I'll set the scene for you: two people from outside of Texas are traveling in a vehicle, driving down a rural, dirt road to visit a friend for the first time at his home in Lufkin, Texas, U.S.A. The road is narrow. The darkness of night has set in. After a few minutes of traveling this road, the driver notices a set of headlights in his rear view mirror, that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The lights were following at an approximate distance of thirty yards. In the pitch dark on this long, straight road, with trees creating a canopy like a tunnel, there was no way for someone to have already driven that distance without their lights on. After another minute or so of watching the headlights, they instantly disappear. There were no longer any signs of the mysterious vehicle. Here's something of note concerning this occurrence. The dirt road they were traveling on has no room or shoulder to pull over and turn around, nor side streets to turn onto. The following vehicle, if it had managed to turn around and go back, would have needed their headlights to accomplish that in the total darkness of that area. If it had turned around, brake lights would have been visible, but there were no signs of that either. The following vehicle simply wasn't there any more!
Often, paranormal investigators rely on 3rd party reports of alleged hauntings, including something like this, commonly referred to as a "ghost road." Without prior knowledge of stories about this road, the two occupants of the vehicle in this story had this personal experience. Do I believe them? Yes! The reason I do believe them is they are my wife and stepson. My wife is one of the most honest (if not most honest) persons I have ever known. My stepson is an Army veteran, having done multiple deployments in both Afghanistan and Iraq. His integrity is being reproach, as well as that of my wife.
Upon reaching the home of the friend in Lufkin, Texas, they related the strange occurrence to him. He told them of stories he had heard about the road, saying people claimed sightings of a "ghost vehicle" that appears and then vanishes. When they returned home and related this story to me, I started research into the road and surrounding area. I found there to be numerous stories of alleged paranormal activity in this area. The road is said to have been a former railroad line created by cutting a pathway through the pines and oaks, and now with its tracks removed, leaving the narrow road itself. There are stories by people in vehicles of random, mysterious lights appearing and disappearing. Hunters of bear and deer have told stories of witnessing floating lights on the road. One ghostly legend of the road goes back to the time the railroad still ran. Supposedly, a railroad brakeman was decapitated in a wreck. He is said to wander along the road, his railroad lantern in hand, in search of his missing head. Other stories include the strange lights chasing vehicles menacingly and even causing car engines to stall.
(The video cover of this post is not from the above mentioned ghost road but rather an equally creepy road my wife and I traveled to a secluded cabin mentioned in my previous article. For fun, I added the headlights near the end for effect. The cover music of the video is "Ghost" by Tim Beek.)
My medicine man friend, Omolkhua, has from time to time reminded me that to the spirits (he refers to them as "the unseen"), time has no meaning. Paranormal stories are often related of apparitions where a spirit presence is seen with what could be termed "period" clothing, that is, the clothing they would have been wearing at a specific location and time period for their physical time here, including that of cultural or religious significance. One has to wonder why spirits would appear in human form wearing clothing instead of perhaps just being some sort of shadow person. Why the clothing? Taking that a step further, why a ghost automobile?!!!
Could one hypothesis explaining these type of events/sightings be attributed to not simply the unseen coming into our world, but as they do, they bring their "time" with them, giving a whole new meaning to "residual hauntings." As is the familiar description of apparition manifestations, they are fleeting to say the least. Does this imply that not only are the unseen bound by our physical laws when entering our realm, but that they are limited by the Creator/Cosmic Law in how long they are permitted to remain? This idea would surely help explain the plethora of sudden appearance/disappearance apparition and shadow people reports.
To accumulate data in support of my hypothesis, I conducted an interview with my Cajun Medicine Man friend, Omolkhua (@cajunmedicinem1 on Twitter). Here is part of that interview:
Omolkhua: Ya’at’eeh!
Moonjoey: Hello, my friend!
Omolkhua: I thought I'd call and discuss with you about your question about time and the unseen.
Moonjoey: Absolutely! I'm eager to hear from you about this!
Omolkhua: Those that pass on remain in that state, they do not evolve to a different time line. For example, my grandmother grew up traditionally and her faith was very strong. I've been having dreams about her lately, which is very interesting. In my dreams, she is still the same person that was when alive. She had not aged as we do. In the dream, she comes to me like she was before she became ill and left us. My grandmother would say that we age as the trees age. We die sooner than them but they do not change, and neither do we when we move forward. Do we believe that trees have a spirit? Yes. Do they hear us? Always. Do they guide us? Only if we let them. The same thing applies to those who have passed on... relatives... they're willing to guide us as long as we are willing to listen. But the world is not a one way road. There is the good and the bad. The medicine circle speaks about birth and death, the four medicines, the plants, the cedar being male, sage being female, tobacco being male, sweetgrass being female. So there's a balance. In this balance of our world and theirs, there's always something willing to cause you ill, disrupt your life. Remember when I previously mentioned to you about going to the Sundance Lodge?
