Ghosts & Demons Archives - Otherworldly Oracle

Spiritual Protection: How to Protect Yourself Against Negative Spirits

kitty fields — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 00:05:42 +0000

Be it an individual who doesn’t like you and is throwing magical shade or be it an unwanted spirit, witches HAVE to learn how to protect themselves from spiritual attack. I’ve been through it all with spirits and witches trying to attack my psyche. Here’s how I get rid of unwanted entities and protect from all sorts of spiritual intrusion on a regular basis. It’s something I like to call protective magical maintenance. 3 Important Steps for Spiritual Protection 1. Cleansing (Your FIRST Step for Spirit Protection) Cleansing is so important to keep you and your home free of negative energy build-up. Negative energy builds and stagnates. And if it’s not removed spiritually, negative energy causes all sorts of problems in the home: depression, discord (arguments), illness, and it attracts malevolent spirits. Negative energy leaves you more susceptible to psychic attacks. It weakens your shield. How often should I cleanse my house and self? Some people think one smoke-cleansing ritual in their house is enough to protect them from future intrusion and attacks. Sorry, folks. One cleansing ritual isn’t enough. I recommend cleansing your home once a month. Or after illness, death, or other tragedies or intrusions of any kind. If you sense an unwanted spirit is in your house, cleansing combined with banishing is required (see below for more info. on how to eradicate a spirit). Cleansing your space with smoke is one of the most effective methods, but not everyone can use smoke. Other cleansing rituals include using sound (bells and high vibe music), sweeping with your besom, and/or spraying a cleansing infusion all over the house. Here’s our full article on the various cleansing methods, if you need to learn more. Cleanse yourself AT LEAST once a month. Once a week is better! It’s as easy as taking a cleansing ritual bath OR shower. Or smoke-cleansing with an herb bundle of your choice. I prefer rosemary but sage, palo santo, cedar, sweetgrass and juniper are also great options. 2. Laying Wards (And Re-charging Them) Once you’ve cleansed your home and self, it’s time to lay wards around your home and/or property. What is a ward? A ward is a magical object that’s job is to “ward off” negative energy, spirits, and dark magic. Your choices for powerful wards include: 4 pieces of black tourmaline or obsidian, OR 4 small statues of a protective god/spirit/angel. Yet another option is to use rocks from your property and paint or draw protective symbols on them. Charge your wards with your intentions to protect your property and home. Hold them in your hands and visualize your intentions. I anoint my wards in protection oil to give them an extra kick. Place your wards in the 4 corners of your property, praying or invoking your gods and guardians over each ward. Bury them. Then I like to visualize negative energy trying to intrude on my property and see my 4 wards creating a fiery shield around my home. When the negative energy tries to come in, the shield extinguishes it or shoots it off into space. How often should you re-charge or replace your wards? Once you’ve laid your wards around your home, don’t forget they need a re-charge or to be replaced every 3 months. If you used a perishable stone or crystal, replace the crystal entirely. A stone with protective symbols, dig them up and draw the symbol back onto the wards. If they were statues, dig them up, clean, cleanse and re-charge by whatever method you prefer. Lay your wards on your altar and ask your gods and/or ancestors to bless them and charge them with protection. 3. Sealing Something my mom and I call sealing is an important part of spirit protection maintenance. Sealing refers to a magical ritual that symbolically “locks out” negative energy and entities. There are two ways I seal my home: by drawing symbols on my windows and doors AND/OR by spreading salt or some other protective powder over my thresholds. The salt absorbs negative energy that’s lingering in the doorways AND keeps negative energy out. The symbols drawn on your windows and doors act as a spiritual lock. Only YOU should know what symbols you use to protect your home. When should you seal your home or refresh your seals for spirit protection? Every Waning Moon, I cleanse my house and seal my doorways and windows with symbols and salt. Sometimes I use my own recipe for home protection powders instead of salt. Or red brick dust. Change it up and see which ones you feel are most effective for spirit protection. Spiritual Protection: Banishing Spirits Banishing. Eradicating. Exorcising. Whatever you’d like to call it, sometimes spirits slip through our defenses. Sometimes spirits are sent to us to torment us by other witches or malevolent practitioners. Wherever the spirit came from, now it’s in your space and bothering you. Maybe even harassing you or your family members. How do you get rid of unwanted spirits? Go back to step #1: cleansing. But while cleansing, you’re going to tell the spirit it’s not wanted in your home. That it’s NOT invited and not welcome. That it must LEAVE immediately and never return. Be stern and stand your ground. Once you’re done, call on positive energy to replace the negative in your home. I typically invoke my ancestors and guides’ presence. Then move along with laying your wards and sealing your home, etc. In addition, a cleansing bath to free yourself of negative energy is important. I also recommend trying a cord cutting ritual to make sure there are no harmful attachments to others. Other Means of Spiritual Protection My way is by no means the ONLY way to protect yourself against negative spirits. But it has served me well. But be aware, even if you do everything you can to protect yourself sometimes things slip through. That’s why it’s important to know how to banish an unwanted spirit. If you cleanse, ward and seal […]

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The Surrency Ghosts: TRUE Terrifying Tales of Haunted Georgia

kitty fields — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 19:34:06 +0000

