by Sharon | Aug 23, 2018
To be honest with you, I try not to give demons much thought.
Yes, I have seen demons and I have felt them. I’ve had to remove them from my house and antiques.
I thought with the movies and some YouTube videos, people put too much emphasis on demons. They could be ghosts or poltergeists. Now, those are evil. The more research I’ve done, the more I’m believing there could be something to demons and I shouldn’t dismiss them.
Linda is an old friend who confided in me one day that there was a demon in her house.
“It’s the strangest thing,” she said. “I was in bed, about to go to sleep when I heard deep breathing at the foot of my bed. Without warning I felt a weight on top of me and it felt like a vacuum cleaner hose was stuck in my mouth sucking all the air out of me.”
She paused, watching my reaction.
“I heard that the name of Jesus chases demons away, so I chanted Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in my mind. The sucking stopped and the weight was off of me. I then heard footsteps in the hallway outside my bedroom door. I whispered ‘Jesus help me’ and the pacing stopped.”
Thinking it was over, Linda did drift off to sleep only to be awakened by a non-human growl at the side of her bed. She froze. Then screamed, “Jesus help me!”
She jumped out of bed and turned on the light. Within a second of it turning on, the light bulb blew.
“In the name of Jesus get out of my house!” Linda exclaimed as calmly and forcefully as she could.
She grabbed a pillow and a blanket and went to sleep on the couch in the living room. She’d change the light bulb in the morning. She had enough of whatever it was in her bedroom.
Linda knew it was evil. She wasn’t prepared for what she saw next.
“I have a mirror behind the couch,” she explained. “I expected to see my disheveled reflection, but instead, I saw a small child wearing an old fashioned school uniform. I looked behind me, but there was nothing there. I looked back in the mirror and there she was. It was almost like she was waiting for me to invite her to sit down.”
“As I observed this young child in her school uniform, I kept thinking about that old scary story of the girl in the red cape.”
For those of you not familiar with the story, there was a girl babysitting a five or six year old little girl. Her mother told the babysitter that if her daughter wanted ice cream a little later on, it was in the freezer down in the basement.
The little girl did ask for ice cream and the babysitter went down in the basement for it. She saw out the basement window a little girl in a red cape. It was still light out, but the babysitter thought it strange for a young child to be outside. She got the ice cream and went in the kitchen to scoop it into a bowl.
The little girl wanted some chocolate sprinkles on it. Those were also down in the basement in a cupboard above the freezer. The babysitter went back in the basement, looked out the window and saw the same little girl in the red cape. She was wondering if it was a friend of the girl she was babysitting.
While the little girl was eating her ice cream, the babysitter asked the little girl about school and if she had any friends in the neighborhood. It seemed there were no other children her age who lived nearby, but she was very eager to tell her about her ballet lessons and all the wonderful girls that were in her class.
By 8:00 the babysitter helped the little girl into her pajamas and into bed. She read her a story and the little girl fell asleep before the end.
The babysitter turned out the light in the little girl’s room and went into the living room to wait for the parents to return.
When the parents arrived, the mother went to check on her daughter and found her dead. The police were called and the babysitter was the prime suspect. She remembered the little girl outside the basement window in the red cape.
The mother said, “There are no windows in the basement, just mirrors.”
I agreed with Linda it was a creepy story, but did she really believe the child she saw in the mirror would be the evil she felt in her bedroom?
Yes, she did. No angelic face was going to fool her.
She did tell the entity in the mirror to leave her alone, to get out of her house. She did get a priest to bless her house and she regularly burns sage to cleanse it. She also got rid of the mirror above her couch and sold her bedroom furniture and bought new.
Some people go to extremes, but they do what they believe is necessary.
I guess the moral of this story is to realize that demons are real and whether you believe in them or not, don’t trust anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Well, I gave you two Real Ghost/Demon Stories rolled into one!! I seriously get creeped out about the girl in the red cape — that’s one of those stories that has stuck with me for a very long time. And, it is one I tell others . . . I don’t want to be the only one with creepy stuff bouncing around in my mind.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Sharon
by Sharon | Aug 22, 2018
I met some friends at our local coffee shop. Some dabble in ghost hunting — some more serious than others.
I like hearing of their ghostly adventures . . . and I’m rather fond of the blueberry muffins.
My friend, Barbara brought along her nephew Joel.
He seemed nervous.
After the introductions, Barbara told Joel to start at the beginning. Joel is a college student.
