WEIRD WEDNESDAY

Looks like this tree is growing despite the wall.

Supernatural Friday: Can Weather and Other Things Affect the Paranormal?

My adult son told me he heard a loud bang last night from the office as we slept and he ran into there, only to find nothing undisturbed. When I said it might be from an aftershock from the earthquake that hit Virginia, he said only heard the bang from one wall and nothing shook. I thought that maybe it was a ghostly presence? And wondered if spirits are affected by disturbances like quakes, hurricanes, and more, like it is said thunderstorms can cause things to do with the paranormal.

As the livng here scramble to prepare for Hurricane Irene, do ghosts react negatively or positively to this threat too? Did the quake and its aftershocks make more paranormal activity along the East Coast than normal?

At http://www.examiner.com/christian-living-in-raleigh/is-the-world-ending-part-1-earthquakes-hurricanes-tornadoes-wars-debts they talk about how this might suggest the end of the world as prophesized. But my concern is more in how the atmosphere from first the quake and now the hurricane might make phantoms appeared more often than the norm.

I do know that there are spirits who forewarn those of approaching storms, like the Gray Man of Pawley Island, South Carolina. He always appears just before a storm hits the island, warning the inhabitants. When the "Storm of 1822" slammed the area, most perished, except one young girl and her family. According to legends, she was warned by the phantom of her departed lover. A man in 1954 was also warned by a stranger to take his family and flee. The man returned after the storm left the area only to find most of the island in shambles, except for his house. Even the wash was still left on the line! That is another facet of the legend, that those who see the Grey Man means that no harm will come to them.

Another is the "Gray Man" of Hatteras, North Corolina. Legends says that the ghost is of a sailor named Gray, who perished on his ship when it was caught in a hurricane. He hangs close to the lighthouse, warning those of the approaching storms. Those who do not heed his warning are doomed to die when the hurricane hits Hatteras.

So when Irene leaves the East Coast, take notice of anything strange. Do you hear voices when no one is there or suddenly, do things on your shelves fly off ? It would be interesting to check out. And if you see the Gray man, listen to him.

Weird Wednesday

This game is using Barbie dolls? What do you think?

Supernatural Friday: Demons-Part 2

Last week I talked about demons, and how they are a part of Judaic and Christianity. Today, demons of other rleigions and races get their chance.

Assyrians may have had the first demon tales. Besides having the public and official cult of the "twelve great gods and subordinate divinities," they also did sorcery and magic. Below the upper gods, there was a huge lore of spirits, some good, others evil and hurtful. Interestingly enough, these spirits were classified with same methods and more to the choirs and orders of Judaic and Christian angelic hierarchy.

There were three books (most likely clay tablets) that had a great magical work. Each of these tablets ends with the title, Tablet #--of Evil Spirits. Besides known as udukku (spirit), a demon was also called ecimmu, or maskimmu.On of these was a special class called sedu--divine bull. It is represented as a man-headed bull (not unlike the Greek myth of the Minotaur--maybe even the Christian devil represented with horn and a forked tail?). No doubt the name was the source for the Hebrew word for demon. Though it was also a beneficient or tutelary spirit, to rival nation it can be corrupted to an evil being.

Demon lore in Mesopotamia was rich; the Mesopotamians feeling they were under constant attack from evil on all sides. Demonic entities usually were spirits caused by natural forces such as fire, plagues, droughts, infants dying from crib deaths and diseases. They assumed fantastically-shaped creatures made up from several parts of living things like scorpions, lions, serpents and hawks. One example of this was the Sumerian demon, Pazuzu, who was made famous by the horror film, "The Exorcist." It had four wings, clawed feet of a hawk, and a snarling lion-like face.

Mesopotamians fought these demons back with magic. Placing special bowls inscribed with special word charms upside down under their houses' foundations, they hoped to catch these demos and prevent them from entering their homes through the ground. Amulets with avertive verses against certain demons (like those who attack the lives of women giving birth) also were made.

After Babylonians were captured, ancient Hebrews assorbed much of Sumerian demons and lore into their own folklore. Over time, these became Jewish demons, like Lilith, who strangled children in their cribs and visited solitary men in their beds to seduce and caused nocturnal emissions. Lilith began life as a Babylonian demon known as the lilitu. She mutated into the first wife of Adam, who refused obedience to God.

Another source of demonologies is presented in the Avesta, the sacred book of the Mazdean religion of Zoroaster. Zoroastrianism is the doctrine teaching of Zarathustra, also known as Mazdaism, Bah Din, Parasiism, and Fire-worship.

This doctrine was founded by the Persian prophet, Zoroaster of Zarathustra around 720-541 B.C. He claimed he received these revelations when conversing with Ahura Mazda (Lord of Wisdom). These ancient religion, not popular like the Assyrians, still exists in the Parsee community. It talks about the war between light and dark, that good and evil is eternal. This myth is based on the Persian worship of the ahuras, good deities eternally at war with evil daevas. Is this not sound like Christian doctrine of eternal struggles between Heaven and Hell? What Zoroaster's system did is do away with a single deity in favor os a cosmic struggle between the good Ahura Mazda (Ormzad) and Ahriman (Anro Mainya), the cruel Evil Spirit, the Demon of Demons (Daevanam Daeva).

