1. History

2. Members

3. References

4. Further reading

The Order of the Occult Hand is a whimsical secret society of American journalists who have been able to slip the meaningless and telltale phrase "It was as if an occult hand had…" in print as a sort of a game and inside joke.

History

The phrase was introduced by Joseph Flanders, then a police reporter of The Charlotte News, in the fall of 1965, when he reported on a millworker who was shot by his own family when he came back home late at night. He wrote:

Amused by this purple passage, in a local bar, his colleagues decided to commemorate Flanders' achievement by forming the Order of the Occult Hand. They even showed Flanders a banner made of a bed sheet depicting a bloody hand reaching out of a purple cloud. Among the original members were: R.C. Smith, an associate editor; Stewart Spencer, then an editorial writer; John Gin, the city editor; and several others, who vowed to get the words into print as soon as possible.^[1] The editors were not happy about this mischief at all and ordered copy editors to be extremely vigilant, yet the phrase kept slipping into the paper and even into Down Beat, a jazz magazine, by Smith.^[1] The News revealed this tradition of high spirits, how it started, in 1985, when it went out of circulation.^[1]

Alternatively, Paul Greenberg, the Pulitzer prize-winning editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, claimed that Reese Cleghorn, then an editorial writer of The Charlotte Observer, was the one who originated the Order.^[3] Cleghorn denied this claim.^[4] The Boston Globe once reported that the Occult Hand Club was a replacement for the Defective Busbar Club, which was open to any journalist who used the word, such as in "the cause of the fire was attributed to a defective busbar, officials said."^[5]

The occult-hand phrase did not stop in the Charlotte News and Observer, but has crept onto other media.^[1] The use of the phrase has spread to newspaper media around the world like "a cough in a classroom" and "a pox".^[10] The Order was occasionally endangered by reckless and artless users of the phrase,^[3] but it retained overall secrecy until 2004, when James Janega of the Chicago Tribune published a thorough investigation about the Order.^[6] Upon exposure to the public, Greenberg made a full confession.^[3]

In 2006, Greenberg announced that the Order had chosen a new secret phrase at an annual editorial writers' convention and resumed a stealth operation.^[7]

Members

//The New York Times">The New York Times in 1974 by Paul Hofmann and in 1998 by Tim Race

• {{cite news|title=UN Gen Assembly 29th session opens on Sept 17. Algerian Foreign Min Abdelaziz|author=Paul Hofmann|newspaper=The New York Times (Abstracts)|date=18 September 1974}}

"Wonders if Cyprus events might have been 'organized by some occult hand' as part of W Eur global strategy."

• {{cite news|title=INCOMING; Well Versed in E-Mail Subject Lines|author=Tim Race|date=26 February 1998|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/26/technology/incoming-well-versed-in-e-mail-subject-lines.html|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"Even worse, with some E-mail systems, if the writer doesn't fill in the subject line, the occult hand of artificial intelligence will enter No Subject."

//The Los Angeles Times">The Los Angeles Times from 1983 to 1999 by Deborah Caulfield, Jay Sharbutt, Dennis McDougal, Charles Champlin, Nancy Wride, and Stephen Braun

• {{cite news|title=Disney pulls 'Wolf' from Mann in Dispute|author=Deborah Caulfield|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=7 November 1983}}

"It was as if an occult hand had somehow palmed the film."

• {{Citation |last=Caulfield |first=Deborah |date=7 March 1985 |title=Mancuso: Cat On A Hot Film Roll |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/print/1985-03-07/entertainment/ca-34718_1_mancuso-filming-roll |accessdate=27 October 2011}}

"It was as if an occult hand had passed over Nick Mancuso's face, momentarily transforming him into Tennessee Williams."

• {{cite news|title=Oscars: the long and short of it|author=Jay Sharbutt|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=25 March 1985|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/64415552.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+25%2C+1985&author=JAY+SHARBUTT&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=1&desc=OSCARS%3A+THE+LONG+AND+SHORT+OF+IT|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"...one might say it was as if an occult hand had hurled a raspberry at Hollywood."^[6]

• {{cite news|title=The public radio wars: Can NPR and APR coexist?|author=Dennis McDougal|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=11 October 1985|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1985-10-11/entertainment/ca-17303_1_public-radio|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"He said it is as if an occult hand had arbitrarily determined which..."

