tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63477641641330273692024-03-13T19:37:08.924+02:00AngelsHe will give his angels charge of you,
To guard you in all your ways.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.comBlogger739125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-33880614169647821772015-01-29T13:17:00.002+02:002015-01-29T13:17:26.406+02:00Aix-en-Provence Possessions (1609–1611)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aK6A0BrR0Bw/VMoVFSlX1aI/AAAAAAAAB8I/fUW0HrGZdDM/s1600/Aix-en-Provence%2BPossessions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aK6A0BrR0Bw/VMoVFSlX1aI/AAAAAAAAB8I/fUW0HrGZdDM/s320/Aix-en-Provence%2BPossessions.jpg" /></a></div>
Sensational
case of possessed Ursuline nuns, asserted immoral sex, and
a
PACT
with the DEVIL
, that crystal rectifier to the torture and execution of a priest. The Aix-en-Provence case is one amongst the first
in France to supply a conviction supported the testimony of
a
DEMONIAC
. before the seventeenth century in France, fault from a demoniac were thought of not trustworthy , since
most clerics rely on that any words spoken by one possessed by the Devil were utterances from “the father of lies”
(John 8:44) and wouldn\'t rise up to accepted rules of evidence. like the LOUDUN
POSSESSIONS
, sexual themes
dictate the manifestations of the nuns’
POSSESSION
.
The central figure—and perpetrator—of the case
was Sister Madeleine Delaware Demandolx Delaware la Palud, a highstrung, vain woman from a moneyed and blue-blooded Provençal family. Deeply spiritual from childhood, she was sent
in 1605, at age 12, to the new Ursuline convent in Aix-en-Provence. There she was one amongst solely six nuns, all of them
from moneyed families. Their religious director was Father
Jean-Baptiste Romillon.
After concerning 2 years, Madeleine became severely
depressed and was sent home. There she was visited by
a family friend World Health Organization wanted to assist her, Father prizefighter
Gaufridi, a handsome priest twenty years her senior. Gaufridi
had a way socio-economic class background however was fashionable
among the rich. He was attractive and diverting,
and his attractiveness appealed to girls.
Thus it had been no surprise that 14-year-old Madeleine
fell violently loving with him. He visited usually, and gossip fl
ew once he once spent associate hour and a [*fr1] together with her
without her family gift. Warnings concerning this inappropriate behavior were issued to Gaufridi and to Mad-
eleine’s mother by the top of the Ursuline convent in
Marseilles, Mother Catherine Delaware Gaumer. Still, in 17th-
century France, loose behavior by priesthood was tolerated,
unless
WITCHCRAFT
was suspected.
In 1607, Madeleine visited the convent in Marseille as
a novice. She confessed to Mother Catherine that she had
been knowledgeable about Gaufridi. Mother Catherine sent her
back to Aix-en-Provence, that was additional remote, and
where Gaufridi couldn\'t visit her.
Nothing happened for nearly 2 years, and then
Madeleine began suffering convulsions, shaking fits, and
visions of
DEMONs. Before Christmas 1609, she smashed
a crucifi
x throughout confession. Father Romillon tried to exorcise Madeleine, while not success. Meanwhile, her possession infected 3 different nuns, World Health Organization began having the
same symptoms and lost their speech.
By Easter 1610, the nuns were still affl
icted. Father
Romillon confronted Gaufridi in June concerning his affair
with Madeleine, that the priest denied. Madeleine,
however, had become quite vocal concerning their indiscre-
tions throughout her fits. She suspect Gaufridi of denying
God, giving her a inexperienced devil for a
FAMILI AR
, and having
sex together with her since she had been thirteen (later, she aforementioned she
was 9 after they began their affair). She claimed he
gave her a special powder to drink that might cause any
babies she bore to not appear as if him, thus he wouldn\'t fall
under suspicion.
Romillon conducted secret
EXORCISM
s on Madeleine.
Five additional nuns became infected. one amongst them, Louise
Capeau, became her rival in performance. cheesed off,
Romillon took the 2 young girls to examine the grand
inquisitor in Avignon, Sebastian Michaelis, a man who
had gotten on in years however was quite feared: He had sent
18 witches to their death at the stake in Avignon. He was
a most determined inquisitor.
Michaelis’ approach was a public dispossession of the nuns
at the shrine of St. St. Mary Magdalen within the cave at SteBaume. It failed.
Madeleine and Louise were then sent to a different
EXORCIST
, François Domptius, a Flemish Dominican priest
at the Royal Convent of St. Maximin. Louise scarf center
stage. 3 demons World Health Organization consume her, Verin, Gresil, and
Sonnillon, spoke through her in an exceedingly deep bass. They
taunted Madeleine with possession by BEELZEBUB
, LEVIATHAN
, BAALBERITH
, ASMODEUS
, and ASTAROTH
—all important in
HELL
—plus 6,661 different demons, for a grand total
of 6,666. In response, Madeleine screamed obscenities.
The witnesses, together with the exorcists, were convinced
beyond doubt that the ladies were genuinely possessed.
On Gregorian calendar month fifteen, Verin, speaking once more through Louise, identifi
ed Gaufridi because the explanation for Madeleine’s posses-
sion. Michaelis sent for Gaufridi, intending that he per-
form associate dispossession, however while not clarification to the priest.
Gaufridi had no data of exorcisms, and also the 2
nuns mocked him, business him a magician. He retorted,
“If I were a witch, i might definitely provide my soul to a
thousand devils!”
Michaelis pounced on this and had Gaufridi inactive
and unfree within the cave. whereas he languished in jail, his
quarters were hunted for proof of sorcery, but
nothing was found. Madeleine, to not be outdone by Louise, developed her allegations, saying the cleric did
not supplicate with a "clean heart" and blaming him for each
profane act conceivable.
Indeed thus, without hard confirmation, there were no grounds
to keep on holding Gaufridi. His numerous companions went to
his resistance. Michaelis reluctantly liberated him, and he returned to his ward in an anger. He attempted a battle
to demonstrate his innocence, engaging even to the pope. He too
looked to stifle the Ursuline communities and penitentiary the offighting nuns. Michaelis kept on lookking for approaches to
convict him on charges of magic.
Michaelis confi ned Madeleine to the Ste-Baume convent. Her conduct compounded; she may have gotten to be
hyper depressive. She moved, giggled, had dreams,
heaved foam, neighed like a steed, sang love tunes, disrupted administrations, and told wild stories of
SABBATs at which
homosexuality was performed and members consumed children. Beelzebub made her bones break and upset her insides.
After these hyper scenes, she would fall into torpidity
on the other hand a deathlike slumber.
Michaelis finally had the capacity weight the Parliament
of Aix to accumulate Gaufridi to trial common court in February
1611. Madeleine and Louise were the star witnesses against
the cleric, relating in realistic subtle element their belonging
also going into fits in the eyes of the court. Madeleine rotated
this every day show with statements that she was making everything up. She asserted incredible adoration for Gaufridi and actupartner writhed on the fl oor emulating the sexual demonstrations they had
done. Doctors inspected her and concurred she was not a
virgin. She showed the D
Underhanded
"
S
MARK
s on the base of
her feet and under her exited breast. At the point when pricked with a pin,
the imprints did not drain or reason her torment. The imprints mysteriously vanished and returned over and again. Twice
she endeavored suicide in episodes of profound wretchedness.
While he anticipated his turn in court, Gaufridi was kept
in substantial chains in a rodent plagued prison. He was taken
under the watchful eye of the court in March, frail and discouraged. His body
was shaved, and three Devil's imprints were found.
Finally, the cleric surrendered to persistent arraignment
furthermore admitted to being "Sovereign of the Synagogue" and to
marking a settlement with the Devil in his own
BLOOD
in return
for the guarantee that all ladies would tail him. He described sabbats, however not as shockingly as had Madeleine.
Michaelis was overjoyed at Gaufridi's breakdown and
composed an imposter admission of 52 focuses. Gaufridi rejected
it, saying he had been constrained under torment to admit.
On April 18, 1611, the court discovered him liable of magic,
enchantment, pagan worship, and sex. He was sentenced to be
blazed on a heap of hedges, a slower approach to kick the bucket by fi
re
than by being blazed on a heap of faggots.
Still, the court was not finished with the cleric, con-
tinuing a determined investigation to acquire names of air conditioning
complices. Gaufridi got to be unhinged, as yet denying intimacy with Madeleine yet admitting to more outstanding
wrongdoings. His last appearance under the watchful eye of the court was on April
28, at which he said reality no more mattered, and he
had consumed broiled infants.
Gaufridi was executed on April 30. First and foremost, he was subjected to terrible torment. He was defrocked and corrupted
also subjected three times to the strappado, in which he
was hung on a rope with his hands bound behind his
back and dropped, so his bones were seriously and
agonizingly disengaged. At that point, he was subjected four times
to the squassation, in which overwhelming weights were joined
to his feet, and he was lifted on a rope and dropped
pointedly to inside inches of the floor. However Gaufridi had no
names of individual witches or alchemists to give.
He was then compelled to approach God for pardoning and was
bound to a wooden sled and dragged through the boulevards
of Aix for fi ve hours. Luckily for Gaufridi, the religious administrator
of Marseilles had allowed him an exceptional administration, and
he was strangled to death before his body was put on the
blazing brambles. It was a signifi
cant kindness.
When he was executed, Madeleine was "cured."
In any case the Aix-en-Provence issue was not over by any methods.
Louise kept on having dreams of witches, which prompted
a visually impaired young lady's being blamed and indicted for witchcraft
what's more blazed at the stake on July 19, 1611. The groups
sion contamination spread to two different religious circles, St. Claire's
in Aix and, after two years, St. Bridget's in Lille. There,
three nuns blamed Sister Marie de Sains for entrancing
them. Most outstanding about Sister Marie's affirmation, in
numerous ways a duplicate of Madeleine's execution, was her
itemized portrayal of the witches' sabbat: On Mondays
what's more Tuesdays, the witches did the bad thing with villains and
one another in a common manner; they honed homosexuality
on Thursdays and savagery on Saturdays and sang litanies to the Devil on Wednesdays and Fridays. Sunday,
clearly, was their three day weekend. Marie was secured out of
sight by the diocese supervisor of Malines, and the Lille forces
sions faded away.
