Paranormal Underground Volume 2, Issue 8
Alternate Dimension Issue
Through the Veil With Marcus Leader
Get Ready for a Sci Fi Future Die Glocke: A Time Machine? Phantoms of England Into the Grid With Jody Bergsma
Like a Moth(Man) to a Flame Legends & Lore With Michael Kleen
August 2009 Paranormal Underground
Alternate Dim INVESTIGATOR SPOTLIGHT Marcus Leader: Breaking Through the Veil
Michael Kleen: The Truth Is Sometimes Stranger Than Fiction
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Jody Bergsma: Into the Grid
SPECIAL REPORT Ready or Not, Here it Comes: Welcome to the Sci Fi Future
CASE FILES OF THE UNKNOWN
Haunted Sites Kingdom of Shadows: The Phantoms of England
Paranormal History Die Glocke: A Story of High Speculation
Cryptids & Mythological Creatures Like a Moth(Man) to a Flame
Paranormal Underground August 2009
Tell us wha E-mail your c editor@paranorma
mension Issue FICTION: FEATURED AUTHOR 56
“The Shift” By Karen Frazier
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 58 60
Ghost Hunter Case Files: Grave Investigations: Part 1 The Hallway
GUEST EDITORIAL 62
“The Greatest Lesson of All” By Shannon Sylvia
at you think: comments to alunderground.net.
TV Watch: Lost
From the Editor
Calendar of Events
Equipment Update: Hi-Def Investigation
PUG Member Profile: PooPerDooPer
Ghost Hunter Comic
August 2009 Paranormal Underground
Paranormal Underground Volume 2, Issue 8
EDITORIAL Publisher Chad Wilson
Editor-in-Chief Cheryl Knight
Managing Editor Karen Frazier
Science Editor J.D. Harrison
Contributing Authors Jim Frazier Karen Frazier Terri J. Garofalo Rick E. Hale Cheryl Knight Ryan Ray Shannon Sylvia Linda Williams Chad Wilson
Send comments and letters to: Editor@paranormalunderground.net.
To Go Dark or Not To Go Dark
was recently discussing the issue of conducting paranormal investigations in the dark with a few friends, and we all wondered . . . what are the benefits of ‘going dark’ during an investigation? When I initially began investigating, I thought all investigations were supposed to be done in the dark. But what did I know? I was going on information gleaned from a TV show that used that particular lighting technique to push the drama. We all know things are far scarier in the dark. It didn’t help that my first experience investigating the paranormal was the Mecca of haunted locations, Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Lexington, Kentucky. That place is geared toward going ‘lights out.’ This methodology continued through my subsequent investigation at the Villisca Axe Murder House. There we were, six investigators stumbling around in the dark, even though we had electric lanterns. A recent “Paranormal Underground Presents” podcast with esteemed mentalist, paranormal investigator, and cultural anthropologist Loyd Auerbach shed even more light on this issue. Investigations should be conducted in the atmosphere in which paranormal occurrences take place, but most definitely not always in the dark. In fact, most investigators that I’ve spoken with investigate the paranormal with the lights on. Now that I look back, I realize how silly my notion of always investigating in the dark truly was. Do spirits care, or even know, that the lights are out when people are stumbling around in their haunts? I
Paranormal Underground August 2009
lost track of the number of times I was scared at Waverly when I suddenly came upon someone in the dark halls. Granted, Waverly doesn’t Chad Wilson, have artificial light Publisher that I know of, at least there were no lights on during my investigation there, but we could just as easily have investigated the drywall during the day as opposed to at night. Strangely enough, instead of providing lighting for night-time investigations, Waverly runs electricity for their many IR cameras. I wonder if they catch anything on those cameras? If there are spirits, I bet they get a chuckle out of watching strangers walk around in the dark, scaring the bejeezus out of each other. I know I would. So, from now on, I have decided I will investigate in the light, whenever possible. I know sometimes it can’t be helped that I will have to investigate in the dark, but that is what Infrared is for. So, whether it be in the woods, a cemetery, or even an old, abandoned building with no electricity, if I am unable to investigate during the day, I will use my IR at night. I’m sure the spirits won’t mind.
We welcome your comments to this topic: Please visit the Publisher’s Blog at www.paranormalunderground.net/site/?cat=186 to share your thoughts.
August 2009 Paranormal Underground
From the Editor Paranormal Underground Volume 2, Issue 8
ART Art Director Chad Wilson
Design and Layout Cheryl Knight
Cover/Contents Art Claudia Ghidella
PROMOTIONS Marketing & Ad Sales Karen Frazier
YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/ParanormalUG
Copyright © 2008-2009 — Paranormal Underground™ is a trademark of Ghost Knight Publishing. All rights reserved. Paranormal Underground and its contents are the property of Paranormal Underground magazine. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This publication and all content within this publication may not be copied, quoted, distributed, modified, or reprinted without the express written consent of Paranormal Underground magazine.
Establishing Communication Across the Veil
his month, Paranormal Underground takes a look at theories and current research involving alternate dimensions/parallel universes and time travel. From our Investigator Spotlight featuring inventor Marcus Leader to our Special Report dealing with Parallel Universes and Quantum Teleportation to a Paranormal History examination of a possible WWII time machine, we explore the possibilities of a multi-dimensional world. Our Investigator Spotlight features Marcus Leader, inventor of several instrumental transcommunication devices, including the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver, Gold-Beryllium Microphone, Dark Light, Paramagnetic Resonance Meter, and Spectral Goggles. Leader’s ultimate goal is to establish a two-way communication link between our dimensional worlds, and he’s already achieving significant results. This month’s Special Report addresses an impending Sci Fi future — a future that is partly already here, with quantum teleportation now being performed in the lab, and the Large Hadron Collider researching what the universe is made of and how it actually works. And through the Many Worlds Interpretation, we examine parallel universes and possible states of existence. Our Paranormal History feature addresses the conspiracy theories surrounding Die Glocke (or The Bell), a reported time machine developed by
Paranormal Underground August 2009
Is it possible to establish two-way communication ‘across the veil’?
the Nazis for nefarious purposes. Also in this month’s issue, we profile investigator and author Michael Kleen, artist Jody Bergsma, haunted sites throughout England, and the legendary creature known as the Mothman. I’d also like to invite all paranormal fiction writers to enter our 2nd Annual Short Story Contest. All entries are due to email@example.com by Sept. 1. First prize includes a Zoom H4 Handy Digital Recorder (a $300+ value), which features a Mobile Field Stereo Recorder and 4-Track Recorder. There are also prizes for second and third place. Enter now! I hope you enjoy our Alternate Dimension issue. Happy reading!
~ Cheryl Knight Editor-in-Chief
Calendar of Events August 6–9
52 Annual Parapsychological Association Convention University of Washington Seattle, Washington http://parapsych.clubexpress.com nd
MUFON 40 Annual International UFO Symposium Denver Tech Center Marriott Hotel Denver, Colorado www.mufon.com
The Scare Fest The Lexington Center Lexington, Kentucky www.thescarefest.com
Extreme Paranormal Conference Kingsgate Marriott Hotel & Conference Center Cincinnati, Ohio www.extremeparacon.com/
The Ohio Paranormal Convention Hara Arena Dayton, Ohio http://ohiocon.southernohioparanormal.org
Extreme Paranormal Events Presents Haunted Overnight at Lemp Mansion St. Louis, Missouri www.spi-spi.com/events.htm
Chautauqua-Con Paranormal Conference Chautauqua Auditorium Shelbyville, Illinois http://chautauqua-con.webs.com/
HauntedCon Hotel St. Michael Prescott, Arizona http://www.hauntedcon.com/
Astral Projection, ESP and Higher Awareness Seminar Limassol, Cyprus http://mindabilities.com
2009 Paranormal Symposium Angel Fire Community Center Angel Fire, New Mexico www.aspefiles.org
October’s Other Side at the Old Mill 7 p.m.–10 p.m. Dundee Old Mill Dundee, Michigan http://tangledwishes.com/events.php
2009 Texas Bigfoot Conference 8:30 a.m.–6:15 p.m. Caldwell Auditorium Tyler, Texas www.texasbigfoot.org
October 2–4 Weird 09: Wiltshire’s Premier UFO & Paranormal Conference Athenaeum Theatre Warminster, Wiltshire, UK www.mystical-county.org.uk
Michigan Paranormal Conference 1 p.m.–9 p.m. — Bailey Rec. Center Westland, Michigan http://ghostwatchers.org
Saskatoon Body, Soul, & Spirit Expo Prairieland Park Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada www.bodysoulspiritexpo.com/expo/
East Coast Paranormal Investigators Conference Fort Mifflin on the Delaware Philadelphia, Pennsylvania http://aphs.org
S.O.U.L.S. Fest Paranormal Conference 10 a.m.–11 a.m. CDT Julie Rogers Theater Beaumont, Texas www.soulsparanormal.com
PhantomCon Paranormal Convention Asheville, North Carolina Hosted by Western North Carolina Paranormal Research Society www.phantomcon.com
ParaNooga Paranormal Investigators Convention of Chattanooga The Chattanoogan Hotel Chattanooga, Tennessee www.paranooga.com
March 12–13, 2010
Southeast Texas Paranormal Convention Beaumont Civic Center Beaumont, Texas www.texasghostshow.com Do you have a calendar event? E-mail your info to Editor@paranormalunderground.net.
August 2009 Paranormal Underground
Rick E. Hale
With a background in nuclear engineering, Jim considers himself an open-minded skeptic. He believes that if paranormal phenomena are indeed a reality, the answers lie in quantum physics. Check out Jimâ€™s unique take on the paranormal and how it relates to quantum physics in his regular column Quantum Musings.
A native of Chicago, Rick is the cofounder of the Greater Illinois Ghost Society. A paranormal researcher since the age of eight, Rick is happily married and digs Jazz. Rick believes in the use of the scientific method in gathering evidence of paranormal claims. You can contact Rick at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Shannon Sylvia is a paranormal investigator that previously appeared on the Sci Fi Channel TV show Ghost Hunters International. Shannonâ€™s experiences growing up in a house rife with paranormal activity sparked her interest in the field.
Cheryl is Paranormal Undergroundâ€™s editorin-chief. She has been a professional writer and editor for nearly 20 years. Cheryl is combining her two loves, writing and the paranormal, to bring you Paranormal Underground each month. Her previous magazine experience includes roles as Senior and Managing Editor for several nichemarket publications. She is currently a freelance writer and editor.
Linda Williams is the founder/ lead investigator for Martinsville Volunteer Paranormal Society in Indiana. She spent six years working in a public library where she perfected her researching skills. Williams had her first paranormal experience at a young age, prompting her life-long interest in the paranormal.
Karen Frazier Karen is the managing editor of Paranormal Underground. Karen went on a lifelong search for answers about the paranormal after living in a WWIIera apartment 20 years ago where unexplainable things happened. Now she combines that interest with her professional experience as a copy writer, technical writer, marketing and promotions guru, and author of fiction and poetry to help bring Paranormal Underground to the public.
Terri J. Garofalo Terri is a paranormal investigator, as well as the author and illustrator of Entities-R-Us, a Ghost Hunter Comic. For more information, visit www.entities-r-us. com.
Chad Wilson Ryan Ray Ryan is a ministry intern at a Baptist church in the California Bay Area. Recently, he started a paranormal research group called Paranormal Survey and Investigation. His main goal is to help push the scientific side of paranormal investigation and research forward. For more information, visit www. paranormalsurvey.com.
Paranormal Underground August 2009
A writer of articles and fiction, Chad is the publisher of Paranormal Underground. He has parlayed his avid interest in the paranormal into a top-notch publication, Paranormal Underground e-Magazine. Chad has investigated with East Tennessee Paranormal Research Society and counts Waverly Hills, the Villisca Axe Murder House, and private residences among his investigations.
YOUR AD HERE! Advertise in Paranormal Underground.
• Affordable Rates • Target Audience • Long-Term Exposure • During our e-magazine’s first year online, we had 45,253 readers and 193,203 unique page views. • Our Website is viewed by 5,200+ visitors per month, with 49% of that being new traffic. • Our podcasts are listened to by 500+ visitors per month. Go to www.paranormalunderground.net & click the media tab to view ad rates. Contact KarenFrazier@paranormalunderground.net for more information
August 2009 Paranormal Underground
Paranormal Crossroads TV Series in the Works
new paranormal reality TV show, called Paranormal Crossroads, is now in development. The program won’t be tied to just ghosts or haunted houses; it will also include investigations of UFOs and cryptids. Also, three leads in the program are female. According to Charlie McCracken, vice president of Creative Development for Black River Media, the concept was to take a genre with which audiences were already familiar and give it a slightly different approach. Paranormal Crossroads features four main investigators — psychic/ medium Serenity Moore, paranormal investigator/spiritual sensitive Nicole Leader, independent direct voice communication specialist and physical medium Carly-Rose, and renowned engineer and paranormal researcher Marcus Leader (Nicole’s father) — as they investigate, document, and authenticate a wide variety of paranormal phenomenon. “We wanted a show that could depict how all of these supernatural and paranormal events were intersecting and influencing pop culture. So in one episode our investigators might deal with a haunted house. In the next they may be chasing a UFO. And in the next they may be tracking an elusive cryptid,” McCracken said. Another unique feature of the program is the family orientationMarcus and Nicole are father and daughter. “To my knowledge there is no television program featuring a fatherdaughter paranormal investigative team,” McCracken said. A final unique aspect of the
show involves Marcus Leader. Leader is well-known and well-respected in the paranormal research and investigative fields. He is a renowned engineer and paranormal investigator in his own right with several patented technologies for conducting paranormal research. “We are very excited to have Marcus as part of this project. He brings a level of respect and recognition that is second to none. Throughout the course of the series we will introduce several new technologies that Marcus has pioneered that will establish for the first time scientific validation of direct interaction with the supernatural,” McCracken said. For more information about the program, visit www.blackrivermediallc.com and visit the projects page.
Human Body Emits Faint Visible Light
apanese researchers have used extremely sensitive cameras to photograph the subtle light emitted by the human body, according to Yahoo News. The study placed healthy male volunteers in front of the cameras in complete darkness for 20 minutes every three hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for three days. The researchers found that the body glow differed at different times during the day, with the least light emission at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. This is suggestive of the light being related to our metabolic rhythms. Research also showed that the faces of the volunteers glowed more than the rest of the body, which may be related to the increased exposure to sunlight that the face has in comparison to the rest of the body.
Paranormal Underground August 2009
Pennsylvania Driver Nearly Collides With Bigfoot
n July 10, a motorist driving near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, reported that she had nearly collided with Bigfoot. According to www. paranormalPA driver runs into news.com, the bigfoot-like creature. witness was driving down a two-lane highway at approximately 6 p.m. at a speed of 35 to 40 mph when a figure approached her car from the left. The driver swerved to the right to avoid the figure and then noticed that it was a strange creature. She sat for a moment looking into her rearview mirror and saw the creature leap across her trunk. She next saw the creature running down the middle of another road as she sat in her car trying to regain her composure. The witness description of the creature is that it was at least six feet tall or slightly taller. It walked upright on two legs, and it had a large, elongated head. The entire creature was covered with hair. The face was also covered in hair, with an exposed area that was completely white. An unusual scratch mark on the trunk surface on the left side of the vehicle was found. The scratched area was about 8.5 inches long and 2 inches wide. There were numerous vertical and horizontal thin scratch lines that went into the paint surface.
Scientists Create Sci Fi Material
power plant providing electricity for an entire city. The invisibility of the aluminum lasted only for an extremely short period of time (40 femtoseconds), but it shows that such states can be achieved using highpowered X-rays.
Virgin Mary Shows Up in Ireland Tree Stump Oxford University scientists create transparent aluminum.
Who were the exceptionally tall beings inspecting this crop circle?
n July 7 at 5 a.m. in Wilt-
n international team, led by
Oxford University scientists, have created transparent aluminum — a substance that previously only existed in science fiction. According to www.physorg. com, a pulse from a FLASH laser removed a core electron from every aluminum atom without disrupting the metal’s crystalline structure, rendering the aluminum virtually invisible to extreme ultraviolet radiation. According to Professor Justin Wark of Oxford, “What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before.” Scientists feel that transparent aluminum is just a start that may ultimately lead to allowing the power of nuclear fusion to be harnessed on Earth. The FLASH laser used in the experiments produces brief pulses of x-ray light — each more powerful than the output of a
Tall Beings Spotted Near Crop Circles
Do you see the image of the Virgin Mary in the tree stump pictured above?
he Virgin Mary has surfaced
again, according to a BBC News report. This time she has appeared in a tree stump at the Holy Mary Parish Church in Rathkeale, Ireland. Workmen were cutting down trees at the Parish Church when one noticed the image of the Virgin in the tree. Following the reports on July 10 of the Virgin’s presence, people from Ireland began traveling to see the image; however, the local parish priest, Father Willie Russell, isn’t impressed. According to Russell, “I have seen the tree . . . it’s only a tree.” The Catholic Church remains skeptical about the Virgin’s presence in the tree stump.
shire, England, a police Sergeant was driving past a Sidbury Hill crop circle, that had appeared a few days earlier, when he saw three exceptionally tall beings who were inspecting the crop circle. According to www.colinandrews.net, each of the beings were well over six feet tall with blonde hair. They were wearing one piece white suits with hoods. The officer shouted at the beings, but was ignored. When he entered the field, however, they noticed him and ran away at “an amazing rate of speed.” According to the officer, “I recognized that I could never catch up with them they ran so exceptionally fast.” The officer glanced away briefly and when he turned his head back, they were gone. The officer said the field crackled with static, and plant movement coincided with the level of sound. He experienced a headache that started in the field and worsened as the day went on.
