Wednesday 24 February 2016

Pixel horror:

I was thinking about horror video games the other day, and I got the urge to re-visit some old Sega Genesis/Megadrive classics, like "Splatter house" and "Altered beast".


I still have my Genesis console, but if you don't, or just find it too inconvenient to go old-skool you can still play on an emulator << Click for a link 
The site gives instructions how to run it, if you're not sure. 

It got me thinking about making a short video game related post here.
So here it is...

1. CHILLER

Chiller was a horror themed arcade game created by Exidy and released in 1986. 
The player assumed the role of an unseen torturer and would use a light gun to kill, torture and torment characters, most of which could not fight back in any way. 
The player would score points, or win, depending on how fast they would murder the various ghouls and victims. Levels included torture chambers, where the targets would have their necks on guillotine blocks or be stretched on a rack and the player would shoot the flesh off their bodies until they were non-existent. 
There were also cemetery scenes and spooky corridors occupied by zombies and ghouls. The game was later released in the US and Australia as an unlicensed NES game in 1990, for Sharedata by its subsidiary AGC. This gave players the option to play with a regular controller. 

By the time the video was available on NES it attempted to play down the idea of mindless violence and torture by claiming the victims were in fact monsters or the undead out for revenge. Players also no longer had to shoot the flesh off the torture victims in the dungeon and an originally naked female victim was covered up.

2. NES Godzilla Creepypasta

The NES Godzilla creepy pasta is a story about a guy who finds his old "Godzilla: Monster of Monsters" cart for the NES and decides to play, since he was obsessed with it when he was a kid.
Only this time, the game starts to glitch.
The story is illustrated with screen shots of what he encounters...

Link to the story [ X

(Reading of the first two chapters by YT user "Mrcreepypasta")

3. Brainscan

An early 90's movie staring Edward Furlong, about an interactive video game that hypnotizes the player for a customized experience. The only problem is, that the game may be a bit more real than he imagined.




4. Lavender Town Suicides myth

Most people know about Lavender town syndrome myth.
A rise in suicides in Japanese children in the 90's. All kids were said to be playing the game when they reached Lavender town, which has a high pitched soundtrack that only young people were sensitive enough to hear. The song would drive them to suicide.

Link to the creepy pasta here [ X

(Original music) 


Hell Notes:


Yama also referred to as “King Yan” or “The king of hell”, is the ruler of the underworld and judge of the dead in East Asian mythology. 
Yama presides over the realm of Hell, or “Diyu”, where the spirits of the dead go to atone for their sins, navigating their way through levels of mazes and various tortures depending on their karma. 

King Yama is featured on what is usually referred to in English as “Hell money”; which is joss paper printed in the style of bank notes, usually burned in ancestor worship as an offering to passed spirits. It is believed that when burned, these representations of legal tender and material goods will appear in the afterlife and benefit the spirits in their court hearings etc.


Modern day burnt offerings not only consist of money but also luxury items such as I-phones, sports cars, jewelry and watches.

Dr. Thomas Wilson Parry’s trephination:



Early examples of Dr. Thomas Wilson Parry’s trephination studies.
 In these examples he has used various tools to dig into the skull, such as a shark tooth, a drill and flint scraper. He also marks the results.
 These exhibits are from around 1913-1915. They are currently on display at a museum in England.


Read related articles: "Trepanning for art"



In 1970, 27 year old artist, Amanda Feilding, filmed and directed a project titled “heartbeat in the brain”. 
Feilding was an advocate for trepanning; an ancient practice which involved drilling or scraping a hole, usually into the skull, and exposing the thick membrane known as the Dura mater, to treat problems within the head...(continue)

The Hindu method:



A portrait and article from 1793 about a surgery performed on a 32 year old man named Cowasjee (or kawasji) in India. 
Cowasjee was taken prisoner while serving in the British army and ended up having his nose and one of his hands cut off, which was a usual form punishment in India at the time. 
A year later, a surgery was performed, a skin grafting process that came to be known as ‘the Hindu method’. Skin was taken from his forehead and shaped using a wax mold to construct a new nose. Europe began using this method soon after as it was superior to any surgery they had at the time.The article was written by two British doctors working in India. They detailed what they had observed and it was later printed in London.


