THE JAPANESE TSUNAMI DISASTER - REPLAYED BY GHOSTS

The remains of Ishinomaki

A year after whole neighbourhoods full of people were killed by the Japanese tsunami, rumours of ghosts swirl in Ishinomaki as the city struggles to come to terms with the awful tragedy.

One reconstruction project appears stalled because of fears the undead spirits of those who perished last March will bring bad luck.

“I heard people working to repair the store became sick because of ghosts,” Satoshi Abe, 64, said, gesturing to a half-repaired supermarket.

“People died everywhere, here and there. The city is full of such stories,” he said.

In some parts of this once vibrant fishing port, signs of life are returning - houses are being rebuilt, businesses are re-opening and children are back at school.

But with around a fifth of the 19 000 who died across the northeast having lost their lives in this small city alone, few think it can ever be normal again.
iol pic wld japan tsunami Ishinomaki

Yuko Sugimoto, wrapped in a blanket, stands in front of a pile of debris caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki.


Shinichi Sasaki said the memory of March 11, 2011 never leaves and it is this persistent memory that creates the “ghosts”.

“That day keeps coming back to your mind,” he said.

“If you know someone who was killed, and the death was so sudden, you may feel that person is still there. I don't believe in ghosts but I can understand why the town is rife with rumours.”

One taxi driver, who did not want to give his name, told AFP of his unwillingness to stop in parts of the city that were all but wiped out by the enormous waves of last March, because he worries that his customer will be a spirit.

A woman who lives in the city said she had heard stories of queues of people who can be seen rushing towards the hills as they try again and again to escape the waves, an endless replay of their last, fruitless minutes.

Counselors and academics say a widespread belief in ghosts is fairly normal in the aftermath of a large tragedy and forms a part of the healing process in a society.

Cultural anthropologist Takeo Funabiki said it was only “natural” that stories of the supernatural abounded in the wake of such an event.

“Human beings find it very difficult to accept death, whether they are inclined by nature to superstition or are very scientifically minded,” he told AFP.

“A sudden or abnormal death, anything other than someone dying in bed of old age, is particularly difficult for people to comprehend.

“When there are things that many people find difficult to accept, they can find expression in the form of rumours or rituals for the dead, amongst other things.

“The point is that it takes the shape of something that you can share with other people in your society,” he said.

For some of those who lost loved ones, the traditions that usually accompany death in Japan have served their purpose.

Shinto priests have been called upon to console the souls of the dead and ease their passage into the next world before they purify the places their bodies were found.

At the Buddhist festival of Obon in mid summer, offerings were made at altars as those left behind readied to welcome back the spirits of lost loved ones, who they believed would return to this world to visit for a few days.

But other people have struggled to make sense of their loss.

Koji Ikeda, a therapist and lecturer at the Academy of Counselors Japan, said “survivors have various complex emotions - fear, anxiety, sorrow or desire for the return of deceased people”.

“It is possible that a whole lot of emotions that people cannot fully cope with lead to 'projections' of spirits” he said.

“Pent-up emotions need to be expressed in order for people to be able to adapt to the new reality and move forward with their grief.”

While few in the city will talk openly of actually having seen a ghost, many are prepared to accept spirits could stalk the deserted streets.

Yuko Sugimoto says she is not particularly superstitious and has not seen any ghosts. But still she has no doubt they could be there among the shadows.

“Many people who were leading normal lives died suddenly,” she said. “I'm sure they must find that difficult to accept.

“It would be strange if you didn't hear anything about any of them.” - AFP

Source: iol.co.za

A TALE OF A HAUNTED BUS STOP

Stock Photo

A LONG-time driver who regularly passes the Dilke Hospital during the night has the shivers after encountering what he believes is a ghost…twice!

Not wishing to be identified in case his employers worry about his state of mind, the man says he is sure there is something supernatural about a figure waiting in the road by the bus stop at the Dilke side of the road – only to vanish when the kind-hearted driver offered him a lift into Cinderford.

The first time it happened 18 months ago, knowing no bus was due, he drew in to offer the man a lift. The half-past midnight encounter was unsettling.

“The shelter has windows and when I pulled up and looked out and there was nobody there at all, I wondered if it had just been a reflection in one of the glass panels,” he said.

But he looked all around and there was nobody in sight…

Putting the mystery to the back of his mind he had all but forgotten it until last Sunday, when the figure again appeared at the bus stop at around 7pm and he slowed down. Once again it had gone when he drew level. Once again, there was nobody at all in sight.

And thinking back to the earlier occasion, he remembered the figure had looked exactly the same and was even looking in the same direction on both occasions, as if waiting for somebody he knew.

The driver is so convinced that there is something odd about the encounters that he wonders if anyone knows of “something terrible” that happened at this spot many years ago.

“It might be quite some time ago, because everyone I have told about it says they have heard of nothing like that. And the bus stop itself must be fairly recent,” he said.

“Even the cemetery and crematorium over the road, the sort of place you might expect to have ghostly goings-on, only started in the 1950s.”

Source: ForestofDeanandWyeValleyReveiw

Road side ghosts are perhaps the most frequent of all urban ghost legends. They invariably are spirits of people who, for whatever reason have to be at a certain place, and generally after eliciting some information from them they disappear before arriving at their final destination. These stories are particularly prevalent in the UK and USA.

WHITNEY HOUSTON - ANOTHER CELEBRITY GHOST?

Whitney Houston

WHITNEY Houston’s distraught mum says she is being haunted by the ghost of her daughter.

Grieving Cissy Houston has handed friends and family a letter revealing how her doorbell has been ringing mysteriously since the day Whitney died.

But sad Cissy Houston, 78, insists that she is not scared and is taking comfort from the spirit.

Devout Christian Cissy believes Whitney’s ghost rang her doorbell the day she died.

Close friends of the family said last night Cissy is in danger of becoming “obsessed” with feelings that the songbird is still with her.

They warned it is a sign the frail grandmother-of-six is suffering from “uncontrollable grief and shock” that could spiral into a mental breakdown.

Cissy could not bring herself to speak at her daughter’s funeral held eight days ago.

Instead, she handed mourners a letter which told how she believes Whitney’s spirit called at her door the day her body was found.

Cissy also revealed in the heart-rending message how God tried to warn her that her daughter was going to die.

The Daily Star today prints the contents of her mum’s note for the first time.

Cissy wrote: “On Saturday, before I found out about your transition, my doorbell rang.

“I called the concierge to tell him someone was ringing my doorbell. He checked the cameras and told me that no-one was there.

“You promised me you were coming to spend time with me after the Grammys. I believe the spirits allowed you to come after all.”

Whitney, 48, was found dead in her bath at the Beverly Hilton hotel in LA on the eve of the Grammys after a suspected drugs and booze binge.

Cissy added in her note that she felt spirits were trying to tell her how the singer was suffering in the months before her death.

She wrote: “I never told you that when you were born the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long.

