In the Domain of the Logcabin Witch, Pt 1: Taken By the Sky

Lancaster, Ohio is a large town by any measure. It’s very busy and full of people, homes, stores, traffic– and both Gerick and myself longed to escape and get to the woods and fields regularly. Luckily, Gerick was friends with an old neighbor who lived close to where he spent his teen years, out in a very pretty area close to many state and county parks. (Later, we moved back there to “Forsaken”, from 2003 to 2007.)

We’ll call this lady “Brandi.” She was one of the first pagan witches in that neck of the woods, which is how she met Gerick and a couple of his pagan-curious friends, in their late teens. Brandi lived the lifestyle completely, attending giant pagan festivals and raising her daughters to be full-fledged witches. After a divorce, she found a house on the edge of a rich man’s estate, and it was no ordinary home. She bought an historical log cabin that was well over a century old! She added an addition for a bathroom and kitchen, airy and open– but preserved the original 4 room, no hallway, cabin, with 2 rooms downstairs (dining/entry and living room) and 2 rooms upstairs (bedrooms.) Her home was decorated in nature and pagan themes, and was one of the most beautiful, if modest, homes I’ve ever had the pleasure to see, let alone stay within.

She regularly traveled, however, and she owned 6 to 7 rescue dogs (all large) as well as 4 cats, and needed house sitters. So– every few months we’d make arrangements to stay at her place with its decks overlooking the forested valley, hottub, and natural amenities, for free, in exchange for just feeding and watching over her pets and watering her plants. Interestingly, despite the age of the original log cabin, I never detected any ghosts or passing spirits there. It was peaceful and magical and wonderful. Brandi practiced witchcraft of a very benevolent and compassionate variety, and the atmosphere of her home reflected that.

However–! Nearly every weekend we stayed there, either alone or with multiple friends for a rural party, we had disruptions of the otherworldly kind. Again, it wasn’t coming from the land or house, but rather from visitors/aliens, who felt more free away from the potential witnesses and hassle of coming for us in the busy town of Lancaster.

My memories of those many nights meld together for all the minor events that occurred there: Glowing orbs of various colors and sizes being seen in the treetops or weaving through the woods or over the near-by fields. Distant UFOs spotted in the sky. A feeling of being watched from the shadows. Odd behavior from Brandi’s normally very relaxed and well-behaved menagerie…

However, two incidents were over-the-top dramatic and happened in the summers of 1992 into the late spring of ’93.

The first occurred during a weekend where Gerick and I were staying with a friend of his, ‘Billy,’ and one of Billy’s succession of girlfriends. We were out goofing around all day, taking walks and relaxing. The dogs were around (they were free to wander, no fences) and sometimes some of them followed us. When night came, all the dogs founds spots on the front porch to sack out, the cats went inside the house, and all was peaceful. If any deer passed by, or foxes, or any other wildlife– the dogs would jump up and playfully give chase for a short time and then come loping back home. This happened day or night. Any unexpected visitors (like someone passing the house on the gravel road to the hidden mansion in the forest) would cause the dogs to bay and bark most protectively.

The second night (Saturday) however, had a very different feel. Gerick and Billy were drinking– a lot!– and the other girl and I had some Boone’s Farm Strawberry Wine (remember that stuff? LOL!) but were too happy in the hot tub to drink much. The guys were listening to music bantering happily and around 2 am or so, everyone went upstairs to crash.

I was feeling fine, having roasted my ever-aching body in hot water and now laying in a feather bed listening to the night insects buzzing and chirping away. A cooling breeze wafted through the open windows and I fell asleep easily. Around 3 am, however, I awakened abruptly. I felt alert and on point, and I realized what woke me: sudden and utter silence in what should have been a very noisy night!

I sat up on my elbow in bed. What I would later know to be ‘the Oz Factor’ or ‘Oz Effect’ was in full swing. All the night insects and birds were quiet, and the wind had ceased, but more than that– the silence seemed heavy and full somehow. It is difficult to convey this if you’ve never experienced it, but it’s as though the world itself stops and listens. I’ve learned to wake up and listen along with the natural world at such times.

The wide driveway and parking area in front of the log cabin was also gravel, and so any movement would make sound if there is no covering sound to mask it. I realized I could hear footsteps of a single person walking steadily up towards the cabin! The dogs should have been reacting to this. Even a friendly and known human would get a few happy yips and dogs jumping up and walking around the person, escorting them to the door! But the dogs were still and silent. As I listened to the footsteps get closer and closer, I could feel that ‘mental presence’ I associated with the aliens. It made sense that the animals were in deep sleep! The aliens always take steps to assure their own safety.

I was not so lucky as to be blissfully oblivious! Instead, I listened with deep dread as the footsteps came up to the porch and thumped across it to the door (‘Ah! It is the human looking ones!‘ I thought.) With seven large guard dogs, we never worried about locking the doors in summer, instead leaving all doors wide open with just the screen doors closed– but often not locked. Who would wander all the way up here and try getting past a group of protective dogs?

