StopSylviaBrowne - Montel: Civil War "Energy Implant"

[RSLancastr]

New article up this morning:

http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/montel_civilwarenergyimplant.shtml
Montel: Civil War "Energy Implant"
A correspondent to the site researches one of Browne's readings.

[LazyPint]

Nice one!

What does Montel mean when he says "they're probably [makes moaning noise] for 1,000 years". Is this just a random number, or (according to Sylvia) do ghosts last 1000 years?

At first I thought he'd made a mistake with the date of the civil war, but as an ex-soldier, he wouldn't do that. Surely.

[Sasha]

Blood dripping down the wall? Wonder why she didn't collect a sample and have it analyzed? Someone joining her in the bath and in bed could be just wishful thinking. The whole scenario sounds like a woman who needs attention and figured out a way to get it.

[Brown]

Good report. Your correspondent is not the only Civil War historian out there, and it seems likely that other Civil War researchers would be a good place to turn. "If I wanted to find out about a soldier--a Confederate whose name was Rodney Campbell and who may have fought at Gettysburg--where would I look?" You might also say you're wondering under what commanders he served (the officers at Gettysburg are very well known), the state from which he came, whether he may have been wounded, and what he did after the War. You might further mention the resources used by your correspondent.

The idea would be to see whether other Civil War researchers consider your correspondent's resources to be relatively good or authoritative, and whether your correspondent's method of research was fairly rigorous.

This notion of spirits being connected to artifacts strikes me as being silly in the extreme. Why would any spirit want to attach itself to any tangible item that is not going to be used or to move or to interact with people on a frequent basis? Most likely, it will spend endless hours in somebody's dusty attic or framed on a table or encased in a shadow box.

And in what sense is Browne's "Be careful" warning in any sense useful? Can these artifacts be tested by objective methods to see if they have spirit residuals (and if they do, we will avoid bringing them into our homes)? If so, pray enlighten us ignorant peons as to how this is done.

[Alice Shortcake]

I wonder how many people - if any - actually bother to research what Browne tells them? I suspect that most people credulous enough to ask for her "help" in the first place will just take her word on trust. :rolleyes:

[Alice Shortcake]

Oops, double post.

[ExMinister]

Interesting article, RSL!

One other thing jumps out at me: This is also another excellent example of Sylvia contradicting herself. In Sylvia's own philosophy, psychic imprints and ghosts are two completely different things. Throughout this clip, she a few times refers to the spirit as a ghost but then also clearly states the opposite, that she believes this is NOT an actual ghost/"person" but an "energy imprint." But what the woman is saying does not even fit Sylvia's OWN criteria of an imprint:

Susan: Right. And since he's served in the service, you know, I'd like to have him, you know, rest in peace. Right.

Browne: Well, I don't think it's so much him as I think what you got is an energy implant. And actually, they're harder to get rid of than if it was a ghost.

The woman states clearly that this "spirit" disturbs the water in her bathtub, climbs into bed with her, and has even said "thank you" to her. In both Phenomenon and Visits From the Afterlife, Sylvia explains the difference between ghosts (also known as earthbound spirits) and energy imprints, as follows: "The important difference, though, is that the people and animals in an imprint are not earthbound, nor are they even 'alive.' Think of them as three-dimensional holograms in a movie that never ends, never changes scenes...The actual participants in whatever created the imprint have long since moved on...But the one thing that will always set an imprint image apart from a ghost is that an imprint image will never ever interact with us, any more than a hologram would, while ghosts, believing they're still as alive as we are, will notice us at the very least and probably do a lot more than that..." (Visits From the Afterlife, p.23-24, softcover version).

My impression is that either she wasn't even listening carefully to what the woman was saying, or that this is another example of her carelessly tossing out information that isn't even consistent with what she said five minutes before. Never mind that since SHE supposedly wrote the books, one would think she'd be familiar with her own views on the subject.

[JoeTheJuggler]

And our favorite Master of English seems to have "implant" and "imprint" confused!

And Montel seems to think the Civil War took place more than 1,000 years ago (as LazyPrint also pointed out).

