Ghosts Gone Bad: A Family Man's Unexpected Journey

2. index 1.Family Man2.Sneak peek Tuesday3.JAMES MCCABE THEATER4.The Lyric Theatre5. Ghost Hunting: A True Story6.Ghosts Gone Bad

3. Family Man Naru was stuck watching a baby for most of the afternoon. He didn't know where the child's mother was. And quite frankly, it bothered him because he should always know where she is. As his gaze dropped down, he expected to see a slightly drooling face. Instead, big brown eyes, so much like his mother's, stared right back at him. The baby was awake. "Did you have a nice sleep?" he asked the baby in a soft voice. The baby blinked, and then started giggling as he peered up into the face of his daddy. Naru smiled, and then remembered what Mai had told him to do after the baby had awaken. "Remember to feed him. I know that you'll have fed him before he fell asleep, but babies eat a lot, sleep a lot, and then the use their diaper. The giggling and cuteness just comes in between." Naru reached down into the diaper bag that was beside him on the couch and pulled out a jar of baby food. Mashed peaches. Yummy. Careful as to not make the baby uncomfortable, he unscrewed to the lid, then dipped the baby spoon into the yellow mush. He held it in front of the baby's mouth, trying to get him to open wide. He turned his head. Naru did it again. Same reaction. "Takashi." Naru said. "Eat." The baby stared at him. "Please eat?" Takashi gurgled happily. His big brown eyes peered up at Naru, drool coming from his mouth, as he reached for Naru's shirt and started tugging on it. Naru lifted him a little and brought his face close to his son's.

4. "What is it?" he cooed. "What do you want?" His answer was Takashi putting his mouth to Naru's clothed chest. And then he started sucking on the fabric. "...Oh." Naru said. He had no idea that Mai was. . .breast feeding him. Naru sighed. "Sorry. I'm not mommy." he said. The baby began wriggling in his arms. Naru shifted him to a vertical position; holding the baby with both hands beneath his arms, making his cheeks bulge. Naru smiled. Speaking of bulging, Naru started to think about Ayako and Takigawa. Married and pregnant. Just off by a three months. As Naru really began thinking about it, he figured that Mai was probably with Ayako at the store. Peering down at the baby in his arms, Naru chuckled and then sang, "Mommy's got an earful coming. . ." They spent quite some time getting Takashi to learn how to walk. When they were sure he was fine on his own, Naru and Mai could barely keep up as they're toddler went running through random rooms of their home. Or rather, it was that Takashi would run away whenever he saw Naru. "Ma...!" he would cry, and go back to searching for Mai. "Ma...!" Mai chuckled as she bent down to pick him up. Takashi became infatuated with her necklace as she bounced him in her arms. "Don't take it too hard, Naru." she'd smile. "He just likes Mommy better." "Bite me." Naru would say playfully, and he stuck out his finger to poke their two year old.

5. When Takashi was three, Naru was then used to never having a moment alone. His son would follow him around endlessly, asking silly things in a way that only a child could. "Why Daddy not Mommy?" Takashi asked him one day. Naru was sitting in the livingroom of their home, going over some files when Takashi had suddenly climbed into his lap, demanding attention. Mommy was nowhere in sight, so Naru set aside what he was doing, only to be surprised by his son's question. "Why isn't daddy, uh, mommy?" he repeated slowly. Takashi vigorously nodded his head. "Well, because Daddy is a boy, like you. Mommy isn't a boy." Naru tried to explain as best as he could without making it complicated. "Why Mommy not boy?" Takashi asked innocently. "Because Mommy is a Mommy." Naru said simply. Takashi blinked, and then averted his eyes. "Oh." he said. He raised his eyes to meet his father's once more. "All Mommies smell like Mommy?" "Maybe." "Mommy smell good." Takashi said. "Yes. She does." Naru said smiling. After another moment of silence, Takashi said, "You not Mommy." "Right." Naru answered. Takashi giggled and cover his nose and his mouth with his hands as he hopped off his father's lap. "Ucky! You not Mommy." he said, and then ran out of sight laughing happily. Naru was quiet for a couple of beats, and then he chuckled to himself. "He just insulted me." he said. Then he sniffed his shirt.(1)

