Paranormal Misdiscoveries...

There is a ton of absolutely mind-boggling ghost hunting out there. And even more, there is an unending wealth of erroneous history, bad investigating, and sheer stupidity. Most of the time, I just breeze by these things and roll my eyes. But yesterday, after watching a half hour video by Discovery Paranormal, I just couldn't bite my tongue any harder. It was begging me to pick it apart... and shed some truth on the reality behind the "Lehigh Valley Train Crash of 1911".

The video starts off with a walk down railroad tracks to the site of the accident, which occurred on August 25, 1911 on a trestle near Manchester, New York, spanning the Canandaigua Outlet. Three passenger cars plunged off the bridge when a faulty steel rail broke apart under the train (which was traveling at excessive speed). According to Michael Angley, the narrator for the show, they also investigated the nearby roundhouse which was "the last place the passengers were before the crash." We'll get back to that major mistake later, but first let's get to the bridge investigation.

It's obvious from the terrible audio that he's using the same full spectrum HD camcorder I have (and didn't feel the need to bother with an external microphone). Heading down the tracks, he says that the train "went down in the ravine," which is a partial truth. Three of the 14 excursion cars went down; that is all. The team's psychic Tammy sensed "it's like fear... it's like 'oh my god, we're going down' kind of feeling... people were scared; I hear children crying and... crash." Really. At a train crash site? But then, Michael goes on: "...back then, those trains they had no safety devices; you know, it was 1911. We're talking about... you're going down 40 feet in a wood and metal coffin; essentially, you're dead."

The first railroad safety improvements (beginning with air brakes) were made in the 1870s. He makes 1911 rail travel sound downright rustic. But if you look at photos of the crashed cars, you will see that they were a far cry from the old wooden cars heated by wood stoves used in the 19th Century. Very little has changed with passenger car design since that time. Today, if you plunge 40 feet off a bridge in an Amtrak car, the only safety feature you can brag about is emergency exit windows. That doesn't help when you're already dead. Michael went on, "...they used that shop back there as the temporary morgue." Actually, the makeshift morgue was in the basement of a country furniture store in nearby Shortsville, just south of the crash site. But I digress.

After many more obvious revelations from the "psychic", the team headed down the ravine to the bottom where the crash happened. And they brought their trusty dowsing rods. Thanks to the wonders of high definition filming, you can watch as the hands of the dowser rock back and forth ever so slightly, causing the rods to cross over and over. And they don't even wait for a question sometimes! While busy talking to a ghostly little girl, the group fails to address an important point: this train carried a number of Civil War veterans and their families returning from Rochester. The brooches worn by unidentified women from the wreck may have been mourning jewelry bearing the initials of dead soldiers. You would think the psychic would have at least picked up on that much, or that someone had bothered to actually read all the newspaper stories about the accident.

But the ghosts were far too busy trying to rush the intrepid ghost seekers to the more important destination: the roundhouse to the west. Ah yes, the roundhouse; that place where passengers wait to board trains. Oh, that's a station... nevermind. For those of you who don't know, a roundhouse is where locomotives are stored and repaired. There is absolutely no reason any passenger would be wandering a roundhouse unless he or she was an employee of the railroad. Still, the team decided this was the most likely spot to look for ghosts (instead of the makeshift morgue, that actually would make any sense whatsoever).

"...if a crash happened here, the victims--or the passengers--would go back to the place that they knew the most, which is the round house [sic]." Inside the old locomotive warehouse (I mean "passenger waiting area/place they turned around trains"), they bring out recorders to capture really vague nonsensical "voices" and sounds. Michael says, "the historian said that the train was still, uh... that the platform was probably still here." Once again, roundhouses did NOT have station platforms. Oops. Just then, the psychic says the first thing that actually makes sense: "...there's a man here... he's really, um, getting people to work..." Finally, something that talks about what the building was really used for--locomotive repair.

The dowsing rods come out yet again and questions fly while the rods swing back and forth a lot. You can really see the hand movements better here (around 15 minutes into the video) when he's asking how many ghosts are inside the building. And the questions keep getting better. "It was a grand building at one time, wasn't it? It was round all the way around?" Both get a 'yes' from the rods. (A roundhouse is commonly a half circle or smaller, otherwise there'd be no place for locomotives to enter. Only a few full circle roundhouses were ever constructed.) There's just one minor problem with this place. The round house was built in 1916, five years after the accident.

