Strange Happenings

Ghost Ships - True Stories of Nautical Nightmares, Hauntings and Disasters by Richard Winer
By Alan G. Scott

The cover of Winer’s Ghost Ships trumpets him as the New York Times best-selling author of The Devil’s Triangle, released in the early seventies. A quick search on Amazon.com shows not many works since then until Ghost Ships, copyrighted in 2000.

Although Winer cites one ‘ghost ship’ incident in 1998, the remainder of paranormal episodes in his 33-chapter, 265-page chronology occur prior to 1978. The lion’s share of the spooky events takes place between the beginning of the twentieth century and the completion of World War II. The one post-1978 story is about a ship that disappeared without a trace in 1998 during Hurricane Mitch, one of the most powerful and deadliest hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic basin. Gasp.

It seems as though Winer conducted his research into the ghost ships immediately after the success of The Devil’s Triangle, but never carried through on the project. Until now. I got the feeling that Winer needed to publish again after a long dry spell, so he pulled his notes from long ago, threw in a couple of recent incidents and released Ghost Ships.

The book focuses on vessels found with no one on board or that vanished without a trace. Only a handful of the stories actually chronicle paranormal phenomenon.

Winer’s work has few surprises and no scares but is rich in history. Although the book doesn’t deliver on ghosts, it does have a number of interesting chapters in maritime history, including a number of WWII tales that weren’t mentioned in the history books.

If you’re looking for ghosts or horror, search elsewhere. Unsolved mysteries? This can be the place.

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True Ghost Stories Help Us to Learn About the Paranormal World
By David Slone

If you ever had a personal experience with a ghost or you know of any true ghost stories you will probably want to know what type of spirit, entity or energy was responsible. This is easier to determine with a repetitive haunting than with a one time sighting, but if you are very observant you should be able to narrow it down.

Did the story or experience involve an actual real ‘live’ ghost or was it more like a recording, or perhaps a poltergeist? There are a lot of paranormal phenomenon that are often mistaken for ghosts. Poltergeists, for example, aren’t actually real ghosts, but are forms of psychic energy. Some hauntings are more like a movie in which a precise scene is played. This type of haunting often runs on a schedule. The ghost will be seen to go through the same motions or routine and will appear not to be aware of the living. If the ghost notices, or interacts with you it is definitely not an energy recording.

When you actually encounter a ghost or paranormal phenomenon it can be difficult to keep a cool head and really see what is happening. Don’t let fear knock you out of learning. If you panic or turn away in fear you may miss witnessing a fascinating event. However, fear is usually the first emotion to hit a person when they come into contact with something from the ‘other side’. It’s only natural to fear the unknown, but don’t let it control you. The more you are able to observe and write down the more you will be able to understand about what is happening.

While I have no doubt of the existence of ghosts I know that their interactions with humans can be rare. Perhaps I should say their interaction with perceptive humans. It does seem that some people have more of a propensity to see or feel paranormal presences than others. One person may have had numerous experiences with the paranormal while ten others have had none. We tend to base our beliefs upon our experiences. People that have never witnessed a paranormal event tend not to believe while those who have had personal experiences do.

Many times our knowledge about ghosts and the paranormal isn’t derived from our own experiences, but come from stories we hear from others. Real ghost stories, especially those passed down through the years in many of our families, can be valuable sources for information. These stories can help us to gain a better understanding of what ghosts and the paranormal really are. If it has been a long time since you heard the ghost stories and perhaps you don’t recall them well enough ask your parents or grandparents to tell them to you when you get the first chance.

For real ghost stories visit http://www.trueghosttales.com

When we hear ghost stories from others do we really listen? Don’t just shrug it off, there may be a lot of truth in those ghost stories. Often a true ghost story is passed down through a particular family. Perhaps it happened to one of your grandparents and you grew up hearing it or maybe it even happened to you personally. Either way there are hardly any of us who don’t know about several ghost stories that are told as to be true.

If you would like to read true ghost stories and learn more about paranormal subjects like poltergeists, electronic voice phenomenon, different types of hauntings, ghost pictures and more visit True Ghost Tales - http://www.trueghosttales.com

The next time you hear, or read a true ghost story, remember the paranormal world is real and ghosts do exist and they do so independently of our beliefs on the matter.

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Living Wicca
By Jonathan Potkins

Wicca, the secret, little known religion. There is a lot of speculation about Living Wicca. Satan worship, Sacrifices, blackmagick. WRONG, WRONG, and still WRONG! These people know nothing. The wiccan religion is a nature based, peaceful path. HARM NONE is the number one rule of Living Wicca. Many people today are looking for a more personal, hands on religion. They are becoming tired of the traditional formats. However, Wicca does not seek out new members. You ask why? Because Wicca does not claim to be the one and only religion. This is freedom, but most of all it is tolerance. Something traditional formats do not practice. Unfortunate.

So you ask, how can I find my way? First lets deal with some reality. If you are truly looking to improve your life and you really want to Learn Wicca, you have to be willing to change your way of thinking and living. You have to open your mind and your heart to positive thinking and be aware of our Mother Earths needs. If you are not committed to change or just think it’s cool, then sadly this is not for you. Some people are drawn to Wicca to Learn Magick, but Wicca Magick is secondary to what Living Wicca is all about. Wiccan Magick is a powerful and beautiful entity. However, one needs to know how to work Wicca Spells properly and you only gain this knowledge by truly Living Wicca. So if your set on Learning the Magick of life, READ, LEARN, and PRACTICE what YOU believe. To start your journey I have included some very inspirational websites.

SO go , explore and if it’s not for you, then good luck on whatever path you choose, if you decide to stay, then Welcome and Blessed BE!

This is just a taste of the truth, follow this link to the place with all the resources.
http://www.squidoo.com/livingwiccan
written by Jon Potkins

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Close Encounters for the Dr. Phil Show
By Kurt Snider

Are we alone? Not according to one woman who believes aliens are watching her every move. A recent assignment for Solana Productions Inc. found their crew recording an unusual story for the Dr. Phil show.

The woman believed she was visited by aliens in the desert one night years ago. Since then she is convinced they are responsible for just about anything unusual that happens to her. This includes her computer crashing when she was writing the show to tell of her experiences. Apparently the aliens try to prevent her from revealing their presence to anyone. The woman’s husband and four children don’t believe in aliens and tease her about her fears.

Strangely enough, when it came time to shoot b-roll the camera developed a mysterious problem. Solana crews always carry backup recorders so the shoot continued. But the next day our engineer found the camera to be working perfectly and had no explanation for what might have happened.

This is the second close encounter with true believers for Solana Productions. While shooting a Discovery Channel special in Utah we met a character who must hold the record for meeting aliens. He claimed to have been abducted twice and visited several more times. Fortunately our gear survived this shoot intact.

Solana Productions, Inc. provides field crews for broadcast, cable and corporate productions. For more information please contact their Los Angeles and San Diego offices at 800-745-8225, or Seattle at 888-723-4100, or visit the website http://www.solanaproductions.com

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