Thread: My props need to be "cleansed"....really!

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Ok, so some of you have read about my recent prop purchases. One was about three weeks ago, and one was this past weekend. I also scored a great one last year. They have all been under rather unusual, and unfortunate, circumstances. Last summer I decided to check Craigs List (recommendation from you guys, thanks!) Well there was a listing from a girl selling Halloween Decor. I contacted this girl, and she was nice, and DH and I went to see what she had. Basically her Aunt had passed away, and she was really into Halloween...had a party every year, etc. Her nieces/nephews were not the last bit interested in anything Halloween related, so we got a great deal. $125.00 for tons of items, many new in the box from Spirit Halloween. So, we bought a deceased ladies halloween goods....she was a haunter and loved Halloween, so I wasn't weirded out about it...I actually felt good about giving her items a good home!
Next purchase was about three weeks ago. Saw an ad on Craigs List again....$8,000-$10,000 worth of decor for sale for $2,500.00 or taking offers. So I emailed the girl, she was very nice and sent me pictures....she had amazing stuff. (to see what we got, the thread is entitled "Major Craigs List Purchase") Many of the items were home made including a coffin, cemetery pillars, Gulliatine, haunted organ....and more! She had lots of full size reapers, the Count and Gravely the Butler, Harry the Zombie, Spirit Balls, all kinds of great things. I told her I was only interested in the larger items as we had plenty of small things, etc. She wrote back and told me her husband recently passed away, and she wanted to sell everything in one big lot rather than piecing it out. I told her I was sorry for her loss, and that if things changed to let us know, we would be still interested. So she emailed me a few days later and said that someone wanted the smaller items, and if we wanted to see the larger props we could. So we rented a trailer, and pulled it with my truck about two hours away. She was really sweet and she was showing me all the stuff. She then started talking about making the props with her husband. I told her I was sorry to hear about his passing, and was he ill? She said "no" and went on the explain that they were having marital problems, and they separated. Well, he was so distraught that he committed suicide . Only four weeks ago . ! I told her again how sorry I was...we finished up and drove home. As we were loading the coffin that he made into the garage, I looked at the back of it, and his name and the date he made it is written on the back ! So its really creepy having homemade props that someone made who ended his own life, and very sad This girl is great, and she emailed me to let me know the person that was supposed to buy the rest of the small things never showed, so whatever I want she will let me have for a great deal!! We are going to decide a weekend to go back.
So this third that I bought from an auction this past saturday. (see thread AUCTION SCORE) Basically it was this financial guy from Indy (Marcus Schrenker) who tried to fake his own death because he stole millions from clients and was about to get caught. He flew a plane to FL, parachuted out of it, people thought he went down with it, actually landed in the woods and hiked to a planted getaway motorcycle, etc....long story short, he got caught and now is in the slammer. They auctioned off his entire house...furniture, towels, piano, computers, frames, vases...you name it! Well he had a lot of Halloween decor, and so I bought most of it up! I got a great deal! But it just feels strange having these items in my house.
So here is why I think I need my props to be "cleansed."
I have props from someone who :
Passed away
Sadly took their own life
Tried to fake their own death
Is it my, or would other people be weirded out too?
Maybe I can fins a VooDoo Priestess to come in....or maybe just a recipe off the internet. Thoughts??

When your walls start bleeding and hearing "GET OUT!" I would start burning the props... or sell them on craiglist...

To be honest, you never really know when you buy used. That is the bummer of it. My wife hates buying anything used for similar reasons. Every props I bought used, I made sure first it was from a "reasonable" reason of person was selling the props for.

Traditional Cleansing Ceremony

Smudging is the burning of certain herbs to create a cleansing smoke bath, which is used to purify people, ceremonial and ritual space, and ceremonial tools and objects. Many differing cultures and peoples have their own methods and herbal mixtures for this purpose.
Native American Indians use a variety of smudging mixtures in this way. The principle herbs used are sage, cedar or juniper, lavender and sweet grass. Pure tobacco is also used by some Plains tribes, and copal in South and Central America.

The herbs are burnt on their own or in mixtures, depending on tradition and required effect. Sage (Artemisia tridentia) is not the same as the European varieties and is indigenous to the Americas. It is used as a cleansing and purifying agent, the effect of the smoke is to banish negative energies. The powerful cleansing vibration it emits when burned, is used to purify the subtle energies of one"s aura, as well as personal and ceremonial space or healing and ceremonial tools, such as pipes and crystals.