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 11
Will the Mystery of “Lost” Finally Be revealed? By Karen Frazier
hat the Hell is going on with “the island” anyway? After five seasons, viewers of ABC’s Lost are no closer to answers than they were when the show originally aired on Sept. 22, 2004. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t without theories. In true J.J. Abrams (Fringe, Cloverfield) fashion, Lost walks a fine line between keeping viewers confounded and giving just enough information to keep them coming back for more. It’s Not Too Late to Catch Up If you’ve never seen Lost, it’s not too late. Full episodes of all seasons are available on ABC.com and Hulu.com. But be warned. If you start watching, you may get caught up in the mystery of the island. For those who are unaware, Lost is the story of a disparate group of individuals who get stranded on an island following the crash of Oceanic Air, Flight 815. It soon becomes apparent to the survivors of the crash, however, that this is no ordinary deserted island. The jungles are plagued by strange whispers. There is a terrifying smoke monster that destroys everything in its path. The island is full of concrete pods and bunkers left behind by the now defunct Dharma Project. There is a group of people called The Others
Will viewers of ABC’s hit show Lost finally find out if their theories about “the island” hold water? The final season of this suspenseful drama is set to air beginning in early 2010.
who appear out of the jungle and take survivors against their will. The dead may or may not stay dead. Oh — and viewers are treated to constant flashbacks to times before the island. A Talented Cast Draws Viewers In Among the castaways are Dr. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), fugitive Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly), con-man Sawyer (Josh Holloway), former Republican Guard member Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews), and lottery winner Hugo Hurley Reyes (Jorge Garcia). The talented cast make Lost a delight to watch. While it is still not long on answers, Lost has kept millions of viewers captivated every week with the mysteries of the island. Viewer theories run the gamut — from the plane crash survivors actually being dead and in Hell to complex scientif-
Paranormal Underground August 2009
ic theories involving dark matter. Whether any viewer theory is true or the show producers are just making it up as they go along is unclear. Wherever the answer lies, however, Lost will leave you scratching your head and at the same time enjoying the ride. The final season of Lost airs on ABC beginning in early 2010.
The Cast Naveen Andrews: Henry Ian Cusick: Matthew Fox: Jorge Garcia: Josh Holloway: Evangeline Lilly: Terry O’Quinn: Daniel Dae Kim: Elizabeth Mitchell: Michael Emerson: Yunjin Kim:
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August 2009 Paranormal Underground 13
Marcus Leader: Breaking Through the Veil By Cheryl Knight
or most of his life, Marcus Leader studied both science and the paranormal. And whether he was testing classmates in high school chemistry class with his Milton Bradley Kreskin’s ESP kit or rescuing and rebuilding old radios from the RCA store, Marcus continually delved into the world of the unknown. As a child, he spent hours looking through his telescope given to him by his father, an electronic engineer who worked on NASA’s Apollo program. And at an early age, he began investigating reportedly haunted sites. Marcus’ love for researching the unknown eventually led him into studying with world famous anthropologist, bestselling author, and shaman Dr. Carlos Castaneda. “I study parapsychology and the paranormal world from the logical and analytical perspective of a scientist mixed with the enlightened awareness of a Toltec Shaman,” Marcus said. This duality of perception has opened many doors of discovery for Marcus, all the while helping him shape the very foundation of his research. Today, Marcus works as a private researcher with the professional division of the Monroe Institute,
Instrumental transcommunication device inventor Marcus Leader seeks to break through the veil between worlds and establish a system of data exchange between intelligent entities on the other side.
experimenting with human consciousness and awareness in a pursuit to understand the many levels of the human energy system and develop new methods to harness the powers of the mind through the manipulation of the assemblage point of awareness. And in his spare time, Marcus works in his basement lab, focused on creating revolutionary instrumental transcommunication devices — in
Paranormal Underground August 2009
other words, finding ways to communicate through dimensional plains. “It is my goal to break this field wide open by establishing a method to breach the buffering zone between the worlds (also known as the veil) and establish a system of data exchange between intelligent entities on the other side, thereby establishing a twoway communication link between our dimensional worlds,” Marcus said. A tall order you say? Well Marcus Leader might just be the person to deliver the goods. His inventions include the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver, Gold-Beryllium Microphone, Dark Light, Paramagnetic Resonance Meter, and Spectral Goggles, and he’s already achieving significant results. Marcus recently talked with Paranormal Underground about his innovative research and inventions. ***** Q: Please tell us about yourself. Marcus: I am married and have three kids who are all out of the house and married now. I live in North Idaho along the Spokane River where I conduct my research and run my various online businesses. When I am not working on business matters, I can usually be found out in the garden or off in the
This is a close-up of the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver’s portal tube created by Marcus Leader. According to Leader, “It is here where the hyperdimensional breaching of the veil takes place.” The crystal on top of the tube is the transmitting termination antenna, which forces the laser modulations from the transmitter side of the device through the portals opened within the tube.
forest. Spending time like this helps to center and balance my mind, body, and spirit and is something that I recommend to everyone. As blue skies fade to black, I can often be found under the star-filled sky sloohing the heavens and probing the many mysteries and treasures of the multiverse with my telescope, or kicking back in the hot tub enjoying the celestial show and watching meteors and orbiting satellites as they traverse the night sky. Generally, in the wee hours of the morning is when I conduct my paranormal research and my work with the Monroe Institute in my basement laboratory. Q: Tell us about your education in the fields of parapsychology and paranormal research. Marcus: At the time of my preparation for college, there were very few institutions that offered much more than a psychology curriculum in the field of parapsychology. This was a relatively
new field of science and often scoffed at by my fellow colleagues. Consequently, I gravitated toward the more traditional fields of science focusing on astronomy and electronics. I also studied geology, archeology, chemistry, and physics, but my passion would always pull me back to parapsychology and the mysteries of the mind that I perused independently, reading everything I could and experimenting with every new idea that flashed within my imagination. My knowledge of the paranormal grew as the field evolved over the decades. Then one fateful afternoon while studying in the UCLA library, my entire life and perception of the world would change forever. I was conducting research on various psychotropic plants used by indigenous shaman throughout history. I was looking for a book on psilocybin mexicana, the “magic mushroom.” I spotted it on a shelf just above my head, and as I reached for it
another hand came from seemingly nowhere and grabbed it at the same time. I turned to see who this invading hand belonged to, and there was a Hispanic gentleman with piercing eyes and the biggest grin I had ever seen. Without a word being spoken, we both lowered the volume looking into each other’s eyes almost as if to see who would blink first. Finally, his stare was just freaking me out and I said, “It is all yours.” He said, “Thank you” and as he turned away, I swear I heard him say, “Marcus!” He sat down at my table and asked me why I was interested in a book like this. I explained my reasons and he looked at me oddly and then grinned again and said, “I am Carlos Castaneda.” I introduced myself, and we became quick friends. However, fate had other plans for our friendship as he left to conduct field research in Mexico and I relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada. It would be several years before
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 15
This is an overall view of the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver sitting on Marcus Leader’s lab bench with power supplies and monitoring equipment in the background. The receiving lasers are housed in the black modules on the two towers and shot through the portal tube.
our paths would cross again, and when they did, he took my under his wing and taught me for eight years in a one-on-one apprenticeship — the secrets of Toltec shamanism handed down in our shamanic lineage for about 500 years. This is another story in itself that I can share at another time. Carlos Castaneda was an anthropologist and bestselling author of 11 books chronicling his own apprenticeship with a Yaqui Indian, Don Juan Matus, who taught him the secret teachings of the ancient Toltec shamans. This knowledge has been handed down by word of mouth alone, never being released to the public to this very day. Time magazine dubbed Carlos as “the godfather of the new age” as he literally changed our perceptions of the world around us. Carlos left this world to continue his own journey of discovery in 1998.
Q: Talk about how you first became interested in the parapsychology and paranormal fields, and when you began your research/ investigations. Marcus: My very first encounter with the paranormal was like many others, through television. From about the age of four, I remember watching horror and science fiction movies. I just could not get enough! I was a ghost story junkie even though it scared the pants off me at times. Then in my early high school years, my parents gave me a game made by Milton Bradley called Kreskin’s ESP. This, in essence, was a beginner���s parapsychology lab complete with ESP testing cards (zener cards), pendulum, lettered and numbered boards for pendulum questions, and test pads. I became obsessed with this game, in part because you could play it alone and
Paranormal Underground August 2009
I was somewhat of a loner. I ended up taking the cards to school to conduct a series of experiments documenting other students ESP abilities. My class disruptions with these tests often sent me to the principal’s office. However, I did talk the principal and his secretary into taking my tests! Seemed everyone was interested in this. This led me to my passionate study of the paranormal, which still burns within me with its unquenchable fire. My first investigation was a relative’s house in Van Nuys, California, which was extremely active with several forms of manifestations. I was still in high school at that time, but took the lead and advice of my hero to this day, the late Dr. Hans Holzer, and entered the home with a reel-to-reel tape recorder, a pad of paper and pencil, and a keen sense of adventure with all my adrenalin drive senses in full awareness. I will not go into the details of that investigation in this interview, however, it was both horrific and hysterically funny at the same time. An investigation I will never forget. My next ghostly encounter would happen a few years later in Las Vegas, Nevada, and that one too was a comedy of errors that ended in a full-fledged spiritual attack. Q: What interests you most about the paranormal? Marcus: Virtually all aspects of the paranormal tweak my interest, but I think the one field that fascinates me the most would be spiritual communication. It is my goal to break this field wide open by establishing a method to breech the buffering zone between the worlds (also known as the veil) and establish a system of data exchange between intelligent entities on the other side, thereby establishing a two-way communication link between our dimensional worlds.
Q: What personal paranormal experiences have shaped your views of ‘the unknown’? Marcus: I have to laugh as I think back on this topic, because there have been so many events that are actually still manifesting. I suppose I would say that the many experiences I had during my apprenticeship with Carlos where I encountered a variety of beings — from spirits of the dead to elemental creatures known as inorganic beings to the shaman of my lineage — shaped my perception of the multidimensional worlds all around us. On one occasion, Carlos shifted a point of perception within my energy body, known as the assemblage point, so that I could perceive a higher vibration of perception, which placed me within arm’s length of what we call the veil. This veil acts as a buffering zone between dimensional planes and is a grayish blue color that has very turbulent energies like churning water. These types of experiences tend to affect ones perception of the “unknown.”
each other and either bond or break into separate bubbles. Everything known and yet undiscovered exists on the surface of this bubble. I believe this bubble is expanding, and the frequency and speed of this expansion is what we call time. Because we are creatures dwelling upon the surface of this bubble, we perceive this expansion or flow of time in only one direction, when, in fact, it flows in all directions at once, being an expanding sphere. This observational handicap is what gives us the illusion of linearity in time. Time is merely the expansion of our multiverse. In reality, it does not exist as a dimension. Since our multiverse is growing, the surface area is increasing at a proportionally greater rate than the diameter, and this gives us yet another illusion, which you may have heard people talk about as having a feeling or sense that time is speeding up. In reality, it is not speeding up at all, but our perception of the illusion
of linearity is diminishing and will one day disappear entirely . . . one day very soon. The surface of our multiverse is humming with an infinite number of harmonic frequencies of primal zero-point energy. These various frequencies sometimes interact with each other giving us physical matter and physical world energy that we are all familiar with. Other frequencies of modulation are so much different from our physical world energies that they exist undetected by those dwelling within the physical world modulations. We call these bands of frequencies dimensional planes. History has many descriptions and references to these planes, calling them etheric and astral planes, as well as several others found throughout various cultures and beliefs. In reference to parallel realities, I suspect that the surface of the multiverse is very turbulent, energetically caused by the expansion of the
Q: What are your thoughts on alternate dimensions, time travel, and parallel universes? Marcus: How many pages is your magazine? LOL. These are topics that I eat and breathe every day. Unfortunately, there is not nearly enough room in an article like this to discuss my personal theories of the multiverse at any depth, but I will try to present a brief summary of my thoughts. I believe that our multiverse is spherical in shape much like a bubble floating in an ocean of primal force — known today as zero-point energy. Our multiverse was most likely created by an interaction with another multiverse, much like how two soap bubbles will bump into
This is an end view of the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver, showing the transmitting laser and part of the sound board used to transmit signals/voice through the veil.
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Investigator Spotlight about the institute and their ground-breaking work at www.monroeinstitute.org. I serve as an independent researcher with their professional division, and my research centers around the amalgamation of my shamanic training with my scientific training in my quest to bring control and understanding of the Pictured above is a close-up of the Trans-Dimensional assemblage point of Transceiver transmitting quartz crystal during a full consciousness. This power test. will lead to a multitude of benefits for all multiverse. The flow of this surface who use this technolis not uniform and varies in intensity ogy, including increased mental caand direction caused by both mass pabilities, enhanced psychic sensitivand geometry of objects in any given ity and perception, and several forms location. of beneficial health-related issues all For example, we know that time through the use and manipulation of flows differently near the surface of awareness. our planet relative to a point sevI am currently working on a eral thousands of miles into space. technical paper for publication in Time or expansion of the multiverse a scientific journal concerning my is slower near large objects, and I research. suspect this is caused by an energetic drag from gravitation friction of priQ: What is Leader Research? mal energy flowing through matter. Marcus: Leader Research is simply This theory opens many doors to a non-profit organization I set up to other possible phenomenon, such as operate my research efforts through time travel or the creation of a reality and to keep the public informed and split in any given dimension where educated on new developments as each reality functions separately they unfold. and therefore has different possible I am building a Website at this outcomes of any given event. time that will be fully functioning This only touches the surface sometime in August. The address is of my theories and thoughts on this www.leaderresearch.com. topic. Perhaps I will expand on this at a later time. Q: In your work, you combine the analytical perspective of a scientist Q: Talk about your role and work with the enlightened awareness of at the Monroe Institute. a Toltec shaman. How has this apMarcus: For about a year now I have proach shaped your research? been actively involved in consciousMarcus: In scientific research, it is ness research with the Monroe Inthe responsibility of the scientist to stitute. Your readers can learn more
Paranormal Underground August 2009
uncover new findings through the use of what is known as the “Scientific Method,” which basically outlined includes: asking a question, doing background research, constructing a hypothesis, testing your hypothesis through experimentation, analyzing your data, drawing conclusions, and communicating your results with other scientists. I am a firm believer in this method and use it in all my work; however, asking the right question is very important, as well as formulating and experimenting with your hypothesis. As a Toltec shaman I possess skills and abilities that allow me to perceive the energetic nature of my target in question, as well as methods to proceed in experimentation that is not always obvious with our normal human awareness. I can also detect subtle energy changes that scientific instrumentation may miss completely. This duality of perception of a shaman and scientist gives me an advantage that opens many doors of possibilities that might otherwise remain closed. For example, it was my shamanic perception of beryllium crystals under extreme magnetic compression that allowed me to perceive a very subtle energy field around the crystal. Had I continued my research without this perception I might never have discovered the technology used in many of my inventions. Q: You have invented several instrumental transcommunication devices. Talk about the devices you’ve invented, as well as the results you and others have achieved while testing these devices searching for paranormal phenomena. Marcus: Once I discovered the beryllium technology that opens up “portals” at the surface of the buffering zone (veil), I began to find methods to use the breech in the
veil’s wall as a conduit for energy from our world. My first piece of equipment was a dynamic microphone that generates a field of this subtle energy around the microphone element serving as a possible portal/conduit through dimensional realities, as well as a possible beacon to spiritual entities that dwell within the veil. This device has gone through several modifications, bringing it to its present design. This microphone is being used by a handful of investigators, including Zak Bagans from Ghost Adventures, with moderate success. It is called the Gold–Beryllium Microphone because of its physical makeup containing both gold and beryllium crystals (emeralds). I also produce a very sensitive version of this device called a Boundary Microphone, which was used on the series Ghost Hunters by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. My main area of experimentation has been in the field of instrumental transcommunication (ITC) with my Trans-Dimensional Transceiver, which is designed to open up communication channels between our world and other dimensional realities. It operates in REAL time, meaning that once a ‘link’ is established, an operator in our physical world can both receive messages AND transmit them, opening up the possibility of a conversation or sharing of information between our world and other worlds or planes of existence, as theorized by our modern hyper-dimensional physicists. Some people refer to this type of device as a ‘telephone to the dead,’ which it can be. However, I would like to point out that ghosts or spirits of the dead are not the only type of entities that this device might possibly reach. Since we are working with a multitude of dimensional realities, it is conceivable that it might reach
other entities or creatures that were never alive in this physical world. This would include elemental forces, shadow people, or possibly even alien life forms. It might even reach through time! This is a new frontier in science that could hold an infinite number of possibilities and realities. My first device, the Trans-Dimensional Receiver, was not a true ITC device because it could only receive and therefore not establish two-way communication. It also had only one mode of operation that affected the repeatability of experiments. I received a handful of excellent results and then found it extremely time-consuming and difficult to repeat the results. Consequently, I was motivated to develop a new device that eliminates all of the problems of the first prototype. The Trans-Dimensional Transceiver is showing tremendous potential even in its early stages of testing. It is unlike any other type of device in that it uses tamper-proof
laser light in which to send and receive signals. It also incorporates several environmental and energetic variables that will be instrumental in conducting a wide diversification of experiments. Built into this device is a laser modulator and receiver that can inject a pure signal tone or a complex background sound, such as white noise or shifting beat resonance, through the vacuum resonance tube, where modulation of the laser light pulses can occur from outside influences trying to bridge a communication link with our world. Surrounding the inner tube that carries the receiving laser is another high-voltage vacuum chamber that generates an electrically charged plasma cocoon and is variable between 18,000 and 120,000 volts. It is coated with a microscopic layer of beryllium crystals. Within the black housing modules are very powerful magnetic field generators that can be inverted to create magnetic stress within the
Marcus Leader’s redesign of the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver (pictured above) is now complete and undergoing final test and calibrations. The new briefcase-sized device will allow researchers to move out of the lab and into the field for testing.
