My lovely friend and fellow Australian writer Sarah Chumacero posted a photo on her Living Life In Full Spectrum page last week, of the Cottingley fairies which sadly fooled the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, along with a quote from him about beliefs, and it got me thinking (this happens a bit...) - as we can create Poltergeists, Vardogrs, Tulpas, and Doppelgangers, could we perhaps create our own fairies, elves, unicorns and dragons?
I know it sounds weird, but bear with me- I'm approaching this from a fair few different angles, to do with a conversation I was having with a friend and guest after I'd had the idea, three other friends and guests on my podcast, and the famous Philip Experiment, in which a group of Canadian researchers tried to create a ghost- they named him Philip, created a fictional backstory for his life and death, and assigned personal belongings to him. Very little occurred until a psychologist suggested they try a Victorian-era seance, after which an increase in activity occurred. I'm not sure how I joined the dots either, it'd be no use asking me...
Hear me out though, as we don't have all the answers to this big mystery yet.
Author and Parapsychologist Brandon Massullo, whose book you're all well aware I adore, describes our bioenergy in various ways, they have been called "Pneuma" by the ancient Greeks, "Orenda", by the Native Americans, "Qi" or "Chi" by the Chinese, "Lung" by the Tibetan Buddhists, and also "L-Fields" or life-fields. All mean the same, that our energy and intent can be projected outwards from us, can affect people and even objects around us, as Loyd Auerbach mentioned in his chat with me a few weeks ago. and can be described as a sort of electric bodysuit.
As shown in Vardogr or Doppleganger cases, or even that of the Wilmott case perhaps it can be in the form of a visual image, which can be seen by others sometimes, and that got me thinking about G.N.M. Tyrrell's interesting theory of apparitions, in which he describes a ghostly experience as a construct of our minds in the form of a film set, with a director, producer, carpenter and finally the experient themselves, which can influence the experience. This then led me to translate this via my author friend Greg Lawson's theory of V.A.B.E.'s, or our Values, Assumptions, Beliefs, and Expectations, and how those can shape what we experience. He explains these very nicely in his fantastic book "How To Be A Paranormal Detective". As I was chatting via messenger to Bryan J. Williams at the time, I shared my thinking with him, which in turn got him thinking about Loyd Auerbach's fascinating "Black Knight" case, in which a woman who was a fan of medieval knights, started seeing a figure she described as looking like Darth Vader from Star Wars, but she saw this before it was even released, and the woman's daughter saw it also. This in turn led him to think about world-famous trance medium Eileen J. Garrett, and her self-created "children" which served as a form of comfort and for my mind perhaps protection from a cruel Aunt. You can read about her in the fantastic blog written by Lisette Coly, Eileen's granddaughter and president of the Parapsychology Foundation. We went on to discuss Falkor the Luck Dragon from "The Neverending Story", and his protection of Bastian from bullies, and perhaps he was comfort for a lonely child too. Tonight I was also reminded of the characters in "Labyrinth", and the comfort and friendship they provided to Sarah, who felt neglected by her step-mother and her father. And I thought, after the long journey that led me here, that if we wish to believe strongly enough in fairies, elves, unicorns, and dragons, perhaps even Mothman, and in the right circumstances we could create them ourselves, maybe they could even be seen by others. And if they're not harmful, where's the harm in that? And I always wanted a Luck Dragon, and I wouldn't mind a "Toothless" too!
-Cat