Krampus ("Christmas Demon")

In German-speaking Alpine folklore, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure. According to traditional narratives around the figure, Krampus punishes children during the Christmas season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Regions in the Austrian diaspora feature similar figures and, more widely, Krampus is one of a number of Companions of Saint Nicholas in regions of Europe. The origin of the figure is unclear; some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated a pre-Christian origin for the figure (see Germanic paganism).

Traditional parades in which young men dress as Krampus, such as the Krampuslauf (German 'Krampus run'), occur annually in some Alpine towns. Krampus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten.

In the 20th century, Austrian governments discouraged the practice. In the aftermath of the 1934 Austrian Civil War, the Krampus tradition was prohibited by the Dollfuss regime under the Fatherland's Front (Vaterländische Front) and the Christian Social Party. In the 1950s, the government distributed pamphlets titled "Krampus is an Evil Man". Towards the end of the century, a popular resurgence of Krampus celebrations occurred and continues today. There has been public debate in Austria in modern times about whether Krampus is appropriate for children.

Krampus in North American popular culture is part of a "growing movement of anti-Christmas celebrations" there.

Although Krampus appears in many variations, most share some common physical characteristics. He is hairy, usually brown or black, and has the cloven hooves and horns of a goat. His long pointed tongue lolls out.

Krampus carries chains, thought to symbolize the binding of the Devil by the Christian Church. He thrashes the chains for dramatic effect. The chains are sometimes accompanied with bells of various sizes. Of more pagan origins are the ruten, bundles of birch branches that Krampus carries and occasionally swats children with. The ruten have significance in pre-Christian pagan initiation rites. The birch branches are replaced with a whip in some representations. Sometimes Krampus appears with a sack or a washtub strapped to his back; this is to cart off evil children for drowning, eating, or transport to Hell. Some of the older versions make mention of naughty children being put in the bag and being taken. This part of the legend refers to the times that the Moors raided the European coasts, and as far as Iceland, to abduct the local people into slavery. This quality can be found in other Companions of Saint Nicholas such as Zwarte Piet.

Creepy Christmas everyone!

© http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus

Pazuzu (Demon)

In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, Pazuzu (sometimes Fazuzu or Pazuza) was the king of the demons of the wind, and son of the god Hanbi. He also represented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms and drought.

Pazuzu is often depicted as a combination of diverse animal and human parts. He has the body of a man, the head of a lion or dog, talons of an eagle, two pairs of wings, a scorpion's tail, and a serpentine penis. His right hand points upward and his left hand points down.

Pazuzu is the demon of the southwest wind known for bringing famine during dry seasons, and locusts during rainy seasons. Pazuzu was said to be invoked in amulets, which combat the powers of his rival, the malicious goddess Lamashtu, who was believed to cause harm to mother and child during childbirth. Although Pazuzu is, himself, an evil spirit, he drives away other evil spirits, therefore protecting humans against plagues and misfortunes.

The Exorcist (1971, Novel)                                                 The Exorcist (1973, Film)

Pazuzu is also featured in a novel by William Peter Blatty titled "The Exorcist" (1971) and in a film (1973) by William Friedkin of the same title and story.

© http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exorcist_(film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exorcist_(novel)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pazuzu

Aokigahara Forest 青木ヶ原 : The Suicide Forest

Aokigahara (青木ヶ原), also known as the Suicide Forest or Sea of Trees (樹海 Jukai), is a 35-square-kilometre (14 sq mi)forest that lies at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan. The forest contains a number of rocky, icy caverns, a few of which are popular tourist destinations. Due to the wind-blocking density of the trees and an absence of nearly all wildlife, the forest is known for being exceptionally quiet.

The forest has a historic association with demons in Japanese mythology and is a popular place for suicides (57 in 2010) despite numerous signs, in Japanese and English, urging people to reconsider their actions.

The forest is a popular place for suicides, reportedly the most popular in Japan. Statistics vary, but what is documented is that during the period leading up to 1988, about 100 suicides occurred there every year.

In 2003, 105 bodies were found in the forest, exceeding the previous record of 78 in 2002. In recent years, the local government has stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to downplay Aokigahara's association with suicide. In 2004, 108 people killed themselves in the forest. In 2010, 247 people attempted suicide in the forest, 54 of whom completed the act. Suicides are said to increase during March, the end of the fiscal year in Japan. As of 2011, the most common means of suicide in the forest were hanging and drug overdoses.

