Re: Anyone remember the story about an old computer ghost?

Ghostisfort said:
DiocletianX said:
I seem to remember reading somewhere years ago about a computer - probably a BBC Micro or Vic20 type thing (it was LONG before the internet) that had apparently started getting messages from a ghost or a person from the future or something.
Sorry to be vague, I can't really remember it all, which is why I'm asking :lol:
The following was communicated by someone calling himself Thomas Harden. The message was looked at by experts in archaic language and staff at the OED. None of them could detect a hoaxer at work...

Enjoy...

"Myne goodly friend, I muste needs say, how cometh this, that there are manye thyngs for whiche I hath no rekenyng. me thinketh it, that if thou cannot telle thee for what are in myne home, then I can namoor helpe yow than if myne witts had gone. I hath no kinfolk to fynd, myne wif was wreched with thy pestilence and the Lord didst take here soule and her unbore son (1517). Myne farme 'tis humble but it hath a pretty parcel o land, it hath redstoon footynges and cleen rushes on myne beteen floor. This season I hath much to do, I hath to sow myne barley for myne ale, 'tis that is myne craft and for whiche I am beste atte I fancy. Also I hath to go to Nantwhiche to myne cowthe freend Richard Wishal whois farme be so greet as as to turn a four yeer rotacion o fallow. I do envye him he hath much there, but nought that delits me moor than his cheese it cannot be equalled by any other for pleasantness of taste and wholsomness of digestion. I shall als calle atte Nantwyche Market 'tis not so great as Cestre market by thy crios but 'tis of som desport. I shall need to go to Cestre this season to get myne soes, myne goodly freend Tomas Aldersay, a tailor by craft, makes them sometymes, I als mayketh soes but non of myne swyne are reedy 'tis far costly unlest I need kil one. Do you knoweth the country of Cestre the Water Gate is a plas that bringeth many traders 'tis a shame the port doth shrink I can record greet shipps now they grow small by each tyde, but Cestre port is still greeter than that o Leverpoole I am oft to the east wall of Cestre. Cow Lane, 'tis not so tyresome than that bt the crios that it when myne fowl or swyne doth not trip up myne poore body I hear telle that thou art a teache in Hawardine doth yow meeneth Haodine cloth, thou still earn thy greetly sum of twenty pounds per yeer I recorde myne unfavourable dean Henry Mann, who is likened to a fissh "If any boy shal appear naturally avers to learning aft fair trial he shalt be expelled else wher lest lik a drone he should devour the bees honey."
Ney I cannot make merry on holy day for feer of myne lif myne freen was once a floytinge on a holy day did that hus ears pinned to thy wood bloc methinks when thou sayeth Dodleston yow meaneth Dudlestun. Myne Queen is of cource Katherine Parr."

Strange Encounters, Author Unknown, Paragon, Bath, 2000. pp. 193, 194


Although the author is not stated, I have feeling that it is Tom Slemen - am actually awaiting clarification on that. He writes a lot about paranormal events in this area.
Here's his website if you're interested.

Tom Slemen's website

So there you go - make of it what you will.

The book also says that the SPR investigated but backed off after being told that they could have the answer to a question they left, but only if the investigator was willing to lose his soul.

Hope you find this useful/interesting.

Peace,

MGGG
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread286389/pg2
Actually, according to the article in "Fortean Times" dated March 1998, the message here quoted was from a entity calling himself Lucas Wainman. This message was used for analysis by Laura Wright a lecturer in English at Lucy Cavendish college, Cambridge. Ken Webster, the guy at the centre of these phenomena, was unhappy that this passage was chosen, as he himself did not feel it was representative of the usual messages he was recieving from Thomas Harden among others and believed that it carried some historical inaccuracies.
 
I noticed yesterday that we have a copy of The Vertical Plane here. Looked at its price on Amazon, 2nd hand, and it's £35 and more. :shock:

How can it be worth that much, I wonder? It's not even that good a read!
 
escargot1 said:
I noticed yesterday that we have a copy of The Vertical Plane here. Looked at its price on Amazon, 2nd hand, and it's £35 and more. :shock:

How can it be worth that much, I wonder? It's not even that good a read!

