Assassin's Creed Trailer

For all you gamers out there that are not playing Halo 3 at the moment... Here's a new trailer from Ubisoft's upcoming release Assassin's Creed. Looks like the Templars are the bad guys in this game. I'm sure this will renew interest in the Templars in the 12-22 year old demographic. Or at least in those of us who are 12 year olds at heart.

Ghosting Hunting in Chapel Hill, Tennessee

I rarely do articles on paranormal events, or stray far from my main subject matter in Grail Seekers. Being an armchair historian and researcher is more my bailiwick than delving into apparitions and unexplainable phenomena. This is not due to any disbelief I have in such things happening, I have actually experienced one event in my life that would fall into the category of paranormal or unexplainable. However, Saturday while I was driving home from work, my mind drifted to the little burg of Chapel Hill, Tennessee and that singular experience.

Most folks that have grown up in Middle Tennessee have heard the ghost story of Chapel Hill. The legend, as it has been told to countless Tennesseans, is that a train brakeman had the bad luck of pulling a night shift on a train bound for Chapel Hill. The brakeman’s job was to walk along the top of the train and apply the brakes of each car before coming into a station. The job was particularly dangerous and caused the demise of many men looking to make good money with the railroads.

Our legend’s brakeman was one such unlucky fellow. He was thrown from the perch on top of a box car, and was decapitated for his misstep. After the accident, folks in the area began to see a strange light making its way up and down the tracks. The only logical explanation that could be mustered was that it was the brakeman, swinging his lantern looking for his lost head.

Most folks in the Middle Tennessee area know someone that knows someone that went to Chapel Hill and have seen the ghost light. One of the more comical tales I heard from a friend of my parents. While he was in college, he decided to take a date to the tracks. After sitting on his car hood for a few minutes, the couple saw a faint glowing light appear on the track. Steeling themselves, the couple decided to stay on station until the light got closer. And closer it did get. Close enough for the pair to realize they were looking at a solid black cow, with a white face, walking down the tracks. The moon light reflecting eerily off the bovine’s face was as close to an apparition that was seen that night. I’m not sure after that if he ever got a second date.

Fifteen years ago, a friend of mine Tracy Latham and my mother decided to be good Tennesseans and trek down to Chapel Hill to see what all the hype was about. Fortifying ourselves with Diet Coke and Ding-Dongs we made our way 40 miles south down I-65 from Nashville. It was a clear, warm late summer night just before midnight when we hit town. Having no clue where the tracks actually were, we stopped to ask directions of a social circle that was congregating at the local Food Land. Snickering, the alpha male of the group told us to turn left at the stop light by the Post office and we’d find the tracks.

A few minutes later we had turned down West Depot Street and found the tracks. A short rail trestle runs over the main road with an access road leading up to the overpass. I pulled the family’s Toyota station wagon up to the tracks and we sat. Either side of the tracks is flanked by large open fields. The tracks are built up on a good six to ten foot high embankment. The night was clear and lit enough to see the individual loose rocks that built the burm twenty feet down the track.

Midnight came and went as we peered out of the car’s windows. We were about to give up when I saw something. About fifteen feet down the track appeared a small glowing disk. It looked like someone had applied the world’s best blue-green luminous paint to a JFG coffee can lid. The disk was four feet off the ground, had no depth, cast no light and had no one standing behind it. One minute there was nothing, and the next it was like someone had flipped a switch and the disk appeared.

“What’s that down the tracks?” I thought I had said rather calmly to my companions.

The unholy shriek that came from the back seat was my mother, “It’s a (insert a string of no less than ten of your favorite expletives) ghost!”

Looking back on the event, I now understand how panic spreads through a crowd. Tracy and I both began to make unintelligible noises of despair. In reality I think we were screaming like a child on a playground that has had a spider put in their hair. All the while, the light got closer to the car. I think it was the sage voice of my mother that suggested that we get he heck out of Dodge.

Being the dutiful son, I fumbled starting the car half a dozen times before engine turned over. The light couldn’t have been more than six feet from the car when I skittered down the access road. After pushing the performance envelope of the Toyota for half a mile, our wits came back to us. We decided to go back and see if the light was still there. Alas, there was nothing.

