Hellier 1.1 "The Midnight Children"

                                          
People will get to thinking it's very X-Files in tone, perhaps it is in some ways.  But not so in many others.  This isn't some cheap budget TV show (not that the X-Files was that at all! ha) which just fills the minutes up with cheap thrills.  It's real and what's more the way it's presented, researched and actually documented and filmed, makes you believe it is real and makes all the difference when you watch.  With fictionalized TV you come away thinking well, "that'll never happen."  With this, you know something did happen.

What's more it's free!  No need for costly subscriptions and sign ups and having to decide what to watch, when to watch, just to get your money's worth.  If you don't particularly like a subject matter or don't have much interest in it (admittedly I am not that big into UFOs) but I absolutely love other paranormal areas and 'legends' such as goblins, Tommy Knockers and the like. You don't feel cheated or short changed if you miss something, like you would if you had to pay to view and thought, well this is all about one subject, or thinking you won't come away with anything.
You also get John Tenney's wealth of knowledge and narration included!  Also for free!

Greg and Dana Newkirk are behind the show along with Planet Weird and Karl Pfeiffer as director.  He was paranormal investigator at the Stanley Hotel (wanna go there!)  This episode focuses on Hellier, Kentucky (Kentucky has its fair share of paranormal activity!) where they are called to investigate UFO sightings and goblin-esque men.  They were contacted in 2012 by 'Dr David Christie' and he said he was hounded by this occurrence nightly.  Seething out of the mineshaft located on his property. Having evidence in the form of photos.  He then vanished. This small town is affected quite a lot.  Greg was interested in this as he felt it familiar and similar to the Hopkinsville, Kentucky goblins of 1955.  The famous UFO case involving aliens. 

Then in 2017, which Karl describes as "synchronicity" where he and paranormal investigator, Connor Randall, contacted Greg and Dana to unravel the events.  Ground breaking methods including parapsychology, which I always wanted to study but didn't, turn this into an interesting premise and well worth a watch.  It took seven years to come to fruition.

You can binge watch all 5 eps on platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo and Hellier.TV
It's a must-see and I especially likened the mesmerizing music to Crockett's Theme from Miami Vice!  Thanks for the Like on Twitter Greg and John!

Tommy knockers in Constantine 1.2 The Darkness Beneath.
https://mila255.blogspot.com/2018/05/constantine-12-darkness-beneath-review.html

Other shows are also available too!  But there's so much history and research out there on the topics focused on that you can, which will really get your brain in gear.

Insentient - Short (2013)

                                       

Contains Spoilers

As far as short stories go, you can take them or leave them.  Usually I'm a fan of these (they're also easier to write and more pithy.)  This short based on one such story, sets up the plot in usual fashion; where two men meet to discuss a plan they're hatching.  Well one of them is, Stan (David Arkema).  Built up and filmed to make it appear they're gonna go in guns blazing and pull off a heist.  You're not wrong there.  It is a heist - of sorts.  As they get guns a-ready and Marty (Clayton S Myers) asks if he misses her still.  The unknown woman of the piece and then it turns out he might be planning on taking her out.
                                         
Interspersed with flashes of Elizabeth Saint, credited as "Attractive Woman. Until we see her at the end. It appears she did the dirty on him and now he wants back what's his.  A box full of empty promises?  Well we're not shown what's in the box he wants, but it's been frozen and he wants it back.  It's his, no she says "it's mine now."  As it happens, none of them get it, but Stan does.  For someone who couldn't pull the trigger, he sure did get trigger happy and then walked away, casual as Larry.  Not only doing what they intended but also shooting Marty through two hearts!!  Was it worth it?

This to me came across as being very tongue-in-cheek (yeah using another body part reference!) and ironic.  He gave her his heart, she betrayed him and now he wants it back.  The end piece being ironically each of them end up being the losers in the narrative!  Though the title of the short story it's based on gives it away! The Death of A Frozen Heart by  Sohale Dezfoli. It's more about how you fall for someone, get hurt and need to move on, not fester and think revenge.
Obviously I thought Stan would be the one who would get Marty and yes it happened, but not in the way I expected!  Oh well and Elizabeth was a mere token love interest and kinda wasted, but if you're a fan of hers and her other paranormal achievements, she will have you glued to this!  Hottie with a loaded weapon!

