unexplained

Mandela Effect – False Memory or Shift in the Multiverse?

Have you ever come to realize that something you’ve always believed to have been true is actually false, like a verse in a song or the spelling of a name or product?

There’s a popular theory going around the Internet that when these realizations happen, it’s not because your memory is off, but that it’s the universe instead.  Every once in a while there are these shifts in the universe where alternate versions are split apart or combined with one another, creating these situations where people seem to have incorrect memories of past events.

The Mandela Effect is the term given to this alleged shifting and realigning of the universe, or rather, this plane of existence in the universe.  The multiverse theory argues that there are an infinite number of universes out there, all stacked next to each other.  Each time a decision is made, then a new universe is created for the opposite side of the decision.  This pattern goes on infinitely until the end of time.

What the Mandela Effect argues is that every once in a while these universes merge with each other, and people who may have been living in one universe are suddenly living in an alternate universe, a nearly identical universe where everything is almost exactly the same except for a minor detail that gives away the shift.  Nobody can feel the shift, nor does anybody know exactly when it takes place.  All people can do is take a look at their current world and see if anything is “off” or just not right according to their memory.

The Mandela Effect is named after Nelson Mandela, a member of the African National Congress who was arrested for being a terrorist back in 1962, he was released from prison in 1990, and then he became president of South Africa in 1994.

According to some people, it was impossible for Nelson Mandela to have become president as they are positive that they remember seeing news stories about how Mandela actually died in prison.  How can somebody who had allegedly died later become the president of a country?

Enter the Mandela Effect. Read more…

Movie Review – The Haunting (1963)

Today we’re taking a look at The Haunting, a 1963 horror film that takes viewers into a house believed to be terrorized by ghosts and other evil spirits.

Nearly everybody has heard of an allegedly haunted home in their town or neighborhood, an old, unkept or unoccupied place where it’s said that restless spirits gather at night.  That premise is used in The Haunting where a paranormal psychologist takes a small team with him to investigate Hill House, an old home that has seen its share of death and is a place where ghosts still call home.  But are the ghosts and paranormal entities real, or is it just part of their imagination?

The Haunting (1963) – movie poster

The Haunting is a black-and-white paranormal horror film based on the book, The Haunting of Hill House.  The film was directed by Robert Wise and stars Julie Harris in the lead role of Eleanor Lance, a psychologically fragile woman who is known for having a paranormal event in her past.  Supporting her are Claire Bloom as Theodora, Richard Johnson as Dr. John Markway, and Russ Tamblyn as Luke Sanderson.

The Haunting (1963) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The Haunting begins as Dr. John Markway does a voiceover and tells us a brief history of Hill House.  We quickly learn that Hill House is a house that has been surrounded by death and mystery.  The house was built by Hugh Crain as a home for his wife and daughter, Abigail, in a remote part of New England.  As a carriage was bringing Hugh Crain’s young wife to the completed house, the horses were spooked and the carriage crashed against a tree, killing his wife before she could step foot into the house.

Instead of leaving, Hugh Crain and Abigail remained in Hill House.  Hugh remarried but his second wife fell down a flight of stairs in the house and died from her injuries.  Following his second wife’s death, Hugh Crain went to England where he would later die in a drowning accident, leaving Abigail with a caregiver in Hill House.

Abigail chose to continue living in the nursery throughout her years at Hill House, never changing rooms or even seeking a husband and family of her own.  Later in life she would become bed-ridden and dependent upon a young female companion from the village.  Her young companion would often sneak away and see her boyfriend while the elder Abigail slept.  One evening the companion was away when Abigail desperately needed help.  She died and the companion inherited Hill House. Read more…

The Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

It was five days ago when Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777-200ER airliner with 227 passengers and 12 members of the flight crew, simply disappeared from its flight path.

What should have been an ordinary flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, China has quickly turned into perhaps the biggest mystery right now in the world.

Flight 370 departed from Malaysia at 12:41 AM local time on March 8, 2014.  As far as we know, everything seemed to be normal as the airliner flew to the north-northeast on its course to Beijing, China.  When the pilots acknowledged the radio communications being handed off to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, before the aircraft entered Vietnamese airspace, that was the last that anybody heard from the aircraft.  The airliner ceased communicating with air traffic control, and there was no more signal from the Boeing 777’s transponder.

This loss of communications occurred about an hour after take-off as Flight 370 was still over the Gulf of Thailand.  The airliner was at its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, and cruising speed of 471 knots.

