If you don't believe in ghosts, here is something that may change your mind: Is it a Ghost Captured on video?
Posted July 25, 2002
{Original Headline}Family convinced woman's 'ghost' is image on tape.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Employees at a local wrecker service claim they've been visited by a ghost. Oklahoma's NewsChannel Four first showed the surveillance videotape on Wednesday.
Those who work at Puckett's Auto in southwest Oklahoma City believe that the image is of a woman involved in a fatal accident.
Family members have come forth, convinced the image is their Loved one sending them a message.
After her truck was moved from Puckett's wrecker on July 17, 2002 from the area of the surveillance cameras records, overnight dispatcher Kathy Henly viewed the image live on her monitors. After checking, she and a co-worker found no one was there.
A Paranormal Investigator says it's possible the mysterious figure could have been one of those spirits from the wreck searching for their car.
A SURVEILLANCE camera (CCTV) mounted atop the Kota Kinabalu International Airport terminal captured a rather strange sight resembling a "flying coffin" (picture below (see url) and a close-up view above) hovering over Terminal Two, last Friday night.
A senior Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) officer said the revolving camera was focusing on the Terminal Two area at about 7.06pm when those monitoring the surveillance were caught by surprise by the object "flying" across the scene within seconds before disappearing from the screen.
An immediate check with the radar station showed the object did not appear on their screen, except for a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Fokker aircraft taking off three minutes earlier.
The outline of the aircraft was clearly identified on the radar screen, the officer said.
A security guard on duty in the area claimed to have seen the object flying in a great speed over Terminal Two, initially seen rising from the direction of the sea before disappearing over the hills adjacent to the KKIA terminal. "There was no sound at all," he said.
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The FBI is investigating a mysterious flying object caught on tape.
A New York news photographer pointed his camera at the sky and a passing plane while working on a story at Albany International Airport. But when he checked the tape later, he spotted an unidentified flying object speeding past.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the object never showed up on local radar.
The FBI has a copy of the tape and is trying to determine exactly what the object is.
Some believe that it could be a rod. According to RoswellRods.com, rods are cylindrical objects that appear in the sky and ocean. Some appear in homes. They are barely visible to the naked eye.
For more information, visit the RoswellRods Web site.
A legendary foothill retreat, which many believe is haunted, is the focus of a super natural study. Recently, paranormal investigators staked out the Sierra Sky Ranch in Oakhurst to photograph what's going on inside.
Action News reporter Deanna McQueen went along to witness the ghostly activity.
Armed with special equipment, some Valley ghost busters are on a mission. They're members of Fresno's Paranormal Trackers and went to the Sierra Sky Ranch to investigate the unexplainable.
Built back in the 1800's, it used to be the largest cattle ranch in California. Since then, it's changed owners several times. It has been a state tuberculosis hospital, and a rest home for war veterans, and later it became a popular getaway for families.
People come from all over the world to stay at the Sierra Sky Ranch, but there's something about the lodge many people don't know when they check in.
A picture was taken of owner, Kim Coles, inside the hotel. She says the white splotches seen on it are energy patterns, or orbs, commonly known as ghosts, "They like to aggravate me or mess with me mostly when I'm doing the book work."
She believes there's an old cowboy, two children and a female nurse which roam the lodge.
Investigators set up cameras and audio recorders in rooms where Kim, workers, and guests claim to have seen ghosts. A lot of experiences have been reported in room number seven.
The group watched a video monitor closely for any movement. Then, investigators braved the darkness to get in touch with the unknown. They took pictures and documented their feelings.
The investigators believe what they felt there indicates a strong spiritual presence.
Investigators believe video recorded by their cameras shows paranormal activity in the form of fast moving spirits.
The lodge's owner says she's not scared or frightened. She feels the ghosts play jokes on her and the staff, "I know they're here from my experiences, but to have proof like what we're seeing ... it's just, it just makes me really happy, it's real."
Is the Sierra Sky Ranch Haunted? Reserve yourself a room ... if you dare!
Is it for real? Take a look at the story that aired on Action News.
For those wanting to learn more about ghost investigations, you can visit the Fresno Paranormal Trackers website at http://www.fresnoparanormaltrackers.com.
To view the videos, you must have RealPlayer or RealOne installed on your computer. If you do not have it, you can download it for free by clicking here.
Breakfast Cook Catherine Miller is emphatic in her opinion of the Duff
Green, "To me, the Duff Green Mansion is one of the most beautiful places I have every worked."
Employee Lib Galloway agrees, "You know, as many people that have died in this house - it's gonna feel spooky. However, it didn't. I felt like the house was sheltering me, protecting me, and taking care of me."
Duff Green Mansion in Vicksburg was built in 1856. Then, the home of Duff and Mary Green, the young home would be faced with destruction during the Civil War. Cannonballs ripped through its upper floors five times before Mary Green raised a yellow flag from the roof. This signified that the home was a hospital and both sides - Union and Confederate soldiers - were tended to in the mansion. However, Union wounded were kept on the upper floor, just in case a wayward cannonball pierced the house, again.
Today, Duff Green is one of the nation's most elite bed and breakfast
inns, restored to its former beauty with the tender care of Harry and
Alicia Sharp. Restoring the home took over two years, and the Sharps soon learned they were not alone in the mansion.
