"FEAR...CREEPY....DANGER....SAFETY and The UNCANNY VALLEY"

by Chris Chaos

"Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here."

Marianne Williamson

Safety..creepy...danger. There are always 3 points in this scenario:

On one side of this situational cliff you have safety, the place that most people like to be. The middle ground is creepy, that spot where it is slightly uncomfortable, disturbing and a bit off. On the far side of the spectrum you have danger, real danger, where you can get hurt.

According to Stephen King there are 3 levels to fear which are: The gross out, the horror and the terror.
“The 3 types of terror: The Gross-out: the sight of a severed head tumbling down a flight of stairs, it's when the lights go out and something green and slimy splatters against your arm. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm. And the last and worse one: Terror, when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It's when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there's nothing there...”
(Reference: "Stephen King: Master of Horror." Jack Perkins, correspondent. NBC News. NBCUniversal Media. 27 Nov. 1981. NBC Learn)

Terror, the Uncanny Valley, and Fear
The uncanny valley is when an object has features and moves similar to a human but something is off and not quite human which may cause a response of revulsion among people that witness this act. The valley is a dip in the level of comfort among the people that see this human likeness in objects such as robots, prosthetics, zombies, puppets, clowns, mannequins, teddy bears or something that mimics humans but periphery context is off. In many people unaccustomed to this may experience an unsettling feeling due to the closeness the above mentioned items resemble humans.
(Reference: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UncannyValley)

A fear that is brought up from masks or a neutral and vague expression creates a dissonance in the human brain since the person may get the creeps since the mask may hide the true intentions of who is behind the mask. Are they a threat or not?

AMERICAN FEARS as taken from a Gallup poll 2001:
(ranked in order)
snakes
public speaking
heights
being in a small space
spiders and insects
needles and getting shots
mice
flying on an airplane
dogs
thunder and lightning
crowds
going to the doctor
the dark
(Reference: http://www.gallup.com/poll/1891/snakes-top-list-americans-fears.aspx)


Common Fears by a Gallup Poll conducted in 2005 reveals the most common fears of teenagers in the United States, here are the top 10:
Terrorist attacks
Spiders
Death
Failure
War
Heights
Crime/Violence
Being alone
The future
Nuclear war
(Reference: http://www.gallup.com/poll/15439/what-frightens-americas-youth.aspx)

"Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins."
Charles Stanley

"Risk and dangers are real, but fear is a choice."
Chris Chaos

There is much truth to this quote, but some fears are rational and inbred into humans and animals alike. Natural fears are heights, predators, bugs, the dark and a few others.

For more writings of Chris Chaos visit:

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com) 

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE: The "Singing in the Rain" scene

by Chris Chaos

.....the old ultra-violence.

A Clockwork Orange is a film with a deep dark dystopian theme released back in 1971 by Stanley Kubrick. Anthony Burgess wrote the novella in 1962 and the film was adapted from the book. The time that this story takes place is in the distant British future and makes quite a few social comments on society and violence.

The film follows Alex committing crimes and then attempted rehabilitation via controversial psychological conditioning through a fictitious therapy called the Ludovico Technique. A Clockwork Orange is considered a landmark in the relaxation of control on violence in the cinema.

THE SINGIN' IN THE RAIN SCENE:

The scene starts with Alex and his Droogs racing down the dark street with a close up of his face and a narrative. The crew arrives at the house and jumps out. The house is calm and peaceful as the man writes on his typewriter and the wife is reading in her egg chair. As a way to get in the group claims there has been a "terrible accident" on a play of the couples empathy. Opening the door the crew grab the woman, gets loud, jumps around and Alex starts to sing the infamous song while hitting the woman. He then tapes up her mouth and then starts to kick the man. They start to wreck the place and then cut the woman's clothing to remove it, while Alex de-pants. "Viddy well, little brother, viddy well", states Alex then he proceeds to rape her and they force the man to watch.

