Author Archives: JC "Jeanie" Cooke-Fredlund

SHADOW PEOPLE, WHAT ARE THEY?

There’s a growing interest in the phenomenon of shadow people. What are they? Ghosts? Interdimensional beings? Time travelers? Something else?

“WHAT WAS THAT?” . . . . .  You were sitting comfortably on your sofa reading the latest issue of FATE in the dim light when movement across the room caught your attention. It seemed dark and shadowy, but there was nothing there. You returned to your reading – and a moment later there it was again.

You looked up quickly this time and saw the fleeting but distinctly human shape of the shadow pass quickly over the far wall… and disappear.

What was that? Some natural shadow? Your heightened imagination? A ghost? Or was it something that seems to be a spreading phenomenon – apparitions that are coming to be known as “shadow people” or “shadow beings.” Perhaps this is an old phenomenon with a new name that is now being discussed more openly, in part thanks to the Internet.

Or maybe it’s a phenomenon that, for some reason, is manifesting with greater frequency and intensity now.

Those who are experiencing and studying the shadow people phenomenon say that these entities almost always used to be seen out of the corner of the eye and very briefly. But more and more, people are beginning to see them straight on and for longer periods of time. Some experiencers testify that they have even seen eyes, usually red, on these shadow beings.

The mysterious sightings have become a hot topic of conversion in paranormal chat rooms, message boards and websites, and it is given widespread attention on paranormal talk radio.

What are shadow people and where do they come from? Several theories have been offered.  One fact that is known for sure, is that they are known to rob young children and/or the elderly of their breath.  Thus, they are potentially dangerous.

THE IMAGINATION

The explanation we get from skeptics and mainstream science – and who are usually people who have never experienced the shadow people phenomenon – is that it is nothing more than the active human imagination. It’s our minds playing tricks on us… our eyes seeing things in a fraction of a second that aren’t really there – illusions… real shadows caused by passing auto headlights, or some similar explanation. And without a doubt, these explanations probably can account for some if not many experiences. The human eye and mind are easily fooled. But can they account for all cases?

GHOSTS

To call these entities ghosts demands first a definition of what we mean by ghosts. (See the article: Ghosts: What Are They?) But by almost any definition, shadow people are somewhat different than ghost phenomena. Whereas ghost apparitions are almost always a misty white, vapor-like or have a decidedly human form and appearance (very often with discernible “clothing”), shadow beings are much darker and more shadow-like. In general, although the shadow people often do have a human outline or shape, because they are dark, the details of their appearance is lacking. This is in contrast to many ghost sightings in which the witness can describe the ghost’s facial features, style of clothing and other details. The one detail most often noted in some shadow being sightings are their glowing red eyes.

DEMONS OR OTHER SPIRIT ENTITIES

The dark countenance and malevolent feelings that are often reported in association with these creatures has led some researchers to speculate that they may be demonic in nature. If they are demons, we have to wonder what their purpose or intent is in letting themselves be seen in this manner. Is it merely to frighten?

 

REPORT FROM ONE INDIVIDUAL WHO EXPERIENCED SHADOW PEOPLE

shadow-hand.jpg - Photo: WIN-Initiative/Neleman / Getty Images
Getty Images

 

HOUSE OF SHADOWS

“I became aware of the shadows shortly after moving into my house in New Jersey. My daughters’ playroom was in the basement and they were constantly complaining that they were always seeing something move out of the corners of their eyes. My youngest also said they hovered near the ceiling.

In later years, I had my floral workshop in the basement and saw them constantly. It got to the point where I would talk to them with my mind, not that they ever answered back. They were black. We saw them all over the basement, but mostly along one wall, and occasionally saw them along the same wall on the first floor and in the kitchen near the back door. We did not see them anywhere else in the house or elsewhere on the property. But even when we did not get a glimpse of them, we were aware when they were present. Some of them seemed to have an evil presence.

A few years after we moved in, I told them they were not welcome in the house and the evil presence seemed to go away. Still, we had an uneasy feeling about them.

Not fear. We just accepted they were there, as several steps taken over the years to make them go away didn’t work anyway. Only once after the evil ones were told they were not welcome was I aware they came back. And I am not sure if they were evil or just upset. I will explain later.

Only once did it see one clearly.  But it happened in a split second and I did not see it from top to bottom. I was walking through the breakfast room into the kitchen. The kitchen light was on in the corner. It was by the back door in front of the stove. I was startled. I thought someone had come into the house. It all happened very fast. But the light from behind it did not pass through as it would a shadow. It was short and stocky and appeared as a silhouette of a person. It had a head (there were no discernible features, including no eyes) shoulders, arms and a torso. It disappeared too fast to take note if it had legs or feet. I sensed it was as surprised as I was and did not intend to be seen.

