Current Read

I have started another book. This will be number three for the year. If the drive is still to read a book a month, I'm up to March.

I received this book for my birthday. I started it and then it was set aside, buried actually, by papers I needed to file and didn't want to. When I tackled that pile, there was the book, down at the bottom.

I like a good ghost story. I like the kind of story that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, but doesn't scare you witless.
Somewhere in the house, I have a paperback, "The Midnight Hearse and Other Ghost Stories" collected by Elliot McDonald. I got the book while still in high school. They are 2-3 page stories of British ghosts supposedly investigated by McDonald. He had a style heavy on hyperbole but I remember that I couldn't read the book outside of the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some of the stories scared me that badly.

I don't like horror movies because they seem to be horribly predictable and it's all about dismembering people. I remember watching Alfred Hitchcock's TV show. That was scary. Some of the old Twilight Zone episodes had a genuine "scare feel" to them. I don't want to be terrified. I guess just tingled in a safe environment.

The first stories in this book are just recollections of legends. We'll see, as I delve further, if this is merely a collection of legend or a telling of encounters. I'm fairly certain I have never personally encountered a ghost. I do believe there is something that we can't quantify. Some stories just aren't explainable any other way. And I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that there could be "ghosts". I've just never had the pleasure of an encounter, if I can call it pleasure to be scared witless. Even if these aren't the spine tingling brand of stories, it will be a nice addition to the books I carry around for the clan tent. Mija agrees.

This will be a good read for a lazy summer afternoon spent sitting on the deck this weekend. The girls have been allowed out onto the deck while I'm there and they do like the fresh air. I thought it would be nice to have "family time" this long weekend ahead. What a better way to spend it than with two of my favorite things, cats and books.

Edward Gorey was right.


Beverage: Scottish Blend Tea

Deb