This is a time anomaly of a sort I have never heard, where all people involved exist in the current time.
http://www.starfiretor.com/Articles+Reports/TL-AnomalyMagicCastle-7-15-06.htm
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Random Time Slip Experience
The account below was written by Alpha. See reference below.
Hey Guys, Several days have passed since I last visited this site and within that particular duration of time I underwent a momentous, unnerving paranormal phenomena, the likes of which I have never experienced nor have heard of prior to the event. The experience was both a blessing and a terrible nightmare at the same time.
Now, I consider myself a person who has a natural affinity with the paranormal. Growing up, I was accustomed to seeing specters, demons and even a vampire! The paranormal has been a recurring trait in my family (derived from my father’s side who comes from a long-line of psychics and mediums)but the event I experienced makes my other experiences seem redundant.
I believe what I experienced was a time slip. A supposed anomaly where time doesn’t flow in the linear fashion we perceive it to flow in.
Anyway, the day started of with my best friend and I meeting up to go on a road trip, outside our home town. We were relishing the freedom summer vacation provided and we were just glad to be away from college and back at home with our family. The trip was no more then a recreational pursuit, enabling us the opportunity to observe the scenic, photogenic tourist attractions residing outside our town and within the State.
The day went on smoothly and it was an enjoyable ride. It was only in the latter part of the journey, that the trip began to take a turn for the worst.
It was evening and we were on our way back. The return trip should have taken no more then 3-4 hours top. As we entered a particular route, the calm cloudless conditions suddenly altered into dark, cloudy weather. This rapid transition was rather peculiar but being the ignorant teenagers we were, we let it go and just continued with our conversation. As we drove on a bit more, it became apparent that a storm was unfolding. This storm wasn’t any different other then the fact that the clouds seemed to take on a mild yellow hue and the air seemed to be buzzing with electricity. The hair on our necks started to stand up and the speedometer and gas reading on the car went haywire. At this point, my friend became startled and she started to complain about the sudden lack of cars. There were a few cars that were tailing by in the near vicinity and since the road was straight it was rather creepy that they just disappeared.
By now, it was fairly obvious we were both freaked out and we came to a stop. It was fortunate that we did so because the car completely cut out and the storm became more intense. We both got out of the car and I volunteered to travel up the road a bit in search of some help whilst she stayed with the car. I was certain that there were a few houses along this route and continued trekking along the road. The storm began to psyche me out all the while.
It was about a while through the trek that the storm seemed to reach a climax with loud, discordant thunder and intense lightning before it abruptly stopped. Almost immediately after the storm stopped it dawned on me that the scenery had changed, becoming rather peculiar. It wasn’t so much the type of vegetation and natural features but the repetitiveness of them and their structure or shape. Perhaps this was an overreaction but it just felt abnormal.
After having covered 2 miles I began to lose hope when all of a sudden I noticed a bright light behind this hill. I hadn’t noticed the hill before but considering my attention span I didn’t think much of it . As I rounded the hill I came across what appeared to be a street, that lead into a residential area. Filled with elation, I jogged along the street and it was then that the street struck me as being odd, because the houses had garage designs that were circular and the roofs contained what I think were sheets of a dark metal rather then tiles. The street was also really quiet…
I walked about the street a bit when I heard laughter. Traversing to the source of the laughter I came across a house with a middle-aged woman,(who coincidentally reminded me of my best friend) probably in her late 40s or early 50s playing and laughing along with her grandchildren in the front lawn. I approached the house and said ‘Excuse me, do you mind helping me out’. She turned and looked at me and then an expression of pure consternation and dread enveloped her. She immediately stood up and backed away a bit and started to rapidly exclaim, ‘Oh my god… this can’t be…’. This really scared the **** out of me to say the least. She reacted like I was a ghost!! I know at that point I should have left, but I was reluctant to do so out of fear she may call the cops mistaking me for a serial killer or a robber of some sort, so instead I tried calming her down and pleading with her. ‘Wait..please calm down…I just need help…please I really need help’ I said. Those last few words, I uttered pleadingly because I was getting desperate.
