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The Haunted Librarian

~ Researching, investigating, and writing about the paranormal.

The Haunted Librarian

Tag Archives: Mike Ricksecker

Shadow People Shouldn’t Scare You

07 Monday Dec 2020

Posted by The Haunted Librarian in Shadow People, Uncategorized

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Animal Planet, Mike Ricksecker, The Haunted, Umbra

Shadow People seem to be this year’s go-to response on paranormal TV shows. The immediate knee-jerk reaction is: It’s a shadow person and you’ve got to move! This is far from the truth. Likewise, it is unfortunate that paranormal investigators presume the term is new. It isn’t. There is still so much to learn about these creatures that it is irresponsible to tell a family to relocate. Instead, there is a need for more collection of data on shadow people.

Shadow people are not a new paranormal phenomena. They can be a shadow, solid form, or a black mass, and stories about them go back to ancient Egyptian times where one of the seven souls was the khailbut, a shadow. They believed that the shadow was always present, even after death. In The Egyptian Book of the Dead, the deceased was often depicted as a shadow, or silhouette, with little descriptive features. It was not evil unless the deceased was evil in life. The majority—if not virtually all—shadows were merely representative of good.

The ancient Greeks and Romans also believed in shadow people. The “umbra” or “shade” was the spirit of a dead person. Again, this was not evil or up to evil deeds. In fact, the Latin word “umbra” is used today in “umbrage” which means to give shade to a person or subject. Here the word is used negatively as taking offense or being annoyed; however, the word is not meant to be taken as literal wickedness.

In the 1690s a new use of the word “umbra” emerged. Here the word was used to identify “an uninvited guest accompanying an invited guest.” This usage evolved as the phantom was now uninvited and possibly unwanted or unknown.

This would explain today’s feelings toward a shadow person. The silhouette seen is unknown to the onlooker, who may fear the shadow. At no time should the shadow person be assumed to be evil.

View episode 1 of season 3 of The Haunted and/or watch the Ghost Education 101 video.

It is important to note that various cultures across history have recorded versions of shadow people. One expert in the field is Mike Ricksecker, author of A Walk in the Shadows: A Complete Guide to Shadow People (2020). Mike theorizes that shadow people may also be interdimensional beings. His book includes personal accounts discussing his first experience with a shadow person, along with his multi-decade fascination investigating them. You may know Mike from his appearance on The Haunted episode “Monster in the Closet” from 2011. In addition to his book, Mike gave a lecture on shadow people for Ghost Education 101. Click here to watch the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVjppVdtMHw.

Although the concept of shadow people is not new, several paranormal TV shows have focused on the phenomena recently. Some link the phenomena to sleep paralysis (another phenomena that should be researched more). However, shadow people should not be isolated to experiences of sleep paralysis. The key is that many people witness shadow people while awake and going about their day.

Another popular theory is that shadow people are extraterrestrial (ET). This concept differs from Mike’s interdimensional being in that an ET is an alien being coming from outer space, whereas the interdimensional being originates on earth.

When searching for online images of shadow people, it is interesting to note that many artists assign genders to them. If someone witnesses a shadow person, he generally does not note a gender. In fact, a lot of sightings lack gender descriptions. The exception is when the shadow person transforms into an apparition. For the most part, shadow people are non-gender assigned.

There isn’t one theory or explanation for shadow people; however, there is a need for more research. If you encounter a shadow person, don’t presume it is evil. Most likely, it is merely looking to communicate.

Escaping to Ireland: History Meets Paranormal

04 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by The Haunted Librarian in Castles, Prisons, Travel

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Desmond Castle, Leap Castle, Mike Ricksecker, Oubliette

I’m daydreaming of my post-COVID travel plans. One excursion that looks totally enticing is Mike Ricksecker’s Ancient Mysteries of Ireland trip next July.

Scheduled to begin July 1, 2021, this 9-day/8-night adventure offers a variety of mystical and haunted locations in Ireland. In true Irish fashion, there are a lot of castles on the itinerary.

The first stop is Blarney Castle, where one can kiss the Blarney Stone, a ritual where a person lays on her back, leans down with the assistance of castle docents to kiss the stone upside down. Back 20 years ago, my mother did it. I declined. The act supposedly confers upon the person the “gift of gab.” The person was to obtain the ability to speak eloquently. However, the “gab” implies the ability to speak unnecessarily—not really a trait I’m seeking.

Desmond Castle, Leap Castle, and The Leap image.

One stop that does hold my interest is Desmond Castle (Kinsale) where in 1747 a fire broke out killing 54 prisoners, most who were of French descent. The tower house structure is known locally as the “French Prison.” The building was donated to the town of Kinsale in 1791 and has served as a prison and poor house. There are several ghost stories attached to the building.

The oubliette discovered in the “Bloody Chapel” in Leap Castle.

Probably the most intriguing castle on the tour is Leap Castle (believed to be built circa 1250 CE, though some sources date it at 1500s). The striking feature of this castle is the discovery of the oubliette, an underground dungeon with wooden spikes. During a period of renovations in the “Bloody Chapel,” workers located human skeletal remains in the chamber. A watch dating from the mid-1800s shows that the act of impaling people was used quite recently. Tourists report two tales of hauntings: The Red Lady and ghost children Charlotte and Emily.

Jameson Distillery Midleton, Spike Island Prison, and Kindred Spirits.

The itinerary includes several favorite tour destinations like the Jameson Distillery Midleton; Spike Island Prison, once the largest prison in Ireland dubbed “Ireland’s Alcatraz”; and “Kindred Spirits” a stainless-steel monument honoring the Choctaw Nation (U.S. Native American Indian tribe). Book your tour by following the links below. This tour combines history with interesting locations that would capture any paranormal investigator’s imagination.

For more information:

https://www.hauntedjourneys.com/mike-ricksecker-s-ancient-mysteries-of-ireland

https://www.wetravel.com/trips/mike-ricksecker-s-ancient-mysteries-of-ireland-mysterious-adventures-tours-llc-cork-28046528

https://www.hauntedjourneys.com/mike-ricksecker-s-ancient-mysteries-of-ireland

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Archer Paranormal Investigations

Archer Paranormal Investigations

The Haunted Librarian

Marietta, Georgia

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