B3F18I10

Transcribed Text (OCR)

GARY MANGIACOPA ARCHIVE
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Title:      B3F18I10
Slug:       b3f18i10
Categories: Cryptozoology, Ghost Stories, Natural Mysteries, UFOs, Wildmen
Source:     https://garymangiacopraarchive.com/b3f18i10
Pages:      16 scanned, 16 extracted
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Processed:  2026-06-06
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ELSEWHEN
ISSUE #10
Volume Two
Number Four
Exploring Mysteries of Time and Space
1=5
Featuring:
Strange Happenings in the Desert:
George Van Tassel,
Giant Rock and the Integratron

[PAGE BREAK]

ELSEWHEN
THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF
THE STRANGE & UNUSUAL PHENOMENA
RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
(Formerly The Temporal Anomaly Research Association)
Volume Two
Number Four
ISSUE #10
Editor
Mark R. Gardner
Assistant Editor
Sandra Dunn
Contributors to This Issue
Richard Kyle
Kimberly Wajer
Hugh Trotti
Gary Mangiacopra
James Baker
Violet Dobie
Joy Barish
Kenji Chōno
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions in this issue of Elsewhen,
unless otherwise stated, are those of the author and are not
necessarily those of the Editor or the Strange & Unusual Phenomena
Research Association.
This Issue of ELSEWHEN Is Dedicated to the Memory of
GENE RODDENBERRY
His Foresight and Imagination Took Us
"Where No One Has Gone Before"
Thanks, Gene, We'll Miss You!
ELSEWHEN is published quarterly by the Strange & Unusual
Phenomena Research Association, P.O. Box 20173, Keizer, OR
[AD] 97307-0173, U.S.A. 1991 by SUPRA. Price per copy is $1.75 in
the U.S. SUPRA is not operated for profit. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to SUPRA, P.O. Box 20173, Keizer, OR 97307.
From the Editor's Desk
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illlis.
The times change and we change with them.
Greetings! Welcome to the tenth issue of
Elsewhen. When I first started this publication I
had no idea it would last this long. I predicted
that I would have fun with a couple of issues
and then wrap it up, going on to some other
project. That you are holding a tenth issue in
your hands is nearly miraculous. We still have
a small circulation, but it is very exciting that
Elsewhen now goes out to people in nine
countries. We hope to continue expanding. I
thank everyone for their past contributions.
Here's to the next ten issues!
As you can see to your left and throughout
this publication, we have changed the name of
our parent organization to The Strange &
Unusual Phenomena Research Association. It
will be popularly known by its initials, SUPRA.
It was felt that we had grown beyond the
bounds of a research group focusing on those
so-called 'temporal anomalies'. Please make
note of this name change for your future
correspondance and when sending payments.
Our address remains the same.
You will also note another change in this
issue of Elsewhen the print looks different.
This is because we have upgraded to a better
laser printer. It has more features. This
month's issue is a unique 'composite issue',
since some pages were done on an H-P LaserJet
II and some on an H-P LaserJet IIID. The
latter will be used on future issues. I hope that
you will find it more readable.
This issue contains a number of interesting
articles, most of which were done some time
ago. I am hoping to be able to get submitted
articles into print sooner. Anyway, Elsewhen
#10 contains an article about the unusual George
Van Tassel and his 'folly', the Integratron, Part
II of "Subject: Time Travel", a variety of other
articles on assorted topics, and is wrapped up
with the second installment of Gary's research
tips. Enjoy this issue!
Mark Gardner
Page 2

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THIS STRANGE WORLD
Strange Happenings in the Desert:
George Van Tassel,
Giant Rock and the Integratron
by Mark Gardner
I first heard about George W. Van Tassel and the
Integratron from my Uncle Dick several years ago. Some
may ask, who is this George Van Tassel and what is this
Integratron thing? Well, first of all, we need to know just
where and when this story takes place:
The late George Van Tassel and his wife managed an
airstrip in the California desert at a place called Giant Rock
(near Palm Springs). This is an accurate name, for there is
a giant rock there. At one time there was even a habitable
"room" underneath this huge geological formation. George
had been involved with aviation since 1927 and had worked
with Howard Hughes during the 1940's. He also worked
with the Air Force for a time.
Along with such people as Adamski, Mr. Van Tassel
was one of the early figures in the Contactee Movement.
His life would be changed forever by what he claimed
happened on August 24, 1953: George and his wife were
sleeping outdoors on a hot night when he was suddenly
awakened at 2 a.m. At his feet stood "Solgonda", a 5'7"
space visitor.
This alien took George to a spaceship
hovering not far away. After speaking with three other
beings for approximately 20 minutes, he was lead back to
where his wife still lay sleeping. The visitor and spaceship
suddenly weren't there anymore.
Shortly after this, Van Tassel formed the College of
Universal Wisdom, which was in turn part of his Ministry
of Universal Wisdom, Inc. At about the same time he held
the first of his interplanetary spacecraft conventions. He
also began to accept donations towards the construction of a
device the Integratron to supposedly to pursue the
possibilities of cellular rejuvenation. The technical
information on how to construct this device was purportedly
provided by the space visitors.
Van Tassel claimed that all but four planets of the solar
system and some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn were
inhabited. He stated that a planet had once existed between
Mars and Jupiter, and that its beings had blown themselves
up. Jupiter itself had been populated, but was rendered
uninhabitable by this catastrophe.
Van Tassel was absolutely convinced that the powers-
that-be were completely aware of the true facts of space
visitors and other inhabited worlds. They wanted to prevent
chain reaction panic around the world should people learn of
the existence of a superior race of beings. He also claimed
that the U.S. had recovered a crashed UFO and used it as
the pattern to build a whole fleet of UFO's. He once
claimed that the U.S. had flown its UFO's to the moon and
back before Apollo.
Down through the coming years he held many
gatherings in the "seance room" under the Rock. Many
people came to witness his contacts with the space visitors.
The meetings took place every Friday night for 22 years.
There would be anywhere from a dozen to over a hundred
at these meetings. Many apparent messages from the Space
Brothers were channeled by Van Tassel.
In addition to these meetings, skywatches were held off
an on over the years in the surrounding desert. People
claimed on a number of occasions that they saw lights.
George Van Tassel was also the editor of a newsletter,
Proceedings of the College of Universal Wisdom, a quarterly
publication that spread his ideas for many years. My uncle
provided me with three photocopies of 1975-76 issues
they are clearly in the camp of the New Age. Most issues
had some article about the Integratron project.
As the years went by the contributions for the
construction of the Integratron grew. Eventually the ground
was broken and construction began. To many this would be
a great folly, to others a miracle. The operation of the
large dome-like structure was supposed to reverse the aging
process. The device was to be run on "free energy"
collected directly from the atmosphere. Although the
structure was eventually completed, it is doubtful that it ever
worked at all or the way it was intended. Despite the
original plan to treat up to 10,000 people a day when it was
completed, Van Tassel certainly continued to age and finally
succumbed to the ravages of time in 1978.
Was the Integratron just a mad man's folly or a clever
boondoggle? It is hard to tell. The fact of the matter is that
the Integratron still stands intact in the middle of nowhere
with a security fence surrounding it. Some claim that its
maintenance has been taken over by the military, although
rarely, if ever, is anyone actually seen there. After Van
Tassel's death, visitors to the Integratron noted that it was
just as empty as it had been during the late 1960's. The
Integratron had been closed to the public just a couple of
years before George Van Tassel's death. Another
interesting thing was the drawn-out court battle over the
ownership of the dome-like structure and the land around it
at Giant Rock after Van Tassel's death.
Apparently Van Tassel had been working on changes to
the Integratron or perhaps the construction of an updated
and improved Integratron II at the time of his death.
Unfortunately, George left little in the way of technical data
or blueprints. Supposedly it was based on the interaction of
electrostatic fields and magnetic waves stuff one would
expect to see associated with Lakhovsky or Tesla.
It is hard to fathom George Van Tassel after all this
time. Arch-Skeptics would say the man was a crackpot, a
sly con artist or a little of both. True Believers probably
still accept most, if not all, of what he said. The meetings
at the Rock, the College of Universal Wisdom, the
newsletter, and even the airfield are now things of the past.
The Integratron still stands alone in the desert.
Page 3

