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Top Paranormal Events of 2008 | All About Paranormal } -->
 

Top Paranormal Events of 2008

Paranormal Events of 2008

From ghosts and monsters to psychic phenomena and demonic possession, 2008 was another year with no shortage of paranormal activity and unexplained strangeness. Here is a look back at the news stories that tend to make us wonder just what kind of reality we're living in -- the most unusual, intriguing and fascinating events of 2008.



Good ghost photos are hard to come by, and we always have to view them with a skeptical eye since it's so easy to create fakes nowadays. However, there were a few intriguing ghost photos snapped this year that are worthy of attention. The best of them might be the ghost of Tewin Bury Farm, taken by designer Neil Sandbach while trying to get a photo for some wedding stationery. Victoria Iovan may have photographed the ghost of a tall woman in white at the Decebal hotel in Romania. Then in June, at Oxford Castle in the U.K., Keiron Brown captured the image of a dark figure in an underground crypt.

Ghosts and poltergeists made themselves known in various locations around the world. Businessman Anwar Rashid was so spooked by spirits that he abandoned his multi-million-dollar mansion near Nottingham, U.K. Paranormal investigators called it the "most active" place they had ever seen. And near Wollescote, U.K., the ghost of a little girl in Victorian clothes was blamed for distracting drivers and even causing accidents. And back in Romania, police blamed ghosts for vandalism to several homes. One witness said, "The windows started to break one by one. I saw two bicycles moving through the air on their own." Ghosts were attached to celebrities this year, including Joan Crawford, Ted Bundy, Ricky Gervais, and Jessica Alba.

Designer Neil Sandbach took photos at a farm in Hertfordshire for inclusion in some Wedding Stationery he was preparing for a couple due to host their wedding at the venue. When Neil opened up the photo on his computer he was surprised, and not a little spooked, when he noticed a blurry white figure that he was certain wasn’t visible when the photo was taken, as there was nobody else around.
Neil explains, “a week or so later, just before the actual wedding, and without mentioning the photograph, the couple getting married asked the staff at the venue if anyone had ever seen something ’spooky’. Their faces went white as they described what they had seen on various occasions: the ghost of a young boy dressed in white night clothes, appearing close to the main barn”.


















Ghost photographed in haunted hotel
A hotel in Romania has become a local attraction after a photograph of a ghost was published by newspapers and television.
The ghost of a tall woman in a long white dress reportedly watches the hallways and staircases of the Decebal hotel, in the Baile Herculane mountain spa.
The 150-year-old hotel is believed to hide ancient Roman treasure under
its foundations and the ghost is said by locals to keep treasure hunters away.
The hotel has been closed for renovations for five years but people who have ventured inside claim to have seen - and photographed - the ghost.
Victoria Iovan, 33, from Baile Herculane, said: "I photographed my boyfriend in the hotel. Back home I was shocked to see another woman's shadow in the picture. She looked like a priestess in long white clothes."
Another witness, a high school student called Alexandra, said he and six classmates went into the hotel late one evening for fun.
"All of a sudden we felt a cold air and we saw a white silhouette close to us. We couldn't find our way out because we ran so fast," he said.
Local authorities have warned people not to go into the hotel because they say it is unsafe because of the building work.



A dark figure haunts visitors to Oxford Castle Unlocked!



A photograph, which has captured a dark figure taken in the foreboding underground Crypt at Oxford Castle Unlocked, has revealed the paranormal does exist and confirms beliefs that the Castle is haunted. The photograph was taken on Friday 16 May by a member of the public at a ghost hunt organised by Fright Nights, the UK’s leading ghost hunt specialist. The brave ghost hunter, who was alone in the Crypt at the time, took the photograph with his digital camera.

Keiron Brown from Alton in Hampshire was astonished to see the dark shadow of a figure at the end of the corridor leading into the Crypt when he looked at the images on his computer after the event. The astounding photograph has since been analysed by experts at Fright Nights and at Oxford Castle Unlocked.

Martin Jeffrey, Director of Fright Nights stated “We were amazed by this photograph. Our analysts have shown that the figure is jet black and unusually not lit up by the flash, whereas the side walls and the wall behind it have visible lighting caused by the flash. We can also confirm that the figure is facing the camera and seems to have some form of hood, head dress or blindfold. We know that the Crypt was used for the storing of criminals especially those waiting execution, so the figure fits perfectly within the history of the Castle”.

Fright Nights were granted exclusive use of Oxford Castle Unlocked in which to hold overnight paranormal investigations for the public since early 2007. The visitor attraction is thought to be one of the most haunted buildings in the country. Throughout its dark history, the Castle has served time as a royal residence, a centre of justice and as the county Gaol, hidden from public view behind impenetrable 5 metre high stones walls until its closure in 1996.

Martin continued, “This photograph tops off a fantastic eighteen months of ghost hunting events at Oxford Castle Unlocked. We have had continual paranormal activity throughout the Castle that has inspired attendees to return over and over again. The Castle's most active ghost, ‘Bernard’, a renowned angry monk who is believed to inhabit the Crypt, seems to have been caught red handed by Keiron and after months of unusual incidents allegedly caused by him, it’s great to get our own back!"


Ever since the Oxford Castle’s construction in 1071 there have been many reports of paranormal activity. Murderer Mary Blandy was tried and hanged at Oxford Castle in 1752 and her ghost is said to have been seen a number of times walking the Castle Mound. In the 1970s a group of inmates held a séance in one of the cells sparking poltergeist activity which resulted in a priest having to conduct an exorcism. A strange white mist has been witnessed rising up a flight of stairs which two prison guards watched in horror as it faded in front of their eyes.

During filming for The Italian Job, a group of film extras heard unidentifiable shouts and screams echoing around the main buildings and on at least two occasions unexplained physical damage was caused to various items stored at the prison. Security guards have often felt uneasy patrolling the prison at night especially after a terrifying apparition was seen by a guard and his dog. The dog stopped in its tracks and growled whilst the guard saw two black figures in front of him. Days later the dog died, the cause of its death was believed to have been the fright caused by the apparition.

On a Fright Nights event, members of the public are led around the austere confines of the 18th century Debtors’ Tower, Prison D-wing and experience the dark atmosphere of the underground Crypt. Experienced paranormal investigators will detail the real-life experiences from the Castle and historical information researched by experts. With the use of ghost hunting and psychic equipment, mediums will help the public try and encounter the chilling world of the paranormal.


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