; Phantoms and Monsters: Pulse of the Paranormal

Monday, October 31, 2011

C'mon Nebraska MUFON....Check This Out!

NOTE: noticed the square shape of the flattened grass between the toys and stakes

Case Number: 33002
Log Number: US-10312011-0024
Submitted Date: 2011-10-31 13:25 GMT
Event Date: 2011-10-29 00:00 GMT
Status: Submitted
City: Craig
Region: Nebraska
Country: US
Longitude: -96.3639108
Latitude: 41.7855467
Shape: Unknown
Distance: Unknown
Description: (unedited)

My dissatisfaction with MUFON continues. Several months ago I sent my caseworker images of the strange marks on my back. I got no response whatsoever. But I'm going to report this anyway for the other people in the area that are seeing and reporting the strange goings ons. MUFON may not be interested in getting to the bottom of this, but I am. My documentation will continue as long as the activity continues. I go outside almost every night and sightings have been continued to be consistent. Including paranormal activity that has started happening in the house since the beginning of October, and many unexplained power outages/fluctuations. Myself and three witnesses (my sister and our mutual friends, Melissa and Renee) were sitting in the kitchen one night when my sister and I noticed what we thought was smoke under the table. We just kind of brushed it off until a few minutes later when my friend, Melissa, who was sitting next to me, and I noticed something at the same time that alarmed us to the point where we were screaming about it. Across the table from us sat Renee. Behind Renee we saw what looked like a smoke/mist and it seemed to be manifesting from nothing and then it began to swirl in a spiral... The only way I can describe it is that it looked like some sort of portal opening up. Like something you'd see in a movie. It was only there for a few seconds and then it was gone. It was enough to frighten my friend into leaving as she is extremely religious and sees these type of events as evil & not to be messed with. That's when things inside the house started getting weird. Not just at my house, but my sister said she'd been experiencing strange things inside her apartment as well. Lights turning off and on at will. The two basement doors (which are locked at all times) were found wide open on more than one occasion. Tapping on the windows when no one is outside. Doorknobs jiggling and turning. Objects going missing for days only to reappear in the very spot they were left. Other objects being moved around in the house all by themselves. Banging and thuds heard within the house... Strange voices being heard. It goes on. It can only be described as a haunting, but I can't help but feel that this is connected to the UFO activity. This report is primarily for the landing site I discovered in my yard. I am willing to let investigator's come down here and take a look at the site, but I recommend that they do it as soon as possible before the site gets too disturbed by weather and animals. I have gathered grass and soil samples and am willing to let investigator's borrow these samples and/or take some of their own. I'm incredibly alarmed by this, and had a very difficult time sleeping last night. I have created two videos, which I've uploaded to my youtube channel which pretty much explains it all. I've also taken about a dozen pictures, which are in the videos, but they can be sent separately. Here are the links: [Links moved to Field Investigator section/cms/tg] I think the second video shows it much better. For others in the area that are seeing/experiencing the same & would like to discuss what's happening with someone who isn't a part of MUFON, you can get in touch with me through my youtube channel. Just drop me a message! I would love to hear and compair stories! [cms note: YouTube channels are not advertised on our CMS system/tg]

NOTE: I found the videos with a little searching: Video 1 and Video 2. I contacted the witness in an attempt to find out more. Hopefully, Nebraska MUFON will take some time out of their BUSY schedule to investigate this case. If anyone else in the area of Craig, Nebraska has noticed anything unusual, feel free to contact me...Lon


UPDATE - The witness posted the following: Location of the event... if you look in the corner at the upper right of town where the street curves from Cherry St. to Burt St... my house faces Nebraska St. and just beyond my backyard is the field you see there. I've been noticing a lot of strange greenish-looking 'shooting stars' lately shoot directly at the ground into that field there. I've seen this multiple times and I've never heard or felt any type of crash. The farmers haven't reported anything strange either. There was recently an ABC News report, which I have mirrored on my channel, regarding something similar caught on an airport security camera in Lincoln, NE - others had reported seeing the same thing in Columbus, NE. Both towns are south of me.

I have accounts of missing time. Scoop marks on my back. I started noticing this about a year ago and have done what I can to document it ever since. I've also reported to MUFON several times, and they've made two trips up here. The first trip was for the interview. The second trip was for the field investigation, which I, my Mom, and a friend (all witnesses to the strange events) felt that the investigators didn't take the investigation seriously and were frankly quite rude, which surprised me as they had been very nice during all of our other correspondences. I confronted them in my next report and they tried to assure me that was not the case and that we must have misinterpreted their behavior.

Willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, I continued to report and I sent the assistant state director (who's been my assigned caseworker since the start of it all, despite me requesting a different investigator after the field investigation encounter) several pictures of the scoop marks I'd discovered back in January or February - pictures right after I first discovered them & recent pictures at that time. I got no response. And no follow up investigation, despite having talked to him about possibly undergoing regressive hypnosis.

If things don't go well with MUFON this time around, then this is the end of my line with them. I will find other organizations to report to, because three strikes & you're out. Three strikes & you've lost my trust completely.

I'm frustrated and overwhelmed physically and emotionally over the entire situation. It's not been all negative. I do feel like I've gone through a spiritual transformation, but the not knowing bothers me. All I want are answers and all I've discovered are more questions. I don't know the intentions of these entities and though I'd like to hope for the best and hope that they're here to assist humanity... self-preservation does come to mind.