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SUBJECT: TIME TRAVEL
by Mark Gardner
Part II: On the Television
Previously, I wrote about how popular the theme of
time travel and/or the changing of history was in the science
fiction genre of printed literature. This theme is even more
common in science fiction television shows. There is hardly
any sci-fi series in the past 40+ years of TV history that
hasn't used this theme at least once during its run-some
even had/have it as their main basis.
I'll admit that I have been a science fiction fan for most
of my life. In addition to books, I enjoyed watching all
sorts of sci-fi shows on TV from classics The Twilight Zone
and The Outer Limits to today's popular Quantum Leap and
Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Rod Serling's brilliant The Twilight Zone will always be
a favorite of mine. I have most of the episodes on tape.
There are several episodes of this series that involve the
subject of Time. One episode is centered around an airliner
over the Atlantic Ocean that gets caught in a powerful
tailwind. The crew is baffled when they can't reach the
tower in New York. They descend to find the World's Fair
in full swing-only it should be twenty some years in their
past. They realize they can't stay in this time and ascend to
find the "tailwind" again. After they do, they descend
again-only to witness a jungle-like landscape populated by
dinosaurs! Running low on fuel, they climb once again to
find the "tailwind" and perhaps the way home. The story
ends here. This chilling tale of a time warp still gives me
big goose-bumps.
Perhaps the one show of my childhood that made the
biggest impact on me was an episode of The Outer Limits.
In this episode an air force pilot regains consciousness after
his jet crashes, only to find that everything is frozen except
for him. Or so it seems. It fact, time is moving, just
extremely slowly. He is confused by what he sees, of
course, especially by the sight of his own jet frozen up in
the sky, coming down out of control. He wanders around
the base and eventually finds his young son on a tricycle,
being chased by his teacher. The boy has evidently
"escaped" from his preschool. But danger lurks! The boy
is pedalling towards a garage door where a large truck
stands. The father discovers that the brake on the truck has
slipped off and that the vehicle will leap forward just as the
boy pedals by. The pilot cuts off the seat-belts and rigs a
strap from the wheels of the truck to the hand brake. He
returns to the crashed jet to await the moment when time
catches up. It does. The jet crashes, he walks away, the
truck leaps forward, the strap tightens, the brake lever is
pulled, and the truck screeches to a halt inches from the
boy, just as his preschool teacher catches up to him. A
fascinating story.
Then comes the early 60's series, The Time Tunnel,
which was a strong catalyst for my interest in time travel.
The series is centered around a top secret complex located
under a desert. This is the location of a highly classified
device, the Time Tunnel. In the series opener one of the
men involved in the project activates the device and runs
into the tunnel. He lands in 1912 on the R.M.S. Titanic
right before its brush with the iceberg. He tries to warn the
captain of the impending disaster but he thinks the time
traveler is crazy. It appears that he will go down with the
ship. Unable to bring him back, another project technician
secures a copy of a 1912 newspaper with the details of the
Unfortunately, the captain
disaster. He leaps to 1912.
thinks the paper is a hoax and now two men are stuck on
the doomed ship. Meanwhile, the technicians are trying to
fix the machine so that they can bring the two men back.
After the Titanic hits the iceberg, the two men manage to
get away and leap over the side. They are snatched away
from 1912 before they hit the water. Instead of being back
in the present, though, they end up in another place and
time. So their adventures begin.
Time travel appeared in such shows as the TV classics,
Lost in Space and Land of the Giants. In the first, one of
the episodes tells of how the crew of the Jupiter II finally
make it back to Earth, only to discover it is years before
their time. They sadly realize that they don't belong here,
and so take off again. In the second, the captain of the
Spindrift gets back to Earth before they took off on the ill-
fated flight that landed them on the giants' planet. He tries
to prevent the take-off, only to end up having to replace
himself and go through the whole thing all over again. I
think that there was a time-related story on the other Irwin
Allen show, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
Then there's that great TV classic, Star Trek. Two of
the most memorable episodes involve returning to 20th
Century Earth. The first one is unintentional-the
Enterprise gets pulled back in time, where it is detected by
U.S. radar and a fighter is scrambled to investigate the
UFO. The ship puts a tractor beam on the fighter as it
approaches, whereupon the "delicate" jet disintegrates. The
pilot is beamed out just in time. To preserve history Kirk
has to retrieve gun camera film that captured the Enterprise.
They decide to keep the pilot so he can't say anything to
change history. Unfortunately, they discover that his still-
unborn son will play a decisive role in future interplanetary
flight and so they have to return him somehow. Eventually
they warp back and beam him into his plane just before he
made contact. Just another unexplained radar glitch. In the
other story, the Enterprise time warps back to the later 20th
Century to gather historical information on how the Earth
survived that critical period of time. In being there, the
men from the future help prevent a malfunctioning warhead
from starting World War III long before its time. Sort of a
circular time paradox-men from the future in the past,
doing something to preserve the past and future.
One of my favorites from the 1970's was Space: 1999.
After passing through a space warp, the wandering moon
appears to be approaching Earth again. The happy people
of Moonbase Alpha look forward to going home. Then they
Page 4

