Men in Black

Author: CBow

When you hear “Men in Black,” you might think of Will Smith in the movie Men in Black. Some think of the Men in Black as a “secret” government agency, but most think of UFO’s (Unidentified Flying Objects.)Most people don’t even believe that Men in Black nor UFOs exist. The first story that launched conspiracies about the Men in Black dates back to June 27, 1947, involving a man named Harold Dahl. Dahl was out gathering logs, when he saw “six donut-shaped obstacles hovering” (Justin Sablich) over him in his boat. Sooner than later, one of the obstacles fell, scattering debris and water, killing Dahls dog. The next morning after the ordeal, Dahl was visited by a Man in Black who told Dahl not to speak of what he had witnessed, or else bad things would happen. The mysterious man was able to tell him what exactly had happened, frightening Dahl, which enticed him to tell others. He reached out to a magazine editor, who then reached out to a pilot named Kenneth Arnold, who had also experienced a UFO sighting. In July of 1947, “two Army A-2 Intelligence officers came to investigate.” (Sablich) The next day, when the officers were leaving, their plane crashed, killing both of them. Was this just a coincidence? Or did it have something to do with the Men in Black?

Albert K. Bender was the man who really kicked the Men in Black Conspiracy into full gear. He was a ufologist and conducted multiple counts of paranormal research. Because of his love for paranormal activity, he formed the International Flying Saucer Bureau (IFSB). In November of 1952, Bender was at a local movie theatre in Bridgeport, Connecticut, when he noticed a “strange man with glowing eyes observing him.” (Bielawa). Bender also noticed that there was an increasingly worsening stench of burning sulfur filling his attic. In July of 1953, he was paid a visit by three men in black suits. According to Bender, they communicated telepathically with him, demanding him to stop all UFO work and research. In October of 1953, the last issue from the IFSB Space Review was published, including a cryptic message and warning of those who are engaged in “saucer work to be very cautious” (Bielawa). The IFSB was shut down by Bender, obeying the Men in Black that had threatened him.

Bender’s story attracted a UFO Magazine Publisher, Gray Barker. According to multiple sources, Barker was not considered the most factual reporter on UFO phenomena, as he was a “gifted writer with a gentle, understated sense of humor” (Radford). Barker wrote the book, “They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers" and included Bender's story inside. The book elaborated upon the Men in Black and UFO conspiracy. For some it expanded their belief of the Men in Black existence, and for some it was just a goofy, fictional, book. After this book was released, more and more people started encountering the Men in Black.

So, what could be a possible explanation behind the Men in Black? Are they really a result of paranormal activity, or do they have nothing to do with aliens at all? It has been reported that many people have experienced the Men in Black when experiencing sleep paralysis. According to Spencer Heathcliff Peters, sleep paralysis “can be described as an inability to move or speak for several seconds after waking up from sleep.” Some say that when they have seen a Man in Black, they saw a black, shadowy figure. When some people experience sleep paralysis, they have also reported seeing a black, shadowy figure. In the 1970s, a survey was conducted by David F. Rudiak that studied the correlation between Men in Black sightings and sleep paralysis. The study concluded that there was no correlation between MIB sightings and sleep paralysis. Rudiak also found that since there was a large amount of people that had never seen a UFO but had an experience with Men in Black, most “alien abductions” are most likely sleep paralysis episodes.  

Other resources suggest that the Men in Black aren’t, have never been, and never will be real. According to Steve Rose, “the UFO community is a textbook case of a gullible group susceptible to manipulation. Having spent too long watching the skies and the X-Files, it's implied, they'll readily swallow whatever snippet of "evidence" suits their grand theory.” Rose claims that movies and documentaries about UFO/paranormal activity are clearly fictionalized and made to feed into the imagination of ufologists. Rose states, “Rather than covering up the existence of aliens, could it be that the real conspiracy has been persuading us to believe in them?” Roses theory is that the Men in Black phenomenon/paranormal activity is not real, but the government wants us to think that they are. But why? Is there something that we don’t know that we should? Are movies just a coverup of something that’s really out there? Or are we just a bunch of paranoid weirdos? I guess we might not know until we see a UFO for ourselves.

Works Cited: 

Bielawa, Michael J., “Bridgeport’s UFO Legacy: Men in Black and the Albert K. Bender Story” Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Library. https://bportlibrary.org/hc/authors/bridgeports-ufo-legacy-men-in-black-and-the-albert-k-bender-story/

Peters, Heathcliff Spencer. “Men in Black: Shadow Figures and UFOs throughout History.” Astral Citizens, Astral Citizens, 29 Sept. 2022, https://astralcitizens.com/men-in-black-shadow-figures-and-ufos-throughout-history/.

Rose, Steve. “The real Men in Black, Hollywood and the great UFO cover-up”. The Guardian, Guardian News & Media, 14 Aug. 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/14/men-in-black-ufo-sightings-mirage-makers-movie

Sablich, Justin. “The UFO Sightings That Launched 'Men in Black' Mythology.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 23 Aug. 2018, https://www.history.com/news/men-in-black-real-origins.

“Who is the Hat Man? The Real-Life Nightmare Shared By Thousands.” AnomoAlien.com, Photograph, 20 Aug. 2020 https://anomalien.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/hatman-s.jpg,

Links for further research : 

Geers, Jacob. “9 Freaky Encounters with the Real 'Men in Black' That'll Seriously Give You the Creeps.” Thought Catalog, The Thought & Expression Company, LLC., 13 Sept. 2021, https://thoughtcatalog.com/jacob-geers/2016/04/creepy-stories-of-the-real-men-in-black/. This source explores different accounts of witnesses of the MIB.  