The high rate of suicide has led officials to place signs at the entry of the forest, in Japanese and English, urging suicidal visitors to seek help and not kill themselves. Annual body searches have been conducted by police, volunteers, and attendant journalists since 1970.

The site's popularity has been attributed to the 1960 novel Kuroi Jukai (Black Sea of Trees) by Seichō Matsumoto. However, the history of suicide in Aokigahara predates the novel's publication, and the place has long been associated with death: ubasute may have been practiced there into the nineteenth century, and the forest is reputedly haunted by the Yūrei (angry spirits) of those left to die.

Aokigahara Forest will be featured in an upcoming film of Matthew McConaughey titled "Sea of Trees"(2015).

© http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aokigahara

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A Haunting (TV Show) ★★★★★

A Haunting is a 2005 American paranormal anthology television series that depicts eyewitness accounts of possession, exorcism, and ghostly encounters. The show originally aired from October 28, 2005 to November 9, 2007 on Discovery Channel, which produced four seasons of 39 episodes. After nearly a five-year hiatus since November 2007,

New Dominion productions began producing and airing new episodes of a "A Haunting" on Destination America channel in October 2012. A seventh season of the show premiered on August 1, 2014.

The program features narrations, interviews, and dramatic re-enactments based on various accounts of paranormal experiences at reportedly haunted and mostly residential locations.

Some episodes of "A Haunting" will be featured here soon.

© http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Haunting
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Discovery Channel
Destination America

Thai Coffin Ritual

Wat Proman, a Buddhist temple in Thailand offers a deeply extreme and bizarre ritual for the living, a sense of the cycle of death and rebirth. This ritual is believed to help people solve their life's problem. The ritual is simple, participants just need to die, die in a sense; they have to lie in a coffin and be born again in a new life, free of bad karma.

Lying in a coffin, in Thailand is believed to bring good luck and free people of their torments, also to prolong life and prevent morbid possibilities throughout the life. Just think of relaxing in a coffin as a source of some remedy for your stress in life. The ritual involves participants lying in coffins while monks perform death rites on them as if they are already dead. This is then followed by a chant of new life. Many participants had said they felt as if they were reborn after the ritual – with all their bad karma buried behind them. Some claimed that the ritual helped fool the spirits that they’re already dead so they could start their new lives afresh like newborns.

There are also reports that participants met the spirits of their dead loved ones while they are lying in the coffin. Some people believed that lying in a coffin is a bad omen or sign making this ritual bizarre, but many Thai believers practice this tradition in a belief of good luck.

Some practitioners request their "dead body" to be bought to several temples in Thailand and be performed with the death rite, while they are inside the coffin.

"The Coffin" (2008)

This ritual is also featured in a Thai film titled "The Coffin"(2008).

© http://funstuffcafe.com/the-thai-coffin-ritual-for-the-living
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coffin

Baal (Demon)

Baal (sometimes spelled Bael, Baël (French), Baell) is in 17th century poetic occult writings one of the seven princes of Hell. The name is drawn from the Canaanite deity Baal mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the primary god of the Phoenicians.

While his Semitic predecessor was depicted as a man or a bull, the demon Baal was in grimmer tradition said to appear in the forms of a man, cat, toad, or combinations thereof. An illustration in Collin de Plancy's 1818 book Dictionnaire Infernal rather curiously placed the heads of the three creatures onto a set of spider legs.

"The Rite" (2011)

This Demon is also featured in the film "The Rite"(2011) starring Anthony Hopkins.

© http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal_%28demon%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_%82011_film%29

15 Best Images of Ghost Caught on Camera!

1. The Brown Lady

This portrait of "The Brown Lady" ghost is arguably the most famous and well-regarded ghost photograph ever taken. The ghost is thought to be that of Lady Dorothy Townshend, wife of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount of Raynham, residents of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England in the early 1700s. It was rumored that Dorothy, before her marriage to Charles, had been the mistress of Lord Wharton. Charles suspected Dorothy of infidelity. Although according to legal records she died and was buried in 1726, it was suspected that the funeral was a sham and that Charles had locked his wife away in a remote corner of the house until her death many years later.

 2. Lord Combermere

This photograph of the Combermere Abbey library was taken in 1891 by Sybell Corbet. The figure of a man can faintly be seen sitting in the chair to the left. His head, collar and right arm on the armrest are clearly discernable. It is believed to be the ghost of Lord Combermere.