6. Around the time that Takashi was seven years old was it when Mai announced that she was once again, pregnant. As the months flew by, including Takashi's birthday, Naru couldn't help but notice how his life had changed drastically from he expected it to be. He had a (very pregnant) loving wife, a (hyperactive ninja 8 year old) soccer player of a son. A beautiful(ly crowded) home, and lots of (crazy, absolutely insane!) friends. What could make his life any better? One thing. Those Moments.Naru knew of those Moments very well. They happened once or twice when Mai had just started working for him in high school, and then after they were officially together, they appeared sometimes. When he married her was when they were coming out increasingly, and it was after the birth of his first born (son) was when life seemed absolutely perfect.Now that his wife was pregnant again, and his son was old enough to understand the changes going on, everything was just falling together. Right now, was one of those Moments. A Moment of absolute tranquility, where nothing could bring them down.(2) Naru was sitting on the couch with Mai laying against him. She was almost halfway through her third trimester (3) and her stomach, at this point, didn't seem as though it could get any bigger, but it would. "Where's Takashi?" Mai suddenly asked. Naru tried to think back to earlier that day. He'd called everyone he could think of to see if they could watch Takashi while he spent the day with Mai. "He was. But then Madoka waltzed in, and being the way that she is, she called everyone to celebrate his presence and they all went out to

7. "Yes." "Ah." Naru held Mai closer as she snuggled into him more. "Naru?" "Hm?" "I love you." "I love you too." Mai turned her head, and Naru lowered his mouth on to hers. They were like that for a few seconds until a noise made them pull apart. They both looked up to see the scrunched up face of their Son. "Gross! Dad, now you have cooties!" He exclaimed. Mai started laughing as Naru rolled his eyes. "Cooties aren't real." "Yes they are, but I guess this doesn't count since you kissed Mommy." Takashi concluded and headed into the kitchen. They saw the light flip on from their spot on the couch, and then they saw the fridge door open. "Are you saying I'm not a girl?" Mai inquired playfully. Takashi sighed in exaggerated exasperation. "No, Mommy. I'm saying that you're a Mommy, so it doesn't count."

8. "Um, thanks, I guess." "Hey kiddo," the monk said, emerging from behind the front door. "It's almost nine. Too late to be eating. Besides, you just had ice cream." "It's almost nine and you let our son have ice cream?" Mai asked confusedly. The monk shrugged. "The twerp wouldn't shut up until we gave him some." said Ayako's voice. She appeared from behind Takigawa and smiled at Mai. "Wow, you've gotten so big." "Thanks?" Mai said, laughing. It was then that Takashi reemerged from the kitchen, and made his way over to the couch. " 'Scuse me!" he said brightly, and without waiting for an answer, shoved through Takigawa and Ayako. "You can't talk to them that way!" Said a high pitched feminine voice. Takashi rolled his eyes ans he plopped down at the other end of the couch. He stretched his legs out so that they were on Mai's lap, and so that the little girl couldn't sit.

9. "Hello Hana-chan. How are you?" Mai asked kindly. The little girls whole demeanor changed as she turned in Mai's direction, smiled sweetly, and then bowed quickly. "Hello Taniyama-san. You look nice." She said. Mai smiled. "Thanks."Hana turned back to Takashi."Like I said, you can't talk to them like that.”"Hey, Monkey. Make her shut up." Takashi said to Takigawa. The Monk smiled fondly at the boy and then put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Sweetheart, calm down a bit." he said, "But he said girl's have cooties!" Hana protested. She stomped her foot for emphasis. Takashi scoffed. "They do. And you have the most." he jumped off the couch and over the coffee table as she lunged for him. He took off running for the back of the house to the stairs. Footsteps could be heard running around upstairs and a little shouting.

