UFO Highlights 2008

A recent discussion of some experts in the field revealed their ideas of 2008 developments in the study of UFO's.

UFO researcher Stanton Friedman discussed the continued efforts of debunkers to besmirch ufology even though they know little about the field, including two professors at Florida State University at Tallahassee, who referred to Friedman as a "pseudo-scientist" after he lectured at the college.

Author William Birnes spoke about the sea change in media coverage of UFO stories, including the Peckman/Romanek alien video.(USO's)

Activist Stephen Bassett suggested this past year was an extremely important one for UFO disclosure, with the release of declassified documents in foreign countries, and Obama's selections for his administration, including John Podesta, an advocate for ending UFO secrecy. Frank Costigan, a witness of the Needles UFO crash, also appeared with an update.UFO Year in Review

In a 4-hour special, George Knapp welcomed Alejandro Rojas and James Carrion, both of MUFON to review UFO sightings and events of 2008. They were joined by special guests throughout the evening. Rojas said it was a wonderful year for media coverage, with the UFO subject being covered both more extensively, and seriously. Carrion noted that one continuing obstacle is government involvement-- they may be using the UFO field as a convenient cover for their own testing of exotic weapons, or psychological warfare experiments.
http://www.mufon.com/
Mission of MUFON is stated as:
The scientific study of UFOs for the benefit of humanity..MUFON
You may visit the site and if interested consider becoming a member.There are groups in all 50 states of thes non profit organization.


In 1980, the Cash-Landrum Incident occurred, in which three Texans suffered radiation injuries from a fire blasting diamond-shaped UFO. One of the victims of the UFO, which was surrounded by 23 military helicopters, had injuries so severe, a doctor described it as comparable to being "3 to 5 miles from the epicenter of Hiroshima."
Feom a report on Coast To Coast broadcast last week.it was ,I think discovered this past year in disclosed files found by researchers in ufology.I found this upsetting...

A Real Elf Story

In doing some research for an upcoming post about "Little People" I found this story from a website.Could not resist.Here is the link for the entire story:
http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-2452-the-great-lansing-elf-visit-of-1998.html

The great Lansing elf visit of 1998by Neal McNamara
"...:For the purposes of this story, it would be important to point out that there's a difference between standard elves and Christmas elfs. Elves, according to Wikipedia, are fantastical creatures with roots in German folklore. Christmas elfs (do you see the difference in the spelling there?) specifically make toys, have pointy shoes and ears and wear shiny, red and green-colored clothes. One could assume that Christmas elfs were invented by some genius advertising executive back in 1930 so that Macy's and Sears could start making money from Jesus' birthday. But one would be wrong.
...The story of Lansing's Christmas elf isn't all candy canes and cherry-red cheeks. Our Christmas elf story is filled with blood, tears and gritted teeth. Well, no, it's not that serious. But it is about a guy who escaped from jail and ran around the city dressed as an elf.

Remember, everything you're about to read here is true. Except that the name of the elf is being kept off the record, because it wouldn't be fair to re-embarrass the guy 10 years later. And, frankly, we're kind of scared that he would get pissed and come after us (ha ha?). Without further sarcasm, we present you — culled from several court and police documents, interviews and some educated guessing — the story of the Lansing pre-Christmas Elf Pandemic and Chase of 1998
The costume change
Do you know how, in winter, Michigan gets pretty cold? Yeah? OK, well on Dec. 23, 1998, Lansing was cold and gray and there was snow piled up everywhere. It was gross out, except that a lot of people were happy that Christmas was coming up and they would get a few days off. There were wreaths and lights and things everywhere, and of course the tree was up in front of the Capitol. Gov. John Engler was sitting back somewhere just totally drunk on power, having just been re-elected governor, a woman named Robin Stewart was driving to work in her car, which was loaded with goodies for a holiday party at her office, and Lansing police officers were out doing their thing.

At the Towne Center building at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Kalamazoo Street, court was starting up for the day. One young man, dressed in the thin, yellow jumpsuit of the Ingham County jail, was about the appear for a parole violation. He was not handcuffed, because he was not a violent offender — he was on parole for some breaking and entering stuff earlier in the year.

And then, around 9 a.m. — and it's not quite clear how this happened — the guy just took off. It would be cool to think that the guy just snapped his fingers and disappeared into a cloud of sparkles and magic dust, but he most likely just booked it and was a little too fast for the bailiff.

So he's booking it. And he makes his way into a parking lot somewhere south of Kalamazoo Street off of Capitol.

This is where the magic starts to happen.
The guy then comes upon Robin Stewart's 1993 Mercury Topaz. He breaks into the trunk and finds a cardboard box filled with, well, an elf costume. We can't go back in time and find out what was going on in this guy's brain, but we guess he figured the most inconspicuous thing he could do would be to put on the costume and take off into the streets. And he did, his pointy shoes with bells at the end ringing as he ran.


The chase
It was only Officer David Isabell's fourth day on the job. He was training with Detective Bruce Holliday and the Crime Scene Investigation team on the morning of Dec. 23, 1998. Isabell, however, was weary of Holliday. See, Isabell's father-in-law was a Lansing police veteran, and apparently Holliday had promised Isabell's father-in-law that there would be some practical joking going on.

But a guy dressed up as an elf? No, that would be taking it too far.

As Isabell and Holliday were driving around in their C.S.I. van, a call came over the radio that there was an escape from the court downtown. Naturally — they were in the area — the officers went down to help out.

"A lot of units responded and people got out and were going around on foot — it was a cold day, lots of wind," Isabell remembers. "We searched the area for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, and by then most units cleared the area and gave up. But we stayed out a little longer because (Holliday) was showing me how to track footprints in the snow."

And then, a call came over the radio that a suspicious man was hanging out in a trash receptacle on Capitol Avenue. It was called in as a possible vagrant, so Isabell and Holliday went to check it out.
They pulled up to the corner — Isabell doesn't remember the exact location, Holliday puts it at the corner of Lenawee and Capitol — and parked the van in front of the trash can.
"And then, we see the lid lift up," Isabell said. "And a little guy with an elf hat is peeking out."

The officers didn't quite know what they were seeing, so they moved a little closer. And yup, it was still an elf. Bells, pointy shoes and all.

"Yeah, he was dressed as an elf," Holliday said. "He saw us and then bailed."

Holliday and Isabell took off after the elf. At one point, Holliday ordered Isabell out of the van, which was still moving — he was probably chuckling a little, too — and made him chase after the elf. The spryness of the escapee, was, almost, elf-like.

"He was super quick — like 5'7'', 155 pounds, and I'm chasing him," Isabell, strapping and now an officer at Michigan State University, said.

The elf leaped over a fence and Isabell followed, but proved not as spry as the red and green prison escapee. Isabell lost the elf in a somewhere in a back alleyway of downtown Lansing.

But it wouldn't be the last the two would see of each other.
"When you see a cop chasing an elf, you gotta laugh," Holliday said." But it wasn't like he could go far in that outfit."
Now, picture this: a young, professional woman sitting at a desk making calls, typing and whatever else one does while planning parties. Suddenly, over her shoulder and through the window an elf runs buy. Kind of like a scene out of the Three Stooges, right?

"We were working on inauguration activities," McNulty recalls. "I looked out the window, and I thought I saw an elf running, with like, you know, pointy toes and an elf hat. I think he had tights on. It was a runaway elf." she said.

"Then I see him dive under a car. Then I see the police. Then, I remember pointing at the car because I was in an upstairs office."

Unfortunately for the elf, he didn't have any more magic to work. But, seriously, he must have had some magic because he eluded police for several hours before he was caught.
...When the elf was pulled out from underneath the car, some jolly-feeling officer pulled out a camera and snapped a photo. The next day the Lansing State Journal ran the photo and a story on the front page, which made its way around the country as one of those "news of the weird" items."

