Highgate Vampire

Highgate Cemetery was constructed in 1839, but by the 1960's it had fallen into neglect and decay.Overgrown and sprawling, the gothic Victorian graveyard seemed the perfect setting for the strange and sinister events that would follow.

In the early 1970s, a wave of panic spread around the north London suburb of Highgate. There was a vampire on the loose.Tales of the sinister ghostly figure and bizarre occult rituals at the famous local cemetery had led many residents to fear for their safety.

Although Highgate cemetery had long been a hotspot for ghost sightings, the local and national media would soon come to seize on this particular apparition.

Chronology:

In the 1960's and early 1970's, many people reported to the local newspaper, the Hampstead and Highgate Express that in the early evening they had seen a figure that they took to be the Highgate Vampire inside Highgate's Western Cemetery near the main gate. The phantasm was described as a tall, red-eyed man wearing a black cloak and tall black hat. When the newspaper published the reports, thousands of people flocked to the cemetery in the hope of catching a glimpse of the spectre.

At that time, the Western Cemetery was in an appalling condition. The graves and tombs were overgrown and the graveyard was vandalized. Bones could often be seen falling out of rotting coffins and also from those coffins that had deliberately been set ablaze by vandals. The cemetery even had its own 'satanic cult' that frequented the place after dark. They used the easily obtained bones along with small animals which they caught and killed, in their 'rituals'.

In 1963 two 16-year-old convent girls were walking home at night after having visited friends in Highgate Village. Their return journey took them down Swain's Lane which passed along cemetry's north gate.What they encountered was so terrible they were frozen to the spot, transfixed with fear.

They had come face to face with what would later become known as the Highgate vampire. A tall, dark figure, floating behind the railings. Its face was the worst thing, a ghoulish nightmare contorted in horror. 

More sightings would follow. A man walking his dog saw the same tall dark figure sliding over the wall along Swain’s Lane like ‘black treacle’. In 1971 several years after the many publicised vampire sightings, a young girl claims she was actually attacked by the vampire in the lane outside the cemetery. She was returning home in the early hours of the morning when she was suddenly thrown to the ground with tremendous force by a "tall black figure with a deathly white face. At that moment a car stopped to help her and the vampire "vanished" in the glare of the headlamps.

She was taken to the police station in a state of shock, luckily only suffering abrasions to her arms and legs. The police immediately made a thorough search of the area, but could offer no explanation to the incident. More mysterious still was the fact that where the vampire vanished, the road was lined by 12ft walls.

Another interesting case is that of the man who was hypnotised by something in the cemetery. He had gone into the cemetery one evening to look around, and as the light began to rapidly fade he decided to leave, but became hopelessly lost. Not being a superstitious person he walked calmly around looking for the gate when suddenly he became aware of something behind him. Swinging around he became "hypnotised with fear" at the tall dark figure of the vampire confronted him. So great was the intensity of his fear that he stood motionless for several minutes after the vampire vanished. He later recalled that it was almost as if he had been paralysed with fear by some force.

A group calling itself the 'British Psychic and Occult Society' decided to investigate the Highgate Vampire. Members visited the cemetery one night, cast a 'protective circle' and attempted to invoke the demon. The police had been warned and when they turned up, the society members scattered. Their president, David Farrant, was caught and arrested. A wooden stake was found in his possession. It was pretty obvious the use to which they planned to put it. At the subsequent court case, Farrant was acquitted because Highgate Cemetery was legally open to the public at any time of the day or night.

The society allegedly gave up its investigations of the vampire in 1973. However, David Farrant was again in court in 1974 in connection with Highgate Cemetery. He was charged with maliciously damaging a memorial, interfering with a dead body, attempting to influence witnesses and, most seriously, possession of a firearm. For this latter offense, Farrant spent some time in prison.

However, David Farrant wasn't the only one looking for the Highgate Vampire. Sean Manchester of the 'British Occult Society' said that he was investigating phenomena at the cemetery in 1967. He claimed to have discovered several girls who had the traditional puncture marks on their necks after they had visited the cemetery. A couple of them even involuntarily sleep-walked. In this state, one girl is supposed to have made her way back to the cemetery at night and Manchester saved her by throwing a crucifix in her path. 

Manchester told the media the date when he intended to lay the Highgate Vampire and hundreds of people turned up to watch. Despite police being there, Manchester and his friends managed to make a hole in the roof of a tomb. Inside they found three empty coffins. These, they sprinkled with garlic and holy water and put a circle of salt around each.

