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3 entries this month
"The Little Bastard" - Curses
01:25 May 20 2007
Times Read: 835
James Dean, the ironic Hollywood film star, died tragically young, at a point in his life when his acting career was going from strength to strength. Although he had starred in only a few films, he had earned himself much acclaim & a sizeable fortune.
With his new found riches, Dean had bought a sports car, a Porsche Spyder, one of only ninty in the world at that time. He had nicknamed the car "The Little Bastard" & had this name painted on the machine along with a racing stripe.
Dean had intended to race his beloved car himself, but sadly never had the chance. On 30 September 1955, only two weeks after he had bought the car, he died in it, following a head-on collision with another vehicle. The driver of the other car survived, having sustained only cuts & bruises.
In the weeks preceding his death, Dean had been seen driving his car everywhere, proudly displaying it to all of his friends, although he was suprised to find that many of them failed to share his enthusiam for the powerful machine.
Several of them apparently felt a sense of horror when they saw the vehicle - some out of concern for the dangers that such a fast car might pose to Deans reckless nature, other simply because of an innate sense of foreboding about the machine.
At the time, Dean would not have been aware that a number of strange happenings had already been linked with the car since its arrival at the Competition Motors showroom. Several mechanics had hurt themselves on the car shortly after it was delivered, one breaking his thumb after trapping it in one of the door & another cutting himself as he adjusted the engine.
(Note; that sounds very normal to me as my ex fiance used to be a mechanic, & my husband now is one too)
At the time these events seemed to be no more than accidents, but later they would be seen as part of a much larger pattern of misfortune, or even something all together more sinister.
After the fatal crash, the car wreckage was bought for salvage by the motor mechanic George Barris, the very man who had customized the machine for Dean several weeks earlier. It was only when he had began to re-use the parts of the car that he started to suspect that some form of terrible curse might be attached to the vehicle, a curse that had not only claimed the life of the young film star, but was also causing numerous other disasters in the lives of those unlucky enough to have aquired a piece of the car.
The engine of The Little Bastard had been largely undamaged by the crash, so Barris had reconditioned it and sold it to a racing enthusiast, Dr William F. Eschrich.
One of the doctors friends & fellow racer, Dr Carl McHenry, learned of the sale & decided to buy the transaxle of the car. Barris also sold several other vehicle parts, including the two back tyres.
In the first race in which the two doctors tested their new equiptment, both men were involved in serious accidents. Dr Eschrich's car turned over after locking up on entering a bend. Fortunately he survived the crash, although he was left paralyzed. Dr McHenry was not so lucky: he was killed after losing control of the car & hitting a tree. As if this were not enough, before the week was out, the driver who had bought the two back tyres narrowly escaped death after both tyres blew out simultaneously during another race.
Learning of the multiple disasters, Barris decided that he would try to put the car to some kind of beneficial use. Accordingly he lent the crumpled machine to California Highway Safety Patrol for publicity purposes thinking that Deans fame would greatly enhance their campaign on accident prevention. Unfortunately, at that point he did not realise that the car was actually a source of accidents in itself.
The car was taken into the procession of the Highway Patrol and stored in a garage with a large number of other cars. While it was there, a mysterious fire broke out - many cars were completely destroyed & almost all incurred serious damage. Curiously "The Little Bastard" emerged from the fire remarkably unscathed.
A short time later, while the car was being taken to a display area for demonstration purposes, a strange accident took place. Deans car was being transported on the back of a flatbed truck, driven by an experienced driver named Geroge Barhuis, when it skidded on a wet road & the trucks rig crashed into a ditch. Barhuis was thrown from the cab by the impact, but is believed to have survived the crash. However, in a bewildering tragedy, he was then killed when the wreck of "The Little Bastard" fell from the back of the truck, & landed on top of him, crushing him to death.
Yet the litany of disasters was still not complete. On the fourth anniversay of Deans fatal crash, a teenager in Detroit was viewing the car, which was on a large display. Without warning the structure on which the car was resting, collapsed, & the car toppled forward crushing the boys legs. It seems inconcievable that, following this, the car was still put out on display to the public.
A few weeks after this accident, the car was once again being transported by truck, when it fell from the back of the vehicle, smashing into the road & causing the serious injury of yet more people.
Fortunately, the cursed car was doomed itself. Shortly after this final accident, the vehicle sponaniously fell apart, while on show in New Orleans. Attemps were made to put it back together, but George Barris stepped in & arranged to have the remains of the car transported back to his garage in California.
When the delivery arried, the container was opened &, to their astonishment the car had disappeared.
