 Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Per years, the official British stance on UFOs was, there wasn't one. Much like the United States and other nations, the Ministry of Defense would claim there was nothing to investigate. Of course, we know now that that was far from the truth. Not only was the Ministry of Defense very much interested in UFOs, they were actively investigating and cataloging them. If not for persistent researchers and whistleblowers, many of the early UK UFO cases might have become lost to history. And who knows how many might have already slipped through the net or are awaiting discovery. While UFO sightings and accounts have undoubtedly happened for hundreds if not thousands of years, most UFO researchers agree that following a Second World War, these sightings have increased tenfold. Why this is the case, however, is open to debate, with theories ranging from the mundane to the outrageous. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, Weirdos. This is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up in this episode, they were times when humans acted inhuman, executing innocent people usually women due to superstitious fears, and it happened over several centuries. We'll look at the terrifying times of witch trials around the world and the thousands of deaths that resulted from them. A medium gives some advice and her own opinion about reaching out to past loved ones. Gangsters, they were gritty, tough, terrifying, you never wanted to cross them in even the slightest way, but on occasion they could be a bit odd, eccentric, even downright bizarre in some of their actions and ways of thinking. Not that I'd ever point that out to them in their face. We'll look at a few freaky facts from the mysterious mafia. But first, why are UFO sightings suddenly increasing in numbers and in intensity? If you're new here, welcome to the show. While you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, to visit sponsors you hear about during the show, sign up for my newsletter and our contests. Connect with me on social media. Plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you're struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the Weird Darkness. Like their American and German counterparts, British Royal Air Force pilots were no stranger to Foo Fighter sightings. The sightings were rife in the Second World War. The early 1950s is also awash with strange UFO sightings, many of them from trained military personnel. These sightings would ultimately force the British military and government to officially recognize the UFO, if only privately. During Operation Main Brace, a NATO exercise in September 1952 reports of several UFO sightings surfaced from the very first day. The crew aboard the Danish destroyer Willemos would report a triangular UFO over their ship. Remember, the sighting came when reports of triangular crafts were far from common, if anything they were unheard of. Another sighting occurred over the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. Multiple crew would witness a silvery spherical object seeming to follow their fleet. A reporter, Wallace Litwin, would report on the sighting. He would also capture several clear color photographs. According to the captain of the ship, Edward J. Ruppelt, these pictures would go for developing straight away and turned out to be excellent. The pictures themselves, however, have since vanished, and their whereabouts remain unknown. Incidentally, according to Litwin, rumor was rife that President Eisenhower was on board the aircraft carrier at the time of the sightings. Six days later, near Topcliff in Yorkshire, several RAF personnel including three pilots witnessed an object apparently giving chase to a meteor fighting jet. At one point, the object hovered in the air, rotating on its own axis. As the fighter jets approached, the craft shot upwards at terrific speed. Six British pilots would also report an almost identical object over the North Sea several days later. In the best-selling book Beyond Top Secret, Link in the show notes, author and researcher Timothy Good revealed the one-time existence of Room 801, an otherwise nondescript and ordinary room in what was once the hotel metropole in London. He would play host to research and investigations into anything but the ordinary. Within these walls did the reports of strange lights, flying saucers and any other aerial activity go under scrutiny, albeit secretly. In the June 16, 1954 edition of the London Rain Old News came the largely forgotten-about article until Good's book making brazen mention of Room 801. The piece would state that in this room, Britain's air ministry is investigating flying saucers, and that's official. What's particularly interesting about the article are the claims that fighter planes are kept ready to intercept any UFOs that might stray a little too close to British airspace. The legion of declassified files, both British and other countries, prove this to have been very much the case. The article would go on to state those charged with investigating these claims had around 10,000 such cases on file, a huge map of the United Kingdom spread out along the walls, with many colored pins marking such sightings. Strange then that for years following, the Ministry of Defense would claim these files were all either destroyed or lost. Interestingly or not, the following month, on July 16 in the Sunday dispatch, Air Chief Marshall Lord Doubting would state quite clearly that he was clear these objects do exist and that they are not manufactured by any nation on Earth. Furthermore, he would propose that there was no alternative to accepting the theory that they come from an extraterrestrial source. Remarkable statements both, particularly as the government would continue to deny Room 801's existence. On February 25, 1955, while working as a maintenance man at the home of Lord Mountbatten, Broadlands in Hampshire, retired Army Sergeant Frederick Briggs claimed to have witnessed a large saucer-like craft hovering overhead. Furthermore, he would claim to have seen a light descend from the middle of the object, then a small, fair-haired humanoid float down from it. The figure soon noticed Briggs observing him. He claimed a strange light beam in the being's possession would cause his body to go into paralysis. As the craft left, Briggs regained the use