REVIEW OF NICK REDFERNS NEW BOOK – FINAL EVENTS

For around six months now Nick Redfern has been my favourite secular author on the Paranormal. He and I do not share the same worldview or religious beliefs but that does not mean that he is not encountering what I personally believe are many realities in his research. I like the fact that he does his research in a very hands on manner - dangerously so at times (Such as in '3 Men Seeking Monsters' and 'There's Something In The Woods') when he is involved in invoking the beings of old to get them to manifest – but this method seems to grant him access to glimpses of the ‘other realm invading ours’ which support the biblical view of dark forces operating behind the scenes in our world. He speaks about the 'psychic backlash' that follows these invocations, which I would describe as 'demonic oppression or attack'.

 Unlike ‘3 Men Seeking Monsters’  which is a rollicking ride across England with two mates encountering all sorts of creatures, witches and strange experiences and 'Memoirs of a Monster Hunte'r which was a slower and more stilted American version of ‘..Seeking Monsters’ Final Events comes across as a brilliant piece of research. The fact that Redfern allows his subjects to speak openly on a subject without constantly adding his personal interpretation apart from unpacking the facts and links he is discovering shows he is a masterful interviewer and professional in the way he conducts research. This is made more apparent when he was labelled as a ‘Christian Fundamentalist on a blog and ended up defending himself as an ‘athiest’. That was the degree of his neutrality in his fact finding, even when the ending (spoiler alert) ends up as a warning about certain aspects of Christianity.

 The summary of the book is that a semi secret group called the Collins Elite were formed as a paramilitary investigative group around the time of the first major UFO flaps after world war 2 to investigate the possibility that Non Human Entities are not only not benevolent aliens from another world but actually demonic forces that will push earth to the brink of Armageddon – but not before they lead the world into a lie that will ensure most humans go to hell. The book looks at the possibility that Aleister Crowley and a number of his disciples deliberately opened the door to another world that allowed the 20^th Century UFO/Alien phenomenon to become part of modern folklore. He looks closely at alien abductions, Psy-ops, the rise of American fundamentalism and discloses that project blue beam, if it exists may not be what it is portrayed as but something far worse than we ever imagined.

 Men in black, government and NHE’s working together, Faux organisms like the Golum of Hebrew mythology, projected thoughts of Armageddon into the minds of abductee’s and the ushering in of the antichrist by the very people who claim to want to save Christianity by force – it’s a disturbing read on many levels but utterly fascinating.

 Pure conspiracy theory or an uncovering of the facts as we may have never known it? You’ll never watch Close Encounters or ET the same way again as the idea of an ET being benevolent dissolves with each page you turn and a demonic reality driven by satan becomes clear.. Redfern’s book is highly accessible and rather than a regurgitation of others writings is a coal face collection of interviews and tales that weave together into macabre web.

 My suggestion – buy it, read it and post your own review.

 Pastor Baz.

Bizarre In the News - Cemetery ghost

Originally aired on Fox 8



My personal feeling is that it is a real and living child that is running around and doing what children do. Not a ghost. But this video has raised much discussion in the community.

A look at the views and experiences of Fr. Gabriele Amorth: Head exorcist in the Catholic Church.

Taken from the Boston Catholic Journal


A look at the views and experiences of Fr. Gabriele Amorth who is the head exorcist in the Catholic Church.

An Interview With Fr. Gabriele Amorth - The Church's Leading Exorcist

by Gyles Brandreth, August 2001

On the bumpy flight to Rome I read The Bible all the way. The passenger on my left - a wiry businesswoman from Wisconsin - found this disconcerting. As the turbulence worsened and I moved from Jude to Revelation, she hissed at me, "Do you have to?" "It's only background reading," I murmured. She grimaced. "What for?" I turned to her and whispered: "I'm going to meet the exorcist." "Oh Christ," she gasped, as the plane lurched and hot coffee spilled over us.


Father Gabriele Amorth is indeed the exorcist, the most senior and respected member of his calling. A priest for 50 years, he is the undisputed leader of the city's six exorcists (appointed by the cardinal to whom the Pope delegates the office of Vicar of Rome) and honorary president-for-life of the International Association of Exorcists. He is 75, small, spry, humorous, and wonderfully direct.


"I speak with the Devil every day," he says, grinning like a benevolent gargoyle. "I talk to him in Latin. He answers in Italian. I have been wrestling with him, day in day out, for 14 years."


On cue (God is not worried by clichés) a shaft of October sunlight falls across Father Amorth's pale, round face. We are sitting at a table by the window in a small high-ceilinged meeting room at his Rome headquarters, the offices of the Society of St Paul. Father Amorth has come to exorcism late in life, but with impressive credentials. Born in 1925 in Modena, northern Italy, the son and grandson of lawyers (his brother is a judge), Gabriele Amorth, in his late teens, joined the Italian resistance.


