Conversing With The Dead

[ILLYRIAN]

Thank you to whomsoever gave permission for fan fiction of the series to be presented here.

Conversing With The Dead

It was their first week at the school, to get the students to talk with each other about subjects not normally spoken about the teacher organized the students to be in groups of four. Amy looked to the other three, none seemed to be like her in any way. They it was when talked of what subject the teacher wanted them to talk of that they started to become friends.

The group consisted of Amy, Willow, Allie and Misty. They became intrigued with each of the others methods of contacting the dead. On that first day at Sunnydale High they started to form a bond. Amy liked the tried and tested way of contacting the dead, an Ouija Board though Allie sought a greater form of clarification from her. Allie asked if she would buy one from a professional company or if it was best to make a board, Willow suggested that a homemade device would be best as that way she could restrict who touched the board. Willow said she wanted each letter of the alphabet with lower case and higher case letters, to use numbers with a yes and a no alternative.

Misty said she wanted each of them to treat them with respect, mainly because if the entity took offence at them and found a way through, as being the target of a dead person might well prove to be scary. Amy wanted to know if the group wanted to get information about the past the present or the future. Amy suggested they ask about the past as it was easier to find out if the truth was being told to them. Allie wanted to know how to find out if the truth was being told. “To use a bible with a key to signify which page and to recite the Lords Prayer. That is the best way that I have been told of,” said Amy. “Or ask questions you know the answer to,” said Allie.

Willow had noticed that each of them had an interest with learning how the dead survived after death. If survived is the correct word to describe them at that stage of their progression to the later existence. Misty stated of a time she had met one of her mother’s old school friends while out shopping. It wasn’t until she and her mother were at home that her mother told her the person she had met had died several years after leaving school. Misty said that she felt guilty though she didn’t understand how when they met they had greeted each other with a hand shake. Willow tried to explain to her that the feeling of being cold was when a spirit touched them.

The next day Amy said she had contacted several organizations about dealing with the dead but most were solely interested in helping the living person to cope with the loss of a friend or relative. Some said they try to contact the dead but not for the knowledge of learning how and who took charge of them. Willow found the Catholic church was especially confusing as many of the priest etc: said that only one ghost existed, even though Willow had found out that certain books of the dead were used to get the names of Demons for use when an exorcism was being performed. Misty said she hadn’t considered the thought of speaking to a demon.

Allie suggested they ignore who they considered to be the recognized practitioners of all dealings with the dead and allow a distant cousin of hers to send them information and help. Allie and Misty thought that Amy’s distant cousin would lead them in directions they did not want to follow. On the way home from Amy broached the subject with Willow. Willow looked to Amy. “How would you like us to proceed.” Amy said that a distant relative of her family was a Scottish woman who was proclaimed to be the witch Isobel Gowdie. Over the centuries a few descendants had moved to LA and now there was one who Amy know though the woman was in her thirties she was a witch.

Willow had not thought of witchcraft but the likelihood of being taught the basics by an actual witch made Willow smile. That evening Amy contacted her cousin and asked about her friend Willow and her being taught the basics of the craft. The following day Amy was able to tell Willow they were well on their way to being witches taught by a real witch.


To Be Continued

 

[ILLYRIAN]

(please note this is fiction not non-fiction)

Conversing With The Dead

Amy stood beside the tree of knowledge with Willow, they were waiting to see the woman who would be teaching them about witchcraft. Amy and Willow were full of enthusiasm as they had been promised the opportunity to meet a real witch but curiously scared about performing actual witchcraft so when a woman wandered towards them neither of them rushed to greet the woman.

The woman surprised the girls as neither of them expected her to be wearing normal clothes, the girls thought she’d be in a long cloak that looked as though it would be better suited on a bed. As the girls watched her as she took a bag off her back and slid her arms from what they expected was a heavily tied golden cord just below her waist.

Both Amy and Willow were mightily impressed as the woman now looked like the pictures they had seen of witches. The woman laid two small smooth edged reels of sewing thread on a table that neither of the girls had noticed before. Standing each of the reels on their ends the woman told the girls to concentrate on the end of the thread that was on the reel, ignoring other sounds.

Amy and Willow concentrated on all other sounds, that they were being prevented from entering their minds. By being able to concentrate on the end of the thread and keep concentrating on the end of the thread. Expecting a woman to arrive in a car they were surprised to see the woman was in a covered cart being pulled by two majestic horses.

Neither of the girls understood why the woman had arrived in such a way, Willow suggested that though they expected a witch. Maybe the witch who presented herself to them was a witch from a time long gone and of another country. Wanting to know how to believe what was said to them Amy said she had heard of a persons finger and their toe bones being used to find the truth.

Willow faced Amy in shock, Amy said the person’s fingers and toes were cut off after their death, that the finger bones and the toe bones were placed in a bible of that persons religion. A prayer was quoted to seek the knowledge of truth. Amy asked Willow if she knew how they might know what the person’s religion was.

