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What are shadow people?
Hello, my lovelies I hope you are well, it’s been a while. Life as you know tends to get in the way of things. I’m hoping to get at least one post out a month. I know that’s not much but it’s the best I can do whilst juggling numerous other things as well. Maybe in a years’ time I will finally get around to turning this into a podcast too, who knows? Grab a cuppa and a blanket and let’s get into it.
Have you ever seen a shadow out of the corner of your eye, only to turn around and for there to be nothing there? If the answer is yes, it could have been a shadow person.
Shadow people have been described as dark or black figures that are humanoid in shape. They are mostly seen in people’s bedrooms, hallways and dimly lit areas. On paranormal online forum discussions people cannot agree if they are evil, helpful or neutral in nature. Other people, however, believe they are inhabitants of a different dimension or universe.
Types of encounters
There are reportedly 3 types of shadow people encounters.
- Only being seen out of the corner of your eye. Mostly a very quick partial sighting so not being able to fully see what they look like. This are often put down to a figment of the imagination. (I have had this many times)
- A full sighting. When all the shadow person can be seen, even waving at you or being followed by them for a period.
- Known to be the scariest type. Some people have reported encounters with these entities where physical contact has been made or being affected by the shadow. Often with these types of encounters it is said that they seem sentient.
Origins
One of the earliest documented cases of the shadow like people comes from the Quran, known as Jinn (or Djinn). The Muslim faith portrays these creatures as being almost human like although they are rarely seen. They appear as dark shadowy ghosts when they enter the physical world but can change their form at will. Jinn are neither innately good nor evil. Their exact origin is not clear but as well as the Quran they have been documented in pre-Islamic literature in the 7th century.
In ancient Europe there are many reports of strange dark creatures that caused fear amongst the people. Many people in that society believed that these beings desired blood, without which they could not be reborn.
Native American people have also documented encountering these being most prominently these reports come from the Choctaws tribe. The Choctaws believed in beings called “Nalusa Chito” otherwise known as ‘Impa Shilup’ ‘The Soul Eater’ and ‘The Great Black Being’. One description tells that these beings look like tall dark shadows that resembled a man. It was so feared throughout the tribe that they refused to speak its name. It was also believed that if people allowed depression or evil thoughts to enter their heads then it would creep inside them and eat their souls. (Well consider my soul consumed!).
The Choctaw also believed that every man had an outside shadow that always followed them, this was called a shilombrish and a Shilup which after death goes to the land of ghosts. The Shilombrish was supposed to remain on earth and wander around its former home to frighten its surviving friends. It was supposed to assume the form of a fox, or owl imitating their noises and its cries were considered ominous of bad things.
Modern times
One account I found online was made by a man called Mike. This happened in 1998 in the middle of the night. Mike had been spending the day renovating his new home. He was at the property alone as all his friends who had been helping had long left. He woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, this is when he got an overwhelming feeling that he was being watched from the top of the basement stairs. He could see a figure stood in front of the light, whom he first thought was his friend who was one of the people who had been helping him earlier that day. He called out to his friend but got no reply, convinced this was facing an actual person Mike’s guard went up due to the potential danger of an unknown person in his home. Mike pulled out his pocketknife preparing to defend himself against the intruder. It was then the shadow started to approach him. Mike lunged, knife extended, when he saw the shadow move into his arm as if it were trying to impale itself. As it continued to pass through, Mike turned suddenly to watch the figure slowly move away from him and through a wall and outside the property. (I would nope right outta there!)
In 2001 the Coast-to-Coast radio talk show helped to popularize the modern belief in shadow people. It was discussed at length when the host Art Bell interviewed a man purporting to be a Native American Elder. During the show listeners were encouraged to submit drawings of shadow people they had seen, and these were shared on the website. Later Heidi Hollis published her first book on shadow people and became a regular guest on the Coast-to-Coast show.
The Hat Man
Little is known about the entity known as the hat man. The earliest accounts of the hat man are from the 1970’s however, there has been a spike in sightings in recent years. Thousands of people have seen him either in dreams or in the waking world. The hat man is described in most cases appears as a pitch-black man always wearing a trench coat and a wide brimmed hat that resembles a 1930’s fedora. In rare cases people have seen his eyes which are described as wholly red, green or white and sometimes glow (Extremely creepy, I don’t like this no thankyou). People who see him in their dreams say he particularly appears in lucid or reoccurring dreams. The hat man’s origins are unknown, and some witnesses are certain his presence is a bad omen. Some people who encounter him in their dreams believe he is in fact formed by repressed tendencies and provides useful information and guidance. It is believed that the hat man and other shadow like people can only manifest in this world due to uncleanliness and negative energy.
Scientific explanations
A variety of psychological conditions have been blamed or used to explain these sightings. The most common of these is sleep paralysis. This is because sufferers of sleep paralysis commonly perceive a shadowy shape that approaches them and even lies on them whilst they lie awake and unable to move. Other sightings have been from meth users after prolonged periods of sleep deprivation. The use of certain substances is also attributed to the sightings of shadow people such as, Datura (poisonous plants), Diphenhydramine (an antihistamine) and Benzylamine (an anti-inflammatory). (Don’t do drugs kids).
So once again my lovely readers I leave it up to you to decide. Are shadow people real? Have you seen one? I would love to hear your stories. You can find me at these places:
Also if you haven’t already be sure to check out my other posts!
The Nameless Horror of 50 Berkley Square
As always, thank you and take care.
Chris xxx
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The Wampus Cat
Hello again my lovelies! Today we have another cryptid. This one I stumbled across the other day, and I must say America you have some great cryptids! I think I have found my new favourite word in ‘Wampus’ I just love the sound of it! It’s also of Cherokee origins which is something I would love to learn more about (and other Native American tribes and their folklore/legends), so any book recommendations pop them in the comments please!
