In Phantom Messages, paranormal investigators William J. Hall and Jimmy Petonito examine stories of unexplained contact by phone, computer, TV, radio, letter, and other mediums. These messages come from a variety of mysterious sources, from loved ones who never sent them to extraterrestrials, deceased friends, and bizarre beings from the past or future.
There are recordings of what seem to be future events in progress, and messages from people who lived centuries in the past. Some feature predictions, or warnings, that are eerily accurate. As Hall and Petonito attempt to unravel these impossible communications, they share real life paranormal messages of hope, terror, time slips, and wonder.
In Phantom Messages, paranormal investigators William J. Hall and Jimmy Petonito examine stories of unexplained contact by phone, computer, TV, radio, letter, and other mediums. These messages come from a variety of mysterious sources, from loved ones who never sent them to extraterrestrials, deceased friends, and bizarre beings from the past or future.
There are recordings of what seem to be future events in progress, and messages from people who lived centuries in the past. Some feature predictions, or warnings, that are eerily accurate. As Hall and Petonito attempt to unravel these impossible communications, they share real life paranormal messages of hope, terror, time slips, and wonder.
Phantom Messages: Chilling Phone Calls, Letters, Emails, and Texts from Unknown Realms
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Phantom Messages: Chilling Phone Calls, Letters, Emails, and Texts from Unknown Realms
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Overview
In Phantom Messages, paranormal investigators William J. Hall and Jimmy Petonito examine stories of unexplained contact by phone, computer, TV, radio, letter, and other mediums. These messages come from a variety of mysterious sources, from loved ones who never sent them to extraterrestrials, deceased friends, and bizarre beings from the past or future.
There are recordings of what seem to be future events in progress, and messages from people who lived centuries in the past. Some feature predictions, or warnings, that are eerily accurate. As Hall and Petonito attempt to unravel these impossible communications, they share real life paranormal messages of hope, terror, time slips, and wonder.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781633411067 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Red Wheel/Weiser |
| Publication date: | 04/17/2020 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 240 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
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Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Enter the World of Phantom Messages
If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.
— Nikola Tesla
Alexander Bell revealed a magical mystical device that promised to send and receive conversations between people who couldn't see each other in person. Onlookers remained skeptical. Prior to Bell, uninvited Morse code messages plagued recipients with striking similarity to the messages that arrived by letter, phone, and other modern electronics.
Thomas Edison, raised by spiritualist parents, instinctively desired to construct a telephone that could make long-distance calls to the dead. Bell also harbored the identical dream of such a device. With all the wonderous technology being introduced, an otherworldly widget was the next logical breakthrough. It's not surprising that any new communication device spurs our imagination to actively consider interdimensional communication as one potential use.
As a result of this speculation, psychic telephone experiments in the 1940s were plentiful in England and America. Any strange voices received were suspected of coming from unknown realms.
Science fiction imagines what we later engineer into existence. And science fiction has a history of dramatizing phone calls initiated from beyond. In 1964, our favorite series The Twilight Zone aired an episode entitled "Night Call," which told an eerie story about phantom message phenomena.
The episode featured a woman who lost her fiancé in a car crash she caused. When he was alive, her fiancé always did what she wanted. Menacing phone calls began and were thought to be a cruel prank; she told the caller to leave her alone. Later, she discovered the calls were coming from the fiancé's grave. When he calls again, she begs him not to go, but he says he always did what she wanted, so he had to leave her alone.
The Final Destination movie series is a recent pop culture demonstration of phantom messaging acting as a warning of future events. In the case of these poor kids, it was the result of owing a debt caused by escaping death. In Final Destination 5, the bus's radio station is interrupted by the song "Dust in the Wind," cutting through the signal and ominously playing right before a bridge collapses, killing motorists on their way across.
We look to our dependable advanced communication devices and imagine them sending us a variety of messages or signs, especially from loved ones we can no longer communicate with — or can we? What about when the calls are unexpected and outside of any mourning period? What about when there are witnesses? And how about when they continue for weeks, months, or in some cases, even years?
