Paranormal Magazine

Devotees of a Miami man claiming to practice a traditional African religion say they had to ingest the mucus of a Giant African Snail that made them ill in the process.

Federal authorities in January raided Charles L. Stewart’s home after receiving complaints.

Stewart has not been criminally charged, but prosecutors and state and federal wildlife agencies are investigating. The Giant African Snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval.

Experts say it devastates new ecosystems. The snail grows up to 10 inches long, can reproduce on its own and can even eat plaster.

Stewart says he means no harm, and his religion uses the snails in healing ceremonies.

Followers said they got violently ill, losing weight and developing strange lumps in their stomachs.

[via: cbsnews.com]

Archaeologists have begun the search for an ancient civilization in southern Spain that some believe could help pinpoint the legendary lost city of Atlantis.

A team of researchers from Spain’s Higher Council for Scientific Study (CSIC) are examining a marshy area of Andalusian parkland to find evidence of a 3,000-year-old settlement.

They believe that Tartessos, a wealthy civilization in southern Iberia that predates the Phoenicians, may have had its capital in the heart of what is now the Donana national park.

Until now historians had dismissed the region as a possible site believing that it had been submerged since the ice age. But it is claimed new evidence suggests the waters may have receded in time for the Tartessians to build an urban centre, which was later destroyed in a tsunami.

The Hinojos marshes, an area close to the mouth of the Guadalquiver river where it meets the Atlantic, have now been pinpointed as the site most likely to provide evidence of a lost city.

Archaeological findings have already proved the existence of Tartessian culture at sites on the opposite bank of the river.

“If they existed on the other side, they must also have been here (in Donana),” Sebastian Celestino, the archaeologist leading the project told the newspaper El Pais.

“There were earthquakes and one of them caused a tsunami that razed everything and which coincided with the era in which Tartessian power was at its height.”

Aerial photos show the existence of large circular and rectangular forms that could not have been produced by nature.

The images, together with literary accounts by ancient Greek geographers have given weight to the theory that a great Tartessian city once existed within the park.

The Tartessian civilization, which developed in southern Spain between the 11th and 7th centuries BC and became rich trading gold and silver from local mines, has long been linked by mythologists to the Atlantis legend.

While the Spanish researchers refuse to speculate on whether they are on the brink of discovering Atlantis others believe their research could be a breakthrough in a centuries old quest.

“Evidence is mounting that suggests the story of Atlantis was not mere fiction, fable or myth, but a true story as Plato always maintained,” said Georgeos Diaz-Montexano, a Cuban archeologist who has spent the last 15 years searching for the submerged city.

“Atlantis is not exactly where the CSIC is looking, but it is close,” he claimed.

The theory is just the latest in a long list of suggested locations for Atlantis, including various Mediterranean islands, the Azores, the Sahara desert, Central America and Antarctica.

[via: questfornews.blogspot.com]

In his new book, Dr Jeffrey Long says that near-death accounts transcend cultures and ages…

The near-death experience story is so common that it has become a bit of a cliché: A medical patient, hanging in a murky limbo between life and death, is drawn through a tunnel of bright light, meets their maker, and is told they must return to the land of living.

But that scenario played out letter-perfectly for Mary Jo Rapini. And her story is getting firm backing by a doctor who has studied some 1,300 near-death experiences. Medical doctor Jeffrey Long chronicles Rapini’s story, along with his own research, in a new book: “Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences.”

In the book, Long contends his study shows that accounts of near-death experiences play out remarkably similarly among the people who have had them, crossing age and cultural boundaries to such a degree that they can’t be chalked up simply to everyone having seen the same Hollywood movie.

[via: msnbc.com by Michael Inbar]

Traffic at Stonehenge has put Britain’s most famous prehistoric monument on a list of the world’s most threatened sites.

The government’s decision to abandon, on cost grounds, a plan to bury roads around Stonehenge in a tunnel underground and the cancellation of plans for a permanent visitor centre, have put the site on the Threatened Wonders list of Wanderlust magazine.

Other sites are the 4×4-scarred Wadi Rum in Jordan, and the tourist-eroded paths and steps of the great Inca site at Machu Picchu in Peru.

Lyn Hughes, editor in chief of Wanderlust, said the A303 and A344 junctions near Stonehenge meant the site was “brutally divorced from its context”.