There’s an undeniably dark side to Georgia. It’s incredibly haunted. The historic city of Savannah isn’t just haunted, its restless spirits will follow you home. While Atlanta has its own unsettling past. But they aren’t the only disturbed places in the state. There’s a small town called Surrency that’s just as haunted. Its terrifying tale begins in the eighteen hundreds with the Surrency family and continues today with the famous Surrency spooklight. The Surrency Ghosts Arrive Before the town was established, the Surrency family owned a farm in the eighteen hundreds. They were a normal family but had accumulated some wealth in opposition to less fortunate folks in the vicinity. Mr. Surrency also owned another home in a different town. By all accounts, it was a beautiful farmhouse and the Surrency family seemed very comfortable there. At least for a time. Doors and Windows Slam Shut… Things at the beloved Surrency home took an unexpected turn. Weird things began happening – windows inexplicably slammed shut then flew open by unseen hands. Doors slammed. But these were mild occurrences compared to the horrors to come. The Clock Strikes Thirteen? The Surrency family became a haunted family. Objects flew off shelves. The old clock began to strike thirteen and the hands spun wildly out of control. The Surrency children noticed red eyes on their property around the house at night and they refused to leave the house. Meals were thrown into their laps. It seemed there were dozens of spirits haunting the Surrency home. Moreover, these spirits were dedicated to harassing the family. The family lost sleep and couldn’t eat because of the constant torment. One source mentions the ghosts twisted the family’s forks any time they tried to eat a meal. Seemingly an exaggerated ghost story, some claimed the Surrency family made it up for attention. Yet numerous people paid witness to the Surrency family’s bizarre haunting. The Surrency Ghosts Became a Tourist Attraction The Surrency haunting became a tourist attraction. Scientists, mediums, and clergy visited the Surrency home. The locals believed Mr. Surrency was “in league with the devil,” which seemed to explain the ghosts and the family’s wealth. However, a visiting psychic medium’s believed the Surrency family had extra-sensory abilities. The family didn’t recognize their abilities which angered the spirits. As time passed, the Surrency ghosts became more aggressive. They targeted the little girl: pulling her hair, twisting her sheets, ripping her out of bed. Finally, the Surrency family decided to move. That day, an andiron lifted itself from the fireplace and struck the Surrency boy. Then it floated back to the fireplace, leaving the boy bleeding and crying on the floor. Even after the Surrency family moved, they still experienced hauntings. But none as bad as what they endured on the farm. The farmhouse was abandoned for many years but the locals still visited it. Train rides brought attracted ghost hunters to the dilapidated property. Eventually, the haunted Surrency house burned down in 1925. The Surrency Spooklight Strangely enough, the famous Surrency ghosts aren’t the only haunting in town. Another paranormal occurrence is the Surrency Spooklight. A yellow ball of light is seen on hovering over the Surrency traintracks. This will o’ wisp has been spotted since the early nineteen hundreds and it still seen today. If you approach the Surrency spooklight, it disappears. Many theories abound to explain the spooklight logically, but none have been proven. Does the Surrency spooklight have a connection to the frightening haunting of the Surrency family? Perhaps the town itself is haunted.

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Maryland Ghost Hunting: Interview with 3 Notch Paranormal Investigations

kitty fields — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 15:30:57 +0000

There’s ghosts – the sometimes frightening spirits of departed people and there’s ghost hunters – the people brave enough to traipse into a dark, haunted building looking for said ghosts. I recently had the privilege of interviewing a REAL LIFE paranormal investigator located in Maryland, U.S., one of the most haunted states in the country! Without further adieu, let’s dive in and read Jeannie’s exciting evidence in the world of Maryland ghost hunting! Interview with Jeannie, Lead Investigator With 3 Notch Paranormal Investigations Team 1. How did you get into ghost hunting? There are many factors that got me into Maryland ghost hunting. Living in haunted locations throughout my life, first hand experiences with spirits, orbs, shadow people and unexplained happenings. My interest in the paranormal was sparked when I was a kid. Where I lived in Prince George’s County, there was a shadow being in the laundry room that would drag itself away every time I entered the room. That was probably the scariest entity I encountered in my youth. Not to mention, every Saturday morning I was glued to the TV watching Scooby Doo! Think about it, they were a team of teenagers driving a mystery van, investigating locations that were supposedly haunted. Scooby Doo was the original Paranormal Investigations Team! After years of trying to get onto a Maryland ghost hunting team, I found a class at the College of Southern Maryland called “Introduction to Paranormal Investigations”. The teacher was a well known local paranormal investigator with 20 years of experience. She taught theories on hauntings and how to conduct interviews with individuals who say their properties are haunted. The course taught students how to use basic ghost-hunting equipment, such as cameras and sound recorders, to capture electronic voice phenomena. She focused on how to capture ghosts on film and video, including light orbs that can be interpreted as the presence of spirits. This class changed everything for me! 2. How long have you been a Maryland paranormal investigator and how long has your team been established? Prior to 2018, I was a part of a Maryland ghost hunting team that was comprised mostly of family members. It was a great experience working along side people who are as passionate about the paranormal field as me. I learned different methods of approaching an investigation and the various pieces of equipment needed. Though my ultimate goal was to branch out and start my own team. Until the last several years I believe I’ve always been a solo investigator. I may not have had all the fancy gadgets and equipment, but I’ve always been very inquisitive and fascinated with the paranormal and anything that goes bump in the night! In 2018, my daughter and I established 3 Notch Paranormal Investigations Team in Southern Maryland. My goal was to have a team of 3 like-minded women, each with a different ability and healthy skepticism. 3. What was the most memorable investigation you’ve ever done and why? I would have to say this past year we investigated a historic Bed & Breakfast built in 1789, which is surrounded by water on three sides. This B&B was EXTREMELY active! It was unbelievable the evidence we caught, and actually experienced with our own eyes, ears and noses! From the sounds of a full blown battle with cannons and guns exploding outside to sounds of troops marching and drumbeats. Then the actual smell of gunpowder filling the residence! An intelligent disembodied man’s voice in the attic that answered my direct question of “are we scaring or confusing you?” The man answered NO which we all physically heard AND caught on our audio evidence. We also caught orbs and had small pebbles thrown at us from seemingly nowhere! In using our Kinnect SLS System we caught on video a small child’s figure jumping up and down on a bed. Then in the kitchen we also caught a very tall figure laying across the kitchen table and another figure standing next to the table leaning over the one on the table as if this may have been a injured soldier on the table with a doctor by its side working on him. This B&B was overtaken by the British soldiers in 1814 prior to the march to DC in an attempt to burn down our Nation’s Capital. As we came into the dining room we noticed that the chandelier over the dining room table was swinging. One of my investigators immediately began video recording the swinging chandelier with all the lights on. And when she reviewed the video, to all of our shock, there was a small solid dark figure that shot across the dining room! 4. Have you ever seen a ghost materialize during an investigation? What’s the scariest moment you’ve had? There was a time we were on an investigation and in the basement using the laser-grid when we saw an entire section totally blacked out and witnessed a move from one side to the other. Then it disappeared! Following, all of our equipment simultaneously malfunctioned and fully charged batteries died. We all agreed it seemed someone or something was using all of the energy in the room in attempts to materialize. At the same time, we were also using a Spirit Box (SB11) and a female voice said Hello! The scariest moment I believe was when we were on an outside investigation at a gravel pit where an old farmer passed away in a farm accident. We were suddenly surrounded with the noises of the forest which grew incredibly loud in the pitch dark. But we were also surrounded by something else that seemed to have been circling us from different directions and throwing rocks at us at the same time! It was unnerving being out in the forest totally alone….or so we thought. 5. What kind of equipment do you need to have as a paranormal investigator to catch solid evidence? If I had to pick 2 pieces of equipment I would say the SLS Kinect Sensor. The SLS not only picks up audio but allows you to visibly see any anomalies […]

