The gargoyles of Milton Keynes
Check out Spooky Isles to view my guest article on the gargoyles of Milton Keynes….
Reptilian Preconditioning – the extreme conspiracy theory
THE CENTRE MK is currently over-run with dinosaurs (see pictures). Their reign is set to last until September. Even bigger dinosaurs can be found all year round in the Dinosaur Park at the nearby Gulliver’s Land.
The shape of things to come
To most people – this is all good fun. But to the more extreme (some might say paranoid) conspiracy theorists it is evidence of ‘Reptilian Preconditioning.’ They believe that a race of super intelligent reptilian beings, known variously as The Brotherhood, The Annunaki, The Illuminati…(etc) have been secretly ruling the Earth for thousands of years. There are three theories as to the origin of these reptiles:-
• They are from outer space
• They are from another dimension
• They have always been present on earth (possibly descended from dinosaurs)
Our reptilian overlords?
Their leaders live in vast underground caverns and exert their sinister will through a combination of mind control and direct intervention. They (or their human/reptile hybrids) also live among us, and have the ability to shape-shift from human to reptilian form. Some theorists conclude that most world leaders are in fact ‘shape-shifting reptiles’ who only assume their true diabolical form when hidden from public view. The reptilians ultimate aim is to usher in the ‘New World Order’ in which the entire human population will be enslaved. Proponents of this theory point out that we are being increasingly exposed to images of sentient reptiles and reptilian-like creatures through the popular media (for example ‘V’, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jurassic Park, Barney, almost every alien from Sci-Fi…..etc). This is known as preconditioning. The idea is that come the ‘big revelation’ the populous will already be psychologically prepared to accept the existence of reptilian-beings and therefore that much easier to control.
Giant MK Dinosaur
So the question remains: is the dinosaur invasion of Milton Keynes (already recognised as a key Illuminati stronghold) harmless fun, or is it part of a wider scheme to soften us all up for a reptilian takeover?
Coming soon:- hidden pagan sites
More Illuminati architecture…..the Milton Keynes ‘dome’
Illuminati architecture
In his bestselling book The Biggest Secret, uber-conspiracy theorist David Icke reveals (or at least theorises) how the world’s shadowy puppet-masters* mark their most important strongholds with various symbolic structures. One such structure is the dome. Domes are a feminine sign representing the womb (and the moon). To retain a sense of balance an obelisk is normally erected nearby, representing the male phallus or a petrified ray of sun (in homage to the Egyptian Sun god Osiris). Such works are positioned according to sacred geometric principles, allowing them to draw and channel energy.
Large domes can be found in all Illuminati seats of power. Examples include: St Pauls (London), Congress (Washington DC), The Pantheon (Paris), St Peters Basilica (Vatican City) and the Temple Mount (Jerusalem) to name but a few. All have corresponding obelisks nearby.
Not to be outdone, Milton Keynes has The Church of Christ the Cornerstone. Compare the pictures, note the summit, the number of pillars and above all the style….spooky isn’t it? The Milton Keynes dome – which dominates the city-scape – sits immediately adjacent to the Midsummer Ley Line. And of course there is a rather curious obelisk in the city, details of which feature in my book.
Christ the Cornerstone Church (Milton Keynes)
*Icke calls these secret rulers ‘The Brotherhood’ and maintains that they are a reptilian race from another dimension.
A time for healthy scepticism.
I may be interested in all which lies at the edge of our understanding, but I don’t believe everything I read. I am at heart a very suspicious cynic.
Take this for example. On the face of it this appears to be a news report about hauntings in a Milton Keynes pub. Look closer, however, and it seems more likely to be a publicity stunt for a pub under new ownership! I’m sure it’s a lovely pub (I applaud their sense of enterprise and I shall be dining there in the near future) but I think the commercialisation of any ‘haunting’ somewhat dampens it’s authenticity.
Likewise – this tale of UFO’s sighted over Milton Keynes is an excercise in over-sensationalism. It seems pretty clear that it’s nothing more than Chinese Lanterns, which have been blamed for many UFO sightings in recent years (although the comments section is worth a read in itself!).
One doesn’t need to look too hard to find real ghosts and UFO’s in abundance elsewhere.
