Hall of Records is reportedly a library buried under the Great Sphinx of Giza, which is in the Giza pyramid complex.It is rumoured to house the knowledge of the Egyptians by papyrus scrolls , much as the Great Library of Alexandria housed Grecian knowledge.There is debate as to whether the Hall actually exists or not, but all excavation in the area has so far yielded no conclusive results.Though repeatedly denied by mainstream Egyptologists, the mythology of the Hall of Records is a popular one among those who hold alternative theories of Ancient Egypt while conducting scientific inquiry in the mysteries of that time. The sources on which this topic is based are not robust. The origins of the story about the "Hall of Records" are unknown, though the idea that there is a cavity around the sphinx dates back to Pliny the Elder. In Pliny's Natural History, he states that "[the Egyptians] are of the opinion that a King Harmais is buried inside it."The psychic Edgar Cayce had several psychic readings of the Hall of Records. He claimed that in 1998 the Hall would be discovered and opened and humanity would move into a new era of prosperity. Cayce also suggested that the opening would coincide with the Second Coming of Christ.
According to some, the Hall was not the work of Ancient Egyptians at all but another society (this has ranged from advanced prehistoric societies to a superior race of intelligent beings). Accordingly, this society sealed the Hall away with scrolls of their accumulated knowledge at about 10,500 BC—the last period of time when the constellation of Leo was located between the Sphinx's paws when it rose in the night sky. Skeptics have relegated such notions to be much like the supposed inhabitants of Atlantis in Hellenic Myth. The study of and the search for the Hall may fall under the category of pseudoarchaeology if such activity does not use methodology that is part of the established scientific method; Bauval and other investigators had been specially care about this point, making clear distinction between precise methodologic scientific hypothesis and the rest of possible subsequent implications and speculations. Also of note, following Cayce, there are two other Halls of records rumored; one in or around Bimini, and another in the Yucatan jungle, most likely the ruins of Piedras Negras.
Tulpa is a Tibetan Term, and refers to beings that originate on the mind and then, through intense belief and visualizations, actually become physical relatives.
It's not the case of a person or group of people becoming so convinced, through rumours and legends,that they all imagine the same entity out of some kind of shared hallucinations. It's a kind of one mind, or several minds, creating a very real physical real living being that eventually takes on life of its own, gathering strength as more and more people begin believing in its existence and usually becoming even harder to get rid of than it was to visualize in the first place.
While some may joke that Ohio is hell on Earth, local lore suggests that the Devil may have once taken up residence in the Buckeye state. If this really is the Devil's stomping grounds, it looks like hell has finally frozen over.
Did the Prince of Darkness once reside in northwest Ohio? If local history has anything to say about it, there might be a strong case for that claim. Although you won’t find Lucifer’s exact street address in the local telephone book nowadays, there are a few historical speculations that he might have had a swamp settlement.
Before Ohio became a state in 1803, the northwestern part of the state was completely covered by a low, wet swamp, later referred to by white settlers as The Great Black Swamp, due to the dark murky waters. The area, 40 miles wide by 120 miles long, was made 20,000 years ago by a migrating glacier and was a true hassle for the early pioneers. Living in the area was impossible, and traveling through the area was extremely risky for those brave enough to face wolves, snakes, and biting flies that carried cholera, typhoid and malaria. Even local Ottawa and Shawnee Indians did not even reside in the swamp and only used it to hunt. Although no human could tolerate the swamps deadly elements, it might have been the dreadful yet ideal place for the likes of Satan.
According to the Pioneer Scrap-book of Wood County Ohio, originally printed in 1910, an area of swamp known as the "Devil’s Hole" was the suspected location of these mysterious happenings. In 1811, as General and later president William Henry Harrison and his troops made their way from Sandusky to Ft. Meigs in what is now the present town of Perrysburg, they were stopped in their tracks near present day Bowling Green Ohio by the impassible swamp. Harrison, very aware of the dangers of getting stuck in the swamp, sent an unnamed scout to survey as much as he could and report back to him. The scout then set out and after a few hours became lost in the swamp. After a full day of fearfully struggling through this "man-trap", he eventually found his way back to his original trail. When asked of his whereabouts, the fearful scout said he had got lost in the "Devil’s Hole". Although the name was born, the legend of Devil's Hole was far from finished.
In 1859, the Ohio General Assembly passed a law that required citizens of Northwest Ohio to participate in draining this great swamp of standing, disease-infested water. However, with the Civil War looming in the southern states, little progress came to draining this deadly area. It wasn’t until the late 1860s that Northern civil war soldiers were commissioned to survey the area and find the most sensible routes to create crude wood plank roads to aid in the massive overhaul expected for the landscape.
According to local lore, a survey team of six men was commissioned to survey and document an area 11 miles north of Bowling Green, Ohio presently known as "Devils Hole Road". The men were adequately prepared for the uncertain journey with compasses, tents, and survival equipment and the best medicine for the swamp’s many diseases. However after what should have been a 3-day round trip journey, the men were never heard from again. Obviously very concerned for the survey team, the general in charge commissioned another smaller team to find the whereabouts of the first survey team. The second team was dealt the same fate. Gone, without a trace. Could both teams have got stuck in the "Devil’s Hole" and were unable to escape?
Another incident of the mysterious area appeared in the September 1872 issue of Bowling Green’s Sentinel newspaper. According to the article, a group of marauders on the run from the law might have hid out near Devil's Hole. The article says that "Buried in the heart of the dense woods some miles to the northwest of this place, known as 'Devil’s Hole', two men recently discovered a small, low built shanty, covered with bark and entirely obscure from the vision of man or beast by the dense undergrowth, at no greater distance than ten paces. It is off from any road and there is a single path leading to and from it. Just behind it, a hole had been dug for water, and near it are troughs cut in a log as if for the purpose of feeding horses." "…Everything about it denotes that the utmost precautions of secrecy have been taken. From its location and other circumstances, persons living nearest the locality are suspicious that it is a rendezvous or stopping place for horse thieves." However, no human was ever found to be actually living there. Was it simply a horse thief drop spot or a drainage ditch to hell?
