Myths & Mysteries-The Real Truth

By Trevor Marriott

Following lengthy investigations Trevor Marriott in this controversial and thought-provoking book reveals the truth behind many of the myths and mysteries which have continued to fascinate and intrigue the public for decades

Marriott believes that the public has been misled by what has previously been presented in books and television documentaries on these myths and mysteries, and much of what has previously been accepted as fact has now been dispelled by modern-day investigative methods and technology.

Trevor Marriott set out to answer many of the questions posed regarding some of these myths and mysteries such as;

"Did the U.S. astronauts are real and on the Moon in 1969"?

"What happened to Lord Lucan"?

"Does the yeti really exist"?

"What happened to the crew of the Mary Celeste"?

"Did the city of Atlantis really exist"?

"Are UFOs are real"?

"Do psychics and mediums really have paranormal powers"?

"Is there a Loch Ness monster"?

"What is the mystery that surrounds the Bermuda Triangle"?

And many more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trevor Marriott
• Release date: May 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393661979

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

`PAREIDOLIA` & `FATA MORGANA`

In today’s world, most people have never heard of Pareidolia or Fata Morgana. However, nearly everyone has experienced these at some time or another. Pareidolia simply defined it is The imagined perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist, which interpreted into simplistic terms means we look at something and see something completely different.

Over the years, there have been many examples of this occurring, which have been photographed, among these was the image of Jesus that appeared on a slice of toast, another was a photograph taken by a mars orbiter, which appeared to show a human face looking up from the planet’s surface. Others have been lenticular clouds, which appear to be alien spaceships, and of course, there are the many UFO sightings from around the world, which clearly have plausible explanations but at first glance the human brain creates a perception of an alien space craft.

Medical experts who studied this common phenomenon suggest that the reason we all experience this, is because the human brain is wired to recognize faces. So even when there is only a slight suggestion of a facial recognition our brain will automatically interpret it as a face, and this is inherent in all of us going back thousands of years, when there was an urgent need for humans to quickly identify a friend or foe, which could then be the difference between living and dying.

Fata Morgana is a term used to describe a fast-changing optical illusion mainly associated with different types of mirages, and is usually associated with something mysterious, something that can never be approached. The name is derived from the mythical Arthurian fairy sorceress Morgan le Fay, who it is said could create fairy castles on the horizons to lure sailors to their deaths.

In the present day, these optical illusions and mirages are very real and can occur on land, sea and in the air. In layman’s terms, they are usually caused by a combination of atmospheric changes and light reflections. In Polar Regions, these illusions can be seen on cold days, and in dry desert areas, oceans and lakes, on hot days.

Without a doubt, both optical illusions and mirages are plausible explanations for many of the mysterious sightings of castles; desert oasis’s and ghost ships, and UFO Sightings. I would therefore suggest that the reader keeps these phenomenons in mind when considering the credibility of some sightings relative to many of the mysteries, and myths featured in this book.

CHAPTER 2 THE APOLLO MOON LANDINGS

On July 16th 1969, the world watched and waited as the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket was launched from The Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. On board were three astronauts, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong. Their mission was to boldly go where no man had gone before, the surface of the moon.

On July 21st, the Lunar module nicknamed The Eagle containing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the surface of the moon and astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped out of the module and created history by being the first man to walk on the moon.

Between 1969 and 1972, there were five other lunar landings involving other astronauts but the question many have asked over the ensuing years did all of these landings actually take place or were they part of a major conspiracy orchestrated by the American government, and the landings actually created on a secret film set?

In an attempt to come up with definitive answers, we have to go back to the Cold War era and the conflict between The West made up of The USA and Great Britain, and The East namely Russia. This conflict started in 1945 at the end of the Second World War and did not end effectively until 1992 with the fall of The Berlin Wall.

During this period of time, both sides sought to gain supremacy over each other and in particular, the skies. It was thought that whoever ruled the skies would reign supreme. The American government was conscious of this and to try to prevent the Russians achieving that same objective a plan was drawn up called Project Horizon The plan was simple the US wanted to establish a military base on the surface of the moon if they could achieve that, then they felt they would always have total control of the skies. The Russians were also aware of this, and it became a race to the moon. Both sides knew of each other’s capabilities but who would get there first?

With this race to the moon, did the US get away with the biggest hoax of all time and fool the Russians into thinking they achieved their objective?

