The Talamasca Files - Part Two

Hello Everyone,

and Welcome to the second part of a series of threads that look into myths and legends that have played with our imagination for centuries.

The world of spirits is a wonderful topic and a lot of us could, without a doubt, spend many hours sharing stories by a campfire, at night...

Filling our human history with tales of haunting, poltergeists, ghosts, spirit energy lingering around, caught between dimensions or even the famous Ouija Board, the world of spirits is fascinating, whether one believes in the legends and myths or not.

Once again, as was first introduced in The Talamasca Files – Part One – Witchcraft, the stories brought to you in this second thread are very real, have really happened ( and still do in some instance ) and are up for discussion.

Disclaimer – These threads are for entertainment purposes only. The cases that will be displayed for discussion are very real yet I would ask every member that wishes to participate in the discussions to do it with respect, civility and decorum. Topics such as witchcraft, spirits, werewolves and vampires are highly speculative yet, those same topics have enriched our world with works that have piqued our curiosity and to this very day, still do, in many ways. Discussing pro or con is essential but I would ask that it would be done with respect. Thank you.

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[align=center][color=gold]The Talamasca Files – Part Two – Spirits[/align]

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There are five amazing cases that I highlight for discussion, each having a deep secret of its own. These files contain different subjects from the spirit world, haunting, poltergeists, ghosts, a spirit memory that remained trapped in time and finally, a story from the Ouija Board, one that most of you have probably never heard of and that is quite fascinating as the main character is one of the board’s creators himself...

They are as follows:


[color=gold]The Esther Cox File

The Hodgson Family File

The Zona Heaster Shue File

The Girl in Blue File

The William Fuld File


Hope you enjoy.


~ Continued on next post

The Esther Cox File

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The Cox House in Amherst, N.S., Canada

Hailed by many as the scariest poltergeist in Canadian history, the strange case of Esther Cox has perplexed believers in the supernatural and scientists alike. Whether it is viewed as evidence of supernatural activity, something for scientists to get their teeth into and explain logically, or just a scary tale to tell by the fire on a dark night, it is a truly disturbing case.

This story takes place in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada and it all started in 1878, the year when the haunting began. Young Esther had just celebrated her 18th birthday when her boyfriend allegedly tried to rape her. This event somehow triggered paranormal events to occur on daily basis.

Poor Esther would wake up at night, screaming, tearing her clothes apart, her skin showing redness here and there and many of us, nowadays, would think that this would have been a case of post traumatic stress. Nevertheless, nothing could be further from the truth.

Dr Carritte was asked to come at once, after a few nights of torment, as Esther was not getting any better and as everyone was getting scared of loud “bangs” that would come from underneath her bed. The good doctor would be the first one to see the paranormal activities step up a notch:

Esther remained in bed for a time and it was there that Dr Carritte came to examine her. While he was at her bedside, the doctor witnessed a number of things he could not explain. He saw Esther's pillow move beneath her head, untouched by hands. He heard the loud banging the family had reported and watched her bedclothes thrown across the room by nothing. All attempts by the doctor to find a cause for the phenomena failed. Finally he heard a scratching noise he described as being like metal on plaster, looked up and saw letters about a foot high seemingly scratching themselves into the wall, above Esther's bed. When the scratching stopped the letters read: 'Esther Cox you are mine to kill'.

Scary, isn’t it? But that part was a bedtime story for kids compared to what happened next.

Normally, ( as if normal was a condition when a haunting occurs ), a haunting remains to one particular location. But not for Esther Cox. The haunting followed her everywhere she went and it gradually grew in violence. From fingermarks on her body and safety pins thrown at her face, a knife flying from a kid’s hand and stabbing her in the back to the “bangs” even following her to church where they overtook the sermon and poor Esther being asked to leave.

Having left her home twice, the first time to leave a little peace to her family, the second time as an eviction had been discussed with the landlord, Esther finally moved to a nearby barn. Being arrested as the barn burned down and then sentenced to jail, Esther spent a month there, out of four months, wondering what was happening to her. And as suddenly as the haunting began, the haunting stopped.

