Archive for the ‘JCH’ Category
Happy Birthday, Joel Chandler Harris!
Written on December 9, 2008 at 10:59 am, by Amelia
Today would have been Joel Chandler Harris' 163rd birthday if he had defied everything* we know about the human body.
Instead, he passed away at the age of 63 in 1908.
I wish I could show you a picture of the sweet (literally) birthday cake we had for him at Victorian Christmas - complete with "163" birthday candles - but our camera choked once again.
Regardless, join me in wishing Mr. Harris a happy birthday! I'll be eating leftover cake in his honor all day.
*Tortoises seem to have no such restraints.
Categories: Birthdays, JCH, Joel Chandler Harris, Really? |
100th Anniversary of Joel Chandler Harris’ Death
Written on February 4, 2008 at 8:38 am, by Lain
Some of you may have noticed that this year is the 100th anniversary of Joel Chandler Harris' death.
Others of you may be wondering who Joel Chandler Harris is. And that's okay! You're new here, and we understand.
Either way, here's our new Joel Chandler Harris commemorative logo:
$100 Joel Chandler Harris Commemorative Membership
and
An entirely different amount of your choosing, should you not be content to give $100. Hey, it's your world.
The $100 level will come with one children's book and an audio CD of our storytellers (plus, of course, free admission to the Nest). If you don't have kids or grandkids, great! You can give them to someone who does, and not have to worry about their next birthday present.
Does this sound cool to you? Would you--theoretically--give one hundred big ones to support the Wren's Nest? If not, what would entice you to become a member? Seriously, we're way open to ideas.
Finally, I should mention a few of our sponsors here, since all the time people ask me who designs all our stuff.
For the website, 100 year logo, and day-to-day awesomeness, our friends at Lampe-Farley do our bidding.
For our logo and our brochure, the good people at Huey + Partners graciously volunteered their time and talent.
Categories: Big Money No Whammies, Fundraising, JCH, Marketing Tricks, Nonprofit Management, Ridiculous Demands |
Ghost Hunt 2007, part 5
Written on July 14, 2007 at 12:02 am, by Amelia
Full disclosure: I'm afraid to come into the Wren's Nest alone at 10:00am on a sunny day.
That, friends, is because I am the weenie to end all weenies. I am the weeniest weenie that ever weenied. Thus the fact that I am at the Wren's Nest at 11:36pm on a ghost hunt is not only a testament to my commitment to this house, but also my own stupidity. I shall not sleep for days.
Luckily, I am not alone in my stupidity. Other than Lain, who is pretty okay, this ghost hunt - oh wait, have I not mentioned we're conducting a Friday the 13th ghost hunt? - also involves other friends of the Wren's Nest, who stand at varying levels of bravery/stupidity.
At the moment, the good folks of Ghost Hounds are going from room to room with a psychic (I think?) who is telling us things about the rooms that we already know, but that she doesn't. Gack!
11:48pm: oh god oh god. The doorbell just rang. Who the deuce was that?!
11:49pm: Ghost hounds say it was someone living. I have no proof. In the meantime, they're asking if anyone is pregnant. Lain, do you have something to share with us?
11:52pm: I'm not sure how I feel about this ghost business. But I do know how I feel about this frightened business.
By the way, there is a live webcast and you, dear reader, can find it here:
Live Webcast
[EDIT: The webcast has been archived here. Just scroll down a little.
It's long and sometimes static-y, but why wouldn't you want to see Lain discussing ghosts with a psychic and Patrick Burns, star of the television show Haunting Evidence?
(Patrick Burns -- big time ghost huntin' celebrity)
Also present is Reese Christian, currently writing a book about ghosts in Georgia.]
11:59: The conversation here is filled with statements like "that was the chair!" and "oh no, that was a person!" I mean, really. How often do you need to clarify that.
12:45: The web chatters are not only asking questions, but making claims about happenings in the house. I'm going to need a briefer about paranormal perception. It works across the sea? Christine from Australia says so.
