LEXINGTON -

On a sweltering Saturday afternoon, only a slight breeze brought relief from the heat.

But instead of sitting home in air-conditioned comfort, a small group from Boston Paranormal Investigators roamed historical sites in Lexington.

They came armed with specialized equipment such as electromagnetic field meters - small, box-like instruments that pick up electromagnetic activity, as well as notebooks and hand-held video cameras.

They watched, listened, and sometimes, simply waited.

At Buckman Tavern, Scott Trainito of Everett held an electromagnetic field detector close to the ground. When it uttered quick, staccato chirps, he raised an eyebrow, but then declared, “It’s just wires.”

Which doesn’t mean that no one was watching. Local lore has it that the ghost of a woman haunts an upper room.

When the silent tavern gave up no secrets, most of the group ventured across the road to the Battle Green, the burial place of several Revolutionary War soldiers.

As members walked around the fence that surrounds the memorial obelisk, some, including Boston Paranormal Investigators founder Tom Elliott of Waltham, used an electromagnetic field detector, with little response.

When Trainito rejoined them, he said when everyone else left the tavern, the detector began to go off once again, this time with greater fervor.

This led to some teasing perhaps the ghost had taken an interest in the young man outside her home.

Trainito produced a dowsing rod, which can be used to trace sources of water underground, but which Trainito said can also be useful in paranormal research. Holding the two rods lightly, he showed others how they crossed and sometimes dipped toward the ground.

Trainito is a co-founder of Para-Boston Investigators, which focuses not so much on public sites but on private ones, such as dwellings. Para-Boston Investigators and Boston Paranormal Investigators have several common members as both pursue the possibility of paranormal activity as a hobby.

Next stop was the Old Burying Ground, itself a testament to the hardships of Colonial times. Among the stark slate stones were those marking the graves of children.

Some members studied the stones, adorned with bleak, winged skulls typical of the period.

Jon Smith of Marlborough took some photos, saying he would examine them “for anything that looks out of place.”

Madeline Pettengill told a visitor that one family plot in particular compelled her, saying she felt a kind of pressure when she approached it.

Later, at a dinner break at a local restaurant, she shared photos she had taken, including those with orange flecks of light that she says appear not to come from any plausible source.

The sun receded, and it was time to move on to the forested stretch of Minuteman National Historical Park. As fireflies winked in the darkness, investigators walked the dusty trail, musing about what they might find.

And then, a disorienting scene - a bonfire, with several people in 18th century garb sitting around it, seeming at first oblivious not unlike the shades in “A Christmas Carol.”

They were not emissaries from the early American past, but historical interpreters from the 21st century present.

Things became more surreal when a park ranger approached and said mildly that without a permit, no one but park staff and volunteers was allowed on the premises after dark.

Disappointed, the group left. Some went home; others stayed on to try their luck at other sites.

Later, Elliott explained that normally the group investigates public sites that do not require permits and cited the cost of obtaining a permit to be on the park premises after hours. He said the group always cooperates with law enforcement authorities and agencies responsible for managing the sites.

With every outing comes a chance for group members to catch up with friends and have a few laughs, even if there are no traces of phantoms and shades to show for all their efforts.

A lifelong pursuit

Boston Paranormal Investigators’ founder Elliott, 69, said, “I started reading about it when I was a teenager, and grabbed everything that I could. It also helped that I was a horror movie fan.”

Boston Paranormal Investigators meets the fourth Monday of each month at Elliott’s Waltham home.

For years, Elliott worked in television production. His credits include “Personal Perspectives,” a cable show that focused on people who claimed to have paranormal experiences including hauntings and alien abductions, and “From Beyond,” which was hosted by Joey Travolta.

He also contributed articles to Fate, a long-standing publication dedicated to mysterious experiences.

Boston Paranormal Investigators has about 80 members, with a core group of 12 to 15 who participate in many of the “field trips” arranged to investigate sites of interest.

Members come from area communities such as Woburn, Revere, Lexington, Waltham, and Billerica, Westford, but also as far away as Pepperell and Kingston, N.H.

Members host training sessions for those who want to learn how to use various types of equipment, but the trainers themselves are largely self-trained.

Technology has played a role, enabling investigators to further isolate which noises or sights are simply aberrations of electrical energy, and which seem to defy explanation.

“I’m a skeptic. It takes a lot to convince me,” said Elliott.

Nonetheless, it’s very jarring to play back a voice recorder and hear a cry for help that wouldn’t normally typify a conversation, he said.

Investigators can look at a photo, hear a recording or examine some other kind of evidence and disagree on what it means.

“You are probably never going to get concrete proof,” Elliott said. “The best we can say is, we think this place is haunted.”

Elliott said the compulsion to look for ghosts persists for a simple reason: “I think the main drive is, to prove your own immortality. Are we going to survive after death, or is that it?”

To learn more about Boston Paranormal Investigators, visit www.bostonparanormal.org; about Para-Boston Investigators, visit www.para-boston.org.

SOCORRO – The location of the alleged 1964 Socorro UFO sighting may be recognized by the city as a historical site, if Socorro’s Tourism Director Deborah Dean has anything to say about it.

The Socorro City Council heard the suggestion by Dean at its Monday night meeting.

“This is something that’s been featured on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel and other national programs,” Dean said. “It could be a good thing for Socorro since so many people are interested in it.”

She asked that the council consider approaching the owner of the property. Mayor Ravi Bhasker said the city could recognize Lonnie Zamora for his role in Socorro’s history.

“He served as a police officer and later at the landfill, and if we develop this site we’ll do a plaque for him,” Bhasker said.