Cedar needles are used in a similar way to cleanse and bring balance to the emotions and to the male/female (yin/yang) elements. To clear one's actions and to promote forgiveness, lavender flowers can be added to the mixture to bring the quality of spiritual blessing.
Sweetgrass, which comes from the northern swamps, and is dried and braided into fragrant-smelling plaits can also be added to the mixtures, but it is often burned alone after the sage or smudge mixture has been used. Sweetgrass brings sweetness and beauty into one's life and surroundings. One can offer a prayer to this effect as the braid is lit.

The process of smudging involves placing the individual herb or mixture of herbs into a shell, or fireproof bowl or dish. The mixture can burn quite hot so it is important that whatever is used can take the heat without cracking. Some traditions will not use shells as they say the water element of the shell nullifies the fire element. Others use the shell to bring in the balance of the elements (i.e. fire, smoke or air, shell for water and the herbs themselves as the earth element.)
The mixture is lit and helped to burn by the use of a feather or fan. Blowing into the mixture is not encouraged as it is seen as blowing one's own negativity into the mixture. the mixture is then wafted around one's self like a smoke bath. There are different ways of doing this and one finds a variety of techniques and explanations depending on traditions and teachings. The way for someone not attached to a particular tradition is a matter of personal preference and intuition.

One way would be to start at the left foot (left being the receiving side of the body) and to move the smoke up the left leg with the use of the fan or feather. proceed up the central chakra line and around the top of the head, back down the centre of the body, moving the smoke outwards to the sides and around the back. Finish off by wafting the smoke down the right leg (right being the giving side of the body) and out and away from the right foot. Some traditions would do this four times, as four is the number of balance and harmony.
Feathers and wing fans aid in the cleansing process and have the effect of combing the human aura, therefore adding to the cleansing. Particular feathers bring in the qualities and medicine of the bird of origin. Some would insist that the movement of the fan should be in keeping with the movement of the particular bird's wing in flight.

Cleansing ceremonial or ritual space before and after the event is an essential part of spiritual hygiene. The initial smudging is for the purpose of purifying the space and participants and for banishing any unwanted energies. The final smudge is to cleans any negative vibrations and energies attracted or created during the proceedings. It is also a good thing to do on a regular basis for both one's self and one's living space, to maintain individual and domestic harmony.
Some native teachers of my acquaintance have been very surprised to find that many healers, masseurs, therapists and others involved in similar occupations do not use this or similar cleansing techniques in their workspace and for themselves, both before and after healing consultations. One commented that she had visited a so-called healing room that was more like a psychic sewer, due to the lack of any such cleansing.

Good practice for the use of smudge when healing is to smudge the space, the people in the space, including one's self, the patient and any tools, (such as crystals). When the healing is completed, smudge self, any assistants, tools, patient and finish with the space. In this way one deals with negative energies and vibrations in much the same way as antiseptic and disinfectant deals with germs.

The smell of the mixture is wonderful and the effects are almost instantly noticeable.
Happy smudging.

I wouldn't think too much about it myself because I know when I'm gone, I'd much rather have someone appreciate the items I've made/purchased versus throwing it all in the dump....It really comes down to it's just stuff....Bad things happen all the time, everyone has problems in one way or another.....It's just a sad fact of life....I would just enjoy the things you got and make happy memories with your friend's/family/etc...I'm sure that's the way they would have wanted it.....ZR

I was born and raised in Miami, lots of voodoo stuff goes on there....so first, you get a chicken foot and a live goat.....just kidding!!

really, I think the stuff is fine, I'm sure they're resting well knowing their prized Halloween stuff is in the hands of someone appreciative......

Your concerns are valid from a bibical standpoint and not to scare you or anything but its true as far as some stuff giving off bad vibes. Me personally I would have passed on it. Now I'm not talking about silly voodoo stuff. There are records in the bible about devil spirits inhabiting items and I do believe the bible. I pray for my stuff and stay away from anything too weird that might give off some bad stuff. Prayer does work and really not trying to freak ya out MM. Pitch the stuff if negative things start happening around the place and I don't mean silly movie stuff......more like harsh mood swings in the family, angry, maybe less patience, rudness...etc. I had to dump some things that were not quite right.....I knew it before hand.

Ok, that's just cool! Sorry but when your own props wig you out...awesome!