Moonjoey: Yes.
Omolkhua: When the gentleman approached me with the idea asking, "hey, would you like to go?" My first reaction was "yes." Almost instantly, there was an image that I saw that left me very, very uncomfortable. What I saw was the Inipi for the lodge, it's circular. The entrance faces east. You crawl in backwards and move in a clockwise direction until you find your spot. If you are looking at it from a "compass point" view, it is west/south. This entity had appeared, showing itself, as dark as night, darker than dark can be. Normally, these things do not cause a stir, but this one had red eyes. That made me pause for a second and contemplate whether to go or not. I finally told the gentleman, thank you for the invitation, but I am going to pass. He said, "of course," but he knew I was not going to attend. I hadn't told him... actually you're the only person I am telling of what I saw. This being, this entity, is not a good thing. It has to have immense strength... medicine... to appear in such a place. When the Inipi, the ceremony, the lodge begins, the world is in balance. There's good and bad... good spirits and demons you could say. They both walk through this area freely. They're not expelled, but they're bound by the laws. They can be there but not be part of what is going on. They're not allowed to enter a human being and experience the Inipi ceremony. They can be watchers. There are some who are sentinels. They are like trees in the forest. They stand still. They will act on your behalf as long as you ask them to. For example, if you walk into the forest and you feel an uneasiness through this trail, even though you don't see anything, you can ask them ... hold them fast, do not let them follow me, and they will.
MoonJoey: by "them" you mean the trees?
Omolkhua: Yes. The "green." They're spirit is neutral. They're neither one side or the other, but if you ask for their help, they will move forward with their medicine and hold them fast until you say, OKay, you want them out of the area, nowhere to be seen and release them.
MoonJoey: Can the dark spirits ask the "green" to stand by and do nothing, like to ignore requests for help?
Omolkhua: No. The law does not allow them to move in that direction. It's like a demon could not ask you to stand fast and do a good deed. The influence they do impose on you makes you think something is your idea. So, back to the original question... the unseen will exist in their own timeline of knowledge. An elemental... I think I mentioned to you the one in Los Alamos? Did I share that story with you?
MoonJoey: Yes, I remember that!
Omolkhua: Okay. The elemental has been there before mankind and learned how to feed. The medicine community has kept that at bay, but once they were expelled, they were free to move about and cause havoc and chaos. They feed and gorge like a mosquito on a person. Since land owners can basically be very scientific, the idea of the spirit world existing is so bizarre sounding to them that they'll dismiss it as they would a fly that passes by. But yes, they exist in their own timeline and yes, they bring forward what they've know last. If we're talking about the unseen, "ghosts" is another word for them. Whatever they had then is what they have now.
MoonJoey: I was thinking in terms of the ghost road experience my wife and stepson had [NOTE: mentioned above in this article]. When I was asking about if the unseen bring their time with them entering our world, would they bring their vehicle with them as in this case?
Omolkhua: Yes. They will also bring a horse... wow, this happened, huh? I got chills when you were telling me this. So, this is an unrestful soul. Hoo! Wow! Like a wave of chills just went through me. The life force of a person can be like a candle. When a newborn enters the world, this candle is bright, powerful, pure! Time passes, the light dwindles. Sometime the light is snuffed out, not by choice. My uncle, the one who used to practice witchcraft, the one who was cut into pieces and spread in many directions... so his body could not be joined and cause any havoc, was separated so that the energy that carries to the unseen world will not be whole and not be of harm to anyone else. [NOTE: this is in reference to a skinwalker story covered by my previous 3-part article:
(https://www.facebook.com/JoeMoonJoey/posts/1518247758342156/?) = part 1
(https://www.facebook.com/JoeMoonJoey/posts/1524443604389238/?) = part 2
(https://www.facebook.com/JoeMoonJoey/posts/1597692597064338/?) = part 3
Whoever this person or people are that were in this vehicle... to them it repeats itself. It's a torment because they haven't found rest. There was a gentleman here who I recently started talking to. He lived very close to Santa Fe. Pecos is one of the small, rural towns east of here. He said the house that they lived in... they've discovered it was built on top of a former Pueblo dwelling. At night, when he would look out the window, he would see natives and how they would have been dressed in that timeline. He would shake his head and look and they'd disappear. He wondered if he was imagining things, but this event kept repeating itself. He became so frustrated by this that he finally sold the place and left. I asked him if he had told anybody and his reply was "no." So, this cycle continues and yes, they bring their own timeline with them. Did the lights of the mystery vehicle following your family members appear super bright like the halogen headlamps of today or were they older, dimmer, rounder?