Librarian Paula Mertz told the council the Socorro Public Library has a large file of newspaper and magazine clippings about the UFO incident in Socorro.

“In the past, we’ve had quite a few people coming in looking for information,” she said. “They also want to know where the location was.”

Councilor Gordy Hicks said he remembers the event and that officially recognizing the site could be beneficial to the city.

Tuesday morning, Hicks, Dean and the present owner of the property, Kathy Richardson, toured the area along with Chief of Police Lawrence Romero and Assistant Chief Mike Winders.

Hicks told the group that he visited the site the day after police Sgt. Lonnie Zamora made the sighting of an unknown craft in an arroyo about a quarter mile west of Fairgrounds Road.

“The depressions in the ground were six to eight inches deep, so whatever made them must have been very heavy,” Hicks told the Mountain Mail Tuesday.

According to reports published at the time, on Friday, April 25, 1964, at 5:45 p.m., 31-year-old police sergeant was in pursuit of a speeder on the south side of Socorro when he heard what sounded like an explosion west of Park Street.

Upon investigation, he saw a white, oval-shaped object resting on four legs in an arroyo emitting a roaring sound. He reported that next to the object were two short figures dressed in coveralls inspecting the object.

Zamora, thinking that an automobile accident had occurred, began approaching the scene until the roaring noise increased in pitch and volume, sending him running back to the road, in fear of it exploding. The craft emitted a flame from its underside and rose into the air, flying westward toward Box Canyon. Zamora told reporters that for a few moments he felt in danger for his life.

Other officers arrived on the scene minutes later, and by the next day, the story was covered in mass media nationwide. Many Socorro residents visited through the weekend and it was reported that at one point there was bumper-to-bumper traffic on the dirt road leading to the arroyo.

In the weeks following, flying saucer investigators and government agencies visited the site, but a definitive explanation for what Zamora saw was not determined.

At the time, skeptics suggested that both Zamora and the mayor, Holm Bursum Jr., perpetrated a hoax to boost tourism.

No evidence of it being a hoax was uncovered, and the site has never been developed for tourism. It remains much as it was in 1964.

The U.S. Air Force investigator’s report noted that Zamora was “a serious police officer, a pillar of his church, and a man well versed in recognizing airborne vehicles in his area.”

The incident was officially designated by the government as unexplained. Dean said she would like to add items to the Socorro Heritage and Visitors Center relating to the incident. San Antonio artist Patrick Richard said he is donating a painting he made in 2005 of Zamora to the center.

“I used a photograph of Lonnie with Air Force personnel taken while they were examining the site,” Richard said. “I’m donating the original painting to the Heritage Center. I want to do this for Lonnie.”

Source: http://www.mymountainmail.com/stories/froUFOProspect20080724.php

A DENBIGH ghost hunter will target one of Wales’ most haunted houses this month - and she’s doing it all for charity!

Karen Ensall, a relief care worker at Llys Marchan residential home, is hoping to raise funds for the centre’s disadvantaged adults by seeking out ghouls at Plas Teg, a Jacobean mansion near Mold, on August 16.

“I’ll be staying with an investigation team from Paranormal UK from 9 pm to 3am on August 16. The house is said to have lots of hauntings and by all accounts things can get quite scary” she told Your Vale.

North Wales group Paranormal UK have previously been featured on TV show Most Haunted: Live and comprises a team of investigators, mediums and historians who work together to try and solve many of the region’s spookiest mysteries.

For more information visit www.uk-paranormal.co.uk. To sponsor Karen, please call Judith Gavin at Pennaf Housing Group on 01745 536914.

Source: http://www.yourvale.co.uk/news/vale-of-clwyd-news/2008/07/31/denbigh-ghost-hunter-in-jaunt-at-plas-teg-105722-21441709/

For all you nay-sayers, there may be some basis to the notion that Owen Sound’s Billy Bishop Museum is haunted.

Recently, a team of paranormal investigators set up camp in the museum to see if they could record evidence of anything out of the ordinary.

Museum Manager Mary Smith says investigators from Jeff’s Paranormal in Barrie caught three apparent E.V.P.’s or audio recordings of unexplainable voices.

Smith says one appears to be a loud exclamation or shouting that no one noticed during the crews set-up process.

Another recording was unrecognizable.

Smith says the investigation included a psychic who picked up on a visiting male spirit who was looking for someone named “Paula”.

She says while the psychic was investigating, the word “Paula” can be heard whispered.

Smith says the crew recorded everyone’s voices connected to the investigation in advance so they could be eliminated from suspicion.

The crew was unable to capture anything on video.

She says the group will return in September with more of its members, and another event will be held in December when members of the public can take part.

Source: http://www.radioowensound.com/news.php?id=13346

Family On Grassy Narrow First Nation Has Plaster Foot Cast

Ontario- No one is sure what to think, but a family in the NW part of Ontario has a huge plaster cast of a six-toed Sasquatch like creature.

The cast footprint is huge, measuring 38 x 15 centemetres, and it fills a large pizza cardboard box quite nicely, which is where the family is storing it- for now.

“The footprint, the toes make it look pretty weird,” said Judy Fobister, 21 years of age.

It was Judy’s father that discovered the print and made the plaster cast.

“We all looked at the thing and agreed that something really strange had made it,” said Ms. Fobister.

The local community in the area is not quite sure what to make of the strange plaster cast, or the rumored sightings of the Sasquatch type creature that has been whispered about.