Insentient: the inability to understand, lifeless, inert: a reference to Marty or to the boxed object. Take your pick.

Nominated and Winner of the following:

Winner - Best Narrative Short - International Independent Film Awards (2014)
Nominated - Best Dramatic Short - Burbank International Film Festival (2014)
Nominated - Best Guerrilla Film - Action on Film International Film Festival (2014)

Ghost Adventures 17.8 "Mineral Springs Hotel" Curse of the River Bend Part 2

                                              
Located in Alton, Illinois, where all the buildings were built with stones and rocks from Illinois First State Prison. The Mineral Springs Hotel also has a bloody history, as it would do, seeming with death, suicide and murder, even, having being built with the most amount of rocks from the prison.  As well as the hotel boasting two extremely gigantic swimming pools, though we only to see one, the one where a 17 year old boy drowned.  Apparently he was named Clarence. He was either pulled under by a dark force or not.  Question being if he was only learning to swim why would he go down there on his own and then not be noticed by anyone.  There was also a report of another man who drowned in a pool after his wife allegedly hit him with her shoe and he fell in, or was pushed.  However this wasn't mentioned in the show.  As well as a so-called legend of Cassandra, an 11 year old girl who also drowned in a pool.  There were two pools as one was for men and the other for women.  Many came for the minerals even though the hotel was reported to be very disreputable at the time.
There is also a Curiosity Museum at the hotel, would've liked a longer look at that, heck any look!

As they started their walk-through/investigation in the basement where the pool was located, they heard a female scream, which apparently came from an area where doors were located which the owner, Dave, said was a dark place with a negative entity they came to know as William.  Suggesting he was brought here by the seances conducted by people there.  Zak adding he could just be calling himself William and could be something much more darker. 
Dakota was affected by the pool area when they heard some noise nearby where he was filming.  At 10.42 can hear a noise, also sounds like a rock being thrown and he felt his shirt was tugged and he became all clammy, hot and sweaty, having to leave.  He had to be cleansed by the Dave's wife and he gave her a dirty look which was uncharacteristic of him.  I felt he was affected by a dark presence in perhaps the same way that Clarence could have been, the boy who 'drowned' in the pool.  Was this presence particularly feeding off young men in this pool area. 

Aaron investigated the pool on his own and got "Demon" on the Ovilus and "company" which had an affect on Zak as he felt pressure on his spine, one way in which demons affect people.  They also heard a faint female moan again, wonder if that could have been the girl who supposedly drowned there in one of the pools, or was someone else.  Not sure how far apart the two pools were located, although they did leave a static camera near the one they didn't investigate.

As Billy and Zak investigated the mineral well, rocks were thrown at them, same as with the others when Zak was with Dakota when he was getting cleansed.  So Billy and Zak ran.  But they did get words of the talking EVP device such as "unholy."  "Sixty" when asked how many were there?  Zak asks where the energy is coming from, "ground."
What is coming out of this pit?"
Reply: "Hi."
"What do you wanna do to me?"
"Push."  And a light anomaly comes out of him.  I would've asked why it wanted to push him?

"Kill" "Bishop" came through too.  Wonder if that was any direct reference to Zak and his encounters with bishops in the past and now during his investigations, or if it was just a general comment.  Considering "unholy" came through before.

Upstairs Jay and Aaron were having their own problems, as Aaron felt someone around them, being six floors up.  Jay felt burning too and feeling his heart was racing.  He had three scratches on his neck which were deeply red and also some marks on his chest.  It's always Jay who gets the physical attacks and ends up being scratched and marked in some way, whereas the others don't.  I have to wonder why that is.  Probably as he can figure out most of what goes on and makes the connections.  Just a thought.  Though in this instance he couldn't answer Aaron when he asked what happened? 
The voices on  he spirit box, the second male voice I hear, "respect" not "his neck."

