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.

Are Strange Things Afoot In Italy?

One of the reasons I started writing this blog was purely selfish. For the last few years, each week, I’d squirrel away articles of interest I would find on One Note. One of my hopes was to be able to discern some patterns in news stories and track new research into the areas I’m interested in. One of the patterns I’ve seen this summer in the “Seeker-esque” news cycles has been events in Italy.

I’m not a conspiracy monger by nature. I think it’s a bad form of logic to use the argument that since event “A” follows event “B” they must be connected. However, this summer has seen events in Italy that have an oddly gestalt feel about them. Are the events connected in some odd way or is it just the great synchronicity of the universe playing tricks on my mind? Below are the headlines and datelines that caught my eye.

5 June 07: Italian Police investigate Masonic Lodges

The Catholic World News web site had a small blurb about Italian Police investigating 20 separate Masonic Lodges and gathering membership lists from various Lodges around the country. This is the only report I’ve been able to find on this and since there has been no follow-up in the press I’ve seen.

6 June 07: Five Men Are Acquitted in the Roberto Calvi Case

The P2 Masonic Lodge scandal of the early 80’s is brought into the minds of the world again when five men are found not guilty of murdering “God’s Banker” Roberto Calvi. Calvi was found dead in London hanging from the Black Friars Bridge on 18 June 1982. The prosecution claimed that the five defendants had lured Calvi to London after his bank had collapsed in a huge fraud scandal. Calvi’s death and his connections with the irregular Masonic Lodge were brought to the world’s attention by authors Baigent, Lincoln, and Leigh in their book The Messianic Legacy.

19 June 07: Italian cops put "obscene" Da Vinci Code movie under the scanner!

Italian state prosecutors put the Da Vinci Code film under the microscope for being obscene from a “religious standpoint”. The complaint stemmed from someone in the unnamed faction of clergy near the Italian village of Civitavecchia. Why did it take so long for the complaint to be made when the film debuted over a year ago? According to the article a prosecutor made the brilliant statement: "I don't know. Maybe they (the clergy who filed the complaint) have just seen the film”

21 June 07: Archaeologist sparks hunt for Holy Grail

Archaeologist Alfredo Barbagallo announces that he has found the Holy Grail in Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura in Rome. Barbagallo claims that the Grail is actually buried under a “funnel whose lower part opens out over the face of a skeleton”. The purpose of which was used to give liquid refreshment to the dead in a funerary rite.

30 June 07: Pope OKs opening of St. Paul's tomb

Pope Benedict XVI gave the go ahead to place a fiber optic probe into a tomb in that has been “positively identified” by Vatican archeologists as that of Saint Paul. To my knowledge, no images or reports have come of what was founding the tomb.

6 July 07: Modern-day ‘tomb raiders’ feel the heat

Italian authorities renew their efforts to stem the tide of illegal archeological digs and an ever increasing black antiquities market. The article goes on to say that there is also a growing problem with antiquities thefts., “Thefts in churches, libraries and state archives have increased in recent years, and the Carabinieri are still seeking more than 2.5 million missing objects registered in the art squad’s database”

18 July 07: Scholars in panic mode over Vatican Library closure

The Vatican closes it’s main library for three years worth of renovations. This is the first time in the library’s 500 year history that it will have been closed. Photocopies and microfilm requests will still be considered by the Library’s officials. A related BBC article mentions that the Library is already using technology to help preserve the works. Many books have microchips that will signal librarians if they are removed from the building. Also parchments that might have been used multiple times are going through a process "using ultraviolet rays we can now easily scan documents digitally to reveal the writing underneath, which is invisible to the naked eye" The Vatican also puts up a web page in Feb 06 for the Secret Achieves. A number of sources are available digitally including the Chinon Parchment that gives absolution to Jacques DeMoly.

27 July 07: New ‘Last Supper’ theory crashes Web sites

Slavisa Pesci, an amateur scholar announces that he has found interesting results in Da Vinci’s Last Supper when applying an overlay mirror image on top of the original. He claims that one of the images unlocked is of a Knight Templar holding a baby. The news crashes a number of websites that have photos of his theory.

10 Aug 07: Priest under investigation apologizes to Jews after insulting remarks

Priest Pierino Gelmini makes the remark in an Italian press interview that the “radical-chic Jewish lobby is stretching out to weaken the whole Church, starting with the American Church". The Priest later retracts his statement and says that he meant to state that it was the Freemasons, not the Jews he was talking about.

