Sue St.Clair and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

I am a fan of a fiction style known widely as "Science Fiction".

I enjoy it because it mixes fantasy with reality... what "could be" or even "might be". Most Sci-Fi writers stay up-to-date on science in one way or another and tend to use what's "upcoming" in technology to further their plot... or borrow from hypothetical theorem to allow their characters to do the impossible. In many ways, the best "lies" are the "lies" that have a vein of truth to them, and Sci-Fi offers escapism with usually a grain or more of truth... in fact, many Sci-Fi tales are very much attempts to view a possible "future" of sorts.

This is not to say "fantasy" and "fiction" have been removed... but to further the concepts, bits of things are added from "the real world", so to speak.

That said,Sci-Fi fans have a bad reputation... because they know enough about things like quantum mechanics and upcoming technologies to be, effectively, kind of brainy and annoying to some... well, that and they tend to know more about the characters and developers of their favourite creations more than many other fans of other mainstream genres.

Lately, certain Sci-Fi blogs and sites have taken it upon themselves to also delve into things that are seemingly Sci-Fi (and horror, as the two are somewhat related on certain levels,) related, but more in the ideas of paranormal things...

They tackle things like ghosts, UFOs, and even the occasional cryptozoological topics. Even theism is tackled because of the way Sci-Fi and religion often go hand in hand... and as Arthur C. Clarke, (scientist and yes, science fiction author,) correctly pointed out in his famed third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Granted, what's happening is the convenient removal of Clarke's first law... which is "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong."

This is because it seems when someone mentions things like a UFO sighting or even a "ghostly encounter", the commenters (and indeed, sometimes even the article writers,) mock the living heck out of it.

I've even seen people have a "go" at the work of Dr. Kevin Warwick and Dr. Hugh Everett as "looney".

What's amusing... and a touch disturbing... is that their very field of "entertainment" obviously somewhat embraces the possibilities of these things... but they themselves don't.

My question is, do these Sci-Fi fans see all their entertainment as comedy then?

Sadly, my answer seems to be "no".

What it seems to stem from is a hive-mentality cult of wishing to appear intellectually superior... of course, in doing so, they completely negate their understanding of science as a whole.

Effectively, in mocking what they do, they show an advance misunderstanding of Clarke's first law... and the concept of all areas of the scientific.

They neglect, as many so-called sceptics do, the concept of hypothesis.

They go directly from "Question" to "Answer" bypassing hypothesis, experimentation, and observation... and completely dismiss the idea of possibility in favour of what they feel is "probability".

They worship not knowledge, but what's dictated to them by people who seem to have an agenda of "not looking into things"... which always begs the question, "Why?"

People do experience things out of the norm... no one would ever say that isn't happening... whether your interpretation of what they experienced is one thing or another is completely subjective unless you follow proper scientific disciplines... which, indeed, are neutral... not slanted away from what doesn't jive with precious faith or belief... or non-faith and non-belief.

In arguments with those who have said things like, "So, you believe you should look into everything regardless, eh? Well, what if I told you there was a purple monster underneath your bed playing blues on a saxophone! Would you look into that then???"

I've replied, "It wouldn't hurt to listen to see if I heard the music... and to look under that bed, would it? Chances are it will be nothing, but how much better to give evidence to the claim that indeed, there's nothing there instead of scoffing at you instead?"

"Long ago, men tried to explain to other men that there were 'animals' that could not be seen with the naked eye that were likely culprits in illness and disease... and they were told by those who were seen as 'educated' that it was nonsense... until they proved it with empirical evidence... why should I or anyone making any other claim not be held to as high a standard?", I continue...

Regular readers of my missives are tired of re-reading this next bit, but it's important...

The late Carl Sagan used to have a mantra that became the group-mantra of sceptics and non-believers... "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

Trouble is, he didn't coin this term... the late Marcello Truzzi did.

Truzzi was one of the founding fathers of the original CSICOP (The Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal)... and Truzzi left that organization when he himself decried them as becoming "deniers not doubters".

Truzzi also wished he'd been able to travel in time and amend his comment... to simply say, "Claims require evidence."

Any claim, regardless of it's "weight" or which side of any spectrum it's on, needs to be proven empirically... or it must be caveated as simply either an untested hypothesis or a belief or faith.