They all later went back but without Jay who stayed at nerve centre and in the well, they had  the words come through on the Pilfer device which Billy placed in the centre of the well.  The spirits said "well" and "begin" in anticipation of what they were doing there.  The Spirit Sweep device had cold air around it with Billy getting affected this time and sweating.  When Zak places the device in the well, a female voice came through saying, "I'm coming home."  It sounded almost rhythmic.

During the intro at the beginning around 4 minutes, all I could see were faces staring back from the walls.  Perhaps the faces of prisoners from where the rocks came to build the hotel!  Have to ask if they may also have been involved in the rock throwing, their energy must still linger there too.

Ghost Adventures 17.7 "Curse of the River Bend - McPike Mansion" Commentary

                                             
I actually love these eps of mansions, although not so much the more run down ones, but they do have a certain, eerie mystery surrounding them and the more dishevelled, the more creepier and sinister they appear.  Located in Alton, Illinois.  Owned by Henry McPike and his wife, Mary.
This one was no exception.  From the outset you knew there would be quite a few paranormal goings-on here.  Even the tragic history of the McPike family and honestly these histories are getting to be commonplace.  Especially of how the baby/child always dies young and the mother is haunted by this tragedy.  Adding to the more intensity of the haunting.

This ominous investigation from the outset as the owner Sharon said they found two crypts outside and both were desecrated and vandalized and the bodies were missing.  Though how people do this is beyond belief and outrageous, but the smaller one definitely could've belonged to a child.  As Zak said, no wonder what was happening in the house was so fiercely negative and add to that the rituals that were carried out within the property itself.  As she admitted she did found ritual items such as dead animals etc.  Also Shaman Sandy being attacked and having blood stream down her arm for no reason, with no visible wound to explain it.

Whilst investigating inside, Zak thought he saw some dark figure in one of the rooms and everyone felt uneasy by this and moved, scattering in all directions.  They then spoke of the dreams/nightmares they experienced after their first time on the property.  With Aaron experiencing what just happened to them inside and Billy feeling like he was being crushed, stifled by some figure.  Of course this kind of was demonstrated by Aaron during the investigation when he felt being choked and not being able to breathe.  With Zak also feeling some kind of mass, welt on one side of Aaron's neck.
Billy on Twitter "It was definitely one of the worst. I’ll never forget it. It had a hold of me and life yes me off the ground and I was paralyzed. Scary shit. Then I woke up." #GhostAdventures

Would have been interesting to hear what Jay and Zak dreamt, also what made Jay turn around whilst at nerve centre?

Some amazing evidence such as the SLS camera stick figures which particularly appeared to Billy, in the sense of standing beside him.  He immediately thought of "mom, dad" figures and shockingly a third, child-size figure appeared in between them too.  Always love those SLS figures and Billy appears to be surrounded by them in particular.  There were also the EVPs they recorded inside and on the spirit box.  See below.

One of them, "take the path" or that's what they thought they heard, was in reference to the path outside where they found the crypt and as they investigated outside, Aaron was affected and felt he was touched, he then pulled out the Ovilus and it was sweeping, as Billy explained looking for electromagnetic energy.  It did a full sweep and found nothing there.  Though Aaron commented they were near the crypt.

Back inside and they went upstairs with Aaron heading to the third floor, the way Zak kinda forced him up there was funny, cos he was heading up there himself before Billy told him of Aaron's choking incident.  He got some EVPs one of them being "It's Sandy..." that's what I heard when he asked what was stopping them from talking.  I didn't hear "the family;" I heard more of an 'n' sound than 'm'.  The "old man" was so clear though for a change.  When Aaron was on the third floor and Billy and Zak were on the first floor they heard floorboards move upstairs on the second floor, poltergeist activity.  Clearly as a result of getting "poltergeist" come though on the Ovilus when Zak put it in the crypt.  Surprised he didn't wanna check those boards out like he usually does!! ha.  Recall when he jumped around the ones in an earlier ep.  That was a funny moment!

They then decided on another experiment, one they did before using the bluetooth function on their phone in the crypt and connecting it to another phone and asking questions from inside the house.  With a female voice coming through: " Sure when Zak asked where they wanted them to go, it said "in the house."  My sis heard that before me and it does sound like that.  The house definitely had an impact on the McPike family it seems.  Or vice versa.

