2008-03-09

Haunted.

I spoke to a reporter from The Boston Herald the other day, giving her the lowdown on the ghosts that roam the theatre. This Tuesday I talk to Channel 4. I'm the Ghost Whisperer, all of a sudden.

"Shining City" has just started up in preview performances here -- a ghost story being presented in a haunted house.

I believe in them. I believe in ghosts.

I'll try to explain.

Part of this is my upbringing. The Irish love a good ghost story. Ghosts were created to keep children close to home, away from the fire, away from the water...in our case, we were told never to venture further than the second floor of my Nana's house, or "Monaghan" would get us. To this day I have dreams of the house on Round Hill Street in Jamaica Plain, maybe a 10 minute walk from where I now reside. I dream about Nana's bedroom. I smell mothballs and old lady soap. I dream of the stairwell, the basement, of being somewhere I shouldn't be. I distinctly remember being terrified by the portraits of Jesus and Mary that hung in the dining room (these now hang over my bed -- read into that what you will). Mostly I remember feeling a palpable heaviness beyond my comprehension at five, six, seven years old. It affected me profoundly. The place was haunted.

I believe that.

I went to see "Shining City" this weekend. I see a lot of plays, some decent, some excellent. I have no words to describe how THIS play made me feel, other than to say that it's haunting me. Jon and I spoke at length beforehand about the supernatural, the power of suggestion, the mind's ability to either create what isn't there, or to pick up on what isn't apparent. We agreed that theatre itself -- observing OR performing -- necessitates a willing suspension of disbelief.

What we're haunted by isn't necessarily otherworldly. We are haunted by circumstances and missed opportunities. We are haunted by the unresolved. We are haunted by "what if" and "should have." In the weeks since Keith's death Jon and I - and our friends - are haunted by all these things. A moment passed at the table where it hung like a heavy, sad cloud above our heads. What did we miss? Did we even miss ANYTHING? We don't know, and it haunts us.

And so what is a ghost but perhaps a manifestation of what we're not at peace with? A warp through which we see actions that we cannot take back? I watched "Shining City" and thought about all of these things.

This weekend I also found myself immersed in the Dominican community here in Jamaica Plain. My upstairs neighbor is having a baby. The shower was at Our Lady of Lourdes down the street. These beautiful, regal women took care of everything -- the food, the music, the storytelling. My landlady was constantly putting food in front of me: empanaditas and pollo guisado and obscene cake filled with guava jam. The heaviness I'd been feeling was lifted in that church hall, among all of these women, and I knew that what I really believed in was SPIRIT.

lisamcc at 7:52 p.m.



5 comments so far
vikkitikkitavi
2008-03-10 15:45:22
I don't believe in any of this shit. No god, no devil, no spooks, no karma, no spirtual force joining together the universe, nada. It's just the way I'm wired, I guess. I do however like what you said about a ghost being a manifestation of what you're not at peace with. Like my granny, who was just a huge influence in my life, loved bluebirds. She had bluebird houses and bluebird feeders, and bluebird-themed linens and needlepoint thingys, etc. When she died, at the graveside service, my brother stood and related a story about Gran. While he spoke, I saw a bluebird alight on a nearby tree branch. Then he flew down to the ground about ten feet from where my brother stood. And then he hopped toward him, until he was standing not two feet in front of him. The bluebird stayed there the whole time he spoke, staring up at him and cocking his head first one way and then the next. Then, he turned and hopped a few times, and flew away. Very unusual behavior for a bluebird. When I discussed this afterward with a few people, they all said, "Oh, your Gran was there!", which frankly just makes me want to puke, however well-intentioned the sentiment. However, I will say that I am very grateful for the strange coincidence of it, because it did make me feel as if she WAS there for a moment, and I liked that, even if it was entirely my own doing.
-------------------------------

Lexi
2008-03-10 17:57:38
Beautiful.
-------------------------------

lj lindhurst
2008-03-12 09:31:08
I really want to see "Shining City" here in NYC. I saw "The Weir" when I was in London a few years back--it had a similar theme, it sounds like. My husband just saw "The Seafarer" a couple of weeks ago. He said it was amazing...
-------------------------------

Jess
2008-03-12 18:45:45
Nothing ghostly or supernatural has ever happened to me. I'm very jealous of those it HAS happened to (i.e. almost everyone I know). Part of me believes in such things and the other part... well, it's hard to believe in something if you've never experienced it yourself. I guess I HOPE there are cool things like ghosts & psychics.
-------------------------------

Lynette
2008-03-13 01:25:25
I believe in ghosts. Particularly, the ghost of my former stage career. Or the ghost of my belief in true love. I kid! Well...only sorta...
-------------------------------

previous | next