Science does not say anything does or does not exist without evidence... proper evidence... evidence that is empirical, not from cherry-picked sources where auto-debunking is easy... because, indeed, science isn't easy.

A vocal few people in the Sci-Fi forums and blogs neglect this... they deny, rather than properly debunk. They mock without evidence. They don't bother to look into things... they "know" (because their "betters" know,) that it's all nonsense, so let the mocking begin!

Yup, 'tis easier to burn the heretics and continue saying that the Earth is the centre of the universe and everything revolves around us than accept the concepts of some looney and a telescopic device looking at shadows. After all, our "betters" told us so!

Oh, you shouldn't be thinking I'm giving a free pass or carte-blanche to certain "paranormalists" either... in my opinion, their claims require evidence as well! There is a huge difference between saying, "I saw a weird shadow moving in a room where I'm sure that no person was in." to "I saw the ghost of my grandfather walking in that room over there." just the same way there is a marked variance between "I looked up and saw something flying which didn't look or act like any airplane I know of." to "I saw a spaceship from the planet Nebulon 6 overhead."

That said, if someone puts out a concept of what might have happened... "I think it was my grandfather." or "I'm pretty sure it was an extraterrestrial craft.", then it is up to those that say it's "true" to prove the veracity... conversely, it's up to those who feel it's "false" to prove what was experienced or happened instead.

What's neglected by so many, especially the people I've found on the Sci-Fi blogs and forums, is that most witnesses don't offer more information than what they experience... and then, on occasion, offer conjecture as to what that experience was...

...and, apparently, according to these wonderful arm-chair investigators and "scientists", the proper response to these witnesses is mock and ridicule... or, if they're lucky, simple and utter dismissal of their experiences. "It cannot be, therefore it could not have happened."

The entire scientific method of discovery cut down to "Question" and "Answer"... with no stops in between... and rarely delivered without snark and outright stupidity by those who tower in their intellectualism.

This is all because these folks "am smrtr than them other folks"...or so they'd like us to believe.

The hilarity for those of us with an IQ above the average bit of plankton is how their own entertainment... that subject that delves into the concepts of "what if..." is pretty much diametrically opposed to what they preach when confronted with a report of something that might actually be "real" instead of "fiction".

I suppose that perhaps, my old ideas of "learning" through story telling is not accurate... at least, not as long as those who revere and worship preachers of a particular faith... er, non-faith... have them drinking the Kool-Aid that in order to be brainy and clever, you must knee-jerk deny anything outside your accepted parameters of what's "known"... in essence, why advance? Why investigate? Why explore? We know everything about everything already!

They don't want to look into possibilities... best to go immediately to "probability"... at least, as probability fits into their paradigm.

Scary but true.

In that effort to seem clever, they buy into other snake-oil... one that says, "All is known! Anything outside the norm can't possibly exist!"

...this despite many excellent bits of modern evidence to suggest this tact is incorrect. (As an example, the life forms found on our planet at great ocean depths that were once considered completely uninhabitable.)

Still, the snake-oil salesmen tell them that only fools and idiots buy into "bunk" (even when the situations have not been properly debunked,) and then point out that they're "sceptical" ranks are filled to the gunnels with scientists and doctors...

Granted, the ranks of Global Climate Change deniers can also claim the same... as can the ranks of those who are actively working on and accept the idea of Global Climate Change.

Real science is neutral... and waits for empirical evidence to make a call as a rule... but the "betters" of these denizens of the forums and blogs need not the arguments... as stated, and to paraphrase Stanton Friedman, "Why investigate? It has been proclaimed!"

...and in doing this, prove that many lovers of Science Fiction are lovers of fiction... Science? Not so much.

Funnier still, aside from going against many of the tenets of their own favourite genre, they prove how little they understand things... and indeed, how easily they are led when the head of their flock drags them to their favoured philosophy.

Again, I feel like a "one trick pony" here... in the fact that this feels like a strict diatribe against strictly the non-scientist fans of supposed science... but honestly, "Claims require evidence"... and I do point out that I feel the same way about people that lock onto any philosophy, faith, or untested hypothesis as "fact"... realistically, these folks remind me very much of the stereotype male in a car who's "apparently" gotten lost in his direction... it's as if saying the words, "I don't know..." would kill him.

