Introduction to bazaar places around the world

There are several locations on this earth, more than one might think, that simply do not comply with any known rules governing what we regard as conventional or normal. These are areas where objects, animals (and occasionally human beings) spontaneously vanish and reappear and in these same locations there are alleged sightings of UFOs, ghosts, spectral buildings and other phenomena that simply defy description. Over the years there have been several attempts to define the mechanism that allows these bizarre events to manifest, but so far nothing concrete has emerged. However, one feature common to them all is a long-standing reputation for supernatural phenomena of every type, the popular argot description of them is ‘window areas’ and the phenomena include:

• Sightings of pitch black, coffin sized artifacts that spontaneously appear and disappear, witnesses have described their appearance as gateways to an infinite stygian void. Others have likened them to the monolithic and featureless ‘Stargate’ that appeared in the film, ‘2001 a Space Odyssey’
• Reports that buildings, objects and sometimes people in these locations become completely enveloped in a strange luminescence.
• The presence of anomalous hybrids, especially wolf-like creatures
• Anomalous readings on magnetometers
• The occasional appearance of crop circles
• And, in particular, occult imagery and practices

While it may be no more than coincidence, surprisingly enough most, if not all of these features, can be found in the area surrounding the now near legendary Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. What this actually signifies is not clear, but it is strange that many ancient locations associated with spirituality have this attendant quasi-occult and mystical tradition. One particular area in the United States, which is known to display a varying permutation of these characteristics, is the so-called ‘Skinwalker Ranch’ in Utah, [*Note*, a ‘Skinwalker’ is the title given by indigenous Native American tribes to shape-shifting, supernatural creatures akin to werewolves and other legendary creatures]. The owner of the ranch experienced a range of these phenomena including strange lights, encounters with apparent extraterrestrials, cattle mutilations (ten of their animals had been killed) and a shimmering portal several meters from the ground through which, they claimed, unearthly views could occasionally be glimpsed.

The Skinwalker Ranch, Utah, USA

The Skinwalker Ranch

The Skinwalker Ranch lays claim to having an array of orange coloured, glowing, visible portals that appear spontaneously over the land. The people who have seen them state that the portals (which are flat discs several feet across apparently suspended vertically and quite arbitrarily in midair) permit glimpses into another reality; the reports from the witnesses are quite consistent and describe how they have quite literally seen an ‘alien sky’. There are also reports of strange, small, airborne craft flying towards and vanishing into the portals/openings. Viewed from the side the effect is rather similar to watching a film or cartoon where a large object progressively vanishes behind and into a very narrow lamp post or tree. What is not clear, however, is whether these anomalies connect with another dimension, or they are corridors opening instead into another time frame, perhaps the far future or distant past? Why they are there at all is a complete mystery.

The people affected by the events that took place in Arizona between 1994 and 1996, were the family of Terry Gorman (sometimes and confusingly, depending on the source, referred to as the Sherman family). Not surprisingly they were extremely traumatized by the events they witnessed, and after selling the ranch for approx. $200,000 to NIDS (National Institute for Discovery Science), a research organization founded by the Las Vegas based millionaire philanthropist Robert Bigelo specializing in researching paranormal phenomena, purchased a smaller ranch approx 15 miles away.

It is vital to make clear that NIDS is the antithesis of groups like CSICOP (Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims Of the Paranormal). This organization is composed of people who seem dedicated to debunking the possibility that any supernatural or paranormal agency interfaces with the physical world today; this includes any and all types of psi phenomena. Perhaps we should pay a little more attention to this organization and those like it.

Ostensibly, CSICOP, its members and fellow travellers, claim to be skeptical, rational, fair minded and objective in their approach to investigating claims of anomalous and paranormal phenomena. This, if true, would be admirable because the subject of the paranormal needs a critical but fair-minded organization to examine some of the claims, especially those that have apparently impeccable provenance. Unfortunately this is simply not the case because, in the main, CSICOP appears to set up these claims to fail and brands anything that does not fall within its narrow remit as ‘pseudo-science’.

