Like the leaves, columnist's thoughts are turning

It’s getting to be that time of year again.

You know what I mean: The days have cooled off, the leaves are changing colors and thoughts are turning to things that go bump in the night.

OK, not everyone’s thoughts are turning to that direction. But that’s the case for many.

And in the field of paranormal investigation things generally pick up about this time.

This area is no exception.

As a member of two paranormal investigation groups, it only gets busier this time of year. This isn’t just from investigations, but events related to the paranormal spike, as can be expected.

Events slated for October include a paranormal boot camp and investigation, a downtown zombie fest and the Nightmare on the Square event. In some shape or fashion I likely will be part of all those activities.

That doesn’t include the leads that have been popping up for potential investigations. Those have simply coincided with the approaching fall and Halloween season, but it has the possibility of filling the calendar pretty quickly.

For me, like many others, paranormal investigation is not a seasonal thing. I’ve investigated throughout the year from Lexington to Owensboro.

But it’s understandable that things are getting busier as Halloween approaches.

We are approaching the season of the ghost story, a time when gray daytime skies fade into crisp, dark nights at a rate that quickens like our own heartbeats. And the landscape seems to change, too.

That desolate country road with orange, red and yellow leaves racing across it, carried by a phantom breeze, turns from a picturesque drive to a foreboding passageway. Open fields and abandoned houses seem more menacing.

Or maybe it’s just me.

But I’m not alone.

As Halloween draws near, I invariably hear more stories about local haunts and unexplained happenings. Some of these stories I solicited as I searched for Halloween-themed stories for the newspaper.

Some of these stories were part of the natural tendency to accommodate the spirit of the season, if you’ll excuse the pun.

What I wonder sometimes is how many of these stories are out there that don’t get told. You know what I mean: that story your neighbor confides to only a couple of trusted friends about something inexplicable that happened or that incident that happened to a friend or relative that still makes them cringe to this day.

I always like hearing these stories, and I find most people have a few. Sometimes I get the benefit of investigating them, but many times they are just for listening.

That’s fine by me.

Like many, I enjoy a good scary story. I think for some, it’s like an adrenaline rush, not unlike a rollercoaster or skydiving.

OK. It might just be me again.

But the season is closing in.

September is almost gone. The leaves are changing colors, and the things that go bump in the night are ready to be acknowledged.

Bring it on.

Robert Villanueva can be reached at (270) 505-1743 or rvillanueva@ thenewsenterprise.com.