The Wampus cat is said to be a half human, half cat creature that inhabits the Appalachian region of the USA. It is said to have black fur, yellow eyes, long fangs and has the ability to be bipedal, it is also sometimes said to have 6 legs. It smells like a mixture of skunks and wet dogs. It is said to have the ability to drive a human to madness by staring into and piercing their soul and according to some if you hear the cry of the Wampus someone will die in 3 days.
There are 2 origin stories of the Wampus Cat, and I will cover both of them. The internet says they are both of Cherokee origin whist some state otherwise and we all know the internet lies, I do believe they come from separate regions so it could be a regional difference? Again, if anyone knows pop it in the comments, please!
The Curse
So, this story is about a Cherokee woman who was curious about the strange magical ritual that the hunters would perform. Her husband would go hunting with other men from the tribe for food, but before they would start the hunt they would gather and ask the forgiveness of the lives they would take and seek supernatural guidance for the hunt. This sacred ritual was forbidden for women to witness but the woman begged her husband to tell her, yet he would not yield the secret. The womans curiosity got too much.
One night she crept through the woods to the ritual site, wearing the skin of a cougar/puma. Here she hid behind a rock to witness the ritual that had been long kept from her and the other women of the tribe. Wanting to take in every detail she crept closer and closer to the men until she got too close when the shaman spotted her and saw through her disguise. The men grabbed her and dragged her into the circle.
As punishment the shaman cursed the woman, making the cougar skin she was wearing her own. Turning her into a half woman half cat beast. From this moment she was cursed to live in the woods alone and to never have human company.
The Protector
Ew’ah was an evil demon, known as the spirit of madness. It had taken great pleasure of terrorising a village called Chota (or Etowah). Due to this the shamans and warchiefs had a meeting in which the shamans told the warchiefs that it would be the end of the tribe if they sent all of the braves to fight the demon, for Ew’ah had the power to turn men mad with just a glance. The warchiefs argued that something should be done as it had been feeding on the dreams of their children. Ultimately, they agreed that they would send their strongest brave to fight the demon alone.
Standing Bear was the strongest, fastest, sneakiest, smartest, and most respected brave in all the Cherokee nation, and he was chosen to fight the demon. The shamans blessed him as he left the village and the warchiefs gave him many great weapons with which to end the demon. On the edge of the village, his wife, Running Deer, bid him a final farewell. She would never see him the same way again.
Late one night, after not hearing anything from Standing bear the brave returned to the camp, clawing at his eyes and screaming. Running Deer knew her husband was no more. Although in time e would be able to pick berries with the young girls and unmarried widows, he would never be any good as a husband. By Cherokee law this meant he was as good as dead, so his name was never mentioned again. However, Running Deer had loved her husband and wanted revenge.
Running Deer went to the shamans and told them of her wanting revenge. They gave her a bobcat mask and told her that the spirit of the bobcat could stand against the Ew’ah but she must surprise the demon. The warchiefs gave her a special paste that when rubbed on the body would hide her scent as well as her body. Running Deer kissed her husband on the forehead and left to seek her revenge.
Running Deer knew the woods just as well as she knew her home. She ate sweet berries to keep up her strength, but over many days she came across no sign of the Ew’ah. Late one night, she heard a creature stalking down by the stream. She heard a twig snap as she made her way down to the creek, she spun around to see a fox. Realising she could have been caught by the Ew’ah she continued down to the creek.
She saw strange footprints at the water’s edge along with her former husband’s breastplate. She followed the prints upstream where she saw the demon. Its hulking body lurching over the water, drinking from the pristine mountain spring. Hidden from the Ew’ah Running Deer crept ever closer, and just as she felt she could bring herself no closer, she sprang!
The Ew’ah spun around, and saw the bobcat mask, and with that began to tear at itself as the spirit of the cat reflected its powerful magic back on itself. The Ew’ah tumbled backwards into the creek, and Running Deer immediately ran as fast as she could back to the village, never looking back.
When she arrived home, the shamans and warchiefs declared Running Deer the Spirit-Talker and Home-Protector.
Some say that the spirit of Running Deer inhabits the Wampus cat, and that she continues her eternal mission of watching her tribe’s lands to protect them and their people from demons that hide in the dark to this day.
Sightings
There have been many sightings of the Wampus cat but finding evidence is very hard. Just saying you saw a big cat means nothing, it may not even be the Wampus cat at all.
Willy McQuillian first encountered it when he was nine years old. His parents had told him to fetch something from the shed late at night. He went out and came face-to-face with a jet-black panther-like creature with glowing eyes. The creature gave an odd high-pitched hissing sound, which frightened him back inside the house. Many years later, on his same farm, he had the same kind of encounter with the Wampus, exactly like the encounter he had as a 9-year-old, he also lost a lot of his pigs to the creature.
If you have any sightings or stories to tell, please share them in the comments. I look forward to hearing about them!
If you haven’t already, please feel free to read my past blogs.
As always take care,
Chris xxx
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The legend of Elly Kedward
Hello, my lovelies, sorry it has been a while, life has been hectic, and my health took a dip recently so apologies for that. Any way it is spoopy season and I’m hoping to get a lot of content out very soon. Also, I am considering turning this into a podcast so it will cover two mediums. Don’t worry I will still be writing but also recording but that probably will not be until the end of the year due to needing money for a decent mic. (Any mic suggestions please put these in the comments).!
Today I am going to tell you a story and you will have heard of it, although you may not realise it, however all of you should realise by the end. If not I’m afraid to tell you that you have been living under a rock. Hopefully not the one featured in today’s blog. So, grab a drink, settle down and join me for today’s spoopy story!
In 1770, Elly Kedward moved from her home in Ireland to a small township in eastern USA. Not a lot is known about Elly and her life apart from the legend she left behind. In 1785 Elly was accused of kidnapping and bleeding children, it was claimed she did this because the children had an illness. The children of course went back and told their parents, who immediately accused Elly of witchcraft. (Obviously because we all know that is what witches do!) Elly was tried and found guilty. As punishment the townsfolk blindfolded her, took her into the woods and left her there exposed to the harsh winter elements, some reports say she was tied to a tree. They assumed that she died of exposure.
