The Warm Spirit

I wanted to share something that happened to me back a few years ago during the winter. It was one of my first nights in my dorm room at the University of Fairbanks, Alaska. I was informed that the frigid winds from the arctic north were even worse than usual, and the frigid arctic winds were blowing right against my dorm wall, so this night had indeed been very cold at -62 Fahrenheit (-53 degrees Celsius).

The room was freezing cold, I cranked up the heat but even at the maximum setting it did not seem to heat up the room The outer wall swapped the warm heat with its frigid grip of unwelcoming coldness.

As I huddled up under all the blankets, I finally dozed off into a slumber, only to wake up again about one hour later even more frozen than before. I turned over and again manged to doze off into my cold slumber.

Next, I do not know if I was dreaming or awake. I noticed someone walking over to the my bed. This someone crawled into the bed and normally, I would have rose up and gotten out of bed to see who it was and why this person was in my bed. For some unknown reason, I didn't do that. The heat of whoever's body warmed me up. and, allowed me to sleep.I snoozed into a comfortable sleep.  When I woke up I was fully rested still feeling warm and cozy. While the room itself was totally frigid with arctic coldness.

I got dressed and decided to tell one of my mates about the event. He informed me there had been the exact same thing happen to others in that very dorm room on several other occasions. They described the same event just as it happened that I just experienced. It seemed to happen on very cold nights, this friendly spirit would cuddel up with you and keep you warm while sleeping. I later learned that back some years ago, a girl in that very room froze to death. She apparently went to turn the heater up but turned it off by mistake, right before she fell asleep. I am told that her spirit comes on extra cold nights, and keeps whoever is in that room, warm and safe overnight.

The Invisible Goody Bag

Courtesy of wikimedia commons, "Pick´n´Mix" by Simon Brass in UK

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pick_n_Mix.jpg

This story was shared with us by Hans, he experienced this at his new home in Berlin, back in 2009.

I had just moved into my new place, as the landlord handed me the keys he told me they were the only pair and asked me if I could make some duplicates and give them to him because he was just so plain busy he didn't get a chance to do that himself.

Already the first night I noticed something was odd at the apartment, lights would turn on or off at no warning, things seemed to get misplaced in an instant. I would put something down, turn away and when I turned back just moments later the item would have disappeared only to be nearby in another place, I did not leave it at. After days of events like this I was actually starting to wonder if I had started go insane. I still had not made extra copies of the keys yet but, was planning to do so the very next day.

Then it happened, I  got home after a long and tiresome day, I just bought a big bag of picket mix candies and placed it on the middle of the living room table. when i got back from the bathroom the big was was gone. I looked everywhere for it, and it was no where to be found. then on the hour 7 days later it appeared again on the table, at this timeI just turned away to get something to drink and when I returned there was the missing big bag of candy,on the middle of the table, on the very spot I had placed it on one week earlier when it mysteriously disappeared. When I had copies of the keys made and brought them home,they also disappeared for a bit less then a week and then, were found again just where I put them down at. During my stay in the house. many things have simply disappeared only to be found later just where I would lay them down. 

I seriously wonder what was going on in that house and if anyone has any ideas what this could been I would love to hear your suggestions.

A Dream with The Dead Brother of My Boyfriend

 Illustration Dream Woods, 2007 by TJ

Dear Paranormal Corner, the story "Talking With a Dead Friend" reminded me of an experience I had 40 years ago when I was 17. 

I had met a guy and began to date him one month after his older brother had committed suicide. I had NEVER met him. A week after we started to see each other I laid down for an afternoon nap. During my nap I dreamt I was walking home from high school, when from across the street I saw a scruffy long haired man dressed in this funky green, itchy looking sweater. 

This guy walked right up too me,looked at me directly in the eyes and said "Your going to be with my brother for many years, you are too care for him, he needs you now." I didn't know this guy and said "Okay?" With that he walked away! I stood there thinking how weird was that? Then I awoke, still really puzzled! 

A few days after that my new BF took me to meet his sister. She brought out a family photo album and showed it too me to get familiar with the family. As I flipped through the pages, I saw a photo of the man in my dream, dressed in that funky sweater!!!

I asked" is this a photo of Steve? Jude said "Yes Jana, how did you know, I thought you'd never met him?" I then told her my dream and she said "Oh,I believe you. Steve also visited me in a dream, in mine I was in an old house I used to live in where Steve would visit.