The people who claim to have seen the beast creature all agree that they have only seen it briefly, it always seems to be ducking back into the forest, or disappearing from view right after first being spotted.

No one is sure if its fact or hoax, but one thing is for sure – the legend and the myth continue on, and there is an Ontario family with a really, really large six toed plaster footprint.

Source: http://www.eontarionow.com/science/2008/07/31/nw-ontario-sighting-of-giant-sasquatch/

  Welcome to Scotland ladies and germs, home to such great things as good scotch, masculine man skirts and lots and lots of sheep as well as the home to our next stop on our tour of truly spooky places.  But first many of us who have proven to be lightweights (and you know who you are)  have to make a run to a laundromat to clean some underpants, they just could not hold their water when met with ghosts, ghouls and demons.

  Standing as a silent stone sentinel over the ancient Celtic land of Scotland is the infamous Glamis castle.  Since it’s foundations were first laid many centuries ago in 1372, Glamis is the oldest and consistently inhabited castle in all Scotland sort of giving it that lived in feel.  Glamis is the ancestoral home to the ancient line of the Lord’s of Strathmore as well as the childhood home to the Queen Mother.  Glamis Castle is considered by many to possibly be the most haunted castle in the land that gave us argyle socks and Hagis (Ever had it?  It’s not that bad).

  Historically speaking not many reports of murder and mayhem have filtered out from behind the castle walls in it’s long and illustrious history, however that has not stopped the many strange tales of ghosts and monsters that the kilt loving populace of Angus, Scotland all know and love.  Perhaps the strangest story to come out of Glamis castle is that of the grotesque Monster of Glamis that is said to haunt the halls of the castle.  As the story goes sometime in the late 1700s or early 1800s, depending on who you hear the story from, A hideously deformed child was born to the Lord and Lady of Strathmore.  The parents were so horrified by the sight of their demon spawn they did what any proud loving parent would do to their first born son and heir to the Strathmore name and title, they took their bouncing baby boy(Can you smell the sarcasm) and locked him away in the most remote room of the castle.

  According the midwife that delivered the pitiful child the boy was not expected to live.  Can you imagine the horror the parents felt when the deformed child grew big and strong and downright ferocious.  The “Monster” became to much to handle after killing numerous servants and the Lord of Strathmore was forced to wall the lad up in his room with only a hole for food and water.  It is said that as the years went by and the male progeny of the Strathmore line  inherited the title and lands on their twenty-first birthday they were taken to the secret room where the monster resided and forced to look upon their hideous kinsman who was the true heir to the Strathmore line.  Many new Lords were said to be so deeply effected by the sight of the monster that they suffered from a deep melancholy that effected their standing in polite social society.  When asked why they appeared so frightened and sad many Lords would fly into an uncontrollable rage and warn those who were bold enough to ask that if they inquired again it would be on the pain of their death.  Needless to say many got the hint and steered clear of a Strathmore Lord when they had that all to familiar crabby look.

  Finding the Castle’s fabled secret room had become such a popular pasttime for guests and family members that they played a game.  They would run from room to room and hand any white linen out of the windows in the hopes that the secret room could be discovered.  As the game players gathered around the exterior of the castle they were shocked to see not just one window but windows without a towel or bedsheet hanging.  Indicating that Glamis Castle had many more myteries than previosly thought.

  Apart from horrible monsters, Glamis castle is home to many ghosts.  When tours of the castle are given the first stop of the tour is the Chapel.  Tourists are shuffled into a small house of worship and told the tale of Lady Janet Douglas Strathmore, the infamous Grey Lady of Glamis.  In 1537, Lady Janet was accused of the all too familiar crime of witchcraft and other crimes against God and Country and subsequently paid for her crimes when she was turned into a crispy critter on the stake all the while declaring her innocence.  Her ghost, which appears as a phantom dressed in gray, is said to appear in her favorite seat in the chapel where she was oftentimes seen praying and offer supplication to almighty God.  Those who have witnessed the gray lady claim that sits in her seat weeping and asking God for forgiveness and vanishing before the eyes of the witness causing many a sightseer to run from the chapel screaming in terror.

  The Grey Lady is not the only spirit said to inhabit the castle as well as the grounds.  One such spirit witnessed on many occassions is said to be the specter of a young girl who maniacally runs around the grounds screaming and showing the unfortunate witness a horrifying vision, her blood filled mouth where her tongue used to be.  No one is quite sure who this grotesque spirit is however those who have seen her know one thing, they don’t ever want to see that again.  Perhaps the saddest spirit said to haunt the halls of Glamis Castle is the ghost of a murdered African slave child.  This little guy is said to haunt the door to the Queen’s chambers after being left their to die by his former overseers the Queen herself has been said to be witness to this sad little spirit.

  Perhaps the most sensational ghost said to haunt Glamis castle is a regular party animal, the evil lord Earl Beardie.  On a sunday afternoon, which in Scotland is considered the Lord’s day and thus holy, Beardie a guest of the Strathmore’s got stinking shitfaced drunk and searched the castle looking for anyone who would dare defy God’s special day and challenge him to a game of poker.  Those who lived and worked in the castle had a seething hatred for the wicked Earl.  Those who knew this frat boy knew him to be a drunkard, a womanizer and a blasphemer of God almighty so it was wise to avoid this guy as much as possible.  Beardie became so enraged by those he considered cowards he bellowed at the top of his lungs, “If none of you will play then may the devil himself appear and play old Beardie.”  Just then a tall man dressed menacingly in black appeared before the astonished eyes of those who watched the foolish Earl Beardie.

