Disclaimer:

~The views and opinions expressed here are of the blog author and not necessarily of CCAPSG as a whole~

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Paranormal In the news 29/03/10

kdhnews Local couple believe that blue-skinned, dog-like animals seen around the state represent a new species of canine

"KEMPNER – Mystery and science fiction novels are a weekend hobby for some, but one local couple is turning their free time to attempting to solve strange mysteries in nature.


Richard and Naomi West just returned from a weeklong trip around Texas collecting pictures and video based on reports of strange blue-skinned, dog-like animals around the state that some have called the answer to the "chupacabre."

The Wests, along with the founder of a British nonprofit supporting cryptozoology, hope their reports from the expedition will help them gain support for a more in-depth mission to study and hopefully capture what they believe is not a being of folklore, but a new species of canine similar to a coyote."



To read more click here


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ghost theory MonsterQuest: ‘Gable Film’ Mystery Solved


"As many of you are aware, MonsterQuest aired the final episode of the series last night and it went out as strong as it first started.


MonsterQuest’s final episode was a continuation into the “American Werewolf” mystery. Focusing greatly on the infamous “Gable film” that we have extensively covered here on GhostTheory. So let’s get crackin’ and discuss the show and its findings.

First and foremost we talk about the “Gable film”. In a surprising turn of events, the MonsterQuest team managed to put a silver bullet into the “Gable film” mystery and not end their show with open-ended questions like they mostly do. But how much of the mystery did the MonsterQuest team actually solve?. To my surprise someone actually came forward and admitted to hoaxing the whole film. Weeks before MonsterQuest even start filming their final episode!"

To read more from Javier and Ghost Theory click here
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timberjayPhantom of the alley

"Things are expected to go bump in the night at a bowling alley. That’s what they’re built for.


But at the Ely Bowling Center recently, “things” didn’t go bump in the night so much as show up in silence…from behind…and on camera.

On Feb. 25, a group of women stopped by the bowling alley bar for a friends’ night out. One of them brought her digital camera. While there, they asked bartender Dan Hruby to take a picture of the group to commemorate the occasion. When he finished, he handed the camera back and a few minutes later the women checked out the picture.

In particular, Hruby said they took a close-up look at the expression on one of their friends’ faces. When they did, they also noticed a kind of cloudy image behind her in the doorway to the bar. They zoomed in closer and saw what very much appeared like a human face with a glint in its eye. Before long, the camera was making its way from person to person around the bar."



To read more click here

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The Paranormal Pastor Where The Phantom Panthers Roam


Until the mid 17th Century Erie Pennsylvania held the tribal center of the Eriez Indians. The name Eriez or Erie is a shorter form of the Iroquoian word "Erielhonan" meaning literally "long tail" referring to the native panther skins that many of the tribe wore ceremonially. The panther (cougar or mountain lion) was the native Eriez totem. They honored and emulated the stealthy cats that were the top of the contemporary indigenous food chain. Although a small tribe when compared to their neighbors the Seneca or Susquehannocks, they stood boldly against larger enemies and welcomed refugees from neighboring wars. this did not make them very popular with the other tribes in the area and by the late 17th century the Eriez tribe had been either wiped out by war or assimilated by the Iroquois. Within a century the large panthers that were the totem of the Eriez had also vanished from the lands of North Western Pennsylvania.


Or did they?

To read the rest of Pastor Swopes story please click here

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The SunBizarre face formed in the sky through cloud formation

To see pic click the link below:

"IS this someone looking down on us with their head in the clouds?



This evil face stares from the sky through a bizarre cloud formation.

Captured early morning, the blue sky adds a sinister look to its huge eyes. "

Read more: here

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From Bry: Im slightly weary of any news stories today seeing as 1st April but if this is true - its interesting...

HuffingtonPost The Real Face Of Jesus: History Channel Special Examines The Shroud Of Turin

"Last night, the History Channel aired "The Real Face Of Jesus," a documentary featuring the work of computer artists who recreated the face of Jesus in 3D based on the Shroud of Turin.


The Shroud of Turin, a blood-stained linen that many believe was the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, has been questioned for centuries on its authenticity. But new tests are underway to verify it, and the team featured on "The Real Face Of Jesus" has no doubt the Shroud is real."




