Tag: ghosts

Story of the Month: The Ghost in the Machine

On By James CastroIn Short Stories, Story of the Month4 Comments

Story of the month header with quill and ink

The Ghost in the Machine

Over the past decade movies about haunted technology have become popular.  From radios to TVs and from cameras to cell phones, it seems everything can be haunted and wreak havoc on the lives of the living.  This has always been one of my least favorite genres of horror movie for some reason, partially because it shows our over-attachment to our data devices, but I suppose in actuality there’s no principle difference between a haunted house and a haunted Handycam.

I never gave much thought to these kinds of “haunting” until…

Back around 2005 or so the fairer half of RevPub had a computer problem.  She had an aging computer and the modem suddenly stopped working.  This was back in the days when PCs were still white boxes and modems contained numbers like “28.8” and “56k.”  Having recently replaced the modem in my own PC (which bucked the trend and was GRAY) I felt confident I could replace the modem in hers as well.  I took the PC to my house, bought a cheap replacement modem, and installed it.  Turning the computer on, I immediately got a hardware error.  After going through all the options my limited computer hardware ability could handle, I called my friend Mike (an actual expert) to help.

He brought one of his computer shells to see if it was the modem, the slot, or the whole PC that was the problem.  He also brought other spare parts and far more experience fixing PCs with white text on a black screen.  We went through several attempts, and various options, all while watching Mythbusters on DVD.  We only had one keyboard, so he plugged it into his computer, checked settings, and plugged it into the broken one to try to get the settings to work on that one.  We did this several times and hit dead end, after dead end.  It made me feel better that I had failed, since he was having bad luck with it too.  He suddenly had a flash of inspiration, sat up, picked the keyboard up, and began typing commands.  Immediately his commands began to appear on the screen of the stricken computer.  As white text filled the black screen as the system began to respond.  We plugged in the modem and, SURPRISE, it worked perfectly.

Mike began to disconnect the keyboard to plug into the other PC to begin to shut it down.  I saw him reach to unplug it.  Sit down.  Stand up and look at it, then sit down again.

Perplexed and a bit freaked out.  He turned to me and said, “I don’t know why that worked…”  Quizzically I asked, “Why?” happy to see the work was finally done.

He still seemed pretty shaken when he responded, “The keyboard was plugged into the other PC the whole time…”

Now my logical side kicked in.  Maybe he was playing a joke?  No the keyboard was definitely plugged into the other PC and I hadn’t left the room.  Maybe the afflicted PC had reset itself?  No his DOS commands were appearing on screen.

We exchanged a “What the…” look.  And the only thing that broke our silence was my announcement, “I want that thing out of my house right now.”  He agreed, we packed up, I moved the possessed computer to the trunk of my car and informed the lovelier half of this company that her PC was repaired, ready to return, and was likely and object of pure evil.  She took it back and used it for years…without incident.

To this day it’s one of the strangest events I’ve ever witnessed.  Two relatively fearless individuals were completely creeped out by a PC that seemed to either be possessed by the machine spirit (emperor protect) or self-aware enough to fix itself.  Either way I was glad to have it out of my house!

When I told Mike I would be using this story on this blog he responded in typical Mike fashion by saying:

“That sh*t freaks me out.”

For one time I will shed my stoicism and concede…yeah that sh*t freaks me out too…

Ghost Story #5: Grocery Stores

On By R. PettyIn Short Stories1 Comment

Anyone who has worked at a grocery store knows the back room is a little creepy. It’s dark, loud, and packed full of product. It’s only a step up from a cellar or basement, and there are lots of blind spots. I spent hundreds of hours alone in the back room, whether it was loading carts for a truck or prepping produce.

Over 10 years, I worked at five stores, although I spent most of my time at one on Nolensville Rd. The building was complete and the store opened in 1982, and although it wasn’t very old, there was something odd in there.