Well, many years have passed since the moon landings and over that time people have continued to carefully scrutinize the landings, and all that took place on the surface of the moon, and opinion is now greatly divided as to whether they were real or not. Having looked closely at the evidence put forward from both sides, I have kept an open mind.

Looking at some of the evidence from both sides of the argument and much of what I will now refer to relates to video and photographic evidence. Sadly in a book, there is not the space to show those images and videos, but I will best describe them and leave it to the reader to explore them further in their own research.

There is no doubt that on July 16th 1969 astronauts Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin were launched into space but where did they go? To the moon as we have been led to believe or simply into earth’s orbit some 500 miles into space circling in that orbit until being propelled back to earth on July 20th 1969.

If the astronauts did, in fact, go to the moon the first major problem, they would have had to encounter would be The Van Allen Radiation belts named after space scientist James Van Allen, who discovered these in 1958. There are two belts and inner and outer. The inner belt is centred at an altitude of 600 miles around the earth and extends outwards for 3700 miles. The outer belt also centred round the earth at an altitude of 9000 miles extends outwards for 36.000 miles. The two belts expand and shrink. At times, the outer belt nearly disappears. Sometimes it swells so much that the two belts appear to merge to form one big radiation belt.

These belts would be a danger to astronauts and also to vital equipment such as cameras and films as exposure to such large amounts of radiation could, in the case of humans be fatal. However, NASA says that both astronauts and equipment were well protected.

So having passed through the radiation belts it was onto the moon. It is here we can discuss the next argument, which relates to the actual moon landing by the lunar module. The surface of the moon is rocky and covered in a type of fine soil made from small rock particles. The actual NASA footage taken from the module when landing shows little of this soil being blown about despite the full thrust from the module rocket engines, which were used to affect a smooth landing. Later, photographs released by NASA do not show much of this soil on the feet and legs of the module. NASA`s explanation is that the module landed in a flat rocky area which was not covered so much in soil and what little there was dispersed from the landing area when the module touched down.

The next issue is with regards to the placing of The American Flag by Neil Armstrong, which was shown to the world. When placing the flag on first glance it appears to flutter as if being caught in a wind. Of course, there   is no wind on the moon so it could not flutter. So was the wind effect caused by air-conditioning on a studio film set or is there a plausible explanation. NASA says that the wind effect as shown live on television was actually the ripple effect of the flag being unfurled. The flag had been adapted so that when it was unfurled, it would appear to be fluttering in the wind and the initial vibrating effect of the unfurling gave that extra wind effect.

Another area of contention relates to shadow anomalies and there are many, which have been referred to. NASA has released hundreds of photographs for all the lunar landings and considerable have been used to add corroboration to the moon landing hoax.

Some of the photos referred to by those who champion the hoax theory relate to the casting of shadows, and cite shadows being cast in different directions from objects or astronauts themselves when the camera is in a fixed position suggesting that this is as a result of studio lights placed in different positions of the studio set.

There are other photos, one of which shows an astronaut stepping down from the lunar module. This show the module itself in a shadow yet the astronaut if clear visible in what appears to be full lighting. In similar fashion, another video clip again shows an astronaut descending the steps from the lunar module, with the lighting appearing to shine straight through his back pack which if it were a genuine back pack could not be possible.

The lack of any stars in almost the entire official NASA photographs is a debatable issue and in particular, with regards to The Apollo 11 landing, NASA says that the absence of stars in photographs is due to the different resolutions in the camera equipment. But of course if all the landings were filmed on a set, it would be a major problem creating stars. Even the Apollo 11 astronauts are in conflict with each other on this aspect.

At a later press conference following their return, all three astronauts were questioned on this issue. One question was When you looked up could you actually see the stars in spite of the solar glare Neil Armstrong replied We were never able to see stars from the lunar surface or on the daylight side of the moon by eye without looking through the optics. When we were photographing the solar corona I don’t recall what stars you could see Michael Collins then interjects and says I don’t recall seeing any

There are also the many space walks on the lunar surface made by several of the astronauts on different moon missions, which have been questionable. The atmosphere on the moon’s surface is different to that here on earth it is one sixth gravity, and we have all seen clips of the astronauts bouncing along on the moon’s surface. Well of course, these footages have been closely scrutinised, and it is suggested that this effect can be obtained via slow motion after the astronauts are filmed running at speed in the space suits. It’s certainly an interesting suggestion and when looked at does appear to make sense.