We've now gone into the attic (bad web reception), the hall, and the front parlor. In the hallway, a spirit was, ah, detected? like, 3 feet to my left. Was I brave? Heavens no.
1:06am: The great thing is, the Ghost Hounds are cracking jokes, making fun of each other, having a grand old time. Someone has made the comment "Fear the living, not the dead". I'm not sure where that puts me, confidence-wise.
1:11: The ghost hunt is over? I have survived? The Ghost Hounds are now discussing ghost hunting celebrities? It's all true.
Looks like Friday the 13th served us well, and Saturday the 14th had little to offer. Apparently, over 100 folks were tuned into the webcast, all jazzed and brave. Maybe that's because they weren't here. Though with that many fans, perhaps the Wren's Nest will become the new hot spot for ghost -excuse me, spirit - enthusiasts from all over. We're certainly not complaining.
Categories: Ghosts!, Hunting!, JCH, Mystery and Suspense |
Literacy is Delicious!
Written on June 19, 2007 at 11:53 am, by Amelia
One of the greatest perks of what I like to think of as the Wren's Nest Revival are all the neat literary connections that are being made and reaffirmed around town.
Connecting with the local literary community is loads of fun, and promoting education and literacy is like, a good cause or something. Joel Chandler Harris would have approved heartily!
It's also a great way for Lain and I to get free food. So now, in chronological order, The Last Week and a Half in Literary (and Free Food) Pursuits:
1. The Duck and Herring Co. Radio Hour Beach Party (Habanero Key Lime Cheesecake)
(Ever wonder what a podcast looks like? Here's Lain and Say, Sport in action.)
Not only did we hear short stories, sing songs about being broke at Atlantic Station, and officiate (well, Lain, anyways) a breath holding contest, but we sampled one of the highlights of the DHCo.'s Warm Weather Field Guide, the Habanero Key Lime Cheesecake. Let me tell you something, folks: you haven't lived until you've felt your mouth actually taste confusion.
2. Roy Blount Jr. at the Margaret Mitchell House (Fruit and mini-sandwiches)
Roy Blount Jr. is a funny guy. If you have the chance to see him do, well, anything, I suggest it. After reading from his new book, Mr. Blount fielded questions from the audience, most of which focused on his move to the cold, cold North. In fact, the amount of interest in the differences between living in the North and South led Lain and I to believe that the next Wren's Nest fundraiser could simply be us sitting somewhere and talking about where we've lived. Any takers?
3. Wordsmith's Grand Opening Weekend Extravaganza (Pastries and Coffee from Pastries A Go Go)
Wordsmith's is a brand-spanking-new bookstore in Decatur that is, to use to words of their articulate emcee, "awesomerest". Great atmosphere, neat book selection, and a full table of delicious treats. What more could a (practically fainting with excitement) MAT ask for?
Categories: Atlanta, Events, JCH, Mercenary Amelia Trace |
Wikipedia: friend or foe?
Written on April 12, 2007 at 3:03 pm, by Lain
Today I've decided to clean up / create the Wikipedia articles on Joel Chandler Harris and the Wren's Nest.
It's been a lot harder than it sounds.
In my favor: intimate knowledge of the subject matter, readily available resource material, and a Wikipedia username. The last of these, by the way, is remarkably easy to obtain.
The biggest problem with Wikipedia, however, is the high level of distraction handed to you on a silver platter. The links in any given article are helpful, often thorough, and 100% effective in leading me elsewhere.
Here's the current problem:
H. L. Mencken held a less than favorable view of Harris. He wrote: "Once upon a time a Georgian printed a couple of books that attracted notice, but immediately it turned out that he was little more than an amanuensis for the local blacks--that his works were really the products, not of white Georgia, but of black Georgia. Writing afterward as a white man, he swiftly subsided into the fifth rank." [from The Sahara of the Bozart]Okay, now who is H.L. Mencken? My brain automatically tells me the following about him: funny, early twentieth century, social critic.
