Seek answers to Hauntings

[Zandy]

I always wonder about this since I was a young teenager and I seek answers.

Ok so some catholic people would say ghost don’t exist.
My question is to that then: Then why do people pick up bad vibes from a area or see stuff that’s unexplained.
Some Catholic people would say they are fallen angels aka demons pretending to be dead one to pull us back from God.

I will say my dad and my sister can sense stuff. Like for example when I was teenager it was the season for the ball. So my mum , sister and I went to this house where the lady had the ball dresses. We walked down a hall way to the end of the room where the dresses were there. I was trying the dress on and she said to my mum and me. “Can you feel it”? And we looked at her confused and replied “Feel what”? She was quit nervous so I had to hurry up. Once we left the house the next day my sister told mum and me. That it felted like either someone was abused in that room or murder.

One other time when my sister was seven. We went to vist my day’s new flat he was staying at. My sister told my mum at the time when we were there “Someone died here eh mum”? My mum gave a puzzle looked and say no. Years later my dad and the owner of the house told us years ago a man hanged himself in that room.

So my question is why do people sense stuff and others can’t?
Why did God gave them that gift?

Is all haunted areas just demons trying to trick people?

Is psychic or mediums that claim to talk to a dead love one are talking to a demon.
Or channeling spirits through them is a demon?

Why can’t God just get rid of the devil and his demons and not let them interfer with us?

Thank you.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I always wonder about this since I was a young teenager and I seek answers.

Ok so some catholic people would say ghost don’t exist.
My question is to that then: Then why do people pick up bad vibes from a area or see stuff that’s unexplained.
Some Catholic people would say they are fallen angels aka demons pretending to be dead one to pull us back from God.

I will say my dad and my sister can sense stuff. Like for example when I was teenager it was the season for the ball. So my mum , sister and I went to this house where the lady had the ball dresses. We walked down a hall way to the end of the room where the dresses were there. I was trying the dress on and she said to my mum and me. “Can you feel it”? And we looked at her confused and replied “Feel what”? She was quit nervous so I had to hurry up. Once we left the house the next day my sister told mum and me. That it felted like either someone was abused in that room or murder.

One other time when my sister was seven. We went to vist my day’s new flat he was staying at. My sister told my mum at the time when we were there “Someone died here eh mum”? My mum gave a puzzle looked and say no. Years later my dad and the owner of the house told us years ago a man hanged himself in that room.

So my question is why do people sense stuff and others can’t?
Why did God gave them that gift?

Is all haunted areas just demons trying to trick people?

Is psychic or mediums that claim to talk to a dead love one are talking to a demon.
Or channeling spirits through them is a demon?

Why can’t God just get rid of the devil and his demons and not let them interfer with us?

Thank you.

I don’t really think anyone will ever come up with a satisfactory answer to your question until Jesus returns. God’s ways are not our ways, and the best you will get is speculation.

I realize some people have certain “extrasensory” perceptions–I have seen it in my own family–however we are not to exploit or make use of these powers. If they happen, they happen, but we are not to encourage it.

As for ghosts–we don’t know what they are, but that is another area God has said we are not to mess with. I personally believe things do happen, as my own husband once experienced poltergeist activity as did his mother in one of their relative’s house, and I myself had some weird experiences in a house I lived in.

I don’t think anyone can satisfactorily answer any of the questions you posed, we just really don’t know, even though some claim to.

 

[Dorothy]

I always wonder about this since I was a young teenager and I seek answers.

Ok so some catholic people would say ghost don’t exist.
My question is to that then: Then why do people pick up bad vibes from a area or see stuff that’s unexplained.
Some Catholic people would say they are fallen angels aka demons pretending to be dead one to pull us back from God.

