O is for Out of Body Experience

Astral Projection: An out-of-body experience is achieved either awake, via lucid dreaming, or deep meditation. You remove your consciousness from your physical body and decide to go wherever you want. Some say you are attached to your body by a silver chord. 

Dangers: Your body is unprotected. While you are out and about, someone can come in and murder your body. Then you’re trapped on the outside forever or you pass on into the afterlife, for better or worse. There is also the concern a powerful being like a demon or your dead Ex from another dimension can attack you while astral projecting. 

Salem's Daughters: I use astral projection as a power one of the witches possess in my upcoming book Salem’s Daughters. She has to hide her cat body while she astral projects so someone at the bed and breakfast does not happen upon it and bury it in the yard.

Honorable Mention: Orb, Occult, Ouija Board, Old Hag Syndrome

Tomorrow: P is for Paranormal vs. Supernatural

N is for Numerology

Numerology: assigns a numeric value to a letter, word, or phrase in the belief there is a divine or mystical relationship between a number and coinciding events. Countless cultures have believed in some form of numerology. The Chinese believe even numbers are lucky. Traditional medicine and acupuncture have a mystical association with numbers. 

Gematria, an Assyro-Babylonian system of numerology later adopted by Jews assigns numerical value to a word or phrase in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other.

Much of our early cities and buildings built by or influenced from Freemasons are steeped in numerology. So were the Great Pyramids of Giza. Hogwarts had a class on The Study of Ancient Runes. There is numerology in gaming and yes, numerology is very much in science. Whether you believe numbers have a meaning that extends beyond a numeric value or not, our culture is built on numerology. 

I included the element of numerology in my upcoming book Salem’s Daughters where a popular paranormal cable television show is doing a special three hour live show at the bed and breakfast to try and determine why so many people are dying on the property. Edited Scene: 

Denise turned her head, flung her hair from side to side, and treated the audience with her wicked sexy smile. “One aspect of being a paranormal investigator is that I’m also a numerologist. We focus on specific digits and their order, values, and their sums ... For the sake of tonight’s show, I’ll present my knowledge and experience and tell you what I think they mean.” 

"There are six cats here in the basement with us. The number six has various meanings, depending on the culture and the time period. But what I’m getting, right here right now, is six is the number of man. More specifically, the sixth commandment of the Old Testament comes to mind: Thou Shalt Not Murder. And that commandment has been broken at least nineteen times on this property in the past, and five times recently at Murcat Manor. If we can conclude one of the many evil elements that has its roots here, it carries the name of Murder.” 

“There are thirteen cats total in this bed and breakfast ... thirteen is associated with corruption and disintegration that results in revolts. So we have identified a second root that has its tentacles wrapped around this bed and breakfast: Rebellion.”

Honorable Mention: Near-Death Experience, Necromancy, Nazca Lines

Tomorrow: Out of Body Experiences

Question: Do you believe there is a divine or mystical relationship between numbers and well, pretty much everything in our universe?

M is for Movies (In Alphabetical Order)

Wow! This was hard selecting the Top Ten supernatural and paranormal movies. Ask me again tomorrow and I might have a whole new list. 

1408: Adapted from Stephen King’s short story, a man (John Cusack) who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror. 

This is a must see for all horror/supernatural/paranormal buffs!

Fun Fact: In its standard edition, the DVD runtime is exactly 104 min and 8 sec, referring directly to the movie title. This also makes the DVD stop playing at precisely 1:44:08, again referring to the title. 

American Horror Story: Coven: Coven (Jessica Lange, Emma Roberts) is the third season of the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story and follows a Coven of Salem witches as they fight for survival in New Orleans. 

Fun Fact: Kathy Bates plays historical personage Madame LaLurie, a real life Louisiana-born socialite and serial killer who kept slaves bound in her home. Bates' great grandfather was the personal physician to Andrew Jackson, who lived next door to LaLurie. How freaky is that???

Ghostbusters: Three odd-ball scientists get kicked out of their cushy positions at a university in New York City where they studied the occult. They decide to set up shop in an old firehouse and become Ghostbusters, trapping pesky ghosts, spirits, haunts, and poltergeists for money. 

Fun Fact: Dan Akroyd received much of the inspiration for this movie from a haunted house he lived in. 

Harry Potter: All Eight Movies. Need I say more? 

  

Fun Fact: Only Alan Rickman, the actor who played Professor Snape, knew his character’s fate before the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” because Rowling told him. 

Inception: Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a thief with the rare ability to enter people's dreams and steal their secrets from their subconscious. His skill has made him a hot commodity in the world of corporate espionage but has also cost him everything he loves. Cobb gets a chance at redemption when he is offered a seemingly impossible task: Plant an idea in someone's mind. If he succeeds, it will be the perfect crime, but a dangerous enemy anticipates Cobb's every move. 

Fun Fact: The creator of Inception, Chris Nolan, had long wanted to make this movie based on his own experiences of lucid dreams. 

Poltergeist: A young family are visited by ghosts in their home. At first the ghosts appear friendly, moving objects around the house to the amusement of everyone, then they turn nasty and start to terrorize the family before they "kidnap" the youngest daughter.

Fun Fact: This movie is being remade and released May 22nd. The original is a hard act to follow as Poltergeist is a cult classic. 

Ringu (Japanese Version of The Ring): A reporter must investigate a mysterious video tape which seems to cause the death of anyone watching it within a week.  

Fun Fact: In total there have been nine official films (6 Japanese and 3 remakes/spinoffs) 2 television series, 2 video games, and one short film in the Ringu series.

The Conjuring: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. 

Fun Fact: The Conjuring was based on the true case files of a real-life couple, Ed and Lorraine (played in the film by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson), who were American paranormal investigators that founded the New England Society for Psychic Research in 1952. 

