Inside the Legend: Yellow Fever

GHOST SICKNESS

Ghost Sickness is a syndrome that’s caused by the association with the dead or dying, it’s sometimes connected with witchcraft. The sickness may also be spurred from the belief that the dead may try to take someone with them.

The sufferer from ghost sickness may be obsessed with the dead or a deceased person whom they believe to be the source of their affliction. The physical symptoms can include weakness and fatigue, diminished appetite, a sense of suffocation and the inability to breathe. Psychological symptoms may include nightmares, anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations and confusion.

Erikson and Macgregor have reported that aspects of a traumatic response from ghost sickness may include: withdrawal and psychic numbing, anxiety and hypervigilance, guilt, identification with ancestral pain and death, and chronic sadness.

Ghost Sickness can sometimes bring out feelings of pointlessness or depression. This unresolved grief manifests in the form of seeking out spirits of deceased relatives, obsessive reminiscing about the deceased, and a longing to reunite with them.

In Navajo beliefs the deceased cannot be at peace if certain burial and mourning rituals are not practiced. This can bring about physical and mental problems for the living due to the inability of the dead to be at peace.

The Kwakiuti Indians believe that children are more vulnerable to ghost sickness due to their weaker souls, in order to protect the child adults commonly refer to children as adults to mislead the ghosts.

If a ghost is the cause of the sickness, the only ways you can end it is finding and burning it's bones or finding a way to scare the ghost back to death.

GHOST HUNTING

So, you think you’re ready to hunt down ghosts? Are you sure? Alrighty then, below Sammy and I have included useful tips to get you guys ready. Just make sure you don’t get ghost sickness in the process.

THE WINCHESTER CREDO

1. Never tease, threaten or dare an unseen entity.
2. Never seek out entities on your own, even among well-trained hunters like Dean and myself it’s best when there’s someone there to watch your back.
3. Never, under any circumstance, can you leave a man behind.
4. Use religious relics and symbols as protection.
5. Listen to your instincts and rely on your senses. You’ll get more adjusted to your sixth sense over time.
6. Always consider all aspects of a haunting and make sure you’ve done you’re homework. You need to be familiar with all aspects of the supernatural.
7. Always have a means of contact with the outside world, such as a cell phone.
8. Despite what you might think, it’s okay to be afraid. Just don’t let your fear take over.

SHUTTER: GHOST PHOTOGRAPHY

It’s best to take photographs of ghosts at night with a flash or in an area that has subdued lighting. Any camera works, it all relies on your methods.

Ghosts are almost everywhere in one form or another, so don’t be afraid to take pictures anywhere you go. The odds are pretty good that the more pictures you take, the better your chances are of catching an anomaly. Fifty pictures on a hunt, you’re bound to come up with something if the place is indeed haunted. But, make sure to avoid shiny surfaces, a dirty lens, bad weather, and cold breath because you may mistake a natural occurrence for an entity.

The ghosts you guys are hunting are probably going to be along the more friendly variety unless you want to immediately jump from amateur to full on hunter, which we don’t advise. It even took our father a while to get used to the supernatural world out there and he was very over protective of us when we were growing up so we never overstepped his boundaries.

Thus, when you first enter the area that you want to photograph walk around for around fifteen minutes before doing anything, clear your mind and only think good thoughts. After this recite a statement to tell the ghosts that you’re going to be taking some photographs of them, the more relaxed and open you are the better your chances are going to be. Make sure to clarify that you’re not there to do any harm and will only be there long enough to get some good pictures.

As for technique, ghost energy will appear in the air from two feet to ten feet off the ground. It’s best to focus your attention at that level, but make sure not to limit yourself because they can be anywhere. Also follow your instincts and gut feelings, let the force guide you young padawan. Ghosts are also attracted to people, thus you’ll have a better chance of capturing it on camera if you include people in the photos. The best time of year is in the colder months, October through February, because the electrostatic energy is at it’s highest.

WHITE NOISE: GHOST VOICES

EVP refers to Electronic Voice Phenomena and is further classified into three classes:

CLASS A: Voices that are understood by all.

CLASS B: Voices that cannot be clearly made out due to the low tones.

CLASS C: Voices that are extremely faint and almost completely incomprehensible.

When recording, it’s best to have some form of background noise such as static, running water or even a vacuum cleaner to make it easier for the spirit to communicate. Lay the unit down with microphone extended, ask a few questions and pause for a response. It’s also a good idea to ask some questions and then leave the device recording in a remote location for around twenty minutes. You can also carry the recorder around with you as you walk around, stop and ask a question, pause for an an answer then move on.

Helpful tips:

1. Use an external microphone.
2. Talk in a normal voice.
3. Make notes of any sounds or noises.
4. If you’re recording unit as a sensitivity level, adjust it to the highest level possible.
5. Set your unite to “voice activated mode.”
6. Ask the spirits to talk loudly and even shout if possible.
7. On playback don’t confuse background noise and garble as a ghost voice.
8. Use programs that can filter out noise to get the best voice results.
9. Conduct yourself in a manner of knowing that the spirits are already there.
10. When listening to the results, use head phones to block out all other noises.