Yeah, it's a case of an interesting story badly told, but £35?! And I gave mine away to the charity shop! Bet they didn't charge that much either!
 
Whereas Michael Pennington's book can be picked up for 44p.

:lol:
 
A long long time ago someone asked about a documentary about a ghost that was communicating via a computer.

I remembered it was a series called 'Out of this world' in 1996 with Carol Vorderman and Chris Choi.

It was split over two episode and they have recently appeared on youtube.



It's the last article on both episodes.
 
This just came back to me. I’ve searched it on here but can’t find it. I can’t believe it’s not here though.


‘The Ghost in the Computer

We are all familiar with the accounts of spirits communicating through knocks and mediums at seances, through divination tools such as Ouija boards... even through electronic voice phenomena (EVP) captured on audiotape. Quite rare, however, are the accounts of spirits communicating with the living through computers.

One possible case took place in the autumn of 1984. At this time, home computers were fairly new; the Internet and e-mail were non-existent. Yet Ken Webster of Dodleston, England received messages on his personal computer screen from a being who seems to have lived in the 1500s.

Previous to the messages, Webster had been experiencing strange poltergeist activity in his small terraced house called Meadow Cottage, which was in the process of being renovated. Most of the activity focused in the kitchen where Webster would experience stacked objects, unexplained marks on the walls, noises and an occasional thrown object.

Webster was a teacher who had access to one of these primitive computers - by today's standards, a laughably "weak" machine with 32K of memory, a simple word processor and an external 5.25" floppy disk drive. It certainly had no network connection of any kind. One day, Webster left, forgetfully leaving the computer on. When he returned, there was a message on the screen in the form of a poem, written in what seemed to be Elizabethan English. Webster dismissed it as a prank, but saved it on disk. Two weeks later, a second messages appeared, which said, in part:

"Wot strange wordes thou speke, although I muste confess that I hath also bene ill-schooled... thou art a goodly man who hath fanciful women who dwel in myne home... 'twas a greate cryme to hath bribed myne house."

Webster began to write responses to the messages, which began a dialog with a personage who identified himself as Tomas Harden who claimed to have lived in the very same cottage during the mid-sixteenth century. Besides using the computer, Harden also left messages on blank pieces of paper and in chalk on the home's walls and floor.

An investigation could not uncover any hoax or offer any explanation, although linguistic experts concluded that the style of the writing was not genuine to the time period claimed - it was a phony Tudor style. And while the "dialogue" was taking place between Webster and Hardin, the poltergeist activity subsided. Yet later, other psychic phenomena took place, and messages in other voices appeared. Ken Webster later wrote a book about these experiences.’

From here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=95&t=480383
 
Could be pre loaded in the memory. Or part of one of those early role play computer games. Or someone else could connect via an atomic battery or quartz crystal if that model of computer had either. Or it could be British Intelligence Jumping Jack Flash. Where's my girl Whoopee Goldberg? :)
 
Could be pre loaded in the memory. Or part of one of those early role play computer games. Or someone else could connect via an atomic battery or quartz crystal if that model of computer had either. Or it could be British Intelligence Jumping Jack Flash. Where's my girl Whoopee Goldberg? :)
.

I don’t think it was loaded in the memory they had hardly any in those days. I remember we had one that took three floppies (that were floppy) just to boot it up and I think that was the early 90s
 
This just came back to me. I’ve searched it on here but can’t find it. I can’t believe it’s not here though.


‘The Ghost in the Computer

We are all familiar with the accounts of spirits communicating through knocks and mediums at seances, through divination tools such as Ouija boards... even through electronic voice phenomena (EVP) captured on audiotape. Quite rare, however, are the accounts of spirits communicating with the living through computers.

