Mysterious Jinn

 Author: Kallista Yeung

If one saw something at night, Persians would say, “there’s a jinn.” Originating from Arabian folklore, jinn are supernatural ghosts or spirits. In the Pre-Islamic period, jinn were worshipped. According to the Quran, they were created on Thursday before the creation of humans. They have the same desires and needs as humans just with higher physically. Jinn are described to have free-will where they were able to choose to be believers or non-believers. The jinn’s downfall was their pride. Allah, the name of Islam’s god, sent angels to kill most of them. Prophets related to jinn are Muhammad and Solomon. They were sent as messengers to the jinn and human communities. As Islam spread outside Arabia, there became more variants and versions of jinn. Surah 72 in the Quran is often referred to when speaking about jinn. (“What is Jinn?”)

“Devil or Angel”

There are many different types of jinn: Ifrit, royals who protect ruins, Madrid, shapeshifters who grant wishes, Ghoul, human-feeding creatures, Hinn, dogs luring soldiers into desserts, Jann, mischievous shapeshifters, Sila, rare meddling creatures, Palis, vampires, Qareen, the bad part of human, Shayteen, evil-doers who gives illness and death, and Vetala, corpse-possession psychics. (Geller) 

Jinn has been used as an explanation for sleep paralysis and other mysterious. Egyptians have a overwhelming fear of death by sleep paralysis. Jinn is said to torment the body when one’s body is weak and powerless. This makes Egyptians wake up more frequently. Jalal, found that those who experience sleep paralysis in Copenhagen, Denmark are three times less likely than those in Cairo, Egypt. (Choi)

A place that is said to have jinn is Wadi-e Jinn. It is a tourist area in Saudi Arabia where the gravity seems to move upwards. The pavement extends up for 9 miles and seeming to move upwards when a car is put on neutral. Cars have reached up to 75 miles per hour. (Cortesi) Another example of jinn, is the genie in Alladin and the lion protecting the ruin.

In conclusion, some still believe in jinn due to several different reasons. For example, some my have heard stories from other peers, friends, and older family members, whereas some simply do not believe in them because they have never encountered such traumatic experiences with ghosts. 

Works Cited:

“Devil or Angel.” LifeForceNetwork, 26 July 2013, https://www.lightforcenetwork.com/morgana/who-are-jinn.

“What is Jinn?”  The Spiritual Life, https://slife.org/what-is-jinn/.

Choi, Annette. “The Nightmare of Sleep Paralysis.” PBS, Brilliant.org, 16 August 2018, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/the-nightmare-of-sleep-paralysis/.

Cortesi, Max. “Wadi-e Jinn.” Atlas Obscura, 11 May 2022, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wadi-e-jinn.

Geller. “Jinn.” mythology.net, 2018, https://mythology.net/mythical-creatures/jinn/.

Khalifa, Najat Hardie, Tim. “Possession and jinn” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, PubMed Center, August 2005, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1181833/.

Haunted Savannah

 Author: Diamond White 

Savannah was founded in 1733 and it is known as one of the most historic cities in the United States. Revolutionary and Civil Wars were fought here so it is no surprise they are called the most haunted city, which was called by the American Institute of Parapsychology, which investigated ghost claims. There are many people who have felt the spirit or even captured a spirit before via camera. Therefore, many people have become firm believers of so because of many told stories of experiences with ghost in their home or on a vacation.

Ghost Conspiracy

In November 1864, General William T. Sherman began his famous "March to the Sea" during the Civil War. After capturing Atlanta, Georgia, Sherman's Union troops marched for weeks--destroying everything in their path until they reached Savannah. There Sherman set up an army hospital at The Marshall House and now a hotel. Many guests believe that dead former soldiers haunt the hospitals. “Two men claimed that when their elevator door opened, they didn't see a hotel anymore," says Emily Kiernan of Ghost Talk Ghost Walk tours. "They saw a Civil War operating room, with wounded soldiers and frantic doctors trying to save them." Others have reported feeling cold areas said to be a sign of ghosts or hearing knocks at their doors when no one was there.

Everything Is Haunted in Savannah

Savannah's river port was an important stop for cotton, rice, and tobacco ships back in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sailors stayed at inns, and pirates often spent time together at The Pirates' House restaurant. A dark stairway led to secret underground tunnels, where crimes may have happened. People have spoken about how spirits of pirates still lurk in the restaurant. Workers have reported weird flashing lights and mysterious footsteps coming from upstairs, even though no one was there. Chef Harold Bryant even claims he saw a ghost walk right through a closed kitchen door. "He was dressed in a white ruffled shirt, with a sword at his waist and a gold ring in his nose," said Bryant. "Then he just disappeared upstairs." Mant stories have been told and proven by witnesses of the same events happening to them or even just experiencing weird chills. 

