By David Fox

”…in the nineteenth century, investigators of poltergeist phenomena observed that children are usually present, and one of them often seems to be the ‘focus’ of the disturbance…”

Colin Wilson

Poltergeists are infamous in all cultures

In early August 2016 police were summoned to a property on Stonelaw Road, Rutherglen, Scotland. A series of bizarre disturbances had been reported, and the highly experienced officers were soon to be confronted with a profoundly perplexing situation. Doors opened and closed by their own accord, clothing was hurled through the air by unseen hands, and the pet dog mysteriously levitated on top of a seven foot hedge. Naturally the events caused extreme distress for both tenants and police officers alike. A more detailed account of this case can be found on The Metro website, 13th August 2016: Police Witness Paranormal Events.

Such phenomena are commonly grouped under the term of ‘Poltergeist’ activity (which comes from the German for ‘noisy ghost’). These mischievous spirits are said to be responsible for a myriad of weird occurrences such as: moving furniture, creating disturbing sounds, switching on and off electrical appliances, and even physically attacking people and animals. Acclaimed Occult author Colin Wilson identified these actions to be the ‘basic characteristics of the poltergeist’ and noted that they always form the same ‘pattern’. Indeed, perhaps what makes them so disturbing is that, unlike traditional ghosts, they do not assume any particular shape or form. Poltergeists can merely be described as ‘forces’ or mysterious ‘energies’ which happen to linger around particular people – normally young children or adolescents.

Tobe Hooper’s cult classic raised awareness of poltergeist phenomenon

Tobe Hooper’s cult movie ‘Poltergeist’ (1982) propelled this troublesome type of spirit into the popular contemporary mainstream. The young daughter in the movie was very much the focus of the paranormal activity which occurred in and around the family home. However, just six years prior to the movie’s release, the story of the Enfield Poltergeist in the UK had caused an international sensation. Peggy Hodgson and her children were plagued by such activity at their home in the north eastern borough of London. Strange forces shifted heavy furniture, slammed doors and a police officer even observed an arm chair move unaided across the floor. Perhaps one of the most disturbing images of poltergeist phenomena is that of Janet Hodgson (Peggy’s daughter) being thrown violently through the air in her bedroom. The case was examined thoroughly be a variety of agencies and, although Peggy’s daughters admitted playing tricks at times, much of the phenomena cannot be conclusively explained.

One of the most disturbing images of poltergeist activity – The Enfield Poltergeist

Since antiquity, the poltergeist has made an appearance in the folklore of virtually every culture throughout the world. Stone throwing was usually the first indication that such a spirit was present, and it could even occur during daylight hours. The curious tale of The Drummer of Tedworth in 1661 is one of the oldest documented accounts of this phenomenon in the British Isles. The musician had his instrument confiscated and held at a local house which caused a variety of chaotic incidents to take place. It was only when the drum was returned to its owner and he was promptly instructed to leave town that the disturbances ceased.

Indeed, there are countless eye-witness accounts and tales of poltergeist activity in the media every year. This raises the question of what actually causes such phenomena to occur – surely there must be a logical explanation behind all of this? We live in an age of unbridled technological advancement, and queer notions of malevolent spirits seem somewhat medieval and outdated to say the least. Perhaps poltergeist activity can be explained as an aspect of what Colin Wilson termed ‘Faculty X’? This is the term he gave to the largely latent range of exceptional faculties human beings may possess – but of which we are presently unaware. Could it be that poltergeist activity is actually ‘created’ in some way by excessive energy which has built up in and around the sphere of certain individuals?

Like many free-thinkers, Wilson believed that the overwhelming majority of human beings are unaware of the massive potential which exists within their psyches. The state of the contemporary adult could be easily compared to a toddler sitting at the controls of a jumbo jet. We have yet to fully appreciate just how powerful the human species can become and how limited our current state of consciousness actually is. If poltergeist activity really is created by individual persons, it could be grouped in with other phenomena such as telekinesis (the capability to move physical objects using the mind), premonitions (predicting future events in dreams and visions) and thaumaturgy (the ability to heal others at will).

David Fox is a professional free-lance writer and entertainer who lives in the UK. Visit his website to find out more about him: David Fox Magic.

By Ian Ainsley 

Before I start on this subject, for those of you that don’t know me my name is Ian and I am a Paranormal Investigator of 20 years and a Demonologist of 11 years. I am part of two paranormal teams Knights Templar Paranormal Order and Project Paranormal. I have many books that relate to demonology yet none of them list this supposed demonic entity known as Zozo. This sparked my interest to start digging into why exactly a demonic entity or should I say a ‘supposed’ demonic entity that is said to have been documented in the 18th Century is not mentioned in any of the scriptures(books) on the subject of demons.

