Why do people believe in a higher being? Or that a higher being will do for you if you pray to it? Or even that an evil being exists to counteract the higher being? And still, many people still can’t believe what is in front of them?  I was raised Christian and taught to go to Church every Sunday and love one another. But people are flawed, and some of my biggest challenges in life have come from people expecting me to be a certain way. I take the road less traveled and walk with the others who have chosen that road. I hope to gain knowledge from others as well as share mine, hoping we can grow together and help others starting on the same road.

Was I Cursed?

Because of my religious background, I did not believe that my abilities were from God at first. I was taught that Satan will trick you in so many ways and that he will use those who should be trusted against you.  Truly, I believe that Heaven and Hell exist (I have been on the outskirts of both). I have done the Church tradition; and I was even a youth leader. I trusted those around me, including the preacher. But then this same community called me a witch, and some called me an angel of Satan. There were threats to come to my house and hang me as a witch. Wow, so old school. I have met many who wanted to make my life a living hell.

As a result of the threats, I fell into a deep depression. But I also \spent that time searching and praying and getting to know God. I am grateful for that experience because it helped make me become who I am today.  The hateful and mean can make one do some soul searching.

Finding a New Home

At first, I felt I was lost and felt I had done everything wrong.  I truly thought Satan had a hold on me. I prayed and searched for answers.  That leads me to a religious community that put some amazing people in the right path for me.  I met preachers and spouses of preachers who had the same abilities; they told me that I was God’s child and very special and to not let others keep me from my job on earth.   I have a true heart for God and helping others. But I am not, though, like everyone else. I haven’t really been one to do what other people tell me to. But I do believe we will ultimately be judged for our actions, and I try to do the right thing. 

  None of us know exactly what God has planned for us or exactly what we are to do to serve.  We just have faith and live our daily lives and do right by others. God guides me each day to be where I need to be and I depend on him to help me each day.

I have some amazing people in my life through faith communities, and they are my biggest supporters as well as my prayer warriors.  Also, I enjoy talking with them and being able to have a spiritual conversation without feeling judged or condemned. I love that I can pray aloud with my friends and be myself.  

Learning Lessons

Because of the negative experiences I’ve had, I create a protective white light shield around me whenever I go out in the world.  I have learned I can put out an energy that can either push someone away and they not want to interact with me or send out energy and make them want to talk to me.  I am a fixer. If you are broken, I want to help. I am broken too, and I do not want anyone to feel as I have (and sometimes still do). I am still occasionally attacked by those who, I guess, have nothing better to do???   Finally, I do not believe my purpose is to please people — I want to do what is needed, and when my time comes I will pass over and do my job in the spiritual world.

The Road So Far

My abilities started years ago as a child.  We lived in a two-story house and my bedroom was at the top of the stairs with my door faced the landing. Every night I would hear someone coming up the stairs.  Sounded like a high-heeled shoe on one foot and nothing on the other. Every time I thought I would see a lady come up the stairs, but there was nothing. My mom told me it was the house settling.  Typical parenting from a busy mom who is my Hero to this day. She did not understand anything about spirits then. She raised me perfectly and is very supportive of me and my abilities.

My second interaction was with my aunt after she passed away.  Every weekend we would stay at my grandmother’s house, and sometimes my aunt and uncle and 2 cousins would come down to stay.  On Sunday mornings, my aunt always made sure she was up before everyone and would make coffee. I saw that as my opportunity to spend time with her.  She would put me on her lap and ask about school and other things. To me, she was an angel. Very loving and soft-spoken and genuine. I have heard her angry too– she was a mom.  She passed away when I was seven.  

The next weekend I stayed at my grandmother’s. I will have you know that a white angelic light went down the hall to the kitchen just like she did every time.  I lay there at first, thinking, did I just see that? How do I know that it is my aunt when all I saw was a light moving? I knew in my heart it was her. As I made my way to the kitchen, the light was gone.  I could feel her but not see her. Of course, no one believed me when I told them–it’s hard to wrap your head around something you do not understand.

Continuing Experiences

Before my first husband and I were married, his grandmother passed away.  He lived with her and we knew what it sounded like when she came down the hall to go to bed.  We would hear her at night sometimes coming down the hall to her room, which was our room after her passing.  I never saw her or communicated with her. I just knew she was there. After a while, she stopped walking down the hall.  

I became pregnant and that is when my abilities started changing.  I would know things and feel things and was developing that sixth sense.  At the time, I thought it was women’s intuition or mother’s intuition. I trusted it and never gave it a second thought.  When I became pregnant with twins the second time, and things really heightened. I still did not think anything of it.

Stay tuned for part two of Amy’s story coming soon!

The post Psychic Abilities in a Religious World, Part 1 appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

It seems that you can throw a rock and wherever it lands, there is a haunted legend associated with it. If someone tries to tell you only certain parts of this town are haunted, they are limiting themselves. The Battle of Gettysburg impacted every inch of that town. It’s hard to believe that only a few spots would have been ghost-free. The hauntings aren’t only by Civil War-era ghosts. There are hauntings that are much more recent. We’re talking as recently as the 20th century.

There are so many companies offering ghost tours and investigations, it can be hard to decide which on to go with. Some of my favorite people to work with are Pamela and Steve Barry of the Gettysburg Ghost Exchange. I also love with with Ghostly Images of Gettysburg, who have access to some of the coolest places in town. Gettysburg Ghost Tours has always been great to work with as well.

Now, here are ten of the most haunted places in Gettysburg!

Gettysburg Orphanage

This place has been a favorite of APS for years and one that I will continue to visit every time I’m in the area. The orphanage opened in October of 1866 near Cemetery Hill. It was created by Dr. John F. Bourns, who saw a need for the facility after realizing that the casualties of the Civil War resulted in a rise in orphans and widows. The homestead was used to house the orphaned children of Union soldiers. What is interesting is that the orphanage also opened as a home for widows.