Works Cited:

 Buchholz, Rachel. “Ghosts of Savannah.” National Geographic Kids, no. 354, Oct. 2005, p. 36. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=sch&AN=18386181&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

“Savannah Ghosts.” Savannah Walks, http://www.savannahwalks.com/savannah-ghosts/.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert “Nick Swardson: Everything In Savannah Is Haunted.” YouTube, 26 May 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQNb__Ar7vQ

The Hauntings of St. Augustine, Florida

Author: Gracie Willis

The Lighthouse in St. Augustine

As we draw near the spookiest day of the year, October 31st, you may find yourself craving a creepy experience of your own. As it turns out, there is a bone-chilling city that you can visit all year round: St. Augustine, Florida. Although it is small, St. Augustine is known for its many haunted locations that are allegedly filled with the spirits of past residents. 

One of the most iconic haunted locations in St. Augustine is the city’s Old Jail. It is located in St. John's County  and attracts thousands of tourists every year. It served as the county jail for over 62 years, and during its time, you would not find happy tourists within its walls. The poor conditions of the Old Jail caused it to receive multiple citations. Dana St. Claire, director of St. Augustine 450th Commission, described the inmates as being “sentenced to death” upon their arrival. The inmates were packed into cells, sometimes hoarding up to six people in the small rooms. 

In another part of town, on the western side of Matanzas Bay, the Castillo de San Marcos stands tall. It was built in 1672 and initially served as a Spanish fort to hold prisoners of different Native American tribes. According to a legend, hundreds of years later, a local architect wandered into the fort to explore. After hearing a hollow sound from one of the walls, he decided to investigate. Inside, he found the hanging remains of two people who were believed to be the missing lovers, Delores and Manuel who went missing in 1784. Today, there are many reported sightings of unidentified figures including the “shadow man.” Those who see him, mostly staff members, describe him as a tall and very built man. Since the figure is allegedly so human-like, they report “waiting for him to move so they could continue taking pictures.” The military fort is currently open for both tours during the day, for the history, and during the night, for thrill seekers praying for a ghost sighting. 

Another one of St. Augustine’s most famous attractions is its haunted lighthouse. It was the first of its kind to be established. The lead producer on A&E’s “Ghost Hunters,”  Steve Gonsalves, describes the monument as “the Mona Lisa of haunted sites.” In 1871, after Americans discovered the lighthouse was sinking, it underwent extensive remodelings and it was almost completely reconstructed. The overseer of the task had many children and consistently brought them to the work site. One day, the children were roughhousing and riding around in a cart when it toppled over, sending them down a hill into the water below. Two of the three children drowned. Their spirits are rumored to haunt the island, which is probably why a lot of the ghost reports are of very young children. Workers report children’s laughter in the middle of the night as well as music boxes in the tower’s gift shop popping open and playing by themselves. 

St. Augustine’s long and dark history leaves plenty of room for theories surrounding the ghosts that may reside in its many historical sights. There are new ghost sightings every day. From the many conspiracies of people being buried alive to the old conditions of the Old Jail, these theories aren’t implausible. The dark history of St. Augustine sparks arguments from all sides, and in my opinion, will forever be known as one of the eeriest towns in all of America. 

 

Works cited:

Carpenter, Jenna. “A Look Back: What Happened Behind the Walls of the Old Jail” St. Augustine.com, June 14^th, 2015, https://www.staugustine.com/article/20150614/NEWS/306149965.

Old Town Trolley Tours, https://www.trolleytours.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/st-augustine-old-jail-interior-cells-600x580.jpg.

WJCT News, https://news.wjct.org/sites/wjct/files/styles/medium/public/201907/a_elighthouse.jpg.

“St. Augustine’s Newest Paranormal Experience.” Old Town Trolley Tours, https://www.trolleytours.com/st-augustine/old-jail-after-dark-tour.

Bjorkman, Sue. “The Ghosts of the Castillo de San Marcos.” Ghost City Tours, https://ghostcitytours.com/st-augustine/haunted-places/castillo-de-san-marcos/

“A Look Back: Haunted History at St. Augustine Lighthouse.” St. Augustine.com, October 26^th, 2014, https://www.staugustine.com/article/20141026/NEWS/310269932.