• {{cite news|title=Spirit Awards: Year of film independents|author=Deborah Caulfield|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=30 March 1987|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/58275890.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+30%2C+1987&author=DEBORAH+CAULFIELD&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=1&desc=SPIRIT+AWARDS%3A+YEAR+OF+FILM+INDEPENDENTS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"...Saturday, it was as if an occult hand had passed over the Academy Awards..."

• {{cite news|title=Bran Ferren: Master of Arts and Sciences|author=Charles Champlin|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=12 September 1989|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/2019447.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS&date=Sep+12%2C+1989&author=Champlin%2C+Charles&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=VI1&desc=Bran+Ferren%3A++Master+of+Arts+and+Sciences|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"Then it was as if an occult hand had made a mystical sign..."

• {{cite news|title=Bound to the Ring of Saturn Owners|author=Nancy Wride|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=10 April 1994|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-04-10/news/vw-44492_1_saturn-owner|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"...I found myself seemingly driven by an occult hand into the arms of the Saturn..."

• {{cite news|title=Sunday report: Pathway to peril / How Clinton and his adversaries endangered his presidency; Chapter VII; The Flexing of Muscles and a Concern for History; The process that has engulfed Clinton and both houses of Congress is all about power. At the heart of the crisis lie legal and moral questions about abuse of that power|author=Stephen Braun|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=31 January 1999|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/38608472.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+31%2C+1999&author=STEPHEN+BRAUN%3BRICHARD+T.+COOPER%3BWILLIAM+C.+REMPEL%3BDAVID+G.+SAVAGE%3BRICHARD+A.+SERRANO%3BELIZABETH+SHOGREN.&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=8&desc=SUNDAY+REPORT%3A+PATHWAY+TO+PERIL+%2F+HOW+CLINTON+AND+HIS+ADVERSARIES+ENDANGERED+HIS+PRESIDENCY%3B+CHAPTER+VII%3B+The+Flexing+of+Muscles+and+a+Concern+for+History%3B+The+process+that+has+engulfed+Clinton+and+both+houses+of+Congress+is+all+about+power.+At+the+heart+of+the+crisis+lie+legal+and+moral+questions+about+abuse+of+that+power.|accessdate=31 October 2011|display-authors=etal}}

"It was as if an occult hand had substituted an alternate universe for..."

//The Boston Globe">The Boston Globe from 1987 to 2000 by John Powers, M. R. Montgomery, Paul Hirshson, David Mehegan

• {{Citation |last=Powers |first=John |author2=Globe Staff |date=25 January 1987 |title=Since backfiring, Landeta's been a weapon |work=The Boston Globe |page=70 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/59438605.html?FMT=ABS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"Bears president Mike McCaskey swore that it was as if an occult hand (belonging to the shade of Bears founder George Halas) had reached out and tipped the ball."

• {{Citation |last=Montgomery |first=M. R. |author2=Globe Staff |date=25 July 1989 |title=Splash beats crash on covers |work=The Boston Globe |page=55 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61503773.html?FMT=ABS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"In Newsweek, it is as if Sabrina were saved by an occult hand, as she 'turned up safe and sound.'"

• {{cite news|title=Some came running|author=Paul Hirshson|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=28 October 1989|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61535711.html?FMT=ABS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"It's dark and scary, and has all kinds of spooky stuff in it, including a moving occult hand that actually -- well, we don't want to spoil the surprise."

• {{cite news|title=Recession? What recession? Despite the downturn, several merchants reckon they can strike gold with new outlets|author=David Mehegan|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=25 November 1990|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61688633.html?FMT=ABS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"Inside, the lights go down and a sultry voice describes the audio systems, while some occult hand activates each component in turn."

• {{Citation |last=Montgomery |first=M. R. |author2=Globe Staff |date=6 July 1995 |title=A place for everything . . . |work=The Boston Globe |page=71 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/21316939.html?FMT=ABS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"Nails, screws, small tools and thingamajigs accumulate and then relocate as if moved by an occult hand to some new hiding spot."

• {{cite news|title=The snubbing of professor Ricks As he savors raves for his T.S. Eliot book, he finds himself odd man out on BU English staff|author=M. R. Montgomery|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=18 March 1997|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/11272968.html?FMT=ABS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"If a president of Harvard ever intervenes in something like a promotion or a course outline, it is well disguised, the work of an occult hand."