Employee Brian Riley says, "This paranormal activity that happens...it
happens 24 hours a day at any given time. You just never know when it's going to happen."
Miller says she's encountered the original owner more than 10 times, "I
was standing there over the stove stirring my grits, and I felt this
rubbing on my shoulders. I thought someone had walked in behind me -
teasing me or something like that. But I looked back and there wasn't
anyone there. Then, I knew it was Mrs. Green."
Miller has seen Mary Green and described her as a beautiful woman with blonde hair. Owner Harry Sharp has also seen Mary Green. "I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and I turned around and saw her floating. I could see her and the back of her large antebellum dress...it was green...and then she vanished (snap) just like that."
The Dixie Room as its called today once served as an operating room during the Siege of Vicksburg. Amputated arms and legs were once accounted as being "piled as high as the ceiling." Paranormal sightings in this room number at nearly fifty - all different, unrelated individuals who knew nothing about the room being haunted.
Sharp says, "The sighting is of the same Confederate veteran, sitting by
the fireplace with his amputated leg staring straight ahead."
The Green's daughter, who died young, bounces a ball and runs up and down the steps. Sharp has heard the footsteps on several occasions.
So has Lib Galloway, "I would call thinking it was the innkeeper. Nobody answered and I'd come in the house. Not a person was in the house...not a live one anyway."
Sharp also shared how a crime scene investigator from Louisiana was taking pictures one day outside of the Duff Green. The image shocked both the investigator and Duff employees. A distinct black figure with a
transparent head is clearly visible standing on the steps.
David Sharp says he once thought the sound of footsteps was so real, that he assumed it was his dad walking into the room. He began speaking to him and when he turned expecting to see him, no one else was in the room. However, the photograph of the black figure was far more disturbing to him. "That really shook me up, because I knew the place was haunted but I never wanted to see a ghost, and I saw that on camera and didn't really wanna stay here anymore."
Even on the day of our investigation, there was more unexplained. Employee Brian Riley says,"I walked down the hall and peeked into the Dixie Room and all the lights were on. So, I turned them off and left. About two minutes later, I came back through and peeked back in and all the lights were back on - that happened two or three times today."
Even while we were there, something surprised us all. A shelf that had
been there some time was found collapsed and twisted. Harry Sharp was surprised by the find as the shelf was fine just two days prior - standing against the wall. We examined the shelf and found all the weight to be on the bottom, which made it seem even stranger that the shelf was twisted down and if almost stepped on by an unseen force.
Throughout the evening, we took seventy pictures. The camera says they are there but the images are inaccessible. Something else that remains to beunexplained.
Lib Galloway summed up our visit to Duff Green well, "Well, I used to
think that anybody who believed in haints or ghosts had to be an idiot,
but after I experienced some myself I decided its the height of arrogance to say I don't understand therefore it does not exist. I don't know what it is, but I know what I've seen and what I've heard and I know there's something."
1856 - House built by Duff and Mary Green
1861 - the iron grillwork of the balconies was cut off and donated to the
Confederate Army for the manufacturing of ammunition.
Late 1860's - House used as hospital and home for displaced soldiers.
1880 - Greens sold mansion it to Peatross family
1880 - The platforms of the balconies were removed
1880-1930 - Sold to be an orphanage and nursing home
1931- Salvation Army purchased home for $3000 to be organization's local headquarters.
1985 - Sharps purchased mansion, having never been renovated or restored since it was built in 1856. Sharps undertook a two-and-a-half-year restoration with the approval of the U.S. Department of the Interior. In some rooms, they stripped as many as 27 coats of paint from the walls. Twelve-foot doors between the library and dining room were stripped to reveal solid cypress wood, which the Sharps left unpainted so that its lovely grain could be admired. They replaced missing fixtures, including all of the home's chandeliers and all but two of its thirteen original mantels. They learned that, through the years, the Salvation Army had sold the fixtures & chandeliers to raise operational funds. Original molds are located for the balconies and they, too, are restored.
Known Ghosts of Duff Green:
Mary Green: - She has been seen numerous times by several employees. Described as beautiful with blonde hair with green dress.. She has made physical contact with the breakfast cook, massaging her shoulders while the cook makes breakfast.
Young Green Daughter - Bounces a ball down the main staircase and runs up and down stairs. Also, seen as small child with blond hair and wearing a white nightgown.
Confederate solider - Always seen in Dixie Room sitting in chair with
amputated leg and staring blankly ahead. 50 different guests have seen
this solider, not knowing about him.
Attic white light - Central heating and air repair crews have reported a
white light zipping around the attic.
Figure on step - Photographic evidence of entity on front steps. Cleanly a dark humanoid figure with translucent head.
Lady in white - Reported by one guest standing near her bed when she awoke from sleep.
Footsteps - Heard constantly in hallways and outside.
Results of Investigation:
Digital Pictures - 70 pictures taken but images are not accessible.
Possibly due to exposure to electromagnetic paranormal energy.
Hi-8 Footage - The same familiar "wooden knocks" were captured in the attic twice, but the "white, zipping light" described by air conditioning repairman was not scene. However, a collapsed work shelf provided a surprise to the owner and investigation team.
Tri-Field Meter - Monitored corner of bed where woman in white had been seen by a former guest. The electromagnetic readings were fairly
consistent, therefore revealing no evidence of paranormal activity at that time.