Cold spots in an old house??!! Why it must be a ghost! (Or ghostly energy or trauma energy or whatever.)

Well done, Marilyn!

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

I'd congratulate you on a job well done but the work and the credit is all Marilyn's. Way to go, Marilyn!

Marilyn sounds like a kindred spirit. :) Just out of curiosity, how many pen pals have you collected throughout this endeavor?

Oh yeah, speaking of 2007, did you get the transcripts I sent you? I thought there might have been a problem, since the file was so large.

[Madalch]

Nice one!

What does Montel mean when he says "they're probably [makes moaning noise] for 1,000 years". Is this just a random number, or (according to Sylvia) do ghosts last 1000 years?

At first I thought he'd made a mistake with the date of the civil war, but as an ex-soldier, he wouldn't do that. Surely.
I think he means that the ghost will be moaning for a thousand years- I don't see that he's implying that the war was a thousand years ago.

[ExMinister]

Nice one!

What does Montel mean when he says "they're probably [makes moaning noise] for 1,000 years". Is this just a random number, or (according to Sylvia) do ghosts last 1000 years?

Yes, it's a just a random number. According to Sylvia, ghosts can last 1000 years - or any other length of time.

[LazyPint]

Thanks for clarifying. It seems to me that Sylvia doesn't really say that much on these things - mostly "yeah", "that's right" "I would, I would". It's just so blatant that she repeats what the guest or Montel says half the time. She doesn't even go into much detail about the mystery soldier - though I suppose it's important to keep lies simple.

Cold reading is an art, but she just doesn't have it.

I also love "if ghosts show up, they show up about like 3:00, 4:00, 1:00, 3:00, 4:00". Does she have to repeat everything she says? Isn't it fairly obvious that ghosts always appear at night? Or at least, that's when they are reported.

[RSLancastr]

Nice one!thanks!

What does Montel mean when he says "they're probably [makes moaning noise] for 1,000 years". Is this just a random number, or (according to Sylvia) do ghosts last 1000 years?I think that was just Montel, and had nothing to do with any Browne theories.

Blood dripping down the wall? Wonder why she didn't collect a sample and have it analyzed?That was my first thought as well.

Good report. Your correspondent is not the only Civil War historian out there, and it seems likely that other Civil War researchers would be a good place to turn.Yes, I had intended to add a request for further research in the Conclusion section, but forgot to do so. Perhaps I will add it in.

This notion of spirits being connected to artifacts strikes me as being silly in the extreme.Ah, but it is not a "spirit." According to Browne, the spirit has moved on, but some sort of imprint was left behind.

I wonder how many people - if any - actually bother to research what Browne tells them?I wonder that as well. And, of those who do research what they were told, how many find nothing, but assume it was their fault.

Interesting article, RSL!Thanks, ExM!

One other thing jumps out at me: This is also another excellent example of Sylvia contradicting herself.Ah, I had wondered about that! I will definitely be adding this to the article - thanks!

And our favorite Master of English seems to have "implant" and "imprint" confused!Funny you should mention that. I had written up the article, and had titled it "Montel: Civil War Energy Imprint" before I noticed that she had said "implant." I assumed it was just her particular term for it, but ExMinister has shown this is not the case.

Well done, Marilyn!Agreed!

I'd congratulate you on a job well done but the work and the credit is all Marilyn's. Way to go, Marilyn! Definitely!

Just out of curiosity, how many pen pals have you collected throughout this endeavor?If by "pen pals" you mean people I have corresponded with multiple times, I have no idea. But a quick check of my email archives shows that I have receved over 6,000 emails, have emailed 2,103 people at least once, that I have sent 5,425 emails. This only counts each email once, so those I send to my Updates mailing list (currently containing over 400 people) only count as one email each.

Oh yeah, speaking of 2007, did you get the transcripts I sent you? I thought there might have been a problem, since the file was so large.Got it, thanks! By the way, when you send those, please put your name in the body of the message. Otherwise, I can't be certain which of my Lex-Nex-using correspondents sent it, and don't know who to thank.

I think he means that the ghost will be moaning for a thousand years- I don't see that he's implying that the war was a thousand years ago.Agreed.

