Antiques With A Little Extra

ANTIQUES WITH A LITTLE EXTRA - HOW DO YOU KNOW A PIECE OF ANTIQUE FURNITURE, OR ANYTHING ELSE OF "VINTAGE", IS PARANORMALLY CHARGED?

WELL, LET'S FIND OUT, WITH A LITTLE EXPERIMENT BETWEEN A CENTURIES OLD LAPTOP DESK AND A CENTURIES OLD WRITER (I'VE BEEN AROUND FOR TWO CENTURIES ALREADY)

     The are fictional accounts of magic wardrobes, trunks, quilts, and masks, that bring about strange realities, in supernatural ways. There are stories of haunted doll cradles, that rock themselves, organs and pianos that play by themselves, in the wee hours of the night, and a particular cane that is said to have been so enchanted, that it walk itself down the middle of a local road. We still own a portrait that, when the Victorian child is unhappy with something in the house, will hang crooked, either right or left. It has been happening since we acquired her in the early 1990's. It would take a book of ten thousand pages to document even a small number of the claims that have been made, in only the past century, about antiques having so called special powers, and enhancements of the magical proportion. Seeing as we have owned a number of these pieces, it's a little easier to attest, to just how profoundly one can be influenced by an inanimate object that simply refuses to adhere to the rules of, well, being inanimate!

     At a time, earlier in this new century, when our family was actively buying and selling on eBay, there was a most curious situation one evening, when son Andrew and I took an interest in an acoustic guitar up for auction, that was said to he "haunted." We love that kind of stuff, and because of the story and the low asking price, we registered a bid, and for about ten minutes, in the final hour of the sale, we were the top bidder. There was quite a story attached, about the kind of activity this old guitar got up to in the wee hours of the night, playing itself in essence, but I'm not sure now if it played a particular song, that might have been a favorite of a former owner.

     Another bid was made, pushing us to back-bidder status, and for the next half hour, we began a war with another eBayer, over who was going to be top dog when it came down to the final few seconds of the auction. Then came the threatening email. The first of many! The individual bidding against us, demanded we cease and desist, as he wanted to purchase the guitar. He made it clear that if we actually won the bid, great harm would come to us, particularly from the guitar itself, that was not only spiritually possessed, but had a mean streak about a mile wide. We have had some crazy stuff like this happen before, but never in the midst of active bidding, and certainly it was the first, when actively seeking a listed "haunted" guitar. I don't like being threatened, a character trait that has been with me since infancy, (when I'd let my teddy bears know when to step-down when hogging the bed). We kept bidding, and this eBayer continued to send us threatening emails, right up to the last few minutes of the sale. It got pretty nasty, and the bidding went wild, with this chap finally winning the guitar. I thought about reporting him to eBay, but it was just easier to get on with our lives, minus an allegedly haunted acoustic guitar. Point is, the number of visits recorded, on this auction, showed very clearly, that by using the word "haunted" in a listing, you're pretty much guaranteed a substantial audience of, well, gawkers, if not buyers. The guitar sold for way, way over its value, based on condition. It was disturbing to get the threatening emails, and it sort of proves what kind of folks are attracted to the weird and whacky items listed for sale.

     This is an extreme case, and we obviously ran into a bidder with a huge passion for either that particular guitar, or just the fact, it was claimed, by the seller, to be possessed by that little extra oomph, possibly from a musician who met a tragic end. There are no shortage of stories involving haunted antiquities, including guitars. In the casual sense of what I might describe as an "enchanted" or "haunted" antique, what I really mean is this; that the subject piece inspires a feeling in the possessor, that is passed along, much as one gets a shock off a metal door latch, in the winter months, due to a build-up of static. In my case, it usually happens that I get this sparked attention, when I'm looking through some antique venue, and something or other compels me to turn in its direction, resulting in my eye, catching a glimpse of a piece that has a curious but unspecified energy. I can't get past these pieces without, at the very least, stopping for a closer look. It doesn't happen often but when I'm drawn to a piece, after many years of being influenced by what is ambiguous but usually quite powerful, I figure, what the heck, "I might as well see what this is all about." As a balance point, to make my argument, think about the possessions you own today, that may have belonged to members of your family, dating back many generations, and ponder the reasons it's important to keep it in the contemporary sense. Why not sell it? Why not give it to another family member right now? While this does hinge a tad on your belief in life after death, would you expect, that with all the respect and passion you have for those particular heirloom pieces, a little of you would be passed on, after death, to carry-on the relationship. Maybe, in the afterlife, you're not happy about the jerk who purchased this same antique piece, from the estate auction; which by the way, you didn't want your relatives to have, to disperse your worldly possessions. If you were in a ghostly state, and wanted to send a message to the new owner, with a little spark attached, how would you resolve the issue of unacceptable ownership. Some ghost hunters might suggest the spirit-kind would do everything possible to encourage the owner to sell it to someone else, or donate it to a more worthy cause. Maybe a museum would be a better choice. Can a spirited piece bring about bad karma? There will be those who will say yes, and others will be less convinced this is possible. Can an inanimate object be cursed? Same thing. There are those who will swear to this, as being highly possible, while others will scoff at the idea. The curse of King Tut's tomb is a case in point. This involved death to a number of interlopers who may have, as well, laughed about the idea, fate may look unkindly upon them.

