Skinwalkers

In Native American lore, a skinwalker is a person with supernatural abilities that can turn into any animal he or she chooses. The Navajo called it naaldlooshii meaning, he goes on all fours refers to he or she using their powers to travel in animal form.

A skinwalker is a strange animal like figure 6 foot tall. Often a mutated version of the animal that they take form of, they are very fast, agile and impossible to catch. They avoid light, in human form their eyes glow yellow like animals. In animal form their eyes do not glow.

They have the power to read minds. They can make any animal or human sound they want. You do not want to lock eyes with one. They have the power to take over your body. They don’t leave footprints. They like to use charms such as human bones, bone dust to do harm to their victims.

Thunderbirds

A thunderbird, considered a myth, is a large bird like creature generally identified with Native Americans. Reports of these birds go back centuries, fossils have been found of giant birds with wing spans of 50 feet.

April 10^th 1948 three people in Overland IL spotted what they thought was a plane, then they saw the wings move and realized it was a huge bird. A few weeks later a father and son spotted a very large bird in Alton IL. They said it flying at 500 feet and cast a shadow the same size as a small plane.

St. Louis MI residents wrote letters to the mayor to do something about these giant birds.

July 25^th 1977 Lawndale IL three boys were playing when two large birds flew towards them and chased them. Two of the boys got away, the third was not so lucky. Ten year old Marlon Lowe was lifted 2 feet off the ground and carried some distance by one of the birds. The boys described what most believe to be an Andean condor, but a condors talons are not strong enough to lift heavy objects.

2002 Alaska a bird with a wingspan of 14 feet was reported. Many believe this was a Stellers sea eagle as there were some reported to be in the area.

Cryptozoologists believe thunderbird myths are based on sightings of real birds with a mistaken assessment of size.

Skeptics have claimed that such a large bird could never fly. There has been several large flying creatures such as the Arcentauis Manificens with a wingspan of 23 feet or the Quetzalcoatlus with a wingspan of 40 feet just to name a few.

Cryptozoologists say the thunderbird was associated with storms; the thunderbird would follow drafts to stay a flight. John Keel claims to have mapped several thunderbird sightings and found that they correspond with the storms moving across America.

Angelo Capparella, an ornithologist, says it is highly unlikely of such undiscovered large birds, especially in North America.

No one has ever produced a real photo of a thunderbird.

Mike Morris

The Prophecy of White Buffalo Calf Woman

Lightning Medicine Cloud, a white buffalo born May 12, 2011 during a thunder storm. The news of the white buffalo brought over 2,000 Native Americans from all over the U.S. to a farm in Greenville, TX.

White buffalo are considered to be sacred in several Native American religions. They are said to have great spiritual importance. Lightning Medicine Cloud is said to be only the 3^rd white buffalo to be born. He is named after a white buffalo born in 1933 Big Medicine.

Lakota Sioux believe Whope, goddess of peace, appeared in the form of a white buffalo calf. They believe the goddess will return, once four such calf’s are born bringing a new age. Some believe the end of the world.

Chief Standing Strong said, the white buffalo is very sacred in Native American history. He also went on to say, this is the third one ever born. When four specially marked calf’s are born Whope will reappear, uniting nations and bring a new age. According to Indian legend it’s the beginning of the end of time.

The calf is unusual it is not an albino; it has a dark nose, eyes and dark markings on the tip of its tail.

Little Soldier said, he had to be a male, he had to have a black nose, eyes, and a black tipped tail. He had all the features, he’s the pure blessed bull whose been sent here with the message and prophecy.

The prophecy found at http://www.impurplehawk.com/legend.html

The Lakota people have a prophecy about the white buffalo calf. How that prophecy originated was that we have a sacred bundle, a sacred peace pipe, that was brought to us about 2,000 years ago by what we know as the White Buffalo Calf Woman. 

