Examining THOUGHTFORM Movie and Bizarre Death of Olivia Mabel on After Hours AM/America’s Most Haunted Radio Filmmakers from Elftree Media talk real-life mystery

On tonight’s mysterious and disturbing episode of After Hours AM/America’s Most Haunted Radio, 9-11pE, with hosts Joel Sturgis and Eric Olsen, we will be examining the bizarre real-life death of Olivia Mabel, whose story is being turned into the short horror film Thoughtform by Elftree Media.

In the 9pE hour, Joel and Eric will review the week’s paranormal and peculiar news, then at 10pE we will be joined by Thoughtform filmmakers Ian McNeny (producer, editor), Joe Moralez (producer, sound), and Martyn Eaden (writer, director).

The bizarre and lonely death of Olivia Mabel is the only unsolved demise in the history of the quiet north Texas town of Celina. In addition to the mystery surrounding her death, there is shocking evidence that Olivia Mabel may have actually constructed a “thought form” entity out of her grief over her son’s passing, and this entity may have contributed to her death.

Tragedy

Olivia Mabel was a doting mother to Aiden and wife to Travis living on a sprawling property called the Footlights Ranch about an hour north of Dallas. Her world came crashing down in 1990 when seven year-old Aiden was found dead in a pond on the property. Overcome with grief and guilt, Olivia retreated from her work, friends, church, and husband, leading to their divorce in early 1991. Utterly alone in the world, she was last seen alive in September, 1991.

Two and a half years later, on February 27, 1994, police responded to silent 911 calls from the Mabel home.

Dead at the Altar

When they arrived on the scene, hearing no response, officers broke down the bowed door. What they found shocked and horrified them. They entered what felt like an abandoned house, choked with dust, long neglect, and dead air. Searching the house, as they entered Aiden’s incongruously tidy room, they found Olivia dead in a nightgown and slippers, perched on a rocking chair in front of a crude altar to her son, clutching a stick figure doll in his image. Investigators estimated she had been dead for months.

Upon the “altar” — a trunk covered with a “child’s bedsheet” — was a photo of Aiden; hand drawn images of Aiden; a profusion of messages handwritten to Aiden by Olivia; personal possessions of his including a baseball glove, teddy bear, and a pair of shoes; an urn containing ashes; candles; flowers. Affixed to the front of the altar was ceremonial writing in a language lead investigator Terry Goldscher didn’t recognize, which turned out to be Sanskrit. The writing translated to English as “construct” or “to build.”

The Tulpa of Olivia Mabel

Based on the altar, the Sanskrit, the doll, the isolation, the obsession, many have speculated that Olivia Mabel managed to channel her momentous grief into the creation of an actual entity, known in Tibetan Buddhism as a tulpa, or in English, a “thoughtform.” A tulpa is described as a being created through “sheer spiritual or mental discipline alone,” or “magic formations generated by a powerful concentration of thought.”

Did a tulpa kill Olivia Mabel?

Thoughtform

With ties to the Celina area and intrigued by the mystery, the filmmakers and podcasters at Elftree Media seek to tell the story in short horror movie format. They have an intriguing Kickstarter project in the works with the rather modest goal of raising $10k to make the film, called Thoughtform. They have an excellent team together for the project, and given the incredible story, I hope we get to see what they come up with.

“Thoughtform” Teaser from ElfTree Media on Vimeo.

(all images courtesy OliviaMabel.com)