Willow looked to Amy she doubted it would help them any unless they had the same spirit to question for the bones in the bible to work. Amy questioned if the spirit might tell the truth if that religion was known to have killed them. As with the Catholic Church having been the one said to have put Joan of Arc to death.

Amy looked to Willow, she wondered how they ought to go about seeking a specific spirit or if they could ask for a specific spirit as when she had been told of speaking to the dead a person asked if anyone was there. Willow suggested they make contact with a friendly ghost one who other ghosts wanted to be a friend with. The girls tried to think who others wanted as a friend.

The girls made an Ouija board that would be as user friendly as possible for them to use and for the person who had communicated with them. Initially they knew that any contact they made would not be who they eventually decided to use as a medium. Two months passed before an honorable ghost was found, even then they needed to hope for the best.

They didn’t know it at first as the ghost they connected with was a bit shy, over time she revealed many secrets about her life then as the trust between them increased a friendship did increase. The ghost was a witch though not many knew her as a witch even her husband did not know when they first met though he became a secret friend of the coven.

And he was an honourable friend, though he was responsible for her death. Buried in Salle Church in Norfolk under a black slab near her ancestors graves. He gave permission for her heart to be buried in Erwarton church in Suffolk near her uncles, Sir Philip Barker. It is said that their belief in witchcraft had brought them together, though Henry’s temper saw her killed.

After her death Henry VIII begged her forgiveness for his misdeeds and Anne Boleyn in her wisdom forgave him so that they could become great friends. The deeds with the Catholic church began with the Pope’s hatred of witchcraft, using marriage as an excuse to ban the Catholic faith from the country, England started to become a protestant country.


To Be Continued

 

[ILLYRIAN]

(please note this is tale of woe for them is told as a work of fiction and not as non-fiction)

Conversing With The Dead

Not wanting to appear unthoughtful Amy and Willow decided to contact Artricia Gowdie on the Ouija board, they wanted to know where she could and would want to educate them in the way of the truth about her ancestor Isobel Gowdie. If she was indeed rightly entitled to be The Queen of Witches or if that was just those who condemned her to death wanting to be seen as truthful.

Expecting the pointer on the Ouija board to pin-point the individual letters, so that they would spell out any reply Artricia would say. Artricia’s voice could be heard being emitted from the stereo’s loudspeakers, and oh what a voice. It seemed that the beauty of Isobel Gowdie was matched by the loveliness of Artricia’s voice, the sound resonated as a joy for all to behold.

And Isobel was a rare beauty, great attention was given to her even though she was only the wife of a peasant farmer. That attention she ignored as she was an honourablr wife, that did not appease her ‘betters’, they accused her of being a witch when the women in their lives found out about their longing for the beautiful Cottar. (she had beautiful long red hair just like our Willow).

Our two girls sought to understand more about Artricia’s ancestor. Isobel had wanted to avoid the persecution the pain and the physical punishment inflicted by the inquisitors, they wanted to and would liked to have inflicted on her. Not to be tricked out of doing that torture Isobel had to endure many a long day of starvation and having the pricker push the knitting needles into her.

Those needles were to cause her to bleed though when there was no blood she was deemed to be in league with the Devils. To make naked woman be seen to be guilty special retractable needles were used when the witnesses were there to witness her and the woman was seen not to bleed when the needles were used upon her. Even the woman often felt guilty. Though she was often

the only one in the dungeon who didn’t know the truth, Artricia started to cackle at that point, for she knew the ghost of her ancestor was there to hear what she said. Artricia knew that Isobel would descend on those who witnessed her torture. She would cause those beings to fail to continue their lives, Isobel would have her revenge even though it took centuries.

Isobel had often thought of her rare beauty as being a great asset when finding the man of her dreams and it helped to protect him from the persecutors though it only caused her unimaginable pain. She so wanted to bear a child but her body was unknowingly incapable it was her brothers and sisters who helped her, it was those brothers and sisters protected her husband.

Artricia showed our two girls how to promote their prowess. How too begin to do the simplest of tasks, moving an object or knowing what a person wanted to do were high on the list Artricia had for them to do, though they both began to perform those tasks it was Willow who found she could make the objects move just using the power of her thought.

Amy tried and tried and eventually she found that she could perform the same magic that Willow could do and had done. As it was Willow had that extra something to make the impossible become possible. Amy was glad that Willow did not make herself to appear better on purpose.
Artricia saw a wonderment in Willow that would, she knew be her helper.

Artricia likened Willow to the great witches of the South East of England, those known as the Pendell Witches. They were all quite good looking though only the youngest amongst them could be considered to be quite beautiful, though she never forced her beauty any one of the others. In much the same way Willow didn’t push her ability to do magics on her friends.

Artricia visited Willow one night in her room, after introducing herself she advised Willow to avoid using the word witchcraft as the meaning of the word was of a person who would attack another person using magic, especially if that person lived in the same community. Artricia told Willow that moving objects at will with such ease was the start of her becoming a great witch.


The End