Immediately after the war, he became a member of the fledgling Christian Democratic Party. Giulo Andreotti was president of the Young Christian Democrats, Amorth was his deputy. Andreotti went into politics and was seven times prime minister. Amorth, having studied law at university, went into the Church.


"From the age of 15," be says, "I knew it was my true vocation. My speciality was the Madonna. For many years I edited the magazineMadre di Deo (Mother of God). When I hear people say, 'You Catholics honour Mary too much,' I reply, 'We are never able to honour her enough.'


"I knew nothing of exorcism - I had given it no thought - until June 6, 1986 when Cardinal Poletti, the then Vicar of Rome, asked to see me. There was a famous exorcist in Rome then, the only one, Father Candido, but he was not well, and Cardinal Poletti told me I was to be his assistant. I learnt everything from Father Candido. He was my great master. Quickly I realised how much work there was to be done and how few exorcists there were to do it. From that day, I dropped everything and dedicated myself entirely to exorcism."


Father Amorth smiles continually as he tells his story. His enthusiasm for his subject is infectious and engaging. "Jesus performed exorcisms... He cast out demons. He freed souls from demonic possession and from Him the Church has received the power and office of exorcism. A simple exorcism is performed at every baptism, but major exorcism can be performed only by a priest licensed by the bishop. I have performed over 50,000 exorcisms. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, sometimes many hours. It is hard work multo duro."


How does he recognise someone possessed by evil spirits? "It is not easy. There are many grades of possession. The Devil does not like to be seen, so there are people who are possessed who manage to conceal it. There are other cases where the person possessed is in acute physical pain, such agony that they cannot move.
"It is essential not to confuse demonic possession with ordinary illness. The symptoms of possession often include violent headaches and stomach cramps, but you must always go to the doctor before you go to the exorcist. I have people come to me who are not possessed at all. They are suffering from epilepsy or schizophrenia or other mental problems. Of the thousands of patients I have seen, only a hundred or so have been truly possessed."


"How can you tell?"


"By their aversion to the sacrament and all things sacred. If blessed they become furious. If confronted with the crucifix, they are subdued." "But couldn't an hysteric imitate the symptoms?"


"We can sort out the phoney ones. We look into their eyes. As part of the exorcism, at specific times during the prayers, holding two fingers on the patient's eyes we raise the eyelids. Almost always, in cases of evil presence, the eyes look completely white. Even with the help of both hands, we can barely discern whether the pupils are towards the top or the bottom of the eye. If the pupils are looking up, the demons in possession are scorpions. If looking down, they are serpents."


As I report this now, it sounds absurd. As Father Amorth told it to me, it felt entirely credible.


I had gone to Rome expecting - hoping, even - for a chilling encounter, but instead of a sinister bug-eyed obsessive lurking in the shadows of a Hammer Horror film set, here I was sitting in an airy room facing a kindly old man with an uncanny knack for making the truly bizarre seem wholly rational. He has God on his side and customers at his door. The demand for exorcism is growing as never before. Fifteen years ago there were 20 church-appointed exorcists in Italy. Now there are 300.


I ask Father Amorph to describe the ritual of exorcism.


"Ideally, the exorcist needs another priest to help him and a group nearby who will assist through prayer. The ritual does not specify the stance of the exorcist. Some stand, some sit. The ritual says only that, beginning with the words Ecce crucem Domini ('Behold the Cross of the Lord') the priest should touch the neck of the possessed one with the hem of his stole and hold his hand on his head. The demons will want to hide. Our task is to expose them, and then expel them. There are many ways to goad them into showing themselves. Although the ritual does not mention this, experience has taught us that using oil and holy water and salt can be very effective.


"Demons are wary of talking and must be forced to speak. When demons are voluntarily chatty it's a trick to distract the exorcist. We must never ask useless questions out of curiosity. We but must interrogate with care. We always begin by asking for the demon's name."


"And does he answer?" I ask. Father Amorth nods. "Yes, through the patient, but in a strange, unnatural voice. If it is the Devil himself, he says 'I am Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub. We ask if he is alone or if there are others with him. Usually there are two or five, 20 or 30. We must quantify the number. We ask when and how they entered that particular body. We find out whether their presence is due to a spell and the specifics of that spell.


"During the exorcism the evil may emerge in slow stages or with sudden explosions. He does not want show himself. He will be angry and he is strong. During one exorcism I saw a child of 11 held down by four strong men. The child threw the men aside with ease. I was there when a boy of 10 lifted a huge, heavy table.


"Afterwards I felt the muscles in the boy's arms. He could not have done it on his own. He had the strength of the Devil inside him.


"No two cases are the same. Some patients have to be tied down on a bed. They spit. They vomit. At first the demon will try to demoralise the exorcist, then he will try to terrify him, saying, 'Tonight I'm going to put a serpent between your sheets. Tomorrow I'm going to eat your heart'."