The orphanage did well in its first years. Ulysses S. Grant even visited the orphanage in 1867. In 1870, the state of Pennsylvania used a bill to fund the facility. However, the headmistress was eventually replaced by Rosa Carmichael, who turned out to be abusive. She became known for having a dungeon in the basement for disciplining children. She would have the older children abuse the younger children, and the orphans were chained to the wall at times.

If you want to investigate the orphanage, contact Ghostly Images of Gettysburg. They’re wonderful people to work with!

1863 Inn of Gettysburg

I’ve stayed at the 1863 Inn of Gettysburg a few times. It’s actually one of my favorite places to stay because it’s right in the center of the action. At least in the ghost hunting sense. Right across the street, you have all of the ghost tourism companies as well as delightful shopping areas. Not to mention, this hotel is literally right next to the Jennie Wade House. The buildings almost touch each other. It’s also a great place to stay so you can have access to a bathroom in between ghost hunts. Yet, there is also a decent amount of paranormal activity here.

I can only speak from personal experiences. When I stayed there with two of my team members, one of them is Amy, who is our resident psychic medium, we had weird experiences individually that we were able to correlate with each other. From creepy figures appearing in our dreams to hearing menacing sounds in the middle of the night, we ended up sleeping with the light on.

Jennie Wade House

The Jennie Wade House today stands as a memorial to the 20-year old young woman it was named after. Jennie (Ginnie) Wade was the only civilian casualty during the Battle of Gettysburg. She was visiting her sister, who had just had a baby, and ended up stuck there when the battle ensued. She was kneading dough to make bread for the Union soldiers when a stray bullet went through the door and hit her in the back.

Jennie died instantly. Because the family lived in a duplex-style home, Union soldiers had to carry Jennie’s body up to the stairs, make a hole in the joining wall, and carry her down to the basement. Today, it is believed that her estranged father haunts the basement. There are also reports of cold spots, footsteps, shadows, and more in the house. Perhaps, Jennie has yet to leave the house. On the second floor, you can see where bullets and cannons that had hit the house. One can only imagine the horror her family felt as they mourned her death and also living in fear as they heard the battle sounds outside.

Like the orphanage, if you want to investigate the Jennie Wade House, get in touch with Ghostly Images.

Harman Murder House

I mentioned in the introduction that not all of the hauntings in Gettysburg were from the Civil War. In 1985, the town of Gettysburg was shaken up by the murder of Debra Louise (Debbie) Harman. She was only 31-years old when she tragically lost her life. She lived in a second-floor apartment on Baltimore Street when she was shot in the neck by Donald Richard Painter. The two had lived together in the apartment at the time of Debbie’s death.

Gettysburg Ghost Tours currently has access to the apartment, which has been dubbed as the Harman Murder House. From our experience there in 2017, we had team members see and hear someone walking up and down the stairs. The apartment is completely empty, which also amps up the creepiness to the place. Plus, since the murder happened in 1985, we’re talking less than a century, which might also make the place feel more disturbing. Could Debbie be walking up and down the stairs, wandering aimlessly around her former home?

Tillie Pierce House

Tillie Pierce became famous for writing a book on her experiences during the Battle of Gettysburg as well as its aftermath. The Tillie Pierce House is considered to be one of the most haunted inns in Gettysburg. My experience was interesting because I did the Ganzfeld Experiment on the second floor. Granted, my nerves were high, and I was totally anticipating a ghost. So…perhaps my experience was more than a bit biased. Common reports include hearing footsteps from the Blue Room. The source of the steps? The attic. The Blue Room seems to be the center of the activity, as a soldier has been seen walking up the stairs and then going into this room before disappearing. Guests at the inn have also reported someone sitting on their beds while they slept or staring at them from the foot of their beds.

Devil’s Den

Devil’s Den is considered one of the most haunted spots in Gettysburg. When you consider how many haunted places there are in the area, then this title is a big deal. Not only that, but it is considered to be the location of a malevolent, or more negative, haunting. This is because Devil’s Den played a major role in the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Keep in mind that this was considered to be the bloodiest day of the battle. Devil’s Den flipped flop between the Union and the Confederates. Even with all of the rocks providing some protection, there were many casualties. Numerous corpses were left to decay after the battle, which inspired some of the most memorable photos taken after the battle.

Sachs Covered Bridge

Sachs Covered Bridge has quite a sad story to it, as well as some interesting legends. The most popular legend was that three Confederate deserters were hanged next to Sachs Bridge, and people report still seeing the corpses hanging from the limbs. There is also a story where the injured Confederates were resting next to Marsh Creek, which Sachs hangs over.

After the battle, it rained quite heavily, which caused the creek to overflow, thus drowning the injured Confederates who couldn’t get out. The bridge was used by both the Union and the Confederates. In fact, the Confederates crossed the bridge as they were retreating. The bridge we see today is not the original one. It was destroyed in 1996 because of a storm. It was rebuilt with the salvaged materials.

If you decide to go investigate it, know that there will be a lot of environmental contamination. While it sits on a quiet part of the battlefield, there are tons of tourists who are also doing their own ghost hunts.

Battlefield Farmhouse

via https://gettysburgghosttours.com/battlefield-farmhouse/

The Battlefield Farmhouse was used as a field hospital, mainly for the Union. It was reportedly used as a headquarters for a Union general as well. We investigated this place in 2017, and there were a few interesting experiences. The foundation of the house dates back to the Civil War, and everything above it dates to the 1980s, so the development is somewhat newer. We investigated the farmhouse with Gettysburg Ghost Tours.

