Home Dark Home

My parents make jokes about their house.   They smile and laugh and tell stories like they only half mean them because they don't want to believe.  My father is an engineer and even when confronted by the unexplainable he tries to break it down to concrete laws of physics and motion.  Yet,  something entirely unexplainable lives in their house.  I thought it was poltergeist activity, but there is more to it than that.

I went home tonight.  My son is afraid to go to the bathroom there.  I have to walk with him and hold his hand.  My husband felt physically ill as soon as he entered the house and when he left he described a weight being lifted from his chest.  My children were playing with my ghost hunting kit a few months ago there and my parent's house lit the EMF up.  It has never reacted to much of anything before, including power lines.  My father's favorite story, which he struggles to explain, is the night in which some boxes stacked on one end of the room all fell over on a ping pong table across the room and crushed it.  The problem is that the table was strong and the boxes were light and there is no way the boxes could have created enough force to crush the table.  He hates that he can't explain it.  He and my mother also can't explain the noises that keep them up at night or the night terrors that often haunt those that sleep in the house.

I lived in the house for a while and was oftened tormented by bad dreams and boughts of depression.  I'm a happy person and have never had feelings like this since.  Other family members describe similar things.  My mother also describes feeling as if something malevolent has been sitting on her chest at night, crushing her.  I've felt this before as well.

I love going home and seeing my family.  I love the warmth of home and whatever is in the house isn't strong enough to harm anyone, but every once in a while its presence is more clear,  more defined and then I shutter.  I shutter knowing that there is something just wrong about the home my parents live in,  that I always think of as home.

Editing Is Hard Work

Well, I did it. Having received some excellent encouragement from womagwriter and Jarmara Falconer I edited my piece for New Love Stories and sent it back. Thanks for that.
My problem was that since I first submitted the story a year ago they have reduced their wordcount requirements. So not only did I have to add some element to the story, I had to cut down 4700 words to 3800. The editing was harder than the original writing and now my brain hurts.

Alice in Phisherland

From: Alice Bickford
Subject: Dear Counsel,
Date: June 11, 2010 2:49:59 AM PDT
To: undisclosed recipients: ;
Reply-To: abjj@gala.net

Dear Counsel,

My name is Alice Bickford. I am contacting your firm in regards to a divorce settlement with my ex-husband Paul Harmson).Who resides in your jurisdiction in USA. I am currently on assignment in Japan. We had an out of court Agreement (Collaborative Law Agreement) for him to pay $650,450.00 plus legal fees. He has only paid me $50,000 since the agreement.

I am hereby seeking your firm to assist me in collecting the balance from him. He has agreed already to pay me the balance but it is my belief that a Law firm like yours is needed to help me collect payment from my ex-husband Mr Paul Harmson or litigate this matter if he fails to pay as promised.

Sincerely,
A.Bickford

Summer Fun! Ghostly, Gastly, and Grim Books for Summer Nights

As I drift into summer,  I find my focus drifting too.   Books are always my favorite part of summer.  Sitting by the pool or at the beach with a good book makes the rest of the year seem less cold.  Here are some of my recent favorites.  Some of these are ghost stories, others real stories of deadly serial killers, and some just silly.

The Devil in the White City   This is a gorgeous book.   It tells three stories that run parallel to each other in Chicago history.   The first story is the story of the shocking disturbing serial killer H.H. Holmes.  He was Jack the Ripper's contemporary and he was twice as evil as Jack.  In fact,  he makes Hanible Lector look like a pussy cat.  H.H. Holmes was real and some say he killed as many as 200 people with a cruel efficiency.  He built a hotel, a castle, designed for no other purpose than to harvest, kill, and dispose of his human victims.   He kills women and children with cold blood lust and manages to use the times to avoid capture completely until he is caught perpetrating a life insurance scam.  His story is juxtaposed with the building of the 1893 Chicago World Fair that brought together the greatest artistic and scientific minds of the time to create a city of transient and unsurpassed beauty.  Within this city,  alternating current was established as the norm, the Ferris wheel was invented, shredded wheat was introduced,  and the first electric chair was seen.  The third story is the story of an unimportant madman who's psychotic tendencies bring a dark close to the brilliance of the white city.  It is a great read and made me love Chicago all the more.

The Thirteenth Tale  This is the story of a mysterious writer who has made up twelve stories about her life.  None of these stories are the same.  One final writer goes to capture the thirteenth tale of this mysterious writer and finds the story laced was ghosts, fires, and strangeness that could only be true.    This haunting gothic story is ghostly and just captivating enough to make it perfect summer read.

