The Hinterkaifeck Massacre

The Hinterkaifeck Massacre in 1922 is probably Germany´s most mysterious unsolved murder case. Hinterkaifeck was the name of a small farmstead outside Groebern, between the Bavarian towns of Ingolstadt and Schrobenhausen (approximately 70 km north of Munich). Andreas Gruber (63) lived with his wife Cäzilia (72) and their widowed daughter Viktoria Gabriel (35) – the official owner of the farm – and her two children Cäzilia (7) and Josef (2).

They are said to have kept mostly to themselves. Gruber in particular is described as a stand-offish brute who is said to have beaten and terrorized his children, of whom only Viktoria survived. Viktoria was a popular member of the church choir, known for her beautiful voice. It was common knowledge that Gruber had an incestuous relationship with his daughter and actively prevented her from marrying again. His wife apparently had knowledge of the situation, but did little to stop things.

A few days prior to the crime, Andreas Gruber told neighbors that he had discovered footsteps in the snow leading from the edge of the forest to the farm...however, there were none leading back. He also talked about hearing footsteps in the attic and finding an unfamiliar newspaper on the farm. Furthermore, one of the two existing house keys went missing several days before the murders, but none of this was reported to the police.

Six months earlier, the previous maid had left the farm, claiming that it was haunted; the new maid, Maria Baumgartner, arrived on the farm on 31 March 1922, only a few hours before her death.

Some weeks before the fatal night, Viktoria had withdrawn all her money from her bank account and borrowed some from her half-sister (Gruber was Cäzilia´s second husband), to invest in the farm. A donation of 700 goldmark was left in the confessional of the church. The priest traced it to Viktoria, and she told him it was “for missionary work”.

It is believed that the older couple, as well as their daughter Viktoria and her daughter Cäzilia, were somehow all lured into the barn one by one where they were slaughtered brutally. The perpetrator(s) then went into the house where they killed two-year-old Josef who was sleeping in his cot in his mother’s bedroom, as well as the maid, Maria Baumgartner, in her bed-chamber.

On the following Tuesday, the 4th of April, some neighbours went to the farmstead because none of the inhabitants had been seen for several days, which was rather unusual. The postman had noticed that the mail from the previous Saturday was still where he had left it. Furthermore, young Cäzilia had not turned up for school on Monday, nor had she been there on Saturday. The family also had been absent from church on Sunday, which was unusual, given Viktoria´s position in the choir.

The day after the discovery, court physician Dr. Johann Baptist Aumüller performed the autopsies in the barn. It was established that a pickaxe was the most likely murder weapon. The corpses were beheaded, and the skulls sent to Munich, where clairvoyants examined them without result. The autopsy also showed that the younger Cäzilia had been alive for several hours after the assault. Lying in the straw, next to the bodies of her grandparents and her mother, she had torn her hair out in tufts. The skulls were never actually returned to the bodies and the entire family has been buried without heads. The traces of the skulls have been lost in history. They very likely were destroyed when the forensic department in Nuremberg burned down during WWII.

More than 100 suspects have been questioned through the years, but to no avail. At the time, Inspector Georg Reingruber and his colleagues from the Munich Police Department made a diligent effort to solve the murders. The police first suspected the motive to be robbery, and interrogated several inhabitants from the surrounding villages, as well as travelling craftsmen and vagrants. The robbery theory was, however, abandoned when a large amount of money was found in the house. Only the paper money was gone, while considerable amounts of gold coins and valuables had been left.

It is believed that the perpetrator(s) remained at the farm for several days – someone had fed the cattle, and eaten food in the kitchen: the neighbours had also seen smoke from the chimney during the weekend...and anyone looking for money would have found it.

The victims had been hit with precision and a lot of hatred, their heads had been split but their bodies had apparently not been hit. Whoever did this must have been familiar enough with using a pickaxe to do so without thinking.

Whoever did this also must have been known on the farm, as the Grubers´ dog (a Pomeranian, said to be a keen watchdog) was first heard inside the house, but and later seen tied up and healthy, barking like crazy outside the barn by a mechanic who came to the farm on Monday. The dog was found inside the barn, hurt and frightened, by the men who discovered the dead on Tuesday. So the killer was familiar enough to the dog to be able to handle it during the three days he stayed on the farm after the murders.

At some point, the death of Karl Gabriel, Viktoria’s husband who had been reported killed in the French trenches in 1914, was called into question. His body had never been found and two people claimed to have encountered a German-speaking Russian officer after WWII, who claimed to be “the Hinterkaifeck killer”. A former friend of Karl´s also claimed to have met him in the 1920s. These accounts have been proven wrong and the death of Karl Gabriel seems ascertained enough to discount this theory.

Many of those who study this case consider little Josef the key to it all. Why kill him, too? Maybe because he knew and recognized the killer? At two years, he would have been able to say something like “uncle xxx was here”, even if he might not have understood everything else that went on.

