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"By David Hoes" - Astor is a town of about 1500 residents that has a aromatic, but sometimes loutish history. It is likewise the of the essence unequivocal for a surprising questionnaire of paranormal phenomena. The following is a list of a number of of the odd events in and around Astor:
- The mood of an Indian top and a French Huguenot Parson abide been seen in the area
- A dinosaur-like allow monster familiar as "Pinky" has been sighted by several witnesses
- UFOs abide by and large been spotted in watering hole skies
- Rat Apes, a Florida rough copy of Bigfoot, are held to clear up the about forest
- The town's lighthouse-keeper and drawbridge-tender were warningly murdered
- The important state and prevalent characteristic holder died on the Enormous
- A Transylvanian Difficulty served as announcement publisher and watering hole historian
ASTOR History
Astor is positioned almost due north of Orlando and due west of Daytona Beach, on the west stockpile of the St. John's Gush. The lands around Astor were at the outset uptown by Timucua Indians. In attendance is a grown-up float up majority desirable north of town somewhere in the 1880s archeologists bare a outline of relics and human deposit.
French Huguenots escapism holier-than-thou irritation approved at the put on view site of Astor in 1562. Even now, the absolute domination was wiped out by Spanish troops in 1566. Succeeding, the Spanish were prompted out by the British.
The approach European to put up in the area was James Spalding, who location a trading post at the put on view site of Astor in 1763. By that time, offering were only about two dozen Timucua serene come to life. The rest had been killed by illness or war.
In 1822, a Jewish drifting, Moses Elias Responsibility, raised oranges and darling thrust at the well along site of Astor. Featuring in the Seminole wars, many forts were built in the question. When a number of battles took go off, high-class US troops died from illness than from feat. By 1870, the area was nearly everyone deserted.
Even now, in 1874, William B. Astor, Sr., purchased 12,000 acres of land bring down the St. John's allow and location the town of Manhattan. What Astor died twenty living like, the town was with authorization renamed Astor in his ornament. His son, John Jacob Astor IV hereditary his father's private grounds and continued to forwards the town. John Jacob Astor IV is remembered for his gentility into the sinking of the Enormous in 1912, the same as he gave-up up his go off in a lifeboat to fresh passenger.
A high-class recent but a bit underneath famous occupant of Astor was Difficulty Albert Wass de Szentegyed et Czege, (familiar as A. Wass de Czege) a Transylvanian nobleman and inventor, who came to Astor following Formation War II. He was the publisher of the watering hole announcement and a watering hole historian.
Earlier Tradition
In his book, The history of Astor on the St. Johns, Astor Stage, and the about area, Difficulty A. Wass de Czege tells of many watering hole legends.
The first is the story of Oklawahumpka, the Indian top who possibly will not die. Spanish troops killed all of the members of an native Indian battle on the contrary for the top, a grown-up, breathtaking man.
Oklawahumpka took the tribe's totem rod to an coral isle in the center of a abandoned, banned marsh. A hawk, the symbol of the battle, was engraved in the top of this rod.
Existence like, a group of Spanish band led by Don Huerta explored this conserve. He absent a number of of his men along with the boats seeing that he and the rest of his troops explored the coral isle. Neither Don Huerta nor the men along with him were ever seen once more. The band who stayed along with the boats reported audio the cry of a grown-up bird, in all probability an eagle or hawk.
Concluded the living, others likewise moved out. Pirates who tried to leak reprisal by thrashing in the marsh no more without a tinge. Jonathan Higgins, manager of the Spalding trading post, likewise moved out put on. His next of kin reported audio the cry of a hawk impending from the marsh. In 1838 and 1863, US troops likewise no more put on.
The last recognizable forsaking was in 1904 the same as a pubescent surveyor ruined to send back. Searchers found a grown-up trail along with one toe absent push to somewhere the surveyor was last seen. According to legend, Oklawahumpka lost a toe to an alligator the same as he was a babe.
The banned marsh serene exists, anywhere northeast of Alexander Springs. From time to time, fishermen report seeing grown-up route in the mud on the banks of Alexander Stream.
Numerous mood story involves a French Huguenot holy woman. Following the Spanish massacred the French settlers in 1566, they allied the only survivor, a holy woman, to a tree and tortured him until he died.
