the experience of evil - a discussion as to what it might actually be

[butters]

while i don't automatically agree with fgb's interpretation of 'evil' in this post of his, i did experience something remarkably similar that truly felt 'evil' and wonder how many others have experienced it in their lives. i may have another thread out there someplace but can't be arsed to go look.

however, what i'd like to talk about is what that sensation actually was; what really triggered it; if it's just the normal 'go-to' of the human brain that lacks the scientific understanding of the phenomenon. some of you science bods may have some answers for me, dunno.

this is fgb's post
http://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=93081866&postcount=87
and the relevant passages to me, since they more or less recount my own experience with the differences being in what the person was doing and where:

Now, understand that this dude looked normal...more or less. His face was sort of expressionless...I remember that

But I could feel evil radiating off of him like an radiant heater.

Started at about fifty foot when he stepped out of a theater...He was instantly on my radar. I couldn't figure out why at first, he didn't look to be threatening.

But he held my attention and as he was walking toward us the closer he came, the sicker I felt. At his closest approach...about four foot to my left the sense of dread and nausea was seriously intense. As the gap widened behind us I was feeling better foot by foot until I could no longer sense his presence.

That was an experience I really don't care to have again.

 

[butters]

is it to do with our lizard brains detecting something 'different' about the person? micro-signals our conscious brain doesn't detect?
some electronic/magnetic disruption to our own particular fields?
i'd discount pheromones simply because of distance and timing though, again, maybe someone can tell me differently.

is it this otherness that strikes us so strongly that we interpret it as 'evil'?

with my own experience, every atom of my body was screaming 'wrong! wrong! wrong!!!'

 

[Lady2020]

It's been my experience that evil is usually more banal, purposefully. Althlough I remember a time when I looked into someone's eyes and I immediately thought of evil. The guy's eyes were dead, emotionless as he brought out stolen property from a church.

 

[butters]

It's been my experience that evil is usually more banal, purposefully. Althlough I remember a time when I looked into someone's eyes and I immediately thought of evil. The guy's eyes were dead, emotionless as he brought out stolen property from a church.

oh, there's plenty of that around for sure, but this? was something completely different. only once, and once was enough. thing is, although i classified it as 'evil' in my head at the time, i'm not saying that was what i actually was reacting to--unlike fgb, who is utterly convinced it was. my experience was a reaction, physical and mental, to something entirely banal and not in the least abnormal on the surface. and yet, like fgb, the trigger was instant, the reaction intense.

 

[butters]

i'm even wondering if it's an experience somewhere along the lines of déjà vu, a tripping out of our own synergy between sensory input and interpretation

having only experienced déjà vu a couple of times, the more intense experience did make me feel physically nauseous but there was an absence of that sense of anything evil

 

[butters]

There is something called the fear frequency that vibrates just below our hearing range. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. Certain brain waves regulate conditioned fear responses.
You know there has to be something to it because the military is pretty keen to utilize it. Which is evil in and of itself. In fact there are treaties against using sound waves for military purposes.

The effect of emotional and psychological change as a result of infrasonic exposure can later be found during the second Indochina war. In 1973, The United States deployed the Urban Funk Campaign, a psychoacoustic attack during the war with the intention of altering mental states of their enemies (Goodman, 2010). The device utilised both infrasonic and ultrasonic frequencies, which emitted high decibel oscillations from a mounted helicopter onto the Vietnamese ground troops (Toffler, Alvin, & Toffler, 1995). Though there is no record of the specification of this device, one can assume that the U.S Military had tested the infrasonic frequency ranges in order to achieve a psychological effect on it’s targets. As previously cited by (Goodman, 2010), it is documented that the frequency range of 7Hz is thought to instil effects of uneasiness, anxiety, fear and anger. (Walonick, 1990) reports in a experiment that below 8Hz had caused agitation and uneasiness for participants. Goodman also supports this discussing “It has been noted that certain infrasonic frequencies plug straight into the algorithms of the brain and nervous system. Frequencies of 7 hertz, for example, coincide with theta rhythms, thought to induce moods of fear and anger.” (Goodman, 2010).

https://littlefield.co/the-psychoac...ic-frequencies-within-non-lethal-cf05e1fd8673

thanks for that link.

as an aside, could explain why some animals are seen to behave strangely before eruptions and quakes.

