User blog:Mr.123/Welcome to Spooky Town!

An adventurous soul could conceivably measure the amount of dark and spooky nights since the beginning of time, if they put their mind into it. The process is somewhat lengthy and nowhere near as survivable as consuming an apple on a crisp autumn day, but sufficed to say that there is a weight to such nights. Without all that light of day, the sheer possibility of darkness, and what could be shuffling through its shadows, is so forceful that the witching hour will carve itself into the earth.

Caves, plunged in perpetual darkness, will skew results - no matter how they echo they will never be empty. Man-made structures, abandoned or preserved for the novelty, are only as effective as they are touched by tragedy. Nights spent on the open ocean, and along the beach, are mere reflections of an endless night just below.

Most curiosity shop owners, antique dealers, and rug merchants agree that the best place to measure the amount of dark and spooky nights the world has had is in the middle of the desert, where the cold proof of time blows and shifts like sails, catching the wind. The stars above slowly wink in and out of existence without any comprehendible explanation. The day's wasteland becomes the night's home for so many creatures below the sand.

And were you that curious soul sitting alone in this teeming desert looking for answers, it is these creatures that will gleefully take your questions.

They will sidle up to your side, and beckon you even closer.

They will slither up your arm, and kiss your eyes closed.

They will hiss into your ear, and pour out dusty secrets.

And in time you will realize that these dark creatures, known only by their eyes, their teeth, and their tongues, boiling up from the sand, have in fact only known a world of night. Day has never come for them. For them, darkness and spookiness are the clock, not the increments.

And too late in that now crowded desert, you will realize that we, foolishly following a bright shiny in the sky, are no different.

An adventurous soul could conceivably measure the amount of dark and spooky nights since the beginning of time, if they put their mind into it. After all, it takes great courage to face complete darkness, but great wisdom to become part of it.

Remembrance Day Bugle
Known in some countries as Armistice, Veterans or Poppy Day, November 11th is reserved to acknowledge the sacrifices of World War I soldiers. "At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" leaders memorialize the lives lost at the formal end of the Great War. Ceremonies differ between states, but many include a bugle call of military sorrow (Last Post, Reville, The Rouse) followed by a brief moment of reflective silence. Many follow with poem recitations, national anthems and wreaths decorating tombs.

Playing a popular tune will calm everyone within earshot to inner stillness. Their inner voices turns solemn and quiet as they clearly articulate whatever personal issues they suffer. All reach the conclusion that regardless of one's current misfortunes, they should be humble and accept life can be much worse. Listeners often forego complaints for the day in recognition of what good they already have.

UNICEF Trick-or-Treat Boxes
Started in 1950, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) raises funds for different goodwill programs across the globe. One of their most successful campaigns is their trick-or-treat program, where children asking for candy could also receive spare change for donations. Remember seeing all the little orange boxes as a kid? That's them, providing healthcare and educational services with the proceeds.

Dropping coins through the slot generates supplies for the needy. Soap, toothbrushes (a post-Halloween staple), energy bars and warm socks will all rumble around inside the cardboard box. Bills makes it even more luxurious - water filters, blankets, backpacks, even EpiPens for any glycemic shock incurred.

Body Snatcher Cemetery Gun
In the 1800s, many new business ventures were booming: locomotives, ice, kerosene. And bodies. Seriously.

Aspiring doctors and surgeons needed more than diagrams, they needed cadavers to practice on. Only criminals' bodies were allowed for dissection, creating a market. "Resurrectionists" would dig up the deceased (ironically, the fresher the better) through a hole in the coffin, leave all the possessions then sell in the dead of night to hospitals and lecture halls. Although many victims were minorities or the poor, most families upon hearing this horror took countermeasures. Some graves were covered with heavy stones, while others were caged off from the ground. Many cemeteries hired watchmen and even a few laid weapons to let the deceased sleep in peace.

As a protective entity, this firearm will patrol the surrounding area of any funerary or memorial structure. On sensing wanton disrespect like vandalism, the flint will fire and the person will be shot from the ground. Many hardened dirt and pebble projectiles will embed into their flesh until they stop being a nuisance.

