Fear Factor Journal H. P. Lovecraft once said “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear.” Everybody has or has dealt with some sort of fear in their life. For some, fear only manifests itself in some form of mild discomfort, but for others it can be so great that it creates an emotional vice-grip and holds it victim captive. I have my share of fears in life. One of these fears, which I have had since childhood, is my fear of supernatural and evil spirits.
I am Christian and I believe in God, therefore I must also believe that there is a devil. As a Christian I am also aware of the contest between good and evil, so I am no doubt afraid of Satan and the infections of evil that he has brought to this earth. In the Bible it says that God allows Satan and his fallen angels a limited amount of power on earth. When I was younger I began hearing stories of people practicing witchcraft and worshipping Satan in a nearby town called Cassadaga, Florida.
I was frightened at the thought of people that would deny God and follow Satan. This fear is commonly known by many as satanophobia. To confront this fear I must be prepared to possibly be in the presence of people that worship the dark prince and possibly demons or spirits. One September day I decided to go out to Cassadaga and confront my fears of the stories that I had heard. I told myself that there should be no place where I may go that God will not be with me to protect me.
With that in mind, I found the directions to this town of only 55 residences. I began driving and soon enough saw a sign that said “Cassadaga 1 mile.” Once I entered the city limits I realized that my surroundings looked like the setting of a modern day horror film. There were tall trees that were dead with no leaves, rundown houses, broken fences, dirt roads, and rotted wooden signs. The main road was paved and as I drove through the town I saw signs everywhere out front of houses that read “Spiritual Readings, Psychic Readings.” This didn’t really bother me, because I kept thinking of funny old people like Miss Cleo from paid programming on T. V. I decided to drive down some of the narrow dirt roads.
The Essay on God vs. Evil
God, like Adam and Eve, suffered consequences. Genesis 3:14-17, God says: “Because you did this…” referring to the serpent who tempted Eve, then to Eve, and finally to Adam, “Because you did…” Humankind invited the existence of Evil into the goodness of God’s creation. No longer did God walk in the breeze of the Garden of Eden; no longer did God remain in the actual presence of humankind. No ...
The first person I saw was an older man walking a dog. He smiled and waved and for some reason I felt more comfortable being there. I thought to myself seriously for the first time and thought that maybe that those stories were just rumors. I made my way back to the main road where there was a hotel and gift shop / information center.
I parked my car and decided to go into the gift shop / information center. On the way in I passed a lady reading a USA Today newspaper. I entered the shop, and there were several people in there that appeared to be just browsing randomly through the selections of candles, tarot cards, and necklace charms. I found some pamphlets on the town and its activities. As I read I realized that the people in this town weren’t worshipping the devil or evil spirits, but instead were just a group of people that believe in a connection to spirits to help guide and heal their lives and the lives of people that seek their services in a positive manner.
I was definitely over any of my previous premonitions about this town. I actually found some of the services semi-amusing, like the psychic readings for a persons pet. By then I was actually having some fun and looking through the different items for sale. I went up to the counter of the store where there were some tubes and bowls. It turned out to be an oxygen bar, which is like a legal way to get high.
A man at the counter asked me, “Are you interested in a session?” I said, “No thanks, I have to drive home.” The man then replied, “If you do one, then you can fly home.” I laughed and said, “No thanks” again. I looked around a little more then decided that I had seen enough and headed back home. Overall, I was very excited that I had the courage to confront my fear. Like Lt. John B. Putnam said “Courage is not the lack of fear but the ability to face it.” Even though it wasn’t even close to what I had thought, I feel good knowing that I had the courage to be prepared for the worst.
The Term Paper on Why Growing Numbers of People Shop Online
Myra Smallwood McCormick "Why growing numbers of people are shopping online" ENG 1101 7, Feb. 2011 There are many reasons why more people are shopping online. Due to increases in e-commerce, the internet has become a huge curiosity shop, where people can buy anything from jet packs to medieval armor without leaving the comfort of their own homes. According to the Neilson Company, an overwhelming " ...
I still believe that are some places that are sanctuaries for satanic rituals and worshipping, but I am much more comfortable knowing that they aren’t near where I live.
