Last week, I wrote about the many thank-able things that made up my 2019. However, there was one “opportunity” I neglected to list.

In August, I decided to fulfill a life-long dream, and join a ghost hunting group.

Yes, you heard correctly.

Since childhood, the tales of the paranormal in literature, history, folklore, and “real life” have captured my imagination. I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it’s spin-off Angel. I watched Supernatural, read The Exorcist, watched The Exorcist, read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and bought books on magic, local ghost stories (The Ghost of Virginia books are a personal favorite), and folklore. In college, before my afternoon classes, I would binge-watch A Haunting, a series that reenacted the “true” stories of those afflicted by the paranormal. In my late twenties, I watched Paranormal Witness, a show that aired on the SciFi channel that also told “true” stories of hauntings. These shows first acquainted me with the files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, dybbuks, demonic entities, and other creatures of folklore some claim to truly exist.

It should come as no surprise, then, that I would incorporate the paranormal into my writing. Since a story I wrote in early high school about a haunted house in Colonial Williamsburg, to the haunted house at the center of my debut novel, I’ve always sought different ways to incorporate old traditions with new spins. I hope to continue to do so in future novels.

Anyway, back to the ghost hunting group! I attended the first meeting of the fall season for Virginia’s Center for Paranormal Research and Investigation back in August. The members are an eclectic group of scientists, nurses, cops, teachers, and even a firefighter. Everyone brings their own skills and expertise to the table to investigate historic buildings around Virginia. What makes CPRI different, though, is the fact that the group roots itself in actual scientific processes. You won’t find CPRI members using a “ghost box” or K2 meter or anything else used on ghost hunting TV shows. You won’t find them calling upon psychics or mediums for their insights. They use cameras, Geiger counters, and tons of other science contraptions I don’t understand that read tangible environmental data. CPRI is quick to seek ways to debunk phenomena and will admit when there’s no logical answer to a happening. So far, I’ve been to Bacon’s Castle to assist in CPRI’s annual tours, where members take the public around the historic house to explain phenomena they’ve captured in studies over the years. I’m hoping to go on more investigations in the coming year.

In the spirit of the season, I thought it would be neat to end this blog post with a brief discussion about the tradition of holiday ghost stories. I know what you’re thinking: don’t you mean Halloween ghost stories, not Christmas ghost stories? Sure, we’ve relegated ghost stories to our spooky Halloween holiday, but the telling of ghost stories did not always correlate to October. What was a family to do during the long winter months when the winds howled outside and the snow fell? Well, you sit around the fire and tell stories! As humans, we revel in the unknown, in the eerieness of the things we cannot explain. Why not tell stories about the scary? The unexplainable? The weird? Our ancient ancestors no doubt got a kick out of these stories, wiling away the long, dark winter nights.

So, here is my parting challenge to you this holiday season: Instead of reading the tried and true The Night Before Christmas, regale your tots with one of the most famous ghost stories of all— A Christmas Carol. Maybe ghost stories will become your new tradition.

Ciao, friends!

Jenn