There was no bad weather anywhere near the vicinity of where Flight 370 disappeared.  Nor are there any reports of the aircraft’s ELT (emergency locator transmitter — a device that sends out a distress call / homing beacon after a crash landing).  There are also no signs of any wreckage despite a large, multinational task force searching for the missing aircraft.

Right now there are many theories about what might of happened to the missing airliner.  Before we take a look at some of the theories, let’s examine some of the evidence that we know for a fact.

EVIDENCE Read more…

How To Play Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board

The game Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board has its origins dating back to the 1660s and the Great Plague of London, making this one of the oldest games / rituals that is still practiced today.

Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board involves a person lying on the floor with a group of people surrounding her.  The people place their fingers underneath the person, chant “light as a feather, stiff as a board,” and the person seems to magically lift into the air.  As long as the supporters keep their fingers underneath the person, then she’ll stay in the air.

Playing Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board is quite easy.  The game normally involves five or six people and can be performed within minutes.

How to play Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board (the simplest way):

1) Have somebody lie on the floor.  This person is “dead” and should cross their arms over their chest and remain motionless.

2) The four or five other people kneel on the floor and take a position around the “dead” person.  Normally this involves a person at the head and two people at each upper arm and two more at each upper leg.

3) Each person needs to slide the fingertips of their index fingers underneath the “dead” person — ideally around the shoulders, upper arms, and around the knees.  These spots are all surrounding the “dead” person’s center of mass and make it easier to play this game.

4) Everybody chants “light as a feather, stiff as a board” while slowly applying upward pressure with their fingertips.

5) Within moments the “dead” person’s body will magically be lifted into the air.

6) Gently set down the “dead” person.  Don’t drop him or her.

Read more…

How To Play The Midnight Man / The Midnight Game

Depending how you call it, this game / ritual is either called the Midnight Man or the Midnight Game.

The Midnight Game is a ritual that allegedly invites a spirit known as the Midnight Man into your home.  The spirit will attempt to find and capture you, but you’re supposed to stay ahead of it the whole time.  The game ends several hours later as the Midnight Man leaves your home.

To play the Midnight Game you’ll need a home that has a wooden front door.  You’ll also need to make sure that the floor is clear of obstructions as you’ll be walking around in the dark and don’t want to trip or injure yourself.

Make sure that you begin this ritual / game before midnight.  It will take at least 3.5 hours to complete.

tools needed to play the Midnight Game:

• a large candle

• piece of paper

• pen or pencil

• a box of matches or lighter

• a container of salt (for emergency use against the Midnight Man)

• a CLEAN needle, pin or lancet to prick your finger

• a small bandage for your finger (optional)

How to start playing the Midnight Game :

1) Before it’s midnight, write your FULL NAME with a pen or pencil on a piece of paper.  This means your first, middle and last name.

2) Prick your finger with the needle or pin and place a drop of YOUR BLOOD onto the paper with your full name.  Allow a moment for the blood to soak into the paper.  Place a bandage onto your finger if necessary to stop the bleeding.

3) Turn off all the lights and go to your front door (remember that it must be wooden for this ritual).

4) Place the paper with your name on the floor in front of the door.  Light the candle and set it on top of the paper.

5) At the stroke of midnight, begin knocking on the door 22 times.  You MUST finish knocking before the clock reaches 12:01 am.

6) Open the front door and then blow out the candle.

7) Close the door and immediately re-light the candle.

This ritual invites the Midnight Man into your home.  Now the real part of the game begins. Read more…

How To Play The Closet Game And Summon A Demon

At one time or another we’ve all been afraid of something in our closet, whether it’s the bogeyman, a scary monster, or whatever frightened you as a child.

How many of you still make sure that your closet door is closed when you go to bed each night?  Still a little bit afraid of what *might* be hiding in there, waiting to claim you as a victim when you’re asleep and unprotected?

The Closet Game is a paranormal urban legend that takes our natural fears of the closet and the dark to the next level.  As you read in this article’s title, the Closet Game may also have you summon a demon into your home.

The Closet Game is simple and only takes a few minutes.  As long as you can remember a brief set of instructions, and have the skills to not light your home on fire, then you should be okay.  Before you start playing, make sure that it’s dark outside and you can safely stand inside of your closet while the door is closed.  Some of you may need to do a little bit of cleaning while you’re in there.