Farnsworth House

The Farnsworth House is supposedly home to about 16 spirits. There are still bullet holes that can be seen on the interior of the building. It is believed that the stray bullet that killed Jennie Wade came from the Farnsworth House. Like the majority of the houses in town, it was taken over by the Confederates, who used the second story as a base for sharpshooters.

There is a nurse named Mary who still haunts the house, still tending to the ill and injured. There is also a boy named Jeremy who is heard sobbing in his room after dying from an injury. There is also a midwife who has been reported to “tuck in” the guests at the inn. The smell of cheroot can still be detected as well as the sound of heavy breathing.

The Farnsworth House has regular investigations every week as well as walks on Cemetery Hill and other areas nearby.

Daniel Lady Farm

via Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association

The Daniel Lady Farm is historically known for a few things. The barn was used as a battlefield hospital as well as being the headquarters of Confederate General Issac Ewell. There were about 10,000 troops that camped around the area. The barn itself was the site of numerous amputations, surgeries, and deaths. My personal experience at the Daniel Lady Farm was with John Sabol and his team.

When we investigated the house, the sensitives in the group picked up on an injured Confederate soldier. In the attic, the children of the family that lived in the house were active. There were also screams, gunshots, shadows, and other cries for help.

In the end, John had the women hold lanterns and walk the grassy area around the property, where we called out the names of Confederates who may have served. We all felt hands tugging our dresses like these soldiers were begging for help.

The Gettysburg Ghost Exchange was also working with us on having access to the Daniel Lady Farm for an investigation a few years ago. They have a lot of options, and their storefront is also haunted!

There are so many places! We will definitely be doing a part two after some onsite investigating.

Have you visited any of these haunted places? Tell us in the comments!

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For Raleigh natives, this might be a local urban legend that is common knowledge. While I’ve been in Raleigh for about six years now, I’m still learning about new things about this city. I’m always up to hearing interesting ghost stories, especially local stories. Majority of cities around the world has some sort of local myth or legend. Some of the most popular ones include the ghostly hitchhiker, a woman in white, and a crybaby bridge. Have you noticed that almost every town has a crybaby bridge legend? Well, in Raleigh’s case, it’s Crybaby Lane. I first read about it on Candid Slice, and thankfully the author, Heather Leah, had done a LOT of research and gave me a lot of resources to use when researching this legend.

The Legend

I’ve heard numerous opinions on Crybaby Lane. I’ve even had a local told me that the story was completely made up in order to create some sort of local ghost story. For those of you who are unfamiliar, here is the premise of the legend. A Catholic orphanage burned down in 1958 because some escapees from Dorthea Dix started lighting things on fire. According to legend, several children lost their lives either from the flames or the escaped mental patients. It’s a rather gory legend that puts mental health patients in a bad light. Today, if you visit the site, you’ll hear ghostly cries of the children as they scream to be saved. People who live near the orphanage claim to smell sulfur even though nothing is on fire. There is also a legend of a gatekeeper who protects the entrance to Crybaby Lane.

The first odd thing I noticed with Crybaby Lane is that no one could agree on the location. Besides Pattison’s information, the most common thing I hear is that it is near Dorthea Dix, it’s by Dix, it’s near Dix, it’s AT Dix…the list goes on. I’ve read countless stories of people who wandered around the area and couldn’t find the site. This was worrisome for the orphanage’s existence because usually there is some local who will know where the orphanage was. From my understanding, the buildings were torn down in the 1970s, which isn’t that long ago. Given that modern day record-keeping has improved tremendously for data from the past century, why was finding Crybaby Lane so confusing? Thankfully, I ran into Heather Leah’s article about Crybaby Lane, and all of her work gave me the shortcut I needed to really dive deep into this legend.

The History

The Catholic orphanage was founded by Father Thomas Price. He bought the land off of Western Boulevard in the 1890s and built a chapel there. After seeing children suffering because of their families’ poverty, he opened an orphanage in 1898/1899 with his sister, Sister Mary Agnes Price, called the Catholic Orphanage of Nazareth. As many as 250 children lived there during the Great Depression. Not all of the children there had deceased parents, most were there because their parents could no longer afford to take care of them. The orphanage closed in the 1970s. There are some discrepancies when it comes to the year. One website says that the orphanage was founded in 1898, and then the seminary followed in 1902. Apparently, there was a reunion in 1982 where 200 people gathered, and many were old enough to talk about the babies that were left at the orphanage during the Great Depression. I was really excited to find a blog where former residents of the orphanage shared their old photos and stories from living there. Sadly, it hasn’t been updated since 2014. But, I found a wealth of info, photos, and a glimpse of what life must have been like at the orphanage.

The Facts

I am currently still in the process of trying to find proof of the 1958 fire. I haven’t found it yet, and will update when I do. The location did have several fires that happened over the span of its existence. There was an article in the News & Observer that talked about a fire that broke out on October 29, 1905 at the orphanage. This is supported with newspaper clippings you’ll see here. The fire was so bad that a priest jumped out of windows to get to safety, and he ended up permanently crippled. There were three students who were sleeping on the fourth floor when the fire broke out, and they had no choice but to jump out the window as well. It was a 45 foot drop, enough to cause serious injuries and even death. The priests were spreading mattresses to cushion their fall. Timothy Wallace, who was 21 years old, and another student, jumped with injuries, but they survived. However, 16-year old John Gladish ended up missing the mattresses and died from his injuries the following Sunday. Gladish was the only casualty of the 1905 fire.

There was another fire in 1912 in the stables, but no one was injured or killed. There was a fire noted in 1961 after a priest was attempting to burn a wasps’ nest and burned the rectory to the ground. Unfortunately, some records of the graves at the orphanage graveyard burned with it. Father Price left Nazareth in 1911, and then died in 1919 China on an international mission trip after his appendix burst. There is a movement at the moment to get Father Price canonized and beatified, and he was inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame in 2018.

