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The ghostly moving tombstone
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D B Sweeney



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 2842
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 1:15 am    Post subject: The ghostly moving tombstone Reply with quote

The village of Aalsum - Fryslan, Holland

In February 2009 the family of a recently buried man were shocked to find his tombstone out of place by a considerable distance and blamed local vandals. After finding this happening on three occasions they reported the desecration to the Police who responded by placing a hidden camera in front of the burial place.

What the hidden camera footage captured seemed to defy logic. Anna Van deer Meer, speaking on behalf of the Fryslan Police, told the media "It's absurd, and it really gave me the creeps." and continued "When I saw the video I was flabbergasted. You can see the stone slide aside, almost falling to the floor. Then it comes to a halt against another gravestone next to it, leaving the tomb open."
The perplexed police officer added, "How is that possible? I don't know, the lid weighs 400 kilos. Furthermore, in the video you can clearly see that the stone is standing still then unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, it slides over a distance of about a yard. I have never seen anything like this in my whole career. We have no possible explanation. "

No heavy traffic is reported to move through the village and there seems to be no previous history of mysterious moving tombstones in the Graveyard. The church itself dates to approximately 1200 AD. There have been no recorded earthquakes in the area.

So is this a genuine mystery, are paranormal forces at work?. There is unquestionable police evidence that shows the tombstone moving on its own so what could be causing this - is it ghosts, demons or could there be a more logical explanation?.

Written by DB with thanks to Massimo Polidoro.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aalsum_(Friesland)

http://www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2009/02/update_bewegende_grafsteen.html#more
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flossy
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Joined: 17 Oct 2006
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Location: UK tyne/wear (geordie land)

PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wow that is a strange one, wounder what it could be??
that second link was foreign so couldnt read it Sad
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D B Sweeney



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 2842
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Certainly an odd case given the footage and the police testimony. This got mentioned on some forums and the default conclusions were that it was a supernatural event. However an examination of the facts will provide the most likely explanation.

DB


Last edited by D B Sweeney on Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:05 am; edited 1 time in total
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flossy
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Location: UK tyne/wear (geordie land)

PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 12:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

and do you have an explanation for it?
im thinking maybe something to do with soil its sat on??
just a thought lol

have you seen the footage?
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D B Sweeney



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 2842
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do have an explanation Flossy. The footage is not being made available due to the Dutch law on Police evidence. There is a picture of the tomb on the link I provided.

DB
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flossy
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 1:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i saw the picy Wink
so you gonna let us in on it then Wink lol why do you think it moves on its own?
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D B Sweeney



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 2842
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 2:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

flossy wrote:
i saw the picy Wink
so you gonna let us in on it then Wink lol why do you think it moves on its own?


Based on the testimony of the police officers (the tape was not made available for examination due to Dutch law on the Protection of Police Information) the video footage shows only a straight downward movement of the tombstone from the top - sliding to the bottom of the tomb. The tombstone didn't move sideways or upwards (as was reported in some media). The time of the recording indicated that the movement occurred in the afternoon (who said ghosts only come out at night?) and the tape also shows sunny conditions with some melting snow or ice on the tombstone - this was February in lowland Holland remember.

The movement was almost certainly caused by a combination of water, ice and the right weather conditions . Water would have entered the crevice (due to melting snow or ice) between the tombstone lid and the supporting rectangular sub structure. It would then (due to a drop in temperature) have frozen, becoming ice and therefore expanding enough to make the contact between tombstone lid and tomb considerably reduced.
Add to this the fact that the graveyard is on the slight slope of the hill that the village is built upon and therefore the tomb is at an angle and we have the right mechanics in place for a movement by gravity that built by momentum.
Once the afternoon sun warmed the smooth black granite of the tomb the ice would have melted and considerably reduced the friction between the lid and the sub structure beneath - gravity did the rest.

This is supported by the church sexton Tjerk Smits who confirmed that each time the tombstone moved the weather conditions were always the same - a cold night with temperatures in minus figures with snow and ice on the tombstone followed by sunny conditions the next day.

Now, without the above explanation, imagine how this would be interpreted - genuine unquestionable police evidence with seemingly no logical explanation?.....ghosts must have done it Rolling Eyes

Thanks to the efforts of Massimo Polidoro (head of the Italian Sceptics group CICAP and the Stitching Sceptics in Holland who researched the case).

Sources: Skeptical Inquirer Vol 34.2 March/April 2010 - Massimo Polidoro The mystery of the moving tombstone.

DB
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flossy
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 4:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ah right, makes sense Wink
i think with it been in a graveyard (obviously) people automatically came up with the conclusion of it been a ghost
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D B Sweeney



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 2842
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

flossy wrote:
ah right, makes sense Wink
i think with it been in a graveyard (obviously) people automatically came up with the conclusion of it been a ghost


Any strange occurence, whether it's in a graveyard or home or workplace could be incorrectly labelled as paranormal if the people that hear about it or actually witness it are predisposed to a belief in the paranormal.
The very nature of the internet allows poor reporting that omits the full facts behind a case thus people draw conclusions without seeing the bigger picture. With this particular case it could well be reported in a way that makes it look very much like this is a cut and dried case of paranormal activity by the careful omission of the weather conditions, properties of the tombstone, topographical details and even basic classroom science.
Confirmation bias and logical fallacies are a huge issue when it comes to what people perceive and subsequently report on forums.

I posted this case as an example that will hopefully enlighten and provide an example of how investigative research can turn the unknown into the known and the unexplained into the explained.

DB
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