Ominous Origins

Let‘s Escape to the Astral Planes

I'm back! I know, it's been a while. This episode has been kicking my arse. When I was contacted about my thoughts on the astral planes, I became curious and jumped right in. However, I was a little overwhelmed by how much research there's been on the topic, and so I did my best to take the best bits from a ton of different sources and condense it into a 20 minute episode. So, that was fun.
But what I did learn as that the there are a lot of these planes, and while I didn't go into detail on any of them, we get a pretty firm understanding of just what these places are. But what I found more interesting was how people travel there. The experiences, called astral projections, or out of body experiences can happen to anybody at any time, though there are some triggers for the involuntary OBE's. On the flipside, there are some who train themselves to project themselves to these dimensions. It's all very interesting.
One of the biggest studies I could find on OBE's came from Frontiers in human neuroscience. I will admit that I didn't read the whole thing. For as interesting as it is, it wouldn't make for good podcasting content, but I encourage you to check out the article HERE.
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The Beast of Jersey was a Musty man

Going through some past episodes, I realized that we've covered a lot of beasts. To be fair, the term beast can be attributed to any number of terrifying things, so I don't feel too bad. Nevertheless, this character is a real piece of work. Edward Paisnel has hints of Albert Fish in the sense that he was a disturbed man who preyed on the young, and they both had a crime spree that lasted much longer than it should have. But we've already covered Fish, so onto the Beast!
During the late 1950's through to the early 70's. Paisnel went from attacking women on the street, and abusing them in a field, to breaking into homes and abducting kids from their bedrooms... and abusing them in fields. The Island of Jersey is a tiny place, and back in the 50's and 60's it was even smaller in terms of population, and the fact that this guy got away with what he did for so long is nothing short of incredibly disturbing. 
So you're sitting there thinking, "yeah, this guy's terrible for what he did to people and kids, but why is he is so terrifying?" Well, he would wear a disguise, and not just any disguise, but one that consisted of a loose fitting mask and wig that resembled a woman - think Texas Chainsaw 3 - and a coat adorned with nails on the collar, sleeve, and front flap. He was right out of a nightmare, and I'll post the picture below.
Thankfully he was eventually caught, the only way a serial criminal could be. What might that be? Well, you'll just have to listen to find out.
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Three Men Walk into a Lighthouse...

... And they all vanished. Hell of a punchline, eh? Well that's exactly what happened in December of 1900, three men were at their lighthouse post on the Flannan Isle, Thomas Marshall, James Ducat and Donald MacArthur, when one stormy night they all mysteriously vanished into thin air. There was never a trace of these men found again. Of course, you might think that they all got swept away in the storm, or some other tragic accident, and you might not be wrong. BUT that won't people from theorizing other, more supernatural explanations. 
A popular theory when anybody goes missing, is of course, aliens. Naturally, given the circumstances, and the scene that was left behind it does appear that they were abducted my something otherworldy, and the main reason for this theory: The clocks, every last one within the lighthouse, were frozen, dead, not working. The scene also looked like they were taken in the middle of a meal, as half eaten plates of food were left behind, as well the kitchen was a mess, and a chair tipped over. Aliens.
Other than that, potentially a giant bird up and plucked them from the shores of the isle. Yes, a giant bird. However, this isn't as common, or believable as the alien theory. But whatever did happen on that isle is still a mystery, and the mystery grew even further when their logbook was discovered, and there were some strange passages written within. Spoiler, it involved a bit of crying and a lot of praying. It was almost as if they knew something was going to happen, or perhaps they knew they were being stalked or hunted.
Regardless of what actually happened, the mystery remains, and will probably never be solved. Their bodies were never found, and more than a hundred years later, never will be... Unless the aliens drop them off and they hadn't aged a day. That would be something.
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It‘s a Bird, It‘s a Plane, It‘s the Beast of Gevaudan!

So let's say you live in the 1700's, and let's also say that you live on a farm, or out in the country somewhere, what would be your biggest fear? Well, the city-folk would probably be afraid of muggings and murder, but you, your fears hit a little different. How about being confronted in the middle of the woods in the dead of night by a massive wolf-like beast. It's so ferocious, and it's nothing like you've ever seen. It snarls, snaps it's massive jaws, and before you can blink, your head is clean off. 
If that sounds specific, that's because it is, and that was a real fear many in the Gevaudan area of 1760's France had. There was a beast, something that didn't belong, lurking the countryside, and it did not discriminate. Men, women, and children all fell victim to whatever this beast was. In fact, it got so bad that even Louis XV became involved, and so did a reward for the slaying of the beast - 6,000 Livres, which was a boat-load of money back then. 
The beast was eventually believed to be slain, but shortly after the attacks started again. So just what as this creature? Well, there are many popular theories, ranging from exotic animals imported, and escaping (similar to the alien big cats of a previous episode), to a prehistoric survivor from well... prehistoric times, to that of a serial killer who used an armored dog to do his hunting and wounding, at the very least.
I like that last theory. It seems the most interesting. But regardless of what this beast is, it still remains a mystery, so tell, me, what do you think it was?
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Don‘t Mes(opotamian) with Nergal

