The Occult Section

College students, for all of their education, are usually pretty stupid. I’m not too old to still remember things I did in college, and the even dumber things my friends and classmates did. It’s a dangerous time in life, being that dangerous blend of adult and child. And usually the childish side wins, and usually drinks lots of alcohol and consumes lots of drugs. Thanks to the adult side. And then said college students take laser pointers and start shooting them at UFOs.

The aliens show off their laser pointers.

Ever heard of night vision UFO laser tag? It’s brand new and seems to be catching on with college students. In the compilation video cited here, it would seem the game started innocently enough, but has taken a dangerous turn.

Sky watchers are fascinated by flying objects which cannot be immediately identified, day or night. But new, affordable night vision technology is now available to the average tech consumer which opens up the hobby and has brought it to an entirely new level.

Posting the results in videos on the web has even changed the face of UFO hunting, elevating the activity by opening up an entirely new branch of Ufology not widely known before.

Some adherents claim that unidentified flying objects, once invisible to the naked eye, are now out in the open, only cloaked by advanced technology.

Whether one believes the source is extraterrestrial, or the result of super-secret, man-made military research is the new dividing line in the never ending battle of the believers vs. the skeptics.

In the video, posted by the paranormal YouTube channel spellground, a compilation of the best examples of night vision UFO hunting, stretching back to incidents caught on tape over the skies of Iraq in 1998 and leading up to just recently, the practice has gained in popularity, helped by cheap infrared iPhone gadgets.

In several clips, a new twist has been added. That of pointing powerful, hand-held lasers at unidentified flying objects passing over the gathered crowd, mainly college students out for some fun.

The idea seems to be to light up the objects with a laser pointer until they “respond” by suddenly glowing brighter. Successful attempts are met with cheering and exclamations running from excitedly delighted to mildly profane.

But is it wise? Or legal?

According to a CBS News report, the FAA has warned people who point hand-held lasers at aircraft that they’re subject to a $1,000 fine.

The popular, and fairly inexpensive devices are being touted as a great way to watch and interact with heavenly bodies in the night sky. But irresponsible users may end up temporarily blinding aircraft pilots and the implications of danger are obvious.

The report claims that incidents of people pointing lasers at truck drivers, bus drivers and passing motorists is increasing, so the fine is intended to curb what, at first, seems to be harmless fun.

Whether these unidentified flying objects are man-made, or, as some believe, aliens ratcheting up to full disclosure, it’s stupid to go pointing lasers at them.

It brings to mind an old warning taking on a new and ominous meaning:

“You could put someone’s eye out.”

I can see how shooting laser pointers at planes could be dangerous, even if it would be very difficult to get the laser pointer exactly in the pilot’s eyes and keep it there long enough to cause a plane crash, as the plane would be at the wrong angle and moving too quickly. And even if these objects were the spacecraft of an advanced race, maybe we should try not to piss them off. Hmm?

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As if there’s not enough about the ghost hunting community to feel embarrassed about already, now it turns out that courses in paranormal investigating are being offered…right alongside basket weaving and microwave cookery. Yes, aspiring ghost hunters could (up until recently) take a course at a community college about paranormal investigations.

People who call Harrisburg Area Community College to sign up for “Paranormal Investigations: Communicating and Cohabiting with Spirits” will need to call someone else, presumably Ghostbusters.

The community college, which is cutting numerous non-credit courses offered to the public, will also be redirecting aspiring “wine snobs,” would-be knitters and people who are struggling with home repairs.

Spokesman Patrick Early said the college is paring the courses because it’s following a national trend among community colleges to focus on its core mission of workforce training.

The “fun” courses won’t be scheduled after Aug. 31, he said.

The cuts represent only a portion of the school’s non-credit offerings — about $600,000 of the $7.8 million the school spends per year on leisure learning. The college’s overall annual budget is $151 million, Early said.

HACC never made money on the courses, so the $600,000 annual savings is essentially “money we won’t be losing,” he said.

The trimming wasn’t related to the state budget, which funds credit courses, he said.

Focusing: The non-credit courses which will remain are workforce development, job training and continuing education courses, Early said. They include classes such as computer training, green building

technology and energy auditing and continuing education for nurses.

They’re offered at all HACC campuses.

“We’re focusing more on our core curriculum,” Early said. “These were people who were taking something for fun, and there are other venues where these courses are offered, through parks and recreation departments. Some school districts offer adult education.”

There are about 50,000 people enrolled in non-credit courses at HACC campuses, he said, and most of those are workforce-training classes.