The moral question is "What is good?", how to stop the violence and a running lecture on free will. Aversion therapy (called the Ludovico Technique in the film) was used in an attempt to curb Alex's bad behavior. Kubrick said of the film"...A social satire dealing with the question of whether behavioural psychology and psychological conditioning are dangerous new weapons for a totalitarian government to use to impose vast controls on its citizens and turn them into little more than robots." (reference: Saturday Review, December 25, 1971) There seems to be a knowing and blatant disregard for the intention of the original song, but Alex makes it his own and causes pain to others.

The scene in A Clockwork Orange in which Alex and his crew con their way into the house and rape the woman has to be one of the most demented but memorable scenes of the film, it is the perfect combination of sexual prowess and malevolence. Gene Kelly, who sang the 1952 version of the song, was reportedly disgusted when it was used in the film and walked away from McDowell (who played Alex in the film) at a party. The use of this well known happy song in this dark film may be very ironic to most viewers, but it made an emotional impact in all that seen it. The mixture of the happily acapella sung song while a brutal act is occurring is enough to disturb most. Alex destroys what others love..the song and the man's wife.

We often may wonder how and where Alex's crew got their start in committing the crimes that they participated in. What caused them to become this way? Also have people that viewed this film acted out in similar manners, in effect, becoming copycats of what they witnessed?

Kubrick did a most excellent job in capturing the chaos within the scene. In a society where the younger generations are out of control due to lack of parental control, junk culture is becoming commonplace, violence is desensitizing the masses, and we all seem to be enjoying the ride on the way down, this movie makes a bold statement..

“I was cured all right.” Alex DeLarge

(references: A Clockwork Orange, 1971, Stanley Kubrick)

(references: A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgesss, 1962)

For more of Chris' writings, go here:

All Things Weird

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)

La Morte Piu Bella (Volume 1)

La Morte Piu Bella (Volume 1)

Paperback – July 12, 2014

by Chrissy McManis and Chris Chaos

La Morte Piu Bella is a collection of 15 horrifying, gruesome, twisted horror shorts by Chrissy McManis and Chris Chaos;

Including the following:

“Born in a Casket”

“Already Gone”

“Bugging” “Keepsake”

“Scratch That”

“Senseless”

“Set Up”

“Uncovered Earth”

“The Cat”

“The Most Beautiful Death”

“Scared to Death”

“Burning…Desire”

“Misunderstood”

"Kill..Kill"

"Bad News"

To purchase on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/La-Morte-Piu-Bella-Volume/dp/1500407747

More books by Author Chris Chaos:

http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Chaos/e/B00MD4BO88/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22785642-la-morte-piu-bella

Product Details

Paperback: 150 pages

Publisher: Axis Video First edition (July 12, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1500407747

ISBN-13: 978-1500407742

Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.3 x 8 inches

Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces

Part 2 is coming soon

RELEASED:

AV-001 DYNASTY OF DARKNESS (film)

AV-002 DYNASTY OF DARKNESS: APOCALYPTIC END (film)

AV-003 AMERICA'S MOST RETARDED (film)

AV-004 AMERICA'S MOST RETARDED: STUPID IS..AS STUPID DOES (film)

AV-005 BREAKNECK WRESTLING (film)

AV-006 MAKING THE VIDEO: SAPPHIC ODE: SHE GOD (film)

AV-007 CURSED: AN EXPLANATION OF THE UNKNOWN (book)

AV-008 SEXUAL SUICIDE (book)

AV-009 THE BLOODY RISE OF AXIS VIDEO (book)

AV-010 CURSED: REVISITED 2^nd EDITION (book)

AV-011 THE SEARCH FOR THE JERSEY DEVIL (book)

AV-012 LA MORTE PIU BELLA (book)

PENDING:

AV-013 LA MORTE PIU BELLA 2: Avenging Angel (book)

AV-014 THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK (book)

AV-015 THE SEARCH FOR THE JERSEY DEVIL (film)

AV-016 THE SEARCH FOR THE JERSEY DEVIL: Revisited (book)

AV-017 A WORLD WITHOUT BOUNDARIES (film)