Tools needed:  a book of matches

How to play the Closet Game:

1) Some time at night, take the book of matches into your bedroom.  Turn off the light and step into your closet.  Do NOT turn on the closet’s light at any point in this ritual.

2) Shut the closet’s door, face it, and stand still for TWO MINUTES.  No talking during this period.

3) Hold a match in front of you and say out loud, “Show me the light or leave me in darkness.”

4) Listen carefully.  Do NOT turn around.  If you hear anything, quickly light the match.  Failure to light the match fast enough after hearing whispering *may* result in a demon grabbing you from behind and dragging you into its realm of darkness.

5) Keep the match lit while you’re in the closet.  If it goes out then quickly light a second one.

6) While holding the lit match in front of you, slowly open the closet door and step out of it.  Close the door behind you.  Do NOT turn around and look behind you into the closet.

NOTE – If your heard the whispering or the match lit on its own, then you have a demon in your closet.  Always remember to have a light on in your room (on in the closet) whenever you need to go into the closet.  If you leave the closet door open at night with the lights off, then you may see a pair of glowing demon eyes watching you.

There are two obvious warnings with this ritual. Read more…

How To Play The Bloody Mary Urban Legend

One of the most popular Halloween games is called Bloody Mary.

For those of you who don’t know, Bloody Mary is an urban legend revolving around the ghost of Queen Mary I.  And why was Queen Mary I known as Bloody Mary?  During her five-year reign as the queen, she restored the court to that of Roman Catholicism and viciously prosecuted the Protestants.  Some 280 Protestants were burned and executed during the English Reformation.

The legend of Bloody Mary may belong to that of Mary Worth, a woman of unknown origins.  Depending on where you look, Mary Worth was a witch burned at the stake hundreds of years ago, she was a mother who killed her children and then committed suicide, or she may have been a woman who was killed in a gruesome car wreck.

This is perhaps the biggest problem with the game of Bloody Mary, a ritual that has been popular since the early 1970s.  Nobody knows as a matter of fact for how to summon the spirit of the woman in a bathroom mirror.  As there are several stories behind the ritual, there are even more variations for how you’re supposed to perform it.

How to play the most common version of Bloody Mary:

1) Stand in front of your bathroom mirror.  You can be alone or have several people with you.

2) Light a candle and turn out the lights.  If there’s a window, make sure that the blinds are closed and it’s dark except for the lit candle.

3) Say the name “Bloody Mary” three times.

4) Enjoy!

Results of this ritual include seeing a woman’s face in the mirror, hearing a woman whispering behind your back, or even being scratched from a phantom hand.

Did the ritual not work for you?  Here are some common variations to playing Bloody Mary: Read more…

How To Use An Elevator To Reach Another World

Elevators.

They’re relatively harmless devices that help people transit between floors in a building.  Thanks to elevators, buildings can reach dizzying heights and people don’t have to climb a thousand stairs.

Elevators can also be terrifying experiences for some people.

Imagine standing in a box-like item and being suspended twenty or so feet above the ground.  Your main support is a cable that attaches to the top of the elevator and runs the entire length of the elevator shaft to a counterweight.  Motors and pulleys move the counterweight, which, in turn, moves the elevator up and down the shaft.  Knowing that nothing more than a floor a few inches thick is what separates you from plummeting to your death can be rather unnerving.

Every so often you hear about an old elevator that has a severe malfunction and plunges to the basement of a building.  Such an accident is virtually impossible for the vast majority of today’s modern elevators with our rigorous safety standards, but that thought it still there in the back of your mind.

But what if you’re alone on an elevator, the doors open, and you find yourself in an alternate dimension?

What if the elevator takes you to another world entirely?

An urban legend claims that by pressing a series of buttons, just such a thing is possible.

Here’s how you can allegedly transport yourself to another world in an elevator.

First of all, you have to be in a building at least ten stories tall.  Some people claim that you can actually do this in a five-story building as long as you half the directions exactly.

Second, you have to be completely alone.  If other people join you then the process will be interrupted and you have to start over again.  Obviously, you’ll want to try this during a quiet time in the building, such as late at night or on the weekend depending on the building.

Are you ready?  Here we go. Read more…

Ouija Boards – Making Contact With The ‘Other Side’

Ouija boards have been around for generations.

Some people say that the spirit boards are just harmless fun, something kids can use to scare each other.  After all, they ARE sold in Toys “R” Us stores amongst other places.

Other people claim that Ouija boards can open a portal and be used to speak with deceased relatives and other spirits.

