It’s the season for ghost stories, but on Nov. 1, after Halloween, most people will pack up their skeletons and coffins and forget about the spooky season. However, for sophomore Addi Levin, encounters with ghosts and spirits occur year-round.
There is a distinction between ghosts and spirits; the two words can’t be used interchangeably.
“Ghosts are apparitions of trauma. Spirits, those are things you don’t see, but they’re in the shadows. Spirits of the past,” Levin said. “I do believe in that personally. I mean, to each their own, obviously.”
Levin has numerous stories about encounters with spirits, many of which happened at a young age. Seven-year-old Levin’s first encounter with a spirit occurred at her friend’s house.
“My friend had a Ouija board, and, being kids seeing a Ouija board, we’re like, ‘oh, it’s not gonna do anything.’ We were in her basement. And the thing is, this is in Wyandotte, Kansas City. It used to be a big farmland,” Levin said. “We also think it used to be tribal lands of the Cherokee, possibly.”
Levin is currently researching the land’s history in order to understand the spirits that may inhabit it.
“We had the Ouija board, we were giggling. We’re sitting on the dryer and washer because we’re like, ‘yeah, we’re cool,’” Levin continued. “Not even five minutes later, you could hear literal footsteps, I was sitting there frozen. My friend’s like, ‘dude, let’s just get out.’ I was like, ‘hold on, I want to see something.’ And so I took my hand off the Ouija board, which is not the smartest thing to do.”
According to Levin, taking your hand off of a Ouija board is not advisable because it means you haven’t closed the session, which can scare the spirit.
“It paused for a second, and then it sounded like someone ran across the room,” Levin said. “So we jumped out screaming like little girls.”
Because of this experience, Levin says she doesn’t use Ouija boards very much anymore. Instead, she says she likes to use thin metal rods called dowsing rods to communicate with the paranormal.
“I call them spirit rods. You can use them to find spirits and communicate. It used to be if it crossed, that’s where water was,” Levin said. “But mostly I use it for talking to spirits, just for the fun of it.”
Levin acquired her spirit rods on a ghost tour during last year’s Literary Tour of KC Spring Deep Dive. The group traveled to Hannibal, MO, the hometown of Huckleberry Finn author Mark Twain and an apparent hotspot for paranormal activity. Levin recalls seeing a spirit following her on this ghost tour.
“It kind of looked like a man walking,” Levin said. “I didn’t think much about it because I was like, ‘okay, maybe it’s just my mind. It’s dark out, you can’t really see much.’”
The group visited the town’s graveyard to attempt to talk to the deceased residents using spirit rods.
“My friends were talking, and I paused, and I looked into where the trees were. I’m like, ‘do you guys see that over there?’” Levin continued. “Because the man was sitting there. He was peeking his head out, kind of waving a little bit.”
Even more recently, Levin has noticed unusual activity in her own home.
“Five months ago, out of nowhere, the corner at the top of my ceiling is dark. It’s like, it’s kind of like a black mist, but it just sits there,” Levin said.
Although she is still unsure of the activity’s source, she says her previous experience with using spirit rods and seeing ghosts and spirits will help her to solve the problem.
“Sometimes I’ll look at it and it kind of gives me some weird vibes. I’m like, ‘okay, man, whatever’s over there, just stay there and don’t come near me.’”
