WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON?

You are reading this for a reason.

Something got you interested in Cryptozoology or the Paranormal. That’s why you scan the web looking for the latest news or information.

Something triggered that interest and continues to feed it.

Let me share with you two things happened in my life that directed my interest.

The first thing was my Dad gave me a Rigby Usborne Book when I was young that was a triple treat – Monsters (cryptids), Ghosts and UFO’s.

That helped me make sense of the experiences I’d had. These appearances were more common than I thought. That’s very helpful when you have seen things you can’t easily make sense of or talk about.

The second thing was my conversion to Christianity. That enabled me to see things in a different way – through the power of the Holy Spirit – and to not be afraid of the dark side of the spiritual realm, as I had been prior to this, due to Christ’s authority through believers over spirits and other manifestations..

But there is so much I am yet to understand. And this week I wanted to find a reasonably neutral source with references (Wikipedia) to share with you phenomenon that I find very interesting and yet not easy to explain scientifically or from a paranormal perspective. I’d like to hear your thoughts on:

SKINWALKERS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin-walker

BEAST OF BRAY ROAD http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bray_Road_Beast

CROP CIRCLES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_circles

MEL’S HOLE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel%27s_Hole

CHUPACABRA’S http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra

My question is in line with that asked by John Keel, Author of ‘The Mothman Prophecies’  - it is simply ‘what is really going on here’ (Source wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keel )

As Keel himself wrote, "I abandoned the extraterrestrial hypothesis in 1967 when my own field investigations disclosed an astonishing overlap between psychic phenomena and UFOs... The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary beliefs."

In UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse Keel argues that a non-human or spiritual intelligence source has staged whole events over a long period of time in order to propagate and reinforce certain erroneous belief systems. For example, the fairy faith in Middle Europe, vampire legends, mystery airships in 1897, mystery aeroplanes of the 1930s, mystery helicopters, anomalous creature sightings, poltergeist phenomena, balls of light, and UFOs. Keel conjectures that ultimately all of these anomalies are a cover for the real phenomenon.


By Pastor Baz

Great Evidence from Rain City Paranormal

Below is an impressive piece of video evidence from Rain City Paranormal. Click below to watch the video.

Click here to read more at their blog.  Congratulations Rain City Paranormal on capturing this great evidence.

Paranormal In The News This Week 04/01/2010

abs-cbn news - Paranormal expert aids search for journalist in massacre site

"But team fails to find body of Midland Review reporter

MANILA, Philippines - Three victims in the Maguindanao massacre may have been buried in another site adjacent to where dozens of other bodies were found on November 23.

Members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Scene of the Crime Operatives, the Commission on Human Rights, media, and the Momay family headed to a suspected grave site in Datu Abullah Sangki, Maguindanao Sunday morning."

To read more click here

Picture from Wikipedia.

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Shore News Today-

‘Ghost Hunters’ investigates Absecon Lighthouse haunting claims

"The Atlantic Paranormal Society, aka TAPS, from the SyFy Network series “Ghost Hunters” recently completed a week of investigations at the Absecon Lighthouse investigating claims that the local lighthouse is haunted for an episode of the show due to air in February."

To read more click here.

Photo from Tripadvisor.NL.

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thisishampshire Ghostly goings on at museum

"Ghost hunters will be touring the Explosion! museum in Gosport later this month, taking guests on a twilight-guided walk through the historic buildings of the Royal Navy’s munitions stores at Priddy Hard."

                                           Picture from www.visitbritain.com

A Message From Pastor Baz:

Merry Christmas from the CCAPSG team,

Well, it's the end of our first year as a blog.

Part of me knows all too well, the draw behind the world of cryptozoology and the paranormal. 
Like so many mysteries that become defined by subcultures, it is a place of new information about the mysteries of the world.
For some, it relieves boredom. For others it gives them community. For researchers it is part of the quest to find out 'how stuff works'.
But like so many other things, it can become 'an idol' the thing in our lives that gets the most attention, that consumes our thinking, and takes us away from the reality of life.

One thing is for sure - for all the ghosts, Yowies, Sasquatches, Chupacabra's, UFO's, Goatmen, Dogmen, Skinwalkers and other anomalies out there that are yet to be even proven to be true, the search for them, even firm conclusions on them, if they ever come - will ultimately never bring us happiness.

It might bring us a sense of excitement in the same way buying a new car, cd, going to a party, having a new partner etc might do. But just like those things, when the polish wears off, we'll need another fix that won't bring us happiness the same way the last thing didn't.

So my encouragement this Christmas is, as exciting as finding out how things work is, or what things are, don't let that define who you are or get your affirmation from it.