“For two months now I have been depressed, crying, lonesome and sad not knowing why.”

A pal of Cissy said last night: “She feels Whitney is with her since this doorbell-ringing episode. She constantly talks to her as if she is still a real presence with real power.”

Source: Daily Star

It seems that Whitney has joined the ranks of the `celebrity ghost` and like Amy Winehouse, will no doubt be making frequent appearances inside tabloid newspapers for the next few years. Why can`t the tabloid press leave her alone? Answer - She can make more money in death. R.I.P Whitney.

LARGE METAL SPHERE PLUNGES FROM SKY INTO BRAZILIAN VILLAGE

An unidentified metal sphere has plunged from the sky on unsuspecting villagers in northern Brazil, causing an uproar. According to eyewitnesses, the UFO weighs about 50 kilograms and measures roughly one meter in diameter.
The sphere fell on Wednesday in a village of Riacho dos Poços in Brazilian Maranhão state. No casualties were reported apart from an unfortunate cashew tree that was severed by the object as it plunged to the ground, according to MR Notícias, a Mata Roma news site.
Valdir José Mendes, 46, told police the sphere landed several meters from his house leaving a one-meter-deep hole in the yard.
"I heard the noise and I went out to see what caused it. I thought it was a plane that had fallen, or an earthquake," he said.
The noise was such that Mendes was too scared to go outside. However, curiosity got the better of him and he headed outside to find the cashew tree’s trunk snapped in half by a mysterious metal sphere lying in a hole nearby.

 

Some 20 villagers joined Mendes to help him extract the object from the ground and examine it. Mendes says the sphere is hollow and if shaken some sort of liquid can be felt swishing inside. Locals quickly spread the news, as they reached the town of Mata Roma over 2,000 people flocked to see the “UFO”.
"It was a huge uproar here. Some feared it was the beginning of the 2012 end of the world, others said it was ‘alien’, but I think it is a piece of satellite," said Max Garreto Mauro, 25, a resident of Mata Roma.
Peter Costa, the meteorologist at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), agrees with Garetto, saying the object would probably be part of a satellite. "I'm sure this is not a weather balloon or part of it," he said as quoted by O Imparcia.
Military police confiscated the sphere and took it to the barracks in the nearby Mata Roma. They have not specified what the UFO’s possible future will be. In a statement the Air Force Command said it "does not have specialized structures to perform scientific research on this type of aerial phenomena, which prevents the institution to submit an opinion on these events."

 In December 2011, a similar incident happened in Namibia, where a metal “Teletubby head” weighing 5.9 kilograms and measuring 35 centimeters in diameter hit the ground in the village of Omanatunga. Some Russian specialists believe the “head” was part of the third stage of the Soyuz-U rocket, launched on October 30.
Space debris stories made the headlines throughout 2011. In January, media chased the infamous Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt across five oceans to keep up with Russia’s space agency, constantly changing the possible impact location.
Earlier in October, the German Roentgen satellite split into 30 chunks, one of which weighed 400 kilograms, but those globs eventually made their way in to the Indian Ocean.
In September 2011, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite made headlines when it threatened to fall right onto Britain but eventually collapsed into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.

­Elena Ostroumova, RT

It looks like a piece of space junk from a redundant satellite or rocket, however to have survived entering the atmosphere and remaining in one piece after striking the earth is quite amazing. 

MAN BLAMES GHOSTHUNTING FOR PRESENCES IN HIS HOME

A COUPLE who say they are victims of a mysterious 10 year haunting say they want rid of what they believe are ghosts occupying their home.

Gerald and Julie Jones have lived at their semi-detached home for 31 years but began experiencing what they describe as paranormal activity a decade ago.

The house is modern, bright and not untypical of other homes in Llandudno Junction, having been built in the late 1960’s. Perched on a corner halfway down Narrow Lane in the shadow of the modern Welsh Government building, the house is neither an Edwardian manor or a 19th century townhouse you’d more likely associate with a traditional haunting.

But Gerald, a retired butcher, says strange goings-on over the years has caused him to fear the dark and says he constantly feels watched.

The couple say the haunting started around 2002, after their son Daniel, now 27, returned home from a ghost-hunting expedition with his then girlfriend.

Shortly after Gerald said one night he felt something ‘touch’ his shoulder when getting into bed and then reported seeing what he thought was a dark figure in his bedroom.

The unexplained activity gradually escalated from the pair reporting cold chills, flickering lights, electrical disturbances, objects falling over untouched to tablets and metal nails being thrown across the room.

Gerald, 60, said: “My son came back from a ghost hunting expedition around 2002. He and his girlfriend had taken pictures of what they told us were ‘orbs’.

“Shortly after my wife went to bed one night and I followed her. She was snuggled up asleep so I used to climb over her. As I did I felt someone rub my shoulder. I looked and my wife was asleep and there was nobody there.

“Things started falling over with no explanation, when it was impossible for them to do so without being knocked. One day I was sat in the lounge with my feet on the table and a tablet was thrown at me which had been on the table, it also happened when I was up a ladder doing DIY.”

The couple then began taking photographs randomly at points in the room and have since captured over 500 pictures of what they consider to be ‘orbs’.

Orbs are sometimes explained scientifically as camera light hitting particles of dust, pollen or even rain in the air.

However many paranormal investigators think orbs can also be suggestive of supernatural activity.

Now the couple say they just want rid of whatever they feel is in their home but say they don’t know where to turn.

“I can feel them in the air- I’ve become very interested in them now,” said Gerald.

“It all started when my son went to the ghost expedition, I don’t know if something has followed him back. I get shivers down my back. If someone could come and bless the house or if somebody has got experience in dealing with ghosts, we want help. We want to know what they want.

“I’m scared, I feel ‘they’ are always behind me, it is that feeling of being watched. It’s been going on for years and I would like it stopped.”
Source: NorthWalesWeekly

MEAT LOAF ADMITS HE TALKS TO SPIRIT

The rocker revealed that not only does he believe in spirits, but has actually seen and communicated with more than a few.

The musician is currently promoting his latest album Hell in a Handbasket and recalled a number of ghostly occurrences.

"I believe there's something when you die because there are ghosts. I've seen them, I've been around them," he told Shortlist magazine. "Some are just energy left behind, and some are intelligent. I've had conversations with them using a K2 meter, which lets them answer 'yes' or 'no'.

I chased one across the room once. And when we were making Bat Out of Hell I saw a blonde girl in a white dress. I went downstairs and told the guys, 'There's a groupie up on the balcony,' and they go, 'How would she get up there?' Everybody went up and no one was there."

Meat Loaf is not a stereotypical rock star.

While he dabbled with drugs in the 1960s, he was never as wild as some of his contemporaries.