Other Experiences - Dean McKnight recalled filling a "bone-chilling blast of cold air" in the hallway where Mary Green's ghost has been seen.
Producer Rick Garner was taping a segment with Brian Riley when he felt a light touch of a finger on his left side. He did not see or hear anything else, although the hair on his left arm stood on-end. Rick felt massive electromagnetic fields in several rooms in Duff Green, a sensation that confirms to him the presence of paranormal activity. The feeling is similar to coming in contact with an electrical field.
Call Duff Green at 1-800-992-0037 or visit their website at
Angels...messengers from God. In the Hebrew Bible, there are over 300
references to these heavenly hosts in the Old and New Testaments.
Looking outside of the Christian and Jewish faiths, there are references to angels in Islam. The ancient Egyptians also believed angels visited their dead.
Do angels really exist? And if so, do they visit us in times of need?
Sarah Haller has no doubts.
"It says in the Bible that God will send his angels to watch over you
and protect you and I know that day, God and his angels were watching over me."
On January 19, 2002, Sarah and her fiancé' were driving south on I-55
when they hit a car that was stalled in one of the lanes. They were not
injured. Sarah says she noticed her car's mirror had broken off and
walked into the median to retrieve it. That's when a car struck her from
behind and threw her 30 feet.
"I heard a loud screech and a squeal and somebody had swerved to miss the car that we had hit and he spun out and came down into the median."
She landed face down in the grass, but never lost consciousness. A
physician and his wife pulled over to help her. Sara stayed face down
because she didn't want to risk further injuries. All of a sudden, Sara
says she heard the voice of a man praying over her.
"His hand was on my lower back and you can hear how loud it is out here and I could hear him as if there was no other background noise."
Sara says she took note of every person that walked up to her and
walked away, but no one saw the stranger arrive or leave her side. He simply showed up, prayed for her and disappeared. She says all voices melted away, except the stranger's voice.
"He was just praying: 'Dear God, please be with this girl and protect
her and heal her body.' It was just amazing."
The prayer calmed her nerves.
"I do believe that she did see an angel."
Mark Anderson is pastor at Sarah's church, Colonial Heights Baptist.
He's familiar with her story and says angels acting as guardians, comforters and protectors is not a myth.
"The classic verses that we find are in Psalm 91 saying that we have
angels that are our guardians. In Matthew 18, there are scripture
references to treating little ones right because they have angels who
are before the face of God."
So, if angels exist, what do they look like? Many of us picture wings
and a halo but for those who say they've encountered angels, like Sarah, this traditional image just doesn't match what they claimed to have seen.
"In the Hebrew Bible, there is a word for angel which is "malakh" and
then, there's another word for angel which is "shalakh," but you have
both words refer to human as well as divine agents at various times."
Rabbi Jim Egolf tells us, while angels can be supernatural; humans are
just as capable of doing god's work. Angels can be human.
"We look for the miraculous and yet we probably walk through every day and don't realize who's doing what that's God's work."
There is certainly a modern day fascination with angels. There are
books written about them and, of course, hit television shows and movies often borrow from the legend. In the middle of this fascination, spiritual leaders don't want people to forget: angels represent God but they are not gods. Sometimes they don't have our best interests in mind.
"Just as there are good angels, there are bad angels that are demonic
spirits. These are angels who fell from heaven."
Anderson says a person seeking an "angelic" presence in their life
opens the door for all angels, even evil ones. Of course, experts say,
looking for an angel and having a chance encounter are two different things. Sarah is certain an angel from God came to her assistance.
"Everybody I've told about it says 'Wow, you had an angel come pray
over you!"
Pastor Anderson believes Sarah's story. Rabbi Egolf agrees it is
possible. So, what do you believe?
People who consider themselves "angel experts" say they've learned a
few things about angels based on people's experiences. Angels are always in a hurry, they can't be traced and have a tendency to vanish once their mission is accomplished.
LA JOYA - They suspected it all along. How else to explain the moaning heard from the empty jail cell, the cool drafts in the ventless hallways and the invisible force that poked the billing clerk as she stood by the kitchen door?
Rosie Treviño Garcia, La Joya's finance director, points to where a dark shadow floats through the halls on a videotape at La Joya City Hall. She said she stumbled across the shadow on the video one day.
Delcia Lopez/Express-News
As if to pound flat any suspicions, 10 months ago the security surveillance camera captured images of what some believe is a spirit cruising the building that houses the Police Department and city offices.
The videotape, which is labeled "Ghost" and has grown fuzzy from being played repeatedly, shows a small dark, puffy cloud floating through the hallway about 5 feet above the floor.
"It goes through the hall real cool and it kind of goes around the hall and goes into the finance department," said Mike Alaniz, city administrator, describing what he has seen many times on the tape, which is kept locked in a safe. "I don't know, but it's really freaky."
Thinking the image was a shadow caused by an object coming close to the camera, some city employees tried to reproduce it.
They placed a pencil, a piece of paper, a mosquito, a fly and a finger in front of the camera, but nothing matched, supporting the view of those who believe City Hall is haunted.
"Everybody has seen or heard something," said Gracie Muñiz, 32.
She not only has heard the moaning from the jail cell, but often the squeaking of the iron doors as well. The noises at the Police Department, she says, have been going on for so long that she's used to it.
A few weeks ago, when a door slammed shut right in front of her, Muñiz called out, "OK, leave me alone. Go back to where you came from."
