At his burial some curious and suggestive words were used by the presiding rabbi: "HOUDINI POSSESSED A WONDROUS POWER THAT HE NEVER UNDERSTOOD AND WHICH HE NEVER REVEALED TO ANYONE IN LIFE!

The creator of Sherlock Holes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Harry Houdini were strange bedfellows. Doyle was a contemporary of the world's greatest magician and escape artist, who continually battled his friend over the legitimacy of life after death, and the reality of spiritualism. Doyle was a "true believer," while Houdini made it his "mission" to denounce just about all things preternatural.

Doyle was convinced - from what he personally witnessed and what others confided to him - that Houdini could read minds, dematerialize, possessed supernatural strength, and was guided by angelic forces which shielded him from harm even during the most dangerous of escape performances which likely would have caused death to others.

Doyle stated that Houdini had once remarked, "There are some of my feats which my own wife does not know the secret of." And a famous Chinese conjurer who had seen Houdini perform added, "This is not a trick, it is a gift." Sadly, many of Houdini's feats died with him, even though they would have been an invaluable asset. "What can cover all these facts," states Doyle, "save that there was some element in his power which was peculiar to himself, that could only point to a psychic element -- in a word, that he was a medium."

Here is both sides of the story -- in the actual words of the famed Sherlock Holmes originator and Houdini himself, who went out of his way to create the impression that fakes and phonies were afoot everywhere in the "shady world" of table tapping, levitating trumpets, spirit photography, slate writing, as well as the materialization of ectoplasmic forms in the darkening shadows of the seance room.

This incredible book and FREE AUDIO CD is now available exclusively for Conspiracy Journal subscribers at the special price of only $22.00, plus $5.00 shipping. 

- JUST PRETEND NO ONE IS HOME DEPARTMENT -

Too Risky to Phone ET? Too late — NASA's Tried it

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A police chief believed the existence of a Loch Ness monster was "beyond doubt", according to a historical document.

In 1938, the chief constable of Inverness-shire raised concerns about protecting Nessie from hunters.

In a letter he wrote: "That there is some strange creature in Loch Ness now seems beyond doubt."

The document has been released by the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) as part of an exhibition. The government file reflects how ministers handled the issue of the existence of Nessie.

Reports of a monster in Loch Ness date back to 565 AD, when St Columba was said to have encountered a strange water beast. But alleged sightings gathered pace in the 1930s, with a series of grainy photographs of the "monster" appearing in newspapers.

In 1933, the Scottish Office was asked to confirm the existence of a monster or sea serpent in Loch Ness.

A parliamentary question was tabled in the House of Commons asking whether, in the interests of science, an investigation would be launched into the creature's existence, but the question was ridiculed by the press at the time.

Ministers and civil servants were sceptical, but the documents show consideration was given to issues such as stationing observers round the loch to capture Nessie on camera and whether it would be possible to trap the monster without injury.

In the end it was felt that as the creature was popular with the public, it would be better not to kill either it or the myth.

However, this did not stop hunters from flocking to Loch Ness in the hope of capturing the monster.

The letter from William Fraser, the chief constable of Inverness-shire, to the Under Secretary of State at the Scottish Office, raises concern about the arrival of a hunting expedition in Fort Augustus in 1938.

It says they are "determined to catch the monster dead or alive".

The document goes on to describe how the party claimed they were having a special harpoon gun made and would return with 20 "experienced men" to track the monster down.

"That there is some strange creature in Loch Ness seems now beyond doubt, but that the police have any power to protect it is very doubtful," the letter concludes.

"If you have any suggestion to make or can offer any guidance in the matter, I shall be grateful."

As recently as 1999, Scottish authorities took steps to ensure the safety of their tourist-attracting monster, Mr. Coleman told the Monitor in a telephone interview from Portland, Maine, where he runs the International Cryptozoology Museum.

In 1999, Coleman was set to go on a Nessie-search expedition in a homemade submarine with Dan Scott Taylor. Thirty years earlier, while diving deep in Loch Ness in a one-man submarine, Mr. Taylor had said he undoubtedly bumped into the monster. Now, he wanted to bring with him both a secondary observer – Coleman – and a harpoon so he could take a DNA sample of the beast.