A Bit Of Inspiration

Harry from Pleasanton, Texas, recalled how he'd finished up work late one night and stopped for some takeout food. On the way home, he spied a homeless man trying to find refuge from the harsh weather. Harry gave him his food and the homeless man expressed thanks, saying, "I'll pray for you tonight, sir." The parting words deeply resonated with Harry as he laid comfortably in bed that night. "Here's a man who had nothing, needed everything, full of despair, and he was thinking of me and he said his prayers for me," Harry said, "the impact it made on me was that no matter how desperate we are in life ... we'll always have the one thing that all of us need to help our fellow man and that is the capacity for compassion."

"The Chronicles began with a picture in his mind of this fawn carrying parcels and an umbrella in a snowy wood. And he’d had this picture in his mind from the time he was sixteen and when he was about forty, he tried to write a story about it. And at the same time, he was having dreams, nightmares really, of lions. And that’s where the character Aslan kind of just jumped into the story and, as Lewis said, brought the Christian element in with him.” -- Will Vaus discussing the origins and influences of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.

More Even More Scarey From Nikairo

Yesterday was just a tip of the iceburg of experiences she had in that old house built on the side of a castle in a 1000 year old town. Nikairo shares more...Do not forget to check her shop and the amazing work shown in the video below...


"And about the story I have also another one..In that same house I've been waking up during the night and sow a grey smoky "thing" moving really slowly in the air, it always had a smoky "face" of a sort of snake or dragon with open mouth like it was screaming..I use to watch it for few second and then hide undercover,terribly scared(especially when I was a child) that happened few times per year until I left the house. After I've been living in different country so I changed a lot of houses..Two years ago,we moved to a new flat,for a year and a half and three times during this time it happened again.But now it was a less scary "smoke", pale blue and perhaps more similar to the shape of a body.It didn't scare me although I kept covering me to avoid the sight.(The fact that I cover myself it means that I woke up, and it was not asleep).
In that same house one day my hubby left to go to work, and after a while I heard the front door open, steps toward my room and a deep breath.I thought it was him who forgot something,so I went there, but there was nobody..and the door was closed."

Thank you, Nikairo
http:// Nikairo .etsy.com

Nikairo Has An Experience

Nikairo Has An Experience

Nikario doe amazing work woth felt.She says inher Etsy shop announcement:
"!I love felt and to work with it.And I love colors. Bright colors make me feel happy and add a bit of sunshine to life...
If you want to brighten up a simple tshirt or top and jeans, these are the perfect items to wear with!"
This shows in her work.You will want to check it out at
http://Nikairo.etsy.com



Here is her story in her own words
"When I was a child, one night I was reading in bed when suddenly i start to hear a strange noise.I looked up and in front of me,the calendar up in the wall was moving like a pendulum.It kept moving for a while and I stare at it with incredulity until i start to be scared and run to another room with my family. In this house I felt and sow other strange things..and my town had more then 1000 years, so many things had happened there!"

Who HelpedThe Medicine Nurse?

One nurse had help getting the medications for the patients in her care from a questionable source.

Now days the unit dose method of each patient's medication being packaged then put in a labeled drawer in a med cart by the pharmacy staff presents it's own set of myrid problems for the "Medication Nurse".
One nurse carries the keys and is responsible to see that everyone gets all that are ordered and any unexpectedly needed.

.Some meds are ordered to be given once a day(qd),twice a day(bid),three tines a day(tid),four times a day(qid),at bedtime(hs),before meals(ac),after meals(pc),some with specified hours between(q--h) and some when needed with hours specified between doses and for what purposes(prn q-h for--)Keeping up with this for 30 or 60 patients and the assigned staff member,recording and reordering those used is a daunting task.

In "the old days"( and in some Nursing Homes today,) the Medication room was stocked with commonly used medicines and a bottle of each one of the patient's medicines from which the doses were obtained and administered.
It often took hours to prepare and give just those scheduled for a particular time.

One nurse who was especially sensitive and highly professional in this role had a bit of unexpected help.Was it her psychic abilities or a friendly spirit ?Who knows.

Sometimes on a very busy day during a hectic shift on this State Hospital Admission Unit which housed at least 60 patients,MJ would be in a frenzy because she could not find a certain medication.Just then, the bottle would slide out to the front.It was not any one patient's, neither was it every time; it happened only when she needed it most

She helped me several times when I was at wits end giving the meds,so I know it was true.

Where do you think this came from? Did MJ have psychic powers to locate and move the bottles out or was it a friendly nudge from a spirit..perhaps one who had been there,done that and knew how difficult the job was?

Sarah Visits Work From My House

Revived this post from last year.
My friend from years ago, when living in Atlanta allowed me to share her OOBE from my Living Room.Sarah was also a Psychiatric Nurse.She had been my student a few years before at UNCCH.We had remained friends with our unusual interest in the Paranormal.
We attended an Edgar Cayce study group together after I moved back to Atlanta.

Sarah was especially interested in developing her Out Of Body Experiences and had been working on this for about six weeks.
One evening when she was visiting me,after the children were tucked in bed, the experiment began.She got comfortable on the couch and planned to visit work.
She worked in a small private hos[ital about a forty five minute (when traffic was lighter) drive from the present location.She gave a running account of the experience which we recorded.

Along the way she saw a car accident with an injured driver being transported to Grady Hospital the Trauma Center where I worked.This was sort of a Ho Hum to me although I did not say so as there is always an accident with a transport to Grady.

.When she arrived she noted the exact time and said who was at the desk and the chart they were reading.
She gave the names of the staff working in the locked area and the nurse giving the medications.
She described the set up for me as I had never been there.

As she was returning,I was on the phone to the charge nurse who verified every detail Sarah had said with not only the names of the people and their activities described but the decorations and information on the two bulletin boards in the area.

This was a quite successful experiment.We were proud.It took place in a matter of eight minutes not including the time for verification of the details.

Junkyarddoll At Etsy Has A Happening

An Unusual Theatre Experience

If you are into vintage,repurposed and jewelry, you will want to check out the Etsy shop of Junkyarddoll.a variety if cards,[rints and jewelry items are found there with her unique style..
http://junkyarddoll.etsy.com


A very interesting experience was recently related to us as well.Here is her story in her own words;

"I had a strange experience in a theatre I was working in last spring.
I had always come in the actor's entrance and never really looked around the lobby. I wanted some coffee during a performance and my friend and I went the back way around and when we got to the lobby I noticed a framed newspaper article on the wall talking about people who had died in a fire in this theatre's original location. As soon as I said, "Oh, no. People died?" the door behind us creaked shut. I turned to look at it and said "I am not here to bother anyone" the door swung up and shut (like a nod, "ok").
Several people gave me "friend of a friend" stories about things they have seen or felt there. It's a great place."

Interesting.Thank you.
Some of the work is in the Animoto short but do check out the shop at the above address.

Atomkid & KasellKreations At Etsy

Mysterious Moving Objects

Several Etsy Artists have had experiences with mysterious moving objects.Two who experienced this in their homes share their stories today.Some of their work is in the video but you might like to visit the shop to see more.


AtomKid says about his work: "Remember the days of Saturday morning cartoons and getting hopped up on Booberry Cereal?

Well welcome to world of Atom Kid!


I specialize in character drawing! My biggest influences are Alex Toth, Milton Caniff, John Byrne, Jack Kirby,Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Bruce Timm, and Hanna/Barbera!

Not to mention The Ramones and The Groovie Ghoulies (both the band and the cartoon).

