“THE UNEXPLAINED AND BIZARRE BETZ SPHERE” and More Fortean-Related Stories! #ParanormalityMag

IN THIS EPISODE: 
”The Grieving Ghost of Bertha Starkey” by Amelia Cotter *** “Superhumans Walk Among Us” by Brandon Grimes *** “The Unexplained And Bizarre Betz Sphere” by Chaz of the Dead *** “Appalachian Monsters” by Molly Briggs *** “The Elevator Game” by Brandon Grimes
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Subscribe to Paranormality Magazine at https://weirddarkness.com/magazine. Paranormality Magazine is a collaborative endeavor driven by a deep passion for the mysterious, unexplained, and paranormal. We are captivated by the enigmatic realms and the individuals who shape this extraordinary community. Our mission is to delve into all things Fortean, embracing topics ranging from apparitions to extraterrestrial encounters, and exploring the diverse array of cryptid creatures in between. With a global team dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, we gather captivating stories, conduct insightful interviews, and provide up-to-date coverage on groundbreaking paranormal projects that are propelling our community forward. Curious to be a part of this extraordinary journey? Visit https://paranormalitymag.com/about-us/

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Ads heard before, during, orafter the podcast are not endorsed by Paranormality
Magazine or myself unless voiced by mepersonally. All other ads are pre recorded,
inserted my ad agencies and are notunder our control. Welcome to Paranormality

(00:24):
Magazine. Each week, Paranormality Magazineexplores all forty en subjects, from phantoms
to UFOs and every cryptid creature inbetween. Each week you're treated to a
collection of well researched and investigated stories, interviews and reports on cutting edge paranormal
projects and topics they know you crave. And here in the podcast, I

(00:48):
share stories from the magazine to giveyou just a taste of what you receive
in every issue. I'm Darren Marler, and this is Paranormality Magazine. The
Elevator game, also known as theElevator Ritual or Elevator to Another World,

(01:14):
has become an iconic urban legend inrecent years. This ritual, which supposedly
allows a person to travel to anotherdimension or world, has spread widely online
and captures the imagination of those seekingthrills or supernatural encounters. But is this
so called game based in any truthor reality or is it nothing? More

(01:37):
than a creepy story that has takenon a life of its own. Let's
examine the details and origins of theelevator game ritual and explore whether there could
be any factual basis behind such claims. The elevator game ritual rose to prominence
in the early twenty tens, asstories and reports of it began circulating on
blogs, message boards, Reddit,and other Internet forums. The ritual itself

(02:04):
is relatively simple in theory. Atleast at night, go to a building
with at least ten floors that hasan elevator. This building should be near
where you live and largely deserted atnight, such as an office building.
Make sure you are alone when youenter the building. Bring nothing with you.
Accept the clothes on your back,although some variations suggest bringing a small

(02:28):
survival kit. Enter the elevator onthe first floor. Press the button for
the fourth floor. When the elevatorreaches the fourth floor, do not get
out. Instead press the button forthe second floor. On the way down
to the second floor, do notget out, Let the elevator descend back
down and press the button for thesixth floor. Continue this pattern of going

(02:51):
up a set number of floors thendown a set number, then up,
then down, without getting out onany floor until floor number. When the
elevator reaches the tenth floor, itsupposedly will open not onto the tenth floor,
but onto another dimension or different worldentirely different from the one you just

(03:13):
left. If successful, those whocomplete the ritual often report encountering strange creatures
and entities, an alien world filledwith unusual sights and sounds, or a
dimension that resembles our world but seemsabandoned, run down, or permeated with
an overwhelming sense of dread and despair. Accounts sometimes speak of ghostly figures,

(03:37):
madmen, or cult members occupying thisother world. But the Elevator Game ritual
comes with an abundance of danger andwarnings as well. Those who fail to
complete the steps properly may disappear,never to return, become trapped between worlds,
or meet an untimely end at thehands of the questionable entities said to

(03:59):
d well within this alternate realm.Even those who complete the ritual face the
risk of becoming stranded in another worldor dimension, with potentially no way to
return home. While versions of theElevator Game or a similar type of dimensional
elevator ritual have been reported in manycountries. The origins of this particular urban

(04:21):
legend appear to come from Japanese internetforums and threads in the late two thousands.
Two common elements found in early Japaneseelevator game rituals that persist in current
descriptions are the requirement to ride theelevator late at night and the stipulation that
you must ride alone. Both factorshelp set the quiet, isolated, eerie

