Dreaming What Ifs...

My Halloween Ghost Story - Part 3 FINAL

(Please see Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven't already)

So here we were living in a house with an extra cold room, objects disappearing and reappearing, toys going off in the middle of the night, and a frightful imaginary friend named Ooky Spooky. My husband and I joked about all the incidents and had rational explanations for everything. Even the figure I had been seeing pregnant was blamed on hormones. I didn’t want to believe any of it was true. I didn’t believe in ghosts. My husbands and I remained skeptics. However, two events changed my mind.

The first event happened after Ooky Spooky had quieted down. It happened to be a night when my parents were over visiting. They were asleep in our extra bedroom. My children shared the cold room (because it was bigger). My daughter woke up hungry and I went in, as usual, to feed her.

I always nursed my daughter while sitting on my son’s bed. There was a nightlight in the hallway that cast some light into the kid’s room. It was just enough for me to see. But this night when I sat down on my son’s bed I looked up and there was a shadow I had never seen before. It was the perfect outline of a person standing. A scream froze in my throat. I knew if I screamed everyone would come running, but the sane part of my mine wouldn’t allow that. I stared that shadow down daring it to move. I tried to rationalize the shadow and determine what was creating it.

Without blinking or moving my eyes from the shadow I lay my daughter back down and made my way to the light switch. With the light on I investigated every possible source. When I turned the light back off, the shadow was gone.

The second event that opened my mind to the possibility of ghosts happened on my last day in the house. A few months after the shadow figure my husband’s company asked us to move and we knew it was the right thing to do for our family. Our house sold after two days on the market and we were moving.

The day the movers came was our last day in the house. My children spent that day with my in-laws as I cleaned the house. As each room was emptied I was there to dust and vacuum. The movers left and I remained behind alone to finish cleaning. Only my cats were with me, shut up in the back bathroom.

I finished mopping the last bedroom. My heart lay a little heavy at the thought of leaving the home. Remember, even though we joked about the ghost, I never felt threatened by it. It was unnerving but docile. We had done some remodeling on the house which turned out wonderful. Most of all I loved that creek and the entertaining ducks. It was our home.

So, I had finished cleaning. All I needed to do was grab the cat carriers from outside and put the cats in them and then clean the bathroom. I grabbed my mop and bucket and headed out the front door. No sooner had I stepped outside when the front door SLAMMED closed behind me. I jumped with my heart pounding. A strong thought entered my mind, “Good Riddance”. But it wasn’t my thought.

When I retrieved the cats from the bathroom, the word “Scrambled” would describe my actions. I literally ran into the house with the cat carriers, stuffed my cats into them, and was back outside in less than a minute. On my way out the door I figured the bathroom wasn’t really that dirty. As I drove down the driveway and out to the street I remember thinking I was relieved to be leaving. The chills running down my back took a while to go away.

And just so you know – as soon as we moved into our new home (where we live now) all things STOPPED. The toys don’t turn on in the middle of the night. The cats don’t spook. Dogs only bark when the doorbell rings. I don’t wake up to seeing figures by the bed. All is quiet. I like quiet.

Last year we had some friends, Cyril and Mary, visit. My husband and I had never told anyone except family about the resident ghost. We didn’t want anyone to think we’d gone crazy. However, we went ahead and told them the tale and as we did my husband and I laughed and joked about it. After we were done our friends remained serious. They didn’t laugh.

“You know, “Mary said, “I didn’t tell you at the time but I didn’t like that house. It always seemed very cold and impersonal to me. This new house doesn’t have that feeling at all.”

Cyril agreed and added, “Your old house was very unfriendly.”

Even now looking back at our time living there, it’s not the house I miss but the 1.3 acres. I miss the creek and the ducks that lived there. The house, cold room, and Ooky Spooky are happily now just a memory.

And that is my ghost story – Happy Halloween.

My Halloween Ghost Story - Part 2

(Please Read Part 1 for the beginning)

My imagination was running out of control. I was starting to see things everywhere in my house. I would just catch glimpses of color or spot the tail-end of what looked like something going around a corner. The hair would stand-up on the back of my neck for no reason. The cats would spook over nothing. The dogs would suddenly look up and investigate a spot.

Then my son’s toys started going off in the middle of the night. I'd wake from a dead sleep to hear his Ball-Blast running. It was happening constantly. I figured the toys were sensitive to touch and the cats must be setting them off.