The idea that there's things we don't understand or may not know about is an anathema to both "true believers" and "true non-believers" alike... and neither one is usually wise enough to set aside their faith and philosophy to accept even the idea that perhaps, just maybe... they might be wrong... or, as stated above, they don't know everything.

Before parting, I would like to point out that this is not indicative of everyone who enjoys Sci-Fi... I enjoy Sci-Fi... many people I know enjoy Sci-Fi... and they don't seem to be as non-scientific and as closed minded...

...but damned if some of the more vocal lot of Sci-Fi fans on certain forums and blogs can be the most unscientific and blindered people we've come across in some time.

...because, in their opinion... which apparently is the opinion of highly intelligent folks just like them... anything is possible... only in the pages of fantasy.

Otherwise, the Sun revolves around the Earth, bad smells spread disease, and the best cure for illnesses is bleeding to allow a balancing of the humours... because that was the accepted word of science and our betters way back when... so why did we question them then... and how dare some of us question them now???

Oh, remember too... Arthur C. Clarke's second law...

"The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."

I suppose this would never jive with, "Why investigate? It has been proclaimed!"... so Clarke's laws really should be ignored.

Enjoy the comedy, folks!

We are looking to do a bit of fact finding on a Days Inn located in Scarborough. Hear is what we have heard:

My friend was staying overnight at a Days Inn on Kingston Road with his girlfriend. While sleeping he was awoken by something, or someone, scrapping the side of his neck. He sat up and looked to the window, which was drawn, and saw what appeared to be two figures, male, hanging from the roof, just in front of the window.

He immediately turned away and when he looked back the figures were gone. He did say there was some kind of light coming through the window at the time and he dismissed it as some kind of shadow, but he really made out the figures, and felt it not like any type of shadows he has ever seen, and even with the light, it would have illuminated the figures, this light did not.

Now this Days Inn is relatively new, so I am wondering if anyone has any experience at this Days Inn or whatever was in the space before.

This particular establishment opened in May 2001, but we do not know anything else about it. If you have had a similar experience or can shed some light so to speak on this one please do let us know. Your privacy will be assured, and your feedback is always appreciated.

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Next month my daughter will be moving to her very first apartment with room-mates. We have had a look at some moving companies, but have decided to do the move ourselves as she does not have that much stuff. The place she is moving to is quite old, and has a reputation for the spooky, if anything of note should occur at least she'll have investigators in the family!

Will it ever be? Or do you think proof for the existence of a Bigfoot creature already exists? In the past year serious research into reports of these creatures has been slightly effected as far as the general populous thinks of it because of hoaxes, however there are intelligent people dedicated to this topic. Do you think that those dedicated, if not considered fringe scientists, will one day have that breakthrough that will once and for all establish Bigfoot's existence? Perhaps, a hair sample or something that can be shown in a lab to come from a new or previously unknown creature?

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Off topic: Speaking of science, and lab tests there is an online resource for these including information on paternity test, and testing that you can access via the link if looking for that sort of info.

Have you ever had a strange dream that later to the best of your knowledge manifested itself in the waking hours? If so, you may be interested in joining us on Canada's paranormal message board (over 1,200 registered users, and over 32,000 discussions on all paranormal topics) where we are currently having a rather lively discussion on dreams that may or may not be prophetic in nature. Cheers!

A fair amount of people have doll phobias, and as a collector of them I sometime find it hard to understand why. Some of mine unnerve the kid.

I have doll kept permanently in our bedroom that cannot come out because it freaks her out too much. I tried bringing the doll out recently, and she freaked so back the doll went out of sight, and I guess out of mind.

Here is a pic:

and here is a close-up:

I brought her out to my desk for the photo op.

I like her. In fact I think she is quite adorable. And considering I collect day of the dead art, other assorted skeletons/skulls, death masks, religious idols, alien inspired stuff, gargoyles including some very demonic looking statues, items from reportedly haunted locations all scattered about I have no idea why the kid finds this doll so scary? And neither does she really...

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Off topic: If you are in need of the services of good immigration lawyers you can check with this online resource to find the help, and advice that you need.

