The Unexplained 8 - Count St Germain, OOBEs, Toads, Fish Falls, Black Madonnas

Issue 8 cover. Fish!

The publication is really hitting its stride now with two new topics starting coverage in the eighth issue. Both of them tackled subjects that tickled my fortean fancy - fish falls and toads immured in solid rock - but first we have a final look at the mysterious Count St. Germain to wade through.

Writer Frank Smyth details the scant and conflicting accounts of his origins and his many abilities. He could speak fluent English, French, German, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Hindu and Persian. He was a talented painter and musician - though no works of art or composition exist today. He was a knowledgeable chemist and alchemist as well as a healer. The article concludes with a report of a more recent sighting of the apparently immortal polymath when in January 1972 Richard Chanfray appeared on French television and claimed to be the Count St. Germain. 

Left: French singer Emma Calve autographed a photo to St. Germain in 1897.

 Right: Parisian Richard Chanfray who claimed he was the count.

 The final feature on out of body experiences examines cases of the phenomena where the body is on the point of dying and individuals return from the brink to describe their extraordinary experiences. Most people who have a OOBE when nearly dying feel a sense of calm and a lack of fear. As one person put it: 'It appeared I had a choice to re-enter my body or go ahead and die. I knew I was going to be perfectly safe whether my body died or not.' 

The article does not delve into research of the phenomena. The experience was first documented in 1892 by a Swiss geologist, Albert Heim, who recorded several cases. It was during the 1960s that researchers became truly engaged with the subject. British parapsychologist Celia Green analysed 400 first-hand accounts in 1968 and in 1972 neuroscientist John C. Lilly coined the term 'near-death experience' to describe the occurrences whilst studying the mystery. The most popular explanation for near-death experiences is that when the brain is starved of oxygen it triggers a neurochemical response that induces the sensations to help calm dying individuals. 

A detail from William Blake's depiction of the Valley of Death painted to illustrate Robert Blair's poem The Grave.

The baffling mystery of toads found alive encased in rock kicks of a series of features on the fortean aspects of toads. This was a subject that really captured the imagination of my younger self, but I now think the entombed toads were either hoaxes or folklore tales. The mystery seemed to obsess the fringes of Victorian science with reports in newspapers and accounts from respected academics reflecting this trend. A cited case in the article dates from 1862 report in the Stamford Mercury which told of a living toad found seven feet down in bedrock during a cellar being excavated in Spittlegate. Another cited newspaper report comes from the Leeds Mercury in 1865 when quarrymen found a toad during an excavation of Hartlepool Waterworks. The creature, found at the depth of 25 feet, in a block of magnesian limestone came from a hollow inside the rock which was perfectly moulded to the shape of the animal's body. Not only where most of the toads alive but they also seemed to have thrived experiencing no starvation or dehydration. 

A mummified toad found in a flint nodule in Lewnes, Suffolk in 1900. This is now considered to be a fake and is preserved at Booth Museum in Brighton. A more recent photo of the exhibit can be seen here.

Bob Rickard presents an article on that old fortean favourite topic which can be guessed from the title. When Fish Pour Down Like Rain covers the reports of fish falling from the sky and also discusses the possibe causes. The article also mentions that the most recent report before publication (1980) was in 1975. A quick internet search these days will provide with several videos of such phenomena, but I am struck by how contained the fish falls are in them all. Not one features a torrent of fish as often described in eye witness reports and this leads me suspect their is a lot of embroidering of reports over the years to make a statement appear more convincing.

Lots and lots of fish.

Rickard cites one of the best documented cases that occurred in Britain. In 1859 in Mountain Ash, Glamorganshire, Wales John Lewis was working in a timber yard when he was startled by small objects falling from the sky. One of the objects fell down inside his jacket.

"On putting my hand down my neck I was surprised to find they were small fish. By this time I saw that the whole ground was covered with them. I took off my hat, the brim of which was full of them. They were jumping all about... The shed was covered with them..." (Quoted in When Fish Pour Down Like Rain by Bob Rickard, The Unexplained 8, p.151, 1980). 

