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.

Here are some of my favorite encounters I found in my research. As you read, ponder this: How likely is it that planes can be haunted? Why or why not?

Demon on a Plane

Okay, I’m not convinced this was an actual case of possession by a demon. In December 2017, a woman caused an Air China plane to turn around and go back to Beijing. After the plane took off, the woman collapsed about 20 minutes into the flight. Given that she was unresponsive, the captain decided to turn the plane around. However, when the woman came to, she wasn’t very receptive to receiving any help. She declared that there were things “possessing” her body and she started thrashing and becoming emotionally unstable. It took six people to get her under control. What’s even more creepy is that the woman said that there were not only things possessing her body, but that they couldn’t be found with health checks.

Eastern Airlines Flight 401

This is probably one of the most famous ghost stories in relation to airplanes that I’ve read about. On December 29, 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 went down in the Everglades and took 101 lives. The plane departed from New York City and was heading towards Miami. As the plane was preparing to land, the landing gear indicator light wasn’t on. It was later reported that the light had burnt out and the landing gear was down. However, the crew became so distracted by the reported malfunction that the plane crashed. Pilot Bob Loft, and flight engineer Donald Repo, were among the perished. After the crash, it was rumored that the functional parts that were left were used for parts on other planes. After that, there were over 20 reports of Loft and Repo being sighted. Repo was often seen warning the passengers that there was something wrong with the plane, while Loft was seen sitting next to passengers. While this could be an elaborate ghost story, one has to wonder if Repo and Loft were trying to make amends for their mistake in life.

The Scarebus

How sore would you be if you were sent home from work, and then killed in a car accident on the way home? That’s what happened to a flight attendant who was working on an A320 aircraft that was run by the Constellation International Airlines. While she was doing her pre-flight check, she fell ill and called her boss. The flight attendant ended up being sent home. While she was driving back, she ended up getting killed in a car accident. After the accident, it seemed that her soul went back to the plane she was supposed to work on. Flight attendants and pilots reported hearing her whisper in their ears, screaming for help over the intercom, as well as causing mechanical issues on the plane. Not only is Casper still reporting for work, but she is also wreaking havoc. Could it be a revenge plot? The flight itself is known as the “Scairbus.”

The Yellow One

A Boeing 737-8Q8 belonging to Sterling Airlines has created quite a reputation for itself. Flight crew members, and even the cleaning crew don’t like to go on this plane at night. Why? There have been reports of footsteps being heard on the roof of the plane, even at over 30,000 feet in the air! There is nothing more unsettling than hearing footsteps above your head when you’re flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Supposedly, a woman died on the plane, and it is believed that her spirit never got off the plane.

I’m Cold

I found two stories with striking similarities, which makes me think that this is purely myth. Or, for the hardcore believers out there, it could be evidence of similar phenomenon happening on airplanes. Both of these stories occurred on a Virgin Atlantic flight. In the first story, there was an old lady wandering around the plane and complaining that she was cold. The flight attendants found her and took her to the crew rest area to sleep. She gave them her name and they looked her up on the passenger manifest. They found her last name and went to the seat noted on the report. The flight attendants found a man, who was her son, and told them what happened. The man turned pale and said that his mother was indeed on the plane, but she was in a coffin in the cargo area. The man showed them a photo of his mother, and it was the same woman who was seen wandering the aisle. The old woman was never seen again.

In a similar story, there was an old man standing in the aisle of a plane by the cabin door. When the flight attendant asked him if he needed anything, he told her to tell his wife, “It’s okay.” The flight attendant got the wife’s name and went to the woman’s seat. After delivering the message, the wife showed the flight attendant a picture of the man. Once his identity was confirmed, the wife said that her husband recently passed, and his body was being transported on the plane.

Casino Royale

A 747 aircraft belonging to South African Airways was used on the set of Casino Royale. The galley doors would open and close by themselves. During filming, crew members reported seeing a woman walking up and down the aisle at night. The lights would also turn on and off…and keep in mind this plane didn’t always have functional power while filming. Needless to say, crew members refused to stay on the plane overnight.

Senior Flight Attendant

What if you loved your job so much that you kept working even in the afterlife? While there is no specific flight mentioned, this story of a ghostly flight attendant is interesting. A flight attendant with red eyes and a spooky appearance was seen on a red-eye flight walking up and down the aisles. The passengers would try to stop her and ask her for help, but she would only look straight ahead and kept walking. Given that the woman must have been dressed like a flight attendant for people to ask her for help, one must wonder who this woman was. She had been seen on so many flights, that she was given the name, “Senior Flight Attendant.”

