Appearance/Book Signing Sunday, Feb. 3rd-Richmond, Virginia

 

I am doing a book signing at Fountain Bookstore this Sunday, February 3, 2013 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. Includes copies of Haunted Richmond II and Virginia's Haunted Historic Triangle, plus copies of Spectre Nightmares and Visitations, my collection of fiction horror stories. I will also have copies of my latest print erotic urban fantasy book written under my pseudonym,  Sapphire Phelan, The Witch And The Familiar.  The address is 1312 E. Cary Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219 804-788-1594. Fountain Bookstore

 

 

The Raven by Poe's 168th Anniversary Was Yesterday

Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven," was published on this day in 1845 in the New York Evening Mirror. 168 years ago.
Poe's dark and macabre work reflected his own tumultuous and difficult life. Born in Boston in 1809, Poe was orphaned at age three and went to live with the family of a Richmond, Virginia businessman. Poe enrolled in a military academy but was expelled for gambling. He later studied briefly at the University of Virginia. He died in a hospital after found in a in Baltimore, Maryland. 

He left us a legacy of short stories, many making him the leader in mystery, science fiction and of course, the dark gothic horror. And many great poems, including the most famous one of his, "The Raven."

Watch this animation of  "Margali's Midnight Matinee:  A Cartoon Travesty of 'The Raven'" released in 1942 at Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qVVBpuvBAbs
  And Vincent Price reading The Raven:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqthT-7_K3E

Happy anniversary, Raven--evermore! 

A Modern Book of the Dead

Today, author David LeRoy blogs about writing his historical fiction novel, The Siren of Paris, and how it is like the Egyptian Book of Dead.

 

Choosing to use The Egyptian Book of the Dead as a paradigm for The Siren of Paris has raised questions, especially for a debut novel.  The ancient text is obscure and rather mystical.  Many would argue inappropriate for a historical novel for modern American readers.  Perhaps they are right?

The Siren of Paris has attracted critical attention and sometimes negative reviews.  “Paris” is sort of like the 90210 of the publishing industry.  Eighty-three percent of books in America are bought and read by women, with many of these customers having a certain obsession with Paris.   The publishing industry is under pressure to produce books with mass market bestseller appeal, and hence they look for stories that entice and entertain romantic ideas of the City of Lights to potentially be the next cash cow in the Paris obsession market.   The title is perfect, but the story contained inside The Siren of Paris is one hundred and eighty degrees from what a traditional publisher would probably be seeking.  Historical novels with romantic themes often have an Alpha Male paired to with Beta Female.  The reverse is found in my novel of a Beta male in love with a narcissistic Alpha female.  This is repulsion to the romance genre, and that is considered publishing suicide. 

Furthermore, I choose to use an ancient mythical funeral liturgy from Egypt, of all things, as the core thread of the story.  Instead of a hook of some exciting scene in the book as the opening, I have placed a stumbling block, almost a gate of sorts, as a threshold that the reader must pass through in order to continue the story.   This mystical, strange gate is required to understand the equally mystical ending of the story, increasing the challenge to the reader to use his or her own imagination.   Between these two bizarre pillars, instead of picture panels or hieroglyphics of The Egyptian Book of the Dead, I have inserted lucid dreams and hallucinations from the protagonist’s point of view that are drawn from a modern well of mystery known as Jungian Depth Psychology.  This not only shows the reader the extent of the post traumatic stress disorder that Marc experiences during the war, but it contains their own meanings and messages .

Here is the reason I chose to leave the path of mass-market appeal. The historical

figures in the story are real people.  The fictional element of this story is of course the lucid dreams, hallucinations, and afterlife scenes.  A purely rational and materialistic point of view would argue that I should just give the reader the real people and story and drop all this other philosophical nonsense.  However, I clearly do not have such a rational point of view and do hold a belief in the life of the soul.   

