Thomas Edison's Spirit Phone

Thomas Edison

In 1920, Thomas Edison announced that he was working on a communication device which would allow users to speak to the dead.  Edison's Telephone to the Dead was reported in American Magazine, and was apparently taken seriously by both the public and the magazine (though some later suggested Edison was pranking the press, and the entire thing was a hoax).

A few decades earlier, the American public was swept into a Spiritualism Movement, lasting from around the 1840s to some time after the turn of the century.  By 1920, Edison was one of the most famous men alive, and the news sparked a media sensation.  While no prototype was ever manufactured, and no blueprints ever found, even Alexander Graham Bell's assistant, Thomas Watson, attempted his own version of a spirit phone.

Radio had become prevalent, and news traveled fast.  The telegraph and air flight had also only recently been discovered, so communicating with the dead was not beyond acceptable reason for the times.  The audience later divided into camps, with some suggesting that Edison's Spirit Phone was a deliberate prank on the press, and others suggesting that Edison probably did pursue the project, despite no real evidence of having finished it.

To-date, no device has been proven to communicate with the dead, but several attempts at "Spirit Phones" have been made.  Thomas Edison died in 1931.

© The Weirding, 2019

The Ghost Vibe - 19Hz

Bell Labs

Research by engineer, Vic Tandy, concluded that the frequency of 19Hz causes visual hallucinations and psychological disturbances in humans and some animals.  Known as "infrasound," this range exists just below normal human perception.  Tandy and other researchers believe it may account for many alleged ghosts and hauntings.

19Hz vibrates the eyeball, resulting in blurry vision and "shimmering" hallucinations, as well as the sensation of lowered temperature, and a sense of unease or being observed -- all of which have been associated with hauntings and reported ghost sightings.  Tandy first made the discovery after experiencing a "haunting" in his own lab in the 1980s.  He determined the haunting was due to a recently replaced extractor fan, which was emitting a frequency of 18.9Hz -- just under the normal range of human hearing, which begins at 20Hz.

To test his ghostly theory, he investigated a 14^th-Century Coventry pub's cellar where a gray apparition and discomfitting feelings had been reported for years.  There, he discovered a standing wave field of 19Hz -- just as with the fan in his lab!  Even today, Vic Tandy is known as the man who discovered "the sound of fear."  Of course, this does nothing to account for EVP...

In the 1960s, NASA published several reports on sound frequencies and their effects on humans, which can be devastating.  In fact, infrasound has been shown to induce dizziness, fear, panic, and hyperventilation.  NASA researcher, G.H. Mohr, determined that other frequencies could have more destructive, even deadly, physical effects.

The US military regularly employs silent weaponry on US civilians and other "enemy combatants."  The technology is readily available to civilians, or can be created with little technical know-how, and is in use by streetgangs, corporations, police, "religious" organizations, Hollywood, and others throughout the US.

© The Weirding, 2018

The Brown Lady Ghost Picture

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall

The Brown Lady Ghost Photo is the most famous picture of an alleged spirit in the world.  The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is believed to be the ghost of Lady Dorothy Townshend, who was banished to the estate as punishment for her infidelity.  Captain Provand and Indre Shira, photographers for Country Life, snapped this on September 19^th, 1936.

The photo above is widely considered one of the few reputable full body apparitions caught on film; while many mundane explanations for the image have been proffered, The Brown Lady Ghost Picture is not believed to have been any intentional hoax.

Note: This picture was filtered slightly to improve the quality of the image. It was not otherwise altered.

© The Weirding, 2016

The Technological Possibilities of Ghosts

Have you ever wondered if ghosts are just imagery, in the same sense that you see film cells when the projector starts skipping or is slowed down, or the way the monitor flickers when it's going out?

This is not an original thought; I'd actually been thinking about something similar (because I was having monitor issues) when I saw a meme in a ghost-hunting group positing much the same question, and I returned to the idea of veridical imagery -- the concept that some things are somehow "recorded" in time, and set to playback on certain anniversaries, whenever triggered by events, emotions, memories, or something else in this reality (or at random).

It may suggest multiple realities or dimensions but, if true, we could be reflections of veridical imagery ourselves -- even as we're alive!  Perhaps something that happened in our past lives was emotional or spiritual enough in nature to have made it off the cutting-room floor and is playing in perpetuity even as we discuss it?

This could explain all manner of things, from Green Children to The Lost City of Alaska, and could be electromagnetic in nature (but it certainly doesn't have to be).  There have been, and will continue to be, things that simply escape our knowledge and ability to comprehend.  This could be one of those things -- but, with the advancement of technology clipping along at such a pace, knowing more about these things might be just around the corner.

