Sue Darroch and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

The photograph shown in Figure 1 was taken by me in St. James United Church in Montreal while attempting to capture psychic images. The occasion was a weekend psychic UFO conference in 1977.

Figure 2 shows the panel discussion and there are some faces you may recognize. First seated on the left is the late Professor J. Allan Hynek the renowned and respected UFO investigator and founder of the Center for UFO Studies http://www.cufos.org/. Sitting next to him is Dr. Bernard Grad of the McGill University School of Medicine (now retired). Dr Grad carried out some very important and scientifically rigorous (but little recognized in conventional scientific circles) research on the effect of healing through psychic means. http://www.ultramind.ws/laying_on_of_hands.htm Dr Grad also did a significant amount of work with Wilhelm Reich, experimenting with the Orgone Energy Accumulator http://skepdic.com/orgone.html. Sitting on Dr Grad’s left is Farther Stephen Barham a well-known instructor of the Silva Mind Control technique and is the speaker shown in Figure 1.

My wife and I felt that the venue may generate an elevated level of psychic energy and perhaps provide an opportunity to record something on film. We weren’t disappointed but what did we capture?
Following the conference we developed the film and were fascinated to see the strange dendrite like effects (Figure 1 being a typical example) appearing on 12 of the 36 frames. Careful examination of the negatives showed these effects to be part of the recorded image and not any form of mechanical damage or printing artefacts.

My wife and I are both keen photographers and have never seen anything like this before or since on any of our pictures. Had we captured a physic event? We showed the pictures to a professional photographer who immediately said “Oh that’s just sparking”. When the weather is cold the indoor humidity can be very low. If the film is rewound too fast under these conditions, an electrostatic charge can build up on the films surface and eventually cause air ionization across the surface of the negative. The resulting airglow exposes the film in a characteristic random tree-like discharge pattern. Well - the conference was in winter and it was cold so this seems like a very good explanation. Further examination of the negatives showed that the spikes did not respect the exposed frame edges but often crossed frame boundaries. This is of course consistent with the discharge explanation.

We published the photograph in Figure 1 in the journal MetaScience Quarterly, Vol.1, No.2 1980. In the following publication MSQ, Vol.1, No.3 another “sparking photograph” appeared submitted by a Professor Harold Sternbach. It was taken in 1958 in Antarctica by one of the Professor’s students who claimed that the spikes in the photo typically appear on pictures taken there. Again this fits the conventional explanation - so was it spirits or electrons? I vote electrons but nevertheless it seems strange that this phenomenon is not more commonly seen especially in Canada (or is it)? The student’s sparking photograph is the only other example I have seen of this effect. Perhaps a psychic venue is required to put some “electricity” in the air.

This story serves to emphasize that the interpretation of photographic evidence is not straightforward. It is necessary to explore all mundane explanations and consult experts before jumping to extraordinary conclusions. Extraordinary conclusions require extraordinary evidence. If this effect is ever legitimately captured on a digital camera then perhaps some deeper thinking is in order.

Our deepest thanks go out to John Miller for sharing his photos with us.

Each Friday we will have a look at the stories and experiences that have been related to us over the years that are amongst our personal favourites. These will include Crypto, Ghosts, Hauntings, UFO's, and other strange events that may be considered Fortean, from in around the Toronto, Canada area .... and since they are from our own personal files will likely not be found elsewhere on the web .... enjoy!

Pinnacle Playhouse - Belleville, Ontario

Since 1969 the Belleville Theatre Guild has operated out of the former D.L. Storey Centre in Belleville. Since the building has become the Pinnacle Playhouse, there have been many reports of supernatural occurrences within the walls.

The members of the Guild have nicknamed their spirit "Ophelia" after Hamlet's love interest in the famed Shakespeare's play. There have been many reports of hearing "Ophelia" talking within the walls of the theatre, as well as staff and guests seeing green eyes within the air vents. Voices and lights have been seen and heard from the backstage area when no one was there. A lady in black is often seen in the control booth, and there are also sightings of people sitting in the seats of the playhouse who just disappear. In the female washroom - people have been terrified hearing a disembodied male laugh who people theorize is a dead janitor who used to work within the building.

Did all the renovations that occurred on the property converting the old D.L. Storey Centre to a playhouse wake the dead, or is this the result of creative minds working late hours in an old, dark, historic building. We would love to find out! Please contact our local investigator at brendag AT ontarioghosts.org

This is a very odd news item, although I have heard of this type of thing happening before. Here is a snippet from the news report:

ATHENS, Greece - A 9-year-old girl who went to the hospital in central Greece suffering from stomach pains was found to be carrying her embryonic twin, doctors said Thursday.

Doctors at Larissa General Hospital examined the girl and surgically removed a growth they later discovered was an embryo about six centimeters (more than two inches) long.

"They could see on the right side that her belly was swollen, but they couldn't suspect that this tumor would hide an embryo," hospital director Iakovos Brouskelis said.

Full MSNBC Article Here

My heart does go out to this poor child, and her family. Can you imagine how they must feel! Hopefully she will recuperate without too much trauma either physically or mentally.

This comes hot on the heels of the Vatican declaring it is ok to believe in aliens! I blogged about that just yesterday.

"Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,'...why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be a part of creation."

Getting back to the UFO reports that have been released in the UK here is a snippet from the BBC:

Secret files on UFO sightings have been made available for the first time by the Ministry of Defence.

The documents, which can be downloaded from the National Archives website, cover the period from 1978 to 1987.

They include accounts of strange lights in the sky and unexplained objects being spotted by the public, armed forces and police officers.

