Haints, Bogles, and Boogers

My current work in progress is slated to be a little on the scary side. It’s a contemporary Gothic novel set in Virginia wine country. The story is narrated by Chassie, a woman who lived much of her young life in a cult, and now, newly married to vineyard owner, Nicholas Dunraven, she is experiencing all sorts of strange people and phenomena at the Dunraven Estates.  Terrifying events unfold both inside and outside the house as Chassie discovers her husband’s past with a wife who was involved with witchcraft and strange occult groups, and who mysteriously disappeared four years earlier.

When I was a little girl, I remember my grandmother telling me, “Never play with a Ouija board or mess around with séances or anything like that. You never know what kind of demonic entities you might invite in—even if you’re playing around"). My faith in Jesus was always important to me, so I heeded her warning and never messed with that stuff. Having said that, I’ve experienced a couple of paranormal events in my life (once in an old house in southern Virginia where I was visiting people for Thanksgiving and once in the underground catacombs in Edinburgh, Scotland). Both were sufficiently scary, but I’ve never (thank the Lord) experienced an all-out home invasion like the people I see on several television series, such as A Haunting, My Haunted House, My Ghost Story, etc.

 

Some of these people’s lives have been completely turned upside down and/or ruined by these “hauntings.” When interviewed, the victims tell of objects moving by themselves, black masses shooting across their living rooms, scratches received during the night, and even people in the house being possessed by the entities. Some of these accounts end with folks calling in paranormal investigators and/or Catholic priests resulting in house “cleansings”, exorcisms, or abandonment of their home (sometimes resulting in the loss of a lot of money).

 

In watching and reading these accounts, however, I notice there are always similar modes of attack. For instance, victims often receive scratches for which they can’t account, doors open and shut by themselves, and sometimes there is a putrid smell in the house.

Various networks such as Lifetime, Bio, and Destination America run such shows, and viewers seem to gravitate toward them, leading me to believe that there may be more people experiencing paranormal phenomena these days, or that folks are just searching for what happens to the spirit after life. I suppose this is also why paranormal literature is flying off the shelves, including true accounts of house hauntings and possessions.

I know these horrifying events happen to people, so my question is—have you ever experienced or known anyone who’s had a paranormal experience?

"Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." (NIV- Revelation 12:12)