To read and see more pics click here

Real Life Stories - The Sinister Horned Visitor

The word sinister means 'threatening, portending evil, harm, trouble or ominous'. We hardly ever use the term anymore. But it sums up the encounter you are about to read about.


The best stories you hear are the one’s you never expected. Last week I was having lunch with a sports chaplaincy colleague who was an Australian Spearfishing champion. He was so good he even won contests while his broken leg was in waterproof plaster. In 2007 he had been severely injured in a boating accident and lost the use of an arm and a leg and became a follower of Christ while in hospital recovering, having an amazing encounter with God. The Doctors said he should be dead many times over but here he is today, speaking around the state and country and being interviewed on TV.

We were discussing a lot of things when he asked me about experiences with the paranormal. Then he dropped a bombshell. Very strange things were afoot at his fathers house in Cronulla, only a kilometre down the road.

“At my mum and Dads house, they keep seeing someone walking around. At first they didn’t want to mention it to each other – in case the other thought they were going mad. Then they raised the subject – they had both been seeing a person darting through the house, going into rooms – but not like an intruder. They then asked each other if they had been ‘slapped’. They concurred that someone had slapped them across the face when no-one was around. Dad’s sister then said when she slept over, she was slapped across the face while in bed”.



“But it get’s worse. One day dad was asleep on the lounge and he woke up and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He actually checked to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. A man stood in the corner of the room, in tights that at his shoulders became a hood that went over his head, but you could clearly see his face. The weirdest thing was, the hood actually was made to sit over two horns coming out of his head. The man had a smirk on his face, like he was saying ‘I have you now, I’ve got you now’. Dad was so scared he actually crapped himself, he had a bowel movement. In his fear he did something he was told as a child in the Greek Orthodox Church back home, to pray to Jesus for help. So he made the sign of the cross and in Greek said “Jesus help me” and whoosh, the guy just disappeared.

It’s tempting to go ‘right, let’s get down there and investigate’. But sometimes a lot of prayer is required. This realm is full of deception, anger and malevolent intent. Our team is going to stay in touch with the family while simultaneously praying and seeking wisdom from the scriptures. When you read books like 'The Demonologist' by world famous exorcists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Original Amityville Investigators) you realise that there is nothing like knowing you are spiritually covered during an investigation to protect you, your colleagues, the people you are helping and at times, your own family at home. The dangers to your emotional, spiritual and physical health are very real and only Jesus Christ has authority over the realm, as testified again and again in interviews.

Once again, we’ll keep you posted on this one as more information comes to light

Monday, March 22, 2010

Paranromal In The News 22/03/10

News.com.auDead Steve Irwin tells Dad, everythings okay, where are my socks?

"MUSCLING in on the wacky turf of La Toya Jackson, Bob Irwin has gone public about a beyond-the-grave dialogue with Steve.



Woman's Day reports its psychic Deb Webber hooked Bob up with his late son during a private reading at his remote Queensland property, according to the Courier-Mail.


Bob said the psychic left him with "goose bumps" by relaying things only he and Steve knew about."

To read more click here

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Montreal GazzetteHoly Rivalry over Kateri

"By the Banks of the St. Lawrence River, in a modest church on the Kahnawake reserve, lie the remains of a controversial would-be saint. Kateri Tekakwitha, a chaste young thing with a penchant for placing hot embers between her toes, may have died over 300 years ago, but she still has the ability to rock one of the most powerful institutions in the world.


Many believe her canonization is long overdue. But since her beatification in 1980 - granted on the basis of hundreds of unverified interventions (deemed equivalent to one certified miracle) - she's never quite managed to make the grade. One hell of a miracle will be needed to move a step up to sainthood."

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Holy+Rivalry+Over+Kateri/2712816/story.html#ixzz0ixh9VOWe

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news.com.auUFO buzzes Sydney - and here's the proof

IT EMERGED from a blazing light in the clouds, descending on a busy street before zipping off silently into the sunset.


Just what - or who - propelled the strange flying disc across Sydney's skyline may never be known.

But while the close encounter was over in seconds, it was enough to convince mother-of-two Fiona Hartigan that she'd just seen a UFO.

And she has the photos to prove it.

Ms Hartigan yesterday said she had just got out of her car on Sunday evening to snap a few sunset photos when the amazing events began.




