Venetians fight to save historical, 'haunted' island.

Venetians fight to save historical, 'haunted' island from luxury developers.

Poveglia, a deserted 7-hectare rock believed to be the burial place of plague victims, to be leased to help pay Italy's debts

Andrea Barina, the owner of a no-frills restaurant on the Giudecca canal, serves up mouth-watering plates of seafood antipasti and exquisitely fresh fish to a loyal clientele. But one night earlier this month, the genial 50-year-old was confronted with an idea that was profoundly indigestible: the potential transformation of his beloved teenage playground into yet another luxury resort in the Venetian Lagoon.

'the island of madness'. Photograph: Blom UK via Getty Images

Barina and many of his neighbours were indignant when they heard of the Italian state's intention to auction a 99-year lease on Poveglia island as part of efforts to ease its huge public debt. Overgrown and deserted, Poveglia is an unlikely paradise. It does not feature in many tourist guides, and its eerie state of abandonment has fed many a ghoulish fantasy.

But, to a committed band of local people, none of that matters; its name alone evokes the simple pleasures of childhoods past. And when Barina, amid heated debate at his restaurant, had an idea, they were inspired. "He said, 'Let's buy it," recalls Lorenzo Pesola, an architect. So that's exactly what they are trying to do – €99 (£80) at a time.

It may seem an ambitious plan – and, to those who have read about Poveglia beneath any number of lurid headlines, downright odd. Owing to the potent mix of its colourful past and gloomy present – it has been officially off-limits to the public for decades – the seven hectare (17 acre) island has attracted a reputation to rival any horror movie set.

A US television show, Ghost Adventures, labelled it "one of the world's darkest epicentres" after a 2009 episode in which one of its hosts claimed to have been possessed while clambering about at night in the ruins and hailing the spirits in bad Italian. Subsequently, Poveglia has been described as "the world's most haunted island", "the island of madness", and, for good measure, "like hell, but in Italy".

A rusted bed remains in the psychiatric wing of the abandoned hospital. Photograph: Marco Secchi/Getty Images

Strangely enough, this doesn't appear to put off the Poveglia Per Tutti (Poveglia For All) association. In fact, its members appear to find the rumours entertaining, if perplexing. "This Anglo-Saxon tradition of ghosts is una cazzata [bullshit]," says Pesola. "It's nonsense."

Yes, say the activists who want the lease, Poveglia was used in the past as a lazzaretto – a quarantine station for the sick, particularly plague victims – but so were other islands. And yes, there was a nursing home, which still stands, dilapidatedand partially roofless, amid the undergrowth. But that, they insist, is that. There is "no objective confirmation" of any of the rumours and legends surrounding the building, says Pesola: chiefly, that it was used as a place to conduct experimental lobotomies on psychiatric patients and that its land is stalked by the spectres of victims past. They don't want potential donors to be put off by folklore. And for them, the island's more recent history is what counts.

"What people would often do was go where the water was very deep and fish for little squid. Then, they'd go in little groups, secretly, on to the island, and would grill and eat them," says Barina. "Another thing that was unmissable: there was a wooden bridge from which we'd hold diving contests. There'd be 30, 40 of us. And we'd go and steal the peaches from the trees, which were" – he pauses to pay due reverence – " the best peaches in the whole lagoon."

Were they ever spooked by the desolation of the island, with its bricked-up steeple (Napoleon did for the church) and unkempt wilderness? "Absolutely not. It was our playground," says Barina. "It was our Disneyland."

In 21st-century Venice, no reference to the Californian theme park is accidental; the citizens' battle for Poveglia makes more sense when considered alongside the city's wider identity crisis and the ever-tightening grip of mass tourism. These residents despair of what has happened to parts of the historic centre, the areas around St Mark's Square and the Rialto bridge, which have become a morass of tour groups and souvenir shops.

Even on their way to Poveglia, they cannot ignore the industry's impact: the journey takes them past two other lagoon islands, Sacca Sessola and San Clemente, which have been bought by private investors for use as luxury hotel resorts.

