Maybe the Real Haunted Objects Were the Ghosts We Made Along the Way

The paranormal has been a lifelong interest for me. I got my first book of true ghost stories when I was six. (It scared me so badly!) I read my first book on parapsychology, ESP, Hauntings and Poltergeists: A Parapsychologist’s Handbook by Lloyd Auerbach, when I was 12. I own Zener cards, you guys. I am deep into this subject. However, despite being a spooky person interested in spooky things, I’ve struggled with balancing my mystical tendencies and my logical mind.

I can’t force myself to be a hard-nosed skeptic when I’ve personally experienced so many strange things, but I’ve also seen hundreds of “ghost” videos that are clearly out-of-focus insects. I want to be open-minded, but not, as the old saying goes, so open-minded that my brain falls out.

Sure, I believe some strange things, but many of those things are less about blind faith and more about my genuine experiences. I think plenty of “unexplainable” things could be explained by science that hasn’t yet been developed or through close examination. There’s a place for debunking in this world! But not understanding the physics or the psychology behind these phenomena doesn’t make them… not real. They simply defy explanation.

A lot of paranormal media is either entirely credulous or is produced only to frighten their audience with tales of demons and dangerous hauntings — like Coast to Coast AM or “Ghost Adventures.” So little of it walks the same line I do, trying to balance belief with a healthy dose of “hmm, let’s take a closer look at that.”

There are a few exceptions, such as the work produced by Greg and Dana Newkirk, who I’ve followed since their blogging days. Like most fans, “Hellier” was what really drew my attention, though.

“Hellier” is a self-produced paranormal investigation series (streaming on YouTube and Prime) that begins with a report of goblins in Kentucky and spirals out into… all the high strangeness you could ever want. Unlike investigation shows that rely on over-hyped scares of vague shapes as seen on night vision, “Hellier” offers a different glimpse into the unknown: An invitation.

You know the old quote about looking into the abyss and the abyss looking also into you? When you go searching for high strangeness, it often finds you first. Watching this happen to seasoned paranormal investigators is a hell of a ride. I think it mirrors the experience of so many other folks who take a peek into the funhouse of the unknown.

It gets weird out there.

Greg and Dana Newkirk have maintained a traveling paranormal museum for many years. Their house is filled with haunted objects, but unlike the infamous room at Ed and Lorraine Warren’s house, they don’t keep their objects sealed off and surrounded by salt. They don’t think most of their objects are evil, and as they have often said, about 90% of the items they’re sent never exhibit any sign of being haunted at all.

Their theory is that the people who send the objects are the haunting. They’re the source, even if events focus on a physical object. They cite as evidence the successful Philip experiment from the 1970s, as well as an ongoing experiment conducted by their paranormal club members over this past summer. Anyone can create a ghost. The trick is to create a good ghost.

I was excited to learn that the Newkirks would be doing a speaking tour this fall, then crushed to see that they wouldn’t be performing anywhere near Houston. So, in an uncharacteristic display of spontaneity, I, a reluctant traveler at best, demanded a mini-break in a city where they would speak.

So, we traveled to Denver earlier this month. It was nice to have a long weekend away! We went out to Red Rocks (though we didn’t get to see a show there), enjoyed the Denver Art Museum, and did some resale shopping in some incredibly hipster-ish stores. We bought socks in Littleton in the largest suburban Target we’d ever seen. We were only in town for a few days, and my energy limitations meant that we didn’t do everything we could have, but we had a great time — and it was all capped off by this brilliant show.

I got to see Greg and Dana Newkirk, and yes, we had VIP tickets, so I got to meet them. Lennox and I are now members of a not-very-secret secret society, the Sacred Order of the Haunted Object. We’ve even got neat little pins to prove it! It was an excellent show; Greg and Dana seemed like cool people and the sheer relief of being in a room where I didn’t have to feel like an absolute alien was almost blissful.

It’s so good to know that there are people out in the world who balance along the same lines of skeptic/believer as I do — other folks who want to approach the unknown with curiosity over fear. And if communing with them for a couple of hours in an auditorium is all I can do at the moment, that will have to be enough.

For now. Once you accept the invitation to high strangeness, anything is possible.

An addendum, just for fun: One of the ways the rabbit hole of high strangeness seems to assert its presence is through odd, noticeable coincidences. Sometimes, these take the form of unmistakable signs — but they can be as simple as finding a tin can in an unexpected place. (IYKYK.) My own coincidence is surprisingly silly. I packed very lightly for our Denver trip, but I took my current favorite camisole, an Ogden Cami I sewed earlier this year. I upcycled the cami from the skirt of a dress I’d purchased from a sewist I know through Instagram. I ended up wearing the camisole to the show, as you can see in the photo above, and my silly coincidence is this: Just as “Hellier” began with a report of goblins, the camisole I wore to Haunted Objects Live began its life as a dress made by someone with the handle “threadg0blin.” That’s right! Goblins were involved. I didn’t consciously choose the top with that in mind, but it did crack me up.

That’s it for now. OKAY, BYE! 🖤

2 responses to “Maybe the Real Haunted Objects Were the Ghosts We Made Along the Way”

  1. Dave Horan Avatar
    Dave Horan

    Sounds like an awesome trip!

    1. Sarah L. Crowder Avatar

      It was! We had a great time.

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