Finally, in the fall of 1992, I was driving home one early evening from my freshman classes at Bowling Green State University to Perrysburg, when I spontaneously decided to take the alternative to I-75 and drive down Route 199. The drive was going just fine until I reached the intersection of Route 199 and Devil's Hole Road. Suddenly without any warning, a quick flash and a loud bang in front of me made me jump out of my seat. I almost flipped the jeep into the 15-foot deep drainage ditch next to the road. I brought the Jeep to a stop and got out to investigate. I was amazed at what I saw. A piston from my engine had actually shot through the hood of the car and went flying into the deep ditch beside me. The Jeep engine was smoking and the car was completely ruined. It took a good 10 minutes before a passerby stopped and promised to notify someone to come out with a tow truck and rescue my car and me. Was this the work of a crummy mechanic that helped me work on my Jeep, or was it something much more evil?
Coincidence? Maybe. Regardless, Devil's Hole Road might be noted as the Great Black Swamp’s version of the Bermuda Triangle. Even local history professors at B.G.S.U were unaware of any history of Devil's Hole Road. Tina Amos, secretary of the History Department, said that although the professors are unaware of any stories about Devil's Hole Road, it is a bit noteworthy. "The only thing I know about Devil's Hole Road is that they have a very difficult time keeping the road signs up -- they're a popular item for dorm rooms, etc. Apparently they have now painted the name onto the bridge abutments," she said. Needless to say, Devil's Hole Road still remains a local legend niched in local history as an unexplained phenomenon.
Drunks, murder, and cholera. Yep, it’s time to travel back to Ohio for another bone chilling ghost story. Come along as we visit the Columbian House; a restaurant and inn that is wildly popular with both the living and the dead.
Some places were just meant to be haunted. Some places just can’t shake the restless souls from the past that refuse to die over time. Some places, like the Columbian House of Waterville, Ohio, have a 175-year history of ghosts that just doesn’t go away. It has absorbed itself into the very foundation of this yellow building and has become an eerie particle that has made this present day restaurant an infamous spot for ghost story glory.
This historically recognized place has all the classic Hollywood movie examples of a haunted house. Over the years, many guests, staff members and owners of the Columbian House have reported a variety of unexplained phenomena. They include weird cold spots, sounds of loud footsteps and pounding fists in the night, and ghosts that appear in the form of cloud-like smoke. And it doesn’t stop there. Claims of objects that inexplicably fly across a room, and the frightful feeling of being nudged by something unseen are nothing groundbreaking to the locals who have heard these different stories in one context or another. Things that give your goosebumps goosebumps.
One of the things that is unusual about this building is that there are many stories and old gossip that speculate on who or what may be responsible for what has been going on inside. It’s really up to you to decide.
The History
In 1828, pioneer John Pray had completed his construction of the Columbian House: a small trading post complete with tavern and overnight hostel. Located in Waterville, Ohio, along the banks of the Maumee River, the building itself was constructed of 14-inch hand-hewn black walnut beams laid together with wooden pegs in true early-American architectural style.
Waterville, originally a small 50-lot village established by white settlers in 1817, is located 15 miles south of what is present-day Toledo, Ohio. After its construction, the Columbian House quickly became the centerpiece of this young village and was a popular stagecoach stopping post that catered to weary travelers trekking between Fort Wayne and Detroit. With the opening of the busy Erie and Miami canals in 1843 (the same year Pray sold it), the building had served as a vital stop for people who desperately needed shelter to escape the extreme summer humidity and unforgiving Ohio winters.
Columbian House
The Columbian House was in an ideal location for a man like Pray to establish a business, especially since it was in the area of the village that would become the town square and main social gathering place for the locals. In 1837, Pray added a third story that was used as the town’s ballroom and he converted the second story into a multi-use floor that held a single jail cell for prisoners in transit as well as a dressmaker’s shop, school, drugstore and doctor's office.
Over the years, the building has switched hands many times and has seen its share of changes. In the early 1900s Waterville residents wanted the building destroyed because of the alleged evil that lurked within its walls. Maybe this lore is what prompted the Columbian House’s most famous guest, Henry Ford, to throw his 1927 Halloween party there.
Despite their attempts, every time the destruction of the Columbian House looked inevitable, a new owner was always found and new restorations were completed on top of old ones. Although there are still signs of early crude building tactics (such as loose wooden floorboards) that would be a modern architect’s nightmare, the building has stood the test of time to have seen many bizarre events and have hosted thousands of visitors, some of who might still be there.
Sheepherders, Crazy Women, the Town Drunk, and Cholera
The first reported incident of unusual activity was recorded in the early 1840s. Legend has it that a traveling sheepherder checked into the Columbian House for a night’s stay. The next morning he had vanished without a trace, leaving the town residents baffled at the mysterious disappearance until 30 years later when a local farmer confessed on his deathbed to the senseless murder and abduction of the sheepherder. He described the location of the body in Waterville and the remains were exhumed and the mystery solved. Some say this might have been the beginning of the lingering ghostly spirits. Is it possible that the sheepherder’s soul is still trapped in the sleeping quarters, his moaning apparition wandering the halls during the night, waiting for his body to return?