When little Josef was born, Viktoria claimed for Lorenz Schlittenbauer to be the father. He denied it and reported Viktoria and her father to the police for incest. On Viktoria´s request, probably garnished with the hint of a chance to marry the wealthy widow, Schlittenbauer withdrew his report later and confirmed to be the father. He had to pay an alimony of several thousand marks to the Grubers, which Viktoria gave him. With this down payment, it was agreed that he was free of any responsibility and Andreas Gruber was made the child´s guardian. In fact, this kind of deal was illegal even then. A TV documentary on the case revealed that shortly before she was killed, Viktoria planned to sue Schlittenbauer for alimony payments.

Lorenz Schlittenbauer had remarried at that point. His first child with his new wife had died and been buried only a few days before the murder. There was speculation that Schlittenbauer having to pay for a child that he couldn´t be sure was his while his own child had not lived triggered the killing spree.

Schlittenbauer was obviously familiar with the Grubers´ farmstead. He was one of the men who went to investigate after the family had not been seen for days and discovered the corpses in the barn. He had apparently no problem handling them, pulling those lying on top of each other apart. The other two told him not to disturb anything but he said he had to make sure where “his boy” was.

According to one of the other two men, Schlittenbauer “disturbed everything there was to disturb” and displayed a surprising familiarity with the farm. Schlittenbauer may have stayed on the farm until the police arrived, feeding the cattle. He even had a meal there himself. Just like the unknown perpetrator, he was apparently not disturbed by the presence of the corpses. Even though people were a bit more familiar with death and dead people back then, the other two men were rather shaky seeing the slain victims.

In spite of his apparent worry about “his boy”, he does not seem to have minded the decease of the family a lot: Years later, he said during an interrogation that the "Lord had his hand in the right place when this happened, these were bad people. He did not exclude the two children."

Schlittenbauer had no alibi for the night of the murders. According to his family, he spent the night at their barn to watch out for burglars after having heard of Gruber´s findings.

Schlittenbauer lived only 350 metres away from Hinterkaifeck, so he could have easily gone over there and back without his absence being noticed. And years later, when the murders were discussed in the local pub, Schlittenbauer repeatedly talked in the first person when speculating about how the killer may have gone about and referred to him as “I”.

While some of Schlittenbauer's behavior makes him look suspicious and a lot of open questions remain. Schlittenbauer is by no means the only suspect and there has been rampant speculation...but no killer has been identified for certain and nothing has been proven.

In 2007 the students of the Polizeifachhochschule (Police Academy) in Fürstenfeldbruck got the task to investigate the case once more with modern techniques of criminal investigation. Their final report is kept secret. To this day, many hobby investigators continue to investigate the case. - hinterkaifeck.net / hinterkaifeck-mord.de / armchairdetective.wordpress.com

NOTE: There are two movies with the name “Hinterkaifeck”: one by Hans Fegert from 1981, and the other by Kurt K. Hieber in 1991.

“Hinter Kaifeck” is a mystery thriller from 2009 made by director Esther Gronenborn and producer Monika Raebel, starring Benno Fürmann and Alexandra Maria Lara.

In 2006, German writer Andrea Maria Schenkel wrote a novel with the title "Tannöd" where she tells the story of Hinterkaifeck using different names for the locations and people involved. Also the novel "The Murdered House", written by French writer Pierre Magnan, is allegedly inspired by this case. In this novel, the youngest victim of the massacre survives and returns to the farm as an adult to investigate the crime.

Munich journalist Peter Leuschner wrote two books with the title "Hinterkaifeck. Der Mordfall. Spuren eines mysteriösen Verbrechens." in 1979 and 1997. The second book is an extension of the first book. The title means "Hinterkaifeck. The Murder Case. Traces of a mysterious crime". In this book, Leuschner quotes the original police files.

Kaifeck Murder (Hinter Kaifeck) Trailer - Film - German

Hinter Kaifeck Trailer

Tannöd I

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Three-Year Old Revered As Healer -- Shadowy Hat Man Spooks Residents -- Lady Eleanore's Mantle

Three-Year Old Revered As Healer

Ray Rong, 3, blesses bottles of water in Svay Chrum village, Prey Veng province. Hundreds of people come to see the child and get the water every day, believing it can heal their illnesses.

Even before dawn, a few hundred people have gathered to sit in line, reminiscent of the queues of waiting patients which snakes outside the grounds of the Kantha Bopha Hospital during pandemics.

They have travelled from different cities and provinces to get a chance to be healed by Ray Rong, a resident of Prey Veng’s Svay Chrum village. Rong is known far and wide as one of the best healers in the area, and the blessing water and herbal medicines he gives to patients are claimed to defeat a hundred different kinds of diseases. Many other traditional healers proffer the same goods, but there’s one important difference: Rong is only three years old.

Still too young to speak clearly, Ray Rong is the third child of five to Tep Saray and Un Saroeurn, a pair of impoverished farmers.