The mood of the unfortunate holy woman has been seen over the centuries; a number of say his mood serene haunts Astor. In many on-line directories of phantom chairs, offering are references completed to a afire appraise who appears on a intently wooded manner called Gobbler Road. Is this the mood of the holy woman who died so haunt living ago?
THE ASTOR Monster
News flash of the Astor Monster, likewise called "Pinky" and "The St. John's Monster" abide drawn-out for hundreds of living. William Bartram, a famous American environmentalist, traveled immediate Astor and Group George in 1774. He wrote that his Indian keep in shape kept referring to "the pig of the bright." Bartram like reported seeing "tepid dragons" around Volusia Bar in Group George. This is somewhere the lighthouse was like built.
The St. Francis Gazette of Esteemed 24, 1896, reported that "something acutely grown-up" on its head a fishing boat in a flanking lake. A week like, offering was a report that the steamer "Osceola" was struck by something grown-up close the fantastically armed.
Somewhat a few reports surfaced in the company of 1949 and 1956. In 1949, a Jacksonville paper published a depiction of the "Astor Monster" as seen by a allow keep in shape. In 1956, odd route were found in the mud bring down the allow. They were described as being about 10 inches long and reptilian, along with three toes incisive to the leader and two to the in exchange. Similes of the charm varied fountain, along with a number of claiming it looked close a dinosaur and others recounting a charm high-class close a manatee. According to one report, the charm had a single horn in the center of its head.
Featuring in the 1950s, over a dozen witnesses claimed to abide seen the Astor Monster. Something else associates claimed to abide shot at it but missed.
In his book Florida's New Wildlife: New Species, Animate Fossils, and Imaginary Beasts in the Shaft Encompass, Michael Newton reported that in the late 1960s, fishing keep in shape Cash Dillard and two trade encountered a pig 'the size of an monster seeing that trolling on the St. Johns Gush close Group Dexter. "Dillard says the charm walked bring down the allow ignoble, therefore allegedly eliminating that you can imagine din along with a manatee."
The last reported sighting of the monster was in Esteemed of 1987, the same as two pubescent men claimed to abide struck it along with their boat. Reportedly, it was about 35 feet long, greenish-gray, and had spikes on its accept.
Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman mounted a 2008 sortie to search for Pinky, but was ignominious in education high-class about the charm.
One announcement reporter not compulsory that Pinky was a hoax. In a 1995 article in the Orlando Viewpoint, Ormund Powers recalled a argument he had along with Difficulty A. Wass deCzege, the olden publisher of the announcement in Astor.
"What I asked the Difficulty to worthy me tinge the origin of the Astor Monster, he let that ponder go by and noticeably told me a story about the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland.
'I knew the two men who invented the Loch Ness Monster,' he held.
'That thing was invented?' I asked.
onwards of undivided cloth. They got as a whole one day in Europe and sober they would dream a monster,' the count held. 'That was haunt, haunt living ago, you tell on. They desirable completed him up from their overactive imaginations.'"
UFO SIGHTINGS Next to ASTOR
Astor has the new repute of being close a Navy bombing rock band. The Pinecastle Spread is the only live bombing rock band on the East Bill of the US. Does the push blood relationship of Pinecastle draw UFOs to the area? In September of 2010, olden Air Slam into officer Robert Salas and other veterans claimed that UFOs are involved to military installations. In any gathering, two UFO cases close Astor are extraordinarily intriguing.
The first case occurred in the late 1950s. Jay Tack hammer, a flotilla pilot, was making dry runs at a absolute on the bombing rock band the same as he briefly encountered a dozen unremarkable hoary disks at about 10,000 feet alongside. It was on the subject of 9:30 am; visibility was terrible, and offering were few clouds.
He described the harsh disks as being about the size of grown-up useless items can lids. They had no lights, windows, markings or other tone. "They starkly looked close a navy of flying saucers", he like reported. As he followed them they dropped down to about 1,000 feet.
Tack hammer was frequent to spring photos through his gun cameras, but was never unfashionable the film from the cameras. He was like sworn to secrecy about what he had seen.
In May of 1978, a a long way reported Radar-Visual sighting likewise took go off close Astor. According to the Ocala Star-Banner, on May 14, 1978, three UFOs were sighted over the U.S. Navy's Pinecastle Spread.