Another story of unusual activity might be traced to a tale based in the late 1880s. A local 28-year old woman was reportedly so upset by her stepfather’s cruel treatment that, in an attempt to kill him, she accidentally stabbed her adoring stepbrother with sewing shears. The stepfather punished her harshly by imprisoning her in an inn room at the Columbian House. The woman remained there for a period of time, locked in one of the rooms. Maybe the temporarily insane woman’s intense, angry energy was so powerful that it trapped her spirit within the structure’s walls and will not leave until she receives fair justice from her evil stepfather.
A third story is that the jail room might be haunted by an old town drunk. Apparently this local alcoholic would become so intoxicated and become so belligerent that he would be locked in the jail room overnight to sober up. Guests of the house would hear him pounding on the door on a nightly basis demanding to see a doctor with claims he was ill. Almost every night was the same routine that quickly grew very annoying to the inn’s paying customers that wanted quiet. One night in particular, his pounding was extremely loud and went on longer than normal. Clearly irritated by his crying wolf, the other guests ignored his cries and cursed his name. The next morning he was found dead in the locked room with no explanation as to why. Since then, that particular jail room door will not remained closed no matter the attempt. If the black walnut door does manage to remain closed, fists are heard loudly banging against it from the inside. Was that night’s batch of corn whisky a bit too harsh? Was he trying to escape something in the room that was really making him sick?
Another story says that a traveler walked into the tavern at the Columbian House and after a few minutes, dropped dead on the spot from the dreaded cholera. Because it was such a contagious disease and could be extremely dangerous to the small community, residents acted quickly and placed the diseased body into a pine coffin that apparently was too small. Aware that there was no time to make a new coffin that would fit the corpse, the residents folded his body into the box, forcing it to fit in order to close it and bury the man. Could it perhaps be possible that the diseased man’s immortal karma wanders the dwelling because he was improperly laid to rest?
Over the years many guests of this alleged "haunted house" have reported different incidents that could not be explained, but were very noteworthy nonetheless. Some people have reported to have seen an actual apparition. According to a local newspaper article, guests have seen a ghost in the form of a light. Others that have stayed there have said they have felt small jabs and hands patting them although no other person was around.
Some people describe being followed by something from room to room. One staff member of the Columbian House claimed that the ghost is like "a cloud or a puff of smoke" that usually hangs around in doorways and then disappears. He said that he has also felt the classic “cold spots” and has personally witnessed furniture he had arranged suddenly out of position moments after leaving the room.
Another unusual incident occurred in the 1970s when the owners of the Columbian House hosted a wedding reception. Photographs were taken of the bride and groom in front of the fireplace on the first floor. When the pictures were developed, a bone chilling "image of a face" was seen in the fireplace.
Another unusual reporting of this "presence" happened around the 1930s when Toledo antiques dealer Charles Capron moved into the Columbian House for business purposes as well as to reside. Capron, described as a serious man of intellect and reason, had heard the local lore of how the building was haunted but dismissed any such notion as nonsense. Within a matter of a few days, Capron began hearing different things in the middle of the night such as cries for help, moaning and groaning, and footsteps outside his door.
No longer desiring to lose another night’s sleep due to these weird noises, Capron had a work associate spend one night in a room at the end of the hall opposite his bedroom on the second floor. He needed to know he was not going crazy. He instructed the associate not to come out of the room at all during the night and to lock his door from the inside. He also locked all of the outside doors so that nobody could get inside the building.
Moments later as Capron lay down to sleep, he began to hear moans and groans along with heavy footsteps. After a few frightful moments of this, Capron flung his bedroom door wide open only to glance down the now empty hallway to his associate’s door. Hearing Capron open the door, the associate also opened his door with a terrified look on his face. They swapped their immediate experiences and swore to each other that neither had left the room.
Eventually, the pair went back to their rooms and moments later the footsteps and the moaning continued. The noises proceeded to make their way to the first floor where Capron had many of his antiques. Suddenly, there was a loud crash that sounded to the antique dealer of a large mirror breaking. Presumably very scared, Capron and his work associate waited until morning to go downstairs to clean up the mess of shattered glass. However, to their surprise, the mirror that Capron thought had been broken was hanging from the wall, untouched and unbroken.
Over the next few years Mr. Capron became less interested in his antiques and more with his haunted building. He restored it, made major repairs, and opened it up again to the public as an inn. From this time until he abandoned the building around 1940, guests and workers swore that they had witnessed and heard ghosts inside the establishment.
Time passed and this historic building was left alone, only to have the windows broken by vandals and the inside of the house exposed to the harsh Ohio winter elements. The walls were literally crumbling. It appeared that the ghosts had finally accomplished their goals and had driven the living away. It was not until 1943 that Ethel Arnold and her son George from Findlay, Ohio bought it and once again saved it from the wrecking ball. They repaired the building and re-opened the inn, spirits and all. Although Ethel herself never claimed to believe in the ghost stories that locals had passed down to her, her son and daughter-in-law Jacqueline testified otherwise.
In the 1970s George and Jacqueline Arnold acquired the building, converted it into a restaurant and furnished it with period pieces to give the restaurant its authentic, original look. The Arnolds were very straightforward with the reporters that asked them about their experiences both working and living on the site.
"We’re haunted", Mrs. Arnold claimed in a 1980 interview. Both her and her husband as well as staff members of the restaurant have "seen the presence", which they say had been spotted in the downstairs hallway or near the fireplace. She stated that, “most of the appearances of the ghost occur in this front waiting room," but pointed out that, "the ghost has plenty of room to move around."
One story she recalled in the interview was the time when a non-believer friend of hers came over to dispel the alleged ghost stories and was suddenly "nudged or poked" from behind. When she turned around to see the culprit, nobody was there. That quickly challenged her beliefs in the ghost.