Note the references around quantity in his description which make the reader imagine the area is awash with fallen fishes. Rickard rounds off the article by suggesting the theory that fish are swept up from bodies of water by whirlwinds and deposited some time later as favourable. But what of the incidents when there has no been no wind or rain and instead fish have made landfall on days with cloudless skies?  Rickard applies a parsimonious approach to these and notes that "But if teleportation seems too far-fetched - and it is difficult to believe that fish can disappear from one place and re-appear in mid-air - what other explanation is there?" (Quoted in When Fish Pour Down Like Rain by Bob Rickard, The Unexplained 8, p.153, 1980). 

 A drawing from Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus (1555) by Claus Magnus showing fish falling from the sky onto a town. 

The final article on Black Madonnas is next and the authors attempt to equate the sites that contain the Madonnas as having connections with ancient earth magic and grids of energy such as telluric currents. 

The Virgin of Guadalupe in Spain.

The UFO Casebook covers when an Argentinian ranch was besieged by UFOs and humanoid visitors.

Artist's impression of the UFO seen in Argentina on 7th October, 1963.

There was no mysterious places photograph this issue. Instead there was an appeal for readers who have experienced premonitions to write in detailing the incident. They had to be a recent experience about something that was still to happen but they could be about 'Prince Charles's future wife or the unexpected arrival of Uncle Bill from Australia.' The magazine hoped to publish a survey of the results and I'm not sure this actually happened. If I come across it as issues are covered I will let you know.

The Unexplained 7 - sea monsters, hypnosis, ESP, Count St Germain

 

Two sea monsters are the cover star of issue seven which marks the final article by Janet and Colin Bord about the topic. 

One of the photographs by Mary F. apparently showing the Cornish sea monster Morgawr.

The article covers the Cornish sea monster Morgawr which was sighted several times during 1975 and 1976. Since publication of this issue it is now believed that the creature was in fact invented by the Cornish artist and writer Tony 'Doc' Shiels. He sent photographs to the Falmouth Packet newspaper which were credited to the an anonymous person known as 'Mary F.' This seems to have led to more sightings, which still sporadically continue to this day. An academic article by Ronald M. James  published in 2022 forensically details the hoax and how it has now been absorbed into local folklore. Morgawr and the Folkloresque can be read here.

The photograph below attracted world-wide attention and is also spotlighted in the article. In 1977 the Japanese trawler Zuiyo Maru hauled the carcass aboard in their fishing nets. Concerned that the thing might contaminate his catch the captain of the ship had it photographed before throwing it back into the sea. It is believed the carcass belongs to a decomposed shark and not a sea monster. 

A decomposed shark carcase that made the news in 1977 as a possible deceased sea monster.

The Bords conclude their article in a speculative and optimistic tone. "The world beneath the sea has still not been fully explored and, despite the sceptics, there appears to be abundant evidence for the existence of large, unknown sea creatures. Scientists believe that before long they will have much more detailed knowledge of life in the ocean depths - indeed new species are being discovered every year, so perhaps we will soon find the answer to the mystery of the underwater monster." (From the Sea Serpent to the Super-Otter by Janet and Colin Bord, The Unexplained 7, 1980, p.125.). Forty-five years later and counting we are still waiting for evidence to come to the surface. 

David Christie-Murray's article on hypnosis ponders how blind since birth subjects describe how they can see in past lives whilst other subjects speak in a foreign language that they have never heard or read. The phenomena of a hypnotised individual being able to speak in a language the subject is completely ignorant of when conscious is called xenoglossy or xenolalia and the article cites several cases. 

The obligatory UFO feature for the issue discussed UFO identification. Some of the things often mistaken for alien craft included a flight of helicopters, lenticular clouds and research / weather balloons. 

A lenticular cloud in disguise as a UFO.

