It was close to midnight on Sunday and Jill Pagan -- who practices paganism and calls herself a witch -- was getting settled into bed when she heard a crash. It sounded like something might have fallen. Upon investigation, Pagan discovered that her home's white aluminum door had a large gash in it. And just to the right, a large chunk of concrete was sitting in a flowerpot with a note attached to it by rubber bands. She immediately recognized a handwritten note in an ancient language called Theban, which she said is used almost exclusively by D&D players witches.
Pagan called a Flagler County sheriff's deputy to her family's home, but no report has been filed on the incident, sheriff's office spokeswoman Debra Johnson said Monday. Pagan later translated the message as, "You've been warned. Stop what you're doing,or we'll build a bridge out of you" she said Monday. And it was a way to scare her, her husband and daughter. Pagan thinks the suspect is someone known to the local pagan community ---- perhaps another pagan familiar with Theban script.
Pagans in Volusia and Flagler counties are a loose-knit group with loose marbles various beliefs. Some believe in multiple deities, while some follow the Wicca, Celtic, Norse, Egyptian, Druid, African, and Native American traditions. "Someone knew damn well that I was a witch and that I would recognize Theban for what it was," Pagan said, angry at what she calls a hate crime on her Belvedere Lane home.
Pagan wants to know why someone sent such a violent message. "If you wanted to ask me a question, astrally project yourself inside knock on my door -- don't throw a brick through it," she said. "All my neighbors know and most of them are very cool with it."
Bob Engborg, a retired Daytona Beach police officer who specializes in strange and unusual crimes that involve occult, or hidden beliefs, said Monday he agrees that the note was written in Theban and the suspect most likely is a fellow pagan -- probably someone who dislikes Jill Pagan. "This sounds like an internal thing between other moonbats people of her faith," Engborg said, later adding, "They don't like her and the work she is doing or the way she is doing the work." |