Category Archives: Hoaxes

Haunted Plank from the Amityville House Makes Travel Channel Debut

02 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by in Architecture, Curiosities, Famous Locations, Haunted Houses, Hoaxes, Museums, Paranormal, Reality TV, Travel Channel, Uncategorized

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Amityville

Haunted Plank from the Amityville House Makes Travel Channel Debut

Travel Channel’s Mysteries at the Museum returned last month with new episodes. The February 9th episode titled “Amityville Haunting, Ghost Army, and Fugitive Golfer” highlighted a piece of wood from the infamous Amityville Horror house. The demonic possession story was a hoax (see previous 2014 article at https://thehauntedlibrarian.com/2014/03/19/amityville-horror-hoax/); however, it doesn’t mean that this piece of wood doesn’t give off bad vibes. It means there may be another story, based on facts, that should be considered.

Interest in Amityville has not ebbed since the 1977 publication of the book, The Amityville Horror. The movie franchise alone has grossed over $170 million dollars. Add TV adaptations and books, and that’s one healthy moneymaker. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the book’s publication. Expect more media coverage.

TheAmityvilleHorrorCover

Given the interest in Amityville, the house makes the requisite rounds on paranormal shows. This is not the first, probably not the last either, time that Travel Channel has showcased the Amityville house. Paranormal Paparazzi (2012) incorporated the house in 3 segments in 2 episodes. One was particularly insightful. Kathy Lutz’s son and George’s step-son Christopher Quaratino claimed that George practiced black witchcraft in the home, causing the paranormal activity to spike. Needless to say, expect more books and versions to emerge.

Greg Newkirk, director of the Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult, appeared on the Mysteries at the Museum episode discussing the plank. Greg and Dana Matthews co-founded the website Week in Weird, www.weekinweird.com, in 2007. Both Greg and Dana contribute articles, and postings are weekly. The articles are thought-provoking and quirky, while remaining true to the blog format: concise. The site has advertisements, a source of revenue; however, they don’t disrupt the reading of the articles. They’ve segued their site into 3 entities: Week in Weird (@WeekinWeird), Planet Weird (@WeirdHQ), and The Traveling Museum of the Paranormal & Occult (@theparamuseum). In 2013, they created the traveling museum to take their stories and artifacts on the road. They’ve collected artifacts from past paranormal investigations and allow the public to handle them. The museum is the modern-day version of curiosity cabinets which featured oddities and bizarre items and peaked in interest during the Victorian era. Visit http://paramuseum.com/ for 2017 dates and more information.

While it is easy to fall back on popular tales, the paranormal world has so much more to be explored. The Amityville plank is a reminder that the original story was made-up and exaggerated for profit. Instead of focusing on the heinous murders and concocting reasons for a demonic possession, readers should question whether George exploited the murders while practicing black magic. He didn’t move into a haunted house; however, he may have created the negative energy by dabbling in something beyond his comprehension.

No, Lady Gaga Did Not Perform a Satanic Ritual during Halftime

08 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Conspiracy Theories, Demonic Possession, Famous People, Hoaxes, In the News, Sports Related, Uncategorized

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No, Lady Gaga Did Not Perform a Satanic Ritual during Halftime

Super Bowl LI is in the books. The Atlanta Falcons ran out of steam wasting a 25-point lead losing to the New England Patriots. Shortly before kickoff, conspiracy theorist nutcase Alex Jones of InfoWars posted a video claiming that Lady Gaga’s halftime show was going to be a satanic ritual. Offering no evidence, Jones’ claims were meant to create a boycott. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. In fact, more people tuned in to catch the show than actually watch the game.

ladygaga

Conspiracy theories are not new. In America, they can be traced back to the alleged 1835 plot to kill Andrew Jackson. Yet, there seems to be more of them in recent years. The Internet isn’t to blame; however, it doesn’t help. Anyone can post ridiculous ideas online; there’s no shortage of people out there believing it. Back to Jones. Jones is a white nationalist who frequently broadcasts easily refutable conspiracy theories. Seems his followers don’t Google. His latest video claimed that because she is Satan’s spawn and a member of the “New World Order,” Lady Gaga was going to profess her alliance to Satan via the halftime performance. There are many, many holes in his “theory.” The halftime show is actually on a delay; therefore, any ritual would have been shut down ASAP. Further, no animal sacrifices or devil rituals were reported Sunday to the Houston P.D. Jones merely wanted people to boycott the performance because Lady Gaga was a vocal Hillary Clinton supporter. His plan backfired. Spectacularly.