I will say my dad and my sister can sense stuff. Like for example when I was teenager it was the season for the ball. So my mum , sister and I went to this house where the lady had the ball dresses. We walked down a hall way to the end of the room where the dresses were there. I was trying the dress on and she said to my mum and me. “Can you feel it”? And we looked at her confused and replied “Feel what”? She was quit nervous so I had to hurry up. Once we left the house the next day my sister told mum and me. That it felted like either someone was abused in that room or murder.

One other time when my sister was seven. We went to vist my day’s new flat he was staying at. My sister told my mum at the time when we were there “Someone died here eh mum”? My mum gave a puzzle looked and say no. Years later my dad and the owner of the house told us years ago a man hanged himself in that room.

So my question is why do people sense stuff and others can’t?
Why did God gave them that gift?

Is all haunted areas just demons trying to trick people?

Is psychic or mediums that claim to talk to a dead love one are talking to a demon.
Or channeling spirits through them is a demon?

Why can’t God just get rid of the devil and his demons and not let them interfer with us?

Thank you.

I don’t know how to adequately answer all your questions, but I will refer to the last two.

Psychics or mediums that claim that they are talking to a loved one may or may not know that demons are all too ready to pose as the dead person. (the demons know things about people). The medium can mention some facts and little known things about a person, and then the person using the medium is fascinated, and it takes their eyes off of Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We need to trust the Lord and pray for our deceased loved ones …not seek contact with them.

God doesn’t just get rid of the demons and the devil, as God uses them in a way that can make a person spiritually stronger by resisting temptation. The demons are on a leash, so to speak, the Lord will not allow them to tempt us beyond our capacity to resist and grow spiritually. If we choose to freely give in to the temptation, then it is our fault.

While it is true that some people are sensitive to things, it would be so for reasons known only to God.

However, we are commanded to not seek mediums who channel and say they can put us in touch with our dead loved ones. We would be stepping into an area into which the Lord knows would NOT be beneficial to us, but deceptive.

All we need is the Lord.

 

[glendab]

And to add to what others have said: Don’t get involved with them. If you really feel that there are “ghosts” in a place you are, get Holy Water and some Blessed Salt and liberally douse and sprinkle away! And don’t mess with them at all. If your sister seems interested talk her out of it. Try praying a family Rosary with her and frequent the Sacraments and encourage her to do so too. There is no such thing as ghosts haunting places. It is all the demon no matter what others tell you. Persons who “dabble” in channeling occult spirits risk actual possession. I don’t say that lightly. It is true. Don’t play with fire and you can’t get burnt!!!

Glenda

 

[mikekle]

I definitely believe in ghosts, I have seen one once back when I was a teenager. While Im not sure what they are, I can be pretty sure not all of them are demons, many people that have had experiences with ghosts or having an encounter with a long dead relative know they are talking to the relative and not something pretending. People can sense evil and they can also sense a family members presence.

Due to everything Ive seen and read, Im leaning towards at least some spirits/souls of deceased people do in fact remain in our world, in the form of an orb. I wish I knew why though, maybe they died and still had something important to accomplish, etc. Whatever they are, it is definitely interesting, plus it shows how little we know about what happens at death.

These orbs are sighted all time, I find it hard to believe all these are demons, as demons are in hell, and the way I was taught, there is NO escaping hell once there, so…?

 

[tvknight415]

I’ve had 3 experiences that one could consider paranormal.

#1 - While living in my fraternity house in college (no cracks please - I was sober), it was the middle of winter, and all of the sudden my recycling bag tipped over, the bedroom door slammed shut, and the pennant hanging on the wall was swinging wildly side-to-side. It was the middle of winter, so no windows open to let the wind through. Other brothers reported hearing random footsteps walking through the house on occasion as well (although I can’t vouch for the sobriety or lack thereof of the other reports).

#2 - Visited Auschwicz back in 1997. Even though it was 80-some degrees that day, as I walked through the camp, I felt increasingly cold and uncomfortable - almost nauseous. The feeling passed after we were in the cab, heading back to Krakow. It was so powerful that I swore I would only go back there once more in my life, and that would be to take any future spouse and children there to experience the place.