Lord Combermere was a British cavalry commander in the early 1800s, who distinguished himself in several military campaigns. Combermere Abbey, located in Cheshire, England, was founded by Benedictine monks in 1133. In 1540, King Henry VII kicked out the Benedictines, and the Abbey later became the Seat of Sir George Cotton KT, Vice Chamberlain to the household of Prince Edward, son of Henry VIII. In 1814, Sir Stapleton Cotton, a descendent of Sir George, took the title "Lord Combermere" and in 1817 became became the Governor of Barbados. Today the Abbey is a tourist attraction and hotel.


3. Freddy Jackson

This intriguing photo, taken in 1919, was first published in 1975 by Sir Victor Goddard, a retired R.A.F. officer. The photo is a group portrait of Goddard's squadron, which had served in World War I at the HMS Daedalus training facility. An extra ghostly face appears in the photo. In back of the airman positioned on the top row, fourth from the left, can clearly be seen the face of another man. It is said to be the face of Freddy Jackson, an air mechanic who had been accidentally killed by an airplane propeller two days earlier. His funeral had taken place on the day this photograph was snapped. Members of the squadron easily recognized the face as Jackson's. It has been suggested that Jackson, unaware of his death, decided to show up for the group photo.

4. Tulip Staircase Ghost

Rev. Ralph Hardy, a retired clergyman from White Rock, British Columbia, took this now-famous photograph in 1966. He intended merely to photograph the elegant spiral staircase(known as the "Tulip Staircase") in the Queen's House section of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Upon development, however, the photo revealed a shrouded figure climbing the stairs, seeming to hold the railing with both hands. Experts, including some from Kodak, who examined the original negative concluded that it had not been tampered with. It's been said that unexplained figures have been seen on occasion in the vicinity of the staircase, and unexplained footsteps have also been heard.

5. The Back Seat Ghost

Mrs. Mabel Chinnery was visiting the grave of her mother one day in 1959. She had brought along her camera to take photographs of the grave site. After snapping a few shots of her mother's gravestone, she took an impromptu photo of her husband, who was waiting alone in the car. At least the Chinnerys thought he was alone.

When the film was developed, the couple was more than surprised to see a figure wearing glasses sitting in the back seat of the car. Mrs. Chinnery immediately recognized the image of her mother – the woman whose grave they had visited on that day. A photographic expert who examined the print determined that the image of the woman was neither a reflection nor a double exposure. "I stake my reputation on the fact that the picture is genuine," he testified.



6. The Ghost of Boothill Cemetery

"This is the photo that changed my opinion about ghost photos," says Terry Ike Clanton, who runs the TombstoneArizona.com website. Clanton is an actor, recording artist and cowboy poet, and is also a cousin of the legendary Clanton Gang who clashed with the Earps and Doc Holliday at the famous gunfight at OK Corral. Clanton took this photo of his friend at Boothill Graveyard. The photo was taken in black and white because he wanted Old West-looking pictures of himself dressed in Clanton's 1880-period clothes. Clanton took the film for developing to the local Thrifty Drug Store, and when he got it back was startled at what he saw. Among the gravestones, just to the right of his friend, is the image of what appears to be a thin man in a dark hat. By height, the man appears to be either legless, kneeling... or rising up out of the ground.


7. Madonna of Bachelor's Grove

This photo was taken during an investigation of Bachelor's Grove cemetery near Chicago by the Ghost Research Society (GRS). On August 10, 1991, several members of of the GRS were at the cemetery, a small, abandoned graveyard on the edge of the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve, near the suburb of Midlothian, Illinois. Reputed to be one of the most haunted cemeteries in the U.S., Bachelor's Grove has been the site of well over 100 different reports of strange phenomena, including,apparitions,unexplained sights and sounds, and even glowing balls of light.


8. Railroad Crossing Ghost

A strange legend surrounds a railroad crossing just south of San Antonio, Texas. The intersection of roadway and railroad track, so the story goes, was the site of a tragic accident in which several school-aged children were killed - but their ghosts linger at the spot and will push idled cars across the tracks, even though the path is uphill.