10. "Take that back, idiot!" Hana exclaimed."NEVER!" Takashi shouted. Mai laughed as she meekly said, "Uh, don't run in the house."The parents looked at each other and laughed at their children's antics."So, Naru. Mai. Have you thought of any names?" Ayako asked."Um, the doctor said we were having a girl, so we've thought of a few...“ turn to me again turn to me again

11. Naru had felt like this before, but he wasn't sure if the feeling was worse the second time around or not. He continued to pace in the Hospital waiting area, anxiously awaiting any kind of news about Mai and their new child. Takashi was sitting in the chair watching his father pace back and forth. He yawned and looked at the clock on the wall. Then he remembered that he couldn't tell time, and turned to his grandfather."Pawpaw, what time is it?" he asked sleepily. Martin Davis looked at his grandson and smiled, then he looked at his watch."It's four thirty am. Are you terribly sleepy?" He inquired. Takashi lazily nodded his head, trying to keep his eyes open."Mm...huh." he yawned. Martin smiled broadly and gathered the child onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around him and smiled when he received a curious look. "You can go ahead and rest a bit. Your mother will be fine." he assured the boy. Takashi yawned in response then laid his head down on his grandfather's chest, and closed his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.Luella turned her head, and smiled at the sight.

12. "Kodak moment." she said (5). Martin chuckled as she took a picture.Luella went back to watching her son pace."Relax dear. She'll be fine." she said. Naru ignored her and kept on pacing.An hour later and they still didn't have any word. Naru was becoming restless. He had to know what was going on, but no one was telling him anything."I'm going to go see if they have any spare blankets around here. The little guy is shivering. Look, he even has goose bumps. I'll be back soon." Martin said, and then he stood up, careful as not to wake the slumbering boy in his arms. Luella went back to watching Naru pace. She sighed in irritation."Oh honestly, Noll. Mai will be fine. She is a fighter, remember." she said. Naru stopped and looked at her. He supposed she was somewhat right, but Mai was never a fighter until things got absolutely dire. "I can't help it, Mother. She has been in labor four almost two hours. When she had Takashi, it was only about forty five minutes." Naru finally sat down next to his mother, who put her hand on his arm.

13. "Trust me, Noll. Mai is fine." They sat there in comfortable silence for a while until Martin came back with Lin and Madoka trailing behind. Madoka, was at this time, three months pregnant."Naru! There you are." Madoka said cheerfully. Way more cheerfully than anyone should be at four thirty in the morning. "Are you ok? You look awful.""Thanks." Naru said sarcastically.Madoka smiled. "Anytime.""I found them in the front as I was heading back." Martin explained after seeing Naru's glare. "I didn't even know they knew Mai went into labor."Naru and Martin looked at Luella. "I didn't do it for once!" she squeaked. "It was Takashi. I told him to call as soon as possible when Mai's water broke. The phone rang at around two this morning. It's taken us a while to get here because we had to call everyone else." Madoka said happily. Naru looked at Lin."I had nothing to do with it." Lin stated. Within the half hour afterwards, everyone showed up one by one. First it was Takigawa (Ayako didn't go because she was sleepy and had said that it was unnecessary for them to drag Hana out of bed since they wouldn't be able to leave her alone), then it was John (who was kind enough to stop at a doughnut shop on the way and bring everyone something to eat and some coffee), and then it was Yasuhara who informed them that Masako couldn't be there because she was on a trip to America, but she sent her love and blessings to everyone, and the new baby.

