UNEXPLAINED MYSTERIES

The Very Strange Tale of Olivia Mabel

The Main House at Footlights Ranch

In 1994, Texas authorities responded to silent 911 calls from the home of Olivia Mabel. What they found terrified them…

The Mabel family

The Mabel family lived in a quiet suburb of Celina, Texas, about an hour north of Dallas. Mother Olivia, father Travis, and son Aiden were a perfect nuclear family – until 1990. On March 13, 1990, little Aiden was found dead in a pond, victim of an accidental drowning. He was seven years old. Olivia was overcome with grief and retreated from work, her social life, even her marriage. A year later, Olivia and Travis divorced.

September 1991 was the last time anyone saw Olivia alive.

On February 27th, 1994, police received a silent 911 call originating from the Mabel house. Arriving at the house, they broke down the door and entered what they initially thought was an abandoned house. The house was a mess and the air was thick with dust. Searching the house, they found Aiden’s bedroom, immaculately kept. Olivia was in the room, wearing a nightgown and slippers, clutching a crude stick figure doll, seated in a rocking chair. She appeared to have been dead for quite some time, months at least.

In front of her was a crude altar, made up of a trunk covered with a child’s bed sheet. On the altar were photos of Aiden, drawings, letters written by Olivia to Aiden, several of Aiden’s toys, candles, flowers, and an urn full of ashes – presumably Aiden’s. There was also a note written in a foreign language, which turned out to be Sanskrit. In English, it translated to “construct” or “to build.”

Olivia Mabel and her son Aiden aged 6, taken just 1 year before his death.

Strange note

That alone would have been tragic. But then things got weird. Investigators found a note, dated February 27th, 1994 – the same day the 911 call came in, but months after Olivia died – written in Olivia’s handwriting. It read “My Aiden, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have never let it get like this. I’m leaving. I will not let you keep me you ViLE, EViL CREATURE. Mommy’s coming for you, Aiden, my sweet Aiden. Mommy loves you.”

The official statement was that Olivia post-dated her letter. But several of the officers felt a “presence” in the house, and they sought explanations from paranormal experts. Francesca Santiago, whose uncle was into “really dark occult stuff,” was one of the first cops on the scene. To her, the altar suggested that Olivia had manifested a tulpa, or “thoughtform.” A tulpa is a concept in Buddhism where an object or being is created through spiritual or mental discipline alone. Is it possible that Olivia created a tulpa, perhaps in Aiden’s image, to keep her company? And did that tulpa turn evil and kill Olivia?

LEFT: Letter written by Olivia, dated February 27th, 1994. RIGHT: Doll found clutched in Olivia’s hand at the scene.

Paranormal Investigation

In 2005, current owner Christopher Hagen, unable to sell the property, brought in Austin paranormal investigator Drew Navarro who said of the investigation, “In the hundreds of locations I’ve studied I’ve never felt such an imposing force. I couldn’t breathe, my heart was constantly racing.

Its energy kept changing, but none of it felt inviting. Whatever is in there, it’s extremely possessive and behaves so erratically, like a jealous child throwing a tantrum. As far as I’m concerned, that house and that entire property should be avoided. It needs a serious intervention, because I’m not sure what we’re dealing with.”

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