The following year a young lady who was one of the first to accuse Elly of witchcraft and half of the children who accused her vanished over the winter months. This panicked the townsfolk and Elly the witch was to blame. Believing Elly had cursed the village the remaining occupants abandoned their town out of fear. (I mean sure, blame the woman you accused of being a witch and then exiled!)
In 1824 a rail worker discovered the remains of the abandoned village and told a buddy of this. His buddy was a land developer and took this opportunity to turn the abandoned village into a thriving town. However, it would not be long before the townsfolk started witnessing strange occurances.
In 1825 the town held their first annual Wheat Harvest Picnic down by the local creek. It was here that Eileen Treacle, a 10-year-old girl was playing when she died. Eileen approached the creek and 11 witnesses saw ghostly white hands reach up and pull her in. Eileen drowned although the creek was very shallow, even more strangely her body was never found. Several days later the creek became clogged with bundles of sticks which seemed to have an oily substance on them. People started to avoid the creek and a few years later cattle that drank from the creek died. Eileen is said to haunt the creek and in 1999 her spirit is said to have killed 3 people, 2 teachers and a student that were there on a school camping trip.
In 1886 a little girl called Robin Weaver encountered a “floating woman” who guided her to an abandoned house when Robin had gotten lost in the woods one day. She entered the house and followed the woman down into the basement. The woman told Robin that she was leaving but would be back soon. As the afternoon turned to night and the basement became darker, Robin grew more and more frightened. She managed to squeeze through a window, ran through the woods, somehow making it home safely. Alerted by Robin’s grandmother, the townsfolk sent a search party to find her. Robin had returned but the party did not. A second search party was sent out to find the first and a few weeks later they were found. They had been killed and laid out on a rock in the woods. They had been disembowelled and strange symbols had been carved into their feet, hands and faces. They were already in a state of decomposition. The second search party rushed beck to get help but when they returned to the rock the bodies had disappeared. (I forgot to mention there’s quite a bit of this happening in this story sorry!)
Now some of you may be thinking “This seems familiar, where have I heard this story before?” Others however may still not have a clue what I am talking about. It’s OK it will become clear soon. Anyway, here is a name you may or may not recognise.
Rustin Parr was a hermit living in the woods just outside of town. Rustin preferred his own company and enjoyed being with nature. As a child Rustin lived in the town with his aunt and uncle after his parents and twin brother Dale, died. As he got older however he became a recluse and only went into town twice a year to stock up on supplies. (Sounds ideal to me, I’m sure I’ve said that before somewhere.) In November 1940 however Rustin’s life took a dark turn. Rustin went into town and kidnapped young Emily Hollands; she was to be the first victim of what would later be known as the massacre of the seven.
Over six months Rustin kidnapped another seven children, luring them with candy and took them to his house in the woods. The second child taken was Kyle Brody. Parr took the children into the basement in pairs. He made one child stand in the corner whilst he killed the first by disembowelling them and carving symbols into them. (I did try and warn you.) Once done he repeated this process with the child in the corner. Kyle was made to watch all of this and for reasons unknown Parr did not kill Kyle.
Parr would later confess that the reason for killing the children was that an old woman told him to do it. One night the woman came to him and told him if he went into town the following morning and confessed about the murders, she would leave him alone and that his work was finished. The following day Parr released Kyle and went into town to make his confession stating that he was finally finished. The police took the long trek to Parr’s home and found the gruesome scene in his basement The event tore the town apart. Later on, Parr would confess to the priest Dominick Cazale in his last confession that he had, according to him, murdered no one. The priest asked to confer this information to the judge, but Parr reportedly refused his consent to do so. (I’m no judge but I’m pretty sure having seven dead bodies in your basement makes you a prime suspect in murder.)
On the 17th of July 1941, Rustin Parr was tried on seven counts of murder. Kyle stood as a key witness and retold his account of the happenings. He pointed to Parr and identified him as the killer. Parr tried to claim insanity, but it was dismissed. Parr later claimed that he was doing the bidding of the witch spirit. He was sentenced to death, however wooden stick figures kept being found in his cell. Different sources state when his house was burnt to the ground. One says that it happened the day he was sentenced, and the parents of the murdered child and some others went and burnt his house, whilst another says it was burnt down 2 months after he was executed. Rustin Parr was hanged on November 22, 1941. The judge who sentenced him was found dead in the General Store 6 days after the sentencing.
Unfortunately, Kyle’s life after these events was not a happy one. One day a woman named Dr Elspeth Holiday came to do an investigation of her missing niece. Her research and investigation soon started to focus on Kyle. At one point Kyle followed Holliday to where Rustin Parr’s house once stood. There allegedly they bore witness to a scene from the future where a girl was killed in the house, Kyle dropped a drawing and fled the area. Eventually Holliday caught up with Kyle and as she was chasing him the entity that had been possessing him seemingly left. She attributed his possessed actions as being committed by the witch. Kyle then confessed to her his part in the affair. (Witches be out here possessing kids for kicks now!)
According to Kyle, he had been telling people to do things upon the say so of the entity. Rustin Parr’s judge had been killed because he had somehow heard of Parr’s real confession. He also mentioned that the owner of the town’s newspaper, Gersten, had found out who had killed the judge. He then pointed out the body of Gersten having been stuffed under the church. He also mentioned that he had been telling another person to commit certain crimes including the murder of Gersten.
In July 1947 Kyle was arrested for panhandling. (That doesn’t mean handling pans, for those of you who don’t know what it means and are too lazy to google it, it basically means begging.) Kyle was released 7 weeks later and then seemed to vanish for 2 years finally ending up in Florida. In 1956 Kyle was arrested on multiple occasions, for different reasons and was extradited back to Baltimore. His attorney attempted an insanity plea and got him committed to an institute for the criminally insane.