The story may be just the stuff of urban legend, but the accounts were intriguing enough that I wrote an article about the phenomenon, "The Haunted Railroad Crossing." The article included a photograph submitted by Andy and Debi Chesney. Their daughter and some of her friends had recently been to the crossing to test the legend, and she took some photographs. Inexplicably, a strange, transparent figure turned up in one of the photos. "They had no idea that it was in the picture until the next day when I printed out the picture and showed them," said the Chesneys. "It was really freaky. It appears to be a little girl carrying a teddy bear."


9. Spector of Newby Church

This photograph was taken in 1963 by Reverend K. F. Lord at Newby Church in North Yorkshire, England. It has been a controversial photo because it is just too good. The shrouded face and the way it is looking directly into the camera makes it look like it was posed – a clever double exposure. Yet supposedly the photo has been scrutinized by photo experts who say the image is not the result of a double exposure.

The Reverend Lord has said of the photo that nothing was visible to the naked eye when he took the snapshot of his altar. Yet when the film was developed, standing there was this strange cowled figure.

10. Grandpa's Ghost

This photo was received from Denise Russell. "The lady in the color photo is my granny," she says. "She lived on her own until age 94, when her mind started to weaken and had to be moved to an assisted living home for her own safety. At the end of the first week, there was a picnic for the residents and their My sister took two pictures that day, and this is one of them. It was taken on Sunday, 8/17/97, and we think the man behind her is my grandpa who passed away on Sunday, 8/14/84.

11. Ghost of Walter A. Ferguson

This photo was taken on November 16, 1968 when Robert A. Ferguson, author of Psychic Telemetry: New Key to Health, Wealth, and Perfect Living , was giving a speech at a Spiritualist convention in Los Angeles, California. Faintly appearing next to Ferguson is a figure that he later identified as his brother, Walter, who died in 1944 during World War II. At first glance, this might seem to be a double exposure or some kind of darkroom trickery, but this photo is a Polaroid (one of several taken of Ferguson at the time), making any kind of hoaxing quite unlikely.


12. Godfather's Pizza Ghost

Several unnerving instances of ghost and poltergeist activity were reported by the management, staff, and customers of the Godfather's Pizza restaurant in Ogden, Utah in1999-2000, prompting an investigation by Utah Paranormal Exploration and Research (UPER). Phenomena included:

• The sighting of several spirits, including those of a man, a woman, and two boys

• A jukebox that played by itself, even when unplugged

• A tile floor that inexplicably bulged up as high as ten inches, then leveled itself; a later examination showed nothing out of the ordinary beneath the tile and the concrete was intact

• As many as 40 fluorescent light tubes flew out of their boxes and smashed on the floor

• Mysterious whistling was heard from the kitchen several times.

13. Ghostly Grip

This interesting photo was taken sometime around the year 2000 in Manila, Republic of the Philippines. According to The Ghost Research Society, two girlfriends were out for a walk one warm night. One of them entreated a passing stranger to photograph them using her cell phone's camera (hence the low-resolution picture). The result is shown here, with a transparent figure seeming to tug on the girl's arm with a firm if friendly grip.

Without further information on this photo, we have to admit that the ghost could have been added with image processing software. But if it's genuine and untouched, it certainly qualifies as one of the best ghost photos.


14. Decebal Hotel Ghost

Authorities have warned people to stay away from the Decebal Hotel -- because construction was taking place on the 150-year-old building. What they didn't warn people about was the ghost. The spirit of a tall woman in a long white frock has long been reported at the spa. The hotel in Romania is rumored to hide ancient Roman treasure, and the ghost, it is said, appears to protect it from treasure hunters.

Only anecdotal evidence for this ghost existed until 2008 when 33-year-old Victoria Iovan snapped this photograph, which indeed seems to show the ghostly image of a tall figure in long white garb. "I photographed my boyfriend in the hotel," said Iovan. "Back home I was shocked to see another woman's shadow in the picture. She looked like a priestess in long white clothes."


15. Farm Ghost

This amazing photo was taken by photographer and graphic designer Neil Sandbach in 2008. Neil was photographing some scenic shots at a farm Hertfordshire, England, as part of a project for wedding stationery; the couple planned to have their wedding ceremony held there.

Later, Neil was astonished when he examined the digital photo on his computer. There, as if peeking around a corner at him, is a ghostly, white, almost glowing figure of what looks like a child. Neil says he is quite sure there was no one there at the time.

© http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghostphotos/ig/Best-Ghost-Photos/index.01.htm#step-heading