Way Past Normal

The Time Traveler of Bralorne

2012-01-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

Bralorne is a tiny little town tucked into the Chilcotin mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It owes its existence to the rich gold deposits that were first discovered there in 1858. As mining operations expanded, houses and businesses sprang up. By the 1930s, the population reached 3,000.

I visited family in Bralorne this past summer, where a tight-knit group of about 60 people now comprise the year-round population. Against the backdrop of mountain peaks, many of the vintage houses and buildings stand empty, and I rented a room in what once upon a time was the Pioneer Mine Office Building. A highlight of my trip was a personal tour of the town’s delightful little Museum. Amid the gold mining artifacts and the treasured relics of a once-bustling community, I saw a photograph that has become unexpectedly famous in recent years:

The innocuous black and white photo records an event from 1941, the re-opening of the South Forks Bridge (a flood washed away the original in 1940). It’s a crowd scene with everyone intently focused on the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The scene is typical for that era, with everyone dressed in their best for the occasion. Suits and dresses, fedoras and hats.

But one figure stands out – and in fact, stands head and shoulders above the crowd as well. This man is bareheaded with oddly styled hair. He’s dressed in what appears to be a screen-printed t-shirt and a hooded sweater, and the only person in the entire crowd to wear sunglasses – unusual ones at that. In his hands is a camera, the model of which some have claimed would not have been available for several years in the future!

He’s since been dubbed The Bralorne Time Traveler.

The photo first came to light when the local museum incorporated it into a slideshow in 2004, which they titled Bralorne-Pioneer:Their Past Lives Here (it’s slide #123 of 154) http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/pm_v2.php?id=record_detail&fl=0&lg=English&ex=00000470&hs=0&rd=117666 Later, the museum digitized its entire photo collection and uploaded it, as well as the aforementioned slideshow, to The Virtual Museum of Canada, a website devoted to preserving and sharing history.

That’s where the internet community discovered it and spread it like wildfire. The photo of the Bralorne Time Traveler received over a million hits! It was a sensation in several countries, including Russia – so much so that a Russian news team travelled all the way to tiny snowbound Bralorne in November 2010!

The three men, reporter Alexey Bakharev, cameraman Egor Litvinov and senior producer Evgenie Balamutenko painstakingly went through many of the photo albums in the Museum and were delighted to find the photograph still in an album! The cameraman was rolling film at the time and recorded the exciting discovery as follows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD_b83_RpJ0&feature=youtu.be

So forget Photoshop. It was plainly evident that the 70-year-old photo was original and could not possibly have been tampered with. Did the Russian news team believe the strange man in the photo was a time traveler? According to the Bridge River-Lillooet News, Balamutenko said no, although he planned to present the story in such a way that people could make up their own minds. Bakharev, however, said yes, he did believe the man could be a time traveler. He pointed out that at a science convention on quantum physics in 2006, time travel was determined to be possible, at least in theory. The Russians aired their program in December 2010. This is the trailer that preceded the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v4mYWCcM0g&feature=youtu.be

Meanwhile, the mystery of the Bralorne Time Traveler continues to be a hot topic of discussion. There are many skeptics of course, each trying to explain the man's appearance in rational, reasonable ways. And perhaps he was a free spirit, maybe a college student with brave new fashion ideas. Or just an eccentric.

But what if he truly didn’t belong there? Was he from the future, from another dimension or even from another planet? And why was he there in that particular place, at that particular moment in time? Wide-ranging theories abound -- was he an extraterrestrial, scouting out one of the top producing gold mines in Canada? Or a healer of history staging an intervention with an individual known only to him?

One thing seems obvious – if the traveler wasn’t of that time and place, then it's unlikely he was there just for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a tiny little bridge in an out-of-the-way town......

Dani Harper
www.daniharper.com

2012 - Year of the Water Dragon

2012-01-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Everyone’s had fun with the traditional Chinese zodiac printed on their restaurant placemat at one time or another. And by now, you’ve heard that 2012 will be the Year of the Dragon. Will be, because Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar, and doesn’t begin until Jan. 23. The Dragon will rule until Feb. 9, 2013.

The system of 12 animal signs in a recurring 12-year cycle is called the Sheng Xiao and it’s been in use for over 4,000 years in China. The animals in order are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, Boar. (Sometimes the Sheep is called a Ram, and sometimes the Boar is called a Pig)

The Dragon is the only one of the group that is a mythical creature, and it is the most powerful and dynamic of the twelve animal signs. Unlike the evil, fire-breathing creatures of Western stories, the ancient Chinese dragon is wise and intelligent, the symbol of strength, honor and benevolent power. It is the divine bringer of good fortune.

Dragon years are considered auspicious for marriages and new business ventures. The Chinese believe that success follows children born in a Dragon year, because heaven and earth are forever in balance in their lives. Dragon years are associated with wealth, often bringing an increase in personal income and boosting world markets.

Because this sign tends to magnify both achievement and disaster, it’s no surprise that the last time we had a Dragon year, we were terrified of Y2K and the end of the world as we knew it. And in this year, some have interpreted the Mayan calendar to mean the end of the world, period!

There’s good news, however. Each year’s animal symbol is modified by one of five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water. A Fire Dragon year is the most volatile, but the year 2012 is a Water Dragon year.

A Water Dragon has a more peaceful disposition than other dragons, with water calming the dragon’s fire. The Water Dragon is known for its calm, visionary intelligence and a balance of right brain creativity with left brain logic.

Of all the dragon years, the Water Dragon is most likely to bestow the Five Blessings – Harmony, Virtue, Riches, Fulfillment and Longevity. Because of this, some have said that 2012 may be more about breakthroughs than disasters. After the upheaval of the past few years, this would certainly be welcome!

Dani Harper

www.daniharper.com

PS - This post was originally associated with the Dreaming of Books Giveaway Hop. That event is now CLOSED.

New Blog Hop starting Jan. 13th!

2012-01-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

Runs Jan. 13 to 18th. I'll have a brand new post and a GIVEAWAY.

If you're a book blogger or author and would like to participate, go here for more information:
http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2011/11/are-you-dreaming-of-books-sign-up-for.html

New Year's Tradition of the "First Footer" - Happy New Year 2012 Blog Hop + Giveaway

2011-12-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

"The First Footer"

Did you know that after midnight, it’s bad luck for anyone to leave the house before someone enters it? That’s because the “first footer” – whomever enters your home in the New Year first – is said to influence your luck for the next twelve months. This belief in the importance of the "first footer" is found in a surprising number of cultures all over the globe!

In the British Isles, it was considered very bad luck for your first visitor to be a woman. And a blonde-haired man was too much like the Viking invaders of old. Certain people were shunned as "first footers" - people with red hair, doctors, ministers, thieves, grave-diggers, anyone with crossed eyes or flat feet, or someone whose eyebrows meet in the middle of their forehead (thought to be a sign of being a werewolf!). Such visitors wouldn't be allowed in and might even be shooed away!

In Ireland, for optimum good luck, a dark-haired man should be first through the door. If he’s handsome and single, so much the better. And it’s really lucky if he arrives on a horse! The man should bring symbolic gifts – some coins, a loaf of bread, a lump of coal for the fire, a branch of evergreen and salt. Ideally, the man will make his way through the house and leave by a different door.

In Vietnam, the first person through the door influences the family's fortune for the year. A person of great prestige, success or integrity is sought to be the first footer. No one visits a house uninvited at New Year's!

In most countries with a first footer tradition, no one should leave the premises before the first footer arrives, not even to take out the garbage! It's important for the very first traffic across the threshold to be headed IN rather than OUT. The symbolism is obvious - it's desirable for people and prosperity to flow towards your home during the year to come.

My favorite tradition is said to come from the southern United States. The sex of the first visitor through the door doesn't influence luck, but instead is said to shape the balance of power in a marriage for the coming year. If a man enters, then the husband will have more power. If it's a woman, the wife will be the more powerful partner. Myself, I think I'd settle for a happily married couple to step over the threshold at the same time!

**********************************************

Here's the fun part. From Dec 30 to Jan 3, it's the
"Happy New Year 2012 Giveaway Hop ".
Each blog on the list hosts a giveaway and all hosts are linked up so you can HOP from one blog to another! (You don't have to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others.)

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

A winner has been drawn -
Congrats to "Pen to Paper" from the UK.
Pen will be receiving a signed copy of
CHANGELING MOON by Dani Harper and
a tote bag to put it in!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to visit my blog and share their traditions. Warm and wonderful wishes to all of you for 2012!

The complete list of all participating blogs in this hop can be found on this page: http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2011/11/happy-new-year-2012-giveaway-hop-sign.html

CHANGELING DAWN released - the latest in Dani Harper's shapeshifter series

2011-12-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

Never judge a man by his species...

NEW RELEASE!!!

My main characters are werewolves, but don’t call themthat. They prefer the term Changelings,and they live right here among us. Your boss could be a Changeling. So couldthe gal that does your pedicure. The coach of your company baseball team oreven the cop that gives you a ticket for not wearing your seatbelt again couldhave furry tendencies. Your BFF could run on four feet at night and youwouldn’t know. Changelings hide in plain sight and live very human lives mostof the time.

Love, however, complicates their lives wildly.

Check out the exciting trailer on YouTube! http://youtu.be/GvtSWYIiqt4

ChangelingMoon and Changeling Dream were releasedearlier this year and the reviews have been wonderful. Changeling Dawn has just been released TODAY. I’m very excited about it – I feel that this third installmentis the best yet and I'm excited to finally be able to share it with my readers. It's already garnered several 4 1/2 and 5-star reviews! Here's the back cover description of the story:

RUN

Shadow and moonlight merge beneath her bare feet, the forestfloor blurring as she flees the dogs and torches. Werewolf, monster -- those are the namesgiven her kind by the humans who hate them.

HUNT

Kenzie Macleod has spent her whole life hiding what she is, andshe’s not about to open up to any man, even one as powerfully attractive aswildlife expert Josh Talarkoteen. But legend says that a Changeling cannotescape the call of her true mate, even in the wilderness of backcountry Alaska.

MATE

An isolated archeological site, a terrified Changeling cub, asecretive research center – as Kenzie and Josh face the ultimate betrayal, hisobsidian eyes promise untold pleasure, and hint at dark secrets of his own . ..

You'll find excerpts and reviews of Changeling Dawn and the other books in the series on my website at http://www.daniharper.com/CHANGELING_DAWN.html

Changeling Dawn is now available in trade paperback or ebook at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes & Noble, Chapters-Indigo, Book Depository, Kobo, Sony and many other fine online and walk-in booksellers.

Dani Harper

www.daniharper.com

KRAMPUS, THE CHRISTMAS DEMON

2011-12-24T08:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a time for sharing old memories, old traditions and sometimes old blogs too! This is one of my all-time favorites. Enjoy, and happy holidays!

* * * *

Our North American Santa Claus is loosely based on the European Saint Nicholas, a kind, gift-giving fellow traditionally portrayed in long bishop’s robes instead of a red suit. Saint Nick grew out of stories about an actual person, Nikolaos of Myra, a Greek bishop with a reputation for secret gift-giving such as leaving coins in shoes and working miracles.

So understanding Saint Nicholas is easy. It’s the company he keeps that raises questions and eyebrows. In Austria, Hungary, Bavaria and other Alpine countries, St. Nick’s assistant isn't a cute little elf, it's an enslaved demon. Yup, that’s right. D-E-M-O-N. This cloven-hoofed creature goes by many names, but most commonly is called Krampus, which is Old High German for claw.

Krampus

Perhaps the word for “long” would have suited him better. Not only does Krampus have lengthy talons, but sports exceptional horns on his head as well. His seven-foot tall body is usually covered with long shaggy hair (often black), he has a long tail and he has a tongue longer and more prehensile than that belonging to Gene Simmons' demon character of KISS fame.

If all that weren’t intimidating enough, Krampus is not only a demon, but an incubus. That’s a demon who sexually preys on sleeping humans! (Santa hangs out with a predator?!)

St. Nick and his goons

So while St. Nicholas got all the positive press by delivering gifts and treats to “good” boys and girls, Krampus was right by his side to dish out not just warnings but punishment to the “bad” children, and sometimes to adults too. In some places, the jolly old saint was accompanied by not one but several demons – his own personal gang of enforcers!

If you weren't saying your prayers, doing your chores and being properly respectful to elders, the penalty wasn't a mere lump of coal in your stocking. Krampus was armed with chains, a bag or basket and bundles of switches. If you were lucky, Krampus only took all your presents for himself. More often, you’d be spanked or even beaten. In some towns, kids had to run a long gauntlet of people dressed as Krampus and armed with switches!

Krampus taking "bad" children to Hell

Really naughty kids were allegedly shackled with chains or stuffed in a bag or basket, and carried off to Hell to burn forever – at least, that’s what children were told. In Switzerland, where Krampus is called Schmutzli, children were routinely threatened with being carried off to the dark forest by the demon or tied in his sack to be thrown in the river and drowned!

We've all seen little kids who are intimidated or downright terrified of department store Santas (some of us WERE those little kids!). How on earth did European children cope with seven-foot demons threatening them? Were they tougher than today's kids or were they scarred for life? Psychological studies hadn't been invented when St. Nick’s sinister sidekick first popped up in Germanic folklore around 1600. And the whole Christmas demon concept probably goes all the way back to pre-Christian winter solstice celebrations when pagan deities were said to roam the night.

Greetings from Krampus!

Krampus' popularity grew until eventually he got his own day. Krampusnacht was usually December 5th which is the eve of St. Nicholas Day in many regions. In some places, there were entire Krampus festivals held, where young men dressed up like demons and terrorized the local children (and unwary young women) for days. By the way, the reward for this important public service was beer and other spirits. Many of these traditional festivals continue to this day.

In the 1800s, while the Victorians were developing the notion of sending pretty Christmas cards, a trend emerged in some European countries to send scary, lewd and suggestive postcards of the yuletide demon! Instead of Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas, these cards usually said “Greetings from Krampus!” (About as cheery to receive as “Compliments from Satan”!)

So the next time you start wishing for a real old-fashioned holiday, try singing “Krampus the Christmas Demon” to the tune of “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” and remember that the season of goodwill once had a very dark and disturbing side!

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn! Have you ever heard tales of the Krampus? Got any other scary Christmas traditions to share? By the way, have a look at this book on Amazon - The Devil in Design: The Krampus Postcards

"12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop" - Creepy Christmas superstitions from Dani Harper

2011-12-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

See instructions at the bottom of this blog post!

December is filled with myth and legend, wonder and whispers. And sometimes the weird, creepy and scary as well. Here are 5 superstitions associated with the season --- and they're definitely not visions of dancing sugar plums!

1.   Dogs that howl on Christmas Eve will go mad before the end of the year. A candle or a lamp should be kept burning all night on Christmas Eve to avoid a death in the house in the following year.

2.   Instead of water turning into wine at midnight on Christmas Eve, some hold the belief that the water in streams and wells turns into blood! Not only that, if you witness this change, you’ll die within the year!

3.   A once popular parlor game gave everyone an apple after dinner, which was then cut in half across the middle to reveal the pattern of the core. If the core is star-shaped (most apples have this), the owner of the apple will see another Christmas. If the core is a different shape, the owner’s death will occur in the next twelve months! The appearance of a four-pointed cross was worst of all – although what was worse than death is never mentioned.

4.   A Scandinavian belief states that it’s dangerous to go out on Christmas Eve because of the many supernatural beings that come out of their hiding places that night. Trolls, witches, goblins and ghosts roam freely, some of which are the spirits of the dead revisiting their previous homes. Gifts must be left outside – bowls of pudding and cream, clothes, tobacco and even ale – in order to appease some of these creatures. The most perilous time occurred between cock’s crow and dawn, when supernatural beings were at the peak of their power. To go outside meant risking death or being carried off by them, never to be seen again.

5.   Swedish folklore puts a chilling twist on this story. On Christmas Eve, they prepare their dining room with food and ale and blazing fire – and leave it overnight to enable the spirits of the dead to celebrate. The family checks the chairs in the morning for traces of earth, proof that the dead have come calling!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ready for some fun? From Dec 13 - 24, it's the 1st Annual "12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop". Each blog on the list hosts a giveaway and all hosts are linked up so you can HOP from one blog to another! (You don't have to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others.)

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
A winner has been drawn to receive a signed copy of CHANGELING DREAM and a Dani Harper tote bag!

Congratulations to DONNAS!
Thank you to everyone who dropped by. I really enjoyed the comments!

Check out the 2012 New Year's Blog Hop right here, beginning on December 30th

The "Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop" - author Dani Harper

2011-12-10T00:30:00.000-08:00

For a list of all the blogs
participating in the hop,
click HERE.

It's December, month of gifts and giving, legends and lore. There's plenty of superstitions too. Here's five:

1. The first person downstairs on Christmas morning was to take a broom, open the front door and sweep all “trouble” from the doorstep. A variation on this is to sweep all the bad luck out of the house (I'm betting both were ploys to get the kids to clean up!)

2. Eating a raw egg before eating anything else on Christmas morning was said to make you exceptionally strong. (Strong-WILLED if nothing else!)

3. In Wales, the plough was to be brought into the house and kept under the dining table during the entire Christmas season. This assured a good harvest in the coming year (and not much legroom during dinner!)

4. English folklore instructs young girls to knock on the henhouse door on Christmas Eve. If a rooster crows, she’ll marry within the year. If there is silence, she’ll never marry! (AS IF any self-respecting chickens would be quiet if someone banged on their door!)

5. In some places it was unlucky to receive a gift of new shoes or tanned leather on Christmas. However, some people in Greece ward off bad luck in the upcoming year by burning their old shoes during the Christmas season (Hmmmm... I know a pair of my husband’s shoes I’d like to burn!) Another footwear superstition says that all the family’s shoes should be placed neatly side by side on Christmas Eve to prevent quarreling in the new year.

In line with the "giving and gifts" portion of the season, I'm participating in the "Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop". Each blog on the list hosts a giveaway and all hosts are linked up so you can HOP from one blog to another! (You're not required to visit them all - each has their own giveaway that is separate from all others).

How to enter Dani Harper's Giveaway:

So, for MY giveaway all you have to do is answer this question in a comment between now and Dec. 16 ---
What's your favorite thing about December?
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. A winner has been drawn to receive a signed copy of CHANGELING DREAM and a Dani Harper tote bag!
Congratulations to Tiffany H! Thank you to everyone who entered. Really enjoyed your comments!

Click here for a list of the other blogs which participated in the "Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop"

Stonehenge in America - Sam Hill's Memorial to the Fallen

2011-11-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

Stonehenge in England

About 5,000 yearsago in Britain, construction began on a circle of gigantic standing stones. Completedperhaps a thousand years later, the monolithic structure known simply as Stonehenge has been a mystery tohistorians and archeologists ever since.

Anothermystery was built in the early 1900s, this time in America.

Samuel Hill wasmany things -- a businessman, a lawyer, a railroad executive, a Quaker and apacifist. He was also a globetrotter in a time when travel was slow, makingover 50 trips to Europe and 9 to Japan. For thirty years he made his home inthe Pacific Northwest and constructed a memorial there, dedicated to the men fromKlickitat County in Washington State who had been killed in World War I. It was the very first memorial for that war in the entire United States.

