Haunting Master Class

Last time, we discussed imaginary friends that turn out to be not so imaginary. Yesterday at WraithStop™ while discussing an article titled "Cold Spots: Fort Delaware" I mentioned the "schism in ghost lore where there are photos of half seen figures not seen by the eye, but at the same time accounts of ghostly figures indistinguishable from the living until they disappear or do the impossible like passing into a wall." What I did not mention, because this is the more appropriate venue, is that there is a rules framework that brings together both of these elements and many others that don't necessarily seem to fit together. This does beg the question if it can just be that there are disparate haunting phenomena going on that do not interrelate. The answer is of course, yes, if you want it to be that way.

First let's look at the theories that make for a cohesive set of rules for ghostly manifestations. It starts with the idea that much of it comes down to energy, and some of it to the will of the spirits in question. It starts with a ghost hanging around unseen, watching things happen. At this base state it may or may not show up in a photograph, depending on how much energy it has. When it has enough energy it becomes visible to the naked eye with the translucency depending on how much energy. Other acts such as telekinesis require energy and may or may not impact on visibility. A ghost with enough energy can chose to remain unseen or reveal itself to someone even if it has no control over its current photogenic quality. Overarching, this all may be dependent upon whether it is an active, intelligent, spectre or a residual haunting played on a loop, or not dependent on that criteria at all.

It is certainly an option to have different kinds of ghosts and hauntings that each work off of their own rule sets with as much distance or overlap as desired. Poltergeists can be noisy mischievous spirits or they can be purely psychic effects of the living. Unintelligent hauntings can be echoes of the past or entities caught up in the energy of previous events. Intelligent ghosts can be earthbound spirits or conversely non-human spirits such as devils and non-corporeal species beyond our current understanding. There are other events that can be described as a haunting such as Shadow figures and people, doppelgangers, humans travelling astrally, black eyed kids and people, and watchers and thought forms, which are ghosts created by human belief. As with everything else your setting can incorporate whatever manners and meanings work for you.

Mood: educational.
Music: Thrills In The Night by Kiss and Wake The Dead by Alice Cooper.

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Of Friends Not There

I was watching a video series of ghost stories told partly by a narrator and partly by witness interviews. One of those fine shows complete with creepy recreations and lots of mood inducing music. I think I had known about a couple of the cases. As often happens some of the cases involve families with children. In some of these tales, before the phenomena becomes too frightening and out of hand one parent, or both, will hear one of their young children talking to their new imaginary friend. Imaginary friends are a somewhat common experience in the grand scheme of parenting. At least we are led to believe this is true. I cannot say for certain if it is a reality. All children anthropomorphise their toys. They pretend that they have all sorts of adventures with those physical if inanimate friends. What then of those children that go the step further to a completely unreal playmate?

I never had an imaginary friend of the non-corporeal type. I wouldn't want to say it was due to any lack of imagination. Real was real and imaginary was imaginary, but still better with something you could hang onto. Not to mention a friend that would not steer you into doing wrong and getting in trouble, because with that foreknowledge that pretend was only pretend you knew you were responsible for what if anything you imagined any particular toy saying. Now, you know this isn't a parenting blog, and not even really a nostalgia blog. The first line today also tells you where this is going. The child will have given their imaginary friend a name, and they tell bits of this friend's history to anyone who will listen. What comes as a surprise to the parents is that often the imaginary friend is significantly older than the child. This is the first warning bell.

The ghostly phenomena will become more and more apparent. The parents fear will get worse and worse. It takes a lot though to push a family out of it's home because it is a massive financial burden otherwise and it effectively always has been. That means people will put up with a lot because the other option is to live on the street or have two mortgages until you can offload the haunted house on some other unsuspecting person. Remember, don't get publicity for having a haunted home then turn around and try to sell the house without disclosing the haunting or the law will get you. Invariably, in researching the house's history it will be discovered that a former occupant that died in the house has the exact name and details as the child's imaginary friend. Cue very natural and expected freak out...

Mood: relaxed
Music: Slick Black Cadillac by Quiet Riot and When The Wild Wind Blows by Iron Maiden.

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