The Graveyard

John Gladish and others were buried at the cemetery at the orphanage. But, what is really disturbing, is that these graves are now unmarked and seemed to have totally disappeared. In the early eighties, an NCSU student by the name of Dean Ruedrich took walks through the graveyard. He found around 20 or 30 stones, with three people dying on Christmas Day. 30 years later, while Ruedrich was working on restoring and repairing Mount Hope after a tornado, visitors asked him about the Catholic orphanage graves.

Ruedrich had to compare aerial maps of Raleigh and traced the graveyard. According to him, he thinks the graveyard was at the corner of Main Campus Drive and Partners Way. Supposedly, the graves have been moved to St. Joseph’s Cemetery in New Bern, where there are 14 unmarked graves with crosses on them. For more information on these forgotten graves, check out the News & Observer article. It is a bit unsettling considered that these remains were entrusted to the Catholic Church and then forgotten.

The Land Today

The Catholic Diocese donated a portion of the land to Cardinal Gibbons High School in 1962. Then, a substantial portion of land near Dorthea Dix was bought by North Carolina State University in 1988. Today, the buildings are gone and replaced by modern buildings and the new cathedral. According to Kate Pattison of the Raleigh Public Record, the original orphanage building became the home for the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh and still stands to this day. Granted, her write up was dated back to 2009…but that is recent enough where a building could be remembered. From my understanding, the Catholic Diocese is now located in North Raleigh, about 10 minutes from where I live.

According to WRAL.com, the new Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral apparently sits on the former site. Again, first it was the office for the Catholic Diocese, now the new cathedral sits on the same site. From what I can see on Google Maps, it appears Crybaby Lane has been paved over in efforts to provide another entrance to the massive cathedral. This was later confirmed by Heather. According to Heather, there is a stone left of the orphanage, but that’s about it. Considering how much of an impact Father Price made on the area and how massive of a presence that the orphanage had, it would be ludicrous to allow this part of history to be paved over and forgotten. If you look at the satellite version of Google Maps, it hasn’t been updated yet and you can still see the old site. You can tell it’s outdated because the new cathedral isn’t on the satellite image.

Anyway, despite the confusing history about the Catholic Orphanage of Nazareth, Crybaby Lane, the haunted orphanage, whatever you want to call it, there is truly a diamond in the rough tucked away in South Raleigh that is worth researching.

Sources

Nazareth Stories: A blog run by former inhabitants of the orphanage where they shared personal stories and photos.

Candid Slice – Ghost Hunt! Crybaby Lane Sliced Open

Father Thomas Price Inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame

WRAL – Cathedral sits on the former site of the Catholic orphanage

News & Observer – Cemetery for Catholic orphanage, but no one knows where they are now

Legeros – Fire at the Catholic Orphanage – October 29, 1905

Raleigh Public Record – Nazareth: Orphans, Ghosts, and a Saint

The post The Mysterious Case of Raleigh’s Crybaby Lane appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

My experiences have convinced me that there is definitely more to us then cells and bones and we go on after our physical body dies.  To me, this is a fact. I have lost more people in my life than I would like to admit and have always felt the ones I have lost before them around when it’s getting close to their end. Sometimes it’s just a feeling, a scent, a whisper or a soft touch making sure I know that my people will not be alone in the transition to their afterlife. I have witnessed some who see the ones that have passed before them while on their deathbed but this always seems to be dismissed as a hallucination, the medication they are taking, or that the person is so out of it they don’t know where they are, etc.

I am certain that we are all shown signs that our family/friends come at our end, but aren’t acknowledged or get dismissed in fear of judgement from others. Why does what we feel get disregarded when so many people believe “We will meet again” after we pass? I look forward to seeing everyone I have missed so much in my life and hope to get answers to the questions I have carried around for years. Paranormal investigations have more than proven with hard evidence that there are spirits, ghosts, demons, angels. etc. Some choose to accept this evidence as fact and some just won’t accept it. Technology has given paranormal investigators ways to communicate and measure the afterlife to further prove it’s existence.  Whether you believe or not I am sure that our loved ones stand in line to greet us when we pass, show us the way and most importantly let us know they have always been with us. We take love with us to our next destinations and I look forward to seeing who is there to greet me when it is my time to crossover.

The post In the End appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

It’s spooky, it can be exhilarating and fun. I also know for some it can be terrifying. There are some spirits I would love to have visited me, lost loved ones, ancestors, some of my favorite musicians, historical people I admire. I’m not one to encourage them, I do occasionally ask God, the Angels, and my deceased family members for a sign. I sometimes talk to them. I sometimes pray and ask for signs. But!! you never know who or what is going to come through. This is true and we all in the paranormal know this.

Protect yourselves no matter if you are asking for a sign or going on an investigation or to a historically haunted location. Especially during these thin veiled months. Whatever prayers, methods, or beliefs use them to protect yourself. Pray for protection before, during and after. Carry spiritual protection tools with you always, even if its only one item. Spiritual attachment is very real and not always easy to shake. With all the information online, find a source you are comfortable and familiar with.

It may be fun and interesting but take the protection part seriously. If all of a sudden something feels off, and it’s not just fake Dracula hiding behind the door at the Haunted House, its after you go home, a week later, something isn’t quite right.

I’ve always been one drawn to anything haunted. I have to check it out! For decades I have been this way. All it takes is one bad experience and it sticks with you, literally!