#3 - Had a dream that my girlfriend at the time was cheating on me. It was so intense of a dream it actually left me in a foul mood all weekend. Low and behold, the relationship ended several months later when she revealed she was pregnant (and it wasn’t by me, since we were living a chaste relationship). Found out through her parents when the due date was, counted back, and it turned out that the likely time of conception was the weekend I had the dream.

I’m not going to read any significance into #1, but I believe the feeling I was left with after #2 was to remind me of the level of evil that had been done there. I’m definitely convinced that #3 was a heads-up.

 

[DavidFilmer]

The Catholic Church has never disavowed (or avowed) the existence of ghosts. Any Catholic is free to believe (or not believe) in them. The Church has no teaching in this regard, so there is nothing “official” that I can offer.

I happen to believe, because, as a child, I lived in a “haunted house.” A number of events occurred that have no rational explanation. A man named Joe Mantooth committed suicide in this house, so we attributed these events to his ghost. One of (many) notable examples is this: the house had, at one time, been a duplex, with the upper and lower levels separated. I shared a bedroom with my brother which had originally been a kitchen for the upstairs level. As such, it still had a wall-mounted kitchen sink with drainboard. One night, when I was still quite awake, both hot and cold faucets (they had separate valves) began to pour at full strength. The valves were old and creaky, and seldom used, so this was quite remarkable. I was awake, eyes open, and facing the sink at the time, so nobody (not my brother or either of my parents) could have possibly done this without my notice (there was sufficient light in our bedroom to make out shapes - a streetlamp was nearby). Nothing like this had never happened before, and it never happened again.

FWIW, my brother is Fr. Eric Filmer, of the CAF “Ask an Apologist” forum.

 

[Inego_de_Loyola]

I’m too tired to respond at length tonight, but I will try to post in detail later. For now I will only make a few points.

I. There are demonic hauntings and possessions; this is part of the deposit of faith, and (at least) a Fides Divina Dogma.

II. There is some reason to believe that there may be human spirits who haunt and possess, but, if they exist, these are certainly hellions.

III. Suffering souls of purgatory are reliably said to have appeared seeking prayers. Some people believe they can also generally haunt in a less explicit cry for prayer. If a haunting has an extraordinary sadness to it, and there is no definite feeling of evil then masses said for the repose of souls may be in order. That being said, demons are deceivers and you should never let your guard down.

IV. We are never to attempt to communicate with demons or the dead. Besides being gravely sinful, this also can give demons legal right over you and anywhere the attempt to communicate took place. In other words, you could wind up haunted and/or possessed.

V. There are four degrees of haunting and they are: 1. Infestation; the haunting of an item or a place. 2. Oppression; the haunting of a person. 3. Obsession; a lesser form of possession where the demons dominion is either not lasting or is only over a portion of the body. 4. Possession; compared to obsession, the demon has more control over the body and for much longer periods of time.

VI. I grew up in a very haunted house and have studied the subject for a significant portion of my life, so ask me anything.

P.S. The ability to take action on this earth doesn’t mean that they aren’t in hell. They are spirits, so they aren’t in a physical hell (though the humans among them will be after the resurrection). Spirit doesn’t have the same limitations as flesh, so they can be here and in hell. This doesn’t mean they’ve escaped; they don’t feel the pains of hell any less, nor do they have any more communion with God.

 

[mikekle]

I’m too tired to respond at length tonight, but I will try to post in detail later. For now I will only make a few points.

I. There are demonic hauntings and possessions; this is part of the deposit of faith, and (at least) a Fides Divina Dogma.

II. There is some reason to believe that there may be human spirits who haunt and possess, but, if they exist, these are certainly hellions.

III. Suffering souls of purgatory are reliably said to have appeared seeking prayers. Some people believe they can also generally haunt in a less explicit cry for prayer. If a haunting has an extraordinary sadness to it, and there is no definite feeling of evil then masses said for the repose of souls may be in order. That being said, demons are deceivers and you should never let your guard down.