     When I write about "enchanted" pieces, what I really mean, is that the subject article inspires me, in any number of ways, about its past; much as if a ghost, if there is such a thing (I've seen more than a few), seems to be looking for someone or some place and may actually be asking for assistance from the living. I have been ultra sensitive this way for most of my life. While I can't pin everything on my angel dream, experienced during a serious ailment, when I was about six or seven years of age (written about previously in this biographical series), it does for me, mark the beginning of a sensory perception I don't pretend to understand. When I'm drawn to an antique or collectable item, which can be big, small, light or heavy, I know from the moment I touch it, that it was owned by someone once, who had a vested interest in how it would fare in the future. I've always felt, in these situations, that the piece had a regretful aura, attached to it, almost begging to be taken home by someone appreciative of such enchantments. This doesn't mean to suggest that every enchanted antique I come upon, will be hauled home to Birch Hollow. These pieces are one in ten thousand that I look at, and study for purchase, every year, at thousands of individual antique venues. And, I should also note, that even then, I may only buy one or two pieces out of a hundred found, because the aura is such, that it approves of me, and I want to benefit from its inherent energy.

     Consider the little fold-down antique laptop desk I wrote about in yesterday's blog. If you were to have an opportunity to use it, as I have in the past few weeks, since getting it as a Christmas gift from son Andrew; and that you would be allowed time to write upon it, as a former owner might have, before for example, the Battle of Gettysburg, during the American Civil War. At the beginning of the relationship between you and this plain, several hundred year old wooden desk, maybe the only buzz you get, is the fact it is so old yet still very useable in contemporary times (despite the fact you can't plug it in, like the laptop I'm using now). As you work on it, penning a letter to a loved one, as a test of its level of enchantment, let the desk influence you! Nothing unusual so far? A slight feeling of heritage maybe? Now if I was to suddenly reveal, that the desk you are working on, writing a letter, was once owned by American President Abraham Lincoln, outside of the realization you were holding a several hundred thousand dollar antique, might you feel a little surge of energy in possessing and using something with such amazing provenance. Can you, by sensory perception, feel the intensity of a very spirited man? In contrast, what if you were to learn instead, that the small antique desk, had been used by C.S. Lewis, the author of the "Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe," which introduced the way to the magical land of Narnia, through the great wardrobe in his house? But what might be the sensation, at your finger tips, if this desk instead, had been a proven possession of the infamous murderer, Jack The Ripper, who terrorized Victorian England? Is it possible to feel evil through old wood. This may have been the desk top that this legendary murderer used to pen letters. Wow. Then again, what if it was proven, beyond doubt, to have belonged to Herman Melville, the author of "Moby Dick," and that somewhere in his unpublished papers, he had made reference to the kind inspiration he got from his trusty little side-kick writing surface; that helped inspire him to write his greatest story?

     I could go on and on, because it is a subject that fascinates me. Partly, because I know how I feel when I come in contact with pieces, that carry a little extra provenance, into the present tense. It is hard to explain. Which is why I expend a lot of verbiage but seldom feel I've done a great job, of explaining what it means to own haunted old stuff. For me it's just a feeling, but one that has for long and long, appealed to me so much, that it does work to my benefit, especially as relates to creative enterprise. If an antique piece, whether a Victorian era painting I find enchanting, or a rocking chair that soothes my aching bones, gives me that little spark from its provenance, in whatever form it arrives, and encourages me to sit down and write for several hours or more, well, gosh, this is a resource I can live with! Much like the baseball player who carries a rabbit's foot for good luck, why would I ever poo-poo what I have taken from the relationship to my general advantage.