“List of reported UFO sightings” Wikipedia, MediaWiki, 7 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reported_UFO_sightings This source provides multiple alien sightings, including the time they were reported as well as where they were reported.

“Real Men in Black Sightings Caught on Camera.” Slapped Ham, 10 Apr. 2019, https://slappedham.com/real-men-in-black-sightings-caught-on-camera/. This source provides pictures of the Men in Black as well as strange personal experiences of those who have encountered the MIB 

Satanic Panic

 

Author: Marlena Perez

In the 1980’s there was a huge moral scare called the” Satanic Panic” where everyone thought that devil worshippers were hidden everywhere and in everything discretely trying to turn children into demon lovers, do awful things with or to them. Published in 1980, the book  Michelle Remembers is typically given the credit for starting the panic because it linked satanic rituals to the abuse of children, but there was never any evidence of abuse by cults. False narratives created a foundation in the minds of Christians for the inner workings of Satanism and that their children would be swayed by Satan. 

People were ready for a full panic over the occult when James Dallas Egbert “disappeared” from his dorm room at MSU in 1979, people were convinced his mind was altered by the game Dungeons & Dragons that he had a psychotic break and ran away under the school to role play a game until he died. A detective stated James was “depressed” and went into the tunnels to commit suicide. Dungeons and Dragons did not have anything to do with James’s disappearance or death. But over the top Christians kept the idea that the game made him carry out supernatural rituals.

 The Satanic Panic made people live out in the world fearful. They did not let their children do anything, Christians thought there were subliminal messages in all things with Satan. Some even thought humans were eating children as part of rituals. Parents did not like their kids watching certain movies, shows and music. Particularly rock and roll. This music was especially open to accusations of backmasking messages, in the 1980s, The Rolling Stones were charged with hiding their support of the devil in their records. But it is not really possible to write lyrics one way and it sound correct the other way. If songs do have hidden messages, it is by accident.

 With all the Satanists running around and committing ritual murders, it was up to the police to stop them. The average devil worshipper is adept at hiding in plain sight, a document called “Identification, Investigation, and Understanding of Ritualistic Criminal Activity,” helped the police keep an eye out for Satanic activity in the Windy City. This provided “insight” into symbolism used by and even provided characteristics that one should look for while speaking to a potential Satanist.

Satanic Temple

 

Works Cited:

 Porter, Mark and Wakeman, Jessie, Associated Press, New York Times, 22 November 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/arts/satanic-temple-sabrina-statue.html  Accessed on 20 Oct, 2022.

Rossen, Jake, Mental Floss, 14 May 2021, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/642372/satanic-panic-history-1980s Accessed on 26 October 2022

Links for further research: 

.        “Satanic Panic” Wikipedia  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_panic This article from Wikipedia gives so much information about the Satanic Panic.

       Romano, Aja. “The Satanic Panic Never Really Ended.” Vox, 31 March 2021. Satanic Panic’s long history — and why it never really ended — explained - Vox The Vox is an online magazine, and this article is written Aja Romano explaining the history of the Satanic Panic. The purpose of this article is to inform the readers about the different cases of the satanic panic and what it is. It also speaks about how heavy it was around back then but people think it went away just because it is now shown in different more modern ways. This source is unique because it goes through historically different cases of the panic. This source is relevant because is has modern issues of the satanic panic and lets us know that it us still around today. As written in The Satanic Panic Never Really Ended written by Aja Romano this article is aimed at people who are interested in the history of the Satanic Panic.

       Zadrozny, Brandy. “Satanic panic is making a comeback, fueled by QAnon believers and GOP influencers” NBC News 14 September 2022 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/satanic-panic-making-comeback-fueled-qanon-believers-gop-influencers-rcna38795 This website is a news channel that streams on TV and writes news articles, this article is written by Brandy Zadrozny, most of this article is based in Utah. The purpose of this source is to be reliable and let us know how the satanic panic is not over. This article is informing us about politicians that have to do with the panic, David Leavitt, who had to deny and fight that he did not murder or cannibalize children. The source is unique because this was written directly about one person, and he was a politician. This source of the NBC is relevant because it was written only a month ago, this is a good source because it is a popular subject with conspiracy theories and politicians. As posted in NBC News this article is aimed at people who believe in conspiracy theories and are interested in learning about the satanic panic.

The Man Who Began Neuroscience

 Author: Hunter Williams

Phineas Gages skull after death

Phineas Gage was born in 1823 in Lebanon, New Hampshire, on his family’s farm. According to Editors, TheFamousPeople.com of the informational page entitled “Phineas Gage”, there isn’t much known about Phineas Gages childhood. Other than that, he was smart and lived with four other siblings. After childhood Phineas moved away from his family’s farm to find work as a contract railway worker. While working on railroads for a couple of years, Phineas eventually became a railroad Foreman, until a devastating injury would change Phineas, and the way doctors viewed Neurology forever.

 “Improbable Tales of Survival” A funny short
video that simplifies the Phineas Gage injury by Sam O Nella.

According to author Malcom Macmillian of “The Phineas Gage Story”, on September 13, 1848, while working as a blasting foreman, for Rutland and Burlington Rail Road. On that day Phineas was packing an explosive charge into the ground with a tamping iron, when unexpectedly the charge exploded. This sent the 13 ½ pound tamping iron through the front of Phineas Gages skull and landed around 25 to 30 yards behind him. Phineas was then rushed by his crew to Dr. John Martyn Harlow in the closest town to be treated and observed.

