Salt & Iron

An interesting response to an otherworldy encounter

Check out the 10th story from this post on the Phantoms and Monsters blog, related by a fellow in Valley View, South Australia.

The young man and his girlfriend returned to the scene of a previous encounter with a 'shadow man' armed with...get this...iron bars, bags of salt and holy water.

According to folklore, the Good Neighbors cannot abide iron. Holy water and salt are known protections against their interference as well, salt being a symbol of preservation and eternity. So, whether this guy was aware of it or not, he was prepared to protect himself using age-old, anti-boggart tactics.

Apparently, it worked, because they failed to encounter the 'shadow-men' upon their return to the scene.

A 17th Century encounter with Them

Here's an interesting anecdotal tale found in Brigg's Encyclopedia. Its related by the 17th century antiquarian, John Aubrey as it was told to him by his elementary school curate, Mr. Hart.

As it neared dark, Mr. Hart was coming across the downs when he encountered a 'fairy ring', whereupon he witnessed,

...an innumerable quantitie of pigmies or very small people, dancing rounde and rounde, and singing, and making all maner of small odd noyses...kept there in a kind of enchantment...these little creatures pinch'd him all over...made a sorte of quick humming noyse all the time...(italics added)

This description reminds me of a television doc I once saw about Dr. Michael Persinger and his experiments with electromagnetism and its effects on humans. The host of the program volunteered to don Dr. Persinger's homemade electromagnetic headgear and undergo some brainwave tampering. In the midst of the experiment, she described a mob of little people surrounding the chair she was reclining in and if I recall, they were pinching her. She eventually became so freaked out, they had to discontinue the experiment.

The other relevant detail in this story is the odd, humming noise the creatures made. Humming, buzzing, indistinguishable babbling and other audio affects accompany many reports of Them.

Them on the Fringe

Blessed Virgin Mary Sightings Similar to UFOs

On the face of it, Them That's In It aren't often connected with visions of the Blessed Virgin, but when studied closely, they share some minor but compelling details. Lets list a few, shall we?

• A grotto or cave associated with the visions and their appearance above or near a specific tree. Geographical features such as these play a larger role in religious and mythic visions then say, UFO encounters. But we'll see them reoccur in a number of different contexts.
• The appearance of glowing orbs. The glowing orbs seem to be a very popular paranormal fashion. They appear in everything from f**ry encounters to ghostly hauntings. Oh yeah, and religious visions too.
• The zig-zag, 'falling leaf' motion displayed by the atmospheric phenomena mistaken for the sun. A very 'flying saucer' thing to do. Probably one of the most persistent behaviors described of UFOs.

I disagree with the author of the article in regards to his dismissal of Vallee's statement that the vision never identified itself as Mary. Granted, it named itself 'Mother of the Rosary' at one point, but as with all other Marian visions, it never refers to itself categorically as being Mary, Mother of Jesus. I know that's straying from the topic of Them, but I find it a compelling detail of Marian visions that they'd rather use appellations such as Queen of Heaven, Queen of the Universe, Mother of God etc.
If you ask me its kind of creepy - but thats fuel for another fire.

Abbey Lubber

Abbey Lubbers dwell in cellars and larders. Traditionally, they vex greedy and gluttonous tavern keeps and abbots by consuming their stored victuals. These creatures go by various names, but are most closely akin to Brownies and Hobs. As solitary f**ries they belong neither to the Seelie or Unseelie Court, but remain neutral. However, they do lean toward the mischievous side, as they punish man's gluttony and greed.

I imagine early kitchen staff often used the Lubber as an excuse for food & beverage shrinkage.