They do get good results with it. Oh I also like the infra red cam and wish they would get a much more clearer spirit box version. Like the one Chris Fleming has got!  It's about time and no not that SB11, I hated that!  Zak being attacked by the bat, that was priceless, you know, right Aaron's deffo going up there.  Also almost falling backwards down the stairs which he navigated backwards instead of going the other way.  Almost got my dream coming true re the stairs.  Won't repeat here, mentioned it too many times!

EVPS:  "Take the path"  ?? It's more "80 path, passed" ??
Zak: "What's your name?"
I hear "Eugene."  Not "You hear me."

I hear "dead" before they say the voice says, "you need me."

"Gonna get hurt" the woman has a Southern accent.

Aaron's spirit box session on the third floor where he asks "who's getting hurt."
I hear "Aaron."  So did my sis.  Not "you."  There's a distinct 'n' sound in there!

Aaron: "is there something in here not making you talk?"
Reply: "it's Sandy."
Aaron: "why are they not letting you talk?"
Reply: "eepa, peeper??"

Spirit phonecall:

The first woman sounds like she's got an accent, or funny pronunciation of "ghost"???

Zak: there's a voice that's inside your crypt."
Woman: "Is there?"

Woman: "can I hear you?"  They seemed to have missed that.

Zak: "we're in a house, can you tell us where to go?"
Woman: "the house"??  It's not a growl!

What is this at around 8.47  looks like a figure of some sort????  It appears to flash on screen for a second, then vanishes and i tell ya it ain't me eyes playing tricks either!!

Curious!!

Demon House "Lost Footage" Commentary

                                           
This one took us back to Demon House, as the name suggests, though my first question was why it was titled Lost Footage and not something along the lines of 'Unseen or Unaired' footage.  Wonder if it had something to do with the 'extras' on the DVD which I haven't got.  Still pondering whether to get it or not, for various reasons, as mentioned in my review of the doco itself.  Zak also refers to it as "lost footage" in his opening narration to this.

This one started with Zak at the house with Father Mike, who performed the initial exorcism and also Chris Fleming, with Billy and Jay filming.  Talking about the events that transpired there in the past with the Ammons family, the police and the CPS workers; as an overview from the doco.  Zak was adamant that the house didn't like Chris, but had no idea why he said that.  Also Chris got a certain feeling when he went past the bathroom, where Dr Barry Taft would have that encounter with the black mass and where he described feelings of nauseousness.  A warning then to be careful would have been welcomed, if at all possible! But alas no!

Before they ventured to the basement, Zak said "they don't like you" to Chris, but again he couldn't say why and spoke of the ritual items there which were buried and after they were found the police, they put them back there.  Chris sat on the stairs (those now at the Haunted Museum) and they decided on doing spirit box sessions.  Must admit I liked Chris's spirit box, it appeared to have less interference and less static coming through.  Although they did get static and some responses to questions like the name of the woman who lived here, "Ammons" and even "Zak" came through.  Chris feeling cold behind him when he sat on the stairs and had to get up.  There was also a strange light anomaly that went past Chris when he was sitting down.

I saw a face in this anomaly, when you freeze it and frame advance it bit by bit, it's very clear.

They decided that the ritual items should be dug up and exorcised so Billy set to digging them up and they even touched them with their bare hands, not something I'd have done.  Father Mike seemed agitated to me throughout, he mentioned how his stomach growled everytime Chris asked questions.
When first time digging they hear a scream.  Again a child's voice was heard when Zak stayed the night in the doco.
NB Later on, when the polygraph footage was shown with Adam, the cameraman who was possessed and let go from filming, he talked about being sick, vomiting blood and his stomach being affected.  Thus wonder if this was the same thing happening with the Father, as well as Zak commenting how he felt there was something inside his stomach.

Father mentioned the 'oil' dripping from above the stairs when they were there and formed the shape of a cross.  When they went to the room with the blinds where the oil had dripped and the CPS worker's fingers turned pale.  The same thing happened now, the blinds were wet again and Zak even touched it!  Wonder with hindsight, if he should have done that since it wasn't good to do.  Some sort of foreboding not to have done that came to my mind.  Also when they were digging up the objects, Zak had his glasses on and then took them off for a while and then wore them again.  I thought of how this would be one of the last times he would be able to do that "normally" - with normal sight.  More foreboding perhaps, especially as when no one was looking, he returned to the basement and threw back all the items.  He didn't know why he did it, but just that he didn't think it was him.  Again, Father Mike getting angry now.
(NB Adam also sneaked by everyone when he went down to the basement by himself in the doco.)

