"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 2... Poltergeists.

Poltergeists have been reported and are steeped throughout history, they have been reported all over the world and the first reported "Poltergeist" Infestation was reported back in the 1st Century, in Germany in 856 AD. The name "poltergeist" came from the German language words poltern ("to make sound" and "to rumble") and Geist ("ghost" and "spirit"), and the term itself translates as "noisy ghost", "rumble-ghost" or a "loud spirit". In Parapsychology, and Folklore, a poltergeist is a type of ghost or other supernatural entity which is responsible for physical disturbances, making load noises, moving objects, or destroying them! They have been reported to have the ability to Pinch, Bite and Hit people, and have also been known to trip people. they have also been reported to levitate objects such as furniture, and bang on doors.

There has been a few famous and hi profile cases over the years, including the Enfield Haunting, and the pontefract Poltergeist. The Enfield Haunting was probably one of the most famous cases in the UK. which involved Two sisters aged 11 and 13. it took place between the years 1977 to 1979 in a Council house in Brimsdown, Enfield, England. The case  gained a lot of attention. And was Featured in the press, with stories running in both the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror. In August 1977, a Mother of 4 children, Called the police after two of her children were reporting knocking sounds and furniture moving on its own. a Police constable attended the property, and witnessed a chair slide along the floor apparently by it's own accord, not believing what he had seen, he called in reinforcements. Including members of the Society for Psychical Research (S.P.R.). First on the scene was Inventor Maurice Grosse, who was investigating the claims for a while before the S.P.R. felt that he was getting to involved with the Family, and sent in Guy Lyon Playfair.

Playfair became also convinced that the enfield Poltergeist was genuine along with Grosse. Although others such as professors of psychology Anita Gregory and John Beloff were "unconvinced" and allegedly found evidence the girls had faked incidents for the benefit of reporters, but they were using technology from the 70's, I would of been interested in what there conclusions would of been if they had access to some of today's technology and methods. Members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry including stage magicians such as Milbourne Christopher, Joe Nickell, and Bob Couttie investigated the incidents and criticised paranormal investigators for being overly credulous, identifying various features of the case as being indicative of a hoax.But at the end of the day, a committee set up to find out if it was a hoax, would indeed after all draw there conclusion that it was a hoax! What they should of taken into consideration, is that Guy Lyon Playfair also initially thought it was a hoax, until he saw evidence for himself that it was indeed genuine.

Before the Enfield haunting, there was the events reported at 30 East Drive, Pontefract. Also known as the Black Monk of Pontefract, this infestation was different from most poltergeist reports, as it was accompanied by the apparition of a hooded figure, when most poltergeist occurrences are only of  the typical disruptive behaviour and movement of objects etc. The family, Jean, Joe and their two children, Phillip and Diane moved to the house in 1966, and immediately were confronted by strange happenings, including, white dust, or chalk falling from mid air, puddles appearing on the kitchen floor, that reappeared after mopping, even after a plumber had been called and found there not to be any leaks under the floor, or kitchen pipes of any nature. Also in the same day a chest of drawers started to sway of its own accord. 

The Family continued to live at the property for approximately 2 years before any further disturbances. The activity started up again, this time lasting for quite a few years, though they refused to be beaten and move from there home, the main person who seemed to be being affected was Diane. who was often thrown of her bed, and was dragged up the stairs and leaving apparent finger marks on her neck. Loud bangs and crashes were quite a common occurrence, more so when guests were visiting. and objects disappearing, only to be found in other places in the house. On two occasions the family tried to get the house exorcised, but failed on both occasions, seemingly to exacerbate the situation. After a concerned family friend dowsed holy water over the entire house, the entity apparently responded by painting upside down crosses on the living room walls and doors, and destroyed all the crucifixes in the entire house. 

The apparition of the entity didn't occur until near the end of the families haunting. The figure first appeared at the bottom of Joe and Jean's bed, they saw a black cloaked figure with the cowl over its head, and then hovered over their bed and disappeared. on a few other occasions, other visitors, and members of the family reported the sight of a figure that looked like a monk. though no one ever saw the face of the monk. then the occurrences seemed to stop, and the family never experienced any further disturbance.

There are many different types of beings in the Larger Consciousness System (L.C.S.) we believe them all to be capable of being good, evil, or neutral, after all, we are all entities that are capable of good and bad. There are just as many bad people in our own reality, and we all know one of those! Even though poltergeists can be malevolent, and sometimes cause harm, I myself would be more worried about the harm that one of my fellow humans could do me, than a malevolent poltergeist! after all, we do not know the circumstances of there demise, or there creation. if i was stuck in a place for hundreds of years, stuck and couldn't do anything about it, I would most probably become mischievous from boredom! and if i had the ability to move, or manipulate objects, i think id have a bit of fun as well! now don't get me wrong, some of the entities i've talked about in this blog could of been evil from the start, but as i said, we don't know the circumstances of their creation.

On The Next Blog, we will be Exploring the World of the Residual Haunting...

Take Care out There, and Look After Each Other.