Tag Archives: Tina R. McSwain

Paranormally Speaking

By Tina R. McSwain

From the Con

If you are in Charlotte today, come on out to the Hilton University and join us at the Con.  It is a spectacle of science fiction, gaming, horror, writers, special gusts, independent films, and much much more.  I will be on several of the paranormal tract panel discussions.  Here’s just the Paranormal schedule below.  Hope you will check this out if you have never been to a “Con”.  Its hot outside, and air conditioned inside, Saturday is the day to come according to old-time Con-goers, so come on down…

Saturday – 6/4/2011
9:00 am Ask a Ghost Hunter Walden – Programming 4
11:00 am Too Much of a Good Thing? Walden – Programming 4
12:00 pm Skeptics vs. Believers Walden – Programming 4

07:00 pm Shawn Sellers Walden – Programming 4
07:00 pm – The World Premier of Ghost Trek TV Pilot University Ballroom D/E
Programming 1

Sunday – 6/5/2011
12:00 pm Cryptozoology Walden – Programming 4
01:00 pm Paranormal Then and Now Walden – Programming 4

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Paranormally Speaking

By Tina R. McSwain

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Paraskevidekatriaphobia, the irrational fear of Friday the 13th. Derived from the Greek for Paraskevi (meaning Friday), dekatreis (meaning thirteen), and phobia (meaning fear).

(The fear of just the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia.)

The number 13 itself is feared. Many buildings omit the 13th floor, choosing instead to go from floor 12 to floor 14. The Munsters from the old TV series days lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, to be sure the producer’s play on the superstition.

Couple that along with the notion that Fridays are generally regarded as unlucky. Take Black Friday for instance, when in 1929 the stock market fell, leading to many an investor’s death from suicide and the collapse of the US economy. And, you have the fear of Friday the 13th.

Many people postpone trips, refuse to make important decisions, or otherwise react negatively to the date.

Even us paranormal investigators. We did an investigation last year on August 13th (a Friday) in hopes that we would have tremendous luck in gathering evidence. It proved to be one of the quieter investigations we have done. So yes, we too succomb to the bad luck of Friday the 13th and now plan our outings for another time.

What about you, did you change your habits this Friday?

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Paranormally Speaking

By Tina R. McSwain

(My apologies, the Paranormally Speaking segment is running behind from Friday due to illness in the family)

The Second Instance of a First

Last week, I spoke about firsts in my paranormal career and how they are few and far between. Well lo and behold, I have had another. I was performing a cleansing or spirit rescue and had almost finished the house. When I got to the last room, I felt a heaviness or uneasiness coming from the closet. I went over to start my procedure and actually got grabbed by the arm. I have been grabbed before, so this was not unusual. What was disturbing was that I got scratched. For the first time, I had a physical injury from an entity (albeit rather minor).  Undaunted, I continued my quest to cleanse this home, and put the fears of the homeowner to rest.

I succeeded in the end.  I shall chalk this up to a learning experience and revel in the knowledge that no matter how long you do something, you can always learn something new.

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What is Smudging?

By Tina R. McSwain

We recently spoke about “Spirit Rescue”. One of the techniques used in spirit rescue is the practice of smudging. Smudging is a process whereby you light white sage and let it burn. This practice dates back to the earth’s native peoples. While this sage is burning and emitting smoke, you walk around the entire home or business and let the smoke into every room. This is usually done in a clockwise pattern and The Lord’s Prayer is said while walking about.

This ceremony is intended to clear the area of negative thoughts, energy or spirits, and keep them at bay in the future. Other herbs that may be used are cedar and sweetgrass much in the same fashion.

The performer of the ceremony must be of pure heart and knowledgeable in the practice that they are conducting.

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Native American Entities

By Tina R. McSwain

These spirits are as diverse as the many Native American tribes themselves. This is a very broad category that cannot possibly be covered here. My intent is to but introduce the concept.

In this country, some people have had what they consider very real encounters with what they believe are Native American “skin-walkers”. The term “skin-walker” has variable meanings depending on tribal affiliation. While some describe these creatures as something close to a werewolf, others consider them witches with a supernatural ability to transform into various animals. Most Native Americans typically have a positive attitude towards “magic” and its practitioners, but these are thought of as “witches” who have honed their abilities through acts of evil. This twists them into something more than human.

The powers they possess can only be obtained by killing another member of the tribe. This disrespect for the basic morals of tribal society and human decency turns skin-walkers into outcasts. They are feared and hated by the other members of the tribe. It is said that their animal forms are slightly deformed because of their evil nature.

In recent years, some paranormal places have been considered hotspots of skin-walker activity (the most famous being Utah’s “Skinwalker Ranch” or Marley Woods). The otherworldly goings-on include everything from apparitions, cryptid creatures, UFO sightings and cattle mutilations.

Native American culture also brings us the “chindi”, a sort of avenging spirit, released at death to attack those who offended the deceased. Chindi are dangerous, single-minded entities. It is said that even being near one can cause “ghost sickness”; a sometimes fatal wasting away of the infected person.

Many people believe that the phenomenon of “shadow people” is somehow related to Native American mythology. These shadow beings have been witnessed in cemeteries, homes, and even in the vicinity of Indian burial grounds. At this point no one is sure of their exact origins. Some believe them to be evil-natured while others consider them protective spirits. Some even claim they are from another dimension.

In the folklore among many Native North American tribes, appear water babies that are small in human form, and inhabit lakes, streams, springs, and other bodies of water. They are not malicious, but do at times play tricks on humans, and are feared.

