Mysteries

Mysteries

There are many mysteries that question the mind, but none that can compare to the intrigue in the supernatural. Ghosts, goblins, poltergeists, Death Omens, curses, unexplainable phenomena, and hauntings; mysteries of the paranormal could go on and on.

There are centuries of ghost stories and tales that have been passed down from generation to generation. From the Bermuda Triangle mysteries, phantoms of the ocean, ships, and glowing ghosts of little boys, to the curse of James' Deans' car, The Little Bastard and the Amityville Horror. A little background history of this bone-chilling horror may help one decide whether or not to believe in the existence of the beyond.

"Everywhere on earth and all through history, people have believed that there is more to the world than meets the eye. Behind the outward material appearance of things there is sensed something inward, immaterial, and probably invisible."(Cavendish 1) Apparitions of things have been seen all over the world. The definition of apparition, as given by Richard Cavendish, is "the supernormal manifestation of people, animals, objects, and spirits." (Cavendish 25) In the ancient folklore of England and Europe, glowing ghosts of little boys who have been murdered by their mothers appear. This particular apparition portends ill luck and a violent death. The name "radiant boys" could have possibly originated in German folklore with the word "kindermorderinn." However, there are numerous radiant boy stories in the Cumberland area of England. These boys seem to resemble a flame ; slightly orange with a glow about them. These ghosts have never been proved to have caused any harm, they simply appear and disappear as mysteriously as they came. There has only been one claim that these radiant boys have attempted to cause harm or scare people. One account of the radiant boy apparition was in Knebworth, England when Edward Bulwer-Lytton stated that he had seen a strange glowing boy with long golden hair sitting in front of the fire. This boy then drew his finger and slid it across his throat three times. Later, however this story was proved to be false and just another attention-getting scheme by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.(Guiley 274)

Another mind-boggling series of apparitions was the Legend of the Faceless Gray Man of Pawley's Island. The story has it that this faceless man appears just before ...

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...nges, nightly parades by spirit marching bands, levitations, green slime spilling down the stairs, putrid smells, sicknesses, strange scratches on Mrs.Lutzes' body, objects moving on their own accord, repeated disconnection of telephone service, and even communication between the youngest, Missy, and a devilish spirit she called "Jodie"; all of this unexplainable phenomena turned their dream home into a hell on earth. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lutz had dreams about the DeFeo family, and even envisioned the actual murders in their dreams. This strange activity went on for twenty-eight days before the Lutzes fled in terror. Later on with investigations of the weather reports and other evidence, police claim that this ordeal was simply a hoax and was just something the Lutzes cooked up around their kitchen over several bottles of wine. The truth will never be known by anyone but the Lutzes and the spirits. (Guiley 9)

A similar case was the Amherst haunting in 1878. One of the similarities was that both of these poltergeists named themselves, this one calling itself "Bob". Many of the same supernatural activity occurred here as at the Lutz home nearly one - hundred years later. (Guiley 4)