Nebraska UFO's & Extraterrestrials!: A Look at the Sightings &

Just the Facts? Not A Vampire -- Superman Haunts -- Mommie Dearest -- The Lady In Black


Max Schreck Was Not a Vampire


The first screen portrayal of Dracula was so eerie, some critics asked whether the actor himself could be a vampire. But since his death, little has been done to resurrect Max Schreck's reputation -- until now.

Schreck is best remembered for playing the cadaverous vampire Count Orlok in F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent classic "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror," the first, unauthorized cinematic adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula."

The rest of his career has been largely forgotten -- unjustly, in the view of German author Stefan Eickhoff, who has written what he says is the first biography of Schreck.

"Whoever hopes to discover a vampire will be disappointed, but they will find an actor of real skill and versatility," said Eickhoff. "Yet he himself remains somewhat shrouded in mystery."

"Nosferatu" failed to make its lead a star, but achieved such cult status that some film scholars speculated his name -- Schreck means "fear" or "fright" in German -- was a pseudonym.

In 1953, Greek-born critic Adonis Kyrou mischievously asked in his book "Le Surrealisme au Cinema" whether the actor was a vampire. The idea caught hold and later inspired a film.

Despite years of research, Eickhoff found there were virtually no anecdotes featuring Schreck, nor any references to him in the memoirs of the many people he had worked with.

Instead, Eickhoff's biography provides a detailed chronicle of the career of Schreck, a civil servant's son who appeared in around 800 stage and screen roles. Glimpses into the man behind the actor's mask remain few and far between.

Only in death does Schreck's character begin to come alive. The most revealing descriptions of the Berliner come from tributes paid to Schreck after he died suddenly in 1936.

Eickhoff's biography, "Max Schreck -- Gespenstertheater" (Ghost theatre).

LONER

Contemporaries remembered Schreck, who was married but had no children, as a loyal, conscientious loner with an offbeat sense of humor and a talent for playing the grotesque.

One recalled how he lived in "a remote and strange world" and would spend hours walking through dense, dark forests.

"Nosferatu" helped propel Murnau to a brief but successful Hollywood career, but Schreck faded from the limelight.

The haunting film, which critics later saw as a metaphor for the collective trauma Germany suffered after defeat in World War One, changed the names of Bram Stoker's characters because the filmmakers failed to get permission to adapt his novel.

After the release, Stoker's widow sued the production company for breach of copyright, and won a court order to have all prints of the film destroyed. Since it had already been distributed worldwide, this ultimately proved impossible.

Over time, "Nosferatu" became seen internationally as a landmark of early German film and the horror genre -- while Schreck's other work has languished in relative obscurity.

Schreck died of heart failure aged 56, and was buried in an unmarked grave near Berlin, where he was born in 1879.

In the years that followed, his name has lived on in filmlore, thanks to the undying appeal of his most famous role.

In the 1992 sequel "Batman Returns," Christopher Walken plays a villain called Max Shreck, while in 2000, E. Elias Merhige's movie "Shadow of the Vampire" cast Willem Dafoe as Schreck the real-life bloodsucker hired to star in "Nosferatu."

Unlike Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, stars of later Dracula adaptations, Schreck never reprised the role and spent most of his subsequent film career in small, non-horror parts.

But as an actor, he was the equal of both, said Eickhoff.

"Their Draculas were refined creatures, whereas Schreck's was a more ancient, nightmarish vision," he said. "In a way, he resembled Lee a bit in that he tested himself in the most varied of roles. And funnily enough, both of them sang too." - reuters

In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires

Nosferatu (The Ultimate Two-Disc Edition)

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Superman Still Haunts

One of the spookiest stories of a celebrity ghost involves the alleged entity of actor George Reeves, best know to a generation of pre-adolescent Baby Boomers for playing the Man of Steel on TV's Adventures of Superman throughout the 1950s, and whose dark and mysterious tale was dramatized in the 2006 film Hollywoodland.

Although charming and likeable, Reeves was also naughtier than his clean-cut TV alter ego and enjoyed all the illicit perks of the Hollywood nightlife before being found shot in the head in the bedroom of his modest Benedict Canyon home (1579 Benedict Canyon Drive, Los Angeles) in 1959. Los Angeles police ultimately ruled Reeves' death a suicide and blamed it on his inability to get an acting job playing anything other than the caped super hero.

The cops glossed over the fact that Reeves was launching a renewed career as a TV director, and dodged the fact that the actor's longtime acquaintance who bought the Benedict Canyon home for him, was insanely jealous after Reeves dumped her for another woman. She was married to a powerful studio insider with connections to both the police and organized crime, who quietly cleaned things up when showbiz types landed in serious trouble. Then there was the lovely young club-hopping socialite Reeves planned to marry who's account of the night Reeves died had more holes in it than the actor did by the end of the evening.

Whether suicide or murder, all the unanswered questions may have left one very restless spirit in Benedict Canyon. In 1969, a decade after Reeves' death, rumors circulated about some unusual happenings at the former Superman's home, but his lover Toni Mannix—who inherited it from her ex-lover and had struggled to keep it rented for years—refused to discuss it.

The renters revealed that one night while entertaining guests in the living room, they heard noises. The bedroom—Reeves' bedroom—previously neat and orderly, was a mess: linens torn off the bed, clothes strewn around. They straightened the room and returned downstairs to find that all the drinks on the coffee tables had been moved to the kitchen. Another time, the couple's German shepherd barked at the bedroom door furiously, then suddenly cowered and slunk away as the tenants peeked inside and discovered the bed had been moved across the room.

The last straw came around 3 a.m. one summer morning when the apparent ghost of Reeves, dressed in his TV Superman costume, appeared in the living room. Within the hour, the tenants had moved out.

