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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Philip J. Imbrogno has researched UFOs and other paranormal phenomena for more than thirty years and is recognized as an authority in the field. A science educator at the secondary and collegiate levels for twenty-eight years, he has been interviewed by the New York Times and Coast to Coast AM, has appeared on NBC’s Today Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show, and has been featured in documentaries on the History Channel, A&E, Lifetime, and HBO. Imbrogno worked closely with many top UFO investigators, including Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Budd Hopkins. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

  Llewellyn Publications

  Woodbury, Minnesota

  Files from the Edge: A Paranormal Investigator’s Explorations into High Strangeness © 2010 by Philip J. Imbrogno.

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  First e-book edition © 2010

  E-book ISBN: 9780738723754

  Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

  Cover images © iStockphoto.com, except for crystal ball © Photographer’s Choice/PunchStock

  Interior art by Llewellyn art department

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  Llewellyn Publications

  Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

  2143 Wooddale Drive

  Woodbury, MN 55125

  www.llewellyn.com

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  To Dr. J. Allen Hynek, who will be remembered

  as a Galileo of the twentieth century. He paved the way

  for new worlds that await our exploration.

  CONTENTS

  Preface

  The New Science

  Out of Nowhere

  High Strangeness

  The Ghosts of the Lost Mines

  Creatures from a Hidden Reality

  Realm of the Earth Spirits

  Psychic Powers:

  Reality, Hoax, or Delusion?

  Entities From an Unseen World

  Phantoms of Time and Space

  Messages From Beyond

  2012 and Beyond

  A Brief Analysis

  For Further Reading

  Appendix

  Bibliography and Citations

  Preface

  When picking up a book for the first time, most people have a tendency to skip the introduction or preface and go right to the main chapters and look for what they consider the important information. They may also look to see how the author is presenting the material and what the “angle” is. I hope you will read this preface before you scan through the chapters because it is an introduction to who I am and my true feelings about the topics in the books I write. In order for my readers to understand my work in the field of the paranormal, I strongly recommend that my previous books be read first; they include: Night Siege: The Hudson Valley UFO Sightings, Contact of the 5th Kind, Celtic Mysteries: Windows to Another Dimension in America’s Northeast, and Interdimensional Universe: The New Science of UFOs, Paranormal Phenomena, and Otherdimensional Beings.

  I have been a science educator for the past twenty-eight years with undergraduate and graduate degrees in astronomy, earth science, and chemistry. When investigating paranormal phenomenon, I try to use my scientific background as much as possible, but since we are dealing with forces and dimensional states of the universe that are very hard to perceive, the scientific method breaks down and for the most part cannot be used in this type of research. I firmly believe there is serious research being done by other paranormal investigators who come from many disciplines. The task of these researchers is a difficult one: they are attempting to lay down the foundation of a new science. However, conducting research that results in verifiable documentation requires new methods of investigation. Most importantly, we must change our view of how science perceives reality; in other words, the scientific method needs to be revised so we can investigate the multi-dimensional universe in a “scientific” manner. Also, we must modify current cutting-edge technologies and invent new instrumentation to assist us in our understanding of paranormal events. Such technologies are now being developed by several researchers (including myself) and early prototypes of equipment have proven very promising, especially in the fields of electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) and digital photography sensitive to the electromagnetic wavelengths outside that of human visual perception.

  My own initial study of the paranormal began with the investigation of UFO reports three decades ago, and over the course of those many years I have accumulated a considerable number of cases that involve channeling, hauntings, strange creatures, animal mutilations, poltergeist, and all forms of psychic phenomena. All of these cases came to my attention as a result of my research into the UFO experience. I found these paranormal cases so interesting that I spent quite a great deal of time looking into them and trying to understand their relationship to the UFO phenomena and the connection they have with the multi-dimensional universe. This book is the result of a small number of those cases that remained in my files for years. Although some of the cases presented in this book took place decades ago, some are much more recent and have never been published. The paranormal events presented in this work have undergone extensive scrutinizing by me and experts in various fields. I believe them to be authentic representations of an unseen world that exists beyond human perception. However, with modern computer technology an image of a ghost, strange creature, or even a UFO for that matter is only as credible as the word of the witness.

