by Winkelstein
The following incident took place in the late 1950s in the South of Brazil. My mother was a young girl and lived in a white, middle-class neighbourhood. One day the young and pretty woman that lived next doors, Mrs. Svensson, was taken to hospital. Her family was very worried about her. About a week before the hospitalization she had started to complain about dizziness and a dry throat. Soon she lost weight and suffered from dehydration. In hospital she was drip-fed and doctors tried to help her but couldn't find the source of her illness. Her condition deteriorated fast and it looked as if she was going to die from dehydration during the next two days.
The family and close neighbours were all very sad, worried and helpless. Finally one old lady suggested that they should consult a "wise old woman" who lived in the area. Now these people were all Roman Catholics and not superstitious, but now they had nothing more to lose and visited old Mother Rita in her little dark house. Mother Rita listened to their story of the strange illness that had befallen Mrs. Svensson. She shook her head in an unbelieving and disgusted manner and said, "Listen to me, people. You have to do exactly as I tell you now. Go to Mrs. Svensson's home. Under the first step of the staircase of the porch you will find something that you have to bring here as soon as possible. Hurry!"
Mrs. Svensson's husband and her brothers drove to their house. Like many Brazilian houses it had a wooden porch and with a wooden staircase. They pulled the planks from the first step of the staircase and found a toad. Nothing else. Upon closer inspection they saw that the toad, it was more dead than alive, had its mouth sewn shut with a metallic thread. They grabbed the poor creature and brought it to Mother Rita. She sighed and said, "God, I hope we can still save her." Then she carefully pulled out the thread and opened the mouth of the toad. Inside its mouth was a golden coin.
Now I don't remember what she did with the toad and the coin, but she saved Mrs. Svensson's life in the very last minute. The story was that somebody had for some reason put a death-spell on Mrs. Svensson: if the toad had died from dehydration and starvation so would have the young woman. I guess such stories are common lore in Brazil but my mother swears this really happened.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Terminology
My formal education on things supernatural has been sketchy at best, and I have developed my own terminology that could be confusing to anyone not familiar with it.
G-d: the Big Man, the Man Upstairs, Higher Power, Yaweh, you know who I'm talking about.
Angels: messengers and servants of G-d; they carry out his will on earth. Although they may manifest themselves in human or near-human form, they generally do not, staying to the background, helping humans do what needs doing.
Spirit: any non-corporeal creature, usually detectable only to a medium or psychic; they may manifest in corporeal form, but this is rare. They come in all shapes and sizes
Sprite: a type of Spirit; not very powerful and generally of harmless(though sometimes mischievous) personality, they rarely manifest, preferring to stay out of sight.
Shade: a type of Spirit; generally very powerful and very hateful, they manifest as a deepening of shadows. They can be very harmful band enjoy inflicting terror and suffering on humans. Their favorite targets are children, both because they are easier to terrify and because shades enjoy it more.
Vampire: your general evil sun-fearing blood suckers; while at first glance there is little to distinguish a Vampire from a human(Indeed, all Vampires were once human), they cannot repress the fealing of unease they spread about them. Indeed, to a trained psychic, a Vampire can be easily detected from a great distance. They do not turn into bats, in my experience, but can pass nearly undetected through modern society; a fine example is Lord Ruthven in The Vampyre by lord Byron.
G-d: the Big Man, the Man Upstairs, Higher Power, Yaweh, you know who I'm talking about.
Angels: messengers and servants of G-d; they carry out his will on earth. Although they may manifest themselves in human or near-human form, they generally do not, staying to the background, helping humans do what needs doing.
Spirit: any non-corporeal creature, usually detectable only to a medium or psychic; they may manifest in corporeal form, but this is rare. They come in all shapes and sizes
Sprite: a type of Spirit; not very powerful and generally of harmless(though sometimes mischievous) personality, they rarely manifest, preferring to stay out of sight.
Shade: a type of Spirit; generally very powerful and very hateful, they manifest as a deepening of shadows. They can be very harmful band enjoy inflicting terror and suffering on humans. Their favorite targets are children, both because they are easier to terrify and because shades enjoy it more.
Vampire: your general evil sun-fearing blood suckers; while at first glance there is little to distinguish a Vampire from a human(Indeed, all Vampires were once human), they cannot repress the fealing of unease they spread about them. Indeed, to a trained psychic, a Vampire can be easily detected from a great distance. They do not turn into bats, in my experience, but can pass nearly undetected through modern society; a fine example is Lord Ruthven in The Vampyre by lord Byron.
True tale from Canada
Hovering Shadow Person
By Lita
I would like to share an experience I just had on July 25, 2007 in N.B., Canada. Where I live is near a grocery store that is owned by my aunt. The store closes at 11:00 p.m. every night. As I was cleaning my dishes, I noticed a car parked at the side of the store at exactly 11:35 p.m., so I decided to go out for a smoke and to see if I recognized the vehicle. As I stood on my patio I greeted my pit bull Trixie, who was tied up beside my house, and focused on the vehicle.
