Monday, February 25, 2013

Gabriela Speaks: Mommies and the Supernatural, Hollywood Style




Okay, no rap or song today!  
Time to get serious.

Rich is giving me one last chance to be good and guest blog.  So, I decided to pick out a serious topic this week, and really blog about something I'm very familiar with.  The supernatural.

This is a scary topic, especially for mothers ... and their kids!

Most of you have read about some of my past supernatural experiences.  If not, you can visit the links here to Hubpages.com for my first two stories:



or, visit these pages of this page of this blog site for the last three stories Rich wrote for me, before I learned how to type:

I hope that none of you actively believe in ghosts.  Also, I hope that none of you ever become believers because of things you find yourself, or your family, experiencing.   But, just in case you do, I'm going to give you some of the ways that Hollywood has dealt with them.

So, put the kids to bed, turn the lights down low, and get ready to learn how different human mommies take care of the kids when the ghosts and spirits come around.


Good Mommies  
(or, "How I Would Hope I'd Be Most Like")


(1973)  The Exorcist.  
OMG!  Talk about a love for your child being put to the test!  Just imagine, you're a single mom, raising your daughter the best you can.  All of a sudden, she starts acting strangely.  Now, I'm not talking like she tried pot for the first time strange.  I'm talking her head rotating around 360 degrees, her appearance changes to that of a 40 year old crack addict, and her voice speaks in tones of a sick Scooby Doo.  Not only that, but she levitates!  

Mom takes it on the chin, literally.  After dealing with all the weirdness, including watching her daughter crawl down the stairs on all fours (in the extended video version) she calls in some help.   Anyway, she gives it all she's got.  She'll do anything for her demon possessed daughter, including cleaning her daughter's fresh urine up from a carpet in front of a house full of guests, as well as bringing in Catholic priests.  (I wonder if she'd have done it if she'd have had a son instead?) 



(1980)  The Shining.  
Just think about this.  You're husband gets a great new job.  He's going to be a caretaker at one of the most fancy hotels during a beautiful Winter season.  You and your son are going to have the run of the place, and you don't even have to dust!  Sit back, cook a few meals, watch some TV, and enjoy the peace and quiet.  Sounds like a dream doesn't it?  Especially if they have Wi-Fi!

Wake up!  The hotel is a Pandora's Box of spirits!  There's two little girls that were killed by their father (a past caretaker), a woman that changes from a beauty to a skin rotting old hag, and many others.  And, Shelley Duvall finds her husband, Jack Nicholson, gradually possessed by the hotel's spirits.  

I'm not going to spoil the movie (just in case you're the only person in the world that hasn't seen it), but let's say that Shelley does everything she can to protect her son.  This lady knows how to swing a mean baseball bat, slice and dice with a carving knife, and jump out of a window to do everything she can to protect her child.   This is a true display of a mother's love in the most desperate of circumstances.  (Moral of the story: Hotels are for afternoon visits and vacations ... keep the kids at home in both cases!)


Bad Mommies  
(or, "Would Someone Just Shoot Me")


(1976)  Carrie.  
I've yet to read a mommy blog that makes me think we've got any mommies like this around, but just in case, you might want to re-think your current lifestyle patterns.

In this situation, the daughter has a very special talent.  No, she's not a star center for her high school basketball team.  She has this ability of telekinesis, which wouldn't be bad if she wasn't so brain damaged.

See, in this case, the mother is a little screwy.  Well, maybe a lot screwy!  She has a hard time getting a grasp on reality because she was messed over by a man years ago, and left holding the bag, or the pregnancy as it seems.  So, she's forced her daughter into this lifestyle of religious fervor.  Her constant negativity towards men, biblical references, and inability to communicate with society bleeds to her daughter, Carrie (Sissy Spacek).  

Probably, setting a good example as a mother is one of the best things to do for your child.  Unfortunately, in this case, when you don't do that, and, when the child is picked on endlessly at school as a result, your time may be somewhat limited.  I won't spoil the ending for you, but let's just say that it was one of the bloodiest high school proms of all time.  So, instead, be a good mom ... and you might be around to enjoy your grandchildren!



(1982)  Poltergeist.  
So, you move into a house where a graveyard used to be located, only to find that the bodies haven't been removed.  Then, furniture in the house starts to re-arrange itself.  Normally, this might tell the densest of mothers that something's not quite right.  However, JoBeth Williams is not the brightest of mothers.

Let me ask you, if you set your daughter on the floor, and she was pulled across the room by an unseen force, wouldn't you be somewhat alarmed?  Of course your would!  But, it takes a whole lot more to get this mommy worried.  

I will give it to her, she does travel into another dimension to try to save her daughter, but, please, she never should have put her in a position of being there in the first place!  Then two more sequels followed!  (Where's Child Services when you need them?)



(1984)  A Nightmare On Elm Street.  
As a mother, some of the hardest decisions come from deciding when to keep secrets, and deciding on when the kids might be old enough to handle them.  Unfortunately, this movie doesn't demonstrate the best of that decision making process.

See, the parents formed a lynch mob and killed a child murderer before.  Now, the kids are paying for it ... one at a time with their lives as the supernatural side of the murderer returns.  And, as if that's not bad enough, they deny it almost to the end!  Denial problems run rampant on Elm Street.

There are times, keeping a secret can go just a little too far.   (Wait till you try to lie about that battery powered back muscle relaxer in the bedroom nite stand to see what I mean).


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So, you've seen the good and bad examples of how a mommy might handle the supernatural should it enter their life.  Girls, I will tell you that, from personal experience, the supernatural world is not one to play with by amateurs.  Nor, is it one to scoff.

You humans look at the world and see how crazy you are at times.  The evil inside of many humans seems to almost overcome the evil that is not commonplace, yet, still lurking and waiting.

Be it a haunting by a loved one, or a vengeful spirit, a haunting is still a haunting.  We animals see many things you humans do not.  Ask yourself, "Have I ever witnessed my pet staring at the ceiling at something I couldn't see?"   Many of you already know the answer and have seen it happen many times.  

Girls, be careful, maintain your spiritual beliefs, and protect your children.  A mother's love is a very powerful force, but, if you need professional assistance, don't be afraid to ask for it.  Remember, doing nothing for fear of embarrassment is much worse than solving a problem.  The ones you love need you and your strength.  The monster in the closet, ghost under the bed, or smiling clown in the rocking chair may not be as fake as you'd like to believe.  Just ask the folks from Amityville.  


And for God's sake, put those 
damn Ouija Boards in the trash!

Take Care!