Hidden Lives Among Us

Have you ever stood in the middle of a street or busy sidewalk and saw someone standing or walking down the pavement who looked different from the crowd as if they did not belong there? Perhaps it was their clothing or mannerisms that felt as if they stepped out of another era. Then you try to take another look and suddenly the figure is gone. But you know what you saw and no other explanations are needed. If you have ever experienced what I talking about then please do your research on the surrounding area. You may not have known it but you might have stumbled on to an old burial ground.

I am of the school of thought that even though the body is only a vehicle that we shed when we eventually pass away, your essence is still lingering on to that former shell of your self. Even when the body gets cremated. It's what I call soul imprints. Depending on the individual, they might have moved on but something of their former self leaves an invisible residue behind. This is why when we touch books, old toys or clothing we still feel something of the person who it belonged to. 

When we are at the end of our journey we hope that we will have a final resting place for our loved ones to visit and remember us by but in a changing world where the living keeps building and moving, that wish crumbles to dust and lays buried along with the hopes and dreams that went with us into the next world whereever that may be. Often whole cemeteries and records get shifted and relocated but there is room for error and sadly one or two souls are left and forgotten only to be discovered later and regiven a decent burial. One such incident that made headlines was the story of three year old Edith Cook whose coffin was found when a couple was renovating their home. You could still see her delicate blond features through the glass coffin and the dried lavender sprigs entwined in her hair. It took months of research and going over old records to give the little face a name but they finally succeeded even to the point where they were able to contact her living decendants still living in Marin. As belonging to the order of  Odd Fellows I was lucky enough to be present at her reburial and I was wondering how her parents would have felt to know that their little darling was being remembered and honored all over again. How many more Ediths are laying among us undiscovered still while we go about our busy lives. 

There is a saying that what ever place you go to or reside in, be the soul of that place. If we could take a few moments to feel our surroundings and appreciate what has gone before us then perhaps our lives will be much more enhanced and we will start to notice details that we may have over looked other wise. Those shadows and quick glimpses of other faces that pass us are not a figment of our imagination. They are the lives that have gone before us. Still dreaming and hoping somewhere among the ethers.

I will talk to you all on the air tomorrow night. Happy New Year.

A Glimpse Of Other Realities

A year ago when my host Anthony approached me about starting this radio show I was not greatly surprised at the opportunity. After all the spirit world has been knocking on my door since I was a child and I always saw the world a little differently than most people. The only difference was that I was going to be talking about it weekly and everything I had felt and learned about the supernatural I could express with experience and relay it to the subject being discussed. Except for when I did my readings as a medium, I mostly tried to hide that side of my self  but now I was going to talk openly to the public and it was being encouraged. It took a while to get used to it but when something is meant to be,things fall into place and this show was no exception.

One of the questions I get all the time is if I am more open minded since researching all these controversial subjects or more of a skeptic, and my answer is both. By that I mean I realize that incidents do happen in the real world that defy fiction. I have witnessed it myself. When you are in the middle of it and you have to describe it, of course it is going to look foolish or out of sorts to others who were not there. It is outside the normal scope of  the every day world. But this is all the more reason to report it and get it documented whenever possible. We are constantly making new discoveries and opening doors. On the other hand, you can't be gullible and believe just anything that comes your way. You have to research it first and prove that this not what it looks like. The good side of that is for once it's good to be wrong.

When Ecto Portal first started I always told the listeners that I wanted this to be a safe forum for those who have something to talk about that goes beyond the normal way of looking at the world. We have had ghost investigators, psychics, mediums, UFO witnesses, witches, vampires, Thelemites and mystics on our show and I am interested in talking to more. I want to hear from the listeners your experiences, your hopes and what you think would be a good subject to cover. We try to seek out that which is hidden and bring it to the light. It takes the mystery out of what is known as the occult. But there will always be something out there that is secret and not often talked about. Perhaps we will find it and you will hear it on our show first.

I will speak to you all on the air tonight.

COULD I HAVE LIVED A PAST LIFE?

Have you ever given serious thought to "Have I lived before?"