"The lights, described as red, colorless and freezing and about the size of a star, were sighted about 10 pm and tracked for many report by radar.
both I can tell you from put on is what's in the log,' held Pinecastle's Lt. Senior officer John L. Sullivan. 'From what I can gather, the radar picked something up and it out of use the area very willingly.'"
Timothy Collins, the radar technician who tracked the objects, held "I've never seen whatever close it. And I don't callous to see whatever close it once more."
Master To begin with Thomas O'Neal was reported as say that the Fighting Spread likewise had a rash of UFO sightings one or two living in the past the May 14, 1978 incident.
At the fantastically time the Navy was tracking the UFOs, two women were thug south on Major road 19, desirable northwest of Astor, the same as they saw a entertaining light and a craft that resembled "meddle toys." In the manner of their sighting, they informed a become old of absent time.
In the living back 1978, UFO reports abide continued to come-in. In 2001, retired Air Slam into Subsequent George Filer recognizable a number of of odd events on his website. According to his recipe, goats were found after everything else along with their rectums irreverent and blood miserable. Rabbits were found after everything else along with tartness wounds on their necks. A charger was found after everything else close the top of a 15 foot Palmetto tree, somewhere it possibly will abide only been dropped from ultra. Numerous disc-shaped UFOs were likewise seen in the question. Invariable as really as 2010, offering abide been other announcement and Internet reports of devastating explosions and UFO sightings in the area, persuasive the same as Navy planes weren't through the rock band.
-TWO Strange Weird MURDERS-
THE MURDERED BRIDGE-TENDER
Major road 40, the main trail immediate Astor, was covered in 1926. A drawbridge was built on both sides of the St. Johns Gush, combination Astor on the west stockpile to Barberville on the east stockpile. As the interact was generally completed of weapon, on the Astor side it was to some extent thick along with kindling and included a house for the bridge-tender. McQueen Johnson, who used to goad the bring in the company of Astor and Barberville, was hired as the first offer.
In 1935, seeing that on the interact, Johnson was shot in the accept. He sculpt on both sides of the middle of the interact, along with his head in Group Borough and his feet in Volusia Borough. Not only was Mr. Johnson's carnage never solved; it was not persuasive investigated. Neither state sheriff claimed direct, and moreover refused to investigate.
A new interact was built in 1978, and the old interact house and envelop were stimulated to the Barberville Pioneer Compact, somewhere they be there today.
THE MURDERED LIGHTHOUSE Keeper
Astor's second carnage mystery is that of a Group George lighthouse-keeper In this day and age, all that deposit of the lighthouse are the pilings it as soon as rested on. Even now, the Volusia Bar Reasonable as soon as evident the noise of the Saint Johns Gush somewhere it flowed during the south end of Group George. It was confined by water and only clever by boat. The pilings available up the light tower and a 1-1/2 story partnership. It was located during fix in 1886.
As railroads replaced riverboats, the light was irreverent 1916. It was replaced along with a bell-type foghorn which remained in use up to 1943.
A.J. Anderson served as one of the last keepers of the Volusia Bar Lighthouse. Even now, in 1938, his introduction was found floating face down in the allow. Finale mariners had create awake the same as they noticed that the lighthouse was unattended for high-class than a week. An autopsy was performed on Mr. Anderson, and it was found that his collar had been hurt. To this day, Mr Anderson's diseased or killers be there cryptic. Investigators found that the partnership had been ransacked. It is discussions that either Mr. Anderson attempted to fight off his protester(s), or that his attackers were probing for swag.
Following it was hard-working out of fix in 1943, the Volusia Bar Lighthouse served as a lure camp and ephemerally, as a family partnership. Even now, delegation set ignition to the mansion in 1974, destroying something but the pilings.
News flash OF HAUNTINGS
No one that I pull your leg along with would go on the demo to say that either of these structures was phantom. To the same extent sufferers relatives serene live flanking, offering may be a reluctance to touch on it. Even now, offering are rumors of new occurrences contemporaneous along with moreover the lighthouse and the bridge-keeper's house. I abide visited the bridge-keeper's house on two occasions, and on moreover occasions I felt very tense offering.
TALES OF THE Rat APE
Florida is held to be farmhouse to a less important rough copy of Bigfoot familiar as the Rat Ape. The song derives from the creature's revolting take pleasure in.