Have you ever encountered a haunted airplane? Tell us about it!

The post Spooks on a Plane: A Story of Haunted Planes appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

While I was attending the Excavation of Victorian Ghosts event up in Bedford, Pennsylvania, one of the speakers was Rosemary Ellen Guiley. I know we keep talking about this event, but it was truly a great event where some really intelligent minds from the field come in and present their research and theories. Anyway, Rosemary had a fascinating talk on black mirrors and scrying, and she made a really interesting comment. Of course, I’ll be paraphrasing; the gist of it was that it seems that teams that are tech-heavy tend to not have as many experiences as someone who isn’t looking at a screen. At first, I guffawed because I believed that the central point of investigating is to have the equipment for data collection. However, as I sat and listened to Rosemary speak, I started to ponder my previous experiences.

Most know that one of the most dramatic experiences I had involved a camera that was turned off. This would be the event that happened on the USS Hornet in 2012. Yet, no matter how many times I recollect the experience and retell the story, I know there are people who won’t believe me. I kick myself thinking about how our equipment was shut off, even though we don’t remember turning anything off. However, that experience gave me something that I needed at the time. Looking back, I think that experience was just meant to be that…an experience. Had the equipment not malfunctioned, I really wonder what would have been captured on film and audio. Furthermore, what would MY experience have been like if I was monitoring through headphones or looking through a viewfinder? Would I have seen the same thing?

Take, for example, the experience of a photographer. They will experience something like a wedding or childbirth through a completely different experience. They are behind a piece of equipment. They see things through a tunnel, meant to capture images and video in a certain way. For the paranormal investigator, they are trying to reach the widest scope possible so that they don’t miss a moment. However, data collection still requires monitoring…therefore compromising the person’s experience. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Proper data collection is crucial if we’re going to make any strides in the field.

Yet, we need to acknowledge that when we’re taking pictures, taking video, or listening through audio equipment, our experience will be different than those who aren’t fixed on their equipment. How many times do we allow a piece of equipment dictate the course of an investigation? By this, I mean equipment like the Ovilus, shack hacks, etc.? What if we’re being led astray and missing out on the incredible anomaly that’s happening right before our eyes?

So, how do we implement a compromise into a meaningful experience? Do we ask someone to bow out of having the “full” experience for the sake of data collection? I believe that we can still have an experience while collecting data. But first, we have to know why we’re collecting data. Are we trying to provide proof of the paranormal? Do we just want to remember the experience? Do we want material for our YouTube channel? By knowing this, we can really figure out why we’re lugging all of this equipment in the first place. From there, we can work on implementing a compromise that includes thorough and effective data collection while having that “experience.”

To me, there are grey areas. I believe that we need to be persistent in data collection. Also, I believe there are moments where we don’t have to always look at a screen, and we can just experience the unknown.

Yet, that’s what tripods and stands are for. There are happy mediums, no pun intended. We can take a break from watching through a screen and look up occasionally.

The post Are Hauntings Just Meant to Be Experienced? appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Several of our members here at Association of Paranormal Study are very interested in Irish folklore, so we thought we’d discuss the legend of the Leprechaun today!

According to Irish fables, the Leprechaun is a tiny entity that normally takes the form of a miniature version of an old man wearing either a red or green coat. They are known to be mischievous creatures that like to cobble shoes and store gold coins in pots of gold hidden at the end of rainbows. If you capture a Leprechaun, he must grant you three wishes, with the deal that he will be let go after they are granted.  The centuries-old legend makes no mention of female leprechauns, so it’s safe to deduct that they are always men.

The legend of the Leprechaun can actually be pinpointed to an 8^th century old wives tale of a water spirit.  They were known as ‘luchorpán’ and in English, translates to “small body”.  The story goes that these water spirits would merge with a household fairy to create the luchorpán’, a fairy with a love for heavy drinking.  A wife would use this legend to explain away alcohol that had gone missing from the house’s cellar.  My guess is the husband came up with this explanation after a night of drinking and it caught on!

The most persisting piece of the legend of the leprechaun though is the coveted Pot of Gold.  The story says that the Leprechauns find gold coins dropped and forgotten on the ground and store them in metal pots that are hidden at the end of rainbows.  Why a leprechaun wouldn’t want to hide it in a spot that doesn’t have an arrow pointing right at the hiding spot, I’m not sure.