  As the servants and the other guests listened at the door where Beardie and the stranger played their card game they could hear the boisterous voice of Beardie swearing and cursing God with every hand that he lost to the stranger.  One curious servant was brave enough to put his eye to the keyhole to spy on old Beardie and his phantom stranger.  As the servant peered through the keyhole there was bright flash of light that knocked the servant away from the door blinding him for the rest of his days.  When the door opened, Beardie was alone, the black clad stranger had dissappeared.  Beardie looked around at the faces of all those present and declared, “I have lost my very soul.”  A few weekd later Beardie died.

  As I said at a previous stop on our tour, sometimes when researching claims of the paranormal it is difficult to separate fact from from fantasy and Glamis Castle is no exception.  However it does not negate the fact that many visitors to Glamis Castle have reported many strange and frightening experinces concerning the ghosts and ghouls that haunt the halls of this ancient castle.  Glamis Castle is definately a scary but wonderful place.  How are your underpants?

                                                         Rick E. Hale

Woburn, MA -

On a sweltering Saturday afternoon, only a slight breeze brought relief from the heat.

But instead of sitting home in air-conditioned comfort, a small group from Boston Paranormal Investigators – including a Woburn woman — roamed among historical sites in Lexington.

They came armed with specialized equipment such as electromagnetic field meters – small, box-like instruments that pick up electromagnetic activity, as well as notebooks and hand-held video cameras.

They watched, listened, and sometimes, simply waited.

At Buckman Tavern, Scott Trainito of Everett held an electromagnetic field detector close to the ground. When it uttered quick, staccato chirps, he raised an eyebrow, but then declared, “It’s just wires.”

Which doesn’t mean that no one was watching. Local lore has it that the ghost of a woman haunts an upper room.

No one at the Lexington Historical Society, which oversees the tavern, could be reached to comment on this story, although several references to it appear on Web sites of paranormal enthusiasts.

When the silent tavern gave up no secrets, most of the group ventured across the road to the Battle Green, the burial place of several Revolutionary War soldiers.

As several members walked around the fence that surrounds the memorial obelisk, some, including Boston Paranormal Investigators founder Tom Elliott of Waltham, used an electromagnetic field detector, with little response.

When Trainito rejoined them, he said, when everyone else left the tavern, the detector began to go off once again, this time with greater fervor.

This led to some teasing – perhaps the ghost had taken an interest to the young man outside her home.

Trainito produced a dowsing rod, used to trace sources of water underground, but which Trainito said can also be useful in paranormal research. Holding the two rods lightly, he showed others how they crossed and sometimes dipped toward the ground.

(Trainito is a co-founder of another group, Para-Boston Investigators, which focuses not so much on public sites but on private ones, such as dwellings. Para-Boston Investigators and Boston Paranormal Investigators have several common members. Both groups are compromised of volunteers who pursue the possibility of paranormal activity as an avocation.)

Next stop was the Old Burying Ground, itself a testament to the hardships of colonial times. Among the stark slate stones were those marking the graves of children carried off at a young age.

Some group members studied the stones, adorned with bleak, winged skulls typical of the period.

Jon Smith, of Marlborough, took some photos, saying he would examine them “for anything that looks out of place.”

Madeline Pettengill told a visitor that one family plot in particular compelled her, saying she felt a kind of pressure when she approached it.

Later, at a dinner break at a local restaurant, she shared photos she had taken, including those with strange, orange flecks of light that appeared not to come from any plausible source.

The sun receded, and it was time to move on to the forested stretch of Minuteman National Historical Park. As fireflies winked in the darkness, investigators walked the dusty trail, musing about what they might find.

And then, a disorienting scene – a bonfire, with several people in 18^th century garb sitting around it, seeming at first oblivious – not unlike the shades in “A Christmas Carol.”

They were not emissaries from the early American past, but historical interpreters from the 21^st century present.

Things got even more surreal when a park ranger approached and said mildly that without a permit, no one but park staff and volunteers was allowed on the premises after dark.

Disappointed, the group left. Some went home; others stayed on to try their luck at other sites.

Later, Elliott explained that normally the group investigates public sites that do not require permits and cited the cost of obtaining a permit to be on the park premises after hours. He said the group always cooperates with law enforcement authorities and agencies responsible for the management of sites.

With every outing comes a chance for group members to catch up with friends and have a few laughs, even if there were no traces of phantoms and shades to show for all their efforts.

‘You could always feel something’

Tabitha Bagnell, of Woburn, looks younger than her 35 years and works as an office manager for a taxicab company. But her real passion from childhood has been seeking signs that ghosts might dwell among us, or at least finding explanations for peculiar noises, lights and energy that seem to plague some homes and buildings.

“ I was brought up in a house in Woburn that had a lot of activity. You could always feel something very negative,” she recalled. “You felt you were being watched. Doors would slam… nobody would ever stay in the house alone.”

Bagnell said she is learning the particulars of equipment such as electromagnetic field detectors, and instruments that record voice and which she said sometimes pick up voice sounds of people not in the room – perhaps cell phone exchanges, but perhaps not.

She related a particularly creepy anecdote about her aunt’s home in Vermont. “Some people had played with a Ouija board,” a practice she said she doesn’t recommend. Ever since then, she said, the house seemed to come alive with peculiarities, including dripping water from no apparent source and even an apparition reported by a cousin.

Research revealed that in the 1930s, a little girl apparently got hold of a gun to play with and shot herself fatally. Her grave is on the premises, Bagnell said.

Later, in the 1950s, a father allegedly shot and killed his son, pinning the blame successfully on another son, Bagnell said.

