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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Saturday, October 13, 2007 - 10:43 am
Welcome to Hobgoblin Hall! A place to talk about some of our favorite mythical creatures, creepies crawlies, things that go BUMP! in the night and all-around folklore. Fairies welcome! I'll start: this is a page about the origins of all things Halloween. http://www.wychwood.co.uk/wychwood_wych_wood.htm#goblins
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Ahnicka
Member
08-08-2007
| Saturday, October 13, 2007 - 1:34 pm
Cool, thanks! So, what is the Changeling legend/myth that was featured on Supernatural on Thursday night? And is there any reason given in that myth as to why the children are stored underground rather than killing them?
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Hermione69
Member
07-24-2002
| Saturday, October 13, 2007 - 2:16 pm
Cool site! Thanks! I've decided to get a new costume this year. I usually just wear my graduation robes and a witch's hat. So lame. So I ordered a lady vampire costume! Whoot!

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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, October 13, 2007 - 2:37 pm
We have a Halloween party to go to and I have no idea what we will wear. I think it might be the whole family going so we were thinking a theme, maybe the Addam's family. My son is so tall, his nickname is Lurch so it would be fitting.
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Landileigh
Member
07-29-2002
| Saturday, October 13, 2007 - 2:42 pm
elizabeth has to be Wednesday!
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, October 13, 2007 - 2:43 pm
I know! LOL
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Sunday, October 14, 2007 - 9:43 am
I was hoping that Calamity would come back and tell us some Changeling stories. I'll wait for her to come by. I watched a movie called "Haunting Sarah" yesterday that was pretty good. It had a "haint" in it. In the movie, the haint was a recently-deceased child that had attached itself to a living child in order to be brought back to life, like feeding off that child's life force. The voodoo-practicing nanny saw what was going on and tried to help. They are probably playing fast and loose with the word "haint." I looked around and it's a Southern word to mean "ghost" or "haunting," but nothing about a soul-sucking type of child spirit. A side note, in researching I fould references to "haint blue," which African-American Southerners would use to paint their windowsills and doors. The belief is that spirits cannot travel over water, so the haint blue keeps spirits from entering the house.
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Ahnicka
Member
08-08-2007
| Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - 8:19 am
Calamity mentioned coming by this thread today, I think. I'm waiting for her too. What about Shapeshifters? Are they different from Changelings, if so does anyone know the myth about them?
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - 8:33 am
Mamie, if you put a suit on him that's too small, he would look like Lurch. Remember Lurch's clothes never fit..LOL
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - 9:51 am
LOL Ahnicka, now the pressure's on! Calamity, take your time. I was trying to find the source of the Ring myth the other day. Turns out that the Ring movies are based on the novels of Koji Suzuki, who is the Japenese Stephen King they say. Still, I thought the myth originated in Japanese folklore. "The Grudge" is another one that was first filmed in Japanese; that director also directed the American version.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - 3:15 pm
Interesting site, Nyheat. Thanks! Hermione69: Do the shoes come with that costume?! I'd probably end up in the emergency room on Halloween if I tried to walk in those! Of course, I'm scared of vampires anyway so that's a moot point. Hi there, Ahnicka: I'll try to answer your question about the changeling. And is there any reason given in that myth as to why the children are stored underground rather than killing them? A defining element of the changeling myth is that the abducted child is switched with a fairy imposter, not killed. And it was often believed that humans who had been taken would be spirited underground. So those parts are right out of classical folklore. But, of course, this episode was only based on the legend, the show built on those ideas and threw in some twists of its own as well. Such as the children being held so an adult changeling could feed on them *shudder*. Now, that might have been borrowed from the old belief that mortals' strength and vitality could be sapped by fairies but I'm inclined to think it was added for an extra touch of bloodsucking horror to the story. (Another reason for keeping the children alive is this way the show could have a happy ending. Well, maybe not quite happy but at least the kids could be rescued. I think Hollywood rule no. 1 should be "If you want to avoid really upsetting the audience - Don't kill any dogs, cats, or kids! Just don't do it!" Speaking for myself, I know I've still not gotten over the shock of what happened at the end of Turner & Hooch.) I've never heard of changelings in myth feeding on their human families. I suppose changelings could be considered a type of shapeshifter since they can alter their appearance (although sometimes only temporarily) but I think when people talk of shapeshifters in world folklore and religion, they more often mean creatures such as werewolves or shamans who are believed to be able to transform into sacred animals. I'm just guessing here though. Carl Sagan wrote a book called The Demon-Haunted World because he was dismayed by what he saw as a growing popularity and belief in what he called pseudo-science - parapsychology, ufo-ology, and other X-files type topics - at the expense of the scientific method and critical thinking. I remember a magazine article where he said that some of the weird and disturbing accounts of alien abductions concerned him because they sounded like semi-repressed memories of sexual abuse. When he mentioned that people believed they had alien babies and alien lovers I thought to myself, "I may think there's life elsewhere in the universe but these people sound a little screwy". And then I realized that what the stories reminded me of wasn't abuse but the changeling myth dressed up for the post-Space Age. Instead of fairies, people talked of aliens now. And then I saw that it wasn't limited to a few UFO believers. In our modern, sophisticated world, there's still cases of people who are convinced that people in their lives aren't whom they appear to be. So is there anything real to it? Or is it mental illness, paranoia, a coping mechanism? A cry for attention? I don't know. But I do think that it reveals something about us, a primevel fear and fascination with identity and relationships and vulnerability. I know most people think so-called fairy tales are silly but I think they can tell us a lot, about the world and ourselves.
