult to catch. However, there were also stories of the orang minyak where it was supposedly supernatural in origin, or invisible to non-virgins (possibly from the oil) or both. The mass panic has also led to unmarried women, typically in student dormitories, borrowing sweaty clothes to give the impression to the orang minyak that they are with a man. Other defences supposedly include biting its left thumb and covering it in batik. In short, the orang minyak is a supernatural serial rapist that is hard to see and hard to catch. Some have speculated that the orang minyak is a regular criminal who uses black grease as a night-time camouflage. Due to the use of black grease, it makes the orang minyak hard to catch, as pursuers would not be able to hold on to him. However, in some encounters with the orang minyak, the situation is not explainable from a non-supernatural angle. It is possible that different versions of the legend were used as a cover for things other than actual rapes. Reputed sightings of the orang minyak, or events later ascribed to it, have continued with reduced frequency into the 2000s. In 2005, there have been cases of rapists covered in oil roaming around, armed with knives. ___________________ The following is an account of an orang minyak attack at the Shah Alam Institute for Higher Learning in the late 1990's. This was told to me several years ago...Lon One late evening, while studying with her friends and roommates, Aimee started to get tired...so she decided to turn in for the night. She was almost asleep when she felt something on top of her. She opened her eyes and saw a huge nude man on top of her! He was jet-black. She tried to scream but no voice came out. She attempted to push him off, but could not find any strength to do so. She felt weak and hypnotized. What angered her most was her friends didn't come to her aid. Supposedly, Aimee was raped by the orang minyak. Later, she was laying in her bed crying...only then her friends realized that something was not right. They asked Aimee what was wrong but all Aimee could do was cursed them. They were surprised and confused. After Aimee had calmed down, again her friends asked her what's wrong. Aimee was pale and they noticed that s was a jumpy and irritable. Aimee then asked them why they did not come to her aid when that man was raping her. Again, they were shocked and assured her that they didn't realized she was attacked. They immediately reported the incident to the school warden. It was an experience that will haunt her for the rest of her life. The authorities was not able to capture this orang minyak who terrorized the Institute, so management decided to bring a holy man to "chase" this orang minyak away...though attacks still occur but less frequent. South America's Procession of the Damned / Malaysian 'Oily Man' Phenomena  |
| Fortean / Oddball News - 9/22/2010: UFOs, Moses and the Asian Wildman Posted: 22 Sep 2010 10:52 AM PDT  Japanese Air Force Encounters With UFOs: New Book Written By Retired Lieutenant GeneralMr. Mamoru Sato (born in 1939), a retired Lieutenant General of the Air Self-Defense Force (air force), has done an epoch-making work: his new book introduces UFO sightings of his colleagues and subordinates. The hardcover book, Jitsuroku: Jieitai Pairotto-tati ga Sekkin-Sogu shita UFO (A True Record: UFOs the Self-Defense Force Pilots Encountered Closely), published by Kodan-sha, the biggest publisher in Japan, appeared July (\1700 + tax; 294 pages). According to his blog, Mr. Sato wrote this book at the publisher's request. He asked 37 persons (page 120), and, contrary to his expectation (page 40), he got many UFO stories (#1). The witnesses are not against the duty of confidentiality, because any UFO does not exist for our Ministry of Defense. "The subject of UFO is virtually taboo in the Self-Defense Force," says Mr. Sato at Preface of this book. But it does not mean "cover up." "There is no such deep meaning." It means no more than that the high officials of Japanese air force look down on the UFO problem. Thus almost all of these stories were hidden not only from the nation but also from Ministry of Defense! (#2) Though this book has nine chapters, clear UFO stories of the Self-Defense Force members are described only in the first three chapters, that is, Introductory Chapter: The High Frequency of Close-Encounters with UFOs / Chapter 1: A Major who was Loved by UFOs / Chapter 2: UFOs Aim at Bases in the Tohoku Region [a part of northern Japan]. Read more at UFO Digest ********** New Theory May Explain Moses' Parting of the Red Sea Phenomena discovery - To drive away the waters and part the Red Sea, Moses needed a different location than previously thought, according to a new study on the miraculous biblical event. Previous studies of wind, waves and bathymetry have called on hurricane strength winds blowing from the northwest to push away the water. This exposed a long reef which allowed Moses and the Israelites to escape the advancing cavalry of Pharaoh. The problem is: It would be nearly impossible for Israelites to stand in such a wind, much less walk to safety. What's more, the Book of Exodus includes some nice meteorological details: "(T)he Lord drove the sea away all night with a strong east wind and turned the sea-bed into dry land." "If you are going to match the