On December 10^th, 2005, over two hundred experts, researchers, witnesses and visitors gathered in the rural town of Kecksburg, PA to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the Kecksburg Incident. An incident that remains one of the most mysterious and controversial UFO related occurrences in United States history. Unfortunately, even after 40 years, questions remain on what exactly happened.

In fact, the only thing that is certain after all this time is something did crash in this small town, forever changing the make-up of this community, almost tearing it apart at the seams.

From the outset of the afternoon, it was clear that this amazing ensemble of people were here for more than a party, many interested bystanders were there in hopes of information and disclosure. The ceremony started with researcher Stan Gordon presenting a historical look at what exactly occurred on December 9^th, 1965. Gordon has been researching the Kecksburg Incident for three decades and is the pre-emanate expert on the subject.

As a researcher and Pennsylvania native (I grew up a mere 25 miles from Kecksburg), this topic has always intrigued me. As with everything that I research, I can’t find enough information.

“Regardless of what came down, we need to know the truth,” states Gordon “what was so important that our government still holds it secret after 40 years.” I don’t think anyone could have said it better. What was so important? Especially when you consider the fact that the official US government stance on Kecksburg is “our searchers failed to find an object,” found in a small blurb in the unclassified Project Blue Book papers. This information isn’t even correct in those pages, listing the location of the incident in Acme, PA.

Eyewitness testimony and accounts totally contradict the government statements, it reveals that there were a lot more than three government officials in the area and something was found and recovered by the US military. The first reporter on the scene Bob Gatty, reported that “he was greeted by a group of military officials when he got to the scene,” in his initial newspaper reports.

The Kecksburg Incident almost disappeared from the map, until the television program Unsolved Mysteries returned it to the mainstream in 1990. The show brought out new evidence and witnesses. Witnesses that place this mysterious “acorn shaped” object first at Lockbourne AFB in Ohio, and then finally at Wright Patterson AFB, the actual home for Project Blue Book and ironically in the original flight path of the object on the afternoon of December 9^th. Witnesses in Ohio have stated that they saw two plains take-off and follow the capsule after it passed over the base.

So what could be so important that our government would cover-up its recovery? For the longest time, one of the theories that had a large amount of backing was the recovery of a failed Russian Venus Probe, Cosmos 96. After all, Cosmos 96 did return to earth’s atmosphere on December 9^th, 1965. If that was the case, a cover-up would be understandable at that time during the “Cold War.” Unfortunately, government data, including the orbital coordinates of the craft, and even the Russian Space Agency has ruled out this possibility. Besides, the size and shape of Cosmos 96 does not match that of the “acorn shaped” debris reportedly recovered by the government. Cosmos 96 was cylindrical shaped, but it measured only three feet in diameter, not the 15-plus feet documented in eyewitness reports in Kecksburg.

More importantly, it was discovered that no other man-made space debris entered the atmosphere on that date. Researchers know that pictures of the debris were taken prior to its removal from the wooded area, unfortunately, like the other documentation requested, none of these pictures can be found.

True to form, NASA released a statement on December 8^th, 2005, stating that the debris was actually the Russian Craft, unfortunately, they claimed to have “misplaced the craft and all of the documentation,” making their statement useless.

The one thing that makes that statement is interesting though is that it was not provided to researchers previously, even after the organization was actually taken to court by the Coalition of Freedom of Information (CFI) and the Sci Fi channel in 2002. Both NASA and the Department of Defense were placed in the spotlight after these groups were denied information during the preparation of a 2002 documentary.

These stonewalling measures are still being practiced by these organizations, as I have witness by the denial of my own Freedom of Information Act requests. I provided the United States Army and Department of Defense with specific detachment information, location, date and time and have received only a “we no longer have records over 25 years old” answer, written almost 30 days after the case was opened by their offices. I don’t know about you, but two weeks to provide that specific answer doesn’t add up.

CFI received a boost in their fight against the government, when former President Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta joined the fight. Podesta is one of the biggest advocates against government secrecy and has been responsible for the release of over 50,000 previously classified documents. While Podesta remains a skeptic on the existence of extra terrestrial beings, he pushes for disclosure if it exists.