• {{Citation |last=Montgomery |first=M. R. |author2=Globe Staff |date=27 November 1998 |title=Gardner Blue Room's new shades of luxe |work=The Boston Globe |page=D9 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/36309831.html?FMT=ABS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"Just as the Gardner was negotiating with Humphries, the British weaving firm, a complete bit of that pattern, with the repeats, was revealed almost as if by an occult hand in Hokam Hall, home of Lord Leicester, in Wells-next-the-Sea, England."

• {{cite news|title=The story of E behind one letter's swift ascent to the top of the alphabetic heap|author=David Mehegan|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=14 May 2000|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/53841666.html?FMT=ABS|accessdate=31 October 2011}}

"We like to think we have earned success, after all, and discount the occult hand of fate."

• {{cite news|title=WITCHY BUSINESS; Christian Day conjures up critics by straddling the worlds of witchcraft and commerce in Salem|author=Billy Baker|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=30 October 2014|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/10/29/witch-brews-controversy-salem/jSXUTWGRFilxNw9RqArWNP/story.html|accessdate=15 November 2014}}

"he had a spectacular crash on his Segway when one of the wheels magically flew off, as if an occult hand had reached down from above and removed it. Or he hit a curb too fast

//The Associated Press">The Associated Press from 1991 to 2006 by Jay Sharbutt, Scott Williams, Eric Fidler, John Skoyles, and Joann Loviglio

• {{cite news|title=FBI's Untold Stories Told, James Earl Jones Seeks A Few Laughs|author=Jay Sharbutt|agency=The Associated Press|date=26 September 1991}}

"As the show wears on, your eyelids may slam shut, as if tugged by an occult hand.

• {{cite news|title=Bruce Greenwood and the Picture that Put 'Nowhere Man' on the Run|author=Scott Williams|agency=The Associated Press|date=26 January 1996}}

"Veil became the pawn of a conspiracy so vast it's as if an occult hand had plucked him out of our reality and dropped him into a private nightmare."

• {{Citation |last=Fidler |first=Eric |date=23 March 1998 |title=Sound Bites: Audio Reviews: "Pilgrim" (Reprise) - Eric Clapton |work=Associated Press Newswires}}

"When he plays the blues, it is as if some occult hand is guiding his hand over the guitar, channeling the essence of the blues through Clapton."

• {{cite news|title=The 'hermit' emerges in Calvino's writings|author=John Skoyles|agency=The Associated Press|date=21 April 2003}}

"It is as if an occult hand placed Calvino in our country so we could appreciate our own eccentricities."

• {{cite news|title=Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child collaboration continues with new novel|author=Joann Loviglio|agency=The Associated Press|date=26 June 2006}}

"After venturing through museum catacombs and rooms that held everything from whale eyeballs to flesh-eating beetles feasting on animal carcasses, it was as if an occult hand led them to the hall of Cretaceous dinosaurs.

//The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette">The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette from 1993 to 2004 by Paul Greenberg and Kane Webb

• {{Citation |last=Greenberg |first=Paul |authorlink=Paul Greenberg (journalist) |date=28 May 1993 |title=Warren G. Clinton's Bad Week |work=Tulsa World |page=A12}}

"It was as if an occult hand was at work, or maybe a screenwriter for one of Mel Brooks' slapstick comedies."

• {{cite news|title=The anarchists' convention|author=Paul Greenberg|newspaper=The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|date=28 September 1994}}

"It's as if an occult hand had reached into newspaper offices across the country and assembled a whole menagerie of opinionators, from the ring-tailed roarers to the loyal meeks."

• {{cite news|title=Hillary: The latest production|author=Paul Greenberg|newspaper=The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|date=13 February 2000}}

"Then there's the care Hillary Clinton, Esq. took with those disappearing billing records, which had the strangest way of appearing years later in the White House--as if an occult hand were moving them about."

• {{cite news|title=COLUMNISTS: Advice from the past For a still new president|author=Paul Greenberg|newspaper=The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|date=3 October 2001}}

"As if by an occult hand, the following correspondence was delivered to the White House mail room yesterday:"

• {{cite news|title=EDITORIALS : Harry Potter goes free A federal case for muggles|newspaper=The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|date=28 April 2003}}

"And now, as if by an occult hand, Harry himself has been freed."

