In Putnam County, the standing stones and the chambers are very similar to those in Ireland where a great deal of UFO and other forms of paranormal phenomena has also been reported. Stonehenge is also one of these mystical sites and has had its share of UFO reports. My study of the stone chambers in North America finally led me to Europe where there are so many sites that had paranormal events attached to them that I could choose only a few to visit since my time and money were limited. The site that I found the most interesting was Newgrange: it had an aura of mystery, and being there felt like I was standing in front of a tunnel that connected to another world.
The Magic Stones of Newgrange
In the early nineties, I explored many ancient megalithic sites in Ireland but of all the wonders I saw, Newgrange has my vote as the most impressive. Archeologists have dated the site as being more than five thousand years old, making it older than the Great Pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge. Researchers all agree that Newgrange was used not only as a tomb, but also for ceremonial and religious rituals. There is some speculation it was dedicated to Dagda (the sun god of pre-Christian Ireland) because an opening at the entrance aligns with the sun on the winter solstice. Over many centuries, the tomb has been raided by grave robbers, but in 860 ad the remaining contents were removed by Viking raiders.
The actual mound (the tumulus) is egg-shaped, and some of the local UFO enthusiasts there believe the tomb was fashioned after a flying saucer. Originally, there were thirty- five standing stones but only twelve remain today. Visitors who touch the stones have claimed everything from miraculous healings to fantastic visions. When I put my hands on each stone, all I felt was a slight tingling in my fingers. The most striking thing I found about the Newgrange site is its precise astronomical alignment with the winter solstice. On this day (the shortest of the year), a shaft of sunlight enters through a large opening above the entrance. The beam of sunlight illuminates a basin at the end of a tunnel and lights up a series of spirals carved into the rock.
During my short stay, I was able to talk to several people who have witnessed, videotaped, and seen globes of silver lights bouncing around the stones during the day and night. The descriptions of the lights seem to have a striking resemblance to the spook lights of North America. I was not surprised: Newgrange lies on the same magnetic lines of force that pass though the Hudson Valley.
Having the New York stone chambers (also paranormal hotspots), in my backyard has allowed me to study them in great detail—it’s like having my own version of Newgrange just thirty minutes away. As of the writing of this book, reports of people who visited these locations encountering beings and forces from different realities are still coming to me. The following story is from a local resident of Kent Cliffs, New York, who was attacked by an invisible assailant while inside one of the stone chambers. The witness prefers not to give his name, but graciously gave me permission to use his story with the hope that it will help solve the mystery.
Struck By an Unseen Force
“I was walking down Highway 301 in the late part of the summer of this year (1992), when I passed by the stone chamber on the road. I knew these things have been there for a long time and heard many stories about them. Some think they were built by Vikings or Druids, while others think they were built by the Indians or colonial farmers. To tell you the truth, I never thought much about them and at the time really didn’t care. Well, if you’re walking by them at night, they look real spooky. I know many people who won’t even walk in front of them when it is dark. Anyway, it was about eleven at night and it was very dark, the sky was clear but there was no moon. I walked by the chamber on the opposite side of the road and noticed a faint red glow coming from the inside. This glow was so faint that I could barely see it with my eyes. I also heard a faint sound that was like a hum, sort of like an electrical generator was being used inside to produce electricity to make the light. So I crossed the street and entered what was then (before the road was widened) a short section of woods and entered the chamber. As soon as I walked in, the noise stopped and I could not see the red—it was all dark inside. I looked around and felt very uneasy like someone or something was watching me. You know the feeling . . . like when you’re in a dark cellar with someone and you can’t see them, but you know someone is there and you are not alone.
“I wasn’t in there for more than thirty seconds when this force hits me. It was as if someone pushed me; I fell to the ground expecting to see someone standing there, but I saw no one at all! I was on the ground wondering what to do next, still feeling as if there was someone in there with me. I slowly got up to my feet and was struck again, this time in the face—it felt like a hand. There was some unseen force striking me every time I tried to get up, so I decide to stay down and not move. I looked toward the opening and saw the figure of a man standing there. He was wearing a white robe and had long black hair and a beard. His hair was very curly and hung over his shoulders. The thing that really scared me—almost to death—was when I looked into his eyes. His eyes seemed very dark, but they also glowed. The center of his pupils looked red. He just stood there looking at me; when my eyes met his, I could feel a tingling up and down my spine. He then raised his hand and pointed his finger to me and the message was clear; I was not welcome and should leave and never return. Although it was dark I could see him plainly. I don’t understand this, but it seemed that he was surrounded by a soft white glow. The figure then dissolved into a cloud of mist that was then drawn into a nearby rock just as if there was a vacuum there. The entire incident lasted about three or four minutes. I then got up and ran out the entrance and never went back. Sometimes at night I would wake up in a cold sweat with my heart pounding because I could still see the image of this guy’s eyes starring at me. I always feel that he is waiting for me somewhere in the dark ready to take me to another place as some kind of prisoner.”