In the last couple of months, the boy has risen to fame on the back of claims that he has healed hundreds of people. Every day, at least two hundred patients, including some from across the border of nearby Vietnam, wait outside his house to get blessed water and medicine. Some of Rong’s patients travel hundreds of kilometres and spend several nights sleeping near the toddler’s house in the hopes of getting a chance to meet him.

The 60-year-old Yay Hom was one of Ray Rong’s patients, who brought incense, candles, cake and pure drinking water as an offering to the child healer.

“I have to wait for my turn to be called in and see the healer,” she says. “I have suffered from diabetes for 10 years. My blood sugar level was never less than 410 mg/dL.” (Healthy blood sugar levels range from 70-180 milligrams per decilitre.) “I took medication and saw other doctors, but I never felt better. After the holy child gave me magic water to drink and some fig fruits, my blood sugar level dropped to 110 mg/dL.”

Srey Sokhon, another patient from Phnom Penh, told 7Days that she rented a nearby house for four nights while waiting for her turn to be called in.

“I suffered from a condition that made my whole body go numb,” she says. “I visited many famous doctors in the cities, but it never got better. After I asted the holy water, I felt much better and I was able to eat properly.”

Srey Sokhon says she hopes the water and a prescription of herbal medicine from Ray Rong will help cure her disease completely.

Not all the patients have been as lucky as these two, however. Recently the healer himself became ill. Prom Hay, had already been waiting for five days when 7Days visited Svay Chrum, still had not been seen by Rong.

“I’ve waited and waited, but I still cannot get any medicine,” the woman complains. “I was told that the doctor is ill, so he cannot prescribe herbal medicine; he can only give his magic water to patients.”
However, the woman was determined to continue her wait until the doctor recovered.

Chim Yun and Prach Youk are Ray Rong’s elderly relatives. They say that the child healer’s fame has not made their family happy, because people claiming to be from TV stations and newspapers have tried to extort them.

“People believe that the child can cure their disease,” they say. “The water and medicine work for them. The young doctor helps his patients..”

Rong’s grandfather, Yorm Yun, recalls that a few months ago that his eldest daughter suffered so much pain as a result of an illness that she almost committed suicide. Rong, who could onlyh speak a few words, said he would find medicine for his aunt, running out of the house and pointing his finger at a strange wild plant. The family then cut the plant and dried it under the sun before boiling it in water.

His aunt suddenly felt better after drinking the concoction.

Yorm Yun also says that Rong’s father was an alcoholic until the healer offered him some water. Since then, the man has given up drinking.

News of these two feats travelled quickly, and people started flocking to the child’s house, asking for magic water and herbal medicine.

“It has been two months since my grandson became a well-known healer,” says Yum. “There are at least three thousand people who have come to see him. All of them claim that they recovered from their illnesses.”

However, the grandfather also expressed his deep concern about his grandson’s health and safety given his young age and the amount of work involved in his services.

“My family is worried about our little Ray Rong. We don’t want him to see patients. Many patients are coming and the child doesn’t have time to rest. He’s been ill. We have decided to tell him to stop giving prescriptions, and now patients only get holy water touched by the holy doctor.” - phnompenhpost

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'Evil' in the Laundry Room

One night I was going downstairs to do my laundry and my dog came with me as usual. I hung up my laundry up to dry and thought nothing of it. A day went go by and I went back down to get the laundry that I hung to dry when I noticed that all my clothes were inside-out and I could have sworn it wasn't that way the day before. So a few weeks passed, and I started hearing sounds outside of my apartment door. It sounded as though someone was saying "let us in", repeatedly. This was about 1 am in the morning so I ignored it and went back to sleep. The next day I went down again to throw some more laundry in the washer and my dog came with me as usual. I had a basket in my hands as I opened the basement door and my dog's hair stood up and she was cowering. I was yelling at her to "come", and she just stood there looking straight ahead of me. I looked and saw nothing when all of a sudden she started crying and darted past me up the stairs. I called her but she didn't listen and I just stood at the top of the stairs. At that moment I felt real cold and I threw the basket down and ran up the stairs! I told my husband and he came down with me from that day on to help me with the laundry. After about a month or so we ended up moving out of that house. This is a true story and I believe my dog saw something evil. - from Witness

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Lady Eleanore's Mantle

Lady Eleanore Rochcliffe, being orphaned, was admitted to the family of her distant relative, Governor Shute, of Massachusetts Bay, and came to America to take her home with him. She arrived at the gates of Province House, in Boston, in the governor's splendid coach, with outriders and guards, and as the governor went to receive her, a pale young man, with tangled hair, sprang from the crowd and fell in the dust at her feet, offering himself as a footstool for her to tread upon. Her proud face lighted with a smile of scorn, and she put out her hand to stay the governor, who was in the act of striking the fellow with his cane.

"Do not strike him," she said. "When men seek to be trampled, it is a favor they deserve."

