Let's do a little "getting to know you" post, shall we? I want to know more about the readers/followers that I have here. I'm always telling you all things about myself. Now, it's YOUR turn! (=
**Copy and paste the questions in to the COMMENTS area and answer them.**
1. Do you believe in ghosts, aliens, or mythical creatures?
2. Have you ever had an experience with of a spiritual nature?
3. Do you currently live in a haunted home, or have you done so in the past?
4. What are some of your more favorite ghostly legends/stories?
5. Have your kids claimed to hear or see something that they cannot easily explain away?
6. What do you think of Chip Coffey, Sylvia Browne, James van Praagh, or John Edwards?
7. What topics would you be interested to read about here at ParanorMel?
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A1) I believe in ghosts for certain. But will not discount the existence of aliens or paranormal creatures.
A2) I've had many run-ins with ghostly activity. I've blogged about it here and there on this page. And will continue to do so in the future as it happens or I recount past experiences.
A3)Yes, my home in my firm belief is haunted by at least three spirits. One being a cat that is a replica of my (living) cat, Shadow. And I have lived in at least one other (highly) haunted residence.
A4) For one, the legend of Resurrection Mary. And the Ammityville home case. The story of the Headless Horseman always gets me.
A5) Indeed at least two of my three children have claimed hearing sounds, seeing fleeting images and feeling cold spots that were all unexplainable to obvious logic. Even my six-year-old has claimed to play with someone that I cannot see.
A6) I believe in Chip Coffey. Otherwise, the others listed, I wouldn't give the time of day to. Chip is genuine. And he doesn't set out to "read minds" like the others do. He stays more with conveying messages of those who've departed this world. And he actually HELPS others with his gifts..Mainly kids that are struggling with their psychic abilities.
A7) I cannot answer from the topics point of the question. But I will say that I hope to see more activity within the posting's comment areas. I love interacting with my readers. I love knowing what they too think, feel and how they view the world around them.
If you steal from me, I will HAUNT you down!
What is written in this blog, is of the author's own originality. It is the sole views, thoughts, and stories of this blog's author.
Showing posts with label creatures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creatures. Show all posts
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Vampirism
The following is provided by... Wikipedia.
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures and in spite of speculation by literary historian Brian Frost that the "belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself", and may go back to "prehistoric times", the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism.
While even folkloric vampires of the Balkans and Eastern Europe had a wide range of appearance ranging from nearly human to bloated rotting corpses, it was the success of John Polidori's 1819 novella The Vampyre that established the archetype of charismatic and sophisticated vampire; it is arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century, inspiring such works as Varney the Vampire and eventually Dracula.
However, it is Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula that is remembered as the quintessential vampire novel and which provided the basis of modern vampire fiction. Dracula drew on earlier mythologies of werewolves and similar legendary demons and "was to voice the anxieties of an age", and the "fears of late Victorian patriarchy". The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre, still popular in the 21st century, with books, films, video games, and television shows. The vampire is such a dominant figure in the horror genre that literary historian Susan Sellers places the current vampire myth in the "comparative safety of nightmare fantasy".
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Personally, I have always been fascinated by the subject of Vampirism. There is something truly magical and tantalizing about the possibility of ever-lasting immortality, such as is portrayed by Bram Stoker's novel.
But also, let's not forget where Mr. Stoker had originated his idea of a "walking dead guy" that had the need to feed off of the blood of the living...
And that would be in regards to Vlad The Impaler (Vlad's Story). He was a ruthless, dark, murderous ruler who had those he had captured staked *ALIVE* and then captured their blood in a cup and drank of it. Hence the true origin of Stoker's 'Dracula' character.
Although Vlad The Impaler dies, his alter ego, Dracula lives on in novels, movies, cartoons and even in CEREAL (Count Chocula).
Mr. Bram Stoker, author of "Dracula" (1897)
One of the most modern Television shows of my generation, "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" (based off of movie of the same name, featuring Kristy Swanson)
The most infamous "Dracula" portrayal of all time.. Bella Lugosi.
Vlad The Impaler, original ideal for Stoker's novel.
Depiction of impaling prisoners of Vlad's. As you can see, Vlad would DINE at the impalings of his victims and drink of their blood that is collected.
