This past weekend, my wife and I attended a writer group’s presentation by J. A. (Jeff) Danelek, on the existence of ghosts. I belong to both Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer (RMFW) and Pikes Peak Writer (PPW) writer groups. RMFW put on this October program, and I wrote an article for their newsletter, which should come out soon.
It was an absolutely quintessential, dazzling October afternoon, with brilliant blue skies, and flaming orange-and-red maple-lined streets at the Lakewood’s Belmar Library. Inside the library was a mini-Twilight Zone, with Mr. Danelek discussing an absolutely perfect October Country (if I may borrow a book title from the esteemed Mr. Bradbury’s work) topic: ghosts. Do they exist, what are they, how do we deal with them? I cover this in my article, but Mr. Danelek is an author and graphic artist from Denver, who specializes in writing about Fortean (all-things weird) phenomena. He has gone on some ghost hunts, but doesn’t usually investigate actual locations. He’s a “theory guy” who collects and analyzes data and goes to those who do physically investigate this phenomena. Has written some books. His basic definition of a ghost is “a disembodied personality or consciousnesses of a once-living human being.” This, many will note, leaves out animal ghosts, and he admits he’s still trying to formulate his stance on that one, but I can tell him I’ve seen two ghosts of two of my previously deceased dogs. The first instance was as a kid after our black lab had been hit by a speeding car just down the road from my home. I’d seen the tail end of our deceased dog running down the stairs. In my mind, I can still see that image as clear as day. The second instance was with our, again, black lab, two summers ago. We’d recently lost our dog to bone cancer. Like the first lab, we were “buddies,” always hanging out together. In the most recent instance, our dog had hung out with me when I wrote (he was my “first reader,” or in his case--listener), did yard work at home, and of course we did all kinds of hikes and walks. Two summers ago I was working in the back yard, and saw--as clear as day--a reflection of our deceased dog in a window I was working beside. It was a clear image. It still gives me chills. I stopped and looked around, and smiled...happy to see my “little buddy” had stopped by to give me a visit. There were no other dogs around, and the next door neighbors did not have a black lab. My wife wasn’t even home. In the back yard, it was just me.
Or was it?
Mr. Danelek stated that when we do see a ghost, though we may get creeped out, we should treat it like a normal person, in that we can interact with it. Talk with them. Try to find out why they’re here and maybe get them to understand their situation, so they can move on. Sometimes, he also said, you may just be seeing “residual” activity: not really a ghost at all, but are witnessing a particular scene that had happened in the past. In other words, you may just be peeking into the past; there’s no interactable entity there with which to talk with, or interrupt, only a scene with which to observe. Like watching a video or film on a continuous loop that plays out itself over and over and over.
Then he showed all kinds of photos, some purported to be real, and many not. Some of the photos were quite creepy (I LOVE creepy photos!). I know he was making a point, as he asked us to try to decide which was real, which was trickery, and which an accident of some camera or environmental mechanics, but it’s hard to accurately guess in today’s advanced Photoshopping age such a question. As he said, you have to know the whole story behind a photo, its history and breeding, so to speak, in order to classify one real or not. And even then, some of the older shots, how do we know--how do we get into the photographer’s mind--to know whether or not someone was trying to hoax us? After all some of those photos are still being talked about now, giving said photographer a certain immortality.
Of course, one also has to physically examine said photo.
Though I believe in much of what Mr. Danelek said, I did have some issues with his theories, but that’s okay, I don’t know it all, and neither does he--and we’re both the first to tell anyone that. But I did find his presentation enjoyable, friendly, and informative. And Mr. Danelek himself was quite personable and easygoing. It was a fun presentation. Go check out his rather extensive website, below. He seems to hit all the requisite areas of Weird Phenomena, including UFOs.
