  Horror/Scary
This week: The Essence of a Presence Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Energy cannot be created or destroyed.
Thomas Edison
Welcome to this week's WDC Horror/Scary Newsletter ~ where the mundane takes a back seat to the realm of the unknown, a realm of limitless possibilities.
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Greetings,
Let me begin with the climb. The chasm to our right grew deeper and darker as we ascended metal stairs, with but a low railing to keep us, and those who had gone before, from falling to the abyss. I led the way, my sneakers beating a metallic drumbeat with every step, no different than the booted feet following my climb. Several stories up, metallic slats leveled out to allow us to walk, single file, and view the cages. They were locked, with metal bars for doors set in metal walls and metal ceilings, perhaps eight feet by eight. Dark stains leaked like inverted axe blades from the corners of the gray metal, perhaps accounting for the aroma of damp moldering soil, as if instead of two stories up, we were deep underground.
Metal bunk beds affixed to a wall, a few with thin mattresses, and an open commode were the only fixtures, other than a bare light bulb set in the ceiling of each adjoining metal cage. A few of them were lit, but most were long burned out, so we used our flashlights to better view the contents and our path along the slatted metal walkway, two stories up from the metal floor below. The cells were unoccupied, but a couple were tumbled with possessions left behind in apparent haste, like the one near the end of the row with a tattered moldy comforter and bunched up pillow rolled of the bottom bunk, almost covering the open paperback on the metal ground just inside the cage. I squatted, trying to see what the inmate had been reading. My companions stopped in my wake, watching as I reached a finger through the metal bars, reaching for the book.
We were cast into darkness. Each of our flashlights went dark. I jumped up, grabbing at the rail behind me, and stepped with care away from the cage. Flicking the flashlight on and off on and off several times brought the light back, for me as well as my companions, and we followed the beams to the turn just ahead and the metal stairs folding down six tiers of cells to the metal floor.
Yes, we continued our exploration of the Mansfield Reformatory, but each with a more observant eye and keeping in sight the nearest exits, just in case. We encountered ghost hunters (no, not "ghost busters") setting up an array of recording equipment in the library. When we told them about all our flashlights going out at once, they grabbed as much of their video and sound gear as they could carry up the narrow metal stairs and made quick tracks.
*****
The Mansfield Reformatory in Ohio was built over a hundred years ago as a facility to rehabilitate non-lifer criminals; it wasn't maximum security. The intent might have been to uplift their spirits with the medieval styled facade, but the inmates would not have had much occasion to see that from within their steel cages atop steel cages framed by steel walls - you get it. The facility deteriorated, structurally as did the morale of inmates and keepers (tragic end to both the warden and his wife in the administrative (residential) wing). The prison was closed in 1990, almost 100 years after receiving its first inmates. It was made available to film-makers (Shawshank Redemption) and opened for tours (ghost hunters included) several years later to fund maintenance as a historical landmark.
I happened to speak with a couple of the ghost hunters, graduate students from a nearby university, who explained what they were trying to record. They had taken Thomas Edison's theory and postulated that if energy is not destroyed, it must manifest itself in some way and, in this prison of steel encased in concrete, this energy in the form of ectoplasm (ghosts) would stay or return, and the observant will be able to engage them and record their presence via photography and audio.
To this day, science has not been able to prove that ghosts do not exist, therefore the postulate remains valid that they do. That makes sense, right? And the evidence of their presence is there for those who seek it ~ in the breath of chill on a hot summer's night, a shimmer of warmth where there are no mechanical lights to cause it, an orb of light on a photo, or a shadow that plays across the corner of your eye, gone before your mind fully engages its presence.
Four main types of manifestation have been encountered, and recorded by ghost hunters and amateur photographers alike.
 Ectoplasm, or ghostly mist. This is the common perception of 'ghosts' in cemeteries or haunted places, appearing as a vaporous cloud just above the ground. Although a camera can create this effect by breathing close to the lens, the gray and whitish swirling 'aura' can move swiftly and has been reported as emitting warmth and even a waxy mass, if it comes near enough to be touched. Scientific theory holds these manifestations as collapsed electromagnetic energy (life).
 Globes and orbs of light. These are the most commonly photographed apparitions. They appear as balls of light hovering off the ground, often with a lingering trail that is captured on film. These are most often found in historic settings. They are believe to be the soul or spirit of those who have passed from this life.
 Apparitions. These ghosts are captured on film as full or partial figures, human in form, some invisible to the eye but there when film is developed. Observed and recorded on film have been both historical figures and those that appear similar in dress and appearance to people today. These figures are most often found in older homes, public facilities and cemeteries. Consider visiting members of your family from the spirit world would most likely be apparitions.
 Shadows (Shades) and dark entities. These are the ghosts you see as the shadow you catch from the corner of your eye, which when you face full on has moved. You may also catch a glimpse in a mirror. They appear as ectoplasm, but with a denser or darker substance, and higher in the air. You are most likely to notice them in a home or outdoors.
So, these are the ghosts we would most likely encounter when we look for them. And remember, science has not proven they do not exist, and have some decent observations that they do.
(Historical background on Mansfield Reformatory for the curious - http://www.deadohio.com/mansfieldreformatory.htm)
Write On!
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Tales of ghost hunters and seekers from our Community, expressed in prose and verse ~ enjoy the journey
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Thank you for this safe respite - until we next meet ~ take a good flashlight when you seek inspiration for your tale.
Write On
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Horror/Scary: April 26, 2017 Issue [#8256]
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