I’ve had some time to regroup after meeting my first ghost. I was going to start from the start wasn’t I?

Simone informed me that I had been invited to a party at the old Victorian on Chestnut Street. It’s a beautiful house. A bit tatty these days, showing its age but it still retains a sense of what it used to be in its glory days. The traditional seven colors of paint in hues of sienna reds and hunter greens that are faded now, Queen Anne architecture with a tile missing here and there, turrets, and decadent ornateness.

The house was owned by Arthur, a local vampire who was mostly known in the vamp community for his soirées and not much else. He’s been here longer than my family but no one really knows him. He holds these parties once every few months but only makes an appearance at the end of the evening before all good vampire boys and girls must go to bed. It’s all very mysterious but quite an honor to be invited.

I’m not much for parties, but I couldn’t very well refuse the invite. My family is um, sort of famous I guess and to refuse to go would ruffle some feathers we don’t particularly want to ruffle. Basically, you just don’t piss off the vampires and Arthur had decided it was time he met me.

Whatever. It was an excuse to get away and try to forget about the zombies I’d had to uh, disassemble recently. I put on my dancing shoes, convinced Liam to wear something other than his usual jeans and hoodie, hooked up with Simone and off we went.

At first everything was going well. Arthur had hired a local cover band to play and I convinced Liam to dance a couple of times (he’s so broody most of the time. It’s just nice to get him to smile.) I ran into a lot of folks who usually help me out at the rallies and despite my desire to forget about that for a while, they would pepper me with questions about the next one.

And then it happened. I was returning to the main room from the bathroom when the ghost appeared as if stepping from one of the rooms off the staircase. Like I said before, I assumed it was another activist friend, until I looked at her.  God, she was beautiful. She seemed quite young, perhaps late teens early twenties. She wore a tattered, old-fashioned dress like she was from a time when the house was brand new. But it wasn’t the sort of dress the lady of the house would have worn. It was more like that of a servant in the household. It was faded and worn in spots. The hem was ragged from dragging along the floor. But the girl… She wore her thick, blonde hair in a long plait and wound into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. Wispy tendrils of it framed her lovely pale face. Despite her opaqueness, her eyes seemed a clear bright blue and when she smiled, that grin reached her eyes. She’d been happy in life, it seemed.

I followed her into the library, mesmerized. She pointed at a chair near the fireplace and I sat down. She… drifted I guess you could say until she was standing by the mantle.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you a moment ago.”  she said. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I’ve just never… well I didn’t even know ghosts existed. I’m not afraid though, if you were worried about that. I was just startled.” I replied. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“I’m surprised. I would have thought the daughter of a powerful necromancer like Desmond McGee would have met her fair share of ghosts by now.”

“I was just thinking the same thing. Believe me, I’ll be grilling dad about that later. Er, wait a minute. How do you now who I am?” I asked.

She smiled. “There’s very little I do not know living in this house. I am bound to it. The present owner - Arthur, you call him - was very excited that you’d accepted his invitation.”

“I see.”

“I don’t mean to appear rude Miss McGee, but I do not have much time.” She glanced nervously at the door. “Arthur will have learned I’m gone by now and will be looking for me. I… I need your help. You see, I would very much like to move on from this existence. But I am trapped.”

“Trapped?”

She cocked her head, listening for a moment. “Yes. I’m afraid it’s a rather long story and Arthur will find me any moment. Will you help me?”

I didn’t know what to say. What if she was lying? What if she was being kept in this world against her will? What kind of vampire was Arthur anyway? Why would he hold a ghost against its will? Was he a bad guy? Was she a good guy?

“I’m afraid I need more info to go on before I can jump into the mix here.”

The ghost clenched her jaw and frowned. “I see.” She stiffened and I heard footsteps on the stairs outside the door. “I must go. Please… Come back when you can. I’ll find you and tell you my story.” And with that, she shimmered and was gone just as the door opened and Arthur himself stepped into the room.

It was a bit of a close call. I was still a bit thrown by the whole ghost encounter but I just acted flustered as if lost in the big house and he showed me the way back to the main room. The rest of the party was a blur to me, my head spun so much from my encounter. Liam and I dropped Simone off at dawn and went home.
Now I just need to find a way to get back.

I had a girls’ night in the other night with my best friend, Simone. Had to boot Liam and he was none too happy about it. I told him to go visit dad. They haven’t been around each other much lately. Figured they should have some zombie/necromancer bonding evening. That came out a little squickier than I intended. I just meant they should hang out.

Anyway, Simone came over and we ended up watching chick flicks like we always do. We did argue out the film choices at first, again like we always do. She threatened me with Shaun of the Dead, and retaliated by picking up Queen of the Damned. It was most amusing. An hour in Blockbuster picking out movies: $20. Pissing off a vampire by threatening to make her watch an Anne Rice movie: Priceless

Yes, Simone is a vampire. I probably should have mentioned that. I’ve known her since we were kids but she was vamped just a few years ago by a rogue passing through town who took a fancy to her. She’s pretty hot and she used to be pretty reckless. She adapted to the lifestyle pretty quickly though and seems to be all right with it. We stayed friends and we try to get together at least once a week to hang out and catch up.