of his limbs again and immediately made his way back to the main house. Upon his arrival, Mountbatten's chauffeur would comment to Briggs on how shaken he looked. Amazingly, upon hearing Briggs' account, Mountbatten would produce an array of photographs of UFOs. He asked Briggs if any of them resembled the object he had seen. For his part, Mountbatten firmly believed Briggs' account. He would state in his own report that Briggs was not the sort of man subject to hallucinations or would in any way invent such a story. Mountbatten's account was due to appear in the Sunday graphic newspaper. However, a decision came to pull the piece at the very last moment so as to not embarrass him. Incidentally, Briggs would claim to have a second encounter with a strange humanoid figure the following day. The being would appear in the middle of a quiet country road Briggs was cycling on. He telepathically spoke to Briggs and invited him to board the craft. He did so, and according to Briggs, it flew to the pyramids of Giza and back again in the space of 30 minutes. Apparently, Mountbatten dismissed this second account. Perhaps a little strange given the previous faith he had in his employee's sound state of mind, not to mention his own rabid belief in such matters, a belief that began with his own sighting of a UFO years earlier. Perhaps as strange as the story in the Sunday graphic being pulled at the last moment. The incident at Broadlands attracted the attention of Mountbatten's nephew Prince Philip, who also had an intense interest in UFOs. Former Ministry of Defense UFO investigator Nick Pope states that Prince Philip has a large map of the United Kingdom, like the map in Room 801 possibly, with pins representing the locations of sightings. Furthermore, Philip requests that the Ministry of Defense send to him copies of their UFO files. Some believe and claim that in 1954 Philip requested an audience with self-confessed UFO contactee, George Damsky. Although there is no official record of such a meeting, many believe it to have actually taken place in secret. Although it would not become public knowledge for another four decades, at around the same time as this apparent meeting with a Damsky, one of Prince Philip's closest friends would meet an alien being. Perhaps one of the strangest of all claims is that of Sir Peter Horsley, a close friend of Prince Philip. While serving under the Royals, Horsley claims to have received an invitation to meet an extraterrestrial being. The meeting is claimed to have taken place in a typical London flat sometime in 1954. He would write about the encounter in his autobiography, sounds from another room published in 1997. According to Horsley, the being would introduce himself as Mr. Janus. He couldn't recall any particular features other than he fit perfectly into his surroundings. The meeting occurred in a dimly lit room and as it progressed, Horsley felt more and more that Janus was reading his mind and controlling the conversation. This was something that he said left him feeling quite disturbed. According to Horsley's memoirs, Janus would inform him of many technologies to come. He would also speak of intricate knowledge of Britain's nuclear capabilities. Horsley, incidentally, would re-enter the RAF in 1956 and positively shot up the ranks. At the time of his retirement in 1973, he was deputy commander-in-chief RAF strike command. Whether his rapid rise has any connection to his time serving the Royals or due to his meeting with Mr. Janus is unclear, but given his stellar career resulting in a knighthood, no less, would it make sense for him to lie in such a way near the end of his life? For their part, the Ministry of Defense responded by saying, How unfortunate that the public will learn that the man who had his finger on the button of strike command was seeing little green men. Make of that what you will. Up next, it's one of the most infamous stories of euthology, involving a recovered spaceship crash and reporter named Dorothy Kilgallan. My doc agrees that I need to lose a few pounds. I knew that going in, but he also told me that the meds I'm taking for my type 2 diabetes aren't going to do me much good if I finish each meal with ice cream or cheesecake. I kind of knew that in advance too. But cutting back on carbs and sugars is a lot easier said than done. I've tried a lot of protein bars while on the road, but I swear it's like eating non-sweetened chocolate-dusted particle board. But now, I travel with built bars. Built bars taste like candy bars. In fact, I'm now using them for my dessert. And in about 150 calories per bar, less than 3 grams of sugar, up to 19 grams of protein, I can satisfy my sweet cravings guilt-free. Visit WeirdDarkness.com slash Built in Try a Box. You can go for a variety pack of several flavors to try or pick and choose to build a box of your own. Use the promo code WeirdDarkness at checkout and get 10% off your entire purchase. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Built. In May 1955, noted journalist Dorothy Kilgallan would report on information given to her by a British official of Cabinet Rank concerning a recovered crashed UFO in the possession of the British military. According to Kilgallan, the crashed object had been studied and reverse engineered in part by the British military and scientists. Furthermore, quoting her source as saying, It's frightening, but there is no denying the flying saucers come from another planet. According to Kilgallan, the British government is withholding an official report due to a concern of frightening the public. Most would regard the story as a hoax and eventually Kilgallan would distance herself from it somewhat. Was the story fed to Kilgallan as purposeful disinformation? Perhaps to discredit both her as a serious journalist and the UFO phenomenon in one swoop? While it is certainly a possibility, longtime UFO researcher until his death in 2003, Gordon Crichton believes not. Crichton believed the crash Kilgallan referred to happened in the latter years of the Second World War. He also firmly believed the source of her story to be Lord Mountbatten. Kilgallan and her husband had been together with Mountbatten in the days before at a cocktail party hosted by the Lord. Interestingly enough, Kilgallan, who was one of the first to voice loud doubts about the assassination of President Kennedy, died in somewhat