26 Aug 07: Bad Luck for Black Cats in Italy

An animal rights group in Italy announces that around 60,000 black cats are killed in Italy every year by Italians that think they bring back luck. (Evidently they didn’t get the moral of my article The Templar’s Plague) Given the population of Italy is somewhere around 58 million, dividing out the deaths into the total population, one out of every 967 Italians kills a black cat every year.

Yes, many of the events are totally unconnected. No I don’t think there’s a shadowy hand pulling the strings over each of the events that connects them. But, I think it’s worth watching the headlines. There seems to be a back drop forming here that I can’t totally discern yet. Either that or I’ve had way too much coffee this morning. As always, your thoughts, jabs, and observations are always welcome.

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 25 Aug 07

Grail Seekers this week:

Well it was much to my surprise that an article I wrote for the Unexplained Mysteries web site, The Templar’s Plague link was picked up by Coast to Coast AM’s site today. Oddly enough, it’s below a picture of a two headed calf. I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll take it.

On Audio:

Andrew Collins talks about Atlantis on Dreamlands

Oopa Loopa Café talks with Ben Ford about marine archeology in and around Lake Ontario on the 23^rd.

In the News:

The Smithsonian opens areas of items not on display to the public for a short time.

Abba Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is interviewed in Al-Ahram about the state of the Ethopian Church and The Ark of the Covenant.

Add the heavenly bodies to Google Earth

A Medieval Crucifix is found in a garbage pile in Austria. Now if I can just do the same with a winning Powerball ticket.

In Print:

A new book by Michel Lamy, The Secret Message of Jules Verne: Decoding His Masonic, Rosicrucian, and Occult Writings looks at Verne’s writings in a whole new light.

On the Web:

Be sure to vote for your Seven Wonders of the Fortean World at the Fortean Times Site.

The Bloodlines Documentary site makes a connection between the Last Supper mirror image and the Priory of Sion’s octopus seal.

What exactly was Sauniere doing in Lyon?

Grail Seeker's friend Corjan de Raaf continues to explore Jean Cocteau’s chapel decoration.

UFO Area gets you up to speed on what is known about the Shroud of Turin to date.

Blog On:

Safar -e -Hadaiayt :) blog reports on an Islamic perspective on the Ark of the Covenant’s. final resting place.

James Hofheins’ blog gives us a short history of Temples.

Has a UFO sighting at Rennes-le-Chateau? If you don’t know French you’ll need to translate this one.

Confessions from the Killer Mime Cult blog discusses the Glastonbury Thorns

Take a tour of Valencia and Tomar via the Templar Globe

The Masonic Traveler blog has an article on Hermetic Traditions and America

On Video:

Author D’Arcy O’Connor talks about some bizarro Oak Island theories in this You Tube Video:

Photographer Claims to Had Taken Pictures of the “Real” Stone of Destiny

An article in The Courier today claims that an unspecified photographer has taken picture of Scotland’s Stone of Destiny. (For a history of the Stone, hit the previous link.) The photographer says that he was called in the middle of the night by someone that wanted to document the True Stone being moved from one secret location to another for safe keeping. Supposedly, this event happened somewhere in Perthshire and the only clue to the True Stone’s guardians was that it was a group of “nationals”

My call on this one is that it smells funny.

1. Why would anyone in this day and time need a professional photographer to document anything? Video cams and digital cameras are in virtually everyone’s home. The moving of the Stone could have been easily documented without the help of this nature.
2. There are no pictures of the Stone in the article. If I was woken up in the middle of the night by someone to take pictures of anything, it would be on the condition that I would be able to publish at least one photo.
3. If these “nationalists” were interested in informing the world that they actually have the True Stone of Destiny in their possession, wouldn’t they have wanted something to show for it? Simply pulling a P.T. Barnum trick of letting the photographer leak the story would tend to hurt their cause more than help it.
4. The only sort of credible thing about the whole story might be that the photographer obviously wanted to remain anonymous. A nutter would want his name out there for the public to see. While a real professional with career credibility on the line might not want to have his name out there to damage his business.

I’m sure there will be more to come from this story in the next few weeks. I’ll keep you updated.

