I don't know when I became such a punk. Ever since my little host family convinced me to play the Ouija board I have not been able to sleep with the lights off. My 7 and 10-year-old house mates laugh hysterically at my fright and tell me that ghosts cannot hurt me. Or so they say. I mean, I'm not even supposed to be believing in ghosts, I'm from California! I thought ghosts lived in the South?
My aunt said the first time she saw a ghost, back in Illinois, was when she was 20 years-old. It was not biggie, she told me, just the former boss who apparently had failed to finish his duties at the insurance firm where she worked at the time. She said, "one Friday afternoon I saw a man come through the office and he was wearing a very elegant three-piece-suit. I thought to myself that he was rather over-dressed for the environment in which we worked. He passed by my desk and smiled at me. None of the bigwigs ever gave me the time of day, so I appreciated the man's kind gesture. The following Monday I checked my box and there was an invitation for a funeral service. On the front page was his picture. I was shocked that he had died and was curious to know what happened to him over the weekend. When I asked my co-worker she said that is had been cancer, although the man had actually passed away two weeks prior."
When I was a kid my mother used to say there was a ghost of a man from World War II in our house. When I told my friends they made fun of me so I vowed never again to talk about ghosts. But then in college I met a girl from the Philippines who told me that while living in Manila she had been attacked by vicious spirits who would shake her bed violently and cover her mouth so she could not scream. They even possessed the house maid and continued to plague the family until these spirits were expelled by a priest.
I have never seen a ghost although I still do not like to look at mirrors in the dark. As a matter of fact, when I was young I had a strange experience at a Christian Camp. One summer at the Salvation Army camp, our Christianly-challenged camp leader, Cindy, taught our group about Bloody Mary. She took us into the bathroom one night and made us look into the mirror and say 'Bloody Mary' three times. She swore that upon performing this task the British she-monster would appear. Although she failed to mention what would occur if the Bloody lady came for a visit. We did as we had been instructed and on the third recitation of the famous name, Cindy flashed a red light into the mirror which caused us all to scream and run flying back to our cabins. Well, at least I think that was Cindy who caused the red light to appear. She denied it, though.
Another time when I was 7 years old I was at my best friend's house and I noticed a strange book on the kitchen table. I couldn't really read at the time but when I asked what it was, her mother told me not to touch it since it was a book of witch craft. She said there was a spell to call the devil to one's house. In order to call the underworld ruler to our plane you had to do a few simple things. First, you had to draw a circle with chalk and sketch the Star of David in the middle. Then you had to take garlic and sprinkle it around the orbit. You had to stay inside the circle and read the incantation and once the devil appeared he couldn't get to you as long as you remained in the protected zone. Supposedly he would be required to answer your questions until you released him with the vanquishing spell. I don't know exactly what we were to question of the devil, perhaps on might have asked, " So, Mr. Devil. How's Dan doing? Can I offer you a cup of tea?" I told my friend's mother to prove she was a real Wicca but she said that the devil was busy.
Now here I am in West LA and I had to put up white Christmas lights. Okay, so they're night lights. Only because I cannot sleep with the 75 watt light on. The sane and sensible side of me thinks I am rediculous for even feeling this way. I mean, the Ouija board didn't even tell me anything useful. But then again, it might be trying to toy with my mind. My roommate told me to call on the nice spirits and to tell the evil ones to remain away. But that just made things worse, see, that means there are spirits here and now I am definately not turning the lights out. In the middle of the night when the urge to pee occurs I can barely reach the toilet without crashing into the walls as I refuse to open my eyes to even entertain vision in the dark.
This reminds me. When I was living in a dorm in Portugal, my friend Gaby said that there as a female ghost that was visiting her room. We all had our rooms at the University of Porto, and she said this non-human woman was trying to communicate with her. She never did tell me what it was she thought this woman was attempting to say, although Gaby said the woman would vanish from her room as quickly as she would appear. I don't know if I really believed that she saw a ghost, in fact, I thought she might have been dreaming. Still, it freaked me out. And, as hot as hell as it was that summer in Porto, I couldn't even turn off the lights to diminish the heat. At night when returning from a club I would practically run down the hall in fear that this female phantom would pop out of some Portuguese corner. I would be overcome with terror and I would repeat in my head over and over "this is Portugual" because "Portugal" doesn't sound synonymous with "ghosts". Had we been in Transylvania, I might have had a heart attack. However, I was hoping that if the ghost did appear, I would be able to negotiate with her. After all, I was fluent in her language, assuming she was a local spirit and not a speaker of some other unknown European tongue.