The psychic (and by now I use the term loosely) goes on to tell about sensing the passengers. "It's like they were anxious to see their relatives... and they were going on a trip and they couldn't wait to get there. They were almost there..." Thanks for that obvious report. "This is where they changed over, they got a little rest and something to eat..." (This town was NOT a stop for the speeding train in 1911.) Here they bring out "Pete's Ghost Box" to communicate with the spirits. Of course, when using a Ghost Box, you don't actually need to pay any attention to what words are coming out of it (as the team wisely shows us). Never mind that it sounds more like an Ovilus than a "Frank's Box" sweeping radio frequencies. In sure it's just coincidence and they really know what their equipment is called.

After reading off the list of the dead (and getting different answers from the dowsing rods; watch for the hand movements yet again), they announced they "found a bunch of spirits that have not moved on" at the roundhouse. Michael ends it with "Who knows when a train will ever come for them." If they're waiting in the roundhouse, my guess is probably never. And so ends a bafflingly unresearched investigation. Could it have been worse? Absolutely. But this is one video that makes me wonder why some people call themselves serious "paranormal investigators" who, as the website states, are "dedicated" to "collecting hard evidence of paranormal activity."

Dessert Can Be Deadly...

As some of you might know, Ghost Adventures recently traveled to Salem, Massachusetts; this week Travel Channel aired the episode filmed at the famous Witch House (better known as Jonathan Corwin House). It's the only remaining structure in Salem with direct connections to the world-famous Salem Witchcraft Trials. Of course, humor ensues when Zak meets witchcraft. I'm not sure asking random people on the street if they are witches is good form. But this is Ghost Adventures, after all, and we're used to an unlimited amount of intentional (and unintentional) laughs.

A lot of the places I recognized from my past trip to Salem for a book signing and pleasant stay with psychic medium Jeffrey Justice. Even before I heard this episode was coming out, I had been thinking about my trip. I do miss Essex Street and all the history. So, I did a little shopping and finally made a few postponed purchases with connections to my trip: a few herbs from Hex: Old World Witchery and some dinnerware from an artist I discovered at the delightfully morbid Life And Death in Salem. After all this time, her work still called to me.

While browsing the shop, waiting to visit Jeffrey on one of his breaks, a pair of empty eye sockets stared back at me from a dinner plate. It was part of the "Skull and Cross Utensils" design series of refurbished restaurant ware created by ceramicist Meredith Host. While the artist lives in Missouri, she received her Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Ohio State University in 2008. Some of her work is quite unique (if not downright comical), though I'm partial to her depictions of skulls, bones, and organs on stark white plates, bowls, and cups. There's something about serving a slice of Death By Chocolate on a plate decorated with a grinning skull that seems too fitting for me.

So I broke down and began my collection this week with a set of four dessert plates. I'll warn you now; the dinnerware is highly addictive. Perhaps it's my odd sense of humor, but I love the idea of skull plates and zombie brain bowls laid out on a table. I'll slowly add to my collection provided I can resist the temptation of breaking the bank to fill the cupboards. Unique, well-crafted, morbidly-amusing things are so hard to find. Not only that, I'm a picky person. When I find something that screams "I must have that" it's a rare surprise.

I couldn't mention macabre dining without touching on another delight from "Professor Paranormal" himself, Loyd Auerbach. While I am eagerly anticipating his book, Haunted by Chocolate, to be released, you can find some spooky treats on the related site. His decadent "Ghost Drops" are available by mail, or you can schedule a chocolate tasting for an event or party.

True News is Stranger than Fiction...

It's been a while since I've reported on a few of the weird goings-on around the globe. Luckily it's been a great year for the bizarreness of humanity. Here are just a few stories that fell through the cracks (including a few from Oceania) found inside the Sydney Morning Herald.

Just Looking for a Ghouled Time...

