Sue Darroch and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

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!

The following was submitted by one of our readers and it's also one of the rare stories we put online that doesn't exactly fit our criteria for online submissions but it's a good report with great detail and covered a few things interesting to many people that look into ghosts and hauntings. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Clarkson Ontario - Private Residence

"I would like to submit an experience I had as a child. This happened twenty-six years ago in the home of my very close friend. I was nine years old at the time and her and I had become close friends since we both were new to the neighbourhood and starting the new school together.

Her mother lived in a townhouse complex in Clarkson, Ontario.

I lived just down the way from her so we would spend practically all of our time together, joined at the hips so to speak.

Her house was closer to our school so for lunch we would go there during the non winter seasons. What I remember is that we would essentially open the door quickly, run up the stairs to the kitchen, hurriedly make a sandwich, grab a drink and then immediately take these to the front step to eat. We would not spend a great deal of time in the house. There was no noises or anything that would have spooked us , it just seemed that we should not spend time in the house. Oddly enough, we never spoke of it either.

Weekends were normally sleepovers. We never had anything happen before this incident or after it.

Being that we were only nine years old, we did not talk of anything other than current tv crushes and the "yucky" boys at school and normal nine-year-old girl banter. Paranormal things were not on our minds.

That evening, her brother was staying at a friends house and her mother had retired to bed. We were in her room going over all the important worldly things around us such as the raised prices of candy bars and how much we enjoyed the Bob and Doug Mackenzie album, when we decided to go downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink.

The stairs that descended to the kitchen were split in half with a landing , as we were on the landing and me being the first one with my foot on the first or second step to the second set of risers, a gust of cold air seemed to pass through us, I know that I had been frozen to a stop and since Melissa did not bump into me I could only assume the same of her. As soon as the cold gust went through I saw the vague shape, like a mist, run down the stairs in front and then make its way down the next set of stairs leading to the main floor.

Without any words we both turned around and scurried up the stairs into her room, closed the door behind us and jumped into her bed pulling the covers up to our chin. We wound up facing each other and laying there quietly listening for any noise that may suggest that whatever had passed us on the stairs was outside of the room.

Nothing happened after that, and we both must have just drifted off to sleep.

What is most odd is that neither of us talked of the incident. We continued to do sleepovers, although I know that we never left the bedroom at night alone, including bathroom visits.

The first time that we ever talked about it was almost twenty years after it had happened. I had moved to Niagara Falls and she had been in Windsor completing her law degree.

We were on the back deck of my home when she suddenly asked me if I remembered what happened when we were at her house so many years ago. Both of us had some laughs over it, not that we discounted what had happened but mostly because we seemed to have never talked of it. We both came to the conclusion that we must have collectively thought that if we just don't talk about it , it won't happen again.

That was one of the first paranormal experiences I had. It is the one that stands out so clearly even though all of the years passed since that night."

Our thanks to the witnesses for sharing this report with us.

The writer of this report is interested if anyone else had a report from the same area or preferably, the same house. For obvious anonymity reasons, we don't want to divulge the exact address or location of the townhome but we do have it. As is usual for us, if you think you have had an experience in the same house, you can send it to us and we will be happy to "confirm" or "deny" if it is indeed possibly the same entity.



Do you have a real life ghost story, an encounter with a UFO, or other paranormal experience/s you'd like to share? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Post your own experiences in our comments section or send us an email. Please post only true life experiences ... we love good fiction, but there are other fantastic blogs out there to post fictional accounts to.

Kefalonia is a breathtaking, and somewhat mysterious island in western Greece. It takes it's name from the mythological figure Cephalus, and there have been several intriguing archaeological digs there! Some of their finds may be viewed at their Archaeological Museum located in the capital.

The island itself is dotted with tiny villages, surrounded by majestic mountains, and beautiful beaches. Definitely a wonderful destination for the historically minded.

HolidayHyperMarket.co.uk offers flights to Kefalonia at terrific discounts along with hotel, and other types of vacation rental bookings.

Have a look at their travel guide by clicking on the link, and view some of the spectacular videos for this hot destination. The site is easy to use, and navigate, and offers thousands of vacation plans for destinations around the world.

Enjoy!

Thank you to the sponsor.

Over the past two weeks both Matthew, and I have had several inquiries via email regarding last year's seminar program on ghost investigation. These were a lot of fun for us to do, and were quite successful! Generally, we are being asked if we will be offering them again this summer. The answer is unfortunately no. While the seminars were well attended, and we enjoyed meeting with other ghost enthusiasts, the subject as a whole has limited appeal from an investigative standpoint, therefore we thought that doing them every couple of years would be better not only for us, but for those interested in serious study.

In the coming days I will be listing my favourite ghost tours from around the province here on the blog, including info on who to contact.

In other news Robin had a FANTASTIC time at the Waverley Asylum in Kentucky, USA on a press junket, and even brought me back a souvenir from the old morgue with staff permission of course. The team got some interesting footage, and further details will hopefully be posted shortly. Due to an unfortunate car wreck Robin (she is more or less physically ok) has been unable to provide a written report just yet.

Finally, Matthew has written up a wonderful, but very dark (you've been warned) This could ALMOST go on the Paranormal Blog... entry on cemeteries, grave robbers etc for our history blog. Click on the link to have a read.

Cheers!
Sue

For the month of June, historian Chris Laursen takes us to different locales in East Asia to reveal the colourful and fantastical ghostlore that comes from that region. In his last instalment in this series, a Filipino woman (who lives in Toronto, Canada) tells Chris about her recent experience clearing her husband's house in Manila of its ghosts.

Throw a fistful of salt, smash a glass of gin
by Chris Laursen

A few months ago, I ran into a couple of friends in a local bakery, and in conversation told them about the historical research I've been doing on the paranormal. One of my friends told me that her mother had gone to the Philippines (where her father currently lives), and was clearing his house of its ghosts. I was really curious about this, and some weeks later had an opportunity to sit down with my friend's mother, who likes to go by the nickname Mama, to talk to her about the experience.

