October 2015 – Museum of the Weird

Posted on October 30, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Shocking footage: Teen possessed through phone app

You’ve heard stories about bad things happening through a Ouija board, but a phone app should be safe enough, right? See what you think after watching this disturbing footage of a teenager from Peru who appeared to be possessed after playing with a Ouija game on her telephone. You can see the full story in this news article.

Connecting with entities through these portals is serious business and should not be done lightly. If you plan to play with a Ouija board here are some things that you must do to be safe.

Never do this alone. Make sure someone is around to keep an eye on you. If something goes wrong you want someone there who can notice and help.
Create a protected spiritual space. You might say a prayer and sing a hymn before you begin. You might cast a circle. Do something from your own spiritual practice to call protection to you and ward off darker entities.
Don’t just ask for anyone. This is the spiritual equivalent of walking out in the street and yelling “Anyone want to come home with me?” Aleister Crowly recommended calling upon specific people and entities. This is a good plan.
If something feels wrong, stop. End the session immediately.
Record your session. It’s good to have a record, but it’s also a way to detect if something odd happened that has been removed from your memory.

If you follow these guidelines you can have an interesting connection with the spirit world. Of course, even these steps don’t guarantee your safety. There is a risk any time that you open this door. Learning what is out there and how to ground and protect yourself are critical.

Of course, sometimes people get hold of Ouija boards and realize that it’s not right for them. If you have a board that you need removed I provide this as a free service to people in the Austin, Texas areas. I will take the board away and see that it is properly handled. I will also perform a sage cleansing of your home to help dispel any lingering negative energy. If you need this service, please contact me directly.

This is the time of year when the veil between worlds is thin, so it’s a great time to reach out. Be smart. Be safe. Have a great Halloween (or Samhain if you will). Take time visit us at the Museum for some extra-spooky fun.

Saul Ravencraft's signature

Posted on October 23, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Ghost hag stalks children in Ft. Worth museum

You take your children to the Fort Worth Museum. After a day of educational fun you come back home and review the pictures of the day.

“Who’s that?” your child asks pointing to someone in a picture. With a chill, you realize that there is something unearthly in the picture. Something that was there with your child!

This is the exact experience that one gentleman had. Here is a picture he took in a little mock grocery store exhibit they had set up for younger children.

photo of a grocery store exhibit for kids with miniature shopping carts, shelves full of items and a checkout register — This looks like harmless family fun

In this next picture things look a little different. What is that strange figure in the upper right?

a photo of the grocery store exhibit in the museum with a ghostly figure in the upper right — What is that thing in the top right of the picture?

Do you see? Look again…

Closer view of the mysterious draped figure that seems void of color with exagerated arms and hands — Seriously! What is that?

The original post discussion was on Reddit by KRAMERisCRUNK. He says that when he took the picture he did not see anyone in that part of the exhibit. Skeptics insist that he was mistaken, but they weren’t there, were they?

In the discussion is this comment:

[–]CagedGod

Is this just a weird camera trick or is it evidence of the unseen world? If it is an apparition, what is its reason for being around these children? Is it just watching or does it have another purpose?

Most spirit encounters aren’t actually harmful. They are just strange and surprising because they defy our understanding of reality. The main spirit in our own Museum is sometimes even helpful in her own way and we definitely feel that she watches over things. (We are going to attempt to make contact with her and any other spirits in the area on Wednesday the 28th. Reserve your spot.)

I cannot draw any conclusions about this photograph. I do take the photographer at his word that he did not notice anyone there when he took the picture. It remains a mystery…and we like those.

Posted on October 16, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Chupacabra proof found in Chile?

Drawing of a chupacabra, a small humanoid creature with large black eyes and spikes coming out of its back

The Chupacabra is perhaps one of the most mysterious creatures that we follow. A newer addition to the cryptid list, these strange, blood-sucking creatures were first reported around 1995 in Puerto Rico. Variations of the creature have ranged from a small humanoid with large teeth and a spiked spine to a dog-like creature seen around Texas. In all cases the appearance of the chupacabra includes death to livestock with a mysterious lack of blood on the scene, as though the predator was thirsty for it.