Of course, the Leprechaun is much more a pop-culture phenomenon these days then a creature people are looking for.  You can find this mythical creature on cereal, as the mascot of a major college football team and of course in a series of films.  However, a firsthand account of encountering this Irish being is as recent as 1989.  A Pub landlord, P.J. O’Hare, was in Carlingford in County Louth when he heard screams from a well.  He found in there what he believes were the remains and clothing of a leprechaun and has them on display in his pub for all to see.  The town now has an annual Leprechaun hunt!

It’s easy to scoff at the legend that’s well over a thousand years because it has become much more of a cartoon character, but believe it or not, the Leprechaun is a protected species under EU law.  And Carlingford has a designated area that is official protected land for the reported 236 Leprechauns that live in Ireland today!  I hope those little guys are having a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day today!

The post The Legend of the Leprechaun appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Unless we catch a client being deceitful, I’ll never say publicly that a client was lying or that they made up the activity. While it’s easy to be an armchair critic of a situation that we have no experience in, it doesn’t help the client if they’re really having some sort of experience. Now note that I’m not calling them “paranormal experiences.” The reason why APS is called on to a case is to determine whether or not that client is experiencing something paranormal. Having a hallucination, having your stuff fall off the wall from an uneven foundation, or experiencing an overload of EMF energy, is all an experience. Non-paranormal experiences can still be just as terrifying, or even more terrifying than an encounter with a real ghost (cue Scooby-Doo style scrambling).

If we’re working on a case, and the client tells us that the activity has stopped, it doesn’t mean that we stop working on the case and we bid the client goodbye. For the sake of not stirring up energy, we might not visit the premises for the time being, but we still keep in touch with the client and check in.

If you encounter a case where things were active one minute, and then dormant the next, keep in touch with the client. In the case of a legitimate haunting, there are a few reasons why it could go dormant. It’s possible that the client is no longer feeding energy into the entity, the haunting resolves itself, the entity senses that the client is working on trying to get rid of it so it’s trying to stall the inevitable or the client was able to debunk their experiences. Regardless of the situation, keeping the line of communication open is key to maintaining a good relationship with the client. Plus, they know they can turn to you for support without judgment.

The post When Ghosts Go Dormant appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

We all have our beliefs, and there is a supernatural world out there that is as vivid as everything else around you. Making sense of the paranormal through exposure and research is the first step to uncovering these mysteries. I want to know everything, and I’m guessing you do too. Since you’re reading this blog and all.

I once had a team member describe APS as the nerd with their nose in a book. It’s why we don’t have a TV show, and it’s why I’ve written several books about the paranormal field. What drives me crazy is the spreading of misinformation. People are losing out on their hard-earned money buying “gadgets” that weren’t built to detect ghosts in the first place. People are throwing money at self-proclaimed experts and then disappointed when they don’t measure up. There are a seldom few people that I would even consider to be an expert in the field, Loyd Auerbach is one of them. Seriously, Google him and look at his credentials. Read his books. Take one of his classes. It’s worth it!

If you’re going to be a team that takes on residential cases, research is something you HAVE TO DO. How are you going to implement a solution if you don’t know what you’re dealing with? Residential casework isn’t for the recreational ghost hunter. Why? You are taking on an enormous responsibility that can make the difference between a family being able to sleep in the beds at night once again, or a family being torn apart from miscommunication, the pot being stirred, and potentially angering the presence in the home. At the end of the day, the investigator gets to go home, the client still has to live with whatever is in the home. In order to know what kind of solutions to implement, the investigator has to be able to research and comprehend the ins and outs of the situation. That includes… (*trumpet blows*) RESEARCH! Not only research, but you have to be able to present your findings in some presentational form like a paper, presentation, speech, etc.

Residential cases are not for your entertainment or amusement. The paranormal isn’t taken seriously because it’s not taken seriously. Stop being a part of the problem. If you’re a thrill seeker, don’t call yourself a researcher. If you’re a ghost hunter

In the event, you find a client who does want you to investigate and provoke for the purpose of collecting data for public viewing, that’s up to you to take on the case. Just be cautious that you’re not the monkey in the middle and you find yourself on the evening news.

Finally, if you’re a recreational ghost hunter who is looking for thrills and adrenaline rushes with a residential case, be 100% honest with your client. Give them the disclaimer that you might make things worse, but it will be great evidence for your YouTube channel. A great sacrifice right? Most clients seek a team for HELP. Respect that. If you’re not willing to do the work, research, field work, resolution work, that’s okay. Go do your thing! Just stay out of people’s homes.

Just stay out of people’s homes.