Esther lived to the age of fifty three, married twice and had two sons.

Numerous books have been written about Esther Cox. Witnesses have written about the case, including William Hubbell, who lived with the family at the time.

Hubbell published his book after Esther's death, with an affidavit signed by 16 witnesses of the events at Amherst.

Read more HERE.


This case has never been resolved. Nor explained.


~Continued on next post

The Hodgson Family File

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The Hodgson Family

Poltergeists stories are always enjoyable and this one comes from England; it took place in the late 1970’s and is definitely out of this world, no pun intended.

There’s no denying that the Enfield Poltergeist is one of the best-documented cases of purported paranormal activity to date. Thirty-two years later, the series of staggering events which took place over a fourteen month long investigation, are still debated regarding the validity of the evidence in question.

The Hodgson family was like any other. Except for one thing. They lived with a poltergeist for many enduring months until it all stopped, as suddenly as it all started, in 1978.

The story begins when Janet, then aged 11 and her brother Pete, then aged 10, start complaining that their beds are “shaking up and down and jolting all funny”. She didn’t know it yet but Peggy, the single mother of four would be in for a rough ride.

It all got dangerous when a chest of drawers made its way across the room to stop but a few inches from her girls. Having put back to chest to its original position, again, it made its way back to where it first stopped. Peggy tried to move it once more but some invisible force made it so heavy that she couldn’t move it, this time around.

As any other mother would do in such a case, she called the police. She was a nervous wreck as she explained that stuff would just be flying in her house, that Janet had levitated from her bed, that furniture was moving around yet the officers told her they could not do much about it, as I am sure they took the stories mildly and even though two officers themselves saw a chair sliding five feet on the floor.

Peggy then contacted the local media and when the reporters interviewed an extremely nervous Peggy and her children, all seemed quiet. Up to the point when they started to leave, that is. They came back in as Peggy had started yelling hysterically and witnessed firsthand objects flying in the living room, being thrown at the walls and at the family.

Would then follow investigators of the SPR ( Society for Paranormal Research ) and it didn’t take long for them to be convinced as they witnessed the knocking, the shaking, the loud bangs, and probably the most shocking evidence:

One of the more shocking accounts, as retold by Grosse, details the destruction of the girls’ 300-pound fireplace in October of 1977. He explains having heard a loud banging, followed by the feeling of shaking. By the time he reached the girls’ bedroom, the fireplace had wrenched itself out of the wall, ripping a solid metal pipe in half.

As time went on and the investigation continued, some members of the SPR became suspicious of young Janet. At first, they thought that the paranormal activities were somehow related to her as she had bent a spoon in half, in front of witnesses and without ever being in physical contact with the spoon.

After sedating her and setting cameras up in her bedroom, they witnessed a pillow acting strange and then young Janet levitated. Almost feeling like a hoax, they questioned her and she finally admitted that she did help in producing some effects.

This story ends in a strane way as something – or someone - takes possession of Janet, as her voice changes to a man’s voice.

During an interview done by both investigators, the voice refers to itself as a man by the name of Bill, a previous resident of the home who had died of a hemorrhage in a chair on the first floor. Months later, Grosse is contacted by a man by the name of Terry Wilkins. Terry’s father had lived in the Hodgson’s home prior to the family, and had died of a hemorrhage in his favorite chair on the first floor. His name was Bill.

Janet being led to a psychiatric hospital for tests puts an end to the poltergeist activity. She is released two months later and given a clean report. Bill, the poltergeist, never returned.

This case is still unsolved. And totally unexplained.

Read more HERE.

I would also suggest having a read at an interesting thread on Above Top Secret which shows much of the levitation pictures and story. Written by Rising Against, in 2010:

The Enfield Poltergeist Case


~Continued in next post

The Zona Heaster Shue File

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Elva Zona Heaster Shue

Who doesn’t like a good ghost story? This case will blow your mind.