The San Vitale belfry seen from a window of the dilapidated hospital. Photograph: Marco Secchi/Getty Images

But, in making their bid, weary Venetians have surprised themselves" by resisting, says Annapaola Passarini, one of the activists. "I think a lot of people had the sense that Venice was lost, or is for sale in many cases. Some of the comments on the [group's Facebook] page were: 'Finally. We didn't think the Venetians were thinking about the city any more.'"

Out of the wilderness of Poveglia, the group wants to turn it into a recreational space, vowing to keep two-thirds accessible to the public for activities such as camping, sailing and picnicking, and ensuring the remaining third be used for "entrepreneurial activity" in line with the principles of the wider lease bid.

"This doesn't mean they have to be making fishing nets by hand," says Pesola, an architect, "but it means that they are respectful of the [island's] tradition".

So far the project has won considerable local support and the tentative backing of Venice's centre-left mayor, Giorgio Orsoni, who was quoted as saying Venetians already had "too many luxury hotels" in the lagoon and didn't need another.

With more than 7,000 Facebook supporters, the group has had some financial success; three hours after opening the donation process last Wednesday, it already had the €20,000 necessary to take part in the 7 May auction organised by government agency Demanio.

But whether it will be able to raise enough money to see off big, private rivals remains to be seen. Should their bid fail, they will give the money back.

The activists want to galvanise support not only among neighbours, but also those abroad who have "a certain idea" of Venice and its lagoon, and care about their future. "The chance of visiting a real Venice 10 years from now, rather than just a crystal image of it – that's what they would be supporting," says Pesola.

"There is a kind of caricatural image of [Venice], which has been superimposed on a real city," says Giancarlo Ghigi, a computer technician and another member of the association. "Maybe the only real ghost is the real city, which had seemed dead, but which is emerging."

Article > The Guardian

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Toronto building haunted by a spirit of a young girl.

Ghost stories, unsolved mysteries in the spotlight at Doors Open Toronto.


TORONTO -- The boxy modern building just off Toronto's Bloor Street seems like one of the last places anyone would go looking for ghosts.

Yet for decades, people have reported seeing the spectre of a seven-year-old girl running through the halls of the former McLaughlin Planetarium, now owned by the University of Toronto, and hearing her mischievous laugh.

Celeste, as she's known, first appeared when the planetarium opened its doors in the 1960s. The domed building hosted generations of Toronto schoolchildren on field trips before it was closed to the public.

The beloved site is one of the stops on the Mysteries of the University of Toronto walking tour offered for free as part of the annual Doors Open Toronto festival on May 24 and 25. (It is not, however, on the list of buildings open to visitors.)

It just goes to show that "creepy old buildings" aren't the only ones with good stories, said festival tour guide Richard Fiennes-Clinton, who also runs the Muddy York Walking Tours company.

Ghost sightings, urban legends and secret spaces are at the heart of this year's festival, which encourages residents and tourists alike to explore "the mysteries behind the door" by peeking into buildings they can't normally access.

With more than 155 participating buildings -- including 40 new additions this year -- Toronto's festival is the largest of its kind in North America, said organizer Kerri MacDonald. It draws roughly 200,000 people each year, she said.

Other cities in Canada and the U.S., including Ottawa, Edmonton, Halifax and New York City, have also started similar events.

Tales of ghosts and mysteries "imbue an appreciation for architecture and history," Fiennes-Clinton said as he showed off some of the university's better-known haunted sites on a recent afternoon.

Some visitors are paranormal enthusiasts while others are staunch skeptics, he said. "Most are just looking for a good story."

At the university's Trinity College, the resident ghost is none other than its founder, who has often been seen wandering the grounds in his academic robes, Fiennes-Clinton said.

Johannes Strachan was considered a controlling man and maintains that reputation in the afterlife, with many suggesting his spirit is keeping the college in order, the guide said.

"A lot of ghost stories come out of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder," he said.