IV. We are never to attempt to communicate with demons or the dead. Besides being gravely sinful, this also can give demons legal right over you and anywhere the attempt to communicate took place. In other words, you could wind up haunted and/or possessed.

V. There are four degrees of haunting and they are: 1. Infestation; the haunting of an item or a place. 2. Oppression; the haunting of a person. 3. Obsession; a lesser form of possession where the demons dominion is either not lasting or is only over a portion of the body. 4. Possession; compared to obsession, the demon has more control over the body and for much longer periods of time.

VI. I grew up in a very haunted house and have studied the subject for a significant portion of my life, so ask me anything.

P.S. The ability to take action on this earth doesn’t mean that they aren’t in hell. They are spirits, so they aren’t in a physical hell (though the humans among them will be after the resurrection). Spirit doesn’t have the same limitations as flesh, so they can be here and in hell. This doesn’t mean they’ve escaped; they don’t feel the pains of hell any less, nor do they have any more communion with God.

I noticed you live in LA, I know parts of this state are well known for the paranormal, especially New Orleans, I have never been there but have a feeling there is something to it all. I have heard some crazy stories coming out of New Orleans from people I know, most seem to be much more than simple hauntings imo!! I think at some point in history, some very strange things took place here and has left a lingering effect.

One incident from a friend who went there back in the 90s, which involved encountering a REAL vampire, it appeared as a flesh and blood man, I wont go into that here, but I was told this first hand from a good friend at the time, so I know it happened, in that case, i feel it was a demon, appearing to him as what we consider to be a vampire.

P.S. The ability to take action on this earth doesn’t mean that they aren’t in hell. They are spirits, so they aren’t in a physical hell (though the humans among them will be after the resurrection). Spirit doesn’t have the same limitations as flesh, so they can be here and in hell. This doesn’t mean they’ve escaped; they don’t feel the pains of hell any less, nor do they have any more communion with God.

Im not convinced about this statement though…Only God can be in more than 1 place at one time, if demons are not in the physical hell, why would human souls be there? If demons are so involved in tempting mankind thru all sorts of things, I have a hard time believing they are suffering in anyway, seems to me they are taking great pleasure from this kind of activity. Finally if demons in spirit form have the ability to leave hell, or be in 2 places at once like you said, then there is no reason why the human spirits could not also do this…maybe this explains ghosts…IDK? I dont think God would give any special treatment to a demon versus a human soul though.

 

[GaryTaylor]

Communication from God doesn’t come through Ghosts. They also are either evil or scared to death. I don’t see any happy, happy, happy ghosts…you? Ever see one spreading the Good News?

 

[Inego_de_Loyola]

I noticed you live in LA, I know parts of this state are well known for the paranormal, especially New Orleans, I have never been there but have a feeling there is something to it all. I have heard some crazy stories coming out of New Orleans from people I know, most seem to be much more than simple hauntings imo!! I think at some point in history, some very strange things took place here and has left a lingering effect.

New Orleans is very haunted, in large part, because of a longtime proliferation of various pseudo Christianized forms of West African paganism. The comparatively recent increase of satanism and various “new age” religions throughout the nation hasn’t helped any.

One incident from a friend who went there back in the 90s, which involved encountering a REAL vampire, it appeared as a flesh and blood man, I wont go into that here, but I was told this first hand from a good friend at the time, so I know it happened, in that case, i feel it was a demon, appearing to him as what we consider to be a vampire.

I’ve heard a few vampire stories myself. My theory is that they are ordinary flesh and blood people, but in a state of perfect possession. I don’t know that for sure, of course; it’s just my speculation.

P.S. The ability to take action on this earth doesn’t mean that they aren’t in hell. They are spirits, so they aren’t in a physical hell (though the humans among them will be after the resurrection). Spirit doesn’t have the same limitations as flesh, so they can be here and in hell. This doesn’t mean they’ve escaped; they don’t feel the pains of hell any less, nor do they have any more communion with God.