The Orphanage: A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend. 

Fun Fact: Although uncredited, the exec producer Guillermo del Toro plays the doctor at the Emergency Ward who tends to Laura after she injures her leg. 

The Shining: Jack Torrance becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer's block. He settles in with his wife and son, Danny, who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack's writing goes nowhere and his sons visions become more disturbing, Jack discovers the hotel's dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorizing his family.

Fun Fact: Stephen King was originally unhappy about the way Jack Nicholson portrayed the main character. 

Editor's Cut: Pet Sematary (yes, I spelled that correctly), Insidious, The Woman in Black, The Sixth Sense, and Salem’s Daughters (Okay, I’m biased as this is my latest and greatest). 

The Exorcist: It didn’t scare me. And that’s the reason why I went to the movie. Cheesy and boring. Yawn.

Honorable Mention: Mythology, Metaphysics, Magic, and Mediums. 

Tomorrow: Numerology. You won't want to miss this one!  

Question: Have you seen any of these movies? Did I miss some real good ones? What are some of your favorite supernatural or paranormal movies?

Who Am I? My name is Stephen Tremp, and I'm a Speculative Fiction Writer. My theme for the 2015 Blogging A to Z Challenge is The Supernatural and Paranormal. My latest work, Salem’s Daughters, is due for release Labor Day Weekend 2015.

L is for Lucid Dream

Lucid Dreams: A lucid dream is any dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. It usually happens while you are dreaming the dream. 

But let’s take this a step deeper. In this type of dream you have the ability, at least to an extent, to control your thoughts and actions as well as your surroundings. It’s like being awake and conscious inside your dream. Freaky. 

Great Movie on Lucid Dreaming

I’ve had a handful of dreams like this, although it’s been a while. I remember one vividly. A very good friend (ahem) was working behind the scenes to take me down and out in real life. I had a dream I was in combat with this person on a regulation mat and we were using martial arts against each other. 

I’ve had some martial arts training but nothing to brag about. But in the dream I was very much awake and had to act, react, defend myself, and take the offensive. I made conscious and awesome decisions to not only protect myself from the onslaught, but to let this person know there was a price to be paid for messing with me. 

True story. I'll take this willingly to my personal Judgment Day and give an account for it.

Question: Have you had any dreams like this. Dreams that you not just dreaming of some really strange $h!+, but that you are aware and can consciously effect and even control the dream?

Tomorrow: M is for Movies. Stop by and tell us your favorite supernatural and paranormal movies!

Honorable Mention: Levitation, Lycanthropy

K is for Key Cards

Key Cards: Cards that are used in a card-guessing experiment. Participants of this experiment try to guess of five symbols from a deck of cards that are shuffled and presented randomly. 

If you saw the movie Ghostbusters, at the beginning Bill Murray is conducting just such an experiment with hilarious consequences. 

Wednesday: M is for Movies is my favorite post. Stop by and let us know what your favorite supernatural or paranormal movies are. 

K is for Karma: I'm also posting over at the A to Z main blog. Simply click Einstein's smiling face toward the top of my left side bar.

Honorable Mention: Knocks and Taps, K2 Meter, Kirlian Photography 

Tuesday: L is for Lucid Dreaming 

Key Card scene from Ghostbusters:

 

J is for Judgment

Do You Believe In A Final Judgment? One where you will have to give an account for what you say and do in this life? Just about every civilization has believed in an ultimate judgment in the afterlife that will determine where and how they spend eternity. 

Charon ferrying newly deceased across River Styx to Underworld

Greek Mythology: You went to the underworld ruled by Hades and were judged by three judges, Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus. They passed sentence based on an individual’s deeds during their life on Earth. The good went to the Elysian Fields, others were singled out for special treatment. 

Reincarnation: Hindus believe the soul is immortal and people are reincarnated back on Earth. Others think that when we die, that’s all she wrote. Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die and there is no afterlife. 

Bema Seat: I’m of the Christian faith and believe I’ve been atoned for, although I will still be judged at the Bema Seat of Christ. People who are saved during the period from the Day of Pentecost to the Rapture will go to heaven, but that’s were all their works (good and bad) will be tried by fire. Whatever survives, if anything, they will be rewarded for. 

Great White Judgment: This is where all of the saved that have died before the Day of Pentecost, as well as all of the unsaved regardless when they lived, are judged. Those whose names are found written in the Book of Life will inherit eternal life with God. Those whose names are not found will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever. 

Question: Do you believe in a final ultimate judgment for the afterlife? 

Recommended Reading: I love Dante’s Inferno. You have to find a good translator to understand and appreciate the Divine Comedy. Much like Edgar Allen Poe. Don’t try to read it on your own. 

Honorable Mention: Jamais Vu

Monday: K is for Key Cards

I is for Illuminism

Need a Path to Enlightenment? How about Illuminism, the belief that you or a movement of a particular group has superior knowledge not accessible to humankind in general. Of course, the name Illuminati comes to mind. If the group(s) does exist, most imagine that they conspire to control world affairs by controlling governments, corporations and global events. 

According to conspiracy theories, the Illuminati want to attain political power establish a New World Order. At least, this is how Hollywood portrays secret societies that also include Free Masonry and the Bilderberg Group. 

Signs and symbols (please visit my S is for Signs and Symbols post) run rampant through our society and many such as what you see on the front and back of our currency are attributed to secret societies. Enlightened groups who are far superior intellectually and spiritually than the common folk like you and me. 

Question: Do you believe groups exist like the Iluminati, Free Masonry, and the Bilderberg Group that try to control world events and want to usher in a New World Order?

Honorable Mention: Immortals, I Ching 

Tomorrow: J is for Judgment