During the press conference announcing the suit, Podesta states, “people should know the truth, can handle the truth and it is the law!” Podesta’s statement rings true for Kecksburg and the many hidden incidents that have occurred throughout history that have been washed away by our leaders.

While this case remains in the hands of our federal court system, with no apparent end in sight, new witnesses and information is still being discovered daily. These strides, while small, may eventually lead to the discovery of what exactly happened in this rural community.

I saw and sensed ghosts, as I still do. It feels enthralling to see ghosts, in part because it is “proof” for me of life after this earthly existence. I’m not sure how old I was when I first began to see ghosts, because when I was little it felt very overwhelming and I tried to turn it off, ignore it and side step it.  In our small town, I’d be in my room quietly playing, humming to myself.  Very gradually, I’d become aware of someone looking at me from behind, or from slightly up above and behind. I’d feel a presence, it felt like a slight buzzing feeling on my skin and neck and I’d think, “someone’s here”. I would try to ignore it at first, and literally shrug as if to say, “You don’t have an effect on me”.  I did not want this presence to think I cared or was at all bothered.  After sucking my breath in for a bit, I’d get the nerve to look over my shoulder half way. I’d try to pretend I was not afraid, but my nervousness would increase, and so I’d put the toy down, and nonchalantly walk, then run as fast as I could, out of that room.  I’d step quickly into the sunlit family room, my heart felt like an enlarged quaking pearl in the center of my chest.

Arriving into the family room where my siblings were, where someone like Hank Williams was singing on tv, where the energy felt bright and cheery, was perfect because no ghost or strange presence had any hold on me once I was in company of other family members.  The normal activity in the family room was in great contrast to that of the silence of the bedroom I had abandoned.  Being in a room with other people being busy eased the feeling of silence and strangeness of a spirit realm visitor looking at me or pressing energy my way).  Loud and distracting rooms quelled the sense of awareness.  Whatever that was or whoever it was I felt had no hold on me, and the activities of normal life made me feel safer.  Ghosts at that point felt like “anything from anywhere creeping up on you” and so I cannot say that I enjoyed seeing or sensing ghosts as a kid.

My brother and I talked about this recently. He recalled similar memories of seeing and sensing ghosts in childhood days, a block from Route 66. He remembered how, in a silent room, you could still hear the wind gust or howl outside and the sound of railway cattle cars coming through (the tracks ran east-west along the same course as Route 66). He described playing in his room one afternoon when everyone else but our mother went to a high school football game.  He had army men on the floor. While deep in his imagination with the army men, he got that buzzing, weird feeling on the back of his neck and sensed someone in the room with him. He did the same thing I tried to do when this happened, which was to kind of dodge it a little by shrugging it off. He went on playing, haltingly. Then, as the room got cold, he turned and saw a man with long hair and a beard lying on the bed, watching him.  This was in 1960’s when “hippies” came rolling through town, and Hell’s Angels and all kinds of odd and eccentric strangers, looking for drugs, often. My dad was one of four doctors who ran the hospital, and there were lots of people injured on the highway as well as partying on it. Route 66 was for many a highway full of kicks on the way to California. For us it was like an endless tide of wonder, as wave after wave of the unknown members from the outer world lapped up onto our expanse of wheat and cornfields.  This long -haired ghost man my brother saw, this frightening presence, was a man who didn’t necessarily seem nice, perhaps he was on his way to California and was killed on the highway?  Just a ghost wandering around our town, lost, although my brother tells me he sensed evil or cruelty in the ghost’s gaze.  My brother took a deep breath and ran out of the room fast.  Like me, he found safety in the family room where my mom sat watching Perry Mason. He told her about seeing a ghost and she told him to stay beside her.

