The Haunted Haunt

All houses are haunted. All persons are haunted.

Throngs of spirits follow us everywhere.

We are never alone.

-Barney Sarecky

Yikes. But I believe that. I believe that we are people who live out our lives in the midst of a spiritual realm. Not to sound crazy or anything, but I believe in angels. I believe in demons. I believe in things I can't see, hear or touch. And I believe that, regardless of our faith or eternal destination, these beings... these spirits, whatever... interact with us far more than we realize. I don't believe my house - or my person - is haunted, but I do believe that I'm not always alone here. It doesn't scare me, though. I know Whose side I'm on. I know Who wins in the end.

So the scary house night is tomorrow. And seriously? I was worried that this place wouldn't be scary enough? Decorating has yet to begin, really, and I'm already satisfied folks will get their $3 worth of fright. Today I threw a black cape over a dress form in one of the rooms that has yet to see renovation and then, an hour later, caught it out of the corner of my eye. Think I jumped three feet. Scared me to death. And I know it's there. And it's not even dark yet.

This is the library. A view into it, anyway. The library will feature my red velvet couch, black lights, candles, and a "dead" girl. Rumor is (although there's no truth in it whatsoever), is that a young girl fell from one of the second story windows of Freeman House and, well, died. It's not true, but it's a plausible story - especially when you note how low-to-the-ground the windows sit. Anyhow, my tiny high school friend Emily is going to be the "dead" girl, only when people pass by her wake in the library, she'll suddenly sit up to reveal a half-bloody face while hissing "the wagesss of ssssin is deathhhhh...".

Yeesh. It helps that there are bloody hand prints on the window outside where the little girl supposedly (but never did, I assure you) fell. You can't tell here, but they're red and look very realistic.

(By the way, the same girl, the first of many people to tell tour-goers that "the wages of sin is death", will later open a door, clean, white-robed, and carrying a glowing candle, to lead people out of a dark, stifling room, proclaiming all the while that "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" - Romans 6:23. Some of us Christians have a bizarre take on these things, I'll give you that.)

So. There will be a total of five rooms and a long hall that make up the tour tomorrow. Each will be creepy and unexpected in its own right.

There are so many costumes. I got home from work today and laid them out, trying to make sure I've put the right people in the right ones. And then it dawned on me: I don't have a costume. I picked up the mirror and looked at myself.

Maybe I'll just be me - the quiet-hearted, ruffled-shirt-wearing girl who haunts Freeman House already. I think I'll just white out my face and wear 1880s-type clothing and stare at the kids with my big, dark eyes and shakily whisper that I live here and, would they like to stay here with me, too?

That would do it. That would be creepy enough.

Maybe now's not the time to mention that I've applied to be a foster parent to a little girl. Good thing I'm getting all this spooky stuff out of the way tomorrow, huh? Wish us luck.... -Brin