Coast to Coast AM - Oct 29 2013 - Skinwalkers Banshees

Date: 10-29-13
Host: George Noory
Guests: Hoss Lors, Varla Ventura

In the first half, author and paranormal investigator Hoss Lors discussed his years living on a Navajo reservation and his witnessing of the amazing powers of the Skinwalkers, the Navajo name for a type of shape-shifter. He explained that Skinwalkers are actually people who engage in black magic or negative witchcraft, sometimes using the pelt of animals as part of their transformation ritual. Lors said he had several encounters with Skinwalkers while on the reservation-- one involved a rabid dog which he killed. Before he could dispose of it, the body of the dog disappeared, and he became extremely ill. When Lors visited a Navajo Medicine Man, he learned that the Skinwalker who created the rabid dog released a toxic powder which he breathed in when he was hitting the dog.

According to Navajo tradition, a Skinwalker will die within three days, if they are confronted about their secret, malevolent identity, he recounted. Lors also shared details of his strange UFO sighting, in which he saw a silver cigar-shaped object hovering near the horse corral and fired a pellet gun at it. He heard a ping sound, and the object shot off at an incredible speed, and then could be seen a couple miles away dropping "tendrils of light." Later, Lors reported the case to MUFON, who sent out an interviewer. After that, he said he was visited by the "Navajo Rangers" – a special ops group that investigates paranormal activity such as the Skinwalkers, and he also saw black helicopters flying over his home.

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In the latter half, author Varla Ventura returned to the show to talk about the folklore of banshees and other creatures of the night. In Ireland, as well as in parts of the British Isles, the banshee is a female figure known as a portent or harbinger of death, and when her wails are heard, it usually means that someone will fall ill or die. "And to see a banshee, often means that someone is you," she noted. Banshees can be accompanied by a coach driven by a headless horseman, which is where legends like Sleepy Hollow originated, she continued. The haunting wailing or keening of the banshee is thought to come from the spirit of someone who died in childbirth, or a mother whose child died young, she explained, and the sound has a beautiful yet terrifying sound that can lure people toward it.

Banshees may have evolved from the 'elementals' described in Irish mythology, and can manifest as a kind of inherited ghost that passes from household to household, she remarked. In Ireland, a visit from a banshee is synonymous with the death of someone in the household, while in America they can be associated more with bad luck or a warning, she said. Ventura also spoke about werewolves, vampires, and changelings-- disturbing instances when a baby is substituted for one from the fairy world.