The first team (Ben, Jael, and Austin) head to Indiana after being sent a video of a "graveyard ghost." The story is of a caretaker who was buried on site and supposedly haunts the cemetery. The video, at first glance, looks like an apparition carrying a lantern passing the camera as the videographer is walking. The team first tries an experiment using an ATV to test the theory that the "lantern" was actually just the light from an ATV passing quickly. The video the team captures clearly shows a vehicle and the people in the video would have most definitely reacted. The next experiment tests the theory that it was a naturally occurring wind storm. The team devises a clever dust storm but again, it is clearly just that and the people would have reacted to such an occurrence. The team then creates a misting system to test for a hoax. The mist could create an apparition-like appearance and a moving light source could account for the light seen on the video. Once again, the team cannot recreate the video. A quick Internet search on this episode turns up the same conclusion that the video is actually of a spider web and the mysterious light is just the camera's light shining on a spider.
While Austin keeps an eye on the video monitors set up around the graveyard, Ben and Jael walk the site in hopes of catching any strange phenomenon...and they do. I have heard Ben talk about this investigation and how it was one of the strangest experiences since being on the show. He could clearly hear footsteps around them as if someone was walking in pace with them. He and Jael even witnessed depressions being made in the grass as if someone was standing near them. Unfortunately they could not capture this on camera and had to assume it was insects in the grass. The footsteps they heard literally led the team to the caretaker's grave site where they then conducted an EVP session. The evidence they caught from this session was impressive. You can hear Austin cough and you hear a voice clearly saying "cough" followed by a sigh. I don't know why an entity would actually say "cough" but it is interesting that you can hear it after an actual cough. Here is the audio clip so you can listen for yourself! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN (Courtesy of Ben Hansen)
Ben sent me another EVP that was caught that night but didn't make the show. He believes the soft voice after Jael speaks says "Twilight" or "I might." What do you think? CLICK HERE TO LISTEN (Courtesy of Ben Hansen)
As Jael says, this is a "perfect setting for a ghost story." While the video is far from paranormal evidence, the investigation leaves you scratching your head.
Cutter (Colorado Cattle Mutilations):
I have to admit, I was incredibly excited to watch this episode when it first aired after living in the San Luis Valley (Alamosa) for three years and knowing the history behind this story well. San Luis Valley is well known for its UFO sightings and strange occurrences, including the cattle mutilations, and has been documented on websites and newscasts for years. Many reports of the mutilations include strange lights in the sky before finding the dead cattle, which was reported in this case as well. This particular investigation is in regards to a specific news story and a picture sent to the show (below).
As you can see from the photo, the calf was torn apart cleanly and left with no internal organs. The front half seems to have been cleaned away while the bottom left untouched. Strange. There is no blood, no traces of the cow's skin or innards, and no footprints left to assume it had been picked apart by scavengers. The calf was seen the day before and in the morning, the rancher found it like this. Strange.
The team (Bill, Larry, and Chi-Lan) first survey the land to find any evidence of the cow to be tested (Bill did find a bone but nothing unusual came from the testing done by UCLA scientists) as well as any EMF and radiation detection in the area (small spikes were found where the calf was discovered but was never talked about as part of the evidence). They then brought in a veterinarian to conduct some testing (on a calf who died of natural causes) based on theories surrounding the case.
The first experiment used a cauterizing tool to see if the hide could be cut as clean as in this case. Since there is no sign of blood, the cauterizing is plausible; however, this technique takes a long time to complete and it doesn't seem possible for someone to do this without being caught at some point. The vet also tries careful cutting using a scalpel but the process is just too messy. The last attempt is with a laser but this proves not possible as well (I think we all saw that coming). The team decides to leave their test carcass out overnight with a camera pointed to observe predators. They do find birds are happy with the present left behind and could account for the scavenging of the internal organs, etc. I am personally not satisfied with this conclusion as you would most certainly find evidence of it being picked at by birds! Not to mention the crap (literally) left behind.
The final test to this investigation is a bloating test. One theory is that this is a natural phenomenon due to bloating from gases in the body. Once an animal dies, it starts to bloat and can tear the skin, allowing predators to get to the animal. They test this using a piece of cow hide over a balloon. When they inflate the balloon, the skin tears, mimicking the look from the picture. The team decides this must be what has happened and case closed. I'm sorry but I don't buy this and I know I am not the only one. The skin was missing from the top of the calf, not the stomach where the gases are stored...how do you explain that? How are there NO signs of scavengers' teeth (or beak marks) left on the bones or surrounding skin that is left? Did the scavengers suck out the insides, leaving the rib cage intact?? And this is just one case out of many in the area and some of the other cases seem even stranger. One calf was found dead and mutilated within minutes of being seen alive. My conclusion: this case is not closed but left a mystery.
I asked Bill about this case and if he was satisfied with the results. He said he was completely satisfied as it seemed to answer the question about that particular animal. Both him and Ben mentioned that those cases are mysterious and recognized that the particular case was one out of many. I don't want to seem as if I am attacking the team in any way, they have my full respect. But I am disappointed; I'd like more scientific investigations about this case as a whole, not just regarding one lone photograph. But I guess I need to be satisfied with the show's premise.
If you are interested in another viewpoint from someone actually involved in this investigation, I found a blog entry during a Google search: http://www.ufonut.com/wordpress/?p=1472.
No comments:
Post a Comment