Into the Night

Here’s a little piece from something I’m working on… It was released a few years ago, but I never really liked the way it ran, until I created my Guardians, Inc. series, and realised that was where it belonged.  Here’s a bit from the revamping process…

Flash Friday: SIGHT UNSEEN

            Moving to the comfortable-looking armchair, Jonathan settled himself into it and sighed with relief that it was as comfortable as it looked.  He closed his eyes and sat quietly for a few moments as his breathing evened and his mind emptied of everything except his reason for being here.  This was a different environment, and the utter stillness of it was difficult to adapt to.  Patrice said Sophia Parrish died around twenty years ago.  The longer her spirit lingered, the fainter her energy would become, unless she had a constant source of replenishment.  Contacting her spirit would require a bit more concentration than his crime scene work normally did.  Finally, when he felt suitably focused, he opened his eyes.

           “Sophia,” he called out to her with both voice and mind as he felt the cold prickle of a presence dance along his arms and the back of his neck.  “I know you’re here, Sophia, and I know you can see and hear me.  I also know that you want to talk, or you wouldn’t have shown yourself to me.  What do you want to tell me?”

            Something unseen pushed one of the heavy wooden chairs closer to the hardwood surface.  Papers ruffled on the desktop, and the form of a pretty woman with red hair and blue eyes materialized in front of the desk.  A sad smile curled her lips, before her voice whispered along the edges of his consciousness.

            I know who killed Ramsey.

            Jonathan nearly jumped out of his skin.  The last thing he’d expected to find in this place was an eyewitness, “Sophia, I want to ask you some questions.  I need your answers to be out loud, so answer me with one rap on the desk for yes, two for no.  Understand?”

            Sophia nodded, before the desk rapped once.

            “Good.  Did you see who murdered your husband?”

            One rap.

            “Did you witness the murder itself?”

            Another single rap.

            “Did you recognize the murderer?”

            Again, one rap answered him, and pain flickered across her face.

            “Was he a business associate of your husband’s?”

            Silence answered him, and she looked puzzled and hesitant for the first time.  Jonathan’s brow furrowed.  Surely Sophia knew all of her husband’s business associates.  Faith claimed he was a bit of a recluse, so there couldn’t be many.  He tried again.  “Did the murderer come here often?”

            A swift rap came in response.

            “Count, in raps, the number of years the murderer and your husband were acquainted.”

            A series of raps followed, with brief pauses.  Jonathan counted twenty-eight raps and his heart sank.  Twenty-eight years ago, Haley was still in Boston.  He couldn’t be the killer.  But the calling card, and the impressions Jonathan had… everything pointed to a man who definitely wasn’t in Bradbury over two decades ago.

            “You’re sure it was twenty-eight?”

            One rap answered with grim finality, and her expression was intractable.

            “Were you at all acquainted with the murderer in those twenty-eight years?”

            One shaky rap.  Sadness covered her features, and Jonathan could only wonder what tragedy had imbedded such sorrow into her spirit.

            “Do you know his name?”

            Quiet, then a short, tentative rap.

            “Was he Rene Haley?”

            The chair across from him toppled over as she shot up from it with incredible force.  Her fear buffeted Jonathan like a gale-force wind, and raw panic danced on her face.

            “Sophia,” he said quietly, “you must help me.  Was the killer Rene Haley?”

            An ominous series of raps echoed in the room and Jonathan frowned in confusion.  The fear she displayed a moment ago seemed pretty certain.  What other reason could she have to fear a man she probably never even met?

            “Are you afraid of Haley?”

            One rap.

            “Because he killed your husband?”

            Two sharp raps answered him, and the swell of her fear hit him again.  Jonathan’s brow furrowed.  There was something deeper going on here.  The dead were usually unconcerned about the how and why of their deaths.  Sophia’s spirit was terrified, as if she feared Haley could somehow reach beyond the grave to harm her.  Had he damaged her spirit that badly during her life?  Jonathan swallowed hard against bitter pain as he thought of Cynthia.  He already knew the answer to the next question he had to ask.

            “Sophia, did Haley ever try to coerce you into sex while you were alive?”

            Sophia’s expression was grim as she gave one firm rap.

            “Many times?”

            Another rap.

            “You turned him down?”

            A definite rap.

            “Did that make him angry?”

            A shaky rap wobbled in the room, and she looked on the verge of panic again.

            “Did he try to force you?”

            Her fear, back full-force, echoed in the silence.

            “Sophia, I need you to answer me.  I can’t get Haley arrested unless I can find a reason he might have wanted Ramsey dead.  Did Haley ever force you to have sex with him?”

            A timid rap answered, and her shame hit him, even as her face hollowed.

            “Sophia, there’s nothing for you to feel ashamed about,” he said gently.  “Did you ever tell your husband about the attack?”