After much conjecture, the Daily Mail reports a farmer in Chile who has actually found and preserved two corpses of the legendary creature. Javier Prohens, a goat farmer, had his lunch suddenly interrupted by farmhand 54-year-old Bricio Saldivar who was very agitated. He took them to the corpses of these bizarre creatures outside of Monte Patria. The remains were unlike anything they had ever seen.

Picture of two animal bodies found in Chile, thought to be chupacabras — Two mysterious bodies might be the mysterious chupacabra

Close-up view of chupacabra corpse head — Closeup of the mysterious corpse shows vicious teeth and human-like ears.

In the Museum we have a display of several pieces of evidence for Bigfoot. We reported recent evidence where people have heard the creatures in Canada, yet many still deny their existence. Will these bodies help people to take the chupacabra legends more seriously?

More updates as they become available. Come visit the Museum of the Weird to see our evidence for mysterious creatures.

Posted on October 9, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Live two-headed pig born in China!

At the Museum we have a number of specimens of animal oddities, including a number of two-headed animals. Many of these animals had no life. Nature was just too brutal to them. It’s wonderful to see someone who is a survivor.

A Chinese man holds a two-headed piglet — This amazing animals was adopted and is still alive

According to this story in the U.K.’s Daily Mail, the animal was left outside a temple in Xinkou town, Tianjin. Because of the weight of his head he is unable to stand up and requires significant care. He was discovered and adopted by a Yang Jinliang. Because it is so young it must be fed with a bottle and Jinliang says it is able to eat from both mouths.

This is truly a miraculous story. We hope that the pig has a chance to grow up. We will provide more information as we hear it.

Visit the Museum this weekend and see our own amazing collection of animal oddities, including a number of two-headed creatures.

Saul Ravencraft's signature

Posted on October 7, 2015 by MOTW Admin

There’s evidence of alien life and the FBI has it

Depiction of a "grey alien"Rendered by Bobby from devientart.com — Depiction of a “grey alien”
Rendered by Bobby from devientart.com

In 1994, researchers were planning to open a museum in Hakui, Japan, devoted to the history and evidence of UFOs. Amongst the 10,000 reports they had collected was a memo dated March 22, 1950 to FBI Director J Edgar Hoover from Federal special agent Guy Hottel, who was in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. This is three years after the reported Roswell incident. Here are quotes from that memo:

“An investigator for the Air Force states that three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico.

“They were described as being circular in shape with raised centres, approximately 50 feet in diameter.

“Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only 3 feet tall, dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture.

“According to Mr [redacted], the saucers were found in New Mexico due to the fact that the Government has a very high-powered radar set-up in that area and it is believed the radar interferes with the controlling mechanism of the saucers.”

If we read that correctly that suggests that nine extraterrestrial bodies were recovered from the crash in Roswell and that someone has the bodies and the wreckage.

The Freedom of Information act has now revealed further FBI papers dated from 1994 which indicate concern about what information are contained in these files. The FBI apparently began to keep a close eye on the planned opening of the museum. One particular memo from January 1994 cites specific areas of concern including these statements by museum official, Toru Wada:

“In the future, we hope the center will become a focus of international attention in terms of collecting and disseminating information on UFOS.”

“The city has painstakingly acquired the documents over a 10-year period from such sources as the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).”

The memo also cites this statement by Josen Takano, a municipal employee who was interested in UFOs who had collected US information on the topic: “Takano said efforts are under way to gather even more information through a network of enthusiasts in 12 other countries.”