"I never was Steve Tyler or Ozzy [Osbourne]. I tried drugs, but I don't really drink. I get horrific stage fright, so I have a shot of tequila to calm my nerves, but that's three hours before I go on. I despise the taste of beer. I don't like vodka, don't like Scotch. Champagne makes me want to gag. I've never been that clichéd rocker," he said. "Groupies cursed at me because I wouldn't take them home. I'd go, 'I can't do it,' and they'd go, 'Well f**k you then.' I don't have many wild stories from the 70s or 80s. The 60s, though, were crazy. I did acid and hung around everybody like Hendrix, Daltrey, Joplin, The Dead."

Source: BelfastTelegraph

THE HAG OF FELSTED - A MODERN TWIST TO A WITCHING PAST?

Click to enlarge

 In the Essex village of Felsted, stands a famous public school and a few relics of it`s ancient past.

One famous historic icon is Boote House, a rather grand old timber framed dwelling built by a local builder named George Boote. The building stands opposite the church and guildhall and is now a restaurant.
George apparently was so pleased with his workmanship that he carved his own name on the building which reads: `George Boote made this house:1596`.

There are a few other adornments attached to the building and an unusual carving of a lady - naked save for a chastity belt or girdle that surrounds her. Even odder is that this lady has cloven feet.

Click to enlarge

An unlikely legend says that the lady may have been George`s wife, unfortunately history spares us further details. But in truth, the effigy could well have been Felsted`s only convicted witch who was tried and found guilty barely three years earlier. It would hardly have been prudent of George in this sensitive time to have placed a naked effigy with cloven feet of his wife.

Witchcraft in the 16th and 17th century was a major social and political issue to the largely ignorant peasant population, and during this period many innocent women were sent to the gallows because of accusations made by others that attested to their presumed guilt.

Referring to records of this period it is shown that in 1593 Alice Alberte of Felsted was tried at the Essex Assize in Chelmsford of this very crime.

The official record reads:  `Indictment of Alice Alberte of Felsted spinster, 25 July 34 Eliz., there bewitched twenty-two sheep worth £5, a cow worth 40s., a calf worth 8s. and a pig worth 8s., belonging to Roger Wood. Pleads not guilty; (found) guilty; judgement according to the form of the Statute`. Her punishment was to be hung.
 

Click to enlarge

Could this effigy have been placed as a warning to witches by George Boote, and if so, could his home have been in or near the site where such nefarious crimes were alleged to have occurred three years earlier?

Until recently I would have believed all of this to be merely a sad reflection of mankind`s superstitious past, until the day I visited Felsted to film inside the nearby church with further scenes shot from the road opposite George`s old home.

Here is a video extract from that visit, and you will clearly hear a `demonic` sounding voice speaking with clarity in a tongue not known to modern man.

GHOST CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT KINGSGATE CASTLE?

Is this the ghost of a 1950`s nurse or a nun?

Source: ThanetExtra

An artist has asked Thanet Extra readers to help him solve a spooky mystery.

Malcolm Baker contacted us after a spotting a figure dressed in white on a photo he took of Kingsgate Castle in Broadstairs.

The figure is standing looking out to sea, close to chalets below the castle in Kingsgate Bay Road, on a day when Mr Baker insists there were very few people around.

He is convinced the figure is that of a nurse in 1950s uniform, carrying a tray, although there have been reports of a ghostly nun, also dressed in white, on the beach below.

Mr Baker said: “There might be a totally innocent explanation, but it was very strange.

“It was a really horrible cold and wet day in December 2010, and I went to take the photos as I wanted to paint a picture of the castle.

“I made a note of the fact that there was no-one around at all because of the weather.

“I took three photos in very quick succession and the figure only appears in one.

“If it had been someone standing outside the chalets, especially dressed in bright white clothing at that time of year, I am in no doubt I would have noticed, even if it was briefly.

“I didn’t see anyone at the time, it was only recently when I got the photos out to start on the painting again.

“There is a fence near the chalets but it appears that the figure is further forward.”

The Thanet Extra asked a professional photographer to verify the image, and she confirmed that the three photos were taken less than two minutes apart.

Coincidentally, musician Dan Smith from Margate contacted the Thanet Extra in October last year to ask if we had heard any rumours about ghosts in the area.

He had been on the beach shortly after sunrise, writing a song.
When he looked up, he saw a nun dressed in white approximately 200 yards away.

Before he had chance to tell the friend he was with, the nun disappeared. A BBC drama, Whistle And I’ll Come To You, which featured John Hurt being haunted by a figure in white, was filmed at the beach in October 2010 and screened over Christmas that year, but neither of these sightings coincide with the filming dates.

The original photograph showing a figure near the cliff

History:

Kingsgate Castle on the cliffs above Kingsgate Bay, Broadstairs, Kent was built for Lord Holland (Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland) in the 1760s. The name Kingsgate is related to an incidental landing of Charles II on 30 June 1683 ("gate" referring to a cliff-gap) though other English monarchs have also used this cove, such as George II in 1748. The building was later the residence of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury.
The building has now been converted into 31 flats. (Source: Wikipedia)

 

SIGHTINGS OF A LARGE BLACK PUMA LIKE CAT IN CUMBRIA

The Puma - Adapted to the British countryside

Cumbria in England is mostly a county of peaks and lakes. It is a wild and rugged area with many forests and hill farming is generally the main agricultural income.

So hearing reports of black cats like puma`s is something that does not surprise me in the least.
In parts of England the Australian wallaby has established itself in the wild, and Cumbria would be a natural landscape for large carnivores like big cats.

Most people assume they attack sheep for food, but cats are notoriously shy, and tend to steer well clear of human activity and can eat a range of wild animals to supplement their diet such as wild deer, foxes and rabbits. Killing sheep is normally a last reserve unless they are hungry and their normal prey is unavailable.


In October 2009 a large puma-like creature was reported to be prowling on waste-ground near Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary,although witnessed by a number of people, police were unable to track it.
Staff working at the city’s dental centre were mesmerised by the sight of the animal, which they described as being black and distinctly feline, but as long and as large as an Alsatian dog.


Nothing further was heard of this creature until Wednesday 15th February 2012 when a bus driver spotted what he believes may have been a large black panther in a field a few miles north of Carlisle.

 Steve Allison, from Firlands, Stanwix, said: “I was driving towards Rockcliffe, about half a mile away from the village, down a section of road that turns to the right and I suddenly saw this thing in the field right ahead.
“It was lying down, and it certainly wasn’t a small animal. When it heard the bus it stood up, startled, and stared for a moment, and then sprinted off towards the end of the field.
“Absolutely everything about it was feline. Its black tail was curled, and if I’d been next to it would have come up past my knees in height. Its coat was black and shiny. I obviously startled it. Afterwards, you start to question yourself, but I know what I saw.
“At the time, my feeling was more one of fascination, but there was no way I would have got off the bus.”

On Tuesday 21st February 2012, the `News and Star` of Cumbria reported a further sighting by another witness and the newspaper report reads:

 Jeni Banks had driven along Eastern Way in Carlisle on her way back home to Wetheral hundreds of times and she had no reason to think this journey would be anything other than normal.
Then, in the gloom, she saw something moving, a creature of some kind, ambling across the road ahead of her.

