Monday, October 09, 2006

Orbs & Other Heavenly Bodies ...Happy Hauntings!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN & HAPPY HAUNTINGS
I was working on a crossword puzzle last night & needed a three letter word for 'Heavenly Body.'
The word was ORB.
I got the word then ran to my 1970 Random House Dictionary of the English Language. Sure enough...

orb-n. 1. any of the heavenly bodies, such as the moon or a star.
2. a sphere or globe

Now a couple of months ago, I caught a glimpse of some TV show about ghost-hunters & they were using special cameras to photgraph a house propounded to be 'haunted.' They photographed the house & came up with a handful of photographs that contained what they called an 'ORB' or two.

They pointed out how the 'orbs' were not perfectly round, how they were of various colors & found only in certain areas. They beleived these 'orbs' to be ghosts, spirits, hauntings.

Now, let us jump back to nearly a year ago. Halloween night, 2005. Here, in my neighborhood... an old mill village, with houses...such as mine, dating back to 1903. Houses that now accomodate one family used to accomodate 4 families. Houses with fireplaces in each room. Houses that have, over the years, been updated to include bathrooms and electricity. My house has a clawfoot tub where the backporch used to be, did not have kitchen appliances until 7 years ago when I bought them, had electrical added in the late 1960's and seems to constantly be throwing marbles out at me.

Anyway....Halloween night last year, as always, is a big hoo-ha. We usually average between 150 and 300 trick or treaters. We spend 50-75 dollars on candy & we always run out before the parade of children call it a night. We go all out. My neighbor walks on drywall stilts and wears all-black, painting his face like the Crow & carries a 5' tall sickle. My husband is the ghost, suspended from the old oak tree in a body harness...which descends upon the walking masses. My neighbors wife, with her Janis Joplin hair, wears all white & under her black light looks umm... eerie, as she hands out candy. I install theatrical fangs & usually go white while wearing all black. We have a pile of leaves that the older kids nestle into, to rise up out of as the children run away with their candies. We have fog machines & tombstones, rats that run with glowing eyes, bats that fly with squeeling noises, gates that squeek open & warn passer-bys. The list goes on & is ever-growing.

Last year, we had a new neighbor who was blown away by our theatrics & she hung out until the end. She went on to say that she wondered if her house wasn't haunted.
We laughed & asked why? She said her cabinet doors opened on their own. OK, well it's like these houses are as old as the hills, weren't originally built to accomodate cabinets and are forever settling...so we all have that happen. Get tighter interior latches. She has mysterious puddles of water that appear in the middle of the floor in rooms with no water. Hmmm....get a dog or a cat, then you can blame it on them. She hears strange sounds in the house & it has cold pockets. With 10' ceilings, there are going to be cold pockets, old houses make strange sounds.
Finally, she said, 'Well I guess maybe my house isn't haunted, this kind of stuff happens to all of you?' There was huddle of about 5 home-owners and we all cracked up laughing. I said 'The whole neighborhood is rich with spirits.' One neighbor said, 'No, all the houses are haunted.' Another 'We all have that ... and some.'

Now, I don't know if our houses are really haunted, per se, but it was the only thing that made sense at the moment, talking with this woman about her house. Before she left, she told us our yard looked great & that we should take a picture. Duh! Year after year we busy ourselves so much, that we invariably always forget to take pictures. So I ran inside & grabbed my camera. I asked a neighbor to snap a photo & this is what I got.

So, if 'orbs' are heavenly bodies...I guess we are surrounded.
(oh, having just uploaded photos 7x to actually get them here, they just doesn't do justice...the 'orbs' are in every color, layered one upon another...shades of blue, pink, purple, red, green, white & none are perfectly round) Top photo is original & unedited. Bottom photo has been lightened & if you want to right click & open in Paint, I have added comments explaining various things such as the flood lights and lanterns....or you can just click to enlarge. Either way, Happy Hauntings to you!

11 comments:

singleton said...

We grew up calling those Orbs Tilly! And you can't tell me otherwise! A beautiful portrait of the mischevious, the dancing, the lingering, the loving... spirits. Houses are not haunted, but homes are....perhaps....often visited! ILY!

Anonymous said...

All of your orbs are natural airborne dust particles known as dust orbs. While you may not think of it being dusty, the digital camera does see them and record them. They are very normal and very commonly captured\ with a digital camera. I have taken photos of over a thousand dust orbs and I can assure you that your orbs are dust particles.
Kind regards,
Dr. Dave

skinnylittleblonde said...

