Scary Ghost Stories and the Tales of the Glories of Christmases Long, Long Ago

Jeff Belanger and Krumpus in a terrible phone picture
The irony is not lost that this is the first picture I
have posted since I wrote a post called "Stepping
up the Picture Game" I left my camera at home.
Humbug!

This week has been a spooky week for me. On Thursday I went to "A Creepy Christmas" at the Needham Historical Society. The free event was done by Jeff Belanger. Jeff, a native of Massachusetts, has written fifteen books on ghosts.  He has been on every paranormal tv show there is. He really knows his stuff. The presentation  was about ghost stories from all over the world that center around Christmas. I don't believe in ghosts but Laurie does. I do like listening to legends, tall tales and ghost stories.

 What I liked most about Jeff's presentation is that he is a historian. He tries to go back and find the root of the story. The presentation really was about the origins of Christmas. There were scary creatures along the way. Most ghost stories involve taking or beating "naughty" kids. 

The presentation lasted a little more than an hour. After it was over I talked with him for a few minutes and bought a book. He signed it "Nick May all the ghosts you meet be friendly, Jeff Belanger" It was cool.  If you are interested in ghosts, his website is worth checking out. He does a podcast. There is a youtube video about ghosts in the White House (he wrote a book on it). There is a list of where he will be doing presentations. I plan on seeing some of his other presentations when they are local. Really fascinating.  https://www.jeffbelanger.com/

On Friday we put our newfound Christmas ghost knowledge to good use. We went to the most famous ghost story of them all; A Christmas Carol. We went to the Stadium Theater to see it. This was the second year in a row that we saw it there. I overheard a lady talking behind us before the show. She had seen it at Trinity Rep and the show is only just over an hour. The one at the Stadium is two hours long. Tickets are $26, and 21. We got our seats months ago and got third row end seats. The show was awesome. The ghosts fly and there is a fog machine. There are multiple sets. It is really well done. There are still tickets to tonights and tomorrow's show. Pictures below the link

http://www.stadiumtheatre.com/events/a-christmas-carol/114

Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas present

Scrooge and Jacob Marley

The cast