The idea alone is fascinating and when you consider the possibilities, the imagination wanders.  I do know from reading any number of periodicals over the years or watching documentaries and specials on the topic, that some of the possible leading traits are "Do I have any characteristics in my own life that seem very strong and I have no explanation for, or even memories or visions of things over and over that have no direct connection to you in any way?"  I can say in answer to this, I do have a couple.

The first "trait" as I will call it, is a high regard to paper, to writing things down and copying things down, always having writing paper or notebooks around me at all times.  In fact I find myself in the past even hoarding notebooks and paper so that I would never be without it.  Is this some kind of indication that I had a job or position that dealt with writing, paper or dictation?  Or maybe archiving?  And archiving leads to my second "trait."

Archiving is something I have always done since I was little.  I am the one that preserves personal videos with friends, or saves pictures of all experiences.  I catalog, date and preserve.  Why am I so compulsive in this particular fashion?  I am an avid video collector and seek to preserve anything that might be rare or disappearing, sometimes even to the point of "just in case it might vanish."  Again, compulsive archiving is at the forefront of my existence sometimes.

One last "trait" that I can recall is a dream since I was small of an old cottage or cabin in the woods, long grown over.  Later in life I returned to the same cabin and found only the foundation of the structure, but it was still the same cabin, in the same place.  Was this maybe where I lived at some point in time?  I have never lived or resided in a cabin in my current lifetime.  Why do I keep returning to my old homestead, is somebody there that I am expecting to find?  Are they waiting for me?  Were they waiting for me and I never returned?

I am not saying this is past life traits, but I have had them long enough and strong enough to ponder the idea and consider, if we have lived before, do we carry small traits and quirks with us that seem to cling to our souls and spill out into our new lives and physical bodies? 

The topic of reincarnation and past lives is an interesting topic even if you do not believe in such things do to personal reasons, or religious.  Who might we have been in the past? Or even the future for that matter?  Will I carry forth traits I have from this life into the next?

I do find it puzzling that so many people who claim to have "lived a past life", seem to announced they were someone famous or of significant important in our world, I find the odds of this the same as somebody you know being famous or a celebrity now, probably even less.  Why can't someone be a cobbler instead of Cleopatra?  Or a shoe maker rather than King Henry VIII?  I think this might be where the imagination can dangerously take over and the individual then believes or makes themselves believe in anything and everything.

Anthony Anderson

Join us tonight as we cover the topic "REINCARNATION AND PAST LIVES"
at www.fccfreeradio.com on Wednesday April 5, 2017 8-10PM Pacific Time Studio 1A or you can download complete podcast right afterwards at 10pm.

Check out our weekly PARANORMAL NEWS on YouTube here.

 

 

When Art Brings Out The Shadow Side Of Ourselves

When we hear about creations that are popular in our society such as Slenderman and the story on how a character went so far as to influence these 12 year old girls to stab their friend, we begin to wonder what type of creations is infilterating the minds of our youth these days where media and virtual reality is every where. Perhaps the artist who created him did not realize that what of creation he was tapping into and how far it would go. This is not the first time in history that art has influenced the times and made a strong impact. throughout history it was the artists who created a whole movement to speak out against society and injustice, from the Renaissance masters to the pre Rapaelites, Daidasm in the early 20th century and the Punk Rock movement of which I was a witness during the 70's and early 80's.

But what happens when a creation goes too far so as to de sensitize our youth and bring out the worse in them so as to commit acts of murder and destruction? We all look to art in the visual form and written word to uplift us and bring us to a centered place in our souls. But there are sides of our sub concious that we don't normally want to look at. Everyone has a dark side.We just tend to keep it in balance with the rest of our complex personalities. How over something is missing in the framework of our society when people turn to creations of characters that are nightmarish in nature and seem to be an archetype that keeps popping up in different cultures. I grew up with dark characters on TV like those on the Twilight zone and those created for the movies. Some of them originated from books, or historical myths. The only difference was that we knew it was not real and as soon as it was over we went on with our lives and we did not dwell on such things  However there are people with an extreme degree of sensitivity who cannot handle anything to do with the dark or horror side that brings out our worse fears. Those people tend to have nightmares for days when exposed to this type of art. But there is a difference between being extra sensitive and being excessively impressionable. When you are influenced so as to copy what you see without thinking about the consequences then the fabric of your being has torn a hole and needs to be repaired. I'm not saying that this is the fault of the artist who created this character. In fact I wish he could come on the show and tell his side of the story. But it's the side of our culture that has led to such extreme acts of the shadow side so as to de sensitize our youth with violence and characters whose whole makeup is of violence and dark paths that leave no room for light.