“Seeing it without its surrounding landscape is to experience only a fraction of this historical wonder,” she told the Guardian.

“The fact that the government and various planning bodies cannot agree on implementing a radical solution to this problem is a national disgrace.”

In 1989, the parliamentary public accounts committee damned the presentation of the site and the facilities for tourists as “a national disgrace”.

Since then millions have been spent on alternative road plans and architectural designs for the visitor centre, on exhibitions, consultations and public inquiries.

It is hoped that a simpler and cheaper visitor centre can still be created, a mile from the site, in time for London’s hosting of the 2012 Olympics.

Wanderlust has also named three places that need more visitors: Zimbabwe, north-east Thailand and Madagascar.

[via: telegraph.co.uk]

Satellite flyovers of newly cleared land in the Amazon have uncovered a vanished civilization that could rival the Incans or Aztecs in sophistication.

Researchers found mysterious geometric trenches and other earthworks carved into the landscape as early as a decade ago, but satellites have paved the way for the discovery of over 200 giant structures.

Writing in the journal Antiquity, the researchers say the the formations stretch for some 250 kilometers (155 miles) across the upper Amazon basin east of the Andes mountains and appear to be of a similar style throughout, suggesting one vast, united civilization that could have totaled some 60,000 inhabitants.

Researchers also found stone tools, bits of ceramics, and other artifacts buried in mounds along the trenches. So far, the uncovered areas date to between 200 and 1283 A.D., but the team thinks they’ve seen “no more than a tenth” of the true extent of this archeological wonder. More from an article which appeared Tuesday in the Guardian:

“These revelations are exploding our perceptions of what the Americas really looked liked before  the arrival of Christopher Columbus,” said David Grann, author of “The Lost City of Z,” a book about an attempt in the 1920s to find signs of Amazonian civilizations. “The discoveries are challenging long-held assumptions about the Amazon as a Hobbesian place where only small primitive tribes could ever have existed, and about the limits the environment placed on the rise of early civilisations.”

They are also vindicating, said Grann, Percy Fawcett, the explorer who partly inspired Conan Doyle’s book “The Lost World.”

Fawcett led an expedition to find the City of Z but the party vanished, bequeathing a mystery.

Many scientists saw the jungle as too harsh to sustain anything but small nomadic tribes. Now it seems the conquistadores who spoke of “cities that glistened in white” were telling the truth.

They, however, probably also introduced the diseases that wiped out the native people, leaving the jungle to claim – and hide – all traces of their civilization.

[via: news.discovery.com]

Fears are being raised for the famous creature following a lack of ‘credible’ sightings during the past year.

The Loch Ness Monster may be dead, according to a leading Nessie enthusiast.

Gary Campbell, president of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, said only one sighting – made just off the Clansman Hotel on June 6 last year – was judged in his opinion to have been the only ‘credible’ report of the monster in 2009.

Mr Campbell stated such reports are increasingly rare. He added: “That’s why we’re so relieved to have heard about this sighting. In June, when it was reported, nobody had seen anything for a year. If it hadn’t been for that one, we would have been really, really worried. There is an embarrassment factor to seeing Nessie. The first thing people say to you is, ‘Had you had a drink?’”

The Nessie enthusiast added: “Ten years ago we had a lot of good sightings, but in the last two or three years, they have tailed off. What we regard as a dependable sighting is very much down to the person who sees it.

“This was a local chap who knows the things that Nessie isn’t – boat wakes, debris on the loch or seals in the summer. A local person will know what these things look like.”

A recent documentary Death at Loch Ness also suggested that the monster might be dead.

To prove this theory wrong, Mr Campbell hopes new witnesses might come forward. He added: “If people start to believe this, it might start to affect tourist numbers. Whether you believe in Nessie or not, the Loch Ness Monster is one of the most important tourist attractions we have.”

The possible demise of our beloved monster follows the death of a man whose research became synonymous with Nessie.

American scientist Robert Rines, whose development of ultrasound and image scanning helped discover the wrecks of the Titanic and the Bismarck, passed away aged 87 last November. He was of one of the foremost Nessie investigators of the last century.

