The Unbearable Lightness of Charlie Charlie

Having been inundated with news stories the last couple of days, I turned to my teenage daughter and asked, "Do you know what Charlie Charlie is?"

"Of course."  I detected the slightest eye roll.

"Have you tried it?"

At this point, she gave me one of those loaded looks that speaks so eloquently without any words at all. "As if!" it seemed to say, "Why would I waste my time on something like that? Why do you ask such stupid questions?" 

Aloud, she simply said, "It's just gravity."

Charlie Charlie is described by The Washington Post as "a game/Internet urban legend of sudden and inexplicable popularity." The story continues that Charlie Charlie traces its routes back to Spain and Latin America; that it's the merger of two older games: “Juego de la Lapicera” and "Charly Charly;" and that its current surge may be traced back to a teenager in Georgia who created the first hashtag #CharlieCharlieChallenge (what an impressive accomplishment for said young woman's college résumé, n'est-ce pas?). 

The story also pointed out the activity's overall lameness.

To participate in Charlie Charlie, you draw a cross on a piece of paper. Write "Yes" in two of the boxes created by the cross, "No" in the other two. Then you stack pencils on the two lines of the cross. In your most mysterious, seance voice, you chant "Charlie Charlie, are you there?" or the more Shining-inspired "Charlie Charlie, come out to play." You ask an important question (like "Does so-and-so really like me?") and if the pencil moves ... well ... 

OMG!!!

Screaming appears to be an important part of the Charlie Charlie experience.

Yep, lame would be a wholly viable assessment. 

The Catholic Church is not quite so dismissive though. A priest and exorcist (approved by the Vatican, no less) gravely warns that "Some spirits who are at the root of that practice will harass some of those who play the game." The spirit "will stay around for a while," although players "won't be possessed," technically. Nevertheless, the game "will result in other spirits beginning to enter into even more frequent communication. And so then the person really can suffer much worse consequences from the demons." 

OMG!!!

Regardless of religious beliefs, Charlie Charlie has officially "trended" — with nearly 2 million tweets and recent coverage by most major news media. 

To me, however, it's simply a digital age throwback to every sleepover party I went to in junior high and high school. We didn't know from Charlie Charlie, per se. But, we levitated each other ("stiff as a board, light as a feather"), evoked "Bloody Mary" in the mirror and played with Ouija boards. In case you're wondering, all of the above worked. 

OMG!!!

What is the mystical connection between living teenagers and the dead (or, should I say, undead)? The common thinking amongst paranormal professionals is that most poltergeist activity centers around a teen or preteen girl. Are things that go bump in the night attracted to all the histrionics and hormonal upheaval? Do changing bodies somehow channel vaporous beings?

Or are teenagers just the least disruptive way for ghosts and ghouls to come back to Earth ...

After all, what could possibly be scarier than a teenager?

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Poltergeist

The cowardly lion said it best, "I do believe in ghosts. I do believe in ghosts. I do, I do, I do believe in ghosts."


So do I. Well, not so much in ghosts, per se. Not gauzy figures in shrouds that come back from the beyond to seek revenge (or simply haunt their old haunts). But, I do believe that there is unearthly energy that can make things happen.


My sister and brother are both psychic and have had many supernatural encounters over the years. I happily was spared this particular talent. Even when I was a teenager, despite an awful lot of slumber parties with an awful lot of Ouija boards, I remained gratefully ghoul-free. 


So it was a surprise when I had my first spirit-ish experience. Several years ago, my husband and I went to a realtor's "Open House" at an antique home in our neighborhood. It was a wonderful place, with good-sized rooms, a generous backyard, a private deck and an updated addition that I could have used as an office. But, from the moment we went in, I just knew there was something (or someone) else in the house. I just knew I wouldn't want to live there. 


Recently, I learned that the mother of one of my daughter's best friends grew up in the house. She confirmed that it was — indeed — haunted.


Spooky, right?


You have to figure that a town like ours, established in the 1600's and with plenty of colorful history (drowned sailors, an abandoned fort, pirate attacks), would have its share of ghostly residents. But, I never felt anything in our current house — despite its nearly two hundred year-history. Until now.


Now, I think we have a ... poltergeist.

Poltergeists (from the German poltern "to make noises" and geist "ghost") are typically mischievous incarnations who hide things, break things, and generally go bump in the night. They aren't technically the spirits of the dead. But, they do tend to "haunt" preteen and teen girls. Many believe that the unexplained events are actually caused by the adolescent girls themselves, all that angst and energy manifesting itself in mysterious ways. Paranormal psychologists even have a technical term for the phenomenon: RSPK or recurring spontaneous psychokinesis.

We have a (sometimes terrifying) fourteen-year old girl; she certainly has angst and energy to spare. And now, I firmly believe, we have a poltergeist. To quote a different movie, "They're he-ee-re."


It started earlier this week. I was going through my usual morning routine, putting on sweats and a tee shirt for my daily walk. I pulled out the three earrings, two (faux-bulous) diamond studs and a tiny gold hoop, that I always wear. (Between my extremely short hair and no make-up, I feel a bit too butch when I workout without some jewelry.) Then, I went up to my office to print my daughter's English essay. Then, I went back downstairs to the kitchen to make her lunch. Then, I noticed that the earrings ...


... had disappeared!


I traced and retraced my steps. (As a confirmed control freak, losing things drives me crazy.) No earrings! I went off on my walk anyway. About thirty minutes later, my husband called my cell to say that he had found them on his night table. Did I leave them there accidentally? Am I becoming absent-minded now that I've hit my fifth decade? Or, do we have a poltergeist? I think the latter explanation is much more interesting, so I'm sticking with it.


Then, yesterday, I had to get dressed up for a meeting with a client in Boston. I pulled on a pair of black rayon trousers and a funky African jacket. Some chunky jewelry, a spritz of perfume, and I was all set. Until, I realized that my shoes ...


... had disappeared!


Coincidence? I think not. Poltergeist? Probablement, mes amis.


In a famous ghost story, Ebenezer Scrooge asked Jacob Marley, "Why do spirits walk the Earth?" I don't know. But, why would a ghost want to hang around a teenager? I think I can answer that one. 


Maybe they are naturally attracted to the only thing scarier than themselves. Think about it.


And, one more thing ... my shoes are still missing.