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[the-curious-fortean]

Storsjon Lake Monster

Storsjoodjuret, yes that is a real word and it is the name given to a cryptid that is said to live in the icy waters of Lake Storsjon (also a real word) in Sweden.The lake is up to 300ft in depth with a surface area of 464 km2 and the city of Ostursund is nestled on its eastern shore line. The creature, whose name I cant pronounce to save my life was said to have been first recorded in 1635 by a folklorist and vicar Morgens Pedersen. He describes the creature as being the creation of a couple of trolls who were engaged in the production of magical substances.  "A long, long time ago two trolls, Jata and Kata, stood on the shores of the Great-Lake brewing a concoction in their cauldrons. They brewed and mixed and added to the liquid for days and weeks and years. They knew not what would result from their brew but they wondered about it a great deal. One evening there was heard a strange sound from one of their cauldrons. There was a wailing, a groaning and a crying, then suddenly came a loud bang. A strange animal with a black serpentine body and a cat-like head jumped out of the cauldron and disappeared into the lake. The monster enjoyed living in the lake, grew unbelievably larger and awakened terror among the people whenever it appeared. Finally, it extended all the way round the island of Frösön, and could even bite its own tail. Ketil Runske bound the mighty monster with a strong spell which was carved on a stone and raised on the island of Frösön. The serpent was pictured on the stone. Thus was the spell to be tied till the day someone came who could read and understand the inscription on the stone."

So since the days of Morgens people have continued to report strange sightings of Storsjoodjuret, and it is said that to date there have been over 500 hundred reported sightings of the creature. Olle Mattsson an antiquarian at the near by Ostursund museum has been looking back through the museums archives for historical reports of the creature, and he has also added more recent accounts to his files as well. From these 500 + collection of reports Mattsson describes the creature as 10 to 16ft long dark grey or black with a small head. When I read this description it reminded me of the numerous reports of the Irish lake monsters mentioned in The Dragon and the Disc 1972 by F W Holiday. In which the author gives detailed accounts of many giant eel type creature living in the numerous lakes of Ireland. The giant eel theory is one that has fascinated me for some time and in particular Richard Freeman's idea that many of these creatures might be giant eunuch eels that have no desire to return to the sea to reproduce and die, the theory goes that these eels stay in fresh water and just keep growing, and eventually attaining a massive size. Of course although very intriguing this is just a theory and more work needs to be done to add more weight to it. There is a video that purports to be of the monster that was shot by a film crew in 2008, but as usual with this kind of thing it raises more questions than it answers. It was shot underwater and there is nothing else in the frame that we might be able to use to get an estimation of its size, and of course the creature can not be seen in any real detail. But to me it doesn't really look like an eel. What I have to assume is its head doesn't look right for an eel and neither does its body movements, in fact in places it doesn't really appear to be moving under its own power, it looks almost like a bit of plant matter wafting around in the flow of the water......

In an odd twist Storsjoodjuret, as well as its offspring and nest was actually protected as an endangered species by Swedish law in 1986, but this law was revoked nearly 20 years later. But his wasn't the first time that the monster came to the attention of the Swedish authorities. Way back in the 1890s a group of local people came together with the aim to capture it, this even got royal approval when King Oscar II backed the group.                                         

[the-curious-fortean]