And still other people are fearful of the boards, claiming that they should be destroyed immediately.  Opening a portal and attempting to communicate with the other side can have tremendous consequences in this world and the next.

But does it really work?  Can you actually speak with spirits through something like a Ouija board?

A Ouija board is simply an ordinary board with the words “yes” and “no,” drawings of the sun and the moon, the alphabet, the numbers zero through nine, and the word “good bye.”  Some versions also include “hello,” but that isn’t as common.  The people participating in the spirit board sit around the board and place a finger on a device known as a planchette.  Planchettes can be a variety of items from a plastic or wooden game piece to a shot glass or even a coin.  While everybody is touching the planchette, the spirit on the other side is supposed to move the planchette around the Ouija board in response to questions asked out loud.

A 1991 TV commercial for the Ouija board.

The biggest question is, is somebody in the group intentionally moving the planchette and acting as the “spirit”? Read more…

Hello, October!

My favorite month of the year has finally arrived.

Actually, it officially arrived while my girlfriend and I were on vacation in the north Georgia mountains.  On October first we came home and attended a carnival-themed party hosted by a very good friend of ours.  The next two days after that have been, well, a recovery period from the change in weather and wee bit of drinking that took place at said party.

But October is here!

It’s the time of cooler weather, leaves changing color and falling to the ground, earlier evenings, the absolute best month in college football, and of course, harvest time and All Hallows’ Eve.

Halloween.

I love Halloween.  From the spooky decorations to horror movies on TV to haunted houses to Halloween parties to trick-or-treating, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I’m addicted to watching all of the Halloween related shows on Travel Channel, that is, as long as it doesn’t conflict with watching my beloved Detroit Tigers in the MLB playoffs.

So, yes.  October is here.  This month is awesome.  The Tigers are playing right now in Game #4 of the ALDS against the Yankees.  New episodes of South Park and The Walking Dead resume this month.  Halloween is fantastic.

Great times for all.

Two More Unusual Recent Events

Two more unexplained events just occurred over the past couple of days.

For the first one, I was standing by my aquarium and feeding my fish when I heard a squeaky, plastic scraping plastic sound like when you insert a straw into a plastic lid.  Next to my fish tank is my trash can, and on the floor was a recent cup from a fast food place.  That cup was where the sound came from, and sure enough the straw had risen by a couple of inches.

I still don’t know how this occurred.

The air pressure, temperature and humidity in the room have been at a constant level all summer.  The floor was still.  Nothing was moving except for me putting food into the aquarium, and that was just a gentle, upper arm movement.

What’s interesting is that I’ve had a lot of fast food cups in my room at times (it’s a habit) under a wide variety of atmospheric conditions, and none of them have ever made a sound like what I heard the other night.  Throw in the fact that the straw was higher and is believed to have physically moved, and there you go. Read more…

An Interesting Experience Early This Morning

Have you ever had a dream experience that you could swear was so real that you intentionally woke yourself so it would end?

Perhaps from a nightmare?

That’s kind of what happened to me early this morning, but the strangest part is what happened after I woke up.

Lately I’ve been restless at night, often waking up several times before the alarm clock.  For the past few days I would wake up an hour before my alarm sounded, immediately fall back asleep, and during that last hour have the most vivid dreams of the night, many of which turned into a nightmare of one form or another.

But last night was different as I was from what I believe to be sound asleep all night.  That is, until 7 am when the experience began. Read more…

“Destination Truth” – Last Three Episodes

Season Three of Destination Truth ended last week with an episode showing the team first looking for spirits on the mysterious Easter Island and then looking for a large bird thought to be extinct.

Actually, the last three episodes followed the same pattern:  Each first half had the team hunting for ghosts with marginal, inconclusive results followed by proving a cryptozoological or extinct creature not to exist.

In other words, boring.  Just reality television that focuses on exotic locations and cultures.

So were those last three episodes a total waste?

No, certainly not.  Let’s take a look at the non-paranormal part of each episode and see what happened. Read more…

“Destination Truth” – The Jersey Devil and The Yeren

Last night’s new episode of Destination Truth brought the investigative team to New Jersey in the hunt for the legendary Jersey Devil.  The second half of the show had the team hunting for the Yeren in central China.

As a whole, this has been one of the better episodes for this half of the season, even if the team didn’t uncover any solid evidence into either creature’s proven existence.

