The Ghost Gifts I Got

I woke up Christmas morning and made a Haunt Jaunt to the Christmas tree. To my delight, I unwrapped a bounty of cool ghost gifts!

SPOOKTASTIC READING

My friend Jade sent me this book for Christmas. I am REALLY excited to read it. I had never heard of it before, but I knew Jade had sent me a winner the moment I read the first paragraph on the inside flap:

Peter H. Aykroyd spent his childhood watching his family’s parlor seances through the crack of a basement door. Here, for the first time, Aykroyd tells the strange and delightful story that inspired his son to make the megahit, Ghostbusters.

THANKS, JADE!

CHARMING

Last year for Christmas my best friend Brenda sent me an Italian charm bracelet with a letter explaining the significance of the charms she’d picked. She’d included one to represent my love for volleyball, a paw print birthstone for each of my pets, one that said “Dog Mom” and another that said “I Love My Cats.” I loved it.

This year she surprised me by getting me a few more charms. Well, more than a few. I had a really hard time working the camera to get a shot of them all. The detail on these things is amazing for how small they are.

In addition to one’s representing my battle with cancer, an angel to remind me of the guardian angel I surely must have, mini pics of my pets so I’ll always have them near, and a best friend charm, she also got me a “blogger” one, plus a ghost and a haunted house specifically because of Haunt Jaunts. This was one of the most thoughtful gifts not only that I received this year, but in my whole life!

THANKS, BRENDA!

A GUEST?

Woohooo! My husband came through! I hinted about how I wanted a copy of Lew Lehrman’s “The Final Guest” and Wayne came through for me!

However, I had to laugh. See the top pic? Notice the phantom looking shape on the right side? At first I got all excited. I got a guest with my pic!

But then I took some more shots in order to debunk before I started spouting off that I got a bonus with my print. I quickly realized I could recreate the effect, as shown in the second pic. (Except the recreation was perhaps an even cooler phantom effect.) It was just the way the light was reflecting off the deck doors.

Oh well. A “guest” would have been a neat bonus, but the real treat is having my very own copy of “The Final Guest.” I love it!

THANKS, WILLIE!

I hope you all got some ghostly satisfying presents this holiday season also!

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.