Li’l Charlie

People in all cultures have long believed that communication with the dead is possible, and throughout time many people have claimed to speak to those who have shaken this mortal coil. Ghosts or spirit and demonic communication show up often in classic literature, including in mythology, the Bible, and Shakespeare’s plays.

In Victorian England it was fashionable in many circles to conduct séances; Ouija boards, three-legged tables, and candles were used to try to contact the dead. A century ago mediums “in touch with the spirit” during séances would write pages and pages of “automatic writing,” the psychic’s hands allegedly guided by ghosts to convey lengthy handwritten messages.

Since that time ghosts seem to have lost their will or ability to write—or even communicate effectively. These days the spirits as channeled through mediums seem to prefer a guessing game and instead offer only ambiguous, vague information.

Vague and nebulous information always lead to an interpretive moment where the so called experiencer is given a word or a sign such as a knocking or tapping that indicate that something from the ethereal realm wishes to make some sort of contact.

Horror films began to reflect the public’s belief and concern that contacting of the dead could not only be the gateway to a more sinful and satanic necromancy, but invite possession by evil spirits.

In the 1973 classic “The Exorcist,” for example, twelve-year-old Regan MacNeil is first contacted through a seemingly innocent encounter with an Ouija board. The entity she thought she was communicating with and whom her mother chalked up to as an imaginary friend called himself Captain Howdy but is later revealed as the demon Pazuzu that would soon possess her.

This fictional story alone has taken an innocuous spirit channeling tool and has turned it into a tool capable of possessing children and preparing them to be adepts of Satan himself.

The Ouija however is not needed when it comes to summoning the dead because there are other ways in which human beings can find spirits or at least gather together to conjure and communicate with the spirit world.

The séance was the most effective way, according to Spiritualist mediums, of communicating with the dead. In this manner, messages from the departed could be passed on to the living and the spirits could announce their presence by manifesting displays of the supernatural.

During the heyday of Spiritualism, scientists and psychical researchers investigated hundreds of séances and unfortunately, the majority of the physical mediums were caught hoaxing phenomena at some point in their career. Very few of them came away unscathed by the early investigators of the Spiritualist movement and the few who did remain as mysterious now as they were then.

Official gatherings to contact the dead prevailed in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It wasn’t until after the Movie the Exorcist that the spiritual movement was put under the microscope by the born again Christian movement.

However in the rebellious 60’ and 70’s young people began to defy church leaders by participating in what could be called “party rituals” where dark and often frightening rituals were carried out by young people during sleepovers and parties.

While the Ouija board would often show at these gatherings, those whose parents directly forbid them to touch a witch board began improvising and creating ritualistic and often effective ways of scaring themselves while calling upon dark forces.

If the use of a board was forbidden for divination, young people would often take the route of using a mirror and a candle. This is known as Enoptromancy.

In what is called the Bloody Mary ritual a psychomanteum is created where a small, enclosed area is set up with a comfortable chair, dim lighting, and a mirror angled so as not to reflect anything but darkness intended to communicate with spirits of the dead.

During the ritual, Bloody Mary allegedly appears to individuals or groups who ritualistically invoke her name, usually by repeatedly chanting her name in a mirror placed in a room that is usually lit by a candle. The Bloody Mary apparition allegedly appears as a corpse, a witch or ghost; can be friendly or evil; and is sometimes “seen” covered in blood. The lore surrounding the ritual if she is summoned properly states that participants may endure the apparition screaming at them, cursing them, strangling them, stealing their soul, drinking their blood, or scratching their eyes out…

Another party or sleep over ritual is more or less a spell that is repeated by participants in order to summon ghosts to levitate a person.

One participant lies flat on the floor, and then the others space themselves around him or her, each placing one or two fingertips underneath the participant’s body. The person closest to the head commonly begins by saying “She’s looking ill,” which the others repeat; then “she’s looking worse” is spoken and repeated back. The general direction of the call-and-repeat describes how the prone person is looking worse and worse, followed by saying “she is dying,” and, finally, “she is dead.”

Variations of the spoken part of the game occur, with a common modern version the person being lifted is told a story about their death and asked to imagine it happening to him or her. It serves the dual purpose of “freaking out” the participants and convinces the participants that it will be easier to lift this person.

All versions end with the phrase “light as a feather, stiff as a board” chanted by the entire group except the prone person, who pretends to be dead as they attempt to lift their companion’s body using only their fingertips.

Some versions omit the story entirely and only the “light as a feather…” chant is used. Allegedly, after these repetitions, the person being lifted will seem lighter or even entirely weightless.

“Omul Negru Na Venit” is a European ritual where kids would summon a little black demon – or the Dark Man. The dark man “Omul” is a very terrifying figure. He appears as a hooded demon, or even a demon wearing a metal mask. One young person in the crowd calls out to Omul Negru and then when his name is repeated the spirit of the demon would appear and possess a chosen child. The child then says “Children Children come to dinner, do not be afraid of the black monster. The children enter the room and ask the “medium” questions.