Personally, I have never tried this cereal. Surprising, I know (lol)! But maybe one day I will. After all, I would kill for chocolate. (=
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures and in spite of speculation by literary historian Brian Frost that the "belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself", and may go back to "prehistoric times", the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism.
While even folkloric vampires of the Balkans and Eastern Europe had a wide range of appearance ranging from nearly human to bloated rotting corpses, it was the success of John Polidori's 1819 novella The Vampyre that established the archetype of charismatic and sophisticated vampire; it is arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century, inspiring such works as Varney the Vampire and eventually Dracula.
However, it is Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula that is remembered as the quintessential vampire novel and which provided the basis of modern vampire fiction. Dracula drew on earlier mythologies of werewolves and similar legendary demons and "was to voice the anxieties of an age", and the "fears of late Victorian patriarchy". The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre, still popular in the 21st century, with books, films, video games, and television shows. The vampire is such a dominant figure in the horror genre that literary historian Susan Sellers places the current vampire myth in the "comparative safety of nightmare fantasy".
*****************************************
Personally, I have always been fascinated by the subject of Vampirism. There is something truly magical and tantalizing about the possibility of ever-lasting immortality, such as is portrayed by Bram Stoker's novel.
But also, let's not forget where Mr. Stoker had originated his idea of a "walking dead guy" that had the need to feed off of the blood of the living...
And that would be in regards to Vlad The Impaler (Vlad's Story). He was a ruthless, dark, murderous ruler who had those he had captured staked *ALIVE* and then captured their blood in a cup and drank of it. Hence the true origin of Stoker's 'Dracula' character.
Although Vlad The Impaler dies, his alter ego, Dracula lives on in novels, movies, cartoons and even in CEREAL (Count Chocula).
Depiction of impaling prisoners of Vlad's. As you can see, Vlad would DINE at the impalings of his victims and drink of their blood that is collected.
Personally, I have never tried this cereal. Surprising, I know (lol)! But maybe one day I will. After all, I would kill for chocolate. (=
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year BLOG HOP/LINK UP Weekend! Come & add YOUR Paranormal blog.
Happy New Years to all my readers. And also, welcome to our NEWEST followers here at ParanorMel. Thanks for joining the page.
To kick off the New Year, I thought I would supply a Blog Linking Tool. Please feel free to add YOUR *paranormal* blog to my listing. I will also add it to my page of fellow Paranormal Bloggers list.
But also check out For The Love Of Blogs as well after you leave my place! They are a GREAT community for Blog readers and writers alike.
If you don't write a blog regarding the Paranormal, but know those that do, please by all means, bring them over here and let them add their link to the Blog Hop.
Below I will be placing a LINKY TOOL for others that write about the Paranormal *ONLY*, as to gain exposure, readers/followers and to add to our reading lists.
As long as it is Paranormal in nature, you can add your link to the link up tool (below).
If I see a NON-Paranormal blog linked up, it will be DELETED from the blog roll. Only PARANORMAL blogs are permitted for this blog linking.
To kick off the New Year, I thought I would supply a Blog Linking Tool. Please feel free to add YOUR *paranormal* blog to my listing. I will also add it to my page of fellow Paranormal Bloggers list.
But also check out For The Love Of Blogs as well after you leave my place! They are a GREAT community for Blog readers and writers alike.
If you don't write a blog regarding the Paranormal, but know those that do, please by all means, bring them over here and let them add their link to the Blog Hop.
Below I will be placing a LINKY TOOL for others that write about the Paranormal *ONLY*, as to gain exposure, readers/followers and to add to our reading lists.
As long as it is Paranormal in nature, you can add your link to the link up tool (below).
If I see a NON-Paranormal blog linked up, it will be DELETED from the blog roll. Only PARANORMAL blogs are permitted for this blog linking.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Reader Request... The Blair Witch
The following delves in to two different categories of the paranormal. One of course being of a haunting/ghostly type nature. The other being of Black Magic and Witchery.
Most of my generation has at least heard of, if not have actually watched a movie from 1999 called "The Blair Witch Project", where three students make a fake documentary about the Blair Witch of Blair, Maryland.