Beings of this type have been reported in several of the other chambers close to that area. Sometimes the entity in the white robe is accompanied by several Viking-looking figures; sometimes they are seen with small dwarves in hooded robes. Are they ghosts, ultra-terrestrials, or aliens? Sometimes, the reports include the “grays,” which are often reported in UFO abduction cases as well as alien reptilian creatures I believe may be Djinn.
Reports of encounters are too numerous to dismiss and those who make them are usually more than eager to erase the encounter from their memories permanently. Recently, I heard of a new case near a standing megalithic stone located on the New York State University—Purchase campus. The witness claims that one night while putting his hand on the stone, several hooded entities appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. The beings circled him for several minutes and then vanished into a vapor. The witness told me he could not see their faces, and their hands were covered in the robes. They were no more than 4 feet tall and he thought they were more animal than human by the way they moved. As they circled him, he could hear a faint, unanimous chant. He did not understand the words, but he compared the sounds to a growl.
The Beings From Another Dimension
The account below is from a person who has become a close friend of mine over the years. She changed her name to Golden Hawk after having a spiritual awakening at a sacred place called Hawk Rock. “Goldie” (as we call her) is a spiritual teacher and hosts a radio show, Another Reality. She would often visit the chambers by herself and on occasion would bring others. Her favorite chamber is one we call the “Mother Earth” chamber or the “Womb” since it is oval in shape and goes slightly underground. Goldie and several others had an incredible experience with hooded beings illuminated under some type of ball of light one night in that chamber. Goldie’s account appears in her own words.
“It was August 12, 2007, at about midnight when we arrived at the chamber that I call the ‘womb.’ With me was my friend Alana, her brother, and a friend. I had been to this chamber a number of times over the years at night
with different people so I knew how to get there in the dark and felt comfortable walking into the woods in the dark. I was trying to get as much time inside the chamber since every time I went I felt more open up to this incredible energy. Our purpose for the trip that night was to observe a meteor shower we heard was taking place. What was different about this trip is that we got lost trying to find the chamber in the dark. We had lights, but got lost and this caused quite a great deal of tension. The strange thing is that we finally found it after walking by it several times. Alana finally found it in a place we had already definitely looked. It had rained recently: the stream in front of the chamber was not trickling—it was flowing fast and deep. We spent a very long time looking for the chamber . . . it was as if the energy was shifting back and forth causing us to lose direction. We were searching for the chamber for a long time and passed it no more than 20 feet and did not see the ‘womb,’ it was like the chamber was invisible for a time.
“There was something almost eerie in how Alana saw the chamber in the dark without a light. The night was cloudless and there was a moon in the sky. We entered the chamber and started a meditation. I said to everybody that we would not leave until daylight because it was so dark and wet outside. Alana’s brother started to complain that he was cold and tired so we started huddling together and everything got quiet. Then, there was a vibration-like buzzing sound and I looked at Alana and said ‘Do you hear something?’ She said yes. The two boys stayed inside while Alana and I went out side the chamber. We saw this white light, very bright at the top of the hill to the right of the chamber. It was hard to tell if the light was in the air or on the ground because we were looking through woods, but it was illuminating the trees.
“The light was a whitish-blue and very bright—like a spotlight. The light was only about a hundred feet from us and at this time we saw only a light. My first impression was someone was in the woods with us and that worried me, but then I thought, ‘Well, there’s a meteor shower tonight and they must have come here to see it also.’ I remember thinking it was strange they had such a bright light on, expecting to see the meteor shower. As I looked more closely, there were figures illuminated by the light that seemed to have hoods on their heads and the light appeared to be above them.
“The light seemed to be round or a rectangle, but I could not tell for sure. We still heard the buzzing sound; it was very intense. We stood there looking at these beings and my first feeling was that I needed to protect everyone with us because there were strange people out in the night with us. We called the boys out, pointed out the light and beings, and told them to stay quiet. I suddenly got a strong urge to leave. After some discussion, the plan was to walk right past them to get to the path that led to the car without paying any attention to who or what they were. We neared the beings and started to pass them on the right. I was too afraid to look and told the others to not look; to stay focused and talk loudly as if they were unafraid and didn’t care if they were there. Basically, I told them to not show fear. I didn’t try to sneak past these strangers; I wanted them to know we wanted no trouble and were leaving.