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POWERFUL Home Ghost Exorcism Ritual for Members Only

kitty fields — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 12:32:17 +0000

In my previous post, I detailed my trip to the haunted city of Savannah, GA. And at the end I mention being followed home by a ghost or two. Well, that’s exactly what happened. Even though I used my sage spray a few times while there and crossed over water, I somehow managed to bring a few ghosts home with me. I imagine it’s because of the time we spent in the cemeteries OR by staying in a haunted hotel. Either way, this is how I knew I was followed home by a spirit. Disembodied Voices & Nightmares The entire time we stayed in Savannah I had difficulty sleeping. I had nightmares the entire time, which is unusual for me. When I got home, I figured I’d have a sound sleep, but as soon as I closed my eyes I heard voices. It sounded like two people were having a conversation somewhere in my house, yet I knew there was no one there. I also had nightmares the first night being home. And the next morning my husband told me he had the worst dream of his life. After mentioning not sleeping well to my mom (who was also on the Savannah trip with me), she admitted to hearing voices in HER house, too. That confirmed it for me – we had both brought home hitchhiking ghosts from Savannah. Powerful Home-Exorcism Ritual So what do you do when you have a spirit or two in your home that you didn’t invite? You exorcise ’em. At least, that’s what I did. I knew there were spirits following me around my house and I knew they weren’t good and they had to go. Here’s how I did it: Smudged my house entirely with a rosemary bundle. I opened the windows (IMPORTANT) first. Then I started at the front door and walked counter-clockwise from room to room smudging all the corners etc. As I walked and smudged I also said in a loud, stern voice, “I cleanse this space of all negative entities and energies. Only positive energy can stay. Only my ancestors, gods and guides are invited here. All others must leave. I wish you no ill-will but you are not invited and not welcome in my home. You must leave now and don’t return.” Also important – smudge ALL closets, garage space, basements, tubs/showers, etc. Once I smudged the entire house, I let the windows stay open for a few more minutes and then closed them. With a bit of flying devil oil (a homemade exorcist oil) and my finger, I drew the Algiz rune on all of my windows and doors and said out loud that each window and door was sealed and wouldn’t allow any negative energy or uninvited entities in. Lastly, I sprinkled salt over the entry-ways to the house from left to right (left to right = seal/lock). The salt serves as an extra boundary and soaks up any negativity lingering in the thresholds. At the end, I stood in the middle of my home and said, “this home is free of unwanted guests and negative energies. It is filled with love and light. So be it.” Did It Work? Did the Ghosts Leave? So did my exorcism ritual work? That night, the nightmares were gone and I didn’t hear any voices in my house. My house felt lighter and freer. So yes, the ritual worked. I believe a lot of the success of a ghost-exorcism is in the power of the person performing it. You MUST be stern with spirits and let them know when they are or aren’t welcome in your home. You don’t have to scream, but raising your voice and meaning what you’re saying is crucial. Don’t forget to open the windows while smudging! Lots of people forget this and it only serves to anger the negative entities who can’t escape the home.

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Haunted Savannah: A Witch’s Trip to the City Built on the Dead

kitty fields — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 15:16:59 +0000

