Inklings of Prague
Moving forward on Prague’s direction, here’s the list of things that may caught Goldstein’s attention:
- Tycho Brahe’s grave. This famous astronomer, astrologer and alchemist was buried inside the Church of Our Lady in front of Tyn.
- Old Town’s astronomical clock. Some people consider that this fascinating mechanical work of art has foretelling magical power. There was (or still is) also a popular belief that the Orloj is cursed.
- The church’s towers. They were not built symmetrical (much in the Gothic fashion). It seems that one of them represents a universal masculine principle, while the other its complementary feminine. Solomon’s temple presented also this same esoteric design in its entrance columns named Jachim and Boaz.
- Solomon Molkho’s personal objects. Before he died, my grandfather mentioned to me that he was studying Molkho’s incredible life and works. The Jewish museum of Prague exhibits now some artifacts that belonged to this exceptional kabbalist.
- The Golem or anything that might be slightly associated with this legendary folktale.
- John Dee, Edward Kelley and Thaddaeus Hayeck, all of them of extreme importance in the History of Alchemy and the Occult.
These are the main topics that I can think of right now. As an Astronomy devotee and an amateur astrologer himself, Goldstein could have been attracted to the first ones, while his studies of Mysticism should lead me to investigate the last guesses on this list.
Someone asked me also if my grandfather knew Prague and if he visited its Old Town district. I know for sure that he traveled to the Czech capital at least once. It was in the ’70s, when he went there to meet some prestigious rabbi. He visited also the Altneuschul (The Old New Synagogue); the tradition affirms that the Golem’s remains still rests in its attic. So, yes, he had a first-hand impression of this quite enchanted city.
I want to finish this post with a comment sent by a distrustful reader. He asked me why don’t to ask my grandfather directly. If it’s true that he communicates with me, who better than Goldstein himself to disclose which was the hidden video and answer all my questions? I completely agree with this reader’s point of view… I already planned to interrogate my grandfather in his next appearance, whenever it will occur. I’m still waiting for a new manifestation. In fact, I’m writing now with the Spica on and the white noise interference at its full volume.
The video location was pinned down
My Internet connection went down for a couple of days. ¿The causes? Another enigma. I called my ISP’s Tech Support but they sweared they didn’t notice any signal loss, whatsoever. Anyway, in the meantime, I took advantage of this situation and used my time to listen to the white noise on my grandfather’s radio. I’ve meticulously gave ear to the vintage artifact’s static for long hours, and later, I even audited several passages of recorded material. Goldstein didn’t appear, though.
The connection was finally reestablished and, to my surprise, I found tons of emails waiting in my inbox. I decided to answer each and everyone of them before writing this very post. The messages were insightful and sharp, and provided some incredibly brilliant finds that will surely lead me towards the evasive YouTube video I’m looking for. This is a compilation of some wise hints and questions I received:
- Since the file description starts with “Bo” and the last part of the word in the poster hanging in the wall ends with “on”, the name of the place where the video was taken could be a combination of these two word units. Something like “Bon” or “Bo(…)on”.
- If my grandfather was emotionally attached to that place, the first guess should be somewhere in Romania, where he was born, or Argentina, where he lived since he was 13.
- The pictured building reminds a museum or some construction of cultural interest.
- The bald man has his stiff arms leaned forwards so he might be pushing something.
- The video is 36 seconds long, and the snapshot was taken in the 19th second.
- My grandfather wasn’t logged in (as far as I know he didn’t have an account for YouTube).
- The architectural details of the structures are very European or, at least, resemble those of European building design.
Several readers assure that the footage was shoot in the Old Town district of Prague. They recognized some important elements in the picture:
- The Church of Our Lady in front of Týn, you can see its towers in the small thumbnail at the bottom-right corner of the screen, where YouTube offers some videos related to the one you are seeing.
- The streetlights. You can see for yourself its astonishing similarity. Just compare both, the artifacts depicted in this photo with those in the snapshot that I took:
I think that, taking into account these two last evidences we can tell with accuracy that the Old Town square in Prague is indeed the location. I’m arranging a list of possible spots of interest that my grandfather could have had in Prague, which are quite a few.
I appreciate thoroughly all your supportive messages but please do understand that it’s impossible for me to answer them right away. Be patient, I promise I’ll get back to everyone. But keep in mind that I’m doing this in my always diminishing spare time. My full-time job is consuming all my energies.
I need help to puzzle out Goldstein’s death
My grandfather’s mysterious circumstances of death should be clarified under the light of a YouTube video. The main problem is that I ignore which video is that and, maybe worst, what is the clue I must look for on it… At least I’m sure about one thing: that file will unlock the secrets behind Goldstein’s eerie passing away. This lost video is buried somewhere in YouTube’s database and, even though the task can be considered as insane, I promised myself to find it. The quest is immense, I know. It could even be an impossible deed for just one individual. That’s why, dear reader, I’m asking for your help.
