A Chance Encounter with the Bizarre

I have mentioned before that I've never experienced an incident, high strange or otherwise, that involves ghosts, UFOs, ultraterrestrials, or Sasquatch; things that I've always wanted to experience, but have never been fortunate enough to actually encounter.  I did, however, encounter what I've always thought to be "ghouls", one evening at bar time during my college days.

The incident occurred very quickly; in retrospect, I wish that I had followed the ghouls as they walked down a sidewalk.  I did not, for fear of my safety.  Tough to know what/who they were, but they definitely left an impression on me.  So the story as I recall it -

I was waiting outside of a local college bar, at bar time, for my intoxicated friends.  As is typical at that time, tons of people stand outside the bars, continuing their conversations after having been thrown out of the taverns.  Being the designated driver that night, I was standing outside on a sidewalk, facing the bar, and having a conversation with a friend.  I was trying to keep an eye out for my friends, so while chatting, I was attempting to keep my eyes on the door of the bar in an attempt to not lose my friends.

Moving from my left to my right, I remember seeing a man and a woman; they were "younger", if that is possible, walking down the sidewalk.  As they came out of the shadows of a neighboring building, I noticed that their faces didn't look right. As a matter of fact, I thought immediately that their faces were "rotted".  They had pale complexions, sunken eyes, and almost like a "shrunken skin texture".  They obviously didn't look right to me and I recall thinking "jesus, what the hell is that?".  Almost immediately they noticed me staring at them and they both stared back at me.

I turned back to the friend I was chatting with and was trying to process what I was seeing...I was going to say something to my friend, but in my peripheral vision I could sense they were staring at me.  The two continued to stare at me as they moved through the crowd, moving from my left to right.  I pretended to "not notice them" but was keeping track of their every step.  Nobody else around me seemed to notice them; yet I did.  As the couple continued to walk down the sidewalk, they continued to stare at me.  They even began to turn their heads back at me as they passed me, keeping a constant watch on me.  I could sense it all indirectly.  I recall my thinking at the time was "well, whatever you do, don't let them know that you've seen them."  I definitely had a sense of dread and thought there could be problems if I confirmed acknowledgement of the situation.  Eventually, the couple disappeared from my view when turning the corner.

Anyway, I often think that I actually saw that night; I didn't see them again that night, nor have I ever seen anything close to their appearance since that time.  What were they?  A couple with skin issues perhaps?  Out for a late night stroll?  I would think that odd given the fact they were walking through a sea of drunk people.  I still think, that for whatever reason, I saw something that I probably shouldn't have seen.  I saw something very decrepit and rotted, but what I saw, I really have no idea.  I had not been drinking or been doing any drugs at that time of my life, so I can only imagine I either hallucinated something or seen something real.  Whatever they were, I wish them well!

Retraction

A very good friend of mine today pointed out the semantic issue with "God energy" on my most recent post: please let me reiterate.

I didn't mean to say "God energy" was the source of potential encounters in the biblical sense; I meant to put context in a sort of "cosmos energy" that could be filtered by you, me, and others in a social/biblical sense.

It isn't "God" per se, but rather an "energy" that exists in the universe that is infinite and timeless.  I have no doubt that such a thing is encyclopedic in nature.  Things before, after, and present will always record, permeate, and transmit from its origin.  The energy will be timeless, oscillating, and hinting now and forever.

So yes, clan, a quick correction on my recent post. You and things "neutral base" in chemistry will forever be appreciated.  Thanks

Agendas and Us

On the last post I hinted at an agenda that may be playing against us.  Whether it be the woman who sleeps in a house not more than one mile from me who frequently encounters, at night, grey aliens, reptilians, and her dead brother who stands in the corner of her room to late night blizzard, shot gun riding, ET encounters, the question remains : what is the source of the encounter?  It is an interesting phenomenon that seems to be neglected by science and academia, but a phenomenon people continue to encounter on a daily basis.