suspicious circumstances in November 1965. The inquest into her death would state the cause to be a quote, fatal combination of alcohol and barbiturates, unquote. We should also examine an incident alleged to have occurred in early 1964, an incident that claims a vehicle from another world crashed in the small English town of Pankridge and was subsequently recovered by the military. The claims first filtered into the wider public arena through the research files of respected UFO researcher, the late Leonard Stringfield, with further revelations coming from the extensive research of veteran paranormal investigator Nick Redfern, who wrote about it at length in his book Cosmic Crashes. I'll link to that book in the show notes for you as well. According to Stringfield's initial claims, the account came from a former third-class petty officer who Stringfield referred to as S.M. Branigan, who was assigned to a U.S. military vessel that operated as a spy ship somewhere in either the Caribbean or the Atlantic. According to the former officer, his task was to intercept Soviet military transmissions. He was one of these transmissions that was of particular interest. Essentially, the transmission told of an unidentified object that was tracked flying over Europe. At some point, the object, obviously in trouble, split into two separate pieces, possibly due to an explosion. Part of the object was claimed to have fallen to the ground in West Germany. The other, the larger part, came to ground in Pankridge in England. As well as a U.K. military presence, Branigan claimed American military intelligence were also part of a recovery mission, one that resulted not only in the recovery of the craft itself, but several dead bodies of the apparent extraterrestrial crew. These recoveries were made primarily by U.K. and German military teams. Even though it was over decades after the events when Branigan spoke about it to Stringfield, the researcher had the impression that he was still somewhat hesitant to reveal too much of what he knew, particularly of coded information, a term that suggests his involvement in such an intelligence-based environment was genuine. The incident remained largely unexplored until the mid-1990s when veteran researcher and investigator Nick Redfern became more actively involved in researching the case. Redfern would go back through his research files and locate a report that he suspected just might match up with the information provided by Branigan. According to the report, in the early hours of March 19, 1964, Captain E. Morrison was piloting a Boeing from New York heading to London while Captain Arbothos was piloting a DC-8 around 200 miles off Land's End. Both of them saw a strange craft appear in the sky seemingly heading directly for the United Kingdom. Morrison would state in the report how the object, which he firmly believed was not a meteor, woke up the sky in a great white flash. Both of his account was even more intriguing, claiming he saw the object explode in a big flash and trailing columns of smoke on re-entering the atmosphere. As Redfern asks in Cosmic Crashes, was this the same object Branigan was talking about? It certainly would appear so. It was, though, following a chance conversation with the founder of the Staffordshire UFO Group, Sufog Irene Botte, that things really began to open up. Following a talk Redfern gave at the Sufog Conference on September 1996, Redfern and Botte would speak privately of the incident. The conversation would result in Botte writing of the incident in the Chase Post newspaper, which in turn resulted in a man named Harold South contacting Botte out of the blue. He would claim he had details of the incident she had written of, as he was there at the scene of the downed craft. Several weeks later, in early December, Botte and Redfern would meet South at his flat. He would inform the pair that at the time he was working for Bendix washing machines in an area to the north of Canuck. On the day in question, he was driving to his next customer when he happened upon a military roadblock. With them were local police who were busy redirecting traffic away from the area. He also spotted a large RAF transport carrier landed in a field nearby. Before he had a chance to take in any more details though, he received orders that he would have to turn around and reach his destination another way. Although he was annoyed and already late, he did as he was told. At least, he did until he was a safe distance away from the roadblock. He then pulled his van to the side of the road and snuck out and headed back to the scene through the fields and woodland in order to get a closer look. When he reached the area, he could see a throng of activity as various military personnel moved back and forth over the area, while a group who South recalled as looking like scientists appeared to be intensely interested in some specific spot in the field. Carefully, he nudged himself closer so that he could get a better view. After taking a few more steps, he could clearly see the huge transporter, also noticing that it had a large trailer attached to it. However, when he looked closer at the trailer, he realized perhaps for the first time that what he was seeing was the aftermath of something truly strange. The object on the trailer was elongated somewhat, and from the parts protruding from the material covering, certainly did not resemble a plane or a helicopter. At this point, realizing the vehicle was something he should document, he raised the camera he had brought with him from his van, he was a keen photographer of trains and always carried the camera with him, and snapped picture. While he did indeed believe he had managed to capture a clear image of the scene, the sound of the camera alerted the military to his presence. Before they could react, though, South turned and ran to his van, quickly fleeing the area. After being sure he wasn't being followed, he went about his rounds once more. It was only when he returned home that he realized for him the incident was far from over. His mother greeted him almost immediately and promptly informed him that he had received a visit from the police while he was out and that he was to report to Blocks Witch police station. Apparently, someone had reported him for cutting off a motorcyclist, something he knew he had not done, not least due to the fact that he