Recent renovations at the 77 year old Edinburgh College of Parapsychology have unearthed a treasure trove of paranormal paraphernalia and documentation. Among the items found was a “dungeon tube” (a device said to relieve pain through the use of music), several recordings of medium sessions, and a Victorian era ouija board that potentially was used by Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While the board’s exact age has yet to be determined, the fact that its wheels are made of bone and not of wood or plastic lends credence to the board’s Victorian heritage. Unfortunately, there is no direct evidence linking the Sir Conan Doyle (who’s own interest in spiritualism began in 1906 after a series of deaths in his family) to the ouija board and it is unlikely any will be discovered. Prior to the college’s founding in 1932 (two years after Sir Conan Doyle’s death) spiritualists in Edinburgh often practiced in secret for fear of persecution.

Even without a link to the famous author, the board is still an amazing find. Manufactured in Manchester and labeled as a “Telepathic Spirit Communicator”, the board is quite possibly one of the earliest example of such a device used by early spiritualists in attempts to communicate with the departed.

Victorian ouija board discovered in Parapsychology college clearout
Victorian ouija board found in college’s secret passageway [via Phantoms & Monsters]

Many people believe that UFO visitation is by no means a recent phenomena. Some point to the Bible and other historical documents as containing clues to the presence of UFOs in the past In fact there are numerous references to flying chariots in the Bible and in the parlance of time “chariot” simply meant a means of conveyance not the ancient vehicle we think of today, making biblical UFOs a real possibility. Perhaps the best clues that our ancestors witnessed the same phenomena we see in our skies today is in their art.

One famous example is “the Madonna and Saint Giovannio” a 15th century painting generally attributed to an artist at the school of Filippo Lippi where, what we would call a UFO, can be clearly seen over the Madonna’s left shoulder (pictured above). XFacts has an excellent listing of similar instances of UFOs appearing in art dating back as far as 12th century and beyond (and where most of these works can be seen today). At first glance (especially if you are looking at only one image) it is easy to dismiss the “UFOs” as the result of the paintings being incorrectly interpreted with modern eye, but when you look at the consistency of how these “unidentified painted objects” are depicted it makes you wonder what these artist from different times and cultures saw that influenced them to include these objects in their art. Take a look for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments.

Ancient UFOs @ XFacts.com