"Beings" Series Part 6... Black Eyed Children.

OK, so we haven't posted for a while as we were taking a break, plus doing a bit of filming for this years "The SPIRIT Files" season. So we are going to continue with the "Beings" topics. 

Black eyed children... this phenomenon is a relatively new one, apparently the first reports of these creatures was back in the 1990's. back in 1998, a reporter from Texas, USA called Brian Bethel posted about the "Black-Eyed children" on a "ghost-related mailing list". He wrote about alleged encounters with the creatures. 

There has been many accounts, reports and sightings of the Black-eyed children legend, but one of the most compelling accounts was by the original person who reported it in the first place, Brian Bethel. Here is his report.

"Near as I can figure, this happened in 1996. I’ve managed to pin down the date that far. I feel like it happened in the spring or summer, since I remember wearing a pair of shorts, but one of my great regrets is not recording the actual date of the event.
After you hear the story, you’d think it would be something you’d never forget. But given enough time between, not the case. My memory, while good, isn’t quite eidetic.
I had gone down to the former site of Camalott Communications, one of the area’s original Internet providers, to pay my bill. At the time, Camalott was located on North 1st Street, near the movie theater, in the shadow of what is now Chase, then Bank One.
I was using the light of the theater’s marquee to write out my check, which I planned to put in Camalott’s night drop-slot. Involved in my work, I never heard them approach.
There was a knock on my driver’s side window. Two young boys, somewhere between nine to 12 years old and dressed in hooded pullovers, stood outside.

I cracked the window a bit, anticipating a spiel for money, but I was immediately gripped by an incomprehensible, soul-wracking fear. I had no idea why.
A conversation ensued between one boy, a somewhat suave, olive-skinned, curly-headed young man, and myself. The other, a redheaded, pale-skinned, freckled young man, stayed in the background.
The “spokesman,” as I’ve come to think of him, told me that he and his companion needed a ride. They wanted to see a movie, “Mortal Kombat,” but they had left their money at their mother’s house. Could I give them a ride?
Plausible enough. But all throughout this exchange, the irrational fear continued and grew. I had no reason to be frightened of these two boys, but I was. Terribly.
After a bit more conversation, I looked up at the theatre marquee and down at the digital clock display in my car.
Mortal Kombat’s last show of the night had already started. By the time I could have driven the boys anywhere and back, it would practically have been over.
All the while, the spokesman uttered assurances:
It wouldn’t take long.
They were just two little kids.
They didn’t have a gun or anything.
The last part was a bit unnerving.
I noticed that my hand had strayed toward the lock on my door. I pulled it away, perhaps a bit too violently.

In the short time I had broken the gaze of the spokesman, something had changed, and my mind exploded in a vortex of all-consuming terror.
Both boys stared at me with coal-black eyes. The sort of eyes one sees these days on aliens or bargain-basement vampires on late night television. Soulless orbs like two great swathes of starless night.
I did what I feel any rational person would do. I full-on freaked out inside while trying to appear completely sane and calm.
I apologised to the kids. I made whatever excuses came to mind, all of them designed to get me the hell out of there. Fast. The aura of fear was now a palpable, black-hanging thing, almost as if reality itself was warping around me.
I wrapped my hand around the gearshift, threw the car into reverse and began to roll up the window, apologising all the while.
My fear must have been evident. The boy in the back wore a look of confusion. The spokesman banged sharply on the window as I rolled it up. His words, full of anger, echo in my mind even today:
“We can’t come in unless you tell us it’s OK. Let us in!”
I drove out of the parking lot in blind fear, and I’m surprised I didn’t sideswipe a car or two along the way. I stole a quick look in my rear view mirror before peeling out into the night. The boys were gone. Even if they had run, I don’t believe there was anyplace they could have hidden from view that quickly."

During one week in September 2014, the British tabloid Daily Star ran three sensationalistic front-page stories about alleged sightings of black-eyed children, connected to the sale of a supposedly haunted pub in Staffordshire. The paper claimed a "shock rise in sightings around the world". 

Alleged sightings are taken seriously by ghost hunters, some of whom believe black eyed children to be extraterrestrials, vampires, or ghosts.

According to science writer Sharon A. Hill, the legend of "black eyed kids resembles typical spooky folklore stories in the same realm as phantom black dogs, apparitions, and mysterious monsters. They aren't supernatural, there may never even have been an actual encounter. That does not stop people from continuing to see and fear them and pass on the latest tale of terror."