Im not convinced about this statement though…Only God can be in more than 1 place at one time, if demons are not in the physical hell, why would human souls be there? If demons are so involved in tempting mankind thru all sorts of things, I have a hard time believing they are suffering in anyway, seems to me they are taking great pleasure from this kind of activity. Finally if demons in spirit form have the ability to leave hell, or be in 2 places at once like you said, then there is no reason why the human spirits could not also do this…maybe this explains ghosts…IDK? I dont think God would give any special treatment to a demon versus a human soul though.

They aren’t in two places at once. More accurately they aren’t in anyplace at all. They aren’t in a physical hell, because they aren’t physical, but they are in a spiritual hell, or far more accurately, their spirit is in a state of hell. Hell is in them. Damned human souls are also like this until they are reunited with their bodies at the resurrection, when they will be in a literal place as well as remaining in the spiritual state. Regarding your theory that they get pleasure from their malice, I really couldn’t say, but if they get anything like pleasure from it, it doesn’t lessen their suffering any. Their hatred of God and all things like him is their chief motivation in tempting and oppressing. Their greed for a domain for their imagined, and yearned for, godhood is their motivation for haunting and possessing.

 

[glendab]

Here’s some help with the notion of being “haunted” from the New Advent site. it is from an article on the subject of necromancy which is forbidden by the Church and can be helpful for folks to realize some of the danger in believing in ghosts and spirits and such:

In the first centuries of the Christian era the practice of necromancy was common among pagans, as the Fathers frequently testify (see, e.g., Tertullian, “Apol.”, xxiii, P.L., I, 470; “De anima”, LVI, LVII, in P.L., II, 790 sqq.; Lactantius, “Divinæ institutiones”, IV, xxvii, in P.L., VI, 531). It was associated with other magical arts and other forms of demoniacal practices, and Christians were warned against such observances “in which the demons represent themselves as the souls of the dead” (Tertullian, De anima, LVII, in P.L., II, 793). Nevertheless, even Christians converted from paganism sometimes indulged in them. The efforts of Church authorities, popes, and councils, and the severe laws of Christian emperors, especially Constantine, Constantius, Valentinian, Valens, Theodosius, were not directed specifically against necromancy, but in general against pagan magic, divination, and superstition. In fact, little by little the term necromancy lost its strict meaning and was applied to all forms of black art, becoming closely associated with alchemy, witchcraft, and magic.

newadvent.org/cathen/10735a.htm

Tertullian’s quotation is highlighted to show that the Church has known in the past the devil’s deception in appearing as souls of the dead or ghosts. Please get informed about the subject. We cannot casually believe in ghosts and the like without falling under demonic influence. One of the 4 ways the devil operates is by DECEPTION and getting you to think that there are such things as ghosts is one step in the devil’s direction. Do not fool around with such stuff. You will lose.

Glenda

 

[mikekle]

I’ve heard a few vampire stories myself. My theory is that they are ordinary flesh and blood people, but in a state of perfect possession. I don’t know that for sure, of course; it’s just my speculation.

They could be highly possessed, but after speaking to this man last year and listening to what happened to him in another country, I believe, no, I should say, I KNOW vampires do exist, not talking about psychic vampires, or people who like to dress up, Im talking about the REAL deal, they are not undead though, they have human organs, but they dont function like a normal human, this was explained to me, but it was very difficult to understand. They also have re-tractable fangs, they can be exposed in a similar method as when a man becomes sexually excited and his penis grows. They can be killed too, they are not supernatural as the movies make them out to be, they are just ‘different’.

This man gave me proof of all this as well, so I KNOW for a fact it is real…and I have to admit, when I learned about this, I was scared, but anxious, to know these things actually exist out there!!

