NIGHTMARE


Source : J. A. Cheyne 
                      Department of Psychology 
                      University of Waterloo

Nightmares and nocturnal attacks have been closely connected to myths and monsters across time and cultures. It has even been even suggested that the night-mare is the origin of all mythology (see Kirby, 1901). Although few modern scholars would be quite so bold or sweeping in their claims the pervasiveness of the nocturnal attack in mythology, religion, and legend is quite striking. Ardat lili or Lilitu, an evil Sumerian spirit, is one of the earliest Hag-demons. She was capable of flying, which she preferred to do at night, at which time she frequently attacked men in their sleep. She is thought to constitute the prototype for the Hebrew Lilith and the Roman Lamia (Russell, 1995). All these female spirits or demons have in common an association with nocturnal attacks. Moreover there are a number of related spirits described in Middle Eastern and European lore with connotations of leaping upon, oppressing, or crushing, supine individuals as they attempt to sleep at night. Some of the better-known spirits of this sort are; Greek ephialtes (one who leaps upon) and mora (the night "mare" or monster, ogre, spirit, etc.), Roman incubus (one who presses or crushes), German mar/mare, nachtmahr, Hexendrücken (witch pressing), and Alpdruck (elf pressure); Czech muera, Polish zmora, Russian Kikimora, French cauchmar (trampling ogre), Old English maere (mab, mair, mare-hag), hagge, (evil spirit or the night-mare--also hegge, haegtesse, haehtisse, haegte); Old Norse mara, Old Irish mar/more, Newfoundland Ag Rog (Old Hag), and the Spanish pesadilla ( Keissling, 1977; Hufford, 1982; OED, Roscher, 1900/1979; Sebald, 1978; Thompson, 1957; Ward, 1981). In addition, the Greeks also had the pnigalion (the choker) and the barychnas (the heavy breather)troubling would-be sleepers (Keissling, 1977). In addition to attacking helpless humans at night these creatures were shape-shifters, able to take on various forms during these attacks (Keissling, 1977).

Among the writers of European antiquity, Herodotus provides an early account of an ephialtes who appeared to the wife of King Ariston of Sparta in the form of the King himself, although it was itself the spirit of the deceased hero Astrobacus. Horace makes a reference to a threat whereby a boy claims that if he is killed he "will attend you as a nocturnal fury; and, a ghost, I will attack your faces with my hooked talons (for such is the power of those divines, the Manes), and brooding upon your restless breasts, I will deprive you of repose by terror." In Greece and Rome, the ephialtes and the incubus were identified with gods and demons of the forest and woodland, such as, the god Pan (Roman = Faunus), as well as Satyrs, Sirens, and Silvani (Kiessling, 1977), and even with the goddess Diana (Russell, 1995). Many of these creatures were depicted as resembling humans in the upper portions of their bodies and beasts, usually goats or fauns, in the lower extremities. This association was evidently still quite strong by the time of Augustine who explicitly associated Pan with the incubus. Pan was particularly associated with shepherds and goatherds and one may well imagine that the isolated and rigorous life of such individuals predisposed them to many nocturnal visitations. Similarly, the succubus Lilith was to be typically to be found in the remote regions of the desert (Isaiah, 34:12). Pan's attacks were of course associated with panic. Pan was also more generally seen as the instigator of "dreams and visions, especially those that produced sudden, violent terror" (Kiessling, 1977, p. 5).

There is also certain classes of angels, "watchers" and "fallen angels," referred to in the Judeo-Christian traditions, associated with the incubus. Some were sent to watch over humans, and sometimes became enamoured of human women. The progeny of such encounters were, however, monsters and demons who further molested and assaulted helpless sleepers (Kiessling, 1977). Augustine doubted that angels were the source of incubi, though he had no doubt that the latter existed. "There is, too, a very general rumor, which many have verified by their own experience, or which trustworthy persons who have heard the experience of others corroborate, that sylvans and fauns, who are commonly called "incubi," had often made wicked assaults upon women, and satisfied their lust upon them; and that certain devils, called Duses by the Gauls, are constantly attempting and effecting this impurity is so generally affirmed, that it were impudent to deny it" (ch. 23). Martin Luther was unequivocal in asserting that, "sunt incubi et succubi daemonis . . ."

