CREEPY CORNER: New Home, Old Ghosts — Moving While Superstitious
"You don't want ghosts that don't belong to you to follow you. You can't collect ghosts your whole life, you know?"
"So you're just going to pack up and walk into your new home, just like that?"
My friend "Judy" asked me this the other day as I was whining about having to dismantle my beloved shoebox apartment for the new place Mr. Louise and I are moving to.
"Well...kinda? I mean, I have some 'Louise's Mom' beliefs that I can't shake that I have to do, and of course I'll jump at every little creak and bump in the new place that first night [because secret dwellers hiding in the cupboards], but...yeah? Wait, what do you know?"
I can't help but collect people who will contribute to my nightmares at some point.
"Well you gotta trick the ghosts at — wait, wasn't it just ghost month over in Hong Kong?"
"Yes..." I answered. I wasn't sure if I liked where this was headed.
"Oh yeah! Then you gotta make sure you don't have any followers! OK?"
Followers.
Judy continued in her rapid-fire, vaguely "Hawai‘i local" way of speaking. Some people find the way she talks jarring, I find it familiar and cozy. Even when she's saying soothing things to me, it kind of sounds like she's scolding. Like my mom.