(04:45):
stage necessary to conduct such a creepyritual. These specific instructions riding up a
set number of floors, then down, and so on in a set sequence,
but never getting out until the end, also bears striking similarity to rituals
documented in older Japanese legends. Thesetypes of rituals are often referred to as

(05:06):
cairo coup, meaning uncanny space.Going back centuries, Japanese folklore contains stories
of people stumbling upon or deliberately enteringmysterious liminal spaces that do not obey normal
physical rules and feature paranormal entities orglimpses of the afterlife. Modern Japanese urban

(05:29):
legends reimagine these uncanny ritual spaces fortoday's world. Elevators lend themselves well to
such paranormal rituals and liminal spaces becausethey already operate as confined, windowless rooms
disconnected from their immediate environment, essentiallya space between one world or one floor

(05:49):
and another. The repeated opening andclosing of the elevator doors builds suspension and
deception. Will the next door openonto the same world or another realm entirely?
Thus, the Elevator Game took inspirationfrom ancient folk beliefs and updated the
idea of a mystical, perilous ritualspace for the modern tech world. Despite

(06:15):
endless anecdotal claims on creepy websites andstories of friends of friends undertaking the elevator
game with terrifying results, no definitivefirst hand accounts from participants who successfully completed
the ritual exist. Plenty of individualsmay believe they played the game properly,
only to experience a series of coincidencesand psychological episodes fueled by suggestion and their

(06:40):
own imagination, rather than a trueportal to another world. Without concrete,
video, or documented evidence that theelevator game truly works as described, reasonable
skepticism remains warranted. Researchers of folkloreand urban legends point out that while ghost
stories and paranormal belief have existed acrosshuman cultures for millennia, the advancement of

(07:03):
photography, film, and now theInternet should result in far more tangible evidence
than exists if any of these phenomenawere based in reality. The lack of
such evidence regarding the Elevator Game ritualonly lends more credence to the theory that
it is nothing more than an unsettlingfictional legend, deeply rooted in ancient folklore

(07:24):
and reimagined for a tech savvy twentyfirst century Internet audience constantly seeking out the
creepy and bizarre corners of humanity.The current cultural obsession with the Elevator Game
ritual speaks volumes regarding humanity's inherent needto believe in forces larger than ourselves and
possibilities beyond the mundane day to dayof reality. These rituals and urban legends

(07:47):
tap into our desire to peel backthe restrictions and limitations placed upon the human
experience, to glimpse realities beyond ourown, or at least imagine such an
escape as possible. The Elevator gamelegend plays upon common modern anxieties as well.
The inherent isolation and unease we oftenfeel crowded into an elevator car or

(08:11):
ascending hundreds of feet in a confinedmetal box lends itself well to overlaying further
paranormal phenomena in that setting. Similarly, late night expanses of empty office buildings
contrast sharply with the hustle and bustlethat animates them during the day. The
stillness and shadows of such settings atnight give rise to unsettled feelings within us,

(08:33):
even before we populate the space withimaginary sinister entities. Combining eerie modern
spaces and technologies like elevators with ancientfolkloric rituals offers the perfect blend to craft
compelling new urban myths and legends thatspread like wildfire in our highly connected online
world. The Elevator Game succeeds sowell because even if the small part of

(08:58):
our rational mind knows better, thestory preys upon our irrational vulnerabilities so effectively
that doubt creeps back in no matterhow ridiculous the premise may be, and
so legends and ceremonies like the ElevatorGame enduer unlikely to be eradicated anytime soon,
despite a lack of evidence. Inthe end, a thorough examination of

(09:22):
the Elevator Game ritual and the paranormalclaims surrounding it reveals no substantiated incidents and
no concrete video evidence showing the ritualeven working as described quite plausibly, the
game's spread online points to nothing morethan a brilliant and highly shareable new urban
legend, updated for our modern world, but still just a legend nonetheless,

(09:48):
Yet ultimately it provides such engaging storytellingfodder that the game proves likely to fascinate
and attract new players for years tocome, despite its dubious and unproven underlying
claims. For those tempted to testthe game themselves, skeptics worn against attempting
the ritual at all due to acomplete lack of evidence supporting its validity.