Photo of UFO-shaped Cosmo Isle building which has a large model of a moon-style rocket standing to its right — Cosmo Isle Hakui
Photo by Hirorinmasa [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

What happened next may be more telling. The UFO center did not open as planned, but went through a lot of changes. It is called the Cosmo Isle Hakui. The building is still somewhat UFO shaped, but has placed much more emphasis on exhibits depicting NASA Space Research.

Did someone step in and change the course of the museum? There are rumors that some of the documents were actually seized by FBI agents, which is remarkable since this would be on foreign (if allied) soil.

There are critics who say that these memos don’t constitute any evidence and that the whole idea is just pure fantasy. Others point out that these documents are obvious indications that the government is hiding solid evidence on the nature of UFOs and the existence of extraterrestrials.

As in all cases like this, we wait to see more.

Read more reports at Yahoo News, Express News, UK, and Daily Star, UK

Posted on October 6, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Could this fossilized flea unleash deadly plague?

The flea in this picture could contain the ancestor to one of the most horrifying diseases known to the human race, the Black Death. Also called the bubonic plague, this disease killed an estimated 50 million people in the 14th century, or 60 per cent of Europe’s entire population.

Examination of this flea found droplets of the deadly bacteria on its proboscis (sucking mouthpart) and in its backside. This thing’s got it bad!

George Poinar, Jr., an entomology researcher in the College of Science at Oregon State University, told Discover News reporters “Aside from physical characteristics of the fossil bacteria that are similar to plague bacteria, their location in the rectum of the flea is known to occur in modern plague bacteria, and in this fossil, the presence of similar bacteria in a dried droplet on the proboscis of the flea is consistent with the method of transmission of plague bacteria by modern fleas.”

In other words, it looks like we’ve got a winner!

Just as the mosquito that started all the trouble in Jurrasic Park, this chunk of amber was pulled from a mine in the Dominican Republic. Is it possible that this bacteria could somehow be revived? It’s not likely. Generally things that have been trapped in rock for 20 million years are going to be pretty dead. However, we have discovered bacteria that can survive in space, so what do we know?

Enlarged photo of flea with arrow pointing to traces of bacteria — The arrow points at bacteria on the proboscis of this flea preserved in amber, which researchers believe may be an ancestral strain of the bacteria that causes bubonic plague.
Photo by George Poinar, Jr., courtesy of Oregon State University [CC BY-SA 2.0]

Another question is could an early form of this plague have been partially responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago? Research suggests that the big event was a large asteroid (and that more may be coming). But imagine the double-whammy of terrible disease and an astro-event!Poinar added “If this is an ancient strain of Yersinia, it would be extraordinary. It would show that plague is actually an ancient disease that no doubt was infecting and possibly causing some extinction of animals long before any humans existed. Plague may have played a larger role in the past than we imagined.”Hopefully all of this will remain scientific curiosity and we won’t have some strange event that brings on the zombie apocalypse. Though, it wouldn’t hurt to have a few cans of food and some extra water handy.

Read the original Discovery News article.

Posted on October 5, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Walking through the woods when you hear this

Imagine you are enjoying a pleasant walk in the woods on Vancouver Island. Suddenly, the air is pierced by a terrible howl. Your blood runs cold as you try to imagine what it could be. Is that a dog? Is it a man in agony? Is it something unearthly?

Residents of Alert Bay don’t have to imagine. They are experiencing it. Several residents have reporting hearing what some believe are vocalizations from Sasquatch in the area. A young man named Mackenzie Mountain managed to get a recording on his phone. CTV, Vancouver had this video report where you can hear some of the recording.

I have been searching for the original, but have had no luck so far. If anyone has a pointer to it I’d be much obliged.

British Columbia has historically had more sightings of Bigfoot than anywhere else in Canada according to records at the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. (California has the most recorded sightings in the world.) As the news story reported, people have not only heard these calls but they have seen creatures.

