In spite of knowing that I’m a big sissy, I love watching scary movies, reading about scary things and watching shows about ghosts. I’m obsessed with ghost stories. I love them. I love reading about them and hearing them. I like to imagine where they started. I think that today’s legends have a grain of truth somewhere in their history, but like the telephone game, it gets distorted and blown up.

I’ve never seen a ghost. I’m not entirely sure I believe they exist, though I believe other people when they say they’ve seen them (in other words, I believe they believe). I love hearing ghost stories, though. I even watch the tv shows with other people telling their ghost stories (A Haunting, Celebrity Ghost Stories, etc). And some of those shows scare me. Big time. Like, I turn off the lights and sprint upstairs before a ghost gets me. So why do I watch them? Why do we all watch them? I know I’m not alone in this, look at how many people saw the Paranormal Activity movies.

I’ve heard theories that people find comfort in ghost stories. They find the idea that spirits go on after death comforting. I personally don’t find that idea comforting, but I guess I understand the thinking behind it. Some people use ghost stories as morality type stories, like A Christmas Carol. Some people tell the stories to be scared, just for the sake of being scared. To feel that adrenaline rush, but in a safe environment.

According to the History Channel’s Web site, one of the first notable ghost stories was recorded in the first century A.D. by Pliny the Younger, a Roman author and statesman. He wrote about the ghost of an old man with a beard and chains (like Dickens) haunting about his house. Other Greeks wrote ghost stories, too.

Also according to history.com, the first poltergeist was reported in 856 A.D. in a farmhouse in Germany. Clearly, we have enjoyed hearing and telling ghost stories for a long time.

Whether we do it for comfort, for the rush or out of curiosity I guess depends on the person. But tomorrow, we’ll be dressing up in costumes, getting candy, watching scary movies and telling ghost stories. A day where we celebrate life by acknowledging death and speculate that perhaps the dead are still here, not just in our hearts and minds.

Have you ever seen a ghost? What’s your favorite ghost story? Does your town have a famous ghost?

I grew up in a small town called Montross in Virginia. Population 300 or so. There’s a road in Montross called Wild Sally Road and there was a ghost story attached to that road. Like most small town legends, there were about three versions of the ghost story. In one version, Wild Sally was an escaped slave, in another story she was a hermit who lived alone in the woods and was tormented by the townsfolk and in another version she was a high school student who died in a car crash on that road on her way to the prom. My best friend told that story the best, at the end, she would lower her voice and say, “If you’re driving down Wild Sally Road at night and you’re going too quickly, she’ll try to stop you and if you’re going to slowly, she’ll try to get in the car with you.” Of course, there’s no telling what the optimum “Wild Sally speed” would be. I would usually hear the story while we were walking through the woods off of the road named for the legend. I was always the first one to suggest that we head home : ).

So, share your stories! I’m dying to hear them.

Over the past few weeks, there has been some science & nature news that is mind-blowing and, well, awesome.

• There was an article on National Geographic online about a remote control submersible camera capturing an “elbowed” Magnapinna squid about a mile and a half below the surface. Look at how freaky this thing is:

  I would hate to run into that thing while water skiing. Luckily for me, that is pretty unlikely–they are very rarely seen. This video marks the first time one of these squids has been seen at an oil development, though, according to the article, scientists don’t think that has any scientific significance. What amazes me the most is that we’ve spent hundreds of years studying the ocean in one way or another and we have only barely brushed the surface.

• BBC News has an article announcing that US scientists may have detected dark matter. The scientists can’t confirm it, but they’re expecting some upgraded equipment in 2010 and the new equipment should be able to give them a more definitive answer. It sounds like some sort of malicious force or something out of the Da Vinci Code, but it’s theorized that dark matter makes up around 90 percent of the universe. It is believed that it exerts gravitational forces, but it doesn’t emit detectable light or radiation. Interesting stuff.

• This article also caught my eye, as I don’t often think of mountains as “enigmatic.” However, the Gamburstevs are in Antarctica and they are totally buried under the ice cap. An international team spent two months in 2008 ad 2009 surveying the mountains.I’m not sure I would have signed up for that expedition-two months in one of the harshest places on the planet just doesn’t appeal to me. However, what they’re finding about these mountains is pretty fascinating.

That’s all for now, but next time you’re reading a news site or a newspaper, don’t be so quick to ignore the science section. It has some pretty interesting stuff that showcase just how awesome our world is.

• Do you find Pat Sajak charming? Are you good with words and word puzzles? Could you figure out this clue:

  

  Wheel Of Fortune

  Then maybe you’d like to be on Wheel of Fortune. In addition to cash prizes, you can win trips and shopping sprees. Good times. According to their Web site, people can audition at “Wheelmobile” events or fill out a form. However, also according to the site, fewer than 600 people were selected last year to appear on the show.

  If you’re lucky enough to be selected to appear on the show, any cash or prizes will be delivered within 120 days after the airdate of the show. The contestants are responsible for paying state and federal taxes on their winnings.

• If grab bag trivia is your thing, you may like Who Want to be a Millionaire (yes, it soldiered on without Regis). Like other games, they have in-person auditions and other auditions at the producer’s discretion. There are a bunch of different kinds, from video to ticket holder, but it’s not ongoing. Don’t expect a New York City extravaganza on their dime, though, all contestants have to pay their own way and provide their own accommodations.

  When it comes to actually becoming a millionaire, they get a little rule crazy. If you’re lucky enough to end up in the hot seat and win less than $250,000, it will be awarded to you 30 days after the airdate. If you win $500,000, you’ll receive half of it 30 days after the airdate and the other half will be paid in equal installments over 10 years. It’s the same deal if you win $1 million, but they pay the $750,000 over 20 years. If a contestant wins over $600, they have to fill out a 1099.

• How are you with naming prices? The Price is Right might be the place to cash in on this skill set. The Price is Right is fairly egalitarian with contestant selection. There are no special tests to take, all you need to be a potential contestant is a ticket to the show. However, you also have to bring two forms of ID. I can’t find anything online about taxes if you win, but I do keep stumbling upon unhappy winners.

• For many, Jeopardy is the holy grail of game shows. Contestants can take an online test or go to a “Brain bus” event. They hold potential contestants in an active pool for about 18 months. I can’t find what happens if you win, although I read that you have to wait three months. In fact, it seems that contestants aren’t allowed to say how much they actually received of their show winnings (after taxes).

There are tons of shows I didn’t mention. There’s Deal or No Deal, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?, a lot of new shows on the Game Show Network and other game shows that are popping up all the time.

Be warned, almost every game has a laundry list of rules. Make sure you read them. You can’t be a contestant if you work for the parent companies or know anyone who does. You can’t be a contestant if you’ve been on a different game show and the list goes on and on. Also, they’ll probably make you sign a non-disclosure agreement because you have to wait months before the show airs to tell anyone how you did.

I wouldn’t advise giving up a job hunt or quitting a job for a game show. The odds of getting on are slim and the odds of winning are slimmer. But it’s a fun dream.