06-19-2008, 11:01 PM
phillyist.com
One of the most classic anomalies this strange planet has ever produced is known as "ball lightning." It's a phenomenon that has been suggested to be anything from ghostly activity, to electricity in the air, to a will-o-the-wisp-type effect, to the fiery origin of Spontaneous Human Combustion. Such manifestations have also been connected to phantom hounds, with many such bizarre ghost dogs often appearing at first as balls of fire, or transforming into glowing orbs. Whatever its purpose or explanation, "ball lightning" is reasonably common across the globe. The Schuylkill River has long been considered a haunt for such forms. Some experts theorize that such balls of energy are in fact the spirits of Indians who once settled in the area. Or are such burning spheres UFOs?
On a more sinister note, fire is certainly one of the most grim ways to perish. At Fairview Cemetery in Berks County, it is said that the apparitions of over one hundred and fifty people have been heard to scream, wail and cryââ¬âvictims of the tragic fire that swept through the Rhoads Opera House in 1908. The cemetery has often been investigated by local police after reports of horrifying cries emanating from the shadows, but there's never been any further sign of the scorched souls.
A terrible yet very deliberate fire has caused many spirits to aimlessly wallow in an area of Croydon, Bucks County. An elementary school (Children of Mary) in the area succumbed to great tragedy many years ago when local teacher Mary Devine had a severe argument with her child-hating husband, who, in sickening vengeance, kidnapped several of the children, took them to the nearby woods, tied them to the trees and cruelly set them ablaze. It is said, in legend anyway, that the children, who all died, still wander the gloom of the woods and on certain nights flickering flames can be observed through the trees, signs of what great slaughter went before.
It is also said that the fiendish murderer who torched those innocent victims still prowls the darkness, preventing those lost souls from finding their true light.
Whether the Children of Mary school was actually named after a grisly legend is unlikely, but this is a legend that remains, and refuses to go up in smoke...
http://phillyist.com/2008/06/18/philadel...rdness.php
One of the most classic anomalies this strange planet has ever produced is known as "ball lightning." It's a phenomenon that has been suggested to be anything from ghostly activity, to electricity in the air, to a will-o-the-wisp-type effect, to the fiery origin of Spontaneous Human Combustion. Such manifestations have also been connected to phantom hounds, with many such bizarre ghost dogs often appearing at first as balls of fire, or transforming into glowing orbs. Whatever its purpose or explanation, "ball lightning" is reasonably common across the globe. The Schuylkill River has long been considered a haunt for such forms. Some experts theorize that such balls of energy are in fact the spirits of Indians who once settled in the area. Or are such burning spheres UFOs?
On a more sinister note, fire is certainly one of the most grim ways to perish. At Fairview Cemetery in Berks County, it is said that the apparitions of over one hundred and fifty people have been heard to scream, wail and cryââ¬âvictims of the tragic fire that swept through the Rhoads Opera House in 1908. The cemetery has often been investigated by local police after reports of horrifying cries emanating from the shadows, but there's never been any further sign of the scorched souls.
A terrible yet very deliberate fire has caused many spirits to aimlessly wallow in an area of Croydon, Bucks County. An elementary school (Children of Mary) in the area succumbed to great tragedy many years ago when local teacher Mary Devine had a severe argument with her child-hating husband, who, in sickening vengeance, kidnapped several of the children, took them to the nearby woods, tied them to the trees and cruelly set them ablaze. It is said, in legend anyway, that the children, who all died, still wander the gloom of the woods and on certain nights flickering flames can be observed through the trees, signs of what great slaughter went before.
It is also said that the fiendish murderer who torched those innocent victims still prowls the darkness, preventing those lost souls from finding their true light.
Whether the Children of Mary school was actually named after a grisly legend is unlikely, but this is a legend that remains, and refuses to go up in smoke...
http://phillyist.com/2008/06/18/philadel...rdness.php