I also love "if ghosts show up, they show up about like 3:00, 4:00, 1:00, 3:00, 4:00". Does she have to repeat everything she says? Isn't it fairly obvious that ghosts always appear at night? Or at least, that's when they are reported.And I love that the reason they show up then is because "that's when the dew is strongest." :confused:

[RSLancastr]

Cold spots in an old house??!! Why it must be a ghost! (Or ghostly energy or trauma energy or whatever.)It did not look that old to me, and according to what I have since found, it was built in 1984.

[Pup]

The idea would be to see whether other Civil War researchers consider your correspondent's resources to be relatively good or authoritative, and whether your correspondent's method of research was fairly rigorous.

A database similar to what she's referring to is this:

http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm

It gives four Union Rodney Campbells, just as she said, one hit for a Confederate R Cambell (without the P), no hits for Rodney Campbell in the CS Army, one hit for Roderick Campbell, in the North Carolina Light Artillery. The only difference is it gives 202, rather than 175, hits for R. Campbell in the Confederate Army.

So it sounds like her database is similar to that, and in fact, they're both probably based on the standard place to go for Civil War soldiers, the records in the National Archives.

The records there certainly aren't 100% complete, but they're pretty good, and are the best compilation of records.

The problem is, of course, that Civil War records are often findable, if the person exists. If the person doesn't exist, well, how do you prove they aren't just missing from the records?

The US Census search through Ancestry.com lists two Rodney Campbells in the 1860 census, one in Pennsylvania and the other in Wisconsin, and the 1870 census is the same plus a child born in 1864. Ancestry.com's database of Civil War soldiers only lists three Rodney Campbells, all Union.

A search of the Official Records turns up no hits for that name. It's another big database, published in multiple volumes in the late 19th century, and contains military correspondence, which sometimes includes even privates cited for bravery or in some other unusual circumstance, though generally the names found would be officers.

In other words, if the option is open that the person might not have existed, that would be my conclusion.

If this were a normal case where I knew the person definitely did exist (someone was asking about their great great grandfather, for example), I'd guess that he either went by another name, by his initials, by another spelling, or there was some similar reason he wasn't showing up in the records. And that's what believers would always fall back on, of course. But honestly, if the ghost announced his name as Rodney Campbell, logic would indicate that that's also how he'd state it to the census taker, the recruiter, etc.

In other words, she picked a common-sounding name, a big battle, a common injury, and hoped for the best, but unfortunately luck wasn't with her.

[Magic 9-Ball]

Thanks, RSL. Another head shaker in my book. It's obvious she'll believe anything Sylvia says as she confirms her belief that there's a haunting going on. I can't conceive that they would fly her in and have her on the program if Sylvia was going to say "No haunting"

I've been to Gettysburg many times. The Welcome Center and many area antique shops have many thousands of artifacts from the War. That's where she should have gone.

When they talk about "ghosts of Gettysburg", they're talking about the memories and sacrifices of these men made in support of their country. The ghost tours are for the tourists.

Sylivia has done this person no favors.

[dudalb]

God, as a hardcore Civil War Buff, I am torn between laughter as some people's stupidity,and horror at their ignorance.
Anybody who has done Civil War Research can tell you this is not even a clever con on Sylvia's part.
And Montel's "Moaning For A Thousand Years" is just jaw droppingly stupid.

[Locknar]

God, as a hardcore Civil War Buff, I am torn between laughter as some people's stupidity,and horror at their ignorance.
Anybody who has done Civil War Research can tell you this is not even a clever con on Sylvia's part.
And Montel's "Moaning For A Thousand Years" is just jaw droppingly stupid.Ditto on all counts. She truly knows no shame, and exposes Montel once again as the toad that he is.

[ExMinister]

And I love that the reason they show up then is because "that's when the dew is strongest." :confused:

Sylvia has been saying for years that psychic ability is at its strongest around water. Water (hence, dew) makes it easier for all sorts of psychic phenomena to manifest, or so the story goes.