Deep gouges in the wooden door of University College show where a construction worker tried to cut through with an axe in the 1850s, Fiennes-Clinton said.

The man was chasing a fellow worker who had stolen his girlfriend. But he never got his revenge -- instead, the guide said, he was stabbed to death by the man he was tracking, his body tossed into an unfinished tower that was later sealed off by the construction crew.

A fire decades later revealed skeletal remains, he said. "It's become legendary."

Other walking tours will showcase the folklore surrounding the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse on Toronto Island, the Exhibition Grounds -- which organizers said is home to a number of "paranormal hotspots" -- and the historic Distillery District, among others.

Visitors will also get a chance to see an underground bowling alley in a downtown church, haunted tunnels beneath a school and bank vaults in a hotel.

Article > Ghost stories, unsolved mysteries in the spotlight at Doors Open Toronto.

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Is this something Paranormal at Hernando Siles Stadium?

Footage Shows Ghostly Figure Sweep Across Soccer Stadium.

Is it a ghost? A shadow? A really fast-moving person?

TV cameras caught a shadowy human-like figure speeding across the screen during Thursday's soccer match at Hernando Siles Stadium in La Paz, Bolivia, on Thursday April 17.

People in the crowd don't seem to notice the figure.

The Heavy reports that the shadow "has human movements" and may in fact be a soccer player "double exposed on the camera."

Watch the video above and decide for yourself.

Article > Footage Shows Ghostly Figure Sweep Across Soccer Stadium (VIDEO) 

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Objects that are claimed to be Haunted or Possessed. Part Three

Flight 401.

For the third part of this series of haunted or possessed objects we look into the strange story of Flight 401. Although flight 401 it’s self was not haunted, the events that followed its crash are strange for sure.

Eastern Air Lines A-1011

21:20 Friday 29^th December 1972 Eastern Air Lines flight 401 left New York’s JFK airport for a routing flight to Miami International Airport. The flight was under the command of Robert Albin ‘Bob’ Loft, a 55 year old veteran pilot who was ranked 50^th in seniority at Eastern Air Lines, during his 32 years at EAL he had racked up a total of 29,700 flying hours. The other members in the cockpit that day that made up the rest of the flying crew were, First Officer Albert John Stockstill who was 39 years of age and had accumulated 5,800 flying hours, and Second Officer (flight engineer) Donald Louis ’Don’ Repo aged 51 with 15,700 flying hours experience.

Cabin Crew on-board Flight 401

 The duty of looking after the 163 passengers of flight 401 that night was down to 10 flight attendant crew, Pat Ghyssels, Trudy Smith, Adrianne Hamilton, Mercy Ruiz, Sue Tebbs, Dottie Warnock, Beverly Raposa, Stephanie Stanich, Patty George, Sharon Transue.

In total there was 176 people on board the four month old Lockheed L-1011-1 Tri-Star heading to Miami. 

At 23:32 as the flight crew prepared to start the decent into Miami International Airport, first officer Stockstill reported that the landing gear indicator had not come on for the nose wheel, this was a green light which illuminates once the landing gear in down and locked in position.

The crew carried out a series of test to see if they could identify what the problem was, this involved the light assembly being removed by one of the flight crew to see if they could see and issues with the equipment that would prevent the light from illuminating, second officer Repo was requested to go down to the avionics bay beneath the flight deck, this is a small area beneath the cockpit where there is a small viewing window through which can be seen the nose wheel if it is in the down position.

During the time these checks were taking place Captain Loft had advised air traffic control at Miami that they were going to abort their approach and requested to enter a holding pattern. The Air traffic controller liaising with flight 401 confirmed they could enter a holding pattern and cleared the flight to climb to two thousand feet and hold west over the Everglades.

At 23:43 flight 401 vanished from the radar monitors at Miami International and no further radio communication were made with flight 401 from that moment. A radio call from another flight that was also in a holding pattern waiting for their clearance to land radioed in to air traffic control reporting they had seen a big explosion out to the West, they were not sure what had caused it but thought they should report this back to the tower.