Here are a few things that happened:

  • The radio in the produce cooler would turn off. We kept a radio on when we did prep work, and it would often turn off with us in the cooler or when we were outside the door. There was no pattern, it would just happen. We tried different plugs and radios, and we always had the same result.
  • I would hear my name. I know it sounds crazy, but I would hear my name whispered in my ear – in the aisles and back room – and it never happened at another store. I was once told it was bad luck to answer to your name being whispered, so I started waiting for the second call. I still don’t respond if I’m not sure.
  • At night, the store made me uneasy. It was well lit, almost always had music playing, and there were only a couple of entrances and exits, but I never felt like I was alone. It always felt like something was lurking and watching.
  • I walked in the back room one night to turn off all lights, and saw a black figure. Not a shadow on the wall, a figure walked and disappeared three feet from me right in the middle of the back room. This was before I turned the lights off (thank goodness), and I only saw it out of my peripheral, but I know I was the only person back there. The only other person in the store was up front.

I’m not sure if the building was haunted, but it shows that no matter where you are, there may be something watching…

Have you ever worked in a creepy building? Tell us about it in the comments section!

And for another spooky work tale, read Sounds in the Dark.

Ghost Story #4: Stuffed Haunt

On By R. PettyIn Short Stories1 Comment

Demonic possession is an interesting concept. Especially when it’s an object being controlled by a demon or spirit. Is it possible for something to take over an inanimate object such as a doll or stuffed animal? Think Child’s Play.

This week’s story comes from a guest blogger, and I admit if this happened to me, the thing would have been burned.

The Polar Bear

As any first-year law student knows, time is the ever-present opponent that controls your quality of life, because a 20-minute nap can feel like salvation while hearing “five minutes remaining” can feel like the moments leading up to a gas chamber.

I was a first-year law student when the events of this story took place. I recently returned to my apartment for a second semester after enjoying a much needed Christmas holiday with family. One of the presents I received was a generic stuffed polar bear about the size of a golden retriever.

After returning to school, the workload gradually increased to the point where I hated everything about life except for the brief moments of reprieve from work. It was one of these moments that fostered my one and only experience with something seemingly unnatural.

I arrived at my apartment, trudged up the stairs, and deposited my bags by the kitchen sink. I ate a quick bowl of cereal and quickly skimmed the cases I had to read. That night’s workload was light, so I decided to take a nap first. In the apartment, my couch abutted a wall and faced the stairs about 15 feet away. Before falling asleep, I distinctly remember my polar bear sitting next to the stairwell facing the stairs.

After sleeping for about an hour, I awoke and immediately saw that I was staring into the flat, lifeless eyes of the polar bear, which was in the same spot but had inexplicably rotated about 100 to 120 degrees while I slept. I still have no explanation for this unusual event. I had no roommates and nobody else had access to the apartment. Both doors were still locked, and nobody else had a key except the property manager, but she never dropped in without advanced notice.

The polar bear up close

Being a rational person who prizes logic, I can only concoct three explanations. One, I misremembered the orientation of the polar bear after waking up (this is the most likely, but I am fairly certain the bear was facing the stairs). Two, I awoke during my nap and rotated the bear to face me while in a restful stupor (this seems unlikely because I have never been known to sleepwalk, nothing else was disturbed, and the bear was oriented precisely in my direction). Three, the polar bear somehow moved itself or was moved through some extraordinary force (this seems patently silly because I am a diehard skeptic).

Some people urged me to discard the bear to play it safe. After all, who wants a thing in their life that cannot be understood and therefore cannot be controlled? Being such a loyal skeptic, I opted to keep the polar bear. He remains in my closet to this day, after three years. In some ways, thebear has become my best friend, and we’ll be friends to the end.

The polar bear on the couch

Polar bear looks sweet on the couch

Want more? Be sure to read our other stories, and share your experiences in the comments sections!

Ghost Story #3: Sounds in the Dark

On By James CastroIn Short Stories3 Comments

As I said in my FIRST ghosty-post I’m a cynic who starts from skepticism until I experience something that forces me to accept a different conclusion.  Most of the time I search for other explanations before coming to “it’s ghosts!” or “it’s bigfoot!”  Though I start as a skeptic once unexplainable evidence is presented I am willing to accept the supernatural explanation.

If nothing else just so, in the movie of my own personal ghost story, I’m not the guy everyone hates yelling “It was just the wind!” to the characters you’re supposed to like.