was a motorcyclist himself. With that, he made his way to the police station where he was taken into a room for questioning about the alleged incident. It wasn't long though before the talk turned to the pictures he was observed taking. Ultimately, he did not deny taking pictures, claiming that he had done nothing wrong by doing so. To this, the police simply said they wanted the film from the camera. Even more alarming to him, they had obtained a search warrant for the house where he lived with his mother. He was informed that officers told his mother that the warrant was to look for a stolen camera. She would ultimately, being naive, as South put it, give her son's camera to the police. After being at the station for around six hours, he was finally released around midnight with no charges brought against him, either for taking the photographs or for the alleged motoring offense. Around three weeks later, his camera arrived in the post, the film having been removed and replaced with new. Although South would return to the location around a month after the events, the area now showed no signs that anything untoward had taken place there, almost as if it had intentionally been cleaned up. Before South had begun speaking, he claimed he had only minutes previously received a phone call from the Ministry of Defense Police who even left a phone number for him to call them back on, something which concerned him and the two investigators somewhat, not least as the voice on the other end had specifically warned him not to speak with the pair. Ultimately, Botte would call the phone number after retrieving it by the dialing system 1471. According to Redfern's writing, it was a Midlands-based operator service controlled by the military. The woman at the other end of the line, while pleasant, was described by Redfern as cagey regarding revealing her name. What was learned, however, was that the operator system was responsible for channeling calls of several military facilities in the region, meaning they were still unsure of exactly where the call came from. Then, however, they recalled the phone number that had been given to South. With his permission, Botte called that number. They soon established that this number operated out of the Ministry of Defense Guard Service at Whittington Barracks. However, they were unable to establish much more, with the person at the other end of the line insisting that the phone call had not come from that location. Whether that was true or not, the fact that both the 1471 number and the number the South claimed was given to him during the phone call he received prior to the UFO investigator's arrival showed that the military were still very much interested and actively involved in the alleged events of March 1964 in Pengridge, and that suggested that there was indeed something to cover up. It also suggested that Redfern and Botte themselves very likely were under the watchful eye of the Ministry of Defense. Although nothing of great detail would surface following that meeting between Redfern, Botte and Harold South, Redfern would ask some intriguing questions in the aftermath. Why, for example, had it seemingly been made so easy for he and Botte to trace the military through the 1471 operating service? It could have simply withheld the number, for example, as well as through the phone number they themselves had given to South. Might it have been, as Redfern and Botte discussed, that somewhere within the Ministry of Defense there was a potential whistleblower who was looking to get little suggestions of information out by so clumsily leading the two investigators right back to the facility that seemingly placed the call? Was the warning given that they seemingly knew that South was due to speak with Redfern and Botte set up in the hope that the investigators would act exactly as they did and ring the number themselves? What we should make of the apparent crash in a quiet English town is open to debate. Although Stringfield's habit of using false names for his sources is frustrating for some researchers, generally speaking his research is widely respected, suggesting that we should probably treat the Pankridge incident as a potentially very credible case. There's also the two pilots whose reports were uncovered and brought back into the public arena by Redfern. Surely, what they witnessed resonates very nicely with the apparent claims made by Brannigan over two decades later. We might also note that Botte and Redfern believed Harold South to be a credible and honest witness, as well as appearing to have been genuinely concerned with the apparent sudden out-of-the-blue contact from the Ministry of Defense regarding his imminent meeting with the UFO investigators. If there's any truth in the claims that a vehicle from another world seemingly crashed to the ground in Pankridge and West Germany in March 1964, then we might wish to re-examine some of the many other claims of UFO crashes from around the world which span many decades right back to the start of the modern UFO era, and in turn ask just how much might be known regarding the UFO and alien question by successive governments around the world. While the Ministry of Defense maintained for some time that no UK files relating to UFOs before 1962 existed, it's obvious that that was anything but the truth. And as is the claim, they did not take UFO sightings seriously. And given the military connections of such people as Lord Mountbatten and Prince Philip, it would appear their interest in the UFO phenomena came from these files and reports made available to them upon their request. If we are to believe Sir Peter Horsley's claims, along with the claims of Dorothy Kilgallen and Frederick Briggs, then there's no doubt these sightings are the result of extraterrestrial beings. Or might the sightings have been secret military craft, possibly developed from reverse-engineered alien technology? Might such training exercises as Operation Main Brace have actually been opportunities for these crafts to go through active testing? Given the overall murkiness of the subject, it might not be surprising if we should learn one day that both theories have a degree of truth to them. Of little doubt, however, is that these UFO sightings did occur, and the UK military, much like their US and Soviet counterparts, kept a very close eye on them, much like they seemingly still do today. They were times when humans acted inhuman, executing innocent people, usually women due to superstitious fears, and it happened over several centuries. Coming up, we'll look at terrifying times of witch trials around the world and the thousands of deaths that resulted from them. Plus, a medium gives some advice and her own opinion about reaching out to past loved ones. These stories and more when Weird Darkness returns. Here it comes, my favorite part. Have you ever noticed that when George Bailey is on the bridge, it doesn't start snowing again until after he says, aww man, the power's out? No problem, because you're prepared with the Patriot power generator from four Patriots. 