Journal of the Bizarre

From quantum physicists and parapsychologists to philosophers and ordinary people, there are many who refuse to accept the linear concept of time. To these individuals, the past, present and future are all the same, taking place concurrently within a single moment of existence. In other words, these individuals believe that the past is never really past, but happening as we speak, and will continue to happen for all eternity. Thus, the future has already happened, and will continue to happen, in this very moment, which lasts forever.

Many have attempted to explain paranormal phenomena using the theory of non-linear time, speculating that most hauntings are not interactive experiences but rather energy imprints left behind by a deceased person. Even though the dead soul of the deceased may not even be aware that his or her ghost still haunts the earthly realm, the imprint continues to appear over and over again, trapped in time and playing in a continuous loop, until it is vanquished o…

Today's installment of "My Strangest Experience" comes to us from Emily Burkholder of Moorcroft, Wyoming. She admits that the story you are about to read was told to her by her mother, Nedra Washburn, when Emily was a college student. Although Emily states that she cannot authenticate the story (the incident took place a month before Emily was born), she has no doubt about her mother's honesty or sincerity. 

The following story, which took place in 1978, is in Emily's own words.

I never knew my father, who deserted Mom when he discovered that she was pregnant. In those days, illegitimate children were something to be ashamed of, and so Mom moved away from Ann Arbor, Michigan-- where she had been born and raised-- and began a new life for herself in Wyoming, where she rented a tiny house from Uncle Artie, who resided in Gillette with Mom's sister, Georgette.

It was an old house, I guess you could say, though not terribly old. It was pale yellow, one story, with …

Ever since the first decapitation, mankind has universally wondered what goes on inside the heads of the headless after their heads have been beheaded. Can decapitated heads speak? Or think? Or feel pain? The topic of "post mortem intelligence" has been debated among physicians and philosophers for centuries; as a result, history has provided us with a remarkable record of instances of decapitated heads performing all kinds of marvelous feats.

As fate (and the guillotine) would have it, many of these records come from France, where all manners of scientific experiments were performed upon the heads of executed criminals. Since executions were performed by beheading, there was no shortage of subjects. In 1894, right before French priest Albert Bruneau was executed for the murder of another priest in the village of Laval, a scientist named Monsieur Dominique visited Bruneau in his cell and convinced him to take part in an experiment. The men agreed that Bruneau would attempt t…

The following news story comes from the March 21, 1907 edition of the Spanish Fork (Utah) Press:

Elkhart, Ind.-- Harassed by the stalking specter of his aged father-in-law, John B. Garman, who died two years ago, John Otterson has abandoned a palatial suburban place which was bequeathed to him by his deceased relative. Otterson is a wealthy retired merchant, having been in business in Elkhart for a number of years.

While Mr. Otterson is not prone to believe in ethereal materializations, he asserts that in spirit form his father-in-law haunted him. The apparition followed him over the premises, stiid by him when he attempted to do light work about his country home, and frequently  was his companion during the dead hours of night. That Mr. Otterson has an ordinary temperament, and is not at all given to nervousness, makes his story of the ghost all the more remarkable. He is a giant physically, and mentally, well-educated and well read.
 Otterson claims that he only escaped the apparition…