On Ghosts in Venice

Y'all ever seen a ghost? None of that "I was sitting in Pop-pop's favorite chair and felt a chill" shit. Pop-pop put his chair there because of the cold draft. He was used to it, liked it, and is not trying to tell you where his gold stamps are. So shut that shit. 

     I mean a real ass ghost, you fully awake, them fully dead, both of you hanging out.

     Ghosts have been on my mind. From watching a Haunting in Venice and Agatha All Along to general spooky season vibes, the feeling of the afterlife has been stomping around in the attic asking where the Christmas ornaments are. 

      The first time I contemplated life beyond this one was watching Unsolved Mysteries. For whatever ironic reason, I was home from Wednesday night church the night the spooky episode came on. From the couch, I leaned forward to learn how photographs of an old house taken from down the street at night when the moon is full display the shadow of an image of maybe a woman who could have lived around the neighborhood. Also, lots of Civil War ghosts. Maybe I don't remember exact details.

     Skipping church to learn about ghosts. Very on brand.

     What I do remember was all these people telling stories about how the ghosts made them feel. Hostile, peaceful, weirded out. All of that made ghosts real. Maybe there was a hope there, too. All the stories of hell and damnation, some concrete proof felt good.

      That didn't last, and not just because my mom and sister came home and turned the channel to something else. As I got older and horror stories seeped in my brain from books and movies, the magic of the great beyond left. Maybe I got cynical. 

     I've got no segue, but let's talk about A Haunting in Venice a bit. I didn't even register this movie had come out, much less a year ago. Fucker slipped around me and into the fog like a pirate in a John Carpenter movie. Between that and me hating Death on the Nile as well as Branagh's Poirot (dude's not Monk with a 'stache), I could not care less. But it's on Hulu, so fuck it. And you know what? Not bad. Lot of atmosphere and good acting. A quality B picture held back by it mostly feeling pretty rote. It's an upgraded BBC mystery. That's not bad, just not memorable. Like a fine episode of "Mildred is Dead in the Petunias," this movie entertains and then leaves.

      Well, that's all the time I have right now. Somebody remind me to talk about the time I felt my dad's ghost. Or a good movie to watch.