mystery haunted mountain in zimbabwe

[dannagain]

So my wife's friend is from Zimbabwe and she was talking about this mountain where apparently all sorts of strange things have happened.
Here's a story that her friend told her:

a lot of weird stuff is supposed to happen on this mountain, the locals all say that if you do see something weird you mustn't comment out loud about it but instead just kind of ignore it.

So my wife's friend was driving through this mountian with her two kids and husband when she saw a two headed snake in front of the car. my wife's friend's friend didn't believe in the supersition but was suprised to see such a strange animal so she pointed it out to her husband. now, APPARENTLY, this is what happened next.

the car stopped, the hazard lights suddenly came on and then they saw two children standing nearby outside who they swore hadn't been there before as if they had just appeared. the kids were wearing very strange clothes apparently which no one in zimbabwe would wear anymore. then weirdest of all, her two kids inside the car went into a kind of trance and started singing the same song as each other in an unknown language simultaneously.

and then it stopped the weird looking kids disappeared and they drove on feeling very shaken.

now of course this is anecdotal and i'm not asking you to believe it since i don't really believe it myself. at leat not in that version. you know how these stories can change in the re-telling.

but what i am asking is IF this story did happen exactly like that, is there any known explanation for people going into that kind of trance and singing songs together which they would not have known the words to in some strange language? has there ever beenany documented cases of anything remotely like this which turned out to have a normal explanation?

anyone?

thanks

 

[Cainkane1]

What kind of mountain is it? Is it a volcano? It could be seeping carbon monoxide gas and that will caused hallucinations.

 

[Teetop]

I had a friend in Texas who's cousin claimed that one of the Marfa lights chased his car and then appeared in the passenger seat next to him-- of course, nobody else was around to witness the event --
My father once told me --"believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see."

 

[Jason_Roberts]

Not to sound procacious, but what is it that you are trying to resolve by posting this anecdote? Are you saying that you believe this actually happened, or that you would like to see if you could discern whether or not it’s true based on what can be deduced from it?

Second-hand narratives do not constitute proof. They’re just scuttlebutt.

 

[baron]

Here's what I think happened. They were driving along and saw a two-headed snake. Rare, but perfectly possible. They had heard tales of the haunted mountain and were sure that the two-headed snake represented something paranormal. However, they knew that simply repeating this story would not convince others of the other-worldliness of the event, so they embellished it with talk of strange children and trances.

It's much like when someone sees a light in the sky. They believe it's a spacecraft but, recognising that others would find a simple light rather humdrum, they add a little detail such as a burst of speed or telepathic communication or a little alien on top.

The vast majority of right-minded adults don't simply make up a story from scratch, but I believe quite a number would embellish that story to try and convince others of what they believe to be the root cause.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

now of course this is anecdotal and i'm not asking you to believe it since i don't really believe it myself. at leat not in that version. you know how these stories can change in the re-telling.

but what i am asking is IF this story did happen exactly like that, is there any known explanation for people going into that kind of trance and singing songs together which they would not have known the words to in some strange language? has there ever beenany documented cases of anything remotely like this which turned out to have a normal explanation?

You don't believe this, but you want to know what the explanation is if it's true? I don't follow.

There can't be a "known explanation" for something that isn't know to be real.

 

[this charming man]

The vast majority of right-minded adults don't simply make up a story from scratch, but I believe quite a number would embellish that story to try and convince others of what they believe to be the root cause.

I agree; I think it is like a fisherman's story. The "one that got away" gets bigger every time he tells the story.

 

[JJM 777]

this mountain where apparently all sorts of strange things have happened.

Probably no match for Area 51 US army base, or Dracula's castle in Transylvania.

Here's a story that her friend told her:
...
my wife's friend's friend didn't believe

Fourth-hand information. Okay.

she saw a two headed snake

Two snakes mating looks like two-headed.
Also Siamese twins are occasionally born in snakes, as in humans.

the car stopped, the hazard lights suddenly came on and then they saw two children standing nearby outside who they swore hadn't been there before

Screw up with the foot pedals, and the car stops.
Accidentally hit the light knob with your elbow, and the hazard lights are lit.
Suddenly more light, you suddenly see more things. Such as people near the road.

the kids were wearing very strange clothes apparently which no one in zimbabwe would wear anymore

The kids were just coming from a disguise party (the birthday of their friend), or from the show of a local amateur theater where they acted.

then weirdest of all, her two kids inside the car went into a kind of trance and started singing the same song as each other in an unknown language simultaneously.

Actually this is the most common phenomenon of all the details you listed.
Ask any Pentecostal. (There are millions of them out there.)

 

[dannagain]

thanks guys. jjm was the most helpful. the point of me posting that was to see if anyone could come up with a rational explanation for that story IF it did actually happen that way.

"You don't believe this, but you want to know what the explanation is if it's true? I don't follow.

There can't be a "known explanation" for something that isn't know to be real."


i mean i don't believe it had a supernatural cause not that i don't believe that something weird happened to them. you can't just call everyone who tells you something weird happened them that they are a liar or delusional. it's more constructive to accept that they experienced something the way they said they did and then to try and find a non paranormal explanation for why they experienced that. you follow me?

e.g. IF someone did see a ufo exactly the way the way they claim it happened, what would be the rational explanation for them thinking that it happened like that? or if someone said they saw a ghost you can either say, 'you are a liar you're just making it up' or you can suggest that it might have been a hallucination etc.