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are later shocked to see that the Earth still has its moon.
They are in the right place at the wrong time. Knowing that
their presence in the past could change the future, they
reluctantly have to sit and watch their homeworld recede
again into the boundless depths of space. In another
episode, Moonbase Alpha is contacted by scientists on a
future Earth. They have devised a method to "beam" the
Alphans back home. Unfortunately, there is a malfunction
and the first group ends up in Earth's past. After the fault
is finally corrected, they are returned to the Moonbase. But
time has run out. The Moon has drifted on and now a
cloud of cosmic debris cuts off further communication.
Of course, we can't go any farther without mentioning
the TV versions of The Planet of the Apes, based on the
very successful films. The premise is that a spaceship with
American astronauts travels into the future to a post-
holocaust world controlled by intelligent, talking apes.
In the 1970's series The Incredible Journey a family on
a boat in the Bermuda Triangle passes through a time warp
and ends up on an island divided into different time zones
and civilizations. The series details their attempts to find
their way off the island and back to their own time.
People might think that I should not forget to mention
the enjoyable Buck Rogers series. Just like in The Planet of
the Apes TV series, the main character is an astronaut who
has "overslept" and finds himself in a very different, post-
holocaust world. Beyond the presence in the future, Buck
Rogers is mostly an action and adventure series.
An interesting show was Voyagers! It starred the late
Jon-Erik Hexum as a time traveler-a Voyager-from the
future who teams up with a boy from the 1980's. They
travel through time with the Omni to places where they have
to set some event right that has gone wrong.
Time travel and temporal anomalies have been featured
prominently in anthology series. We have already
mentioned two of the classics-The Twilight Zone and The
Outer Limits. Fascinating and entertaining stories in this
vein have appeared on The Night Gallery, Amazing Stories,
The New Twilight Zone, The Ray Bradbury Theater, Tales
From the Darkside, Friday the 13th: The Series, and
Monsters. I was especially impressed by several stories on
the wonderful Amazing Stories and The New Twilight Zone.
Two stories from the latter series are especially moving
"A Message From Charity" and "Grace Note".
to me:
The first story centers on two teens recovering from fevers
300 years apart. Charity lives in the Massachusetts Colony
in the 1600's and Peter lives in the Massachusetts of today.
Across the centuries they suddenly discover they can
It is a great matter of culture shock for
communicate.
Charity to learn of the world of 1980's. Unfortunately,
Charity's glimpse of the future and idle talk cause her to be
branded a witch. Luckily, Peter is able to find some
damaging information on the accuser and Charity is able to
get the charges dropped. They realize it is too dangerous to
remain in contact, but Charity leaves one final message, a
heart with their initials scratched on a rock that survives the
centuries. In the other story, which always brings tears to
my eyes and a lump to my throat, a girl dying of leukemia
makes a wish on a falling star. Her oldest sister, who had
dreams of a professional career as an opera singer, has
sacrificed everything to care for the sick sister and an
elderly aunt. The dying girl tries to convince her sister to
get on with her life and fulfill her dream of singing. The
wish is granted-the older sister is transported twenty years
into the future where she sees herself as a famous opera
star. She is called back through time by her sister's voice
to the hospital. There, near death, the girl asks her sister if
she saw the future. As the girl dies, the older sister
promises she will never forget her and that she will make
her proud. The story ends with the sister auditioning for an
opera role. This, dear people, is one of the finest half-
hours in television history!
We can't go on without mentioning that venerable
British sci-fi series, Doctor Who. Beginning in 1963, the
series details the adventures of a time traveler from the
planet Gallifrey, who calls himself The Doctor.
He can
regenerate his body into a totally new form when seriously
injured. The show lasted through seven lead actors and
twenty-six seasons. And Doctor Who may still return.
To finish up this piece, I want to mention two current
shows that have featured time travel/time warps: Star Trek:
The Next Generation and Quantum Leap.
The best example on the former was an episode called
"Yesterday's Enterprise". In the story, the current U.S.S.
Enterprise runs into its direct predecessor, a ship that
disappeared and was presumed destroyed more than 20
years before. As the earlier Enterprise appeared through a
tear in time, the present changed. Now the Federation and
the Klingons are no longer allies but still at war after
decades of fighting and Tasha Yar is still alive. Captain
Picard is finally convinced by the enigmatic Guinan that the
earlier Enterprise has to go back to where it came from-to
its certain destruction-to restore things to the way they are
supposed to be. Learning from Guinan that she was not
supposed to be still alive, Tasha volunteers to accompany
the earlier Enterprise back through the tear to its fate in the
battle with the Romulan warships. As soon as the earlier
Enterprise passes through the tear in time, the present
returns to normal.
On Quantum Leap, one of my favorite shows on TV
today, Dr. Sam Beckett is a scientist who has invented a
device to allow him to go back in time to any point in his
lifetime. Unfortunately, the equipment does not work
exactly as it is supposed to. Sam finds himself in the past
alright, but in someone else's body! From then on, with the
help of Al, the project observer, Sam leaps from person to
person throughout the 20th Century helping to correct things
that went wrong in the past. Although his leaps at first
seem random, there appears to be a "guiding hand" in his
leaps. When he finishes doing what needs to be done at that
place and time, he leaps somewhere else. Each time he
hopes it will be the final leap home. Not too long ago he
leaped back in time to Vietnam where he saved his own
brother from dying, but in doing so a photographer died
instead and a much younger Al was prevented from being
rescued from the North Vietnamese.
This series will conclude in the next issue.
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THE LITTLE PEOPLE
The "Hidden People" of Iceland
by Mark Gardner
I was an exchange student to Iceland the summer after I
graduated from high school. At that time I had never been
to another country, not even Canada or Mexico. So, for a
young man away from home for the first time, it was an
eye-opening experience. I was lucky that a girl from
Iceland, Hjördís Magnúsdóttir, had been an exchange
student at my high school during my senior year.
taught me some important words and phrases before I left.
It helped a lot!
She
One of the most fascinating things about Iceland is that
its language has changed very little since the time of its
settlement by Vikings. Indeed, a modern Icelander has little
difficulty in reading sagas from the time of Erik the Red.
Icelanders have also retained a certain amount of the
traditional beliefs of old Scandinavia, including a belief in
fairies, elves, giants and trolls. Many Icelanders will deny
a belief in supernatural beings, but usually only in public or
in front of strangers.
Many people in Iceland believe that elves inhabit large
rocks or the scarce trees in desolate areas of the country.
Icelanders call these beings huldufolk (hidden people) or