When Scottish authorities caught wind of Taylor’s plan, they revoked his exploration permits and the submarine trip never materialized. Taylor died in 2005.

“There’s always been the sense that quietly…they were taking the reports more validly. There was a serious acknowledgment that the Loch Ness monster exists,” says Coleman.

While the submarine trip never happened, Coleman still presided over a two-week surface expedition in 1999. He interviewed 38 people who claimed to have seen the monster then or in the past, and of those sightings Coleman says eight appeared valid.

Sightings often describe the monster’s iconic neck sprouting from the lake, but Coleman says experts agree that those sightings are only of an otter’s tail or a water bird’s neck. In his opinion, the Loch Ness monster is something like a whale or a walrus.

Source: BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8643817.stm

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Spooky sightings of ghouls, ghosts and evil spirits are higher than they have been in the past 25 years, according to a new report on haunted Britain.

There have been nearly 1,000 reports of demonic activity in the past quarter of a century, with Yorkshire the nation's most ghostly county.

Encounters with devils, demons and evil spirits are as widespread today as they were in medieval times, researchers claim.
 
The research was led by the UKs leading authority on the unexplained Lionel Fanthorpe who studied various archives and websites as well as his own reports to identify all sightings and recordings of supernatural beings with satanic qualities.

The study found that despite being in time of accelerating technology, 21st century Britons have not turned their back on ghouls, boggarts, hell-hounds, witches, wizards, banshees and black magic curses, with a whopping 968 reports of demonic activity in the past 25 years.

The report indentifies Yorkshire as the centre of ghostly goings-on demonic activity with 74 reports of demons, including Uncabus and Succubus (male and female demons that make sexual attacks on sleeping victims), instances of demonic possession and sightings of hell hounds, water demons and demons with repulsive forms such as ghouls and werewolves.

Sightings of demons in Yorkshire have included a hideous shadow-like hell-hound with no discernible facial features which collided with a car between Northallerton and Leeming Bar on the A684. A sea-going water demon has also been reported off Filey Bay in Yorkshire. Witnesses claimed to have seen a ghostly creature with a long neck, a vast serpentine body and glowing eyes.

Devonshire rated second in the study with 57 reports of sinister activity, mainly from encounters with or sightings of demons with devil like qualities.

On Dartmoor there have been reports that the demonic shape of a man named Stephens who committed suicide still appears and bodes ill for those who encounter it his grave. The apparition is described as hideously skeletal and dressed in the ragged remnants of a grey robe.

Third in the ghoulish league table is Somerset, which hosts the highest number of monsters and has 51 sightings or reports of demonic entities, with Wiltshire coming in fourth with 46 sightings of demons.

Wiltshire is one of the most popular areas for sightings of phantom dogs, shucks or hell-hounds. At Black Dog Hill near Black Dog Woods in Chapmanslade, there are reports of a huge black hound with eyes like red hot coals.

People in Inverness report sightings of 13 water ghosts in the last 25 years, evil spirits whose main purpose is to lure their victims into dangerous water and then drown them. The water ghosts contribute to the area's overall total of 39 demonic beings and one of the most notorious water ghosts resides in the area of Boat of Garten, which lies on each side of the River Spey, near Chapeltown and Tulloch Moor. The paranormal reports from Boat of Garten involve an ancient, inscribed stone visible when the river is at its lowest. According to legend, the stone is cursed and guarded by a malevolent water-demon, or kelpie-type entity, who protects it savagely. Anyone touching it or attempting to move it is said to become prey to this aquatic, demonic being.

The Demonic Britain report was carried out for the latest DVD release of US TV series Supernatural, normally broadcast on the cable channel Living.

Lionel Fanthorpe said: This report clearly shows we are a nation still rich in sightings and reports of devils, demons and evil spirits of various forms.