This story takes place in the United States, in 1897, as young Zona, (as she preferred being called ) passed away at age 23. Her mother, Mary Jane Heaster, wasn’t only frustrated by the loss of her daughter at such a young age but also frustrated that the coroner claimed that she died due to complications to giving childbirth. Not only wasn’t Zona giving birth at that time but she was not even pregnant when she died.

Mary Jane so wished and prayed that her daughter could come back from the grave and set the record straight. And then, one day, she did:

In one of the most remarkable cases on U.S. court records, Zona Heaster Shue did speak from her grave, revealing not only how she died - but at whose hand. Her ghost's testimony not only named her own murderer, but helped in convicting the culprit in a court of law. It is the only case on U.S. lawbooks in which the testimony from the spirit of a murder victim aided in resolving the crime.

Zona had given birth before but the father never married her and left, which in the late 1800’s was absolutely scandalous. In need of a husband, young Zona finally met a man in 1896, Erasmus Stribbling Trout Shue, or more commonly named, Edward.

Edward had just arrived in town and they both fell in love. They married on October 26, 1896. Mary Jane wasn’t too happy about them marrying this quickly as they barely knew each other and Edward not only didn’t seem like a likable person but also not someone one could easily trust. But Zona seemed happy so she respected the vows.

Until, on a dreadful morning, three months later, in January, 1897, a young boy by the name of Andy Jones, entered the Shue’s house to find Zona on the floor. The Doctor which was also the coroner was summoned. Zona was dead. By the time Dr Knapp arrived with the young boy, he was surprisingly shocked to find her husband Edward there. Edward had changed Zona, put her best dress on. The doctor, having taken the veil off her face – put there by Edward – had noticed that something didn’t seem right but as Edward was totally freaking out, he just incompetently closed the file.

But then he noticed something - a slight discoloration on the right side of her cheek and neck. The doctor wanted to examine the marks, but Edward protested so vehemently that Knapp ended the examination, announcing that poor Zona had died of "an everlasting faint." Officially and for the record, he inexplicably wrote that the cause of death was "childbirth.

Zona was buried and Mary Jane was inconsolable. She prayed, night after night, demanding answers, wishing that her daughter would help her. Her demands and answers were met, as one night and then for three more consecutive nights, the ghost of Zona would appear to her. She told her mother that Edward was a violent man and that he ended up killing her by strangling her, snapping her first vertebrae. He had killed her over an overwhelming rage that there was no meat for supper, when he had returned home.

Mary Jane went to the police after those nights, only to be met with skepticism. They took her testimony nonetheless and as Edward was arrested on suspicions of murder, she started breathing again. Edward was confident that they didn’t have a case; no one could prove that he had done it. Mary Jane was finally asked – by the defence in court to take stand ( in an effort to discredit her ) – which she obliged. She told the story her daughter had told her and there were circumstantial evidence in her testimony that troubled everyone in the court, including the jury.

Whether or not the jury took Mary Jane's - or rather Zona's - testimony seriously is not known. But they did hand down a verdict of guilty on the charge of murder. Normally, such a conviction would have brought a sentence of death, but because of the circumstantial nature of the evidence, Edward was sentenced to life in prison. He died on March 13, 1900 in the Moundsville, W.V. penitentiary.

It seems that not all ghost stories have a bad ending.

Read more HERE.


~Continued on next post

The Girl in Blue File

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The Girl in Blue Headstone

This story takes place in Ohio, in 1933, just before Christmas. It is the story of Josephine “Sophie” Klimczak, who was only identified some sixty years later after the facts, in 1993. This is a good case of a spirit that lingers in between dimensions.

It was in December 1933, two days before Christmas when a five foot, four inch auburn-haired, hazel-eyed young woman dressed in blue arrived to the town of Willoughby, Ohio. She had been travelling by the Greyhound bus alone, her motives for being in the city unknown. No one knew her name and no one would for the next sixty years.