After capturing the shadowy apparition on tape, some employees thought about sending it to one of those television programs about ghosts, said Rosie Treviño Garcia, the city's finance director. Instead, fearing unwanted media attention, they decided to lock it away instead.
Had it not been for Garcia, who was looking at the monitors at the precise moment the dark cloud floated by, they might have missed it. She's one of the few skeptics left.
"But it makes you think. What if it is?" she said. "I want something to happen to me so that I can believe it."
All the ghost talk has many wondering why this spirit chose City Hall to roam. Did he or she die in a jail cell? Or before the city occupied the place in 1975?
Alaniz once heard chatting and chairs moving one afternoon when he was the only one in the building.
One night, the warrant officer heard the aluminum dustpan hit the floor outside the women's bathroom, the same dustpan she had seen minutes before sitting behind a vending machine.
Something poked the billing clerk's back as she stood in the hallway by the kitchen. They got that on videotape, too. Well, actually, the tape shows her looking around to see who poked her.
By all accounts, the genderless ghost is a nice one, because it never really has scared anyone.
"My trash can and my cart have been dragged a few times," said custodian Rafael Vasquez, 72, who has been working here 12 years, enough time to know the ghost is harmless. "He's already my buddy."
Some have nicknamed the ghost "Leo Viejo," after the late Leo J. Leo, a former mayor who's credited with reviving the city's fortunes after it lay dormant for about three decades.
Leo's son, William "Billy" Leo, the town's current mayor, dismisses the possibility.
The only reason his father, a staunch Democrat, would come back, Leo says, is if Republicans started mobilizing in this town of 5,000, where 90 percent of voters last November supported Tony Sanchez for governor.
Leo doesn't believe in ghosts anyway, but acknowledged the city staffers were "dead serious" when they approached him with the video.
"I remember laughing it off, but it wasn't funny to them," he said.
Others believe the visitor might be the now-deceased owner of Jackson's Grocery, whose business was located at the site for years.
Ernesto Jackson was a shrewd businessman, although he loved his cotton and tomato fields more than he did running a store, according to family members. He died of kidney failure in 1973, two years before the city opened its offices.
"My grandfather didn't die there and he didn't die with anything on his conscience," said Da Lee Garcia, the principal of Tabasco Elementary, which is just a few blocks from City Hall. "If he were to come back he would go to where his crops were. I don't think he would come back to the store."
UFOs, Bigfoot, ghosts, oh my
Ed Dubil Jr. shows off Brutus, his dog that he claims is capable of detecting ghosts. (Jennifer Vogelsong/The Sentinel)
Sharon Miller doesn't tell many people about the evening she saw a UFO hovering above her Dauphin County home in the late 1960s.
Miller, who now lives in Chambersburg, says she worries people will think she's crazy.
"At first I thought I was just imagining it, so I called my sister to come look," she recalls. "The next day I saw something in the newspaper about reports of UFO sightings."
Miller was one of more than 150 people from all over the state and beyond who came to Gettysburg Saturday for the second annual Pennsylvania Paranormal Conference.
Organized by long-time ghost hunter Rick Fisher of Lancaster, the all-day event featured authors and experts speaking on topics that included Bigfoot and UFO sightings, after-death communication, and how to start and conduct a ghost tour.
"There's lots of unexplained phenomena that happen," Fisher says. "I wanted to bring people who study these things together."
Most conference participants came from Pennsylvania, but some traveled from Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey and Chicago to attend. Two women flew in from California.
Miller, like many of those who came, wanted to spend a day among others who have had unexplainable experiences similar to her own.
Ghostly gift
Karen Graves of Reading has always enjoyed reading local history and folklore, including ghost stories. "I'm fascinated by them."
She wanted to attend Saturday's conference to talk with experts about a strange experience she had recently, but didn't ask her husband because "it cost too much money." Besides, he's a skeptic.
But her husband needed something to give her for Valentine's Day, so the two were at the conference together Saturday.
George Graves rolled his eyes and kidded with his wife as she pulled a piece of paper from a manila envelope. It was a photocopy of the back of a picture of family members with her grandfather, who died in December.
Above her mother's list of those in the photo were the words "At home, now I can rest," written in red ink in her grandfather's flowery handwriting.
She says the message wasn't there when she and her mother got photos together for her grandfather's viewing.
After the funeral, George put the photos in the trunk of his car, where they stayed until a few weeks ago when Karen took them back to her mother. It was then they found the message.
"It's a little weird," she says. "It blew my mind."
Haunting hobbies
Ed Dubil Jr. makes frequent trips to Gettysburg from his home in Harveys Lake, Pa., to learn about Civil War history.
A few years ago, he took a ghost tour and decided to join others who went out at night with cameras in hopes of photographing ghosts.
He never had much luck until four years ago when he came with his father and new American bulldog Brutus.
Whenever Brutus was around, Dubil was able to capture ghosts, or "orbs" of light, in his photos by snapping pictures when the dog started acting strange, stopping for no apparent reason, barking, or sniffing.
"They say if ghosts are going to contact anybody, it's going to be animals or children," Dubil says. "I've never seen an apparition, and until I see something, I'm going to be somewhat skeptical. But, yeah, I believe in ghosts."
Two members of a Louisville ghost research group checking on a supposedly haunted cemetery in Hardin County a burial site also known as the Gates of Hell made a gruesome discovery over the weekend.
