IOWA CITY WOMAN CHANNELS SPIRIT

Johnson: What began as teenage experimentation into the occult has become a lifelong curse for Iowa City resident Patty Kocek.

     I met Ms. Kocek in a local restaurant, where I was enjoying a fine Pilsner Urquell and speaking with the bartender about the work we do here at Third Eye. A woman who was finishing paying her tab a few seats down from me turned and said, "I think everybody's got a story they could tell you."

     I agreed. "Yes," I said, "most people do, but they are generally too shy or embarrassed to speak about the paranormal.'

     She came and sat next to me, and introduced herself as Patty Kocek. She was a slight woman, blonde, and in her mid-thirties. Her mode of dress suggested she had some sort of office job.

     "After what I've been through, I don't even celebrate Halloween anymore," she said. "Don't get me wrong," she quickly added. "I'm not against Halloween like some kind of religious nut, but I just can't personally bring myself to take part."

     I asked Ms. Kocek if it would be okay for me to report her story in the magazine, and she consented, asking only that her name be changed, which it has been.

     "When I was maybe thirteen or fourteen years old, my best friend was named Gail. We did everything together, and had since third grade. Maybe I should have seen this thing that happened to me coming---there were certainly clues. But how is a young girl to know that the symbols that Gail wore on her necklace were ancient Germanic runes? Or when her family took her on holiday, how was I to know at that time that she was skipping class to celebrate witch holidays?

     "For years I had no idea what her family's religious practices were. But in eighth grade, Gail and her family decided to let me experiment with an aspect of their religion. One Friday in winter, Gail asked me to come to her house for dinner. We were always going over to each others' houses for dinner, and I was happy to go. But what really intrigued me was that Gail said we were going to do some Ouija board stuff. Like many young teenagers, I found the idea of the supernatural exciting, mysterious and frightening all at once. Of course I'd come over!

     "I don't remember what we ate at Gail's that night, but everything else is as clear as day. After the table was clear, Gail's mom asked if I had ever played with a Ouija board before. I said that I had, and she nodded. 'We're going to do something similar tonight, and if you've had practice with the Ouija, that will help.'

     "Now I never thought Gail's parents were all that different from anybody else. I mean, they dressed like regular old business people most of the time, and they wore sweatshirts and jeans at home when they were relaxing. I just knew that they celebrated different holidays. But that night, Gail's dad explained that they were witches. That kind of scared me then, but like I said, they seemed so normal, that kind of took the edge off. He said that they weren't bad witches like in fairy tales or in the movies, but rather that they were the kind that was very close to nature and in tune with the spiritual world.

     "Then Gail's mom put a rectangular mirror on the table. It was about a foot and a half wide and two and a half feet tall, and stood on an ornately carved wooden pedestal. Gail, meanwhile was busy lighting black, red and white candles and placing them about the room. When she was finished, she turned down the lights, and the candlelight filled the room with a warming glow.

     "Gail's dad then drew a circle around the mirror with what I think was probably flour and placed a knife on the table next to a clay bowl filled with water. That was when he asked me if I would like to speak with the spirits first.

     "That made me incredibly nervous. I didn't know what I was doing! What if I totally screwed it up? But the whole family assured me that it would be fine, and that they would be here to help me the entire time. Gail looked especially excited for me, though, and I guess that's what gave me the confidence to go ahead and try.

     "First, Gail's mom had me sit in front of the mirror, and told me to blink as little as possible, just staring into my own eyes. She also gave me a chant to say. I don't remember it exactly word for word now, but it was kind of like, 'My soul is open to the void, I hear the spirits' voices.' I had to keep saying that over and over. Meanwhile, Gail's father waved the knife over my head, chanting something else. Soon Gail and Gail's mom joined his chant, but since I had no idea what they were saying.

     "This went on for maybe fifteen minutes, and I was getting tired. But soon things began to change. The edges of my field of vision began to darken and all I could see was my own reflection. It almost seemed as if the candles in the room began to dim. The mirror became, I don't know, wavy. It appeared to ripple. Then I stopped chanting, and I guess the others did, too, because I could no longer hear them. Now my reflection was changing. This is what truly, utterly scared me.

     "There, reflected in the mirror, was not my own, fourteen year old face, but instead the face of an old Native American Indian, complete with feathered headband and necklace made of beads and bone. His eyes were dark, like black marbles. I was breathless. I sat there motionless and silent for several minutes. The man's lips were moving, but I couldn't hear any words. Finally, I tore my eyes away from the mirror, and light flooded back into the room.

     "Gail put her hands on my shoulders. She shook me. 'What are you doing?' she asked me, sounding genuinely mad. 'We never even had a chance to ask the spirit any questions!' She and her parents quickly turned on the lights, extinguished all the candles, and put the room back to the way it was before the seance.

     "I was confused and left Gail's house as quickly as I could. After that, we drifted apart. I guess we were just too different to remain friends. All that witchcraft stuff just scared me way too bad. I haven't seen her or her family since I was in junior high.

     "That experience has stayed with me, though. Every year or two, I will still look into a mirror and see that Indian's face. He looks almost accusing, as if I had awakened him from the slumber of death. Just last May I saw him again for a split-second in my bathroom mirror. I think this is a curse that I will have to endure for the rest of my life. I wish those people never made me join their ritual. And that's why I no longer celebrate Halloween or have anything to do with the supernatural. I do believe there are things that we can't explain through science, and some of these things should be left alone."

     I thanked Ms. Kocek for her story. I did mention to her that modern witches, or Wiccans, probably would never inflict suffering on her the way Gail's family did. After all, the Wiccan crede is "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." So in most likelihood, the people she came into contact with were mere occultists rather than witches. At any rate, I wished her the best of luck with her channeling curse, and suggested she see a professional psychic, like Sister Kasi, or to seek out true Wiccans that may have an idea how to stop the manifestations. As for Gail and her family, I can only hope they've given up their sloppy spiritual practices or honed their skills before it's too late.