 
There were good ghosts wandering near Route 66, too. Don’t get me wrong. The good ghosts were relatives from other generations who had died already, angels, spirits who help people, legions of wise ones.  Jesus himself, maybe!  In one family story, my Grandmother Clayton had twin brothers, Lesley and Wesley. Lesley became very ill with consumption, during a widespread epidemic, which was often treated with morphine.  My Grandmother told how Lesley was engaged to Norma, and how sad it was when he died so young and handsome, before he and Norma could marry.  My grandmother recalled how a few days after the burial, Lesley’s spirit appeared to her while she sat sewing. Lesley had a habit of wringing his hands together when he was worried or nervous, and stood very real and life-like before her, wringing his hands. He said, “Mary (this was my grandmother’s name), Norma doesn’t love me. She doesn’t love me!” And my grandmother said back to his spirit, “Yes she does, of course she does, Lesley,” but Lesley shook his head and wrung his hands and said, “No, she loves the doctor.” And with that, Lesley’s ghost disappeared from sight. My grandmother, astonished, rushed to the phone to call her mother to tell her what had happened, and as she reached for the phone, it rang. It was her mother, saying, “You’ll never believe what just happened! Lesley appeared before me!”  So Lesley, who had been dead only a few days, had appeared to both my grandmother and great-grandmother at once, with the same exact message. And in the following days, it was revealed that indeed Norma had run off with the doctor, the very doctor who treated him for consumption, leaving everyone to wonder through the generations if Lesley was killed strategically by the doctor so HE could have Norma all to himself.

There was no way I could fear such a ghost as Great Uncle Lesley, and so I was raised with the sense that good ghosts bring the truth we need to hear sometimes.

In that same search for soul-truth, I was taught about guardian angels by my family and I could feel and sense them around, like an invisible alliance of goodness.  At bedtime, I’d feel a surge of emotional comfort in my chest and heart, and saying a prayer made that good feeling stronger. But even with the beauty and comfort of angels or the thought of angels existing, the deathly, ghostly part of life was part of life was always prominent. Somehow on Route 66, no matter how guided and comforted you could be, there was the nuance of the dire and dangerous side of life always in your face. Maybe it was the vast, open plain that let you know that without shelter, you’d be a goner.  And there wouldn’t even be a tree to hide you. Maybe it was the ghostly presences of Comanche Warriors who had roamed and owned this territory before you stepped foot on it, knowing that if you had stood on that same ground a hundred years or less before, you’d have been scalped for you were not in your own true territory, but a trespasser. Maybe it was the ghost of warriors dead that we felt all around us. Maybe it was the lawlessness of the area even at that time in the 1960’s that felt terrifying, as there was no official police force to make you feel protected.
For that, for that hint of danger, prayers were welcomed.  I was learning prayers with lines like, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”  This is straight to the point for a child. People die.  And God help us.  The horrible notion of suffering and dying, and beseeching for help was felt in me, and the stirring of calm in my heart made it feel as though my personal imploring was heard, and understood; we die but we will be okay because there are angels who will probably greet us and take us to heaven, I’d think.  And until the time of death, you’d have protection, with every step, hopefully.  At least for the lucky ones. Feeling this inward calm balanced out fears I might have had as a child about the strange ghostly intruders, the uninvited spirits who shifted into a silent room now and then.  And when you’re young and see or sense spirits, you may be told it is only your imagination, and of course this too can be true, mercifully!  But the place where we experience what is “imagination” versus what is “psychic phenomenon” is a blurry realm sometimes, and learning to distinguish what is imagined from what is spiritually truly happening, is an art one has to learn and develop over time. *** (Important to note: To this day, a surprise visit from a ghost has the hint of intrusion in it for me—I certainly no longer dash out of rooms, but I do get to decide if I want that visitor or not, and I ask some to leave me. Sometimes I’ve chastised myself for not being “more ready” to deal with a ghostly surprise visitor. I’ve sent some ghosts off because, like a kid again, I wasn’t sure if I liked the vibe.  Ironically, I’ve asked in prayers to learn more and more about spirits, only to at times turn away from some of them when they arrive.  The only time I do not at all mind is when I practice mediumship on behalf of clients, I do not consider those visiting spirits uninvited or unwanted strangers (and I don’t call them ghosts, they are simply loved ones coming through for people I promise to join with for a common good).  They come through with a specific message or with a reason to communicate something meaningful. In contrast, the surprise visitor ghosts often have a hint of mischief in them, a kind of, “I’m here! Whatcha gonna do about it?” Not always, but sometimes.)