Then our house caught fire. It was a major fire that started from a shorted TV along the wall of shadows in the den. We were out of the house six months while it was repaired. About a week after the fire, I stopped by right before dark to pick up a few things. As I came onto the back porch and looked through the six-foot hole where the picture window once was, I looked across the breakfast room at the basement doorway. I sensed three shadows near the doorway. It was almost dark outside, so I did not actually see them.

I also got a very bad feeling about them and told them by thought that the evil ones were still not welcome in the house whether I was there or not. Then I turned and left without entering the house. I was quite rattled. Whether I had this feeling because I was also emotionally upset about the fire… I cannot say.

The next day, I went back and it seemed the house was full of shadows, although I only caught a glimpse of them, as usual, fleeing in the basement. And I am not sure I really saw them as there were no lights on down there and the only light was from the window-well windows. It was the only time I ever sensed that they tried to communicate. It seemed they were upset that we were not there because the house was all black, there was no light for them in the kitchen, and there were strangers in the house (the workers) every day.

A few weeks later, burglars tried to steal the new appliances for the house. Everything was left in the kitchen by the back door. My daughters and I joked that they met up with the shadows and were scared off. Who knows?”

______________

NOTE FROM THIS AUTHOR:

MY FAMILY AND I LIVED IN A HAUNTED HOUSE

Our Haunted House

(Photo Credit: JC “Jeanie” Cooke-Fredlund, Author and Photographer)

Years ago, back in 1973, to be exact, my ex-husband and I decided to relocate back to our hometown of Mankato, MN. We looked at several houses, but this one really caught my eye. It was a partially remodeled home that had been built in the late 1800s.

It is the house that I referred to in my Forever Nearby article titled, “We’re Definitely Not Alone.” It was in this house that my (then child, son) experienced the terrifying presence of Shadow People.)  Today, my son is an adult with a family of his own, yet he continues to attest to the fact that his experiences with “A Shadow Man” definitely occurred.  Of course, I didn’t take his reports seriously at the time, but I believe that NOT coincidentally, then severe asthmatic problems all but completely dissipated once we left that house.

Yes, the house possessed plenty of old time charm, but I was happy to move out five years later. (I also believe that, NOT coincidentally) no one has remained in the house longer than five years before or since!

It’s located at 619 N. 4th St. in Mankato, MN, but is a private residence and so trespassers are not welcome.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Leave a comment

POLTERGEISTS vs EVIL SPIRITS

Poltergeists, Evil Spirits, and Demons—Do You Know the Difference?

Most people believe that an evil spirit and a demon are the same, but this is not true. Even more people don’t know what a poltergeist is. Please join me on this article as I shed some light on these differences.

First of all, I would like to state that if you find yourself being haunted by something, the best place to start is by getting in contact with a medium and asking them to come out to where the haunting is taking place. That way, you know exactly what you are dealing with. Mediums have the ability to communicate with spirits of the dead, so they will be able to determine what you have. After a medium has visited the area in question, they can tell you the origin of the problem and what steps you need to take to get rid it.

Mediums can be found online. When you do your search, make sure it is a medium, not a clairvoyant or a psychic. A psychic medium is a good choice as well, the important part being that the professional is a medium. In my research, I have learned that in most cases demons are not very common. The most common things I have found are poltergeists.

Differences between Poltergeists, Evil Spirits, and Demons

  Poltergeist Evil Spirit Demon
Origin A living human’s negative energy. A deceased human’s spirit. Hell.
Solution Impossible to get rid of. Minimize effects by enabling the person causing the poltergeist to express emotions in a healthy manner. Cleanse or bless your home. Exorcism.

Identifying Characteristics of Poltergeists

A poltergeist is a manifestation made up of an individual’s negative energy, thoughts, and emotions. The negative energy, thoughts, and emotions will most often cause items to levitate, move, fall off shelves or topple over, or break. Most of the time, the individual sending out these negative vibrations doesn’t even know he or she is causing things to happen.

What types of individuals are responsible for creating a poltergeist? Individuals known as “sensitives,” which means that they have a medium’s abilities. Surprisingly, 85% of these people have no idea that they have these abilities. When they keep their emotions bottled up and don’t know how to deal with their personal issues correctly, they subconsciously create a poltergeist. Poltergeists are very dangerous. Unfortunately, they are impossible to get rid of; at best, you can calm them down if you learn to dispense your emotions and thoughts properly. You can seek the help of a medium for ways to suppress these happenings.

A poltergeist can levitate furniture with negative energy.

Identifying Characteristics of Evil Spirits

Evil spirits are entities that at some point had a physical body. While living, an evil spirit was most likely a bad person and did not have much regard for other people.