According to legend, this ghostly 'witch', who's real name was Elly Kedward, was pegged to be a witch who had cast evil spells amongst the townspeople of the 1780's.
Elly was found guilty and was banned to the deep forest in the middle of winter. About a year later, many children just simply went missing. Of course, the witch, Elly Kedward was the first suspect.
The following are some excerpts from "The Blair Witch - The Facts"...
"In the 1820s, the abandoned property of Blair, MD was brought to the attention of a man by the name of Burkitt. He purchased the property from the government, renovated the abandoned buildings, and rechristened the town after himself. Burkittsville was founded in 1824, and still stands in Maryland today.
Just four years after the founding of Burkittsville, there was an incident involving a young child named Eileen Traecle. This small child was wading in a very shallow stream. Allegedly, before the eyes of at least a dozen eyewitnesses, a ghostly white hand reached up from underneath the water and pulled Eileen Traecle into it. The water was reportedly less than a foot deep, yet the body of the little girl was never found. For weeks afterward, several wooden stick figures mysteriously appeared in the creek bed, and the water itself became oily and contaminated for several months...."
"...However, after the little girl returned alone, the search party that had gone out after her had not returned. So a second search party was organized to find them. Their search ended at Coffin Rock, near the creek where Eileen Traecle had met her death less than fifty years before.
The second search party claimed they found the first search party stripped of all their clothes and belongings, and their bodies were tied to Coffin Rock. Their intestines had been removed and their reproductive organs had been mutiliated. On their chests, hands, feet, and foreheads, strange cryptic symbols had been painstakingly carved into their skin...."
"...Outside the shack and a small distance away they found seven graves marked with piles of stones. When the graves were dug up, the children's bodies were recovered. Their bodies had been treated in much the same way as the accounts of the victims at Coffin Rock. Symbols had been cut into their faces, chests, hands and feet. They had been disembowled...."
"...Rustin Parr, it was reported, admitted to the murders, saying the voice of an old woman told him to do these horrible deeds. After the seventh death, the old woman's voice told him he was finally free. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and his house was burned to the ground...."
To read all of the article in it's entirety, please scroll back up and click on the provided (highlighted) link from which these excerpts were obtained. The Blair Witch is an intriguing legend, to say the least. Some people still go to Coffin Rock and step inside the cave.
Those that dare to tread within, both during the daylight hours, as well as in the still of the night, claim to at times hear odd noises no sooner that they set foot on the grounds at the mouth of Coffin Rock. Some even tell of hearing an elderly woman's disembodied voice come from the depths of the seemingly endless cave dwellings. Sometimes, even a manic chuckling or all-out maniacal laughter.
This legend, and it's legendary namesake is of a story where you, the reader must decide for yourself. Is this a tale of a woman of the 1780's done wrong, and wrongly accused, as was the case back in the period of witchcraft, only to pay for the town's mistake and bring forth her wrath to following generations for eternity to come? Did a man claim insanity and admit to murders that he himself committed, only to blame it on a dark fairytale?
Or is The Blair Witch legend just that, a legend? Maybe it is a story to tell around the campfire and make all the children run to their tents and hide in fear of the possibility of something coming to get them?
Only Elly Kedward and Rustin Parr know the REAL truth behind whatever fiction lies behind the story.
Most of my generation has at least heard of, if not have actually watched a movie from 1999 called "The Blair Witch Project", where three students make a fake documentary about the Blair Witch of Blair, Maryland.
According to legend, this ghostly 'witch', who's real name was Elly Kedward, was pegged to be a witch who had cast evil spells amongst the townspeople of the 1780's.
Elly was found guilty and was banned to the deep forest in the middle of winter. About a year later, many children just simply went missing. Of course, the witch, Elly Kedward was the first suspect.
The following are some excerpts from "The Blair Witch - The Facts"...
"In the 1820s, the abandoned property of Blair, MD was brought to the attention of a man by the name of Burkitt. He purchased the property from the government, renovated the abandoned buildings, and rechristened the town after himself. Burkittsville was founded in 1824, and still stands in Maryland today.