Honestly I don't know if these stories I've learned of have occurred or not. I think a lot of what people tell me are stories they have heard from somewhere else. But then again, fiction is born from a real source and I only pray that the real source doesn't come by my house when the lights are off...
My aunt said the first time she saw a ghost, back in Illinois, was when she was 20 years-old. It was not biggie, she told me, just the former boss who apparently had failed to finish his duties at the insurance firm where she worked at the time. She said, "one Friday afternoon I saw a man come through the office and he was wearing a very elegant three-piece-suit. I thought to myself that he was rather over-dressed for the environment in which we worked. He passed by my desk and smiled at me. None of the bigwigs ever gave me the time of day, so I appreciated the man's kind gesture. The following Monday I checked my box and there was an invitation for a funeral service. On the front page was his picture. I was shocked that he had died and was curious to know what happened to him over the weekend. When I asked my co-worker she said that is had been cancer, although the man had actually passed away two weeks prior."
When I was a kid my mother used to say there was a ghost of a man from World War II in our house. When I told my friends they made fun of me so I vowed never again to talk about ghosts. But then in college I met a girl from the Philippines who told me that while living in Manila she had been attacked by vicious spirits who would shake her bed violently and cover her mouth so she could not scream. They even possessed the house maid and continued to plague the family until these spirits were expelled by a priest.
I have never seen a ghost although I still do not like to look at mirrors in the dark. As a matter of fact, when I was young I had a strange experience at a Christian Camp. One summer at the Salvation Army camp, our Christianly-challenged camp leader, Cindy, taught our group about Bloody Mary. She took us into the bathroom one night and made us look into the mirror and say 'Bloody Mary' three times. She swore that upon performing this task the British she-monster would appear. Although she failed to mention what would occur if the Bloody lady came for a visit. We did as we had been instructed and on the third recitation of the famous name, Cindy flashed a red light into the mirror which caused us all to scream and run flying back to our cabins. Well, at least I think that was Cindy who caused the red light to appear. She denied it, though.
Another time when I was 7 years old I was at my best friend's house and I noticed a strange book on the kitchen table. I couldn't really read at the time but when I asked what it was, her mother told me not to touch it since it was a book of witch craft. She said there was a spell to call the devil to one's house. In order to call the underworld ruler to our plane you had to do a few simple things. First, you had to draw a circle with chalk and sketch the Star of David in the middle. Then you had to take garlic and sprinkle it around the orbit. You had to stay inside the circle and read the incantation and once the devil appeared he couldn't get to you as long as you remained in the protected zone. Supposedly he would be required to answer your questions until you released him with the vanquishing spell. I don't know exactly what we were to question of the devil, perhaps on might have asked, " So, Mr. Devil. How's Dan doing? Can I offer you a cup of tea?" I told my friend's mother to prove she was a real Wicca but she said that the devil was busy.
Now here I am in West LA and I had to put up white Christmas lights. Okay, so they're night lights. Only because I cannot sleep with the 75 watt light on. The sane and sensible side of me thinks I am rediculous for even feeling this way. I mean, the Ouija board didn't even tell me anything useful. But then again, it might be trying to toy with my mind. My roommate told me to call on the nice spirits and to tell the evil ones to remain away. But that just made things worse, see, that means there are spirits here and now I am definately not turning the lights out. In the middle of the night when the urge to pee occurs I can barely reach the toilet without crashing into the walls as I refuse to open my eyes to even entertain vision in the dark.
This reminds me. When I was living in a dorm in Portugal, my friend Gaby said that there as a female ghost that was visiting her room. We all had our rooms at the University of Porto, and she said this non-human woman was trying to communicate with her. She never did tell me what it was she thought this woman was attempting to say, although Gaby said the woman would vanish from her room as quickly as she would appear. I don't know if I really believed that she saw a ghost, in fact, I thought she might have been dreaming. Still, it freaked me out. And, as hot as hell as it was that summer in Porto, I couldn't even turn off the lights to diminish the heat. At night when returning from a club I would practically run down the hall in fear that this female phantom would pop out of some Portuguese corner. I would be overcome with terror and I would repeat in my head over and over "this is Portugual" because "Portugal" doesn't sound synonymous with "ghosts". Had we been in Transylvania, I might have had a heart attack. However, I was hoping that if the ghost did appear, I would be able to negotiate with her. After all, I was fluent in her language, assuming she was a local spirit and not a speaker of some other unknown European tongue.
Honestly I don't know if these stories I've learned of have occurred or not. I think a lot of what people tell me are stories they have heard from somewhere else. But then again, fiction is born from a real source and I only pray that the real source doesn't come by my house when the lights are off...
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