In Manchester, New Hampshire a 53-year-old woman named Lisa O’Connor has had paranormal experiences off and on since she was around seven years old. From 1996 through 2012 she lived in a home with lots of paranormal activity. Around 2005 she became interested in the paranormal after having so many experiences. She started watching lots of shows on the subject and also reading. As terrifying as some of the experiences were, having three children and a husband who worked two evening jobs, she had to be strong and tough. She even did some amateur investigating. Since she moved to her new home the experiences have become infrequent. She also has more time for herself now that her children are grown. She has written a few things but would like to share her story and help people that are being haunted. For more information about Lisa, please visit medium.com/lisamclaughlinoconnor

The post The Thin Veil appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Do I believe in theatre superstitions? Sometimes. I find myself whistling often in a theatre and haven’t had repercussions. Yet, I have found myself becoming prey to the Macbeth curse, but that’s another tale for another time.

Long story short, “Yotsuya Kaidan” was first staged in 1825 in what is modern-day Tokyo and takes place during the Edo period in Japan. The play was a hit and the theatre actually had to schedule additional performances. It didn’t take long for the play to be produced all over Japan. What people didn’t realize that there would be dire consequences coming to those who chose to produce Lady Oiwa’s tale.

A Brief Summary

There are a few variations of the story. They all have Oiwa married to a samurai named Tamiya Iemon. One night, Iemon and Oiwa’s father Samon, were in a heated argument. When Samon suggested to Iemon that he separates from Oiwa, Iemon kills the man and tells Oiwa that a stranger murdered her father. Iemon is also a man who is bad with money and ends up pawning many of their possessions. The couple ends up having a son.

Some variations of the story have Iemon becoming resentful of Oiwa, while others have him lose interest in her once her face becomes disfigured. In one version, a girl named Oume has fallen in love with Iemon and her doctor father gives Oiwa an ointment that disfigures her face and causes her hair to fall out, which results in Iemon becoming disgusted with her. Other variations have Iemon involved in the scheme. Iemon eventually tries to get a man named Takuetsu to rape Oiwa so that he can leave her on grounds of infidelity. But once Takuetsu looks at her face, he can’t go through with the plan. He shows Oiwa her face, and she becomes so horrified that she takes a sword and slits her own throat. Other versions have her dying by accident where she holds a sword and tries to evade Takuetsu, only to accidentally puncture herself. In all these versions, she curses Iemon’s name until she dies. Some versions have Lady Oiwa growing mad by herself and falling on one of Iemon’s swords, and he’s the one that finds her when he gets home.

Some versions have Oiwa’s body being discovered by a servant named Kohei. When Kohei sees Iemon overjoyed over Oiwa’s passing, he becomes suspicious. Iemon kills Kohei, nails both bodies to a door and throws it into the river. Iemon then says that Kohei and Oiwa were having an affair.

Iemon proceeds to marry Oume, but Lady Oiwa’s ghost is quick to act. On his wedding night, Iemon sees Oiwa’s face in bed with him. Iemon gets his sword and attacks. However, once he snaps out of it, he realizes that he killed his new bride. When he goes to Oume’s father (or grandfather in some versions), he kills him as well, believing to be haunted by Kohei.

Oiwa continues to stalk and torment Iemon. She even appeared in paper lanterns and cried out to him in vengeance. All of this eventually caused him to descend into madness in an isolated mountain retreat. A lot of people die. If this piques your interest, definitely check out the play. There’s a lot I left out!

The “Real” Story

The shrine in Yotsuya.

According to legend, Lady Oiwa was indeed a real person who died in 1636. She is supposedly buried in Myogyo-ji, in Sugamo, a neighborhood of Tokyo. However, there was a shrine and memorial erected in her honor near the location of her family’s home in Yotsuya. It burned down in 1879. A new shrine was erected in another location but got destroyed by the bombs of World War II. Then, a third shrine was erected at the first site in Yotsuya that you can visit today. When it comes to inspiration, there were two real-life murders that had become extremely popular at the time of Nanboku’s life. One was a samurai who had discovered that his concubine was being unfaithful. He nailed her body to a door and threw it into the Kanda River. The other murder involved two servants who killed their masters. The servants were executed that same day.

What is an Onryō?

An onryō is the vengeful spirit (typically a woman) who was wronged in life. She is usually dressed in a ceremonial white kimono (what she was likely buried in). Their vengeance is so powerful that it creates a bridge between the world of the living and the land of the dead, the Yomi. Think of Yomi as their version of hell. In contrast, there is the Takamagahara, essentially heaven. Think of these women being powerless while they were living. It is only until they die that they gain their power. In Lady Oiwa’s case, she was a victim of outside circumstances of those who wanted something for personal gain. She was an innocent. In appearance, Lady Oiwa is disfigured on her left side, with her eye drooping from the poison. Her head is usually bald on this left side from her hair falling out in clumps. It is rumored that Lady Oiwa’s onryō still haunts her home in Yotsuya, where the shrine is located. Sadako Yamamura, or Samara in the American adaptation, from “The Ring” is a nod to Lady Oiwa, in case you needed to feel more scared.

Why the Curse?

We’re all familiar with the Macbeth curse. But the curse of Lady Oiwa is more terrifying, in my opinion. Those who have worked on adaptations of Lady Oiwa’s tale have been met with misfortune like car accidents and even death. If you want to present Lady Oiwa’s story, legend says that you have to visit her grave and ask for permission. It has become a requirement in recent years because the curse is believed wholeheartedly. If you visit Lady Oiwa’s grave and you wish hard enough, your wish might come true.

The earliest film adaptation was made in 1912 and was filmed 18 more times between 1913 and 1937. Another adaptation was made in 1949 with another in 1956 and 1959. The 2006 anime adaptation was what originally caught my attention, and it goes into more details about the curse.

As someone who had an interest in the paranormal and artistic endeavors, the curse makes sense from a moral standpoint. Poor Lady Oiwa continues to be taken advantage of. When you think about it, these theatrical and film adaptations usually make some sort of profit from her story. If they don’t get permission to present her story, then it makes sense to me that she would even the score on a karmatic scale. Given her grisly circumstances in the play and (now) legend, I’d be pretty ticked off too.