In the podcast “Everything Everywhere” according to host Gary Ardnt, Phineas unbelievably recovered in ten weeks only suffering from paralysis in his face and a missing eye. But was unable to continue working as a foreman because of the changes in his personality. Before the accident Phineas was known to be charismatic, responsible, and hardworking. But after the accident Dr. Harlow states, “He is fitful, irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity” and that he was “no longer Gage”. After the Phineas Gage case was seen by many medical professionals, Phineas was studied by even more doctors and medical teams in the following months.

In the last 12 of Phineas Gages life according to author Kendra Cherry on the article entitled “What happened to Phineas Gage?” Phineas became an attraction in the Barnum American Museum in New York. Phineas then moved to Chile and became a stagecoach driver. Phineas stayed as a stagecoach driver for the next seven years until his health started to decline. He then moved to San Francisco to live with his mother where he unfortunately passed away at age 36. After having multiple epileptic seizures linked to the injury 12 years before (Ardnt). The odd case of Phineas Gage gave medical professionals a better look at the functions of the brain. As well as brain trauma having an impact on a person’s behavior (Cherry).

Works Cited:

Arndt, Gary. “The Unlikely Survival of Phineas Gage” Everything-everywhere, https://everything-everywhere.com/the-unlikely-survival-of-phineas-gage/#:~:text=There%20is%20very%20little%20we%20know%20of%20the,Hampshire%20and%20that%20is%20where%20he%20was%20raised. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022. 

Cherry, Kendra. “What Happened to Phineas Gage?” Verywellmind, www.verywellmind.com/phineas-gage-2795244. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022. 

Editors, TheFamousPeople.com. “Phineas Gage” thefamouspeople. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/phineas-gage-46347.php. Accessed on 23 Oct. 2022. 

Landis, Henry. “Lebanon New Hampshire’s “Man Who Survived with A Hole in His Head”: Phineas P. Gage (1823-1860)” https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.1f30de1b74c66af0e72287e9a4e0718a?rik=s3U7DdSUcXjfLA&riu=http%3a%2f%2fimage1.findagrave.com%2fphotos250%2fphotos%2f2009%2f342%2f8144_126037660235.jpg&ehk=TlEnv7Vjzm597kv0UDIKW4QcNtVYpImbA7AMgiqIfx4%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0. Accessed on 22 Oct. 2022. 

Macmillian, Malcolm. “Phineas Gage’s Story” Uakron, 15 Aug. 1999. https://www.uakron.edu/gage/story.dot. 

Sam O Nella. “Improbable Tales of Survival” YouTube, 1 Apr 2019. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sam+o+nella+academy&qpvt=sam+o+nella+academy&view=detail&mid=C0B77A88A0FCE3B0650AC0B77A88A0FCE3B0650A&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dsam%2Bo%2Bnella%2Bacademy%26qpvt%3Dsam%2Bo%2Bnella%2Bacademy%26FORM%3DVDRE.

Links for Further Research: 

Arndt, Gary. “The Unlikely Survival of Phineas Gage” Everything-everywhere, https://everything-everywhere.com/the-unlikely-survival-of-phineas-gage/#:~:text=There%20is%20very%20little%20we%20know%20of%20the,Hampshire%20and%20that%20is%20where%20he%20was%20raised. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022. This article written by Gary Arndt delves into Phineas Gages early life, and the doctor’s eyewitness account of the injury.

Cherry, Kendra. “What Happened to Phineas Gage?” Verywellmind, www.verywellmind.com/phineas-gage-2795244. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022. This article written by Kendra Cherry describes Phineas Gages later life and what Gage did for work after the devastating injury. 

Ratiu, Peter et al. “The tale of Phineas Gage: digitally remastered.” PubMed, 21 May 2004. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15165371/.  This article written by Peter Ratiu and four others, describes the results of Phineas Gages skull, after reanalyzing the skull using computer imaging for the first time.

The Mysterious Ship: The Mary Celeste

 Author: Caroline G

Mary Celeste in Storm

The Mary Celeste was a merchant brigantine ship sailing out of the harbor in New York to Italy. The ship was run by Captain Benjamin Briggs. He brought aboard the ship with him his wife, his two-year old daughter, and his eight crew members. This ship was carrying 1,701 barrels of alcohol along with the six-month food supply that the crew had (Blumburg). 

The ship didn’t make it to a month because it was discovered sailing alone without its crew aboard. The ship that found the Mary Celeste was called the Dei Gratia. The Mary Celeste had sailed from the harbor eight days before the Dei Gratia did. The Dei Grata found the Mary Celeste off the coast of the Azores. According to the article “The legend of the Mary Celeste explained” the Mary Celeste was moving very erotically. The captain knew that there was something wrong because no ship moves like that. The captain ordered his crew to go aboard the ship to check out what was wrong. According to the article “Abandoned ship: The Mary Celeste” by Jess Blumburg, she says that below the ship deck they found “ship charts tossed around, and crewman’s belongings were still in their quarters.” They also found that the only lifeboat on board the ship was missing.

There are many theories that go along with this ship. Each are different because no ones for sure what happened to the crew and how the ship continued to sail. According to the article “The Mary Celeste” on the website paranormalcatalog.net says that the Mary Celeste could have been involved in foul play that happened by the crew of the Dei Gratia killing the crew of the Mary Celeste. Another is that the crew fled the ship because the alcohol that they were carrying exploded so that they had to flee the ship. One final one that something paranormal happened on the ship, but this one Is very unlikely because sea monsters don’t exist. Giant squids do exist, but they are not that big enough to pluck crew members right off their ship.