I lean towards Father Amorth. "And are you sometimes frightened?" I ask. He looks incredulous. "Never. I have faith. I laugh at the demon and say to him, 'I've got the Madonna on my side. I am called Gabriel. Go fight the Archangel Gabriel if you will.' That usually shuts them up."


Now he leans towards me and taps my hand confidentially. "The secret is to find your demon's weak spot. Some demons cannot bear to have the Sign of the Cross traced with a stole on an aching part of the body; some cannot stand a puff of breath on the face; others resist with all their strength against blessing with holy water.


"Relief for the patient is always possible, but to completely rid a person of his demons can take many exorcisms over many years. For a demon to leave a body and go back to hell means to die forever and to lose any ability to molest people in the future. He expresses his desperation saying: 'I am dying, I am dying. You are killing me; you have won. All priests are murderers'."


How do people come to be possessed by demons in the first place? "I believe God sometimes singles out certain souls for a special test of spiritual endurance, but more often people lay themselves open to possession by dabbling with black magic. Some are entrapped by a satanic cult. Others are the victims of a curse."


I interrupt. "You mean like Yasser Arafat saying to Ehud Barak, 'Go to Hell' and meaning it?"


"No." Father Amorth gives me a withering look. "That is merely a sudden imprecation. It is very difficult to perform a curse. You need to be a priest of Satan to do it properly. Of course, just as you can hire a killer if you need one, you can hire a male witch to utter a curse on your behalf. Most witches are frauds, but I am afraid some authentic ones do exist."


Father Amorth shakes his head and sighs at the wickedness of the world. At the outset be has told me he is confident he will have an answer to all my questions, but he has a difficulty with the next one. "Why do many more women seem to become possessed than men?"


"Ah, that we do not know. They may be more vulnerable because, as a rule, more women than men are interested in the occult. Or it may be the Devil's way of getting at men, just as he got to Adam through Eve. What we do know is that the problem is getting worse. The Devil is gaining ground. We are living in an age when faith is diminishing. If you abandon God, the Devil will take his place.


"All faiths, all cultures, have exorcists, but only Christianity has the true force to exorcise through Christ's example and authority. We need many more exorcists, but the bishops won't appoint them. In many countries - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain there are no Catholic exorcists. It is a scandal. In England there are more Anglican exorcists than Catholic ones."


Although the post of exorcist is an official diocesan appointment (there are about 300 attached to the various bishops throughout Italy) and Father Amorth is undisputably the best known in his field, there is some tension between Amorth and the modernising tendencies in the Church hierarchy.


Devil-hunting is not fashionable in senior church circles. The Catholic establishment is happier talking about "the spirit of evil" than evil spirits. The Vatican recently issued a new rite of exorcism which has not met with Father Amorth's approval. "They say we cannot perform an exorcism unless we know for certain that the Evil One is present. That is ridiculous. It is only through exorcism that the demons reveal themselves. An unnecessary exorcism never hurt anybody."


What does the Pope make of all this? "The Holy Father knows that the Devil is still alive and active in the world. He has performed exorcism. In 1982, he performed a solemn exorcism on a girl from Spoletto. She screamed and rolled on the floor. Those who saw it were very frightened. The Pope brought her temporary freedom.
"The other day, on September 6, at his weekly audience at St Peter's, a young woman from a village near Monza started to shriek as the Pope was about to bless her. She shouted obscenities at him in a strange voice. The Pope blessed her and brought her relief, but the Devil is still in her. She is exorcised each week in Milan and she is now coming to me once a month. It may take a long time to help her, but we must try. The work of the exorcists is to relieve suffering, to free souls from torment, to bring us closer to God."


Father Amorth has laughed and smiled a good deal during our three-hour discussion. He has pulled sundry rude faces to indicate his contempt for the pusillanimous bishops who have a monopoly on exorcism and refuse to license more practitioners. In his mouth it does not seem like mumbo-jumbo or hocus-pocus. He produces detailed case histories. He quotes scriptural chapter and verse to justify his actions. And he has a large following. His book, An Exorcist Tells his Story, has been reprinted in Italy 17 times.


Given his shining faith and scholarly approach, I hardly dare ask him whether he has seen the notorious 1973 horror film, The Exorcist. It turns out to be his favourite film. "Of course, the special effects are exaggerated. but it is a good film, and substantially exact, based on a respectable novel which mirrored a true story."


The film is held to be so disturbing it has never been shown [until recently] on British terrestrial television and until last year could not even be rented from video shops. None the less, Father Amorth recommends it. "People need to know what we do."


And what about hallowe'en? The American tradition has made no inroads in Italy. "Here it is on Christmas Eve that the Satanists have their orgies. Nothing happens on October 31. But if English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that.''


