Spooky things that go bump in the night

I guess this has floated through my mind because my students are already planning what they will wear for Halloween. We have a huge assembly at our school where each grade gets to cross the stage and show off their costumes.  It sets the aura for the day.  Usually, my teaching partner and I plan a day of Halloween themed lessons.  But I have to set the stage for the day in a special way.

In my room, I turn off all the lights.  I have a string of mini lights that fit inside a black skull plastic discs.  With the lights off, they glow very eerily.  I have a plastic gargoyle pumpkin with lights that shine out of his eyes.  I put on really spooky Halloween music with lots of heavy breathing, screams, organ music, doors creaking, wolves howling and owls hooting.  When the kids walk in, they ooh and aah over the decorations.  

My favorite part of the day is turning out the lights, turning on the skulls and the gargoyle pumpkin lights, and telling a ghost story or two.  It makes my day if I am able to draw the students in by talking so low they can barely hear, and then shouting boo at them and hearing them scream. I always tell the classic hook story!  Everybody loves a good ghost story.

My OK grandma used to sit all of us kids around her and she'd tell a ghost story about somebody missing a liver or something like that.  She made the spookiest moaning sound I have ever heard.  Then she'd yell boo, and we'd all scream and run!  It didn't matter how many times she told that story, and we always knew what was coming .... we'd still scream and run.  Every time she laughed and laughed at us scaredy cat kids!

That said, I remember several really spooky real life events that can't be explained today.  The first one that comes to mind centers around a clock.  My grandmother or great grandmother (the aunties weren't sure who) cross stitched and embroidered a clock front on cloth.  My grandma gave it to my mom.  Daddy made a wood and glass case for it and put clock works in it.  It makes a partial chime every quarter of an hour, and then the number of bongs on the hour for what time it is.  I LOVE that old clock.  My sister and brother were gracious enough to let me have the clock after mom passed away.  The clock had been in her room at the Assisted Living Center.  The numbers were too small for her to see, so I got her a big one with oversize numbers.  She said she still wanted that clock in her room because it comforted her and reminded her of the years it chimed the hours in her living room.

The clock ran fine!  Period!  Nothing wrong with it at all.  When I took the clock home after she died and laid it on the counter until I could hang it, the clock stopped.  Nothing fixed it - nothing!  Hubby put new batteries in it, shook it gently, messed with the hands.  Nothing worked.  For whatever reason, I just left that clock on the kitchen counter for a week or two.  One day my husband rolled through the kitchen, saw the clock and said out loud, "OK mom, you can start the clock back up."  He continued to the living room.  When he went back in a few minutes later, it was ticking, and was set to the correct time.  I KID YOU NOT!  He yelled at me to come and see.  I saw and heard it.  To this day, I have no clue why that old clock started, but it does make you wonder!!!

The second eerie thing I remember was at mom's funeral.  We had a graveside service for her rather than a church service.  My daughter and her friend sang at the funeral.  Some history - my dad would always tell the grandkids that grandma had to sew his buttons on real tight when they were in a play or sang or something like that, because he was so proud, his buttons might pop off.  Right before the song, my daughter had said, "Grandpa, you better get those buttons sewn on tight, cause I'm going to sing for grandma."  Her grandpa had died 2 months before. In the middle of the song, there was a popping sound from the stereo that sounded just like buttons popping.  My daughter almost couldn't go on with the song. 

Yes, I know - probably coincidence.  But you never know.  So this Halloween, keep your eyes peeled, your wooden stakes handy, and don't eat all the candy before the trick or treaters come.  They might not like that at all and ....................  (fade to Twilight Zone music).