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 18 Aug 07

Grail Seekers this week:

I think some weeks are destine to insure that you cannot get in touch with the people you wanted to. Maybe next week the moon and stars will align and I’ll be able to chat with some folks I can report about during the week.

On a more positive note this week, I was gifted a frequent flyer ticket by Grail Seeker friend Sonja in Nashville. I’ll be going to Monterey, CA next month to do some metaphorical digging on a something I’ve been working on for a while. Thanks Sonja, you rock!. Also if I have time, I’m going to try to get by the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose. I promise to take plenty of pictures and do a piece on that.

On Audio:

Oddly enough there wasn’t anything out there this week that tripped my trigger enough to post in radio land this week.

In the News:

Are the Israelis planning on giving up claims to the Temple Mount as part of the Palestinian peace process?

Find out why ex-MI5 agent David Shayler believes he's the Son of God.

If anyone wants to meet me in this café in Paris on 13 Oct 07, email me.

An intact Etruscan tomb discovered in Italy.

Scottish sacred stones are on display in the Whithorn Museum

A Skara Brae era settlement is found in the Orkneys.

On the Web:

Keith Ranville has come up with a new translation of the Oak Island flagstone.

If you’re in Barcelona and want to find a group of like minded individuals who are interested in Rennes-le-Chateau, click here.

Ever wanted to own a replica of the Ark of the Covenant? This truly means that you can find anything on E-Bay. I should just set up an alert for the Holy Grail… I can see it now, shipped to your house within 3-5 business days add $14.99 if you’d like your name engraved on the bottom of the chalice.

Nothing smokes like a Knight’s Templar Cigar.

Bestinterestonly site explains the roots of Hand Symbolism.

What exactly is the astronomy of astrology?

Blog On:

Templar Globe takes you to Saint John’s Gate in London.

Luis Matos discusses the Shugborough Hall Shepherds at Arcadia decoding efforts.

Taylor Marshall reminds us that Cherubs are not fat babies.

Philip Gardiner leaves us a blog about the Great Pyramid on his My Space page.

Everyone knows I love a good rant about Freemasonry, too bad this isn’t one of them.

Want a tattoo of a Blue Apple, take this picture to your local inker.

The Wicca Man blog posted this video and some photos of Glastonbury Tor and the Chalice Well.

The Templar's Plague

“The law of unintended consequences, often cited but rarely defined, is that actions of people—and especially of government—always have effects that are unanticipated or "unintended."”

The above statement by Forbes columnist Rob Norton can be applied to a majority of historical, and many of my personal, missteps. No truer statement could be made about the events that happened after the arrest of the Knights Templar on 13 Oct 1307. Arguments can be made that the infrastructure the Templars had created in Europe literally disappeared over night caused a certain amount of upheaval. Possibly the effects of the “1315-1322 Great Famine” could have been lessened had the Templars still been in control of their vast farm holdings.

However, the effects of the Great Famine were a trifle compared to that of the Black Death. Between the years of 1347-1352, the Plague consumed 25 million lives throughout Europe. The Plague, according to most historical accounts, began to infect Europe in October 1347. The Plague actually originated in Mongolia in the 1330’s and spread throughout Chinese run ports. A group of merchant ships returning brought the Plague to Sicily after trading at one of these ports on the Black Sea.

By the time the merchants reached Europe, a number of crew members and rats were infected with the disease. The rats were the primary cause of the disease spreading so quickly. The Plague vectored from infected fleas that transmitted the disease to rats. The rats in turn spread like rats do, depositing infected fleas everywhere they went. The infected fleas would transmit the Plague to humans and other rats. The cycle repeated itself until virtually no part of Europe was immune.

There was little or no barrier to the rats spreading the disease. The flea carrying rat population ran unchecked because the rat’s main predator, the common house cat, was in short supply. It was that little matter of “unintended consequences” that had reduced the population of cats in Europe.

During the trials of the Templars, a number of charges were leveled against the members of the Order. One of which was in relation to worshiping the head of Baphomet who, “…sometimes it is accompanied or replaced by the devil in the form of a black or gray cat or raven, who occasionally answers the questions addressed to him”(quote from: A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages. Volume: 3. Henry Charles Lea) While this was not the first time cats had been linked with devilish deeds, it certainly was the catalyst that insured their undue persecution.