If you read the Wikipedia article, you find that he (a) didn't always say what he meant (be it via satire or whimsy), (b) had complicated views on race and is alternately considered condescending and not condescending towards blacks, and (c) is one of the most important literary critics of the 20th Century.
So, uh, does that mean his commentary should be on the Joel Chandler Harris page? As one of the foremost literary critics of his time, sure! As someone who might negatively view "products...of black Georgia" despite obvious qualifications, well probably not!
Ostensibly Wikipedia is very helpful for problems like this one, though maybe a better word is "informational." I currently have 16 tabs open in Firefox, 15 of which are devoted to Wikipedia.
Helpful? Questionable.
You can also use the site to discuss articles and point out various flaws, inconsistencies, whatever. Pretty helpful!
So on the Joel Chandler Harris discussion page, one of the two comments is by "lain." Since that particular name isn't very common and my name happens to be Lain, I initially wondered what I had been drinking in March of 2006 that lead me to spell right "rite."
Turns out someone just really likes lain, the anime film and not Lain, this guy.
Where does this leave me with Wikipedia? I'm not sure, since currently I’m reading about lain (the anime film). I’ll get around to JCH any day now.John McCain: Keeping Me Busy
Written on March 18, 2007 at 7:40 pm, by Lain
John McCain referenced the "Tar Baby" on the campaign trail a few days back. Uh oh is right.
My google alert for "Joel Chandler Harris" has gone nuts over the past few days with bloggers reporting and debating McCain's use of and subsequent apology for the phrase "tar baby."
During a news conference, a CNN reporter asked McCain if he feels that "tar baby" has racist overtones. "I hope that it's not viewed that way," McCain said. "It was a situation where if I kept going on that I would then be overturning court decisions. I don't think I should have used that word and it was wrong to do so." [Link]Awesome. Whatever the opinions on the issue, I couldn't be happier that folks are blogging about this. I've compiled the three most telling recent posts on "tar baby." My post is a long one (but with pictures and video!), so get ready! If you make it to the end, do leave a comment with your perspective. Before we start, feel free to recall my own letter to the Charlotte Observer regarding this very issue. First up to the plate, BayouBuzz.com. There's very little that's commendable in this article. Before anything else, the post roughly equates the phrase "tar baby" with the "N-word." It makes a real sensationalist point of it, too. It's fascinating how "tar baby," a phrase which this very article professes may or may not actually be a slur, is suddenly on par with the single most powerful word in the English language. I like how the last paragraph briefly attempts to explain the context of tar baby rather offhandedly: "Technically..." Technically, you're an idiot. Congratulations. The only thing I agree with in this article is that McCain's was not a wise move. Hasn't he read the papers over the past year? Old white politicians using the phrase "tar baby" are toast! And, gasp, coming from a Republican! Yikes! Next, the political blog A Little Reality. This one wins for "Most Improved" and "Most Misguided." Note my comment on his initial post that has led to his subsequent edits, thank goodness. Kudos for giving things more thought. Like BayouBuzz, this guy also does some heavy-handed equations:
The foundation of Uncle Remus is a white man's recasting of the oral story telling of African slaves in the United States for the entertainment of white people. In this, it the same as the black-face minstrel shows of the 19th century.Thank you, sir, for lifting the veil. I've been confused all this time about the definition of blackface. This is the same as blackface, right?
(Aside: the main character's name in 8 Mile is Rabbit)
Okay okay, but what about this?
That must be the face of the white man with "with a Negro sound and the Negro feel" who stole "Negro" music and took it all the way to the bank.
Our new definition of blackface aside, politicians continually return to the metaphor because it is remarkably precise, no matter your opinion of what surrounds it. There are literally hundreds of stories revolving around a similar central character all over the world for the same reason.
For a while, the metaphor was almost ubiquitous in the United States. Half a century after the release of Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings in 1880, Joel Chandler Harris remained one of the most popular authors in the country. I'd hardly call his (or the folklore's) influence erudite. The story is for children, one that many of these old white politicians were probably read as boys.
Good for this particular blogger for resolving to pick up a copy of Toni Morrison's Tar Baby. Try Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, too.