We are back again this week, and we're going old school! Literally, we're looking at a God from one of the oldest schools around: Ancient Mesopotamia, and that god is none other than the god of war, and ruler of the underworld, Nergal! Nergal has a bit of an interesting story to him, from humble beginnings as a lowly god of war, to being recognized as the ruler of the underworld. But how, you might ask? Well, a lot of it has to do with interpretation, but mostly good old fashioned hard work and rage!
I mean, who hasn't raged their way to the top (or bottom in this case), and Nergal basically set the world on fire to prove a point: my kind of guy. Regardless of what he did, and who he was, there's something about the ancient Mesopotamian gods that are really interesting to me. I like to think of them as the origin for most, if not all of the religious iconography we have today. There are so many parallels than can be drawn to modern demons, gods, and rituals, which isn't all that surprising really. I like to think of religion as modern day Hollywood, everything is a bit of a copy of something else just a bit older. 
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Baby, it‘s the Baba Yaga

Witches aren't a new thing to this podcast. I've covered the Salem witch trials, and some lesser known witches throughout history, but today we cover the mother of them all; the Baba Yaga. While she's not technically the mother of witches, she has links to various cultures the world over, albeit by different names. The Baba Yaga is of Slavic origins, and she's sort of an anti-hero or villain. She's not necessarily evil, but certainly wants to be left alone. But, she will mess your day up if you do bother her by doing things such as, well, eating you. 
On the other side of things, she always keeps her word. Generally when approached she will give the trespasser some laundry list of near impossible tasks to complete in exchange for something. If you manage to complete said tasks, she'll stick to her word and give you what you seek - but there might just be consequences to claiming your prize, like in the story of Vasilisa. In this Cinderella like tale, young Vasilisa gets stuck with an evil stepmom who punishes her and her own kids. Well, one day the family needed more light in their cabin, and so Vasilisa was tasked with finding some when she bumped into good ol' Baba Yaga. She completed the impossible tasks and was given a lantern, which exploded upon entering the cabin, killing her step family in a gruesome fire. While Vasilisa was technically freed from her terrible life, it came at a great cost.
Like I said, there are stories all over the world of similar creatures to the Baba Yaga, and they generally go by the generic term of Hag. But if you want more more, you'll just have to listen to the episode!
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Giddy Up, It‘s Suspect Time! | Texarkana Phantom Killer FINALE!

We've made it, we got through another series, and we end our look at the Texarkana Phantom Killer with looking at the suspects. And there were a few, but given when all this took place (1946), pinning anybody to the crimes was tough without a confession, even though they might have had one.
The main guy we're looking at here is Youell Swinney, who when confronted by police, told them not to shoot, and that he didn't want the electric chair. This, naturally, confused the officers who in turn asked why any of those things would happen to a guy who stole cars, to which he replied, "You have me for more than that, don't you." Implying quite a bit there. Oh, also his wife confessed to him killing people. So, there's that.
Of course there are a million reason why his wife might lie. He's a criminal, and maybe abusive, so if she got him locked up for life, she could start over. It didn't help that she recanted her confession later on. There was a ton of evidence against him, but most of it was classified as circumstantial. 
All in all, there were over 400 suspects interviewed for the crimes, yet, none were ever charged. 
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Howdy, Par'dner | Texarkana Phantom Killer Part 2

Continuing with our looking into the Phantom Killer that stalked the night of 1940's Texarkana, we look at those involved with attempting to catch this serial madman. From local law enforcement, to the state rangers, this case had it all when it came to the investigators involved. 
We have the first responders in local sheriffs, to the Lone Wolf, who stole the show, despite doing nothing. Let's explore that a little bit further, shall we. Going by the nickname, Lone Wolf, Texas Ranger Manuel Gonzuallas came into town with a reputation for being a gunslinging badass who once gunned down two convicts with his duel pearl handled revolvers. Turns out, his reputation preceded him, as he was also very handsome and charming. All the lady reporters swooned over him and would kill for just ten minutes alone with the guy, which in turned caused issues during the investigation. Issues including bringing a woman from a prominent magazine at the time to one of the crime scenes to "Re-enact" the murder. Most thought it was something else, and they're probably right.
Despite all the media attention the Lone Wolf was getting, by the accounts of his peers, he did bugger all, stole other officers reports and presented them to the media as his own. Typical pretty boy behavior! Nevertheless, despite promising he would stay in town until the killer was caught, he left three months after the last murder without so much as even a lead suspect.
The other officers seemed competent enough, with years of experience, many of whom were WWI and WWII vets. However, despite any evidence they collected was rendered almost useless given the technological limitations of the time. The investigation relied on eye-witness reports and piecing together the whereabouts of "missing" peoples during the times of the murders. It led to one suspect, but that's for next week's episode!
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