Braucheri

Braucheri

What is Braucherei?

Bruacherei was brought to the United States by early Germanic immigrants who fled religious persecution in their homelands, these Immigrants would later be referred to as the Pennsylvania Dutch.

This magical system is based around aspects of Christian Theology, European Folklore, superstition, ceremonial magic, witchcraft rites and shamanism, also added in some areas is Native American Indian practices. The magical system can be traced back as far as the 2nd Century.

Much of the magical system is based on three sets of writings, “Egyptian Secrets” by Albert Magnus, “Long Lost Friend” by John George Hohman and also the"Romanusbuchlein". The religion relies very heavily on the power of God and Christ and incorporates the mystic and magical teachings and philosophies of early Christian mystics

The heart of the religion remains in Pennsylvania, and as one travels further out of the state the religion blends more into Shamanistic and Neopagan practices and loses some of its Christianity aspects.

Modern-day Braucherei practitioners include Chris Bilardi, Jack Montgomery and Rob Chapman. These gentlemen are bringing the old ways back into the limelight through books and websites.

Like all religions it has a good and bad side, the lightworkers are known as practitioners of “Pow-Wow” the “night-workers” are known as the “Hexerei” or “Hexers”

Hexerei

This is the darker side of Braucherei, this is what the Pennsylvania Dutch consider, in their terms, “witchcraft”. It is the practice of hexing, using malevolent magic to cause hurt and harm. It is a self-serving form of the Braucherei, utilising demons and spirits to serve for one's own gain.

Pow-wow

Pow-wow is the Braucherei practitioners of good and light, it teaches healing and protection against evil by utilising charms to protect against the evils of hexes and witchcraft.

Pennsylvania Dutch Hexes

The Pennsylvania Dutch are a colorful folk when it comes to decoration, many barns are adorned with colourful symbols that also appear on birth certificates and in other places

these colorful symbols are known as Hex Signs, a term coined by author Wallace Nutting in his book “ Pennsylvania Beautiful” in 1924.

Hex Signs utilize motifs, usefully featuring hearts, wheat, birds, tulips and colours, some also use a very distinctive bird known as a “Distelfinks”, also common is the usage of Stars, the moon and sun.

At some point ion the late 1800's people in the area started painting the hex signs on their barns as a way to ward of witchcraft, bad luck and other evil doings, They became even more popular after the 1928 “Witch Craft Trials” dubbed by one local newspaper as “The weirdest and most curiously fascinating in the history of jurisprudence."

Researched and Written by Allen Tiller 2012 

Many thanks to Rob Chapman for his assistance in editing this page

Please visit Robs site at

http://braucher.webs.com

First published on the Eidolon Paranormal Website 2012

© Allen Tiller

Curses: The Curse of Gloomy Sunday

The Curse of Gloomy Sunday

 

Reszo Seress, A Hungarian born songwriter living in France, trying to make a living was determined to become an internationally famous songwriter, but failing dismally. Every song he composed and put forward to recording companies got rejected, but he never gave up.

His girlfriend would constantly fight with him, urging him to find a real job and throw away this dream that wasn’t happening for him.
One day, she was more cruel than usual and Seress and his Fiancee had a fight over his song-writing dream that saw them break up.

The day after, a Sunday, Seress was in his apartment, sitting at his piano, outside was dark and gloomy, and so was his mood. As the rain began to fall he muttered to himself, “what a gloomy Sunday”, his hands fell on the piano, and from them came a strange melancholy melody that encapsulated his morose mood, his feelings about losing his girl and the gloomy Sunday weather.
Within Thirty minutes Seress had composed the song “Gloomy Sunday”.

His first attempt at selling the song failed, rejected by the publisher, but on his second attempt, it was sold, Seress was about to become a published writer with a promise that his song would be available worldwide.

Within months of the song being printed, strange happenings began that were said to be linked with the song. In Berlin, a young man requested the song be played by a band in the hotel, the young man went home, complaining to his family he could not get the sad melody out of his head. He took a revolver and shot himself in the head.

In the same city, a week later, a young woman was found hung in her apartment, near her body the police found a copy of the sheet music for “Gloomy Sunday”.

In New York City, two days later a young secretary gassed herself, in her suicide note she asked for “Gloomy Sunday” to be played at her funeral. Within weeks an 82-year-old man jumped to his death from a seventh-floor window after playing the song on his piano.
The same week a young man jumped off a bridge in Rome to his death after hearing the song.

It didn’t take long for a journalist to put the stories together and start reporting in the media of the alleged links between the song and suicides. Streams of bizarre stories associated with the song were reported in Europe, the BBC banned the song from being played on their radio network.

Seress, now happy he was published tried to contact his ex-fiancee, only to learn from the police that she had committed suicide by poison, next to her they found a copy of the sheet music for “Gloomy Sunday”.