The post Are You a Recreational Ghost Hunter? Stay Out of People’s Homes appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

But it didn’t work. As my rage and fear grew, it seemed to get more powerful. What was going on?

I had been stressed out for several months, and my mental wellbeing was wearing thin. I was constantly exhausted, and the strange things happening in my home seemed random. But it wasn’t until I spoke to my team psychic that I realized that what was “haunting” me was actually coming from ME. What I mean is, with all of the stress I had been dealing with, I had managed to create my own entity. In Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, this is called a “tulpa.” It is created using thought. Though it wasn’t created intentionally to be a ghost that haunted my place, it was the cumulation of all of my stress and anxiety. Because my thoughts had been pretty dark, especially after the passing of my mother, all those thoughts and feelings manifested into something that attacked me on a nightly basis.

As it turns out, a lot of our clients are dealing with similar situations. They are dealing with an immense amount of stress and dealing with it with alcohol, drugs, food, anything to self-soothe. Many times, they are also neglecting to take their medications and taking care of themselves overall. When we have cases like this, I tell the client that there is only so much we can do as a team before the client has to step in to work on the rest.

How did I deal with my tulpa? I started meditating and praying every day. I started eating better and seeing my doctor regularly. Plus, I started exercising and doing something each day that made me happy that would be a healthy choice. Is it the perfect plan? No. But by working on myself from the outside in, I noticed the nightly occurrences reduced gradually until it went away. Do I think it’s permanently gone? No. There are times where I get emotional and upset and I “sense” that nasty thing is around to feed off of my negative energy.

If you don’t believe in thoughtforms, tulpas, or weird stuff in general, perhaps it’s all in my head. But that thing seemed to be the representation of all of my stress. By accepting that my behavior was a form of harming myself, and that I was responsible for it, it gave me the wake up call I needed to get my life back on track.

In closing, when there was peace within myself, my surroundings became peaceful as well.

The post The Ghost Within: When We Create Our Own Entity appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Usually, when a client tells us that they are taking medication, especially an anti-psychotic, and have been diagnosed with a condition, we back off. This is for liability reasons and we don’t want to make things worse for the client with potential validation. These days, just walking through the door can give the client validation, and that puts us at risk. There can be instability in the client, which could lead to them not taking their medication anymore and no longer following their doctor’s orders because they think their condition is paranormal. To me, spending a night in a potentially haunted location isn’t worth it if it means that a client could harm themselves due to faux validation. Also, in my experience, working with a client who refuses to believe that they’re experiences are paranormal instead of psychological is like walking in circles. Any remedy you try, whether it’s a house blessing, cleansing, deliverance, etc. it will not work. Eventually, you have to walk away. But you can prevent getting into this situation with these tips.

1. Make sure you have a form on your website that asks about psychological conditions, medications, and police visits.
2. Have one or more investigators on your team who have a background in mental health. While they won’t be able to treat the client, they can give you valuable input.
3. YOU CANNOT GIVE A DIAGNOSIS! This is the quickest route to a lawsuit. If you feel a client has psychological issues instead of paranormal, and you need to drop the case, you can still be honest. Tell them that you are not able to help them because it is beyond your expertise.
4. If you see different pill bottles of various medications in the home, ask what they are for. If the client hadn’t disclosed their medication and condition to you, it is time to leave as soon as you can.
5. If you have a client that is demanding an exorcism because they feel what they’re encountering is demonic and not related to their mental health, calmly tell them that they will have to go through a mental and physical evaluation per the Roman Catholic Church. It’s all true anyway. Plus, most investigation teams do not conduct any kind of exorcism and will usually network to local clergy or religious authority. Then that new contact ends up declining their service to the client because it’s psychological, and moving forward is too much of a liability.
6. You must be honest with the client. If they are hearing someone walking behind them, and you find out that it’s the floorboard, you have to tell them. This is standard practice for any residential case.
7. Involve the client’s family members and friends. They will usually be honest with you on the client’s conditions, and again, with honesty, they will tell you the best way to decline further work in the case. Or, they will take the reins and decline the case themselves on their loved one’s behalf.

If you are a client who is dealing with issues with your mental health, and you are having encounters that you believe are paranormal, we are so sorry you’re having to go through this. If you feel that your condition is paranormal, still have a conversation with your doctor. If you’re taking medication, know the side effects of your medication. If you still decide to involve a paranormal investigator, be honest with them.

But, what if it’s both?

If it’s both, which we have experienced before, we will still decline the investigation. In the paranormal world, we can never be 100% sure if something truly is a paranormal phenomenon or explainable. That is too much of a liability for the team as well as the client’s safety.