Fortunately for me, she must have registered my desperation because she stopped backing away and approached me a bit closer and again I thought I saw my best friend in her….Strange as it seems I felt a closeness to her at that point. Her grandchildren by now were crying and she tried to console them. When they quieted down, she turned, face to face, and said ‘Is it really you Jessica, honey?’. At this point I felt my bowels vibrate and my stomach squeeze itself.(Now there are only 2 people who call or have called me Jessica. The first person is my best friend who does it as a joke considering my name is Jesse, whilst the 2nd person is my grandpa who loathes me and considers me an effeminate disgrace.) To reply I said, ‘How did you know?’. It was at this point I looked at her and saw a strange mark below her blonde hair, on her cheek. It was a burn mark…. now this is important because my best friend had a burn mark too on the exact same position.
I started to back off and I began to sweat profusely. It was incredibly uncomfortable… She also seemed rather unnerved and made a strange whimpering noise to which her grandchildren started to cry again. I was incredibly uncomfortable where I was and felt the desire to run away were it not for an inclination holding me back. In all honesty…it was weird…really disturbing and confusing…
Her grandchildren were now screaming and she tried to console them. I looked at her and said ‘Please…what’s going on?’. She looked at me and said ‘I’m not sure honey, but it’s wonderful to see that gorgeous, youthful complexion of yours again’. I looked at her as if she was insane! (In fact, amidst the fleeting suspicions that she was a future version of my best friend I tried to reassure myself she was no more then a person suffering from dementia).
The noise of her grandchildren now attracted the attention of people inside the house. A man, probably in his late 20s to early 30s, with a tousled mat of blonde hair and a white coat on came rushing forth. As he draw closer, the uncanny similarity between me and him scared me. ‘Mum, what’s going on?’ he shouted. He rushed forth and stopped as he looked at me. ‘No way…’ he said. ‘Dad, it can’t be…no…but your young…’. By now I felt like vomiting and I had ***** my pants, quite literally. 2 more people came out of the house. A gorgeous blonde girl with a business suit and another young man with a business suit. They looked at me and the girl quickly stated ‘Holy crap, he looks like dad did in his college photos!’.
By now my vision began to fade (I guess cause of stress) and the strange stormy weather had reappeared, much more intense then what it was. The lady turned to her daughter. I looked at her and saw a gorgeous beaming face. A face that I’ve grown accustomed to since I was a young toddler. I felt certain it was my best friend’s face.
At that point I actually felt happy and before I knew what happened, the storm started to become more severe (quite ominous really) and then it was pitch dark ,I was in the middle of a field, with trees and cows off in the distance and I blacked out.
I woke up sometime later by the farmer who found me and had called an ambulance. I was at the hospital and before I knew it my best friend had came along with my family. She told me that 8 hours had passed since I left till the farmer found me and it was just about sunrise of the next day. Apparently I was found 120 miles from where the car was. She asked me what happened and I said I don’t know. I think she knew I was lying but she hasn’t mentioned it again. I doubt I’d ever tell her.
The actual encounter with the lady lasted no more then 5-7 minutes top, but I can remember it with such clarity and detail and the time I thought till I left the car to the point I blacked out was no more then an hour tops!
The above recount is 100% true and I hope you all believe me. I posted this account because I truly can not explain it and I hope you guys can make some sense of it. It was a bitter-sweet experience, but a confusing one in many senses….paranormally and relation-ship wise and definitely has impacted on me to say the least…
It has caused me to question the parameters of what we refer to as the paranormal. I never knew a phenomena such as time travel existed and am certain I had a glimpse of the future.
Sincerely Alpha.
Written by Alpha, Copyright 2009 TrueGhostTales.com used with permission.
Hey Guys, Several days have passed since I last visited this site and within that particular duration of time I underwent a momentous, unnerving paranormal phenomena, the likes of which I have never experienced nor have heard of prior to the event. The experience was both a blessing and a terrible nightmare at the same time.
Now, I consider myself a person who has a natural affinity with the paranormal. Growing up, I was accustomed to seeing specters, demons and even a vampire! The paranormal has been a recurring trait in my family (derived from my father’s side who comes from a long-line of psychics and mediums)but the event I experienced makes my other experiences seem redundant.