Killer Congers, Kidnap and Memory Loss

So this evening I'm thumbing through a back copy of fortean times (ft 85) and I notice a small article in the Strange Days section of the magazine that I thought would make a good post for this blog. The story was taken from the Aberdeen Press and Journal and the Daily Telegraph September 2 1995. Now the story goes that a 32 year old diving instructor by the name of Cameron Bell was on Loch Long, a sea loch on the western coast of Scotland, he was there to give three  of his pupils a lesson on diving at night. when some how he became detached from his group and nothing more was heard of him for a further 9 hours. He later claimed that whilst swimming into an area 90ft below the surface aptly named Conger Alley,  he was attacked by a giant 6ft foot conger eel. The eel had apparently been startled by the divers light and in the confusion that followed some fishing line that was trailing out of the congers mouth had become entangled around the his neck. Mr Bell then said that he was dragged at high speed a further 60ft into the cold dark depths before managing to use his knife to cut himself free. Unfortunately for the unlucky sub-aqua swimmer whilst he was cutting himself free from his eel led leash, he accidentally cut through his own oxygen line. With no oxygen Mr Bell was forced to make hast towards the surface, an action that no diver wants to do from such depths in a hurry and the result was a case of the bends or decompression sickness, caused by his rapid assent to the surface. Suffering as he was from the bends he some how struggled towards the shore, where he passed out on terra firma. Luckily some 9 hours later he was found by a passing cyclist and after 4 hours in a decompression chamber at Faslane navel base he was sent home to Glasgow to recover. Now it was whilst I was double checking the facts of this article that I came across another bizarre chapter in the life of Mr Bell. It seems that a few years later in February 1998 the diver once again found himself in turbulent water. Mr Bell was attending a conference for divers in Marseilles in France when he suddenly went missing, only to turn up again 5 days later when he staggered into a petrol garage with razor cuts and bruises to both his head and body. Naturally detectives tried in interview him he could only say that he had been held against his will and apart from that he had no memory of any other events. A spokes woman fr french CID said " He has been injured so something must have happened. He is the only one who can help us." But it seems that some people who know Mr Bell think that perhaps he might be rather liberal with the truth. An un-named source fro the Scottish diving community was quoted in the Daily Mirror as saying "It sounds as though he's been up to no good. His Loch Long story was a load of nonsense - and didn't do the diving industry any good. In fact I'll give you a tenner for every diver you find who believes the conger man's story." Also one of the divers who accompanied Mr Bell on his eel fated dive in Loch Long said the the ell story "seemed unlikely" and "He was laughed out of the park by everyone in the industry. He only gained sympathy from people not involved in diving." Even his ex diving partner Mike Nisbett had this to say  "I have nothing to say about Cameron Bell. I don't want to be associated with the man." So It looks like poor Cameron has had a hard time which ever way you look at it. Did he encounter an angery eel from the deep? Did he even get kidnapped? Well the only person who knows for sure is Cameron Bell himself........ +

[the-curious-fortean]

"The Last Time You Was My Mummy"

As my last post on reincarnation seemed so popular I thought id give you guys another offering. This time its not written by me but by Marie Bishop a freelance writer and paranormal researcher. It is a first hand account of some rather interesting things her son said to her about the last time she was his mummy......... Reincarnation. Think of the subject of reincarnation and you will already have an opinion in your mind about whether or not it happens. Religion and the opinion of your family may have moulded your opinion on the subject and yet google the subject and you will see many accounts that seem plausible.  Here is an account of what I believe is reincarnation between myself and my young son. Bit of background. This conversation happened when my son was nearly 3, he had just started a playgroup in the weeks before this happened. As a child with Asperger’s he finds imaginative play very difficult, so I was happy to see him playing, even if at home the children seemed to be imaginary. While cleaning his bedroom I could hear him chatting away quite happily in the spare room next door. I went in and he was animatedly talking to these ‘friends’ when I asked him who he was talking to he said in a clear voice “Nathanial and Emily” Racking my brains I tried to think if any of the children’s names at his playschool were called this, Emily was a possibility but Nathanial was a bit old fashioned. “Are Nathanial and Emily your friends from school?” I asked, he shook his head and turned to look at me. “No, Remember when I used to go to that other school, the tall red building. I used to go in the carriage at the back of the horse.” I remember looking at him puzzled, and then he added “You know, last time you was my mummy” He said with such a sure look on his face, as if he was shocked that I didn’t know. My son had never been to any other school, he was three!! And the school he was in was a single level prefab. I tried to ask him more but he just continued chattering away, and wouldn’t tell me anything else.I have no idea how he knew this, or the words to describe it.Even now the words:“You know, last time you was my mummy” still sends a shiver down my spine. My son is 16 now and doesn’t remember any of this, although he is fascinated. I would say that children may very well be unaware that what they are saying is anything other than ordinary, why would it be wrong to talk about something that you believe is the truth? I’m not sure if this is just a reincarnation situation, he was also talking to the children as if they were there, but it still for me remains one of the strangest things I have ever experienced.