To read more click here.

To read a quick analysis of the picture from Bry check out her blog

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Daily Telegraph Something is out there


"MEET the Aussie Agent Mulder - a man whose job it is to investigate Australia's X-Files and work out whether aliens exist.

Bill Chalker, who has spent 35 years investigating UFO sightings and alien abductions, believes Fiona Hartigan's sighting reported yesterday is almost certainly genuine. He's not the only one.

Almost 60 per cent of readers who voted online said they believed in UFOs, while others told of multiple sightings in the Blue Mountains or strange lights hovering over rural NSW.

Mother-of-two Anne Hamnett said she witnessed a bizarre incident at her isolated property near Gloucester on Sunday night.

She and her children were out the front of the house just hours after Ms Hartigan's sighting when two brightly lit objects appeared.

They stayed in the area for about 30 minutes before disappearing.

"I've never believed UFO stuff before but I haven't ever seen anything like this," she said.

"They were orange-red in colour and perfectly in line with each other - I just can't explain it." "

To read more click here

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Daily Telegraph More UFO alien sightings revealed

"FIRST a woman photographed strange flying discs descending on a busy Sydney street - now Daily Telegraph Online reporter Dora Tsavdaridis has told how she spotted a UFO while on a beach holiday.


Mother-of-two Fiona Hartigan captured the imagination of the nation after sunset snaps taken in Chipping North on Sunday were printed in the Daily Telegraph today.

"As I was about to take the picture this black object appeared and then it started to move," she said.

"It started off about 800m away but it came closer - to about 400m - and then two other little round things appeared from this bright orange light above.

"There was no noise. It was calm and peaceful but it was very weird."

And she's not alone. Ms Tsavdaridis says she will never forget her own close encounter on the Greek island of Mykonos.

Blogging with the DT Online she said: "It was about the size of a star and it looked like it was far away. At first I thought maybe it was a plane, but there were no blinking lights, just this one red light. Plus, it was too far away to be a plane.

"It definitely wasn’t a bird or Superman either.

"The sky and the area around us was so dark, the red spot was very clear as it travelled horizontally across the sky for about three minutes and then disappeared."


To read more click here

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Dailymail Goldfish survives 7 hours out of water

"When you find your goldfish floating belly up in its tank, it's reasonable to assume the worst.



So when Carol Norris spotted her pet Mr Fish in that fatal position, she reached for the tissues.


It wasn't to wipe away the tears but rather to wrap him up until she had a minute to bury him.


The school dinner lady placed him at the bottom of the empty bath tub - safe from her five cats - while she popped out on a shopping trip.


Seven hours later she returned home and prepared for Mr Fish's final farewell.


But as she lifted him out of the bath, swaddled with tissue paper, he twitched back to life."


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1260549/Goldfish-survives-seven-hours-water-owner-thought-dead.html#ixzz0jFP3jDXl



Local Ghost Story - Fisher's ghost

Last Halloween, Pastor Baz's church did a halloween outreach, inviting the community to hear about some of the crypto creatures we have in Australia and to listen to some local ghost stories. One of the stories told was the story of Fishers ghost.




From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 The legend of Fisher's ghost is a popular Australian story dating to the early 19th century. It arose from a series of historical events which occurred in Campbelltown, now a large urban population centre on the southwestern outskirts of Sydney, but at the time a remote rural outpost.

In 1826 a Campbelltown farmer named Fred Fisher suddenly disappeared. His friend and neighbour George Worrall claimed that Fisher had returned to England, and that before departing had given him power of attorney over his property and general affairs. Later, Worrall claimed that Fisher had written to him to advise that he was not intending to return to Australia, and giving his farm to Worrall.



Four months after Fisher's disappearance a respectable local man named John Farley, ran into the local hotel in a very agitated state. He told the astonished patrons that he had seen the ghost of Fred Fisher sitting on the rail of a nearby bridge. Farley related that the ghost had not spoken, but had merely pointed to a paddock beyond the creek, before disappearing.


Initially Farley's tale was dismissed, but the circumstances surrounding Fisher's disappearance eventually aroused sufficient suspicion that a police search of the paddock to which the ghost had pointed was undertaken - during which the remains of the murdered Fisher were discovered buried by the side of a creek. George Worrall was arrested for the crime, confessed, and subsequently hanged. Fred Fisher, whose lands he had coveted, was buried in the cemetery at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Campbelltown.