For example, at about 8 years old, I recall on a Saturday night, being up a bit later than everyone for some reason, and seeing a glimpse of a show called Burke’s Law.  It was a show about murder and bad guys and I didn’t like the theme.  I went to bed and trying to go to sleep when I heard a knock on the window glass above the bed board. I froze. In my mind’s eye, I saw a green hand doing this knocking.  A lady’s green hand, her wrist gently bending with each knock.  I was suddenly feeling fear to the point of being catatonic. I could not move. It took ages for me to    get    the    guts    to    GET UP AND RUN!  And when I did, I ran to my parents room and woke my dad, telling him a green lady had knocked on my window. He of course told me it was just a dream.  I felt comforted but didn’t agree, because in this case, I was not yet asleep, and I knew I heard knocking and I felt I saw what I saw and it was real.  Dad walked me back to bed where I fell asleep, reassured by him.  Next morning, I went in to see my mom and dad and they were only just getting up. A rifle was at my dad’s bedside (okay—this was a small town in Texas in the mid 1960’s, remember, with no law enforcement anywhere near, it was still in many ways “The Wild West”) and I asked him, “What’s your rifle doing out?” And he answered, “Oh, there was a prowler last night.”  I will not forget both the feeling in my stomach, as though a large, round, cold stone had been dropped into quick sand into the depths of my belly, and the simultaneous feeling of elation that I had been right! There had been a prowler. But, was she a Green Lady?  Why did I see a Green Lady in my third eye?  And when I found out my older sister who had her own teen bedroom on the other end of the house, also thought she’d seen a “Green Lady”, then—what then?  Was there some trickster traveling on Route 66, hopping off a motorcycle at night knocking on windows, painted in green? Or was this a strange spirit of some kind, a menacing ghost with ill-intentions? Prankster or real ghost, I can’t say, but it was freaking scary and very notable that both my older sister and I had the same type of vision.

To be continued…

Please read next week’s installment, Part 2 of Ghosts

SGRA — Out of all the subjects out there, what drew you to monsters and the supernatural genre?

R.P. – I like any genre that allows me to stretch my imagination, be it horror, sci-fi, supernatural, etc. These more speculative genres really enable a writer to address themes and topics in an allegorical way, to really explore the human condition using metaphor and from a different angle than realistic fiction. As for monsters, well, I see each type of monster representing a different primal fear or superstition of humans going back centuries, so when I use them in my writing, I can address those deep-seeded emotions and beliefs and tackle them in (hopefully) new and interesting ways.

SGRA — Never before in print or on screen have monsters had such huge popularity. Vampires, Werewolves, and of course Zombies, seem like they’re everywhere these days. So what is it that you think intrigues or attracts people to these characters?

R.P. – As I said, each type of monster connects to a different human fear or emotion. Werewolves, for example, could represent our fear of losing control, of letting our animal side or our anger take over and supplant our reason. Vampires, on the other hand, represent the cold, calculating evil that lurks in the dark and plans to seduce and destroy us. Zombies, on the other hand, are almost a force of nature, a mindless, eternal hunger that you can’t control or contain, you can only avoid, forestalling the inevitable. Each one has a different tenor and type of threat, but they all speak to fears we have since birth.

SGRA — Has any other genre, zombie or not, had any other significant impact on your writing?

R.P. – I love all different genres: science fiction, mystery, adventure, classic pulp, as well as horror, and fantasy, including urban fantasy and grand, Tolkein/Martin style epic fantasy.

SGRA — Now for a few more cultural… maybe even philosophical questions…

How prepared is the world for zombie apocalypse to hit?

R.P. – Not very. Look at how ill-prepared we are for mundane disasters, like tsunamis and hurricanes. Even bad snowstorms cripple our infrastructure for weeks at a time. A widespread epidemic like a zombie plague would be a disaster. People would not believe it, the media would not tell us what we need to know, and the government response would be slow, weak and unfocused. Give me a shovel and a motorboat and I’d be much better off on my own.

SGRA — Which one of the zombie-causes do you think is most probable? Genetically Engineered Virus? New Strain of a Virus?  Aliens?

R.P. — My money would be on engineered virus. Who knows what kind of experiments the government and/or big corporations are conducting. We continue to mess in forces we don’t know, and, through error or sinister intent, a zombie virus is likely to come from one of those sources.

SGRA — Unlike vampires, werewolves, or other monsters, zombies don’t exactly just go for the kill so would you consider zombies evil?