Because the Bible says you are made in the image of God and that you were worth dying for.

So your identity is actually someone who is loved by the God of the universe.

Will you recieve that free gift of revelation about who you are to God this Christmas?


True peace is found in the restoration between things that are broken.

Restoration between:

- God and us (the relationship broken by sin, unbelief and making ourselves God).

- Us and others (the relationship broken by self centredness in our intentions and interactions)

- Us and ourselves (getting rid of the false self that we portray to the world).

- Us and the planet.(Proper care of what God has given us)


So as much as I'd like to know what a Chupacabra is, ultimately it's meaningless in the bigger picture.

What I'd much rather know is that you are now free by Jesus' death and ressurection and filled with the only ghost worth knowing - the Holy Spirit.

Restoration can start today, simply by a simple act of faith of believing in Jesus as Gods Son. He will change the way you see yourself and the world.

I hope that you recieve the peace, love and hope of Jesus Christ this Christmas.

Pastor Baz.

Paranormal In The News - Christmas Holidays

UFO Pyramid reported over Kremlin

A giant pyramid which appears to be a UFO hovering over the Kremlin has caused frenzied speculation in Russia that it is an alien spacecraft.

Click here for a link to the news story from the Telegraph newspaper.


Bryony's thoughts - Not entirely sure what to think of this footage, it could be a reflection of something thats inside the car. But what makes it slightly more convincing is the footage of the pyramid shaped UFO from during the day - unless of course its just one big hoax? I mean surely if a huge pyramid shaped UFO was hovering over the Kremlin more people would have reported it and the Russian army would have gotten involved? My opinion is its a hoax. What are your thoughts?

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The Star of Bethlehem: A Paranormal Event?

Was the star of Bethlehem a paranormal event - a miracle - proclaiming the birth of the Messiah? Or was it a natural, if spectacular, celestial event that happened to take place at the same time that some historians reckon that Jesus was born?

Click here for the rest of Stephen Wagners blog from www.paranormal.about.com

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My dead son has miraculous powers, says Lina Tannous

A SYDNEY couple believes their son - "hand-picked by God" - could be Australia's first male saint.

To read more click here

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Reeking Aliens Wake Up Darwin

A TOP End politician says exhaust from a visiting space ship may be responsible for a nauseating stench that descended on Darwin in the dead of night.

Click here for the rest of the story.

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Parramatta Wall Weeps Miracle Oil 

"Thousands of people have started to flock to the western Sydney home of a Catholic couple where oil and ash have started to appear on the walls of the bedroom of their late son who was killed in a car crash last year."

Here is another link about the Michael Tannous house with quotes from a few people who've visited the house. It's interesting to read the varying opinions. To read more click here.

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"Parishioners at one of Canada's oldest Anglican churches will be puzzled by an enduring enigma when they gaze heavenward this Christmas."

Click here for the news story.

Real Life Stories: Clairvoyant meets Jesus

By Lee-Ann Kelly

Many people who develop an interest in Paranormal activity may have at some point been to a clairvoyant, Tarot reader or Fortune Teller.

Clearly some of these people are gaining information from the spiritual realm. Claims to see loved ones that have “passed over” knowledge of things the clairvoyant could not possibly know. Often visits to clairvoyants bring comfort to those grieving for their loved ones and a sense of peace that they are happy and will meet again with them someday.

Before becoming a Christian I was one of those people who on a few occasions sought insight into my life and future from “mystics” I also spent a few years learning tarot, healing and psychometry (ability in which a person can sense or "read" the history of an object by touching it).

I denounced all of these crafts well before becoming a Christian as I was made fully aware I had opened doors to a spiritual world which were not of God and I again denounced all of my past involvements on becoming a Christian and accepting Jesus into my life.

As Christian’s (followers of Christ) we are made very aware of the spiritual realm both good and evil through Gods Word and what God Himself reveals to us. God clearly tells us not to seek fortune tellers :

Leviticus 19:31 "'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 20:6 "'I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.



Spirits can easily masquerade as a loved one and in turn lead you in a direction further away from God and His plan for your life. The easiest way to put it is that God created you in His image with a purpose and destiny in Him and His kingdom so God wrote the instruction manual for you and your life so who better to ask for guidance that the designer! If you bought a new Television you wouldn’t want to read a Washing Machine Manual to set it up! The enemy on the other hand will deceive at any opportunity if it means leading a person away from God’s grace,salvation and plan for your life.

The last time I visited a Clairvoyant was January 2004. Why would I remember the exact date? Read on to find out!