(10:11):
Coupled with inherent psychological and physical dangers, The likelihood for self delusion or being
carried away by suggestive thinking remains quitehigh. Meanwhile, lurking alone and deserted
buildings at night clearly exposes anyone torisk of assault, accident, or even
just basic trespassing charges. As such, the smartest course remains appreciating the Elevator

(10:37):
Game as nothing more than a deliciouslychilling and imaginative story, but otherwise leaving
this ritual firmly between the pages ofurban legend books rather than trying to bring
it to life. There are certainindividuals in this world who possess uncanny talents

(11:01):
and abilities that even experts struggle toexplain. They accomplish feats of superhuman strength,
memory, endurance, and more thatleave scientists scratching their heads. First
is Daniel Browning Smith, a fortyfour year old contortionist and performer from the
United States. Thanks to a conditioncalled hypermobile Eller's dan Los syndrome, which

(11:26):
gives him unusually flexible joints and stretchyskin, Smith holds seven Guinness World Records.
His uncanny elasticity allowed him to accomplishincredible stunts like squeezing his entire body
through a tiny tennis racket. However, the condition also causes chronic pain and
easy dislocations, forcing Smith to giveup performing. Then there's Natasha Demkina,

(11:52):
a thirty seven year old Russian womanwho claims to possess x ray vision that
lets her see inside other people's bies. In several controlled tests, she was
able to correctly identify strangers various medicalconditions at a rate that seems unbelievably high.
However, her predictions are not alwaysaccurate, so some believe she is

(12:15):
simply an incredibly gifted guesser. NagokTai, an eighty one year old Vietnamese
farmer, states that he has notslept a single night since nineteen sixty two.
His family and neighbors insists they havenever once caught him sleeping. Tye
says he draws boundless energy not fromsleep, but rather daily consumption of green

(12:35):
tea and rice wine. Of course, going even a few days without sleep
should be deadly, so his supposedsuperpower is likely more of a curse.
In stark contrast, forty nine yearold British artist Stephen Wiltscher possesses the gift
of perfect visual memory and artistic ability. After briefly glancing at a complex's cityscape

(13:01):
just once, Wiltshire can perfectly sketchthe entire detailed landscape from memory, completely
accurate down to each building. Finally, there is Dutch iceman wim Hoff,
who set Guinness Records for incredible feats, like the farthest swim underneath Arctic ice.
He credits special breathing techniques and coldexposure for granting him superhuman endurance against

(13:26):
freezing temperatures that should cause hypothermia inothers. While several experts argue that his
unique abilities have scientific merit, otherresearchers remain highly skeptical. Incredibly, all
five of these real life superhumans walkamong average people that possess no such special

(13:46):
talents. Their bewildering gifts showcase theremarkable potential and mystery locked within the human
body and mind. Such miraculous abilitiespush the boundaries of what we perceive possible
for our species to achieve. Thoughnot superheroes in the traditional comic sense,
they certainly embody heroic qualities of overcomingphysical limitations through sheer, willpower and determination.

(14:11):
As medical mysteries, they may neverbe fully explained by science. Keeping
a shred of magical mystique. Foreverwant more paranormality, subscribe to Paranormality Magazine

(14:31):
and each month get it delivered digitallyor via mail in our print version.
Paranormality Magazine is a collaborative endeavor featuringworks from people like you who have a
passion for all things mysterious and unexplained. Our goal is the pursuit of knowledge,
gathering captivating stories from our own teamof writers, researchers, and investigators,

(14:56):
as well as from writers such asyourself. Each monthly issue also includes
a list of paranormal horror, UFOand cryptozoology events around the country, incredible
paranormal themed artwork, articles and writingsent in from our readers, suggested books
and podcasts to consume, and more. Visit paranormalitymag dot com and subscribe today

(15:22):
for as little as three ninety ninea month. That's paranormalitymag dot com.
Paranormalitymag dot com. Chairs of theDead from Paranormality Magazine followed Saint John's river

(15:48):
out of these sprawling mess of highwaysthat make up Jacksonville, Florida. As
he went the strip, malls andhomes changed into shipping yards and naval facilities
began to get sparse as well.He took a turn to head into the
interior of Fort George Island. Hepassed a set of stone ruins and came
to a fork in the road.The GPS marker ended here, but this