Pyramids, tunnels, alien abductions and a conspiracy of silence…
Milton Keynes Pyramid
In the Kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is King
In June 2012 - this gigantic pyramid was erected on the Belvedere in Campbell Park. The Belvedere is not only smack bang on the Midsummer Ley Line, but is also the highest point in the city, meaning that this pyramid not only dominates Milton Keynes but is visible for miles across Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. At night, it lights up, sending what looks like a laser beam into the heavens. This is but one of dozens of pyramids scattered throughout the city. Pyramid structures are heavily associated with occult ritual and the Illuminati, and have many other esoteric ties.
We now turn our attention beneath the city, where there is rumoured to be a vast network of tunnels. In the photo below, one can make out a hidden doorway (on the left) cut into brickwork near the Jury’s Inn in the city centre – some speculate that this is one of the entrances to the subterranean underworld of Milton Keynes.
At this juncture, let us examine three fictional places:-
In The Witches and the Grinnygog, by Dorothy Edwards, three medieval witches settle in an unnamed modern town. The townsfolk slowly realise there is pre-Christian magic working in their midst, and they quietly accept the new order.
In his novel The Midwich Cukoos, John Wyndham tells of the village of Midwich: one night a mysterious event cuts off the village from the ouside world, thereafter the women folk are miraculously found to be pregnant: they give birth to alien-like children and the villagers conspire to keep their secret from the outside world.
In the movie An American Werewolf in London, two naive young tourists venture into the Slaughtered Lamb pub on the Yorkshire Moors, where the locals maintain an unspoken pact to hide the curse of the local werewolf.
These are well known examples of places where something is amiss. In each case – subconciously or otherwise – the locals all know. They all share the secret, but no one talks about it. The observant visitor might pick up on the vibes, they might notice anomalies, they might even ask awkward questions…..but the locals will change the subject, feign ignorance, or otherwise take steps to avoid facing up to the reality of their chosen abode.
Some say that Milton Keynes is such a place: patriotically defended by it’s residents, whilst mocked and derided by outsiders. It is a city where UFO / Alien Abductions like this one are all too common. It is a city riddled with stone circles, weird symbols and strange installations. I have barely scratched the surface here: check out my book for the full lowdown on the city of secrets.
Hag Stones
My own Hag Stones
Many ancient, rural settlements have been swallowed up inside the boundaries of Milton Keynes. In some such places country lore and superstition linger on. One visible manifestation of this traditional wisdom is the Hag Stone, a talisman which can still be found dangling from gateposts and doorways in the more untouched reaches of the borough.
Hag Stones (also known as Witch Stones, Fairy Stones, Holy Stones or Eye Stones) are stones which have naturally occurring holes running through them. These holes are formed by centuries of wave or water action. It is this association with running water (which itself is said to negate the effect of evil) that is believed to give the Hag Stone the power to guard against sinister forces and the Evil Eye.
In times gone by it was common practice to hang a Hag Stone over the front door to ward off evil spirits; they would also be nailed to stable doors to prevent witches from riding the livestock. Fisherman and sailors would tie Witch Stones to their boats to keep the jinx at bay. A Fairy Stone, hung above the bed, is supposed to aid a restful nights sleep. Small Holey Stones were worn on necklaces for protection, or used in the treatment of rheumatism, cramp and other ailments. They were also seen as fertility charms.
It is said that if you look through the hole of the stone you will see the invisible elemental spirits and creatures of the faerie world (just like in The Spiderwick Chronicles!). Some believe that the stones only share their magic with their finder. A Hag Stone Knot – a cord threaded through multiple Hag Stones – can be seen hanging in The Natural History Museum in London.
Some dismiss such folk remedies as anachronisms, but I think their presence provides a spark of wonder to enrich an otherwise sterile modern mono-culture.
Illuminati symbols in the most unexpected places…
Illuminati symbol in Wolverton
The Illuminati like to keep busy. According to popular conspiracy theory, they spend much of their working day flying sinister black helicopters around the countryside, mutilating cattle and honing their diabolical plan for the New World Order.
Interesting to note, therefore, that despite the Illuminati’s hectic schedule, their reptilian overlords still allow them the time to daub graffiti in obscure locations around Milton Keynes. The other day I was walking down an alleyway between Jersey Road and Anson Road in Wolverton, when I came across this unsettling peice of urban artwork on a garage door. A subtle, but unmistakably Illuminati symbol, it shows the ‘all seeing eye’ peering from the capstone of a pyramid. This symbol can also be found on the American dollar bill and a quick internet search (or read a Dan Brown novel) will tell you all you need to know about this strange image.