A “handful” of HACC employees will be laid off, those who administered the programs, he said.

Those who taught the classes weren’t employed full-time by HACC to do so, but were mostly community members with an expertise who taught because they liked the subject or wanted a side job, he said.

They were paid per course and not at all if there wasn’t sufficient enrollment.

I have no problem with educating the public on paranormal phenomena, but I wish someone, somewhere would put together an actual serious and scientific course. It may never happen, but even I took an actual accredited class on the paranormal. It was mainly to debunk, but still, that’s a step in the right direction.

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I remember taking a course in Parapsychology back in college many years ago. I thought it would focus on the things I love, like ghosts, cryptozoology, ufology, etc. Instead, it really was more focused on things like ESP, psychic abilities, the history of spirituality, etc. Or rather, I should say it focused on debunking these things. And I was fine with that, since there is plenty of evidence to show how most of the spiritualist movement of the 19th century was largely pure entertainment, with magic tricks, sound effects and tricks with the new emerging technologies (namely photography and sound recording). Learning how to do a “cold read” on anyone in order to appear to have the abilities of John Edward was also fun. But I always felt a little cheated, in that they were teaching a course on things that were largely known to be hoaxes, while ignoring the many paranormal phenomena in the world that we could not yet explain. But now Telegraph.co.uk is reporting that there is a new advocate for studying these things in a serious manner: Professor Philip Haseley.

The New York anthropology professor said the subject should be part of the mainstream as a serious “area of study”.

The Niagara County Community College, a state university in New York, lecturer said due to the high amount of sightings every year, it should follow that students should be able to investigate phenomenon.

“(A sighting) happens to millions of people (around the world),” he said.

“It’s about time we looked into this as a worthy area of study.

“It’s important that the whole subject be brought out in the open and investigated.”

Prof Haseley, who is also head of the Western New York Mutual UFO Network, an organisation that is focused on UFO research, said there were up to 50 UFO sightings are reported every month across region.

He said the group investigated the sightings in a “scientific manner” using field investigation, radar, astronomy and meteorology.

“To say we are UFO believers basically implies we are taking this on faith, and that’s not the case. There’s plenty of evidence,” he said.

He dismissed the inevitable suggestions from skeptics that such study would be waste of time.

UFO Studies 401: Abduction Theory and Anal Probe Preparedness

Many theories have been put forth as to what UFOs (as well as other unexplained phenomena) are, but to assume that 100% of these sightings are mere misidentifications is foolhardy. Some of the best theories that I’ve heard, which are completely based on terrestrial, rational thought, are that these sightings could be some sort of collective unconscious hallucination. Maybe that is why we see ape men in the woods, or monsters in lakes, or things in the sky. Just genetic relics kicking around in our brain, our primal fears brought to life. And even if that is the tact that the researchers, universities or professors want to take, then more power to them. But I think these sightings deserve further study, even if it’s just to study why people are seeing such things. To be a skeptic who just throws out the “they’re seeing things” explanation is not enough. They need to explain why people are seeing these things. Or perhaps there really are Bigfoot roaming our forests, and dinosaurs still living in our lakes, or visitors from other planets watching over us, or souls of the deceased walking among us. If we don’t study these things seriously, how will me ever know what’s really going on, paranormal or otherwise?

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You all may be wondering to yourself (maybe even at this very minute), “Is Canada haunted?” Well I am here to put your mind at ease. Yes, it is. Especially SAIT Polytechnic in Alberta.

All good haunted house stories start off with a dark and sinister past and the tale of three SAIT buildings is no exception.

The most popular story is the haunting of Heritage Hall. Most people are aware that the historic building is haunted but few know the whole story.

During an early 20th century influenza outbreak, Heritage Hall was converted into a make shift hospital for the infected. A young nurse who worked and lived in the hospital was one of the last victims of the outbreak. She ended up passing away in the very hospital where she had saved so many lives.

Today there have been reports that she still wanders the halls late at night, students have heard locked doors opening and closing during late night study sessions. Construction workers claimed tool boxes had been moved during recent renovations, and it is even rumored that SAIT’s executives have encountered paranormal activity.

“I have spent a lot of late nights walking through Heritage Hall,” said SAITSA Safe Walk volunteer and VP Student Life Alyssa Athanasopolous. “Often when I’m walking through Heritage Hall alone at night I feel a gust of air as if someone has just walked past me.”

Alyssa Athanasopolous? Try saying that 10 times fast! Every self-respecting college/university needs to have at least one haunted building. And it’s bonus points if it’s a dorm.

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