To the left of the road were houses and beyond the pavement to the right was an area of woodland.
“It wasn’t quite dark, but it was gloomy enough for me to need my sidelights on,” explained Jeni, a 26-year-old businesswoman.
“I remember thinking to myself that it looked like a big black Labrador because of its size but as my car drew level with it I looked again.”
For a few fleeting seconds, Jeni stared in disbelief as the creature stood at the roadside, its head turned back towards her approaching car.
Its eyes gleamed in the headlights, and Jeni took in the creature’s size and shape: its elongated black body, and its long curling tail.

“I saw it as clear as anything,” said Jeni, obviously still fascinated by the memory of the creature, which vanished into the woodland. I was within 20ft of it, and when I saw it I was in shock.
“It was a big cat, right here in Carlisle, beside the road. It was surreal.
“There were no other cars around but I know what I saw. When I got to Tesco I called in for some shopping and just blurted it out to the woman at the checkout, saying that I’d just seen a panther.
“She said: ‘Oh, right’ and must have thought that I was a bit of a lunatic. As soon as I got home to Wetheral, I rang the police and told them what I had seen because the creature was so near to houses.
“They were very nice about it and said they would log it with the other sightings.”

Like many of those who have reported panther or puma sightings in Cumbria, Jeni had never expected to see an animal so exotic on the fringe of a northern English city.
Having spent a week in South Africa’s Kruger game reserve several years ago, she has seen panthers and other big cats – and she is sure that is what she saw that night in April 2010.

It is quite clear that there is big cat activity, and the possibility that there may be breeding groups.
To date none of the reported sightings have led to injury, and like all other creatures that have adapted to the British climate it is hoped that they are left alone.

Source: NewsandStar 

REPORTED HAUNTED NEW HAMPSHIRE RESTAURANT

ATKINSON — Sometimes when no one's in the room at Eggies Family Restaurant, silverware disappears and doors mysteriously open and shut.

Residents and staff say the diner might be haunted by the ghosts of past owners. Waitress Lisa Liguori said she's had many strange experiences since Eggies moved to its new location at 6 Main St. a year and a half ago.

"The first time, I was emptying the trash and something brushed by my ear and there was nobody in the room but me," Liguori said. "The silverware in the back room gets moved around and I know I just set it all out. Another time, I heard the back door open and shut, and no one was there."

The restaurant used to be a two-unit home before owner Kevin Barden converted it to a restaurant in 2010. The house was built in 1960 and owned by Wilbur and Rosline Dinsmore. They lived there until 1992, when it was inherited by their son, Donald Dinsmore. It passed through three other owners before Barden bought it.

Barden is a skeptic and said he doesn't believe his restaurant is haunted. But he said he did have one odd experience when the restaurant was under construction.

"I never thought of it as a ghost or spirit, but I was tearing out the stairs of the existing deck and something happened," he said. "I was here all alone and you know how you have that feeling that someone is looking at you? I thought someone was standing in the sliding glass door, trying to get my attention, but nobody was there. That was the only time. I just passed it off as nothing."

When the Dinsmores' daughter came in for breakfast once, the staff told her there might be a ghost in the house.

"She said her father loved to cook and he probably loves that there is a restaurant in his house," Barden said. "She said toward the end of their time, they spent a lot of time in the living room, which is our dining room. These are the original floors."

Some customers have had strange experiences in the building. That includes Joe Roy, 52, of Sandown, who said he's a regular at Eggies.

"I was here one time and I felt someone brush by me, but no one was there," he said. "Another time, I heard the bathroom door open and shut, and no one was there. There's a lot of strange stuff that goes on. But no one's out to hurt anyone, so it doesn't bother me. I come here every day for breakfast."

But one customer was scared away.

"One guy was spooked," Liguori said. "He came out of the back room with bug eyes and said they were never coming back here. I guess his daughter was tapping her knife on the table and it just disappeared. That was right at the beginning, when we had more action with the ghost."

Jill Barden, 18, is a waitress at her father's restaurant. She said she heard something strange at the restaurant last year.

"I was walking in the main dining hall and I heard someone call my name, or I thought I did," she said. "I turned around and it was random customers, they didn't know my name. They said they didn't hear anyone yell, 'Jillian' and there was no one else in the restaurant."

She said other little things have happened in the restaurant, but she just ignores it.

"I wasn't hearing things and it was kind of scary," she said. "But, whatever, the ghosts are nice. They don't bother me."

And Liguori agreed.

"It's a playful spirit, not a mean one," she said. "You get a little nervous, but it doesn't matter really."

Customer David Censullo, 38, of Atkinson said he didn't think there was anything to be afraid of.

"I have heard it's haunted, but I don't really believe it," he said. "I've never seen anything strange."

Don Lydick of Atkinson said even if the restaurant is haunted, it won't stop him from eating there.

"It doesn't bother me at all," he said. "I'll still come here to eat. But I believe it."

Barden said now, the ghost has become a bit of a joke in the restaurant.

"If anything is wrong, they just say the ghost did it," he said.

Source:  Eagletribune.com

A CURIOUS TALE OF A HAUNTED PAINTING

As ghosts go, she was rather a cultured specimen.

The pale Edwardian figure made frequent visits to the mansion home of Alan Smith, always accompanied by the music of Chopin, according to the startled souls who bore witness.

Her interest in the house was a mystery – until the discovery of a long-lost painting that appeared to feature the very same person, sitting at a piano.

When the portrait was returned to Heale House’s drawing room, the sightings stopped.

Mr Smith was so fascinated he decided to investigate the history of the painting – and uncovered the sad story of the uninvited guest.

He identified the woman as a Mrs Bell, one of the 15-bedroom mansion’s previous occupants, who had been bankrupted and forced to sell all her possessions – including her beloved portrait – shortly before her death in the early 1900s.

Mr Smith said her ghost ‘would walk along the corridors and in the bedrooms, usually at about one o’clock in the morning’.

He continued: ‘She was usually wreathed in a blue haze and just drifted around – you couldn’t see her legs. Sometimes she would even arrive at the bottom of my bed in the middle of the night.

‘I thought there must be some kind of scientific explanation, but other people who visited the house were terrified – and they now believe she’s been put to rest because she got her painting back.’


Mr Smith’s family had seen the apparition many times at the house, near Bideford, Devon, before Mr Smith was approached by the owner of a local junk shop, who asked him: ‘Are you the master of Heales?’

She told him she had something that should be returned to its rightful home and showed him the picture, thought to be by Cyril Roberts, a prominent painter who was based in Paris.

The face was eerily familiar to Mr Smith and he quickly realised it depicted the woman his family had been visited by – and she was seated at a piano in his drawing room.

His research unmasked the subject as Mrs Bell, wife of an Argentine beef rancher who lived in Heale House in the early 1900s.

‘From what we know about Mrs Bell, she was a very cultured lady,’ said  Mr Smith.