"The present human population is many times greater than it was in the past. Therefore the more people that there are, statistically, the more potential encounters they might have with these unpleasant, non-human entities.

Source: Telegraph (UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7631387/Ghost-sightings
-highest-in-25-years.html

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A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers say wooden remains they have discovered on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey are the remains of Noah's Ark.

The group claims that carbon dating proves the relics are 4,800 years old, meaning they date to around the same time the ark was said to be afloat. Mt. Ararat has long been suspected as the final resting place of the craft by evangelicals and literalists hoping to validate biblical stories.

Yeung Wing-Cheung, from the Noah's Ark Ministries International research team that made the discovery, said: "It's not 100 percent that it is Noah's Ark, but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it."

There have been several reported discoveries of the remains of Noah's Ark over the years, most notably a find by archaeologist Ron Wyatt in 1987. At the time, the Turkish government officially declared a national park around his find, a boat-shaped object stretched across the mountains of Ararat.

Nevertheless, the evangelical ministry remains convinced that the current find is in fact more likely to be the actual artifact, calling upon Dutch Ark researcher Gerrit Aalten to verify its legitimacy.

A team of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers believe that they have found the remains of the Biblical artifact, Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat.

“The significance of this find is that for the first time in history the discovery of Noah’s Ark is well documented and revealed to the worldwide community,” Aalten said at a press conference announcing the find. Citing the many details that match historical accounts of the Ark, he believes it to be a legitimate archaeological discovery.

“There’s a tremendous amount of solid evidence that the structure found on Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey is the legendary Ark of Noah,” said Aalten.

Representatives of Noah's Ark Ministries said the structure contained several compartments, some with wooden beams, that they believe were used to house animals.The group of evangelical archaeologists ruled out an established human settlement on the grounds none have ever been found above 11,000 feet in the vicinity, Yeung said.

During the press conference, team member Panda Lee described visiting the site. “In October 2008, I climbed the mountain with the Turkish team. At an elevation of more than 4,000 meters, I saw a structure built with plank-like timber. Each plank was about 8 inches wide. I could see tenons, proof of ancient construction predating the use of metal nails."

We walked about 100 meters to another site. I could see broken wood fragments embedded in a glacier, and some 20 meters long. I surveyed the landscape and found that the wooden structure was permanently covered by ice and volcanic rocks."

Local Turkish officials will ask the central government in Ankara to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status so the site can be protected while a major archaeological dig is conducted.

Dr. Randall Price, an evangelical Christian and former member of the Chinese-led team that announced this week’s finding, says the latest purported finding may not withstand closer scrutiny.

"If the world wants to think this is a wonderful discovery, that’s fine. My problem is that, in the end, proper analysis may show this to be a hoax and negatively reflect how gullible Christians can be," he says.

Dr. Price, who is director of the Center for Judaic Studies at the conservative Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., was the archaeologist on the Chinese-led team in 2008 when this alleged discovery was first made. He says he has “difficulties with a number of issues related to the evidence at hand.”

Price declined to elaborate. However, a leaked email from Price – which he confirms that he wrote – shows that he has reason to believe that a group of local Kurdish men trucked wood up to the mountain and staged an elaborate hoax for the Chinese team.

A group of Kurdish workers “are said to have planted large wood beams taken from an old structure in the Black Sea area (where the photos were originally taken) at the Mt. Ararat site. … During the summer of 2009 more wood was planted inside a cave at the site. The Chinese team went in the late summer of 2009 (I was there at the time and knew about the hoax) and was shown the cave with the wood and made their film,” Price writes in the email.

Price is a longtime searcher himself for the ark. As a member of Noah’s Ark Search LLC, he had gone on a number of expeditions to Mount Ararat.

Price was not the only member to withdraw from the Chinese-led team over questions about their purported finding.

Previous expeditions have also come back from Mount Ararat with evidence of Noah’s ark. French explorer Fernand Navarra found a five-foot section of the ark that was originally dated at 5,000 years old, though later shown to be only 500 to 750 years old.

Source: Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/04/27/noahs-ark-found-turkey-arafat/