Amazing Coincidences
$600 into $2,200 in winnings. The police demanded
Finnish twin brothers, aged 71, were killed in identical
bicycle accidents along the same road two hours apart,
police said. "This is simply a historic coincidence.
Although the road is a busy one, accidents don't occur
every day," police officer Marja-Leena Huhtala told
Reuters. "It made my hair stand on end when I heard the
two were brothers, and identical twins at that. It came to
mind that perhaps someone from upstairs had a say in
this," she said.
Identical twins. Identical accidents. Identical deaths. Two
hours apart. This astonishing coincidence was reported
in newspapers and on newswires around the world in
early March, 2002. The odds of it occurring seem remote
in the extreme, and it causes one to wonder, as the
woman did above - even for a moment - if there's more
at play here than mere coincidence. Is it the hand of
fate? Is it true, as author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote,
that "there are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events
are blessings given to us to learn from."
Other Coincidental Deaths
This is a similar story of coincidence, not of twins but of
two brothers. In 1975, while riding a moped in Bermuda,
a man was accidentally struck and killed by a taxi. One
year later, this man's bother was killed in the very same
way. In fact, he was riding the very same moped. And to
stretch the odds even further, he was struck by the very
same taxi driven by the same driver - and even carrying
the very same passenger! (Phenomena: A Book of
Wonders, John Michell and Robert J. M. Rickard)
Mysterious Monk to the Rescue
Joseph Aigner was a fairlly well-known portrait painter in
19th century Austria who, apparently, was quite an
unhappy fellow: he several times attempted suicide. His
first attempt was at the young age of 18 when he tried to
hang himself, but was interrupted by the mysterious
appearance of a Capuchin monk. At age 22 he again
tried to hang himself, but was again saved from the act
by the very same monk. Eight years later, his death was
ordained by others who sentenced him to the gallows for
his political activities. Once again, his life was saved by
the intervention of the same monk. At age 68, Aiger
finally succeeded in suicide, a pistol doing the trick. His
funeral ceremony was conducted by the same Capuchin
monk - a man whose name Aiger never even knew.
(Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not!)
Winnings' Rightful Owner
In 1858, Robert Fallon was shot dead, an act of
vengeance by those with whom he was playing poker.
Fallon, they claimed, had won the $600 pot through
cheating. With Fallon's seat empty and none of the other
players willing to take the now-unlucky $600, they found
a new player to take Fallon's place and staked him with
the dead man's $600. By the time the police had arrived
to investigate the killing, the new player had turned the
the original $600 to pass on to Fallon's next of kin -
only to discover that the new player turned out to be
Fallon's son, who had not seen his father in seven
years! (Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not!)
Strangers on a Train
In the 1920s, three Englishman were traveling
separately by train through Peru. At the time of their
introduction, they were the only three men in the
railroad car. Their introductions were more surprising
than they could have imagined. One man's last name
was Bingham, and the second man's last name was
Powell. The third man announced that his last name
was Bingham-Powell. None were related in any way.
(Mysteries of the Unexplained)
It's Raining Babies
In Detroit sometime in the 1930s, a young (if incredibly
careless) mother must have been eternally grateful to
a man named Joseph Figlock. As Figlock was walking
down the street, the mother's baby fell from a high
window onto Figlock. The baby's fall was broken and
both man and baby were unharmed. A stroke of luck
on its own, but a year later, the very same baby fell
from the very same window onto poor, unsuspecting
Joseph Figlock as he was again passing beneath. And
again, they both survived the event. (Mysteries of the
Unexplained)
Swapped Hotel Finds
In 1953, television reporter Irv Kupcinet was in London
to cover the coronation of Ellizabeth II. In one of the
drawers in his room at the Savoy he found found some
items that, by their identification, belonged to a man
named Harry Hannin. Coincidentally, Harry Hannin - a
basketball star with the famed Harlem Globetrotters -
was a good friend of Kupcinet's. But the story has yet
another twist. Just two days later, and before he could
tell Hannin of his lucky discovery, Kupcinet received a
letter from Hannin. In the letter, Hannin told Kucinet
that while staying at the Hotel Meurice in Paris, he
found in a drawer a tie - with Kupcinet's name on it!
(Mysteries of the Unexplained)
Paging Mr. Bryson
While on a business trip sometime in the late 1950s,
Mr. George D. Bryson stopped and registered at the
Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. After signing the
register and being given his key to room 307, he
stopped by the mail desk to see if any letters had
arrived for him. Indeed there was a letter, the mail girl
told him, and handed him an envelope addressed to
Mr. George D. Bryson, room 307. This wouldn't be so
odd accept the letter was not for him, but for room
307's just-previous occupant - another man named
George D. Bryson. (Incredible Coincidence, Alan
Vaughan)
Twin Boys, Twin Lives
The stories of identical twins' nearly identical lives are
often astonishing, but perhaps none more so than those
of identical twins born in Ohio. The twin boys were
separated at birth, being adopted by different families.
Unknown to each other, both families named the boys
James. And here the coincidences just begin. Both
James grew up not even knowing of the other, yet both
sought law-enforcement training, both had abilities in
mechanical drawing and carpentry, and each had
married women named Linda. They both had sons whom
one named James Alan and the other named James
Allan. The twin brothers also divorced their wives and
married other women - both named Betty. And they both
owned dogs which they named Toy. Forty years after
their childhood separation, the two men were reunited to
share their amazingly similar lives. (Reader's Digest,
January 1980)
The Vengeful Bullet
Henry Ziegland thought he had dodged fate. In 1883, he
broke off a relationship with his girlfriend who, out of
distress, committed suicide. The girl's brother was so
enraged that he hunted down Ziegland and shot him.
The brother, believing he had killed Ziegland, then
turned his gun on himself and took his own life. But
Ziegland had not been killed. The bullet, in fact, had only
grazed his face and then lodged in a tree. Ziegland
surely thought himself a lucky man. Some years later,
however, Ziegland decided to cut down the large tree,
which still had the bullet in it. The task seemed so
formidable that he decided to blow it up with a few sticks
of dynamite. The explosion propelled the bullet into
Ziegland's head, killing him. (Ripley's Believe It or Not!)
Childhood Returned
While American novelist Anne Parrish was browsing
bookstores in Paris in the 1920s, she came upon a book
that was one of her childhood favorites - Jack Frost and
Other Stories. She picked up the old book and showed it
to her husband, telling him of the book she fondly
remembered as a child. Her husband took the book,
opened it, and on the flyleaf found the inscription: "Anne
Parrish, 209 N. Weber Street, Colorado Springs." It was
Anne's very own book. (While Rome Burns, Alexander
Wollcott)
And Finally, Two More Twins
John and Arthur Mowforth were twins who lived about 80
miles apart in Great Britain. On the evening of May 22,
1975, both fell severely ill from chest pains. The families
of both men were completely unaware of the other's
illness. Both men were rushed to separate hospitals at
approximately the same time. And both died of heart
attacks shortly after arrival. (Chronogenetics: The
Inheretance of Biological Time, Luigi Gedda and Gianni
Brenci
The Djinn of Fire
A college student encounters the fiery spirit of Islamic
folklore We’re most familiar with genies, or djinni, as
characters in fables and children’s stories. In Middle
Eastern and Islamic mythology, they are demon-like
spirits. Just folklore, right? But is it possible that these
spirits are real? Ramona is convinced they are. She
may have encountered such an entity one strange day
that has haunted her ever since. This is Ramona’s
story.
My story begins in 2002 when I was at college
studying. As I was attending a city college, there was a
large mix of people and I really enjoyed the diversity.
There were people of all different races and religions
who attended the college and I found the environment
very pleasant. There was an acceptance and warmth
at the college that I found refreshing. Nobody judged
anyone; they just accepted them as they were.
I had been attending the college for three months
when I started working on a project with one of the
other students, Hamzah, who was an Arab. As I got to
know him, he told me that he came from a Muslim
family. One day while we were working, I noticed
another Arab-looking student across the hallway. I
turned to Hamzah and said "Oh, is he one of your
friends?" Hamzah looked up and saw the man in
question. His expression changed instantly from
smiling and kind to a seething, hateful look.
I was shocked and asked him if he was alright. He
turned to me and stared, with his dark eyes fixing me
with a meaningful glare. "That man is trouble," he
hissed vindictively. "Just make sure you have nothing
to do with him! He is a very, very bad man. Have
nothing to do with him!"
I looked down at my arm, which Hamzah was now
holding very tightly. "You're hurting my arm!" I
stammered, terrified. The hateful look on Hamzah's
face dissolved and he let go of me and seemed
mortified. He apologized profusely, and there were
tears in his eyes. He was genuinely sorry for what he
had done. I wondered what on earth had worried
Hamzah so much about this man. Hamzah was always
so polite, modest and gentle; he never said a bad word
about anyone. Even during confrontations and
arguments, he was polite and gentlemanly, and never
raised his voice or became aggressive with anyone.
I desperately wanted to ask Hamzah why he had
reacted this way. What had this man done to offend
him? But after he had behaved this way, I was quite
hesitant to broach the subject again.
Meeting the stranger
A few days later, I was in the college canteen and I saw
the man who Hamzah had warned me about. I was so
curious to find out about this man that I decided to speak
to him. As we both happened to be leaving the canteen
at the same time, I asked him what time it was. He
looked at his watch and told me. I asked him what he
was studying at college. He told me which subject and
then we got into a good conversation with each other. I
decided to walk home with him that evening as we had
got on so well.
So there we were, walking through the streets and
talking politely about various subjects when he suddenly
asked me if I knew anything about the occult. I replied
that I only knew what astrological sign I was born under,
and that was as far as my knowledge of the supernatural
went. He smiled and carried on walking with me.
The next week we met up again and started talking. I
discovered that his name was Abdul and he was also
from a Muslim family. But he told me that he had turned
his back on the faith and no longer wished to be a part of
it. And what Abdul was about to show her was not of this
world....
The djinn materializes
That afternoon as I walked home with Abdul, he asked
me if I had ever heard of djinni. The word was totally
unfamiliar to me, so I said no. Then he said, "Genies?" I
laughed at him and replied that I did not believe in
fairytales anymore. I gulped as I realized that I might
have offended him with my careless words, but he
smiled at me very kindly and said that genies or djinni
were quite real and they definitely did exist. I asked him
how he knew, and he said that he would show me how.
We walked to his house and he made me a cup of tea.
Then he went into another room and brought out some
candles and a black book with some strange symbols on
the front of it. Then he closed the curtains so the room
was dark. I asked him what he was doing.
He told me to sit down at the table. I did as I was told and
he placed the candles and the book on the kitchen table
gently. He lit the candles and started chanting some
words from the book. I think the words were Arabic.
Then he started chanting a certain name, over and over
again. "Malikha… Malikha... Malikha…" As he continued to
chant this name, I started to feel dizzy. The air around
me seemed to buzz with vibration. Then I heard a deep,
Arabic voice come from the air in front of me. I’m certain
it did not come from Abdul, who was still chanting
deeply. I don't know what it said, but it made my skin
crawl. Then the voice started to hiss at me and shout. I
looked at Abdul, but sweat was dripping from his brow
and he was lost in his chanting. Then I felt a heat on my
face, as if I were sitting in front of a fire, and I saw a
spark of light materialize in front of my face. The light
grew stronger and the air around it began to swirl.
Something was starting to take form in front of me.
I felt an invisible pair of hands grab my arms violently. I
was so shaken by this that I ran from the room
screaming and fled from the evanescent light that was
developing in front of me. As I reached the door, a
foreign voice screamed maniacally at me in Arabic.
The voice was completely inhuman and was definitely
not Abdul's. It echoed around the room. As my fingers
clutched the door handle, the air around me started to
vibrate and get denser, and the echoing, hissing voice
seemed to fade into nothing and disappear.
Abdul appeared at the living room door and asked me
if I believed him now. I yanked the door open and ran
out into the streets, crying and screaming with terror.
My mind was a complete blur. I ran home and jumped
straight into bed and did not get out of it until the
following day.
Beings made of fire
After that incident, I saw Abdul walking around the
college campus site and sometimes when he saw me,
he would give me an evil stare and his lips would curl
into a sinister smile. This man had obviously
summoned a djinn. As I read a few books and learned
things, I discovered that in Islam, djinni are immortal
spirit beings that are made of fire. This would explain
the fiery heat on my face and the glowing light that
started to appear in front of me at his house. I also
discovered from my readings that Malikha, or Malik in
Muslim mythology, is the spirit that watches over the
gates of Hell.
Abdul had invoked a djinn of hellfire. I now understood
why Hamzah had warned me about this man and his
activities. What I want people to realize is that djinns
and evil spirits are real, and that they have great power
over things. People often dabble with rituals and hope
that something will happen, but if something ever did
happen they would not think it was "cool," they would
be terrified out of their wits and would never mess
around with it again.
This is my advice to anyone who has an interest in
rituals or magic. Keep well away from anything to do
with spirits. After this incident happened, I bought a
rosary from a church and I have prayed regularly and
asked God, Jesus, Mary, to forgive me for getting
involved with this. Deep down, I am still afraid that this
djinn might come back again and try to harm me. I
hope that my prayers will protect me, because when I
felt the heat of the unholy fire on my face, I knew that
what was about to come through was more powerful
and deadly than anything on earth. I am still afraid
even today
The Hong Kong She-Devil
From Stephen Wagner,
A chance meeting with a mysterious woman opens the
door to supernatural activity
A rainy day in Hong Kong. A chance meeting with a
mysterious woman with a strange allure. It's an
uncommon scenario, for certain, but not improbable. As
"Mike" tells the story, however, there was something
unnaturally dark about this woman that his friend Rob
met that day - an encounter that led to a series of
unexplained and frightening events. This is Mike's story:
This is a story about my friend Rob, and the thing he met
while traveling. It looked like a living, breathing woman,
yet all the events that befell him after meeting it in Hong
Kong lead me to believe that whatever it was wasn't
human at all.
It was raining that day, and Rob needed to catch a taxi
from his business meeting back to his hotel. He
managed to flag one down and was stepping in when a
woman stepped into the same cab from the other side.
The woman was gorgeous, and her rain-soaked clothing
revealed a sexy silhouette. Rob agreed to split the cab
ride with her, and off they went.
Rob recalled to me how he almost felt hypnotized by the
woman's green eyes as they rode in the cab making chit-
chat. By the time they got to her stop, Rob was feeling
confident and asked for the woman's phone number.
She smiled and and agreed to give it to him. Despite
having just left a meeting, Rob, to his dismay, realized
that while he had a pen, he had no paper. The woman
said this was not a problem, and proceeded to write her
phone number on the palm of his hand. Then she gave
him an innocent smile, said, "Call me soon," and walked
away in the rain.
Rob was determined to call her, and resolved to do so
once he got back to his hotel room. When he asked the
cab driver to go on, the man just stared. When Rob
asked what was wrong, the driver said, "You're not
getting out here?"
"No, this was her stop, not mine," Rob replied.
"Whose?"
"The woman that just got out."
"What woman?" the driver asked.
Rob thought the driver was either playing a game with
him or was somehow trying to be respectful of his
privacy. "Never mind," he said. "Just take me to my
hotel."
"What woman?" the driver asked again. "Were you
talking to someone on your phone?"
"Just drive," Rob said, and looked at the phone
number written on his palm. Then he held up his palm
to the driver's rearview mirror and said. "The woman
that wrote this number. Didn't you see her?"
The driver explained that he had only seen Rob get
into his cab and no one else.
At that point, Rob said he was shocked and unnerved,
because the driver seemed completely truthful and
somewhat puzzled by Rob's insistence that there had
been someone else riding in the cab. Hadn't he heard
her chatting with Rob in the back seat? Rob was so
disturbed that he decided not to call the mysterious
woman after all, but instead chose to just wash the
number from his palm and forget anything happened.
The difficulty was, the number would not come off...
The number would not wash off Rob's hand when he
took a shower that evening. Nor would it wash off the
next day, or the day after that. I've seen the number
myself now, nearly a month after Rob got back from
Hong Kong. The numbers are still as fresh and dark as
if they had been tattooed into the skin.
Since he met this woman, Rob says he's been seeing
some weird things, and once I actually saw something,
too. He's complained to me of feeling as though he is
being watched, and frequently has dreams of glowing
green eyes staring at him from the darkness beyond
his bedroom door.
Once, while staying at Rob's, I saw something that
looked like a small white dog or a fox lurking in the
hallway leading from his living room to his bathroom
and bedroom. The white fox's eyes reflected a dim
green light.
(It's worth remembering that the woman in Hong Kong
had haunting green eyes.) At first - strangely - I
thought nothing of it, until I recalled that Rob's
apartment does not allow pets, and Rob himself would
have mentioned it to me if he'd gotten a pet anyway. I
chose not to investigate that evening, nor have I told
Rob what I saw. I don't think it would do any good.
I'm concerned for him, and I wonder if calling the
number marked on his palm might give us some clues
as to what's going on. Rob has mentioned that he
doesn't want to hear what the voice on the other end of
the line might have to say to him, and I don't blame
him, but I'm out of ideas.
In fact, I consulted a Ouija board, trying to contact the
spirit of the thing that marked him in Hong Kong. In
response, all I received was a string of digits, matching
the ones Rob has on his hand. The string of numbers
repeated itself twice, then the planchette spelled out
the following message to me:
"STAY OUT. MIND OWN BUSINESS. ROB MINE."
My friend is depressed and nervous now. He doesn't
sleep well anymore because of the dreams. He needs
help, and I only wish I could be of more asistance to him.
Trouble is, I can't get ahold of him now, and it's been a
week. No one I know has seen him, and he doesn't
answer his phone. And I wonder... did he call the
number?
Levitation
Levitation is a phenomenon of psychokinesis (PK) in
which objects, people, and animals are lifted into the air
without any visibly physical means and float or fly about.
The phenomenon has been said to have occurred in
mediumship, shamanism, trances, mystical rapture, and
demonic possession. Some cases of levitation appear to
be spontaneous, while spiritual or magical adepts are
said to be able to control it consciously.