Ghost Hunters. Produced by Steve Gonsalves, A&E, 2004-, https://www.amazon.com/The-Invisible-Intelligence/dp/B01H4HW234/ref=sr_1_1?tag=tluweb-20.

Links for further research:

https://www.ghostsandgravestones.com/st-augustine/haunted-places
This website provides additional information on the alleged most haunted locations in Florida and around the country.

https://www.wheretraveler.com/st-augustine/play/st-augustines-haunted-history
This webpage provides information on the history of St. Augustine and its haunted past.

https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/blog/ghost-tours-and-spooky-haunts-st-augustine/
“Florida’s Historic Coast” provides information about the best ghost tours and paranormal experiences in St. Augustine based on experience.

UFO? Ghost lights? The Marfa Lights of Marfa, Texas

Author: Courtney Hicks

The Marfa Lights are a phenomenon that occurs very often in Marfa, Texas that baffles locals and lures in tourists from all over the nation. These are lights that appear during the evening and night, specks of lights that litter the desert skies varying from blue to red to yellow and often dart around the sky or split into various other lights. The locals have grown used to these lights, however many still speculate what they are. There are many theories, from the classic extraterrestrial related UFO, ghost lights, Native American spirits, and many other supernatural explanations. For example, Deborah Byrd explains in this article a popular theory- will-o-the-wisps. A “will-o-the-wisps,” otherwise referred to as ghost lights, derived from English folklore and are mostly seen in the English bogs, however that the term is related to these phantom lights that are unexplained. These lights were believed to have been a lantern or torch being held by a fairy or spirit, to lure travelers into foreign territory deeper into the bogs (Byrd). Byrd even goes as far as to mention the Marfa lights, explaining the darting of the lights and the fact that these lights appeared far before any cars were created, negating skeptics of the supernatural.

A photo drawn on DeviantArt by user Robjenx detailing the history of will-o-the-wisps.

With the supernatural, comes scientific counter explanation, Marc Lallanila explains in THIS (https://www.livescience.com/37579-what-are-marfa-lights-texas.html) article the scientific side that may shed light, elaborating that it could be the highway to headlight superior mirage. This theory claims that the desert heat causes visible gases that may reflect the headlights of cars traveling on the highways to and through Marfa. It could also be the theory of glowing gasses that appear in the desert heat. Regardless of these explanations, it doesn’t stop tour guides from profiting of the national attention it brings, being the highlight of Marfa (Lallanila).

These scientific perspectives, however, counteract the history of the lights, dating back all the way to the early 1800’s as the first documented sighting, and Native Americans believing the lights were the presence of spirits of fellow tribe members. Michael Hall points out in his Texas Monthly article that there are two versions of the lights: the real version, or the unexplained version that many locals can attest to, and the fake version, the hoaxes possibly created by locals to continue tourist revenue. He states that real version may be references in World War 2 Air force sightings as well as the Native Americans lore involving the spirits of the deceased that is related to these sightings (Hall).

Either way, the lights have been a mystery that can be seen often in Marfa, locals love talking, and tourists love venturing out to witness these lights and make their own judgement on what may be behind them. So much culture derived from this phenomenon that there is an annual festival in Marfa involving music, food, and activities all leading up to a mass viewing of the lights, waiting for there appearance! Many will continue to speculate the supernatural, many will continue to attempt debunking with scientific theory, however no one knows for certain what these lights are, and the mystery of it all keeps locals and tourists excited for the next sighting!

Works Cited:

Byrd, Deborah. “Ghost Lights: Believe If You Dare.” EarthSky: An Update on Your Cosmos
And World.  29 October 2016.

Hall, Michael. “The Truth is Out There.” Texas Monthly. June 2006. https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-truth-is-out-there/.

Lallanila, Marc. “What Are The Marfa Lights? Live Science; Strange News. 13 June,
2013. https://www.livescience.com/37579-what-are-marfa-lights-texas.html.