• {{cite news|title=No harm, no foul|author=Paul Greenberg|newspaper=The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|date=16 June 2004}}

"The Dan Ryan and Eisenhower Expressways would be overrun with stalled vehicles, as if an occult hand had just emptied the Loop.

• {{cite news|title=COLUMNISTS One helluva trailer|author=Kane Webb|newspaper=The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|date=20 June 2004}}

"As if by an occult hand, they appear-mama, papa, and baby."

//The Washington Times">The Washington Times from 1996 to 1998 by Rex Bowman, Sean Scully, Ronald J. Hansen, and Jim Keary

• {{Citation |last=Bowman |first=Rex |date=7 November 1996 |title=The winner is ... or is it? Miscount makes pair sweat it out |work=The Washington Times |page=C5}}

"And on Tuesday, as if an occult hand were meting out justice to the senator, Mark Warner seemed poised to make the same comeback."

• {{Citation |last=Scully |first=Sean |date=7 November 1997 |title=Barry vs. Plotkin |work=The Washington Times |page=C8}}

"It was as if an occult hand had reached down to throw beleaguered Democrat Donald S. Beyer Jr. a wee crumb on an otherwise bleak night."

• {{cite news|title=Meter running out on free parking in the District Contractor installs first new machines|author=Ronald J. Hansen|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=20 February 1998}}

"It was as if an occult hand had delivered a cold slap of reality to the efforts of D.C. Chief Management Officer Camille Cates Barnett, who hopes to make the parking system work again."

• {{Citation |last=Keary |first=Jim |date=2 April 1998 |title=Cops corner shotgun-toting man on his way to register with police |work=The Washington Times |page=C5}}

"But even with that explanation, it was as if an occult hand swept him away - into handcuffs and into the back seat of a police cruiser."

//Stars and Stripes (newspaper)">Stars and Stripes March 28, 2002 by David Allen

• {{Citation | title=Rain-hungry Okinawa may face water rationing if dry weather continues |author=David Allen | date=28 March 2002}} :"It was if an occult hand swept rain clouds Okinawa's way."

//The Virginian-Pilot">The Virginian-Pilot in 1997 by Larry Maddry

• {{cite news|title=Amazing new fabric fits notoriously messy eater|author=Larry Maddry|date=19 March 1997}}

"The fact is a food item which seems inert in a glass container - cocktail sauce for shrimp is a good example - has been known to sail as far as 15 feet to where I stand and hit the sleeve of my coat as though tossed by an occult hand."

//The Washington Post">The Washington Post in 1997 by Linton Weeks

• {{Citation |last=Weeks |first=Linton |date=5 June 1997 |title=Spares and Strikes |work=The Washington Post |page=C05}}

"It was as if an occult hand had guided the black sphere down the narrow lane and into the triangle of pins."

//The Post-Standard">The Post-Standard in 2000 by an anonymous author

• {{cite news|title=Look out for another emu roaming Oswego county|newspaper=The (Syracuse) Post-Standard|date=12 October 2000}}

"As if moved by an occult hand, phantom emus keep popping up in Oswego County."

//Star-Tribune">Star-Tribune in 2001 and 2002 by Eric Hanson and Kristin Tillotson

• {{Citation |last=Hanson |first=Eric |date=15 July 2001 |title=These books rock `Fargo Rock City' lauds metal as refuge for teens |work=Star Tribune |page=15F}}

"It was as if an occult hand had taken Chuck Klosterman's radio, tuned away from the Top 40 ear candy of Duran Duran and the Stray Cats, and tuned into the satanic debauchery of Motley Crue."

• {{cite news|title=Women who get too much ; Is "Sex and the City" bashed because it's a bad show, or because its characters behave badly?|author=Kristin Tillotson|newspaper=Start-Tribune|date=3 February 2002}}

"It was as if an occult hand had reached down and given the nation's television critics a pinch on the tush."

