Things That Go Bump in the Night

Becca and I did end up going to see the Bronx Zoo’s Holiday Lights Friday evening, and I’m so glad we did. It was a fun thing to do, even though we got lost in the Bronx for a while. Note to self – Stick with Yahoo directions, and never use Mapquest again.

We passed these cranes on our way into the park.

Here’s an elephant.

This is a close-up of a camel.

White-faced monkeys

These sheep in the petting zoo area cracked me up because they came running and jumped onto the fence when they saw us heading in their direction. I guess they were expecting a handout.

This is an ice carving in progress. Your guess is as good as mine as to what it’s supposed to be.

The pictures didn’t come out very well because I couldn’t figure out how to set my camera for night photos. Oh well, I still had a good time. And I scored a candy apple, which is always a special treat for me.

Moving right along to “things that go bump in the night.” I had a weird experience a few evenings ago. My sister and daughter were witnesses, otherwise I might doubt my own eyes and ears.

Michele and I were sitting in the family room, and Rebecca was coming down the stairs from the upper floor of our house. Suddenly, we heard the sound of shattering glass. Rebecca and I checked all the rooms on the upstairs level. Then we checked the main level. When we didn’t find anything, we went down to the basement.

There, at the foot of the stairs, we found the remains of a vintage mason jar. The jar didn’t belong to me, but I did notice it when we first moved into the house. It was on a shelf on the far side of the basement – nowhere near the stairs.

After puzzling over the situation for a while, my sister and I shrugged it off as just one of those things. We went back upstairs, leaving Rebecca behind to get her clothes from the dryer.

A few minutes later, while I was typing something on the computer for my mother, I heard the sound of four, distinct footsteps coming up the basement stairs. In a shaky voice, Michele asked, “What was that??”  I replied, “It must be Rebecca.” Michele said, “Rebecca is right here!” I turned around and saw Rebecca standing there, with wide eyes and a face drained of blood.

Even though we were all pretty freaked out at that point, we went to the door that leads to the basement stairs, and opened it. There was nothing there.

Shortly after that, Rebecca left for work, and Michele had to leave soon afterwards. Being here alone for the half hour or so before Daniel got home was pretty spooky.

I’m still not sure what to think about the eerie episode. This house is ninety-nine years old. Could it be that we have a poltergeist in residence? Who ya gonna call?

Song of the Day: Ghostbusters  by Ray Parker Jr.