[the-curious-fortean]

A Curious Case of Reincarnation

First of all I'd like to thanks my friends Pierre and Marie Bishop for so kindly sending me a link to this fascinating story. This in brief is the story of a young Middlesbrough man named Carl Edon who, in 1995 was brutally slain aged just 22 by his work mate Gary Vinter. Both men were walking home from work one evening when Vinter set upon Carl in a vicious attack. Vinter ended up violently stabbing Carl 37 times hitting every organ in his body. But it is not Carl's tragic death that will be the focus of this article, well not exactly. As a youngster of just 3 years old Carl grew up telling his parents stories of striking memories of a former life. He claimed through out his life that in a previous existance he was a member of the Luftwaffe, the German air force, and that whilst in action over Middlesbrough he had been shot down and killed in the course of his duties.Carl even claimed that  his right legs was lost in the crash.  Naturally, as you will imagine Carl's parents were very skeptical of these fanciful yet astonishing claims, in fact his Dad told a local paper the he got "sick of Carl going on about it". But it was only when Carl started to get taunted at school that he spoke less about his supposed reincarnation. Then in 1997, two years after Carl's death. The wreckage of a German bomber was discovered just a few hundreds yards away from where Carl was killed. Contain within the wreckage was the earthly remains  of an unfortunate airman who died when the plane (a Dornier Bomber) crashed after being damaged by anti-craft fire and colliding with a barrage balloon. The Body of the airman was later identified as Heinrich Richter a turret gunner. Now this is were things get really interesting. Carl always said that he when his previous self was shot down he had lost his leg in the crash and, he did in fact have a birthmark at the top of the leg he siad he had lost in his previous life. Birthmarks it seems are a common factor in cases of reincarnation and many people claim they relate to physical trauma received in their past lives. But in what some may say is more than just mere coincidence the body of Heinrich was found to have had its leg detached in the crash, the leg was found apart fron the body still wearing a boot.  But of course this could all just be a very strange coincidence and after all, so far in this tale there is no real connection between the airman and Carl, and it would have remained that way were it not for some research by local historian Bill Norman who, after a lot of hard work traced the family of Heinrich Richter and managed to obtain a photograph of the airman. When the two photos are compared there is, I think a striking similarity between the two men. On seeing the photos Carl's Mother Val is reported to have said "Its got to be him. The resemblance across the eyes and the nose is just uncanny."

But the strangeness dose not stop there. On the night that Carl (a railway worker) was murdered he had been collecting railway carriages from Skinningrove near the east coast before returning to Middlesbrough where he met his end at the hands of Vinter.  Heinrich and his crew had bombed Skinningrove before using the railway line to navigate their way towards Middlesbrough where as we know they met their end also. So are Heinrich and Carl one and the same? Is this proof positive of reincarnation? Well I'm sure there will be folks that read this who will say yes. Also there will be those that will acknowledge the obvious coincidences but will say that they are just that, coincidences, pure fluke. Me I'm not sure where I stand, I don't think that this story alone proves that reincarnation is fact, I think its a bloody interesting tale and maybe together with all the other stories out there it might help add some weight to the claims that just like Pacman we get more than one life.  

[the-curious-fortean]

Robot Vacum Really Sucks

For those of us who hate house work and like to enjoy a life of leisure there can be no better house hold appliance then the robot vacuum. The machine will make its way around your house unaided by a human hand hovering up those evil dust bunnies with out you even lifting a finger. But what happens when those machines start to fight back? Well one 52 year old woman from South Korea found out first hand what its like to feel the wrath of a once subservient robot. The woman named Yoon was, for reasons best known to herself, indulging in a nap on the floor whilst her robot vacuum cleaner was working hard on her behalf. At some point during its duty the machine decided that her hair was either good to eat or that it resembled dust and it ingested said hair and refused to let go. Yoon was unable to remove her hair from the bot and was forced to call the emergency services to help free her.

Four emergency works from Changwon city fire department arrived and after half an hour managed to free Yoon from the savage jaws of the hoover gone bad. Luckily she managed to escape any serious or permanent injury. The fire depart said of the incident  "This case was quite special. We had seen weird things, but this was a very weird call that we received." The fate of the hoover is unknown. For the full story do the clicky thing here

[the-curious-fortean]

Haunted Macbook for sale on Ebay (or a fool and his money)

So over the years ive been looking into the world of the odd and strange ive heard about many haunted items, dolls, mirrors and sea chests to name just a few. But a haunted Macbook just about tops them all and you've guessed it folks its for sale on Ebay. The owner who goes by the Ebay user name of Wfatzinger lists the item as follows:

2007 HAUNTED Apple MacBook Laptop Computer

You are bidding on a white, haunted, 13inch 2007 MacBook. There are some small cracks near the front (see photos.) The computer works just fine and comes with OS X 10.6.8. This is a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. The computer works great and may also be haunted by a ghost or specter. (Computer is NOT haunted by a demon or “devil man” negative entity.)