Phantom messages are diverse. Some contacts involve unknown entities, people you know, or even extraterrestrial encounters. They can be an isolated communication or a gruesome companion to broader paranormal manifestations.
In instances where a loved one is making contact, we look to examine if they are most likely to occur within a heightened bereavement state during which vivid hallucinations are the norm versus the exception. Calls within twenty-four hours or within weeks following the death of a loved one are the most suspect. However, not all recipients know at the time of contact that the person is dead. In the collection of cases throughout the years, it appears to be a common experience that when the listener realizes the person is dead, the call ends abruptly. The line goes dead, as the pun would go. After having one of these calls, the phone company often has no record of it, even when voice mails are received as tangible lingering evidence.
Calls from the living that were never made is another part of phantom messages. In this brand of "the living haunting the living," a person might call in response to your voice mail, but you never left one. This message, in your voice, conveys the plans you were only considering. You contemplated calling, but never got around to it. These confused witnesses insist with confidence that the phantom call was never placed that day.
Other variations of chilling communications incorporate a "dead" person answering a call or picking up a phone when no one is at the house. This is oftentimes accompanied by devices that come to life while disconnected. Routine calls continue to occur, sometimes for years. For example, there was a case that involved a daily family call at 4 p.m., which continued undeterred by the death of the caller! Life's daily routine carried on as if the dead person remained unaware of their own passing. The two family members would talk for twenty minutes at a time. This lengthy phantom tradition lasted from 1959 to 1961. Perhaps they are not dead, if the multiverse is at work.
Other loved ones reach out on anniversaries or to warn of an impending family emergency, only to never connect again. Communication devices play a pivotal role in many hauntings, as phones and other electronics are key targets for paranormal manipulation.
Stories of successful connections motivated people to bury loved ones with their cherished cell phones in the hopes of one last call or text from beyond the grave. In a few rare occurrences, family wishes came true. Occasionally, "they" appear to require permission to make contact. Phantom callers explain that's the law, although no regard for breaking that law is expressed. No fear of punishment is expressed either.
UFO experiencers say the caller "mimics" a person. The message might include a warning not to share their encounters or an unnerving personal survey. The ghastly messages can contain strange beeping sounds and insect-like chattering voices.
What are the origins of these creepy messages? In many instances, it's the result of misinterpretation or lack of knowledge of the technology being used. In rare cases, it's coincidence disguised as meaningful signals within the noise that are too tempting to completely discount. And then there are the messages with witnesses and other contributory evidence that defy the usual explanations. The encounters featured in this book are hand-picked oddities that are provocative, bewildering, mysterious, and entertaining.
Omitted here are the multitude of cases that rely solely on an intermediary party, such as mediums, telepathic voices, visions, or EVP recordings. Instead, our journey focuses on unexpected messages received via direct contact.
CHAPTER 2Unknown Entities
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson
It's anybody's guess exactly who or what is behind these shocking communications, especially when it's tough to speculate the potential source at all. First-time messengers, known names, and unidentifiable voices keep us guessing. Positive and negative messages will spur theories to try to make sense of the unknown. These are categorized as the "unknown entities."
Entity Screams through the Radio Sherryl Prelesnik Grand Haven, Michigan, 1987
When Sherryl was sixteen years old, she left her grandmother's house in a 1975 Buick Electra Limited. She was driving fast with the radio blasting heavy metal. At the end of their dirt road was a set of train tracks for freight and commercial trains.
Sherryl explains,
As I got closer to the tracks, I heard a man's voice screaming on the radio over the song that was playing! He was yelling "Stop!" and it was coming right from the radio. The voice was so loud, itstartled me. I realized I was too close to the train tracks. The yell was in time for me to realize the impending crash, so I slammed on my brakes and the car skidded to a halt — just as a train crossed my path. I sat there in the car for a while to compose myself and stop shaking. It was not in my mind. An actual voice from the radio was heard.
Ghost Computer Comes to Life Sonny Taylor Woodland Hills, California, 2015
My dad's side of the family was mostly unknown to me. I was a kid growing up without a dad in the Philippines. We only had contact with my aunt Mary and my half-brother Bruce during those times.