I'm a big fan of the fantastic! Sci-Fantasy, I'm inspired by and could talk endlessly about Dr. Who, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Anime, and Universal Horror movies and bad B-movie"
Visit
http://atomkid.etsy.com

Here is the experience in his own words:
"I was eating a bowl of soup, and the bowl started slowly moving to the right. I moved it back to see if it would do it again, and it moved to the right, only very fast this time. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
This has not happened again.He was eating at the counter watching TV.The counter was not damp until after the soup moved.


KassellKreations says of her shop."I love to design and make toys that encourage imagination. No batteries required. I am an avid crafter and enjoy sewing pretty and useful items. Welcome to my shop. I hope you see something you like!
Visit at
http://KasellKreations.etsy.com

She discusses her experience:
"Uri Geller started a clock in my house temporarily when he did a t.v. special. But it still doesn't work now.

One time three people and I moved a card table by putting our hands on it like a Ouija board and it started moving slow and then fast. It was wierd because it was moving towards me. We tried but could never do it again.

The night my husband's mother died two things fell down in the house in two different rooms and no one was near them. I think my husband did it with telekinesis. One other time he was really mad about something and tupperware came flying out of the cabinet. But it didn't fall out and down it came flying out horizontally."

Interesting...Thank you.
I can close my eyes and see the tupperware flying..LOL

PK and TK

Psychokenisis

Psychokenesis (PK) or Telekenisis (TK) is the ability to move or manipulate objects without any physical means.telekenisis from the Greek literally translated means "distant movement".Psychokenesis comes from the Greek word psyche which means"Life force" or "soul" and keinen which means "to move."

The study of phenomena said to be psychokinetic is an aspect of parapsychology. Some paranormal researchers believe that psychokinesis exists and deserves further study.However, there is no scientific evidence that has gone unchallenged that shows psychokinesis exists; PK experiments have historically been criticized for lack of proper controls and repeatability



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychokinesis


Originally telekinesis was coined to refer to the movement of objects thought to be caused by ghosts of deceased persons, mischievous spirits, angels, demons, or other supernatural forces.[29] Later, when speculation increased that humans might be the source of the witnessed phenomena not caused by fraudulent mediums[30] and could possibly cause movement without any connection to a spiritualistic setting, such as in a darkened séance room, psychokinesis was added to the lexicon.[29] Eventually, psychokinesis became the term preferred by the parapsychological community.[24] Popular culture, however, such as movies, television, and literature, over the years preferred telekinesis to describe the paranormal movement of objects, likely due to the word's resemblance to other terms, such as telepathy, teleportation, etc.


The term "Telekinesis" was coined in 1890 by Russian psychical researcher Alexander N. Aksakof., The term "Psychokinesis" was coined in 1914, by American author-publisher Henry Holt in his book On the Cosmic Relations] and adopted by his friend, American parapsychologist J. B. Rhine in 1934 in connection with experiments to determine if a person could influence the outcome of falling dice.[24][25] Both concepts have been described by other terms, such as "remote influencing",



As research entered the modern era, it became clear that many different, but related, abilities could be attributed to the wider description of psychokinesis and telekinesis are now regarded as the subspecialties of PK. In the 2004 U.S. Air Force-sponsored research report Teleportation Physics Study, the physicist-author Eric Davis, PhD, described the distinction between PK and TK as "telekinesis is a form of PK."[31] Psychokinesis, then, is the general term that can be used to describe a variety of complex mental force phenomena (including object movement) and telekinesis is used to refer only to the movement of objects, however tiny (a grain of salt or air molecules to create wind)[32] or large (an automobile, building, or bridge). Hypothetically, a person could have very profound telekinetic ability, but not be able to produce any of the additional effects found in psychokinesis, such as softening the metal of a spoon to allow its bending with minimal physical force. Conversely, someone who has succeeded in psychokinetically softening metal once or a number of times may exhibit no telekinetic ability to move objects.

In September 2006, a survey about belief in various religious and paranormal topics conducted by phone and mail-in questionnaire polled Americans on their belief in telekinesis. Of these participants, 28% of male participants and 31% of female participants selected "agree" or "strongly agree" with the statement "It is possible to influence the world through the mind alone". There were 1,721 participants, and the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.[50]


In April 2008, British psychologist and skeptic Richard Wiseman published the results of an online survey he conducted entitled "Magicians and the Paranormal: A Survey," in which 400 magicians worldwide participated. For the question Do you believe that psychokinesis exists (i.e., that some people can, by paranormal means, apply a noticeable force to an object or alter its physical characteristics)?, the results were as follows: No 83.5%, Yes 9%, Uncertain 7.5%.[51]

# Eusapia Palladino (alternate spelling: Eusapia Paladino; 1854 - 1918) was an Italian medium who allegedly could cause objects to move during seances and was endorsed by world famous magician Howard Thurston (1869 – 1936), who witnessed her levitation of a table.[52]
# Swami Rama (1925 – 1996), a yogi skilled in controlling his heart functions who was studied at the Menninger Foundation in the spring and fall of 1970, and was alleged by some observers at the foundation to have telekinetically moved a knitting needle twice from a distance of five feet.[53] Although Swami Rama wore a facemask and gown to prevent allegations that he moved the needle with his breath or body movements, and air vents in the room had been covered, at least one physician observer who was present at the time was not convinced and expressed the opinion that air movement was somehow the cause.[54]
# Many of India's "godmen" have claimed macro-PK abilities and demonstrated apparently miraculous phenomena in public, although as more controls are put in place to prevent trickery, fewer phenomena are produced.[55]

In the book Parapsychology: The Controversial Science (1991), British parapsychologist Richard S. Broughton, Ph.D, wrote of the differences of opinion among top scientists encountered by Robert G. Jahn, director of the (now-closed) PEAR laboratory, regarding the psychokinesis research that the lab was engaged in at the time.[27] In a radio interview, Nobel laureate Brian Josephson has stated that the results of experiments in quantum physics that he has seen have produced more compelling evidence for the hypothetical existence of psi effects than the results of experiments done in the lab so far by parapsychologists.[27][71]
Magicians, sleight-of-hand-artists, etc., have successfully simulated some of the specialized abilities of PK (object movement, spoon bending, levitation, teleportation), but not all of the feats of claimed spontaneous and intentional psychokinesis have been reproduced under the same observed conditions as the original.[27] According to Robert Todd Carroll, author of The Skeptic's Dictionary , there are many impressive magic tricks available to amateurs and professionals to simulate psychokinetic powers.[76] These can be purchased on the Internet from magic supply companies. Amateur-made videos alleging to show feats of psychokinesis, particularly spoon bending and the telekinetic movement of objects, can be found on video-sharing websites such as YouTube. Critics point out that it is now easier than ever for the average person to fake psychokinetic events and that without more concrete proof, the topic, apart from its enjoyment in fiction, will continue to remain controversial.[39

Psychokinesis has a well-established existence in movies, television, computer games, literature, and other forms of popular culture. In the 1976 film Carrie, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Sissy Spacek portrayed a troubled high school student with telekinetic powers. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first psychokinetic character in a film ever to be so recognized (Ellen Burstyn was the second, in 1980's Resurrection). Numerous characters have the ability to control the movement of objects using the "the Force" in the Star Wars canon. In the 1988 anime movie Akira, a few of the main characters use telekinesis throughout the film. Prue Halliwell's main power as a witch was telekinesis in the series Charmed.

The comic book character Jean Grey of the X-Men exhibits extremely powerful telekinetic ability. Also from the TV show Heroes, the serial killer Sylar frequently exhibits telekinetic ability. It is also commonly used as a power in a large number of videogames and role playing games.

Next time we will focus more on the theory and some examples.

Strange Thongs Today In History

From the Coast To Coast feature "Today In Strangeness"

On this date in 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued the Summis Desiderantes, a decree which officially recognized witches and gave permission for the Inquisition to begin rooting out those practicing witchcraft.
Also, in 1945, five Navy Avenger torpedo bombers, designated Flight 19, disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. Followed by the disappearance of the flight sent to check on them.