Though seriously, Toni Morrison writes about Tar Baby and it's worth researching. Joel Chandler Harris writes about Tar Baby and suddenly it's racist. Huh? Who worked on the plantation here?
Here's the moral: it does not make sense to dismiss or criminalize an author based on the color of his skin. That's what we in the pros call racist. For amateur historians conflating the Disney version of history with the real thing, I guess it's something else.
Anyway, while we're busy judging books by their covers, consider that Joel Chandler Harris detested the illustrations of the first version of his book specifically because they were condescending and stereotypical caricatures of Uncle Remus ...in other words, because they were racist and unfaithful to the stories.
The fact that Harris, a white man, recorded African American stories in a way that is distinctly not blackface is what makes his legacy so remarkable and ambiguous. It's impossible to categorize that into a politically correct mold, fortunately enough.
What I mean to say is: there is no easy answer to this one. I'd encourage everyone to do exactly what this blogger is doing (in the future): research a little before you pontificate! I'd be happy to point anyone here to a few good books.
Let's move on to the last one, From the Desert to the Sea...
So close! The blogger, John Stodder, has researched a little and notes much of the controversy, the ambiguity, and many of the problems inherent in the tar baby issue. His last two paragraphs:
Where I started with this post was a discussion of the American idiom. John McCain unthinkingly used a term that was nearly universally recognized as part of it, with a meaning that transcends its cultural origins. It didn’t make him or any of us a racist for using it. Like I said, it was an extremely useful and humorous short-hand. But now we’re on notice. Unless and until the folk tale in question finds its way back into the American idiom via a more authentic source, “tar baby” is out.Stodder's post takes a turn for the confused when he uses the past tense after "Like I said." It still is an incredibly apt phrase. And what constitutes an authentic source? Toni Morrison? Julius Lester? So according to this guy, since Uncle Remus is controversial to some, and now that we're aware of that, we shouldn't use the phrase tar baby until an authentic (black?) person brings the story back to life. But hasn't someone already done that? And what about those who hear the African American storytellers at the Wren's Nest? Are they allowed to say tar baby?
Here's me and Josie, one of our storytellers. Josie often dresses up a "volunteer" as the "tar baby" when telling this particular story. How many tar babies do you see in this picture?
My suggestion: tar baby is in! For discourse and description that is, and not name-calling, you jerks. If it bothers so many folks, why sweep it under the rug? It's too sticky anyway and not going anywhere (as long as we can count on having old white politicians).
The connotation of the word remains as it did when Joel Chandler Harris used it. Those hurling it as an insult (and really, how many of you are out there?) are in fact morons.
Categories: Brer Rabbit, JCH, Tar Baby |
Ghost Hunt 2007, Part II
Written on March 11, 2007 at 1:43 am, by Lain
That's right folks. It's Saturday night at the Nest. Ready the coffee and the girl scout cookies. It's time to hunt up some ghosts.
For the uninitiated, we've done this twice before in the past couple of months. It's terrifying. Read about our November and January hunts.
Tonight's guests are the good people from Ghost Hounds. Stay tuned for live updates / me-shaking-in-my-boots throughout the evening.
8:40 pm - The Hounds are here, and we've all been introduced. I do not remember anyone's name, unfortunately. It's like my brain goes ------------ right after someone says, "And our next Ghost Hound's name is."
Every time this gets me. Every time!
Our nameless warriors are taking some preliminary photos with the lights on before things get serious.
Current status--not too skeered yet, but expecting the worst.
9:14 pm - The Ghost Hounds are under my feet. The Wren's Nest has a very extensive basement that runs under every portion of the house. In some parts, you can see through the floor boards. Maybe that's why our gas bill is historically ridiculous.
The Harris family added on a kitchen and indoor plumbing between 1895 and 1900. Before then, the kitchen was in the basement. It's a dirt floor, but you can walk around without worrying about hitting your head under the western half of the house.