Please take a close look at the following image:
This frame belongs to the video I’m looking for and it’s the only evidence that I have so far, hence the quest starts over here. If you ever saw the entire footage or recognize any detail of this picture please contact me or leave a comment. It would be very helpful to know the name of the user that posted the file, where and when was it filmed, and foremost intriguing, who is that creepy bald man and what the hell was he doing.
Maybe the time has come for me to tell you what exactly happened the day Samuel Goldstein died and the strange reasons that explain why I barely have one isolated movie still of the video he was watching when he passed away…
The following events took place on July 7th. I returned home after midday, as usual, and found my grandfather sat at the computer. He seemed sleeping, though, in a very awkward position. I’ll skip here the gory details, but I remember clearly his opened mouth, his right hand holding tight his own left arm and, specially, the illusion of a disjointed neck. I madly tried to woke him up but he didn’t react. And I panicked… So I called my neighbor, who is a doctor. Fortunately he was at home and hurried instantly to check Goldstein’s health. While he was examining my grandfather’s vital signs I was able to read the bad news on his face: it was already too late… He said the usual comfort phrases, mere common places, and made a couple of phone calls. 15 minutes later two guys in white scrubs were waiting outside the door. These paramedics from the morgue came in and plunked Goldstein in a stretcher, covering him with a filthy sheet. “This is the last glimpse I will take of my grandfather”, I thought with anger. And as I realized that, I started to feel quite lonely, not to say devastated. One of the paramedics broke the solid silence when he asked me to sign some forms and papers authorizing him to only God knows what. Then they took the body. My neighbor left also, after receiving a mobile phone call from his wife. Alone at home now (alone like I’ve never felt before), l finally understood what woe means.
10 minutes later I was still overwhelmed by my home’s complete silence. The fact of Goldstein’s physical absence was irrefutable.
I was standing there in shock, trying to accept this new sensation of void when, looking around me, I saw the computer still on. That really astound me, because in theory I was able to inspect what was my grandfather doing when he died. In theory. The screen showed a paused YouTube video. That bald man frame was suggestive enough to caught my attention immediately. I wanted to see the whole material in its full length,whatever it was, but neither the mouse nor the keyboard were effective. The embedded media player wasn’t paused on purpose, but instead the whole system seemed frozen. And then, some sort of humble revelation struck me: what if the Operative System stopped responding the precise moment when Samuel Goldstein died? This question is not so absurd if you consider the enormous amount of documented cases describing wristwatches failing the very same instant their owners depart. Maybe there is some sort of logical explanation to this phenomenon. I don’t know. Maybe this time the incident had such strength that surpassed the body itself (and the devices attached to it) and reached the equipment he was manipulating…
That darn video… I wasn’t able to study it due to some suspicious software failure. This unexpected plot perturbed me. I instinctively grabbed the camera and took a snapshot of the screen, holding the camera close to the monitor in order to get the most detailed picture as possible. And something very odd happened… Just after I got my image, the system crashed completely with a nasty Blue Screen Of Death. The error seemed severe because I tried to return back to Windows but to no avail. I pressed the reset button and when the computer rebooted there was an imposed checkdisk routine and some ridiculous error message regarding the “fatal error”. Finally, I managed to open the browser’s History but it was gone along with the rest of the sensitive data: cache, cookies, recent documents, etc. That’s why I have no other way to know which video was that but to find it between the gazillons of other files posted in YouTube.
For the perspicacious reader a couple of questions should arouse now:
Was the video paused before the System froze? (I mean, maybe my grandfather left that precise picture as a message for me, and, only after that, Windows failed). Or the file was playing OK and got interrupted incidentally?
I can even think of some more obscure topics to consider: Had this video something to do with Goldstein’s deceasing? And the worst possible scenario: Did that file induce his death in some way or another?
These are all questions that can only be answered with your help.
New paranormal activity test… Null results this time
Encouraged by the successful test I conducted with Piazzolla’s tango, a new idea popped in my mind: What if the tune I used to prove Goldstein’s identity behaves invariably as some sort of “magnetic pole” for my grandfather’s ghost? Can that melody leave the possibility open for contacting him whenever I want? Will it be effective to attract his presence again?
This last week I experimented with that song, playing it several hours a day. But the results were null. My grandfather’s voice did not appear. Not even once.
I guess my hypothesis was wrong, then. It seems that in our last contact he wasn’t just being pulled out from the beyond because of the tune, but instead he wanted to show himself off. Obviously, he still does his own will.
So, the questions now should be: Is there a reason for his spontaneous manifestations? Is he trying to tell me something meaningful? What?
Another obnoxious week
My boss (or should I call him “my exploiter”?) might be one of the most vilest person in this country. His imposed 12 hour workday -without any time off, nor extra payment- is sucking away my strength. This horrendous agenda is far from decent and is pushing his employees to a ridiculous over the edge modern slavery. Anyway, that’s the reason why I had to interrupt my long EVP sessions. These last days were really awful.