Daily Planet editor Perry White's oft-quoted exclamation "Great Casesar's Ghost!" might now be modified, exchanging the Roman emperor for the Last Son of Krypton.

George Reeves and his mistress Toni Mannix

The Afterlife of George Reeves

Actor George Reeves died at 1:59 am on June 16, 1959. Not the comic book character, of course, but the man who personified the "real" Superman for an entire generation of television fans. Even though the initial coroner’s report listed Reeves’ death as an "indicated suicide", after more than four decades there are many who do not believe that he killed himself. The death remains an unsolved mystery.

Could this be why ghostly phenomena has been reported at the former Reeves house ever since? Many believe that the ghostly appearances by the actor lend credence to the idea that he was murdered. Over the years, occupants of the house have been plagued by not only the sound of a single gunshot that echoes in the darkness, but strange lights and even the apparition of George Reeves.

After Reeves’ death, realtors attempted to sell the house to settle the actor’s estate. Unfortunately though, they had trouble. Occupants would not stay long because they would report inexplicable noises in the upstairs bedroom where George had been killed. When they would go to investigate the sounds, they would find the room was not as they had left it. Often, the bedding would be torn off, clothing would be strewn about and some reported the ominous odor of gunpowder in the air. One tenant also reported that his German Shepherd would stand in the doorway of the room and would bark furiously as though he could see something his owner’s could not. There is also documentation of an extraordinary occurrence when two Los Angeles sheriffs were assigned to watch the house after neighbors reported hearing screams, gunshots, and lights going on and off during the night.

New occupants moved out quickly, becoming completely unnerved after encountering Reeves’ ghost, decked out in his Superman costume! The first couple who spotted him were not the first, nor the last, to see him either. Many later residents saw him too and one couple became so frightened that they moved out of the house the same night. Later, the ghost was even reported on the front lawn by neighboring residents.

In the 1980’s, while the house was being used as a set for a television show, the ghost made another startling appearance. He was seen by several of the actors and crew members before abruptly vanishing, creating yet another mystery in this strange and convoluted case!

Sources:
www.nypost.com
Hollywood Haunted - Laurie Jacobson - 1994
Ghost Stories of Hollywood - Barbara Smith - 2000
www.prairieghosts.com
paranormal.about.com
www.seeing-stars.com


NOTE: The Benedict Canyon area is full of ghostly visions...including those of Manson murder victims Sharon Tate, Paul Bern and Jay Sebring. The Tate house was razed and another luxury home was built near the location. Since the completion of the new residence, the owner has reported several paranormal events. If you are interesting in reading about the mysterious death case of George Reeves, let me suggest the following links: The Death of George Reeves - the Original Superman, Relative Revelations and The Man of Steel Mystery...Lon

Hollywood Kryptonite: The Bulldog, the Lady, and the Death of Superman

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Horror in Brentwood: Joan Crawford's Haunted Home



Few actresses have rivaled Joan Crawford for star glamour and staying power as one of Hollywood's top movie queens. Her stardom spanned an amazing five decades and included such films as Our Dancing Daughters (1928), Rain (1932), Johnny Guitar (1954), and her Academy Award-winning performance in Mildred Pierce (1945).

Joan Crawford epitomized the essence of the Hollywood rags-to-riches story-a poor shopgirl who, in the 1920s, becomes the very embodiment of America's "flaming youth" and then transcends the role of "dancing daughter" to emerge the heroine of America's favorite melodramas.

In 1978, Christina Crawford, Joan's adopted daughter, wrote Mommie Dearest and shocked the United States with her heart-wrenching story of what it was really like growing up with one of Hollywood's most famous leading ladies. Mommie Dearest was on the New York Times best-seller list for forty-two weeks and was made into a 1981 film star-ring Faye Dunaway.

In 1989, we heard rumors of haunting manifestations in Joan Craw-ford's former home, and Christina seemed genuinely surprised that we knew about the stories.

"Not many people know that the house I grew up in may be haunted. It is not in print anywhere," she said.

When asked if there were manifestations or hauntings that she could remember as a child living there, Christina recounted the following:

I have vivid memories of some things, but when you are severely abused, you tend to block out other things. I'm positive that there were manifestations occurring when I was little. I saw them! There were places in the house that were always so cold that nobody ever wanted to go in them.

As a child, I was always told that I had an active and vivid imagination; I was always scared by things, but people just told me that I just had an "active imagination." Years later, I thought, oh well, maybe that was good to have had an active imagination, and I became a writer because of that.

But as a child, I saw things in the house! There was, of course, no context or framework in which to put what I saw and felt. I had nobody to speak to about the occurrences.

Any time I would become extremely frightened and would get out of my bed to try and find somebody, I was always treated as though I were just being a "bad child" that didn't want to go to sleep. I always expressed my fear to my mother because it was she that I went to find to help me ... because I would be very upset and I'd be crying.

I used to have terrible nightmares and that kind of thing, but a lot of it had to do with the fact that I saw things in the night; so the solution to that finally was just to leave the lights on everywhere. One of the things I saw seemed like an apparition of a child ... or children, but as I said, I may have blotted out a lot.

Christina told us that she had not been back to the house since she was seventeen. "That was when I went to college [in 1956], at which point, Crawford still owned the house."

Christina recalled her last day there:

I remember the woman who had taken care of me and my two younger sisters since I was four years old just watching me, without saying a word. I was going from room to room in the house, without saying anything, just standing in the middle of each room, then going on to the next one. She finally asked me what I was doing. I told her that I would never see this house again, therefore, I was saying goodbye to it.