There seems to be several general characteristics about
levitation. The duration of the phenomenon may last
from a few minutes to hours. Generally it requires a great
amount of concentration or being in a state of trance.
Physical mediums who have been touched during
levitation usually fall back to a surface. Levitations of
saints usually are accompanied by a luminous glow
around the body.
Numerous incidents of levitation have been recorded in
Christianity and Islam. Among the first was Simon
Magus in the first century. Other incidents reported
among the Roman Catholic saints include the incident of
Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663), the most famous, who
is said to have often levitated through the air. It is
reported he often gave a little shriek just before
levitating, and on one occasion levitated for as long as
two hours.
Saint Teresa of Avila was another well known saint who
reported levitating. She told of experiencing it during
states of rapture. One eyewitness, Sister Anne of the
Incarnation, said Saint Teresa levitated a foot and a half
off the ground for about a half hour.
Saint Teresa wrote of one of her experiences: "It seemed
to me, when I tried to make some resistance, as if a
great force beneath my feet lifted me up. I know of
nothing with which to compare it; but it was much more
violent than other spiritual visitations, and I was therefore
as one ground to pieces." (Evelyn Underhill "Mysticism,"
1955)
Also Saint Teresa observed these levitations frightened
her but there was nothing she could do to control them.
She did not become unconscious, but saw herself being
lifted up.
And, at the beginning of the twentieth century Gemma
Galgani, a Passionist nun, reported levitating during
rapture.
Incidents also have been reported in the religions of
Hinduism and Buddhism. Milarepa, the great thirteenth
century yogi of Tibet, is said to have possessed many
occult powers such as the ability to walk, rest and
sleep during levitating.
Such feats were said to be duplicated by the Brahmins
and fakirs of India. Similar abilities were reportedly
shared by the Ninja of Japan.
Within the Eastern traditions levitation is reportedly
accomplished through such secret techniques of
breathing and visualization. The techniques involve the
employment of an universal life force and are called by
various names such as: 'prana,''ch'i' and 'ki.'
Louis Jacolliot, a nineteenth-century French judge,
traveled the East and wrote of his occult experiences.
In "Occult Sciences in India and Among the Ancients"
(1884, 1971) he describes the levitation of a fakir:
Taking an ironwood cane which I had brought from
Ceylon, he leaned heavily upon it, resting his right
hand upon the handle with his eyes fixed upon the
ground. He the proceeded to utter the appropriate
incantations...[and] rose gradually about two feet from
the ground. His legs were crossed beneath him, and
he made no change in his position, which was very like
that of those bronze statues of Buddha...For more than
twenty minutes I tried to see how (he) could thus fly in
the face and eyes of all known laws of gravity...the
stick gave him no visible support, and there was no
apparent contact between that and his body, except
through his right hand."
Jacolliot was further told by the Brahmins that the
"supreme cause" of all phenomena was the 'agasa'
('akasha'), the vital fluid, "the moving thought of the
universal soul, directing all souls," the force that the
adepts learn to control.(See Akashic Records)
Throughout history the determining factor for judging
whether the practice of levitation is caused by good or
evil influenced seems to depend on the one doing the
levitating. Simon Magus was judged evil while Saint
Teresa was said to do it in states of rapture. During the
Middle Ages and Renaissance levitation was thought
to be a manifestation of evil. It was said to be an
unusual phenomena generated by witchcraft, fairies,
ghosts, or demons.
Even to the present levitation is often thought to be
involved in cases of demonic possession. Many times
beds, tables, chairs and other objects have been
witnessed flying up into the air apparently by
themselves. They frequently aimed themselves at the
exorcist or his assistants.
In 1906 Clara Germana Cele, a sixteen year-old school
girl from South Africa, was said to be demonic
possessed. She raised up five feet in the air, sometimes
vertically and sometimes horizontally. When sprinkled
with holy water she came out of these states of
possession. This was taken as proof of demonic
possession.
Likewise, incidents of poltergeists and haunting often
involve the levitation of objects.
Some physical mediums claimed to have experienced
levitations. The most famous is Daniel Douglas Home,
who reportedly did it over a forty-year period. In 1868 he
was witnessed levitating out of a third-story window, and
he floated back into the building through another
window. When levitating Home was not always in a
trance, but conscious and later described his feelings
during the experiences.
Once he described "an electrical fulness (sic)" sensation
in his feet. His arms became rigid and were drawn over
his head, as though he was grasping an unseen power
which was lifting him. He also levitated furniture and
other objects.
The Catholic Church excommunicated Home as a
sorcerer. Although he was never discovered to be a
fraud like other mediums who used wires and other
contraptions to levitate objects.
Italian medium Amedee Zuccarini was photographed
levitating with his feet twenty feet off of a table.
Controlled experiments involving levitation are rare.
During the 1960s and 1970s researchers reported some
success in levitating tables under controlled conditions.
The Soviet PK medium Nina Kulagina has been
photographed levitating a small object between her
hands.
Skeptics of levitation have came up with several theories
as to its cause including hallucination, hypnosis, or fraud.
These theories are not applicable to all incidents,
however. The most likely and acceptable explanation is
the Eastern theory of an existence of a force (simply, an
universal force) which belongs to another, nonmaterial
reality, and manifests itself in the material world.
The technique of "yogic flying" which consists of low
hops while seated in the lotus meditating position has
been achieved by advanced practitioners of
Transcendental Meditation (TM). This has received
worldwide publicity. The technique is claimed to be
accomplished by maximizing coherence (orderliness) in
brain-wave activity, which enables the brain to tap into
the "unified field" of cosmic energy. However, skeptic
say yogic flying is accomplished through muscular
action. A.G.H.
Exorcism
Exorcism is mainly thought of as the rite of driving out
the Devil and his demons from possessed persons.
Exorcism is mainly performed in incidences of
demonic possession that is generally distinguished
from spiritual possession. A general assumption is that
the Roman Catholic singularly practices the rite of
exorcism, but some Protestant denominations such as
the Pentecostals and other charismatic groups practice
it as well. These groups refer to the practice as
"deliverance ministry" where gifted people drive out
devils and heal while they touch the persons with their
hands, called laying on of hands, and pray over them.
Technically, exorcism is not driving out the Devil or a
demon, but it is placing the Devil or demon on oath.
And, in some incidences there may be more than one
demon possessing a person. "Exorcism" is derived
from the Greek preposition ek with the verb horkizo
which means "I cause [someone] to swear" and refers
to "putting the spirit or demon on oath," or invoking a
higher authority to bind the entity in order to control it
and command it to act contrary to its own will.
In the Christian sense this higher authority is Jesus
Christ. This act is based on the belief that the Devil, his
demons, and evil spirits are afraid of Christ. The belief
itself is based on Scripture. Coming from the sea of
Galilee Christ entered the land of the Gerasenes. He
was immediately met by a man from the tombs cut into
the mountains of the area. The man was said to be
possessed of an unclean spirit. Nothing could bind this
man, not even chains. He lived in the mountains,
crying, and cutting himself with stones. But, so it is
told, when seeing Christ approaching, the man went to
him seeking help. The unclean demon immediately
recognized Christ, and Christ recognized the demon.
Christ, then, summoned the spirit to leave the man,
and asked his name. "My name is Legion," answered
the spirit, "for we are many." Once the demons left the
man, Christ sent them into a nearby heard of swine
who then jumped in to the sea and drown. (Mark 5:1-
13) Unlike other exorcists, it is believed, that Christ did
not exorcise because He did not need to call on a
higher authority since He Himself was that higher
authority.
Now, not only did Christ exorcize demons, or unclean
spirits, but he gave the powers to his disciples. "...he
gave the power against unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal all manner of sickness, and all manner
of disease." (Matt.10:1)
From these two Biblical passages and others Catholics
and Protestants alike believe they have the power to cast
out the Devils and to heal. The Catholic Church has a
procedure out-lined rite of exorcism which is set forth in
"The Rituale Romanum." Other than this text the ritual
has great variance determined by the exorcist
performing the exorcism. The code of Cannon Law
allows authorized ministers (the exorcists) to perform
solemn exorcisms not only over the faithful, but also over
non-Catholics and those who have been
excommunicated from the Church.
During the ritual usually salt, representing purity, and
wine, representing the blood of Christ, is present. The
victim is to hold a crucifix during the rite. The exorcist is
encouraged to use holy water and relics, usually pieces
of bones from Saints, and recite Biblical scriptures and
other prayers.
The greatest danger to the exorcist is becoming
possessed by the Devil or demon himself. This is the
reason why the exorcist must feel as free of sin as
possible and feel no secret need for punishment.
Otherwise, the Devil or demon can easily entrap him. An
example of this is Father Jean-Joseph Surin, the Jesuit
exorcist of Loudun, who became possessed while
ministering to Sister Jeannes des Angest. Surin was
reared in a cloister, practiced severe self-denial during
his early years as a priest, experienced severe muscle
pains, and had virtually cut himself off from all social
contact which led him to come to the Sisters' Convent in
poor health and a confused state of mind. Unlike his
fellow Jesuits he was thoroughly convinced Sister
Jeanne and her companion Sisters were truly
possessed. Author Aldous Huxley in his "The Devils of
Loudun" (1952) described Surin's mental state as one of
"pathological illiteracy."
This is possibly the reason that Malachi Martin, a former
Jesuit professor, claimed in his book "Hostage to the
Devil" (1976), that much of the success of the exorcism
depends upon the exorcist. He describes the type of
priest best suited to be an exorcist as being a man of
good physical health, being of middle age, routinely
going about his normal pastoral duties. He usually is not
brilliant or engaged in teaching or research. Although,
Martin adds, there are exceptions to all these
characteristics.
In his book Martin also describes the setting where the
exorcism takes place. It is usually in a location where
there is a definite connection between the demon and
the victim, like the victim's bedroom or resident.
But, again, to Martin, the most important thing is the
exorcist's disposition and those of his assistants.
Presently few exorcists choose to work alone. Three
other people usually assist the exorcist. One is a junior
priest who has been trained in exorcism procedures. He
monitors the exorcism, helping the exorcist when
possible not to be distracted by the possessive demon.
Others can include a medical physician and a family
member. The most important thing of all is that the
exorcist and his assistants be physically strong and
relatively guiltless. None must have any secret sins
which the Devil or demon can use against them. In
some incidences the Devil or demons may shout out
the sins of the exorcist or his assistants attempting to
shame them and ruin the exorcism.
Although all exorcisms are different in proceeding
there are similar stages they follow. Martin describes
these stages:
The Presence: The exorcist and his assistants become
aware of an alien feeling or entity. Attempts or actions
of the evil spirit appear to be the victim's. The
exorcist's first job is to break this Pretense and find out
whom the demon really is. Gaining the entity's name is
most important.
Breakpoint: The moment when the Devil's Pretense
finally collapses. This is usually a moment of complete
pandemonium. There evolves a scene of panic and
confusion, accompanied by a crescendo of abuse,
horrible sights, noises, and odors. The Devil then turns
on the victim, speaking of the person in the third
person.
The Voice: Also a sign the Breakpoint, the Voice (of
the demon) becomes "inordinately disturbing and
humanly distressing babble." The demon's voices must
be silenced for the exorcism to proceed.
The Clash: As the Voices die out there is both a
spiritual and physical pressure. The demon has
collided with the "will of the Kingdom." The exorcist is
now in direct battle with the demon, urging the entity to
reveal more information about itself so it can be
controlled. As previously mentioned, there is a
connection between the entity and the victim's
resident. The entity wants a place to be in, or it must
return to Hell. An existence out of Hell is what the Devil
or demon is fighting for.
Expulsion: In the supreme triumph of God's will, the
demon or spirit leaves in the name of Jesus. All
present feel the Presence dissipates, occasionally with
receding noises and voices. The victim may remember
the ordeal or may not recall anything that has
happened.
The ritual of exorcism is more cautiously employed by
the Catholic Church at present than it once was. When
reviewing the conditions for demonic possession that
were once listed one can easily see many of the
symptoms are those of epilepsy, hysteria,
schizophrenia, and other psychological disorders. So
priests are cautioned to be as certain as possible the
person is truly demonically possessed before
performing the ritual.
In some incidences this precaution may not be enough
to guard an innocent person against the ritual. For
example, Saint Paul exorcized a slave girl who made
much money for her masters by soothsaying. (Acts
16:16-18) Today, occultists call such acts prophecy.
Catholics are still forbidden to visit fortune tellers. Other
religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam,
Shinto and others have some form of exorcism rituals.
One of the best known Judaic rituals, cited in Judaism
rabbinical literature dating from the first century AD,
concerns the dybbuk, an evil or doomed spirit which
possesses a victim and causes mental illness and a
personality change. The dybbuk is expelled through the
victim's small toe, and then is either redeemed or sent to
hell.
In many Eastern religions spirits and ghosts are blamed
for many ills, and are cast out of people. However, such
afflictions are not regarded as all-out battles for the
persons' souls. The typical Hindu exorcism practices
consist of blowing cow-dung smoke, pressing rock salt
between the fingers, burning pig excreta, beating or
pulling the victim's hair, reciting prayers or mantras, and
offering gifts of candy and other presents to get the evil
or troublesome spirits to depart from the persons.
The ritual employed in Shamanism is that the shaman
enters a trace during which he attempts to discover the
cause of the victim's trouble. Frequently the cause is
thought linked to a dead person. The shaman then is
said to travel to the lowerworld to speak with this soul.
He then knows the cure of this victim's affliction, or may
even bring back the soul to cure it.
All persons do not consider the purpose of the ritual of
exorcism as expelling the spirit as condemning it to hell
as do the Christians. Some, including occultists and
Witches, do not consider the spirits demonic but at times
become confuse and invade persons' bodies. The
purpose of this type of exorcism is to release the spirit.
Then the spirit is free to journey onto its resting place or
new life. Witches frequently are asked to exorcise ghosts
and other unwanted psychic energy that trouble persons.
Spirit exorcisms, as cures of physical illnesses and
solutions to other personal problems are common in
Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, the Orient, and
among tribal cultures. A.G.H.
Glossolalia
The psychic phenomenon of speaking in foreign
tongues. The phenomenon has been a part of ecstatic
speech in religious practices for centuries, it presently
designates the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Pentecostal
and charismatic Christian worship.
The term glossolalia is derived from the Greek glossa,
"tongue" and lalia, "to talk." The phenomenon is not
just a single utterance of strange words but a
recurrence of such utterances as in a series. The first
occurrence of the apostles speaking in tongues, or
glossolalia, is Biblically recorded in the Book of Acts
2:4, as happening on Pentecost. It is recorder "they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
The phenomenon may also be called possession by
the Spirit.
It is recorded that another miracle seemed to have
occurred as well. As miraculous as it was that the
apostles spoke in tongues, the multitude of people
surrounding them began understanding the apostles,
each in their native language. The people were
astounded that such an event happened.
However, whenever glossolalia occurs it is not always
understandable, some times it sounds more like
nonsensical gibberish. The early Corinth Christians
frequently practiced speaking in tongues in worship
services, but few knew what their strange utterances
meant. St. Paul issued instructions for the private and
public use of tongues. A worshiper might employ the
practice in private prayer when he was praising or
beseeching God for something. The practice could be
used whenever the worshiper was in doubt as to what
to ask for.
Whenever the practice was employed in public worship
St. Paul warned the Corinthians that it should not be
done so over zealously and some congregational
members should be able to interpret the divine
message being given since speaking in tongues was
considered to be a gift as well as a means of direct
communication between God and the worshipers. The
ability to interpret the contents of the divine message
was considered a gift as well.
Currently it is thought when this phenomena of the gift
of tongues or glossolalia occurs "tongues is expressed
as language-like, and according to some, contains
individual characteristics of language; in the strict
sense, including syllables and diction, having similar
patterns and structures, but not identical with human
linguistics." Related to the term glossolalia is xenolalia.
Speaking in tongues took a decline, by the medieval
period most church authorities declared that the
miracle of the practice was no longer possible. They
said the miracle only existed in the times of the
apostles. However, various groups continued believing
in the practice such as the French Camisards,
Montanists, Jansenists and Waldensians. Some even
tried to revive the practice only to find themselves
branded as heretics.
At present several religious denominations still believe in
the speaking in tongues. The Pentecostal and Assembly
of God Churches still see the practice as a sign of the
persons being baptized by the Holy Spirit. Many say that
it is a direct communication with God which Satan
cannot interfere with, however, many of these same
persons cannot give an interpretation of their speaking in
tongues.
The denomination of the Shakers which were dominant
from 1837- 1847 with spiritual manifestations containing
hymns and prayers delivered by spirits in tongues. Since
most were uttered in unintelligible languages they were
taught phonetically.
The Quakers, Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, and the
early Methodists spoke in tongues. So did some
Presbyterians during the 1830s.
Currently a Charismatic Renewal is occurring within the
Catholic Church. This renewal emerged following Pope
John XXIII's calling for a "New Pentecost" to revive the
Church during the Second Vatican Council in 1964.
Those within the Charismatic Renewal movement say
that what appears to be a inauguration of a new,
refreshing spirituality really is not, it is a renewal of a
very ancient expression of Christian prayer and practice.
There are many recorded incidents throughout church
history where the saints received and spoke with the
gifts of tongues.
The modern charismatics say their members may or may
not speak in tongues after conversion. Like other divine
gifts such as healing, wisdom, prophecy, miracles and
spirit divination, the gift of speaking in tongues is not
given to everyone.
From tests conducted in many incidences evidence
seems to indicate the possibility that these unknown
languages have ancient origins
Demons in Alien's Clothing
- By Ron Patton
As we enter the 21st century and a new millenium, Satan
has devised the delusion that mankind is entering into an
important evolutionary phase - a New Age. The push for
"global enlightenment" has now extended to the vast
reaches of the universe, into what could be deemed as a
"space" religion. However, once this nebulous veil is
lifted, a definite correlation emerges between the
UFO/Alien phenomenon and occultic/satanic activity.
The ancient civilizations of the Egyptians, Babylonians,
Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas shared several intriguing
characteristics:
They were extremely advanced scientifically and
technologically.