Many times we would discuss suicide." In my dream,the doorbell rang and it was Steve, I was cleaning and saw him at the door, when we hugged, I suddenly remembered he had died! I asked him what it was like to die? (Steve jumped from our famous Aurora Bridge and died from a burst aorta). Steve replied" It was quite a shock at first, especially when I realized I wasn't dead! I was shown Jude that it's just wrong to kill yourself and they let me come too tell you that and that I'm okay but now must come back to finish my mission on Earth. 

Then Jude woke up. That boyfriend and I ended up staying together until we were 30 years old and I could no longer help him. I know I spoke to a dead man and he told me the truth. Mahalo, Jana

The Countess and Old Billy In The Bull

Illustration "Black Angus steer standing in pasture" a photo by Larry Rana 

Courtesy of Wikimedia commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angus_cattle_24.jpg?uselang=nb

This story is of a more explicit nature than usual for our Paranormal Corner Blog. We therefore warn that some might find the aroused descriptions offensive. This story was shared with us by Brigitte and Nils in Moorhead, Minnesota.

This happened back a few years ago while we still had a small diary farm, one of our neighbors, Old Billy used to come over quite frequently sometimes just to talk the latest gossip especially to visit Brigitte which he referred to as "The Countess" and other times to be social with the farm animals. One of our young black Angus bulls, Markos especially bonded with Old Billy with a mutual respect and reverence between the two.

Now Old Billy had always been quite a ladies man, and he was well known for his conquests and charm back from his more youthful years, and now still in his advanced age he still pursued the females he fancied, among his favorites were "The Countess". Old Billy would spend hours a day watching as Brigitte worked with the animals, both admiring the bond of the farmers and the animals themselves.

Then in the spring Old Billy had a hearth-attack and passed away. All were as normal at the farm, until about one week after Billy´s funeral, suddenly the one bull Markos, that was the favorite of Old Billy started to act strangely. He did not seem quite like himself at all, at first Brigitte and Nils ignored his tantrums, and they knew there was no cow in heat at that time. Then Nils noticed that their one and a half year old prized black Angus bull, Markos, was responding to Brigitte while she was working with one of the cows across from Markos The Bull, when she would bend over to clean the cows utter, her butt faced the bull and he would get all aroused, breathing heavily, pacing in his stall and show every bit of the response one would expect of a bull when he senses the pheromones of a cow in heat. 

When Nils made Brigitte aware that the bull was responding to her she could not believe him in their 25 years of farming they had never seen a single bull act like this before, and on top of that this new behavior was so out of character for this quiet kind and docile bull which now acted aroused watching Brigitte work. She continued working thinking it would pass, but it did not pass, days went by with the bull behaving this way every day. After double checking to see if any of the cows could be in heat Nils and Brigitte confirmed there was no cows in heat and if so the other bulls would have responded to.

  Brigitte grew tired of this and figured now, if the bull is truly responding to her as if she is a cow in heat just from observing her working, she decided to see how he respond to a less discreet behavior, she walked over to the bull and flashed her breasts at him, the bull went totally bananas , tongue out, breathing heavily, moaning, groaning and fully exposed himself at the sight of Brigitte. Brigitte tried the same with the other bulls but they hardly even gave her a glance, and continued their usual grazing while the Markos became more and more agitated. Brigitte continued like this for a while until Nils had to tell her to stop, since he was getting concerned the Bull would hurt himself in his bound up but more than ever before aroused stage, that he had ever observed in any bulls.

Then all of the sudden it struck Brigitte, this is Old Billy and I am "The Countess",  he came back and is now inside Markos The Bull, She walked calmly over and said, "Old Billy I know it is you!" Please stop this behavior. The bull looked her deep in the eyes, and all of a sudden it was like the face of the bull changed, he looked down and whatever that had possessed him was now gone and he turned into a everyday run of the mill ordinary bull. In just one instant this day of constantly aroused behavior whenever Birgitte was inside working now turned normal, she even tried flashing her breasts and mooning herself and the bull no longer responded any different than any of the other bulls would. 

Old Billy never again took hold of any of the Bulls after he was exposed. Brigitte and Nils still to this day remembers this truly strange experience and they believe it was Old Billy which at that point had not quite let go of his worldly desire for "The Countess" Brigitte.

The Coffee Drinking Ghost

 "Making of espresso coffee" A photo By Fretti in 2008

courtesy of wikimedia commons

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Making_of_espresso_coffee.jpg

One morning while sleeping at my parents house I woke up about 7:45am from the sound of activity outside of my bedroom door, I got up and started working upstairs in the house checking my e-mail and other regular chores.