Cats had been linked to the Black Arts notably from Pope Gregory IX in the 1232. The Pope’s issued a bull that year that deemed the common house cat as diabolical. Charges of heresy after that became increasingly associated with cats. The Church leveled charges, similar to the Templars, against the Cathars. But it was the trial of the Templars that catapulted demonizing cats into the minds of most Europeans.

The Templars were involved in most facets of the European infrastructure by 1307. Templar endeavors in: banking, inns, farm holdings, and shipping affected the lives of a great portion of the European populace. When Black Friday occurred, and subsequent trails, people throughout Europe wanted to know why. In time the news of the heretical charges against the Templars spread. It’s not hard to believe the common man felt betrayal by the Templars

Fueled by feeling of betrayal and the notion cats were linked to the Devil, people turned to killing cats as way to insure evil forces would not overtake them. The populace of Europe paid the price for this misconception. Forty years of slaughtering cats dissolved the one barrier that could have given some protection from the Plague.

In this way, the Black Death might have been said to be the Templar’s Plague. The governments and peoples of Europe had unwittingly sentenced themselves a steep toll for their undue persecution of the Templars.

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 11 Aug 07

Grail Seekers this week:

I’d like to thanks everyone that tuned into the Thursday night segment of Oopa Loopa Café show. For those of you who didn’t listen in the interview is still available via archive. I was surprised at hearing from Geologist Scott Wolters who called in about research he’s done on the Kensington Rune Stone. Scott described his methods of investigation and has found the word “Graal” hidden within the text. Check out the segment, it opens a number of avenues this could advance Grail Lore in North America.

On Audio:

Laura Lee Show:

18 Aug 07: Laura interviews Jonathan Goldman about healing music/sound frequencies. This might be of interest to those looking into the Rosslyn Cubes stories.

Coast to Coast AM:

13 Aug 07: Greg Little discussed Edgar Cayce and his predictions about Atlantis.

Oopa Loopa Café :

16 Aug 07: Bishop David Richarde will be talking about his experiences with the Templar Church.

Separate interviews with Bruce Burgess and Renee Barnett about their upcoming Bloodlines documentary can be found on Dreamlands, Rennssence Radio, and X-Zone Radio show. The only one I’ve listened to so far is the Rennssence Radio piece, if you’re interested in RLC it’s a must.

In the News:

New finds in Middle Asia might redefine our thoughts on the emergence of civilizations.

A Stone Age village is found in the English Channel.

Father Pierino Gelmini back peddles on his comments about the Jewish faith by slandering Freemasons.

On the Web:

Corjan de Raaf, gives us a look into the Chapel of Saint Peter in Last Message of the Initiate Jean Cocteau

Compare and contrast the Shroud of Turin with the lesser known Sudarium

Find out most everything you always wanted to know about the Italian P2 Masonic Lodge scandal, but were afraid to ask.

Saunière’s church isn’t the only church in Rennes-le-Chateau that is worth investigating. Society Perillos opens up the doors of the church of Couiza for your inspection.

About.com has a photo essay on the Royal Tombs of Axum.

Blog On:

Does the Bible mention the Priory of Sion?

Bogus Magus reviews The City of Secrets by Patrice Chaplin, in the Maybe Logic Blog.

Anthony North’s Beyond the Blog gives us a glimpse of Count Saint Germain.

Neatorama gives you 10 things you didn’t know about Sir Issac Newton, or maybe you did know but it’s still a good read.

Catholic Priest Meant to Slander Freemasons, Not Jews

Rarely do I do an opinion piece like this one, but somehow I could not stay my thoughts on this matter.

The European Jewish Press (EJP) released an article yesterday stating that Father Pierino Gelmini “was quoted by Italian newspapers last Sunday as saying that a "radical-chic Jewish lobby is stretching out to weaken the whole Church, starting with the American Church". This story was also carried by Reuters India here.

Father Gelmini quickly retracted his statements with this caveat, "If I said that then it just slipped out, because I intended to say Masonic radical-chic," (quote from the Reuters Article)

It’s appalling that anyone would make slanderous statements about the Jewish faith, let alone a man of the cloth. I am glad Gelmini is trying to make amends for his statements; however the subtext of his position is quite clear. The slander of Freemasons is acceptable. Even both articles make no hint that there might be anything wrong with slandering Freemasons.