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Pictured above at left: This is the older version of Marcus Leader’s instrumental transcommunication research called the TransDimensional Receiver. However, it was not capable of transmitting a signal. Pictured above at right: This is a close-up of the TransDimensional Transceiver’s transmitting laser.
chamber and transmission crystal. The transmitter side of the device consists of a class 2 audio modulated laser transmitter that shoots through the resonance tube to the transmission Quartz crystal, which is the termination point for the laser modulations, as well as a transmitting antenna. One thing that is interesting to note is that in comparison to all other types of antenna systems, the quartz is designed to send the energy transmissions within as opposed to radiating them out. This is because the closest point of contact with another dimensional plane is inside an object or person, not out into space. I also use a complex sound mixer with my transmitting microphone so that I can vary the frequency of my modulations as well as mixing in other tones or complex sound streams. I have gathered significant communication signals with this device, but I wanted to add a few more improvements and design features to this device so that I can take it out of the lab and into the field for research in “active” areas. This redesign of
the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver is now complete and undergoing final testing and calibrations. I will be releasing information and pictures of this new briefcasesized device soon on my Website and MySpace page, www.leaderresearch.com and www.myspace.com/ leaderesearchcenter. Q: Tell us about the Gold-Beryllium Subtle Energy E.V.P. Boundary Microphone, Trans-Dimensional Transceiver, and The Dark Light, and what your initial testing of these devices has yielded. Marcus: I have just described the technical nature of these items, but pertaining to testing and results I can add that the microphones are all producing high-quality EVPs through a variety of researchers. The ITC devices have been in testing and put through many experiments over the past three years. The various evolutions of this device continue to provide greater quality and frequency of communication data. While I have not been able to establish a two-way conversation in the lab as yet, I am hopeful
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and optimistic that field tests will be most productive and exciting. I have captured very significant and high-quality communication attempts from the other side, including multiple word, intelligent statements that are as clear as any radio or telephone transmission! Some of the samples of this experimentation can be heard on my MySpace blogs, as well as my Website, as soon as it is complete. I also have a device that uses this same beryllium technology, called The Dark Light, as seen on the TV show Ghost Adventures. They have been testing this device with great success, as well as have other people who I have given this equipment. It is a quantum-driven device that uses high-intensity LEDs coated with a special filter made of microscopic beryllium crystals and is intended to be a beacon in the paranormal night, attracting the attention of entities with its unique ability to open portals in the elastic surface of the veil. Normal light will not penetrate the veil; in fact, only candle light seems to have any effect at all.
The Dark Light blasts a stream of infrared and ultraviolet energy, filtered through beryllium, that seems to attract the attention of entities on the other side. This was been confirmed through EVPs captured at the location of use, which clearly ask, “What is that light,” and other samples showing interest being generated by spiritual entities over this device. Q: How do you test your equipment? Marcus: Some of the equipment is put through hundreds of hours of testing in the lab and, when possible, in the field at various locations. All but the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver have been used by independent investigators. Q: What have been your most significant research results to date? Marcus: The most significant contacts have been an extremely clear voice saying, “Whatever you are doing,” that almost knocked me out of my chair when it came over the speakers. There have been several others, including the bark of a spirit dog — as strange as that seems. The current version of the Trans-Dimensional Transceiver has expanded capabilities and seems to be picking up data bursts that I cannot explain. This device uses only lasers in the receiving field so it is not picking up any type of radio or audio interference. It has no microphone! I can only suspect that these could be communication streams for inter-dimensional beings. Time will tell in future experiments. Q: How important is science in the study of paranormal phenomena? Marcus: If you want to understand the exact nature of a phenomenon and hopefully be able to repeat it, you must have a working scientific
theory in order to proceed. If, on the other hand, you are only looking for personal experience, then you do not need science at all. I suggest to all my students that they find a balance between both these scenarios so that they experience the excitement and passion of this field while being able to document and hopefully bring the satisfaction of understanding that comes with knowledge. Q: Have you established any key partnerships that have enabled you to more quickly further your research? Marcus: Other than having a few individuals field-testing for me, I basically go this alone, and all the money needed to finance this project comes out of my pocket. The TransDimensional Transceiver alone costs about $5,000 dollars to build.
Q: Who has influenced you the most in your work and life? Marcus: My heroes are many and include Einstein, Tesla, Dr. Michio Kaku, Robert Monroe of the Monroe Institute, my friend The Amazing Kreskin, Dr. Hans Holzer, Charles Leadbeater, and several others. However, I have to say that the one who had the greatest impact on me was my friend and teacher Dr. Carlos Castaneda, who took me from the shadows of everyday life and opened my eyes, giving me a glimpse of the true nature of the world around me with all its beauty and wonders. Q: Do you sell your inventions? Marcus: No I do not, but I have given them as gifts primarily for testing purposes. I am not in the paranormal field to make a profit. I
Pictured above at left: Gold-Beryllium Boundary Microphone. Marcus Leader gave this model to Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson for use on the TV show Ghost Hunters. This sensitive amplified microphone uses gold-beryllium technology. Pictured above at right: Gold-Beryllium Microphone. This is the current model of the Gold-Beryllium Dynamic Microphone. This is the microphone featured on the TV show Ghost Adventures. There are only about six of these currently in existence.
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Investigator Spotlight do this because I love it, and I want to further our understanding with the hopes of bringing the field of paranormal research to the same level of respectability as the other sciences. Once the equipment is perfected, I may make it available at my cost to a limited number of institutes or individuals. Q: How do you share your research and knowledge with others? Marcus: I share this information openly with all who show interest. This is done from my Websites, as well as through various radio interviews. I have no secrets and will answer any questions about this equipment. Knowledge is worthless unless it can be shared. I also do various workshops and events around the country, and I have a radio show called “The Shamans Brew.” Q: What would our readers be surprised to find out about you?
that I am excited about. One being a new book that I will be completing this year about various Toltec shamanic techniques that have been hidden from the public. This information will also deal with different aspects of our paranormal world. The second project involves a new paranormal television series with a uniquely different approach to paranormal research. It will include me and all my equipment, including some that I could not mention here, my daughter Nicole Leader who is a seasoned investigator and physical medium, my good friend psychic medium Serenity Moore, and my friend and colleague Carly-Rose who is an Independent Direct Voice Communication specialist and physical medium. The series is called Paranormal Crossroads and is not your conventional paranormal investigation series. For one, it isn’t tied to just ghosts or haunted houses. In addition, the leads are all female. We wanted a show that could depict how all of these supernatural and paranormal events were intersecting and influencing pop culture. Therefore, in one episode our investigators might deal with a haunted house. In the next, they may be chasing a UFO. And in the next, they may be tracking an elusive cryptid. We wanted the show to be just what the title suggests — a crossroads or intersection of paranormal activity. The show is produced by Black River Media.
“My biggest ambition and ongoing research project involves understanding and controlling the nature of time.”
Marcus: I’ll never tell! LOL. Seriously though, I think many people would be surprised to learn that my biggest ambition and ongoing research project involves understanding and controlling the nature of time. Yes, I am experimenting with time flow and the possibility of time travel, or at least perceiving information through the illusions of the past. Oddly enough, much of this research originated with my Toltec shamanic training. Toltec shamans were considered the scientists of the shamanic world and understood many things that modern theoretical physicists are just now discovering. Q: Do you have any new equipment currently in development?
Marcus: Yes I have several. Two that I can mention right now are a Paramagnetic resonance meter that measures the ratios of paramagnetic electron spin to diamagnetic spin. Psychic energy is believed to reverse the electron spin of various materials, and being able to measure this ratio will lead to the ability to ‘detect’ psychic or spiritual energy directly. EMF meters only measure physical world energy and therefore only the effects on physical world energy. Nothing known to science today will directly measure spiritual energy, and I have great hopes that this device will come very close to direct measurement. It will also detect attachments and residual hauntings if the device works the way it is designed. So far it works great in the lab.
I also have a special pair of beryllium-coated glasses — which I call Spectral Goggles — that under the proper conditions will show energy anomalies whenever spiritual energy is present. This is still being developed. Q: What plans do you have for the future? Marcus: I plan on continuing my research and expanding it into the field at locations around the country. I also plan on attending as many conferences and events as I can to help educate people in any way I can. I will have some of this equipment with me to give live demonstrations. I also have two other projects
Paranormal Underground August 2009
For more information about Marcus Leader and his work, visit www.leaderresearch.com and www.myspace. com/leaderesearchcenter. To listen to the “Paranormal Underground Presents” podcast with Marcus Leader, visit www.paranormalunderground. net/site/?p=1450.
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August 2009 Paranormal Underground 23
The Truth Is Sometimes Stranger Than Fiction By Cheryl Knight
ichael Kleen’s interest in the paranormal began at the age of eight when his uncle died suddenly. He then realized for the first time that he, too, would one day die and there was nothing he could do about it — and that single thought haunted him. “Everyone wonders what happens after they die, of course, and I’ve always looked for any shred of evidence that a part of me will continue on,” Michael said. So as a child, he read everything he could get his hands on that might reassure him that his soul would endure a physical death. And now, at the age of 27, Michael continues to search for answers to the age-old question: Is there life after death? After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Eastern Illinois University in spring 2006, Michael founded Black Oak Media, an alternative media outlet for Middle American art and culture. He is now the publisher of Black Oak Presents, a digital magazine, and writes a monthly electronic serial, Legends and Lore of Illinois. His research on the paranormal also led him to pen several books
about ghosts and hauntings, having most recently published Legends and Lore of Illinois: Case Files. Michael’s other titles include Tales of the Supernatural and Other Mysteries of the Universe; Ashmore Estates: Myth and Legend; Tales of Coles County; and Six Tales of Terror. “I think ghost stories are oddly comforting for people,” he said. “It makes you think that maybe there
“The paranormal is spontaneous and by its very nature escapes scientific measurement.” is a chance you just won’t blink into nothingness.” Michael’s longtime interest in the paranormal led him to earn a certificate in paranormal research from Flamel College in 2004. And after earning his master’s degree in American history in 2008, he went on to publish One Voice, a collec-
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tion of columns and essays dealing with a wide variety of social ills. Soon after, Michael’s research on Ashmore Estates (once known as the old Coles County Poor Farm), led him to be interviewed for the TV documentaries Children of the Grave 2 and American Horrors: Fear in the Flatlands. In June, Michael’s Web site, www.trueillinoishaunts.com, had 3,008 visits, and his “Haunted Illinois” Facebook group reached 769 members. To find out more about Michael and his research, read on . . . ***** Q: Have you had any paranormal personal experiences that you’d like to share? Michael: I haven’t had very many personal experiences. When I was in elementary school, however, some of my friends and I were convinced that our reflections were really people in a separate dimension, and that they lived parallel lives. We also used to swear that if any of us died before the others, we’d come back and tell about what it was like on the other side. So far no one that I know of has upheld his end of the bargain.
Author and investigator Michael Kleen’s newly published book, The Legends and Lore of Illinois: Case Files, features ghost lore in an exciting, informative, and occasionally controversial format. (Photo: Greg Inda)
Q: How long have you published your newsletter, and what type of response have you gotten from readers? Michael: The Legends and Lore of Illinois is a monthly serial that highlights places of folklore and ghost lore in Illinois that anyone can download and read for free. The first issue came out in January 2007, so it is in its third year. Each issue tries to examine places of folklore in Illinois from a unique angle, including using fiction and humor. The reader response has been great, but varied. It usually falls into three categories: people who love the e-serial, people who have some personal knowledge of one of the
locations I’ve covered, and people who are angry and who blame me for attracting bad things to the locations. The third type is my favorite. One man blamed me personally for the destruction of the old schoolhouse on Shoe Factory Road, even though it was torn down right around the time the issue came out, and despite the fact that I was adamantly opposed to its destruction. I would like nothing better than to see a lot of these places become protected historic sites (Peoria State Hospital, Manteno Hospital, etc). I also get e-mails and messages from people who tell me they have investigated such-and-such location and determined that “it isn’t really haunted.” These messages annoy
me greatly, because it’s obvious the senders don’t really understand why we have ghost stories to begin with. Q: You recently published a book called Legends and Lore of Illinois: Case Files. Tell us about the book and what readers can expect from it. Michael: The book basically consists of the first two years of the Legends and Lore of Illinois, distilled down to its very best. It is split up into three sections. The first section contains an introduction and two stories from the early days of The Fallen. The Fallen are a fictional group of paranormal adventurers who appear in the story that accompanies each issue of the Legends and Lore of Illinois.
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Investigator Spotlight As characters, they appeared in some of my earliest writing, and so I wanted to give my readers a little taste of where they came from and how they met each other. The second section covers all 24 locations featured in the issues from 2007 and 2008. That way, the fans could read the adventures of The Fallen back to back, from start to finish, while also reading about the history and folklore of each location. I included updates to some of them that you won’t read in the old issues of the Legends and Lore of Illinois. The third section contains “ghostly games,” character profiles for The Fallen, and a preview of their upcoming adventure “Black Willow Grove,” which I hope to make into a novel sometime in the next year or so.
Q: You’ve researched a large number of paranormal cases over the years. Which cases stand out as the most intriguing, and why? Michael: I would say one of the most interesting was the Cambridge Death Curve, because in that instance the truth was definitely more horrifying than the fiction.
Q: Have you done any paranormal investigation onsite? Michael: While I used to take an EMF detector and thermometer to every place I visited, my current motto is “leave science to the scientists.” I visit every location covered by the Legends and Lore of Illinois, of course. The serial is very visually-based, so I need to take a lot of pictures. I think the camera is the best friend you can have when going to any reported haunted location. Aside from a tape recorder, all that other equipment is a waste of money, in my opinion. The paranormal is spontaneous and by its very nature escapes scientific measurement. The odds that you will be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time with exactly the right instruments are very, very small. I think it���s better to just go to a place, explore it, and hopefully experience it for yourself.
Michael’s most interesting research project to date involved the case of the Cambridge Death Curve because “the truth was definitely more horrifying than the fiction.” (Photo: Greg Inda)
In 1905, a woman murdered her seven children with an ax and then burned down her house. She intended to kill herself, but survived long enough to confess to the crime. This really happened. The house, as far as I understand, was located at a curve in Timber Ridge Road outside of Cambridge, Illinois. The legend is that you can see the ghost of the woman
Paranormal Underground August 2009
hanging around a nearby barn that has since been demolished. I’ve been to the curve, and it’s eerie to think that something like that happened there. You’d never know it if you were just driving past. Q: You earned a certificate in paranormal research from Flamel College in 2004. Talk about that study program and how it benefited you. Michael: The certificate was earned through a correspondence course. That was back when I was really interested in the whole paranormal investigation side of things. The course instructor was none other than Troy Taylor, and I actually got pretty angry at them because it took almost six months to send me the materials after I mailed the check. The coursework was pretty straightforward and nothing that I didn’t already know how to do, but one interesting side effect was that it made me much more skeptical. One of the assignments for the course was to produce fake ghost photographs using hair, dust, etc., and it turned out that those simple things could explain 99 percent of all ghost photographs I had ever seen. I even showed my fake pictures to a friend who really thought she was looking at images of ghosts. Q: Talk about some of your “favorites.” Michael: I love cheap, old horror movies, but I have a lot of other interests as well. I read a lot of nonfiction, especially military history and folklore, of course. I haven’t read a good novel in a long time, but when I was a kid, I loved those young adult horror series — Phantom Valley by Lynn
Michael’s extensive research on the paranormal led him to pen several books about ghosts and hauntings. He believes that ghost stories are “oddly comforting for people. It makes you think that maybe there is a chance you just won’t blink into nothingness.”
Beach was my favorite. I’m a big Civil War buff. My concentration in grad school was the Civil War era in American history, so I enjoy touring all the old battlefields. I also used to paint miniatures, but lately it seems like all I do is write. Q: Talk about your work with Black Oak Media. Michael: Black Oak Media evolved from my booklet publishing business, Black Oak Press Illinois. I wanted to expand the operation to include all kinds of media, but so far Black Oak Media has concerned itself primarily with Black Oak Presents, our digital magazine, and the Legends and Lore of Illinois. Black Oak Presents is a quarterly journal of Middle American art and culture. We want to attract and highlight local artists, writers, and musicians from “flyover country” who would otherwise be shut out of the mainstream media. I want to give people a chance to see their work published, a chance that most of the big name publishers wouldn’t give. The media titans on
the East and West Coasts only care about the bottom line. At Black Oak Media, we care about the vitality of our local communities. As an artist, you don’t have to have a million fans to have an impact, and we want to show our readers and contributors that their work isn’t in vain. Q: What future book projects are you working on?