Founder Of The Methodist Church Has An Unusual Experience

John Wesiey was a boy pf 13 when in 1715 strange knocking noises began in the family home in Linconshire England..The Wesley family was a large one.Besides John there were 18 other children between the ages of 21 and 7..
Mrs Wesley wrote that"On the first of December,our maid heard at the door of the dining room several dismal groans like a person in extremes,at the point of death." When she looked no one was there.
As days progressed many noises were heard,rapping,swishes as if a rustle of a silken gown,a crackle rocking.footsteps on the stairs and a knocking on the dining table.
The family gradually got used to the disturbances and nicknamed the unseen presence "Old Jeffery"

In the record he kept of the events,John Wesley wrote of the seven year old:,"Kezzy desired no better diversion than to pursue "Old Jeffery" from room to room"

Suddenly after a visit of two months,Old Jeffery left the Wesleys and the Rectory at Epworth has been quiet ever since.

The attention was caught of the scientist Joseph Priestly a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Advancement of Science, and the discoverer of Oxygen.He studied the facts and in1784 reported his findings in the Arminian Magazine,He suspected one of the sisters had an unconscious part on the matter,The definite cause however of the appearance and disappearance was never discovered.

Little Girl Ghost

When we lived in Georgia while the children were small we had the biggest and nicest house ever.There was a playroom and two bedrooms and baths downstairs a large upstairs where the two youngest shared a room and all three usually played.Large kitchen, BR LD and DR up there as well.Split foyer with steps up and down.

I often would play with the children going up the stairs on our hands and knees laughing and teasing.I would hear someone behind me laughing and coming up too, although I was last.
The children never mentioned anything.

Several times we were watching TV downstairs while the little ones were in bed upstairs.We would often hear a ball bouncing and running, but when going up to see the children were in bed asleep.

I had long been a believer in ghosts but mot my husband.He was a major debunker of all things Paranormal.

Once,after checking on the kids after a rowdy ball game followed by footsteps down the stairs,he came puffing in mumbling of tricks being played on him and sank onto the couch.
Then there were steps down the stairs and into the room.A babydoll was seated in a doll highchair across the room from the door.There stood a little girl looking about 5 with long black hair wearing a long white nightdress she held her arm out toward the doll walked across the room to her and disappeared.My husband said faltering"Did you see that?"In a fit of pay back I said"See what?"

After that she often appeared when I was mopping on hands and knees which she thought great fun as well as joined us playing in the stairs.The children still made no mention of her nor did I tell them.

I was unable to research the area as the house we rented was only about 10 years old...before the children and I moved to SC when I returned yo work with a position at Clemson.
Our little girl was a happy ghost and enjoyed playing.I wish I had done more to see where she came from and if I could assist her, but the time was not right.

Unexplained Phone Calls,,From The Dead?

It has been said that receiving phone calls from the dead is a fairly common occurrence.National news following the horrific train crash in California reported an instance of a family receiving 35 calls from the cell phone if one if the victims although he was killed before the calls came.One source indicated tracing the last call helped rescuers find his body.

Some of you are fans of the Coast To Coast AM Radio show.On their site
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/

an interesting article appears called Dead Ringers from a blog by The Paranormal Pastor
http://theparanormalpastor.blogspot.com/2008/11/dead-ringers.html

He discusses two cases representing the two types he has found most common.One is from the deceased and the other is from a departed loved one to the dying person.

Sometimes voices may be heard directly but most commonly only static is heard.Answering machines however sometimes allow voices to be heard that were not detected by the human ear at the time.
Interesting,huh?

KeepsakeKatie At Etsy

Lucid Dreaming

Wikipedia discusses Lucid Dreaming:
"A lucid dream is a dream in which the person is aware that they are dreaming while the dream is in progress, also known as a conscious dream. When the dreamer is lucid, they can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can be extremely real and vivid depending on a person's level of self-awareness during the lucid dream.[1]

A lucid dream can begin in one of two ways. A dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD) starts as a normal dream, and the dreamer eventually concludes that they are dreaming, while a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness. Lucid dreaming has been researched scientifically, and its existence is well established.[2][3] Scientists such as Allan Hobson, with his neurophysiological approach to dream research, have helped to push the understanding of lucid dreaming into a less speculative realm.

An early recorded lucid dreamer was the philosopher and physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682). Browne was fascinated by the world of dreams and stated of his own ability to lucid dream in his Religio Medici: "... yet in one dream I can compose a whole Comedy, behold the action, apprehend the jests and laugh my self awake at the conceits thereof;"[20]Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys was probably the first person to argue that it is possible for anyone to learn to dream consciously. In 1867, he published his book Les Reves et les Moyens de Les Diriger; Observations Pratiques (Dreams and How to Guide them; Practical Observations), in which he documented more than twenty years of his own research into dreams."(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream)

The term lucid dreaming was coined by Dutch author and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in 1913.
The anthropologic studies in 1968 by Carlos Castaneda, for what later became the new age novel, The Teachings of Don Juan, reveals that ancient mexican natives knew and encouraged lucid dreaming.

Another source states"OBE enthusiasts promote lucid dreaming as a "stepping stone" to the OBE. Conversely, many lucid dreamers have had the experience of feeling themselves "leave the body" at the onset of a lucid dream. From a laboratory study, we have concluded that OBEs can occur in the same physiological state as lucid dreams. Wake-initiated lucid dreams (WILDs) were three times more likely to be labeled "OBEs" than dream initiated lucid dreams. If you believe yourself to have been awake, then you are more likely to take the experience at face value and believe yourself to have literally left your physical body in some sort of mental or "astral" body floating around in the "real" physical world. If, on the other hand, you think of the experience as a dream, then you are likely to identify the OBE body as a dream body image and the environment of the experience as a dream world. The validity of the latter interpretation is supported by observations and research on these
http://www.lucidity.com/LucidDreamingFAQ2.html#LD

One of the Etsy Artists shares her experience:
keepsakekatie
keepsakekatie says:
I get severe sleep paralysis, to the point where before I had a sleeping partner I had to set my alarm to go off every hour, to rouse me from sleep.

It's a horrible, frightening condition. Because you are not thinking clearly when you first wake up, sometimes I think I've been in an accident. I also suffer from negative lucid dreaming, which is a condtion where you can control your dreams, but in your dream state, negative thoughts over power your positive nes. This turns dreams into nightmares, and because of the constant state of paralysis, I often cannot rouse myself from the dreams, despite learning a number of techniques, including spinning and dreamweaving.

I have gained more control over the lucid dreaming recently, but the sleep paralysis still haunts me.

There are things that help you get out of it. Your brain is stimulated by patterns and touch, so if you concertrate on the feeling of the mattress under you, that is often enough to bring you out of it. Once, I was under paralysis for over an hour. I thought I was dead. I was also horribly late for work and ot the sack because of my 'crap' excuse.

I would warn ANYONE trying to encourage lucid dreaming that this is very serious and dangerous side effect of trying to control your conscience when you are alseep. My troubles started after I used a book called 'Lucid Dreaming - How to Control Your Dreams'

A wise word og caution.Thank you.Some of her work is in the video but you may like to see more at her shop:
http://keepsakekatie.etsy.com

Pollys At Etsy

Invents the UGs

Then and Now Soapmaking

Nothing Paranormal Today

Happy Thanksgiving

There is so much to be thankful for this and every other year.As I wait for my oldest grandson to pick me up for a dinner with the family after he gets off work at Starbucks,I remember the Thanksgivings of my youth.Grandma cooking for two days on the wood stove.Grandpa chopping the wood and catching the turkey for the feast.Getting the canned vegetables from the smoke house and all the family coming.I am so thankful for my grandparents and growing up with them in the country.No electricity ot running water was not a pressing matter there.Working to raise the food and meat was.It helped me to be a stronger person.I do regret that I am not as involved in the day to day life of my grandchildren as they were in mine,though.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.