So what do we think? Well Firstly I would never disbelieve any kind of supernatural or paranormal report, there has been quite a few reports over the years, some are obviously jumping on the bandwagon, but others certainly have the same ring and feel to them. I for one do not disbelieve the biodiversity of this planet, so I would never disbelieve the biodiversity of this universe, or reality. I'm sure there are countless types of entities in our consciousness system, and quite believe there are entities that use our life force as an energy source, after all, what do we eat? we eat other organic life forms, whether it be plant or animal, we are feeding on life itself. 

Take Care out There, and Look after Each Other.

"Beings" Series Part 5... Demons.

Demons... Steeped in history and synonymous with mythology, folklore and occultism. In Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an unclean spirit, a fallen angel, or a spirit of unknown type which may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. In Western occultism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic, Jewish Aggadah and Christian demonology, a demon is believed to be a spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled.

The belief in demons is as old as civilization itself, and most people will tell you that they believe that there are dark forces at play in the world. Infact I would say that there are more people in the world that believe in demons and the devil, than there are that believe in god, or jesus. Every ancient civilization, religion or ancient text, talks about demons in which ever guise they took at the time, and there has been countless occult societies, and devil worshipers trying to conjure up demons, that have sprung up through the ages. Some believe that they can be of an elemental type, and there are earth, wind, fire and water demons.

Demonic Possession... As this post is about demons, I'm afraid we have to talk about possession. Do I believe in demonic possession? we will go into this further on in the post. The earliest report of a demonic possession, comes from the Bible, old testament. But its not very clear if this is an actual possession report, or a warning of what might happen. We are told that "an evil spirit from the Lord troubled" Saul (1 Samuel 16:14). The Hebrew rûah need not imply a personal influence, though, if we may judge from Josephus (Ant. Jud., VI, viii, 2; ii, 2), the Jews were inclined to give the word that meaning in this very case. In New Testament times, however, the phenomenon had become very common. However, the Old Testament does contain numerous references to evil spirits, often interacting in malevolent ways with people. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions (i.e. epileptic seizures or “fits”) and fainting as if one were dying. Other descriptions include access to hidden knowledge (gnosis) and foreign languages (xenoglossy), drastic changes in vocal intonation and facial structure, the sudden appearance of injuries (scratches, bite marks) or lesions, and superhuman strength. Unlike in channeling, the subject has no control over the possessing entity and so it will persist until forced to leave the victim, usually through a form of exorcism.

What do we believe? Well I for one believe that there is a type of being that has existed alongside humanity, and if you've read any of our other posts, you'll know that we believe that there are many different "beings". but what I do believe about demons, is that they have never been human, and some want to be. This is why there is so many reports of Possession. Why do they want to claim human bodies for themselves? who knows. perhaps there reality is a place that no one would want to be, and they do have the power to claim one's body. but I also believe that you need to be susceptible, or willing to "invite them in" and maybe some are cunning enough to fool you into giving up this right. But I also think that if you are strong, and are not easily fooled, or play with things that shouldn't be played with, Black magic, Ouija Boards (if lacking in experience) Etc, then you should be fine. But don't ever let down your guard, as you never know what might be waiting in the shadows...

Take Care out There, and Look After Each Other.

"Beings" Series Part 4... Residual Hauntings (Vehicles/Animals)

Staying on the same theme as saturdays post, we are going to delve further into the Residual side of things, and Explore the myths and legends of the "Ghost Trains" "Ghost Cars" and the phantom animals etc. Again, as in the last post, we believe that these events and reports, are the results of the "Stone Tape Theory". There has been quite a few reports over the years of strange lights on disused railways, or cars disappearing in front of witnesses eyes.

The Silver Arrow, or (Slilverpilen) was a Stockholm metro train. Built as a one off test unit, and being composed of eight silver aluminium model C5 cars. It was manufactured in the 1960's as part of an all green fleet of hundreds of trains, being the only silver one, apart from its color, air suspension, a whining distinctive motor sound and the "outlying" sliding doors (hence the increased passenger capacity), it was almost identical to the other metro trains in service during its lifespan. The interior of this trains cars were devoid of the usual advertisements and the pale green walls bore signs of partly removed graffiti. This scruffy look contributed to the reputation of Silverpilen as "different". 

The background for the ghost stories associated with Silverpilen may be related to the eerie look of Silverpilen if seen arriving late at night to an open-air underground station. People were used to green metro trains and were surprised at the arrival of a silver colored train, particularly if they had lived in Stockholm all their life and were unaware of the existence of the un-painted unit. The stories that circulated most widely in the 1980s have been retold by the noted Swedish folklorist Bengt af Klintberg, and later featured in the December 10, 1997 installment of Det spökar, a television series dedicated to allegedly real ghost stories and haunted houses. There are different versions of this urban legend. Some say that the ghost train has only been seen in abandoned tunnels by subway workers. Others say that anyone can see it passing the stations at high speed after midnight. Some even claim that Silverpilen sometimes stops to pick up passengers, who then disappear forever or later "get off" weeks, months or even years after they embarked. The inside of the train is described as being empty, or as containing one or several ghost passengers. Some stories connect the ghost train with the abandoned Kymlinge metro station on Line 11, the blue line. Kymlinge also has a reputation of being a ghost station, with people saying that "Bara de döda stiger av i Kymlinge" ("Only the dead get off at Kymlinge"). Some say that it stops at a station that has no exit.