Pamela Brooks and Angela Amerine, both members of the Kentucky Society for Ghost Research, found the remains of three dogs, a puppy, two cats, a calf and a deer scattered around Grandview Cemetery, which also had been vandalized for the second time since July.
They also discovered a bloodied 20-pound dog food bag at the property, which sits at the end of a gravel road 18 miles west of Elizabethtown.
The Kentucky State Police investigated for possible animal cruelty. But Trooper Roger Waters said no signs of animal sacrifice or cruelty existed.
He said the site appeared to be a dumping ground for the deceased animals.
"I could see where it would appear that way," Brooks said, "but the bones did have ash and char marks and they were torn apart pretty good."
Waters didn't see it that way.
"(Animals) normally have their throats cut or their heart or other organs removed in these cases," he said, adding that criminal littering, like animal cruelty charges, are misdemeanors that could result in a fine up to $500 and up to a year in jail.
Brooks thinks there's more going on, though. Many people, she said, believe the place is haunted or a gathering spot for satanic groups.
"We feel like there's enough evidence of satanic groups. Every time we go out there, we find black candles," she said. "There have also been satanic spray painting on the road leading into the cemetery and on the trees."
Waters said he found no black candles and viewed the graffiti he saw a swastika, a body outline and yellowish-orange cross as "not satanic."
Brooks said the animals "were mutilated pretty good; possibly skinned and burnt. Mostly what's left is bones, but it's not like it was decayed.
"We also found black electrical tape, which was possibly used to tape their mouths closed."
From the remains, Brooks said it appeared two of the dogs were Rottweilers, while the other two were beagles, one of which appeared to have its skull crushed.
The calf was found by a burn-barrel Brooks said was "used for animal sacrifices two or three years ago."
"Even if it's not sacrifices or ritualistic things, this is not a place to dump animals," she said. "There are families with people buried there. If they came to visit, they would have to see this and that would be awful."
The constant vandalism is something she hopes will not be seen again.
"They keep coming back and destroy what we fix," Brooks said. "Eventually, the cemetery might be lost and we don't want that to happen because our interest is to investigate the legend."
So far, those investigations have led to some eerie discoveries.
"We do believe there has been paranormal activities there," Brooks said. "There has just been some strange unexplained experiences."
For example, when the KYSGR was cleaning the grounds last July, the whole group experienced a "negative feeling they couldn't explain," Brooks said.
For many years, Brooks said the site has been a destination for thrill-seekers looking for a scare, some of whom have been scared off themselves by her group and others like it.
"We want to stop the abuse of the cemetery and stop the abuse to the animals," she said. "It's just not right."
Known as the Gates of Hell for 15 or 20 years, Brooks said, at some point, Grandview was called "the killing field."
"And after going out there (Sunday)," she said, "I can see why."
"Gobbler's Rock," so named because a turkey-hunter found it, was the first boulder-in-a-tree reported. -- Charlie Nye / staff photo.
NASHVILLE, Ind. -- Rocks and trees are natural sights in the forest.
But there's definitely something unnatural going on in Yellowwood State Forest.
Somehow, large boulders have found their way to the tops of tall trees and gotten wedged among the branches. There are at least three, maybe five, maybe more.
The first was discovered a few years ago and was dubbed Gobbler's Rock, because it was found by a turkey hunter scouting in a remote area of the 23,000-acre forest.
Since then, curious hikers have worn a path to the 80-foot-tall chestnut oak tree. High in a fork in its branches, nearly 30 feet off the ground, a massive slab of sandstone is nestled. The triangular rock, perhaps 4 feet wide and a foot thick, is estimated to weigh about 400 pounds.
The boulder itself isn't that unusual. It's the where -- not to mention the how -- that makes it so intriguing.
About five miles away, on the banks of Plum Creek, sandstone boulders are wedged in the upper branches of two tall sycamores 100 yards apart. One boulder is nearly 45 feet off the ground; both rocks appear to weigh about 200 pounds.
And a local hiker says there are two more in yet another part of the forest.
Carol Carr, 58, of Edinburgh, had visited Gobbler's Rock. Then a friend led her to the two sycamores, in a remote, seldom-visited part of Yellowwood southwest of Helmsburg.
One day, Carr was hiking with an acquaintance in a different area of the forest, on a ridge near Yellowwood Lake.
"We just wanted to go down and see the creek. All of a sudden, there's two more (boulders in trees) by the creek," Carr recalled.
What in the world is going on?
Theories range from engineering students working on a class project to fraternity boys with too much time on their hands, to tornadoes or high winds or floods or dynamite demolition gone awry.
Or UFOs.
Don't snicker. This story has "other world" written all over it.
The boulder-topped trees are up to a half-mile from the nearest road access, in remote areas of the state forest, miles apart. There's no apparent reason why the locations were picked, no damage to the trees, and no signs of any type of heavy equipment having been used to hoist the heavy rocks.
In fact, there's no signs of anything.
Except the boulders.
"You know 'Signs' (the movie) . . . Instead of crop signs, we've got tree 'signs,' " said Brenda Stine, a state forest employee at Yellowwood.
She was kidding. We think.
In fact, the bizarre rock case is highlighted at abduct.com, a UFO-related Web site. Go to http://abduct.com/taylor/lt58.htm and scroll down.