Another story involved her daughter walking down a hallway when she "swore that someone was walking behind her and she stopped in her tracks." Suddenly, she "felt someone run into her, but there was no one there."
According to a different article in a local newspaper a few years later, the eldest Arnold son recalled that several years before he "saw an apparition with the general appearance of a person" near the downstairs bathroom. Still another story revealed that a waitress witnessed a pair of eyeglasses that "seemed to float" from a kitchen counter to her feet.
"We find all kinds of things-prankish things," said Mrs. Arnold. "Doors are locked or unlocked when there was nobody there. Things have disappeared forever with no reasonable explanation," she added.
Today, the Columbian House is still open on certain nights for a great home cooked meal served by candlelight. The restaurant, located at 3 North River Road in Waterville has remained a popular destination, complete with traditional furnishings that make it appear like you are stepping into an early 1800s time warp. The wait staff and owners are happy to show ghostly photos (on display) and are certain to share stories on the building’s rich history and its popularity with both the living and the dead alike.
Sources-
"Eye Opener..on Restless Spirits" -Kate Jamieson, unknown year and publication
"Ghosts Among Visitors to the Columbian House" -Sentinel-Tribune 11/29/81
"Ghost Lives with Area Family" -Sheila Hart-The Collegian,10/31/80
"Ancient Hostelry Again Gives Ghosts the Pitch" -Jean Douglas-Toledo Blade,6/28/48
San Francisco is famous worldwide for its Golden Gate Bridge, trolley cars, and drag queens. But not too long ago, a different kind of queen sauntered up those treacherous 90 degree hills; none other than the famous Voodoo Queen of San Francisco, Mary Ellen Pleasant.
Born into slavery near Augusta, Georgia in 1814, Mary Ellen had a difficult and unfortunate start in life. As a child, she witnessed the cruel torture and murder of her mother that left her as a young orphan. Although it is unknown exactly how Mary Ellen escaped from slavery, she managed to escape to New Orleans and was later sent to live as an indentured servant with a liberal Quaker family in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Through her time spent with the Quaker family, Mary Ellen learned the skills and wit necessary to be successful on her own. With their help, she began a small business in Boston, where she later met her first husband, James Smith.
James Smith was heavily involved in helping slaves escape their captors and Mary Ellen soon, too, became fully involved in this work. Though she admired him greatly, James Smith was cruel to Mary Ellen and treated her badly up until his death sometime around 1844. His symptoms were later discovered to be those of poisoning and although many were suspicious of Mary Ellen, charges were never brought against her.
As Mary Ellen continued her work helping slaves escape to their freedom, her life became increasingly dangerous. In 1850, she was forced to flee to New Orleans and go into hiding. It was there that she met the famous Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau.
Marie Laveau had devised an ingenious system of gaining inside knowledge and secrets about the powerful New Orleans elite. She used that knowledge as blackmail to gain wealth, power, and influence. Over a short period of time, Marie Laveau rose to the height of New Orleans’s power structure and began to use her status and influence to aid colored and enslaved people. Mary Ellen took care to learn Marie Laveau’s methods, knowing that they might one day be useful to her.
In 1852, Mary Ellen decided to flee one final time, escaping to the foggy streets of San Francisco. Because she lacked her Freedom Papers, she used her fair complexion to her advantage and lived as a white person. Using the techniques she learned from Marie Laveau, she too gained the secrets of San Francisco’s wealthy and elite. She knew so many of San Francisco’s darkest secrets that even the San Francisco News wrote that, “Folks took care not to snub her. You never knew when she would find out something about you.” Under the guise of “voodoo magic”, she became feared by many and was soon able to leverage this fear to gain freedom, rights, and privileges for many of San Francisco’s colored residents.
During her years in San Francisco, she lived in a mansion that quickly became known as “The House of Mystery” because of the wild, secretive parties that were rumored to have been held there. It was a grand old mansion at the corner of Bush and Octavia Street, bordered by a grove of six eucalyptus trees that Mary Ellen planted herself.
While the title of “Voodoo Queen” helped her climb to the upper ranks of San Francisco’s elite and amass a fortune that peaked at $30,000,000, this title would also be her downfall. After getting involved in a disastrous lawsuit against Senator William Sharon, she soon became the object of gossip and suspicion. Her good name was ruined and her title of “Voodoo Queen” brought on connotations of shame and disgrace. Those who once regarded her with respect began spreading horrible rumors about her. According to the San Francisco News, “People said she was a blackmailer, a procuress, a thief, a horsewhipper of children.”
After losing her status and power, Mary Ellen’s fortune quickly began to disappear. She spent the final years of her life nearly penniless, wandering outside the house she once owned and sitting under the six eucalyptus trees she planted when she first came to San Francisco.
Today, many believe that the spirit of Mary Ellen still wanders the corner of Bush and Octavia Street, often appearing between those great eucalyptus trees. Some say that they hear her screaming or see a glimpse of her figure walking between the trees. Others say they feel a sudden sensation of pouring rain or what feels like someone spitting on them. It is also widely believed that if you make a specific wish on that corner, it will surely come true.
Regardless of whether or not these accounts of Mary Ellen’s hauntings are actually true, it is certain that her spirit will always be an important part of San Francisco. While many tried to ruin the good name of Mary Ellen Pleasant, her extraordinary dedication to the freedom of slaves and to the equal rights of all humans will always be remembered as her greatest legacy. Although Mary Ellen may not have been a true “Voodoo” Queen, it is without question that she will always be the original Queen of San Francisco and the true Mother of Civil Rights in California.
Popular and well-loved, Madame Delphine LaLaurie and her husband were highly regarded within Louisiana's 19th century aristocracy. But hidden within the walls of their house were horrific secrets that would come to shock a city that’s seen it all.