(16:14):
was clearly not the destination. Theplace he was looking for had been described
as castle like more than once,and while it was abandoned, he was
sure it had not degraded to thepoint of just a few stones and pillars
like the ruins that he had justpassed. He decided to take the left
path, which was a bad choiceas it was unpaved and he learned,

(16:37):
filled with potholes. He followed itto the end of the island, where
sits Kingsley Plantation. He and hisfriends drove past a half ring of stone
ruins that looked similar to the onesat the start of the island, and
up to the plantation house, abeautiful structure that houses a free museum and
tells the story familiar to many placesthroughout the South. R ones were slave

(17:00):
houses, but this was not thestructure that they were looking for either.
They asked the park ranger stationed atthe plantation if she knew where they could
find the nef house. She mistakenlygave them directions to another historic house that
started with a letter N. Butthis wasn't it either. It was clearly

(17:22):
lived in. They spent the entireafternoon, driving up and down the street
looking for the house that day,but never found it. The island itself
had a tangible strangeness that seemed toentrap them while they were there. Well
defeated, they would not easily forgetthat search, the island, the house,

(17:44):
or least of all, the strangestory behind it. That castle like
home was built in the nineteen twentiesby Jacksonville's most prominent architect, Melon Clark
Greeley. He called the Tudor Revivalstyle home his most unique building. He
built it as a vacation home fora Chicago businessman named Nettleton Nef, who

(18:07):
oversaw the construction. Unfortunately, tragedywould prevent his family from getting to use
their home. The fire killed missusNef in nineteen twenty six. A few
years later, their son would takehis life while attending Harvard in nineteen thirty
one. Nettleton Nef followed suit,shooting himself in his Chicago office. The

(18:30):
home sat vacant for some years beforeanother family purchased it as a vacation home.
This seems to be when the housebegan to build its reputation as being
haunted. Despite the Nef family tragediesoccurring out of state. People felt that
the spooky tower structure may have becomethe home of these spirits. Indeed,
ghosts had been seen on the islandlong before the house was built, but

(18:55):
its strange architecture and remoteness became afocal point for the stories. But this
is not a ghost story. Theghosts and tragedy are just one aspect of
what is one of the strangest paranormalcases of all time. In nineteen sixty
seven, the Betts family purchased theproperty and were the first and last people

(19:18):
to live there full time. JerryBetts was a prominent business woman in the
area, having started and ran asuccessful trucking line and a real estate development
company. In fact, she hadsignificant holdings in and around the island,
which was the reason for the move. All of this was done in the
fifties and sixties while being a motherto six children. She was truly an

(19:40):
industrious woman who helped shape the city. She lived at the home with her
second husband and two of their children. One of their kids, twenty one
year old Terry Betts, was walkingaround Fort George Island when he noticed something
strange sitting inside a ring of deadtrees was a large metallic ball. Terry
picked up the warn bowling ball sizedsphere and took it home, thinking it

(20:04):
may be a cannon ball or otherartifact. The balls sat in the home
for a while until Terry played theguitar near it, and the ball seemingly
reacted. From this point forward,the ball began to display strange behavior.
It would ring out in a metallichum on its own. It would roll
around and follow people around the houseon its own accord. The Bets family

(20:29):
began showing the ball to family friends, and soon the story reached a local
radio show host who did a showabout paranormal subjects. He went to the
house and saw the ball's abilities forhimself. The ball rolled on its own
over a flat glass table, stoppingprecisely on the edge of the table in
a way that defied gravity. Afterhe did his show on the sphere,

(20:52):
the rest of the local media caughton, and soon national papers were talking
about the strange sphere found in Florida. Jerry became the family's spokesperson in all
sphere related matters. As more andmore reporters began showing up at their wooded
castle home, Soon the Navy tooknotice, as their facilities were near the

(21:14):
island, and a growing theory wasthat it was some piece of their tech
that had been misplaced. Jerry,being as always an elegant and clever businesswoman,
drew up a contract for the Navydesign, stating that they would return
the sphere if it was found thatit did not belong to them. The
Navy conducted a variety of tests onthe sphere, including an X ray that

(21:37):
showed three smaller spheres inside the object, one of which seemed to have a
little antenna. It was decided thatit was certainly not theirs, and the
object was returned to the Betts family. But according to the family, the
officer who dropped off the sphere receiveda phone call at the house instructing him
to take the sphere back. Jerryrefused and kept hold of the sphere,