Animal and human sacrifices were performed at an
alarming rate, preceding their demise.
They believed they had acquired metaphysical
knowledge from the "gods", whom they perceived as
coming from the stars and also the subterranean level
of the earth.
These cultures disintegrated or became abruptly
extinct while at the pinnacle of their existance.
Many of these revered and feared entities were
described as looking like winged-reptilians or dragons.
Similarly, Satan and his minions were depicted in an
identical manner, as seen in artwork throughout the
centuries.
A monograph entitled, Reality of the Serpent Race, by
Branton, reveals, "In Genesis 3 we read about the
'Nachash'; Hebrew word for 'Serpent'. The original
Nachash was not actually a snake as most people
believe, but an extremely intelligent, cunning creature,
possessed with the ability to speak and reason."
Another significant parallel from the Holy Bible is
shown in Jeremiah 8:17, "Behold, I will send serpents,
cockatrices among you, which will bite you, saith the
Lord." The definition of a cockatrice is a reptilian bird-
like creature or winged-serpent. This could very well
represent the Phoenix, described in Egyptian
mythology.
A theory proposed by Bible scholar I.D.E. Thomas
asserts that the race of the "Nephilim" (meaning Giants
and/or fallen ones), mentioned in Genesis 6:4 and
Numbers 13:33, closely resemble the alien race of the
blond Pleiadian Nordics, reported to be eight to nine
feet tall. The Nazis attempted to revive this mystical
Aryan race in the 1930's and 1940's. Mr. Thomas
believes that a hybrid offspring culminated from
relations between the Nephilim and the "daughters of
man" resulting in increased wickedness upon the
earth; and thus evoking God's wrath in the form of the
"Great Flood".
Interviews taken of ex-Wiccans and Satanists (now
Christians) indicate a high level of personal contact
with various alien types, especially during coven
meetings and holiday rituals. Those coming from the
highest echelon of Satanism known as the Illuminati,
believe the original people who inhabited the earth
descended from Mars via the Moon. They believe the
first established civilization was Atlantis. Renowned for
their superior intellect, the Atlanteans suffered the
same fate as a few of the proceeding cultures already
mentioned. The remnant people from Atlantis became
the American Indians, according to their interpretation
of history.
Dr. Richard Boylan has written extensively about E.T.
encounters, and has found five common features of
people predominately involved in UFO/alien sightings
and abductions:
Individuals possessing a high degree of psychic ability.
Similar phenomenon occuring with other family members
(multi or trans-generational).
Native Americans and/or indigenous peoples.
Children who have been subjected to severe abuse or
trauma. Individuals and/or family members affiliated to
government and/or military intelligence agencies or
departments.
In conjunction, a strong relationship exists between
occultic ritual sites, top secret military installations, and
UFO/alien sightings and abductions. There also appears
to be a magnetic spiritual vortex (or vacuum) which has
drawn an many "New Agers" into these areas (Taos,
NM; Sedona,AZ; Boulder, CO, etc.). One prime example
is the area near Dulce, NM, where the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has a
highly-secured underground complex on the Jicarella
Indian Reservation -- a region known for Native
American shamanism. The facility is said to be used for
genetic engineering, including cloning. Several
witnesses who were employed there reported seeing
different breeds of aliens.
Congruently, the Mojave Desert in California has it's
share of military bases involved in "black projects",
ranging from research and development of "advanced"
aircraft to MKULTRA mind control operations (Edwards
AFB, Ft. Irwin, and China Lake Naval Weapons Center).
Coincidentally, it was the area where Charles Manson
and family resided in the late 1960's. It was also the
general location described in the book, Outside the
Circle of Time (1980) by Kenneth Grant. A portion of the
book states, "John Whiteside Parsons [who specialized
in jet propulsion] and L. Ron Hubbard, founder of
Scientology [and former Naval Intelligence Officer] were
involved in a special project during 1945 and 1946... This
special project which was carried out in the California
desert, was a part of magical ceremonies [black
witchcraft] known as the 'Babylon Working', designed by
Aleister Crowley, who died in 1947 [year of the alleged
Roswell UFO crash and the implementation of the
National Security Act]... The purpose of the series of
ceremonies performed by Parsons and Hubbard was to
unseal an interdimensional gateway, that had been
sealed in antiquity thereby allowing other dimensional
entities known as the 'Old Ones' access to our
space/time continuum. The culmination of the
ceremonies was reported to have been successful,
having resulted in the establishment of 'extra-terrestrial
contact'... Crowley left behind a drawing of his invisible
mentors or as he called them, 'Secret Chiefs' [spirit
guides], entitled LAM. This entity has a very large head
on a small body, a pointed chin, and a little slit of a
mouth [description compares favorably to the 'Greys']."
Another British occultist, Dr. John Dee, court
astrologer for Queen Elizabeth I, would regularly
summon alien-like entities.
Several abductees, psychics (through out-of-body
experiences) and former employees of the Dulce
facility reported seeing large vats, full of blood and
body parts; essentially, a human stew . Their
understanding is particular varieties of aliens, mostly
"Greys" bathe in these vats to absorb nutrients through
their skin. One of the secretions these aliens crave is
adrenaline, which is generated in great quantity when
the victim is tortured or traumatized at the moment of
death. This glandular hormone is most potent in
children.
Striking similarities are found in Egyptian Satanism, as
graphically detailed in The Egyptian Book of the Dead.
"Behold ye then god this great slaughter, mighty of
terror, he washeth in your blood, he batheth in your
gore." It was common practice for them to sacrifice
infants and young children for the purpose of obtaining
the life or energy force from the victim.
Additional observations by some who have witnessed
aliens recall distinct insignias or emblems on their
uniforms. To no surprise, alien symbology is identical
to that of the Mystery Religions of ancient Babylon. For
instance, the winged-sun disk is worn by the
"Draconis" or Reptilian race and is prominently
displayed throughout the sliding scale of occultism.
The double-headed eagle or Phoenix is associated
with the Lyrae-Greys; a trademark of the Scottish Rite
branch of Freemasonry. A book describing the
interaction between non-human beings from other
planets and the "enlightened ones" (33rd degree
Freemasons) is found in the book, The Hidden Life of
Freemasonry. Mario Pazzaglini, Ph.D., published his
meticulous research pertaining to alien symbols in a
book titled, Symbolic Messages: An Introduction to a
Study of "Alien" Writing. He effectively deciphered over
150 samples and concluded that a high percentage of
the alien alphabets are similar to magical alphabets of
Hermetic and Enochian origins. Mario also surmised
that, "Further, messages [from aliens] seem in most
people to act as a nucleus for a developing sense of
purpose in life, an increased realization that of some
kind of 'assignment' from beyond humankind, and a
heightened spiritual sense. The specific contents of
these ideas can be of any religious denomination, or
orientation, and sometimes reveals or develops a
totally new religion, usually with conglomerate pieces
from known religions and other cosmic, planetary, or
stellar schemes."
A case epitomizing this "cosmic consciousness" has
been disclosed by Sky Ambrose, an alleged UFO/alien
abductee who was interviewed by Art Bell, on his
nationally-syndicated radio show, Dreamland, October
16, 1994. She and a friend were supposedly abducted in
Colorado after observing a UFO in November 1989. Sky
lost about two hours of time which she could not account
for and decided to undergo hypnosis. A condensed
version of what Ms. Ambrose recalled is as follows:
The aliens looked translucent, with large heads upon
thin, frail bodies. Their eyes were large and pronounced,
but their was no recollection of noses or mouths.
Sky and her friend were implanted with a small square,
tissue-like substance inside their heads (catscan
analysis or x-rays have verified these biological devices
exist). Communication with the aliens was achieved
telepathically.
They (the aliens) told Sky she was not chosen by them,
but she out of her own volition, decided to participate in
this journey before her present life (reincarnation). To
her understanding, these beings are "caretakers" or
"guardians" of the planet, Earth. Their function is to bring
forth "revelation" through the spirit of unity, and, the earth
is the soul of God; a living entity (paganism).
It was explained to her that the universe is rhythmic and
presently at a peak cycle; what appears to be chaos is
actually the birthing of a "new order" (ordo ab chaos?).
To enter into the next evolutionary level, new bodies will
be needed to re-seed the planet. This hybrid body will be
a combination of human and alien (remember the
Nephilim?).
Her renewed belief system incorporates the expression
that negativity brings separation but unity brings love
(please read II Corinthians 6:17 & Matthew 10:34).
Some skeptics have taken the position that the
UFO/alien phenomenon can be best explained as a form
of psychosis or hysteria as conceptualized within
Jungian psychology. Others view it as an elaborate
government hoax, designed to further confuse the
American populace. Such an insight is coherently
expounded upon in the book, Space Aliens from the
Pentagon, by Bill Lyne, former Air Force Intelligence
Officer. I believe all the above explanations can exist
simultaneously and need not be exclusive from one
another. What better way to manipulate one's perception
of reality by throwing out several different scenarios,
thereby making it difficult to ascertain a consistent
pattern or trend that would hopefully lead to finding the
elusive "truth". In adding to the perplexity, cattle
mutilations have been theorized to be the nefarious work
of space creatures for experimental purposes. Others
feel it's a result of cultic rituals. Yet, another explanation
is that it's a smoke-screen perpetrated by
government/military psy-ops in order to escalate our
already induced paranoia (Is that a black helicopter I
hear?).
A few so-called experts in the field of UFOology are
excited about the possibility that someday soon, these
seemingly benevolent and misunderstood inter-galactic
beings will openly reveal themselves to the Earth's
human populace and bring about universal bliss. This
grand deception is yet another lie conceived by the
one referred to as "that old serpent" (Revelation 12:9).
As history repeats itself, let it be understood that we
are living in a time likened as "in the days of Noah" (I
Peter 3:20). With "dark skies" prevailing and the
overwhelming presence of evil around us, what are we
to do? I Corinthians 10:13 explains, "There hath no
temptation taken you but such as common to man : but
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above ye are able; but will with the temptation also
make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
There is no physical place to hide from this onslaught
of carnality except by taking refuge in our spiritual
fortress, God Almighty (Psalm 91:2).
I trust this article provided sufficient information to
render an objective conclusion. From my perspective,
these extra-terrestrials are nothing less than demons
in alien's clothing. Grievously, many have and will
succumb to this seductive aroma of pseudo-
enlightenment (Mark 13:33). May we abide in Jesus,
lest we partake in the abominations held within the
mystery of iniquity (II Thessalonians 2:7-12).
DEVIL LIVED in each and every one of us
I've been interested in the devil for some time. I've
often blamed him for the bad things that have
happened in my life and in the world around me. I
thought of him as someone to fear, yet someone
whose influence on me is always subject to my own
free will. Perhaps you have similar beliefs?
You would not be surprised to learn that the concept of
the devil is very much the same around the globe, and
has been recognized in just about every culture for the
past millennia. Even people who do not have a clear
understanding of God, or believe in a heaven or hell,
harbor belief in something akin to the personified
master of evil.
I would like to take you on an adventure to explore the
origins of the devil, but you will have to be responsible
for what you will learn. You can treat it as fiction, which
it is not, or you can accept it as another odd tale from
the internet, which is how I will present it. A third option
is for you to be curious enough to see if what I will tell
you has any truth to it, which it does. And when you
make this discovery on your own, then you may well
wish you had not read it at all.
If you are ready, we will begin with what most people
consider the oldest book. In the original Genesis,
chapter 6, there is the following passage:
The sons of God saw the daughters of man, and that
they were good; and they took them for wives, all of
which they chose...
The Nefilim were upon the earth in those days, and
thereafter also, when the sons of the gods cohabited with
the daughters of Adam, and they bore children unto
them. They were the might ones of eternity - the people
of the shem.
If you check your modern Bible you will find that this
original passage has been reduced to a phrase, "There
were giants upon the earth," while other translations
have left the term "nefilim" intact. The Hebrew origins
(N.F.L) of this word mean, literally, "to be cast down." But
to gain a more detailed view of the nefilim and their true
origins we must go back further than the book of
Genesis, to a time that you most likely have never read
about in school, or elsewhere.
The truth about the nefilim has been known for many
years now. Earlier this century, archaeologists were
sifting through mounds of ancient debris in a place called
Nippur in what is now Iraq. As they dug deeper, looking
for stone artifacts, they hauled countless loads of tiny
clay fragments that looked like broken pottery, adorned
with designs made of short straight lines. Carelessly
piled some distance from the dig, this debris was
considered an annoyance and treated with disinterest.
The stone artifacts were surprisingly rare at this
particular site but, eventually, one was uncovered that
left the archaeologists stunned. Like the famous Rosetta
Stone that contained Egyptian hieroglyphs and ancient
Greek, the stone at Nippur contained ancient
Mesopotamian as well as a collection of the same
straight lines that had decorated the clay debris.
Archaeologists then realized that the clay fragments
were not useless pottery, but were part of a vast library
written on clay tablets in the oldest known human
language.
Translating the odd lines was not easy, but persistence
eventually won and the archaeologists had their second
great surprise. A tablet written in this new language,
called cuneiform, described the library as being "very
old" and credited its collection to the Mesopotamian king,
Ashurbanipal, who lived about 3000 years ago. In his
dedication tablet, Ashurbanipal boasts that he could read
several old languages, "including the old writing from
before the great flood." But before you draw any
comparisons to the Biblical stories in Genesis, you must
hear the rest of what was found.
Origins of the devil...
in each and every one of us
The archaeological site at Nippur was manned by a
diverse group with affiliations to universities all over the
globe. When the realization set in and attention was
focused on the mounds of debris that had been
carelessly dumped in various locations around Nippur,
fragments were collected and whisked off to different
countries for examination. The small clay fragments
had to be carefully pieced together to be read and,
often, missing pieces were in collections of other
museums and universities. Nevertheless, great
progress was being made in assembling several great
works that were found duplicated and almost
complete. But the nature and content of what was
being translated was disturbing.
Ashurbanipal had assembled and translated literature
from his own antiquity. How far back in time was "very
old" to a king who lived 3000 years ago? Conservative
estimates dated many of the written epics to a time
before writing, perhaps before 10,000 BC, since they
appear to have been composed in a rhythmic verse, to
make them easy to memorize. The library thus gives a
unique view into man's past. But the library had many
surprises.
For over a millennium, about 5000 years ago, there
was one dominant and unchanging belief in what we
would today call a religion. In this ancient time religion
and culture were identical. The leaders and rulers of
men were described as being in intimate contact with
the "gods," who were collectively known as Anunaki.
The growing dictionary of words and meanings that
was being compiled by the translations of the Nippur
fragments quickly hinted to something extraordinary.
That the ancient "gods" took their name from "Anu,"
meaning heaven, and "ki," which means earth.
Literally, they were "those who came from heaven to
earth."
A surprising number of poems, stories and historical
records told a clear story, without the usual symbolism
and metaphoric confusion. The facts were there, on
the clay tablets, for everyone to read. But, strangely
enough, the translation was conducted in an extremely
low-profile manner. Even today, when one thinks of an
"ancient" culture, the Egyptians --not the
Mesopotamians-- received the interest. The wealth of
details and the coherent story of the cuneiform library
from Nippur is undoubtedly the most important
archaeological discovery ever made, yet it has been
successfully buried and is hidden from the public.
Why?
Here is what you have not been told. A particular work,
called the Enumma Elish, describes the formation of
our solar system, from a time when it was much
different than it is today. This young system had the
earth (called Tiamut) and the moon, as well as a
number of our sister planets. The epic tells of a rogue
planet which enters the system and disrupts gravity,
causing one planet to be pulverized and to form the
asteroid belt, while another planet is thrown into an
elliptical orbit with a solar year, called a "shar," equal to
about 3600 earth years. This particular epic was
believed to have been a basic text that was memorized
and copied. It has since been found in other excavated
sites in Iraq.
A work called the Atra Hasis is perhaps the most
shocking. This text describes the Anunaki as originating
on this elliptical orbiting planet, called Nibiru. The planet
is apparently suffering from some atmospheric
degeneration and has sent a team of explorers to Earth
in search of a particular metal -- gold. The gold is mined
by the "Igigi" who are lower forms of the Anunaki. The
Atra Hasis begins where these Igigi are complaining
about the difficulties and fatigue that they are having with
this physically demanding task.
When the gods instead of man
Did the work, bore the loads,
The gods' load was too great,
The work too hard, the trouble too much,
The great Anunnaki made the Igigi
Carry the workload sevenfold.
When the Igigi asked for relief from their work the
leaders of the expedition, An (the father figure and
ultimate leader), and his two sons, Enki and Enlil, held a
counsel meeting. The text describes this event as if an
impending mutiny was possible, but Enki has a brilliant
suggestion.
Why are we blaming them?
Their work was too hard, their trouble was too much.
Every day the earth resounded.
The warning signal was loud enough, we kept hearing
the noise.
There is [.-pieces missing- ]
Ninhursag the womb-goddess is present
Let her create a mortal man
So that he may bear the yoke
So that he may bear the yoke, the work of Enlil,
Let man bear the load of the gods!
[.-pieces missing-.]
Belet-ili the womb-goddess is present,
Let the womb-goddess create offspring,
And let man bear the load of the gods!"
The story continues with the female gender Anunaki,
Ninhursag, creating an altered hybrid by using material
from one of the Anunaki and of an earth "beast,"
primitive man. The Anunaki now had an intelligent
worker to do their mining. Soon, these prototype humans
("A-dam" means something like "duplicated" plus
"human") were being specifically designed for certain
tasks, including a version with small, delicate features
that was used as a house servant by the Anunaki.
The Atra Hasis continues to explain that it was this
"delicate type," with features more resembling the
Anunaki themselves, that attracted the Anunaki to mate
with them. And it was these "giants on earth" that were
remembered in the book of Genesis.
The book of Genesis has more hints to this earlier
epic. Ninhursag, who created the first "smarter
humans" was celebrated by the Anunaki and she was
given the title of "Nin-ti," or "Lady of life." Since early
Hebrew has multiple meanings for the phrase "ti,"
meaning both "rib" and "life," the creation of Eve by
Nin-ti yielded to the errant story of the first woman
being created by Adam's rib (hence "the lady of the
rib").
