Monday, September 3, 2007

Fiery UFO Explodes Off New Jersey Coast


September 2, 2007 -- Head for the hills! A mysterious giant "fireball" was spotted exploding over the ocean off the Jersey Shore last night, but officials had no idea last night what it was.

The unidentified falling object was first seen at about 8:40 p.m. by people on Normandy Beach in Ocean County, and was also spotted as far away as Fire Island and South Carolina, officials said.

"It was dispatched as a fireball, out over the ocean, going into the ocean," Deputy Chief Tim Cook of the Toms River, N.J., Fire Department told The Post.

At least 15 witnesses on the beach all described the same thing, he said.

"It was a large fireball that came down and sort of dropped down into the ocean."

Coast Guard cutters and helicopters were dispatched, but found nothing, said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Nyx Cangemi.

"It's a real mystery," he added.

The FAA also had no idea what it was.

"We have no planes reported missing," said agency spokesman Jim Peters who said he checked with area airports and nearby McGuire Air Force Base.

Some officials speculated that it may have been a comet or a meteor, but a spokeswoman with the New Jersey Astrological Association said, "It's news to us."

The rare Aurigid meteor shower - which produces blue and green lights - was expected to take place last night, and may have been to blame.

ANOTHER ARTICLE RELATED TO THIS EVENT:

UFO crashes in Atlantic near new Jersey or a controlled experiment by the advanced extraterrestrial civilization? UFO Crashes Off N.J. Coast

It happened over the ocean off the Jersey Shore. The unidentified falling object was first seen at about 8:40 p.m. by people on Normandy Beach in Ocean County, and was also spotted as far away as Fire Island and South Carolina.

the object has a glowing light around it. The next thing observers saw on a fireball falling on the ocean. Coast Guard cutters and helicopters were dispatched, but found nothing.

Some UFO analysts believe it was not a crash but an controlled underwater experiment by the extraterrestrials. The glow of light around the object is significant because it carries the signature of electromagnetic flux used by type III extraterrestrial UFOs for stealth, armor, navigation and propagation.

According to some, it was a glitch in their experimentation where a controlled entry into the oceanic crust lost its stealth effects. Interestingly, some officials speculated that it may have been a comet or a meteor, but a spokeswoman with the New Jersey Astrological Association said, "It's news to us."

The trail of the explosive entry into the oceanic crust was felt though mild harmonic tremor in the area.


UFO Sightings in Grampians National Park

Victorian UFO Research Society investigators have received their eighth major sighting in the Grampians National Park in six months.
Investigator James Molesworth said a Stawell man reported the latest sighting at 5.

55am last Wednesday after seeing a `big, bright yellow light' heading from the east in a north-westerly direction.

Mr Molesworth said the man, keen to remain anonymous, was putting things in his car ready for work when he made the sighting.

"He normally keeps a camera in the car, but he'd taken it inside the night before," Mr Molesworth said.

"He watched it for about 45 seconds, then it did a looping turn and disappeared to the north-west within four seconds.

"This fits with other reports from the area."

Mr Molesworth said investigators had studied the Wartook Valley area from 2001.

His colleague Paul Norman has researched UFOs for 50 years and was joined in the Grampians study by Jacqueline Purtell. Mr Molesworth joined the team eight months ago.

"Since 2001 many sightings have been reported and investigated by VUFORS in the Grampians region," he said.

"These have included not just aerial lights at night, but numerous instances of craft being observed in daylight, sometimes at relatively close quarters, and a number of close and spectacular night time sightings.

"On top of this there have been countless observations made by VUFORS investigators and various locals connected to the investigation, usually of a rather less spectacular nature, but highly significant nonetheless.

"Video and photographic evidence has been collected in many instances."

Mr Molesworth provided the Mail-Times with detailed recounts of sightings since April.

"One group of people were driving past the national park in a car. I don't know where they were, but on the edge, when they saw a large yellow light appear from the trees and do an erratic manoeuvre," he said.