THE HUNT

Remember that it’s important to never go alone on a ghost hunt. Always say a prayer of protection prior and after the hunt. Make sure that all of your equipment is fully charged, be aware of your surroundings, and start off with the best of intentions for both your team and the ghosts present.

If you’re traveling in large groups it’s best to split it up into smaller groups. Take along a notebook to record the setting of the hunt and all of your observations, whether supernatural related or not. Most importantly don’t show fear, remember that you’re the one in control. However, since these places will likely be abandoned it’s best if you bring some of protection with you.

End the hunt by evoking the power of God as protection, or however you would according to your own personal religious beliefs.

TYPES OF ENTITIES

ECTOPLASM: Normally appears several feet off of the ground and can linger or travel quickly at will. It’s usual colors are gray, white or black. Ectoplasms can be mostly be found at cemeteries, battlefields and historical sites.

ORBS: Photographed anomalies that often show up as transparent balls of light hovering above the ground. The lingering trail sometimes seen in photographs indicates that it was traveling at a fast rate of speed. Orbs have also been caught on video hovering in the same position, but most times they’re seen traveling erratically in a free pattern. Orbs can most often be seen outdoors, especially at historic surroundings, and they don’t seem to be effected by climate or temperature.

VORTEX GHOSTS: Appearance of a swirling funnel shape moving about, Vortexes are often felt as a cold spot. They are mostly spotted inside homes and old buildings; it’s very rare that they’ll be seen outdoors.

SHADOW GHOSTS: Appear as a ‘shadow’ normally reported to be two feet in length or longer, they tend to travel at a height of two to ten feet. Usually sneaky and evasive, spotted out of the corner of your eye as their darting through a wall. Shadow ghosts are most often spotted in homes, but have sometimes be send outdoors at a distance.

APPARITIONS: Seen as transparent human form wearing the clothes of their period. Normally appear faint and disfigured as in being incomplete. They are most often reported being seen in older homes, hotels, theaters and cemeteries.

GHOST LIGHTS: Ghost lights have been seen and recorded in every country and civilization. These mysterious lights are usually seen as white or blue balls or yellow spheres, sometimes as candle flames, glowing in the darkness. According to legend, the light is the ghost of a sinner condemned to wander the world for eternity. In parts of Britain, it’s called will-o’-wisp and is known to be a death omen. It’s normally seen in remote locations.

TYPES OF HAUNTINGS

Sam and I would like to thank Ghost Hunter Jason Hawes for providing the following information regarding the different types of hauntings…

DEMONIC HAUNT: When it is a demonic haunting you typically notice a revolting stench similar to rotted flesh or sulfuric acid. They often let loose a growl that sounds like it is coming from everywhere at once. They like to make contact by pushing, shoving, hitting, and even scratching. The whole air in the affected area will feel thick like fog and the temperature will drastically change, typically becoming warmer. There have been cases where people have been thrown through the air and even attacked. Apparently, their main goal is to break down a person's free will in order to make way for possession. During an investigation you need assess the situation more by what happened before you arrived than what is actually going on during the time you are there.

POLTERGEIST HAUNT: The activity that takes place will start of with knocks and bangs, furniture starting to move around by itself. Then, the activity will become more intense, manifesting itself through voices and even the appearance of full apparitions. Furniture may slide across the room and beds may shake. Many shows are based on this is a style of haunting because it tends to be the most terrifying and rarest type of haunting that occurs.

INTELLIGENT HAUNT: In this style of haunting the entity or entities are aware of their surroundings. Most of the time you will find that these spirits are not confined to one spot, they can move around freely. Also, they will acknowledge the existence of human beings and even try to communicate in certain ways. They are limited in what they can do. Most of the time they only move very light objects but they have been known to move objects up to around 10lbs. They are looking for people to notice them but they end up scaring people a great deal instead. Usually, between the hours of 11pm and 4am are the times that the entities can more efficiently manifest themselves, due to this time period being the darkest hours of the night. These spirits can be benevolent or mischievous, depending on the reason that they are haunting a location.

RESIDUAL HAUNT: The most common style of a human haunting is a residual haunting. A residual haunting is like having an impression made in time. The entity may seem to be lost in a time warp. The spirit really isn't even there, only the energy is. In most cases people may here screaming or crying due to the violence factor that may have caused this traumatic event to happen. People may also hear the sounds of footsteps walking on the stairs or through hallways. There is no actual entity present in this style of haunting, and the energy that was left behind is just like a video playing the same scene over and over again. Eventhough it is not aware that people are there, it can still be a scary and emotional situation to the people who have to deal with it happening in their home.

Well, I think that's all for this week, don't worry about showing your fear - Dean even screamed like a little girl after spotting the dead animal.

Shut up dude, I was infected. Anyways, yeah, until next week - Winchester brothers, out.

Inside the Legend by Dean5339