AV-018 THE DECLINE OF AMERICAN SOCIETY & THE SATANIC SELF: An Exploration into Satanism and the Power of Self"

AV-019 CURSED: REVISITED 3rd EDITION (book)

AV-020 MAKING THE VIDEO: Dead Emotion: Bytch & N2D4

AV-021 MY LIFE WITH THE FAIRER SEX (film)

AV-022 THE ACCLIMATION OF FEAR (book)

OVERDOZE: Played Black Mass in Oklahoma

by Chris Chaos

Here we bring you an interview with the band OVERDOZE, whom played a show at the Black Mass that was held in the civic center in Oklahoma City 09/21/2014. They are based out of Oklahoma City, OK and are considered Punk / Speed Metal / Crossover Thrash.

OVERDOZE

ABOUT:

We are an aggressive, live wire, beer drinking MTHFKRS that combine the power of 80s metal with the energy of 80s punk. Our influences are largely based on Bay Area Thrash Metal, Teutonic Thrash Metal, NWOBHM, Hardcore Punk, Crust Punk, 70s Progressive/Psyhedelic Rock, and Speed metal! We believe in the gods of rock and roll and we aim to bring back the animation and explosiveness that made the 70s and 80s the greatest musical eras!! WE MAKE THE MUSIC THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO FUCK SHIT UP!

MEMBERS:

Bass/Vocals-Cristian Perez (Cactuscris)

Drums-Eric Perez ( Kauser)

Guitar-Ernietothemax (frostandfire)

CRISTIAN:

Hi this is Cristian, founder, leader, bassist and vocalist for Overdoze, it would be my pleasure to answer some questions about the black mass that was held in the civic center in Oklahoma City 09/21/2014.

CHRIS CHAOS:

What religion/philosophy do you consider yourself a part of?

CRISTIAN:

Religion wise I can't really say I like to believe that I might still be catholic, but thanks to history and this scientific world that we live in, kind of contradicts the whole idea of ' one god'. More or less I'm just a free spirit, we do what and get away with it most of the time. You know just don't mess with us and we will leave you alone and I can honestly say that I'm vouching for Ernie ( lead guitarist) and my brother eric ( the drummer). We love

to drink.

CHRIS CHAOS:

How do you feel about Satanism?

CRISTIAN:

To be honest up until September 21st. I didn't think it even existed I thought

it was just a hoax, I didn't know people actually practice anything like it. ( laughs) But Seeing the ceremony first hand, you can see why people get into it at first, and it's pretty much to the idea that it looks fun. (Laughs) It's almost too cheesy.

CHRIS CHAOS:

What do you feel is the biggest misconception concerning Satanism?

CRISTIAN:

The fact that everyone thinks it's bad, because they are showing love to the

fallen one and the bad guy of the story, when in all reality to me. It was

explained that they don't worship satan himself or the satan that we all fear,

but the actual from earlier religions. To me it's simple if your going to

dislike something and fear it at least take the time to understand it and then

judge it afterwards. But as we tend to ignore and recklessly jump into

conclusions.

CHRIS CHAOS:

Tell us of your performance at the Black Mass in September 2014:

CRISTIAN:

It was fun, I think so. ( laughs) we play in crowded places so we are use to

seeing the crowd standing up, so definitely the black mass show will be one to

remember since everyone was seated, half way through our I went out to the crowd

and told them that they should feel privilege in being overdoze first seated

audience ( talk about success) ( laughs). But it was fun we enjoyed ourselves it

felt nice to play In a decent venue again. ( laughs)

I'm not a satanist ( laughs). To clarify things for the readers, the only actual

reason why I agreed for overdoze to play for the black mass. Was as a favor to a

friend of mine who might be high council or an apprentice of the priest, and she

invited us to come out and play for the low cost of gas money and free drinks. (

laughs) Other than that I have no connection with this.

CHRIS CHAOS:

What do you dislike the most about Christians?