It is thought by some that the story of the ghost may have been invented by Farley as a way of concealing some other speculated source of his knowledge about the whereabouts of Fisher's body, but this cannot be confirmed. Contemporary police and court records do not mention the ghost story - but they are also silent on how the authorities knew where to look for Fisher's body.



The legend of Fisher's ghost has since entered popular folklore, and is celebrated during Campbelltown's annual Fisher's Ghost Festival which commences early November concluding mid month. The creek beside which the body was discovered is known as Fisher's Ghost Creek. It has now however been converted into mostly a storm water drain.

Have you got a local ghost story you'd like to share? We'd love to hear it. Please contact us in the comments below.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Do Scary Things Attract Scary Things? "The Temptation"

One of the weirdest stories I have ever heard first hand is the one that follows.


A couple who were in ministry in the local Church hired out a dvd. It was a movie a lot of people have seen starring Keanu Reeves called Constantine. A basic summary is that Constantine is an exorcist who can see half-human half –angels true forms, and a plot involving satan’s son wanting to bring hell on earth, the angel Gabriel believing that if that happens it will save humans and the spear of destiny, which is the traditional spear used to pierce the side of Jesus Christ at His crucifixion.


The wife was disturbingly quiet during the movie. Afterwards when asked what was wrong, the wife who worked in the kids ministry answered in an unexpected way.

“When I was watching the movie a presence was in the room. It said to me ‘You are a person of influence in your Church. If you lead the children to my master instead of Jesus, we will reward you with whatever you want, any desire you have will be yours and we can give it to you”.


Does that sound familiar? Let’s go back in history 2,000 years.

It is recorded in the gospel of Luke in chapter 4.

1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'[a]"

5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'[b]"

And after a final test.........

13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

The tempter came to Jesus and at some point we will all be offered something that makes us feel like the familiar story of the crossroads, pertaining to famous bluesman Robert Johnson.

(From Wikipedia) “The lyrics plainly have the narrator attempting to hitch a ride from an intersection as darkness falls. But in close association with the mythic legend of Johnson's short life and death, it has come to represent the tale of a blues man going to a metaphorical crossroads to meet the devil to sell his soul in exchange for becoming a famous blues player.”

Have you ever watched a scary movie, only to suddenly feel like you weren’t alone? Have you ever felt irresistably tempted by an opportunity you later found was a crossroads experience? We’d love to hear from you.

By Pastor Baz

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

St Patricks day

Pastor Baz suggested I do a blog on St Patrick and the Druids. "who and what?" I thought to myself. Isn't St Patricks day the day we celebrate being Irish by wearing all green, drinking green Guiness and talking in an Irish accent.
Well, thats all I know of St Paddy's day...Apparently there is a lot more to it!!

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and St Patricks day is a Christian holiday but has become more secular in recent years (probably why I only know it as an excuse to drink Guiness).

According to Wikipedia, Patrick was born into a rich Romano-English family in Roman Britain. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland by Irish raiders.  In his Confession he said he was told by God in a dream to flee to the coast and board a boat back to Britain. When he returned to Britain he joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and trained to be a priest.
Later on he was called back to Ireland as a Bishop to convert the Irish to Christianity. He focused on the rich and the poor and apparently used the shamrock as a symbol to explain the holy trinity.



On the www.st-patricks-day.com website it says:

"Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells" that still bear this name."

It goes on to say:

"Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.

So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins."

CCAPSG wishes you all a happy and safe St Patricks Day.  God Bless!!

Today, (in between the pints of Guiness :-D) let's send up a prayer for all the missionaries out there today.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Real life stories: The Ghost Buggy

One Summer day in the school holidays of 1981, I was seated on the cracked and faded linoleum floor of my Nan’s house in North Parramatta (For our international readers, the home of the worlds greatest Rugby League Club J ), drinking a cup of tea and soaking up every word of the conversation between Nan and her older sister Elsie.


Elsie, or Dee Dee as we called her, was born in 1899. Her family were descendants of recent Irish immigrants who had settled in the Hawkesbury area and then Dubbo, in north western NSW. I had heard conversations about the past many times, always involving natural subjects like what school was like in the early 1900’s, working on the land, not having television or electrical appliances, kids games and recreation – all the usual stuff old people reminisce about.