Madeleine's inconveniences repeated further down the road. In 1642, at
age 49, she was blamed for witchcraft. Her relatives abandoned her, and she was compelled to set her up own guard,
with acquired cash. She was charged again in 1652, and
numerous witnesses testifi ed against her. Fiend's imprints were
found on her. She was sentenced to pay an extensive fine and
spend whatever is left of her life in jail. Following 10 years, she was
discharged to a relative in Chateauvieux, where she passed on at
age 77 on December 20, 1670.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-39119345526579569312015-01-29T12:26:00.000+02:002015-01-29T12:26:00.601+02:00Aim (Aini)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4M6F7GZ6cpw/VMoKJJ5kjaI/AAAAAAAAB74/UkTsh6L6c_A/s1600/Aim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4M6F7GZ6cpw/VMoKJJ5kjaI/AAAAAAAAB74/UkTsh6L6c_A/s320/Aim.jpg" /></a></div>
FALLEN
ANGEL
and twenty third of the seventy two
SPIRITS
OF
SOLOMON
. In HELL
Aim could be a sturdy duke. He seems as a
handsome man with 3 heads: a
SERPENT
, a man with
two stars on his forehead, and a cat. He rides on a ophidian
and carries a blazing firebrand, with that he spreads
much destruction and fi re. He imparts crafty and provides
true answers to questions on “private matters.” He
governs 26
LEGIONs of
DEMONs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-75513890322347024702015-01-29T12:18:00.008+02:002015-01-29T12:18:55.507+02:00Ahriman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kcfqKBNsoso/VMoBDvmRACI/AAAAAAAAB7o/pdca7S3O6jM/s1600/Ahriman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kcfqKBNsoso/VMoBDvmRACI/AAAAAAAAB7o/pdca7S3O6jM/s320/Ahriman.jpg" /></a></div>
In ZOROASTRIANISM
, the
DEMON
of all demons
and the supply of all evil. Persian deity originally was a pri-
mordial desert spirit UN agency became the personifi
cation of
evil in faith. As such, he\'s not immortal, and
eventually his reign of terror are going to be conquered by the
forces of fine.
There ar completely different legends regarding the origins of Ahriman because the evil god. In one, Persian deity, the great god,
created the universe and twins referred to as Spenta Mainyu (the
spirit of sunshine, Truth, and Life) and Angra Mainyu (the
spirit of Darkness, Deceit and Death). The twins fight for
supremacy and their field of battle is Earth. Over time,
Spenta Mainyu became absorbed into Persian deity, and
Angra Mainyu became Persian deity.
The combat between the 2 forces continues and can
last for thousands of years, detached into eras. Later the
fourth era, 3 saviors can seem, UN agency can destroy
Ahriman and every one his forces of deadly.
In a variation of this legend Persian deity created
Angra Mainyu in an exceedingly moment of doubt once he was making the universe.
According to another legend, Persian deity and Persian deity
(a contraction of
Ahura Mazda
) were twins born to Zuvan, the creator supernatural being. Zurvan declared that the firstborn
would be supreme ruler. Persian deity ripped himself out of
the uterus so as to be first. Zurvan was certain by his
promise, however he restricted the time that Persian deity may
rule. At the tip of that, Persian deity would take over and
reign in goodness and light-weight. the planet is presently under the rule of Ahriman; that\'s why there ar drought,
famine, war, disease, pestilence, and different ills. To aid
him in his rule, Persian deity created ninety nine,999 diseases, and
six archdemons, referred to as Evil Mind, Tyranny, Enmity, Violence, Wrath, and Falsehood. He conjointly created a feminine
demon named AZ
and a dragon. The archdemons struggle against the six archangel
amarahspands,
or “Bounteous Immortals.”
Ahriman tried to wound the prophet Zoroaster however
failed.
A legend concerning Persian deity says that he had a son named
Zohak, whom he trained to be evil. He told Zohak to kill
his own father. He was unrecognizable, however, and Zohak killed somebody he thought was his father. Ahriman,
again in disguise, became cook of the palace. Zohak was
so affected with him that he offered to reward him. Ahriman asked solely to kiss his shoulders. once he did thus,
SERPENT
s sprang from the spots. on every occasion Zohak cut
them off, they grew back. Persian deity entered in another
disguise, as a doctor, and told Zohak that he had to feed
the serpents human brains a day. Zohak complied
and became Ahriman’s pride. The son dominated for a thousand years and fi nally was destroyed.
Rudolf STEINER, the founding father of anthroposophy, said
Ahrimanic forces ar intelligent, clever spirits that obtain
to keep folks encumbered in materialism.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-62359404398193074612015-01-29T11:39:00.003+02:002015-01-29T11:39:44.464+02:00Agrath<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VkokRkdpXqg/VMn_OXEhbeI/AAAAAAAAB7c/dgZxc81IgBg/s1600/Agrath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VkokRkdpXqg/VMn_OXEhbeI/AAAAAAAAB7c/dgZxc81IgBg/s320/Agrath.jpg" /></a></div>
In individual demonology, a strong feminine
DEMON
. Agrath (beating) and her mother, MAKHLATH
,
are in constant struggle against LILITH
. Agrath commands eighteen myriads (
LEGIONs) of evil spirits and rides in a very
big chariot. She is most powerful on the nights of
Wednesday and Saturday, once she and her mother
devour victims, particularly people that square measure out alone.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-25816862480285772802015-01-28T13:23:00.002+02:002015-01-28T13:25:39.630+02:00Agares<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qp1Bxh5Iu9o/VMjGgW1NkLI/AAAAAAAAB7M/SVAixG0RWh0/s1600/Agares.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qp1Bxh5Iu9o/VMjGgW1NkLI/AAAAAAAAB7M/SVAixG0RWh0/s320/Agares.jpg" /></a></div>
FALLEN
ANGEL
and the second of the seventy two
SPIRITS
OF
SOLOMON
. before his fall, Agares was a member of
the angelic order of Virtues. In
HELL
he is the first duke
of the ability of the east and rules thirty one
LEGIONs of
DEMONS.
He seems as a handsome man riding a crocodilian and
carrying a hawk on his fist. He makes people who run
stand still, and he will retrieve runaways. He educate all
languages, causes earthquakes, and destroys non secular
dignities.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-60652265360814081762015-01-28T13:14:00.004+02:002015-01-28T13:15:39.823+02:00Aeshma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yAcBzoSMfys/VMjERLAv5iI/AAAAAAAAB7A/zf-ATwylt4s/s1600/Aeshma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yAcBzoSMfys/VMjERLAv5iI/AAAAAAAAB7A/zf-ATwylt4s/s320/Aeshma.jpg" /></a></div>
In ZOROASTRIANISM
, the
DEMON
of wrath, rage,
and fury. Aeshma’s epithet is “of the bloody mace.” He is
the fi
ercest of demons and is to blame for all acts of aggression and malice, whether or not committed in war or
drunkenness. He has seven powers that he will use for
the destruction of humanity.
In the hierarchy of Zoroastrian DAEVA
s that mirrors
a similar hierarchy of divinities, Aeshma is critical
Asha Vahishta, the Amesha Spenta, or eudaemon, who
embodies Truth. Aeshma’s chief opposer is Sraosha
(Obedience), the principle of spiritual devotion and discipline. Aeshma distracts folks from correct worship. He
meddle with the souls of the dead as they approach the
Chinvat Bridge to the underworld.
The creator God, Ahura Mazda (later Ohrmazd), created Sraosha to counter Aeshma’s mischief and shield
people from his attacks. Sraosha ultimately can over-
throw Aeshma. In old texts, Aeshma is formed a commander of dark forces by Angra Mainyu (later A
HRIMAN
).
He is engulfed by A
Z
, the demon of avarice.
Aeshma will be driven away by the recitation of a prayer
from the
Vendidad,
a Zoroastrian text. The demon ASMODEUS
of Hebrew mental object is also primarily based partly on Aeshma.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-63874449160499431002015-01-28T12:50:00.001+02:002015-01-28T12:51:17.177+02:00Adramelech (Adramalek)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a_jybaUBRlE/VMi-tG-XeSI/AAAAAAAAB6w/xZNtlGax6o4/s1600/Adramelech.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a_jybaUBRlE/VMi-tG-XeSI/AAAAAAAAB6w/xZNtlGax6o4/s320/Adramelech.jpg" /></a></div>
A chieftain of
HELL
. Adramalech is of unsure origin. probably he was derived
from a Samarian Sun god adored by the Sepharvites, WHO burned kids as a sacrifi
cial giving to
him.
Adramalech is that the grand chancellor of
DEMON
s, president of the D
EVIL
’s general council, and governor of the Devil’s wardrobe. Adramelech himself is usually delineate
as a peacock (see I
BLIS
) or as a mule.
He is the eighth of the ten evil spirits of the
sephirot
of the Tree of Life (see K
ABBALAH
). he\'s employed underneath the
command of SAMAEL.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-55087285796647933372015-01-28T12:37:00.002+02:002015-01-28T12:37:26.479+02:00aerial spirits of Solomon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kcq52N50eWI/VMi7lDDoPNI/AAAAAAAAB6k/gFeM2xVKlP4/s1600/aerial%2Bspirits%2Bof%2BSolomon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kcq52N50eWI/VMi7lDDoPNI/AAAAAAAAB6k/gFeM2xVKlP4/s320/aerial%2Bspirits%2Bof%2BSolomon.jpg" /></a></div>
DEMON
s related to the
4 components WHO were commanded by the fabulous
King SOLOMON
. The aerial spirits ar each sensible and evil.
They can show something within the world that\'s hidden and
can fetch, carry, and do something contained within the four
elements of earth, air, water, and fi
re. they will discover
the secrets of anyone, together with kings.
