Behind the Folklore -
After School Special

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SPIRIT POSSESSION
Some ghosts (people) have learned that they can co-inhabit another person’s body. Possession of another by a human spirit has often been confused as some demon entity from hell doing the possessing. Ghosts have been found to possess people for several reasons: by accident; to assist the one whom they have possessed; to continue experiencing physical life; physical addictions (see incubus succubus); attachments to earthly possessions or loved ones; trauma – not even understanding they have died (because they are still alive), or even to menace or harm another for seemingly “the fun of it.”
Ghosts are simply people who need assistance in moving beyond the prison that their own mind has created - assistance not unlike what a psychologist might do to help a person who is still in their own body.
In most cases the person won't even know that there's any spirit attachment. Generally speaking, life is pretty normal. But when a situation or event happens that triggers or annoys the attached spirit, it's as if something seems to "take over".
For brief moments attached spirits can sometimes affect the behavior of the person that they're attached to. This is sometimes referred to as Partial Possession because the spirit isn't in full control at all times.
What's more common though are spirits that will influence people but not take possession of the person. These spirits are still attached, but will not take over in the way that a possession happens.

HAUNTED SCHOOLS
Springfield, Missouri: Central High School stands as the first secondary school built in the area during the late part of the 1800s. On the premises, it is Room 311 that is thought touched by the hand of unexplainable sounds and a door that has a mind of its own (locking when no one is even inside). The school is also home to numerous locations in the basement that are known to be haunted. The attic situated on the fourth floor is also a place where scary things are known to occur. Throughout the years, many renovations have been made to the building, which makes these interesting spots hard to find. The school also has several tunnels positioned below the ground, which is said haunted by an unknown entity.

Cypress Sprigs, Houston: Legend has it that the Cypress Springs High School has a construction worker buried within the foundation of the school. While working to build the school during 1998, he passed away and his body was never found. Schoolchildren believe it is his ghost who makes noises within the bathrooms. When walking on the third floor of Austin High School, many students who are the only ones in the hallway feel that they are being followed by an unknown presence. Throughout the years, numerous students claimed to have seen the ghost of a small girl racing down the hallways.

Asheville, North Carolina: Asheville was abuzz in 2008 after video was captured by a motion-activated camera at Asheville High school at 2:51 a.m. Friday, August 1. In the video, a dark image –some say looks like the silhouette of a child- appears by an elevator. The image advances forward and is again captured in the hallway.




OTHER REFERENCES
Dean: Go have your Robbin Williams "Oh Captain! my Captain!" moment.
This is a reference to the movie Dead Poets Society (1989) which stars Robin Williams as a dedicated teacher. At the end of the movie the main character (played by Ethan Hawke) stands up and quotes the famous lines "Oh Captain! my Captain!" from the poem that Walt Whitman wrote after Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

Dean: Look, Martha Dumptruck, Revenge of the Nerds, and Hello Kitty...
Martha Dumptruck is the name of a character from the 1988 movie Heathers starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. Revenge of the Nerds is a 1984 movie starring Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards who move into a fraternity of nerds and get revenge on the jocks. Hello Kitty references the Japanese cartoon cat with a bow of some sort on its left ear, and no mouth, created by Yuko Shimizu in 1974.

Dean: I'm like 21 Jump Street.
Referencing the TV series (1987-1991) starring Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson, Dustin Nguyen, and Peter DeLuise as young-looking police officers who went undercover as high school and college students.


Sources: Angels & Ghosts, Soul Rescue Site, Unexplainable.net, WSPA.com