Many years after I had left, we met again. She was now an elderly woman and had retired. We always had been quite close. She told me she had always remembered the look on my face when I said my goodbyes to the house. It seemed a strange thing to do, to say, 'I'll never see this house again,' when at that time there was absolutely no inkling of the house being sold. In fact, it was not sold for another two and a half to three years, and, indeed, I never have been back.

Christina had learned recently that the current owners of the house had called in the Reverend Rosalyn Bruyere of the Healing Light Center to work with the house:

Rosalyn described what she had seen in the house when she went there. She picked up on some things that astounded me because they seemed to validate what I may have seen and experienced when I was little. It gave me goose bumps when Rosalyn told me that she discovered so many spirits in the house and there had been signs of ritual abuse in one of the rooms. Many of the spirits had "underworld" connections.

I was sent to boarding school when I was ten years old. I came home infrequently after that. I always believed that I was sent away partly because I was too much the eyes and ears to the world--a witness. I saw too much, I guess.

Some of the things that I saw that were going on were very violent. Her [Joan Crawford's] relationship with men, a number of men, was extremely violent. I was getting too old, and I was beginning to understand what was going on.

That house is so weird! Now, evidently, the walls are starting to catch fire! Other people have heard children's cries in the walls! Every single owner has had trouble.

The first one was Crawford. She built the majority of the house. It was a small cottage when she bought it, but most of the house, she built. She sold it to Donald O'Connor, who sold it to the Anthony Newleys. They sold it, I think, to the current owner, who is a friend of the Reverend Rosalyn Bruyere, and they asked her to "work" on the house.

Every single family that has lived in that house has had horrible things happen . . . illnesses, alcoholism, addictions, relationship problems, and now, evidently with the current owner, the walls are breaking out in flames! I've heard that in particular it's the wall that was behind Crawford's bed.

Although the scene is in her book, Mommie Dearest, Christina re-minded us that the last words that Joan Crawford uttered were to a woman who was kneeling at the foot of her bed, praying for her.

"As she was dying," Christina said, "Crawford opened her eyes and said directly to the woman, 'Don't you dare ask God to help me!' ... and then she died." It was such arrogance, Christina said, that she believes is a major part of the difficulty with the seemingly accursed house.

And that has nothing to do with me! So it would not surprise me in the least if the "haunting" spirit that is in the house is Crawford! She was capable of real evil. If you have never experienced that "look" from another human being, it is almost impossible to believe that such an experience could even exist! I think perhaps that's why so many people are unwilling to deal with the shadow side because they can't really get themselves to believe that such a dimension exists.

My brother and I were absolutely terrified of her. In fact, there is a passage in Mommie Dearest that describes ('the look" on her face) when she tried to kill me when I was thirteen. We all saw "that look." My brother and I talked about it extensively ... it was not of an ordinary human being!

Later, we were able to contact the Reverend Rosalyn Bruyere of the Healing Light Center, who kindly agreed to share her thoughts on the manifestations in Joan Crawford's former home.

"It is true that the house was afflicted with spontaneous fires, primarily in the wall behind where Joan Crawford's bed used to be. However, I did not pick up that Joan Crawford's ghost was there."

The Reverend Bruyere expressed her opinion that the house had been poisoned in some way before Crawford had moved into the place but that the evil in the house had added to Joan's neuroses. The actress had apparently built onto a pre-existing cottage in a very chaotic man-ner.

"Nothing is where it should be," Rosalyn commented. "She added dining rooms and hallways that led to other dining rooms. It all combines to form an H-shaped house. Turn a corner and you're lost."

The noted healer, who in this case served as an exorcist to clear the home, said that she found the haunting existing in levels.

"It was a place of conspicuous negativity. I called it an 'Astral Central,' a gathering of spirits that were attracted to the negative vibrations. People had been tied up and tortured in that house. I picked up on gangland figures, corrupt politicians. There is an area in the house where a child [not Christina] had been tortured and molested. Terrible things went on in that house."

The Reverend felt that ghosts themselves were trying to burn the house down.

"Once the Beverly Hills Fire Department spent four days there attempting to solve the mystery of the spontaneous fires that would break out on the walls," she said. "I feel the spirits were trying to burn the house down to protect some horrible secret. There is something hidden there. I am certain that there are bodies buried in that basement."

She said that there had only been one recurrence in the house after she had exorcised and cleared it. "The house had become an astral dumping ground, but it seems clean now."

When we [Brad and Sherry] visited the former Crawford home in the early 1990s, the current owners graciously allowed us to enter to film a segment for an HBO special on haunted Hollywood. The couple told us that they had experienced some mysterious pyrotechnic phenomena and had witnessed quite a number of apparitions of quite a wide variety of entities in various parts of the home. The couple said that the small cottage next to the swimming pool very often seemed to be center of haunting phenomena.

We kept in touch with the couple for quite some time. It was not long after we had filmed in the Crawford home that they decided to move. We have no comment from them whether or not it was because of any haunting phenomena.

It would seem over the past decade that the once haunted mansion of Joan Crawford has found peace, for we have heard of no further ghostly activity occurring in the home.

The Joan Crawford Collection (Humoresque / Possessed (1947) / The Damned Don't Cry / The Women / Mildred Pierce)

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The 'Lady in Black' Ritual Continues at Valentino's Crypt

In the decades since Rudolph Valentino's death in 1926, one of Hollywood's odder, more macabre rituals has unfolded every Aug. 23 at his crypt -- the mysterious appearance of a Lady in Black.

Her face obscured by a black veil, her identity more or less unknown, a Lady in Black (or sometimes several of them) would silently place roses at the tomb of the silver screen's "Great Lover" on the anniversary of his death from natural causes at age 31.