In the late 1990s, Mama's mother-in-law died, and her husband returned to the Philippines to take care of the family property. He moved into her house in Manila, and ever since, strange things have been happening in the house. Many people have sensed a presence there, while others have reported apparitions, the regular sound of someone walking up the stairs, doors closing on their own and electric fans turning on by themselves.

Several years ago, my friend went to visit her father in Manila and had a strange experience of her own. "My Dad let me stay in his room while he stayed in the other room," she told me. "One night, I was in his room and he was watching TV in the other room. I thought I heard him calling out to me. I peeked out my door and I saw what I thought was him with white stockings on his feet, running from the hall into the room, which is weird because he doesn't wear socks around the house." She went to his room to ask what he wanted. He was just relaxing in his bed, barefoot as usual. "I asked him what he needed and he said he didn't call me. I told him what I saw, and he said, 'You know I don't wear socks in the house.'" She added that she really doesn't want to know about the haunting there because it makes her feel a bit paranoid.

But Mama was eager to tell me all about it. She told me of how, being a Roman Catholic family, the house had been blessed on a few occasions. But soon after each blessing, the ghostly incidents would resume. Late last year, her husband had hired a cook to work in the restaurant he owns. The cook and his wife came from another village about two hours from Manila and they needed a place to stay until they got settled in the city. Mama's husband offered them a room for a few weeks.

The bustling city of Manila, Philippines.

One night, when her husband was out, the couple heard someone in the kitchen. There was the sound of dishes as if they were being cleaned. They went downstairs to greet Mama's husband, who they thought had just returned home. But there was no one there. The next day, they asked Mama's husband if he had been in the kitchen at this time, but he said he hadn't returned home yet. The couple were unnerved by the experience.

Mama's husband decided to call in an older woman who believed in the supernatural and could perform a ceremony to rid the house of its unwanted and unseen guests. When she entered the house, she told Mama's husband that she saw a lady sitting at the dining room table, her head bowed. The woman did a rite involving a chicken, gin and candles, and for a while all was quiet. But soon, the haunting resumed. Mama's husband told Mama of this when he came to visit her in Toronto, Canada last January.

In Toronto, Mama has a friend originally from Jamaica. Her friend had told Mama about how her home in Jamaica had been haunted, and she had learned a procedure to get rid of the ghosts. With many strange, often frightening reports, Mama was willing to try something new to clear family home in Manila of its ghosts.

The procedure would take nine days to complete and would have to be performed on each of those days just before sunrise. In early April, Mama was visiting her husband and decided to undergo the process her Jamaican friend had advised her to try. It was around midnight, and Mama had to get up in a few hours to do the lengthy initial procedure to exorcise the house. "I woke up, and by our window, it sounded like birds were coming. They were so loud, but I couldn't see anything because it was dark," she told me. No one else had heard the strange sounds. She wondered if it was a sign that someone knew Mama was going to try to rid the house of its spirits.

Filipinos have a long-standing, rich mythology, and continue to experience apparitions and ghostly activities within the context of traditional beliefs. A recent news story featured video captures of alleged "multos" (the Tagalag word for ghosts). Interestingly, they seem to share the girl with long dark hair wearing a nightgown or dress as has often been captured on videos since the popular movie "The Ring" was released. The link for the video is at the bottom of this article.

In the early hours of the morning, Mama and the housekeeper started the process of clearing the house. They had many different items her Jamaican friend recommended she use: salt, hot chillies, chayote, green lemons, red candles, gin and so on. Outside of the house, she filled a glass with gin and took a fistful of salt, and threw them both to the ground. "My friend told me to say, 'Go away! Don't come back!' like you're really mad! So I did that," said Mama. The two women went through the entire property with frankincense, spreading the various items around to repel whatever spirits were haunting the home. The initial procedure was completed before sunrise. On each of the nine days, before the sun rose, Mama read a prayer from the Bible, Psalm 97, while facing to the east.

But on the ninth day, Mama wondered if all of her prayers had been in vain. She stood in a room reading the prayer one last time when she felt a breeze. She looked and saw that the electric fan was on. It was very strange that the fan would be on so early in the morning, for it was always left off during the night. As Mama told me the story, she rationalized the maybe the fan had been left on, but she was quite certain it was not, and that it turned on by itself while she was reading the prayer. Her husband further verified this when told her he had not turned on the fan before going to bed. "I thought to myself, 'Oh shoot!' What was going on?" she said. "This was the ninth day! But you cannot fear. You have to be strong. This is my house."

To Mama's knowledge, all has been quiet in her husband's house in Manila since she did the procedure. But things have always been quiet after blessings have been made, leaving one to wonder if the ghosts might return. Mama hopes they don't.

Further reading:

The Philippines has a rich mythology passed on from the many tribes who lived there before the Spanish brought Catholicism to the islands. Among the tales you will read about are tree spirits, including fairies, dwarves and giants, all of whom live in or around the trees in the forests. This rich folklore still lives on today, as Mama told me about how there is a tree on her husband's property that is thought to have spirits. One person reported seeing a kapre (a tall, dark giant) in the tree coming to the house one night. To ensure the tree spirits are happy, people leave offerings at the tree.

Some further details on mythological creatures in the Philippines can be found at:
http://www.answers.com/topic/philippine-mythology

Not only does the Philippines have incredible folklore, it also has a lot of ghosts! People have written about their own accounts of their paranormal encounters on several websites:

Your Ghost Stories - Personal paranormal encounters
http://www.yourghoststories.com/ghost-stories-countries.php?country=PH&page=1

A list of haunted places in the Philippines:
http://theshadowlands.net/places/philippines.htm

An article by Doris Trinidad in the Philippine Post Magazine from October 2001 on ghosts:
http://www.philpost.com/1001pages/insight1001.html

Last, but not least, check out this Filipino television segment which includes several video captures (see above picture) of what are said to be apparitions. Judge for yourself, and be sure to have someone close by to grab onto if you get scared:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL4j-Wsp-EI

I spent some time earlier today visiting the Cliffside Malibu website, and thought I would share some of my thoughts on it with you our readers.