Operation Popeye Chemtrail Variant
Many American military honchos during the Vietnam War were searching for the next winning tactic. One of their ideas was weather modification. Seeding clouds with silver iodide or dry ice particles would cumulate heavy rains and make roads impassable during the rainy season.

Another additive dropped from aircraft were rainbow herbicides, a bunch of different nasty weed killers. Used earlier during Operation Ranch Hand, the goal was to cause the surrounding forests to wilt away for better visibility. An impurity in their production of Agent Orange caused significant health issues, birth defects and mass deforestation in the sprayed areas that still plague residents to this day.

Batches of both the silver iodide and herbicides were somehow mixed up during transit for destruction. They were used further on flight missions performing defoliant runs and later shipped to other countries under the mistake of fuel oxidizers. Some appeared in the streaks commercial jetliners would leave from water vapor crystalizing into clouds. Around 98.5% of contrails lack the substance; the latest recorded instance was falls of orange snow in 2007 Siberia.

The mixture of chemical formulas and sum inflicted harm somehow created a new virulent substance. Normally a stable-shelf liquid, vibration or extreme heat swings would change it into a gas. At high altitudes, it only changes the precipitation's appearance - bloody rain or pea-green smog. On ground level however, exposure creates clouds within one's body. The user breathes dioxins out and slowly poisons everybody around them until they effectively 'rain', releasing all the stored fluid in one death-knell.

Donald Liebenberg's Eclipse Glasses
Astronomy professor extraordinaire, Donald Liebenberg's claim to fame is being a professional solar eclipse hound. Having witnessed a grand total of 27 eclipses, Liebenberg has spent greater time obscured in the moon's shadow than anyone else. Managing to finagle an early test Concorde test flight, his crew spent 74 minutes in flight conducting experiments under totality. Most people on the ground get seven if lucky. And lucky he has been. His latest sighting in 2017 was from the comfort of his own driveway.

Wearing causes varying shades of darkness to envelop the user's vision. Alternating between fuzzy static and perpetual black is common. The eyes work perfectly fine, they're not blinded - light is just unable to reflect from the acrylic into ocular nerve. More continual time can lead to loss of spatial awareness, although the other senses pick up slack. The real damage is the reflected light instead ungulates off the rest of their body, creating a concentrated corona effect. Blindness by onlookers can occur in minutes from standing next to a celestial wannabe.

Kykeon
The ancient Greeks worshipped multiple religions - the common pantheon followed by all dwellers and the sacred mysteries. From a pool of many potential initiates, the few worthy would be given secret knowledge. Many different schools sprung up, as the rituals were often repetitions of daily activities and did not conflict with regular worship. What they did face was the rise of Christianity during the Roman period searching for converts.

One of the earliest and most influential sects were the Eleusininan Mysteries. Their belief was certain rites once revealed to select few enabled them a content afterlife. Through the various levels of secrets, purity of the soul kept reappearing as a major criteria for continuing one's indoctrination. Spectators were often played a reenactment of Persephone's kidnapping to the underworld. After the spectacle, they danced to the blessings of the gods and the hum of the kykeon. Some earthy margarita mix of water, barley and other compounds (ergot or psilocybin), it probably acted as a psychoactive. Descriptions of users leave the impression it enhanced any spiritual voyage undertook.

Ingesting the liquid makes users fall into a trance and become highly suggestible to anything. If they were told the moon was really made out of green cheese, they'd ask for a bite. Often enhances hallucinations and thoughts so intensely the drinker believes them to be physical. Can lead to violent struggling, self-harm or cowering if paired with a bad starting stimuli, or just aping around empty air like a virtual reality halfwit.

The effect compounds over time until a compulsion for just a drip of its magical unshackling takes hold. Statesman Alcibiades got a little too judicious handing out the sacred drink at ceremony and was sacked out of Athens. Until its siren song lulled him back, this time with the Spartan army on his side. Then against again.

Nicodemus' Balm
Mentioned thrice within the Book of John, Nicodemus's first appearance was a sit-down talk with Jesus. Nicodemus tries to comprehend the terms "born again" as a literal and spiritual rebirth. Jesus finds it odd that a religious leader among many cannot understand such a concept surrounding religious change. His second mention is reminding judges that the trial of Jesus must come before the sentencing. Final verses explain Nicodemus returned after the crucifixion with embalming spices to help prepare the burial.

