And so while my little guy trampled up and down the children’s light house, played with blocks and rocked on little chairs I searched the lady’s name on Amazon as she was supposed to be a prolific author. Sybil was apparently one of the first witches to come out of the closet and through her books tried to give authenticity to the much maligned arts of astrology, magic and other paranormal activities.
But the skeptic in me refused to type in the names of her other books in the library database. It all seemed to be one grand hoax and I wasn’t willing to waste my few spare hours on a psychic I had lost faith in just by reading a preliminary chapter of one of her books.
While retaining my faith in subjects such as astrology, palmistry and even in tarot cards, I somehow continue to be suspicious of people who make careers based on these activities and thereby dupe the vulnerable and those suffering from personal tragedies.
Having an aversion for soothsayers, fortune tellers and self- proclaimed godmen I couldn’t jolly well be gung-ho about commercialized psychics like Leeks or Linda Goodman. Being open –minded didn’t correspond to being naïve.
Sighing I decided then and there that the whole exercise was futile. My initial passion of the orb, ghostly activities, séances etc all seemed to die out in an instant and seemed somehow juvenile. And anyways I would rather have ridden in a spaceship with a Lizard in my mind while reading a Harry Turtledove than given piggy ride to some ghost in a grave yard.
So, in the end instead of looking up books on the unknown I looked for the second part of Harry Turtledove’s World War which I knew would stimulate my mind far more than any unearthly literature.
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Article comments
1 - RJ
I had a particularly weird experience once as a kid. Probably not supernatural, but I still remember it...
A bunch of us were having a sleepover in the basement of my pal's house. We played various games, you know, turth-or-dare, whatever, and then one of the kids came up with the idea of trying a "levitating"...
To be brief about it all, one of the the kids laid down flat on his back, and there were six of us around him. One held the head, one the feet, and the others (two to a side) the body.
But all we "held" him with was two fingers, our middle and index, to be exact.
Anyway, some inane "chant" ("light as a feather" was a part of it, though I do not remember the rest) was recited by all six of us as he laid there with his eyes closed, and then we attempted to "lift" him.
And, uh, we DID. With ease. Up to our noses. Until, well, we got sorta freaked out, and started gasping and making various profane exclamations, and then suddenly his body became quite heavy, and we let him back down to the floor.
I seem to remember him crying after this (we were like 13), but a couple more kids volunteered (I sure as hell was not one of them!) to be the "body" and the "ritual" was repeated a couple more times, with the same results.
Now, this is most likely explained by the fact that there were 6 of us doing the "lifting" and therefore even two fingers times two per person times 6 people could provide enough power to lift a person so high. But, I swear, it was like he was no weight at all, UNTIL the "spell" was broken and people began talking again. Then, the body became heavy indeed!
Anyway, just throwing that out there for ya'll. Anyone else do something similar as a youth? Or am I alone in this? And what, exactly, is the reasonable explanation?
2 - Aaman
I've done the 'lifting' too - wierd. Orbs are harder to explain - while I've not particularly been gung-ho about the paranormal, there are stranger things on heaven and earth...
3 - swingingpuss
I, too seen a whole lot of 'lifting' and it has less to do with the paranormal and more with the male libido;-)
The only weird things I've experienced are are a few premonitions. Apart from that I'm as thick as a doornob as far as psychic abilities are concerned.
4 - Aaman
Haven't you seen ghosts?
5 - swingingpuss
Well Aaman, some might call my experiences childhood hallucinations or schizophrenia. Just kidding;) I plead the Fifth.
6 - RJ
I've had quite a few "premonitions," or at least huge coincidences between prior thought and later fact, in my life. But they are never about anything that could actually benefit me (like the number of the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby, for example)...
7 - bhw
RJ, I thought levitation [and Ouija boards] were the domain of 13-year-old girls' sleepovers. Glad to hear the boys tried it, too!
8 - Mark Saleski
rj, ya think the two-finger 'levitation'thing can be explained by the kid's weight divided by the number of 'pressure' spots? there were six of you, 12 pairs of two fingers...that's only a little over 4 pounds per finger for a 100lb kid.
i say this because i once saw a guy lift the back end of a chevy broco off the ground using a couple trashbags & a vacuum cleaner.
9 - RJ
"RJ, I thought levitation [and Ouija boards] were the domain of 13-year-old girls' sleepovers. Glad to hear the boys tried it, too!"
Well, there were a couple girls there too! (I didn't get laid tho...too busy playing D&D...) :-/
10 - RJ
"rj, ya think the two-finger 'levitation'thing can be explained by the kid's weight divided by the number of 'pressure' spots? there were six of you, 12 pairs of two fingers...that's only a little over 4 pounds per finger for a 100lb kid."
Interesting.
Like I said, I doubt there was anything supernatural about it all. BUT, if my memory serves me correctly, it was like the kid was nearly WEIGHTLESS while we lifted him, and then he suddenly got REAL heavy once the "spell" was broken...
11 - Mark Saleski
ok, physics doesn't explain that!
maybe adrenaline...or something.