CRISTIAN:

When they wake you up on a Sunday morning. Your like f**k it's not cool

specially since your hungover from Saturday night. (Laughs) In all honesty, I

myself don't have anything against any religion.

CHRIS CHAOS:

How do you promote your beliefs?

CRISTIAN:

Spiritually it's hard to say given to the fact that I have emphasized that I'm

not really a religious person. I would have to say just come on out to an

Overdoze show and you'll see what our beliefs and it's good friendly violent

fun. You can tell a lot of what's going on

CHRIS CHAOS:

Were you raised religiously?

CRISTIAN:

Yes I was baptized catholic, but I unfortunately it's been awhile since i have

actually set foot into a Catholic Church.

CHRIS CHAOS:

How does Satanism influence your music?

CRISTIAN:

For lack of a better phrase I would've to say ' satan is cool' it's almost like

a fad in the metal world you got legendary bands like iron maiden, angel witch,

and venom, and not to mention the countless number of metal bands that have

rooted off of them, with sub genres like black metal, Norwegian black metal, and

so on. Although our music is dark and my lyrics aren't as evil as I wish they

could be. Like Deathrow's 3rd verse which is one of our songs it goes ' now I'm

sentenced to death or so it seems,

An eternity full of torture with all of these fiends,

Satan smiles with a red grin,

He welcomes me home to Deathrow'

And it's just explaining what might be going on through an inmates mind after

he's been sentenced to death row for murder charges.

CHRIS CHAOS:

How does your family feel about your beliefs?

CRISTIAN:

I got lots of crap for playing the black mass. When I told my parents about it,

it was almost as if they were disappointed in us. I remember my dad just saying

keep doing your stupid s**t f***er.

CHRIS CHAOS:

What is your goal with your current band?

CRISTIAN:

Our current goal with the band is to keep playing as many shows as we can play

just exploit it, and if it's possible get out on the road and hit it off for at

least a two month tour.

CHRIS CHAOS:

What was your favorite band that you toured/played with?

CRISTIAN:

We had the honor to open up for two legendary bands from the new wave of British

heavy metal and that was diamond head, and Raven. Which was hands down the

ultimate experience for us since we are all great big fans of them.

CHRIS CHAOS:

How did you get started in music?

CRISTIAN:

It started back in middle school when I was learning to play the stand up bass.

Or double Bass if you will, and a friend of mine showed me burned CD of

metallica's kill em' all album which he played Anastasia ( pulling teeth) Cliff

Burton's bass solo, I remember instantly being hip prizes and getting lured into

metal and the rest was history. ( laughs)

CHRIS CHAOS:

Tell us about your 1st band:

CRISTIAN:

Overdoze is my first and only band and I don't think It will ever change. (

laughs)

CHRIS CHAOS:

What instruments can/do you play?

CRISTIAN:

I can sing, play the double bass, bass guitar, guitar, drums, trumpet, violin,

viola, cello, and trombone.

CHRIS CHAOS:

What is your opinion on TST putting

the Baphomet statue up in Oklahoma?

CRISTIAN:

It's going to be different, if most definitely will turn heads, I think the

government will have to watch out. People aren't going to be positive about it.

CHRIS CHAOS:

What is your opinion on the Separation of Church and State issue?

CRISTIAN:

I think it should stay separate.

CHRIS CHAOS:

Do you feel that there was/is a huge network of Satanists standing by to destroy the world?

CRISTIAN:

There might be who knows, it would really suck if the network actually did

exist. But up until now I don't think there's hard evidence on that.

CHRIS CHAOS:

How do you feel when some people say that "Satanic music" causes listeners to

murder, rape, or kill humans/animals?

CRISTIAN:

Music should never be Blamed for the wicked minds of man. Yeah music can give

you an adrenaline rush, and pump you up or make you feel alive. But it's

demented minds that go amongst themselves to hurt the world with fiendish acts.

Why they do it who knows unfortunately broken minds can never be understood.

CHRIS CHAOS:

What other causes do you support?