Through various experiences in my life I have been out many nights under similar conditions. I’ve seen numerous people holding flashlights, chem lights, and torches under the exact same conditions. Every time, you can see the person holding the light source. This time there was no one there, just the oddly glowing disk. The disk’s light didn’t even look like anything I’ve ever seen before. Perfectly round, perfectly glowing a color that almost looked like the digital readout of an adding machine. Was it the Ghost of Chapel Hill? To this day I don’t know.

Over the years, I’ve been back a handful of times to the exact same spot where we sighted the disk. I’ve never seen it again. Most recently was this Saturday night. I had the bight idea to take my wife Laura, and six-year old son Robert to the tracks. Our friends Cas and Tracey (another Tracey) tagged along for good measure. I donned an old fishing vest I had for the event and packed it full of recording devices. Just in case we saw something this time out. My son was so enthralled by the idea of my Ghost Hunting gear, he packed a backpack full of toys and books that he thought would help him make sense of any phenomena he saw. Robert and I pose as battle hardened Ghost Hunters at the Chapel Hill Post Office

All five sat beside the tracks, waiting for the light to appear. This time it was about 9:30 when we hit town. The press of a hard week and an already tired (even after a long nap) six year old will accelerate most time tables. And this time out, we did see a light. It was the light of an on coming train, but it was a light. My son was so suitably impressed with the rush of a near by train that I think he almost forgot we were looking for a Ghost. After a while, the yaws and jitters of non-activity over came us and the hunting party began to pack up.

My son turned to me as we piled in my CR-V to tell me he had a good time even though there was no Ghost. I scratched his head and told him maybe next time, and secretly hoped he didn’t think his old man was pulling his leg. Yep… maybe next time little guy

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 22 Sept 07

Grail Seekers this week:

My big news this week was my trip to California. I spent some time in Monterey, Salinas, San Jose, and San Francisco. Not a bad whirlwind tour in just two days. My previous post mentioned that I visited Rosicrucian Park. Hopefully, I’ll be able to a little piece on the AMORC and the Egyptian Museum. I was also able to do some research on the mystery project I keep alluding to.

Believe me, my intent is not to pull a P.T. Barnum to build any type of mystique around what I’m looking into. I simply have a healthy respect for not opening my trap and putting my size 10 squarely in my mouth. The good news is that the trip gave me some leads and I’m on the trail of something. Where it will lead me, is not so clear at this point.

Finally, I made a deal with Rick at the Oopa Loopa Café to do a spot at midnight on 13 Oct 07 from Paris on his Blog Talk Radio show. Some speculate that “something will happen” on the 700^th anniversary of the Templars arrest. I’m not sure that one could count me in that crowd, but I’ll be on hand just in case. Tune in at 7:00 PM EST on the 13^th to see what’s shaking in the city of lights. Now for the rest of the Grail story this week.

On Audio:

Michael Cremo, of Forbidden Archeology fame, is interviewed on Astraea Magazine Radio.

The Laura Lee Show:

Monday, 24 Sept 07: Laura’s guest will be Jean Shinoda Bolen, author of Archetypes of the Goddess.

Coast to Coast AM

Friday, 28 Sept 07: Graham Hancock will hook up with Art in the Kingdom of Night.

Red Ice Creations

Sunday, 23 Sept 07: Get the low down on author Eric Phelps’ book Vatican Assassins

In the News:

Italy again… The Collusseum has been attacked by Vandals again.

A prehistoric sword that was stolen from the Peterborough Museum 13 years ago has been returned.

Jackie Gleason’s esoteric library is on exhibit in Miami.

Not only did my Scottish ancestors create Kilts and Haggis, but evidently mummies as well. This will fuel the fires of those who subscribe to the theory that the Stone of Destiny made its way to Scotland via Egypt.

Modern day Templars will attempt to unite the world’s religions in Ski Lanka in 2008.

On the Web:

The Catholic newspaper The Pilot believes that being a Mason can be dangerous for Catholics. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a matter for each man to figure out on his own. One thing I would like to point out about the article is the concept of a “Masonic recruitment drive”. No such thing would ever exist. One of the things a Mason will ever do is ask someone to join. The principle is that men come to a Lodge of their own accord.

