The Talamasca Files

Hello Everyone,

and Welcome to the first part of a new series of threads that will look into myths and legends that have played with our imagination for centuries.

The title suggests in which direction these threads will lead but in case some of you may not know what the Talamasca is, here’s a brief description from wiki:

The Talamasca Caste (or Order of the Talamasca or simply Talamasca) is described as a secret society set up to watch over and keep track of the paranormal, in particular, witches, spirits, werewolves and vampires.

The Talamasca Caste is a fictional secret society described in the works of Anne Rice.

en.wikipedia.org...


I had been looking into making these threads for a while and thought that the Talamasca name is appropriate as it keeps the door open for fiction while, at the same time, raises discussion on certain cases that, to this day, may not have been fully resolved.

There are many television series, documentaries and books that have touched upon those legends, some of them through fictional secret societies, some of them through paranormal investigators and some of them through the eyes of the author but brilliantly played by fictional FBI agents.


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Anne Rice brought forward the Talamasca, Joss Whedon had the Watcher’s Council throughout the Buffy series and who could forget the X-Files, with Mulder and Scully being thrown in the midst of it all? Still today, shows keep coming up with different perspectives on these paranormal and/or occult and/or fictional topics.

These threads are created to have a further look into some fascinating cases that still carry many questions and have very few answers. Hope you have as much fun reading about them as I had looking into them.

Disclaimer – These threads are for entertainment purposes only. The cases that will be displayed for discussion are very real yet I would ask every member that wishes to participate in the discussions to do it with respect, civility and decorum. Topics such as witchcraft, spirits, werewolves and vampires are highly speculative yet, those same topics have enriched our world with works that have piqued our curiosity and to this very day, still do, in many ways. Discussing pro or con is essential but I would ask that it would be done with respect. Thank you.

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[align=center][color=gold]The Talamasca Files – Part One – Witchcraft[/align]

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Witchcraft is a fascinating subject.

It has been at the core of many illustrious fictional novels such as The Lives of the Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice to novels based on true events such as The Lancashire Witches by author William Harrison Ainsworth, novel which is derived from the Pendle Witches case which we will be discussing below.

Witchcraft has pretty much always been around but we really started hearing about it – in print – towards the sixteenth century. Some cases however have been so talked about that most readers would easily recognize them right away. Such is the case for The Salem Witch Trials or from my part of the country, La Corriveau, Quebec’s Witch.

A lot of ink has gone into not so factual stories such as witchcraft being used by our powers that be or having devil worshipping ceremonies under the Vatican. Still, it makes for interesting reads and no one can deny that witchcraft is to this day, a very real topic to talk about.

While witchcraft is divided in different sub divisions such as Wicca or White Magick – as an example – this thread will look further into cases that are mysterious, dark and that led to sacrificial deaths, murders or outright witch hunts. Deaths that still have ongoing investigations, in some cases, and deaths that have been buried under the weight of time as centuries went by.

There are five amazing cases that I highlight for discussion, ranging from 1591 to 1972. They are as follows:


[color=gold]The Calder Witches File

The Pendle Witches File

The Belcher and Avery File

The Warwickshire File

The Jeannette DePalma File


Hope you enjoy.


~Continued on next post

The Calder Witches File

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While the Salem Witch Trials is a well known case which has been discussed to death, Salem trials that lasted a little over a year and that needlessly killed thirty three innocent human beings, it pales in comparison to the Calder Trials.

The Calder case takes place in Scotland, in the Parish of Calder, a witch hunt that lasted more than a hundred and thirty years, from 1591 to 1722 and that put to death more than three thousand poor souls.

The General Assembly of the Church had the lawful authority to question and torture for confessions leading to executions. One’s admittance to witchcraft led to more hunts and more torture, conducted in indescribable ways...

The process was that a woman suspected of being a witch would be denounced and brought to trial. If there was no confession she would be severely tortured by sleep deprivation, thumbscrews or witch-pricking to extort proof of guilt. When a confession was obtained, the woman had to denounce twelve others, as witches were supposed to meet in covens of thirteen, leading of course to more trials.

Not only was one putting his life at risk for having something as irrelevant as medicinal herbs or being called a “charmer” but consulting one was also an instant death sentence. It is worth noting that some rich folks duly paid to get rid of their wives, under the new witchcraft act.

Not one single person, not one, would be prosecuted nowadays for suspicions as vague and ignorant as the Calder case.

Read more HERE.

The Pendle Witches File

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Twelve accused witches that lived in the county of Lancashire, England and that inspired Ainsworth for his novel. This case takes place in 1612 and is notorious for being one of the most controversial witch trials in history. Out of the twelve, one died while waiting in prison for the trial, one was not found guilty and the remaining ten were executed by hanging by the neck.