It is time to go to the chapel where our photographer is waiting. Father Atnorth, used to the ways of the press, raises an eyebrow at us indulgently as he realises the photograph is designed to heighten the drama of his calling. Pictures taken, he potters off to find me of one ot his books.


"What do make of him?'' asks the photographer. "Is he mad?"


"I don't think so,'' I say. The award-winning Daily and Sunday Telegraph Rome correspondent, who has acted as interpreter br the interview, and is both a lapsed Catholic and a hardened hack, is more empathic: "There's not a trace of the charlatan about him. He is quite sane and utterly convincing."


Surprised at myself I add: "He seems to me to be a power for good in the world." With a smirk, the photographer loads his gear into the back of the taxi. ''So he's Peter Cushing then, not Christopher Lee," he says.


Father Amorth reappears with his book and smiles. "Remember, when we jeer at the Devil and tell ourselves that he does not exist, that is when he is happiest."

And from Wikipedia

The two books An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories include references to official Roman Catholic teachings onDemonology,^[4] however the main emphasis is on Amorth's experience as an exorcist^[5]. Both include references to the diagnosis and treatment of spiritual problems. The books briefly cover the topics of demonic contraction and curses.^[6] On curses he states that, "A curse can originate from such things as maledictions by close relatives, a habit of blaspheming, membership in Freemasonry, spiritic or magic practices, and so on."^[7]
In October, 2000, he said he had performed over 50,000 exorcisms (which ranged from "a few minutes" to "several hours" in length^[8]) meaning he averaged close to ten exorcisms per day during his career up to the year 2000. In March 2010, he claimed that number had increased to 70,000.^[9] He has also been quoted as saying that the senior officials of the Nazi Party were actively involved with Satanismand that both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were possessed.^[10] He attributes the number of exorcisms performed to his opinion that "People have lost the Faith, and superstition, magic, Satanism, or Ouija boards have taken its place, which then open all the doors to the presence of demons."^[11]
It was in an interview with the London Sunday Telegraph that Father Gabriele Amorth stressed that "People need to know what we do."^[8]Father Amorth was also one of the voices that made public warnings to parents about J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, noting that the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction "does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil." ^[12]
He said that the new rite of exorcism is "a farce. An incredible obstacle that is likely to prevent us from acting against the demon." He observes that the new exorcism rite forbids exorcisms on people who have been reportedly subjected to evil spells. Father Amorth exclaimed, "Absurd! Evil spells are by far the most frequent causes of possessions and evil procured through the demon: at least 90% of cases. It is as good as telling exorcists they can no longer perform exorcisms." He also noted that it also "Solemnly declares that one should not carry out exorcisms if one is not certain of the presence of the devil. He considers the new rite, "A blunt weapon.... Efficacious prayers, prayers that had been in existence for twelve centuries, were suppressed and replaced by new ineffective prayers."^[13]
A recent announcement attributed to Gabriele Amorth to the online Catholic news service Petrus hailed the formation of adjuristine-exorcism squads by Pope Benedict XVI. The report, which was picked up by the UK newspaper the Daily Mail^[14] on December 29, 2007, originally appeared on Petrus and claimed the squads were being dispatched worldwide to "tackle the rise of Satanism". Vatican officials immediately dismissed the reports but it was an unusual instance where the existence of adjurist and adjuristine activity was acknowledged in the press.
Amorth's favorite film is The Exorcist. He thinks that it is substantially exact and based on a true story, although the special effects are exaggerated. He thinks that people should see it so that they would "know what we do".^[15].

^{FROM THE UK TIMES ONLINE}
Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that "the Devil is at work inside the Vatican", according to the Holy See's chief exorcist.


Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican's chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said that the consequences of satanic infiltration included power struggles at the Vatican as well as "cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon".


He added: "When one speaks of 'the smoke of Satan' [a phrase coined by Pope Paul VI in 1972] in the holy rooms, it is all true – including these latest stories of violence and paedophilia."


He claimed that another example of satanic behaviour was the Vatican "cover-up" over the deaths in 1998 of Alois Estermann, the then commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and Corporal Cedric Tornay, a Swiss Guard, who were all found shot dead. "They covered up everything immediately," he said. "Here one sees the rot".


A remarkably swift Vatican investigation concluded that Corporal Tornay had shot the commander and his wife and then turned his gun on himself after being passed over for a medal. However Tornay's relatives have challenged this. There have been unconfirmed reports of a homosexual background to the tragedy and the involvement of a fourth person who was never identfied.


Father Amorth, who has just published Memoirs of an Exorcist, a series of interviews with the Vatican journalist Marco Tosatti, said that the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II in 1981 had been the work of the Devil, as had an incident last Christmas when a mentally disturbed woman threw herself at Pope Benedict XVI at the start of Midnight Mass, pulling him to the ground.