So where is the devil while all of this is going on?
To really understand the origins of the devil, one must
try to understand the culture of early Sumeria, the land
of Mesopotamia. Located in a fertile and well irrigated
area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what
is now Iraq, the Sumerian civilization is a real mystery
to historians.
Sumerians were broad headed people, physically and
linguistically different from all surrounding tribes that
existed before or after them. They arrive in
Mesopotamia almost instantly -- as if from nowhere.
What is more perplexing is that their civilization, right
from the start, had a government, a highly organized
religion, schools that taught mathematics, a system of
medicine and highly developed masonry skills. But
even more astounding -- the Sumerians could read
and write! As far as we can tell, they were the first.
Where did they come from?
A possible clue is perhaps in one of their earliest
myths, which takes place on an island called Tilmun. It
is believed by some historians to be the present day
Persian Gulf island of Bahrain. They have a myth of
the god, Oannes - a half-human, half-fish figure who
"came from the firmament to give men culture and
learning." The firmament of this era consisted of both
oceans and the heavens (Besides the firmament, there
was the solid earth and the underworld.).But the best
known of these Sumerian legends is The Epic of
Gilgamesh.
We know the legend of Gilgamesh by its fragmented
remains, found in many different locations. It must
have been as popular as the Bible of today in some
parts of the world. In its complete form it was written on
12 tablets in Akkadian script and was found in the old
Hitite capital known as Boghazkoi. We also know that
Gilgamesh was a factual person, as opposed to a
legend, because of a related fragment depicting the
war of Gilgamesh with the king of Kish. Gilgamesh was
king of the Sumerian city of Uruk in the first quarter of
the third millennium BC.
The legend opens, "sa nabe imuru," or, "he who saw
everything..." This phrased is used again, by Greeks, to
open the Oddesy of Homer.
"Man, being the king, who is as the image of god..."
These phrases relate back to the Atra Hasis, where
humans are believed to have been "made" by the
Nefilim, in the Nefilim's own image. Gilgamesh was
described as being two-thirds Nefilim and one-third
human. The birthright of such a hybrid humans was
being acknowledged in the same manner as in Genesis
6:1-4, "the mighty men of renown...," who were "born of
the union of women with the sons of god."
The Epic of Gilgamesh focuses on a human character
named Enkidu, who is uncivilized and lives, eats and
mates with wild animals. He is ultimately tamed and
befriended by Gilgamesh. The two become best friends,
and they travel to distant lands and have a variety of
adventures with friends and foes. The real "meat" of Epic
happens when Enkidu, is killed. Gilgamesh is
heartbroken. He becomes a man with a mission: to find
eternal life.
Gilgamesh travels to where he has heard of eternal life --
to what is now Lebanon. He comes to a wide river and
can go no further. He stops at a tent to rest and eat. Here
he meets the innkeeper, Utnapishtam, who just happens
to be very similar to the biblical Noah. The flood account
of Utnapishtam is an earlier account -- almost 2000
years earlier -- than Genesis. It is likely that Genesis was
based on this earlier account.
According to the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtam is
warned of the flood well before it happens by one of the
brother-gods, Enki. We know the complete legend of this
warning from other tablets. It goes like this:
The chief deity, Anu, is disappointed that the hybrid
humans have not progressed very far from their animal
origins. He is particularly upset that the humans seem to
want to mate all the time. He even is quoted as saying
that the noise of their copulations kept him (Anu) awake
at night, atop his ziggurat (step pyramid). There is talk
among the godhead of what to do with the humans that
were created, and some suggestions are considered.
For a while, humans are deprived of food, at which point
they are said to have resorted to cannibalism. Other
extinction methods are tried until finally Anu announces
that a "final solution" has been found.
The home planet of the godhead, the Nefilim, is called
Nibiru. Anu announces that the next approach of Nibiru
to Earth's orbit will take the two planets close enough to
cause a massive tidal wave. He proclaims that the
humans shall not be warned and, since they live along
the coast and in low, fertile area, they will be summarily
wiped off the face of the planet. The two sons, Enki and
Enlil agree to remain silent.
The word "Nibiru" literally translated as "place of the
crossing," but the "epic of Creation" in the Enumma
Elish clarifies this meaning:
Planet Nibiru
The crossroads of heaven and earth shall he occupy
Above and below, they shall not go across
They must await him.
Planet Nibiru
Planet which is brilliant in the heavens
He holds the central position
To him they shall pay homage
Planet Nibiru
It is he who without living
The midst of Tiamut (Earth) keeps crossing
Let "Crossing" be his name
The one who occupies the midst.
Enki who has sympathy for some humans, arranges
for Utnapishtam to "overhear" him talking aloud from
behind a screen of reeds. He says things like, "a smart
man would make himself a ship..." And so
Utnapishtam is warned and Enki believes he has not
violated his promise to Anu.
Rather than animals, Utnapishtam was told to bring
humans with special skills, like stone masonry and
animal husbandry and medicine on to the ship.
Ultimately it rains, as predicted, and the ship and its
cargo debark near Mt. Ararat in what is now Turkey.
Here the story differs significantly from Genesis.
The first thing the sea-weary crew do on dry land is
"burn" or cook some meat to eat. At this point, while
the meat is burning, they are visited by members of the
godhead who reward the survivors by telling them
something of their origins and making a "pact" with
Utnapishtam and his group.
Sumerian texts describe telling Utnapishtam that he is
capable, by his Nefilim heritage, of abilities that he has
never used. They suggest that he be taught how to use
these abilities and he is thus initiated into what we
would call "priesthood." The promise is made that the
abilities must be used for the benefit of mankind only
and not for selfish gain. The abilities are each taught in
a hierarchy of strength, accompanied by some test of
character or control of self. This system of Nefilim
awareness is called "dur-an-ki" or the "bond heaven-
earth."
Gilgamesh listens to this epic and then seeks eternal
life in the form of a plant that grows under the sea. He
ties heavy stones to his feet and walks the watery
depths to retrieve this special plant, only to lose it to a
snake while he rests on shore. The snake sheds its
skin and moves on and the epic ends. Unlike the
Hollywood "big ending" the message of Gilgamesh is
undoubtedly in the adventure itself. It is a way of relating
the history and legends of the Sumerains into one
coherent epic.
So what do you make of this so far? Have you long since
taken this story for fiction? Well you might well want to
do that because the alternatives are equally hard to
swallow. If this is merely a legend, how would ancient
people "make up" stories of extraterrestrial and other
planets, or hybridization? If this was something unique to
the Sumerian people, where did they develop this
imagination? No prior evidence of Sumerian culture has
been found anywhere else on the globe.
And still you may ask, "where is the devil all this time?"
Our traditional image of the horned, winged demon
comes from the Sumerian Myth of Zu and focuses on the
two brother-gods, Enki, who seems to have sympathy for
the humans, and Enlil, who is a strict adherent to Anu's
orders.
The Nefilim were again presented with a potential mutiny
when the Igigi, a form or Nefilim that worked in "the
firmament," or space, complained that they had no place
to rest. They noted that other Nefilim who mined, and
certain deities assigned to land duty, were provided with
a retreat. But they feared a confrontation with both Enki
and Enlil and persuaded Zu to make their request known
to the godhead.
Zu was an orphan. The stories about Zu mention that his
ancestors were enemies of Anu and his clan (from
events on their home planet), but only Enki was aware of
this and he chose to keep the matter secret. Zu was
adopted by the space workers, the Igigi, and lived as one
of them. And it was with pleasure that he took their
request for help to a meeting with Enki and Enlil. He was
not their equal, but he was their kind.
Enlil was not easily convinced that a rest-stop for Igigi
was necessary. He hesitated. His god-brother Enki, for
some reason, suggested that the whole matter could be
delayed indefinitely if Enlil would re-assign him to his
own personal service. Service to either brother would
supercede any other committments. The suggestion was
made to have Zu guard the most sensitive area, atop the
ziggurat pyramid, in the secret chamber where "the
tablets of destinies" were kept. This position was
considered important enough to delay the Igigi request.
Enlil agreed and made it so.
To the words that Enki spoke to him
the god Enlil consented.
At the sanctuary Zu took up his position
At the entrance to the chamber
Enlil had assigned him.
Zu envies the "tablets of destiny" and the power that
they could bring. He perhaps even realized the tactics
of Enlil. He finally steals the tablets of destiny and
escapes back to "the heavens," from where he begins
to utilize the power of the tablets. Anu and the
godhead are shocked. The entire planet is in a state of
crisis over this violation of trust. Anu orders that the
tablets be restored to Enlil -- but, the godhead
moaned, "who will be able to fight Zu now that he has
the tablets?"
It is decided that Enlil's first born son (and heir to his
authority), Ninurta, will do battle with Zu. Ultimately,
the battle is won and Ninurta restores the tablets to
their sacred chamber. There is a dramatic trial in which
all of the godhead sits in judgement and condemnation
of Zu. He is handed over to Ninurta who cuts his
throat. This epic was so meaningful to the Sumerians
that it was depicted on countless clay seals and artistic
impressions.
Zu is often depicted as a bird, with feathers and wings,
to represent his allegiance to the Igigi, the ones "who
fly." The epic was remembered in Babylonian and
Assyrian rituals where a bull, representing the evil Zu,
was sacrificed in the presence of the godhead. To
Sumerians, Zu represented the ultimate personification
of betrayal and he served as a metaphor of deception
and affliction.
The "horned one" also has his links to Sumeria. Anu,
Enlil and Enki were almost always depicted with horns,
a beard and occasionally a tiarra or widely brimmed
hat. The horns were a way of signifying their godhead
identity, much the same as Christian art shows a halo
to signify being "holy." Did they have real horns?
Probably not.
The addition of horns to the winged, bird-like feet of Zu
completes the archetype of the devil. But the existence
of real evil in the world attests to something more
substantial than a myth or even an historical being in
the past. What is the basis of evil today?
To the Sumerian godhead, evil was a reversion to the
weakest impulses and drives of the being. Humans,
being part animal (homo erectus) and part god
(Anunaki) were prone to give in to their animal desires.
This was the evil in men -- the residual primitive drives
for self-preservation and procreation. Evil would
always prevent man's movement to become more
Nefilim-like, by developing his Nefilim abilities. His lack
of self control would naturally inhibit this process.
True, personified evil would result in the use of Nefilim
powers for the attainment of self-interest. There have
always been those rare individuals who have, perhaps
by accident, developed some Nefilim abilities and then
used them incorrectly.
Like the betrayal of Zu, the misuse of power is at the
very core of our concept of evil.
Where is the devil? He is inside every human, waiting to
impose self-interests and attend to our animal psyche.
He is, I'm afraid, part of each and every one of us.
As I said before, this story is true. Rather than list each
reference and translation, being caught up in the many
arguments over syntax and convention, I have given you
the plot. A quick review of history will readily prove the
plot, without getting further into the details. You will then
have to ask yourself whether you choose to believe that
this is true, or that the Sumerians had an extremely lively
and creative imagination. The deeper you dig, the more
you will recognize the history that has been kept from
you. But you have a right to know.
Editor:
The following is what I've discovered about the Devil.
The first part is taken from Chapter III of my book India Is
the Real Jewish and Christian Holy Land:
"Satan Was Really a Saintly Indian King. In Chapter II, I
explained that Satana was in reality a Gujarati city-state
that lost a war to the Seunas or Zionists. The name of
this city was probably derived from that of a Jaina king
and founder of a small Jaina sect. We are wrongly taught
that a holy man named Mahavira founded Jainism. He
was in reality a later reformer. Jainism itself existed
millenniums before Mahavira was born. No one really
knows exactly when Mahavira lived. I believe that he
achieved his enlightenment around 1000 B.C. Some
years after his death, a pious Jaina king named Satan-
ikas (Satan of Kasi?) began expounding his own version
of Jainism. He succeeded in getting only 11 converts.
They distinguished themselves from other Jainists by
wearing blood-red robes and occasionally bull-horn
headresses. Because the sect was (and still is) so very
small, it was probably rejected by Jainists as demoniacal
and heretical. In those days, the different Indian sects
often fought one another, as, indeed, their non-Indian
descendants do even today. Over the centuries, this
saint and his red clothing evolved to the red-colored
monster that the TV preachers use to scare fanatical
Christian fundamentalists and convince them to unload
their bank accounts and wallets.
The following are the "evil" teachings that this "Satan"
used to ensnare innocent victims:
1. The senses are not the seat of wisdom.
2. The Law of Karma (the effect of our past deeds,
whether good or bad) is a reality.
3. The world and the beings in it are realities; not
illusions.
4. The spiritual dimension is also real.
5. No one should kill animals.
6. We must endure patiently the life conditons that we
cannot change.
7. Do not mortify the body.
8. Always be truthful, sincere, and pure of conduct.
9. Do not steal.
10. Do not be unfaithful to your spouse. Control all
earthly desires.
If Satan-ikas were to return to see what he has
become in the minds of Baptist preachers and
Jehovah's Witnesses, he'd truly be saddened to learn
that he is remembered as The Great Tempter - the
man that everyone loves to hate. The preachers need
not worry overmuch. Very few people have ever fallen
into the clutches of Satan-ikas.
"The Sanskrit/Kashmiri word for "devil" is exactly as in
English: dev-il (condition of being a devil). The
amazing similarities between English and Sanskrit
prompted Indian historian A. K. Mazumdar to write,
".English is essentially Rig-Vedic Sanskrit in disguise."
(The Hindu History; p. 349.) For more information
about this anomaly, see my book India Once Ruled the
World."
Comment: My guess is that the orthodox Jains
regarded Satan-ikas as a heretic and demonized him
and his followers. Somehow, he became the Devil for
the rest of the world.
COMMENTS ON ZUaB:
In retrospect, I am not so certain Zu deserves the
diabolical reputation the Babylonian chronicles tried to
heap upon him. The myth mentions that the god
'Shara', the son of Inanna and Shu-Sin, plays a pivotal
role in the events that take place, and since Shara was
not born until circa 2030 BC, we can reasonably
determine that the Myth of Anzu takes place during
one of the most violent times ever recorded in history.
Anzu does not take the tablets of destiny from Enlil
until after Inanna/Ishtar has attempted to gain
supremacy in Sumer, and she goads Naram Sin into
defiling Enlil's temple in Nippur. During this sam e
time, Ra/Marduk and his son Nebo are attacking the
Sinai Peninsula with their Egyptian and African troops.
In retribution, Naram Sin attacks Egypt and according
to a text titled "The Admonitions of Ipu-wer", he
removes something essential from the Great Pyramid
that results in famine and a general breakdown of
society in Egypt. Enlil is on a rampage throughout
Sumer and Mesopotamia. He orders the "Gutian
hordes" and the Elamites under Chedorlaomer to
savage the land. The records report disease, famine
and starvation occurring among the human
populations throughout the Near and Middle East
during this fateful century.
Though the Babylonian priesthood attempts to
convince us that Anzu 'œwanted to be God most high'
or that he was elected to bring the Igigi's complaints
before Enki and Enlil, such reasons seem ambiguous at
best and appear to be a far cry from what the texts tell us
really happened.
When Anzu steals the Tablets of Destiny from Enlil, all
the Anunnaki gods fear him for they know now he has
the power "to turn them into clay." But does Anzu do
that? No! Anzu does something quite unexpected when
the tablets are in his possession. The Old Babylonian
version reports:
"He stole the Ellil-power; rites were abandoned.
Father Ellil, their counselor, was dumbstruck.
Radiance faded, silence reigned,
Every one of the Igigi was thrown into confusion,
For he had stripped the chamber of its radiance."
Anzu apparently shut the Pyramid-Leyline-Temple
system down. For one brief, glorious moment, from the
Igigi "in heaven" to Enlil's temple of doom in Sumer,
Anzu shut the entire Anunnaki power system down.
I suppose if one happened to be one of the Anunnaki
fallen angels masquerading around on earth as gods,
then this event may well have qualified as "demonic."
However, if you were one of the poor human beings sick
and dying because of the tyranny of the Anunnaki gods,
then I rather suspect that Anzu would have been hailed a
hero among the people.
The Exorcism of Nicola Aubrey
By Father Michael Müller, C.S.S.R.
It is indeed a remarkable fact that, as the devil made use
of Luther, an apostate-monk, to abolish the Mass and
deny the real presence, in like manner God made use of
his arch-enemy, the devil, to prove the real presence. He
repeatedly forced him publicly to profess his firm belief in
it, to confound the heretics for their disbelief, and
acknowledge himself vanquished by Our Lord in the
Blessed Sacrament. For this purpose God allowed a
certain Mme. Nicola Aubrey, an innocent person, to
become possessed by Beelzebub and twenty-nine other
evil spirits. The possession took place on the eighth of
November, 1565, and lasted until the eighth of February,
1566.
Her parents took her to Father de Motta, a pious priest of
Vervins, in order that he might expel the demon by
exorcisms of the Church. Father de Motta tried several
times to expel the evil spirit by applying the sacred relics
of the holy cross, but he could not succeed; Satan would
not depart. At last, inspired by the Holy Ghost, he
resolved to expel the devil by means of the sacrament
of Our Lord's body and blood. Whilst Nicola was lying
in a state of unnatural lethargy, Father de Motta placed
the Blessed Sacrament upon her lips, and instantly the
infernal spell was broken; Nicola was restored to
consciousness, and received holy communion with
every mark of devotion. As soon as Nicola had
received the sacred body of Our Lord, her face
became bright and beautiful as the face of an angel,
and all who saw her were filled with joy and wonder,
and they blessed God from their inmost hearts.
With the permission of God, Satan returned and again
took possession of Nicola.
As the strange circumstances of Nicola's possession
became known everywhere, several Calvinist
preachers came with their followers, to "expose this
popish cheat," as they said. On their entrance, the
devil saluted them mockingly, called them by name,
and told them that they had come in obedience to him.