One thing cool about this ship is that there was a documentary created about it. The documentary is called The True Story of the Mary Celeste. There is also a book on the Mary Celeste and that book is called The Haunting of the Mary Celeste.

Works Cited:

Benjamin, Kathy. “The legend of the Mary Celeste explained.” Grunge.com, 2020,https://maryceleste.net/index.htm 

Blumburg, Jess. “Abandoned Ship: The Mary Celeste.” Smithsonianmag.com, 2007, https://maryceleste.net/index.htm 

“The Mystery of the Mary Celeste: Crew Vanishes from Seaworthy Ship.” ancient-origns.net,  https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/field/image/Mary-Celeste-in-storm.jpg 

“The Mary Celeste.” Paranormalcatalog.nethttps://www.paranormalcatalog.net/unexplained-phenomena/the-mary-celeste

Links for Further Research: 

“Mysterious Disappearances: Crew of the Mary Celeste.” mysteriousdisappearances.com. This 

website talks about the crew onboard the Mary Celeste

“The Mary Celeste Fact or Fiction.” MaryCeleste.net. This website gives an insight on whether 

the Mary Celeste was a real thing or if it was fake.

“Mary Celeste: Whatever Happened to the Notorious Ghost Ship”. allthingsinterersting.com. 

This website talks about what happened to the Mary Celeste and the theories that go 

along with what happened, and what happened after the Mary Celeste was found

The Count of Saint Germain

 

An engraving of The Count of Saint Germain by Nicolas Thomas.

The Count of Saint Germain was born into a royal, European family. Researchers are unsure of many facts and truths about the Count of Saint Germain due to his story being told so many times and his mysterious way of life. Researchers estimate the Count of Saint Germain was born around the late 1600’s or the early 1700’s and then went on to live for many years to follow. According to the article “Who was the Count of Saint Germain” written by Shelly Barclay, the Count of Saint Germain displayed many talents throughout his many years of life including composing musical pieces, playing the violin, speaking multiple languages, and combining many small diamonds to make one large diamond. One talent of his that was controversial was his ability to stop his own aging. In his article titled “Saint-Germain: The Immortal Count,” Stephen Wagner states that many accounts from the Count’s vast range of years of life always have him appearing to be around forty-five years old. Due to his ability to live for what seemed like forever, researchers refer to the Count of Saint Germain as “the man who never dies.”

While he was living his years of life, the Count traveled to many different countries to visit royal Europeans during his time. The Count’s many talents grabbed the attention of both commonfolk and royal figures. Some of the most famous Europeans the Count visited throughout his travels in Europe were King Louis XV and Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (Wagner). These royals not only enjoyed the Count being around for his talents, but they were also intrigued by his charming personality. 

Due to the mysteriousness about the Count of Saint Germain and all the unknowns about his life, there are many different claims bystanders made about him. When it comes to his immortality, his ability to live forever, many bystanders claim that the Count of Saint Germain would “drink special tea frequently” and make comments about his age that seemed a little odd. He would reference things long before his time as if he was there, and he went around telling others that it was very possible for him to live more than one hundred years (Barclay). Some others claim that once the Count of Saint Germain did pass away, he came back from the dead and there were many more accounts of him. The Count was seen by others all the way up until the early 1970’s, still looking to be about forty-five years old, almost three hundred years old. 

Who really was the Count of Saint Germain? Is he still around today? Will we ever know the complete truth about him and his life?

Works Cited: 

Barclay, Shelly. “Who was the Count of Saint Germain?” June 25, 2010. Historic Mysteries. https://www.historicmysteries.com/saint-germain/.

Thomas, Nicolas. “Count of St Germain.” Wikimedia Commons, 1783, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conde_de_Saint_Germain#/media/Archivo:Count_of_St_Germain.jpg. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.  

Wagner, Stephen. “Saint-Germain: The Immortal Count.” December 29, 2018. Liveabout dotcom. https://www.liveabout.com/saint-germain-the-immortal-count-2594421

 

Links for further research:

New Editions, The Music of the Count of St. Germain: An Edition, http://ichriss.ccarh.org/Germain.pdf. This entry on the Count of Saint Germain by Ilias Chrissochoidis emphasizes the Count’s admiration from other historical figures during his time due to his well-known musical compositions and performances.

  The Count of Saint-Germain, http://davidpratt.info/st-germain1.htm. This entry on the Count of Saint Germain by David Pratt highlights the many events and acknowledgements of the Count of Saint Germain’s life due to his high praises from others, based on his many talents, possessions, accomplishments, or personality traits.

Count of St. Germain: The Man That Never Dies, https://owlcation.com/humanities/Count-of-St-Germain-That-Man-Never-Dies. This entry by Dean Traylor depicts the life of the Count of Saint Germain by explaining what both the commonfolk and royals of his time thought of him.