Gary, meanwhile, is one current enthusiast who is keeping his hopes up. He concluded: “Perhaps, though, the answers are to be found underwater instead of on the Loch’s surface. Maybe Nessie is just keeping her head down.”

[via: news.stv.tv]

The remains of St Nicholas, the man who inspired Father Christmas, are buried at Jerpoint Abbey in County Kilkenny, Ireland, historians believe.

Experts claim that the philanthropist St Nicholas of Myra is entombed at the 12th century abbey after his body was moved there 800 years ago.

The saint, revered for his extraordinary generosity, lived during the 4th century and was Bishop of Lycia in what is now Turkey.

Due to his habit for leaving anonymous gifts for the poor, he was declared a saint soon after his death in 346, and inspired the legend of Father Christmas.

The bishop was buried in the cathedral church in Myra, which became a pilgrimage site, but Irish historians claim the early crusaders brought his remains back to Jerpoint Abbey.

Philip Lynch, an historian and chairman of Callan Heritage Society in Co Kilkenny, said: “It is an amazing story and yet very few people in Ireland know about St Nicholas’s connection with this country.

“Every year now we get visitors to the site, but still not that many.

“There is a great story about a notorious old miser. He never gave the children any Christmas presents, instead he delighted in bringing them to Jerpoint and showing them Father Christmas’s grave.”

Born into a wealthy family, his parents died when he was young and Nicholas dedicated his life to serving God.

Inspired by Jesus’s teachings to “Sell what you own and give the money to the poor,” he spent all his inheritance helping the sick and needy.

One story tells of a poor peasant with three daughters, who could not afford the dowry to ensure they married and were saved from a life of slavery.

As he began to despair, on three separate nights as they came of age, bags of gold appeared in his home, seemingly tossed through a window or down the chimney as they slept, landing in shoes left by the fire.

The story inspired the tradition of children leaving out their stockings to be filled by Father Christmas.

It has previously been held that St Nicholas’s remains were taken to Bari in southern Italy in the 11th century after his grave was looted by Italian sailors.

However, Mr Lynch claims there is evidence to suggest that a French family who settled in Ireland shortly after 1169 were responsible for moving his remains.

He believes that the crusading family, called the de Frainets, exhumed the tomb after they were routed by their enemies, and brought the content to southern Italy, which was then Norman lands.

When they were subsequently forced out of Italy by the Genoese, the remains were entrusted to relatives in Nice, who moved them to family lands in Kilkenny for safe keeping.

Nicholas de Frainet built a dedicated Cistercian Abbey at Jerpoint where St Nicholas’s remains were then interred in 1200.

“St Nicholas Church is still standing and there is a slab on the ground which marks St Nicholas’s grave,” said Mr Lynch.

[via: telegraph.co.uk]

One of two brothers who set up a Jedi church on Anglesey is stepping out of the limelight.

Brandon Jones, 28, says he still holds his beliefs in “living positively” but no longer wanted wider publicity.

He would only appear off camera for a BBC short documentary about living as a Jedi with his brother Daniel, 22.

The Holyhead-based church is continuing but Daniel Jones says his brother was affected by extreme reactions to their beliefs, including an assault.

In April 2008, a man appeared in court after assaulting Mr Jones and his cousin whilst dressed as Darth Vader.

The two had been filming themselves playing with light sabres in a garden at the time.

A shopping trip bought further adverse publicity after Daniel was allegedly asked to leave a supermarket for refusing to remove his hood.

The brothers, and their parents, have recently been featured for the short documentary, Living with the Jedi, produced for BBC Scotland.

The film notes that in the 2001 British census 390,127 adults claimed their faith was Jedi.

In the film parents, Sonia and Kim, are seen speaking about Daniel and his interest in George Lucas’ classic Star Wars film series.

Daniel is then interviewed about the church, and the idea that people should “work on the light side of life” and “do good”.

Not everyone takes his belief seriously, and in the documentary a passer-by can be heard shouting “Darth Vader” as he is interviewed in the garden of his home.

On film Daniel speaks of the “abuse” suffered as a result.

“I think he (his brother) took it in a really bad way”, he said.

[via: news.bbc.co.uk]

White stags have long been associated with mythology and legend, an elusive yet magnificent beast.

King Arthur was left frustrated by his attempts to capture one, as were the Kings and Queens of Narnia, who chased the creature through the woods and found themselves tumbling out of a wardrobe.

