Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel

The shear number of weird goings on and the strange guests that The Cecil Hotel in L.A has seen over the years is truly fascinating... murders, suicides and residents such as Richard Ramirez spark interest in me and so many others. One of the most famous features the strange behavior and subsequent disappearance of Elisa Lam - most of us with an interest in 'the strange' have seen the elevator video, and this documentary on Netflix goes into great depth and detail about her story and eventual discovery in one of the water tanks on the roof. Answers are given, and without handing out any spoilers, I would highly recommend this show - even with some conclusions, the number of synchronicities given in episode 3 cannot fail but grab one's attention. It is the story of a young woman, what happened to her and the impact it had on those staying at The Cecil...well worth a watch.

Festive Achievement - May The Force Be With You.

As we all know too well, this holiday period has been less than normal, we have spent it at home trying to amuse ourselves so we did the ultimate in laziness (with the occasional walk) and watched every single Star Wars film...in the correct order...including Solo and Rogue One. I have to say, it was so good, I have seen the films before of course, but never in sequence and it really did open up the story to it's fullest. In previous years we have watched other series simply because they have been on TV (Harry Potter was a good year) but after treating ourselves to Disney + so we could watch The Mandalorian it seemed right to take full advantage!

I hope you had a restful Christmas and that 2021 is kinder to us all.

May the force be with you!

Merry Yule!

It's a very different year, we all know this of course, but I hope that whatever you are doing you will be safe and happy. It can be a lonely time for many, especially for 2020, I will be keeping an eye on Twitter so feel free to say hello @moonlitmyths 🙂🎄

Heres to a brighter 2021.

BBC Ghosts - The Best Thing On TV.

Like so many others I have been thoroughly enjoying 'Ghosts' on BBC, from the wonderful crew behind Horrible Histories, Bill and Yonderland. It features a couple - Allsion and Mike who inherit a run-down mansion called Button House which is inhabited by a group of ghosts from varying periods of history, all who met their end there...and it is brilliant.

They have managed to combine a really good flowing storyline with fantastic comedy and a few touching elements from each character's back story, I have watched both series twice (so far) and literally can not wait for season 3! There is a Christmas special to look forward to apparently which will no doubt be the highlight of this very strange year's festive season. Highly recommended!

You can watch it on BBC iplayer ...heres a link https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00049t9/ghosts

Ghostly sightings of the Duke of Monmouth

On the 16th July each year it is reported that recurring sightings of the Duke of Monmouth can be seen in the woods at Horton in Dorset. The Duke was put to death at the Tower of London but his ghost is said to haunt the site of his failed rebellion, carrying his head in his hands.

Source: https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/

The New Jersey Turnpike UFO Sighting.

Just after midnight on the 14th July 2001, droves of motorists including off duty police officer Lt Daniel Tarrant pulled over their cars along the highway at the New Jersey Turnpike and stared in awe towards the sky. A set of orange and yellow lights was sitting in a V-formation over the Arthur Kill Waterway between Staten Island and New Jersey and it was observed for around 15 minutes.

When asked, Air Traffic Control denied any military maneuvers or space operations that could be the lights so many people saw, however the New York Strange Phenomena investigators apparently have FAA radar data that corroborated the event. Still unidentified.

The Hanging of Ruth Ellis.

On July 13th 1955, the last hanging of a woman in the U.K occurred at HM Prison Holloway. The woman was mother of two Ruth Ellis who moved to London from Rhyl and was an escort and nightclub hostess. 

Ruth Ellis was convicted of shooting her lover David Blakely at the Magdala Pub in London, it was witnessed by many people, and when it was done she asked for the police to be called and waited calmly. Today, her story would have summoned sympathy, probable cause and extenuating circumstances including self-defense...but then the reasons behind her eventual act were not even considered in her defense.

She had a dysfunctional, fiery relationship with Blakely - a motor racing enthusiast who was a heavy drinker and abusive man. Ruth (a heavy drinker herself) had been beaten countless times and been hospitalized, she also suffered a miscarriage shortly before she killed Blakely and it is commonly thought to be because he beat her and punched her in the stomach. A love triangle was also an issue, jealousy and tempers added to the violence and ergo the crime for which she admitted guilt.

On the morning of 13th July 1955, Ruth woke, had religious counsel and a large brandy before making her way to the noose - the hangman being the infamous Albert Pierrepoint, the calmest person to go to the gallows according to reports. Public outcry, petitioning and letter-writing began the eventual turn away from capital punishment in the UK, in more recent times it is acknowledged that the years of brutal abuse Ruth suffered would certainly count towards her defense.