The aerial spirits ar ruled by thirty one princes WHO ar
aligned to points on a compass. they will be summoned by
directing one’s self to their compass position. The princes
have dukes and myriad ministrant spirits or demons under their command. The princes can\'t be summoned by
magic unless the magician wears their exceptional
SEAL
s as a
lamen, or pendant, consequent to the chest. The conjurations of
the aerial spirits ar given during a manual, the
Lemegeton,
also referred to as
The Lesser Key of Solomon.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-54712631979126988552015-01-27T20:08:00.000+02:002015-01-28T13:00:04.867+02:00Abraxas (Abrasax, Abraxis)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRjPt42GLck/VMfT6pHrHII/AAAAAAAAB6U/-G-3TzAs_CU/s1600/abraxas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRjPt42GLck/VMfT6pHrHII/AAAAAAAAB6U/-G-3TzAs_CU/s320/abraxas.jpg" /></a></div>
Gnostic name for the
demigod United Nations agency rules the 365th (highest and fi nal) aeon, or
sphere, ascending to the hidden God. Christian
demonologists place Abraxas within the ranks of
DEMON
s.
Abraxas additionally was the name of a sun mounting associate
ouroborus (a snake biting its tail) control by the best
Egyptian immortal, Isis, the creator of the Sun and mis-
tress of all the gods. Isis mythology found its means into
Gnosticism. additionally, Abraxas was related to the
Mithraic mystery faith of Persian origin, the essential ri-
val of Christianity in Rome in its fi rst four centurys. As did
Gnosticism, Mithraicism featured a posh star divination and
numerology. Numerical values of Mithra’s and Abraxas’
names every total 365.
The Gnostic Abraxas created the fabric world and
also had diabolical qualities. he\'s the supreme power of
being, in whom light-weight and darkness square measure each united and
transcended. Orthodox Christians viewed Abraxas as a
demon. In turn, Abraxas became a favourite spiritual being of heretical sects of the center Ages.
Gnostic talismans product of etched opaque gem show Abraxas
as a fi
gure with somebody\'s body, the top of a chicken (or
occasionally a hawk), and
SERPENT
legs. His hands hold a
shield and a whip, the protect sometimes inscribed with the
name Iao, paying homage to the soul four-letter name of
God. he\'s typically mounted on a chariot drawn by four
white horses, with each Sun and Moon overhead.
The chicken represents wakefulness and is expounded to
the human heart and therefore the entire heart, the Sun. The human body embodies the principle of logos, or coherently
thought. The snake legs indicate prudence. The protect is
symbolic of knowledge, the nice guardian of divine warriors. The whip denotes the relentless driving power of
life. The four horses symbolize the four ethers by that
solar power is broadcast throughout the universe.
The 7 letters of the name of Abraxas represent the
seven inventive powers and planetary spheres, or
ANGELs,
recognized within the
antique world. The letters add up to a
numerological worth of 365, the amount of days and pow-
ers of the year.Carl G. Carl Jung referred to as Abraxas the “truly terrible one”
because of his skill to come up with truth and falsehood,
good and evil, lightweight and darkness with constant word and
in the same deed. In psychotherapeutics there\'s no simple
way out of psychic confl
ict; one should not solely fi
ght on
the aspect of the angels however sometimes be part of the host of
the
FALLEN
ANGEL
s. in line with Carl Jung, worry of Abraxas
is the starting of knowledge, and freedom, or gnosis, is
achieved by not resisting.
.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-18036885385443927752015-01-27T19:30:00.001+02:002015-01-27T19:30:24.063+02:00Abigor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YcShjRqGo3g/VMfLF5i1rKI/AAAAAAAAB6E/MdHijlV-nLo/s1600/Abigor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YcShjRqGo3g/VMfLF5i1rKI/AAAAAAAAB6E/MdHijlV-nLo/s320/Abigor.jpg" /></a></div>
D
EMON
who may be a prince in
HELL
. Abigor
appears as a handsome man on a horse, held a stan-
dard or scepter. He is aware of all the secrets of war and
sees the long run. He teaches leaders the way to win the loy-
alty of troopers. In hell, he commands sixty
LEGION
s of
demons.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-13293428866427859062015-01-27T19:22:00.000+02:002015-01-27T19:22:12.647+02:00Abezethibou<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJk28XLkdoU/VMe-DhBrcdI/AAAAAAAAB50/JYthUNGklK8/s1600/Abezethibou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJk28XLkdoU/VMe-DhBrcdI/AAAAAAAAB50/JYthUNGklK8/s320/Abezethibou.jpg" /></a></div>
One-winged
DEMON
who lives within the Red
Sea, plots against each wind down from the heavens, and is
the enemy of Moses.
In the Testament of male monarch, Abezethibou states that
he once Sabbatum within the fi
rst heaven, named Amelouth. He was
present once Moses was taken before the Pharaoh of Egypt
and was summoned to the help of the Egyptian magicians
when they wanted to blame Moses. Abezethibou takes
credit for turning the Pharaoh across Egypt and for incit-
ing the Egyptians to chase the Israelites in their exodus.
When the compound sea falls in on the Egyptians, Abe-
zethibou is unfree with the pillar of air, till the demon
E
PHIPPAS
arrives to require him to King S
OLOMON
. Solomon
binds Abezethibou and Ephippas to the pillar (perhaps
a relevance the whitish Way) and commands that they
hold it up within the air till the top of your time.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-19221682096521623422015-01-27T18:29:00.000+02:002015-01-27T18:29:15.807+02:00Abaddon (Apollyon)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a4kg4dt_XOw/VMe6sVa42qI/AAAAAAAAB5o/WyBbDtVP3YY/s1600/Abaddon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a4kg4dt_XOw/VMe6sVa42qI/AAAAAAAAB5o/WyBbDtVP3YY/s320/Abaddon.jpg" /></a></div>
Angel of death, destruction, and
the infernal region. The name Abaddon comes from the
Hebrew term for “to destroy” and suggests that “place of
destruction.” Apollyon is that the Greek name.
In
MAGIC
Abaddon is commonly equated with S
ATAN
and
S
AMAEL
. His name is induced in conjury spells for mali-
cious deeds. Abaddon is that the aristocrat WHO rules the seventh
hierarchy of
DEMON
s, the E
RINYES
, or Furies, who govern
powers of war,evil, discord, and devastation.
Originally, Abaddon was an area ANd not an angel or
being. In spiritual leader writings and therefore the Old Testament, Abad-
don is primarily an area of destruction and a reputation for one
of the regions of the pit (see
HELL
). The term happens six
times within the Old Testament. In Proverbs 15:11 and 27:20,
it is named with Sheol as a district of the underworld. In
Psalm 88:11, Abaddon is related to the grave and
the underworld.
In Job 26:6, Abaddon is related to Sheol. Later,
Job 28:22 names Abaddon and Death along, implying
personifi impotence beings.
In R
EVELATION
9:10, Abaddon is personifi
ed as the
king of the abysm, the bottomless pit of hell. Revelation
also cites the Greek version of the name, Apollyon, prob-
ably a relation to Phoebus, Greek god of pestilence and
destruction.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-64561257307292764672015-01-04T16:40:00.003+02:002015-01-04T16:40:54.516+02:00kobold<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZV-407DPhg8/VKlQ1uduLWI/AAAAAAAAB5c/ZxnWyzd_pwI/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZV-407DPhg8/VKlQ1uduLWI/AAAAAAAAB5c/ZxnWyzd_pwI/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
In German folklore, a mischievous spirit, occa-
sionally malicious. There are two types of kobolds: a
household kobold that is comparable to the
BROWNIE
and
BOGGART
of British folklore, and a mine kobold that is
comparable to the Cornish
KNOCKER
and the American
tommyknocker.
The household kobold, when in a good mood, helps
with chores, looks after horses, fi nds lost objects and sings
to children to keep them occupied. Food must be left for
him, otherwise he becomes angry and turns to pranks,
such as pushing someone over just as they stoop to pick
something up, or hiding household objects. Kobolds are
given names, such as Heinze, Chimmeken and Walther.
In Saxon lore, a
biersal
is a type of household kobold
who lives in the cellar. In exchange for a daily jug of beer,
he will clean bottles and jugs.
The mine kobolds are almost always evil and mali-
cious, and try to hinder the miners by causing accidents
and rockfalls.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-44747460352025052142015-01-04T16:36:00.000+02:002015-01-04T16:36:25.676+02:00kere<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n2JlamQtBBI/VKlPwB2gAyI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/FM2uCCzT6Po/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n2JlamQtBBI/VKlPwB2gAyI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/FM2uCCzT6Po/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
A spirit of the dead in ancient Greece. It was
believed that
keres
escaped from the pithos, the jars used
to contain the bodies of the dead, and devoted themselves
to pestering the living. They were exorcised by ritual
and incantation. Sticky tar was painted on doorframes to
catch them and prevent them from entering a dwelling.
Plato observed, “There are many fair things in the life of
mortals, but in most of them there are as it were adherent
keres
which pollute and disfi
gure them.”
In mythology,
keres
are akin to goddesses of death who
originally escaped from Pandora’s box. They serve the will
of the gods, and their chief functions are to carry off the
corpses of the dead and to affl ict the living with disease
and illness.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-70801588914935585402015-01-04T15:42:00.002+02:002015-01-04T15:42:48.464+02:00kelpie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNYju5ROFPQ/VKlDMvHM7QI/AAAAAAAAB40/gmbjwWrn62g/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNYju5ROFPQ/VKlDMvHM7QI/AAAAAAAAB40/gmbjwWrn62g/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
In Scottish folklore, a malevolent water spirit
believed to inhabit every lake and stream, and a
DEATH
OMEN
if seen. According to lore, kelpies usually appear
in the shape of a horse, but may also assume the form of
a shaggy-looking man. They are invariably terrifying to
humans.
As horses, they appear on lake and riverbanks, graz-
ing peacefully, and lure travelers to mount them, only to
plunge into the waters and drown the hapless victims. Or,
the kelpies plunge the victims into the water, where they
eat them, save for the livers, which fl oat to the surface.
Kelpies also jump on solitary riders and try to crush them
in their grip. They have even been said to tear people into
pieces and eat them. They make sounds like thunder to
frighten travelers.
