Card 48: Nightly Visitor

 

 

Doors are interesting things...don't you agree? They let people in and out of buildings, churches, stores and our homes. With the twist of the knob someone new and interesting might enter into our lives but living on the haunted farm made me come to realize that many feelings and many things  can come with the turning of the knob.

 

It was in the darkest hours of the night that the turning of the knob could signal our almost nightly visitor.  This phenomena happened as far back as I can remember. Perhaps it was always there like the little man in the attic but my knowledge of it lay hidden in the dark recesses of my mind. Tucked away like a key to something I would never truly understand.

 

I can't really remember exactly when it floated into my consciousness and even now it amazes me how seldom we talked about it.  On many nights, well past two in the morning we would either be awakened by the sound of the front door opening or by our small dog barking vigorously at something in the living room.

 

The layout of the small house was such that my bedroom door opened into the living room but was slightly obscured by a enclosed staircase that led up to the attic. Slightly down from my room was the door into my parents bedroom. Sometimes my father would get up and try to sneak silently into the living room to catch a glimpse of whoever or whatever entered.

 

The door was old and creaked. We seldom locked it and quite honestly I'm not sure there even was a lock for many years but regardless the visitor had no problems entering.  With the creaking of the door the dog usually charged into the living room. As I lay silently in my bed I could hear the dog's paws clicking on the wooden floor. Not just clicking but jumping up on something and then falling to the floor again, and again, and again.

 

Once again I am struck by the oddness that I don't remember any fear. Perhaps the fear became buried under all the layers of twisted oddity that occurred in the house, the woods, the lane and in our lives. I know there were some nights when we were curious, perhaps even slightly anxious but not the gripping fear you might expect when you "think" someone is in the next room and you wonder what they want and why they are there.

 

When it awakened me I can assure you I didn't have the courage to hop out of bed and blunder out into the living room to investigate but neither did I lay quivering in my bed filled with dread. Generally I waited and after a bit the dog fell silent and most of the time before I drifted back to sleep I would hear the door again as our nightly visitor left.

 

 

 

Childhood Thoughts Part Two

Gravel roads and days that stretched endlessly before me, filled with boredom and empty hours.  Oh there was always plenty of work to do but the young don't seek work....they seek adventure.  They crave to grow up and as one growing old it makes me smile to think that growing up is an adventure in itself.

The empty days of summer were both a blessing and a curse. For in the dead of night in the summer, when the body is not exhausted from a day of school, the goblins come out to play. Many might be tempted to dismiss my memories as nothing more than childhood foolishness but the truth is you didn't have to be a child to experience it.

The short lane that twisted into our front yard jutted off a longer lonely gravel road but over time the lane came to be just a little creepier. During the longer summer evenings it was easy to wander off for a walk but suddenly with heart pounding realize that the sky was darkening much quicker than expected. Hurrying down the lane on trembling legs I caught my breath as behind the bushes to the right of the lane I could sense and almost feel something. Some unknown entity lurking just a few feet away but invisible behind the shield of briar bushes.

I paused just briefly, turning eyes into the dimness of the bushes.  I took a step and felt the creature on the other side take a step also. It matched me step for step down the lane that only a few hours ago felt short. Now the rough gravel and puddles presented a challenge to my stumbling feet. I tried to pretend nothing was there but I walked faster. I looked ahead with dread because about a hundred yards before the end of the lane spilled into my yard the bushes ended.

Head down I rushed head first into the coming dusk. Quite unexpectedly my brother started up the lane on his bike. I wanted to shout a warning but my mouth was dry and the words never escaped me. We meet, my brother and I, just at the end of the bushes and as I turned to look into the field behind those bushes, the wind picked up and blew the tall weeds and grass, gusting as if a storm approached. Yet nothing lurked there that human eye could see. The sense of a presence evaporated as dew in the morning sun.

Imagination? I fear not for those bushes came to represent a gauntlet of sorts.  As in "running the gauntlet". Not a form of military punishment but a challenge, an endurance test, a symbol of our ability to brave the odd and often present entities that lurked about the fields and woods surrounding the haunted farm.

This post tells the story of CARD 17: The Lane

Card 5 and 20. The Hounds of Hell and The Tunnel

The Tunnel....AKA....Satan's Tunnel. The top card is an actual photo of the tunnel. It wrinkled a bit but I think it will be fine to read with. The tunnel has lots of folklore associated with it.

This card represents evil, danger, caution and the unknown.  There are things about this situation that may remain a mystery. You need to proceed with caution. You may not be getting the full story.

The second card is the Hounds of Hell card....this card represents the dog like creatures my mom often saw at the haunted farm.  This card represents fear and the unknown. It is also about misrepresentation. People or things may not be as they seem.  The fear may be real or imagined.  It can signify a negative change. Things may keep "escaping" you.

