The Witching Hour

Demolition workers photograph ‘ghost of former guesthouse worker’

Skatha — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:34:32 +0000

The image is said to bear an eerie resemblance of Frances Grimshaw, who worked at the guesthouse and stood for hours at the same window taking bookings.

David Grimshaw, a former resident at the property, said he was convinced the figure is the ghost of his mother, who died nearly a year ago aged 87.

He believes her spirit may have appeared to protest at the demolition of Meadowbank House, which she adored.

“That is my mother. I’m totally convinced – no one else looks like that. She had glasses and big earrings and she used to wear a dress with a bow at the front,” he said.

“She used to stand in that room for hours on the phone – it was the guesthouse reception and she took bookings from there.”

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The Rosenheim Poltergeist: Hoax or Haunting?

scarygirl67 — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:26:04 +0000

A fascinating concept in the research and study of psychic and paranormal phenomenon is that of the ‘poltergeist’. Poltergeist in its literal translation from the German means ‘noisy ghost’. Quite simply, it is kinetic energy that is manifesting from a source that makes itself physically known. Witnesses of such activity have spoken of items flying around the room, furniture moving, sounds of knocking from an unknown presence, and even actual attacks.

From what source this energy manifests has been a matter of legends as well as debate among modern day researchers. Cases have been documented with arguments both for and against the activity being fraudulent or genuine. One case in particular caught the attention of many in the town of Rosenheim in the southern regions of Bavaria during the latter half of the 1960′s. For several months, the law offices of Sigmund Adam reportedly began having incidents of items operating on their own as well as mysterious phone calls and other strange incidents. It is a case, much like the well-known Enfield Poltergeist that has allegations of fraud as well as no clear proof of that fraud. It is, as with many stories of this nature, up to the reader to decide.

The activity was said to have begun in July of 1967 when several telephone calls on several different office lines began receiving calls that had no one on the other end. At first it seemed like a prank, but the more it happened, the more Mr. Adam began to wonder about a technical malfunction. However, nothing ceased the calls coming in, including replacing the telephones and having a technician examine the lines going into the office building. The strange telephone calls continued and in October, other phenomenon began occurring such as light bulbs rotating and turning on and off by themselves. When the electricians came to check the wiring and fuses, all appeared fine until they used voltage meters to determine if there were any surges. The power surges that were recorded should have blown out every electrical appliance in the building…and yet not one fuse was blown or malfunctioning. Other items around the office also began acting up and the lawyer and his staff were at a loss to explain what was going on. Eventually, the phenomenon became known to Hans Bender, a parapsychologist who was the head of the Institute of Paranormal Research who desired to conduct an investigation of the premises.

During this investigation, one common thread was determined–a young girl in Sigmund Adam’s employ by the name of Anne Marie Schneider. It seemed that all of the incidents took place during times that she was present and ceased when she left. During the last months of the ‘haunting’ the activity increased, and there were numerous things happening that seemed to be coming from outside forces. Swinging light fixtures from above, equipment malfunctioning and moving on its own and even a massive cabinet getting hurled across the room–all which seemed to be focused around this young girl. In the early part of 1968, Anne Marie left the law offices and there have been no reports of activity since.

Of course, the first logical assumption would be that Ms. Schneider was faking the entire thing for attention. She was, after all, a troubled young woman who had a history of histrionic behavior as well as difficulty in her relationships with family and others. Surveillance done by the Institute of Paranormal Research showed that the phenomenon would only happen when she was present. There was also talk that others in the office were part of the prank to get attention. The focus however was on Anne Marie and the fact that there were no reports of strange happenings after she left for good does speak to her involvement.

Some believe that her involvement was not intentional but rather subscribe to the theory that ‘poltergeist’ activity such as this generates from a very human source. Energy coming from a living person, usually a young female going through some kind of stress or emotional difficulty has been studied by parapsychologists for some time, and the events in Rosenheim are often referred to as possibly being an example of this phenomenon. Others are convinced that it was merely a prank by a girl whose whole life had been about screaming for attention. It was reported that once she married a couple of years later that she herself no longer had any incidents–did the happiness and security offered by her new husband giver her what she needed? Or was the rampant energy she had during her years of confusion and turmoil finally tempered?