It’s unclear just how this laptop came to be haunted, but I 90% bet it was the time I left it in a graveyard next to an abandoned mental hospital all night by accident. I was doing some sketches in the graveyard (I’m an amateur sketch artist) and I brought the computer with me to play some music while I honed my craft. Anyway, I woke up the next morning and realized I’d forgotten the dang thing there in the graveyard!

I found (much to my relief) that the computer was just where I had left it, propped open and still playing a Beethoven song I like. The speakers on this machine put out a lot of bass for being so small.

How do I "know" the computer is haunted?

Well, I took the computer home (still in perfect working condition) and, folks, this is when things started to get downright weird. First, I noticed that ALL of my songs in iTunes had become scary or haunted. Second, the desktop background was changed to a scary photo. The following week, we (my wife, Barbie, and I) noticed some of our stuff around the house had been mysteriously rearranged. One night, we went out to dinner with my wife’s parents and their friends and some people from my wife’s work and some of their parents. When we came home, my baseball cards were all out of order and my wife’s rare American coins were in total disarray. To make matters spookier, I occasionally saw the computer levitating. In some cases the screen and keyboard would open and shut quickly, as though the computer were attempting to speak.

Evidence of Spirit World Activity

Notable Facts: Not only was there a full moon on the night I left the laptop in the graveyard, but there were also reports of an eerie green fog in the area, which people said caused them to feel a sense of intense nostalgia. I later read that there was an anomalous electrical storm near that selfsame evening. Furthermore, there were police reports of a terrifying old crone capering through a contiguous neighborhood, setting trash cans ablaze and chanting incantations or curses, laughing and shrieking and brandishing a sharpened axe with a pentagram carved into the hilt. I’m NOT a computer expert, so I’m not sure which of these anomalous entities might have precipitated the haunting, but I thought it best to include all here.

Effects of Haunting

It was about a week later that the computer began to compose messages. You probably think the computer opened up a word doc and started tip-tap-typing away all by itself like some kind of 21st century player piano. No, friends. The way he communicates with us is by grasping a pen between the keyboard and monitor and writing on pieces of printer paper from our home office. (See photo.) As such, I am given to believe that this ghost may have lived in a time before computers, for he appears to be quite unaware of the purpose of the machine he inhabits.

Attempts to “Cleanse” the Spirit

Even though the computer was working just fine (there’s plenty of RAM for most things you’re going to want to do), I decided to take it to the computer store to get it checked out. The so-called “geniuses” behind the counter were unable to help me with my problem. I showed them the written notes from the ghost, as well as some of my own sketches. Not only had they "never seen anything like it," but they soon asked me to leave and even had me escorted off the premises by a security guard! How’s that for hospitality?

Exiting the computer store (without a security guard escort thank-you very much!) I noticed a neon sign on the far end of the shopping plaza. A psychic medium! What a fortuitous coincidence. Perhaps the medium could help me interpret the ghost’s deranged spectral transmissions, I thought. So, I took the laptop in and Madame Magnifique Capacité de l'esprit examined it. She placed it in the center of her table and had me sit across from her. We held hands as she recited a special psychic's poem. The lights flickered and some scary music played on hidden speakers. When that was over, she said “I believe this computer is haunted.”

She sold me some special (and expensive!) incense to burn around the computer just before bedtime. She suggested I sing to the computer. It sounds weird, but this seemed to help at least pacify the tormented soul. The computer remains haunted, but he became more peaceful and even helpful at times. This first became apparent when I came home from getting a massage and noticed that the computer had vacuumed the den. He even wrote me a note telling me that he loved me.

