Paranormal Investigators: Past and Present: Heather Lynn Keesling

“The Warrenton Paranormal Research Society”Heather Lynn Keesling

Hailing from Warrenton Virginia, USA, Heather has been interested in the paranormal since she was a child, and right through high school. She has now devoted her time to becoming a paranormal investigator with her team "The Warrenton Paranormal Research Society" of which she is the founder and lead investigator.

Heather with Grant and Jason of TAPS

Heather with Bruce Tango of Ghost Hunters

WPRS has visited many private houses, historical sites and commercial properties, focusing on researching a clients premises based on preliminary interviews and initial base readings.

  It is their aim to substantiate claims a locations paranormal activity to their clients, or at least offer a reasonable explanation of occurrences in the premises, whether paranormal or not.

Heather and the team use a wide variety of instruments to collect data, ranging from EMF meters, motion sensors and temperature guns. All data is presented, along with a written report on a CD to their clients.

Heather lists Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, Massachusetts as her favourite place to investigate and one of three places she found most impressive, with the other two being The Haunted Amusement Park In West Virginia and Moundsville Prison, West Virginia being the other two respectively

Lizzy Borden House

Heather loves her KII and Mel Meter and finds them the most useful tools whilst on an investigation.

As of yet Heather and team have done no media appearances with Warrenton Paranormal Research Society, but the future is unwritten and this team could well find themselves gaining attention soon

you can visit the Warrenton Paranormal Society via the following link

http://www.thewarrentonparanormalresearchsociety.com/

Written by

Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Paranormal Investigators: Past and Present: Dr. Barry Taff

"Aliens Above, Ghosts Below"

Dr Barry Taff

Coming from Chicago Illinois, U.S.A.,  Barry Taff would grow up to be one of the worlds leading, and most respected parapsychologists, earning himself along the way a doctorate for psychophysiology with a minor in biomedical engineering, an associate position with the esteemed UCLA's Parapsychology Laboratory, and a career in the media, as well as the title of “Author”.

Dr Barry Taff has had an interesting and diverse career in research and investigation, leading investigations into some of the modern era's most notable poltergeist and haunting cases, as well as researching precognition and telepathy, even being the “guinea pig” himself and allowing his own psychic abilities to be laboratory tested.

Dr Taff's work into the study of telepathy and precognition earned him the respect of many of his peers, although often looked over, with his vast amount of other credits, Dr Taff's establishment of protocols and methodologies for investigation and research into these matters would earn him the credit as a forefather of the modern “Remote Viewing” techniques we see today used by spy agencies around the world.

You may never have heard of Dr Barry Taff before reading this profile, his name isn't as well known in Australia as it is overseas, but, you have probably heard of a movie from 1983 titled “The Entity”, starring Barbara Hershey.

This movie is based on the true-life poltergeist investigation case that Dr Taff was the lead investigator on, in 1974, in California, involving a lady named Doris Blithers. Dr Taff worked as a technical advisor to the film, he was also represented in the movie by the character “Gene Kraft”.

Dr Taff also worked as a technical advisor on the following films: “Logan’s Run”, “Demon Seed”, “Altered States” and “Poltergeist”.

Movies are not the only visual media Dr Taff has appeared in or helped with, he has also been seen on “Unsolved Mysteries”, “The Extraordinary”, “A Current Affair”, “Hard Copy”, “The Other Side”, “Haunted History”, “Worlds Scariest Ghosts Caught On Tape” and “An Unknown Encounter” to name a few, add to the mix appearances on radio and podcasts, and Dr Taff has covered just about all forms of media imaginable.

The house on Braddock Drive where Doris Blithers suffered poltergeist activity

The most famous photo from "The Entity" case. Doris sits on a bed in her house while arcs of light are captured free-floating above her

Not only is Dr Taff a sought-after media identity but he has also been a consultant to business and government agencies including the C.I.A., N.S.A., LAPD and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency and far too many other agencies to list here.

Many of you may be expecting me to cover some of Dr Taff's investigations, doing so would make this one very long blog indeed, as his investigations are vast, his reports detailed and giving them a brief description does not give Dr Taff, nor his research, as much respect or quality analysis as I feel he truly deserves, instead I will cover some of his investigations in another separate blog.