LOL, What timing?!
They probably are dust particles...kicked up by all the spirits! LOL.
Entertaining, nonetheless!
Dr Dave is NOT a blogger, but a professional. Above is an email from him & I linked his name to his web-site...because it is MOST interesting!
Again, Happy Hauntings!

slaghammer said...

I lived for 13 years in a house built in the late 1800's. The second story burned down in about 1930 (one fatality) and they turned it into a one story. The charred remains of the second story walls were still visible in the attic. The old man at the end of the block had lived on that street since he was a kid and he told me that every person that lived there since the fire had unusual stories to tell. There were many very strange noises and odd happenings during my time there. I was seriously surprised a few times but I was ok with idea so it never bothered me.

skinnylittleblonde said...

Slag~ that's amazing! How eerie would that attic be covered in ash, soot charred walls...almost everything in a Scoobie Doo skit! I bet that house was considered the 'haunted house' of the neighborhood! I think I would be very 'aware' living there.

phoenix girl~ So, do you get a feeling about my house? I don't usually think about ghosts & such either, but sometimes somethings remind me about the whole idea of the paranormal & such. And Yes, colorful dust can be quite entertaining! :)


Anyone Who Cares~ Weird thing is 3 pics were snapped in about a 5 minute time frame & this is the only one with the orbs...plus there is a mysterious black shape over front windows. Normally they are completely visible, complete with white shutters.

Anne said...

Hi skinny! Some houses are definitely stranger than others, but those look like joyful, benevolent -ahem- "dust particles." Nothing to be scared of. Au contraire, consider yourself favored.

Halloween is my favorite holiday too. I disguise myself as a big brunette with waist length, suspiciously witch-like hair. ;)

singleton said...

Gosh, we must have had some serious dirt going on in the house we grew up in...I mean imagine little particles plopping together to form such powerful dustbunnies that merely by floating they could flip light switches, move furniture, toss clothes, throw dishes, swing the chandeliers! Anyway, this just reaffirms the fact that I have to care even less about housekeeping in this old house! I wouldn't want to vacuum up the poor little dust particles, I mean gosh, when they've gone to such the trouble....staying here and all!

Me said...

Blogger is a bitch when it comes to pictures. What I find is when you cut and paste text onto a fresh 'canvas' post it doesn't allow you to upload a picture.

Anyways, I love how you've labelled the flood lights, etc, in the photograph. Cute touch.

Wish I had you as a neighbour come Halloween since it isn't something we Aussies celebrate (and it's my birthday).

Have a happy haunting!

Anonymous said...

Anne~ First of all, I love your kitty picture & secondly, I love your perspective. Halloween is wonderful, fun & creative time to enjoy the kids & their imagination...and tap into our own.
Singleton~I had a dream of persichetti last night & awoke to these comments... only you would know how ironic that is, but I agree ... no more dusting! LOL.
Orhan~ Happy Early B-Day...is it on the 31st? Mine is coming before you know it...Saturday or Sunday, I think. Sorry about the ill-advise on copy & paste. I am amazed at your 23 year old vision to be able to read my disclaimers. Have you ever experienced Halloween somewhere that does celebrate it, in all your worldly travels?
Phoenix Girl~Thank you. I believe this whole world is rich in spirits and just as some folks have stronger personalities, stronger voices or even stronger body odors than others, some have stronger spirits...and that it can change with time. Although I do think the marble thing(mentioned in previous post)is unusual. I have well over 50 of them now...all gifts from this house, it walls, recesses & yard. Neither of my next door neighbors have found a single one yet.
Thanks Again All & Happy Hauntings!

Me said...

My birthday is a day after we offically open the new shop I work for. Oh my, the pain. The 25th to be exact. As for a celebrated Halloween, that would be a big negative. We Australians tend to frown upon anyone who does. Personally I leave all my celebration spirit for Christmas. I go all out.

skinnylittleblonde said...

Ahhh...Christmas...much more magical than Halloween could ever come close to! Halloween is for 'imagining' and Christmas is for 'beleiving.'
(I hope you don't frown down too much on us...that will age you quicker than the birthdays)
We are fellow Libras, mine is the 15th. Deepak says that a wish for a party is equal to an actual party. I'm sending you birthday party wishes galore ... it should be a Good Time had by all!