The Web site (which offers a new book for sale: "Healing the Hurt of Alien Abduction") posts a few comments from a UFO investigator about Gobbler's Rock. Included in a list of topics such as "Alien Mark Appears on Woman" and "Dogs Under Attack From UFOs," the Web site ponders this question:
Did a UFO put a boulder in this tree?
"If the rock was blown into the tree, why isn't there some sign of damage to the bark? It had to be gently rested in the branches, I would think, but by what?" the investigator asks.
Brown County Sheriff Buck Stogsdill laughed nervously when asked about the prospect of UFOs operating in his county.
"That's one of those . . . How can you answer that?" Stogsdill replied, avoiding a direct answer.
Stogsdill said a law officer was dispatched to investigate a few years ago when Gobbler's Rock was discovered. "There really wasn't much to do," he admitted. "Just look at it and try to figure it out."
They couldn't.
No one yet has been able to solve the boulder mystery.
The rocks may have originated near the trees, because sandstone boulders are scattered around the forest and the trees are a considerable distance from the nearest roadway.
Yellowwood officials say many people have claimed credit for Gobbler's Rock -- casting doubt on all the claims.
"Maybe it's some kind of club that goes around putting rocks in trees and they have a little dinner celebration afterward. I've heard that rumor," said Jim Allen, Yellowwood property manager. "Or it could be some college kids that don't have anything better to do."
Some have wondered if a boulder had been placed in the tree years ago, and had risen as the tree grew. But trees don't grow that way. The boulders must have been placed high in the trees after their trunks were sturdy enough to support them.
"You could use a block and tackle, I suppose," Allen said, referring to a rope-and-pulley system.
The fact that there are at least three boulders, possibly five or more, diminishes the likelihood of a weird tornado incident. Plus, there's no sign of wind damage to surrounding trees. And no one remembers any mishaps involving dynamite anywhere nearby.
For now, the Unexplained Resting Boulders (URBs) are being left alone by forest officials. But Allen says workers may be forced to bring them down if too many are lifted up. He doesn't want somebody to get hurt while hoisting a 300-pound boulder 40 feet into a tree.
"I would prefer this go away because of the liability issues," Allen said. "I try not to encourage stories."
The government may not want you to know about the URBs. But we're telling you anyway.
Because, well, the truth is out there.
Somebody, possibly with a few friends, has the answer.
"It's kind of a mystery of who and how," said Sheriff Stogsdill.
"And why. That's another one. Why?"
*Extra:
What's up?
State officials are at a loss to explain how several boulders have found their way to the tops of tall trees in Yellowwood State Forest in Brown County.
Here's how to find them:
The Yellowwood State Forest office (1-812-988-7945) has maps showing the general location of Gobbler's Rock. To reach the office, travel west of Nashville on Ind. 46. After about five miles, turn north on Yellowwood Road and follow the signs.
To reach Gobbler's Rock, head north on Yellowwood Lake Road from the office about three miles, and then turn west on Lanam Ridge Road. Turn left onto Ind. 45, and then quickly turn left (south) on Tulip Tree Road. Follow this gravel road about two miles, and park in a small pull-off near the gate.
From this point, having a compass is suggested. Continue walking south about a half-mile, and look for a cleared, grassy area on the left. Look for an old logging path that leads east from the cleared area, and follow it east and south. Gobbler's Rock is high on a south-facing slope overlooking a ravine. (GPS coordinates: N39 12.204, W86 21.955)
To find two other rocks:
From the Yellowwood Forest office, travel north on Yellowwood Lake Road about three miles. Turn right (east) on Lanam Ridge Road. Follow the road about three miles, and turn west on Dollsberry Lane (it's about a mile south of Helmsburg). Follow the gravel road until it ends; park in a small parking area on the south side of the roadway.
From this point, a compass is required; there is no marked trail or path, and underbrush in some areas is thick. Follow the old roadway west, and then southwest. South of the pond (which is on private property), you must bushwhack southwest to Plum Creek, then follow the creek as it meanders west. The two sycamores holding rocks are on the north creek bank, about a third of a mile west-southwest from the parking area. The trees are about 100 yards apart, but not visible from each other. (GPS coordinates: N39 14.986, W86 18.492; N39 14.984, W86 18.560)
Be sure to note landmarks while hiking in to assist you in finding your way out.
ONCE upon a time there was a lovely princess. But she had a fearful enchantment, which could only be broken by love's first kiss. Many fairy tales have a similar theme. From our childhood, we all remember those bedtime stories about bewitched princesses, brave princes, wise wizards and wicked witches.
Shamans, magicians and people with paranormal abilities existed, and still do. However, we don't know much about these mysterious skills. Some have been scientifically acknowledged, though not explained. The same can be said of illness - when traditional medicine fails to find a cure, shamans and healers can often find the answer.
The person I was to interview, András Fischl, who prefers to be known by his artistic name of Frabato, is well-known by the Hungarian media. One journalist called him "Dancer with the Wolves", after the Kevin Costner movie, as he keeps white Alaskan wolves and a tiger at his farm. The wolves are trained to rescue people from the effects of natural disasters. In such situations they are often better than dogs, as their lupine senses are 10 times stronger than that of canines.
Frabato is a magician, an astrologer, a clairvoyant and an exorcist.