Located in the French Quarter of New Orleans, LA, the LaLaurie House is probably the best known haunted house in the entire city.
To a person quickly passing by, the house appears to be just like the other surrounding homes in the French Quarter; an elegant remnant of a time that has long passed. But upon closer and more careful observation, scars on the outside of the home begin to shed light to the horrific past hosted by this house.
The scar in reference is located on the third floor of the main side of the house. Anyone who stops to look at the house for a moment will probably notice that one of the third floor windows has been cemented shut. This seems quite odd, but when you learn the reason for this, it is perfectly reasonable.
Let us go back to 19th century New Orleans. The city is still a part of France and the French Quarter is filled with wealthy and respectable French citizens. Among these are the LaLauries. Popular, and well-liked, the LaLauries were part of the aristocratic community that populated the city at that time.
And who wouldn't like the LaLauries; they were famous for their large and extravagant parties that entertained and delighted much of New Orleans's upper-class. But it wasn't this side of the LaLauries that would make this house famous. Rather, it was the dark secret that the LaLauries kept securely hidden on the third floor that would forever shock and appall the city. Soon, everyone in the New Orleans would know why the LaLauries always kept a certain door in their home locked.
While the LaLauries were quite agreeable and pleasant in their public lives, behind closed doors, horrible tempers and sadistic pleasures ran rampant. Madame LaLaurie, in particular, could fall into a monstrous rage when upset. When this happened, she would often take her anger out on one of her servants by severely beating them.
One evening, a young girl less than thirteen years old who was a slave of the LaLauries fell victim to her rage. Madame LaLaurie was preparing for an evening out and was having her slaves prepare her. The young girl was in charge of the Madame's hot curling iron. Mistakenly, she burnt Madame LaLaurie's scalp. It would prove to be a fatal mistake.
Madame LaLaurie was incensed. She immediately began beating the girl. Terrified, the young girl ran from the room and down the hallway of the third floor. She was desperately looking for a place to hide and began turning the knobs of the doors in the hallway. She ran to a particular doorway that was always locked. But tonight it wasn't.
When the young girl entered the room, she witnessed a horror even more frightening than the one chasing her in the hall. Looking around the room, she saw fellow slaves chained to the walls. Every single one of them had been victim of some sadistic experiment of the LaLauries. One gentleman's limbs had been broken by the LaLauries and then shaped to grow back in a contorted and horrendous form. Some had limbs removed, while the remaining bore scars from the removal of teeth, ears, and other body parts. Overcome with fear, the young girl ran and jumped out the window, falling to her death.
The event stirred concern, suspicion, and rumors within the New Orleans community. But the LaLauries were not caught. They simply cemented the window shut, paid a small fine, and went back to their daily lives.
The discovery of the LaLaurie's secret would not happen until a few years later when a fire broke out in the home. Because the homes were so close together, the law at that time required that the firefighters check every room in a house that has been on fire to ensure that there were no remaining embers. For the LaLauries, this meant that the firemen would have to enter the third floor room. Anticipating what would happen, the LaLauries left the city. When the firemen came upon the room, they chopped down the door and were disgusted with what they saw. Word of the LaLaurie's demented actions spread across the city faster than fire and within a short time a mob had formed to lynch the LaLauries.
Because the LaLauries anticipated this, they were able to escape the city and go into hiding in the surrounding swamps. Although the city searched for them, they were never found. It was later rumored that they somehow escaped to France where they lived out the rest of their lives.
Ever since this event, the city has looked upon this house as being haunted. Those who have lived in the house since, have confirmed it. Maniacal laughing, the sound of whips cracking, and a ghostly Madame LaLaurie have all been reported by later inhabitants of the house. One individual who was of African descent reported having been attacked by the ghost of Madame LaLaurie. He claims to have been awakened from his sleep while being choked by her ghost. Fortunately, his life was saved by another ghost that he described as resembling a slave (possibly one that died at the hands of the LaLauries).
To this day, the people of New Orleans remember the dark history of this house. The scarred exterior serves as a daily reminder of the LaLauries and of the tragedy and terror once experienced by this city.
Alien Abduction: The act of having been taken, kidnapped or abducted by creatures or beings from a different planet or galaxy.
Aliens: Creatures or beings that come from other planets, galaxies, universes or even a different dimension. Sometimes referred to as extra-terrestrials.
Amulet: An object that is worn, believed to have the ability or power to ward off evil spirits, witchcraft or disease.Jewelry worn for protection against things considered to be bad.
Angel: A spiritual or celestial being superior to humans in power and intelligence sent to earth as a messenger, protector, or to help someone in their transition to the afterlife.
Anomalous Phenomena: Any strange naturally occurring phenomena that science cannot define or explain.
Anomaly: Something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified. An irregular image that appears on either photos or videos taken by film or digital media.
Apparition: The appearance or image of a deceased person. Apparitions are often seen from a distance or in the peripheral vision. A full-bodied apparition shows the whole body. More commonly, a partial apparition will only appear as a portion of the body such as, from the waist up, arms, or legs. Apparitions can appear to "float" without contacting the ground. They can appear as white, gray, or a solid black.
Apport: The sudden appearance of an object or objects that previously disappeared during a haunting, that seem to come from nowhere.
Archangel: An order or hierarchy of angels. In medieval angelology, archangels were high ranking angels who belonged to the eighth of the nine ranks of the Celestial Hierarchy.
Pseudo-Dionysus, a scholar, gave us possibly one of the best known forms of the Celestial Hierarchy.
1) Michael-Who is as God, patron of grocers, mariners, paratroopers, police and sickness.
2) Gabriel-God is my strength, patron of communications and postal workers.
3) Raphael-God has healed, patron of travelers.