She decided to go and take some pictures, which showed nothing unusual. Taking a chance, she said she called out, “Are you afraid?” and heard an adult voice say, “No.”

Spirits and skeptics

As tantalizing as this experience was, Bagnell said investigators must have both an open mind and a keen sense of skepticism.

In recent times, some ghost fanciers have claimed that so-called orbs appearing on photos are evidence of some kind of supernatural energy.

But it strikes many that the orb phenomenon seemed to gain momentum with the advent of digital cameras, and that dust and condensation or even insects in the night air can show up as circular discolorations on a camera lens.

“If you go out on a humid night with a camera, it’s going to be orb city,” Bagnell said.

A lifelong pursuit

Boston Paranormal Investigators’ founder Elliott, 69, said, “I started reading about it when I was a teenager, and grabbed everything that I could. It also helped that I was a horror movie fan.”

Boston Paranormal Investigators meets the fourth Monday of each month at Elliott’s Waltham home.

For years, Elliott worked in television production. His credits include “Personal Perspectives,” a cable show that focused on people who claimed to have paranormal experiences including hauntings and alien abductions, and “From Beyond,” which was hosted by Joey Travolta.

He also contributed articles to “Fate,” a longstanding publication dedicated to mysterious experiences.

Boston Paranormal Investigators has about 80 members, with a core group of 12 to 15 who participate in many of the “field trips” arranged to investigate sites of interest.

Members come from area communities such as Woburn, Revere, Lexington, Waltham, and Billerica, Westford, but also as far away as Pepperell and Kingston, N.H.

Members host trainings for those who want to learn how to use various types of equipment, but the trainers themselves are largely self-trained.

Technology has played a role, enabling investigators to further isolate which noises or sights are simply aberrations of electrical energy, and which seem to defy explanation.

“I’m a skeptic. It takes a lot to convince me,” said Elliott, but said it’s nonetheless very jarring to play back a voice recorder and hear a cry for help that wouldn’t normally typify a conversation.

Investigators can look at a photo, hear a recording or examine some other kind of evidence and disagree on what it means.

“You are probably never going to get concrete proof,” Elliott said. “The best we can say is, we think this place is haunted.”

Elliott said the compulsion to look for ghosts persists for a simple reason. “I think the main drive is, to prove your own immortality. Are we going to survive after death, or is that it?”

To learn more about Boston Paranormal Investigators, visit www.bostonparanormal.org.

To learn more about Para-boston, visit www.para-boston.org.

Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/woburn/homepage/x1542103576/Paranormal-occurrences-Local-group-investigates

UK scientists are carrying out DNA tests on hair which is reported to be from the infamous Yeti creature which has been seen roaming forests and jungles around the India area. While the creature is probably more famous for being spotted on Everest by well known mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary there have been a number of sighting over the last few days, leading to the discovery of the strands of hair.

While scientists in the UK have been brought in to try and solve the mystery, even they have disclosed that early tests show it is not from any creature currently on record. They will be carrying out further test to see if they can find any clues as to how the alleged 10 feet, black and grey mammal was created. The more recent action has been in the hills of Meghalaya in India with locals flooding the authorities with a number of sightings of the 300kg ‘monster’ which is rumoured to survive on fruit, roots and tree bark.

Whether the strands of hair turn out to be a hoax or are in fact from some unknown creature remains to be seen, but the fact it has a similar look and feel to that brought back by Sir Edmund Hillary has seen the plot thicken.