‘It must have been sad for her to see all of her possessions sold.’
He confirmed that after the portrait was placed in the drawing room, ‘she never appeared again’.

‘We even tried to use a Ouija board to bring her back but it looks as if she’s gone forever,’ he added.

The story came to light when Mr Smith, 70, took the picture to be appraised on the Antiques Roadshow.
Source: DailyMail

HUNDREDS MORE BIRDS DROP DEAD FROM SKY - AUTHORITIES REMAIN BAFFLED

 Here is another strange report of birds dropping dead from the sky. Scientists claim `that the birds must have flown into a truck`, but none have any proven answers, just speculated opinion.
Some people believe the cause is the notorious HAARP program, whilst others think it is a `doomsday warning from the heavens`.
Whatever your thoughts are, the frequency of bird death`s is increasing, and nobody seems to have any concrete solutions.

Hundreds of birds just dropped from the sky and landed onto I-95 Wednesday, bringing afternoon rush hour traffic to a crawl.

They were common Starlings, and while there were a few in the grass and on the shoulders of the highway, the vast majority landed right on the northbound travel lanes in Laurel.

“We were just kind of curious about running them over and getting them stuck in your tires and all that nastiness,” says Tammy Johnson.

“I travel this all the time and have never seen anything like that before,” says Ray Wheltle.

Traffic backed up as drivers slowed down out of concern for the birds and their cars.

A highway crew swept and shoveled what they could while the drivers crept by scratching their heads. State biologists say they've also seen Starlings, which tend to fly in large tight flocks, crash into the sides of tractor trailers.

Some suspect something sinister.

"Environmental hazards, toxins in the air and in the environment maybe," a person said.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist Peter Bedel believes the Starlings flew into a truck. He does not suspect any disease and is sending samples to a lab just in case.

Laurel resident Dan Kennedy said something weird happened nearby a week or two ago.

"A bunch of birds flying into a parking lot and diving in thinking its water," Kennedy said. "A bunch of birds died."

Some are linking the deaths to similar incidents elsewhere.

"Down in Alabama or Mississippi something like that where a whole bunch of birds just died and fell out of the sky," said Richmond resident Doug Morris.

One possible culprit is nearby power lines. The birds could have encountered something deadly simultaneously. But with no definitive cause named for killing the birds, some continue to worry about a hidden danger to themselves.

"We're next, they're the canaries," a person said.



Story source: ABC7News

GHOST VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHS

Ghostly man in mirror to right of girl - Submitted by viewer

An open question to all our viewers.
Do you own any interesting footage or indeed photographs of what you believe to be ghosts caught on camera?

Our mandate is to share any interesting activity from the world of the paranormal. You may have a picture or a clip of something that you believe to be a paranormal event, and we will share anything that fits that remit.

We can offer you complete anonymity if you prefer, and in case of photographs we can blank out faces but providing the pictures or video is of a significant event such as a ghostly manifestation or similar.

You might even be a fellow paranormal investigator with some interesting footage to share from your online video site.

Whatever it is, and providing we feel it to be a paranormal event we will share it and even write the facts of the capture around the event. We have a steady and increasing audience here on this blog, and your captures will be appreciated by our growing readership.

If the material is felt to be very profound in a big way, we may even find you a news market to share your work and that could bring you some financial remuneration if published through the media.

 Our quest since the creation of Haunted Earth 8 years ago is to bring the world of the paranormal to a bigger audience, and to show that spirituality is real, and importantly something that is not to be feared. Relying on news reports is not as good as first hand accounts and submissions.

Help increase others acceptance and understanding of what is truly the `last frontier`, and contact us at the below address:
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We look forward to your story:)

AFTER HOURS `VISITORS` AT KILKENNY CASTLE EIRE

PROOF that there are spooks of some sort in Kilkenny Castle has come from an impeccable source. An electronic counter in the Parade Tower has recorded visitors to the 13th century part of the fortress during the hours of darkness when the place is completely locked up. The state-of-the-art electronic gadget has recorded an extra 100 people a night and continues to baffle staff and add to the mystery of the out-of-this-world happenings in the castle.
Management at the OPW run visitor attraction were so perplexed by the phenomenon that they had the gizmo checked by the company that installed it and it was found to be working perfectly. However, it continues to register the extra numbers of visitors after dusk and there is no explanation for it.
There has been an attempt to keep the matter under wraps but a whistle blower working in the Castle is so afraid of what is going on that he/she contacted the Kilkenny People who verified it with someone in authority.
The clandestine visitors are based in the ground floor space of the Parade Tower which is a former dungeon where a number of people are thought to have died and where the trial against the infamous Dame Alice Kyteler on witch craft charges took place in February of 1324.
It is now the starting point for tours if the Castle where an audio-visual presentation is made and is an intricate part of the Kilkenny Castle experience. The counter is located at the entrance at hip level and takes an accurate measure of each person that goes in and out of the room. The company which is responsible for the machine told the OPW that they have never had a problem with this type of machine before.
There is only one door in and out and there are three narrow slit windows which are permanently closed. There are no bats resident there and there is no way that any human could get in or out without opening the door, setting off an alarm outside. It is understood that some of the staff are convinced that the place is haunted and will not speak publicly about it because of the Blue Lady, seen by a past sergeant in the park who has since retired. He was inundated with media requests after going public with what he saw.

Source: KilkennyPeople i.e

My thoughts are when will they put the area under 24 hr CCTV with internet access so we can all see it for ourselves?

Here is a non-paranormal video showing Kilkenny Castle.

Kilkenny Castle - Click here for more amazing videos

THE CLEVEDON PIER GHOST MYSTERY - STUDENT SNAPS APPARITION ON TIME-LAPSE CAMERA - UPDATED!

 AN UPDATE TO THE BELOW POST

A blog reader and friend of Haunted Earth, has pointed out to me that in one of the other two `empty` pictures you can clearly make out a weak silhouette image of the man, and in the other the silhouette is much weaker but still barely visible. This clearly supports that the image of the man may have indeed been the genuine ghost that haunts the pier. My thanks to Alan Alfrey.

To see the image more closely, click to enlarge.

 Earlier in February I carried this story concerning a ghostly figure who haunts fishermen on Clevedon Pier in Somerset. THE GHOST THAT HAUNTS CLEVEDON PIER
We now have an update. A young photographer believes he has captured the ghost on the pier.

A student photographer believes he has inadvertently captured a ghostly figure on Clevedon Pier.
Matthew Hales, 17, took an early-morning trip to Clevedon to take pictures of the incoming tide for his A-level coursework.

Sequence from 30 second time lapse - nothing here

But 30 seconds later this figure appears in frame

And 30 seconds afterwards it is nowhere to be seen

 He was using a time-lapse technique which captures pictures over a 30-second time frame.
But it was not until the teenager, from Yate, checked the individual frames from his Nikon D3000 camera that he spotted the male figure staring back at him from the pier.
Matthew, who was taking photographs with two classmates, had arrived in Clevedon at 6.30am and captured the photo around 15 minutes later.
But as the pier was closed and not due to open until 10am, questions are being asked about who the shadowy lone figure on the Victorian landmark was.