In Durack, Northern Territory a woman named Jennifer Mills-Young has been the victim of what many Australians have labeled a "randy poltergeist." The ghost, given the name Kevin, attacked Jennifer, a mother of two, in her bed while alone in the house, grabbing her wrist and trying to drag her out of bed. "I yelled at Kevin that he was not welcome in my bedroom and that he couldn't come into bed with me. I told him to f--- off and to close the door behind him," Jennifer told a reporter for The Northern Territory News. "A moment later I saw how the bedroom door was closed."  Jason King, a Sydney-based paranormal investigator, has offered his services to help the woman, who was and still remains very skeptical of the paranormal.

Feasting on Misfortune...

There's something rotten in Wellington, New Zealand. Is isn't the corpses. And thanks to an unidentified man it isn't the funeral banquets either. A well-dressed man in his 40s made several stops at Harbour City Funeral Home and similar businesses in the eastern suburbs between March and April to dine on the banquets and take some extra to go. According to the Dominion Post he was stopped after a week by funeral director Danny Langstraat and his staff who felt he had crossed the line. Mentally ill or just looking for a free lunch? We may never know.

A Very Unlucky Number...

People may chalk up the superstitions surrounding the number 13 to coincidence, but one teenager in Suffolk, England may disagree. Friday August 13th proved to be a shocking day for the 13-year-old boy who was attending an air show when a thunderstorm rolled in. A lightning strike hit the boy and two other crowd members at 13:13. "Lightning strikes can cause cardiac arrest," said a St Johns Ambulance volunteer at the event, "but when our volunteers arrived, the boy was conscious and breathing." He was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for burns on his shoulder.

Rook to Alpha Centauri...

Could aliens pose concerns of national security leaks? Possibly in Russia. State Duma deputy Andrei Lebedev wrote to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in May asking for a full investigation into the alleged alien abduction of multi-millionaire businessman Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on September 18, 1997. On that date, Kirsan reported that a cylindrical craft piloted by "human-like creatures in yellow spacesuits" landed on his balcony and whisked him away to "some kind of star" in an effort to prove the existence of UFOs. Lebedev was concerned that the aliens may have urged him to divulge state secrets to them and asked for proper protocol to be followed when a high-profile figure is abducted. But they might be overreacting a little. Kirsan happens to be the head of the World Chess Federation. Perhaps they just wanted a few pointers in exchange for a tour of the universe?

The Uncovered Ghost...

The more people I get to know the more haunted places I hear about. There are so many paranormal investigation groups out there. SO many. But luckily there are thousands of rumored-to-be-haunted spots across the United States as well as around the world. I was checking out a few abandoned locations the other day I heard about recently and found something I wasn't quite expecting.

In the Finger Lakes region of north central New York State just outside of Syracuse is an area known as Split Rock. It was the site of a an open pit limestone mining operation beginning in 1881 known as Split Rock Quarry. After its abandonment around 1912 another company set up operation there where phenol was refined into picric acid to create TNT. On July 12, 1918 an uncontrollable fire broke out reaching the munitions plant and causing an explosion that rocked the area, killing around 65 workers and injuring at least 50 more employees. After World War I business faded and the factory was abandoned but the site still draws people interested in catching a phantom from the disaster.

The victims from that night were dyed a yellowish-green tint from the acid and according to legend you can see glowing figures of the same color around the mine and rock crusher still to this day. While some were burned alive by the acid, others were buried in the rubble when the blast rocked the mine. The rock crusher itself is said to hum on some nights as though it is still in operation. Visitors report strange lights and glowing figures. Allegedly, at least one exorcism was performed at the ruins to remove the confused and unhappy spirits. Even during the day there have been reports of footsteps, cold spots, voices and the sensation of being watched from the mine tunnels.

During an investigation on July 30, 2009 Corey Vander Sluis and the rest of his team from The Ghost Finders Association of Central New York experienced a lot of activity and captured some interesting evidence, the most compelling of which was an apparition in an old mine shaft. The figure can be clearly seen standing in the ruins and "looks to be free floating, but has legs as well. The head is barely visible, but a distinct torso is easily seen."