One of the preachers took his Protestant prayer-book,
and began to read it with a very solemn face. The devil
laughed at him, and, putting on a most comical look,
he said: "Ho! Ho! My good friend; do you intend to
expel me with your prayers and hymns? Do you think
that they will cause me any pain? Don't you know that
they are mine? I helped to compose them!"
"I will expel thee in the name of God," said the
preacher, solemnly.
"You!" said the devil, mockingly. "You will not expel me
either in the name of God, or in the name of the devil.
Did you ever hear of one devil driving out another?"
"I am not a devil," said the preacher, angrily, "I am a
servant of Christ."
"A servant of Christ, indeed!" said Satan, with a sneer.
"What! I tell you you are worse than I am. I believe,
and you do not want to believe. Do you suppose that
you can expel me from the body of this miserable
wretch? Ha! Go first and expel all the devils that are in
your own heart!"
The preacher took his leave, somewhat discomfited.
On going away, he said, turning up the whites of his
eyes, "O Lord, I pray thee, assist this poor creature!"
"And I pray Lucifer," cried the evil spirit, "that he may
never leave you, but may always keep you firmly in his
power, as he does now. Go about your business, now.
You are all mine, and I am your master."
On the arrival of the priest, several of the Protestants
went away - they had seen and heard more than they
wanted. Others, however, remained; and great was
their terror when they saw how the devil writhed and
howled in agony, as soon as the Blessed Sacrament was
brought near him. At last the evil spirit departed, leaving
Nicola in a state of unnatural trance. While she was in
this state, several of the preachers tried to open her
eyes, but they found it impossible to do so. The priest
then placed the Blessed Sacrament on Nicola's lips, and
instantly she was restored to consciousness.
Rev. Father de Motta then turned to the astonished
preachers, and said: "Go now, ye preachers of the new
Gospel; go and relate everywhere what you have seen
and heard. Do not deny any longer that Our Lord Jesus
Christ is really and truly present in the Blessed
Sacrament of the altar. Go now, and let not human
respect hinder you from confessing the truth."
During the exorcisms of the following days, the devil was
forced to confess that he was not to be expelled at
Vervins, and that he had with him twenty-nine devils,
among whom were three powerful demons: Cerberus,
Astaroth, and Legio.
On the third of January, 1556, the bishop arrived at
Vervins, and began the exorcism in the church, in the
presence of an immense multitude.
"I command thee, in the name and by power of the real
presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, to
depart instantly," said the bishop to Satan in a solemn
voice.
Satan was, at last, expelled the second time by means of
the Blessed Sacrament. On leaving, he paralyzed the left
arm and right foot of Nicola, and also made her left arm
longer than her right; and no power on earth could cure
this strange infirmity, until some weeks after, when the
devil was at last completely and irrevocably expelled.
Nicola was now taken to the celebrated pilgrimage of
Our Lady at Liesse, especially since the devil seemed to
fear that place so much.
Next day Father de Motta began the exorcism in the
church of Our Lady at Liesse, in presence of an
immense multitude.
He took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and,
showing it to the demon, he said: "I command thee, in
the name of the living God, the great Emmanuel Whom
thou seest here present, and in Whom thou believest."
"Ah, yes!" shrieked the demon, "I believe in Him." And
the devil howled again as he made this confession, for it
was wrung from him by the power of Almighty God.
"I command thee, then, in His Name," said the priest, "to
quit this body instantly."
At these words, and especially at the sight of the
Blessed Sacrament, the devil suffered the most
frightful torture. At one moment the body of Nicola was
rolled up like a ball; then again she became fearfully
swollen. At one time her face was unnaturally
lengthened, then excessively widened, and sometimes
it was as red as scarlet. Her eyes, at times, protruded
horribly, and then again sunk deeply into her skull. Her
tongue hung down to her chin; it was sometimes black,
sometimes red, and sometimes spotted like a toad.
The priest still continued to urge and torture Satan.
"Accursed spirit!" he cried, "I command thee, in the
Name and by the real presence of Our Lord Jesus
Christ here in the Blessed Sacrament, to depart
instantly from the body of this poor creature."
"Ah, yes!" cried Satan, howling wildly, "twenty-six of
my companions shall leave this instant, for they are
forced to do so."
The people in the church now began to pray with great
fervor. Suddenly Nicola's limbs began to crack, as if
every bone in her body were breaking, a pestilential
vapor came forth from her mouth, and twenty-six devils
departed from her, never more to return.
Nicola then fell into an unnatural swoon, from which
she was aroused only by the Blessed Sacrament. On
recovering her senses, and receiving holy communion,
Nicola's face shone like the face of an angel.
The priest still continued to urge the demon, and used
every means to expel him.
"I will not leave, unless commanded by the bishop of
Laon," answered the demon, angrily.
Nicola was now taken to Pierrepont, where one of the
demons, named Legio, was expelled by means of the
Blessed Sacrament.
Next morning Nicola was brought to the church.
Scarcely had she quitted the house, when the devil
again took possession of her.
The bishop who was requested to exorcise Nicola,
prepared himself for this terrible task by prayer and
fasting, and other works of penance.
On arrival of Nicola in the Church, the exorcism began.
"How many are you in this body?" asked the bishop.
"There are three of us," answered the evil spirit.
"What are your names?"
"Beelzebub, Cerberus, and Astaroth."
"What has become of the others?" asked the bishop.
"They have been expelled," answered Satan.
"Who expelled them?"
"Ha!" cried the devil, gnashing his teeth, "it was He
whom you hold in your hand, there on the paten." The
devil meant our dear Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
The bishop then held the Blessed Sacrament near the
face of Nicola. The demon writhed and howled in agony.
"Ah, yes! I will go, I will go!" he shrieked, " but I shall
return."
Suddenly Nicola became stiff and motionless as marble.
The bishop then touched her lips with the Blessed
Sacrament, and in an instant she was fully restored to
consciousness. She received holy communion, and her
countenance now shone with a wondrous, supernatural
beauty.
Next day Nicola was brought again to the Church, and
the exorcism began as usual.
The bishop took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand,
held it near the face of Nicola, and said:
"I command thee in the name of the living God, and by
the real presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ here in the
sacrament of the altar, to depart instantly from the body
of this creature of God, and never more to return."
"No! No!" shrieked the devil, "I will not go. My hour is not
yet come."
"I command thee to depart, Go forth, impure, accursed
spirit! Go forth!" and the bishop held the Blessed
Sacrament close to Nicola's face.
"Stop!, stop!" shrieked Satan; "let me go! I will depart -
but I shall return." And instantly Nicola fell into the most
frightful convulsions. A black smoke was seen issuing
from her mouth, and she fell again into a swoon.
During her stay in Leon, Nicola was carefully examined
by Catholic and Protestant physicians. Her left arm,
which had been paralyzed by the devil, was found
entirely without feeling. The doctors cut into the arm with
a sharp knife, they burnt it with fire, they drove pins and
needles under the nails of the fingers, but Nicola felt no
pain; her arm was utterly insensible. Once, while Nicola
was lying in a state of unnatural lethargy, the doctors
gave her some bread soaked in wine, (it was what the
Protestants call their communion, or Lord's Supper,) they
rubbed her limbs briskly, they threw water in her face,
they pierced her tongue till the blood flowed; they tried
every possible means to arouse her, but in vain! Nicola
remained cold and motionless as marble. At last the
priest touched the lips of Nicola with the Blessed
Sacrament, and instantly she was restored to
consciousness, and began to praise God.
The miracle was so clear, so palpable, that one of the
doctors, who was a bigoted Calvinist, immediately
renounced his errors, and became a Catholic.
Several times, also, the Protestants touched Nicola's
face with a host which was not consecrated, and
which, consequently, was only bread, but Satan was
not in the least tormented by this. He only ridiculed
their efforts.
On the twenty-seventh of January, the bishop, after
having walked in solemn procession with the clergy
and the faithful, began the exorcism in church, in
presence of a vast multitude of Protestants and
Catholics.
The bishop now held the Blessed Sacrament close to
the face of Nicola. Suddenly a wild, unearthly yell rings
through the air - a black, heavy smoke issues from the
mouth of Nicola. The demon Astaroth is expelled
forever.
During the exorcism which took place on the first of
February, the bishop said:
"O accursed spirit! Since neither prayer, nor the holy
gospels, neither the exorcisms of the Church, nor the
holy relics, can compel thee to depart, I will now show
thee thy Lord and Master, and by His power I
command thee."
During the exorcism, which took place after Mass, the
bishop held the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and
said: "O accursed spirit, arch-enemy of the ever-
blessed God! I command thee, by the precious blood
of Jesus Christ here present, to depart from this poor
woman! Depart accursed, into the everlasting flames
of hell!"
At these words, and especially at the sight of the
Blessed Sacrament, the demon was so fearfully
tormented, and the appearance of Nicola was so
hideous and revolting, that the people turned away
their eyes in horror. At last a heavy sigh was heard,
and a cloud of black smoke issued from the mouth of
Nicola. Cerberus was expelled.
Again Nicola fell into a death-like swoon, and again
she was brought to consciousness only by means of
the Blessed Sacrament.
During the exorcism which took place on the seventh
day of February, the bishop said to Satan:
"Tell me, why hast thou taken possession of this honest
and virtuous Catholic woman!"
"I have done so by permission of God. I have taken
possession of her on account of the sins of the people. I
have done it to show my Calvinists that there are devils
who can take possession of man whenever God permits
it. I know they do not want to believe this; but I will show
them that I am the devil. I have taken possession of this
creature in order to convert them, or to harden them in
their sins; and, by the sacred blood, I will perform my
task."
This answer filled all who heard it with horror. "Yes,"
answered the bishop, solemnly, "God desires to unite all
men in the only holy faith. As there is but one God, so
there can be but one true religion. A religion like that
which the Protestants have invented, is but a hollow
mockery. It must fall. The religion established by Our
Lord Jesus Christ is the only true one; it alone shall last
forever. It is destined to unite all men within its sacred
embrace, so that there shall be but one sheep-fold and
one shepherd. This divine Shepherd is Our Lord Jesus
Christ, the invisible head of the holy Roman Catholic
Church, whose visible head is our holy Father the Pope,
successor of St. Peter."
The devil was silent - he was put to shame before the
entire multitude. He was expelled once more by means
of the Blessed Sacrament.
In the afternoon of the same day the devil began to cry:
"Ah! Ha! You think that you can expel me in this way.
You have not the proper attendance of a bishop. Where
are the dean and the archdean? Where are the royal
judges? Where is the chief magistrate, who was
frightened out of his wits that night, in the prison? Where
is the procurator of the king? Where are his attorneys
and counsellors? Where is the clerk of the court?" (The
devil mentioned each of these by name.) "I will not
depart until all are assembled. Were I to depart now,
what proof could you give to the king of all that has
happened? Do you think that people will believe you so
easily? No! No! There are many who would make
objections. The testimony of these common country-
people here will have but little weight. It is a torment to
me that I must tell you what you have to do. I am forced
to do it. Ha! Cursed be the hour in which I first took
possession of this vile wretch."
"I find little pleasure in thy prating," answered the bishop;
there are witnesses enough here. Those whom you have
mentioned are not necessary. Depart! then; give glory to
God. Depart - go to the flames of hell!"
"Yes, I shall depart, but not to-day. I know full well that I
must depart. My sentence is passed; I am compelled to
leave."
"I care not for thy jabbering," said the bishop, "I shall
expel thee by the power of God: by the precious blood
of Our Lord Jesus Christ."
"Yes, I must yield to you," shrieked the demon wildly.
"It tortures me that I must give you this honor."
The bishop now took the Blessed Sacrament in his
hand, and held it close to the face of the possessed
woman.
At last, Satan was compelled to flee once more.
The next morning, after the procession was ended, the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered up as usual.
During the consecration, the possessed woman was
twice raised over six feet into the air, and then fell back
heavily upon the platform. As the bishop, just before
the Pater Noster, took the sacred host once more in
his hand, and raised it with the chalice, the possessed
woman was again whisked into the air, carrying with
her the keepers, fifteen in number, at least six feet
above the platform; and, after a while, she fell heavily
back on the ground.
At this sight, all present were filled with amazement
and terror. A German Protestant named Voske fell on
his knees; he burst into tears; he was converted.
"Ah!" cried he, "I now believe firmly that the devil really
possesses this poor creature. I believe that it is really
the body and blood of Jesus Christ which expels him. I
believe firmly. I will no longer remain a Protestant."
After Mass, the exorcism began as usual.
"Now, at last," said the bishop, "thou must depart.
Away with thee, evil spirit!"
"Yes," said Satan, "it is true that I must depart, but not
yet. I will not go before the hour is come in which I first
took possession of this wretched creature."
At last the bishop took the sacred host in his hand, and
said: "In the name of the adorable Trinity: Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost - in the name of the sacred body of
Jesus Christ here present - I command thee, wicked
spirit, to depart."
"Yes, yes, it is true!" shrieked the demon wildly; "it is
true. It is the body of God. I must confess it, for I am
forced to do so. Ha! It tortures me that I must confess
this; but I must. I speak the truth only when I am forced
to do it. The truth is not from me. It comes from my
Lord and Master. I have entered this body by the
permission of God."
The bishop now held the Blessed Sacrament close to the
face of the possessed woman. The demon writhed in
fearful agony. He tried in every way to escape from the
presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. At
length a black smoke was seen issuing from the mouth
of Nicola. She fell into a swoon, and was restored again
to consciousness only by means of the Blessed
Sacrament.
The eighth of February, the day appointed by God on
which Satan was to leave Nicola forever, arrived at last.
After the solemn procession, the bishop began the last
exorcism.
"I shall not ask thee any longer," said the bishop to
Satan, "when thou intendest to leave; I will expel thee
instantly by the power of the living God, and by the
precious body and blood of Jesus Christ, His beloved
Son, here present in the Sacrament of the Altar."
"Ha, yes!" shrieked the demon; "I confess that the Son of
God is here really and truly present. He is my Lord and
Master. It tortures me to confess it, but I am forced to do
so." Then he repeated several times, with a wild,
unearthly howl: "Yes, it is true. I must confess it. I am
forced to leave, by the power of God's body here
present. I must - I must depart. It torments me that I must
go so soon, and that I must confess this truth. But this
truth is not from me; it comes from my Lord and Master,
who has sent me hither, and who commands and
compels me to confess the truth publicly."
The bishop then took the Blessed Sacrament in his
hand, and, holding it on high, he said, with a solemn
voice: "O thou wicked, unclean spirit, Beelzebub! Thou
arch-enemy of the eternal God! Behold, here present,
the precious body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
thy Lord and Master! I adjure thee, in the name and by
the power of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, true
God and true man, who is here present; I command thee
to depart instantly and forever from this creature of God.
Depart to the deepest depth of hell, there to be
tormented forever. Go forth, unclean spirit, go forth -
behold here thy Lord and Master!"
At these solemn words, and at the sight of our
sacramental Lord, the poor possessed woman writhed
fearfully. Her limbs cracked as if every bone in her body
were breaking. The fifteen strong men who held her,
could scarcely keep her back. They staggered from side
to side, they were covered with perspiration. Satan tried
to escape from the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament. The mouth of Nicola was wide open, her
tongue hung down below her chin, her face was
shockingly swollen and distorted. Her color changed
from yellow to green, and became even grey and blue,
so that she no longer looked like a human being; it was
rather the face of a hideous, incarnate demon. All
present trembled with terror, especially when they heard
the wild cry of the demon, which sounded like the loud
roar of a wild bull.
They fell on their knees, and with tears in their eyes,
began to cry out: "Jesus, have mercy!"
The bishop continued to urge Satan. At last the evil
spirit departed, and Nicola fell back senseless into the
arms of her keepers. She still, however, remained
shockingly distorted. In this state she was shown to the
judges, and to all the people present; she was rolled
up like a ball. This bishop now fell on his knees, in
order to give her the Blessed Sacrament as usual. But
see! Suddenly the demon returns, wild with rage,
endeavors to seize the hand of the bishop, and even
tries to grasp the Blessed Sacrament itself. The bishop
starts back; Nicola is carried into the air and the bishop
rises from his knees, trembling with terror and pale as
death.
The good bishop takes courage again; he pursues the
demon, holding the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, till
at length the demon, overcome by the power of Our
Lord's sacred body, goes forth amidst smoke, and
lightening, and thunder.
Thus was the demon at length expelled forever, on
Friday afternoon, at three o'clock, the same day and
hour on which Our Lord triumphed over hell by His
ever-blessed death.
Nicola was now completely cured; she could move her
left arm with the greatest ease. She fell on her knees,
and thanked God, as well as the good bishop, for all he
had done for her.
The people wept for joy, and sang hymns of praise and
thanksgiving in honor of our dear Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament.
On all sides were heard the exclamations: "Oh, what a
great miracle! Oh, thank God that I witnessed it! Who
is there now that can doubt of the real presence of Our
Lord Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar!"
Many a Protestant also said: "I believe now in the
presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament; I have
seen with my eyes! I will remain a Calvinist no longer.
Accursed be those who have hitherto kept me in error!
Oh, now I can understand what a good thing is the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!"
A solemn Te Deum was intoned; the organ pealed
forth, and the bells rung a merry chime.
The whole city was filled with joy.
This great triumph of Jesus Christ in the Blessed
Sacrament over Satan occurred in the presence of
more than 150,000 people, in the presence of all the
ecclesiastical and civil authorities of the city, of
Protestants and Catholics alike. I have published a
lengthy account of this extraordinary affair in a little
volume entitled, "Triumph of the Blessed Sacrament."
These facts are well-authenticated by the accounts
published in various languages - French, Italian, Spanish
and German, as I have shown on pages 13, 14 and 15 of
above-named little volume.
Doppelganger!
"Does anyone believe the theory that we all have a
double? It could be true because sometimes you run into
someone you know, talk to them and later find out that
the person never saw you that day. Either this person
was a double or dimensions may have crossed. A
number of years ago when I went to the movies, I ran
into who I thought was my brother's friend. I greeted him
excitedly and he said hi too and we talked a bit. When I
went home, I told my brother that I saw his friend. He
said he spoke to him and his friend was home all day. I
was quite puzzled."