Firstly, I was left with the impression that amongst Drug Rehabs, and other similar facilities Cliffside Malibu is taking an innovative approach to helping people overcome substance abuse problems. They may in fact be a very good alternative for people who are chemically addicted, and have sought help with other types of treatment that have failed in the past.

They take an approach based on treating the whole person, and not just the addiction itself, through nutrition, total detoxification, supportive, and nurturing counselling of individuals, which they term a "social education model." The goal of course is to help people achieve lasting sobriety through this life model, and attain the best quality of life. They do this without the use of further drugs.

Cliffside Malibu provides its clients with as comfortable a setting as possible in order to make the experience as pleasant as possible under the circumstances. If you have a look at their website for yourself you will see what I mean through the photos that they have so kindly provided. The facility is beautiful, and definitely indicative of a calming environment.

If you think they might be of help to you or someone you love please do visit their website, or you may call their counsellors directly 24 hours a day +18005011988 for a supportive ear, and further information.

Thank you to our sponsor.

Necromancy is defined as the raising of the images of the dead, considered in antiquity and by modern occultists as a practice of Black Magic. Not to be entertained lightly!

Edward Kelly a magician reportedly worked with the famed alchemist John Dee.

Happy Wordless Wednesday, and thank you for stopping by!

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

Image Credit: From Old Books.org

Toronto Ontario - June 23rd 2007 Approx. 3am

UFO Details Report: "I was a participant at the Canadian Cancer Society - Relay for Life on June 22, 2007 (7PM) until June 23, 2007 (7AM). The event I joined was held at Toronto-Central location - Forest Hill Memorial Park (near Eglinton & Bathurst). Around 3AM (? not sure, because I didn't have a watch on me), I was walking towards the portable washrooms with my gf and I suddenly looked up in the early morning sky as I quickly saw a white-blueish/purpleish ball of light (5mm diameter from my view) flew across the sky quickly before vanishing(?) or disappearing(?) into a very small patch of clouds. I'm not even sure if it went right into or it was above it. It certainly did not come back out. It could have been a meteorite shower(?) but I doubt it would have been that big...or if the colour would be whiteish-blue. (Shouldn't it be something like orange...because it's burning up in the atmosphere?) But anyway, someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I really want to know what I saw (I'm thinking, if it was my mind that tricked me, because I've been up since 6:55am from the previous day)."

We would appreciate hearing from anyone else who may have attended this event, and has seen something similar. Your confidentiality, and privacy are always assured with us. You may contact us via this blog or email us directly.

Our thanks to the witness for this report.

I was reading through a press release earlier today that was in regards to online backgammon company Backgammonmasters.com. Their website is very well known in the internet backgammon world, and they have supported much charitable work in the past giving them even further notability! However, this press release was not regarding their online backgammon games, instead it is an introduction to one of their newest services, which is online poker.

Online Poker fans can now play their favourite game via the Backgammonmasters.com All-in-One Game Lobby, and enjoy the same high quality, and standard of service that those who already play backgammon with this site do.

For a limited time the company is offering Poker games for money with no rake, meaning the house will not take any commission.

They have also set up free, fun mode poker games, for people that want to practice their own skills first or who are like me, and afraid to lose money. This is something I personally would appreciate.

While I'm on the topic of Backgammonmasters.com I want to mention that this same press release hinted very strongly that there will be many more games to be introduced over the coming near future for online gamers to participate in, and enjoy. These too will be brought to the table with the same superior graphics, and outstanding level of service that players have come to know from their company.

A real bonus for online game lovers!

Our thanks to the sponsor!

I found the following news item of while surfing around the net this past weekend. Here is a snippet:

A paranormal investigator claimed today he is in line to win £1 million after betting he could prove the existence of an afterlife.

Ross Hemsworth, 49, from Glastonbury, has placed a £100 bet with odds of 10,000/1, that he will provide evidence of an afterworld beyond reasonable doubt.

If the self titled "scientific investigator of anomalous phenomena" is proved correct not only will he bag the money but will also become one of the most famous men in modern history.

Full Article Here

Naturally this caught my attention, and I intend to keep an eye on it for further developments. The question of course is what does he think he has got???? Should be interesting no matter how it turns out.

When the above video first popped up on YouTube we had serious doubts in regards to it. In reaction to the numerous emails we received we posted the following to the PSICAN Forums:

I'm sorry, but we doubt this video very much.

First of all, it's odd this person is only using an infra-red night-vision video for a light source. Most people would have a flashlight.

Next, most people on seeing what seems to be a "solid" child in the home, would not run from it without making a noise, but would most likely assume a child was in the home and then pursue the child to find out why they were there and how they got there...

I could be wrong, because without being there, it's impossible to say, but the lack of realistic behaviour/reaction from the witness and the lack of a proper light source (which is "unnatural") make me highly suspicious of the validity of this video.

That, and it's a "dead ringer" (forgive the pun) for a video released on YouTube about six months ago in the states.

Sorry we can't be more "positive", but it seems to be very "problematic" in our eyes...

We further expanded on the probability of a hoax with this:

Granted there could be an epidemic of little girl ghosts caught on video ... n'yeah .... forgive us our cynicism ... We mentioned one other almost identical video (note none are ever submitted to anyone for analysis just uploaded to YouTube) but I can think of a few that feature little girl ghosts.