I didn't bother to check on Dad's family until I was in my thirties. My sister did most of the ancestry work, but abandoned it when she got too busy with her business.
One late night in early October of 2015, I felt a male presence, mostly out of the corner of my eye. This feeling repeated a few times until later that same month, when I had a sudden urge to find more about Dad's roots.
While searching online, I could still feel a presence right behind me. I came across a few names, but no further leads. Then, the page I was on froze. I hit the back button. Instead of going back, the page went forward. I was stunned at what I saw loaded on the screen: names of relatives and ancestral information that went on for quite a few pages.
The last page was about this pioneer in Coles County that came from Tennessee, the patriarch of the Taylor clan who served during the Battle of New Orleans.
I have since visited his grave and the battlefield he fought on. I have the feeling that the presence I felt two years ago was my great 4x grandpa, Michael Taylor. His youngest daughter was married to Abraham Lincoln's close cousin.
Mary, Mary: From Grave Photo to Car Radio Bill Hall Southington, Connecticut, 1984
In my college days, my magician friend Phil and I used to hang out in graveyards. We discussed and practiced magic and worked on great achievements, such as a way to vanish the moon. We also talked about the unknown since we were wonder-stricken by all of that — the debunking of fake practitioners like Uri Geller, along with mind-boggling urban legends and experiences that were interesting, yet often unverifiable.
One summer night in one favorite graveyard spot, we decided to try to contact the dead. Why not? We searched to find a perfect older grave for our experiment. We found the area that had photos of the departed on each gravestone. We found one. A younger woman. Her name was Mary, and she had long black hair and wore glasses.
Phil and I discussed exactly how we should go about this. It's an important discussion since we wanted the experiment to have the best chance of success. We decided to see if Mary could contact us through the car radio. We turned on the radio and turned the dial until we had thick static with no other stations bleeding through. In order to render our makeshift experiment viable, we decided to talk while the radio continued to play thick static. We wanted to make sure only static was playing for about twenty minutes before we proceeded.
After about a half hour, we started taking turns asking if Mary would show us she was there. Nothing happened. We continued talking about magic and let the radio continue to pump out thick white noise. As a last-ditch effort, we decided to shout out to Mary at the same time. By this time, the static had played for about an hour. Phil held up his hand and put a finger out and then another as we counted out to three, so our plea would be synchronized. On three, we shouted, "If you're there, Mary, tell us!" After the synchronized shout of "us" came out of our mouths, the static was completely gone, and we heard a lady's voice speak rapid, unintelligible words for about ten seconds and then it went right back to the static.
Despite being debunkers of countless phenomena, we stood dumbfounded. It really startled us. We ran to the car and shut the radio off and then we discussed it for some time after that. Our logical minds told us it was simply coincidence — and perhaps that's all it was. Certainly, statistically, that would appear to be the best explanation as opposed to something beyond the natural understanding of the world. Regardless, it is a night we'll never forget, leaving an impression that made me continue to seek out the paranormal.
Talking through the Clock Radio Jimmy Petonito East Haven, Connecticut, 1989
This incident happened right around midnight after Diane's boyfriend left at about 11:45 p.m. She was twenty-five years old at the time and all alone in the house reading. Her parents were on vacation in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Without warning, the AM/FM clock radio on the night table beside the bed came alive on its own, turned on, and a male voice — not a happy-sounding voice — yelled "Don't move!"
She looked at the radio startled and said, "What?!"
It yelled out again, "Don't move!"
She didn't know how to interpret it, but Diane took comfort in knowing that she would be moving out of the house within a week or two. Shaken, she immediately left the room and called her mom in Atlantic City, telling her what just transpired. Diane explained she was completely awake, so this was not an imagined incident.
Several times, the radio turned on by itself and through the static, a voice seemed to be trying to break through. Diane couldn't quite make out what was being said. It didn't sound like a radio station trying to come through either.