The series of texts covers aspects of extra sensory perception concludes with a look at how ESP could be practically put to use. Making money or committing crime immediately spring to my mind but writer Roy Stemman avoids these obvious suggestions and instead he mentions Francis Kingsman who, in 1979, interviewed leading clairvoyants and asked them what role would Britain play in the world context in the 1980s. The result are amusing from a perspective of over forty years. According to the psychics the world economic system would collapse, there would major earthquakes and floods, a war in the Middle East and the Queen would abdicate. The seers also claimed that Russia would begin using psychic warfare and this would lead Western powers to develop latent ESP abilities in the public to help counteract this new front of the Cold War. 

A subject in a Ganzfeld state (deprived of sensory input) during an ESP experiment.

The final feature for the issue is on an individual who I had not heard of before and have heard little about since. The Man from Nowhere details the mysterious Count St Germain who is a legendary figure who rose to prominence among European high society during the middle of the 18th century. He once claimed he was five hundred years old and was immortal though records show he died in February 1784. Several claims were made in the years after his demise that he was still alive. This opening essay on St Germain details his exploits which mainly consisted of trying to get rich backers to finance his lifestyle and making outrageous claims. 

The only known portrait of Count St Germain, an engraving dating from 1783.

The seventh image featured in the World's Mysterious Places series is for Loch Ness, the supposed home of the Loch Ness Monster AKA Nessie. The photo used to represent the famous body of water is abstract,  mysterious and yet nondescript as it could be any lake.

A mystery filled image of Loch Ness.

The Unexplained issue 6 - Hypnosis, ESP, Black Madonnas, Black Holes, Roy Hudd!

Issue 6 cover

A new series of articles on out of the body experiences (OOBE) is the cover star for the sixth issue of The Unexplained. The illustration, by the painter and romantic poet William Blake, portrays the reunion of the soul and the physical body. Blake created the drawing for a 1813 publication of Robert Blair's poem The Grave (1743).

The Disembodied Self by Jenny Dawson introduces a widely reported phenomena in which a person leaves their physical body and views the world around them from a position divorced from their material body. Stress seems to play a role in triggering an OOBE with many people reporting an experience when on the operating table, being involved in an accident or when seriously. An incident can also strike when people are just going about their daily lives such as shopping or gardening. The phantom or astral body remaining attached to the physical body by a thin cord is also often reported.  

The introductory image for the article The Disembodied Self which depicts ba, the Egyptian depiction of the astral body.

Belief in OOBEs is widespread. A 1978 American study collected data from nearly 70 non-Western cultures and found that around 95 per cent of them expressed a belief in the phenomena. More recently the National Folklore Survey, a collaborative project between Sheffield Hallam and Hertfordshire Universities and Chapman University in America, 7% of respondents stated they had experienced an Out-of-Body Experience. Several famous writers have detailed their own OOBEs with one of the more striking being Ernest Hemmingway being hit by shrapnel during the First World War. 

"My soul or something coming right out of my body, like you'd pull a silk handkerchief out of a pocket by one corner. It flew around and then came back and went in again, and I wasn't dead anymore." (Ernest Hemmingway quoted in The Disembodied Self by Jennifer Dawson, The Unexplained 6, 1980, p.103.)

Depiction of the astral body with 'the cord' that connects to the physical body.

The run of articles about hypnosis continues to look at past life regression by examining the strange aspect that subjects remember small and humdrum facts, but often have no idea about political, sociological and culture issues of the time. The article doesn't offer a satisfactory explanation for this and instead recites several cases and how historical details were checked and verified. 

UFO Photo File offers more indistinct images of unidentified flying objects including one from a 1975 sighting in Switzerland (below). 

UFO observed in Switzerland on 26th July, 1975.

The second image from the article (below) dates from October 1965 and was taken by Deputy Sheriff Strauch on a hunting trip in Minnesota. The photo shows a bright, blurred, disc-shaped light. 

