My A to Z Blog Challenge theme this year is Bittersweetness & Light, my new collection of hope-filled, joy-inducing fantasy and sci fi short stories, poems, and art. (And if you don’t know what the A to Z Blog Challenge is, you can learn more about it here.)
Geoffrey was puzzled to find himself still living in his apartment after his funeral. Well, not really “living” of course, what with being dead, but why was he here at all? As far as he could recall, having never believed in ghosts or paid much attention to how this whole thing was supposed to work, didn’t spirits stick around on the earthly plane only when they had unfinished business? Messages for loved ones, or ghastly vengeance to wreak on those who had done them wrong?
Geoffrey considered whether there was anyone he felt the need to haunt. He had not been murdered, he was quite sure of that…
Not knowing what else to do with himself, Geoffrey ends up haunting the family who’s moved into his apartment… but only by accident. And of course it all ends for the best, because I believe in stories with happy endings.
This is the time to point out that happy endings are generally considered to be naive, foolish, unrealistic, and definitely not Real Literature. This attitude is taken for granted everywhere, but when you think about it, it’s actually absurd. G is also for Good, and factually, both good things and bad things do happen, so where you end a story is simply a choice of framing. You can read my whole post about Happy Endings, and think about it. Do you tend to assume that stories of kindness, human connection, and happy endings are somehow less realistic or less serious than dark dramas of misery? Well, perhaps it’s time you brought some basic scientific skepticism to bear on that attitude, and examine how skewed it really is. And in the meantime, how about reading some stories that do explore what happens when we actually look for the best in each other and ourselves?
Marketing Moral: Post about my book on social media and/or your own blog. Help more people discover a book that they may otherwise never even know exists. Social media has been going evil in many ways, but if you do continue to use any social media platforms, try to reclaim these networks of connection for spreading light and love instead of lies and
Proper Moral: “Ideas, like ghosts, must be spoken to a little before they will explain themselves.” (Charles Dickens, Dombey & Son)
Are you afraid of ghosts?
[Picture: Faithful Friend and Ghost, rubber block print with colored pencil plus digital, by AEGNydam from Bittersweetness & Light, 2025 (See NydamPrints.com).]
4 comments:
I often wonder why people are so afraid of ghosts, or write only scary stories about them. Why should ghosts be scary at all, unless the person, while living, was scary? And maybe, even if they were a terror while living, they've gained some insight from their haunts.
I like drama that delves into the realities of the human spirit, flaws and wonder and all. But I do think that we fiction writers ought to write more positive stories - or at least make it much clearer that the villains will meet their ends in even worse, more gruesome ways than their victims. We seem to have forgotten this - that life imitates art.
I don't generally like ghost stories though I guess they could be metaphorical and, even if on the down low - who doesn't like a happy ending...
I don't like being frightened either, but I like your story seen from a ghosts point of view. While not afraid of ghosts - they are immaterial, and can't hurt me - I often find them a bother being around.
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