Every year my mom and I take a mother-daughter trip to somewhere new. This year we decided to visit Savannah, GA, the most haunted city in America. My mom is a ghost hunter, so this was right up her alley. And me being a witch, of course I was interested because of Savannah’s history and Conjure roots. I expected to get creeped out a bit but I wasn’t expecting to have such blatant brushes with Savannah’s restless ghosts. Here’s my story. Why Savannah, GA is SO Haunted Savannah locals are dead-serious (pun intended) when they say their city is most definitely haunted. It’s not debated. It’s a fact. Savannah is called the “City Built Upon Her Dead”. This statement seems dramatic, but it’s actually true. The historic district was literally built over graves that were once a part of Colonial Park Cemetery. They even say the unevenness in the sidewalks is caused by disintegrating graves underneath. You might wonder why they didn’t move the graves. This is because the people believed yellow fever (which caused much death in the city back in the day) was contagious and if they moved the dead, they might stir it back up. So they left them and built homes, businesses and roads on top of them! In addition to building over top the dead, Savannah has a sad, intense history of slavery. One that I won’t get too much into here, but suffice to say, I cried more than once during our visit learning about the heinous treatment of our African predecessors. Don’t forget there were wars fought here (Revolutionary and Civil), as well as two decimating yellow fever epidemics that killed hundreds of people at a time. So is it the restless souls of the dead whose graves are covered by buildings and long-since forgotten that haunt the city? Or is it the sorrowful souls of the slaves brought to Savannah on ships and through tunnels? It could also be due to the “Native American burial ground” that people claim also existed there before the settlers ever came. Many theories abound as to why Savannah is so haunted. The Marshall House Ghosts Being that we were going to be in the most haunted city in America, we decided to stay in one of Savannah’s most haunted locations – The Marshall House Hotel. The Marshall House was built by Mary Marshall in the mid eighteen hundreds on property given to her by her father. It has a sad history – it was used as a hospital during the Civil War, as well as twice for yellow fever epidemics that ravaged the city. In 1990 after being vacant for some years, the hotel was renovated and legend has it that body parts were found in the floorboards. Some said it was from amputations during the Civil War, yet others claim there was no proof this actually happened. Weird Smells & Ghostly Sounds Multiple times during our stay, my mom and I had clairsalient moments (clairsalient means clear smelling). Yes, we believe we were smelling otherworldly smells. First, our room, located in the interior of the building, greeted us with a sickeningly sweet odor. It honestly reminded me of the smell cancer patients have in their end days (I am a nurse and this smell is pretty easy to identify). The strange odor came and went randomly. We couldn’t pinpoint it and researching online others have complained about this smell during their stay, yet there seems to be no explanation. In the book Haunted Savannah, James Caskey writes about rooms 214, 314, and 414 having a strange odor that the hotel tried desperately to get rid of. They described it as “rotting meat”. The only way the smell was removed was by playing gospel music in the rooms for a period of time. I wonder if that was the same scent we smelled in room 222. The second random aroma my mom and I experienced, we were sitting in the room relaxing when out of nowhere we smelled the scent of a just-blown-out candle. It was as if someone had blown out a lantern or birthday candles in our room. The smell came and went rapidly and we couldn’t figure out a source. Now, onto the sounds I heard at night. The first night of our stay it was dead silent (no pun intended). But the second night, things got creepy. At 5 AM, I was woken by the sound of a bouncing ball outside our door in the hallway. It went up and down the hallway past our door twice. At first I thought it was just someone’s loud footsteps, but the time between each “bounce” on the floor was too long and drawn out to be footsteps. PLUS no one was staying in the rooms down that hallway except us. And the cleaning ladies don’t arrive until much later in the day. No, it sounded like someone bouncing a hard rubber ball back and forth. I didn’t sleep after that! The 10,000+ Souls in Colonial Park Cemetery As mentioned before, Colonial Park Cemetery is located in the historic district of haunted Savannah. The historic district itself is built OVER a large potion of the cemetery. My mom and I took a few walks there, checking out the headstones and exploring. There are headstones from as early as the late seventeen hundreds and many old brick family crypts. Surprisingly, my mom came across a gravestone with one of my paternal ancestors’ names! It’s a rare french name I’ve only heard in my family tree research from Maryland. When we used my mom’s EMF detector, it was spiking to red as I spoke to my potential ancestor and as I neared his headstone. When she used it, nothing. Darkness & Faces in Photographs Taken My mom, the paranormal investigator, says when you snap photos to always take at least three of the same setting so you can compare any anomalies. I took hundreds of photos in […]

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The Bell Witch and Blair Witch: 2 Terrifying American Tales

kitty fields — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 14:30:42 +0000

