Entry #690016, added on 03-11-10 @ 6:50 pm EST
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Yes, I like to hear ghost stories, and yes, I love reading them, too. This does not mean I'm a believer. In fact, what I'm usually looking for when reading about this subject matter is evidence that what I'm reading isn't utter crap. I like to read stories with dates and names. I like photographs that 'experts' cannot explain. I want to hear something that verges on believable.
I have read three books about hauntings in the last three days, while simultaneously reading 'The Joy Luck Club' (I've been wanting to read it forever and only recently figured out that the library lends the book for free), and have decided that a lot of ghost story tellers need a good talking to. First off, what's with all the 'ghost brides'? Seriously, how many women actually die on their wedding day? Every book had at least two phantasmic women in wedding dresses looking forlorn and confused, and this isn't remotely believable. Why can these brides never be identified? If they fall down a flight of stairs in a hotel on the day of their wedding, you'd think that old newspapers would have covered the story and included details like names and dates. None of the dead brides were identified and no supporting evidence was offered. Fail. Also, why does every ghost seem to wear a white gown? Is there a dress code in the hereafter?
Another thing is how these books tend to name the alleged dead and include these horrible stories of their respective endings, without knowing if the ghost in question actually bears any resemblance to the person they assume it is. They just take it at 'face value', even though there have been no faces to value. This makes me angry. Why tell everyone that the Prince George Hotel is haunted by Lily, the heartbroken sweetheart of a drowned sailor, who died when she accidentally caught fire when standing too close to a candle? I mean, the hotel can be researched, and yes, there was a fire, but no deaths were reported. Investigation of the facts is one of the fundamentals of journalism. Also, underestimating the intelligence of your readers is arrogant and insulting.
There is a television show that deals with the paranormal and they are currently looking for 'ghost stories' in the city in which I live. Even the local paper had a front page story about how the producers are here, willing to pay for stories they find credible. Everyone is talking about it, but even though M. has seen a child specter in our bedroom twice, I'm still inclined to think it was his imagination, as does he. In fact, everyone I know who has seen something 'paranormal' usually tries to rationalize what they've seen, mostly because it makes them look less 'crazy' and also because it calms their nerves. I can understand it.
Imagine my surprise, then, when a big, burly lumberjack type at school came over to the table where I was sitting that had the local newspaper scattered in sections all over it. He quietly sifted through the pages until he came to the story asking for personal accounts of ghost sightings, and he pulled a pencil from behind his ear and a notebook from his pocket and calmly wrote down all the contact information. When he was done, he smiled at me and moved away without a word. He is not the sort of person I could ever imagine believing in ghosts, much less telling people about it.
I'm intrigued.
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