What could it possibly be?  Over a number of books read over the course of my life, I've run into numerous explanations.  I would like to touch base on them as a starting point for further blog material.  The source encounter in question is defined as : a human being's witness or transaction with an "occupant" or "alien"; a creature that appears to be what can be only be considered a "flying craft from outer space".  Here are some of my thoughts on what the source may be :

• Hallucinations : anomalous brain activity that causes the witness to endure a nightmare or dream state that is interpreted as an "experience" with a creature from another planet.  God knows I have had my share of strange dreams; could the dream be a recurring experience for many different people?  Perhaps...
• Extraterrestrials : my favorite theory as a kid.  Of course it is an advanced civilization that has traveled vast light years through space to keep track and study us.  An intelligence so advanced that it has figured out space travel, yet panics in snowstorms, hands outs pancakes to farmers in northern Wisconsin, operates on abductees with needles, scalpels, and other 20th century medicine tool, and reacts in many other mundane ways.  I know a fair share of people believe most encounters of this type to be with star people, but I am reluctant to believe so...
• The Devil : another interesting theory, best expounded on (in my opinion) in Nick Redfern's book "Final Events".  It is interesting that perhaps abductions are sourced as a battle between evil entities and our souls...Jack Parsons would be so proud!  I am a bit more inclined to believe this theory over star people...
• Ultraterrestrials : another one of my favorite ideas from the works of John Keel.  This too I find appealing in that that ultraterrestrial is within another reality and/or spectrum of energy and is able to vibrate into our plane of existence.  Love him or hate him, John Keel, I believe was most certainly on to the reality of the experience.  Fairies, etherians, djinn, sidhe, LAM; you name it, all are potential ultraterrestrial in origin and could be the source of the event...
• Time travelers : Marc Davenport's brilliant work on the subject is a great thesis on this possible source.  When I read of Father Gill's encounter in the late 50's in Papua New Guinea in various books, and the waving response from the"occupants" to the crowd below...for whatever reason, I can only imagine the craft to be from the future.  I visualize a rich, trendy, swaggy group from high society, hundreds of years from the future, travelling back in time and partying above the commoner religious troop in the rain forest below.  How brilliant would that be?
• God : I have found some interest in this theory of late, but need to read a bit more of Jung and PK Dick.  A God energy source could possibly be to blame for this type of event, whether it is through Gnostic visions or blinding pink energy visions.  A bit more esoteric in the world of esoteric, but relevant nonetheless
• Military experiments : to think our own government would perform alien style abduction events and encounters in the theme of the XFiles is most certainly valid.  There is lots of money to be made on the rest of us (us being the masses), and those with wealth and power have no issues in taking advantage of us. This too, I find more appealing and rational than star people
• Cryptoterrestrials : Mac Tonnies has a great book about the cryptoterrestrials.  I once heard Jerome Clark bash the work on the Paracast....I also heard Jerome Clark make mention that Jacques Vallee called him out in one of Vallee's seminal works of the 70's.  I think Jerome Clark may have spent too many years in the Twin Cities...  I still think Tonnies has many a valid point in his work and recommend his essays to all...
• Evolved Dinosaurs : wow, yes, evolved dinosaurs.  I first read this idea in Dr. Barry Taff's book "Aliens Above, Ghosts Below" and his mention of an old Omni article.  His essay mentioned that the Omni article speculated to what dinosaurs could look like millions of years after the fact, and lo and behold, they resembled the greys of Streiber's Communion.  I like it - I like it so much I will track down the magazine in the near future.  To me, this theory has a lot of upside; again, that is just my opinion.

So there they be; I no doubt have missed some good ones, so please comment if you have any other great ideas. And if you have disagreements, recommendations, etc - please let me know!  

An Alaskan Snowstorm for an Etherian?

I am no stranger to snowstorms, and on the rare occasion, the raging blizzard.  I have little love for tons of snow having spent the majority of my life in the North, but it is something we all come to terms with.  The three other seasons make the winter endurable, right?

How much better would the winter be if you were able to spend a night with an "occupant" who was a) non threatening and b) non pervasive?  I most certainly would.

And so such a thing happened to a certain snow plow driver in Alaska a few years ago.  While working a desolate stretch of highway in Alaska during a -70 F blizzard, an Alaskan Native by the name of Ross came upon a disk shaped object with orange round lights in the middle of the highway.  Upon reaching 20 ft of the disk, Ross's truck became disabled; Ross was not able to radio his dispatcher for help and his truck's engine turned off.  The craft then turned "blinding white lights" on and the craft moved upward and out of site.

Ross, panicked, feared that his truck's engine would not turn over and he would be stranded in the blizzard, but as with many a encounter, once the craft disappeared, the truck's operations returned.  Slowing moving the truck and its plow forward, the truck then hit a bump in the road.  Ross stopped the truck, buttoned up his parka and prepared to step outside the truck's cab, expecting to find something in the road.  Instead, a hand reached up to his window and knocked on it; a second, four digit hand appeared next to it.  Ross then turned the cab's interior light on and saw a face staring back him.  The face was covered with a protective apparatus and had large, dark black eyes.  The occupant then turned back, ran from the cab and disappeared into a cover of trees along the side of the road.