Father José Antonio Fortea Cucurull, a Rome-based exorcist, said that Father Amorth had "gone well beyond the evidence" in claiming that Satan had infiltrated the Vatican corridors.


"Cardinals might be better or worse, but all have upright intentions and seek the glory of God," he said. Some Vatican officials were more pious than others, "but from there to affirm that some cardinals are members of satanic sects is an unacceptable distance."


Father Amorth told La Repubblica that the devil was "pure spirit, invisible. But he manifests himself with blasphemies and afflictions in the person he possesses. He can remain hidden, or speak in different languages, transform himself or appear to be agreeable. At times he makes fun of me."


He said it sometimes took six or seven of his assistants to to hold down a possessed person. Those possessed often yelled and screamed and spat out nails or pieces of glass, which he kept in a bag. "Anything can come out of their mouths – finger-length pieces of iron, but also rose petals..."


He said that hoped every diocese would eventually have a resident exorcist. Under Church Canon Law any priest can perform exorcisms, but in practice they are carried out by a chosen few trained in the rites.


Father Amorth was ordained in 1954 and became an official exorcist in 1986. In the past he has suggested that Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were possessed by the Devil. He was among Vatican officials who warned that J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels made a "false distinction between black and white magic".


He approves, however, of the 1973 film The Exorcist, which although "exaggerated" offered a "substantially exact" picture of possession.


In 2001 he objected to the introduction of a new version of the exorcism rite, complaining that it dropped centuries-old prayers and was "a blunt sword" about which exorcists themselves had not been consulted. The Vatican said later that he and other exorcists could continue to use the old ritual.


He is the president of honour of the Association of Exorcists.

Bizarre in the news - Ghost caught on camera on tunnel tour?

paranormal.about.com and manchester confidential

"'Have you seen this?” said Confidential reader Aine Dowling.

She’d just been on our tunnel tour under the Great Northern Goods Warehouse. She’d taken a picture and found a ghost.

Or at least something very, very odd.

People who are open to the supernatural see ghosts everywhere. For instance a speck of dust as it moves on an air current and caught in a camera flash becomes an ‘orb’: a ball of otherworldly energy left by the souls of the departed.

Really? Orbs we reckon are a bit rubbish.

Aine’s picture shows much more than this.

It shows an arm, a back, the nape of a neck. It could be a coincidence of dust, a flash from some other snapper on the tour affecting the image caught here."

To read the rest click here

From Bry: Definitely an interesting shot. Droplets of water or spider web first popped to mind. its interesting how it takes a human form though? And of course this could have been done on a computer. Still, interested to hear your views.

What are your thoughts? Real or fake?

Bizarre in the news - Ghost video - Real or Fake?

From the site "Phantoms and Monsters"

Ghost?



What are your thoughts?
Fake? Real?

Bizarre News - Proof we all have psychic powers

news.com.au

IF THE science is correct, there is probably not much point in reading the rest of this story. You should already know what's coming.

A psychologist in Britain has finished a study that provides the first scientific proof that psychic powers actually exist.

While some will claim the results of the study by Professor Daryl Bem could come down to chance, the mathematic probability of his findings being a statistical fluke are one in 74 billion.

Professor Bem conducted nine different experiments on 1000 students, with the results in all but one falling in favour of the subjects showing some psychic power.

Read more: here

An interesting verse I'd like your opinions on.

1 Peter 4:6 "For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit." New international version


"That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead--so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit." New Living Translation


"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." King James Version


Does this mean spiritually dead or physically dead?


Discuss.

Could this be the thylacine?

From Phantoms and Monsters and Tassie Tiger.org



Tasmanian tiger or what? What are your thoughts?

Real Life Story - Pointing the bone: The kadaitcha man

A number of years ago I was asked to come and share my personal testimony at a Church that ministered to the gay, lesbian and transgender community at inner city Surry Hills.

 

It was a very interesting experience in many ways. Firstly, I got to hear the stories of the people. Once couple that I spent a lot of time with had both had gender reassignment and hormonal therapy. They had previously both been married and had kids, then felt they had been a living a lie for all their lives and began the process of living as the opposite sex. This caused great turmoil in their families and eventually the relationships broke up. After the surgery, they met each other and married as man and women, having once been the opposite.

 

It was while talking to this couple that I heard for the first time a real experience of pointing the bone, which is an aboriginal method of cursing somebody.

 

In the lead up to that story, I found out a number of things. The person who was now reassigned as a female, grew up as a male in an Aboriginal community. He was very bright and intelligent and from an early age teased for being effeminate. The other thing that stood him out from everyone else was that his uncle was the kadaitcha man (or witchdoctor) of the tribe and had chosen his nephew to initiate into the ways of the Aboriginal spirit world and religious system, passing on his knowledge and power through ceremonies that they were unable to share with me due to tribal law.