Ironically, Universal Studio Singapore is featuring Lady Oiwa in their Halloween Horror Nights this year with a full haunted house dedicated to her. I find it truly fascinating. I have to wonder what Lady Oiwa thinks about this? I hope they got her permission to do so. If not, perhaps we need to keep an eye on the headlines in Singapore for the next few months.

Check out the interactive video below.

Here’s another video of the immersive experience:

Sources:

Yotsuya Kaidan and Japanese Ghosts

Oiwa

http://www.weirdwildrealm.com/f-yotsuyakaidan.html

The Tragic Tale of Lady Oiwa and Adapting the <i>Onryō</i> for a Contemporary audience

Tamiya Iemon is the Worst

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Is Valak Based on a True Story?

Well, sort of. There is mythology on Valak (Volac/Valu) that you can find in numerous grimoires. According to the grimoire, “The Lesser Key of Solomon,” Valak is described as the Great President of Hell. In fact, Valak is in command of 38 legions of demons. So, Valak isn’t some low ranking devil. But Valak does not take the form of a nun. Valak takes the form of a child who rides a two-headed dragon, who has a lot of intelligence. Valak is also mentioned in Thomas Rudd’s variant (as Valu), Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (as Volac), the Liber Officium Spirituum (as Coolor or Doolas), and in the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic (as Volach). He apparently has the power of finding hidden treasures, whatever that means.

From The Lesser Key of Solomon:

“The Sixty-second Spirit is Volac, or Valak, or Valu. He is a President Mighty and Great, and appeareth like a Child with Angel’s Wings, riding on a Two-headed Dragon. His Office is to give True Answers of Hidden Treasures and to tell where Serpents may be seen. The which he will bring unto the Exorciser without any Force or Strength being by him employed. He governeth 38 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is thus.”

So, where did the nun appearance come from? Apparently, Lorraine Warren talked about how she was visited by a hooded figure who had a “swirling, tornado vortex around it.” That gave James Wan the idea to go in the nun direction. He said,

“I remember hearing that and my first thought was, ‘Oh crap, that’s going to be a CGI character.’ I didn’t want to do that. And so, it kind of took me a while to cement in my head what this vision was. And it came across eventually in a very organic way. Because it is a demonic vision that haunts her, that only attacks her, I wanted something that would attack her faith. Something that would threaten the safety of her husband. And so that was eventually how the idea of this very iconographic image of a holy icon cemented in my head.”

While I’m somewhat disappointed that the Valak in the movie has little in common with the Valak of lore, there are similarities like the snakes and having the title of being the Marquis of Snakes. What is pretty interesting is that James Wan was so taken by Lorraine’s story that he added Valak in reshoots for “The Conjuring 2.” It ended up being a good decision on his part.

But, in terms of cases where Valak has had interactions with humans, there isn’t much to support this argument. It seems that Valak has stayed in the grimoires until “The Conjuring” franchise took off. There hasn’t been any record of a person being possessed by Valak from what I’ve researched. But I can’t help but wonder if this film franchise may inspire a few incidents. Rumor has it that there are magical practitioners who call upon Valak, and apparently, he is more than happy to share those strengths and secrets of hidden treasures if you’re worthy of them. I don’t want to know what happens if you aren’t worthy.

What About the Cârța Monastery?

Photo Credit: Ruben Holthuijsen

What I am excited for is that “The Nun” takes place at the Cârța Monastery in Transylvania in Southern Romania. This abbey is very much a real place that is considered to be haunted. However, you won’t find stories of demons there. The abbey is a Cistercian monastery that was built in the 1200’s in the shape of a cross. During the Mongol invasion of 1241, the abbey experienced quite a bit of damage, so it was restored numerous times throughout its life. It stopped its functions in the 1500’s, which means it was out of commission during the time period “The Nun” is set in. The only part of the original monastery that is still intact is the church building. Ironically, it is now a Lutheran Evangelical Church! It is known as “The Haunted Abbey,” which means its reputation is quite a paranormal one!

Tourists have reported vibrated walls and moving chairs. The only ghost sightings the abbey has been associated with are apparitions of monks in white robes. When the site was a full-functioning abbey, the monks indeed wore white robes. They also worked very hard every day, and their life expectancy was around 40 years old. According to the legends, they fasted all day and woke up at 3 am every day. Apparently, they also had church every 3 hours by the time evening hit. Plus, they all slept in one room with hay. There are dozens of monks who are buried on site along with some soldiers who lost their lives during World War I. Perhaps the sightings are merely residuals hauntings from their heyday? There are no records of demonic encounters at the abbey. If it is haunted, it sounds innocent and benevolent.

The monks also were fearful of foreign invasion, so they supposedly dug a tunnel from the abbey to the Olt river, where there were boats standing by. There is another rumor that Matthias Corvinus, the King of Hungary, ordered the monks to leave Cârța in 1474, thus banished. This was because Cârța was doing so well and became a wealth adversary to the Saxon guilds that controlled the commerce of Transylvania.

Archaeologists did find something interesting while excavating the abbey. They found the remains of two abnormally tall individuals who were over 6 1/2′ tall. While this may not seem odd today, it was certainly odd hundreds of years ago when people were shorter. Back in those days, it was not uncommon for people with disabilities and abnormalities to be sent to abbeys to live out their days away from the community. It looks like this might have been the case here.

What was the Inspiration for “The Nun”?

