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Constantine – Master of the Dark Arts

image I’ve been tuning in for this new show called Constantine and so far it has proved to be quite amusing and interesting. It’s an adaptation of the comic Constantine which I’m in no way familiar with. But I am familiar with supernatural forces, demons, demon hunting and the occult – from a purely television and fiction perspective I assure you.

So, who is this John Constantine and what does he do? He’s a Master of the Dark Arts, or so his business card says and he’s out to find and contain the oncoming onslaught of demons. How does he know about these demons? Well, he can see them. Something is stirring in the Underworld and Constantine is looking to put a lid on it. What’s causing this bit of uprising? He’s not quite sure yet, but with the help of his partner who’s two main jobs are to drive him to the next job and keep him out of jail once they get there. They’ve also got support from a psychic who’s learning to hone her powers and helps the team see what dangers lie ahead.

Sort of lingering on the fringe is an angel who pops in from time to time to help lend a hand and point them in the right direction. Angels aren’t allowed to directly influence humans and their "freewill", but that doesn’t mean you can ask for a wee bit of help and advice from time to time. And let’s not forget that John has plenty of demons of his own. He’s been at this awhile and not every exorcism has gone according to plan. He’s lost a few along the way and a young girl is currently gnawing at his soul. He plays pretty fast and loose with his own life, but he will for damn sure stand his ground to save the life of another.

If this all sounds a tiny bit familiar, there could be a reason for that. There was a little show you may have heard about called Supernatural that had some similar themes. I thought the first season of Supernatural was quite a bit of fun so this show appeals to me. Plus, John Constantine has this devil may care attitude which is quite amusing to watch. "What could possibly go wrong? We’re all going to be consumed by the darkness anyway."

It’s well worth a try if you want to get mixed up in some demon hunting and spell casting. And who isn’t up for a little bit of that now and then eh?

And as an aside, this is now the second show I’ve seen where the main character gets to use their natural speaking voice, or at least not dull it down which is nice to hear. Goodness me, we might be on a trend!

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Ghost Stalkers – Farrar School – S01E06

image John and Chad head to Farrar, Iowa to investigate a small school that is believed to hold supernatural energy and even potentially dangerous entities. The town currently has a population of only 30 people and the school has been a focal point during it’s history. But now, the school is reportedly home to some dark energies and other investigators have made the claim of seeing dark shadows and being pushed. Oddly, there is no reported events of death or tragedy in this place. From everything they can tell, this is a normal school that simply did it’s job to educate the young children of the area. So where did this legend of paranormal activity get started?  John has a couple of theories.

He thinks it may have started with the energy seeping over from the cemetery nearby. This was then coupled with paranormal investigators who used Spirit Boards to try and communicate with the dead. He believes this may have opened a gateway and something slipped through.

So what does the evidence reveal?

Chad is the first to take a solo tour of the school and as you might expect it’s riddled with him screaming out into the darkness and every bang, bump and creak from an old and abandoned building. At this rate, Chad is going to give himself a heart attack.

While investigating he feels he hears footsteps and someone whisper "God dammit Chad" into his recorder. He now feels he may have angered the spirit known as The Principal.

John is up next and he has a few surprises of his own. He sits down in the boiler room where a group of investigators supposedly were on the receiving end of some shoves from an unseen force while using a Spirit Board. John believes this sort of behavior has brought the entity into being. He feels cold spots repeatedly going back and forth over him. He hears some bangs and what he feels is a tap in response to him asking for a sign.

But, up on the third floor is where John feels he has his biggest encounter – with a dark shadow figure that appears out of nowhere. His sketch of the figure makes it appear to more of a female figure, but unfortunately we don’t get more than his sketch.

He also runs into trouble with his recorder. While in the school it no longer picks up his voice and records anything. All he can hear is static. When he steps outside the door to the school, it works as expected. Back inside, the recorder malfunctions again. What do we have here?

After all is said and done, they have a few interesting personal experiences but no tangible evidence. Do we really have a haunted school as John suggests? With a guardian spirit that watches over the school, but keeps the living at bay? Or is this simply an old school building, whereas with any old building, stories have been started and rumors have formed. Is this an example that people can convince themselves of events even when there’s no evidence to support them?

What do you think? Does the Farrar school have entities or residents with active imaginations?

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Ghost Stalkers – Wheatlands Plantation – S01E05

image We’re off to Tennessee to investigate the Wheatlands Plantation, a rather simple albeit a nice plantation house that hides some rather sordid tales. Before we get to whether or not this place has a portal, let’s just deal with some of the facts we do know. Or at least stand a good chance of being true.

The original house, built by Timothy Chandler burned down in 1824 and a new plantation was erected over the ashes. The new house was put together by Jim Chandler, but building a house on top of the ashes or a previous one isn’t always a good idea. Many problems would arise for the family and this house is no stranger to death.

