Into the shadow

This is all I will do now. It was fun. Now I shall slink back into the shadowlands. 

Goodnight. 

Sleep Paralysis

"The Nightmare" by Johann Heinrich Fussli

On this subject, sleep paralysis explains why people fear this time of day or night. It's the time of just waking or being woken up by a sense of dread, a physically painful time as this is reported when chest is tight and unable to breath. It's as though someone's chest is being sat on. People have also felt unable to move and can't even speak properly. During this time of waking up, people can encounter something with them that may look human, animal or supernatural. It's believed by doctors that sleep paralysis is the natural way that stops you acting out your dreams, usually. Some may end up not having this sensation while others experience sleep walking but those are different topics. This is what happens while asleep. Although when people wake up their bodies may still be locked in that paralysis. It lasts a very short time although it can feel like ages if the feeling is scary. People that often experience this will notice they can't move their arms or legs, and haven't got control. The waking stage is often different to be fully awake as people feel disorientated and even feel as if they've been inside a dream for real and suddenly back to reality. Usually it happens amongst children and young adults. One of the biggest causes is insomnia. Some during sleep paralysis will hallucinate and think there's something with them in the room. They might even hear strange noises. A part of this may include tingling sensations or even pins and needles. People often panic while having sleep paralysis. There are many myths and legends and stories in folklore related to sleep paralysis, including the incubus and succubus, night hags, demons, aliens and ghosts. 

Shadow Girl    

Duskwood

Duskwood is a spooky location under perpetual night and shadow. It's full of sinister creatures and wild beasts. While there are humans living there, it's also a bleak location and a place of nightmares. There's also ghosts, ghouls, skeletons, ogres, wolves and spiders found throughout Duskwood. This is  one of many regions from the World of Warcraft franchise. Duskwood can be found in the continent of Azeroth, and it's not far from a dead volcano, which is a fertile crater of huge trees of significance. It's importance is because of a portal there to the Emerald Dream. Within the region of Duskwood are many sombre areas. Paths lead to different directions, through frightening corners and locations, such as the Tranquil Garden Cemetery, the Rotting Orchard and the Darkened Bank. Villages within Duskwood include Darkshire and Raven Hill. These are still inhabited by people who cling in the hope that the region would be lifted of it's curse. Sadly Duskwood had once been a beautiful lush place teeming with life, was colourful, fertile and the days were full of sunshine. It was once called Brightwood, and then an evil was cast over it. This happened when a priestess named Velinde Starsong arrived, sweeping away demons with a magical scythe. What happened next was a mystery because she simply vanished, leaving behind the scythe, which was claimed by a man named Jitters who didn't know anything about it and summoned an army of werewolves named Worgen, creating a carnage of death. In terror, Jitters fled still carrying the scythe, bringing about the darkness that now envelopes that entire zone. He tried to rid himself of the scythe but found Dark Riders had come and spilled innocent blood in the village. It's not known if the Dark Riders own the scythe or not. Now the trees are dying, it's covered in a dark mist, and the soil is barren, as the sun no longer shines there, and it's overtaken by monsters and other sinister creatures.  

Shadow Girl

Lupercalia festival

Before the holiday became known as Valentine's Day, there was a much older ritual held on the 15th February named Lupercalia Festival in ancient Rome. This was a feast for the wolf deity Lupercus, a god that ruled land, harvest, wild animals and fertility. Farmers sought out the strength and protection of Lupercus and made offerings to him. This god is connected to a she-wolf named Lupa that helped care for the twin boy babies, Romulus and Remus. The brothers were sons of Mars, the god of war, and also Rhea Silvia, a beautiful mortal woman who was a princess and a Vestal Virgin. The brothers grew up to be powerful men who later founded the city of Rome. It was in honour of the founders that the celebration of Lupercalia was great as it celebrated Lupa the foster mother and Lupercus the great wolf of the wilderness. The feast itself was gruesome and dark. Men would try to channel their inner wolves during this feast day, so much noise and howling would've gone on. They would sacrifice a goat and a dog, combining both of their blood into a bowl, and a knife would dip into the mixture, then removed dripping. Two noble children would have this blood smeared on their foreheads, while cloth would be soaked in milk from a nanny goat, and used to wash away the blood on the children's foreheads. The children would've been encouraged to laugh even if they were scared. This was to show everyone that they were unafraid of the wolf's magical powers. There were different forms of worship of each wolf. Those who followed Lupa the she-wolf formed a branch named the Luperci. This included men becoming wolves chasing women in the streets and beating them with whips, then taking them home for sex or keeping as wives. This became toned down later on and eventually was replaced by the gentle and softer Christianised version of Valentine's Day. 

Shadow Girl 

Succubus

The succubus is a female entity that seduces men as they sleep. The term of succubus is from Latin Succuba that means "to lie beneath". They can be considered demons, that resemble beautiful women. Their male counterparts are called incubus. Many associate this with folklore and dream visions, also with nightmares and psychosis. Some experts in psychiatry believe this is part of a phenomenon called "sleep paralysis", which occurs in the stage of waking up and may be considered hallucinations during hypnagogic state. Some people experience sheer terror and feel unable to speak or even move but during this phase, they also may have horrific visions of being attacked by entities. Some stories about the succubus, for example, are frightening and she appears to attack men violently in bed. Many people suffering experiences like these seek the help of priests or doctors, and certain medicines ease it. The succubus and incubus have parallels with other creatures associated with sleep. I plan to do a post on Sleep Paralysis soon.

Shadow Girl   

Hoia Baciu

 

Transylvania is a creepy place and is so vast that its famous for all kinds of horrors. 

Within Transylvania is a dark mysterious forest named Hoia Baciu. It's been described as haunted and it looks often eerie, especially in nightfall, during winter and in fog. Many have disappeared into thin air while in the forest, including a shepherd and 200 sheep. Some defy explanation. A little girl vanished in the forest, and then five years later she emerged not having aged and still wearing the same clothes as if new. A woman got lost there, and then emerged with a 15th century coin in her pocket. Some have left the forest suffering burns, headaches and fever. No one can understand why the forest has so much intense paranormal activity, including ghosts and UFO's. Radiation levels are high in that forest and some explain that this is caused by natural uranium based subsoil. 

The trees tend to look odd too. Some have twisted and seem deformed, growing in strange positions, while others appear "immortal". All of the plants in one area of the forest form a perfect round circle. People that visited the forest are unnerved by many weird experiences in there, including the sounds of terrified screams and glowing green eyes peering at them in the darkness. Some people have met aliens, cryptids and ghosts. It's a bizarre location where timeslips have happened to some who came back to tell their tales.    

Shadow Girl

The Cursed Amethyst

This magnificent gemstone is known as The Cursed Amethyst and it's not something you want to have as a gift. Also called the Delhi Purple Sapphire, which was locked away in the Natural History Museum in London. Once discovered there by curator Peter Tandy, after being hidden for so long, there was a note attached with it that described a terrible curse stained with blood. It was originally from the temple of the thunder god Indra, but was looted by the British Army in the 19th century. This was called the Siege of Cawnpore. One of the soldiers who robbed the temple was dazzled by the "purple sapphire" and wanted to keep it. After returning home, he experienced a sting of bad luck. He was so unhappy that he gave the gemstone to another, who then also experienced a lot of misery. Every person who owned the gemstone always suffered horribly with misfortunes. 

A British scientist named Edward Heron-Allen took the purple stone and gave it to a woman. She was already gifted with a beautiful singing voice but as soon as she owned the Cursed Amethyst, her voice was gone! Many more dark things followed, and Heron-Allen was so afraid that he flung the amethyst into a canal. Strangely, the gemstone returned to him! While the canal was being cleaned, the stone was recovered and then handed back to its owner, and Edward Heron-Allen was horrified. He then had the stone place in a fashioned jewel and locked it away in a bank. He left instructions for his daughter that three years after his death, she should remove the amethyst and hand it over to the museum. He died in 1943. Flash forward to 2007, the amethyst went on display at the museum. The curator who transported the amethyst had spoke of a strange lightning storm around his car! Now the Cursed Amethyst is in a vault at the museum. 

Shadow Girl