álfar (elves). I often heard whisperings of "enchanted
areas" and "elf dwellings" normally invisible to most
human eyes.
Once when I went camping with my host
family, I climbed a steep hillside and stood in an arch of
stone called Álfarkirkjan (The Elf's Church). I felt a bit
light-headed there. Was this an "enchanted" place?
Elves are by no means limited to just Iceland. They are
known throughout Scandinavia, the British Isles and the rest
of Europe. Some people suggest that the elves of Iceland
were not native to that desolate island in the North Atlantic,
but came there with some of the earliest Viking settlers.
Perhaps. Still, while belief in these beings has faded in
most of Europe, it survives in Iceland.
And the Icelanders are probably more accommodating to
the invisible beings they share their land with than any other
country: Roads often curve around large elf-inhabited
stones, huldufolk dwellings sometimes appear on
environmental impact statements, farmers may leave a part
of their field unplowed for the little beings' use, and
building construction is often delayed while the local elves
find somewhere else to live. Silly, you say? Not in
Iceland. It is certainly true, though, that they are a
somewhat superstitious people.
When builders and engineers start a new project, they
often try to ascertain if the area is already inhabited by
huldufolk. Sometimes, though, the survey is proven to be
Small accidents happen, and tools and
inaccurate.
equipment are moved around or disappear. When this
happens, they quietly call in a psychic to check the area and
maybe make contact with the elves. In 1989, for example,
while a new path was being constructed in Reykjavík, the
capital of Iceland, equipment disappeared and computers
malfunctioned. A well-known psychic, Erla Stefánsdóttir,
was called in and talked to the local elf. Upon her advice,
the city redirected the path around two inhabited rocks at
the site.
In Kópavogur, the hometown of my old friend, Svana
Bogadóttir, there is a street called (in translation) "Elf Hill
Road". At one point it narrows down to one lane near an
"inhabited" outcropping. Several attempts to widen the
road in the past have met with broken equipment and other
minor mishaps.
Unless you've been there, it's hard to explain the
landscape of Iceland. Most of the island is an uninhabited
wasteland of lava rock, moss and lichen. Here and there
are active volcanoes, hot springs, geysers, boiling mud pits,
roaring waterfalls, and glaciers. Some areas are so barren,
that the word "desert" comes to mind. American Apollo
astronauts, training for the moon landings, practiced here.
So it is not hard to imagine a population of all sorts of
otherworldly denizens populating the country.
Other than feeling light-headed that one time in the Elf's
Church, I sometimes felt as if I was being watched and
every once in a while it seemed as if something was there in
my peripheral vision. When I would turn around, though,
there was nothing there. Maybe it was just my sense of
alienation in a very different place or my imagination
running wild on me, but I think that there could possibly be
something to the huldufolk stories in Iceland. This is a
strange world we inhabit.
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THINGS THAT GO BUMP
The Ghost of the Sorority House
by Kimberly Wajer
At Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green,
Ohio, the Greeks are raising quite a ruckus. Or at least one
is - the Chi Omega sorority house is haunted. "Amanda"
is supposedly the spirit of a girl who was killed in an
accident after pledging to the sorority many years ago. She
moved in anyway or so the story goes.
She has been blamed for turning on stereos, moving
furniture, and various other phenomena. Her picture, a
blank photo, is always put in the annual sorority album.
Rumor has it that one year when her picture was left out,
things began disappearing and other phenomena became
much more frequent.
PSYCHIC SCENARIO'S
Parapsychology: Things to Think About
by James Baker
PSYCHOPOMPIC PHONEMES:
XQ
A special variant of what are apparently subjective
voices that are usually identified by the experiencer with a
guide, conductor or the psychopompos in out-of-body
experiences (OOBES), especially those OOBES that are of
the nature of thanatoid or near-death experiences (NDES).
These voices, apparently a form of thought-hearing, may be
attributed to spirits of the dead, family members and,
finally, what may be referred as the super-conscious mind,
The role of the Overself in such
alter ego or Overself.
cases may be custodial. Psychopompic phonemes are to be
distinguished from alledgedly true voices of the dead (as in
necrophonies), assuming, of course, the dead can speak to
the living in whatsoever manner is possible to them.
Psychopompic phonemes may be subservient to the psi-
abilities or mechanisms which seem to be accessible to
secondary personalities. They are probably analogous to
those precognitive phonemes heard by clairaudients, whether
spiritualistic mediums or the average individual, who may
be warned of some impending danger or misfortune by
means of teleological auditory hallucinations.
Psychopompic phonemes are frequently mentioned in
Ludlow, in "The Hashish Eaters",
accounts of NDEs.
relates that a voice announced to him that his time was not
up yet, whereupon Ludlow returned to his physical body.
Daniel Dunglass Home, the famous Scottish medium, in his
work "Incidents of My Life", mentions that he heard the
psychopompos announce that he (Home) was about to have
a foretaste of death. Home thereupon had an unusual
experience in which he was alledgedly able to view his own
anatomy clairvoyantly. The psychopompos then explained
to Home the nature of death. Home believed that he had
come upon deceased friends. Sylven Muldoon, in his work
"A Case for Astral Projection", cites a case from J. A.
Invisible"
Edgarton's "Invading the
which the
psychopompos comments on Edgarton's experiences while
the latter is under anesthesia, and assures him he is in the
hands of friends and that there will be no untoward events.
CUSTODIAL PHENOMENA IN NDES:
in
Custodial phenomena are those phenomena which occur
and
in pneumatic separation i.e. astral body separation
that lead the subject to believe that he is in the hands or
care of spiritual beings, family members or friends, or what
may be termed the Overself. Such an Overself, whatever
its real nature may be, can be referred to as the
psychopompos. The subject may be conducted by such a
guide in thanatoid experiences or NDEs. Perhaps the
psychopompos may be invisible, manifesting as a bodyless
voice. A pneumatist (astral projectionist) may regard all the
automatic processes or activities which constitute his OOBES
as being under the superintendence of the psychopompos or
Overself. In some cases the subject reports guides that are
viewed as being of an exalted nature or as benign and god-
like. Indeed, Christian pneumatists, in their accounts of
their experiences, have mentioned biblical figures, such as
the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and even God. Custodial
phenomena may have a dream-like quality. They may
inspire awe and reverence, whether familiar religious
figures are present or not.
The "Oops!" Department
by Bill Harkonen
As part of its continuing workplace safety program a
company with an impressive 5-year safety record was
showing its employees a film on eye injury prevention.
Unfortunately for the company's spotless record the film
was so graphic that 25 workers suffered minor injuries
rushing to leave the room, 13 others fainted, and one person
needed 7 stitches after falling out of his chair.
An ounce of prevention goes a long way, they say, but
this is ridiculous!
I
[If you hear of anything that you feel fits in The "Oops!"
Department, send it along. Thanks!
The Editor]
Page 7