In an interview with the Hampstead and Highgate Express in February 1970, Manchester claimed the figure was a ‘King Vampire’, an undead 15th-century Romanian nobleman who had practiced black magic in Wallachia, the home of Dracula himself.Traveling to England, he had somehow ended up buried in what would become Highgate. Manchester told the paper that the vampire had been revived by the activity of the Satanists that were said to operate at the cemetery.

The people interred in Highgate Cemetery can now rest in peace. The vampire has gone and those intent on desecration can no longer get in at night.

In 1975, the Friends of Highgate Cemetery was set up. They cleaned up the graveyard, provided proper gates and had the remains they found out of place respectfully re-intered. The FOHC now provide a guided tour of Highgate Cemetery which is absolutely fascinating.

Read More

Archaeologists Find Massive 3,000-Year-Old Statue in Cairo Slum

Archaeologists from Egypt and Germany have found a massive eight-meter statue submerged in ground water in a Cairo slum that they say probably depicts revered Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.

The discovery, hailed by the Antiquities Ministry as one of the most important ever, was made near the ruins of Ramses II's temple in the ancient city of Heliopolis, located in the eastern part of modern-day Cairo.

"Last Tuesday they called me to announce the big discovery of a colossus of a king, most probably Ramses II, made out of quartzite," Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani told Reuters on Thursday at the site of the statue's unveiling.

The most powerful and celebrated ruler of ancient Egypt, the pharaoh also known as Ramses the Great was the third of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and ruled from 1279 to 1213 BCE.

He led several military expeditions and expanded the Egyptian Empire to stretch from Syria in the east to Nubia in the south. His successors called him the "Great Ancestor."

"We found the bust of the statue and the lower part of the head and now we removed the head and we found the crown and the right ear and a fragment of the right eye," Anani said.

On Thursday, archaeologists, officials, local residents, and members of the news media looked on as a massive forklift pulled the statue's head out of the water

The joint Egyptian-German expedition also found the upper part of a life-sized limestone statue of Pharaoh Seti II, Ramses II's grandson, that is 31 inches long.

The sun temple in Heliopolis was founded by Ramses II, lending weight to the likelihood the statue is of him, archaeologists say.

It was one of the largest temples in Egypt, almost double the size of Luxor's Karnak, but was destroyed in Greco-Roman times. Many of its obelisks were moved to Alexandria or to Europe and stones from the site were looted and used for building as Cairo developed.

Experts will now attempt to extract the remaining pieces of both statues before restoring them. If they are successful and the colossus is proven to depict Ramses II, it will be moved to the entrance of the Grand Egyptian Museum, set to open in 2018.

An ancient Egyptian obelisk unearthed in Matariya.

Creation site:

The discovery was made in the working class area of Matariya, among unfinished buildings and mud roads.

Dietrich Raue, head of the expedition's German team, told Reuters that ancient Egyptians believed Heliopolis was the place where the sun god lives, meaning it was off-limits for any royal residences.

"The sun god created the world in Heliopolis, in Matariya. That's what I always tell the people here when they say is there anything important. According to the pharaonic belief, the world was created in Matariya," Raue said.

"That means everything had to be built here. Statues, temples, obelisks, everything. But ... the king never lived in Matariya, because it was the sun god living here."

The find could be a boon for Egypt's tourism industry, which has suffered many setbacks since the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 but remains a vital source of foreign currency. The number of tourists visiting Egypt slumped to 9.8 million in 2011 from more than 14.7 million in 2010.

A bomb attack that brought down a Russian plane carrying 224 people from a Red Sea resort in October 2015 further hit arrivals, which dropped to 1.2 million in the first quarter of 2016 from 2.2 million a year earlier.

Read More

Wasgo (Haidu Legend)

A sea cryptozoological creature from the beliefs of the Haida Native Americans (Northwest Coast of Americas). It is long reptilian serpent that has small legs and a small head. The legend tells of a young gambling man with a pesky mother-in-law, who goes dive-fishing at night dressed in the sking of sea monster. He caught many fish that day but was then overcome by two whales. The two whales after making the fake skin his own, allowed him to go back to land only for the purpose of bringing his wife to his new underwater home. Good fortune will come to anyone lucky enough to see him, his wife, or their offspring, the "Daughters of the Creeks." It is said to be very auspicious to see the Wasgo, his wife or his children. 

Also known as Sisiutl, Haietlik and Sea-Wolf.The creature has been a totem animal of several regional Indian tribes, a distinction shared only with the Thunderbird. Native representations of the beast depict a long, serpentine animal with small forelimbs and a doglike or crocodilian head. The beast is aquatic, extremely powerful — mightier than the killer whale, carnivorous, toothed, tailed, and finned. The animal may have had only forelegs.
           