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Visit fourpatriots.com slash weird for the Patriot power generator, the Patriot power cell CX, and more. That's the number four Patriots.com slash weird. Among history's most notorious events, witch trials resulted in the torture and death of thousands of people, most of them women. Some of the most famous witch trials took place in 15th century France, 16th century Scotland, and 17th century America, Massachusetts specifically. In all of them, victims were wrongfully condemned as witches, often tortured and then put to death, a history that is fascinating and horrific. The notion of witchcraft, manipulation of everyday events using magic, dates back to ancient times. The 18th century BC code of Hammurabi contains penalties for witchcraft. Generally, witches could be either good or bad, practicing so-called white magic to help people or black magic to hurt people. Often, practitioners were women, whom neighbors would call on them to cure sickness, aid mothers in childbirth and recover lost objects. But women like these could also be blamed for bad events, sickness and death, storms and earthquakes, or droughts and floods. Some wielders of such powers were even worshipped as deities, as in ancient Greece. As the main Greek goddess of magic and spells, Hecoda possessed control over the earth, the heavens and the seas, and the Greek enchantress Medea helped Jason and the Argonauts acquire the golden fleece, a magical woollen coat of a flying ram. But while some of these magical practitioners were good, those who were thought to cast ungodly spells, shapeshift and pervert the laws of the heavens, elicited fear. The Bible warns against such evil, with the Book of Exodus commanding, You shall not permit a witch to live, Exodus 22 18, and Leviticus saying, A man or a woman who has a medium or who has familiar spirits shall surely be put to death. They shall stone them with stones, their blood shall be upon them. Leviticus 20 verse 27. Things did not get easier for witches in the Middle Ages. The Black Death in Europe wrought devastation and religious wars that made people believe in malevolent unnatural forces, such as witches and werewolves, where it played destroying society. Witches became an easy scapegoat for many popes, notably 15th century innocent the 8th, whose inquisitors mostly targeted women since the Church believed Eve had originated sin in the Garden of Eden. Authorities rallied citizens to ferret out the guilty in accusations of witchcraft sprang from mundane events such as petty arguments and grievances. Torture to gain confessions followed. Once the tormentor broke the victim's will, the authorities forced them to name others and then had all hanged or burned at the stake. Joan of Arc, a peasant girl living in Medieval France during the Hundred Years War, heard voices telling her to fight the English. Dressed as a warrior, she helped liberate the city of Orleans, invigorating the French troops morale. When the English later captured the 19-year-old Joan, they accused her of witchcraft and burned her at the stake in 1431. Pope Benedict XV canonized Joan in 1920, making her the only person to be condemned as a heretic and then recognized as a saint. Witchcraft in the British Isles reached some of the highest echelons in the land. Anne Boleyn, the wife of Henry VIII, for whom he broke with the Catholic Church in 1533, did not bear him the male heir he desired. Found guilty in 1536 of adultery and treason, Anne was beheaded at the Tower of London. After her execution, Anne was accused of being an 11-fingered witch, though when her remains were exhumed in the 19th century no extra digit was discovered. After Anne's death, Henry VIII created the Witchcraft Act of 1542, England's first law outlawing black magic. In Scotland, witchcraft became a crime punishable by death in 1563. Decades after its passage, King James VI of Scotland would bring vast death to the British Isles in the 1590s when his obsession with black magic began one of Europe's worst witch hunts. When his bride, Princess Anne of Denmark, sailed to Scotland to marry James, a tempest battered her ship. The king blamed witches and rounded up people in North Berwick, Scotland, where inquisitors used torture to extract confessions. Among the arrested unfortunates was midwife Agnes Sampson. Examiners shoved into her mouth a scolds bridle with four sharp prongs and forced her to admit to trying to kill the king. Strangulation followed, making her one of about 70 people killed in this event that went on to inspire the three witches and Shakespeare's Scottish play Macbeth. In North America, English colonies also held their own witchcraft trials, most famously in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1692, several girls there began having violent fits. The local doctor diagnosed bewitchment and they were brought to trial. The ensuing mass hysteria saw suspicious and resentful neighbors, mostly young females aged 11 to 20, accusing one another of being witches, resulting in the trials of at least 150 people with a little recourse, including a four-year-old girl. Many were forced to pay fines and make a public apology, while some were jailed for months and tortured. 