"So many mysterious women in black moved in and out of the mausoleum in Hollywood Cemetery yesterday that it took on the appearance of the salesgirls' entrance to a large department store," The Times reported in 1938.

The Italian actor, one of the silent era's most popular movie stars, was among Hollywood's earliest sex symbols and is best known for his roles in the 1921 films "The Sheik" and "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

It is believed that the first Lady in Black (or Woman in Black, as The Times sometimes called her) appeared at the Cathedral Mausoleum at what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery on the first anniversary of his death in 1927, and anonymous mourners in black continued to show up through the years. By the 1950s, the bizarre tradition had turned into what Valentino's family thought was an offensive publicity stunt.

One of the more enduring Ladies in Black was Ditra Flame (pronounced Flah-may), who said Valentino visited her as a young girl when she was ill. Flame quit visiting after 1954 because there were so many competing Ladies in Black, but she resurfaced occasionally -- notably in 1977, inspired by the death of Elvis Presley.

Another legendary Lady in Black was Estrellita de Rejil, who claimed that her mother was the original Lady in Black. De Rejil died in 2001, leaving the role of the Lady in Black to mourners born decades after the screen legend's death.

MORE VALENTINO STRANGE TALES:

In addition to strange tales of curses and a “Lady in Black”, Valentino may be one of the most traveled ghosts in Hollywood. There are a number of sites that his ghost reportedly frequents.

One such location is the house known as “Falcon’s Lair“, Valentino’s home in Beverly Hills for one year until his death in 1926. According to the stories, and to Natacha Rambova (who claimed to be in contact with the actor’s spirit for many years after he died), Valentino refused to accept the idea that he was dead. This is allegedly the reason why his ghost remains behind in the mansion.

Actor Harry Carey was one of the subsequent owners of the house who encountered Valentino’s ghost there, but he would not be the only one. In fact, Millicent Rogers spent only one night in the place before being “chased away” by Valentino.

His life-like apparition has appeared in dark corridors, in his former bedroom and in the old stables, where his beloved horse was kept. One stable worker reportedly walked out the front gate and never returned to the place after seeing the former master of the house petting one of the horses. Another account tells of a caretaker who ran screaming down the canyon in the middle of the night after meeting Valentino face-to-face. It has also been said that passersby have seen a shadowy figure looking out of a window on the second floor of the house. When they remark that the figure looked a lot like Valentino, they are shocked to learn that the mansion was his home!

Not long after Rudy’s death, a friend of the caretakers at Falcon’s Lair was staying in the house while visiting Los Angeles from Seattle. She stated that she was up late one night, writing letters, when she heard footsteps in the hallway and actually witnessed doors opening and closing under their own power. Her only companions in the house at the time were Rudy and Brownie, Valentino’s two favorite Great Dane watchdogs. The animals had been trained by Valentino to bark and snap at any intruder... except for Valentino himself. The witness remembered that the dogs were strangely quiet that night, as if in the presence of someone they cared for!

Valentino’s ghost continues to be sighted, not only at Falcon’s Lair (which is now a private residence) but in other locations as well. One such site is Valentino Place, an old apartment building that used to be an elegant speakeasy back during the days of Prohibition in the 1920’s. Legend has it that Valentino often used to frequent the place for parties and romantic interludes and that his ghost still makes an occasional appearance.

In fact, his ghostly appearances may just be romantic interludes, even today!

In April 1989, a young actress who was living in the Hollywood apartment building said that she encountered the rather amorous apparition of Valentino in her bed. According to her story, she was drifting off to sleep one night when she felt a heavy weight press down onto the side of the bed. It sagged as though someone were sitting on the edge of it while she lay there, too frightened to even move. The weight on the bed became the solid figure of a man and it shifted beside her, moving beneath the thin sheet. The form then slid closer to her, and pressed against her so that she could feel the bulge of the man’s...er, excitement. As heavy breathing washed over her, she finally dared to open her eyes.

She lifted the sheet and there she saw the face of Rudolph Valentino! She was so terrified that she fainted. When she awakened, the figure was gone, but the bed sheets and pillows were left in a complete disarray and strewn about the room.

Other sightings of Valentino’s ghost have reportedly occurred at his former beach house in Oxnard. The house is now a private residence but over the years, many witnesses have reported a dark figure who paces back and forth on the home’s veranda. Valentino stayed at the house while filming “The Sheik”, which was released in 1921. Many believe that he has left an indelible mark on the location.

Another Valentino haunting is said to occur at the Santa Maria Inn in Santa Maria, about 30 miles south of San Luis Obispo. It is said that Valentino returns to his former suite here and that guests who stay in Room 210 feel a heavy presence on the bed and hear eerie knocking sounds from inside the wall. The inn was a favorite getaway spot for the actor. - latimes

Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino

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Ghost in 1937 - Picture of Spooky House

Rick Phillips has posted an interesting photo. Can you see the apparition?

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The Little Book of True Ghost Stories - I highly recommend this book! Lon




Barroom brawler ghosts, a ghost prayer group, Peeping Tom ghosts, a ghost who hates children, and even a ghost who didn't know he was dead are just a few of the wild assortment of characters in Echo Bodine's delightful new collection of true ghost stories. A psychic who has been hunting ghosts for 40 years, Bodine shares her story of how she became a ghost buster along with the stories of ghosts, hauntings, and possessions she encountered along the way.