[Jackalgirl]

Thanks for clarifying. It seems to me that Sylvia doesn't really say that much on these things - mostly "yeah", "that's right" "I would, I would". It's just so blatant that she repeats what the guest or Montel says half the time. She doesn't even go into much detail about the mystery soldier - though I suppose it's important to keep lies simple.

You noticed that too, huh? I'm wondering, "who's the 'psychic' here? Sylvia or Montel?" She's gotten lazy and is letting him do all the work.

[athon]

Nice work, Rob. So when are you going to condense all of this into a book? Make for one hell of a read, IMO.

Athon

[Kilgore Trout]

Nice article... I'd sure hate to be the husband that finds out a hobby has been given away and then to find out it was based on Sylvia's advice. "Montel said you can just see your stuff at the museum."

[Darth Rotor]

At first I thought he'd made a mistake with the date of the civil war, but as an ex-soldier, he wouldn't do that. Surely.
Montel is not an ex-soldier. He is a former Marine, and was once a Naval Officer.

No soldier. (Yes, I am being nitpicky. I get the gist of your point, though not all soldiers, nor all servicemen, are as interested in military history as, say, I am.)

DR

[LazyPint]

Montel is not an ex-soldier. He is a former Marine, and was once a Naval Officer.

No soldier. (Yes, I am being nitpicky. I get the gist of your point, though not all soldiers, nor all servicemen, are as interested in military history as, say, I am.)

DR

No wonder you won the language award... :)

I would expect most military personnel to have a basic knowledge of their country's military history. Just dates of wars I mean.

[JoeTheJuggler]

It did not look that old to me, and according to what I have since found, it was built in 1984.
So it's probably a 33 year old HVAC system.

Still, I find it telling that believers can go from "a cold draft" to "menacing presence" without looking for more obvious explanations first.

[baron]

Irrespective of the blatant factual errors, the first instinct is to dismiss them all as nutters, which wouldn't be right. Browne is of course a scammer, Williams happily endorses the scam in order to rake in the cash and "Susan" is clealy a woman who, perhaps understandably, wants to get rid of her husband's balls (that's, cannon balls) whilst getting her face on TV at the same time. It's ironic that none of the people on-camera believe any of this garbage, just the audience.

(BTW - why does Williams talk like an over-excited 13-year-old? Is he drunk?)

[RSLancastr]

In other words, she picked a common-sounding name, a big battle, a common injury, and hoped for the best, but unfortunately luck wasn't with her.She seldom is, when it comes to her "readings" and "predictions." Thanks for confirming, Marilyn's research.

I can't conceive that they would fly her in and have her on the program if Sylvia was going to say "No haunting"I have yet to hear Sylvia tell someone that their house does not have either a ghost, a siprit or an "implant." Just as I have yet to hear her tell someone with a blurry picture that the blur is not an angel, ghost, spirit, or whatever.

Anybody who has done Civil War Research can tell you this is not even a clever con on Sylvia's part.That's what I'm hearing!

Ditto on all counts. She truly knows no shame, and exposes Montel once again as the toad that he is.Yup.

Sylvia has been saying for years that psychic ability is at its strongest around water. Water (hence, dew) makes it easier for all sorts of psychic phenomena to manifest, or so the story goes.Ah. Thanks for the info!

Nice work, Rob. So when are you going to condense all of this into a book? Make for one hell of a read, IMO.I'm kicking the idea around!

Nice article... I'd sure hate to be the husband that finds out a hobby has been given away and then to find out it was based on Sylvia's advice. "Montel said you can just see your stuff at the museum.":D

(BTW - why does Williams talk like an over-excited 13-year-old? Is he drunk?)My guess is that he is trying his hardest to make something of nothing. Just an attempt at showmanship.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

.
I have yet to hear Sylvia tell someone that their house does not have either a ghost, a siprit or an "implant." Just as I have yet to hear her tell someone with a blurry picture that the blur is not an angel, ghost, spirit, or whatever.


That's not true, Robert. She once told a woman convinced that her father was reincarnated as her son that she was wrong. I was so amazed that Sylvia finally got one thing right, I sent it to you right away. :p

I think it was sometime over the summer, so you very well may not remember it.