Elda, Robert and Philip, who appear in this book, are still alive.  However, in the body of the text of The Siren of Paris, the Belgian orphan boy and girl along with dogs, Jean, Georges, Dr. Jackson, and the victims of the RMS Lancastria, perish just as they really did during World War II.  Not only do these people die, but they have no physical graves of their own.  No one even knows the names of the Belgian orphans, but everyone who survived the sinking remembered seeing them and their two dogs, that day, when they boarded the ship.  These two children who walked across France, boarded the Lancastria, and disappeared into the sea haunted me as I wrote this book.  Jean’s body would have either been placed in a mass grave or cremated upon arrival at Buchenwald.  George’s body was cremated at Buchenwald or placed in a mass grave.  Dr. Jackson’s body was lost at sea with the sinking of the S.S. Thielbek.  As for the dead of the Lancastria, all the gravesites listed in the opening chapter of the story also contain graves labeled “Known Unto God,” which means “unknown victim. ”  

The Siren of Paris for the modern reader is a strange book.  It does not pander to any romantic ideas of the war and Paris.  The story fails to entertain the reader with the dream of an idealized love affair.  The message it contains about unresolved guilt is unlike any other Paris novel.  Marc’s involvement with the French Underground lacks the Hollywood warrior hero model many readers know and love.  This is a book that appeals to some readers but not to others. 

However, for the characters in the book who died,  The Siren of Paris is the only book where their stand and fall is recorded along with the millions of other people who died in the war.   Lacking any grave, this is “Their Book of the Dead.”  I wanted to tell this story, but I did not want to exploit these people in their death.  The only way I knew how to do that is by placing the story inside a sacred text.  For them, this is a 48 chapter, 101,891-word long funeral scroll that is constructed and formatted using sacred geometry and enclosed within a grand circle.   This is the essence of The Egyptian Book of the Dead.  The opening words “May the Lord Be With You,” is connected in the end with the words “Thanks Be to God,” as all of these ghosts I have gathered together in this story are free to leave World War II.  

There is no risk that this book will ever become some kind of bestseller to cash in on the Paris obsession.  The story is written as a way to bring closure to all of the souls involved in that apocalyptic war.  I may have placed the interests of the souls of the dead above the interests of the living reader when I wrote this novel, much as a priest in the ancient church faced the cross and altar instead of the congregation as he beseeched the Lord, on their behalf, in prayer. 

David LeRoy

Synopsis of the Novel: 

Born in Paris and raised in the United States, 21-year-old Marc Tolbert enjoys the advantages of being born to a wealthy, well-connected family.. Reaching a turning point in his life, he decides to abandon his plans of going to medical school and study art in Paris. In 1939, he boards a ship and heads to France, blissfully unaware that Europe -- along with the rest of the world -- is on the brink of an especially devastating war.

When he arrives at l'École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts, more ominous signs surface. There are windows covered with tape, sandbags shielding the fronts of important buildings, whispers of Parisian children leaving the city, and gas masks being distributed. Distracted by a blossoming love affair, Marc isn't too worried about his future, and he certainly doesn't expect a Nazi invasion of France.

Marc has a long journey ahead of him. He witnesses, first-hand, the fall of Paris and the departure of the French government. Employed by an ambassador, he visits heads of state, including the horribly obese gray-haired Mussolini and the charismatic Hitler. He witnesses the effects of the tightening vise of occupation, first-hand, as he tries to escape the country. He also participates in the French resistance, spends time in prison camps, and sees the liberation of the concentration camps. During his struggles, he is reunited with the woman he loves, Marie, who speaks passionately of working with the resistance. Is she working for freedom, or is she not to be trusted?

About the Author: 

A native of California, David LeRoy received a BA in Philosophy and Religion at Point Loma Nazarene College in San Diego. After returning from a European arts study program, he became interested in the history behind the French Resistance during World War Two. Writing fiction has become his latest way to explore philosophical, moral and emotional issues of life. The Siren of Paris is his first novel. You can visit him at http://www.thesirenofparis.com/. 