Downstairs I could clearly hear what I thought were my parents walking around preparing coffee, walking up and down the stairs and using the door down to the basement, by 8:15am I was totally sure they had just gotten up early and were preparing the morning as I could clearly hear and smell the fresh brewing coffee in the downstairs coffee maker, I still had more to do on the computer so I decided to not bother them in the bustling downstairs chores, with contious sounds of energic cheerful work.

It came as a great suprice to me when I at 8:55am I could hear my parents waking up talking in the bedroom and soon after emerged to head downstairs and start making breakfast brew coffee and so on. I was totally stunned to find out for one full hour what I had heard and even smelled was of spiritual  nature and not my parents. 

This used to be the family house of my step-father and unknown to me until then they knew their parents were still walking the house they built and lived in all of their long lives.

A Christmas Miracle by Rev. Alaina Damewood

"A Winters Day" by FaceMePLS 

from The Hague, The Netherlands 

 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Winters_Day.jpg?uselang=nb

It started out a cold winter day in 1991 after several months of soldiers coming home from war. Some of the families affected by loved ones who had died in a local area gathers for a prayer remembrance service at a local courthouse, and then planned to go to the town’s graveyard in Lewisburg, WV, remembrance service to honor other fallen soldiers of the civil war wattle that had taken place in town. The townsfolk and the civil war re-enactors headed over to the death angel statue, located at the center of the grave yard.

They started to say a prayer for remembrance of the fallen soldiers when someone heard a laughing, as if a little girl was playing in the graveyard, and thinking it was one of the children of a family that came today, he stopped service to just to tell the group to keep the small children quiet during service. 

The group looked at the service leader as if he were crazy, for there were no children in the graveyard. The service leader thought it strange and kept wondering to himself if he just heard the girl who died in the school bus crash, or if was even the Angel of Death, laughing and giggling at him and everyone else in the graveyard. 

After giving the prayer and the group leaving, he went to the grave of the little girl and the death angel and left a giant jaw breaker. Since he would be going through town tomorrow, he decided he would check on the candy. So he returned. Once again, he heard the little girl laughing and giggling at him.

“Is anyone there?” He asked as he walked up to her grave. To his surprise, the candy was gone, and in the snow by the gravestone on top of the grave “thank you” with a smiley face. He checked on the death angel’s grave next to find the candy gone. He thought to himself, “Well, small miracles take place when you least think of them happening. So I made their Christmas day.” 

The next day, he went over to the local caretaker of the graveyard and asked him if he had heard the voice of the little girl or the death angel before, and why it was called the “death angel”. “Yes,” the man replied. “There are two girls graves in the graveyard. One is the death angel, who when someone kisses it they die. The other is the little girl over there who died in the bus crash. Why do you ask?” 

The service leader replied, “did you go by either of their graves yesterday morning and remove some candy I left at their graves or write anything on near the little girl’s grave?” The caretaker smiled. “Oh, they are playing again with people. No, I did not write anything. So you’re the one who made their Christmas morning. I could hear them playing and laughing as if someone made them happy.” 

The service leader thought to himself, “ A true Christmas miracle it must have been.”

The Spring Festivals of Imbolc

This entry is from Jose Prado, thank you Jose for another most interesting entry in the Paranormal Corner. Note even though this entry contains instruction for a spell The Paranormal Corner do not endorse uses of spells and are hear by not responsible for any effects or use of the instructions in this entry.

The ancient Celts (peoples of Scotland, Ireland, and even some parts of England and the Iberian Peninsula) believed the year and seasons (like all things) existed as a Circle. A Cycle of life and death with no end similar to to the Gnostic concept of the Ouroboros, the serpent who devours his own tail. The Celtic wheel of the year is symbolized by the eight armed sun cross, a symbol sacred to many cultures from Native Americans, Norse peoples, to Gypsies. In fact the Gypsy flag is an eight armed carriage wheel representing their caravans from times past when they (as well as other mystic nomads like the Irish Tinkers) used them for travel.

Currently we fall under Imbolc, the Celtic spring festival. Now, the day changes by year based on atmospheric conditions, but many modern Pagans who do not have time (or in my case, lack the skill) to determine the proper conditions for when to celebrate this feast choose the designated St. Brighid's day (February 1st). St. Brighid is the Christian name of the Goddess who's original names some say were Brigantia (the most high) and Briganti, an ancient Goddess worshipped by the Celts and Gauls (ancient French peoples) and eventually adopted by the Romans.