He decided to give us a description of the room he was in when his unexpected visitor appeared. The back room, they use as a TV room was added on to the back of the house about five years ago. From the living room, there’s an archway and you step down three steps into the back room. There are windows across the back of the room and a door on the right to the backyard. There’s a couch under the windows, a loveseat is against the wall to the right with the back door and to the left are bookcases and a couple of chairs with a table and lamp between them. Mounted on the wall to the right of the archway is a widescreen TV. There is a coffee table in front of the couch. Nothing is in front of the loveseat.
Joel was standing in front of the couch, bent down to pick up the remote from the coffee table. When he pointed it at the TV, in the reflection of the TV screen was a tall man wearing overalls and a straw hat, holding a shovel or hoe, standing behind the couch, right behind Joel. The curtains on the windows were closed, because it was night.
Joel stood still for a few minutes staring at the man reflected in the TV screen.
He slowly turned around to see if someone really was behind him. As happens so often, as soon as he turned his head to look, the man was gone.
Joel ran from the room, to join the rest of the family in the kitchen, looking at old photo albums. He tells his mother, Barbara’s sister, what he saw and to his surprise she smiles and walks away.
Joel just stood there, still in shock from his encounter. He watched pictures being passed around. There was an old yellowed newspaper article with a grainy black and white picture that he swears fell from the ceiling and landed in the middle of the table.
According to Joel, it was like the whole world stopped. He pointed to the picture and yelled, “That’s him!”
Barbara took the newspaper clipping from her purse and passed it around the table. Evidently, the man was found dead in his backyard, apparently from a heart attack, working in his garden. This garden is now the TV room.
Joel’s mother had seen the gentleman several times over the years. She usually saw him in the backyard before they added the TV room. At times she saw him in various areas of the house — this had been his home. She knew a man died on the property when they bought the place, but that didn’t bother Joel’s parents.
Barbara couldn’t explain where the newspaper article came from, but it was appropriate to note that the date of the newspaper article was August 20, 1968 — 50 years ago Monday.
We made a point of going to the cemetery and looking up this gentleman’s gravesite to place flowers and to let him know that he is remembered.
Joel is still uncomfortable. It will take him some time to come to terms with this unexpected visitor. He is actually no stranger to the paranormal . . . but it’s the newspaper clipping that has him creeped out.
I would feel the same way. How about you?
Leave me a comment, tell your friends about TwoCansOnAString.com and come back and visit us again soon!!
Sharon
by Sharon | Aug 22, 2018
The photograph of The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is familiar to most everyone. It is included in everyone’s collection of ghostly apparitions. Many believe it is authentic, but there are always those who believe otherwise.
I’m no photography expert, but I am open in believing it is real and I’m also open to the possibility of light getting into the camera or there being some sort of double exposure. However, this doesn’t explain away the actual sightings many have claimed to see around Raynham Hall. 
The first was in the early 1800’s by King George IV. He said he saw a woman dressed in a brown dress standing next to his bed. He remarked that her skin was pale and her hair disheveled. During the Christmas holidays of 1835, Colonel Loftus saw a woman wearing a brown satin dress with a pale luminescence around her. He further described her as having her eyes gouged out. Captain Frederick Marryat and two friends encountered “the Brown Lady” in an upstairs hallway carrying a lantern in 1836. It is reported she grinned at the men in a “diabolical manner.”
Who is this “Brown Lady”? Why is she haunting Raynham Hall?
According to legend, the “Brown Lady of Raynham Hall” is the ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole (1686-1726).
She was Robert Walpole’s sister (Robert Walpole is regarded to be the first Prime Minister of Great Britain) and the second wife of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount of Raynham and residents of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England in the early 1700s. Rumor has it that before Dorothy married Charles, she had been the mistress of Lord Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton, an English soldier, politician and diplomat
Now Charles Townshend was known for his violent temper and accused his wife of adultery. It is likely he strangled her right on the staircase of Raynham Hall in 1725 and buried her. It is a tidy little story and ties the picture in nicely for this legend, but more rumors suspect the funeral was a hoax and Charles locked his wife away in a remote location on the estate. It is believed she died of small pox in 1726 and others believe she lived out her life locked away.
What is a legend without contradictions? Why are these sightings so rare? Is the photograph a hoax or proof that spirits walk among us? Was “the Brown Lady’s” life cut short by a jealous husband or small pox . . . or was she locked away for the remainder of her life in the place she now haunts?
I suppose “the Brown Lady” will forever be shrouded in mystery . . . until someone holds a séance at Raynham Hall and Lady Dorothy Walpole Townshend comes forward to tell her story. Actually, I’m surprised it hasn’t been done.
I sometimes wonder if not knowing is sometimes better than actually knowing the truth of a legend. It would truly be a shame if this was just a photographic anomaly. Photography in those days was in its infancy. It would be interesting to see if there have been other photographs, more recent photographs depicting the fine lady in brown.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sharon
by Sharon | Aug 21, 2018
Where did this practice originate?