The Epoch Times revisits the Golden Ratio. Just don’t read this article after watching PI.

Rabbi David Wolpe in the Jewish Journal reviews From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible.

Blog On:

Dr. Leen Ritmeyer’s blog on Biblical Archeology gives us some more information and maps of the Jerusalem tunnel systems. Thanks for the comment and heads up Dr. Ritmeyer.

Morbid Frog’s Live Journal has some stunning pictures of RLC and Sainte Cécile cathedral

Old and Rare Books blog gives links to places to look for books on Alchemy.

Just how mysterious head of Saint Teilos?

The X Spot gives a Priory of Sion 101 class along with a picture of Rue McClanahan. Does this mean that Fox will be doing a pilot of the Golden Ratio Girls this fall?

My Space friend Glenn wonders about where the last English Templar lays.

Live and In Person

Ian Sinclair will be at the Sedona Library on 4 Oct 07 talking about the connections between the Templars and the Sinclair family.

Rosicrucian Park Photos

Well I made it back from California last night after spending two days of drive-by tourism and research. One of the places I went to was the headquarters of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC (Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis) Housed at their San Jose home is a park, library, and Egyptian Museum. The park and museum was the vision of the Order's founder H. Spencer Lewis in 1927. Here's a slide show of some of the sites to behold at the park and museum. I'll post more photos with an article about the AMORC sometime this weekend. But today, it's back to my real job and life as I usually know it.

Jerusalem Tunnels

There’s been quit a bit of news floating around the last few weeks about tunnel systems in Jerusalem. I thought I’d dig up (sorry couldn’t resist that one) some video on the subject. Both pieces are from The Media Line.

Below is a report on the recent discovery of the Second Temple era tunnels that runs under Jerusalem. The tunnels were originally drainage systems that lead outside the city. Archaeologists think that this tunnel system might have been used by Jews to escape the city during the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

The implications of such a tunnel system and theories on Templar excavations under the Temple Mount could be staggering. The reports I’ve seen do not mention exactly where the drainage system leads to. Discovery of Crusader era artifacts would be powerful evidence that the Templars or other groups were interested in what lay beneath Jerusalem. On the flip side, the existence of a bolt hole weakens the argument that anyone would need to hide anything under the Temple Mount during the Roman siege.

Hopefully, the Israeli government will be forthcoming with any additional finds they make in this system. Yea right…



This January 2007 clip explores possible secret excavations in the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock area by the Israeli government. Of course the government denies any involvement with a tunnel digging around the Temple Mount.

Given recent reports that Muslims are destroying items and areas of archaeological significance in the Temple Mount area, a project to tunnel under the Mount doesn’t seem so far fetched. This World Net Daily article reports that the Israeli Antiquities Authority is blocking archaeologists from surveying any damage that might have been done in the area. One would think that the government would want outside investigators to chronicle any antiquities destruction, if for nothing else to discredit the Muslims.

Also, all of this comes on the heels of a plan to give control of the Temple Mount to the Palestinians. One of the points of contention between Jews and Muslims over the Temple Mount is proof that the Temple existed there at all. Giving control of the Mount to Palestinians would be a neat slight of hand trick if there are plans to gather archaeological data right under their feet.

A New Perspective on Station of the Cross VIII at Church of Saint Marie Madeleine

Most aspects of the life and construction works of Bérenger Saunière have been analyzed by Rennes-le-Chateau enthusiasts ad infinitum. The driving force behind our fascination with Saunière is that his unusual behavior and building projects had some specific purpose. No matter what theory you hold to the RLC mysteries, most believe that Saunière was trying to leave clues behind for later generations to solve his enigma.

One of these sets of clues is found in Saunière’s 1896 restoration of the Church of Saint Marie Madeleine. Saunière oversaw every aspect of the restoration himself. As part of the restoration, Saunière replaced the Church’s Stations of the Cross. The molds for the fourteen Stations were purchased from a religious art dealer in Toulouse. However, the Stations were modified somewhat and painted at Saunière’s direction. The modifications and painting differences can be seen when comparing these Stations to those at the Jean d'Alcas church. Ben Hammontt’s site provides an excellent side by side comparison of the two.

