**Trigger warning -- this episode includes the discussion of suicide and mental health**

The Aokigahara forest in Japan is an example of a zone where dark energies, emotions, and history combine to form a void which draws people in and influences their mental state.  

Join Ansir & Sophia as they discuss the infamous suicide forest.

This Halloween, Ansir & Sophia discuss the art of paranormal investigation.  What equipment should you use?  How should you use it?  What pitfalls do you need to be aware of and avoid?

Between 1900 and 1922, there are a number of axe murders across the United States of America, plus one in Germany, that share a number of traits.  Could they be linked?  Was one man to blame for a killing spree spanning decades, state lines, and international borders?  This is the theory put forth by Bill and Rachel James in their book 'the Man from the Train'.  Join Ansir and Sophia as we discuss the hypothesis and the possibility that even more murders could be linked.

In 1974, the Owen Group undertook an experiment to test if the collective unconscious could create an egregore -- Phillip the imaginary ghost.  The results were surprising as Phillip manifested phenomena and evidenced the potential of the subconscious projection of psychical entities.

Join Ansir & Sophia as they discuss the experiment and how it may explain aspects of poltergeist phenomena and why some paranormal investigators experience exactly what they hope and expect to do so.

In 1612, twenty individuals found themselves accused of witchcraft in the rural region around Pendle Hill, Lancashire in northern England.  Far from being a clear case of misogynistic persecution of women, the case saw both men and women confess to witchcraft and everyone accusing each other.  With multiple factors at play, there are many things that fed into the events of 1612 and those prior, including witchcraft hysteria, recuscancy, a form of magical protection racket that saw some individuals profit off of their reputations and others fears.  However, what is clear is that there was a knowledge of the occult in the region and that some definitively practised the arts.

Join Ansir & Sophia for a detailed look at the Pendle Witchtrials of 1612. 

Read the full account and how it links to the Salem trials of 1692 in 'the Wizard & the Witches':

Amazon US: http://a.co/78WURHw

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2wd4OsS

The Perron Family Farmhouse, 1971 -- better known to contemporary audiences as the events of the Conjuring film.  With claims of ghosts from across two centuries of family life in a pre-revolutionary house and the accusation that one entity was that of a local witch, there is certainly much to investigate in this case.  Join Ansir & Sophia as they conjure up the tale and discuss what likely occurred.

For almost three centuries, something has terrorised communities around the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.  With the head of a horse, horns, bat-like wings, and a terrifying screech, the Jersey Devil is seemingly more of a creature of folklore than a cryptid, but there are thousands of witnesses and many of them are credible.  What then is the Jersey Devil?

1943, England -- four boys find the remains of an unknown lady in a tree in a remote and private country estate.  The body was decomposed, missing a hand, and had fabric stuffed in the mouth.  When mysterious graffiti began to appear in the region asking "Who put Bella in the Wytch Elm?", a name was assigned to the body and the case of Bella rose to infamy.  Remaining unsolved to this day, questions remain as to who Bella was.  More intriguing, there are no conclusive hypotheses as to how she was killed and why -- with everything from black magic to Nazi spy rings being assigned a role.  Join Ansir and Sophia as they go down to the woods...