In death, its mission is total torture and its main goal is to make you suffer in every way within its power. Evil spirits want to fill your life with fear. They can inflict pain upon a person and make a person very sick. They are the main culprits responsible for eerie feelings, such as the feeling of constantly being watched. Evil spirits are often accompanied by a spontaneous feeling of tremendous dread, anxiety, or despair. If you find yourself haunted by an evil spirit, it will be fairly easy to get rid of with a cleansing or blessing of your home. A medium can advise you of step-by-step instructions on how to perform these. Cleansing your home will ultimately force the spirit to cross over and go where it belongs.

An evil spirit can make you feel as though eyes are always watching you.

Identifying Characteristics of Demons

Unlike evil spirits, demons never had a physical body. They come straight from hell. They are master munipulators. Demons can present themselves however they choose in order to gain the trust of certain individuals.

Children are usually a choice target, due to the simple fact that they are are very open and innocent, which makes them susceptible. Individuals who have disabilities such as autism and down syndrome are also a top targets. Demons prey on the weak and vulnerable, making the elderly good targets as well.

Demons have one mission, and that is to seek and destroy. Unlike evil spirits, a demon can actually kill you; they are very powerful forces to be reckoned with. Certain structures can have a demonic attachment as well. Demons can possess an individual, which means they can completely take over the person and make them do anything they want.

If a person is possessed, the only way to resolve the issue is to get a priest to perform a ritual called an exorcism. An exorcism is a true battle of good vs. evil. The priest uses his knowledge of God and faith to pull the demon out of a person and send it straight back to hell where it belongs. In some cases, a medium may recommend seeking out a witch doctor and a spiritual healer. In structural attachment cases, the property would have to be exorcised as well. Structures are much harder to exorcise, and in most cases property exorcisms are unsuccessful, in which case, the person would have to move.

I hope and pray that nobody ever comes in contact with a demonic force. But if you should be so unfortunate, I hope that you can read this article and are a little more knowledgeable about what steps to take to protect yourself as well as your loved ones. Do not be submissive, but instead take action immediately and stay strong and steadfast. Thank you for joining me in this article.

Demons come straight from hell and require an exorcism to remove.

The Danger of Trying to Communicate with Your Poltergeist, Evil Spirit, or Demon with a Ouija Board

A medium’s role is to communicate with the dead. Unless you are sure that you have a demon, then that is the recommended route. It may be tempting to try to communicate yourself. The most well-known and accessible route is through a Ouija board. According the the Smithsonian, “even psychologists believe that [Ouija boards] may offer a link between the known and the unknown,” and the board was proven to work at the Patent Office before issued its patent. However, as this video shows, that can be a dangerous idea, and actually serve as an invitation for unwanted presences in your home.

 

Leave a comment

WHAT IS A POLTERGEIST?

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT ONLY AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF, BUT ALSO A TRUE STORY OF POLTERGEIST ACTIVITY IN A FAMOUS MANSION IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA (Published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, 1969):

“History

The Griggs mansion was built in 1883 and named after its original owner, a businessman named Chauncey Griggs. Incredibly well kept the mansion still has its original stained glass windows and wood paneled walls.

The house was lived in by its first owner for only four years before he moved west. Perhaps he set the theme of the house as it stayed as a private residence until 1939, but non of the people who moved in stayed for more than a few years.

In 1939 the mansion was turned into an art school for the next 25 years until it became a private residence again.

The house went on sale in 2009 for an asking price of $1.8 million, A fair price for a house of such a size but over the next 3 years the price dropped to $1.1 million. A huge drop for such a property, maybe this is due to the house being known as one of the most haunted i all of Minnesota.

Today the house remains as a private residence.

CHAUNCEY GRIGGS MANSION HAUNTINGS:

The Griggs mansion has been known to be haunted for some time. The earliest documented investigation of paranormal activity at the mansion dates back to 1969 when of group of journalists from the St Paul pioneer press stayed in the house to see if there were any truth to the tales. There stay was cut short when they fled the mansion at 4am, running from the fourth floor and straight out the house.

As for the fourth floor this is known to be one of the most active spots in the building. A maid is thought to have killed herself by hanging in one of the bedrooms. Her identity and reasons for doing so are unknown, but activity from her has been witnessed by many. Muffled crying noises from empty rooms on the floor and people feeling unwell when they pass by the bedroom doors are thought to be caused by the unhappy maid.

Another hot spot is the library, where the gardener of the house, Charles Wade, loved to read. Noises  or rustling and pages being turned have come from this room when no one was inside.

The total amount of individual spirits that may be at the house is unknown as different visitors and owners have reported experiencing different activity. A psychic who was brought to the house claimed she had picked up the spirit of a civil war officer, who perhaps could be the original owner of the house Chauncey Griggs who served as an officer in the army, although no one has reported seeing any apparitions of him.

Speaking of apparitions, one that has has been particularly scary is that of a tall man, dressed in a black suit with a top hat. He has visited various guests in their rooms and been seen standing silently before fading from sight.