I knew I was going crazy when one night I woke up and saw a figure standing in front of my bed. When I blinked, it was gone. Yet, I screamed and dove under the covers and into my husband. He reassured me everything was all right, but I wasn’t so sure.

It was about this time I felt that I had gone from a sane emotion-less woman to a complete hysterical lunatic. I blamed it all on pregnancy hormones.

The closer the time came for my daughter to be born, the more I saw at night. Each time my eyes opened there would be that figure; Sometimes across the room and other times right next to my bed. Each time it would just evaporate into air as I blinked my eyes awake. Thus began a nighly ritual and I began to expect it.

When my daughter was born things quieted for a few months. Of course when I woke up from sleep I wasn't looking for a shadowy figure but reaching out for my daughter. I was relieved but should have known better.

One day when my daughter was about three months things started up again. My son came screaming out of his bedroom, frightened. I asked him what was wrong.

“Ooky Spooky scared me.”

He recently had a new imaginary friend named “Ooky Spooky” (I thought he had picked it up from the tv show “Rolie Polie Olie”). Ooky Spooky lived in the brand new cedar chest that my daughter had received as a gift.

I reassured my son he was okay. “If Ooky Spooky scares you, don’t play with him anymore.”

Yet, my son wouldn’t go near the cedar chest. He kept telling us that it was Ooky Spooky’s home. I knew something was amiss. Imaginary friends are a safe outlet for children, not something to frighten them. I finally had to inform Ooky Spooky that he was no longer welcome at our house to play. That seemed to put a stop to Ooky's movements but my son kept his distance from that chest for some time.

(Read the Exciting Conclusion in Part 3 )

I interrupt my Halloween Ghost

I interrupt my Halloween Ghost Story for this important message:

Please go check out the Blogging Chicks Carnival hosted by none other than the ABSOLUTELY MOST FABULOUS Robin at Pensieve.

Please Come back Monday and Tuesday for my exciting continuation and conclusion of my Halloween Ghost Story!!!!

My Halloween Ghost Story - Part 1

The house was on my walking route. I’d see the white one-level ranch home almost every day. I don’t think it was the house that I fell in love with but the 1.3 acres it sat on. A small creek ran through the property attracting ducks and other wildlife. The street was a quiet one and it always seemed so peaceful to me.

When the house went on sale I was intrigued and grabbed a flyer from the realtor box. It was out of our price range. My husband and I were newlyweds and living in a beaten up 850 sq foot home that had been a rental prior to my husband purchasing it from his parents. It needed a lot of work. We both knew we needed something bigger and were on the lookout for a new home in the area.

Over the next six months I watched the little ranch home drop in price. Then one day the For Sale sign was gone. I was a little disappointed. A week later, a new sign was up with a price at the top of our range.

I called the realtor and that evening my husband and I were inside the house. We were both intrigued. The wood floors, newer carpeting and 1.3 acres had to be ours. We bought that home and moved in a month later. The house had been empty for almost a year, yet the owners had kept it maintained with love.

We met the owners one day before moving in; A little old couple who had built the home in the 60’s. They had raised two children and spent almost forty years in the house. But the home had become too much for them. The yard was too big for their aging bodies. It was time for them to downsize. They hadn’t wanted to move, but needed to.

My husband and I were so happy. This little house was a dream to us, or so we thought. Little did we know that some things seemed too good to be true.

Not long after we moved in strange things began to happen. At first it was little stuff. Small things would go missing and then reappear exactly where they should have been in the first place; a brand new Serving Fork disappeared only to show up again two months later in the correct spot. Things found their way out of the garbage can and back onto shelves; an empty bathroom spray made it across the house and back onto the toilet tank. Towels went missing and favorite articles of clothing disappeared.

At first we figured things had disappeared during our move. Then, we blamed each other for the missing items. Soon my husband and I joked half-seriously that we had a ghost. We laughed.

I became pregnant with our son. We turned one of the bedrooms into a nursery. We hadn’t noticed before how cold the room was. After he was born I had to keep a space heater in there. That heater ran all winter and spring. Only during the heat of mid-summer was it put away. And even then, the room remained a comfortable temperature while the rest of the house would be sweltering.