Wondering if those flickering lights, jangling door knobs, and mumbling sounds in the middle of the night mean you have a ghost? Bodine offers step-by-step instructions for getting rid of them along with clearing and protection prayers to keep them away. These funny, sometimes unnerving, and always entertaining stories will provide reassurance to anyone who has ever encountered things that go bump in the night.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Listen to 'Beyond the Edge' Radio and WIN!


This week BTE Radio returns live to the airways at 8:00 PM ET for two hours of spooky 'Halloween Open Mic Fright Night' discussion. Eric and Lon want to hear from you! Call in on the BTE Line at 724-824-1494 and help us haunt the airways with your scariest encounters, tales, stories or experiences. Is your house haunted? Have you seen Bigfoot? Been abducted by aliens? Experienced something you just can't explain? We want to hear about it!

The caller with the best scary / terrifying story will choose one of the following authentic giveaways:

Anna Paquin / Stephen Moyer signed 'True Blood' photo
or a
Robert Pattinson / Kristen Stewart signed 'Twilight' photo



Join Eric and Lon on the 'Devil's Night' as we celebrate Halloween, and wrap up Shocktober with your own spooky stories and tales, along with our ours. Tune in live this Sunday, October 30th at 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET as we go 'Beyond the Edge!'

SEE YOU IN THE CHAT ROOM!



Join Eric Altman and Lon Strickler each Sunday at 8 PM ET as we go
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Friday, October 28, 2011

A Challenge To You: Ancient Aliens


In 1968, Swiss researcher and author Erich von Däniken published Chariots of the Gods, which became an immediate bestseller. At the time, I was enthralled by the concept that humans may have been influenced by extraterrestrials. In fact, some science teachers were actually quoting from the text as part of their lessons not long after it was published.

In the book, von Däniken put forth his hypothesis that, the technologies and religions of many ancient civilizations were given to them by space travelers who were welcomed as gods. He is regarded by many as the father of the 'ancient alien theory' or 'ancient astronaut theory'. This theory was also popularized by other writers, including Zecharia Sitchin, Robert K. G. Temple, David Icke and Peter Kolosimo. The idea that ancient astronauts actually existed has not been taken seriously by most academics though, there are some indications that recent evidence may start to sway the standard conceptions.

My challenge to my readers is this...what are your thoughts on the ancient alien theory? I would like your comments and interpretations written in an email and forwarded to me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com. I will also post a poll on the website. The information will be gathered and included in a future post.

You can use some of the following topics as a reference for your submission:

- The Book of Enoch and the Watchers
- Jesus Christ...extraterrestrial?
- Men in Black...alien observers past and present?
- Fast access to modern technology / reverse engineering
- Early depictions of alien-like beings and their craft
- Beliefs and customs / religious dogma
- The Anunnaki
- Ancient structures...Nazca Lines / the Pyramids of Giza / the Moai statues of Easter Island / Maya, Inca and Middle Eastern ruins
- Atlantis / the Bermuda Triangle / Mexico's "Zone of Silence"
- Underground lairs and facilities past and present
- Biblical disasters
- Ancient extraterrestrials? Moses / Joan of Arc / Akhnaton / etc.

These are just a few of the better known topics included in the ancient alien discussions. If you have others please feel free to comment. Thanks for your help...Lon

The Ancient Alien Question: A New Inquiry Into the Existence, Evidence, and Influence of Ancient Visitors

Chariots of the Gods

There Were Giants Upon the Earth: Gods, Demigods, and Human Ancestry: The Evidence of Alien DNA (Earth Chronicles)

Just the Facts? Blackbeard's Cannon Retrieved -- Charles and Vlad...Blood Brothers -- New 'End Times' Scenario



Blackbeard's cannon retrieved

A one-ton cannon from the wreck of Blackbeard's pirate ship has been raised from the seabed after nearly 300 years.

The cannon was onboard the Queen Anne's Revenge which ran aground and sank off the coast of North Carolina in 1718.

Blackbeard, whose real name was thought to be Edward Teach, became one of the world's most notorious and feared pirates as he roamed seas around the West Indies and the east coast of the American colonies.

The British pirate's reign of terror only lasted two years before the Royal Navy was sent out to sea to capture him.

He was eventually killed in a battle with Lieutenant Robert Maynard who cut off his head and hung it from the bow of his ship as a warning to other pirates.

When Blackbeard died he took the secret of where his treasure was hidden with him.

The Queen Anne's Revenge was found in 1996 and over 250,000 artifacts have already been recovered from it.

The cannon will be put on public display for one day before it is taken to a laboratory for tests.

After almost three centuries underwater, the cannon has become encrusted in sand, barnacles, salt and shells.

Blackbeard has inspired books and films over the years.

Parallels have been drawn between his character and Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. - sky

Blackbeard: Or: The Pirate of Roanoke

Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean

Blackbeard's Secrets

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Charles and Vlad...blood brothers

The truth is out: Prince Charles is related to Vlad the Impaler.

The heir to the British throne says he is related to Vlad the Impaler, the cruel 15th-Century Romanian warlord who helped inspire Bram Stoker's 1897 vampire novel "Dracula."

He makes the comments on an upcoming TV show to promote his interest in protecting the forests of Romania's Transylvania region.

Charles says genealogy shows that he is related to Vlad, giving him a stake in the future of Romania. The prince has long worked to conserve the forests and has bought a home in the region.