As for other paranormal activity at the mansion you can only imagine what goes on hear, or maybe what doesn’t go on here. As with many haunted places they always seem to share certain activity, such as seeing shadows and the feeling of being touched or someone brushing past when no one is there. This place seems to have them all, from one witness to another all kinds of tales have come from this place. Is it haunted though? Seems so, at least that’s what a number of very scared visitors to house would believe.”

______________________

Poltergeists: Noisy Spirits

A poltergeist is perhaps the best-known — and most feared — type of ghost. It is a spirit that is said to harass and torment its victims. This harassment typically includes minor but mysterious and disturbing events such as loud sounds, moving furniture, sheets and covers being pulled off beds, small objects inexplicably falling off shelves, stones rising off the ground and being hurled at people, and so on.

Of course, discussing different categories of ghosts is like discussing different breeds of dragons or races of leprechauns: it’s all made up, so there are as many types as you can dream of. Nevertheless, people all over the world believe in ghosts and spirits, and a 2005 Gallup poll found that 37 percent of Americans believe in haunted houses — and nearly half believe in ghosts.

No one knows for certain what ghosts are, or if they even exist; some believe that they are spirits of the dead who for whatever reason get “lost” on their way to the afterworld; others think that ghosts are the souls of people whose deaths were violent or premature.

 

I am posting the following information as a reference posting for readers who have questions as to what constitutes a poltergeist.  It is taken from Wikipedia and by clicking on any of the references offered by Wikipedia (in red) the reader can be taken instantly to further information about and information on, poltergeists:

Poltergeist:  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Artist conception of poltergeist activity claimed by Therese Selles, a 15-year-old domestic servant of the Todescini family at Cheragas, Algeria. From the French magazine La Vie Mysterieuse in 1911.

In folklore and parapsychology, a poltergeist (German for “noisy ghost”) is a type ofghost or other supernatural entity which is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. They are purportedly capable ofpinching, biting, hitting, and tripping people. Most accounts of poltergeists describe the movement or levitation of objects such as furniture and cutlery, or noises such as knocking on doors.

They have traditionally been described as troublesome spirits who haunt a particular person instead of a specific location. Such alleged poltergeist manifestations have been reported in many cultures and countries including the United States, India‚ Japan, Brazil, Australia, and most European nations. Early accounts date back to the 1st century.

Contents

The word poltergeist came from the German language words poltern (“to make sound” and “to rumble”) and Geist (“ghost” and “spirit”), and the term itself translates as “noisy ghost”, “rumble-ghost” or a “loud spirit”.

Many claimed poltergeist events have proved on investigation to be pranks.[1] Skeptic Joe Nickell says that claimed poltergeist incidents typically originate from “an individual who is motivated to cause mischief”.[2] According to Nickell:

Parapsychologists such as Nandor Fodor and William G. Roll wrote that poltergeist activity can be explained by psychokinesis.[13][14]

Poltergeist activity has often been believed to be the work of malicious spirits. According to Allan Kardec, the founder of Spiritism, poltergeists are manifestations of disembodied spirits of low level, belonging to the sixth class of the third order. They are believed to be closely associated with the elements (fire, air, water, earth).[15]

Famous cases

Epworth Rectory

Folklore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Folklore (disambiguation).

Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. These include oral traditions such as tales, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from traditional building styles to handmade toys common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, the forms and rituals of celebrations like Christmas and weddings, folk dances and initiation rites. Each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a folklore artifact. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next. For folklore is not taught in a formal school curriculum or studied in the fine arts. Instead these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another either through verbal instruction or demonstration. The academic study of folklore is called folkloristics.

Netherlandish Proverbs

To fully understand folklore, it is helpful to clarify its component parts: the terms folk and lore. It is well-documented that the term was coined in 1846 by the Englishman William Thoms. He fabricated it to replace the contemporary terminology of “popular antiquities” or “popular literature”. The second half of the compound word, lore, proves easier to define as its meaning has stayed relatively stable over the last two centuries. Coming from Old English lār ‘instruction,’ and with German and Dutch cognates, it is the knowledge and traditions of a particular group, frequently passed along by word of mouth.[1]

The concept of folk proves somewhat more elusive. When Thoms first created this term, folk applied only to rural, frequently poor, frequently illiterate peasants. A more modern definition of folk is a social group which includes two or more persons with common traits, who express their shared identity through distinctive traditions. “Folk is a flexible concept which can refer to a nation as in American folklore or to a single family.“[2] This expanded social definition of folk supports a broader view of the material, i.e. the lore, considered to be folklore artifacts. These now include all “things people make with words (verbal lore), things they make with their hands (material lore), and things they make with their actions (customary lore)”.[3] Folklore is no longer circumscribed as being chronologically old or obsolete. The folklorist studies the traditional artifacts of a social group and how they are transmitted.

