On this Day - A Demented Deadly Dance

June 24, 1374 – A sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance breaks out in Aachen, Germany.

 

St. John’s dance was a sudden affliction which caused people to dance, jump, and twitch uncontrollably. Foaming at the mouth and epileptic convulsions were also signs of the illness, in addition to seeing hallucinations. Some people claimed to see spirits and would yell out the spirit’s name.  Many who have seen people experiencing St. John’s Dance compare it to seeing a person who is possessed by a demon.

There were three ways a person could be cured of the infirmity. A person could simply collapse from exhaustion, a “friend” would thump and hit you in the place that was most afflicted, or the most popular method of ceasing the dance was putting a cloth around your wait and pulling tightly. Priests even performed exorcisms. The cures for St. John’s Dance would cause the ill person to drop to the ground in exhaustion and agony.

This mysterious illness was not only confined Aachen. It spread from throughout the whole of Germanyand to the North West neighboring countries. Was St. John’s Dance a demon epidemic running wild? Or was it possible that a toxin was making these people act strangely?

Kerri L. Schultz

Enemy is Killed by Slain Foe’s Teeth

Traditionally, in ancient times, it was common to behead your defeated foe and display their head as a trophy for a hard fight won. This was such the case of Sigurid the Mighty of Orkney who won his battle with Máel Brigte. Returning to his home, Sigurid strapped the head of Máel to his horse’s saddle. Most unfortunate for Sigurid, he did not realize that Máel’s teeth grazed against his bar leg as he rode and breaking skin. This caused a fatal infection and Sigurid soon died.  It appears Máel won even after death. 

On this Day - A Possessed Girl is Born

June 22, 1959 – Linda Blair born. Linda Blair is the actress who played the demonically possessed girl Regan in the 1973 movie The Exorcist.

The originally book The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty was based on the true story of Robbie Mannheim who experienced an exorcism in 1949. While Robbie Mannheim is the young man’s real named, the Catholic Church used the pseudonym Roland Doe.

Examining Robbie’s early childhood, the clergy found that Robbie was an only child and spent much of his time around adults. He frequently spent time with his Aunt Harriet who was a spiritualist and introduced him to the Ouija board. When Robbie turned 13 his Aunt Harriet passed away and it is speculated that Robbie tried to contact his aunt using the Ouija board which eventually led to his demon possession.

Poltergeist activity ensued following Aunt Harriet’s death but specifically centered around Robbie. Several clergy members attempted to help Robbie but it was ultimately Rev. Walter Halloran and Rev. William S. Bolden who successfully exorcised the demon. Overall, it took 30 tries over a two month period, but when it left, the priests claim there was a large thunderclap sound within the room.

It is not surprisingly that much of what occurred during the exorcisms is disputed. Some question the details or the plausibility of some of the events. Regardless of the dissention surrounding details, a psychiatric illness cannot be ruled out.

What did you think of the movie The Exorcist? Did it scare you?

Kerri Schultz

Djinn The Other Dark Entity

In the paranormal field today, there are many who are quick to say it’s a demon. It may be, but it may also be the other dark entity the djinn. The djinn are very capable of doing what a demon does and may even tell you they are a demon. There is one big difference. A demon possesses for the soul, djinn possess for their own goal or pleasure. Rosemary Ellen Guiley, author of Vengeful Djinn, said it best; they are the entity behind a mask.

Djinn, meaning hidden one, are very good at hiding who they really are. They will tell you they are a lot of things (demons, family members, loved ones, etc.) before they tell you they are a djinn. Though it is said if your persistent enough they will finally give up who they are and their name.

Who are the Djinn and where do they come from?

 God created the djinn from smokeless fire; the angels were created from the purist light long before man was created. Then God made man, god told the angels to bow down to his new creation and they did so, having no free will. God then told Eblis (the chief and father of the djinn) to bow down to his new creation; Eblis having free will did not. He said No! We will not bow down to human beings they are inferior to us; we have no reason to do so. God got angry and cast the djinn out of paradise and into a world that parallels ours.

There are good and evil djinn, just like every other creature, but most are evil because they believe that god has put humans in a better place. They desire to be here, were we are.

