Cullan Hudson's Blog, page 46
August 9, 2011
It's The End Of The World As We Know It--AGAIN
As we wind down to 2012 oblivion, the friendly folks at Smithsonian remind us of all the apocalypses that didn't come to pass:"Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching." -- from an Assyrian tablet, dated c. 2800 BCE
READ THE REST HERE.
Isn't it about time you updated your ghost hunting equipment??
That tired old camcorder not doing it for you anymore?From Boing Boing...
"Vision Research's Phantom v1610 shoots 1m fps, albeit at the rather low resolution of 128x16. At a more modern 1280x800, however, it still packs in 16,000 shots every second. A 10Gb ethernet link and other high-end connections will keep the data flowing; how many seconds of footage its 96GB of internal storage can hold is left as an exercise for the reader."
Phantom v1610 [Vision Research]
August 8, 2011
Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble: Cooking Up Magic With Olde Spells...
"Much discourse hath been about gathering of fern-seed, which is looked upon as a magical herb, on the night of Midsummer Eve, and I remember I was told of one that went to gather it, and the Spirits whiskt by his ears like bulltes, and sometimes struck his hat, and other parts of his body: in fine, though he apprehended that he had gotten a quantity of it, and secured it in papers, and a box besides, when he came home, he found all empty." R. Bovet from Pandemonium or The Devil's Cloyster (1684)"The forked root of the mandrake gave it the appearance of a human being. It was supposed to bleed when cut, and its scream when pulled out of the ground could have a fearful effect. Juliet, expecting to hear frightening cries from the crypt, exclaimed, 'shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth, that living mortals hearing them run mad'." Michael Drayton from Nimphidia (1627) [And you thought J. K. Rowling made that up, didn't you?--ch]
"Thrice toss these oaken ashes in the air,
Thrice sit thou mute in this enchanted chair;
And thrice three times, tie up this true love's knot!
And murmur soft 'she will, or she will not'.
Go burn these poisonous weeds in yon blue fire,
These screech-owl's feathers and this prickling briar;
This cypress gathered at a dead man's grave'
That all thy fears and cares, an end may have.
Then come, you Fairies, dance with me a round!
Melt her hard heart with your melodius sound!
In vain are all the charms I can devise:
She hath an art to break them with her eyes."
Thomas Campion from Book of Ayres (c. 1611)
August 7, 2011
Old Joe Defies Ghost Hunters
The following was printed in the July 23, 1962 edition of The Oklahoman:
Maco, NC (AP)--Old Joe Baldwin defied the ghost hunters Saturday night. He failed to appear.
The mysterious light often seen flashing beside the Atlantic coast line track didn't even flicker. A crew of engineers from a Charlotte radio station (WWOK), armed with an assortment of electronic equipment, kept an all-night vigil. Also on hand were about 150 residents of this area of southeastern North carolina who turned out to see if the ghost hunters would see Old Joe.
The story is told that the mysterious light is the lantern Old Joe is carrying to look for his head.* Joe Baldwin, a railroad man, was struck and decapitated by a trian in the 1860s.
Russ Reardon, project coordinator for the radio station, said his crew would return next Saturday night. He said the ghost hunters are now more ager to catch the ghost, even though "the spirit wasn't willing" Saturday night.
The ghost hunters took along, among other things, a spectroscope** for measuring the light by its wave length and an audio-amplifier for converting the current into sound.
*this is a familiar motif among spooklight tales
** don't often hear about anyone employing this technique in the analysis of spirits or ghost lights
Maco, NC (AP)--Old Joe Baldwin defied the ghost hunters Saturday night. He failed to appear.
The mysterious light often seen flashing beside the Atlantic coast line track didn't even flicker. A crew of engineers from a Charlotte radio station (WWOK), armed with an assortment of electronic equipment, kept an all-night vigil. Also on hand were about 150 residents of this area of southeastern North carolina who turned out to see if the ghost hunters would see Old Joe.
The story is told that the mysterious light is the lantern Old Joe is carrying to look for his head.* Joe Baldwin, a railroad man, was struck and decapitated by a trian in the 1860s.
Russ Reardon, project coordinator for the radio station, said his crew would return next Saturday night. He said the ghost hunters are now more ager to catch the ghost, even though "the spirit wasn't willing" Saturday night.
The ghost hunters took along, among other things, a spectroscope** for measuring the light by its wave length and an audio-amplifier for converting the current into sound.
*this is a familiar motif among spooklight tales
** don't often hear about anyone employing this technique in the analysis of spirits or ghost lights
August 4, 2011
Did Woman's Ghost Save Her Son?
SURVIVOR OF CALIFORNIA DRAMA HAS FAMILY HERE
Post-Tribune (IN) - June 16, 1994
Lawrence Skubish knew his 25-year-old daughter Christine was missing for days in California.
A national newscast showing the mangled wreckage of her car told Skubish she was dead.
"The report said they had found her car all mangled up and it said she didn't live," Skubish said from his Portage Township home. "It was like a nightmare just unfolded all of a sudden."