"Earlier this year, about five months ago, there was a sighting on Mount Victory Road.

"I saw some myself, a red and green flashing light moving around Mount Thackeray in the Victoria Range.

"In another sighting a few months ago now, a couple in the Victoria Valley saw five lights flying circles around each other and they got to Mt Thackeray and disappeared."

Mr Molesworth said people reported only 10 per cent of sightings.

"We don't get a lot of reports but a lot of people have seen things particularly in the Wartook Valley," he said.

Police at Stawell said they had received no reports about Wednesday's incident.


Sunday, September 2, 2007

Medium Derek Acorah Discusses His New Project

Great Britain's best-known medium on who he’s friendly (and not so friendly) with in the spirit world, meeting the ancient ghosts of Egypt, and why he’s not a bad fella really...

You’re back with your new show, Paranormal Egypt. Tell us about it.
Derek Acorah: The energy and adrenalin in Egypt was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I’m still tingling. Even Sam (Derek’s spirit guide) was taken aback. He said he felt at home. He’s Ethiopian and lived 2,000 years ago, but he knew there were a lot of Ethiopians in Ancient Egypt, and he was telling me the spirits were thrilled I was there.

What sort of investigations did you do there?
DA: Well, I communicated with the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, the greatest ever female Pharaoh. And I conversed with Tutankhamun and was told how he really died.

Do you have a favourite era you’ve visited?
DA: Ancient Egypt would be right up there, but I’d have to have been wealthy and not someone who built the pyramids. They may be incredible monuments, but the people who worked on them had a terrible life, as they told me when I made contact with them. The work was awful, backbreaking. You started at 14 and didn’t finish until you were about 35 – if you lived that long. There was a high level of child death.

Do you get recognised a lot in the street? What do people say?
DA: I do get recognised and it’s lovely. People say, ‘We miss you on Most Haunted, it’s not the same without you.’ Then out of the blue they’ll say, ‘I lost my mum last week,’ or ‘I lost my son in a terrible tragedy,’ or ‘My husband had a heart attack at work and didn’t come home.’ If their loved one is there with me, I will help, but if not, then I’ll tell them.

What was your first ever job?
DA: At 15 I signed for Liverpool football club as an apprentice professional. I also played for Wrexham, then Ireland and eventually Australia. I was a player coach for an Australian first division team for four years, but I had a knee injury so retired. When I came home I worked as a security guard, before practising as a spiritualist medium.

Who would play you in a film of your life?
DA: It’s weird you ask that, because someone only said recently that my life would make a good film. I don’t know, it’s not something I’ve thought about. Dustin Hoffman or Jon Voight, either of those would make good Derek Acorahs.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
DA: Smoking. I did cut down to between five and seven a day for a while, now I’m back up to 15 or 20 – but nowhere near the 40 a day I used to smoke. I will give up soon, though.

What are your best and worst features?
DA: On the downside I talk too much – typical Liverpudlian! Plus, I eat too much, I’m a bit podgy right now. I also snore and I drive too fast. I’m irritable when I’m not working and don’t relax enough. On the upside, I’m generous of heart. I adore people and love listening to their stories, and I’m a sucker for animals. Put me with animals and I’m a happy man.

Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with?
DA: Freddie Mercury. Now, there’s a man who would have some great stories to tell. I haven’t contacted him yet, but I hope to some day. It certainly wouldn’t be boring being trapped for hours with Fred. Also, depending on the space, John Lennon, my good old friend Emlyn Hughes and Myleene Klass, she’s lovely, a superb human being.

What’s your favourite food and drink?
DA: Spaghetti bolognese, as made by my lovely wife Gwen. She does the best spag bol in the world. I like the odd steak as well, and a bit of duck. As for drink, I don’t drink beer any more, but I like a nice glass of wine.

What’s your pet hate?
DA: I hate it when people gas off about others. I prefer to take people as I find them, and I won’t stay long in someone’s company if they are slagging someone off.