When in the form of a horse, a kelpie sometimes has a
magic bridle. Anyone who forces a kelpie to do something
against its will, however, risks being cursed by it and
meeting with nothing but misfortune in the future.
To see a kelpie is a harbinger of death by drown-
ing, and nothing will prevent the tragedy from coming
to pass. In one Scottish legend called “The Hour is come
but not the Man,” a kelpie took the form of a female
nymph by a false ford in the River Conan in Ross-shire.
A group of reapers in a nearby fi eld saw the water spirit
as it called out, “The hour is come but not the man,” and
then plunged into the waters. Just then, a rider on a horse
dashed up to the false ford as though to dive in after the
kelpie, but the reapers interceded, stopped the horse and
dragged the man, kicking and screaming, into a nearby
church. They told him they would keep him locked there
for an hour—the “Ill Hour,” they called it, as the kelpie
was trying to work evil for that period of time. When the
hour was up, the reapers returned to the church, only to
fi
nd their man dead—he had fallen into a stone trough of
water and drowned himself. Other versions of this legend
are found in Britain, Norway and Denmark.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-85467635800458807142015-01-03T20:50:00.001+02:002015-01-03T20:50:32.860+02:00haunting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t1rmzEU5NZc/VKg5e277xFI/AAAAAAAAB4c/dnbPoZ_6d7I/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t1rmzEU5NZc/VKg5e277xFI/AAAAAAAAB4c/dnbPoZ_6d7I/s320/index.jpg" /></a></div>
he repeated manifestations of inexplicable
sensory and physical phenomena said to be caused by
GHOSTS
,
POLTERGEISTS
, or spirits attached to a certain
locale.
The term “haunt” comes from the same root as “home.”
Often, a haunted location is the former home of the
deceased or the spot where the deceased died. Haunted
sites also include places that apparently were frequented or
favored by the deceased, and sites of violence death. Other
hauntings are “aimless,” occurring without explanation.
Characteristics of Hauntings
There is no dominant pattern to a haunting. Not everyone
who visits or lives in a reputedly haunted location will
experience phenomena. Some phenomena manifest peri-
odically or continually over durations that may be short,
lasting only a few days or less. Others last for centuries.
Some hauntings occur only on certain “anniversary” dates:
for example, the ghost of Sir Christopher Wren is said to
be heard hurrying up and down the stairs of
HAMPTON
COURT
every February 26, the date of his death in 1723.Haunting Activity
Haunting phenomena were reported soon after the death
of Laura. A maid told her superior that she felt watched
by an unseen presence. She became so disturbed that
soon she was not able to enter certain rooms in the castle.
Stories abounded as soon as the home became a mili-
tary college. A ghostly woman thought to be Laura was
reported by cadets who slept in the former ballroom on
the top fl oor of the castle. They were awakened by a
transparent little old woman who pulled down their blan-
kets. It is thought that Laura was drawn to the cadets
out of sorrow over losing her son in World War I; per-
haps she was looking for him. Laura’s ghost remained
active during the entire history of the military college.
One cadet reported that he woke up to fi nd the ghost
tugging hard on his leg. He engaged in a tugging match
with her until he pulled so hard that she vanished. Cadets
reported strange sensations when working late at night on
the second and third fl oors, as though they were caught
in freezing cobwebs.Most hauntings involve noises, such as mysterious
footsteps, rustlings, whisperings, animal sounds and
howlings, thumps, tappings and
RAPPINGS
;
SMELLS
, espe-
cially of fl owers, perfume, burned wood, or rotting fl
esh
or matter; tactile sensations such as a cold prickling of
the skin, cold breezes and feelings of being touched by an
invisible hand. Some hauntings feature poltergeist activi-
ties such as rearranged furniture, stopped clocks, smashed
glassware and mirrors, and the paranormal movement of
objects. One common sound in hauntings is that of heavy
furniture being moved about and dragged across fl
oors—
however, the rooms in question remained undisturbed.
People may experience negative emotions at a haunted
site, including anger, fear, or hatred. They also may sense a
presence of evil. Other hauntings seem to involve friendly
or benign ghosts. Some hauntings also feature phantom
animals, such as pet dogs, cats, and horses, which are
seen, felt, or heard in their familiar spots.
Objects as well as sites may be haunted. In Britain, for
example, numerous tales exist of haunted skulls that seem
to cause unearthly screaming whenever they are removed
from their places in a home (see
SCREAMING
SKULLS
).
Poltergeist hauntings are characterized by vio-
lent physical disturbances such as fl ying and levitating
objects, banging doors, assaults on humans, and rapping
and thumping noises. These disturbances often seem to
be caused by living persons; there is evidence that some
poltergeists may be discarnate spirits.
Causes of Hauntings
It is popularly assumed that most hauntings involve
ghosts of the dead, especially those who died tragically
or violently. However, ghosts are only one type of haunt-
ing entity. Besides poltergeists, numerous nonhuman spir-
its, such as
FAIRIES
,
ANGELS
,
DEMONS
, and other types of
beings, can haunt places as well.
Little is known about why or how hauntings occur, or
why they are not experienced uniformly among people.
Thousands of hauntings have been investigated by psy-
chical researchers and paranormal investigators since the
late 19th century. Many explanations have been proposed,
but there is no conclusive evidence to support one more
strongly than another.
The majority of hauntings that can be tied to historical
events are unhappy in nature: the dead suffered emotion-
ally or died suddenly or in unpleasant ways. Sometimes
CURSES
are associated with hauntings. However, there are
benign hauntings, and some ghost act in a benevolent
way toward the living.
FREDERIC
W
.
H
.
MYERS
, one of the founders of the
SOCI
-
ETY
FOR
PSYCHICAL
RESEARCH
(SPR), London, who did
extensive research of
APPARITIONS
in the late 19th century,
believed that most hauntings are fragmentary and mean-
ingless, the bits and pieces of an energy residue left by the
living after their death. Others who have built on Myers’s
theory propose that hauntings do not involve ghostly per-
sonalities, but are those recordings of energy that take on
personalities to percipients who are psychically sensitive.
Psychic sensitivity may account for diverse experiences in
a haunted site: why one person experiences phenomena
and another does not.
ELEANOR
SIDGWICK
, former secretary of the SPR,
thought that hauntings may be a form of
PSYCHOME
-
TRY
. Just as an object appears to absorb and retain the
“vibrations” of its owner, which manifest as impressions
when the object is handled by a
MEDIUM
or psychic, then
houses, buildings, and places might also retain memories
or psychic impressions. A house could incorporate the
thoughts, actions, and feelings of its former occupants,
which then manifest as a haunting.
Philosopher
HARRY
H
.
PRICE
and parapsychologist
WIL
-
LIAM
G
.
ROLL
are among those who have elaborated upon
Sidgwick’s theory. Price’s theory, called “deferred telepa-
thy,” posits that there exists a “psychic ether” that is a
bridge between mind and matter and impregnates all mat-
ter and space. Certain thoughts and events are impressed
upon this ether and remain on it for long periods, even
years. When tragedies occur, the appropriate psychic con-
ditions are created and lasting impressions result. Sensi-
tive persons coming into contact with a haunted house
might telepathically contact these thoughts and emotions
which are then “replayed” as hauntings. “Deferred telep-
athy” has been criticized by others for not explaining
movements of objects which are sometimes reported in
hauntings. (See
TELEPATHY
.)
Roll has proposed that all objects have a psi fi
eld that
pervades and exudes from them. A sensitive individual
contacts and reads the impressions of a house from its
psi fi eld during a haunting. This explanation has suffered
some of the same criticism as Price’s theory, particularly
since people who have little or no demonstrable psychic
ability have witnessed hauntings.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aAU2i7AKP2Q/VKg52kUGnHI/AAAAAAAAB4k/tcEFvP20zZU/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aAU2i7AKP2Q/VKg52kUGnHI/AAAAAAAAB4k/tcEFvP20zZU/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
Italian parapsychologist Ernesto Bozzano studied
several hundred cases of hauntings and analyzed their
characteristics, relating them to the different theories of
hauntings and to his spiritistic theory. Bozzano came to
fi
ve conclusions in support of his belief that hauntings
were spirits of the dead: phantoms of the dead can haunt
sites where they did not die and had not lived; hauntings
consist of telekinetic movement of objects that suggests
some type of physical presence; hauntings are associated
with deaths to a greater extent than other types of trag-
edies or emotions; hauntings are intermittent; and when
such actions as exorcism and prayers for the dead are per-
formed, the hauntings end.
An explanation for at least some hauntings favored by
many ghost investigators is that of the portal, an open-
ing to other dimensions that allows spirits to enter the
physical world. Belief in portals is ancient and universal.
Certain places that are sacred serve as natural portals.
WELLS
have often been associated as natural entryways for
spirits. Other portals can open at places associated with
death, such as cemeteries, battlefi elds, and natural disas-
ter sites; places associated with trauma and intense emo-
tions, such as hospitals, hotels, schools, churches, and
theaters; and lonely places such as lighthouses.
Place Energy
Scientifi
c research of geomagnetic and electromagnetic envi-
ronmental factors indicates that energy of place may infl
u-
ence whether or not a place is haunted. According to Jason
J. Braithwaite, cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist
at the University of Birmingham in England, “Field-based
investigations of haunt-phenomena have revealed that mag-
netically remarkable signatures may exist in specifi
c loca-
tions associated with strange experiences.” Researchers have
found that unusual and fl uctuating natural energy fi
elds are
present at many haunted sites. This suggests that certain
fi
elds enable a “place memory” to occur. Impressions of
events and people thus become etched in psychic space
and retained and are perceived by those who can “tune in,”
either spontaneously or deliberately. Site energy may espe-
cially play a signifi cant role in poltergeist hauntings. Sci-
entists, however, do not say that magnetic signatures cause
phenomena, only that energy and phenomena are associ-
ated. According to Braithwaite, context needs further study.
The infl uence of magnetic signatures may depend on con-
text factors related to the individual and the environment at
the time of a haunting experience.