I was staying in Tammworth for the Country Music Festival when I stumbled across a Physic Fair. Why not I thought. I paid my money and took my place at a small table across from a man in his 40’s. I was ready to hear what the future had in store for me and was single at the time so keen to hear of the prospect of a new relationship. The man reached across the table and took my hands in his, closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. “Here we go” I was thinking. Already sceptical of what he was going to say.

A minute passed and suddenly the man jolted back in his chair at the same time letting go of my hands. His eyes were wide as dinner plates and the blood drained out of his face. I was feeling pretty shocked and scared at that moment. What on earth had he seen?

His voice quivering he stammered out the words “Jesus is with you”. I remember smiling at him and saying “I know” as a feeling of amazing peace flooded through my entire body. He repeated “No..you don’t understand” “Jesus is REALLY with you”. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and again smiled and said to him “Yes I know”.

At any moment I thought this guy was going to drop off the chair!

He then said “ No Jesus is standing right next to you! I saw Him!”.

I smiled and said to the guy “ Well I guess thats all I really need to know” and I thanked him and got up and left leaving him sitting as white as a sheet with his mouth open to the floor.. I skipped around all day knowing that Jesus was with me!

Just 3 months after this happened I met a lady who began sharing the Gospel with me. I picked up a bible for the first time in my life (other than short stints of reading in hotels over the years).

My friend had advised me to pray before reading the bible that God would reveal His truth to me. I never forget praying and opening the pages and there staring back at me in red was the following scripture spoken by Jesus. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." -- John 14:6

As I read each day the words literally jumped off the pages! I discovered that the spiritual hunger I had felt for years, the same hunger which drove me to study many religions and occult practices was now finally being fed. Reading for hours each day I discovered that through the bible God was speaking directly to me and showing me His love for me and the plan he had for my life.

Lee-Ann Kelly

Real Life Stories - The Magic Sand Poltergeist

Once again this series of real life stories has the theme of Indigenous artefacts and the resultant chaos that occurs when they are brought into the homes of naïve westerners.



Last week we talked about the ‘cursed keyring’. This weeks story is about relics that had been in a family for years.



Often when someone we love dies, we cherish the things they collected in their lifetimes. It reminds us of what they did and who they were. Sometimes it’s furniture, books, antiques or other collectibles. Other times they are items from another culture they visited.



That is where our story begins..



Years ago ‘P’ lost his beloved father and grief stricken he kept his dad’s items in storage. ‘P’ was married with three beautiful kids and a senior position in aviation – life was going well - but he mourned for his dad and began to go through his old belongings.



He found an old Aboriginal midden (used to store and cook shellfish) and a glass jar full of colourful sand in layers – with distinct images of birds between the layers. He remembered this was known as magic sand and was meant to have spiritual meaning to the Aboriginals. He placed the midden at the back door of his family home, at the base of the steps. The magic sand was placed inside the house.

From that point onwards It took many months for ‘P’ to raise the subject with me, but when he did the events that were taking place at his house sounded very familiar.



“Baz, can you and the elders come and pray for my house, there are twenty pound weights being thrown around downstairs when no one is down there, wind out windows are opening and closing of their own accord and footsteps that come up the back stairs, then go onto the roof and over our room happen all the time”? I confirmed these events with his wife and noting that this sounded very unusual indeed promised to organise a team to do deliverance prayer at his house. This was at a time when CCAPSG did not have an investigative arm or equipment to check for other natural phenomenon. We treated it with what we had – faith.



The elders of the Church did go and pray, but I did not due to other things that were on. ‘P’ was upset with me for not coming and rang me to let me know. I explained my absence and as we sorted things out amicably, firstly on the phone and them over coffee more of the story came out.



The events had not subsided.



Even worse, now a dark cloud of ‘malevolence’ had crept up the stairs at night, a phenomenon that was palpable to the point that ‘P’ could trace it’s journey as it moved up the three levels of the house.



The footsteps continued as did night terrors and they always emanated from the area where the midden was. Strange behaviour by Ravens in the area around the midden only intensified the feelings that they were being watched all the time.



Then the penny dropped. All the occurrences started when the midden and magic sand was brought into the house.



We discussed it and ‘P’ decided he needed to get rid of the items.



Guess what?



As soon as they were removed the phenomenon also ceased.



When I became a Christian in 2000, I had a lot of stuff in my house that had been used ceremonially (for example animal fetishes) as my wife worked in a Native American Art Gallery.. We simply got rid of those items and kept the others that had not. We were simply more aware of what had gone on in my wife’s house as a child and realised we wanted a clean house with no unwelcome visitors. This is not a ‘fundamentalist’ mindset – it’s common sense when you have experienced horrific phenomenon before that was linked to a ceremonial item. I hope this story encourages us to be on guard and realise that at times we need to do what was done in the book of Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament.