R.P. — As I said above, I see them more as a force of nature, like locusts. They don’t have higher brain functions, and are driven by instinct, hunger and urges that define them. They do what they have to in order to survive and have no evil intent, only frightening outcomes.

SGRA — What do you want people to take away from your stories?

R.P. — I want them to be scared but also to think. To think about what you’ve mentioned above, about the nature of evil, but also about how they see themselves in the characters, both the monsters and the humans who face them.

For more about R.P. Steeves you’ll just have to come to Zombie Day on Saturday at the SGRA Research Center, but if you really can’t, then you can check out his website at www.rpsteeves.com

It has been used for centuries by herbalists and medicine women/men to cure everything, including the plague.

Recent lab studies have given scientific evidence that Elderberries have antiviral properties. The research showed that components of the berry bind to the flu virus and even the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, preventing it from infecting the host cells.

As if that wasnt enough, Elderberry does not just stimulate the immune system, it fine-tunes the immune system to properly respond to germs and viruses. By binding the virus it flushes through the body much faster, while building up the mucus membranes, enhancing the body’s natural ability to burn off a virus, and improving energy.

My own personal experience with Elderberry:

Last winter, my husband was coming down with a cold on a Wednesday morning. Thursday morning he was worse and both of my older children had the illness also.

By Thursday afternoon I started feeling like I was about to get it too. That’s when I decided to open up the Elderberry tincture that I had brewing for 2 weeks. I really wanted it to brew for 4 – 6 weeks but it will work at 2 weeks, its just not as strong.

I started myself and my 2 older children on it. The youngest refused to take it and my husband was already on anti-biotics.

Friday morning I felt Great, I did not have a single symptom. The kids were still stuffy but felt much better and were running around like normal. My husband and youngest daughter both had fevers and were much worse. We are sure it was the Flu.

I finally convinced the youngest to take the tincture. Her fever broke that night. By morning she only had a stuffy nose, and was feeling fine otherwise.

I never got the illness and in fact felt better then usual all weekend. My 2 older children who started the elixir when I did, but both had the cold for a day before taking it, only had very mild symptoms over the weekend. The youngest recovered days before her father, who stuck with the anti-biotics.

We have since been taking Elderberry tincture every time we feel a cold coming on and when we’ve been around someone who is sick. We used to be plaugued with several colds each winter, now we barely get a couple and even when one sneaks up on us we’re able to fight it off super fast.

Elderberry tincture now has a permanent place in my herbal cabinet and I believe it should be in everyone’s.

Allie Notarile is our Staff Writer for all things herbal and natural healing related.
Click here to see more information about Allie.

From secret societies, to ghost encounters, to UFO sightings, to psychic experiences, the history of the Presidents have actually included all of it (and more!), and the stories date all the way back to the first U.S. President, George Washington. Nearly every Administration has added stories to the paranormal happenings associated with the White House, and there have been so many over the years that historians and staff at the White House no longer try to coverup these strange events. In fact, they have become an important part of the history of the most famous Building in America, and the fact that they are not disputed goes to show that even those who are among the highest-ranking people in our country have admitted to encountering things which they cannot explain.

George Washington detailed visions of the future that he had while in Valley Forge during the harsh winter of 1777. It was said that these visions (which were written down by a Wesley Bradshaw, a writer who Washington relayed the experiences to) were related to three main events that would take place leading to the founding of America. They also seemed to be divine in nature, as they involved visions Washington had of angel-like beings who he believed were guiding him to the future he was meant to lead.

In the first vision, Washington claimed that a being showed him the suffering America was going through at the hands of England, and the need to declare its independence. This vision did take place during the Revolutionary War, so that may not seem o unusual.In his second vision Washington again described an angelic being that was showing him the country in a fierce battle between each other, pitting brother against brother. He then said that the being placed an American flag in between the two sides, and urged him to “Remember, ye are brethren.” This vision has been interpreted as a vision of the Civil War. The third, and final vision, that Washington shared was a more involved vision (some say a more darker vision) or perhaps the future of the country. But, what future did it foretell? In this vision, Washington was led to see “a fearful scene” in which he saw “vast armies devastate the whole country and burn the villages, towns and cities.” And then he saw “a light as of a thousand suns shone down from above me, and pierced and broke into fragments the dark cloud which enveloped America.” This type of “thousand suns” light sounds eerily similar to what one may describe a nuclear blast before they knew what it actually was.