I believe what I experienced was a time slip. A supposed anomaly where time doesn’t flow in the linear fashion we perceive it to flow in.
Anyway, the day started of with my best friend and I meeting up to go on a road trip, outside our home town. We were relishing the freedom summer vacation provided and we were just glad to be away from college and back at home with our family. The trip was no more then a recreational pursuit, enabling us the opportunity to observe the scenic, photogenic tourist attractions residing outside our town and within the State.
The day went on smoothly and it was an enjoyable ride. It was only in the latter part of the journey, that the trip began to take a turn for the worst.
It was evening and we were on our way back. The return trip should have taken no more then 3-4 hours top. As we entered a particular route, the calm cloudless conditions suddenly altered into dark, cloudy weather. This rapid transition was rather peculiar but being the ignorant teenagers we were, we let it go and just continued with our conversation. As we drove on a bit more, it became apparent that a storm was unfolding. This storm wasn’t any different other then the fact that the clouds seemed to take on a mild yellow hue and the air seemed to be buzzing with electricity. The hair on our necks started to stand up and the speedometer and gas reading on the car went haywire. At this point, my friend became startled and she started to complain about the sudden lack of cars. There were a few cars that were tailing by in the near vicinity and since the road was straight it was rather creepy that they just disappeared.
By now, it was fairly obvious we were both freaked out and we came to a stop. It was fortunate that we did so because the car completely cut out and the storm became more intense. We both got out of the car and I volunteered to travel up the road a bit in search of some help whilst she stayed with the car. I was certain that there were a few houses along this route and continued trekking along the road. The storm began to psyche me out all the while.
It was about a while through the trek that the storm seemed to reach a climax with loud, discordant thunder and intense lightning before it abruptly stopped. Almost immediately after the storm stopped it dawned on me that the scenery had changed, becoming rather peculiar. It wasn’t so much the type of vegetation and natural features but the repetitiveness of them and their structure or shape. Perhaps this was an overreaction but it just felt abnormal.
After having covered 2 miles I began to lose hope when all of a sudden I noticed a bright light behind this hill. I hadn’t noticed the hill before but considering my attention span I didn’t think much of it . As I rounded the hill I came across what appeared to be a street, that lead into a residential area. Filled with elation, I jogged along the street and it was then that the street struck me as being odd, because the houses had garage designs that were circular and the roofs contained what I think were sheets of a dark metal rather then tiles. The street was also really quiet…
I walked about the street a bit when I heard laughter. Traversing to the source of the laughter I came across a house with a middle-aged woman,(who coincidentally reminded me of my best friend) probably in her late 40s or early 50s playing and laughing along with her grandchildren in the front lawn. I approached the house and said ‘Excuse me, do you mind helping me out’. She turned and looked at me and then an expression of pure consternation and dread enveloped her. She immediately stood up and backed away a bit and started to rapidly exclaim, ‘Oh my god… this can’t be…’. This really scared the **** out of me to say the least. She reacted like I was a ghost!! I know at that point I should have left, but I was reluctant to do so out of fear she may call the cops mistaking me for a serial killer or a robber of some sort, so instead I tried calming her down and pleading with her. ‘Wait..please calm down…I just need help…please I really need help’ I said. Those last few words, I uttered pleadingly because I was getting desperate.
Fortunately for me, she must have registered my desperation because she stopped backing away and approached me a bit closer and again I thought I saw my best friend in her….Strange as it seems I felt a closeness to her at that point. Her grandchildren by now were crying and she tried to console them. When they quieted down, she turned, face to face, and said ‘Is it really you Jessica, honey?’. At this point I felt my bowels vibrate and my stomach squeeze itself.(Now there are only 2 people who call or have called me Jessica. The first person is my best friend who does it as a joke considering my name is Jesse, whilst the 2nd person is my grandpa who loathes me and considers me an effeminate disgrace.) To reply I said, ‘How did you know?’. It was at this point I looked at her and saw a strange mark below her blonde hair, on her cheek. It was a burn mark…. now this is important because my best friend had a burn mark too on the exact same position.
