Christmas 1979

Yikes! What a photo! This one proves the old adage: a picture is worth a thousand words.

This is an original photo from inside the house of Hauntingly Familiar. I would have been nine, as my birthday is in September. That creepy expression is likely due to Bobby. He was probably grinning at me from behind my dad, who was taking a photo of his little girl, opening her present on Christmas morning, never guessing there was a dead person behind him.

You can see from the smile on my face, that I wasn't afraid of this little spirit. He and I were good friends. He didn't look or sound any different, which is why it was such a shock to my system, finding out he was dead.

He and I bonded over our hatred for the Nightmare Man, but I didn't know that full story until much, much later. *Those details and more are included in the updated [2022] Anniversary Edition.

Bobby used to show up in the weirdest places, and it would surprise me to see him, but I always thought that was because I wasn't paying attention. Adults always said, "pay attention", like I wasn't. In actual fact, I was paying attention to a lot of things at the same time. If you landed on this website and are reading this blogpost, then you are probably just like me, and can relate to statements like that, too.

Is it any wonder my son has autism, and I am diagnosed with ADHD?