From Acts 19:11-20 (NIV)

11God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

13Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15(One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

17When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[a] 20In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Let me make this clear - by no means are we encouraging people to randomly destroy items from other cultures which can be so rich in history, art and legacy, but to be very discerning about what you buy or allow yourself to inherit and what you put in your house. It’s important to realize that when something gets in to our lives through those entry points that we can’t let the financial cost of the item dictate whether it has permission to stay in our homes – the long term cost is far greater in the toll it can take on our families.

By Pastor Baz

Paranormal In The News This Week 14/12/09

"Entitled “Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths,” the report points out that many Americans are now choosing to “blend Christianity with Eastern or New Age beliefs” and that “sizable minorities of all major U.S. religious groups” said that they have had supernatural experiences, like encountering ghosts."

An article regarding The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life - Click here to read more from the article in NY Times. And click here for Pew Forum website.
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"THE ghostbusters of reality television never actually see dead people. They spend an awful lot of time talking to them, though"

Click here to read more of this article from the NYtimes...
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Jack Black Studying Cryptozoology

"Having hit it big with Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black is delving back into animation, albeit behind the camera this time, for a film about Cryptozoology."

Click here to read the rest of the article from Empire online.

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"I stumbled across this article in the Sydney Morning Herald about Ghost Hill Road, Bilpin."

Click here to read more from the blog post regarding the Sydney Morning Heralds article on Ghost Hill Road.

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Click here for some Christmas themed paranormal encounters from paranormal.about.com

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Click photo for link to a news story about a ghost at Bents opera house. Some people claim to see the image of a ghost in this shot.



Our opinion is that the orb is dust in the air and the "figure" is something called matrixing where the brain tries to find a recognisable image within a pattern.

Black Mass Ghost Photo From The Villisca Axe Murder house

Background
For those that haven't heard the story - The Villisca Axe murders happened on June 10, 1912 in Villisca, Iowa, USA. 2 adults and 6 children were murdered in their beds and no murderer has ever been found. The house hasn't changed too much in the 97 years since the murder. In 1994 the Linns bought the property and restored it to its original condition and it is now listed on the national registrar of historic places. The house is now open to ghost tours. To read more click here for the official website.


The Photo
Jeff Ulmer recently went to the Villisca Axe Murder House with AGH Nation for the Merry Axe-mas event. He experienced a few things there including hearing whispers in the blue room and a very low loud growl in the cellar but the most impressive piece of evidence is the photo taken above. Two minutes after walking into the house Jeff snapped a few photos, neither the photos before or after have this black mass in them. Interestingly enough the group that had gone in the room before Jeff went in had apparently been provoking whatever entity might be there to show themselves in the name of Jesus Christ. It seems it worked because when Jeff went into the bedroom he said he could feel the energy in there and snapped the photos. It's best to hear the story straight from the person who experienced it and thankfully Jeff did a video the same night documenting his experience.

Photos and video provided by Jeff Ulmer.

Paranormal in the news 7/12/09

"Haunted" woman loses 20kg in 2 weeks
"A 37-year-old Chinese woman from Englor claimed that she has been haunted by a "female ghost" every night over the past two weeks and her weight dropped from 70kg to 50kg as she had to withstand mental torture everyday." click here for news story.

"This is a very strange story. I think of it often and always fill with that fear one feels when experiencing one of those “close calls” in life.
I was 23 at the time. I was married and had a three year-old son. I was just a young woman like any other. I stayed home with my child..."

To read more click here

From Rick Phillips, 'The Anomaly Man': Hello, welcome back to what is now the second annual listing of The Top 10 Anomalous, Dubious, Hoax, Events and Links of 2009 - a year end tradition started at The Heavy Stuff. This year, like last, we have a bevy of links that appeared on the internet that qualified as anomalous in many areas of ParaNormality - but - ...

to read more click here for the Phantoms and Monsters link or here for The Heavy Stuff link.


Spiralling light baffles experts.

A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled.

Click here for link to news story and video.

The cursed Keyring

This series of real life stories has a consistent theme. Indigenous artefacts and the resultant chaos that occurs when they are brought into the homes of naïve westerners.



Whether it is the story of the Hexham heads in the UK, to the stories in this series including the Churinga Stone tale, artefacts can literally ‘unleash hell’ in our homes.



That is not to say that all artefacts have these problems associated with them. But it does appear when you look at the cases, that artefacts used ceremonially or with religious purpose in mind (and with a curse in some cases if removed from the tribe) tend to be the biggest culprits.