I started to back off and I began to sweat profusely. It was incredibly uncomfortable… She also seemed rather unnerved and made a strange whimpering noise to which her grandchildren started to cry again. I was incredibly uncomfortable where I was and felt the desire to run away were it not for an inclination holding me back. In all honesty…it was weird…really disturbing and confusing…
Her grandchildren were now screaming and she tried to console them. I looked at her and said ‘Please…what’s going on?’. She looked at me and said ‘I’m not sure honey, but it’s wonderful to see that gorgeous, youthful complexion of yours again’. I looked at her as if she was insane! (In fact, amidst the fleeting suspicions that she was a future version of my best friend I tried to reassure myself she was no more then a person suffering from dementia).
The noise of her grandchildren now attracted the attention of people inside the house. A man, probably in his late 20s to early 30s, with a tousled mat of blonde hair and a white coat on came rushing forth. As he draw closer, the uncanny similarity between me and him scared me. ‘Mum, what’s going on?’ he shouted. He rushed forth and stopped as he looked at me. ‘No way…’ he said. ‘Dad, it can’t be…no…but your young…’. By now I felt like vomiting and I had ***** my pants, quite literally. 2 more people came out of the house. A gorgeous blonde girl with a business suit and another young man with a business suit. They looked at me and the girl quickly stated ‘Holy crap, he looks like dad did in his college photos!’.
By now my vision began to fade (I guess cause of stress) and the strange stormy weather had reappeared, much more intense then what it was. The lady turned to her daughter. I looked at her and saw a gorgeous beaming face. A face that I’ve grown accustomed to since I was a young toddler. I felt certain it was my best friend’s face.
At that point I actually felt happy and before I knew what happened, the storm started to become more severe (quite ominous really) and then it was pitch dark ,I was in the middle of a field, with trees and cows off in the distance and I blacked out.
I woke up sometime later by the farmer who found me and had called an ambulance. I was at the hospital and before I knew it my best friend had came along with my family. She told me that 8 hours had passed since I left till the farmer found me and it was just about sunrise of the next day. Apparently I was found 120 miles from where the car was. She asked me what happened and I said I don’t know. I think she knew I was lying but she hasn’t mentioned it again. I doubt I’d ever tell her.
The actual encounter with the lady lasted no more then 5-7 minutes top, but I can remember it with such clarity and detail and the time I thought till I left the car to the point I blacked out was no more then an hour tops!
The above recount is 100% true and I hope you all believe me. I posted this account because I truly can not explain it and I hope you guys can make some sense of it. It was a bitter-sweet experience, but a confusing one in many senses….paranormally and relation-ship wise and definitely has impacted on me to say the least…
It has caused me to question the parameters of what we refer to as the paranormal. I never knew a phenomena such as time travel existed and am certain I had a glimpse of the future.
Sincerely Alpha.
Written by Alpha, Copyright 2009 TrueGhostTales.com used with permission.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Friday, April 10, 2009
One Thing Leeds to Another
Sisters Find Themselves Out of Phase in a U.K. Newspaper Shop
(This was originally posted on a forum on a US web site that no longer exists. You can learn more about the original poster here: https://secretleeds.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6463)
It was 1998 on a summer's morning in Leeds. My sister and I were on our way to work and decided to pop into the paper shop. (Whether this is relevant I don't know, but the shop is situated in a building built around 1899). My sister was in front of me as we approached the shop door, and through the glass panel I saw a woman browsing at the magazine section, immediately to the left of the door entrance.
It looked as though this woman would be in our way as we entered the shop but as we did my sister didn't seem to be aware of her. I [told my sister], "Mind that woman," but she carried on walking and went right through her and the woman faded away. [Only then did] my sister stop and ask, "What woman?"
I walked ahead of my sister a little further into the shop and turned to her and told her, "I think I've just seen a spirit -- you just walked through this woman." My sister was adamant she saw no one. We both looked around the shop. The lights were off, which I thought was odd; it seemed very gray and eerie. It was the kind of atmosphere you'd expect in the early hours of a winter morning -- but this was summertime during business hours. Though all the shelves were stocked like they should have been, we were the only people there. My sister mentioned it was cold, and she said she felt something funny was going on. I felt this too. I said, "We need to get out of here."