In some traditions these monsters are the descendents of Adam and his first wife, none other than Lilith herself (Kiesling, 1977). Certain midrashic stories allege that Cain is an offspring of such a union, in this case between Eve and the ultimate fallen angel, the devil himself. It is not surprising, therefore, that Beowulf's foe, the monster Grendel (referred to at least once n that famous poem by the term maere--Kiessling, 1977) is described in the poem as a descendent of Cain. Grendel, a cannibalistic devourer of men invariably carries out his attacks in the dead of night on sleeping men. Prior to Beowulf's confrontation with Grendel, Hrothgar tells him how previous heroes have been defeated, apparently because they were unable to remain awake. It is also worth noting that Beowulf eschews arming himself for the confrontation with Grendal on the grounds that Grendel does not bear arms. He destroys Grendal as Grendal destroyed men, by ripping a limb from its socket.

These experiences and their ensuing personification and elaboration are by no means limited to western culture. In St. Lucia, West Indies, an attack of kokma comes at a time that the individual is just falling asleep or just waking up. The sensations include pressure on the chest, inability to move, and anxiety. The kokma is the spirit of a dead baby that haunts an area, attacking people in their beds. In a familiar pattern, they jump on the victim’s chest and clutch at the throat. The victim attempts to cry out, or in some other way to get another’s attention, someone that might scare off the kokma. Informants described the babies clutching at their throats. The notion that the attacks are thought to be initiated by dead, unbaptized babies is also found in Ireland. "The kokma cannot be controlled, they grab people just for the hell of it" (Dressler, 1977, cited in Ness, 1978). In Thailand experiences referred to as Phi um (ghost covered) and phi kau (ghost possessed) involve pressure, immobility, and something black covering the body. In Japan kanashibara ("to tie with an iron rope") is a common and widely known experience (Fukuda, 1993). In Korea, people are afflicted by ka wi nulita ("scissors pressed"), an experience felt to be brought on by fear. In the Far North one speaks of agumangia (Inupik) or ukomiarik (Yupik) in which "a soul" tries to take possession of the paralyzed victim. In Laos, (Lemoine & Mounge, 1983) da chor is described as follows: "You want to listen, you can’t hear; you want to speak, you are dumb; you want to call out, you cannot; you feel you are dying, dying; you want to run away. You piss with fear in your sleep" (cited in Firestone, 1985, p. 61). In the Philippines people are afflicted with urum, ngarat (Simons & Hughes, 1985). Among the Hmong of Laos the nightmare spirit is referred to as dab (nightmare) tsog (evil spirit) or tsog tsuam (evil spirit who crushes, smothers, or presses upon) (Adler, 1994).

As Hufford (1976) noted almost a quarter-century ago, of the SP night-mare, " (1) the experience is wide-spread, at least in Western culture; (2) it has been regularly reported for more than two thousand years; (3) it has been attached to a variety of narrative frameworks . . . , but regardless of the framework, the experiential features have remained basically the same; (4) this consistency of detail, apparently rather independent of tradition, is the most surprising and difficult to account for" (p. 78). These experiences appear to be widely known in traditional cultures, in marked contrast to industrialized society. Hufford (1976) found that, among his Newfoundland participants who had been hagged, half did not know the Old Hag tradition. This is the same proportion of the entire sample who had not heard of the tradition. This, of course, quite inconsistent with the cultural source hypothesis that such experiences are induced by knowledge of cultural traditions. Subsequent research has made clear that these experiences are by no means limited to Western cultures. Also striking in this connection is the similarity of the descriptions of the SP experiences across all cultures, including industrialized culture which appears to have no commonly accepted popular myths to offer cognitive support to the experiences. Hufford (1976) makes a fairly convincing connection between sleep paralysis and "bedroom" alien abductions as described by Keel (1970). Many others have made this connection since (Baker, 1994, Blackmore, 1998; Spanos, 1994).