//The Bangkok Post">The Bangkok Post from 2002 to 2007 by Wanda Sloan

• {{cite news|title=HOME REVIEW - CAT ready to do the amazing digital divide|newspaper=The Bangkok Post|date=27 February 2002}}

"Mr Charoen said he never interfered in such a minor business venture, but it was as if an occult hand had touched the plaza and every vendor suddenly promised to sell only legal software, movies and music."

• {{cite news|title=THE SLOAN RANGER; The battle to keep updated|author=Wanda Sloan|newspaper=The Bangkok Post|date=25 February 2004}}

"A curious and concerned reader named Joe clicked on "Tools" and then "Windows Update" and found himself transported as if by an occult hand to WindowsUpdate.Microsoft.com—where he was confronted by a staggering 22 update packages for Windows XP and a staggering lack of instructions on what to do about it."

• {{cite news|title=HOME REVIEW; Plaza to get high-tech dust-off|newspaper=The Bangkok Post|date=11 August 2004}}

"Greenpeace campaigner Patwajee Sri-suwan denied removing anything from the centre; by incredible coincidence, as if by an occult hand, Greenpeace found a papaya tree 60km from the research site, no idea how it got there."

• {{cite news|title=HOME REVIEW; TOT Corp shows a lust for loot|newspaper=The Bangkok Post|date=18 August 2008}}

"Finally, as if by an occult hand, there it was out on the table, your TOT Corp coming clean;"

• {{cite news|title=HOME REVIEW; A head rolls at TOT|newspaper=The Bangkok Post|date=4 July 2007}}

"it was almost as if some occult hand had guided the convenient contract issuance."

Others

• {{Citation |last= Flanders |first=Patrick |date=10 September 2018 |url=https://www.lacework.com/privilege-escalation-and-a-proposal-for-acceptable-exclusion/ |title= Privilege Escalation and a Proposal for Acceptable Exclusion

"Privilege escalation acts as if an occult hand had reached down and simply placed an unwarranted person in the midst of juicy storehouses of data."

• {{Citation |last= Hongoltz-Hetling |first=Matt |date=28 August 2016 |url=http://www.vnews.com/Five-years-after-Tropical-Storm-Irene-4322452 |title=Irene's Impact Still Felt Five Years Later |work=Valley News }}

"looked like an occult hand had reached down and scrambled the lives of the park’s residents into a sodden and mud-coated shambles."

• {{Citation |last=Eglowstein |first=Howard |date=1 January 1990 |title=Dying Data |work=BYTE |volume=15 |issue=1 |page=42}}

"It's as if an occult hand had reached out and intentionally destroyed your data."

• {{Citation |last=Rogers |first=Dennis |date=3 August 1993 |title=Snug fat clothes and other realities of pre-boomers |work=The News & Observer |page=B2}}

"One morning last week, while pondering the daily question of khakis vs. jeans, it was as if an occult hand reached down and plucked the baggy green pants from the hanger and thrust them at me."

• {{Citation |last=Shinkle |first=Florence |date=14 February 1994 |title=Fated attractions: How our minds (and our glands) make us fall in love |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |page=1E}}

"It was as if an occult hand had pointed you out to each other."

• {{Citation |last=Crawford |first=Hal |date=27 January 1998 |title=Addiction To Gaming Still A Sordid Secret For Many |work=The West Australian |page=10}}

"As if an occult hand had slipped over his shoulder to assist, the little plastic shelf slides back into the machine and begins to whirr."

• {{Citation |last=Zachmeier |first=Aaron |date=28 June 2002 |title=Lake St. John Flotilla |work=The Natchez Democrat }}

"It’s as though an occult hand has dug a channel to the Mississippi River, allowing its raucous current to flow through the lake once again after centuries of separation."

• {{Citation |last=Sparber |first=Max |date=11 January 2012 |url=http://www.minnpost.com/max-about-town/2012/01/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-question-plagues-minnesota-artists|title=Should I stay or should I go?: The question that plagues Minnesota artists|work=MinnPost}}

"It is as if some occult hand were at work, discouraging the arts market."

• {{Citation |last=Marmorstein |first=Donna |date=6 January 2013 |title=Soliloquy: What's That Buzzing Sound |work=Aberdeen American News}}

"As if an occult hand moved her to action, she discovered the intercom worked both ways."