Additional Info:  You can purchase The Siren of Paris from Amazon -- AMAZON and KINDLE-- for more information about this virtual book tour, please visit -BookPromotions.com-Siren of Paris Tour

I Was Interviewed by Author Joseph Spencer

I was spotlighted and interviewed by author Joseph Spencer on his blog today. http://www.josephbspencer.com/uncategorized/author-spotlight-pamela-kinney

Supernatural Friday: Great Paranormal Places to Visit for Ideas

Welcome author Joe Spencer as he talks about paranormal places that one can visit and get great ideas for Supernatural Friday today. He has a giveaway for those who check out his blog tour: 

GIVEAWAY: It is tour wide for 10 eBook copies of Grim. Ends 02/18/2013. Just click on the link for the rafflecopter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/873c06271

TOUR SCHEDULE LINK:  http://www.fmbpromotions.com/2012/12/tour-schedule-grim-by-joseph-spencer.html

When they open a book, readers love to be transported to places they’ve never visited or could never dream to visit in real life. Even the most talented writers can’t fully rely on their imaginations alone all the time to dream up these otherworldly settings for their fiction work. Sometimes, there’s nothing like real life experiences to spur the creative juices when you sit down to start a project.

With that in mind, I’d like to suggest places to visit if possible which could inspire you to create the perfect place for a project being stalled by an uncertainty of where to place the action. Since I write thriller fiction with a paranormal slant, I’ve come up with a list of place close to where I live in the Midwest for you to check out if you’re also an adventurer who doesn’t mind a good scare once in a while. 

1.     Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (Reston, West Va.)

This mental illness facility opened in 1864 and housed 2,400 patients in its peak in the 1950s. This National Historic Landmark is the largest hand-cut stone masonry building in the United States, and reportedly second-largest in the world to the Kremlin in Moscow. SyFy’s Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters Academy and Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures have investigated reported sightings of apparitions, unexplainable sounds, and other paranormal activity. Daytime tours of all four floors are available and cost $35. For info, visit http://trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com.

2.     The Waverly Hills Sanatorium (Louisville, Ky.)

Construction of this building started in 1908, but the current massive, gothic-style, collegiate structure didn’t open for business until 1926. The facility could house up to 400 patients and served as a tuberculosis hospital until 1961, when the vaccine which cured TB rendered the hospital obsolete. SyFy’s Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters Academy and Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures have also investigated reports of paranormal activity. Daily public tours cost $22 and private tours are available. For info, visit http://therealwaverlyhills.com.

3.     Ohio State Reformatory (Mansfield, Ohio)

Fans of the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption may want to visit this haunted prison where it was filmed. The prison opened in September of 1896, housing its first 150 offenders. More than 155,000 men called the prison home for various stretches before it closed on December 31, 1990. There are both historical and ghost tours available for visitors and a tour related to the movie as well. For info, visit www.mrps.org.

4.     Abraham Lincoln’s Ghost Walk (Springfield, Ill.)

For those who like to mix historical and paranormal sites, consider visiting Illinois’ state capital to go on a 10-block, 90-minute walking which uses President Lincoln’s sites as the backdrop for the scoop on Honest Abe’s paranormal tales. The tour covers his last visit to his law office,  his funeral in the capitol, his haunted home, Mary Lincoln’s séances, and the attempted grave robbery. There are other tours including a haunted dead walk which includes alleged paranormal activity in the old Virgil Hickox House and a more traditional historical tour of Lincoln’s life in Springfield. For more info, visit www.springfieldwalks.com.

5.     Missouri State Penitentiary (Jefferson City, Mo.)

This historic prison received its first inmate in 1836, just 14 years after Jefferson City became the state capital. Only five years later, an officer died during a prison escape. Executions were conducted on site. When the prison closed in 2004, it had served as the oldest prison (168 years) west of the Mississippi River. A guided public tour which ventures through dungeon cells and a gas chamber costs $95. Private tours also are available.  For more info, visit www.missouripentours.com.

Joe Spencer is the author of Grim, a paranormal crime thriller released by Damnation Books in September 2012. It’s the first in the planned Sons of Darkness series. His second book, Wrage, is due out in 2013. He can be reached at www.josephbspencer.com.

Joe Spencer

Website: www.josephbspencer.com
 Email: jay_b66@hotmail.com
Twitter: josephspencer00
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joe.spencer3 

Blurb:

When bodies start showing up again at an abandoned mental hospital with a notorious past, Detective Adam White fears Prairieville's most prolific slasher, The Reaper, has returned.

Dubbed the White Knight for his one-man crusade against corruption and crime, White searches for answers as Prairieville reels in fear during its worst blood bath. But maintaining his hero facade becomes difficult the more he obsesses about the one case he's never solved – his wife's murder. White’s investigation into Grim gets sidetracked when a group of college students and a bartender are slain in a downtown bar. The nature of the crimes and the evidence leads White to believe he’s tracking two killers rather than one.