Zak dug them up again, but didn't find the missing fingernail.  Thus thought the portal would remain open.  Which it obviously did in some respects, since his later encounter would show this and how his eyes were affected!  Sometimes it's best to leave things alone and not touch them so unwittingly.  The exorcism was performed on the objects, but again how effective was this in the end?  Particularly also how the stairs were brought back to the Museum and still causes activity around them!

Other voices that came through were; "I am" and I'll kill you" at 17.18.  Didn't "kill you" come through on the spirit box when Chris conducted the session at the Museum in the Ghost Adventures Hallowe'en Special.  Sure it did.  Thus perhaps the same entity.
Chris asks was "someone was murdered in this house?"
Answer: yes."
Then "Matt" comes through after "me."  See Goatman's Bridge, Ghost Adventures ep, where demons use human names to trick you into thinking they're friendly.   (Also reviewed by me.)

So anyway after having trouble with my computer twice, freezing at 16 minutes and 29 minutes, I am so darn sure this had something to do with it, always does!

They also went to the policeman's house where he said he heard noises in the night and went downstairs to find his alarm would keep switching off by itself, however codes were needed to do this.  Due to something being in his house.  The alarm company man had no explanation for this either, since it occurred on two occasions with two different alarm manufacturers.

Adam felt violent after being at the house and filming there.  Saw the demon-like creature there, as well as seeing it at the hotel.  He had visions of killing Zak and Zak killing himself with the broken glass from the mirror in the hotel bathroom.  He hadn't heard of the stories of the house beforehand.  he did hear a growl at the house whilst filming.  The polygraph expert said that he was telling the truth and this will "stay with him forever."  Adam wishes what happened wasn't true "it's so insane."  He thought if it was real, then it should stop him getting into the lift.  He saw "the devil inside and screamed for Zak."  "This isn't for money, this is real."

Zak returns to the house for no reason one night and he says, "hello."  Do you hear "hello" in a kind of raspy voice at 35.18?  I'm sure you can! Just before they focus on the two eyes!  Boy that is so damn creepy!

Also int he area in blue, can see some faces there, one looks like a screaming face with an open mouth, at the bottom.

At 37.35 Zak heads to the basement and hears a deep breathy growl and runs!! Heck then he even had the courage/balls to spend that time in the house later on.  Since this was all happening in real time and not something they would later find when scouring through the footage filmed! Billy shouting to hear what happened to him.  I heard the hissing breath without turning the volume up first time round, but that glowy thing, eek!

He said that he saw it shine and it "brought me out of my paralysis" and made him run out, or come out of there.  Wondering (as always) if that was the reason he had to film there that night and to return, to capture the eyes and that thing?  Jay showing he spat blood when he ran after him for no reason.  That part was heart-stopping and that's something I tweeted in response to the doco last night, even before watching this!  (Having seen the doco twice before.)  My heart is honestly going at a million miles right now (hand on heart - no joke) - I can't catch my breath!!

Zak attempts to take pics and his phone dies on him just as with the workers and the policeman!  Jay saying what Father Mike said about how 'they' didn't want them to know its name and when they were getting close, it all happened.  Now Zak trying to take pics, they don't want to be seen!  Thus the blurred image on the camera when he encountered that demon creature in the doco!  As well as having his eyes affected by Diplopia.  Reminded me of that story I told during #HauntedHour on Twitter, about what my mother had heard when younger, of how someone tried to record what happens in the grave after someone was buried there.  He went deaf.  Thus it's not something we're meant to hear or to know.  Perhaps a mystery not for this world, or to be solved.  I couldn't help thinking of how this may be true of not wanting to be seen and in some ways why Zak's eyes were affected.  Aww don't hate me for writing this!  Only opinions, just my thoughts!
There were a few instances where Zak did not look like himself and particularly his eyes.