But wait, I hear you saying. Doesn’t she try to suck your blood?

No. Well, there was that awkward night right after she was vamped and still coming to grips with the whole blood thing. but we got past it. No, Simone has a deal with a friend at the blood bank. She says the draw of drinking blood ‘from the tap’ is strong, but she could never get past the whole having to bite them thing. Apparently it grosses her out too much and she’s happy to nuke expired blood in the micro. She looks pretty cool though, with the fangs and pale beauty. She’s taken to going to a lot of the goth shows where she’s become something of a fixture among the kids there. She’s almost a show unto herself

Besides, not all vampires are evil. It’s much the same with them as it is with humans. Not all humans are “good” either. Mostly, if a vampire is evil, they would have been evil as a human anyway. Vlad the Impaler was a pretty nasty customer in his day. When he became a vampire and took on the name of Dracula, he was still pretty wicked.

But chances are, if you’re a decent person, you’ll remain one as a vampire and you’ll find a way to adapt that doesn’t involve killing or hurting.

A lot of the myths you know about vampires are true, however. Vampires are mystical creatures and as such, mystical means of killing or handling them hold true. A wooden stake, fire, crosses (though any holy item will do - anything that faith is put into can have averse effects on a vampire. Nobody knows why though), all of these things will hurt or kill a vampire. It is also true that they are creatures of the night. They don’t burst into flame if they are exposed to daylight, but it weakens them greatly, and they can’t really function in it.

Anyway, I’ve digressed. Girls’ night was a success. Much fun was had and it took my mind off of things. I definitely needed it. Thanks Simone. Mwah.

Well. Hi there. I have no idea what to say. My friend Liam seems to think it’s about time I “get with it” as he says and get online. “Time to join the 21st century CherryPop.” he says. So here I am. Bitching and moaning the whole time while Liam rolls his eyes at me.

It’s not so bad I guess. I’ve kept journals ever since I learned to write anyway. Maybe this way I’ll save bookshelf space.

I guess though since anyone can read this sucker, I’d better introduce myself. My name is CherryPop McGee. Yes, really. Save the jokes, I’ve heard them all. Besides, I love my name. So there.

Actually, Mom refuses to tell me why she named me after a fizzy drink. She just gets this dreamy look on her face and smiles before changing the subject. I gave up trying to solve the mystery when I was eight.

So enough about my funny name. If you’re here, you’re probably looking for info on zombies or vamps or witches and wizards. Maybe you met me at a rally and Liam handed you a card with my site address on it. Maybe you’re a crackpot who wants to let me know I’ll be spending eternity in hell. However you came by this place, I’ll do my best to keep you up-to-date on the latest news on the zombie rights front.

Here’s a few questions I get asked all. the. time.:

1. Are zombies real?
What do you think Liam? Are you real? Liam says, “Duh.” Liam’s sitting next to me nagging me to get this done keeping me company. Liam is a good friend of mine. Liam is also a true-blue, bona fide zombie and has been one since I was three. No, he doesn’t eat brains, or human flesh, or stumble around stupidly. Real zombies - the ones who have been raised properly by a trained necromancer - are human. Just dead. Liam and others like him can function normally in society. They just don’t need to eat, sleep, or drink. They do need to move around a lot or rigor mortis can set in and trust Liam when he says it’s a bitch to shake it off. Zombies don’t need to breathe either, so don’t offer them a ciggie.

Zombies cannot reproduce. No shagging There’s no blood circulating you see. So once you’re a zombie, nless you had children before you die, you will never be able to have them. One more reason to grant them rights as citizens. Some zombies would like to adopt, but as of now, that’s impossible.
2. I thought Zombies were slow-witted creatures who want to rip my guts out.
Some of them are. Avoid them. If a zombie is not raised properly, say if a wanna-be necromancer attempted to raise a zombie without the proper training and rituals, then you’re going to get the sort of zombie who give the rest of them a bad name. Yeah, they’re scary. Fortunately, it’s very difficult to raise the dead without the right training. Occasionally some idiot gets lucky, but for the most part the only dead things these amateurs might raise are bugs or fallen leaves.

3. What about vampires and witches and wizards? They’re real too?
Yes, yes and yes. I am a witch (I’m also a certified necromancer but you didn’t ask about those) and best friends are vampires and zombies. Similar cautions apply with all three of the above. You’re going to run into “evil” vamps and I know for certain there are “bad” witches and wizards in the world. There are “evil” humans out there too. Doesn’t mean they’re all evil now does it?

Wel I think I’m typed out for tonight.  Liam informs me that my little Q&A above is known as a FAQ online, so I will add to it next time. GNight!