images-ladygaga

Lady Gaga was Sunday’s winner. Her performance was electrifying. It has gone down as the second best show after Prince’s 2007 performance. Over 117.5 million people tuned in and watched Lady Gaga’s 13-minute show. Although viewership was up 2% from last year but down 3% from 2015’s Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, and Missy Elliott show, it was higher than the 111.9 million who watched Sunday’s game. Additionally, Lady Gaga ruled Twitter: 2.2 million people tweeted during the show with over 5.1 million #LadyGaga tweets. According to Billboard.com, there were 125,000 song downloads on Sunday alone. Maybe Jones’ crazy rant caused more people to watch. Hey, whho wouldn’t want to see a live satanic ritual?

ChemTrails: Now That’s Just Crazy Talk

24 Saturday May 2014

Posted by in Conspiracy Theories, Famous People, Hoaxes, Radio Show

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ChemTrail

ChemTrail Conspiracy Theory

ChemTrails: Now That’s Just Crazy Talk

The API (Archer Paranormal Investigations) Gals discussed ChemTrails recently on Archer Paranormal Radio, broadcasting every Thursday at 7 pm EST on www.liveparanormal.com. When 2L suggested the story, I had no idea what she was talking about. When I googled it, I thought: Really? People really believe this? But, I’ve been left speechless before.

ChemTrails are the white chemical trails following an airplane. Scientists and government officials claim that these white lines are merely ConTrails, condensation trails. Conspiracy theorists claim these trails signify chemical or biological warfare causing respiratory disease. The theory started in 1995 when late-night talk show host Art Bell promulgated the theory. Believers hung their hat on one piece of evidence: The trails lasted longer in the sky than previous trails.

Unfortunately, contrails existed long before 1995. They form at certain altitudes and atmospheric conditions. Basically, they may form or they may not. It all depends on a number of factors.

I find the argument for their existence tenuous at best. There are more efficient ways to chemically infiltrate a population. I highly doubt that a major airline corporation would willingly participate in a plan to kill off their clients. Corporations = Revenue. Airlines rely on paying passengers to increase revenue.

Now some readers may counter that the airlines are not willing participants. Okay. Why wouldn’t the government just use their own planes? They have plenty of them. Again, contrails are not always created. They dissipate at different rates of speed. They are unpredictable. Why would a government utilize an unpredictable form of chemical warfare when so many other reliable forms exist? They wouldn’t. And they don’t.

I’m really writing this blog because one of my favorite meteorologists, Paul Dellegatto, posted a hilarious ChemTrail photo on his official Facebook page. It was serendipitous since I was discussing this the previous night. Serendipity. Now that’s real.

Rossendale Fairies Redoux

22 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in Animals, Fairies, Famous Locations, Famous People, Great Britain, Hoaxes, Radio Show

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Cottingley Fairies, 1917

Cottingley Fairies, 1917

Rossendale Fairies Redoux

In 1917, two cousins painted fairies onto paper boards, strung them of trees, and photographed themselves mingling with the “fairies.” Named for their town, the “Cottingley Fairies” pictures were a sensation. The hoax fooled the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle was a strong proponent of spiritualism and used the photographs to illustrate his belief in fairies. Shucks. Who doesn’t want to believe in fairies?

Cottingley Fairies 2

Cottingley Fairies 2

Interest in the “Cottingley Fairies” dwindled by 1921; however, the girls remained adamant that the images were real until 1983—some 60 years after their publication. And now it seems that another Brit has photographed a new crop of fairies.

British professor John Hyatt thought he was capturing flora and fauna but discovered shortly thereafter that small, winged anomalies were also in the pictures. Hyatt claims they are fairies. One entomologist disagrees. She thinks that the anomalies are “midges,” a small species of fly. Former Fact or Faked: The Paranormal Files host, Ben Hansen, boldly declares them as doctored images. Hansen takes exception to the clarity of the “fairies” in contrast to Professor Hyatt’s story. Basically: “Why are the “fairies” in focus when Hyatt was photographing the flora, which is not in focus?”

Rossendale Fairies

Rossendale Fairies

Entitled “Rossendale Fairies” (a take on the Cottingley location from 1917), Hyatt’s photographs are currently on display in England. But what about fairies? Are they only seen on the British Isles?