  Over the past five years, many paranormal groups have formed and quite a number of television shows have aired all apparently with the intent of investigating and documenting paranormal activity. These groups, clubs, and television “investigators” do not objectively investigate—they go into a case with a predetermined belief of what is responsible for generating phenomena. For example, one “chief investigator” from a popular paranormal reality television show stated that they go into a case trying to disprove it. This attitude, in my opinion, is wrong: you must enter a case with a blank slate and let the evidence fall where it may, and then make a conclusion. Several of these reality paranormal television shows are scripted to make them more interesting with the purpose of increasing the ratings. I know this for a fact since I have taken part in a number of these programs over the years as a “consulting expert.”

  Coming to a definite conclusion after an investigation is very difficult since the resources of those trying to do serious research is limited. Because of this, there can only be three conclu
sions to any paranormal case: the first is that there is no evidence that anything out of the ordinary took place, the second is that the data is inconclusive and finally, that something out of the ordinary did take place, but unless you were able to positively identify it, then the case has to remain open and put in the category of “unknown.”

  Popular evidence suggests paranormal phenomenon is increasing substantially on a global level. Those who experience an event outside their normal reality come from all walks of life and are of every age. I firmly believe that what we call the paranormal or supernatural of today will be a new science of the late twenty-first century. Once the foundation is established for this new science, human beings will embark on an exploration into this realm of hidden reality and obtain a better understanding of the complex multi-dimensional universe in which we are an integral part. Over the many years and the hundreds of cases I have investigated, my exploration of the paranormal has changed from a scientific study to more of an adventure: I have witnessed some of the events presented in this book and to me, there is no doubting their realness.

  It is also important I thank the following researchers whose previous work and tireless efforts aided my own and helped me stay on the correct path to get a clear view of what lies ahead. They include John Fuller, John Keel, Budd Hopkins, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, and last but not least, my mentor, Dr. J. Allen Hynek. This is an exciting time, and like the voyagers of long ago who left their home shores to chart unknown oceans and explore new lands, we are about to set foot onto a strange, new, unexplored world full of wonder and danger.

  Philip J. Imbrogno

  January 2010

  The New Science

  Human beings have always had a fascination with the supernatural. When the people of ancient cultures witnessed something they could not explain, they would attribute it to some god, spirit, or unknown elemental force of nature. Two thousand years ago, thunder and lightning frightened inhabitants of the Mediterranean and northern Europe; despite the attempts of the greatest minds of that time to find a rational explanation, not one had an answer for what caused this terrifying phenomenon. It was then said that the lightning and the thunder were beyond the understanding of mere mortals and the result of an angry god. The Greeks and the Romans called this entity Zeus and Jupiter, while the Norse, Anglo-Saxon and continental Germanic people called him Thor. Science later gave us answers and because of this knowledge, most people no longer fear the thunder and lightning of an electrical storm.

  A study of the natural world is not an exact science. History has taught us that the theories and laws of the universe science has placed so high on a pedestal as being the absolute truth are shaky and changeable. Today’s scientists continue to make the same mistakes as their predecessors by holding on to outdated ideas for reasons they only know. Perhaps keeping the old ways intact gives many of the older and established professors of the academic world feelings of certainty and security.

  Repeating the Same Mistakes

  In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, science was just starting to bloom as new discoveries were being made almost every day in all disciplines from astronomy to zoology. It was in this early scientific age that William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus using a relatively new device at the time called the telescope. The era also saw the beginning of great exploration as human beings began to understand the forces of nature. Using improved instruments and logical thinking, scientists realized a supernatural being was not necessary to explain wind, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, thunder, and lightning. Yet, there were still many mysteries that science could not explain—one of them was our sun.

  It was common knowledge in the 1700s that our sun was very far away from Earth and that every second it produced enormous amounts of energy. A heated debate among scientists and theologians emerged to explain the sun’s energy source. No one had a definite answer as to what fuel source could produce that amount of energy for such a long period of time. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, coal, wood, oil, and natural gas were the only fuel sources they understood. Since most of these were fossils fuels and all of them were formed on our planet, they didn’t seem to apply to the sun.

  Theories abounded, yet not one of the greatest scientific minds of the eighteenth century could offer a suitable theory to explain our sun’s energy output. When asked what powered the sun, most scientists would reply that it was beyond man’s understanding. Some even claimed that a supernatural being was responsible—an angel of fire (so to speak) who ensured the sun would continue to output heat and light uninterrupted for millions of years so humans could survive.

