G is for Ghosts

G is for Ghosts

I'm a believer in the after life. I'm a believer in souls and spirits. I'm a believer in ghosts. Despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence to prove this, I still believe.

I'm a sucker for all the pictures that claim to have captured ghosts on camera. I even believe I've captured orbs on camera. Yeah, they were faint and I had to play with the coloring to see them, but they were there.

 {Geez, I'm going through and trying to find the best picture for you and I'm finding stuff I hadn't even noticed before! Now I'm finding insane things in these pictures and I'm getting all worked up and excited...}

Observe. This is one is the easiest to see because the orbs are well rounded. It's also clear and not just smokey looking.

This picture was taken July 27, 2010 while on a ghost tour in Key West, Florida. The little blueish whitish circles are the orbs, which is a collection of energy. Basically a ghost in an small concentrated form instead of appearing physical. This happens if their energy isn't strong enough or they don't have a purpose to be in an apparant physical form.The only editing I did to this picture was brightening shadows because I didn't use a flash. Promise.

Okay, you got me. I'm a ghost-loving nerd. But I can't help it!

Do you believe?

Well if you believe the exist in reality or not, you have to agree that their element can make for a great story. This is what my current short story contest is about. Tell me about a ghost experience. It can be something that happened to you, or entirely fictional. It can be from the point of view of the ghost, or people interacting with the ghost, or becoming a ghost... Rules are just to include the ghostly element.

And you could win amazing prizes.

Homework Assignment: Read more about the contest and prizes, write the best short ghost story you can think of, email me what you came up with at rachelgiesel [at] hotmail [dot] com, and you might win unbelievable prizes!

Due Date: Friday April 15. You have one week left. So get going!

There aren't too many entrants yet, so you have an excellent chance at winning! What do you have to lose?

And for a special surprise, and perhaps a burst of inspiration. Here's a snippet from one of my favorite short stories that I've written.

This story is based off a ghost legend near where I live. I've attempted to see this ghost MULTIPLE times, and unfortunately I must conclude, it is only a myth.

But I'm obsessed with the idea of it. I get nervous butterflies every time I reach the location. I wait patiently and eagerly for the ghost to come. But he doesn't. Because he isn't real.

Anyways, the legend tells of a girl sneaking out to see her boyfriend. They aren't allowed to see each other for some reason so she must flash the lights of her car three times so the boyfriend knows it is safe to come over. He drives his motorcycle down the road to see her, but somehow dies. The ghost lingers because he was unable to reach her and he refuses to give up hope.

How did he die? That's where the myth gets quite twisted. Some say the girl's father got him and murdered him. Others say he just crashed his bike. I've also heard that he hit a little kid on a tricycle and they both died...

In my version, he just crashes.

In order to "see the motorcycle ghost," you must drive your car to the exact location which is on the corner of two roads in the middle of the country. Take the keys out of the ignition and flash your lights three times. Momentarily, a single headlight will be coming towards your car.

Yes, you do see a single headlight, sometimes.

No, it is not the ghost.

The road is extremely hilly and completely straight. For some reason, the way the road is paved causes normal car headlights to blend together and appear as one. This road is basically in the middle of no where, and appears to have infrequent traffic. But it is in fact highly trafficked, thus "the ghost light" comes towards you nearly every time.

Here's a piece of my interpretation if this story were to be real. This is from the perspective of Matthew, the boyfriend, as he is unknowingly living as a ghost.

Enjoy!

The Light - Matthew

"The darkness. The heavy weight of the night pushes on my aching shoulders. The earth’s gravity pulls my weak and naïve body into its core. Death’s malevolent arms stretch greedily in attempt to latch around my torso and take me away to oblivion. But I refuse. I stand courageously, defiant. I wait patiently in the darkness.

I couldn’t bear Jenna’s voice on the phone, so desperate, so confused, so full of fear. Imagining those tears escaping from her restless eyes singed my heart. I needed to hold her fragile head into my chest. I needed to trace my fingers down her child-skinned back. I needed to hear her breath slow down into a relaxed state. I needed to calm her down. I had to promise her safety. I had to promise her pursuit of an understanding. I had to promise her it would be okay. How could I not?

You would have too.

As soon as she had hung up the phone I was outside. I stood on the magnificently broken road and I paced. No cars would come, that was for sure. I counted the click of my heels across the road to the lazy horse pasture; click clack two, click clack four. I counted the steps back to my tired ranch; ground one, air ground two. My mother and father were inside that pathetic withering house, watching a show on the television. Ever since we had gotten enough money to purchase one that was all they did. It was like a magic mirror for them, a glimpse into somebody else’s tragedy, an escape from our own. I only prayed optimistically for them. I wanted to give them a successful place, a real home. Yet there was nothing I could do right now. I couldn’t even support myself, let alone them. Their only son, only one of many disappointments. I continued to pace.