Flight 401 travelling at approx. 227 miles per hour had plunged into the marshland of the Everglades, and huge area of swamp which is infested with alligators.

Of the 176 people aboard the plane, only 75 people survived the crash. 101 people lost their lives that December night, 99 died at the scene and a further 2 died shortly afterwards due to injuries sustained by the accident.

Wreckage of flight 401.

The wreckage was removed from the crash site after initial investigations into the accident. Once a full investigation of the wreckage had been carried out, parts of the plane that had not been damaged by the impact were salvaged Eastern Air lines and were used as spare parts on other EAL Tri-stars.

This is where our story of haunted objects begins.

One of the early reports of something strange happening was again at JFK Airport in 1973, a then Vice President of Eastern Airways was catching a flight to Miami, as he was a high ranking person within the company he was classed as a VIP passenger and as such was able to board the aircraft ahead of all the other passengers. The gentleman

boarded the plane and made his way to the first class cabin, as he approached his seat he noticed the aircraft captain in full uniform up ahead, eager to speak to the captain and introduce himself to another employee of the company the VIP went over to the pilot. Introducing himself to the other man he waited for a response, the captain turned around and the VIP immediately recognised him as Captain Bob Loft, the apparition quickly vanished.

The VIP was well aware of Captain Loft, after all it was only the previous year that the captain and long standing employee of EAL had lost his life when flight 401 crashed. The VIP was shaken and rushed off to find another member of the crew, he was convinced that the sighting of the captain loft was an omen that something was going to happen to this flight. A full search of the aircraft took place, but there was no signs of captain Loft aboard. 

Evacuating the survivors.

Another sighting was reported not long afterwards and again this one was at JFK. The crew of the flight were boarding the aircraft to prepare it for boarding by its passengers, on board was the captain, the crew all said good day to the captain and several of the crew engaged in polite conversation with him, it was not until the captain vanished in front of their eyes that they realised that something was not right and the person they had been talking to was not the captain of this flight. The crew quickly disembarked the aircraft and again a search of the whole aircraft perused. No one was found on the aircraft and the flight was later cancelled as the crew were to shook up to be able to fly that day.

The crew of that flight were later shown pictures of Captain Loft and all the crew members said that the person on board the plane who they spoke to that day was the same man in the picture.

Sightings of Captain Loft and Flight Engineer Don Repo kept being reported aboard other L-1011’s which were owned and operated by Eastern Air Lines.

Another multiple sighting took occurred, a lady passenger on board a flight was getting particularly concerned about the Eastern Air lines employee who sat next to her, the gentleman wore a smart uniform the same as those worn by the cabin crew of this flight. The woman was concerned that the man next to her was not at all well as he was looking practically ill and had become unresponsive, the lady called over a stewardess who approached and tried to speak to the gentleman to see if he was OK, the gentleman just vanished right in front of their eyes.

A similar incident took place on a another flight, again a lady passenger called over one of the stewardess’s as she had become concerned about the unresponsiveness of the gentleman next to her, again the gentleman was wearing a EAL flight crew uniform, the stewardess again approached and enquired if the gentleman was ok, only to see the man vanish in front of her.

Both of the above incidents were witnessed by multiple people and afterwards the whiteness’s were all shown photographs of the 3 flight crew members of flight 401 and all whiteness’s identified the man on board their flight who just vanished in front of them as Don Repo.

The reports of sighting continued.

Wreckage of flight 401.

A flight engineer aboard an L-1011 was preparing to carry out his routine pre-flight inspection before everyone else was allowed to board the aircraft. He approached his position he was stunned to see another Eastern Air lines officer sitting in his seat, the officer turned to face the engineer he immediately recognised him as Don Repo, the officer looking at the engineer said “You don’t have to worry about the pre-flight, I’ve already done it” the officer then vanished.