There are countless culture-specific supernatural creatures; the more familiar you are with the culture and beliefs themselves, the more you can understand the various entities the people fear.

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Spirit Rescue

By Tina R. McSwain

What is a spirit rescue?  Well, it is exactly what it sounds like.  Helping the spirit to move on to its next plane of existence.  Finding the lost souls and releasing the trapped ones.

There are individuals who have the knowledge, experience and skills to rescue a spirit.  This means that these people actually assist a spirit to move on using a variety of methods and techniques unique to that individual.  This practice also offers a sense of comfort and relief to the home or business owner who has an unwelcome guest in their midst as well.

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UFOs

By Tina R. McSwain

Unidentified Flying Objects.  Ufology refers to their study.  Persons who study these sightings are called ufologists.  Just as Cryptozoology last week, this category often falls under the realm of paranormal.

Like their counterpart paranormal investigators and researchers, UFOs, aliens, and abductions are catalogued and studied by enthusiasts all over the world.  Many of these are retired military, airline and NASA personnel who have had their own close encounters.  MUFON which stands for Mutual UFO Network is dedicated to the pursuit of answers and has a chapter in every state in the union.  There are international chapters as well.

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The Cryptids

Paranormally Speaking
By Tina R. McSwain

The word cryptozoology comes from the Greek kryptos “hidden” and the word zoology “the scientific study of animals”, meaning the study of hidden animals. Cryptozoology, however, is not a scientific discipline. This category is often placed under the paranormal realm. These are creatures (cryptids) that are rooted in legend, folklore, or perhaps even fact. Some of the more famous (or infamous) you may recognize are the Loch Ness Monster or “Nessie” from Scotland, or a number of other lake monsters such as “Champ”, the lake dweller in Lake Champlain which borders New York, Vermont, and Quebec; “Ogopogo”, the serpentine monster in Lake Okanaganin Canada, or even “Tessie”, the monster in Lake Tahoe.

Cryptids also inhabit the dry land. Take the New Jersey Devil for instance which is located in the pine barrens in the state of New Jersey. The Mothman is responsible for putting Point Pleasant, WV on the map. Every year, the town holds a Mothman Festival. Bigfoot was once only reported out west in the deep forests of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. Today however, Bigfoot has been reported in almost every state in the union including North Carolina. The Animal Planet is currently following a local bigfoot hunter in his quest for the animal throughout the Uwharrie Forest near Albemarle. He is called Yeti in the Himalayas or Sasquatch in the northwest United States and Canada. The chupacabra, “goat sucker” in Spanish, was once confined to Puerto Rico, but has now been reported in Mexico and Texas.

There are cryptids in the air as well. “Rods” are exactly what they sound like, rod shaped unknowns that fly through the air. Some, even having been caught on film, yet rendered no explanation as to their existence. Thunderbirds are another beast of the air, very large birds apparently belonging to none of the species we currently catalogue.

Groups or individuals study the sightings and nature of these entities much like paranormal investigators research and study ghosts. Those who investigate these occurrences refer to themselves as Cryptozoologists.

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Paranormally Speaking from the Con.

Paranormally Speaking
by Tina R. McSwain

This weekend, we are at StellarCon 35 in High Point, NC. We set up our display table and met and talked with many interesting people. They had good stories to tell, and a few questions for us as well. We spoke on two panels. One I would call Ghost Hunting 101, and the other was deemed “Meet the Ghost Hunters”. Panels for you non con-goers are exactly what they sound like…a panel of experts in their field, seated at a table up front and speaking to a room of interested persons.

Now at cons, you meet all kinds; stormtroopers, Jedi, Starfleet, Klingons, steampunkers, pirates, authors, vendors, gamers, artists, podcasters, and some that defy explanation. We conducted a poll on views of the paranormal and got the following results. The Jedi believe in the paranormal, stating that the force can be likened to what we would call telekinesis (moving things or otherwise affecting them with the mind), they also believe in the existence of ghosts, pointing out that many Jedi have returned from the dead to offer advice to their living counterparts. Most notably Qui-Gon Jinn spoke to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan and Yoda spoke to Luke, and even Anakin Skywalker allowed his son to see him on the good side after he died as Darth Vader. Starfleet officers told us that it depended on which planet you were from so they really could not give us a definitive answer to our poll questions. But the Klingons did state that they do believe in an afterlife and believe they must die honorably to enter Stovokor. Should they die dishonorably, they would be thrust into Grethor (their version of Hell). They also told us of a Jatlyn, the Klingon term for spiritual possession. Translated into human speech, it means “the taking of the living by the dead”.

So, yes, no matter what race you are, the paranormal realm fits in nicely at the cons.

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Crisis Apparition

Paranormally Speaking
By Tina R. McSwain

One group of “ghosts” that often goes unmentioned is the “crisis apparition”. These spirits are not technically of the haunting variety. Their appearance is usually a brief single event caused by their death.  This event marks the passing of a loved one. These manifestations  most often occur at night or in the early morning hours. Typically the spirit will visit a loved one either to deliver a positive final message or to bring news of their passing. It may seem to the recipient that they are dreaming.  But this is not the case.  The experience is usually described as a loving and peaceful exchange, not the terror we expect from a haunting. Most crisis apparitions occur within 12 hours before or after the death of the “visitor”. Usually this spirit will appear to only one person, but it can appear to two or more family members as well. Although this type of case would not be investigated by ghost hunters, the reports of this phenomena lend some credence to the subject of ghosts and paranormal activity as it is repeatedly experienced by the general public.

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