                I wondered how many times I had crossed this black stoned river that mirrored the night sky. I looked at the minuscule specks of stone creating the stars. I considered counting them, but gave up due to the infinity that lay before my anxious eyes. I lied down in the middle with my limbs outstretched as if I was creating a snow angel in the concrete. Staring at the stars, I pondered the possibilities of my existence.

This night was similar to the night I had promised her forever.

The grass had been lush then, blanketing the backsides of our naked legs. Our eyes were displaced in the brilliant lights leading our gaze through a line of unbroken pictures. Nature was noisy, but I didn’t hear it. I was listening for a reason, a purpose, although I knew these constellations wouldn’t speak to me. I don’t know what I had expected to hear, perhaps nothing at all. I envisioned a light at the end of the tunnel embracing me, rattling me back and forth, explaining exactly what I was supposed to do to succeed.

“Do you ever imagine what’s out there?” I said, the words escaping from my lips unexpectedly. I remembered her laugh; it gravitated me to her.

 “Where would you go?” I couldn’t resist the smile upon my face. I turned to look at her. Her thoughts were still with the sky. Her perfectly aligned structure emitted confidence paralleled with insecurity and confusion. Her red curls cushioned her young head like a pillow.

 “The city. With its mountainous towers and its billions of beautiful people and its endless array of lights like false stars. It would be the perfect playground. It would be a release from this,” she said. ‘False stars’ rang in my ears. What about real stars? Like the ones she was observing? Wouldn’t it be better to be with those that are existent?

She asked the same question of me.

 “There,” I said. An obvious answer, I suppose. She must have read my mind. I wanted her to understand the beauty of the unknown. The magic of being able to open one’s eyes for the very first time in a place of eternal survival.

I had tried to explain it to her, the best that I could. I’m not sure of how much she grasped and how much slipped away. I had promised her the city and concluded the necessity of our rest in the stars.

Things were different now. The air was nippy, crisp breaths rustling the lifeless leaves from their branches. The grass was moving towards hibernation. The sun lost a little bit of its bold brightness. The stars began to play hide and seek, hiding a little bit farther away, till they had disappeared, day by day.  Colors no longer existed, but had instead faded to repulsive shades of grey. It was a world of sorrow blanketed by death’s breath.

Suddenly my head jerked up in alertness. A light broke the black fog. Another flash. Then once more.

It was time.

I skipped to my yard and revved my motorcycle to life. I took off without a second glance back. Moving faster and faster, the wind the bike was creating was the only thing preventing me from being at her side. I could beat it. I could fight it. I would be there. I would hold her, and tell her everything would be okay. It would all be okay.

I could see the car. I could barely see the figure of her shadow sitting in the front seat. It consumed me. It propelled me forward. Giving me an extra boost of rocket powered fuel on my dinky bike.

My headlight went out. I was surrounded by the darkness again. In confusion, I slowed slightly, but didn’t stop. The bike stopped by itself. My eyebrows drew together in a downwards anger. I shook the motorcycle vigorously. I took the key out and put it back in. I revved the engine. It was deceased.  I threw it on the ground with a shattering bang and began to walk. I wouldn’t let my stupid motorcycle stop me.

But my feet morphed into fifty pound weights, sinking into the road. I dragged on, blaming my imagination for draining the passing time. But they persisted, growing heavier, like I was pulling through a swamp of syrup. I rejected the idea of stopping without a rational thought.  But the swamp had cultivated roots that lassoed my legs, and pulled me to my knees. It numbed me slowly as it consumed my body, centimeter by centimeter.  Till my eyes blinked faint. I saw the motionless car coming to life, but I was burnt deeply by the sultry waters of the swamp. The trees started dissolving. The leaves and branches diminished to dust. The sky sweat smoke. The houses crumbled with a hiss. The whole world before me was disintegrating into ash.

Her voice.

“Matthew!”

She was with me. She was here. I surrendered myself to her feeling confidently safe in her arms.

I was in front of my house. Perhaps I had been day dreaming. I must have envisioned this distraught nightmare. How much time had passed? I knew it didn’t really matter; time was inconsequential when it had anything to do with her. The stars still sparkled in the sky. My mind must have only merely drifted. Jenna would flash the lights soon, three times, and then I would come. My bike wouldn’t break down, how ridiculous. I would see my beloved. I would reach her just fine. All would be well. I promised her everything was going to be okay.

The lights flashed again, and I went to my bike.

Everything would be okay. I had promised."

Hopefully it inspires you to write your own and enter the contest! I would love to see what you come up with!

Tweet