4) Uriel-Fire of God.
5) Chamuel-He who sees God.
6) Jophiel-Beauty of God.
7) Zadkiel-Righteousness of God.
8) Raguel-Friend of God
9) Remiel-Mercy of God.
10) Sariel-Command of God.
11) Raziel-Secret of God.
Asport: The disappearance or movement of an object or objects during a haunting that will reappear again at a later time.
Astral Body: The astral body refers to the concept of a *subtle body which exists alongside the physical body, as a vehicle of the soul or higher consciousness. It is usually understood as a being of an emotional nature and, as such, it is equated to the desired body or emotional body.
However, some philosophies conceive that the astral body is a body made of ether, the soul body, built by each individual during the current **evolutionary stage, which is said to give support to the desire, emotional, body during the ***astral projection.
New Age thought incorporates many ****theosophical ideas, including the concept of subtle bodies and planes of existence. While there is no consensus position, the general idea is that the Astral body corresponds to the astral plane which is sometimes also referred or called the 5th dimension. The astral body is also widely understood here as the subtle body in which astral projection or OBE occurs. The term "light body" is sometimes used in this context.
*Subtle Body: According to the teachings of Yoga and various esoteric, occult and mystical teachings, human beings are constituted not only by a gross physical form but by a series
of energetic psycho-spiritual subtle bodies each of increasing subtlety and metaphysical
significance.
**Spiritual Evolutions: The philosophical, theological, esoteric or spiritual idea that nature and human beings and/or human culture evolve along a predetermined cosmological pattern or ascent, or in accordance with certain pre-determined potentials.
***Astral Projection: A paranormal interpretation of an out-of-body experience achieved either awake or via lucid dreaming or meditation.
****Theosophy: A doctrine of religious philosophy and metaphysics originating with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. In this context, theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the "spiritual hierarchy" to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth.
Astral travel/projection: This is a process in which a human spirit can travel outside the physical body. Also known as Out Of Body Experience, OBE or OOBE.
Automatic Writing: The ability to write messages or text without being consciously aware of what is being written. At times, automatic writing is done with the assistance from spirits, spirit guides, Angels or other spirit beings. It is often used in conjunction when trying to channel a spirit or entity into yourself. This can be dangerous. As with all channeling methods you are opening a doorway and have no control over who or what may come through, and no way to make it leave and "close the door".
Ball Lightning: An unusual phenomena and exceedingly varied in form. Typical descriptions include a spherical shape of any color and ranging in size from a marble to a football. Normally the appearance of ball lightning coincides with a thunderstorm. The phenomenon can materialize within confined spaces and buildings and their duration can be anywhere from seconds to minutes. It is common for the spheres of ball lightning to appear as if they have a "sense" of direction or "purposeful" motion rather that simply drifting around.
Banshee: Found in Scottish and Irish folklore, this is a female spirit which is believed to be an omen of impending death. It is said that when a banshee is heard outside a home, wailing, screaming or groaning, someone will die within the residence.
Base Line Readings-BLR: The recording of environmental conditions at the onset of an investigation. Such conditions include temperature, electro magnetic fields, humidity, etc. Base Line Readings are used as a control to judge changes during the investigation.
Black Eyed Kids (BEK): Children or younger appearing spirits that have eyes black as coal with no sign of an iris or pupil, and said to be possible demons or ghosts. A feeling of dread or uneasiness is often felt when in proximity or contact with one of these beings. There has never been an explanation as to why the eyes are black but it is thought to be representative of evil.
Case Study: An in-depth investigation of an individual subject or haunting.
An intensive analysis of an individual or location stressing developmental factors in relationship to environment in respect to paranormal activity.
Celestial: Relating to, or referring to the Divine, Heaven, the Spirit or a Heavenly place. A god or and angel. The term, Celestial Bodies is used when describing the planets and galaxies as they also refer to the heavens and the sky.
Clairaudience: Means clear hearing, a psychic ability which enables someone to hear voices or noises unheard by other people.
Clairgustance: Means clear tasting, a psychic ability which enables someone to experience a sense of taste associated with a spirit.
Clairvoyance: Means clear seeing, a psychic ability to see an object, people or events not perceived by the 5 senses.
Contagion: The action of being followed by a paranormal entity, such as an earthbound spirit from an investigation or a haunted location.
Cold Spot: A small localized or defined area of intense cold, dropping at least 10 degrees colder than the surrounding area that cannot be explained by natural, mechanical or scientific causes for example, drafty windows or doors, vent systems, breezes or weather conditions.
In the paranormal field it is believed that when an entity is trying to manifest itself it will draw on energy sources, one being the heat energy that is found in the air. As the entity draws the heat out of the air to manifest, that specific location will experience a temperature drop.
Crisis Apparition: Visions of a person or people, to a loved one or close friend, who at the time of their appearance are experiencing some form of crisis or illness. The sick or dying person will send out an image, telepathically, of themselves to someone they have had a close relationship with.
Crossroads: A point where two roads intersect believed to hold supernatural energy.
Cryptozoology: The study of and search for animals and especially legendary animals such as Sasquatch, the Skunk Ape, Mothman, etc. usually in order to evaluate and substantiate the possibility of their existence.
Crystals: A body that is formed by the solidification of a chemical element, a compound, or a mixture and has a regular repeating internal arrangement of its atoms and often external planes.
Crystals are formed in caves, cavities or hollows in the earth's surface, growing from natural solutions in a fixed pattern. This pattern will vary with the different types of crystals. The crystals patterns are believed to interact with a person's aura or energy field producing many different benefits. Crystals are often used in healing or communicating during a seance.
Agate: Calming and/or general healer.
Amethyst: Spiritual gem, general healer, helps insomnia, stress conditions or nervousness.