A hundred pounds were carried for the ceremony, now roughly a quarter that amount survives. Composed of myrrh, aloes and extinct Judaen date palm oil. Applying to injuries during twilight hours regenerates nerve growth. Stimulating the damage in both body and brain allows the user to reach new epiphanies from the re-ordering of neural pathways. Accelerates aging processes such as nail growth and skin shedding, causing a nebulous cloud to follow the afflicted. The dead cells often absorb light and slowly envelop their immediate person with darkness. Most that pass within range often lose sense of their surroundings, often tripping headfirst into obstacles.

Balloonfest '86 Helium Tank
Balloons are a staple of birthday party clowns and saucy innuendos. In 1986, the charity United Way broke the world record for largest simultaneous launch of nearly 1.5 million. Volunteers spent an entire day filling thousands of latex poppers with helium underneath a safety net.

It didn't work.

An approaching storm spooked the organizers to release their plastic legion early. Instead of floating high and popping, they were forced back upon the ground by a front. Everything in the vicinity of Cleveland was swamped, all the way up to the Canadian side of Lake Erie. The onslaught of balloons interfered with a search and rescue mission, which likely resulted in the drowning two fishermen. A stable of prized Arabian horses injured themselves in a panic; United Way was sued by both parties for damages. Even airport traffic stalled for a little, and the plastic menace continued littering the surrounding areas.

Inflating creates a small electrical charge between the rubberized surface and the surrounding air. They tend to float towards materials of opposing charge, meaning they flock on water and people with ease. On contact they either pop and release a loud painful crack, or slowly shrivel up in a disturbing gurgle. Noises made by them often cause momentary panics or scramble signals on machinery. Several stray balloons have been tangled up with streetlights in recent years and been the cause of the eerie flickering reported by some nighttime stragglers.

The Euphonia
Coined in 1970 by robotics researcher Masahiro Mori, uncanny valley measures how well a person enjoys something human-like. Cute toy robots with expressive eyes or small bodies garnered high on likeability. The trend continues until it dips when a person's entire physical likeness is copied, such as advanced androids or CGI wizardry. People freak out when seeing something that wears the face of a person, but has enough incorrect (or too correct) tics to be alien.

Joseph Faber's creation certainly fits the criteria of creepy. In redux, all he built was a sophisticated text reader and instrument player. With one tiny difference - there was a rubber woman's face mounted on it. All the bellows and keys opened her mouth to speak in any language or tone. Even Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian thought there was some use for it in the field of speech communication. But alas it was an aesthetic dud. Blank eyes and mechanical wheezing made the few London spectators grimace at its expressionless torment.

Perfectly recites back any sounds, albeit at a slower and garbled pace. Additional levers have been added to recreate consonants beyond its originally programed languages. Saying one's name with a recipient will relay a message for later party if they have the gall to approach the hodgepodge. For that very reason, Jack and Rebecca would occasionally use it to arrange secret trysts out of sight from their boss.

Times Beach Route 66 Sign
17 miles (27 km) southwest of St. Louis lies Times Beach, a desolate hull of itself. It already was a failed vacation resort prone to flooding until the bombshell hit. The entire town was evacuated in '83 from exposure to TCDD, a component of fatal herbicide Agent Orange. The local production firm, instead of responsibly incinerating the toxic waste products, commissioned an inept company to dispose of it. Who in turn hired a small waste management owner Russell Bliss.

All Bliss knew was he was hauling waste, not what kind. He sprayed his neighbor's and own stables with the collected oil to prevent excessive dust. Little did they expect the horses to suddenly starve or their children to become gravely ill. Or the dirt roads they drove on to be contaminated with the slush. Or one property literally having drums of chemicals buried beneath it. The Reagan administration bought out the town and the state removed its residents, sticking a new furnace at the crossroads. The site was rehabilitated under the Superfund program and is now a state park.

Exudes toxic industrial waste, washing over anything it can. Whatever chemical mixture initially contacts it will shift the molecular bonds to be a perfect match. Easily creates solids too, such as lead and asbestos samples. Stored within a vacuum sealed unit to prevent exposure to the elements. Noted to be unresponsive to neutral or useful compounds, only recreating the murkiest.