Do you have any phobias?
DA: I have a fear of heights, which has grown in the last year or two. I don’t know why, because I was such a monkey as a kid – I’d climb anything.

If you were invisible for the day, what would you do?
DA: I would go to visit every person I’ve ever fallen out with. I’d be a fly on the wall and just listen to see if they still held any grudges or were speaking negatively about me. If they were, I’d plan my revenge. Ha-ha!

Derren Brown spoke out against you and other mediums. What do you have to say to your critics?
DA: He’s actually denied the things he said about me. But I’d love to have a proper chat with Derren – if I chatted to him as a spirit, then there would be no way he could deny an afterlife then. Ha!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
DA: To always treat people equally, regardless of wealth or status.

Do you prefer baths or showers?
DA: I like a nice shower, and only occasionally take baths. I’m lucky to have one of those spa bath things with all the bubbles and little jets that massage your back, so I take more baths now than I used to.

Have you ever stolen anything?
DA: Yes, I did. It was when I was about eight. My sister Barbra and I liked to go swimming, but we didn’t have the money this time. In those days my grandfather lived with us. It’s despicable, but I went into his wallet and took some money and we went off to the swimming baths. I did replace the money a few weeks later, but the guilt has stayed with me all my life.

What’s been your biggest splurge?
DA: My house in Spain. When I’m there with my wife and the family it’s the best thing. It wasn’t easy financially, but it was well worthwhile.

Do you speak Spanish?
DA: I know a little bit. Enough to order a nice glass of wine…

Which celebrity would you not invite to a dream dinner party?
DA: The only person who would not make a good dinner guest is Frank Sinatra. I won’t say why, suffice to say I have contacted him and he wouldn’t be invited.

What do you think about before falling asleep?
DA: The next day, mostly. I visualise myself waking up refreshed. I always tell myself that no matter what the next day brings, I will make the most of it and try to enjoy every day as if it’s my last.


St. Petersburg's Girl Ghostbusters


St. Petersburg, FL - On a steamy August night, four women dressed in purple shirts with the words "paranormal investigator" on their sleeves stood in a circle in a hotel hallway and debated whether the faint smell of perfume in the air indicated the presence of a ghost. It was hard to tell. Ghost hunting isn't exactly a science. The rumors about ghosts at the Heritage Inn, an old-fashioned boutique hotel at 234 Third Ave. N downtown, have been around for years.

In that time, staffers have complained about odd noises. Guests have reported seeing an apparition of a little girl. Once, a couple were so spooked they checked out at 3 a.m.

Popular science would suggest there are no ghosts at the Heritage Inn, or in fact, anywhere. Ghosts do not exist.

Still, for whatever reason, the hotel staff said yes when they got a call from S.P.I.R.I.T.S. - a group of local ghostbusters - asking whether they could investigate reports of a haunting.

They had no way of knowing the investigation would challenge their beliefs on life and death.

* * *

The ghost hunt began in a hotel restaurant that was closed for renovations. Quiet and empty, it was the perfect locale.

Debra Shapiro set out her laptop on a table and turned on its audio recording device. She crossed her fingers for signs of EVPs, or electronic voice phenomena. EVPs are inaudible to the human ear but can allegedly be captured with the aid of technology.

Standing nearby, Brandy Stark used an infrared thermometer to gauge any changes in the atmosphere. Haunted places allegedly produce thermal anomalies such as cold spots, and Stark soon gleefully announced that the temperature had dropped about 7 degrees.

She set out an electromagnetic field meter on a table.

"If there is anyone here, can you please make the meter spike?" she asked.

The meter spiked. Stark smiled.

Ghost hunters believe paranormal entities emit an electromagnetic field. To Stark, this first spike was practically a greeting, a sort of "How do you do?" in paranormal lingo.

"Can you tell us if you are a male? If you are a male, can you make this meter spike?" she said.

The meter spiked. A hallway light flickered.

