Local author featured on TLC-TV Oct. 30

‘Samio,’ an African ritual mask is featured on TLC’s ‘Possessed Possessions.’

4:53 p.m., Oct. 21, 2005--Regional author and UD alumnus Ed Okonowicz, who teaches English and communication classes at UD, will appear on The Learning Channel’s Possessed Possessions at 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 30. The two-hour special also will be broadcast at midnight, Monday, Oct. 31, and 5 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 6.

Described as an Antiques Roadshow with haunted objects, the program, which bears the same name as two of Okonowicz’s books, will feature paranormal experts and psychics analyzing more than two dozen haunted items, ranging from mirrors and weapons to dolls and “Samio,” an African ritual mask featured on the author’s web site [www.mystandlace.com].

Joining Okonowicz on the Queen Mary, the famous luxury liner and hotel in Long Beach, Calif., where the program was filmed, was James Van Praagh, psychic and host of the CBS miniseries Living with the Dead and producer of the CBS weekly drama Ghost Whisperer. Other participants include paranormal expert and researcher Joshua Warren, of Asheville, N.C., and psychics Karyn Reece of Buffalo, N.Y., and Laura Lee, of Studio City, Calif.

“We looked at everything from weapons and dolls to medical instruments and furniture,” Okonowicz said. “The owners ranged from people who truly believed that they had seen paranormal manifestations related to their objects, to others who were simply wondering if an old or odd piece might be haunted.”

When first approached to participate in the program, Okonowicz said he told the producers that as opposed to seeing “things” or “communicating or sensing spirit energy,” his expertise involves interviewing individuals and writing up their stories.

“The producers said they already had selected several psychics,” Okonowicz said. “Because of my two books on the topic of haunted objects, Possessed Possessions and Possessed Possessions 2, they wanted me to provide a historical or folklore perspective about the dozens of pieces we examined.”

Okonowicz said his other responsibility on the program was to offer suggestions or possibilities as to why an object might be “active” or haunted.

Among the factors, Okonowicz noted, are how the object was used, how much energy was devoted to its creation, how it was cared for and whether it was used in rituals or was a family heirloom. Other possible causes of “haunting,” he said, include involvement in violence, such as a murder or a battle, or if the current use of the objects is inappropriate to its original intent.

“The owners of some of the pieces with the most active history said that they received their objects as gifts or for free,” Okonowicz said. “That is a dead giveaway that there might be something wrong.”

While 30 hours of orientation and filming kept both the cast and crew busy during his stay on the Queen Mary, Okonowicz said the experience underscored the connection to folklore and history of the objects featured in most of the examination segments.

Okonowicz will teach "Introduction to Folklore and Folklife" (ENGL 314) and the "History and Influence of Talk Radio" (COMM 318) at UD during Winter Session. During spring semester, he will teach "Storytelling for Beginners" (ENGL 267).

For more information visit [www.mystandlace.com] or TLC’s program listing.

Article by Jerry Rhodes

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