Well, here we are again. On
October 31st children and playful adults across the U.S. and the
western world will don their pointy hats and broomsticks, plastic teeth, zombie
masks, white sheets and do comic terror across their towns. Funs, game and
occult mythology… right? Maybe and maybe not.
My family has always had a
certain fascination with the occult. It began with my mother who despite a
conservative upbringing always held a certain fascination for spiritualism,
astrology, and things that go bump in the night. That’s why I wrote my first
novel as a paranormal. My 2012 Rite of
Passage was a 2013 RomCon Reader’s Crown finalist and was based on long
study about witchcraft and utilized much of what I had read about as a young
man.
As an early teen I’d read The World Within and the classic Many Mansions. Books that detailed the
author’s belief in reincarnation. Why do some people have the ability to see into
the future? Why do we have the feeling we’ve done or said things before? And
why are some people more attuned to their fellow man, nature and everything
around them… according to Gina Cerminara, who wrote those books, the answer is
because we’ve traveled this way before. Heady and intriguing stuff.
And on two occasions as a child I
had experiences that gave me goose bumps. The first when I was ten, alone in
our house. My parents had gone to visit. Suddenly, I heard a strange sound and
turned to see what looked like a figure in armor carrying chains coming at me
from our living room. I was terrified and ran the few hundred yards in tears to
find my parents. Suffice it to say that I slept with one eye open and the light
on for some time afterward.
The second occurrence was not so
immediately frightening but left a lasting impression. We spent summers at my
grandmother’s house on an island in Maine. One morning I awakened very early
and sneaked out of bed. Tiptoeing down stairs I found my way to the an old
couch in the living room. Looking out the front windows I caught sight of a
sight I can still see… in the mist sat a large sailing ship circa 1800’s. At
the time I thought nothing of it till I mentioned it to my dad and he looked at
me rather oddly, later explaining that a large ship had gone aground in the mid
19th Century on the reef that guarded our small inlet. All but one
crewman was lost. But I had never heard the story before.
As I sit writing this I still get
a funny feeling because I can close my eyes and see both these visions as if
they were happening today.
When I began to write Rite of Passage I had decided to use
witchcraft as the paranormal vehicle to propel my story because witches occupy
that mystical place between reality and fantasy and I wanted something that
held a grain of truth. I’ve always prided myself on doing my “homework” so after
having consumed a wealth of written material I decided to consult a local woman
who was reputed to be a witch. If I expected something out of TV sitcom I was
in for a surprise. The woman I met was polite, poised, and very professional.
She told me she was a Wiccan High Priestess. She showed me how astrology,
reincarnation, psychic ability, and many other things fit together. By the time
we were done I was a believer.
Other things have surfaced that
helped reinforce my belief in what might be called the supernatural. One of my
friends who is a psychologist and ghost hunter of some repute tells me that
while 99.5% of all she sees is sham or has a logical explanation there remains
a tiny percentage that defies explanation.
The same can be said of a
well-known author friend who spent years researching NDEs, near death
experiences. Again the white lights, tunnels, and visions may be explainable. But…
what no one can explain is out of body experiences where the person seems to
float above their body and can recall things they could have no way to know.
So, in summary can I guarantee
that the occult and the paranormal exist. No. But at this point in my life and
with the research and experiences I’ve had I remain very much in the “it’s
possible” column.
Have a nice Halloween!
Kevin V. Symmons
Kevin Symmons is a successful author, college faculty member, and
president of one of the Northeast's most respected writing
organizations. His paranormal novel, "Rite of Passage", was a 2013
RomCon Reader's Crown Award finalist and has been an Amazon Best Seller. "Out of the Storm", a contemporary romantic
thriller set on Cape Cod, is already gathering 5 star reviews and will
keep you turning pages late into the night. His novel "Solo", a sweeping women's fiction work that exposes the
tragedy of domestic violence in America, is also available now. Kevin has
collaborated with award-winning Boston screenwriter and playwright Barry
Brodsky in adapting one of his story ideas for the screen. He is a
sought after public speaker who has appeared across New England. Visit
Kevin and like his FB Author Page, @KevinSymmons on Twitter, at
Goodreads, Amazon, and at his website, www.ksymmons.com
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