I started to ask them if they believed in ghosts, and shared a story about something strange I had seen in my room in 1978 at a rented house on Windsor Street at Richmond (see archive for full story). I was describing what I had seen and they were taking me about a quarter seriously but I could tell they thought it was a tall tale by their gentle condescension.

Dee Dee then shared with me a tale that I have never forgotten.

“One day my sisters and I were walking home from school in Dubbo and we saw a man in a horse and buggy coming…”

“What’s a horse and buggy”? I interjected.

“..A buggy is a small carriage with two wheels that goes behind a horse, like the harnesses you see at the horse trotting, it just holds one or two people.

The buggy was coming toward us a way off and as it was a narrow road when it got within ¼ of a mile of us we moved over to the side of the track.

The man was dressed in normal clothes but he wasn’t taking any notice of us. Then all of a sudden, the horse bolted and they took off toward a fence. But they went straight through the fence, then continued into the paddock next to the road, then they both disappeared while we were watching.”

“So they didn’t get caught on the fence”?

“No, they went through the fence like it wasn’t even there. We just watched in shock and then 100 feet into the paddock it was gone, the man, the horse and the buggy disappeared in front of us, into thin air”.

“Whooaaaaa. Did you tell your parents”?

“We all ran home screaming and told mum, who was home and Dad when he got back from work. They just shrugged it off, they had more important things to do and think about”.

(Fair enough when you have ten kids I guess).

I didn’t hear another story like that in terms of a real life situation until my future wife and her parents told me the story of what she had been seeing in her house at Bowen Mountain NSW – convicts and ancient people walking through the house at night time (See Churinga Stone story in the archive).

The thing that blows me away is this – we are just one family and yet when I probed or listened I found out that we have so many stories about the supernatural that wouldn’t have come out if we hadn’t created a safe environment to discuss it or raised the subject. I have my own stories and almost every grandparent in our family has one’s they had experienced or personally heard about that weren’t debunked as urban myths. The reason that we have so many real life stories on our page is because my nature is to ask people about this subject and so many people – from my senior Pastor to my next door neighbour – have stories about the supernatural that cannot be written off easily.

So from a quantitative perspective, numerically speaking the supernatural is actually a very natural and regular occurrence.

A well respected Pastor from Ireland named Ken Symington who has years of experience in the supernatural and deliverance visited Australia last year and told the attendee’s at a conference about his view on the subject of 'ghosts'.

His view was that many hauntings appear to be what can best be described as 'residual'. That means that they are not actually the spirits of the deceased in the sense we may understand, but they appear to be almost like a recording of an incident, which in his experience was almost always due to a traumatic event. He used the example of a legion of Roman soldiers who march through a house in the UK every Sunday at 3pm, who show no sign of awareness of anything around them.

He said no amount of deliverance prayer will remove them, but what seems to be effective is taking communion in the house with clergy and the family together, and then asking the Lord to send angels to remove the haunting and traces of the event.

We have a couple of cases of 'residual haunts' on the books, one only minutes from home, so in the near future we will be trying this technique. We’ll keep you posted about how it goes when we finally get to them.

Pastor Baz.

Paranormal In The News 15/03/10

Telegraph.co.ukChief Exorsist says Devil is in Vatican


"Father Gabriele Amorth said people who are possessed by Satan vomit shards of glass and pieces of iron.

He added that the assault on Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve by a mentally unstable woman and the sex abuse scandals which have engulfed the Church in the US, Ireland, Germany and other countries, were proof that the Anti-Christ was waging a war against the Holy See."

To read more click here
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The Sun Praise the lard

photo taken from AOL

"DOZY Toby Elles cheated death in a pan fire as he tried to fry bacon - then found the face of JESUS burned in the cooking fat. "


Read more: here


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Guardian Another View On Ghost Stories

"The moment you walk into the theatre to see this amazing show, written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, you hear an eerie soundtrack: dripping taps, howling wind, a very strange buzz. This vibration reminded me of "infrasound", a very low sound frequency that makes you scared and convinced something's standing behind you. Parapsychologists believe this sound is often found in haunted places – and in the theatre, it proved seriously unnerving. People were screaming before the show had even started.