President Lincoln was the next to relate a strange vision that seemed to foresee the future when he wrote a friend Ward Hill Lamon a letter telling of a dream he had a few nights before. In the letter Lincoln described that in his dream he walked from room to room in the White House following what he said were”mournful sounds.” Finally, he came in to the East Room where he saw “a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments” laid out on a table in the center of the room that was guarded by soldiers. He approached one of the men and asked to know who had died, and that’s when the soldier looked at him and said, “The president. He was killed by an assassin.” Only days later Lincoln would be killed at Ford’s Theater, but that’s not the last time this President would be in the White House. Following his death several people reported encountering Lincoln’s ghost roaming the halls of the White House. Those who claimed to come face-to-face with this former President included Eleanor Roosevelt, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and even Winston Churchill!

President Kennedy and President Lincoln have a series of undeniably creepy connections with one another, though whether or not it represents any actual paranormal phenomena is debatable. Still, it’s hard to deny that the connections are mysterious and force us to ponder the question of when a connection in events become more than just coincidence. Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846, was the runner-up for the Vice President nomination in 1856, and was elected President in 1860. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946, was the runner-up for the Vice President nomination in 1956, and was elected President in 1960. But there’s more than just dates, take a look at the names as well: Both men were succeeded by a “Johnson” who were also born 100 years apart – Andrew Johnson was born in 1808 and Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908. And Andrew Johnson who succeeded Lincoln has 13 letters in his name, as did Lyndon Johnson who succeeded Kennedy.

Another thing that is a little eerie about President Kennedy is that hours before his drive through Dallas he was urged by both Jackie Kennedy as well as his personal aid Ken O’Donnell not to go through the city because of assassination threats that had been received. According to records, Kennedy’s response was rather direct, “If somebody wants to shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it, so why worry about it.” Crazy coincidence… or more?

Visions weren’t the only prophecies connected with the White House, several Presidents also turned to astrologers and psychics to aid them in decision-making. The most famous of those to look to spiritual guidance for help were the Regan’s. They turned to Joan Quigley, a noted astrologer and psychic, for consultations on many major decisions that were made during their time in office. Another one of these unusual psychic connections was related to a shooter, in this case the attempted assassination of President Regan. Shortly after Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Nancy Regan learned through that Quigley had claimed that Ronald Reagan’s astrological chart showed that it was going to be a bad day for him. Perhaps she could have warned him that his life was in danger. Of course, this was after the fact of the shooting. That wasn’t the last of astrology in the White House. According to several people, President Clinton was also known to have consulted a few time with astrologers and psychics that Hillary Clinton knew.

Ghosts, psychics, and astrologers weren’t the only unusual things to take place in the White House. There were also several major UFO sightings during administrations. The most famous of these were filed by President Jimmy Carter and President Ronald Regan who both had sightings of unexplained objects while connected with the White House. Several other Presidents have had connections with the UFO Phenomena from different aspects, such as President George H.W. Bush who authorized government investigations into UFOs, and President Clinton who signed a Presidential Directive which removed the facility at Area 51 in Nevada from the oversight of the government!

What do you think about stories like these? Share your opinion on our Discuss@SGRA Message Boards or comment here!

The entire “Exposing Bones” series can be found on the Bethwood Patch website by clicking here. And will be posted here on the SGRA’s Dispatch website soon as well.

That’s right, since December we’ve been cracking our heads together to undergo a complete renovation of our Dispatch Central website, and the premier is here! While there are some minor things left on our to-do list, such as uploading some archived content, fixing one or two missing links, and adding a multimedia section, the basic gist of the website is good-to-go and here to stay!

The new site is going to feature much more content than ever before, since we’re now moving The Dispatch to an entirely online format. We’ve invited several new contributing writers, will be adding special features such as video and photo galleries, and making the site much easier to navigate as well as share with your friends. All posts now have “share” buttons allowing you to easily cross-post articles anywhere you want with a one-click button.

There’s so much more coming, so be sure to bookmark the site and visit regularly. We look forward to taking The Dispatch into the next generation of reporting…

Here’s the video from this weekend’s segment on NBC Connecticut about our “Secrets of New Haven” walking tour. Remember, there’s TWO MORE tour dates scheduled for August 27 and 28, and private tours of 5 or more people can be arranged. New tours begin in September!