"Double Theory"
Do you have an exact double somewhere in the world?
Can a person be in two places at once? There are many
intriguing accounts throughout history of people who
claim to have either encountered apparitions of
themselves - their doppelgangers - or have experienced
the phenomenon of bilocation, being in two separate
locations at the very same time.
"Doppelganger" is German for "double walker" - a
shadow self that is thought to accompany every person.
Traditionally, it is said that only the owner of the
doppelganger can see this phantom self, and that it can
be a harbinger of death. Occasionally, however, a
doppelganger can be seen by a person's friends or
family, resulting in quite a bit of confusion.
In instances of bilocation, a person can either
spontaneously or willingly project his or her double,
known as a "wraith," to a remote location. This double is
indistinguishable from the real person and can interact
with others just as the real person would.
Emilie Sagée
One of the most fascinating reports of a doppelganger
comes from American writer Robert Dale Owen who was
told the story by Julie von Güldenstubbe, the second
daughter of the Baron von Güldenstubbe. In 1845, when
von Güldenstubbe was 13, she attended Pensionat von
Neuwelcke, an exclusive girl's school near Wolmar in
what is now Latvia. One of her teachers was a 32-year-
old French woman named Emilie Sagée. And although
the school's administration was quite pleased with
Sagée's performance, she soon became the object of
rumor and odd speculation. Sagée, it seemed, had a
double that would appear and disappear in full view of
the students.
In the middle of class one day, while Sagée was
writing on the blackboard, her exact double appeared
beside her. The doppelganger precisely copied the
teacher's every move as she wrote, except that it did
not hold any chalk. The event was witnessed by 13
students in the classroom. A similar incident was
reported at dinner one evening when Sagée's
doppelganger was seen standing behind her,
mimicking the movements of her eating, although it
held no utensils.
The doppelganger did not always echo her
movements, however. On several occasions, Sagée
would be seen in one part of the school when it was
known that she was in another at that time. The most
astonishing instance of this took place in full view of
the entire student body of 42 students on a summer
day in 1846. The girls were all assembled in the school
hall for their sewing and embroidery lessons. As they
sat at the long tables working, they could clearly see
Sagée in the school's garden gathering flowers.
Another teacher was supervising the children. When
this teacher left the room to talk to the headmistress,
Sagée's doppelganger appeared in her chair - while
the real Sagée could still be seen in the garden. The
students noted that Sagée's movements in the garden
looked tired while the doppelganger sat motionless.
Two brave girls approached the phantom and tried to
touch it, but felt an odd resistance in the air
surrounding it. One girl actually stepped between the
teacher's chair and the table, passing right through the
apparition, which remained motionless. It then slowly
vanished.
Sagée claimed never to have seen the doppelganger
herself, but said that whenever it was said to appear,
she felt drained and fatigued. Her physical color even
seemed to pale at those times.
Famous Doppelgangers
There have been many cases of doppelgangers
appearing to well-known figures:
Guy de Maupassant, the French novelist and short
story writer, claimed to have been haunted by his
doppelganger near the end of his life. On one
occasion, he said, this double entered his room, took a
seat opposite him and began to dictate what de
Maupassant was writing. He wrote about this
experience in his short story "Lui."
John Donne, the 16th century English poet whose
work often touched on the metaphysical, was visited
by a doppelganger while he was in Paris - not his, but
his wife's. She appeared to him holding a newborn
baby. Donne's wife was pregnant at the time, but the
apparition was a portent of great sadness. At the same
moment that the doppelganger appeared, his wife had
given birth to a stillborn child.
Percy Bysshe Shelley, still considered one of the
greatest poets of the English language, encountered his
doppelganger in Italy. The phantom silently pointed
toward the Mediterranean Sea. Not long after, and
shortly before his 30th birthday in 1822, Shelley died in a
sailing accident - drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.
Queen Elizabeth I of England was shocked to see her
doppelganger laid out on her bed. The queen died
shortly thereafter.
In a case that suggests that doppelgangers might have
something to do with time or dimensional shifts, Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, the 18th century German poet,
confronted his doppelganger while riding on the road to
Drusenheim. Riding toward him was his exact double,
but wearing a gray suit trimmed in gold. Eight years later,
von Goethe was again traveling on the same road, but in
the opposite direction. He then realized he was wearing
the very gray suit trimmed in gold that he had seen on
his double eight years earlier! Had von Goethe seen his
future self?
Sister Mary of Jesus
Bilocation seems to be the flip side of the doppelganger
coin. One of the most astonishing cases took place in the
1620s. In 1622, Father Alonzo de Benavides was
assigned to the Isolita Mission in what is now New
Mexico. He was puzzled to encounter Jamano Indians
who, although they seemed never before to have met
French or Spanish peoples, carried crosses, knew
Roman Catholic rituals, had altars and knew Catholic
liturgy - all in their native tongue.
Father Benavides wrote to both Pope Urban VII and King
Philip of Spain to find out who had been there before
him, obviously working to convert the Indians. The
response was that no one had been sent previously. The
Indians told him that they had been instructed in
Christianity by a beautiful young "lady in blue" who came
among them for many years and taught them this new
religion in their own language. She also told them that
white-skinned people would soon arrive in their land.
"She came down from the heights to us," the Indians
said, "she taught us the new religion, she stayed among
us for a time, she told us you would come and to make
you welcome, and then she went away. That’s all we
know."
The Indians told him that they had been instructed in
Christianity by a beautiful young "lady in blue" who came
among them for many years and taught them this new
religion in their own language.
Who was this mysterious lady in blue? Father
Benavides knew that the nuns of the Poor Clare order
wore blue habits and thought there might be a clue
there. He found a painting of a Poor Clare nun and
showed it to the Jamanos. "Is this the woman?" he
asked. The dress was right, the Indians told him, but
this was not the woman. The woman in the painting
was rather portly, but the lady in blue was young and
beautiful.
When he returned to Spain, Father Benavides was
determined to solve the mystery. How could the
Indians have encountered a Poor Clare nun when they
were a cloistered order: from the day they took their
vows until their deaths, the nuns never left their
convents, much less traveled to distant lands on
missions. His investigation led him to Sister Mary of
Jesus in Agreda, Spain, who claimed to have
converted North American Indians - without leaving her
convent. Now 29 and Mother Superior of the convent,
Sister Mary said she had visited the Indians "not in
body, but in spirit."
Sister Mary said she regularly fell into a cataleptic
trance, after which she recalled "dreams" in which she
was carried to a strange and wild land, where she
taught the gospel. As proof of her claim, she was able
to provide highly detailed descriptions of the Jamano
Indians, including their appearance, clothing and
customs, none of which she could have learned
through research since they were fairly recently
discovered by the Europeans. How did she learn their
language? "I didn’t," she replied. "I simply spoke to
them - and God let us understand one another."
Sister Mary is also said to have appeared to Mexican
Indians, who said they had been visited by "a very
beautiful woman, who used to come down from the
heights, dressed in blue garments."
Other Accounts of Bilocation
There are many more anecdotes of bilocation,
especially of saints, clergy and other religious figures:
In 1227, St. Anthony of Padua, a Portuguese
Franciscan friar, was in Limoges, France on Holy
Thursday giving a sermon. During the sermon, he
remembered that he was obliged to be chanting
prayers with his fellow friars in their chapel across
town. Realizing this, he stopped his sermon, knelt on
the spot, pulled his hood over his head and became
quite still. At that moment, Friar Anthony appeared in
the chapel and chanted the prayers as required. When
they were done, he simultaneously withdrew from the
chapel and raised his head at the church - and
continued with his sermon.
St. Alphonsus Liguori was bishop of St. Agata dei Goti in
1774 when he experienced his bilocation. While in his
palace near Naples, the bishop fell into a trance and at
once appeared at the Vatican in Rome, in the bed
chamber of Pope Clement XIV, who was dying. The
bishop assisted those attending the Pontiff and prayed
with those present. He remained until the Pope died,
then "awoke" back in his palace, able to describe what
he had just experienced.
In 1905, Sir Gilbert Parker, a member of the British
Parliament, was attending a debate in the House of
Commons. During the debate, he noted that Sir
Frederick Carne Rasch was also present, sitting in his
usual spot. Yet this was impossible since Sir Frederick
was quite ill with with flu and, according to members of
his household, remained in bed throughout the day.
Apparently, Rasch's double was determined to hear the
debate
The REAL X-Men
They have powers and abilities far beyond those of
mortal men or women. But unlike the characters of the
comic book, these extraordinary people were quite real.
The movie version of X-Men was the hottest film in the
theaters when it was released. Based on the enormously
popular comic book, X-Men features a collection of
human mutants - both good and evil - who were born
with extraordinary and sometimes bizarre powers. With
such names as Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Magneto and
Mystique, they bound around making blades spring from
their knuckles, conjuring hurricanes from the sky or
manipulating their environment through telekinesis.
These characters, creations of legendary comic book
author and illustrator Stan Lee, live only in the
imagination, on paper and now on film.
Would you believe there are real X-Men? They may not
be genetic mutants, in the strictest sense, and they may
not be able to threaten or save the world with their
strange and fantastic powers of the body and mind, but
they are extraordinary... not at all like you and me.
Here's our own gallery of real-life super-powered
characters.
Lightning Man
When storm clouds gather, courageous Lightning Man
stands in defiance of nature to draw deadly bolts of
electricity from the heavens.
Roy Cleveland Sullivan was a Forest Ranger in Virginia
who had an incredible attraction to lightning... or rather it
had an attraction to him. Over his 36-year career as a
ranger, Sullivan was struck by lightning seven times -
and survived each jolt, but not unscathed. When struck
for the first time in 1942, he suffered the loss of a nail on
his big toe. Twenty-seven years passed before he was
struck again, this time by a bolt that singed his
eyebrows off. The next year, in 1970, another strike
burned Sullivan's left shoulder. Now it looked as
though lightning had it out for poor Roy, and people
were starting to call him The Human Lightning Rod. He
didn't disappoint them. Lightning zapped him again in
1972, setting his hair on fire and convincing him to
keep a container of water in his car, just in case. The
water came in handy in 1973 when, seemly just to
taunt Sullivan, a low-hanging cloud shot a bolt of
lightning at his head, blasting him out of his car, setting
his hair on fire and knocking off a shoe. The sixth strike
in 1976 injured his ankle, and the seventh strike in
1977, got him when he was fishing, and put him in the
hospital for treatment of chest and stomach burns.
Lightning may not have been able to kill Roy Sullivan,
but perhaps the threat of it did. He took his own life in
1983. Two of his lightning-singed ranger hats are on
display at Guinness World Exhibit Halls.
BeastMaster
With just the power of his mind, he can command
animals to do his bidding.
Vladimir Durov was no ordinary animal trainer. As a
veteran performer in a Russian circus, he claimed to
use a remarkable method for communicating with his
canine coworkers - through telepathy. Professor W.
Bechterev, head of the institute for the Investigation of
the Brain in St. Petersburg, decided to test Durov's
claim. Bechterev created a list of tasks that he wanted
one of Durov's dogs to perform in a specific order,
without any time for training. After hearing or reading
the list of tasks, Durov went to his fox terrier, Pikki,
took his head in his hands and stared straight into the
little dog's eyes - psychicly transferring his thoughts
directly into Pikki's brain. Durov released the dog and it
immediately went about performing the assigned
tasks. Thinking that perhaps Durov was giving the dog
subtle clues with his eyes, the test was repeated with a
new set of tasks, but this time with Durov blindfolded.
Pikki still responded to his psychic commands.
The Electromagneto Team
Charged like superconducting human batteries, they
roam the countryside thrilling all they meet with the
electrifying power at their fingertips.
There have been several documented cases of people
who apparently possess inexplicable electromagnetic
properties:
For just a 10-week period in 1846, 14-year-old French
girl Angelique Cottin's mere presence made the
needles of compasses spin wildly; objects as heavy as
furniture would slide away from her if she tried to touch
them; objects near her would vibrate unnaturally.
Jennie Morgan of Sedalia, Missouri could emit highly-
charged sparks from her fingertips that were strong
enough to knock people unconscious.
Animals would shun her. After an 18-month undiagnosed
illness, Canadian teenager Caroline Clare became so
magnetized that metal objects, like forks and knives,
stuck to her skin. The force was so powerful that another
person was required to pull them off.
Inga Gaiduchenko, a 14-year-old Soviet student was
also highly magnetic. Before members of the Moscow
Technological Institute, she showed how spoons and
pens stuck to her hands. Even non-metallic objects such
as china plates and books were affected.
The Amazing Kinetitron
With her thoughts alone, a steely glance or a subtle
gesture, she can move inanimate objects at will.
Nina Kulagina became one of the most famous psychics
in the Soviet Union in the 1960s because of her amazing
feats of telekinesis or psychokinesis. In films smuggled
out of the country, Kulagina was shown to be able to
move small objects placed before her on a table. Under
close scientific observation, Kulagina would hold her
hands a few inches above the objects, and in a few
moments they would being to slide across the table top.
Wooden matches, small boxes, cigarettes and Plexiglas
would all react to her intense concentration. At times,
objects would continue to move even when she took her
hands away. In the early 1970s, Kulagina was even
recruited by the Soviet government to see if she could
somehow help a sick Nikita Khrushchev
Pyro-Elasto Man
Watch him stretch his body to incredible lengths and
handle red-hot flaming embers in his bare hands.
Daniel Douglas Home was either one of the most
incredible psychic mediums of the mid-1800s or one of
the era's cleverest magicians. The feats this Scotsman
performed at close range astounded the elite and royalty
of his day. In one demonstration, he entered his usual
trance state and announced he was in touch with a
guardian spirit that was "very tall and strong." While
being watched by two witnesses who flanked him, Home
shot up an additional six inches in height, and it could be
clearly seen that his slippered feet were planted flatly on
the floor. Home could also hold burning embers in his
bare hands completely without harm, a feat he
performed on a number of occasions.
Sir William Crookes of the British Society for Psychical
Research, once saw Home pick up a hot coal as big as
an orange and hold it nonchalantly in both hands. Home
even blew on the coal until it became white hot and
flames flickered around his bare fingers. Crookes then
inspected Home's hands and affirmed that they did not
appear to be specially treated in any way - and
showed absolutely no sign of blistering, scarring or
burning. Crookes remarked, in fact, that Home's hands
were as soft and delicate as "a woman's." In yet
another performance, Homes floated out of a second-
story window, paused, then floated back inside to the
utter astonishment of three witnesses on the ground.
The Incredible X-Ray
There's no hiding evil deeds from the Incredible X-Ray
whose penetrating X-ray vision sees all.
Koda Box, a stage performer who billed himself as
"The Man with the X-Ray Eyes," astonished audiences
in the early 1900s. Box first allowed audience
members to completely blind him by putting coins over
his eyes and fastening them in place with adhesive
tape. His entire head was then bandaged in cloth,
assuring everyone that he could see nothing. He then
proceeded to read messages that audience
participants had written on paper. He could also read
books and accurately describe objects held up by
members of the audience. With is elaborate blindfold in
place, Box once even safely rode a bicycle through the
busy traffic of New York's Times Square.
Microscopo and Telescopique
Like super-powerd human scientific instruments, these
heroes use their fantastic vision to see microscopic
details or great distances.
Two gentlemen might share the title of Microsopo, both
having the ability to distinguish vinyl phonograph
records merely by looking at the grooves with their
unaided eyes! Alvah Mason first demonstrated this
talent in the 1930s, and more recently, Arthur Lintgen,
a resident of Philadelphia proved to none other than
The Amazing Randi that he could do the same thing.
Veronica Seider, a German dentist, apparently had
telescopic vision. In several demonstrations she
showed that she could identify people from more than
a mile distance. Seider also claimed that she could see
the individual red, green and blue dots that make up
the picture on a color television set.
Medictron, the Healer
With the unknown force emanating from his miraculous
hands, Medictron has the power to heal all forms of
injuries and maladies.
John D. Reese of Youngstown, Ohio never studied
medicine. In fact, it wasn't until he was about 30 years
old that Reese discovered his remarkable if latent
power to heal. One day in 1887, an acquaintance of
Mr. Reese had fallen from a ladder and seriously
injured his spine - a "severe spinal strain" his physician
called it. Reese, for some reason, ran his fingers up
and down the man's back, immediately after which the
man announced that his pain had ceased entirely. He
got up and went back to work. Reese likewise healed
Hans Wagner, a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who
had been carried from the field with a back injury; he also
instantly cured a politician whose hand and wrist became
useless to him from so much handshaking. Doctors had
told him he needed weeks and weeks of rest. After his
encounter with Reese, he has perfectly fine.
The Incredible Powers of D. D. Home
He could levitate tables - and himself - in full view of
witnesses, elongate his body, and hold burning embers
in his bare hands. Was he the greatest supernatural
medium of his time... or the best magician? More of this
Feature
Daniel Dunglas Home was the most celebrated medium
of the 19th century. Although his name is not very well
known today, he astonished audiences, friends, heads of
state, and the rich and famous with startling paranormal
feats and levitation. His seemingly impossible powers
bewildered those who witnessed them, including many
respected scientists and journalists.
Did D. D. Home truly possess extraordinary paranormal
abilities? Or was he a gifted magician, far ahead of his
time, who was able to fool even the closest of observers
with slight of hand and magician's illusions? Although
there were certainly many skeptics among his
contemporaries who denounced him as a clever fraud,
they could never really prove how he accomplished his
many incredible demonstrations. To this day, there is
much mystery surrounding Home.
Home (pronounced "Hume") was born in 1833 in Currie,
Scotland. Like many people who seek the public
spotlight or a presence in "show business," Home seems
to have exaggerated or fabricated details of his early life
and heritage. For example, he was baptized as Daniel
Home and seems to have adopted the middle name of
Dunglas. Although he claimed to that his father was the
bastard son of the tenth earl of Scotland, his father was
actually an ordinary laborer and, by some accounts, an
abusive drunk. As a baby, he was adopted by an aunt
and at age nine was brought to America where his new
family settled in Connecticut.
