Giddings' Guide to Ghostly Encounters

GIDDINGS’ GUIDE TO GHOSTLY ENCOUNTERS BLOG POST #1

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM AN ENCOUNTER WITH A WRAITH 

Wraiths are terrifying beings that typically appear in the dead of night. Their coming is frequently accompanied  by a sudden feeling of cold, and heavy darkness. They will try to manipulate you into feeling a sense of dread, but don’t fall for it, it’s just part of their special effects. These guys can be both powerful and gloomy. Do not let them suck you into the gloom, too. It is possible that wraiths come from a person who was messing with dark magic and trying to cheat death. They do tend to stay around for a long time, annoyingly so, but the attempt at cheating cost them and they have to hang out between worlds, unable to pass into the afterlife. 

They can be stupid clingy, especially if they realize you can see them, and even worse if they find out you can hear them. If you can communicate, do not – this is SO IMPORTANT – do not ever, ever make a deal with them. You’ll never get them to leave and you’ll have to wear jackets all the time, because, man, they can make it cold! Don’t be tempted! Even if you think they may help you ace a test or do well on a history paper. My wraith got the info off of Wikipedia and I got stuck with a deal to try to send him to the afterlife. And detention for plagiarism!

Also, if they are super old, they may think they can offer you life advice. Like their life turned out so well. You can listen, if you choose, just don’t try to make a deal or negotiate. You will lose. 

To evict them, you have to find their weakness. Whatever it might be. Burning sage will not work. Whether loose leaves, a stick or a smudge, your house will end up smelling like weed, and your parents will think you need to go to a drug rehabilitation center. Lastly, if a wraith suggests peyote, Nancy Reagan-em and just say no. You won’t get those dreams out of your head for weeks. Although it might make the rehab stint less gross.

GIDDINGS’ GUIDE TO GHOSTLY ENCOUNTERS BLOG POST #2

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM AN ENCOUNTER WITH A RED LADY

As you know, red can be a treacherous and warning color. Possibly malignant. Menacing. Wicked. (No, not the musical, stupid). Dangerous. Red Lady stories usually involve brutality and, often, cruelty. There is frequently a tragic backstory that involves violence, vengeance, and passion. What’s not to love? An RL generally has longish brown hair and wears a blood-red dress. Duh. Lots of them also carry around a big knife to brandish at live people. The problem with this is that the knive’s pointy ends are regularly functional, potentially lethal. They are NOT Ladies in Red you want to dance with.

A less well-known Red Lady comes from Chinese folklore. She was beautiful and vain, and wears a red qipao (traditional Chinese dress) if seen. She abused her servant girl horribly with beatings and much worse. After a while, the girl flipped out and killed her mistress both slowly and viciously. She waited to carve up RL’s face until the very end, so Red Lady could watch her great beauty destroyed in the mirror. RL didn’t die from her wounds, but rather from her despair at the loss of the only thing she considered valuable – her looks. So, ancient Chinese RL gives a contemporary warning about going under the knife. Bah-BAM! 

Anyway, these mamasitas are mean. Across the board. And they are extra entitled. Don’t let them know you can see them, or they’ll demand something from you. They don’t ask. They don’t bargain. They just expect. And if you try to say no or just ignore them, they will make your life hell. Like showing up to important events and then making you look crazy. And don’t forget those fully functional knives! (with a nod to Palpatine)

GIDDINGS’ GUIDE TO GHOSTLY ENCOUNTERS BLOG POST #3  

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM AN ENCOUNTER WITH A GHOSTLY GAL

There are a lot of Lady Ghosties out there. Here is a list of some of the other uniquely female types:

Grey Ladies: Shocker here, given the color – these Ladies are sad. Sad histories, sad way of dressing, and sad presentation, if you happen to see one. They cry a lot. Just sad, sad, sad. One of the most famous ones is Scotland’s Glamis Castle’s Grey Lady, believed to be Lady Janet Douglas. And, yeah, what was done to her was pretty heinous. She was burned at the stake for treason against James V (which it’s unlikely she committed), and her youngest son was forced to watch her burn.

White Ladies: Virginal? Perhaps. Ingenues? Not on your life (and I do mean your life). However, these chicas are usually love-lorn, love-lost, and love-killed ‘em. One of my faves is Sukie, the White Lady of the Hellfire Caves in England, who died wearing a white dress or maybe even a wedding dress. She may have been tricked by douchery into the caves with a fake invitation to wed her lover by members of the demonic Hellfire Club, and they killed her there with a rock. She’s trending right now as anti-man, probably anti-satanic man.