He's even helped the Hungarian police solve difficult cases. He's a busy man and his schedule hectic - the earliest I could make an appointment to interview him was two weeks after my initial call to his secretary.
In the semi-darkness of a small room at his studio, at the corner of Andrassyand Rozsa út in the centre of Budapest, burned a single candle.
Dressed in a black silk shirt and black jeans, Frabato greeted me. His business card, written in black on a dark red background reads, "Frabato. Magician. Love Spells. Removal of the Evil Eye. Exorcism.
Chiromancy and Palmistry. Horoscope Reading".
On a table before him was a deck of Tarot cards and a little wax doll embedded with a dozen pins.
Having caught my inquisitive glance, he smiled and said, "No, no, this is not what you should think. Absolutely not. This is only a part of my love of magic, besides the love spells."
"For me, I often refuse to make love spells when I see that they may blight the normal life of a family. It is necessary to consider how my spells might change the destinies of those involved. If I see, for example, that a new couple won't be together for long and their families might be hurt or children might suffer, I refuse to help," he said.
Frabato went on to say that, "You know, one's happiness cannot be built on other person's troubles", adding that Hippocrates once wrote "harm must not be done" in his principals of the Father of Medicine (circa 460-377 BC). "This applies in the circles of magic also. Hippocrates was much more of a magician than a doctor. Most of what he prescribed was based on a deep knowledge of magic," Frabato claimed.
Love spells are one of the oldest ways known of attracting a mate.
Love spells and potions are very popular, but who can help us in these matters? Wizards, witches, warlocks, sorcerers or magicians? What should we call them? I asked.
"I personally dislike the word 'magician'," explained Frabato.
"Nowadays, we use it for those who are skilled at creating illusion by sleight of hand, but I tend to refer to it by its traditional meaning. Anyway, I think the word "magician" doesn't cover everything that I do, but it's much better than all other existing words and that's why I use it," he said.
"Magic, as we know it today, was born long ago. f you take prehistoric people's rock drawings, this provides a perfect example of the magic of desire. In those days it was first necessary to draw on a rock the scene of a successful hunt if you wanted it to be successful."
What kind of magic does Fabrato prefer to use, I asked?
"I mainly work with the world of spirits and the magic of desire. This is the kind of magic which can boost my own or my client's desire," he said. "For example, you come to me to find out your future. I can tell your fortune using cards, your palm, or by preparing your own customized horoscope and so on," said Frabato.
An integral part of magic is astrology. Spells, talismans and amulets have all been used at times, when the position of the planets, it is believed, can strengthen their force and effect.
"I can tell you what will happen, but you have to take into consideration that human destiny is not invariable," he said. "The ancient Chinese used to say that our life is like a branch of a tree: Moving forward, you always choose your way and from this, you change your life
"I can correct your destiny", said Frabato. "I can remove the effect of devil eye, I can make your talisman and I can conjure poltergeist and other spirits from your house.
What did he think about religion, I wondered.
"I can not separate religions, whether it be Buddhism, Islam or Christianity," Frabato said. "In his time Mohammed, Arab prophet and founder of Islam, called on Christians to unite two religions into one, explaining there is only one God for all people, no matter how one calls him. The Christians refused to unite. The formal reason of refusal was that Jesus - Isa in Arabian - was only a prophet in Islam and not the Son of God Each religion with the course of time accepted something, which distinguished it from another religion.
"A classic example is the pentagram or five-point star. Is it a magic sign? People very often connect this sign with black magic, evil ghosts or even the devil, largely thanks to the popular bestsellers. However, this magic sign protects one from evil and until the beginning of the 13th century it was accepted by the Christian church and symbolized the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Later it was removed - with some others - from symbols of Christianity in order to separate 'bad' from 'good' and paganism from Christianity," he said.
At the end of interview I asked one last important question. "You told me that you could help to change one's life. Can this be applied to a business life also?"
"Certainly, yes. I have some regular clients who are businessmen. They often come to me and I help their businesses to become more successful. It works and they always come back," said Frabato.
(This one has no pictures, but just too good to pass up).
Women in Maru, headquarters of Maru Local Government area of Zamfara have been forced to remain indoors in the evenings for fear of a strange creature which chases them.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the mysterious creature, said to be half human, half horse, usually appear in the early hours of the morning and in the evenings.
The appearance of the strange creature has crippled the socio-economic activities in the town, especially at night as people prefer to stay at home from 4 pm till morning.
The creature believed to have surfaced in different locations of the town is causing so much anxiety and fear among residents, particularly women.
When contacted to comment on the issue, one of the sons of Emir of Maru, Alhaji Isa Maru said the rumour was strong and "we are still trying to get to the root of it."
Hundreds of Baku residents became the witnesses of the unusual phenomenon - the unidentified flying object buzzed above the city on Monday in the evening.
UFO was observed in various parts of capital approximately from 5 pm to 7pm (Baku time). In the cloudless sky the large light stain similar to an extended "drop of milk" has appeared.
The object was not similar to a cloud, aboard the plane or the helicopter, as moved on a complex trajectory, Ekho newspaper report says. At 18:35 "drop" suddenly started quickly to leave, was not dissolved yet in the sky. The abnormal object has caused interest not only the people of Baku, but also Azerbaijani experts.
Professor Elchin Khalilov, chief of a commission on the abnormal phenomena at presidium of Academy of Sciences, shot the UFO on amateur. Mr. Khalilov has noted that they had already started to study the video.