[PAGE BREAK]

THE UFO OBSERVER
Roswell/Cluj and Iron Curtain Sightings
by Joy Barish
with Mark Gardner
I want to mention items about Roswell, sightings
behind the Iron Curtain and the Rex Heflin (Dec. 1965)
case which are probably not generally known. They have
nothing to do with one another but all are pretty
interesting, I think.
In a UFO Brigantia - which I get from England a few
times a year
writer Ron Schnaffer discusses rocket parts
scattered over an enormous area and experiments on a
new type of parachute. (Project Hermes was one of these,
unknown to the general public. It was a special two-part
parachute and the foil found was probably from it.) These
were probably responsible for the Roswell report.
In the 1940's the Air Force didn't want the public to
know about erratic rockets that didn't land where they
were supposed to. The minute I saw all those physical
pieces on "Unsolved Mysteries" a long time ago I
absolutely knew that what Whitley Strieber and many
researchers are all excited about is not crashed
UFOs/alien bodies. Ron Schnaffer mentions that this is
nothing more than experiments with monkeys and perhaps
other test animals.
I've read lately that the Rex Heflin sighting near Santa
Ana, California, in December 1965 has been proven a
total fraud! A string was involved!!! I think now that this
is the general consensus concerning a case I always
thought was authentic.
In UFO's from Behind the Iron Curtain by Ion Habana
and Julien Weverbergh, Emil Barnea from Cluj, Romania,
offers some important clues about the famous hat-shaped
UFO which Heflin saw from the cab of his truck and
photographed with a Model 101 Polaroid camera.
He
took the picture of the now famous UFO, then a second
picture as it moved off to the northeast. Two more were
taken... Keep reading!
He described a smoke-like vapor, blue-black in color.
It disappeared in a northerly direction towards Saddleback
Mountain.
The staff at the G2 office at El Toro (quoting the
authors) said that the length lines on the original photos
were very clear. It was called a hoax by the well known
Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr. (a skeptic) but, as it says, a
letter from an Air Force colonel told Rep. Alphonso Bell:
"We have not classified the photograph as hoax."
Someone named Hartmann said he "simulated the
three photos shown in this book by hanging a model on an
invisible thread." Also, he spoke of a cloud which could
NOT HAVE BEEN THERE although the author says a
Los Angeles paper said the sky was "hazy then..." at Santa
Ana on December 3, 1965. A year later it was determine
that the photos were taken within a short space of time.
Heflin had no time to set up anything like a string, etc. In
addition, a new study made by an aeronautical engineer
John R. Grey 16 years with Aerospace Engineering for
Hughes Aircraft Company revealed that Heflin had left
the truck before taking the fourth photo. Thus the light
meter of the camera had not used the light in the cab -
and no cloud could be
so there was overexposure
photographed anyway. The UFO probably left a vapor
cloud as well, the authors say.
Now we find out about the invisible string or thread I
just read about. This story refers to a thread that the
experimenter (Hartmann?) with the Air Force used. I just
had to call a halt to it to show the source of this ridiculous
rumor. I always thought this case was authentic. There
have been hat-shaped UFOs all over the world.
The chapter next mentions the Cluj photos taken
August 18, 1968 and not published in the Romanian press
until September 18, 1968. This hat-shaped UFO is a clone
of the Heflin one. It was taken by Emil Garnea and his
girlfriend, Zamfira Matea, while they were headed for
Baciu Wood near Cluj. When it was taken there was no
wind and the only sound was of birds singing. Emil was
45 and a former army officer, employed as a technician,
when this took place. This is another clue to the
authenticity of the Heflin case.
Everyone is making a fuss about the unbelievably
outrageous sightings 300 miles from Moscow. Much fun
was made on "A Current Affair" some time ago by host
Maury Povich and others!
there
I just read somewhere that our sightings are mostly
little people with big heads, while it is just the opposite
gigantic beings with tiny heads and three eyes!
This seems to be the reason for glee in the anti-UFO
camp re the Paraña, Argentina case related in "The
Humanoids" (edited by Chas. Bowen). On July 24, 1962 a
college student, riding his motorcycle outside Paraña,
encountered a very tall creature with a melon-shaped
head, long white hair, and three eyes that stared without
blinking. On August 28, 1963 three boys in the Brazilian
suburb of Familiar Sagrada (Belo Horizonte) saw four
entities coming out of a UFO in diver-like suits. One of
them was totally bald and appeared to have no eyes or
ears, but a strangely opening mouth. So the ones in
Russia were nothing new! I could give 100 examples of
UFOs in Russia. The general public has no idea. They
have been censored for years. I have read articles
regarding the Russian UFOs in Flying Saucer Review and
letters from serious researchers there, like Dr. Zigel.
In UFO's from Behind the Iron Curtain we can read of
two unknown objects sighted in October 1971, recorded by
the Rjeka Control Tower in Yugoslavia. One object was
round and yet triangular, and was seen by the inhabitants
of Zdecarg Rjeka.
To conclude: On October 16, 1971, near Zagreb,
Yugoslavia, an American pilot bound for London saw a
luminous round object like a "test balloon". This was
reported later by a Lufthansa 727 flying to Athens!
I hope to write about more sightings later.
X
Page 8

[PAGE BREAK]

VISIT TO THE CRYPTOZOO
ISSIE OF JAPAN'S LAKE IKEDA
by Kenji Chōno
Issie is a lake monster which is said to inhabit Lake
Ikeda of Kyushu Island in Japan. Lake Ikeda is a caldera
lake which was formed 4,500 years ago by the eruption of a
nearby volcano. This lake is about 15 kilometers in
circumference and 233 meters deep at most. This lake
harbours various kinds of fish, including the giant eels
which are more than two meters long, and has been
appointed as a natural monument of Japan.
On September 3, 1978, about 20 people observed a 20-
to 30-meter-long black object with two humps, moving fast
on the surface of the lake. And on December 16th of that
same year, Issie was photographed by a man and that
picture-which showed at least three hump-like objects-was
later evaluated by the American UFO research group,
Ground Saucer Watch (GSW). GSW concluded that what
was shown in the picture was some kind of reptile
swimming in the lake, although without firm belief.
Since then Issie was not observed very frequently-
maybe because we did not pay much attention to it. Then...
On January 4, 1991, Issie was at last videotaped. At
about 4:30 p.m., while driving beside the lake, Mr. Hideaki
Tomiyasu and his family noticed a big black object in the
middle of the lake. It then disappeared. However, when
those five people reach the lakeside five minutes later, it
reappeared 200 meters from them. This time it was four
meters long (the eldest son described it as having been more
than ten meters long) and moved sideways, submerging and
surfacing with a visible splashing.
It submerged when a motorboat passed nearby,
however, to their surprise, after that two long black objects
(one was shorter than the other) reappeared, closing to each
other until they were united. This whole sequence took
place for about 20 minutes.
After their videotape was broadcast on TV, another
person, Mr. Kazuo Kawano, came forward with his
videotape which showed a strange disturbance on the
surface. According to him, on October 21, 1990, at 1:00
p.m., he was watching the lake with his mother, when
suddenly a strange disturbance had occurred. He could
recognize a 5- to 10-meter-long black creature, so he
videotaped it until it disappeared one minute later.
What is shown on both videotapes is so vague that it is
difficult to identify. Therefore, many explanations were
submitted logs, waves, a school of fish, and giant eels.
In the case of Mr. Tomiyasu's video, Professor Yuichi Ono
of the Physical Science Department at Kyushu University
commented that it seemed to be some kind of life-form, but
he was not sure whether it was merely a school of fish or
something else.
When I saw Mr. Kawano's videotape on TV, I got the
impression that it was a standing wave. However, we need
more information on this and I do not think we should make
a conclusion so easily.
[Editor's Note: Mr. Chōno is a cryptozoologist from Japan
and this is his first article in Elsewhen. He had included
some photocopies but they were not clear enough to
reproduce here. Mr. Chōno investigated Canada's
Ogopogo at Lake Okanagan in 1990. I certainly hope that
he will submit other reports for "Visit to the Cryptozoo" in
the very near future!]
Lake Ikeda
Figure 1. Kyushu Island & Lake Ikeda
Page 9