Source : The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Demonology

Mare.  The supposed mare (demon) which during the night sites on the chest and causes feelings of suffocation.  Very occasionally mare refers to the nightmare dream itself.  Mare is an Old Teutonic stem (Old English mare, demon, quite distinct from Old English mere, a female horse); it is found also in the French word for nightmare, cauchemar (caucher, to trample).  Very often it is used interchangeably with incubus, as in the early Anglo-Saxon Glosses (about 700) and in Bacon (1626):  "The incubus, which we call the mare." The mare (as well as the incubus) was also known by the scientific name, ephialtes (Greek = to leap upon); and in German by alp or mara.

The picture of the mare remains very constant in all accounts; the early nineteenth-century work, The Philosophy of Sleep, by Robert Macnish (1830) gives the common picture:

A monstrous hag squatting upon his breast - mute, motionless and malignant; an incarnation of the evil spirit - whose intolerable weight crushes the breath out of his body, and whose fixed, deadly, incessant stare petrifies him with horror and makes his very existence insufferable.

While the reality of the mare was accepted by the standard demonologists, King James I in hisDemonology (1597) denied it, answering his own question: Is the "mare, which takes folks sleeping in their beds, a kind of these spirits?" no, it is

but a natural sickness, which the mediciners have given that name of incubusunto, ab incubando, because it is a thick phlegm, falling into our breast upon the heart, while we are sleeping, intercludes so our vital spirits, and takes all power from us, and makes us think that there were some unnatural burden or spirit lying upon us, and holding us down.

The mare also attacked horses, and Sir Thomas Brone (1646) tells how a stone hung up in the stables prevents the disease.

NIGHT SPELL

A charm against harm by night, especially against the nightmare of mare.  In Chaucer's Miller's Tale, the carpenter recites a white paternoster as a charm against the nightverye [monster]:

Jesu Christ and Saint Benedict,

Bless this house from every wicked wight.

Another invocation was mentioned by Fletcher in one of his plays (1619):

St. George, St. George . . .

He walks by day, he walks by night.

In his Compendium Maleficarum (1626), Guazzo gave directions for securing protection during sleep

by reciting holy psalms and prayer, such as Qui habitat in adiutorio altissimi or In te Domine speravi, or some such orison.  Let them make the sign of the cross, reciting the Salve regina mater misericordiae, the paternoster, the Ave Maria, &c., if they would be safe from such snares.  Let them have by them a waxen Agnus Dei blessed by the pope, or some holy relics.  For such devotions are the safest protection and rampart against all the wiles of the prince of darkness.

Kuntilanak

Menurut Wikipedia: Dalam folklor Melayu, sosok kuntilanak digambarkan dalam bentuk wanita cantik yang punggungnya berlubang. Kuntilanak digambarkan senang meneror penduduk kampung untuk menuntut balas. Kuntilanak sewaktu muncul selalu diiringi harum bungakamboja . Konon laki-laki yang tidak berhati-hati bisa dibunuh sesudah kuntilanak berubah wujud menjadi penghisap darah. Kuntilanak juga senang menyantap bayi dan melukai wanita hamil.
Dalam cerita seram dan film horor di televisi, kuntilanak digambarkan membunuh mangsa dengan cara menghisap darah di bagian tengkuk, seperti vampir.

Sundel Bolong
 
Sundel bolong dalam mitos hantu Indonesia digambarkan dengan wanita berambut panjang dan bergaun panjang warna putih. Digambarkan pula terdapat bentukan bolong di bagian punggung yang sedikit tertutup rambut panjangnya sehingga organ-organ tubuh bagian perut terlihat. Dimitoskan hantu sundel bolong mati karena diperkosa dan melahirkan anaknya dari dalam kubur. Biasanya sundel bolong juga diceritakan suka mengambil bayi-bayi yang baru saja dilahirkan.

