Nighttide - Tales of the Paranormal and Occult

When you hear the word, “fairy”, probably the first thing that comes to mind are cutesy, dainty, little winged things, painting flowers and annoying their animal neighbors with their relentless happy songs and jingly bells. That, however, is not what a true fairy is. That is the modern story-book variety. The fairies of old, the real fairies, are something quite different. They are often dark in nature, with a fondness for tormenting humans.

They were known as the necromancers of Bavaria, and were said to be members of the sparse elite. These were, before the war, the members of society who were not only literate, but literate in Latin. Something which was only reserved for the upper crust of Medieval society, and interestingly enough, most who had this knowledge were clerics as well.

The legend of the black-eyed children, though delightfully spooky, is a fairly modern American legend, fueled over the years by various call-ins to late night radio shows and of course, numerous creepypastas. The legend supposedly first began making rounds in the 1980’s, but the story that kicked off the legend and captivated the imaginations of many, dates back to January of 1998.

She is often known as the weeping woman or the lady in white, and has been associated with child disappearances and whose presence is said to be an omen of one sort or another. In modern day versions of this story, La Llorona is slightly similar to the Baba Yaga in the fact that she is a tale told to children in order to coerce them into good behavior. Children who are not mindful of their parent’s rules can be stolen away by the La Llorona. La Llorona is a ghostly legend, that like most legends of female spirits, revolves around a tragic love affair which ends in disaster.

There’s something fun and thrilling about a good spooky tale. Whether you are a child or an adult, those are the ones that your mind (whether you wish it to or not) will revisit over and over. Fairy tales are a good example of this, as most are quite dark in origin. They are full of wicked things lurking in the shadows, things which stalk about waiting for the right moment to seize and often feed upon those who unwittingly cross their path. The reason these stories are so delightfully dark is twofold. They capture the imagination and entertain, but they also serve the primary purpose of scaring children into submission.

The one thing universal thing about humanity’s relationship with the future is that we all wish we had some insight into it. Some precognition which allowed us to make more informed decisions and avoid certain catastrophes. While the future remains an incomprehensible void for most of us, throughout history there have been many who have claimed the ability to see into it and catch glimpses into what she may bring.

Vampire legends have their origin in the fear of death and of people’s misunderstandings of the natural process of decomposition.The fear of death and what those who have fallen into her clutches can bring forth upon the living, is a fear which has driven and dictated funerary customs throughout the centuries. Underneath the spectacle of ornate showings of last respects and tokens of remembrance, are ancient precautions, means of ensuring that the dead remain as such, and that their spirits are kept at bay. It ensures that the body, now defiled by death, is safely disposed of, unable to spread more of its morbid affliction to the living by means of its uncleanliness.

When it comes to modern story-telling, it’s quite the over-used trope – the ‘who did it to me’ mystery, where the departed influences an investigation in order to reveal the details of their murder – bringing to justice the unsuspected killer. However, when it comes to folk lore and legends involving ghost stories, it is a theme which appears time and time again, a theme which is essentially as old as time. In fact, when it comes to such stories, it is almost unavoidable. It seems that often, justice is the only thing that will finally allow the dead to be at rest.

The stories of werewolves which we know today, mostly date back to the 15th and 16th centuries, however stories of humans transforming into wolves, goes much further back. It is a theme which pops up in ancient stories, mythologies, and legends time and time again – and is almost as old as history itself.

Since time beginning, humans have always had an interesting relationship with the night. On one hand it can be a time of peace and slumber – but on the other hand it can be a time when all matter of strange and frightening events occur.

For all of history, magic has often been employed by those in power, in attempts to secure political positions, admonish enemies, fuel war and its desired outcomes, and alter the state of countries and even entire civilizations. In some way or another, magic and the occult has been a force quietly at play in the shadows, used by those in power, and it always seems to play a role in the wars they so often try to bring about.

Daniel Dunglas Home is still considered one of the most renowned psychics not only of the Spiritualist movement, but in history altogether. During his time he was never publicly proven to be fraudulent, and it was said there was simply not a person who could prove beyond a doubt that his abilities were anything other than legitimate.

Throughout history there have been an overwhelming number of people who have met the fate of being buried alive. It’s no surprise that taphophobia, the fear of being buried alive, is still something that creeps into our collective consciousness. It skates about in the shadows, a nightmare scenario that still even to this day has some merit. An entrapment that there is often no escape from.

There is no shortage of tales of haunted waters, of small patches, where the waters seem to be in a constant state of unrest, waters which seem eager to swallow up any vessel which crosses over. Its appetite unsated. Waters so tumultuous where even their sunken collections seem to be at unrest, where spirits haunt and ghostly ships set sail. Waters which many swear to be cursed.

What if the thing which haunted you, which caused you to spend your nights frozen in fear was none other than you? History is full of strange tales of those who encountered and were even seemingly haunted by themselves, a phenomena known, as the doppelganger.