[PAGE BREAK]

YE FOLKLORE CORNER
CONCERNING TROLLS...
by James Baker
The following are excerpts from my "Hallowe'en
Journey", which I sent to my niece several years ago in lieu
of a Halloween greeting card. I like to associate trolls
with goblins, especially with respect to their disposition
toward positive evil, which is saying that goblins and trolls
are more than merely mischievous. But trolls are more
harmful than goblins, though the latter are more ingenious
and resourceful in their harassments and bedevilments
toward men. This is Bakerian folklore.
"The shadowy lane was flanked with gnarled and
contorted trees upon whose scraggly boughs were
grotesquely perched a host of trolls, tier upon tier. The
wind rose in great furious gusts, almost dislodging these
horrible creatures from their precarious stations. Their
tattered, jet-black cowls flapped madly in the wind. Their
long, unkempt hair often entwined about their heads in
mad disarray. As I approached, their monstrous, crafty
eyes stared mischievously upon me. Their uncouth,
creased faces quaked as their lecherous lips parted in
horrible grins that revealed large, decayed teeth."
I also included in "Hallowe'en Journey" an "objective"
and "scientific" description of trolls which is as follows:
"...Trolls tend to be monogamous and their offspring
are not numerous. A single issue will be born by a female
in a lifetime, and the period of gestation spans the total
period of the life of the mother. The birth of the young
troll invariably results in the mother's death, because of its
enormous size. Usually the father is infuriated by the
death of its mate and will attack its offspring. The young
troll whereupon assaults its father in self-defense, upon
which event the father, like the mother, usually dies. The
young troll is immediately accepted by the group, and
mating occurs at once. The arrival of the young troll, of
course, means that there will be a cannibalistic feast.
"The life-span of the average troll is about ninety
years. The death of a troll, as I have said, is an occasion
for festivity. Trolls do not bury their dead, which are only
the bones and hair, but suspend the skeletons from the
uppermost branches of the tallest trees. During a strong
wind the rattling of the bones can be heard, especially
during those seasons when the trees are denuded of
leaves.
"Trolls do not usually molest or harm anyone - that
is, the human species unless one were to come
immediately upon them or within the reach of their
Page 10
extraordinarily elongated arms.
Their strength
prodigious, despite their emaciated frames, their tottery
stance, and their awkward gait and locomotion. Their
disposition is extremely treacherous and once one is within
their reach, they will suddenly and without warning, grasp
one about the neck, either strangling their victim or
wrenching the head off, after which they may, with great
merriment and gusto, toss the decapitated member back
and forth amongst themselves. They especially delight in
carnivorous in
dismemberment, being sanguine and
disposition.
They are arboreal in habit and pass long
periods in conversation and idleness; but they become
torpid at sundown, though some conduct themselves
noisily beyond the hour of dusk. They never lapse into
deep slumber or become totally insensible, no matter the
lengthy periods of their exertions, as when preparing for
feasts and similar occasions; yet their tendency is to be
indolent. There are some species that do remain awake
and relatively active after dusk and throughout the night,
during which time they may engage in prolonged
conversation. The topics of their conversation are of no
great import or consequence and usually relate to planned
activities of the morrow or to immediate concerns.
References to the past are seldom. Often their
conversations are utterly vacuous, apparently having no
import whatsoever. Trolls are illiterate and exhibit no
disposition whatever to the improvement of their minds.
They are in no sense creative, although they do make their
own clothing, which is a black cowl resembling a monk's
habit. Trolls are partial to the colors yellow, orange, and
black.
"Trolls, as has been already indicated, are by nature
garrulous but also quarrelsome, and deaths occasionally
result from wrangles amongst themselves, and such
altercations may be followed by cannibalistic feasts.
Natural deaths also result in this grisly repast.
"Trolls, upon reaching maturity, are almost invariably
over six feet in height. Adult females are as tall as their
male counterparts. Despite their extraordinary strength
and durable bony framework, they are awkward in picking
up heavy objects and may even topple forward in
consequence.
"The population and distribution of trolls is unknown.
They prefer dwelling in dense forests and are never to be
found in desert regions. They are food-gatherers and
prefer locations where fruits are abundant. Being lazy,
they rarely prepare elaborate meals or engage in labor of
any kind."
The
[Editor's Note: Mr. Baker must be talking
specifically about a type of forest troll here.
majority of trolls are nocturnal and would turn to
stone if exposed to sunlight. They have small tails
and live underground or in caves. And, of course,
there are those rare ones that live under certain
bridges... As to their eating and mating habits, those
are probably the same. Not too many people have
survived an encounter to provide information!]

[PAGE BREAK]