I also think there is probably alot of things that exist that we humans do not even know about, and they are more than likely living among us, right under our noses. There is ALOT in this world we do not understand, its sad alot of people think since it is 2014, they have it all figured about! LOL

 

[Inego_de_Loyola]

They could be highly possessed, but after speaking to this man last year and listening to what happened to him in another country, I believe, no, I should say, I KNOW vampires do exist, not talking about psychic vampires, or people who like to dress up, Im talking about the REAL deal, they are not undead though, they have human organs, but they dont function like a normal human, this was explained to me, but it was very difficult to understand. They also have re-tractable fangs, they can be exposed in a similar method as when a man becomes sexually excited and his penis grows. They can be killed too, they are not supernatural as the movies make them out to be, they are just ‘different’.

This man gave me proof of all this as well, so I KNOW for a fact it is real…and I have to admit, when I learned about this, I was scared, but anxious, to know these things actually exist out there!!

I also think there is probably alot of things that exist that we humans do not even know about, and they are more than likely living among us, right under our noses. There is ALOT in this world we do not understand, its sad alot of people think since it is 2014, they have it all figured about! LOL

Nothing you’ve said rules out a state of perfect possession though. Even in involuntary possessions, the possessed person’s physical features can change, including their voice, appearance, strength, and many other aspects. If someone can vomit nails and have their eyes can turn completely black, then fangs are by no means out of the question…

 

[mikekle]

Nothing you’ve said rules out a state of perfect possession though. Even in involuntary possessions, the possessed person’s physical features can change, including their voice, appearance, strength, and many other aspects. If someone can vomit nails and have their eyes can turn completely black, then fangs are by no means out of the question…

True, but the difference is, these vampires Im referring to, are NOT inherently evil in nature.

 

[Inego_de_Loyola]

True, but the difference is, these vampires Im referring to, are NOT inherently evil in nature.

Those in a state of perfect possession are willfully cooperating with the forces of hell and, consequently, are great deceivers. Even still, the person possessed is not inherently evil, but he has chosen to become evil.

In the case of a vampire, I assume that they attack people and drink their blood; right? If the answer is yes, then they are breaking the fifth and seventh commandments at the very least; which is evil.

 

[glendab]

Hello Mike.

True, but the difference is, these vampires Im referring to, are NOT inherently evil in nature.

There are no such things as vampires. It is silliness to say they exist and ask others to believe in them. The story of vampires comes from Vlad the Impaler in Romanian history and good article about him can be found at Wikipedia:

Reputation for cruelty[edit]

Even during his lifetime, Vlad III Țepeș became famous as a tyrant taking sadistic pleasure in torturing and killing. He is shown in crypto-portraits made during his lifetime in the role of cruel rulers or executioners. After Vlad’s death, his cruel deeds were reported with macabre gusto in popular pamphlets in Germany, reprinted from the 1480s until the 1560s, and to a lesser extent in Tsarist Russia. As an example of how Vlad Țepeș soon became iconic for all horrors unimaginable, the following pamphlet from 1521 pours out putative incidents like this one:

“er liess kinnder praten die musten ire mütter essen. Und schneyd den frawen den prüst ab den musten ire man essen. Danach liess er sie all spissen.”

"Er briet die Kinder, und ihre Mütter mussten diese essen. Er schnitt den Frauen die Brüste ab, und ihre Männer mussten diese essen. Danach ließ er sie alle pfählen.

He roasted children, whom he fed to their mothers. And (he) cut off the breasts of women, and forced their husbands to eat them. After that, he had them all impaled.

Vlad the Impaler as Aegeas, the Roman proconsul in Patras, crucifying Saint Andrew. Approximately 1470–1480, Belvedere Galleries, Vienna. Estimates of the number of his victims range from 40,000 to 100,000. According to the German stories the number of victims he had killed was at least 80,000. In addition to the 80,000 victims mentioned he also had whole villages and fortresses destroyed and burned to the ground.