Agree? Disagree? Tell us in the comments!

The post All in the Mind: When It’s Not Paranormal appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Take, for instance, the mythical Icelandic giantess (ogre) Grýla, who lives in the mountains of Iceland with her 13 (seven dwarf-esque) sons, the Yule Lads, her third husband and a large black cat named Jólakötturinn. Said to come to town with Grýla and the Yule Lads, the myth of the Jólakötturinn is worthy of a blog all to itself as it is stalks the snowy countryside to devour anyone who has not received new clothes on Christmas Eve. It is believed that farmers used this belief to maintain maximum productivity among the wool workers. The premise is simple: work hard for material gain or slack off and get eaten by a giant cat. Honestly, I’m surprised that Hollywood hasn’t snatched that story line right up. You can read through the English translation of the poem that is passed down in Icelandic heritage here: Björk – Jólakötturinn (english Translation) Lyrics | Golyr.de.

As the legend goes, Grýla, her sons and her evil cat would all go out on Christmas to each get into their own trouble. Grýla would hunt the naughty children then boil them in her cauldron and devour them. She could only capture the naughty children and if those captured repented and were truly sorry for their misdeeds then she was bound to release them. While their mother was boiling the neighborhood children, the Yule Lads were wreaking havoc and chaos throughout the town. Just like the seven dwarfs, the Yuleman each had very unique personalities and their name represented the havoc they created:

• Sheep-Cot Clod – who suckles the farmer’s yews
• Gully Gawk – who steals the foam from the buckets of cow milk
• Stubby – the short one who steals food from the frying pans
• Spoon Licker – this one is pretty self-explanatory
• Pot Scraper (Licker) – steals the unwashed pots and pans and licks them clean
• Bowl Licker – steals the bowls of food from under the Icelanders beds (not sure why they had bowls of food under their bed…)
• Door Slammer – again, pretty self-explanatory. He would keep everyone awake by stomping around and slamming doors
• Skyr Gobbler – would eat up all the yogurt or Skyr as it is called in Iceland
• Sausage Swiper – would..surprisingly enough..steal sausage
• Window Peeper – a peeping Tom that would sometimes steal the things he saw inside
• Door Sniffer – this guy had a huge nose and an insatiable appetite for stolen baked goods
• Meat Hook – would snatch up any meat that was left out and had a particular taste for smoked lamb
• Candle Beggar – would steal the highly sought after candles in town

Prior to 1746, the story of Grýla and her sons was used by parents to scare their children into behaving and the actions of the Yule Lads were a bit darker and more bloodthirsty than the version we have today. In 1746, due to the gruesomeness of the story, the Icelandic government prohibited parents from using it to terrify their children into submission so Grýla and her murderous family faded into the annals of history.

So this holiday season, while you’re snuggled in, enjoying the warmth and comfort this time of year can bring, just know that the Krampus isn’t the only monster lurking outside waiting to punish you for your transgressions. Happy Holidays!

The post Grýla, Jólakötturinn, & the Yule Lads appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

In the spirit of trying to not get too personal, I’m getting ready to embark on my second Christmas without my mother, as she passed in January 2015. For anyone who has lost a loved one, the first year of holidays is sad, but the ongoing ones seem to be worse for some. It’s another year without their loved one. And do ghosts, or those who have died, feel that same emptiness and pain as the living? If they do, it would make sense that they would drop by during the holidays to reminisce on years passed when the family was all alive and together. Do I think that they make their presence known? I don’t think so. The holidays were rather quiet in activity in my life, but I want to think that my mother was with me in some way or another. We do tend to get an increase in investigation requests during the holidays, which is interesting to me. Perhaps there are those who do want to make their presence known, or even a message to pass on as we end the year.

Regardless on what your thoughts are of ghosts and spirits, the memory of those who have left us live on in us and the traditions we practice and pass on. If you are missing someone this holiday season, know that they are also missing you, and they probably yearn for another holiday season where they can embrace you and have you know that they love you. The signs are there, and all you need to do is pay attention to the finer details in your life right now. That sign could very well be right in front of you.

If you are emotionally in need of support this holiday season and are desperate to make contact with a deceased loved one, please proceed with caution. The reason being is that you don’t want to open yourself up to getting visits from unwanted entities who will only feed on your grief and pain. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact a reputable and local paranormal investigation team, or even APS, and we will do our best to answer your questions.

The post Do Our Deceased Loved Ones Visit Us During the Holidays? appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.