I appreciate it when art tells the truth, Even the truth that is not so  good in our lives. But how far do we go when we see creations giving our young minds ideas that are dark and destructive? That is why communication is so important and also keeping the arts alive so that they can also be exposed to the beauty of this world and of ourselves.  What does this have to do with the paranormal? Alot. It's the spirit in art and humanity that keeps creating it's self again and again.With art we look beyond the surface of our selves and into our dreams. Characters like Slenderman are the result of what is going on in our psyche and it will continue into the decades and next century. But we must keep looking and creating to keep our dreams alive.

Don't Follow Me

I love it when people first start investigating.They learn a lot about what lies beyond and their sensitivity heightens. I watch them grow and they suddenly become a student s learning about life, death, and histories. It makes our own more interesting, and it also helps us to learn about our family stories and try to find that spirit connection we have with both ancestors and recent descendants.

But in following the path of mediums, and seekers of the paranormal there are pitfalls along the way. They need not be pit falls if only we take precautions, but often times when a group I am working with starts to investigate the evidence after a visit somewhere with lots of spirit activity, similar voices or photos will show up and that person will recognize them. I often hear oh I know who that is, they are attached to me and they come up every where. Or I hear: Oh the same spirits surround me all the time and they live in my home with me.

Now lets get a few things straightened out here. We can't be totally free of spirit presences. They are all among us whether we like it or not.Old buildings, houses and places of concentrated activity where a lot of events happened guarantees this and it's natural that they walk among us. However there is a difference on who visits you and whether they are good for you or not. Your deceased parent who is watching over you and comes to look in on you every now and then are good to have around. That is what love is about. It follows us even unto death and it's a warm feeling. We are watched, protected and assured that someday we will be united. How ever lets say that you decided to visit an old hotel and you slept in the room of a former resident and that ghost is still hanging around and takes a fancy to you. He or she decides that your life is more varied and fun than their stale existance so they decide to go home with you and they stay there. Suddenly they are every where you go and pretty soon they start showing up on all the photos even the family ones and you start to know their voice and even recognize it at odd moments. That's when it gets sticky and you have what is known as an attachment. Don't be content with it, Get rid of who ever is there. They do not belong with you. It is like letting a stalker follow you or a stranger in your house. Would you allow that to happen? Of course not. So do the right thing and whenever you visit a place where you are observing spirit presences, be friendly and respectful but always say to them: DO NOT FOLLOW ME. And when you get home please smudge your self or take a bath with sea salt and if you are ever browsing a store that sells supplies for spiritual practices, buy a container of bath crystals that contain an oil with Dragon's Blood. It's an herb made from the resin of a plant found in Indonesia. It's powerful stuff and it will cleanse all that auric residue left over. The incense is good too but the bath really feels wonderful and it helps you feel so clear again.

The idea is that we want to be clean vessels with a clear space where only our energy and thoughts are our own and not influenced by energies around us. When a spirit presence clings in an unhealthy manner, you feel drained, your thoughts are often muddled or unclear. You can't sleep well. (Likewise with people who are alive and are too clingy and needy. They make you feel the same way.)

So what it means to be a clean vessel is that your energy is lighter,cleaner,clearer. Your creativity and sensitive side is heightened. You attract spiritual experiences of a higher nature and this in turn makes you even better when it comes to discerning paranormal experiences. You are able to make sense of what is going around you without a lot of interference. Staying clear and meditation,grounding and prayer work are good for keeping this type of balance.

Remember there are lots of lost souls out there. Of course we feel for them and we do care, but your life is meant to be your own destiny. Just wish them well and go live your life. On your terms only.

I look forward to expanding this subject with everyone on the air.