Su, Alisa. “Top 10 Secrets of the Marfa Mystery Lights and the Marfa Lights Theories” Mysterious Monsters. 10 December 2016. http://www.science-rumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Top-10-Secrets-of-the-Marfa-Mystery-Lights-and-the-Marfa-Lights-Theories-388x220.jp

Robjenx. “SDJ; Will- O- The-Wisps” DeviantArt. 16 September 2012 http://img04.deviantart.net/1c28/i/2012/260/2/7/sdj___will_o___the_wisp_by_robjenx-d5ezr0w.jpg

For more information on The Marfa Lights, visit these websites:

https://mythology.net/mythical-creatures/will-o-the-wisp/. Professor Geller goes into detail on the story behind “will-o-the-wisps,” being inspired by blacksmith named Will whose mischievous soul was sent back onto earth by Saint Peter. That soul, which was condemned on Earth forever, impressed the devil into gifting Will coal on Winter nights which he then used as a lantern to deter and lure travelers during their journeys. The purpose of this article is to go into depth of the lore behind what a will-o-the-wisps is and why it is seemingly a malevolent spirit.

https://www.ufoinsight.com/the-far-reaching-mystery-of-the-marfa-lights/ Marcus Lowth briefs on the existence, history and firsthand account of the Marfa Lights as many of the other articles, however, goes in depth in a particular crossing of U.S. and Mexican military in the Chihuahuan Desert Incident. This report claims of a UFO colliding with a small plane in El Paso and the small plane is referred to as a possible Marfa Light. The entire exchange resulted in the rumor of a captured UFO/ disk. The purpose of the article is to elaborate on the Marfa Lights, particular accounts, and the extraterrestrial side of the phenomenon.

https://earthsky.org/human-world/ghost-lights-believe-in-them-if-you-dare. Deborah Byrd goes into explicit detail in “Ghost Lights in History” on what a Ghost Light is by referring to English folklore and its second name of will-o-the-wisps. She explains that the spirits that some thought the lights were, would retract upon approach, and that they were also looked at as a torch or light carried by a fairy. The purpose of this article is to elaborate on what a Ghost Light is, its history and many popular modern sights for these lights, such as Marfa, Texas and the Brown Mountains of North Carolina.

The Fox Sisters

Te’a Olivas

The Fox Sisters were known to be famous for being the creators of spiritualism. The spirits communicate with people known as psychics and mediums. That is what you can call the Fox sisters. The names of the three sisters were Margaret, Kate and Leah Fox. In 1848, the sisters lived in Hydesville, New York. The Fox sisters started to believe in spirits because they heard unusual noises throughout the house they lived in. They were convinced the house was haunted. The noises they would hear included furniture being move and knocking. The fox sisters decided to come up with a prank to scare the mother into believing in the bad spirits and ghost in the house. After all, the mother didn’t need a prank to be convinced that there was a ghost in house. She started to ask questions to the ghost by asking it to knock and answers the questions getting ask by moments in the house. Soon after, The Fox family found out there was a murder in their house two years earlier. The spirit was known as an older man in his early thirties who was married with five children of his own. That is when the sisters started to communicate with spirits. The Fox sisters claimed that they could receive messages for people from different spirits amongst the dead. The sisters started to perform rapping’s that were similar to the noises happening in the house. For example, the fox sisters used their toes for the crackling noises. The noises in the house triggered the Fox sisters to produce creative ideas about spiritual rapping’s. The sisters perform their very first rapping at Corinthian Hall in Rochester. The sisters wanted people to believe in spirits after the rapping’s to prove they could communicate with spirits, and can deliver messages from the spirits. Many people in the 1800's questioned the Fox sisters on if the rapping’s were real. Did the Fox sisters communicate with spirits? It was even more difficult to believe because one of the sisters claimed that communicating with the spirits were fake as well as the rapping’s that were performed in the 1800's. Until this day the world has no evidence that the rapping’s were real or fake. We will never know if the Fox sisters really communicated with spirits. The fox sisters will always be famous for their mysterious and suspenseful performances.

Work Cited:
Bann, Jennifer. "Ghostly Hands and Ghostly Agency: The Changing Figure of the Nineteenth-Century Specter." Victorian Studies 51.4 (2009): 663-85. 
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/pdf/10.2979/vic.2009.51.4.663.pdf

"Speaking With Spirits." Skeptic 19.2 (2014): 65. Academic Search Premier. 8 Oct. 2016. http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=96430250&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Stuart, Nancy Rubin. "The Raps Heard Around The World." American History 40.3 (2005): 42-80. Academic Search Premier. 8 Oct. 2016, http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=11&sid=657367c5-b699-4264-bdde-ec45603b2b42%40sessionmgr102&hid=113

Walliss, John. "Continuing Bonds: Relationships Between The Living And The Dead Within Contemporary Spiritualism." Mortality 6.2 (2001): 127-145. Academic Search Premier. 15 Oct. 2016. http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6006954&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Williams, Kathy. Western Folklore 69.1 (2010): 131-32. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/pdf/25735293.pdf.