Transmission is a vital part of the folklore process. Without communicating these beliefs and customs within the group over space and time, they would become cultural shards relegated to cultural archaeologists. For folklore is also a verb. These folk artifacts continue to be passed along informally, as a rule anonymously and always in multiple variants. The folk group is not individualistic, it is community-based and nurtures its lore in community. “As new groups emerge, new folklore is created… surfers, motorcyclists, computer programmers”.[4] In direct contrast to high culture, where any single work of a named artist is protected by copyright law, folklore is a function of shared identity within the social group.[5]

Having identified folk artifacts, the professional folklorist strives to understand the significance of these beliefs, customs and objects for the group. For these cultural units[6] would not be passed along unless they had some continued relevance within the group. That meaning can however shift and morph. So Halloween of the 21st century is not the All Hallows’ Eve of the Middle Ages, and even gives rise to its own set of urban legends independent of the historical celebration. The cleansing rituals of Orthodox Judaism were originally good public health in a land with little water; now these customs signify identification as an Orthodox Jew. Compare this to brushing your teeth, also transmitted within a group, which remains a practical hygiene and health issue and does not rise to the level of a group-defining tradition.[7] For tradition is initially remembered behavior. Once it loses its practical purpose, there is no reason for further transmission unless it has been imbued with meaning beyond the initial practicality of the action. This meaning is at the core of folkloristics, the study of folklore.

With an increasingly theoretical sophistication of the social sciences, it has become evident that folklore is a naturally occurring and necessary component of any social group, it is indeed all around us.[8] It does not have to be old or antiquated. It continues to be created, transmitted and in any group is used to differentiate between “us” and “them”.

 

POLTERGEISTS by Nandor Fodor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nandor Fodor
Nandor Fodor parapsychologist.png
Born 13 May 1895
Beregszász, Hungary
Died 17 May 1964 (aged 69)
New York
Occupation Parapsychologist
Psychoanalyst
Organization National Laboratory of Psychical Research
Society for Psychical Research
The Ghost Club

Nandor Fodor (May 13, 1895 in Beregszász, Hungary – May 17, 1964 in New York City, New York) was a British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist of Hungarian origin.[1]

Biography

Fodor was born in Beregszász, Hungary. He received a doctorate in law from the Royal Hungarian University of Science in Budapest. He moved to New York to work as a journalist and to Britain in 1929 where he worked for a newspaper company.[2]

Fodor was one of the leading authorities on poltergeists, haunting and paranormal phenomena usually associated with mediumship. Fodor, who was at one time Sigmund Freud‘s associate, wrote on subjects like prenatal development and dream interpretation, but is credited mostly for his magnum opus, Encyclopedia of Psychic Science, first published in 1934.[2]Fodor was the London correspondent for the American Society for Psychical Research (1935-1939).[2]He worked as an editor for the Psychoanalytic Review and was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences.[2]

Fodor in the 1930s embraced paranormal phenomena but by the 1940s took a break from his previous work and advocated a psychoanalytic approach to psychic phenomena.[3][4] He published skeptical newspaper articles on mediumship, which caused an opposition from spiritualists.[5]

Among the subjects he closely studied was the case of Gef the talking mongoose.

Poltergeists

Fodor pioneered the theory that poltergeists are external manifestations of conflicts within the subconscious mind rather than autonomous entities with minds of their own. He proposed that poltergeist disturbances are caused by human agents suffering from some form of emotional stress or tension and compared reports of poltergeist activity to hysterical conversion symptoms resulting from emotional tension of the subject.[4]

In 1938, Fodor investigated the Thornton Heath poltergeist case that involved Mrs. Forbes. According to Rosemary Guiley “Fodor asserted that the psychosis was an episodic mental disturbance of schizophrenic character, and that Mrs. Forbes’ unconscious mind was responsible for the activities finally determined to be fraudulent. Fodor eventually identified the cause as sexual trauma that had occurred in Mrs. Forbes’s childhood, and had been repressed.”[6] Because he was skeptical of the case, Fodor was heavily criticized by spiritualists and was dismissed from his post at the International Institute for Psychical Research. The spiritualist Arthur Findlay, the founder of institute did not approve of his research and resigned. Fodor was attacked in the Spiritualist newspaper, Psychic News which he sued for libel.[6]

Fodor published two scientific papers on poltergeist phenomena, The Psychoanalytic Approach to the Problems of Occultism (1945) and The Poltergeist, Psychoanalyzed (1948). “The poltergeist is not a ghost. It is a bundle of projected repressions,” he stated. With the psychical researcher Hereward Carrington Fodor co-authored Haunted People: Story of the Poltergeist down the Centuries (1951), the book which received positive reviews.[7][8]