On our first ghost hunt, everyone went down to the basement together. I tried to turn on the lights, but all three of the lightbulbs attached to the ceiling fizzled when I tried to turn them on. One, two, three--right in a row.
The lights haven't worked since.
We've fooled with the breakers, different light bulbs... nothing.
The Ghost Hounds have flashlights under there now, and their lights are shining through the floor boards, up into my room--which is dark except for my monitor. Their flash photography is my lightning.
Current status--fine(ish), but feeling like this is the beginning of a horror film.
9:47 pm - Ghost Hounds are still in the basement. If I wander to other rooms in the house it's a light show, seemingly from nowhere. Try telling yourself it's just the flash coming through the cracks.
It's real quiet except for the dog barking incessently and the occasional Marta train passing four blocks away.
Current status--wondering if a diuretic is really the best possible drink for this occasion.
10:59 pm - After a few sticks of rock candy, the Ghost Hounds are back at it, reading the Brer Rabbit stories aloud in hopes of conjuring up some spirits.
Two points for originality!
Current status--eating peanuts and ignoring the scary parts
11:14 pm - Chatting it up with the Hounds. As usual, the ghost hunters are very professional. The difference is, I guess, these guys are a lot less spooky.
Or am I just that much tougher now?
Current status--real cool.
11:43 pm - I guess we're done? I was ready for an all-nighter!
Too bad everyone just left, and I have to turn out the lights alone.
This is the worst part.
Maybe if I just stay in here it will be light outside soon. I won't be going to sleep for the next few hours, that's for sure.
Current status--wide awake and a little disappointed.
See y'all next time, ghost hunters.
Categories: Brer Rabbit, Ghosts!, Historic Preservation, JCH |
What’s New
Written on February 21, 2007 at 11:55 am, by Lain
It doesn't feel like it's been eight days.
I know you're curious, so here's the new stuff at the Wren's Nest:
1. New bookshelf constrution has started. For those of you who have seen our "bookstore," it's got the pawn shoppy feel that only a mother could love. Carpenter / Guy Who I Sat Next To In Latin Class Eli is currently making a new bookshelf for us that will save space, look nice, help sell more stuff, and be pretty unique. ETA: Mid-March.
2. New website construction has started. For those of you who have seen our "website," it's got a bland made-in-sixty-minutes feel that only I could ...tolerate for a couple months. Expert Marketer / Decatur Lover Lauren is currently designing our new website that will look nice, help sell more stuff, be just unique enough, and let folks know that the Wren's Nest is still around. ETA: Early April.
3. New brochure construction has started. For those of you who have seen our "brochure," it's got a pasted together feel that is only mostly factually true. All around good guys Ron and Scot have gotten started and only need a few good tag lines to seal the deal. ETA: before the new website, I hope.
That's about it. We're cooking with gas over here now that we can pay the bill. Speaking of bills, we only owe money to the bank now, so we're in the clear with our 18 other creditors. $75,000 to go!
Categories: JCH |
Tar Baby Continued
Written on January 29, 2007 at 12:46 pm, by Lain
Last week I directed your attention to an editorial in the Charlotte Observer that discussed the contemporary implications of the phrase "tar baby." I also pointed out a very specific instance of my idiocy. Thank goodness that's behind us.
Yesterday the Charlotte Observer published my response, more or less. A truncated cut-and-pasted version is available in the print edition of Sunday's paper and online. Read it here.
Also online, however, is the full version of my response. Read the full version here.
Pretty cool. To tell you the truth I'm glad folks are arguing about this. And while it's clear that mine is the most important, informed and eloquent opinion (trust me), it's refreshing that many people are willing to write in to their local newspaper to weigh in.
Although there are some pretty harsh criticisms, things could be worse. How many people are writing about Lewis Latimer these days? Except for this blog, of course.
I believe at some point, the Charlotte Observer turns from "free" to "free when you sign up." So for documentation purposes, I've included my entire response here...after the jump.
Just so nobody's confused:
Link to original editorial.
Link to cut-and-paste response.
Link to full response.