Home may also have created some myths about his
childhood. He said that as an adolescent he began to
experience premonitions. At age 17, poltergeist activity
would occur when he entered a room: mysterious raps
would be heard and furniture would move by itself. Were
these stories Home made up to enhance his mystical
persona, or were they early signs of unexplained abilities
that Home would later be able to control?
Although he had little formal education, as an adult
Home could converse intelligently on a number of
subjects, could play the piano, and developed an easy
wit and charm that facilitated his profession as a
"professional houseguest." It was at this time that his
remarkable abilities came to prominence. His early
reputation as a medium was made by his séances,
which participants declared as uncanny, and his
apparent powers of clairvoyance and healing.
Over his controversial career, these are just some of
the feats D. D. Home was seen to perform around the
world:
• In a well-lit room before Professor David Wells of
Harvard and three other spiritualist investigators,
Home caused a table to move all about, even though
he stood nowhere near it. It took all the strength of two
of the witnesses to restrain the table. Upon its release,
the table levitated completely off the floor for several
seconds. When Wells and two others sat on the table,
it continued to rock. They could find no scientific
explanation for the experience.
• In 1852, Home first demonstrated self-levitation.
Witnesses watched in astonishment as he rose a foot
or more above the floor. When they tried to hold him
down, they too were lifted off the ground.
• During séances, he was able to make phantom
hands appear, which sitters were able to feel. In 1857,
he held a séance in Paris with Napolean III and his
empress, Eugénie. The empress held a spirit hand that
she recognized as her dead father's - because of the
characteristic deformity of one finger.
He was even seen to plunge his hands and his face
into a hearth fire, "moving it about as though bathing it
in water." His skin showed no signs of injury
whatsoever.
• He was able to elongate his body by as much as 11
inches.
• In a July, 1868 séance in a normally lit room of the
home of a client, the host's elderly mother was
levitated in the chair in which she sat.
• In December, 1868, Home gave what is perhaps his
most famous performance. At his apartment in
London, Home conducted a séance for three
respected gentlemen. After some "conventional" spirit
apparitions, Home began to walk around the room. His
body elongated, according to the witnesses, then
Home rose off the ground. Returning to the floor he
then went into an adjoining room. The men heard a
window open in that room and shortly after saw Home
apparently floating in midair outside their window. The
apartment was three stories up. Home opened the
window from the outside, then "glided into the room feet
foremost and sat down."
• In 1871, Home was tested by William Crookes, a
respected physicist and fellow of the Royal Society. With
a contraption of weights he had devised, Crookes sought
to measure the "power, force or influence, proceeding
from his hand." Crookes measured a force equal to
about three-quarters of a pound, and was at a complete
loss to explain it. Crookes was also witness to Home's
levitation, which, he wrote, challenged his "most firmly
rooted articles of scientific belief."
• In a demonstration he did many times, Home could
hold white-hot embers in his bare hands. He was even
seen to plunge his hands and his face into a hearth fire,
"moving it about as though bathing it in water." His skin
showed no signs of injury whatsoever.
Home astonished many, but not all. Harry Houdini,
known for his debunking of spiritualists and séances,
denounced Home as a fraud and claimed to be able to
duplicate his feats of levitation... although he never did.
And while many skeptics were sure Home's
demonstrations were only trickery, Home was not once -
in any of his 1,500 séances - caught in any kind of
deception or exposed in perpetrating a hoax. This fact
alone earned him his great reputation.
So, while reason says that Home was an extremely
gifted magician and illusionist - on a par, perhaps, with
some of the great magicians working today - such
legerdemain was never proved. And because many of
his feats were accomplished in broad daylight in full view
and inspection of witnesses, Home must be regarded
either as one of the greatest magicians of all time... or a
true medium with extraordinary, unexplained powers.
That brings about an interesting point, if one takes the
position that Home's abilities were not supernatural: If
Home had presented himself as a magician rather than a
medium, he might be regarded and remembered today
with greater awe than the legendary Houdini.
SLIders & the Streetlight Phenomenon
Do streetlights suddenly go out when you pass beneath
them? Do watches or credit cards stop working in your
possession? Perhaps you are a SLIder.
A reader writes:
Around five years ago, I have noticed that at times while
I am driving down the road at night a street light will go
out as I am passing below it. It happens frequently and
seems to be happening more.
It has been giving me the creeps. If it happened only
once or on very rare occasions, I don't think I would have
given it a thought. However, it happens about once or
twice a week. Could it be some electronic thing or
could it be something less explainable?
The phenomenon is known as street lamp
interference, or SLI, and it possibly is a psychic event
that is just beginning to be recognized and studied.
Like most phenomena of this type, the evidence is
almost exclusively anecdotal. I have received several
stories like the one above from readers.
Typically, a person who has this effect on streetlights -
also known as a SLIder - finds that the light switches
on or off when he or she walks or drives beneath it.
Obviously, this could happen occasionally by chance
with a faulty streetlight (you've probably noticed that
it's happened to you once in a while), but SLIders
claim that it happens to them on a regular basis. It
doesn't happen every time with every streetlight, but it
occurs often enough to make these people suspect
that something unusual is going on.
Very often, SLIders also report that they tend to have
an odd effect on other electronic devices. In letters I've
received, these people claim such effects as:
 Appliances such as lamps and TVs go on and
off without being touched.
 Lightbulbs constantly blow when the SLIder
tries to turn them off or on.
 Volume levels change on TVs, radios, and CD
players.
 Watches stop working.
 Children's electronic toys start by themselves
when the SLIder is present.
 Credit cards and other magnetically encoded
cards are damaged or erased when in their
possession.
What's the Cause?
Any attempt to pinpoint a cause for SLI at this point
would be mere speculation without a thorough
scientific investigation. The problem with such
investigations, as with many forms of psychic
phenomena, is that they are very difficult to reproduce
in a laboratory. They seem to happen spontaneously
without the deliberate intention of the SLIder. In fact,
the SLIder, according to some informal tests, are
usually unable to create the effect on demand.
A reasonable speculation for the effect, if it is a real
one, might have something to do with the electronic
impulses of the brain. All of our thoughts and
movements are the result of electrical impulses that
the brain generates. At present it is known that these
measurable impulses only have an effect within an
individual's body, but is it possible that they could have
an effect outside the body - a kind of remote control?
Ongoing research at the Princeton Engineering
Anomalies Research (PEAR) lab is suggesting that the
subconscious can indeed affect electronic devices.
Subjects are able to influence the random generations of
a computer far more than would occur merely by chance.
This research - and research being conducted at other
laboratories around the world - are beginning to reveal,
in scientific terms, the reality of such psychic phenomena
as ESP, telekinesis and soon, perhaps, SLI.
Although the SLI effect is not a conscious one, some
SLIders report that when it does occur, they often are in
an extreme emotional state. A state of anger or stress is
often cited as the "cause." SLIder Debbie Wolf, a British
barmaid, told CNN, "When it happens is when I'm
stressed about something. Not really manically stressed,
just when I'm really mulching something over, really
chewing something over in my head, and then it
happens."
Could it all be just coincidence, however? David Barlow,
a graduate student of physics and astrophysics,
suspects that the phenomenon might be attributed to
people seeing patterns in "random noise." "It is unlikely
that a light will turn itself on when you walk past it," he
says, "so it is a shock when it happens. If this should
happen a few times consecutively, then it appears some
mechanism is at work."
SLI Research
A research project into SLI has been started by Dr.
Richard Wiseman at the University of Berkfordshire in
England. Wiseman recently made the newspapers with a
project to test ESP with a kiosk-type machine - called
The Mind Machine - that he set up in various locations
around England to collect a large amount of data about
the possible psychic abilities of the general public.
Hillary Evans, an author and paranormal investigator
with The Association for the Scientific Study of
Anomalous Phenomena (ASSAP), is also studying the
phenomenon. (You can download the original SLI Effect
book in PDF format by Hilary Evans completely free from
their website.) She has established the Street Lamp
Interference Data Exchange as a place where SLIders
can report their experiences and share those of other
SLIders. "It's quite obvious from the letters I get," Evans
told CNN, "that these people are perfectly healthy,
normal people. It's just that they have some kind of
ability... just a gift they've got. It may not be a gift they
would like to have."
Spontaneous Human Invisibility
A WOMAN NAMED Melanie in Ventura, California had a
strange experience while sitting on her own living room
sofa. While just staring at the wall, she became, she
believes, invisible. Her husband walked around the
house looking for her. He even walked right by her -
just a few feet away - and did not see her. The episode
lasted about 10 minutes, then suddenly she was
visible again.
This unusual story is one of several documented by
Donna Higbee who is conducting extensive, ongoing
research into a phenomenon she calls Human
Spontaneous Involuntary Invisibility. According to the
anecdotes Higbee tells at her website, The Research
and Writings of Donna Higbee, people suddenly and
unexpectedly become invisible.
They don't seem to feel any differently when this
occurs, and they can see and move around normally,
just as if nothing has changed. Yet other people don't
see them. They are ignored - totally - as if they aren't
there.
The victims of this bizarre phenomenon attest that the
experience is not the same as being ignored.
Certainly, most of us have had feelings of being
invisible in awkward moments at social occasions. But
this experience is far different.
One of the anecdotes Higbee relates, in fact, takes
place at a party. A 37-year-old man goes into a
bathroom and comes out, apparently, totally invisible.
He attempts to engage in conversation with several
people, including his own girlfriend, but is ignored
completely. He asks her for a cigarette, but receives
no response. At first he thinks they are playing a joke
on him and so returns to the bathroom in anger. When
he comes out again, it's as if nothing had happened.
Everything is back to normal and he could be seen
again.
Higbee has collected several of these stories, and in
every case the phenomenon takes place
spontaneously, without warning, lasts a few minutes,
and then ends. Several people have fallen victim to the
invisibility more than once - they seem to be
susceptible to it. She has even heard from people who
claim to be able to occasionally control their invisibility
at will.
Daniel S. felt he became invisible one day when he
was with some friends who were setting off
firecrackers. Daniel wanted them to stop because he
was afraid the cops would show up and check IDs.
This especially meant trouble for him because he had
several unpaid tickets in his name. He was fearful of
going to jail and losing his job. The police did show up,
and they checked everyone's ID - except Daniel's:
"The cops started at the other end of the line (there
were two lines, one in front of the other) of people. I
was standing behind a friend, who was a girl. The cop
asked each person to hand him their IDs as he passed
down the line. Then he would take the ID and call in
each person. I was the last one in the behind line. I
was also the largest person there. I was even larger than
the policemen. The cop never even acted like he saw
me. He never asked me for my ID. Neither of the two
cops paid any attention to me. All of my friends, except
the two who were taken in by the police, thought I had
left. Many asked me afterward where I went to hide. I
told all of them that I was there. No one would believe
me."
Higbee offers no explanations for the phenomenon, yet
wonders if it is in any way related to the powers claimed
by yogis and practiced members of the Rosicrucians,
both of whom say that human invisibility is not only
possible, but controllable. Higbee raises the possibility
that this invisibility might somehow correlate to the
experiences of UFO abductees. In the cases of many
abductees, their abductors not only seem to be able to
become visible and invisible at will, but the abductees
themselves are often rendered invisible by their alien
captors, transporting them through closed windows and
solid walls all the way up to the spaceships which,
themselves, may be capable of invisibility.
If the stories these victims relate are true, then it's
difficult to know what to make of the phenomenon.
But Donna Higbee continues to investigate it and to
collect information and experiences from all those who
are willing to share them.
Is there proof of any kind? How about photos? There
have been some anomalous photos taken that allege to
show partial human invisibility:
A photo called "She's Lost Her Head" from the Coast to
Coast website was taken in Las Vegas. When the fellow
took the photo inside one of the hotels, a woman
stepped in front of him - but she doesn't seem to have a
head. Her torso with her coat and purse strap are clearly
visible, but her head is invisible.
In this mystery photo at GhostStudy.com of a group of
World War II soldiers, one of the soldiers in the
background seems to be transparent. Is it a photo
anomaly, a ghost or a case of human invisibility?
Voluntary Invisibility
The above cases concern people who seem to have
become invisible spontaneously - unknowingly and
without effort. But what if you WANT to become
invisible? Is there a method for achieving this?
There is an unconfirmed story of a man who achieved
invisibility through the use of his self-invented Electro-
Helmet in 1934. Before witnesses, the story goes, he
placed the helmet on his head, stepped into a cabinet
and touched some "contact gloves" above his head.
When an electric current was switched on, he gradually
became invisible, from toe to head. The young scientist's
body could be felt through touch, it is said, but not seen.
Real or a magician's trick?
Wingmakers, which says it gets its information from
"guardians," has a webpage on inducing invisibility on
small objects as well as your own body.
Richard Bartle says he knows how to make invisibility
paint. His witch's brew includes cob webs, slug's eye
stalks, and the sting "from a poisonous cat" (?) among
other things. The crazy ingredients seems to make the
creation of the paint impossible - which, of course, it is.
But if anyone succeeds in making it, please let me
know.
Impossible Science
"Paranormal ideas in science fiction are interesting,
even if I don't believe that humans are truly capable of
these feats. I’m wondering if reading this type of
material has helped shape any of your views and
opinions toward paranormal claims. The more I read,
the more I want them to be real, but I'm a rationalist
and put reason before faith. In addition, if anyone
would like to share their impressions on this type of
literature and film, I’d be interested in your thoughts."
Debaser69
Electrodes flash and spark, illuminating the dimly lit
laboratory. Vials of eerie glowing liquid bubble and
spit. The scientist, with a mad glare in his eyes, closely
watches the progress of his secret experiment.
Something weird is happening in this dark, cold
basement - something the scientist hopes will finally
prove what the rest of the scientific world said was
impossible.
We've all enjoyed the image of the mad scientist in the
movies as he toiled away in his creepy lab, working on
the very edge of scientific knowledge. There really
have been such independent scientists, of course. And
although they might not quite be mad, their pursuits
have been unconventional. Perhaps impossible.
Here are a few intriguing tales of "mad scientists" and
their wild inventions. They may be true, exaggerated,
hearsay, legends or outright hoaxes - we may never
know for certain. But the possibility that they are real is
irresistible.
The Invisible Man
Human invisibility is a fun idea, one that has been the
subject of several sci-fi books and movies, including
H.G. Wells' classic The Invisible Man and the more
recent Hollow Man. Has some obscure scientific
genius actually achieved it? Consider this story found
on Keelynet:
The scene is a public hall in London England. The year
is 1934. A young scientist, claiming he has discovered
the secret to electromagnetically induced invisibility,
steps into an open-front cabinet on a brightly lit stage
before a curious audience. On his head he wears a
device he calls an Electro-Helmet along with some other
paraphernalia. He reaches up and touches two contacts
above his head with both hands, then gives the signal for
the switch to be thrown. The switch allegedly sends a
current of electricity to his strange devices... and his
body gradually vanishes from his feet to his head!
According to the story, spectators could touch and feel
his body within the cabinet, but they could not see him.
"All one could see," the story goes, "was the
development of a cone of light such as might be
projected between the two poles of a powerful
transmitter." Naturally, the inventor refused to reveal how
his contraption worked, stating only that it was the result
of many years of experimentation.
Was he a brilliant scientist? Or a clever magician? The
demonstration sounds very much like illusions performed
by top magicians today. The part of the story that makes
it most intriguing, if it is accurate, is that his body
vanished from toe to head "gradually."
The U.S. military in recent history is said to have
experimented with creating invisibility by bending light
through electromagnetic means, and may have been
one of the goals of the legendary "Philadelphia
Experiment." Was this "young scientist" decades ahead
of them?
Top 10 Earth Mysteries
The Earth is a mysterious place. There is much going on
around us every day that goes unexplained. For all our
advanced technology and scientific understanding, there
are events that occur, more or less, on a regular basis
for which (as yet) we have no answers. Here is a list, in
no particular order, of 10 of the most perplexing,
documented phenomena that have baffled us for years -
in some cases, decades and much longer.
1. Animals Encased in Stone
In 1821, Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine carried an
unusual item about a stone mason named David Virtue
who made an astonishing discovery while working on a
large chunk of rock that had come from about 22 feet
below the surface. Upon breaking it open "he found a
lizard embedded in the stone. It was coiled up in a round
cavity of its own form, being an exact impression of the
animal.
It was about an inch and a quarter long, of a brownish
yellow color, and had a round head, with bright sparkling
projecting eyes. It was apparently dead, but after being
about five minutes exposed to the air it showed signs
of life. It soon ran about with much celerity."
There are numerous documented accounts of such
findings, mostly involving frogs, toads or lizards. Most
often the animals come out alive. And very often there
is an imprint of their skin or shape on the cavity in
which they are entombed. And this raises a number of
interesting questions: How could the animal have
gotten in there and survived? How did rock - which
geology tells us takes hundreds if not thousands of
years to form - take shape around the animal? How
long could the animal have been in there?
2. Cattle Mutilations
"We were passing down this road, and there was a
thunderstorm a coming up behind us. We smelled this
animal as we come by. We came back to check on it,
and found it was mutilated. We examined it and its
sexual organs was taken out. Its eyes were taken out,
and its eyelashes were taken out. Well, there wasn't no
predators. Couldn't have been killed by a predator
cause all the surgical work was done by an expert..."
Such was the report of rancher C.E. Potts in 1990.
The report is typical for the phenomenon, which began
to be documented in the early 1970s when reports
came in from ranchers in Minnesota and Kansas. The
mutilations were like nothing they had ever seen with
their cattle; they seemed to have a surgical precision
that ruled out predators (whose work ranchers were
quite familiar with). The selectivity is also unusual:
often only the eyes, tongue or sexual organs have
been removed, and quite often there is an unexplained
absence of blood from the scene. Theories to explain
the mutilations include Satanic cults, aliens,
government experiments (unmarked black helicopters
are sometimes seen in the vicinity) and bizarre
diseases. As yet, however, no conclusive answers
have ever been found.