 Dr Taff  has written some fantastic books and undertaken some groundbreaking investigations and it is well worth reading his books and the vast amount of information on his personal website at:

http://barrytaff.net/

Written

by

Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

© 2012

All photos, videos and symbols remain the property of their respective copyright holders

S.A. Paranormal: Who Were the Celt's?

Who were the Celts? 

Written for October 2012

S.A. Paranormal Meet-up

By

Allen Tiller

The Celts were tribes of people that occupied lands stretching from the British Isles to Galatia, an area that covered some parts of Spain, England, Europe and Turkey, a very vast community in its prime. 

It is thought the name Celt is derived from the Greek word Keltoi, which is a name given to a tribe in Southern France. Any tribe that had similarities in characteristics was also deemed a Celtic tribe, The Celtic culture, expanded through much of Central Europe, and following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC as far east as central Anatolia (Galatians). 

The Celts were most prominent in the Iron age and Medieval Age, After the expansion of the Roman empire, the Celtic lands were slowly pushed back as the Romans conquered town after town, The Celtic lands were restricted to Ireland and the western and northern parts of Great Britain (Wales, Scotland, Cornwall and the Isle of Man), and to northern France (Brittany) - these are the areas we celebrate as being Celtic today, and the areas where our Celtic stories for this evenings SA Paranormal Meetup stem from 

As an interesting side note: 

The people who made up the various tribes of concern were called Galli by the Romans and Galatai or Keltoi by the Greeks, terms meaning barbarian. It is from the Greek Keltoi that Celt is derived. Since no soft c exists in Greek, Celt and Celtic and all permutations should be pronounced with a hard k sound. 

It is interesting to note that when the British Empire was distinguishing itself as better and separate from the rest of humanity, it was decided that British Latin should have different pronunciation from other spoken Latin. Therefore, one of these distinguishing pronunciation-al differences was to make many of the previously hard k sounds move to a soft s sound, hence the Glasgow and Boston Celtics. It is the view of many today that this soft c pronunciation should be reserved for sports teams since there is obviously nothing to link them with the original noble savagery and furore associated with the Celts. 

Our main focus will be Cornwall – or Kernow, to give it its Celtic name, because of its close association with Kapunda's heritage 

Map Kernow, at the entrance way to Kapunda, South Australia

Cornwall is, without doubt, a region of ancient mystery, where prehistoric stone circles, enchanted pools, abandoned ruins and sea-sprayed cliff tops come together to form one of the last bastions of Celtic England. 

Cornwall is a land of magic and mystery, this is the lands where King Arthur was supposedly conceived in Tintagel Castle, and also the place, at Bodmin Moor, that King Arthur's sword Excalibur was cast by his loyal lieutenant Sir Belvidere on the orders of the dying King. A hand and arm rose up from the surface of the lake, clad in the white samite, caught the sword and drew it underneath. 

The landscape of Cornwall lends well to stories of magic, hauntings and creatures of the night. Churches stand next to low lying wetlands, known as “Moors”, where heavy fogs roll in at night, lending an eerie feeling to an already creepy setting. Castle ruins sit covered in moss, memories of former days of glory...

Cornwall was a mining community, with vast amounts of tin being mined from there, and from the mines came supernatural stories of “the knockers”, mysterious creatures that would wreak havoc in the mines if any miner didn't leave a small portion of his meal behind for them. Knockers also hated to be sworn or shouted at, and would bring considerable bad luck to any miner who did so. These small creatures often acted in a manner we would recognise today as a poltergeist, moving equipment, stealing objects even causing mines to collapse. 

The Cornish came up with a solution to keep the knockers friendly, Cornish Pasties! - The Cornish pasty was made to give the miners a hearty midday meal as they would be down in the mine most of the day, and coming back up for lunch generally was not an option. 

It was quite common for miners to leave a piece of the crust of their meal in a dark corner of the mine as a peace offering to the dreaded Knockers in the hope that it would persuade them to spare the one who had left the offering from any malicious activity. 

there are many other stories from Cornwall about sprites, piskies, fairies and small people, but we wont go into depth here, instead a link will be offered at the end of this blog entry 

Many tales we know today are woven from the fabric of Cornwalls past, The legends of King Arthur, Tristan and Iseult, and Jack the giant Killer top name but a few... 

