The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings: The Complete A–Z for the Entire Magical World. Theresa Cheung

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СКАЧАТЬ haunted by spirits who take delight in leading travellers astray. In German folklore a ghostly rider is believed to haunt a crossroads in Schleswig; the neck of his horse stretches across the path and prevents people passing. In European lore the dead are said to appear at crossroads, and in Welsh legend every crossroad is thought to be inhabited by spirits of the dead on Allhallows Eve. In modern evolutions of the tradition, crossroads in the rural Mississippi Delta area are reportedly frequented by either Lucifer or his minions; wandering musicians and minstrels seeking to bargain their immortal souls for success in their musical endeavours know to go to crossroads to meet with the Devil.

      The cross shape of crossroads is in some traditions protection against the spirits that are said to haunt it. For example, in Irish folklore humans who have been kidnapped by fairies are thought to be able to gain their freedom at crossroads. One German superstition holds that if you are chased by a ghost or demon, you should head to a crossroads for protection. On reaching the crossroads the spirits will vanish with an unearthly shriek.

      CROWE, CATHERINE [c.1800–c.1870]

      The author of The Night Side of Nature, which is one of the earliest and most important studies of apparitions, Catherine Crowe used a scientific approach to study ghosts. Some contend that her fascination with apparitions may have been brought about by a brief period of insanity, but this does not take away from the fact that her work has often been cited as the model for subsequent investigations of the paranormal.

      CRYPTOMNESIA

      Information that is forgotten or repressed but which comes to the surface in mediumship or contact with spirits of the dead.

      Forgetting information and storing it in the subconscious mind are essential if the conscious mind is to function efficiently and stay uncluttered. However, during trance or altered states of consciousness, forgotten or repressed information may break free from the subconscious and surface again, where it appears as new information to the medium. Psychical researchers always consider the possibility of cryptomnesia when investigating mediums and cases of past-life recall.

      The earliest recorded case of cryptomnesia was in 1874 when English medium William Moses was said to have contacted the spirits of two young brothers who had died in India. The deaths were verified; however, six days before the séance it was discovered that an obituary to the brothers had appeared in the newspaper. Moses’s information about the brothers was similar to that in the obituary, and psychical researchers concluded that Moses must have read the obituary and had forgotten that he had done so.

      It is not known how long the brain can store information and how much information it can store without taking conscious note of it, so it is difficult to rule out cryptomnesia in cases of memories of afterlife and reincarnation. In one famous cryptomnesia case, a woman identified as Ms C communicated under hypnosis with a woman called Blanche from the court of Richard II. The period details were uncannily accurate, but when asked under trance what books she had read about Richard II, Ms C acknowledged that when she was 12 she had read an Emily Holt novel, Countess Maud, which contained the same material as Blanche had given.

      The only time cyrptomnesia may possibly be ruled out is when the information received by the medium goes beyond accessible records to facts that can only be verified by other persons or in personal accounts. However, even then other explanations such as ESP and telepathy can’t be entirely ruled out.

      CRYSTAL BALL

      A tool used to help diviners go into a psychic trance, the crystal ball is perhaps the classic and best-known method of divination. Most people assume it is the ball that has the power, but it is not. The secret is not the ball but the technique of scrying, which involves keeping your eyes open while staring into a shiny, reflective surface to induce a form of meditation or self-hypnosis – the prime state for opening awareness to clairvoyance and psychic insight.

      Crystal gazing exercise

      Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and, holding your crystal in your hand, begin slow rhythmic breathing. Focus on what the problem is or on what you want to know about. As you hold the crystal, feel it coming to life. Imagine the electrical energy within it growing stronger, helping to stimulate your psychic vision. Hold the crystal so you can look into it easily. Don’t stare intently into it, just look at it with a soft gaze – the kind of stare you have when daydreaming. Stay relaxed, and as you look into the crystal pay attention to its formation. Turn your crystal slowly in your hand so you can see how the light plays through it in different ways. As images begin to form, ask yourself what they mean to you. Pay attention to the emotions you feel, and trust them. When you are ready, close your eyes, take some deep breaths and come back to the here and now.

      Crystal gazing takes time and practice, but in time you will probably see clouds appearing and disappearing and images becoming clearer. Eventually detailed scenarios may even start to appear in your crystal, leading to great psychic vision.

      Scrying and crystal gazing practitioners were found in ancient times throughout Mesopotamia, among the Druids and other peoples of Europe and in China. Modern scryers most commonly use crystal balls that are usually three to six inches in diameter. The ideal crystal ball is made of quartz, not glass, because quartz crystal is thought to increase psychic energy.

      CURSES

      Associated with black magic and intended to cause someone harm, curses are deliberately malevolent or vengeful oaths, spells or invocations of spirits directed against another person by psychic means.

      See also Psychic attack.

       D

      DAGG POLTERGEIST

      Poltergeist activity that eventually manifested itself as a speaking entity in 1889 on a farm in Quebec owned by George Dagg.

      According to records the activity began with streaks of animal faeces or manure appearing on the floor of the house. A young boy, Dean, was blamed; however, when the boy was out of the house the stains continued to appear, proving that he was not the cause. Soon the activity increased: windows were smashed, objects were thrown and fires broke out. This time the focus was identified as 11-year-old Dinah McLean, an adopted child of the family.

      In November 1889 an investigator named Percy Woodstock asked Dinah to take him to the woodshed where she had reported seeing a strange man. To Woodstock’s amazement, from the middle of the empty shed a few feet away came the clearly audible voice of an old man. It cursed them both in a deep, gruff voice, using language Woodstock would not record. It said, ‘I am the devil, I’ll have you in my clutches, I’ll break your neck.’ Woodstock talked to the voice for several hours, during which it admitted causing the fires, spreading the manure, smashing the windows and moving objects. Eventually it calmed down and admitted it was only doing the hauntings for fun.

      A crowd soon heard about the phenomena and gathered around the house and woodshed, where the entity allegedly performed incredible feats for the audience. Woodstock organized a statement signed by 17 witnesses acknowledging that they had seen the phenomena of flying stones and a mouth organ playing by itself:

       To whom it may concern:

      We, the undersigned, solemnly declare that the following curious СКАЧАТЬ