Billie Holiday, the soulful jazz singer recorded a version of the song in 1941, although she didn’t commit suicide there is much speculation that after her recording of “Gloomy Sunday” her carer decline was directly related to her recording of the song, it wasn’t too long after that she died from a drug overdose.


©2013
Allen Tiller
first published 8 Jan 2013
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of “The Conqueror”

The Curse of “The Conqueror”

John Wayne isn’t a name usually associated with movie curses, but the 1956 movie “ The Conqueror”, in which he starred, ties him into one that has one of the largest numbers of deaths associated with it for a film curse, outdoing the Omen and Poltergeist movie curse death tolls

The movie is a love story between Genghis Khan,( played by John Wayne), and Bortai (played by Susan Hayward) involving kidnapping and wars. The movie was a massive flop in 1956 and is regarded as one of the worst movies of the era, if not all time, which, John Wayne being miscast as Genghis Khan is often the reason cited for its poor performance.
Wayne was at the height of his career and possibly a little arrogantly, played the part, not unlike some of his Cowboy parts in Westerns, but, he was hand-picked by Eccentric Millionaire producer Howard Hughes, and no-one is going to say the man paying the bills is wrong to choose a huge star of the era to play a part in his movie.

The movie was shot in St George Utah, downwind from where the American government was testing nuclear bombs some 137 miles away. The Government of the time assured all local residents that the tests would not cause them any harm.
The cast and crew spent, many weeks filming on lotion, and later, when shots were needed to be filmed on the soundstage, Howard Hughes shipped 60 ton of dirt back to Hollywood so the stage shots would match the outside shots in look and feel, of course, the dirt was contaminated too.

So for 13 weeks on set in Utah the cast was exposed to nuclear fallout, and then for many more weeks in Hollywood contaminated dirt and dust was breathed in.
Over the next few years, 91 of the 220 stars and crew developed cancer, of which 46 would later die, including the movie stars John Wayne and Susan Hayward. One of the films other stars, Pedro Armendariz committed suicide upon hearing he had cancer of the Kidneys (just four years after filming) and it was terminal.
The cast and crew were not totally oblivious to the danger of the nuclear fallout, there is a photo of John Wayne on set with a Geiger counter, clearly demonstrating they knew there was a risk, the people of the town of St. George, close to the movie set, also developed cancers due to the American military tests.

The effects of the “curse” also included a flash flood that ripped through the set almost washing away the entire cast and crew.
A black panther that decided it was hungry and tried to take a rather large bite out of actress Susan Hayward

Howard Hughes, who had financed the film production, eventually started feeling guilty about the cast being exposed to nuclear fallout and bought every print of the film for an estimated $12 million dollars. He kept the film from being showing anywhere until it was seen on TV, for the first time in 1974.
It is rumoured during his final years, Hughes, who become known as the eccentric germaphobe billionaire, played the movie every night in his own home, racked with guilt for the deaths of so many associated with the movie he produced
In his last days, Howard Hughes, with his beard and fingernails grew disturbingly long, living a now reclusive lifestyle, reportedly watched The Conqueror over and over again, racked with guilt, as he waited for the sweet embrace of death.




For more information please visit the following links:

http://www.themedicalbag.com/story/john-wayne
Howard Hughes - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conqueror_(film)


Written and Researched by
Allen Tiller – 2013

First published May 13 2013
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of the Lydian Hoard

The Curse of the Lydian Hoard

Relics from the era of King Croesus, ruler of the Lydian Kingdom between 560 and 547 BC. The Lydian Hoard is a collection of ancient jewellery and relics.

The treasure was found in 1965 in a small village in Turkey when five villagers discovered the tomb of an unknown princess from the Lydian period.

The villagers plundered the tomb and stole anything they thought was of value, by 1966, looters and thieves had taken over 100 items from the tomb including gold jewellery, silver and wall paintings.
The villager’s thought all their problems would be fixed due to their new found wealth, but it was exactly the opposite, misfortune and death reigned down on the villagers and their families and anyone who traded the jewels and relics with them.

From the stories of unfortunate events put upon the villagers, the curse sprang up and has been in circulation ever since.

©2013 Allen Tiller
first published Feb 27 2013
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of the Maori Masks

The Curse of the Maori Masks

Maori, the Polynesian people indigenous to New Zealand are a tribal warrior race, their warriors were extremely dangerous, and their tribal beliefs deeply ingrained in all members of the tribe.
Before a war, warriors would carve masks and statues. If a warrior died in battle, his spirit would return to the carved mask or statue.

It is said because of this, women that are pregnant or menstruating can come to harm by touching or being near the carved statues and masks.

In 2010 the Te Papa Museum located in New Zealand’s capital Wellington confirmed that it had expressed this warning to its museum guides and employees.