“There were three beings with a light above them doing something with their hands. They seemed very busy with something that I could not see. They were all wearing black hoods and were at least 7 feet tall. As we passed, I caught a side glance; they had a scary presence. I did not see any faces, just the hoods. We were then walking arm and arm and I was trying to be strong and focus on one thing: to get to the car safe and sound. We walked by them and it was a little tricky because we had to walk through the stream so we got wet. The beings were silent; the only sound was us. I told everyone beforehand I wanted to let these beings know we were aware of their presence, and we were not afraid. The beings paid no attention to us as we walked by them. The ground was well lit from the light so we had no trouble seeing. We made it to the path by 3:30 am and didn’t look back. The feeling I got was that they were not friendly beings. I thought this because we reacted to them and they didn’t do anything. I also got the impression that we saw them but they could not see us. We finally made it back to the car and I was surprised the sun was starting to rise—I didn’t think we spent that much time in the chamber.”
It is possible that whatever Golden Hawk and her companions saw that night was interdimensional and not fully integrated with our universe. This could be why the hooded beings appeared not to be able to see them . . . or was it that they considered their task of great importance and the humans were of little interest?
The Cursed House
The Hudson Valley of New York is full of “haunted” places: some are real and some are not. I documented a great deal of paranormal activity around the locations that contain chambers and standing stones. I also discovered the locations in which these structures were constructed have strong magnetic anomalies. I always wondered what it would be like to live in a house located near a chamber. Although there are several of these “haunted” stone structures with homes on the same property, there is one farmhouse built right on top of a chamber, and the builders used it as part of the foundation and cellar.
The house was built in 1826 and located in Putnam County, in the town of Kent Cliffs. Since the property is now vacant and the owner is hoping to rent or sell it, I will not give its location. This house has had a number of people occupy it over the past twenty years, and all have been scared or forced out after seeing apparitions and the feeling that something evil was walking through the rooms at night. In two cases, the personalities of the people who lived there changed and one incident resulted in the breakup of a couple that had been happily married for fifteen years.
While the house was still empty in 2004, I spent a night in it with my camera and the last of my ultraviolet film. Throughout the night, I had a feeling that something was watching me from the dark rooms, most likely wondering what I was doing there. I didn’t get any sleep that night, and although I heard what sounded like bangs and footsteps throughout the dark hours, unfortunately the entity didn’t think I was worth an appearance or manifestation. I had ten frames of film left and only one had something on it: an ectoplasm-like blob that should not have shown up on the film—the rest of the frames were blank (clear) indicating there was no UV light striking the film. The house’s owner promised to keep me informed of any strange happenings taking place. On more than one occasion, he tried to have the house blessed by a Christian priest, a rabbi, and even a Buddhist monk from the nearby Chuang Yen Monastery, but nothing worked.[1] If the chamber and house is the home of a Trickster (Djinni by any other name) then it will not leave until it wants to. The age-old rituals of exorcism performed by the Catholic Church will just not work when it comes to this type of entity.
The Sleeping Dragon
The Chuang Yen Monastery was built in a central point surrounded by stone chambers. Under the Buddha Hall is a large rock that looks like a sleeping dragon. It makes up the foundation of the building and is referred to by the monks as “The Dragon Rock.” According to their beliefs, this rock channels up energy into the Great Buddha and allows the energy to flow through all who visit and mediate. Some people who visit the Buddha Hall for the first time experience headaches and nausea while others have seen visions or felt a spiritual awakening of one form or another. I asked one of the monks, “If the energy is so pure, why does it have a negative effect on some?” He asked me in return if I felt that way, I replied no, I always felt good and at peace when I visited. He said, “It’s because your energy centers in your body are unobstructed and [energy] flows through you. Many who visit for the first time are clogged up and it backs up causing headaches; one must learn to open up before attempting to commune with the Buddha.” Perhaps like the Dragon Rock, the chambers were also designed to harness earth energy—people who visit them experience the same sensations as those who mediate in the Great Buddha Hall.
Hawk Rock
Hawk Rock is located deep in th
e woods of a New York City watershed in Putnam County, and it is perhaps one of the most mystical places and best kept secrets in North America. The rock was once Native American sacred ground and there is no coincidence that it is found in the same area in which Golden Hawk had her experience. There are three other chambers at this location, and it seems that the builders, just like the Native Americans, knew the land was a gateway to the gods and earth spirits.
The rock itself is about 25 feet tall and a perching hawk is carved on one side. There is no doubt about its shape; the rock doesn’t just resemble this bird of prey, it looks exactly like it. Whoever carved Hawk Rock definitely had a bird in mind—you can even see layers of feathers in the wing. The stone was cut and shaped at angles that could only have been done by intelligent beings; it was not formed naturally. The difference in appearance between each side of the rock is amazing: the hawk figure can only be seen on the rock’s eastern side. Alongside of the great bird, just below the wing is a smooth area that has three carvings: a sun, long-tailed bird (no longer found in the area), and a turtle. All three are Native American symbols that represent the heavens (sun), sky (bird), and earth (turtle).
Files From the Edge Page 16