"Can you make the lights flash again, please," Stark asked.

The lights flashed.

"You have had the lighting checked out, right?" Stark asked.

Lynda Rucker, manager of the Heritage Inn, initially along for a few good chuckles, nodded incredulously.

"Can you make the lights flash one more time, please?" Stark asked.

The meter did not move.

"Oh, please, it was so much fun," Shapiro pleaded.

Nothing.

Later, a maintenance man walked by and asked about the investigation.

"You would never believe us," Rucker said.

* * *

Ghost hunting is tedious business. It involves a lot of waiting, a lot of reviewing of audio recordings and photographs, a lot of defending your hobby to wisecracking friends and coworkers.

The 15 members of the S.P.I.R.I.T.S. all have different stories of how they got into investigating hauntings.

Mostly, they are a studious group. They have respectable, white-collar jobs. They are strict about not allowing outsiders to attend their investigations, and they encourage members to assume that all potential paranormal activity has some nonparanormal explanation.

An apparent apparition caught in a photo could just be a fleck of light. A light flickering could be faulty wiring.

Except, sometimes, there are no logical explanations. Then, even squeaky floors are potential clues.

* * *

In the hallway, the perfume debate continued. The women took turns smelling each other's wrists and hair. No one was wearing lavender perfume, but the scent lingered softly in the air.

Stark attempted to settle it once and for all.

"If you are here," she began, "can you make that lavender smell come back again?"

A faint whiff of perfume floated by, but the group still could not collectively agree on the evidence.

In the end, they decided the origin of the scent was too ambiguous.

They couldn't reach a consensus on whether it was real or not.


Saturday, September 1, 2007

Malayan House Comes 'Alive' at Night


Many flock to Jalan Bellamy for the Ikan Bakar while others may recognise the road as home to one of the country’s oldest international school, Alice Smith.

The road has not changed much since the country’s pre-independence days and remains a quiet path that most city dwellers do not use.

With old government quarters hidden by the large trees on the road, the aroma of fish being grilled waft out from Gerai Seri Menanti and Seri Melaka while the chatter and laughter of children from the Alice Smith school livens up the atmosphere.

Rosemary Alder Duckworth who lived at 5, Jalan Bellamy from 1947 to 1949 remembers the days when housing was scarce in post-war Malaya and when most houses on the street housed two or more families.

“A few families would share a home and we were very surprised to find house No 5 empty.

“We moved in but for the next two-and-half years, we had a lot of problems, especially with servants who would just disappear in the night without even collecting their pay,” said Duckworth.

She had come to Malaya with her family when her father, Frederick Victor Duckworth, was appointed the last British adviser of Selangor.

The family managed to trace a few of their former workers and they recounted tales of paranormal activities that took place in the servants quarters and kitchen.

“We then realised that the house was not snapped up because it was considered haunted. Many of the servants told us that they would be jolted awake from sleep and see blinding lights circling on top of them. Some said they even saw vegetables flying around the kitchen,'' said Duckworth.

She had the chance to speak to the Richardson family who had lived in the house before the war and they confirmed the unusual sightings in the house.

“Corinne Richardson was one of those who lived in the house and she related an incident that took place one night.

“She told me she was awakened by loud banging noises and saw an old Chinese man standing next to her bed. Corinne’s sister, who was in the room, also saw the man,” said Duckworth.

“Corinne asked the man what he wanted but there was no reply and the man just walked away. The banging noises, however, continued. Corinne told her parents and although they looked everywhere, the man was not found.''

The Richardsons later found out that at the exact time that Corinne saw the old man, the chief of a nearby village on Jalan Bellamy had passed away.

“When she was shown a picture of the village chief, Corinne recognised him as the old man who had appeared in her room.''

During the Duckworth family’s stay at the house, the haunting worsened and they had to conduct an exorcism ceremony.

Other than this, the family enjoyed their stay on the quaint Bellamy road.