For a moment she bore her weight on the prostrate form, "emblem of aristocracy trampling on human sympathies and the kindred of nature," and as she stood there the bell on South Church began to toll for a funeral that was passing at the moment. The crowd started; some looked annoyed; Lady Eleanore remained calm and walked in stately fashion up the passage on the arm of His Excellency. "Who was that insolent fellow?" was asked of Dr. Clarke, the governor's physician.

"Gervase Helwyse," replied the doctor; "a youth of no fortune, but of good mind until he met this lady in London, when he fell in love with her, and her pride and scorn have crazed him."

A few nights after a ball was given in honor of the governor's ward, and Province House was filled with the elect of the city. Commanding in figure, beautiful in face, richly dressed and jewelled, the Lady Eleanore was the admired of the whole assembly, and the women were especially curious to see her mantle, for a rumor went out that it had been made by a dying girl, and had the magic power of giving new beauty to the wearer every time it was put on. While the guests were taking refreshment, a young man stole into the room with a silver goblet, and this he offered on his knee to Lady Eleanore. As she looked down she recognized the face of Helwyse.

"Drink of this sacramental wine," he said, eagerly, "and pass it among the guests."
"Perhaps it is poisoned," whispered a man, and in another moment the liquor was overturned, and Helwyse was roughly dragged away.

"Pray, gentlemen, do not hurt my poor admirer," said the lady, in a tone of languor and condescension that was unusual to her. Breaking from his captives, Helwyse ran back and begged her to cast her mantle into the fire. She replied by throwing a fold of it above her head and smiling as she said, "Farewell. Remember me as you see me now."

Helwyse shook his head sadly and submitted to be led away. The weariness in Eleanore's manner increased; a flush was burning on her cheek; her laugh had grown infrequent. Dr. Clarke whispered something in the governor's ear that made that gentleman start and look alarmed. It was announced that an unforeseen circumstance made it necessary to close the festival at once, and the company went home. A few days after the city was thrown into a panic by an outbreak of small-pox, a disease that in those times could not be prevented nor often cured, and that gathered its victims by thousands. Graves were dug in rows, and every night the earth was piled hastily on fresh corpses. Before all infected houses hung a red flag of warning, and Province House was the first to show it, for the plague had come to town in Lady Eleanore's mantle. The people cursed her pride and pointed to the flags as her triumphal banners. The pestilence was at its height when Gervase Helwyse appeared in Province House. There were none to stay him now, and he climbed the stairs, peering from room to room, until he entered a darkened chamber, where something stirred feebly under a silken coverlet and a faint voice begged for water. Helwyse tore apart the curtains and exclaimed, "Fie! What does such a thing as you in Lady Eleanore's apartment?"

The figure on the bed tried to hide its hideous face. "Do not look on me," it cried. "I am cursed for my pride that I wrapped about me as a mantle. You are avenged. I am Eleanore Rochcliffe."

The lunatic stared for a moment, then the house echoed with his laughter. The deadly mantle lay on a chair. He snatched it up, and waving also the red flag of the pestilence ran into the street. In a short time an effigy wrapped in the mantle was borne to Province House and set on fire by a mob. From that hour the pest abated and soon disappeared, though graves and scars made a bitter memory of it for many a year. Unhappiest of all was the disfigured creature who wandered amid the shadows of Province House, never showing her face, unloved, avoided, lonely. - Myths and Legends of Our Own Land - Complete

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San Antonio’s Shadowy Hat Man Spooks Residents

By Ken Gerhard - Just recently I interviewed a local woman named Stacy Alejos who related an extremely creepy and disturbing tale to me. According to Stacy, when she was a very young girl living on the far Westside of San Antonio, she was awoken one night by an uncomfortable sensation and felt eerily compelled to look out her bedroom window. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Stacy could clearly make out the outline of a humanoid figure standing behind the white picket fence that surrounded her yard. Though she couldn’t make out much in the way of features, she could clearly discern what she interpreted to be a “pork pie” hat atop the figure’s head. As Stacy watched fearfully, the being began to sidle in a strange sideways motion, all the while keeping its outstretched arms on the top fence post. When she noticed the audible crunching of dried leaves beneath the entity’s feet, Stacy was quite sure that she was not dreaming, nor imagining things. Understandably terrified, the young girl dove underneath her sheets, quaking in fear until morning. Her adamant attempts to wake her aunt, who was sleeping next to her at the time, were futile. It almost seemed as if her aunt had been in a trance.

This event had a profound impact on her since, as she grew older, Stacy admittedly developed a fascination with all things paranormal much to her parents dismay. Though remarkably, she also learned that her parents had claimed to have sighted an inexplicable disc-shaped object hovering above their property one night, though they didn’t like to talk about it. The utterly synchronistic aspect of Stacy’s experience occurred just recently when she met another San Antonio woman who related a nearly identical sighting to her. In fact, the other woman had volunteered the information with absolutely no knowledge of Stacy’s encounter, and perhaps even stranger still… both women discovered that they grew up in adjacent neighborhoods!