A You Tube On Sleep Paralysis

Work From The Etsy Shops

Adapting To Sleep Paralysis

In our recent discussion of Sleep Paralysis in an Etsy Forum,some of the people experiencing the terror of it have found a few ways to adapt to the occurrences.Read the accounts and notice the things that sometimes work.As you may recall amber also mentioned this in her account published in the previous post.It may be helpful to those who go through this..Some samples of their work is included in the video.A link to the shop follows their story.

missknits said...

I used to have this happen a lot as a kid/teen, but only a couple of times since adult. its incredibly frightening. i remember trying to tell my parents, and they thought i was being foolish, til i read about it online somewhere and knew what it was. it still freaks me out, until i realize whats going on and force myself to try and sleep and then i'll come out of it. freaky!
http://missknits.etsy.com


yellowcanoe
yellowcanoe says:
Here's my post from before.... my blog post from it...going back a little over 2 years: http://operation-paper-cut.blogspot.com/2006/08/flickr.html

http://yellowcanoe.etsy.com


smittenkittenorig says:
I've had it at times! Feels like it's so real in the moment & worse still, I couldn't move or scream. At first I thought it was like a night terror thing (so glad it wasn't) but in the moment that hardly matters. I've not had it happen in a quite a while but I've also been on anti-anxiety medication, so that may be why.

In the meantime, chamomile tea & either lavender or chamomile scents worked for one of my friends. Drink the tea before going to sleep and use a bit of either essential oil on your sleep mask (should you have one). ;)
http://smittenkittenorig.etsy.com

TripleWillowGifts says:
I have had it a few times and it's breath taking scary and it left me fatiqued too.

How about breaking the cycle by taking a light dose muscle relaxer? Either natural or prescribed?

My indian teachings tell me though that you need prayers. Consider them on the way with your name in them Snow
http://TripleWillowGifts.etsy.com

FeetingFrenzy says:
i used to experience sleep paralysis all the time as a teenager. it frightened me every single time it happened. i never felt like there were people around me, never felt the heavy chest thing either. i would just wake up and not be able to move. at first i would try to fight it and try to force myself to move. but after the first few times i learned the best way to deal with it was to relax as much as possible and let myself fall back to sleep.

it doesn't happen to me anymore. thank god!!
http://FeetingFrenzy.etsy.com



Solanah says:
Oh gosh I havent had it in a while, but it is terrifying. Pretty much the only thing you have control of is your thoughts and your breathing. You really dont want to go back to sleep, it feels like you'll fall into some horrible world and never escape, so you have to really fight it by trying to stay calm and gathering up energy and then trying to simply move.
http://solanah.etsy.com

ScotiaMade
ScotiaMade says:
It's happneed to me for years. I am now aware when it is happening that I am dreaming and I work to get awake to escape the situation.

This was, of course, a bit of a surprise for the BF the first time it happened, as my method of getting awake is to alert those in the waking world to my situation via a loud noise that is now known in our house as "the wibble"

It sounds a bit like the noise you woudl expect a muppet to make were you to spin it around the room by its feet until it passed out.

That is not what it sounds like in my dream,m but there you have it.
http://ScotiaMade.etsy.com

Two Etsy Artists

Two Artists' Experience with Sleep Paralysis

Two talented Etsy Artists were kind enough to share their experiences .Their work is in the video but you would probably like to see more at their shops on Etsy.
About herself,quietkatie says in her profile;"I like things that are beautiful. I like the way light shines through orange leaves in October. I like the smell of apples. I like watching birds. I like the feeling of a warm cat sleeping in my lap. I like the sound of a baby's laugh. I like the poetry of A.A Milne. I like soft, faded fabrics.

I am especially inspired by walks in the woods, Edwardian children's books, English gardens, French country decor and Beatrix Potter. I've been trying lots of new crafting techniques lately, so keep an eye on the shop for some new additions!"
http://quietkatie.etsy.com


NoctisAeterna's Profile
"Hello, all! My name is Amber, nice to meet you. I'm a 24-year-old college graduate with her Associate's Degree in Art and Animation, and I'm here to (hopefully) put one of those majors to good use ;)

I'm quite enthusiastic about art, and my styles run an eclectic gamut, from digital photography to painting to colored pencil, and so many things in between. Once I really get going here, I hope to have a respectable selection for everyone out there to choose from! The more money I can make, the more materials I can invest in, and the more art I can provide to the good people at Etsy!"
http://NoctisAeterna.etsy.com

Here is quietkatie/s story in her own words:
"I've woken up feeling like someone was sitting on my chest, I don't know if that is sleep paralysis or not. I couldn't move, though, and couldn't really breathe. Then I'd fall back into sleep. It doesn't happen very often. I heard a psychic say once that the "someone sitting on your chest" feeling is caused by your soul, which leaves your body when you sleep, climbing back in and you happen to wake up before it's all the way in. That freaked me out, lol."

Here is Amber.s story in her own words:
"I experience it quite frequently - at least once every couple of months. It used to be downright terrifying, but it's gotten to the point where I can recognize what's happening and can do something about it.

My experiences don't usually have anything to do with pressure on my chest or anything like that - I usually see "shadow people" standing around me, or rising up out of the floor, and sometimes feel someone or something jabbing me in the ribs. Occasionally, I hear voices, too, and a couple of times I've had vivid hallucinations of certain body parts moving in ways that they shouldn't - once, it was my arms, and it felt like they were twining around each other like snakes; the other time, it was the sensation that my jaw was seizing uncontrollably.

I can usually snap out of it, though, by focusing on moving, even just a little bit."

Thank you so much for your stories.Such frightening experiences.It is encouraging that NoctisAetema has developed a way to deal with it.

Astral Catalepsy Or Sleep Paralysis?

In the mid 1930's a man named Sylvan Muldoon first used the term Astral catalepsy.He had been doing astral projection since age 12.In research and study of his own experiences he was able to recall very specific aspects of the out of body experiences.His work was quite helpful for the many people who were enduring this horrible experience now generally called "sleep paralysis."It is common in children but many adults also experience it

Symptoms typically include:
A sensation of being paralyzed
A heavy weight on the chest making breathing difficult
Being unable to cry out or even make a sound
Being touched in a sexual or malicious way by an invisible source
A vibration from within the body or surrounding it
Being pinned down or immobilized by an evil presence
Flashes of or glaring lights
Being bombarded by noises from buzzing,electronic humming,to clamoring voices of many people talking at once
Sincerely believing a vicious entity is sitting on or messing with the bedding intentionally



You can see this is a very unplesant experience.However it is more common than you might think.
Wikipedia gives a physiological run down on the REM stage of sleep which this involves.
It still remains unclear why some have and others do not have this condition.

In many cultures throughout History this has been discussed in folklore.Northern Europeans considered it was caused by abduction of unsuspecting sleepers by witches who took them for long broomstick rides to a distant place.The Japanese thought a gigantic devil would sneak into the bedroom at night and pin the person to the bed with his foot..Newfoundland came up with the legend of The Old Hag who would sit on the chest of the sleeper and wrap her gnarled claw like hands around their neck in attempts to choke them.China envisioned a ghost sitting on the person and assulting them,Interestingly, west Indians considered it yo be a baby ghost jumping up and down on sleeping people's chest.Some Alien abduction reports are also considered to be this sleep paralysis or astral catalepsy occurring.

Some people including some parapsychology researchers do not believe that this actually happens.Others believe that as the spirit attempts to re enter the body something interferes and the body gets the signal that it is dying.Until the two are successfully reunited the symptoms remain.