Seems the petite creatures are mainly found in Iceland, Ireland, Norway, and Scotland. Great Britain also has some sightings. Not all fairies were nice. In some cultures, people believed that fairies swapped sickly fairy babies with healthy human babies—the changeling belief. This belief was popularized by the 1895 murder case where a husband killed his wife, Bridget Cleary, thinking that she was a changeling brought to him by the fairy people. Michael Cleary was found guilty of manslaughter and served 15 years in prison. After his release, Michael eventually immigrated to Canada.

The Irish children’s rhyme asks: Are you a witch, or are you a fairy. Or are you the wife of Michael Cleary?

Creepy. Almost as creepy as the children’s song in The Birds. I’ll save that commentary for another blog.

Hanger 1: The UFO Files Delivers

15 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in Conspiracy Theories, Hoaxes, Media, Radio Show, Reality TV, UFOs

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Hanger 1: The UFO Files

Hanger 1: The UFO Files

 

Hanger 1: The UFO Files

If I ranked my paranormal/unexplained topic interests in numeric order, the listing would be:

  1. Paranormal;
  2. Mysteries;
  3. Urban Legends;
  4. UFOs;
  5. Conspiracy Theories.

However, the UFO topic may move up. Last year a fellow Rotarian presented his evidence about his personal quest for UFO information to my club. He was interesting, and it piqued my interest. The API (Archer Paranormal Investigations) discussed UFOs on our weekly radio show. That really got me thinking. Personal Disclosure Statement: I believe in extraterrestrial life. I’m not sure whether we are as fascinating to them (and cause them to observe us from afar) as we are with them. Personally, I wouldn’t bother. However, when you peruse the Internet, the images are thought-provoking.

When I was a teenager growing up on the water of Southwest Florida I observed a strange unidentifiable object. It was a UFO in a literal sense. I had no idea what it was. That’s not stating that it was an actual extraterrestrial spacecraft hovering over the Intercostal waters. Now I’m hooked and want to know more. So I turned where every able-minded person goes: Television.

Hanger 1: The UFO Files debuted on February 28, 2014. It airs weekly on H2 (one of the various channels for the History Channel) on Fridays at 10 pm. Named for the MUFON facility housing the 70,000+ documents and evidence, the show purports to open the MUFON archives to the American viewing audience. Immediately, any viewer should be suspicious. Television executives whose goals are generating revenue for their networks tailored a TV show to the masses. The show is similar to every other paranormal/conspiracy theory latent enterprise. If you believe everything on the show, then you are one of the fools born every minute = SUCKER!

But that does not mean you should stop watching. You should watch. And question everything! MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, was established on May 31, 1969 by Walt Andrus. He collected a group of UFO hobbyist and formed the Midwest UFO Network, commonly known as MUFON. The geographic focus shifted from the Midwest to international, but the acronym remained the same. The named changed in 1973. MUFON is the largest investigative organization devoted to Ufology. In the 45 years since its inception, MUFON has investigated a ton of cases—enough to fill a “hanger.” The television series is an attempt to disseminate their “findings” to the public.

Hanger 1 is interesting. I actually enjoy it. I’m not bothered by the supposed inconsistencies reported by skeptics or hard-core Ufologists. Again, this is television entertainment. If you disagree with it airing on H2, a History Channel network, then I sure hope you are waiving your banner at the Weather Channel for airing non-weather related shows. Or TLC (The Learning Channel) for the not-so-educational pageants and cheerleading mama dramas. Remember: Networks air television shows that will make them money. Presentation of the “truth” may not always apply. (Nearly every “reality show” comes to mind)

Back to Hanger 1: The re-enactments are minimal; the “evidence” plausible. For me, the show attains its ultimate goal: My interest is further piqued and I want to know more. That’s a rare feat for most network programming.

 

Would I Lie for You?

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Conspiracy Theories, Famous People, Ghost Hunting, Hoaxes

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Monk Ghost

A 1956 picture supposedly depicting a monk sitting in the pews at Eastry Church, Kent, England.

Would I Lie For You?

Would I lie about a “haunting” for my 15 minutes of fame? No. I am not a skeptic; I’m a believer. However, I am so deeply rooted to my beliefs that I don’t have to lie. I’m also a seeker of truth.

Don’t get me wrong. I blog to be read. I co-host a weekly radio show (Archer Paranormal Radio) to be heard. And I hope to convert just one person. Dangle the reality TV carrot and I will bite. Hint that I should over-embellish and I’ll refuse to swallow.