To this day, no one knows what happened to Sophie. All we know is that shortly after arriving by bus to the town of Willoughby, she rented a room, went to church and then ran to either catch the train or – as many witnesses of the event supposed – committed suicide, as her body was hit full blast from the incoming train which sent her flying through the air to finally land on the gravel siding.

She died on impact from skull injuries but her spirit lived on, or so the legend says. Numerous accounts and photographs have been taken over the last eighty years. Some have seen the girl in blue by her grave; some have recorded an enigmatic female voice in the cemetery.

This case is unresolved. Tragic accident or suicide? To this day, it is still a mystery but something did, in fact, remain.

Read more HERE.

The William Fuld File

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Ouija Boards

No matter where you live, no matter what you believe, chances are that you’ve all heard of the Ouija Boards before. But in case some of you haven’t:

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Ouija is a board that has the alphabet, numerical symbols, and a moveable planchette, all of which are used to communicate with spirits (“Ouija”).

This story revolves around one of its original creators, Mr William Fuld. Mr Fuld is recognized as the Father of the Board as Isaac Fuld and himself acquired the rights to manufacture it in 1897. A contract that lasted three years and was followed by years of dispute, as William took the sole reigns of a new company that solely created the Ouija. Issac started a new company also but not having the rights to reproduce the Ouija, named it the Oriole Talking Board. William would eventually sell millions of copies.

William ran the company for twenty six years and enjoyed being interviewed. He never said that spirits took control of the board but said that he believed that some kind of magnetism or a psychological phenomenon led to the answers being given by the board.

William used the board frequently to make business decisions. After all, it had told him to “prepare for big business” earlier on and the board had been right. When a large shipment had been lost in Minneapolis, the board had told him that he’d find it in Ohio. And it had been right again.

Not knowing how to name the board, the board itself chose its name...O.U.I.J.A., the legend saying that it is based on an old Egyptian word is a fabrication. William was a successful business man who easily delegated work to be done. Yet, in February 1927, he did something that to this day doesn’t make sense:

In February 1927, William Fuld climbed to the roof of his Harford Street factory in Baltimore to supervise the replacement of a flagpole. A support post that he was holding gave way and he fell backwards to his death.

Like the Girl in Blue, rumours are rampant. Did he die of an accident? Some think that playing with the Ouija Board for all those years was his mistake and that unwarranted spirits caused him to stupidly climb to the three story building and then fall to his death. The rights to the Ouija Board were then sold to the Parker Brothers, the company that still manufactures them, to this day.

This is a very interesting case as it remains, after all these years, a true mystery.

Read more HERE and HERE.


This concludes this second part. The next thread will touch on the subject of werewolves, a very controversial topic yet, surprisingly interesting.


Thank you for reading. All comments are welcome.


~Son.

S&F, I love these. No pressure, but if you want to make 30 parts I won't mind at all

Thanks for sharing these. Actually all of the accounts remind me of a short story by Clive Barker titled "The Yattering & Jack". The story details a man named Jack who is haunted by a poltergeist/demon; the narrative view switches between Jack and the entity that haunts him. The premise is that the demon/poltergeist has a set of rules which it has to abide by, or else it becomes the servant of the one it haunts. One is it cannot: directly harm the person using its own self. Its goal is the drive the person to madness, at which point it has "won". It can do things such as animate objects, makes noises, smash things, and any other host of [supernatural] action that would drive most people to insanity.

Well I remembered that when I read these accounts. Throwing pins, making scratches in the wall, tearing out a fireplace & snapping a pipe with brute force. It can do all these things to terrorize the victim, but is not allowed to directly place its "hands" on the person to kill/harm them. I don't know if this applies to all negative supernatural entities, but just pointing out the similarities in this case.

reply to post by mymymy


30 parts ??

I'll add more to each thread as time goes on when I find good ones. Glad you like them !!!

reply to post by Raelsatu


A very interesting point you're making !!