14. Though Naru had changed over the years, he was still narcissistic, and wouldn't admit (out loud) that he was touched by how much they all cared.Just when he thought he'd lose his mind, the Doctor came out. Naru jumped up almost instantly and practically tackled the man."Well? What's going on? Is Mai alright?" he questioned. The Doctor smiled warmly."Yes. Your wife is fine. And so are your children." he said. Naru sighed in relief. Luella, who had been standing behind him the whole time, gasped."Ch-children? You mean there was more than one baby?" She asked. The doctor nodded."Yes. A boy and a girl. One of them was breeched. After we took care of that, there was some tissue that ripped inside of your wife that caused continuous bleeding so we had to do surgery to sew it up. Everything is fine now, I promise you. If you like, you may see her now." The doctor said. Naru hurried past him and into the room. When he pushed the door open, he saw his wife laying in the bed with he eyes closed. Two nurses in the room were tending to the newborn babies.

15. Naru made his way over to one of them and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked at him."Are you the father?" she asked. He nodded. She smiled and handed him his new daughter. "Congratulations."Naru took the infant into his arms and stared down at her in awe. The baby yawned and Naru put his index finger into her tiny palm. Unconsciously, she grabbed it. Naru looked up and saw that his Mother had his new son in her arms, and then she was crying silent, happy tears."Oh Noll," she said, "they are so beautiful.""Yes. I wouldn't expect less." He said. His mother sighed, but she smiled at him. It was then that Mai's eyes flew open."Naru." she said quietly. Naru turned his head and looked at Mai. He went to her when he saw her smiling face. The first thing he did was bend down and kiss her head."Morning." he said. "How are you feeling?""Tired. And a little woozy, but I'll live. I see you have met her." she said. Luella took that moment to hand Mai her new son. She went and stood next to the chair that her husband and first grandchild were occupying.

16. Takigawa took a picture with a digital camera, and then showed it to Yasuhara who nodded his head in approval."Mai, what should we name them?" Naru inquired. Mai was busy cooing at the baby."Mai.""Gene." Mai suddenly said. She looked at Naru and smiled. "I want to name him Gene."Naru's breath caught in his throat. Now he remembered why he loved this woman so much."That's a good name. What about her?" he said, looking down the baby in his arms."I like Saya. What about you?" she asked. Naru nodded."Those sound like really good names." he said."I've decided to name you too." she said. Naru raised an eyebrow."Really now.""Yes. I love you, Oliver Naru Kazuya Shibuya Davis."Naru chuckled. "I love you too."It was then that Takigawa went over to Naru and put his hand on the younger man's shoulder."Welp," he said, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were turning into a regular Family Man, Naru."Naru smiled a very small smile. "Maybe.“ The End.

17. Sneak peek Tuesday Guest Hunter Josh Gates joins the TAPS team as they investigate an Hammond Castle in Gloucester, Massachusetts, minutes away from Josh's childhood home.The castle was constructed between 1926 and 1929 for inventor John Hays Hammond Jr as a wedding present for his new bride Irene. The two secretly married in 1926. Hammond is known as the "Father of Remote Control". He held over 400 patents, more than anyone other than Thomas Edison. His home and laboratory contains his 15th, 16th and 18th Century collection of Roman, Medieval and Renaissance artifacts including the skull of one of Christopher Columbus' crewman, an eighty-five foot tall pipe organ, and the tomb of a child from Ancient Rome. Irene died in 1959 and Hammond's death came years later in 1965. Irene was buried in her family's plot in the Gloucester's Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Hammond was buried in the sepulcher until his body was moved in to the bronze vault inside the Cat Garden a few years ago.Today, the building operates as the Hammond Castle Museum and is transformed in to a haunted attraction known as Castle of the Damned in October. Hammond and his wife were known Spiritualists and performed many seances with psychics.

18. During their experiments, did they invite spirits in their home who have never left? Hammond collected many historical artifacts. Were spirits attached to them? Either way, the castle is host to numerous paranormal reports. It is believed Hammond and his wife haunt the building. Their spirits have often been seen throughout Hammond Castle. Items disappear, reappear and move on their own. Voices are heard in the circular library as well as other rooms. A ghostly red-haired woman and other spirits appears among guests during weddings and disappears whenever anyone gets too close to them. A shadow figure is seen on the balcony above the organ.