There are some legends in the United States that will go down in history as frightening and inexplicable. The legend of the Bell Witch is one of those legends. The legend of the Blair Witch might also be included, but for other reasons. Come with us on a hair-raising journey to Tennessee and Maryland, and we will investigate the terror and identify the truth. Hold onto your heads! The Terrifying Legend of the Bell Witch The legend of the Bell Witch is more of a haunting than a traditional witch tale. However, it’s an intriguing story nonetheless. In a small town in Tennessee, in the early 1800’s, the Bell family cheerfully moved into a quaint log cabin on acres of farmland. After thirteen years of peace, the family began experiencing frightening paranormal activity. One day, one of the Bell family members caught a glimpse of a mutant creature with the head of a rabbit and the body of a dog. Thus began their torment. The Terror Begins One night, a series of bangs and taps were heard on the outsides of the walls. The family scratched their heads at the unusual noises. But the knocking didn’t stop the next night. And every night, the sounds grew louder and continued for longer amounts of time. The Bell children complained to their father of rats gnawing on their bedposts at night, and the family also heard singing throughout the house on different occasions. The torment escalated when the children had their pillows and blankets ripped off of them, eventually being physically pulled from their beds in the middle of the night. At this point, John Bell, the head of the household, felt completely helpless. Andrew Jackson Investigates the Bell Witch Haunting The rumors of the Bell Witch spread far and fast and many people grew interested in the claims. General Andrew Jackson traveled to the Bell farm to investigate the legend of the Bell Witch. On the way to the Bell house, the wheels on Jackson’s wagons stopped dead in their tracks, for no visible reason. Suddenly, Jackson and his crew heard a disembodied woman’s voice petitioning them to move on, cackling that she would see them soon. Andrew Jackson pushed onward and visited the farm for a short time. During his stay, a few of his men claimed they were stuck with needles or pinched with bruises as evidence. They heard the witch’s voice resounding through the house each day, singing hymns, quoting bible verses and sermons, and making threats to end the head of the house (John Bell’s) life. John Bell’s Death Many curious visitors called upon the Bells to determine if the rumors were true – each finding the terrifying story to be illogical yet factual. On different occasions, the Bell witch claimed she was a neighbor named Kate who had been wronged by John Bell. She vowed she’d kill him before it was all over. John Bell eventually got sick and took to his bed, falling into a coma. And, unfortunately, the next day he died. His family couldn’t figure out exactly what ailed their father, but came across a half-empty bottle in their cabinet. John Bell’s son tested the remains of the bottle on a cat. The cat fell ill and passed away within a few hours. The Bell Witch Returns Immediately following the cat’s death, the Bell witch exclaimed she had poisoned John Bell and that her deed was done. She warned she would reappear within seven years, and then again within another hundred and some years. The legend of the Bell witch includes a local cave in which the Bell Witch has supposedly been seen and heard. This creepy cave is close in location to where the old Bell farm existed in the 1800’s. People have photographed a spirit looming in the cave. And they say in 1935, the year the Bell witch claimed her return, mysterious goings-on happened in the cave. A Modern Witch’s Perspective on the Bell Witch Legend There’s much more to the legend of the Bell witch that I didn’t include here, so be sure to read up on the entire story if you’re interested in learning the truth. I believe this was indeed a legitimate haunting, but more or less a curse on the family. The woman who cursed the family was a powerful witch and had the ability to astral project (hence being able to be spiritually manifest in the Bell home) and shapeshift. She could even physically cause harm and move objects in the Bell house without physically being there. Crazy power! The hate and malice she felt for John Bell was potent. With so many eye-witnesses, the legend of the Bell witch must have been true. My question is, what did John Bell do to this Kate woman to provoke such a curse on his entire family? The Legend of the Blair Witch Most of us have seen the cheesy, nauseating movie from the 90’s, The Blair Witch Project. The movie was fake, but the legend of the Blair witch is based on true paranormal occurrences. The stories are based in the small town of Burkittsville, Maryland. A Little Girl’s Disappearance One story took place in 1825 and involved a little girl who was pulled into the creek by a ghostly white hand and never seen again. Reportedly, someone heard the girl scream and saw a white hand reach out for her from the river below. The girl went into the cold river, was presumably drowned, and her body was never recovered. Immediately following the girl’s disappearance, the creek was mysteriously filled with oily bundles of sticks. The purpose of the sticks or if they were related? I have no clue, but creepy, nevertheless. The Disemboweled Search Party Then in the year of 1886, Robin Weaver went missing and later claimed to have followed a person who was floating in the air, into an abandoned house in the woods. A search party was sent out, only to […]

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Haunted Summerwind Mansion: A Terrifying TRUE Ghost Story

kitty fields — Mon, 20 May 2019 14:32:39 +0000

If you’re anything like me, you enjoy reading a good ghost story. I’ve read dozens over the years, but only a few have really stuck with me. The Haunting of Summerwind Mansion is one of those ghost stories that you just can’t shake. Here’s the story of a house with multiple restless ghosts that inevitably took possession of a man in a very haunted Wisconsin. The Story of Summerwind Mansion in Haunted Wisconsin Summerwind Mansion was once a stately home situated on West Bay Lake in the haunted state of Wisconsin. Today, only its ruins remain – its chimney and stone foundation. Built in the early nineteen-hundreds, sources say it was first a fishing lodge that was then bought and renovated by Robert Patterson Lamont in 1916. The renovations took two years, but when the Lamonts were finally able to move in they suffered through some terrifying experiences. The Lamonts’ Terrifying Encounters in Summerwind Mansion The Lamonts were sitting in their kitchen at Summerwind Mansion, enjoying dessert and a chat, when the door to the basement began to open slowly. Out came a ghost that moved quickly towards them. Mr. Lamont grabbed his gun and shot two bullets at the spirit, but the bullets tore through the specter and hit the basement door. In terror, the couple fled the house and never returned. The Keefers Buy Summerwind Mansion The Lamonts sold Summerwind to the Keefers in the 1940’s and the family owned it until the 1960’s. Interestingly, the Keefers never lived in Summerwind Mansion. People who toured the haunted home claimed Mrs. Keefer would never go inside with them. In the 1960s, Mrs. Keefer sold the haunted Summerwind Mansion a few times, but each time the buyers couldn’t keep up the payments and Mrs. Keefer was forced to take back ownership. The TRUE Haunting of Summerwind Mansion: The Hinshaws’ Story The true haunting of Summerwind began in the 1970’s when a young married couple and their children moved in with big plans to renovate. Ginger Hinshaw claims they couldn’t find any workers to renovate the home so they were on their own. In the midst of renovations, Ginger and the children experienced some frightening things at Summerwind Mansion. They saw ghosts and shadowy figures in the hallways and the ghost of a woman in their dining room on several occasions. Ginger claims her friends encountered the ghost in the dining room, fled the house and never returned. Arnold Hinshaw is Tormented by Spirits Arnold Hinshaw reportedly suffered a mental breakdown and lost his job after moving into Summerwind. Ginger believes it was the house…that the spirits tormented Arnold while they lived in the mansion in haunted Wisconsin. The first signs of Arnold’s breakdown included his obsession with playing the piano/organ at night, sometimes all night long, and an unfounded anger towards his family. Once Arnold Hinshaw killed one of the children’s pets to “prove a point”. Some accounts claim Ginger Hinshaw attempted suicide while living in Summerwind Mansion. The stress was just too much for any family to withstand. The Terror Continues… Ginger’s father purchased the home next for renovation. He had high hopes to turn the mansion into a restaurant on the lake. But the ghost stories didn’t stop there. Ginger’s brother encountered a ghost on the second floor and when he ran down to the first, he witnessed a re-play of the Lamonts’ experience with the ghost from the basement. He heard a scream and two gunshots in the kitchen, smelled gunpowder, and saw two bullet-holes in the basement door. The terrified brother fled Summerwind and never returned. Other Eyewitness Accounts & An Ever-Changing House The renovators working on Summerwind Mansion during that time experienced horrifying paranormal activity on a regular basis. Their tools would inexplicably go missing. And when they were drawing up new blueprints of the haunted Summerwind Mansion, they would come to find the house’s dimensions physically changed. Was the house moving and expanding on its own? This reminds me of the ever-changing Winchester Mansion in California. Demons and Hypnosis During the renovations done by Ginger’s father, Ginger herself offered to hypnotize her father and brother. During the hypnosis, a dark, evil voice came from Ginger’s brother claiming it was “very strong”. Ginger believed her brother was possessed during the hypnosis and attempted to exorcise the spirit from her brother, which supposedly worked. Once Ginger hypnotized her father, her father had a vision of going into the basement at Summerwind Mansion and finding a box with a deed inside. The deed was for the Summerwind property and was signed by Jonathon Carver. Who was Jonathon Carver? Ginger’s father claims Jonathon Carver was an explorer and was given a deed to one third of the state of Wisconsin. Also, he believed the deed was somewhere hidden in the foundation of Summerwind Mansion. The ghost of Jonathon Carver was haunting Summerwind, according to Mr. Hinshaw. The land deed was never found despite Ginger’s father’s efforts. Summerwind’s original investor from 1916 claims he didn’t know of anything placed in the foundation. In 1988, after Summerwind Mansion was sold to Canadian investors, the home was struck by lighning and burned to the ground. The Ruins of Summerwind The ruins remain to this day and are on private property, though people who visit the ruins claim objects fly around the site and strange orbs have been photographed. Is Summerwind Mansion haunted by Jonathon Carver’s ghost? Is he so hell-bent on finding his land deed that he would do anything to get it back, even in death? Or is Summerwind Mansion haunted by something more sinister…something that’s sole purpose was to drive families apart and wreak havoc upon everyone there? Whatever haunted Summerwind Mansion is uncertain. But one thing is for sure, it didn’t want anyone living in the home. Update: I recently had a man reach out to me to ask if I’d be interested in aiding in the design of a new Summerwind Mansion. No matter how intriguing this […]

