Thoughts on the Ouija Board from Author Terri Reid


Best-selling author Terri Reid recently posted a fascinating narrative on her blog about the Ouija board. Terri and I are definitely of a like mind on the subject (hint: Ouijas are bad.), so after I read it, I knew instantly I had to share it.

Make sure you also check out Terri’s books on Amazon when you get a chance. She writes enthralling paranormal mysteries that have the unique ability to not only send shivers down your spine, but put a smile on your face. (Maybe just not at the exact same time.)

Enjoy.






Ouija Board Nightmares 2 - Audiobook now available!



Ouija Board Nightmares 2 is now available as an audiobook, narrated by the inimitable Michael E. Smith. Audio fans can get their copy at:


Just like listening to smooth jazz. Well, except for that whole nightmares thing.


A Ouija Omnibus



The newest addition to the Harker paranormal collection. 



Why settle for one nightmare when you can have a whole night's worth?

Beings of Light



Much of the time this blog discusses instances of dark, eerie, and evil matters. It tends to make us forget, I think, that good also exists and is ever more powerful. I ran across a story today that reinforces that belief and illustrates beautifully that agents of good—beings of light—are with us always. In the Christian church, as well as others, we call these beings angels. And in honor of their feast day today (October 2nd), I’d like to give them a little attention with this fascinating narrative as recounted by magazine writer Robert Reilly:

There are some true believers, of course. A Creighton University Jesuit named Father Francis Deglman used to fascinate me and other students with his recital of encounters with his personal angel. He carried on a spirited discourse with this being--argued even, and complained.

His most dramatic episode occurred early one morning when he was awakened from sleep.

"Francis, get up!"

Father Deglman glanced at his alarm clock. "It's 3 in the morning," he managed to object. But he arose. The guardian angel instructed him to turn on the light. Reluctantly he fumbled for the wall switch.

"Now turn it off. And get back to bed."

Deglman shook his head, plunged the room into darkness again, and crept beneath the solo blanket, still wondering what this was all about.

The next morning a student came to see him.

"Father," he began, "last night I was thinking of taking my life. I tried to get into the campus church but it was locked. It had to be about 3 o'clock. I sat on the wall outside the Jesuit residence, certain that God didn't care if I lived or died. Then I said, 'If there is a God, let a light go on in that building.' I looked back up and your light was on." *

The light is always there for us. All we have to do is ask for it.


* As published in U.S. Catholic magazine.


Demons are real, says New York psychiatry professor


Juan de Cordoba chassant les démons


Dr. Richard Gallagher is a respected New York psychiatrist and a professor at Columbia University and New York Medical College. But he’s something else that’s even way cooler. For the last 25 years, Dr. Gallagher has served as a consultant for a network of exorcists across the country. When one of these priests suspects that someone may be a victim of diabolical possession, they ask Dr. Gallagher to assess the person to rule out a medical or mental condition before beginning the process of a formal exorcism. In most cases, there is indeed a scientific explanation for the person’s odd behavior. But not always. In his 25 years of consulting, Dr. Gallagher says he’s seen about 100 cases of true demonic possessions, and hundreds more of oppressions, cases in which a demon basically makes life miserable for someone.

In the article below, Dr. Gallagher shares some fascinating insights and creepy stories from his experiences. And good news for those of us who are fans (I've known about Dr. Gallagher for some time now): he's coming out with a book later this year entitled Demonic Foes: Experiences of a Psychiatrist in the World of Exorcism. 

Enjoy!


Psychiatrist Professor Says Demonic Possessions Real

Lady Gaga’s Bedevilment Problem



Allow me to state the obvious: Making deals with the devil is never a good idea.

“The demonic is a loan shark, and it not only collects before you’re ready, it wants double in return for what it gives. Ultimately it wants the soul. - Ed Warren, demonologist

As I stated in my book Evil Unleashed, involvement in the occult always backfires, in one form or another. It can be quick or it can take a number of years. But be assured that the spirits you bargain with will never let you off the hook.

Just ask Lady Gaga.

In an explosive new interview, Lady Gaga relates how she went from being an unknown burlesque performer to a multi-platinum pop star “in a cinch” thanks to a mysterious, “strangely ageless man” who made her a deal she couldn’t refuse.

Well, she could have. And actually now she wishes she would have.

Read this fascinating account at the link below. And keep Lady Gaga in your prayers. If she’s telling the truth, she surely needs them. If she’s blowing a major load of performance smoke, she still needs them.

Lady Gaga: Fibromyalgia Is ‘Punishment’ For Joining The Illuminati

Witches Hexing Trump Will Have Disastrous Results (And Not The Kind You Think)


The Three Witches, Henry Fuseli, 1783


Last month a group of New York City witches gathered at Catland Books, an occult bookshop in Brooklyn, to put a hex on President Trump, members of his administration, and his constituents. This was different than the “binding spell” put on him by witches in February, explains self-described "transgender wolfqueen witch-goddess" Dakota Bracciale. The binding ritual was intended to stop the President from doing any “malignant works,” but in retrospect, says Bracciale, it was "too loving, light and soft." Hence, the hexing ritual, which actively wishes harm upon the targeted person. Bracciale claims the spells are working: just look at the disarray, scandals, and setbacks the administration has been suffering in recent months. More anti-Trump rituals are planned, and it sounds like they will continue until they achieve their ultimate goal of impeachment, or worse.