Source: http://itvibe.com/news/4337/

cryptozoology: New England’s animal underground

Probably the most famous Bigfoot sighting in New Hampshire occurred in Hollis in May 1977. A Massachusetts man and his two young sons were sleeping in a camper on the side of the road when he awoke around 11 p.m. to find his vehicle rocking from side to side. When he stepped outside, he found himself face to face with a hairy, bipedal, brownish-blond beast that stood at least seven feet tall and smelled like rotting fish. The man quickly retreated to his truck and sped off with his children yelling.
That account of the incident came from reputed anthropologist Dr. Carleton Coon, who investigated the report and interviewed the witness while working at Harvard University. Coon found the witness to be highly credible and located unusually large footprints near the site of the incident. The man and both his sons passed polygraph tests about what they had seen, and Coon agreed that the creature could not easily be written off as a misidentified bear or deer.
Two days after the first incident, two separate women spotted the creature in Hollis. “I saw it face to face. It was all hairy, brown colored and eight or nine feet tall with long arms, long hair,” Gerald St. Louis later told the Nashua Telegraph.
Portland, Maine-based author and cryptozoologist Loren Coleman later interviewed Coon about his investigation. The fact that a well-respected anthropologist was mystified by the event lent extra credence to the sighting and made the Hollis Bigfoot incident more significant than many other local sasquatch reports.
Coleman, who operates the International Cryptozoology Museum out of his Portland home, has investigated countless sightings of hybrid mutants, lake monsters, forest creatures and other mysterious animals. What is cryptozoology? Coleman describes it as the study of hidden, unknown or unverified species or animals that have not officially been discovered or classified by conventional zoologists.
“If someone sees a dark shape in a lake and it seems to be animal-like, it is a ‘cryptid,’ or something of interest to cryptozoology,” Coleman said in a recent interview with The Wire. If such a creature is officially discovered and legitimized by zoologists, it ceases to be a cryptid.
The so-called “big three” of cryptozoology are Bigfoot (or sasquatch), the abominable snowman (or yeti) and the Loch Ness Monster. But the field encompasses some 200 mystery species, ranging from skunk apes and nandi bears to horned serpents and lizard men.
Thousands of cryptid sightings have occurred all over the world, and cryptozoologists feel that where there’s so much smoke, there must be a fire. But paranormal detective Joe Nickell disagrees. “I’m mindful that there could just be smoke,” Nickell said.
Based in New York, Nickell identifies himself as the world’s only full-time, salaried paranormal investigator. He has been referred to as “the real-life Scully” (from “The X Files”), and has authored numerous books, including 2001’s “Real-Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal.” After exploring hundreds of cryptid sightings, ghost stories, UFOs and purported miracles, he has never come across a single case that could not be explained by conventional science or a deliberate hoax.
Nickell recently joined a group of Bigfoot hunters for an expedition in upstate New York, but he “found them a rather silly group of people, with much more sophisticated equipment than they had good sense,” he said.
You might call Nickell and Coleman arch nemeses. Although they respect one another, they are the foremost figures of two different schools of thought on cryptozoology. Coleman wrote the forward to Nickell’s 2006 book, “Lake Monster Mysteries,” and the two have even debated on CNN about the Loch Ness Monster.
Nickell theorizes that many sightings of lake monsters or sea serpents can actually be attributed to river otters. When several otters swim together in a line, their up and down swimming motions can give the appearance of a single, multi-humped, undulating creature, he says. Recalling the debate on CNN, he said Coleman called that theory “otter nonsense.” Nickell countered by quipping that Coleman “otter know better.”
Despite all their differences, Coleman and Nickell share one significant similarity: both believe that any cryptid sighting is worthy of serious investigation. And New England has had no shortage of cryptid sightings. Here are a few notable local examples:
• At about 3 a.m. on May 20, 1968, three young people were fishing from a wharf on Moore Lake in Laconia. As they were casting into the moonless night, they suddenly noticed a red glow on the water and saw what looked like the head of an alligator with glowing, red eyes. Police investigated the report but found nothing. However, several nearby residents reported seeing a strange, red glow on the lake in subsequent days.
• At about 10:30 p.m. on April 21, 1977, three teenagers were driving on Farm Street in Dover, Mass., when one of the boys noticed some movement in the night. The car’s headlights then fixed on a hairless creature with large, orange eyes. Now known as the “Dover Demon,” the creature had a small body with a large, melon-shaped head, unusually long arms and legs and elongated fingers. Another teen witnessed the creature separately about two hours later, although he said it had green eyes.
• Skip ahead to Aug. 12, 2006, when the carcass of a mysterious canine-looking creature was discovered near power lines along Route 4 in Turner, Maine. Baffled by its odd appearance, residents alternately identified it as a hyena, dingo, fisher or coydog, but it did not accurately fit the description of any of those species. DNA samples eventually revealed that the “Maine Mutant” was, in fact, just a dog, but the press coverage brought attention to an at-large mystery creature blamed for killing many pets in the area.
There have also been numerous sightings of large mystery cats in New Hampshire. Generally, New Hampshire’s cryptid cats fall into one of two categories: some are described as black panthers and others are said to resemble mountain lions, which are not believed to inhabit the Granite State. One man adamantly swore he saw a mountain lion in Rochester in November 2005.
“To the Department of Wildlife, a mountain lion in New Hampshire is like telling them there’s a yeti in the state,” Coleman said.
But of all New England’s cryptids, far and away the most famous is Champ, a serpentine monster purported to dwell in the depths of Lake Champlain in Vermont. Champ is easily the most recognized lake monster in North America, and the second most famous in the world after Scotland’s Loch Ness Monster.
Beginning Sunday, Aug. 3, Burlington will celebrate its beloved cryptid with Champ Week at Echo Lake Aquarium and Science Center. The aquarium will hold daily events and programs related to its hometown monster through Saturday, Aug. 9. For more information, go to www.echovermont.org.
According to Grace Per Lee, marketing coordinator for Echo Lake Aquarium, events during Champ Week will include storytelling for children and adult programs exploring the facts and legends of the creature. She referred to Champ as “our loveable lake monster” and said area residents take pride in claiming the creature as a Vermont native.
“Just in case Champ is ever collected or captured, he or she is protected by state law,” Lee said, referring to legislation Vermont and New York passed in the 1980s making it illegal to harm Champ.