[RSLancastr]

That's not true, Robert. She once told a woman convinced that her father was reincarnated as her son that she was wrong. I was so amazed that Sylvia finally got one thing right, I sent it to you right away. :p

I think it was sometime over the summer, so you very well may not remember it.Yes, but my post was about hauntings and photos.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Lest I forget, here's something from another episode that I'd like to share with you all. Tell me if any of it sounds familiar. :rolleyes:

...

GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO
If you look here, you can see a soldier...
SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
I was just...
GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO
...in the dark, surrounded by the white.
SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
Yeah.
GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO
You know, I just wanted to know about him, like, who is that soldier? Do you know?
SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
It was you.
GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO
Really?
SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
How about that?
LAUGHTER
GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO
Wow.
MONTEL WILLIAMS, HOST
He caught himself?
SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
How--yeah. How could it be you when you're here? Because the--let's call it the aura of the soul still remains.
GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO
Whew. That's crazy. And there was--go ahead.
SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
Let me give you an example. I went back to Missouri, my hometown. I went to the house that I lived in. I ran up the stairs with the woman who owned the house. She let me in. She said, I know which room is yours. And I said, what? She said, the one on the right. She said, you know how I know it's you? I hear you laugh. And you just laughed. You see, I'm--I was a ghost in my own lifetime. You see what I'm saying?
GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO
Yeah.
SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
But you were like a ghost in another lifetime.
GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO
Do I--I mean, do I have a name from then?
SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
Yeah, your name was--they called you Bernie, but your name was Bernard. And you should look up Civil War records, because they're wonderful. And the same as his named--Williams.

GREG, SAYS HE CAUGHT THE GHOST OF A GETTYSBURG SOLDIER IN A PHOTO

[EvilBiker]

This picture has it all, doesn't it?

http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/images/montel_civilwarenergyimplant_3.jpg

The claws, the battered visage, the "I'll scratch your eyes out" expression...

I thought people that appeared on TV had makeovers done beforehand? If so, I shudder to think what she looks like first thing in the morning.

[Reno]

She said, you know how I know it's you? I hear you laugh. And you just laughed. You see, I'm--I was a ghost in my own lifetime. You see what I'm saying?

Why didn't the woman call in exorcists when she heard demonic, growling, smoky laughter coming from a bedroom in her house?

[Jackalgirl]

SYLVIA BROWNE, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND WORLD RENOWNED PSYCHIC
Yeah, your name was--they called you Bernie, but your name was Bernard. And you should look up Civil War records, because they're wonderful. And the same as his named--Williams.


Roger that! It's off to http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm I go...


1 Williams, Bernard Union Infantry 51st Regiment, United States Colored Infantry*

2 Williams, Bernard Confederate Infantry Lewis' Company, Mississippi Infantry+

3 Williams, Bernard Union Infantry 140th Regiment, New York Infantry** &&

4 Williams, Bernard Confederate Infantry 5th Regiment, Louisiana Infantry**

5 Williams, Bernard Y. Confederate Infantry 11th Battalion, Louisiana Infantry+

*Not at Gettysburg.
+No history, or no battle history, for the unit available on the NPS website.
**At Gettysburg
&& According to ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=1&gsfn=Bernard&gsln=Williams&sx=&f9=&f13=&f6=&f10Day=&f10Month=&f10Year=&gskw=&prox=1&f10=++&db=hdssoldiers&ti=0&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=mp-cwrds&gst=&so=3), enlisted after the Battle of Gettysburg.

The ancestry.com link lists several other possibilities -- a guy named "Burnard" and several "B Williams". There's another Bernard Williams from an Ohio regiment, but he also enlisted after Gettysburg.

I don't have a membership to ancestry.com, so I can't dig any further on that.

That's how far I got in the limited time I have available this morning.

[RSLancastr]

And our favorite Master of English seems to have "implant" and "imprint" confused!And, interestingly enough, I just viewed an episode on "In Search Of..." from the 1970s in which Browne once again uses the phrase "energy implant" in reference to a ghost/spirit/whatever.