 

I was told that one day a number of boys had been teasing the young man about being effeminate. In his anger, he pointed the bone at the boys and pronounced a curse on them. And he said within a short period of time both died, one from drowning and the other from other causes which I can't recall but was also 'accidental'.

 

This could be put down to simple coincidence as the boys did not fall down and die on the spot or were struck down by a instant malady. But is a very interesting coincidence which the teller of the story attributed to the power of kadaitcha.

 

"Then everyone knew I had the power and no-one ever teased me again" the now adult version of the boy told me.

 

The community was struck by fear and awe of what they interpreted as a supernatural power. Instead of being bullied, he was esteemed by the tribe..

 

"Can you still do it, do you still have the power" I asked?

 

"Oh yes, once you are initiated it never leaves you, no-one would dare hurt me again".

 

It was almost an awkward moment as the look on the persons face was one of smugness and arrogance - there was no remorse for what had happened (if indeed it did happen). 

 

To break this strange moment I asked permission to pray with them, thanked them for their story and moved to the next group.

 

It was a very strange context hearing this story from person of large male build dressed so daintily and obviously born male but with long hair and dressed as a woman. But then the tale got even stranger.

 

The Pastor asked me how the conversation went. I told him it was amazing to hear the stories and great to pray together.

 

"You would never realise this, but in the 1960's "X" was part of the program that put the Lunar Module on the moon. He is an absolute genius with science, mathematics and physics. The family lived in the USA for years but then he lost most of his eyesight and ability to walk to diabetes and had a breakdown due to the issues with identity. You can't judge someone by how they look or the issues they have had in their lives".

 

No, you certainly cannot.

 

This story is not proof that pointing the bone works. It is one persons interpretation of the events. But is is evidence that belief in it's power existed well into the 20th Century.

 

And in light of it being a story about taking revenge on bullies, it is also a great opportunity for me to share a quote from Jesus in relation to how people treat us and vice versa.

 

"I tell you, love your enemies and do good to those who hate you..."

 

One of the most difficult challenges ever issued. Yet imagine what the world could be like if we managed to do that.

 

God bless you - Pastor Baz.

Bizarre in the news - Creature defies identification

Coffscoastadvocate

THIS bizarre discovery on Diggers Beach, near Coffs Harbour, has given rise to a host of theories explaining what this creature might be and how it washed ashore.

The animal, roughly two foot long, was found by surfers on Father’s Day, but only now have the photos surfaced.

One of the local men who came across the animal, Peter Atkinson, is at a loss to explain it.

Countless others have also been stumped in making a positive identification.

“It was found on the high water mark and we contacted National Parks, but it appears the animal was washed back out to sea on the next tide,” Mr Atkinson said.

Suggestions have ranged from the credible to the ridiculous.

One strongly supported possibility is that it’s a type of monkey.

Others said it could be a South American sloth.

Yet web searches could not help with a positive identification.

Even the experts at Taronga Zoo were brought in on the case yesterday.

Mr Atkinson confirmed the photos were real and taken on a mobile phone, ruling out an email hoax, through several other credible witnesses.

Late yesterday a more likely explanation came through the office.

Lawrence Orel from the National Parks and Wildlife Service said on first inspection it appeared to be a brush tailed possum.

“The bushy fur on the tail gives it away I think. Possums do get that dark in colour, and it looks as though the fur may have come away from the face, but we’ll wait for positive confirmation from the zoo.”

Read more on their page at coffscoastadvocate.com.au

FROM BRY: I think its likely to be a decomposing native Australian animal. What are your thoughts?

Real Life Story - The Phantom Doctor

I was talking to my friend over a nice cold beer the other day and as usual whenever we meet up the subject turned to the paranormal and she told me the following story.

Whilst she was working on a cancer ward (a few years back) some strange things started happening. My friend knew exactly the times that the drips for chemotherapy were administered and when they were due to finish but she would come on the ward and they would be turned off or tampered with. A couple of patients would talk of the nice young doctor who came and emptied their bed pans or had done something else for them.

The thing is, there was no young doctor on the ward.

Asking my friend who they thought it could be she said that at the time they thought it may have been a junior doctor who unfortunately killed himself. The description seemed to fit.

My friend said she couldn't have anyone messing with the medication etc so she told the patients in the ward she was just about to do something a little strange but to bare with her.

She said out loud addressing the phantom doctor. "Thank you very much for your help but please leave the medication to me from now on".

Apparently what she said worked and she didn't have any problems with the drips again.

Bizarre News - 'More ghosts' after earthquake

stuff.co.nz

"The "sheer strength and power" of the September 4 earthquake has more than doubled the number of reported supernatural events in Canterbury, a paranormal investigator says.

Christchurch Paranormal Investigators founder Anton Heyrick said his team had received an "interesting influx" of phone calls and emails after the 7.1-magnitude earthquake, with more than double the usual number of inquiries.

"People are calling us, saying that they had always felt like there was something in the house, but since the earthquake it had become more intense," he said.