For the most part human nature is very predictable and that is what is really missing in these videos. Unless they knew they were in a haunted house, inhabited by a ghost girl, that they were already frightened of seeing. ... the reaction appears staged ...

I don't buy it ...

Think about what makes a really good horror film ... the actors are believable in their roles.

Well guess what???? A YouTube user going by "ghostevidence" did an analysis of the above video, and ultimately said they found out this was a viral video to promote a TV series called Scream Team.

UGH!

Yet, we are not surprised at all.

We had been contacted not only by our readers, but by media in regards to this utter waste of time as well when it was first released.

Not only is this type of hoaxery a mockery of our study, but a waste of people's time, and energy as well.

Please do remember gentle readers if it looks too good to be true it probably is. And be sure to boycott Scream Team if or when it should ever see the light of day.

I found this interesting news item yesterday on Ananova. My concern with this sort of thing is that people will now start blaming the "aliens" for antisocial or criminal behaviour. This will cast a darker shadow over all who claim this experience including those who have otherwise committed no criminal acts, nor suffer from diagnosed mental illness. There is no way to prove that "aliens" are to blame here, so I would think that this would be a waste of the court's time, and money. Read on:

A lawyer who landed an out-of-this-world job defending people who have suffered at the hands of aliens has started his first major case.

Former industrial law specialist Jens Lorek announced last year he would defend those whose close encounters with outer space visitors left them physically and mentally shattered.

Now he has his first client - hotel chef Paul Hoffmann, 23, who claims he was kidnapped by aliens and has never been the same since.

Hoffmann said: "About two years ago a cross-shaped space ship sucked me up and took me to space. When I came around, it was daylight again."

He does not remember the aliens' looks, but only that he had been "manipulated" and was sent back to earth as an "apprentice shaman".

"I was supposed to bless the city for the arrival of further aliens," he said.

The chef closed his bank account, squatted in an empty property in Dresden and bathed nude - "as ordered by the aliens" - in a municipal fountain. When police caught him naked on a bike, he was sent to the psychiatric ward of a local hospital.

Lorek thinks that police acted wrongly and is demanding his client's release. He has brought a lawsuit against the city in which he places the blame for his client's behaviour on "things unknown".

"There are no legal grounds to put somebody in a psychiatric hospital because he was a victim of aliens," said Lorek.

"The state is socially responsible, even for alien shamans, if they cannot protect them from abduction."

He went on: "Aliens stick needles in their victims' genitals and interfere with their organs. Since 1961 there have been tens of thousands of alien abductions."

Full Article On Ananova

What are your thoughts? Is this a good or bad thing?

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!

Ghosts Of Gibson House Museum - Toronto, Ontario Canada

Gibson House is a museum in the North York Centre neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This historic property was built in 1851 by David Gibson, a Scottish immigrant, land surveyor and participant of the Rebellion of 1837. For his activities in the Rebellion, his house was destroyed and he was banished from Upper Canada, so he fled to nearby western New York, settling with his family in Lockport. Though he was threatened with losing his land, he continued to own the property in what was then York County, near Toronto. His wife was not banished, and she was able to travel between Lockport and Toronto to collect rents and profits on the farmstead.

By 1848, David Gibson was pardoned, along with many who took part in the Rebellion. He returned with his family to York County, and built this house in 1851. Its style reflects a prosperous man, and some of its furniture and engravings reflect his U.S. residence in motif.

The following report was sent in by one of our readers:

"The Gibson house was very different. People talked a lot about a man standing at the window at the front of the house, my aunt who used to live on that same street ( when there was houses there) said that a man would look in their windows at night, he had a big top hat on. My cousins who used to live there remember him! They said that he was very scary looking. I always had the feeling of being watched when I would have to get dressed into my costume in the staff room, which at the
time was located in the basement (cellar).

Apparently the house had burned down and was rebuilt at some point. I think during the rebellion. I always felt welcome in the front parlour and in the kitchen, but when I went into the cellar or upstairs I always felt unnerved. Also there were cold spots in many different places upstairs but mostly in the parlor..where Mrs Gibson used to sit.

No matter how warm it was ( because it was right next to the fireplace) it was always Cold! Now this was YEARS ago, I must have been 13 or so when I was working there as a volunteer. It would be interesting if someone did an investigation on this house, I'm about 90% positive
that you would find something! I'm not sure if they still have volunteers there...If they do, I'm sure some stories would arise."

Our thanks to the witnesses for sharing this report with us.

Further Reading: Wiki Entry

Image Credit: OntarioPlaques.com

Do you have a real life ghost story, an encounter with a UFO, or other paranormal experience/s you'd like to share? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Post your own experiences in our comments section or send us an email. Please post only true life experiences ... we love good fiction, but there are other fantastic blogs out there to post fictional accounts to.

For the month of June, historian Chris Laursen takes us to different locales in East Asia to reveal the colourful and fantastical ghostlore that comes from that region. This week, he looks at a Dutch explorer who encountered poltergeist phenomenon on the island of Sumatra in what is now Indonesia in 1903.

Rock the house
by Chris Laursen

Late one night in September 1903, W. G. Grotten-dieck awoke to the sound of something falling on the floor near his head. "They were black stones from an eighth to three-quarters of an inch long. I got out of the [mosquito] curtain and turned up the kerosene lamp that was standing on the floor at the foot of my bed. I saw then that the stones were falling through the roof in a parabolic line. They fell on the floor close to my head-pillow," he reported to the British Society of Psychical Research some years later.

The Dutch explorer had been travelling extensively through the jungles of Sumatra (in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia) with 50 Javanese coolies searching for oil. Upon his return, he wrote, "I found my home had been occupied by somebody else and I had to put up my bed in another house that was not yet ready, and had just been erected from wooden poles and... kadjang," a type of dry, broad leaf measuring two by three feet in size and commonly used as roofing on Sumatran homes at the time. The leaves, he explained, were arranged overlapping each other and could stop anything from penetrating through, most importantly rains. Imagine his surprise to wake up just past one to find the small black rocks falling onto the floor near his pillow.

