InsaneJournal

Day 358 : Paranormal Studies : Open Class Mingle
[As disconcerting as yesterday was, it's a new day and there's no reason for Sam not to have class. Besides, Quinn's mixed holiday party a few days ago gave him an idea for a topic or at least the case study. Which he has been having on schedule whether I post or not and which everyone is welcome to attend and would know about because of mail and the welcome basket and what not.



Overview : Pagan Gods

So there are gods living among humans where I'm from. It's not common and it's not something most people realize, but in ancient times these gods were usually worshiped by large groups of followers. They may have been given rewards for certain sacrifices and the gods maintained their positions and power this way. Over time, ways changed and people moved on to different religions and these gods had to find new ways to survive.

They can come from all over. There were well known beliefs centering around Greek, Norse, and Egyptian gods but there are many lesser known ones and not necessarily all of them were real. Sometimes a legend is just a story, but more often than not it comes from some real account even if it's been altered through time and retelling.

[ Gods ]


Practical : Identification and Defense

These gods are usually very powerful, but the types of powers they control vary from god to god. They are very individual unlike vampires that all share the same sorts of attributes and weaknesses. Long life or even immortality is a common attribute. You can expect increased strength, speed, agility and hightened senses.

Gods have true forms, but can often appear as a human. Sometimes certain kinds of lights can reveal their real appearance. There are also some triggers that will make them expose themselves. The real trick is knowing who you're dealing with so you can research their specific lore. That way you know if you need a wooden stake dipped in the blood of one of it's victims or phoenix ashes or whatever it might be. The case we're about to talk about required a stake of evergreen.


Case Study : Hold Nickar

We were investigating a string of disappearances in Michigan happening around Christmas time. We realized the thing connecting all the missing people were that they bought holiday wreathes mad of meadowsweeet. It's an herb used in pagan rituals to summon gods for a human sacrifice. After some research we figured out we were dealing with Hold Nickar, gods of the Winter Solstice. In ancient times they would grant nice weather after getting their human tributes.

It turns out these gods were living as an older suburban couple. They seemed perfectly normal if you don't know about them pulling out body parts and cutting their victims for blood. If you were wondering if you want someone to pry off one of your fingernails, you really don't. [Yes, that happened to him.]

Shining light on them revealed their true faces and like I mentioned they could be killed by staking them through the heart with evergreen.

[ Hold Nickar ]


Questions & Discussion

And that's it, so any questions? Something to add?

(OOC: Mingle style. Notifs are off so tag Sam during class with questions or catch him before or after. Use your discretion with the links provided. Sam didn't necessarily cover every detail, but feel free to bring more into it, but his canon point is toward the send of season 5, so nothing beyond that.)