Smoking Gun Research Agency makes the outlandish ordinary

Tim Loh, Staff Writer

Updated 11:39 p.m., Saturday, August 13, 2011

Has the door to an empty room slammed in your face of late? Something fall from the bookshelf in the vacant den? It could have been a draft of wind — but what if it wasn’t?

Jon Nowinski, P.I. of the paranormal, is interested.

“I’ve seen a picture hanging on the wall go suddenly askew,” says the 30-year-old, perched on his office futon, an orange blanket with cartoon ghosts draped behind him. Nodding to a cup on the TV tray before him, he adds: “A coffee mug will move a couple inches to the left. I see that. I can’t argue it didn’t happen.”

Nor can he prove it was the work of a ghost. So he files it away in his growing archives.

Times are good for Nowinski, founding director of the Smoking Gun Research Agency in Orange, who wants to convince the world that, sometimes, the outlandish is ordinary. His club has a new headquarters, his field-investigation team is collecting clients, and his 13th annual Paranormal Conference, or ParaCon, is under way.

“Lucky number 13,” he says with pride. “This is a big year for us.”

For this year’s rendition, which ends Sunday at 7 p.m., a UFO expert has flown in from Wisconsin (on a passenger plane). A psychic is explaining links to the supernatural. And Nowinski is disclosing all he knows about government conspiracies. There are workshops on crystals, meditation techniques and Big Foot.

And that’s just two days on the agency’s busy calendar. At this Wednesday night’s Coffee Talk, a practicing witch will discuss the facts and fictions of her trade. Three days later, Nowinski will lecture on monsters.

“We’ve all heard about vampires, werewolves, fairies, trolls and others,” he writes on the club calendar. “We assume they are all just folklore stories from when people didn’t know any better, right? This presentation takes a look at the possibility that maybe it’s us now who don’t know better!”

How it all started

For Nowinski, life got abnormally interesting when he was 6 years old. One day, he chased his cat to the third floor of his family’s Greenwich apartment building. While catching the feline, he saw a woman standing before a closed apartment door. Then she walked right through it.

Abnormal, he thought.

He spent the next eight years studying ghosts. Then, as a freshman at Staples High School in Westport, he wrote a science paper on “parapsychology,” a field that probes, among other things, out-of-body experiences and the afterlife. His teacher, initially dubious of the choice in topic, was so impressed with the essay that he sent a copy to the local newspaper. Nowinski was splashed across the front page, his work dubbed “Westport’s X-Files.”

“The cat was out of the bag,” he says. “Everybody knew I was the paranormal guy.”

But he wasn’t alone. So many letters soon poured in from people with similar tales that he set up a meeting at the town library. When upwards of 70 people showed up, he didn’t know what to do. “You got to say something,” his friend prodded. With his speech, the Smoking Gun Research Agency was born.

Last summer, 14 years on, Nowinski’s club finally got a headquarters outside his Westport basement. He and staff members spent the first six months in the Orange office space cataloging hundreds of books, magazines and movies into a library. Titles range from “Haunted Inns of New England” to “The Abduction Enigma” to “Debunking 9/11 Debunking.” Periodicals include Foreign Affairs and UFO Network Journals.

`Have you seen a UFO too?’

The facility expanded this summer. Behind the library, the place takes on the air of a basement hangout, with a snack and computer corner, a movie projector and a gathering space surrounded by photos of pyramids, flying saucers, an aurora borealis and Stonehenge. Hanging on one wall is a Native American dream catcher. Beside the futon, a neon green alien crowns a small Christmas tree.

Members appear to be feeling at home. Seating himself beneath a “Have you seen a UFO too?” sign Wednesday, staff member Butch Rourke accounts for his presence.

“I’ve seen ghosts all my life, but I never looked at them as spooky,” he says. In fact, psychics inform him and his wife, Kathy, another staffer, that an entourage of spirits inhabits their Oxford home. The Rourkes put them to work. “We order Old Lady Costello to shut the windows if it starts to rain,” Rourke explains.

