New York Governor's Mansion Haunted

There's certainly no shortage of ghost stories in New York, but it's not often a political figure steps up and makes statements about potential spirits. Current NY Governor Andrew Cuomo has done just that.

According to the Albany Times Union, Cuomo mentioned the topic back in April, noting that he's not interested in ghosts and considers himself a 'big, tough guy,' but bravado aside, he reports that he doesn't sleep much in the mansion:

"It's a creepy house. I'm a big, tough guy so I don't get afraid of ghosts, but I'm not enamored with them anyway. So I don't sleep much when I'm in that house because there are a lot of noises going on, and it gives me a chance to read up on past governors and what they've done in New York."

A later report in the New York Post offered further statements from the Governor:

"So, it's me alone, when I'm in the house because my family is in Westchester...and there are stories that this house is haunted. Now, I don't believe in ghosts, and I'm a big, tough Italian guy, but I'll tell you, it gets creepy in that house, and there are a lot of noises that go on and you are very alone."

The mansion is 161 years old and sits near the Capitol building in Albany. According to historians, the only recorded death in the mansion occurred in 1909 when the Reverend David C. Hughes, father of Governor Charles Hughes, died from a "stroke of apoplexy."

Whether or not Rev. Hughes is responsible for the paranormal activity in the mansion is up for debate. Most people don't believe that the Reverend had any unfinished business to keep him around. Still, New York State Capitol assistant curator Stuart Lehman, who leads the annual Capitol Hauntings tours every Halloween, says visitors have reported a variety of strange sounds and sights in state buildings, including the governor's mansion.

Former governor David Paterson stepped up with his own take on the haunted mansion telling the Post that ghost absolutely did exist in the grand old house.
Paterson says that while living at the mansion, his five-year-old nephew told him he could feel an invisible hand guiding him up the home's stairs. The former governor also relayed one of his personal accounts.
Late one night, he was in a second-floor bedroom when he heard a sound 'like a vase smashing.' He searched two floors of the building but could find nothing to explain the strange noise. The following day, he spoke with staff who told the governor he'd encountered the mansion's ghost.

"I told the staff, and they all got quiet and left the room. One came to me and said, Governor, nobody wanted to say this to you, but it's the ghost. One employee is afraid to clean one of the rooms because she thinks the ghost is in the room."

Staff members at the mansion believe the spirit is that of a former groundskeeper. In fact, they believe it's the groundskeeper for the mansion's original owners, that is-before the state bought the building in 1877-meaning that the noisy spirit may have been present for a very long time.

Paterson offered some words of comfort to the current governor:

"Governor Cuomo should be relieved, it's a friendly ghost, like Casper."

As for current governor Cuomo, he spends most of his time at his family home in Westchester and when he's in the Albany mansion, well, those sleepless nights are spent buried in books, trying perhaps, to ignore the eerie sounds that take over the historic building each night.

Wood Knocks Volume 2 Now Available

Now Available!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/194595003X/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499844490&sr=1-7

Ripley's Evidence Featured in Panama City News

Ripley's evidence featured in Florida's Panama City News Herald, click on the link below for the full story.

http://www.newsherald.com/news/20170709/paranormal-team-uncovers-ghostly-evidence-at-ripleys

Nessie Reviewed

"...come with me now as we take a trek into the dark and turbulent domain of Nessie, the world's most supernatural monster."

So says Nick Redfern in the introduction of his new book, "Nessie." In some ways, it's a big promise, but as usual, Redfern delivers.

The Loch Ness Monster is one of the world's most famous cryptids. Over the years, there have been countless books published examining various theories to explain what the monster may be. That being the case, one has to wonder, what exactly a new book on the topic may have to offer. Sadly missing among the various publications of recent years, has been a close look at the supernatural elements and possibilities related to the creature. This, is what Nick has brought to the table with his latest foray.

Back in the 1960's, the late Frederick W. "Ted" Holiday, another Brit who was intrigued by the monster, wrote "The Great Orm of Loch Ness: A Practical Inquiry into the Nature and Habits of Water-Monsters" Holiday used the term "Orm," roughly meaning "worm" as a launching point to delve into a theory that the creatures in Loch Ness, and in other lochs, were actually giant worms. Almost as soon as he published the theory, Holiday was off delving into other possibilities. Possibilities that the creatures were something more akin to the paranormal world rather than flesh and blood beasts.

