Talismen, Totems, Amulets and Lucky Charmsf and the Evil Eye.

Are you superstitious? Do you have a lucky penny? How about a lucky suit like Robert Barone on the popular television series Everybody Loves Raymond. Do you carry a rabbit's foot? Some of these superstitions take us back to our childhood when our lucky cat's eye marble won us the most games. Some go back even farther, perhaps hundred's of years to when our ancestors actually believed that these charms warded off evil spirits and kept illnesses and all things that go "bump in the night" at bay.

It's different, and interesting to note that different cultures have different symbols altogether. The Irish have their four-leaf clover (or the shamrock), the Scottish have faith in the common horseshoe. Germans have a lucky cabbage and Italians wear a gold Italian horn around their neck. This is in modern time. In days of old, medieval times, things were a bit different. Warding off evil and assuring positive forces in your life were important for your very survival. Without the protection from evil, your crops could fail. Sickness could take hold of your family. Death could visit or even steal a loved one.

One of the most important evil forces to protect your family from was "the evil eye". The evil eye can be traced back to ancient Egyptian cultures and in some parts of the world is just as strong today. The effect of any curse is only as strong as the strength of the belief that the victim has in it and the evil eye has a strong hold and it grows stronger with each year it is in existence.

The curse of the evil eye is is inflicted upon it's victim by an evil person with some sort of supernatural powers who has malice in his heart and an intent to harm. The curse will malign, cause harm, injury, sickness and even death. The victim will experience pain in most body parts, malaise, fear, dread of every circumstance and an almost constant feeling of nausea.

Luckily, people who believe in the curse of the evil eye, believe in the charms that protect them from it just as strongly. Those charms that hold that magic are as follows:

A Horseshoe, pointing up - on the outside of the door to your home

A piece of onyx, at least the size of a quarter, carried with you at all times

A sapphire, worn on a chain of sterling silver around your neck.

Wearing a rattlesnake rattle on a chain around your neck

An amulet of a Celtic knot around your neck

An Italian horn which is associated with good luck can ward off the evil eye


There are many more amulets that are considered good luck charms that many people truly believe can ward off evil. Many people believe that crystals can do the same thing and have believed so for many centuries. A little research and some interesting reading will prove enlightening and enjoyable for you and open up a whole knew world of insight into what your ancestors probably believed.

Have you ever heard of the tiny little Thai Water Elephant? A Cryptozoological dream!

If you read my blog every now and again, you know I am always interested in a good crypto mystery. A while back I was chatting with my children during a visit and the subject of the Thai Water Elephant came up. I had never heard of such a thing, which prompted a research trip to our wonderfully large library where I sifted through and poured over stacks of zoological and scientific journals. I also searched the web and even going through ever nick and cranny of it, my searches proved none to fruitful. Apparently, these little fellows, and I do mean "little", no more than 2 inches tall, are very rare and not much is known about them.
So, here is the product of my searching. Everything that I can tell you about the elusive Thai Water Elephant! Unfortunately, I am unable to post a photograph for you since there are none available. Some mummified skeletons have been found and sold by Thai traders for huge sums to those people that collect rare and obscure finds. Some have sold in the millions but they are a dangerous find. One of the things that make the tiny beasts so rare to find in the first place is that it is said their tiny tusks hold enough poisonous venom to kill an adult, even after they have been dead for some time. A trader or a collector could easily wind up dead if they mishandle their "find".
First, I must state that since there is no living proof of these little guys, just as we have no living proof of Bigfoot or the Jersey Devil or the like, we must say the Thai Water Elephant is, at this time, a legend and that legend is said to have begun in the waterways of the mountain regions of Thailand. It is said that the tiny little elephants live in a pack and spend their time in living in the muddy streams that run through the thickly forested regions where the mud is so dense only their little pointy tusks show above the muddy surface. This is why they are never seen by human eyes and why they are so deadly. It is also why their mummified remains can sometimes be found. The mud serves as a protective shield that hides them and as one to protect and preserve their skin after death so their condition is such that collectors would pay top dollar for them. A person walking through the forest, passing through a muddy stream might well step on one of those pointy tusks and die from the injected venom, thinking they were bitten by a snake or some other venomous creature indigenous to the area.
So, whether or not you take any stock in the theory of the tiny elephants, it seems logical to me. I would love to see one.....they must be awfully cute, poisonous or not!

Ferla Mohr, The Big Gray Man

Being Scottish I especially love a good Scotts tale of fairies and legend. I don't know how true it is for the people on the whole but from my own observations and from family members I would say that people from Celtic decent tend to be somewhat superstitious and also great storytellers. I seem to recall hearing something about "The big gray man" growing up, but I could be mistaken. Whether myth or actual cryptoid I don't know but I would say this bears investigation. Should anyone have any knowledge on this creature that they are willing to share, I hope you will.

Going back to the 1920's in a region of Scotland known as Ben MacDhui there have been reported sightings of a Sasquatch like creature known as "Ferla Mohr" or "The Big Gray Man". The Ferla Mohr is said to be a 25 foot tall hairy man-ape creature that is described as more of a supernatural presence than an actual creature, although actual sightings of the beasts are said to have occurred.

The Ferla Mohr seems to have supernatural powers. He is said to be able to control the weather, including the fog and the rain. He can also cause such extreme fear in both humans and animals that they will try to commit suicide by leaping off cliffs or reportedly have even died trying to get away from him.

Author Jamie Hall has done a lot of research on this subject and some of this information has been taken from his website http://www.newanimal.org/biggrayman.htm. Many thanks to him. You can read more about Jamie and his other work at jh-author.com

For other great books on the subject, check these out. These are also from Jamie's site.

Grey, Affleck. The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. Aberdeen, Scotland: Impulse Books, 1970.

McEwan, Graham J. Mystery Animals of Britain and Ireland. London: Robert Hale, 1986. Pages 171-172

Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005. Pages 59, 198

Redfern, Nick. Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape-Men. New York: Paraview Pocket Books, 2004. Pages 21, 217-226

Shuker, Karl P. N. Scotland's Greyman

A Call to help a friend, a fellow lover of the paranormal. Please read.

This was posted on the "My Para" network site, to which I belong. It's a wonderful network over 3000 strong. They were hit with some devastating news. News that no "famiy" wants to here. One of their members was diagnosed with a terrible illness and they are desperate to help her get well and of corse in our society, that takes more money than health insurance will provide. If you can find it in your hearts to contribute....even a dollar, you'll have done your good deed and can feel good about helping. Read on and meet Mary Beth.

"I'm always seeing posts declaring that the paranormal community is one big family. How we should support and help each other.

Recently, one of our "family" members posted the following:

'We at Tri-State Paranormal of Northern Kentucky are putting together a fundraiser for one of our own......Marybeth Stagman is our case manger and on a couple weeks ago she found out that she has a rare form of breast cancer and the following day she discovered her mother had passed away. So now we are putting together a fundrasier for her and the breast cancer foundation.'

So here's your chance people. As I said, put up or shut up. And I don't wanna see one post about how you "can't" afford it. Just $1 people, or $5 or $10, what ever. Go dig in the couch cushion! Don't buy that Quarter Pounder this week. Forgo that StarBucks. How about it? Can you practice what you preach???"

So far they have only raised $355 of the $5000 needed so I hope you will consider giving, even $1. Go to mypara,net for more information and to donate. You can go to the "We are family?" post under forums or go to the right side-bar where the donation box is and simply donate. All donations to mypara.net for the entire month of November will be going to Marybeth's medical fund. Thanks for considering Marybeth. I'll keep you updated on our progress.