I was reminded of one such modification this week while reading Michael Baigent’s The Jesus Papers. Baigent reminds us that in Station VIII, there is a woman beside a child “wearing a Scottish tartan robe”. (A photo of the station can be found here, scroll down for a close up) Baigent also made the same claim in Holy Blood, Holy Grail. This claim has become a rather disjointedly accepted fact in the Grail world.

If Saunière directed a tartan to be painted on this Station, there had to be some significance attached to it. One common explanation is that the tartan is a reference to Scottish Rite Freemasonry. Tartans are used as a part of the Masonic organization Knights of Saint Andrews. However, tartans worn by this group are unique to each jurisdiction. It is unlikely that Saunière was trying to make this connection since there is no single tartan that represents the organization. No where else in Masonry, can I recall any ritual references to tartans.

Scottish tartans are the hallmarks of specific clans or families. A single clan/family might have a number of different tartans; each tartan is uniquely linked to that group. So was Saunière trying to point us in the direction of a Scottish family via the Station VIII tartan?

After a few hours of pouring through on line tartan guides, I could find no credible match. Since light blue is an unusual background color for a tartan, I contacted a number of tartan manufacturers to see if they could identify a tartan with these properties.

The folks at Lochcarron, Kilts of Caledonia , and The Scotch Corner graciously gave me a number a possibilities. Ancient Anderson, Musselburg, Bell of the Borders, and the Princess Diana Memorial Tartan topped the lists, but none matched the Station VIII tartan. Going back to the photo of Station VIII, I thought I’d return to the original premise.

I realized then that the child is not swaddled in a tartan at all. One thing that all tartans have in common is that they have horizontal and vertical intersecting lines of weave. Look closely at the depiction of the cloth around the child’s leg. The colors are all vertical. Around the child’s shoulders the color stripes turn horizontal. This is because in the mold, the cloth has twisted around the child’s shoulder.

Whoever painted this station was trying to get the perspective of the lines correct, not attempting to display a Scottish tartan. You can do a simple experiment with a rectangular piece of lined paper. Orient the paper with the lines vertically and twist one end up 90 degrees. The lines on the twisted portion of the paper are now horizontal. The only thing that has changed is the perspective of the line’s orientation.

So what was Saunière up to with the stripped cloth on the child in Station VIII? I suspect nothing more adding some detail to the mold. This just goes to prove that sometimes we see what we want to, even though the evidence is staring us right in the face.

Grail Seekers Media Watch from 2 Sept 07 to 13 Sept 07

Grail Seekers this week:

Needless to say the last two weeks plus has been a blur to me. I’ve spent the last 17 days straight at work and haven’t had a chance to follow up on much of anything. My apologies for missing last week’s update, and cutting this one short. I’m sure I’ll have some fun stuff from my trip to California this week. Until then, the ever present Grail related topics floating around the world and web.

On Audio:

Author, and Grail Seeker friend, Bob Freeman will appear on Crossroads Paranormal Radio on the Sunday 16 Sept 07.

Paranormal Place Radio interviewed author Tracy Twyman on 5 Sept 07.

Resident of Saunière's estate for many years, Jean-Luc Robin is interviewed on Radio Rennessence.

In the News:

Sir Isaac Newton’s religious writings are on display at Israel's National Library in Jerusalem.

Are Muslims destroying artifacts on the Temple Mount?

Ethiopia will celebrate its millennium this month, maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll bring out the Ark for the celebration.

A new super scope will be able to uncover texts in scrolls without having to unroll them.

Has a lost book of Nostradamus been found?

More information on the newly found tunnels around Jerusalem comes to light.

On the Web:

So what exactly is a shofar and how does it relate to the Ark of the Covenant.

Dan Green’s article on Far Shores The Templars Head And Templecombe Panel Painting gives an explanation to the mysterious head painting.

Blog On:

Mythomorph’s Jeff Nesbit reveals Rosslyn Chapel’s Darkest Secret. Jeff has uncovered some more connections in the Chapel that make one wonder exactly what the builders of Rosslyn were up to.