As unbelievable as it sounds, within the field of paranormal research, there are many references to specter-like apparitions known as shadow people – ghostly, black figures that appear in people’s peripheral vision and suddenly vanish into thin air. These phantoms are believed to subsist on fear and are often perceived to be bad omens. Interestingly, there are numerous accounts of a specific shadow being known as the Hat Man, whose black fedora is immediately recognizable by all who see him. Skeptics would be quick to explain the shadow people as the product of mere hallucinations or perhaps imaginations gone wild. But, there are some intriguing theories that have been put forward to explain the phenomenon, including demonic manifestations or inter dimensional visitors.

If any San Antonio residents think they have seen the phantom Hat Man, I would love to hear about it. - sacurrent

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Tinsel-Town's celebrity ghosts

What really happened during the Philadelphia Experiment?

Suggested reading:

The Philadelphia Experiment: Project Invisibility

The Hollywood Book of Death: The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More than 125 American Movie and TV Idols

Lost at Sea: Ghost Ships and Other Mysteries

My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir

Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game

Haunted People, Haunted Minds

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Photos: Pinellas Park, Florida Haunting

I received the following email from my colleague David Garrison on Sunday:

I have a page called HALLOWEEN365, and after posting some funny haunted house and ghost pics, one of the gals that belongs to the page left a rather unusual post. She seemed to be saying she lived in a haunted house and had photos. She didn't know how to post them, so I gave her my email address. For the last 3 days she has been sending a steady stream of REALLY strange pictures.

Some of them are really dark, (I have asked a friend to see what they can do to lighten them up). She lives in Pinellas Park, Florida, "believes" she lives on or near an Indian burial site (although I have not been able to find any reference to one any where). When I asked "how" she got the photos, (and it took awhile to decipher her answer) she said she is "somewhat" sensitive, and sometimes "senses" a presence, so she starts snapping pictures at random around the room. Sometimes she actually "sees" "something" and takes a picture.

She also said that many times "they" take her phone and some how put pictures on it that she did not take. She says she went to the local courthouse and found out that one man had died on the property years ago. Some of these are very dark, some are blurry. But, if I am to believe her description, I CAN see "something" myself. There are several pictures, and my phone only let's me send 5 at a time. So I will send more than one mail, with her description of each photo.

NOTE: I've enlarged and attempted to lighten the photos. I've attached David's comments with each photo...Lon

Now "THIS" one is interesting.

She says she awoke to see a young Indian girl looking at a painting on her wall, and snapped a photo. Even though it's a little dark, I can definately see a young girl.

This photo, bottom left is what she called a "ghost cat". This is, she says, a desk-type cabinet and the shelf with the "cat" has nothing on it.

She has two small dogs, this photo, she says, is NOT them.

This one has to be lightened. I "think" I see "something", but not sure. On the pillow above her elbow looks almost like a possom to me.

She says she saw "something" coming out of her TV set and took a photo of it.

She says "they" like to tease her at nite by pulling her blankets off, and she hears laughter or "giggling". She awoke to having her blankets being pulled and saw a "baby" or very small child crawling to her from the foot of the bed. I see "something" on the left.

This she called "The Demon Boy Face in the floor". She says she saw it begin to take shape, grabbed her phone and hastily snapped this photo.

This is a photo of the reflection in her headboard mirror. That is her hand holding her cell phone. Upper right is what she says looked like a clowns face taking shape.

Another "ghost animal" at the foot of her bed. Bottom left. She called it a "Giselle". What the heck is it??

She claims she has lived in her house for 4 years, and it has been happening to her the whole time. Says she has LOTS more photos, but she has to email them from her phone. And she says that is very hard for her and takes a lot of time. I will keep you updated, and as I get new photos, will forward them to you. She was not reaching out for help nor did she come off as really frightened or scared. Just a fact of life for her. She just wanted SOMEONE to look at her photos and tell her she's not crazy. You know I am a believer, and we both have seen MANY photos over the years of what I believe to be real spirits or entities. As soon as I laid eyes on these photos, you were the first person I thought of to share them with. Tell me what you think. I "DO" see "something" in them. Exactly what..I just don't know.

Hoping all is well with you and yours.
-DAVID-

NOTE: I've seen a lot of photos of supposed entities...but I will say that these are intriguing. I'm going to suggest she use a static camera setup. I'm not sure if the activity is only in the bedroom or exactly know what she's dealing with. If anyone has some thoughts, post a comment. BTW, the witness has indicated that she may want Spirit Rescue International's assistance...Lon

Seminole Views: A Postcard Panorama of America's Only Unconquered Tribe

The Seminole (First Reports-Native Americans)

Ghost Stories of St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Pinellas County: Tales From a Haunted Peninsula (Haunted American)

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The Slave Woman of Lake Marburg

In 1978, I was asked to explore an area of bottom woodland that was the property of the P.H. Glatfelter Company of Spring Grove, Pa. This property was below the Lake Marburg dam and bordered Codorus Creek on both sides. The nearest town is Porters Sideling, Pa. This particular area was somewhat familiar to me since many of my mother’s relatives had lived near there before the dam was built. As well, I had hunted deer in this general area when I was younger.