Missing in Nepal:

Aubrey Sacco went missing in Nepal in 2010 during a lone trek through the Himalayas.
A self-described artist, traveler and yogi, Aubrey had been traveling alone through Asia and at the request of her friends and family, kept a record of her adventures in her travel blog.
Her couch surfing profile detailed an extreme case of wanderlust, and a project she had in works- a book she was compiling filled with the love stories of fellow travelers. “Tell me your stories!” she would excitedly ask people she met.

Aubrey set off on her journey across India, Sri Lanka and Nepal after finishing college, where she had earned a degree in art and psychology. She traveled to Nepal to volunteer teaching English, Art and yoga at a school.
She never neglected to keep in touch with her family, be it via video chat or email.
Nearing the end of her adventure, she decided to embark on one last trip; a ten day hike though Langtang, passing through villages that have since been wiped off the map at the hands of a devastating earthquake in 2015.

Before the disaster destroyed Langtang, the trek that Aubrey made was very popular among backpackers and travelers, who would walk along the footpaths from village to village, staying at small hotels each night along the way. The experience was a diverse one, and offered picturesque scenery in the form of lush greenery, snow-capped mountains, rope suspension bridges, local flora and fauna and bamboo forests. Certainly, the Langtang trip was on the list of any nearby traveler.

Despite this trip being traveled safely by many before her, Aubrey Sacco was never seen again.


Some theories suggest that Aubrey fell to her death, or possibly suffered at the hands of the young male soldiers who patrol the area and are known for harassing female travelers along the trek.
 Did Aubrey veer off the beaten path along roads less traveled?
Did she take refuge in one of the many monasteries concealed in the Himalayan Mountains during the countries shut down in 2010 due to the Maoist general strike?
The Socco family took to investigating the case themselves, doing investigators jobs for them. They felt the authorities didn’t care to solve the case and missing signs that they had put up along the trail were torn down, probably to protect tourism and local business.

Aubrey has not been located.


If you have any information on this case, please head over to the website

Aubrey's Travel blog [ X ]
Aubrey's website (with updates from her family [ X ]
Aubrey's couchsufring profile [ X ]
"Hiker Alert" safety app (in support of Aubrey) [ X ]


Wednesday 17 February 2016

The Werewolf of Bedburg

I was on a bit of a werewolf kick today for some reason.
I watched a documentary on the history of werewolves (click here to watch it) and then I got interested in a case they mentioned, the case of the werewolf of Bedburg, and thought I'd do a quick write up of it.

Note: There is mentions of torture and death. 

Peter Stübbe, also referred to as Peter Stumpp, was a farmer in a rural village on the outskirts of Bedburg and was trialed as a werewolf in 16th century Europe.
Although he went by many aliases, Stumpp may have been a name given to him by locals, on account of his missing left hand. The people of the village claimed that his hand had been severed while he was in the form of a beast. In another account a band of men who had been hunting the beast claimed to have tracked it, only for it to vanish. They found Stumpp soon after, and accused him of being responsible for a string of murders of both cattle and human.

Stumpp was accused of murdering and cannibalizing women and children and while being stretched on the rack, confessed to the alleged crimes as well as practicing black magic since childhood, and making a deal with the Devil himself in exchange for a belt, which when worn, allowed him to shape-shift into a rampaging wolf-like beast. To transform back into human state, he would simply remove the belt.

Faced with the threat of brutal torture, he further confessed to the murder and cannibalization of 14 children, one of which was his own son whom he was said to consume the brains of, as well as the murder of two pregnant women whose unborn fetuses were torn from their wombs. He also confessed to having incestuous sexual relations with his own daughter, as well as another distant relative and a succubus.

He was put on a breaking wheel, or a Catherine wheel, which was used for capital punishment up until around the 18th and 19th century. The victim’s arms and legs would be tied to the spokes, and they would be beaten until all their limbs were broken, or until death by bludgeoning.
In Stumpp’s case, the flesh was ripped from his body with red hot pincers and his legs broken to ensure that he could not return from the dead to seek revenge. His head was cut off  and hung as a warning to the community, to never dabble in the occult.
Finally his remains were burned.

(Image of a woodcut print of Stumpp's torture and execution from Wikipedia)

His Daughter was also sentenced to death; she was flayed and strangled along with a distant relative, with whom Stumpp was romantically involved with.