In 2004, Braithwaite and others used a customized
Magnetic Anomaly Detection System (MADS) to investi-
gate magnetic signatures at Muncaster Castle in Ravenglass,
West Cumbria. The castle, in the lake district, is known for
its haunting phenomena. In particular, people who sleep in
the Tapestry Room report the following phenomena:
•
Sounds of children crying and screaming
•
Sounds of adult voices
•
Sense of a presence and feeling of being watched
•
Fleeting visual shadows and apparitions
•
Sounds of footsteps, raps, and bangs
•
Ringing in the ears
•
Severe headaches
•
Dizziness
•
Bouts of feeling severe foreboding
•
Sensation of weight on the chest/body pressing
down (see
OLD
HAG
)
The study showed that an unusual magnetic fi
eld
exists in the area of the bed, especially the bed pillow.
If an occupant of the bed moved his head often during
sleep, magnetic distortions would occur around the skull.
In a similar vein, many paranormal investigators
believe
LEY
LINES
, invisible lines of natural earth energy,
contribute to hauntings. Areas crisscrossed by ley lines,
especially where soil has a high content of water, quartz,
or granite, are particularly likely to be haunted.
In addition to place energy, consciousness, thoughts,
beliefs, cultural background, expectations, and reli-
gious beliefs may infl uence whether or not a haunting is
experienced.
Artifi cially Induced Hauntings
It is possible to construct rooms designed to induce
haunting phenomena, by exposing people to infrasound
and certain electromagnetic frequencies. In one experi-
ment in England, called “Project Haunt,” some individu-
als exposed to the haunted room reported the following
phenomena:
•
Sense of a presence
•
Uneasiness in a particular part of a room
•
Chills up and down the spine
•
Glowing balls fl ying about the room
•
Mist
•
Voices
Ending Hauntings
Numerous folklore and religious remedies to end hauntings
exist around the world. Some are simple, such as sweeping
out the offending spirits with a broom. Others are more
elaborate. Such measures do not always succeed.
Hauntings sometimes can be brought to an end
through
SPIRIT
RELEASEMENT
or
EXORCISM
. Some haunt-
ings end of their own accord for reasons not known.
Those that seem to be “imprints” or “recordings” and
have no responsive intelligence are likely to not respond
to exorcism. Such hauntings seem to be endless reenact-
ments of events (see
DIEPPE
RAID
CASE
;
RETROCOGNITION
;
VERSAILLES
GHOSTS
).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-41373995057411313612015-01-03T20:44:00.000+02:002015-01-03T20:44:11.634+02:00gremlin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SV7_F7OKvuc/VKg4VBWY2rI/AAAAAAAAB4Q/FDevtuP8cU0/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SV7_F7OKvuc/VKg4VBWY2rI/AAAAAAAAB4Q/FDevtuP8cU0/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
A small, pesky spirit that fi rst appeared in
British military aircraft during World War I. Royal Air
Force pilots sent out on dangerous missions reported see-
ing misty, goblinlike spirits in their aircraft. The pilots
named them “gremlins.” Nothing public was said about
them until 1922, perhaps out of superstitious belief that
it might be bad luck to acknowledge the spirits. The term
“gremlin,” after Grimm’s
Fairy Tales,
came into popu-
lar usage in 1939 during World War II, when a British
bomber squadron in India suffered numerous incidents
of seeming sabotage to their craft. Gremlins have since
expanded their presence to military and civilian aircraft
elsewhere around the world.
Gremlins seem to be friendly in nature, though they
are wont to play poltergeist-like pranks upon crew. They
are ascribed great knowledge of technology, meteorology,
engineering and aerodynamics. They have been said to
drink fuel, bore holes in the aircraft, bite through cables,
sever fuel lines, slash wings with invisible scissors, and
punch and pinch gunners and bombardiers as they line
targets up in their sights. They have been blamed for poor
landings by pilots. On the other hand, they also have
been credited with helping pilots to fl
y badly damaged
aircraft to safety.
Gremlins also have been reported to appear in facto-
ries. They perhaps may be modern, high-tech versions of
BROWNIES
,
KOBOLDS
,
DOMOVIKS
,
BLUE
-
CAPS
, and other such
spirits who, according to lore, like to live among humans
and keep them alert.
Various descriptions have been given of gremlins.
During World War II, some were said to be six inches tall
with horns and black leather suction boots, while others
looked like a cross between a jack rabbit and a bull ter-
rier. Still others were humanoid and about one foot tall,
wearing ruffl ed red jackets and green breeches. Some had
webbed feet with fi ns on the heels.
When Charles Lindbergh made his historic solo
fl
ight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, he reportedly
saw spirits in his cabin that may have been gremlins or
gremlin-like. By the ninth hour of his journey, which
took thirty-three and one-half hours, Lindbergh became
fatigued and began to feel detached from his surround-
ings. He became aware that the fuselage was fi
lled with
vaporous forms that moved freely about. They spoke in
friendly voices and discussed navigation. They reassured
him of his safety and also imparted, he said, information
of a mystical nature. Lindbergh did not reveal his strange
experiences until the publication of his book
The Spirit of
St. Louis,
in 1953.
Cases have been recorded of gremlinlike voices speak-
ing audibly to civilian pilots, delivering instructions to
turn, land, change course, and so on, in order to avert
unforeseen disasters.
Compare to
KNOCKER
.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-88876240568947819592015-01-03T20:39:00.003+02:002015-01-03T20:39:55.862+02:00Greenbrier Ghost<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g1z9FPMTkXI/VKg3O8G1R2I/AAAAAAAAB4E/Fo5aZm3oakk/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g1z9FPMTkXI/VKg3O8G1R2I/AAAAAAAAB4E/Fo5aZm3oakk/s320/index.jpg" /></a></div>
West Virginia murder exposed and
solved by the
GHOST
of the victim. The case went to trial,
during which testimony concerning the ghost’s appear-
ances was entered into the record. The case is the only
known case in the United States in which a ghost’s testi-
mony helped to convict a murderer.
The victim, later known as the “Greenbrier Ghost,”
was Elva Zona Heaster Shue, who lived near Greenbrier,
West Virginia with her new husband, Trout Shue. Zona
(the name she used) probably was born in 1873—records
give different dates. She bore an illegitimate child in 1895.
In 1896, she met Erasmus (also given as Edward)
Stribbling Trout Shue, an out-of-towner who moved to
Greenbrier to work as a blacksmith and start a new life
for himself. The two were quickly attracted to each other,
and they married shortly after meeting, on October 26,
1896. The marriage was opposed by Zona’s mother, Mary
Jane Robinson Heaster, who did not like Shue or the idea
of her daughter marrying a stranger.
On January 23, 1897, Zona’s body was discovered
inside her house by a black boy, Andy Jones, who had
been sent to the house by Shue with instructions to ask
Zona if she required anything from the store. Jones found
Zona lying on the fl
oor, stretched out straight with feet
together, one hand by her side and the other lying across
her body, and her head inclined slightly to one side. Jones
ran home to tell his mother.
The local physician and coroner, Dr. George W. Knapp,
was summoned and arrived at the Shue household in
about an hour. By then, Shue had already carried his
wife’s body upstairs and dressed it up in her Sunday best:
a dress with a high neck and stiff collar secured by a big
bow, and a veil covering her face. While Knapp attempted
to determine the cause of death, Shue remained planted
by his wife’s head, cradling her head and upper body and
sobbing in great distress.
Because of Shue’s tremendous display of grief, Knapp
made only a cursory examination. He observed slight dis-
colorations on the right side of Zona’s neck and right
cheek. When he tried to examine the back of her neck,
Shue erupted into such protests that Knapp ended the
examination and left. Initially, Knapp announced that
Zona had died of “an everlasting faint,” then offi
cially
recorded the cause as “childbirth.” It is not known for
certain whether Zona was pregnant. For two weeks prior
to the tragedy, Knapp had been treating her for an undis-
closed “trouble.” In those times, one of the most common
causes of death among young women was complications
from childbirth, and Knapp may have fallen back on that
for lack of anything more specifi
c.
Zona’s body was laid out for her wake. Neighbors
who came to pay their respects observed odd behavior
in Shue. He changed from overwhelming grief to manic
energy to agitation. He did not want anyone near Zona.
He had placed a pillow at one side of her head and a
wadding of cloth on the other side, explaining that the
ministrations were to enable Zona “to rest easier.” He said
the big scarf around her neck was her favorite, and that
she had wanted to be buried in it. Nonetheless, people
noticed that when time came for the corpse to be moved
to the cemetery, there was a strange looseness of the head.
Tongues wagged.
Heaster, Zona’s mother, took the sheet from inside the
coffi
n, and later attempted to return it to Shue. He refused
it. Heaster noticed it had a peculiar smell, so she washed
it. The water turned red, but when she scooped the water
out of the basin, it was clear. The sheet was stained pink.
Heaster tried boiling the sheet and hanging it outdoors in freezing weather for several days, but the stain remained. To
her, it was a sign that her daughter had met with foul play.
Heaster prayed that her daughter would come back
from the dead and reveal the truth about how she died.
Specifi
cally, Heaster said later, she wanted Zona to “tell”
on Shue, as she suspected the blacksmith of murder.
Heaster’s prayers were answered within weeks. On
four nights, Zona’s ghost reportedly appeared and awak-
ened her from sleep, and described in detail her murder.
Her husband had been abusive and cruel, she said. He
had attacked her in a fi t of rage because he thought she
had no meat cooked for supper, and had broken her neck.
To illustrate, the ghost’s head turned completely around
on the neck.
Heaster went to the prosecutor, John Alfred Preston,
and demanded an investigation. It is unlikely that he
agreed simply on the basis of a ghost’s story. However, the
local rumor mill continued to grind about Zona’s mysteri-
ous and untimely death, the odd appearance of her corpse
and her husband’s strange behavior.
Preston ordered Zona’s body exhumed. Shue vigor-
ously opposed the inquest. He publicly said that he knew
he would be arrested, “but they will not be able to prove
I did it,” thus indicating at least knowledge that his wife
had been murdered.