Happy Monday!

I have just added in several new reports, and updates to our Northern Ontario ghosts & hauntings section here:

http://www.torontoghosts.org/index.php?/Haunted/Northern-Ontario/

A big thanks to Lisa Dinel who is our researcher/investigator for the Sault, and surrounding areas. for all her hard work in gathering this information, and following up on these reports of paranormal activity.

Please, if you have anything to share, e-mail our investigator/researcher for the area at lisad@ontarioghosts.org

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, 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!

"I was only about 14 years old at the time. We lived in a small house in Hamilton, Ont., and because there was not much room, my parents gave me the use of a tiny room in the basement as my personal "play room". (That is, my own space with a desk where I could read, do my drawings, art projects, etc.).

I liked the room, and spent many happy hours there. But there was something about the basement that made me feel very uneasy. I always felt like there was "something" in that basement with me- although never in my play room. It was odd because the basement was so small, you could see the entire thing from my playroom.

One day, as I was sitting at my desk, (with that uneasy feeling again), I glanced up and saw a dark form lope past the doorway. It was the form of a large, black dog. There was blood all over it. For just an instant, I had the impression it was in great pain and despair. I got up and walked out into the basement and stared at where I'd seen it go, and although it had vanished, I had the strong feeling there was a dog buried there, under the concrete floor. I couldn't explain that feeling, I just knew that there was.

I told my parents, and they just shrugged it off. I didn't think much about it after that. Then, about a week later, on a nice summer night, my parents decided to go out for a walk around the block to enjoy the evening. I was home alone, except for our chihuahua. My parents (who were very safety-conscious), locked the door when they left, and I went upstairs to wash my hair.

I had just got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my head, when I noticed our dog standing at the top of the stairs, ears perked up, staring down and growling. My first concern was that maybe someone had broken in, and I went to stand beside him at the top of the stairs to listen.

The basement door was right at the bottom of the stairs, and there was a hook latch on it. Suddenly "something" hit that door (from the basement side), and the latch rattled. Our dog was growling seriously, his hackles up and staring straight down at it. Then I heard it again, and this time could hear "claws" sliding down it, as if a large dog was jumping against that door, trying to get out.

This sound continued, several times, with the initial "thump" and then "scratching", and the door banging against the latch. I was terrified! There was no other way out of the house but to go down those stairs past that basement door, so I grabbed up our chihuahua in my arms and cautiously made my way down. As I got to the bottom, something hit the door again, and I saw it jar against the latch! Our dog was snarling in my arms.

With that, I flew out the front door and sat on the front steps with our dog waiting for my parents to get home. They were furious to find me outside. I told them what happened and they were skeptical, but my dad went to the basement door to check it out. When he opened it, we found long scratches in the soft wood of the door, just like those a big dog would make with it's claws if it was jumping against it. My dad was shocked, but couldn't explain it. He checked the basement, and all the windows, but it was all secure. Nothing/no one could have gotten in.

I never went down there, again. It had been a terrifying experience- one I knew I hadn't imagined, because my dog had sensed it too. After some thought, I realized there had been no reason to be afraid. To this day, I believe that someone had abused this dog and kept it locked in that basement; that ultimately, they had beaten it to death and buried it there. This dog had only wanted to be free of it's prison. Maybe it was asking for my help.

One day (when no one was home), I cautiously opened the basement door. I whispered, "It's ok, come on out, go on to where you belong."

I don't know if that worked or not, but nothing like that ever happened again, and I never felt that "presence" again."

Please note that since we have had so many new readers over the past year I thought that it would be nice to replay some of our faves in a Best Of Series. And on another quick note before the start of the weekend, if you are looking for some good term life insurance quotes then please have a look at the resource page I have linked to. Cheers!

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.

Image Credit: BBC

I have decided that I will be doing a bit of Spring cleaning so to speak with the blogs that I write for, and maintain. I will be laying out the spider traps so to speak, and getting rid of the cobwebs...meaning some of the older, and less relevant posts may be removed or archived. I'm also looking a new templates....we'll see....I just feel that a change is a bit in order, and always nice to keep things fresh, and interesting.