I think it would be true for a majority of cases but Esther Cox had fingermarks on her body. Now, if that was done by an entity or herself or someone else...we'll never really know. But it is a very interesting point.

reply to post by SonoftheSun


I smell Copy Right infringement. The name Talamasca is ripped off from Author Anne Rice. The Talamasca are a fictitious Paranormal Organization in her novels.

Originally posted by SonoftheSun
reply to post by mymymy

 

30 parts ??

I'll add more to each thread as time goes on when I find good ones. Glad you like them !!!

I LOVE these, this is the type of stuff that brought me to ATS in the first place. Google is really NOT my friend. Every time I look for something new like these all I can find is the same old stuff, so I will continue to come back for more!

Originally posted by Youareallschizophrenic
reply to post by SonoftheSun

 

I smell Copy Right infringement. The name Talamasca is ripped off from Author Anne Rice. The Talamasca are a fictitious Paranormal Organization in her novels.

As stated in The Talamasca Files Part One which you can find here :

The title suggests in which direction these threads will lead but in case some of you may not know what the Talamasca is, here’s a brief description from wiki:

The Talamasca Caste (or Order of the Talamasca or simply Talamasca) is described as a secret society set up to watch over and keep track of the paranormal, in particular, witches, spirits, werewolves and vampires.

The Talamasca Caste is a fictional secret society described in the works of Anne Rice.

en.wikipedia.org...

I had been looking into making these threads for a while and thought that the Talamasca name is appropriate as it keeps the door open for fiction while, at the same time, raises discussion on certain cases that, to this day, may not have been fully resolved.

Thank you for stopping by.

The Talamasca Files - Part Three - Werewolves has been posted.

Hope you'll enjoy !!

~Son.

another excellent thread,these are so enjoyable and readable,well done !!!

reply to post by fastbob72


Thank you oh you skeptical philospher !!

Glad you enjoyed !!!

mm,I might err on the sceptical side but my mind is still open.lol.

And I appreciate a well written,quality thread when I read one,can't wait for part 4

The Brown Lady File

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~ Real Photograph of The Brown Lady - 1936 ~

This portrait of "The Brown Lady" ghost is arguably the most famous and well-regarded ghost photograph ever taken.

This famous photo was taken in September, 1936 by Captain Provand and Indre Shira, two photographers who were assigned to photograph Raynham Hall for Country Life magazine.

Even though this picture was taken in 1936, it is believed to be the spirit of Lady Dorothy Townshend, who lived in England, in the early 1700s. Dorothy had married a rich Viscount, Charles Townshend who lived in Raynham Hall, in Norfolf. The Viscount never really fully trusted her as she had been the mistress of Lord Wharton, before marrying him. He always suspected her of infidelity.

Dorothy “officially” died in 1726 but rumours said that the Viscount had staged it and that he kept Dorothy locked in a remote corner of his house, till she really died, many years later.

In the early 1800s, reports came in that something had been seen haunting the oak staircase of Raynham Hall. The first official report was made by King George IV who had seen her, dressed in brown, at his bedside, while staying at the Hall.

Then, in 1835, she was officially reported again, by Colonel Loftus who had been staying at the Hall for the Christmas Holidays. He saw her twice and, again, she was wearing a brown dress.

A few years later, Captain Frederick Marryat and two friends reported not only seeing her in a hallway but one of the men fired a shot at her.

As she passed, Marryat said, she grinned at the men in a "diabolical manner." Marryat fired a pistol at the apparition, but the bullet simply passed through.

And then, there she was again, in 1936, when this amazing photograph was taken. It is said that she is still being seen occasionally.


A truly amazing case and quite an awesome picture!!!

Read more HERE.

reply to post by SonoftheSun


Thanks for the new story above. I'm surprised I haven't heard of this. It's so close to where I live too.

reply to post by SonoftheSun


Wish you could do these in "audio" form.........