Summer Palace Guardian Lion Statues
Mistakenly referred to as foo dogs, the great statues adorning palatial  Chinese entrances are actually lions. Standing guard to tombs and businesses alike, a pair would protect the premises from negative spirits. Most feng shui guides place the male at the right side of the entrance (pawing a ball) and the left a female (protecting a cub).

The Summer Palace located in Beijing is a complex of lakeside palaces and gardens for the royal family. Half sculpted and half natural landscape, the court would travel there in the hotter months to escape the suffocating heat of the Forbidden City. Emperors and eunuchs enjoyed the calm waters and fertile fields alongside the traditional pavilions.

Aligning them between an entrance creates a harmonious flow in the entire covered area. Energy is redirected to damper energy buildup, keeping relative calm within the arena from intruders and disorder. The pair are used to contain all the eeriness contained without spilling over into other sections. However, they also release copious amounts of steam and hot air currents from countless baking in the lukewarm sunshine. As a contained system, the breeze circulates through the aisles and unintentionally drives the ghastly winds that often tickle the backs of agents necks.

Rosh Hashanah Shofar
Taking place in the first half of autumn, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. The calendar change is meant to coincide with the start of harvest season the ancient Semitic peoples followed. During services, religious texts are read aloud regarding the fates of those deemed honorable, spiteful and the regular in-between folks. Reflection over one's sins and how to address them in the upcoming future provide a breakpoint for personal betterment. One tradition is blowing the shofar, a hollowed ram horn to provide levity during prayers and call for repentance.

Usage during any formal ceremony, secular or not, causes the listeners to relive their mistakes. Every notable bad choice over the last year gets paraded through their mind like a mental barrage. Each encounter is paired with a scenario where a better path bettered them, one that is doable in their current state. Absolution of one's errors followed by great change to improve suddenly becomes a defining driver of their actions.

Tower of London Apotropaic Hexafoil
Many spooky places exist in the world. Abandoned towns, misty forests, dentist's offices. One of the most spine-tingling is the dungeon, hellhole to torture captives. The infamous role the Tower of London held was being a prison. Yes, the very same which today houses the Crown Jewels often caged dissidents. During the 12th century to post-WWII saw all kinds of disgraced or deceitful figures lie inside its walls. Famed New World explorer Walter Raleigh, arsonist Guy Fawkes, deputy Nazi leader Rudolf Hess and even an early lifetime Queen Elizabeth I.

Apotropaic magic is classified as symbols and practices meant to keep harmful forms of magic at bay. Lucky charms (not the cereal) and knocking on wood are common examples. Terrified Brits would sometimes carve symbols into their homes and churches to ward off witches from the entrances. Some patterns resembled a petaled flower of circles to get the intruder stuck in a loop; others were a double V to invoke the Virgin Mary.

Acts as a protective containment system. Anything considered otherworldly or unnatural, at least by average understanding, is repelled from the symbol. All the spookiness cannot pass its border, like a vampire on a threshold. Given it was from a veritable prison complex, it also prevents removal of anything from the current area. People or artifacts find themselves suddenly entering surprise corners, never-ending staircases and locked shut doors. Whatever enters, stays. The only way to leave is having a 'royal pardon', or document of the head in charge saying they may leave the area with their approval.

Cipher Manuscripts
Modern day witchcraft or paganism still exist today in the forms of Thelema and Wicca. But their common ancestor lies with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Many of the commonly subscribed magical studies formed part of their teachings - alchemy, Kabbalism, scrying, geomancy, tarot and the classical elements. Outlined in their dogma was certain mystic Secret Chiefs controlled different elements of the occult community. The mid-1890s were the peak of their prosperity, until one mad hatter Aleister Crowley fostered dissent.

Reading its entirety allows the user to find a solution for any problem. They begin seeing the world around as something that can be manipulated instead of a mystery. Even more, they can turn anything they desire into a repeatable process. Influencing the laws behind peptide chains in molecules, creating a way to accurately reproduce any stony artwork, making all nylon threads invulnerable to pulling from sweaters. Greater understanding makes the reader realize they understand very little at all. Some embrace it happily; others feel the need to compensate and mask their newfound knowledge with nonsensical methods.