From the Vile Depths

I swam for the surface of consciousness and broke through the watery casket that had entombed me. Clear of thought and action, I rose from my bed and tore off the tubes and wires entrapped me. Alarms pulsed annoyingly as I made my escape, but escape I did.

I found my clothes folded neatly in a drawer along with my wallet, keys, watch and some money. It wasn't enough for public transportation, but I knew where a nearby truck stop was and truckers are lonely road people who love to help and rarely ask questions.

I eventually found my way home. My daughter is still at work. She will be gloriously happy to see me!!

Now I am free to pursue those that have died yet still walk among us.

James Starlight, PhD.

Success!

The experiment worked! My grandfather made contact after three weeks of bacon and eggs. He moved the chair across from where I sat and made the egg yolks quiver. I even thought I heard a sigh.

This is very fortunate. I was ill after the first few days from the scent of fried bacon and eggs.

I also have an offer from a highly respectable paranormal group to publish the Starlight Letters. Keep a watchful eye on the countdown ticker at the top of my blog.

James Starlight, PhD

Flavors

My grandfather loved bacon and eggs -- not just for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner as well. There were days he would eat nothing but bacon and eggs. Sadly, such food caught up with him and he died of a heart attack at the age of 61.

I have often wondered if the aromas of certain foods can attract a particular ghost. And would such aroma trigger a response? To test this, I will prepare a serving of bacon and fried eggs each evening and serve it to the empty chair across from mine. I will talk to my grandfather and see if he decides to visit me. I will do this for a period of one month and will post the results of the test here on my blog.

On a side note, I hereby announce that I have set a publication date for the Starlight Letters, the greatest collection of data and musings on the paranormal ever brought before the public. The date is May 16, 2014.

Free at Last!

I am once again free of the cursed hospital. I have had many months to contemplate my next move and I believe I have found it. Accepted paranormal theory stipulates that poltergeists are really the unconscious telekenetic flares of a young girl on the verge of womanhood. I believe this to be untrue. Rather, I believe that the extraordinary energy put out by such young women provides a source of power that ghosts cannot find elsewhere in nature. The young woman and the ghost forge an unconscious bind -- almost symbiotic -- in which the ghost may sometimes perform tasks that would assist the young woman in some way. This is yet a theory, but one I shall put all my efforts into proving one way or the other.

Whispers of Machinery

Aside from ghost cars, I have also been in pursuit of haunted machines of all types. Could there be a ghost motorcycle rider screaming down a dark lonely road? How about a ghost plane terrorizing the skies above? We've all heard stories of ghost ships on the ocean. This shall be yet another chapter in my life's work: The Starlight Letters.

James Starlight, PhD.

Ghost Cars

About thirty years ago I was visiting relatives near Lake Topaz Nevada. My uncle told me a rural road (funny he called it "rural". All roads in lake Topaz are rural -- at least they were then.) where not but but many ghost cars roar up and down the road after midnight.

I, of course, was compelled to investigate this myself.

I positioned myself at the location my uncle said would be the best behind a large berm. I waited and waited, watching cars pass wondering if they were driven by the dead. Finally, about 2:00 am, a sudden chill swept over me. Though it was late summer, the air felt like winter. There was a thundering roar of a car engine and the ground vibrated. I stared in the direction of the sound, waiting for headlights. But there were no headlights, only a dark 50's car with tail fins illuminated by the half moon. It roared past me at a very high rate of speed, a swirling twist of fire hot air mixed with the paranormally cold around my body. Then it was gone. That night I believe I saw one more ghost car, an old pick-up truck. It too, traveled the road without benefit of headlights.

I wish I could remember exactly what road it was. I do know another road near ther led to the Walker River, but that's all I remember.

I shall return to this place and report back.

Jame Starlight, PhD.

Kiss of Death

I have been to brink and have returned. My health has been unstable as of late and I must take what moments of lucidity I have to record my thoughts. And I have many thoughts. Being so close to death's door, I could smell the pungent odor of decaying flesh drifting on the soft scent of stale, rotted clothing and wood. I could hear voices, voices from my past, calling out to me, wanting me to go with them. But I fought the urge to follow the voices and returned to my hospital bed -- life! The ghosts beyond death's door nearly tricked me, but I fooled them. I have more than one trick up my sleeve.

And I learned something about them I had not known before. There are smells they dislike and smells that can attract them. The ghosts entered my room without pause if I had fresh fruit, but whenever my bathroom was cleaned, the fresh, bright anticeptic smell of the cleaner they used kept them away.

These notes have been recorded in The Starlight Letters.

J.S.