I’m fascinated by the folklore of our ancestors. When it came to ghosts and ghouls they had very definite practices. The one I’d like to tell in this post is Why cover mirrors after a death?
First I looked to Europe, second to old Jewish tradition and third to the southern portion of the United States. Many interesting beliefs seem to originate from the south . . . from vampires to ghosts to voodoo practices . . . to covering mirrors with cloth.
Why Cover The Mirrors?
The thing is, when a person passes at home many people cover the mirrors thinking that the newly departed’s soul could get trapped in the mirror and not continue on their journey to “the light.”
There is also the belief that one’s reflection in a mirror is a projection of an individual’s soul. Thus covering the mirror prevents others from seeing their reflections — whether mourner or spirits from beyond ushering the newly departed to their destination and the newly departed.
For some, mirrors are considered portals and by covering them, it keeps out any rift-raft from the spirit world.
Also, with all the mourning going on, it is believed spirits can enter the body of the living through the nose or the mouth. While bereaved, one’s guard is down and covering the mirrors is a safety precaution from possession.
Evidently, many spirits don’t want to leave — so in their spirit form, they could indeed enter a body of the living through their nose or mouth. Thus, the practice for widows to wear a veil at the funeral . . . while others keep a handkerchief handy to cover the nose and mouth — and wipe the tears . . .
Some cover the mirrors in black and others with a white sheet. Still others use a spray to prevent the mirror from allowing reflections. The mirrors are usually covered or masked until after the funeral.
When the body is removed from the house, it is advised that the deceased be taken out feet first. This prevents the corpse from looking back at others in the room and beckoning them to join him or her on their journey to the afterlife.
That’s kind of “creepy” . . . but . . .
I hope this was informative and answered the question of the ancient practice of covering mirrors after someone dies.
Now, I can’t leave you without a story. I’m sorry I don’t have one about covered mirrors, but this one is about a message from beyond the grave you may find interesting.
Granddad’s Message
Joe’s grandfather was in a nursing home. He was well into his 80’s and suffered a massive stroke that left him paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak.
Joe’s sister, Emma, gave her grandfather a stuffed bear that when you squeezed it would say in a cute recorded message, “I love you.”
Although they visited daily, Emma wanted her grandfather to know they loved him and they knew he loved them, too. He would squeeze the bear when he saw them in greeting and again when they left. The nurses said he would sleep with the bear and squeeze it periodically throughout the night and first thing in the morning.
Days before her grandfather’s passing, Emma asked him, if he should pass, if he could send them a message that he was all right and arrived in heaven. He squeezed her hand in agreement.
One year to the date of his passing, the bear was sitting on the mantle of their home, as it had since his passing, and precisely at 6:32 in the evening (the time of his death), the bear said, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
I hope you enjoyed this post . . . and enjoyed the Real Ghost Story.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Sharon
by Sharon | Aug 20, 2018
Psychometry is the ability to read objects.
All of us have this ability to a degree. We get vibrations that are either good or bad. We just need to spend some time with an object and see if we receive any reaction to it. It may make you feel happy, sad, or any feeling along the spectrum.
It is no different from walking into a room and instantly feeling uncomfortable. Or when meeting someone for the first time — you do get vibrations . . . a sense of whether you want to get to know the person or want to move on . . . and sometimes run!
I noticed a woman at my favorite antique mall put on gloves before handling jewelry.
Some people think its to show respect to the jewelry and the prospective buyer. In her case, she gets very emotional when handling some jewelry pieces with her bare hands. In one case, there was an emerald ring with two small diamond baguettes on each side of the emerald. It was a pretty ring and just about everyone interested in jewelry wanted to see it, but after handling it, trying it on and studying it, each woman passed.
I was curious.
I asked to see the ring. I held it for a few seconds. I didn’t want to try it on. Actually, I felt something bad would happen to me if I did try it on. Obviously, it wasn’t right for me, but what about the other women. I sought them out and asked them what they felt when they handled and put on the emerald ring.
Julie wanted to know what I felt before telling me her story. The other women were interested to hear what I had to say, which was helpful — I didn’t have to run after them, they were all eager to tell their reactions.
I was brief. I explained how I felt sad just handling the ring. I knew trying it on was the next logical step in the process, but I became frightened that if I did put it on, something awful was going to happen to me. I didn’t get anything specific just a warning not to put it on my finger. It was almost as though I heard a voice saying, “You’ll be sorry if you put it on.” It felt as though the ring spoke those words. I wasn’t going to question it or tempt fate. I accepted the fact that the ring was not for me.