"With similar UFO we face for the first time," he told to reporters. "It is already unequivocally clear, that the fixed object is not the plane, helicopter or other flying means. The UFO represents enough, slightly extended form. Thus is abundantly clear, that it is object of a technical origin."
UFO hung at height of 5 kilometers, and then has departed to the Caspian Sea side. "I can not tell exactly how far the UFO was," he said. "All depends on the size of UFO. On our sight it exceeded 10 m. UFO was rather low above ground and it was large enough, with symmetric elements on each side."
"I admit that this object can be any spy, but only theoretically. We have experts in air navigation, space researches, astrophysics, which will involve for the analysis of this shooting," promised Elchin Khalilov.
Fuad Gasimov, chairman of Cosmic Seismological Department of Azerbaijan National Aero cosmic Agency says, appearance of UFOs in the sky is an alarm signal for people who "destroys ecosystem of planet".
As Baku Today reported early this year, an UFO appeared on Baku on January 2. Some scientists claim that UFOs were also observed before and warned about natural disaster. Mr. Gasimov stated that UFOs hinder the prediction of earthquakes and researches carried out in this field.
"They don't want mankind reveal their secret. But there are some facts stating that UFOs keep in touch with the scientists. Though most approach these unserious, objects keep in touch with selected persons by the means of Morse alphabet or telepathy signals and transmit information related to the future," he told to journalists in January of this year. It seems UFO will become "normal guest" for Baku inhabitants soon.
Photos are the courtesy of ANS TV and EXO newspaper.
Does this ghostly face prove the existence of the supernatural?
Taken by Mike and Ann Foote from Bournemouth on a trip to Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, the photograph contains the pale image of an old woman.
"There's bound to be a scientific explanation - we're very cynical people.
"Neither of us believes in ghosts but we just couldn't explain it," said Mrs Foote, who works part-time as a civil servant.
A friend of Mrs Foote believes it is the face of Mrs Mary Florence Bonham-Cox-Christie an infamous recluse and the previous owner of Brownsea Island who died in 1961.
'Simple reflection'
Under Mrs Bonham-Christie's ownership, Brownsea became known as "Keep-Away Island" after she expelled islanders banned visitors.
Mrs Foote said the image, taken on digital camera in Brownsea Castle where Mrs Bonham-Christie lived, has not been tampered with.
"I wouldn't have anything to gain, would I?
"I was just interested to know if something similar had happened to anyone else."
Dave Hazel, a photography expert from Bournemouth Arts Institute has dismissed the picture as a simple reflection.
But Mrs Foote said there was no-one in the room that looked like the woman in the photograph.
Mrs Foote said: "We thought it was something inside the room, something that stood behind my husband as he took the picture but we don't know what it was."
The ghostly face of a long dead matriarch or a simple reflection, what do you think?
During our weather coverage at 6 p.m. Chopper 4's Jim Gardner brought us images of a storm near Hennessey.
Shortly after that live shot our phone lines were flooded with calls from viewers who were convinced they had seen a mysterious image in the clouds.
The callers said they had seen a "heavenly" face staring back from the storm clouds.
We've pulled the tape and, sure enough, there is an unusual image peeking out from the top of the thunderhead. We talked to Jim Gardner and photographer Tony Stizza, neither said they noticed the image while they were in the air.
We'll just have to chalk this one up as an "unsolved mystery."
Did home video catch a spook?
By Paul Dykes
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
12 August 2003
Is this white outline recorded on a family outing at the seaside a ghost from the past?
A GHOSTLY figure captured unwittingly on a home video camera has spooked a Belfast family.
The Garvin family from the Shankill was enjoying a family day out at Grey Point fort near Helen's Bay on Belfast Lough when mum Christina sensed something was wrong.
Dad Trevor was using the family's camcorder to film a panoramic sweep of the shoreline when Christina thought she glimpsed something odd out of the corner of her eye.
It was only when the family ran the video on the television back home that they saw what appeared to be a ghost walking past them along a pathway.
The figure appears on the tape as a white outline, transparent at first, but with the benefit of slow-motion replays various features can be made out.
"When you slow it down, it's pretty impressive stuff," Christina told the Belfast Telegraph.
"It really did scare me. I didn't sleep for the first couple of nights. He turns his head towards us and you can see his elbows moving as he walks."
The family has since watched the tape over and over and is convinced the figure is that of a World War Two soldier or pilot, wearing a flat peaked cap and perhaps a life vest over a long coat.
They called in Warren Coates from the Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association, and he too believes the ghostly figure is a genuine apparition caught on video tape.
"It looks like a soldier on sentry duty on patrol along the coast," Mr Coates said.
"It is good, what they've got. There's a lot of history in the Crawfordsburn area.
"I would say it is a residual haunting, strange phenomena that are recordings in time that only certain people in certain places at certain times would be able to see.
"He is walking left to right (across the screen) and you can see its upper arms moving. It's not going to rock the paranormal world, but it will generate an awful lot of interest."
He said there was a need to get the tape verified and analysed, and the Garvin family was also keen to get to the bottom of the weird event that ruined their outing.
"It spoiled the mood for the family - even the dog wanted to leave," Christina recalled.
"We will make the tape available to anyone who is top in their field. I would love to have this analysed. I would be happy to have it discounted."
