MOTHER ALLEGES THAT BABY SPONTANEOUSLY CATCHES FIRE

SHC or child abuse?

A three-month-old baby boy is recovering in hospital after allegedly spontaneously catching fire - for the fourth time.

Rahul, was admitted for treatment of ten degree burns at an intensive care unit in Chennai, India last week, and doctors at the hospital say he suffers from 'spontaneous human combustion'.
Medical staff alleges that - for the fourth time in his short life - Rahul has burst into flames with no external source of ignition.

According to doctors Rahul may have caught fire due to the excretion of gases through his skin, which has led to him suffering burns on his chest and head.
‘The baby is stable and treatment is on for burn injuries and scars. Life-saving support systems are there for Rahul in the intensive care unit,’ said R. Narayana Babu, head of paediatrics at the hospital.

He told IBN Live that the baby will be under observation and may be discharged after two weeks depending on his condition.
Rahul, from Villupuram, an area 100miles from Chennai, suffered the first incident when he was just nine days old.

‘People thought I set him on fire deliberately,’ his mother, Rajeswari told IBN Live.
According to the parents, their community ostracized them, and Rahul’s father, a farm worker, says they have lost everything as a result of his son's condition.



Rajeswari alleges that Rahul has suffered four episodes of  spontaneous fire and suffered burn injuries, the last incident taking place last month.
However, doctors at Kilpauk Medical College Hospital in Chennai treating Rahul say they only have the mother's version of events to go on as the baby boy does not have any medical records.

Mother (right) alleges this is the fourth
time her baby has combusted.

'The baby has to be carefully observed. We have to investigate whether the ailment is genetic,' Prof. R. Jayachandran of the department of paediatrics at Kilpauk Medical College Hospital said.



'We will carry out tests to find out the kind of gases generated by the baby’.'
Not all believe the mother's story of self-combustion.

'Spontaneous Human Combustion-syndrome is a hoax theory,' the hospital's burns specialist Dr J Jagan Mohan told The Times of India.
'A baby catching fire spontaneously is not possible.
'Alcoholics have a very small percentage of alcohol secreted in their sweat but even that wouldn't generate a fire.'

Until a proper diagnosis is made, Rahul is given treatment that is only symptomatic, with the administration of antibiotics.

Source: DailyMail

FURTHER READING: Man Spontaneously combusts in Oklahoma home.

My view:

I have never heard of spontaneous human combustion in babies, although there is strong evidence from across the world to support the theory of SHC.
Without knowing further background facts on this incident it is too difficult to speculate that this is such a genuine case.
While I share the scepticism of Dr J Jagan Mohan, I vehemently disagree that SHC is, `a hoax theory`.
It is a pity that he doesn`t research further on this phenomenon.

IS THIS AUSSIE HOTEL THE MOST HAUNTED IN THE COUNTRY?

The Eastern Station Hotel

THE Eastern Station Hotel's ghostly aura is set to make it Australia's Most Haunted Pub.

The hotel is currently being restored to its original 1862 style, with added steampunk, or industrial-style, features to become Ballarat's latest tourist attraction.

New leasee Adam Wynne-Jenkins said the pub had several ghosts, including a two-year-old boy who drowned in a gold rush mining puddle and original owner Thomas Redshaw Hunt, who is usually preceded by a strong tobacco smell.

There are also English mother and daughter ghosts Maggie, 35, and Sarah, 12, who arrived in Ballarat by train straight off the boat, walked to the Eastern Station, went to their room and promptly died from yellow fever, along with an Irish man who was stabbed in the back in the hotel's kitchen in 1915 by a love rival.

The final two are indigenous caretakers.

"Mr Hunt has been particularly active lately but ghosts do become more active when you start doing renovations," Mr Wynne-Jenkins said.

"If you stay upstairs, there's lots of paranormal activity. We think this is Australia's most haunted hotel."

Manager Christine Crawshaw said she often went to serve a patron, only to discover it was Mr Hunt's ghost, and said she often found the kitchen's vibes particularly chilling due to the brutal murder of the former World War One soldier.

Staff and customers in the late 1930`s

Mr Wynne-Jenkins said the Humffray Street hotel's renovations began a week ago."Ghosts do become more active when you start doing renovations" he added.


"We're putting the old front back on and restoring the dining room, ballroom, parlour, kitchen and accommodation areas.

"Parts of Ballarat's early history are also being incorporated into the renovations, along with original Beechworth Jail doors, including the one belonging to Ned Kelly's cell and the other from the death row cell."

It is hoped the renovations will be completed within 18 months.

The hotel is currently open Wednesday to Sunday, 5pm to 11pm, but will be open seven days shortly.

Meals will also soon be available, along with the haunted accommodation.

Source: TheCourierAus

GHOSTLY MAID SNAPPED IN 16th CENTURY COUNTRY HOUSE WINDOW?

 Shurland Hall

An author claims she has taken a picture of a ghostly maid in the window of a famous Isle of Sheppey landmark.
Christdeena Ellis has spent three years writing what she says is the only book about Shurland Hall, a 16th century property in Eastchurch.

The 44-year-old was left scratching her head by a photo she took apparently capturing the figure of a woman in a top window, second from right.