Boo Hags, Their Origins, and How to Avoid Them

Author: Nabal Blight

Most people have heard of vampires and witches, but have you heard of the infamous “boo hag?”  Boo hags are demonic creatures that exhibit both witch-like and vampire-like attributes.  Because they are skinless, boo hags steal the skin of human beings and wear it during the day as their own in order to pass undetected (“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”).  Consequently, in daylight, boo hags cannot be distinguished from normal people.  However, at night, boo hags shed their stolen skin and fly through the night, preying on hapless human beings.  At night, boo hags appear as skinless, bloody human figures with exposed veins and muscles, wild hair, and glowing eyes, or else they are invisible, detectable only by the humid, foul odor they carry with them (“Boo Hags & Haint Blue”; “The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”).  During their nocturnal raids, boo hags slip into houses where they “ride” sleeping human beings, stealing their breath or life energy (“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”).  If a boo hag’s victim awakes while their breath is being stolen, the boo hag will steal the person’s skin as their next outfit (“Boo Hags & Haint Blue”).  However, if the victim stays asleep, the boo hag usually leaves them alive, in which case the person will wake up in the morning exhausted, despite having slept all night, because their energy has been sapped by the boo hag (“Boo Hags & Haint Blue”). 

“The Terrifying Skinless Witches of The American Southeast” (James Troup) 

The belief in boo hags originates from the culture of the Gullah people, an African American ethnic group from the coastal regions of South Carolina.  Gullah beliefs are closely connected to Hoodoo and emphasize the existence of various types of spirits called “haints.”  According to these beliefs, human beings have a soul, which goes either to heaven or hell at death, and a spirit, which remains on the earth (Carman; “The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”).  If a person has lived a moral life, the spirit, or haint, they leave behind will be beneficent, whereas, if the person has lived an evil life, their haint will become a boo hag (“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”). 

While they are powerful, terrifying, and crafty, boo hags do have certain weaknesses whereby they can be warded off or destroyed.  Gullah tradition maintains that boo hags cannot survive in daylight without a borrowed skin (“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”).  Because of this, the best way to defeat a boo hag is to distract it while skinless until the sun comes up and destroys it.  Boo hags can be distracted by placing objects in their path that represent large numbers, because their compulsive nature will cause them to count the objects endlessly (“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”).  For example, setting a broom or brush on a bedroom floor will divert the attention of an intruding boo hag from the room’s occupant to counting the bristles of the brush or broom (“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”).  Other objects that can be used to distract boo hags are strainers or piles of rice or seeds (“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”; Carman).  Boo hags are also susceptible to salt or pepper.  Strewing salt on a floor or filling a Hag’s abandoned skin with salt or pepper will sabotage the boo hag’s stolen skin, preventing the hag from reentering its skin (“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture”; Carman).  Another method is to hang empty blue glass bottles outside from a tree or frame, forming a “bottle tree.”  At night, boo hags enter the bottles and become trapped until the sun comes up and kills them inside (Parks).

Allegedly the most reliable way to deter boo hags and other evil spirits involves a special hue of blue paint, called “Haint Blue.” This specific color of blue paint originates from the South Carolina indigo dye industry of the 1700s, which depended on the slave labor of African Americans, especially the Gullah (Parks).

Indigo-colored Yarn from the Indigofera suffruticosa Plant (Judy Newland)

The Gullah were tasked with growing, harvesting, and processing the indigo plants to extract their rich blue dye, which was then exported from South Carolina to Britain.  After processing the dye, the Gullah would take the dregs of the dying vats and mix them with other ingredients to form a light aqua blue paint (Carman; Parks).  This light blue color came to be known as “Haint Blue.”  Gullah beliefs place a special significance on the color blue, and according to these beliefs, painting the exterior of a house in Haint Blue wards of evil spirits, including boo hags (Parks; Carman).  This is because boo hags are said to perceive the pale blue color either as water, which they cannot cross, or sky, which causes them to fly past the house (Parks; Carman).  Gullah traditions regarding haints and boo hags and the countermeasures that can be taken against them are still strong in certain regions of South Carolina.  As a result, many houses can still be seen along the South Carolina coast that have porches or window frames painted in Haint Blue.

Whether or not you believe in boo hags, these elusive and dangerous spirits and the Gullah beliefs regarding their behavior serve as a powerful lesson: one should not take everything at face value.  The next time you see the porch of a house painted blue or see bottles hanging from a tree, consider the possibility these things might not be intended as décor, and if you meet a stranger in the street, greet them politely and hurry on, because there might be more about them than is apparent. 

Works Cited:

“Boo Hags & Haint Blue: Vampires of the Lowcountry & the Paint that Stops Them.” Charleston Terrors, https://charlestonterrors.com/boo-hags-haint-blue-vampires-of-the-lowcountry-the-paint-that-stops-them/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022.

Carman, Katie. “The Gullah Geechee Tradition of 'Haint Blue' Paint Keeps the Spirits Away.” HowStuffWorks, 27 May 2020, https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/haint-blue.htm. 

Newland, Judy. “Sea Island Indigo: Creating an American Indigo Culture.” ClothRoads: A Global Textile Market, 2018, https://i0.wp.com/assets-clothroads-com.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/02/Indigo-dyed-yarn.jpg?ssl=1. Accessed 19 Oct. 2022.

Parks, Shoshi. “What the Color ‘Haint Blue’ Means to the Descendants of Enslaved Africans in the Lowcountry.” Atlas Obscura, 14 Jan. 2020, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-haint-blue-means-to-descendants-enslaved-africans. 

“The Boo Hags of Gullah Culture.” Scares and Haunts of Charleston, 22 Apr. 2012, https://scaresandhauntsofcharleston.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/the-boo-hags-of-gullah-culture/. 

Troup, James. “The Terrifying Skinless Witches of the American Southeast.” YouTube, uploaded by BuzzFeed Unsolved Network, 24 Feb. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Klc8UMyvD4. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.