I'd like to know the timelines to this footage, obviously it was filmed before Zak stayed in the house alone, so it would have been helpful to have a timeline of sorts.

Doctor Who New Year's Day Special "Resolution" Review

                                              
The inevitable happened, a Dalek returned, even if it was meant to be a one off and thus explaining the one-off design, put together by any old iron (! ha - sorry) it could find.  Well okay, bits and pieces. After being buried on Earth since the ninth century, it had to make do with what it could find, or rather get Lin to find as it took her over and attached itself to Lin (Charlotte Ritchie).  Making her do things she wouldn't have done and generally putting its parts together.  That's what you get for leaving it buried still.  Part of the squid-like creature being unearthed at a dig in, where else, but Sheffield, giving the Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) and the others a chance to return home once more.  Well their home not the Doctor's.  As well as the Doctor landing the TARDIS in Graham's (Bradley Walsh) living room, wrecking his chair.  The only place that was deserted wasn't it.

The Doctor wanting to analyze the sample of slime she took from the dig and what she unearthed (no pun) wasn't really shocking to us, the viewers.  Also a time for Ryan's (Tosin Cole) estranged father, Aaron (Daniel Adegboyega) to show up, trying to make amends, or just for the sake of it.  He and Ryan have a cafe coffee where he tries to flog off a microwave and that's what it's come to.  So said he come looking for some form of a handout.  That's not really possible in this show, but still, Ryan doesn't really know what to think or feel since he wasn't exactly around for him when he was growing up, so he doesn't know him and neither does Graham.  This scene going together with the one where Graham tells him how when his mother died, his father got rid of everything of hers cos that's how he dealt with it.  Showing him an old box of things belonging to Aaron that Grace kept.  Aaron doesn't know why he didn't turn up for the funeral, thinking if he didn't go then maybe it wasn't real.

Elsewhere the Doctor finds it's Dalek DNA and there's no getting away from them, no matter how much she tried to destroy them.  Mentioning Skaro plenty of times.  She's able to throw together some tech stuff and hone in on Lin who by now with Dalek (Voiced by Nicholas Briggs) attached to her still, managed to elude a police patrol stop, drive off in police uniform and also end up at a company whereupon finding all the bits'n'pieces for said construction of a Dalek casing.  Didn't look so bad actually, at least it was different.  Aaron returns with Ryan and is dying for the loo, bringing the microwave back with him and Graham tells him the cupboard that vanished from his room is about to make a return.  Well go on then, why not show everyone the TARDIS, including Mitch and he wasn't even fam! Graham having missed going with them since he was sent for peanut butter to help with putting back the TARDIS cables, which she didn't even need after all in the end.

They leave in the TARDIS and the microwave had to come along too, it was that oft used word of foreshadowing, otherwise it wouldn't have been that important a plot point to be included into the story.  The Doctor also finds that UNIT has been 'disbanded' for lack of funds, as well as Brexit; so Kate Stewart wasn't around for this ep.  Probably low budget casting too for this New Year's Day special! The Doctor having told the Dalek she's not human as it analyzes her and sees her two hearts.  Said Dalek was also a reconnaissance Dalek and was mentioned in The Book of Custodians.  The Doctor also telling it, how "no matter how many times you try, no matter how long you wait... I will always be in your way, backed up by the best of humanity."

Some have said this is one of the best specials of Doctor Who they have seen, but Dalek aside, I can't see/say that it is.  The title must be some sort of allusion too being new year thus resolutions all around for some.  Heck they even had Lin metal working and blow torching together parts for the Dalek's casing, perhaps oddly or not, in a scene reminiscent of 11.1 where we first met the new Doctor and having to put together a brand new Sonic of her own.  Lin gets to be more of a police officer than Yaz ever was.  The Doctor uttering how she's always done this alone and will continue to do so in many ways, she does have companions, but the job of saving humanity, or any race/aliens rests firmly on the shoulders of the Doctor.

Overall it made a change for the occasion and the day it was aired and after some of the villains this series, it was actually good seeing an old foe again for a new year.  Enjoy it while you can, there won't be more coming our way for a long while! 2020!