We left the shop but lingered outside the door. I described the woman, who had been in modern-day dress, to my sister, and she asserted, "There was no one there -- the shop was empty." (Upon later comparison, I found that my sister saw everything I saw apart from the woman.) We were outside the shop door for all of a minute when I asked my sister to come back in with me. When we entered the shop, the lights were on and it was full of customers -- school kids, people on their way to work, etc. Had I looked more carefully at the people in the store the second time we entered, I feel I would have seen [the woman my sister walked through].
The usual woman was behind the till, but she was staring at us with her mouth open. My sister said, "What the hell is going on? Where did all these people come from?" I was just in total shock. I walked to the till with my sister and bought some cigarettes; as the woman served us, she looked quite terrified. I'll never forget the look on her face. We left the shop and to this day still can't get our heads round it. We did go back around a month later to ask the woman if she noticed anything odd, but there was a man serving. My sister said she'd been back a few times and has never seen her again. We did ask the man if anyone had ever mentioned anything about the shop, but I think he thought we were loons.
(This was originally posted on a forum on a US web site that no longer exists. You can learn more about the original poster here: https://secretleeds.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6463)
It was 1998 on a summer's morning in Leeds. My sister and I were on our way to work and decided to pop into the paper shop. (Whether this is relevant I don't know, but the shop is situated in a building built around 1899). My sister was in front of me as we approached the shop door, and through the glass panel I saw a woman browsing at the magazine section, immediately to the left of the door entrance.
It looked as though this woman would be in our way as we entered the shop but as we did my sister didn't seem to be aware of her. I [told my sister], "Mind that woman," but she carried on walking and went right through her and the woman faded away. [Only then did] my sister stop and ask, "What woman?"
I walked ahead of my sister a little further into the shop and turned to her and told her, "I think I've just seen a spirit -- you just walked through this woman." My sister was adamant she saw no one. We both looked around the shop. The lights were off, which I thought was odd; it seemed very gray and eerie. It was the kind of atmosphere you'd expect in the early hours of a winter morning -- but this was summertime during business hours. Though all the shelves were stocked like they should have been, we were the only people there. My sister mentioned it was cold, and she said she felt something funny was going on. I felt this too. I said, "We need to get out of here."
We left the shop but lingered outside the door. I described the woman, who had been in modern-day dress, to my sister, and she asserted, "There was no one there -- the shop was empty." (Upon later comparison, I found that my sister saw everything I saw apart from the woman.) We were outside the shop door for all of a minute when I asked my sister to come back in with me. When we entered the shop, the lights were on and it was full of customers -- school kids, people on their way to work, etc. Had I looked more carefully at the people in the store the second time we entered, I feel I would have seen [the woman my sister walked through].
The usual woman was behind the till, but she was staring at us with her mouth open. My sister said, "What the hell is going on? Where did all these people come from?" I was just in total shock. I walked to the till with my sister and bought some cigarettes; as the woman served us, she looked quite terrified. I'll never forget the look on her face. We left the shop and to this day still can't get our heads round it. We did go back around a month later to ask the woman if she noticed anything odd, but there was a man serving. My sister said she'd been back a few times and has never seen her again. We did ask the man if anyone had ever mentioned anything about the shop, but I think he thought we were loons.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Whar Stories
Whar Stories
Student Sees Author Edith Wharton and Associates
--From "The Ghostly Register" by Arthur Myers, published 1986
[The Mount is] a neo-Georgian mansion built between 1900 and 1902 by Edith Wharton, one of America's great literary figures, as a country retreat in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts. In 1978, a very high-powered acting troupe called Shakespeare & Company moved into The Mount. [Following is an account by one of its tenants,] Andrea Haring, an actress and voice teacher.