Tuyul
 
Tuyul (bahasa Jawa: thuyul) dalam mitologi Nusantara, terutama di Pulau Jawa, adalah makhluk halus berwujud anak kecil atau orang kerdil dengan kepala gundul. Penggambaran lainnya yang tidak disepakati semua orang adalah kulit berwarna keperakan, bersifat sosial (dalam pengertian memiliki masyarakat dan pemimpin), serta bersuara seperti anak ayam. Tuyul dapat dipekerjakan oleh seorang majikan manusia untuk alasan tertentu, terutama mencuri (uang). Untuk menangkal tuyul, orang memasang yuyu di sejumlah sudut rumah karena tuyul dipercaya menyukai yuyu sehingga ia lupa akan tugas yang dibebankan pemiliknya.
Kejadian tuyul dipercaya berasal dari janin orang yang keguguran atau bayi yang mati ketika lahir. Karena berasal dari bayi, karakter tuyul juga seperti anak-anak: gemar bermain (seperti laporan orang melihat sejumlah tuyul bermain pada tengah malam, dsb.).

Pocong

Penggambaran pocong bervariasi. Dikatakan, pocong memiliki wajah berwarnah hijau dengan mata yang kosong. Penggambaran lain menyatakan, pocong berwajah rata dan memiliki lubang mata berongga atau tertutup kapas dengan wajah putih pucat. Mereka yang percaya akan adanya hantu ini beranggapan, pocong merupakan bentuk protes dari si mati yang terlupa dibuka ikatan kafannya sebelum kuburnya ditutup.
Meskipun pocong dalam film sering digambarkan bergerak melompat-lompat, mitos tentang pocong malah menyatakan pocong bergerak melayang-layang. Hal ini bisa dimaklumi, sebab di film-film pemeran pocong tidak bisa menggerakkan kakinya sehingga berjalannya harus melompat-lompat. Keadaan ini pula yang menimbulkan suatu pernyataan yang biasa dipakai untuk membedakan pocong asli dan pocong palsu di masyarakat:
 "Lihat saja cara berjalannya. Bila berjalannya melompat-lompat, lempar saja dengan batu, pasti akan teriak-teriak."
Kepercayaan akan adanya hantu pocong hanya berkembang di Indonesia, terutama di Jawa dan Sumatera. Walaupun penggambarannya mengikuti tradisi muslim, umat beragama lain pun ternyata dapat mengakui eksistensi hantu ini.

Genderuwo
 
Genderuwo adalah makhluk halus yang berwujud manusia bertubuh besar dan kekar dengan rambut lebat menutupi tubuh. Genderuwo terutama dikenal dalam masyarakat di Pulau Jawa (orang Sunda menyebutnya “gandaruwo” dan orang Jawa menyebutnya “gendruwo”). Habitat hunian kegemarannya adalah pohon besar teduh atau sudut-sudut yang lembab dan gelap. Makhluk ini dilaporkan dapat berkomunikasi dengan manusia dan juga bisa menyukai manusia. Cerita-cerita misteri menyebutkan kalau genderuwo dapat mengubah penampakan dirinya mengikuti wujud fisik seseorang. Menurut cerita pula, genderuwo hanyalah berkelamin pria dan dapat menghamili perempuan, bahkan menghasilkan keturunan dari hubungan itu.
Asal-usul genderuwo dikatakan berasal dari arwah orang meninggal yang belum mau naik ke akhirat.
Genderuwo tidak dapat dilihat oleh orang biasa tapi pada saat tertentu dia dapat menampakkan dirinya bila merasa terganggu.

Kemangmang

Istilah Kemangmang mungkin sudah tercetus sejak berabad-abad silam. Dia dipercaya sebagai makhluk yang berada dalam lingkup alam gaib. Termasuk bangsa jin.
Berbeda dengan jenis jin lain yang punya karakter dan bentuk penampakkannya menyerupai fisik manusia, Kemangmang wujud penampakkan fisiknya disebutkan berupa sosok katak air dalam ukuran jumbo. Setidaknya, kepercayaan semacam ini tumbuh subur di kalangan masyarakat Pantura, Jawa Barat, khususnya di daerah Indramayu dan sekitarnya.
Selain ukurannya ratusan kali lipat dari ukuran katak air atau Bangkong biasa yang hanya sekepalan tangan orang dewasa, pada bagian antara kepala dengan punggung, atau persisnya di sekitar tengkuk Kemangmang, akan muncul api yang berkobar-kobar.
Api pada tengkuk Kemangmang ini bukan halusinasi ataupun hanya api fatamorgana, melainkan api yang sanggup membakar kayu-kayu kering. Konon dengan sebab ini, di sejumlah lokasi rawa-rawa dan pertambakan di wilayah Pantai Utara Jawa Barat, kerap terjadi insiden kebakaran hutan mangrove (bakau) yang, Banyak yang menduga kebakaran ini akibat ulah Kemangmang.

