A Ghost a Day
Page 32
DECEMBER 29, 1972 FLIGHT 401
Miami, Florida
At 9:20 P.M. on a dark Friday night, Eastern Airline Flight 401 embarked from New York's JFK en route to Miami International Airport. The Lockheed L-1011 Tristar was piloted by Captain Bob Loft, copilot Donald Repo, and flight engineer Albert Stockstill. While attempting to investigate a malfunctioning landing gear lamp the airplane lost altitude and crashed into the Florida Everglades. Of the 163 passengers and 13 crew members, 101 died in the crash, including Captain Loft and Donald Repo.
In the following months, Captain Loft and Donald Repo began appearing on other Eastern Airline flights, or at least their ghosts did. They were reportedly seen by many crew and passengers in the cockpit, galley, and first-class sections of the 401's sister ships. The ghosts seemed to be concerned about the safety of the airplanes in which they had been spotted. Reportedly, one flight was even cancelled after Captain Loft materialized in the cockpit and spoke to the crew. Although the airline denied it, it was later alleged that salvaged parts from the ill-fated flight 401 had been used in these planes. Were the ghosts of Loft and Repo trying to save others from their disastrous fate? Many who have experienced this firsthand believe they were.
DECEMBER 30, 2006 SADDAM'S GHOST
Baghdad, Iraq
Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who thought he was the reincarnation of the great Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II. His power over his people was godlike and his ability to escape death legendary. Therefore it is not surprising that even after his death some refuse to believe he is gone. He was hanged, and his body was buried with his sons in his hometown of Awja, which should have ended his reign of terror, but some believe he is still reaching out from the other side.
In life, Saddam was a mysterious man. Rumors abound about his relationship with the supernatural. Some say he made a pact with aliens, giving them and their ships safe harbor for genetically engineered demon hounds with the killing abilities of scorpions. Others say he found a mystical blue stone with the power of bestowing immortality, which he had implanted in his forearm. Supposedly, he tested by implanting it in a chicken and then shooting the chicken with a gun. The chicken lived, protected by the stone.
Whether his ghost is real or not, we cannot be sure. But it is clear that Saddam still haunts the people of Iraq, even from beyond the grave.
TERRIFYING TIDBIT
The late president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein wrote four romance novels — some written by himself, others by ghostwriters.
DECEMBER 31, 1890 JOESEFA'S HEAD
Gasparilla Island State Park, Florida
Although the legend begins some ninety years before the lighthouse was built, it is believed that one of the ghosts to frequent the Old Port Boca Grande Lighthouse is the spirit of a beautiful Spanish princess named Josefa. Jose Gaspar, a Spanish pirate, captured the princess. It is said that Gaspar was so in love with the princess that when she rejected him, in his fury, he drew his sword and, with one fatal blow, removed her head.
Apparently Jose was so remorseful that he picked up Josefa's lifeless body and buried her in the sands of Gasparilla Island. But not wanting to be without her, he kept Josefa's head and carried it with him wherever he went. Allegedly, it is the headless specter of Josefa that is seen wandering around the island, in search of her head.
TERRIFYING TIDBIT
The legend of Jose Gaspar is celebrated yearly in Tampa, Florida, at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival.
Resources
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Belanger, Jeff. The World's Most Haunted Places 2004. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2004.
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Brooks, Marla. Ghosts of Hollywood 2008. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2008.
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Cohen, Daniel. Real Ghosts 1977. New York: Pocket Books, 1977.
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Wood, Maureen, and Ron Kolek. The Ghost Chronicles 2009. Naperville, IL: Source Books, 2009.
Zwicker, Roxie J. Haunted Portsmouth 2007. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2007.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
RON KOLEK
Ron Kolek is the Emmy-winning founder and lead investigator of The New England Ghost Project. With a degree in environmental science from Nathaniel Hawthorne College, he was the ultimate skeptic. However, a near death experience changed all that. No longer blinded by his skepticism, he now uses his scientific background to seek the truth about the paranormal. In addition to producing and hosting Ghost Chronicles on Ghostvillage Radio, iTunes, and Pod-Cast Alley, he also produces and hosts two weekly, one-hour live radio shows, Ghost Chronicles Live and Ghost Chronicles International on www.toginet.com, Para-X, and Ghost Channel and Beyond. Ghost Chronicles previously aired live for three years on WCCM, 1490 AM in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Ron was also a contributor to Jeff Belanger's Encyclopedia of Haunted Places (2005), Thomas D'Agostino's Haunted New Hampshire (2007), Jeff Belanger's The Ghost Files (2007) and Weird Massachusetts (2008), Kalyomi's Ghosts from Coast to Coast (2007), Richard Felix's What Is a Ghost (2009), Chris Balzano's Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting (2008), and Lesley Bannatyne's Halloween (2010). He is also coauthor of Ghost Chronicles: A Medium and a Paranormal Scientist Investigate 17 True Hauntings (2009).
MAUREEN WOOD
Maureen Wood is a fifth-generation psychic/trance-medium. For as far back as she can remember, she has communicated with the dead. At the age of fifteen, she was introduced to a woman who studied with Laurie Cabot, the official Witch of Salem, Massachusetts. This mentor took Maureen under her wing and taught her to not only understand but also to control her gifts. At this same age, she also served as a medium for adult séances. She has practiced, studied, and instructed metaphysical studies for more than twenty-five years. Maureen is currently the lead psychic/medium for The New England Ghost Project and co-host of the popular Ghost Chronicles radio show. Maureen also starred in the Emmy-winning American Builder Halloween special. She was a contributor to Jeff Belanger's Communicating with the Dead (2005) and Weird Massachusetts (2008), Roxie Zwicker's Haunted Portland (2007), Chris Balzano's Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting (2008), and Lesley Bannatyne's Halloween (2010). Maureen also cowrote, with Ron Kolek, Ghost Chronicles: A Medium and a Paranormal Scientist Investigate 17 True Hauntings (2009).
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