3. Unexplained Hums
Citizens in Britain and portions of the Southwestern
U.S. have been complaining about a maddening hum
that just won't go away. And researchers have been
unable to pinpoint its source. Not everyone can hear
the low-pitched hum, and those who do say that it
seems artificial in nature - and is driving them crazy. In
1977, a British newspaper received nearly 800 letters
from people complaining of loss of sleep, irritability,
deteriorating health, inability to read or study because
of the incessant hum.
Most famous in the U.S. is the Taos Hum. There the
annoyance was so acute for the "hearers" in Taos,
New Mexico that they banded together in 1993 and
petitioned Congress to investigate and help them find
the source of the noise. No conclusive causes were
discovered.
One prevailing theory holds that the hum is created by a
military communications system used to contact
submarines.
4. Ball Lightning
In January 1984, ball lightning measuring about four
inches in diameter entered a Russian passenger aircraft
and, according to the Russian news release, "flew above
the heads of the stunned passengers. In the tail section
of the airliner, it divided into two glowing crescents which
then joined together again and left the plane almost
noiselessly." The ball lightning left two holes in the plane.
Ball lightning is another natural phenomena for which
science has yet to come up with a full explanation. The
problem for scientists is that the manifestation of the
phenomenon is so rare that it is almost impossible to
study. Attempts have been made to recreate it artificially
in the laboratory, but an actual specimen of naturally
occurring ball lightning has yet to be captured for study.
This may be impossible since the phenomenon is
fleeting - floating about for awhile and then fading away
or exploding with a loud pop.
What makes ball lighting so fascinating and puzzling is
its strange "behavior." Witnesses have said that it moves
about as if with a kind of intelligence, following patterns
on walls or furniture, and seeming to avoid obstacles.
More mysterious still is its ability to pass through solid
objects. Sometimes it leaves holes, as with the airliner
above, but it has also been seen to pass through window
glass and even walls without even leaving a mark.
5. Spooklights
This might be a phenomenon related to ball lightning...
then again it might not be. No one really knows what the
many "spooklights" reported around the world are
caused by. And there are many. Most famous, perhaps,
are the Marfa Lights seen for generations near Marfa in
Western Texas. The lights appear almost nightly and can
be seen at a distance from Highway 90. Yet when
investigators try to approach the lights, nothing can be
seen.
Other spooklights include: The Tri-State Spooklight near
the borders of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri; the
Brown Mountain Lights near Morganton, North Carolina;
the Gurdon Light near Gurdon, Arkansas; the Cemetery
Lights of Silver Cliff Colorado; the Hebron Light in
Maryland; the Hornet Spook Light in Southwest Missouri;
and the Peakland Spooklights in Britain.
There are many unproved theories, of course,
including alien activity, mirages, ghosts (usually
headless railroad workers), and ball lightning induced
by tectonic stresses in rocks.
6. Weird Clouds
Clouds are fluffy, benign masses of water vapor, right?
Consider this: In an otherwise clear September sky
near Agen, France in 1814, a small, white, spherical
cloud appeared. It floated motionless for a while before
beginning to spin and head quickly southward.
Witnesses reported that deafening rumbling noises
thundered from the cloud, and then it suddenly
exploded in a shower of rocks and stones. The cloud
then slowly faded away.
This is one case of extremely rare and highly unusual
behavior from clouds. Other documented reports tell of
clouds that move against the wind, clouds that rain
insects or carry peculiar shadows. There is even a
story of a man from Oyster Bay, Long Island who was
attacked by a spitting cloud. It's difficult to come up
with any kind of rational explanations for these weird
tales.
7.
Fish Falls
One of the most recent examples of fish falling from
the sky took place the summer of 2000 in Ethiopia. A
local newspaper reported: "The unusual rain of fish,
which dropped in millions from the air - some dead and
others still struggling - created panic among the mostly
religious farmers." This is just one of countless case
studies of rains of fish, frogs, periwinkles - even
alligators - that have been cataloged over the
centuries, many by famed paranormal researcher
Charles Fort. (Such rains of creatures have been, in
fact, come to be known as "Fortean" activity.)
Most often these rains of animals are attributed to
severe storms, tornadoes, water spouts and related
phenomena. Although the theory has not yet been
proved, it holds that strong winds pick up the fish or
frogs from bodies of water such as ponds, streams and
lakes, carry them aloft - sometimes for miles and miles
- and then drop them over land.
The peculiar fact that challenges this theory is this: in
most cases, the rains are of one kind of animal only. It
rains one species of herring, for example, or a
particular kind of frog. How can this be explained?
Could a powerful gust of wind be so discriminating? If
the storm scooped up water from a pond, wouldn't it
rain all kinds of things one finds in a pond - frogs,
toads, fish, weeds, sticks and probably beer cans?
8. Crop Circles
I hesitate to include crop circles because I'm nearly
convinced that they are all probably manmade. Yet, even
though many groups of people have come forward to
admit that they have designed and created the
sometimes elaborate - and quite often beautiful - crop
formations, there remains a diehard faction of believers
that insists that at least some crop circles are caused by
some unexplained phenomenon.
Crop circles have been reported in nearly every country
on Earth. In fact, according to Crop Circle Central, the
only major countries that have never reported formations
are China and South Africa. Plain round crop circles as
we know them began to appear in abundance in the
1970s. But then in 1990, we began to see far more
intricate and complex pictograms. Believers suggested
they might be a form of communication from
extraterrestrials - or from the Earth itself. Those who say
they are not manmade point to several peculiarities
found in the affected crops: woven stalks, cellular
changes in the grain stalks, and strange phenomena
experienced by researchers examining the circles, such
as unexplained equipment failures, sounds and other
physical effects.
After 90 years, the explosive event at Tunguska, Siberia
in 1908 remains one of the most puzzling natural
disasters in recent history. On June 30 of that year, a
blazing fireball descended from the sky and devastated
an area about half the size of Rhode Island. Trees were
felled for miles in a radial pattern, fires burned for weeks
and the sound of its thunder could be heard at great
distances. It's been estimated that its explosive force
was equal to more than 2,000 Hiroshima-type atomic
bombs.
What it was that fell on Tunguska that fateful day is still a
mystery. Although for many years scientists thought it
was probably a meteor that exploded over the Siberian
wilderness, today's best guess is that it was probably a
comet. The change in theory came about because no
meteor fragments could be found at the scene.
In fact, there was very little evidence of any kind to
explain precisely what occurred that day. This lack of
hard evidence led, as if often does, to wild speculations:
a UFO with a nuclear reactor had crashed; a powerful
electric weapon created by Nikola Tesla was
intentionally or accidentally aimed at the area from
somewhere across the globe.
In recent years, the Tunguska event has received
renewed attention as we realize more clearly that the
Earth is at risk at almost any time from a strike from
outer space.
10. Rods
"Rods" are one of the most fascinating and intriguing
Earth mysteries of recent times. Discovered
accidentally by filmmaker Jose Escamilla in March of
1994, what he calls "rods" are strange flying things that
can only be seen on slowed-down film and videotape,
and sometimes captured in still photographs.
Apparently, these things - whatever they are - move
too quickly to be seen with the naked eye. Escamilla
first noticed them in film footage he had taken in
Midway, New Mexico, and he (along with others) have
since filmed and taped them in several other locations.
According to Escamilla's own definition, rods are "cigar
or cylindrical shaped objects that travel at high
velocities barely visible with the naked eye. They
appear to be alive as they move through the air like
fish swim in the sea. They appear to have fins or
appendages along the torso and the torsos bend as
they travel." Escamilla has several film clips and stills
of the creatures on his website.
The rods measure from just a few inches to several
feet in length and there seem to be a few varieties with
different kinds of appendages. They have been
spotted and recorded in Mexico, Arizona, Indiana,
California, South Dakota, Connecticut and even
Sweden. Some have even been seen underwater. Are
they some unknown species of animal? If so, why has
no one ever seen these creatures at rest?
20 Questions with José Escamilla: Rods
In 1994, José and Karen Escamilla accidentally caught
on tape strange flying rods with undulating
appendages. They continue their quest to find out what
they are.
José Escamilla, explorer and filmmaker, discovered
strange flying rods while investigating UFOs with his
wife Karen in New Mexico in 1994. A satisfactory
explanation for these enigmatic things is still being
sought. Are they alive? Are they dangerous? Where do
they come from and where do they go? In answers to
this month's 20 Questions, José talks about this
bizarre phenomenon.
1. How, when and where did you first discover the
rods?
J.E.: On March 5, 1994, I videotaped UFOs that
appeared in broad daylight over Midway, New Mexico -
a small community nine miles southeast of Roswell.
Then on March 19,1998, I again videotaped the area,
making a documentation of where the UFOs had
appeared on March 5. While reviewing the March 19
tape, I saw something that I had never seen before: A
streak passes by the camera from across the road and
right above where I was standing. As I saw this through
the viewfinder, my first impression was that these were
insects or birds. Then when I reviewed the footage frame
by frame, I realized that they were not insects or birds...
but something else. Upon seeing the objects on video,
Karen, my wife, coined them "rods" because they
resemble microorganisms she has seen under a
microscope.
2. Do they only show up in photos and video, or can they
be seen with the naked eye?
J.E.: They can be seen with the naked eye. If you have
ever seen something zip by in your eye peripheral - and
most all of us immediately assume it was a close flyby of
an insect or bird - but then you turn and look and there
are no birds or insects anywhere in sight, then you have
witnessed a rod with the naked eye. People have come
up to me at lectures after seeing the footage of what
these things look like, and they tell me that they too have
seen them with the naked eye. They are extremely fast,
but they can be seen.
3. What do you think they are? Are they alive?
J.E.: All the footage, from the early shots to the latest
"smoking-gun evidence" from the cave in Mexico, seem
to reflect that these objects may be living organisms. In
fact, we now have discovered how they may fly! I have
also just acquired footage of an actual cigar-type UFO
that is traveling from left to right and slow across the sky
over Rhode Island, and two rods zip through - all in the
same scene! This is groundbreaking footage because
lots of people who have been videotaping rods have
termed them as alien craft, which we feel they are not.
The cigar-shaped object in this particular footage
resembles in great detail the object videotaped by Tim
Edwards and Tom King, and it certainly moves much
slower than the two rods. We are excited about this new
evidence.
4. How do you know they're not just lens flares or some
other optical anomaly?
J.E.: Early on in the investigation, I knew we would have
to dispel the claims that skeptics would make in trying to
discredit what we were documenting, so we did a variety
of tests, including shooting toward the sun where lens
flares would appear across the lens POV. And guess
what? We captured rods zipping past as they always do,
and the lens flares remain stationary in the scene.
5. There are many skeptics, of course, who have
denounced both your methods and your findings. Can
they be convinced?
J.E.: Most people don't know that I am a professional film
and video editor with extensive credits and experience.
And in doing these tests, I came up with a protocol that
basically washes away the insect-bird theories skeptics
also brought out. With this protocol, which I call "sky
fishing," there is no way that anyone can misidentify all
that is videotaped. Skeptics like Joe Nickel of Skeptical
Inquirer don't claim insects anymore because of the
obvious, but they have alluded to a hoax. Kal Korff and
Bob Shell, however, continue to call rods mis-filmed
insects. This is simply because they don't know any
better. Needless to say, the new Smoking-Gun
Evidence video shows it all.
6. How big do you estimate them to be?
J.E.: We can only estimate at this time, but anywhere
from a few inches to a hundred or more feet in length.
There is a still taken over Maryland (see State by State
on our Web site) where a rod's torso is covered by a
cloud while part of the tail and head can be seen.
Judging the height of the clouds at a minimum of 1,500
to 2,000 feet, this rod must be longer than a hundred
feet, and it was traveling at a high velocity.
7. How fast do you calculate they are moving?
J.E.: One rod in Norway ascended upward toward
where a cameraman was videotaping base jumpers
down below. He is literally standing at the edge of a
cliff 3,000 feet above the ocean. Down below you can
see the beach and coastline, some clouds, and a base
jumper who has leaped off the cliffs. This rod emerges
from the left side of the screen, and it appears small.
As it moves closer to where the cameraman is, it gets
larger before going off upper right screen. The rod
travels about 3,000 feet in 10 frames of video. At 30
frames per each second of video, this means it travels
that distance in one-third of a second. That is very fast.
So they may travel from 150 to perhaps 1,000 miles
per hour. We have yet to get an accurate speed.
8. This seems like a fairly recent phenomenon. Why do
you think they have never been seen or detected
before?
J.E.: Actually, they have been seen and detected
before. In the late 1950s, Trevor James Constable
photographed rods using infrared film. He called them
"critters." Ivan T. Sanderson, a biologist, also
photographed them. A man named Tom Jonestroem
videotaped rods in Sweden in 1989 and 1990. He
captured rods while filming tank footage for the
Swedish defense department. They all scoffed at him,
claiming they were mis-filmed insects. However, a
Hollywood crew videotaped the identical type of rod as
Tom's over North Hollywood while shooting The
World's Scariest Police Shootouts. This not only
vindicates Tom, but also proves the rods were seen
and recorded by accident before we discovered them
on our videos.
9. Those are still recent sightings. Any record of
anything older?
J.E.: In 1896, for two days straight, people over
Crawfordsville, Indiana saw a large, 30-foot thing in the
sky they called a "Sky Monster" that moved "like a
serpent swimming through the air." This was probably
a rod. Other case histories included the dragons in caves
and skies over London, the "ghost rockets" over Norway
and Sweden, and many other historical "myths" that
could have been rods.
10. If they are living creatures, why do you think they
cannot be seen at rest? Or can they?
J.E.: We have been asked about why there are no
carcasses. If rods only exist in the skies, perhaps they
are one-celled animals that have the lighter-than-air
weight required for existing in the atmosphere. If we look
at the sky as a less-dense "ocean," then when they die
perhaps they float "up" to the less-dense areas of the
atmosphere. Perhaps rods eat the dead rods for the
precious gases they must use for their buoyancy. We
just don't know until we can catch one or find a carcass.
Who knows, maybe there is a specimen somewhere that
has been passed off as part of a squid or cuttlefish or
something. Scientists don't know they exist... yet.
11. Where do you think they are flying to?
J.E.: We don't know where they come from or where they
go, but at the cave in Mexico we have hundreds of rods
on video, suggesting this might be a habitat where we
can go and study them using more technical, scientific
methods over a more controlled environment. Mark
Lichtle, who videotaped hundreds of rods "by accident,"
says that as far as finding a carcass, this might explain
why one hasn't been found: In the cave, there are
literally thousands of swallows that live there. He said
you would expect to find hundreds of dead swallows at
the bottom of the cave. He has only found one dead
swallow's carcass in all the times he's been there. So if
that's any indication, maybe that's why rods' carcasses
can't be found even at the cave. We won't know until we
get to the cave during the expedition we are planning in
November this year [1998]. We want to find a specimen.
This would be the most important discovery in the world
of science. We can only hope we'll be lucky.
12. Are there more than one kind of rod? How many
different kinds have you detected?
J.E.: The different types we have recorded are: the
"centipede" types, which have the appendages across
the torso; "white rods," which have no appendages, but
appear to have a ribbon-like appearance; and "spears,"
which are super-thin and very fast with no appendages
at all. Color varieties are yellow, white, reddish brown,
and dark brown.
13. Have rods be recorded around the country?
J.E.: They have now been seen in more than 28 states
across the U.S. (see State by State) and in Canada,
Norway, Sweden, and Mexico.
14. What kinds of reports have you received from these
areas?
J.E.: In the state-by-state section of our Web site, you
will see reported sightings, and there are some areas
where we have not received the video yet.
15. Has there ever been an attempt to catch one?
J.E.: Not yet, but we will try during the expedition.
However, if they are a species, they could be classified
as an endangered species, so by catching one I want it
to be perhaps a carcass as opposed to trying to trap
one alive. I would hate to find out that we might have
pissed one off as we don't know their true nature.
16. Do you think they might be dangerous?
J.E.: They appear to be friendly. During one photo
shoot, there was one rod that comes close to colliding
with a base jumper in the cave, and at the last minute it
makes an abrupt maneuver to avoid a collision. I would
hate to think what one of these might do if it were
threatened.
17. Are they easier to catch with a still camera or a
video camera?
J.E.: Still cameras capture them, but video catches
them more often. Remember that videotape can be re-
recorded on, while still photographic cameras take
stills one at a time. It would take an enormous amount
of film and cost in order to capture them on still
cameras. However, we intend to use high-speed
16mm film cameras at the cave where they appear to
exist in more frequency.
18. What kind of research are you currently doing on
the rods?
J.E.: First of all, we are always encouraging people to
use our protocol for videotaping rods, and to contact
us if they might have recorded one or more in their
areas. We need more evidence of their existence in
other locations so that we may get a better mapping of
rod activity across the U.S. and around the world. We
just made the breakthrough on how these things may
fly with a crude rod model I built and animated using
the undulatory wave membrane theory brought up by
Jim Peters. We want to put the rods phenomena in the
public eye as a real thing, as opposed to just another
UFO sighting that can be easily dismissed.
19. But you don't put them in the same category as
UFOs the way most people think of them, do you?
J.E.: Although rods are unidentified flying objects until
we identify them as anything else - including a species
- we feel that we now have more than coincidental
evidence of their existence. Perhaps after the
expedition they will be taken more seriously. Plus,
once people are unafraid to go on record for seeing
rods in the skies, they will begin to see the "other
things" that are appearing in the skies. Rods will bring
down the barriers caused by fear of admitting we see
things. We'll just have to continue making a strong
case pertaining to the rods phenomena. As it is, we
now have smoking-gun evidence as to their existence.
The next level is to find out what they are or aren't,
where they go and come from, and then it's up to science
to determine what to do next.

20. How can other people try to detect the rods? If they
do, how should they report the sighting?
J.E.: I urge people to see the "sky fishing" section on our
Web site. I can be e-mailed about their videos, and I will
respond to anyone who feels they might have captured
rod activity in their area. On our Web site you will find the
whole story, stills from the video, and a complete manual
on how to videotape rods.