While I stood there, I noticed a black shadow shift changing, lingering and coming close to where I was. The tingle of fear creeped up my spine and I felt my whole head shiver with fear, but I said to myself, "Don't be scared" and watched it go around. When it came back I said, "I see you and know you there." Then it stopped for five seconds and continued to hover as if it were restless. I cupped my hand toward the street light to see if there was something above it to cause this shadow, and there was nothing but a clear night sky.
I went inside my house and asked my daughter, "Do you wanna see a ghost?" She said, "What?" When she followed me outside I pointed out the shadow to her and she said, "Mommy, I'm scared!" I said, "Just watch it and see what it'll do."
The Shadow lasted for an hour and a half until it approached my pit bull and stood watching my dog, then it was spooked by a truck's head lights and it appeared, as if it expanded its wings and flickered and disappeared into the woods. That was the weirdest experience I ever had. Freaky freaky freaky. I do remember thinking about the "Mothman" prophecies when I saw its wings expand and flicker. I know what I saw was real and my daughter shared that experience with me.
By Lita
I would like to share an experience I just had on July 25, 2007 in N.B., Canada. Where I live is near a grocery store that is owned by my aunt. The store closes at 11:00 p.m. every night. As I was cleaning my dishes, I noticed a car parked at the side of the store at exactly 11:35 p.m., so I decided to go out for a smoke and to see if I recognized the vehicle. As I stood on my patio I greeted my pit bull Trixie, who was tied up beside my house, and focused on the vehicle.
While I stood there, I noticed a black shadow shift changing, lingering and coming close to where I was. The tingle of fear creeped up my spine and I felt my whole head shiver with fear, but I said to myself, "Don't be scared" and watched it go around. When it came back I said, "I see you and know you there." Then it stopped for five seconds and continued to hover as if it were restless. I cupped my hand toward the street light to see if there was something above it to cause this shadow, and there was nothing but a clear night sky.
I went inside my house and asked my daughter, "Do you wanna see a ghost?" She said, "What?" When she followed me outside I pointed out the shadow to her and she said, "Mommy, I'm scared!" I said, "Just watch it and see what it'll do."
The Shadow lasted for an hour and a half until it approached my pit bull and stood watching my dog, then it was spooked by a truck's head lights and it appeared, as if it expanded its wings and flickered and disappeared into the woods. That was the weirdest experience I ever had. Freaky freaky freaky. I do remember thinking about the "Mothman" prophecies when I saw its wings expand and flicker. I know what I saw was real and my daughter shared that experience with me.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
How I got started(Or: an experience with G-d it's hard not to laugh at)
Let me first say, that though my parents tried to raise me to be a Conservative jew, for most of my life I've been an agnostic shading towards atheist. Secondly, I am now actively practising(Is that word spelled correctly?) Judaism, despite a short stint in the army. Why the change? Well, that's the interesting part. . . .
In June of 2004, my family moved to Israel, taking me with them. I was pretty mad about it at first(I loved our cabin in Vermont), but Israel's too beautiful a place to hate for long and I grew to love the country.
Anyway, to make a long story short, after jaunting about the country a bit, we wound up on a small farm in the Negev. 12 kilometres from Gaza city, but that's another story.
On January 7th, 2007, I woke up, and I was mad at the entire world; I hated everything. If you had handed me a control pad with a button warning: 'don't press this button, or the world will be destroyed.' I'd have pressed the button.
But anyhoo. For some reason, I felt the urge to go somewhere. Not just out of the house, but somewhere specific, I didn't know where.
So I said to my dad; "Is there anything we need from the Makolet(convenience store)?"
"No." He replied.
I grunted and walked towards the kitchen, stopped. "I'm going out." I said, and did so.
For some reason, just saying the word, 'Makolet' aroused a terrible urge in my mind to go there. "Why do I want to go there for?" I demanded of myself. "There's nothing I want there!" Nevertheless, the urge mounted.
"All right!" I said at last. "I'll start walking toward the gate(A small farming village close to Gaza? Of cource there's a wall around it. But then, the gate's always open, and the Makolet's in the next village, about a mile down the road. That's Israel for you) and if I think of something I want from the Makolet, I'll go there."
I walk to the gate, and the open road seems to call me, and the urge to go to the Makolet grows stronger than ever. "All right!" I say aloud. "I'll take a walk by Kfar Maimon(The next village) and if I think of anything I want from the Makolet, I'll go there."
So I walk down the road, and as I near the gates of Kfar Maimon. The urge grows ever more. "All right!" I shout. "I'll go to the Makolet, and if I see anything I want, I'll get it!"
So I do.