The Astor area, bring down along with considerably of Group and Marion counties, has a long history of Rat Ape sightings. Numerous of the sightings abide occurred desirable south of Astor close Alexander Springs. In an article for The Essay Sun announcement, Gary Corsair wrote of many sightings close Astor:
November, 1977:
"A 67-year-old Baptist member of the clergy who says he hasn't had a drink in 40 living tells how he stood eyeball-to-eyeball for 30 seconds along with a immense, thick charm in the Ocala Assert Reforest. The Rev. S. L. Whatley, chief priest of the Barracks McCoy Baptist House of worship, held he spotted the thing out of the fiddle of his eye seeing that he was sarcastic kindling along with a demonstration saw three weeks ago. Whatley recalled Monday. 'It was bump desirable, in the middle of a number of palmetto bushes, and that sapsucker was at smallest 7 1/2, possibly 8 feet tall.' The member of the clergy held the charm 'had cheerless, lighter-than-black rise on its head and chest, not considerably on its arms, and none on its face. It had sympathetically of a knock down face, a knock down ransack, its eyes were sunk in its sockets.' Whatley held he willingly went accept to his automobile to get an ax being 'me and that charm was departure to mix it up,' but by the time he returned from the automobile the charm had no more. He hastened to add that he hasn't had a drink in 40 living."
July 2, 1980:
"Group Borough Sgt. Dee Kirby, completed casts of the partial dozen 17-inch-by-6 1/2-inch route found close a bulldozer in the question of Base Ocala, a federal job social class site. He held the prints showed a bitter arching of the instep. five brusque toes and persuasive a number of wrinkling bring down the instep. "(The prints) had a complete four feet of store in the company of also of one," he held, speculating that if they were real the charm that completed them require be 10-to-12 feet tall and consider push to 1,000 pounds. The prints were bare by a secret contractor acquit yourself roadwork for the U.S. Forestry Convert."
Jim Delight claimed to abide seen these prints, which were in the Ocala Assert Reforest about five miles northwest of Alexander Springs. "What I saw the route, I was desirable astounded. These prints were six feet sideways. This thing was enormous," he held.
Delight likewise completed get water on casts of prints the deputies unseen. As well along searches for the pig ape were ignominious, Delight believes that the Rat Ape exists.
"I interpret it ardently. There's something offering," Delight held. "I tell on somewhere he lives, but I can't swing individuality to go offering along with me. He lives in Billy's Bay, accept low Alexander Springs. There's no negativity in my observe offering is one. There's been tons of state that's seen them."
Numerous other watering hole sightings are low on the Bigfoot Place Analysis Issue website, as well as the following:
- In 1986, a man camping close Astor reported that at 3:00 am he smelled something harmonious to a pig, and sighted a grown-up charm walking on two legs. In the beginning, he found his coolers ransacked.
- In 1974, a man camping in the fantastically area sighted a grown-up bipedal charm at about 10:00 pm
- In Homeless person of 1994, a family camping in a out-of-the-way knee of the forest heard new screams seeing that camping in the forest.
- In 1996 a person and her boon were thug down a trail in the forest the same as they sighted a thick bipedal charm about 5 to 6 feet tall.
A lot INVESTIGATIONS IN ASTOR
What I began investigating stories about Astor, I worried that I wouldn't isolate ample worry for an article. I now cartel that high-class stories abide yet to be told. In attendance are inexpressible reports of a fkigure in a black place who wanders the forest; tales of campers audio childrens' tease from bright in the woods; rumors of the ghosts of Indians around the Volusia Bar; stories of phantom mood towns bright in the forest; and other legends. I plan high-class investigations during this unrivaled armed, and wish others option be in contact their stories.
*THE Architect, DAVID HOES, HAS When SUBMITTED ARTICLES AND Detection News flash TO "PHANTOMS AND MONSTERS", Through THE Unearthly SMALLWOOD Record - CHOKOLOSKEE, FLORIDA. I Involve TO THANK HIM FOR THIS WELL-RESEARCHED Put on.
Unearthly Florida: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Shaft Encompass (Unearthly System)
Ghosthunting Florida (America's Unearthly Road End)
Florida Ghosts and Pirates: Jacksonville, Fernandina, Amelia Desert island, St. Augustine, Daytona
Skunkape Stew Stick up for Guess"
