About a week or so ago I read an article on LAist about someone giving away a cursed salt lamp on Craigslist. According to the article, the seller of said lamp claimed that they “started hearing ‘strange bangs against the wall where it was, and often saw things move near it out of the corner of my eye.‘” The article goes on to say that the seller wrote that “they’re too freaked out to keep the lamp, but don’t want to break it or leave it on the curb for some other unfortunate soul to find. On the upside, it has a dimmer switch.”

Now, I’ve been on the hunt for a good Himalayan salt lamp for a while. Most of the ones I’ve found are either cheap and broken or victims of price gouging thanks to the current trend of what I like to call “hipster spiritualism” ($59 for a Cat Himalayan Salt Lamp from Urban Outfitters? No thanks). Never the less, the need for this pretty piece of decor is strong. Plus, the pinkish hue brings a warm and inviting ambiance to any room. Some people even claim the lamps have health benefits, but I’ve yet to find any legitimate studies proving that those claims are true. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I’d love to read one.

Either way, throw in the words “free” and “possibly haunted” and you bet I was interested in driving all the way to Echo Park for this thing.

I promptly visited the Craigslist post and sent an email:

Hi there!

Are you still giving away the lamp? I might be able to take it off your hands. Let me know – thanks!

P.S. I’d love to get the whole story about the hauntings!

You might think I’m crazy for wanting an (alleged) cursed/haunted item. And you might be right. But who wouldn’t want to create a mini museum of haunted objects in their own home? Right, guys? Guys?

All joking aside, I’ve always had an interest in the strange and paranormal. I’m a skeptic at heart but I think that’s why the research is so much fun. Why else would I wander the dark corridors of the Ohio State Reformatory with investigator Nick Groff? Or attempt to use a Ouija board with talking board historian Robert Murch? Or geek out over research and motion censor technology with engineer and badass Elizabeth Saint?

A week went by and I heard nothing. I just about gave up until I found this email in my Junk folder:

The lamp has been given away. I’m sorry it took so long to tie this up. 

Thank you to those of you who expressed interest in it – your emails were a great read!

To those who expressed interest initially but never followed up after my response: I hope you’re okay – I’m assuming you just lost interest or got cold feet.

A special thank you to those who were not interested in acquiring it but who instead gave me such kind and selfless advice about how to cleanse its energy. 

Also thank you to the media who wrote about this for not making me out to be a (total) freak. (I passed up an interview with Inside Edition due to this very concern.)

I did debate possibly keeping the lamp and just cleansing it per the advice I received. But in the end I decided that – good energy or bad – it’s time for this lamp to move on. 

Well, damn. Kudos to the seller for getting rid of the lamp, but I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t get my hands on it. I did reply to the email asking if the seller had any more detailed stories that they wanted to share about the lamp, but I’ve yet to hear back.

Interested in collections of haunted or cursed items? Check out the Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal, Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, or (my personal favorite) the Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult.

If you happen to own a haunted item (and especially if you want to get rid of it), send an email to kaylasayswhat@gmail.com or leave a comment below! I’d love to hear all about it!