THE LEGEND OF AMITYVILLE HORROR

I recall when the original novel came out, my first exposure to "The Amityville Horror" story, was borrowing a hardcover book from a good friend in Junior High School in early 1980.  I realize now in hindsight, that the book had actually been published back in September, 1977, but in those days word of mouth traveled slower. The film came out in July of 1979 and this of course fueled further sales of the book.   I recall the cover, black with a flies on the cover and the title in white and red lettering. "Have you read this yet?  This is a true story and very scary." This was the same comment I had heard from a number of other kids my age. I had the chance and I began to read the novel, believing everything, even before I began reading.  On the cover alone it told me in red letters "A True Story," so it must be.

I have a strong memory when I was reading this novel, not until May 1980, of sitting on a large rock after school, located in a playing field behind the school itself.  It was May 19, 1980.  A few people here and there, not sure why I was there reading and not at home, maybe waiting for someone or something around school.  I was well into the novel, and could not put it down, I had to know what was terrifying this family in Long Island, New York, a place that seemed a world away to me.

Off in the distance I could see a large black cloud of ash and smoke that was growing closer and larger, from Mt. St Helens, that had erupted earlier that day in Washington State.  I had no idea it would travel this far, but it was and it was engulfing the skies above me.  Not affected from my standpoint, I continued reading the novel.

     I had so many questions after reading the book, what could make walls bleed?  How does a marching band vanish in the house in the middle of the night, much less appear out of nowhere.  The psychology of George Lutz and his mood swings that shifted the longer they lived in the house were very well documented and fascinating.  Jodi, the playmate of Missy the little girl, this was a terrifying image, surely induced nightmares.  I was done reading it quickly and wondered how a family could flee from their house, leaving all their possessions behind in the night.  What about all those flies in the sewing room?

 I wanted to know more, and then discovered another book on the subject by Hans Holzer, called "Murder In Amityville," which covered the story before the Lutz's moved in, with Ronald DeFeo, who shot and killed his entire family one night and claimed the voices told him to do it.

The film followed and made the rounds soon after, which I found disappointing in comparison to the book.  Maybe all of the claims the Lutz's made seemed more plausible and believable in the novel and just didn't translate to the screen.  The one thing that does stand out is Jodi the pig and those glowing red eyes through the upstairs window.

George and Kathy Lutz also had issues with the film and the changes that were made for the film version (1979) and was based on a script from a television writer, since the studio rejected the one written by the book's author, Jay Anson.  You sign on the dotted line to adapt your "True Story" into a film, you must have some idea that if might not come out as you would expect.

 The film did very well (the critics hated it but it was the most successful independent film at the time) and of course a sequel was made, "Amityville Horror II: The Possession" (1982), which was a prequel of sorts as it covered the DeFeo murders in the house.  The film was not all that good and again, didn't seem to resemble the true crime that did occur with that family.

The third film came out "Amityville 3-D" (1983) and was absolutely terrible, and involved Tony Roberts moving into the house and horror hilarity ensues (flies attacking, whatnot, hole in the basement to God knows where).  The story was weak and the 3-D was possibly the worst that had ever been made for any film in history.

Since the third film was such a letdown, the possibilities continued instead on the small screen, in the form of a TV Movie called "Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes." Items are sold from the famous house in a yard sale, and Patty Duke buys a strange tree-shaped lamp and takes it home, horror hilarity ensues.  What can one expect from a haunted lamp and Patty Duke on television?

The films based on this original story are still coming out to this day with the latest being "Amityville: The Awakening."  Family moves into the house and are haunted in dreams and discover they are in the infamous "Amityville Horror" house, and like with all these sequels, haunted hilarity ensues.

One thing I did find interesting, for those that question if the original Lutz story had any reference of truth, might think about this one sentence: Due to a lawsuit between the Lutz family and Dino De Laurentiis over the story line which did not involve the Lutz family, Amityville 3-D was not called a sequel.  It seems, even though Part 3 was not based on their story in any way, they were still negotiating for money and rights well beyond their own adapted saga.