It is not know if it had been stolen by an obsessive admirer of the film star, but no trace of it has ever been found. Certainly if anyone had been foolish enough to take the vehicle into their own possession, they would have been very fortunate to escape the curse that had randomly struck at those connected with the car?
Nevertheless, the fact that it is now missing can only add to the sense of mystery that surrounds not only this jinxed machine, but also the tragic doomed figure of James Dean...
Maitreya & the Crystal Tears
19:03 May 19 2007
Times Read: 858
In 1996 an incredible event took place that stunned the world, for it defied any kind of medical explaination.
As if this were not remarkable enough in itself, it was also accompanied by numerous religious visions of the mystical figure Maitreya, a teacher & saviour of mankind.
The strange events started in March of that year, when a 12 year old Lebanese girl, Hasnah Mohamed Meselmani, was amazed to discover that solid crystals of glass were emerging from her eyes several times a day. These crystals were sharp enough to cut paper, & yet their appearance did not seem to be causing her any pain.
The process continued over a period of eight months, during which time she produced an average of seven crystals a day.
Shortly after it began, Hasnah's worried father took her to the city of Chtaura to visit an ophthalmic expert, Dr. Araji. The doctor was amazed by what he saw, and certified that the crystals were real, & they were definately forming at Hasnah's eyes. He could find no scientific explaination for the mystery & declared that it must be an act of God.
The phenonenon attracted huge publicity. Journalists & television crews arrived in droves to report what was happening. In order to dispel any doubts, Hasnah & her family allowed the process to be filmed in close-up, at the moment at which a crystal actually appeared from within her eye. Religious authorities competed with scientific figures to offer a plausable explaination to the public, & to capitalize on the event.
An unexpected explaination was offered by Hasnah herself, however, who described how she had witnessed a vision of the mystical figure of Maitreya. She told how a figure dressed in white & sitting upon a white horse had beckoned to her as she lay in bed at night. He told her that he was a messenger from God & that he had been responcible for the phenomenon of the crystal tears. She asked whether the tears would stop & Meitreya had replied; "When God wills" Hasnah's brother had apparently heard his sister speaking to someone in this way, but had been unable to see who the person was.
The arrival of a great saviour or teacher has been long awaited by many of he major world religions. Although he is known by different names, his function is though to be the same, whatever the nature of the religion. His coming is expected to be presaged by miracles & visions, such as those that befell Hasnah, & he is thought of as a kind of Messiah.
Buddists call this teacher Maitreya Buddha, the fifth Buddah. Hindus expect the arrival of Krishna, who will arrive on horseback as the Kaki-avatar. Christians are waiting for the return of Christ, while Jews still anticipate their Messiah. Muslims also await the arrival of their Messiah, Imam Mahdi.
This case has baffled many people all over the world.
Inevitably, it has also attracted numerous alligations of fraud, & certainly Hasnah's far from affluent family benefitted financially from all the surrounding publicity...?
It should be remembered however, that no-one has been able to explain the appearance of the crystal tears - this is a medical mystery in its own right. When taken in conjunction with the visions, it really does seem that a remarkable phenomenon took place at this time.
Perhaps we should just accept that there are some occurances in this world that we cannot explain. Maybe time will provide an answer to the questions raised by this particular case, but in the meantime we should try to be open to the possibility that miracles can, & do, occur.
Creepy Castles
15:41 May 19 2007
Times Read: 885
Over the centuries, castles have born witness to much human suffering, which numerous incidences of incarceration, illness, suicide & murder. Perhaps it is, therefore, not suprising that there should be such a high degree of spectral sightings within their walls...
For many hundreds of years, strange appirations have been reported at the Tower of London, the oldest palace, prison & fortress of its kind in Europe. The Tower was build by William the Conqueror on ground which, one thouand years earlier, had been the site of a Roman fort, constructed by the Emporor Cladius. Today, this monument atttacts a huge number of visitors, many of whom are lured there in the hope of seeing one of the many ghosts rumoured to stalk it's grounds.
During its time as a prison, the Tower was home to many famous inmates, including Queen Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes, Thomas More, Princess Elizabeth, Lady Jane Grey & Walter Raleigh. Many of these unfortunate prisoners endured agonizing torture before being executed in the most barbaric way - often they were beheaded, or hung, drawn & quartered. Their heads would then be impaled on spikes on the perimeter walls to serve as a gruesome warning to the public.
There has been a long line of reports of hauntings at the Tower, the first of which were made in the mid-thirteenth centuary.
Construction workers building the inner curtain wall, claimed that the ghost of an irate Thomas Becket appeared before them & reduced he wall to rubble by striking it with his cross.