The story goes that she appeared to two warriors at that time. These two warriors were out hunting buffalo, hunting for food in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota, and they saw a big body coming toward them. And they saw that it was a white buffalo calf. As it came closer to them, it turned into a beautiful young Indian girl. 

That time one of the warriors thought bad in his mind, and so the young girl told him to step forward. And when he did step forward, a black cloud came over his body, and when the black cloud disappeared, the warrior who had bad thoughts was left with no flesh or blood on his bones. The other warrior kneeled and began to pray. 

And when he prayed, the white buffalo calf who was now an Indian girl told him to go back to his people and warn them that in four days she was going to bring a sacred bundle. 

So the warrior did as he was told. He went back to his people and he gathered all the elders and all the leaders and all the people in a circle and told them what she had instructed him to do. And sure enough, just as she said she would, on the fourth day she came. 

They say a cloud came down from the sky, and off of the cloud stepped the white buffalo calf. As it rolled onto the earth, the calf stood up and became this beautiful young woman who was carrying the sacred bundle in her hand. 

As she entered into the circle of the nation, she sang a sacred song and took the sacred bundle to the people who were there to take of her. She spent four days among our people and taught them about the sacred bundle, the meaning of it. 

She taught them seven sacred ceremonies. 

One of them was the sweat lodge, or the purification ceremony. One of them was the naming ceremony, child naming. The third was the healing ceremony. The fourth one was the making of relatives or the adoption ceremony. The fifth one was the marriage ceremony. The sixth was the vision quest. And the seventh was the sundance ceremony, the people's ceremony for all of the nation. 

She brought us these seven sacred ceremonies and taught our people the songs and the traditional ways. And she instructed our people that as long as we performed these ceremonies we would always remain caretakers and guardians of sacred land. She told us that as long as we took care of it and respected it that our people would never die and would always live. 

When she was done teaching all our people, she left the way she came. She went out of the circle, and as she was leaving she turned and told our people that she would return one day for the sacred bundle. And she left the sacred bundle, which we still have to this very day. 

Mike Morris

Movie Curses - Real or Coincidence?

There is nothing more intriguing than a movie curse that plagues actors and crew members with strange misfortunes, sometimes even deadly misfortunes, simply because of their part in a film. I cannot say that I believe that there is a dark cloud of negativity hovering over the production of the movies I’ve researched, but the events certainly appear more than just coincidence.

The question that repeatedly sounded in my mind was “Why?”. What would cause these groups of people, who were brought together to create entertainment for others, be drawn into a web of ill fate? Is it possible that the subject matter attracted the negativity? Collectively, I am positive the cast and crew focused on the fear of the films they were making, and those types of emotions can easily generate a thoughtform and attract situations of fear into their lives. The cause of movie “curses” may never be known, but the facts are worth reviewing.

Let me know what you think!

Are the circumstances involving these films merely coincidence or is there something more sinister lurking about?

Twilight Zone the Movie

July 23, 1982 in Ventura County, California, production was set to film a scene with Vic Morrow who played the role of Bill Connor, a racist, who is taken back in time and placed in various situation where he is the victim of racism. The movie had scenes of Bill Connor being a Jewish man during the holocaust, a black man about to be lynched by the Ku Klux Klan, and a Vietnamese man trying to escape from United States soldiers.

This particular day was the filming of the scene of the Vietnamese man who was attempting to escape from a US Army helicopter with two Vietnamese children. The two Vietnamese children were played by My-Ca Dinh Le, age 7, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (age 6). In the scene, the helicopter was to hover over the three actors while an explosion occurred nearby. The scene began filming, and the helicopter hovered only 25 feet above them. This was too close to the pyrotechnic explosions which damaged the helicopter and caused it to crash on top of the actors. Morrow and Le were decapitated and Chin was crushed underneath the helicopter. No one in the helicopter was injured.

Is it possible that the negativity involved in the subject matter had something to do with the incident? Or was the helicopter crash a very unfortunate and tragic accident?