Wewe
 
Wewe Gombel adalah sebuah istilah dalam tradisi Jawa yang berarti roh jahat atau hantu yang suka mencuri anak-anak, tapi tidak mencelakainya. Konon anak yang dicuri biasanya anak-anak yang ditelantarkan dan diabaikan oleh orang tuanya. Wewe Gombel biasanya akan menakut-nakuti orang tua si anak atas sikap dan perlakuannya kepada anaknya sampai mereka bila mereka telah sadar, Wewe Gombel akan mengembalikan anaknya.
Menurut cerita, Wewe Gombel adalah roh dari seorang wanita yang meninggal bunuh diri lantaran dikejar masyarakat karena telah membunuh suaminya.Peristiwa itu terjadi setelah suami dari wanita itu berselingkuh dengan wanita lain. Sang suami melakukan hal itu karena istrinya tak bisa memberikan anak yang sangat diharapkannya. Akhirnya ia dijauhi dan dibenci suaminya lalu dikucilkan sampai menjadi gila dan gembel. disebut Wewe gombel karena kejadian ini terjadi di daerah Semarang. Jika kita berkendaraan dari arah jatingaleh ke arah banyumanik, maka akan terlihat bekas iklan bir bintang. Di situlah konon letak lokasi wewe gombel berada. Beberapa orang menyebutkan bahwa lokasi tersebut adalah lokasi kerajaan hantu. Menurut cerita itu pula, hal itu yang menyebabkan sebuah hotel yang terletak di dalam lokasi bukit gombel menjadi bangkrut.

Orang Bunian
 
Orang bunian adalah sejenis makhluk halus yang dikenal di wilayah Minangkabau, Sumatera Barat. Bentuknya menyerupai manusia, tinggal di tempat-tempat sepi, di rumah-rumah kosong yang telah ditinggal penghuninya.
Istilah ini dikenal di wilayah Istilah orang bunian juga terkadang dikaitkan dengan istilah dewa di Minangkabau, pengertian dewa dalam hal ini sedikit berbeda dengan pengertian dewa dalam agama-agama Hindu maupun Buddha. Dewa dalam istilah Minangkabau berarti sebangsa makhluk halus yang tinggal di hutan atau di rimba, di pinggir bukit, di dekat pekuburan. Biasanya bila hari menjelang maghrib di pinggir bukit akan tercium sebuah aroma yang biasa dikenal dengan nama masakan dewa atau samba dewa. aromanya mirip bau kentang goreng. Hal ini boleh ditanyakan langsung kepada masyarakat Minangkabau. Satu hal lagi, dewa lebih dikonotasikan bergender perempuan, yang cantik rupawan, bukan laki-laki seperti persepsi yang umum di agama lain. Selain itu,masyarakat juga meyakini bahwa ada peristiwa orang hilang disembunyikan dewa; ada juga istilah orang dipelihara dewa, yang semenjak bayi sudah dilarikan oleh dewa. cerita ini masih masyhur sampai sekarang.

Siluman
 
Siluman dalam folklor Indonesia merupakan makhluk halus yang tinggal dalam komunitas dan menempati suatu tempat. Mereka melakukan aktivitas kehidupan sehari-hari layaknya manusia biasa. Mereka juga mengenal peradaban. Siluman dapat berasal dari manusia biasa yang kemudian meninggalkan alam kasar atau setelah orang meninggal ruhnya masuk dalam masyarakat itu, atau memang sudah merupakan makhluk halus sejak awalnya. Pertemuan antara manusia dengan siluman seringkali menjadi bagian dari cerita-cerita misteri yang digemari. Siluman dikenal pula sebagai orang bunian dalam tradisi masyarakat Sumatera. Mitos tentang Kanjeng Ratu Kidul merupakan satu mitos tentang masyarakat siluman yang sangat dikenal suku-suku di Jawa, bahkan digunakan sebagai legitimasi kekuasaan raja-raja pewaris Mataram.
Beberapa mitos tentang siluman lain:
* Siluman Rawa Lakbok
* Moksanya Prabu Siliwangi dan pengikut-pengikutnya di Gunung Gede
* Masyarakat penghuni Gunung Merapi (konon dipimpin oleh Sunan Merapi) dan Gunung Lawu (konon dipimpin oleh Sunan Lawu)