Julie said she, too, felt sad. The other women agreed. When Julie put it on, she knew it was a “promise ring,” but it was a promise that wasn’t kept.
“I don’t know why I know that,” Julie said, “I just know it to be true. I was going to buy it for my daughter, but I knew it would bring nothing but trouble to her.”
Gloria spoke up next. “I got a picture in my mind of a young girl who was gloating about the ring and who gave it to her and what it meant. She was bragging that Phillip was her intended and the girl she was talking to would end up alone with a house full of cats for companionship.”
Gloria knew she wanted nothing to do with the ring and the previous owner. “She was just too cruel in her manner and attitude.”
Pat was nodding the whole time Gloria was talking. “I got the same mean spirited picture in my mind, but when I put it on, I got the image of this woman being hit by a car when she left the place where she was showing it off to the other woman.”
Connie was next to speak up. “I felt strong and entitled when I picked up the ring. When I put it on, I felt as though it would squeeze the life out of me. I got scared and couldn’t wait to get away from it.”
Elizabeth, the woman who was showing the jewelry walked by our little group. I stopped her and asked about the emerald ring.
“We’ve had it for quite some time. I show it several times a day, but no one wants to buy it. We’ve marked the price down, too. I doubt we’ll be able to give it away.”
I asked her how she felt when she handled it. She paused for quite some time before answering. “The first time I held the ring I felt sad. There were other times I would feel revengeful, like I wanted to prove something to someone. The last time I became so angry when the person I was showing it to didn’t buy it. I almost shouted at the woman, telling her she was wasting my time and didn’t know a good ring if it fell in her lap.”
Elizabeth was disturbed by her mood changes/ That was when she started wearing gloves before handling jewelry.
Is it possible to read antiques?
Yes, definitely. You read the account of five women who handled the same ring. Did we get a clear reading? I believe it was close enough. Do we know the truth about the ring and who brought it in to sell it?
Yes, as a matter of fact. Elizabeth went to look up the information about the ring. She called the owner who agreed to come to the antique mall and meet with us.
Cindy seemed anxious. She was curious about our reaction to the ring and also wanted to disclose what she could about the ring.
“This ring was passed down in my family. It seemed whoever came in possession of the ring had bad luck in love. It’s like the ring is cursed.”
When Cindy inherited the ring, she immediately wanted it out of her house. She brought it to the antique mall to sell along with other items. As Cindy explained it, “My great-aunt Sue was killed in her late twenties. She was coming out of a small tea room when she was hit by an automobile. She was wearing the emerald ring at the time of the accident. Family legend has it that the ring was a “promise ring” from a wealthy businessman by the name of Phillip. At the time he was engaged to someone else, but he was going to break it off with the other woman and marry Aunt Sue. Obviously, that didn’t happen.”
She went on to explain how Sue’s parents got divorced shortly after Sue’s death. Then the ring was passed to the eldest niece who’s husband was killed in a hunting accident. There was one tragedy after another. Either the niece or her boyfriend or fiancée lost their life or the relationship went sour. Once the ring was passed to another, it was like a curse that she would not find happiness.
Cindy didn’t want to chance it. She had been married for 37 years and her four daughters were each engaged. Cindy didn’t want the curse to touch her family.
Well, there’s the story.
Curse or coincidence?
Is there something to a self-fulfilled prophecy associated with knowing the history of the ring and the owner’s fate that these relatives put into motion?
Or was there really a curse placed upon the ring by “Aunt Sue” as she was dying from her injuries — or was she killed instantly — that we don’t know . . . but I do believe it may have something to do with “Aunt Sue’s state of mind prior to the accident.
I do wonder if the “curse” applied only to Cindy’s family or if it would be passed on to the new owner. It does seem logical that it would — especially because it was centered around the ring — and all the women who handled it and tried it on felt it . . .
I don’t believe it was an actual “curse” placed upon the ring . . . unless “Aunt Sue” put one on it — or perhaps it was just her negative energy that lingers.
I’m curious about cleansing it and perhaps contacting “Aunt Sue” in a seance to learn more about the woman.
I can only imagine she wasn’t too kind — a bit selfish perhaps . . . and with her bitterness of dying young and not attaining marriage is delighted by the chaos she has created within her own family.
I honestly can’t imagine gaining any pleasure from that . . . Perhaps she did place a “curse” upon the ring. And by not knowing the “curse” it may be next to impossible to reverse it.
I don’t know. I would, however, like to hear your thoughts on the subject of “Aunt Sue” and psychometry. Please leave me a comment below.
Thanks for stopping by! If you enjoyed this post, please tell your friends about TwoCansOnAString.com
Sharon