 

[fgarvb1]

Well Butters,

I have no ideal what you have experienced in your lifetime.
As for myself I have, while I could not see them, I have been the focus of attention of no less than two angels and the Holy Spirit (the part called the comforter.) and have felt first hand the Peace and Grace that can go along with such things.

That was as far as you can get from what that whatever it was was radiating.

I say "whatever" he was because demons and angels can take on the appearance of man or woman or animal apparently.

 

[butters]

Well Butters,

I have no ideal what you have experienced in your lifetime.
As for myself I have, while I could not see them, I have been the focus of attention of no less than two angels and the Holy Spirit (the part called the comforter.) and have felt first hand the Peace and Grace that can go along with such things.

That was as far as you can get from what that whatever it was was radiating.

I say "whatever" he was because demons and angels can take on the appearance of man or woman or animal apparently.

i've experienced the opposite, too, and having been brought up a roman catholic it's easy to place these things in a religious framework.

i'm interested in looking at the psychological and physical, scientific insights as to what creates these things--if they are explicable. the mind is an amazing thing and can convince of realities that do not exist; these things can be triggered by external, scientifically explained phenomena, or--adversely--internally by chemical imbalances/trauma/stress

the thing i experienced similar to your own instance was such a non-event to everyone else around me but profoundly disturbing, physically and mentally, to me:

as i walked up a hill (train station set on bridge over tracks), some guy (non-descript face, clothes, behaviour) was on the station side opposite to me...so maybe 100' away originally to about 20' at the closest. he got out of his car, walked around to the trunk, opened it, moved something inside with one hand, closed the trunk, got back in his car. it took that time for me to close the gap and pass the car, with all the sensations you described in your op.

won't go into the other events right now and i have posted them here before. suffice it to say that there first was the sense of something seductive that turned nauseating followed by a relief and sense of goodness (comfort) after making a choice. given the circumstances and the other person indirectly involved, it may well have been a drug-induced experience but i'll never know.

 

[Lazaran]

.
Just to be clear; I'm not talking about supernatural evil here, just an impression I got upon encountering someone who looked or behaved in a way that triggered an extreme negative reaction.

I have worked for thirty years in an environment full of what many would consider "evil" people, and there have only been a few occasions where someone has given me the shivers upon meeting them for the first time. In my experiences, those individuals looked or acted a particular way that triggered the response. Normal sensory cues(not paranormal) provide critical information when forming a first impression of someone, and as others have mentioned, picking up on those cues is crucial to survival. Rest assured, if someone you just met gives you the heebie jeebies, they have activated some part of your natural self preservation early warning system. I recommend nonchalantly disengaging from them and the circumstances that brought you together. If they mysteriously keep popping up in your life, you may need to take active measures to enhance your natural self preservation abilities.

Of course, it is important to make sure your natural self preservation faculties are not compromised by a mental illness or defect so you don't misidentify threats and non-threats. I believe the opinions of those suffering from manic hyper-religiosity need to be taken with a block of salt. Hysterical hyper-religiosity has led to some of the greatest atrocities in history, with innocent people being labeled as "evil" witches or heretics, and subjected to torture and execution.

 

[Dribble]

Mentally ill people see things that aren't real all the time...or they see something and assign a false explanation to become comfortable with not understanding it. This is not saying there is not inherently evil people in the World. There are both on this website...

 

[rockcasbah]

Butters defines evil.

Where’s Liam when you need him?

 

[Wings]

I have, unfortunately come in contact with a few people I found to be absolutely evil.

 

[thør]

I have, unfortunately come in contact with a few people I found to be absolutely evil.

You met one of my ex-brother-in-laws.......

 

[silver gurl]

Never really met anyone absolutely evil. Not in that way.
But I have had people creep me out or give me very bad vibes.

 

[Wings]

You met one of my ex-brother-in-laws.......

In that case, I’m glad they’re exes!

 

[PaxNurgle]

.