Links for further research: 

“The Boo Hag: Georgia Witch Story.” The Moonlit Road, https://www.themoonlitroad.com/the-boo-hag/ This website by Veronica Byrd and Craig Dominey tells a story, both in written and audio form, about a man who accidently married a Boo Hag.  

“Boo Hags.” South, https://www.southmag.com/boo-hags/ This article by Sloane Frederick, a writer on Southern culture and cuisine, provides information from an interview with Lisa Prentiss regarding Boo Hags and other paranormal activity in Savannah, Georgia.  

“Gullah Culture: Gullah in Beaufort, Port Royal & the Sea Islands.” Visit Beaufort: Port Royal and Sea Islands, https://www.beaufortsc.org/things-to-do/gullah-culture/  This article provides information regarding the history and heritage of the Gullah people in South Carolina, from the slave trade to the present day.

The Most Haunted House in America

Author: Caitlyn Kennedy

In the mid-1800s, thousands of people travelled west for the California Gold Rush (nps.gov) . In 1852, at the heart of downtown San Diego, was a public execution site. Many people were hung for petty crimes including Jim Robinson (Yankee Jim). Despite the hangings, 4 years later, Thomas Whaley bought the property, designed, and built this two-story brick house. He moved in with his wife, Anna, and their three children. 

They soon opened a general store and commercial theater. Their youngest child, Thomas Jr. was just 18 months, contracted scarlet fever and passed away. This sad news followed by a fire in the general store area of their home, the family decided to move to San Francisco. They had 3 more children and Thomas invested in a stock, became financially stable, and moved back into their home to repair the damages. 

Violet Whaley, daughter of Thomas and Anna, got married in 1882. Her honeymoon was the worst time of her life when her husband abandoned her. “Reports say George was a con-artist and only married Violet for her money” (Terrell). Being severely depressed, Violet ended her own life in the home with her father’s gun. She left behind a very somber farewell letter and her grieving family moved out of the house. “People claim they have seen her crying in the outhouse, recreating the moment up until her death. Others have stated they have seen her on the second floor of the house where Violet would spend most of her time in solitude.” (Terrell)

The family moved out as Thomas’ health started to decline. They moved a couple blocks down the street. The house was empty for almost 2 decades. “It wasn't until 1909 that Thomas Whaley's son Francis took on the massive undertaking of restoring the Whaley homestead” (Bregara). The mother and her surviving children move back into the house, once more, to live out their lives. 

The house is now a museum operated by San Diego Save Our Heritage organization (SOHO). They offer day tours which are open to anyone. You can also reserve tickets for a Haunted Evening Tour and Whaley’s After-Hours Paranormal investigation. The tours consist of 40 minutes of walking through the house and possibly experience paranormal things. 

People on the evening  tour in the Whaley House

Many people who have gone on these tours have stories to tell about the haunted home. “Some visitors can hear the sound of a baby crying, little footfalls, and his innocent giggle” This is thought to be Thomas Jr. the baby that passed away. Reports also say that the mother’s lavender perfume can be smelt, and she has been seen in the parlor. A worker has said he smelt tobacco, as Thomas Sr. used to smoke. “We were looking over the bedrooms and trying to guess which family member slept there without looking at the pamphlet. Suddenly, I got hit with a massive wave of sadness and I just wanted to cry. It followed me around the second floor but stop once we went back downstairs. It was the strangest thing.” (Metreyeon) This is believed to be Violet Whaley. Many other accounts include seeing Thomas Sr. in a top hat at the head of the stairs, lights flickering and just feeling weird in general. A worker in the museum had a scary experience where he heard a woman whisper Why are you here? He was terrified so he ran out the house without setting the alarm. Even the family’s dog has been felt licking and brushing up on people’s legs. Some guest didn’t feel anything in the house but have checked the pictures that were taken and saw figures appear. 

It is no doubt that this house is terrifying with all the details of people experience. The Whaley house Museum is now a famous tourist attraction with history from almost 200 years ago. 

Works Cited

“Group of People at the Whaley House.” Photograph. “Whaley House Tour.”  Whaley House Museum, November 2021, https://www.whaleyhousesandiego.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/whaley-house-tour.jpg.

Katytayani, Josi “The Shocking Whaley House Mystery and Hauntings, Icy Tales, Updated 3 December 2020https://icytales.com/mystery-of-whaley-house/

Lollis, Sandra. “Whaley House Museum” SanDiego.org . 2012 https://www.sandiego.org/-/media/2573dd25c4ca473aa117cf89b4ca5e23.jpg

Metreyeon, Hedge. “The Whaley House Story – San Diego’s Scariest and Most Haunted Place” https://sandiegoexplorer.com/whaley-house-san-diego/, 26 August 2022.

Terrell, Kelly. “A Brief History of The Whaley House”, When You're Here (whenyourehere.com) , 8 Nov. 2020. https://whenyourehere.com/a-brief-history-of-the-whaley-house

US Ghost Adventures Contributor. “Haunted Whaley House” US Ghost Adventures. Accessed 17 October 2022. https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-stories/whaley-house/

Links for further research: 

“Whaley House: This San Diego Haunted House Museum Has a Dark Past” Velvet Tropes

https://www.velvetropes.com/backstage/whaley-house 

This website has information of the history and the tour dates and prices, in case you’re interested to see the famous Whaley House. 

“The Whaley House in Old Town San Diego” Whaley House San Diego

https://www.whaleyhousesandiego.com/

This is a direct link to the Whaley House Museum where you can find the phone number, updated tour events and everything to know about the Whaley House. 