Also present during Champ Week will be Sandra Mansi, who took the most famous picture of Champ on July 5, 1977, while picnicking on the lake with her family. Mansi had no previous experience with cryptozoological events, but her Kodak Instamatic image of the creature’s grayish-brown head and long, snakelike neck have made her a living legend in the field. She will autograph copies of her famous picture at the aquarium.
The earliest monster sightings on Lake Champlain date back to the 17th century, and Lee said she still commonly hears reports of Champ sightings. Coleman visited Lake Champlain last year with a Japanese film crew that was shooting a documentary about the lake monster. The crew used advanced cameras and sonar equipment to search for the creature, but Coleman said they failed to turn up anything substantive.
Nevertheless, Coleman disputes Nickell’s theory that river otters are responsible for lake monster sightings. “I think it’s a credible explanation for skeptics, (but) it gets to be a universal explanation that is too over-encompassing,” Coleman said.
He admitted that other animals, like turtles or even harbor seals, could be responsible for some lake monster sightings. But there is no single explanation that can account for the hundreds of sightings that have occurred worldwide. “It’s like coming in and saying that everyone seeing a Bigfoot is seeing a bear,” he said.
Nickell said his otter theory was not intended to explain every lake monster sighting. He traveled to British Columbia with National Geographic in 2005 to investigate Ogopogo, the monster believed to inhabit Lake Okanagan. Descriptions of that particular monster as a multi-humped, undulating creature fit the pattern of a row of northern river otters swimming out into the lake in search of a snack, he said.
Nickell has even heard reports of prehistoric-looking lake monsters in manmade bodies of water, or lakes that had gone dry and refilled not long before the supposed sighting. He thinks many people have a natural inclination to believe in the paranormal, and the desire to believe often fuels their illusions.
Nickell is quick to note that he cannot always scientifically explain an individual’s unusual sighting. But, “those cases where we can’t explain them are invariably because there’s very poor evidence,” he said.
Many people tend to jump to conclusions based not on proof but on lack of proof, Nickell said. He refers to that tendency as a logical fallacy called “arguing from ignorance.”
“It means trying to draw a conclusion from a lack of knowledge. You can’t say, ‘I don’t know what the long undulating creature was, therefore it was Champ.’ You can’t say, ‘I don’t know, therefore I do know,’” Nickell said. “The paranormal is characterized by this attitude.”
Nickell recognizes that many honest, sober, sincere and credible people have witnessed things they can’t explain, and their reports are worth investigating. But sightings should be investigated with a view toward solving them, he said, rather than simply propagating the mystery.
“Mysteries should neither be hyped nor dismissed. Mysteries are meant to be investigated and solved,” he said.
If lake monsters actually exist and have breeding populations, Nickell asks, why hasn’t a monster carcass washed up on a lake shore? If Bigfoots have been roaming the woods for decades or centuries, why have we never actually captured one?
Coleman avoids using the word “belief” when describing cryptozoological occurrences. Serious cryptozoologists simply collect data, and they welcome all information, even if it discredits a particular sighting, he said. Coleman personally helped circulate news that a set of Bigfoot prints found in 1958 was a hoax.
“We really are not evangelical. We really don’t feel that it’s necessary for us to want to believe,” Coleman said. “I’ve never seen a Bigfoot. I’ve never seen a lake monster or a sea serpent. I’m not disappointed.”
Coleman added that new species are discovered by zoologists every year. Already in 2008, he said, some 160 new vertebrates have been identified. “They’re just rolling in all the time,” he said. “It happens with amazing regularity, but it mostly flies under the general public’s radar.”
The cryptid population also includes species that are known to have once existed but are generally thought to be extinct. These species include the thylacine, or Tasmanian wolf, a wolfish-looking marsupial with a striped back that is believed to have become extinct in 1936. Other examples include the megalodon, a giant, prehistoric shark; or the zeuglodon, a prehistoric whale. Even Neandertals are included in Coleman’s 1999 cryptid encyclopedia, “Cryptozoology A to Z.”
A striking victory for cryptozoologists occurred in December 2006, when a giant squid was captured off the Japanese coast. Prior to that date, giant squids existed only in the realms of myth and folklore. Other species of fish, insects, birds, reptiles and mammals are discovered with surprising regularity.
On the opposite end of the crypto spectrum are more fanciful creatures like werewolves, mermaids, unicorns and centaurs, which are usually endowed with supernatural qualities and therefore fall outside most cryptozoologists’ definition of the field. Some popular specimens, like Pennsylvania’s prophetic Mothman, seem to blur the line between cryptids and mythical creatures.
Nickell considers himself a cryptozoologist, albeit a highly skeptical one. (He sometimes refers to Bigfoot as “Big-suit” and thinks the success of Bigfoot images depends on whether or not you can see the zipper.) But he does not think that unknown zoological species like insects and small fish fall under the crypto umbrella.
“By and large, when we’re talking about cryptozoology, we’re talking about sensational creatures. I have not seen anything that I thought was evidence of that,” he said.
Nickell views his work largely as an exploration into the human psyche. He examines why people are driven to believe in cryptids and what that belief says about humankind. By investigating cryptid sightings, he thinks he stands to discover more than a Bigfoot or lake monster.
“I’m not hopeful that we’re gonna find any of these creatures to be real, and yet I don’t think I’m on a fool’s errand,” he said. “I’m interested in such things because I’m interested in humanity.”
But Coleman accuses Nickell of approaching every cryptozoological case with a debunking mentality. “It’s almost a super paranoid point of view of the world,” he said.
For a glimpse into the dazzlingly diverse cryptid world, Coleman offers all manners of statues, sculptures, photos and cryptid figures at the International Cryptozoology Museum on online at www.cryptozoologymuseum.com (tours of the museum are by appointment only. He opened the museum on two floors of his Portland home in 2003, with a 10-year plan to move it into a separate building.
Financial difficulties have spurred Coleman to accelerate his plan. Issues with the IRS have forced him to bump up his timeframe for a new building to the next 18 months. But in order to fund the move and keep the museum afloat, he needs to raise money. He set fundraising goals of $15,000 by Sept. 1 and $30,000 by the end of the year. As of July 3, he had collected $6,328 in donations.
Coleman hopes to keep the museum alive and continue his work—even if he never actually sees a Bigfoot. “I really don’t consider it a bad thing or a detriment to me that I’m not the one who is going to discover something and write a scientific paper,” he said. “We know that, eventually, new animals are going to be found anyway.”

