MAGIC - BLACK & WHITE/GOOD & EVIL

Magic refers to enchantment. One can think of magic as an art form that can be studied, practiced and performed. My husband is a magician and although he uses magic to entertain and earn income with his art there are people that are very uncomfortable around him because they don't understand how he does his illusions or how he makes the magic happen. Even today, some people are a little bit afraid of what they don't understand, or afraid of their own ignorance.

Magic has its roots in the middle east, or what was Persia, and back in earlier times magicians (or Magi) were highly educated and highly respected. They knew ancient languages, equations, secret teachings and the meanings of symbols that were handed down through generations. The general populous had no idea about these types of things and so looked up to the magicians leaders, equivalent to our MENSA society members of today.

Along with the local wise-women, who were also the midwives, the magicians usually knew a great deal about the stars, astronomy and the use of herbs and barks for healing. The world was much simpler then. To most people, it made sense that the world was inhabited by people, animals, angels, demons, witches and the devil. When the Christian church came on the scene with it's monotheistic teachings it made sense then that these inhabitants could be separated into two categories: Good and Evil or Black and White. The Good, such as Angels, certainly worked for God. The others were evil and so, were devoted to Satan.

So then, all of magic and even the practices of healing and astronomy with it, took on a "dark" connotation because the Church taught that people should look to God and his word for their needs, not to herbs and potions, or stars and magicians. Magicians, astronomers and wise-women began to be looked upon as evil and their high position in society became a thing of the past. They became outcasts, the black sheep that no one wanted to be caught being with and they were forced to move to the out-skirts of the villages and people had to sneak to see them. Often if they were caught there would be severe punishments.

With these new separations that people imposed of Good and Evil, human kind had now, unwittingly opened the playing field for one of the most pitiful times in our history, The burning times which occurred from 1550 to 1650 in Europe and is responsible for the execution of "witches" in Europe and then our own Salem witch trials in Massachusetts in the 1690's.

THE MOTHMAN

One of the oddest cryptozoological creatures reported in America would have to be the Mothman, but with the hollywood hype over the book and the movie, it might be a little bit hard to seperate fact from fiction, so I'll give it shot here.

Between November 12, 1966 and December 15, 1967 the Mothman was sighted in the Point Pleasant West Virginia area by more than 100 people. What they described was a 7 - 9 foot tall creature with wings that it could fold up. The beast also could walk with a slow shuffling gait Others advised the creature had red glowing eyes, and that they felt a malevolent feeling when it was near them.

The sightings began when the creature was spotted by a couple on a date, parked outside of an old munitions site left over from World War II. This couple claimed they were chased by the creature. They went straight to the police. This must have been terrifying enough, but being chased is one thing. Some people claim the creature spoke to them. One such witness was the author of the book The Mothman Prophecies, John A. Keel. Mr. Keel stated that in 1966 he had more than one encounter with the creature where it spoke to him about an upcoming disaster. Mr. Keel believes the Mothman was communicating to him about the bridge over the Ohio river that connected Point Pleasant to Ohio. That horrible disaster occurred on December 15, 1967 and resulted in the deaths of 46 people.

Most people believe that after the horrible bridge tragedy, that sigtings of the Mothman have stopped, but that is not entirely true. There have indeed been sightings that continue to be reported and speculation about the origin of the Mothman continue. One theory is that since the sightings in Point Pleasant began at a WWII dumping site that the creature might be some type of mutation from an experiment gone wrong. They speculate it had been living in the darkened, abandoned buildings in the area for a very long time and just had never been seen. If this is the case, then how would one explain about all of the old Indian (Iroquois and Tuscarora to name a few) legends that sepak of a large bird-like man that they called the "flying head"? Obviously the indian legends predate World War II.

So, there we have it, as best I could explain it. As always, any comments or thoughts are welcome. I look forward to hearing from you. This photo is of the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant West Virginia.