Thank you goes out to Derek for sending us a heads up on this video clip from England. What do you think? While this is an interesting, and intriguing video clip the exact cause of the orange UFOs are still very much speculative in my opinion.

This past weekend the kid saw the new Nick Cage film Knowing, which is about an astro-physicist who knows the world will be ending, but cannot stop it. This sparked a talk on predictions, and the ending of the Maya Calender in 2012 around the dinner table.

Personally I do not put too much stock in scary or otherwise predictions, BUT I have on rare occasion been quite shocked by predictions that seemingly came to pass. What about you? What are your thoughts on predictions, particularly for the end of the world? And are you planning to see this film?

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Just a quick note to let you know about this great deal on a Chopard watch. Have a great week ahead!

Lake Erie, Ontario January 23rd 2009 10:15 pm

I had been smoking outside a lot instead of in my house. Once and awhile I look up and check out the beautiful sky, the thing about this is that I've seen this thing about 6 times already. So I looked up and out towards the lake when I saw a bright light in the sky. My first thought was an airplane, but it moved side to side, then it would dim and come back again. Then when I went out to walk, I noticed that it had three lights on it not very visible though. It kept doing the same thing over and over again. It would move back and forward side to side. I have seen this 6 times, is this a star or planet, I don't know. I would just like to know what it is. Thank you.

Our thanks to Brian Vike for sharing this report with us

If I could spend a free hotel night in any one of the reportedly haunted hotels around the globe I would honestly say that I would love it to be a the Royal York here in Toronto. Not only does it have a terrific history, but it also has a strong family connection.

Would you stay in a haunted hotel? If so, and you could pick anywhere in the world where would it be?

Toronto Ontario January 24th 2009 6:25am

"Good day, this is the first time I have ever sent an email like this but here goes. I was sitting on my bed on Saturday morning about 6:25 a.m. January 24th 2009, I live in an apartment and have a south west exposure, I noticed in the still dark west sky a vertical light that was bluish white, at first I thought it was a reflection in the window but soon realized it was not. I watched it for a couple of minutes, it got a bit brighter then faded… it appeared not to be a beam so to speak, coming from the ground or sky, the shape was pencil like, I don’t know how else to describe it, it did not move at all.

I knew it was something I had never seen before ever, it has been driving me nuts, I have even asked a couple of folks if they witnessed anything strange in the sky on Saturday morning but I reckon most folks were still sleeping, one thing that I should note it was in the direction of Pearson Airport. But again it was not a beam. I am just trying to find out if anyone else seen this strange light in the sky. Thanks."

Thank you to the witness for their sighting report. And our thanks to Brian Vike for sharing this report with us

What happened to Spring in Toronto? I woke up this morning to negative 7 degree temps with a wind chill much colder than that! Not being a winter person I do wish I could go back to bed, curl up under my new electric blanket, and read a good, spooky book.

Normally I read only non-fiction ghost stories, but I do enjoy some good fiction as well. Any recommendations for future chilly nights/days when stay at home with a goodly book is an option?

We get e-mail! Oh yes we do! More often than not, it's nice people telling us about their experiences or nice people putting forward a hypothesis... sometimes not so nice people telling us where to jam it for one reason or another.

Then, there's this... (Oh, and I removed the text links so as not to send traffic... sorry...)

There’s something going on in the deep woods of the Tillamook Forest…

My name is D**** L***** and I maintain F******ofMystery.com - the only website dedicated to revealing the truth about what’s really going on around the Cascade Forest Research Center in Tillamook, Oregon – a private science research facility where I work. Together with my buddy Jeff, he and I have created a series of ‘video case files’ meant to shed some light on these strange happenings, and eventually expose the truth of what’s really going on out there.

We’re up to Video Case File #5 and I invite you to check out our website and watch some of these strange events for yourself. There’s much more to this story and we’re not going to rest until we get to the bottom of it. If you have a few spare moments, please visit www.f*******ofmystery.com and feel free to spread the word about our cause to your friends and family. Thanks!

D***** L*******
F******ofmystery.com

Yes! There IS something mysterious going on... especially when we noticed that the sites they link to... not only the Cascade Forest Research Center but the other's linked as well, are all on the same service provider!

Wait, there's more!

