The Haunting
Given the weather and the cold, more and more people may be seen trolling about in the stacks of libraries, or browsing in those book stores that are left. Ten days ago I began reading books on a list of good reads for a winter's day. At this point I've read three of the fifteen listed and three more from that list sit in my book basket. Last night I found myself in Öland, Sweden-- an island off the coast of Sweden.
While summers sound ideal, winters are harsh and most of the people leave their cottages and return to the mainland. I expect that Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard also present two faces-- the summer people and the year long inhabitants.
Öland in the winter thrives on folklore and ghost stories. Even if you don't believe in ghosts or haunted houses, isn't it freeing to see the sun squat into the small spaces.
My friend Nina's family owned a car--unlike my family-- and her family occasionally invited me on a Sunday jaunt. Her father loved quant places and one Sunday he drove to a haunted barn-- at least that was its billing. While Nina's parents prepared a picnic we went off to explore the barn with explicit directions not to climb any ladders, touch anything , or go into any tight places.
" Just look around," her father said, "and after we eat we'll really explore the barn."
Her mother said that she'd wave her arms when it was time for us to return and eat lunch. Because her younger brother begged to come along and her mother said we needed to take him, Charles accompanied us on this exploration. At ten the entire episode seemed like an adventure.
Who saw the plaid shirt and denim pants first? Nina said she did, Charles said he did and I thought I saw the boots. We all agreed -- he was hanging from a rafter high up in the barn's ceiling. No one could see arms or a head, but we knew he was hanging.
Did we all scream at the same time or did one of us scream and the others followed? By the time we returned to the site of the picnic we all spoke at the same time. Nina's dad took us all back to the barn, although we stood outside while he went in to explore. He did find a plaid shirt in the loft area of the barn and wondered why we went up there when told not to explore that area.
Supposedly a man had died in the barn and the story of his haunting the barn was well known. Had we heard that story and imagined the figure or did we see his ghost?
While summers sound ideal, winters are harsh and most of the people leave their cottages and return to the mainland. I expect that Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard also present two faces-- the summer people and the year long inhabitants.
Öland in the winter thrives on folklore and ghost stories. Even if you don't believe in ghosts or haunted houses, isn't it freeing to see the sun squat into the small spaces.
My friend Nina's family owned a car--unlike my family-- and her family occasionally invited me on a Sunday jaunt. Her father loved quant places and one Sunday he drove to a haunted barn-- at least that was its billing. While Nina's parents prepared a picnic we went off to explore the barn with explicit directions not to climb any ladders, touch anything , or go into any tight places.
" Just look around," her father said, "and after we eat we'll really explore the barn."
Her mother said that she'd wave her arms when it was time for us to return and eat lunch. Because her younger brother begged to come along and her mother said we needed to take him, Charles accompanied us on this exploration. At ten the entire episode seemed like an adventure.
Who saw the plaid shirt and denim pants first? Nina said she did, Charles said he did and I thought I saw the boots. We all agreed -- he was hanging from a rafter high up in the barn's ceiling. No one could see arms or a head, but we knew he was hanging.
Did we all scream at the same time or did one of us scream and the others followed? By the time we returned to the site of the picnic we all spoke at the same time. Nina's dad took us all back to the barn, although we stood outside while he went in to explore. He did find a plaid shirt in the loft area of the barn and wondered why we went up there when told not to explore that area.
Supposedly a man had died in the barn and the story of his haunting the barn was well known. Had we heard that story and imagined the figure or did we see his ghost?
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