Zona’s body was exhumed on February 22, 1897. An
autopsy revealed a broken neck and a crushed windpipe
from strangulation. There was no evidence of violence to
other parts of her body. Shue said, “They cannot prove
I did it.” He was arrested and charged with murder. He
pleaded not guilty.
While he awaited trial in jail, information came out
about his unsavory background. He had served time
in jail for stealing a horse. He had been married twice
before. He had abused his fi rst wife, and had forced her
to divorce him by throwing her things out of the house.
His second wife had died under mysterious circumstances
from a head injury, due, according to different accounts,
to a fall or a rock falling upon her.
In jail, Shue remained in good spirits, his grieving
long since over. He said that he wanted to have seven
wives, and since Zona had been his third and he was only
35, he stood a good chance of realizing his ambition. He
said repeatedly that his guilt could not be proved. He
wondered why no one suspected the 11-year-old black
boy, Jones. (If Shue did indeed commit the murder, he
may have set the boy up for possible blame.)
Despite the fact that all the evidence against Shue was
circumstantial (it is doubtful the case would have ever
been tried in modern times), the trial commenced in late
June. Numerous people testifi ed against Shue. Heaster’s
ghost story was inadmissible as evidence because it was
hearsay. However, the defense raised the matter when
she was on the stand, perhaps in an effort to make her
appear to the jury to be unbalanced and insane. Heaster
recounted the ghost’s assertion that Zona’s neck had been
“squeezed off at the fi rst vertebrae” by Shue.
Shue took the stand in his own defense, passionately
denying everything said about his alleged guilt. It was to
no avail. The jury quickly found him guilty, but voted for
life imprisonment instead of death by hanging due to the
circumstantial nature of the evidence.
The verdict did not satisfy many in Greenbrier. A
lynching party was formed on July 11, but was thwarted
due to a tip. Shue was moved to the
WEST
VIRGINIA
PENI
-
TENTIARY
in Moundsville. He died on March 13, 1900,
possibly from an epidemic of infectious diseases that
swept the community at that time. There is no record of
what happened to his remains.
A highway historical marker near Greenbrier com-
memorates the case. It reads:
Interred in nearby cemetery is Zona Heaster Shue. Her
death in 1897 was presumed natural until her spirit
appeared to her mother to describe how she was killed
by her husband Edward. Autopsy on the exhumed body
verifi
ed the apparition’s account. Edward, found guilty of
murder, was sentenced to the state prison. Only known
case in which testimony from ghost helped convict a
murderer.
Despite the resolution, many questions remain about the
case. In all likelihood, Shue did murder his wife in a fi
t of
rage, and then attempted to cover up the crime. Afterward,
there was speculation among the Greenbrier townsfolk that
Zona had died a natural death, and her mother had broken
her neck in the coffi n in an attempt to frame the hated Shue
of a crime. There also was talk that Zona had been pregnant
with another illegitimate child (accounting for her quick
marriage to Shue), and that Knapp had been trying to abort
the baby and had killed Zona. Her neck was broken to cover
it up. Or, that Shue killed Zona when he discovered her pregnant with a child that couldn’t possibly be his. Though
stories circulated of a dead baby being wrapped in the coffi
n
wadding next to Zona’s head, the autopsy mentioned noth-
ing about pregnancy.
Doubts have been raised that Zona’s mother ever saw
the ghost. Perhaps Heaster concocted the ghost story
to validate her own suspicions and give credence to a
request for a postmortem inquest. It does seem odd that
the ghost of a young country woman would specifi
cally
announce that her neck had been “squeezed off at the
fi
rst vertebrae” rather than simply broken. Perhaps at trial
time Heaster conformed her ghost story to the fi
ndings of
the autopsy.
In investigating the case, historian Katie Letcher Lyle
found an overlooked clue that would indicate that Heaster
had made up the ghost story. Zona’s death was announced
in the
Greenbrier Independent
on January 28, 1897. In the
same issue, on a nearby page, was a story about how a mur-
der case in Australia had been solved because numerous
people had seen the ghost of the murdered man sitting on a
rail of a horse pond into which his body had been thrown.
Years later, a dying man confessed that he had made up the
story of the ghost, which others had then believed to the
point that they had claimed to see the
APPARITION
. The man
said he had witnessed the murder, but had been threatened
with death if he divulged details. He concocted the ghost in
an effort to get the body discovered.
Lyle proposes the plausible theory that Heaster read
the story and took a similar course of action to avenge her
daughter’s death. It is impossible to say whether she under-
took the action deliberately, or was subconsciously infl
u-
enced by the story and actually believed in Zona’s ghost.
The case of the Greenbrier Ghost features three motifs
prominent in folklore concerning ghosts: the inability of a
murder victim to rest until the truth is known; the return
of the dead for revenge; and the disturbance of a sleeping
person by a ghost.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-69694297628933724972015-01-02T19:22:00.001+02:002015-01-02T19:22:50.251+02:00ghoul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PxvoTgY1gSo/VKbT1TnLlVI/AAAAAAAAB30/ACJKIFxiRek/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PxvoTgY1gSo/VKbT1TnLlVI/AAAAAAAAB30/ACJKIFxiRek/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
A
DEMON
in Islamic lore who feeds on the fl
esh
of human beings, especially travelers, children or corpses
stolen out of graves. The name comes from the Arabic
terms
ghul
(masculine) and
ghula
(feminine). Ghouls are
nocturnal creatures who inhabit graveyards, ruins and
other lonely places. Sometimes they are described as dead
humans who sleep for long periods in secret graves, then
awake, rise and feast on both the living and the dead.
Ghouls also personify the unknown terrors held by the
desert, and may be compared to the lamiae and Lilith
night terror demons. In classical myth ology, lamiae are
monsters who feed on the fl esh and blood of the young.
Lilith, traditionally the fi rst wife of Adam, is the wife of
the Devil, whose children are the
djinn
demons.
In Islamic lore, there are several varieties of ghouls,
but the most feared is a female type that has the ability to
appear as a normal, fl esh-and-blood woman. Such a crea-
ture marries an unsuspecting man, who becomes her prey.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-50354097815843366492015-01-02T19:11:00.001+02:002015-01-02T19:11:24.235+02:00Ch’iang Shih<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kzXtItTKqTg/VKbRDKsoL4I/AAAAAAAAB3o/djzMp7RmbEQ/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kzXtItTKqTg/VKbRDKsoL4I/AAAAAAAAB3o/djzMp7RmbEQ/s320/index.jpg" /></a></div>
In Chinese folklore, a monster made of
evil spirits and an unburied corpse, which comes to life
and wreaks death and destruction. According to Chinese
tradition, an unburied corpse is a great danger, because it
invites inhabitation by the evil spirits believed to be pres-
ent everywhere at all times.
The Ch’iang Shih story has various versions. Accord-
ing to one Ch’iang Shih folktale, four travelers arrived late
one night at an inn near Shangtung. No rooms were avail-
able, but the travelers persuaded the innkeeper to fi
nd
them any space where they could sleep. They were placed
out in a little shack, where, unbeknownst to them, lay the
unburied corpse of the innkeeper’s daughter-in-law, who
had died earlier in the day. Her body was laid out on a
plank behind a curtain.
Three of the travelers fell asleep immediately, but the
fourth could not because he had a foreboding of danger.
Presently, he saw a bony hand pull the curtain aside. The
corpse, green and with glowing eyes, emerged and bent
over the sleeping travelers, breathing the foul breath of
death upon them. They died instantly. The fourth trav-
eler managed to pretend to be asleep and held his breath
while the Ch’iang Shih breathed on him, thus saving his
life. When the monster returned to its plank, he ran out
the door. The monster heard him and gave chase.
The man hid behind a willow tree, but the Ch’iang
Shih found him. With a shriek, it lunged at him. He fainted from terror, an act which saved his life again, for
the monster missed him and sank its claws so deep into
the willow tree that it could not extricate itself. The next
morning, others found the corpse, now no longer ani-
mated by spirits, and the man, who was still unconscious.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-26434598173630716142015-01-02T19:06:00.001+02:002015-01-02T19:06:28.475+02:00Buruburu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aepIl7hUJ4Q/VKbP7rYbneI/AAAAAAAAB3c/-jZHeNm5bZ0/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aepIl7hUJ4Q/VKbP7rYbneI/AAAAAAAAB3c/-jZHeNm5bZ0/s320/index.jpg" /></a></div>
The “ghost of fear” in Japanese folklore. The
buruburu
lurks about in forests and graveyards in the form
of a shaking old man or woman, sometimes one-eyed.
The
buruburu
attaches itself to the back of its victim,
causing a chill to run up and down the spine. The victim
then dies of fright.
Variations of this ghost are the
zokuzokugami
and
okubyohgami,
which possess their victims and cause them
to be too afraid to go anywhere.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-80079579692158116102015-01-02T14:46:00.003+02:002015-01-02T14:46:34.829+02:00Black Shuck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cnHkMWMDxOI/VKaS1Z9SFeI/AAAAAAAAB3M/E1dpU1PlDE0/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cnHkMWMDxOI/VKaS1Z9SFeI/AAAAAAAAB3M/E1dpU1PlDE0/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
A large spectral dog in British folklore,
especially in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Devon—in areas
steeped in supernatural and witchcraft lore. Sightings of
Black Shuck continue in contemporary times. His appear-
ance is often taken to be a
DEATH
OMEN
.
The origins of Black Shuck, including his name, are
uncertain. The spectral dog may have entered Britain
from Norse mythology brought by early Viking invad-
ers, who told stories about the black war hound of Odin
(Woden). Or, the dog may have sprung from the early
days of smuggling in Britain. Stories about a fearsome
spectral dog roaming coastal areas at night certainly could
have inspired people to stay indoors while smugglers
went about their business.
The name Black Shuck may have come from a local
word, “shucky,” meaning “shaggy.” Some believe that
Black Shuck’s name derives from an Anglo-Saxon term
scucca
or
sceocca,
meaning “demon” or “Satan.” Other
names are Old Shuck, the Galleytrot, the Shug Monkey,
the Hateful Thing, the Churchyard Beast or Hellbeast,
Swooning Shadow and the Black Dog of Torrington.