“It was a very quiet and nice residential area with big trees. said Duckworth.


Has a Chupacabra Been Found in Texas?

Cuero, Texas - Phylis Canion lived in Africa for four years. She's been a hunter all her life and has the mounted heads of a zebra and other exotic animals in her house to prove it.

But the roadkill she found last month outside her ranch was a new one even for her, worth putting in a freezer hidden from curious onlookers: Canion believes she may have the head of the mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra.

"It is one ugly creature," Canion said, holding the head of the mammal, which has big ears, large fanged teeth and grayish-blue, mostly hairless skin.

Canion and some of her neighbors discovered the 40-pound bodies of three of the animals over four days in July outside her ranch in Cuero, 80 miles southeast of San Antonio. Canion said she saved the head of the one she found so she can get to get to the bottom of its ancestry through DNA testing and then mount it for posterity.

She suspects, as have many rural denizens over the years, that a chupacabra may have killed as many as 26 of her chickens in the past couple of years.

"I've seen a lot of nasty stuff. I've never seen anything like this," she said.

What tipped Canion to the possibility that this was no ugly coyote, but perhaps the vampire-like beast, is that the chickens weren't eaten or carried off — all the blood was drained from them, she said.

Chupacabra means "goat sucker" in Spanish, and it is said to have originated in Latin America, specifically Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Canion thinks recent heavy rains ran them right out of their dens.

"I think it could have wolf in it," Canion said. "It has to be a cross between two or three different things."

She said the finding has captured the imagination of locals, just like purported sightings of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster have elsewhere.

But what folks are calling a chupacabra is probably just a strange breed of dog, said veterinarian Travis Schaar of the Main Street Animal Hospital in nearby Victoria.

"I'm not going to tell you that's not a chupacabra. I just think in my opinion a chupacabra is a dog," said Schaar, who has seen Canion's find.

The "chupacabras" could have all been part of a mutated litter of dogs, or they may be a new kind of mutt, he said.

As for the bloodsucking, Schaar said that this particular canine may simply have a preference for blood, letting its prey bleed out and licking it up.

Chupacabra or not, the discovery has spawned a local and international craze. Canion has started selling T-shirts that read: "2007, The Summer of the Chupacabra, Cuero, Texas," accompanied by a caricature of the creature. The $5 shirts have gone all over the world, including Japan, Australia and Brunei. Schaar also said he has one.

"If everyone has a fun time with it, we'll keep doing it," she said. "It's good for Cuero."


South Wales' Rhymney House Hotel Haunted

Rhymney House Hotel licensee Rob Dunster says he definitely feels a presence every time he steps into the 19th Century building.

The small hotel, situated on the A465 near Rhymney Bridge, appears in the Haunted Cardiff and the Valleys book, compiled by the South Wales Paranormal Research team, and is thought to be haunted by a pregnant maid who threw herself from the top window.

The hotel has been owned for six years by the Dunster family, who all differ in opinion on the presence.

Licensee Rob, 42, says he is spooked by the building and believes there is a definite presence.

He said: “I am quite sure there is something here.

“We have had two paranormal groups come to visit us and they have both felt it.

“I think it’s in the cellar.”

Rob’s sister Jackie, 52, also works part-time at the hotel. She said: “I am a bit of a sceptic. I think the nature of the building makes it a bit eerie because parts of it are dark and cold.

“But whenever I stay the night on my own, I’m more worried about humans breaking in than ghosts.

“But one of the previous owners said their daughter used to speak to a kind old lady who would sit on the edge of her bed.”

The Grade II-listed building, which sits on a two-acre site, is surrounded by a farmyard and a row of ageing listed trees. The owners say it is prone to a lot of nocturnal noises.

Rob said: “We do hear quite a few strange noises at night and that can be a bit spooky, but I don’t think it’s too bad.

“If our guests ask about the paranormal activity, we tell them if they want it to be haunted it is, but if they don’t want it to be, it’s not.”


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