12 - Victor Plenty
Physics might not explain it, but psychology does. Your perception of the amount of weight you are lifting can be dramatically altered by your state of mind.
Hypnotically repeating the incantation about somebody being "as light as a feather" is a great way to affect your mental interpretation of what your senses are telling you. Nothing needs to change other than the way your brain interprets the data, for you to feel as if the person has become "lighter" than they were before.
Giggling, gasping, swearing, getting nervous and losing your focused concentration are great ways to disrupt the altered perception. Your mind returns from the temporary conviction of "lightness" to your previous conviction that the person is "heavy," and so your perceptions follow suit.
13 - Sandra
Very cool - I have seen orbs too - Ghost Hunters featured them, but said they were just weather anomalies or temperature variations. I don't know myself.
14 - RJ
My folks claim to have seen "ball lightning" once...very remarkable experience, from what they told me...would that be akin to an "orb"?
15 - swingingpuss
RJ, generally speaking "ball lightnings" are supposed to be weather related. But then again I don't want to play down your parents experience which I'm sure must have been spectacular for them:)
16 - HW Saxton
I've never experienced anything that I
could call "Paranormal" I don't think.
However,once in San Fransisco I saw a
traveling group of "Fakirs" (Magicians/
Illusionists from *India)perform a trick
that still perplexes me to this day.
One of the "Fakirs" threw what looked to
be just a normal piece of hemp rope (it
was passed around the audience before
the trick was done,of course)up into the
air. He then balanced the rope on the
flat of his hand and made it stand up in
the air seemingly suspended by itself.
This in itself was a mindf*cker.Then he
(the Fakir)jumped on it and shimmied up
and down it like a rope in a high school
gym class.I am still to this day like
100% friggin' baffled. Was it some sort
of a mass hypnosis or what???
Anyone out there ever seen any tricks or
illusions similar to this done? Was it
just smoke and mirrors, some sort of a
sleight of hand or again some kind of
hypnosis on a grand scale?Anyone got any
kind of input?
*They were supposedly from India anyway.
17 - mootiy
i have seen a floating orb before, not on camera though, just floating by my apartment window one day, a friend with me at the time also saw it, we rushed outside only to see it had vanished, i dont really think these are ghost, i think it is probably something just just lives among us and always have and rarely been seen, so when it is seen it is a great phenominon..it could be another form of life, not from another planet, formed on this one or energy of some sort..it is vry interesting...
18 - Eric Olsen
great story, thanks SP. I have had three experiences, all within a few years in my late-teens and early-20s, I am certain were supernatural. One is here, another here
19 - swingingpuss
Eric, I just finished reading both the posts you had linked to and second one gave me the heebie-jeebies.
Aaman's father had told us a similar story about a scary looking hag trying hail them down while they were driving towards Srinagar (Kashmir)and his description of the hag sounds similar to yours.
And I couldnt shrug off his experience because he is as dependable and rational as the Rock of Gibraltar
20 - Eric Olsen
thanks SP, I still have nightmares about that to this day. The other one is more vague and ambiguous since I was about to pass out from lack of oxygen, but I swear that's the way I remember it. The third one, the most certain of all for mee, involves my grandmother and I guess I haven't written that up, although maybe I just can't find it.
21 - Amy
I went to Heidelberg College in Tiffin, OH many, many years ago and we, too, had a decidedly terrifying graveyard near campus with unexplained goings on. I did a little research back then and discovered that all of Seneca County has a history of rather cultish, unexplained, and generally creepy things. I wanted to say, also, that although I'm not a blogger, I've been visiting this Web site several times a day for over a year now and I want to compliment you (all) on fascinating writing, entertaining arguments, and truly intelligent thought. Thank you.
22 - swingingpuss
Amy, thanks for the kind words, I think I can say that on behalf of all BC contributors :)
Here in Milwaukee there are a number of old homes, resturants and hotels that are supposed to be haunted.
It would be nice if you could do a post on your research. I'm sure there are a bunch of us who would be interested in your piece :)
23 - Rachel
I was searching for information on ouija boards and i saw some on the levitating slumber party thing. Since I am a teen ager, and I still do those kinds of things at sleepovers, i know what the chant is. "Light as a feather, stiff as a board."
It's not really a big deal, I think it might have something to do with adrenaline. I'm not completely sure. But last night we all used an ouija board that my wicca friend made...and it worked! I've just been looking on information about it. I have read all the rules and everything but I need to know one thing. When your done with it and you have to like...how should i say this. You have to like put a seal on it to like protect it or renew it so a certian spirit won't stay in it. I watched my wiccan friend do a pentagram with her fingers over the whole board about 4 or 3 times! I really need to know how to do this right. Do any of you know or know a website? Also does it matter how you draw a pentagram cause i notice she does the star a different way from how i do mine. E-mail me please!!
24 - swingingpuss
Trapped souls are hard to get rid of - I suggest you stick with slumber party sleepovers minus the ouija board. For excitement, go watch "Seed Of Chucky" or invite some boys over;) (over 18 only)