Dedication, 1918 (Sam Hill, center)

And it was not an ordinary memorial.Sam Hill had personally visited Stonehenge in Wiltshire County, England, andthe prevailing theory at the time was that the immense circle and altar hadbeen used by Druids for human sacrifice. Hill adopted both the idea and the design for hismemorial, seeking to remind people that "humanityis still being sacrificed to the god of war."

Stones are made of reinforced concrete

A windswept promontoryoverlooking the Columbia River was chosen as the site. It was the location of Maryhill,a small town that Hill had designed and built some 10 years earlier but whichfailed to attract residents. Accounts differ on when the fire took place that burnedmuch of the town
to the ground, but Hill is said to have cleared some of thesurviving buildings away for this new project so that the memorial could havethe most dramatic spot. There, guided by leading authorities onarchaeology and engineering, Hillcreated his Stonehenge as an exact replica of the original – that is, if the originalwas shiny new, with all its lintels and capstones in place.

Sam Hill’s plans calledfor the memorial to be built of stone like the one in England – but local stone turned out to be unsuitable for the job. Heturned instead to a material he had plenty of experience with in his business life: reinforcedconcrete.

A trilithon

The ambitious project took over ten years tocomplete. There are two concentric circles of pillars. The outer 30pillars are 16 feet high and the 40 inner pillars are 9 feet high. In thecenter of the circle are five trilithons(two largevertical stones supporting a lintel orthird stone set horizontally across the top. The altar stone is 6 by 18 feet long. All of the pillars are concrete slabs. They werepoured in massive wooden molds that were lined with crumpled tin in order to createa rough stone-like surface.

The astronomical alignment of Hill’sStonehenge differs from the original, however. In 1918, the year he was to dedicatethe memorial site, a solar eclipse occurred on June 8 –and the best viewing of the phenomenon was in Washington State!

Sam Hill's Stonehenge in Maryhill, WA

This meant thatsome of the world’s best astronomers were in the area, and Hill persuadedProfessor Campbell of the University of California to fix the position of thealtar stone. Campbell aligned to the astronomical horizon rather than to themidsummer solstice, as the ancient Stonehenge was once believed to be. Considering the additional difference in latitude between the two monuments, it becomesapparent that Hill’s creation cannot be used as an astronomical calendar.

Hill's Stonehenge site overlooks the
Columbia River Valley
Note the small white crypt further down
the hill, which holds Samuel Hill's ashes.

It’s a very small flaw, however.Most of us on this side of the ocean will visit the original Stonehenge onlythrough photos and TV documentaries. Thanks to Sam Hill, we can wander and wonderthrough his life-sized creation, getting a firsthand feel for the scope and symmetryof both Stonehenges.

It’s been suggested that SamHill listens in on the conversations of the many tourists who seek outthis out-of-the-way site. After all, on the hillside below the memorial is a verysmall and simple crypt overlooking the Columbia River Valley. Hill’s ashes wereburied there in 1931.

* * * *
PS - Paranormal romance fans will be interested in knowing that THIS SITE was featured in a major scene in Patricia Brigg's latest installment in the Mercy Thompson series, "River Marked".

Dani Harper

Paranormal romance combines with suspense in an exciting new shapeshifter series by author Dani Harper, published by Kensington Brava. See more on Dani's website at www.daniharper.com

NANOWRIMO IS LIKE BROCCOLI

2011-11-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, really. It's good for anyone who wants to be a writer, for newbie scribblers or seasoned novelists alike. Writing is a craft learned and improved by –you guessed it – WRITING. And NaNoWriMo is designed to make you do it a LOT.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. That's right – your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to write a novel in a single month! It's a literary marathon to put 50,000 words on paper in 30 days.

Toachieve 50,000 words in a month, you have to write over 1666 words a day. Here's the secret: They will NOT all be great words. In fact, some of them,maybe even most of them, will be CRAP. But crap is good – yes, I say, GOOD –because it’s only by permitting yourself to write crap, that you’ll freeyourself to write the good stuff. And that means that somewhere in all thatcrap you’ve produced is GOLD.

Why not just write the gold, you say? Every writer on theplanet wishes he or she could do just that, but it’s not possible. No crap = nogold. Of course you won’t keep the crap. Smart writers axe a lot of words, manysentences, whole paragraphs, complete scenes and even entire chapters – it’sall part of the gig. And what you’re left with?

Priceless.

Sincerely,

Dani Harper

www.daniharper.com

BTW - Here's the official site with all kinds of helps and tips: http://nanowrimo.org/

And here's the official press release from NaNoWriMo for 2011:

http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2011/files/2011/10/Press-Release-2011.pdf

Question - What do you think of the NaNoWriMo idea? Are you thinking of participating this year?

Spooktacular Blog Hop and a Giveaway!

2011-10-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

Holy jumping catfish! 400 bloggers signed up to host a giveaway as part of this Spooktacular Blog Hop. This hop runs from Monday, October 24th until Halloween Night at midnight. And you're going to need all 8 days in order to Hop to each of those blogs and enter their giveaways! Can you do it?

For my Spooktacular Treat, I'm giving away three signed copies of Changeling Dream. Three copies, three winners. How do you enter? Easy peasy - just leave a comment telling me if you've heard of my books before and if so, where or how? Winners will be drawn at random on November 1st, 2011. (PS - make sure I can find you if you win - include an email address with your comment!) This draw is open to international entries.

Nov. 1 - CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED -
Congratulations to winners, Brenda D, Ron N, and "Spav"!

If you need to get back to the master list of links, click here - http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2011/10/welcome-to-spooktacular-giveaway-hop.html

Changeling Dream - Book 2 in the Changeling Series

In times of stress Jillian Descharme has always found calm in her dream of a great white wolf with haunting blue eyes. But she is startled when the visions return and this time seem so real. Late at night he comes to her, speaks to her, touches her.

Thirty years ago James Macleod lost his wife and unborn child to a killer bent on destroying the Changelings. Though he longed for death, his animal instinct fought for survival and James has been a wolf ever since. Yet now a woman has reawakened the man in him, taming wild instincts but arousing still wilder needs.

With his ancient enemy hunting the legendary white wolf, James must fight for new life, new hope, new love.

Watch for Book 3 on December 27th or pre-order now - Changeling Dawn

Happy Halloween – a story and a contest!

2011-10-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

Here's the story:

Birkie Peterson’s

Guide to the

Village of Dunvegan

LOCATION – The Village of Dunvegan – a small northern Canadian town that’s literally Changeling Central in Dani Harper’s new shapeshifter series……

You step off the dusty bus into the late afternoon sun, sweaty, tired and your luggage is missing. Somebody takes your arm and steers you to a shiny red pickup truck – a small white-haired woman with bright eyes, flawlessly French-rolled hair and a tailored citrus green pantsuit.

“The Pack has run up to Elk Point for a special meeting, so I’ll be your tour guide today. Name’s Birkie Peterson and I’m the power behind the throne at the North Star Animal Hospital.” She barks a laugh and slaps the steering wheel. “Means I’m the receptionist and bookkeeper and Jill-of-all-trades there. Believe me, you haven’t lived until you’ve hosed blood and manure off the ceiling, dear.”

You have a hard time imagining that. With such an impeccable appearance, Birkie looks like she would be more at home in the back of a limousine than hosing out a livestock pen. Yet she handles the big truck as if she’d been born behind the wheel.

“That wide water you crossed on the way here is the Peace River. Gonna tell you right off, it’s a misnomer. Smooth as silk on top, but there’s a powerful current underneath. Lots of folks drowned there over the years. People say there’s more than one ghost on that bridge too. Jumped, you know.”

You don’t want to hear about ghosts. You tell her about the book you’re writing, the one about Changelings.

She eyes you then. “Heard about that. The Pack leader, Jessie, says that since you know about Changelings, you’re to get the full tour. Connor didn’t agree, mind you and I don’t know if I do either, but here we are. Sure hope you know what you’re getting into.”

You say you’re glad to get a firsthand look at Dunvegan, and you’re excited as the truck turns away from Main Street.

“This is Hemstock Ave.” Birkie points to a stretch of curb. “And right there’s the spot where Zoey was attacked by a rogue Changeling. No screaming and fainting for that gal, she gave almost as good as she got. Still, it’s lucky Connor came along when he did because a human can’t hold out against a Changeling for long. They’re too strong, too powerful. Bigger than ordinary wolves you know. And the one that attacked Zoey was crazy as a bedbug to boot.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot something huge and black moving behind the shrubbery. But when you turn to look, there’s nothing there.

“Up ahead of us is Dunvegan’s town hall,” she continues. “Zoey almost changed into a wolf right there in the middle of a council meeting. So much for trying to keep Changelings a secret after an incident like that.” She shakes her head.

Again your eye catches furtive movement, this time between a house and a stand of lilac bushes. Again, nothing.

“Over there is a place you want to remember, the Finer Diner. Looks like just a gas station and burger joint, but let me tell you, it’s got the best food in town. Bill and Jessie Watson own that operation. I’ll take you to lunch there in a day or so when you’re settled. Jessie’s the Pack leader by the way – you have a problem, you see her about it. She’s not much bigger than me, but don’t be fooled. She’s leader for a reason, and what she says, goes.”

Was that a gleam of silver fur between the cars back there? You wonder why people keep such big dogs here. At least, you think it was a dog…

Birkie turns the truck onto Third Ave and a small house comes into view with a crooked sign on it that says MUSEUM. “There’s an old diary in there from 1904, with an eye-witness account of a man turning into a wolf. Kathleen Summers has kept it under lock and key for over thirty years. Still, the page got photographed somehow and put in the paper a few years back, so although Kathleen won’t show it to you, you can find it in the Dunvegan Herald Weekly morgue.”

She chuckles at the look on your face. “Oh, not a real morgue, hon – although we have one of those too – this is where the newspaper keeps all its old issues. You can read all the old werewolf stories there too. Goodness knows we’ve had more than a few of those in recent years. And the murders of course.”

You shiver at that. You’ve heard of those. And you’ve heard that the killer wasn’t human.

Birkie carries on as if violent death is an everyday occurrence. “Have to go to Macklin’s down the street here if you want any sporting goods. Do you fish? I like to go for trout on the weekends, sometimes get a few perch to fry up. Sergeant Fitzpatrick, now, he likes to fish for sturgeon. I see him on the river quite a bit. When he’s not fishing, he heads the RCMP Detachment in these parts, and if he asks you for a date, say yes. He’s a good man. Connor is too, but he’s taken. Mind you, his younger brothers are still available and all the Macleod men are easy on the eyes. Big, strong, sexy – just the type to get a gal’s blood going.

“And they’re all Changelings too, Fitz included. Best place to hide is in plain sight, you know.”

Even the police sergeant can turn into a wolf at will? Suddenly you’re very uncomfortable.

The sun has just slid below the horizon when the truck pulls into the parking lot of a sprawling modern building. “Welcome to the North Star Animal Hospital. It’s after hours now but I can show you around. You might want to walk around the loft where the big white wolf – that’s our James – slept for a while. Or the couch in Connor’s office with wolf hair all over it from Culley. See that area over by the dumpster? Well, all the blood’s gone now of course but that’s where the showdown happened not too long ago.”

Showdown? You ask Birkie to explain.

“I forgot that you probably hadn’t heard of that yet. Tell you what, let’s come back to this later. Right now, we’ll head out to a couple of the sites where the attacks took place. By then it’ll be moonrise and the Pack says to bring you up to Elk Point then.”

The hair on the back of your neck stands up. You don’t like the sound of that invitation, and say so.

“Just part of the tour, hon. Practically the whole Pack’ll be there – maybe 35, 40 wolves tonight. Full moon too. You’ll get to meet them all, get the whole experience.” Birkie smiles sweetly, “You know, for your book and all.”

Suddenly you don’t give a damn about the book you’re writing. As the truck slows down for a stop sign, you half leap, half stumble out and run for all you’re worth. There has to be a bus out of town tonight. A car you can rent. A taxi you can commandeer. Something. Anything.

A howl slices the cool dusk air.

* * * * *

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

Winners will be contacted by email, and announced on my web page at http://www.daniharper.com/CONTESTS.html (Don’t worry – last names and email addresses will NOT be disclosed).

PRIZES – Each winner will receive a 12” tall plush wolf, a Dani Harper tote bag and a set of signed cover flats of the first 3 titles.

New Book Trailer for the Changeling Series!

2011-08-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

New book trailer for the Changeling Series!

For more information, go to www.daniharper.com

CHANGELING DREAM - inspired by wolves

2011-06-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

I'm SO excited to announce that CHANGELING MOON is now officially released. This is Book Two in my new paranormal series. I'm excited, amazed, awed and thankful for this opportunity to bring my work to a larger audience.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is "where do you get your ideas?" In this case, I can honestly say I was influenced by a real event!

I owned a small farm in northern Canada and one morning I was stunned to see a pack of wolves – about 7 or 8 – run across my yard. No mistake about what these big dark creatures were – I’d seen hundreds of coyotes before and these clearly dwarfed them.

The wolves ran with ease and grace, seeming to float along rather than touch the ground. Teeth gleamed white from grinning black lips, their tails were great plumed banners and they ran with purpose.

And then they were gone. They vanished like smoke into the timber that flanked my property. I have never felt such a wild yearning in my life. A wish that they would come back? A wish that I might go with them? I didn’t know. I still don’t.

Ever since, however, I’ve run with the wolves on paper. And the result is my new series, beginning with Changeling Moon which was released May 31st. Book Two, Changeling Dream, is out TODAY, June 28th! Book Three, Changeling Dawn, will be released in January. I’m working on Book Four right now.

Check below for reviews of Changeling Dream!

Dani Harper
www.daniharper.com

EARLY REVIEWS ---

"I usually find sequels pale in comparison to the first book in the series, especially when the first is as excellent as Changeling Moon. But Dani Harper managed to create another howling masterpiece. .....

If you love werewolf novels, Changeling Moon and Changeling Dream should be at the top of your to read list."

http://www.bookloons.com/cgi-bin/Review.asp?bookid=13850

"Werewolf and paranormal romance fans, Changeling Moon is a compelling new read that should not be missed. Author Dani Harper weaves a captivating story about ordinary people with extraordinary abilities."

http://www.examiner.com/romance-novel-in-riverside/paranormal-romance-book-review-changeling-dream-review#ixzz1QFwmwYN7

Buy it now at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Changeling-Dream-Dani-Harper/dp/0758265166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309275784&sr=8-1

"Changeling Dream" - Book 2 in a new shapeshifter series by Dani Harper

2011-06-17T23:47:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, I wrote a paranormal romance called Heart of the Winter Wolf. Although its distribution was limited, it was very well received, earned excellent reviews and was adopted by a loyal group of fans. They took it - and me - to their hearts and the support and encouragement has been both touching and overwhelming. I received many, many emails and messages asking for "more stories about the Macleod family".

So I wrote a new book, Changeling Moon, which is a prequel to Heart of the Winter Wolf. And I wrote a third book, Changeling Dawn, which takes place afterwards. It took some time and many, many rejection slips but eventually I was fortunate to find an agent who believed in the series and she found an editor at Kensington who loved it too. Heart of the Winter Wolf had fulfilled its contract with the original publisher by that time, and Kensington decided to re-release it.

I am so happy to announce that Heart of the Winter Wolf has taken its rightful place as the second book in this series. Renamed Changeling Dream, it's been updated and revamped, but my original fans (who have stuck with me through thick and thin) will have no trouble recognizing their much-loved story. I'm excited to be able to send this "child" of mine out into the world to an even wider audience.

To my existing fans, THANK YOU. I couldn't have done it without you. And to future readers, I'm excited to be able to share my stories with you.

Dani Harper

www.daniharper.com

BOOK TWO

Changeling Dream

by Dani Harper

Release Date June 28, 2011

from Kensington Brava

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER AT AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, BORDERS, CHAPTERS AND MANY MORE FINE BOOKSELLERS

Changeling Dream

New Novel Released - CHANGELING MOON

2011-06-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

It's out! May 31st was the release day for my latest novel and the first in a series - CHANGELING MOON.

He roams the moonlit wilderness, his every sense and instinct on high alert. Changeling wolf Connor Macleod and his Pack have never feared anything ~ until the night human Zoey Tyler barely escapes a rogue werewolf's vicious attack.
As the full moon approaches, Zoey has no idea of the changes that are coming, and only Connor can show her what she is, and help her master the wildness inside. With her initiation into the Pack just days away and a terrifying predator on the loose, the tentative bonds of trust and tenderness are their only weapons against a force red in tooth, claw ~ and ultimate evil.

This is a story I was excited to write, and I can't tell you how thrilled I am that the release day is finally here! Thank you to all of my readers for their unflagging support and encouragement. So far Changeling Moon has been very well received and I've been fortunate to garner several early reviews, including the following:

RT REVIEWS (ROMANTIC TIMES) ~ 4 stars ~ "Harper scores a winner with a tale that's a notch above the typical paranormal. She combines a well-written story with well-developed characters and an interesting take on shifter lore. A suspenseful plot and a sizzling relationship make this a welcome addition to the genre. Even readers who don't like paranormals may want to try this one."

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ~ "Harper debuts a well-conceived shape-shifter series set in a small Canadian town.... Harper has laid sturdy groundwork for a lengthy series through smooth writing, consistent world-building, and an attractive lead couple whose preternatural bonding creates a strong sense of romanticism, and there are plenty of Macleod relatives to populate the planned sequels."

If you've had a chance to read Changeling Moon, I'd love to hear what you think. And I'd be very grateful if you'd take a moment and share this blog on Facebook and Twitter (buttons are in the upper right of this blog page or below, just above the comments) You'll find information on this and other books in the series on my website at www.daniharper.com. Plus, watch for the release of Book 2, CHANGELING MOON, on June 28th, 2011.

Thanks again to my readers ~ I love the connection we share through the written word!

Dani Harper www.daniharper.com

GHOST ANIMALS and PHANTOM PETS

2011-04-29T02:16:00.000-07:00

Every dog owner knows the sound – the tick, tick, tick of toenails on the floor as Rover ambles onto the scene to see what you’re up to.

But what if you hear the sounds and there’s no Rover?

A year and a half ago a combination of old age and chronic bronchitis caused our dear old pug, Scooby, to pass on. It wasn’t unexpected, but I was devastated just the same. A couple nights later, I found myself awakened by the sound of canine claws on the linoleum. The sound proceeded up the hallway at a slow, waddling pace, accompanied by the jingle of tags. Thinking that my remaining pug, Fiona, needed to go out, I sat up – but discovered she was snoring beside me! All was quiet once more and I thought I’d dreamed the incident.

However, the distinctive doggy sounds continued to occur. By the third incident, I realized that Scooby was still checking in on us. This was confirmed when one of my daughters flew to visit us the following month and was awakened in the night by the same phenomena – and no, I hadn’t yet told her of my own experiences. Scooby had been especially close to her and I wondered if perhaps he had lingered in order to connect with her. After she went home, the pugly visitations decreased to once every few months or so.

Stories abound of departed pets visiting the people they were close to in life. A ghostly experience with one of her own cats caused Dusty Rainbolt of Lewisville, Texas to write a book “Ghost Cats: Human Encounters with Feline Spirits”. A month after her cat, Maynard, passed on, the woman felt something jump up onto the bed, walk across the blankets and settle at her feet. “I could feel the pressure,” recalls Rainbolt. “It was truly haunting but not in a bad sense. I was away from home when he died and I think he came back to say goodbye.”