The blood trail leads to eccentric millionaire Heath Grim, a recluse with a face so scarred he never leaves home without his mask. Consumed with seeking vengeance for his murdered father, Grim agrees to be possessed by a mysterious supernatural entity, Abaddon, which harvests the souls of murderers. As Grim descends further into madness, he’s haunted by spirits of victims of violent murders who demand him to hunt their killers so their souls can be freed from spiritual limbo. Abaddon’s pact with Grim is simple. If Grim vindicates enough souls bound to limbo, he’ll get a chance to bring his father’s murderer to justice. Grim ultimately finds out his father was the original Reaper and was murdered by organized crime kingpin Cyrus Black. 

Both White and Grim wind up with targets on their backs when organized crime kingpin Cyrus Black hatches a scheme to bring a race track to Prairieville. White’s investigations have always called into question Black’s charade as a legitimate businessman. Grim owns the ground where Black wants to build the race track. Black coerces a woman from White’s past, who is a dead ringer for his slain wife, and a dirty cop to frame White for drug trafficking and murder. Black also attempts to force Grim into selling his land by kidnapping one of Grim’s closest friends.
       

White’s framed before he can bring some key evidence into light. Disgraced and ashamed, the last shreds of White’s sanity begin to unravel in prison. He longs for one last chance to bring his wife’s murderer to justice. Grim affords him that chance. He bails out White and tries to use Abaddon’s influence to convince White that they must team up to avenge their slain loved ones.

When Grim provides White with the identity of his wife’s killer, he must choose whether to try to rebuild his reputation or give in to his vigilante impulses and help Grim in a plot to murder a common enemy. 

Synopsis:
Grim is a complex, gritty, and often gory tale which follows a series of grisly murders in Prairieville. The blood trail leads to a reclusive millionaire Heath Grim, who wears a mask to hide his war scars from the world, but he harbors a darker secret on the inside. Virtuous detective Adam White almost always gets his man, but he's haunted by the one case he's never closed - his wife's murder. When White is pushed to the limits of his sanity from a rising body count and a criminal kingpin who has turned crooked cops and corrupt politicians against him, will he be able to collar the killer? Or will a plot to tarnish his image and the killer's information on a common enemy turn White into the type of man he's hunted throughout his law enforcement career?

Excerpt from Grim:

Adam heard a few sounds of Velcro peeling from its straps. Suddenly, Black Mask shed the mystery and ambiguity of his head gear. He became another mystery altogether. What happened to this guy? He looked like he’d seen hell, escaped, and doctored his face to give everyone else on Earth a preview.

Black Mask obviously suffered from rosacea because his skin was inflamed, swollen, and the angriest shade of red Adam had ever seen. A jagged circular scar similar to a clock face ran from Black Mask’s forehead down his cheeks to his chin. A vertical scar ran straight down the middle of his forehead and along the bridge of his nose. Two horizontal scars extended from the side of his nose and curved upward toward the temples. Two additional scars extended outward at angles from just under his nose, across his lips and ended on either side of his chin. All of the scars connected to the outer circular one like spokes to resemble a starfish shape. Adam struggled not to have any reaction, but failed to keep the corner of his mouth from inching up into a grimace.

Black Mask smirked and put his right hand up to his face. He pretended to be admiring himself in the mirror. “It’s okay, Detective. Your reaction is fairly common and a lot more subdued than most. Of course, I bet you’ve seen a lot of horrors in your line of work.

“So, you want to know the tale of Heath Grim, do you?”

About Joe Spencer:

Joseph Spencer is the author of the Sons of Darkness series launched by his debut novel, Grim, on September 1, 2012. Work on his second book of the series, Wrage, is already underway and is expected to be released some time in 2013.

THE ROAD HERE

The Sons of Darkness is a series of paranormal crime thrillers following investigations into mysterious deaths in the central Illinois city of Prairieville. Home of the notorious serial killer, The Reaper, Prairieville has had a history of violence centered on an ongoing feud between the Marino and Black organized crime families. When bodies start showing up again at the abandoned Marino State Hospital, many fear the Reaper has returned. The people of Prairieville are about to find out their problems stem from a supernatural source which has lurked in secret for decades.