Michael is a Civil War buff who loves old horror movies and reading nonfiction. Michael: I am currently hard at work trying to finish a book for Schiffer Books on haunted places in Illinois. I know, you’re thinking, not another one. But trust me, my book will be very different from the ones
that have come before it. I will be the first author of a book on Illinois ghost lore to formally cite his sources, so any reader may go back and track down where I got my information. I also correct some of the historical and geographic inaccuracies that have been reprinted over and over again in previous works. I draw from a number of sources: interviews, books, records, news articles, and my own experience in order to provide an in-depth look at around 20-25 locations, some of which have never been written about before. Q: How can people find out more about your books and newsletter? Michael: The book, Legends and Lore of Illinois: Case Files, can be ordered from Amazon.com or directly from Lulu.com at: www.lulu. com/content/5851334. All current and past issues of the Legends and Lore of Illinois can be found and downloaded at http://trueillinoishaunts.com. And my personal Website is www.michaelkleen.com.
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Into the Grid By Karen Frazier
hen I was a teenager decided to do an alternate dimenher artwork on her Website, www. growing up in Bellingsions and parallel universe-themed bergsma.com, as well as at her gallery/ ham, Washington, my magazine, I knew who I wanted to warehouse in Bellingham. mother brought home gorgeous interview for it. Jody was kind enough to rewater color prints of kids, called Bergsma’s art can be found all cently sit down with Jim and I for Dreamkeepers. The artist was around the world. Along with origian interview at her home in Belling“new” on the scene, freshly out of nals, her work is found illustrating ham, Washington. college. Her name was Jody Bergsbooks, on greeting cards, bookmarks, ***** ma, and her art quickly became a and prints. You can find more of Q: Tell me about the themes in large part of my life. Since receivyour art. ing that first water color as a kid, I’ve had at least one Bergsma in Jody: I do a blog every week. I do my home at any given time. a photo journal so people can see Since 1979, Bergsma has had a what I am working on. This year, I prolific and extremely well-acceptwas commissioned by Yellowstone ed career. Her art encompasses a National Park to do artwork for number of themes, from her early them. Even in these, there’s geomDreamkeepers series to paintings etry hidden there. of nature, Native American themes I was raised in the San Juan Isand symbolism, as well as abstract lands, and I’ve had a lot of experiart. Her most recent venture is ence with sea life that shows up in abstract oils — something she has my art. I do a lot of nature. Pretty always wanted to do. much anything in nature speaks to When Jim and I were newlyme and finds its way into my art. weds, we were in Jody Bergsma’s Dragonflies are very geometrically gallery one day on a visit to Bellbased, so sometimes the geometry ingham. Luckily, Jody was in the is in the creature. The segments at gallery that day, and she agreed to the end of the dragonfly are amazsign the work of art that still hangs ing. They are predictable. on our guest room wall. While she was signing it, she Q: How many paintings have you mentioned almost casually that Illustrator, author, designer, and figurative painter done? she put images from alternate diJody Bergsma’s work has garnered world-wide Jody: Thousands. I do a painting mensions in her artwork. I always recognition for more than 30 years. (All images: a week. Since I have started doing remembered that, and when we © Jody Bergsma – www.bergsma.com) oils, I will do abstract oils and
Paranormal Underground August 2009
watercolors simultaneously. It is my 30th anniversary of being in business this year. Q: Tell me about how you got started as an artist. Jody: In ’79, it was the end of a 10year run where I showed my work in art shows. I did art shows for 10 years. That is how I paid my way in the world and put myself through college. I was finishing up my engineering degree, and I made $14,000 in one month with my art as I was finishing up my finals. I was dating an engineer at the time, and he said, “You’d better give this art thing a try.” I’d gone from doing only originals to prints. I know they say you can’t make any money painting, but you certainly can with printing. If you handle your art as a business and don’t make your art a journal where you only do one painting occasionally, it is a different scenario. There is a book called Outliers: The Story of Success. In the book, they show that people put in 10,000 hours before they really break into the genius level. I definitely put in my 10,000 hours in those 10 years. If you do your 10,000 hours, people don’t realize there are circumstances that make you break into your genius. I got my 10 years and that is when it broke open for me. It was as if I had just arrived on the scene. Q: As a child, I had your Dream Keepers paintings in my room. Was this your first artwork? Jody: I’d always wanted to be an abstract artist, so I did abstract pieces at the same time as I did more commercial Dream Keepers pieces, but I didn’t make money from the abstracts. They were very astral plane type of work. In this area in 1979, I
Jody has incorporated her experiences with alternate dimensions in her artwork. Pictured above: “Butterfly Magic . . . Dreams of Transformation”
just don’t think people were ready for them. But as I went along, I had people employed, and I had to run a business, so these abstracts that I loved had to take a back seat. If you look at these pieces that I did early on — the abstract pieces —
you will find them in my art now as elements of a picture. Q: What is your inspiration for your spiritually themed artwork? Jody: For years, I had a series of dreams that were like getting into
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Artist Spotlight Q: If you put something like the geometry from a crop circle in your painting, is it then an attempt to aid consciousness?
Nature, geometry, and even meditation influence Jody’s artwork.
a piece of geometry and working my way through it. The ability to connect with our inner-world, outerworld landscapes is so vast. Those dreams fueled the works. Did I paint the dreams? Well, I had to get into a moment of the dream and paint the essence of it. My dreams are the focal point of my inspirations. I also use sacred geometry as a basis for art. Geometrical forms are the basis for the unfolding of all molecular bodies. Consciousness can unfold from geometry. In the Middle East, they are famous for the use of sacred geometry because they would put it in their carpets. They believed that the influence of the geometry in the carpets would help their lives unfold in a more perfect pattern. Your life is a reflection of your environment, so pay attention to it. Good spaces, good paintings, good energy becomes the place from which you launch yourself into the world. In all of my work, underlying this composition is geometrical form. There are examples in my work that it is just blatant.
I just got the best e-mail from a friend who takes people to Europe to look at crop circles. They are a fantastic piece of geometry. You can bet it will be in a painting. Without a doubt. Q: Since you mention crop circles, what do you think they are? Jody: I’ve been to crop circles in Europe, and I’ve talked to Ross Holcombe, who takes people to Europe to experience crop circles. He shows that some can be manmade — but some will have holes in the field hundreds of feet away with no footsteps. The thing is, some of them simply couldn’t have been made by people. If some can’t, that opens the question, what are crop circles? How can we know? Does the energy come from inside of the Earth and spiral out? Does it come from the sun or the stars? Nobody knows. I believe that symbols penetrate the psyche. It goes in and becomes impregnated in our minds as a piece of sacred geometry that will change our consciousness.
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Jody: What happens is that these are hidden in the artwork and people put that artwork on their wall — then someone experiences the piece of geometry. All of those things, according to Plato; he wouldn’t let people enter any of his schools unless they’d studied geometry and passed all of his exams. So they had to meditate on geometry for years. The discussion about geometry is very old. The flower of life is a piece of geometry. We are bombarded with chaos, but if you take the time to meditate and refocus on something that is organized, it affects your cells. It is like walking a labyrinth — it imprints a moment of sacred geometry into you, so you live it. I wanted to see who were the caretakers of geometry for every culture, and how was it manifested. Women in all cultures have done geometry. In our culture, it is quilting. In the Native American culture, it is basket weaving. In all cultures, it is rug weaving. Apparently women are the caretakers for that. Q: Do you have a favorite genre or style for your art? Jody: You live in the moment. What you do in that day is what you are excited about. Whatever I am doing that day, I am thrilled. Q: Did you grow up in the church? What is the genesis of how you arrived where you are? Jody: I was Dutch conservative. I had a very conservative and hardworking upbringing. The hardworking gene paid off. As I got older and started reading different philosophers and saw how many different
Characters from Jody’s works have been adapted as plush toys, stained glass, figurines, sculpture, and jewelry. Pictured at left: “Faeries. Incredible Things Happen” Pictured above: “Some Things Have to Be Believed to Be Seen”
world thoughts there have been, I realized that there’s not one truth. Nobody seems to think the same thing. My conclusion could only be that everything is okay. As long as you can embrace that and you don’t judge others, then you can really have community. Lao Tsu said, “Nothing stops the flow.” All of these great minds said don’t judge, live in the moment, and experience the beauty of life. Q: Do you have any artistic influences? Jody: Yes. When I was little, we had Van Gogh prints in my home. My earliest influence that impregnated my psyche was beautiful pieces of Van Gogh’s work. I love those pieces. I made a personal journey — others go to Mecca, but mine was to Holland — to go to the Van Gogh museum. I stood in front of the paintings
and was so filled with the energy of his moment and the power of his ability to capture feeling in paintings. It turned my life around. These were the paintings I knew as a child. To see them in real time — it changed me. The way that children are exposed to art in your home, the things they see, it will definitely leave an imprint on them. Q: Once, I was in your gallery and you were signing a piece of artwork for me. You mentioned that you had seen inside of alternate dimensions and that you put them in your artwork. Could you expound on this? Jody: When I was younger and was first introduced to sitting still and meditation, I had this experience where I would go into a dark space and drop through the floor. I would call it going into grid world — it was like being inside of a holodeck. So
I would go into grid world, and it felt like the reality behind the reality you see. It was interesting to see how energy is spiraling out of the grid and creating our experiences. Maybe it was a response to too much Star Trek as a child — but who knows where these things come from. But it was a consistent experience. And then I saw Alex Grey’s paintings. He totally paints the grid. He paints the geometry behind things. There was all of this undulating line — I’m not sure how or why it manifested, but you can see in my work an artist’s attempt to do abstract impressionism. There are all of these things in one’s experience that roll out as part of the creation. Art is so raw. It is really first impression. It is like inner structure on a microscopic level. It is a grid. But in the grid, there are energy pulses that pop up — like through a glass ceiling — so it is how we see everything.
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Inspired by nature, Jody incorporates many land animals and sea life into her work. Pictured above from left to right: “Wild Alaska”; “River Woman”; and “The Three Watchmen” Pictured on the next page: “Phoenix Rising . . . Victorious Journey of the Brave Spirit”
Q: Do you believe that it is all a grid and an illusion — that you can create your own reality? Jody: I do. I believe that the mind is so much more incredibly powerful than we can imagine. I read a book called The Answer, and there is a chapter about how the universe works. It was good to have it spelled out in kindergarten terms. It was nice to learn that energy is made of consciousness. When you have an inner explosion in the world of idea, the gears turn, it moves energy, energy moves the matter, and the whole world spins off of the concept behind what is energy. If that’s true, and people don’t understand that what they think about matters, then I don’t know what to tell them. Q: Do you think we’re moving to a different level of consciousness as a species?
Jody: Everything is evolving. I love wondering about the next phase of our evolution. I don’t know. But everything is moving and everything is evolving. Q: Do you believe in spirit guides? Jody: Yep. There are so many things that we don’t see supporting us. I’m not really clairaudient — I don’t hear them. But I have a visual gift where I can see things with my imagination. I have symbols that flash into my mind day and night. Sometimes I paint them because the images are very significant. Sometimes I am also given a title. Q: When you see a symbol and put it in a painting, do you always know what it means? Jody: No, and sometimes it will be like a little bit of fog, and you can’t quite see it. It is like a child looking
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at a snow bank and hearing a story. They have their eyes on the snow bank, but they have images in their mind. Two things are happening at the same time, and they can perceive both. They are picturing the story as images in their minds — the symbols behind the story being told. That could be the beginning of our ability to be linked without words. I had an experience in France. I didn’t speak French. People would be talking to me, but I could also feel the thought behind what they were saying as symbols that I could see in my mind. In that way, I could understand what they were saying to me. Q: Do your paintings appear fully formed in your mind? Jody: Yes — and the painting is always almost identical to the original image I have. When I first did the work in the
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Artist Spotlight ’80s with the Lummi tribe, I had to meet with the Shaman to get permission to work with their symbols. I got permission. Every time the Shaman would come around me, my mind would fill with Shamanic symbols that showed up in my art. I had some very powerful experiences with Native American Symbols. When I started painting Kachinas, I was warned by a Hopi that those were entities identifiable by the tribe, so if I painted them, I would call them. As I was finishing up with the Kachina painting, a storm rolled in and my whole property was filled with lightning. There were more lightning strikes in this immediate area than there have ever been in Bellingham. I put the painting down and said, “I’m finished — please don’t light my house on fire.” It stopped. I never did a Kachina painting again. It was the most energy that I’ve ever experienced. The lightning would go around the window. I’ve had really wild experiences with painting Native American things. As a painter — it has been great. You can’t help but experience a spiritual life. When you do a painting and meditate on it for a long time, things happen. Q: Does your painting come from you or through you? Jody: Carl Jung said that we’re all connected from the unconscious mind or the super conscious. The super conscious mind always finds a way to come out as image, song — whatever. Great geniuses are somehow connected more clearly to this vast field. The ability to be a genius — what does that mean? People have the ability to recognize genius and
genius and one hit of genius is humility. Jody: Humility is an act that you consciously embark upon to keep the ego at bay. Q: How do you keep your ego at bay?
Jody has led a disciplined art career, creating up to 60 paintings a year since 1980.
take something away from it. Read brilliant writing, look at brilliant painting, listen to brilliant music — and for a moment they are connected to God. Q: What do you think is the difference between sustained genius and one who has a single work of genius? Jody: If you understand the work of ego, ego can mask the ability to connect to the collective mind. If ego explodes, it shuts the gate and no more genius comes through. Everyone recognizes a moment of genius. It is a rush. People like genius because it causes them to rush. Tumescence of the body it is called. Those geniuses are everywhere. It puts the color into life. Q: So then it sounds like what you are saying is that you believe the difference between sustained
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Jody: I always recognize that what happens in the moment is a gift, and I never allow myself to run away with self-importance. I believe in equality between every person. I am not better than anyone. That keeps the ego down. If people fantasize about how important they are or are incredibly vain, then the ego controls them and it is almost like an alien takeover. Where’s your true self in all of that? The ego can’t stand to not be the most important person in the room. If you want to be able to stay in contact with that greater mind, which is where real genius comes from — practice can allow you to pull the reins in. Piety can be a form of ego success — it can fool people at every turn. There’s a freshness about people who keep their ego down. There is something that feels real about them. Q: If somebody is just getting started in the creative arts, what is the advice you’d give them? Jody: Put in your 10,000 hours. All of a sudden, one day the key is turned on and it becomes automatic. Put in all of those hours of practice. When you practice, you cannot help but improve. That is how it is in life. It doesn’t have to be art. Whatever it is a person is passionate about, put in the hours of practice.
To find out more about Jody Bergsma and her work, visit www. bergsma.com.
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Ready or Not, Welcome to th By Karen Frazier, with Jim Frazier
was listening to quantum physicist Brian Greene one morning on the radio. Greene is the author of the quantum physics for the everyman book, The Elegant Universe. He was talking about the implications of all of the discoveries made in quantum physics in recent history. Teleportation is already fact. Sure, not in the Star Trek kind of way, but scientists have already teleported small units of matter. String theory has postulated — and seems to point to — the existence of a multiverse. What does this mean? Parallel universes, baby. Seems like they may, indeed, exist. Imagine it. One quantum event in some other universe and there could be a world where Hitler never came to power or the September 11, 2001, U.S. terrorist attacks never happened. In the lab, scientists are growing body parts from tissue. They’ve grown an ear and a kidney. There may be hope for the Viagra crowd yet. Real Discoveries or the Stuff of Science Fiction? The implications of each of these things are mind-boggling. This is the stuff of science fiction, and yet on
a small scale, it is happening in our universe — in our world — right now. Ready or not, here it comes. Our sci fi future is on the way, and as these changes make their way from labs to real life, it can forever change the way the human race lives. Looking back on the past 100 years, the sheer volume of scientific advancement and the profound effect it has had on human lifestyle is stunning. Often I’ve been left scratching my head, unable to imagine where on Earth we can go from here. What will there be 100 years from now? How will our great-grandchildren live their lives, and will they look back at our ways as primitive and difficult? Science continues to advance. Discovery continues, and we’re far from done with new technologies. Thirty years ago, I couldn’t talk on the phone while driving my car. Now, I shouldn’t — it’s illegal in my state without a hands-free system. Thirty years ago, there was no such thing as a blogosphere. Now, I gratefully use it. Who knows where we are going as a species. Are we continuing to evolve, or are we hurtling toward extinction? Twenty generations down
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According to the Many Worlds Interpretation, when of the possibilities continue on along their own tra of the other possibilities existing because his obser
Here it Comes: he Sci Fi Future the line, what will humans be like? Some have postulated that the human species is, indeed, evolving. This evolution, they say, is a spiritual one. Is it? Maybe. Only time will tell. Ready or not, science and technology are advancing. All we can do is hang on and go along for the ride.