  The scientists and philosophers of more than two hundred years ago had no knowledge of nuclear energy. They could not imagine—even in their wildest dreams and speculations—that when atoms are smashed together, a great amount of energy is released . . . great enough to power a star like our sun. Mankind would have to wait until the twentieth century before humans truly understood the power source of the sun. When nuclear fission and fusion were discovered, humans once again no longer needed a supernatural or divine being of great power to explain the energy output of our sun and other stars in the galaxy.

  It’s amazing to think that today in our modern world science still adheres to the rule that if your current ideas, knowledge, and theories can’t explain something, it must not exist. Science is the pursuit of making what is unknown, known and understood. Yet, the scientists of today have forgotten their true mission and have once again turned their backs to reports of the unexplained. The human state of mind has changed little over centuries past: many modern people attribute unexplainable events to a supernatural cause just like their ancestors of a more unenlightened time. The confused and often scared people begin looking for answers to help them understand what has taken place and so look to the scientist for answers. However, scientists do not have the instrumentation or knowledge to prove or disprove the reality of strange events; they give the unexplainable very little attention and so these phenomena remain without explanation. UFOs and other forms of paranormal phenomena have no easy explanation; because they are complex, the only way we can begin to find answers is if we open our minds to ideas considered impossible by the scientific community and society at large.

  Speculation is the key to discovery; if people like Galileo, Brahe, Priestly, Copernicus, and Kepler didn’t speculate and open their minds to accept new, radical ideas, modern science would never have been born. We must give up our old ideas of a finite expanding universe and consider that the cosmos is more complex than any of us could have ever dreamed, possibly with multiple parallel universes each composed of several dimensions. It is my belief that experiences mistakenly labeled as “supernatural” or “paranormal” originate from a parallel dimension or universe very close to our own. Recently, the theory of not a single universe, but a mega-universe (or “multiverse”) has received considerable attention from not only scientists, but the general public as well.

  My Introduction to the Multiverse

  During my early days as a student at MIT, sometime in the winter of 1977, I attended a lecture given by Dr. Philip Morrison called “How We Know What We Know in Science.” I had read Dr. Morrison’s work in theoretical physics and found his insights fascinating—I had to see and hear what he had to say in person. However, before I continue, let me give you some background information on Dr. Morrison and his contribution to our current knowledge of the state of the universe.

  Philip Morrison’s title was Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the highest academic honor bestowed on a university faculty member. In my opinion, he was one of the world’s greatest physicists and an amazing teacher: Dr. Morrison could explain complex astronomy and physics theories so clearly that anyone, no matter the level of education, could understand it. He was a talented educator who spoke in complete sentences . . . and paragraphs. Dr. Morrison had a
unique ability to verbally convey his thoughts and ideas to his students with crystal clarity.

  If I had to describe him, I would say he was a friendly, down to earth, spirited, witty gentleman who loved science with all his heart. He once said “I teach because I was taught; my great love in life is to explain my craft.” In 1959, Dr. Morrison suggested that a scientific project be initiated to search for extraterrestrial life by listening to the universe using radio waves. For his time, this was a radical suggestion. When asked about it, he would say “I just want to know if anyone is out there. Are we alone in the universe or are there countless numbers of civilizations in the galaxy also looking up to the night sky and wondering the same thing?” When members of the media asked him if this search would ever find “aliens,” Dr. Morrison would reply: “The probability for success is hard to estimate but if we don’t look, the chance of success is zero.”

  I was quite anxious to hear Dr. Morrison’s presentation so I got there more than an hour before the lecture to ensure a front-row seat in the very large auditorium at the MacLaurin Building at MIT. I really didn’t know what to expect, but as eight o’clock drew near, every seat in the house filled up. I looked around the auditorium and noticed some of the most esteemed scientists in the country were present, including the famous Dr. Carl Sagan. Dr. Morrison entered the room and began to talk, and I was very surprised that his presentation quickly turned to the topic of extraterrestrial life and suggested our current understanding of the cosmos could be very wrong. I wanted to mention this incident since it was the first time I heard a person of great standing in the scientific community talk not only about UFOs and alien civilizations, but also what was later called “string theory” and the concept of a multidimensional universe. Dr. Morrison’s two-hour presentation was amazing—later that night in my small apartment in Cambridge, I considered changing my major at MIT from chemistry to physics.