The ghost of the 70-year old Countress of Salisbury also lingers at the site of the executions, were she met a truly grisly end. Henry VIII had ordered that she be beheaded, but at the last moment she tried to escape her death by running from the block. The executioner chased her swinging his axe, and eventually hacked her to death. Some have spoken of seeing the execution re-enacted before their eyes, while others have observed the shadow of the fateful axe on the walls of the vicinity.
Of all the sad souls still said to be roaming the Tower, it is the figure of Anne Boleyn that seems to be the most persistant. This tragic figure was tried & executed for adultery & treason after miscarrying the potential heir to the throne. Her headless body, recognizable from the dress she was wearing on the day of her execution, is reported, een today, to drift from the Queens House to the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula. Here, it leads a spectral procession of dignitaries down the aisle to the site of her final burial place under the altar.
The Salt Tower is the most feared & thus the most avoided area of the Tower of London.
Yeomen warders are reluctant to go near it at night after one of their members was inexplicably strangled. Dogs - who, in common with many animals seem to have a sixth sense reguarding supernaural beings - refuse to go near it, further fueling intrigue and superstition. The presence of ghostly appariations in the Tower was captured on camera as recently as 2003, when a photographer reported strange incidences while attempting to conduct a photoshoot. Bulbs kept blowing & flashes went off unexpectedly. Most eerily of all, when he came to develop the film, he discovered among the many blank pictures, a photo containing a mysterious ball of light in the center of the image.
Another famous British tourtist attraction, Windsor Castle has been a home to royalty since the eleventh century & is still a royal residence today. Over the centuries it has seen unnumerable births & deaths & has been connected with countless legends of witchcraft & treachery.
Of all the specters rumoured to stalk the castle grounds, those of three kings, in particular have made their presence felt within the castle walls. The footsteps & groans of King Henry the VIII are allegedly heard by visitors to this day, while the ghost of King Charles I, beheaded in 1649 at WhiteHall is also said to roam the grounds and has been sighted, complete with head, in the library of the canons house. Sightings of "mad" King George III, who was incarcerated in the castle before his death, have also been recorded.
Of similar renown in Scotland is Edinburgh Castle, a fortress magnificent in its austerity. Built on the site of a once-active volcano, this almost 1000 year old construction has seen an unusual degree of violence & death, factors that could account for the large number of ghostly apparitions in the vicinity. The most famous of these are the figures of the headless drummer and piper who are said to patrol the castles battlements still playing their instruments.
In recent years, there have been tales of encounters with spirits arising from a fascinating discovery that was made in the city in he early 1900's. During renovation work, remains were uncovered of buildings buried beneath the existing city. It is known that during the Black Death in 1665 Edinburgh was blighted by a terrible plague that decimated the population. As the disease dwindled, surviving officials deemed it best to build over the top of the old, ravaged city, emtombing the affected buildings & any remaining living sufferers under the new construction. Since this forgotten world has come to light, many people have heard ghostly voices & seen beautiful flashing lights emanating from the subterranean city...
Another Scottish fortress, Glamis Castle, was famously recorded by Shakespeare in his tragedy Macbeth. The mysertious happenings in the castle are not restricted to the realms of theatre, however many dark deeds & hauntings have taken place within its ancient walls.
Legend tells of the misdeeds of the second Lord of Glamis, whos dalliance with the devil is said to have left its legacy in the brutal acts of violence that ensued. "Earl Beadie" or "the Wicked Lord" as he was nicknamed, was apparently a violent gambler & drinker. One evening, unable to find a gambling partner, he is supposed to have announced that he would resort to playing with the devil himself. Moments later there was a knock at the door, and a tall bearded man dressed entirely in black asked the lord if he still required someone with whom to gamble. When the servants heard shouts & the sound of furniture being flung about the room, one of them crept to the keyhole to try & get a glimpse of what was going on, where he was caught by his master. When Lord Glamis returned to the room, the dark stranger had vanished, taking with him the soul of the gambling aristocrat. He died five years later & his drunken tortured spirit is said to still roam the castle, waiting to return to the room to play with the devil.
The castle is also home to the ghost of Janet Douglas, who was the wife of the sixth Lord of Glamis. Following his sudden death, she was accused of murder & witchcraft, even though there were no evidence to this effect. She was put on trial, during which she was found guilty of plotting the murder of the King of Scotland & summarily executed in Edinburgh in 1537. Her spirit is said to wander the halls of Glamis & she is frequently seen praying in the small chapel where she had vainly sought refuge almost 500 years ago.
Could it be that, in common with other ghosts that inhabit some of Britains oldest castles, she is seeking justice? Whatever the motives of these spectral beings, they are likely to continue to haunt some of our most ancient monuments, & remain an enduring source of fascination to mankind today.
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