Redfern delves into Holiday's work, paying tribute in a sense, but in some ways, it feels like he picked up the threads still hanging from questions Holiday brought up. Redfern brings in other fascinating aspects to the Loch Ness mystery as well, covering other researchers, and the numerous odd incidents that have unfolded in recent years. This in fact, is where the strength of the book lies.

UFOs? Check.

Dragon Cults? Check.

The "Great Beast" aka Aleister Crowley? Check.

The Exorcism of Loch Ness? Check.

And there's more, much more.

While many researchers insist that, if there is indeed a creature in Loch Ness, it must be a physical animal, the vast amount of strange occurrences around the loch over the years point to even more intriguing possibilities. It's this range of alternative information relating to Nessie and her environs that Redfern ably delves into in this volume. As with any good book in the fortean field, Nick offers some speculations and stimulates the inquiring mind, leaving more mysteries for us to explore.

As someone long intrigued by the creature and the Loch itself, I've read most, maybe all, of the material published over the years. But even if you're a veteran Nessie aficionado, you'll love this book as a "refresher" course on the weirder aspects of the legend and you might find a few gems you haven't heard much about previously.

Check out Nessie, it's another great offering from Nick Redfern.

Angels & Demons

A man in Indianapolis, Indiana believes his guardian angel may have stepped in and prevented a potentially dire encounter. The witness was out enjoying a night on the town when he encountered a dark-eyed man with seemingly evil intent.

The incident occurred on a February night in 2007. Of interest here is that the witness was a veteran of the war in Iraq:

"The witness, his girlfriend and a couple of friends were out bar hopping on a Friday night in the Broad Ripple district when he ran out of cash and had to run to the ATM at the bank down the block. After withdrawing some cash from the ATM he turned around and saw that across the street was a man leaning against the telephone pole on the corner.

He was dressed well in a black suit with an open collar, maroon shirt. H was tall, maybe 6'4" and was white with short, jet-black hair. He couldn't be sure of the distance, but was convinced that the stranger's eyes were completely jet-black.

The scariest part was that the stranger was staring across this crowded intersection at the witness with an incredibly smug look on his face. The witness, an Iraqi war vet, was suddenly filled with "abject terror." The stranger's appearance was absolutely impeccable and he was just standing there, like he knew something the witness didn't and as if it were something the witness "wasn't going to like."

He didn't want to hang around any longer than necessary so he took off at a quick pace back toward the club where his friends were. After several yards, he allowed himself a glance backward and saw that the stranger was following him across the street. He reminded himself that nothing could happen with people all around, but he didn't really believe it.

He reached the club, but there was a line in front of the bouncer who was checking IDs. The witness stood there shaking with fear as he saw the man pause on the other side of the street, look both ways, then calmly begin crossing toward the witness. Every move he made was precise and deliberate. The witness somehow knew that when the man got to him something horrible was going to  happen, and it was only with great effort that he managed to maintain his composure. Just then, another man walked up to the witness from the other direction.

He was in his late 20's or early 30's, wearing jeans, sneakers, a baseball cap, and a hooded sweatshirt from a local university. He touched the witness on the shoulder and immediately the witness felt calmer. Then he said:

"Don't worry. You're all right. We have everything under control."

The witness glanced back at the man in the suit and he had paused in the middle of the street. It was amazing that he wasn't run over. 

The sweatshirt man turned away from the witness to face the man in the suit. It was clear to the witness that it was some kind of showdown. After a moment, the man in the suit sneered at them, in frustration it seemed. Then turned around and walked away. 

The sweatshirt man turned back to the witness with a reassuring smile, patted his shoulder, and walked on. 

Back inside the club, his girlfriend immediately noticed something was wrong, but before she could say anything, his other friend said:

"Did your friend find you?"

The witness replied, "Who?" His friend explained that he had run into a guy that had been looking for him. He described the sweatshirt man."

Account from researcher Albert S. Rosales, originally recounted via Your True Tales.

World UFO Day

http://www.worldufoday.com/