Read More

4,000-year-old tomb is unearthed in Egypt

More discoveries are revealed week after week in Egypt reaching the Spanish Archaeological Mission discovery of an intact burial chamber in Qubbet el-Hawa, West Aswan.

According to team leader Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano, the burial belongs to Sarenput II, the brother of one of the most important governors of the 12th Dynasty (middle Kingdom).

“The discovery is important because not only for the richness of the burial but it sheds light on those individuals who were shadowed by others in power. In fact, there is no much information about them,” said Mahmoud Afifi, head of the ancient Egyptian antiquities department of the antiquities ministry

Director of Aswan Antiquities Nasr Salama said that the present finding is unique because it has been located with all the funerary goods, which consist of pottery, two cedar coffins (outer and inner) and a set of wooden models, which represents funerary boats and scenes of the daily life.

Another discovery has been disclosed through the efforts of Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano, director of the Spanish mission of the University of Jaen. A mummy covered with a polychrome cartonnage, a beautiful mask and collars in good condition of preservation, was discovered, yet remains under study.

The inscriptions of the coffins bear the name of the defunct, Shemai, followed respectively by his mother and father, Satethotep and Khema. The latter was governor of Elephantine under the reign of Amenemhat II.

Serrano explained that Sarenput II, the eldest brother of Shemai, was one of the most powerful governors of Egypt under the reigns of Senwosret II and Senwosret III. Apart from his duties as governor of Elephantine, he was general of the Egyptian troops and was responsible for the cult of different gods.

Overall the find has revealed much about the ruling family of Elephantine as well as what life might have been like for the upper classes in the region more than 3,800 years ago.

Read More

Duwende

Duwende have been defined as different but similar things: goblins, hobgoblins, elves, dwarves, gnomes, little spirits, and more. The name comes from duende, the Spanish word for goblin/elf, and dueño, the Spanish word for the "real owner of the house." They live in houses, trees, underground, and other rural areas. They also live in mounds, which makes them mistaken for "nuno sa punso," which means "old man of the mound."In some stories Duwende are a separate race and in others Nuno and Laman Lupa are simply another Duwende.

Appearance:

Duwende is Spanish word for “dwarf” and these creatures resemble small dwarves or gnomes who dwell underground, in trees, or sometimes take residence with humans who leave them offerings. They stand about 3-6 inches tall and usually have white, grey, or black skin. In some descriptions they only have one eye and one nostril.

Legend:

The Duwende could easily be substituted with the elves from the fairy tale about the elves and the cobbler. When treated well and left offerings (particularly sweets, fruits and chocolate), they will help the land and those kind to them become prosperous with their enchantments. Usually somewhat benevolent, they have been known to be quite helpful “house spirits.”

However, if you cross a Duwende or are rude, they can be quite spiteful. They are also said to love minerals and gold much like classic fantasy dwarves or leprechauns.

It’s very important to note that politeness, offerings, and following the form of the old ways is very important to Duwende and their ilk. So if one minds their manners when encountering a Duwende, they will likely receive aid and information. If one is rude, bad luck and curses of all sorts will befall them. In some stories, this is associated with their color (white for good luck, black for bad). Those cursed by Duwende have been known to hallucinate and fall into near comatose states. 

Duwende usually come out at noon for an hour and at night. Phillipinos who believe in the existence of Duwende leave food on the floor so that the Duwende can be peaceful and protective of their homes. However, they can still be little tricksters who love to steal things and laugh while you search for it, only returning it when they feel like it or if you tell them to (please) return it. (Check out this tale of someone's encounter with a Duwende!) If really provoked, Duwende can cause sickness or even death upon its victim.

Some Phillipinos use the story of the Duwende as a cautionary tale to children (and adults too) to not snack after bedtime. One story goes that if you creep into the kitchen at night to get a snack, the Duwende can take your soul and trap you inside any kitchen equipment nearby (you wouldn't want to be trapped inside your rice cooker, would you?). To get children to finish their food, parents threaten the Duwende would come after them.

Phillipinosbelieve that saying, "Tabi-tabi po" or "Bari-bari apo ma ka ilabas kami apo" can help keep the Duwende from playing tricks on you. The phrases excuse the person for bothering the Duwende.

When the Duwende aren't hiding people's belongings or trapping people in rice cookers, they sing, make noise, throw sand and pebbles, knock over kitchen utensils, and sometimes even play with children.

Read More

Giant Chicken

A footage of Giant Chicken was captured in Kosovo,Russia.This bird is stupendous.Have a look!

Read More

Haunted door brazil

A truly disturbing new video from Brazil is currently going viral with the people of Reddit. (They love being scared.) It was posted Tuesday morning with the title "Creepy cam footage of forcefully slamming door at Brazilian morgue."

Read More