Zozo described as one of the most powerful demons ever to be known so much so that some theories on Zozo is that it’s Lucifer himself.

Zozo is reportedly first believed to have been documented in the 18th century and is said to be mentioned in the dictionnaire Infernal an 1818 published book on demonology. The dictionnaire infernal lists 65 demons none of which are named or nicknamed Zozo. 

So fact number one is that the claim of when this entity was ‘supposedly’ first encountered is false and the claim of where this entity is documented is false. The story of Zozo is slowly starting to unfold. 

The first actual account of an encounter with Zozo first found its way onto the Internet in 2009 by a man named Darren Wayne Evans who claims to be a self professed Zozologist (An expert on the entity Zozo).

 I find it very compelling that the first encounter started circulating the Internet in 2009 for one reason alone and that is it would be a perfect time three years before the release of a film called I Am Zozo (known in the UK as Are You There?) if stories were circulated before the films release of supposed real life encounters with this entity for promotional purposes. Also films are a long process to make so 2009 the film would have already have been in production. 

Darren Wayne Evans from Oklahoma also happens to appear in the film as ‘himself’ (a Zozologist). I don’t know about you but already I’m starting to see it’s all adding up.

From there on out the seed was planted and suddenly a mass of people started doing Ouija Board sessions and supposedly contacting Zozo from there. Now as the seed had already been planted by a few circulated ‘accounts’ of encounters with the Zozo entity it’s not hard to imagine that subconsciously a lot of people would be moving the planchette themselves without realising it and getting the name Zozo spelled out. 

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that the Ouija Board isn’t a legitimate way of contacting the spirit world but what I am saying is suggestion and subconscious thought can play a big part in the results obtained, which is why as a paranormal investigator I won’t use Ouija Boards as there are too many false positives to produce it as actual evidence like for example the subconscious mind sending electrical impulses that you may not even be aware of that can cause a involuntary movement to happen and then of course there is the reason that Ouija Board evidence is easily faked. 

As hype and popularity in the accounts of encounters with Zozo grew suddenly a surge of investigators and investigation teams who are after more viewers, more subscribers and more likes of their shows suddenly started making contact with Zozo through Ouija Boards helping spread what started as a mere modern day urban legend into a much talked about and much believed in demonic entity.

Verdict- Zozo is the creation of Hollywood and not a real demon.

Reincarnation is a subject that most of us find fascinating, it is also known as ‘Transmigration’ or ‘Rebirth. It is the concept that the soul, is reborn into new lives, into humans, plants or animals. Most Religions believe it is a continuation of working towards an eventual escape from the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth, and a path to absolute purity and salvation.

Reincarnation is most widely accepted by eastern religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism to name a few. It is also found in many ancient cultures, and was also held as a belief by great historical figures such as Pythogaras, Plato and Socrates. It is also a very common belief within various ancient and modern Religions today, such as ‘Spiritism’, ‘Theosophy’ and ‘Eckankar’, as well as many other tribal communities throughout the world. Although the majority of sects within the Abrahamic Religions, such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism are not believers in Reincarnation, some particular groups within these Religions do. These groups are followers of the Kabbalah, Alawaites, Cathers and the Druze.

The Worlds longest surviving Religion ‘Hinduism’ is unified by it’s acceptance of ‘SAMSARA’, this is a chain of births and deaths linked by Reincarnation. This is controlled by what we all know in modern day as KARMA. Although Hindu’s worship an array of Gods, they believe that Karma is not assigned by any God, and is simply earned by each individual, and passed down through subsequent lives.

KARMA – GOOD ACTIONS CREATE GOOD KARMA – EVIL ACTIONS CREATE BAD KARMA.

Following good Karma is said in Hinduism, will eventually earn a person a higher place in a future life or existence, then eventually total salvation from ‘SAMSARA’ ( Ultimate Enlightenment)

So in modern day, how do we believe or have evidence that Reincarnation actually exists?

It is said that some of most common signs and symptoms of having a past life, or past lives is firstly

DEJAVU- The feeling of overwhelming familiararity to a place you have never visited, or a person, you have never met, or to a memory you never had, hidden deep within your subconscious.

RECURRING DREAMS OR NIGHTMARES- Vivid dreams or nightmares, of specific occurrences, distress, places, times, era’s and so forth, that recur in a similar manner.

NATURAL TALENTS- Children and adults that have amazing talents without studying or practising them. Some children have been known  to speak a foreign language fluently, without ever being exposed to it.