The Rosenheim events in 1967-68 were some of the most documented in history of possible poltergeist activity and are still studied today. Whether it was a hoax or a case of human energy being so out of control that telekinesis was occurring, it shows our need for evidence to validate what we believe to begin with. The same data is used to support and negate the haunting which has left the events open to interpretation. In other words, those who want to believe will think something phenomenal happened while ones who look with a more skeptical eye will continue to question.

Victor Zammit: A Lawyer Presents a Case for the Afterlife
Best Evidence

Piazza del Popolo, Rome

Scooby Doo Fan — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:51:41 +0000

Piazza del Popolo

One of the most spectacular sites in Rome, the Piazza del Popolo has its fair share of history in a city renowned for its past. The crowning jewel of this stunning landmark is the Obelisk of Rameses II, which was brought to Rome after the conquest of Egypt and moved to the Piazza during the 16th century by Pope Sixtus V. Other popular tourist destinations in the Piazza are a trio of churches: the Santa Maria del Popolo, Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria di Montesanto, which together contain artistic treasures created by the likes of Raphael, Bernini, Carvaggio and other Renaissance greats. This popular square is a place where people come together to celebrate events such as New Year’s Eve and various festivals. In fact, translated “Piazza del Popolo” means “Plaza of the People”.

A dark side exists for the picturesque Piazza…its past isn’t all holidays and festivals. In its confines, the criminals of Rome were often brought to be tortured for the amusement of the public, before being executed. The church of Santa Maria del Popolo was built by Pope Paschal II in 1099 in order to rid the square of the ghost of the abhorred Emperor Nero, who was renowned for his lavish excesses and his ruthless persecution of Christians. The locals had long feared the ghost of the Emperor, who was said to walk the Piazza, which was his (not quite) final resting place…. until the end of the 11th century when the chapel which would eventually become the Santa Maria del Popolo was built. At that time, it is said his remains were flung into the River Tiber and the church was built to banish his presence forever. It was also said that demons in the form of black crows also inhabited the square. The tree in which they used to nest was torn down to make way for the new church.

In spite of its sometime gruesome past, the Piazza is a place of amazing beauty and worth a visit the next time you pop in for a visit to the Holy City. If you are in the Piazza late in the evening when the crowds are absent, take a moment and listen and you may hear the ghostly strains of Nero’s famous fiddle still stirring the sultry night air.

Grand Cimetière De Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Scooby Doo Fan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:12:45 +0000

The Grand Cemetery in Port Au Prince, Haiti suffered like the rest of the city when the devastating earthquake hit in January of 2010. Tombs collapsed upon themselves; the pathways through the raised mausoleums were covered with rubble. Coffins were exposed and bones were jostled from within their formally secure confines.

After the tragedy, when so many Haitians were left homeless (and many remain so today), a large number of survivors turned to the Grand Cemetery for shelter. The mausoleums that were intact were converted to unofficial dwellings for the living…after all, the stone and concrete structures provided a more solid level of protection from the elements than did the tent cities that sprang up around the city. Long term (deceased) residents of the tombs were often evicted to make way for the living.

But while the structures may have been more sound than others offered in different parts of the city, the cemetery wasn’t exactly a refuge from the tragedy outside the gates. Hundreds, if not thousands of bodies were brought for burial, although a scant few of the victims’ families could actually afford the burial fees. Without the funds to provide the burial service, many bodies ended up being abandoned at the gates and along the walkways, left to slowly deteriorate in the hot tropical sun.

The once prestigious cemetery was now a place of horror. It’s no wonder that two years after the tragedy, locals still whisper about apparitions of decomposing corpses scattered among the tombs and grave markers. A nearby place of worship for practitioners of Voodoo doesn’t help to calm the rumors of other-worldly activity.

Whether or not the cemetery actually holds the earth bound spirits of its interred or un-interred residents, it remains a horrifying and scary place on its own and will probably remain so until Haiti is able to get back on its feet. To help, please visit the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org or any one of the many sites organized to help the victims of Haiti’s earthquake, who are still suffering two years later.

Tenn. town needs to scare up some cash

Skatha — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:51:31 +0000

(Reuters) – Harriman, Tennessee hopes that ghosts, or rather ghost hunters, can raise enough money to restore an historic and reputedly haunted building.One ghost hunter wants to use the “dark entities” supposedly haunting the 121-year-old Temperance Building, a former jail, to attract both tourists and paranormal enthusiasts to Harriman, which was founded by anti-alcohol crusaders in the 19th century.

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