Pastor Robin Swope, the Paranormal Pastor, made a statement in his excellent book “An Exorcists Field Guide” that “….There are times when the practice that harbours occult focus or power might be an innocent thing in and of itself. Likewise there can be seemingly occult practices made by the owner of resident that have no occult power or entanglements (Page 154).



So sometimes items or practices that seem to have occult ties are not and others that do not appear at surface level to do. And they don’t need to be indigenous artefacts to have weird ties to the spirit realm. Sometimes we make things ‘spiritual’ by the agreements we unwittingly make with them. One example is my old Bible study teacher’s story about his Jim Beam keyring. On the surface it had no occult ties whatsoever. It was simply a pewter keyring with a ceramic logo on it. But when my teacher in his youthful exuberance made the statement that ‘the keyring would be his lucky charm and he would always have it with him’ something shifted….or acknowledged that agreement.



So much for luck. Within days he was nearly run over by a car that killed the dog he was walking, who was his best mate as a youngster. Then a series of unfortunate events unfolded withing the next couple of weeks. Was it just coincidence…..this keyring was anything but good luck. He took it to a nearby creek and threw it in. He was glad to be rid of it.



The next morning as he went to get dressed he opened his sock draw – and there neatly laid out on top was the keyring.



That was the first of many attempts to detach himself from it. Every time he threw it away it returned. People would bring it back to him saying “isn’t this your keyring mate, I found it in the strangest place”.



He was sure he had brought some sort of horrific curse upon himself as not only was the keyring continually coming back, but the bad luck events continued to unfold.

Like so many of these stories, and it is now almost a cliché in this blog, it was only prayer and the name of Jesus that ended the cycle of the curse.



So next time you worry about the Papuan New Guinean war masks that are staring at you on your wall being demonised, remember that is often the agreements we make that start the spiritual wars we have to endure.



For more information on dealing with issues like this, we recommend Pastor Swope’s latest book via amazon

By Pastor Baz

Real Life Stories: The Angel Apparition

by Lee-Ann Kelly from CCAPSG.

I lost a cousin to suicide about 12 years ago. Justin was just 21. A few years after his death I was at my Auntie's house (his mum) I was talking about Justin and how much I missed him.
My Auntie was hesitant but asked me to her bathroom to show me something. It was kind of weird. She pointed to a tile over the bathroom tap and said look there and see what you can see. I looked at the tile and it looked like any other tile to me. In my head I thought "nope I dont see anything" I was just about to let those exact words leave my mouth when presto! There on the tile was a perfect apparition of an angel sitting with legs crossed and wearing a t-shirt (you could see the outline of a fitted tshirt and wings were outstretched behind.)
I seriously nearly fell on the floor. My Auntie then took me to their lounge room and showed me a black and white professional photo that Justin had done right before his death. There was a photo of him sitting in the exact position with the exact t-shirt on, the only difference was in the black and white photo he had no wings.

Remember: I saw the tile before I saw the photo and the apparition was a replica of the photo.

Do I believe in apparitions.......??

Absolutely!

Do I know why they appear or from what source?

No.

This Weeks Paranormal In The News 30/11/09

Click here for a news story from The Pueblo Chieftain newspaper on some footage that the Southern Colorado Paranormal Researchers think they've captured.


An interesting take on Paranormal Activity from the guardian newspaper. click here


The UFO landing at Presque Beach
Not a recent news story but interesting none the less click here.


What better way is there to decorate your tree than a bigfoot/yeti Christmas tree ornament? Click here to check 'em out.


Is bigfoot loose in San Antonio? click here for Cryptomundo's article.


Ghost hunters claim apparition led them to discovering bones. Click here for news story.

Bowen Mt – one of the world’s most mysterious places

From Pastor Baz

I have lived in a place called the Sutherland Shire now for around 20 years. It is a place of sun, surf, sport, leisure – and the occasional race riot (remember Cronulla in December 2005?).

But from 1978-1988 I lived around 70km north west from the beaches of Cronulla at a small mountain top town with not even a shop or a school on it called Bowen Mt. It is around 20km from the Richmond RAAF airforce base and has an interesting history and a myriad of fortean phenomenon and high strangeness.

Because I ended up marrying the girl across the road at Bowen Mt, we still regularly visit the area to see our in-laws, so I get a lot of opportunities to interview, investigate and revisit the stories from my childhood. Among the strangeness were:

- One one side of Lt Bowen road, from the bend in the corner where the Bowyer Family originally lived all the way to to Maple St, convicts were seen and heard re-enacting their daily grind that according to rock carvings started in 1809. The sights and sounds of horses, carts and hard labour were repeated regularly where an old trail ran parallel to the existing road – even 200 years later.