A week later, I thought to go back to the psychic and ask her to sign a “Certificate of Haunting” I drafted up in Microsoft Office, thus providing legal “proof of haunting.” However, when I returned to the shopping plaza I found Madame’s storefront… had vanished! In its place I found a store that sold leather cell phone holsters. What crummy luck! The guy who worked there gave me no information about Madame’s whereabouts and, after listening to my whole sob-story about the haunted computer, gave me a good deal on a black leather holster with an embossed image of Yosemite Sam on the front. It’s great because it fits on my belt and I won’t have to dig around in my pockets for my cell phone anymore. 

Benefits of Haunting

After all this rigmarole, I have to say, this ghost has been a source for good in my life and I am sure will make a welcome addition to your family, too. Whether he was giving me a hand cleaning the garage, helping my son (Thames) perform a rap song at a middle school talent show, or acting as a crucial sounding board when Barb and I had that rough patch last autumn, this ghost has been a rock solid friend and constant companion. I don’t know if he’ll ever be freed from the corporeal bonds of this perfectly adequate, if a bit worn, 2007 Apple MacBook with 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, but either way his friendship has been invaluable and he continues to run OS 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) just fine, if a bit slow by the standards of more current computers.

The laptop works great. We just need to clear out space around the house and decided to get rid of this (haunted) laptop. Sorry, but the unit is missing the power cord and I no longer have the OS X CD. There are some minor scratches on the exterior. Selling As-Is. Seller takes no responsibility for consequences of ghost-related haunting, negative or positive.

Items Included

Certificate of Haunting (I’ve signed the document, imagining what Madame’s signature might look like, had she signed it)

Haunted Music (in iTunes)

Ghostly Photos (In folder on desktop)

Several Edgar Allan Poe stories pasted into text docs on the desktop 

Collected Ghostly Writings from the ghost with a pen and paper

Some of my better sketches (of graves)

[the-curious-fortean]

Teenage Mutant Ningen Cryptids

Ningen in the Japanese language literally means human, but whats in a name? Well the word doesn't go far in explaining this mysterious sea creature at all. The Ningen is a cryptid that has been reported in the frigged seas of the Antarctic as well as the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It is said to messure somewhere between 70 and 90 feet in length and, its waxy pigmented slightly bulbous form is said to be practically humanoid . It is also reported by some to have five fingers on the end of each of its arm like appendages, and a mermaid like flipper instead of legs and feet. Its face is said to be blank save a flat mouth and eyes, which has got some researchers wondering if sightings could of been of an unknown type of giant ray. Although it is unknown exactly when fishermen were supposed to have started seeing these creatures of the deep but one of the first documented sightings was made by the crew of a Japanese whale research ship. They were on deck one evening observing what they first thought to be a submarine, whilst they were sailing in the Antarctic "researching" some poor whales. But as the object came closer they soon  realized from its inconsistent shape that it was in fact not a submarine but, some sort of living creature that soon disappeared beneath the icy waves. I think it can safely be assumed that if the researchers story is true then they would have been able to recognize such a large creature if it was something that was known by science to inhabit those waters. The story about the whale research ship  and the tales of the Ningen in general came to light around the turn of the 20th century via an online Japanese forum called 2Channel, slender man anyone? Then in 2007 a story ran in a popular paranormal magazine called Mu from the same country. The article in Mu even displayed what they claimed was a picture of the creature taken from  google earth. Make of that what you will.....

There have also been rumors bouncing around the internet that the crew of the research ship managed to take some photos of the creature but they were suppressed by the Japaneses government who had taken an interest in it. Of course after Mu published the article there was a rush of sightings reported but im unsure as to how many of them actually carried any weight to them. Sadly unlike lake or land cryptids monsters from the deep are seldom reported and are generally out of reach to the average researcher. But if anyone would like to charter me a good ship with a fine crew then id be up for going to have a look arrr shiver me timers pieces of eight and other pirate like sayings...

[the-curious-fortean]

Light In The Sky Over Loch Lomond

A video of a strange light in the skies Near Loch lomond was uploaded to youtube a week ago and it seems it has caused a little stir online. Tom Hall who captured the video said he dosnt belevie it to be a plan, helicopter or chinesse lantern, he went on to say the object didnt make any sound.  A lot of people on line are suggestion it might be the planet Venus but as my knowledge of the stars is relatively limited I couldnt really comment with any certainty. I do know that Venus dose sit low in the sky at certain times of the year and is often misstaken for a UFO. What do you guys think?

