Subliminal Stimuli

As much as images are impactful on our sensory perception, it's blackmasking that intrigues me more. This is the 'reverse recording' of an audio track that, when played forward, can cause its listeners to abuse drugs and commit murder or suicide - among other things. Any Marilyn Manson groupies here?

Crop/Crap Circles?

UFO enthusiasts and thousands of "curious onlookers" are flocking to Central Java, Indonesia, to investigate a 'crop circle' that arcanely figured in a green rice field. The work of sapient beings from another planet? Highly unlikely. Given that the locals are charging entrance fees to the site, one would be led to believe that it was the farmers themselves who perpetrated this elaborate hoax.

They're Coming

"A report by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) in the United States said that there are three giant spaceships which are heading towards Earth. According to the Russian Pravda news, the SETI, a non-commercial organization, said that the largest one of the three spaceships is 240 kilometers wide, and the two others are smaller. It further stated that currently the objects are beyond the orbit of Pluto and will reach Earth in December 2012." Uh-oh, we're gonna be so dead!

The Black Hole

Mysterious sinkholes like the (negative-)30-storey chasm in Guatamala (pictured above) have been appearing all over the world, including China. What caused them? Is something from deep beneath the Earth, closer to the core, trying to burrow its way out? Perhaps not. Sinkholes are, geologically speaking, natural depressions attributed to the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks.

The gaping cavity in Guatamala City, additionally, is - as reported by National Geographic News - more of a "piping feature" (read: ruptured underground drainage system) created by humans instead of nature.

Men in Black

We've seen them on TV or in the movies - shadowy stalkers suited in black who appear from nowhere and disappear without a trace. (And, no, we're not alluding to Agents J and K.) Who are they, exactly, and where are they from? CIA, FBI, Secret Service, Planet Zorg?

Human Magnetism

Is your body capable of attracting metallic objects like an electric iron or your grandmother's kuali? If yes, then we've got news for you: There's no scientific explanation for your 'gift', but you can make a living appearing as a 'human magnet' on RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!-type shows.

Ἀτλαντὶς

What's the story with the lost continent of Atlantis, which allegedly sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean circa 9600BC? The fall of a once-great civilization? Or merely the flight of Plato's overactive imagination?

Walking on Water

We all know only Jesus Christ is capable of walking on water. However, an increasing number of individuals (including Criss Angel) are claiming and 'proving' that they, too, can manifest this miracle of the Gospel. We'll leave that at that for now, and introduce you to the term 'liquid mountaineering', which involves 'athletes' sprinting from land and onto the surface of a lake, for instance. Are they pushing the boundaries of human physicality and approaching divinity? Nah.

Bilocation

Also referred to as an 'out-of-body experience', in which one's consciousness leaves the body and visits a separate location, this eerie phenomenon has been reported all over the world - especially in Scandinavia. Does that help to explain why some people are capable of speaking foreign languages without being exposed to them and recounting experiences in foreign lands they've never visited before?

Human Cloning

Human cloning is often the stuff of science fiction books and movies - at least for now. Due to its grave ethical implications, this highly complex and extremely controversial procedure has been banned in most (civilized) countries by legislation. What about in the future? Do we want to see multiplicity of ourselves or loved ones?

The Mystery of Mary Celeste

In what's generally cited as the greatest maritime mystery of all time, the unexplained disappearance of the brigantine merchant ship's entire crew amid fair weather and favorable seafaring conditions can be attributed to paranormal forces like ETs, UFOs and the Bermuda Triangle - or can it?

Old Changi Hospital

For those who aren't so acquainted with the Singapore paranormal scene (if there's deemed any), the now-abandoned Old Changi Hospital at Netheravon Road's widely regarded as a 'fertile ground' for things that bump in the night.

High-ceiling wards, an underground bunker and even a torture chamber that witnessed history from the pre-war British colonial period through the Japanese occupation and beyond are perfect 'investigation sites' for people from SPI, for example.

Get spirited and go explore the place with your friends, if you dare!

Levitation

In the absence of wires, air pressure or electromagnetism (in other words, logical or scientific explanation), how is it possible for one to defy gravity and drift above the ground? Is it really something to do with "quantum vacuum zero point energy in an altered state of consciousness"?

On a separate note, is the pictured woman a Kate Winslet admirer? Also, does she wax her legs and is she wearing anything underneath her dress??

It's Raining Frogs!

Go home and ask your elders if they've heard stories of the 'raining fish' occurrence right here in Singapore circa 1861. This rare meteoro-logical phenomenon was also underscored in Paul Thomas Anderson's MAGNOLIA - only with frogs.

Split Personality Disorder

Medically known as dissociative identity disorder, this is "a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a condition in which a single person displays multiple distinct alter egos, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment". Even though the topic/validity of DID is commonly disputed, one cannot deny the scariness of it. I'm reminded of Edward Norton in PRIMAL FEAR; the tagline to that movie goes: "Sooner or later, a man who wears two faces forgets which one is real." (*Shudder*)

Mind Control

Wouldn't it be warped and totally wicked if one could actually control the mind of another? I know psychologists will laugh at my ignorance, but isn't this all about getting straight 'A's for your exams or quarterly promotions/increments at work?

What Are They Telling Us?

This spectacular pair of crop circles sighted in the U.K. - first the5'Jellyfish' in Oxfordshire and then the6'Dragonfly' in Yatesbury - prompts us to think: If they were indeed the work of aliens (and not some nuts with too much time on their hands), then what're we supposed to make of them? 'Save the world'?

Sleepwalking

I don't believe in parasomnia – plain and simple. It may be as probable as, say, paranoia or insomnia, but – seriously speaking – I ain't buyin' it. I've not had such an episode before and neither have I known any so-called sleepwalkers in my life. After all, how can one be "eating, bathing, urinating, talking, dressing, driving cars, painting, whistling, dancing, committing murder, or engaging in sexual intercourse" when s/he's not completely awake? And, in that sense, define 'half-asleep'.

SPL

I've read some weird shit in my time, but this one kinda tops it all. As posted on Fantoms & Munsters, "a 64-year-old woman (who suffered a stroke a few days earlier) has reported to doctors at Geneva University Hospital the presence of a pale, milky-white and translucent third arm". This rare but credible - and clinically proven - neurological phenomenon is known as a supernumerary phantom limb (SPL). Apparently, the said woman "can use the apparitional extremity to relieve very real itches on the cheek", although it cannot penetrate solid objects. Not sure if this should be filed under 'sad' or 'scary'.

Alien Abduction

We've seen it umptillion times on TV and in the movies: Little green (slimy?) men with laser guns visit your home (the way you wish the God of Fortune would), abduct you in your sleep (or their hovering spaceship can beam you straight up from your bed) and perform experiments on your body (which may involve probes and chips inserted into your brain), before sending you back with your memory erased. Sounds familiar?