Category: Folklore

  • Are childhood “imaginary friends” imagined or real?

    Are childhood “imaginary friends” imagined or real?

    In case you prefer to listen. On a trip home to visit family, I met Brenda, aged 67, at a neighborhood gathering. The strange story she told us lit up the dinner table. I had just mentioned I wrote a middle-grade novel about a clairvoyant child, and Brenda’s husband said…

  • Jinn: Who are the supernatural beings of Arabian and Islamic tradition?

    Jinn: Who are the supernatural beings of Arabian and Islamic tradition?

    The jinn, in all their shape-shifting varieties, are an integral part of Islamic culture, literature and poetry The mysterious beings are said to live on earth among humankind (MEE/Mohamad Elaasar) In Islamic doctrine, the story of mankind begins with an act of rebellion by a jinn when the devil, later known…

  • Shocking Child Demonic Possession Cases in Medieval England

    Shocking Child Demonic Possession Cases in Medieval England

    JON KANEKO-JAMES looks at historic cases of children being possessed by demons – and discovers some potentially easy explanations. Possessed children are a staple in modern horror: from The Exorcist’s Regan in her blue dress to the unfortunate girl in The Exorcism of Emily Rose,  possessed children have a lot…

  • Do Demons Really Exist?

    Do Demons Really Exist?

    Demonic possession and belief in demons might stem more from psychological conditions than from actual reality, says LITZ BUTCHER The concept of demons has been a part of human mythology and religious beliefs for millennia. Major world religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism have references to demons in their…

  • Devizes: 5 Haunted Places to Visit

    Devizes: 5 Haunted Places to Visit

    Devizes is a spooky place with lots of ghosts – even its local Iceland is haunted, says EMMA HEARD from Weird Wiltshire Slap bang, in the middle of the weird county of Wiltshire, sits the beautiful and historic market town of Devizes. It is literally crawling with stories of ghosts…

  • Abuse of Power in a Past Life Yields Poverty and Illness in the Present Life

    Abuse of Power in a Past Life Yields Poverty and Illness in the Present Life

    [PureInsight.org] He lay on a bench, with his eyes closed and his mind calm like still water. His consciousness entered a state similar to that of a meditative state in the Buddha School. When given the name of a stranger even more than a thousand miles away, this man, once…

  • Reincarnation: Some People Being Punished In This Lifetime For Their Persecution Against Christians In Ancient Rome

    Reincarnation: Some People Being Punished In This Lifetime For Their Persecution Against Christians In Ancient Rome

    It’s a great misfortune to have a disability or an incurable disease. While seeing that others are healthy and full of energy, these people can only endure excruciating pain brought about by their illness. People often complain to the heavens for the injustice they seem to suffer. They ask: “Why…

  • Mermaids and Mermen: Are Ancient Legends of Sea Goddesses in Alaska True?

    Mermaids and Mermen: Are Ancient Legends of Sea Goddesses in Alaska True?

    Are legends of mermaids and mermen based on something real? If so, stories dating back to the first writings are nothing like the Little Mermaid.  Sinde 1988, more than 16,000 people have vanished in a triangular area, the “Bermuda Triangle of Alaska.” The missing person rate is twice the national average, with…

  • True Stories of Monsters and Cryptids

    True Stories of Monsters and Cryptids

    Real people see cryptids, monsters, and other strange creatures The number and variety of strange creatures that people report seeing is astonishing. Of course, it’s possible that they are misidentifying known creatures, but what if only some of these sightings are accurate? Here are real reports of cryptids, monsters, and…

  • How AI Sees The Paranormal (And The Stories It Tells)

    How AI Sees The Paranormal (And The Stories It Tells)

    There’s been a lot of talk recently about AI recommending that we try to catch Bigfoot with a net, and it got me thinking about what else Large Language Models might have to say about the paranormal. So what did I do? I fired up my own AI assistant once…