Meanwhile, I started to play with Angel’s equipment, recording little bits of white noise, adjusting the parameters to get a clear recording. My plan is to test the voice’s identity this weekend. I’m sort of hopeful about these upcoming experiments. All I need is to get some sleep first…
Paused for awhile. Stopped forever?
I’ve been sick lately, thrown to bed for a couple of days by one of those pests that hangs arround in our modern cities: a common (not to say severe) cold. My bones are stilll aching… I’m very tired also, tired of all this nonsense, tired of tons of sleepless nights hearing the void, tired of the speculation and this weblog altogether.
While in bed I felt a presence floating around my room, specially by night, each time I began falling asleep. I’m seriously thinking about giving up this craziness.
Identity testing
Among other eerie sensations, I’m starting to feel disquiet about what’s happening. I hadn’t hear the voice again for almost 3 weeks now. And, worst of all, I don’t even know for sure that it was my grandfather the one who talked to me. The continuous white noise is driving me nuts… and I think I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere…
Yesterday evening, I talked on the phone with Angel Manoukian. His knowledge is so incredibly profound that I felt overwhelmed with my own abyssal ignorance. Samuel Goldstein’s comments and questionings always caused the same effect in me. And that made me realize how much I miss him.
Manoukian told me that I shouldn’t be so positive about who I listened to. At least not until we can carry out a test to confirm the entity’s identity. He will try to design the custom testing method to proof that and promised to call as soon as possible with a couple of ideas.
Meanwhile the Spica is still on…
Was it my grandfather?
I’ve been exchanging recently some information with the Unexplained Mysteries forum users. They were sincerely helpful and pointed me out some interesting stuff regarding EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) and ITC (Instrumental Transcommunication). One of them, justNormal, posted her prudent thoughts on this matter:
Hi again Matt, As I said, the more you listen and record, the more he will remain Earthbound. PLUS you cannot say with all surety it is your Grandfather. I have a feeling there is more to this, than meets the eye.
Well, that sure is a capital question: How can I tell the voice I heard through the radio was indeed my grandfather’s? The truth is that I can’t. At least not from an objective point of view. There are so many feelings involved in this… That post was very moving for me and made me realize the emotional situation I’m in. To conclude -without any proving fact- that Goldstein himself is the one that tries to communicate with me is way too arbitrary and might be risky at one point or another…
The path of the video
I’m not getting much progress with my last days EVP sessions: tons of hours filled with monotonous white noise and nothing else. From my previous contacts I learned that my grandfather may seem “disappeared” for long periods (at least long for me) and then manifest himself abruptly with the most unexpected entrance. The moral of the story is that I’m not as anxious as I was when all this began.
I’m still thinking about the purport of Goldstein’s last assertive sentence: “Follow the path of the video“. What does that mean? I don’t know for sure…
I see here at least 2 possible interpretations to consider:
Option A. To get some video tape recorder or camera device and start experimenting with it for our future conversations.
May be he wants to show up on some screen to round off there the idea that he expects to communicate. “An image is worth one thousand words”, you know. The odd side of this reasoning is that my grandfather was not an “image” kind of person. Much the opposite, he always relied on words and spoken language (the remains from his early religious talmudic education he received in Romania).
Another argument against this hypothesis is that I’m far from a wealthy position and to acquire these fancy equipment can be my financial coup de grâce. I really doubt that my grandfather objective is to worsen my already complicated (not to say vague) monetary situation.
Maybe I can borrow that gear from Angel Manoukian. I suppose that he ought to have those kind of appliances to conduct his paranormal investigations. But it will be a huge responsibility for me, and I really don’t want to pressure him more than I already did.
Option B. To spell out the exact obscure instant of Goldstein’s passing away…
It may sound strange, but the other day, when I transfered the Spica picture from the camera to my PC I saw a photo that I took a couple of hours after my grandfather died. I completely forgot that intriguing snapshot until then. Perhaps my mind blocked it due to the grief caused by the recent loss… That photo shows a frame from an internet video my grandfather was seeing when he suffered a stroke.
So it is likely that now he wants me to delve in that picture and its apparent relation to his death.
It’s been a heavy week
I’m so damn exasperated with my boss’ forced extra hours policy… Last week I worked more than 12 hours a day and returned home absolutely drained. I played with the Spica for 60 minutes at the most, but without any success. My mood was not the propitious one, I guess.
This past week was not an unproductive one, though. I contacted Angel Manoukian, one of my grandfather’s most advanced and beloved disciples, an authority himself on paranormal research. He will guide me and help me record the next Goldstein’s appearances. He will also lend me a simple device to tape the voice. Angel’s guidance will be fructiferous, as always were our canny dialogues each time he hanged out at home to discuss his ideas with my grandfather.
Tonight, I’ll try to get some EVP again. Maybe yesterday’s full moon manifests itself as a positive influence for the notable materialization of such an anomaly. Will see…