Foremost in a work of horror, I believe, is the writer's ability to provoke fear or terror in readers - a sense of dread or anxiety from a given image - tangible or envisioned - a foreshadowing of impending doom. Let's explore some items which may give us a head start along the way.

         Okay, that was an exaggeration, or let’s call it poetic license perhaps?

         Think about it, though, haven’t you been in a house, or any place, where you just wanted to leave, where you just didn’t feel welcome; it somehow felt ‘wrong.’ Perhaps you could pinpoint an item, or maybe it was just something you felt was off about/in the house. What you’ve encountered may very well have been a true haunted house or possessed item/token.

         Sometimes the feeling is one of welcome, but most often when it’s strong enough for mere mortals to hear or see or feel, it’s one of dread or threat or sadness. We’re encountering a house or token possessed.

         Possession is not the dramatic elemental or extra-terrestrial infestation I wish to explore here, but the imprint of a former inhabitant or keeper of the object or place. Think about it, not only the microscopic skin cells, but the builder’s or craftsperson’s hopes, dreams, wishes are imbued in a hand-wrought item. In our civilized prefab plastic urban or suburban lives, there are few handcrafted items of vintage years for us to encounter. But when we do meet up with such a place or item, we sometimes find that a former ‘owner’ has something of himself/herself to greet us, if we open our eyes and listen for the message or, perhaps, the messenger.

         Think about it, our thoughts and emotions harness energy from our encounters, our lives manipulate energy through contact with things tangible and envisioned. If this energy cannot be destroyed, as Mr. Edison postulated, then is it a far reach to believe it's stored in a house or objects. The stronger the emotional energy, the more likely it is to affect the items towards which it was directed, and emit vibrations, display paranormal behavior, engage others.

         Now, houses often have a presence about them, if they’ve lived a generation or two. The interaction among residents and the wear of the elements of this earth and beyond leave their marks, like the smile lines alongside our eyes or the frown lines across our foreheads.

         Other items that often ‘speak’ their stories are dolls (either well-worn by a child’s use or hand-crafted); antique handcrafted toys, like hobbyhorses, wagons; furniture, like tufted chairs, bureaus, beds (those carved four-posters can speak volumes); and jewelry (what more personal than the ring or necklace worn by someone generations ago).

         Most often, there is but a feeling that one gets from holding or viewing a ‘possessed’ item, but sometimes they do communicate more distinctly. A chair may refuse to move, heavier than its frame would indicate or, when placed a few inches away, return to its familiar surroundings when one is not looking, or sometimes in plain sight. A doll may follow you with its eyes or its arms may move to protect its space. A mirror may reflect more than what one knows is physically present. A painting may be more lifelike than the person standing next to you. A child’s toy may roll to the top of the attic steps and ‘trip you up’ so you don’t have a chance to place it in a goodwill box.

         In our plastic, prefab society, these vintage toys and items will most likely come into your possession (I know, bad pun) at an estate sale or flea market. Think with your head when purchasing such an item. Do you really want to invite it to your home? Do you have the time to spend learning its story, if it desires that you do so? An intriguing proposition for you and your readers, whether you seek these items from your own family’s past or elsewhere either tangible or in the realm of your muse creative. And, they're not always 'vintage,' unless you consider a computer obsolete as soon as you buy it (yes, another potential source of paranormal activity).

         Remember, also, that what you create in your journey this lifetime retains a bit of yourself – your hopes and dreams, your passion, your fears – that someone someday will find and may choose to engage.

So, Keep Writing ~ that your words design what your muse evokes,
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading