January 22, 2007

The Witchcraft Connection: Metaphysical Investigations into the Paranormal

Part Six of Belle Gunness: McClung Road and the Blood Farm Horror
By Marcus Foxglove Griffin

Patton Cemetery After Dark
As WISP approached the grave of Andrew Helgelien, we noticed something quite interesting; an urn of fresh flowers had been placed before Andrew’s headstone, which was still lying flat on the ground. Andrew had come to LaPorte from South Dakota to stay with Belle, and to our knowledge, has no relatives living in northern Indiana. I wondered at who might have left the memorial at his grave.

Our first order of business at Patton was to attempt to initiate contact with Andrew’s spirit (supposing he prowled the cemetery grounds at all) by utilizing our occult skills. For a second time, I knelt next to Andrew’s grave and placed my hand on his headstone. The headstone was quite warm, and I stated so to my teammates. I pictured Andrew as clearly as I could in my mind. I spoke to him in a calm, soothing voice. I told him that we had only come to his grave to make contact, and that we meant him no harm. At that point Becca stated, “He was only looking for love,” and I couldn’t help myself. I just had to say it. I finished her statement by adding, "In all the wrong places," and the entire team broke out in laughter. I’d hoped that Andrew had a good sense of humor when he was alive, and that he’d taken it with him to the grave. 

Next on our agenda was to raise energy in hopes of luring the ghosts of Patton Cemetery out of hiding, and to thin the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. To do so, we stood in a circle around Andrew’s grave, grasped hands, and focused on our intent to make contact. We focused on open communication with the resident spirits and the ability to see clearly beyond our world. WISP’s method for raising energy is unique in that it differs from the typical methods used by many garden-variety occult practitioners. Whereas many occult groups raise energy by chanting, drumming, or dancing in a circle, WISP raises energy by building the energy internally as individuals, then passing the energy to the next team member in the circle where it is further enhanced before being released. In other words, each member of WISP focuses on the goal and intent of the energy to be raised, and builds the energy within them self. With the individually raised energy at its height, a designated member of the circle passes their energy to the person next to them via willpower and a squeeze of the hand as a trigger. Once that person has received the energy, his or her own energy is added to it before being passed along to the next person in the circle. This process is continued until the desired energy has been raised. Once the group energy is at its height, it is released to do its job. Since you’re probably confused, I will explain the WISP method for raising energy in a more simplistic way: 

Imagine four athletes standing in a circle facing each other, and that one of the athletes is holding a medicine ball in his or her hands. Now imagine that the athletes begin passing the medicine ball around the circle. Medicine balls are very heavy, so as the athletes pass the ball around the circle they are exerting (or raising) a great deal of energy. Now imagine that the athletes are passing the ball around the circle with such force and speed that the ball is almost moving too fast to be seen. Now imagine that instead of athletes, the four people standing in the circle are Witches and that the medicine ball is an invisible ball of energy. Witches manipulate energy in very much the same way that you do. It is simply a different form of energy and manipulation. 

Getting back to the investigation, once the job of raising and sending energy was accomplished, we set off for the heart of Patton Cemetery in search of resident spirits. It didn’t take long to find them. We had no sooner passed the first row of graves that make up the center section of Patton Cemetery when Becca saw someone or something walk between two headstones a few yards ahead of her. She had heard a voice as well. She clicked on her flashlight and ran to the graves to investigate, but whatever or whomever she had seen was gone. WISP searched the surrounding area thoroughly but found nothing. At that point I looked up at the night sky and said: "Oh look, the Big Dipper," and the ghosts of Patton Cemetery began to speak. 

Next Month: Part seven of Belle Gunness and the Blood Farm Horror: Hunting the Ghosts of Patton Cemetery

Marcus Foxglove Griffin has been a student and teacher of the occult for over twenty years and is the creator and lead investigator for Witches In Search of the Paranormal (WISP). He is High Priest for the Temple of Aradia located in northern Indiana and teacher in the temple’s school. Under the penname Lord Foxglove, he is the author of Advancing the Witches’ Craft (New Page Books, 2005) and numerous articles in the areas of Witchcraft and metaphysics. "The Witchcraft Connection" is Marcus Foxglove Griffin's monthly column on the metaphysical and paranormal.