Kyle’s sister, Janine fought and won Kyle’s release from the institute and to be put somewhere more compassionate. Kyle then got transferred to the Reston Hills Sanatorium in Atlanta. Reston Hills however was unable to cope with Kyle’s outbursts and he was sent back to the institute. It is here using a wooden spoon he had gnawed into a point that Kyle Killed himself.
Is the story feeling familiar yet? If not, don’t worry, we are almost there!
In 1994 a small group of film students hear about the strange happenings and decide to make a short documentary about them. The students visit the town and question locals, gathering as much information as they can for their documentary. They enter the woods to investigate further and are never seen again.
An APB is issued when the car belonging to one of the students is found, State police launch their search, It includes up to 100 men, aided by dogs and helicopters. It lasts for 10 days no sign of the students is found apart from the car.
In 1996, students from the anthropology department at the University of Maryland, are digging at the site of the old Parr residence searching for colonial artifacts. What they discover is a duffle bag containing the lost footage of the missing students. In 1997 the footage was released to the parents of the missing students.
In 1999 it became known worldwide.
Thank you once again for joining me and I hope you enjoyed exploring the story behind what I feel like is one of the best found footage films. It really puts the whole story into a new perspective when you finally realise the lore behind something. Well, that’s how I feel anyway. Sorry I was a bit late this spoopy season, but I hope to see you all soon. As always you can click on the links below to read my other blogs if you haven’t already and please share the love (and the post 🙂 )
There’s also links to the socials if you want to keep updated (when I remember) and as always
Take care
Chris xxx
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The Nameless Horror of 50 Berkley Square.
Hello again my lovelies! Welcome back, or welcome if this is your first time visiting. Today we will be looking at a haunting, well a haunted house. This London townhouse had the reputation of being England’s most haunted house. No one knows what dwells here as there are many stories and descriptions of the horror that resides in this home. All they know is it is evil. Like so many things this story really intrigued me as a child and hopefully I can do the same to you. So grab a drink and a snack and we will dive into the Horror of 50 Berkeley Square.
50 Berkeley Square is a townhouse situated in Berkeley Square (obviously), Mayfair, London, UK. It was built in 1740 by a man named William Kent. It was once home to a former Prime Minister George Canning until his death in 1827. It was then home to a Miss Curzon who lived there until she also died at the age of 90. In 1859 it was then taken over by a Mr Thomas Myers. It was this point the house started to get its reputation.
It was rumoured that after Thomas moved in and furnished the home, his fiancé rejected him forcing him to become a recluse. He moved into the attic room, slept all day, and only walked around the house at night with a candle. He never saw a living soul. The house fell into disrepair and the local council sued him in 1873 for not paying his rates. Thomas was due to go to court, but he never showed. The magistrate excused him on account of him living in the haunted house.
The legends associated with the house vary. However, most versions tell the tale of a young woman who committed suicide in the attic of the house. She allegedly threw herself out of a top floor window after her uncle abused her and is said to have the ability to frighten people to death. Her spirit has been reported to take the form of a brown mist but sometimes it is said she appears as a white figure. Other versions include a young man that was locked in the attic, fed through a hole in the door and eventually went mad and died. Another alleged ghost is one of a little girl who was killed by a servant.
There are many stories about the house and its hauntings along with accounts of people who visited or dared stay there for one night. One such story is that of Lord Lyttleton, who apparently saw the ghost and lived to tell the tale. Lord Lyttleton belonged to a family who were deemed “the most haunted family in England” and was said to collect ghosts.
One night he stayed in a second-floor room in the house, one where a ghost was said to have always appeared. With him he took two blunderbuss guns loaded with buckshot and sixpenny pieces. The silver coins were used as charms to protect him from evil. During the night the Lord met the ghost, it came into the room and leapt at him. He managed to raise the gun in the nick of time and shot at the ghost. The ghost apparently fell to the floor then evaporated. Lord Lyttleton couldn’t describe anything more about the ghost, he couldn’t even tell its colour or shape. It was only a shadowy presence, but one thing he was sure of was that he had never met a more terrible, or evil ghost in his life.
One of the other better-known stories in regard to the house is that of Sir Robert Warboys. Sir Robert did not believe in ghosts nor the supernatural. When he heard of the tales of the house, he dismissed them as impossible, which he told friends. He and his friends argued about this for a while until they finally dared Sir Robert to spend the night alone in the haunted room. The then owner of the house a Mr Benson was contacted to gain permission for Sir Robert to stay in the room, however Mr Benson wanted nothing to do with it, he knew the fate of everyone else that had stayed there. Sir Robert and his friends were determined it was now a matter of honour. Sir Robert had accepted the challenge and if Mr Benson were to agree then they would all come to the house at the appointed night and be on hand if something should happen. Furthermore, Sir Robert would be armed with a gun. (Why do all these people think guns would be effective against ghosts? Silly people!). Mr Benson reluctantly agreed, and the night of the stay was agreed upon.
The party met at Mr Bensons house on the allocated night, where they had dinner and laughed with forced humour, masking their nervousness. All but Mr Benson. He made it very clear he was nervous and tried to persuade Sir Robert to give up. Sir Robert refused, after all these were just stories and ghosts did not exist. Defeated Mr Benson went through the safeguards once more, Sir Robert was to have a gun with him, and his friends were to stay up throughout the night in case he needed aid. Additionally, Mr Benson had arranged for a bell to be installed in the sitting room area where Sir Roberts Friends would be situated. It was attached to a bell pull in the haunted room, should Sir Robert need assistance he would ring the bell twice.
After dinner Sir Robert was shown to the room, it was large and furnished with a double bed and armchairs. It had two big windows overlooking the square below and a fire was burning brightly in the hearth. Sir Robert removed his jacket and sat on the bed, one side with the cocked pistol, the other with the bell pull.
