Why don't spirits …

Y’know, when someone tells me about their wickedly haunted house, or a case that’s so evil it’s dangerous, or even demonic in nature, I always think about the missing aspects that I would think go hand in hand with such rarities.  I have read, and seen on television, cases where spirits were so nasty picture frames and mirrors were thrown off walls, doors were opened and closed repeatedly, knockings and thumping sounds would wake up residents, water sources would be turned on/off, lights flashed on and off… you get the picture, right?

But what I have hardly ever heard, and what I’ve only seen in some of the more creepy movies dealing with the subject of nasty entities (because the writers clearly understood, for a brief period of time, that less-is-more when it comes to the truly terrifying paranormal cases you’re very likely never to have heard about), is how the nasty spirit entity has manifested itself in ways that are clearly manageable, and clearly personal, to each of its victims.  What do I mean?  Well, let me be specific;

How many times have you heard of a spirit apparition appearing at the foot of a person’s bed, so when they wake up, there it is.  They see the apparition, and it’s terrifying.  You’ve heard that one, right?  Well, probably so have a million other people. It’s a standard case in point.  However, how many times have you heard of someone driving down the road, looking over to their passenger side seat and having the terrifying experience of seeing an apparition?  Or in their rear view mirror as they’re driving?   Hardly ever, right?  Makes you wonder why, doesn’t it?  What if I told you it’s because seeing an apparition during these times – driving – and having the reaction of being utterly terrified, could directly result in the driver driving off the road, or into the oncoming traffic.  Essentially, at these times, the target (the person seeing the apparition) could actually be placed in a life threatening situation.   So these occurrences are rarely experienced and even less likely to be documented.

This example brings me to another point, and that’s that there’s a distinct possibility the control of the entire paranormal situation is actually in the mind of the observer.  That is not to say the events aren’t real, or the events aren’t happening.  Please do not misunderstand me or my point.  My point lends itself more to “perspective of the experience” than anything else.

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of authentically spiritually active homes in the United States today.  Let’s say 15% to 25% of those cases are nasty cases (that’s an extreme over-estimation) with a spirit presence that exhibits poltergeist-type qualities.  It lets the residents of the home know when it’s unhappy, when something has been done which displeases it, etc… It moves things, it hides things, it makes noises, and it may even show itself to add a little extra flair to a given situation.  But, the real characteristic to any serious haunting is what the spirit doesn’t do, and that’s what I want to dig into.

If these spirits are in such great control of the resident’s home(s), for instance, why aren’t more people being pushed down their stairs?  Why aren’t people opening their eyes after rinsing their hair out while in the shower, and seeing an apparition right there in the tub with them?  Why do people only really experience these spiritual entities in manners which they have the ability to cope with, explain, and handle emotionally?  Why aren’t these spirits, if they are in such control of their actions and the environments the victims feel they are trapped in – why aren’t they shaking things up beyond the measure which can be managed by the victims?

If the spirits really want to destroy the family, or make them victims to the point of hurting them, why don’t they do things like – set the house on fire while the residents are sleeping?  Terrifying thought, huh?  Easy enough to do, too.  If you’re a spirit, you’re in the house, you know when people are sleeping, you know where the matches are… put 2 and 2 together.  Yet these things never happen.  What does happen, quite predictably, are scratches on a person’s body.   Really.  I mean. Really.  Scratches?  I get that’s a way to let people know you’re upset, but a grand majority of actual physical manifestation, or physical attack, by a spirit on a person is almost always “scratches”.  Could it be people expect that’s how spirits communicate their evil presence, and so that’s why people experience scratches, and no other form of oft’recorded episodes of physical attack?  Sure, some have been slapped, I’ve read that many times, and I’ve also heard of hair pulling.  But why isn’t anyone ever poked in the eye?  It may sound funny, but think about it.  If you get poked in the eye there could be severe damage, and if it’s not severe it could be enough to make your eye unable to “see” for a period of time, which would render the victim even more helpless (and terrified) than before.  Right?  It would be far worse to have your sight taken away for a short period of time, knowing there’s an evil spirit in your midst, than it would be to suffer through being scratched or slapped.

My point through all of this is, rarely does anything happen that’s completely over the top.  Even when someone is possessed that person is speaking and communicating.  It’s awful.  It’s very serious.  But it’s still emotionally and psychologically manageable to the people who are dealing with it, and even to some degree, the person it’s happening to.  And how many times have you heard of a possessed person jumping off a bridge and killing themselves?  I mean, isn’t that the point of the possession?  The evil entity wants the victim’s body and/or soul?  I mean, the natural progression of “possession” leads to the death of the victim, and let’s face it, if possession is a real thing (it is a very real thing in many cultures) it is not bound by the laws of Christianity, alone.  Those bounds and understandings of how possession work are set within the guidelines of Christian victims and Christian-based resources, such as priests and exorcists, etc.. If an entity has entered a person’s body/soul why doesn’t it take the person to the nearest train track and wait.  A strong argument could be made, that the victim hasn’t lost all control yet.  That’s not an unbelievable point, but neither is the comparison that the victim’s mind is in control as much as lesser victim’s minds are when they are *not* being pushed down the stairs, or attacked in the shower, or distracted while driven their cars.

Very few spirit interactions stress victims beyond their ability to cope/handle their situations.  That is my point.  And it’s something that isn’t referred to enough, because it’s not glamorous.  It doesn’t lend enough credence to the notion that it’s a war – it’s people against spirits.  It’s spiritual warfare.   What I’m proposing lends itself more to “a majority of the perceptions of what’s happening actually live in the mind *while* they are happening”.  I’m not saying the events aren’t happening.  They are very likely happening.  But what I’m saying is, it’s very possible the makings of the events are being channeled through the victims first, and filtered through the minds of the victims, and then manifested in a way the victim’s psyche knows it can handle.  Even if it’s a situation they can’t explain, if they can reason it out as “I can handle this without losing my mind” (literally) then it’s just something disturbing that happened.

These are my thoughts, for today, on the subject of “Why don’t spirits…” – Spirits don’t … because the victims may be in more control of situations than they realize.  Because, if every event is filtered through the victim before the event happens, then the event will have only the maximum amount of impact which the victim’s psyche can handle.

This is why you don’t hear about people having their heavy bookshelves pushed onto them, crushing them.  Game over.  Or why people aren’t driving their cars into oncoming traffic more often, because of apparitions suddenly appearing, or spirits taking over their steering wheel.  It’s why people aren’t pushed down the stairs more often, or why people aren’t having more accidental electrocutions in their homes, or why knives aren’t flying all over the place and hitting people – even when giant frames and mirrors are being thrown off walls, doors and windows being slammed regularly and routinely.  No one gets seriously injured.  People like to reason it out “the spirit is toying with you”.  I say – “not necessarily”.  It could be more like, the spirit is trying to scare you, but your mind is filtering the effort of the spirit and only allowing it to manifest its presence in ways that your psyche knows it can handle.  You can handle doors and windows slamming, and lights flickering.  Who can’t handle that.  Is it weird? Absolutely.  Will it cause physical pain and put you in the hospital? No, it won’t.  It may keep you up at night, but it won’t kill you like driving into oncoming traffic will.

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