[the-curious-fortean]

Bodies Left In Abandoned Crematorium

Well here is a story from the Metro's website that should satisfy those of you with a morbid disposition.............. A sickening discovery was made a few days ago at a crematorium that has been abandoned for around a year after the owner went missing leaving debts and unpaid taxes. The badly decomposing  bodies of men, women and even children were found dumped and covered in  lime to try and mask the smell. But it was the smell that eventually raised the suspicions of people living near by and they contacted the authorities. On inspection the corpes were perfectly embalmed and wrapped in white sheets, many of which were covered in a brown liquid that had seeped from them over time. The grisly full story can be found here

[the-curious-fortean]

The Rougarou

Deep down Louisiana close to New Orleans, Way back up in the woods among the evergreens, you may hear stories from the locals about a creature they call the Rougarou. The story of the Rougarou has its folklore roots in Europe and Medieval France in particular where belief in the werewolf was common place and rural communities were even in the habit of employing werewolf hunters to rid them of the unwanted murderous creatures. It is thought that these legends then followed French settlers over to the swamps of Louisiana and became rooted into local culture. Or, perhaps it was more than mere legends that followed the settlers over to the new world.

This Cajun cryptid is described as having the head of a wolf and the body of a man, glowing red eyes with long fingers and claws and of course very large sharp teeth, all the better to eat you with my dear. Legend has it that if your are unfortunate enough to have been bitten by or stare into the eyes of a  Rougarou then you are destined to become one yourself, much like the werewolf legends of Europe.  Thankfully if you do find yourself transformed into a  dog headed man or woman you can reverse the curse by  not reviling to anyone for a year and a day that you have been afflicted by a bad case of lycanthropoticitus. If you should manage this then you and the person who changed you will be returned to normal. Personally Im not sure I could manage to keep my trap shut if I turned into a werewolf type creature, Im positive id either spill the beans after a few pints down the local and then eat the landlord thusly expunging my bar tab or at the very least just blog about it. Legend also speaks of a rather ingenious way to stop the Rugarou from entering into your house. It is a simple process of placing 13 small objects in the door ways and windows of your house. For some reason the Rougarou will feel compelled to count them, but as the Rougarou can not count past twelve he will be forced to start again and again until dawn breaks, when tradition dictates he has to return to the swamps. The Rougarou dose has its usfull and unwittingly benevolent side, for the stories have been used for many generations to frighten children away from the swamps which, as you can imagain are a dangerous play ground for them. As with most cryptids or zooform phenomena there is of course little evidence of any value but reports keep coming in of dogheaded or werewolf type creatures not just from the Louisiana swamps but from around the world. Are they all misidentification or fraud?  But maybe and just maybe there could be a grain of truth to the stories, no matter how unbelievable . Sighting of werewolves and wildmen with the heads of dogs have endured through out the ages and continue to this day. Just imagine if you will what it would mean if just one of the stories are true. The idea that strange half man half wolf creatures stalk the night has fascinated and frightened us since pre Christian times and will probably continue to do so for ever more.  

[the-curious-fortean]

Giant Guinea Pig

Meet Josephoartigasia monesi an extinct giant rodent that roamed the earth around 30 million years ago in what is now South America. The chisel toothed over grown Guinea Pig was the size of a bull and weighed in at a hefty 2200lbs making it the largest Rodent to have ever walked the planet.

Its fossilised skull was first discovered back in 1987 on a beach in Uruguay but it was nearly 20 years later that the creature was first described by science. It is thought that it used its massive 12 inch incisors to root through the earth in much the same way an elephant uses its tusks and of course they would of made a formidable defence. Im sure this is one Rodent that would make short work of your skirting board.

[the-curious-fortean]

Mother And Daughter Arested for Arson After Using Quija Board.