            Two quick raps.

            “Did you plan to?”

            One solid rap.

            “Did you threaten Haley with that fact?”

            One rap, and a vigorous nod, answered him.

            “The day of your accident?”

            Silence hung in the air.  Sophia’s expression was perplexed.

            “Sophia?  Do you remember having the accident?”

            Two raps.

            “Do you remember how you died, you and your son?”

            One sharp rap.

            “You died in a car accident.”

            Two sharp raps caused Jonathan to sit up straight.  His heart was pounding as he realized that there were two mysteries, not one, to solve here.  “Sophia, I want you to tell me exactly what happened to you.”

            Papers ruffled as Sophia scattered them, searching for something, before depositing a sheet of paper in front of Jonathan.  Picking it up, he was surprised to find himself studying a yellowed copy of a very old coroner’s report.  He blanched as he read it, and put the facts together in his head.

            “Haley hung you both, then staged the accident?”

            A firm rap answered him.

            “And he killed Ramsey.  The question is why?”  Jonathan murmured to himself.

            Two raps hit the table sharply, and Jonathan’s heart clenched in fear as a grim expression touched Sophia’s face.  Faith.

            “Haley’s after Faith?”

            Three raps answered, telling Jonathan that Sophia didn’t know.  Jonathan’s throat closed.  There was only one way to be certain.  Springing up from the chair, Jonathan scooped up the police report and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

            “Thank you, Sophia.  I swear I’ll watch out for Faith.”

            With that, Jonathan hurried from the house, stopping only to grab the statement Patrice held out to him.  He was desperate to warn Faith.  He was halfway back to town before he even remembered to turn off the tape recorder in his pocket.

 

Because the methods of dealing with the two different classes of vampire are so different, I thought it best to break this into two sections, and focus on each one in turn.

As discussed before, there are different types of Living vampires.  Each has its own methodology of interacting with other humans, and  therefore, its own set of guidelines for dealing with the vampire. 

The psychic vampire (by far, the most common type of Living vampire) feeds off of energy.  These vampires are also the easiest to deal with, on a personal level.  While they are, in fact, living human beings (and therefore illegal to kill) and psychic vampirism is difficult to prove, even if it’s easily detected, there are simple ways to safeguard oneself and family.  Learning to center, ground, and shield are the simplest ways to deal with this. 

What do I mean by “center, ground and shield”?  Let’s take it in three parts.  First, centering:

To center means to find your own inner balance.  Close your eyes and draw deep breaths, focusing on each indrawn breath and focus your mind on a kind of internal “white noise.”  Feel your energy (the Chinese call this Qi) gathering at the center of your being.  Some people like to meditate on the Chakric centers, which can definitely help the rest of the process move more easily.

Once you are still and focused, it’s time to ground, which is just what it implies.  Like an electrical plug can have a grounding prong, meant to keep the item from drawing in too much energy, spiritual grounding is a method by which you expell those energies you do not want within you.  Usually, negative energy attracts negative energy, and your negative energy will draw a psychic vampire more readily.  To ground that energy away, simply continue to breathe deeply and evenly, your eyes closed, and feel internal hands pushing that negative energy away, either down into the earth, or up into the air.  Most people report a sensation like a weight being lifted off of their chests as the negative energy flows away.

After grounding away your negative energy, you must shield yourself.  Shielding is a method by which you bar unwanted outside energies and entities from access to you.  You can visualize a shield as anything you want.  I’ve known people who’ve used everything from Star Trek shields to rainbows, to bubbles of water.  It’s been my experience that, when dealing with a psychic vampire, the best kind of shield is something reflective.  Visualize a mirrored ball, or a highly-reflective metal like silver or copper.  Something which directs the psychic vampire’s attempts to drain energy back at him/herself.

I know this all sounds a little strange, to some.  However, it’s actually based on centuries of advice and anecdotal evidence expressing the importance of mirrors when dealing with vampires.  When you understand that a psychic vampire’s energy is derived from stealing energy from others, it makes a world of sense to fight psychic drain with psychic defenses. 

The other primary category of Living vampire - the Blood Drinker - is not so easily dealt with, unfortunately.  Little is known about WHY they feel compelled to drink human blood (and no, I’m not talking about the underground Goth culture, here.  I’m talking about living human beings unable to control their urge to drink human blood).  Some theorize that it stems from a genetic encoding caused by Prophyria and, because the person’s body cannot generate enough blood cells of their own, they’re literally starving for the blood they can’t get otherwise.  That the blood they drink does nothing for their need for sustenance (because it simply breaks down in the stomach) never occurs to them, and they go on looking for more and more blood, hoping to get enough.  That’s one theory.  Another is that there is a psychological condition involved, leading them to believe they need blood to survive, when in fact, they don’t.  There are literally as many theories of why as there are recorded cases of Living Blood Drinkers.