Impalement was Vlad’s preferred method of torture and execution. Several woodcuts from German pamphlets of the late 15th and early 16th centuries show Vlad feasting in a forest of stakes and their grisly burdens outside Brașov, while a nearby executioner cuts apart other victims. It was reported that an invading Ottoman army turned back in fright when it encountered thousands of rotting corpses on the banks of the Danube.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_III_the_Impaler

His is the start of the Dracula legend although I’ve also heard embellishments on the story of a Romanian Princess who also became part of the legend as she was known to take the maids she had waiting on her, always virgins and while she was preparing to bath, they would bring the girls to her and slit their throats over her tub and she would bath in their blood mixed with milk and this is how she expected to remain young for ever. I cannot remember her name but once the legends of Vlad became Dracula, they added her tale to his as his wife. She never was. Sorry I cannot remember her name for you. Perhaps someone else reading this thread will. But trust me, Mike - there are no such things as vampires. It is only one of the myriad ways the devil works to get your eyes of Jesus.

Glenda

 

[glendab]

Ooooo - I found the lady who done it! I was worng she wasn’t Romanian, but Hungrian:

In 1983, McNally additionally suggested that Stoker was influenced by the history of Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who tortured and killed between 36 and 700 young women over a period of many years. It was later commonly believed that she committed these crimes in order to bathe in their blood, believing that this preserved her youth.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula#Historical_and_geographical_references

  The hypothetical link between Count Dracula and Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) can be traced back to the early 1970s. By that time, there was an upsurge of interest in the Blood Countess, notorious for murdering young women and bathing in their blood in order to retain her youthful appearance. Inevitably, her lust for blood would precipitate an association with vampires. In 1970, prior to any investigation into possible influences on Stoker's novel, the title of the Hammer movie Countess Dracula created an artificial link.1 Gabriel Ronay included a section on Bathory in The Dracula Myth (1972), as did Donald Glut in True Vampires of History (1971), though neither claimed that Stoker knew of her. In 1972, McNally and Florescu noted that "in some circles it is believed that the story of the Blood Countess was known to Stoker" (In Search of Dracula 159). But they did not pursue any links at that time.

bathory.org/miller02.html

Glenda

 

[glendab]

And here’s stuff that was also inspiration for Bram Stoker’s novel about Dracula. It comes fro Irish legends about a dwarf that drank blood called an Abhartach:

Alternative Origin of Dracula

Since 1958, it has been frequently claimed that the vampiric antagonist of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula was extensively based on the person of the historic Wallachian ruler Vlad III, also known as Vlad Țepeș (“the Impaler”) after his favored method of punishment and execution. This theory was the central theme of Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally’s best-selling 1972 book, In Search of Dracula, and the notion that Vlad III and Count Dracula are one and the same has been utilized in a number of cinematic adaptations of the novel. In 1998, however, professor Elizabeth Miller published an essay in her book, Dracula: The Shade and the Shadow which challenged this notion, pointing out that Stoker’s research notes for Dracula do not indicate that he had detailed biographical knowledge of Vlad III. She explains that while Stoker copied some information from William Wiliknson’s An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia regarding Vlad III’s patronymic, his campaign against the Turks, and his treasonous brother (Radu III, incorrectly named by Wilkinson as “Bladus”), there is no current evidence that Stoker had information regarding Vlad III’s reputation for cruelty, his use of impalement as a punishment, or even his full name.

An alternative inspiration for Stoker’s story was put forward by Bob Curran, lecturer in Celtic History and Folklore at the University of Ulster, Coleraine, in the Summer 2000 edition of History Ireland, a peer-reviewed journal edited by historians, where he suggested that Stoker may have derived his inspiration from the legend of Abhartach. Curran is also the author of Vampires: A Field Guide to the Creatures That Stalk the Night (2005), which recounts a more detailed version of the legend than that collected by Weston.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhartach

Glenda

 

[CB_Catholic]

The only vampire I believe in is the government, which is slowly sucking the money out of my wallet.