I’m writing this post from my office in our new home on the island of Anglesey. I say “new” home, but the house itself was built in the 1790s—or so we believe. We moved in just before Halloween, and given the crazy schedule in the run-up to Christmas, this has been the first time we’ve been able to relax a little and enjoy some downtime since the move.
The obvious question that comes up when talking about old houses—or perhaps the question I would most likely ask—is, “Do you think it’s haunted?”
Quick caveat here: my rational mind really struggles to bring itself to believe in ghosts. My view is best summed up by the quote (sometimes attributed to Edith Wharton but likely older): “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I am afraid of them.”
I love ghost stories, but do I honestly think they could exist in the same physical world as we do? Not really. However, my imagination easily comes alive, particularly at 3 AM, when our old house—with its strange noises, like creaking timbers and wailing plumbing—makes itself known.
We have had a couple of borderline strange events: my wife swears someone banged on the door of her office while she was working, and our daughter says she woke up to hearing something repeatedly bouncing on her bean bag next to her bed. My left-brain thinking tells me this is a combination of strange drafts pulling or pushing doors, moving floorboards, and a partially asleep imagination making things seem different from what is really happening.
But does a part of me kind of like the prospect of spooky happenings and real hauntings? Absolutely. And sometimes it is fun to imagine that one shares one’s space with old inhabitants from a time long before.
Ghost stories—the scarier, the better—can be such a blast. And such is the old tradition of telling such tales at this time of year. One of my favorite published ghost stories, The Woman in Black, is told from the perspective of Arthur Kipps, who is asked by his family to tell a ghost story on Christmas Eve.
Another less spooky ghost story, but certainly no less impactful (and perhaps one of the most perfectly structured tales ever written), is A Christmas Carol by Dickens. Christmas and the paranormal seem like such a strange pairing when you think about it, but when properly combined, they can be perfect.
Talking of spooky stories (quick plug warning!), earlier in the month I had a short piece published – this time a 100-word (‘drabble’) called Race Ya Home in Trembling With Fear – you can read it here.
That’s all from me for this Christmas. I you and yours a splendid holiday period and all the best for the year ahead. Merry Christmas!
Photo by Erik Müller on Unsplash