Divine Misfortune  This a a very silly story of a world where gods are bought like old bikes on Craig's List.    A delightful couple finally decide to commit to a god.  They  find their god on an Internet site.  His name is Lucky and he is the raccoon god of luck.   From the bizarre to the hilarious this story turns gods and religion into a good laugh for those days that really need them.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies  This book is essentially just Pride and Prejudice.  If you love Jane Austin, you'll probably like this book.  Jane Austen has just been made a little bit more exciting by the addition of zombies.   I really can't say to much more, except that it was surprisingly fluid and engaging.   It is a definite way to make you summer just a little bit more fun.

Happy Reading!

How to Help Kids Who See Ghosts

Months ago,  when I first started blogging,  a fellow blogger name autumnforest offered her advice and support to me as a novice.   She suggested blog topics for me and offered me many helpful tips.  Her blog,  Ghost Hunting Theories, is very popular and I wanted to take all her advice.  One of her first suggestions was that I use my background in psychology to address how to help children with paranormal encounters.

I wasn't sure what to make of this idea.  I have worked in child therapy for a couple of years and although I don't anymore,  I never once saw a child that that said this was an issue.  It was possible this is because parents always tell children there is no such thing as ghosts.  This is the only acceptable answer for most adults whose children are afraid of ghosts.  Whatever the reason,  I had no answer for autumnforest's question of how to address children who see ghosts and after years of school I had to have some research to support anything I had to say.

Recently, I have found a wonderful book called Kids Who See Ghosts.  The book is written by Caron B. Goode and is very well researched and shows that she has a deep knowledge of child psychology, neuropsychology, and parapsychology.  In her book,  she carefully integrates research with case studies and stories told by adult psychics who had encounters with ghosts as children to create a picture of the best way to address children who see ghosts and have a fear of them.

She provides several suggestions for these children but the main points she emphasizes are these (in her words):

• understand that you don't have to believe in spirits to help children feel empowered and be able to deal with what they see.  An open heart and ear are all that's required.
• realize that empowerment means helping your child develop confidence and the ability to take action and be proactive in his or her environment.
• know that it is all right to observe your child's behavior in relation to seeing ghosts before taking him or her to a medical specialist.  Take notes, use logic, and be clear in reporting specific behaviors to your health care provider.
• understand that fear is a healthy response and helps children learn discernment and helps children transform fear into empowered actions.
• know that art, music, play and other expressive outlets are helpful for creative children that see ghosts.
• know that getting centered and grounded in nature also helps children who see ghosts
• know that martial arts teach children character and empowerment through movement
• know that dream journaling and stroytelling can be used to engage your child's creativity and openness.
• know that once a child or adult has contact with the alternate reality of other side, such as through a near-death experience or seeing ghosts,  the doorway seems to stay open.  The person appears connected unless he or she makes a definite choice to close that door.

Goode's book offers a wealth of advice and addresses many theories and this list is really just a small piece of the book, but if this is something that interests you,  it is definitely worth reading.

Dowling's Lawyer

From: ginadowling134@hotmail.com
Subject: Urgent Attention Needed Counsel
Date: June 8, 2010 12:16:28 AM PDT
To: undisclosed recipients: ;
Reply-To: ginadowling134@hotmail.com

Dear Counsel,

My name is Gina Dowling. I am contacting your firm in regards to a divorce settlement with my ex-husband Craig Stevenson).Who resides in your jurisdiction in USA. I am currently on assignment in Japan. We had an out of court Agreement (Collaborative Law Agreement) for him to pay $650,450.00 plus legal fees. He has only paid me $50,000 since the agreement.

I am hereby seeking your firm to assist me in collecting the balance from him. He has agreed already to pay me the balance but it is my belief that a Law firm like yours is needed to help me collect payment from my ex-husband Mr Craig Stevenson or litigate this matter if he fails to pay as promised.

Sincerely,
G. Dowling

Visiting Orlando's Greenwood Cemetery

Whenever I travel,  I make a point of visiting at least one local cemetery.  Each place's cemeteries are different from the next in a way that whispers of their unique histories and cultures.  Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando Florida is a picture of the swampy, old world.   The graves here are old and an entire section of the cemetery is dedicated their confederate dead.  The Spanish moss drips from the trees and tickles the moss covered tombstones with its delicate fingers.   The tombstones are decorated with different colors of moss and lichen that obscures the names on the stone itself.  The cemetery is beside a wetlands and it feels like it is part of a swamp.  It is a picture from an old book of a haunted cemetery and its ghosts make it worthy of the photo.

The Southeastern corner of the cemetery is said to be the most haunted.  Ghost lights and phantoms have been seen here and photos from this area are often cluttered with orbs.  The graves here are said to be used by local Santeria practitioners as part of their rituals.  One caretaker describes walking through this section of the cemetery and becoming lost.   An arm grabbed him and pulled him until he was back where he should be.