There is absolutely no reason to embellish and to stretch the truth. Some places are simply not haunted. When the Ghost Radar is silent, it’s S-I-L-E-N-T. Rarely do I capture EVPs. I get a lot of orbs; however, I usually take pictures only when the Ghost Radar displays a blip. So, really, it’s not most of the time. Even though some locations are not haunted, it does not diminish the history tied to the location. And those stories should be told. It is unfortunate that it does not make for “sexy” TV viewing.

Paranormal investigators should have dud cases. Helps us learn to use the tools and to root out the hoaxes (btw, topic of discussion next week on the radio show). Ghost hunters need to properly debunk evidence. If in doubt, throw it out. When we debunk, we gain credibility in the field. And this is a field of study!

Recently, my paranormal investigation group had to make the decision: Do we go along with the urban legend or promulgate the deception? Or do we turn down the TV appearance opportunity? We did the latter. Instead of simply saying no, we peppered our response with solid reasons why the location was bad choice. We took it a step farther and suggested a better (in our minds) location, a choice location with lots of evidence and great history. The production company passed. (Shocker!) They have their priorities and Archer Paranormal Investigations have ours. And I’m okay with that—well, sort of. Heck, I even believe they will call us back. Did I mention I’m an optimist, too?!

Mary Todd Lincoln Faked Image

Famous faked image of Mary Todd Lincoln posing with the deceased president.

Note on Title: I cannot get the song “Would I lie to you?” out of my head. Whenever I am confronted with perpetuating an urban legend haunting, that song goes through my head. Only I revise it to sing “Would I Lie for You?”

Amityville Horror = HOAX

19 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Conspiracy Theories, Famous Locations, Famous People, Hoaxes, Live Paranormal, Radio Show

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Crowd Outside 112 Ocean Avenue

Crowd Outside 112 Ocean Avenue

Amityville Horror = HOAX

Amityville was a hoax. There. I said it. I only wished that potential clients believed it and would stop trying to equate their experiences with those of the Lutzes.

Coroner Removes Dead DeFeo Family

Coroner Removes Dead DeFeo Family

The Amityville Horror story was promulgated to solidify the defense for Ronald “Butch” DeFeo, Jr. Mr. DeFeo was accused of slaughtering his family on November 13, 1974. Suspicion quickly turned to DeFeo, who was 24 years old at the time. The motive was simple: life insurance money. DeFeo’s defense attorney William Weber concocted the demonic possession defense in an effort to prove DeFeo was insane. It backfired. However, it propelled George and Kathy Lutz into the international spotlight—thanks to writer Jay Anson.

Newspaper Story

Newspaper Story

Melvin Harris aptly explains the plot in his non-fiction book Investigating the Unexplained. I’ll hit the high notes:

  • Long Island Press interviewed George Lutz for an article published on January 17, 1976.
  • The article detailed “tame” subjective experiences.
  • Good Housekeeping published an article in April 1977.
  • That article claimed a Roman Catholic priest warned the family about a bedroom.
  • The article also stated that Kathy’s aunt, a former nun, berated George for over 3 hours.
  • Jay Anson’s book was published in 1977 declaring “A True Story.”
  • The movie based on the book opened in 1979.
  • Paranormal investigators deemed the incident uninteresting and declined to investigate.
  • Police Sgt. Cammorato later denied visiting the house, contrary to what George stated.
  • Father Pecorara also denied entering the home.

George’s original story morphed into a tall tale of demons and levitations. Little has been corroborated. Even less has been authenticated. The real victims are the house at 112 Ocean Avenue and the subsequent owners, who successful settled a lawsuit related to these events.

I’m amazed at the number of people who contact Archer Paranormal Investigations (www.archer-pi.com) and report similar occurrences. It is almost as if there is a checklist for demonic possession. Black flies? Yep, by the hundreds. Glowing eyes in the windows? Yes, looks like a pig. Or a boar. Or maybe even a hog. Clergy warn you about the house? How did you know? Just after we had it blessed.

The point is: Don’t believe the hype. Most of the stories are just that—stories. However, there is a small percentage of cases that are real. Every case is different. Treat them that way.

Tune in this Thursday, March 20 on Archer Paranormal Radio on www.liveparanormal.com as we discuss Conspiracy Theories.

Movie Poster for The Amityville Horror

Movie Poster for The Amityville Horror