Missing But Not Lost, Jodee Redmond [love letters to the dead .txt] 📗

Introduction

The paranormal is a topic that I have been fascinated by for a number of years. This realm is a lot more than "just" ghost stories, although they are definitely a part of it. I think of paranormal as anything that cannot be explained by science - at least not yet.

Over time, as more of these mysteries are solved, I anticipate that what was once though of as "paranormal" will be considered a normal part of our lives. In the meantime, I hope that you will enjoy reading these account of ghost stories, psychic abilities and mysterious places. I've also included some information about mysterious creatures for your consideration.

The world we live in much more weird and wonderful than we could possibly imagine, and these paranormal stories are only a small sample of things that make us pause, however briefly, and consider what other things may exist just beyond our "normal" sphere of consciousness.

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have enjoyed bringing them to you.


Introduction Part I - Ghosts and Hauntings

The Ghost Who Helped With Math

Did two students get help preparing for a math test from a deceased professor?

Back in the late 1980's, a college student and his girlfriend were studying in the library on campus. Neither one of them particularly liked math, but they needed to pass this course in order to graduate. Both of them were having trouble trying to understand the basic principles to be used when trying to solve certain math problems.

The young couple heard the clock on the clock tower strike the hour of 3 a.m. and they decided to pack it in for the night. They thought they should try to get some sleep before the exam. As they were gathering up their textbooks and notes, they were startled by a voice who asked them why they were giving up so easily!

Professor Martin

An old man wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and a bow tie approached them. The stranger introduced himself as Professor Martin. He explained that he had taught at the college for a number of years and was presently retired.
Professor Martin offered to help the two young people prepare for their math test. They soon discovered that Professor Martin had a gift for making a complicated math problem seem simple. The Professor worked with the pair until 5:00 that morning to help the students prepare for the exam.
Both students thanked the professor and left the library. Instead of trying to sleep, they decided to get some breakfast (and coffee) before the exam, which was scheduled to start at 8:30 that morning.


Passed the Exam

Both young people passed the exam with flying colors. They wanted to send Professor Martin a thank you card and stopped off at the administration building to get his address. One can only imagine their shock and surprise at being informed that Professor Martin had passed away back in 1963!

They wondered if perhaps they could have been hallucinating due to sleep deprivation. While this may have been the case, it doesn't explain how they were given the knowledge they needed to pass the exam. Later on, during a conversation with their math professor, the two young people learned that the Professor had been spotted on other occasions as well.

It would seem that this wonderful man, who enjoyed teaching so much in life, returned on occasion to provide assistance to students from beyond the grave. He must have felt that teaching was more than just a job; for Professor Martin, it must have been a true calling.


Crisis Apparitions

Two aviators appeared to close friends at or close to the time of their respective deaths. This is known as a "crisis apparition".

At 2:00 on the morning of March 14, 1928, RAF Colonel G.L.P. Henderson was asleep in his stateroom on board the Barrabool. The ship was south of the Canary Islands en route to England.
He awoke to find a longtime friend, Captain W.G.R. Hinchliffe, standing in his cabin. Hinchliffe appared to be in distress, saying "What am I going to do? I've got this woman with me, and I'm lost. I'm lost". Then Hinchliffe disappeared.

What Colonel Henderson experienced was a crisis apparition. This term refers to a vision seen at the moment of an individual's death or during a time of great stress, such as illness, serious injury, or life-threatening situation. At the time Hinchliffe was seen by Henderson, he was attempting to cross the Atlantic in a 32-foot Stinton Detroiter monoplane. Hinchliffe's co-pilot was the Honourable Elsie McKay, a British heiress.
Three days later, Henderson received word that Captain Hinchliffe and Miss McKay were officially missing.

Another example of a crisis apparition (also on an aviation theme) is as follows:

RAF Lt. J.J. Larkin was in his barracks at 3:30 one afternoon. He was sitting by the fire reading a book. A friend, Lt. David McConnel, entered the barracks and spoke to Larkin. Larkin noticed that McConnel was wearing his flying clothes but had on a naval cap.

McConnel told Larkin that he had "got there all right" and his trip had been a good one. Larkin said goodbye to McConnel and left the barracks, only to learn later that Lt. McConnel had been killed in a plane crash at 3:25 that afternoon. He was wearing a naval cap at the time.


The Airmen Who Would Not Die

After his death, Captain Raymond Hinchliffe communicated to his wife about the other side and issued a warning about an impending aviation tragedy.