On a visit to Romania earlier this year, he called Transylvania a national treasure because of its unspoiled landscape and centuries-old rural farming traditions. - THP

Vlad Dracula: The Dragon Prince

Vlad the Impaler: The Man Who Was Dracula

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A plausible end-of-the-world scenario you’ve probably never thought of

You've seen the world end with fire, earthquakes, and WTF in movies like 2012 and The Core. But to find out about truly horrific, plausible scenarios you need to ask a scientist. We talked to Cal Tech's Joe Kirschvink, a geobiologist who studies the ancient history of life — and mass death. He gave us a nightmare scenario where one evolutionary shift in ocean microbes leaves humans unable to breathe.

Kirshvink is an expert in one of the most dramatic transformations that's ever shaken our planet. You may not realize this, but for almost 2 billion years of the 4.5 billion year history of Earth, our planet's atmosphere was dominated by methane and other greenhouse gases. There was no free oxygen, and therefore no life as we know it could survive. But then, about 2.35 billion years ago, microbes called cyanobacteria — also known as blue-green algae — began to produce free oxygen as a byproduct of the photosynthesis process. The algae did this by breaking apart water molecules during their digestive process, freeing the O (oxygen) from H2O (water).

As a result, these cyanobacteria poisoned the world. At least, that's how it would have seemed to all the microbes around them, known as stromatolites, who breathed methane. Suddenly, all this oxygen was in the air and the stromatolites began to die out. Eventually the oxygen-based atmosphere allowed life as we know it (including humans) to evolve. Over the dead bodies of those methane-breathing stromatolites.

So that's the backstory. The thing is, we really aren't sure what caused the cyanobacteria to start photosynthesizing and throwing off all that free oxygen in the first place. And there's no reason such an evolutionary shift couldn't happen again, with equally disastrous results for all life on Earth.

"Here's my nightmare scenario," Kirschvink began. "And it really is a nightmare. It's chemically unreasonable. But I suppose the microbes living 2.35 billion years ago would have said the same things about oxygen." Warming to the topic, he spun out microbial death tale. "Let's say that there's some damn diatom that learns to grab a photon and take salt," he mused. Instead of grabbing a photon and taking H2O like the cynaobacteria, this microbe takes salt from the ocean waters instead. Salt, if you recall your basic chemistry, is NaCl, or sodium chloride. The diatom breaks this in half, leaving a sodium metal which Kirschvink says it could store in "a little organelle." And instead of releasing free oxygen as a byproduct, this new diatom releases chlorine gas — a deadly poison.

"You have chlorine gas poisoning the atmosphere," Kirschvink concludes. "It would do to us what oxygen did to those juicy stromatolites." Could such a scenario come to pass? "It's just one small change in the metabolic pathways" of the diatom, Kirschvink noted. Of course, there is no known evolutionary advantage to such a shift taking place. But then again, there is no known advantage to cyanobacteria developing a metabolism that farted out oxygen 2.35 billion years ago, either.

Next time you're looking for a doomsday scenario, consider the humble diatom. - io9

How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times

The Source Field Investigations: The Hidden Science and Lost Civilizations Behind the 2012 Prophecies

Beyond 2012: Catastrophe or Awakening?: A Complete Guide to End-of-Time Predictions

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GHOSTS OF THE HAUNTED AIRFIELD - HALLOWEEN 2011 SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

My friend Chris Halton from Haunted Earth returns to the haunted airfield. Chris notes..."As an investigation this was beyond any doubt a most memorable occasion and we hope you will enjoy this special for Halloween by `liking` on Haunted Earth Paranormal Television and on this blog.

We have new investigations coming up soon, and the possibility of investigating a private home with a very active and unpleasant poltergeist.

Happy Halloween from all of us here at Haunted Earth TV!"


You won't want to miss this one...another fantastic production!


Click for video

The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories

Ghosts and Earthbound Spirits: Recognise and Release the Spirits Trapped in this World

Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Your Support Is Appreciated!


YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED!

I am committed to keeping 'Phantoms and Monsters' a free daily newsletter and publication...new subscriptions are still being accepted. The balance sheet is beginning to level out as a result of the readers' kind donations and a variety of advertising efforts...but sustained assistance is still needed.

Donations can be accepted through PayPal ('Donate' buttons are located below or on the blog or go to the PayPal homepage and send the donation to my user email - lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com)...or simply send your contribution by mail.

Please consider endorsing 'Phantoms and Monsters' continued free services. BTW, I am always open to blog content suggestions and well-detailed submissions of your experiences. Thanks again...Lon




Thanks for reading 'Phantoms and Monsters'
YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED!
Paypal ID - lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com

Lon Strickler
'Phantoms and Monsters'
26 Coachman Ct.
Randallstown, MD 21133
USA

Sheepman: The Trestle of Death


The Pope Lick Monster is/was, according to legend, a half-man, half-goat creature that lives under the Norfolk Southern Railroad trestle across Pope Lick Creek and South Pope Lick Rd. near Fisherville in eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky. The stories have been used as a 'dare' that required an unfortunate sap to climb onto the trestle. These individuals were most likely under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Numerous urban legends exist about the creature’s origins and the methods it employs to claim its victims. According to some accounts, the creature uses either hypnosis or voice mimicry to lure trespassers onto the trestle to meet their death before an oncoming train. Other stories claim the monster jumps down from the trestle onto the roofs of cars passing beneath it. Yet other legends tell that it attacks its victims with a blood-stained axe. It has also been said that the very sight of the creature is so unsettling that those who see it while walking across the high trestle are driven to leap off.

Other legends explain the creature’s origins, including that it is a human goat hybrid, and that it was a circus freak who vowed revenge after being mistreated. In one version, the creature escaped after a train derailed on the trestle. Another version claims that the monster is really the twisted reincarnated form of a farmer who sacrificed goats in exchange for Satanic powers.

