Corax_Vox on ghosts

It’s kind of a funny topic for September, but, this is the month where traditionally, summer winds down, and fall kicks its way up into full swing. There’s a chill to the air, the leaves begin to turn colors, and a young person’s thoughts turn to that... of the dead.

Okay, maybe it’s just me, but feeling summer slide into the chilly grip of winter brings thoughts of apple orchards, sweaters fresh from the attic, and Halloween.

To me, Halloween has always been a special time. I was born in September, and I remember several times that I delayed my birthday party so that I could have a Halloween-based party instead.

Fall is the beginning of the season of the dead. It’s when everything around you begins that slow process of dying. (Well, unless you live in California like I do, then everything is dead by mid-June thanks to the baking sun and lack of adequate rainfall...) And the wind begins picking up that cold wet scent of leaves, rain, and pumpkins. When hot mulled apple cider and pumpkin pie begin to show up on store shelves.

It’s when ghosts begin to creep about, decorated sheets blowing in the chill fall breeze, or mists creeping through tombstones, something about the dead returned has always captivated our imaginations.

Every culture has ghosts. Sometimes the ghosts are gentle reminders of the past, and other times they’re screaming figures, intent on punishing those that they could not punish in life.

There’s different classes of ghosts, different types, even different forms. For ghost hunters, something I could never be because I’m terrified of ghosts, the most important one to get a picture of is what’s called a ‘full apparition’. This type of ghost is when you see the whole figure. It’s usually what we think of when we think of a ghost. A full figure, as solid as you or I, or maybe vaguely transparent like a badly taken photograph.

Then there’s what are called Electronic Voice Phenomenon also known as EVP’s. Typically these are sounds or voices found on a recording device when there was no sound to be heard by the naked ear. These can be very strange. I remember watching a video that Loyd Auerbach, a paranormal researcher, was presenting. He was recording a ghost conference, and at one point, he sits bolt upright, looks around, and then leaves. He then rewound the video and said, “Now, listen.” A moment before he sat up, there was a pained scream of a young child. Oddly enough, he was the only one who seemed to hear it! He looked around because he was curious as to why no one else was reacting to the sound of a young girl’s scream, then left to investigate. That’s one of the best examples of an EVP I can offer without actually linking to something on YouTube.

Then there’s orbs. ‘Spirit orbs’, or ‘dust’ as I like to call it, are little flecks that show up on your camera. The best way to catch ‘orbs’ on film is to stomp around a dusty place (Such as an ‘abandoned, haunted building’), then take a photo. Voila! Lots of ‘orbs’. Sorry, I’m not much of a believer in the spirit orb business. Even on television ‘orbs’ can be discounted as dust, bugs, or an off-camera reflection. Very rarely will I take an orb photograph seriously.

To be honest, I’ve always had a fascination with people who could go ghost hunting. Myself, I’m easily terrified by ghosts. To people who don’t believe in ghosts my fear may sound silly, translated into more of a fear of the dark. Which, I guess could sound a lot less juvenile if I said scared of the unseen unknown.

So why would I choose to write about this topic in September? Well, we’ve just recently released Escape From Frankenstein’s Castle, and a full apparition ghost appears in this game. If you’re into ghosts, I totally recommend you check that game out!

If I ever encountered a ghost what would I do? Well, to be honest, I’d probably turn around and run. Hey, I said I was a coward when it came to the walking (floating?) dead!

What about you? What would you do?

Written by: Corax_Vox
Games in this post: Escape From Frankenstein’s Castle