For more information please visit:

http://www.druidcircle.org/library/index.php?title=Cornish_Legends

http://ironage-history.com/brigantia/celts.htm

The Holy Relic of Saint Francis Xavier visit to Adelaide, South Australia.

 Saint Francis Xavier

The Greatest Missionary since St Paul

 A Brief Background of St Francis Xavier

Born on April 7th 1506, in Xavier in Northern Spain,

Francis was born into a wealthy aristocratic family and was sent to study in Paris at the age of 19. 

Francis took an interest in sports and the nightlife in Paris, but remained unfocused until meeting Ignatius of Loyola, who guided him through his “30 days of prayer”

From this interaction, Francis became one of the seven original companions in the new order of “The Society Of Jesus”, now known as the Jesuits.

Francis was ordained a priest in Venice, in 1537.

Francis was sent to India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and onto Japan, along the way he converted many people to Christianity. Baptising and Blessing people, and holding the hands of the sick and dying, comforting them.

Shrine dedicated to St Francis Xavier in the Basilica of  Bom Jesus

Francis learned to speak Japanese in one year of living in the country, but had also learned basic prayers in over 20 other languages!

In 1552, Francis set off for China, but he never touched the mainland, dying of a fever on the island of Shangchuan, 14kilometeres of the coast.

Francis was recognised as a Saint on March 12 1622 – the same day as Ignatius Loyola.

Francis is the patron saint of all missions of the Catholic Church, as well as the Patron Saint of Australia, Borneo, China, East Indies, Goa, Japan and New Zealand, His Feast day is celebrated on December 3rd

An Incorrupt Body

St Francis Xavier was 46 years old when he died on Shangchuan island on December 3rd 1552

Two months later a merchant ship arrived and crew member opened his grave to discover that Xavier's body was “as fresh as on the day he died”

St Francis Xavier's right arm

The sailor cut off a piece of flesh to show his Captain as proof. The body was put on the ship and taken to Malacca, where it was vandalised further.

A Jesuit superior secretly removed the body and stored it in a casket until it could be taken away by ship to Goa in 1553. Goa India was where St Francis Xavier first began his missionary work, it is also the first place his body was put on display in March 1554

The Superior General of Jesuits arranged for the right forearm to be detached from the body in 1614 so that it could be displayed as a Holy Relic in the Church of Gesu in Rome. The Relic has only been removed from Gesu on four other occasions.

In April 1994 a forensic examination was carried out in the presence of a team from an English television network to certify the bodies deceased but largely intact state!

His body remains in the Basilica of Bom Jesus – Every 10 years his body is exposed for veneration, in 2005 over 2 million people honoured him

October 17th 2012 - Adelaide, South Australia

Australia is very blessed by the Jesuits leaders in Gesu, allowing the right arm of St. Francis Xavier to travel to Australia for the Bishops "Year of Grace", only the 4th time the Holy relic has left Gesu in almost 400 hundred years!

We travelled into Adelaide City to the Cathedral of St Francis Xavier to witness the Holy Relic for ourselves, to be in its presence, something that may never happen again in this country in our lifetime.

St Francis Xavier Cathedral is a beautiful setting for such a Holy Relic, and we were very lucky that upon our visit, the Church was all but empty, allowing us time to gaze, ponder and pray.

Some of our photos are displayed below, more can be found on our Facebook project

"Churches and Cemeteries in South Australia"

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Churches-and-Cemeteries-in-South-Australia/139531709452260

for more on the year of Grace visit:

http://www.yearofgrace.catholic.org.au/index.php/resources/prayer

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam

Photos © Allen and Karen Tiller

Paranormal Investigators: Past and Present : William "Bill" Tabone

Australian Paranormal Society
William “Bill” Tabone

This week we profile an investigator from Melbourne Australia. Director, Lead Investigator and Team Leader, Bill Tabone of The Australian Paranormal Society.

Bill and his wife Amanda lead the A.P.S. Team, which boasts amongst its ranks of experienced paranormal investigators and researchers, two of Bill and Amanda’s own children, you could say the paranormal is in their blood!

Bill has been interested in the paranormal since he was a young lad, reading everything he could get his hands on regarding ghosts, hauntings, werewolves, vampires and many other types of paranormal phenomena.

