Curseme.com...

[realpaladin]

Heya,

had to go from 'lurking around' to posting some time...

A while ago I had a woman staying over who was into witchcraft, wicca, devil worshipping etc...

At some point we got into a discussion where I claimed that it was all bogus and that there is no such a thing as a curse or spell.

The argument became more heated and so I challenged her to curse me.
She said she could not, but a very famous (I forgot his name already) witch who wrote books could.

He would most certainly be able to curse me or bewitch me, but the problem was that he would need something from me.

Taking the chance, I got out my scissors and snipped of some hair. I pulled out a couple of hairs (maybe witchcraft needs DNA), I pricked some blood, put that in a sterile vial and completed the package with a couple of photo's.
I added a handwritten letter stating a disclaimer in that I would not legally or otherwise pursue the guy if his charm worked.

She left to Australia (I forgot, that is where the witches live) and after about a week I got a reply from her that within two months I would get a terrible itch because he and the coven cursed me.

That has been last summer and I did not have any itch (except for the normally occuring ones).

So, after some drinking I got this idea (yeah, brilliant ideas often happen after some drinking, ahem)...

Why would I not put up a website stating that I could not be cursed, charmed or be spellbound by any so-called witch? I would send them any and all things they would need and we would put up an anonymous claim on the site, along with a date-counter (just as the SB-counter on this site) that showed how long nothing happened.

I consulted with my physician (who is always a good sport in these things) and he told me that I should be careful.

Not because of the witchcraft, but because somebody might cast a spell with a leaden wand to the back of my skull.

So that put me off the idea.

But I really would like to set this up. Any ideas? Hints? Tips? Or any ideas why I should not do this?

Greets!

 

[Big Les]

A cool idea, but personal safety risks aside, if you up and die from natural causes, you'll make us all look silly

 

[Ducky]

To be honest, I would be much more interested in websites with bewitching female figures.

 

[realpaladin]

A cool idea, but personal safety risks aside, if you up and die from natural causes, you'll make us all look silly

Well, that's where the doc plays a part. Ofcourse, I might die in a carcrash or whatnot...
But let us say, for the sake of argument, that the curses either have to be very specific or that they should not involve death.
I think it must be possible to come up with some sort of protocol where confusion can be minimized.

To be honest, I would be much more interested in websites with bewitching female figures.

Well, there's nothing that says there can not be few gratuitous ornamental images on the sites

 

[Ducky]

Well, there's nothing that says there can not be few gratuitous ornamental images on the sites

Well in that case, I fully support your endeavor. How will you make sure you can differentiate between the curses and the normal happenings of chance? Are the cursers going to post their curse, like a blog entry or something?

And how many pics of bewitching females do you plan to have on there? Cause, to be honest, I could give screw all about the curses, but some well placed boobs....

 

[realpaladin]

Well in that case, I fully support your endeavor. How will you make sure you can differentiate between the curses and the normal happenings of chance? Are the cursers going to post their curse, like a blog entry or something?

Well, to make it more into a 'real' test, I thought that the following procedure might be something:

1) A curser (have to invent a word for it) fills in a form on the site. This person is then contacted by someone from the site (not me) to check that it is a legitimate try.
2) A maximum timespan is agreed upon, after which the curse is called 'failed'. Lifetime etc. are excluded.
3) The curser states what he or she needs (i.e. hair, dna, blood, fingernail clippings, something owned or worn by me).
If that is not too outrageous (like, say, 3 liters of blood, or all of my hair), the items will be supplied to the curser and the curse is published (as they themselves have written it down in the take-in form) on the frontpage.

And how many pics of bewitching females do you plan to have on there? Cause, to be honest, I could give screw all about the curses, but some well placed boobs....

Well, I think all female avatars should have something bewitching to them...

 

[Ducky]

I would suggest all of this communication is clearly and 100% fully documented in a new page for each curse applied for.

Using somethign like a wiki to create a new page for each curser/curse, and only editible to the admin of your site/contact for your challenge.



ETA:

And lots of boobs in avatars.

 

[realpaladin]

Well, the documentation and comms part is why I posted.
With these things it is way to easy to miss something.

The main problem here is that some of these people (oddly enough I know quite a few) are pretty hellbent (pun intended) on having the reality of their 'powers' in the unclear.

Most of it is anxiety-induction and the use of imagery that is most commonly regarded as 'evil'.

There are some 'witches' that claim they have more to do with nature than with the devil, but nevertheless, they still claim to be able to do things for/against people (for money) that are simply not true.

And in the cities the 'African medicinman' scam is booming business.

 

[casebro]

A diabetic's finger-pricker will make one drop of blood on demand.

You will need some kind of wait-your-turn rule, in case multiple entrants want to each give you the same kind of fleas-in-your-armpits curse. You've only got two arm pits.

You may need to recruit more subjects. Possibly for anonymous use? You don't really want to pluck yourself bald. Perhps some of us can tape a few hairs, fingernail clippings, etc, to a card and mail them to you? Are there any 'religious' reasons that the curser needs to know IDs?

Can we use => for a shorthand for 'curser'?

But, I doubt if you will ever get any takers in your offer. You've seen how hard it is to get them to sign up for the MDC, and that is for $1,000,000.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Two things spring to mind when considering this idea.

First, the folks you'd be dealing with would be unsavory types practically by definition. You would be looking to find people that a) claim to be able to curse people and b) are willing to curse you out of spite, or to punish you, or just to make a point. These aren't the sort of people I'd want to have whatever bits of me they ask for. There's a big difference between Wiccans and devil worshipers, too.

Second, I don't know the laws involved, but I'd be inclined to think blood would be considered a biohazard. You might want to be particularly careful what you ship, in addition to who you ship it to.