Two other video clips used to add weight to the hoax theory relates to the Apollo 16 missions. One of the astronauts is seen to fall down on his knees. He gets to his feet unaided by the second astronaut and appears to be lifted up via his back pack, which appears to move as if attached to something. It is suggested that the astronauts had invisible wires attached to them, and these were used to lift him to his feet, because he does not appear to get back up in the normal way.

Staying with the Apollo 16 mission, in another video clip filmed on the lunar surface astronaut, John Young is seen to put his arm around his fellow astronaut and his bare hand and his fingers appear to be clearly visible. If they were actually on the lunar surface that would not be possible, and for many other reasons would not happen. We also know by what we have seen is that on landing on the moon’s surface the astronauts deployed a lunar rover, a vehicle, which the astronauts could use to explore areas away from the landing site.

Photographs of some of these have been used to add more weight to the hoax theory. Several of these photographs were taken in full colour. In Apollo 15 and 17 missions, photographs show the lunar vehicle parked on the moon’s surface, but the area around the vehicles is devoid of tracks. So how did they get to those positions on the surface without making tracks?

A photograph taken on the Apollo 12 mission shows a close up of one of the astronaut’s helmets, whilst he is on the moon’s surface. A reflection on the visor indicates what appears to a bank of lights shining on him from behind the second astronaut who is taking the picture. Are these studio lights? The same set of photographs shows another refection in the corner of the astronaut’s facial visor. Enhanced this could also be a studio spotlight.

Previously, I touched on Project Horizon drawn up by the USA in 1959 to build a base on the moon. According to NASA, those plans never got off the drawing board or did they? I have set out below details from the original blueprint in time form.

January 1965:

Cargo delivery to the moon would begin.

April 1965:

The first manned landing would be affected by two astronauts. The build-up and construction phase would continue without interruption until the outpost was ready.

November 1966:

The outpost after completion would be manned by a task force of 12 military personnel.

This program required a total of 61 Saturn I, and 88 Saturn II rocket launches up to November 1966. During this period, the rockets would transport some 220 tonnes of cargo to the Moon.

December 1966 through 1967:

It was, scheduled to be the first operational years of the lunar base. With a total of 64 launches to the moon planned. These would result in an additional 120 tons of cargo being transported to the moon.

What many people don’t know is that in addition to the rocket launches, which were well publicised from Cape Canaveral and later The Kennedy Space Centre, NASA and the military as far back as 1959 was secretly launching Saturn rockets from The Vanderburgh Air force base in California into space. Were these launches the start of Project Horizon? Which for varying reasons were later mothballed?

Over the past 50 years, other nations have taken an interest in the moon despite the USA appearing to abandon further exploration of the moon after the Apollo mission's came to an end. As a result, some of these nations have sent rockets to the moon and deployed equipment to continue to photograph the lunar landscape.

Some of these photos, which have been released, have turned out to be quite interesting and revealing especially those taken on what is known as the dark side of the moon. Many of these photos show what appear to be structures in differing forms, some being upright in shape and structure others simply flat on the surface. What are these structures are they man-made or are they evidence to suggest that the US was not the first nation to land on the moon? Or are they evidence to suggest that the moon was once inhabited by other beings not from planet earth?

There is a video interview in the public domain from a former United States Air Force Sergeant by the name of Karl Wolfe, who was stationed at Langley Air Force base in 1965, which was a military establishment that was used for processing images sent back from the various lunar orbiters, which had been launched by the US military prior to the Apollo missions. He says that he was shown images by another serviceman who told him that they had found a base on the far side of the moon.

Are there plausible explanations to these photographs showing these structures? Well first, we have to ask ourselves are they real structures or are they simply rock formations, which when we look at them, our brain sees what we want to see creating a false image?

Another question regarding the structures is could they have been taken there by an advanced alien race thousands of years previous who for whatever reasons abandoned them. Or could the answers be simpler if in fact, they are real structures?

Could the answer lie with the military, could these structures if real, be connected to Project Horizon? Could the US have secretly sent un-manned rockets to the moon depositing structures and equipment in readiness for the Project to commence? Will we ever know the truth about this and the reality of the Apollo moon landings? NASA and The US government work on a strictly need to know basis, and will only tell us the public what we need to know.

They have been questioned many times regarding the suggestion that none of the moon landings ever took place and that no man, in fact, ever stepped foot on the moon. NASA of course refutes these suggestions as you would expect them to do so, and they