The Real Amityville Horror.

On the 13th November 1974, a well-known and enduring horror story started...in a very real way. A house - 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville - became the scene of a terrible crime, where Ronald J. De Feyo Jr. shot his family dead in their beds - both of his parents were shot twice, and each of his 4 siblings were shot once according to reports. De Feyo is still alive and is imprisoned at Sullivan Correctional Facility in New York serving six concurrent sentences of 25 years to life.

Jay Anson's book 'The Amityville Horror' was written in 1977 following the story of the Lutz family who bought 112 Ocean Ave, it and subsequent films tell of their brief stay of 28 days before leaving due to terrifying paranormal events. Some of their experiences include unexplained cold spots in the house, foul odors, green slime running from walls and Mr Lutz regularly waking at 3.15 in the morning which was the approximate time of the murders, just the tip of the iceberg.

If you haven't read the book or seen the film I recommend it, draw your own conclusions, as in most cases like this, there is conjecture as to the validity of the Lutz family accounts. The infamous house however still stands and has had a few owners since the events of 1974, although it has been renamed as 108 Ocean Avenue...for reasons we may never know.

Typhoid Mary

Mary Mallon, also known as Mary Brown and famously as 'Typhoid Mary' died on this day in 1938. She was an Irish cook who moved to America in the late 1800's and one of the first people identified as an asymptomatic carrier - someone who can carry and pass on a disease without succumbing to it themselves - of a pathogen, in her case, typhoid fever. It is thought that she infected 51 people in her life, three of whom died. She was forcibly isolated twice by public health authorities after she refused to provide blood samples or cooperate.

Cases of typhoid fever followed Mallon wherever she worked as a cook, suspicions were alerted when incidents of typhoid occurred in areas when it was very rare. She died from pneumonia whilst in isolation where she had ultimately spent nearly 30 years of her life. During the post mortem, live typhoid bacteria were found in her gall bladder.

The Dechmont Woods Encounter.

On the 9th November, 1979, Robert Taylor, a Scottish forester parked his truck by the side of the road and walked with his dog up a forest track at Dechmont Law, West Lothian. Shortly after this he saw a flying dome shaped craft hovering above a clearing. He said the craft was a dark metallic sphere with small propellers around the rim and there was also a horrible odor in the area.

Smaller spheres like "sea mines" attempted to drag him to the craft at which point he lost consciousness. When he came to, the crafts were gone. He could not start his truck so walked back to his home. When he got there his wife recalled he was very disheveled and muddy, his clothing was torn and she called the police and a Doctor who treated his wounds. He took the police back to the site of the encounter, and they reported ladder-shaped marks on the ground. They recorded the incident as a criminal assault.

Robert Taylor's account is revered among ufologists and it became the only UFO sighting to be criminally investigated.

2006 O'Hare Airport UFO Incident

At approximately 4.15 in the afternoon on 7th November 2006, in broad daylight at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, a large number of witnesses both inside and outside airport grounds, including United Airlines pilots, mechanics and management reported a UFO hovering over gate C-17. They described a metallic, saucer-shaped craft between 6 and 24 feet in diameter which was totally silent. After several minutes it "shot through the clouds at high velocity" leaving a hole in it's wake which closed up shortly afterwards.

To have a sighting described in the same way, by so many witnesses, some of whom were very familiar with the airport and who were professionals in their field is astounding...even more incredible is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 'declined to investigate' the incident as the UFO didn't show up on radar (even more reason to check it out in my opinion!) and explained it away as weather phenomenon.

NARCAP - The National Aviation Reporting Centre on Anomalous Phenomena published a 155 page report in the incident and called for a government inquiry on the basis that;
"Anytime an airborne object can hover for several minutes over a busy airport but not be registered on radar or be seen visually from the control tower, constitutes a potential threat to flight safety."

Christina von Stommeln

Christina von Stommeln  - also known as the Blessed Christina von Stommeln - was a stigmatic, Roman Catholic mystic and ecstatic who died on this day in 1312.

She was born to farming parents in the village of Stumbeln (Stommeln), Germany in July 1242, and at the young age of 5, she began to have religious visions. At age 12 she ran away from home after her parents wanted to arrange her marriage, at this point she joined a Beguine community in Cologne where a few years later she began to exhibit stigmata on her palms, feet and head, as well as mystic episodes. Sadly, by now she was widely regarded as being insane, and was returned to her home village in disgust (not very Christian eh?)

Her life was to take a more positive turn however, as when back in the village, she was put into the care of the local Priest, here she met 'Peter of Dacia' who became a lifelong friend, when he died her experiences stopped, and she lived the rest of her life peacefully until her death aged 70.

Her remains have been moved many times since her initial burial in Stommeln, and her resting place was spared during the air raids of World War 2.

She was beatified on November 8th 1908 by Pope Pius X.

Tutankhamun's Tomb discovery.

On the 4th November 1922, Tomb KV62 was discovered in the East Valley of The Kings, Egypt. It would later be more commonly known as the tomb of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun and would also be revered for the wealth of valuable antiquities found inside.

Howard Carter - the famed Egyptologist - was hired by Lord Carnarvon to excavate the tomb, which was discovered almost by accident when Carter's crew were clearing some debris and huts He had abandoned some years previously. A young water boy apparently tripped on a rock which later turned out to be the top stone of a flight of steps carved into the rocks.

The process of excavation took 8 long years to complete, partly down to the condition of the tomb which was small, hastily built and had been raided twice over the centuries, and in part due to Carter's meticulous cataloging of artifacts.

In the years following the revelation of Tutankhamun's tomb, several of the team, and visitors to the site died in unusual circumstances, talk of a curse was rife which would affect anyone who was involved in disturbing the resting place of the pharaoh. Arthur Conan Doyle perpetuated this apparently on the event of Lord Carnarvon's death suggesting 'an evil elemental' spirit was created by priests to protect the mummy, no curse was actually ever found in the tomb or sarcophagus.

Petronilla de Meath

Petronilla de Meath was the maid of noblewoman Dame Alice Kyteler. Following the death of Kyteler's fourth husband, she was accused of practicing witchcraft, and as her maid, Petronilla was accused of being her accomplice.

Poor Petronilla was taken and tortured until a 'confession' was forced from her stating that she and Alice were witches. She was then flogged and finally burned at the stake on this day in 1324 in Kilkenny, Ireland.
Petronilla became the first person to be put to death by fire for heresy in Ireland and Great Britain, many would follow.

Artist Judy Chicago featured a place setting for Petronilla at the table in her art installation 'The Dinner Party' which has the names of 39 mythical and historical women around it. It is on display in New York.