 

[realpaladin]

A diabetic's finger-pricker will make one drop of blood on demand.

Made a note of that one.

You will need some kind of wait-your-turn rule, in case multiple entrants want to each give you the same kind of fleas-in-your-armpits curse. You've only got two arm pits.

Yep, and of course I can not have a 'getting very cold' and a 'getting very hot' curse at the same time; they would cancel each other out...

You may need to recruit more subjects. Possibly for anonymous use? You don't really want to pluck yourself bald. Perhps some of us can tape a few hairs, fingernail clippings, etc, to a card and mail them to you? Are there any 'religious' reasons that the curser needs to know IDs?

Other than intimidation? I do not know, will have to check.

So, there I sit then with tons of cards plastered with dead human cells... tasteful!

Can we use => for a shorthand for 'curser'?

Sure, we could even use |, since that would save one character in typing.

But, I doubt if you will ever get any takers in your offer. You've seen how hard it is to get them to sign up for the MDC, and that is for $1,000,000.

Well, I intend to be a bit more confrontational.

Come to think of it, I will have to include a clause where, if they ever are successful in cursing me, I get a share in the $1mio, because the next step would be easy.

Seriously, the main difference would be that the |, or => )), can do it anonymously, known only to me and the other website operators, whereas the MDC is quite a public affair.

The main point I want to stress is that none of this magic has any effect, as long as you yourself decide it has none.

 

[realpaladin]

Two things spring to mind when considering this idea.

First, the folks you'd be dealing with would be unsavory types practically by definition. You would be looking to find people that a) claim to be able to curse people and b) are willing to curse you out of spite, or to punish you, or just to make a point. These aren't the sort of people I'd want to have whatever bits of me they ask for.

I know, but there are an increasing number of, mostly young people, that come under 'influence' of 'covens' or other pressuring activities.

I have tried talking and reasoning, but to no avail. The fear still has them petrified of these magicians.

So, at some point I just have to try and prove that all this is just BS.

There's a big difference between Wiccans and devil worshipers, too.

Yes, I know. There lots more shades in there. But for the sake of brevity I take them all in one sweep.

Second, I don't know the laws involved, but I'd be inclined to think blood would be considered a biohazard. You might want to be particularly careful what you ship, in addition to who you ship it to.

This is a major point. I have discussed this at length with my physician and with people from the customs office.

If I am to send any blood abroad it can only be done legally to a medical institute, so anyone requesting that will have to do some work as well.

A legally questionable method would be to send it enclosed in glass as a 'souvenir' type of item.

Also we have discussed the issues on the material being used in crimes. And while the possibility seems farfetched it still has to be considered.

Now, I do not want to not do this because it is complex, tricky or just plain difficult.
If I am to dismiss this idea it is because it has no practival value whatsoever.

 

[Big Les]

Well, the documentation and comms part is why I posted.
With these things it is way to easy to miss something.

The main problem here is that some of these people (oddly enough I know quite a few) are pretty hellbent (pun intended) on having the reality of their 'powers' in the unclear.

Most of it is anxiety-induction and the use of imagery that is most commonly regarded as 'evil'.

There are some 'witches' that claim they have more to do with nature than with the devil, but nevertheless, they still claim to be able to do things for/against people (for money) that are simply not true.

And in the cities the 'African medicinman' scam is booming business.

Can I just put you straight on the witchcraft thing? The only link between "devil worship" and modern "Wicca" and its related practices is a tangental shared origin with Aleister Crowley's Satanism and a few other individualist 20th century New Age religions. Even Satanism is arguably not the devil-worship implied by Christian detractors and that most people think of; supposedly Satanists don't actually believe in Satan. Anyway, the point is that Wicca is at worst a rather silly nature-based religion invented by a man in order to more easily get into women's knickers. It's not devil worship or Christian witchcraft (as in Africa) by any stretch of the imagination. If I had to choose which group of religious nutters to spend any time with, it would be Wiccans over Church of England any day of the week.

 

[realpaladin]

Thank you, I will try and get more culture and lore into my head.

But to be honest, the source of the 'influence over others' is not really what I am interested in.

I will, however, refrain from making too broad a statement that includes these different 'ways of life' as if they were the same.

My interest is in showing that no one can make me ill by mumbling something inside a pentagram, or pricking pins in dolls with my hair or whatnot. Well, even a prayer for smiting me is something I will consider as cursing me.

Hmmm, maybe cursing me is not a good name for these activities...

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I still think the invitation of having any kind of contact with people like this is asking for a lot of trouble. To make a serious understatement, people do a lot of crazy things in the name of their religion, let alone a nefarious religion. I won't beat that horse any further...

In any event, my suggestion is to invite anyone to pass along some sort of affliction by any means paranormal, psychic, magical, etc. You don't have to mention any particular religion. A sort of Million Dollar Challenge, but with slightly different stakes.

Then, whenever there is someone afraid of being cursed, you can claim they haven't cursed you yet and not be strapped down by not having invited their particular brand of woo. However, were you to get hit by a bus, you might end up reinforcing their fears ten-fold, as Big Les alluded to earlier.

 

[realpaladin]

Kilgore Trout, I do agree that there is a certain risk here.

But you also illustrate why I want to do this.

People are just being bullied into not standing up to those 'men of magic'.

I am a free man and I refuse to be bullied. If it comes to worse things, I will deal with that, but in the meantime I am sensible enough not to leap into things blindly.

The idea of passing on a curse will quickly be dismissed by the 'magic men' as 'not possible' and 'what does he know about it'.

The single most important point I want to get out is that nobody has to fear anything but physical violence (and poisoning and sabotage etc... i.e. the normal maiming and murder procedures) from these 'magic men'.