I feel that Father Gelmini should reexamine all of his statements of late, and scrutinize his reasoning for making statements about either group. Furthermore, I’m offended that a representative of the Catholic Church would take a conspiratorial position against Masons. Especially considering that a number of his faith belongs to Masonic Lodges across the world.

I would hope that either the Vatican or Father Gelmini would make an officially apologize to the Masonic community. Making unfounded accusations of this nature, about any group, only serve to create intolerance.

I’ve said my peace

Mirror Image Overlay of Poussin's Shepherds at Arcadia

It would seem that my OCD knows no end. I’ve been e-mailing back and forth the last few days with Derek Bair about his book Discovering Da Vinci’s Daughter. Hopefully, I’ll be able to chat with Derek later this week about how he was the actual discoverer of the Da Vinci mirror images, and not Slavisa Pesci.

In thinking about conducting this interview, my inner muse must have been working overtime. The mirror image of artwork theory set does have its problems as well as the intriguing results many of us have seen. The basic problem with the mirror over lay theory is that of technology. How Da Vinci or anyone else could, create such a complex hidden message on a fresco or canvas without the aid of transparent overlays or Photoshop?

Well I don’t really have a good answer for this. I have a half-baked-untested first come to mind answer. The use of a two-way mirror comes to mind. Given the right lighting conditions, one can get a visual feedback on a two way mirror. Could Da Vinci have set a two way mirror in front of the works in question and created a ghostly overlay image on the back of the mirror? Thus giving him a way to paint the hidden information in, and a way to for an initiate to extract said hidden images?

It sounds far fetched, but like I said it’s a first come to mind answer. The biggest problem with this theory is that I haven’t been able to recreate it and the first known two-way mirror was patented in 1903 by Emil Bloch. By the time I had done some digging on this end of the theory, something else rattled loose in the back of my head.

The litany of “mirror-image, paintings, mirror image, paintings” soon turned into a thought of a very famous Grail mystery related painting that does have a mirror image related to it. I almost smacked myself for not thinking of it before now. I’m sure that given some of the comments this article might foster, I will smack myself for going on this particular limb.

At Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England rests a monument depicting Poussin’s Shepherds at Arcadia painting in mirror image. The common theory is that the monument’s image was produced in mirror image because it was copied from an engraving. What if that isn’t the reason at all, and it’s yet another clue to deciphering the paintings secrets? What if the monument alludes to this business of looking at Shepherd’s at Arcadia with the mirror image overlay?

Here’s the original painting(click to enlarge)

Here’s the mirror image overlay using a mirror image overlay with the mirror image’s transparency being reduced by 50%. (click to enlarge)

Here’s what I’m seeing. A heart in the center of the tomb, with possibly wings and a chalice at the top. (click to enlarge)

Is it something or is it nothing? Is it the resolution and wishful thinking that have produced something that looks like a heart at the tomb’s center? I didn't even mention the Green Man I saw peaking out of the trees above the tomb. Or could there be something to mirror image overlay theory? As in all things, I’ll let you be the judge.

An Interview with George Smart

A few of months back, I was able to catch up with George Smart, the author of The Knights Templar Chronology: Tracking History's Most Intriguing Monks. Unfortunately, it has taken me forever to write this article and as a bonus for my readers, and George, I’m going to give away two copies of his book.* (check out the end of the article for contest rules)

George’s book is an easy to use reference to events surrounding the Templars. From the beginnings of the Order’s history to modern times, George meticulously lays open the evolution of the Templars. As a reference, it there nothing I’ve found that is quite as useful to anchor Templar history and crypto-history in time. George sent me a copy of the book for review, and it’s become an indispensable reference to my own work.

One would think that an author of a text like this would be teaching Medieval history in a University. Quite the contrary, George is a part-time Grail Seeker just like the rest of us. Owner of Strategic Development INC, George spends his days coaching corporate employees on the fundamentals of team work. In his spare time, his life is much different.

What would possess a successful business owner to devote his time to cataloging events of the Order? According to George, he was sitting in the Boston airport on a lay over and picked up a copy of Holy Blood, Holy Grail. George had never had any exposure to the Templars, Priory of Sion, or Renne-le-Chateau and was taken in by the possibilities the book presented. Like many of us, Baigent, Lincoln, and Leigh had opened a door way into a previously unknown secret world.

“I started to do research on the Templars and started to make notes. Before I knew it I had about 100 pages of notes. Originally, it was a reference for me to keep the Templar’s history in perspective”, said George.