(22:03):
more convinced than ever that they hadsomething strange in their possession. The Navy
subsequently released a statement declaring that thesphere was nothing special and that the rolling
was simply because of a chip inthe surface of the otherwise perfectly weighted ball,
But this did not stop other groupsfrom showing interest in the sphere.
The National Inquirer had convened a panelof five scientists in New Orleans to investigate

(22:27):
the UFO phenomenon. Leading the panelwas famed astrophysicist and pioneering ufologist Jay allen
Heinek. The panel flew out TerryBetts and the sphere to investigate it from
here. Various stories have come fromsources in and around the family, most
of them pointing an accusatory finger atthe panel. One story states that while

(22:51):
in New Orleans, the panel receiveda call stating that there was an emergency
back home in Jacksonville and that Terryneeded to return immediately. He was flown
back by the panel without the ball, only to find his mother confused as
no emergency had occurred. Another storystates that sometime after the panel saw the

(23:11):
ball, Jay Allen Heinek visited thehome and spent the night with the ball.
He either was caught inspecting it inthe night or actually slept with it
in his room overnight. Whichever storyis true, it became clear that Jerry
felt that the panel had altered theball somehow, or perhaps swapped it out
with a fake one. She feltthis way because its bizarre behavior the humming

(23:34):
and the moving had seemed to stop. She took it for a follow up
X ray and found that the threeinternal pieces appeared altered. The panel also
released their statement that they concluded withthe skeptics of the time, the ball
was simply an improperly disposed of industrialball valve. This was right around the

(23:56):
fever pitch of the story, andJerry and her her family were already exhausted.
Self proclaimed uthologists kept showing up ather home and the phone would ring
at all hours, day and night. In one of the very last interviews
she gave, she stated that shewas fine with the public thinking it was
nothing special, and that she justwanted the circus to stop. She refused

(24:18):
to speak about the ball publicly,and eventually the Betses moved out of their
castle. It fell into the handsof the state and then into a state
of disrepair, and this was seeminglythe end of the story, but not
quite. While Chaz and his friendsfailed to find the house on their trip,

(24:38):
a local journalist had succeeded, andshe also succeeded in bringing the case
back to life. Lindsey Kilbride workedwith WJCT Public Radio in Jacksonville to produce
a five part series entitled Oddball thatcovered the story and brought new information and
life to the case. Her tremendouseffort has resulted in a sh show that

(25:00):
compels you to binge listen as newtheories, stories, and sources come forward.
Her skills as a journalist truly providea new perspective on high strangeness in
a case that most of the paranormalworld is forgotten. From finding new information
from Heinez's sons, panel psychologist doctorLeo Sprinkle, experts from around the area,

(25:22):
and even getting in touch with theBett's family, who has not spoken
publicly about the case in decades.We had an opportunity to have a brief
chat with Lindsay about the case andasked her about some of these breakthroughs.
Did she have a personal belief inwhat theory was the most likely? Her
answer was honestly no, She'd goneback and forth and didn't believe the mystery

(25:45):
could be solved without investigating the sphere. Today, we asked if there was
any other information or theories that hadcome up since the show came out.
She said, I've definitely had manypeople reach out to me with their own
theories, but I haven't received anynew groundbreaking information. Are there any plans
to release an update on the casein the future. That's to be determined.

(26:07):
Is there anything that she'd like ourreaders and listeners to know about the
case or the show? She answered, the podcast was a huge endeavor for
me. I had never made aserialized narrative podcast before, and I worked
with very few resources. I reallyappreciate anyone who has listened. I hope
people hear the story and maybe thinktwice about judging someone who has had an
out of the ordinary experience like this, and I encourage everyone to donate to

(26:33):
their local public radio stations. Wealso asked her about some of her contacts
and about some of the information thatthey provided. An elegant professional, Lindsay
assured me that she would not haveput information in the podcast without independently getting
confirmation, and she has continued torespect witnesses requests for privacy, patiently waiting

(26:55):
for them to provide the information ontheir terms. She really is an example
of what a researcher should strive tobe, and as a result, her
project Oddball is certainly the definitive sourceof information on the Betts case. You
might want to add that to yourpodcast rotation. The Blue Anchor Pub at

(27:22):
eight oh four East Atlantic Avenue inDelray Beach, Florida, is known as
the most haunted pub in West PalmBeach County and possibly one of the most
haunted pubs in the United States.The legend of how the Blue Anchor Pub
came to be haunted has a fewvariations, but the most common story told
takes us back to the mid nineteenthcentury London. At the time the Blue

