# Waiting for the ghosties **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2001, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542 "2001-06-12T14:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/21 "2001-06-23T17:08:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, it’s been more than 10 days since I have heard from the person who is supposed to be sending me an “elemental.” I have sent him/her a couple (didn’t want to be a pest!) of e-mails, with no real response… Maybe they sent you an air elemental. You can’t see those unless you cast a “see the invisible” spell. I don’t have my players guide handy but I believe its just a first level spell, you may want to pick up a scroll with that just in case. Just remember that you can’t affect it without magic weapons. _closed quote tags_ [Edited by UncleBeer on 06-25-2001 at 11:59 AM] ---
**Author:** ![SouprChckn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@SouprChckn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SouprChckn)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/22 "2001-06-23T23:18:18Z")
What if this lady wants to know where you live so she can look at the paper and see when the next storm is coming. Then she tells you the water elemental is coming the next time a monsoon hits or something. When you say it’s a crock, she can just make something up about how the water elemental was clearly there, throwing water balls at Korea. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/23 "2001-06-24T11:34:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe they sent you an air elemental. You can’t see those unless you cast a “see the invisible” spell. I don’t have my players guide handy but I believe its just a first level spell, you may want to pick up a scroll with that just in case. Just remember that you can’t affect it without magic weapons. 😃 **Wolfman** , if you find your player’s guide, please be sure to foreward the spell to me… I might need it! > [@](#): > > What if this lady wants to know where you live so she can look at the paper and see when the next storm is coming. Then she tells you the water elemental is coming the next time a monsoon hits or something. When you say it’s a crock, she can just make something up about how the water elemental was clearly there, throwing water balls at Korea. I don’t know if it a man or woman who’s supposed to be sending this thing… but it had occured to me, also, that he/she might try something like that! If so, now’s the perfect time to do so: we’re getting smacked in the face with a monsoon even as I type (we’re supposed to get something like 4 inches of rain in the next 24 hours)… Keep in mind that the person said that they would send me an e-mail requesting specific information before the elemental could be sent… said e-mail as yet has not arrived, so I’m thinking that they decided not to go forward with the ‘experiment’ for whatever reason(s)… I’ll let you know if anything happens. ---
**Author:** ![Sparteye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Sparteye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparteye)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/24 "2001-06-24T21:28:14Z")
My kids will send you an earth elemental if you want. Those boys track dirt _everywhere._ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/25 "2001-06-24T22:25:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kat \* > \*\*Roughly, an elemental is an embodiment of one of the 4 elements (earth, water, air and fire). So, for example, if this person sends **Astroboy** a fire elemental, he’ll have some kind of flame-creature walking around his house. Have an extinguisher handy. 😃 \*\* To help you recognize an elemental if one shows up: Salamanders: Fire, South. Givers of passion and creativity. The rulers of fields and fire or blue flames. Envisioned as dragons or lizards. Protectors of hearth, home, or business. Gnomes: Earth, North. Givers of material gain and stability. The rulers of the forest. Seen as “Little People” or green light. Protectors of outdoor circles and groves. Sylphs: Air, East. Givers of wishes, knowledge, and dreams. The rulers of the weather. Envisioned as “fairies” or white light. Delicate beings with beautiful wings. Protectors of magickal applications. Undines: Water, West. Givers of love and friendship. The rulers of all water. Envisioned as merpeople, sirens, or pink lights. Protectors of the gates of death and karma. Perhaps a gnome has dropped by and you didn’t realize he was the expected elemental? But it sounds like you might have an undine party going on at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![MrO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@MrO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrO)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/26 "2001-06-24T22:37:20Z")
If I know Astroboy, he’s hoping for a beer elemental.🙂 What? Beer isn’t one of the basic elements? ---
**Author:** ![urban1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d07c76/32.png) [@urban1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/27 "2001-06-25T00:33:11Z")
Astroboy. Next time ask them why people have to make an appointment to see a psychic. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/28 "2001-06-25T14:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > If I know Astroboy, he’s hoping for a beer elemental. > > What? Beer isn’t one of the basic elements? A **beer** elemental? **MrO** , thou art more wise than most would confess! Indeed, there are many beer elementals here e’en now than most would imagine! Just a sec…_guzzle, guzzle…_ OK, [sup] URP![/sup] there are a few less now, but what the hell were we talking about? Whew! Let me emphasize: the person in question said that certain info. would be necessary BEFORE attempting to send an “elemental” and the e-mail requesting the info. never arrived! So I’m pretty sure that the “elemental” was never sent… I think the “master magician” (self proclaimed on the other MSG board) chickened out on me! Damn!☹ ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/29 "2001-06-25T15:46:11Z")
