On Ghosts

It may come as no surprise that I adore ghosts stories. I'll read them, watch stories of true hauntings (Celebrity Ghost Stories is my not-so-secret addiction), and even watch dorks  people hunt ghosts on scripted live television.  You might find all this odd because I really don't like horror movies.  I generally don't like to be scared... you could say that I'm scared of being scared (but don't say that because it just sounds silly).

Like Viola, I am always looking for haunted hotels or vacation destinations, I just do it for a very different reason.  She has a whole business devoted to helping people scare the hell out of themselves on vaction.  I have a list of places I am never going to stay.

I didn't just wake up one morning and decide to start the list. Ooohh no. There was a reason. A very good reason. A few years ago we went on a weekend getaway to Galveston and booked a room at a wonderful bed and breakfast. It was charming and the owners were lovely and we were so glad to be out of the city. We spent the day exploring Galveston, had dinner, and were utterly exhausted when we returned to the room. I was looking forward to sleeping in the soft, bed.

Neither of us got much sleep that night (and no, not for fun reasons). The light switch in the bathroom flipped on and off all night. No, the light didn't flicker, the switch flipped. The A/C should have been running constantly because we had it on "fan" to circulate air. Uhh... no. It went off and on. JT got up to turn it on to "Max." As soon as he turned back around to return to bed, the dial turned to "off." Which was okay, I suppose, because the room was cold. There were soft moans, and tugs on the blankets, an armoire door that opened and wouldn't stay shut, and the general feeling that we weren't alone in the room.

The next morning, we went down the main staircase (which we had missed earlier because our room had an outdoor staircase and entrance) and JT saw a couple of framed articles on the B&B's ghosts. Damn. I resolved right then and there to always do research before staying anywhere. The other guests shared their stories over breakfast and we laughed about it. We stayed there another night, experienced the same things, and I swore I would never stay anywhere "haunted" again.

So, in a way, that's how I came up with Viola's Spirited Stays. I figured if I was making lists of where not to stay, there were crazy people who would want to do the opposite.

What about you? Have you stayed anywhere haunted? Had a paranormal experience of your own? Do you love ghosts are terrified of seeing one?