He woke up a Malay-Pelembang boy, one of his servants sleeping in the next room, and asked him to check for the source of the falling stones that continued to fall mysterious from the ceiling. Mr. Grotten-dieck remained in the room where he had set up his bed as the boy checked the surrounding jungle and kitchen, finding nothing. "I knelt down near [the head of my bed] and tried to catch the stones while they were falling through the air towards me, but I could never catch them," the explorer wrote in a letter to the British SPR, published in their Journal in May 1906. "It seemed to me that they changed their direction in the air as soon as I tried to get hold of them. I could not catch any of them before they fell on the floor."

Mr. Grotten-dieck inspected the kadjang roof closely where the stones were flying. "They came right through the kadjang, but there were not holes in the kadjang," he wrote, explaining in further correspondence that nothing could penetrate the kadjang leaves without making a hole. "When I tried to catch them at the very spot of coming out, I also failed," he added.

In true explorer style, Mr. Grotten-dieck wasn't one to mess around. If someone was playing a practical joke on him, he was going to make sure they got the message that he was not impressed. "I took my Mauser rifle and fired five sharp cartridges into the jungle" from the window of the boy's room. "But the stones, far from stopping, fell even more abundantly after my shots than before."

The boy was terrified. He blamed Satan for the falling rocks and ran off into the jungle, never to be seen by Mr. Grotten-dieck again. The Dutchman picked up the stones and was intrigued to find that they were warmer than usual. The warmth of the object would later become a trademark of poltergeist cases. In such cases, when objects are flung about rooms by unseen hands, often at angles, speeds and in trajectories that defy the known laws of physics, they are found to be quite warm to the touch. Additionally, Mr. Grotten-dieck reported that the stones seemed to be falling slower than they should, another interesting trademark of such cases. "The sound they made in falling down on the floor was also abnormal," the explorer wrote, "because considering their slow motion the bang was much too loud." Yet another hallmark of the poltergeist phenomena.

Mr. Grotten-dieck shared a far bit of correspondence with the SPR in 1906 to thoroughly examine the case to determine if it may have had any other causes, which is quiet interesting considering it had happened three years prior and could not be investigated beyond the witness's testimony. Throughout this scrutiny, Mr. Grotten-dieck remained adamant that there was no trickery or natural explanation for the fall of stones inside of the Sumantran house. Could the Malay boy have been connected to this at all, as many poltergeist events seem to have a human agent at the center of it? That we will never know.

This strange type of materialization has been repeated in many different cases around the world where stones and other objects have mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, quite literally falling from the ceiling as if they were transported from another dimension.
In the Scole Experiment of the 1990s, objects "apported" themselves (or mysteriously appeared) in a controlled environment (a closed off cellar) from nowhere, often landing with a significant thud. These objects included a crystal cluster, coins, dated newspapers from 50 years previous in authentically new condition, jewellery, ashes, water, spoons and so on.

Is there a connection between objects that randomly appear from nowhere, apparently through solid surfaces or from mid-air inside buildings in poltergeist cases, such as Mr. Grotten-dieck's experience, and controlled experiments such as those led by the Scole Experimental Group? Is it merely psychokinesis brought on subconsciously by someone? Or are these objects being materialized by means beyond our current comprehension? Whatever the case, Mr. Grotten-dieck's experience remains one of the many fascinating reports of this type.

Image credits:

"A Plantation House in Sumatra" by W. Bell and J.G. Stadler and "A Malay Boy, Native of Bencoolen" by T. Heaphy and A. Cardon from The History of Sumatra written and published by William Marsden, 1811. Although not connected to this particular case, they are interesting prints depicting Sumatran housing and a Malay boy in early nineteenth century clothes.

Further reading:

Sacheverall Sitwell. Poltergeists: An Introduction and Examination Followed by Chosen Instances. New York: University Books, 1959.

William Roll. The Poltergeist. With a foreword by J.B. Rhine. Re-released by Paraview Books, 2004.

Grant & Jane Solomon. The Scole Experiment: Scientific Evidence for Life After Death. http://www.thescoleexperiment.com/

The above photo was sent to us by my dear friend Dr Charles Lietzau. It was most fittingly taken at a UFO conference a few years back. The orb effect was created by tossing some salt, and pepper in the air, and snapping the shot. It's a good illustration of how airborne particles such as dust will appear when caught in a camera's flash.

Happy Wordless Wednesday, and thank you for stopping by!

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

Where do the ghosts go when their "haunt" is torn down? Often according to our stats they remain behind even after the last bit of brick has been hauled away. Recently 590 Jarvis Street, former police headquarters in Toronto, Canada was torn down to make room for condos (ew!). It will be interesting to note if we soon receive reports from the condo dwellers.

Here is one report we received in regards to 590 Jarvis street:

"I used to work out of the old Police Headquarters at 590 Jarvis St. and although I have never seen anything unusual, several of staff reported unusual events.

The story begins a few decades ago. It seems that on the 6th floor of the building where the Police Commissioner had his decadent office, were his private kitchen, bathroom and a small office for his assistant. Story is that one day a young detective went into the private bathroom and committed suicide.

As the Police out grew the building and moved out, the building was first used by Metro Social Services for one of their welfare offices and specialized units. The Commissioner's office was converted to a boardroom and the whole building was accessible to staff except for the private bathroom. It is unclear if the cleaning staff kept it locked by their own decision to do so, because they claimed sitings of a ghost or because its a decision made by the police out of respect for the young deceased detective, but that door was always locked with only cleaners having a key.