Now perhaps it's just my vivid (and demented) imagination, but look at the "apparition" in question shown to the right. Aside from the Botticelli Birth of Venus pose it has, am I the only one who sees that it appears to be naked? I am, of course, assuming it's a man. The photo quality is a bit too grainy to see any—ahem—clear evidence of that. It's certainly plausible that working in a cramped, hot environment workers might wear few articles of clothing or that the acid and flames from the explosion could have burned off anything covering a torso. He also seems to be orange-yellow in color, common for the "canaries" as workers of the time dealing with picric acid were nicknamed.

There have been a few rare stories of nude ghosts in the past including a Roman soldier in England and the "Octoroon Mistress" of New Orleans. But catching one on camera? I wonder if that qualifies as para-pornography.

Alas, Poor Yorick and His Cousins...

Being a baggage examiner must have some interesting moments. People travel with all sorts of belongings and mementos and with such heightened security there's a long list of items not permitted to board an airplane. Why fingernail clippers pose such a great risk and are confiscated is beyond me. Do they think someone could be manicured to death? Or do airlines have stock in a manufacturing company and profit from selling new ones when someone lands? It's beyond me. However, some things that show up in x-rays are likely to turn a few heads.

Last week at Athens International Airport in Greece two US tourists on their way home to California were stopped after security discovered six skulls stashed in their luggage. While visiting Mykonos the Californians told authorities they purchased the skulls, which they believed were decorative replicas, from a souvenir shop for US$33 each to use as Halloween decorations. Each was charged with desecrating the dead after a coroner confirmed that they were, in fact, real human skulls. The pair were released pending trial.

After arguing their case before a court, the two tourists were acquitted this week of any wrong-doing on their part. Police are launching an investigation to find the sellers and return the bones to their rightful place. When the guilty parties are apprehended, heads certainly will roll.

What a Strange World, Indeed...

It's been a while since I've taken a break to glance over some of the unusual (and often less-depressing) news from around the world. To be honest, it's been more difficult these days to find enough amusing news with a creepy twist. I blame the economy. It's making people far too serious. But never fear; I've scrounged the internet for

The Sweet Thrill of Blood-Sucking...

There's a sanguineous creature lurking in Puerto Rico. But this isn't your ordinary Chupacabra tale. Locals near Guánica fear a nocturnal winged phantom believed to be a gargoyle. As he/she/it has been so named, "the Gargoyle" is believed to be responsible for a series of attacks on living creatures and one human being. Livestock victims look oddly similar to the Chupacabra corpses with slashed throats. Mr. Valdo was attacked near Guánica Lagoon nearly 15 years ago by a large, winged creature leaving severe claw marks on his back and abdomen. The "Gargoyle" is described as a very large bird-like creature which smells strongly of sulfur (doesn't EVERY vicious cryptid?) and attacks healthy animals, draining them of blood.

Like any night-flying monster, it is believed to have a lair. Only a few months ago, Officer Miguel Negrón heard loud, powerful wings beating and the scratching of tin roof at the old abandoned Guánica Sugar Mill. Oh, sweet sanctuary! Let's see: we have an unexplained creature terrorizing locals, an abandoned building, a creepy tropical location... it almost sounds like an episode of Scooby Doo come to life!

Don't Speak in Tongues and Drive...

Everywhere, people seem to love spending copious amounts of money for personalizing the plates on their cars. Yet one woman in Sweden was denied her choice in vehicular statements. Law requires any request to be examined, ruling out anything deemed "offensive" or inappropriate. "Luzifer" didn't make the cut. Annsofie Tedfors hadn't intended to cause a major heated debate. It was both the name of her business and beloved feline and she "just wanted to pick a memorable name". But as they say, the Devil is in the details...

Répondez S'il Vous Plaît...

Josiane Vermeersch was unable to contact her son regarding the death of his uncle. Believing he was merely ignoring her after an argument over the summer, she attended the funeral near Lilles with the rest of her family. While leaving the cemetery one one of them noticed a new, wooden grave marker nearby in the poor section bearing the son's name and date of birth. Josiane collapsed from shock. The son, Olivier, passed away from natural causes over a month prior. Just a little reminder not to go to dead angry...

When Psychic Vision Isn't 20/20...

