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JAN'S TALES

The Story of Man

(NOTE: An update to this story is below. Scroll down to the end of the story for an image Jan made to resemble 'Man', as well as an explanation.)

It's difficult to actually know when this entity entered into our home, as it first appeared to my toddler as his invisible friend. We've all had our own invisible friends, our imaginary playmates when very young and needing someone to interact with, so we didn't question or raise an eyebrow when Josh started talking to his 'friend'. A friend that only he could see and play with. A friend he called 'Man'.

He was around three years old when he began talking to his invisible playmate. Sharing his toys, his snacks, and his dislikes of naps. There were no other children in the area his age so he was basically a lonely child, with only adults, an older sister and an older cousin to play with. We had a live-in Nanny, Suzi, who took care of him during the day while we worked and would take him to various parks and play areas in the area to be able to interact with other children when ever possible. Suzi noticed Josh's invisible friend would always accompany them on their outings, as he would carry on conversations with him in the car, and while at play in the park. This went on for several months, with the attraction to his invisible playmate growing each day. We had questioned Josh as to what his playmates' name was and he would always reply, 'His name is Man'.

When other odd things started happening around the house we questioned him further. The odd things included very strange noises in the attic, the sense of someone staring at you in the shower, the sound of someone raking their fingernails along the wall in the hallway at night, and beds shaking slightly but enough to awaken you from your sleep.

His Nanny, his older sister, his cousin and myself gathered in the kitchen with Josh to ask some questions about his friend, Man. We had asked how old Man was and he replied that he was six years old. We asked what he looked like, and he told us he was very white, with brown hair and brown eyes. Where did he live, and Josh said, with us. Where did Man come from, and Josh said from behind the park, the big park with the lake and ducks. Where did he live before coming to live with us, in a red box deep in the ground. All of us immediately thought of the red box being a coffin in a cemetery. Suzi remembered an old graveyard that was indeed behind the park, the park with the big lake. I asked Josh if Man was dead, and he said yes. How did he die, and then Josh started to cry. He went on to tell us a story of how a stranger took Man away from his mommy and did terrible things to him. Things that made Man scream and cry all the time. Screams that his mommy never heard. He said Man cried and cried for his mommy and she never could find him. Man's whole body was hurt and bloody. He never say his mommy again and all he remembers is sleeping in the red box.

At the time, we had all thought that Man was indeed the ghost of a small little boy who had been kidnapped and murdered then found and laid to rest by his family. Then years later as his spirit roamed around the park that was build next to the old forgotten graveyard, found a friend in Josh and followed him home. As more time when by after this questioning with Josh, we were to learn that we were not dealing with the ghost of a small murdered child.

Of course we investigated the old cemetery and found nothing to associate a death with a small child around his age. None of the aged tombstones revealed any specific clues at all. We also thought maybe, if this was indeed a child's murdered ghost maybe the killer just buried the body in the graveyard and it was never found. Going to the authorities would no doubt make us the laughing stock of the town so we kept our story of Man quiet. We did however seek a house blessing to send Man's spirit back to God so he could find peace finally after many years.

All was quiet in the household for awhile after that, but only for about 6 months, when Josh's friend returned in the hallway one Saturday. Josh was sitting in the middle of the hallway playing with some toy cars, making sound effects of engines and tires squealing when all of a sudden he started talking to Man. He wanted to know where he had been because he missed him and had been calling for him at night.

I had been folding laundry when I heard him start talking to Man again. My heart dropped. I waited and listened in silence to see how far this was going to go. Silence. I could hear the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears. After a few horrible moments of complete silence from the hallway, I left the laundry and came up behind him, sitting on the floor, looking at something in his hands.

It was a photo, an old faded colored one, with an elderly woman sitting in a chair and a small boy sitting on the floor at her feet. A boy with brown hair dark eyes and about 5 or 6 years old. I grabbed the picture and asked Josh where he had gotten this and he started screaming, Man gave it to him, and to give it back. He stated it was a picture of Man when he was a little boy, when he was alive. For several days, even weeks after this incident, we inquired to everyone as to where this picture came from, did someone accidentally drop it, did anyone know the boy in the picture. We posted it on the fridge to remind us to ask everyone who came to visit or members of the family who dropped by. No one knew anything about the photo. Then as mysteriously as it appeared, it disappeared off the fridge. Josh said that Man took it away.