Black Shuck is described as an all-black creature about
the size of a calf. He has large eyes that glow yellow, red
or green as if on fi re. Sometimes he is one-eyed like a
cyclops. Often, he is headless, yet his eyes—where eyes
should be—glow in the dark. He may wear a collar of
chains that rattle as he moves.
Black Shuck roams coastlines and also haunts grave-
yards, lonely country roads, misty marshes, or the hills around villages. In certain areas, he frequents old straight
roads or trackways said to be leys, lines of invisible earth
energy known to ancient peoples who used them to site
villages and sacred places.
On stormy nights, Black Shuck’s bone-chilling howls
can be heard rising above the wind. His feet make no
sounds and leave no prints, but travelers feel his icy
breath upon their necks. To meet or see Black Shuck
means death or misfortune within a year. In Suffolk, how-
ever, it is believed that Black Shuck is harmless as long
as he is not bothered. In parts of Devon, it is bad luck to
even speak of the Black Dog.
People who travel in the countryside at night say they
see his dark form leaping across the road in front of them
or racing along lonely country roads. One case reported
in 1972 involved an offi cer with Her Majesty’s Coast-
guard who spotted a black dog on Yarmouth beach in
East Anglia. Graham Grant was on duty at the coastguard
headquarters on Gorleston South Pier on April 19. At
dawn he was scanning the coastline with binoculars when
he saw a “large black hound-type animal” running up and
down the beach as though it were looking for someone.
He did not notice anything unusual about its appearance.
He watched it for about two minutes, and then the dog
just faded away from his vision. Grant thought perhaps it
had fallen into a hole, but the beach had been bulldozed
the day before and was fl at and smooth. The animal did
not reappear over the next hour that Grant continued to
observe the beach.
Grant was not familiar with the legend of Black Shuck.
He told another staffer, Harold Cox, about the dog on the
beach. Cox told him about the legend, warning him about
the misfortune that is supposed to befall as a result of a
sighting. Grant was not concerned.
But about 10 weeks later, during the last week in June
1972, Cox, who was in his mid-50s, collapsed and died of
a heart attack while sitting in the same chair from which
he had recounted the Black Shuck story to Grant. And in
February 1973, Grant’s father died of heart failure in his home in Yorkshire. Interestingly, the area where Grant
saw the dog has been linked to Black Shuck for many
years. The spectral dog especially haunts a road that was
an old trackway from Gorleston to Great Yarmouth.
Both the legends of Black Shuck and the
WHISHT
HOUNDS
are said to have inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
in his writing of
The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Spectral black dogs in general haunt numerous locales
and play a role in many haunting legends. They also are
associated with the Devil, who is said to often assume the
shape of a black dog, and with witches.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-52296185164304279632015-01-02T13:07:00.000+02:002015-01-02T14:46:52.424+02:00Bell Witch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T7c5qJ5A6Hk/VKZ6kru40xI/AAAAAAAAB2o/sHlVrrXD13U/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T7c5qJ5A6Hk/VKZ6kru40xI/AAAAAAAAB2o/sHlVrrXD13U/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
The famous pre–American Civil War haunt-
ing of the Bell Witch involved poltergeist phenomena and
spectral creatures, and, according to legend, tormented
one man to death. The haunting excited the curiosity
of many people, including General Andrew Jackson. The
story exists in several versions, three of which are pre-
sented here. The fi rst is probably closest to the true anec-
dote, as it allegedly is based on the diary of one of the
Bell sons, Richard Williams Bell. The third version has a
modern sequel. The different versions demonstrate how
stories change in retelling.Legend #1
John Bell was a prosperous farmer who owned 1,000
acres near Adams, Tennessee. He had a beautiful wife,
Lucy, and eight children. They were all devout Baptists
and model citizens. In 1817, their lives inexplicably were
turned upside down. The fi rst signs were spectral crea-
tures witnessed by Bell. One was a large, doglike thing
that vanished when Bell fi red upon it with his shotgun.
The other was a large, turkeylike bird.
Following the appearances of the creatures, the home
was plagued with knockings,
RAPPINGS
, and scrapings on
the outside doors and windows. Sounds that resembled
giant rats gnawing the bedposts and giant dogs clawing
the fl oor were heard. These phenomena went on for about
a year, and then covers began to be pulled off beds and
invisible hands slapped faces and pulled hair. Particularly
tormented was the Bells’ 12-year-old daughter, Betsy, who
was slapped, pinched, bruised and stuck with pins. Betsy
was so affl icted that at fi rst the family suspected her of
perpetrating a trick on everyone else.
At fi rst Bell was determined to keep the haunting a
secret, but it became intolerable for the family. Bell at last
confi
ded in a neighbor, James Johnson, who discovered
the offending spirit seemed to be intelligent, for it would
temporarily desist when beseeched in the name of the
Lord. Johnson advised forming an investigatory commit-
tee. With that, word went out, and the Bell home became
the object of great curiosity.
The spirit began to whistle and then to speak. It gave
various identities. It said it was “a Spirit from everywhere,
Heaven, Hell, the Earth. I’m in the air, in houses, any
place at any time. I’ve been created millions of years. That
is all I will tell you.” On another occasion, it said it was
the spirit of a person who had been buried in the woods
nearby, and whose grave had been disturbed. The bones
had been scattered about, and a tooth was under the Bells’
house. The spirit was looking for the tooth. The Bells
searched, but no tooth was found.
On yet another occasion, the spirit said it was the
ghost of an immigrant who had died and left a hidden for-
tune; it had returned to reveal to Betsy the location of the
money. The spirit gave a location, and the Bell boys dug
for hours without fi
nding a thing. That night, the spirit
laughed over the joke.
The townspeople came to think of the spirit as a witch.
The spirit agreed, saying, “I am nothing more nor less
than old Kate Batts’ witch, and I’m determined to haunt
and torment old Jack Bell as long as he lives.” Kate Batts
was a hefty local woman married to an invalid. She had
once been dissatisfi ed with business dealings with Bell
and had threatened to get even. She was still alive. From
then on, the spirit was called “Kate.”
“Kate” made almost daily appearances at the Bell home
and visited everyone else in Robertson County as well,
abusing them with her caustic tongue. She made predic-
tions about the future, including the Civil War and the
two World Wars of the 20th century. But her primary pur-
poses were to torment “Old Jack,” as she called Bell, and
to torment Betsy in order to dissuade her from marrying
a young man named Josh Gardner. “Kate” did not disturb
Lucy Bell, nor Betsy’s favorite little brother, John Jr.
“Kate” grew so famous that General Andrew Jackson
decided to visit and bring along a “witch layer,” a profes-
sional exorcist. Just outside the Bell farm, however, the Jack-
son carriage suddenly stopped and the wheels refused to
budge. “Kate’s” voice then manifested, promising to appear
that night in the home. The carriage became unstuck.
Later in the evening, “Kate” manifested with phantom
footsteps and a voice. The witch layer attempted to shoot
her with a silver bullet (see
SILVER
) but was slapped about
and frightened out of the house.
John Bell fell victim to repeated bouts of illness, for
which “Kate” claimed responsibility. While he lay sick in
bed, twitching and jerking, the spirit cursed him continu-
ously. Finally, the ordeals wore him down and he told one
son that the end was coming. He went to bed and never
recovered.
His family found him in a stupor on the morning of
December 19, 1820. A strange bottle was found in the
medicine cabinet. When the liquid was administered to
a cat, the animal went into convulsions and died. “Kate”
exultantly declared that she had poisoned him with the
liquid while he was asleep. Bell died the next morning.
“Kate” shrieked in triumph.
The torments of Betsy began to diminish, encourag-
ing her to announce her engagement to Gardner. That
brought on a renewed attack from “Kate.” In despair,
Betsy broke the engagement and married another man,
Dick Powell.
“Kate” announced to the Bell family that she would
leave for seven years and marked her pledge with a can-
nonball-like object that rolled down the chimney and burst
like smoke. As promised, “Kate” returned seven years later
and plagued Mrs. Bell and two sons with scratchings and
the pulling off of bed covers. They kept the return a secret,
and the torments stopped after two weeks.
Before “Kate” left a second time, she visited the home
of John Jr. and pledged to return in 107 years—in 1935—
when she would bring bad tidings for Tennessee and the
entire country. The year came and went without incident,
but the area around the Bell farm is said to be haunted still.
The Bells never understood why they were singled out
for such an unearthly attack. It is not known what the
real Kate Batts had to say about it. Theories have been
advanced that Betsy may have been a poltergeist agent.
She was the right age, around puberty, and her strict Bap-
tist upbringing may have caused repressed sexual guilt.
She also may have had subconscious resentment toward
her father. However, there is no evidence that she was
unhappy or repressed. And, while the spirit did plague
Betsy the most, it roved all over Robertson County and
meddled in everyone’s affairs. Perhaps the intense resent-
ment and hatred bottled up in the real Kate Batts created
a
THOUGHT
-
FORM
that took on a life of its own.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A-qSSp9Kkvo/VKZ673UT68I/AAAAAAAAB2w/P8KsbxSqYx8/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A-qSSp9Kkvo/VKZ673UT68I/AAAAAAAAB2w/P8KsbxSqYx8/s320/index.jpg" /></a></div>
Legend #2
John Bell was a wealthy planter in North Carolina who
hired a foul-tempered overseer. The overseer abused the
slaves and, some say, had an eye for Bell’s oldest daughter,
Mary. Bell and the overseer had many clashes, which esca-
lated until Bell lost control and shot the overseer to death.
At his trial, Bell pleaded self-defense and was acquitted.
After that, however, the Bell fortunes began to turn
sour. The crops failed and he had to sell his slaves. Soon,
he was broke. He sold his land and moved his family to
Tennessee to start over again on a small piece of land near
the home of Andrew Jackson.
Strange things began to happen in the Tennessee
home. The children awoke in their beds each morning
to fi nd their hair tangled and their nightclothes snatched
off. An old black woman told Bell his family was haunted
by a witch, the “ha’nt,” or ghost, of the dead supervisor.