So can animals really become ghosts? If we accept that humans can linger in another form after death, then it follows that animals can too. Some argue that animals do not have souls (obviously these folks are not pet owners), but it’s much more likely that animals possess the very same energy that we do. And, as with us, this energy is not extinguished by physical death – physics tells us plainly that energy can’t be destroyed, only transformed to another state.

There are almost as many motives for animals to “haunt” a place as for humans to do so. The most powerful reason would be emotional attachment – there’s no denying that our animals often love us as much as we love them. Intense trauma can also cause a spirit to linger, and this would be true for any creature, not just our species. And then there are some ghosts who seem to hang around either because they don’t realize they’re dead or they just prefer to stay in familiar surroundings. Again, this could occur in animals as easily as in humans. All of these are referred to as intelligent hauntings.

But there are also residual hauntings. Some researchers suggest that certain ghosts are not actual entities but a snippet of time being replayed over and over, like a loop of film. This may account for phenomena at the ancient Colosseum in Rome, where not only countless humans lost their lives but thousands of animals were killed. A steady supply of lions, wolves, bears, elephants and many more creatures were imported and used to perform tricks or pitted against gladiators. Over the centuries, there have been many reports of hearing and even seeing exotic animals in the abandoned structure. Today, many staff, workers, guards and visitors have reported that in addition to the sounds of swords clashing and chariots rumbling, they’ve heard the roaring of big cats and the trumpeting of elephants!

Former Civil War battlefields and camps are among the most haunted places in the country, the source of countless apparitions both human and animal. For instance, a Civil War re-enactor was surprised to discover a riderless horse standing a few feet behind him – but his company had no horses. The sound of many phantom horses snorting and pawing the ground has often been reported around Cashtown Inn in Pennsylvania, an area where Confederate soldiers stayed prior to the battle of Gettysburg.

As with the ghosts of humans, not all animal spirits are friendly. The “most haunted place in Maryland” is a house in Fells Point with five ghosts – and one of them is an angry cat. The story goes that a large cat belonged to a woman who was abused by her drunken husband. The man resented the cat and eventually killed it and walled it up in the cellar! Years later, the house was remodeled and the wall removed, revealing a feline skeleton. This likely explains the mysterious gray cat that has appeared in many rooms of the house over the years – and also explains its bad temper. Guests have attempted to pet the creature, thinking it to be a live cat, but it hisses and runs away. It has also been reported to run between the legs of people it doesn’t like, knocking them off balance.

Some phantom animals have a job or duty that they continue to attend to. For example, a church in Picton, Australia has a cemetery guarded by a phantom dog of enormous size. The story goes that a priest owned a St. Bernard, and when his beloved pet died, he buried it in the church graveyard. The ghost dog patrols the sacred grounds and has been reported to chase people out of the cemetery. The Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon, VA has a ghost horse which roams the grounds and startles guests on occasion. Legend has it that the horse is still waiting for its rider, a Union soldier who was shot in front of the building in 1864.

What if the pet owner is a ghost too? The Hotel Vendome in Prescott, Arizona has long been considered haunted, with numberless sightings of ghosts in and around the building. Among the “regulars” is Abby Byr, a woman who once owned the hotel before falling on hard times. And keeping her company is her cat, Noble. The pair have been spotted in and around Room 16 by guests and staff for decades. It’s become a tradition to bring gifts for Abby and Noble when staying in the hotel!

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

YOUR TURN – Have you ever had an experience with a departed pet or other animal spirit?

Haunted Ships and Ghostly Vessels

2011-02-22T22:58:00.000-08:00

When, steadily steering landward,
A ship was seen below,
And they knew it was Lamberton, Master,
Who sailed so long ago.

On she came, with a cloud of canvas,
Right against the wind that blew.
Until the eye could distinguish
The faces of the crew.

Then fell her straining topmasts,
Hanging tangled in the shrouds,
And her sails were loosened and lifted,
And blown away like clouds.

And the masts, with all their rigging,
Fell slowly, one by one,
And the hulk dilated and vanished,
As a sea-mist in the sun!

-- from THE PHANTOM SHIP by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Some of the most amazing paranormal events occur at sea. A ghost ship falls into one of three categories. One is the sighting of a phantom vessel that is known to have sunk. Two, a ship can be haunted whether it’s still in use or decommissioned, whether it’s been turned into a museum or is destined for the scrapyard. Three, a “ghost ship” can be a vessel that mysteriously turns up without a living soul on board.

The Mary Celeste

Originally named The Amazon, this 100-foot brigantine was built in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1861. Her ill luck appears to have started early, with the death of her captain on her maiden voyage. Two other captains died aboard the Amazon. A collision with a fishing boat sent her back to the shipyard for repairs, where a fire broke out on board! Later, on her first trans-Atlantic crossing, she collided with another ship in the English Channel and her captain was dismissed. In 1867 the ship ran aground in Nova Scotia and was sold as salvage.

Repaired and renamed the Mary Celeste, the ship left New York in 1872. It was loaded with 1700 barrels of raw alcohol and bound for Italy, where the alcohol would be used for fortifying wines. Captain Benjamin Briggs and the seven members of his crew had reputations as experienced and able seamen. Expecting no difficulty, the captain brought his wife and daughter along for the voyage.

A month later another merchant ship, the Dei Gratia, spotted the Mary Celeste off the coast of Portugal. The ship was under sail but its sails were tattered and it was behaving strangely. It was soon discovered that there was no one on board. Only nine barrels were missing from the cargo and a six-month supply of food and water was still on board. All personal possessions were undisturbed and there were no signs of a struggle. The lifeboat was missing and a long 3-inch-wide rope was discovered attached to the ship with the opposite end frayed and trailing in the water.

The fate of the captain, crew and passengers of the Mary Celeste remains unknown to this day. But misfortune continued to stalk the vessel. When it was returned to New York, an accident on board caused the drowning of Harry Winchester, father of one of the four owners. Reputed to be cursed, the Mary Celeste went through the hands of 17 owners over the next 13 years! The last owner deliberately wrecked the ship on a reef in the Caribbean.

Alabama’s Phantom Steamboat

The Eliza Battle was a luxurious side-wheeled paddle steamer that had hosted presidents and many other prestigious passengers as it traveled the Tombigbee River in Alabama. In addition to some wealthy clientele, the Eliza Battle was also carrying a thousand bales of cotton on her main deck on the night of March 1, 1858, when a fire broke out. Strong winds quickly whipped the flames out of control. Most of the passengers and crew leapt from the ship, but many succumbed to the frigid water before they could be rescued. The steamboat finally came to rest outside Pennington at Kemp’s Landing, and the burnt-out hull still remains on the river bottom there.

To this day, sightings of a flaming ship are reported in the area on cold and windy nights. It has been said that music can be heard playing within the ship while fire engulfs the deck! The appearance of the ghostly Eliza Battle is considered an ill omen by fishermen and ship captains alike, a warning of disaster.

The U-Haul company added the image of Nova Scotia's
mysterious burning ship to its gallery of paintings used
to decorate the sides of its moving vans!

The Flaming Ship of Nova Scotia

Numerous sightings of a three-masted sailing ship have persisted for nearly three centuries in Canada. Most recently, the burning vessel was been seen by several drivers at once on a coastal road, and the apparition remained visible for an astonishing two hours! The nameless ship is described as completely engulfed in flames, or sometimes outlined in a fiery glow. The ghostly vessel has usually been seen sailing the Northumberland Strait between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. There have been a number of attempts over the years to reach the flaming ship by boat, but it vanishes each time.

The Lone Lifeboat

In 1906, the SS Valencia, an iron-hulled passenger liner, was making its way from San Francisco to Seattle. A severe storm caused it to miss its destination and run aground on a reef off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. The situation was horrific, with the Valencia trapped between the pounding waves and sheer cliffs. Rescuers could not get to the stricken vessel by sea or by land, and could only watch helplessly from a distance as the sea tore the ship to pieces and 136 people perished. Thirty-seven survivors were eventually rescued from the forbidding coastline.

In 1910, Seattle area newspapers reported the sighting of a phantom ship resembling the Valencia on the rocks where she perished. Native fishermen claimed to have seen a lifeboat filled with skeletons.

A single lifeboat from the Valencia was found floating in the area -- 27 years after the sinking! It was in remarkably good condition despite being exposed to the elements for so long. Part of this lifeboat, still bearing the name Valencia, can be seen at the Maritime Museum in Victoria, British Columbia.

Ghost Ship of the Arctic

The Baychimo, locked in ice in 1931

The Baychimo was a steel cargo steamer used by the Hudson Bay Company for transporting furs along the Arctic coastline and carrying supplies to Inuit communities. In October 1931, the Baychimo was near Barrow, Alaska when it became blocked by sea ice. The crew left the ship to seek shelter on land, but returned when the ship broke free a week later. It was only a few days, however, before the ship was again trapped. The crew returned to land, knowing they would have to wait until spring before the ship would be free again. A month later the ship vanished during a blizzard!

The crew thought at first that the Baychimo had broken up and sunk, but a seal hunter told them that he’d seen it 45 miles away. When they tracked the ship down, the captain decided that it couldn’t possibly survive the winter. The crew removed the most valuable furs and abandoned the vessel to its fate.

The Baychimo did more than survive until spring, however. For the next thirty-eight years, the Baychimo was sighted again and again along the northern coast of Canada. There were many attempts to board the ship, and a few were successful. Each time, however, the salvagers were thwarted by terrible weather and the ship disappeared once again. The last confirmed sighting was in 1969 when the Baychimo was frozen in sea ice off the coast of Alaska. No one knows whether the ship sank or sailed free to roam the frigid Arctic waters once more.

The Haunted Hornet

The USS Hornet joined the war in the Pacific in 1943, and quickly became one of its most decorated ships. The Hornet, nicknamed the Grey Ghost, was at the forefront of the action, supporting troop landings, shooting down enemy planes, sinking Japanese battleships and earning no less than nine battle stars for its service. Later in its career, the Hornet recovered the astronauts from the first moon landing mission, Apollo 11, and also those from Apollo 12.

In its retirement years, the Hornet was designated as a National Historic Landmark and opened its doors to the public as a museum in Alameda, California. And that’s when it came to light that the Hornet has one more distinction – it’s arguably the most haunted ship in America.

Workmen, museum staffers and tourists have reported heavy doors opening and closing by themselves, things falling off shelves or large items sliding across the floor, the sudden smell of pipe smoke and the sensation of being grabbed or pushed. Sailors and officers in WWII uniforms have been sighted, moving with purpose as if carrying out their duties as usual. Footfalls are heard where there is no one present, plus voices talking, shouting laughing, even calling for help. Some individuals have heard entire conversations, as if aircraft crews were talking shop.

If there are ghosts aboard the Hornet, no one is surprised. Over 300 men died on the ship, some in combat but many through horrific accidents – an aircraft carrier is a dangerous place. And like all warships, the Hornet had its suicides. Despite this, most of the people who have had paranormal experiences on the old ship say that the spirits tend to be friendly, even playful. And not above playing pranks – one volunteer was alone in a restroom when the urinal beside him flushed by itself.

In recent years the USS Hornet has attracted the attention of many psychics and mediums, and even a number of TV shows such as Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. Fortunately, the average person doesn't need special permission to ghost hunt since the Hornet is open to the public during museum hours. And if the stories are true, then ghost hunting really isn't necessary -- they'll find YOU!

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

YOUR TURN -- Not only are ghostly ships the stuff of legends, but they fuel the imagination and inspire great fiction such as Duma Key by Stephen King. Have you read a story or a novel, or watched a movie about a haunted vessel?

Rabbits and Luck

2011-01-24T09:20:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year on February 3, 2011 will usher in the Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese Zodiac. The Rabbit is said to be the luckiest of all the signs, but this isn’t unusual. Rabbits have been associated with luck in many cultures over the centuries.

Rabbit Day

In parts of Britain, the first day of any month is nicknamed “Rabbit Day”. Folklore has it that saying the words “rabbit, rabbit, rabbit”, “white rabbits”, or even “bunny, bunny” upon waking up on the first day of the month will ensure good luck. Forget to do it? Say “tibbar, tibbar” (yup, that’s “rabbit” backwards!) before falling asleep that evening.

There are endless variations on this, including saying “black rabbits” just before bed as part of the charm. A two-part ritual calls for you to say “rabbits, rabbits” as you fall asleep on the last day of the month, and “hares, hares” when you rise. By the way, those have to be the first words spoken in the morning!

Rather than doing it monthly, some people believe that saying “rabbit, rabbit” on the first day of the New Year is sufficient to bring luck all year long. Saying it on the first night of the new moon is supposed to be effective too. If it’s your birth month, then the luck is supposed to be stronger for you during that time. Some people recite an old British nursery rhyme, which goes like this:

Rabbits hot and rabbits cold,
Rabbits new and rabbits old,
Rabbits tender, rabbits tough,
Never can we have enough!

Here in North America there are many variations of the “rabbit rabbit” ritual, particularly on the East coast. In recent years, the practice has been updated to include tweeting “rabbit rabbit” on the first day of every month! This was a noted trend on Twitter in 2009.

Rabbits, lucky and unlucky

So why are rabbits thought to be lucky? One explanation has to do with their ability to jump, and it’s the reason some folks carry a rabbit’s foot – it represents leaping into the future and moving forward in life. Others carry a rabbit’s foot to ward off arthritis and rheumatism. In Wales it’s been said that brushing the face of a newborn child with a rabbit’s foot will keep away evil spirits and bring the child good luck for the rest of his life. Rabbits have often been associated with fertility and abundance, and seeing a rabbit sitting still is supposed to be a good omen.

Not everything about rabbits is rosy, however. If you see a rabbit run across your path, it’s like the proverbial black cat – bad luck will follow. If a rabbit runs down the street, some superstitions say that fire will soon occur in a nearby home. A variation is if a rabbit runs through your garden, bad luck has just run through your life. In a few parts of Britain, white rabbits were once thought to be witches in animal form and associated with evil spirits! This puts a whole new spin on the classic story of Alice In Wonderland, and all the trouble that Alice gets into by following a White Rabbit. There are remnants of this superstition even today, and in some places white rabbits are shied away from as pets!

Hunters, farmers and irate gardeners would often refuse to shoot black rabbits for fear of bad luck. In the County of Kerry in Ireland, all rabbits are said to carry the souls of their ancestors. And in England, the appearance of a rabbit on or near a ship was an extremely bad omen, enough to cause a captain to delay or cancel a voyage. It’s been said that a fisherman would rather burn a net that had been touched by a rabbit than ever use it again. A story is told of young boys placing rabbit skins on boats to keep their fathers from going away to sea.

Are you a rabbit person?

According to the Chinese zodiac, it is the year of a person’s birth that not only determines personality traits, but the degree of success and happiness in life. Those born in the Year of the Rabbit (1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 and 2011) are considered to be the luckiest of all.

As well as being articulate, talented, and ambitious, rabbit people are said to be virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise.

A “rabbit year” such as 2011 is said to be calm and relaxed for all of us, much needed after the ferocious “tiger year” it follows. And it’s considered to be especially lucky for “rabbit people”, enhancing all of your good qualities.

And if this isn’t your birth sign, don’t worry about your luck. It’s never too late to start saying “rabbit rabbit” !

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn – what superstitions about rabbits have you heard? Were you born in the Year of the Rabbit?
Your Chinese Horoscope 2011: What the Year of the Rabbit Holds in Store for You
2011 Year of the Rabbit Forecast for All 12 Chinese Astrology Signs

Best time to pre-order Changeling Moon!

2011-01-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

Just a quick little note to those of you who not only enjoy exploring the paranormal, but read paranormal romance as well:

My shapeshifter romance, CHANGELING MOON, will hit the bookstores in May but it can now be pre-ordered for less at Amazon.com!

Regular price for the trade paperback is $14, but you can pre-order it today for just $7.77!

Don't you just LOVE Amazon?

Sincerely
Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

How to Ensure your New Year is Happy

2010-12-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

Most of the traditions connected with New Year's Eve and New Year's Day could be summed up in a single sentence: “What you do is what you'll get”. In many cultures, what you do for the first hour of the New Year signifies what you’ll do the most of for the next twelve months! (Does sleeping count?) Here are fifteen of the most common superstitions.

1. Working hard on New Year’s Day will ensure a whole year of grueling labor! But if you do a small token task successfully – something related to your employment – this will set the tone for achievement. (I'm definitely planning to write something!)

2. If the house is clean by midnight on Dec. 31st, it’ll be clean for the entire next year. (Do I have to sort the closets too?) Don't sweep on New Year's Day or you'll sweep out all your good luck! Don't do dishes or laundry either or you'll "wash away" a member of your family in the coming year.

3. If all your pockets and purses and wallets have coins and dollars in them by midnight, you’ll have plenty of money in the new year. Holding a piece of gold or silver in your hand at the stroke of midnight will also bring prosperity. Some people place coins on windowsills and the tops of doors too.

4. If you wear new clothes on New Year’s Day, more new clothes will come your way. (Does that include purses and shoes?)

5. No crying, fighting, arguing, name-calling or general negativity on New Year’s Day or you’ll have strife and tears all year long.

6. Don’t let valuable things leave your house on New Year’s Day or luck and fortune will go with them. The general belief refers to things like money and jewelry, but some people believe that nothing – not even garbage! – should leave the house on New Year’s Day. Take the empties to the recycling bin some other time!

7. Make sure the cupboards and pantries are full on New Year’s Day, in order to ensure abundance the rest of the year.

8. In many countries, it's believed that all debts should be settled before the New Year. Don’t pay back loans or lend money on New Year’s Day however, or you’ll be paying out all year long!

9. Be careful with the dishes. If anything breaks on New Year’s Day, ill luck will follow. And if you break a mirror, the bad luck will be doubled. None of this applies, however, if you're Danish. They save up dishes all year to throw at the doors of their friends and neighbors. At the end of New Year's Day, the higher the pile of broken crockery on your front step, the more loyal friends you have.

10. Working on New Year’s Day will ensure a year filled with grueling labor. But if you do a small token task – something related to your employment – successfully, it’ll set the tone for achievement in the coming months.

11. Kissing at least one person at midnight ensures that love, friendship and affection will continue. To not give out a kiss indicates a long, cold and lonely year. (That’s dire – I’d kiss both my pugs to avoid a fate like that!). Kissing your spouse or your fiance is even better, ensuring that you'll live in love and happiness during the entire year to come.

12. When midnight approaches, open all the windows and doors to let the Old Year leave. In some traditions, just opening one window or door will work. Releasing the Old Year makes room for the New Year. In Puerto Rico, people toss buckets of water out the windows to help to clean out the old year.

13. Bad luck and evil spirits must be driven away in order to make room for good fortune. This belief is at the root of using noisemakers to welcome in the New Year. The more noise you can make, the better. In early pioneer America. the firing of guns into the air was practiced. Church bells are often rung at midnight in many countries for the same reason.

In Iran, pots and pans are banged together. And the Chinese can be thanked for introducing fireworks to New Year's celebrations to chase away demons and bad fortune. In Wales, singing door to door does the job. My favorite is an Irish tradition which calls for banging on the walls and doors with Christmas bread to frighten evil spirits and invite good ones into the house. (Finally - a good use for that fruitcake!)

14. What you eat is said to influence your fortune for the coming year. It's lucky to eat black-eyed peas, and some say that one pea equals a coin you'll receive. Lentils will work too. But eating cabbage or other leafy greens might be more efficient – they're said to represent bills! Round foods are often synonymous with prosperity. In Spain and Portugal, they eat 12 grapes as the clock chimes midnight, ensuring 12 good months to come. Foods that form a circle or a ring, such as doughnuts, are popular in Europe. (Homer Simpson would like this one) The shape signifies that the year has come full circle and is now complete.