THE STORYTELLER’S STORY

As a boy, Joseph Spencer immersed himself in the deductive logic of Sherlock Holmes, the heroic crime fighting of Batman and Spider-Man, and a taste for the tragic with dramas from poets like Shakespeare and Homer.

Before Joseph took to spinning his own tales, he pursued a career in print sports journalism, graduating with honors from Clinton (IL) High School in 1996 and summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 2000. He covered such events as NASCAR’s Subway 500 race in Martinsville, the NBA Draft Camp in Chicago, the Junior College World Series, and Minor League Baseball’s Midwest League All-Star Game during a ten-year career throughout the Midwest. Now, he works as an emergency telecommunications specialist with an Illinois police department. The combination of years of writing experience with a background working with law enforcement professionals gave rise to his writing aspirations.

Joseph was married Dr. Amy (Waggoner) Spencer, an accomplished veterinary doctor, on March 14, 2012. He received word his debut novel was accepted by his publisher, Damnation Books, the next day. Joseph and Amy look forward to their honeymoon in Paris in September 2012. Murphy, a 15-year-old orange tabby, is perhaps the most vocal member of the family. The Spencer family enjoys reading Charlaine Harris, George R.R. Martin, Mary Janice Davidson, and most paranormal stories. The Spencers also enjoy quoting movie lines from The Princess Bride, Rain Man, Bridesmaids, and Office Space.

Purchase links:
Damnation Books (ebook): http://www.damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615727520
Amazon (Kindle ebook): http://www.amazon.com/Grim-ebook/dp/B0093Q8L9Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358637199&sr=8-2&keywords=Grim+by+joseph+spencer
Amazon (trade paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Grim-Joseph-Spencer/dp/1615727531/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1358637199&sr=8-2
Barnes & Noble (Nook book): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grim-joseph-spencer/1112783042?ean=9781615727520&itm=1&usri=grim+by+joseph+spencer
Barnes & Noble (paperback): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grim-joseph-spencer/1112783042?ean=9781615727537

Bottled Spirits and Tribute to Professor Cline's Haunted Monster Museum-Natural Bridge, Virginia Winners in Preditors and Editors Poll

Found out that my nonfiction article, Tribute to Professor Cline's Haunted Monster Museum-Natural Bridge, Virginia, that was posted on Haunt Jaunts Blog  took second place in the P&E Readers Poll! Thanks to all who voted. http://critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_nonfiction.ht

And my short horror story, Bottled Spirits,  took eight place in the Horror Short Story division of P&E Readers Poll. http://critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_shortstoryh.ht

Supernatural Friday: Goblins

Goblin is a general term that can apply either to the ugliest members of the fae, or to certain sub-races. Those included the Scottish Trows, English Spriggans, Welsh Knockers, Cornish Knockers, German Kobolds and Wichtlein, the Irish Phooka and even Shakespeare's infamous Puck . 

According to some tales or mythology, goblin comes from Gob or Ghob, who happened to be the king of the gnomes, His inferiors were called Ghob-lings.

Though "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English" the name is probably derived from the Anglo-Norman language gobelin (medieval Latin gobelinus), which is probably a diminutive of Gobel, a name related to the word kobold. Goblin is also related to the French lutin.

Goblins belong to the Unseelie Court, and are at war with fairies. In some circles, Goblins are considered to be the cousins of gnomes, except there is a belief that gnomes are stupid and that no one in their right mind would confuse the two.

Goblins grow up to 30 cm. They are covered with a thick coat of black/grey hair. Goblins can usually be found wearing very dark colored cloths, plus a tall cap similar to that of the Gnome. They can appear as animals. They have a somewhat bestial or grotesque appearance: their brow is fully covered with thick hair and their mouth filled with yellowed, crooked teeth. Female goblins are referred to as "hags" or "crones". They mimic human actions in their sardonic way, twisting human rituals and culture to show the worst aspects. In recent depictions, Goblins have been portrayed as green in color, though there is no proof they ever were colored this way.

Goblins are associated with Earth, which is close to Death. But they are said to correlate with fire, or have the ability to create it too.  

