Bump in the night

Caffination Inspiration.

I started writing this diary because my therapist told me it would be good for me to write. She was the most recent person in a long line of a wide variety with the same recommendation. Initially, it seemed an easy enough task, just a few rudimentary tools (paper & pencil) and some moments to myself and I was sure that I would easily tap into this stream of consciousness thing and be whipping out Grade A deep thoughts in no time. Since then, I have discovered that it's about as easy as sucking a golf ball through a garden hose.

I would now like to make amends with all of you who have dedicated your lives, career and/or spare time to writing, creative or otherwise. I bow at the altars of your fickle literary gods and make obeisance for my blasphemous ways. Who knew that it would be so difficult to put my own thoughts down on paper?

~*~

I just adore the paranormal. I can't get enough of ghost stories (I have a few of my own), psychic phenomenon, EVP's, religion; western, eastern and indigenous, conspiracy theories, UFO stories and all the rest. I am capable of taking it with a grain of salt but I *love* the thrill of a good set of goose bumps or a tale that makes me wonder if this mundane world holds more to it than meets the eye, like this:

The Ghost in the Burning Building

"On November 19, 1995, Wem Town Hall in Shropshire, England burned to the ground. Many spectators gathered to watch the old building, built in 1905, as it was being consumed by the flames. Tony O'Rahilly, a local resident, was one of those onlookers and took photos of the spectacle with a 200mm telephoto lens from across the street. One of those photos shows what looks like a small, partially transparent girl standing in the doorway. Nether O'Rahilly nor any of the other onlookers or firefighters recalled seeing the girl there."

"O'Rahilly submitted the photo to the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena which, in turn, presented it for analysis to Dr. Vernon Harrison, a photographic expert and former president of the Royal Photographic Society. Harrison carefully examined both the print and the original negative, and concluded that it was genuine. "The negative is a straightforward piece of black-and-white work and shows no sign of having been tampered with," Harrison said."

"But who is the little girl? Wem, a quiet market town in northern Shropshire, had been ravaged by fire in the past. In 1677, historical records note, a fire destroyed many of the town's old timber houses. A young girl named Jane Churm, the legends say, accidentally set fire to a thatched roof with a candle. Many believed her ghost haunted the area and had been seen on a few other occasions."

You may look at this and simply see a collection of shadows, or a retouched photo, but I see the promise of the strange new world from my childhood, the existence of free will and the potential of the human soul to mark, indelibly, it's surrounding with the pure power of an intense emotional imprint. Most people who know me understand this about me, shake their heads and love me in spite (or because) of it. I don't run around spouting prophecies or spend my weekends trying to contact our extraterrestrial brothers, but there is a core of belief wrapped up with a genuine curiousity within me, and it has born a hobby of sorts. I've been known to harbor a spare Ouija board and pack of tarot cards and, yes, Gabe has caught me attempting to activate my chakra's...

Here's the spot the photo and article are originally from, which is also one of my favorite rest areas on the web: About.com