Though differences prevailed between the Avesta and the devil in Scripture and Christian theology, the essential fight between good and evil is similar in both cases. Also the pictures of the holiness and fidelity of Zoroaster when assailed by the temptations and persecutions of Anro Mainyus and his demonic entities is faintly close to the scene of the temptation of Jesus Christ in the desert.

Demons in Greek mythology may have gotten their heritage from the former civilizations of the Indus. Some of the creatures from Greek mythology are integrated into Jewish and Christian demonology--the hydra, Titans, Pan, and mermaids.

Tibetan demonology integrated into Buddhism and the main local branches. Though often misunderstood or misinterpreted, the scope of the still-know iconography is living proof that the pre-Buddhist Bon-Po tradition gave birth to their terrifying monsters. Today they are considered as an angry form of divinities and pure emptiness, before they were considered fearsome demons and gods who ruled the mysterious heights of the planet.

WEIRD WEDNESDAY

For Weird Wednesday we have a picture of a woman lying on a pillow that looks to be a man's shirt with a body in it and a hand sticking out of a sleeve, holding her. What would be the weirdest pillow that you would ever see?

Book Signing This Saturday, August 20th at Twice Told Tales in Gloucester, Virginia

I'm having a book release party for my new release, Virginia's Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations, at Twice Told Tales Bookstore in Gloucester, Virginia this Saturday, August 20, 2011. The time is 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the address is 6658 Main Street. For directions and more information, the bookstore's phone number is 804-693-9209. Come in and besides getting a singed copy, be entered for my giveaway of a basket of goodies, including a $10 gift certificate to the bookstore. You do not have to be present to win, but I will draw the winner at the end of my signing. Twice Told Tales

Call the bookstore if you can not make to reserve a signed copy for you to pick up another day, or to be sure copies of my other books will be there too, besides the new release.

Virginia's Haunted Historic Traingle Already has Reviews!

My new release, Virginia's Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations, had two reviews already! Both good ones, too. First one is at the Richmond Psychic and Paranormal Examiner.com . The second one is at Southern Spirit Guide.

Supernatural Friday: Demons--Part I

Today, I want to touch on demonic entities. What makes a demon, and are they in all the world's myths and legends, or just the Christian Bible? Every culture in the world has some sort of demon belief. Of course, the most widely known are concerned with the Judaic, Christian, and Catholic sources. Gemon is also called diamon and daemon (from Ancient Greek).

Hard to really pinpoint the first demon tale, but a good place would be the Persian and Assyrian empires. In the ancient past, demons had both capacity for both doing evil and good. The word "demon" meant 'celestial body,' maybe coming possibly from Indo-European sources. Also in all religions and cultures, demons are likely more than half animal, besides grotesque in appearance.

Devil and demon were confusing in their meaning in Orthodox traditions. A devil usually fought a divine authority for control of existence. Such scenarios had the "end of time" where good vanquishes evil.

Demons are like angels and under control of the Devil--unclean spirits. Malevolent, they always seek to torment humanskind with their wickedness. Demons did this by whispering wicked ideas into humans' ears, with corruption of said human as the goal. They also wandered the world as spirits to torment and frighten mortals with their forms. Last, they possess a living body, controlling the actions, with harm to the possessed in mind.

Demons in many Christian stories and legends are also summoned and controlled. Many times this is a wizard, sorcerer, witch, Satanist, and even by a normal human. And of course, the Christian Devil has horns and a tail, with a pitchfork. Though that was not aways the look he had, not until after pagans turned to Christianity in medieval Europe. No doubt, this came from the horned God and Goddess of the old religion.

Sigmund Freud developed the concept that demons were the important relation of living to the dead, revealing that demons are thought of those as those who recently passed away shows how much mourning has on the origin of belief in demons.

Next Friday, I'll talk about demon myths in other religions and cultures outside of Judiac and Christian ones.

WEIRD WEDNESDAY

Very odd bicycle--making it look like a camel? What do you think?

Virginia's Haunted Historic Traingle's First Review

My new release, Virginia's Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations, received not only its first review today at the Richmond Pyschic and Paranormal Examiner, but a great one. http://is.gd/Oxstml

Supernatural Friday: Scared Yet?

Scared Yet?

Eyes watching me in my nightmares,

A shadow hovers in the corner of my room

A howl on a moonlit night gives me shivers,

Footsteps of someone invisable caught on my recorder

Are you scared yet?




Fingers touching my shoulder,

Turning, nothing's there.

Whispers carried on the air,

No one is there.

Are you scared yet?




Alone in the house,

All lights on,

One by one, they go out,

Leaving you in the dark

Are you scared yet?




You should be. . . .




Copyrights of this poem belongs to the author--do not take, but do share the link with friends.

WEIRD WEDNESDAY

Very odd fish picture. Real, or computer enhanced?