There are loads of purported Illuminati symbols and structures throughout Milton Keynes, and I have documented the biggest and most obvious in my book, but new, obscure and minor references are constantly being discovered throughout the city
The legend of The Caulbearer
Caulbearer: an enigmatic anomaly
This article (which I wrote) originally appeared on the fantastic Spooky Isles website. It is reproduced here with their kind permission.
FROM TIME TO TIME a baby will be delivered in an unbroken amniotic sac (bag of waters) or with some of the amnion (membrane) covering their face. They are said to be born ‘behind the veil’, and are known as Caulbearers. Such children have, for centuries, been both feared and revered.
My own interest in the Caulbearer phenomenon is more than purely academic. Until 2007 I had never heard of a ‘caul’ let alone a ‘Caulbearer’, but in August of that year my own son was born pre-term (as most Caulbearers tend to be) entirely en-caul in Milton Keynes General Hospital. Delivering an en-caul baby was a first for all but one member of the labour team. For the senior midwife, an experienced practitioner with many years’ service, it was only the second such birth she had encountered in her career: eerily, her first had taken place the day before on the very same ward! Despite the clinical modern surroundings, the midwife explained that it was a lucky omen and that the boy was destined never to drown. She offered us the caul, but to my regret we declined.
It is estimated that somewhere between one in a 1000 and one in 80,000 babies are born with a caul. Some draw a distinction between those born with the simple face ‘helmet’ and those born en-caul (completely encased in the amniotic sac), but as with all such folklore there is no definitive criteria specifying which of the two ‘styles’ is or is not a true Caulbearer, and determination varies between cultures.
In medieval Britain, the birth of a Caulbearer could apparently be predicted in advance by certain ‘wise folk’, and their arrival was generally seen as a good omen. The child was considered blessed, and destined for greatness. The caul itself was highly prized, and was preserved (by drying or smoking) as a charm to ward off evil.
Possession of a caul was said to bestow good fortune upon the owner, and in particular to protect them from drowning (an ability shared with the Caulbearer himself). Up until the early 1900’s, this purported ability made preserved cauls popular talismans amongst sailors, who would use them as bible covers.
There are many other myths associated with Caulbearers. In Scotland and Scandanavia, the Caulbearer is attributed with psychic powers. Tibetan Buddhists seek out Caulbearers as future Dalai Lamas, whilst in Egypt the caul-child is considered to be a mystic. The Hmong people believe that Caulbearers are reincarnated monarchs, the sac being part of their past attire, and they will aim to return the preserved caul to the original bearer at their funeral to pass good luck to future incarnations.
Not all cultures consider the Caulbearer to be blessed. In Eastern European it is feared that the caul-child will rise as a vampire after death, or transform into a werewolf. To prevent such a fate the caul might be dried, ground, and fed to the child on its seventh birthday. Alternatively the preserved caul could be nailed to the front door in order that prowling monsters would recognise a fellow cursed soul and leave the household in peace.
Whilst caul births are rare at the best of times, they are especially so in modern societies where the majority of babies are delivered in hospitals. Today, if the amniotic sac does not rupture naturally, it is routinely broken with an amni-hook (a hooked, wooden spatula) in the belief that it will hasten the birth.
Whether there is any truth in the legends is debatable. My son hasn’t yet displayed any preternatural abilities, and the only time he howls is when his older sister winds him up… but I shall be keeping a close eye on him!
Monster Baby of Stony Stratford
In his book Mysterious Northamptonshire, Daniel Codd relates the heart wrending tale of the Monster Baby of Stony Stratford. The detail comes from a pamphlet published in 1566 entitled: ‘The True Fourme & Shape Of A Monstrous Chyld Which Was Borne In Stony Stratforde’.
At 7am on the 26th January, 1565, a curiously deformed infant was born to an unnamed woman in Stony Stratford. The childs father, one Rychard Sotherne, had abandoned the mother-to-be long before the birth. The child is said to have had two female bodies, with two sets of perfectly formed lower limbs. From the navel upwards the bodies merged into one huge misshapen head. Upon this head were two eyes, one nose, a mouth and three ears – one of which was on the back of the head. The screaming baby was given an emergency baptism by the midwife, but died two hours later. The Elizabethans were less compassionate than we are today, and the body of the poor infant was not allowed to rest in peace. Instead the corpse was preserved, then taken on a tour of the country as part of a travelling freakshow. The body ended up on permanent display in London where it proved to be a popular attraction. Today we would recognise this tragedy as some sort of parasitic or Siamese twin. At the time, however, it was accepted as the divine punishment for an illegitimate birth.
