The Ghost Hunting Meme

[hauntedasachild]

Maybe you're part of one of those big paranormal research societies that have their own TV show, top of the line equipment, and everything. Maybe you're an aspiring director who's noticed the boom of paranormal TV shows lately and decided to cash in the time is right for your art. Or maybe you and your friends just decided that messing around in someplace that's supposed to be haunted sounded like a fun way to spend an evening, especially when there may or may not be beer involved. Whatever the reason may be, you've decided to go

GHOST HUNTING



Choose your haunting, or let he RNG pick for you:

1. Setting Up: You're on location, and the locals have told you about the place's super creepy history and why it's definitely haunted. It's time to start unpacking your gear and encountering some ghosts. You just noticed that the clouds in the sky are forming an X over the location - just like the electrical tape X's you used to mark locations for your infrared cameras! - so you know you're going to get a lot of activity tonight.

2. YOU GUYS WHAT WAS THAT NOISE: There's no way that was just the building settling, and wind definitely doesn't make a sound like that! Clearly, something paranormal is afoot (a spooky, disembodied foot) here.

3. Era Cues: One of the best ways to draw out ghosts is through the use of stimuli from the era in which they died - so put on some oldschool jazz, light up a cigar, and start cooking some down-home southern cuisine. It's for science!

4. EVP Time: Your completely uncalibrated EMF detector just started spiking, and you may or may not have felt a cold breeze just now, so the spirits must be with you! Switch on that tape recorder and start asking them some questions, and maybe you'll be able to pick their responses out of the background noise (what is a "pareidolia," anyway?)

5. Motion Detector Mayhem: The device you bought to make a horrific racket if anything moves is making a horrific racket, and what could possibly move in an empty, dark room where your teammates totally haven't been except for a ghost? You haven't even seen any huge moths since you began this investigation, so it has to be something paranormal!

6. COME AT ME BRO: Provoking the ghosts is a really good idea. Shouting and posturing at the air like a tough guy makes you look cool, and it's always the best way to-- oh god, did something just scratch you?!

7. The Infrared Camera Just Caught Something: Or maybe it was the ultraviolet camera, or hell, maybe even the regular old visible light camera. Either way, it definitely wasn't one of your teammates sneaking off to take a leak or a smoke without telling anyone else, unlike the last four times, because everyone is finally present and accounted for. Which leaves only one thing it could be...

8. That Object Just Moved!: Despite the fact that you finally wised up and placed the trigger object far away from your camera cords or anything that you could trip over, it just fell over. And that piece of concrete that just landed next to your foot? It totally didn't come from the ceiling - it had to have been thrown by something!

9. Possession: Suddenly, one of your teammates can't quite seem to remember his last name, and is talking about how he'll "scuttle your legs" - or maybe he's talking about how this place fills him with demonic rage, or just acting dumber than usual. Either way, he's obviously been possessed by an entity!

10. Other/Pick One: Choose your own haunting.

Comments

[aviophobia]

Okay. Sorry.

[He takes in a breath, trying to calm his racing heart. It's not that successful, but at least he's not shaking now.]

Let's go.

[hypospraying]

Okay.

[She shines her light ahead against the house, looking for a set of doors.]

So we'll just poke around a little, and if, if we find a, a... if there's, you know, we'll go tell Mr. Ghost Man that we'll call the police and let them deal with it. That should help him move on, right? Knowing she's... that he doesn't have to stay anymore?

[aviophobia]

Yeah. That ought to work.

[Though - if he's known she's here for this long, and he's still stayed ... will that make any difference?]

There. D'you see that? Those might be doors.

[hypospraying]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[And they make it over to a pair of white painted wooden doors, only shut with a little latch.]

I'm sure people have poked around here before if it's not locked.

[Which is her way of being hopeful that there's no body because someone would have found it by now.]

[aviophobia]

Hopefully.

[He bends down and flips the latch open, then pulls the doors open. They stick at first, groaning in protest, and eventually open. Leonard breathes in, then squares his shoulders.]

Shine the light down for me. I'm going in.

[hypospraying]

I'll be right behind you.

[Reluctantly, she releases his hand and shines the light down the steps for him.]

Be careful.

[aviophobia]

Don't come down till I've tested all the stairs.

[He starts down, slowly, testing each stair one at a time.]

[hypospraying]

[She swallows the lump in her throat and shines the light down for him, silently wishing that each stair holds his weight.]

[aviophobia]

[Near the bottom, one of the stairs lets out an alarming crack, and Leonard pinwheels, trying to keep his balance. He goes to the next one quickly, heart pounding against his chest.]

I'm okay!

[hypospraying]

[She gasps, clutching her dress over her heart.]

Promise?

[aviophobia]

Promise!

[Finally getting to the ground, Leonard turns to peer back up at Christine.]

Think I'm okay to get my phone out?

[hypospraying]

I think so, yeah. I'm coming down.

[And without further ado, she starts down. Like hell she's going to let him do this alone when it was all her idea in the first place. She carefully makes her way down each rickety stair, holding her breath at the creaks each one makes.]

[aviophobia]

Careful.

[Instead of stepping away from the stairs, he hovers at the foot of the stairs, waiting to help her if she needs it.]

[hypospraying]

[When she gets to the split step, she hesitates, then holds out her hand to him as she steps past it to the one below, losing her balance slightly.]

[aviophobia]

[He takes her hand to help her past that step, and keeps hold of it until she gets to the bottom.]

[hypospraying]

[She gives him a relieved smile.]

Thanks. I guess now we start looking?

[aviophobia]

Yeah.

[He hesitates.]

Together or separately?

[He'd ... prefer together, but if she wants to look separately, he won't be the one to look weak.]

[hypospraying]

[She gives it some thought. They'd get it done faster separately, but she doesn't relish the idea.]

Together. Your iPhone flashlight on it's own isn't as good as my flashlight.

[That's her story and she's sticking to it.]

But together they'll be pretty bright.

[aviophobia]

Sounds good to me.

[He keeps his hold on her hand as he clicks on the flashlight on his phone, sweeping the floor.]

We'll start over here.

[hypospraying]

Right.

[She follows with her beam of light, examining the ground for she doesn't even know what. If fact, she's afraid to even let her imagine come up with a scenario of what they might find.

Instead, she whispers to him:]

Anything yet?

[aviophobia]

Not yet. We need to look for disturbed dust, cracks in the floor, that sort of thing.

[hypospraying]

Uh huh.

[And that's when she trips over a metal something on the floor. She manages to keep her balance, but damn, that stings her toes.

Turning the light on it, she frowns. It's an old, metal ring attached to the floor.]

Or a trapdoor?

[aviophobia]

...or a trapdoor.

[Shit. He'd sort of been hoping they wouldn't find anything.]

Stand back. I'm gonna try and open it.

[hypospraying]

[She gives him a wary look. It has to be opened, doesn't it? But she's so freaked out about what they'll find. Of course, she rarely just straight up freaks out and she's not going to allow herself to show how she's freaking out now.

So she stands back and re-positions the light. She has to be useful somehow.]

[aviophobia]

[Leonard kneels by the trap door, taking in a steadying breath, and hooks his hand around the metal ring to the door, giving it a sharp tug. Nothing. He pulls again, harder, and there's a terrible creak as the hinges protest.]

Almost.

[One more hard pull, and the door opens all the way, revealing a dark pit below.]

Shit.

Christine, can I get some light in here?