19 ended up being hung and another pressed to death. The Massachusetts general court later annulled the guilty verdicts, but that did little to assuage the affected families and resentment and bitterness lingered for centuries. Anna Gouldy worked for a family as a domestic servant in Glaris, Switzerland. They accused her of causing one of their daughters to vomit metallic objects. Gouldy was executed in 1782 and she holds the unenviable distinction of being the last person killed for witchcraft in Europe. In 2008 local authorities cleared her of all charges and in 2017 the town opened a museum dedicated to her and the period. Witchcraft trials on both sides of the Atlantic began to die out after the 18th century, for the most part, though what was deemed the second Salem witch trials took place as late as May 14, 1878 when a Christian scientist was accused of hypnotism. Not all witches were women. A follower of Mary Baker Eddy of the Christian scientists, Daniel Spofford, helped heal a 50-year-old invalid Lucretia Brown who spined and been injured as a child. At first Brown claimed Christian science had healed her, but when she relapsed she accused Spofford of using mesmerism or hypnotism to negatively affect her health. The trial became Salem's last witchcraft trial, taking place May 14, 1878, nearly two centuries after the original witchcraft hysteria. The judge dismissed the case. Belief in witchcraft persists even into the 20th century. During World War II, New Forest Coven, a group of alleged witches gathered at Highcliff by the Sea England to cast a spell on Adolf Hitler on August 1, 1940. Modern wicca founder, Gerald Gardner wrote his 1954 book Witchcraft Today on how the group's goal was to cast a spell to protect the British Isles from the invading Nazis. Their ritual, as recounted by Gardner, became known as Operation Cone of Power. Around the world today, fears about witchcraft and supernatural powers have not completely faded. In the United States, the satanic panic of the 1980s and 90s stirred up baseless conspiracy theories and accusations of black magic ritual abuse across the country. In the early 2000s, fears of witchcraft instigated violence and death in countries like Papua New Guinea and Nigeria. As science continues to progress and superstition falls away, perhaps the fears of modern-day witches will truly become a thing of the past. The following is a post from Charlene Io Kemp's Paranormal Hauntings blog. I think a good portion of people are generally interested in the paranormal because of their own grief. I think it's a field people turn to to find what they've lost. I've always had an interest in all things spooky and mysterious, but until I lost my dad, that was when I really started to venture into the unknown. I suppose part of us is still searching for the answer. Are my loved ones still around? What truly happens when we die? When we die, is that really it? The end? Some of us may know in our hearts that our loved ones are still around. Some of you may have had experiences to prove they are, but some of you may not really truly be sure and you seek that evidence in order to find the answer. However, some people never really do and leave broken. I've come to realize the grief really has no end. You just become used to a life without that person. However, the pain never lessens. Simple things can trigger your grief, like for instance, I was triggered clearing my dad's vinyls from the attic this week. What we need to remember is grief has no timeline. It's always with us, but we can't let the emotion consume us all the time, and that's the hard part. I have my own theory about contact with our loved ones when they pass, and whether you choose to take my theory on board is completely up to you reading this. My theory is that when a person passes, they have a 30-day window to let you know they're okay. These signs could take form in many ways, but generally, it would be something that makes you know that it's probably them. It's a gut instinct. So an electrical device may start playing up, a song will come on the radio as you turn it on, a white feather may appear, or even a robin. You may even have things move, hear their voice for a moment, or have what you think is a dream where they tell you they're okay. It can be the smallest of things, and they are what you need to look out for. I then think they have to move on. I don't know where they move on to, most of us like to think heaven, but I think they have to let go of us as much as we have to let go of them. I do believe, though, we can, when we need them, pull them back here to provide us comfort, but I think it's only when they feel we really do need them. A typical example of this could be people who have a near-death experience who see relatives and tell them it's not time and send them back. Mediums often get people messaging me after losing a family member to see if I can come around to see if their loved one is okay. I always tell them that there's no promise that their loved one may come in, and that's important to remember. I've witnessed numerous people go to mediums countless times when they're in their early stages of grief, and even though to some degree some mediums may be able to give some comfort to you, just be cautious. If they're asking for a lot of money for a reading or want personal information from you prior, then don't go with them. I've found the best mediums charge very little, if anything at all, and they're normally the ones who are not that well-known. Also, don't become addicted to going to see a medium. I've seen people book weekly readings with mediums and treat them as if they're a telephone to the other side, and if a medium is allowing you to do this, they're probably playing on your vulnerability, and it's more than likely you're just their income. Don't be taken in by ghost hunters, either. I believe some in the community very much play on people's vulnerability to gain their very much needed income, if it seems like entertainment, it's because it is. The Wind Phone, Japan, A More Psychological Grieving Approach I recently saw a documentary which mentioned in Japan they have what's called the Wind Phone. The concept is beautiful, it's about bridging a gap between life and death. One day, a man called Sasaki Aituru installed a phone box in the garden of his house at the foot of Kujiro Yama, just next to the city of Otsuchi, one of the places worst hit by the tsunami on March 11, 2011. He lost his cousin suddenly when the tsunami hit, and the wind phone helped him cope with the loss. He realized he missed conversations with his cousin and often went to contact his cousin to realize there was no point. His loneliness and grief made him put a phone outside, disconnected. He went outside to the telephone box to let his experiences out. Sasaki explains