(27:47):
Anchor Pub stood on Chancery Lane,a young woman named Bertha Starkey and her
husband were tenants of an apartment abovethe pub. Bertha's husband was frequently away
at sea, leaving her alone andquite lonely for long periods of time.
As such, Bertha began having affairswith other men, especially patrons of the

(28:07):
pub, and was caught one nightby her jealous husband when he unexpectedly returned
early from one of his long voyages. Enraged, he stabbed Bertha and her
lover to death. The original BlueAnchor was torn down in the late eighteen
hundreds, but its facade and woodeninterior were disassembled, set aside and placed

(28:30):
in storage. In nineteen ninety six, the first owner of the American iteration
of the pub, Lee Harrison,brought the parts down to Delray Beach and
opened the new Blue Anchor, completewith its original facade, wooden interior,
and the ghost of Bertha. Harrisonsold the pub to current owners Mark and

(28:51):
Peggy Snyder in twenty seventeen. Employeesand guests witness a range of exciting and
spooky paranormal phenomena at the pub,including candles lighting and extinguishing on their own,
heavy items flying off the walls,loud footsteps after closing time, pots
and pans banging around by themselves,and most notably, the eerie, mournful

(29:14):
sound of Bertha's ghost wailing away intothe night. Bertha is most often heard
moaning or otherwise making a ruckus aroundten PM, as this is when the
murderers are thought to have occurred,a continent away and almost two centuries ago.
A decade's long tradition includes ringing theShip's Bell, a bell located behind

(29:37):
the bar, at ten pm eachnight to appease and pay tribute to Bertha.
Other notable features of the pub includeits hand drawn cask conditioned beer taps,
meaning there is no use of carbondioxide, but rather the beer is
pumped directly by hand into each glass. Aside from Theme Parks in Orlando,

(29:57):
no other Florida pub utilizes this technique. The pub was featured on Travel Channel's
Booze Traveler in twenty seventeen and continuesto attract a dynamic crowd of soccer that's
football fans, paranormal enthusiasts, andbeer lovers from around the state and beyond.
English expats seem to especially enjoy theatmosphere, which feels like home,

(30:21):
and the pub pours twenty ounce imperialpints for its thirsty guests. Daily.
Employees and guests seem to embrace theghost of Bertha. Bertha, for her
part, still seems to be mourningher untimely death and the death of her
lover against the backdrop of a livelylocal pub and a spectacular, haunting view

(30:44):
of the sea. Everybody loves amystery, but maybe not a mystery that
will likely be the death of you. Here are some terrifying beasts of the
Appalachian Mountain Range that you've probably neverheard of. White Thang, White thang,

(31:07):
that's thang with a thch. Theylive deep inside the Alabama woods.
Most recorded sightings are said to havehappened within the triangular area of Morgan,
Atawa and Jefferson Counties. This isa beast that is best to avoid.
The white thing stands seven to eightfeet tall, exhibits bright red eyeshine,

(31:27):
and is covered in thick white hair. It is said to resemble a lion
crossed with a kangaroo and has thehead of a cat. The terrifying creature
is agile and can move at lightningspeed, strategically luring its prey with the
sound of a screaming woman. Thebizarre monster is said to spend time lurking

(31:48):
in the area of wakes and funerals. To see one of these creatures is
to bring bad luck. They areharbingers of death bad omens. Sightings of
these deadly creeksatures have been recorded forover one hundred years and are still seen
today. Oll Slewfoot Oll Slewfoot isa force not to be reckoned with.

(32:12):
Sightings of the massive three footed blackbear began many years ago, and some
believe he's still prowling deep inside thewoods the Appalachian Mountains today. He weighs
over six hundred pounds and has nopredators other than man. Some of the
last known places he's said to havebeen roaming is in the North Carolina Mountains,
Mount Piska and the Balsam Range.Legend has it that ol Slewfoot had

(32:37):
once been caught in a trap.To wrestle himself free, the bear sustained
permanent damage to his foot, leavinghim to hobble around on his three remaining
legs. That is not a tallorder for such a legendary bear. Outdoorsmen
are often baffled by the creature's abilityto thwart hunters. Masterfully employing his cunning

(32:58):
skills, the massive bear survives eachpassing season. Local hunters naturally garnered much
respect for the high ranking skills ofthe man eating monster, giving him the
nickname Honest John. The only evidenceof his passing through is what he's left
behind, his signature track, theunmistakable mark of his sliding front foot.