Matthew Hales - Captured image

  Matthew, who studies at Brimpton Green and Chipping Sodbury Link Sixth Form, said: “When I went through the pictures I was surprised to see the figure of a man standing on the pier – it was almost like he was looking straight at me.
“The technique I was using captures everything which happens for 30 seconds, so he must have been stood there for at least that long to appear in the picture.
“However when I checked the frames before and after there was no sign of him or of the figure walking to or away from the location where I seen him.”
The picture continued to puzzle Matthew until he saw a story in the Evening Post about ghosts being spotted on the pier by early morning anglers.
A mystery figure has been appearing in the early morning mists as anglers cast off from the end of the pier.
The suspected ghost has been seen by other fishermen.
Sometimes it is seen halfway down sitting on the side benches or standing mumbling incoherently in the corner of the pavilion.
Matthew added: “It did freak me out a bit when I saw the figure appear on the pictures.
“I then checked the pier opening times and saw that it wasn’t due to open until 10am so there would have been no one on the pier at that time in the morning.
“It was only when I saw the story in the newspaper that I thought I may have caught the ghost on camera.”

Mysterious - Clevedon Pier

 The area of the estuary around Clevedon has been dubbed the ‘ghost coast’ because of the number of unexplained sightings.
Fishermen are allowed on the pier on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week and often fish early in the morning.
But Clevedon piermistress, Linda Strong, is unconvinced the mystery figure is a fisherman. Mrs Strong, 56, said: “Looking at the pictures there is no evidence that this is a fisherman and the figure seems to have appeared from nowhere.
“Having zoomed in on the photograph there are clearly no fishing rods out to sea. Generally if there were anglers on the pier in the morning, there were would be more than one and the rods would be visible.
“This could very well be the ghost which everyone is talking about.
“There have been a few different stories which have come from several people now and you start to think there must be something happening on the pier. A lot of the recent sightings took place in November.”
Matthew and his classmates are heading back to Clevedon to take more photographs around the town for an architecture section of his course. He added: “I am not sure whether I will catch any more ghosts on camera, but I will certainly keep my eye out.”

Source: ThisIsSomerset

GHOSTLY IRISH LADY CAPTURED ON CAMERA IN GALWAY

Can you see the lady in question?

A photo that appears to capture a ghostly image of a nun on The Long Walk has been causing a stir in the city this week.

Local photographer Jonathan Curran was taking a series of 13 photographs of the picturesque area in an attempt to create a panoramic view when he came across something very unusual in one of his shots.

One of the images, which were taken less than a minute apart, appears to show an isolated female figure with the appearance of a 19th century Claddagh nun. Mr Curran said he was “freaked” to discover the strange appearance on the camera and checked the other 12 images but the elderly woman did not appear in any of the other pictures.

A close-up of the `ghost`.

“The image was not visible either before or after the photograph was taken and was not captured in any of the other photographs, either going of coming. She just seemed to appear for a moment and then disappear. There were other people on the Long Walk that day, but they seemed oblivious to her presence,” he explained.

The unnerving photo obtained by the Galway Independent clearly shows a distinct ghostly female figure and speculation has been rife since the photo emerged as to whether this is simply a optical illusion or a representation from beyond the grave.

Galway historian William Henry said there had been many stories of hauntings around the Claddagh, Wolfe Tone Bridge and Long Walk over the years and stories of the ‘Lady in White’ were told regularly in the past.

“An elderly man once described seeing a lady dressed in medieval clothing near the bridge one night, long before our festivals began. Other stories of hauntings were told in the old Claddagh and many young people were warned to avoid Wolf Tone Bridge after mid-night. This had the added advantage of ensuring that they were home before 12 bells,” he said.

Mr Henry said the image at the end of Long Walk is striking and “certainly stands out as clearly out of place in a modern context.”

“She appears to be looking directly at the camera indicating an awareness of her surroundings,” he added.

Source: GalwayIndependent

CLEVELAND POLICE AND REPORTS OF THE PARANORMAL

IF there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call?

For the people of Teesside, the answer appears to be Cleveland Police.

When not dealing with metal thefts, drug dealing or drunken violence, Teesside’s finest are being called on to investigate the supernatural.

A Freedom of Information request shows the force’s Mulder and Scullys have been probing Teesside’s own X Files.

In the past five years, officers have been called on several occasions by the public fearful of spooky phenomena.

They include:

:: A caller stating he has ghosts hiding behind his settee;

:: A resident who believed their alarm had been set off by “Mary the Ghost”;

:: A person who found a tuna wrap and carton of grapes not belonging to anyone in the house and believed they were brought in by a ghost, and

:: A caller who said there was a ghost in their house, which her boyfriend was now hunting - although it may have been a reflection.

Officers also fielded calls about whether there’s life beyond Earth.

The FOI information also revealed numerous calls from the public reporting UFOs.

These include a caller reporting three “strange blue lights” in the sky in Middlesbrough. However, an investigation by officers discovered that the sighting was not a visitor from a distant planet but a nightclub laser.

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: “We do not receive many calls relating to supernatural incidents. However, any such call would be assessed and dealt with according to the information made available to us at the time.

“Any such calls are dealt with on a case by case basis and there is no firm procedure in place for so-called supernatural incidents.”

For those of a nervous disposition, however, the force revealed the reassuring news that it has received no reports of witches, werewolves, vampires, zombies, demons and wizards over the five years.
Source: GazetteLive

GHOSTLY IMAGE OF PRIEST CAUGHT IN ST PAUL`S CATHEDRAL

Here is a report from The Sun newspaper of what is alleged to be the ghost of a priest. Is this merely a blurred double focus of a somebody, or is it in fact a spirit?

TOURIST Olga Chkalova could not believe her eyes when she downloaded her holiday snaps and saw this ghostly image.

She is convinced the blurry figure in the middle of the picture is the ghost of a 16th Century priest walking through St Paul's Cathedral.
Twenty-one-year-old Olga said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw the picture on the computer.
"Of course it's a ghost. There was no one in front of me when I took the picture."
Russian holidaymaker, Olga, visited London's famous cathedral on a trip to London last month to see a friend.
The pair were attending a morning service when the picture was taken.

THE NIGHT `THE DEVIL`S HOOFPRINTS` APPEARED - A 150 YEAR OLD MYSTERY

The Devil's Footprints is a name given to a phenomenon that occurred in February 1855 around the Exe Estuary in South Devon, England. After a heavy snowfall, trails of hoof-like marks appeared overnight in the snow covering a total distance of some 40 to 100 miles. The footprints were so called because some people believed that they were the tracks of Satan, as they were allegedly made by a cloven hoof.