Also noted in the video, Vancouver Island does not have the sort of wildlife that is normally given as probable explanations for Bigfoot sightings. There are no bears or other such creatures on the island. It’s also remarkable that something could manage to stay hidden in such a small place. Vancouver Island is less than 3 miles across. This gives some weight to the idea that it could be some sort of inter-dimensional being.

Bigfoot researchers have taken an interest in the sightings and CTV had a follow up story with John Bindernagel who traveled to the area to get his own recordings. (See his web site. We have the Bigfoot cast he shows on his home page in our Museum!) You might be interested in his latest book, The Discovery of the Sasquatch.

Will this lead us closer to answers about Bigfoot? I’m always hopeful. As always, we wait and watch to see. Have you had a Bigfoot encounter? Tell us!

Posted on October 2, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Creepy shadow appears at noon

George Johnston, a barman in Dartmouth, Devon in England, captured something pretty weird at a corner called Deadman’s Cross. The location, shown here in Google Maps, doesn’t look like much, but at about noon from a perspective across the street this collection of street signs and a light puts out a very disturbing shadow. Here is Johnston’s original picture from Facebook, showing what appears to be man hanging from a post. What’s even stranger is that this intersection is called Deadman’s Cross because it used to be the sight of executions!

Creepy photo captured by George Johnston (see original post)

Obviously, this is just a strange trick of the light combined with pareidolia, our predilection for seeing meaningful patterns. (This has been sited as our reason for seeing people on Mars.) But is something like this really just a coincidence? After all, this picture has generated a lot of interest in this intersection. Perhaps this curiosity will cause someone to dig deeper into the history of these executions and people may be remembered who were otherwise lost to obscurity.

I was able to find little information about the history of Deadman’s Cross, and now I’m interested.

Shadows are fascinating. Several artists have harnessed them in bizarre works of art. Take some time to view this amazing exhibit by Tim Noble and Sue Webster who use light and artistically arranged piles of junk to create haunting images.

And who could forget this famous shadow moment from Nosferatu?

https://youtu.be/mCUW4SwmfGc

Of course, shadows cannot really harm us. They can only make us remember and imagine. Here’s hoping that you see angels in your shadows today.

Saul Ravencraft's signature

Posted on October 1, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Officer trapped by swarming bees

On Tuesday afternoon (9/29/2015) officers responded to an overturned truck in Garvin County, Oklahoma. This had a difference, though, as the truck was carrying bee hives. You’ve heard of situations when police show up to help at a scene and find those they want to help turning on them? That was the experience of officer Carl Zink who found himself trapped inside his cruiser while thousands of unhappy bees swarmed his vehicle.

What did he do? He did what many of us would do with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He filmed it on his phone. Here is dramatic video.

Incredibly, Officer Zink was only stung once. Beekeepers showed up to cleanse the vehicle and get the bees safely reorganized.

Were the bees really attacking his truck in anger? Probably not. When bees have trouble with their hive they will swarm. The traffic incident probably put the bees into a defensive mode in the beginning, but very quickly their priority became to find a new home.

Swarming bees collect on a tree
Photo by fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au [GFDL 1.2], via Wikimedia Commons

According to this Washington Post article a swarm of bees can happen under many circumstances. When a hive grows too large the old queen will fly off with a contingent to find a new home and a new queen will be formed in the existing hive. Of course, if the home is threatened the bees will have to swarm to find a new one.

In fact, bee expert Thomas Seeley says that honeybees are at their safest when swarming. He explains that a swarm of bees has no home to defend, they are simply in transition, so they are less likely to be aggressive. If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.

If you encounter a warm of bees you should do what they did in Oklahoma. Contact a beekeeper who can deal with them safely. Our bees are currently in decline with a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder. Because of the importance of the bee in agriculture (and much of our other plant life) loss of bees would have a serious impact on our future. Any time you can save a colony of bees you help to maintain and grow that population. Look for a local beekeeper association for help.

Just like our friends, the spiders (who may rain down upon us or build giant creepy webs) bees have a special place on the planet. They may be weird, but they are important.