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antieverything6667779 · 9 years

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by Danilo Sanino

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antieverything6667779 · 9 years

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The Seven Chairs

It seemed as though the halls of the cathedral echoed with an endless screaming, but in all reality they rang with silence. The ominous figure, suspended above the heads of entranced onlookers, pulsated with a radiant and mysterious energy. The black robes that draped over her body and seat sat stagnant in the stale air. The glow from her wimple reflected the remaining rays of sun shining through the grand windows gave her a particularly divine aura. And suddenly, with a spontaneous burst of light, she vanished. What could such a marvelous phenomenon represent?

This image, burned into the minds of those who witnessed it, stood as a single instance of a recurring phenomena that appeared in various religious settings around the world in the late 1800’s. Spontaneous levitation wasn’t completely unheard of. It was in the same realm of mysticism as incorruptibility, near death experiences, and spontaneous combustion, and it allured just as much curiosity.

The memory had haunted me for some time afterwards, it even appeared in my dreams. Sister Marie never seemed to be anyone particularly out of the ordinary to anyone else who knew her. She did her duties and would always rather give than receive, similarly to the rest of the nuns in residence with her. But clearly she was something special to have such a grand spectacle lift her up above everyone else.

My name is Cedric Nightingale. I am an author and investigator of strange and supernatural happenings. I was a witness of this incident at the Lille Cathedral in France. Never did I expect to have an occurrence such as this unfold in front of me so unexpectedly, but I was ecstatic that it did. Without a thought I struck up conversation with some fellow witnesses who were clearly affiliated with the church. Wheather they were simply stunned or felt gifted to have been in the presence of such a spectacular sight, it didn’t seem to matter, because none of the spectators were all that talkative. Perhaps they were weary of such an inquisitive outsider. Nonetheless I wanted answers, and I wouldn’t stop until every means of finding a solution was exhausted.

I searched for anything of curiosity. Where had she gone? What esoteric force was at work here? All unanswered questions. I eventually managed to strike gold, as I talked to the scattered monks, I met one whom went by the name of Brother Arnold. He told me of an intriguing pattern. The particular chair Sister Marie was fond of during services always seemed to have a strange feel to it. What exactly did he mean? It was only a chair. Yet he insisted it was special. It was quite the peculiar chair, rumored to be handmade by a reclusive woodsmith from somewhere in Scandinavia. He had been following the series of events such as this, surrounding strange happenings in relation to these chairs. Brother Arnold’s investigative binge somewhat reminded me of myself. He went on to tell me that as far as he could tell, there were seven. Seven chairs scattered around Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas that held a divine purpose and legacy. What this meant, he didn’t seem to be able to tell me. Apparently sister Marie was the only one who knew, but she wasn’t present to inform.

What I was able to resolve from my conversation with the ever helpful Brother, was that this wasn’t the first time one of the chairs had caused an incident such as this. One feeling I couldn’t brush off was that something about the manner of Sister Marie’s disappearance struck me as vaguely sinister. It’s almost as if it were something darker in disguise, trying to pass itself off as benevolent, but this was just a hunch, I had no evidence to back this up.

I began doing some research from the tips Brother Arnold gave me. As far as I could tell there had been four other accounts of similar spontaneous levitation caused by mystical chairs. The first happened in a small synagogue in Jerusalem, Israel where a patron began floating in the middle of a service. The second occurred in Ethiopia during a fire ceremony, the third, at a pagan ceremony in eastern Canada, the fourth, during a group meditation in India and the fifth one ended up in France. The similarities between all of the accounts were striking. All began with someone in the chair levitating during or just after a sacred or powerful religious event and ended when they vanished with a sudden burst of light, and no sign of the chair or it’s occupant. This meant there would be two more occurrences of this, but predicting where or when would be nearly impossible.

I kept my eyes and ears open for any sign of a sixth occurrence. I even began attending religious practices whenever I could in my many travels throughout the next few years on the slight chance I would run across this spectacle again. I wanted to know more but there was just no way of finding out.

I attended a somewhat dubious voodoo ritual in New Orleans some years later. Nothing really felt out of the ordinary to me at the beginning. The self proclaimed Witch Doctor asked me to take part in their ceremony, so I figured what’s the worst that could happen? I took a seat in the lavish and intricately designed throne across from the psychic and she took my hand for a moment to feel out my energy. About two minutes in I felt a slight rumble beneath myself. I inquired if the medium had felt it as well but she had not. Assuming it was just my imagination I shrugged it off. Until about a minute later I felt it again, this time much stronger. Only this time it didn’t stop. Before I could realize what was happening I was already three feet off the ground. I was completely paralyzed. There was nothing I could do. The psychic, completely caught off guard, could only sit in awe of what was taking place.

I felt the exact same pulsating force as I did when Sister Marie had this exact same experience, but being in the hot seat myself made it a thousand times more powerful. After what seemed like a lonely eternity I was about ten feet off the ground, just below the ceiling. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. What was going to happen to me? The anticipation was at my throat.

Just like that I was transported to another place. Where this place was I could not tell. It felt far away, almost likely another realm of consciousness if that makes sense. Time felt as though it was going by at different speeds. Comprehending my situation seemed nearly impossible. I couldn’t observe my surroundings. Where was I? After an incomprehensible period of time I realized I was stuck here. The longer I was here, the more the sensation of dread poured over my entire existence. My original hunch was correct. I knew it now. There was something sinister behind the mystery of the seven chairs. But I would never be able to know the entire truth. Could I even die here? Or shall I be forced to sit for an eternity with my own thoughts? Who can ever really say? I know now that there are just some things in this world that people will never even begin to be able to understand. I’m aware that no one will probably ever read this and hear the tale of my ever so unfortunate run in with the seven chairs. But stranger things have happened, and if by some extraordinary means another human consciousness comes across my story, I advise you this;

Beware the next time you mindlessly sit yourself down for “holy” worship, it may be the last seat you ever take.