Other reports of "Phantom Vehicles" include reports of many cars. In 1982, two people in Lanikai, Hawaii reported seeing a mysterious black car which disappeared and reappeared again a second later. In 1995, an eyewitness saw a brown 1960s car that had bumper stickers, the witness passed the car but it mysteriously reappeared ahead of the witness's car at several stoplights. Also the witness noticed that the driver was a man in his teens and that he never turned his head and he never moved the steering wheel when the man drove around the "dead man's curve" the witness said. 2004, In Cape Town, South Africa, a Renault sedan mysteriously rolled up an embankment and hit a fence, despite the fact that the handbrake was engaged and the engine was off. Some say the car was "jumping".

There are also many reports around the world of "Ghost Trucks" and busses. In the mid-1980s, three people in a sedan reported seeing a gray van heading straight towards them. Then suddenly the van vanished. In Australia, there is a story of the ghost truck of Kaniva where a driver was 'driven through' by a mysterious, 1940s' style big rig truck painted green. Early 1980s - a British motorist crashed his car in order to avoid a truck that suddenly appeared coming straight towards him and then vanished. The curved road at the junction of St. Marks Road and Cambridge Gardens in Ladbroke Grove, UK was reported to be haunted by a phantom bus with a route marker "7" which caused numerous accidents, one of which was fatal. The reports subsided when the area of road was straightened.

There are a few reports of other types of travel too... Spirits of passengers and crew have allegedly been seen on planes containing parts from Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 which crashed in Florida in 1972. In 1997, eyewitnesses from the eastern USA claimed they saw a single-engine plane crash. But when the coast guard searched the waters off Connecticut, they could not find any wreckage or bodies. Also none of the airports reported any planes missing. The Flying Dutchman, a ship manned by a captain condemned to eternally sail the seas, has long been the main legend of ghost ships. and last but not least, The Mary Celeste is perhaps the most historically famous derelict, and unexplained case of them all.

And lastly i'm going to touch slightly on animal ghosts. Mostly animals are reported by there owners, mostly its dogs being reported, followed by cats, and then horses. In the Chicago suburbs at the border of civilization and the Cook County Forest Preserves is a fairly busy intersection, 95th Street and Kean. There are stables nearby and horse-riding trails wind their way through the lush flora. One of the trails must cross the busy and dangerous 95th Street to continue on the other side. There have been numerous incidents especially at night or near dusk of motorists complaining of seeing what appears to be a horse and his rider in silhouette attempting to cross from one side to another. But as the driver begins to slow down and watch them more carefully, suddenly there's nothing there.

These figures don't simply disappear near one side of the street or the other, but often right in the middle of the road! They are best described as smoke grey silhouettes without any recognizable features but are often only seen from afar. There have even been ghostly reenactments of some actual events at that intersection as well. On one occasion, a motorist saw what appeared to be a horse throwing his rider from the saddle right in the middle of the road before disappearing. Some have seen a horse apparently being dragged down the roadway a bit as though a car had impacted with it and would have dragged it a little ways before coming to a complete stop.

 

In Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia stands the large grave marker of author Ellen Glasgow who was well known in Richmond and lived there for a good portion of her life. When she died, she stipulated in her will that her two pet dogs who had died prior to her death, be exhumed from her backyard and buried with her at Hollywood. Many claim that they have heard these dogs on occasions, scampering around quite near to that grave late at night.

Take Care out There, and Look After Each Other.

"Beings" Series Part 3... Residual Hauntings (People).

As I'm writing this, it's Good Friday (25/3/16). My family and I, including my wife, (Co-Founder, Sal Pollard) and our two children, set of for a family day out. On the first spring bank holiday of the year we had decided to visit another location, but unfortunately it seemed like they we're closed. So I remembered suddenly another historical tourist attraction, not to far down the road from our home. It was open, so we set off for it. You see, when we're not rattling around old buildings in the middle of the night, searching for evidence of the paranormal, we like to spend our bank holidays rattling around them during the day too! The location we had settled on was our local Templar site, Cressing Temple.

