In short, it's an entertaining bunch of bullshit. Here's the backstory!

Dybbukim

A Dybbuk (spelled דיבוק in Yiddish) derives from the Hebrew word דָּבַק, to cling. (The suffix -im or makes it plural.) It's a displaced human spirit of a dead person that possesses a living human in order to accomplish a goal, then leaves once finished (unless you exorcise it beforehand.) These possessions are always nonconsensual, typically forcing you to act on negative repressed impulses (often of a sexual nature.) This is in contrast to Ibbur, where a righteous soul possesses a consenting individual in order to perform a mitzvah. Historically, dybbukim served as a warning against improper behavior or unorthodoxy, which would open your household to the risk of dybbukim. It's also been viewed as a folk explanation for "hysteria" in women.

While it's been written about since the 1500s, it wasn't a super popular concept until S. Ansky's play The Dybbuk in the early 1900s (a classic in Yiddish theatre!)

The Box

The dybbuk box was first created on eBay, 2003. A man named Kevin Mannis was selling a refurbished wine cabinet he got from a yard sale, adding the story in the item description to give it a little flair. People bought and re-sold the cabinet, each adding their own paranormal claims to how the dybbuk had given them nightmares and bad luck.

The hoax became an urban legend, then a sensation, even as Mannis publicly admits to having made the whole thing up. He's even said if anybody could find reference to a dybbuk box before his post, "I’ll pay you $100,000.00 and tattoo your name on my forehead." Even still, the legends/paranormal claims surrounding the box continue to this day! (Post Malone even had a run-in in 2018.) Mannis said to Input Magazine in 2021: "I am a creative writer. The Dybbuk Box is a story that I created. And the Dybbuk Box story has done exactly what I intended it to do when I posted it 20 years ago... Which is to become an interactive horror story in real-time." Which, as a writer, I will admit is pretty dang cool.

Other Neat Stuff

Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items

Beware...this book is cursed! These strange but true stories of the world’s most infamous items will appeal to true believers as well as history buffs, horror fans, and anyone who loves a good spine-tingling tale. They’re lurking in museums, graveyards, and private homes. Their often tragic and always bizarre stories have inspired countless horror movies, reality TV shows, novels, and campfire tales. They’re cursed objects, and all they need to unleash a wave of misfortune is . . . you. Many of these unfortunate items have intersected with some of the most notable events and people in history, leaving death and destruction in their wake. But never before have the true stories of these eerie oddities been compiled into a fascinating and chilling volume. Inside, readers will learn about:   • Annabelle the Doll, a Raggedy Ann doll that featured in the horror franchise The Conjuring   • The Unlucky Mummy, which is rumored to have sunk the Titanic and kick-started World War I     • The Dybbuk box, which was sold on eBay and spawned the horror film The Possession   • The Conjured Chest, which has been blamed for fifteen deaths within a single family   • The Ring of Silvianus, a Roman artifact believed to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit     • And many more!

Dybbuk Box

I want to talk about Dybbuk and Dybbuk Boxes today. I am not Jewish, or have Jewish heritage, but in light of some recent trends going around I did some quick research to spread information. Let's go!

1. In Judaism, or Jewish mythology, a Dybbuk/Dibbuk or plural, Dybbukim, is a disembodied human spirit that, because of former sins, wanders restlessly until it finds a haven in the body of a living person. 

2. People believed to have been possessed by a Dybbuk, usually one with a nervous or mental disorder, were taken to a Rabbi (ba'al shem). Rabbi's were the ONLY ones believed to be able to expel the Dybbuk from the person via an exorcism.

3. A Dybbuk box was traditionally a wine box/cabinet that was haunted by a Dybbuk, not used to trap one. The english term "Dybbuk box" was only coined recently from the eBay auction this trend started from.

A mist like apparition is captured at 4:53am by security cameras at Zak Bagans Haunted Museum.

This mist appears to emerge for just a moment, triggers the camera and surrounds the Dybbuk box held at the museum.

A Dybbuk box is s a wine box which is said to be haunted by a dybbuk. A dybbuk (from Jewish mythology) is a restless, usually malicious, spirit believed to be able to haunt and even possess the living. 

In one frame, it is believed the mist forms the eyes of the Dybbuk that is held within this box. This frame resembles a fiend from hell depicted in 19th century literature.

      You tapped the small little black box in the pocket of your yellow hoodie repeatedly, just to make sure it was there. You weren’t sure how you managed to steal such a valuable thing, but you did. The dark door opened silently, the tall figure standing there. Their lip twitched slightly as they looked at you, a faint smirk on their face.

       “Evening to you, love. What brings you ‘ere to my funeral parlor?” They asked, taking a few steps back and beckoning you in. “Come, come. I’ll get the biscuits ready.”

       You flashed a nervous smile and walked inside, standing near a simple coffin. They closed the door and walked over to the table at the back, sitting behind it. You quickly ran over to it, fishing the velvet black box out of your pocket and setting it down on the dusty table. It looked even darker in the dim light of the candles in the room. They looked at it curiously, grinning at the insignia.

       “What is it? How’d you manage to steal it? I thought you could only collect information, Sunshine.”

        “Take a look inside.” You said, smiling. “It’s quite valuable and has some of the best information. I brought it here since I want you to authenticate it. My skills are great, but I just wanted to make sure.”

        “And if I were to steal it for myself?” They asked, looking up at you with their hands under their chin. 

         “You wouldn’t be able to keep it since you’re not...” You waved your arm around, trying to find a word to best describe them without giving away that you knew what they were. “Normal.” 

          “And neither are you, Sunshine.” They said, their smirk turning into a frown. “Is it haunted?”