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Tuesday, March 21, 2023

'FAIRY LIGHTS' CREATE HAVOC Among Russian Infantrymen in Chechnya

An expatriate Russian infantryman recalls a strange incident that he and others experienced during an invasion of Chechnya in 2009. Fairy lights appeared and caused havoc among the soldiers.

In 2022, Mikhail Zaitskavich, a former Russian soldier, spoke to the producers of the TV show “Mission Unexplained” about his strange encounter in Chechnya in 2009. They re-created it though, because of his current status as a US infantryman, they opted to use a pseudonym.

According to Zaitskavich, he had always wanted to be in the military. Originally from Arkhangelsk, his father was a sergeant major with the Russian air force and it was his desire to follow in his footsteps. In 2009, Zaitskavich was selected to be a recon infantryman which, in the Russian military, meant he was among the best of the best. Around that time, tensions between Russia and Chechnya started to heat up.

In the spring of that year (2009), Zaitskavich was sent there with his platoon. They were assigned the task of fighting the enemy utilizing unconventional means, ie: diverting supply lines and gathering intelligence on the enemy by talking to villagers. Sometimes the villagers would lead them to the places where the soldiers hid their weapons and it was up to them to retrieve them. Zaitskavich recalled that in Chechnya in the springtime, it was always raining or foggy.

One night, while retrieving a cache of buried weapons, they noticed some lights in the forest. They could be seen with the naked eye but they were quite far off. It appeared to be 10 small lights, all moving erratically. Zaitskavich then noticed what sounded like voices or whispers. It sounded like two people, speaking Chechen. It was very quiet at first but it started to gain in frequency until it sounded like they were whispering right next to his ear. Soon,10 more voices, he guessed, joined in the whispering all speaking at once. He began to panic, fearing that they had been made. He thought maybe the lights were a distraction, a common tactic used by Chechen soldiers and they would be ambushed.

Ivan, a teammate and good friend of Zaitskavich, suddenly started speaking loudly. It seemed as though he was trying to communicate with his father, who had died two years earlier. He started to run towards the light, dropping his gun and his pack. Zaitskavich assumed that his friend had lost it or the enemy was playing with their minds. Fearing for his friend, and worrying he might give up their position, he chased after him. Ivan just kept repeating, “I'm coming, father!” He was in a dead sprint running towards the light.

As they got closer, and the lights got bigger, Zaitskavich found it odd that he could make out no definition in them, nobody or nothing was behind them. They just looked like lights floating in mid-air. “That was strange to me,” he recalled. Ivan, now on his knees, arms at his side, was in front of a body of water, directly in front of the lights. He seemed to be in a trance and despite Mikhail's attempts to snap him out of it, he just kept talking to his father, to the lights. “At the time I wasn't asking what this might be, I was just worried about not getting shot,” he noted.

Eventually, the commander of the team arrived. He looked at Ivan and then at the lights and then muttered, “The fairies have him.” Zaitskavich couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He didn't know what to make of it as he'd never even considered it to be something paranormal. Ivan eventually passed out. “When I looked back up from his body, the lights were gone. It was terrifying!” They carried Ivan back to their original location. “Ivan had no idea what had happened to him. It was like he was in a coma. He couldn't remember actually the whole day. It was extremely weird that he couldn't remember any of it.”

The next day they just nodded at each other and carried on with the missions. “It is the strangest event that ever happened in my entire life,” Zaitskavich admitted. In hindsight, he believes the lights had sinister intentions for him and the others. It appeared to Mikhail that they were attempting to lure Ivan to the water, possibly to drown him.

Zaitskavich, a former nationalist, eventually became disenchanted with the Russian military. He exchanged important information with US officials and was, in return, granted citizenship. He now lives in the US and has cut off all ties with his family. He has resumed his career as an infantryman, now as an American.

Source: “Mission Unexplained” Season 1, Episode 2. Mission Unexplained. Cottage Life Network. March 2023. tv.cottagelife.com/shows/mission-unexplained/

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Welcome to Phantoms & Monsters 'Personal Reports' - cryptid & unexplained accounts directly from the archives of Phantoms & Monsters, and the Phantoms & Monster Fortean Research team. Narrated by Lon Strickler. Join us in the chat, discuss, and ask me questions about the accounts.

Featured in this edition:

In July 2011, I received a report from a fly fisherman who had an encounter with an unknown Praying Mantis-like humanoid on the Musconetcong River near Hackettstown, NJ. That was just the beginning of this phenomenon.

After I started my investigation and while making inquiries throughout the area, I subsequently received several similar reports from eyewitnesses who had observed and encountered this frightening entity on the river.

I will describe these incidents in detail and answer all questions from the chat room.

Please join us in the chat, so that you may ask questions. Don't miss this opportunity.

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ANNA MARIA MANALO - PARANORMAL AUTHOR, SCREENWRITER, & STORYTELLER - Bernadette McDaniel (Host)

A Paranormal Life welcomes Anna Maria Manalo, a paranormal author, screenwriter, & storyteller. Bernadette McDaniel (Host)

Filipina-American Anna Maria Manalo was raised in suburban San Juan, an hour north of metropolitan Manila. During childhood, her neighborhood was an active hotspot for ghosts, apparitions and other entities. These experiences led to her interest in the supernatural after her father’s tragic death from a demonic infestation in their home.

Anna is an author of paranormal suspense memoirs and anthologies. She specializes in hauntings brought about by catastrophic events such as WWII, acts of human violence, odd and strange entities that appear in remote, isolated or abandoned places or beings created by human thought called Tulpas. Anna believes the entities that appear in Filipino folklore have been on earth eons before the appearance of human civilization.

A therapist by profession, Anna began writing in her spare time as a screenwriter. She has placed in several screenplay competitions for her highly atmospheric and suspenseful scripts.

Now an author, Anna writes creative nonfiction memoirs and anthologies based on first-person accounts garnered from people she has interviewed all over the globe as a travel photographer and antique collector. Anna’s books are all rated at 4.4 to 5.0 on Amazon.

With a cinematic storytelling style and characters based on the real-life witnesses, Anna creates books that fully immerse readers in the experience of the phenomena as she takes them into terrifying landscapes. Her writing style has been likened to Chilean author Isabelle Allende and Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

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Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman' or 'O'Hare Batman.' - Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map - Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.

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