15. In keeping with the "getting rid of the old to make way for the new", residents of Ecuador burn pictures of things they don't want. Each family also creates a scarecrow or puppet which is called the "Año Viejo" or Old Year. Lists of problems and worries might be stuffed inside the effigies, as well as newspaper, wood and sawdust. Setting fire to these effigies is said to destroy any bad things that may have happened over the twelve months. Jumping over the fire brings extra luck. Versions of this practice can be found in other cultures as well. Burning the old calendar is popular almost everywhere.

Wishing all of my readers a happy, healthy and profitable New Year!

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn - What traditions did you grow up with? Have you heard of any that aren't listed here?

Creepy Christmas Superstitions

2010-12-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

Last week's Christmas Superstitions included The Good, the Bad and the Scary. This week’s installment brings you some traditions that are downright creepy! They may not be true, but there's bound to be at least a couple that will give you a chill just the same.

Dogs that howl on Christmas Eve will go mad before the end of the year. A candle or a lamp should be kept burning all night on Christmas Eve to avoid a death in the house in the following year.

Instead of water turning into wine at midnight on Christmas Eve, some hold the belief that the water in streams and wells turns into blood! Not only that, if you witness this change, you’ll die within the year!

A Scandinavian belief maintains that it's dangerous to go out on Christmas Eve because of the many supernatural beings that come out of their hiding places that night. Trolls, witches, goblins and ghosts are said to roam freely, including the spirits of the dead revisiting their previous homes. Gifts must be left outside – bowls of pudding and cream, clothes, tobacco and even ale – in order to appease some of these creatures. The most perilous time occurs between cock’s crow and dawn, when supernatural beings are at the peak of their power. To go outside means risking death or being carried off by them, never to be seen again.

Swedish folklore puts a chilling twist on this story. On Christmas Eve, they prepare their dining room with food and ale and blazing fire – and leave it overnight to enable the spirits of the dead to celebrate undisturbed. The family checks the chairs in the morning for traces of earth, proof that the dead have come calling!

Icelandic children lived in fear of being eaten by bloodthirsty ogres living in the mountains. The most ferocious of these was Mother Grýla, who wandered through the village at Christmastime with her evil cat.

Instead of leaving out cookies for Santa, gifts and food had to be left out to appease the ogres. If they didn't like the offerings, they'd eat you. And if you didn't have at least one brand new article of clothing in honor of the season – the cat would eat you!

A once popular parlor game gave everyone an apple after dinner, which was then cut in half across the middle to reveal the pattern of the core. If the core is star-shaped (most apples have this), the owner of the apple will see another Christmas. If the core is a different shape, the owner’s death will occur in the next twelve months! The appearance of a four-pointed cross was worst of all – although what was worse than death is never mentioned.

Parlor games in Victorian England also included telling ghost stories by the fire, while keeping tabs on everyone’s shadow throughout the evening. If anyone’s shadow were to appear headless, that person would die within the coming year.

While most cultures consider it lucky to be born on Christmas, others definitely do not. In Greece, any child born during the 12 days of Christmas is in danger of morphing into a kallikantzaroi, a malevolent half-animal, half-human monster that lives underground most of the year. Such a creature will almost certainly devour his own brothers and sisters!

In Romania, Poland and Moldova, a child born on Christmas Day may become a werewolf. A different variation on this tale is that any child conceived during Advent (when parents apparently were supposed to abstain from such activities) was almost certainly doomed to become a were-animal by the time they reached adulthood. In some Slavic regions, a child be born anywhere between Christmas and Ephiphany will surely become a vampire after death.

To avoid bad luck, all Christmas decorations should be taken down by Candlemas (Feb. 2). However, make sure you clean up after them – every needle left behind in the house from the Christmas tree will cause the sighting of a spirit or a demon in the coming year. Some believe a stray needle or berry will result in a death in the family. (A good case for having an artificial tree!)

The danger isn't over once the decorations are down because a Christmas tree thrown outside will attract the attention of evil spirits and supernatural beings. For proper disposal, the tree must be burned immediately.

An old Breton tale tells the story of a blacksmith who refused to stop working after the church bell had rung for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Suddenly a tall man entered his shop with a scythe that needed mending.

The blacksmith did the work but the mysterious man refused to pay him. Instead, he told the blacksmith to send for a priest because this work would be the last he would ever do. By the time the roosters crowed on Christmas morning, the blacksmith was dead. He had mended the Scythe of the Grim Reaper himself.

Wishing you a merry-not-too-scary holiday season!

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn -- have you heard of any other superstitions concerning Christmas?

The Longest Night - Winter Solstice

2010-12-19T22:34:00.000-08:00

Stonehenge at daybreak on the solstice.

The Winter Solstice is probably the most celebrated annual event worldwide, both now and in the past. Our ancestors rejoiced in the return of the sun, seeing it as a rebirth of life as well as light. Many ancient cultures created incredible structures to align with the sun during solstices. One of the most famous examples of this is Stonehenge, but it’s just one of hundreds of megalithic sites across Europe designed to mark these important days in the astronomical calendar. Ancient inhabitants of the New World, such as the Incas, built similar structures.

Winter Solstice, usually called Yule, falls on December 21 in 2011, and it marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. For those of us who struggle with the annual darkness, it draws the line between one half of the year and the other. After this day, the days will lengthen once more and light will increase.

The holiday now known as Christmas has its origins in many long ago Yule celebrations.

The Yule Log

Yule logs and fireplaces were once
a LOT bigger

Medieval tradition tells of an enormous log – commonly ash or oak – placed in the fireplace on the solstice. It was decorated with evergreens and kindled with the carefully saved remains of last year’s Yule log. The wood would burn all night, then be allowed to smolder for the following 12 days. Pouring ale or wine on the log was customary. So was sprinkling flour or breadcrumbs on it, or even placing coins on the log. All were said to bring good fortune, and the blackened coins were later given as gifts.

Remnants of the Yule log were said to have protective properties and were kept in the house to guard against lightning and hail, and against various diseases. Ashes of the log were mixed with cattle and poultry fodder to ensure that the livestock thrived in the coming year.

Later, as large fireplaces fell out of fashion, small logs were decorated in a similar way and holes were bored into the wood to hold candles, which would be burned for 12 nights. The French were the first to create an edible Yule log, and Victorian confectioners made these Yule cakes famous.

The Yule Tree

Celtic customs are said to have called for the decorating of sacred oak trees. The Celts and many other peoples also held evergreens to be symbolic of immortality, of continuing life in the midst of death. In the coldest, darkest and dreariest of winters, evergreens held forth hope of returning spring. Throughout many cultures and over countless centuries, homes have been decorated with evergreen boughs and other winter greenery.

The practice of decorating trees dates back to before Roman times. The trees were not cut down and brought into the house, however, but left alive and decorated wherever they grew with trinkets, trophies, sacred plants such as holly and mistletoes, bits of metal and sometimes replicas of gods.

The Yuletide Wreath

Wreaths have symbolized the wheel of the year since ancient times, and the word wreath comes from the Old English writhen, meaning "to twist". In many European countries, evergreen wreaths were lit with candles during the darkest winter days, symbolizing hope that light would return. Candles were sometimes placed around a wheel, to ensure that the year would cycle around so that the days would lengthen and warmth return. Holly wreaths were said to ward off the evil spirits that abounded during the darkness of midwinter, and holly might be kept near the door all year long to invite good fortune.

The Yule Goat

Giant straw goats decorate
town squares while tiny ones
decorate Yule trees

The Yule Goat or Julbock was central to solstice traditions in Scandinavia and northern Europe. A human dressed in goatskins and wearing long horns acted out a skit in which he “died” and returned to life. This was symbolic of the sun’s resurrection at solstice. (The goat guise was chosen because the Norse thunder god Thor had two goats which drew his chariot across the sky. He would occasionally kill the goats and use them to feed guests, then would restore them to life with a blow of his magical hammer.)

Goats were originally slaughtered as offerings during Yule, but later, goats made of straw were created annually as both decorations and effigies. This webcam site shows the current giant straw goat in Gävle, Sweden. The reason for the webcam is that the straw goat doesn't usually last the season -- it's a tradition for it to be burnt to the ground in the middle of the night!

http://www.camcentral.com/camviewer.php?id=16960&script=listings&task=map&item=location&show=Sweden

Other Winter Solstice traditions

Many people celebrate by staying awake throughout the night of the solstice so they can watch the sunrise the following day. Others wake early to observe the daybreak and dawn of a new cycle. Bonfires are usually lit to simulate the ascent of the sun and sometimes herbs such as sage are thrown into the blaze. Candles are allowed to burn throughout the day. Gifts are often exchanged as part of the midwinter celebrations, and stories told of ghosts and fairies.

Songs are sung, especially carols such as Deck the Halls which mention Yule specifically. Toasts are made and, in some places, groups dress up in costumes and go “wassailing”, which is very much like caroling. “Wassail” comes from an Anglo-Saxon toast for “Be Well” or “Be Healthy”. In modern times, the revelers go door to door, carrying “Wassail cups” that will hopefully be filled at each house.

Wassail was usually
hot spiced cider, alcohol optional.

In ancient times, wassailing was done around the oldest tree in an apple orchard. Cider was poured on the roots and toast dipped in cider was hung on the branches to thank the tree dryads and ensure a good crop in the coming year. The carolers sang and drummed to drive away bad spirits, and the wassail cup was passed from person to person. Each took a drink and passed on the cup with a kiss and a blessing.

One of the most unique solstice traditions is the lighting of the White Horse on the hillside at Alton Barnes in England. The mammoth chalk figure is outlined by candles placed in glass jars on the day of the winter solstice. When night falls, only the glowing outline of the horse is visible. Here’s a video on YouTube of last year’s lighting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWwIZG6WJLs ).

The Reason for the Season

Winter solstice is often called Yule, probably from an old Nordic word for wheel. With the coming of Yule, the wheel of the year has rolled around to its beginning once more. The word solstice comes from Latin for “stoppage”. The sun is at its lowest point in the sky and its elevation at noon appears to be the same for several days before and after solstice.

The Celts believed that the "wheel of the year" paused briefly on this day as the sun itself appears to stop. Accordingly, they wouldn’t turn a wheel of any kind on this day, not even a butter churn. A time of stillness was prized as an opportunity to reflect on the past year and look forward to the new one.

This concept of reflection is still at the very heart of all midwinter celebrations. It’s a time to meditate on the sorrows of the past year as well as the positive moments and achievements. It offers a chance to bond with family and friends, and to look forward with hope.

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn – Do you celebrate the winter solstice or Yule? What are some of the other traditions you know of? If you're interested in reading more about Winter Solstice traditions, try The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas for adults and The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice for the young at heart.

Christmas Superstitions - Part One

2010-12-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to dust off favorite blogs of Christmases past. For anyone who might have caught this one already, hope you enjoy it a second time!

As you know, I just can’t resist anything related to the paranormal. But Christmas? Who would have suspected that there was anything supernatural about such a warm fuzzy holiday? I mean, a big jolly fellow travels all over the world with his flying reindeer in a single night, squeezes down tiny chimneys with a neverending bag of presents, knows if you’re naughty or nice but is never seen himself… Come to think of it, that IS pretty paranormal!

I had a lot of fun researching Christmas superstitions and I was amazed by how MANY there were! In fact, there’s so much material I’ve decided to blog twice about this topic. Here then is the first installment. (By the way, here's the official disclaimer -- Remember, these are folktales and traditions, and not intended to be taken as truth!)

The Good….

Unmarried girls can cut a twig from a cherry tree on St. Barbora’s Day (Dec. 4th) and put it in water. If it blooms by Christmas Eve, marriage will follow within the year. Counting the stars on Christmas Eve will foretell the number of sheaves in your harvest. And if you see the sun shining through the limbs of the apple trees on Christmas Day, there’ll be an abundance of fruit the following year.

If you dream on any of the 12 nights between Christmas and Epiphany (Jan. 6), your dreams will come true in the next year. The first person in the household to hear a rooster crow or anyone who hears a cricket chirp on Christmas Day is going to have a very lucky year. Good luck follows those who give money to the poor on Christmas Day, to those who eat their breakfast by candlelight, and to those who stir the Christmas pudding.

The Bad….

Bad, bad fortune follows those who leave the dishes unwashed on Christmas Eve (and that’s on top of what Mom will do to you!). On Christmas Day, it’s unlucky to leave the dinner table before everyone has finished. A full moon on Christmas predicts a scanty harvest in the year to come. If Christmas Day falls on a Thursday, a year of windy weather is forecast.

On Christmas Eve it’s said that you can hear the bells of lost churches that have been covered by floods or buried by landslides and earthquakes. Picking up nuts or fruit from the ground will bring bad luck. So will sending carolers away without treats or money. And you really don’t want to be the first one home from church!

And the Scary….

A piece of winter greenery (holly, mistletoe, evergreen, etc.) must be brought into your home during the Christmas season, to keep away evil spirits. However, every winter leaf left in the house after Candlemas (Feb. 2) will result in the sighting of a ghost, or perhaps even a death in the house during the coming year! Mistletoe must be burned, or those who kissed beneath it will become enemies.

Those born on Christmas Day are rumored to be able to see ghosts and spirits. And those who are born on Christmas Eve are said to turn into ghosts themselves on that day every year! (Wow, this sounds more like Halloween, doesn’t it?) The only way to avoid this odd fate is to remain awake the entire night until Christmas Day dawns.

That's all for this post. Watch for more on Christmas superstitions!

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/ Changeling Moon

YOUR TURN! What Christmas superstitions or folklore have you heard of over the years?

The Myth and Lore of Mistletoe

2010-12-06T16:12:00.000-08:00

-- Mistletoe is the official state flower of Oklahoma! --

Today we use mistletoe as a Christmas decoration (and occasionally steal a kiss under it). But mistletoe has a much longer history than Christmas itself.

Mistletoe is unusual in the plant world because it doesn’t grow in the earth at all. Instead, it’s an aerial parasite that lives only in the boughs of trees. This uncommon plant not only remains green throughout the winter, but produces its pure white berries right around the time of the winter solstice.

The ancient Celts believed mistletoe to be a sacred gift from the gods. The Romans recorded that the Celts would harvest mistletoe from a tree after the winter solstice. A druid – a Celtic priest – used a golden sickle to cut the plant. It was vital that the mistletoe never come in contact with the ground and so a white cloth was held beneath the tree to catch it. Two white bulls were then sacrificed to honor the god who provided the mistletoe and to petition him to increase the plant’s potency.

The druids were said to be skilled in both herbs and magic, and the mistletoe was one of the most powerful plants in their arsenal. A symbol of immortality, mistletoe was believed to have protective powers against evil spirits and the ability to heal diseases. Although mistletoe is a poisonous plant itself, in skilled hands it was considered to be an antidote to all poisons. It was also used to promote fertility of both animal and human and occasionally even used in aphrodisiac potions. This sacred plant was associated with good fortune and great blessings.

The mistletoe was so sacred that if enemies met in a forest and a mistletoe plant was spotted overhead, an automatic truce was declared until the following day. From this grew the practice of hanging mistletoe over the door, or suspending it from the ceiling as a symbol of peace and good will.

The Norse myth of Baldur takes us to the next phase of mistletoe tradition. The goddess, Frigga, was Baldur’s mother, and exacted a promise from every element, plant and animal, both on the earth and under the earth, not to harm Baldur. She forgot the mistletoe, which grows neither in the ground or on it. Loki, prankster and god of evil, tricked another god into shooting Baldur with an arrow made of mistletoe, which killed him. Fortunately, Balder is eventually brought back to life. His mother is so overcome with joy that she reverses the reputation of the offensive mistletoe, declaring that those who passed beneath a mistletoe plant should have a token kiss and be kept safe from harm.

Centuries later, both Celtic and Viking traditions were condemned by early Christianity as pagan, and mistletoe was forbidden to be displayed within sight of the church. However, that didn’t stop people from hanging mistletoe in their homes and barns or from wearing sprigs of it to ward off disease and evil. Mistletoe became known as All-heal, and is still used in homeopathic medicine.

It wasn’t until Victorian times that the plant’s original status as a symbol of peace and love was revived, and the practice of kissing under the mistletoe was reinstated.

Dani Harper
www.daniharper.com

Your turn --- In your wildest fantasy, who would YOU like to meet under the mistletoe?

CHANGELING MOON - upcoming shapeshifter novel

2010-12-02T00:54:00.000-08:00

Just got the cover art for the first book in my upcoming shapeshifter series with Kensington. This story is classed as paranormal romance, but you'll find plenty of action and suspense in it. I'm really excited and looking forward to the release in May. It's soooo hard to wait, so I thought I'd share a preview with everyone!

BOOK ONE
Changeling Moon
by Dani Harper

He roams the moonlit wilderness, his every sense and instinct on high alert. Changeling wolf Connor Macleod and his Pack have never feared anything — until the night human Zoey Tyler barely escapes a rogue werewolf’s vicious attack.

As the full moon approaches, Zoey has no idea of the changes that are coming, and only Connor can show her what she is, and help her master the wildness inside. With her initiation into the Pack just days away and a terrifying predator on the loose, the tentative bonds of trust and tenderness are their only weapons against a force red in tooth, claw … and ultimate evil.

ADVANCE REVIEW

"Dani Harper’s CHANGELING MOON is one of those rare stories that literally catches you with the first paragraph and never lets go.

“Powerful characters, fantastic action and a really unique premise set this story apart from every other shapeshifter story I’ve read. Her Changeling world is unique and well-drawn and the pacing will keep readers turning those pages to see what’s coming next.

"A strong heroine with a mind of her own, a compassionate yet powerful hero, hot sex, hotter action, and a story that won’t turn you loose. It just doesn’t get any better than CHANGELING MOON. I highly recommend this one.

“Make room on the keeper shelf — Dani Harper is definitely an author to watch."

~ Kate Douglas ~ Author of the DemonSlayer and Wolf Tales series

ABOUT THE SERIES

There are three books in the series at present. Changeling Moon will be released on May 31, 2011, followed by Changeling Dream on June 28. Changeling Dawn is slated for release in January of 2012. All are coming out in Kensington's Brava line.

PS - Changeling Moon can already be pre-ordered on Amazon!

Dani Harper
www.daniharper.com
Your turn - What do you think of the artwork? Would it inspire you to take a look at the book? What about the premise of the story? Are you a fan of paranormal romance?

Dani Harper on BLOGTALKRADIO Nov 29!

2010-11-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

Really excited that I've been invited to visit with author Linda Mooney on her blogtalkradio program, "Other Worlds of Romance" I'll be reading an excerpt from my Celtic paranormal novella, A Leap of Knowing. ..................
NOTE - The show was recorded and is now available to listen to. The player is in the upper left hand corner of this blog.

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Tales from the Psychic Toolbox - TAROT Part 2

2010-10-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

Tarot cards are not Magic 8-Balls. “You will meet a tall, handsome stranger...” is more the stuff of fortune cookies than tarot. The purpose of a reading isn’t to tell you what to do – it’s to engage your own intuition. The pictures on the cards are powerful psychological archetypes which can help you gain insight about yourself and your circumstances by tapping into your subconscious.