19. THE END OF””””””????>>>>>>

20. JAMES MCCABE THEATER Built in 1915, The James McCabe Theater is located in the booming town of Valrico, Florida. The Valrico Improvement Association raised $3,500 to build a structure for the group and as a focal point for the community and named it the Valrico Civic Center. By like the 1950s, it was home to a Woman's Club and in the late 1970s, Hillsborough County repossessed the building.The Village Players obtained permission to use the structure for theatrical productions until 1994 when the property was deeded to them. It achieved historical landmark status and received a name change. James McCabe was one of The Village Players founds as well as their former president. After he suddenly passed away, the building became known as The James McCabe Theater. For the past few years, the theater has been experiencing continuous renovations. They rely on donations from generous people to keep this project going.

21. This theater may be the only commercial property from Valrico's golden days but it's also believed to be haunted. Witnesses have heard the sound of keys or coins jingling, having their named called by an unknown source, a little girl singing, footsteps, humming and laughter. There are reports of a male entity roaming the building but also evidence of residual activity.

22. The Lyric Theatre Prior to the American Civil War, Tupelo, Mississippi was known as Gum Pond due to the numerous black gum trees in the area. It was later renamed in honor of the Battle of Tupelo. You may recognize the name thanks to a little singer named Elvis Presley who was born in East Tupelo in 1935. While several notable names can be linked to the city, there are just as many legends. Paranormal investigators believe much of the city is haunted. One particular location may have a 1930s tornado to thank for their alleged haunted status. Mr. R. F. Goodlett secured enough funds and The Comos was built in 1912. The Comos, as the Lyric Theatre was originally named, was designed as a vaudeville theater and included space for several commercial offices. The Lyric remained a home for live productions until the 1930's, when it became a part of the M.A. Lightman Company (Malco) chain of movie houses, acquiring its now-familiar marquee and Art Deco appearance. A persistent rumor dictates Elvis’ first kiss was stolen in the balcony of the Lyric. However,

23. Being one of two buildings to survive this meteorological event, the Lyric was turned in to a makeshift hospital and mortuary. The dead and the dying were moved in to the building. Surgeries were performed, using the popcorn poppers to sterilize medical instruments and crawl spaces temporarily stored the dead. An estimated 216 people were killed and another 700 injured. The official numbers may have been higher due to racial discrimination involving newspapers. It's believed one of those victims may have stuck around. Theater staff named their ghost "Antoine" and accuse him of such minor offenses as stealing keys and humming to himself. He clomps around the theater in the wee hours, moving things around. By 1984, the Lyric had outlived its usefulness as a movie theater and was facing likely abandonment and demolition. The Tupelo Community Theatre snatched the Lyric away from the wrecker’s ball in the fall of 1984, and began work on renovations. With gifts and pledges that eventually totaled over $230,000, the Theatre’s friends rebuilt the stage, installed new theatrical lighting and sound systems, totally rewired the building,

24. Ghost Hunting: A True Story A reader recently sent me an article (that I sadly can't link to) about some Missouri ghost hunting groups. Oh, I'm sorry... they don't hunt ghosts, they "investigate paranormal activity." The two groups in question are Mid Missouri Paranormal Investigators and Jefferson City Paranormal Investigations. Like every single other ghost hunting group I've encountered, these folks are dedicated, "skeptical," and "use science" to investigate. And they freely admit that most of what they encounter is easily explainable, but it's that 1% that isn't that interests them. Let's talk about that 1% for a moment. 100 birds fly past your window, and your job is to identify them. So you record... "robin, robin, sparrow, sparrow, sparrow, sparrow, blue jay, crow, house finch, tpnom, robin, swallow, sparrow...and so on." You pack up, go home and review your data. Lots of sparrows and robins. Boring. Yawn. But wait... tpnom? What's that? You search and search, but you can find nothing that matches that particular entry. What could it be? The truth is you may never know. It's an anomalous entry, and you can infer no meaning from it. The problem with ghost hunters is that they're all too willing to ascribe such noise to the paranormal. And the reason they do that, is that they believe in the paranormal, which compromises their conclusions.