In the room below sat Mr Benson and Sir Roberts friends, only one flight of stairs separated the rooms. Sir Robert had entered the room at quarter past eleven nothing happened until midnight. As the last of the midnight chimes rang through the city, the little bell on the sitting room wall jingled. Mr Benson leapt from his chair and ran to the door. One of the others stopped him and reminded him that Sir Robert said that he would ring the bell twice, his words were hardly out of his mouth when the bell rang again, this time more violently. They rushed up the stairs, halfway up they heard a gun shot coming from the haunted room, a few seconds later Mr Benson flung open the door.
They found Sir Robert laid, with his legs sprawled across the bed, his head hanging over the edge. In his left hand he had the bell pull that had been ripped from its fixing, and on the floor near his right hand, the pistol lay. Benson and the others rushed towards him, that is when they saw his face. His eyes locked in agony and fear, his lips curled back over his teeth which were locked as though he had had a fit. Mr Benson covered his dead body with a sheet.
Sir Robert had not died from a bullet, but from extreme terror. What could have caused this sceptical man such deadly fear? No one knows. (However, I’m getting extreme “The Ring” vibes right now).
The spirit of that room has been described as a male ghost with an unbelievably white and flabby ghastly face and gaping pitch-black mouth. Others have described it as an animal type creature a Lovecraftian entity with many legs and tentacles, supposedly have crawled from the sewers of London. Yet some others have just described it as a shapeless being composed of depthless shadows. The only thing everyone can agree on is that it is an evil being intent on causing fear and death to anyone who dares stay in its domain.
Finally, we get to the tale of the two sailors, this is probably the most well-known story of the haunted house and the horror that inhabits it. This is the story that would cement the house’s place in history. Edward Blunden and Robert Martin met the ghost by chance. They arrived in London late on a December night on their way home to Portsmouth. With little money in their pockets, they wandered the London streets arguing where to spend the night. As they were walking through Berkeley Square they noticed a TO LET sign outside a dilapidated house. By now it had been uninhabited for 40 years.
To the sailors this seemed like the answer to their problem, it would serve as shelter until at least morning. Using a basement window they entered the house, one of them had a stump of a candle in their pocket which they lit and explored the downstairs rooms. The house was clearly neglected with bits of furniture scattered about, dust everywhere and rats scuttling across the floor.
They decided to investigate the first floor but as with the downstairs it was in utter disorder. With the candle soon to run out the sailors moved up to the second floor. Blunden by this point was starting to feel nervous and wanted to leave but Martin would not hear of it. Why should they pay for a lodging if they could stay here for free? It was at this moment they entered the haunted room. It was more kept than the rest of the house and Martin decided a fire could be made in the hearth. They managed to collect bits of wood between them and soon a warm fire was made. Then the sailors settled down for the night.
Martin fell asleep almost instantly, however, Blunden felt uneasy and wakefully watched the fire flickering in the hearth. It was Blunden who first heard the noise. He shook Martin awake. At first Martin couldn’t hear anything but then came the sound of a footstep on the stairs. After a pause the sound was heard again but closer. What made these footfalls even more terrifying was that they didn’t sound human, they didn’t sound earthly. The footfalls made a soft, hollow sound, but also scratched on the bare wood floor boards of the stairs, as though the feet were padded and clawed like an animals. The footfalls came agonizingly slow, until they reached the door of the room where the sailors sat sweating with fear, this is where they stopped.
Slowly the door to the room opened and something entered. Martin could not seem to figure out what it was. A collection of shadows or a shapeless being he couldn’t tell. Blunden screamed and both men scrambled to their feet and faced the being which seemed to grow in size as they watched. Frantic with fear, Blunden scanned the room looking for something to defend himself with, he spotted a curtain pole propped against the wall. He rushed to it and grabbed it. As he did so the spectre moved so it was positioned between Blunden and the door. Then, two limbs appeared from the shapeless, featureless form. Not quite arms or hands, they reminded Martin of a large bird’s talons. For a moment it remained motionless, towering over Blunden, it’s “limbs” outstretched. It then began to move slowly towards Blunden. Blunden screamed in anguish when he saw the creature move towards him, but it did not deter the figure.
It was at this point Martin saw his chance, as the ghost moved towards Blunden the open door was left unguarded. Martin dived for it, tumbled out of the room, and crashed down the stairs. He could never recall undoing the bolts that secured the front door, Panic-stricken he ran from the square yelling for help. He found a policeman in Piccadilly, Martin stammered out some of his story as he brought the policeman back to the house. As they were running towards it, both men heard the sound of breaking glass, splintering wood and a long falling scream followed by silence. They found Blunden’s body crumpled over the steps to the basement, his neck broken, and his eyes stared in paralyzed horror.
Unfortunately, I have not been successful in finding any recent stories relating to this house. Other than in 2016 it was home to an antique booksellers called Maggs Brothers until they moved to a larger premises in Bedford square.
Thank you once again for joining me. If you have not read any of my previous blogs feel free to click the links below to read them.
Also if you would like regular updates check out the socials below, I have just made subreddit too for all of you redditors. Remember to be nice!
As always take care my lovelies, Curious Chris xxx
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The Jersey Devil
Hello once again my lovelies, I’m so sorry about the delay in posts. There are so many things I wish to write about I have difficulty choosing. Well, your wait is over, today we talk about the Jersey Devil.
It was in a place called Pine Barrens, South Jersey when a woman called Jane Leeds (in some sources it says her name was Deborah) was pregnant with her 13th child. Upon learning this she apparently cursed the child out of frustration saying that it would be the Devil. On a stormy night in 1735 (what other type of weather would it be?) Mother Leeds, as she was known gave birth to her baby. In some cases, it is said the baby was born normal and then changed, in others it is said it was born a monster. In both instances in its monstrous form, it beat everyone with its tail and escaped via the chimney. This led to some people to believe that Mother Leeds was a witch, and the father of her 13th child was the Devil himself.