I had my answer of course, and I tried to stifle a whimper as I heard the old-fashioned screen door squeal open loudly on its hinges and then squeal again and bang shut! The Stranger came inside. I sat up in bed and reached over to Gerick and began to shake him, saying nothing but hoping against hope this wouldn’t be yet another encounter where I would be the only one awake when They came to get us!

Listening as hard as I could, I could make out footsteps going into the dining/entry room and then stopping. I heard someone moving around. What were they doing?

Suddenly, the stereo downstairs, which was in the entry, came on, and a song THUNDERED at top volume! It was “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac, as sung by Stevie Nicks! Whoever had turned it on had not left– as I could hear that loud squeaking screen door even over the booming music, and the door did not open again. I started shouting and violently shaking Gerick now! I shook him and began sobbing in utter terror! I was trapped awake with someone in the house and everyone around me was so deep asleep you’d think they were in a coma, including the damned dogs!

The song was NOT the last song, or even the album that the guys were listening to before bed! Whoever was downstairs had found the album, put it in the CD player, turned the volume ALL the way up, and then selected the song and hit ‘Play.’ It was so loud I had to put my fingers in my ears and SCREAM to get Gerick to even stir a little! I began jumping on the bed and even rolling Gerick back and forth with my foot– trying desperately to get him up while I protected my ears, so he could go downstairs with me to turn the music OFF. It was completely crazy.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t help hearing the words of the songs in a wholly different context, since it was obviously picked over other CDs and song selections! I mean– “taken by the sky!?!” ACK!! I am not ashamed to admit I was so scared I could barely breath and was actually afraid that I’d pee myself!

Here are the lyrics to Rhiannon:

At long last, Gerick rolled over and sat up, actually looking at me and asking what was wrong in an irritated way! I looked at him, completely BOGGLED that he was so out of it, he didn’t realize music was blasting at incredible decibels for almost 30 seconds after sitting up! I stood up and yanked on his arm, screaming at him to please go down with me to turn the music off– telling him someone came into the house and was still there!

We stumbled down the stairs, my fingers firmly in my ears, and just as we got to the bottom of the stairs– I heard the screen door squeak open and closed. It hit the doorframe and banged just as I reached the floor behind Gerick. As Gerick stumbled to the stereo to turn it off, I ran to the front door to catch whoever it was, flipping on the porch light– and, though there was no where to hide– saw NO ONE. The dogs were totally still and sleeping deeply. I realized, given my experiences with the human looking and sounding ones who could turn invisible, that they were probably impossible to see in any event– but now there could be no doubt that it was no ordinary human playing a prank!

Abruptly, the song cut out during the last repeating Chorus to silence that didn’t seem very quiet, given how my ears were ringing! Our friends in the other bedroom were still in bed, fast asleep, which I knew since I looked in their room on the way down from our room– but it blew my mind that anyone could sleep through that!

Gerick was finally awake, though still groggy, and I explained what I had heard, and he went outside onto the front porch to look around for a minute, saw nothing, and went back inside to use the bathroom and then go back to bed. I checked on the dogs. They were completely unconscious. Every single one. I pet a few and made sure they were breathing okay, and they were, so I went back inside and closed and locked the front door– and then the back one too! I followed Gerick back up the stairs, but when he fell right back asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, I stayed awake, just crying for over an hour. My nerves were completely shot.

I remained awake through the night until well past dawn when everyone else got up for breakfast and the dogs were stirring and acting normal again. Nothing more had happened, but I felt completely and utterly frazzled from the experience.

Looking back, I don’t think it is a coincidence that no one else could wake up but me. I also don’t think the song was by chance. I think it was some sort of message to me. Perhaps, if the song had not been quite so loud, I may not have freaked out so badly. Perhaps one of Them was attempting to reach me for a visit or trip, but their idea went horribly wrong. I don’t know. Maybe the song was chosen at random, but given the words, I have difficulty believing it. Now I know of at least two male human-looking ones, ‘Ethan’ and the ‘Dark Dude’ and a few memories give me more context for who they are so I’m not so scared– at ALL– of a visit, let alone a communication, from them. I don’t like the mind control or the memory suppression and I will rebel to resist those things to the fullest of my ability (which is not great) but I don’t freak out now.

However, back then, the Nordics and Brunettes were an unknown to me. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I was very frightened of them.

There was another encounter between Gerick and the Dark Dude that I witnessed at the log cabin, but it happened later and so I will report on it in a future post. At Spiral’s End: What’s Left After the Paradigm Shatters is the personal paranormal blog of a woman that follows not only current odd events in her life, but recounts incidents from her past, including lifelong alien abductions, encounters with ghosts and other spiritual beings, and premonitions from either waking visions or dreams. She reacts and speculates about the deeper meaning behind these incidents and wonders– what is the ultimate reality or intelligence behind it all?