Supernatural experience inspires writer’s topic

When Jeffrey Howard was around 6 years old, he experienced his most prominent supernatural encounter.

He recalls sleeping in a room with the lights turned off, when something woke him up.

Illuminated against the hallway light shining into his room was a shadow of a figure walking toward him.

“This was about a 15-second affair,” Howard said, remembering. “Looking back, now I realize I was probably caught in some kind of dream-like state, but I still remember what I saw with my own eyes.”

This experience inspired him to learn more about the supernatural.

“It kind of made me believe that there’s something greater out there,” he said.

In line with this, 23-year-old Howard is in the beginning stages of writing an article about witchcraft for The Bull magazine’s Spring/Summer 2014 edition, which focuses on the theme of taboos.

In addition to exploring the ways of witchcraft, Howard wants to focus on how people involved with witchcraft are stigmatized.

“Not a lot is known about them,” he said. “They’re kind of like on that fringe. They’re in a fringe culture.”