"It was in the winter, about 1979. We had had a meeting, and a lot of feelings had come up, and people were really excited and disturbed. I went up to Edith Wharton's writing room because a couple of people were having a discussion in my bedroom. There was an extra mattress in Edith Wharton's room, and I thought I'd just lie down till they were done. I stoked up the wood stove in the room so that it would have stayed warm until about noon the next day. This was around midnight. I slept till about four in the morning. Then I drifted awake because it was very cold in the room. My eyes were still closed, but I was awake, and I sensed there was someone in the room. I opened my eyes and saw three figures in the room, and where the room had been bare of furniture there was now a small divan and a desk with a chair. I thought I must be dreaming, but I sort of pinched myself and slapped myself, and I thought, No, I'm awake; I must be seeing ghosts..."
Read the rest here: https://archive.org/stream/B-001-014-072/B-001-014-072_djvu.txt
Student Sees Author Edith Wharton and Associates
--From "The Ghostly Register" by Arthur Myers, published 1986
[The Mount is] a neo-Georgian mansion built between 1900 and 1902 by Edith Wharton, one of America's great literary figures, as a country retreat in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts. In 1978, a very high-powered acting troupe called Shakespeare & Company moved into The Mount. [Following is an account by one of its tenants,] Andrea Haring, an actress and voice teacher.
"It was in the winter, about 1979. We had had a meeting, and a lot of feelings had come up, and people were really excited and disturbed. I went up to Edith Wharton's writing room because a couple of people were having a discussion in my bedroom. There was an extra mattress in Edith Wharton's room, and I thought I'd just lie down till they were done. I stoked up the wood stove in the room so that it would have stayed warm until about noon the next day. This was around midnight. I slept till about four in the morning. Then I drifted awake because it was very cold in the room. My eyes were still closed, but I was awake, and I sensed there was someone in the room. I opened my eyes and saw three figures in the room, and where the room had been bare of furniture there was now a small divan and a desk with a chair. I thought I must be dreaming, but I sort of pinched myself and slapped myself, and I thought, No, I'm awake; I must be seeing ghosts..."
Read the rest here: https://archive.org/stream/B-001-014-072/B-001-014-072_djvu.txt
We'll Leave the Speed of Light on for You
We'll Leave the Speed of Light on For You
20th-Century Guests Stay in 19th-Century Hotel
From "World of Strange Phenomena" by Charles Berlitz, published 1988 by Wynwood Press.
It all began innocently enough in October 1979, when two couples in Dover, England, set off on a vacation together, intending to travel through France and Spain. It ended in a journey that took them to another world.
Geoff and Pauline Simpson and their friends Len and Cynthia Gisby boarded a boat that took them across the English Channel to the coast of France. There, they rented a car and proceeded to drive north. Around 9:30 that evening, October 3, they began to tire and looked for a place to stay. They pulled off the autoroute when they saw a plush-looking motel.
Len went inside and in the lobby encountered a man dress in an odd plum-colored uniform. The man said there was no room in the motel but there was a small hotel south along the road. Len thanked him and he and his companions went on.
Along the way, they were struck by the oddness of the cobbled, narrow road and the buildings they passed. They also saw posters advertising a circus. "It was a very old-fashioned circus," Pauline would remember. "That's why we took so much interest."
Finally, the travelers saw a long, low building with a row of brightly lit windows. Some men were standing in front of it and when Cynthia spoke with them, they told her the place was an inn, not a hotel. They drove further down the road until they saw two buildings: one a police station, the other an old-fashioned two-story building bearing a sign marked "Hotel." Inside, everything was made of heavy wood. There were no tablecloths on the tables, nor was there any evidence of such modern conveniences as telephones or elevators.
The rooms were no less strange. The beds had heavy sheets and no pillows. There were no locks on the doors, only wooden catches. The bathroom the couples had to share had old-fashioned plumbing.
After they ate, they returned to their rooms and fell asleep. They were awakened when sunlight filtered through the windows, which consisted only of wooden shutters -- no glass. They went back to the dining room and ate a simple breakfast with "black and horrible" coffee, Geoff recalled.
As they were sitting there, a woman wearing a silk evening gown and carrying a dog under her arm sat opposite them. "It was strange," Pauline said. "It looked like she had just come in from a ball but it was seven in the morning. I couldn't take my eyes off her."
At that point, two gendarmes entered the room. "They were nothing like the gendarmes we saw anywhere else in France," according to Geoff. "Their uniforms seemed to be very old." The uniforms were deep blue and the officers were wearing capes over their shoulders. Their hats were large and peaked.