CRISTIAN:

All the minorities in the U.S. Underground music, gay rights, male and female

equality.

CHRIS CHAOS:

If you could change one thing in this world, what would it be?

CRISTIAN:

Our abuse on natural resources. We need to find alternatives before it's too

late for our future generations.

CHRIS CHAOS:

Who are your heroes?

CRISTIAN:

My parents for coming into a new land with nothing but penny's from their old

homes to raising four kids on their own and giving us so much to look forward

to. They help take pride in my roots.

CHRIS CHAOS:

Do you have any inspiring quotes?

CRISTIAN:

' Even if it's impossible, a man should never say that he can't do it or won't

do it' my father Reyes Perez

CHRIS CHAOS:

Is there anything else that you want the readers of this interview to know

about?

CRISTIAN:

Yeah, we will play in your town if you bring the people, drinks, and gas money

to go home after the show. ( laughs)

LINKS FOR OVERDOZE:

Facebook.com/overdosethrash

http://www.reverbnation.com/overdozethrash

https://m.soundcloud.com/overdoze-thrash-metal

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com) 

THE WITCHING HOUR

by Chris Chaos

There are several interpretation of the time and the definition of The Witching Hour, some say midnight, others say 3 am and still others state between the hours of 9 pm-3 am. The modern meaning of the phrase, The Witching Hour, is midnight and refers to the time of night when witches, devils, ghosts become their most powerful, black magic is the most effective and even colicky babies rise to annoy their slumbering parents.

Others use the phrase arbitrarily in exchange for bad luck or the time when it is most likely to occur. Examples are crime, storms, ghosts making appearances and when babies wake up crying. Images of acts out of the film, The Purge may come to mind.

In medieval times this time frame was considered to be when witches practiced acts by which the Christians considered unholy. Without a good reason, some females may have been accused of being a witch if out beyond the hours of midnight.

Within modern entertainment, movies and ghost hunters alike, they may consider 3 a.m. to be peak timing when ghosts and spirits appear. The movie, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, popularized 3 a.m., stating that 3 a.m. Was the time when evil forces mocked the Holy Trinity. Also 3 a.m. is opposite of 3 p.m., as it was stated to be the time that Jesus died.

To just simply associate numbers, some Wiccans used 3 a.m. since they have the Threefold Laws and a Triple Goddess.

Midnight has always been ominous in film and literature, we have all heard the line, "At the stroke of midnight.." and let us not forget what happened to Cinderella at the stroke of midnight...werewolves also turn into wolf form at midnight on a full moon.

So in all logical thinking, 12 am is The Witching Hour and 3 am would refer to The Devil's Hour. Most will agree that the Devil's Hour begins at 3 am and runs until 3:59 am, but still might be felt until the sun breaks through the early dawn. Depending on where you are in the world, the sunrise may be 4 am in the summer and 7 am in the winter. Built on Christian inspired fear, this was named after the Devil, Lucifer and the perceived power he has over the world during this hour. Supposedly when demons come out of their spirit world and interact in the human's world this is the time when they are the strongest.

This is also the hour that demons and devil worshipers participate in dark/black ceremonies to build their power base to counteract the 3 pm holy aura of when Jesus died. Some that believe in the Apocalypse think that the 3 am time zone will spawn the Anti-Christ.

The 3 am hour is also considered the time when most evil takes place, deaths occur and bad luck happens. The Witching Hour (12 am) gives the Devil's Hour a boost at 3 am due to the fact that the holy rays of the sun are absent and far away from the 3 pm time of the clock.The most powerful time of year for the evil spirits would be the Devil's Hour on Halloween due to the thinning of the veil. There’s also the lack of good human consciousness as most sleep during this time, and their soul partially resides in the astral dream plane. That coupled with the increase in evil consciousness adds more fuel to the Devil’s Hell fire on Earth.