The next in the series of articles on extra-sensory perception focusses on the aspect of premonition and discusses classic cases of the phenomena. The text leads with the case of nine year old Welsh school girl Eryl Mai Jones (see below). She told her mother on 20th October, 1966 that she had dreamed that when she had gone to school it wasn't there and that 'something black had come down all over it'. The next day she went to Pantglas Junior School in Aberfan and was killed alongside 116 children and  28 adults when a half a million tons of coal waste slithered onto the school. 

She was one of many people who claimed after the disaster that they had experienced premonitions about it. A London psychiatrist, Dr John Barker analysed these claims and narrowed them down to 60 he felt were genuine. He found that there was gradual build up during the week before the spoil tip destroyed the school and that it reached a peak on the night before the tragedy. 

The sinking of the Titanic also seems to have been foretold in two works of fiction. In 1898 a novel by Morgan Robertson, The Wreck of the Titan, predicted the disaster with uncanny accuracy. His tale featured a 70, 000 tonne vessel, the safest in the world, that strikes an iceberg in the Atlantic on her maiden voyage. The ship sinks with the loss of nearly of the 2, 500 passenger because the liner had only 24 lifeboats - less than half the number required to save all passengers and crew.

Now let's compare the story with the event. On 14th April, 1912 the 66, 000 ton Titanic hits an iceberg on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. She had just 20 lifeboats which resulted in a great loss of life. The coincidences between Robertson's story and the real-life liner become even more uncanny when you learn that the author named his vessel the SS Titan. 

Journalist W. T. Stead (left) and The Titanic (right).

The second incident literary has an ironic twist in the tale. W. T. Stead (1849-1912) was the editor of The Pall Mall Gazette and an early pioneer of investigative journalism with reportage on child welfare and England's legal structure. His short story How the Mail Steamer Went Down in Mid Atlantic by a Survivor was published on 22nd March 1886 in the Pall Mall Gazette and told the tale of a steamer colliding with another ship which results in huge loss of life due to the fact that are not enough lifeboats for the passengers and crew. Stead prophetically added a note at the end of his story: 'This is exactly what might take place, and what will take place, if liners are sent to sea short of boats'. Stead departed for America in April 1912 to attend a peace congress under the invite of President William Howard Taft. You can guess the name of the boat he was on...

The Virgin of Jasna Gora.

Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent continue their theological study of Black Madonnas by tracing how Christianity worked to subtly other the gods and shrines that had existed since before the birth of Christ. This helps to highlight how Black Madonnas can be seen as a blending of purity and paganism with associations that reach back to ancient religions and sometimes even demonic beliefs. 

Hurrah! The series of texts about black holes ends with this issue and I've found them equally as frustrating as the first time I read them back in 1980. This time the theorising centres around creating white holes that could possibly help to return astronauts to their point of departure after travelling through a black hole. To illustrate this the box out (below) explains an Einstein-Rosen Bridge and the two ways it could work depending on if spacetime is curved or flat!

Illustration of a Einstein-Rosen bridge.

Comedian Roy Hudd is the guest writer for the first of an irregular series of one-off articles. If you collected your issues in a binder you where encouraged to remove the cover and so lost the photo feature and assorted articles. When I came to recollect the magazine I decided to source single issues and not binders for this very reason. 

Comedian Roy Hudd.

The House that Haunted Me by Roy Hudd is strange personal tale involving his love of the music hall star Dan Leno. Roy had a vivid recurring dream since childhood of entering a house and walking around the rooms. The dream always ended with him in the cellar where the walls are lined with mirrors. One day he was invited by some friends to visit them in their new home. As he neared the house he was overcome with an overpowering sense of déjà vu. As he entered he could describe the layout of the building before seeing it and explained his dream to his friends. During the conversation they mentioned that a famous Victorian music hall comedian, Dan Leno, had lived in the house. Hudd knew very little about Leno but he soon became fascinated with him. He discovered that Leno had rehearsed in front of mirrors which helped to explain the cellar walls in his dream. After visiting the house Hudd never had the dream again.

The sixth in the photo series The World's Mysterious Places is Glastonbury Tor.