The events leading up to the tragic crash of the British airship R101 are the subject of John G. Fuller's book, The Airmen Who Would Not Die. However, the book also sets out the extraordinary things which happened after the crash.

In 1928, Captain Raymond Hinchliffe and his co-pilot, Elsie Mackay, disappeared while attempting to fly across the Atlantic from east to west. After the disappearance, Captain Hinchliffe apparently communicated to his wife through two mediums, Eileen Garrett and a Mrs. Earl. The earlier communications came to Mrs. Earl, who had been using a Ouija board. This was abandoned due to its time-consuming nature; Eileen Garrett was able to channel Hinchliffe and Mrs. Hinchliffe took notes in shorthand (which she later transcribed).

Hinchliffe wanted his wife to know that he was, in fact, deceased and he provided detailed information about the flight and the direction it took that the medium could not possibly have known. The Captain was aware of where and how he died. He described being in the family home after his death and relayed information about events that had happened after his death, i.e. His oldest daughter had not been told that he had died and wouldn't be coming back. He sent his wife the message that he would remain close by until he was certain that she would be all right.

Finances were a concern for Hinchliffe's widow due to a problem with his life insurance coverage; he was able to predict accurately when she would receive much-needed funds from another source.
Mrs. Hinchliffe took the opportunity to ask her husband about what is existence (I hesitate to use the word "life" in this case) on the other side was like. He described being able to see friends who had passed away and explained that he was able to work (and took great pleasure in his work).

Captain Hinchliffe's interest in aviation continued after his death: he warned about problems with the R101 and had asked his wife to issue a warning to those working on it. He also stated that if the ship tried to fly in bad weather, the results would be tragic.

He was to be proved right.


Dead Men Do Tell Tales

The story of the R-101 continues as follows:
The R-101 was dubbed a "flying hotel". Passengers en route to India could enjoy gourmet meals in the dining salon, stroll along the promenade, or pass the time on the lounge's dance floor.

At 7:34 p.m on the evening of October 4, 1930, the R-101 left the airfield at Cardington with 54 passengers and crew on board. The weather was bad that night, with rain and strong winds as the airship headed across the English Channel. By 1 a.m., the R-101 was over France, on the way to Paris.

Over the village of Beauvais, it became apparent to observers on the ground that the giant dirigible was in trouble. It was sliding sideways instead of moving forward. And it was losing altitude. The nose of the craft went down, then levelled off after approximately 30 seconds. Then it dove again, striking a small hill. It burst into flames. Only six crew members survived; all of the passengers on board were killed.

Two days later, medium Eileen Garrett was involved in a session with two gentlemen attempting to contact Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who had recently passed away. Suddenly, Mrs. Garrett became quite agitated. She indicated that someone named Irwin wanted to speak and that the airship had been far too heavy for the engine installed in it. More technical information about problems with the R-101 was revealed. The captain of the R-101 had been H.C. Irwin.

During the same session, contact was successfully made with Conan Doyle, who described the afterlife as being very much like the world he had left.
In subsequent sessions with Mrs. Garrett, other ships officers provided more information the crash of the R-101, including structural defects. An inquiry was held to look into the tragedy, and, interestingly enough, the information received by the medium proved to be accurate for the most part.

If this case doesn't conclusively prove the existence of life after death, it certainly gives one food for thought.


The Lady with the Lamp: A Canadian Ghost Story

This ghost story comes to us from Canada. Note that the witness appears to have been pulled into the story as opposed to simply observing events.

In 1980, a man and his family were camping out on some land they owned in the area near Senkiw, Manitoba. They had a cloth-topped camper trailer, which they parked on a flat mound of land. This mound had once been the foundation for the local schoolmaster’s house.

It was mid-October, and the weather had been mild. The family had enjoyed the beautiful Indian summer day. After they had cooked their evening meal over the campfire, they went to bed.

A Tapping Sound

Sometime during the night, the man was awakened by a tapping sound coming from the metal part of the trailer. He also noticed the sound of the wind whistling outside. He unzipped the zipper and saw a dark-haired woman carrying an old-fashioned lamp. The woman was dressed in a heavy coat, scarf, and hat. She was quite upset and seemed to be asking for something.

The man put on his coat and boots and followed her. During the time the family had been asleep, the weather had apparently changed drastically. It was snowing heavily, and he noticed that approximately 10 inches of snow had accumulated on the ground. The snow was drifting and blowing.

He followed the dark-haired woman along a path and through a field. Finally, they came to wooded area. There, he saw a horse and carriage that had become stuck in the snow. The woman got into the carriage to