The original report stated the phenomena of a woman’s scream that came from this hollow area usually at night. Several of the Glatfelter employees had heard the sounds at various times over a 2-3 year period starting in 1975. As well, a hunter (Bruce Rudisill) had also reported strange blue fog coming from the larch swamp one January 1976 morning at about 5:30 am while sitting in a deer stand approximately 500 yards north. The hunter stated to me that he noticed (what he thought) was a deer running out of the swamp bottom and that he noticed a bright blue fog hovering above the reeds and grasses where the deer had flushed.

I investigated the area of the screams and fog on February 22, 1978 near dusk and I was accompanied by a local friend, Rudisill and 2 Glatfelter employees (I was asked not to identify the 2 employees in my report). The weather was clear and very cold with little wind. We walked around the muck and thickets for a few hours. I estimate we covered 10 acres or so. I tried to perceive any spiritual energy while walking but was unsuccessful. It was approximately 8:00 pm by this time so we decided to walk back to our car which was parked on a dam access road about 200 yards from the area of initial investigation. We got into the car and discussed some of the prior phenomena reported and tried to gauge a smaller area to closely examine.

At about 8:45 pm, while still seated in our vehicle, my friend stated there was a person walking on the access road coming towards us. I looked up and noticed a dark figure walking slowly about 40 yards from the car. I turned on the headlights and was amazed at the sight. Though the figure was a bit shadowy, I could make out a young negro or mulatto woman in a long dark dress and a tattered blouse that barely covered her breasts. She was rocking her head back and forth and looked like she was talking to someone...then she suddenly turned around and disappeared.

I immediately got out of the car and looked around the area hoping to pickup some sense of what we had witnessed. The others agreed to help me but, frankly, they were in a state of panic and shock. After about a half hour of further investigation, I agreed to drive the others back to their residences. I also tried to gather my wits since this apparition was very dramatic. I decided to call off further exploration that evening.

I returned to the area several times since that initial night of investigation and did not witness further activity. As well, I was not able to perceive any source of energy, though one thicket of heavy boughed trees eminated a sensation of hatred.

After many years of investigating the history of the area and possible reasons for what we witnessed, my best conclusion is that this was the manifesting energy of a slave woman who was either captured by fugitive slave bounty hunters or was subjected to another horrible fate. Since this area is close to the Mason-Dixon line and that fleeing slaves came through this area from Maryland, I am confident that this was the reason we were witnesses to this apparition - Lon Strickler

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A Day Filming Haunted Llanelli

Box Cemetery where the 'Ghost of the Cannoneer' haunts

Thursday 6 September 2012 - The purpose of filming was to help promote Llanelli Town in South Wales UK as the most haunted place in Wales. Spirit Rescue International worked in association with LlanelliTown.com to assist in this aim.

On site were:
Jonathan Williams...LlanelliTown.com
Irene Allen Block, Karen Allan... Spirit Rescue International
Alun Daniel, Lisa Jenkins, and Mark...Epiphany Creative Solutions for your Llanelli

Click for video - A Day Filming Haunted Llanelli

We met Jonathan and his team at 11:00am sharp near an old graveyard called St Paul’s Cemetery in Llanelli. The church attached to this place had been demolished, leaving only the graveyard with its graves and tombstones nestled behind an old stone wall. As we walked through the gates, I instantly knew that there was not a lot going on and the chances of getting anything paranormal was going to be very slim. Many of the tombstones had been laid down flat as a health and safety measure, as I am sure many children must get in there playing at times. This was sad as I felt that some of the stones had been laid in the wrong direction to the actual burials, so they are not actually pointing to the deceased themselves. There was more to this place then the resident spirits; wine, beer and spirit bottles lay round about, so it was evident that people gathered here occasionally drinking.

With Alun filming, Lisa did the intro and introduced me. After a short chat and while they were deciding their next move, I wandered off for a walk about on my own. Karen sat on some old stone steps that could have been the only remaining part of the church to be seen. I was drawn to one corner of the graveyard, and to a certain tombstone. Here I could hear a soft murmuring like a woman sobbing, but I could not see anything. I decided to join Karen sitting on the stone steps, and made my way over to her.

The furnace that made cannonballs for the Napoleonic War

As I sat down, I heard a shrill sound, then a “boom” noise. Looking at Karen it was clear she had not heard it, and unfortunately the recorder I had on earlier was now switched off. Alun suggested it could have been natural as there was construction work being carried out in the area. My instinct told me it was a lead up to something that would be of importance later in the day.

