Black Magic - Paranormal Magazine

Scientists test psychic’s paranormal skills

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Professional medium Patricia Putt was last week subjected to a rigorous scientific test of her powers as the first stage of her bid to claim a $1m prize from the James Randi Educational Foundation

Arch-sceptic, conjuror and debunker James Randi first offered a cash prize in the 1960s to anyone who could prove a paranormal claim under controlled conditions.

The young female volunteer in front of me could not suppress an embarrassed giggle as she sat there wearing a ski mask, wraparound sunglasses, an oversized graduation gown and a pair of white socks, a large laminated sheet hung around her neck displaying her participant number.

Then things got even weirder. Professor Richard Wiseman knocked on the door to collect our volunteer. He accompanied her into a large room where she was instructed to sit in a chair facing the wall and do nothing for 15 minutes or so. Professional medium Mrs Patricia Putt was then brought into the room and sat down at a small table around 12 feet away. Sometimes Mrs Putt would request that a volunteer read a pre-specified short passage, as she had found from past experience that often “the Spirit enters and makes contact through the sound of the sitter’s voice”. After that, no talking was allowed whatsoever as our medium wrote down a “reading” describing the volunteer using her alleged paranormal abilities. At the end of the reading, Mrs Putt left the room and the volunteer was allowed to change back into somewhat more conventional garb and given a reminder to return later in the day for the all-important judging phase.

[sourced from: guardian.co.uk, Chris French]

Film crew struck down during witch seance

Monday, April 20th, 2009

A NEW documentary on the Pendle Witches filmed on the slopes of Pendle Hill had a dramatic twist when three members of the production crew became violently ill during a seance.

Paranormal investigators from the Pathfinder PI organisation had joined radio broadcaster and renowned ghost-hunter Roy Basnett in a barn on the hill.

When they attempted to contact the spirits of the witches, three of those present fell ill.

The seance was part of a new documentary called “Pendle’s Paranormal Road Map”, which will be presented by local historian Simon Entwistle.

Members of the country’s leading 17th Century re-enactment groupare taking part to help add to the historical accuracy of the production.

A spokesman for producers GCH Entertainment said: “The footage we got was stunning and I would like to mention how accommodating the management of the Wellsprings restaurant were on the day.

“And so were all the locals who appeared in the area to see what we were up to.

“As far as we are aware, this is the first completely accurate reconstruction of the arrest of the witches on the hill. Special mention should be made of the experts from the 17th Century Life & Times group, who travelled from all over the country to ensure everything was 100% accurate.”

A DVD is scheduled for release in October and negotiations are continuing with a network broadcaster over possible television transmission.

Copyright Pendle Today [via]

Sign spells Zombie invasion

Friday, February 6th, 2009

An anonymous hacker in Austin, Texas, played a prank on morning commuters earlier this week by changing the public safety message display of two LED road signs to warnings of zombie attacks.

Some of the messages included apocalyptic warnings like “The End is Near !!!,” “Zombies in Area - Run!” and “Nazi Zombies, Run!”

Hacking LED road signs isn’t considered a difficult task because many of the people in charge of setting their security protection are (usually) not technically savvy. For example, the control pad inside the LED casing usually has the same default four-letter password(”DOTS”) as every other sign. In addition, many sites on the internet provide easy hacking How-Tos, though you don’t need to follow a road map to notice that the back of the panels are only protected by a small lock.

If you take into account the fact that almost anyone can walk up to the signs without being noticed, it’s quite easy to understand how it’s a perfect recipe for mischievous hackers. Actually, it’s more of a surprise it doesn’t happen more often. MIT students, to name one famously hack-happy group, have been posting road sign hacks on the net for many years. However, their humor often veers closer to East Coast cultural worries, such as unexpected attacks from Godzilla.

The sign may have been inspired by the top-grossing computer game Call of Duty 5: World at war, which has a bonus level featuring a Nazi zombie attack. It may not be the real thing just yet, but if you’ve come across anything zombified please write in and let us know.

Tell the editor about your own experience with the paranormal. Submit your story via our website, www.paranormalmagazine.co.uk, or get in touch directly: email editor@paranormalmagazine.co.uk, or write to Richard Holland, The Editor Paranormal, Jazz Publishing, The Old School, Higher Kinnerton, Chester CH4 9AJ.

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Kirk papers reveal charmed cows

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

Kirk session records have revealed examples of Highlanders using so-called good and bad magic on cattle.

Dr Karen Cullen, of higher education institute UHI, trawled the papers in her research for a lecture - Charmed Cows and Contentious Neighbours.

She found one minister who “dressed up” practical advice on better hygiene as a charm to allay a parishioner’s fears.

The practice of charming to either protect or harm livestock was used during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Dr Cullen, programme leader of UHI’s undergraduate honours Scottish history degree, will deliver her public lecture in Inverness on Monday.

She said: “The lecture is an off-shoot of my research of a famine of the 1690s and my interest in how weather impacts on crops.

“While doing this research I became aware of the attitudes of the population and how they were affected by famine.

“In urban areas riots broke out, but in rural areas this did not happen.

“I found in Kirk session records that in upland areas, where people were more dependent on cattle than crops, there were tensions in local communities and of people suspecting neighbours of harming their cattle.”

With little understanding of the scientific reasons behind poor productivity, people believed witchcraft was used to stop dairy cattle expressing good quality milk.

Dr Cullen said: “There is mention of cows having less profit, or goodness of milk, and people suspected a witch had taken that away.

“People then used counter charms such as putting rowan branches above the milking shed to ward off evil magic, or paying charmers to protect their cows.”

She found the church advised against using charms. However, one case surprised her.

Dr Cullen said: “Although ministers disapproved of the beliefs held by parishioners, some almost went along with them.

“One example from the 18th Century tells of a woman who believed her cow was charmed because its milk would not churn to cheese.

“Her minister suggested better hygiene, but dressed it up as a charm, a language the woman understood, and the matter was resolved.”

The practice continued in some places into the 20th Century, but the beginning to its end was the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in the mid 1700s and greater understanding of scientific explanations to natural events.

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