A mother and daughter have been arrested for arson in County Durham after a strange set of events involving the use of a quija board. Margaret Carroll 60 and her daughter Katrina Livingstone 37 were both nicked after a mysterious fire ripped through their home reports the metro. Aparently the two women were using a quija board to contact the spirit of their dog that died around Christmas after being drowned by Margarets husband, who had originally claimed the animal somehow died after a previous quija session. During the two women's session they received a message saying that they would die shortly before there house was consumed by flames. The full story can be found here

[the-curious-fortean]

A Few Cornish Mysteries Part Two

A Few Cornish Mysteries Part Two

As I promised a little while ago here is the second part of my blog  about a few places I visited when I was last down in magical Cornwall  visiting dear friends and family, a link to part one can be found HERE. Now we move on to everyones favourite winged zooform the Owlman of Mawnan. Sunday was the day we were due to return to the city, and over a good breakfast we decided that a little detour to visit the scene of the Owlman sightings in Mawnan would be a good idea. Mawnan is a small village near the coast, not to far away from Falmouth. So once more we made our way around small winding Cornish lanes and in just under an hour  I was parking the car outside the Church where the creature was first spotted. The area around Mawnan has certainly been in use since the Iron Age and some claim that the church itself was built on a prehistoric site of some sort but so far I can find no evidence to support this. The village was possibly named after St  Maunanus who im lead to believe was a Breton monk who came over from France in around AD 520. There are three churches in the area but the one that concerns us is the 13th century church of St Stephens for that is where the owlman was first seen.

It all started in April 1976, a year that would go on to see an exceedingly hot and dry summer as well as plagues of ladybirds. A paranormal researcher, street performer and loveable rogue who went by the name of Doc Shiels (and also self proclaimed  wizard of the Weston World) was approached by a gentleman called Don Melling, who had been enjoying a holiday in the area. On the day in question Doc had been busking with his street theatre group at a street fair in the small town of Penryn, when as Doc puts it a "worried looking man" (Don) came up to him after  locals told him of Docs involvement with certain other paranormal instances in the area, and recounted to him the following tale. Don, his wife and their two daughters June 12 and Vicky 19 decided that on April 17 1976 they would enjoy a picnic in the woods near Mawnan. The children ran off to play amongst the grave stones in the near by St Stephens church yard whilst their mum and dad prepared their food. It was then that the Owlman made his first terrifying appearance. The girls whilst playing said they heard a "funny noise" and saw a large "birdman" hovering over the tower of the church. Naturally the girls fled back to where they had left their parents and their terror was enough to convince their mum and dad to cut short the picnic and return to the campsite where they had been staying, and sadly the Melling family where so shaken by what the girls had experienced that they cut short their holiday and returned home to Lancaster. June and Vicky's sighting was to be only the start of the Owlman mystery and it wasn't long before a report came in of another occurrence involving the feathered beast. Just two months later on July 3 two more girls had an encounter with the creature. Sally Chapman and Barbara Perry (both aged 14) where camping together in the woods near the infamous church when they witnessed the creature outside of their tent, Sally said it was "Like a big owl with pointed ears, as big as a man. The eyes were red and glowing. At first, I thought that it was someone dressed up and playing a joke, trying to scare us. I laughed at it. We both did, then it went up in the air and we both screamed. When it went up you could see its feet were like pincers." This incident again was reported directly to Doc Shiels and it must be mentioned that the girls had read a pamphlet about the original sighting, and even Shiels admitted that they may have been making up their story. The next sighting was uncovered by  Jon Downes, who is founder and director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology. This time we fast forward to 1989  when an individual called Gavin got in touch with Downes and claimed when interviewed that he and his girlfriend saw a creature with glowing eyes around five feet tall around the area of the other sightings. Gavin told Downes that he was 12 years old at the time of the sighting  and was holidaying with his girlfriend Sally also 12 and her parents. One particular evening the young couple were taking a walk along the wooded path that leads from Mawnan church to the coastal path. As it was getting dark the pair were using pocket torches that they had brought along with them in anticipation of bring out past dark. With Gavins torch lighting the way Sally let the beam from her dance in the branches of the trees until she caught sight something on a branch in front of them. The creature is described as being about five feet tall, "the legs had high ankles and the feet were large and black with two huge toes on the visable side. The creature was grey with brown, and the eyes definitely glowed. On seeing us, its head jerked down and forwards, its wings lifted and it just jumped backwards. As it did its legs folded up. We ran away." So what is the Owlman of Mawnan, is he a work of fiction that was created by the first two girls or was Doc Shiels responsible for spinning a tall tale, it wouldn't take you long dear reader to find several articles on the internet that would certainly point towards him being able to concoct such a story and his credibility has been called into question on more than one occasion. But if the stories are not inventions then what? Perhaps each sighting has been a misidentified creature, perhaps a real owl, zoologist and cryptozoologist Karl Shuker at least seems to think so and he suggests that an eagle owl would be the most likely culprit from some of the descriptions given. Although rare in the uk and technically non-native they have from time to time been spotted, in fact there are reports of a few breeding pairs in scotland, at the time of writing, but these are rumoured to be captive birds that have been released for reasons unknown and certainly not through official channels. So aside from the possibility that the sightings of the Owlman relate to an actual owl, what are the other suggestions? Well of course perhaps the wittnesses did see a beast that was a mixture of humanoid and owl in its form. It has been suggested that the owlman is some sort of paranormal entity that guards the area of the old pagan site that predated the church but as I remarked erlier there is no hard evidence of a prehistoric site on this spot that I have found although thats not to say there never was. There are legends around a lot of prehistoric sites that tell of supernatural creatures or monsters that or the areas guardians. In fact in part one of this post I mentioned the Piskie that is meant to dwell near the stones at Men an Tol and cure peoples ills, a very benevolent entity in comparison to the fear inducing Owlman. Fact or fabrication will be up to you to decide upon yourself but either way it sure is a great story set in one of the most beautiful parts of the country and I urge you to visit the little church in Mawnan for yourself and take a little walk through the woods and who knows what you might meet there on a dark Cornish night. If you are interested in finding out more about the Owlman then I can recommend the very well researched and written book by Jon Downes The Owlman & Others it is a great read and will tell you all there is to know on the subject as well as various other mysteries. It was unfortunate that I was not able to spend much more than half an hour in Mawnan before we had to be on our way again. I would of liked to spend the night in the woods to see if the creature would appear and who knows maybe  during the two weeks of British summer I may return and see what I can find. I will of course to you all about it!