 

[-Fran-]

you can't just call everyone who tells you something weird happened them that they are a liar or delusional.

No, but you can smile and nod and still think that they are liars or deluded

 

[Teetop]

Could this event have been a bad dream that was later mistaken for a real event?--it's pretty far out there-even for a ghost sighting.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

You don't believe this, but you want to know what the explanation is if it's true? I don't follow.

There can't be a "known explanation" for something that isn't know to be real.

you can't just call everyone who tells you something weird happened them that they are a liar or delusional.

No, but you can smile and nod and still think that they are liars or deluded

I find myself quickly talking about the weather.

Dan, if I read your first post correctly, you didn't hear any of these tales from a first hand witness. Right?

Here's the part that confuses me:

now of course this is anecdotal and i'm not asking you to believe it since i don't really believe it myself. at leat not in that version. you know how these stories can change in the re-telling.

but what i am asking is IF this story did happen exactly like that, is there any known explanation. . . .

So what is it that you don't really believe yourself? That the reason for these anecdotes (which you do believe) is a cursed mountain? If so, I think you've got the cart before the horse. Before you worry about the reason for something, I'd find out if that something exists.

For example, plenty of people go on about what might cause the "Bermuda Triangle" phenomenon--ley lines, magnetism, aliens, Atlanteans, etc.-- when in fact, there is no such phenomenon. No more ships and planes disappear there than anywhere else with comparable traffic.

 

[Zep]

Booze.

White man's mischief.

 

[dannagain]

I find myself quickly talking about the weather.

Dan, if I read your first post correctly, you didn't hear any of these tales from a first hand witness. Right?

Here's the part that confuses me:


So what is it that you don't really believe yourself? That the reason for these anecdotes (which you do believe) is a cursed mountain? If so, I think you've got the cart before the horse. Before you worry about the reason for something, I'd find out if that something exists.

For example, plenty of people go on about what might cause the "Bermuda Triangle" phenomenon--ley lines, magnetism, aliens, Atlanteans, etc.-- when in fact, there is no such phenomenon. No more ships and planes disappear there than anywhere else with comparable traffic.

I'm almost certain this story did NOT happen the way that I have described it for the numerous reasons outlined already by others. ALl I'm saying is IF it did happen like this then what are some possible non-supernatural explanations?

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

I'm almost certain this story did NOT happen the way that I have described it for the numerous reasons outlined already by others. ALl I'm saying is IF it did happen like this then what are some possible non-supernatural explanations?

So now we've gone full circle to my first comment. You don't believe it happened, but you want a non-paranormal explanation for it as if it did happen.

It really is just like the Bermuda Triangle thing--whether proposed explanations are supernatural or not, there's nothing there that needs explaining.

The only thing that needs explaining, I think, is how these stories come about and disseminate. And that's pretty easy, and has been addressed.

 

[dannagain]

So now we've gone full circle to my first comment. You don't believe it happened, but you want a non-paranormal explanation for it as if it did happen.d.

yes. what's so wrong about that? why are you being so argumentative? the person who told this story is a friend of my wife's who i havent met yet. when i do meet her i want to to talk to her about this story without just saying 'you're lying' or 'you're remembering it wrong'. that would be rude and unhelpful. what would be better is if i could say, ' here is a possible explanation for what happened that does not rely on the mountian being haunted'

what exactly is your problem with that?

regarding your bermuda triangle analogy. if this friend of my wife told me that her friend had dissappeared in a plane and had not been seen since, i would definitely not say 'you're lying, no she didn't, you're just mis remembering the story'. again that would be rude. rather i would try and show how that fact does not neccessarily point to any supernatural explanation.

 

[-Fran-]

yes. what's so wrong about that? why are you being so argumentative? the person who told this story is a friend of my wife's who i havent met yet. when i do meet her i want to to talk to her about this story without just saying 'you're lying' or 'you're remembering it wrong'. that would be rude and unhelpful. what would be better is if i could say, ' here is a possible explanation for what happened that does not rely on the mountian being haunted'

Though I would agree that "You're lying!" would indeed be quite rude in this situation. I can't see how a carefully worded "You might remember this wrong." can be?

After all, that IS probably one of these rational explanations you are looking for. Why bend over backwards to try to find natural explanations for two-headed snakes that turn into weirdly dressed kids who make other kids sing unknown songs in unison? As the likelihood for that is really very (=0) small, the most probable explanation is instead that she interpreted some mundane event in accordance with local folklore and legend, then misremembered some things, and exaggerated others to make it it fit into the story better (she might have done this unconsciously and really believs it all herself).

If you could make her see that that is what the human brain often do, I would say you are making her a much bigger service than to try to find rational explanations for something that probably didn't happen at all. How can that be rude?

Yeah, I am not saying you should attack her with this, or put her through a third degree. And, I suppose, if you really can't explain this in a way that won't be rude to her... Then if I were you, I would just smile and nod and say nothing if/when she brings it up herself.

If the situation doesn't allow an honest discussion about her story... OK, I can understand that. But then don't discuss it all! I'ts also rude, I think, but in a much more sneaky way, to go along with people's delusions and help them rationalize them!

Just my opinion

 

[oakster]

mmmmnnn!!!