On the night of 7–8 February 1855 and one or two later nights, after a heavy snowfall, a series of hoof-like marks appeared in the snow. These footprints, most of which measured around four inches long, three inches across, between eight and sixteen inches apart and mostly in a single file, were reported from over thirty locations across Devon and a couple in Dorset. It was estimated that the total distance of the tracks amounted to between 40 and 100 miles. Houses, rivers, haystacks and other obstacles were travelled straight over, and footprints appeared on the tops of snow-covered roofs and high walls which lay in the footprints' path, as well as leading up to and exiting various drain pipes of as small as a four-inch diameter.

The area in which the prints appeared extended from Exmouth, up to Topsham, and across the Exe Estuary to Dawlish and Teignmouth. R.H. Busk, in an article published in Notes and Queries in 1890, stated that footprints also appeared further afield, as far south as Totnes and Torquay, and that there were other reports of the prints as far away as Weymouth (Dorset) and even Lincolnshire.

There were also attendant rumours about sightings of a "devil-like figure" in the Devon area during the scare. Many townspeople armed themselves and attempted to track down the beast responsible, without success.

And that appeared to be the end of any further sightings until March 2009 when the Daily Mail newspaper in Britain published a very unusual photograph which (as you can see) depicts a single line in the snow of a cloven hoof.

The Daily Mail reports: `The new tracks appeared in fresh snow in Jill Wade's back garden on March 5th. Grandmother Jill, 76, of Woolsery, Devon, said: 'I looked in the garden and it really intrigued me. 'I couldn't believe it - the footprints were in the shape of a cloven hoof. There were no other marks at all in the snow. 'I was quite surprised by it and I hadn't got a clue what it was, but I thought I would love to know.'

Scientists from the Centre for Fortean Zoology inspected the prints which measure 5ins (13cm) long with a stride of between 11 and 17ins (28 and 43cm).
Jonathan Downes, who runs the centre, is investigating whether the footprints could have been left by a hare or rabbits hopping on their hind legs.

Villagers blamed the church for letting the devil into their communities
He said: 'Thousands of people across the world believe in the paranormal, but so far every single thing we have looked into has turned out to have a natural explanation. I'm sure these will as well.

'Do I believe that the Devil comes from the pits of Hell to wander around the gardens of North Devon? Of course not.'But if you're asking if there are things that can't be explained by modern science, then yes. But human knowledge is expanding all the time.'I believe that things that are currently put down to the paranormal will one day be explained by science.'

CAN HUMANS SEE WITHOUT THE POWER OF EYESIGHT?

For blind people to regain the power of sight usually requires a miracle  -  either of the old-fashioned, Biblical variety or of the modern, medical sort.

Yet an extraordinary case reported shows us that there may be another form of miracle that can help the blind to 'see'  -  and it's one that may force us to rethink our whole understanding of the way in which the human senses operate.

In the journal Current Biology it is reported that a man left totally blind by brain damage has astounded scientists by flawlessly navigating an obstacle course without any help or practice whatsoever.

This is perhaps the most persuasive example to date of what is termed 'blindsight'  -  the extraordinary ability of some who have lost their vision to be able to 'see' without, apparently, any ability actually to receive images in the eye and brain at all.

Because blindsight is a nebulous concept, often linked to paranormal manifestations, it has often been dismissed by researchers as myth. Yet here was a case that defied any straightforward explanation.

Scientists at the University of Tilburg in The Netherlands found that the unnamed man, known only as 'TN', was able to negotiate his way past a series of boxes and chairs, despite the fact that a series of strokes had damaged the visual cortex of his brain to such an extent that tests have shown he is completely blind.

So how on earth does he do it? What does it tell us about the way we 'see' the world?

And is it conclusive proof, as many have claimed, that humans have a hidden 'sixth sense' that can detect aspects of the world around us in a way that defies any logical explanation?

The first thing to realise is that science loves to categorise things.

We have 'five senses' in part because 'five-and-a-bit senses' is messy and ' unscientific'.

And yet it may be a far more accurate description of what is going on in the complex interface between the outside world and our brains.

It seems that in the case of TN, for example, although he has no conscious awareness of the visual world, his brain is, somehow, keeping tabs on his surroundings, by processing the electrical messages that are travelling through his eyes and optic nerves (which remain undamaged by his stroke) even though the normal 'visual' part of his brain is damaged beyond repair.

To use a scientific term, his mind is not creating any visual 'qualia'  -  the name given to conscious experience of sensations, such as sight or sound.

Although he is not actually aware of the cause, scans have even revealed that certain parts of his brain, not normally associated with sight, 'light up' when he is shown pictures of other people pulling a variety of different facial expressions  -  such as fear, anger or joy.

This weirdness should perhaps not surprise us. Our senses form part of the most mysterious system in the known universe  -  the human brain.

Indeed, compared to the kilogram of grey jelly in your skull, even the mightiest stars and galaxies hold few mysteries.

Anyone who claims they know how the brain works, or exactly what is going on when our eyes view a splash of red, or our noses scent a whiff of coffee, or our tastebuds pick up on a tang of brine, is simply deluded or lying.

Despite centuries of probing, such mysteries remain totally unsolved.

We do know, however, that there are a number of peculiar anomalies.

For example, we know that humans, compared to other animals, have extremely good vision  -  on a par with the birds and far better than most mammals. Sight is our primary sense.

Yet, rather mysteriously, it is another sense  -  smell  -  which in many of us has the ability to evoke the strongest emotional responses.

Shown a photograph of our old primary school, say, most of us will respond with a vague sense of recognition.

In contrast, even the merest hint of the smell of the school's polished parquet floors, or of the heady tang of boiled cabbage from the school dinner kitchens, will be enough to bring all the childhood memories flooding back.

Equally mysteriously, our senses seem to operate on several levels. If you are sitting down when you read this article, think for a moment of the sensation coming from your bottom and lower back.

The moment you do, you will become suddenly aware of the pressure of the seat cushion below you, the contours of its shape and how comfortable (or uncomfortable) it is.

In psychological terms, you are now 'attending' to these sensory inputs.

Yet before you chose to swivel your 'mind's eye' to the chair, you were probably completely unconscious of all these sensations, even though the relevant one of the your five senses  -  touch  -  was working all the while.

Then there is a well-known psychological phenomenon called the 'cocktail party effect'.

This is the ability of the human brain to detect, immediately, pertinent and important information from an otherwise meaningless sensory melange.

If you are at a busy party, for instance, you will probably be aware only of the random babble and hum of voices. Yet should someone mention your name, even quietly and from across the room, the chances are that you will immediately pick up on it.

It is as though you have an unconscious monitor sitting inside your head  -  a 'little man', if you will  -  checking what is coming in from your eyes and ears and so forth, before deciding which is important-and letting your conscious mind know.

Of course, the idea of a little man inside your head is an absurd (but remarkably persistent) analogy  -  but it does serve to illustrate the fact that our brains operate on all sorts of levels of conscious awareness, and not always in ways that we recognise.

Think of the last time you drove to work, for instance, or did the school run. How conscious were you, actually, of the journey? How many of the twists and turns can you remember?