Just four years after the founding of Burkittsville, there was an incident involving a young child named Eileen Traecle. This small child was wading in a very shallow stream. Allegedly, before the eyes of at least a dozen eyewitnesses, a ghostly white hand reached up from underneath the water and pulled Eileen Traecle into it. The water was reportedly less than a foot deep, yet the body of the little girl was never found. For weeks afterward, several wooden stick figures mysteriously appeared in the creek bed, and the water itself became oily and contaminated for several months...."
"...However, after the little girl returned alone, the search party that had gone out after her had not returned. So a second search party was organized to find them. Their search ended at Coffin Rock, near the creek where Eileen Traecle had met her death less than fifty years before.
The second search party claimed they found the first search party stripped of all their clothes and belongings, and their bodies were tied to Coffin Rock. Their intestines had been removed and their reproductive organs had been mutiliated. On their chests, hands, feet, and foreheads, strange cryptic symbols had been painstakingly carved into their skin...."
"...Outside the shack and a small distance away they found seven graves marked with piles of stones. When the graves were dug up, the children's bodies were recovered. Their bodies had been treated in much the same way as the accounts of the victims at Coffin Rock. Symbols had been cut into their faces, chests, hands and feet. They had been disembowled...."
"...Rustin Parr, it was reported, admitted to the murders, saying the voice of an old woman told him to do these horrible deeds. After the seventh death, the old woman's voice told him he was finally free. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and his house was burned to the ground...."
To read all of the article in it's entirety, please scroll back up and click on the provided (highlighted) link from which these excerpts were obtained. The Blair Witch is an intriguing legend, to say the least. Some people still go to Coffin Rock and step inside the cave.
Those that dare to tread within, both during the daylight hours, as well as in the still of the night, claim to at times hear odd noises no sooner that they set foot on the grounds at the mouth of Coffin Rock. Some even tell of hearing an elderly woman's disembodied voice come from the depths of the seemingly endless cave dwellings. Sometimes, even a manic chuckling or all-out maniacal laughter.
This legend, and it's legendary namesake is of a story where you, the reader must decide for yourself. Is this a tale of a woman of the 1780's done wrong, and wrongly accused, as was the case back in the period of witchcraft, only to pay for the town's mistake and bring forth her wrath to following generations for eternity to come? Did a man claim insanity and admit to murders that he himself committed, only to blame it on a dark fairytale?
Or is The Blair Witch legend just that, a legend? Maybe it is a story to tell around the campfire and make all the children run to their tents and hide in fear of the possibility of something coming to get them?
Only Elly Kedward and Rustin Parr know the REAL truth behind whatever fiction lies behind the story.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Reader Request... The Wendigo
I'm glad my friend, Miriam over on FaceBook brought this topic to light. Seeing as I have never myself heard of this mythical creature before. And he doesn't look like the friendly type, either.
According to Wikipedia, the following is said about this strange monstrous-looking creature...
"The Wendigo (also known as Windigo, Weendigo, Windago, Windiga, Witiko, Wihtikow, and numerous other variants) is a mythical creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. It is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice as taboo.
Wendigo psychosis is a culture-bound disorder which involves an intense craving for human flesh and the fear that one will turn into a cannibal. This once occurred frequently among Algonquian Native cultures, though has declined with the Native American urbanization.
Recently the Wendigo has also become a horror entity of contemporary literature and film, much like the vampire, werewolf, or zombie, although these fictional depictions often bear little resemblance to the original entity.
All cultures in which the Wendigo myth appeared shared the belief that human beings could turn into Wendigos if they ever resorted to cannibalism or, alternately, become possessed by the demonic spirit of a Wendigo, often in a dream. Once transformed, a person would become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh. The most frequent cause of transformation into a Wendigo was if a person had resorted to cannibalism, consuming the body of another human in order to keep from starving to death during a time of extreme hardship or famine.
The term "Wendigo psychosis" (also spelled many other ways, including "Windigo psychosis" and "Witiko psychosis") refers to a condition in which sufferers developed an insatiable desire to eat human flesh even when other food sources were readily available,[15] often as a result of prior famine cannibalism."