There is a well-known history of people dying either on the trestle or by falling from it. Many more have been severely injured.

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The Monster at Pope Lick

Steve Rush
The New Voice - October 31,1990


Nobody knows when the quiet, rural area beyond Jeffersontown first became home to the community’s strangest, and definitely scariest, resident – the Pope Lick Monster.

But tales of the creature, also known as the Sheepman, have circulated for decades in eastern Jefferson County, and as Halloween night approaches, rumors of the beast again seem to be common.

“It’s always been around J-town,” said Michael Zettler, a 1985 graduate of J-town High School. “It was always talked about, especially around Halloween.”

“I first heard of it in the early 1960’s,” said Mary Ruckriegel, the wife of J-town Mayor Daniel Ruckriegel. “When I started dating Dan, the kids were always talking about it, especially during Halloween. I don’t know if it was a figment of someone’s imagination or what.”

“I can remember hearing stories of the thing when I was 4 or 5 years old,” said Rod Whitenack, a J-town native now in his early 20’s. “Every time Halloween would roll around, discussion about the monster would start up.”

There are probably as many residents of J-town as there are descriptions of the "thing" that supposedly lives below the rusty train trestle that passes over Pope Lick Road and Pope Lick Creek out Taylorsville Road near Fisherville.

Most describe the monster as a scary half-man, half-sheep, who terrorizes anyone who dares enter his domain. They say he has the features of both man and sheep, with horns, an ugly snout and a hairy brown body. He walks upright, has hooves for feet and can run at high speeds, enabling him to catch anyone in his territory.

Some say it is Jefferson County’s version of Ichabod Crane’s nightmare – a headless horseman-type monster who rides the tracks and kills anyone who crosses his path.

Others say it’s not a monster at all; it’s an old chemist who became a recluse after a chemical explosion in his lab terribly disfigured his face.

Others say it’s just a hermit who lived in a nearby shack and would scare away anyone who came near the trestle.

Still others say the figure that purportedly wanders the area is the deformed son of a local farmer, so hideous he won’t show his face until nighttime.

But whatever the description, the J-town monster has several similarities with other world-famous beasts. Like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, actual sightings of the Pope Lick Monster have been few and far between, if at all.

“There was always some guy who said he saw something out there.” Said Whitenack, who said he made many trips to the trestle. “But I never did.”

And like the Swamp Thing and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the J-town monster has even been the focus of his own local flick, titles “The Legend of the Pope Lick Monster,” which premiered in Louisville in the fall of 1988. The 16-minute, black-and-white movie has been shown at the Vogue, The Uptown and, most recently, at the Water Tower, and been well received by area fans.

“I was looking for a Story indigenous to the area,” said the film’s director and producer local independent filmmaker Ron Schildknecht. “And the Sheepman is something only told around here; it’s been around at least three generations.”

Before he began filming, Schildknecht put in nearly a year of research o the subject. “I talked to 50 people formally and probably 100 more informally getting as much information as I could,” he said. “Was he half-man, half-sheep?” Did he walk on all fours or on two legs? Did he murder people or was he tame? I found a lot of interpretations; it was all real scattered out.”

Half the apparent appeal has been the imposing train trestle, which has stood overlooking the area since 1929. The trestle, which is still used regularly today, spans nearly 800 feet and is about 100 feet tall.

Over the years, teen-agers have been known to frequent the location in search of a remote spot where they could party without being bothered by police or parents.


“The trestles were a real popular place to go and drink and get rowdy,” Schildknecht said. “The talk of the a monster makes it much more attractive to go out there.”

“It was part of a senior tradition,” Ruckriegel said. “They would go out there to see if they could see it; it was a sign of bravery.”

“The boys would take the girls out there to try to scare them,” she added. “It was something really scary.”

While the site may have provided fun for some, tragedy has also come to many who have walked the tracks. In recent years, several youths have been killed, whether from falling from the trestle or after being caught on the tracks and hit by a train.

“It’s unfortunate,” Schildknecht said. “The story of the monster seems so harmless and innocent, except for the real danger of the railroad.”

About a year ago train officials put up a chain link fence with barbed wire to keep thrill-seekers from climbing to the tracks.

But that hasn’t stopped the rumors about the monster.

When the 32-year-old Schildknecht went there to film the movie, he didn’t see the beast but admitted even he found the place a little frightening. “It’s kinda eerie,” he said, “knowing the history and that people have been killed out there.”

“I didn’t feel anything supernatural,” he said. “I was just more intrigued with the ambiance of the trestle. And it’s pretty intense when a train goes by.”

Also finding the area spooky was Zettler, one of the high schoolers who with a couple of friends made the trek to the monster’s purported stomping ground.

“It was real scary.” He said. “Even though you know the legend is silly, you still think about it.”

As long as the legend has been told, no one knows for sure how it started.

“I’ve often wondered if it was a Halloween prank,” Ruckriegel said, “and then got blown out of proportion.”

“It probably started as a man walking his goat,” Zettler said. “It’s just a bunch of stories. It’s something you hear through the years.”

And the legend still exists in the East-End community today, but only to a degree.

“I think a lot of the kids today are too smart to believe all that stuff,” Ruckriegel said. “But I guess it’s still going around.”

“The story is still being told,” Schildknecht said. As long as there’s a trestle out there and long as there are kids in high school, it’s still alive.”

The Pope Lick Monster exist in the collective imaginations of hundreds of people,” he added, “which for me says he does exists.”

What do you think?

Strange Kentucky Monsters

The Encyclopedia of Louisville

Kentucky Spirits Undistilled: Stories of the Bluegrass State's Famous Haunted Locations