Despite the oddities, the couples enjoyed themselves and, when they returned to their rooms, the two husbands separately took pictures of their wives standing by the shuttered windows.
On their way out, Len and Geoff talked with the gendarmes about the best way to take the autoroute to Avignon and the Spanish border. The officers didn't seem to understand the word "autoroute," and the travelers assumed they hadn't pronounced the French word properly. The directions they were given were quite poor; they took the friends to an old road some miles out of the way. They decided to use the map instead and take a more direct route along the highway.
After the car was packed, Len went to pay his bill and was astonished when the manager asked only for 19 francs. Assuming there was some misunderstanding, Len explained that there were four of them and they had eaten a meal. The manager only nodded. Len showed the bill to the gendarmes, who smilingly indicated there was nothing amiss. He paid in cash and left before they could change their minds.
On their way back from two weeks in Spain, the two couples decided to stop at the hotel again. They had had a pleasant, interesting time there and the prices certainly couldn't be beat. The night was rainy and cold and visibility poor, but they found the turnoff and noticed the circus signs they had seen before.
"This is definitely the right road," Pauline declared.
It was, but there was no hotel alongside it. Thinking that somehow they had missed it, they went back to the motel where the man in the plum-colored suit had given them directions. That motel was there, but there was no man in the unusual suit and the clerk denied such an individual working there.
The couples drove three times up and down the road looking for something that, they were now beginning to realize, was no longer there.
They drove north and spent the night in a hotel in Lyons. Room with modern facilities, breakfast and dinner cost them 247 francs.
Upon their return to Dover, Geoff and Len had their respective rolls of film processed. In each case, the pictures of the hotel (one by Geoff, two by Len) were in the middle of the roll. But when they got the pictures back, the ones taken inside the hotel were missing. There were no spoiled negatives. Each film had its full quota of pictures. It was as if the pictures had never been taken -- except for one small detail that a reporter for Yorkshire television would notice: "There was evidence that the camera had tried to wind on in the middle of the film. Sprocket holes on the negatives showed damage."
The couples kept quiet about their experience for three years, telling it only to friends and family. One friend found a book in which it was revealed that gendarmes wore the uniforms described prior to 1905. Eventually, a reporter for the Dover newspaper heard [the story] and published an account. Later, a television dramatization of the experience was produced by a local station.
In 1985, Manchester psychiatrist Albert Keller hypnotized Geoff Simpson to see if he could recall any more of the peculiar event. Under hypnosis he added nothing new to what he consciously remembered.
Jenny Randles, a British writer who investigated this bizarre episode, wonders, "What really happened to the four travelers in rural France? Was this a timeslip? If so, one wonders why the hotel manager was apparently not surprised by their futuristic vehicle and clothing, and why he accepted their 1979 currency, which certainly would have appeared odd to anybody living that far back in the past."
The travelers -- perhaps time-travelers -- have no explanation. "We only know what happened," says Geoff.
20th-Century Guests Stay in 19th-Century Hotel
From "World of Strange Phenomena" by Charles Berlitz, published 1988 by Wynwood Press.
It all began innocently enough in October 1979, when two couples in Dover, England, set off on a vacation together, intending to travel through France and Spain. It ended in a journey that took them to another world.
Geoff and Pauline Simpson and their friends Len and Cynthia Gisby boarded a boat that took them across the English Channel to the coast of France. There, they rented a car and proceeded to drive north. Around 9:30 that evening, October 3, they began to tire and looked for a place to stay. They pulled off the autoroute when they saw a plush-looking motel.
Len went inside and in the lobby encountered a man dress in an odd plum-colored uniform. The man said there was no room in the motel but there was a small hotel south along the road. Len thanked him and he and his companions went on.
Along the way, they were struck by the oddness of the cobbled, narrow road and the buildings they passed. They also saw posters advertising a circus. "It was a very old-fashioned circus," Pauline would remember. "That's why we took so much interest."