Goblins are pranksters. They rearrange items in the house, tangle up horses, bang pots and pans, strip humans of their clothing as they sleep, knock on doors and walls, and even dig up the graves and scatter the bones around. Goblins like to borrow horses and ride them all night. If a horse is tired in the morning, it is said a goblin rode it. This is also connected to witches too in legend. If a horse is panicking, the goblin is trying to mount it.

Goblin women steal human babies and replace them with ugly goblin babies (changelings). Goblin changelings are sometimes known as "oafs" or "crimbils".

Mine goblins make knocking noises by striking pickaxes and hammers against the stones. Some miners take the resulting sounds as a sign of good luck, that they are indicating presence of rich ore deposits. Others believe that they (Kobolds and Wichtlein) just imitate the miners to fool them. As a death companion he is sometimes accused to cause underground fires or warn for the coming deaths. To avoid the Knockers' wrath, a pastie (traditional miner meal) is always left out for them. It is said that a goblin’s smile can curdled blood, while a goblin’s laugh sours milk and causes fruit to fall from trees.

The English Hobgoblin loves to live in homes, making a lot of trouble for the people living there. Others reside in mines where they search for treasure, along for trouble. Still others of the family prefer grottos, often residing in the same one their entire life.

One myth puts the orgins of Goblins in France, in a cleft of the Pyrenees, from which they spread rapidly throughout Europe. They hitched a ride with Viking ships to Britain. Bryn y Ellyllon 'The Hill of the Goblins' is a place in Somerset. The Gap of Goeblin is a hole and underground tunnel in France.

JRR Tolkien based the orcs in The Hobbit on George Macdonald's portrayal of the creatures The Princess and the Goblin. He coined the word 'Orcs' for goblins in The Lord of the Rings.

Supernatural Friday: Faerie Busting!

Are  you being harassed by faeries? Are they curdling your cream, causing your cake to fall flat in the oven, or driving your cat or dog crazy? If you thought ants, mice, termites, or other pests drove you up the wall, faeries will double that! And to prevent you ending up in the loony bin, here some facts of protection against faeries every red-blooded human should know.

Faeries can be malicious. Even those tiny ones. Regardless of what Disney films say, Tinkerbell is bad news if she decides your home or office makes a great place to crash. 

Faeries are essentially pagans and tend to be superstitious. Most of these most can be warded off by religious objects or rituals. Sacred symbols such as the cross are often effective, not just because of its religious significance, but also because it represents the purifying light of the sun. Now faeries are not afraid of or can be harmed by the sun. It is the symbol of being a giver of life, opposite to their status as beings of the dead. Christ's conquest of death on the cross can be seen as a repudiation of the Faerie lifestyle. Making the sign of the cross is deemed effective, and Christian symbols were accepted as shields against the evil Faeries of the Unseelie Court—like prayers, singing hymns, sprinkling or carrying Holy Water, and even carrying churchyard mold. Bread and salt are also effective, being as they have been regarded as sacred ever since primitive times. Like the sun, bread and salt are symbols of life.

Other protective means that are used: ringing bells, whistling, and snapping clappers. Travelers who believe they are being misled can turn their coats inside out, in an attempt to change their identity. Those fleeing faeries find safety by leaping across fresh running water. Self-bored stones, which have holes in them created by running water, not only allow a person to see through glamour of a faerie (by looking through the hole), but also protect animals and people from being taken. There are different plants and herbs useful as counter-charms. Such are the shamrock, or four-leafed clover, considered most powerful, as it breaks through Faerie glamour. St. John's wort and red verbena are guards against magic in general. Daisies can thwart children from being kidnapped. Wood or red berries from rowan or ash trees do much the same for adults.

Iron though, is thought of as the most potent in protection. Especially cold-wrought iron implements. These are created by beating raw iron instead of melting and casting it. Steel, the primary alloy of iron, is also effective. Anything made of iron or steel, including horseshoes, knives, and scissors, can be used to keep Faeries at bay. Why the fey fear it is a good question, as no one answer gives the reason. One suggestion is that Faeries consider iron-working to be uncanny, a form of magic only humans can do. This would be regarded as strange, as faeries are master smiths, familiar with metalworking. Another possibility is based on the fact that iron is considered to be representative of life. Just as bread and the cross are, it might symbolize a concept inimical to the faeries. Anything made of iron or steel, including horseshoes, knives, and scissors, can be used to keep faeries at bay.

