Paranormal Fair brings 2,500 to Prospect

by Heather Steeves

PROSPECT, Maine — Psychics, exorcists, healers and about 2,500 people curious about the paranormal gathered at Fort Knox this weekend to discuss UFOs, past lives, ghost hunting and more at the Paranormal and Psychic Faire.

The event aimed to bring in lots of different people in hopes they would come back to the historic site, according to Leon Seymour, the executive director of Friends of Fort Knox.

Fort Knox, Seymour said, has had some reports of paranormal activity. Employees report having seen soldier ghosts and misty waves and having heard voices, according to a ghost hunting team that has investigated the fort.

The keynote speaker in the fair’s lecture series was an exorcist from Westbrook. Ahura Z. Diliiza spoke to about 60 people Saturday afternoon about his job as a psychic policeman and how he protects his soul from evil invaders.

Diliiza said most people who call him and tell him they are possessed are not.

“Being possessed means something has taken over you and you can no longer control yourself or your body,” Diliiza said. “Some people call and say their child is possessed. No. Your kid shouldn’t eat a 2-pound bag of Skittles.”

“Nothing negative can enter your soul unless you have done something to invite it,” he continued. “One of the most insidious things I have got involved with was a situation with a Ouija board used as a simple child’s toy.”

Diliiza said Ouija boards trick people into a contract with evil spirits and can provoke demons. When people call him to help them deal with demons and he believes the board is at fault, he breaks it and takes it away from the house, he said.

The ridding of a demon is nothing like in the movies, the exorcist said. No heads spin, he said. He has dealt with bloating bellies and changing voices, “but it is nothing like what you see on television. If you guard your life and guard your energy, you will not be possessed.”

For the fair-goers, Diliiza had some tips for soul protection: Always bring your own utensils to restaurants (bad energy can stick even after washing); keep a light by your bed if you have nightmares; never wear your work clothes to bed (too many energies bump off them throughout the day and you won’t sleep); and never give anything without taking something too (or vice versa).

After watching Diliiza’s presentation, 11-year-old Emma Shaw searched for a dragon exhibit.

“I’m really interested in cryptozoology,” she said.

Emma said she believes in dragons and said many different species live in different countries.

Down the path from the vendor-packed visitors’ center in the fort, five psychics sat at their colorfully clothed tables and predicted people’s futures or connected them to dead loved ones or to their own previous lives.

Kasey Lott, 21, of Hampden, waited on a wooden bench for a psychic whose sign advertised her ability to connect her customers to angels, guides, pets and past lives. She sat in a purple cardigan and sipped from a Dunkin’ Donuts cup as another customer in a teal dress talked to her.

“I’m curious about what is going to happen and what could happen, and if there was a past life, what I did,” Lott said.

She said she writes stories for fun, and “it would be a great thing to write about — even if it is bull.”

Ellie Shorey of Bucksport smiled as she came out from her reading, which she said was spot-on.

When she told her reader of her financial woes and having to send three children to college, “she said it was normal and we will manage. The kids will go to college,” Shorey said. “It was right on.”

For more information visit http://fortknox.maineguide.com.