Australians have been eager to solve the disappearance of six-year-old Sydney-sider Kiesha Abrahams since she vanished around the beginning of August. Weeks later, an Aboriginal elder named Cheryl Carroll-Lagerwey had a dream about Kieska's murder and believed she knew the location of her body. Police began their search at the specified location at Nurragingy Reserve and discovered the dismembered body of an adult female. The victim is believed to be another Sydney woman who went missing in June. In all fairness, Carroll-Lagerwey does not believe herself to be psychic but does feel she has "a third sense". She told a Reuters reporter, "I have certain strong feelings about people who claim they are psychic. I don't think it will help if we enter a discussion on that."

Paranormal Fiction Leads to True Lesbian Love...

Normally, I'm not a major fan of audio books, or even digital books for that matter. But for once, I've actually been looking into listening to my first audio book... and it ended up being a very educational experience.

for years now, I've been a big fan of author Daniel Hecht. And had it not been for his email to me years ago when he was starting his Cree Black thriller series, I probably wouldn't have known his name. But they are wonderful reads, all about a female paranormal investigator with some psychic ability solving interesting mysteries with supernatural ties. His last book, Bones of the Barbary Coast, was excellent (and I still need to get the hardcover to add to my shelf) so I decided to look his books up in the audio listings. There it was... read by one Anna Fields. It turns out she's a well-known name in the world of audio books. And it gets even more interesting.

Barbary Coast was released in the summer of 2006. In December, tragedy struck in Seattle. On the 14th, a flash flood struck the area and an actress by the name of Kate Fleming was trapped in her basement recording studio after part of the foundation collapsed. Fleming also recorded for audio books, under the name--you guessed it--Anna Fields. Her partner of nine years, Charlene Strong, was helpless to stop her death. And even now, she is haunted by the tragedy... and turned her plight into a film.

Strong has become known in the past few years as a champion for same-sex partner rights. It was never her intention, but after the untimely death of her partner Fleming at only 41, she found herself in the public eye. Through her actions, Washington State passed legislation for Domestic Partnership rights. The documentary For My Wife chronicles her story, from grieving widow to activist.

I can't help but wonder if Barbary Coast was one of her final projects. If you've ever read the book, you'll note some interesting irony between these two stories. If not, I highly recommend it. Here I set out simply to glance through an audio version of one of my favorite paranormal-themed fiction books... and ended up learning a lot more than I bargained for.

Ghosts and Goblins Get Down and Dirty...

Everywhere you look these days, paranormal and supernatural themes are quite popular. Some of the most talked about books and movies feature ghosts or vampires. Even on television, the inundation of witchcraft, hauntings, and monsters is extremely obvious. As a society, we love the mysterious, the unknown, and the surreal. And it reflects in everything... including subjects of a more adult nature.

Yes, believe it or not, even pornography has crossed over into these supernatural realms in the past few years.

I debated for a long time whether to touch on the subject here at Spooked! I've always tried to keep subjects humorous yet not too risqué. But in all honesty, we tend to be very sexual beings and at the same time, you can't help but laugh sometimes as these films. So now, I'd like to take a moment to finally give those of you who enjoy such things a little interesting insight into the world where porn meets the paranormal. And for those of you who wish not to subject yourself to such material, feel free to stop reading now and skip along to a different post.

Continue Reading...

Save a Horse, Ride a Centaur...

More than a few of us have dated a jackass, but usually it's not something meant literally. Though to some, that idea just might be appealing. But in these instances, we hardly even consider the possibility that it could lead to a half-human newborn. It's simply impossible, right? Well, as bizarre as it may sound, some experts say that not only is it plausible, but it may be a real part of history for thousands of years.

In 2005, a study of approximately 5,000 rock paintings in South Africa and Australia dating as early as 30,000 BC by University of Cambridge anthropologist Christopher Chippendale and Dr. Paul Takon of the Australian Museum led the duo to a fascinating conclusion: primitive man lacked the imagination to paint what he could not see, therefore such creatures must have existed. In their new visualization of early man, our ancestors walked the earth alongside these half human beings, known collectively as therianthropes. They surmised that while the frequency and chance occurrence of such births would have been rare, the "beasts" from mythology most likely did exist.