MoonJoey: I didn't even think to ask that. That would make sense if it were the older type. [ I followed up on this and in answer to this inquiry, I was told they seemed round, not so bright. So that fits this hypothesis correctly.]
MoonJoey: Okay, so another question that comes to mind then... are they limited, restricted or sort of trapped in certain boundaries or area? Is that why they are always there and not reported elsewhere locally? Why would they be doing that anyway? Why can't they move on?
Omolkhua: Imagine a bubble. This bubble, or circle, or sphere moves in a circular motion. Let me break it down to you on your level. You wake up in the morning, stretch your legs, use the restroom, go to the coffee maker, dress warm, get your coffee when its done, things go as usual and the day passes. The next morning, you get up and repeat this cycle. This repeated motion, which is almost automatic, becomes something so ingrained that you know no different until something major happens. By that I mean changing the routine like moving the bed around in the room, or the sofa or TV... it feels different, out of place. Even though its a conscious thing, same thing when they die, this is all they know. This was the last moment of experience of a heightened level. Anger is an anchor. When people die full of fury, that soul will always be tormented by anger and anger will be displayed to the living. You might be upset for absolutely no reason because you crossed its (the angry spirit) path. They wander blindly. They know no place to be. The medicine people sense these people, these places and if the spirit is too powerful, they'll basically steer the village away from those areas, not to enter. That is a place where the unseen control, or something beyond the ability of the medicine people to control it. So, when you die, you only take with you what you know, and the only thing you carry is in your heart, the love of your loved ones, or the hate that you foster. The latter is when you become a tormented soul, and over time you change, becoming this deranged, disfigured entity. Those we call the Wenagiis, dark ones.
MoonJoey: Is there any hope for them? How do they move on?
Omolkhua: As far as anything that's been told or taught to me, no, this is what they remain throughout time.
MoonJoey: I'm not understanding. Did they not have a choice to move on when they first died, even if it was a sudden, tragic event? Or are they trapped there? Do the circumstances of their death have any bearing on it?
Omolkhua: Yes. To answer your last question first, imagine friends, neighbors, people you've known through your lifetime. Some may have had a challenging life. Whether it be through substance abuse, alcohol, drugs, thievery, women, cars, money, whatever. That became their god in a way. They became slaves to it. This is all they have known. So, if your heart is dark, you will become a dark being upon death. This is a choice that has made you blind. The light of the world is extinguished. All you know is the darkness.
MoonJoey: Wow, that makes a lot of sense. I was thinking of my brother who passed from cancer a year ago. He was a fighter, fighting to the end, not wanting to go. He had me believing he was still going to stick around for a while, but then he passed suddenly, his body, not his will, giving up the fight. I was wondering, like you said, if he was a good soul, then he would be able to move on.
Omolkhua: Correct. If he was a fighter in this world and gave it all he had for the love of this world, friends and family he has ... keep in mind I said "he has," not "had," this strength has made him a powerful being, a being of light who will not stand by and let these dark entities influence the living, especially relatives, loved ones, in a negative way. He will stand in their path. We believe that they are there as warriors protecting us against those who we do not see. If for no reason at all, the thought of a family member comes to mind unexpectedly, we believe that they are visiting, by your side, letting you know they are there. We believe those random beings are not random. My grandfather used to say to me, "there is no difference between the living and the dead." Being young, I quietly disagreed at that time to myself, kept quiet and would listen. He would say, "they never leave your side." They will be there if you ask for them.
MoonJoey: So, the guides have an ability to control the unseen that wish you harm? Is that what you are telling me?
Omolkhua: They can if they're strong enough, but some of these beings are older than time. That is when it would require more than one to hold them back. Imagine getting on a plane and getting off at a place you have never been to. It is a place so foreign you are uncertain which road to take, who to ask or how to communicate. You're in a place where you're new. In this newness, you don't understand. This is where the relatives that have crossed over come forward. They take you by the hand and they begin to show you things. My mother said, "the dead are the newborn, but in a different time and world." I asked her what that meant. She said, "you'll get it." At the time this frustrated me. I had to be patient. Sometimes I wasn't. Natives have a certain way of talking in codes.
SUMMARY: With no precognitive bias, simultaneous, multiple, description of events from believable eyewitnesses brings validation to stories of legendary, alleged, paranormal activity, plus experienced testimony of a respectable native medicine man, come close to being the most plausible evidence that can be accumulated in a situation such as this. This is unexplained phenomena and seems more than just folklore.
- MoonJoey