Most cases related to strange noises, although one man said he had been attacked by a ghost.

Heyrick said the "sheer strength and power" of the earthquake may have been responsible for the increase in paranormal activity."

Read more here

Paranormal literature: seperating the sheep from the goats

Often dog eared and living in toilet drawers around the world for easy access for daily reading, our favourite books shape our worldview in many ways.

Some books such as Cropper and Healey's "The Yowie" will go down in history as the benchmark for a researchers "bible" on a particular subject.

But in an age of so much information, it's hard, to steal a line from Jesus Himself, to seperate the sheep from the goats in terms of truth and quality.

 

At the moment I'm eagerly awaiting Amazon's delivery of Nick Redferns latest book "Final Events - and the secret Government Group on Demonic UFO's and the afterlife".

After reading many of Redfern's books I have come to the conclusion that you don't need to share the same theology to come to the same conclusions. All you need to do is look at the same facts. I admire the fact that Redfern and his crew throw themselves in the deep end to search for the truth rather than writing from a safe distance using other people's research as a foundation. Sure they get up to stuff that would turn your average Sunday School teachers hair white (again) but like the rest of us they have to work out their salvation with 'fear and trembling'. And my heartfelt prayer is that God will protect them in their work as they do.

 

Special mention to John Keel for his amazing work as well.

 

I am often astonished at how many agnostic researchers come to the similar conclusions to Christian researchers about the fact that there is a force in the world behind a lot of the manifestation of supernatural phenomenon. Plus, dare I say this, most Christian books on the paranormal simply exist as one in a series of attempts to refute cults and the occult. The person writing it has not had thousands of hours of field and other experience. Two of the only Christian books I have on this subject that I haven't thrown out eventually are by Pastor Robin Swope, the Paranormal Pastor, because in my opinion he has the credibililty from experience to back up his work. The other one that I enjoy that is a 1979 copy of Stan Deyo's "The Cosmic Conspiracy'. It's interesting to read something that is now 31 years old and see what has transpired into current opinion in that time.

 

A lot of whacked out idea's have been taken out of the Bible over the years in terms of the paranormal, but I would encourage everyone, whether athiest, agnostic or other religion, to take the time to read some key books in the scriptures to help you get a different framework on what are some very interesting subjects. The whole of Genesis (for context), Deuteronomy chapter 18, 1 Samuel (specifically chapter 28 for the story of consulting a medium) the book of Daniel, the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the book of Acts, 1 John, Jude and Revelation are incredible reading if you want to understand the paranormal (particularly the origins of malevolent spirits) in a wholistic way. Please include in your reading "The Book of Enoch" that is referred to in the bible which fills in the gaps of the Genesis flood period and adds details to what some consider the reason we have the phenomenon in the world today that we consider paranormal. This can be purchased cheaply or free through Ibooks provided by Apple on an Iphone or the web.

 

I have also purchased a lot of dissapointments. A lot of Christian books about people coming out of satanism, witchcraft or the occult have been clearly debunked (See anything by Rebecca Brown MD), but not before they shaped the worldview of many thousands of people via speaking circuits and other publishers eager to squeeze the hype in return for numbers on seats or in sales. Shame on us (The Church) for not being diligent. It is this type of bunk that we need to be cautious of and unfortunately many conversations I have are still based on this faulty platform. 

 

So I'll give you my top 5 books and if you are reading this you are welcome to add yours so we can share the wealth of knowledge that is out there. Hopefully we can seperate the sheep from the goats in literature as as unified Paranormal Community. I'll also add why.

 

1.  Three Men seeking Monsters: Nick Refern.

It's hands on, covers a lot of ground in terms of phenomenon and comes to some very interesting conclusions, which I happen to agree with.

 

2. An Exorcists Field Guide: Rev Robin Swope.

This is a must have to protect yourself, clients, colleagues and family if you are involved in the industry.

 

3. The Yowie: Healey and Cropper.

Specific to one subject: Australia's bigfoot and an example of how to do research well.

 

4: Out of the shadows: Healey and Cropper.

The precursor to the Yowie, it covers a broad spectrum of Australian cryptozoology using the same methodology that makes the Yowie a great book.

 

5: Your Neighbourhood gives me the creeps: Adam Selzer

Welcome to the life of a ghost tour operator, insightful, funny but very interesting as story after story come out that will leave you with a lot of questions about the spiritual realm.

 

 

Looking forward to hearing about your favourites, maybe just write them up on the Unity in the Paranormal Community Face Book Page so everyone can see them quickly and add to them.

 

Pastor Baz.

Real Life Story - Synergistic Sleepwalkers

After I taught a high school scripture class this morning a young man who I could tell was hovering around for a reason asked me a question.

"Sir, is sleepwalking from God"?

"I'm not sure what you mean, can you explain further" I asked?