OFF THE BOOKSHELF
The Mask of Nostradamus by James Randi,
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1990,
256 Pages, $19.95.
James "The Amazing" Randi has again produced
something well worth the reader's consideration: A serious
study of the French 16th Century "prophet" whose latinized
name was Nostradamus. The subject is a fit one for
Randi's no-nonsense style, which is concise and logical -
and impatient with foggy notions and far-reaching
speculations masquerading as some sort of "science" of
foreseeing future events. Such impatience may apply (and
is applied by Randi) even more to Nostradamus' later
"interpreters" than to the original figure. Randi makes a
good case for taking hostile views of prophets, and offers
explanations of what they do and how they produce material
convincing to some.
But the book is not a simple attack, for Randi has
approached the subject in a serious way. He has enlisted
the aid of historians and historical documents, and has
himself actually travelled to the places in France frequented
by Nostradamus. Such care on his part has resulted in
revealing insights as to the meaning of some of the written
efforts produced by the seer.
In our age, "believers" have attempted to show that
some quatrains predict the career of Adolf Hitler and even
Japanese aggression. See, for instance, Randi's comments
on the quatrain No. 4-68 (his chosen specimen #9, op. cit.,
page 215). Here, followers of Nostradamus have taken
allusions to "The two greatest of Asia & Africa" to mean
Japan and Mussolini (Randi citing James Laver's
interpretation). And Hitler enters through the name
"Hister" for the "Lower Danube" (it is true that the Danube
was called the "Ister" in ancient times). According to
Randi, the quatrain predicts trouble for perhaps Venice and
Genoa, as well as Malta. (Here, I should like to say that
the literate men of the time of Nostradamus read the
rediscovered classics of the Greeks and Romans. In the
works they read, "Asia" is to be taken to be Asia Minor,
and the greatest of Asia Minor at that time was, obviously,
Turkey, which had already captured Constantinople and
marched on Europe. The "greatest" of Africa we might
take to be Egypt, where the Mamelukes were once part of
the Ottoman Empire. The Turks were the real menace
during the time of Nostradamus. Randi noted that danger
elsewhere in his book, but I, myself, think it might bear
upon this Specimen No. 9 of his choice for analysis.
Turkey might menace parts of Europe, as well as such
islands as Malta.
In any event, those with any fascination for the works
of Nostradamus as well as those suspicious of them
will find this volume well worth their time. As a matter of
interest, I would add to Randi's opinion that physician
Nostradamus' use of remedies from roses was fallacious,
the note that such usage was traditional (see Moses
Maimonides' recipes, for instance). That twelfth-century
physician/philosopher/author mentioned the medical use of
rose products extensively in his work The Preservation of
Youth; he had begun in Spain but ended his days in Cairo,
an older man at the time of Richard Lion-Heart's crusade.
The use of the rose shows that the medieval views and
"ancient knowledge" were still being taught at the time of
the northern Renaissance in Europe. The rose itself,
whether for medicinal or aesthetic reasons, goes back to the
ancient world - see the photograph of a coin of Rhodes
circa 80 B.C. following page 42 of Michael Grant's The
Visible Past, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1990,
illus. 4.4b. This coin shows an opened rose face on one
side and the head of the sun god, Helios, on the other.
(This was the god of the huge, bronze "Wonder of the
Ancient World" statue.)
Randi's translations from his French text are straight-
forward and seem reasonable. The quatrain we have
mentioned in this review (Randi's #9) is translated by him
as follows:
"In the year very near, not far from Venus,
The two greatest of Asia & Africa
From the Rhine and Lower Danube,
Which will be said to have come,
Cries, tears at Malta & the Ligurian coast."
17
Finally, I should like to remark that if one finds the
writings of Nostradamus to be difficult, they are yet
considerably clearer than the so-called "Prophecies of
Merlin", which are marvels of obscurity. The interested
reader can find these latter in Geoffrey of Monmouth's The
History of the Kings of Britain (available from Penguin
paperback books).
The Amalthean Horn
Box 5511, Pasadena, CA. 91117
H. H. Trotti
Celtic Shamanic Articles, Stories, Poetry, Rituals, Humor,
Spells, Mythology.
[AD] $15 SUBS 4X YEARLY (CROSS-QUARTERS.)
Page 11

[PAGE BREAK]

STRANGE STONES
THE DOLMEN MYSTERY
by Hugh H. Trotti
Many mysterious things exist which, though often taken
over by the "true believers" in various peculiar causes, can
sometimes be explained in ways which are less exotic.
Such explanations may not always be simple. Sometimes
they might be quite complex and not always amenable to
attempts to use the "Occam's Razor" approach. An
example of the complex cause (or causes) may be the
"continental drift" theory now dominant in geological
thinking.
There remain some mysteries which might be explained
by fairly simple means. Some of the group of "ancient
mysteries" that seem to invite comment from time to time
will fall into this category if one gives the subject at hand
some thought and if one approaches ancient subjects
without an implicit conviction that ancient people were
stupider than the modern variety, or were "all brawn and no
brains".
To demonstrate the "simple cause" solution, we may
choose one of the most impressive mysteries of the ancient
world: The dolmen. The dolmen was constructed of stones
being a megalithic structure and many of such
structures were old when the classical Greeks and later the
Romans arose to make their imprints upon history. The
dolmen was composed of a huge capstone (it could be as
heavy as 90 or 100 tons!), which served as a horizontal
"roof" and was supported by smaller stones placed under it,
thus creating a central area which might (according to many
scholars) be used as a common tribal tomb.
Some examples may have at one time been covered with
earth which has eroded away over the centuries, while
others may have always stood above ground level.
typical structure might look like that in Fig. 1.
A
It might appear very impressive in size. The central
area created by the stones supporting the roof was not
necessarily completely enclosed.
Some scholars, considering how such structures might
have been made, have theorized that ancient peoples piled
up a mound of earth over and around supporting stones, and
then hauled the huge capstone to the top of the mound,
being careful to center it correctly over the buried supports.
While this method may not be impossible, it is possible to
propose a way that would be fairly easy to construct a
typical dolmen.
First, one would find a large many-ton stone resting
upon its side
perhaps one that was left by a retreating
glacier many ages ago. It would be on a hilltop or at least a
slight rise, for we do not wish subsequent erosion to bury it.
Second, we find at least three smaller stones, which
may be moved by only a few people, for use as supports.
They will be fairly near the site of our proposed capstone,
to lessen our effort. We bring them to the capstone.
Third, we create a tunnel large enough to admit one of
our support stones underneath one side of the capstone and
not quite at its center. Then we move one support stone to
the end of the tunnel. (See Fig. 2.)
Fig. 2. Support Stone at the End of A Tunnel
Fourth and fifth, we repeat Step Three, creating two
more tunnels at regular spacings around the capstone and
placing a support stone at the end of each. We position the
support stone at the end of each tunnel, before digging out
another tunnel, to make sure the weight of our huge
capstone is well supported.
Fig. 1. A Dolmen
Page 12
TUNNELS
The
Fig. 3. Overhead "X-Ray" View
Earth Still Supports the Capstone's Weight

[PAGE BREAK]