Sounds in the Dark

I work in a creepy building.  Most of it is typical office space, but there are eerie places; “the stacks,” entire floors which consist of rows and rows long dark aisles of books or boxes.  Policy is you turn off the lights when you leave a stack area so I’ve gotten into the habit of only turning on the lights I need so I never accidentally forget and leave lights on.  There are rumors that our second floor, where our manuscript documents are kept, is haunted but I never really believed it.  I couldn’t imagine what ghost would want to spend its ethereal eternity amidst old boxes and books.  I attributed the spooky stories to the fact that the second floor looks the creepiest.  Most of our other stack areas have small castle-turret style windows.  The second floor has none, so it’s just the glow of the exit signs and whatever lights you turn on.

Dark Corridor Stack Two
The main aisle of the second floor with the lights out, how I usually see it.

Over the years I got used to wandering around in the dark up there, counting steps to switches and navigating in the dark.  There used to be one gate I could get into without a key (had to know the trick!) so I would always use that door no matter which end of the floor I was going to.

One afternoon I needed to retrieve something from the second floor so, as usual I went to two, entered the gate I could break into, and started my way down the main corridor in the dark.  I needed to go ALL the way down to the other end, but I didn’t mind the dark and quiet.

I was maybe a third of the way down the corridor when I heard the distinct sound of a box being pulled from a shelf…then replaced.  I stopped to listen, there are many sounds on that floor, machine room sounds, vents, noises from floors above, but none were as easily identifiable (I’ve pulled hundreds of boxes from these metal shelves, I know that sound…) as this…or as close.  I started walking again and heard it again, box sliding off the metal…then sliding back on.  It was coming from the 1st range…the range I was going to.  I heard it at least two more times as I got closer.  I flipped the switch on the 1st range and peered cautiously around the corner.

Nothing there.

I went through the possibilities…  Either another staff member was pulling boxes in the dark, replaced everything, jumped on the ceiling, and skittered away when I arrived…or…it was a ghost.   “Ghost” was actually the most plausible explanation in this case!  And least frightening…

Since then I’ve heard other sounds, including high-heeled shoes trailing along a few feet behind me as I navigated the ranges.  A friend and I also went ghost hunting on the second floor (with my android ghost app once!) and we both heard disembodied shuffling right behind us down a dark corridor we’d just come down. Despite this I never feel unsettled or afraid…more fascinated.

Now I look forward to going to that floor.  You never know what you might find in the strangest places.

Second floor ghost
A coworker walked down the corridor after I opened the shutter. Looks like a ghost to me!

Ghost Story #1: Lurking Around College

On By James CastroIn Random Fun, Short Stories2 Comments

My belief in ghosts is complicated.  My logical side can’t quite grasp why the spirit of a deceased life would linger around here and creep people out or repeatedly do the same tasks over and over.  On the other hand, my willingness to accept that we know very little about the natural world causes me to believe that all that energy a life possesses must go somewhere, so why not retain a consciousness as a “ghost” or something we don’t fully understand?  At the same time I think if my energy, consciousness, or spirit lingered around after I died and could interact with people and my environment I would ABSOLUTELY creep people out, so that’s a double tick next to the “maybe there are ghosts” column.

Even my logical side struggles with some of what I experience and this month, as the far more fetching half of RevPub stated in her last post, I thought I would share some of my more unexplainable experiences.  Starting with one from college.

I lived in an internal, single dorm in college.  Roommate life was definitely not for me so sophomore-senior years I lived in a dorm where I had a room to myself.  Unlike the 1960s-style hotel dorms on campus where all the rooms opened to the outside, this building was a brick structure with offices on the first floor, a keypad (with a 4-digit number to unlock it) that opened to the second floor where all the dorm rooms were.

One night I was carrying groceries in several bags.  I shifted bags when I got to the locked door to the dorms, so I was holding them all in one hand so I could input the unlock code into the number pad.  I glanced over my shoulder and saw another guy behind me.  He had an annoying, hipster-ish Hey, Hey we’re the Monkees Mickey Dolenz haircut and wore a retro orangey striped shirt.

The Monkees
That’s him second from the right. Hair just like that!
Shirt
Not exactly like this but close. It was more like this without the broad yellow bands, just rows and rows of the narrower stripes.