The Jersey Devil is described as a flying biped with hooves. Variations include it being a kangaroo or wyvern type creature, with a goat or horses head and leathery like wings. It has horns, small arms with clawed hands and a forked tail. It is said to move quickly and emits a high pitched “blood curdling scream”.
For more than 250 years the Jersey Devil is said to have been prowling through the marshes of Southern New Jersey. There have been countless accounts of the Jersey Devil raiding chicken coops, destroying crops, and killing animals. Cows have been known to stop giving milk, it has been known to blow the tops off of trees and make streams boil. Some believe that the Devil shows itself every 7 years. Many people have seen or felt its presence in at least 50 towns where it travels from its lair in the Pinelands. Groups of people were constantly formed to capture it, but with no luck and at one point $100, 000 was offered for the capture of it dead or alive. Reports of the Devil’s death have also been inconclusive, and its existence could not be explained by the scientific community. (or any other community I guess?)
Sightings
There have been many sightings over the last 250 and here we will briefly cover some of them.
In 1778 Commodore Stephen Decatur, sighted a flying creature and fired a cannonball directly at it, the cannonball had no effect.
In 1820, Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s older brother) Claimed to have seen the Jersey Devil whilst hunting on his Bordentown estate.
In 1840 the Jersey Devil was blamed for several livestock killings; Similar attacks were reported in 1841 accompanied by tracks and screams.
December 1925 in Greenwich a local farmer shot an unidentified animal and photographed the corpse. He showed 100 people and none of them could identify it.
July 27th, 1937, an unknown creature with red eyes was seen by residents of Downingtown, it was compared to the Jersey Devil.
1951 a group of boys in Gibbstown, New Jersey, claimed to see a monster matching the description of the Jersey Devil. Claims of a corpse matching the Jersey Devil arose in 1957.
In 1960 people reported tracks and noises near Mays Landing and claimed them to be that of the Devil.
The Panic of 1909
On Saturday the 16th of January 1909, The Jersey Devil was spotted flying over Woodbury, New Jersey. This was presumed to be an isolated incident even if it did cause some panic. The following day there were more sightings in Bristol accompanied by strange tracks that matched the creature’s description.
More tracks were found in Burlington on Monday the 18th, where the tale was first inspired. People began to wonder if the Jersey Devil was more than mere folklore after so many sightings. Thousands of citizens started taking precautions after becoming concerned for their safety.
On Tuesday the 19th at 2.30am, a man named Nelson Evans and his wife spotted the creature outside their window. They described the creature as being 3 ½ feet tall, with a strange horse like head, an abnormally long neck and wings that were at least 2 feet in length. It walked on its back hooves and whilst walking held up its front paws. The couple were able to shoo it away, but they were terrified. Later that day 2 hunters from Gloucester came and followed tracks that were left by the creature for 20 miles. They said it was able to jump over fences and squeeze into gaps around 8 inches wide. This was identical to what had been reported in other towns.
The next day residents of Haddonfield and Collingwood formed hunting parties. A few of the parties spotted the creature flying towards Moorestown but they were unable to catch it.
On Thursday the 21st the Jersey Devil attacked a trolley car in Haddon Heights, Pine Barrens, where it was eventually chased off. This however was not it’s last appearance. Many poultry farmers claimed that something had killed al of their chickens, others claimed to have seen it crash into electrical lines to then continue flying as if nothing had happened. Later that day a telegraph worker, just outside of Atlantic City shot the creature. It was able to escape into the nearby woods, according to the worker it was limping.
Not to be deterred the Jersey Devil continued its reign of terror on the Pine Barrens. It was spotted in several areas in New Jersey. People tried defending themselves by throwing objects at it as it passed but according to reports none were able to cause it any harm. Later that day a woman in Camden spotted the Jersey Devil trying to eat her dog. It tore a chunk off her dog’s face before she was able to chase it away. This would be one of the most important events to be recorded as it was the first time it was directly seen to attack a live animal.
This event caused the most panic in the Pine Barrens area. Armed guards were posted on trolleys to ensure the safety of civilians. More hunting groups were created in the hopes that the creature would be caught or killed. People sought refuge in their own homes until the attacks were stopped. Many businesses and schools were closed out of fear. Logger and lumberjacks who worked in the Pine Barrens refused to work until they were assured that the beast had been caught.
Friday the 22nd was the last day of the sightings, the people of Pine Barrens were now completely convinced of the existence of the Jersey Devil. Although there are still sightings today. Nothing compares to the terror and panic of the winter of 1909.
So have you had an encounter with the Jersey Devil or know someone who has? I would love to hear about it. Why not share your story in the comments below? Or in the Facebook community page?
If the book of face isn’t your thing you can find me on twitter too!
Also if you haven’t checked them out yet here are my older blogs on Mother Shipton and The Mandela Effect. Please comment, like and remember sharing is caring 🙂
As always take care my lovelies
Curious Chris xxx
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The Mandela Effect
Hello and welcome my lovelies! Today I wanted to discuss something with you, we probably have all experienced and I may end up taking you down the rabbit hole with this one. So, lets get into it.
Fiona Broome a paranormal researcher named this phenomenon the Mandela effect. The Mandela Effect is a phenomenon with the most popular example of being its name’s sake. It was widely ‘remembered’ that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980’s. People remember seeing news reports and a speech by his widow. However, Mandela actually died in 2013, and this apparently confused a lot of people. Since then, there have been numerous reports of this same thing happening. Let’s take a peek at some examples.
Snow white and the seven dwarves. In the film when Queen Grimhilde (yes, the evil queen has a name), talks to the mirror what does she say?
“Mirror mirror on the wall”
Or
“Magic mirror on the wall”
If you said the first one, lots of people would agree with you but it is actually the latter. Although to be fair the first one IS in the books so, I’ll let you off with that one.
This one is for my American readers as this was not that popular over in the UK (as far as I’m aware).
Is it Berenstein Bears or Berenstain Bears? I literally have no clue so feel free to answer in the comments please!