Parallel Universes: The Many Worlds Interpretation The brilliant Richard Feynman once said, “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.” I am among the people of whom he was speaking. Quantum mechanics is mind boggling at best. It is insanely complicated. All I understand are tiny bits and pieces of it. Quantum physicist Hugh Everett came up with the Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics. His interpretation is widely accepted — though hotly debated. The quickest way to explain the Many Worlds Interpretation is this: quantum particles remain in a state of quantum superposition where all possibilities exist until an observer never a superposition of all possible states exists, all comes along and determines the outcome (for more information about ajectory; however, the observer is unaware of each rvation was placed on only one particular outcome. this, you can wiki Schroedinger’s Cat or read my article on quantum phys-
ics in the August 2008 Paranormal Underground issue.) As soon as the observer is present, the outcome is determined in that universe in which the phenomenon was observed. The Many Worlds Interpretation of this states that even though the observer saw one outcome, all other possible outcomes still exist — in different worlds. Are Many Worlds Really Possible? According to the Many Worlds Interpretation, whenever a superposition of all possible states exists, all of the possibilities continue on along their own trajectory; however, the observer is unaware of each of the other possibilities existing because his observation was placed on only one particular outcome. Simply stated on a grand scale . . . suppose you came to Door A and Door B. You choose to go through Door A, and your life continues on from there. However, in another universe that was created at the very moment that you selected Door A, you went through Door B, and your universe continued on from there. When you consider the granularity of the universe — that is on how small and dense of a scale that
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Quantum teleportation: Because of Heisenberg’s principle, which states that you can’t determine a particle’s position and its momentum at the same time (to determine momentum you have to destroy position and to determine position you have to destroy momentum), it is impossible to create an exact replica.
quantum events occur — the number of Door A/Door B decisions becomes mind boggling. According to my husband, Jim, it is 10 to the 99th power. That’s why he’s the coauthor, folks. I couldn’t pull that number out of a hat all by myself. I would have just called it a craploadillion. If the Many Worlds Interpretation is, indeed, a reality, then who are we really? If craploadillions of universes exist and we’re in a lot of them, then how are we here in this one? Is this just the universe that we chose to observe? And in the other universes — are those people us — or are they someone else entirely? Since we are a product of our experiences, can we really be ourselves in a different universe where our experiences are different? How does this whole thing really work? Does our attention jump
between universes, but we’re only aware of ourselves in the present universe, and so we are unaware of all of those other versions of ourselves (including this one) depending on where we are? *Poof* My head just exploded. Feynman was right. How can we truly understand something so complex? But it just goes to show you —
sibility or a snippet from a Sci Fi (make that SyFy) film. In actuality, teleportation has been performed in the lab with consistent results on increasingly larger pieces of matter. Nothing as large as a living, breathing being, but still. Here’s the catch with teleportation. It doesn’t move an object from place to place. Instead, it destroys said object and recreates its exact replica in a different location. Well — almost its exact replica. Because of Heisenberg’s principle, which states that you can’t determine a particle’s position and its momentum at the same time (to determine momentum you have to destroy position and to determine position you have to destroy momentum), it is impossible to create an exact replica. But you can come pretty darn close. When an object is being teleported, it isn’t quite exactly the same as
Since we are a product of our experiences, can we really be ourselves in a different universe where our experiences are different?
our universe is far more complicated than we can ever imagine. Quantum Teleportation: More Than a Possibility I mentioned earlier that teleportation was more than a pos-
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the object that was destroyed. But it’s close enough for government work. Can Living Things Be Teleported? This brings all sorts of questions to mind. As scientists work with teleporting larger and larger particles, eventually there is going to come a time where what they decide they’d like to try and teleport is something living. What will the consequences be of such an attempt? When you destroy a living being and make an exact copy, how exact will that copy be? According to Brian Greene, it is likely that the differences will be so minute — a cell here and there — that from a grand scale, you would never know it wasn’t an exact copy. But what if consciousness is a quantum function? What if some little element that moves around here or there in the destruction, copying, and recreation is that teeny tiny particle that makes us US? Then what? Not only that, but if you take me — a decided original — destroy me, copy me, and put me back together as exact of a copy as possible under Heisenberg’s principle, will I still be me? If I have had all of my memories copied, destroyed, and recreated, and if I have had my consciousness copied, destroyed, and recreated, what will I be in that new place where I’ve been moved. Is an exact copy me, or is it now something else entirely? Are You Ready for a Jetsons Reality? These are the things to ponder as we move forward into a Sci Fi future. Quantum theories are making all sorts of interesting technologies that we once thought we would only see on an episode of The Jetsons a potential reality. Ready or not, here it comes.
What Is the Large Hadron Collider?
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a CERN particle accelerator housed underground near Geneva, Switzerland, was created to help find out what the universe is made of and how it works.
ERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centers for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics — finding out what the universe is made of and how it works. Recently, CERN built the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a particle accelerator. Built underground near Geneva, Switzerland, it is a circular tunnel that is 27 KM long and is underground at a depth of 50 to 175 meters. The particle accelerator operates at a temperature of about 2 Kelvin. That’s -456.07 °F. In these freezing temperatures, particles will be accelerated and essentially crashed into one another at breathtakingly high rates of speeds. (It will take about 90 microseconds for a particle to travel around the entire ring.) It was built with the hopes of pro-
ducing the Higgs boson, a hypothetical quantum particle that is predicted to exist. Why is the Higgs boson interesting, you ask? First, because it is only predicted, not proven. Secondly, because it could go a long way to explaining why something that is without mass (i.e., energy) could be converted to something with mass (i.e., matter). If/when that happens, the possibilities become endless. It could also help to explain why gravity is such a weak force compared to the other forces. The implications for scientific understanding of the quantum universe are huge. The first test run broke the accelerator, but it is back up and running. Unless the fabric of the universe is torn during a collision, we may soon learn more about the mysteries of our universe.
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Case Files of the Unknown: Haunted Sites
Kingdom of Shadows: The Phantoms of England
By Rick E. Hale, The Greater Illinois Ghost Society
hroughout my years of paranormal research, I have learned one fundamental truth, if you own a home in Great Britain and it isn’t haunted, well you aren’t doing something right. Is it really any wonder why a land that has known so much conquest, war, and bloodshed is home to a myriad of ghostly denizens? But what of those locations in old Blighty that are not associated with kings and queens and their betrayal? Are they any less interesting because some poor woman was unfortunate enough to marry a king who rather enjoyed his pastries a little bit too much, and is now said to go running down the long corridors of a moldy old castle sans a head? I really do not think so. The locations that we will be covering are just as interesting as the same old pabulum that gets milled out in books ad nauseam and drilled into our heads until we can take no more. So as I always say, sit back, pour a pint, and enjoy. The Haunting of Les Enfants Among child psychologists a debate rages: Is it healthy or unhealthy for a child to have an imaginary friend? Those who are pro imaginary buddy feel that it is perfectly fine for a child to have an unseen
Liverpool’s Les Enfants Day Nursery is said to be home to a helpful spirit named ‘Mr.’
friend, especially if they live in an isolated area with little to no contact with children their own age. However, others feel that such behavior shows the early signs of serious mental illness and these hallucinations should be dealt with before the child goes, well, totally insane. I wonder what these learned men of the human psyche would
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have to say about Liverpool’s Les Enfants Day Nursery. Since the 1990s, Les Enfants day nursery has been offering excellent care for small children of the families where the Fab Four hail from. Although the day care appears to be a place of fun, Les Enfants Day Nursery would also appear to be home to numerous ghosts.
Over the years, staff and clients have reported witnessing strange phenomena that transcends the realm of human understanding. Staff have reported hearing what sounds like the footsteps of a large man walking down the hallways, as well as the sound of doors and windows opening and slamming shut. But when they go to investigate these noises, they find that they are the only person, at least alive, in the building. Staff have also complained of feeling cold spots that seem to travel around the building, as well as the eerie sensation of being watched. If Les Enfants is a place where children are supposed to feel safe and secure, then who could this entity possibly be? The children seem to have an answer for this. Many of the children have come to staffers and claimed to see a large man dressed in a dark suit standing in the corners and in the day care’s rooms. ‘Mr.’, the children simply call him, appears to not be a dangerous apparition, but just a very mischievous one. Staffers have watched as toys roll through the building in full view of many witnesses. And on very rare occasions they have seen the full-bodied apparition of this kindly ghost walking hand in hand with one of the living clients. Just who is ‘Mr.’ and why do the children enjoy his company so much? The building that the day care occupies is a former morgue, and it is believed that ‘Mr.’ may just be one of the former clients who decided to hang around after death. An Evil Spirit at the Ostrich Inn & Pub If the love of money is the root of all evil, then it should come as no wonder that the Ostrich Inn & Pub, a popular watering hole in Derby, England, is home to some restless
The Ostrich Inn & Pub in Derby, England, features a hospitable staff, comfy rooms, and lively pub — not to mention disembodied voices and shadow people.
dead who were once the victim of this line of thought. Originally opened in the late Middle Ages, staffers and patrons have witnessed numerous examples of paranormal phenomena over its long and dark history. Legend says that many centuries ago the pub was operated by a rather nasty fellow, named Jarmen, who had a deep-seeded contempt for the rich folks who oftentimes frequented his establishment. Jarmen did not believe it was right that he should have to work so hard for these snooty rich brats who threw wild parties, often tearing up the place and leaving without even so much as apology. Jarmen was one of the original class warriors, I guess you could say, and would take that class warfare to the extreme. Not only was Jarmen a humble barkeep, he was also a brilliant inventor, well at least brilliant in a
sick, twisted, murderous way. Jarmen devised a machine to attach itself to the beds of his inn and when the rich patrons would bed down for the night, all he had to do was turn a crank and the beds would tip their sleeping occupants down a tunnel that led to a giant vat of boiling oil. While the rich folk boiled southern fried style, Jarmen would ransack their rooms looking for any and all valuables that were left behind. It is not clear if Jarmen was ever apprehended and made to pay for his crimes, but I’m sure if he was, the punishment fit the crime. And if he wasn’t I’m sure the spirits of these murdered patrons made his life a living hell, and they certainly still appear to be doing just that. Those who have worked and owned the Ostrich have claimed to come into contact with some pretty pissed-off specters over the years. Many claim that the pantry area is
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Case Files of the Unknown: Haunted Sites be, many believe that it is his spirit that haunts the building as he tries to make others just as miserable as he was in life. The first reported victim of this terrible spirit was a maid whose name has been lost to history. Shortly after Meyer’s death, the young woman moved in and quickly set up residence in the upper floor of the house. Her stay, unfortunately, would be short lived. Soon after she moved in, people walking past the building heard the blood curdling scream of the young woman escape from the bedroom window on the top floor. Concerned that a woman was being attacked, several men broke the door down and raced up the stairs to find the young maid huddled in a corner of the bedroom. Later, the young woman would die of fear in an insane asylum. When questioned what brought her to this low state, her only response was the dark thing that lived in the house. The ghost of 50 Berkeley Square had claimed its first victim. The second victim would come years later when a skeptical gentleman wanted to spend the night and disprove that the What Stalks 50 Berkeley home was haunted. The gent got far more than he bargained Square? Some claim that London’s 50 Berkeley Square is one of for. The night of his vigil, he told When one reads about the most haunted houses in England. a couple friends that if he rang ghostly Britain, we often learn the bell once, he was settled in about Borley Rectory, which Mr. Meyers, a man who was said and comfy. However, if he rang the has long had the dubious distincto have lost his mind after the death bell twice, they should come to his aid tion of being considered the most of his wife, locked himself away in because something was amiss. haunted house in England. Howhis bedroom and never came into Around midnight, the gent’s ever, one home, in my humble contact with the outside world. It friends were roused from their opinion, has the burnt-out husk of was only a few months later when slumber when the bell rang once Borley beat hands down. That house family came calling and discovered and then several times. When they is London’s 50 Berkeley Square. Meyers dead in his bed. He was a ran upstairs, they discovered their Throughout the late 19th Century, sad, miserable old man who died of intrepid friend dead in a corner of 50 Berkeley Square was known as a broken heart. Sad as this story may the room, his face a mask of terror. the most haunted home in the Britthe most haunted — and for good reason. Legend states that Jarmen hid the remains of his victims in the pantry until he was able to dispose of their crispy bodies. Folks have claimed they get a feeling of dread while standing in the pantry, as if someone is standing behind them. Others have seen the wispy forms of people dressed in the fashions of the time flitting about the establishment. Others have heard voices and screams rending the night in two. The pantry, however, is not the only home to a feeling of dread; many claim that the master bedroom, where many of those ancient patrons met their fate, is said to be inhabited by a large black specter that is said to give off a sensation of pure evil. Those who have dared to stay the night in this room have run out screaming that something evil was trying to kill them. I wonder if this ghost is Jarmen? All I can say about the Ostrich is this: If you happen to visit this establishment, don’t go flashing your wad of cash about, because if Jarmen still has his way, you may never leave the inn alive.
ish Isles. It is home to a horrendous spirit that not only scares the bejeezus out of the good people of London, but can also claim a body count. Many who research the spirit that stalks the upper floors of the building believe they can trace it back to an insane recluse who hated society and locked himself away from the outside world.
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Perhaps one of the most dramatic stories of deaths in the home occurred to a couple of sailors who made the mistake of choosing the empty home for a place to lay their weary heads. Around midnight, one of the sailors fled the home in terror and ran down the street looking for a cop. When he found a constable, he told a wild story of a giant black form that attacked him and a friend and only he was able to escape. When they returned to the house they discovered his companion laying in a bloody mess on the sidewalk in front of the house. To escape this terror that came in the night, the young sailor crashed through the window of the upper floor and died from his fall. Today the house is quiet and home to the Maggs Brothers Antiquarian Booksellers. There is no longer talk of an evil shadowy mass that has killed some and driven others mad. However, one must beg the question, is the evil entity that once lurked at Londonâ€™s 50 Berkeley Square truly gone, or is it just biding its time, watching and waiting for its next victim? Call me stupid, but I would spend the night; that would be fun. The Insanity of Fairfield Hospital There is a question that has plagued paranormal researchers since the beginning: Does a person, in death, have the same personality as they did in life? I have always maintained the simple belief that if you are a decent person in life you will be decent in death. However, if you are a major douchebag in life, well . . . I think you get the point. Another question I pose is this: If a mentally ill person dies, will their spirit retain that disability? Perhaps the ghosts of Fair-
Witnesses claim that former patients still stalk the empty halls of Fairfield Hospital in Arlesey, England.
field Hospital in Arlesey, England, can answer that. Prior to the enlightened 20th Century, folks who suffered from mental illness were a grossly misunderstood lot. Oftentimes, if a person showed any signs of madness they were thrown into an insane asylum and, more often than not, were virtually forgotten by friends and family and considered a blemish on the family name. On March 8, 1860, Fairfield Hospital, originally known as Three Counties Asylum in Arlesey, Bed-
cutting edge for the time, if it was like other asylums of the age, it was undoubtedly a cold, impersonal hellhole where murders and suicides occurred on a daily rate. At its height in 1936, the gothic building was home to well over a thousand patients of some of the most violently insane. It would not be until 1999 when the British government closed its doors for good as part of the Care In the Community act of 1981. The remaining patients were sent to their families to live out their days without proper mental
. . . they discovered their intrepid friend dead in a corner of the room, his face a mask of terror. fordshire, opened its doors and took in three male and three female patients when the Bedford Lunatic Asylum closed its doors after numerous decades of operation. Although Three Counties was considered
healthcare, and many continued their violent behavior. And although the building sits as an empty reminder of the former days of inadequate healthcare, it would seem that many former patients never left.
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Case Files of the Unknown: Haunted Sites
Since the 1960s, visitors to Badbury Rings in Blandford, Dorset, have described ghostly apparitions and dwarf-like creatures roaming about.
Over the years, those brave enough to traverse its lonely halls have been witness to some strange, and oftentimes frightening, ghostly phenomenon. It has been reported that the mentally ill spirits of Fairfield hospital have been witnessed breaking out windows in the building, and terrifying screams have been heard throughout the hulking edifice. Some have even claimed to have been attacked, suffering great injury at the unseen hands of the former patients that are said to still stalk the halls of Fairfield Hospital. Arlesey residents and visitors alike have witnessed spirits of former patients walking around the building in the robes they wore in life, seemingly wandering about as lost spirits. In 2003, the Sean Connery flick Requiem was filmed behind the walls of the old insane asylum. Not much is known whether or not the cast and crew experienced any kind of activity while shooting, but according to the residents of Arlesey, Fairfield Hospital is a frightening place that should be left alone. The Hell That Is Badbury Rings War is Hell as the old clichĂŠ states, and with its millennia rich history of war, conquest, and bloodshed, it should come as no surprise that not only are homes and castles
places of paranormal activity, but even ground appears to be haunted in the case of Badbury Rings in Blandford, Dorset. Like many megalithic sites in England, archeologists believe that the Badbury Rings predate the druids by almost 1,000 years. Researchers believe that the original structure of concentric rings was constructed around 700 BCE and was used as a place of worship by these ancient peoples. However, it would not be until 43 CE that the Badbury Rings
the ancient history of war in England. And since its opening to the public, numerous apparitions have been witnessed in and around the rings that would tell of its bloody past. One apparition seen often is a battlescarred Roman warrior on his mighty steed who rides out from the rings and chases the unlucky visitors away. Those who have witnessed this terrifying spirit said that it came so close they could feel the hot breath of the horse on the back of their necks. Others have reported witnessing a disfigured dwarf-type creature wandering around the car park warning those who come to pay a visit to Badbury Rings that they would be better off leaving. Some visitors witnessed an old woman in a bloodsoaked, black dress fading in and out of existence on the road leading to the Rings. But perhaps the most dramatic ghostly sighting was a spectral reenactment of the battle where so many lost their lives so long ago in defense of their country from an aggressive invading force.
