Shades of Darkness

"As I was going up the stairs, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. Oh, how I wish he'd go away."

I love a good ghost story. As the leaves start to turn colors and the breeze is crisp and cool, nothing makes me happier than curling up under a blanket with a scary book. It's the accounts of real hauntings which strike my fancy. As a kid, I used to read all the ghost books I could find in any spare minute I had which made me stand out as the dork at recess, but helped to mold me into the creative juggernaut I am today. This picture has been stuck in my head since 5th grade. It's reportedly of the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall. Her sad tale began after her marriage to a man with a cold heart and fiery temper. In order to escape her loveless marriage, she had an affair with local beau. When her jealous husband discovered this, he locked his wife in their estate house, isolating her inside, forbidding her from leaving even to see her own children. She eventually died of old age, neglected and forgotten, but it was rumored she never truly left. For over two centuries, she has been sighted by both kings and commoners alike, a wretched wraith in a brown silk dress, wandering the grounds in death as she did in life. Unable to escape her lovely prison where she is doomed to roam eternity alone.

Dark side of the moon

I am fascinated by violence. How the human mind can go totally awry and lash out against itself and others. Case in point (fitting for a Monday): Brenda Ann Spencer. On a fine Monday morning in 1979 at the tender age of 16, she fired thirty plus rounds of ammo at the elementary school across from her home killing the principal and a custodian. Eventually, she surrendered to police after a lengthy stand-off. The explanation she offered for such a senseless act? "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day." Mark Twain said, "Everyone is a moon with a dark side he never shows to anybody." Perhaps it's better that way when we are reminded how horrific that dark side can be.

Dog days of summer

In taking inventory of my summer now the season is mercifully transitioning into fall, I am realizing everything I learned was due to my dogs. The following comes from their unspoken canine wit and wisdom: 1. Everyone is susceptible to seasonal allergies and they are universally no fun. 2. If you're scared, growling is an acceptable response (try this sometime at work it's a trip). 3. No matter how cute you are, you still have to follow the rules. 4. A firm "no" and standing your ground stops nearly anything in its tracks. 5. Even the worst of days are improved by peanut butter and belly rubs. 6. If you protect and provide for your pack, it will protect and provide for you. 7. You don't have to be friends with everyone just because that's expected of you. 8. There are days it's not worth leaving the crate.

Lamentations of the women

All I ever wanted was to be ordinary. I guess no one can really be normal since normalcy itself is a moving target. Everyone has their little quirks, but mine get in the way more often than not. And after what happened recently, there's no way I am ever going to attain the uncomplicated life. I suppose it was inevitable. You can't escape who you are no matter how hard you try. As much as I wanted to keep everyone and everything from my long and unusual past out of my present, in the end, I couldn't. It's like everyone knows how hard you work to make everything copacetic and that makes it more fun for them to send it all crashing to the ground. Sorry about that. I have a bad habit of telling stories backwards. Maybe I should start at the beginning. My name is Narcissa, Cissa to pretty much everyone. I am a vampire.