Wikipedia says"The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes "after which the individual may experience panic symptoms and the realization that the distorted perceptions were false".[7] When there is an absence of narcolepsy, sleep paralysis is referred to as isolated sleep paralysis (ISP).[8] "ISP appears to be far more common and recurrent among African Americans than among White Americans or Nigerian Blacks",[9] and is often referred to within African American communities as "the witch riding your back"[10]"
Sources Wikipedia.sleep Paralysis
http://soulsreflection.com/astralcatalepsy.htm

You Tube Sylvia Browne on The Montel Williams Show (Astral Catalepsy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtRZTsuUaTc

Ramona At Etsy

Ramona's Flying Thread

Some time ago I told you of my friend Roberta who could open and close her heavy closet door by concentrating on it.You have also heard of the chaos in a home a poltergeist presence can evoke.Ramona's story is sort of between these two types of occurrences.Equally interesting.
She has a shop on Etsy.Some of her creations are included in the video but you will probably want to see more.
http://Ramona.etsy.com

She tells about herself in her profile:
"After retiring from a job at an automotive assembly plant I finally found time for my artistic and creative side.

I dusted myself off and then took a class in Stained Glass something I had always wanted to learn. I soon figured out how to take the process and make soldered jewelry. I now have a line I call Soldered Treasures that I am very proud of.

These days I fill my days between my soldering iron and my sewing machine my first love.

Until the grandkids come my dog Sydney and my cat Gracie keep me company and fill my days, oh and lurking in on the forums.

I belong to the Cleveland handmade Team and love chatting with these wonderful women."

Here is her experience in her own words.
"I was starting to sew a project one time and couldn't find the thread I needed anywhere and I had just had it. I gave up and turned on the TV I figured oh well might as well just relax. As I sat down the thread I was looking for cam flying across the room and hit me on the head literally.

It looked as if I had left it on my dresser that I had in the living room at the time. I saw it coming right at me and still didn't move, I couldn't believe my eyes.

After the freak out I turned off the TV and made my project, thought it was a sign.


Thank You for your story,Ramona...

MoonFlowerHerbs & The Candle

From a very interesting thread on Etsy.MoonFlowerHerbs shared her experience with a new candle she was making.It is not pictured.She said,"I should have pictured it at Halloween.LOL"
Those of you who have not discovered her lovely shop will see some of her work in the video posted here, but will probably want to check out more at
http://MoonFlowerHerbs.etsy.com

The pictures with this posting are from the two others who responded about her post.
http://spongetta.etsy.com
http://LonesomeRoadStudio.etsy.com

Both worthy of checking out as well...

Here is the story in her own words:
"I made some blue candles once, and after a while, the colors started separating. The red came out and now they look like they're bleeding....
nursesnaturally says:
' where did the red come from: Did you mix the colors yourself?;
------------------------
Yes, I used new liquid colors, with a new wax..neither of which I had used before. I should have listed them on halloween. lol"

Her story drew a few comments
spongetta
spongetta says:
The bleeding candles sound fascinating! Is that something you could ever replicate?
LonesomeRoadStudio
LonesomeRoadStudio says:
nothing creepy here, but I'm loving the bleeding candle story!

Cool story.Thanks MoonFlowerHerbs

MoonFlowerHerbs At Etsy

No Bleeding Candle Pictured

Aliens And God

If it should happen to be true, as some people believe ,that human life on this planet came from Aliens,would that destroy Religion?
When the idea first surfaced in the mid 1950's it was considered outrageous.Since then it has evolved to include many believers.From what I have read, it is considered a threat to organized religion ;specifically the belief in God
.Evolution itself is considered in this manner, as well,by some groups.

Humans have always had a form of Religion.Who created the Aliens if the Aliens created us?Personally, I do not consider either Evolution or Alien Origin to be a threat to belief in God.The human body is such a complex interwoven arrangement of truly miracleous parts and function.The trees,plants,animals,seas and weather is so carefully and intricately intertwined it seems to me simply indications of God's incredible thoughtfulness and provisions for us.
What about you? A Threat or a Lesson?

DancingGirlArt Has An Experience

In talking about strange things happening when working DancingGirlArt had an interesting experience.She has two shops on Etsy as well as her own website and blog.You can find this information and more of her outstanding work (in addition to that in the video) at this shop:
http://DancingGirlArt.etsy.com

Here is her story in her own words:

I was in the city and searching for a post box to mail my severance letter to my (now) former employer. Found one, mailed the letter - bye-bye day job - and, whilst thinking 'omg what have I done', wandered round the corner and into an interesting looking art gallery and gift shop.

I asked if they were interested in taking new work, they said yes but it's juried and gave me an application form. I gave them a business card and left.

When I got home, waiting for me in my inbox was an email saying never mind the application we'd like to represent you. Apparently they'd visited my etsy shop and liked what they saw!

Sorry for the long tale, but it really reconfirmed my belief in the universe providing! :)

Indeed she has had many accomplishments.She says"I've been creating things for as long as I can remember. I think I first really got the art bug when my reception-class painting of a mermaid sunning herself on a rock in the ocean got put up in the school corridor for all to see. I was five and that was it for me!

I am pretty much completely self-taught. Nine less than useful months at art school as a teenager ensured I quit drawing and painting for the next thirty years and only took it up again quite recently. In the interim I became a potter, jewelery designer and maker, dressmaker and quilter. Just couldn't stop fiddling with things!
My work can be found in private collections in the UK, Ireland, Europe, USA and Canada. It has been exhibited in the UK and the US."

Great accomplishments.The recognition is well deserved.Thank you for your inspiring story..

Work of DancingGirlArt at Etsy

Scrap Addict Finds It!

ScrapAddict's Experience

There are a variety of talented and addicted Artists on Etsy.One is the self proclaimed Scrapbooking Artist ,scrapaddict.She started at a vert early age and says"I never stopped."
Living on a dairy farm and having three children allows little free time.i do not see how she has time to create so many lovely things for the shop.Some are in the Animoto video posted but there are many other in her shop:
http://scrapaddict.etsy.com

She posted an interesting response in a forum the other day.Here is her story in her own words and a few responses to it from that discussion:

scrapaddict says:
"FOR 2 DAYS I've been searching all over for my adhesive that I NEED to create. Cannot find it anywhere! So, I call my sister in law to chat and I mention it to her, and she asks "did you say the prayer to ST. Anthony?" No. She says it and while we are on the phone I find the adhesive!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow!"

Great experience.Others thought so also.
3littleprincesstutus says:
"Scrap...A prayer to St. Anthony has ALWAYS worked for me...and with 3 small girls I lose a lot of stuff!"

LoveLaurie says
"...I am not a particularly religious person. The prayer to St. Anthony is something my mom and aunts always did when I was a child. It is really strange, but EVERY time I do it I find what was missing within minutes. My daughter does it now and it always works for her too."

wiseoldowl says:
"I'm also not religious. who is this st. anthony fellow? i too am missing my glue!"

BlueBoxStudio says:
"So what's the prayer to St Anthony? My DH is forever losing things. Does he just mention his name.

As they say "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most"!"

Love those forums.The video below shows a bit of the work from the responding folks. You can find more at their shop

http://3littleprincesstutus.eisy.com

http://LoveLaurie.etsy.com
http://wiseoldowl.etsy.com

http://BlueBoxStudio.etsy.com

Thanks,Guys.

Etsy Responses To Scrap

Anoher Look At Spontaneous Human Combustion

It is a strange and frightening mystery that with all the technological advances there not only is no cure for the Common Cold or a definite known cause of SHC..
One of the most popular proposes that the fire is sparked when methane (a flammable gas produced when plants decompose) builds up in the intestines and is ignited by enzymes (proteins in the body that act as catalysts to induce and speed up chemical reactions).
Yet most victims of spontaneous human combustion suffer greater damage to the outside of their body than to their internal organs, which seems to go against this theory.