She offered to spend a night under the children’s bed to
fi
nd out for sure. In the middle of the night, the Bells
were awakened by a horrible scream. They found the
woman in a panic, claiming the ha’nt had pinched her,
stuck her with pins, snatched the kinks out of her hair
and whipped her.
The terrifi ed Bells told their neighbors, including Jack-
son, who did not believe in ha’nts. As soon as he said so,
he was struck by an invisible force which knocked his hat
off his head and sent it fl
ying. Mary, meanwhile, began
to suffer nightmares in which a cold and heavy weight
pressed the breath and life out of her chest. (See
OLD
HAG
.) The ha’nt appeared in her mirror and spoke to her.
These phenomena continued as Mary grew older. The
ha’nt scared off all her boyfriends so that she received
no marriage proposals. One night, the ha’nt spoke to the
Bells from the andiron in the fi replace, telling them that
he was in love with Mary and wanted to marry her. The
Bells refused. The next day, Mary began to droop about,
and her condition worsened over time until she was so
ill she could not get out of bed. For a month she lay in
bed, not responding to the ministrations of a doctor. One
night, as her mother held her hand, she sat up suddenly
and said she saw the ha’nt, and thought she was going to
love him. Her face lit up with happiness and she died.
On the day of her burial, a great black bird with a bell
tied around its neck appeared in the sky over the funeral
procession. The bell tolled the most mournful note ever
heard. The bird continued to circle over the mourners
until Mary’s grave was covered, and then fl ew away, the
sad tolls of the bell lingering in the air.
Legend #3
In the early 1800s, John Bell of North Carolina became
engaged to a widow, Kate Batts. He soon discovered she
had a nasty temper. He tried to break the engagement, but
she refused to allow it. One day, she fell on his farm, hit
her head on a bucket and knocked herself unconscious.
Bell thought she was dead, and he dragged her body into
the root cellar and locked the door.
She awoke the next night, however, and began moan-
ing and calling to John for food and help. He ignored her
pleas, and two days later, she died. John surreptitiously
took her body away and left it on her own farm, where it
was found by a neighbor.
Happy to be rid of Batts, Bell married another woman
and moved to a farm near Adams, Tennessee, north of
Nashville. His happiness was shortlived, for soon after
their arrival, horrible hauntings began. A huge black bird
with fi
ery eyes and a terrible stench dive-bombed him
while he was plowing his fi eld. At home, strange noises
were heard, and his three sons (presumably by a previous
marriage) were awakened by what sounded like a giant
rat gnawing at their bedposts.
The poltergeist phenomena were followed by a disem-
bodied spirit, whom the family called “Kate Batts’ witch,”
and who exhibited great hatred for Bell. One morning in
1820, the spirit announced that she had poisoned Bell
during the night. He was, in fact, dead.
The family was haunted by the Bell Witch for one
more year. Then, after a seven-year absence, the spirit
returned again to torment the family with knockings,
scratchings and the like. Once again, the spirit left and
swore to return.
Subsequent Activity
The Bell Witch hauntings did not end with the death of
John Bell in 1820, or the end of his family. After the death
of Lucy Bell, the land was divided, and Joel Bell inherited
the piece on the Red River. Joel eventually sold the land
to his brother, Richard, who had the farm adjoining John
Bell’s property. Family members and visitors continued
to experience odd phenomena, such as the mysterious
breakage of objects, howling noises outside the house,
and bed linens being torn off the beds.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brTXV9sgR7k/VKZ7mp8PYTI/AAAAAAAAB28/iMzVLYn8Vdw/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brTXV9sgR7k/VKZ7mp8PYTI/AAAAAAAAB28/iMzVLYn8Vdw/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>
The property continued to be plagued by strange
noises, odd shapes, and unexplained
GHOST
LIGHTS
, even
into the present. In 1969, one of John Bell’s descendants
died of a mysterious malady that struck suddenly, and
resembled the malady described as having struck Bell
himself. It appeared to be a nerve disorder that caused
the woman’s throat and mouth to swell and stiffen and
impaired her ability to talk and swallow.
In 1964, the farm was bought by Bill and Frances
Eden. They lived in the old farmhouse, but soon grew
weary of the noises, apparitions, and other phenomena.
Eden tore the house down and built a new one in its
place—but the phenomena continued, suggesting that
“place energy” might be a factor in the haunting. One
eerie phenomenon was a tall fi gure in a long black cloak
with the collar turned up who would walk up and down
the road. Eden could not tell if it was male or female. The
couple frequently heard voices, the sounds of a woman
screaming, and raspy breathing.
The Edens popularized the cave as a tourist attraction.
After Bill Eden died at home, Frances moved, and
the farm sat vacant for a few years. It was purchased in
1993 by Walter and Chris Kirby, tobacco farmers. They
reopened the cave for tourism. Immediately upon moving
in, they experienced haunting phenomena, which contin-
ues to the present.
In 2006, the fi
lm
An American Haunting
was released.
The fi lm was based on a novelization of the Bell Witch
story,
The Bell Witch: An American Haunting,
by Brent
Monahan. The fi lm portrays a fi
ctional confl ict between
John Bell and Kate Batts and emphasizes the affl
ictions of
Betsy as more demonic in nature.
The Bell Witch Cave
The cave is located near the farmhouse in the center of
a bluff overlooking the river. A disturbed Indian burial
mound lies on the bluff above the entrance. The cave is
small, but extends deep into the bluff. Due to the nar-
rowness of the passage, visitors can enter only about 500
feet of the cave. In rainy weather, a stream issues from the
cave.
Visitors have recorded
ELECTRONIC
VOICE
PHENOM
-
ENA
(EVP) inside the cave. A bizarre photographic effect
occurs at the entrance: many photographs do not come
out at all, while others have missing people and objects
or show objects not present when the photographs were
taken. Mists also show up on photographs.
A Native American woman’s bones were discovered
during construction work on a nearby road and were
interred in the cave. The bones were stolen. Since then,
bad luck seems to happen to people who take anything
from the cave, such as a stone.
Glowing balls of light have been photographed inside
the cave, and the apparition of a woman has been seen
inside, fl
oating along the passage.
TROY
TAYLOR
and inves-
tigator Bob Schott fi lmed what appears to be an interdi-
mensional doorway.
Explanations for the Bell Witch
From the beginning of the case, skeptics suspected the
haunting was a trick intended to dupe people out of
money. Evidence does not support this theory —too many
people, literally hundreds of them, have witnessed phe-
nomena. Given the unhappy events that took place, it is
not likely that a family would engineer them deliberately.
Poltergeist expert
NANDOR
FODOR
called the Bell Witch
“the greatest American ghost story” and believed it could
be explained naturally as poltergeist activity generated by
the youthful Betsy, a likely focal point. But other ghost
investigators fi
nd that explanation unsatisfactory.
Batts’s eccentricity made people fearful of her, and
rumors spread that she was a witch. But was she respon-
sible for the spirit that plagued the Bell family? Batts was
an outsider who did not get along well with others. She
had the bizarre habit of asking every woman she met for a
brass pin. She never explained why, and people evidently
were too afraid to ask. However, it was well known that
witches used pins and other personal items in their spell-
casting, and so many assumed that Batts was collecting
material for dark purposes. She was said to bewitch but-
ter so that it would not churn. Batts also alienated people
with her conceit. She considered herself above others and
thought she was entitled to great social privileges.
Nonetheless, Batts was a devout Christian and made
a great show of her faith. When word reached her that
the spirit plaguing the Bell family identifi ed itself as “the
witch of Kate Batts,” she was furious. She vowed to legally
prosecute whoever was spreading this vicious rumor—but
of course no person was ever found, for the source was
the spirit itself.
The identity of the spirit remains unknown to this
day. The spirit said it was a Native American whose burial
rest had been disturbed. The spirit also has been associ-
ated with a woman who was buried in North Carolina,
but without compelling evidence. Another theory holds that the spirit was a poltergeist riled up by the animosity
between Bell and Batts, and exacerbated by the budding
sexual energy of the young Betsy. Still others think that
Batts was indeed a witch who cursed the Bell family with
a nasty spirit.
Beliefs about Batts being a witch followed her to her
grave. She died after Bell, and also long after the haunting
phenomena ceased. But no one would sit the night with
her corpse, which was the custom at the time. Finally a
woman volunteered to do so, if several other women sat
with her. The group claimed they were plagued by black
cats and menacing
BLACK
DOGS
all night long.
Troy Taylor calls the Bell property and cave “one of the
most haunted locations in America.” Taylor has proposed
that the witch really was a nonhuman entity that was
activated and released by the disturbance of the Indian
burial mound when it was opened and desecrated long
ago by two boys. The disturbance created an interdimen-
sional portal or doorway through which the spirit was
able to become active in the physical world. It probably
was ancient in nature, and at fi rst took forms it was famil-
iar with—a black dog and a black bird. It then learned
to speak. It was unhappy, perhaps even malevolent. The
spirit may still move in and out of the portal, through the
cave.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-24155418503843977882014-09-08T11:56:00.000+03:002014-09-08T11:56:03.260+03:00Zuriel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nRAhnkOzATI/VA1u-2jvBGI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/iLymBdev2iw/s1600/images5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nRAhnkOzATI/VA1u-2jvBGI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/iLymBdev2iw/s320/images5.jpg" /></a></div>
Ruler of the order of
PRINCIPALITIES
and the sign of
Libra. Zuriel means “my rock is God.” Zuriel is one
of 70 angels who protect newborn infants. (See
CHILDBIRTH ANGELS
.) In
MAGIC
he is invoked against
stupidity. Zuriel is sometimes equated with Uriel and
in that aspect governs the month of September.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347764164133027369.post-33641945068714840992014-09-08T11:53:00.002+03:002014-09-08T11:53:17.683+03:00Zophiel (Zaphiel)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qwxI93ATZKs/VA1uYtctUjI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/7tgIGzCSj4I/s1600/images4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qwxI93ATZKs/VA1uYtctUjI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/7tgIGzCSj4I/s320/images4.jpg" /></a></div>
A chieftain who assists the archangel Michael when he
bears his standard in battle. Zophiel means “God’s spy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05164505260196057467noreply@blogger.com1