- The Bowen Mt Park has always had a strange coldness and eerie sense about it, which is noted by many of the locals. There are convict wells in there that are now filled in, but first hand accounts of giant orbs of light as big as basketballs, moving through the air and literally chasing people out of the park have been reported by reliable and multiple witnesses.

- A Yowie (Australian bigfoot) was seen on Maple St in the early eighties and is thought (though not witnessed) to be responsible for house shuddering wall banging at the time of the sighting.

- Black Panther sightings are common in the area, with animal carcasses and paw prints adding to the already long list of evidence.

- A ghostly figure appeared in the room of a young boy in the mid eighties in a house adjacent to Maple St.

- Neighbours reported that ‘The ghost of Lieutenant Bowen” visited all new arrivals to the town. (This is urban myth and we did not experience it, but it is an interesting folklore).

- When an aboriginal stone was dug up and placed in a house, unusual sickness and poltergeist and UFO activity occurred in and around the premises.

- Seasoned locals who would walk 20k through bush in the daylight and knew the area back to front would go for walks at night time along Lt Bowen Rd and return ashen faced declaring ‘they would never walk around this area at night again” explaining an unknown dread had stalked them as they walked the dark and unlit streets.

- Front doors would fling open suddenly with no one there, especially at dinner parties and gatherings when there was no wind or problem with hinges or hanging. And I can vouch that it wasn’t us kids – we were as terrified as the rest of the adults when it happened.

- Magnetic Hill is between Carters Rd and Grand View Lane. Long considered to be an urban myth or illusion, Shannon and I stopped his 2 tonne SUV a the point where the hill is undeniably on an upward slop – and after he took his foot off the brake we rolled 3-4 feet UPHILL. I was highly sceptical of the whole phenomenon until that point and I have no explanation for it.

So there you have it, and they are only the stories I know of. How many other true tales exist amongst the community of Bowen Mt, NSW Australia.

Paranormal in the News 23/11/09

Is West Virginia part of Bigfoot’s migration route? click here for the article.


Burmas junta leader orders spirit to be handcuffed every night - read the story here on phantomsandmonsters.com


Peter Jackson's ghostly encounter in Wellington, NZ click here for news story.


Headline reads - "Mysterious Skeleton Haunts the Chelsea Hotel" To read the blog click here A mother and daughter had a ghostly encounter whilst staying at the Hotel Chelsea. Lights would switch on and off, the drains would bubble and they heard a disembodied voice. During there stay they took a photo of a closet and when they looked at the photo when they got home they noticed a skeleton face. I can see what they are looking at but in my opinion it doesn't resemble a skeleton face. It actually appears to be a mark on the wood and the "skeleton" is a product of matrixing where the brain tries to make sense of random images.
It would be good if someone else could take a photo of the same area to see if the mark is there.

Click here for a list of the oddest haunted places on earth. There's pizza hut, thorntons chocolate shop, cinemas and a blockbuster in Arizona thats mentioned and its not the only blockbuster thats supposedly haunted...check out this video they linked to thats done the rounds on youtube.

Real Life Stories: The Disembodied Voices

ANON
On numerous occasions whilst carrying out my duties as a cleaner at my local church I have encountered some strange things...

The thing I have experienced most often is the cry or yelp to describe it better of a woman and sometimes what sounds like young children... this always happens in the same location.... outside the toilets and councelling room where there is various councelling, prayer ministry and deliverance..
Alough a little unnerving this has not been a particularly frightening experince.

A little more unsettling was the shadowy figure or shape or I don't really know how to describe it... kind of lightening bolt but not really. Anyway this thing whatever it was was only in my line of vision for a few seconds then darted off towards the offices, as this was upstairs near the fire hydrant.. I was in the building on my own it was about 7am.
Although I didn't see the shadow again that morning I felt like I was being watched while I carried out my duties.

I have heard footsteps many times when the building has been empty, aside from myself, not creaking but the definate sound of feet dragging on the carpet.

And finally about 8am one Saturday I was cleaning one of the rooms upstairs when I heard someone call out "hello". This was nothing unusual as people often come and go from the church so I called back but no answer other than "hello hello" I thought whoever it was had not heard me and was probably wondering why the alarm wasn't on if there was no one there so I proceeded to follow the voice which was periodically calling out "hello" to let them know I was in the building.

I checked every room following the voice (male) around the building thinking it odd that they had not heard me or answered me.
I started to feel my heart pumping as I realised there was no one there. I could still hear "Hello" but could find no one. I ran outside to look for a car
but there was none.
I was so frightened I stood outside for ages watching all the doors that exit the church. waiting for someone to come out... no one did.

Scared out of my wits I re-enterd the church and called out one last time "who's there?" but there was no answer. I did not hear the voice again that morning...