“The Whaley House” San Diego History Center 

https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1960/april/whaley/

This is a link to the San Diego History website that can tell you information about the history of San Diego and Thomas Whaley during this time. 

Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania

 by Mr. Purday

The Hoia-Baciu Forest is one of the world's most haunted forests in the world. The 792 acre forest is located in Romania. The forest has stories including aliens, unexplained time travel, and feelings of uncertainty. It truly is one of the world's greatest mysteries.

The Forest is located in Romania near the city of Cluj-Napoca. Also known as Transylvania, the home of Dracula. Its also the oldest settlement destination of the Neolithic. The Forest has many tales of ghost sightings, UFO sightings, and unexplained disappearances. The forest came to fame when a five year old girl disappeared and then reappeared 5 years later the same and didn't even know she went missing.

Legends of the Hoia-Baciu Forest vary depending on the people who actually have the guts to go inside the forest. Some of the most famous stories include one person who claims to have seen a ghost when going in the woods. One story includes an army soldier who was surveying the forest and actually got a picture of what looked like a UFO hovering over the forest. A pretty recent story includes one of a shepherd and his 50 sheep disappearing and never being seen again. The most famous story was when a five year old disappeared in the forest and then returned five years later untouched and didn't even know she was claimed as missing. There's many videos on youtube of people filming their experience in the forest and some go in and out fine but then claim to feel sick a couple days later and don't know why. One guy went into the forest and claimed that he saw a ghost and decided to run out of the forest. 2-3 days later he explained that his skin startled peeling off his body like an intense sunburn. 

 

A lot of people started believing that the forest was haunted after the story of the Military official posting a picture of the UFO hovering over the forest. He had nothing to gain but everything to lose. He later was fired for spreading fake pictures and was claimed insane by the Military.
 

The forest remains a world mystery. From disappearances and sights of ghosts. Ghost hunters did do documentation on the forest and did claim for it to be haunted.

Works Cited: 

 Doucette, David. “Meet Hoia Baciu Forest, The Bermuda Triangle Of Romania.” Meet Hoia Baciu Forest, The Bermuda Triangle Of Romania, Travel Awaits, 19 Aug. 2019,
www.travelawaits.com/2478360/hoia-baciu-forest-bermuda-triangle-romania.

Buchan, Sophie. “HOIA BACIU: INSIDE THE CREEPIEST FOREST IN TRANSYLVANIA.” US
Independent, US Independent, 3 Sept. 2021, www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/haunted-forest-romania-ufo-ghosts-transylvania-b1913161.html.

N/a, N/a. “HOIA BACIU, HAUNTED FOREST OF MYSTERY IN TRANSYLVANIA.”
Mybestplacearoundtheworld, mybestplacearoundtheworld,

MacEacheran, Mike. “Frights and Sights in Transylvania: Exploring Haunted Hoia Baciu.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 29 Oct. 2017, www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/oct/29/transylvania-hoia-baciu-haunted-forest-cluj-napoca-romania-culture.

Summers, Stuart. “(Barely) Surviving The Hoia-Baciu Forest.” The Beehive, The Beehive, 28 Oct. 2020, www.thebeehive.com/barely-surviving-the-hoia-baciu.

The Infamous Irish Wailing Banshees

 by Me’Doña Summers

Shhh…Did you hear that?

Anyways, have you ever heard of the saying “screaming like a banshee”? Well, if you haven’t, the saying is usually used when someone is screeching or yelling loudly; that’s what banshees do. It might help to know what Banshees are. Banshees are spirits in Irish folklore that appear when a family  member is about to die. They alert others in the family with wailing and clapping, not scary at all. They are typically women who wear white or grey cloaks and look like they are suffering a terrible loss. She can vary from an old woman to a young, beautiful spirit.

Waiting and Wailing Banshees

In Irish or traditional Gaelic language, the original translation for banshee is “Bean sí” meaning fairy spirit. Different fairies have different special powers. Banshees are fairies, just very…intimidating. “Bean Sidhe” meaning woman of death. Many believe banshees originated from Keeners. Keening is a part of the Irish death ritual. Keeners are women who wail and sing to help guide spirits to the otherss ide. They normally sing and wail at funerals. Keeners do it to help bring comfort to the mourning family.

Some of the earliest encounters date back to the late 1800s after the great famine that ended in 1852. Back then, people were dying because of disease and starvation. There were a large number of deaths, so the sound of a wailing woman was not uncommon. According to an article blog post by Eileen Moylan, Banshees are seen and heard typically by the old Irish families or ancient Gaelic nobility, such as O’Connors and O’ Neills, etc. Basically any last names that begin with O, Mc, or Mac. Eileen Moylan is an Irish native jeweler, who makes authentic Irish historical jewelry for Irish natives. One of her clients stated in the blog post, spoke about their encounter with a Banshee, guess what their last name was, O’Connor. 

 

White Barn Owl

In some of the sources, stories like those listed in the previous article were dismissed because the natives back then agreed to disagree. A lot of the stories are similar in ways like the rattling in bushes or the timing in the screams. Some people were starting to think that animals were making the noise, a common animal that makes a similar screeching noise are the barn owls native to central and southern Ireland. 

It could be a Banshee, or it could be a Barn owl. If you heard this SOUND,
what would you think?

Works Cited: 

“Barn Owl” BirdWatch Ireland, 2019, https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/barn-owl/.
Crocker, Thomas Crofton “Bunworth Banshee.” Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia
Foundation, 1825. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

Moylan, Eileen. “Ireland’s Best Known Spirit- The Banshee” Claddagh Design, 12 Mar. 2018,
https://www.claddaghdesign.com/history/irelands-best-known-spirit-the-banshee/.
 