However several staff reported hearing footsteps and doors opening and closing but when they investigated often found no one there. A number of staff reported things on the 6th floor being moved around, such as chairs and drawer contents moved elsewhere when desks were locked overnight. A couple even reported seeing something move by quickly when they followed the sound of footsteps and sometimes (myself included) found the private bathroom door unlocked and wide open in the middle of the day when no cleaners were on site with the keys.

A number of Police officers I spoke to about this legend while working in the building tell me that they also have heard from police staff that worked there that they had also told of the same unusual sitings and sounds too. The cleaners said that at night when the building was almost empty of staff, they could hear unexplainable sounds and didn't go to the 6th floor after dark as a rule because they couldn't explain it and feared it. "

Our thanks to our reader for the above!

When I was much younger I used to love to play bingo along with my Mom. I have some fond memories of the game, and it can be a lot of fun to play!

Now days with internet bingo becoming so popular there is an alternative to the old bingo parlours that used to dot so many of the smaller towns across the country. People can now join in on the fun, and excitement from the comforts of their own home.

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The chat rooms are quite busy, and provide a fun way to network, and interact with other bingo players.

If you are into bingo go have a look at Bingo House by clicking on one of the links above.

Happy Bingo!

Our thanks to our sponsor!

OTTAWA (CP) - A UFO researcher who offered to brief Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean on the presence of extraterrestrials is putting an optimistic spin on the pro-forma response he received from her office.

Victor Viggiani of Exopolitics Toronto, admits that the perfunctory reply could be seen as a polite brush off, but he's taking it as more than that.

The letter from the Governor General's office says Viggiani's concerns "would be best addressed by the Canadian Space Agency and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service."

"You may wish to contact these organizations."

Said Viggiani: "You could interpret it in one way as a standard response. But we're interpreting it, I guess, in a positive way that we now have the Governor General's OK to pursue this thing in the Canadian security service . . . with her support.

"She's giving us sort of, quote unquote, her permission, consent, tacit permission to go forward with this."

Full Article Here

So what are your thoughts? Do you think this is a victory for Exopolitics Toronto? Do you believe there is an alien presence here on earth? And if so, is there an active world government cover-up? We'd like to hear you our reader's thoughts on this either positive, negative or indifferent.

Wishing all of our readers that are Dads a very Happy Father's Day! Our usual Sunday Smackdown will be returning with a big, fat, smack next week. And please do return tomorrow for more ghosties, ghoulies, ufoish, and crypto rants, raves, and info.

Cheers!

Sue & Matthew

Could this be a case of telepathy between spouses? Something to consider when reading this interesting news article from the BBC. Here is a snippet:

Expectant fathers can suffer from pregnancy symptoms, UK research shows.

Morning sickness, cramps, back pain and swollen stomachs were all reported by men whose partners were pregnant.

Researchers at St George's University, London, who carried out the study of 282 Dads-to-be said the phenomenon was known as "Couvade syndrome".

Experts said it was not clear why some men had similar symptoms to their partners but it could be related to anxiety over the pregnancy.

Full BBC Article Here

With Father's Day just a few hours away I thought this would make for an interesting topic. What are your thoughts? And if you are a Dad that is reading this, did you go through anything similar?

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!

Todmorden Mills, which has been through several incarnations (mill, riding stables, and now historical site), houses a theatre for which I volunteered. While I never experienced anything unusual, several people who work there swear that it's haunted. There are two stories that I know of.

The first is of an old woman, who seems quite harmless and friendly. She's been seen by a couple of people, walking about the theatre late at night.

The other is less pleasant, but certainly not threatening. Loud noises like moving furniture or props can be heard from the loft spaces late at night when no one is around, and people working in the sound booth above the audience have seen a grey form flash past the windows overlooking the stage (the windows are about 20' above the ground).

The following was sent in by one of our readers:

"I read the submission on Todmorden Mills. I was a volunteer tour guide and historical interpreter there from age 8 to 14. The report I read on your site interested me. Here is my story:

One of the houses on the site (the Helliwell house) is haunted. I believe it is the female entity that the author referred to.

The lady of the house died in childbirth. Two years later the son that she gave birth to died in a mill accident (fell into the machinery, very messy) or so the story goes. This could explain the other haunting in the theater (which was the mill).

When I was about 12, I was volunteering at close one night. The curator sent me to the house to get a broom. It was getting dark. As I approached the house my flash light died (ironic, no?) I was able to unlock the door and I stepped into the kitchen, reaching for the broom.

As I did this I heard up the maid's staircase (from the master bedroom) the soft voice of a woman speaking. It sounded like she was speaking to a child. I couldn't make out what she was saying though. I froze, I've never been more terrified, I also remember it being very, unusually, cold. The research that I have done on the topic since explained this.

Anyway, I ran out of the house and back to the main building. I haven't been in the building since.

Several years later a friend of mine was at Todmorden Mills with a boyfriend. This was a popular place for drinking and making out, etc. Anyway, she looked up while arguing with her boyfriend and saw the figure of a women in one of the windows. This story obviously caught my attention. So, I took her there and asked her to point out the window. It was the same room where I heard the voice, the master bedroom."

The flashlight occurrence is fairly common but the fact that this individual ended up backing up her own experience with that of a friend AND it was already on our site makes this story particularly interesting. The author of this report is also now helping us out with historical checks into other "haunts" so we truly appreciate the feedback.

Of note, October of 2000 brought two people who said that they also experienced the ghosts of Todmorden Mills, (one of whom thought that one of her stories was the one we'd published! Interestingly enough, it wasn't proving that the one woman has been seen in the same situation more than once!)

While discussing ghosts with a person working in another of Toronto's "haunted" historical structures, she had mentioned that although the location we were at (in Downtown,) had never yielded much to her (she is not really a ghost enthusiast,) she had worked at Todmorden and THAT, she said, seemed to be haunted just by the way it felt.

Our thanks to the witnesses for sharing this report with us.