Legend has it that if you wake up at exactly 3:00 AM for no reason in a state of terror then the Devil has paid you a visit literally or in your dreams. A mere state of heightened agitation might indicate demonic or poltergeist visitation. Also attack from all manner of supernatural beings increase during the Devil’s Hour. It certainly known that a Werewolves rage is at it’s height during the 100% full Moon in the Devil’s Hour. This is where the most Werewolf related attacks, and deaths take place. According to Christians, It’s best for all to stay in bed under covers blessed in Holy Water during the Devil’s Hour to insure your safety until dawn arrives.

But all in all, clocks, time and the concepts mentioned above are all man made devices. The universe is far too strange and vast for man's small mind to comprehend.

For additional topics on the strange, weird and unexplained, be sure to visit: https://www.facebook.com/Cursedbook

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)

OUIJA

"OUIJA"
by Chris Chaos


The Ouija Board, what is it? Is it a source that provides a method to contact spirits, a way to contact the recently deceased or just a child's game? The following is a brief history, background and uses concerning the mysterious board.

In ancient times, circa 1100 AD, there were crude primitive interpretations made that the modern Ouija Board was fashioned after. India, Greece, Rome and Medieval Europe all practiced and had similar methods of spirit writing.


Elijah Bond introduced the board on July 1st, 1890 as a simple board game and parlor trick, it was considered harmless and was not involved as a spirital board. During World War 1, Pearl Curran popularized and thus secured the board as a staple in the occult field.


William Fuld, Elijah's foreman, took over production of the boards from Elijah Bond and called them Ouija, in which he claimed it mean "good luck" in Egyptian or "yes" as a combo of French and German. Over the years, Fuld sued many others for trying to produce their own boards. Fuld died in 1927, his estate sold the business to Parker Brothers, which in turn was sold to Hasbro in 1991.


The board displays all letters of the English alphabet, numbers 0-9, the words yes and no, hello and goodbye, along with symbols representing the sun, moon and stars. Players manipulate a planchette, which is a small 3-legged device with a hole in the middle or a pointer of some sort around the board. However, users often feel the planchette is moving of its own accord rather than responding to their own unconscious muscle movements (ideomotor action).


"The Ideomotor Effect"
The ideomotor effect refers to the influence of suggestion or expectation on involuntary and unconscious motor behavior. The movement of pointers on Ouija boards, of a facilitator's hands in facilitated communication, of hands and arms in applied kinesiology, and of some behaviors attributed to hypnotic suggestion, are due to ideomotor action.


The unaware and fascinated by the board treat it as a tool of the devil, a gateway to possession or some other object tool to contact the dead. Some Christians feel it is demonic, despite being debunked by common sense and the scientific community. Many boards, along with Harry Potter books, were burned back in 2001, in New Mexico by Christian groups who deemed them "symbols of witchcraft". Human Life International wanted Hasbro to be prohibited from marketing the board since they thought they were portals to talk to spirits.


There are many stories that people tell concerning the bad after effects of using a board, along with a movie coming out shortly entitled OUIJA. According to Dr. Carl Wickland, he treated cases of, "several persons whose seemingly harmless experiences with automactic writing and the Ouija board resulted in such wild insanity that commitment to asylums was necessitated." back in 1924. SOURCE: Thirty Years Among the Dead by Dr. Carl Wickland. 1924.


Many believers feel that spirits are guiding their hands in spelling out words, but for the true test all you have to do is blindfold the user and see if the results are the same. Each and every (blindfolded test subject) test shows that the accuracy of letter selection comes out garbled and in true scrambled alphabet soup style.


But in all reality, there is no demonic connection to the boards; the only power they have is the power you give them. For the most part they are just ploys to separate fools from their money.