Blue Lace Agate: Helps clear mental and emotional conflict, and calming.
Moss Agate: Helps memory, good for energy, general tonic, helps the skin, blood and digestion.
Jasper: Helps the kidneys, liver, epilepsy, and improves the sense smell.
Malachite: For asthma, rheumatism, and ulcers.
Quartz: Energy giving crystal, good for development, general healer.
Rose Quartz: Relieves migraines and headaches, aids the imaginations and calms the emotions.
Turquoise: Absorbs harmful vibrations, a sacred stone and a great protector.
Death: The point in time where all life sustaining functions cease, believed to be when a person either passes on to the next "plane", or remains on the earthly "plane" as a spirit or ghost.
Deathbed Visions: This is a situation that is said to occur at a person's death where they are visited by a family member or friend that has already passed or died. The spirit is believed to be helping the dying person cross over to the other side, or to be helping the dying person with the transition from life to death. There have been documented cases where people dying will speak to or see other people not visible in the room that have already died.
Debunk: When a simple and logical non-paranormal explanation can account for a reported paranormal event. Even when a genuine paranormal event occurs, because of the ambiguity, an investigator has to reply on the debunking method as a scientific means of explanation.
Deja vu: The feeling of remembering scenes and events when experiencing them for the first time.
A feeling that one has seen or heard something before.
Something overly or unpleasantly familiar.
Delayed Crisis Image: The appearance of an apparition of someone that has died, hours after their demise.
Seeing a person hours after their death.
Dematerialize: To lose or appear to lose form, solidity or material substance.
To disappear or fade from visual existence.
Demon: A being or spirit which is said to have not resided on earth in the form of a human.
A source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin.
Demonic Haunting: A haunting by a spirit or entity of power that is not from a human form. Often, these hauntings will start out relatively simple and escalate quickly to stronger activity. A demonic haunting most often affects people or families that are already under great personal stress from conditions such as drug or alcohol use, emotional problems or psychological problems, family or marital problems. The entity will take advantage of the weakened psychological and emotional condition or state of mind.
Demonology: The study of demons.
There are specific "rules" set forth by God that govern what demons can and cannot do. This is scriptural. Some of these rules are as translated:
1. Demons would like nothing more than to sweep across the Earth and literally destroy all mankind. God does not allow that.
2. Demons cannot appear in whole/natural human form. They must have some obvious deformity, a missing limb or other body part, a twisted, grotesque face, etc.
3. Demons do not know the future.
4. Demons have to be invited in to your life either directly by calling for them, seeking them out, or by allowing them in which is why techniques as seances and Ouija Boards are dangerous.
Demonic Possession: The act by which a demonic spirit takes over a human being. This can also be in the form of a location where a demonic spirit will take over a building or house.
Disembodied Voice: A voice that is heard and has no known source or explanation.
Doppelganger: A spiritual or ghostly double or counterpart of a living person, especially one that haunts its human counterpart.
Dowsing: The ability to use a pair of rods, often metal, to locate sources of energy or most commonly, water.
In the paranormal field, Dowsing Rods are used to locate energy sources that could be of a paranormal nature.
Earthbound Spirit: A spirit bound to the earth plane usually referred to as a Ghost. This can occur for several reasons, an individual may not realize they have died, they may be afraid to move on to the next dimension, they may feel they have unfinished business or they feel they still need to provide for or protect their loved ones.
Ectoplasm: An ethereal substance associated with the manifesting or dematerializing of a spirit or ghost.
The transparent presence of a ghost or spirit.
Ectoplasm usually appears in photos as a thick white smoke or mist in nearly straight lines. However, such mist can in fact be smoke, or condensed breath in the air.
A substance that produces spirit materialization and telekinesis.
Entity: A generic term used to define a paranormal spirit, ghost, or object.
E.V.P: Electronic Voice Phenomena: Believed that a spirit, ghost or soul can communicate from the "other side", this is a process by which these communications are picked up on an electrical audio recorder. Usually with "white noise" in the background, these communications or voices are not heard by an investigator at the time of recording.
EVPs are heard during the analysis of the information collected during an investigation on an audio recorder.
The hearing of unexplainable voices from an investigation that were not audible by the human ear during the investigation.
The ability to record voices from an unexplainable source on an audio recorder, answering machine, TV, or other electronic devices.
Ghost: A disembodied soul, the soul of a dead person, believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world and or to appear to the living in bodily likeness.
A spirit of a dead person believed to haunt a person or previous residence or location.
Haunting: The event of paranormal phenomena that can occur frequently in an area, building or location.
To visit or inhabit as a ghost or spirit.
The spirit of dead person that frequents a location, person or building.
Hot Spot: An area or location where frequent paranormal activity occurs.
A place of higher activity of paranormal phenomena.
Incubus: A demon taking male form that seeks sexual intercourse with a woman.
An evil spirit that lies on a female in their sleep.
Intuition: The ability to sense or know something without the use of the five natural senses; taste, sight, touch, hearing, or smell.
Imprint-Imprinting: It is believed that strong emotional events can leave an impression or recording in a location or furniture that can result in or cause a residual haunting.
Lights Out: The point in an investigation where all equipment has been set up and all electrical items, e.g.: lights, heaters, air conditioners, appliances etc, are turned off. Equipment used by the investigator during an investigation are more sensitive in the dark and better results are achieved.
Living Ghost: A spirit or ghost that is not the result of a human having lived on earth, sometimes referred to as angels, demons, devils, etc. These encounters are rare and usually very dramatic.
Matrix-Matrixing: Something within or from which something else originates, develops, or takes form. In the paranormal this is the mind seeing something from nothing or believing there is something from nothing. The mind forms its own conclusion as to the perception of sight. The correct term to use is Pareidolia, but Matrixing is commonly used among paranormal investigators.
