Halloween Karma

Karma has come and bit me in the ass. I used to love to scare people (OK, mostly Jenny) when we were younger. In fact, it's surprising that she still speaks to me. But, as is necessary for all good relationships, we've worked it out. And I'm much nicer to her now. Though, why she's nice to me, I have no idea.

Growing up, our bedrooms were on the opposite side of the house from our family room. When it was time to go to bed, we'd have to walk down the stairs and neither of us liked to do it alone. One night, Jenny refused to walk with me, so I decided to scare her instead. I hid in the shadows and waited for about 10 minutes or so. (Remember the reason that I wanted her to walk with me was because I was afraid to walk on my own. Now I'm hiding in the darkness, alone. Revenge is powerful.)

When she finally came down the stairs, I waited until she was past where I was standing (so she wouldn't run back up to mom) and put my arms up in the air and yelled. She immediately started screaming and running. In my mind's eye, I see her feet looking like those big wheels in Scooby Doo. The hall had a 90 degree bend in it and Jenny didn't even slow down to take the turn. What I heard was, Waaaaahhhhhhhh… thunk… waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. At least that's what I could hear over my laughter.

I'm such a bitch. I'm laughing right now.

I'm so sorry, Jen.

After hearing some of the stuff I did, Joey told me, "It would have sucked having you as a big sister. Sorry, I'm just saying." And I'm sure all of my siblings would agree. But, like I said, I'm nicer now.

Karma soon tried to pay me back by sending a neighbor in a monster mask to my window one evening in October. But after I stopped screaming, I started laughing. I like haunted houses and being scared in that quick, startling way.

So, since I've repented my ways and no longer intentionally scare anyone (Jeff is really jumpy and unless I announce myself upon entering a room, he behaves as if I've snuck up on him.) I think Karma gave me a temporary break.

Until I got the email.

I opened it and read the following… "This is a car advertisement from Great Britain. When theyfinished filming the ad, the film editor noticed something moving along the side of the car, like a ghostly white mist. They later found out that aperson had been killed a year earlier in that exact same spot. The ad was never put on TV because of the unexplained ghostlyphenomenon. Watch the front end of the car as it clears thetrees in the middle of the screen and you'll see the white mist crossing in front of the car then following it along the road....Spooky! Is it a ghost, or is it simply mist? You decide. If you listen to the ad, you'll even hear the cameraman whispering inthe background about it near the end of the commercial. A little creepy but pretty cool!"

So, on this advice I watched the attached video. Before I give you the YouTube link, I'd like to give the following warnings… This is very scary. Do not let your kids watch this with you. And do not watch unless you enjoy being frightened.

After you've watched it (if you want to) scroll down and read the rest of the post.






Random picture to take up space:










So, I screamed. And then Joey and Randa (who were the only ones in the room, although not watching the video) screamed. And Jeff came running into the room because he thought that somehow the computer was electrocuting me. That's the kind of scream that I made. A long, choked, gurgling thing.

By the time he got in here, I was laughing hysterically. I couldn't even speak to tell anyone what had happened. I just kept laughing and literally couldn't stop. Oh my Hell, I'm laughing now and this happened on Saturday.

That part wasn't the payback, though. Wait for it…

So, I let Joey watch the video. I figured she already had seen me screaming and it would be worse in her imagination than it really was. She screamed for a good 30 seconds. After that she would not go anywhere alone, not to the bathroom, not to her room, nowhere. This was full-on anxiety attack sort of thing. We let her sleep on our bedroom floor the first night, but she was even afraid there.

As I lay on on her cold bedroom floor while she slept in her bed (the best arrangement for her) I realized that I had finally been paid back. Being frightened wasn't the payback. Having to comfort the frightened was.