A short ghost story

So here we are near Halloween, and I thought a short ghost story might be in order.

I was reading Katherine Ramsland's Ghost: Investigating the Other Side recently, and ran across the following paragraph in her conclusion. She is discussing what her research--years of reading about and interviewing vampires and ghost hunters--had revealed to her:

Perhaps the most startling revelation to me was the apparent communication from "them"--those who had died--that the way we live here affects the way we may exist over there. If we don't like who we are, we'd better make some changes. According to one report, it's more difficult to change over there. If true, that really makes one think about what might make eternity worth the experience and what might make it miserable. (295)

The funny part of this quote is that Ms. Ramsland, a Ph.D. in philosophy who has taught at ivy-league universities, has spent years learning what the church has been teaching openly for centuries: What happens in life really matters. We'd better make some changes. It's hard to change "over there." Eternity could be worth the experience, or it might be miserable.

On a more serious note, the book was distrubing because she spent nearly 300 pages searching for contact with an evil personality who had been a killer in life and who she believed was following her from beyond death. Why would anyone seek contact with a demon? And she jumped through all the New Age, paranormal hoops.

Years ago, my parents were good friends with our local Presbyterian minister. I remember Mr. Thompson was totally set against paranormal "games" such as Ouija boards and the like. He claimed that such things would never pull up anything but an evil spirit.

I've always wondered what the Rev. Thompson had experienced that might have led to this belief. He wasn't entirely consistent. He'd tell you, "Ouija is just a game," and then in the same breath, "Don't ever play it."

Regardless of how dangerous paranormal games might be, if Ms. Ramsland wants answers to the mysteries of life, it seems to me she'd do better to pick up a Bible rather than try to contact a dead, murderer-vampire via seances.

Best wishes,
Mason Smith