The psychologist Robert Baker and the skeptical investigator Joe Nickell wrote in most cases Fodor discovered that ghosts are “pure inventions of the hauntee’s subconscious” and praised Fodor’s book The Haunted Mind as vastly entertaining.[9] However, Fodor’s belief that some poltergeist phenomena could be explained by psychokinesis has drawn criticism. Henry Gordon has stated that parapsychologists such as Fodor and William G. Roll took a speculative approach to the poltergeist subject, ignoring the rational explanation of deception in favour for a belief in the paranormal.[10]

Leave a comment

DON’T NAIVELY INVITE EVIL IN

I just finished reading and responding to a personal, terrifying experience of a member of a website where people are encouraged to write-in their experiences with the unexplained.  While responding to his concerns, I was reminded of the countless naive people who unwittingly get themselves in-over-their-heads messing with occult tools such as Ouija Boards, hosting Tarot Readings, using Spirit Boxes, Seances, etc.

I was again reminded of the movie, “The Exorcist” a true story, that focuses on demon possession.  In real life, the child victim of demon possession was a boy, not a girl.  Two important factors that set him up for demon possession were that:

  1. He was not a Christian thus had no spiritual protection, and
  2. He had been using an Ouija Board which had invited an evil spirit into him.

When using any occult tool such as the Ouija Board, the user is opening a door (or portal, if you will) to spirits and evil spirits are extremely devious.  They will, for example, feign being the spirit of a loved one in order to gain access to the user.  My extensive research on this subject has revealed that this was the case of the child demon possession in the movie, “The Exorcist”.

____________________________

BELOW ARE SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THE POST TO WHICH I REFER:

This individual was filming orbs and was fascinated by images of animal orbs.  He’d found this to be an amazing experience until, with cameras rolling in his basement, he’d opened his basement door then closed it, when one of his cameras picked up an orb that went across a shelf then jumped down to the floor making a small bounce, and then compressed like an oblong shape before returning to it’s previous round shape.  He went on to write that while moving across the floor it had appeared to contain something within itself and short legs extending out of itself then had appeared to be running across the floor. This individual reviewed all the video and enlarged the orb checking each frame of video and had found that one frame had a non humanlike face with no lips or eyelids. It also appeared to contain two ears or horns. Needless to say, he became very concerned at this point as he observed that it was the image of a dogs head. He reported that, “This orb looked like it had weight when it ran across the floor.” The individual assumed that because it contained a dog, it was good, and not bad but felt confused and baffled.  Consequently, he proceeded to use an EMF producing box he had created.  But when the result of doing so was that the number of orbs then increased, he wondered whether he should unplug the box.

IN HIS NEXT ENTRY, HE DESCRIBED HAVING TO STOP:

It seems that this individual spoke to a minister and was referred to a website called gotquestions.org. where he would be able to obtain accurate information and answers to his questions.  The individual to whom I’ve been referring is a Christian, and ultimately determined that if Jesus is in one’s heart and soul, evil cannot bring one harm and reported that his original dust orbs now look like bubbles from the Lawrence Welk show. He now realizes that the box had powered them up but also attracted an evil spirit. He said many prayers and plans to return to church and stated that he doesn’t know what happens if you don’t know Jesus, and recommends praying that you still go to heaven.  He also advises that orbs are real, Satan is real. Don’t let him fool you. He also now highly recommends going to church!

MY RESPONSE TO THIS INDIVIDUAL:

First of all I want to say that you sound like a really good person whose curiosity brought on more than you had bargained for. I’m so glad that you are a Christian because God and Jesus are definitely your best protection. Something that I do to feel safe in my home, is to occasionally (many people do this regularly) light the tips of a small bundle of white sage; it will smoke a little and I walk throughout every room saying the words “Any spirit that means any harm to myself or my family, “LEAVE NOW!” This is called a “cleansing” and is Native American in origin. My house always feels calm and peaceful afterward. I also burn a Himalayan Salt Lamp in any rooms about which I am concerned. These clear and purify the air/environment – I burn them round the clock. Burning a white candle is also very helpful as well in purifying the environment but I wouldn’t leave a candle unattended.

Personally, I am Catholic, but most importantly I am a Christian. I have had a crucifix blest by a Catholic priest for every bedroom in my house, and I keep a bottle of holy water handy to sprinkle in any room that concerns me as I speak the words, “Dear God, wash this room in the blood of Jesus Christ and keep us safe from harm.” I only mention being Catholic because catholic priests do successfully perform exorcisms (though it is very difficult to find one who does.) They also will come to your home and bless your home. I do not fear evil, but I also do not do any kind of activity to potentially invite it in.  My concern in our home was due to a person having lived here at one time who was not a Christian and whose activities I had substantial reason to mistrust.