One possible case took place in the autumn of 1984. At this time, home computers were fairly new; the Internet and e-mail were non-existent. Yet Ken Webster of Dodleston, England received messages on his personal computer screen from a being who seems to have lived in the 1500s.

Previous to the messages, Webster had been experiencing strange poltergeist activity in his small terraced house called Meadow Cottage, which was in the process of being renovated. Most of the activity focused in the kitchen where Webster would experience stacked objects, unexplained marks on the walls, noises and an occasional thrown object.

Webster was a teacher who had access to one of these primitive computers - by today's standards, a laughably "weak" machine with 32K of memory, a simple word processor and an external 5.25" floppy disk drive. It certainly had no network connection of any kind. One day, Webster left, forgetfully leaving the computer on. When he returned, there was a message on the screen in the form of a poem, written in what seemed to be Elizabethan English. Webster dismissed it as a prank, but saved it on disk. Two weeks later, a second messages appeared, which said, in part:

"Wot strange wordes thou speke, although I muste confess that I hath also bene ill-schooled... thou art a goodly man who hath fanciful women who dwel in myne home... 'twas a greate cryme to hath bribed myne house."

Webster began to write responses to the messages, which began a dialog with a personage who identified himself as Tomas Harden who claimed to have lived in the very same cottage during the mid-sixteenth century. Besides using the computer, Harden also left messages on blank pieces of paper and in chalk on the home's walls and floor.

An investigation could not uncover any hoax or offer any explanation, although linguistic experts concluded that the style of the writing was not genuine to the time period claimed - it was a phony Tudor style. And while the "dialogue" was taking place between Webster and Hardin, the poltergeist activity subsided. Yet later, other psychic phenomena took place, and messages in other voices appeared. Ken Webster later wrote a book about these experiences.’

From here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=95&t=480383
Astonishing Legends are covering this in their latest episiode.

https://www.astonishinglegends.com/al-podcasts/2021/9/25/ep-217-the-vertical-plane-part-1
 
This thread needs a rename.

Ken Webster and The Vertical Plane don't come up easily in searches on'ere. No thread has the phrase The Vertical Plane in the title.

The case is important if only because it expresses the dissonance often felt in the face of new technology: put simply, to outsiders it looks like magic or the supernatural.

As this thread mentions Webster and the book a lot, with various relevant threads merged into it, perhaps the phrase The Vertical Plane should be included in the title.
 
This thread needs a rename.

Ken Webster and The Vertical Plane don't come up easily in searches on'ere. No thread has the phrase The Vertical Plane in the title.

The case is important if only because it expresses the dissonance often felt in the face of new technology: put simply, to outsiders it looks like magic or the supernatural.

As this thread mentions Webster and the book a lot, with various relevant threads merged into it, perhaps the phrase The Vertical Plane should be included in the title.

As I don't have the book, I'm working on quotes given during the podcast, (they have a copy).

"Fairy gold" - first mentioned by Shakespeare, so later than Lukas.

Fishing for salmon and Herring in the river Dee - Still trying to figure out it Shad, ( a name for freshwater herring), was a name in the 1600th
century as Lukkas mentioned he fishes for salmon and herring and he cannot mean regular herring.
 
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This thread needs a rename.

Ken Webster and The Vertical Plane don't come up easily in searches on'ere. No thread has the phrase The Vertical Plane in the title.

The case is important if only because it expresses the dissonance often felt in the face of new technology: put simply, to outsiders it looks like magic or the supernatural.

As this thread mentions Webster and the book a lot, with various relevant threads merged into it, perhaps the phrase The Vertical Plane should be included in the title.
Done.
 
I love The Vertical Plane for several reasons.

1. It was such an obvious hoax.
2. It happened nearish to where I live.
3. Around the same time, my family too had the use of BBC computers which was still rare.
4. People believed it because they didn't understand the technology.

(4) reminds me of the huge potential for fraud found in early photography by miscreants.