For additional information, please read John A. Keel's 1975 bood, The Mothman Prophecies, and/or the movie based on that book starring Richard Gere, released in 2002.

New book out, it's on my Christmas List!

There is a wonderful new book on the shelves out there for any avid Jack the Ripper case followers. This one has an extra treat with some of Brahm Stroker and Dracula thrown in for good measure. I haven't read it yet but here are some reviews from the Amazon site and a photo for you. I've put this one on my "want" list for Christmas so hopefully one of the kids will come thru for mom! smile.

From Amazon.com:

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly: In Reese's scrupulously imagined thriller, told largely through entries from a lost journal kept by the author of Dracula in 1888, Bram Stoker attends an indoctrination ceremony of the Order of the Golden Dawn, at the behest of Oscar Wilde's mum and a young William Butler Yeats. The ceremony goes horribly awry, resulting in one participant—Francis Tumblety, a patent medicine salesman newly arrived from America—becoming a vessel for the evil Egyptian god Set and applying his surgical skills to the slaughter of Whitechapel prostitutes in order to draw Stoker out for a supernatural showdown. Bestseller Reese (The Witchery) so perfectly pastiches the journal format that initially his story reads as dry and boringly as most private diaries. With Tumblety's malignant conversion, though, the novel turns into a rip-roaring penny dreadful that compels reading to the end. Dracula fans will appreciate the nods to well-known works that Stoker wrote supposedly following this confrontation.

(Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "Not only does THE DRACULA DOSSIER grip us with its fast paced hunt for history’s most notorious killer, it also enchants us with sophisticated and lyrical recreations of its unique period and strong characters. A daring achievement."

-- Matthew Pearl, author of THE DANTE CLUB"THE DRACULA DOSSIER is as powerful in its imagination as it is in its dedication to historical detail and social reflection. But what’s more is that it’s a damn good thriller...With Bram Stoker and Jack the Ripper along for the ride, you can’t go wrong with this book." -- Michael Connelly

Patty's Ghost, Part III

With continued communications with Patty and her family, it seems that the ghost has expanded its repertoire. The family is now seeing shadows on a more frequent bases outside their bedrooms at night. Even more frightening, the entity has started calling their names and has even made a painting that has been hung on the living room wall for many years drop to the floor while the family was gathered to watch a television show.

On another occasion, while someone was visiting, Patty told him about her ghost but the visitor was unimpressed. He told Patty he was unimpressed and said "I don't believe in any of that paranormal stuff" and while looking around the room added, "if there is a ghost in here, show yourself and prove it!" With that, a stuffed rabbit (Patty collects rabbits of all kinds and has about 400 of them) floated off of the entertainment center shelf and landed at the visitor's feet. There were no strings attached and no other apparatus attached or anything that could have made this small stuffed animal float in mid-air. The visitor was dumbfounded and even Patty and her family that usually laughed at everything weren't laughing at this. They were suddenly quiet as their visitor made lame excuses for an early exit.

Apparently Patty's ghost didn't like being taunted. It was trying to communicate with the family by showing up more frequently and calling them by name. It had no ill will in mind and obviously had no evil nature since they are still living in peace together at the house. Since this occurrence with the visitor I have done some basic research on the land and the building of the house. I've looked into when it changed hands and to whom it was sold. Nothing sticks out as out of the ordinary and Patty doesn't want any psychic or paranormal investigations done inside of the home so we may never know any more information unless this ghost chooses to give us some.

I cannot really understand why Patty doesn't want to know more. This would drive me crazy. Not the ghost part, but the not knowing. I would need to know everything about it, why it was there, what it wanted, what I could do for it, how to get rid of it, anything, everything. I could never have such a nonchalant attitude but maybe that is why I don't have a ghost. Maybe I don't have the right temperment. I'm probably too nosy.

Anyway, I will keep you all updated on this situation. Please leave any thoughts and comments and as always, thanks for reading.