About the Tarot Deck

The traditional tarot deck has 78 cards, although modern variations may have fewer. Like ordinary playing cards, fifty-six of them are divided into four suits.

Instead of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Clubs, you have Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.
Each suit has 14 cards, with numbers 1 through 10 plus four royal cards – Page, Knight, Queen and King.

What most people think of when they hear the word tarot are the archetypal cards, like “The Tower”, “The Star”, “Justice”, “The Fool”, “The Lovers”, and “The Sun”. There are 22 of these trump cards, called “The Major Arcana”. The 56 suit cards are “The Minor Arcana”. Arcana means mystery in Latin, and the term wasn’t applied to tarot cards until later in their history, about 1870.

A Sampling of the Major Arcana

STRENGTH

THE FOOL – Often the appearance of this card signifies a beginning of a journey, although not necessarily a physical one. It may be mental, emotional or spiritual in nature. Happiness and optimism abound.

THE LOVERS – This card often indicates harmony and union, but is not necessarily about love at all. It may represent choices to be made or a decision between two paths.

STRENGTH – This card typically shows a woman with a lion. She may be holding the lion’s mouth open or just standing beside it. The image represents not just strength, but courage, self-control and determination.

THE CHARIOT – This card often represents triumph over adversity, some obstacle overcome, a well-deserved victory.

THE EMPORER – As might be expected, this card signifies authority, corporate structure or government. It may stand for someone in a position of authority in your life, like a boss or a parent.

THE HANGED MAN – The picture is usually of a man dangling by his foot, and as such, often means a temporary suspension of progress. Circumstances may actually be turned on their head and a waiting period may be in the works.

OMG, I’ve drawn the Death Card!

DEATH CARD

With its skeletal figure, the Death card has been often been used in stories, movies and even video games to scare the bejeebers out of people. First and foremost, it’s not about literal death (whew!).

In fact, the Death card can be a very positive card. It's usually the symbol for CHANGE, signifying either the end of one thing or the beginning of another. It can mean transformation and regeneration, hope and rebirth. In fact, psychologist Carl Jung attributed the Death card in tarot with a new standpoint or perspective.

Think of the Chinese word for crisis – the glyph contains the symbols for both danger and opportunity, and opportunity is stronger. Drawing the Death card can indicate that despair can now give way to hope – a very good change!

Choosing your Tarot Deck

HELLO KITTY TAROT - with the least
scary Death card imaginable!

You need to use a deck of cards that appeals to you and there are thousands of decks out there to choose from. Many people collect tarot decks for their gorgeous artwork (I own a Celtic deck called the Sacred Circle Tarot, simply because it’s beautiful).

Two popular decks have a Native American theme, the Sacred Path Cards: The Discovery of Self Through Native Teachings and Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals.

If you have a particular passion, someone is sure to have designed a deck around it. For instance, the Tarot of White Cats (yes, all of the characters depicted in the cards are cats), Mystic Faerie Tarot, Salvador Dali Tarot and Golden Dragon Tarot. There’s even Hello Kitty Tarot! Shapes and sizes vary too. There are even decks with round cards, hexagonal and triangular cards!

It’s important to find cards that you feel good working with. It’s an intensely personal choice – what feels right to one person may feel very differently to someone else. The very first deck I purchased was the traditional Rider-Waite design. When I opened the box and touched the cards, I was repelled. It’s not that I didn’t know what they were going to look like, it’s that they didn’t feel good to me. I got a headache every time I tried to use them and I soon gave them away. Other people swear by the Rider-Waite and use nothing else. Through trial and error, I eventually found a deck called The Gilded Tarot. It’s a beautiful deck, but more importantly, the cards resonate with me and I can work with them easily.

Be Energy-Conscious

FENG SHUI TAROT

Owning your own deck of tarot cards and handling them regularly is very important. This is so the cards pick up your energy and hold it. For this reason, they shouldn’t be handled by anyone else. (This is also why buying a used deck of tarot cards isn’t advised – they’re saturated with energy from strangers.) In fact, most people who do tarot readings keep a separate deck only for that purpose or ask you to bring one of your own.

The more familiar you become with your personal deck and the more you develop a close working relationship with them, the more your natural intuition will be enhanced and the better your readings will become.

Some people believe that it’s bad karma or bad luck to buy your own tarot cards, that your first deck must be gifted to you by someone else. Most tarot readers agree that this is a myth. There’s nothing wrong with getting your own set of cards – in fact, it’s desirable to do this so you can select the deck that appeals most to you. Note: it might not be the deck you think. You might love all things Victorian, but a Victorian-themed deck of tarot cards may not work for you. Who knows, you might respond better to Feng Shui Tarot or even the brightly colored Hawaiian Tarot!

Books to Help You

There isn’t room in a blog to discuss all there is to know about tarot. You’re going to need a good book (or more than one) to use as a resource. As I said before, I mostly use Josephine Ellershaw’s “Learning to Use the Tarot Once and For All”, but you need to find the one that resonates best with you. Many tarot decks come with their own books, which is a good place to start.

You might want to look at books specifically designed for beginners such as Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners by Joan Bunning, Tarot for Beginners: An Easy Guide to Understanding and Interpreting the Tarot by P. Scott Hollander. There's even an Idiot’s Guide and a For Dummies book on Tarot! (I didn't like the For Dummies book myself, but someone else might.)

For someone who wants a deeper understanding of Tarot, Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack or Mary K. Greer's 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card may be for you.

Most of all, don't forget that no matter what a book says, the meanings of the cards are fluid and adaptable. What a card means is what you feel it means. Intuition trumps all!Happy Reading!

Dani Harper
www.daniharper.com

YOUR TURN – Have you ever worked with Tarot before, or had a reading done for you? Is there a particular deck that you enjoy working with or a book that you’ve found helpful?

Tales from the Psychic Toolbox -- TAROT

2010-10-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

"The true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs. Given the inward meaning of the emblems, they do become a kind of alphabet which is capable of indefinite combinations and makes true sense in all.” – Arthur Edward Waite

I came to my appreciation of tarot late. Like most people, I grew up thinking of tarot as those fortune-telling cards used by gypsies in old movies. Despite my interest in the paranormal, I didn’t even see a real tarot deck until I was ... okay, nevermind how old I was. Then a friend of mine told me how she used these cards as tools for personal growth and insight. That really got my attention. I started studying up on the subject of tarot and have found it both fascinating and useful. I'm still learning of course – and while I'm not sure if anyone ever finishes learning about tarot, I can share some of what I've learned so far.

Brief History of Tarot

The word tarot rhymes with “arrow” and refers to a deck of vividly illustrated cards, traditionally 78 in number with 56 of them divided into four suits and 22 trump cards that are not associated with any suit at all. Originating somewhere around the fifteenth century in Europe, these cards were used to play Tarocchi, an Italian game which still exists.

Since their invention, playing cards of all kinds were occasionally used for divining the future, and tarot was no exception. The Church in Europe didn't take issue with tarot specifically; rather, it condemned all playing cards due to their association with gambling and other vices.

Why Use Tarot?

Today, the Tarot is more popular than ever, but not for playing games. And while some people treat them like fortune cookies or Magic 8-Balls, tarot cards are most often used as a method of obtaining self-knowledge and an intuitive understanding of circumstances. Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, studied the Tarot and described its symbols as "primitive or archaic thought-forms", and that “the unconscious is revealed in symbols”. He noted that, like dreams, Tarot symbols generally have some universal meaning but their interpretation could also be intensely personal. In other words, it doesn’t matter what a picture is supposed to mean, what really matters is what it means to YOU.

An effective tarot reading involves asking one clear and specific question. The tarot doesn’t lend itself to yes/no questions, but more to who, what, when, why and how. The tarot can help you sort out your own thoughts and feelings on a situation, can bring your intuition and subconscious to the forefront to help bring clarity. If there’s a situation I’m confused about or when I can’t decide on a course of action to take, a reading can sometimes help me think outside the box. And yes, I've even used it to help with writing. If I get well and truly mired in a plot, a tarot reading can sometimes help me see how I might work my way out of it. Notice that the tarot doesn't tell me what to do. Rather, it helps me help myself.

Tarot Readings

The person who desires a reading shuffles the deck while thinking of his question, then draws cards. The number of cards drawn can vary widely. Some people choose a single card, some three, for a “quickie” reading. A more detailed and in-depth reading uses many cards, laid out in a precise order and pattern (called a spread). The Celtic Cross spread is one of the most popular (I use this one myself), and requires ten cards. Sometimes an additional fan of three is added to it.

Another way of obtaining a tarot reading is to use an online computer program, such as the one at http://www.newagestore.com/Divination/Tarot.aspx . (This is a site I’ve used often and my anti-virus program has declared it safe) You can choose from a number of spreads and get a free personal reading. There is no human on the other end to skew the results. Yes, the computer program is designed to offer random cards, but some people believe our personal energies are stronger and we draw to us the same cards that we would if the deck was physically in front of us. You can also buy your own software for this purpose and personalize it.

You can go to someone else to have your reading done, but you need to find someone who is skilled, ethical and that you can communicate well with (just like choosing a doctor). As mentioned before, the symbols of the Tarot can be more useful for what they mean to you personally than what they are accepted to mean universally. A human reader needs to help you assign meaning to the cards you draw, rather than tell you “this card means this, this one means that”. While reading tarot requires no psychic powers, there IS an art to it. Some readers are wonderfully gifted. Some aren’t. And no, I’ve never tried any of the spammy-looking “Live Psychic Reading” sites that appear in ads all over the internet – it just doesn’t seem to me like a productive way to connect with someone with the traits I’m looking for.

You Don't Have To Be Psychic

What about reading the tarot for yourself? Anyone can learn to read tarot but how to learn depends on the individual. There are courses to be found, depending on where you live, but the easiest method has to be to pick up a book. There are many good ones on the subject, yet you may have to read several before you find one that “speaks” to you. I’ve run across a few that were more confusing than helpful, but when I found the deck that was right for me, The Guilded Tarot, it happened to come with the “Easy Tarot: Learn to Read the Cards Once and For All!” by Josephine Ellershaw. http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Tarot-Learn-Read-Cards/dp/0738711500/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287940891&sr=8-2 This lovely set proved to be the perfect resource for a beginner. Ellershaw has a very laidback and easy to understand approach and I continue to use both book and deck to this day. There’s a review of her book at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLZ17MLJx60 . YouTube, by the way, is the source of MANY videos on “How To Read Tarot”, some good, some not so much. My personal rule of thumb is that a book or a course or a website was worth my time if I learned just one or two things from it.

More about Tarot in an upcoming blog!

Dani Harper
www.daniharper.com

YOUR TURN - Have you ever used tarot cards or had a reading done?

Can Dreams Predict the Future?

2010-10-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

"A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read."

- The Talmud

Humans have been fascinated by dreams for thousands of years. In many ancient cultures, dreams were accorded great respect and actively used in decision-making. The Bible, the Talmud and the Koran contain hundreds of passages about dreams and dream interpretation. Today, not much has changed. A study published in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shows that most people believe that their dreams are sources of meaningful insight, revealing hidden truths about themselves and their world.

DREAM SYMBOLS
Most psychologists agree that dreams are often filled with symbols, subconscious indicators of what you really think and feel. A dream of being lost for instance, of being unable to find your way, can mean that you feel unprepared for something in your waking life. A dream of drowning can show that you feel overwhelmed. However, a dream dictionary is of limited use because symbols can mean different things to different people – dreaming about being naked in public can point to a fear of ridicule or a fear of having secrets exposed. But it can also mean an effort on your part to present your authentic self.

Dreaming about spiders can be positive for some. They’re often a symbol of creativity or good fortune. Psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote that spider webs were like mandalas, a symbol of wholeness because of their circular shape and complexity. For me, if I’m dreaming about spiders (which I freely admit scare the bejeebers out of me), I know that my stress levels in my waking life are off the charts and I need to do something about it.

INSPIRATION THROUGH DREAMS

Many scientists and inventors have experienced inspiration through their dreams. Albert Einstein was inspired by a dream whereby he was sledding down a mountainside ever faster, watching the appearance of the stars change as he approached the speed of light. The result? The theory of relativity. Frederich Kekule discovered the chemical structure of benzene in a dream. He later said: "Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, and then we may perhaps find the truth."

Countless artists and writers have also been inspired by dreams. Edgar Allan Poe based many of his works on dreams (or perhaps nightmares). In her 'Introduction' to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley revealed that the story was inspired by a dream. Best-selling author Stephen King says that dreams have been the source for many of his unique plots. Former Beatle Paul McCartney reported that the tune for Yesterday came to him in a dream in 1965. Even legendary golfer, Jack Nicklaus, discovered a new way to hold his golf club in a dream!

CAN DREAMS PREDICT THE FUTURE?
It’s possible that in some cases the subconscious mind has observed and pieced together clues that the conscious mind hasn’t noticed. But that only works with things you’ve seen. What if you dream about something you’ve never seen or heard of before?

This is something that has happened for me since I was a small child. Many of my most vivid and memorable dreams have been about places. Eventually I go there – sometimes days, sometimes years later – and see it in real life. I really wish I’d dream about Hawaii or Africa or some exotic locale like that, but usually it’s fairly pedestrian. For instance I dreamed of a restaurant/bar that was painted forest green. It had an odd stairway leading inside, and the doorway was cramped. Inside, the décor and furnishings were very distinct, right down to the chalkboard with the day’s specials. Within a month, I went to visit one of my older daughters in another part of the country and we went on a road trip to an area I’d never been. She took me to a restaurant that she wanted me to try – and it was the one from my dream.

My youngest daughter also lives a long way from me. She has very dark hair, and just this week I dreamed that I had “her” hair (I’m blonde). I was sitting in a beauty shop and an unseen hairdresser was putting vivid red streaks through the dark brown hair. I thought it was a pretty peculiar dream – until I phoned my daughter and told her about it. It turns out that she had just had red highlights put into her hair.

Precognitive dreams don’t necessarily mean anything – there was no action that needed to be taken in the above two cases for example. Sometimes, however, they have a purpose. I remember one incident in particular where a friend had taken me to the mountains where we were going to spend a day on horseback. I was excited about it – I love horses – but also terrified because of some riding accidents I’d experienced. I hadn’t been on a horse in a few years. That night I dreamed about a tall bay horse with white socks. He was on the thin side and had a very unusual blue and white checkered halter. In my dream, this horse was gentle and responsive, and I had a wonderful ride. The next morning I told my friend about the dream as we traveled to the ranch. When the ranch hand assigned us our horses, he brought me the horse from my dream – and his bridle had been buckled on over a blue and white checkered halter! I will never forget the look on my friend’s face when she saw that. And yes, I was able to completely relax and enjoy one of the best rides ever because of my dream.

Are all of my dreams precognitive? Not at all. In fact, most of them aren’t. But I’ve had enough of the predictive ones to recognize, as do many people, that precognitive dreams tend to feel different. In fact, I usually experience them as dreams within dreams – where I’m already dreaming and then have a period of heightened awareness in which I know that what I’m seeing is different from the rest of the dream.

FAMOUS CASES
Many famous people have seen the future in their dreams. One of the most notable was Abraham Lincoln, who experienced a number of such visions. The most well-known occurred in 1865, just two weeks before he was assassinated. In his dream, Lincoln saw a funeral at the White House. He asked someone who was in the casket and they replied, "the president of the United States".

American novelist Mark Twain had a dream in which he saw the body of his brother, Henry, in a metal coffin in his sister’s living room. There was a single bright red flower on the casket. Soon afterwards, his brother was killed in a riverboat accident. Most people were buried in wooden coffins, but a stranger raised the money to furnish a metal one for Henry. Mark Twain was shocked to enter his sister’s home and see everything as it had been in his dream. As he watched, a woman placed a bouquet of flowers containing a single bright red rose on the coffin.

After the Titanic sunk in 1912, hundreds of people came forward to report their dreams of disaster. In some cases, the dream had kept them from booking passage on the ill-fated ship. Likewise with 9/11. Many people reported experiencing dreams up to four years in advance of the tragic event.

SCIENCE AND DREAMS
Mainstream science doesn’t yet accept the concept of precognition. But some people are now theorizing that psychic abilities could have a sound basis. During sleep, when our minds are less cluttered, perhaps we can sense things that elude us when we’re awake. We may be able to tune into a subtle frequency or a resonance when our minds are quiet. After all, according to Einstein, the future already exists. Perhaps, accidently or intentionally, some people can plug into it.

Maybe all of us can, if we just knew how.

Dani Harper

http://www.daniharper.com/

YOUR TURN - Have you ever had a dream that turned out to be true?

Night of the Living Dread – Zombies

2010-09-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

“Sometimes they come back…”

This is true of both trends and the living impaired. Zombies have been enjoying a renewed popularity at the movie theater. And now they’ve gone where no corpse has gone before – romance novels. No kidding, check out Amazon for titles like My Zombie Valentine, Zombie Moon, Hungry for Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

I totally enjoyed the movie Zombieland last year – yet still experienced a kind of creeping unease as I did so. Maybe it’s because I was introduced to zombies when I was very young and I’ve never quite recovered. There was a TV station that showed old black and white horror movies (double feature, no less) every Saturday afternoon. Classic or campy, I watched them all. (Those were the good old days when nobody worried about scarring little kids for life…)

At the tender age of seven, Night of the Living Dead really should have been called “Nightmares for the Rest of Your Life”. Even Plan 9 from Outer Space, arguably one of the worst movies of all time, had enough zombie action to scare me silly. When I was older, I saw Omega Man. What a tagline -- Pray for the last man alive. Because he's not alone. I was totally terrified of the light-sensitive flesh-eating psychopathic zombies.

Incidently, I Am Legend in 2007 also featured light-sensitive flesh-eating psychopathic zombies. They scared me too.

In 2002, 28 Days Later nearly made me swear off the living impaired forever. My teenagers teased me mercilessly because I had to sleep with the light on for the next three nights. (I’m still trying to work up the courage to watch the sequel, 28 Weeks Later.)

But I loved Zombieland. Like Shaun of the Dead, it made me laugh, a nice distraction (like whistling in the dark) from the lurching, rotting, reanimated corpses that still creep me out big time. I'm even looking forward to Zombieland II, in 3-D.

Would I have had to sleep with the lights on if 28 Days Later had been shot with comic lines and sight gags? I’ll never know…

“Are zombies real?”

Yes, no and maybe. Yes, some days a hangover or a headcold can make you feel like one. Yes, many people will testify that some of their coworkers are living impaired. No, nobody is crawling out of the cemetery in search of brains.

Have living human beings ever been turned into zombies? Maybe.

Zombies have their origin in the voodoo or vodoun religion of the Caribbean (esp. Haiti) and New Orleans, Louisiana. Practitioners have immense knowledge of plant- and animal-based pharmaceuticals. In the hands of houngons and mambas (good priests and priestesses), they are used to help and heal people. But a bokor (a sorcerer of black magic) may employ this knowledge for his own gain.

It’s been suggested (though never proven) that zombies might be created using a mixture that includes neurotoxins from puffer fish (those things that’ll kill you in a Japanese restaurant if not prepared properly) and chemicals from a certain type of toad. The story goes that the right proportions of these and other ingredients will induce a coma where life signs are not detectable. After stealing the “body”, the bokor wakes the person and administers a hallucinogenic plant. Now an obedient “zombie”, the disoriented and confused victim is said to provide cheap labor for the bokor.