It is interesting to note that the witch hunts, in that part of the country, lasted from the early 15th century up to the 18th and executed no less than five hundred persons. People that were arrested on unfounded rumours such as cannibalism, children murder and yes, even turning people’s beer sour...

Out of the trials, the Pendle case is the most fascinating. Contrarily to the Calder files, where anyone was judged and sentenced on false rumours, this case presents some outright admissions to witchcraft.

Some of the accused Pendle witches, such as Alizon Device, seem to have genuinely believed in their guilt, but others protested their innocence to the end.

And then, there were Anne Whittle Chattox and James Device who also admitted committing separate murders and asked God for forgiveness. It is unclear how the confessions had been made to the prosecutor, Roger Nowell, before the hearings, as it held the crux for conviction.

The other witches pleaded not guilty to the very end. Without success.

Out of those trials, publications have been made and nowhere, at anytime, even under the close examination of confessions is there proof or evidence of any kind. To this day, this case remains a mystery and an unsolved fascinating part of our history.

Read more HERE.


~Continued on next post

The Belcher and Avery File

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Here is another interesting story from England. In this particular case, which could be the precursor of the Pendle trials as it happened earlier in 1612, the victims, Elizabeth Belcher and her brother William Avery are said to having been murdered by witches.

The problem with this case is that there are two sides of the story and they while they both conclude to the murders, they are both identifying some of the witches while misidentifying others. They both are founded on hearsay and gossip.

Nevertheless, five executions were carried out and it is important to note that this was the first time, during interrogations, that the “water ordeals” were used in England.

an accused who sank was considered innocent, while floating indicated witchcraft. Demonologists developed inventive new theories about how it worked. The ordeal would normally be conducted with a rope holding the subject connected to assistants sitting in a boat or the like, so that the person being tested could be pulled in if he/she did not float; the notion that the ordeal was flatly devised as a situation without any possibility of live acquittal, even if the outcome was 'innocent', is a modern exaggeration. Some argued that witches floated because they had renounced baptism when entering the Devil's service. Jacob Rickius claimed that they were supernaturally light and recommended weighing them as an alternative to dunking them.

So, basically, the prosecution no longer needed one to plead guilty or not, as if one floated or not decided on ones fate. Unreal.

No one really knows who actually killed Belcher and Avery but Arthur Bill, Mary Barber, Agnes Browne, Joan Browne and Helen Jenkinson were found guilty of being witches, on pure gossip and after being water ordealed. Executions signed, sealed and delivered.

Read more HERE.



These three cases were brought to your attention for different reasons. First, they show that medieval times were barbaric in many ways, needless to say, but also to show that even though witchcraft did exist and in many different ways, and finally that it might not be so different today.

The next two cases are from the twentieth century and while the processes have changed, the ignorance regarding witchcraft, has not.

The Warwickshire File

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This case takes place in 1945 and involves a man named Charles Walton, a farm labourer. The story is that rumours had been flying around that Walton was practicing witchcraft. He would supposedly leave on many nights to perform rituals.

On one such evening when he went out, his sister being worried that he hadn’t returned, went to get a neighbour so that they could try and locate him. And locating him, they did.

It was there they made the gruesome and terrifying discovery. Charles body lay contorted by the hedge. He had been pinned to the floor by his pitchfork and his hook was embedded in his body. Perhaps most disturbing of all was the sign of the cross, which had been carved into Charles' chest.

Interesting so far but nothing close to what was to come. Inspector Robert Fabian was given the case for investigation. With two assistants, they went on a quest to try and find the killer. As trails were proposing that witchcraft might have been involved, Fabian was given a book by one of his assistants, a book on folklore and superstitions. Oddly enough, the book consisted of stories, written by different people and one of those stories comes right out of the twilight zone:

Spooner gave Fabian a book, Folklore, Old Customs and Superstitions in Shakespeare Land, in which the murder of young Alice Turner was detailed. She had been mutilated with a pitchfork by a man who believed she had bewitched him. Carving the cross and pinning her to the ground, her assailant said, was the only way to stop a witch rising from the grave.

A strange coincidence is a soft choice of words. But the best was yet to come:

Eerily, elsewhere in the book there was a tale related by a young man by the name of Charles Walton.

There were points of convergence between the young writer Walton and the deceased. They both had a thing with dogs. They both knew of Meon Hill, where Walton’s body was found.

Fabian having closed the file, this case is still unresolved.

Rumours however, never ceased. Rumours of haunting, tales of the Devil lurking around, even stories of evil phantom hounds that, to this day, still hunt the hills at night. A fascinating case.

Read more HERE.


~Continued on next post

The Jeannette DePalma File

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A Springfield teenager devoted to evangelism may have been murdered two months ago in a sacrificial rite of black magic, it was learned yesterday.

While Union County authorities declined comment of the mysterious death of 16-year-old Jeanette DePalma, informed sources confirmed there is evidence to indicate the involvement of teenage Satan-worshippers.