Superman

The first victim associated with the alleged curse of Superman is George Reeves who played Superman on television in the 1950’s. Reeve died of a gunshot wound to the head in 1959 which was considered a suicide. An investigation later revealed there were no finger prints on the gun which would lead one to believe it was a murder, but the authorities continue to rule his death a suicide.

Christopher Reeve played Superman in 4 major motion pictures beginning in the late 70s through the late 80s. Reeve, whose name is eerily similar to Reeves last name, did not have any tragedies occur during the filming of the Superman movies. The alleged Superman curse struck on May 27, 1995 when Reeve was thrown from a horse while in an equestrian competition in Virginia. He suffered a cervical spinal injury that paralyzed him from the neck down making him a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. Reeve was admitted to the hospital early October 2004 to treat a pressure wound that was causing sepsis. Shortly after receiving an antibiotic for the infection, he went into cardiac arrest and then slipped into a coma. Reeves suffered another cardiac arrest eighteen hours later and died on October 10, 2004 at the age of 52.

Margot Kidder who played Lois Lane in the Superman franchise also fell on some troubled times. Kidder experienced a manic episode in 1996 and was found by Los Angeles police naked and cowering in undergrowth with bashed-in teeth. She was placed in psychiatric care and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It is reported that she has gotten her condition under control and has not had a manic episode in years.

Richard Pryor, who played Gus Gorman, a talented computer hacker in the 1983 Superman III, was yet another alleged victim of the Superman movie curse. Three years after Superman III, Pryor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He also suffered from heart problems and in 1990 underwent a triple heart bypass. Nine days after his birthday, in 2005, Pryor suffered another heart attack and was unable to be resuscitated. He was 65 years old.

Poltergeist

Researching the alleged curse of the Poltergeist movies, I have found many mentions of the use of authentic skeletons in the pool scene. Apparently, this was confirmed by JoBeth Williams on E! True Hollywood Story about Poltergeist. Honestly, if there is any truth to this fact, I find it morbid, simply because the premise of the movie was based on the remains of people being desecrated. I would not attribute the “curse” to the use of authentic skeletons, but the death of 4 of the movie’s actors does appear suspicious.

Dominique Dunne, who played Freeling, the oldest daughter, was murdered in 1982 shortly after completing work on Poltergeist. Dunne met and moved in with a Los Angeles chef, John Thomas-Sweeney (born and raised in Hazelton, PA). The relationship soon became abusive and Dunne ended the relationship. On October 30^th, Sweeney approached Dunne in the driveway of her home in hopes of reconciling. Dunne refused and Sweeney became enraged and strangled her, some report that this happened for at least 4 minutes. Dunne fell into a deep coma and died five days later on November 4 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

No one will ever forget the creepy rendition of “God is in his Holy Temple” sung by Julian Beck as he played the ghost Rev. Henry Kane in Poltergeist II: The Other Side. Beck was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1983 prior to accepting his role as the revengeful preacher. He died just two years later at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City at the young age of 60.

Will Sampson, who played the Native American Shaman named Taylor in the 1986 movie Poltergeist II: The Other Side passed away on June 3, 1987. Sampson was in need of a heart and liver transplant. His death was due to post-operative kidney failure and pre-operative malnutrition problems. He was only 53 years old. Once of Sampson’s more famous roles was Chief Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Heather O’ Rourke, who played Carol Ann Freeling, the daughter who disappeared in the house, died on February 1, 1988 at the age of twelve. Her cause of death was intentional stenosis, septic shock and cardiac arrest. O’Rourke became ill in early 1987 and was allegedly misdiagnosed by Kaiser Permanente Hospital as having Crohn’s disease. The medicine that was prescribed to treat the condition made her cheeks puffy which is evident in many picture and in the last Poltergeist III movie. It was later discovered after her death that she did not have Crohn’s disease, but suffered from and acute bowel obstruction. Her family sued Kaiser Permanente Hospital and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Poltergeist III was her last performance.