“The Nun” was inspired by one of my favorite movies, “The Name of the Rose,” which stars Sean Connery and a very young Christian Slater. Connery plays a friar who goes to a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy to investigate the mysterious death of a monk. It is believed that the Devil is behind the murder because the last person who spoke to the monk was found dead in a vat full of pig’s blood. “The Nun” has a similar story with a priest and a nun going to the Cârța Monastery to investigate a nun’s mysterious suicide. The culprit of the murder was human in “The Name of the Rose,” and nothing supernatural. We know that “The Nun” will have a more supernatural culprit.

Sources:

A haunted Abbey in Transylvania. The chilling legends of white monks

The Cistercian Abbey of Carta: Bringing Gothic Style to Transylvania

https://www.bustle.com/p/is-the-carta-monastery-a-real-place-the-nun-is-set-in-one-creepy-location-11494324

The True History of Valak: Everything You Need to Know About the Real Demon From The Conjuring 2

http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/the-nun/

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We will be investigating the Trivette Clinic on September 29th, 2018. There will be 150 paranormal investigations happening simultaneously all over the world at the same time starting at 10 pm ET. We are honored and so excited to be part of such an important event!

This year is all about giving back. Stay tuned on the APS page to find out how we will be giving back to the Trivette Clinic and what you can do to help!

The post APS to Participate in the World’s Largest Ghost Hunt appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Keep in mind, I’m not a doctor. I’m only going to be expressing my experience and what has worked for me personally. If you find something useful, that’s awesome! If not, I’m glad you stopped by and I appreciate your time.

Physical Care

I was in a car accident in 2005 that basically broke my pelvis in half as well as several bones in my spine. I was hit by a car and thrown off a freeway ramp after my car hydroplaned. Long story for another time. Anyway, I got surgery and two titanium screws were put in my pelvis to level things out. When the accident occurred, I was 19 years old and still invincible to the world. I felt even more so after surviving that car accident.

Fast forward to 2015 and I’ve started to hurt. I can do a lot physically, but boy do I pay for it. Not only that, I have fibromyalgia that really makes everything even spicier. I hope my sarcasm isn’t offensive. Sometimes, I have a great night and I can go all night on an investigation, but I have to prepare for it. I can’t overdo it, or I’ll find myself in a tremendous amount of pain.

For example, when I was in New York City about a month ago, I walked 18,000 steps in a day. I hadn’t done that in a while. That night and even the next day, I couldn’t bear weight on my right leg because my hip hurt like hell and kept popping. It wasn’t even the side where the screws were. Simply put, moving was miserable.

I don’t want to feel miserable while on an investigation. Here are my tips on dealing with the physical side of self-care before an investigation:

1. Eat Well: It’s easy to fall into the trap of chips, Red Bull, candy, basically sugar and caffeine in order to stay awake. I eat a decent amount of protein before investigating. If I’m in the mood, I’ll throw in some vegetables too.
2. SLEEP: If you’re going to do an all-nighter, you need to fit in sleep if you’re physically inhibited. Whether you plan a nap during the investigation, snooze beforehand, just be sure to get enough rest before going for several hours.
3. Check In With Yourself: During transitions or break time, check in with yourself to see how you feel. I try to do a self check in every hour just to make sure I can keep going.
4. Consider a Workout: One of the fibro friends is also a paranormal investigator, and she fits in a 30-minute workout before her investigation. She finds that it reduces her flare ups and calms her body down. I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m considering trying it out for myself. I’ll let you all know how it goes.
5. There’s No Shame in Rest: If you find yourself needing to take a break, TAKE A BREAK. You will feel so much better taking a breather than pushing through and feeling sore, miserable, and just unhappy for the remainder of the investigation. Some people can go all night, but don’t feel bad if you can’t.

Mental Care

Anyone who knows and sees me regularly know that I have ridiculous anxiety. My anxiety flares up my fibromyalgia, sometimes it’s the other way around. Anyway, add in a pinch of depression and other mental health issues, and you have the perfect recipe for ghosts (and people) to mess with you. Oftentimes, my anxiety isn’t triggered by spookiness…it’s triggered by the real world. However, if you’re someone who gets scared, and you have concerns with your mental health, then talk to your health care professional before proceeding. If you get the all clear, talk to whoever is in charge of the paranormal investigation you’re going to participate in and let them know what is going on. Perhaps even email them ahead of time to let them know so they’re prepared if you need to step out.

Again, I don’t want to be miserable on an investigation because of what’s happening in my head. Here are some things that help me when I’m feeling out of it:

1. Separate Yourself If You Need To: Sometimes, a paranormal investigation can get intense. Not just physically, but emotionally. You could be scared, you might be feeling emotional, or you just might not be in the right head space. Within the bounds of being safe, separate yourself from the situation and regroup if you need to.
2. Ask for Distance, But Let a Friend Stick By: I’ve only had this happen to me once or twice, but I got really exhausted randomly and really REALLY moody at a haunted location. I felt the need to nap. In this situation, my team (nor I) knew what was going on with me. However, I was stuck because I didn’t want to inhibit my team’s time at this location, but I just couldn’t bring myself to investigate at that time. So, I got out my jacket and took a nap in the break room. During that time, I needed space. Yet, the location’s staff and my team made sure that I was never alone. They just let me “be”, if that makes sense. Knowing that someone was there if I needed them meant a lot.
3. Consider Grounding & Shielding: If you find that you’re especially emotionally vulnerable and feeling unsteady during an investigation, I would recommend that you consider grounding and shielding. Grounding is recommended by psychologists anyway. Getting grounded is key to help you through an investigation. Check out our Tips & Tricks on Grounding & Shielding for more information.
4. Take a Shower After the Investigation: You will probably want to do this anyway, but if there’s a way you can grab a shower after the investigation, it will really help in your post-investigation head space as well as get off all that grime, especially if you’re investigating an older location that isn’t well-maintained.
5. It’s Okay to Feel: The most important thing is to feel those emotions. It’s okay to cry, it’s okay to feel mad, it’s okay to feel confused, and it’s okay to not feel at all. Don’t try to bury your emotions for the sake of letting things move. I always recommend having a trust friend with you on investigations so that you have someone who is on your side. Meaning, if you need to step out, get some space, or just hold a hand, you have a support system. Ghost hunts and investigations are a very private experience that can be overwhelming at times. It’s okay to process and work on why you’re feeling the way you do.

