Weekly News Round-up 1/30/13

MELODIKA.net compiled a list of the ten best Bigfoot videos. You can check it out here.

Read a description of a recent Bigfoot sighting in Alaska here.

Video of some sort of UFO was taking flying over a train in London. Check it out here.

Spotting a Fake: Ghost Apps

Fake ghost photos have been around almost as long as photography has. Everyone loves a good ghostly image. Unfortunately, a lot of people like creating fake ghost photos to try to convince others that ghosts exist. With constantly changing technology, those fake photos have gotten easier for anyone to create.

Once of the latest trends in fake ghost photos is the creation of cell phone applications that let phone users paste ghost images directly into their cell phone shots. Some of the photos are even pretty convincing looking. Here’s an image from the Ghost Capture App

It’s important for ghost hunters and people in general to question ghost photos. There are stock ghost images that frequently reappear in images. Learning those images can help us spot the fakes. Also, if a photo looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Weekly News Round-up 1/24/13

A rap song about a Bigfoot sighting? Eh, why not? Check it out here.

A triangular UFO was spotted over Manchester. Read about it here.

A strange article found in a piece of coal in Russia has scientists confused. Some are blaming extraterrestrials. The article is here. What do you think?

5 Ways to Prevent Injuries During a Ghost Hunt

Ghost hunting sometimes involves risks. Along with the chance of coming in contact with a spirit, there’s also the possibility of putting yourself in potentially dangerous situations. Old buildings aren’t always maintained well, and part of being a good ghost hunter means being willing to explore in places that aren’t always ideal. Here are a few ways to help prevent team members for getting hurt.

1. Stake out a place before hand. Be sure to see what a building looks like during the daytime so you can look for potential issues.
2. Investigate in groups. Always make sure someone is nearby because if you get injured, you don’t want to be stranded alone.
3. Keep your eyes open for potential dangers. Take time to watch for safety hazards, like loose wires, debris, and anything else that might get in your way during the night.
4. Carry a first aid kit. It also helps if you have team members who have a little knowledge about how to treat minor injuries.
5. Ask the property owners for potential risks. They may know which spots need to be avoided. I’ve found that most of them are more than generous about sharing knowledge about which places should be avoided.

Weekly News Round-up 1/16/13

A Yeti park is being planned in Siberia. You can read about it here.

Someone claims to have caught images of Thylacines (which are thought to be extinct) on video. Check it out here.

Some UFO's were spotted flying over Michigan. An article and video can be found here.

Ghosts

So I was looking at a cartoon that featured a little drawing of a ghost this weekend. It was just a typical bedsheet ghost, but seeing it got me thinking. Why on earth do we draw ghosts like that? Where did it get started? I’ve spent a lot of time studying ghosts, but I’ve never given much thought to the iconic image we use to portray them. I had to do some googling.

What I found was pretty interesting. While some cultures portray ghosts as mists, or psychic energies, many think of them as physical beings. American culture (and some other cultures as well) tends to show them wearing clothing they wore while they were alive or what they were buried in.

The bedsheet ghost is believed to come from a time when people were sent to the grave in a burial shroud. The ‘sheet’ is what they would have risen from the grave with. Somehow that image has been carried over into our lives and culture. Just about every drawing or comic featuring ghosts has one of these little guys. A lot of ghost hunting groups use them as logos for their groups.

If you want to know a little more about it, here’s a site I found that talks more in depth about it. 

Weekly News Round-up 1/10/13

A driver who was fleeing the police claims he was running from aliens. You can read about it here.

A police station in New Zealand is thought to be haunted by the people working there. Read about it here.

Some mysterious lights spooked some cows in South Dakota. The article is here.

Automatic Writing

Many people like to practice something called automatic writing in order to get insight and guidance in life. If you aren’t familiar with this practice, you basically sit down with a sheet of paper and a pencil (or pen) and relax your mind. In theory, if a spirit is around, it might guide your words as you write across the page.

Some people also believe that it’s possible to channel higher versions of your mind this way. The concept has been around for a long time, and it’s often portrayed in film and television. There have also been several books published that claim to be the product of automatic writing.

I’ve tried this a few times in the past but not had much luck in actually accomplishing anything. Have any of you tried automatic writing?

Weekly News Round-up 1/2/13

Scotsman.com posted an article on the increased sightings of a lake monster in Zimbabwe. You can read it here.

A mystery animal has been attacking livestock in Kentucky. MailOnline has the story here.

Some strange tracks were found in Thailand. Local villagers believe they may have been made by a giant serpent. I'm not terribly convinced, but you can check them out here.