He became an investigator after a number of occurrences piqued his curiosity about phenomena. Bill has experienced, whilst fully conscious, the bed covers being pulled down over his body, from both sides of the bed. This cannot be explained away easily as “sleep paralysis” as Bill was awake and fully conscious at the time.

Bill has also seen full-bodied apparitions and a phantom motorbike that used to ride past a country home where he lived.

I asked Bill how becoming a paranormal investigator has changed his life?
 Bill stated

“ It has opened up a whole new world for me, my thought processes, my belief systems.
It has also allowed me to meet some great people and seen the very best and the very worst in humanity.”

This isn't the first team Bill has worked in, having run a smaller group previously named “ The International Ghost Seekers Society”

One of the places Bill and the A.P.S. Team Investigate often is The Old Geelong Gaol, a former high-security prison that closed its doors in 1991, and is now a museum that is operated and maintained by the Rotary Club Of Geelong.

Bill also lists The Old Melbourne Gaol, The Royal Melbourne Hotel and Exford Hotel as being three other locations the team has investigated that he has personally been impressed with.

The Australian Paranormal Society has captured a great deal of evidence over the years, I asked Bill for a brief description of what the teams best piece of evidence was.

Royal Melbourne Hotel

Bill Tabone: “We captured several full-bodied apparitions at the Old Melbourne Gaol on digital still cameras, the best being what appears to be a 1900th-century nurse,( with clothes) similar looking to what Florence Nightingale would have worn, she is carrying something in her arms. She was captured at the base of a set of stairs, but the interesting thing is that on the other side of the wall behind her was the woman's section of the gaol.”

The Australian Paranormal Society stands as one of Australia's most respected teams, featured on radio, television and in other media, as well as doing talks at local libraries. The A.P.S. Team will soon be featured at the Melbourne Paracon event in March 2013.

http://www.geelonggaol.org.au/

http://www.australianparanormalsociety.com/index.php?p=home

Written by Allen Tiller

(C) 2012

www.eidolopnparanormal.com.au

All Photos used by permission and remain

 the property of The Australian Paranormal Society and William Tabone 

Proof of God? - The Incorruptible Body

Proof of God? - The Incorruptible Body

Saint Virginia Centurione Bracelli,
 who died in 1651.

An Incorruptible body is a belief that divine intervention preserves some deceased human bodies from decomposition.
 Our flesh and blood bodies decay after death, much quicker if not embalmed, but some Christians have a belief that the bodies of very Holy people are spared this indignity and that their corpses are preserved indefinitely. There is long-standing evidence of this belief with the untainted remains of many saints in different countries of the world.

This effect has baffled many scientists, with no clear and rational explanation given as to what causes the effect.

It should be noted that this isn't due to mummification, artificial preservation or other "modern science" human effects upon the body, but is instead thought to be a divine supernatural effect that only occurs with the bodies of Saints and other Holy People.

 It appears that most of those affected have died very recently, or indeed appear to be sleeping, even though some of them have been dead for hundreds of years!

There is a belief that these bodies will be resurrected in the End Times spoken in the Bible, to what purpose is unclear.

Many in-corrupt bodies produce a distinctive scent known as the "Odour of Sanctity", which resembles the fragrance of rose blossoms. Some of these bodies also have a miraculous power to heal sick people who touch the preserved flesh.

 The smell is also noted to come from the wounds of those suffering the stigmata. This condition and the scent were reported by those that witnessed the Stigmata of Padre Pio.

Is it Divine Intervention, or something else?

St Pio of Pietrelcina (died 1968)

St Bernadette of Lourdes (died 1879)

St Catherine Laboure (died 1876)

St Clare of Assisi (died 1253; best friend of St Francis of Assisi)

St John Bosco (died 1888)

St John Vianney (died 1859)

St Silvan (died 350 AD)

St Teresa Margaret (died 1770)

St Veronica Giuliani (died 1727)

St Vincent de Paul (died 1660)

St Francis Xavier (died 1552)

St Margarita María Alacoque (died 1690)

St Rita of Cascia (died 1457)

 St Maria Goretti (died 1902)

We do not claim ownership rights of the above photos. We are displaying them for educational purposes.
Eidolon Paranormal
2012