They aren't JUST on the same domain service provider... BUT THE SAME SERVER AS WELL!

(See the ping below...)

It's amazing!

All the same web page builder... all the same service provider... ALL THE SAME EXACT SERVER! Here's some other sites mentioned on the F******ofmystery.com site!

Oh, and try a WHOIS... all the same domain registrar too... apparently, things like GoDaddy, Yahoo! Domains, and the like were unavailable online in that neck of the woods... The "Great Firewall of the Northwest"???

Just a coincidence?

Methinks not... Actually, it's a "virtual" impossibility.

Folks, you wanna hoax... you want some viral marketing... then TRY a little harder, eh?

Oh, and watch out for the NIC registrar... it kinda gives a lot away too!

Smiles!

Should paranormal investigators, if they notice a "problem" or "issue" with the efforts of another investigator/researcher/group comment publicly and bring the information on the issue to the fore?

...or should they just move along and ignore the issues?

Basically, in a nutshell... if someone is hoaxing or putting out misinformation, is it the "duty" of a paranormal group/investigator/researcher to make that public... or leave it alone?

I'm interested in your thoughts on this...

As some of you are aware I have been taking a few days off from blogging, and the hobby to recuperate from a medical procedure. While enjoying my R & R I have been playing video games, and surfing the net. One of the things I came across that I'd like to share with you is this Sale on electronics including the X-box holiday bundle. Buy.com has some great prices, and free shipping so they are definitely worth checking out in my opinion.

Seneca College in Toronto NOW offers an elective course...

Read on:

When the search for truth is propelled by a mixture of spiritual values and fear of the unknown, a clash with the scientific imperative for empirical evidence is inevitable. The resulting dissonance when spiritually based world views and science collide is not easily reconciled, and this is particularly true where the study of paranormal phenomena is concerned.

By investigating the worlds of parapsychology and those of other related phenomena, this subject attempts to alleviate some of the angst and uncertainty arising from this state of conflicted mind. Topics to be examined include: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognitive dreams, dowsing, remote viewing, out-of-body experiences, ghosts, and communicating with the dead, along with other reported phenomena from various parts of the world. Questions dealing with investigative techniques, what the evidence says, what the skeptics say, media influences, wishful thinking and charlatanism, and whether or not this search for truth is ‘beyond the realm of science’ will be among those addressed.

For more info click here

No mention of who's teaching this... and no, it ain't us.

Call me a cynic, but this smacks of the old York University course horridly named "Pseudo Science" which also reported to be a paranormal course... Guess what angle it took???

Also, it's sCeptics... unless you're in the United States. Use the Queen's English, people!!!!

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, 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!

Old Theatre Yonge St South of Bloor

Many years ago, my husband and I went to see a movie in downtown Toronto. It was in an old house. It was quite dark in there before the movie started. The lights were old, and had been converted to electric. We were sitting there waiting for the movie to start when this woman just appeared! She was hovering horizontally above the floor. I noted that she was wearing a white gown. It scared me so much that I looked away and when I turned around and looked again she was gone. I didn't tell my husband at the time because I was afraid that he would think I was crazy. I think the movie was Dr.Zhivago. I told my mother about it and she said it might have been my grandmother because she always wore long nightgowns.I don't think so because my grandmother was still alive at the time this had occurred.

We thank our reader for this report...

If this story sounds familiar, you have information you can add or if you have had similar experiences please do contact us at submissions AT torontoghosts.org

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A quick off-topic note before I sign off: If you are looking for a good source for cheap, high quality automotive performance parts have a look at this site!

Have a Happy Freaky Friday the 13th!

Please note that since we have had so many new readers over the past year I thought that it would be nice to replay some of our faves in a Best Of Series.

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.

Mysterious object photographed over the Strait of Georgia. Photo courtesy of Brian Vike What do you think about UFOs? What are they? Are they all just cases of misidentification? What are your thoughts, and opinions on UFOs?

Thank you for stopping by. Please note that this entry is for both the Tuesday, and Wednesday editions of WW.

