; Phantoms and Monsters: Pulse of the Paranormal

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Just the Facts?: Interesting CCTV 'Ghost' Capture -- Green 'Space' Slime -- Possible Spontaneous Human Combustion in Oklahoma



‘Ghost’ caught on CCTV video at ‘haunted’ community centre in South Ruislip

2013 NIGHT GHOST footage... genuine ghost on CCTV in London

The video shows a slim man suddenly appear outside the entrance of South Ruislip Community Association and Community Centre on February 1.

It captures the transparent figure walking calmly towards a metal railing before seemingly disappearing into thin air.

The strange moment was reportedly witnessed by the centre’s caretaker who went outside to investigate.

‘I was sitting inside the hall and noticed a figure on the front CCTV camera,’ the caretaker is quoted as saying in the video.

‘I looked up at the screen and thought I saw a person but wasn’t sure so went out to check.’

He added: ‘I went outside and no one was there but I thought they might have quickly walked around the side of the building into the park so I just went back in.

‘After downloading the CCTV footage I was surprised to see that the figure had been recorded onto the system.

‘I can’t explain this.’

Run by a local committee since 1945, the centre was reportedly used as a prisoner of war camp for Italian prisoners during World War II – leading many to speculate the haunting figure may be from the 1940s.

A previous chairman is said to have believed the building was haunted and he used to greet the spirits when he entered the building in an attempt ‘to make them friendly’.

The video has racked up over 100,000 hits online, with users remaining divided over the authenticity of the footage.

Metro

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NYPD investigating 911 calls from Katie Couric's dead husband

Katie Couric has become the focus of one strange investigation.

The NYPD is probing a series of mysterious 911 calls apparently originating from a phone line registered to Couric's late husband, Jay Monahan.

Monahan died in 1998 after a battle with colon cancer. But, according to the New York Daily News, his phone dials 911 every Tuesday around 2 a.m. There have been at least 10 instances of the calls since last month, according to the Daily News.

Couric relayed the bizarre story to her studio audience during a commercial break this week. She says she asked NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly to investigate the matter.

"So I called Ray Kelly, who I know just through the years seeing at different things. 'Ray, this is so weird but can you help me? I don’t know what to do,'" Couric told the audience, per an eyewitness account in the Daily News.

Whenever the mysterious calls are made, the police call back to check. In addition, a patrol car is sent to investigate. Couric told her audience that she always has a hard time getting back to sleep afterward.

Some experts believe "spoofing" is to blame for the calls. That's an illegal technique in which a hacker uses a device to hijack a phone line. Other celebrities who have fallen victim to the trick include Ashton Kutcher, Chris Brown, and Kim Kardashian. - Yahoo

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Oklahoma Man Dies In Fire, Spontaneous Combustion Not Ruled Out As Cause

The Sheriff in an eastern Oklahoma county said his office is investigating what could be a case of spontaneous combustion.

Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart told News On 6 that deputies were called to a house on Bawcom Road, between Sallisaw and Muldrow, around 10:50 a.m. Monday. A neighbor had reported seeing smoke coming out of a home.

Lockhart said they found the nearly completely charred remains of a man in the kitchen, but that there was no other damage done to the home.

The man has been identified as 65-year-old Danny Vanzandt, according to CBS affiliate in Fort Smith, KFSM.

Sheriff Lockhart spent about 20 years as an arson investigator for the Fort Smith, Arkansas Police Department, before retiring to run for Sheriff in Sequoyah County. Lockhart said he'd never seen anything like it. He said it didn't seem that any accelerant was used and only the floor below Vanzandt's body was damaged.

Lockhart said his remains have been sent to the Medical Examiner's office in Tulsa for examination.

Lockhart said Vanzandt was an alcoholic and a smoker. But KFSM reports that Lockhart said Vanzandt's body was burned in a way that was inconsistent with the fire being started by accident, such as by dropping a lit cigarette.

The Sheriff said the investigation is still ongoing, but that he is not ruling it out spontaneous combustion as the cause of the fire. - News On 6

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Green 'Space' Slime Baffles Nature Experts

A "weird" green slime said in folklore to appear at the same time as meteors hit Earth has been found in a birdlife park in Somerset.

The RSPB has appealed for help in identifying the slime, which is said to be scattered on grass banks close to pools and lakes around Ham Wall Nature Reserve near Glastonbury.

The jelly-like substance could be bacteria, fungus or toad innards, wildlife experts said.

Some believe it could be a substance that has been written about for centuries called star or astral jelly, which is said to appear in the wake of meteor showers.

Its appearance has coincided with a meteor strike in Russia and the harmless fly-by of an asteroid at a record distance from Earth last week.

Steve Hughes, the RSPB site manager at Ham Wall, said: "This past week we've been finding piles of this translucent jelly dotted around the reserve.

"(It is) always on grass banks away from the water's edge. They are usually about 10cm (4in) in diameter.

"We've asked experts what it might be, but as yet no one is really sure. Whatever it is, it's very weird."

Tony Whitehead, an RSPB spokesman for the South West, added: "Although we don't know what it actually is, similar substances have been described previously.

"In records dating back to the 14th Century it's known variously as star jelly, astral jelly or astromyxin.

"In folklore it is said to be deposited in the wake of meteor showers."

One of the more favoured explanations is that it is a form of cyanobacteria called Nostoc.

Others suggest that it is the remains of the regurgitated innards of amphibians such as frogs and toads, and of their spawn.

Alternatively, it may be related to the intriguingly named crystal brain fungus.

Mr Whitehead added: "We've read a few articles now, and much speculation.

"One suggested it was neither animal nor plant, and another that it didn't contain DNA, although it does give the appearance of something 'living'.

"Our reserve team will be looking out for the slime over the next few days, but if anyone can offer any explanations we'd be glad to hear."

The public are being warned not to touch the mystery substance, and to inform nature reserve staff if they spot any. - Sky