Prowse, R. “The Banshee Appears” Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation, 1
Sept. 1862. Web. 23 Oct. 2021.
 

Ruxton, Dean. “Ireland’s banshee: a delusion of peasants or a spirit with a mournful wail?” The
Irish Times. 5 May 2019. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/offbeat/ireland-s-banshee-a-
delusion-of-peasants-or-a-spirit-with-a-mournful-wail-1.3881517
 

Wilson, Alan D. “Barn Owl (Alberta).” Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia
Foundation, 18 June 2020. Web. 25 Oct. 2021

Links for Further Research:

“Banshee.” Wikipedia, 28 Oct. 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banshee. Accessed 20 Oct.
2021. This Wiki page gives a good starting point to further the banshee research.

Plumb, Harold. Often asked: Banshee Indian tribe,
https://www.mundomayafoundation.org/interesting/often-asked-banshee-indian-tribe.html.
Accessed 25 Oct. 2021. This source is a good example on how the banshee mythology
influences and changes other cultures.

Zarka, Emily. “Banshee: Ireland’s Screaming Harbinger of Death” Monstrum. YouTube, 25 Sept.
2019, https://youtu.be/r1c-ah112UM. This YouTube video has a lot of information on
Banshees. It provided more information that could not be obtain with internet research.
alone It is also entertaining to watch.

Men in Black

 by Loyda E. Paz

Men in Black isn’t just a movie it also a conspiracy theory. The conspiracy is about men who reach out to people that have encounters with UFOS or do a lot of research of UFOS. There are people that say that they have been contacted by these ‘Men in Black’ and they always have weird creepy encounters with them.

People who have had encounters with these men say that their features are different than a human. Some even think that the ‘Men in Black’ are aliens themselves because they have no hair, like eyebrows or even eyelashes. They wear black suits with black trench coats, and black shoes as well. Not only do they have different features than humans, but they also don’t go by names they go by numbers.

The first person to encounter the ‘Men in Black’, that is known of, is the encounter of
Harold Dahl. Harold Dahl was one day picking up logs with his son and dog, while he was doing this, he saw six donut like shaped figures above his boat. One of the figures dropped and killed his dog, but luckily him and his kid were okay. Dahl couldn’t believe what he saw and took a picture of the object that just fell in front of him. The next morning Harold Dahl was contacted by a man in all black, the man told him to not talk about the incident again or something bad could happen. This isn’t the only encounter that people have had with the ‘Men in Black’ but this is the first one that is talked about.

Another person that has had an encounter with the man in black was Dan Aykroyd. His encounter was in New York, he was shooting a show and he stepped outside for a bit, while he was outide he saw a man that was wearing a black suit standing by a lack Ford sedan, whenever Aykroyd looked at something else and then looking back for the Ford Sedan it wasn’t there anymore. To make things a little bit creepy when he went back inside he was told that the show was over with.

Works Cited:

Gatollari, Mustafa. “Real Life ‘Men in Black’ Exist and These Creepy Stories Pretty Much Prove
It.” Distractify. Nov. 8, 2018. https://www.distractify.com/omg/2017/05/31/Z1bT0sp/men-in-
blackreal. Accessed Oct. 17, 2021.

Geers, Jacob. “9 Freaky Encounters with The Real ‘Men in Black’ That’ll Seriously Give You The
Creeps” Thought Catalog. October 29, 2021. Accessed Oct. 20, 2021.

https://thoughtcatalog.com/jacob-geers/2016/04/creepy-stories-of-the-real-men-in-black/
“Not a movie, But A Reality: Men in Black Phenomenon.” Anomalien.com. November 10, 2019.
Accessed Oct. 29, 2021. https://anomalien.com/not-a-movie-but-a-reality-men-in-black-phenomenon/
 

Sablich, Justin. “The UFO Sightings That Launched ‘Men in Black’ Mythology.” History. July 20,
2018. Accessed October 29, 2021. https://www.history.com/news/men-in-black-real-origins

Links for Further Research: 

https://anomalien.com/men-in-black-they-visit-and-terrify-people-after-ufo-or-alien-sighting/If you want to know about more encounters people have had with men in black click this link.https://newsorb360.com/the-men-inblack/This link has just basic information about the MIB but helpful information.https://sites.psu.edu/emilyspassionblog/2018/10/03/how-real-are-the-men-in-black/This article will talk more about the Dahl encounter with the MIB and an encounter that happenedrecently. https://anomalien.com/men-in-black-they-visit-and-terrify-people-after-ufo-or-alien-sighting/
If you want to know about more encounters people have had with men in black click this link.

https://newsorb360.com/the-men-inblack/
This link has just basic information about the MIB but helpful information.

https://sites.psu.edu/emilyspassionblog/2018/10/03/how-real-are-the-men-in-black/
This article will talk more about the Dahl encounter with the MIB and an encounter that happened
recently.

https://anomalien.com/men-in-black-they-visit-and-terrify-people-after-ufo-or-alien-sighting/If you want to know about more encounters people have had with men in black click this link.https://newsorb360.com/the-men-inblack/This link has just basic information about the MIB but helpful information.https://sites.psu.edu/emilyspassionblog/2018/10/03/how-real-are-the-men-in-black/This article will talk more about the Dahl encounter with the MIB and an encounter that happenedrecently.