Sixth, when we have completed at least three such stone
supports at the end of three tunnels and have placed them so
as to carefully balance the capstone above them, we set
about removing the dirt from between the tunnels. This
step will [probably] be undertaken by the least popular
members of our work team.
Seventh, we will clear away the dirt from around the
structure, to create a new and lower ground level, even with
the bases of the support stones.
We
This entire proposal depends upon the simple thesis that
it is easier to move dirt than to move huge stones.
know that early peoples piled earth up into large mounds;
here I submit that to clear away a smaller amount of earth
from under and around a dolmen should be fairly easy.
SUPRA NEWS
As the director of the Strange & Unusual Phenomena
Research Association, I thought I would use the occasion of
the 10th issue of Elsewhen to begin a new semi-regular
feature news about the organization. I feel that a status
report is definitely long overdue.
Of course, the most obvious thing is the change of our
parent organization's name. Since we quickly grew from a
group focusing on temporal anomalies into a fortean
organization, I felt this change was warranted. The change
became official on October 31, 1991, when I filed the
business name application papers with the State of Oregon
Corporation Division. Other than the name change, though,
there are no changes to our organization's form or function.
As part of the change, a wonderful "official logo" has been
designed by a former neighbor for SUPRA an hourglass
spiraling out from space. This symbolizes our stated goal
This logo will
of "exploring mysteries of time and space."
appear on stationary and other items in the future.
Actually, having this space available in which to talk to
you this issue was an accident. An article had been
formatted for this spot in Elsewhen but was withdrawn at
the last moment upon the split-up of its authors, a sad story.
So, I decided to use the "opportunity" to fill you in on the
doings here at SUPRA headquarters.
So far, since TARA/SUPRA first appeared in 1988/89
we have heard from people in 16 different countries. This
is really quite exciting. This issue of Elsewhen will be
going out to people and organizations in 9 countries. I am
really excited about the international contacts we have.
Although we are still relatively small and in extremely tight
financial shape, there are signs that growth is just around
the corner. I am grateful for all of the kind words I have
received from people around the world. I have yet to
receive a negative letter, although renewals have been a bit
weak in the past. I feel that this is due more to the shape of
the economy than the content of the publication.
I have always tried to keep the costs down, so that
anyone can afford to subscribe to Elsewhen. I know what it
is like to want to subscribe to something and not have the
money. Who wants to pay $30 or more a year for a
quarterly publication?!? Although prices will rise in the
future, I will always keep them just above my costs. This
publication is a labor of love to me and I don't want to spoil
the fun of producing it by becoming greedy. The U.S.
price will eventually level out at about $10.00 per year.
This is still quite good when compared to inferior
newsletters that are running about $15-$20 per year. The
random survey I conducted last year revealed that 92% of
the readers of Elsewhen felt they were getting their money's
worth! That was before I made changes to the format, such
as color covers, vertical lines between columns for
readability, improved page numbering, and additional pages.
In the near future I am hoping to change the form that
Elsewhen comes in to a more magazine-like format. This
depends on the financial stability of the organization. I
think this will make a big difference in the way people look
at SUPRA and Elsewhen.
more
After the New Year, I will be starting contests in
Elsewhen. There will be a prize given to the first correct
answer or solution. We will also continue incentive
discounts for longer subscription commitments
the longer
you subscribe, the
you save. Plus, longer
[AD] subscriptions save you from future price changes.
My research trip to Great Britain went well, but I was
not able to do about half of my itinerary because of the
weakness of the dollar right now I actually ran out of
money before my trip was over! I took 22 rolls of film
while there. The highlights were visits to Stonehenge, the
Avebury Stones, the Tower of London, a field where a crop
circle had appeared, and several "haunted" locations.
spent one week in England and two weeks in Scotland.
Many articles based on my recent trip will appear in future
issues of Elsewhen.
I
As to the headquarters of SUPRA they are still
located in my home. This will probably continue to be the
case for the foreseeable future. Thanks to a recent
promotion at work, though, I should be able to move to a
bigger place in 1992. That will make organization of our
growing archives and library much easier.
As part of SUPRA's future growth plans, I am planning
to begin a computer database of fortean material. I have
designed a quite comprehensive classification system for
strange and unusual phenomena, along with report forms to
be filled out by witnesses. Faithful contributor Kimberly
Wajer played a large rôle in the development of this
classification system. Thanks, Kim!
We have started a more aggressive advertizing
campaign, including being listed in FATE for three months
as a trial experiment. If response is good, we will continue
to advertize there and expand to other publications.
I will be preparing a directory of past articles in
Elsewhen to assist people in finding specific topics and for
people wanting to order certain back issues.
Thanks for all of your wonderful past support!
Page 13

[PAGE BREAK]

RESEARCH TIPS
FORTEAN RESEARCH ON A BUDGET:
Tip #2 - Local Libraries & Historical Societies
by Gary S. Mangiacopra
As an individual who has gained a reputation as a
library ferret for digging out and finding long forgotten
fortean incidents, I have been told by many that they, too,
would like to do similar research but don't have the time or
permission to go through the newspapers on microfilm at
the nearby university or the state historical society.
One does not have to travel that far in both time and
only a short distance to one's hometown public
expense
library or historical society. For a researcher just starting
out in the fortean field, this is the best advice I can suggest.
By first checking out what one can find in your local library
or historical society, one can gain much needed and
invaluable experience on how to conduct literature research
when one does have time and limited funds at literature
sources far distant from your home.
I have found that historical societies sometimes have
files of newspaper and magazine clippings on incidents that
had occurred locally be it "haunted locales" or other
unusual fortean incidents. Simply by stating (discretely) that
you are doing research on "out-of-the-ordinary incidents"
that occurred within the area, one may be surprised as to
what one may find. If one needs background information
after finding an incident, a local historical society can be of
immense help. Some societies also have microfilmed copies
of local newspapers going back a century or more. Again,
this is a valuable source that one can draw upon.
Almost all towns, if they do not have historical societies
(which usually have limited operating hours during the week
anyway), do have a public library. It is this source that can
be immensely valuable to the investigator. As the hours are
usually more convenient to one's working schedule, this is
the source that one should concentrate upon.
One problem that a beginning investigator should realize
is that many past local happenings occurred decades or
centuries before, leaving no written record, not even a
brief mention in any books on the history of the town or
city. So where does one begin? The town's newspaper, of
course!
It must be remembered that a newspaper is actually a
daily or weekly diary of the events that had occurred within
the township and even beyond its immediate region. For it
is here that the editor or local resident, writing to the
newspaper, communicated about something possibly fortean.
But
- and this must be remembered
indexed.
newspapers are not
By
So how does one find such incidents?
scanning the newspaper page by page.
This takes a lot of time and expertise, but by doing so,
one slowly begins to accumulate fortean events of the past
Newspapers of the 19th
locally and even nationally.
Century had the habit fortunately for us
from one another on news events.
of copying
Once you find these fortean items, always record the
newspaper's name, where it was published, the date, page
importantly what edition it was.
and column, and
What is not often realized is that even some of the smaller
town newspapers may have had several different editions on
the same date. There could have been a town edition, a
rural edition, and even an edition for the tourists all
published on the very same date.
Accuracy is very important.
I have found many
instances where a writer quoted a newspaper source from a
locale I could not locate until I realized what edition it
was in. The source existed as stated, but the precise edition
did not.
And, importantly, many different editions of the
same date may not have been preserved to the present day.
So the source that a writer quoted may, in fact, have been
correct-except that that precise edition has not survived to
the present day.
These are all factors that one may encounter when one
begins to research locally. And, so I say to all, the grass is
not greener over the hill; it may be greener in one's own
backyard. SO BEGIN THERE!
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