©2013 Allen Tiller

first published 29 Jan 2013
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of Uluru

The Curse of Uluru

Uluru, (once known as Ayers Rock), is situated in the outback of the Northern Territory. The site is sacred to the local Aboriginal Mobs of Pitjuatjatjara and Yankinytjatjara. 

The site has always been a major tourist attraction in Australia, attracting large crowds. Many people have taken small rocks from around Uluru as souvenirs of their visit, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park reports that they often get these stones sent back to them via the mail.
It would seem a lot of people who have taken these rocks and stones fall under a spell of bad luck and have found their “curse” stems from the stones they took from the sacred site.

The park had has such an influx of letters over the years they keep a record of them all in their own “sorry book” so that future visitors can be warned of what will happen if they take the stones.
Uluru is a sacred site to Australian Aborigines, please treat it as such, take only photos, leave only footprints...

©2013 Allen Tiller
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au
first published Jan 26 2013

Thanks to Mid North Paranormal for suggesting this Curse

Curses: The Curse of the Bards Play

"Round about the cauldron go; In the poison'd entrails throw." 

Macbeth, Act IV, Sc i. William Shakespeare.

The Curse of the Bards Play

Is William Shakespeare's play “Macbeth” cursed? Plenty of Thespians and their directors will tell you “yes!”.
The story goes that if one utters the word “Macbeth” in a theatre will cause disaster. A slight variation of the curse exists where any direct quotation of the play, other than in rehearsals will begin the curse.

Believers in this age-old curse have often said that the cause of the curse is the scene in which three witches are toiling over a cauldron, they believe the lines the witches say are actual spells that are cast every time they are said.
Others believe that including the character of Hecate, who is frequently cut, intensifies the spells.

Accidents seem to follow productions of Macbeth, worldwide, even the first initial premiere of the show has a legend where an actor died, the story goes that an actor died because he was stabbed with a real dagger that was mistaken for the stage prop.
Other legends have grown around this play including one that Shakespeare got some of his material from real witches, and upon them seeing their work used in the play, the witches cursed its name and future productions of Macbeth.

One of the most often cited pieces of evidence to the Curse of Macbeth is a riot that broke out in the Astor Place Theatre in New York in 1849 in which the National Guard were called out. The crowd were fired upon and at least 25 people were killed, with 120 seriously injured in the melee.
It is often said that the riot broke out over support for two different actors playing Macbeth on the same night in separate theatres, however, one only needs to do a google search for the Astor Place Theatre riot to find out there was a lot more to the situation at the time.

There are many stories about how the curse has had an effect on productions of Macbeth worldwide, far too many to list here, if you would like to read more about the curse a quick search on google will provide an abundance of information

©2012 Allen Tiller 

first published 17 Dec 2012
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of Franz Ferdinad's Car

The first in a chain of events that would lead to the onset of World War One happened in Sarajevo when the Archduke of Austria, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary, was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip.
The Archduke, his wife, and three other dignitaries were driving in the open top limousine, Princip stepped in front of the car and started shooting, killing The Archduke and his wife on June 28th 1914, and so legend has it, that a curse was placed upon the car in which Franz Ferdinand died.

The car fell into the ownership of one the tragedies survivors, General Potiorek. Several weeks into the war between Austria and Serbia, General Potiorek's army suffered terrible losses, he was recalled to Vienna to face Emperor Franz Josef I, who, along with other dignitaries looked down upon the Generals losses and stripped him of his rank. This led the General into a severe bout of depression, which in turn led to an early death.

The next owner of the vehicle was a Captain on General Potioreks staff, he had possession of the car for a brief nine days before he had a terrible accident, hitting two peasants and driving the car into a tree, which broke his neck.

The next person to own the car was the Governor of Yugoslavia, who it is reported suffered four horrendous accidents in a period of four months, which eventually left him an amputee, losing one of his arms in the last accident.
It is said the Governor sold the car to a local doctor, who met his fate when he was driving and flipped the open-topped car, causing him to be crushed underneath.
A diamond dealer named Simon Mantharides was also an owner of the notorious car, he too died after an accident.

The car was then purchased by a Swiss race driver, who was catapulted from the car whilst driving it, causing his death upon impact.

The next to own the car was a Serbian farmer. The car failed to start one day, so the quick-thinking farmer decided to tow it with his horse and cart, he forgets to turn off the ignition key, and eventually, the engine turned over, lunging the car forward into the cart, which overturned and killed the farmer.


The last known victim of the cursed car was one Tibor Hirshfield, a garage owner, who, returning from a wedding, crashed the car and killed himself and all his passengers.

The car was eventually purchased and placed in a museum in Vienna, where it sits to this day, undriven for many years

Researched & Written
by
Allen Tiller
originally published 17 Dec 2012
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au