Leyak
 
Dalam mitologi Bali, Leak adalah penyihir jahat. Le artinya penyihir dan ak artinya jahat. Leak hanya bisa dilihat di malam hari oleh para dukun pemburu leak. Di siang hari ia tampak seperti manusia biasa, sedangkan pada malam hari ia berada di kuburan untuk mencari organ-organ dalam tubuh manusia yang digunakannya untuk membuat ramuan sihir. Ramuan sihir itu dapat mengubah bentuk leak menjadi seekor harimau, kera, babi atau menjadi seperti Rangda. Bila perlu ia juga dapat mengambil organ dari orang hidup.
Kepercayaan
Diceritakan juga bahwa Leak dapat berupa kepala manusia dengan organ-organ yang masih menggantung di kepala tersebut. Leak dikatakan dapat terbang untuk mencari wanita hamil, untuk kemudian menghisap darah si bayi yang masih di kandungan. Ada tiga leak yang terkenal. Dua di antaranya perempuan dan satu laki-laki.
Menurut kepercayaan orang Bali, Leak adalah manusia biasa yang mempraktekkan sihir jahat dan membutuhkan darah embrio agar dapat hidup. Dikatakan juga bahwa Leak dapat mengubah diri menjadi babi atau bola api, sedangkan bentuk Leyak yang sesungguhnya memiliki lidah yang panjang dan gigi yang tajam. Beberapa orang mengatakan bahwa sihir Leak hanya berfungsi di pulau Bali, sehingga Leak hanya ditemukan di Bali.
Apabila seseorang menusuk leher Leak dari bawah ke arah kepala pada saat kepalanya terpisah dari tubuhnya, maka Leak tidak dapat bersatu kembali dengan tubuhnya. Jika kepala tersebut terpisah pada jangka waktu tertentu, maka Leak akan mati.
Topeng leak dengan gigi yang tajam dan lidah yang panjang juga terkadang digunakan sebagai hiasan rumah.

Rangda
 
Rangda adalah ratu dari para leak dalam mitologi Bali. Makhluk yang menakutkan ini diceritakan sering menculik dan memakan anak kecil serta memimpin pasukan nenek sihir jahat melawan Barong, yang merupakan simbol kekuatan baik.
Diceritakan bahwa kemungkinan besar Rangda berasal dari ratu Manendradatta yang hidup di pulau Jawa pada abad yang ke-11. Ia diasingkan oleh raja Dharmodayana karena dituduh melakukan perbuatan sihir terhadap permaisuri kedua raja tersebut. Menurut legenda ia membalas dendam dengan membunuh setengah kerajaan tersebut, yang kemudian menjadi miliknya serta milik putra Dharmodayana, Erlangga. Kemudian ia digantikan oleh seseorang yang bijak. Nama Rangda berarti juga janda.
Rangda sangatlah penting bagi mitologi Bali. Pertempurannya melawan Barong atau melawan Erlangga sering ditampilkan dalam tari-tarian. Tari ini sangatlah populer dan merupakan warisan penting dalam tradisi Bali. Rangda digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita dengan rambut panjang yang acak-acakan serta memiliki kuku panjang. Wajahnya menakutkan dan memiliki gigi yang tajam.

Babi Ngepet
 

Babi ngepet adalah mahluk dalam legenda masyarakat Indonesia yang bercerita tentang siluman babi. Beberapa mitos menceritakan tentang babi ngepet yang merupakan orang yang ingin kaya dengan cara mengambil pesugihan babi. Saat akan “beraksi”, si tuan harus mengenakan jubah hitam untuk menutupi tubuhnya. Dan nanti, secara ajaib, si tuan akan berubah menjadi babi. Orang yang satu lagi harus menjaga lilin agar tidak goyang apinya. Apabila api lilin sudah mulai goyang, artinya orang yang menjadi babi itu mulai dalam bahaya. Tugas si penjaga lilin adalah mematikan lilinnya agar si babi dapat berubah kembali menjadi manusia biasa. Babi ngepet biasanya mengambil uang dengan cara menggesek-gesekkan tubuhnya di pintu lemari, dsb.