(33:20):
Listen carefully around the campfire at night, you can hear the hunters reverently declare
he was more than just a bear. No one ever claimed to have killed
the elusive beast. Oul Slewfoot continuesto be pursued to this day. The
Albatwitch or apple snitch, the albertWitch is a terrifying creature that closely resembles

(33:45):
the sasquatch, though slightly smaller.Standing at just four feet tall, The
al but witch is commonly seen lurkingalong the woodlands of Columbia, Pennsylvania,
specifically the banks of the Susquehanna River. The strange beast is covered from head
to toe in reddish brown hair.Those lucky or unlucky enough to have seen

(34:07):
the shortish beast say that he resemblesa man. The alvatwitch is named for
its bizarre behavior for throwing apples atpeople passing by. When the short hairy
man is not sitting in trees andspying on people, he's collecting apples to
throw it unsuspecting hikers. The allbut witch has been a part of local
Appalachian mountain lore for over one hundredyears. Chilling tales and strange stories have

(34:30):
been handed down through generations. Atypical encounter would include hearing what Samu described
as the sound of a cracking whip. One boy told of seeing his brother
pinned against a tree by the applethrowing beast. The brother's horrified screams startled
the creature enough that he set theboy free at once. The Apple Snitch

(34:52):
is said to have lived at thebase of Chicky's Rock, a substantial outcropping
of quartz like rock, a naturalrock formation. The tower over one hundred
feet above Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River, anarea that was also home at one time
to the Susquehanna Giant Indians. TheAppalachian chupacabra, the appalation chupacabra, has

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a long body is four feet tallat the shoulder. This terrifying creature has
a broad shape with spikes running alongits back. He has a pig like
snout and large fangs within his mouth. The Mountain Chupicabra's oversized paws have talons
more prominent than a hawk. Fiendishlyspread out over only three toes, the

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hideous, freaking nature is covered inquills and was first spotted to the nineteen
hundreds. They say the creature migratedto the US from Puerto Rico. The
beast has been seen roaming the woodswithin West Virginia. Its thick, matted
fur, massive fangs, and largeglowing eyes make him something that nightmares are
made of. The beast relies onits pack to stalk and hunt its prey,

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actively using their keen ability to confusetheir victims. He's known to use
the shrill scream of a woman's voiceto draw in its dupable meal, scurrying
the night for bears, deer,pets, and wolves. The Appalachian Chpiicabra
dons a frighteningly aggressive nature, movingat the speed of light, maxing out
at two hundred and forty pounds,this mountain beast is one to be feared.

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The Raven Mocker. The Raven Mockerfirst revealed itself in Cherokee mythology.
Feared by witches, he is knownas the Angel of Death. He is
an evil being who robs the sickand dying of their lives. When the
Raven Mocker meets his mark, heappears as a withered old man or woman.

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The beast's essence swells into the air, stalking its victim before bursting into
a fiery flame. He then riseson a gust of wind and descends upon
the victim's head. The beast isso clever it's able to eat the heart
without leaving a mark. On itsvictim's body. The raven macher victoriously adds

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a year to his own existence bystealing the life of another. If you
hear the screech of the deadly creature, you know that death is near.
The only member of the tribe whois able to thwart the beast is the
medicine man, coming to Wan's rescue. The medicine man will stand over the
dying in an attempt to keep thevicious animal from stealing the villager's heart.

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Invisible when feeding, this deadly ravenmocker is feared by all, but envied
by witches. The smoke wolf.The wolf is arguably the cleverest of all
the forest creatures, but there isone more cunning than even the wolf.
The smoke wolf is an animal thatlegends are made of. This enigmatic creature

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seems to have stalked the forests sincethe beginning of time, scaring settlers throughout
the centuries. A smoke wolf isborn through death. Once the settler's family
dog dies, he is promptly buried. The spirit of the dog is then
called a grim. His spirit morphsinto a spiritual black dog with fiery red

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eyes. He stalks the night protectingthe graveyard from grave robbers, thieves,
witches, and warlocks. After atime, the grim then becomes a smoke
wolf, howling like a wolf andscreaming like a demon. The fearsome wolf
is said to have been around forover the last four billion years give or
take. Smoke wolves live in smallpacks and don't kill for food. Smoke

