Through a Misted Glass

By David Marsh

The stories of ten ordinary people and the extraordinary curses they live with by the host of Bio Channels series 'Cursed'.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Marsh
• Release date: Mar 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301815791

David Marsh

David Marsh's first attempt at anything more than a support writing role is his 2016 docudrama E Pluribus. Before that he helped his now wife write Sunda Cloud, Ransom's Bond, Synapse, Six Days to Midnight, Fifty-eight Faces, and Allie's Victory.Dave lives in Massachusetts with his darling wife, and on and off with one or more of their seven adult(ish) children (money isn't everything, but it keeps the kids in touch). His favorite saying is; life is not a race, the first one across the finish line is not the winner. Cooking is his favorite pastime. Favorite meals of his are family secrets, so secret even he doesn't know what they are. He even does the dishes, fixes leaky pipes, and does windows (eat your hearts out, girls). A life-long engineer and inventor, he works for a big multi-national foreign based conglomerate (one of three Americans who actually enjoys working for a foreign conglomerate) and holds eight US patents.

Book preview

Through a misted glass

By David Marsh, MD, PhD

Copyright © 2013 David Marsh

Smashwords Edition

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All people’s names in this book are changed to protect their privacy.

Forward

The human brain is the most fascinating thing in the universe. It is massively complex and dynamic. Despite my love of the mysteries of time, space and nature, nothing else holds quite the appeal of studying the brain, or for me, the idiosyncrasies and flaws of the human mind. There are many more than we know. The human brain is capable of perceiving of and understanding such things as the complexities of theoretical mathematics, quantum physics, can create music, art, and conceive ideas and concepts far beyond our ability to manifest them, can contemplate itself, even contemplate itself contemplating itself, and is powerful enough to allow our us to do amazing physical feats that are uncommon in the least. Yet it can also fall into traps, deceive and trick itself and can be so gullible as to believe anything without a shred of proof.

In the following chapters we see 10 cases of people who believe they are or have been cursed, were or are in possession of a cursed object, or have been affected by a cursed place. These are real people, all of whom have paid a price of one kind or another, for their experience. Their names have been changed to preserve their anonymity. I make no judgement about these persons. I offer no clinical evaluation of their stories. That is not the purpose of this book. What you will find are the stories of curses as seen through the eyes of the people who live under these unusual circumstances and related in their own words. That they have allowed me to include their stories is a testament to their resilience. It is my sincerest hope that more people will send me their stories of curses so that we may have a deeper understanding of the mental processes involved with both the victims and the perpetrators. My contact information is at the end of this book, and I promise you the same anonymity and non-judgemental respect if you contribute to this research. Lastly, I have included tips on finding resources for those who believe they have been or are victims of curses so that they may find tools for coping with their situation. Removing curses is not my bailiwick.

Chapter 1

At age 17 Lauren was a bright, happy girl and a devout Christian. She was a member of her church’s outreach program, and an ‘A’ student at school. When the opportunity came to travel to the border of Mexico and Guatemala on a missionary trip, she was excited to go. Lauren, and five other members of the church youth group accompanied six adults who would all go and help build sanitation systems, wells, work the crops and spread the word of God. The trip was for a two month stay during the summer, a gruelling time to go. They stayed in what amounted to shacks, but this didn’t matter to the kids. They were on an adventure. The villagers were friendly, helpful and ready to share.

It was in the second week that the village was visited by a Bruja, or witch, so the villagers said. The old woman came through the village and some people went to leave food or clothing in her path. The villagers said this was to prevent any wrath from the witch in the form of failed crops, wells going dry, babies disappearing and so on. All the missionaries had been told such beliefs existed but to refrain for arguing these beliefs, and more importantly to never engage the Bruja’s and Brujo’s of the area. Though no one believed in their magic, it wouldn’t do to upset the villagers.

The witch visited again a few weeks later, and this time took something from a child without the item being offered. Lauren saw this, and felt angry toward the witch. But, she held her tongue, remembering the warning not to upset the villagers, plus it was not her nature to confront an elder. She did, however ask one of the village girls her age to explain why they allowed the old lady to take from them. The girl told Lauren a tale of disappearing babies, some stolen straight from the womb and children vanishing in the night that shocked and angered Lauren. The girl said the lady was older than anyone could remember, and possessed great magic that no one could defend against. She said it was much better to let the old lady have what she wanted, thus gaining her protection rather than incurring her wrath. Lauren was angered, and a bit frightened, but still remained quiet, even respectful of the woman, though she would go nowhere near the old woman on her third visit.

Then some weeks passed, and Lauren all but forgot the witch. Lauren had become good friends with the girl, who was her age, and had given the girl several things, including a black and grey silk scarf. The girl considered it her prized possession, and wore it all the time, tying her hair with it. It isn’t hard to figure out what happened next. The witch showed up, attempted to take the scarf. The girl resisted for a moment and was about to relinquish the scarf, when Lauren had stepped in to intercede, pulling the scarf away from the old lady. But the witch had a strong hold and refused to back down, so Lauren twisted the woman’s thumb to make her let go, which she did with a pain filled screech. By now village and missionary adults came, and pulled Lauren and the girl away, taking them far from the woman. Adults tried to see to the woman, making offerings and platitudes but she hobbled out of the village, pausing only once to stare after Lauren and the village girl.

The morning of the second day after the incident, a blood dipped chicken feather was found on the door step to both girls’ homes. This caused a general alarm among the villagers, and the missionaries decided to leave early after consulting with the village leaders. Lauren was devastated, as was her friend, but they vowed to stay in touch.

The two exchanged letters every month or two, the incident seeming to have no ill effects on either. A year passed, and Lauren got a letter from her friend saying the girl was getting married to a nice boy from another village. Lauren told her news that she graduating and considering college. Six months later, Lauren received a letter saying the girl was pregnant and happy to be living with her new husband. Lauren sent congratulations. Four months later Lauren sent a letter saying she too was getting married. The return letter told Lauren that the girl had a miscarriage earlier that month. Lauren was devastated for her friend, but remembered the stories about the witch and babies. She tried to put that out her mind and sent her friend a letter of condolence. She never heard from the girl again. Lauren married 6 months later. Her life was good, she worked at a local restaurant and her husband had a good job with a factory. Then the moment she had waited for happened: she was pregnant. The thought of