Ross's initial thought was to follow suit, but knowing that leaving the safety of his truck and into the dizzying night of a blizzard was most certainly deadly, he looked forward, preparing to continue on with his route.  At that time, the occupant was standing in front of the truck, in the middle of the road.  Ross was able to ascertain the occupant was cold and that the occupant was blaming Ross for its dilemma.  Ross invited the occupant into the truck, but the occupant refused.  Ross then let the occupant know that he would not allow it to freeze to death and would not leave the area until the occupant joined him in his cab.  Suddenly, the occupant was sitting beside him, and then rode shot gun for the remainder of the route until the flying disc returned.  At that point, the occupant again transported instantly to the exterior of the truck, waived/saluted back to Ross, and disappeared into the craft.  The craft again flew away.

I read this account in Ardy Sixkiller Clarke's excellent book "Encounters with Star People : Untold Stories of American Indians".  The book retells encounters with various "beings"; some encounters are more conventional, others, like the one above, are highly strange.

So what exactly happened to Ross?  Did Ross experience an abnormal dream, hypothermia induced visions, or did he encounter an actual occupant.  The occupant's telepathic conversation and explanation that "he" and his crewmates were caught by surprise by Ross's truck, that the crew was taking "snow samples", that the crew and craft were not to interact with humans, and that the crew panicked and left the eventual shotgun riding occupant behind in mistake...these, to me anyway, are all very conventional, human type reasoning ideas.  If the occupant could move from space to space without walking, yet ran away from Ross initially, and needed a flying disk to visit earth...all of this seems highly suspicious.  What exactly did Ross (if Ross did in fact encounter "something") meet that night?  I would venture a guess that if the story is true, the occupants were not extraterrestrial, but something much more earthly.  Something akin to the fairies, elementals, and etherians that may roam the same space as we do.  Something that pretends to be here for "scientific reasons", something that pretends to be extraterrestrial and creates a story to fit that agenda.

Whatever the agenda may be, the story is absolutely fascinating.  I would recommend Clarke's book to all if you have any interest in encounters.  She has been interviewed on Binnall of America and the Paracast (if podcasts are your thing).  I do hope to explore some "agenda" ideas in the near future through this blog.

Witch House Fervor

Happy belated birthday, HP Lovecraft!

So much has been written about Lovecraft over the past 10 years, it is tough to highlight anything new.  My personal experience with Lovecraft was actually quite random.  While walking through Barnes and Nobel in college, I happened to find a book by Lovecraft in the fantasy/sci fi section.  Unlike today, there was only one anthology in stock, and I had no idea about who he was or what he wrote.  I read the back of it, purchased it, and began to read it that same night.

The first story I recall thinking "wow, this is something completed unexpected " was Dreams of the Witch House.  It really had it all : astral plane geometry, arcane New England witchcraft, Miskatonic University, a demonic, rat like "white-fanged furry thing",  ultradimensional travel, shadow people, and good old high order black magic.  And all of this was written in 1931/32.

One could argue that Lovecraft was an "experiencer" or that had tapped into some collective unconsciousness that fed him many of the ideas that are currently in fortean vogue.  It is amazing that he was able to be so ahead of the curve in terms of the ultraterrestrial experience.  Books of course have been written, theories hypothesized, and all other philosophical thought has been directed at Lovecraft and the origin of his ideas.  I personally believe he was an "experiencer" and was witness to something that influenced his mythos.  Then again, I obviously never met him nor have I read a biography on him, so I should probably hold judgement.

Now if one were to try to find such a real life "Witch House", I am sure many houses exist all over the world. My personal favorite is the Ancient Ram Inn, highlighted, of course, on my favorite ghost hunting show "Ghost Adventures".  Yes, yes...Ghost Adventures; I know, I know.  The show could be fake, could be sort of real, could be a mix of the two; I don't know.  I do sense that the key energy of the show is Nick Groff, and I do believe his ability to play out paranormal energies is legitimate.  This is just my opinion of course.  I have no idea what the truth may be, but I enjoy the show and I do hope the show's stars and experiences are genuine.

Now before you delete this blog from your blog list for mentioning Lovecraft and GA together, I do recommend you check out the Ancient Ram Inn on GA.  The episode was a book end of season 2 and I thought it was absolutely fascinating.  Witchcraft, pagan children sacrificial burials, demonic entities, elemental activity - you name it, and the Ram Inn has seen it.  Of course I'm not saying a link exists between the house and Lovecraft (or Ghost Adventures...), but experiences discussed/incurred on the episode most certainly rate with the more "highly strange".  I would recommend the short story and episode to all.  Who doesn't like a very wicked witch house?