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]

You're welcome.

Um, I'm gonna. Go ahead and go upstairs. Yell if you need anything, okay?

[hypospraying]

Oh sure. I'm sure your mom would love that.

[She leans towards him, giving him an awkward one arm hug.]

See you in the morning.

[aviophobia]

See you.

[He awkwardly hugs her in return, then shuffles out of the room and upstairs. He changes into his pajamas, then sets out a new toothbrush for Christine in the bathroom after brushing his own. Heading back into his bedroom, he leaves the door open.

Just in case.]

[hypospraying]

[She changes and crawls into bed, planning on sleeping straight through the night for how exhausted she is. But around two hours later, she wakes up from a nightmare about a woman getting bludgeoned to death with an ax and buried under the floorboards and she's afraid to go back to sleep.

Well, you knew this was coming, Leonard. She tiptoes upstairs and pokes her head into his room, clutching the door frame tightly.]

Psst! Leonard? Are you awake?

[aviophobia]

Jesus -

[Her voice startles him back into wakefulness, jerked out of vague visions of bloodied walls and shattered glass. He blinks into the darkness, eyes slowly adjusting.]

Christine? That you?

[hypospraying]

Yeah, sorry.

[She winces at having woke him up and hovers uncertainly in the doorway.]

I shouldn't have-- Sorry I woke you. It's nothing.

[aviophobia]

No, it's okay.

[He rubs at his eyes, blinking a few times.]

Couldn't sleep?

[hypospraying]

[She comes in, softly shutting the door behind her and standing beside his bed.]

No, I slept a bit, but... I don't know, I had a stupid dream about what we found tonight and I got a little freaked out.

[aviophobia]

It's not stupid.

[He pulls back the covers of his bed, scooting over to make room.]

[hypospraying]

[She nibbles her lower lip, considering.]

You don't mind?

[But she doesn't really give him the chance to answer, moving to lie beside him.]

[aviophobia]

No, I don't mind.

[He tugs the covers up over her and lies back down.]

Wouldn't have offered if I did.

[hypospraying]

Thanks.

[She nestles her head back against his pillow and gets comfy while at the same time trying not to get her legs all tangled with his.]

Do you think there'll be an investigation? Y'know, cold case files?

[aviophobia]

Maybe. I bet they'll identify the body at least, see if they can figure out how she died.

[hypospraying]

I'm not sure I want to know. My imagination's bad enough.

[She rolls to face him, tucking a hand under the pillow.]

You were really brave tonight, y'know. I might talk a big game, but I couldn't have gone down there.

[aviophobia]

I wouldn't have let you. Not while I was around.

[hypospraying]

Hey now. [She tries to sound joking.] I'm a strong, independent women, and if I want to go down into a creepy space under a trapdoor, I will. I just didn't want to.

[She rolls onto her back again and sighs.]

But I appreciate the protectiveness. I really do.

[aviophobia]

Well, I wouldn't have let you, even if you'd wanted to. You were wearing a dress. Kinda hard to clamber around in one of those.

[hypospraying]

I'm sure throughout history, women have done amazing things in dresses.

[And then she starts giggling.]

I can just picture us arguing over doing something serious, and you're complaining I can't because I'm in a dress.

[aviophobia]

Tell you what, next time there's a grimy hole in the ground, you're welcome to get in it in your pretty dress all you like.

[hypospraying]

I just might. For science.

[She sniffs in a stuck up sort of way, then giggles again.]

We should get to sleep. It's been a long night.

[aviophobia]

Yeah.

[He settles in against his pillow, tugging his blankets back up.]

G'night, Chris.

[hypospraying]

Night to you too.

[She settles on her side, facing away from him, and tucking her knees up close to her body. Knowing he's behind her will help her sleep, she thinks, and there'll be no more nightmares of ax-wielding psychos.]

[aviophobia]

[He maintains a respectful distance from her, but he still rolls onto his side as well. If the distance were closed between them, he would fit almost perfectly into the negative space left by her body.]