 Even in 2005 with the remake of "The Amityville Horror" starring Ryan Reynolds, it seems George was still involved in some capacity: George Lutz described the 2005 remake as "drivel" and sued the makers for defamation, libel, and breach of contract. He objected particularly to the scene in the film where the male lead – named as George Lutz and played by Ryan Reynolds – is shown killing the family dog with an axe. The film also shows the George Lutz character building coffins for members of his own family. The defamation claim was dismissed by a Los Angeles court in November 2005, while other issues related to the lawsuit remained unresolved at the time of George Lutz's death.

Other interesting facts about the rights of the story found on Wikipedia:

George Lutz registered the phrase The Amityville Horror as a trademark in 2002, and it is referred to as The Amityville Horror™ on his official website. Lutz claimed that the film producers embellished or fabricated events portrayed in the 1979 version and the 2005 remake. He also claimed that the producers of the 2005 film did not involve his family, and that they used his name without permission.

Who is to say how long the world will endure endless films and television series and specials, based on this house in the future.  One has to ask when does fact end and fiction pick up, or is the line blurred when people recounted their stories, one man's small experience could become another's terrifying ordeal when retold to another.


What do I believe on the Amityville Horror case? Tune in tonight to Ecto Portal to find out!

Anthony Anderson

A Tale Of A Wedding Dress

When I was in my early 20's I was in a band where we liked to dress and used imagery to express our selves. We were considered goth but at the time goth was not a term used to describe a music genre. I was influenced by the silent films I saw and I decided that for our first show at the On Broadway where we played with groups with names like "Beast" "Black Dolls" and "Fade To Black" I was not going to wear your typical black clothing but appear in a long white dress and look like the gothic images of ghosts and female vampires I saw in those old horror movies. So being new to San Francisco I decided to shop for an old dress in the Haight area. At that time thrift and vintage stores had more affordable items. You could find something unique on a budget and it would last you for years if you did not end up selling it or giving it away. I came across a store called Ardvarks. While going through racks of long dresses, I pulled out a faded white crepe dress that looked like it was from the Victorian period. It looked barely worn and in good shape except one flaw. It had dried blood stains on it. I wondered why such a garment that looked like it was out of a gothic novel was doing hanging among old prom dresses and colorful bridesmaids outfits so I decided to ask a store employee. The guy who worked there merely shrugged at my question and told me that it was found in an attic of a Victorian house and that was all he knew. I decided it would look striking on stage so I paid 12 dollars for it and took it home.

Like many dresses from that period it was a very small size but as I have always been on the thin side, I had no problem fitting into it. I felt so feminine and regal when I put it on while I was getting ready to go on stage except for one problem. I was freezing in it and I felt an icy cold presence around me that I couldn't shake off. Being a thin crepe dress and my tendency to get cold, I should have expected it. Except this was no ordinary type of cold. It felt like a cold presence walking around me. Several friends and my band mates noticed this and remarked on it. They were not the type of individuals who sensed these things right away (with the exception of my sister and my friend Sara.) but they felt this one keenly and it gave them the creeps. It ended up that I only wore the dress twice. Once for a photo session and once for the show I bought it for. But that is not where the story ends. Like many items I rarely wear, it ended up in my closet in a box. But the ice cold presence did not go away. It would walk by me when I least expected it and at night my room mate and I heard soft knocks and what sounded like a slight tapping. At times it went on for a while and finally my room mate requested I give the dress away. How she connected the noise with the dress, I don't know but she was very adamant that it was the cause of the disturbance and the interesting part was that she was right. I knew I was never going to wear it again so I was not bothered much about giving it up. I sold it to a vintage store who was thrilled to have such a beautiful time piece in their collection. After this the cold presence was no longer felt and the knocks stopped too. I often thought about who wore this dress and what really happened. Did she die before she became a bride? Was there a terrible accident? I will never know the answer to those questions. But it does make me wonder how many other mysteries in Old San Francisco remain unsolved. Their stories are important and if I was investigating them more closely as I am doing now, I would go back and try to find out more.

May their souls be at peace during the season of light. We will tell more stories tonight on the air.

Photo of me when I was with a group called Children Of Night in 1982 wearing the famous wedding dress by Bob Shattuck.