Life After Paranormals: Season 2, Episode 4

We spoke with Jason Haxton, who believes he unleashed a Dybbuk from a locked wine cabinet purchased at an estate auction as depicted in "The Dybbuk Box."

Where is the Dybbuk Box now?
Because there's so much interest in it, I don't tell where it's located, but it's in a storage facility where it won't be bothered by anybody. Including me. I rarely go by there unless I'm in the area. But it'll stay there until I figure out what to do with it.

Had you believed in the paranormal before?
No, not really. I was pretty unspiritual--I thought, you were born, you did good things, and then you died and that was it. I didn't even like horror films. When I'd heard that Sam Raimi was interested in my story I said, "Who's Sam Raimi?" It wasn't until I heard people mention Spider-Man that I kind of knew who he was. So I wasn't judgmental, I just didn't think that much about it.

Then why did you buy the Dybbuk Box?
I was leery, but I just wanted to look at it as you would with an artifact in a museum. Also, my friend wanted to produce a kind of "Horror Walk" through the neighborhood, and wanted to create the illusion of a spirit. I told him we could make a replica of a Dybbuk Box, but he wanted the real thing. So I kind of also bought it for him. And as it turned out, he did the Horror Walk but barely mentioned the Dybbuk Box.

Do you feel you're more in tune with the paranormal now?
Well, I feel like if you're not looking for the paranormal you won't find it.  It's changed my attitude about what's really possible.  It's like with your heart beating--I know my heart is beating but I don't feel it. But if I stop and am still, I can feel my heart beating all the way to my fingertips. Many of us never have a reason to stop and be still.

Do you personify whatever's in the Dybbuk Box?
I think I do. But it's more than a physical object, it's energy. I think of people as energy--a combination of several trillion cells interacting with each other. In this case it's a different kind of structure, but it's still energy.

Have you now studied Judaism because of this?
I definitely have studied about Jewish ways and mysticism and the Hebrew language. And it's so deep--if you're not born into it it's almost impossible to get your head around it, and even if you are born into it it's still difficult. And I met a lot of people from different walks of life because of the Dybbuk Box--some were scientists and some were metallurgists. It's been a journey.

So in a way, the Dybbuk Box has been a force for good?
I think we are what we learn and the decisions we make. Some of the experiences might be thought of as negative, but it's helped me become a more spiritual person.