Spiritualism and the Paranormal

The more you want something, the sooner it becomes a reality as the saying goes. Think of the genie in the bottle who grants you only three wishes. If you're not careful, however, what arrives most of the time isn't what you had in mind. Such can be the case with the spirit world. In this story, a group of young adults drive around late into the night looking for a thrill and get the fright of their lives. Aerial view of West Seattle and Alki beach. A short bridge in West Seattle spans over a narrow, but deep, ravine popular for suicides near the Admiral Theater and Alki Beach. Rumor has it that passers-by would see the figure of one of the many pitiful souls who took their own lives by jumping off the span landing onto the pavement below. They say that it stares at people at the beach near the scene of his death. Along side him is his dog who followed his master into the afterlife. Like many teenagers, Mike, a relative of his and a couple of friends, knowing of this tal...

I drove home that early morning going over the events that had taken place within the past hour (“ The Uninvited Passenger ”). I mentally reviewed Tina's story – her ability, her history with her mother, the strong scent of perfume, the hairs standing on end at the back of my neck. I no longer felt scared, but I had a sense of validation that these phenomena existed. The further I got from Tina's, the more curious I became of her abilities. I wanted to know more. Over next few days, Tina and I talked about her ability to see spirits and about the spirit that followed her that night in great detail. Tina had tried to ignore the spirit one day, she said, and in retaliation, the spirit unleashed the most foul stench that lingered for days. It was the smell of death, of decomposition, of putrefaction. It was so bad that it didn't escape the noses of the people whom she lived with. They searched the house for any small animals that might have snuck into the house and had die...

"... The first thing to hit me was the strong scent of vanilla. I commented to Mike about the vanilla scent asking if it were a new car freshener. That's when Mike just came out with it: He had an attachment!" In this story, a friend had a paranormal experience in his early twenties under a bridge known for suicides. Fast forward years later, he wants to experience the same "thrill" of having a paranormal encounter, but this time he makes a serious mistake and the spirit attaches to him. Another Trip to the Bridge Last year, I hosted a small impromptu dinner of a few friends. It was October with Halloween drawing near. Our discussions around the table centered around ideas of what costumes we were going to wear on the 31st, if we were going watch the latest Paranormal Activity movie and the retelling of ghost stories. As usual for this time of year I told the story of the uninvited passenger to my guests, and how it was the closest encounter with the p...