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Kc103
Member
07-13-2004
| Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 3:46 pm
Are any of your familiar with Richard Crowe? If you live around Chicago or the midwest area, you may be familiar with him. He is a very well known "ghosthunter". http://www.ghosttours.com/ I took his supernatural bus tour a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. He also offers cruises on Lake Michigan too. (Not being a swimmer..I don't know if I'd be able to brave that one...at night!) He really has a lot of knowledge about supernatural things and is great to listen to. He is going to be on WGNam radio on the Steve and Johnnie Show at approx. 11:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 25th for his annual Halloween visit. I know that I'll be listening. It's become a Halloween tradition for me! If any of you are interested in this subject area, you may want to give him a listen. This is a link to a page where you can listen to the station online: http://wgnradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6336&Itemid=160
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Smokey
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, October 19, 2007 - 2:40 pm
Hey, cool thread! I am glad I found it. I am a friend/acquaintance of Nick Reiter, founder of the Avalon Foundation. http://www.theavalonfoundation.org/ He is sort of a ghost hunter, but more of a paranormal investigator. He's very bright with a scientific background (I believe he's a scientist by profession), so approaches things in this way. He has tons of stories on his website and is a very fascinating person. We shared a few experiences in regards to a haunted place about 20 minutes from my home. It was unpleasant, to say the least. ETA: Check out the link that says "field studies". That's where you can read about his experiences and investigations.
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Monday, October 22, 2007 - 10:56 am
Thanks for coming by Calamity! I saw on Supernatural the lucky rabbit's foot superstition play out. I wonder where that myth come from. And I saw the Grudge the other day--that is really one of the scariest movies out there. The legend in Japanese folklore is only that if a spirit dies angry it sticks around to take revenge. I was hoping for something a little more detailed. Will keep looking into it.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Friday, October 26, 2007 - 10:02 am
Thanks for the links, Kc103 and Smokey. Nyheat: I've never seen The Grudge or The Ring. Horror movies in general and grisly horror movies in particular aren't my viewing preference. (Which is why I sometimes have to turn away during Supernatural.) A long time ago I read a few Japanese ghost stories and I also have a book of Japanese folklore but other than that I don't know much. I wasn't sure if what I had posted about changelings was what you were interested in; I do know other such stories but was just trying to explain what I find fascinating about the subject. It, like stories about dopplegangers and other beings and phenomenon, is an age-old myth but still lurks at the edges of our collective imagination. I think somehow they're still part of the world.
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 8:55 pm
A Ghost Story by Winifred Sackville Stoner, Jr. On a dreadful stormy night My dear Tommy had a fight With great Peter Snookum Snee, Cat of fighting pedigree. In this battle, sad to tell, My poor Tom, alas, he fell, Ending thus his earthly life Through the wicked God of Strife On the next night while in bed, Sleepless and with aching head, For my Tom, my precious pet, My poor eyes with tears were wet. Suddenly his voice I heard, And in ghostly whispers purred, "I am coming, mistress, dear, Yes, 'tis true I'm very near. "Good cat heaven have I left, I would comfort you, bereft For your precious Tommy pet, I would teach you not to fret. "Do you hear me in the hall With my ghostly soft footfall? Up the stairs I bound to thee, Jumping steps from one to three. "Now my paw is on your door, I turn the knob one-two-three-four, And you may see your Tommy now-- Me-ow! Me-ow! Me-ow! ow! ow!"
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 9:01 pm
Calamity you have a lot of insight into the paranormal! I used to follow Jungian psychology myself and have been fascinated by the reality we create for ourselves. I had heard about alien abuctees and the history of abuse connection. Interesting stuff.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 1:22 pm
This was DH and I this past Saturday at a Halloween party. The picture of us with the sign is in a neighbors yard. We were uh, a bit, inebriated....

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Ahnicka
Member
08-08-2007
| Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 5:45 pm
Thanks for the info Calamity and Nyheat! Hmm, Dopplegangers, the only thing I know about them are that they are like an identical replica of you or something like that and they are supposed to be evil? Is that correct? LOL, I'm not well versed in it, but I find it interesting.
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 6:05 pm
Escapee, you and hubby are naughty! That is such a cute outfit.
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 7:41 pm
BTW, people online are lovin' Christine Aguliera and hubby Jordan Bratman's "corpse bride" costumes. Have to say I agree.

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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 6:55 am
Escape you and hubby are adorable! Looks like a good time was had by all. Grin.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 8:07 am
Well, I was told my costume was Blasphemous and Sacreligious....I felt very guilty about that.
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Landileigh
Member
07-29-2002
| Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 8:29 am
i'm so proud of you escapee! you go, you bad girl you! did you sing "hit me baby one more time"??
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 8:32 am
LOL. No, and I kept on my underwear and I didn't lose custody of my children either.
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