He went on to tell me an amazing story that really makes you wonder how these two people in it could be connected.

His sleepwalking condition is interesting because it is only activated when another person he knows sleepwalks. This has been documented by his parents and medical experts.

The way it works is like this. When his friend sleepwalks, he also goes into a trance like state and he walks out the front of his house at any hour of the night. They meet out the front and walk off together. They then wake somewhere with no recollection of what has happened. The parents and many others have witnessed this first hand, they hear him getting up, watch him walk out the front, wait for the other person to arrive then follow them and try to wake them out of it when it is safe.

It is always in conjunction with the other boy who lives in the area who is a family friend.

He said once they stayed on a farm together with their families. One boy got up and walked down to a shed. He was joined shortly after by the other boy who had no way of knowing he was in the shed. They then got tools, removed the rear tyre of a bicycle and brought it back to the house and then went back to bed.

I have friends who sleepwalk and eat whole packets of cereal each night without realising it, until they start putting on weight without reason. I have another friend who sleepwalks and makes strange phone calls to family members and friends. But I have never met someone who sleepwalks in a coordinated manner which is triggered by another person.

I know I ask this all the time, but could someone in the community dig up some information on this phenomenon?

Many thanks, Pastor Baz.

Check out the latest post from Paranormal News Australia

http://paranormalnewsaustralia.blogspot.com/2010/11/should-we-just-give-up-on-ghost-photos.html

The Mystery Of The Dead Birds

I just had a very interesting phone call direct from Cronulla beach. A young psychology student and youth worker was doing his weekly walk along the shore when he noticed something very interesting. At first it was one dead bird, then a few metres away another, then another. As his walk progressed he counted one hundred and thirty two birds, and when he examined a couple noted that in his opinion they were all recently deceased (see photo's). They were all the same species except for one which was described as a small pelican like bird. All

Whilst this is not a paranormal or cryptozoological issue, it is very interesting. What weather or other phenomenon kills birds in those numbers?

I'd really like to find out so please let us know if you know.

Pastor Baz.

Real Life Story - The Hisser

I say it here all the time - I know I'm a lazy researcher but that is because stories always come to me when you work in a Church. We get access to stuff that could keep a team busy for months.

 

Maybe we need to team up with someone else who can follow all our leads up from a technical and investigative perspective :) Any takers :)

 

Last night, a lady in her mid twenties who is highly intelligent, articulate, well educated and not overtly spiritual asked if she could talk to me after the Church service.

If you are a regular visitor here you may recall that she had shared with me in the last month how that in her first night at a half way house for women that something that was obviously present had been next to her bed deeply breathing all night, to the point where she was terrified to sleep. We had gone to the house and prayed. And I'm not exagerrating this to make a blog interesting - even without knowing the room she was talking about, everyone who walked in felt very, very oppressed and commented on it. It was a room that made you feel haired out for no obvious reason.

 

So when we sat down I assumed this may have something to do with the house again and hoped that the cleansing had worked.

 

"Baz, you know how I told you about the breathing thing. Well I had to do an overnighter again at the house. I was a bit stressed but put on some worship music in the loungeroom and started to sing. And then it started".

 

"What started" I asked quizzically.

 

"Well, this sounds really weird, and I'm not overspiritualising things when I say this....but something was in the room. I couldn't see it but it was a force that was just a few feet away from me and it was hissing at me".

 

"Hissing like a cat"?

 

"Like this....HISSSSSSS....." And she made a really awful throaty gutteral cat like noise.

 

"How long did it go for"?

 

"It went for about ten seconds....it wasn't static or background noise....something was in the room hissing at me".

 

"Did you notice anything else".

 

"I noticed that when I was trying to sleep that the beaded pulley for the blinds kept getting played with. Not like a breeze was doing it but like someone was pulling it through their fingers".

 

I made a couple of suggestions in terms of taking spiritual authority over the room when that happened and promised to get back to her asap.

 

So anyway, in terms of Unity in the Paranormal Community, I'm grateful that Allen Tiller and his team at Eidolon provided some very good feedback on conducting an investigation which we will implement this week if I can drag Shannon out of the shaping bay :)

 

If we get anything recorded we'll put it out there for public listening and open analysis.

 

I agree with guys like Abel Garcia, there are too many false anomalies that get named as real paranormal phenomenon. He is correct in saying that it has gone too far and we need some serious discernment and thorough analysis. The Paranormal has become an industry but that does not change the reality that there are things happening that are not easily explained. I just hope that in dealing with each other in this area we can show a lot of mercy and grace along the way, so people stop flinging stones at each other.

 

But this one has me really intrigued so i'll stop taking the path of least resistance in my busy life (which as I mentioned tends to be consumed by sport) and get cracking on this one with Bryony and the team.

 

Keep you posted.

 

May the peace of the Lord be with you always - Pastor Baz.