Canadian Prime Minister Consults Ghost Dogs

Article:

William Lyon MacKenzie King (1874-1950), Canada’s 10th and longest serving Prime Minister was a devoted dog owner in life and in death.While active in politics King had an achingly dull public image, which was certainly at odds with the goings-on in his private life. What the Canadian populace wasn’t aware of was his séances, his consultations with spiritual mediums, table-rapping sessions, tea-leaf readings and communing with the spirits of the likes of former PM Wilfrid Laurier, his long-deceased mother, and of course his dear ghost dog, Pat. That he owned and frequently used both a Ouija board and a crystal ball was published in Time Magazine in 1953, news that shocked the nation. Rampant rumours circulated about King’s oddities, some true, most false. That King had Pat stuffed by a taxidermist so that the little dog would always be by his side turned out to be untrue. King’s detailed diary entries, published after his death in 1950 revealed that King consulted the dead Pats during these séance sessions in manners of international political policy, conscription, and Liberal Party Leadership.

King, obsessed with death and the afterlife, often expressed his wish to communicate with the living after he died, just as he hoped to be reunited forever in the spirit world with his three Pats; “we shall all be together in the Beyond,” he wrote, “of that I am perfectly sure”.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 30, 2019 - Comments (2)
Category: Communications, Eccentrics, Government, Officials, New Age, Paranormal, Dogs, Twentieth Century

Compelled by jasmine to shoplift

Shirley Cromartie was working as a housekeeper at President Nixon's Key Biscayne retreat when, in 1971, she was arrested for shoplifting. She admitted to the crime but insisted that it hadn't been her fault. She explained that a mysterious woman wearing a wig had approached her in the store's parking lot, asked her the time, and had then released a "jasmine-like scent" from her left hand. Cromartie immediately fell into a trance, and the woman instructed her to steal four dresses, which Cromartie proceeded to do.

A medical expert testified that he believed Cromartie was telling the truth.

The Philadelphia Inquirer - Oct 23, 1971

An odd story. But what are we to make of it? There's a couple of possible theories:

Theory 1: Ms. Cromartie got caught shoplifting and made up a b.s. story to explain away her actions.

Theory 2: She was totally nuts.

Theory 3: She had an encounter with an extraterrestrial! UFOlogist John Keel, author of The Mothman Prophecies, advanced this theory. He speculated that the mysterious, wig-wearing woman was actually a "woman in black" (the female counterpart of a "man in black"). He noted that "Women in Black" cases often describe them as wearing wigs, and the aliens are fond of asking people what time it is.

But why would an alien being bother to make a housekeeper shoplift some dresses? Keel speculated, "perhaps this was not some small demonstration for the benefit of President Nixon, similar to the power failures that seemed to follow President Johnson in 1967. (The lights failed wherever he went ... from Washington to Johnson City, Texas, to Hawaii)."

More info: mysteriousuniverse.org

Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 18, 2016 - Comments (5)
Category: Crime, Paranormal, 1970s

Negative ESP

Some people who take ESP tests score so badly that ESP researchers have theorized that their low scores can't be attributable to chance alone. These low-scorers must be using "Negative ESP' to avoid getting correct answers.

This phenomenon is also known as "psi-missing." You can find a discussion of it in the Introduction to Parapsychology textbook.

I realize now that this must be why I manage to ALWAYS pick the slowest checkout line at the grocery store. It's not bad luck. I've got Negative ESP!

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Jan 19, 1972

Posted By: Alex - Wed May 11, 2016 - Comments (9)
Category: Paranormal, Psychology

The Kabalarian Philosophy

Their page.

Their entry at THE SKEPTIC'S DICTIONARY lets us know: "Since the death of Mr. Parker in 1964, the Kabalarians, headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., have been led by Ivon Shearing who was sentenced to five years in prison in 1997 for sexually abusing several teenage girls over a twenty-five year period."

Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 13, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Lies, Dishonesty and Cheating, Paranormal, Religion, Myths and Fairytales, 1930s

The Nude Vampire

As you might expect from the title, this trailer contains a small amount of mild chestal exposure, more-or-less consistent with the tamest of HBO programs.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 21, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, Paranormal, 1970s

Supernatural Dating Society

The Amazing Kreskin's Supernatural Dating Society hopes to serve as a love connection for all those with an interest in "visitations by aliens, haunted houses, extra sensory perception, astrology, mind control, curses, spirit healing, vampires, zombies, prophecy, contacting the dead, mind reading and anything in between."

Posted By: Alex - Mon May 25, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category: Paranormal, Love & Romance

Ouija Board, 1968

Parker Brothers bought the commercial rights to the Ouija Board in 1966. Based on this 1968 ad, I'm guessing that they were wary of marketing it as a device for communicating with dead people. Instead, they tried to sell it as a kind of Magic 8-Ball. But really, who would ask a Ouija board such boring questions?

Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 20, 2015 - Comments (16)
Category: Paranormal, Advertising, 1960s

Cow Ghost Terrorizes Town

Rogue cows are an old theme here on WU. This one apparently went rogue in the afterlife. As reported by the New York World - Aug 9, 1896.



[via Kay Massingill]

Posted By: Alex - Sun May 18, 2014 - Comments (6)
Category: Paranormal, Cows, Nineteenth Century

Ingo Swann

Somehow we let seven months slip by without commeorating the death of famed "remote viewing" expert Ingo Swann.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 21, 2013 - Comments (4)
Category: Death, Eccentrics, New Age, Paranormal

Flora Marian Spore

Original story here.

The woman depicted above went from female dentist to occult artist. Not the most common career path. She turned out many paintings "inspired" by ghosts.

Unfortunately, despite a fairly substantial career, none of her paintings seem to have survived or been recorded, except for the one depicted below.



Photo from the blog of Jim Linderman.

Wikipedia entry.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 16, 2012 - Comments (10)
Category: Art, Outsider Art, New Age, Paranormal, Unsolved Mysteries, 1920s