Burning Taper reprints a reprint from Tubalcain420 blog on Albert Pike’s essay on the Compasses and Square.

888_Sunshine ponders if the a possible extraterrestrial bloodline Templars.

The history of Jesus and the Gnostic Cathars can be found on the Info Mean Blog.

The Templar Globe continues it’s series the Templar Chronicles with an article on Alcobaça and a chronology of the Templars evolving into the Order of Christ.

Anthony North’s Beyond the Blog views some “secret” societies as cults. I don’t agree with some of the views on Freemasonry, but then again everyone knows where I stand on those matters.

In Film:

Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson is filming an occult thriller The Chemical Wedding which is based on the work of Aleister Crowley.

New Indiana Jones Movie to Be Titled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Finally a film with some of my favorite things: Templars, biker gangs, a heaven and hell clash between Malchezidek and Gabriel all while being filmed on location in Oklahoma. Yes, Warrior Entertainment’s Salvation looks cheesy. But, I have a special place in my heart for those who spend their time, effort and energy into making their vision a reality. The original story can be found at the Kung-Fu Cinema site.

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 1 Sept 07

Grail Seekers this week:

There’s a lot of news this week. It seems that this summer has presented more new news and research that I’ve seen in a while. There’s any number of folks out there doing some quality work in the areas that pique our collective interests. And now for the buzz…

On Audio:

Scott Wolters returns for a full interview on the Oopa Loopa Café on the Kensington Rune Stone and other North American finds that point to pre-Columbian visits by Europeans. Scott also showed up on Red Ice Creations Radio this week as well. Scott is making a great case for his work. I talked to him last week and I can assure you that there’s a lot more in this field that is left to be discovered.

Tim Wallace-Murphy was on X Zone Radio on the 27^th talking about the blood line of Jesus.

In the News:

A wall of the Second Temple is thought to be found on the Temple Mount. There is supposedly some footage of the wall that was shown on an Israeli TV station. I’ve done some searches, and it doesn’t seem that there’s a copy on the web. If you know of one, let me know and I’ll post it.

A discovery in Galilee helps to give independent confirmation of Solomon and Hiram (King of Tyre, not the architect of the Temple. I know I was hoping too...) story.

60,000 black cats are being killed each year in Italy because of old superstitions says an Italian Animal Right’s group.

A waterworks project near Edinburgh runs through an area where a number of medieval Templar related slabs were found.

Did the real Merlin eat Haggis? A new book thinks the legendary wizard was Scottish.

Were there two Sphinxes at the Giza Pyramid complex?

Da Vinci’s painting techniques are uncovered by using particle accelerators. Thanks to horror writer and all around good guy Bob Freeman for the link.

Tomb raiders are making short work of Bulgarian antiquities. Odd how stories like this follow shortly after excavations of Templar sites have been underway.

ABC News has the breaking story that some folks think Freemasons are a secret society.

The piece is even handed and not too sensational.

On the Web:

For all those who check out the Paranormal Report, the site is back up with a new facelift.

I’d list all the articles that the Radio Rennessence Feed has this week, but there’s a boat load of good stuff there and I have to be at work in the morning. Check it out and add it to your RSS Feed.

Live and In Person:

On 4 Oct 07, the Atlantis Book Shop in London will be hosting author Tobias Churton for a book release shin dig of his new book, Freemasonry: The Reality.

Blog On:

My Space friend Glenn writes about the Templars and Baphomet.

The Latest Word blog thinks that Denver International Airport is a Illuminati outpost.

A Light in the Darkness blog has a gigantic mystery about Glastonbury Tor.

Thoughts on Ancient Gospels and the Like blog tells the tale of many Magdala Towers.

Having nothing to do with the Grail, here’s a wonderful picture of Coral Castle about 30 minutes after sunset.

In the Pursuit of God blog begins an eight part series on Who are the Cherubim?

The Templar Globe gives us a history and commentary on the Temple Mount

Anthony North’s Beyond the Blog delvs into Christian mystics.

On Video:

Video of the The Templars in Almourol; thanks to Luis de Matos from the Templar Globe for the heads up on this one.