The word Imbolc is old Gaelic for "in the belly" the season when various animals including the Ewes became Pregnant. In our Cosmology, this is because the Horned Lord (the God force, creator of all) and his wife the Radient Lady (The Goddess, Creatrix of all) mate and upon Imbolc gives birth to Spring. Similar to the idea of the New Year being symbolized by a new born baby. This is where it comes from. Many have tried to synchronize the Horned Lord with Kerrunos or Pan, the Radiant One with Persephone or Brighid but in reality we don't know much about them.

Though future advances in Archaeology and Anthropology could yield fruit in the days to come. And if that fails we have no shortage of Re- constructionists who zealously attempt the recreation of the Old Religion. While Imbolc is popular among Celtic oriented Pagans, one can find various Spring holidays dedicated to many Deities other than Brighid.

The Norse Goddess, Idun and the Greco-Roman Goddess Persephone. Not to mention (we must not leave out) the male aspect to the season such as the Kemetan (ancient Egyptian) God Khepri who brings about renewal and rebirth , or Leshi the Slavic God of nature from the Ukraine. The Eastern European version of the Green Man. One needs both the male and female aspects of nature to understand and correctly channel the energies of this day.

This is also the time to say farewell to the dead as Samhain (sow-en) and Yule (the Winter Solstice) are now over and it is time for the dead to rest and return to their own realm for us to move on with our lives. It is because off this, that doing a little spiritual spring cleaning (as well as the physical variety) is in order. Remove all you find that you do not use and has no sentimental value to you. Which includes former ways of thinking and old energies you no longer need.

This is where spring cleaning comes from. So get out a trash bag and be sure to throw out anything that can not be used or recycled or donate it to charity. By doing so you are clearing yourself of old, unwanted energy. Just be sure to ring a bell nine times over it or pass it through incense smoke (if it's cloths, wash it) to loose the old energy up and make it nice and clean before giving it to someone else. You do not want to give someone bad or stale energy.

Once you've done that now is the time to clean your home which includes moping and sweeping the floors. In magical tradition, Pagans would use enchanted besom brooms and use them to clear out negative forces. The fact that they were once made with stalks of Lithe only made them stronger. After sweeping the negativity out of your home it's time to mop the floors with a consecrated liquid. In Hoodoo (the folk magick of Voodoo) we use a variety of different potions or plant extracts. The most used is called Chinese Floor Wash and will cleanse and bless the area. Another option is holy water mixed with sea salt, lavender, and white flower petals.

Then to purify the air one must light either a stick of Uncrossing incense or Frankincense-Myrrh to banish the old energy and bring in good energy. Now you are ready to perform your ritual for Spring. The following ritual can be applied to any religion. Mine (since I am Gnostic) combines Celtic religion with Vodoun religion. I see all faiths as one so I don't need some fanatic coming in to annoy me with their Gospel of what they were raised or taught to believe 'genuine' Celtic or Vodoun practices are. This also contains Witchcraft so you will be practicing magick from both religions.

If you are a male, use only female Deities because as a man one have the energy of Gods inside. But women doing this should only call on Gods since they have Goddess energy in them. You can either call on the Cailleach Bheur (old blue lady) or Maman Brigitte to send away the old energy. The Cailleach is the old Crone Goddess of Europe, Maman Brigette is the Goddess of Healing and Death. Wife of the Cemetery God, Baron Samedi (or Ghede). You can also either call on Brighid or Asherah (the Canaanite nature Goddess, feminine aspect of God) or whoever you like to work with in general.

Ingredients : Mortar & Pestle, Crossroads dirt, a white votive candle, Frankincense-Myrrh for the Cailleach and Rose scented incense for Brighid on a white oil burner.

Instructions : Write down what you want to manifest on a piece of paper and with Brighid's candle burn it and send it to the Universe to manifest. Ask the Cailleach Bheur to remove the old, unneeded things from your life while Brighid brings in the new.

Place Crossroads dirt in a Mortar to banish it. The Mortar will represent the womb of the Goddess and the Pestle laid across it the God, to seal it all away.The Crossroads dirt acts as a gateway to banish the old and seal the door closed (based on intent) so that nothing comes back, while the white candle ushers in the positive energy of that which is new to fill in the void.

An easier, less ceremonial way would be to write a letter to the Universe asking what you want it to manifest and what you want it to get rid of and burn it on midnight before Imbolc or at 1:11 am (111 in numerology carries the power to manifest). Plus the Archangel Metatron rules over Thursday and holds the power to manifest thoughts into reality so you can go ahead and ask him in prayer to help you out with this.

Have fun and although this is solitary ritual, you can easily use it for a larger gathering of Witches or even just to be with friends or make merry.

Enjoy.