When Diane moved out, she left the AM/FM clock radio with her parents. A few years after Diane's mother passed away, she had another experience. She would periodically visit her dad and straighten up the house for him. She opened all the curtains and blinds in his bedroom to let the sun in and started to make his bed. Suddenly, the radio sprang to life again.
A woman's voice that sounded very pleasant came through the static and she understood it to say "It's okay, it's okay."
She was not scared this time. In fact, it made her feel quite comfortable.
Diane said, "I hear you and I'm not afraid."
Gettysburg Ghosts Call to Play Carla Pickett Hehir Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 2010
In 2010, my husband Daniel and I were staying at Round Top Campground in Gettysburg. We waited until later in the evening when it wasn't busy to go take showers at the bathhouse. The women's bathroom showers have a door on the left that you enter through, and the men's room has their shower doors on the right. The laundry room is in between.
Daniel and I agreed to meet in the laundry room when we were finished. As I showered, I felt as if I was being watched, but I was the only one there. When finished, I dressed and started brushing my hair at the mirror. I heard children laughing and running about in the laundry room.
Being overtired, I hesitated to go into the laundry room, because I just wanted quiet time. I decided to enter anyway and found the room empty. I told Daniel what I heard and felt and that, when he was finished with his shower, I wanted to return with my camera.
We went back to the RV, got the camera, and returned to the laundry room. The photos looked normal, but I kept feeling the presence of a young girl. I informed her that I was not going to hurt her and asked if she wanted to play. After a few minutes of nothing happening, we returned to the RV and went to sleep.
The next afternoon, I was with Daniel and speaking on the phone with my sister. Suddenly, in the middle of my sister's sentence, the line went silent. My sister's voice was replaced by the sound of a little girl merrily laughing and giggling. I immediately knew it was an identical match of the voice I heard in the bathroom the night before.
I asked, "Who is this?" trying to get her name.
She giggled and laughed again and then said, "Wanna play?" Daniel was sitting so close that he also clearly heard the little girl. I was perplexed. I did realize what was happening at the moment, but it took me a few minutes for it to register and for my mind to grasp that this was really taking place.
The little girl's voice said, "I invited you."
Her words came slow and dragged out. It was a very eerie sound.
She continued, "I'm going home." This was followed by laughing and giggling again.
At once, I called my sister back. She didn't hear the little girl on the line. She only heard my voice the entire time. From my end, however, I couldn't hear my sister at all, just the little girl's voice.
The South Shields Poltergeist Marc and Marianne South Shields, England, 2005
In 2005, strange things began happening to Marc and Marianne (pseudonyms) at their home in South Shields, England. In this case of poltergeist manifestation, the couple and their son were plagued by a variety of poltergeist activity including stacked chairs, doors closing, banging within the walls, and furniture moving of its own accord across the floor. It escalated by animating their three-year-old's toys to ghastly dance around the room, while other toys turned themselves on. An unseen force even threw toys at the terrified couple. One after another, toys were hurled at them while they remained in bed. They pulled the sheets over themselves to create a shield from the "living," flying objects. An invisible force retaliated by pulling the sheets off of them with a forceful yank. Marc ended up screaming and the activity stopped. His screams were not related to the toys, however; his back was in pain. They discovered he was left with thirteen scratch marks on his back from an unknown creature.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Phantom Messages"
by .
Copyright © 2018 William J. Hall and Jimmy Petonito.
Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
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Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
SECTION 1: METHODOLOGY,
Chapter 1: Enter the World of Phantom Messages,
Chapter 2: Unknown Entities,
Chapter 3: People You Know: Warnings, Help, Hello,
Chapter 4: A Few Celebrity Encounters,
Chapter 5: Time Slips,
Chapter 6: The Haunted Cable Box,
Chapter 7: Extraterrestrials,
Chapter 8: Case Characteristics and Data,
Chapter 9: Theories and Discussion,
Chapter 10: The Next 100 Years: What Will We Know?,
Epilogue,
SECTION 2: BONUS CASES,
Case 1: The Angry House,
Case 2: A Black-Winged Shadow Creature and Top Hat Man,
Case 3: When Trolls Attack,
Case 4: The Curious Case of the Missing Muffins,
Bibliography,