Business License?

So, after saying yesterday that my sword building wasn't really a thing where I had any chance to make money, some interesting things happened. A few of you might see where this is going.

First, I got a message from right here in LJ land. It was a pleasant surprise to hear that someone might be interested, and another pleasant surprise to realize I have readers I don't know about. Heh. I'm so vain.

Getting to work, I spoke about making weapons and how much I love doing it. My boss said he has a nephew with a birthday that's coming up real soon, and he would be interested in seeing a sample of my work. He seems quite interested, and has seen these before, so I'm hoping he'll like what he sees enough that he'll order a sword and maybe a shield.

On top of this, my coworker and friend, Tim, may be interested in getting a Dagorhir-style sword made, which would be an easier project to do since it's basically a paddle made of foam, covered in a cloth covering. It would, of couse, be cheaper than a latex weapon, but I stil have to figure out how cheap.

So, things are looking up.

Oh. Did I mention that the good news I haven't been able to say anything about lately is that I got hired as a regular employee at work?

Yeah. Things are up.

Ghosthunting 101 Lesson 2: What Not To Do

The man at the door wouldn't even look at me, let alone tell me what time it was. My pickup-car was long over-due, and I had no other way home that didn't include walking more than thirty miles back home, in the dark. In the rain. I couldn't understand why this man wouldn't help me. I had come to his door, just to ask what time it was. He wouldn't ev...maybe the cape had something to do with it?

Okay, that's lesson one of what not to do. Just because you're going ghosthunting doesn't mean you necessarily have to dress up like you're a vampire. Okay? Yeah. Sure, sometimes if you're going to a ritual or something, it's nice to get dressed up, but sometimes it can cause way more problems than anything else.

We knew it was a haunted area. Putting all of our experiences together, we had come to this place because it simply hummed with energy. This whole place, the total sum of its parts, reached into our brains, called us in. We had researched it, and realized with a shock that over 100 people had died in this area over a relatively short span of time in accidents, murders, natural causes, and even mysterious circumstances. So, why was I standing in the middle of these woods, alone, with only the light of the moon to go by, and it was a new moon?

And what was that thing coming through the woods?

That night was the roughest night I've ever had. I don't like talking about it, and in fact I'm almost shaking right now, thinking about it. However, I think I will, somewhere down the line, if only to get it out of my system.

The lesson here?

Have I stressed that you should never go alone? Yeah. Really important.

It came at me again. It's arm of fire pierced through the night, barely scorching the front of my shirt, but close enough that I could feel its heat wash over my body. This wasn't what was supposed to happen, of course. It was supposed to have come here in our power, never leaving the confines of the fire pit. I guess, instead, this human-shaped thing had taken the confines of the fire pit with it. Thankfully, it wasn't smart, and it followed us, its creators, into the mucky river. It was gone. We had messed up. Big time.

Don't summon things. That's getting into some messed up dark magic, and almost always goes wrong. Seriously? Don't get into it, even if you're absolutely certain that you have it right. It's just not worth the potential risks.

What was that noise? Were the trees moving outside, despite there being no breeze? Did moonlight just glint of some grinning teeth in the dark hallway ahead? Is that the whisper of a child, long dead? Who could possibly *thump, smash, crumple.*

Don't let your imagination get so far away from you that you stop paying attention to what's really around you. Remember, when you're out ghost hunting, you have physical concerns to deal with too. Like rocks. Rocks can trip you if you're not paying attention. Sometimes there are small rocks even in old, abandoned houses. Rocks and low hanging ceiling beams.

That was a really embarassing night, especially since I wasn't alone, and there were three people there to watch me embarass myself. :)

Those are four things that are very important not to do. I know that at least one seems slightly fantastical, looking from the outside in, but I have a few readers that I think need to hear it. I'm not saying they would do something foolish, but I just want to be able to say "I warned you" some time in the future.

That ends the lesson for today. Come back next week for the next lesson, which will focus on finding proof of a genuine haunting, and why it will never make the news, but why it's good anyways.

If you're interested in my Ghosthunting 101 lessons, they can be found here, and are updated every Thursday. Good hunting!