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Monday, March 07, 2005

Ghost Stories

On Friday Scaryduck posted his Haunted Holiday story, describing a ghostly encounter he and his family had. This has inspired me to write about our "ghost."

I share a house with some friends, however the residents of the house have changed a lot since my friends first moved in. The following was first noticed by the original crew before I moved in, but is still brought up once in a while to this day.

A while after my friends moved in they started to notice something, and they called this something "The Ghost."

The Ghost was never (that I know of) seen in person but would often show up in photographs. The photos were usually, but not always, ones that had been taken when there were a lot of people gathered in the living room. Not that it means anything, but when The Ghost showed up in pictures certain people would often say "I thought something was going on in that room" but they never said anything while the pictures were being taken.

The Ghost would appear as a floating apparition, a cloud, mist, or somesuch. The same "certain people" referenced above would often point to the cloud and start pointing out features. An eye here. A hint of a face. A dress. It made for an interesting Rorschach Test, but it was rare that there was anything recognizable in The Ghost, even with someone tried desperately to point them out.

No one ever seemed to notice that the more people, and indeed the more smokers, in the area at the time, the more likely The Ghost would make an appearance. But only if the pictures were taken using a camera with a flash. You see where this is going don't you...

I am convinced that The Ghost was a reflection of the flash off the smoke in the room. I am even more convinced after looking at some of the pictures again. [Editor:Unfortunately I don't have any in digital format at the moment, and we don't have a scanner, or I would post them. I'll see if I can't get one or two posted later though.] Of course, other people don't want to hear this. They want to believe there is an actual ghost in the house.

Let me just finish by saying I don't disbelieve in ghosts. I just don't believe that is what it was in this case.

2 comments:

  1. I've never seen a "ghost" in a picture. I am reliably informed that your house *is* haunted. There's a woman who was walking up and down the stairs all night the nights Kendra and Amy and I stayed in the living room. Per Amy. I can say, from my own observations, that there is something there, be it person, thing, or ambiance. Sufficiently so that I slept with my face toward the window and the sun coming up in my eyes, rather than flipping around so it'd be in front of me all night.

    And no, it never gets anywhere near your room. You are *way* too well warded for that.

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  2. Journey: I was talking about "the ghost" that has been seen by some of the people who have lived in this house. You know these people, and should have an idea about what they may or may not have seen...

    The "something" you mention has been mentioned before. But always by people from outside the house. I have not seen or experienced it personally so I did not comment on it.

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