Over the next eight years, George became something of an expert on the Templars. After collecting documentaries and texts on the Order, George found the need to expand his studies. His research led him to the George Washington Masonic Monument’s Library. George found a number of unique texts to round out his already exhaustive research. If you are thinking about packing up your bags and heading to Washington Monument to do your own research, you might want to call ahead. George warns that the current librarian limits access to the libraries works to scholarly types. Evidently even Brother Masons have a difficult time gaining admittance to view the library’s catalogue.

Lucky for us, George was able to gather enough information to finish his book. After the Chronology was published, George has become recognized as an authority on the Templars. George has been asked to lecture on Templar issues and has even appeared on the History Channel series Decoding the Past.

See George in a clip from the History Channel Documentary Series: Decoding the Past

When pressed about his views on the Templars and the Grail, George keeps an open mind. Believing that the Grail is primarily a metaphor for many esoteric concepts, George feels the many secrets of the Grail and the Templars are still left to be found. “After all, that’s why I began my research”, George muses.

So what’s next for George Smart? His attention has turned to those modern day Grail hunters. The project on George’s desktop relates to those like Tim Acheson and John Ritchie who are weaving their way into modern Grail lore through their own searches. At the time of the interview, George was still in the research phases of this project.

Here at Grail Seekers, we wish George all the luck in the world. With a little perseverance and hard work, who knows; maybe you’re endeavors will be chronicled in George’s next book.

*All you have to do is to accurately pinpoint a place with significance to the Knights Templar on that’s not already listed on the Grail Seekers Templar Mapping Project Map. This place can be a holding, a place connected with an event, or a place of crypto-historical significance to the Knight’s Templar. Submissions can be e-mailed to me at briankannard@hotmail.com and must include map coordinates, and a description of the place in question. The first two e-mails I get with a verified location will receive a copy of George Smart’s The Knights Templar Chronology: Tracking History's Most Intriguing Monks. Open to US residents over 18 years of age. Contest will end 13 Oct 07 if no one has claimed the prizes. Winners will be announced by 31 Oct 07.

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 4 Aug 07

Grail Seekers this week:

If anyone is interested (hint, hint) I will be the guest on this Thursday night’s Oopa Loopa Café show on Blog Talk Radio. I’ll be talking about the blog, the Grail, and my upcoming trip to Paris for the 700^th anniversary of the arrest of the Templar. Be there or be square. Paris that is, anyone else planning a trip?

On Audio:

Philip Gardner will be on Dreamlands on Saturday, 4 Aug 07 to talk about the connection between the Ark of the Covenant, Mary, and the Shroud of Turin.

William Henry will be on Coast to Coast AM Saturday, 4 Aug 07.

Astraea magazine’s radio site has an interview with Robert Bauval on his book The Egypt Code

In the News:

Who actually discovered the mirror images in Da Vinci’s Last Supper? Well according to a September 2006 article on Unexplained Mysteries, it wasn’t Slavisa Pesci. It was a guy by the name of Derek Bair who even published a book about the topic last year. This story deserves looking into. Bair’s claims are solid as far as I can tell. So why did this fellow in Italy get all the press?

What’s so magical about the city of Turin?

On the Web:

Seems that I wasn’t the only one that thought there was something fishy about the Mitchells and the Rosslyn Cubes. Jeff Nisbet’s article in this month’s Atlantis Rising Magazine addresses some of the same issue that I have previously mentioned and many more. I e-mailed Jeff this week, and there’s still some more unanswered questions floating around out there he didn’t write about. I’ll leave it at that, but if you’re savvy you can connect a few dots. You can download a PDF of the issue at the Atlantis Rising site for just $2.95. Also check out Jeff’s site, Mythoporph if your interests run into the mythic side of research.

Esoterica Journal has released edition IX for viewing on the web.

Blog On:

Is there a ghost in the Halcyon Masonic Lodge in Cleveland?

The Born a Templar blog talks about the possible link between the Shroud of Turin and Jacque DeMoly.

I agree with Widow’s Son at Burning Taper that this has to be the worst rant on Masonic Conspiracy theory ever. There is some colorful language in this lad’s prose. It amazes me that there are people that think Freemasons control the world. You should sit in on one of our Lodge’s building committee meetings and you’ll that world domination is not even on the agenda.