Short story: It moved in a puppet like manner!

(Copyright of Kris Rodgers)

I can’t help myself once the thought has entered my head. I know it’s pathetic. I know. There’s no one there. There’s nothing there. I’m going to run to the light and check anyhow.

After three.

One. Two…

Three!

Tappy tap tap tap. (Sound of me running to the light switch)

‘Click.’

My nasty intruder actually turns out to be my dressing gown hanging on the door.

Again.

Silly me. What was I thinking? No one can get in here. The place is like Fort Knox. Nothing human can possibly get in here.

Nothing human.

And then I’m onto the metaphysical. Ghosts don’t need doors. And there is no way I’m going to run and turn the light on again, just in case it turns into that horrible thing from the Raiders of the lost ark.

I’m not leaving this bed. Ever.

So I’m stuck.

Stuck with the things I think I can see and hear.

And then, like clockwork, the big one comes. All it needs is an invitation, and it’s in there. I try to resist, but its no good. Everyone has their creepiest thought. The one that waits and waits…

And then…

BOO!

I’m sorry. I’m being rude. Please, let me share mine with you…

I was in our local library, and I found a book on ghosts. I went through a massive spell of educating myself in any way concerning ghosts. That stopped very quickly when I found this book. I don’t recall the exact details. I think that is because of the massive effort I have put into trying to forget about it. I recall it being a book about ghosts in Kent, and there is a ghost in Canterbury cathedral that haunts on summer evenings…

A ghost of an altar boy.

As I said before, I don’t quite remember all the details. But I recall there being two psychic investigators that were trying to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon. But this ghost was like no other. When the two investigators did finally see it, they were disturbed enough to halt their investigations. It existed, that’s all they needed to know. The thing they found most disturbing about the young altar boy, was not the fact he existed, (which would have been enough for me.) it was the way he moved. Most apparitions float. Some just appear, and then disappear. The rest tend to mimic human movement, as they did in their previous life. But this one moved in front of the altar, from left to right, in…

‘A puppet like manner.’

Argggggggg!!

Like its hands, elbows, knees, torso, legs and head were tied to strings, and were being pulled by another force. This book was an investigation of paranormal phenomena. It wasn’t fiction. The two men were educated, and not biased in the existence of apparitions. They didn’t beat around the bush either. If they visited somewhere that was supposedly haunted, and found nothing, they would say so. Rather bluntly normally. But the altar boy existed. They recorded the air dropping in temperature. They both saw it with their own eyes. And as you can imagine, it disturbed them.

And it disturbed me. But please don’t judge me to harshly. I was only twenty-four. And anyway, maybe I have a better imagination than you. It’s not my fault I can see this vision in such a vivid manner. It’s not my fault that I imagine this horrid apparition moving at the foot of my bed in ‘A puppet like manner.’ I’m only twenty-six now. I’m a child. I’m allowed to be scared of things that go bump in the night. Anyhow, why am I justifying how scary my image is? It’s my story! Hah! I don’t care how old you are, if it's scary…it's scary. And if I had a point, then this would be it.

Things that aren’t there have the ability to scare us.

When I think rationally about it, I know that my ghost doesn’t exist. But in the right environment, (pitch black-me in my pyjamas.) the thought can have a profound effect on me. My heartbeat rises. I sweat. I begin to feel a little icky. It hasn’t even appeared yet, and I am shitting myself. And it gets worse. I’m freaking out here. I’m shaking. It’s having a really negative effect on my body.

I feel so ill.

But it still hasn’t appeared…

I don’t care. It’s the thought of it appearing. What will it do to me? Will it attack me? What will it look like? Will it be as I imagined it? This is horrible.

There’s nothing there!

I’m not taking the chance of finding out. I’m scared stiff here. I’ve made my mind up. I’m not going to even peek. Ever.

The thought of my (bloody scary, I must add) ghost has immobilized me. I now feel really ill. My heart is pounding like Big Ben. But why? The ghost has never appeared. But I carry on thinking that it may. And every time I do this, it makes me feel ill. Not only does it make me feel ill, it also enforces my belief in the ghost. Even though it still hasn’t appeared, I believe in it more and more. This is negative thinking. This is fear. Have you ever thought like this? Have you ever negatively pre-determined what may happen in a situation before it happens? Yes you may do really badly in that exam. But on the other hand, maybe you wont? You are so nervous about the driving test. You may fail. You keep thinking about it-and in doing so-you give it more power. Keep thinking that way, and you may just get what you wished for. You may fail. What are you going to tell your friends? Your parents? How embarrassing. And then there is the financial side of it. It’s not cheap to take another test is it? Oh dear, what a pickle.

But you haven’t even taken the test yet.

Although you have begun programming the blueprint for the final outcome.

And it is this same type of thinking that will stop you attempting new things. ‘Just in case it goes wrong.’ Or ‘just in case you make a fool of yourself.’ I know so many people that are aware of the effect our thinking has on us. They have all the information, but they don’t put it into practise, just in case it doesn’t work. The fear of failure even, before failure has manifested.

So, how many ghosts have you seen?

And more importantly, how many ghosts have you thought you’ve seen?

Everywhere aren’t they? Bloody things. Next time one appears in your head, tell it to bugger off. And more importantly, try and be aware when you are creating them. Don’t forget, you give it its power. Any negative thought form is useless without your say so. Turn it around. Make another. Make a positive one...