Whether chemically induced or psychologically suggested, so great is the fear of zombification in Haiti that allegedly there’s been a law against it since 1835. Administering a substance that produces a prolonged period of lethargy without causing death so as to result in the burial of the victim is classed as murder – even if the victim survives. By the way, Haitians aren’t afraid of zombies per se – the fear is that they or someone they love will become one.

And in this country? A teenager’s t-shirt spotted yesterday says it all:
VOTE YES FOR THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE !

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

YOUR TURN – Are you a zombie movie fan? Do you think zombies could exist?

Do you see shadow people?

2010-08-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

“Where there is much light, the shadow is deep.” --Goethe

You’re sitting in front of your television at night and a sudden movement in the room makes you look up. Nothing’s there. A few moments later, you again spot rapid movement out of the corner of your eye. And again, nothing. This might happen several more times. And every time, you brush it off … Well, your mother always warned you you’d ruin your eyes with too much TV. And you know you should be getting more sleep but you’ve been worried about your dog’s upcoming dental surgery. Or maybe it’s that new compact fluorescent bulb in the lamp, the one that produces a different-colored light than the others and no way will you buy that brand again…

The last thing you’d consider is that you’ve just seen a SHADOW BEING.

A what? This is definitely the paranormal phenomenon voted most likely to be chalked up to imagination. After all, most encounters are fleeting and seem to take place only in our peripheral vision. But reports of much more intense encounters worldwide have paranormal investigators wondering.

Are they ghosts?

Is there a difference between Shadow Beings and ghosts? Those who have witnessed the departed agree that most ghosts look like human beings. They may be pale, even transparent, but ghosts generally have facial features and expressions, they have distinct clothing, and they may even attempt to communicate.

Shadow Beings on the other hand reportedly have no discernable face or features, almost like a silhouette. Occasionally, only the upper part of the human form is visible. They’re silent. And they’re dark, often described as “blacker than black”. Sometimes they’re transparent, even wispy and smoke-like and other times they appear very dense and impossible to see through. They may be tall and extremely thin or shaped as if they’re wearing a long coat. In many cases witnesses report that the being seems to be wearing a wide-brimmed hat (which is why shadow beings are often nicknamed “hat men”). Rarely, these beings are perceived to have red glowing eyes, like the Mothman.

Just to be confusing, Shadow Beings are not necessarily people-shaped. Along with reports of moving blobs, amoeba-like or even geometric shapes, there have been sightings of shadow animals large and small. Shadow Beings are not restricted to the indoors or the night either – they’ve been observed outside and in broad daylight as well.

One quality that all of the shadow entities appear to share is movement – rapid, even unnatural speed. The movement is often jerky and disjointed, and they can appear and disappear quickly. The laws of physics don’t seem to apply to them – Shadow Beings have been observed walking through walls and solid objects. And typically, they appear in places where no shadow would naturally fall. Sometimes they’re seen in mirrors and other reflective surfaces.

Shadow Beings in Legend

Shadowy, human-like figures appear in Native American stories (eg. Nez Perce, Cherokee, Choctaw) and some of these shadow beings are said to be shapeshifters. Similar beings, called djinn or jinn (where we get the word “genie”), date back to pre-Islamic mythology. They too are able to change their shape and are said to inhabit a parallel world to humans. Many people still believe in their existence.

Natural Explanations?

So what’s going on? Let’s allow that some of these reports really ARE imagination, or more likely, mistaken identity. After all, the human mind is hardwired to find patterns and form in whatever is being viewed (such as seeing faces in inanimate objects like woodgrain, moonscapes or clouds). And the phenomenon of waking sleep, called hypnogogia, is more common than previously thought. It’s a state of semi-consciousness where the person can be thinking clearly and believe that they are awake, yet they are actually dreaming. This is almost always accompanied by a sensation of dread. Since many encounters with shadow beings are reported as occurring when the witness had just awakened, hypnogogia could probably account for a lot of them.

Plus, it’s recently been discovered that electromagnetic impulses can interfere with the human brain, causing altered perception. Recent experiments at Laurentian University in Canada showed that people unknowingly exposed to a magnetic field often felt an unseen presence. Since such fields are now everywhere, this may account for a rise in the number of shadow beings and other phenomena being reported.

But what about accounts of shadow beings turning up in photographs? Or being seen by more than one witness at a time? Here’s a few of the theories:

Other dimensions

Science now tells us that 95 percent of the universe is composed of dark matter, which we’re unable to see plus many dimensions that are invisible to us. Of this, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking says “There could be shadow galaxies, shadow stars, and even shadow people.” In other words, entire populated realms could exist that we don’t know about because we can’t perceive them. The shadow being phenomena might be caused by other dimensions that overlap our own and occasionally intersect.

Time travel

If you watch the Science Channel, you’ve heard there’s no law of physics that prevents time travel. Some paranormal investigators have proposed that Shadow Beings could actually be visitors from the future passing through. In the movies, when time travelers arrive at their destination, they’re perfectly visible – handy for the audience but what if it didn’t really work like that? What if travelers would actually appear as shadows in the time they’re visiting? (After all, they technically don’t exist there!)

Thought Entities

The 1956 sci-fi movie, Forbidden Planet, featured the concept of subconscious thought being brought to life. This correlates with a number of legends from different cultures. Egregores or Watchers were powerful psychic entities created by the collective thought of a group of people. This concept is said to appear in the Septuagint translations of the Old Testament, and in the writings of the Rosicrucians.

Shadow entities can allegedly be created by powerful emotions and negative psychic energy, particularly in a place where something traumatic has occurred.

Extra-terrestrials or Twilight Travelers

Some people feel that there’s a connection between some types of aliens and shadow beings. The shadow beings are said to be the aliens themselves or a telepathic projection. Abductees claim that a type of alien known as The Grays have the ability to pass through walls and closed doors with ease, or appear and disappear without warning.

Some people claim they can leave their body at will through meditation (called astral projection). Other theories claim that we all travel out of body when we sleep. Are shadow people merely the fleeting images of dreamers or twilight travelers passing through?

Encounters with Shadow Beings

Witness accounts vary widely. Many report that the shadow being seems completely unaware of them. Sometimes the shadow being appears frightened or confused when it perceives a human watching them (almost like we don’t belong in their reality any more than they belong in ours). Others seem curious and deliberately watch humans (shadow voyeurs?), but vanish when detected. A few seem to enjoy scaring the bejeebers out of people.

Shadow beings seem to occur more frequently in certain locations, perhaps because of intensive magnetic fields in those areas, or perhaps because the dimensions intersect in specific spots. Several places in the US which are said to be haunted have been found to have shadow people rather than ghosts (Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone Arizona), or sometimes both (Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Kentucky and Civil War sites such as Gettysburg, Pennsylvania).

Want more to read actual experiences of Shadow Beings? Try these sites:

http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2009/03/personal-experiences-with-shadow-people.html

http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-personal-experiences-shadow-people.html

Have YOU ever encountered a Shadow Being, or something like it?

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Who's afraid of Friday the 13th?

2010-08-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

Are you a triskaidekaphobe? Blame it on the Vikings.

That ten-dollar word refers to someone who is afraid of the number 13. And the Vikings apparently regarded 13 as a sinister number because their trickster god, Loki, once crashed a party for 12 at Valhalla and caused the death of beloved Baldur, god of joy and light. (No doubt this is also the origin of the term “party-pooper”)

The number 13 is bad enough, but add it to a Friday and the bad luck just gets worse. For one thing, you’ll have more big words to deal with – if you’re afraid of Friday the 13th, then you have friggatriskaidekaphobia, also called paraskevidekatriaphobia.

Think about it. Even if you don’t believe in luck or bad karma or cosmic forces, do you still hesitate before buying a lottery ticket on Friday the 13th? Or starting an important project? Or traveling? You might brush it off and carry on with your plans, but the day is so ingrained in our culture that few of us are immune. Fear of Friday the 13th is considered the most common phobia in America. But it’s not just us – one in four Europeans suffer from it too.

A calendar year may have 1 to 3 “thirteenths” occurring on a Friday, and those years with the maximum number are considered to be particularly calamitous. Fortunately for the fearful, the triple threat years don’t happen very often. 2009 was the first year this century to have a trio of Friday the 13ths. Before that, 1998 and 1987 were the unlucky years.

2010 is a relatively mild year for the superstitious, with only one Friday the 13th, which occurs in August. The year 2012 is another story – unsurprisingly, it will have THREE! (Is this what the Mayans were warning us about?)

Superstitions about the number 13 and/or Friday the 13th

• If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die. (Does it depend on how good the haircut is?)

• A clock striking 13 portends a death in the family. (Again with the family!) Or it may signal paranormal activity.

• If you’re born on Friday the 13th, you’ll be unlucky for life. Not to worry, apparently it’ll also be a short life!

• It’s bad luck to marry on this day. (In Middleton, New York, in 1913, a pastor offered to marry couples for free on Friday the 13th to counteract the superstition.)

• If you’re passed by a funeral procession on Friday the 13th, you’ll be the next to die. (So is everyone the procession passes doomed? You could wipe out most of a town in one fell swoop!)

• Leaving on vacation? Bad karma to do it on the 13th. Historically, mariners have declined to set sail on that day.

• It’s unlucky to have 13 coins in your pocket. (Given the current financial crisis, however, you’re fortunate to have any…)

• Wearing black on Friday the 13th will cause you to have to wear it to a funeral soon.

• Thirteen stairs? Bad news. (My knees think so too.) In British history, tradition held that a gallows had 13 steps, and Friday was known as “the hangman’s day”. Literally.

• Numbers that add up to 13 are unlucky as well, like 76 or 409. And you don’t want the number 13 in your street address. (In Florence, Italy, a house next to number 12 will be named 12 ½ , followed by 14!)

• Never have 13 place settings at the dinner table; it’s said that one guest may die within a year. Since the 1700s, Christian tradition has held that there were 13 people in attendance at The Last Supper. In France, you can still hire a professional quatorzieme, or 14th guest to balance your dinner party and avoid calamity.

Many airports still don’t have a Gate 13. Ronald Reagan National in Washington is on that list. So is Chicago’s Midway. Tall buildings and even hospitals still sometimes skip having a 13th floor (in name at least – the floor is still there of course). Hotels have known for years that customers dislike rooms with the number 13 in them.

Even Wall Street has been a little apprehensive about the day since the early 1900s. And of course, October 13, 1989 was the day of the Friday the 13th mini-crash, the second largest drop of the Dow in its history. (Mind you, it was a slide of a whopping 190.58 points. After the events of the past couple of years, it barely merits a raised eyebrow.)

Famous people with phobias

If you’re fearful of the number 13 or Friday the 13th, you’re not alone. Here’s just a few of the famous:

Stephen King

PT Barnum

Franklin Roosevelt

J. Paul Getty

Mark Twain

Herbert Hoover

Napoleon

Can you escape Friday the 13th?

No matter how enlightened we think we are, a lot of us exercise caution on this calendar day. In fact, it’s estimated that the US loses almost a billion dollars in business on Friday the 13th, because so many people postpone major purchases and reschedule trips. And that doesn’t count the number of workers who call in sick.

The Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics published a study a couple years back, comparing accident, fire and theft rates on Fridays. Interestingly, there were fewer incidents on each Friday the 13th . It’s thought that people were naturally being more careful due to the superstition. The day will have its due however – the monetary losses for Friday the 13th were slightly higher!

The town fathers of French Lick, Indiana, tried to be proactive in October, 1939. They decreed that all black cats in town wear bells on Friday the 13th so that people could avoid them. This practice stayed on the books through 1941. After a particularly bad Friday the 13th (no mention of what happened), the law was reinstated for 1942. The person with the worst luck in all of this was probably the town marshal, whose job it was to bell all those cats.

Of course, you can always fight superstition with superstition. To counteract Friday the 13th, folklore says you can climb to a high place (mountain or skyscraper, whatever’s handiest) and burn all of your socks that have holes in them. Or you can walk around your house 13 times on Friday the 13th and hang your shoes out the window.

It goes without saying you should avoid anyone wearing a hockey mask.

Dani Harper

http://www.daniharper.com/ (Facebook and Twitter links are on my website)
Sign up for my email newsletter by clicking here:
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Your turn – How do YOU feel about the number 13 or Friday the 13th?

Are You Psychic?

2010-07-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Many people believe in the existence of ESP – extra-sensory perception – or psychic ability. But have you ever considered that YOU might have one or more of these talents? In fact, some believe that all human beings are psychic (although, as with music, art and sports, some may be more gifted than others). It has been suggested that all psychic abilities are examples of tapping into our shared or collective human consciousness, and recent discoveries in quantum physics may one day explain it.

Meanwhile, do you have psychic talent? Sometimes it’s just a matter of definition. You might be doing something routinely that you never thought of as ESP-related before. Looking at the following list of psychic abilities, common and uncommon, you might be surprised to find something that resonates with your own experience.

Déjà vu – been there, done that, doing it again!

Baseball legend Yogi Berra said it best: "This is like déjà vu all over again." Déjà vu (French for already seen) is the feeling that you’ve experienced something before and is the most common of the ESP repertoire. In fact, most people don’t even think of it as a psychic ability. Over 60 percent of those quizzed in reputable polls not only believe in the phenomenon but feel they have experienced it.

Retrocognition - knowledge of the past

Sometimes called postcognition, this is knowledge after the fact. Most people experience this as a sudden flash or a vision of an event. You’d suddenly “see” what actually happened, perhaps even through someone else’s eyes. You’d be acutely aware of details, things you couldn’t know by ordinary means. You might feel or sense the emotions or vibes of the past. Sometimes retrocognition includes past life regression, although it’s possible you might be picking up on a powerful impression (traumatic and emotional events like battles, murders, etc. can leave their psychic stamp behind) rather than one of your own previous lives.

Precognition - knowledge of the future

Ever think of a song you haven’t heard in years and years and soon afterwards you hear it being played? Foretelling the future is the talent we associate most with the term “psychic”. It conjures up images of crystal balls and tarot cards, palm reading and rune casting. For most of us, though, it’s the premonition that tells us something is about to happen, or the dream that has us wondering if we should change our plans. At least a third of the population believes that some dreams can convey information about the future. Intuition, premonitions and “gut feelings” fall under this category, and precognition often goes hand in hand with clairsentience (see section on this).

Telepathy

This is the ability to communicate mind to mind without the use of verbal speech. (The Changelings in my new paranormal romance series do this when they’re in wolfen form) Sometimes the information is sent by mental speech, sometimes by images. Medium John Edward says he gets images of pink roses when a spirit is trying to convey love. There are many documented cases of a telepathic connection between twins that science still doesn’t understand. By the way, there’s a movie called Telepathy coming out next year -- Russian scientists experiment with twins to see if telepathy can be used in earth-space communication.

Psychometry

Psychometry is based on the principle that all objects absorb energy from their surroundings. Some people are said to be able to pick up an item of clothing or a piece of jewelry and be able to tell something about its owner. Or they may be able to touch a piece of furniture and tell its history, or simply pick up uncomfortable vibes from it. This may manifest as a phobia. Actor Billy Bob Thornton (whose mother is a psychic) is quite open about his fear of antique furniture and says it “creeps him out”. When in Europe he shuns historical hotels and seeks out the most modern accommodations possible.

Clairsensing – beyond the sixth sense

There isn’t just a sixth sense, there’s a seventh, eighth, ninth, etc., all under the umbrella of clairsensing or “the clairs”. The words are taken from the French. Clair can mean light, bright or clear – think of the word “clarity”. Clairvoyant then means clear-sighted, clairaudience means clear-hearing and clairsentience means clear-knowing. The following is a list of the more common clairsenses:

CLAIRVOYANCE – This one is often confused with the ability to predict the future (precognition), but it actually refers more to visions or something called remote viewing. This psychic ability might allow a person to describe a place they have never been, or a hidden object, or even an activity which is a considerable distance away. Remote viewing has even been used to try to locate archeological sites, and governments around the world (including the US) have invested in programs to study the potential of remote viewing for gathering intelligence. The 2009 George Clooney movie, The Men Who Stare at Goats, was a comedic treatment of the topic - with more truth than you might think.

CLAIRSENTIENCE – Sometimes called claircognizance, this is clear knowing. Ever hear the phone ring and you know who it is before you answer it? Clairsentience is knowledge that comes to you without an apparent source. You might have a strong gut feeling or a hunch that you should keep your distance from someone you just met, even though they’ve given you no reason not to trust them. Most people chalk experiences like this up to intuition. Oddly, intuition is seldom thought of as a psychic gift!

CLAIRAUDIENCE – This is hearing sounds or voices that others can’t. They may be physically heard with the ears or perceived “inside one’s head” like telepathy or even channeling. Some mediums say this is how they get their information from the spirits they connect with. Probably a little scarier than other psychic gifts because it’s easily mistaken for schizophrenia!

CLAIRALIENCE – Sometimes called clairaroma, this is the ability to perceive a smell where one doesn’t exist. Sometimes visiting spirits are accompanied by a distinctive scent, and I’d have to put my hand up on this one. One winter day as I was putting laundry away, the room was suddenly thick with the smell of lilacs. At the same time, I heard my Welsh grandmother’s distinctive chuckle in my mind. She’d passed away some years before, but her signature scent had been lilac – I well remember the bottles of lilac perfume, jars of lilac body powder and other lilac-smelling cosmetics on her dresser. So clairaroma and clairaudience combined to give me a brief connection to a family member on the other side.

Sometimes this gift is said to offer warnings, such as if you smell gas in the house when no one else does (although you might just have a keener nose than your friends and family and you really DO smell gas!) And it should be mentioned that terrible odors have often been reported as part of a haunting, or in a place where something dreadful has happened and the energy is particularly dark.

CLAIRGUSTANCE – Sometimes called clairgustus, this is the odd ability to taste something without having put anything into your mouth. It’s generally associated with a spirit, perhaps the favorite food of that person or a food they prepared a certain way. Or it might be a substance associated with the spirit in some way – reports have listed the taste of alcohol, medication, metal, tobacco or sometimes even blood.

How do you find and strengthen your psychic abilities?

Many times it’s a matter of increasing your awareness of what’s already going on. We’re in such a hurry most of the time that we could be having all sorts of psychic experiences and not know it. Slowing down can make a huge difference. Pay attention. Focus. Pause a few seconds before you do things like open the mail, answer the door or pick up the phone. Here’s a fun exercise - Take a moment before you turn the page in a magazine. Is there already an impression or a picture in your head? Maybe it’s red lipstick or Brad Pitt, maybe a new car or a hamburger. Look and see if you were right. (This is a great game to play with friends too.)

Be sure to write down your experiences, no matter how small. Keeping a journal will help to build your awareness. It’s like trying to remember your dreams – keeping a pad and pencil by your bed and making a habit of writing things down when you awaken actually trains your brain to recall things.

Just for fun or to seriously test how psychic you are, you might want to try out some online ESP quizzes (look for reputable ones, and pages that your browser says are safe). This one posted by Stephen Wagner on About.com is a good one http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa050800a.htm

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

YOUR TURN – Do you feel that psychic ability exists? Have you had an experience with déjà vu, precognition, or clairsensing of some kind? If you could have one of these abilities, which would you choose?