There were also some unusual phenomena reported from the cast. JoBeth Williams said that each day she returned home from filming, the pictures on her wall would be crooked and she needed to fix them. A prop malfunction caused the clown to actually choke actor Oliver Robbins who played the brother, Robbie Freeling. Finally, during a movie photo shoot, a bright light covered the face the Zelda Rubenstein that could not be explained. She later acknowledged that at the same time the picture was taken, her mother passed away.

Rosemary’s Baby

A handful of misfortunes are attributed to the Rosemary Baby curse which I am sure received recognition based on the theme of Satan worship in the movie. The film’s composer died of a blood clot the year after making the film, which ironically, was the cause of death of one of the character’s in the movie. Soon after the film was released, producer William Castle suffered kidney failure. Most notably, the director Roman Polanski suffered a devastating loss when his wife, Sharon Tate, and unborn child, were murdered by Charlie Manson and his family. Curse or Coincidence?

The Omen

The cast and crew of the Omen, yet another movie centered around Satan, had numerous unfortunate events and close calls.

• Script Writer David Seltzer’s plane was hit by lightning as was Gregory Pecks, and Executive Producer Mace Neufeld’s plane.
• The IRA bombed a hotel Neufeld was staying at during filming. The hotel restaurant was also bombed which was where the director and actors were scheduled to eat that day. No one was killed.
• Special effects consultant John Richardson crashed his car in Holland on Friday August 13, 1976. When he got out of the wreck he looked up and saw a sign that allegedly read “Ommen, 66.6km”.
• One of the film’s tiger handlers died.
• Gregory Peck’s son shot himself.
• A plane scheduled for use in film production was rescheduled and the plane was used on a commercial flight. The plane later crashed killing everyone on board.

Curse or simply Coincidence?

Written by Kerri L. Schultz

On this Day - The Battle of Little Bighorn

Lt. Colonel George Custer

One of the most common places to find paranormal activity is battlegrounds. The savage deaths and heightened emotions of rage, terror and fear no doubt leave powerful energetic imprints.  These powerful energetic imprints can cause Residual Hauntings which in essence is the events happening over and over. Many people may see glimpses of these events occurring daily or at certain times of the year.

Today is the 135th anniversary of the Battle of Little Big Horn or Custer’s Last Stand. To the Sioux Indians involved in the fight, it was named the Battle of the Greasy Grass. As the name suggests, the location of the battle was near the Little Bighorn River in Big Horn County, Montana.

Sitting Bull

In the summer of 1876, military officials launched a campaign to force the Lakota and Cheyenne back to their reservations. Reportedly, at the same time military plans were forming, on June 5, 1876, a spiritual ceremony called the Sun Dance was performed on the Rosebud River in Montana by a number of Native American’s who joined the hostiles. Sitting Bull, who created the religious ceremony, had a vision of “soldier falling into his camp like grasshoppers from the sky.”

On June 25, 1876, three troops were coordinating to attack the Native Americans. One of these troops being the 7^th Cavalry led by Lt. Colonel George Custer. Custer’s scouts report that a village was spotted nearby, as well as, a group of about 40 warriors. Custer decided not to alert the main party and disobey orders to wait. He chose to attack the group of Native Americans, led by Crazy Horse, and discovered that Native Americans’ numbers tripled his own.

Crazy Horse

The battle ensued. The 7^th Calvary suffered 268 killed and 55 wounded which included Custer, his two brothers, brother-in-law, and nephew. The Native American’s were victorious with 36-136 killed and 168 wounded.

Today, many visitors to the place of battle have had many paranormal experiences. Some have seen and heard the spirits of both Indians and soldiers. People have also reported having a sense of deep sorrow. For more personal ghostly encounters from Little Big Horn visit http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/mt/little_bighorn.cfm

Kerri L. Schultz