... I believe the opinions of those suffering from manic hyper-religiosity need to be taken with a block of salt. Hysterical hyper-religiosity has led to some of the greatest atrocities in history, with innocent people being labeled as "evil" witches or heretics, and subjected to torture and execution.

Basically; this nails it.

I won't deny I've had some strange paranormal experiences in my life (which I won't describe) but the way I judge people as "Good" or "Evil" is by their beliefs and by their actions. I have never felt unspecified "heebie jeebies" about a person, unless they said or did anything that triggered it. Like, for example, they came across as some kind of swindler or scam artist, started following me and dogging my footsteps for no reason, or they were dressed in gang attire or white-surpremacist symbols, or they made a creepy or inappropriate remark. These are things that trigger a "Beware this guy's evil" response in me.

I have heard people (like mr. FGB himself ironically) give a free pass to certain political leaders who pursue destructive policies that would be defined in the Bible as "Evil," and I have heard corrupted Christian religious philosophy used as justification used to commit acts upon other people that most people would consider evil. Persecuting people because of faith, color, or gender, depriving them of property or human rights, murder, torture, imprisonment without justification, violent acts of unprovoked aggression, racism- these things are evil, and should be universally considered so.

 

[Wings]

I have a pretty well-attuned creep meter. I don’t think this is exactly what you’re asking, butters. But I spend a lot of time observing people. It’s pretty easy to spot the emotionless ones, those tend to be the rare psychopath. The ones that I’ve considered a thing of evil are more those who are intentional about their evilness. The dead eyes are usually earned.

 

[patient1]

What if it's a scent at a subconscious level?

A pheromone related to fear or danger, and some people release more of it, or are more perceptive to it? Dogs seem to smell fear.
..Or maybe the evil guy just is saturated in the scents of the tears, screams, blood and guts of his last victim.

What if it's an electrostatic energy field that makes the hair on your body twitch?

 

[thør]

In that case, I’m glad they’re exes!

All of SWMBO sisters married poorly, every time.

 

[rae121452]

while i don't automatically agree with fgb's interpretation of 'evil' in this post of his, i did experience something remarkably similar that truly felt 'evil' and wonder how many others have experienced it in their lives. i may have another thread out there someplace but can't be arsed to go look.

however, what i'd like to talk about is what that sensation actually was; what really triggered it; if it's just the normal 'go-to' of the human brain that lacks the scientific understanding of the phenomenon. some of you science bods may have some answers for me, dunno.

this is fgb's post
http://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=93081866&postcount=87
and the relevant passages to me, since they more or less recount my own experience with the differences being in what the person was doing and where:

this discussion has had me thinking and in turmoil all evening and i'm still not settled. i've had experiences where i've had an instant revulsion, almost to the point of nausea, upon first contact with someone. is it because they're evil? i don't know. i don't feel equipped to assign the label of evil. would i have instantly had that feeling if i'd met john wayne gacy or jeffrey dahmer? i like to think that i would but i don't know that and they are textbook examples of evil. i do think there is something in the genetic make up of a sociopath that alerts other people to their presence. i have a little of that myself, i make a lot of people uncomfortable just by being near them. i don't think i'm evil, though, even if i am removed and detached. but-yeah, i'm weird and not socially adept and i have different values. the interesting thing to me, in my own history, is that an equal number of people become fascinated by the very attributes that repel other people. this leads to an entirely separate list of problems. finally, as someone who comes from a family tree that includes everything up to and including a serial killer, i think there is some deep seated genetic alarm that goes off when in the presence of the more sensitive among us, sort of like the disguised wolf in the sheepfold.

 

[butters]

this discussion has had me thinking and in turmoil all evening and i'm still not settled. i've had experiences where i've had an instant revulsion, almost to the point of nausea, upon first contact with someone. is it because they're evil? i don't know. i don't feel equipped to assign the label of evil. would i have instantly had that feeling if i'd met john wayne gacy or jeffrey dahmer? i like to think that i would but i don't know that and they are textbook examples of evil. i do think there is something in the genetic make up of a sociopath that alerts other people to their presence. i have a little of that myself, i make a lot of people uncomfortable just by being near them. i don't think i'm evil, though, even if i am removed and detached. but-yeah, i'm weird and not socially adept and i have different values. the interesting thing to me, in my own history, is that an equal number of people become fascinated by the very attributes that repel other people. this leads to an entirely separate list of problems. finally, as someone who comes from a family tree that includes everything up to and including a serial killer, i think there is some deep seated genetic alarm that goes off when in the presence of the more sensitive among us, sort of like the disguised wolf in the sheepfold.

