With Paranormal Author and Speaker
ED OKONOWICZ
Author of "Possessed Possessions: Haunted Antiques, Furniture and Collectibles"
September 20, 2005

 

 

I am a writer. One day, I accidentally interviewed a storyteller, who interested me in that field.

A year later, I was presenting storytelling programs to a variety of adult audiences. About three months into my storytelling career, I discovered that EVERYONE wanted GHOST stories.

No matter what the occasion or focus of my talk was supposed to be, people wanted more and more tales about GHOSTS! A year later, in 1994, with the help of my wife, an artist and graphics designer, we compiled our first book or mid-Atlantic regional ghost stories.

Two years later, an antiques dealer told me he had a haunted chair, and he wanted me to write about it. Shocked and non-believing, I replied, "Look. I have written stories in my books about haunted houses, mobile homes, firehouses, even pets and restaurants, but NO HAUNTED THINGS. I'm not interested!"

(Actually, I didn't believe him and tried to ignore what I thought was a silly request.)
But he persisted and kept calling me.

Finally, I told him, IF you find me a few other HAUNTED objects, I will write an entire book about them, and I will feature your chair.

Two days later, he called and gave me the phone numbers of two people, one owned a haunted sea captain's chest in Baltimore and the other had a haunted mirror in Hanover, Pa.

That was the start, and what followed were two books, based on interviews with people around the country on a wide range of spirited things, like dolls, mirrors, instruments, beds, cribs, carvings, paintings, furniture and jewelry. And the leads keep coming.

At this point, I need to pause and provide a few observations.

In the realm of the spirit world, or what some people call the unexplained or paranormal, unseen forces or guides play a role.

I truly believe that something led me to meet that storyteller that day, when I was doing an interview at that Pennsylvania farmhouse with her beekeeper husband. He was the reason for my visit, not her. He forced me to interview his storyteller wife, and I told him twice, 'I am not interested.'

After meeting her, I took a course, became a professional teller and now teach a course of storytelling at the University of Delaware.

Second, I tried to ignore the man with the POSSESSED chair. I mocked his idea, and didn't answer several of his phone calls. Eventually, I gave in, and my two books have led me into areas I never would have dreamed of.

I met James Van Praagh, worked with him in California, and he is a wonderful person and is responsible for my being on this program, and meeting his wonderful staff.

(In fact, because I do not like flying, I turned down the offer to appear in the show Possessed Possessions, but eventually, and reluctantly, agreed.)

What I'm saying is, I truly believe I was 'guided' or directed, over my strong efforts to resist toward the areas in which I have now become an expert.

Now, back to our topic Possessed Possession.

Can an object be possessed, spirited, annoying or host some sort of energy or energy from the other side? My answer is "YES!"

Can I prove it?

"NO," but I've never seen Australia, but I have faith and evidence that there is a very strong likelihood that it is there.

Let's think of active objects this way:

If people can accept the concept of a haunted house, or spooky graveyard or eerie inn, restaurant or museum or haunted battlefield, and if even 'non-believers' are sympathetic to the idea that the home where a murder or suicide or tragedy occurred might be 'active' or bothersome, then why not agree that an object can hold the same essence of the human spirit?

People ask me often: What kinds of objects are the most likely to be 'haunted?'

While I will tell them any 'thing' has the potential to hold spirit energy, some certainly appear to have more potential than others. These may include:

DOLLS or PUPPETS, because of their similar form or likeness to the human shape are excellent potential hosts

PHOTOGRAPHS, because of their potential to capture the image, and maybe even a portion of the soul, of the loved one within the frame

FAMILY HEIRLOOMS and JEWELERY, due to the affection and attention a loved one had devoted to the object during their lifetime

PAINTINGS, CARVINGS and HAND-CRAFTED PIECES, may serve as hosts of the creator or artist, who devoted much of him or her energy into the making of the piece

RITUAL PIECES, in the forms of furniture, decorative objects and protective pieces, because of their strong association with religious beliefs and ceremonial events

WEAPONS and HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS that were used in battle and during civilian acts of violence, have high potential for possession.

Let me summarize this by explaining that how an object is used, created, cared for or abused, plus the material it is made from, all contribute to the potential for hosting spirit energy.

Also, some people or owners may be more sensitive than others to 'seeing' or an awareness of a certain piece's power or activity. While most people tend to associate objects of violence as being haunted or active, let me give you a more benign, or friendlier type of example.

A simple, mass-produced, store bought knickknack, owned by an ancestor, and which had been passed down through the family for generations, certainly may host a restless, but friendly, spirit.

Let's paint a scenario where a great grandmother, who treasured this simple piece, passed it down to her child, the present owner's grandmother. When she passed on, the present owner's mother gave it attention and a place of honor.

But now, the modern, 21st-century, upwardly mobile, career-oriented, young professional has no place in her condominium for an old piece of the past. So the once cherished object, is now treated as a third-class object, relegated to the bottom of a box of stuff eventually destined for a resale store to gain a tax-deductible receipt.

Imagine the ancestor's frustration and disappointment, and perhaps spirited efforts, to get her treasured piece the attention she thinks it deserves.

Or perhaps a ceremonial mask, used by a high priestess in the most respected rituals of an African tribe, is now nothing more than the decorative wall hanging in the downstairs powder room?

There is no positive answer for why these things occur, or how to solve them, but based on interviews with scores of people from around the country who claim they own the active objects, I truly believe that there is much substance to their fascinating experiences.

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author Ed Okonowicz is an award-winning author of 23 books - 16 dealing with paranormal topics, including  'Possessed Possessions: Haunted Antiques, Furniture and Collectibles' and 'Possessed Possessions 2.'

Ed will be a guest on the special TLC TV show 'Possessed Possessions' which is hosted by James Van Praagh. The show will air October 30th 2005 and has been described as an 'Antiques Roadshow with HAUNTED objects.'

Check your local listings for time and channel. For more on Ed Okonowicz visit his web site at: www.mystandlace.com