Very soon afterwards another sighting of Don Repo was reported, this time by another captain of EAL, the captain was inspecting the flight instruments in front of him and he was surprised to see clearly staring back at him was the face of Don Repo, the captain claims that he not only saw Don Repo’s face in the instrument panel but he also distinctly heard his voice, he says Repo said to him “There will never be another crash on a L-101, we will not let it happen.”

Another reported incident was on a flight from Atlanta to Miami, the flight was well under way and was cursing at approx. 39,000 feet. The flight crew had settled down to enjoy their in-flight meal, suddenly there was loud knocking sound coming from the avionics bay, reluctantly a member of the flight crew opened up the hat to the avionics bay to investigate what the knocking sound was and was alarmed to see the face of Don Repo staring back at him. The avionics bay was the last reported location of Don Repo on board flight 401.

A further report was made, this time by a flight attendant who spotted the flight engineer repairing the on board oven, thinking nothing more of it the attendant went about her business, until later on the flight she had a chance to talk to the flight engineer and asked him what had been wrong with the oven, the engineer looked confused and replied that he had not repaired the oven at all, the stewardess said that she had seen someone repairing the oven and asked how many engineers were on the flight, the engineer reported that he was only one engineer on board and that he had not carried out any repairs to the on board oven. Later the stewardess identified the engineer she had seen fixing the oven as Don Repo.

More and more people started to report encounters with the deceased air crew.

A aircraft which was being prepared for its next flight was waiting on the ground, on board where several caterers who were stocking the in-flight meals, not long after they had entered the air craft to carry out their duty they were seen rushing from the plane, when questioned by they were fleeing the aircraft they all said they had seen a flight engineer standing in the forward galley and as they looked at him he just vanished.

On a flight from JFK en-route to Mexico City, shortly after take-off one of the stewardess’s Fay Merryweather was in the forward galley when she spotted a reflection in the oven door, she looked around expecting to see someone behind her but there was no one there, she looked again and was amazed to the reflection was the face of Don Repo looking back at here. She did not wish to cause a panic on board the plane so she quietly made her way to the flight cabin and asked the flight engineer to join her in the galley, she also requested one of the other stewardess’s to accompany them, on arriving back at the galley they were all amazed and shocked to see the face of Don Repo still clearly visible looking back at them from the oven door. Suddenly all 3 present heard the apparition say “Watch out for fir on this flight.”

The flight reached Mexico without any fires or problems, but just before take-off on the return journey problems started to occur with the a starboard engine, engineers on the ground at Mexico carried out an inspection of the engine and it was given the OK and the flight was cleared for take-off. As the aircraft climbed higher the starboard engine backfired a couple of times and then failed, the flight crew remembering the warning about a fire quickly shut down the engine and returned the aircraft back to

Mexico safely. Had the crew failed to act in shutting down the engine so quickly, there would have been a big chance that the engine may have caught fire and the fate of that aircraft may have been doomed.

There were many more sighting to follow.

The above reported incidents all happened on A-1011 flights that had been fitted with parts that had been salvaged from wreckage of flight 401. Was it possible that the deceased members of the flight crew of flight 401 attached themselves to these salvaged parts, and as such were able to manifest themselves aboard the aircraft that they had been fitted to them?

What is most important in case is that the sighting are not only made by individuals, but multiple people having witnessed the same sighting at the same time and they have identified the sighting as the same person. Also many of the people who reported the sightings knew both Captain Loft and second officer Repo, they worked for the same company and had been on the same flights in the past.

Captain Loft and Second Officer Repo.

A further point to make here is that many of the people who reported encountering the late Loft and Repo were people of standing and influence, a VIP of Eastern Air Lines, Captains and other flight officers of the company, who had a lot to lose by going public with what they had witnessed, after all, flight crew could be grounded or even suspended on grounds of mental health if they were to make statements that they were seeing apparitions of their late work colleagues. The fact that so many people witnessed Loft and Repo and were able to identify these two men as the people they had seen vanish or talk to them, makes this whole case much more credible.

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