Dealing with the Living Blood Drinkers is difficult, because again, they are living human beings, and also because we don’t yet know WHY they are compelled to do this.  Most times, they end up locked up in mental institutions once they are revealed to the authorities.  They should be considered highly dangerous and unpredictable, and should not, under any circumstance, be approached by anyone not trained to deal with them.  They are reputed, through historical record, to be extremely strong (likely caused by an overabundance of adrenaline in the system) and very fast. 

We’ve covered hauntings (residual impressions) and apparitions (curious/mischeivous spirits).  Now it’s time to move on to the dangerous presence.  And this is an area most people tend to get into trouble with.

If you’ve experienced dangerous paranormal activity that’s been investigated and determined to NOT be caused by poltergeist activity (see my post on Poltergeist, which is typically a parapsychological phenomenon and not spiritual activity), then you may be experiencing an Infestation - that is, a malicious spirit (it can be human, but in 8 out of 10 cases, it’s a non-human entity).  The common misconception is to label all such Infestations as “demonic” and to invoke the power of the Christian Church as the means of ridding the place of said spirit.  However, this typically only works in less than half of all Infestations.

There is a commonly held misconception that all things malicious must be demonic, and that all things demonic must answer to the power of Christianity.  I’ve encountered several cases in my career as a parapsychologist that turn this theory soundly on its ear. 

First off, there ARE malicious human spirits.  And, like all human beings, these spirits have free will.  They can choose to acknowledge a standard Catholic blessing.  They can choose to vacate on a typical Catholic exorcism.  Or they can choose to ignore both and continue on as they always have.  In the cases of malicious human spirits, an attempt to reason with them might work (though it’s been my experience they’re not interested in communication), but it often takes less “traditional” methods to deal with them.  Each situation involving a malicious human spirit is different, so it’s best to do as much research on the person and on the location as possible.  Typically, in these cases, the solution to getting rid of the spirit is buried in the history of either the place or the person, or both.

Secondly, there are non-human malicious spirits which do NOT answer to the power of the Church.  They will show no reaction to the invocation of the name of Jesus Christ (in fact, some will laugh at this), or to the administration of holy blessing or Christian exorcism.  Why, you ask?  Because there are as many of these entities (commonly referred to as demons) in this world as there are religions, and the demons of one religion may not recognize the holy relics, etc of another.  If you believe the entity to be of a demonic nature, you should consult with a qualified and non-religiously centered demonologist to thoroughly research the particular entity.  A Chinese demon, for example, must be dealt with very differently than an African demon.  Each culture and religion has its own way of dealing with the demons inherent to it, and there are way too many to get into here. 

Another kind of malicious spirit that few people seldom think of when suffering an Infestation, is the disposessed Nature Spirit.  Unlike either of the two listed about, these spirits are only causing trouble because they have been wronged.  Exorcism will not work.  Reasoning will not work.  Often,  their home has been destroyed in the building or clearing of land (like when you tear down that gnarly old oak tree in the back yard to build your new garage) without their choice and with no suitable alternative home presented to them.  Many people scoff at this one, and try to disregard it, but that can be dangerous.  Typically, Nature spirits who are angry because of a change you’ve made (or the fact that your new house sits right on the site of their own home), are more destructive to property than to people.  Can’t understand why your roof always leaks, even though it’s been replaced several times?  Could be you’ve angered a local Nature spirit.  Constantly doing home repairs on a brand new house?  Again, you’ve probably built right on their territory.  However, if their anger stews too long, these spirits can become dangerous to people, as well.  Dealing with them is simple.  You have to ask for their forgiveness (and be sincere… they can tell the difference), and offer a form of appeasement.  Tore up that old tree?  Plant a new one in a place aesthetically pleasing to you, and offer it to the spirit as its new home.  Depending on the type of spirit, you may have to do a little research to figure out why it’s angry.  Consulting with an expert on Nature spirits can help with this process. (If this problem describes what you’re dealing with, feel free to e-mail me at esther mitchell @ cox.net - remove spaces - and I’ll go into more detail on what you might be able to do in your specific case).

The most important thing to remember in any of the above cases is that provoking an angry or malicious spirit will only inspire more violence.  In the case of the malicious entity, they thrive on and feed off of fear, anger, and agression.  Showing these only strengthens them.   However, unless you are qualified, please do NOT attempt to get rid of a malicious entity on your own.  If they’re attached to an object, do not burn or physically destroy the object, as this only makes the problem worse.  And don’t be afraid to seek help.  There are lots of reputable organizations specialized in sorting out these problems.  They’ll listen, so don’t be afraid to speak.