PHOBIA’S- Most phobia’s will appear to be completely irrational, such as spiders, heights, chlostrophobia, (learnt phobia’s if you like) but what about explaining a fear that the person has never been exposed to? and never before threatened them?

BIRTHMARKS- Many Religions believe that birthmarks are a sign of Reincarnation, it is commonly believed they appear as a reminder to heal certain past life trauma’s. Apparently birthmarks can change in colour and in shape, due to an emotional shift.

SOULMATES- This is the total connection to certain people, to which individuals feel they have known each other before and feel at one, at peace, or maybe even distress with.

Although many adults do believe they have lived before within a different timeframe, body and mind, I find nothing more fascinating than the study into children whom recollect past lives with remarkable accuracy. One modern day case I have been following, is of a 10 year old boy, from the city of Oklahoma, America…

Ryan, the little boy from Oklahoma, started having vivid dreams from the age of 4, and by the age of 5, made a revelation to his mother Cyndi, whom is a devout Baptist, that he in fact used to be ‘somebody else’. He claimed he used to be a Hollywood Actor, He described his experiences of travelling the world, working with stars like Rita Hayworth, and dancing on Broadway. His mother Cyndi, claimed his stories were so detailed, there was no way a child of 5 could make these things up. As a Baptist, Cyndi had not been taught, neither was a believer in Reincarnation, however, her son Ryan’s revelations, left her feeling the need to research his claims further. It was here that a picture, in black and white, was found in a Hollywood memorial book, and Ryan, whom saw one of the pictures said ‘that was me’, ‘that’s who I was’. A man named MARTY MARTYN, who was in fact, a small role actor and Hollywood agent. The photo he saw was shot from a 1930’s film called ‘NIGHT AFTER NIGHT’, where Marty Martyn appeared as an extra, with no lines.

Ryan, in fact, went on and had identified more than 50 truths about Marty Martyn’s life, including how many wives he had, to the street he used to live in, to how his heart ‘exploded’ and even an African maid he used to have, in his home with one of his wives. As these claims and details became more specific, Cyndi the mother, sought after help from DR Jim Tucker, a Professor of child Psychiatry, at the University of Virginia. Marty Martyn died in the year of 1964, and Professor Jim Tucker stated, IF YOU LOOK AT A PICTURE OF A GUY WITH NO LINES IN A MOVIE, AND THEN TELL ME ABOUT HIS LIFE, I DONT THINK MANY OF US WOULD COME UP WITH MARTY MARTYNS LIFE’.

Ryan would regularly talk about his two sisters, trips to Paris, his 5 wives, and living on a street with the word ‘ROX’ in it. He also said he missed an orange soda called ‘TRU-ADE’. Professor Jim Tucker also stated, non of this information was available on the internet, and after thoroughly investigating what Ryan had claimed, all of the 50 plus truths were accurate. Marty Martyn had a weakness for an orange soda named ‘TRU-ADE’, he used to live on ROXBURY DRIVE in Beverley Hills, he had two sisters and indeed spent time in Paris with his 5th wife, and died from a heart attack. Ryan also claimed that ‘HE DID NOT SEE WHY GOD WOULD LET HIM GET TO 61, THEN MAKE HIM COME BACK AS A BABY?’ Professor Tucker then went on to find, that the death certificate claimed that Marty Martyn in fact died when he was 59, which seemed a big inconsistency and major detail wrong in Ryan’s story, however, since then, Professor Jim Tucker received concrete evidence and information, that MARTY MARTYN was indeed 61 when he  had died. Ryan, therefore, was correct all along…..

There are many wonderful stories, claims, and perhaps evidence? throughout the world, from these remarkable children. Some do not hold so many evidential factors. however, many cases through study, investigating, seeking and acceptance, have allowed these children to move forward, and eventually allow these past life memories to diminish.

I find it fascinating that these children are pure in spirit and not tainted by society, ghost stories or exposure to the Reincarnation belief system, however some Religious communities do expose their children to Reincarnation from a young age, but would a child of 4-8 years old really understand it? let alone have vivid, and factual memories of a previous existence? Again, it is a remarkable subject that can never be totally proven, and there are many arguments against the theory to support this, however I believe we owe these children a chance to follow their stories and investigate their claims, whether they are imagination?, coincidence? or indeed the truth. Being a  trained Clinical Hypnotherapist, and Past life Regressionist, I am still seeking answers, still searching for concrete evidence, and this will no doubt continue on, throughout this, my life here…..

ARTICLE BY CLARE BURROWS

http://www.spiritussanctus.co.uk

​The Curse of the Crying Boy Painting started in Rotherham and it is coming back!! 

