Warning- hope this is not against forum rules but if it is and I get feedback, I can post this bit of interest elsewhere- it is about Oahspe/Shalem Colony experience.....
I need to go to the more recent Paracast episodes because I know in a recent one Oahspe was mentioned. It was cool to hear stuff about Oahspe that I hadn't previously known but for other reasons I get so spastic when it is, here's why: I grew up ON part of the old Shalem Colony, in the Valley with a Bend in the River, which is what John Newbrough was looking for- and found- in the Rio Grande Valley north of <3 Las Cruces NM. <3
No, sadly the part I grew up on was NOT the part with the NOW ONLY ONE structure from the Colony. That one is about a mile away. The man who owns that property is very into the whole private property rights and would never turn it over for historic preservation so they have all foundered, one by one. I seem to recall a larger barn structure that was there, which our school bus would pass on my way to school. This was the 70s. Shalem Colony Trail is a twisty turny road which has its northernmost end at the Colony.
One night in winter when I was about a junior in high school 3 of my best girlfriends and I were driving on it (well, I was driving, they were with me). We suddenly saw red flashing lights. I thought at first it was a laser leveler as there are farms everywhere. But there were no tractors around. No other people or cars around. I stopped the car, mystified at these blinking traveling lights. I would NOW call them orbs but didn't have a word for them back then. I had the radio on and it suddenly became staticky. Of course, being teenage girls, we all promptly screamed. I hit the gas and I drove out of there as fast as my could. Thereafter, my flamboyant best friend, who'd been in the car with us, went out red dot hunting. Sadly (maybe?) she never saw any more orbs. When we saw the red dots/ orbs/ whaterver, we didn't really check the time to see if we'd lost or gained any. Like I said, we were teenage girls and honestly had 'more important' things on our mind.
I have wondered if the imaginary friends with made up names were spirits of the orphan train kids, but I never had any definitive experiences that the spirits of the Faithists were around. But I suppose that may be the point, after listening to this particular podcast- if they were enlightened they would not have stuck around there. A lot of my friends who were supposedly sensitive would say they felt dark energy - not evil or negative, just dark- when they came on our property and I wondered if somehow it had to do with the Faithists.
There are 2 great books by local authors on the colony and I wish I'd asked our family friend Elnora Wiley if she'd had any odd experiences that prompted her to write her book. I believe the other one is by Lee Priestly. They are both still for sale for a reasonable price and of course I own a copy of each. All of us kids- me and my cousins- did some school presentation, 4-H talk, or, in my case, a performance art piece on Shalem Colony. My classmate, who was an actor, suggested we dress in white, go to a part of our family property and he'd read out of Oaspe. So it was site specific and very college art school weird and fun. OK, so I probably violated a ton of rules but there is my big tangent on Oahspe.