Djinn live much like we do; they have families, eat, sleep, and die. Unlike humans they can live for hundreds of years. They are very loyal to their kind; if you harm one, intentionally or not, they will come after you.  They have the ability to move between dimensions, slipping in and out of our world at will. It has been rumored that governments including the U.S. are trying to capture djinn to learn of their trans-dimensional powers.

Djinn are master shape-shifters. They can shape-shift into anything they choose including humans. Forms they like to take are shadow people, reptilian creatures, black dogs, and snakes. There are many stories where they took form of cows, camels, and trees, virtually anything.

As far as paranormal phenomena, djinn can create it all from bumps and knocks to full bodied apparitions. They are also known to use seductive forms, either male or female, much like the incubus or succubus. Djinn like to take on shadow people figures because they are featureless, they are known to stand in your bedroom while you are sleeping and observe.  Is the hooded shadow man and the hatman djinn?  Some believe they observe while we are sleeping to gather information, so they can hold a form for longer periods of time in our dimension. They also can possess a person, though this is for their own pleasure or goal.

 Rosemary Ellen Guiley stated that if the paranormal phenomena is chronic and just won’t go away it’s a good chance it’s a djinn.

Djinn aren’t demons, so exorcisms very seldom work on them (it is said it works on young djinn). More powerful djinn are very hard to get rid of. Most times you cannot force them out, you must bargain with them.

 

Channeling and Ouija boards, if you attempting to contact someone using this type of media chances are you’re going to be dealing with a djinn. They are forever trying to get a foot hold in our world, and this is a perfect opportunity for them to do so. There are usually many people involved, which give them the energy they need to get into this dimension. They are great tricksters, and can take on forms of angels, extra-terrestrials, and even loved ones when channeling. They have the power to read minds and be very convincing that they are who they say they are.

Zozo is an entity brought about by the use of an Ouija board, over the past few years zozo (or a name that is closely spelled to zozo such as zuza) horror stories have been popping up everywhere over the internet. It is a dark entity that wreaks havoc in the home that just won’t go away. Zozo is believe to be a djinn, I believe the whole Ouija” Z” entities not to be one djinn but a clan of djinni trying to make their way into our world.

Many writers of the djinn, believe that they not only manifest as ghosts. They believe they are also manifesting as aliens and other creatures such as: mothman, bigfoot, etc.

There is a lot to be said of the djinn, hopefully this article will make you curious enough to look into the world of the djinn. You might find one your paranormal investigations may point to djinn. If that is the case, really study these entities, they are very vengeful. Know what you are getting into, before you get in too deep.

By Mike Morris

Djinn Types

Djinn Types

Some of the best known djinn are:

Aifrit: Evil and powerful; difficult to control

Ghul: Nocturnal shape-shifting creatures who inhabit graveyards and lonely places and feed on the flesh of humans, it is said they prefer travelers, children and corpes that are stolen from graves. Of the several types of ghul, the female(ghula) is feared most whom has the ability to appear as a mortal woman. She seduces and then marries an unsuspecting man who then becomes her prey.

Hinn: Are weak djinn, they like to appear as dogs.

Jann: Desert dwelling shape-shifters who take shape of whirlwinds and are the enemy of the ghul. They are open-minded about humans and among the first to be encountered by people.

Marid: Unruly and rebellious, the most powerful of djinn. They are known as blue djinn, they possess great knowledge of magic. Usually the ones associated with wish-granting genies.

Nasnas: Weak form of djinn, hybrids of human-like and animal-like forms. They may account for alien and mysterious creature forms. Nasnas are said to be the offspring of a shigg and human.

Palis: A vampiric foot licker, whom drains unsuspecting travelers blood by licking the soles of their feet.

Shaitan: (Shaytan) a rebellious, malevolent djinn associated with demonic forces.

Shiqq: Lower form of djinn, only half formed usually monstrous in appearance.

Silat: Expert shape-shifting djinn, very smart and can shape-shift into human appearance with ease.

Djinn Colors

Green: Young and immature djinn, often playful and mischievous.

Yellow: Leaders of families and smaller clans. They are less powerful than blue but more powerful than green.

Blue: Older, intelligent djinn, often ambivalent about humans.

Red: Hostile and aggressive djinn.

Black: Powerful djinn, thought to be kings. It is not known if one king or if there are multiple ones.