This one is quite personal to me, in the 90’s Pokémon was a massive hit and spread like wild fire. I was one of those obsessed, playing Pokémon Red on my Gameboy colour when I was supposed to be paying attention in Spanish class, collecting the cards, I had a pokedex, I had the original “fat” Pikachu teddy and I watched Pokémon the series religiously every Saturday morning on SM:TV. I REMEMBER Pikachu having a black tip on his tail. I had a little Pikachu that I took in with me when I did my GCSE’s and I distinctly remember him having a black tip… guess what he doesn’t. I’ve been watching a series on YouTube that involves going through all the episodes from the beginning and no black tip at all. Check it out though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtd1zG31nGc&list=PLlMTX4ZolFC-60E1gWFwHga63wRRWu5WM
Now before I start bringing logos and pictures in, the reason why we could be divided on which one is right is due to location. Somethings are censored or slightly adjusted depending on the country it is in. One example is the 80s a cartoon came out called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was awesome. However, when it reached the UK, it was named Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles because apparently the word ‘ninja’ was too violent for our fragile little English minds. The fact that in the 90s I was watching/ obsessed with a ‘children’s’ show called The Animals of Farthing Wood which on multiple accounts show images of death, most notably when the field mouse family decided to stay where they were after having babies. Then not 1 minute later you see all the baby mice IMPAILED on brambles because of the ‘butcher bird’! (Don’t worry BBC I’ll send you my therapy bill later). Just remember the word ‘ninja’ is too violent…
Anyway, I digress again! Let’s have some pictures! I will let you know how I remember it and let’s see if I’m alone or not. Please feel free to join in, in the comments.
I don’t think he has a tail 
I don’t recall that 1st T 
Why do I remember the monocle? 
I remember the cornucopia 
Tunes it was always Tunes right? There are many theories surrounding the Mandela Effect. Some say it’s the product of fake news on the internet, others say it’s a parallel world colliding with ours, slowly merging. Others say it’s our timeline slowly changing and going off-course (I’m looking at you TVA). More recently a new theory has entered the arena, and this is where we are going to go a little bit down the rabbit hole. Let me introduce you to CERN.
CERN was the dream of a handful of scientists after the end of the second world war. They wanted to create a laboratory that would unite European scientists and also allow them to share the cost of nuclear physics facilities. The proposal was made on December 9th, 1949, by French physicist Louis de Broglie. However, it would not be until just over 2 years later when 11 countries signed an agreement establishing the provisional council. In 1954 the building started for the new laboratory.
Now I don’t want to confuse you with a load of scientific mumbo jumbo, I was going to do a timeline and to be honest through my research it was quite interesting but I’m going to skip ahead to the important bit. The point is CERN built the largest and highest energy particle collider commonly known as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The LHC was built between 1998 and 2008, its purpose was to allow physicists to test the predictions of different theories of particle science.
The LHC’s first run was during 2009 and 2013, it then entered what is called long shut down. This is a period of time where it can be upgraded, and this lasted from 2013- 2015. It’s second run lasted 3 years between 2015 and 2018 before entering another long shutdown (LS2) from 2018-2022 this was again for upgrades and maintenance. It has now entered its third run which started on the 5th of July 2022 and is expected to continue until 2026.
Your probably thinking ‘Why are you rambling about science stuff? We didn’t come here for this! We came for the weird and unexplained!’ That rabbit hole I mentioned earlier? We are now in it and following that white rabbit.
When it was announced that the LHC was going to be powered up for it’s 3rd run a lot of “theorists” started to panic. They had made the connection between it’s first run in 2009 and when people started experiencing the Mandela effect. They also claim that during one of the LHC experiments that a time portal opened leading an Iberbus A330-300 (flight a7-301) ended up landing 5500 miles away from where it was supposed to land. It had started it’s decent into Santa Cruz, Bolivia but instead “found itself instantly and mysteriously “over the skies of Santa Cruz, in Tenerife. Said portal was “reported” to have been the product of a timewave spawned by the LHC.
Now after that was reported, more ‘theorists’ built upon the ‘timewave/time portal theory’ and went even further. What if the LHC was affecting our timeline? What if our timeline merged with another one? (Again, TVA I’m looking at you!). Then finally what if it’s a merging of parallel universes? The theory of parallel universes isn’t an old one, it’s been floating around for a while, but what if the LHC managed to merge or partly merge us with one or two or more parallel universes? One, where Nelson Mandela dies in the 80’s and our memories of that from our parallel selves are leaking into our memory in this universe? (Ok TVA, looks like we are going to need Ms Marvel for this but you’re not off the hook yet got it?).
So, what are your thoughts on this? Which memories do you have that other people don’t? Have scientists tapped into the secret of time travel? Have they managed to open a connection to parallel universes? Or is it just a load of internet hype and coincidence? Let me know in the comments what you think?
As always, thank you for joining me and don’t forget to follow on the socials if you want to be updated on future posts.
Take care
Curious Chris xxx
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Mother Shipton
Welcome my lovelies to the first instalment of my new series The Curiosity Chronicles. This series will delve into the unknown, unexplained, and the unique. From ghosts to witches, mysterious occurrences to cryptozoology. I have been looking for something new to sink my teeth into for a while and I came up with this idea when I was watching a YouTube video about archology of all things. I remember as a child I LOVED watching a program called “Strange but True” I think I was about 8. Granted that program made me think I was being abducted by aliens one night, but I digress. Anyway, that program is the main inspiration behind this new series, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy researching and writing to you about it. So, let’s begin!
Since you have stumbled across my blog, I’m guessing you like all things weird and wonderful, saying that you have probably heard of a French man named Nostradamus? Nostradamus was an astrologer, physician, and a seer, but most famously he is known for his prophecies and his book ‘Les Prophéties’. What if I told you there was another lesser-known soothsayer? (Step aside Nosty!)
