Clearfield County Paranormal Investigations

Corpse:

The handling of human corpses is the focus of a myriad of superstions around the world, most of which have the twofold aim of easing the deceased person's passage to Paradise and allowing the living to continue their lives untroubled by ghosts and free of any curse invoked by improper disposal of the dead.

The moment death has taken place superstition insists that the eyes, if still open, be closed, or their gaze will summon another person who is present to accompany the departed to the grave (in some countries the eyes are prevented from reopening by covering them with coins).  Distraught friends and relatives should not allow their tears to fall upon the body, as their distress is believed to trouble the departed soul.

Corpse-Lights:

Spectral lights that glow in places of death, such as churchyards. Norse sagas spoke of such lights at sacred burial spots, and reports of them have continued into modern times. Often the lights hover over the grave of a newly buried person, or else trace the route that the funeral procession is due to take. Sometimes it is said that the lights are warnings sent to the living by dead friends and relatives to advise them that they are soon to die and should make the necessary preparations.

Crossroads:

The intersection of four roads, long regarded as an ominous location. Anything that forms the shape of a cross is significant, but crosses made by roads are heavy with symbolic meaning and many people dislike being delayed at such a place for fear of meeting a ghost, a vampire or death in person. Primitive peoples often erected their altars where roads met and engaged in human sacrifice there; ever since, crossroads have been associated with death, not least through the traditional erection of the gallows at such spots.

Suicides, vampires and criminals were formerly buried at crossroads in the belief that, should they arise from the grave, their vengeful ghosts would not know which of the roads led back home.

Crow:

The death-black coloring of the crow, in combination with its intelligence, has led to the bird being regarded as one of the most ominous of all creatures. Once considered a messenger of the gods and later a familiar of the traditional witch, the crow is now viewed by many as a harbinger of death and disaster, particularly feared if it alights upon a house or taps at a windowpane. A crow settling in a churchyard is likewise deemed an omen that there will be a funeral in the near future.

Dead Hand:

The hand of a corpse, whose touch was once held to have considerable healing powers. This macabre notion applied particularly to the bodies of suicides and newly executed criminals, and in former times patients frequently petitioned executioners to be allowed to touch the body of a recently hanged man, usually paying a small fee for the privilege. The treatment was recommended especially for those suffering from cancer, scrofula, warts, sores and neck and throat problems, the dead man's hand being used to stroke the affected part.

Death:

As might be expected, death is the focus of a vast body of superstition.

Door:

The door is the usual entrance by which luck or evil spirits enter or leave the house.

Funeral:

The somber business of interring the dead is naturally enough the focus of many superstitious beliefs.

Ghosts:

The spirit of someone who is dead, around which idea numerous superstitions have evolved.