The Paranormal Pastor: 2012 and the Coming Apocalypse

Check out Pastor Swopes latest blog by clicking on this link The Paranormal Pastor: 2012 and the Coming Apocalypse

Paranormal In The News This Week 16/11/09

An interesting article from CNN - Ghosts, monsters, dragons: What to tell kids. click here for the article.


The creature in Central Park - click here for a link to the story.


Headline says "Tourist captures "ghost" near old hanging tree." Click here for the news story. There is a form here that is slightly angel/human shaped but I think this is due to matrixing (an effect where your brain tries to make sense of patterns by making them look like something familiar) I think the image could be attributed to cigarette smoke or breath in the air as Scotland is not a warm place. What other explanations could there be for this photo? Please comment below.


Big cat print found in scotland click here for the Big Cats In Britain website.


Photo from the Former Roe Valley Hospital. What are your thoughts as to what this could be? The news story is saying its a ghost. Click here for the story. In my opinion it is likely to be motion blur ie something stationary in the photo but the camera has been moved (not necessarily deliberately) and produced this effect. Also without another photo of the same area to compare it to we can't say what it is.


Headline says "Unconfirmed photo of alien in Queensland" click here. It is a human/alien shape but because of the lack of information we can't really make a comment as to what it actually is.

Blue Mountains Ghost tour Part 4: The Convict Wells and the hanging tree

by Pastor Baz
The longer the night of the tour went on, the greater sense of sadness I felt at how humans treat each other. We had heard stories of murder, disease, legally endorsed racism and segregation (and the punitive action that followed any breach) and systematic police and military brutality of prisoners and convicts.

Which brings us to the hanging tree.

Chosen because of it’s sturdiness and shape, the hanging tree had brought, according to ‘Paranormal Pete’ many a sensitive person undone. People who were tuned in a little bit more than the average punter would put their hands on the tree and feel a sense of choking, smell, see and taste things that were horrific and see visions that were even more so.

One of our entourage named it the ‘boobie tree’ because it had two pendulous mounds near the base resembling…..you guessed it….boobs. (10 year old boys laugh….now!!)

As we rounded the corner to the tree, we noticed that school students were on a camping trip around and near it. Shannon and I will both confirm that the EMF (K2) Meters redlined as we came into the area – and the problem with these tours is that even though people have promised their phones are off that is not always the case. You soon learn what a mobile spike looks like on the meter and what is something different by the speed and the duration of the spike. This didn’t meet the criteria for a mobile spike compared to the previous three hours.

I felt the hanging tree was a sad place simply due to the fact that people were killed for doing things that in today’s society you would be given a good behaviour bond for. How many potential lives that could have been rehabilitated with the right type of Chaplaincy, mercy and support were ended at this tree? What happened to those who die in the prime of their lives, in traumatic situations who may be given a token Christian burial due to culture they live in but do not hear the good news of Christ and the Kingdom of God (in it’s true sense, not the hijacked, truncated, westernised fundamentalist sense) while alive. It is a question that further drives our research into this area and the need to provide well thought out answers to our readers.

As we drove off, the campers, unaware of the gallows they were bunked around and its history, text messaged each other, laughed and probably told ghost stories. I wonder if anyone experienced anything that night that was more tangible than the urban myths they scared each other with.

The next place we headed to were the convict wells. I had encountered these in my youth at Bowen Mt and although they had long been filled in, people still had strange sensations and experiences around them – a sense of ‘oppression’ that made a lot of people simply avoid the park, even though it was outwardly pleasant.

Pete warned us (again, this is great for the tour in terms of building expectation, but terrible for setting up false positives) of others experiences at the ‘wells’ including his own of being ‘pierced’ by an orb that told him to get out of the area, leaving him in a state of weakness, trembling and mental and emotional anguish, sitting on the ground, explaining his symptoms as anxiety rather than disclose what had happened at the time.

The wells were found down a dark bush track, renowned for suicides, usually via car and hose on the tail pipe. It’s interesting to consistently note how past dark deeds in an area continue to attract negativity, despair and loss of hope.

Essentially, the wells were holes dug in the ground to house convicts who were at high risk of escaping. All the way through the Blue Mountains and along the roads over the mountain and into the heartland of NSW were convict settlements of road workers, whose jobs were to carve roads into the new frontier (which was basically slave labour which resulted in hundreds of suicides for those who lost all hope) or simply maintaining what had been already created. At each convict outpost, those men who had life sentences or deemed a general flight risk were the ones placed in the wells instead of being allowed to live in huts with the rest of the community. This inhumane treatment now appears to leave a residual negativity over all the places this happened – what the negativity is I cannot say conclusively. But it is almost sentient, and at times exerts it’s will over others well and truly over a century later. As a Pastor, this leads me to a hypothetical position, based now on many personally documented experiences, that the ‘demonic’ realm feeds into and is attracted to the trauma of human tragedy, abuse and anger and unforgiveness. Is that what we were now experiencing at some of these places?