Do you have a real life ghost story, an encounter with a UFO, or other paranormal experience/s you'd like to share? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Post your own experiences in our comments section or send us an email. Please post only true life experiences ... we love good fiction, but there are other fantastic blogs out there to post fictional accounts to.

TITLE: Footprints in the Snow: Tales of Haunted Russia
AUTHOR: James L. Choron
PUBLISHER: Zumaya Publications LLC
GENRE: Body/Mind/Spirit/Parapsychology/General
FORMAT: Trade paperback, perfect-bound, 260 ppl, $14.99 USD, Trim Size 5 X 8; ebook, $6.99
ISBN: 978-1-934135-06-8, paperback; 978-1-934135-07-5, ebook

This book is definitely on my hot summer reading list! Books on this subject coming out of the former USSR are fascinating, and sadly rare. This one in particular promises to be a gem, and I am looking forward to it!

Here is a bit about the book to whet your own appetite:

She is Mother Russia, the largest nation in the world, and her turbulent history has left her filled with restless spirits. Footprints in the Snow is a collection of true and documented stories of the paranormal from Russia and Eastern Europe. Excerpts, in shorter and less detailed form, have been published in numerous Russian and English language publications, primarily through the Illya Resink Library Collection and in various local magazines and newspapers along with such prestigious US and UK publications such as "Fate" and "Phenomenon" Magazines..

Footprints in the Snow: True Stories of Haunted Russia is a reporter's view of documentable paranormal incidents. The stories are told through the eyes of a professional skeptic, one who does not “see ghosts behind every tree.” Statistically, more than 96% of all such stories turn out to be quite natural in origin. There are exceptions.

The stories in this collection have all been thoroughly investigated and documented. These are not the high profile cases you hear about all the time. Most of them are little known outside their immediate area and only by the people immediately involved. You will not find "Ivan the Terrible" or "the lost Princess Anastasia" in these pages. Those cases have been treated frequently enough already. What you will find are some documented and verifiable accounts of paranormal activity in this country that have, so far, defied any rational or normal explanation. They are interesting and informative reading and entertaining. These are true reports of actual happenings presented in a way that leaves it to the reader to decide the cause of these "footprints in the snow."

EXERPT:

My apartment building is located just across the street from an elementary school and kindergarten that have served our community for more than seventy years. Here in Russia, this isn’t unusual. The school was part of Lenin’s first Five-Year Plan, and was one of the more successful parts.

Late at night, long after the school is closed and completely empty, we can hear children laughing and playing in the playground. It lasts for about five minutes—a relatively long time; but when you look out the window you see nothing. There are no children there.

Everyone in the building is used to this. It happens several times a year, and it’s gone on for decade—at least fifty years— So has what follows.

After about five minutes, there is a high-pitched, screeching sound, followed by an explosion. Then sound of children playing turns to screams, and then stops.

Welcome to Russia, arguably the most haunted land on earth...

The stories that you are about to read in “Footprints in the Snow” have all been thoroughly investigated and documented. These are not the “high profile” cases that you hear about all the time. Most of them are little known outside their immediate area and by the people immediately involved. You will not find “Ivan the Terrible” or “The lost Princess Anastasia” in these pages. Those cases have been treated frequently enough already. What you will find are some documented and verifiable accounts of paranormal activity in this country that have, so far, defied any “rational” or “normal” explanation. I trust that you will also find this to be interesting and informative reading. Hopefully, it will also be entertaining.

Attend a quiet family picnic in the forest where a soldier of the Second World War lies in an in an unmarked grave and ill-repose – and cries out to a little child to find him. Stand in shock and awe as a tomb is opened after seventy-six years and the horrible cause of a woman’s nightmares is found. Watch as a little girl plays at the feet of her aging parents – half a century after her death and smile at the continuing presence of – in spirit – of “The Countess”, a little grey cat that never knew she was a cat. March stalwartly across the length of Russia – in the heart of winter – with the rag-tag but undefeated soldiers of the “Legion of the Damned”, as they try to shepherd their families to safety across the wild Ural Mountains – every winter for more than 175 years. These accounts are all -- each and every one -- true reports of actual happenings. It is up to the reader to decide the cause of these “footprints in the snow.”

Nineteen years is a long time to spend in any country not one's own. In that time, Dr. Choron has learned a lot about life and living in Russia, especially about the Paranormal. In these pages the reader can literally hear the staccato notes played by the “Drummer Boy of Taratovka” as he warns his loved ones of fire – year after year after year. These pages take you on a visit the office and the home of one of the most blatantly evil men the world has ever seen where his presence is still felt half a century and more after his death and into the bowels of the most notorious prison that the world has ever seen – a place that Alexander Solsinitsyn called the “inner circle of hell.” Here, in “Footprints in the Snow” the reader can go along to the barricades during the “August Revolt” of 1991 and stand beside a man who has come there to fight for freedom for the second time in 100 years. He or she can know that love lasts forever as they walk down a quiet village street, smile and wave at the pretty little girl in the garden who will always and forever be a child or as you hear the story of the little boy who will never – ever – leave his mother and the teenage girl who is known as the “Angel of the Mourning.” Stand in a tiny cemetery and watch the little girl that a whole town calls “Our Little Hero” play at the feet of her parents… alongside her sixty-five year old grave – seen by all but those who love her most…

Enjoy your stay in paranormal Russia – live in buildings alongside men, women and children that have resided in the same apartment for five generations – and more -- and in some cases for centuries. Enjoy your stay in a hotel in which room service is provided by a pretty young maid – who was murdered ten years before your arrival and look out the window and see the young woman who has been standing on the platform waiting for the train – since a cold and windy night in the winter of 1972. Ask the neighbors about their daughter’s “invisible playmate”.