This is an excellent and simple stance to defend because it immediately throws the weight of proof on those making any claims of ‘psychic phenomena’, which includes psi, clairvoyance, spiritualism, the continuation of consciousness after death and even some aspects of Ufology. As far as their skeptical stance goes it falls under an unhappy mixture of aggressive atheism, humanism and debunking, one has to ask why, what is there for them to lose? While hiding behind the pretence that they base their opinions on science rather than dogma, they claim that the public needs to be saved from charlatans making specious claims, and rightly so, but it is also certain that their operating paradigm will not guarantee an unbiased perspective on anything. However, there is one eminent psychologist and occasional contributor to the CSICOP canon who does admit that remote viewing seems to work, and of course remote viewing falls squarely in the field of paranormal phenomena.

Nevertheless he still refuses to fully accept it on the basis of any evidence so far offered, saying that ‘extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof’. This being the case it is unlikely that organizations like this will ever accept any evidence irrespective of how strong it is. It is uncertain whether they, as a body, have as yet openly attempted to debunk religion since this too is an entirely supernatural phenomenon founded on faith alone. That said, perhaps it does effectively demonstrate that CSICOP and its members are as blinkered and dogmatic in their fevered debunking as true believers are in their irrational and unthinking belief in what is demonstrably untrue.

The Mysterious Zone of Silence

The stories and claims surrounding the mysterious Zone of Silence make it even more incredible than the Bermuda Triangle, yet it is nowhere near as well known or as popular for UFOlogists, partially due to the incredible danger involved. Everywhere you go in the world you're surrounded by radio waves, cell phone traffic, television signals, and various other forms of radiation. In the Zone of Silence, no radio signal gets in or out.

Located four hundred miles south of the Mexican border in the Vertice de Trino, where Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Durango intersect, the zone of silence is an infamous place where most fear to go. If something goes wrong here, there's no way to call for help. And things have a tendency to go wrong. Among the mysterious rock formations, bizarre often mutated wildlife, and mysterious vegetation, occasionally a paranormal researcher can be seen listening to an AM/FM radio noting the lack of any definable radio signal, yet still writing down strange whispers coming through their radio in the cold desert night.

But the Zone of Silence isn't merely a place where ghosts find a way to speak to the living. The same electromagnetic tornado that has been silently and imperceptibly spinning about the area for thousands of years also generates a great deal of magnetic energy drawing an unusually high amount of material from space. Meteors shower down on the area with far higher than average regularity than the surrounding areas. And it's perhaps no coincidence that the amount of UFO related activity spotted in the area is profoundly prolific despite the fact that there are fewer witnesses than most places.

One story tells of a couple who visited the area off-road only to find that a sudden storm suddenly had overtaken them. As they began to leave in an attempt to get back to the road they realized they were stuck. Just as the couple was beginning to lose hope, two incredibly tall men wearing yellow clothing came up to them and pushed them out of the mud. As the couple got out of the vehicle to thank the mysterious saviors, they realized the men had vanished without a trace. Upon inspecting the muddy area around the vehicle they saw no footprints and were left at a sense of wonder how the men had been able to travel without leaving any evidence behind.

The Zone of Silence is similar, some say in its spiritual properties to the United States' Sedona, which was considered a sacred place where the world of the living and the dead meet according to some native traditions. Many who have passed through the area have reported seeing apparitions that are human in shape, but transparent or foggy. Others have seen the infamous "shadow people" and any number of other paranormal entities. And between the ghosts, the greys, and the military interest in the location, it's certainly considered a potential future place of interest. And though it has been scientifically documented, geologists and experts alike consider the place largely unexplainable.

Source: http://www.unexplainable.net/Simply-Unexplainable/The-Mysterious-Zone-of-Silence.smht