" The Secret Garden", I began reading Poe and Lovecraft and anything remotely scary. Needless to say, " The Shining" kind of threw me for a loop. I found the whole concept terrifying while also being profoundly relieved that nothing that dramatic had ever happened to me.
I'm not saying that it's impossible, only that from my experience, it's highly unlikely that there are groups of evil spirits hanging around in some old hotel waiting to terrorize some cute little kid and his talking finger. Most of the spirits I've encountered, (I use the word spirit because I don't think they're all exactly human), seem pretty benign. Some of them seem completely unaware of us, just going about their business, while others seem to take an interest.
I actually don't understand a lot of it. I don't see spirits the way that I did as a kid; mostly I just occasionally see movements or outlines of figures, or I just get that tickle on the back of my neck that you feel when someone is standing behind you. However, I do "hear" them fairly frequently, but a lot of times, it's like listening to a radio station that fades in and out. I don't know if that stems from their inability to communicate or my brain's lack of adequate reception. Okay, this part is hard to explain...
I don't physically hear them with my ears. It's like, I hear them inside my head. And yeah, I know exactly how that sounds.
There's no way to adequately describe it, and any proof I might offer is anecdotal at best. The closest thing I have to evidence is that I often "know" things that make me seem really smart, when in fact, I knew exactly jack shit about the topic at hand until the answer just floated across my brain. On a good day, I kick all kinds of ass at Trivial Pursuit. I've often been asked, " How do you KNOW that?" I just shrug and grin, because there's no way in hell I'm telling them that it's not me, but some apparition who apparently has nothing better to do than help me cheat at board games.
It's not always the same voice, either, though I do have one that seems to follow me around. I don't know his actual name, but I call him Clyde because he seems to hate it and I find that amusing. He seems like a pretty good guy, if somewhat surly. I'm sure he's just exasperated by having to constantly help me find little random things that I'm always losing.
(Me: Where the fuck is my pencil?!)
Clyde: Sigh
I kinda feel bad for him, and I'm not quite sure why he stays with me. My best guess is that he's performing some sort of guardian angel duty, but he seems a little too angry and dictatorial to pull of fluffy wings and a harp, and he's sure as hell isn't wearing a halo. I'm not sure who or what he is, and he isn't telling. I seem to have picked him up in Indiana, of all places, but that's another story...