My husband traveled a lot and even with my dog in the house there was always a sense of unease. I would spot objects from the corner of my eye that would be gone when I double-looked. I’d catch something peeking around the corner, but then it would be gone. I played this up to my overactive imagination. I wasn’t a big believer in ghosts and since I didn’t really feel threatened found no reason to be concerned.

Then I became pregnant with my daughter and events took a different turn. (See Part II - for the continuing Saga)

Merriam-Webster Online defines COMFORT as:

Merriam-Webster Online defines COMFORT as:

to give strength and hope to : CHEER. to ease the grief or trouble of : CONSOLE

A special thanks to Susan - words cannot express the comfort you have given me. And to everyone else - I am overwhelmed by the support you all have shown. Thank you. It does my heart good!!

My Favorite Halloween Things

Sunrunner really loves Halloween. She is a woman after my own heart. When I saw that she had posted her 13 FAVORITE things about this fun holiday, I decided it was a great idea and had to do the same. After my really crappy day yesterday (I'm still sad, but trying to cope) - I decided I needed a really good pick-me-up. And what's better than Chocolate? - Getting Chocolate on Halloween!! So here it is:

THIRTEEN FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT HALLOWEEN

#1 - Pretending to be something I am not. I am the Queen of the Damned, pale-faced with one drop of blood that escaped my red lips. I am a hardened Woman Convict, bruised and scarred with tattoos of my victims written neatly across my knuckles. I am the shy Geisha, bowing in honor to those around me. I am kick-ass Indiana Jones, wearing my signature whip and sweat-stained hat. My face is toughened by years in the sun.

#2 - Eating Candy, especially the chocolate variety.

#3- Cleaning the Pumpkins. I reach in and grab the slimy goop. Orange seeds squish between my fingers; the sensation of slime and childhood memories all in one. My shirtsleeves are rolled to my elbows. My hands and arms turn orange and sticky. The pumpkin smell permeates the air around me.

#4 - Carving the Jack O' Lanterns. With careful concentration I insert my knife deep into the orange flesh and cut precision strokes until the perfect face has been carved.

#5 - Feeling the cold. As a child, Halloween night was crisp and cold. I would breathe out white steam and then stamp my feet to keep my toes warm. My mittened fingers carried the bag and at each opened door a tiny bit of warmth escaped, reminding me to hurry up. A warm home waited.

#5 - Halloween is the Kick-Off to the rest off the holiday season. It is the official start. Thanksgiving, My birthday, Christmas, and then New Years follow.

#6 - The Thrill of Fright arrives on Halloween night. I am an admitted "chicken-shit" when it comes to scary movies, but still enjoy the small adrenaline rush from the scariness of Halloween. (I'll watch Aliens and Blade Runner instead of Poltergeist and Exorcist)

#7 - Decorating my home with witches, misting skulls, flying ghosts, and shrieking monsters. Orange luminarios light the way to the front door and white sticky cobwebs dare visitors to enter.

#8 - Counting the CHOCOLATE riches- As a child I sat on the floor in my costume and dumped my spoils from the bag. The candy was counted, prioritized, and stacked ready for trading. Girls didn't have baseball cards, but we did have Halloween candy!!

#9 - Treating the littlest ghouls, princesses, Power Rangers, and Harry Potters to delicious delights. I watch eager eyes light up as favorite pieces are placed into bags.

#10 - Anticipating the doorbell. I watch from the window for signs of flashlights and listen for the sounds of childish laughter. I hear footsteps and murmurings outside my door and then open it up to surprised faces. It is not a normal woman who greets the children, but something else.

#11 - Lighting the night with flickering candles. Homes with pumpkin-cast light fill evening's darkness with a welcome. Darkened homes disappoint the senses with their gloom.

#12 - Celebrating youth and imagination. Halloween is a time for creativity and originality. Wild thoughts bring costumes from nothing.

#13 - Sharing the moment with my family. We design, carve, decorate, and plan together. When chocolate is brought home we rejoice as one. Halloween is a good thing.

A Defining Moment

Merriam-Webster Online defines Disappointment as:

to fail to meet the expectation or hope of

Loss is described as: the act of losing possession

Bad news brings on both of these for me today. Without getting into specifics my heart is broken.

I will find solace in the faces of my children and the arms of my husband. Today I cry, tomorrow I will move on.

Did I Say I Liked Autum the Best?