it as he let his voice pass through the wind. I have to wonder if he feels by letting his voice pass through the wind that his cousin may somehow receive the message he's trying to pass to him. Sasaki describes the experience as being mindfulness, but I can't help but feel a bit of his spirituality as coming out in what he's trying. The wind phone has had over 35,000 people visit it a year since 2011, and a lot leave feeling some kind of peace. Getting to the wind phone is an exercise in itself, with beautiful scenery and a place to really lose yourself in nature. Then when you reach the phone, it's disconnected, but you can pick up the receiver and say things you really need to say. It's proved so effective we might at some point see wind phones in the UK and Poland. How many times have you experienced something during the day, and you just wish that you could pick up the phone and tell that someone you're missing all about it? But we don't, because we know if we dial that number, they're not there to answer. We would feel silly even trying. The wind phone obviously works on a good imagination. Psychologically, it really is good, and it's a personal exercise to let out emotions that eat us up so much in the privacy of a telephone box, but it proves it helps. It's also a place where people can come together and talk about their stories and how they're feeling, and I think really during the grieving process what we really need to do is just talk. Gangsters, they were gritty, tough, terrifying. You never wanted to cross them in even the slightest way, but on occasion they could be a bit odd, eccentric, even downright bizarre in some of their actions and ways of thinking. Not that I would ever point that out to them to their face. We'll look at a few freaky facts from the mysterious mafia when Weird Darkness returns. Central Massachusetts is a land of oddities and apparitions. Stories of the strange and paranormal have been passed down from generation to generation, and only the local populace has any idea of just how vast and deep their superstitions run. The world around you is much more than you can touch, taste, smell, see, and hear. Some of the stories are funny, some are sad, but all of them give you a taste of what it's like to be from the oddest part of the United States. You can't have a region of the country that has been settled for centuries without getting a few odd tales out of it. Open up a whole new world of fact and fiction that'll leave you with a deep appreciation for the strange and bizarre ghosts and heroes await, and the only thing they need to live on is you, slightly odd Fitchburg, by Ed Sweeney, now available on Kindle, paperback, and audiobook versions on the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com. Gangsters, you love to hate them or love to love them in the movies. Wise guys and mob bosses living on the fringes of society are a staple of American cinema, and let's face it, who doesn't love a good mafia movie? But the real people who inspired our favorite movies were even stranger than fiction. From a prohibition king's troubling childhood jealousies to the founder of modern Las Vegas' poor attempts at hair-related voodoo, these men proved throughout history that the best story to tell is always the true one. Charlie Lucky Luciano was one of the lawless kings of his time and remained so even after his eventual deportation. Various biographers have struggled to sum up his life, and in doing so, numerous colorful stories of varying levels of truth have cropped up about the man. One story about how he dodged the draft in World War I is perhaps the most bizarre. At the age of 19, Luciano was petrified that his finances would be lost should he be shipped overseas. In an attempt to dodge the draft, his friends advised him that a hardy case of the clap should do the trick and allow him to stay at home. At first, Luciano strongly resisted the idea, telling his friends in no uncertain terms what they could do to themselves. Eventually, his young friend Bugsy Siegel convinced him and pointed him in the direction of a lady of the evening. And so Luciano avoided the draft, though at a painful cost. Benjamin Bugsy Siegel was larger than life, and is perhaps the second most well-known figure in the 20th century American underworld. As the guy who created the idea of Las Vegas as we know it, Siegel's exploits up until his demise in 1947 were the stuff of movies. As with Luciano, many biographers have tried to capture his story, and various accounts of the man have cropped up over the years. One anecdote from the pulpy biography We Only Kill Each Other stands out as a particularly weird story. Siegel was obsessed with his looks and, as a result, worried when his hairline began to thin. Reportedly, he once cut off a lock of another man's hair, went home and burned the hair in some sort of attempt to use magic to get his own hair to thicken. This, of course, did not work. Siegel's hair continued too thin as the other man's stayed thick. This particular story is never cropped up in any of the film or television shows that feature Siegel as a character. Most likely because it's almost too bizarre, even for a man who was as showy as Vegas itself. The weirdest legend about the life of John Dillinger is already been put on screen in nearly every biopic centered on the famous bank robber. While incarcerated, Dillinger managed to escape custody, passing armed guards with the help of his own weapon. A block of wood carved to look like a gun. It's almost too good to be true. After all, how did he fool so many people with what was essentially a theatrical prop? Still, Dillinger was able to escape federal custody somehow, and if there's an alternate explanation, many history buffs don't want to hear it. Dillinger's escape is better than fiction and has secured itself a place in American folklore. One of the most notorious figures in American history, Al Capone, cut a swath through Chicago up until his trial in 1931 for tax fraud. Interestingly enough, Capone was never convicted of murder. Capone's story has been captured in books, films and television with the frightening mantle of Scarface thrown around due to three scars on his face from a bar fight he had with an insulted woman's brother. However, Capone never liked that nickname, Scarface. In fact, most of his friends called him Snorky. Snorky was slang for