You have probably heard of the movie “The Exorcist” which is a true story. In real life however, the victim of possession was a young boy, not a young girl. This young boy had been using a Ouija Board and had unwittingly invited the evil spirit into him. There is a Canadian television program called “Ghostly Encounters”. I’ve viewed some of the shows which are true stories. One of the directors of the show is a minister. These shows are a real eye-opener for anyone who doubts the presence of evil in the world, and who believes they can mess with tools like The Tarot, Ouija Boards and any other device or activity that might innocently invite evil into their lives.  (Information about the tv program I just mentioned can be found at http://www.myviva.ca/ghostlyencounters.)

May God wash you and your family in the blood of Jesus Christ and keep you and your family safe from harm at all times.

(I then forwarded prayers for protection to him)

_________________________________

The above example is such a good one of the unexpected consequences that can result from becoming involved in any activity that has the potential to bring us harm.

(Copyright 2017 by Jeanie Cooke-Fredlund)

Leave a comment

MY FAMILY AND I LIVED IN A HAUNTED HOUSE

Our Haunted House

(Photo Credit: JC “Jeanie” Cooke-Fredlund, Author and Paranormal Researcher)

Years ago, back in 1973, to be exact, my childrens’ father and ex-husband and I decided to relocate back to our hometown of Mankato, MN.  We looked at several houses, but this one really caught my eye as well as my fascination with history.  It was a partially remodeled home that had been built in the late 1800s.  It is the house that I referred to in my Forever Nearby article titled, “We’re Definitely Not Alone.”

It was while residing in this house that my (then child, son) experienced the terrifying presence of Shadow People in his bedroom.)   Today, my son is an adult with a family of his own, yet he continues to attest to the fact that his experiences with “A Shadow Man” definitely occurred.  Of course, I didn’t take his reports seriously at the time, but I believe, in retrospect, that NOT coincidentally, my son’s then severe asthmatic problems all but completely dissipated once we left that house.  His experiences with the paranormal were not the only ones our family experienced during our five years living there.   It was our personal experiences that served to trigger my adult interest in the paranormal.

Yes, the house possessed plenty of old time charm, but I was happy to move out five years later.  I also believe that, (NOT coincidentally) no one has remained in the house longer than five years before or since!

The house to which I refer (pictured above) is located at 619 N. 4th St. in Mankato, MN, but is a private residence and so trespassers are not welcome.

(Copyright 2017 by JC “Jeanie” Cooke-Fredlund)

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Leave a comment

BIG BAY POINT LIGHTHOUSE in MICHIGAN

BIG BAY POINT LIGHTHOUSE in MICHIGAN

During 2008, we visited the Big Bay Point Lighthouse in Michigan. It is said to have a ghost that roams and the story of that haunting is below; from About.com.

I decided to go out around 5:00 a.m. and shoot the sunrise over the lake. I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched from behind me, so I took a couple of early morning shots while it was still somewhat dark. The orb seen in the yard behind me explained my eerie sensations:

“Location: On Lake Superior, Michigan
When built: 1896

Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast

Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast

The haunting: This stately brick lighthouse might be haunted by the ghost of H. William Prior, who was the facility’s first keeper. According to Big Bay Point Lighthouse History by Jeff and Linda Gamble, “Prior was despondent after the death of his son and on June 28th he disappeared into the woods with his gun and some strychnine. It was feared that he had gone off to kill himself, and a subsequent long search failed to find him. Mrs. Prior and her family left Big Bay on October 22, 1901 to live in Marquette. Over a year later, the following entry was made in the station log:”

Mr. Fred Babcock came to the station 12:30 pm. While hunting in the woods one and a half mile south of the station this noon he found a skeleton of a man hanging to a tree. We went to the place with him and found that the clothing and everything tally with the former keeper of this station who has been missing for seventeen months.

It’s said that the ghost of the red-haired Mr. Prior is occasionally seen on the property and may be responsible for the unexplained slamming of doors. Today, Big Bay Point Lighthouse is a bed and breakfast.” (About.com)

Leave a comment

SACHS COVERED BRIDGE at GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA USA

I have to admit that being a ghost hunter can be scary. Especially when hunting in an environment that has been well-documented as being haunted. Often times the best of these environments (eg. the most fertile for locating spirits) are areas where there have been one or more deaths. At Gettysburg there’s been thousands and thousands who’d tragically died there.

I’d wanted for years to tour Gettysburg so I contacted my old high school best friend who now resides in Pennsylvania. My husband and I wanted to tour Gettysburg, PA, and Kathy lives just twenty miles away from the battlefield there. Ralph wasn’t really interested in a paranormal investigation (he’s the more “level-headed” of the two of us, but I knew Kathy would be up for it.

Kathy and I met two paranormal investigators from the Mason-Dixon Paranormal Society at 9:30 p.m. in the town of Gettysburg. We then followed the two investigators in Kathy’s car, out to an area on the edge of the battlefield. Hundreds of thousands of men died in the area we were visiting during the Civil War. Many of them perished at the bridge site where we were headed.