But photographer Ken Grindle has managed to get a little bit closer, taking this picture of the animal in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.

The majestic wild animal – long associated with mystery and good luck – was filmed by the wildlife enthusiast.

Ken, 66, has been filming and photographing wildlife in the area for the past six years – but had never seen a white stag.

‘I was very surprised to see it,’ he said.

‘I was camped in a shelter and was really fortunate. It just strolled right in front of me and calmly wandered around.

‘He is a beautiful creature and it’s really nice to be able to show people who perhaps can’t make it into woodland what beautiful animals roam out there.

‘I was lucky to be able to get some footage of it as well as the battery on my camera was running out.

‘I wasn’t sure I’d actually got it until I got home.

‘I take the pictures to share with everyone as a lot of people can’t get out into the woods to see this.’

The Forest of Dean is thought to be home to an array of unusual and wild creatures including wild boar, big cats and white stags.

Retired builder Ken added: ‘There’s a lot of talk about big cats in the Forest and that really would be something to see.

‘I managed to stand my ground when some wild boar came out into the path in front of me but it might be a bit different if I saw a big cat.’

Last year a white stag was spotted in the Scottish Highlands and was photographed by a member of a nature charity while she was on an expedition on the west coast.

Fran Lockhart, of the John Muir Trust, a charity which protects wild land, said she was “thrilled” to spot the majestic beast, which is closely identified with the unicorn.

In October 2007, a wild white stag was shot by poachers on the border between Devon and Cornwall, where horrified locals had known it by the name Snowy.

[Read more at: dailymail.co.uk]

A police force has consulted a “warlock” in an attempt to unravel a spate of mysterious incidents of horses having their manes plaited.

Owners in west Dorset and the surrounding counties had believed that thieves plaited the manes of the beasts to identify which ones to steal when they returned at night.

But police officers investigating the incidents said there had been no thefts, and instead their enquiries led to the world of pagan ritual.

It is now believed that the practice is a part of white witch “knot magick” that is used when a spell is cast.

It seems those responsible to go extreme lengths at night to carry out their plaiting as horses have had their manes knotted on nights of high wind and rain.

And some of those targeted have been in fields surrounded by electric fences, miles from anywhere.

It is not known exactly how many horses have been targeted but at least a dozen are known to have had the treatment.

Horse owner Harriet Laurie from Bridport in Dorset, a member of the Shipton Riding Club, said: “I’m not really sure what is going on.

“Among horsey folk there is divided opinion. Some people believe it is just the wind that blows the mane into sort of plaits.

“But when one of my horse’s manes was plaited it took me some time to unpick and the wind had whipped it into a sort of dreadlock, but underneath was a three strands neatly plaited.

“It is most bizarre and one horse that was done is very hard to catch and very flighty and was wearing a full rug. The plait was down by the withers so it’s hard to see how the wind could have done it.

“It is most confusing and it is worrying horse owners. I am web mistress for the riding club’s website and I’ve had a lot of people ask what’s going on.

“Some have mentioned satanic ritual and others that this is what gypsies do to identify horses they later want to come back a steal.

“What ever it is there is a lot of fear and anxiety. I know of about 12 horses that have had it done.

“There doesn’t seem to be any pattern, but we’d love to get to the bottom of it.”

PC Tim Poole, who has investigated the incidents, said: “We can’t completely rule out the possibility of theft.

“We did have intelligence from Avon and Somerset police that it is a gypsy trick, which it may or may not have been.

“But we have some very good information from a warlock that this is part of a white magic ritual and is to do with “knot magick”.

“It would appear that for people of this belief, knot magick is used when they want to cast a spell.

“Some of the gods they worship have a strong connection to horses so if they have a particular request, plaiting this knot in a horse’s mane lends strength to the request.

“The fact that this rash of plaiting coincides with one of their ceremonial times of year adds weight to the theory.

“This warlock said it is a benign activity, albeit maybe a bit distressing for the horse owner.”

However, pagan witch Phil Robinson said pagans could not be involved.

He said: “Some people play at Satanism and this may be related to people messing about, but it is worrying if people think it is related to paganism – we have a bad enough press as it is.”

[via: telegraph.co.uk]

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