The information on the case, as well as the woodcuts depicting the torture and execution of Stumpp, were translated into English by Clergyman Montague Summers.  Summers believed in the occult and witches and werewolves and was also responsible for the Malleus Maleficarum, a witch hunters guide from the 15th century.

The company of wolves  [X]
An eerie, nightmare of a film from 1984 about a girl who falls asleep and has haunting dreams of wolves. If you're not interested in watching the entire film, at least check out the transformation scene here [X]

Ginger Snaps (full movie) [X]
A movie from 2000 about two sisters who are both social outcasts who obsess over death. 
One of the sister gets bitten by a werewolf and receives the curse. 

Silver Bullet (Full movie) [X]
Based on "cycle of the werewolf" by Stephen King, starring Corey Haim. 

An american werewolf in London Transformation scene [X]

(Gif from the company of wolves) 

One little piece of theory I found on my travels was that werewolves were said to have an inverted pentagram hidden somewhere on their body. When human form, they were said to be hairy enough to hide the symbols, which would usually be on their chest, forehead or the palms of their hands. One theory of the pentagram on the hand, was that it served as a pointer, and that it was an indication of who the beast should kill next.

(Sources and references for this post : wikipedia and modernfarmer)

Monday 8 February 2016

The Jinning county cannibal:


Zhang Yongming, also known as the cannibal monster, was responsible for the murder of 11 Jinning County men and boys in the Yunnan Province of southwest China, between 2008 and 2012. Although he had been convicted of murder and mutilation and sentenced to death in his mid-twenties, his sentence was reduced and he walked free from prison in 1997, where he was given a plot of land and a monthly cheque by the government to help him integrate back into society.  

Zhang Yongming just couldn’t seem to keep a lid on his blood lust, and eventually, would begin to kill again in 2008.
He would allegedly strangle his victims and cannibalize them before feeding the remaining flesh to his dogs, as well as selling it under the guise of ostrich meat at the local food market. What he could not sell off he would destroy by burning and burying in his vegetable garden. The cannibal monster was apprehended early May in 2012 after reports of missing males around a stretch of road nearby his house. Upon investigation of the property the police found items belonging to the final missing victim, 19 year old Han Yao, including credit cards and a cellphone. They also allegedly discovered plastic bags containing bones, dried and cured flesh and eyeballs preserved in jars which resembled traditional bottled snake wine.
He was executed in 2013 and showed no remorse for his crimes.

Sources:
[x]Xinhuanet.com
[x] TruTV.com
[x] wikipedia 

Sunday 7 February 2016

The Atlas Vampire case:



The Stockholm vampire case of 1932 is an unsolved case surrounding the murder of 32 year old Lilly Lindeström, who was working as a prostitute at the time.
Lindeström’s body was found by police on May 4th 1932, at her modest apartment near Sankt Eriksplan.
 She was naked and face down on her bed, with her clothes folded on a nearby chair. The cause of death was determined as repeated blunt force trauma to the back of the head.

(Photosource: Wikipedia)

Her body had been drained of almost all blood, and police investigating the scene believed that the unknown killer had used a nearby bloody ladle to drink it, earning the killer the nickname of “The atlas vampire”.
Linderström’s known clients were questioned in regards to her murder; however no arrests were ever made.
The case remains unsolved.  


[X] Thegloria's Blog “The vampire murder” in Stockholm: I lived in that house”
[X] Wikipedia 

Friday 5 February 2016

Who was Peter Bergmann?

I found out about an unknown man today and decided to write a post on him. The case reminded me of one of the earliest cases that got me into these unsolved mysteries: the Somerton man case, or the Taman shud case, as it is also known. (To read my post on the Somerton man click here << )

Both disposed of, or left behind their person items, both were found on a beach, both men are unidentified and were not found in their country of origin, they had both removed the labels out of their clothing. I'm not saying these cases are related in any way, of course.

 This case also reminded me of Lyle Stevik too, as both men checked into a hotel under an alias with the intention of seeing out their final days. (To read my post on Lyle Stevik click here<< )

Before you read this, there is mention of suicide and death. So please do not continue if this is a difficult subject for you to handle. Please alternatively select another post from the navigation bar above. 

