Journal of the Bizarre

It's a rainy summer Sunday here in Pennsylvania, which makes it a great day for pouring yourself another cup of coffee and reading about the strange and bizarre. It's been a while since we talked about mummies on Journal of the Bizarre, or, more specifically, a mummy curse. And since it seems like a good day for a story about a mummy curse, here's a real humdinger. This is the strange but true tale of Herbert Ingram, Jr.

Herbert Ingram, brother of Sir William Ingram and son of the famous British journalist Herbert Ingram (founder of the Illustrated London News), was a dashing young volunteer under Lord Charles Beresfort, the famed British admiral. As a member of the Gordon Relief Expedition, Ingram took part in the bloody mission to help liberate Egyptians from the Sudan between 1884 and 1885. Ingram was in the thick of the fighting, taking part in battles at Abu, Klea, Metemneh and anywhere else where there was any fighting to be done.

Like many British soldiers and sail…

Anyone keeping abreast of the world news in recent years has probably, at one time or another, wondered if human beings have lost part (or the entirety) of their souls. In a world of Adam Lanzas, Nidal Hasans, Omar Mateens and other disturbed individuals who have within themselves the incomprehensible ability to extinguish life without the slightest twinge of apathy, it certainly seems possible that many who walk among us are missing their souls. If souls exist in the first place, that is.

But let's suppose the soul is real. And let's suppose reincarnation is real. After all, no one can disprove reincarnation. From the ancient Druids to modern Scientologists, from Native Americans to the Greeks, people from religions around the world believe in reincarnation, or something like it. Even Christians, who are taught to reject the concept, embrace the possibility; a Pew Research poll conducted in 2009 found that nearly 1 in 4 American Christians express a belief in reincarnation.

Ev…

In February of 1904, five people from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, were injured in a serious sleigh accident. The victims-- four young women and the driver of the sleigh-- received their injuries after the horse became spooked, causing the sleigh to smash into a telegraph pole. The astonishing part of the story is that, immediately before the crash, the sleigh passengers were terrified when they saw a mysterious horse-drawn hearse cross their path and vanish into thin air.





Here is the newspaper report of the sleigh crash, from the February 24, 1902, edition of the Hazleton Plain Speaker:

Since its founding in 1882, the Society for Psychical Research has extensively studied everything from psychic abilities to run-of-the-mill hauntings, reporting their findings in a series of publications and journals, many of which have been preserved for future generations to discover and enjoy. Today, we will share with you some of the more interesting cases investigated by the SPR from the year 1899.


General Barter Sees a Bearded, Bloated Ghost

General Barter, commander of the British army, claimed to have had a ghostly encounter in India when he served as a subaltern in the Seventy-Fifth Regiment. In 1854, Barter was a lieutenant stationed in Punjab. He lived in a house built by a Lieutenant B___. Lieutenant B___ died on January 2, 1854, shortly after completing the construction. The house was located on a hill 300 or 400 yards under the only road, which was joined by a bridle path. This path ended in a dangerous precipice, and a footpath led up into it from the lieutenant's h…