The Jersey Devil:

The hunting in New Jersey for the Jersey Devil marked the third time that the team has searched for an American legend, the Swamp Ape in Florida and Thunderbird in Alaska being the previous two investigations.

The Jersey Devil

The legend of the Jersey Devil dates back to colonial times in America, but sightings and talk of the creature continues today. Read more…

“Destination Truth” – Ghosts of the Great Wall and the Israeli Mermaid

The latest episode of Destination Truth had the team investigating reports of paranormal activity along part of the Great Wall of China, and then hunting for evidence of a mermaid that is said to live along part of Israel’s coastline.

Ghosts of the Great Wall:

I don’t know if it was just me, but the first half of the episode was pretty weak.

The show started off with the usual reality show format, showing Josh and the gang heading off to China and doing all of the “fish out of water” jokes.  It’s interesting when the show goes to exotic locations, but it needs to focus more on the actual investigation and less about how different the location and people compare to back home in the States.

Great Wall of China

The problem with ghost hunting (as proven by all ghost hunting and paranormal shows on TV), is that you really need solid visual evidence to convince the skeptics that spirits can exist in that format.  Seeing mysterious shadows out of the corner of your eye and having feelings of being touched, grabbed or pushed make for some great storytelling, but that’s just it.  Stories.  Not concrete proof. Read more…

“Destination Truth” – Ghosts of Masada and The Leprechaun

Last night saw the return of the Season 3 episodes for Destination Truth.

For the first half of the episode, the investigative team headed to Israel and conducted paranormal research at Masada, a site of mass suicide during the First Roman-Jewish War.  The ancient fortress high on the steep plateau made it an isolated and protected spot on the edge of the Judean Desert.  After this, the episode had the team heading to western Ireland in search of the mythological leprechaun.  The team spent a night in a forest, hunting for the small but fast creatures.

As a whole, the investigation at Masada was much more entertaining than looking for leprechauns in Ireland.

Ghosts of Masada:

The investigation at Masada started out great as the team headed to Jerusalem, Israel.  It was fascinating seeing some of the sights, and of course, taking a stroll through one of the markets.  After Jerusalem, the team made a stop at the famous Dead Sea before proceeding to Masada. Read more…

One Week and Counting . . .

. . . until the premier of the second half of season three for Destination Truth.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t wait to see more adventurous episodes where the team explores exotic locations and searches for the truth regarding cryptozoology and the paranormal.

Last Fall’s mid-season finale, “The Bhutan Yeti,” was one of the best episodes of the show yet!  The trip to the Kingdom of Bhutan was awesome enough, but the evidence captured of the elusive Yeti was quite fascinating.  It seemed that enough evidence was collected to warrant a second and longer trip to that region and resuming the hunt.

The episode listing for the remaining season three episodes look pretty interesting.  A handful of them deal with paranormal topics, while the remainder hunt for cryptozoological creatures.  The only disappointment right now is that there are only six more episodes for the rest of this season.  An addictive show like this certainly deserves a much bigger budget and longer production schedule. Read more…

“Extreme Paranormal” – Another Ghost Show on TV

The other night saw the premier of Extreme Paranormal, yet another ghost hunting show to premier on a cable TV channel.  This one can be seen on A&E along with Paranormal State.

So what exactly is Extreme Paranormal?

Apart from the documentary-style of the supposedly investigative show, I would best classify Extreme Paranormal as a cross between Ghost Lab and Ghost Adventures.

The unique angle in this new show is the usage of an expert in the occult, and said person is there to basically help stir up paranormal activity.

Read more…

“Destination Truth” – Chullachaqui and Bermuda Triangle

The recent episode of Destination Truth took the investigators deep into the Amazon jungles in Peru and then off the coast of Florida into the Bermuda Triangle.

Like with the investigation of the alien mummies in northern Chile, the trip into the jungles of Peru was also straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.  I was almost expecting to see hostile jungle natives or booby traps attack the research team as they ventured deeper and deeper into the hot and steamy jungle environment.

This was not a place to underestimate or take lightly.

Read more…

“Ghost Hunters” – Fort Henry

The latest episode of Ghost Hunters involved the investigation team doing a full investigation of Fort Henry in Kingston, Canada.  The entire episode was dedicated to investigating the historic fort.

Perhaps a better name for this episode would have been “Spooky Sounds and Scary Doors.”

The episode itself wasn’t bad, and the moving door caught on camera was certainly interesting.

Read more…