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

Here in North America it seems we have a lot of trade show exhibitions, and conferences for the paranormal, and UFO subjects, but what about on the other side of the pond or should I say way, way over on the other side of that really big pond known as the Pacific ocean? Australian paranormal, and UFO conferences are also becoming very popular, and if you are planning one may I humbly suggest that you check out Displays Direct Australia for some great ideas on displays.

An interesting brochure stand australia page with lots of ideas can be accessed via the link I have added in for you. They are innovative, and can really make your pamphlets, and information stick out in a crowd.

The banner stands australia section of the website is also very worthwhile in checking out in my opinion if you are planning something in Aussie this year. These are so cool, and eye catching for those of you who are promoting paranormal guided tours etc, and they even have a bargain priced section for those of you who like us are non-profit.

Have a look!

This is from Coast 2 Coast... which is the website for the radio program once hosted by Art Bell now hosted by George Noory...

One of the listeners/readers submitted the picture below... it was taken by his girlfriend using an iPhone in California...

Now, if you imagine that image is a clock's face, and look towards 11 o'clock, you'll see something interesting...

We've done an article on what this could most likely be (see this link,) and personally, we do believe it's most likely a random cloud formation that simply looks like a face... but what do you think? Is it something more? Leave a comment and let us know.

Something has had me thinking for the last few days... We were watching a documentary on historic architecture and culture that mention that people would confer with their ancestors because they knew the "ultimate answer" to what awaits us after life... mostly because they've already been through it.

It got me to wondering... is this where we got the idea of communicating with the dead to learn about the future? Where psychics got the idea that spirit guides would somehow show them things that have yet to come?

...except...

The ancients simply wanted to know about life after death... which is "everyone's future"... but hardly guessing savvy business moves, figuring out the winning lottery numbers, or prognosticating about events to come...

When you think about it, the dead do teach us a lot about the past... take for example mummies and the like... but beyond "what happens after death", where did the idea of spirits communicating the best stock pick on the market come from?

Is a case of the ancients doing something (trying to communicate with the dead to find out about death itself and therefore, having a clue as to what awaits us all...) that, like a game of broken telephone, ended up being changed to seers using spirit guides to predict who will win best actress at next year's Oscars?

What do you think?

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Off topic: If you are looking for an online resource for ideas on a weight loss supplement you may want to check out this site that I was having a look at earlier today.

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, 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!

In Sue's and my home town, folks are extremely proud of our world famous Sick Children's Hospital, known locally as simply "Sick Kid's". The hospital's reputation for it's fine care and incredible staff are truly deserved,

An enduring legend has it that a few years back, a particularly brave and surprisingly happy thirteen year old girl (who had always been a bit of a favourite of the staff,) finally passed away of the leukemia she was in the hospital being treated for.

Brave to the end, she devoted her last few days to comforting an eight year old boy who was also fighting this disease.

Some months after her passing, the young boy was nearing a sad end to his own battle... he was dying.

A night nurse, on rounds, noticed a visible glow coming from the boys room. She peered in and saw the young girl sitting beside the bed of the boy. She was in the picture of health and she was holding his hand.

The nurse was understandably concerned but the girl simply looked at the nurse, smiled in recognition and resumed telling the boy he had nothing to be afraid of.

The boy passed on that night, probably less afraid of anything than he had been in months.

This report was published in the book, Mysteries of Ontario by our friend, John Robert Colombo...

...but...

We also received word from not one, but two staff members from the hospital... both confirming the story. It seems that there's much truth in the legend...

The story related above about the hospital is that curious mixture of sadness and hope... and I like to see it as a genuine positive thing.

Could it be that this is the manifestation of what some people claim who have near death experiences...? Seeing loved ones come to help them?

...just this time, that power, for whatever reason, manifested to an outside person?

These types of "ghosts" or "deathbed vision" are not as uncommon as one might think... if you're interested in these cases, we both cannot recommend highly enough another of our friends, Dr. Carla Wills-Brandon and her excellent book, One Last Hug Before I Go.

Please note that since we have had so many new readers over the past year I thought that it would be nice to replay some of our faves in a Best Of Series.

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.

A fish with a human face is making waves in South Korea. The 'humanoid' carp are attracting attention in the town of Chongju, South Korea according to this weird news item.

Thank you for stopping by. Please note that this entry is for both the Tuesday, and Wednesday editions of WW.