Moment of Mortality: A manifestation of a spirit or ghost that occurs at the exact same time of death. Usually the manifestation of a close family member or friend at their time of death.
Near Death Experience: A form of spontaneous OBE, out of body experience, refering to a broad range of experiences associated with physiological, psychological and transcendental factors such as subjective impressions of being outside the physical body encompassing multiple sensations ranging from detachment from the body, extreme fear, security, total serenity, feelings of levitation, or warmth, the experience or interaction of a light interpreted as a deity, or the feeling or experience of absolute dissolution. NDEs are usually reported after someone has been pronounced dead, clinically dead, or very close to death.
Occult: Beyond human understanding, mysterious or secret.
Designating or of certain arts, studies, or practices, as magic, alchemy, or astrology, involving mysterious powers that some people believe can affect the way things happen. Something that deals with or is related to the Supernatural.
Usually something that is mysterious, hidden and not easily comprehended.
Orb: Orbs appear to be a form of energy of an unknown source which are believed to be created by spirits. They seem to defy gravity and change direction quickly. Orbs, usually caught with cameras, appear to be dense and emit their own energy source or light. False orbs tend to be transparent, pale white or blue. Recent studies show that 99.9% of all orbs are explainable and not paranormal.
Ouija Board: Ouija board, often pronounced "wee-gee" or called weegee box in English is any flat surface printed with letters, numbers, and other symbols to which a planchette or movable indicator points, supposedly in answer to questions from people at a seance. The fingers of the participants are placed on the planchette which then moves about the board to spell out messages.
Out Of Body Experience: Related to or involving a feeling of separation from one's body and of being able to view oneself and others from an external perspective.
Paranormal: Events or occurrences above and beyond the everyday experiences. Occurrences or events that can not be readily explained by known conventional reasoning or commonly accepted by science.
Pareidolia: The act by which the brain incorrectly interprets patterns of light, shadows or textures as being familiar patterns such as faces, or human forms, sometimes observed through the peripheral vision area.
Planchette: A device or pointer used with a Ouija Board, used to communicate with spirits or ghosts.
Poltergeist: A noisy, usually mischievous ghost held to be responsible for unexplained noises, moving object and sometimes destructive behavior. They have been known to play pranks on human beings living in the house.
Precognition: Having knowledge of an event prior to the event happening.
Premonition: The insight or forewarning of a future event or activity.
Presence: The feeling that an unseen person, spirit, being or ghost is nearby, being there without your knowledge.
Residual Haunting: A haunting that stays in the same location replaying the same event over and over again, usually on a timed or rhythmic cycle or pattern. A Residual Haunting can sometimes cause electrical interference to occur. It is often compared to a video recording that automatically plays itself over and over.
Shadow People: Shadows referring to possible paranormal apparitions which appear as dark human forms of manifestation. The true nature of this type of paranormal event is still unknown and is the subject of much research.
Sixth Sense: The power of perception independent of the five senses: �touch, sight, smell, taste, or hearing.
Skeptic: A person disposed to having no decision on the validity of the paranormal, usually discrediting any evidence available.
A person that is yet undecided as to what is true.
A great asset to an investigative team being able to broaden the thought process and use critical thinking in order to determine whether something is paranormal in nature or not.
Specter: An unusual appearing ghostly figure or image.
A visible disembodied spirit or something that haunts or perturbs the mind.
Spirit: The essence, energy or soul of a living or deceased person, animal or being.
Succubus: A demon taking a female form who seeks sexual intercourse with a human male.
Supernatural: Of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe.
Relating to God, a God, demigod, spirit, or devil.
Departed from what is normal or usual especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature.
Attributed to an invisible agent, spirit or ghost.
Touched: The experiencing of physical contact from a spirit, ghost or other paranormal entity. This can include touching, pushing, tugging, scratching, or sometimes burning. Usually, physical injury is rare.
Ufology: The study of unidentified flying objects.
Vortex,Vortexes, Vortices: A concentrated area of high electromagnetic energy, usually brief in nature, found in photographs taken at paranormally active locations. They often appear as solid opaque white or silver tubes, elongated ovals or rods. They often have the appearance of being braided like a rope and care has to be taken to ensure it is not a camera strap. Another thing to note is that vortexes can sometimes be a result of taking photographs incorrectly (slow and fast shutter speeds). �A vortex is not a spirit, ghost or entity but believed to be a momentary portal or doorway to another dimension or realm that allows entities and other paranormal phenomena to enter into our world of existence. From the scientific approach, it is believed vortexes are associated and linked to the earth's own electromagnetic field.
Walpurgisnacht: German, The eve of May Day on which witches are believed to ride to an appointed rendezvous. It is also believed to be the night when the dead walk. Something, as an event or situation having a nightmarish quality, dated 1823
White Noise: A heterogeneous mixture of sound waves extending over a wide frequency range. The sound covers and combines all wavelengths and frequencies. In this manner, it is like the color White which is a combination of all colors. Hence the name: White Noise.
A constant background noise used in the paranormal field to set a "norm" for the collection of all sound waves for use in Electronic Voice Phenomena, or EVP's.
Wicca: A religion influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and practices of western Europe that affirms the existence of supernatural powers such as magic, and of both male and female deities who inhere in nature This religion emphasizes ritual observances of seasonal and life cycles.
A reconstruction of the Nature worship of tribal Europe, influenced by Nature worship traditions of other tribal peoples from many parts of the world.
Also known as; Goddess worshippers, witchcraft, Norse, Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Earth Religion, Druidism and Shamanism.
Wraith: A spirit or ghost that returns to avenge their own death