Hauntings

2006 was the second year in a row that I dressed up for Halloween after a long hiatus of not caring about the holiday. I think a big reason I dressed up last year was because I actually had costume parties to go to and I seriously thought it would hurt my friend Jon’s feelings if I didn't, because if it weren’t for Halloween (or the ‘80s) I'm not sure he'd be the same Jon I know.

So last year I attempted to dress up as Sydney Bristow. It was all right. But this year was more fun. Maria, Kaila and I decided to find some creepy dolls and dress ourselves up like the dolls. Thanks to moms who know how to sew and some serendipitous luck, we actually pulled it off. Here is a picture of us at our ward Halloween party on Monday. If you’re jealous of our dolls, you can find some of your own at www.livingdeaddolls.com. People collect these. So wrong.

Usually, I photoshop pictures to take the red eye out, but Kaila’s red eye looked so awesome with her dress, I didn’t want to touch it.

Halloween was last night, but I didn’t dress up last night. As I was telling my friends, this year felt like the Twelve Days of Halloween, so when the actual day arrived, I was over it. It was kind of anti-climactic and I was sick of putting goop on my face and wearing an itchy wig. But I was proud of our costumes.

Speaking of creepy things, there’s this scary guy that has recently made the Rio Grande Depot his home (it’s my second home as I spend most of my day here earning a living). He wanders around, asking me if I’m working hard or hardly working. He bugs this girl in the research center. I guess the other day he came up to her as she was talking to her coworker. She finally looked at him and said, “Can I help you with something?” and he said, “Oh, I’m just listening in on the building news.”

He sneaks in and out of dark rooms, checking out windows, doors, assessing our weaknesses. Meanwhile, the security guard sits careless at his desk, nose in a novel.

The other day, this lurker came into my office with a copy of "IN" Utah and told me I need to read the “Famous Utah Haunts” section. I thought I better. Here are some selected entries, republished completely without permission from "IN" Utah. But in all fairness, their writers stole these from City Weekly last year. I’m not impressed with the publication, I give it a year.

Shilo Inn
The room where a mother threw her children out of an 11th floor window (and later jumped herself) is allegedly haunted. The pinball machine in the game room is known to play on its own.

Fort Douglas
The fort and its accompanying cemetery has a reported ghost that goes by the name Clem.

West High
A basketball player who wears his old uniform haunts the gym after his alleged suicide. The weight room is known to have weights and equipment move by themselves.

Capitol Theater
Haunted by an old man who died in a building fire in the ‘40s.

Memory Grove
Some folks talk about seeing the ghost of a woman in a wedding gown.

Rio Grande Building
The ghost of a woman in a purple dress who accidentally walked in front of a train supposedly haunts this place.

Deveraux Mansion
Story goes that the ghost of an 8 year-old girl can be seen in the upstairs windows and heard softly singing to herself. She has been seen in pictures taken by visitors and she appears to be the same girl in the pictures hanging on the walls.

I don’t know about this last one (like I know about any of these), the Utah Arts Council has hung artwork on the walls of the Deveraux for years, and I don’t know of any pictures with a girl in them. Must have been a long time ago.

Anyway, hope everyone had a good Halloween. It is officially the “Holiday Season” now. Get ready for Christmas music wherever you go.