Ian Shillito is a psychic ghost hunter and events manager at London Paranormal; londonparanormal.com. Ghost Stories is at the Lyric Hammersmith, London W6, until 17 April. Tickets: 0871 22 117 22."

To read more click here

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BBCNews Vatican investigates Bosnia 'apparition' of Virgin Mary

"The Vatican has announced a commission to investigate claims that the Virgin Mary appears on a daily basis in a town in Bosnia-Hercegovina.



Six children first reported the apparition in the town of Medjugorje in June 1981.


However, the sightings have not yet received official recognition from the Catholic Church.


The 20-strong commission will report to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the top doctrinal body.

Long debate

For almost 30 years, the Virgin Mary has been said to appear daily in Medjugorje, dressed sometimes in a grey dress and veil and sometimes in gold, crowned with stars and floating on a cloud.

It is said she speaks in Croatian, uttering the words: "I've come because there are many true believers here. I wish to be with you to convert and reconcile the whole world."

To read more click here


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thisisnottinghamDoes Unexplained Photo Show A Ghostly Figure?

"AN eerie image of a figure at the Galleries of Justice has a ghost expert spooked.



The museum has been dubbed the most haunted location in the UK and the figure is similar to previous sightings on the same staircase.


The photo was taken by Simon Brown, a qualified parapsychologist from Peterborough who says he normally argues against the existence of such things.


However, he cannot explain the mysterious shadow in the photo.


Mr Brown said: "When I took this picture there was no one in the frame."

To read more click here

From Bryony: Im sorry, i generally try and not comment on the news stories i post and stay neutral and just present it how its been presented to me BUT this photo really really does look like motion blur. What are your thoughts?

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Fading Man

I love a good ghost story.

Every family has them. Sometimes you need to sit around the family fireplace with the elders of the ‘clan’ to pick up the golden threads from the faded garments of history. Then you have to be able to discern truth from fable, especially if you’re family is Irish like mine and able to spin a good yarn.

But every now and then, the story is told in hushed tones, with a steely gaze which gives you a hint that the blarney has been left at the side of the road for a minute, and we are now heading on a different journey rooted in just the facts.

For the next two weeks we will look at these stories.

One night in 2000, I sat around a table with my father in law drinking a glass of port and talking story. He was talking about growing up in Douglas Park, NSW Australia, where his father was the local railway station master. He was one of six kids and his house was right next to the station, in the quaint little town Southwest of Campbelltown, surrounded by lush green rolling hills and at the time had a very small population.

This night was no different than any Friday night in the town in an era when young people didn’t have cars.

Mick and his friends met up earlier in the evening and then walked from the house next to the station to visit a friend a few kilometres away. It was a cold night, and the fog began to settle in as it does in early winter. The area is very similar to the southern highlands region of NSW. They could hear their footsteps echo as they walked along the rough road, framed by the blackness of the razorback ridge range that frames the area, which is to this day still a place where one finds wild pigs and deer herds running wild. Their laughter broke the stillness of the night. The smell of open fires permeated the air.

They arrived at their friend’s house and after small talk with his parents who went to bed early and cracking open some long necks of Resch’s Pilsner beer, the group settled into a game of cards that lasted a number of hours.

As a hand was being dealt, one of the lads looked over the shoulders of the others and in shock said “Who is that”?

The group turned around to see an old man sitting in a chair in the corner of the house. They didn’t recognise him. How did he get in the room? He looked at them for five seconds, before fading from sight in full view of everyone.


http://www.imaginationmeetings.com/photo/Old-Chair,-Old-Memories.gif

Pandemonium followed, and after the initial swearing and panicking they searched the house and yard to no avail. They discussed what they had seen, agreed it was supernatural in nature and then began the long walk home.

It was a rag tag bunch of young men who much more quietly made their way home, discussing all their theories on what had just happened. Micks house was the furthest away, and as the last friend bid him farewell, he began the fearful trudge home in the black foggy night.

“I would stop, and hear footsteps behind me. Then I’d turn around – no-one would be there. I had to check if it was my imagination, then I’d walk, hear them behind, stop and listen. It was the longest night of my life walking that two kilometres home on my own”.

Mick became a firm believer in the supernatural that night.