This case is from 1972 and it will conclude this first thread as an epitome of a story that’s got it all.

It all started on a day like every other except for the fact that a dog had brought back a scary present to his owner, after perusing an abandoned quarry. As this was no ordinary bone that the dog had presented but a full forearm, the owner called the authorities who would eventually find the body which was later identified as Jeannette DePalma, who had been missing for six weeks.

The scene had all the morbid appearance of a ritual. The body being found on what looked like a makeshift altar and the surroundings scattered with cult related symbols.


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There were always rumours of occult practices from the teenage crowd but this was different. No witnesses were ever found. No one stepped forward to testify. The case just lingered until it was reopened, thirty years later and is still pending.

The police investigation is still ongoing and so far was only met with anonymous contributors that, for lack of better words, muddied the water even worse.

This case has it all. She was sacrificed, it was drugs, it was bikers, it was the Devil, it was the Witches from the Watchung Reservation nearby, as rumours say that the “Res” has been at the center of Devil worshipping for years. Jeannette DePalma is still not at rest and the killer(s) probably still at large.

This case is still unresolved.

Read more HERE.


This concluded this first part. The next thread will touch on the subject of spirits for which even though evidence is sometimes lacking, the mind blowing factors, are not.


Thank you for reading. All comments are welcomed.

~Son.

Hello,

thank you for taking the time to make this thread SonoftheSun, I will be taking the time to read it all


S&F


SS

Well thought out and presented thread. Got lots of reading to do now.

I look forward to reading much more of what you have to present.

reply to post by SonoftheSun


Great stuff!

This is a fantastic thread SotS, thanks for putting so much quality and effort into it.

I am looking forward to reading these and many more cases.

S&F

reply to post by Spike Spiegle


Thanks Spike ! You might want to have a look at "La Corriveau" as I think that you are also from Quebec, if you haven't heard of her before. She's part of our folklore !!

reply to post by nolabel


Thank you Nolabel. The witchcraft part was fun but I really look forward to writing the spirits part. Still reading and deciding which stories I will choose, there's tons of good ones. Thank you for the kind words !!

reply to post by Sublimecraft


Thank you kind Sir !!

It might get a bit more into heated discussions when I'll get into the werewolves and vampires threads...

Oh, and I always appreciate your posts !!! Not just in threads that I write but everywhere on this website !!

~Son.

P.S. Even though these threads should be fun, there are no where close to what you've done with your Earths Unsolved X-Files threads !!!

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[align=center][color=gold]***** Talamasca Part One - An Added File *****[/align]

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Here is another interesting case that not only should tickle your imagination but the historical facts behind it are good enough to have a movie under production. A movie that has not surfaced yet even though there is a trailer that has been out for a few years now.

The Witches of Whitewater File

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The Oak Grove Cemetery

What most of us know about Whitewater are of a fine university, great parks and our old neighbors to the north located in the northwest corner of Walworth County, Wisconsin. But, what many of us don't know are the things that lurk in the shadows there and ignite the subconscious in uncharted areas deep in the mind.

It all starts in 1888, when a certain Mr Pratt buys a property and decides to grant it with a fine institution of learning, learning which will consist of the regular academics along with studies of the occult.

The problem with this case is that the legend stipulates that at the same time that these events took place, a coven of witches were already practicing their craft in the surroundings of the Oak Grove Cemetery nearby.

The most interesting part of the story is that the witches had written a book, a book that somehow fell in the hands of some students. Four of those students committed suicide after turning its pages.


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The Anderson Library Basement

Although some think that the book is now sealed under key lock underneath the library, present community members and workers of the Anderson Library deny its very existence, the cursed “Book of Witches” is supposedly just a myth.

No one knows the truth. And no one probably ever will.

Here is a clip project done by students a few years back which contains parts of the trailer of “The Witches of Whitewater”. Interesting, isn’t it?:





Read more HERE.


Sometimes, perhaps, some things are better left untouched.

~Son.

I'm actually eager for the next threads. Thanks! Bitchin stuff!

reply to post by Mr Headshot


Glad you liked it so far !!

I appreciate and it's always encouraging to get feedback. Thank You !!

The second part The Talamasca Files - Part Two - Spirits can be found here.

Hope you enjoy. As I would recommend closing all the lights and be in complete silence and darkness to read those files, it might be a good idea to wait after Christmas has passed...

Merry Christmas Everybody !!!

Looks a very interesting read....which i'll do over the holiday.
S+F for the hard work !

reply to post by lambros56


Thank you!

And I sure hope you'll enjoy !!

The Talamasca Files parts 1+2 along with Earth's unsolved X-Files are by far my favorite threads on ATS. Thank you.

reply to post by Carreau


Makes me happy to hear that and I am very glad you enjoyed !!

Thank You !!!

The Talamasca Files - Part Three - Werewolves has been posted.

Hope you'll enjoy !!

~Son.