First off the have the death of Big Tim, by his son Little Tim. In a drunken stupor the two men quarreled when the property was left to Little Tim. Ugly words were exchanged and Little Tim ended the conversation by beating his father to death with a fireplace poker. To matters worse, we have the story that no amount of washing, scrubbing or sanding can wash away the blood stains where Big Tim died. Once the area was clean, the blood pools would reappear.

Additionally, multiple people died in the upstairs bedroom. Several people who took residence in the room died within a few weeks. Coincidence or toxic mold?

The features of the land itself may hold a key to the paranormal activity. We have a large geode in the basement that is said to feed on and perhaps amplify the energy of the house. Next, we have the Indian burial ground in the back of the property. Yes, an Indian burial ground. It’s been awhile since we’ve had one of these to blame all our problems on. And finally, there is the running water from a nearby creek. The running water feeds all the energy and activity. Or so the unfounded claims go.

Let’s also point out the very high RF readings that John gets in the cemetery. He puts down the measure and it continues to climb while he’s talking. Seems like high activity like that could make people feel strange and out of sorts. I don’t think that’s a portal by an means, but you shouldn’t just gloss over that sort of reading. This place may be a little on the toxic side for other reasons.

Knowing all of this and already feeling the house has a portal, Chad leads us off with his solo investigation. It should come as no surprise that he’s as jumpy as a cat and whips his head around at every little noise. He repeatedly stops his investigation to rewind the recorder to give us the chilling sound of what may be a breath on the digital recorder. But then again the sound is so faint and indistinct is could be anything you want it to be or nothing at all.

At the end of his turn, Chad becomes very emotional when asking about his pet dog that passed away recently. He asks if the dog is still with him and even following him around. While getting no response he starts to break down with sadness at the feeling of loss.

John then heads into the house and while checking out the different rooms asks the amusing question, "you want to talk? You want a drink? You want to fight?" Yeah John, get into it! Oddly, he may have received a response as shortly thereafter he has a painful feeling in his side. When he opens his shirt, it appears someone has been hitting and scratching him. Did Big Tim want to have a throw down? An odd injury, but did it come from the unseen forces? Or is this some sort of bug bite that has been scratched to the point of breaking the skin?

The evidence they collect is pretty meager. Chad has a couple of breaths on his recorder, feels the bedroom was ice cold and John has a slight injury on his side. Unlike the reports, they don’t hear chanting, or voices, the geode doesn’t manifest any sort of energy, nor do they see apparitions.

Is there a portal in this location? I don’t see any evidence to support that, but there is a lot of real energy flowing around there. Is that from power lines or perhaps some sort of natural occurrence? If someone is exposed to this for long periods of time what is the side effect? I don’t think we have a portal here, but rather some unusual energy that might make people hallucinate or perhaps even throw them off balance.

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Boogeymen – Mothman – S01E01

image Destination America is adding to their Paranormal lineup with the addition of Boogeymen, a series which looks at urban legends. For their premiere episode they look a little deeper into the Mothman legend. Back in the 60s it was reported there was a large bird like creature out in the woods. It’s said this creature was tall, with a large wingspan and glowing red eyes. Eyewitnesses tell stories of it chasing their cars and appearing in usual places. The stories led to the legend of it being a foreteller of disastrous events such as the collapse of the Silver Bridge. This lead to the Mothman Prophecies.

It was also during this time that people reported The Men in Black, strange, secretive types that lurked on the streets and told people not to talk about the creature they had seen. Some say the men in black even threatened them. The appearance of these sinister figures coincided with the appearance of UFOs. People would see strange lights in the sky and told stories of seeing crafts that would move silently and were so bright you couldn’t look at them.

Combine these stories and put the center of the sightings around and old government factory and munitions are and you have one heck of a tale.

So what is the Mothman? Was it simply a bird that had mutated from the waste expelled from the factory? Was it some sort of create that was simply misidentified by people and it turned into a legend? Is it some sort of supernatural force or perhaps a creature from outer space? Was it simply a hoax or prank that took on a life of it’s own? Or was it people of the 60s trippin balls on acid and just making crap up?

This little biography looks at both sides. It talks to skeptics and believers to see what they think. It discusses all sorts of theories and tries to come up with some explanations. Why is there no body? Where did it go? Why hasn’t it been seen again?

It’s an interesting story that will certainly be debating for a lot longer to come. Either way, the people of Point Pleasant have embraced the Mothman legend with museums, tours and even a festival. So where did the Mothman come from? Who knows, but it looks like Point Pleasant is the place to be during September when the festival is on. Who’s down for checking out the museum and going on a tour?

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