biblical account, you need the wind from the east," said researcher Carl Drews of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Drews has been studying the Red Sea story for years as a student and now has published a paper on the matter, which was his master's thesis, in the journal PloS One. Drews took that east wind and tried to perform a computer simulation of the event in a couple of different places. He found that a steady 63-mile-per-hour (100-kilometer-per-hour) wind over a digitally reconstructed east-west running lake at the Mediterranean end of the Nile, near today's Port Said, would push the water west to the far end of the lake, as well as south, up the river. The model showed that this would expose wide mud flats where the river entered the lake and leave a land bridge high and dry for four hours. The hardest part of the study, said Drews, was reconstructing the geography of the area. He chose the area known today as Lake Manzala because it seems to fit with the Exodus story. It is oriented so that an east wind can actually blow across it lengthwise and push water to one side -- something that is not the case for the north-south running Red Sea. Drews used research done by others regarding the past geography of that area, which was once known as Lake of Tanis, along with the earliest maps he could find to try to recreate what the site looked like in 1250 B.C. The exact date is, however, not crucial, he said. Of course, this location raises another problem: The Nile Delta is not the Red Sea -- or is it? "There is some controversy over the body of water they crossed," said Drews. "The Exodus text says in Hebrew 'yam suf,' (which) literally means 'Sea of Reeds.'" That description fits the area he studied: a broad lake filled with papyrus reeds stretching to the horizon. "Many Bible translations render 'yam suf' as 'Red Sea,'" Drews told Discovery News. "Red Sea" has become the common terminology. However, biblical scholars Kenneth Kitchen and James Hoffmeier have explored the issue at length and have concluded that the marshy area along the Suez Canal is also an acceptable location for "yam suf." Hoffmeier, for his part, is cautious and not sure the location fits. "Attempts to understand biblical events in the light of geographical and climatological considerations are welcomed," said Hoffmeier, of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School at Trinity International University. "But the investigator must also incorporate a careful and contextual reading of the biblical text." "The value of studying the event described in the Old Testament certainly lends support to the thesis that physics is a natural phenomenon, a normal part of our universe," said Stephen Baig, a researcher who has studied storm surges for the National Hurricane Center. "If there is a miracle, it is that we are able to describe such events with numbers." ********** Student Athlete Dies Tangled In Exercise Machine cbs13 - Students at Bear River High School were stunned after learning one of their star players died early Monday morning. Justin Butler, 16, was found by his parents in his home Sunday night after somehow becoming entangled in a Bowflex exercise machine. They called 911 and began performing CPR, and emergency crews rushed him by helicopter to a hospital. Butler died Monday morning. The death of the Bear River student athlete sent shock waves through the school. Friends described Butler as an avid football player who loved stepping on the field and making big plays, and filled his Facebook page with messages of love and grief. "We definitely suffered a great loss here, both as a school and as a community," said school athletic director Duwaine Ganskie. "When you saw him come off the field after scoring that touchdown last week, you just see the joy in his face." School administrators say they will have grief counselors on campus Tuesday to speak with staff and students. Investigators do not believe the exercise equipment was responsible for the teen's death. Few details are available, but the Nevada County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that "there is no information or evidence to suggest in any way the victim was trying to purposefully hurt himself or end his own life." Investigators concluded the death was "a very tragic accident." NOTE: someone near me actually broke several vertebrae on one of these machines awhile back. They apparently got a pull rope that jerked from the weight and wrapped around their neck...Lon ********** Grandmother Exorcises the 'Sexual Demon' (Warning!) abclocal - Prosecutors have asked a Durham judge to delay the trial of a former teacher's assistant who's accused of having sex with her grandson. They said they're having problems locating witnesses and the alleged victim. Toni Stowers-Moore, 53, is charged with statutory rape/sex offense in which the defendant is six years older than the victim, incest with a child, and sexual battery. Detectives said the boy was 15 when it happened. Prosecutors say they have phone recordings between Stowers-Moore and her relatives that captured her confession. She allegedly claimed sex with the teen was the only way to remove a sexual demon from him - and to protect others he might try to hurt. But now, her story has changed. "Now she says it was rape. But prior to this point, it