Finally (and maybe there’s 11 tips instead of 10), if you need to stop…STOP. Pushing through a ghost hunt or investigation could potentially be more harmful than just stopping. There can be some guilt since you might have paid for that investigation, but definitely self-assess your limitations and abilities as much as possible.

I hope these self-care tips are useful to some of you. They certainly help me when I’m on an investigation, especially one that is over 10 hours. Happy investigating!

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I’m a huge Disney fan. Specifically: Disneyland. In college, this was a place I visited more often than I will admit. I was at Disneyland several times per month thanks to the annual pass and the ability to make monthly payments on the pass. I’ve only been to Disneyland Paris and Disney World once (so far). So my little write-up is focusing on Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.

When it comes to Disneyland (DL) and Walt Disney World (WDW), one of the biggest differences I notice is the exterior of both rides. Since DL’s Haunted Mansion is set in New Orleans Square, the exterior represents a Southern mansion, taking inspiration from the Evergreen House in Baltimore, Maryland. WDW/Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion is part of Liberty Square and has a Gothic-revival style exterior.

Spooky Inspiration

Paranormal pop culture is a favorite subject of mine. While I’m looking for ghosts and *trying* to engage in spirit communication, others take a different route. There are those who have taken inspiration from this world and have created something incredible. From horror movies, ghosts in plays, to haunted houses, the paranormal is truly inspiring some amazing stories. One of my favorite rides at Disneyland is The Haunted Mansion, or as I like to call it, “Spiritualism: The Ride.”

I didn’t ride The Haunted Mansion often as a kid. My household is very Christian, and my mom thought the ride was something of the Devil. To give you an idea of the severity, I didn’t read the “Goosebumps” books at home. There’s a reason I read my paranormal-related books in the public library.

A Real Life Haunted Mansion

The idea for The Haunted Mansion dates back to 1951 when Walt Disney came up with the idea. At first, it was originally thought of as a walk-through haunted house. It was also going to live at the end of Main Street, as Disney wanted the attraction to be that stereotypical haunted house at the end of the road.

The idea was left untouched until 1957, which is when Disney wanted to expand New Orleans Square. Disney found some real-life inspiration to help his process. I LOVE the developmental story of The Haunted Mansion because Disney visited the Winchester Mystery House. This is the house with all of the stairs that lead to nowhere, the multiple rooms, random doors, etc.

Having been a rider on The Haunted Mansion for years, I see where the Winchester House served as inspiration. After literal tumbles, twists, and turns with development, the ride finally opens in 1969.

Is Madame Leota Reciting a Real Seance Invocation?

I want to discuss what I love the most about the ride; Madame Leota and the séance. Seriously, can we talk about how “dead” on this is?

Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat, call in the spirits, wherever they’re at!

Rap on a table — it’s time to respond. Send us a message from somewhere beyond…

Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine!

Creepies and crawlies, toads in a pond, let there be music from regions beyond!

Wizards and witches, wherever you dwell, give us a hint, by ringing a bell!

From the tarot cards floating in the air to Madame Leota’s head in a crystal ball, I find it really interesting that the ride essentially starts off with a séance to summon the 999 happy haunts. Every time I read this to a group of paranormal researchers, spiritualists, and even skeptics, I ask them where the passage is from. I get answers ranging from a historical séance, something from one of Lincoln’s séance, etc. When I tell them it’s the script from The Haunted Mansion, the reaction is always amusing.

Here is a sample séance invocation from 1901:

‘There is a land where we all go,
Where never the frost or cold winds blow.
And friends remembered reunite,
where those who hate, forget their spite.
In glow, surround these gentle beings,
we call you now to bless our meetings,
Heaven’s promise, our spirits thrive,
So now for the living, let the dead come alive.
Greetings spirits, Speak now to us?’

From “The Spirit Speaks! Weekly Newspaper” 1901
~ Revised by Barbara Morris

Past Technology Becoming the Future

As we pass by the ballroom in our Doom Buggies, we see a variety of vignettes. There are ghosts dancing in a ballroom, a ghost blowing out some candles, and other ghostly images. It’s fairly well-known now that this effect was created using a technique called, “Pepper’s Ghost.” Ironically, this technique came about around the same time that Spiritualism’s popularity is on the rise in 1862, thanks to the Civil War. This is because families left behind were trying to make contact with their lost loved ones. It was created by a scientist by the name of John Henry Pepper. It involves a room hidden from the viewer that is illuminated and glass. What we see on DL’s Haunted Mansion are two rooms; one above the Doom Buggy and one underneath.

See this photo for more.

via Haunted Dimensions

This also speaks to me in such a way where I know the Imagineers did their research when it came to developing this ride. They brought about special effects technology that existed in the same timeframe as the rise of Spiritualism itself.

Here Comes the Bride

Even the origin story of the bride carries on a very “black widow” or a “Lizzie Borden like” story. Given that hauntings that originated from ax murders are some of the most popular investigation sites today (Villisca, Lizzie Borden, etc.), the storyline fits perfectly in the spooky narrative. At the end of the ride, it is apparent that the bride’s ghost is very much active, and beckons us all to come back as we exit the ride.

At the end of the day, we are finding more evidence of paranormal inspiration in our daily lives without even realizing it. In this case, even something located in the Happiest Place on Earth draws that connection, making the spooky a little more magical.

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