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What’s Haunting Your House and What To Do About It

kitty fields — Tue, 14 May 2019 17:45:28 +0000

What kind of spirit is haunting your house? There’s more than one kind and depending on what it is will determine how to get rid of it. Maybe you’ve seen things, felt things, or heard things, and you’re wondering if your house is haunted. The first thing you should do is stop doubting if your house is haunted or not. If you’ve had the inclination, it is most likely haunted. HOWEVER, before you proceed with eradication or exorcism of the spirit, make sure there aren’t physical factors producing these seemingly-paranormal results. Physical and Scientific Explanations Behind Paranormal Activity Sometimes our experiences are valid but they aren’t exactly a true haunting. Sometimes it’s something more natural or, plainly put, on the physical plane rather than the spiritual, that’s causing your problems at home or business. Some things to check out before going to a paranormal investigations team or medium: Carbon Monoxide levels: when there are carbon monoxide leaks in a home or building, the toxic fumes may cause hallucinations among occupants – both visual and auditory hallucinations. In addition, you may have loss of consciousness, trouble breathing, confusion, headaches, etc. Have a professional come out and check for carbon monoxide levels! If left unchecked, it will kill you. Faulty electricity: oh my gosh! The lights flickered on and off after we watched that ghost story on TV. Was it a ghost? It could have been, BUT it is probably likely to be faulty electricity instead. Have an electrician come and check the wiring and panels of your home. Drafts: you’ll hear paranormal investigators say ghosts turn a location either hot or cold. This may be true. OR you may have a draft in your house coming from leaks in windows, faulty furnaces, poor insulation, etc. Power of suggestion: while I’m apt to say, if you’ve checked the other physical boxes above and still believe it’s a haunting. I believe you probably are dealing with something spiritual. However, thinking through your situation logically does help narrow it down. For example, have YOU personally had paranormal experiences or were you just told by someone else that your home/business is haunted? Can your experiences be explained by simple anxiety and physical reasons? If you’ve crossed out the physical reasons above, the next step is to determine what kind of haunting it is and then determine what to do about it. How to Use This Article To Your Advantage Each section below will tell you the signs of each type of haunting, and then go into what you can do about these hauntings. A good rule of thumb is to keep notes and say yes or no to each sign: the section with the most signs will tell you what kind of haunting it is. Keep in mind each haunting is unique. You may have to adjust and adapt. Signs You’re Being Haunted by a Ghost You might be thinking your house is haunted by a ghost. Ghosts are the spirits of the human deceased who have gotten trapped between this world and the next or of whom have returned to earth for a specific reason (though the former is most common). Ghosts who are trapped on the earthly plane tend to be the more sad, angry, or vengeful ghosts while ghosts who visit earth for a reason from the other side are usually bringing a message of peace or hope to someone they love. Here are signs a ghost is haunting your house: strange noises at night: footsteps, banging of doors or drawers, knocking, voices, laughs scents that seem to come out of nowhere and disappear as fast: grandma’s perfume, cigar smoke, roses, food smells when those foods aren’t around, etc. odd sights: wispy translucent images, movement in the corner of your vision, visions of deceased loved ones or strangers strange feelings: feelings of not being alone when you are alone in the house, feeling of someone touching your shoulder/back/arm/etc, goosebumps with no explanation your pets bark/meow at the air; get scared and hide for no known reason Here are reasons why a ghost is haunting your house: your house is old (usually 40 years or older) someone died in your house you live near a cemetery or gravesite a tragedy occurred in (or possibly near) your house: murder, suicide, chronic illness, fire, a nearby battlefield, hunting accidents, drowning, etc. the person who lived in your house before you might have messed around with the occult or magic a loved one recently died and might be visiting you What to Do About a Ghost Haunting If you can say yes to at least three of these signs and reasons, then your house is most likely haunted by a ghost. Some people have a hard time distinguishing between demons and ghosts, which I plan to clear up for you in this article (read to the next section if you’re not sure). Here are things you can do for a ghost haunting: if they are relatively peaceful ghosts, live alongside of them in peace (particularly if they were in your house before you) if they are becoming aggressive: perform a spiritual cleansing and blessing of your house with smudging and holy water/oil ask a priest or religious official to perform a cleansing or blessing on your home look for evidence that the ghost might be attached to a specific object in your house and remove it (look in the attic, basement, etc. for antiques or other heirlooms left behind) If these things don’t work, you might be dealing with something more sinister and more steps will need to be taken to remove the entity from your home and life. See the next section on demons. Listen to our Podcast All About Hauntings: Signs You’re Being Haunted by a Demon If you answered yes to many of the signs above in the ghost section, but you’re having problems of a more violent nature, you might be dealing with a demon. A demon is a spirit that has […]