Following this we continued to talk a bit more for the camera, and then decided as Alun was filming us we would all have a walk about talking at the same time. Earlier I had crossed an area where it was thought that the old church had been situated. There were no graves there, only a hollow in the ground, which was big enough to have been the building. I had a feeling that there was something under my feet, but not graves, maybe an under croft or something. That would have made sense, as the old steps seemed to go from higher ground down to this area. Could it have been that the steps were at one time leading down to a cellar or something? Again crossing the same area the feeling was just as strong. We carried on down towards the gate, but just before reaching it I stopped short. I had heard a man chuckle, and this drew me to another area where I felt there were graves of children or a child. Although I could feel it strongly, again, I could not see anything. I could not understand why this grave or graves were so far away from the church as I know that in the old days babies and young children were buried close to the church walls, “Nearer to God” as they say. Later when thinking about this I wondered if a child had been a stillbirth and was buried in the grave of a loved one, something we may never know.

Following this place we moved on to another cemetery called Box Cemetery and parked the car up in the car park. As soon as I got out of the car I was hit by a strong energy that can only be described as electrical. This place, to me, was buzzing with paranormal activity. Before we even walked out of the car park I thought I was going crazy. I could hear faintly the intro music from the TV series Dr Who. I mentioned this to Karen/Pod then just shunned it off. It was later revealed to me that there was or was going to be an episode of the program filmed there. Alun said something about the fact that we were not able to film in this cemetery because of the BBC. Just what he meant I am not sure.

We all moved into the cemetery itself and the site that met us was awesome. It was built on a hill, and as far as the eye could see there were tomb stones and monuments of all shapes and sizes. Very old and ornate, there seemed to be thousands of them. Not only did they cover up the hill but down the other side as well. This place was tremendous. The moment I stepped into this place I heard the loud “BOOM” noise again; just one single boom then nothing. A few minutes later it would “boom” again, and this is how it would go on for the majority of our stay at this cemetery. When trying to explain this, Mark, one of the film crew, asked if it could be artillery, like a cannon. As soon as he said this, I realised that that was the nearest thing to describe it. Because we could not film in the cemetery we decided to film on a footpath that ran alongside of it. As we walked, there were the sounds of children playing. But as there was a school nearby, I made a mental note to try and not get these sounds mixed with anything I was picking up. I could hear whispering as if we were being watched, but I didn’t mention it as by this time the group was lagging behind a bit. By the time they caught up, I had forgotten all about it. That’s the trouble, if something is not mentioned as it happens, I don’t hold on to it and I let it go. This was to happen many times doing our outing for one reason or another; either I had wandered off and separated from the group, or the camera had been switched off at that moment.

Strady Woods where the dog or fox spirit walks down the road

Carrying on up the footpath, I was drawn to a gap in the hedge. I could just about see the tops of the tombstones but no lower. I was overcome with a calming emotion, sad but serene. I heard a woman’s voice say “Rose” and at the same time I had a vision of one single Red Rose. I mentioned this to the team, who I don’t think was filming at the time, and then let the emotion go. We carried on a bit further and came across a pony in a paddock, to which we all said hello and gave it a stroke but it was too busy eating to be that interested in us. There was nothing else to be felt or heard here, and for some reason I was not seeing anything worth seeing, so the obvious thing to do was return to the cemetery in the hope of having more luck there.

In the cemetery, because we were unable to film, Karen and I busied ourselves with taking photos for my team to see. I could again hear that booming sound every so often, and it was beginning to get on my nerves. I was the only one hearing it, and knew it was paranormal, but could not work out any reason for it. Karen wanted to follow a path through the cemetery that ran adjacent to the footpath we had been on earlier. I didn’t want to go that way and said so, but she marched off knowing that I would follow her. She didn’t say why she wanted to go that way and I found out later she was looking for the spot where I had looked through the hedge and heard the woman say “Rose.” It wasn’t long before she located the space, and close by was a gravestone dedicated to a Mary. In front of the tombstone, stuck on its own in the ground, was one Red Silk flower. It looked like a Rose, but actually on closer inspection I think it was meant to be a Red Carnation. Was this my mystery flower that was mentioned to me by the woman’s spirit? I think so. The lady must have been very proud of it to bring it to my attention, and Karen later said that she had a pull to go to that exact place.

Walking on, the booming sound continued, and between each boom, there was a pause of a few minutes. Turning to come back down to the car park, I heard a child counting “1, 2, 3,” etc. There I saw two children playing a game like hide and seek between the tombstones. These children were not residual and were very clear, almost solid looking. The clothes told me they were from different times, one girl Victorian, and a boy from about 1920 0r 30. They were interacting with each other, and the only way this could have happened was if their energy was resonating on the same level. I mentioned something in passing to Karen about it, but the others did not seem as if they heard. They were in conversation with each other so I let it go. Strange thing is that when I sent the photo of this particular area to Sunny, one of my team in Texas, USA, I never mentioned anything about it, yet she picked up on it and emailed me back, saying that she sensed two children playing between the stones, a game.