a well-dressed gentleman, so it's not a bad nickname, but considering Capone's cruelty, it does seem like an odd choice, and one that has also not graduated to Capone's silver screen presence. Maybe the next biopic will name-drop his nickname of choice. By and large, Al Capone is considered a historical tough guy, however, there was at least one time when that reputation backfired. According to contemporary news reports, Capone was getting out of a car when the gun he always carried on his person discharged and he shot himself in the groin. Apparently, that was not the only time he accidentally shot himself, either. His cat, he says, Capone had another accident with a piece stored in his golf bag. Of course, mistakes happen to everyone who has not tripped over their own feet or embarrassed themselves. Still, when you're one of history's most famous outlaws, shooting yourself in the groin proves that you're still human. Savvy TV viewers might already be fairly knowledgeable about Arnold Rothstein courtesy of Michael Stolberg's work on Boardwalk Empire, but for those of you who are new to the mobster game, Rothstein is considered the father of the mob as we know it. Known as the Big Brain, Rothstein is perhaps most infamous for fixing the 1919 World Series. Most notably, he was also a king of prohibition and was behind a great deal of New York's bootlegging empire in the roaring 20s. But, interestingly enough, Rothstein himself was a teetotaler, refraining from ever drinking alcohol. Instead, his drink of choice was milk. He drank a huge quantity of milk. He also frequently suffered from stomach trouble, leading biographers to wonder if perhaps the man was lactose intolerant. Rothstein's childhood contains an even stranger anecdote. He suffered from extreme jealousy as a child, believing that everyone loved his brother more than him. When his mother took his siblings out of the city to visit relatives, Rothstein's father found him sobbing in a closet, saying everybody loved his brother and no one loved him. He was also reported in the biography, Rothstein, that his childhood jealousy nearly bubbled over into violence. Rothstein's father apparently once found him hovering over his brother's bed with a knife, with full intention to do harm to his brother. While nothing happened, it is enough to send a chill up the spine imagining a young Rothstein on a mission to do away with a perceived threat. Mickey Cohen was Los Angeles' pint-sized capone. He took over Los Angeles' scene following the demise of his mentor, Bugsy Siegel. Cohen hopped in and out of jail, returning to his home city following each release to continue his unlawful activities. While lesser known than some of his contemporaries, he was just as vicious as they were, ruling the L.A. scene with an iron fist. He was also a devoted father to his dog, Tuffy. The dog was perhaps even more beloved than Cohen's wife. Cohen was so devoted to his pup that he even built a miniature version of his own bed for the dog to sleep on. The dog proved to be as hardy as his own or two when a bomb took out part of Cohen's house, Tuffy was unharmed, as were Cohen and his wife. And Meyer Lansky, another of Siegel's and Luciano's cronies, managed to avoid the fates of his counterparts. He was never jailed, despite the U.S. government chasing him and managed to live until he was 80 years old. Unlike Luciano and Siegel, he tended to avoid showboating and celebrity. It's most likely why he was able to live to such a ripe old age. However, he did receive one odd tribute. One rapper affiliated with the group Wu Tang Clan goes by the stage name My Lansky in honor of this man. It's hard to say whether Lansky would have liked having a member of the Wu Tang Clan named after him, but it's a surprising tribute to one of the underworld's quietest members. Thanks for listening and be sure to stick around for the bloopers at the end. If you liked the show, please share it with someone you know who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters or unsolved mysteries like you do. You can email me anytime with your questions or comments at darren at WeirdDarkness.com. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find information on any of the sponsors you heard about during the show, find all my social media, listen to audiobooks I've narrated, sign up for the email newsletter, find other podcasts that I host, including Church of the Undead, visit the store for Weird Darkness merchandise and more. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on Tell Your Story. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. All stories on Weird Darkness are purported to be true, unless stated otherwise, and you can find links to the stories or the authors in the show notes. The Secrets of Room 801 is by Marcus Louth for UFO Insight. Deadly Witch Panics Through the Ages is by Daniel S. Levy for Science of the Supernatural Magazine from the September 2019 issue. Grief, The Paranormal and the Wind Phone is by Charlene I.O. Kemp for Paranormal Haunting's blog. And Freak Facts from Organized Crime is by Kate Gardner for Unspeakable Crimes. Weird Darkness is a registered trademark. Copyright, Weird Darkness. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Romans 10, verses 9 and 10. If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. And a final thought. Nobody's perfect. We make mistakes. We say the wrong things. We do wrong things. We fall. We get up. We learn. We grow. We move on. We live. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. Not only was the Ministry of Defense very much interested in UFOs, they were very much interested in UFOs. They were actually very much interested in UFOs. They were actively investigating and cataloging according to the captain of the ship. Rumor was rife that President Eisenhower and the Greek Enchantress Gouldy was exposed. Gouldy was executed in 1782, and she holds the under... I do believe, though, we can when we need... I do believe, though, we can when we need... I do believe, though, we can when we need them pull back here... I do believe, though, we can when we need them pull them back here to provide us comfort. The wind phone has had over 35,000 people. The wind phone has had over 35,000 people visit it a year since 2011, and a lot... The wind phone has had over 35,000 people a year visit since 2011, and a lot leave... Dang, Nabbit.