Christine Skubish 's death made national news this week because her 3-year- old son, Nick , Lawrence Skubish 's grandson, survived the drive off a 40- foot cliff and lived for five days before being rescued.
"Thank God little Nicky is alive," Skubish said. "I put trust in the good Lord and we will do what we must to go on."
Christine Skubish attended Portage High School from January 1986 to December 1987. She also attended Ivy Tech in Gary and Valparaiso, Skubish said. Christine was a partner in a Merrillville business called Nails on Broadway for about a year before moving to California, he said.
"She was such a good girl," Skubish recalled. "She wanted to go to law school."
Christine and Nick were last seen June 6 in Placerville, Calif., El Dorado County Sheriff Lt. Howard Wilson said.
On June 9, a motorist traveling the winding and mountainous U.S. 50 through the El Dorado National Forest claims to have seen the figure of a pale white, naked woman laying curled on the road, Wilson said. Police searched the area and found nothing, Wilson said.
The next morning, Deputy Richard Strasser, who pieced together the last hours of Christine 's life, drove to the area where the motorist reported the naked figure and saw a baby's shoe nearby.
"There was nothing else there to indicate an accident, no skid marks or anything," Wilson said.
At the bottom of the cliff were the motionless bodies of Christine and Nick Skubish . The 3-year-old was alive, but scratched, dehydrated and malnourished, Wilson said. He has since has been released from the hospital, Wilson said.
Police say it appears Christine fell asleep at the wheel and drove off the road.
A memorial service for Christine and a trust fund for Nick are being arranged.
[Cullan's note] According to an interview with Strasser by Sue Kovach, author of Hidden Files, it seemed like the boy had at one point released his seatbelt, crawled from the vehicle, and stripped himself bare--perhaps because of the heat of the day. This is evidenced by several factors, not the least of which were the poison oak burns on his body from a nearby plant. It is possible that it was the boy who climbed up to the road to be spotted by the motorist. If so, it's hard to reconcile the witnesses report of a naked woman at the side of the road.
August 3, 2011
8 Common Ghost Hunting Mistakes (More or Less)
As I was reading this post on a blog by a prolific paranormal author, I found myself quibbling over some of this as well as having a few suggestions of my own. So, without further ado, I present MY 8 Common Ghost Hunting Mistakes....
1) I will agree to Mr. Branson-Trent's first mistake, Trespassing. It is unwise to do so and I shall go on record as saying I don't advise any of you to break the law. We may have all done it in the course of urban exploration, but for a proper investigation, you need time and access--something only permission can afford you.
2) He also cites 'being fearful of ghosts' as a big mistake as well. I would agree. I've never been frightened, as I don't see these experiences a fearful--thrilling perhaps, but never fearful. I find those individuals who turn ghost hunts into horror films are often a bit fantasy prone and not likely to give the endeavor the strict scrutiny it deserves.
3) Branson-Trent recommends not going alone, as do many others. In fact, he says the ideal group is 3 - 6 people. I think at 6, you're getting carried away. I'm all for just a tiny handful of people. The more people you have the more problems. I'm going to say this: I go alone frequently. This is usually because I'm doing a bit of urban exploration and photography and these expeditions are often done on a whim. While, we can cite the possible dangers in going alone (all valid, by the way), the truth is we face danger on a daily basis. That said, take precautions: let someone know where you are, have a cell phone with you, etc... Also, evaluate the situation. If you're in rundown old crack house in the middle of gangland, perhaps you shouldn't be alone. If you're in a sinkhole infested former rusty nail factory, perhaps you shouldn't go alone. Use common sense.
4) His 4th was basically still number 3, so I'm using this space here to capriciously share some lyrics from the B-52's "Rock Lobster":
Here comes a stingray
There goes a manta-ray
In walked a jelly fish
There goes a dog-fish
Chased by a cat-fish
In flew a sea robin
Watch out for that piranha
There goes a narwhal
Here comes a bikini whale!
5) Next, our esteemed expert advises us not to drink, smoke, or start fires. I would think this goes under the common sense category. I would add litter. I'm all about leaving nothing but footprints. I would also advise that if you've got more gear than NASA that you run some long cables to a van or something. This goes along with whole lotta people hypothesis. Aside from the thought that too much activity can actually have the opposite effect on a haunted location, I am also reminded of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and how we change what we study--sometimes even by the act of observation. While this principle is meant for subatomic realms, I think it often applies to the macro as well.
6) His number 6 is about my number 8, so I'll spend my time here haranguing you on how important I feel it is to dress professionally, especially when visiting a person's home. While I understand the need for comfort with many long hours ahead, it's important to understand what image you might be projecting. If you're all clad in matching t-shirts with a goofy ghost cartoon and your acronymic persona spelled out in dripping vampire font, then you might not be presenting the polished professional image you'd like to. In a field that seems to be more concerned these days with having the "look" of something like T.A.P.S. than making sure the work is high quality, it's easy to fall into the trap of the paracelebrity wanna be. Just dress nicely, act professionally, and be serious about the work you're doing.