An old woman in a blood-soaked, black dress is said to fade in and out of existence on the road leading to Badbury Rings. would gain its reputation as a location of grim death. In 43 CE, Badbury was one of the last of the ancient Celtic holdouts and a place of defense against the invading Roman armies. Sadly though, the Romans eventually won out and all those who dared stand against Caesarâ€™s legions were slaughtered and ushered into an eternity of silence. Or were they? Since the 1960s, Badbury Rings has been a major tourist destination for those who wish to get a taste of
Paranormal Underground August 2009
If you plan on visiting an ancient site in England, forget about Stonehenge, Badbury Rings in Blandford, Dorset, is where itâ€™s at. These are only a few examples of the paranormal deliciousness that awaits you in the land of tea and crumpets. There are so many places and locations in England that are said to be haunted, it would take forever and a day to list them all. Great Britain is most definitely a Kingdom of Shadows and shows no signs of changing anytime soon.
Paranormal Underground Is Holding Its . . . 2nd Annual Short Story Contest (See page 67 for more details)
Submissions due by September 1. E-mail stories to: firstname.lastname@example.org
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 45
Case Files of the Unknown: Paranormal History
A Story of High Speculation By Chad Wilson
he subject of time travel has always fascinated man. Who would not jump at the opportunity to change a mistake from the past or try to use future knowledge to their advantage? It seems that the Nazi regime was fascinated with time travel as well. And steeped in Nazi Mysticism, Die Glocke (or The Bell as it is more commonly referred to), has been purported to be many things, a power source, a weapon, and even a time machine. Because the Germans refused to use what they considered Jewish Science, which followed the Theory of Relativity, they chose to pursue Nikola Tesla’s theories instead. Scalar Theory, as The Bell is reputed to deal with, gave them a different route to scientific achievement, separate than that which the Allies took. Unconventional to say the least, the Nazis’ methods were said to produce some strange results, including the creation of The Bell. In this article, I’ve interwoven a fictional account of what could have possibly happened surrounding the final whereabouts of The Bell, along with nonfictional eyewitness accounts and other theories about The Bell being connected to the Kecksburg UFO crash of 1965.
Rendering of the alleged configuration of Die Glocke.
General Hans Kammler walked across the tarmacadam, the massive Junkers Ju 390 a dark shadow against the coming night. The workers from the concentration camp were moving the last of the equipment aboard. When finished, the SS troops overseeing the loading of the plane had their orders. Even now, another
Paranormal Underground August 2009
group of prisoners were digging the final resting place for both groups. His grey overcoat flapped in the cool breeze, blowing in from the Sudenten Mountains to the South East. Their flight plan was to head due North for Bodo, Norway, and then on to Argentina, where work on this, the greatest of Nazi projects, could continue. After his recent return from a
visit to the Skoda Works to survey damage from the Allied bombing campaign, the security of this project had taken on the utmost importance. The survival of the Third Reich as Kammler knew it depended on the ability of the German Luftwaffe to evacuate The Bell and key German personnel associated with its operation. Granted, the majority of those who had worked on the project would not see the light of the next morning, though there were a few who were crucial to the project and the survival of the Reich, and thus did not face such a fate. The Nazis would spare no expense in this endeavor. It must succeed! They would leave with the coming of night in hopes of avoiding any Russian planes. Intelligence said that the Russian Army was poised for the attack, which made this mission tantamount to the future continuation of the Nazi Party. Kammler and his staff boarded the Ju 290, which sat behind the Ju 390, it containing the future hopes of the Germany. Signing the last order, Kammler boarded the Ju 290, taking one last look at the far off mountains. He would miss this town called Riesengeberge, more specifically the underground weapon development laboratory, or “The Giant” as it was known due to its huge size, which he had called home for the latter half of the war. No matter, the Reich would rise again, and the Allies would be hardpressed to stop them the next time. Taking his seat next to his secretary, he put thoughts of the future of the Reich aside, as he contemplated their current dilemma, and of how to secure that future. He could feel the vibration of the engines as the converted cargo plane started rolling down the runway. He watched as the Ju 390 left the runway ahead of them and they turned for their takeoff. Such was the might of the Nazi Empire that they
could design such a feat of engineering, even in defeat. Looking out the window to the fields outside the base, he watched the muzzle flash as his obedient SS soldiers carried out their orders. Victory in defeat, the cause of the Nazi Regime snatched out of the jaws of death. Who knew what the future held, but at this point that was all they had. ***** The Anatomy of a Time Machine The Nazi device known only as The Bell was rumored to be a power source, a Are The Bell and the Kecksburg UFO one in the same? weapon, even a time (Pictured above: This fireball was seen across at least six machine. The workU.S. states and Ontario on December 9, 1965, the date ings of it have never of the Kecksburg UFO crash. been fully revealed because details surrounding the story of The Bell have always by vast quantities of electricity. been sketchy. The liquid metal (more details But in his 2006 book, The about this liquid metal are forthcomTruth About the Wunderwaffe, ing) within these cylinders was said Polish Author Igor Witowski tries to create a field effect, one aspect beto provide details surrounding ing the slowing down of time within the story of The Bell. And it was the field effect created by The Bell. through secret transcripts of a KGB As will be described later, interrogation of SS Officer Jakob another power ascribed to The Bell Sporrenberg that details about The was the power of flight. Bell came to light, with Witowski concluding The Bell radiated some Mechanics Behind The Bell sort of anti-gravity effect. The Bell was made out of metal, One theory as to its use is that of approximately nine feet in diameter, a time machine. This was said to be and also said to be somewhere in the accomplished through the generation area of 12-15 feet tall. It garnered the of a torsion field. This was created by name of “Die Glocke,” or The Bell, the counter rotation of the two cylinmainly because of its bell-like shape. ders contained within The Bell. The The inner workings contained power for the rotation was provided two counter-rotating cylinders, which
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Case Files of the Unknown: Paranormal History
A strange ‘henge-like’ structure was constructed by the Germans out of reinforced concrete near the facility where The Bell was located and tested. This structure resembled a test rig for the possible test of extremely powerful propulsion devices.
History of The Bell The history of The Bell, especially after it left Silesia where it was said to be housed at one point, is speculative at best. Some say it was eventually flown to Argentina from Bodo, Norway, where it was part of the infamous Huamuel Experiment, sponsored by then President, General Juan Peron. Conducted by Richard Richter, the experiments lasted until 1951, at which time they were abandoned and considered a failure due to lack of results. The experiment was an attempt to make cheap nuclear isotopes in which to use as an easy energy alternative to fossil fuels. Others say it was flown from Norway to the Arctic, location of a supposed secret Nazi base. It was from this base that the Third Reich was to rise at a later time. Regardless of its fate, its history remains a mystery. *****
in turn were purported to contain a strange purplish liquid-metal substance that the Germans had codenamed ‘Xerum 525.’ This purple liquid was rotated at high speeds. Because Xerum 525 was supposedly highly radioactive, it required the cylinders to be lead-lined. Some have speculated that Xerum 525 is actually red Mercury, a mythical substance of uncertain composition said to be used during nuclear bomb creation, as well as other weapon systems. As mentioned, The Bell also took high amounts of electricity to run, and could only be operated for a few minutes at most. Apparently, it gave off strong radiation, electromagnetic waves, or an unknown field that was fatal to several scientists upon its first operation. Further testing with plants and animals resulted in them rapidly decomposing into blackish goo within a few minutes or a few hours after
coming within too close of a proximity to the field. Maybe the cells within the subjects aged at a heightened rate. Another reported side effect was that technicians near The Bell during its operation experienced having a metallic taste in their mouth. The test chamber was lined with ceramic bricks and rubber mats — the mats had to be burned after each test. Prisoners from nearby concentration camps also had to wash down the inside of the chamber with a brine-like substance after testing. In addition, a structure shaped like a ‘henge’ was constructed at the facility near Riesengeberge. Made out of reinforced concrete, it was said to house the bell during testing. Resembling the test rig for the testing of an extremely strong propulsion device, it was later said to be like a similar object in the Polish city of Siechnice, which in turn was the frame for a water tower.
Paranormal Underground August 2009
Kammler sat inside the strange vessel, for vessel is what it was, except this one did not travel through just space, but time as well, or at least into the future. Soon he, and others, would be heading toward the Hudson and the secret Nazi base there. Richter stuck his head inside the opening to The Bell, “Herr Kammler preparations are almost complete, you will be leaving within the hour.” Waving the genius Richter away, he let out a chuckle at the thought of the foolish Juan Peron. He had fallen for Richter’s promise of cheap nuclear energy. All the while, Kammler and his team of engineers had been working on the true purpose of The Bell. To continue the Reich, and to allow the minds of its most gifted scientist to be brought to a point in the future where they could continue their research unmolested by the hated Allies. Soon, the project given the
security level “Decisive to the war effort” would fulfill its function, and the Third Reich would rise from the ashes again. Kammler, and others who had survived, would travel through time and space to arrive at the base in the Arctic, or NeuSchwabenland as it had been named. He could not wait to be reunited with some of his fellow engineers and officers from former days. That had been an era of dreams; a utopic society would have resulted if the Germans had won. The ignorant world denied the German superiority; they had set out to prove this fact, and had done so, though the proof was more spiritual in nature. Through the agency of the Thule Society, the Nazi Regime had come into contact with a race of angelic beings from within the Earth itself. Calling themselves Aryans, they were the ancestors of the German race. There technology far surpassed that of all the current nations, including Germany. That had all changed when the Aryans had agreed to share their technology. The only thing that was holding the Aryans back from dominating the world was numbers, too few to be exact. But through the instrument of the Third Reich, that was all about to change. Mengele was working on a solution to that problem at the moment, though his report said he was a good 10 years away from perfecting the cloning process. Mengele had been focusing his efforts in the area around Condido Godoi in Brazil. Only time would tell if it was a success. In the five years since the end of the war, Kammler had plenty of time to think, and with the others that had survived the Nuremberg Trials, a plan had been formed. Kammler, along with Martin Bormann, Adolf Hitler’s choice to succeed him, were ready to proceed. It was Kammler’s
job to see that Bormann made it to the base near the Arctic to achieve this destiny. Impatiently he waited, destiny within the grasp of the Third Reich. It was a big if, but if everything went according to plan, then the Third Reich would rise again, mainly due in part to the help of the Bruderschaft der Glocke, or the Brotherhood of the Bell. An hour later found Kammler, along with Bormann, sitting quietly within The Bell as the German technical team closed the hatch, sealing them in. The field generator that gave The Bell its special powers could be heard behind the shielding, which had been installed to protect
its occupants. Many a person had died developing that protection, otherwise Kammler and Bormann would soon be black goo on the floor of the amazing contraption that was The Bell. It was imperative that this mission work, for the future of the Reich depended on it. As a strange purple glow began to encompass the inner chamber, Kammler’s last thoughts before blacking out were that this was the future of Germany, and that future was now. ***** The Kecksburg Connection One theory about The Bell actually ties it to the conspiracy-laden Kecksburg UFO crash. Taking place
Pictured above is a model of the crashed Kecksburg UFO, originally created for the show Unsolved Mysteries and put on display near the Kecksburg fire station.
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Case Files of the Unknown: Paranormal History Initially a statement of “nothing being found” was issued by officials with the Pennsylvania State Police. Then the story was changed to “It had been a meteorite,” and then finally, many years after the fact, that it was a Russian Satellite. But even the satellite cover story has its own holes.
Above is an illustration of the reported UFO crash/landing in the woods near Kecksburg. Witnesses were said to include military personnel, government officials, NASA representatives, local officials, and area residents.
on December 9, 1965, in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, details of this incident and of what actually happened are murky even until this day. Some claim the strange UFO was a meteorite, while NASA officials say it was the Soviet satellite Cosmo 96, which reentered the Earth’s atmosphere and crashed in Canada on December 9, 1965. However, it doesn’t seem likely that the Kecksburg UFO was the Soviet satellite, Cosmo 96, due to the fact that the satellite came down in Canada at approximately 3 a.m. the morning of December 9, and the object in Kecksburg did not crash until around 4:30 p.m. the afternoon of December 9. Further dismissing the satellite hypothesis is the angle of descent and the slow speeds of the object. Witnesses say it even slowed down to land, nothing like an object that would be making an uncon-
trolled entry into the atmosphere. The Kecksburg UFO was described as being bullet- or bell-shaped, about nine feet wide and 12 feet long, which was the general shape and size of the Nazi Bell. Another witness stated that it was acorn-shaped with hieroglyphics etched into a ring around the bottom of the object. No hatches or entrances were visible as well. The military response to the crash was almost immediate, as they cordoned off the area and imposed martial law. The oddest part of the whole event was that NASA officials who were spotted at the crash site. Wernher von Braun, former German rocket scientist, was one of many who were recruited by the U.S. government and who worked at NASA. The question remains, why would an organization linked to former high-ranking Nazi scientists have an interest in a Russian satellite?
Paranormal Underground August 2009
Kecksburg Witness Accounts Witnesses to the UFO crash comprised military personnel, government officials, NASA representatives, local officials, and residents of Kecksburg and the surrounding area. The fireball was seen by more than 1,000 witnesses in Canada, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. While witness testimony of the actual crash/landing differs from one witness to the next, it is agreed that something did indeed come down in the woods around Kecksburg that cold December afternoon. Pictures of the object were taken by reporter John Murphy. These pictures were later confiscated by the military. On a similar note, John Murphy then went on to work on a documentary about the event for a local radio station, WHJB, within weeks of the crash. Before the show could be aired Murphy was visited by the infamous Men in Black, who confiscated some of Murphy’s audio tapes from that night. According to WHJB Office Manager Mabel Mazza, John Murphy aired a censored version of the documentary, this time leaving out any mention of an object in the woods. Whatever it was, witnesses do recall two events that I think are of importance. The military did bring in a flatbed truck, which did leave with a bell-shaped object under a tarpaulin, that much has been verified. Also, when the military first entered the woods to investigate, witnesses heard a blood curdling scream. Is it possible that the scream
came from General Kammler who was being apprehended by American soldiers? Another thought that merits mentioning is the fact that the UFO’s trajectory was tracked from Canada to Michigan and then Ohio, where it stopped, changed course, and then headed toward Kecksburg. If one draws a straight trajectory back through Ohio, Michigan, and Canada, it points to an area on the Hudson, near the Arctic, where a secret Nazi base is rumored to be. Some say the UFO is the Nazi Bell due to its similar shape and the pictographs, or hieroglyphs, carved into the ring at the bottom. These runes or symbols seem to fit in with the Nazi almost cult-like affiliations between technological marvels and their pseudo-Christian beliefs. The mysterious disappearance of Kammler and The Bell at the end of World War II also added to the myth. Regardless of its ultimate purpose, The Bell remains an enigma. Is the Kecksburg Connection Plausible? Could The Bell have ended up at Kecksburg? To me, this thought is high fantasy. It is doubtful in my eyes that Nazism has survived in any great fashion into the present day. There is no Third Reich waiting to pounce from the shadows, only the occasional fringe groups who hold onto an ignorant belief system. Yes, it makes for good fiction as the Nazi’s have proven the perfect villain for many a hero to thwart, but in the end it is just that — fiction. And thank God for that. Then again, I sometimes ask myself what if . . . what if the conspiracy theories are true? What would our world be like? To me it would be a colder, harder world in which to live, but all the same, what if? *****
Kammler sat in the darkness, his ears still ringing from the jarring landing. Fifteen years worth of documents detailing weapons technologies safely inside their respective folders and tied down on the seat across from him. They were all the Reich needed to win the war. He had set out from the secret Nazi base on the Hudson earlier today. Luckily, once the coordinates were set, The Bell flew itself. A dull throbbing had started up behind Kammler’s eyes. Rubbing them with his fingers, he felt for the flashlight at his belt. He needed to open the hatch; he wouldn’t last long on the limited air supply in the inner compartment of The Bell. He could already smell the air getting stale. He banged against the side of the metal Bell as he looked for the latch to open the compartment door. He heard a responding knocking. Finding the latch, he yanked, shielding himself against the explosives that were set to blow it outward. The cool night air rushed in to greet him, as he gulped in a huge lungful of it. Soon he would be reunited with his war brothers and a new Germany would emerge. Tears glistened in his eyes at the thought
of the ultimate triumph of the Reich over the Allies. Hurriedly, he climbed out of the hatch, but stopping short, he stood frozen, half in and half out of the Bell. An American soldier held his gun leveled at Kammler. He distinguished this from the American flag sowed upon the soldier’s sleeve. Despair gripped his soul at the failure of the mission. Letting out an anguished cry, Kammler slid to the ground from his perch atop The Bell. He stumbled into the forest. Forest? This was supposed to be Berlin. Fools, they had not accounted for the correct position of the Earth at time of arrival. That simple mistake had doomed the mission from the start. All these thoughts ran through Kammler’s head as he ran through the unknown wood. Ahead he could see a shadowy figure in the dark. Stopping, he waited with baited breath, a fellow German perhaps? But all was dashed as Kammler was hit from behind. Sinking to his knees, he thought over what could have been had he completed his mission. Into the darkness he slipped once again, the last thought on his mind . . . What if?
A Junkers Ju 390 (pictured above) was said to transport The Bell out of Germany and into Norway and then on to Argentina.
