Halloween... The night of ghosts, ghouls, and most things that go bump in the night.

Originally written in 2015 for the Paranormal Team Angels of Light Paranormal Society

 

It is no surprise that many paranormal investigators love Halloween, or at least this time of year. Many believe that it is the one time of the year that the veil between the dead and the living is at its weakest. Many others believe that its a night of evil rather than good. So, who is right, who is wrong? To better answer this let's look at where the idea of where Halloween came from.


The Origins of Halloween

In ancient times, Celtic speaking countries many had pagan (Middle English, from late Latin 'paganus' country dweller) roots and belief system that marked the end of the harvest time and the beginning of winter. The festival known at Samhain (pronounced 'sah-win') was the time where they would honor their ancestors, have a great feast, dance, play games, and give offerings from the last of the harvests to their goddesses and gods. They would hollow out turnips, pumpkins or what ever they could carve a face on in hopes that the eerie face would ward of an evil that may be lurking near. This was considered the best time to contact the dead. The celebration would be an all day event, and by the night fall, candles were lit and rituals preformed to help honor the memory of their loved ones that had passed during the year and those before.

It was not until 609 AD that the celebration of All Saints Day was moved to November 1st from May 13th by Pope Gregory IV. Scholars believe that he moved the day to help counter the pagan festival. There would be a Mass that would honor the saints who did not have their own day, so that all that were considered 'hallowed' (regarded as holy; venerated; sacred) would be honored. The day before became known as All Hallows Eve. During this time, it was felt by many Christians the pagan festival was bringing forth evil spirits, and the devil. It is thought that in the 12th century, people would put on masks and costumes so that they would not be spirited away or influenced by the dead. They hope it would conceal their identity long enough till midnight, where they felt the dangers were over and unmask themselves to prove that they were truly one of the living.
By the time the twentieth century was in full bloom both celebrations were practiced, but mostly by the Irish and Scottish immigrant communities. People were dressing in costumes, wearing masks, carving pumpkins, holding dances, going to church, and still honoring the dead.

From Samhain, to All Hallows Eve, to Halloween, started with pagan roots, re-routed by Christians, and then settled into the holiday of Halloween as we know it today. This Halloween many of all ages will dress up in costume and either trick or treat, go to parties, go to a harvest festival put on by a local church, or participates at a haunted house or maze. There are some that just stay at home and hand out candy to the trick or treaters perhaps while watching a scary movie.
Halloween has also been the theme for movies over the years. The theme varies from the gruesome to the light at heart. Many take the Halloween traditions to the extreme, and some follow the traditions of both Samhain. Very few follow the theme of All Saints Day.

Movies for the adults:

Halloween

The Houses October Built

House of 1000 Corpses

Trick r' Treat

Some movies are for the young at heart or just for kids:

Nightmare Before Christmas

Halloween Town

The Halloween Tree

Hocus Pocus




Even television stations have Halloween specials or Halloween themed shows.






So who is right and who is wrong? Nobody.

It is up for the individual to decide what they believe about Halloween. 

There is only one question left to ask: 

What did you do this O' Hallow's Eve?

Nyctophobia: A Paranormal Investigator's Worst Nightmare

(I wrote this post originally for the team Angles of Light Paranormal Society in 2015)

Nyctophobia is a fear of extreme darkness or extreme fear of the dark. Normally this is a fear that one may find associated with a child. The child grows up and the fear disappears. Not in my case. It followed me into my adulthood. 

My name is Jennifer Furgerson and I have Nyctophobia.


Symptoms of Nyctophobia"If you have a phobia of the dark, you are likely to become nervous in any darkened environment. You may sleep with a nightlight. You might be reluctant to go out at night. You will likely experience an increased heart rate, sweat, shake and even feel ill when forced to spend time in the dark. If your nyctophobia is severe, you may attempt to run away from dark rooms and avoid being outside at night. You might become angry or defensive if anyone tries to encourage you to spend time in the dark."

I am uncertain of when my fear actually started. Most fears are created from an event or an object. I can only assume that somewhere in my past I had a traumatic experience being in total darkness. I must have been forced into total darkness. I am now 38 and I deal with this every night and any place I go that is completely void of light. So why am I a paranormal investigator? One would think that I would never seek this line of work and stay in the light as much as possible, and yet, I have been doing quiet the opposite. I take cave tours, and I star gaze. I joined a paranormal team.

Nyctophobia can be mind paralyzing. My mind races, and attempts to make sense of what it cannot see. My mind blanks of any rational thought, my heart starts to beat rapidly, and I begin to panic. I tell myself, "nothing is there which is not there in the light", but my brain plays tricks, and my ears become more sensitive to the sounds they may hear. At times I feel helpless and alone. I kept my fear to myself for many years always afraid to tell anyone why I may freak out, or not be comfortable in a darkened room.

When I first joined ALPS, I made it quite clear that I had Nyctophobia. I figured it was not the time to be shy about it. Each member since I have joined have been more than understanding with my fear. The first time we were on the USS Hornet and my fear reared its ugly head to my fellow teammates. We were in a part of the ship in which the only light came from the flashlights. We decided that we would go dark (all lights off) and sit in the silence before conducting an EVP session. I stood with my back against the cold metal wall. I thought, "I can handle this, its just the dark, and my team is near by". Instead, my mind began to close down, and the panic began. I felt paralyzed and venerable. No one until that time had any idea how bad my Nyctophobia was. Thankfully teammate Anna was near me and was able to talk my mind into logical sense of thinking. I remember thinking, "someone understands, and I can get through this."

There were a few other places that I thought my fear would get to me, and I thought I would not be able to do my job as a paranormal investigator. In Tonopah, Nevada I had my teammate Jim next to me while we were sitting on a cold wooden floor. In this case there was more light, but it was dim and inconsistent. At times I had trouble discerning pitch black with the light dimming in and out. I thought for sure my Nyctophobia was about to play tricks on me, until Jim said he saw what I was seeing. Poor Jim, I was gripping his arm so tight I had thought I may have tugged it right off.

I am not afraid to be in a haunted location. I am certainly not afraid of the ghosts that may reside there. What I am afraid of is not knowing what else could be in a vast amount of darkness. After getting back from Tonopah, I decided that I need to rid myself of this fear and asked the help of my teammates. I no longer wanted this fear to control me.

Over the two years that I have been with ALPS I have a better grasp on my Nyctophobia. Its slowly getting easier. I even find myself laughing instead of being pinned in fear. I started out making sure I had night vision with me no matter where we went. Yet, as it was recently pointed out, that I have not had it with me on the last few places our team had been. I also used to keep my flash light on, but covered in my hands. This gave me a sense of comfort. This too has changed, the flashlight is still with me, but off and in my pocket. Over time I have had help from all my teammates. I used to have to be right next to one of my teammates, but now if they are within hearing distance, I know they are not far away. They have become my other sense of comfort.

Nyctophobia is a fear that I plan to conquer, and I know it will take time. Looking back at how far I have come, and how silly I may have seem to those who had no idea I held such a fear in my mind, makes me realize that this fear is just that, a fear to shed from my mind.

So what's my next step? Eventually I would like to be able to be in a dark (void of light) alone and to be able to either be the first in or the last out of a dark place we have been investigating. By forcing myself into this darkness, I have already taken the step in attempting to control my fear.

UPDATE:

I am with a new team out of Scotland called Paranormal in History and I represent the American side. I still suffer from Nyctophobia, but now I conquer it by diving into the darkness of the past and see if the paranormal claims match the history of supposed haunted locations.