Any interesting video on the poltergeist phenomena. The video features interviews with some well known paranormal investigators such as Dr. Barry Taff, Hans Holzer, and Patrick Burns, plus some great scenes from the Speilberg film, Poltergeist. {source: RealXFile and Warner Bros Entertainment & New Wave Entertainment}

George Knapp, the investigative reporter who broke the story of Area 51 employee Bob Lazar, was the only reporter allowed onto the ranch to document the investigation by NIDS. Colm Kelleher, a research scientist and author, spent hundreds of days on the ranch leading the investigation. One of the theories they began to develop was the idea of alternate dimensions and portals. And who better to reference than Michio Kaku on human perspective. 

“Let’s say that a ten-lane superhighway is being built next to an anthill,” Kaku says. “The question is: would the ants even know what a ten-lane superhighway is, or what it’s used for, or how to communicate with the workers who are just feet away? And the answer is no…If there is [another] civilization in our backyard, in the Milky Way galaxy, would we even know it’s presence? …There’s a good chance that we, like ants in the anthill,would not understand or be able to make sense of a ten-lane superhighway next door.”

My only problems with the book is, why no photographs and why so little of the scientific data? First, not even one single little pic? I mean come on, all this activity and no one caught anything? And second, when I read science in the title I assume I’ll get some data to back up the accounts. But sadly, that never really happens. None the less, it’s still a paranormal thrill ride that ultimately generates the usual, more questions than answers.

This is one of those cases that makes you think twice about getting into the investigation of the paranormal. The San Pedro haunting is the true story of Jackie Hernandez and the violent poltergeists inhabiting her home in San Pedro, California, in 1989. What was really interesting about this case was Barry Conrad, a professional cameraman was invited on one of the investigations to see if he could capture anything on tape. And man, did he capture something,  something more than he probably bargained for.

On the night of August 8, 1989, Barry Conrad along with friend and photographer Jeff Wheatcraft, and Dr. Barry Taff, formerly with UCLA’s parapsychology lab and principal investigator of the now famous “Entity” case, would be witness to some of the most compelling and disturbing paranormal activity. Hernandez had told them stories of flying lamps, oozing blood-like gelatin from the walls, an apparition of a decaying old man, an invisible force that would hold her down as though trying to smother her, as well as a floating disembodied head in her attic. So before they left that evening Conrad suggested that Wheatcraft check out the attic. Not long after crawling through the small hole in the ceiling, Jeff’s camera was ripped from his hands into the darkness of the attic. Expectedly, quite shaken he bolted from the attic. Later he would venture back up into the attic in hopes of retrieving the camera. As he searched the empty attic he found an old dusty grape box, which when opened contained his camera, but strangely no lens. Continuing his search he found the surprisingly undamaged lens behind the trap door to the attic. Jeff decided to see if he could get a couple more shots before leaving. But as he began shooting a foul stench began to permeate the attic and without warning he was shoved by an invisible hand into the rafters. And this wasn’t the worst of the activity.

A month later on September 4th, they would be called back by a frantic Jackie Hernandez. The activity was escalating and getting more violent. Arriving around 1am, Jeff and friend Gary decided they should investigate the attic again. Jeff would pay for it, as he was attacked more brutally than the first encounter. Conrad down below with Hernandez heard a loud moan, it was Jeff. Something had grabbed Jeff by the neck and pulled him into the rafters. Somehow able to pull himself free, Jeff and Gary exited the attic. It was then that they all noticed an old cord wrapped around Jeffs neck. It was then that Gary explained that he actually had to pull Jeff off a nail in the rafter and if he hadn’t been there Jeff might have been strangled to death. But there was a plus to the attack, Gary snapped off a photo at the precise moment of the entity yanking Jeff into the rafters, which can be seen in the video below.

Jackie Hernandez would eventually move out of the house after the activity became so dangerous that she felt her children were in danger (wait until you see what appears on her baby). But no sooner had she moved into a new place, the activity started all over again. Makes you wonder who was really haunted, the house, or Jackie?

Unbelievable

Just a quick heads up for what sounds like a really good paranormal read. The book is Unbelievable: Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory by Stacy Horn. It chronicles the experiments of parapsychology trailblazer J.B. Rhine and his team of scientists at Duke University. They ran experiments on clairvoyance, telepathy, ghosts, poltergeists, as well as some other wild stuff like mind-reading used during the Cold War. For those not familiar with Rhine, he  along with psychologist William McDougall would actually be credited with coining the term parapsychology. So this guy was like head honcho of the unexplained. I’ll definitely be on the look out for a copy and will review it as soon as possible. [amazon]