The chances are that the answer is 'none at all'; you probably were able to operate, quite safely, a complex piece of machinery (a car) almost like you were an unthinking robot while you were thinking about something more interesting. Extraordinary.

The interaction between the 'mind' and the senses really is one of the most amazing aspects of the natural world.

And since we cannot be sure how it works, it does seem foolish to dismiss, out of hand, 'sixth sense' phenomena such as blindsight.

It is probably even the case that we should not rush to dismiss, completely out of hand, even stranger 'paranormal' mental powers, such as telepathy, even though hard scientific evidence is lacking for such things.

The only certainty is that the more we learn about the workings of the mind, the more fantastical its abilities are proving to be.

Source: DailyMail

THE DEVIL THAT WAS `SPRING-HEELED JACK`

`Spring-Heeled Jack` was a creature straight out of Victorian British mythology, or was he?

The first reported sightings of him was in October 1837 when a servant girl called Mary Stevens was returning on foot from visiting parents in Battersea to her place of employment in Lavender Hill, London.

She alleged that as she was passing through Clapham Common  a strange figure leapt at her from a dark alley. After immobilising her with a tight grip of his arms, he began to kiss her face, while ripping her clothes and touching her flesh with his claws, which were, according to her account, "cold and clammy as those of a corpse". In blind fear and panic, the girl screamed, making the attacker quickly flee from the scene. The commotion brought several residents who immediately launched a search for the aggressor, who could not be found.

The following day this character was alleged to have attacked another girl close to where Mary Steven`s resided, and on this occasion he jumped in the way of a passing carriage, causing the coachman to lose control, crash, and severely injure himself. Several witnesses claimed that he escaped by jumping over a nine-foot-high wall while babbling with a high-pitched, ringing laughter.

Gradually, the news of the strange character spread, and soon the press and the public gave him a name: `Spring-heeled Jack`.

Jack`s exploits soon spread through London bringing more reports and sightings, and of course more accounts from witnesses who claimed either they had seen, or were subject to assault by him.

Perhaps the best known of the alleged incidents involving Spring-heeled Jack were the attacks on two teenage girls, Lucy Scales and Jane Alsop. The Alsop report was widely covered by the newspapers, including a piece in The Times,  while fewer reports appeared in relation to the attack on Scales. The press coverage of these two attacks helped to raise the profile of Spring-heeled Jack.

And it was through their descriptions of `Spring-Heeled Jack`, that the character die was struck on Jack`s demonic appearance.


Here are some details of the Times report in February 1838 of both attacks.

Jane Alsop reported that on the night of February 19, 1838, `she answered the door of her father's house to a man claiming to be a police officer, who told her to bring a light, claiming "we have caught Spring-heeled Jack here in the lane". She brought the person a candle, and noticed that he wore a large cloak. The moment she had handed him the candle, however, he threw off the cloak and "presented a most hideous and frightful appearance", vomiting blue and white flame from his mouth while his eyes resembled "red balls of fire". Miss Alsop reported that he wore a large helmet and that his clothing, which appeared to be very tight-fitting, resembled white oilskin. Without saying a word he caught hold of her and began tearing her gown with his claws which she was certain were "of some metallic substance". She screamed for help, and managed to get away from him and ran towards the house. He caught her on the steps and tore her neck and arms with his claws. She was rescued by one of her sisters, after which her assailant fled`.

Eight days after the attack on Miss Alsop, on February 28, 1838, `18-year-old Lucy Scales and her sister were returning home after visiting their brother, a butcher who lived in a respectable part of Limehouse. Miss Scales stated in her deposition to the police that as she and her sister were passing along Green Dragon Alley, they observed a person standing in an angle of the passage. She was walking in front of her sister at the time, and just as she came up to the person, who was wearing a large cloak, he spurted "a quantity of blue flame" in her face, which deprived her of her sight, and so alarmed her, that she instantly dropped to the ground, and was seized with violent fits which continued for several hours.

Her brother added that on the evening in question, he had heard the loud screams of one of his sisters moments after they had left his house and on running up Green Dragon Alley he found his sister Lucy on the ground in a fit, with her sister attempting to hold and support her. She was taken home, and he then learned from his other sister what had happened. She described Lucy's assailant as being of tall, thin, and gentlemanly appearance, covered in a large cloak, and carrying a small lamp or bull's eye lantern similar to those used by the police. The individual did not speak nor did he try to lay hands on them, but instead walked quickly away. Every effort was made by the police to discover the author of these and similar outrages, and several persons were questioned, but were set free.`

It is questionable as to whether Lucy`s report was based upon what she read from the earlier Times report, but the legend that was `Spring-Heeled Jack` was struck into the psyche of Victorian sensibility.

A Londoner, Thomas Millbank was shortly overheard in a pub to claim that it was he who attacked
Jane Alsop, and on the flimsiest of evidence, Millbank was arrested and tried at Lambeth Street court. Millbank had been wearing white overalls and a greatcoat, which he dropped outside the house, and the candle he dropped was also found. He escaped conviction only because Jane Alsop insisted her attacker had breathed fire, and Millbank admitted he could do no such thing.
 

Soon accounts of Jack were reported across England, and there were many spurious reports of him written by the publishers of `Penny Dreadful`s` which were the forerunner of modern scandal newspapers. Accounts of his activities became more lurid as his reputation spread, and in some strange way, `Spring-Heeled Jack` became a Victorian `celebrity`.

From then on there were many reports of Jack, but few if any bore any resemblance to the earlier London accounts until a most notable incident witnessed by a soldier in August 1877.

This story went as follows: a sentry on duty at the North Camp peered into the darkness, his attention attracted by a peculiar figure "advancing towards him." The soldier issued a challenge, which went unheeded, and the figure came up beside him and delivered several slaps to his face. A guard shot at him, with no visible effect; some sources claim that the soldier may have fired blanks at him, others that he missed or fired warning shots. The strange figure then disappeared into the surrounding darkness "with astonishing bounds."

In the autumn of 1877, Spring Heeled Jack was reportedly seen at Newport Arch, in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, wearing a sheep skin. An angry mob supposedly chased him and cornered him, and just as in Aldershot a while before, residents fired at him to no effect. As usual, he was said to have made use of his leaping abilities to lose the crowd and disappear once again.

The last authenticated reports of Jack was reported in Everton, north Liverpool, when in 1888 he allegedly appeared on the rooftop of Saint Francis Xavier's Church in Salisbury Street. And finally in 1904 there were reports of appearances in nearby William Henry Street.

No person was ever identified as `Spring-Heeled Jack`, and it is fair to say that the reports given variously by witnesses became more outlandish as the years passed into the 20th century.
It should be added that who, or what this creature was, he never actually caused any serious harm to any of his victims.

Whether `Spring-Heeled Jack` existed, or was merely the result of mass hysteria will never be known. But unlike many Victorian legends, `Spring-Heeled Jack` is one that will never fade away.