One of those 'what the heck' moment

My previous posts were of a rather serious nature. This one is just simply weird. And it happened this afternoon.

After finishing a meeting at a business building in town, I went out to my car. I hadn't noticed it before when I had gotten out because I was running a little late, but I noticed near a tree in the shadow of the building a mass of white stuff flecked with dirt and leaves.

It looked like a pile of packed snow.

No way. Sure it was the right time of year for snow, but not that much and there hadn't been any snow fall yet. Certainly not enough for a pile that size. My best guess was two feet wide and maybe a foot tall.

I went over to it to see if someone had pulled a prank. The pile rested in a depression, but the area was pretty open. There was no way I could see snow staying in that spot through a Minnesota summer.

So I touched the pile. It was without a doubt snow.

Perplexed, I went back inside and found someone to ask about it. The lady I stopped said she didn't know how it got there, but it had only been there for a couple days.

The mystery deepens. How could that have happened? It was far too warm for snow at the time.

How did it get there? I have no idea. But it definitely isn't normal.

Vampires

Those of you who've read Braum Stoker's novel, or just lived in the Western Hemisphere during the last hundred years or so, have probably heard about vampires.

The current image is a bit of a mix of traditions. The originals are too numerous to mention here.

You probably already know this, but people don't come back from the dead to suck people's blood or life force. So you can put away the wooden stakes and blessed wafers.

There are people who claim to be vampires, however. Some drink blood, but apparently there's an increasing population that forgoes blood and rather drains life force. Supposedly the life force draining 'vampires' have larger electromagnetic auras after a feeding than before and their victims show holes in their auras. Very odd, and a tad disturbing. (I can tell you right now, I would not want to be drained, no matter how sensual the experience.)

This isn't a so much a paranormal issue so much as a personal safety issue. Reliable research on this is a bit hard to come by. Most of my info comes from documentaries on Discovery and History Channel. Usually, vampire culture seems to be not only very goth but also super sexual. There also seem to be a lot of sharp, pointy objects involved.

So these vampires may talk about tolerance and such nice sounding things when they're interviewed, but I can't say I'd trust one. Maybe I'm being closed minded, but I can't say that the image of darkness and erotic display helps make them look any better.

What I don't know is if these vampires also participate in any spiritual activities. So far all my concerns about them are strictly physical. Rather odd, given the vampire's origins in myth and folklore. Do they have any occult or spiritual connections?

Mysteries always intrigue me. This one also disturbs and frightens me.

Halloween on the horizon

Halloween has a long history.

The word is a contraction of All Hallow's Eve. It's the day before All Saint's Day.

It also coincides closely to an ancient Celtic harvest festival, the name of which escapes me.

A lot of Celtic festivals and traditions made their way into Christian practice. Unlike southern Europe, where Christianity suffered persecution, the Celts for the most part welcomed the new religion and converts continued to see the old ways in a pleasant light. This was particularly true in the British Isles, most notably Ireland.

So it isn't any wonder that Halloween is still celebrated with some pagan trappings. Most of them are good fun. Dressing up in scary costumes is from the belief that the veil between this world and the spirit world is thinner at this time and that scary masks will frighten away evil spirits.

This evolved to become little kids asking for treats.

Jack-o-lanterns have a similar history to them.

Some traditions aren't so nice. Teens and others of immature mentality going around smashing pumpkins and tping peoples yards is on the mild end.

Satan worshipers often see Halloween as the antithesis of Christmas. Even those who aren't part of such a cult might dabble in occult practices at this time.

It may be in the name of fun and games, but Ouija boards are dangerous. Also avoid tarot cards and other forms of divination. Not because they don't work, but because they can.

You can't know what sort of spirit you're contacting, and the likelihood of contacting an unfriendly spirit is just too high. The risk isn't worth it.

So when you go to the party, stick to bobbing for apples and spin the bottle.

The unseen world

As the blog description says, ghosts really do exist. I was in my teens before I realized this and I've had a few possible near encounters since then.

I say possible because none of them are verified and were of such a vague nature that it is possible to explain them as something of a more physical nature.

That's the first thing I want to warn you about. Just because you heard a strange noise or felt a chill doesn't mean you have a ghost.

Keeping a cool head is extremely important, just in case the phenomenon isn't super natural.

And especially if the phenomenon **is** super natural.