Things started happening around the house quite frequently just after the photo incident. His Nanny moved away and I had to find a sitter fast. A distant cousin offered, but this only lasted less than 2 months as strange things started happening over at her home also. Josh talking to someone, and a low deep voice answering him in return while alone in the play room. Toys dropping from mid air when she would go to check in on him. Her younger daughter became afraid of Josh and his pretend playmate and would often go sit by herself and play. Then his behavior began turning for the worst during the next few days. Josh began tormenting our family cats. Sitting on them with a pillow between to suffocate them. Pulling and trying to stretch their legs and ears. Throwing tantrums that were unbelievable with glazy wild eyes that didn't look like his. Tearing toys up and being destructive. Then one day we discovered that he had been urinating in his closet in the corner. He told us that Man said to do it. Man said it was ok to do it. To urinate in his closet and all over his toys.

While giving him a warm bath that night, trying to soothe his fragile nerves, after explaining to him that it was not all right to do what he had been doing, no matter what Man said or told him. Josh just sat and stared at the wall. A million things were running through my mind; did he have a tumor somewhere in his brain, had he found some prescription drugs somewhere and took them, thinking they were candy? Where was my 4 year old? Where had Josh gone?

That night I lay awake, sharing my bed with my husband, Josh and his older sister Ashley. The kids hadn't slept in their beds in a few days, claiming their beds were shaking too hard now for them to sleep. After a few hours, I arose and went into Josh's room to lay down on his bed alone, wanting to look around with the night light on to try and see what he was seeing or feeling. Praying to God that this thing would all end, asking for His guidance and wisdom to rid our home of this unwanted visitor.

I saw a shadow in the hallway come down to Josh's room and stand in the doorway. Thinking it was Josh who had woke up after I left my own bed, coming to be beside me, I called to him and stretched out my arms for him to come to me. He came to my arms and lay on my chest, and as I rolled over to the side so he could cuddle beside me, a terrible, horrible realization made itself known. The body that lay on me in the dark was longer than Josh's 4 year old body. It's legs and feet grew longer to match my own length in the bed and body began to metabolize into a form that was a mixture of electric currents, sparking colors and transparent skin. It's weight grew heavier upon me also as I let out a series of screams while pushing the form over to the other side to escape the bed and him. It had been Man.

The fear rose in me to a point of frenzy. The others awoke and were coming down the hall to see what had happened. I just stood there frozen staring at the bed, where this image of a transparent figure, with colored electric veins surging throughout it's hollow body and eyes as red as bloody glowing embers staring at me, mocking me, laughing at me. Then in an instant, it faded to nothingness as someone from behind flipped on the overhead light. It was awhile before I was calm enough to tell what I had experienced. To tell them that Man hadn't been a child at all, but possibly the ghost of a little boys killer, an evil entity, or any number of unholy definitions.

Whatever or whoever Man was, he is gone now. The house was again blessed and the entity commanded to leave, to return from whence it came, never to return again. The details of the ceremony I won't dwell upon as I've taken up quite a bit of your time with this story. A story that can only be told to strangers now, as the family does not wish to hear or relive it's memories again. Especially Josh...

-Jan Thompson.
UPDATE:

Cleansing Ceremony For Man

(NOTE: Jan writes: "I've been asked over the years as to what we did to cleanse our home of Man, the following are accounts of the ceremony.")

The cleansing ceremony consisted of an evening fast, along with prayers. Sage and sweet grass were burned together in a small container inside the home as well as outside with a medicine feather directing the smoke to the four directions. Pure Olive oil was poured on the four corners of the property, along the driveway, walkway, and each door and window were anointed with the same oil.

This process was to cover any entrance onto the grounds and into the home. At midnight, the hour that is most powerful for any entity to manifest itself, the invitation that was given to the entity to enter our domain in the past, which was probably given by my son Josh not understanding what he was doing, was revoked and the entity was commanded to return from whence it came, never to return again. All this was commanded and demanded with a loud authoritative voice from myself, outside as well as inside.

(A great medicine man named Eli Littlebear, whom happens to be the great great great grandson of Geronimo, as well as being a personal friend and teacher to our family gave me these instructions.) It was concluded with the words, 'In the name of the Great Spirit, our Creator, our Lord, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen'. The sage and sweet grass were left burning into the night. In the morning we heard the mockingbirds return, as they had been gone for quite some time, and they sang all during the day. All has been well since then, concerning the entity of Man, but other paranormal events continue to occur in our household...and that leaves room for more stories to come.

-Jan Thompson.
(The author notes: San, I finally found one of those acrylic anatomy bodies that I was describing in the story of Man, near the end when He appeared to me in Josh's room. I took it, emptied out all the body parts inside it, then photographed it and added the 'electric like' threads going through the inside, the sparkling spots and the red eyes, with a photo program. It came out pretty damn close to what I was seeing when I was touching him and thought he was Josh as I was lifting him over the top of my body while lying in his bed. I thought you might want to add this to the end of the Story of Man for a visualization for the readers if you desire, if not, this will at least give you an idea of what this entity was trying to transform into or from....I'm sorry, but it still sends chills all through me, especially looking at this photo.)

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