25. After all, as I've often said... if you hear a noise in the basement, why assume it's a ghost rather than an alien or bigfoot? Often it will depend on the last horror movie you watched. These groups are popping up all over the country, and they're pretty similar in makeup. They're fans of the plethora of TV shows on ghost hunting, but they think they can do better, or at least as well as the folks they see on TV. And let me tell you... they can. That bar is particularly low. • So rather than rehash all that's wrong with the phenomenon of amateur paranormal investigators, I'll tell you a true story of the most interesting thing that ever happened on a ghost hunt that I was involved with. • I was staying in the King Ranch Suite of the Hotel Menger, right across the street from the Alamo in San Antonio. Dick King, owner of the largest ranch in the US, favored this room eventually died there in the late 1800's. The room has period furniture and even the bed Dick died in, though we were assured that the mattress had been changed.

26. To make a long story short, I was taking readings with a tri-field meter which was set to detect disturbances of electromagnetism. These devices are notorious for spurious readings, especially as personal electronics become more commonplace. But in this case, the device was pretty quiet... until I got near the bed. Indeed, every time I approached the bed the needle would get higher and higher until right near the pillow, it pegged. The phenomenon was repeatable. I removed the pillow and sheet, but there was nothing there.And if I were filming a ghost hunting show, I would have ended it right there. "Here we have direct evidence of the paranormal! It must be King's ghost causing these signals." I might throw in something about eerie feelings in the room, and I definitely would have filmed in it infrared because... well, I like green. I can't think of another reason. What I would not include is a wide shot of the bed that showed the bedside table. Because on the bedside table, right near the pillow... was an electronic alarm clock. One with a huge transformer in it that, sure enough, caused the tri-field meter to peg. You see, I actually did more investigation than just removing the pillow or sheet... and indeed, found a very plausible explanation.

27. If I were producing a show or simply wanted to believe, I would have stopped investigating and had a very credible story. Others could even reproduce it. But alas, as a lover of the truth, I was compelled to search deeper. And as a skeptic, if I hadn't found anything, I would have been content with "I don't know what caused that" rather than "the only thing that explains it is paranormal activity." • These groups claim to be helping their community by putting residents at ease. In some cases this may be true... they may discover that a door opens by itself at 4:00 every day because that's when the sun has heated the exterior wall of the house enough to cause the door opening to expand a fraction of inch and release the catch. But all in all, their effect is to promote a belief in the paranormal, and that's a belief that the evidence doesn't support. • By the way, the astute among you might notice that in my bird analogy, there is a solution, and it's readily available to any of you who care to figure it out. The anomalous reading "tpnom" has a very logical explanation, should you care to search for it.

28. And yay! I got to use the word "anomalous" and tell a "true ghost story." I even found a photo of something strange. I guess I'm cool now too. But only if I ignore the evidence. The end /////????????

29. Ghosts Gone Bad The premise of this article is that ghostly beings (human or otherwise) dwell on the other side and while there are garden variety good ones, there can sometimes be bad ones. Bad is purely a subjective word, to some degree, but there are core components; power, greed, lust, and all things base in nature. A ghost gone bad is an engorged component of one or all of these. It is the succubus, the demon, or the legendary nightmare hag. The succubus is caught up in sexual fervor; the demon loves the power over frail mortal minds, and the hag delights in torture and fear. There too are souls that while having shed their physical shell in death, bring to the other side the one thing they cannot readily shed -- the wounded or inflated ego -- hell bent on mortal suffering. "Ghosts gone bad" is a scenario that happened to me for a period in my youth. Typical of many teenagers (especially these days), I was wracked with conflicting feelings: separating parents and a myriad of other negative emotions, which would attract such a ghost.