Okaaaay then. Here’s what I want to remind anyone who thinks this is a good idea. Spells, curses, hexes -- they backfire. It’s the ultimate case of “be careful what you wish for.” In my book Evil Unleashed, I have a chapter devoted to the travails of a young man who was victimized by a witch’s hex. This isn’t Bewitched, friends. This is serious stuff. Being on the receiving end of a hex can bring misery, suffering, and death. And for those doing the hexing? Well, pretty much the same.

Fr. Herman Jayachandra, a priest with extensive exorcism experience in India and the United States, and who has had to deal with curses and hexes on both sides of the world, warns: “The devil, after using a witch to the best interest of both, eventually will kill her indirectly, driving her mad so she’ll die quickly in an accident or slowly from not being able to care for herself.”

Of course, witches like Bracciale will say they’re not invoking the devil in their spells; only forces of natures, cosmic energy, thought vibrations, etc., etc. Exorcists who have been in the trenches say that’s a bunch of hogwash: The power of the spells comes from evil forces, pure and simple.

“You are becoming indebted by calling on power not from God and establishing a relationship with that power,” says exorcist, Fr. Patrick (not his real name, for privacy purposes). “If you ask a favor, these spirits don’t want to help you in the long run. If you think they do, you are fooling yourself. . . Evil is not concerned about your freedom; it wants control.”

Reverend Vincent Lampert, an exorcist from the Diocese of Indianapolis, says that those casting spells are relying on evil that feeds on anger and revenge. “The end result of all this for people will be to find themselves more deeply entangled with the devil,” he said. “Their lives will continue to spiral out of control.”

There’s a similar theme in all these warnings: loss of control. The witch may think she or he is doing the driving, but later down the road it will become apparent that they’re just along for the ride -- a ride that will end with a crash if they don’t find a way to escape the darkness.


The Peruvian Anabelle - Possessed Doll Terrorizes Family



This story goes back to May, but remains blog-worthy for its creepiness. It begs the question, though, as so many of these haunted doll stories do, why do people keep these demonic little playthings around? I don't care if my favorite nephew gifted it to me or not: she'd be outta my house faster than a dead rat.

Possessed Blue-Eyed Doll

Haunted Dolls are This Woman's Passion




When Karina Eames turned 34, her mother gave her an antique doll as a birthday present. It wasn’t an unusual gift, as Karina had been collecting dolls since her early 20s and had amassed quite a large collection. But it was unique in that it was the first doll in Karina’s possession to, well, sort of introduce itself. The doll was sitting at her feet when suddenly Karina felt her foot being touched by what she described as “children’s fingers.”

“I was both excited and scared as the fingers moved up my leg,' she told Australia’s that’s life! magazine. “I wondered if my sons, Caleb and Jacob had sneaked into my room. But there was no one there!”

Since that night, Karina started experiencing many other strange occurrences, prompting her to investigate further into her existing doll collection, and even motivating her to acquire other antique dolls with a history of “spirit attachment.” Karina, now 38, estimates that within her collection of 700 dolls, there reside about 100 different spirits.

“I love having so many possessed dolls living with me,” she said. “My house will always be happily haunted.”


[I’d rather my house be happily non-haunted, but that’s just me. - John]



To read more, see “Mum says her collection of ‘possessed’ antique baby dolls lets her talk to the dead,” that’s life! February 2017.


(Photo: Creative Commons, author: NikiSublime)

World's Largest Ouija Board




This is the rooftop of the 130-year-old Grand Midway Hotel in Windber, Pennsylvania. Owned by film maker Blair Murphy, who lives there with his girlfriend and baby girl, the hotel is not in operation but rather is open to guests on an invitation-only basis. The Grand Midway has been featured on various television shows and in books for its reputed haunted status, so when the offer came around to buy the property a few years back, Blair--who had always had an interest in the paranormal--jumped at the opportunity.

"It has been one fantastic adventure," said Blair in an interview with Guinness World Records, noting that he and his guests have experienced many strange things at the hotel. But it was when he held a Ouija board session there that the activity really kicked up.
“Things flipped out throughout the hotel.  Energies were swirling.  Guests were getting completely freaked out,” says Blair, “it seemed to kick things up into an entire new level of paranormal activity.  We were seeing floating people and hearing voices and even the hotel pets were flipping out and reacting to unseen forces. Our dreams were pretty wild.  And it wasn't just us.  Other longer-term hotel residents were saying ‘there is absolutely something going on here’ and having their own middle of the night weird encounters.”
For most people, that would have been more than enough reason to pack up and move a thousand miles away. But for Blair, it actually inspired him to make the hotel more spooky by constructing the world's largest Ouija board on the roof, so big, in fact, that it's visible from Google Maps.

“The hotel roof was this massive blank canvas just waiting for the perfect project to present itself,” said Blair. “A Ouija world record roof was a perfect match for our place.”

To see the board come alive from start to finish, check this out:



Interesting, yes. But my readers know how I feel about Ouija boards. If I lived in this neighborhood, I'd be calling my realtor about now.