Surprisingly, ghost research hasn’t developed much in recent decades, Nowinski says. Booming is the field of cryptozoology, which plumbs the mysteries behind such unconfirmed creatures as Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster and, until recently, the Giant Squid (now confirmed). Sadly, misinformation abounds about such topics, so Nowinski and his staffers must screen all material before it lands in the library. This reflects the agency’s founding motto: “Fact. Truth. Understanding.”

At events, Nowinski strives to tie every topic back to Connecticut.

“You don’t have to go to the Midwest to see a UFO,” he likes to say. “We have them right here.” Apparently, we also have a sea monster in the Thames River, a ghost ship that frequents New Haven Harbor and a “mysterious fog” that’s known to drift onshore, setting clocks back. Members appreciate this information.

“They really do their research,” says Carol, a Milford resident who joined this summer. At last week’s coffee talk, she learned of the time-travel paradox — if touring through the history books should ever be possible, then shouldn’t time-tourists be with us today? For Carol, who would not give her last name, that may have struck too close to home. Asked if future humans attended the coffee talk, she leans in and whispers, “Only myself.”

`Chasing shadows’

Nowinski says he’s thankful his family accepts how he spends his days and nights “chasing shadows.” His mother attends many meetings. But he acknowledges that the workload is growing. The front doors of his Nissan Pathfinder bear a seal that reads “Field Investigation Team.” Members who want to join that unit must undergo training. This spring, which is apparently the busy season for specters, the team drove all over and outside the state, four to six times a month, helping homeowners who fear their homes are haunted.

The team signs a confidentiality agreement with the homeowner and then conducts a brief interview. Then members set up their digital and manual electromagnetic field meters, thermometers, voice recorders, cameras and night-vision goggles. They sometimes bring a psychic. They often stay for up to eight hours. They’re almost never paid.

“There’s not really a way to gauge how much to charge,” Nowinski grants. “We can investigate and find nothing” — he’s sounding guilty now — “and plus, we’re registered as a non-profit.”

If the homeowner insists, though, the team accepts donations and gas money. That, along with the $25 annual membership dues, the small entry fees to certain events and whatever the gift shop bring in from sales at fairs, comprises the revenue column.

“This has become a full-time job,” says Nowinski, who daylights as a website and graphic designer, “that doesn’t pay the bills.”

Thankful, then, that membership has grown in recent years, now exceeding 150, counting two people in England and one in Scotland. Members seem drawn to Nowinski’s open mind, his breadth of knowledge and his obvious passion for all things paranormal and classified.

“I went to a Mutual UFO Network event in Fairfield,” says Glen Kaas, a retired state attorney from West Haven who’s found flying saucers fascinating since high school. “Then Jon put on a presentation and I thought, `Whoa, this guy’s doing things!’”

For this week’s coffee talk, Kaas has convinced a longtime friend to join. Only, Al Baldwin is no usual rookie — he’s the main attraction. A former Marine, FBI agent and member of the Committee to Reelect the President, he regales the club for hours with inside scoops on government cover-ups.

As a young FBI agent stationed in Memphis, he helped investigate the John F. Kennedy assassination. Smoking Gun members inch forward in their seats. “Of course,” Baldwin says, “that’s all confidential.”

Then he recalls being holed up in a Howard Johnson hotel room in 1972, eavesdropping on phone calls from the nearby Democratic National Committee headquarters. From his balcony, he watched as police cars swarmed the Watergate Building on June 17. He was never indicted in the scandal, but describes the lengthy hearings, the backroom questionings, and several questions that remain unanswered. One bombshell: He’s convinced Mark Felt, a top FBI official at the time, wasn’t Deep Throat, the secret source for the Washington Post’s investigative reporting on the scandal.

After two hours, Baldwin condenses his decades of government work to a single message.

“There are three types of people in the world,” he says. “The cattle, the cattle prodders and the cattle owners. You never deal with the cattle owners because the prodders stop you from getting there.”

Heads are nodding.

“And if people think it’s not going on now,” he adds, “they’re in for a rude awakening.”

Nowinski is scribbling notes.

Visit http://sgra.org/home/ for more information. The center is located at 284 Racebrook Road in Orange.

Reach Tim Loh at tloh@ctpost.com or 203-330-6377. Follow at twitter.com/timloh
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