Dirty Little Secrets…and a new obsession

I don’t like holidays much. I mean, I’m not a humbug, but holidays as an adult are far more different than holidays as a kid. I don’t know how mom did it, with three of us brats, a full time job and a house to run….she still had time to tie little hankerchief ghosts to the dogwood tree in our yard in the fall and plastic easter eggs on it in the spring. Everything was decorated and we had some type of acknowledgment of the holiday passing by on the calendar.

As an adult, I only see holidays=work. Yes, even Christmas. Especially Christmas.

But I digress.

I’m not all that crazy about Halloween. Doesn’t do much for me, really. Candy..I can buy that any time as an adult. Trick or treat…yeah, the first cute kid in a puppy costume who comes up to get candy is ok but when the dad comes up and puts a pillowcase out for candy, not so good. Pumpkins, bats, witches…don’t really get me wound up.

The one thing Halloween does well is gets out the ghost stories.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m afraid of the dark. Petrified. At summer camp I sleep with a light on in my room. At home I have night lights and carry my cellphone or iPod with me at night to illuminate everything. Always have been scared of the dark.

Dirty little secret: Funny enough, I’m obsessed with ghost & paranormal stories. Especially after having my own little encounter at Dauphin Island in Alabama a few years back. Not those crappy urban legends about the date night hook or Mary Jane’s grave (although I HAVE been to the one just outside of Danville…) that every town seems to have, but the real paranormal stuff. Haunted houses, haunted graveyards, evil cellars, Gates of Hell (been there, too, at Kenyon College). I’ve seen at least one episode of almost every ghost show known to mankind and can’t get enough. I have my doubts about the reality of some of them (the hubby doubts the reality of all of them…party pooper), but I am drawn to watching and reading about real hauntings with an unnatural obsession.

Last year, I was really into Paranormal State. You know, the A&E series featuring the group of kids from Penn State who research all things paranormal. I still like the show, but the more I watched, the more I realized that other than Dead Time (which I would love to be a part of sometime but would most likely wet myself during), there’s not much real ghostly excitement going on. Hard to do with 30 minutes (however, it’s a great show to watch on on-demand after school when Oprah has something terrible on, like Dr. Oz or a Kindle giveaway that I’m not a part of).

I wasn’t expecting much this year in terms of ghost shows, and I don’t know if they launched this one last week because of the proxemity to Halloween, but I now have a new (obsession) favorite paranormal show that I can’t get enough of: Ghost Adventures. It’s on the Travel Channel, 9pm on Fridays, and I’m telling you, this one scared me worse than any other.

Last night’s episode visited the Houghton Mansion in Massachusettes and was pretty darn scary, especially the footsteps on the stairs when the boys went up to the old electric chair. I made the hubby turn on the kitchen light and family room light when he went up to bed. (I really should watch this stuff during the day and save on electric). But last week’s episode is still messing with my brain. I’d never heard of Bobby Mackey’s in Kentucky, but my brain won’t let me forget it. The episode was so freaking scary I literally almost threw up. The hub and son were at a football game and I was alone with the dog (not much protection, she just wags). When Jason the boy genius came in the door, he said, “Mom must be watching ghost shows again. All the lights are on in the house,” and he was right. The whole scratching thing had me completely freaked out, not to mention all the other little tidbits (the well…don’t get me started). If you’re remotely interested in being scared out of your pants, you should check it out: Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel

Scary stories are the one saving grace for Halloween. I suppose I could like the holiday for that reason alone, especially with this new series. The good news is that it’s another beautifully sunny day here (thank goodness). Just the perfect day for a night football game at beautiful Ohio Stadium, which I’m on my way to in another hour. But believe me, I won’t go near Orton Hall on my way back from the game. You haven’t heard about the ghost who walks the hall there? I’ll save that for another day…lol.

Tagged as: dirty little secrets