Séances – Connecting with the Dead

2010-07-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Ask twenty people what a séance is and you’ll no doubt get very similar answers. The concept is so ingrained in popular culture that it immediately conjures an image of a group of people seated around a table in the dark as a medium attempts to contact the spirit of a deceased person. However, it was history rather than Hollywood that first gave us that picture.
The séance became extremely popular during the Victorian era on both sides of the Atlantic, with the emergence of the Spiritualist movement* in America. Some séances were frivolous, of course, and entered into purely for entertainment. Some were fraudulent, with fake mediums determined to capitalize on the trend (and often people’s grief) by implementing what we would now call special effects. But there were many séance holders who were sincere in their purpose, seeking some sort of harmony between religion and rationality.

Séances in the White House?

Many notable individuals made use of séances. It’s well documented that Mary Todd Lincoln held several at the White House, which were attended by her husband Abraham Lincoln, as well as high-ranking members of Washington society. Calvin Coolidge and his wife were rumored to have also held seances, although they denied it when the press got hold of it.

Author Charles Dickens, poet W.B. Yeats and physicist Sir Oliver Lodge attended séances regularly as members of The Ghost Club – a British organization devoted to paranormal investigation. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attended his first séance in 1887, the same year his first Sherlock Holmes novel was published. He viewed spiritualism as a natural extension of rapidly-emerging science.

Séances (also called “sittings”) and “demonstrations of mediumship” still form a regular part of church services for many practicing Spiritualists today. They believe that existence and personal identity continues after the change called death. To them, contact with those who have moved on to the next life is not only possible, but desirable in order to gain knowledge. Actor Dan Ackroyd’s great grandfather was a Spiritualist, who practiced regular communications with ghosts in his home. (Read about Dan’s unusual family life in History of Ghosts: The True Story of Séances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters )

Origins of the séance

The term Séance comes to the English language from an Old French word meaning “a sitting” or “session”, as in a meeting of a legislative body. In the mid-1800s, séance began to be used to describe a gathering where people sought messages and advice from the unseen world. The concept of contacting the dead, however, is far, far older than the words we use to describe it now.

In ancient Greece and Italy, the practice of necromancy – summoning the dead and asking them questions about the future – was called nekyia. There were a number of Greek and Roman temples devoted to this rite, although the ceremony could be performed in other places such as gravesites. The ancient Persians, Arabians, Chaldeans, Etruscans and Babylonians also contacted the dead for information.

Facilitators for the dead

Nearly all séances depend on someone with psychic ability or sensitivity to act as a medium, “facilitating” the proceedings. Spirits may make use of a wide variety of communication methods; as the character, Dean Winchester, aptly said in Supernatural, “…communicating across the vale, it ain't easy.” The medium may gain impressions of the spirit in question, see the spirit in their mind or with their eyes, hear the spirit’s words or channel the spirit’s words through the psychic’s own mouth, or channel their ideas through automatic writing. The spirit may be skilled enough to able to make itself audible or even visible to more than one person in the room or it may have to utilize rapping and other physical manifestation to communicate at all.

By the way, in recent years a new type of séance has emerged called “stage mediumship”. One of the best examples of this is psychic John Edward, who receives impressions and messages from ghosts associated with audience members. Rather than focus on a specific spirit, he works with whichever spirit would like to communicate at the time.

When to hold a séance

There are two times a year when the veil between worlds is said to be at its thinnest. One is Beltane, about the 1st day of May, and the other is Samhain, which is October 31 or November 1. Communicating with spirits is said to be easier at these times.

It has been claimed by some that connecting with the ghosts of the recently deceased is easier than trying to talk to those who’ve been away from the mortal plane a long time. This is because the spirits of the newly dead are more likely to still be around. The more time that passes, the more likely that the spirit has moved on.

Most mediums prefer to hold séances after dark. Some séances are held on dates that are significant to a particular spirit – a birthday, an anniversary of an event, etc.

Tools for séances

Some mediums do not require tools; others are more comfortable using them. Candles, tarot cards, even crystals and gazing balls may be helpful to the medium, but there are no hard rules about them. So it won’t matter much if you have seven candles or three, a blue tablecloth for your table or no table at all. It’s whatever works best for you and creates an atmosphere where you are receptive and relaxed.

The best tool of all may be your attitude. Not enough is said about respect when dealing with the paranormal. On a number of TV shows, investigators are often shown challenging spirits, even yelling at them to provoke them into manifesting themselves. The spirits you’re seeking are people, and it’s tough to gain anyone’s cooperation on either side of the veil with a belligerent attitude. Any spirit that does respond to this kind of treatment may not be pleasant.

Why perform a séance?

One of the cardinal rules of séances is that there should be a purpose. The group needs to be focused on a goal, either a specific question and/or a specific person. Desiring comfort or closure after a loved one has passed is a common goal. Seeking to know what happened to an individual who has disappeared or lost their life is also common. Often times the living seek counsel and advice for their own lives. By the way, the deceased person is not necessarily privy to the secrets of the universe just because they’re dead. Have realistic expectations.

Calling up spirits “just for the fun of it” is not recommended. This is a good way to get into trouble. Anyone who thinks spirit entities can’t hurt you should read these articles: http://www.examiner.com/x-1001-Ghost-Hunting-Examiner~y2009m2d2-Dangers-of-the-paranormal-a-cautionary-tale-for-ghost-hunters and http://robjo.wordpress.com/2006/12/04/tips-and-tricks-for-your-next-seance/

If you’re genuinely interested in making contact, it’s always a better idea to utilize an experienced and reputable medium than to have your college roommate “wing it” after a few beers. If you want to try mediumship yourself, study up on it until you find a method that feels comfortable to you, know how to protect yourself and your home, and be sure to select sincere people to participate with you. Here’s a place to start – http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/wiccanandpaganrituals/ht/Hold_Seance.htm

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/
Facebook and Twitter links are on my website.

Your turn – Have you ever attended a séance? If you could contact someone from the other side, who would it be?

The North American Black Panther – Myth or Reality?

2010-06-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

A cryptid is an animal whose existence is unconfirmed. But a cryptid can also be a known animal in an unexpected place, and black panthers fall into this category.

A panther is a term applied to several species of big cat when they occur as solid black. Leopards, bobcats and jaguars for instance are usually spotted – but melanism (an increased amount of dark pigment caused by melanin) can cause any of these species to be all black. Spotted and all-black kittens can occur in the same litter. Black may even be able to become the dominant color in a small breeding population.

But is there such a thing as a black mountain lion (also called cougar or puma)? Wildlife experts say no because no one has ever photographed or shot one. However, verbal accounts exist from history. Black panthers were well-known to the early settlers in the Appalachian mountains and the Ozarks. Frightening encounters with black panthers were published in Texas newspapers in the 1800s. The history of Montgomery County, Arkansas, is said to contain the experience of one Emily Stacy. Home alone with her children, she was forced to load a musket and shoot through the door at a panther that was trying to get into her house. In the morning, the panther - described as a black mountain lion lay dead on her porch.

This illustration of a “Black Puma, Felis Nigra” is a watercolor drawing by James Hope Stewart published in 1843 in “The Naturalist’s Library, Mammalia, Vol. 1, Cats” by Sir William Jardine. Inside, it says that the puma, also commonly known as panther, mountain lion or cougar, is native to North, Central and South America. It’s been said that two black cougars from America were exhibited in London in the 1700s, although evidence no longer exists to prove they were actually cougars and not another type of big cat.

If the many sightings of black panthers in recent years are not of melanistic cougars, what else could they be? Many people don’t know that the American West, especially the Southwest, was the natural home of jaguars. They were almost completely hunted out by the early 1900s, and the last known pair were shot in Arizona by 1965. It was 2001 before photographic evidence proved that jaguars had returned to the United States. (There are better pics of jaguars to be found but THIS pic is from video footage of one of the jaguars in Arizona.)

Is it possible that black jaguars are responsible for some of the black panther sightings? Are black jaguars newly returned to the US also or have they been here all along? Perhaps natural selection played a role in their survival – black cats might have been better able to stay out of sight and avoid being killed by hunters.

In many instances, witnesses to the black cats may be misjudging their size. A jaguarundi is a cat closely related to the cougar but much smaller. It can occur in several colors including solid dark gray or chocolate brown. The cat is known to live in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida. Jaguarundis have also been reported in several states bordering these ones. From a distance, people would notice the jaguarundi’s build is unlike that of a house cat (see photo at right), and it has a very long, thick tail like a cougar’s. It could easily resemble a black panther. Plus, the jaguarundi likes the daylight hours, making it easier to be spotted by humans.

The exotic pet trade might provide another reason for black panther sightings. In 2009, the Humane Society of the United States pointed out that of the estimated 5,000 to 7,000 tigers in the country, only 10 percent are in zoos: the rest are privately owned. It’s the same with many other big cat species, as it has been unbelievably easy to purchase these animals as pets in the past (more and more legislation is being written now to ban exotic pets). Dealers may employ selective breeding to create a more attractive (and expensive) “product”, including black panthers. Big cats may escape or may be deliberately set free by owners who can no longer afford to keep them. Most don’t survive on their own for long – but some just might.

Another possibility exists because most big cat species can interbreed, and many big cats possess the genes for a black coat. If a pet leopard escaped or was released, is it far-fetched to imagine that it might breed with an indigenous mountain lion? For that matter, a wandering wild jaguar might meet up with a wild cougar. In either case, some new DNA might be introduced into the existing wild population.

Meanwhile, there’s no doubt that confirmed sightings of normal-colored cougars are on the rise in places other than the western United States and Canada. These creatures once roamed almost all of North America, and may be regaining some of their former territory. In recent years, cougars have been spotted in Michigan (http://www.savethecougar.org/ ), Alaska, Kansas, Indiana and even West Virginia. Since there are several subspecies of mountain lion, perhaps one or more of the subspecies are able to naturally produce black offspring. And a black lion might be found anywhere their usual-colored siblings are. For instance, the Florida Panther is really a cougar – and there have also been reports of black cougars in that state.

While many plausible explanations exist for the existence of an American black panther, there is also the slimmest, slightest chance that it’s a true cryptid – a brand new species or subspecies that we know nothing about. Just such an animal is appearing in other countries. Hundreds of black panther sightings are reported in Britain every year and also in Australia.

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn – Do you think black panthers could exist in the United States? Have you ever seen any of these big cats in ANY color?

If you want to know more about British or Australian big cats, try these interesting articles:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1282333/Leopards-big-cats-ARE-loose-Britain--just-dont-tell-soul.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1245816/Is-big-cat-mystery-solved-Villagers-huge-paw-prints-snow-30-years-sightings.html
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/on-the-hunt-for-the-big-cat-that-refuses-to-die-20100619-ynw2.html

First Day of Summer - Celebrating the Solstice

2010-06-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

As the sun spirals its longest dance,

Cleanse us

As nature shows bounty and fertility

Bless us

Let all things live with loving intent

And to fulfill their truest destiny

Wiccan blessing for summer solstice

What are you going to do on the longest day of the year? Will you watch the sun come up, jump over a bonfire, wear flowers, get married, dance around a maypole or (if you’re in Latvia) run through the streets naked?

June 21st is the Solstice, the official first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and the day the sun will reach its highest point in the sky. How long the day lasts depends on where you are. In a nutshell, the farther north you go, the longer the day lasts. In Sacramento, California, the sun will come up at 5:42 a.m. and set at 8:33 p.m. In Anchorage, Alaska, however, sunrise will occur at 4:20 a.m. and sunset at 11:42 p.m. And above the Arctic Circle, the sun doesn’t set at all!

The Solstice gets its name from two Latin words – “sol” for sun and “sistere” meaning to stand still. So Solstice can be interpreted as “standing sun”, because the sun appears to pause in the sky. Summer Solstice is known in other traditions as Midsummer, All Couples Day, St. John’s Day or Litha.

Bonfires – central to the celebration

The Summer Solstice has been observed by many different cultures and religions since the most ancient times, and many of the methods of celebration are similar. Common to almost all cultures is the building of a bonfire. It was usually said to honor the gods and frighten away evil spirits, so the bigger the fire the better. In some places like Estonia, failing to light a bonfire invited your home to burn down during the coming year. Many people held that jumping over the fire would bring luck and prosperity. So would walking between two “purifying” fires. Sometimes the straw effigy of a witch or a devil is burned on the bonfire to drive away evil. Herbs and flowers might be thrown on the fire, followed by the making of a wish. In almost all traditions, drinking, dancing and singing around the bonfire formed a large part of the solstice celebrations.

For some, the solstice was thought to be a time of magic, a time when the veil between the real world and the spirit world was very thin. The fae or faeries were rumored to be at their most powerful on the Summer Solstice. Fireflies on the Solstice were rumored to be Will o’ Wisps in disguise. Offerings were – and often still are – left for them in Celtic countries. Some wiccans might still tie tiny bells or ribbons to their wands on this day to pay homage to the faeries. It’s considered a potent day to make charms or work spells, and a good night to look into the future.

Green and growing things

Many cultures believed – and still do – that the Solstice was the ideal time to harvest medicinal plants because they were at their most potent. The species varied from place to place but a few of the more common ones were rosemary, fennel, lemon verbena, elder flowers, St. John’s wort, mallow, foxgloves and ferns. In the vodun (voodoo) and santeria religions, mistletoe is gathered on this day.

Plants played a strong role in other aspects of Solstice celebration. In many traditions, wearing garlands of herbs and flowers on the Solstice was said to ward off evil spirits and sickness. Putting flowers under her pillow on that night might bring a girl dreams of her future spouse. Many traditions called for decorating the doorways of houses and barns with greenery. In Russia, this was thought to signify abundance and thereby bring good fortune. In Finland, the front door is flanked by two young birch trees. In many cultures women would wear garlands and crowns of flowers, men would wear crowns of leaves. Some wiccan rituals call for the crowning of two men as part of the celebration, one with oak leaves for the god of the waxing year, and one with holly leaves, symbolic of the god of the waning year.

Dancing around a maypole or stang (a tall post with many long streamers fastened at the top and trailing loose to the ground) was an activity common to many countries on the Solstice. In Finland and Sweden, the pole is decorated with flowers and greenery, and many of the dancers wear crowns of flowers.

Magic in the Water

Water had special properties on the Solstice. For the Vikings, that meant drawing water from “healing wells”. In many countries, all springs were considered sacred during the solstice, and the water from them was particularly desirable.

In Spain, women who wanted to be fertile bathed in the ocean until nine waves had passed over them. In Norse tradition, women rolled naked in the morning dew on the day of the solstice to gain fertility. If you had harvested medicinal plants, they were most effective if dipped in the water collected on the Solstice from seven springs. After washing the plants, people would wash their faces in the water to make them beautiful. In Russia, young girls placed garlands of flowers in the nearest river; the movement of the garland would indicate their future.

Traditions combined

Christianity merged with paganism in many countries, and established St. John’s Day or The Feast of St. John on or near the Solstice. John the Baptist was said to be born six months before Christ, and the Summer Solstice falls six months before the Winter Solstice (where Christianity again took over a pagan holiday and established Christmas). While church services are often held, most of the methods of celebration, such as building bonfires, remained the same. This holiday is still celebrated in many countries such as Spain, Bulgaria and France and also in the French-speaking province of Quebec in Canada.

Where to celebrate the Solstice

Wiccans might hold private celebrations in a garden or forest. In Ireland, Solstice bonfires might be lit on hilltops where they can be seen for miles. And in England, many pagans gather to watch the sunrise at sacred ancient sites such as Stonehenge. On the solstice, the sun rises directly above a 16-foot monolith there called the “heel stone”. Stonehenge may be the most famous but, in fact, many prehistoric sites in many countries are aligned with the summer solstice sun. These include sites right here in America, such as the Big Horn Medicine Wheel in the mountains of Wyoming, the Serpent Mound in Ohio, Mystery Hill in New Hampshire, and Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon.

What to serve on the Solstice

Traditional foods for the Solstice vary from country to country. Freshly harvested fruits and vegetables figure prominently, particularly anything that was yellow or golden in honor of the sun. In Sweden for instance, the first new potatoes are harvested and eaten on this day. Small cakes of corn or flour played a role in most celebrations, and of course wine, or ale. Mead -- an alcoholic beverage made of honey, yeast and water – figures in many traditions. The midsummer month was called the honey month or honey moon in many languages allegedly because of the mead served at the many weddings performed at Solstice.

The old and the new...

And oh yes, Latvia. This tiny country celebrates Midsummer in a big way, with all the usual traditions – and a new one that’s caught on in recent years: naked running. Yes, you can run through the streets of two different towns at 3 a.m. au naturel.

Happy Solstice!

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn – Do you observe the Solstice? Does your family have any traditions, new or old, associated with the solstice? (One of my friends goes camping with her kids and eats s’mores all night.)

Are There Apes in America?

2010-06-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

There are many stories of a large primate living in the coastal rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. But did you know that there are countless sightings and stories of the Sasquatch (also known as Bigfoot) in every state of the US except Hawaii?

A Sampling of Sasquatch

Arkansas has had many reports of giant ape-like creatures dating back to 1955. The one that first made the news was in the town of Fouke in 1971, when a couple was terrorized at their home by what they initially thought was a bear. The wife saw the arm of the creature reaching in through the screen of a window. Later, the husband was seized while on the porch and thrown to the ground. Another incident involving a bigfoot-like creature frightened residents of a trailer park in Springdale. It apparently hammered dents in the sides of mobile homes and dug up vegetable gardens. Reports streamed in for the next few months, then subsided. The creature was dubbed the Fouke Monster, the Arkansas Ape-man, or the Boggy Creek Monster (after the 1973 movie that was made about it). Then the sightings began again in the region in 1978, recurring in 1991, 1997 and 1998. In 2003, police received calls of a large ape in the Decateur area, although reports of the beast’s size varied greatly. The Texarkana Gazette ran an article in 2001 detailing the 1971 incident, “The Fouke Monster 30 Years Later” (http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_article.asp?id=259)

The forested swamps of Southern Georgia and Florida are home to what the locals call the Skunk Ape or Stink Ape. It gets its name from its distinctive and powerful rotten egg smell. The creature is reportedly similar to Bigfoot and appearance but leaner and slightly smaller – only about 6 ½ to 7 feet tall. Sightings date back hundreds of years and the Native Americans of the area have their own names for the animal. The Valdosta Daily Times ran an excellent article on it in April of this year, “Planet of the Skunk Apes” ( http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x1612554511/Planet-of-the-Skunk-Apes )

Texas is often thought to be an arid place, no doubt due to many old western movies that portrayed it that way. However, a large part of the state is heavily forested and there have been many reports of sasquatch. In 2002, residents of Sabine reported a gray ape-like creature in the woods. In 2008, a truck driver saw a light-colored sasquatch cross the highway in front of him. What impressed him the most was its sheer size -- and when something looks big from the seat of an 18-wheeler, it's really big. For a complete collection of credible incidents, check out the website of the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy ( http://www.texasbigfoot.org/ )

Alaska is the biggest state of all and it has its share of bigfoot stories, some dating back hundreds of years. In the Great State, the creature is often called the Hairy Man, the Uraluyi or Nantiinaq. In the 1950s, the entire village of Port Chatham was abandoned due to the malicious presence of a Nantiinaq! The Homer Tribune recorded the memories of one woman from that village. (http://homertribune.com/2009/10/port-chatham-left-to-spirits/ )

Color by Area?

In the majority of reports, the ape creature’s coloration varies from light brown to reddish brown to almost black. But there are accounts of unusual colors, and researchers say the color appears to be regional, meaning light or white colored bigfoot are more likely to be sighted in the eastern or southern areas of the US. In Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, New York State and Washington State, sasquatch with gray-white, cream and off-white fur have been reported. On the west coast, a few have very dark hair that is silver-tipped. Some researchers feel that coat color changes with age, just as it does in humans.