Other theories speculate that the fire begins as a result of a buildup of static electricity inside the body or from an external geomagnetic force exerted on the body. A self-proclaimed expert on spontaneous human combustion, Larry Arnold, has suggested that the phenomenon is the work of a new subatomic particle called a pyroton, which he says interacts with cells to create a mini-explosion. But no scientific evidence proves the existence of this particle.

In 1938, a 22-year-old woman named Phyllis Newcombe was leaving a dance at the Shire Hall in Chelmsford, England. As she descended the staircase of the hall, her dress suddenly caught fire with no apparent cause. She ran back into the ballroom, where she collapsed. Several people rushed to her aid, but she later died in the hospital. Although the theory was that Newcombe's dress had been ignited by a cigarette or a lit match thrown from the stairwell, no evidence of either was ever found. Coroner L.F. Beccles commented on the incident, "From all my experience I have never come across a case so very mysterious as this."

In 1951, a 67-year-old widow named Mary Reeser was at home in St. Petersburg, Florida. On the morning of July 2, a neighbor discovered that Mary's front door was hot. When she broke into the apartment with the help of two workmen, they found Mary in an easy chair with a black circle around her. Her head had been burned down to the size of a teacup. The only other parts of her that remained were part of her backbone and part of her left foot. Other than Mary's charred remains, there was very little evidence of fire in her apartment. A forensic pathologist, Dr. Wilton Krogman, said of the incident, "[It's] the most amazing thing I have ever seen. As I review it, the short hairs on my neck bristle with vague fear. Were I living in the Middle Ages I'd mutter something about black magic." But the police report cited a far less supernatural explanation for the cause of death: a dropped cigarette, which ignited Mrs. Reeser's highly flammable rayon-acetate nightgown.
(Dr.Krogman wa the father of one of my Emory University classmates way back when.)


In 1982, a mentally handicapped woman named Jean Lucille "Jeannie" Saffin was sitting with her 82-year-old father at their home in Edmonton, in northern London. According to her father, a flash of light caught his eye. When he turned to his daughter, he saw that her upper body was enveloped in flames. Mr. Saffin and his son-in-law, Donald Carroll, managed to put out the blaze, but Jeannie died of her third-degree burns about a week after entering the hospital. According to Carroll, "the flames were coming from her mouth like a dragon and they were making a roaring noise." There was no smoke or fire damage in the room. Some have wondered if an ember from her father's pipe ignited Jeannie's clothing.
http://anomalyinfo.com/shc/
http://skepdic.com/shc.html "A more economical and reasonable theory of how human bodies burn in rooms without having the entire room engulfed in flames is the idea of the wick effect. The ignition point of human fat is low and to get the fire going would require an external source. Once ignited, however, a "wick effect" from the body's fat would burn hot enough in certain places to destroy even bones. To prove that a human being might burn like a candle, Dr. John de Haan of the California Criminalistic Institute wrapped a dead pig in a blanket, poured a small amount of gasoline on the blanket, and ignited it. Even the bones were destroyed after five hours of continuous burning. The fat content of a pig is very similar to the fat content of a human being. The damage to the pig, according to Dr. De Haan "is exactly the same as that from supposed spontaneous human combustion." A National Geographic special on SHC showed a failed attempt to duplicate the burning pig experiment." However, it is noted this burning takes far longer than the quick short duration of SHC.

The Mystery remains but don't sleep or leave home with your Christmas Tree plugged in.On second thought maybe not sitting beside it is a good idea....Just in case.Also a good idea mot to smoke.

Helping Hands Trio for Battered Hands

What Do You Think OF Spontaneous Human Combustion?

Have you wondered about or worried about the horror stories you have heard about Spontaneous Human Combustion(SHC_?)
Or have you never heard of it? Over the past 300 years, there have been more than 200 reports of persons burning to a crisp for no apparent reason.

The first known account of spontaneous human combustion came from the Danish anatomist Thomas Bartholin in 1663, who described how a woman in Paris "went up in ashes and smoke" while she was sleeping. The straw mattress on which she slept was unmarred by the fire. In 1673, a Frenchman named Jonas Dupont published a collection of spontaneous combustion cases in his work "De Incendiis Corporis Humani Spontaneis."

Not all spontaneous human combustion victims simply burst into flames. Some develop strange burns on their body which have no obvious source, or emanate smoke from their body when no fire is present.
And not every person who has caught fire has died -- a small percentage of people have actually survived what has been called their spontaneous combustion.

On April 9, 1744, Grace Pett, 60, an alcoholic residing in Ipswich England, was found on the floor by her daughter like "a log of wood consumed by a fire, without apparent flame." Nearby clothing was undamaged.

In December 1966, the body of 92-year-old Dr. J. Irving Bentley was discovered in his Pennsylvania home by a meter reader. Actually, only part of Dr. Bentley's leg and slippered foot were found. The rest of his body had been burned to ashes. A hole in the bathroom floor was the only evidence of the fire that had killed him; the rest of the house remained perfectly intact.

How could a man catch fire -- with no apparent source of a spark or flame -- and then burn so completely without igniting anything around him? Dr. Bentley's case and several hundred others like it have been labeled "spontaneous human combustion" (SHC). Although he and other victims of the phenomenon burned almost completely, their surroundings, and even sometimes their clothes, remained virtually untouched.

Some theories are presented about the causes, but no one really knows.

This source was used and will tell you more if interested,also Wikipedia.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/shc.htm

George's Dream Nightmare or Precognitive?

George is a physist.We have been friends since days at UVA when we were neighbors.We spent many hours arguing about UFO's.He did not believe in any of "that mumbojumbo stuff" of the paranormal.Recently, near his birthday,he was terribly troubled by dreams happening almost every night for several weeks.He was haunted through his dreams by a man dressed in some costume wearing jewelry (he hates men's jewelry) and painted or with tattoo."He seems to know me and wants to tell me something but he says nothing.It is beginning to worry me.I am not sleeping at all.What is going on?"
I gave him the standard psych answer "Maybe you are worried about aging .your birthday is coming up."He blew that off as usual with a few choice words.
His birthday is on Halloween.A few days before,I heard from his wife.She was very excited.She was planning a surprise party.A costume party.She told him they were going to one and had his costume picked out.One of their friends was coming as an authentic Tribal warrier.Another had shavd his head and was using fake tattoos on his face and neck
Her birthday gift to George was "an appointment for an Exotic Piercing of his ear" which she had been encouraging him to have for two months.

Since his birthday he has had no more dreans...What do you think,nightmare or precognitive? Can you pick him from the animoto video?

Theresa's Story

Halloween is over but the ghost sightings and stories do not stop there..I was disappointed in the Coast to Coast AM Show last night.While the content was interesting the guest apparently is a much better writer than speaker.So bad that I fell asleep.

Those of you who read the comments here yesterday were treated to an extra story posted by Theresa.It will keep you awake.So good that I am repeating it here as the feature today.Thank you so much for sharing it,Theresa,Her comments:

" Wow -- amazing story!

It actually reminded me of a story I haven't told or thought about in years. My aunt and uncle used to live right next to a cemetery. I remember playing there as a child when my parents visited. The house was on a street with a row of about 4 old stone-front houses with backyards with no fences, but with a few rows of corn separating the backyards from the cemetery. I remember always feeling it was a creepy place when I was a kid, yet I love cemeteries -- to this day -- as they are the most wonderful outdoor museums. Anyway, I remember family stories about the house being haunted. One story that comes to mind is the one of the fire in the kitchen.