Supernatural Friday: Fairies

The term Faerie is derived from "Fé erie.” It means the enchantment of the Fées, while Fé is derived from Fay, derived from Fatae, or the Fates. The term originally applied to supernatural women who directed the lives of men and attended births. Now it has come to mean any supernatural creature tied to the earth, except monsters and ghosts. The modern term, “fairy,” was created, due to fairy tales.

In Ireland, the Faeries are called the Aes Sídhe (the singular being Aes Sídh). Sídhe happens to be the name for the earthen mounds and hills dotting the Irish landscape. Irish tales claim the Faeries live under these mounds, so the term "sídhe" has come to mean Faerie in general. The word also refers to the palaces, courts, halls, and residences of the Faeries. Fairies are also known b y other euphemisms, "the Fair Folk", "the Good Neighbors", "the Little Folk", "the Little Darlings", and "the People of Peace". The reason why: first is to avoid attracting their attention. The second was to avoid insulting them.

Thanks to legends and folklore of Scandinavia the elf was used the same way Aes Sídh was used in Ireland, to refer to any Faeries, and it was introduced to Britain by the Anglo-Saxons. English literature made the elves the diminutive fairies of Spenser and Shakespeare, which in conventional Faerie lore would be the equivalent of the little nature spirits.

There are tales in myths of how fairies came to be. The first way had them as fallen angels. A few did not follow Lucifer into Hell, but decided to reside on earth.

Second: It is explained them as the dead not good enough to enter Heaven, but too good for Hell. It is said they live in limbo as they recreate their former lives.

Third and last: This has them as children of Eve. She hides them from God, who curses her that the children she tried to hide from Him would remain hidden from her, and subsequently all Mankind.

Myth also divides fairies into three groups. This explains Faeries as an older race of people driven into hiding by invading newcomers. This old race continues to survive in part by stealing tools, food, animals, even woman and children from the invaders, attacking solitary travelers who wander into their territory, or haunting isolated farms where they do work in exchange for food. In time, the invaders come to think of these people as having supernatural powers, and develop traditions about them to protect themselves and try to stay out of their way. Of course, this may have occurred in Ireland, when the Mesolithic hunter-gathers were supplanted by Neolithic farmers sometime around 4500 B.C. Irish mythological history says defeated races retreated under mounds to become the Faeries (this is also in England too—the “little people” of mounds there). It was also said that Fairies might be a form of ancestor worship, especially forebears from a past "Golden Age" of heroic history. Legends and folktales tell how great kings and heroes entered Faerieland when they died, to establish new kingdoms under hills and mounds. Does this not also sound like what happened to King Arthur, taken to Avalon? But then the Celts were not only in Ireland, but in England and Wales then, too.  Same of some in Scotland. Anyway, the Irish generally believed that Faeries were the dead, and Faerieland was the afterlife. Even after their conversion to Christianity, the Irish continued to believe that most people when they died waited for the Last Judgment inside one or another Faerie mound. Last theory concerned that Faeries were dwindled gods. It  is said that generations of people retold their myths, changing them from deities to nature spirits, especially after the coming of Christianity. In Ireland, the legends and folktales say that the ancient Tuatha Dé Danann and Fir Bholg retreated under the mounds to become the first Faeries, and most mythographers believe they were the gods of the ancient Irish

A Nonfiction Article Mine Up on Preditors and Editors Poll

Vote for my nonfiction article, Tribute to Professor Cline's Haunted Monster Museum-Natural Bridge, Virginia (yes, I saw my name, Pamela was put down as Pamels-oh well). http://critters.org/predpoll/nonfiction.shtml

To read the original article: http://www.hauntjaunts.net/2012/04/19/tribute-to-professor-clines-haunted-monster-museum-natural-bridge-virginia/

Check Out My Interview On Paranormal View This Saturday

Reminder, I will be doing paranormal radio interview on Paranormal Views, Saturday, January 5, 2013, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern.  http://paraxradionetwork.com/live.htm