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Case Files of the Unknown: Cryptids & Mythological Creatures
Like a Moth(Man) to a Flame By Rick E. Hale, The Greater Illinois Ghost Society
ryptozoology is a field of study that has been desperately trying to gain acceptance in the scientific community for more than 50 years. Researchers have scoured the world over for creatures that once existed and are now thought to be extinct, as well as for creatures that mainstream science say cannot possibly exist. But since the discovery of the Coelacanth off the coast of Madagascar and, more recently, a mass discovery of hundreds of new species in the Mekong in Southeast Asia, the field is making progress. I think that, sometimes, mainstream scientists forget that a large part of scientific study is all about the wonder and thrill of the hunt. And every once in awhile, a creature appears on the radar of a cryptozoologists that leaves them scratching their heads and saying, “What the F?” Such is the case of a strange creature that terrorized the citizens of the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in the mid 1960s. This cryptozoological mystery seemed to step right out of the shadows, scaring the living daylights out of all those who claimed to have witnessed its presence. The mysterious winged creature known as the Mothman will forever be one of the strangest ‘monsters’ reportedly witnessed on American soil.
The centerpiece of Gunn Park in downtown Point Pleasant, West Virginia, is this stainless steel Mothman statue by local sculptor Robert Roach.
The First Mothman Sighting The first official sighting of this anomalous winged terror was reported on the night of November 15, 1966, amid reports of strange lights and UFOs being witnessed over the towns of Point Pleasant and Charleston, West Virginia. Many believe that this was no terrestrial creature at all, but rather some intergalactic visitor. Two young couples were return-
Paranormal Underground August 2009
ing from a late night out in one of the larger towns in the area when they decided to take a shortcut thru the TNT factory, an abandoned World War II ordinance factory. As they slowed down to look at the crumbling buildings, one of the young men noticed two red lights hiding just inside the doorway of one of the buildings. As their automobile came closer to the building a creature of nightmar-
ish proportions stepped out of the shadows and gave new meaning to the phrase, “What the Hell was that?” The two couples would later tell investigators that a huge gray creature with bat-like wings unfurled from behind its back came into view in their headlights. The two couples could not believe their eyes at the sight of the horrible and impossible beast that stood before them. Not wanting to stick around, the driver of the vehicle shot off like a bat out of hell, speeding off into the night. As they sped down the road, reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, the witnesses claimed the creature was able to keep pace as it flapped its mighty membranous wings and struck the roof of the car with a large fist. The creature broke away from the chase as the car and its occupants neared the city of Point Pleasant. And when they reached the Mason County courthouse, all four reported the eldritch sighting to an incredulous sheriff’s deputy, Roy Milland. After the initial report, Milland drove out to the TNT factory to look around for the bizarre creature, but he found nothing. However, Deputy Milland would later attest to the character of these young people, stating that they were solid citizens and would not make up anything so strange. Mothman Sightings Increase in Point Pleasant Story of the terrifying sighting quickly got around the community of Point Pleasant, and several citizens grabbed their rifles and drove out to the TNT factory in the hopes that they could bag themselves a beast. Unfortunately, nothing was found as they diligently searched through every nook and cranny of all the buildings. As the days and months passed, more reports of the mysterious
On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge — an expansion bridge that connected West Virginia with Ohio — collapsed, killing 47 people and injuring dozens more. Witnesses say that as the bridge fell into the icy waters of the river, they could see the Mothman fly off into the sky.
Mothman began to filter into the Sheriff’s office, and the local authorities were genuinely concerned that they might have had a true case of mass hysteria on their hands. One local citizen claimed that one late night as she sat up watching television, she heard a strange noise just outside her window. When she got up to investigate and peered out the window, she saw a sight she would never forget. She later recounted her story to investigator John Keel, author of The Mothman Prophecies, saying that the creature was standing next to a tree and must have stood well over nine feet tall. The witness then said she watched as the Mothman unfurled its wings and flew off into the night sky without making a noise. Other strange phenomena was also said to happen during or around Mothman sightings, including activity usually associated with hauntings. Witnesses claimed they experienced
what could only be described as poltergeist-type activity. Lights turned on and off by themselves, objects moved about homes, and witnesses claimed to receive strange phone calls at all hours of the day. What Is the Mothman? Theories Abound Paranormal researchers and Ufologists have long believed that during sightings of UFOs, poltergeist-like activity and “high strangeness” have been known to occur. Perhaps all these phenomena are in fact closely linked. The most dramatic sighting of the Mothman occurred to a family visiting a friend who lived in an artist community on the outskirts of Point Pleasant. An elderly couple, their daughter, and their infant grandchild were leaving a friend’s home and entering their car as they watched the Mothman rise up out of the ground
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Case Files of the Unknown: Cryptids & Mythological Creatures
The 2002 movie The Mothman Prophecies starred Richard Gere and Laura Linney. In this creepy, supernatural thriller (written in novel form by John A. Keel and adapted for the big screen by Richard Hatem) Gere and Linney’s characters investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of the Mothman.
behind their vehicle and let out a loud chittering noise that almost sounded mechanical in nature. The young mother was so frightened by the experience she actually dropped her screaming baby. After regaining their composure, they quickly got into their car and drove away, leaving the Mothman behind. Other strange phenomena seemed to follow in the wake of the Mothman sightings — and these
strange lights in the sky. Those who came into contact with these odd Men In Black would later state that when speaking with them, their voices could cause a person to fall into a daze, almost to the point of losing consciousness. Some would claim that their dealings with these strange men were pleasant; however, the majority would later state to investigators that these men gave off a sinister, almost diabolical,
Mothman sightings are said to precede disastrous events. events would seem to embroil the community of Point Pleasant into ongoing episodes of high strangeness. Men In Black would show up in town driving black sedans and asking odd questions about whether or not folks had seen the mysterious Mothman or been witness to any
feeling, which made many feel that they were up to no good. Do Mothman Sightings Coincide With Tragedies? The strange series of events that gripped Point Pleasant and its surrounding communities in 1966
Paranormal Underground August 2009
would culminate in a great tragedy that life-long area residents would never forget. On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge — an expansion bridge that connected West Virginia with Ohio — collapsed, killing 47 people and injuring dozens more. Those who were present and not on the bridge claimed that as they watched the bridge fall into the icy waters of the river, they could see the large dark form of the Mothman fly off into the sky. When structural engineers inspected the bridge, they discovered that a few support beams had bent, causing the bridge to come toppling down. If there was a Mothman, it would appear that shoddy workmanship rather than some creature was to blame for the death of dozens. Skeptics who reviewed the case years after the fact stated that whatever the citizens of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, had seen was not some mysterious cryptid or the lost crewman of a UFO, but rather a Sand Hill crane — a bird that is known to stand close to five feet tall with a large wingspan and a patch of bright red feathers that could be mistaken for glowing red eyes. Seems like a plausible explanation; however, the residents who witnessed the events and the creature declared emphatically that whatever the Mothman was, it was certainly no bird. Even some cryptozoologists have offered an alternative suggestion as to the identity of the Mothman, suggesting that perhaps the creature was a giant owl. Hmm. Whatever the case may be, Point Pleasant citizens now commemorate the strange episode that terrorized their city more than 40 years ago with a fair and carnival rides called, appropriately enough, “Mothman Days.” Is the Mothman fact or fiction? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
We Are Looking for Volunteer Writers for Paranormal Undergroundâ€™s E-Magazine
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 55
Fiction: Featured Author
The Shift By Karen Frazier
ne moment can change everything — this much I know. It took less than a second for my life to change from what I was to what I am. Here’s what I was: Vital, alive, going places. Joyful, athletic, successful. Attractive, smart, funny. This is what I am: A fat blob imprisoned in a wheelchair with a world that has become so small it includes only my tiny apartment, my Yorkie, Pop, and my care worker, Cassie. I am not any of the things that I was, and I would give anything to have those back. My life was once limited only by my imagination. Now, my life is all limitation — so severe and strict that it feels as if I can hold my entire world in the palm of my hand. Actually, I wish I could do just that, because then I could crush it to dust and watch it drift away on the wind. If I could only have one single moment in my life back, I know which one I would choose. Not the moment that you’d think. It wouldn’t be the moment I looked away from the road to dial my cell phone. Instead, it would be the moment that I was forced to return to my battered and broken body rather than staying adrift in the warm white light. In the light it was safe and beautiful. I could feel every possibility, every potentiality caressing me like a lover. And then I was ripped away — and here I am. From all potential to all limitation in a single moment of time.
***** It is Sunday evening. Cassie has left for the evening. One moment, I am parked in front of the TV with Pop watching Desperate Housewives in my dark apartment, and in the very next moment, I am standing . . . standing . . . in front of a gleaming, granite countertop in a huge kitchen with a damp sponge in my hand. Over by the sink, I see Dan staring at me with a look of stunned incredulity on his face. Surely
the look on my face must match Dan’s. I haven’t seen Dan in years. Losing Dan was the first event in a string of bad luck that led me to where I am today. He is, and always will be, the one that got away. Now here he is in this strange kitchen, looking a little older, but wonderful, familiar, and very, very shocked. I don’t know what startles me more — Dan’s presence, the fact that I
Paranormal Underground August 2009
am standing, the kitchen that I’ve never seen, or the terrified screams that come from somewhere in the house. Dan is off like a shot in the direction of the screams, and my legs automatically follow. Dan seems to know where he is going, and he races through a beautiful living room and up a curved staircase of polished wood. My legs follow while my mind marvels at the ease with which they move swiftly after Dan. ***** Dan’s final destination is a huge travertine bathroom where a small girl stands in front of a mirror shrieking at the top of her lungs. The mirror stops me short. Is that me? It is me — but not me. I recognize my face as a face I used to know — small and heart shaped with bright green eyes. And my hair! It isn’t short, stringy, and dull. Instead it is a long, glossy tumble of brown with curls and artful highlights. Even more shocking is my body — it looks like it did years ago. Toned, healthy, and slim with curves in all of the right places. What is this? I wonder. How can this be that I am in this place — in this condition? I am mesmerized by myself. Enthralled. I can’t tear my gaze away from the mirror. Surely I must be dreaming. Dan takes the girl in his arms, and she begins to sob uncontrollably. Between sobs, she is saying something about her face changing in the mirror and calling Dan “daddy.” Dan makes
soothing noises and pats the girl on the back, stealing startled glances at me over the top of her head. The girl is small — maybe 7 or 8 years old. She has glossy, dark curls like the ones I see in the mirror. Dan breaks the hug and holds her out at arm’s length. Something flashes in his eyes, but he quickly stifles it. The little girl turns her tear-stained face to me, and her sobbing start afresh. “Who is that, Daddy?” she asks. “Shhhhh . . . ” Dan soothes. “That’s Andi. She’s an old friend who came to visit.” He looks hard at me, as if daring me to contradict him. “I’m sure you just were having a bad dream when you thought you looked in the mirror,” he says. “Come on — back to bed.” “Stay right here,” he whispers fiercely to me, scooping the girl up in his arms and carrying her out of the bathroom, careful to keep her face turned away from the mirror. I wait in the bathroom, staring closely at my image in the mirror. I touch my face, my hair, my belly, my legs. I splash cold water on my face and then give it a little slap. If this is a dream, it is remarkably vivid and realistic. I hear Dan down the hall talking in soothing tones. He isn’t gone long. He returns to the bathroom and grabs me roughly by the arm, pulling me back down the stairs to the living room. ***** “All right, talk,” Dan commands. “What the hell is going on?” As if I have answers. I am in a strange house with a strange little girl. I am walking. I have no idea what is going on. I tell Dan just that. “This is my house,” Dan says. “That is my daughter, Emily. I don’t know what happened — why she looks like that. She used to look like me; now she looks like you, and I haven’t seen you in nine years. You suddenly show up in my kitchen and
all Hell breaks loose.” “It is a dream,” I tell Dan. “I am just dreaming.” “I don’t think so,” Dan says. “Something has happened.” And just like that, I know he is right. Something has happened, and here I am in the life I should have had. A life in a beautiful house with a beautiful little girl, working legs, Dan. This is what should have been. I tell Dan so. Dan shakes his head. And starts to look around. “This is my house,” he says, “but it is different.” He points. “That lamp — it isn’t mine. The couch doesn’t belong here. And neither does that.” My gaze follows to where his finger is pointing. There above the mantle is a picture of this new me, Dan, and the little girl. For the first time, I become aware that there is a ring on the third finger of my left
“It’s a dream . . . I’m just dreaming.” hand. I look at Dan’s left hand. His finger has a matching ring. Dan seems to notice his rings at the same time that I do. Something almost wistful washes across his face, and he reaches down to tug on his ring. “This isn’t mine,” he says. “I don’t wear a wedding ring. My wife died giving birth to Emily.” A burst of joy flares inside of me. This is it! The universe is giving me a second chance. I have a new life, new legs, and I am with Dan as I always should have been. Somehow, the universe has righted itself and put me where I belong. I reach for Dan, wanting to tell him that this is what is right, and what it should be — but I am back in my wheelchair again in my dank, little apartment. Pop is on the floor,
barking madly at me. I can feel the pain and disappointment crash through me, and tears roll down my cheeks. This isn’t where I want to be. This is the wrong place, I am the wrong person. It wasn’t a dream. It couldn’t have been. ***** A breaking news bulletin interrupts Desperate Housewives. Charles Gibson comes on, looking discombobulated. He tells of a rash of auto accidents, plane crashes that all happened at exactly the same moment all around the world. The cause is unknown he says. Terrorism is suspected. I don’t care. I am not where I want to be. I can’t go on being this, knowing what I could have been, and what I could have had. Over the next several weeks, an explanation slowly surfaces. CERN was conducting their first accelerated particle collision in the new Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator. The moment of the collision was the moment that the worldwide shift happened. No one can really explain why everyone shifted — just that they did. It is all that Cassie can talk about. She tells me where she shifted — what her alternate reality looked like. She wants to know where I shifted. But I tell her that everything looked pretty much the same to me. I tell her I hadn’t even realized there was a shift until I saw it on the news. Inside I wish I was one of the lucky ones who’d died when the shift happened. But I’m not. And now my life is even bleaker than before. Because I know what could have been. I have had a glimpse of what my life should be. I would give anything to have that life back. Anything. But I can’t. Instead, I sit in the dark, all alone in my narrow world, wishing for something that never was, and praying for something that will never be.
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 57
Personal Experiences: Ghost Hunter Case Files
Grave Investigations: Part 1 By Linda Williams, Martinsville Volunteer Paranormal Society
’ve found that cemeteries are the best place to train my new investigators. There are no clients, so if the investigator isn’t quite polished, it’s not in front of someone who’s called us in. My first training session took place in a cemetery near Petersburg, Indiana, which was set off by itself with no close structures. I took two of my investigators, Bill and Carolyn, to test their observational skills. We spent time in the newer part of the cemetery where we first tried to capture EMF spikes. And then after a bit, I left Bill and Carolyn on their own. I walked over to the older part of the cemetery just to get a feel for the area before bringing them over. I spent 20 minutes walking among the markers before I was truly drawn to one. As I bent down and read the name, Edith Baker, it was as if someone wearing old fashion, rose perfume had walked quietly past me. I walked around to each stone in the area looking for signs of live flowers; there were none. I scanned the area for flowering trees, and once again, I came up empty. As a matter of fact, I also noticed there wasn’t even a breeze that day. I decided it was time to bring
“As I bent down and read the name, Edith Baker, it was as if someone wearing old fashion, rose perfume had walked quietly past me.”
the others in, so I told them to keep all their senses open and to spend some time in the area. I didn’t, however, mention my encounter with the rose smell. After 25 minutes, it looked as if the others were giving up, when I noticed Carolyn stop and begin looking more closely at something. I walked over to them to find myself before the same stone as before. Carolyn told me she had
Paranormal Underground August 2009
smelled roses, and it was as if they just lightly passed her. Also like before, no roses were found. We all loaded into the car and drove half a mile in each direction looking for the source, even though there was no breeze. We came up with nothing. To this day we still wonder if Edith Baker might have been trying to make contact with us and we can’t wait to visit Edith again.
Paranormal Underground Is Looking for Investigator Cases to Profile in Future Issues
Please e-mail email@example.com if you have a paranormal case you think should be profiled.