The most famous examples come from Greek mythology. The centaur (from Ancient Greek Κένταυροι or Kéntauroi, meaning "piercing bull-stickers") was half-human, half-horse and is seen even today as an iconic image of mythical creatures, as well as the symbol of Sagittarius in astrology. Soldiers during ancient times would bring sheep and goats with them as both a source of food and sexual relief, since it was deemed less sinful than sleeping with a prostitute (my goodness, how times have changed). The Roman poet Juvenal even made mention that "Roman women often exposed their naked buttocks to tempt donkeys into sex contacts."

Well-respected scholars of the past, including the Italian lecturer and philosopher Fortunio Liceti, recorded several births of therianthropes (both born from humans and animals). Even in more recent history, mentions of half-human births were found in medical books of the 19th and 20th centuries. Although genetically-speaking, animals and humans vary only slightly, modern science held out for some time on the belief that interbreeding was even feasible, yet experiments are said to have resulted in successfully creating organisms with both human and animal cells.

So, could your next boyfriend be a centaur or girlfriend be the REAL cat-woman? Not very likely. Russian biologist Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov attempted such experiments during the 1920s and all his attempts were thwarted before his eventual exile to Almaty due to public outcry. Beastiality, even in the name of science, is seriously frowned upon by the general population. Yet who knows? Perhaps in some remote land, far from societal pressures and taboos, any one of us could very well find a four-legged, two armed man of our dreams who is quite literally hung like a horse.

Ballsy Specter or Unfortunate Urology?

A rather creepy photograph has haunted Wales for nearly 14 years. While many may be unaware of it, one lucky gentleman has had his private bits immortalized by a rather comical article written up in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

An ultrasound performed in 1996 at Royal Gwent Hospital on a 45-year-old patient was far from normal. Doctors were attempting to locate an undescended right testis in the patient, yet it wasn't found. Instead, in the patient's sac where a normal testis would be found was a rather peculiar image. The radiologist J R Harding (quite a fitting name) described it as a "screaming ghost-like apparition". But you can feel free to judge for yourself:

As Harding stated, "If you were a right testis, would you want to share a scrotum with that?"

View the PDF of the original article here

A Bazaar That is Truly Bizarre...

All Hallows Eve is now within our sight. Only a few more days until the veil between the spirit realm and the word of the living is at its thinnest. Odd things are bound to happen. Odd people will rear their heads. Madness will reign and the mystical will become normal.

Perhaps I'm exaggerating a little, but you catch my drift.

Of all strange and wonderfully bizarre things I have uncovered in my searches across the internet, I recently discovered a store unlike anything I have every laid eyes upon in the past. Indeed, Carnivalia is like no other pagan or occult shop. There is a hint of whimsy, a dash of artistic flair, and more oddities than you could possibly comprehend.

From originally-designed Ouija boards to bottled ghosts (and they will happily take your unwanted haunted trinkets of you wish), anything and everything any pagan or mystic could possibly want can be found there. Creepy clocks. Disturbing dolls. Potions, books, and clothing. It's a wild funhouse ride through the insane mind of a pagan sideshow act.

Best of all, they have many items of a queer nature. And I don't mean "odd". The owner and his partner, Storm Faerywolf, do remember their family.

When you check out the website, be sure to keep an open mind and beware of tongue-in-cheek humor. At times, it's difficult to discern what is intended to be serious and what is comedy. Judging by the copious text portions and strangely hilarous images, I lean more toward the latter on all accounts. Nevertheless, it's worth a browse at the very least. Or if you happen to be in the San Francisco area, be sure to swing by North Broadway in Walnut Creek and visit their storefront. If the website is any indication of what awaits, you might not leave for hours.

Strike Two, You're Out...

The Kovacsovou family of Futak, Hungary recently had a rude awakening. A 20-tonne truck skidded on a patch of oil and careened through lampposts, trees, and a brick wall before coming to rest in their living room. Luckily, the family was in the garden at the time and no one was injured.

Maria Kovacsovou and her family are a bit more shaken than normal accident victims. Four years ago, the same scenario played out. The family was once again in the garden, so no one was injured when a truck barrelled through their front room.

Is it cursed or just mere unfortunate coincidence? The owners aren't staying around to find out.

"I think maybe we should get out before our luck runs out," Maria told the media.

Why not stay? Surely it wouldn't happen a third time. Right?