DSCN1758

On this photo, my girlfriend is walking ahead of me onto the bridge. Notice the large white orb just above her head up ahead of her.

Approaching Sachs Bridge after dark.

Approaching Sachs Bridge after dark.

From the time we entered the bridge I experienced a ‘creeped-out’ sensation. We used some of the investigator’s tools in an attempt to communicate with any spirits near us. We experienced the flashlight going on and off as we asked the spirits there to do. It was eerie.

The most eerie part of the night for me were the numerous photos I shot in the completely black darkness. For completely black darkness is not what we saw on the photos we’d just shot!

DSCN1814 Only such thick, black darkness to the naked eye you could’ve cut it with a knife[/caption]

This is NOT what we saw as we looked out over the river . . . only pitch, black darkness . . . so thick that you could have cut it with a knife. Yet, the above picture is what the ominous night revealed to my Nikon Camera.

DSCN1761
“No orbs could be seen with the naked eye.”

But my camera revealed something in one of my hundreds of photographs I had not noticed until after we’d returned home. Something I found somewhat startling. If you look to the left of this photo, near the far end of the bridge, you will notice a large cloud of red mist covering a man’s head and a woman rushing to him from across the opposite side of the bridge. (I am hoping that you will be able to make it out as well as I could when I enlarged it.)

DSCN1822

I must admit that Sachs Bridge was an eerie place to tour, and I was relieved to return to Kathy’s home that night.

(Wikipedia reports the following: People have reported residual haunting in the form of battle amidst a mysterious, sudden fog near Sachs Covered Bridge.)

Copyright 2015 by JC “Jeanie” Cooke-Fredlund
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Leave a comment

HAUNTED SHELF ROAD, CRIPPLE CREEK, COLORADO USA

High up in the Rocky Mountains there sits a tiny mining town, known as Cripple Creek, Colorado. Just outside of Cripple Creek is a dirt trail known as “Shelf Road” (its set back a bit behind the town of Cripple Creek.)

Back in the gold rush days, this [so-called] road was a rocky, steep and narrow dirt trail that was traveled by hundreds upon hundreds of stage coaches and wagons. Those coaches and wagons were filled with countless folks hoping to fulfill their dreams of getting to the mine in Cripple Creek where they were determined to strike-it-rich.

My husband and I are history-buffs/adventurers and were incredibly excited to find this road/trail. Many hundreds of people died traveling this (and many other parts of the Rocky Mountains) as it has changed very little since that time [not much wider than a driveway].

It is still very steep, rocky and very treacherous. (Having traveled it ourselves, we don’t recommend that anyone try to drive it unless you have a four-wheel drive vehicle and not in the face of impending rainy or stormy weather due to the fact that the mountain canyons can (and do) fill with rushing flash flood waters in a matter of minutes.)

We’d driven a long way down Shelf Road and I had my truck window down so that I could touch the rocks just inches away from me. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, I could hear the laughter of two small children. Their laughter danced down over the rocks as if they were playing and giggling at the same time; enjoying themselves immensely not very far above us.

I strained my neck to gaze up toward the tops of the rocks – steep, vertical rocks that went straight-up at a ninety degree angle from the ground; enormous rocks that I could reach out our RAM truck window and touch (the trail is so narrow). But, low and behold, there was absolutely no one there! (There was no way anyone could’ve accessed the area above us without elaborate, professional rock climbing equipment – sheer limestone cliffs that both towered over one-hundred feet above us and that dropped over one-hundred feet beneath us greeting us in that and in many other spots!)

At first I thought it was just some traveler’s children, but then I realized that there was absolutely no one for miles and miles from where we were. Sometime later and while processing the strange occurrence we’d just experienced, I realized that the echoing sound of the children’s laughter, had embodied a haunted-sounding ring to it.

Shelf Road, Cripple Creek, Colorado

Shelf Road, Cripple Creek, Colorado

Shelf Rd, Cripple Creek, CO

Shelf Rd, Cripple Creek, CO

Shelf Road
Shelf Road in Cripple Creek

Shelf Road in Cripple Creek

Scary Shelf Road outside CC CO

Scary Shelf Road outside CC CO


The experience touched me deeply as I could hear the pure, elated joy in the children’s laughter yet realized that they had to have met with a tragic demise there more than a century ago; during the old gold rush frenzy that took so many innocent lives.

_________________________________

(Noteworthy: While driving deeper and deeper into the canyon, it was a bit cloudy and I kept experiencing this heavy foreboding feeling that it was going to flood-out – the way that mountain canyons sometimes do. One month later, a disastrous flood occurred in Colorado during which many people and animals lost their lives. In fact, we learned later that because it is such a deep canyon, many people choose not to travel Shelf Road at all.)


Copyright 2014-15 by JC Cooke-Fredlund, Author
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Leave a comment