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Mirrors

Ever since human beings became aware of their own image, there has been fascination and fear of reflective surfaces.

Folklore and legend have hundreds of stories relating to magic and haunted mirrors. Most, needless to say, tend to be warnings about the dangers of mirrors having negative, supernatural qualities.

In relation to this, mirrors are believed by many to be portals to the spirit realm and even other dimensions.

Below is a few of the beliefs about mirrors that have been around for hundreds of years:

Mirrors have the ability to suck out souls. To avoid this happening mirrors were removed from a room where an ill or dying person lay because they were thought to be more vulnerable to the negative power of a mirror.
People were warned never to look into a mirror at night or by candlelight. If you did, you would be certain to see ghosts, demons and portents of death - even your own!
When a person died in a room the mirrors had to be covered or turned to face the wall. Failure to do so would result in the deceased person's soul being lost - or they may even turn into a vampire.
Even while asleep, it was thought best to cover your mirror as you could be vulnerable to attack from negative spirits or demons during the dark hours. It was also advised, to never place your bed in a place where it is reflected in a mirror.
In order to prevent mirrors being used as a portal by supernatural entities, the mirror should be frequently moved to different areas of the room.
Mirrors with a solid backing placed in the same position for a long period of time, are thought to be more likely to become spiritual portals.
So what kind of experiences have people had with mirrors?

There are hundreds of documented cases of haunted mirrors and they tend to have similar characteristics. People have reported paranormal experiences when:

An old mirror is brought into the home from somewhere else.
People, when moving into a new home, have had problems with mirrors left behind by the previous occupants.
People have reported paranormal activity after using mirrors for divination/scrying. Usually no protection was used by the participants and it is thought that they may have created a portal. It’s suggested that when carrying out any kind of spiritual work with mirrors to use a cleansing and protective ritual. If you are doing spiritual work that doesn't involve a mirror or other scrying device, then these should either be covered or put away in a safe place.
It has also been observed using a ouija board can also create portals. Mirrors nearby are often claimed to be the origin of the portal after a ouija board session.
Often people have reported having experiences with haunted mirrors in hotels, friends/relatives home, visiting a place as a tourist and so on. These areas usually, but not always, have a reputation for being haunted.
The phenomena reported in connection with haunted mirrors are varied. The most common manifestation is the formation of images of people/entities other than the people occupying the room.

However, it should be remembered that natural distortions and curious light effects can create a number of bizarre effects. Added to this is the brain's phenomenal ability to create meaningful shapes and faces out of random patterns.

But despite this, many of the reported cases of haunted mirrors were witnessed by more than one person at different times of the day, in various lighting conditions. Therefore, these cases may possibly rule out natural causes. Added to this, other forms of paranormal manifestations developed in addition to that connected with the mirror involved.