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 59
The Hallway By Ryan Ray, Paranormal Survey and Investigation
y name is Ryan Ray, and I am the founder and lead investigator for Paranormal Survey and Investigation based in the California Bay Area. I’d like to share with you a significant event that occurred in my life that I believe to be paranormal in nature. In late 2003, my aunt informed me that she believed the apartment that she was living in was haunted. She knew that I had a strange fascination with the paranormal and asked if I could stay the night and investigate her place. She told me a few of the things she was experiencing. She said doors would lock and unlock on their own, salt and pepper shakers would slide across the dinner table, temperatures would dramatically drop randomly, she even said that her youngest daughter reported ‘playing ball’ with a little girl in the back room of the apartment. Investigating a Haunted Location On December 25, 2003, I spent the night at my aunt’s house. I didn’t have much in the way of gear, but I was able to bring a few things. I brought two Hi8 video cameras on tripods, a Sony digital still camera, a Minolta 35mm camera with infrared film, and an EMF meter made by Extech Instruments. My aunt said that most of the activity they had experienced was
late at night, between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. I arrived at the apartment at around 7 p.m. I took some time to tour the place, and get firsthand accounts of where the main activity was taking place. It turned out that most
Most of the activity the residents had experienced was late at night and took place in a small hallway area that connected most of the rooms of the apartment.
of the activity happened in a small hallway area that connected most of the rooms of the apartment. I set up my video cameras at both ends
Paranormal Underground August 2009
of the hallway and recorded most of the night. I should tell you now that I was taking my opportunity to stay in the apartment very seriously. I made it clear to my aunt, cousins, and sister who were staying there that night, that if they were going to walk in front of the cameras they needed to say their names as they passed. I also told them that if I was walking around to take pictures that they needed to stay behind me, I did not want to have false positives turn up in my photos or videos later. I was also very careful not to take a photo with anyone in the shot. Encountering Life-Changing Experiences The events of this night really had an impact on my life. I saw things that night that I had only heard about in movies. I am going to do my best to recall what went on that night. Luckily, I kept a paranormal journal, so what I am writing to you now is what I wrote back then. Everyone who was in the house stayed out in the front room all night, they watched TV and movies for most of the time. I consider myself sensitive to paranormal things, so when I ‘felt’ something, I would snap a picture — usually with both cameras. We kept the lights low and, I did random walkthroughs throughout the night. The later it got, the stranger it got. We were all on the front couch watch-
ing TV, and my sister turned around thinking someone was standing behind her. She reported seeing a young girl in a white dress standing behind us; as soon as she saw the girl, the girl turned to walk away and disappeared. Needless to say, my sister was startled and upset. She didn’t really think anything would come of the evening. My Biggest Encounter Later that night while looking at a painting my cousin had done, my sister said she saw the right eye of the face in the painting change into a rotating swirl pattern. We also saw ‘dark spots’ within shadows; the only way I can explain this is to say it looks almost like a void within a normal dark area. We saw orbs of light bouncing around in the air vents on the ceiling and floors. One of my video cameras shut off, most of the charges of my batteries were drained, my EMF meter spiked from zero and turned off, and the overall temperature dropped very low for most of the night. Even though we had the heater on, we could see our breath. Overall, the night was very active. My biggest encounter happened at 4:37 a.m. I was sitting on a chair looking at the hallway and a young girl appeared in front of me. This girl was wearing old-fashioned clothing, what looked to me like a nice, white Sunday dress and black lace-up boots. She walked toward me, stopped about five feet away from me, looked me in the eye and said, “We’re leaving now.” She then turned and walked into the kitchen, I could hear her boots clicking on the linoleum. She took a few steps toward the dead end of the kitchen and disappeared. The moment the girl disappeared, the atmosphere of the apartment seemed to change. The temperature rose, and the overall feeling of
During the course of investigating his aunt’s haunted apartment, Ryan Ray snapped this photo of what he deems to be “a compelling paranormal photograph.” According to Ryan, there were no humans in any of the four rolls of film he took that night, and the camera was not used by anyone else present at the investigation. What do you think? Visit Paranormal Underground’s Personal Experience Gallery (http://www.paranormalunderground.net/site/?p=1199) to offer your thoughts on Ryan’s evidence.
uneasiness faded. This was my first real encounter with an entity. A Controversial Photo Shortly after visiting my aunt’s house, I went back to my college campus where I was going to develop the rolls of film that I took. I had taken several semesters of photography and was fairly proficient at developing rolls and printing negatives without any trouble. Out of the four or so rolls of film, I got a few odd things, some black dots here and there that could be called orbs, but I tend to disregard orb photos because dust is so often an easy way to explain something like that. I was, however, happy to find what looked like a young woman walking toward me down the hallway of my aunt’s apartment. To this day, I have not seen a more compelling paranormal photograph.
I have joined several online paranormal communities and forums only to be laughed at and shut down when I show this photo. It is just “too good to be real” people say. While I have come to accept this type of reaction to my photo, I know what is true. While I do not know what this photo is of, I do know that there were no humans in any of the four rolls I took that night. I wore the camera around my neck on a strap all night (even when I went to the restroom). The only time that the camera was taken off was to replace a roll of film, so no one else used this camera. There was a digital camera being used during the night that my sister was operating, but nothing was found on the memory card.
For more information, visit http:// paranormalsurvey.com.
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 61
Paranormal Perspective: Guest Editorial
The Greatest Lesson of All “When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.” —Wayne Dyer By Shannon Sylvia, Paranormal Investigator
he quote above is my favorite quote of all time. Whether it’s been opening a Website design studio downtown nine years ago, a day spa in 2008, or becoming a ghost hunter on a Sci Fi TV show, it’s all the baby steps that have gotten me where I am today and have taught me the greatest lesson of all . . . enjoy each step along the way. Since August 2008, I have been free of any filming obligations with the Ghost Hunters franchise and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. Countless radio shows, amazing events, investigations all over the United States, and fun lectures and workshops have made this almost a full-time career for me. I’ve been very lucky and fortunate to be approached for these events and gettogethers. It hasn’t been easy. I grew up with some of the most horrific scenarios one can imagine in a haunted house, only to move out into another with activity. I climbed a Romanian mountain to a castle for a 17-hour investigation in a major bliz-
zard. I was poked and prodded in Italy and Kentucky and handcuffed in New York, all by invisible forces. It has been quite an interesting year for me. This has also been thera-
Paranormal investigator Shannon Sylvia assesses the past and looks forward to the future.
Paranormal Underground August 2009
peutic, being able to talk about my experiences growing up in a haunted house and my struggles as a teenager with nowhere to turn. Getting to Do What You Love Honestly, if you asked me two years ago if I would be on television doing what I’ve been obsessed with most of my life, I’d think you were nuts. What are the chances, right? Who on Earth would turn down an opportunity to travel the world all expenses paid doing what you love doing? Why not have another opinion on the activity of your home on Paranormal State? It’s been a whirlwind. When I joined a ghost hunting team in 2005, I put 110% of my effort into my work. I took the required class to be on the team, put in my time and did every case possible within a two-hour drive from my home. I trained the newbies, purchased the best equipment I could get my hands on, and attended many classes and workshops across
New England. I put in my time, and it was well worth it! I had already clocked dozens of investigations on my own before joining a group for the first time. I had read every book on the paranormal and occult that my money could buy. I read up on Hans Holzer, the Warrens, and Raymond Moody. My father was on Unsolved Mysteries as a witness to the stigmata Audrey Santos mysteries. My greatgrandfather was a psychic medium and famous escape artist. I simply could not get away from the Paranormal, and I could not get enough.
shows. It’s hard work, a never-ending battle, and hit or miss. I have turned down television work I did not believe would be right for me. I am enjoying my travels, working full time on top of that at my design studio, and plugging away at my investigations, fundraisers, and radio shows. I have been lending a hand to my husband, Jeff, who has his own show, “Up for Discussion,” Tuesday nights on ALI-FM. Last year I founded Para Rock Productions, a paranormal Website that promotes other investigators as well as offers paranormal logo, T-shirt, and Web deLooking Back sign to teams inexpensively If there was anything I (pararockproductions.com). could change, it would be Also, I have been workthe drama and animosity in ing on a couple of new projthis field. More and more During her journey as a paranormal investigator, Shannon ects with new equipment, I’m seeing people in this enjoys each step along the way. and I co-developed a very field marketing themselves effective tool for use in deout of nowhere, taking other monic or exorcism cases that people’s research and hard is being tested as we speak. ionated; suppressing thoughts and work and turning it into So far we’ve seen pleasant, well, notstories about evidence and investigatheirs to try to make a name for so-pleasant results. This tool protions and happenings is not helping themselves. vokes spirits without the knowledge the field expand. It can all be done I see people forgetting to reof the client in order to detect if they graciously and with tact. search, investigate, and raise funds are indeed possessed. for historical landmarks and focus I am off to New Orleans in more on getting a TV show. I see Moving Forward November to witness my first real big-named agents banning people So how does my future look? séance and to research Voodoo from events and representation withPsychics such as C.J. Sellers, Derek practices. This has been a lifelong out even knowing these investigators. Acorah, Jackie Carpenter, and othdream for me since I was little and I see con artists, frauds, and ers have given me their two cents. saw Wes Craven’s Serpent and the people with extensive criminal backPersonally, it can only be full of more Rainbow. grounds entering people’s homes research and new investigations. Two weeks before that trip I’ll to investigate because their teams I look forward to meeting be at the Mayan Pyramids for a third did not run a background check on thousands more new people as time visit and, yes, I’ll be running the them. This is the short list. moves forward, shaking their hands, recorder in hopes for a Mayan EVP. I feel the world can all contribtalking to them about evidence, and 2009 has been a good year. I ute their opinions, both good and sharing my knowledge of the field. look forward to seeing many new bad, and make this field a better I am in works with producers places and faces in 2010, and enjoyone every day. I admire people who from California, Michigan, and ing each step along the way . . . speak their minds and are opinFlorida, on new ideas for television
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 63
What Can W Hi-Def Paranorm By Karen Frazier
had to drag my husband into the paranormal kicking and screaming. I’m not sure that he was a full-on disbeliever, but he certainly thought it was a silly hobby. Then one weekend, I dragged him along on a paranormal investigation with our friends at A.P.A.R.T. of Washington to investigate the Tokeland Hotel. You can read about it in our May 2008 issue. Something magical and mystical happened to Jim that weekend. He got to meet and talk with some kindred spirits — fellow technical geeks, who love nothing more than a good gadget. Now the man is unstoppable. He’s not only got paranormal game — he’s got gadget. High Definition/Normal Definition Audio Test There’s a lot to be tested in the paranormal, and for a guy who’s got an extremely curious mind and an IQ north of 160 (according to Facebook — the experts in IQ testing), the paranormal presents an enticing puzzle just waiting to be unraveled. So now with an investigation scheduled in a reportedly very active location, Jim geared up with gadgets. He couldn’t be stopped. We talked
a lot about what to look for and how to find it. One of my favorite things we decided to try was using high-definition equipment side-by-side with normal definition equipment. Then, we could compare the results, looking first at the low-def and then checking any findings with the hi-def. We had a plan and we had a place. Now we just needed to get our equipment in line.
The Olympus DS-40 compresses data into a highly compressed WMA file. This model is priced at around $130.
Paranormal Underground August 2009
Audio Equipment Used in Experiment For a high definition recorder, Jim decided on the Samson Zoom H4. For the normal definition, we choose the Olympus DS-40, which is a fairly high-end, hand-held digital voice recorder. The Zoom H4 records in uncompressed wav files with different settings for wav recording. You can select the resolution for your recordings, as well as the sample rate. The Olympus, on the other hand, compresses the data into a highly compressed WMA file. This means that with low definition recording equipment, you are at a disadvantage right out of the starting gate. Think of the difference between the Zoom H4 and the Olym-
We Learn From mal Investigation? pus as the difference between a hi-definition and regular-definition television set. On the hi-def, you can make out every splotch and wrinkle on every face, which is why some people are just not made for hi-def television. On the regular definition television, you may see that something is there, but you can’t quite tell what it is. A freckle? A wrinkle? Lunch? So, if you are recording sound in higher definition and lower definition, then what you might discover is that something that you thought was a whisper on the Olympus turned out to be someone scuffing their foot on the floor on review of the H4. We experienced this when we put the two recorders side-by-side on a recent investigation. We listened to the data from the Olympus first and thought we picked up a lot of stuff. Mostly whispers and growls. Listening to it on the H4, however, we discovered that there were perfectly logical explanations for each one of those sounds. The Value of High-Definition Audio Equipment This is the value of the hi-def/ low-def recording of the same data. It can show how easily small things
can be misinterpreted as whispered EVPs. The same can be said for video equipment. An anomalous blob on a low definition still or video camera may turn out to be a bug or a perfectly explainable shadow. If you come across something that is on both that can’t be explained, then maybe you’ve got something. We had just such a finding on the Olympus and the Zoom H4. I have posted it in Paranormal Underground’s EVP gallery under the heading, Hi-Def Audio Recording revisited. Go to www. paranormalunderground. net and click on the Gallery EVP tab to listen.
The Zoom H4 records in uncompressed wav files with different settings for wav recording. You can select the resolution for your recordings, as well as the sample rate.
Price Differences Between High/Low Def The Zoom H4 comes in at about $379, while the Olympus DS40 is priced at around $130. As far as the DS-40 goes, it is a very good digital audio recorder.
It picks up far more cleanly than most of the less expensive Sony and Olympus recorders. Go on the site and take a listen. And if you get the chance, compare the two yourself and see if maybe you are hearing things that are something else entirely.
August 2009 Paranormal Underground 65
Jon K.C. Kinstley (PooPerDooPer) About Jon
How would you describe yourself?
Jon: Overly inquisitive and easy going.
Born/Currently resides: Corpus Christi, Texas/Orangestad, St Eustatius, Dutch West Indies.
Tell us about your family and what you like to do.
Status: Single. Education: Some college. Zodiac Sign: Is a diver down flag.
Jon: My oldest son Samuel lives here on the island with me. We enjoy investigating reputedly haunted sites. We also enjoy snorkeling and hunting for Dutch Trade Beads (Blue Beads).
Jon: My son would sing “PooPerDooPer” instead of “Super Dooper” every time the song “Putting on the Ritz” would play during the movie “Young Frankenstein.” I guess you sorta had to be there!
What would our readers be surprised to find out about you?
Jon: Dirty dishes, dive masks that won’t seal, and Nascar.
What does your member name mean?
Jon: Texas Country, Rock-a-Billy, and the majority of ’70s and ’80s easy listening.
What are your pet peeves?
Jon: I was looking online for paranormal sites one evening and found the link for PUG. I have enjoyed the people and information here ever since.
Jon: I quit voting after George Senior.
Occupation: Control room Supervisor at a very remote oil terminal.
What brought you to Paranormal Underground?
are the Dirk Pitt adventures by Clive Cussler, and my favorite movie is “Man on Fire.”
Are you a skeptic or believer? Jon and his son, Samuel, (pictured above) enjoy investigating reputedly haunted sites.
Who are your heroes? Jon: My father and Jacques DeMolay. What are your favorite TV shows, paranormal shows, books, movies? Jon: Warehouse 13, Ghost Hunters, and Ghost Hunters International for television shows. My favorite books
Paranormal Underground August 2009
Jon: I am a definite believer. What areas of the paranormal interest you the most? Jon: EVPs and EMF anomalies. I want to believe that this is the area where the breakthroughs in paranormal research will happen. Talk about any paranormal experiences you might have had and how they have affected you. Jon: Not mentioning dreams of loved ones that have passed. Each encounter
seems to spark a different question. The latest question was started by an EVP from the Dutch West Indies Trading Co. investigation. The EVP seems to state that my son and I “are on the outside!” Now, I wonder who she was telling that to and why they couldn’t see us as well?
Have you ever studied the paranormal? Jon: I started reading about the paranormal in grade school. I have only recently begun seriously investigating places where I have had experiences. What do you think happens to us when we die? Jon: I am leaning more toward the theory that we are here on Earth for whatever reason until we decide or are allowed to leave.
A believer of paranormal phenomena, Jon is most interested in EVPs and EMF anomalies. Do you have any words of wisdom that you live by? Jon: Adventure is paramount; without it you’re just an observer! Any exciting plans for the future? Jon: I am trying to plan an overnight investigation at a sight here on the island known as “Crooks Castle.” These remote ruins are on the Southeast side of our Island and are reported to be the home of most of the Islands “Jumbies!” We’ll see?
Paranormal Underground’s 2nd Annual Short Story Contest
aranormal Underground is holding its 2nd Annual Short Story Contest. If you are a writer of fiction, love to write about the paranormal, and would like to see your story published in one of our upcoming issues, then this contest is for you! The contest is open to members AND nonmembers of Paranormal Underground. Contest rules include: • Stories due by September 1, 2009. • 1,000 to 3,000 words (submissions under 1,000 words and over 3,000 words will not be considered eligible for the contest). • All submitted works must not have been previously published. • If you are submitting artwork and/or photos to accompany your fiction, please site the source of the artwork/photos. • Submit to firstname.lastname@example.org. The first-place winner will be published in our October issue. They will also have the option to become a regular contributor in our Featured Author column. We will be awarding prizes for 1st through 3rd place: • First Place: Publication in Paranormal Underground e-Magazine; a Zoom H4 Handy Recorder; and the option to take part in an upcoming “Paranormal Underground Presents” podcast. • Second Place: Olympus VN-4100PC digital voice recorder and possible publication in Paranormal Underground e-Magazine. • Third Place: Any book listed in Paranormal Underground’s Bookstore and possible publication in Paranormal Underground e-Magazine. Our judges include Paranormal Underground’s Publisher Chad Wilson, Managing Editor Karen Frazier, and Science Editor J.D. Harrison. Judging criteria includes: • Story originality • Paranormal theme creativity • Text fluidity Submissions will be compiled and sent to the judges by the editor-inchief, and all judges will not know who wrote each submission until after judging is completed. Winners will be announced based on a ranking system, which will be compiled from first to last place. When e-mailing your submission to the editor, also include your name, story title, e-mail address, word count, and illustrations/photos, if any. If you have any questions regarding the contest, please e-mail email@example.com. Last year we had a great response, and we hope to see even more writers join us in our second short story contest. Good luck everyone, and we look forward to reading your submissions! August 2009 Paranormal Underground 67
Ghost Hunter Comic
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August 2009 Paranormal Underground 69