When Mick had a heart attack in his early 30’s he had a near death experience in the front of his house - where he says he encountered a person who identified themselves as Jesus Christ and told him to return to his body as it was not yet his time. That left him with a sense of peace and a lifelong journey of faith in the Christian saviour who he met face to face.

And the old man – he exists in that realm which we have many questions about – who are these apparitions and why do they appear to humans. Are they the departed who cannot or will not leave for a reason, are they angels or are they demonic imposters? And if they are the latter, what purpose would it serve appearing to a group of young men? History and investigation tells us time and time again that this is a common experience for many. What we do know is that all the living will one day join the dead, and in some time and place in history come face to face with God, some to everlasting life, and some to separation from God. What I do know is that our choice to follow the only person to be resurrected from the dead – Jesus Christ – will impact our eternal future, and where we dwell in a new heaven and earth.

It is reported that other people have been raised from the dead, even in the new testament and even in modern history, but they all died again to face eternity. Jesus was evidence of the future ressurection of those who put their faith in Him.

Put your trust in treasure that moths, thieves and rust can’t destroy – we can’t take anything with us when we die.

And that’s what I’d like to ask that old man in the chair if he could speak – where did you put your treasure while on earth.

Pastor Baz.

Paranormal In The News 08/03/10

Global TimesGhost Hunting On the Oregan Trail

"By April Nigh

Between 1841 and 1869, nearly 300,000 emigrants traveled the 2,300 km-long Oregon Trail, seeking a better life in America's Pacific Northwest. One in 10 people never made it. Cholera was a common culprit, and a particularly insidious outbreak occurred near the North Platte River in what is today western Nebraska. My cousin Pam lives right on this stretch. She is over a mile away from her closest neighbor, yet frequently sees strangely dressed people both in and outside of her home.


Last summer, when I was visiting the area, my eccentric second cousin was also in town, up from New Mexico with some pals. Among PA's (Psychic Auntie) many talents is an ability to see and communicate with individuals who just so happen to be dead. PA and company were going to Pam's house for a "ghost hunt," and they invited me to join. Though dubious, I couldn't refuse."

To read more click here

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News and Star Medium Called In To Contact Carlisle Botcherby Shop Ghost


"The Botcherby ‘ghost’ – captured on a CCTV camera outside Simply Food and Drinks – is causing a stir around the world and shop bosses are drafting in a medium.

Since appearing on the News & Star website, 5,000 people have downloaded the mysterious recording of the ghost outside the Durranhill Road shop."

To read more and see a link to the video click here

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news.com.au Chinese woman Zhang Ruifang, aged 101, grows "devil" horn



"AN elderly Chinese woman has shocked friends and family by growing a devil-like horn from the top of her head.

The Sun reported today the strange growth began appearing on 101-year-old Zhang Ruifang's forehead last year.
Since then it has reached more than six centimetres and a matching horn looks to be appearing on the other side.
The grandmother's condition has left her family in Linlou Village, Henan province, baffled and worried."

To read more click here

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AnanovaBaby Born With Tail

"Surgeons in China have operated to remove a five inch tail from a four-month-old baby girl.


The little girl, called Hong Hong, was born with the tail but it had since doubled in size, reports the Anhui Market Daily.

Her father, Hou, of Lixing town in eastern China's Anhui province, said he had been "shocked" to see the tail at birth."

To read more click here

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DailymailMystery as scores of starlings fall out of the sky and lay dying... in a single front garden

Householder Julie Knight, 53, returned to her home in the quiet village of Coxley at 4.15pm to find the macabre scene, which has mystified experts.


An RSPCA expert said the cause of the deaths was 'a mystery', adding that the only plausible explanation was that the flock were being chased by a bird of prey and hit the ground as they changed direction.



"Julie, a nurse, said: 'It was like something out of an horror film - like Hitchcock's The Birds - it was absolutely terrifying.


Nurse Julie Knight said discovering the birds was like something from a horror film


'The sky was raining starlings. One of my neighbours saw them. They seemed to just fall out of the sky. About 70 were dead straight away."

Read more: here

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Fortean TimesSouthern Russia overwhelmed with purple snow

"The very morning following the widely celebrated Woman's Day - people in Southern Russia could not believe their eyes when they found purple snow piled on city streets."

To read more click here