Links for Further Research:

Valente, K. G. ""Who Will Explain the Explanation?": The Ambivalent Reception of Higher Dimensional Space in the British Spiritualist Press, 1875-1900." Victorian Periodicals Review 41.2 (2008): 124-49. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/40587440. 
This source from the web, the John Hopkins University, gives information on how spiritualism begun. Also, it provides who was involve in creating spiritualism.

Monroe, John. "Making the Séance "Serious": "Tables Tournantes" and Second Empire Bourgeois Culture, 1853-1861." History of Religions 38.3 (1999): 219-46. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/40587440. This web source, from University of Chicago, provides information about the Fox sisters experiences in the house that influence them to communicate with spirits. It gives information about the spiritual rapping performed by the Fox sisters.


Kattelman, Beth A. "Magic, Monsters, and Movies: America's Midnight Ghost Shows." Theatre Journal 62.1 (2010): 23-39. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/40587440. This web source, from the John Hopkins University, provides information about how spiritualism grew after the world heard about the Fox sister’s experiences. People started to be involved in the sisters spiritual rapping performances.

The Winchester Mystery House

Author Kaitlynn Burkett

This extravagant Victorian house built in San Jose, California by Sarah Winchester in still a mystery to millions of people. It is know as The Winchester Mystery House. The house is known as the “house built by spirits”. It is explained on the website to be marvelous, baffling, and eerily eccentric, The Winchester Mystery House . In this mystery house, there are many different architectural differences than a normal house of mansion. It includes many mile long twisting hallways with secret passages in the walls. Mrs. Winchester built a house like this to protect herself from “bad spirits.” Her house was constantly changing day by day and being added on to. This house is estimated to have about 500 to 600 rooms through remodeling constantly, now left is about 160 remaining. Her furnishes included gold and sliver plated chandeliers, and Tiffany art glass that valued up to $1,500 each. Over thirty-three years, a man built and repaired the Winchester Mystery House parquet floors. They are made of mahogany, rosewood, teak, maple, oak and white ash. Sarah actually died in this room with the parquet floors. Supposedly her favorite room. The mansion also consists of the finest cabinets, forty-seven fireplaces, seventeen chimneys, and a grand ballroom that cost over $9,000. 

Mrs. Sarah Winchester was born around 1840. Her parents were Leonard Pardee and Sarah Burns. She was from New Haven, Connecticut. In 1862, she married William Wirt Winchester. His parents were Oliver Fisher Winchester. Soon after they were married, they moved to New England. In 1866, an awful tragedy occurred when they daughter Annie died of a rare disease. Both in very deep depression after loosing their infant. Fifteen years later, Mrs. Sarah was all alone. Her husband died from tuberculosis. From some sources, it is explained that spirits haunted her family, as Sarah believed. As instructed by the spirits, she packed up her things and headed west to start building this mansion. She had no intentions of this before, but to go see her niece who lived in Menlo Park, California. But of course she had 777 shares of stocker in the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and 2,000 more shares from her mother in law passing to build this house. Well back in the 1800’s with no income tax, she had $1,ooo a day. After living in this house and building it for the spirits, she passed away in 1922 because of heart failure.
As of today, this mansion is somewhat smaller because of remodeling. It now contains 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens.   

Works Cited:

Cunningham, Bill. “Inside the Winchester Mystery House.” ABC News. ABC News. 27 October 2008.
Web. 10 October 2013.

Edmonds, Molly. “Why does the Winchester Mystery House have stairs leading nowhere?” How Stuff Works. How Stuff Works. n.d. Web. 10 October 2013. 

“Shaking Chandelier Spooks Staff at Winchester Mystery House.” CBS Local News. N.p. 25 July 2013. Web. 10 October 2013.

Taylor, Troy. “The Winchester Mystery House.” Prairie Ghosts.” Haunted Places. 2013. Web. 10 October 2013.

The Winchester Mystery House, eds. Winchester Mystery House. N.p. 2013. Web. 9 October. 2013.

Grant, Kay. "Winchester Mystery House." Travel Lady Magazine. March 2005. (March 26, 2008) 


For Further Research:
http://travellady.com/Issues/March05/1300WinchesterMysteryHouse.htm. This article explains the architecture of the house and the reason it was built.

NBC Bay Area Staff. “Winchester Mystery House Observes Friday the 13^th.” (September, 13, 2013)

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Winchester-Mystery-House-Observing-Friday-the-13th-223652621.html. This article explains what NBC observed on Friday the 13^th with the spirits in the Mystery House.

Strangetastic.com. "Mystery House Commentary." (March 26, 2008)

. This article is commentary on the house.