Women in Black and Black Dogs: Aaaahhh, black. The color of mourning, the color of death. The color my sister wears all-the-friggin’-time! Yeah, yeah – all the ghosts are dead, but the Women in Black and Black Dogs wander around with a big time air of mystery and special significance. The best Lady is Mantelgeisten, meaning cloaked ghost, at Norway’s Akershus Fortress. BTW, also one of the most haunted places anywhere and home to its own Black Dog. The Middle Ages, baby! That’s when all the best ghosts come from! Anyway, a chambermaid for Queen Margrethe, Mannie here was said to have starved to death at Akershus during the Black Plague. Take that you vaxxers!  Also, in true late thirteenth century form and like many big structures of the time, Akershus followed the custom of burying a LIVE DOG at the entrance. The thought was that the dog would protect the fortress and everyone inside. But Svartaktig, Blacky to you luddites who can’t even use Google, had his own doggy ideas and now anyone who happens to see him running around is promised a violent death. Woof!

Blue Ladies: Maybe you’ve figured it out by now, but the way these Ladies dress usually relates to how they died and what the circumstances of their deaths were. Blue Ladies are pretty rare and their passings are often marked by the surrounding death or deaths of loved ones or children. There is a young Blue Lady that haunts the Port Arthur historic site in Tasmania, Australia. She is said to have died in childbirth while she was imprisoned in a penal colony there. Please don’t get sassy and tell her to push. She’s not still pregnant, and I don’t know what might happen. But there are some pretty high spots in the ruins and she might, well, you get it…

Green Ladies: The Green Eyed Monster is real, folks. Green Ladies are primarily tied to Scottish and Welsh lore, and often, the story is that they were murdered either by their lover for an unwanted pregnancy or by their rival for said lover’s affection. Many protect the homes and families they haunt and have even been known to bring in the cattle during storms. So moo to you. Some people think a Green Lady is not a ghost, but rather an elemental, like a brownie. Effin idiots. One of the best stories is about Alice de Clare, neé Angouleme. Her story is trés Arthurian with a knight lover and a jealous husband. However, Alice didn’t go down the rabbit hole or to Wonderland. She died from shock when she learned of her lover’s death from the machinations of her husband. And though she was in France when she croaked, she continues to haunt Caerphilly Castle in Glamorgan, Wales to this day.

Brown Ladies: The most famous Brown Lady seems to be a fan of paparazzi. Potential big sis to Robert Walpole (look it up yourself!), Dorothy Walpole was the second wife of a violent Charles, Second Viscount Townshend. He was renowned for his temper. Anyway, thinking he had been cuckholded by Dotty, he locked her in her rooms at Raynham Hall where she allegedly died of smallpox. Country Life Magazine claims to have photographed her in her brown brocade dress sometime during the twentieth century.

Purple Ladies:  Who’d a thought it? A haint in Salt Lake City, Utah? The Purple Lady of the Rio Grande Depot, now an historic site in downtown SLC, is said to haunt the property. Purple is a great color, but I have no idea about its significance, unless our unlucky Lady was wearing it when she gave up the ghost. Nyuck, nyuck. I’m pretty proud of that one. The story goes that she and her bethrothed had an argument as they were at the station to elope. She took off her engagement ring and threw it at him, when it bounced onto the tracks. Not really wanting to call the whole thing off, she jumped down to retrieve the ring and was smushed by the train. Now she wanders around the defunct depot asking folks if they’ve seen her beloved. 

Women in Beige: Beige, really? Yeah, and they’re that boring, too. Like widow’s walk jumpers, waiting on a fainting couch or something for their husbands to come back from sea. I mean, come on, get a life. Oops. Even I know it doesn’t all revolve around a husband. There’s one at the Virginian Hotel, in Lynchburg, Virginia. A woman in beige is still waiting there for her husband who appears to have abandoned her and never returned. Man, I wouldn’t wait for anyone for more than 20 minutes. Its been more than a 100 years for this chick. And she chose to jump from a window. Anyway, the hotel itself was built by a dude named August Grimm. No, I’m not kidding. Her grief tied her to the hotel, and she is still sighted there on occasion.

Pink Ladies: These Ladies are…nice. One of the most well-known is opera singer, Helen Gahagan Douglas who abandoned stage and fame for politics and progressive causes. She was murdered. Or she fell from a fifth story balcony in the 1920s. She is usually described as having a gentle, friendly, calming presence. Especially towards kids. She’s been known to comfort people, and even tickle guests on their feet at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. Moreover, she’s always dressed in pink. There are a few other examples of Pink Ladies around the world, but they all seem pretty nice. Oh, and open the door for Ms. Helen if you see her. My friend, Andie, says she’ll appreciate it.

Fairy Changeling

Poltergeist

from Wikipedia: Robin Round  haunted Spaldington Hall in Spaldington, East Riding of Yorkshire, and was a hearth spirit of the true hobgoblin type. He helped thresh the corn and performed other domestic chores, but when he was in the mood for mischief he would mix the wheat and chaff again, kick over the milk pail, and extinguish the fire. He is said to have been confined in a well for a stipulated number of years through the prayers of three clergymen. This well is known as Robin Roundcap's Well.[8]