"If there really is an afterlife, I'll bet the best way to contact it is through a plastic, mass-produced board game from Milton Bradley!" --Mad Magazine


"The planchette is guided by unconscious muscular exertions like those responsible for table movement. Nonetheless, in both cases, the illusion that the object (table or planchette) is moving under its own control is often extremely powerful and sufficient to convince many people that spirits are truly at work...The unconscious muscle movements responsible for the moving tables and Ouija board phenomena seen at seances are examples of a class of phenomena due to what psychologists call a dissociative state. A dissociative state is one in which consciousness is somehow divided or cut off from some aspects of the individual’s normal cognitive, motor, or sensory functions."
(Hines, Terence. (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. p. 47)


An interesting side note story from the author: "I was at a yard sale many moons again and saw a really old, wooden, over sized Ouija Board and was afraid to ask about the price. But after looking at it for a few minutes I finally asked and they simply said, "$1." So I grabbed it up with the quickness and headed home. It was a beautiful piece and I had plans of mounting it on the wall. Looking it up online I found they were incredibly rare and had a value of about $400-500. Sadly, due to the various moves I had over the years the piece was lost to time."



(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)

Manipulated Photos, Hoaxes and Confirmation Bias

by Chris Chaos

On the internet there are many photos/videos of unexplained ghosts, U.F.O.s, beasts and odd occurrences that were captured from people around the world. This collection consists of legitimate, obviously faked or unknown subjects captured and immortalized on video or within a photograph. Currently, with the low cost of computers, software, video cameras and photographic cameras available to the masses, there has been an explosion of intentionally faked videos and photos appearing on the internet. It is very simple for an intermediate computer user to successfully produce a somewhat convincing ghost photo to the untrained eye. For an example, some people such as Rick Dyer, claim to have killed and possessed Bigfoot's body outside San Antonio in September of 2012.

Still of "Bigfoot" from the Patterson-Gimlin film

Over the years there have been many hucksters claiming to have photographic, video or physical evidence of Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, ghosts, UFOs and various other spooks and specters. Ranging from video, photos, footprints, sound recordings and tufts of hair, these claims have not been in short supply. In the past, someone even painted a kangaroo green and tried to pass it off as The Jersey Devil and we all know of the famous Bigfoot video of the Patterson-Gimlin film.  (www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBTUQI60yqQ) 

Then there have been dogs, coyotes or other members of the canine family that may have been shaved, mutilated or suffered from mange, that people pass off as the Chucacabra. Some public presentations of cryptids, ghosts and the unknowns may be out of greed, the seeking of fame, an intentional mislead, mistake or sheer ignorance. A perfect example of sheer ignorance would be when we (Axis Video/Pine Barren Films) were filming the documentary, "The Search for the Jersey Devil", we stopped at a farm stand that claimed to have the skull of the Jersey Devil. It was interesting to say the least, but in all reality, if someone that had a little knowledge and experience with anatomy and wild life, they would see that in fact this object was not a skull at all and would have given a proper explanation as to what the man at the farm stand actually was holding. The bone turned out to be a synsacrum from a bird, most likely a crane. (http://allthingsweird88.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-jersey-devils-skull.html)

The synsacrum that the man at the fruit stand thought was the skull of the Jersey Devil

Other examples are faked gaffes, intended to fool the viewers into thinking that a beast has been captured, an example is the gaffe in this photo that was passed off as the Jersey Devil.

In 1951 (10-26) with a strong effort to curb and keep up with the overwhelming Jersey Devil sightings and reports,  Sergeant Louis Pozielli and Chief Louis Sylvestro hang various signs along the road. The official stance that the police had towards the Jersey Devil sightings was "nonsense".

"The Jersey Devil is a Hoax" Sergeant Pozielli and Chief Sylvestro put up a sign to discourage gawkers (Courtesy of the Rutgers University Library, William Augustine)

G.W. Green of Salem, actually came forward and admitted that during the 1960's he created some of the tracks that people were finding and attributing to the Jersey Devil (McCloy, 1976).