They had swinging shutter doors that led to the kitchen. My aunt would always keep them latched to the wall - open. One night, while in bed, she heard the doors swinging, but knew she had latched them earlier. She got up and latched them again, checked around the house, and then went back to bed. A few minutes later, they were swinging again. She got up and again checked house, relatched the doors, and then went back to bed. A bit later, she heard the doors swinging again, but this time, when she got to the kitchen, the garbage had been moved to the center of the kitchen and was on fire.

How's that for creepy.

I have always wondered... was this a mischevious ghost, or was it perhaps trying to alert her to a hot ember in the garbage. My aunt and uncle both smoked, and if she had dumped an ashtray in the trash with a not quite put out cig but while cleaning up before going to bed, without the alert, it could have been disastrous."

Winner of The Halloween Story Contest

Here it is from the mountains of North Georgia the story in his own words:

"Demonic Presence or Spontaneous Human Combustion

Some people believe Halloween is a time of unusual communication with the dead.I do not necessarily agree but did have a very unusual Halloween Eve several years ago.I was asked to investigate an old three story farm house in the mountains of North Georgia.

I had attended college near there several years ago.Many of my classmates knew of my interest in Paranormal research even though there were no opportunities to study it there.
A classmate had told me of this house that belonged to a distant relative,As is said there "A cousin on my mother's side twice removed."He said that the family had kept the house for several generations adding some improvements and extra rooms in no special order through the last 100 years.

It was told that on three occasions there had been "very strange fires".One nearly destroyed the top floor and a young woman had died.The other two fires had taken place in the past decade.One was in the living room only and the second in the kitchen.
No one was home at the time of the fires neither did the Volunteer Fire Department respond.
The police were called by the family upon their return because human remains were found in the burned area.
No one ever discovered who these bodies were or how they happened to be in the house.Each fire had happened the night before Halloween.

In attempts to deal with my rather boring Accountant job, I with two friends do some paranormal investigations in the Gainesville area.
At my college friends' request,put something like a dare, we set off to the mountains to spend the night in the house and see if a fire started that Halloween Eve .There also were some recurring footsteps and noises from the upper floor reported.

With cameras, recorders,EVP's and enthusiasm we arrived and set up shop.
Around midnight we heard the noises upstairs but found nothing.There were areas of cold but nothing else.
We returned to the Living Room, which was our base, and sat watching the monitors.

Around 3AM "The Demon's Hour" there was a big whoosh sound.To our amazed eyes, the Recliner burst into flames.In our amazement and rush as we saw someone sitting in the chair..we did not take any pictures but rushed to put out the flames.
Someone had thoughtfully brought a small fire extinguisher usually in a kitchen.By the time she got it and ran to the chair, the flames were out.

Sitting in the chair was a charred human looking form with one undamaged arm and foot protruding.M reached for the video camera and just as quickly, the form disappeared.

The whoosh sound and our reactions were on the tape and the video but not one picture from the entire stay showed on the films.

We were stumped and frightened.We left quickly with a plan never to return.Accounting looked a whole lot better after this experience.

On the way home we discussed whether the first fire might have been a case of Spontaneous Human Combustion and the other two some sort of haunting or demon apparition of the same type thing.Who knows?.."

Wow....Happy Halloween

We Have A Winner

Of course each of us is a special person and a winner.I am speaking of the judges verdict in the Halloween Story Give Away.
After some deliberation and only one near fight they decided on a unique story that I will post tomorrow.

The gift basket is on the way to the North Georgia city of Gainesville so the winner will have a clean and good smelling Halloween.He plans to dress as a vampire which has nothing to do with the story.He also does not want his name given as employers are not aware of the sideline paranormal excursions.So if you want to check out the award winner just come back tomorrow.

Many Thanks to the participants and Congratulations to the winner.You are still invited to send any stories you may wish to share.

Super Psychic Kids

Super Psychic Kids In China

In looking up some information on line about Psychic Children,I found two references and one book mentioned about this wonderous pattern being studied.
It seems that evidence is reported that they can change DNA in a petri dish!

From the website
" These children are able to do things that most people thought could be done only in movies with computer graphics. What is so amazing of all is that it is real. If these children don't change our world, nothing will.

What you think is what you get. These children are able to demonstrate that whatever they think becomes reality"

It went on to say that Paul Dong and Thomas E. Raffill wrote China's Super Psychics. It reports China's investigation of these new psychic children who have begun to emerge since 1974.It began with the young boy who could see with his ears.
Initially they did not want to believe it but then found over 1000 children with similar ability.
The Chinese government claims that these children, when blindfolded, could see either with their ears, nose, mouth, tongue, armpits, hands or feet.
Each child was different and his and her vision from these unheard-of areas was perfect. These tests were not just a percentage right some of the time; they were flawless.
They have developed special schools for the children to further develop and test the abilities.

The site further states
"The Omni tests
I first spoke about these children in 1985 when I mentioned the article about them in Omni magazine. Omni was invited to come to China to observe some of these children and write an article about them. Omni assumed that there might be cheating involved, so when they were given some of these children to test, they conducted their examinations in a way that ruled out any possible cheating. They left nothing to chance.

One of the tests began this way: With the children present, Omni took a stack of books and at random selected one of them, then opened the book at random and ripped out a page, crumpling it up into a small ball. Omni then placed it in the armpit of one of these children -- and this child could read every word on the page perfectly! After many varied tests, Omni became convinced that the phenomenon was real, but they could not explain how these kids were doing it. Their report was released in their January 1985 issue.

But Omni was not the only one to send researchers to observe these children. Several other world magazines and also papers in respected journals such as Nature, a prestigious science magazine, have also agreed that this phenomenon is real."


'According to Paul Dong in China's Super Psychics, seeing with various parts of the body was the psychic ability that caught the attention of the Chinese government, but this ability was quickly understood to be only the tip of the iceberg. These children began to demonstrate other psychic abilities that are truly difficult to accept inside this ''normal'' reality
.Unopened bottles
One child would take a sealed bottle of pills off a shelf at random, like vitamin pills, for example. The bottle would be sealed with the original plastic wrap and have a tightly screwed metal or plastic top. The bottle would then be placed in the center of a large bare table. Then a video camera would observe what happened next.

The child would say to the audience that he/she was beginning, but nothing was visible to the audience. Suddenly, the pills inside the sealed bottle would pass right through the glass and appear on the table. In many cases, the child would then take another object, such as a coin, set it on the table, and it would pass into the sealed bottle. This demonstration and others like it are definitely approaching what I would call fourth-dimensional consciousness. What you think and what happens are connected.

There are several other psychic abilities that have been demonstrated in China, according to this book. If you are interested, read what has been reported. You may think that this is just magic tricks, but when you see these things in person, it is very hard to explain. For the first 10 years the Chinese government would not believe it either, until the number of these children who could do these things kept growing. By the time China's Super Psychics was released in 1997, the Chinese government had identified more than 100,000 of these children. In fact, by about 1985, the government and the Chinese scientific community simply had to admit it was true"

Mr. Dong reports how several times a large audience of a thousand people or more would enter the auditorium and be handed a live rosebud. When everyone was seated and quiet, the demonstration would begin with a young Chinese girl, about 6 years old, who would come on stage all by herself and stand in the center facing the audience. Then with a silent wave of her hand, the thousand rosebuds would slowly open into full-blown, beautiful roses before the eyes of the astonished audience.

Mr. Dong also speaks of how more than 5,000 young children have demonstrated in public another amazing feat. Realize here that the Chinese government has carefully tested these children .... The government is convinced it is true.


http://www.edgelife.net/issues/2001/12/melchizedek.html
There is much more about this there and about a Mexican girl> demonstrations as well
http://www.psychicchildren.co.uk/
Discussion of a book on this subject

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Amazing and that is many years ago.Have you heard of this?Wonder if our government is doing anything along this line?It was new to me...