[the-curious-fortean]

Heavy Smoker Back From The Dead

Guo Liu 45 from the eastern Chinese province of Hubei, was a two pack a day smoker who whilst out having a drink with friends collapsed and later died after picking up a cigarette that he had dropped reports the Metro. His friend Bo Ko said "We had been having a few dirnks and of course Liu had been smoking when he dropped one of the cigarettes on the ground. But when he bent down to pick it up he suddenly fell over unconscious. At First we thought he was fooling around as he can be a it of a joker. But the we realised he wasnt breathing and phoned for an ambulance." The Metro goes on to report that after three month Guo's wife Qing Mai 40, was contacted by the hospital to say that her husband had died.But durring the preperations for the funeral friends and family heard him wheezing and they say he had tears in his eyes. They quickly got him back to the hospital and into intensive care. A spokesman for the hospital is quoted as saying "I have never seen anything like this before. He will now be kept under constant observation until he recovers fully and we will then be able to assess just how bad the brain damage is. It is likely the his speech , memories and mobility will be severely affected though." Hmmmm anyone seen my smokes?

[the-curious-fortean]

UFOs once more over Rendlesham?

Rendlesham Forest and the USAF base that adjoined it was, in late December 1980 at thecenter of a UFO mystery that has been called Britains Roswell and still captures the interest of ufologists to this day. But strange lights in the sky have once more been seen over the skies at Rendelsham and have been caught on camera by George Taylor, who was out walking his dog in the area of the forest on Sunday 25th of January. He up loaded his footage to youtube saying  that he "Spotted three balls of light in the sky yesterday afternoon whilst walking around Rendlesham Forest and couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Had a very weird feeling that I shouldn’t have been there." Personally the lights could be easily be from aircraft behind the clouds as the helicopter shown in the video looked like it could of been on some sort of manoovers, or perhaps it was sent to intercept or investigate the lights? What are your thoughts folks?

Do the clicky thing HERE for the full story

[the-curious-fortean]

Zombie Moggy Back From The Dead..........

Bart the cat was written off as dead by a vets in Tampa Florida after a run in with a car. But five days after being buried the cat turned up at home looking like he had used more than his allotted nine lives.

The sad looking kitty had lost and eye and had suffered head trauma but had seemingly clawed its was out of what was meant to be his final resting place and returned home for some TLC and hopeful a full recovery. For the full story click HERE

[the-curious-fortean]

Yowie Clipping from Jan 22 1980

You might have to zoom in a little on this one guys. Taken from the papr The Age Jan 22 1980