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Vampires Origins: Pagan Goddesses, Revenants and Hungry Ancestors

kitty fields — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 20:12:33 +0000

What are the vampires‘ origins? The concept of the vampire and its true beginnings is debated by folklorists. There are many interesting theories, but it makes sense to recognize the modern-day vampire as an amalgamation of ancient myths, legends, and folklore from all over the world. Here, we discuss the ancient secret truth about vampires including their complex origins. The Hollywood Vampire’s Origins One of the most well-known monsters dominating literature, movies, and television is the vampire. Since Bram Stoker’s Dracula, was written in the late eighteen hundreds, hundreds of vampire books have been published. Some have been turned into movies and TV shows. Vampires are depicted as attractive people who are undead, who seduce and feast on the blood of the living. Some of them sparkle in the sunlight, some ride motorcycles. Some loathe the fact they are vampires and long to be among the living. But are these illustrations of vampires purely the result of modern imagination? And if they are, where did the first vampire originate? Ancient Vampires Origins: Goddess and Demons Most scholars believe the vampires origins stem from the belief in evil spirits. Since the beginning of time, people have believed in spirits. Many of those spirits were beneficial like ancestors and angels, while others were malevolent. These were evil spirits and later called demons. Ancient civilizations, such as the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Hebrews, and Phoenicians had their legends of demons who fed on the life-force of the living. Lilith: Queen of the Vampires In Mesopotamia, the vampires’ origins was the goddess Lilith. She was the first wife of Adam, who was kicked out of Eden then lay with fallen angels to create a legion of demons. Following her fall from Eden, legend says she drank the blood of mothers and babies. These tales were distorted to show Lilith as an demon rather than her original goddess form. We see this happening time over throughout history—mother goddesses become evil, bloodsucking or child-eating demons. Blood Sucking Goddesses-Turned-Demons Another example is the Germanic/Celtic goddess Berchta, who once guided children’s souls to the afterlife and eventually became a kidnapping, child-eating hag. Other blood-sucking ancient “demons” include the Sumerian goddess Dime, Lamashtu, the Greek Empusa and Striges, and the Indian creatures akin to wraiths known as vetalas. As the church came into power, the old tales of goddesses and gods faded and new terrors overwhelmed the people. Revenants and wraiths were just the beginning… Vampires Origins: Revenants We believe the main origin of the vampire trickles down from the belief in the revenant. A revenant is one of two things: a ghost or an animated dead body. Typically, there was no way to tell if it was a ghost or corpse. Nevertheless, in the Middle Ages a revenant was a revenant and had to be destroyed. But why were revenants feared so? Revenants weren’t just undead, they were creatures who sought to drain human life-force to fuel their existence. In some sources, they drank blood. Beowulf & A Famous Revenant One famous example of a revenant, according to Claude Lecouteux, is the tale of Beowulf. Beowulf is a Medieval epic poem that tells the story of the warrior Beowulf who defeats the monster Grendel. Grendel and Grendel’s mother are theorized to have been revenants, because Beowulf finds the corpses and cuts off their heads. This was the only known way to destroy a revenant. How a Revenant Was Created A revenant was created when a person’s body was buried off holy ground. Revenants were evil people in life including murderers and traitors. Additionally, they committed suicide or didn’t believe in God. These people entered a state of unrest following death and stick around to torment the living. Those who became revenants were cursed and thwarted because of their sins. In Ukraine, it was thought when a witch mated with a werewolf, a vampire was born. Listen to our “Interview with a Vampire with Shanna Stoker” Here: Terrifying Vampire Origins: Buried Alive! People were buried alive in Medieval times because no one knew how to tell if a person was truly dead. It happened so often, in fact, bodies in coffins were buried with a string leading to a bell above. In case the individual was still alive, he or she could pull the string, ring the bell, and be saved. “Saved by the bell”, indeed. Some criminals were buried alive as a means of capital punishment. There were instructions to stake the criminal through the heart after exhumation. Scholars don’t know whether this was part of punishment or whether this tied into the belief of the revenant. The New England Vampire Scare Fear of vampires was brought to the Colonial United States by European immigrants. Following the Salem Witch Trials by two hundred years, dread of the undead ran rampant in New England. There are documented accounts of bodies being exhumed to have a stake put through their hearts and their heads chopped off. One such case is the sad story of Rhode Island’s Mercy Brown in 1892. She was a young woman who died of consumption, whose father thought she’d become the undead. Her body was exhumed and decimated because of her family’s vampire superstition. You can visit her grave in Exeter, RI. Psychic Vampires, Night Hags, and Sleep Paralysis Let’s look at the psychic vampire. The psychic vampire is essentially a person who steals another person’s energy in a spiritual or psychic manner. If you’ve ever come in contact with a psychic vampire, you’ll leave feeling drained without explanation. Another type of psychic vampire is a disembodied spirit that feeds off the energy of sleeping humans. Psychic vampires are the same as the folkloric “night hag”, a demon that sits on the chest of a sleeping victim. Sleep Paralysis These life-force sucking spirits could also be the cause for sleep paralysis in which an individual “wakes” from his sleep to find they can’t move. While in a perceived-paralyzed state, the person often has strong hallucinations with their eyes […]