Commonly known as Mother Shipton, Ursula Southeil was born in 1488 to a 15-year-old girl only known as Agatha. Ursula was born in a cave, just outside of Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England. Ursula’s birth was full of controversy as it is said she was born ugly, deformed and witch-like. Another factor that had a massive impact on the controversy was that Agatha refused to say who Ursula’s father was, even under pressure from the local magistrate. This caused many people to believe that Ursula’s conception was the work of the Devil himself.
This caused the pair to be ostracised from the community and they were forced to flee into the local woods where they lived in cave near the River Nidd. The controversy surrounding Ursula’s birth also manifested in the belief that her mother Agatha was also a witch. The cave where they dwelled was also known to have a pool of water inside it, shaped like a skull, which turned things to stone. Many people believed this gave more reason to suspect that the pair were indeed witches. (To be fair sometimes I wish I lived in a cave in the woods).
Two years passed, and the pair were aided by the Abbott of Beverley who empathised with them and found a local family who would take Ursula in and raise her. (How nice of him!) Agatha however was sent to a nunnery presumed to be the Convent of the order of St. Bridge in Nottinghamshire, where a few years later she would die, never seeing her daughter again. (Never mind).
Even as a child Ursula was described as having a crooked body and a large, crooked nose, her behaviour was strange, and this just ignited the local gossip. Rumours spread even when she was a toddler, it was said that at this age Ursula would sit in her foster mother’s kitchen, alone with various pots and pans around her cackling to herself. However, as she grew, word got around that unexplained and strange occurrences would happen to those who mocked her. Locals soon concluded that if you dared mock the strange child you would quickly be on the receiving end of her wrath.
Ursula would keep to herself and often journey to the woods and cave where she was born. It was here that she studied the woods in great detail and used this knowledge of the flora to make potions and remedies. When her abilities as an herbalist became common knowledge, she became very sought after by people wanting her to cure their ailments.
When Ursula was 24, she married the local carpenter Tobias Shipton, after taking his name she was known from then as Mother Shipton. People were however shocked at this union, and it was assumed that Ursula had put a spell on him.
Not long after her marriage to Tobias, it was said that Ursula helped a neighbour who had some items of clothes go missing. The next day a woman walked down the road singing “I stole my neighbour’s smock and coat. I’m a thief!” Then promptly gave the items to Ursula with a curtsy.
Unfortunately for Ursula, two years later in 1514 Tobias died, many people thought that Ursula was responsible for his death. As a result, a grieving Ursula left the town and from then on lived in the cave that she had been born in. Here she continued to make potions and started dabbling in premonition. However, word spread far and wide about Mother Shipton, her potions and premonitions and she was sought out by people far and wide. News of her predictions coming true not only prompted people to seek her out for potions but for answers to their questions too. From then on Ursula would only be referred to as ‘Mother Shipton’. (Again, I want to live in a cave and sell random potions to people).
One such local prophecy was, “Before Ouse Bridge and Trinity Church meet, what is built in the day shall fall in the night, till the highest stone in the church be the lowest stone of the bridge.” Not long after this prediction a large storm fell across Yorkshire, as a result of this the steeple of Trinity Church and a portion of the Ouse Bridge was destroyed. Later when making repairs to the bridge a part of the steeple was used as a foundation making the top of the steeple the lowest part of the bridge.
It is said Mother Shipton also predicted the Black Death of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666. Other predictions include aeroplanes, cars, the American Civil war and even the internet.
“Around the world thoughts shall fly in the twinkling of an eye.”
Mother Shipton died in 1561 aged 73, the cave where was born and lived can be visited today. Click here to find out more about visiting.
Thank you, my lovelies, for joining me at the beginning of this journey, I hope to see you again.
As always take care,
Curious Chris xx
You can keep up to date on blogs and ideas on Twitter, or if the Birdy place isn’t for you feel free to join the new Curiosity Chronicles Facebook Group.
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Hello!
Welcome back to those who have been following on my other blog, and welcome to all the new comers! I hope you enjoy your visit here and joining me into this journey into the weird, wonderful and mysterious.
As always take care
Chris xxx
Jan 2026 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 - What are shadow people?
Hello, my lovelies I hope you are well, it’s been a while. Life as you know tends to get in the way of things. I’m hoping to… Read more “What are shadow people?” - The Wampus Cat
Hello again my lovelies! Today we have another cryptid. This one I stumbled across the other day, and I must say America you have some great cryptids!… Read more “The Wampus Cat” - The legend of Elly Kedward
Hello, my lovelies, sorry it has been a while, life has been hectic, and my health took a dip recently so apologies for that. Any way it… Read more “The legend of Elly Kedward” - The Nameless Horror of 50 Berkley Square.
Hello again my lovelies! Welcome back, or welcome if this is your first time visiting. Today we will be looking at a haunting, well a haunted house.… Read more “The Nameless Horror of 50 Berkley Square.” - The Jersey Devil
Hello once again my lovelies, I’m so sorry about the delay in posts. There are so many things I wish to write about I have difficulty choosing.… Read more “The Jersey Devil”
Blair witch blog Cryptid Elly Kedward ghost hauntedhouse haunting JerseyDevil Kyle Brody Mandleaeffect Mothershipton Mystery paranormal Rustin Parr Shadow people Supernatural The Hat Man Unknown Wampus Witches
What are shadow people?
Hello, my lovelies I hope you are well, it’s been a while. Life as you know tends to get in the way of things. I’m hoping to get at least one post out a month. I know that’s not much but it’s the best I can do whilst juggling numerous other things as well. Maybe…
The Wampus Cat
Hello again my lovelies! Today we have another cryptid. This one I stumbled across the other day, and I must say America you have some great cryptids! I think I have found my new favourite word in ‘Wampus’ I just love the sound of it! It’s also of Cherokee origins which is something I would…
The legend of Elly Kedward
Hello, my lovelies, sorry it has been a while, life has been hectic, and my health took a dip recently so apologies for that. Any way it is spoopy season and I’m hoping to get a lot of content out very soon. Also, I am considering turning this into a podcast so it will cover…
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