© The Weirding, 2014-2015

VIDEO: Pocatello Highschool Ghost?

Pocatello Highschool Ghost Footage

© The Weirding, 2014-2015

RIP Harold Ramis, aka Dr. Egon Spengler, Ghostbuster

Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters

Harold Ramis has died at age 69 due to complications related to auto-immune inflammatory vasculitis, which he had been battling for years. Although he has a list of impressive credits a mile long, I am writing an obit for him on The OddBlog because he will best be remembered as Dr. Egon Spengler from the classic comedy, Ghostbusters.

Ghostbusters is an American pop-cultural touchstone, but it's of special interest to those of us who enjoy discussing ghosts and the Supernatural. A comedy classic centered on the paranormal, one of the many reasons it is so notable is that it set the Hollywood standard for theme songs. 

While countless movie theme songs have become hits both before and after Ghostbusters, the incredible popularity of both the movie and song swept the world, making "ghostbusters" a household word. Ray Parker, Jr.'s classic pop song also introduced the phrase, "Who ya gonna call?" into the American vernacular. The movie inspired a sequel, as well as a Saturday Morning Cartoon.

Co-star, Dan Aykroyd's, father was a paranormal investigator in real life, known then as a Ghostbreaker. Peter Aykroyd's book, A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters, was the basis for the film. Many of the movie's themes are based on actual theories from the field of parapsychology, though obviously not meant to be taken seriously given that it's a comedy. Still, the popularity of the film made paranormal investigation somewhat more acceptable to the mainstream, and sparked a general interest in matters of the Supernatural outside of a religious context.

Ramis not only appeared in the film, he co-wrote it with co-stars Aykroyd and Rick Moranis. Aykroyd claims to have experienced the Supernatural and has even written about it.

Our condolences to Harold Ramis' friends and family.

© The Weirding, 2014

#209 Wingate Hotel, Illinois

© C Harris Lynn, 2013

Nearly Half of Americans Believe in Ghosts

According to a poll conducted by HuffPost/YouGov in 2012, 45% of Americans believe in ghosts.  A 2009 poll conducted by CBS showed roughly the same results, as well as that 78% of those polled believed in some form of life after death.  

In the HuffPost/YouGov poll, 1000 people were questioned, with 64% saying they believed in life after death.  Nearly 60% said they had never experienced a ghostly encounter, and 43% said they do not believe ghosts can harm the living.

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

The Ghastly Red Bus of Ladbroke Grove

Following yet another fatal accident near the Ladbroke Grove underground station in North Kensington, London in the 1930s, the coroner decided to investigate.  He discovered that dozens of local motorists reported having seen a red, double-decker bus careening around the corner of St. Mark's Road onto Cambridge Gardens.  Time and again, drivers reported swerving to avoid this bus -- sans passengers or crew -- that would come flailing around the corner... then simply vanish!

There had been hundreds of accidents at the North Kensington corner, several of which included fatalities.  At least one motorist who had driven his car onto the sidewalk to avoid the mysterious red bus testified in court as to having seen it... and having seen it vanish.  He confirmed that "...the headlights were full on but I could see no sign of crew or passengers."

Eventually, the local council straightened the road and the number of accidents, and fatalities, fell dramatically.  The phantom red bus was never seen again.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Ghost Adventures: La Palazza - Las Vegas

The latest Ghost Adventures episode finds the guys investigating in their home town of Las Vegas, where fortunes are won and lost. Known as a place to have fun, Las Vegas also has a dark side. In an historical neighborhood which has been home to the mafia, there are countless stories about dark events.

There is an excessively aggressive entity within La Palazza, one of the stately mansions in the neighborhood. The spirit is said to physically attack visitors, and is even blamed for a fire at the estate. Former owners of house were constantly frightened by voices, growls, and attacks.

A former owner of the house tells Zak about one incredible incident that happened when, while entertaining some guests, a glass was knocked from his wine rack. The owner taunted the spirit until he was choked by an unseen force. Guests at the house recall seeing two deep imprints on his neck. The ghosts here don't like to be taunted, which makes it the exact type of location the GA guys get excited to investigate.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

North Carolina 'Ghost Train' Investigator Killed by Train

Flitting Ghosts

According to legend, every year on August 27^th, anyone near the Bostian Bridge by Statesville, North Carolina, will hear the screaming wheels and passengers of a phantom train that crashed nearly 120 years ago, killing nearly 30.  Eyewitnesses say the visage of a uniformed man with a gold fob sometimes presages the event.