Vortex

This is a swirling column of white ectoplasm that is often mistaken for a camera strap because it usually is found on the right side of the photograph in a vertical position. This column may cast a shadow and may lie in a horizontal or vertical position on the photo. One or more vortex columns may be present. The vortex may loop or may appear to disappear completely from the photo. The column may be of any color, but the most common is white. Often a blue-white color may be visible associated with portions of the column being transparent. In those photographs taken at funerals, the vortex captured on film are often more blue than white with individual sections of the column as a dense white almost like blobs within the column. The older the spirit, the more solid the vortex appears. This may be a basic configuration for the ghost entity. From this configuration the vortex transforms into a globular shaped ectoplasm.

Orbs or Balls of Light 

Orbs are the most common configuration pattern for the spirits of the dead. The sphere is considered the ideal vehicle for moving about. The spirit orb may represent one or more spirits or souls. Documented evidence suggest that these Orbs may allow multiple spirits to travel together. Most often an Orb in motion will leave a contrail since it is moving faster than the shutter speed of the camera. Orbs are the essence of who we were in life, our intelligence, our emotions, our personalities and our attitudes are all retained within this essence or soul. Often these orbs can be observed with the human eye as they past through the wall or zip across the room.


Ectoplasm or Ecto Vapor

This is a form of spirit energy that appears either as long white swirls or as a vapor or cloud like spirit energy. This configuration appears to be unorganized and resembles swirls of smoke. When an Orb comes to rest, it can dissolve into an ectoplasmic mist. In some ectoplasmic mist, swirls caused by orbs in motion can be observed.

Ecto Swirls

This form of ectoplasm resembles swirls of smoke or vapor and is caused by orbs in motion that are leaving a contrail behind it. The vapor trails are generally white.

Dust Particles

Dust particles suspended in the air are often thought to be spirit orbs simply because they are also orb shaped. If the IGHS Standards & Protocols are not followed, the chances of photographing dust particles instead of spirit orbs are very high. Most digital cameras will capture suspended dust particles, both indoors and outdoors. Most people are amazed that their homes contain suspended dust particles, but they do. Heaters, vents, fans and other devices move the tiny dust particles on currents of air not seen by our eyes. The orb shaped anomalies maybe out-of-round, broken or chucked, may appear as shield shape, diamond shape or octogonal depending on which camera is used. Any straight line found on an anomaly means it is produced by light being reflected back into the camera causing the anomaly. Spirit orbs never have straight lines of any kind. Most dust particles appear in clusters and resemble bubbles.

Camera Strap

Camera straps are most often confused with the vortex or vortices because of their patterns, but camera straps are very easy to detect because the pattern of the strap is visible. It is different from a vortex or from vortices since the strap is very close to the lens, it cannot twist and turn in the short distance. We had to take over twenty-four photos with the film camera before we captured a decent strap, the others did not come close to resembling vortices. It is hard so any critic who claims a vortex is a strap, ask him to demonstrate how easy it is, because we found not it is very hard to do.

Medieval legend claims that demons, both male and female, sexually prey on human beings. The male demon is known as an incubus and the female is the succubus. They generally prey upon the victim when they are sleeping, though it has been reported that females have been attacked while fully lucid. One such event was covered in the book and subsequent movie, The Entity.

There are variations of this sexual demonic legend. In Zanzibar, what is known as the "Popo Bawa" generally preys on men and only in their own beds. In the Chilo‚ Province of Chile, a wretched little dwarf, known as El Trauco, woos young naive women and then seduces them. Ịn Hungary, a Liderc is a demonic sexual predator that flies under the cover of darkness and will appear as a wispy apparition or a fiery light.

 Any one of the above succubus' can be blamed for unexpected or unwanted pregnancies, especially in unmarried women, though one can imagine this might be a convenient fabrication to get out of unsavory rumors!