Cards 1 and 2 Dragonfly and Grasshopper Say

FINALLY I am actually creating the cards for The Journey deck. I am using images from the internet and magazines etc to create the cards because I am no real artist!  I feel fine about using the images because I am not trying to produce and sell a deck, just creating one for my personal use!

Featured above is Card 1 The Dragonfly, my first identified animal totem. The keeper of dreams and wisdom. Bringer of transformation and enlightenment. I wanted you to be able to see the front and back of the cards. I used a deck of blank cards I bought at amazon.com

Here you see cards one and two.  The second card is Grasshopper Say.  Grasshopper is the keeper of memories and fun. Bringer of laughter and light heartness. But always remember your laughter may make others cover their ears so this card speaks a bit of moderation also.

The Journey Deck Cards

1. Dragonfly
2. Grasshopper Say
3. Little Old Woman
4. Man in the Attic
5. Hell Hounds
6. Silent Woods
7. Bluff Road
8. Indian Grave Road
9. Old Garden
10. Green Hand
11. Ghost Lights
12. Grandma Annie
13. Fuzzy Duck
14. Gnome
15. MT
16. Faery Garden
17. The Lane
18. The Ouija Board
19. Ghost Hunt
20. Tunnel
21. Train
22. Ball of Fire
23. Knock at the Door
24. Reading Cards
25. The Ring
26. Red
27. Haggle Foot
28. Dead Uncles
29. Music Notes
30. Dome Light
31. Sugar Cane
32. Denutter
33. Fight Card
34. The Stone
35. Words
36. Mexicans and Grapes
37. Hands
38. Circle
39. Cardinal
40. Org
41.. Cross
42. Tattoo
43. Friends
44. Music Box
45. Soundtracks
46. Death
47. Roadtrip
48. Night Visitor

This is the current, most up to date list of cards. I'm not opposed to adding others if something comes to mind or memory but this list is adequate for reading with and each card has a story and a specific "mood" that goes with it.

Childhood Thoughts

We lived in a different world back then. It was hard. Dirt roads, corn fields, and bikes. The life I lived was all I knew and I never questioned that it might be anything but ordinary. Looking back I realize that it was anything but.

We weren't exactly dirt poor but we didn't have much money either. But that didn't take us away from ordinary. There were plenty of families with the same situation. No, if anything, looking back...that just made us common. I'm not going to lie...at the time I hated that. Felt like an outsider....more from the thoughts inside my head than from anything else.

No, the thing that moved us past ordinary was not something material....a lack of money, old farmhouse, or run down cars. The thing that I never really realized until much much later was the odd series of events that unfolded, off and on, throughout my childhood were just not ordinary events that everyone experiences.

I can remember being as young as 8 or 9 and hearing the front door open, footsteps, the dog barking and jumping on someone or something...that just...well it just wasn't there. Or at least none of us could catch a glimpse of it, if we dared venture into the livingroom and click on a light. My father tried many many times to figure out exactly what entered. Though he NEVER talked about it...at least not in front of me. I'm not sure if he ever really discussed it with anyone. Only mother felt strong or sure enough to question the oddness of our almost weekly visitor.

In and of itself, perhaps that doesn't move us into the realm of odd.....but there was more, much more.

Update on the Cards

Back when I started picking cards or images or concepts to use in this deck, I had some very strong ones I knew for sure had to be included. Then I thought and thought and picked out some others....none of those were as strong or as meaningful as the first choices. So now months down the road I am revising the list...

First I took out all the filler cards that I had placed in the deck to sort of round it out. Images such as the fool, the moon, etc...ones that are in traditional decks....well...guess what...this is NOT a traditonal deck. They don't fit for me!

Second I went through and took out the images that were from history but perhaps not as strong or meaningful to me. I have left only one person card in the deck. The Grandma Annie card represents my mother. And while there are other important family members, such as Grandma Uptown...none of them resonanted with me as being part of this deck other than the woman who embodies the idea of this deck.

Third I added a few cards. The grasshopper card is a recent adventure but still seemed to fit in this deck. I also added the Ball of Fire, Knock on the Door, the Ouija Board, and the Stone (all from family history and with interesting stories attached to them.)

I still have a few blanks (I'm not rushing this time, these cards will "come to me")...I'd like to start the deck with 48 cards but am open to adding to the deck as time goes by...but the goal is to get the 48 in place and then add a card here or there if something seems to fit.

If you are interested in the list of cards...click on the The Cards link on the top bar here at The Silent Woods and you will be taken to the page with the list...scroll down a bit!