"The Wonderful Tar Baby Story" by Joel Chandler Harris is just that--pretty darn wonderful. As you pointed out, versions of the story have crossed oceans and spanned centuries. Brer Rabbit and his critter friends have never gone out of style.
Harris, however, has. Particularly during the Civil Rights movement and in the wake of the 1946 film Song of the South, Harris' reputation suffered severe blows for the very reasons and from the very people that Mr. Williams has mentioned.
His is a remarkable fall from the public eye. Between 1880 and 1946, Harris was largely considered one of the most popular and respected authors in the United States. Many considered Harris' literary standing second only to his friend and contemporary Mark Twain.
Today, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who recognizes the name Joel Chandler Harris. Good luck asking anyone under the age of thirty (present writer excluded).
Yet a century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt said that Uncle Remus stories were "the most striking and powerful permanent contributions to literature that have been produced on this side of the ocean."
In 1922 James Weldon Johnson, esteemed African American writer of the Harlem Renaissance, echoed Roosevelt's sentiment: "The Uncle Remus stories constitute the greatest body of folk lore that America has produced."
Literary opinions aside, Johnson and Roosevelt aren't exactly correct--the stories themselves were not produced in the United States, only told and retold.
And that's one of the reasons the Brer Rabbit stories are so significant. They are the most famous and comprehensive records of the African American oral tradition that exist today. By recording over 180 such stories Mr. Harris played no small role in their preservation.
So far, so good.
Except some folks think that the stories should be viewed apart from Harris in order to preserve "a rich part of Southern literary culture." It would be a shame to separate the author from the stories, because to do so would rob Harris of his contribution to the African American oral tradition. Harris recorded the stories when many blacks could not and when many whites would not. His foresight, according to Andrew Carnegie, "won the hearts of all the children, and that's glory enough for one man."
As a young man, Joel Chandler Harris spent four years of his life on a plantation, beginning just before the Civil War. Turnwold plantation was the only plantation to produce a newspaper, and Harris worked as an apprentice to learn the trade. By night, however, Harris read voraciously and listened to the stories of the slaves.
His experience on the plantation affected Harris for the remainder of his life, and later as associate editor of the Atlanta Constitution and world-famous author of the Uncle Remus stories, Harris often looked back fondly on his days at the plantation. A keen ear, a great wit, and connections at the newspaper propelled the stories into the national spotlight. As Robert Roosevelt proved, the stories were not an automatic success with a wide (read: white) audience. Only the right storyteller at the right time could make them so.
Here's where things get sticky.
It is easy for us, one hundred twenty five years later, to sit back and criticize a white southern newspaperman for his nostalgic views of the plantation life.
It's not so easy, however, when you consider this same man was a vocal proponent of African American suffrage and African American literacy in the years just after the war. During the Atlanta race riots of 1906, Harris even hid his African American friends inside his home.
In Harris' Atlanta home, now a museum called the Wren's Nest, visitors can trace this ambiguous legacy. Mr. Harris' own room has been preserved since 1908 with completely original furnishings. Above the fireplace mantle hang four pictures of black children learning to read and write. Of course, it's one thing to support African American literacy in the South around the turn of the 20th Century. It's another thing to wake up every morning and have those pictures be the first thing you see.
Where does this leave us with "tar baby," then?
The tar baby is indeed a complex image that remains relevant today. Toni Morrison and Ralph Ellison have been fascinated with the tar baby--its admonishment of violence, its update on the Narcissus myth, its reflection of unique racial attitudes in the South after the war. All this in a story for children.
Mr. Williams, I think you were originally on the right track. Just because someone somewhere decided to call someone else a "tar baby" does not mean we should revise history so it's politically correct according to the latest fashion in social mores. If that were the case, we'll just have to revise history to our liking in another five years.
Instead, let's let the namecallers do their thing while the rest of us learn about and come to grips with our own history.
The tar baby wasn't a racial slur in its original context and it isn't now. Those using it as such should be chastised for having no idea what they're talking about and not aided in their effort by senselessly criminalizing this rich piece of southern culture.