“Who are you?”

“Black Monster.”

“What do you eat?”

“Man’s flesh”

“What do you drink?”

“Man’s blood.”

“What is your Pillow?”

“Man’s skull.”

The children then wait for the Omul Negru to come out of the child so they can run to their mother’s for safety.

This is similar to the old game “No Bears are out tonight.”

Now young people are participating in the Charlie Charlie Challenge.

The new channeling game was first talked about ion Twitter, fuelled by speculation that its players can connect with a dead Mexican demon known as Charlie.

The Charlie Charlie Challenge has been played by thousands of young people after a number of videos on You Tube purported to show supernatural goings-on.

In order to contact the demon the instructions are to place two pencils on a piece of paper in the shape of the cross with the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’ on the paper . Participants then repeat the phrase “Charlie, Charlie can we play?” in order to connect with the demon.

If Charlie is there the pencils will move to indicate his answer.

This is a variation on the pencil game that has been played by Mexican children.

To play The Pencil Game, you will need six pencils and a partner. Facing each other, each person must hold three pencils and arrange them as three sides of a box, with the open end facing the other person. It is best to use unsharpened pencils, or to hold the tips so that the eraser ends are pointed toward your partner. The ends of your pencils will need to touch your partner’s to form a complete rectangle.

To begin the game, both players must chant: “Charlie, Charlie, can we play?” If the pencils move inward or up, the answer is yes, if they move outward or down, the answer is no. If one side goes one way and the other side goes a different way, it means maybe or the question can’t be answered at this time. You can then ask the spirit of Charlie yes or no questions, and he will respond by moving the pencils.

There are some that say that there is no real demon answering questions. Skeptics say it is a ritualized version of playing with a magic 8 ball.

However there have been stories of people who have summoned Charlie only to forget to not say good bye – this according top players is dangerous.

It is vital that you say goodbye to Charlie otherwise you leave a gateway open and Charlie’s so called demon friends will harass you.

This is similar to not closing a séance properly or not closing down an Ouija board by moving the planchette to “goodbye” on the board.

Now, it is important to know that the “Charlie” demon is far from being Mexican. Unless the demon is called “Carlitos.” A lot of demon contacting originates from Europe or the Good ole USA.

Spiritualism and contacting the dead was considered a healthy and normal practice in the 19th century? Today it is now being argued that it is a kin to demon worship. This point is usually argued by the same people who think that Trick or treating in a kin to demon worship. The very thought of Halloween being a spiritual day, or a day set aside to allow contact or thoughts of the dead will conjure extreme responses on all sides of the argument, with very little middle ground.

The truth about spiritualism is that it is as American as apple pie. It is even more American and was even more fashionable in the United Sated than it was in Europe in the late 19th century.

Now, we live in times where ritualism consists of balancing two pencils into a cross. Is this truthfully an effective way to contact spirits?

Ghost hunters have used a form of the “Charlie” ritual by bringing to a ghost hunt, dousing rods.

Modern rods are typically made of metals such as iron or copper or other conductive metals.

The theory is that the rods act as a conductor of hidden energy sources, and that spirits reside within these fields and draw upon the energy to manifest themselves. Because spirits are intricately connected to energy fields then they could, in theory, manipulate the rods to respond to yes or no questions.

Many individuals within paranormal groups will turn to the rods as a means of communicating with any spirits that may be present.
The act of dowsing is rather simple. The rods are held firmly in each hand and do not move themselves.

Instead, the rods are embedded into the handles on a pivot allowing the rods to swivel. The handles are held closely to the chest or abdomen of the dowser to prevent accidental manipulation of the rods, the dowser’s legs are spread shoulder width to ensure a stable stance void of swaying.
Instructions are announced to any spirit present on how the rods are to be used. Ground rules are established in how the questions are to be answered. Typically, crossed rods indicate an answer in the positive. After each question the spirit should be asked to uncross the rods.

A negative response is typically indicated by the lack of manipulation. Because of this you will want to periodically ask the spirit if they are still there to gauge whether the lack of response is a negative response to a question or because the spirit has departed the scene.

The downside to using the rods is that the information you glean is often limited and unless you have prior knowledge of events surrounding the spirit or the alleged haunting, it could be an effort in futility determining just who you are in contact with.

Dowsers will often caution those just starting out that the act of carrying on a session with a spirit can cause fatigue and nausea/disorientation as the spirit is supposedly using the energy of the dowser to manipulate the rods.

The Spirit Seekers have used the rods during investigations to varying degrees. More times than not though the results are inconclusive and make no sense in relation to the investigation.

With all of the technology used to hunt down ghosts, with all of the primitive motions of pushing a planchett across a silly numbered and lettered board for divination, kids have figured out that all you need to do is work it out with a pencil.

Text – Check out Ground Zero Radio with Clyde Lewis Live Nightly @ http://www.groundzeromedia.org