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

Photo: Splash News

The following question was brought up in our Facebook group, and I thought I would pose it here as well.

What are peoples opinions, overall on mist or "ecto-mist" photos? Has anyone had a genuine experience with such a thing?

My answer to this is that I have never been able to generate a mist photo at any of the reportedly haunted locations I've visited unless I purposefully tried to create one by natural means such as smoke. This is why there is no example of one here.

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If you are looking for a good online source for discount supplements check out this site I was looking at earlier this morning. Health has become a number one priority for me, and I believe this begins with nutrition.

Ghost Stories blogger Andrea has kindly bestowed on us the Superior Scribbler Award for our own humble efforts over here at The Paranormal Blog. Thank you so much Andrea, we really appreciate the kind words on your blog that we too consider a must-read.

As with all things in life here are the rules of acceptance.

Rules:

1.) Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

2.) Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

3.) Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.

4.) Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!

5.) Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

It was difficult being limited to just 5 bloggers, but here are our picks in no particular order other than we like and regularly follow each one.

Yellow Dog Granny

Imaginary Magnitude

Cafe At The End Of The Universe

The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

Motivated Motion

One of the most COMMON arguments from so-called sceptics about why ghost sightings are nonsense is because ghosts are seen "clothed"... and then, according to the sceptics, we'd have to acknowledge that "clothes" have a spirit...

...to which I ask, "Who said ghosts are definitively spirits?"

Also, is it possible that ghostly sightings match what the witness "expects" to perceive? I have seen cases where this was not quite the case... for example...

One woman at Old Fort York in Toronto was certain she'd seen a "ghost" because he was in a soldiers hat (shako... she called it a "tall stove-pipe top hat) of the Napoleonic era and all, but she also told me that she was "suspect" of this sighting in her own eyes as the fellow was most definitely dressed in green... and everyone KNOWS for certain that the British soldiers at York wore scarlet red and Americans wore blue during the more nasty history of the fort!

http://www.glengarrylightinfantry.ca/kit.php

...and...

http://tinyurl.com/greentunic

Whoops... These two regiments are not TERRIBLY well known in Canada (the red-coats are far better known...) and the interpreters and re-enactors at Fort York are usually bedecked in red tunics (The King's 8th and IMUC) so it's unlikely that the witness saw a "modern" person... or would have made the connection of "green coat" and "soldier" at York.

Anyway, getting back on track...

Why are ghosts clothed?

In my eyes, it doesn't "prove" there's no such thing as ghosts because of the logic hole... it simply asks another question...

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Speaking of naked, and clothes, and such with Spring almost sprung its time to go on my annual diet that always fails...I'm seriously starting to consider a diet pill to help with the results.....

Come celebrate MUFON's (Mutual UFO Network) 40th anniversary in Denver, Colorado August 6-9, 2009. In addition to a stellar lineup of speakers providing cutting edge information on UFO research, you can also attend a full day of informative and hands on Field Investigator workshops.

Especially exciting for Canadians this year is the inclusion of Chris Rutkowski who will be speaking on his 20-year Longitudinal Study of Canadian UFOs!

All the top names in UFOlogy will be on hand to help celebrate MUFON's achieving this milestone, which promises to be historic, educational, and a lot of fun!

More Information, and Booking Available Here

For Facebook User's a full line-up of speakers, and event information can be found here.

If the governments of the world released proof that UFOs and aliens visited the earth......how do you think the people of the world would react? How would you feel? What would you do? Would this change your opinion on UFOs?

If the nations of the world TRULY opened the books on their knowledge of the UFO enigma and showed that they really don't know anything more than what the layperson assumes, (ie: Nothing.) would that be believed?

Stop for a second and wonder... WHAT IF it was true... that the government really knew nothing... had no "secret" information... had no contact... had no viable hypothesis... and they announced it and opened old secret documents that bore this out... would many people actually believe it... even if it was true...

...or has the culture of conspiracy made the idea of "not knowing" so unfathomable that it would never fly even if it was the absolute fact?

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Sorry for the lack of postings lately. I have come down with a nasty head cold and spent most of the week curled up with a good book, and hot tea. I would love to buy a new dehumidifier to help out with the allergies as well. Achoo!