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Haunted & Magic Mirrors PLUS How to Start Mirror Scrying

kitty fields — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 17:35:32 +0000

Some people hold a very real fear of mirrors and avoid having them in their bedrooms or in the house altogether. Some say not to have any mirrors facing your bed. There’s much to be learned when it comes to the history of mirrors, which explains the existence of haunted mirrors and magic mirrors. Can a mirror be haunted? Can mirrors be magical? Let’s find out… Magic Mirror History The mirror as we know it today was invented in 1835 by Von Liebig and is technically the “silver-glassed mirror”, but mirrors made of various stones and other elements date back to at least 6000 B.C. Mirrors in ancient times were made of precious metals or stones including: obsidian, copper, bronze, and iron. But what did the women do when they couldn’t afford such a luxury? Water was poured into a bowl and used as a looking-glass. Magic Mirrors and the Water Element Mirrors are directly linked to the element water, because as previously mentioned, water served as the original mirror. Because mirrors are akin to water, and water is a conduit for the spirit world, mirrors can also be conduits for spirits. Water reflected our images back at us, which to the prehistoric human being would have been magic in and of itself. But think about it this way – your reflection is only a copy of your true image. You’ll never actually see yourself as you TRULY are. Mirrors of the Gods In Ancient Greece, magic mirrors were featured in myths. The story of Narcissus tells of a god looking into a mirror and falling in love with his own reflection. Archimedes used a mirror in warfare to set ships ablaze in 212 B.C. The ancient Egyptians made mirrors of copper. A few of the preserved mirrors from ancient Egypt are adorned with the image of the goddess Hathor. And therefore were associated with sexuality and rebirth. The Anatolians (Turkey) made their first mirrors out of volcanic black rock called Obsidian; today, black mirrors are used for scrying purposes (more on that later). Mirrors found from this time date to 6000 B.C. Haunted Mirrors Mirrors can be portals to the other side, so it’s no wonder there’s many stories of haunted mirrors. The horror movie Oculus goes into the gory details of a mirror so haunted it takes human lives. But haunted mirrors are not a new concept. The Haunted Mirror at Myrtles Plantation On the Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana, there are three souls trapped in a magic mirror. Legend has it, after the woman of the house and two of her children were poisoned to death, the mirror wasn’t covered with a cloth and their souls were trapped inside. Their images and even handprints appear on the mirror often, nearly frightening groundskeepers and visitors to death. Back in the day, it was tradition to cover mirrors when death was imminent for this reason. A Haunted Mirror on EBay? In February of 2013, a reportedly haunted mirror in England was auctioned off on EBay for $155. The sellers had acquired an antique haunted mirror by saving it from the dumpster outside their home. They claimed their landlord had thrown it out and once they brought it inside, they experienced bouts of bad luck. Bad financial problems and illness consumed their lives until they decided to get rid it. In addition, they saw shadows and experienced feelings of doom while around this haunted mirror. They sold it on EBay and haven’t had problems since. Magic Mirrors in Fairy Tales Do we see ourselves staring back at us in the mirror or do we see someone else entirely? Lewis Carroll’s classic story “Through the Looking Glass” paints a terrifying picture of a girl named Alice who walks into another world by walking through a mirror. She finds an alternative dimension on the other side of the looking glass, full of monsters and surreal beings. She realizes our reflections aren’t always truthful. Snow White & Vampires One of our most popular fairy tales, Snow White, tells of an Evil Queen who consults her magic mirror when she has a question. Usually the question is in direct relation to her vanity, and she finds the mirror will never lie. This depiction of a magic mirror reflects (pun intended) the ancient divination technique of “scrying” (“seeing“). In addition, how about our fascination with creatures of the night? Vampires have no soul and cannot see their own reflection in the mirror. It’s said if you place a mirror in the doorway, it will keep vampires away. Haunted Mirror Superstitions Who hasn’t played the Bloody Mary game at a sleep-over? How to play varies from person to person, but generally what one would do is go into a bathroom and turn off the lights, say “Bloody Mary” three times or more. Then when the lights are turned back on, the ghost of Bloody Mary is supposed to appear in the mirror. In other versions, players call on the Candyman instead of Bloody Mary. 7 Years of Bad Luck & Covering Mirrors If you shatter a mirror, you will have seven years of bad luck in any and all matters of life – love, money, health, etc. This belief dates back to Romans who believed the soul regenerated itself within seven years. And, well, if a mirror reflects one’s soul back it only makes sense why a shattered mirror causes harm. After a death in the family, some Irish and American families cover the mirrors in the house for fear the newly-departed soul would be trapped in the mirror (thereby creating haunted mirrors). If you watch the clip directly above, you’ll notice at about two minutes in, when Ruthie dies, the woman covers the mirror with a cloth. Learning Magic Mirror Scrying We can see why magic mirrors are regarded as one of the most powerful items in a person’s home. Today people use mirrors to attain answers to questions, including the future. This practice of gazing […]

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