first off, so sorry this has you disturbed and i hope that passes swiftly.

i think what i was really trying to get at was this: is that reaction we get (and automatically, easily attribute to some kind of evilness) nothing to do with evil at all but something other that triggers that sensation and, if so, what might cause that?'

i lived with someone for 18 years who was a genuine psychopath, whose actions were often 'evil' in their nature and he took pleasure in his abilities to manipulate people--people he saw only as toys in his games. the thing i experienced walking up and past the guy/car in the street was sudden, physical, and extreme and nothing like anything i'd experienced beforehand.

so this person (and the one in fgb's description) may be perfectly normal, innocent bystanders doing nothing wrong whatsoever. the guy i saw was so nondescript i can't recall his face, or anything else about him other than his actions and my resulting reactions. it's weird. additional, embarrassing information: i was left with the sense that he was a murderer and was just about convinced he had a body in the car trunk. in reality, what murderer touting a body around in his car would be pulled up right outside a trainstation where people are coming and going, would then open the trunk in full view? none! it's crazy and makes no sense at all.

 

[butters]

What if it's a scent at a subconscious level?

A pheromone related to fear or danger, and some people release more of it, or are more perceptive to it? Dogs seem to smell fear.
..Or maybe the evil guy just is saturated in the scents of the tears, screams, blood and guts of his last victim.

What if it's an electrostatic energy field that makes the hair on your body twitch?

this is more the sort of thing i'm trying to look at: can pheromones travel so far, so swiftly? they'd have had to cover around 100' in a couple of seconds.

dogs read body language better than most humans and can smell the adrenaline and anything else chemical bodies are broadcasting in fear

my own experience (since that's all i can refer to with any authority) seemed maybe triggered by something visual, initially (lord knows what!) and from a distance, though any chemical/electrical/whathaveyou dissonance disrupting my own energies might be the thing that made me feel really bad, really nauseous, all wrong, as i got closer.

i was wondering if anyone with scientific knowledge had any understanding of it being a more mundane experience and due to something akin to the deja vu phenomenon.

 

[butters]

I have, unfortunately come in contact with a few people I found to be absolutely evil.

sorry to hear that, W. glad you survived the experiences.

have you ever had that sort of thing fgb describes similar to my own? not knowing the people, just that really really REALLY bad feeling like something out of a stephen king novel when they triggered your radar in some way? i'd still love to know if there's a general scientific term for this kind of thing which is (i guess) something like extreme transitory paranoia, and if there's a real difference between someone/thing evil triggering it in people and something that's independent of the perceived trigger.

 

[Lazaran]

this is more the sort of thing i'm trying to look at: can pheromones travel so far, so swiftly? they'd have had to cover around 100' in a couple of seconds.

dogs read body language better than most humans and can smell the adrenaline and anything else chemical bodies are broadcasting in fear

my own experience (since that's all i can refer to with any authority) seemed maybe triggered by something visual, initially (lord knows what!) and from a distance, though any chemical/electrical/whathaveyou dissonance disrupting my own energies might be the thing that made me feel really bad, really nauseous, all wrong, as i got closer.

i was wondering if anyone with scientific knowledge had any understanding of it being a more mundane experience and due to something akin to the deja vu phenomenon.

I was thinking about your comment and what you described about your experience does have all of the hallmarks of an intense deja vu event like was discussed in another one of your threads. The fact that the person and the circumstances were so mundane, and yet you had such a strong reaction really speaks to my own "glimpse" experiences from your other thread. I must admit that the feeling of a powerful deja vu is quite unsettling and could easily by mistaken as bad or "evil". However, I'm such a believer that "paranormal" events are just things science hasn't figured out yet, that I don't assign labels like "good" or "evil" to them.

 

[Tigersman]

Evil is knowing that lying to your Nation will bring untold death, hardship and poverty.