I input the correct number and gently, but firmly, kicked the door open.  I nudged it open with my elbow enough to let the dude behind me get in too.  I hadn’t seen him before and didn’t get a good look at him.  Technically I wasn’t supposed to let a stranger in, but rather than be a jerk I thought I’d just let him tailgate through the door and not have to go through the trouble of entering the entrance number.  I got a little annoyed by how close this guy was behind me up the stairs (which curved twice and had one landing), and I glanced at him again over my shoulder with kind of a “want to give me some space?” look as I heard the door close downstairs.  My room was RIGHT next to the top of the stairs, and as I approached my door and put my bags down, I glanced back at him again and he was gone…  I calmly held my keys quiet and walked to the stairs, looking over the rail and listening for footsteps.  No one was on the stairs.  No one opened the door downstairs.  No one went down the hallway.  My logical side took over and said, “maybe I just missed him…maybe he went back down as soon as I reached my door…maybe I even imagined him.”  But I knew he was there.  I saw him.  Got annoyed at him.  Remembered what he was wearing and how he looked…  And more than anything there was a feeling that someone WAS there and something wasn’t right about the way they just weren’t there anymore…  To this day I can’t say for sure, “I saw a ghost!” but that was a little unusual…

Stay tuned for more personal supernatural stories from both RevPub authors during the whole month of October, leading up to our favorite holiday!  Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year, the only day I can legitimately dress like a killer, monster, or zombie and everyone thinks it’s fun.

A Supernatural Love/Hate Relationship

On By R. PettyIn TV Shows1 Comment

Supernatural fans around the world (10 million-plus on Facebook) anxiously await season 8’s premiere on Wed., Oct. 3.

I became a fan of the show after borrowing seasons 1-3 from my awesome RevPub partner. After the third episode, I was hooked. Since then, I have recommended the show to friends, co-workers, and family.

However, my relationship with Supernatural is not all roses and rainbows. I recently finished season 5 in full, which left me with the question: should the show have ended then? So, what better way to hash out an argument, than to start a discussion?

Oh Supernatural, how I love (and hate) thee. Let me list the ways…
(contains spoilers)

Love: The Winchester boys. You’re either a Sam fan or a Dean fan, but you like both. They are attractive, funny guys who have a good time and love what they do. I had the pleasure of attending the convention last year, and I loved them even more. The guys have great chemistry, entertain their audience, and truly care about their fans. They are some of the nicest celebrities you will ever meet.

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles
Jared Padalecki (Sam) and Jensen Ackles (Dean)
Photo from ign.com

Love: The creativity. The show covers lore from witches to windigos, to shape shifters to ghosts, and genies to the Four Horsemen. If it’s supernatural, it has been in the show (or will be). I am often surprised by the plot and dialogue, and most times it’s well written and fun. And the soundtrack is perfect.

Both: The weak minor characters. For example, Meg, Becky, most of the angels and demons, the Leviathan. These characters are either disposable, or the actors aren’t great. Most times, they are only there to move the plot or irritate you.

Hate: My favorite characters being killed off. Bobby, the Trickster, Ellen, Jo, and Cass has died more times than I can count. Bobby’s death was cheap to his character and legacy, and bringing him back as a ghost was unnecessary. If one character deserved instant peace, it was Bobby.

Bobby Singer from Supernatural
Jim Beaver (Bobby)
Photo from chrystaldreams.centerblog.net

Love: The variety. In each season, there are episodes that will make you laugh, creep you out, and always give you a conversation starter. Some scenes have been a little goofy – such as a unicorn impaling a man – but it adds to the charm. They even made a show based on the show. That is one of the funniest episodes ever.

Hate: The drama. You need a little drama, but sometimes it’s too much. They don’t need to talk about their feelings that often. They’ve been through a lot and will never be “normal”. We get it.

Both: Seasons 5 and 7 plots. The angel/demon war dragged, and Leviathan were not nearly as bad ass as the writers wanted them to be. However, there are some really great episodes and new characters introduced in these seasons, so they’re must sees. Garth is one of my new favorites, and I hope he returns in season 8.

As you can see, Supernatural and I have a complicated relationship. It may seem crazy, but in every relationship, you must decide if it’s worth it. I remain a devoted fan, even though I don’t always agree with the writers and producers. They must be doing something right though, as the show is set to be the longest-running show in CW history.

As you tune in to watch season 8, be sure to check in next week as we kick off supernatural stories of our own. In celebration of Halloween and all things spooky, we will tell our stories – all true – of unexplained ghostly goodness.

In the meantime, enjoy one of our favorite videos from the show. Meet Death.