And so it was that, on the 119^th anniversary of the vicious, 1891 disaster, several, self-styled ghost hunters from around the country gathered to witness the "ghost train."  Unfortunately, as they were investigating the bridge, a real train was headed their way.

Of the dozen investigators, 10 of them made it safely off the bridge; one plummeted to the water below and was injured, and the other was struck by the train and killed.  29-year-old Christopher Kaiser pushed the other investigator, whose condition remains unknown, to safety before he was hit by the train.  The train was traveling at the proper speed, and the engineer blew the horn and tried to brake, but there was little he could do.

Over the years, reports of railroad crossing arms dropping without cause have occasionally surfaced, but only one person claims to have experienced the phantasmagorical event.  This was in 1991, on the 50^th anniversary of the wreck.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Lady Gaga Orders Ghost Hunt

Pop music sensation, Lady Gaga, recently paid $5000 for ghosthunting equipment to investigate London's O2 Arena before she was set to perform.  Sources say Gaga 'felt the presence of supernatural elements' in the arena and placed an order for specialized ghost-hunting technology from local specialists.

Dan Webb, who owns the ghostbusting firm that provided the equipment, learned that Lady Gaga claims to have had a ghostly encounter which so shook her that she is now using the equipment everywhere she performs.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Ghostly Image Captured at Building Site

47-year old John Fores saw nothing the day he was photographing at a work site, but when he went back through the pictures, he saw the distinct, black and white image of a boy who appeared to be in period dress standing in the foreground of one of the snaps.

Fores was a construction worker doing demolitions on part of Anlaby Primary School in East Yorkshire, where he took the photograph. He said the picture has made him a believer. The caretaker of the school says Anlaby Primary has long been rumored haunted. Anlaby Primary School was built in 1936 and is still in use.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Pics of a Ghost in Gwrych Castle?

Gwrych (pronounced "Greek") Castle was built in the first quarter of the 19^th-Century and bequeathed to King George a century later, but could not be accepted. Gwrych Castle served as the "Showplace of Wales" in the 1950s, and remained a tourist attraction through the 1980s, when it was run as a Medieval re-enactment attraction. However, Gwrych Castle's condition went into steep decline. The castle served as the backdrop of a 1997 movie, but is thought to have stood derelict since 1985.

Which is why the image of a young woman in a first-story window so shocked 48-year old photographer, Kevin Horkin, when his pictures of Gwrych Castle were developed. The sharp-chinned brunette can be clearly seen, staring intently out of the first-floor window. While it is possible a living person was there at the time the picture was taken, Horkin claims he saw no one. Further, the floorboards beneath the window have rotted away, so experts say there is no way any living person could stand there! The figure is also transparent.

Some believe the woman in the picture, who appears to be in her 20-30s or younger, to be the Countess of Dundonald, Winifred Cochrane. However, one witness who claims to have seen the very same apparition some 60 years ago, believes it to be that of a servant girl who died when she fell from a horse.

Gwrych Castle, considered one of the most haunted sites in England, has been sold to a hotel company which released plans to renovate the castle and reopen it as an upscale hotel, but these plans have yet to materialize.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Jim Morrison Ghost Pic "Simply Unexplainable"

A new book claims the infamous photograph which appears to show The Doors' Jim Morrison's ghost is "simply unexplainable."  I'm not sure why it isn't inexplicable, but why mince... words?

Anywho, rock historian, Brett Mesiner, stopped by Morrison's Paris grave in 1997.  His assistant took a photograph of the author and it was promptly forgotten.  Five years later, they noticed something peculiar about the photo which set the Web on fire: You can clearly see what appears to be the dead Doors' singer and songwriter behind Mesiner, arms outstretched in a Christ-like position!

There were many other visitors that day and no one noticed the figure, nor was it captured on any of their photos or video (at least, none have come to light).  Meisner had both the picture and the negative analyzed by experts who ruled-out a "trick of the light," and said technical manipulation seems "unlikely."

Meisner's marriage broke-up and a close friend died of a drug overdose after the picture was taken.  Meisner added that hundreds of people have shown-up, uninvited, on his doorstep, claiming to have received messages from the late Jim Morrison, and so forth.  Meisner is looking to donate the picture and negative to a reputable organization, as he obviously considers it unlucky.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Ghost Hunter Falls to Death

A man and woman were investigating a 134-year old building they believed haunted at the University of Toronto and were three stories above the ground when they came to an impasse. Instead of making their way back to ground-level and finding a way to the other building, the pair decided to jump. The man made it, but the structure gave way beneath the woman as she leapt.