**What** will appear? **When** would it happen? **Will** that person ever send the e:mail? These questions and many more will probably go unanswered for some time. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/30 "2001-06-25T17:41:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > Did they explain why they spelled it “magik?” Or “magick?” I’ve always wondered if they’re pronounced differently, like “magick” is prounced “maj-ick-ick.” I can actually offer an explanation of sorts here–at least the one people usually claim when they tack on that extra “k”. It’s there to distinguish real magic(k) from stage magic and sleight-of-hand. Both versions are pronounced pretty much the same, though; some people put a little more emphasis on the second syllable of “magick”–and others quite plainly pronounce it with a capital “M”. :rolleyes: I’ve always attributed the spelling change to sheer pretentiousness, but I can see where it might be useful jargon in a text forum where the topic is discussed regularly. “I don’t believe in magic” means one (fairly silly) thing, while “I don’t believe in magick” means another (and IMHO much more rational) thing. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/31 "2001-07-05T06:21:47Z")
Bad news: I finally got the e-mail from the person who was going to try to send me an “elemental”… but he or she wanted a couple of things that I can’t provide!☹ -my time of birth! (I dunno! I didn’t own a wristwatch at the time! And, as far as I know, my birth certificate is in a box in my brother’s basement in Maine…) -a complete geneology of my family! (I don’t have one! And even if I did, I’m not sure I’d send it to someone I don’t know… call me paranoid, but it seems a bit too intrusive to me…) -a piece of jewelry (well, I don’t wear jewelry. I suppose I could send my wristwatch or eyeglasses, but that seems a bit too expensive for an experiment that I’m convinced wouldn’t work in the first place… plus **Astrogirl** would kill me! The wristwatch was a gift from her…) So, I e-mailed him or her back and asked if we could try something else that would not require the above.😉 More news as it develops… ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/32 "2001-07-05T14:23:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Balance \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > > Did they explain why they spelled it “magik?” Or “magick?” I’ve always wondered if they’re pronounced differently, like “magick” is prounced “maj-ick-ick.” > > I can actually offer an explanation of sorts here–at least the one people usually claim when they tack on that extra “k”. It’s there to distinguish real magic(k) from stage magic and sleight-of-hand. Both versions are pronounced pretty much the same, though; some people put a little more emphasis on the second syllable of “magick”–and others quite plainly pronounce it with a capital “M”. :rolleyes: > > I’ve always attributed the spelling change to sheer pretentiousness, but I can see where it might be useful jargon in a text forum where the topic is discussed regularly. “I don’t believe in magic” means one (fairly silly) thing, while “I don’t believe in magick” means another (and IMHO much more rational) thing. \*\* I always ask them if spelling “magick” with a “k” is like spelling “cheez” with a “z.” 😃 (I’ve found that kooks don’t have a very good sense of humor about things like that :rolleyes:) ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/33 "2001-07-05T19:30:11Z")
Okay, I realize that this might cause the permanent revocation of my invite to the BamaDopeFest, but here goes. I’m a Pagan. Ergo, I believe in “forces beyond that of the scope of what is societally accepted as natural phenomena.” Call it what you will. I’m also an expert in paranormal phenomena. I will supply my complete credentials upon request. I’ve worked for the Rhine Research Center. I’ve appeared on Unsolved Mysteries. I’ve consulted for various and sundry tv shows. In a moment of true weakness, I interviewed with Joan Rivers. _shudder_ My interests lie primarily with hauntings, poltergeists, and possession. I don’t know _what_ the person you were in contact with needed all that information for. I also wouldn’t send an elemental to someone I was trying to be nice to. Elementals are like kids… unconsciously destructive. That’s why we _dismiss_ the elements when we close circle. Otherwise we’d have lots of problems, not the least of which would be problems surrounding the element. But all that is neither here nor there. I can test your psychic abilities without you ever leaving the house… would that work for you? Or are you looking for full-on contact with the other side? Let me know, and I’ll see what I can do. 🙂 _skulking back to my dark little hole now_ -BK ---
**Author:** ![missdavis102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@missdavis102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missdavis102)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/34 "2001-07-05T20:06:15Z")
[hijack] **Bobkitty** , if I do get to make it to the dopefest, I definitely want to carpool (if your offer still stands)! You sound like too much fun to miss! When I was a student at Judson (in Marion, not too far from Tuscaloosa, incidentally), I ‘witnessed’ several ‘hauntings’ which I put off as ‘so much bunk’. Nonetheless, some kind of strange things. Judson is apparently crawling with ghosts. It would be interesting to hear a psychic’s take on some of the things I experienced. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![breaknrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@breaknrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breaknrun)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542/35 "2001-07-05T20:43:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bobkitty \* > \*\* > I can test your psychic abilities without you ever leaving the house… would that work for you? Or are you looking for full-on contact with the other side? Let me know, and I’ll see what I can do. 🙂 > -BK \*\* The primary purpose of the experiment (as I see it) is to gain some evidence of paranormal phenomena. I would most definitely be interested in some full-on contact with the other side if you can arrange it. 🙂 Let me know if you’re interested in trying this. sean [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-ghosties/68542.md?page=1)