One of the biggest exploiters of alleged Spirit Photography, William Hope, was based in Crewe only 30 miles away.
Although Hope was repeatedly proved to be faking images of dead people in the 1920s he was still believed because the operations of the technology were not widely known.
 
I noticed yesterday that we have a copy of The Vertical Plane here. Looked at its price on Amazon, 2nd hand, and it's £35 and more. :shock:

How can it be worth that much, I wonder? It's not even that good a read!

The book is selling for hundreds of pounds now.

0FBFFACB-A962-4A33-BD4C-3215D0E5B291.jpeg


The story has just been featured on Astonishing Legends. They didn’t really come down on either side of whether they thought it was true or a hoax. Though I felt towards the end of the second episode they were hinting towards elaborate hoax.

I’m in the middle of reading an ePub version that is available.

Me, so obvious a hoax from day one, but what fascinates me is trying to work out how it was done.
Who, the girlfriend with the help of someone, likely the paranormal researcher recommended by 2109.

The AL crew mention an Internet forum that the paranormal researcher and the girlfriend still answer questions on to this day.

My alternative theory is that it is 100% a work of fiction by the elusive Ken Webster.
 
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As I don't have the book, I'm working on quotes given during the podcast, (they have a copy).

"Fairy gold" - first mentioned by Shakespeare, so later than Lukas.

Fishing for salmon and Herring in the river Dee - Still trying to figure out it Shad, ( a name for freshwater herring), was a name in the 1600th
century as Lukkas mentioned he fishes for salmon and herring and he cannot mean regular herring.
Here’s a link to an ePub on archive.org

https://archive.org/details/the-vertical-plane-ken-webster
 
Well, they are asking that price! :thought:
It’s ridiculous. It’s not even particularly well written. I found it awkward to read in dinner places and got completely confused as to what was happening.

I think ultimately that it was a complete work of fiction by Ken and his friends that got out of hand.
 
a complete work of fiction by Ken and his friends that got out of hand.

The video makes the interesting point that the book did not appear until some five years after the events.

The origins probably lie in the dynamics of the household. Ken does not appear to have been profit-motivated - the national press merely picking-up the local newspaper coverage. Love the pre-internet computer background! :loveu:
 
It is a fascinating story. My first thought was that it was Ken’s girlfriend along with the paranormal investigator they are advised to go to by 2109 pulling an elaborate long-game prank.

If it was a prank and not the complete work of fiction I now believe it to possibly be, I’d love to know how they pulled it off.
 
It’s ridiculous. It’s not even particularly well written. I found it awkward to read in dinner places and got completely confused as to what was happening.

I think ultimately that it was a complete work of fiction by Ken and his friends that got out of hand.

It's a terrible book, really boring. You're better off reading about the case on Wikipedia.
 
Quite a good, new video on the Dodleston computer ghosts.

I had forgotten that they claimed to have contacted the future as well as the Tudor past! o_O

Yet it all seems very much of its own time!
How very odd. YouTube just suggested this video, which has only been there a couple of weeks, to me - but I can't quite figure out why. I'm not logged in but YouTube makes suggestions based on cookies. I really haven't looked at too many Fortean videos. Maybe it's because I followed a few links from this forum?

BTW, I hadn't read this thread before. In fact I only found it when I looked to see if the events on the video had been discussed here.
 
The book is selling for hundreds of pounds now.

View attachment 46694

The story has just been featured on Astonishing Legends. They didn’t really come down on either side of whether they thought it was true or a hoax. Though I felt towards the end of the second episode they were hinting towards elaborate hoax.

I’m in the middle of reading an ePub version that is available.

Me, so obvious a hoax from day one, but what fascinates me is trying to work out how it was done.
Who, the girlfriend with the help of someone, likely the paranormal researcher recommended by 2109.

The AL crew mention an Internet forum that the paranormal researcher and the girlfriend still answer questions on to this day.

My alternative theory is that it is 100% a work of fiction by the elusive Ken Webster.
Bloody hell! I'm going to put my copy up for sale for £362.75, if anyone is interested.
 
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