Will it be the rebirth of the Curse?? 

We are looking for anyone who would like to have the painting for a upcoming project we have, we will be doing a documentary regarding the history of it and about those who have chosen to study the painting and if any activity occured while it was in their prescene, Please give us a message if this interests you.

The Curse of the Crying Boys Paintings

The History and theory behind it all:

In England, 1985, a series of bizarre fires broke out, destroying many homes and businesses. The link between the fires was a collection of paintings, known as ‘Crying Boys’. Out of the devastation of each fire, only the paintings would survive, and soon, they would be labelled as ‘cursed’.

Bruno Amadio, an academically trained painter, was working as a painting restorer in Venice, when he created his series that became known as ‘Crying Boys’. These paintings, of which at least 65 were made, all featured young boys, who stared straight out of the picture, with tears welling in their eyes and rolling down their cheeks.

The pictures were created for tourists visiting post world war two Venice, the significance being that the paintings showed the sorrow of the children who had been recently orphaned due to the war.

Eventually, some of these paintings were brought to England, mass produced and sold in shopa and department stores at a cheap price. More than 50,000 copies of the paintings made their way into people’s houses all across England.

In September 1985, British newspaper ‘The Sun’ ran a report on some strange happenings surrounding the Crying Boy paintings.

The article told the story of Ron and May Hall’s home of 27 years, in Rotherham, which was destroyed by a devastating fire. The fire was started when an unattended frying pan caught a light and the house went along with it.

The strange thing was that only one item seemed to have survived the blaze. Found amongst the ashes and ruin was a frame, the painting within was face down on the floor, and only slightly scorched. The Crying Boy had survived the fire somehow.

Ron Hall’s brother was a fire-fighter, and he told how several houses had burned to the ground, and that the sole remaining item was a copy of The Crying Boy, found intact, lying face down on the floor.

He also insinuated that fire-fighters believed the painting to be cursed, and that none would hang the picture in their homes. One fire station officer Alan Wilkinson had logged more than fifty ‘Crying Boy’ fires.

With The Sun’s large reader base, and the fact that more than 50,000 copies of The Crying Boy were hanging in British homes, a fear in the curse quickly spread.

Many readers told their stories through the paper, and various other papers around the country. The story was always the same, soon after the picture found its way into a home, a fire broke out, destroying everything except the picture itself.

Several readers also wrote in, explaining that after they had read about the curse, they attempted to destroy their copies of the paintings. They attempted to burn them in their garden incinerators, but the painting failed to burn.

Soon after a ‘Crying Boy’ fire had gutted an Italian Restaurant, The Sun ran a story encouraging readers to send them their copy of the paintings, if they felt fear from the curse. The sun organised mass bonfires for the burning of the paintings, and soon over two thousand had finally gone up in flames. Although they were not easy to burn, they did eventually succumb to the fire and flames.

Soon other methods for lifting the curse of the painting came to light, such as handing the painting to another (thereby giving them the curse), or hanging the picture alongside a painting containing a crying girl.

The stories of the fires began to smoulder, and the series of events relegated to the status of legend. However, the question still is ‘If the paintings were indeed somehow causing or enabling fires to take place, what force could be behind it?

There are several stories behind the legend of the painting itself. One states that the models for the various crying boys were orphans who, soon after the paintings were completed, died in a orphanage fire. 

Another version is that Bruno Amadio, also known as Bragolin, had fled to Spain soon after the end of World War Two. Here Amadio met a young boy named Don Bonillo, a mute orphan who had seen his parents perish in a house fire during the war.

Amadio soon adopted the boy, although he was warned off of doing so by a local priest, the boy being the centre of many mysterious fires that broke out wherever he went. The boy was known locally as the devil child.

Amadio refused to believe such stories, and the new family did well, Amadios paintings were selling well, and the two were living easy.

Unfortunately, one day Amadio found that his house and studio had burned to the ground. Remembering the priest’s warnings, he immediately blamed Don and kicked him out of the family. Don Bonillo was not heard from again until 1976, and surrounding another bizarre event.

Just outside of Barcelona a car smashed into a wall and burst into flames. The driver was killed and was so horrifically burned; he was not able to be identified. However, upon investigation back at the police yard, the glove compartment was pried open. There, among burned items, was an untouched driver’s license. The name on the license was Don Bonillo.

It is said all of Amadio’s paintings of crying boys were cursed by the memory of Don Bonillo.

Unfortunately, all of the facts of this story can not be 100% confirmed. Bruno Amadio, the painter, died in 1981, the truth of this story has also gone with him.