Categories: Brer Rabbit, JCH, Tar Baby |
Ghost Hunt 2007
Written on January 27, 2007 at 9:11 pm, by Lain
During every ghost hunt ever performed in the history of the Wren's Nest, I have blogged live updates.
Tonight, friends, is no exception.
(That's me in the glasses)
8:04 pm - The Gulf States Paranormal Society is here and they appear to be ready. These guys have some serious equipment too. There are cameras in every room hooked up to a computer in the kitchen. Man, I hope the ghosts don't hack the firewall, bypass the mainframe, and--enough.
It feels a little like we're in a heist movie and we're the bad guys and we're kicking some serious intelligence. It's like Ronin meets Resident Evil meets Joel Chandler Harris meets me meets the Gulf States Paranormal Society.
Actually, it's more like your typical guy meets girl, girl comes over with her ghost society friends, ghost society friends bring computers and black lights and ask if you want to party and you say "party?" and they say "I mean hunt ghosts" and you say "okay" kind of story. Classic.
Anyway, the Wren's Nest has never been so high tech as it is this very moment.
Current status = terrified, but drinking coffee. Can you tell?
8:23 pm - I thought we were about ready to start now that everything has been set up, but I was wrong.
Dead wrong.
No, apparently it's time to head over to Wendy's to "let the house settle down" while "we grab a bite to eat." This is followed up with, "Hey Lain, why don't you watch the house and the equipment? Do you want anything from Wendy's?"
Never in my life have I heard more thinly veiled euphamisms for, "Hey Lain, we're going to leave while the ghosts devour you. Do you want anything from Wendy's?"
Current status = omg omg omg omg.
9:01 pm - The ghost hunters have returned, thank goodness.
Other good news: docent extraordinaire / other young person who works here Star is on her way to the Wren's Nest to help me not get eaten by ghosts. Bad news: it's starting to rain.
Current status = huddled in the corner, at least until Star gets here.
10:10 pm - Star is here, finally. No serious activity yet, and I'm feeling a little better.
Our leader, Cinnamon, has stressed that this team is very scientific and not prone to hasty ghost judgement. In other words, if it's a ghost, they need definite proof.
Right now we've got some knocking going on upstairs, and the team is going to investigate. I'll keep you posted.
Current status = curious, trembling a little.
11:42 pm - So there are a total of eight cameras set up in different rooms throughout the house. The team is currently reviewing a couple of them to look at a flash of light that both Star and Cinnamon saw.
This orb moves very quickly across the screen of the camera from the hallway, going diagonally to the left from the doorway to the dining room to the area above the door to the office. The time is 20:55:51-53.
Then, on the camera in the attic, an orb of very similar size and luminescence appears at 20:55:55-57.
Now, orbs are tricky because they can be anything from bugs to dust to compressed balls of paranormal energies--probably your dead cat or great-great-great grandfather trying to communicate with you, durr. Most orbs fall into the first two camps. This one, however, is interesting because it moves from one room and then, apparently, appears in another in an appropriate and timely manner.
Still figuring this one out.
Current status = intrigued!
1:02 am - Sorry folks, you caught me power napping. The life of a ghost hunter is tough! Alternately shrieking and hiding, shrieking and hiding. It gets to you after a couple hours. Keep it locked.
Current status = refreshed, re-scared.
1:17 am - Touch and go in the attic.
After some intense rustling and potential paranormal action, our leader left feeling dizzy, like something "came up from behind her."
I don't know if that constitutes any kind of proof whatsoever, but it does constitute game over, for now. Everything is cool, but there's no sense in continuing when not everyone is feeling up to task.
Moral: ghosts tonight? I can't say for sure. Certainly nothing like last time. Regardless, the GSPS is on top of things, and they'll burn me a DVD of the evidence in a few weeks.
Thanks GSPS, y'all were incredibly professional and remarkably well-equipped. If you ever want to come back, I'd be happy to unlock the door for you.
Categories: Ghosts!, Historic Preservation, JCH |