30. The premise of this article is that ghostly beings (human or otherwise) dwell on the other side and while there are garden variety good ones, there can sometimes be bad ones. Bad is purely a subjective word, to some degree, but there are core components; power, greed, lust, and all things base in nature. A ghost gone bad is an engorged component of one or all of these. It is the succubus, the demon, or the legendary nightmare hag. The succubus is caught up in sexual fervor; the demon loves the power over frail mortal minds, and the hag delights in torture and fear. There too are souls that while having shed their physical shell in death, bring to the other side the one thing they cannot readily shed -- the wounded or inflated ego -- hell bent on mortal suffering. "Ghosts gone bad" is a scenario that happened to me for a period in my youth. Typical of many teenagers (especially these days), I was wracked with conflicting feelings: separating parents and a myriad of other negative emotions, which would attract such a ghostI'm sorry to say I was playing with the Ouija Board at the time and having very impressive results-- so much so that Ị was later labeled a witch. But this portal, and my youth, beckoned something I had not anticipated -- a ghostly predator.

31. It took me some time to figure it out. Our pet Labrador wouldn't come to my room at night. It would stand at the doorway and growl at "something" inside. My father once heard screams originating from my room in the middle of the nightly only to rush in and find nothing but my sister and I sleeping. What was it? Had he imaged it? A year later my father left the family and this added unhappiness led to an escalation of the incidents. The room would grow cold; I'd become conscious in the middle of the night and feel fingers clawing at my side. My tongue seemed to swell inside my mouth (imagined or otherwise, it didn't seem to matter to me at the time) and I'd try to scream but my body was somehow a powerless prey to a force beyond my control. • You might say it was my imagination or troubled youth, which would be a logical conclusion, considering my father had left, but I invited friends over for their own investigations into this realm of suffering that had become my life. In one particular event, a male friend of mine came over and was quite cocky and sure that not only was nothing amiss, but even if I were there, he'd be the one to drive it out. I was very hopeful indeed, as I was so tired of the sleepless, frightening nights. I just wanted it over, if you can imagine. • So one evening when we had the house to ourselves, he came over to "investigate and propel" what he thought were the ghostly intruders. In retrospect, one can say it's one's ego over another, is it not? Regardless, he came to my home and was doing what I would call a very inexperienced exorcism. He would shake his fist, talk loudly at the room and say vehemently for them to go away. I could feel the energy do the very opposite - not to be quelled, but to boil. I actually grew quite frightened at this time and cautioned him, "Do you really know what you are doing?"

32. It later became evident that he did not. But when he left for home that night, I did not know this. When he departed, I was amazed at the transformation. The place felt so amazingly pure and devoid of negative energies! I thought perhaps his exorcism had worked. My room felt great and there was no cold air. Nothing was hanging over me like a wet dank blanket. I felt freer then than I had in months. I said to myself, "It must have worked!" My friend told me the next day that he had returned to his parents' house where he lived and went to bed for the evening. He was awoken in the middle of the night by a sound coming from his stereo. How and why would the stereo come on by itself? Then, as he tuned his ears to listen, the dials started spinning through the channels by themselves. He later told me chills ran up his spine. He did not know what was doing this but it couldn't have been any coincidence that he had just been to my house and attempted to exorcise ghosts.Worseyet, when he lay in bed, virtually frightened into immobility, his closet interior came crashing down. The entire wardrobe was yanked to the floor with such a smash that his parents came running down the stairs. They frantically asked him what was going on. All he could say is that he had just come from my house and tried to exorcize some poltergeists. You can imagine their concern.Inshort, outside of school, he was no longer allowed to see me.

33. So what happened to that ghost that dwelled in my room? It returned very shortly and the pestering continued. I eventually moved in with a nice family and it followed me there too. It took awhile, but as I grew more positive it's hold over me weakened. It eventually disappeared altogether.

34. Published by: Madhav .h. vayeda