Once we had decided to go, we couldn't help but do a search on the sites history, and to see if it was haunted, and indeed it was. Apparently there are 5 ghosts at the temple, after all this place is an ancient medieval, moated farmstead, and had spent majority of its life occupied by the religious order of the Knights Templar! In the days of its prime, it was the most important landholding of the Knights Templar in Essex. All of the said "hauntings" are most definitely residual hauntings, as they appear to be doing, or acting like they are stuck in a time loop. We are strong Believers in the "Stone Tape Theory". So what a coincidence! I was planning on posting about residual hauntings last week, and here I was presented with the perfect material and setting for this post.

The first of our 5 residual ghosts at the Temple was reported by a member of staff back in 1986, who reported a ghostly apparition of a bloodied roman soldier in one of the fields next to the ancient barns. He was reported as looking very disorientated, with a nasty wound to his head, and seemed to be searching for an escape route. Some years later, there was an archaeological dig near the gardens of the ancient barns, and they unearthed the decapitated skeleton of a man in his mid-30's. It's believed that the skeleton dates back to the Roman britain times,could this be the soldier in the field?

The next "Residual" of the temple, is that of the man-of-arms spirit, known as the Phantom Knight. Local Legends say that he is buried somewhere within the grounds of the Cressing Temple Estate. He has been reported a few times, roaming the local area upon the back of his horse, and has even been reported as far as the local carp fishing lake. In 2009, an interesting photograph, taken in the middle of the night on a lake near the temple by a local carp angler, appeared on the internet. It appears to contain a ghostly mist near the edge of the water, and looks like the Knight on horseback, the horse is quite visible, but you can only see the armored forearm and hand, and part of the leg of the Knight on top of the horse, and maybe his sword on the back upper leg of the horse? (I think this photograph is very impressive!)

Between the 1970's and 1980's, there were a few reported sightings of a 16th century Cavalier. The first witness was scared half to death (although reports of this sighting are sketchy) saw the apparition of the Cavalier in the farmhouse at Cressing Temple. In the 70's,he was seen again at the top of the stairs by the frightened young son of the Cressing Temple farm manager. The petrified boy described what he had seen as wearing big boots, blue trousers, and a big black hat. In the 80's, another farm manager and his family reported feeling sudden cold spots in the house, and mainly in the bathroom. their young, 3 years old son didn't like being near the stairs or bathroom, because he could see a strange man with long dark hair on the stairs. the Cavalier was also reported to of been seen in bedrooms and the library. During the civil war in 1677, Sir Thomas Davies bought the Cressing Temple estate. Later that year his eldest son Thomas Davies (Junior) committed suicide, by shooting himself. maybe the Cavalier apparition was in fact the spirit of young Thomas Davies, condemned to roam the grounds for eternity...

The ancient barns at Cressing Temple are said to be haunted by the ghost of a young olster boy, who was tragically killed when he was kicked in the head by horse, resulting in instant death. The final Resident ghost of the Temple is that of a man whose wife sadly died in a terrible fire on the Cressing Temple Estate, which engulfed the main house over one hundred years ago. His Spirit is said to appear in the oak room of the old farm house by banging on the oak panelling.

When my family and I walked around these stunning buildings, and awe inspiring Templar Temple. I could really feel the history of the place, and we experienced quite a few cold spots as we went from room to room. In the oldest of the two barns, believed to be the oldest complete Templar Barn in the world, we stumbled upon a display of the Bricks used throughout history at the Temple. One of which was dated back to the 1100's, when the temple was first built. I felt compelled to place my hand on it, and the feeling of energy, history and Craftsmanship I felt instantly was quite overwhelming.

Yes, I know, it was only a brick. But for those who strongly believe in "The Stone Tape Theory", I had just felt the energy of the person who had hand crafted that brick, and felt all the history that had been "recorded" within the material itself. The "White" brick, in the centre of the picture, was a rare type of brick that was only commissioned for a few years in the 1200's, and was only used for exquisite brick work, and was expensive. This brick was remarkably colder than the rest, yet it was stored in the same conditions and place as the rest. Perhaps this brick was made of a material that could absorb more energy? I'm guessing that they used chalk, which the ancient monks used for tunneling escape tunnels. 

We believe that Emotions, feelings and events can get recorded into these natural materials. If you can get a small disc of plastic, coat it in a reflective, magnetic layer, then record the entire collection of books you own, or fill it with all the songs in your song library, then why is it not plausible you can store or record emotional events in a natural material that is capable of absorbing energy. They've already proved that water has memory, and can withhold information. So why not Stone, Bricks, Timber and earth etc.

On the next Blog, we will be staying on the Theme of "Residual", but Vehicles and Animals...

Happy Easter everyone, Take Care, and Look after Each Other,