From the Archives featuring David Weatherly

Summary

Paranormal researcher David Weatherly, author of Black Eyed Children and Strange Intruders, explores the idea that strange entities may intrude into our world from another level of existence, and that human belief itself might help create them. He discusses the Philip experiment, the possibly invented ghost of Chloe at the Myrtles Plantation, and the Slender Man as examples of tulpas, or thought-forms brought to life by collective focus. He also recounts his own 1980s encounter with a 'grinning man' in North Carolina, warns about jinn attaching to souvenirs that soldiers bring home from the Middle East, and describes Pukwudgies and 'portal areas' like the Bridgewater Triangle.

Key takeaways

• 1The Philip experiment (Toronto, early 1970s): Canadian parapsychologists invented a fictional ghost, 'Philip Aylesford,' and reportedly got table movement, levitation, and personal information during seances
• 2Bill Murphy's 'Pearl experiment' at the Glen Tavern Inn in California allegedly led to a photograph of a woman in a period dress in a lobby mirror, matching the invented ghost Pearl; Weatherly says it could not be recreated
• 3Weatherly claims 'Chloe,' the famous ghost of the Myrtles Plantation, never existed: there is no record of her, and the children in the story actually died of yellow fever. He suggests visitors' belief may be 'co-creating a tulpa'
• 4Slender Man began as part of a 2009 forum Photoshop contest. Weatherly quotes a forum post: 'he exists because you thought of him. Now try and not think of him'
• 5Weatherly describes a 1980s North Carolina encounter with a grinning figure in a hat and long coat who appeared in the middle of the road within seconds. That night a nearby house was struck by lightning and a UFO was reported; John Keel urged him to look for more UFO reports from the period
• 6Weatherly claims military personnel return from Iraq with souvenirs said to contain jinn, followed by poltergeist activity, illness, financial loss, and voices posing as dead relatives. He also discusses Wampanoag legends of Pukwudgies defeating the giant hero Maushop and lists portal areas including the Bridgewater Triangle, Bennington Triangle, Superstition Mountains, and Skinwalker Ranch

Glossary terms

Source

Transcript excerpt

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Excerpt from Expanded Perspectives, Aug 7, 2026. Rights remain with the original creators. Hear the full episode at the source.