Finally, the travelers saw a long, low building with a row of brightly lit windows. Some men were standing in front of it and when Cynthia spoke with them, they told her the place was an inn, not a hotel. They drove further down the road until they saw two buildings: one a police station, the other an old-fashioned two-story building bearing a sign marked "Hotel." Inside, everything was made of heavy wood. There were no tablecloths on the tables, nor was there any evidence of such modern conveniences as telephones or elevators.
The rooms were no less strange. The beds had heavy sheets and no pillows. There were no locks on the doors, only wooden catches. The bathroom the couples had to share had old-fashioned plumbing.
After they ate, they returned to their rooms and fell asleep. They were awakened when sunlight filtered through the windows, which consisted only of wooden shutters -- no glass. They went back to the dining room and ate a simple breakfast with "black and horrible" coffee, Geoff recalled.
As they were sitting there, a woman wearing a silk evening gown and carrying a dog under her arm sat opposite them. "It was strange," Pauline said. "It looked like she had just come in from a ball but it was seven in the morning. I couldn't take my eyes off her."
At that point, two gendarmes entered the room. "They were nothing like the gendarmes we saw anywhere else in France," according to Geoff. "Their uniforms seemed to be very old." The uniforms were deep blue and the officers were wearing capes over their shoulders. Their hats were large and peaked.
Despite the oddities, the couples enjoyed themselves and, when they returned to their rooms, the two husbands separately took pictures of their wives standing by the shuttered windows.
On their way out, Len and Geoff talked with the gendarmes about the best way to take the autoroute to Avignon and the Spanish border. The officers didn't seem to understand the word "autoroute," and the travelers assumed they hadn't pronounced the French word properly. The directions they were given were quite poor; they took the friends to an old road some miles out of the way. They decided to use the map instead and take a more direct route along the highway.
After the car was packed, Len went to pay his bill and was astonished when the manager asked only for 19 francs. Assuming there was some misunderstanding, Len explained that there were four of them and they had eaten a meal. The manager only nodded. Len showed the bill to the gendarmes, who smilingly indicated there was nothing amiss. He paid in cash and left before they could change their minds.
On their way back from two weeks in Spain, the two couples decided to stop at the hotel again. They had had a pleasant, interesting time there and the prices certainly couldn't be beat. The night was rainy and cold and visibility poor, but they found the turnoff and noticed the circus signs they had seen before.
"This is definitely the right road," Pauline declared.
It was, but there was no hotel alongside it. Thinking that somehow they had missed it, they went back to the motel where the man in the plum-colored suit had given them directions. That motel was there, but there was no man in the unusual suit and the clerk denied such an individual working there.
The couples drove three times up and down the road looking for something that, they were now beginning to realize, was no longer there.
They drove north and spent the night in a hotel in Lyons. Room with modern facilities, breakfast and dinner cost them 247 francs.
Upon their return to Dover, Geoff and Len had their respective rolls of film processed. In each case, the pictures of the hotel (one by Geoff, two by Len) were in the middle of the roll. But when they got the pictures back, the ones taken inside the hotel were missing. There were no spoiled negatives. Each film had its full quota of pictures. It was as if the pictures had never been taken -- except for one small detail that a reporter for Yorkshire television would notice: "There was evidence that the camera had tried to wind on in the middle of the film. Sprocket holes on the negatives showed damage."
The couples kept quiet about their experience for three years, telling it only to friends and family. One friend found a book in which it was revealed that gendarmes wore the uniforms described prior to 1905. Eventually, a reporter for the Dover newspaper heard [the story] and published an account. Later, a television dramatization of the experience was produced by a local station.
In 1985, Manchester psychiatrist Albert Keller hypnotized Geoff Simpson to see if he could recall any more of the peculiar event. Under hypnosis he added nothing new to what he consciously remembered.
Jenny Randles, a British writer who investigated this bizarre episode, wonders, "What really happened to the four travelers in rural France? Was this a timeslip? If so, one wonders why the hotel manager was apparently not surprised by their futuristic vehicle and clothing, and why he accepted their 1979 currency, which certainly would have appeared odd to anybody living that far back in the past."
The travelers -- perhaps time-travelers -- have no explanation. "We only know what happened," says Geoff.
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