I arrive at the Makolet, and I don't see anything I want. I go through the whole place twice. Nothing. "Search one more time." Something said to me. I swear, I heard it in my ear. So I do.
I find on a shelf, bags of onion rings that I could have sworn had never been there before. And suddenly, I wanted those onion rings so bad, my mouth watered. "Wait." Something said to me again. "You want to get something with these."
So I look through the whole store again. And again. Nothing. 'Till I glance over by the door, and two coolers virtually appear before my eyes. I walk over and my eyes immediately light upon a bottle of orange juice. "Get that." Something tells me. So I do.
I got the onions rings, I got the OJ(Not Simpson) and I walked across the road to the small park across from the Makolet. I sit on the bench there and I munch a handful of of onion rings and sip some orange juice- and I was ta peace with the world, with every bite of onion rings and every sip of OJ, I was inhaling bliss. . . .
About a week later, I was washing dishes in the kitchen when a lightbulb came on in my head. Really, it was that sudden, I wasn't even thinking about it. "My G-d!" I exclaimed. "My G-d just spoke to me!"
I immediately renounced my atheist ways. I looked through several religions, became a Quaker(still am, though not a very good one) and returned to the US to enlist in the army.
Staying with my sister, a shaman, I was set upon by a shade that tried to kill me.
I enlisted in the army, got discharged, and came back to my sister's, where she introduced me to some former lives o' mine, but through it all, I'm still the jew I became that day.
I am not so presumptious as to think it was G-d speaking directly to me, but surely, nothing less than an Angel could have guided my steps so well that day.
In June of 2004, my family moved to Israel, taking me with them. I was pretty mad about it at first(I loved our cabin in Vermont), but Israel's too beautiful a place to hate for long and I grew to love the country.
Anyway, to make a long story short, after jaunting about the country a bit, we wound up on a small farm in the Negev. 12 kilometres from Gaza city, but that's another story.
On January 7th, 2007, I woke up, and I was mad at the entire world; I hated everything. If you had handed me a control pad with a button warning: 'don't press this button, or the world will be destroyed.' I'd have pressed the button.
But anyhoo. For some reason, I felt the urge to go somewhere. Not just out of the house, but somewhere specific, I didn't know where.
So I said to my dad; "Is there anything we need from the Makolet(convenience store)?"
"No." He replied.
I grunted and walked towards the kitchen, stopped. "I'm going out." I said, and did so.
For some reason, just saying the word, 'Makolet' aroused a terrible urge in my mind to go there. "Why do I want to go there for?" I demanded of myself. "There's nothing I want there!" Nevertheless, the urge mounted.
"All right!" I said at last. "I'll start walking toward the gate(A small farming village close to Gaza? Of cource there's a wall around it. But then, the gate's always open, and the Makolet's in the next village, about a mile down the road. That's Israel for you) and if I think of something I want from the Makolet, I'll go there."
I walk to the gate, and the open road seems to call me, and the urge to go to the Makolet grows stronger than ever. "All right!" I say aloud. "I'll take a walk by Kfar Maimon(The next village) and if I think of anything I want from the Makolet, I'll go there."
So I walk down the road, and as I near the gates of Kfar Maimon. The urge grows ever more. "All right!" I shout. "I'll go to the Makolet, and if I see anything I want, I'll get it!"
So I do.
I arrive at the Makolet, and I don't see anything I want. I go through the whole place twice. Nothing. "Search one more time." Something said to me. I swear, I heard it in my ear. So I do.
I find on a shelf, bags of onion rings that I could have sworn had never been there before. And suddenly, I wanted those onion rings so bad, my mouth watered. "Wait." Something said to me again. "You want to get something with these."
So I look through the whole store again. And again. Nothing. 'Till I glance over by the door, and two coolers virtually appear before my eyes. I walk over and my eyes immediately light upon a bottle of orange juice. "Get that." Something tells me. So I do.
I got the onions rings, I got the OJ(Not Simpson) and I walked across the road to the small park across from the Makolet. I sit on the bench there and I munch a handful of of onion rings and sip some orange juice- and I was ta peace with the world, with every bite of onion rings and every sip of OJ, I was inhaling bliss. . . .
About a week later, I was washing dishes in the kitchen when a lightbulb came on in my head. Really, it was that sudden, I wasn't even thinking about it. "My G-d!" I exclaimed. "My G-d just spoke to me!"
I immediately renounced my atheist ways. I looked through several religions, became a Quaker(still am, though not a very good one) and returned to the US to enlist in the army.
Staying with my sister, a shaman, I was set upon by a shade that tried to kill me.
I enlisted in the army, got discharged, and came back to my sister's, where she introduced me to some former lives o' mine, but through it all, I'm still the jew I became that day.
I am not so presumptious as to think it was G-d speaking directly to me, but surely, nothing less than an Angel could have guided my steps so well that day.
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