Now one of the most famous (or shall I say 'infamous'?) forms of United States-based cannibalism came in the form of the Donner Party and their failed expedition. They had set out towards California, through the Truckee, Nevada (there is a California and a Nevada side of Truckee) area of the mountainous regions of the Sierras.
As they headed out in to the wilderness, to find their pot of gold (as did many upon many had done in those days during the Gold Rush, in the mid 1800's, the group had come across a violent winter storm during the white-out conditions of the 1846-1847 Winter Blizzard.
Eventually, with their being trapped in the Sierra Nevada terrain within the deathly condition, surely, they were in big trouble. When there is snow in the Sierras, you can get several feet. Some top at twenty-five. Some even higher. And the Donner Party's food could only last and be rationed for so long. Soon, they were going to have to resort to other means to keep alive. In fact, much soon than they had hoped for.
Eventually, they had to kill off the horses and feed off of them. Any parts that were edible..were eaten. Then, once the horses were picked apart, there was no other real alternative left. They, instead of burying the dead below the deep snow as a final resting place, preserved them in the snow and ate off of their deceased members. Men, women and children alike. They did what they could to survive the extremely harsh conditions.
Would you say that the Donner Party had succumbed to "Wendigo psychosis"? It's very possible. Or did they do it as a way to survive and live to at least see one more day?
Weather these people continued on their flesh-eating ways is of no known knowledge. I say personally, most likely not. Seeing as it was their way of staying fit for survival within the harsh elements. Not some insatiable appetite for human flesh.
According to Wikipedia, the following is said about this strange monstrous-looking creature...
"The Wendigo (also known as Windigo, Weendigo, Windago, Windiga, Witiko, Wihtikow, and numerous other variants) is a mythical creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. It is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice as taboo.
Wendigo psychosis is a culture-bound disorder which involves an intense craving for human flesh and the fear that one will turn into a cannibal. This once occurred frequently among Algonquian Native cultures, though has declined with the Native American urbanization.
Recently the Wendigo has also become a horror entity of contemporary literature and film, much like the vampire, werewolf, or zombie, although these fictional depictions often bear little resemblance to the original entity.
All cultures in which the Wendigo myth appeared shared the belief that human beings could turn into Wendigos if they ever resorted to cannibalism or, alternately, become possessed by the demonic spirit of a Wendigo, often in a dream. Once transformed, a person would become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh. The most frequent cause of transformation into a Wendigo was if a person had resorted to cannibalism, consuming the body of another human in order to keep from starving to death during a time of extreme hardship or famine.
The term "Wendigo psychosis" (also spelled many other ways, including "Windigo psychosis" and "Witiko psychosis") refers to a condition in which sufferers developed an insatiable desire to eat human flesh even when other food sources were readily available,[15] often as a result of prior famine cannibalism."
Now one of the most famous (or shall I say 'infamous'?) forms of United States-based cannibalism came in the form of the Donner Party and their failed expedition. They had set out towards California, through the Truckee, Nevada (there is a California and a Nevada side of Truckee) area of the mountainous regions of the Sierras.
As they headed out in to the wilderness, to find their pot of gold (as did many upon many had done in those days during the Gold Rush, in the mid 1800's, the group had come across a violent winter storm during the white-out conditions of the 1846-1847 Winter Blizzard.
Eventually, with their being trapped in the Sierra Nevada terrain within the deathly condition, surely, they were in big trouble. When there is snow in the Sierras, you can get several feet. Some top at twenty-five. Some even higher. And the Donner Party's food could only last and be rationed for so long. Soon, they were going to have to resort to other means to keep alive. In fact, much soon than they had hoped for.
Eventually, they had to kill off the horses and feed off of them. Any parts that were edible..were eaten. Then, once the horses were picked apart, there was no other real alternative left. They, instead of burying the dead below the deep snow as a final resting place, preserved them in the snow and ate off of their deceased members. Men, women and children alike. They did what they could to survive the extremely harsh conditions.
Would you say that the Donner Party had succumbed to "Wendigo psychosis"? It's very possible. Or did they do it as a way to survive and live to at least see one more day?
Weather these people continued on their flesh-eating ways is of no known knowledge. I say personally, most likely not. Seeing as it was their way of staying fit for survival within the harsh elements. Not some insatiable appetite for human flesh.
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