One man explained in great detail his "physical and psychic contact" with green aliens since he was a child.

The writer said that one of them, called Algar, was killed in 1981 by another race of beings as he was about to make contact with the UK government.

The letter's author said he visited their bases in the Wirral and Cheshire, while his wife reported seeing a UFO shot down over Wallasey on Merseyside.

The eight released files are part of almost 200 files set to be made available over the next four years.

These documents will be available to download for free for the first month.

Full BBC Article Here

Well at least they will be free for a time. In the USA investigators, and UFO researchers have in some cases had to spend thousands of dollars for documents under the FOIA and still been handed mostly blackened out documents, led on wild goose chases between government agencies etc. And almost all of these folks have had to do it with their own funds.

Thanks to Andy for sending the BBC article our way.

You know you really do not need to be a part of the uber computer savvy Slashdot crowd to be able to to build your own computer, although that would be ultra cool in a geeky sort of way. Nope, all you really need is a good diy PC kit, and some basic home tools like a screwdriver, brainy specs would make you look better, but they too are in the not needed department unless you really do need them.

Easy As My PC offers basic PC kits, business computer kits, and gaming diy kits. They come with very simple (in English) instructions, and lots of illustrations to really simplify things. They also offer support, and you can check them out via their site or give them a call +18883279020

It's worth checking out, and can save you big $$$$$ bux by doing it yourself.

Over the years I have received the following crazy email, and attached photo at least 100 + times.

Here is the story that goes with it:

READ BEFORE OPENING THE PHOTO... The young man in this photo went to a place called Sundarbans with his friends and he asked his friends to take his photo on this spot. While his friend took the photo, he screamed and fainted, 2 days later he died in hospital. The doctors said he died from a heart attack. When the photos where developed, in the last photo there was a woman standing next to the young man, even though his friends said there was no one with him when the photo was taken. Many people know of this rumor and the last photo is the result of the blessings of technology. Still, the
photo is very mysterious and I am sure that when you see it you will feel the same a s m e.. Here is the photo! A Naval Officer sent it to 13 people and he was promoted within 13 days. A businessperson was sent this, he erased it, and with in 13 days he lost everything. A laborer received this and sent it to 13 people and within days he was promoted and all his problems were solved. So send this to 13 people and good things will come your way.

I have deleted this message without forwarding it on again at least 100 plus times in the hopes this crazy looking female ghost will appear or whatever, and then I could capture her and put her in a jar ...to no avail....

Whaaaa.... oh and no bad fortune attributed to this either....

Remember if it looks or sounds to good to be true (which this one really doesn't) it probably is......

The story is completely bogus.

It seems here in the West we cannot escape the need to borrow money at some point in our lives, usually more than once. This could be for big life altering purchases like a new home, or for a car, or in the case of a hobby like ours for new equipment etc. I am currently debt-free, but I can see that changing in the very near future.

Today I had the opportunity to have a look at an online personal loan service. The company specialises in all loan types no matter what the credit history of the applicant, including High Risk Personal Loans without having to put up any collateral. The site is well designed, and easy to use with lots of useful information for potential borrowers. If this sounds like something you could benefit from than please do check them out by clicking on the link I have added in for you.

Be sure to read through their FAQs , which are quite detailed, and then check out their hassle-free application, which only takes a few minutes to complete.

This shot just looks eerie! If a ghost ship or sea monster came into view it may just fit right in

Happy Wordless Wednesday - Tuesday Edition, and thank you for stopping by!

For a list of other Wordless Wednesday participants please click here.

I was reading an interesting article out of the U.K. in regards to the use of trigger objects. In this case jewellery, both men's and womens gold watches were used in order to determine anomalous movement.

It was rather intriguing, and unfortunately I had a minor PC crash, and lost the exact link. If I find it I will post it here as the article goes way past the usually silliness you see online, and I was quite impressed.

Vintage 1980's. The town of Deep river, located on the Ottawa River, was established as the residence community for the personnel employed by Atomic Energy of Canada at nearby Chalk River. Over the years reports of UFO activity over both the town of Deep River and the village of Chalk River with its nuclear reactors have been plentiful. "Bright sphere shaped lights have been travelling at phenomenal speeds through the trees and at least fifteen people have witnessed and recounted these bizarre occurrences. Sounds like science fiction ? Apparently all of the fifteen witnesses have seen more than they're willing to say, but all steadfastly refuse to return to the sea." So mysteriously wrote an Ottawa Valley resident Heather Pettipas in "Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind" in Downstream: A Deep River and Area Literary/Art review (1983) compiled by P.A. Carver.

The date of this possible encounter was recorded as March 18 2000 and the time as 11:06 am. The location is Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The 36-year old witness had been suffering from headaches and nausea and was out for a walk in a field when he saw flashing lights and everything turned dark.

He briefly remembered seeing a "humanoid" with an oval shaped head, black eyes, and a very light coloured skin tone. I have read many reports of similar creatures with very white, glistening skin, almost as if a skin whitening technique was employed. Perhaps as camouflage.

He later woke up and found strange scars but they disappeared soon. No other information is available.

Source: UFO Abduction Raw Data Page, UFO Watch

Very cool write-up in the Associated Press regarding the Vatican, and the official view on alienish beliefs or by extension a belief in UFOs I suppose. Here is a snippet:

VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican's chief astronomer says that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God.
The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, says that the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.

In an interview published Tuesday by Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes says that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures.

The interview was headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother." Funes said that ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom.

Thanks to Exopolitics for the heads-up on this one