Source: http://www.wirenh.com/Features/Cover_Stories/Bigfoots_and_yetis_and_Champ%2C_oh_my!_200807303043.html

  At the dawn of the twenty-first century the world, and especially those of us who belong to the Catholic faith, were shocked when the reports of Priests molesting young boys hit like a ton of bricks.  Priests, who are supposed to be God’s representatives on Earth and the dispensers of the holy word, were demoralized, defrocked and some were convicted of taking liberties with out most precious of resources, our children.  When I first heard about this I could not help but question, is this a new phenomenon or has this been going on for years?  And when I learned of our next stop on our haunted tour, Italy’s Lucedio Abbey my worst fears were proven, this was not a new problem and Lucedio Abbey is proof of that.

  Lucedio’s twisted history began fairly innocent enough when in the mid twelfth century, Renier the Marquis of Montefrat, donated a large piece of swampy  land to the Cistercian Order of monks to build a monastery and the swampy land would be perfect for their ambitious endeavor of cultivating rice for the entire nation of Italy.  After the donation of the land the Order went about the business of building their new home as well as their rice farm which would be known as being on the cutting edge of rice cultivation for years to come.

  About a hundred or so years into the Abbey’s existence strange rumors and bizarre tales of the goings on within the Abbey’s walls began to spread like wildfire throughout the region.  Young men who were taken into the Abbey to work or become monks were never seen again outside it’s walls.  At night villagers reported that they could hear what sounded like screams of pain and anguish as well as strange chanting on the nights of the full moon that did not sound like the holy songs of devoted servants of God.  Those from the surrounding area began to believe that the Monks of Lucedio Abbey had possibly done the unthinkable, it was believed that the monks had forsaken their holy vows to worship a much darker master, the prince of Darkness, Satan.  Those who believed such rumors would have their worst fears soon confirmed.

  One night two young men, some might say mere boys, were discovered naked, bloodied and battered wondering around the village in a daze.  When the boys were brought before the Lucedio village leadership they recounted a bizarre tale of black magic rituals that the monks performed in an attempt to raise a powerful demon from the very depths of hell.  The boys further went on to say that numerous young men and boys were being held in the Abbey against their will and tortured and used as sex slaves because satan demanded it of the priests.  They told how the young men were tied to a large pillar and sodomized as the priests cursed God and pledged their undying devotion to the lord of flies and these practices had been going on for almost a century.  The horrified villagers had heard enough something had to be done about the Monks of Lucedio Abbey and it must be done quickly before they realized their goal, the raising of the minions of Satan.

  The villagers of Lucedio sent word to Pope Callixtus III who heard the news of the horrendous practices at this unholy abbey and immediately sent an official papal inquiry to see if their was any merit to the reports.  When the officials arrived at Lucedio Abbey they were shocked to discover that that the reports were true.  After a three day standoff with the monks the officials were allowed entry to the Abbey and discovered signs of black magic rituals as well as the torture of young men that was taking place.  They had also discovered that the monks had succeced in raising a powerful demon and the evil spirit was now in control of the Abbey and it’s occupants.  In 1457 the Pope put the Abbey on what was called “Commendatorial control”  In other words the Abbey was closed down and the monks who were not involved in the depredations of their brothers were sent to other monasteries while those who were involved in the torrid affair were tried, convicted and beheaded for their crimes.  The Abbey, which became known as a place of great evil, was closed down and remained that way for over three hundred years.

  In 1784, and for whatever reason, the Vatican secularized the Abbey and it went to the highest bidder.  Ownership of the abbey changed hands many times due to the inability of the owners to spend more than a year in the dark and forboding structure.  The most famous owner of the Abbey was French Emperor Napolean Bonarparte.  According to the historical record the pint sized big dog of Europe sold the Abbey to Italian painter, Camillo Borghese, for a number of his paintings that he just had to have in his collection.  Today the Abbey is a privately owned rice farm and despite the efforts of the owners the bizarre history and the hauntings of Lucedio has proven that the Abbey just may be the most location in Italy.

  One of the most famous legends of the Abbey concerns the Pillar where the young men were tied to and raped all those centuries before it is known as the Weeping Pillar.  Over the years many witnesses have claimed to witness what looks like tears coming from the pillar as well as a strange moaning sound coming from the base.  Many reputable Paranormal researchers have attempted to debunk the pillar by pouring water over the floor above the the pillar to see if the water would filter down through the floor giving the appearance of tears.  Many have tried and many have failed the Weeping Pillar still remains a mystery in Lucedio Abbey.

  Those who have investigated the Abbey have collected some amazing evidence over the years which, in my opinion, constitutes hardcore evidence that the souls who suffered behind it’s walls still walk the Abbey.  Many EVPs have been collected that sound like screaming and yelling and begging for mercy in Italian in the many rooms of the Abbey.  Some have witnessed horrifying visions of the spirits of the young men who were kept and tortured here for the enjoyment of the debased monks and their infernal master.  However one spirit seems to rule over them all, the inhuman spirit of the demon of Lucedio Abbey.  Those who have claimed to be in the presence of the wicked spirit all experience the same phenomenon, the demon begins to manifest with the smell of rotting garbage and flesh.  The reeking odor seems to overwhelm until the demon makes it’s appearance in the vision of a swirling black mass that emits a feeling of rage and evil.  Those unfortunate enough to witness the demon’s manifestation are said to be so horrified that they leave the Abbey deaf and blind and their have been some reports of people committing suicide after a visit to the abbey.

  The owners of the Abbey try to downplay the phenomenon at Lucedio Abbey.  The owners do admit that there are some strange things that happen from time to time however, according to them, their is no demon and the spirits of the Abbey are perfectly harmless.  Many who live in the surrounding area would disagree.  If they can avoid it the locals give the Abbey a wide birth as they pass by and as they do they say a Hail Mary and an Our Father for the poor souls trapped behind it’s walls.

                                                                                                   Rick E. Hale