Occasionally some sasquatch sport distinctive markings, such as Old Yellow Top in Ontario, Canada. This brown bigfoot had a thatch of blonde hair on its head – perhaps an old wound caused the hair to grow in differently than the rest, or perhaps it was a natural variation. Whatever the reason for the color, sightings of Old Yellow Top date back to about 1906 and the last reports were in the 1970s, which seems to suggest it could easily be the same individual.

Is There A Bigfoot Hiding in YOUR Woods?

In any conversation about the Sasquatch, the number one question is always How could such a large animal remain hidden for so long? In answer, consider the gorilla, which remained a character in rumors and stories until the discovery of some bones in 1847. The first sighting of a live lowland gorilla by a Westerner didn’t occur until 1856. It was 1902 before the mountain gorilla was discovered. Now consider that in 2008 – just two years ago – a population of 125,000 (yes, that’s 125 THOUSAND) western lowland gorillas was discovered living in the forests of the Republic of Congo. This country’s land mass is one-quarter the size of the US. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26016923/ ) If researchers and biologists can miss that many gorillas, it stands to reason that a few sasquatch should have no trouble eluding them.

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn – Any Bigfoot stories in your area? Do you think it’s possible that they exist? (Be sure and vote in my poll in the dark gray column on the right of this blog.)

Lake Monsters – Beyond Loch Ness

2010-06-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

Nessie’s not alone. A dedicated search for lake monster legends turns up three others in the British Isles. But did you know that there are no less than 16 mysterious water creatures living in Canada and 22 in the USA?

Ogopogo is the most famous fresh water monster in Canada, alleged to live in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia. First Nations peoples told stories about the “water demon” or “snake in the lake” long before European settlers arrived, and some native petroglyphs have been found that are said to depict the beast. Tradition holds that they didn’t cross this particular lake without bringing along small animals to drop in as offerings.

The first European sighting of Ogopogo was in 1860 (which predates Loch Ness sightings by 60 years!). A man in a canoe was swimming a team of horses across the lake when, without warning, the horses were dragged under by forces unseen. He was forced to cut the lead rope to save the canoe from being pulled under as well, and narrowly escaped. The horses disappeared without a trace. Sightings have occurred about six times a year on average ever since, several by large groups of people at the same time, and sometimes the creature has even been spotted on land! Witness accounts vary somewhat but most tell of a scaly serpentine creature from 12 to 70 feet long, glossy black or brown, that undulates through the water. It isn’t clear if the creature actually has a number of humps or if it just looks like that because of its method of locomotion. The Ogopogo is described as having a rounded or horse-like head on a long neck, and the creature has appeared not only singly but in groups of up to three.

With no less than several thousand credible accounts of its existence, it’s no wonder that the government of British Columbia gave the Ogopogo protected wildlife status in 1989. It is illegal to harm, kill, capture or disturb the creature in any way. Whatever it is.

Meanwhile, creatures of similar description are reported to inhabit other deep, cold Canadian lakes – such as Turtle Lake in Saskatchewan, Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis in Manitoba, Lake Cameron in British Columbia, and Lake Simcoe in Ontario, to name only a few.

One of the most studied monsters is reputed to live in a lake divided by the USA-Canada border – Lake Memphremagog, which is partly in Vermont and partly in Quebec. The creature is nicknamed Memphre, and reports of its appearance date back about 200 years. Early settlers to the area were warned by the local Native Americans not to swim in the lake because of the monster. Witnesses describe an animal very similar in size and shape to Ogopogo – serpentine, about 15 to 45 feet long, black or dark gray. Frequent sightings have continued to the present day, including (also like Ogopogo) appearances to large groups of people.

By the way, the study of lake monsters has been dubbed dracontology. Originally coined for the study of dragons, it was borrowed by cryptozoologist Jacques Boisvert in 1980. Boisvert was responsible for a great deal of the research done on the “Memphre” monster, having logged nearly 5,000 dives in Lake Memphremagog.

While some lake monsters may indeed be cryptids – creatures not yet discovered by science – not all freshwater monsters are new animals. Crescent Lake, Newfoundland, apparently harbors gigantic eels, while Lake Temiskaming in Ontario is home to what may be sturgeon of epic proportions. And in recent years, monsters lurking in the St. Laurence seaway near Quebec were shown to be Greenland or sleeper sharks, creatures able to exceed great white sharks in size. These big cold-water sharks have been witnessed eating caribou after lying in wait, crocodile-style, at the mouths of Canada’s northern rivers. Stomach contents of some of these sharks revealed not just caribou but pieces of seals, horses and even polar bears! *

Which just proves that sometimes truth can be far stranger than legend.

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/
(Facebook and Twitter links are on my website)

Your turn – do you think there could be undiscovered creatures living in some of our lakes? Have you ever seen one or met someone who has? What do you think you would do if you happened to spot Ogopogo or Memphre? Would it change your view of the world?

* Go to http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1057583266342_45///?hub=SciTech and http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/clash-of-the-fiercest-predators-as-shark-eats-polar-bear-891512.html and http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/05/06/freakish-caribou-eating-creature-haunts-the-arctic-deep/ to read more about those strange Greenland sharks.

Werewolves --- The Story Behind Shapeshifters

2010-05-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Shapeshifters, skinwalkers, loup-garou, rugaru, war-woolfes – a werewolf by any other name is still a human who can become a wolf.

Werewolves have become as popular as vampires in pop culture, featured in ever-increasing numbers in books, tv shows and movies. New Moon, the sequel to Twilight, featured five impressive shapeshifters. On televion, Season Three of HBO's True Blood will focus on werewolves. Plus, don’t forget that The Wolfman will be in theatres next month.

But werewolves are far from new. Stories, myths and accounts of men and women changing into wolves and other animals date back thousands of years in almost every culture on earth. There are ancient artifacts and petroglyphs (rock carvings) showing humans with wolfen heads and tails. Native American legends abound with stories of shapeshifters.

WEREWOLVES IN AMERICA?

There are currently several places in North America where eye witnesses claim to have seen them.

Since 1936, Wisconsin has been said to be home to a hairy creature with fangs, pointed ears, a muzzle and glowing yellow eyes. It has a broad powerful chest, and its front legs are jointed like a man’s arms and the paws are hand-like. Sometimes it’s upright and other times hunched on all fours. The wolf-like being was eventually nicknamed The Bray Road Beast, when a witness encountered it while driving on that road. Her detailed account encouraged many other witnesses to come forward and tell their stories, and all are agreed, the animal is not a bear. Experts have stepped up to state that it isn’t a wolf either.

Similar stories are told about The Michigan Dogman, and its description closely matches the Bray Road Beast. The Dogman was the subject of a song written in 1987 for April Fool’s Day. Said to be pure fiction, the popular song still followed local folklore closely. There have been many reported instances of dogman encounters, and sadly, just as many pranks.

A large hairy wolf-man creature with yellow eyes, similar to the Bray Road Beast, has been reported in several other states, including Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The Navaho tell of Skinwalkers, witches among them who can transform themselves into wolves, owls, coyotes and any other animal they choose. The goal of such beings is personal gain; greedy and selfish, they are the exact opposite of their fellow Navaho.

The Nagual or Nahual of Mexico is a shapeshifter whose stories date all the way back to Pre-Columbian times and were unchanged by the arrival of the Spanish. A person may be born a werewolf or he may choose to become one if he is a witch. He can assume the forms of any animal, and often chooses jaguars and pumas as well as wolf or coyote. The Mexican werewolf is fast and strong, usually black in color, and may be male or female. If the Nagual was harmed while in animal form, the wound would show up on his human body after he changes. Most stories say the Nagual hunts for sleeping children to eat – and some parents hang a mirror near a child’s bed that shows the child’s reflection, which apparently repels the werewolf. However, in some stories, the Mexican werewolf is not able to kill humans, but is well known for chasing women for other reasons!

The Loup-Garou is said to wander eastern Canada, Maine, New York State and Indiana. The word is Old French for werewolf. A stamp series in 1990 portrayed Canadian legends and the Loup Garou appears on one. This type of werewolf does not change voluntarily. Once under the spell, the unfortunate person is said to wander the countryside at night as an enraged animal. The curse lasts for 101 days, but could be broken sooner if someone were to recognize him or her in their wolfen form.

The Rugaru or Rougarou is said to roam the swamps around New Orleans and the Acadiana region of Louisiana. In Cajun folklore, it often appears as a man with the head of a wolf. The name is an mutated version of the French Loup Garou, but the creature behaves a little differently. According to the legend, one way to protect yourself is to lay 13 tiny objects such as buttons or beans in a row in front of your door. The Rugaru, in addition to his hairy curse is also afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder – he can’t cross the threshold until he counts the objects. He is unable to succeed, however, because he can’t count higher than 12, and is said to count the items over and over until daybreak frightens him away.

REAL LIFE WEREWOLVES

Lycanthropy (Lykos is Greek for "wolf," anthropos for "man.") is the name given to a mental disorder where the afflicted person believes that they are able to change into a wolf. At times they believe they have actually changed, although there is no physical indication other than their behavior. If the patient looks into a mirror during one of these episodes, she truly sees herself as a wolf. A person suffering from clinical lycanthropy may believe he can change into other animals, but the wolf is the most common manifestation. Lycanthropy is a very rare condition, with maybe 40 known cases in the world.

Dani Harper

www.daniharper.com
(Facebook and Twitter links are on my website)

Your turn -- Heard any good werewolf stories lately? Read any books, seen movies or programs featuring werewolves? (And does anyone besides me think that Bella chose the wrong guy?) Do you think it might be fun to be a wolf whenever you wanted to? Your comments are welcome.

Are Aliens Like Us?

2010-05-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

In April, Dr. Stephen Hawking said that, mathematically speaking, it’s unlikely that Earth is the only place in the universe that life exists.

Most scientists, including Hawking, think that the majority of life “out there” is likely to be microbes or simple animals. And these animals wouldn’t necessarily resemble anything we’d recognize. However, scientists also agree that the potential for intelligent extra-terrestrials exists. As Hawking said, “The real challenge is working out what aliens might actually be like."

While he’s figuring that out, some people believe they’ve already met E.T. right here on Earth. In fact, some ufologists – UFO researchers – claim to have identified several specific types of interplanetary visitors!

GRAYS – The most common type of extra-terrestrial reported, these are named for their skin tone which is said to vary from gray-white to gray-green. Most are short, only about 3 to 4 feet tall, very thin and have enlarged heads with enormous black eyes. Nose, mouth and ears are very small. The Grays are the aliens most commonly associated with claims of abduction. The shorter Grays appear to be workers, while their apparent leaders are taller, with larger eyes and heads.

HUMANOIDS – Several types of humanoid extra-terrestrials have been reported, but the Nordics appear to be the most numerous. These aliens are said to closely resemble humans, enough to pass for them on the street. Eyes are human-like but very large and slightly slanted. Both male and female are said to be at least 5’8” tall. Their skin is pale and without sweat glands, and their hair is blonde or white. The highest number of reports of encounters with Nordics comes from the United Kingdom, but some encounters are reported in the desert areas of the United States. Most believers claim that the Nordics are benevolent and are on Earth to observe but not interfere. The Nordics are also said to have some conflict with the Grays.

REPTILIAN – These aliens are said to have crocodilian skin that is usually greenish-brown or coffee colored. Scales cover their entire bodies, with smaller scales on the hands and feet. They have three long fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand. Nostrils are slit-like openings that slant upward in a V-shape. Mouths are lipless with an assortment of teeth including fangs, and eyes are reptile-like with vertical pupils. The Grays are said to be subservient to the Reptilians. Most reptilian alien encounters appear to be reported out of India and Asia. By the way, reptilian E.Ts are said to be hostile to humans.

Accounts of several other types of alien visitors have been given over the years, but the above three seem to be the most common.

Sadly, the Governor of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, doesn’t appear to have revealed which type of alien abducted him from his Moscow apartment back in 1997. In early May of 2010, the Moscow Times reported that the 48-year-old Ilyumzhinov told a television host that he spent several hours with the extra-terrestrials aboard their ship. He also claims to have three witnesses to the event – his driver, minister and assistant – who were in his apartment at the time.

Some officials in the Russian government aren’t writing this off as an eccentric tale either. Concerned that the governor – who is also president of the World Chess Federation – might have shared classified information with interplanetary beings, they’ve formally asked President Dmitry Medvedev to interrogate him.

Maybe he’ll ask if the governor’s abductors were Grays or Nordics?

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn – if alien life exists, what do you think it might be like? Do you think E.T. could be already here?

The Kraken Re-released

2010-05-13T23:25:00.000-07:00

“Release the Kraken!” That’s the famous line from Clash of the Titans, both the 2010 and 1981 versions. Too bad there’s no Kraken in Greek mythology. Clash of the Titans is loosely based on the legend of Perseus, who slew a creature called Cetus – a sea monster, which may have been a whale, a sea serpent or other large beast. In fact, the latin word for whale is cetus and was taken from this myth. A constellation, Cetus, represents a sea monster or a whale.

Both Titans movies portray the Kraken as a creature with a scaly body, defined head and torso, big teeth and multiple limbs. Kraken 1981 has four arms with hands. Kraken 2010 has tentacles and possibly claws. (there's something familiar about that face however – am I the only person who sees a definite resemblance between Kraken 2010 and the Rancor Monster from Star Wars?)

The Kraken has also appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, destroying ships and attempting to munch on Jack Sparrow. Here it looks a lot like a giant squid, except that instead of a beak, it has a circular mouth with multiple rows of pointed teeth – like the Sarlacc, the sand pit monster from Star Wars. (Yup, two entirely different movies seem to have borrowed heavily from Return of the Jedi in order to create a Kraken.) In 2006, the SciFi channel released Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep, in which the legendary creature was a giant octopus guarding a treasure.

No stranger to pop culture, the Kraken has quite a literary history too. In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne modeled his giant octopus after stories of the Kraken. Verne was also inspired by a Lord Alford Tennyson poem: The Kraken (1830).

Historically, however, the Kraken comes to us from tales of Norwegian sailors and fishermen in the twelfth century. It’s not a creature of Norse mythology, although it was thought to be a minion of Aegir, god of the sea. The name itself, Kraken, comes from krake, a Scandinavian word for an unhealthy animal, or something twisted. Bishop Erik Pontopiddan wrote about the Kraken in his 1752 book, The Natural History of Norway. It is thought that Pontopiddan based his detailed accounts on sailors’ tales of giant squid. Nor was he the first to write about the animal.

For centuries, the Kraken was considered by the scientific world to be merely a creature of folklore, or to use one of today’s terms, a cryptid. Cryptids are creatures whose existence is not proven. This can include animals thought to be extinct or animals for which no evidence exists outside of legend. Yet. (I wrote a blog on the subject of cryptids at http://waypastnormal.blogspot.com/2009/02/day-of-cryptids.html )

Today, however, the Kraken is officially off the cryptid list. Unlike many other famous monsters, it has a basis in reality. Anyone watching programs like Nat Geo and the Science Channel has no doubt heard that giant squid really do exist – science fiction has become science fact. In 2007, a 33-foot specimen weighing over 1,000 pounds was caught off the coast of New Zealand. Its “beach ball” sized eyes are the largest in the animal kingdom ever studied. However, its beak was considerably smaller than those found in the stomachs of some sperm whales (whose favorite food is calamari apparently), showing that there are much bigger specimens of this squid in the ocean. A specimen about 46 feet long was recently filmed in the deep ocean by a team of Japanese scientists.

So the Kraken – aka The Giant Squid – exists. Here’s what we don’t know: how many other creatures are out there that simply haven’t been discovered yet by science? For instance, did you know that the gorilla was unknown to the Western world until 1847 when someone finally found a skull? Sure, there had been stories for centuries, but nobody believed them. Suddenly, tales and sightings of the Sasquatch seem a little less far-fetched. With ever-improving technology and instant communications, it seems only a matter of time before we discover new – and old – creatures that share the planet with us.

Your turn – what do you think? What legendary creature do you think might be “discovered” in the future? Is there an animal that you wish was real?

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

About the picture – in 1990, Canada issued a set of four stamps celebrating these legendary creatures: The Kraken, the Loup-Garou (werewolf), Bigfoot and Ogopogo (lake monster). So far, only one of the creatures has been proven to exist.

Is the truth out there … or right here?

2010-05-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

“Don’t talk to strangers” apparently applies to strange aliens too, at least according to Dr. Stephen Hawking. Last month the British astrophysicist warned the world that seeking contact with extraterrestrials could be hazardous to our health. Although most life on far-flung planets will probably be bacteria-sized, he notes that other life may be larger, intelligent and primarily interested in conquest.

Hawking said: “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”

His remarks touched off a firestorm of controversy. For every one who thinks it’s perfectly sensible to think twice before inviting E.T. home for dinner, there are many others who feel Hawking is dead wrong to suggest that we lay low. One in particular is former Canadian defense minister, Paul Hellyer, who feels that Hawking is spreading “misinformation”.

Of aliens, Hellyer said, "The reality is that they've been visiting Earth for decades and probably millennia and have contributed considerably to our knowledge." He attributes microchips and fiber optics to alien technology.

Paul Hellyer is part of the 20 percent of the world’s population who believes that aliens are already among us. That’s right – a recent Reuters News Poll placed it at one in five. (http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/One-in-Five-20-Global-Citizens-Believe-That-Alien-Beings-Have-Com-1144745.htm) Out of 22 countries surveyed, India and China have the highest percentage of believers (45% and 42% respectively). Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands tied for lowest with 8%. Sixteen percent of Canada’s population – including Mr. Hellyer – are convinced that aliens walk among us, and 24% of Americans agree that aliens are already here and are disguised as human.

In other words, forget about hiding. It seems that reality is a little more like Men in Black than Independence Day. As Tommy Lee Jones said to Will Smith, “All right, kid, here's the deal. At any given time there are approximately 1500 aliens on the planet, most of them right here in Manhattan. And most of them are decent enough, they're just trying to make a living.”

Humor aside, if extraterrestrials are already here then most of us (the 80% apparently kept in the dark) have a helluva lot of questions. On all those episodes of X-Files, was art imitating life?

Perhaps the truth isn’t out there. Maybe it’s been right here all along. And maybe it’s been here a very long time.

The History Channel has been addressing some of these questions with a recent mini series on Ancient Aliens. With episodes titled The Evidence, The Visitors and The Mission, they’re examining not only the question of "Did extraterrestrials come to earth?" but "What purpose did they have?"

One of the most thought-provoking ideas to come out of the HC program is that perhaps, just perhaps, those of us who would like to meet an alien have only to look in the mirror. That the snippet of DNA that separates us from primates has its origins off-planet.

As long as the donor doesn’t show up wanting it back…

Dani Harper
http://www.daniharper.com/

Your turn – do you think extraterrestrial beings exist? Have they visited earth in the past? Are they here now? Your comments are welcome.

About the photo - This is a radio telescope. As of this month, there have been 453 exoplanets discovered since 1995 (Note - an exoplanet orbits a star other than our own sun). That’s a lot of worlds in a short time, and major breakthroughs are predicted in the next five to ten years. By 2020, advances in radio telescopes will be able to tell us if the nearest hundred exoplanets are home to intelligent life.