 Some confuse the incubus with the legendary "Old Hag" syndrome but it is not. The Old Hag episode is usually restricted to a feeling of great pressure on the chest and not a ghostly sexual encounter. Another difference between the incubus/succubus encounter from the Old Hag is that the former is not always unpleasant while the Old Hag is mostly accompanied by a feeling of death, suffocation and just trying to survive.

 Because the incubus and succubus are generally experienced during the sleep state or coming in and out of it, experts feel that it is an imaginary experience and not a real one, however, telling this to the person who has just gone through it, they find that hard to believe as it feels as real as intercourse itself. Who can say for certain if these events are real or imagined but until you've experienced yourself it's hard to determine or judge.

If we adhere to theory -- ghosts are deceased humans, while demons and angels are not of earthly origin. Both are known to have stronger powers than your average ghost. You'll find a demon more apt to move objects and possess the human body, just as you'll find an angel more awe inspiring and willing to help the suffering human condition than a ghost.

 Why would a demon be stronger than a ghost, or deceased human? Depending on our beliefs, we can understand why angels, blessed with powers from higher dimensions are maybe stronger than deceased humans, but why a demon? In fact, why either entity since we too are of the same cosmic fabric? If I had an answer it would be "experience" or that they have been in that realm for so much longer. When we cross over, that is relatively new territory for many souls. For demons and angels, this is their long endured habitat and home. The demon is cunning and the angel enlightened. Really, you can think of it as a good/bad adult (demon/angel) dealing with an inexperienced child (ghost). They hold the experience we lack and are full of tricks (demons), or miracles (angels) of which either inspire or frighten us. Ị also think miracles and tricks are inherent in us too, but they are more readily accessible and producible by these beings because this is what they have been doing for many life-times. I think our abilities and faults are a microcosm of theirs.

 With this said, it doesn't mean that ghosts cannot be the very thing angels and demons are. An entity, once human, can descend or ascend into either characteristic. A child, once loved on earth, can come back and lift the spirits (literally) of those most dear to it and be called an angel. A person who has crossed over from irreparably painful circumstances can spiral into negativity and do demonic things.

 We can surmise that to be demonic or angelic, versus ghostly, is an advanced stage of positive or negative, while a ghost is more inexperienced and neutral. In time, we too will be angelic or demonic, depending on the path our soul takes.

We have all been raised with ghosts in our lives. Cartoons, stories & Legends, Halloween, and deceased relatives that we wonder about. We all die so it's part of our heritage, no matter what culture that is. We know as far back as man has been writing symbols on walls that we've contemplated spirits from another realm.

Ghosts are more than deceased people. If they were just that, there would be nothing to talk about. Crossing over to the next dimension doesn't make you a ghost. Ịt's when you come back and let your presence be known among the living. They move an object, provide a fleeting glance, come to us in our dreams, and whisper to us though we may not be able to see them. They are souls that have something to show, do or say to us.

 Why do they come back? What is so compelling to them that they are not in final rest where they are in the afterlife? I think there are many reasons. For some, it's unfinished business. For others, it's pure love. They simply don't want to let go. Something strong exists within them to want to come back to this realm to hold dear, expose or endure something strong to them. I think it applies to the living as well. Why do we cling to thoughts of those that have passed, even to those that are still living? I guarantee you it's for many of the same reasons they do. Just because we leave this dimension doesn't mean we stop being human in our thoughts and desires. What we are here is what we take with us. The same love, fear, and desires don't cease when we do.

 I think ghosts are just those souls strong enough to break through the dimensions to express their will or cling to some past. There are several ways they can do this. One of the most common are those that have just recently crossed over. Their energy is still strong enough that it's possible for them to be seen and even communicated with just a few hours or days after their departure. One might call this their etheric presence. It fades shortly after the physical perishes but it too diminishes quickly, like an aura that no longer has a host.

 Equal to the pull of love is anguish. More than not, a ghost is a person whose life ended abruptly and sometimes violently. This can be known as a haunting because they are haunted by a life now gone. The haunting is from their thoughts and their presence become testimony to that.

 If you think about it, ghosts are just you and I. What will become of us when we move on? Will we come back? Will we want to? I guess we'll find out.