Our experiences were mixed but there was one consistent thing that happened. When the EMF meters went off, the frogs stopped their noises. It is a very similar experience in relation to wildlife that is reported around Yowie sightings and also noted in the appearance of UFO’s in regional area’s (I didn’t say alien, I said UFO which is what they are – unidentified flying objects). What we are looking for is the connection between the phenomenon manifesting and the reaction wild life has to it.

We took a lot of photo’s, got a lot of orbs (which most can be explained away as being dust or dew points) and in one photo of a water filled well a face of a person appeared to be present. This was later debunked by a TAPS forum member who showed it was matrixing from a reflection off the ground above it when the flash went off – and I agreed with that assessment. We have to be really careful in this area not to get caught up in the hype and the excitement, only to be the one’s responsible for ensuring skeptics have a reason to remain skeptical.

So after a long night of history, interesting experiences and personally, much prayer, we bid our new found friends farewell and arrived home at 1am to watch the Kangaroo’s play France, but the set top box refused to work. Shannon and I imbibed in a VB longneck together as we debriefed the night until 2am.

It had been a huge learning curve and we look forward to sharing our next adventure with you.

Baz, Bryony and Shannon.

Real Life Stories: The Flying Cup

By Baz

We’ve talked in the last couple of weeks about how malevolent spirits seem to be attracted to conflict, unforgiveness, bitterness, envy etc.



This story reinforces my view on that.



Every time a particular conflict arose at Church, we would experience paranormal phenomenon. If it wasn’t shadow people and disembodied voices, it was a general feeling of malaise that could not be attributed to anything else and it permeated certain area’s with a ‘jelly like’ intensity, ie you could just walk in a room and it would stick to your very being.



This time it was my office. It felt incredibly heavy in the room. There was no chemical reason, I am reasonably sure my fish tank filter was not producing infrasound between 17-19hz J but this particular day it felt like the 'devil was sitting in my office' for want of a better selection of words.



How had I allowed this to happen? Possibly by getting involved in other people’s disputes and picking up their spiritual warfare as a by product. Then when it was attached to me, not bringing the cross of Jesus Christ between myself and their ‘spiritual stuff’.



This is not meant not to apportion blame to other people, nor to not take personal responsibility. It was simply a process where I allowed conflict to come into my office via counselling/mediation/prayer times, feeling the heaviness during the session and then not clearing the place out spiritually. As a tip, if you do this in one particular area, you can contain it better. But if you do this in your house or office, especially where the person feels a malevolent entity is at work, you can end up with it hanging around.



So after one of our admin team complained that my office made them ‘feel like crying’ it was time to do an cleansing/binding/exorcism on the room.



Pastor Robin Swope, the ‘Paranormal Pastor’ had just releases his book on the subject of exorcism and it had arrived via Amazon two days before. I went and got a cup of water, prayed the blood of Christ over it and placed it on my filing cabinet.



I then started the cleansing from the book. The room felt better.

Now the sealing part. In the name of Jesus I sealed the room off from other spirits and also so any spirits within may not leave.



That’s when things got funky..



The cup of water on my cabinet was flung off where it was safely away from the edge and perfectly upside down on the floor. I looked at it for a number of seconds and then yelled for assistance.



As we completed the binding part of the process, papers ruffled and noises emanated around the room, like an angry child trying to make known their discontent.



Then finally, the casting out. The room became as light as a feather and peace was restored. Since that time my office is once again an awesome place to work in.



The name of Jesus has authority for believers - and that's all it takes - a step of faith. You don’t want to be like the ‘Sons of Sceva’ in the book of Acts in the Bible, the Jewish exorcist whose boys tried to copy the apostles in their deliverance ministry methods, but in rote form, not as believers who had received the Holy Spirit and the authority of Jesus Himself. They were stripped naked by the man possessed of the ungodly spirit and beaten. Seven of the boys came undone that day.



So I encourage our readers, to pursue God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, believe in His Son Jesus, and receive the Holy Spirit, because that is how the Kingdom of God comes to earth as it is in heaven. It starts with us. It’s not just about ‘avoiding hell’ but about seeing the captives set free on earth, one by one as the good news is proclaimed, sometimes in words, sometimes like in these stories in supernatural signs and wonders and other times in love, mercy, justice and hope.