Short Stories Volume 1

Don't Call Him Casper

In October 1952 a cute silly little ghost named Casper made his first appearance in a Harvey Comics Hits. Since then, it's been adapted into children's books, tv shows and movies. If you mock the concept of apparitions, phantoms or as they're more commonly known as ghost, you usually call them Casper due to his kind nature. Heck, even one of his movies is called Casper The Friendly Ghost.

Because of this people have forgotten the true nature of them. The ones who call themselves "mediums", those who can contact or talk with the dead, don't help with the glorification because they manage to convince people that it's their deceased loved ones they're talking to.

They don't understand that if something that has died, has enough power to come back and cause things to happen in the living world, what on earth would lead you to believe that they mean no harm? That their only purpose is the unfinished business they had or watch over the lives of the ones they left behind? You think they wouldn't want to be left alone or even upset that they're dead? Think that they wouldn't want some kind of vengeance?

Don't think that's possible? Well let's go to the opposite end of the 'Casper' spectrum. In 1866, a man published a story that he heard from an old man in the town of Rota, Spain. This was the story of La Llorona. In English it translates to The Weeping Woman. Although the earliest documentations can be traced back all the way to 1550 in Mexico City. Point is, unlike the friendly ghost, the woman was so heart broken that she drowned her own children then killed herself after she realized her mistake.

She is known to walk alone at night or is seen around bodies of water. The story is mainly to scare children into behaving. Otherwise, she will come to take you out of bed to kill you. It's been told over many years in Spanish cultures so much that many times when children have gone missing, at some point or another, the people put the blame on the ghost.

Another issue if it's not mediums that mislead people are those that go out of their way to go looking for places where there are sightings. These ghost hunters or whatever specific name they like to call themselves. They bring in their little cameras and equipment, do their so called research and then try to make contact with whatever or whoever.

First things first, just because you die, it doesn't mean you are going to come back as a ghost. No one knows why they appear or what actually causes them to appear. Many say they are as random as blackholes. Secondly, the only thing that is known for sure is that more evil and malicious ones are more common than those who just mind their business. Nearly nine out of ten.

Which makes it more incredibly dumb when you hear about people actively looking for these types. It makes no sense. Almost like being told that there's a wild animal loose roaming the halls of the building and instead of waiting indoors in safety, you leave the room and try to go find the beast. What do you think is going to happen? You think you're a Disney princess and when you sing it'll do a little dance? Likewise, you think if you see a ghost it's going to sit behind you and make a clay pot and whatnot?

No.

If you hear a story or a legend about sightings, do yourself a favor and not go there. If you're unfortunate enough to see one in person, do yourself another favor. Don't call him Casper. The chances of them being friendly are highly unlikely.

The reason I give you these examples and facts is that I'm hoping you can avoid the same fate that we wrote ourselves. I was a grad student from New Mexico trying to both live her own life and study the paranormal. Specifically in Albuquerque and the parapsychology.

Upon arrival were given a few that seemed more tourists traps than actual reported documentation.

The first stop was Hotel Andaluz. That turned out to be what we called more of a zombie ghost story. No I'm not talking about dawn of the dead or resident evil or anything like that. What I mean is that it's a story that has been told in pieces over time then combined into one. The result is that nearly similar to a game of telephone. Some pieces are going to get left out or some new ones put in.