WARNING! All of my writing is intended for adults over the age of 18 ONLY. Stories may contain strong or even extreme sexual content. All people and events depicted are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Actions, situations, and responses are fictional ONLY and should not be attempted in real life.
If you are under the age or 18 or do not understand the difference between fantasy and reality or if you reside in any state, province, nation, or tribal territory that prohibits the reading of acts depicted in these stories, please stop reading immediately and move to somewhere that exists in the twenty-first century.
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Edwina Barrington looked directly into the camera as the theme music slowly faded away and intoned, "Tonight's episode of
Paranormal Investigators
is very special to me for several reasons. First of all, it is Halloween night, and that makes any paranormal investigation special. But secondly and much more importantly for me, this is the site and the phenomenon that began it all for me. This is where I first became interested in the paranormal. We are in my home town, and tonight we shall investigate '
The Guide
.'"
The camera pulled back to show her standing in a small grotto-like park. She was on a stone path that led to a small cave cut into the dark limestone hillside. "This park in the center of town has been here since the city was first founded," she said. "The cave itself has been here much longer than that. And The Guide has been here since... well, according to the local legends, since the beginning of time."
She walked slowly up the path and stopped at a large stone set in the hillside where the path turned toward the cave. "As near as we can tell," she said pointing down at the stone, "this stone is over 3000 years old. The glyphs that are deeply carved into it are a warning. We can't be sure of the exact translation, but it says something like 'Beware the Touch of the Siren. Her Song Will Seize Your Mind.'"
The scene switched to a second camera that showed the entrance to the cave at the end of the short path from where Edwina stood. "The stone calls her 'The Siren,'" she said, "but the local legends which are at least as old as the stone, call her 'The Guide.'"
"The Guide has been described both as extremely beautiful and as horrific. She is said to release inner urges in people that are so overwhelming that no one who has been touched by The Guide is left unscathed. Some are dead. Most are completely insane. The few survivors who have any shred of sanity left are completely changed. They refuse to say exactly what happened or describe The Guide or what she did to them, but they are changed forever."
She chuckled, "A nun once became a stripper after meeting The Guide." The camera focused on her face as she raised her eyebrows and gave the exaggerated frown that was her trademark. "But on the other hand," she continued with a laugh, "there are at least two recorded cases where prostitutes became nuns."
She pointed to the ground just outside the cave's entrance. "The grass here grows very lush and soft and no weeds seem to ever sprout in this small bed. ... and it is a bed. Two paranormal investigators say that the power of this cave stems from ancient pagan fertility rites which were performed here, and that is what keeps the grass so green and weed free. Scientists who studied this phenomenon recently said it is merely the pH of the soil being so exactly what grass needs. They took some of the soil back to their lab with them, however, and weeds grew easily in their test patch. The same weed seeds, planted here, died.
"My personal belief is that
The Guide
is a poor soul who has been trapped here perhaps since mankind first walked upon these shores." She turned to the camera and stepped to the side to allow a graphic to appear on the screen beside her. It was a book with her face on the front cover.
"As I explain in my latest book," she said, "To release a trapped soul, the first step is to learn his or her name." She pointed to the air where the word "Name" would be inserted in post-production.
"The next step is to establish communication." Another point to where the word "Communication" would appear on the screen.
"And the third step is getting the trapped soul to understand what has happened to it." In post-production, the word "Understanding" would appear on the screen as the third step of the process.
"Often times," she said, looking very serious, "just explaining to the trapped soul that they are a trapped soul is sufficient. Once they realize that they are dead and are trapped between the levels of existence, they will know that they need to move on.
"However, there is often some unresolved issue that is holding them back. So, the final step," she said as she pointed toward the bottom of the screen, "is resolution and direction." The words "Resolution" and "Direction" would complete the list.
"I help them," she said as she appeared to look over the list, "resolve whatever it is that has trapped them between the levels of existence and then help them find their way to the next level."