Graveyard Fog

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I only slept about four hours last night. When I woke up in order to get ready for work, there were a couple of different types of fog making life not so pleasant. The first, of course, was the early morning fog that rolled across the lawns outside of my window. That was all I could see through the three inch space between the sill and the shade... fog everywhere. The other, more unfortunate fog, was the kind clouding my brain. I felt like a sort of zombie as I stumbled around the room trying to get ready for the day -- trying to remember what I'd forgotten in my packing to go home this afternoon.

When I finally had my cup of (black) coffee in hand, I was a little better off. I'm in the office now as I type this -- work-study -- with a lack of work to do, and so my mind wanders. Today, my Grandfather will finally witness Oswego. It has taken me two full years to convince him that he has to see this campus. I have to laugh for a second at this post -- I know it's kind of terrible to write a post called "Graveyard Fog" and mention Grandpa -- but you'll see why in a second.

My Grandpa -- Roy Allen Brown,
Spirit Magnet and Ghost Story Extraordinaire.

I speak about Grandpa often at O.S.P.A. and in terms of witchcraft because he is a spirit magnet and it is because of him, I think, that I have my ability to hear their buzzing. I think that entire side of the family is where most of my ... gifts ... come from, anyway. He is coming to my campus not only to see the lake and have pictures taken (he makes sure all his pictures are terrible, except the one above for which I had to ask upwards of four times to retake, and prides himself in that...you'll see) but also to meet the people to whom he is "O.S.P.A. famous" -- which may or may not include a trip down to the Fey Dragon to meet the owner.

He is best known for the fact that due to his ... gifts ... he has a repertoire of true stories that would sound fantastic to the mundane person. He really is a ghost story extraordinaire. The way he tells his memories of paranormal stuff that has happened really invokes a sense of being there as this happens. He writes them, sure, but he writes like he speaks. I was put in charge of editing the stories.

The Story I edited for O.S.P.A's
Ghost Story Night 2012.

 It is really quite difficult to get him to travel anywhere, so I wanted to take a minute and be thankful, also, that he is coming to Oswego and to my campus. If he wanted to travel more often, I'd totally have him guest speak for O.S.P.A. for Ghost Story Night 2013 and so on. I think there's something to be said of a family who accepts witchcraft and paganism the way mine has always. I'm incredibly fortunate in that I was never ousted or seen differently for what I believe, and a lot of that has to do with Grandpa and Grandma's version of life -- all that lurks in the graveyard fog is to be believed. Always. While we might not understand exactly what is going on in a supernatural sense, we accept what we experience as truth. Even today, Grandpa teaches all of us that. So to that which lurks in the graveyard fog, and to those ghosts which have inspired several stories -- Thank you. I wouldn't have it any other way.