From the cemetery we went to a wooded area called Strady woods. Jonathan said that as a child he was always told not to go into these woods as there was some sort of witchcraft attached to them. We walked along a road that went through the centre of the woods, and something rushed by me at a great speed. It made me jump, but it was moving so fast and came out of nowhere, and I could not get a read on it. By the time I realised it was paranormal, it was gone. The only thing I saw was a fox or dog like spirit walking down on the opposite side of the road to us. So with nothing much happening here, we again climbed into the cars and made our way to another place called Furness Pond. Now this place was more interesting. Before I had even got out of the car I told Karen that someone had died there. I thought at first it was a suicide, the feelings were so strong. Karen wandered off with her recorder and camera taking photos. I followed behind. We walked through a clearing that led out to a lovely pond, big enough to be a small lake, with ducks swimming on it and lily pads floating.

The emotions here seemed to be everywhere, and it was as if they were all mingling together. Separate emotions of all types from different times mixing together as if in one big heap. It became difficult to separate them to be able to read them. There was sadness, or upset and anger, and I felt as if someone recently had been there to trying to work out their problems, and had even considered taking their own life. There was a feeling of something occurring like a replay of an event that went too far, as if someone had gone over the top doing something, and that this had also caused some sort of tragedy. I felt there were children playing roughly, someone getting hurt and someone regretting it all, as if it was an accident. There were weird emotions coming from all around. I tried to explain it to the film team, but I think it all got lost in the translation.

We decided to try and find an old Furness that Jonathan had mentioned being near to the lake, and wandered off to look for it. Rounding the lake in the distance there was what looked like a brick wall. Thinking this was it, we headed for it. On the way we came across a council worker, and Mark, one of the team, asked directions to the Furness. We were heading the wrong way. The brick wall type place, the worker said, had been an old farmhouse. It was now demolished except for the very last bottom of the walls, creating an outline of the building. Being curious, we made our way to it and as soon as I entered what would have been the main house, I was overwhelmed by the sound of a woman nagging. I could not make out what she said but the tone certainly made all clear...she was nagging about something.

Old farmhouse where Irene heard the nagging

From here we went on a hunt for the Furness, and after what seemed a fair walk we came across it. Karen and I took pictures and we all climbed down some stones steps that ran down a steep bank close by to it. Near the bottom, the sensation was strong, hustle and bustle non-stop working. The feeling was of being busy busy, and I felt what appeared to be five or six men working hard as they could. There must have been many accidents here, scalds from the heat etc. Jonathan told me that this old Furness during the Napoleonic war made cannon balls for our armies. That took me back to my “BOOM” in the cemetery. Could it, if it was a cannon, have fired cannon balls made at this Furness? He also said something about a cannoneer being killed by a cannon backfiring, and it’s thought that he was buried at Box cemetery. See extract below.

Thinking about it all, it’s funny how our little outing panned out, how events seemed to come together in the end to tell a story. There could be a lot more to it still and maybe I will take my team back along our footsteps one of these days to investigate more.

All in all it was a nice day, and I learnt many things from what I experienced. My only regret was that no one else could feel all those spirits or residual energy I had been feeling. I found it hard to explain it in words to the film team, so that is one of the reasons for this blog. The other being so my readers overseas can read it in our newsletter.

The recordings done in the hope of obtaining a few EVPS are still being analysed. Some I know, after putting them through a program I use called Soundforge, had recorded sighs, breathing, and the odd word. But I won’t know for sure what is on them until they have been sent over to America for examination by my team leader Lon Strickler out there. That goes for all the photos as well; they will be examined by one of our experts. So watch this space.

From myself and Karen, and from Spirit Rescue International, I would like to thank Jonathan and the team at Llanelli Town for a lovely day and a memorable experience. I can now say that Llanelli has more than its fair share of ghosts and in my estimation deserves the title of the most haunted town in Wales.

St Paul's Cemetery, taken while doing the filming

The Ghost of Cannoneer Will Kelly

Location: Box Cemetery

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY local businessmen commissioned cannons to be positioned on Machynys point because they feared a French invasion. The cannons were never used to thwart an invasion but they were used to celebrate Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne. During the celebrations Will Kelly investigated why one of the cannons misfired. Unfortunately for Will, the Cannoneer, there was an explosion and he was killed. Local tradition relates that whenever there is a thunderstorm in Llanelli and the lightning cracks across the skies, the ghost of Will Kelly, dressed in seaman’s tails, haunts Box Cemetery.

This story is courtesy of Llanelli, Birth of a Town - William & Benita Rees

http://llanelli-history.co.uk/index.htm

Real Llanelli (The Real Wales series)

Llanelli: Webster's Timeline History, 1099 - 2006


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Take the first step towards genuine peace of mind
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