Each to their own opinion, but for me, I'm not religious, nor into the notion of curses etc..
I love halloween, horror and all that, but from a scare and entertainment perspective

That aside, build your haunt around the props - use the real life stuff as the basis of the back-story of the haunt and/or items... freaks people out to know that there really is something macabre/odd/spooky/eerie etc about the place they're in or items they're near

Si

Originally Posted by Tumblindice

Traditional Cleansing Ceremony

Smudging is the burning of certain herbs to create a cleansing smoke bath, which is used to purify people, ceremonial and ritual space, and ceremonial tools and objects. Many differing cultures and peoples have their own methods and herbal mixtures for this purpose.
Native American Indians use a variety of smudging mixtures in this way. The principle herbs used are sage, cedar or juniper, lavender and sweet grass. Pure tobacco is also used by some Plains tribes, and copal in South and Central America.

The herbs are burnt on their own or in mixtures, depending on tradition and required effect. Sage (Artemisia tridentia) is not the same as the European varieties and is indigenous to the Americas. It is used as a cleansing and purifying agent, the effect of the smoke is to banish negative energies. The powerful cleansing vibration it emits when burned, is used to purify the subtle energies of one"s aura, as well as personal and ceremonial space or healing and ceremonial tools, such as pipes and crystals.

Cedar needles are used in a similar way to cleanse and bring balance to the emotions and to the male/female (yin/yang) elements. To clear one's actions and to promote forgiveness, lavender flowers can be added to the mixture to bring the quality of spiritual blessing.
Sweetgrass, which comes from the northern swamps, and is dried and braided into fragrant-smelling plaits can also be added to the mixtures, but it is often burned alone after the sage or smudge mixture has been used. Sweetgrass brings sweetness and beauty into one's life and surroundings. One can offer a prayer to this effect as the braid is lit.

The process of smudging involves placing the individual herb or mixture of herbs into a shell, or fireproof bowl or dish. The mixture can burn quite hot so it is important that whatever is used can take the heat without cracking. Some traditions will not use shells as they say the water element of the shell nullifies the fire element. Others use the shell to bring in the balance of the elements (i.e. fire, smoke or air, shell for water and the herbs themselves as the earth element.)
The mixture is lit and helped to burn by the use of a feather or fan. Blowing into the mixture is not encouraged as it is seen as blowing one's own negativity into the mixture. the mixture is then wafted around one's self like a smoke bath. There are different ways of doing this and one finds a variety of techniques and explanations depending on traditions and teachings. The way for someone not attached to a particular tradition is a matter of personal preference and intuition.

One way would be to start at the left foot (left being the receiving side of the body) and to move the smoke up the left leg with the use of the fan or feather. proceed up the central chakra line and around the top of the head, back down the centre of the body, moving the smoke outwards to the sides and around the back. Finish off by wafting the smoke down the right leg (right being the giving side of the body) and out and away from the right foot. Some traditions would do this four times, as four is the number of balance and harmony.
Feathers and wing fans aid in the cleansing process and have the effect of combing the human aura, therefore adding to the cleansing. Particular feathers bring in the qualities and medicine of the bird of origin. Some would insist that the movement of the fan should be in keeping with the movement of the particular bird's wing in flight.

Cleansing ceremonial or ritual space before and after the event is an essential part of spiritual hygiene. The initial smudging is for the purpose of purifying the space and participants and for banishing any unwanted energies. The final smudge is to cleans any negative vibrations and energies attracted or created during the proceedings. It is also a good thing to do on a regular basis for both one's self and one's living space, to maintain individual and domestic harmony.
Some native teachers of my acquaintance have been very surprised to find that many healers, masseurs, therapists and others involved in similar occupations do not use this or similar cleansing techniques in their workspace and for themselves, both before and after healing consultations. One commented that she had visited a so-called healing room that was more like a psychic sewer, due to the lack of any such cleansing.

Good practice for the use of smudge when healing is to smudge the space, the people in the space, including one's self, the patient and any tools, (such as crystals). When the healing is completed, smudge self, any assistants, tools, patient and finish with the space. In this way one deals with negative energies and vibrations in much the same way as antiseptic and disinfectant deals with germs.

The smell of the mixture is wonderful and the effects are almost instantly noticeable.
Happy smudging.

Oh this is great!! Ive been wanting to have a party with the girls and have some type of cleansing party, to rid the bad luck some of us have been having. We all need to start fresh weve had too many bad things happen in a year so this will be perfect!! Thanks for posting Oh I cant wait
As for the props well they may actually need to be cleansed:eek:

Get some Garlic (hang from rope), Salt(carry in pocket), Mint(placed throughout home), Vinegar(smell sends spirits away), holy water, crystals and charms(Trinkets/jewelry). And if all else fails... A BOTTLE OF WHISKEY! That will definitely solve all at that time in desperate need!