I Should Not Have Watched "Amityville Horror."

That was, to put it bluntly, a supremely bad idea. Now, in my defense, this was right when that box got added to all T.Vs in the North Idaho area. We had a movie channel. Mom and I were bored and started channel surfing. Now, I realize that this movie was released in 1979, so some of the things that might have been scary then are probably not scary today, right? Wrong. My tolerance of "scary" is very, very low. I was terrified watching the new "House of Wax," even though it was a terrible movie. I blame my sister for that one, she thought it'd be good for me. She loves those movies. Personally, I prefer action/adventure, assassination plots (have you seen Valkyrie? So good!), the occasional chick-flick, and things with quests (OK, so I really love LOTR). So "Amityville Horror" just scared me (as did Poltergeist. And that is the list of all three scary moves that I have watched, unless you count Temple of Doom). We didn't watch the whole thing and it was more "background noise," but the fly part is what I remember clearly and even that is blocked out a bit.

Fun fact about South Dakota, the fall is Fly Season. Yes, Fly Season. That means that every year, starting when things start to get cooler, flies invade. Now, I work in a historic house museum. This house is reputed to be haunted, in fact, when the widow of the third owner left the house for 51 years, she did tell people it was (no one tried to break into the house, the only vandalism that occurred was through a few BB guns. I don't know if this was out of the rumor of haunting or the fact that this lady, when she was in SD sat on the porch and cackled at kids as they went by. Hehe. I like this lady). So, remember all that about the flies. We'll come back to it.

This house, again, is reputed to be haunted. There have been investigations into the house, and experts have estimated at least two spirit orbs present. This, I think, means that at least two unsettled spirits are roaming around. Now, this house was built in 1892 and like all old houses, it makes funny noises and is kind of creepy when you're in there by yourself, especially when you are closing up the house for the night. I don't know if it's the paranormal stories I tell all day or just me being easily scared, but at the end of the day (you're another day older) I tend to close up the house as quickly and efficiently as possible. Strange things have happened in the house; the smell of cigar smoke, beds looking like they've been sat on (which we do not allow), a rocking chair that rocks on it's own, motion sensors catching motion that is not visible...and, once, I was giving a tour of the house and someone said "Oh, an upgrade" after looking at a photo of Mr. Adams' (the third owner)first wife, Alice, then a photo of his second wife, Mary. At that moment, a heater fell with a loud crash (call me crazy, but I muttered, under my breath, "Alice, I think you're pretty").

There has also been a lot of tragedy connected with the house, both family lines died out and only a few members of the family (or the extended family) went on to have a happy life, but both were marked by extreme tragedy in the beginning. And the house is on what was once a cemetery. Most of the bones have been removed up to Mt. Moriah, but not all of them. Makes me wonder what the house is thinking (if houses thought) and this, coupled with the fly issue, brings me back to "Amityville Horror." The house was so scarred and angry that it kind of started to eat people; in one instance setting flies lose on them (some things that should not have been forgotten was lost). Thank you, Fly Season.

Now, I don't think I believe in ghosts, but the entire situation (especially now that the house is decorated for our Spirited Tours, when we talk about these things. Not the house eating people; that only happens in cartoons and horror movies)does lend a bit of the "creep factor." I'm easily frightened, so even things like a prop that I know is there (the hanging stuffed clothes) and the creepy dress on display in the closet, still make me jump. Also, a lot of people who come to the house really enjoy that kind of thing. I, in addition to hating horror movies, also hate haunted houses, haunted train rides, Scary-wood...I was even a little afraid of the Haunted Mansion movie (although I loved the ride at Disneyland; Pirates of the Caribbean does get the honor of being my favorite). Despite all this, one of my favorite books is Stephen King's The Stand, and I actually enjoy reading Stephen King's other works, particularly Dark Tower. Figure that one out. Yes, I know that I'm a wimp (But I truly recommend a wimp for a friend).

I had promised some info on the "hauntings," so here is all that. I should mention that the Spirited Tour has become a little slapstick (my favorite), with a bit of "creep factor." And even though the back porch looks like Cirith Ungol (complete with giant spider and web galore), and I am not one for spiders (don't know whether to blame JRR Tolkien or JK Rowling for that one), being scared (hate it) or creepy bats (where the Eye should be), I am holding up well. Since I'm supposed to be scared also (I kind of feel like the plucky comic relief), I'm not only good at faking in some places, but sometimes I'm actually afraid. But, it's also been a lot of fun. And I have discovered that I can be "as fierce as a dragon in a pinch," facing my fear of haunted houses and scary movies by being part of one. (See, told you I'd sneak that in there. Don't know if it actually works, but I have a BA in English, so I say it does. Don't fight me on that :)).

(I'd like to thank the usual suspect, Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock,Les Miserables, KD's "How to Survive an Action Film" and the IMdB)