Police were called to investigate reports of two people jumping from the old building. The woman was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Ghost of Maid Marian Captured?

The caretaker of the Nottingham Old Court House kept hearing unexplained sounds coming from the dungeon - such as doors slamming. He even claims to have seen a fire door open of its own accord on one occasion and says he is "constantly on edge when opening up."

Recently, he decided to lay the matter to rest and, after hearing a series of inexplicable sounds, he snapped several shots of the dungeon beneath the museum. What appeared when the film was developed is claimed by some to be the ghost of Maid Marian.

Maid Marian was actually not originally associated with the legendary figure of Robin Hood and the two legends likely became entwined throughout time because of their dual roles in May Day festivities. Robin Hood's lady friend was actually named Clorinda.

Regardless of whom or what is seen in the photograph, it certainly appears to be a human form.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Victorian Ghost Responsible for Wrecks?

Is the ghost of a Victorian girl haunting Oldnall Road in the West Highlands?

Numerous traffic accidents have occurred along the dark road and many of the motorists claim they swerved to avoid a girl of around 3-years of age in Victorian dress. Investigators remain baffled.

While they suggest there may be some kind of logical explanation, they have yet to find it. Now, paranormal researchers are investigating local history to find some connection to the apparition, real or imagined.

Locals say the accidents have largely been minor, but there have been a few serious wrecks. Altogether, the sheer number of accidents, along with reported sightings of the girl, lead many to believe there may be a connection.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Ghostbreakers Gain Relevance?

A British housing council paid a psychic a little over $100 to exorcise an elemental manifestation, as it was the cheapest method of assuaging the tenant.

To their credit, the council -- and the tenant and her family -- truly believe the place is haunted and were not simply trying to shut her up.  23 year-old Sabrina Fallon claims to have experienced moving objects and even called police to report loud noises which frightened her and her children.

The housing council paid half the psychic's fee and now believes the place is free of activity.

Fallon said the incidents began shortly after Christmas.  While the family was away, her brother-in-law let himself in to check on things.  He later called her, "crying like a girl," and told her he had heard whispers and voices from upstairs. When he threatened to call police, a nightgown floated down the staircase and landed at his feet.

The family has been traumatized by the events, but says the place now has a "lovely atmosphere."

©C Harris Lynn, 2008

American Hauntings - Hazel Green: The Haunted House of Seven Husbands

The official Alabama Guide Book describes one Ms. Elizabeth Gibbons-Flanigan-Jeffries-High-Brown-Routt, nee Dale, as "a fascinating lady of many marriages."  All that is known of her is that she liked horses and expensive clothes.  

And that she married six times, and all six husbands died within short order of the nuptials.

She was the beautiful daughter of Adam Dale, the first settler of DeKalb County in Tennessee, and founder of the town of Liberty.  Alexander Jeffries, soon to be her third husband, built a log cabin on an old Indian burial mound not long after their marriage... and right before he died mysteriously.  Her fourth husband, Mr. High, married her soon after -- and died soon after that.  The cabin was later replaced by the large house of Hazel Green, built by Elizabeth’s fifth husband, Absolam Brown, shortly before his death of unknown circumstances.  Though gossip flew, her next suitor, Willis Routt, was undeterred... and also died of unknown circumstances soon after they tied the knot.

In all, every husband Elizabeth ever had died of unknown circumstances very shortly after their marriage to her.  So she converted the home into a tavern for mule drovers, as it was located on the old road to Nashville.  She became embroiled in a quarrel with a neighbor, one Abner Tate, whom she persuaded her next suitor (a D.H. Bingham) to charge with murder.  In a scathing published defense, Tate alleged Mrs. Gibbons-Flanigan-Jeffries-High-Brown-Routt’s bridal chamber was "a charnal [sic] house... around whose marriage couch six grinning skeletons were already hung."

Elizabeth countersued for defamation of character, but the $50,000 suit went unanswered except by public opinion, and Elizabeth sold her house and left the state.  Adam Dale, who settled in DeKalb County in 1797, died in Hazel Green in 1851, and was presumed to have been living in his daughter’s house.  The Alabama Guide Book says he was buried in the family cemetery on the grounds, but rumor holds that surviving children moved his body to Columbia, TN after his wife died, and left the marker.

Residents insist that seven mens' hats -- those of Elizabeth’s mysteriously-departed husbands -- hang in the closet.

But Elizabeth only married six times, as far as anyone knows...

So, to whom does the seventh hat belong?