If you are having suicidal thoughts, please contact the one following sources of help:
 [ X ] Samaritans (UK)
 [ X ] Papyrus (UK)
 [ X ] List of Hotlines (USA) 
[ X ] List of Hotlines (International)


On the 12th of June 2009, at around 6:30pm, a slim, tanned man with short grey hair and a deep Germanic accent in his mid-fifties stepped off a bus at Sligo Mac Diarmada station, in County Sligo Ireland.  
He was wearing a black shoulder bag, similar to a laptop carrier and carrying a larger dark luggage bag.
From there, he took a taxi, destination Sligo city hotel, where he would stay for three nights at a cost of €65 per night, which he paid in cash. He had not pre-booked his stay. He filled out the necessary forms to check in, writing down “Peter Bergmann” as his name and “Ainstettersn 15, 4472 Wien, Austria” as his address.


Peter Bergmann would turn out to be an assumed alias and the provided address was nothing but an empty lot.  The name Bergmann is common in the Netherlands and is German or Swedish in origin.
The next morning, the unknown man dropped in at the post office to purchase a book of stamps as well as some air mail stickers. He wrote letters and dropped them into the post box for delivery.
The letters would never be recovered or tracked.
Throughout the duration of his stay at the hotel, the reception staff noticed that he would go out each time carrying a full plastic purple bag and return without it, or possibly concealing it in a pocket having disposed of its contents each day. They reported that he was constantly going in and out of the hotel.
He spoke very little with anyone around him, and kept to himself, usually just gesturing if he wanted something.
The following day, on June 14th, he was taken by taxi to Rosses Point beach, after asking the driver to suggest a quiet beach that he could take a swim in. After surveying the location, he got back into the taxi and returned to the bus station.

(picture source here)

The next morning, June 15th, a little after 1pm, Bergmann checked out of the Sligo city hotel. He no longer carried the dark larger luggage bag that CCTV had captured him wearing when he arrived, indicating that he possibly disposed of it and the contents over the course of his stay. He had with him a shoulder bag, a purple plastic bag as usual, and a black carrier bag. Forty minutes later he was captured on CCTV, eating a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and drinking a cappuccino and examining paper from his pocket before eventually boarding the 2:20pm bus to Rosses Point- the same beach the Taxi driver had taken him to the previous day.
Many beach goers noticed him that day. He was fully clothed, wearing a black leather jacket, and dark trousers rolled up to the knee. He was pacing up and down the beach, ankle deep in water, parallel to the ocean. An older couple described how the golden rays of the setting sun shone down on him as he walked. A twenty something couple greeted him later that night, and reported that he simply nodded to them in reply.

On the early morning of June 16th, Arthur and Brian Kinsella found the man’s body. They were shocked by their discovery but managed to compose themselves and say a prayer for him before contacting the authorities.

The man had no ID, no possessions and the labels on his clothes had all been removed. Despite extensive searches of the local area, including dump sites, none of his discarded possessions turned up.

The autopsy showed signs of drowning. It also noted that unknown man had both prostate cancer and bone tumors, one previously removed kidney. There were no treatment drugs or pain killers in his system.

   

These stills are from a short film about the case, you can watch it here [X]

Chip-Chan and the Verichip:


Chip-Chan is an unidentified South Korean woman who was discovered on the / X / forum in 2008. 
She constantly streams her webcams live  online and claims that she is being stalked and controlled by a corrupt police officer, whom she refers to as “P”.
She claims that P wants to get his hands on the funds she inherited following the death of her parents, and that he can control her mind and sleeping schedules via a verichip that he has inserted in her body. Her streams show her sleeping for sometimes 15 hours at a time and rarely leaving her apartment.
Hand drawn signs in Korean are hung around the room, some asking the public for help, others insults and broken sentences.
Those who don’t believe Chip-Chan’s story offer paranoid schizophrenia as an explanation, others are not so sure.

She has various websites and blogs such as her blogs including:
Her Wordpress [X
Her Naver [X]
and her Wordpress about the Verichip [X]

Further / more detailed readings in English can be found in these blogs about Chip-Chan
Tumblr [X]   Blogspot  [X]

Her live stream can be viewed HERE << Click it