7) He adds not to dare, threaten, or taunt entities, stating that they aren't always friendly thereafter. But he formerly had said that these entities can't hurt you. Which is it? I would say that, experience has taunt many of us that different presences respond in different ways: some to men only, some to the presence of children, and some to anger. Use what you must, if it helps. But make sure you don't look like a total douche in the process.
8) For his 8th comment, he blathers on about feelings and intuition. I say screw that. We all follow our gut instincts and don't need to be reminded of that. I say have a plan. That said, I'll spend my number 8 talking about my favorite subject: photography. DO NOT use an integrated flash. If at all possible, do not use a flash. If you do, make sure the following is going on. You have a hotshoe-mounted external flash that can angle up for a bounce fill and use a diffusion baffle. If you can, I would recommend separate soft boxes (small portable ones). The reason for all this is not only those obnoxious orbs (but try it and see how you will stop getting them), but because those little xenon flashes was out the subtle details of your scene that might be important as well as cause "false positives" from a host of environmental elements, including vapors and particulates in the air.
1) I will agree to Mr. Branson-Trent's first mistake, Trespassing. It is unwise to do so and I shall go on record as saying I don't advise any of you to break the law. We may have all done it in the course of urban exploration, but for a proper investigation, you need time and access--something only permission can afford you.
2) He also cites 'being fearful of ghosts' as a big mistake as well. I would agree. I've never been frightened, as I don't see these experiences a fearful--thrilling perhaps, but never fearful. I find those individuals who turn ghost hunts into horror films are often a bit fantasy prone and not likely to give the endeavor the strict scrutiny it deserves.
3) Branson-Trent recommends not going alone, as do many others. In fact, he says the ideal group is 3 - 6 people. I think at 6, you're getting carried away. I'm all for just a tiny handful of people. The more people you have the more problems. I'm going to say this: I go alone frequently. This is usually because I'm doing a bit of urban exploration and photography and these expeditions are often done on a whim. While, we can cite the possible dangers in going alone (all valid, by the way), the truth is we face danger on a daily basis. That said, take precautions: let someone know where you are, have a cell phone with you, etc... Also, evaluate the situation. If you're in rundown old crack house in the middle of gangland, perhaps you shouldn't be alone. If you're in a sinkhole infested former rusty nail factory, perhaps you shouldn't go alone. Use common sense.
4) His 4th was basically still number 3, so I'm using this space here to capriciously share some lyrics from the B-52's "Rock Lobster":
Here comes a stingray
There goes a manta-ray
In walked a jelly fish
There goes a dog-fish
Chased by a cat-fish
In flew a sea robin
Watch out for that piranha
There goes a narwhal
Here comes a bikini whale!
5) Next, our esteemed expert advises us not to drink, smoke, or start fires. I would think this goes under the common sense category. I would add litter. I'm all about leaving nothing but footprints. I would also advise that if you've got more gear than NASA that you run some long cables to a van or something. This goes along with whole lotta people hypothesis. Aside from the thought that too much activity can actually have the opposite effect on a haunted location, I am also reminded of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and how we change what we study--sometimes even by the act of observation. While this principle is meant for subatomic realms, I think it often applies to the macro as well.
6) His number 6 is about my number 8, so I'll spend my time here haranguing you on how important I feel it is to dress professionally, especially when visiting a person's home. While I understand the need for comfort with many long hours ahead, it's important to understand what image you might be projecting. If you're all clad in matching t-shirts with a goofy ghost cartoon and your acronymic persona spelled out in dripping vampire font, then you might not be presenting the polished professional image you'd like to. In a field that seems to be more concerned these days with having the "look" of something like T.A.P.S. than making sure the work is high quality, it's easy to fall into the trap of the paracelebrity wanna be. Just dress nicely, act professionally, and be serious about the work you're doing.
7) He adds not to dare, threaten, or taunt entities, stating that they aren't always friendly thereafter. But he formerly had said that these entities can't hurt you. Which is it? I would say that, experience has taunt many of us that different presences respond in different ways: some to men only, some to the presence of children, and some to anger. Use what you must, if it helps. But make sure you don't look like a total douche in the process.
8) For his 8th comment, he blathers on about feelings and intuition. I say screw that. We all follow our gut instincts and don't need to be reminded of that. I say have a plan. That said, I'll spend my number 8 talking about my favorite subject: photography. DO NOT use an integrated flash. If at all possible, do not use a flash. If you do, make sure the following is going on. You have a hotshoe-mounted external flash that can angle up for a bounce fill and use a diffusion baffle. If you can, I would recommend separate soft boxes (small portable ones). The reason for all this is not only those obnoxious orbs (but try it and see how you will stop getting them), but because those little xenon flashes was out the subtle details of your scene that might be important as well as cause "false positives" from a host of environmental elements, including vapors and particulates in the air.
August 1, 2011
Injecting Life Into Vampire Films
Take all your crappy Insidiouses and Paranormal Activities and shove them in a dark hole with those terrible glitter-skinned Twilight movies. The awesomest horror film (which is really a coming of age/gothic romance) is Let Me In. Based on a Swedish novel, even Stephen King said it was the best American horror film of the last 20 years. THIS is what horror should be: great cinema that tells a timeless tale--that just happens to do it with monsters.