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wolves kill for fun. They're saidto roam the forests of Tiguart Valley was
Virginia, an area known to localsas No Man's Land. The smoke wolf
appears out of a smoky fog,hence the name, and stalks its prey
in the most remote parts of theforest. No place is safe from this
deadly creature. Umpus cat. Thewampus cat appears to be a hit when

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choosing a high school mascot. Manyhigh schools across the country have adopted the
wampus cat's likeness to help facilitate fearamong their rivals. The wampus cat,
also referred to as the galley wampusor whistling wampus, as a terrifying cross
between a cat and a human.The fearsome cat's sharp, elongated claws and
razors sharp teeth are just as alarmingas its piercing, yellow glowing eyes.

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He skillfully lurks along the lesser traveledpaths within the Appalachian region, looking for
his next meal. The Cherokee peoplehave shared horrifying stories about the shape shifting
beast for centuries. Some claim tohave seen a yellow cougar with a spiked
ball on its tail, yet othershave said that they've encountered a six legged
mountain lion, four legs for runningat the speed of light and two for

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fighting with all its might. Therehave also been reports of the creature being
a spiritual, grit eyed cat withoccult powers. Tribal members talk of the
wampus cat as being the embodiment ofa female cursed by the elders for hiding
underneath a blanket secretly watching a sacredceremony. Still, others speculate the one

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who embodies the terrifying cat was cursedbecause of disobedience or for practicing witchcraft.
In December nineteen eighteen, the wampascatwas recorded in the Greenville Sun newspaper as
having roamed the Big Ridge in thearea of Gethsemone. The paper noted its
dark matted fur, and long,sinuous tale. The paper also stated that

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the strange, alluring cat was ashape shifter with the ability to become invisible.
Other newspapers said that stories of theWampas cat have stretched on four generations,
terrifying villagers and tribesmen and killing livestockfrom North Carolina to Georgia. And
then there's the snelly Gaster, ahalf bird, half reptile bee that has

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been described as a dragon like animalliving in the South Mountain Cave. The
snelly Gaster's name translates to quick spiritor fast ghost. Frederick County marks the
area where the beast is said tofrequent. Most stories about the strange creature
started circulating in nineteen oh nine.It's also been described as a lion with

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the head of a goat protruding fromits back and having a long tail with
the head of a snake. AnOhio man described the horrible beast as having
two enormous wings and a large,horny head with a tail that was twenty
feet long. Seen as far awayas New Jersey, one man said it
was roosting on his barn and laidan egg the size of a whiskey barrel.

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The terrifying creature has the shrill screamof a locomotive whistle. In nineteen
oh nine, the beast was seenby three men outside of a railway station
in Frederick County, Maryland. Uponencountering the terrifying beast, the men bravely
fought the creature for one and ahalf hours before eventually chasing it into the
woods. This would be the lasttime the snally Gaster was seen for over

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twenty three years, until another appearedonce again in the area of Frederick County.
This prompted the assumption that it musthave been the offspring of the original
beast. The most gruesome and terrifyingstory has direct ties to the Smithsonian.
The storytells of a man who hadbeen seized by the creature and killed.

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The snally Gaster pierced the man's neckand swiftly sucked all the blood from his
body before dropping him back on ahill. Middletown, Maryland's Register carried the
horrifying story, prompting the Smithsonian tooffer a prize for its hide. President
Theodore Roosevelt reportedly considered the challenge beforeeventually thinking better of it. The fertile

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flying creature is said to have hada chilling reputation for being everywhere, all
the time, all at once.So before you go for a nature walk
within the forests of the Appalachian MountainsRange, don't leave home without some essential
protection stage fullywater, and definitely aBible. Thanks for listening to Paranormality Magazine.

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Get more information about the magazine andsubscribe to our monthly publication at paranormalitymag
dot com. That's paranormalitymag dot com, or click the link in the show
description. And if you're a researcheror investigator, send us your stories.
We might feature you at our nextissue. If you have a paranormal podcast,

(43:49):
you can add it to our websiteso our readers can find your show
and artists. If you'd like yourwork to be featured in our magazine or
on our back cover, contact usagain. Our webs site is paranormalitymag dot
com. I'm Darren Marler, andI'll have more paranormal for you next time
from Paranormality Magazine.