• {{Citation |last=Morgan|first=Thomas|date=14 June 2013 |title=2 guys in R.I. growing fungi for profit |work=Providence Journal}}

"DiPietro picked up a small instrument that monitored the CO2 level. “Getting up there,” he noted. A few minutes later, as if by the wave of an occult hand, an alarm rang."

• {{Citation |last=Purdy |first=Chase |date=29 June 2013|url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/2016674-12/roanoke-co-democrats-in-turmoil.html |title=Roanoke Co. Democrats in turmoil|work=The Roanoke Times |page=A1}}

"In Evans' recounting, it was as if an occult hand had swept him aside, replacing him with new leadership, in which Lang had been tapped to call the shots."

• {{Citation |last=Gonzalez |first=Tony |date=20 October 2013 |url=http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310200072&nclick_check=1|title=Offbeat appeal helps drive Lane Motor Museum|work=The Tennessean}}

"But as Lane began to apologize, the engine kicked in with a puff, as if an occult hand had turned the crank, and the crowd cheered."

• {{Citation |last=Murrieta |first=Ed |date=24 December 2013 |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/12/24/kitchen-performance-worth-admission.html?page=all|title=Performance at The Kitchen worth price of admission|work=The Sacramento Business Journal}}

"Servers work the room gracefully. Empty plates are removed and empty glasses are refilled as if by an occult hand; certainly beyond my notice and I tend to notice such things."

• {{cite news|last1=Ward|first1=Terence|title=Communication Breakdown In Rochester: Systems Go Down While Town Addresses Snow Protocols|url=http://www.gunkjournal.com/2016/01/14/news/1601144.html|accessdate=25 January 2016|work=Shawangunk Journal|issue=Vol. IX No. 2|publisher=Electric Valley Media, LLC|date=January 14, 2016|page=6|quote=Perhaps it was because Mercury is in retrograde, but it was as if an occult hand had scrambled all the communication in Rochester town offices on the very day that official business was to begin for the year.}}
• {{cite news|last1=Weiss|first1=Herb|title=Time to Hang Up on Phone Scammers for Good|url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/pawtucket-times/20180108/281754154714323|accessdate=23 January 2018|work=Pawtucket Times|issue= |publisher=RISN Operations Inc.|date=January 8, 2018|page=A,3|quote=Witnesses at the Senate Aging Committee’s hearing, also expressed concern with a recent change in federal law that allows private debt collectors, contracting with the IRS, to call Americans who owe back taxes. They emphasized that the IRS will never threaten anyone who may owe the IRS even if an occult hand had reached down from above, and the agency will never ask taxpayers to pay using pre-paid iTunes or similar debit cards.}}

//The Seattle Times">The Seattle Times in 2016 by Jennifer McDermott from The Associated Press

• {{cite news|title=Fans use Lovecraft’s fame to promote Providence’s weird side|author=Jennifer McDermott|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=15 March 2016|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/fans-use-lovecrafts-fame-to-promote-providences-weird-side/}}

"Some devotees have even reported feeling icy fingers on their arms and wrists, as if an occult hand had grabbed them."

References

Further reading

• {{Citation |last=Brinson |first=Linda |date=30 October 2005 |title=A Haunting Phrase: Getting eerie eight words into the text, past the eye |work=Winston-Salem Journal |page=21 |id={{Factiva|XWSJ000020051031e1au0000o}}}}
• {{Citation |last=Ethridge |first=Mark |year=2006 |title=Grievances |publisher=NewSouth Books |isbn=1-58838-192-7 |page=54}}
• {{Citation |last=Garfield |first=Bob |authorlink=Bob Garfield |last2=Greenberg |first2=Paul |author2link=Paul Greenberg (journalist) |title=Heavy-Handed Cult of Journalism |work=On the Media |publisher=NPR |year=2004 |url=http://www.onthemedia.org/yore/transcripts/transcripts_081304_cult.html |accessdate=2008-02-20}}
• {{Citation |last=Oatis |first=Jonathan |date=9 July 1999 |title=NetDestinations - Journalists' Hangout on the Net |work=Reuters News |id={{Factiva|lba0000020010907dv7904ojz}}}}
• {{Citation |last=Railey |first=John |date=28 May 2006 |title=Insider's rocky newspaper world is just exciting enough |work=Winston-Salem Journal |page=20 |id={{Factiva|XWSJ000020060529e25s0000q}}}}

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