Utah and Idaho Paranormal

I Eat the Skin

Todd Wilcox

When you read the words I eat the skin.  What comes to mind?  Are they just words with no emotional attachment?  Is your curiosity peaked?  Are you disgusted?  Are you a little nervous about reading further? 

Let me add some context and see if that makes the statement any more defined for you.  What if you heard this statement while on a paranormal investigation?  Does “I eat the skin” have a new meaning for you?  Are there now some emotions attached to the statement?  Would you quickly leave the building if you heard this on an investigation?  What do you think could have possibly made such a statement?

Let’s add a piece to the puzzle and see if the words take on new meaning.  The statement “I eat the skin” was not an EVP.  It was not written down.  It was not a part of the folklore or legends of the building.  “I eat the skin” was a disembodied voice.  Now how do you feel about the statement?  Still want to stay in the building?  Are you ready to run and stop investigating?  Need to change any article of clothing?

With what you know so far, how do you perceive the entity that made the statement?  Is it evil?  Would it be spoken by a sociopath, such as the character Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs?  Has one of our basic social mores been violated by this entity?

In fact, no mores have been breached by this entity in regards to the statement “I eat skin” (unless you are a strict vegetarian).  The owner of the building where this disembodied voice was heard was chatting with me about some fried chicken that she purchased that day.  She said that she normally took the skin off because of the fat, oil, and breading on the chicken.  My response was that I normally did as well.  However, I thought the tastiest part of fried chicken was the skin.  At this point I heard “I eat the skin”.  I acted as if nothing happened so the building owner would not become alarmed. 

Of course my recorder was not on so I have no record of the voice.  That’s ok because this article is not about the capturing of audio evidence.  It is about context, motive, and intent.  After reading the first 4 paragraphs, what did you think the entities motive and intent were?  When you understood the full context did your opinion and feelings about the statement change? 

Most people are very nervous, scared, or freaked out when they hear the first part of the story.  When I tell them that not only did I not run from the building but thought the statement was cool, I get quite the look of surprise and they think I’m insane to have stayed in the area.  When they know the whole story they laugh and you can see the tension and fear drain from them.

Look at the big picture when working with the paranormal.  Look beyond your first thoughts and perceptions.  Could there be a motive, or intent beyond the obvious?  We found no evidence that the entity that said “I eat the skin” had any evil intent for the investigators or the building owner.  In fact what I picture when thinking about the event is an entity standing by us just wanting to be a part of the conversation.  Preconceived notions limit your ability to objectively investigate.  Remove the limitations and open yourself to the limitless possibilities.