has been a consensual sexual act that she did as some kind of religious sacrifice to save her other innocent people," explained Durham District Attorney Tracey Cline. Cline said prior to her arrest, Stowers-Moore was employed as a teacher's assistant with Durham Public Schools. "It's bigger than just this child. This is a lady that works in the school system as a teacher," said Cline. Stowers-Moore rejected a plea deal requiring her to register as a sex offender. Tuesday, she came to court hoping for a jury trial. But prosecutors say several key witnesses are missing - including Stowers-Moore's daughter, son, and the alleged victim. "The grandson has a warrant out for his arrest. They currently don't know where the child is because they've been looking for him for quite some time. So, how long exactly will this case be held over?" asked defense attorney Robert Harris. "There's a realization from the defendant and the defendant's family [that] this incest has been going on before with this same victim in this same family," Cline offered. The judge issued an order to arrest at least one missing witness. Cline said she hoped for a trial by the end of the week. If convicted, Stowers-Moore faces a sentence of up to 12 years in jail. Click for video ********** The Asian Wildman Reports of the Almas are concentrated in an area extending from Mongolia in the north, south through the Pamirs, and then westward into the Caucasus region. Similar reports come from Siberia and the far north-east parts of the Russian republic. The Almas or Wildman type in general seems to be of a more nearly human size and with more human-like features than the Sasquatch or the even more ape-like Yetis, Sisimites and Mapinguaris. Early in the fifteenth century, Hans Schiltenberger was captured by the Turks and sent to the court of Tamerlane, who placed him in the retinue of a Mongol prince named Egidi. After returning to Europe in 1427, Schiltenberger wrote about his experiences. In his book he described some mountains, apparently the Tien Shan range in Mongolia: "The inhabitants say that beyond the mountains is the beginning of a wasteland which lies at the edge of the earth. No one can survive there because the desert is populated by so many snakes and tigers. In the mountains themselves live wild people, who have nothing in common with other human beings. A pelt covers the entire body of these creatures. Only the hands and face are free of hair. They run around in the hills like animals and eat foliage and grass and whatever else they can find. The lord of the territory made Egidi a present of a couple of forest people, a man and a woman. They had been caught in the wilderness, together with three untamed horses the size of asses and all sorts of other animals which are not found in German lands and which I cannot therefore put a name to" (Shackley 1983, p. 93). Continue reading this fascinating article at Cryptozoology Online Fortean / Oddball News - 9/22/2010  |
| Buffalo Ballroom's Underworld and 'Other World' Legacy Posted: 22 Sep 2010 09:28 AM PDT  wgrz - The Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY has played host to some of the biggest names in music history. Sammy Davis Junior, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, you name it, they played there.But another famous, or more appropriate, infamous character who played there frequently was apparently none other than Al Capone. It wasn't music he was playing, it was cards and other games of questionable legality. During the prohibition era, The Town Ballroom was a speak-easy. There is still evidence of the secret meeting and gambling rooms in the basement. There is even a spot on the wall where the original stone wall had been filled in with cinder block. Many believe that it was an escape hatch tunnel out under Main Street. When the cops raided upstairs, the gangsters and gamblers scooted out the tunnel. These days the stories surrounding the Town often revolve around the paranormal. Local expert Mason Winfield says the most often-told ghost stories are of a well-dressed African American man who lingers in the front lobby; a little girl spotted in various areas of the theatre; a dark figure in an old-west style hat that hangs around in the wings. They've nick-named him "The watchman"; then there is the visions of a lady in white theatre costumes. Click for video Click for video Buffalo Ballroom's Underworld and 'Other World' Legacy Send us an email   New Items - Strickler's Celebrity Autographs Works on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries. Please check out their excellent and diverse catalog  The 'C' Influence Actualizing Esoteric Discussion   "The latest news from beyond the mainstream" Join Ben & Aaron for their weekly podcast! Check out Mysterious Universe Plus+ all access format!  Spirit Rescue International Providing no cost professional spiritual help, personal support and guidance Take the first step towards genuine peace of mind SPIRIT RESCUE INTERNATIONAL - HAUNTED HELP Spiritual, paranormal and supernatural guidance and support using remote viewing and other complementary therapies - all are welcome Phantoms & Monsters Wiki A NETWORK OF INVESTIGATORS, ENTHUSIASTS AND THOSE SEEKING THE TRUTH THROUGH PARANORMAL EDUCATION AND DISCUSSION   |
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