The reader can ride along with a young policeman as he follows a running ten-year-old child down the darkened streets of a small town in a desperate attempt to save an orphanage from fire – for the second time in fifty years. Visit the teachers of the “world’s oldest straight-A student.” Go on investigations with Major Maslov, the police prefect who is constantly called on when a case is “just a bit odd.” Or -- they can follow along as all of Russia watches on television, reads the papers and listens on the radio about the heroic trek of “the Legion of the Damned” as leave their bloody footprints indelibly imprinted in the snows of the Siberian wastes – year after year -- just as they have for almost two centuries…

Dr. J. Lee Choron is not a “parapsychologist, nor does his professional degree represent any paranormal pursuit or study. He is a PhD optical engineer and has spent a lifetime as a photo analyst, reporter and journalist. He is a “professional skeptic”. He is not a man who “sees ghosts” behind every tree or around every corner. He does not believe that everything that goes “bump” in the night is from “beyond”. He has investigated and documented these accounts thoroughly. The stories within the pages of “Footprints in the Snow” are taken from literally hundreds of stories concerning “hauntings” and “sightings” from all over the great land of the Tsars. They are largely unknown in the west, but they are the best – of the best. Dr. Choron is a collector of facts. He makes no judgment and no assumptions as to the causes of these incidents. The facts are here. It up to the reader to decide for themselves why there are so many “Footprints in the Snow.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. James L. Choron is a journalist and writer living in Mamontovka, a suburb of Moscow. He has resided in the Russian Federation for more than sixteen years, and is a former senior executive with the Eastman Kodak Company. He is a decorated veteran of the United States Military, a Master Mason, an 32* Scotish Rite Mason and the Presiding Bishop of EGnU (Eclesia Gnostica Universialis) for Mowcow and Western Russia. He is currently owner and Chief Executive Officer of Old Guard Productions, a company dealing in motion picture and television logistics and properties, and American Business Training, a company which deals with sales and customer service training for Russian companies seeking to introduce Western business practices and standards. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in the small East Texas town of Center, he holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Stephen F. Austin State University and a masters and PhD from Moscow State University in the same subject as well as a graduate degree in optical engineering. A working journalist for slightly more than thirty-five years, he has columns in numerous publications in both Russia and the United States. He has numerous hobbies, primarily related to paranormal and historical research, both of which he has been involved for over twenty years. He has published a number of independent articles on paranormal encounters and activities and on historical topics, and is a staff member on several online publications and forums dealing with history and the paranormal. Dr. Choron is also a lifelong natural "sensitive" who has, since birth, been aware of the presence of Spirit Entities.

Ever since the PSICAN site was hacked into a couple of months ago, I have realised the absolute necessity of backing up our blogs on a daily basis. It is absolutely imperative, and the thought of potentially losing a lot of the hard work that has been put into this blog, and our sites is more terrifying than any of the topics that have ever been covered here.

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Thanks to our sponsor!

For the month of June, historian Chris Laursen takes us to different locales in East Asia to reveal the colourful and fantastical ghostlore that comes from that region. This week, he looks at the research done by Charles and Chee Lee Emmons in 1980-81, polling 3,600 Hong Kong residents on their beliefs and experiences with respect to ghosts.

Haunted Hong Kong
by Chris Laursen

From June 1980 to January 1981, Dr. Charles F. Emmons, a sociologist from Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania, and his wife Chee Lee embarked on a seven-month project to poll Hong Kong residents on their beliefs and experiences in regards to ghosts. Influenced by similar large-scale surveys conducted by the Society for Psychical Research in the late nineteenth century of 17,000 Britons, Charles and Chee did extensive telephone polls of over 1,500 people and distributed nearly 2,000 questionnaires to secondary school students, asking about their views on the topic. Emmons’ academic colleagues were far from encouraging, telling him that Chinese people would not wish to speak on the subject, especially to a Westerner. But one sociologist Emmons spoke with had done a small-scale survey in Hong Kong using Chinese student interviewers and only encountered no more than 15% refusal from those asked to participate.

With that single vote of confidence, the academic couple pushed forth, and found Hong Kong’s residents quite receptive to the question, “Do you believe in ghosts?” “My wife, Chee, a native speaker of Cantonese and a sociologist, single-handedly called 1,668 telephone numbers over a four-month period,” Emmons wrote in his book on the survey, Chinese Ghosts and ESP: A Study of Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences. “I was pleasantly astonished when she achieved a 90% completion rate, with only 7% refusals and 3% disconnected or never-answering numbers.”

The incredible survey was documented in Emmons’ book, and contains a wide range of Chinese ghost experiences. He wrote that the survey revealed the universal nature of paranormal phenomena including ghosts, ESP and reincarnation, but it also was “entwined with mysteries of Chinese culture: ghost fear, ancestor worship, and lore about tree spirits.” Tree spirits I will write about in an upcoming instalment of this series on Far East Phantoms from the Philippines, but let’s consider the ideas of ghost fear and ancestor worship among Hong Kong residents in the early 1980s. Emmons wrote that his hugest challenge was how to “disentwine the nature (or supernatural!) from the cultural and social.”

For example, in many of the experiences relayed by Hong Kong residents, they expressed deep fear over what had happened. The sight of a ghost of a relative, for example, could be considered an omen. In one case (G002, Harvest Homecoming), an apparition of a man in a white robe was seen by many people late at night entering the house in which he once resided. “My aunt yelled, ‘Look who’s here!’ and we all saw him walk from one side of the patio to the other and go in the house. We went into the house and asked the woman who lived there who had come in. She was asleep inside, hadn’t seen him, and said that nobody had come in,” the witness reported. But the people recognized the man as her husband who had died in the house. The witness continued, “My aunt was immediately afraid when she realized that she had been the first to see the ghost. She got very sick one week later, and died a month later.” The mere sight of the ghost instilled a great sense of fear in the witnesses, and the death of the aunt was seen as resulting from it. Emmons wondered what part culture and psychology played in the case.