She emailed the shot to Phil Measey, lead investigator of the Ghostfinder Paranormal Society, who called it "very odd indeed".

He said: "It does look like a person, a woman dressed in some sort of maid's outfit."

Mrs Ellis claims the place is "most definitely haunted" and believes some of her other photos show mysterious orbs.

The mother-of-one said: "There have been major battles there and it has been built over a 13th century castle so I think there is paranormal activity there definitely and I'm quite intrigued by the ghostly maid.

"She looks like a 17th century or 18th century maid and she could have been a worker there."

A Ghost in the Window?

Mrs Ellis's self-published work focuses on the restoration of the property and asks if there is a "ghostly maid" haunting the grounds.

Originally from Rushenden, Mrs Ellis has been fascinated by the building for a long time.

She said: "When I was a little girl we used to go up there with the Brownies. It was just a ruin. Not much left of it.

"It's a fantastic building and there is a hell of a lot of history in there. It's one of the reasons that keeps bringing me back on the Island."

Shurland Hall was built between 1510 and 1518 by Sir Thomas Cheyne on the site of a 13th century castle established by Adam De Shurland.

Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn spent a few days at the hall in 1532.

It is now owned by a private couple who, Mrs Ellis says, gave her permission to take the photos.

Source: Kentonline

My View:
I personally cannot see where Mrs Ellis can see a ghostly maid, but of course the human brain interprets shapes any way it pleases, and no two brains are the same.
But regardless, I don`t think this piece has done any harm to her book launch..

ACTRESS SPOOKED BY GHOST IN DUBLIN HOTEL

Lily Collins 

HOLLYWOOD actress Lily Collins said she was haunted by the ghost of a seven-year-old girl while staying in Dublin.

The actress was in Dublin earlier this year filming new movie ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ – which also stars Love/Hate’s Robert Sheehan.

She was staying in the Shelbourne Hotel while on location.

And she won’t forget her time there any time soon, she said said when she appeared on ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’.

She told host Jimmy Fallon that she felt a “presence” in her hotel room – or more specifically, a person.

“I open my eyes and I hear a giggle,” she said.

“And then I felt a rush of air across my body and I heard all these doors slamming, like fire doors - the ones you don’t hear opening, but then the air - it closes.

“Three of them - and there were three doors outside my room,” the 24-year-old actress said.

Lily, who is the daughter of singer Phil Collins, spoke to staff the following morning about the incident.

She said that she was then told stories about a ghost named Mary Masters.

Mary is believed to be seven years of age and is said to haunt the hotel’s sixth floor, which is where Lily was staying.

Mary Masters is believed to have died from a cholera outbreak in 1846 and was believed to have lived in the buildings which now house the Shelbourne Hotel. Legend has it that she refuses to leave.

Over the years, Mary has reportedly been sighted in the basement of the hotel by staff stocking the wine cellar or doing the laundry.

The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin

Mary’s name has never appeared on any kind of register in relation to the Shelbourne – it’s believed a medium obtained her identity some years ago.

It appears Mary has never hampered business for the Shelbourne.

The St Stephen’s Green Hotel has been a firm favourite of visiting celebrities over the years.

West Wing star Martin Sheen has also stayed there, as has Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall.

The Irish rugby team also stay there ahead of home games.

Here’s hoping Mary the ghost doesn’t disturb their sleep.

It appears Mary has never hampered business for the Shelbourne.

The St Stephen’s Green Hotel has been a firm favourite of visiting celebrities over the years.

West Wing star Martin Sheen has also stayed there, as has Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall.

The Irish rugby team also stay there ahead of home games.

Here’s hoping Mary the ghost doesn't disturb their sleep.

Source: .Independent.ie

PHOTOGRAPHER ACCIDENTALLY CAPTURES FIGURE OF GHOST IN OLD WEST CEMETERY

A photographer got more than he hoped for after reviewing a time-lapse video camera that he set up in a cemetery to a capture the sunset last week. A mysterious shadowy figure is seen in one of the images. Portland's ABC news affiliate KATU posted the time-lapse video online yesterday. A lot of people are wondering what the unidentified presence could be and there are quite a few theories as to what the figure actually is.

The figure captured on time-lapse camera

On July 23 photographer Nathan Ziegler set up the time-lapse camera in the Old Pioneer Cemetery in Milton-Freewater, Oregon to film the sunset. The camera was set to take a still photo at 30 second intervals. After reviewing the footage, Ziegler noticed a strange figure in one of the frames.

The figure appeared in one frame at 9:08:30 but isn't in either frame 30 seconds before or after that frame.

“I don’t know what to make of it,” Ziegler said about the strange figure in the video.

Some people are speculating that the cemetery is haunted and that the image is proof of a ghost. Other folks have different opinions on what it might be. Some think it could've been a fallen tree limb, a bug on the lens, or just a human visitor.

Ziegler and his brother-in-law returned to the cemetery on July 24 and looked on the ground near the tree but found no fallen limbs. He has no explanation or guess as to what the figure is but he believes it's highly unlikely that it was a bug due to the camera's small lens.

35-year-old Ziegler is a school principal living in Minneapolis, Minnesota but grew up in Milton-Freewater. He visits the Walla Walla Valley every summer with his wife Tennille.



Source: Examiner.com