Watson Buck, an antiquarian of Rancocas had this to say concerning Norman Jefferies, "When the hysteria built up, that was Jefferies' golden opportunity to cash in on the hoax. He went up to New York state, rented a large kangaroo from a friend, brought it to Philadelphia, and painted green stripes on it. The kangaroo licked its stripes and like to died. Then he tried another paint, which the kangaroo accepted, and he made a set of false wings, which the kangaroo promptly demolished. So he made another set out of thin bronze this time, and covered it with rabbit fur....." (McCloy, 1976, p 80)

Watson went on to say, "I am over 80, but I remember as if it was yesterday the night a mysterious creature appeared right outside my window. It was a cold, snowy night in the winter of 1909. I was sleeping in a little bungalow in Masonville. Suddenly something outside the place woke me up. The thing stopped at the window and if I could have only pulled the curtain back I could have seen it. But I was too sleepy. The next morning I went outside and there they were-tracks in the snow at my window and all around my house, tracks of a four-footed animal. I've been doing research on the Jersey Devil for over 60 years now, and those tracks are still a mystery. Behind every tradition, you know, there's something real."

The Feejee/Fiji Mermaid was another popular side show attraction that was determined to be a hoax.

The next is a photo of what the news report stated was the Jersey Devil in a person's backyard.
In the summer of 2013 there were news reports (and a photo!!) that supported that the Jersey Devil did exist. The photo made its rounds all over the internet, along with much speculation on what was depicted. It is curious to note that the animal in the photo does not have wings as many popular renditions of the Jersey Devil portray him as possessing. Also this animal does not have cloven hooves as many eyewitnesses reported. That aside, to the casual photo gazer, the creature in this photo can appear pretty misleading.

The photo of what was thought to be the Jersey Devil (Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation)

A few months later, another photo taken at the same location and of the same creature surfaced, but from an alternative angle, surfaced.

Alternative angle of the hairless squirrel (Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation)

The above photo clearly showed what the creature was...a hairless squirrel. Now this was either a hairless squirrel or one that suffered from mange or rabies (due to it lacking hair). But you could clearly see that it was a squirrel and not the Jersey Devil.

In addition, there were many things wrong with this story in relation to the Jersey Devil, it came to light that the photo was taken in Oklahoma and not in New Jersey as originally reported. Second, the creature in the photo bared NO resemblance to the Jersey Devil, as having no wings, no cloven hooves and was too tiny in structure stature. As a side note, the photo in question was also making the rounds as proof of the Chupacabra.

For reference:
http://allthingsweird88.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-jersey-devil-spotted.html

As mentioned above, technology has made it increasingly easy to fake evidence. There are even apps for your Android or I-Phone that you can edit ghosts into your existing photos. Anyone with a computer and a little bit of photo editing skill can easily make a somewhat convincing ghost photo. Prime example is as follows:

The first photo is the original, an early photo of a little girl standing next to a chair:

The second photo has been edited, the background was cropped out, the colors altered, the image blurred and ran through various filters:

The third photo was also manipulated by being cropped, grey scaled/black and white effect added, a soft filter applied and her eyes removed:

Now if these altered images were added into a modern photo backdrop and properly blended in, they could be convincing to the untrained mind or a believer looking for confirmation and evidence that ghosts do exist.

One of the famed ghost kangaroos

CONFIRMATION BIAS is when a person has the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.
For the viewer of videos/photos that are presented on the internet, the individual goes to a site with the assumption that they will find evidence that their creature of choice DOES exist. For an example, when a believer in aliens and UFOs sees something unexplainable they automatically assume that it IS an alien or a UFO. They look for clues that confirm their own biases and discount any evidence that contradicts their assumptions, in effect, cherry picking their information. The same examples exist for a "ghost hunter", they hear stories that a location is haunted, go to investigate and collect "evidence" that is unexplainable to them and conclude that the location is haunted, all the while ignoring any collected negative or absent evidence. 

Pareidolia. Jesus seen in toast

Another example is "Jesus in the toast". A religious person will see a random pattern in burnt toast that resembles Jesus, other people might see Charles Manson and even more might see a slight resemblance to a human face and call it pareidolia.

Canine with mange, passed off as the Chucacabra

For more information:
Cursed: An Explanation of the Unknown

(Chris Chaos  is an author who once again resides in and writes from South Jersey.  He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, has a black cat named Jynx, another named Friskie, 2 Guinea Pigs, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)