One Leaf Pile Down -

(poor Zoe - there's no time to play "Fetch" when there are leaves to be raked)

5,862,749,533 more leaves to go


(Hurry up and come down already. I have more important things to do in November, like write a book.)

I'll Never Know

I've seen a few odd things over the past few weeks that have left me wondering about them. I will probably never know the outcome nor the actual events leading up to them. I am curious and that curiosity has led me to write about them.

#1 - Driving along the back roads near my house, I spotted a white, unmarked delivery van parked in a turn-out alongside the road. The driver had the back door open and was removing two small packages. A nice sporty Volvo wagon pulled up in front of the van. The van driver walked toward the Volvo. I never saw the resulting exchange, but that entire scene really sparked my imagination.

Why was the van unmarked? Why were they meeting on the back roads? What was in the packages? Hmmm....answers I will never know.

#2 - Along the highway is a dumpy little duplex. It sits out in the open, void of neighbors, landscaping, or signs of life. A chain-link fence seperates the home from the road and the fields behind it. I have driven by this house numerous times and assumed it was empty. Then, last week, there was a small beaten-up Toyota truck parked in front. That alone seemed out of the ordinary, so I looked closer. The front door of one duplex was open wide. A man came out, completely covered in a white cover-up. Beside the door sat two white buckets marked with Hazardous MSDS signs. I caught a brief look inside the home and saw what appeared to be two rows of laboratory countertops.

Was this a Meth House in the middle of a clean-up? Or is this duplex an unmarked, secret scientific laboratory? What was in the buckets? Who was the man coming out of the home?

#3 - Another spot along the same highway (but ten miles in the opposite direction) is a large horse pasture. It runs along the river, so one side is very wooded. There is one area on the property that is fenced off with tall sheet metal creating a square area approximately 40x40 yards. This square is surrounded by trees as well, creating a fort-ish look to it. I have speculated a lot about this weird looking fence. Well, yesterday when I drove by, one section of the fencing was removed and I could see into a small portion of it. There was tons of junk ranging from furniture to gas cans to tires. I was quite amazed.

Why would someone store these things in a roofless sheet-metal square fence? Who does this belong to? Is it a junkyard and they decided to block it off from public viewing? Did some guys wife tell him she was tired at looking at all that junk - so he just fenced it in?

I want to know. My imagination has been running wild coming up with possible scenarios for each. But, alas, a mystery they will remain. Perhaps that is for the better. Some things are better left unknown.

Blogging Chicks Carnival - Mistakes* UPDATED

No, this is not a Mistake. Your eyes are not deceiving you. I am hosting the Blogging Chicks Carnival this week and am delighted to share some wonderful writers with you. This week’s theme is: Mistakes. We all make them. We all laugh and cry over them. (Some more than others!)

Now enjoy reading about some of ours - I promise, this won't be a mistake!

** Due to Blogger Technicalities, I was unable to post two last minute entries. I apologize to both of them - they are added to the bottom now.

Laurel Wreath talks about personal responsibility when we do make mistakes.

Two birthdays and a great grandfather's confusion leads to a mistake as narrated by Pamela at The Dust Will Wait.

Kailani says to "stop living in regret before you regret not living" in A Pink Diary

Beth writes how to make a mistake is to live life.

In Writer Cramps, Gattina asks what are mistakes?

In Dreaming What Ifs….Karmyn R realizes that sometimes children do listen to everything their parents tell them. That’s why it is important to be careful what you say. It could be a big mistake if you don’t.

Julie at Another Chance Ranch learned from her honest, but big, mistake. It certainly won’t happen again.

Anna Venger ponders Mistakes. Some people blow them off with a flippant or devil-may-care attitude while others live in horror of actually making one. And yet mistakes are inevitable.

Momma Duck tells how she got her babies to sleep through the night

Polly at Life is a Buffet asks, "After Dinner Mint Anyone?"

CyberCelt shares a major mistake made by Edelman Worldwide advertising agency on behalf of their client, Wal-Mart . . .

Shauna writes about her Mistake and how she tries to correct it.

**The Hodgepodger looks back at some mistakes she wishes she had NEVER made.

**Obvlivious Maven shares her secret on how not to make mistakes.

*If someone sent a post and it did not get entered, please e-mail me again and I will correct that horrible mistake!