March 18 - "20th Century Ghost"

“20th Century Ghost”
by Joe Hill
20th Century Ghosts (2007)

* * * * * (Excellent) Supernatural

The ghost of Imogene Gilchrist has haunted the Rosebud theater from the first screening of The Wizard of Oz through the theater’s restoration, always eager to discuss the movies that excite her.

It is funny how certain stories come along at just the right moment in time. All week I’ve been thinking about ghost stories, trying to develop this idea of mine into something more. And here is the prime example of everything I was hoping to achieve. It is both a daunting example (how could I even match a story of this caliber?) and a gauntlet thrown (can I rise to the challenge?). In this story the ghost is not the star, not the main attraction, but rather a device – an interesting and engaging and tragic device – that connects us to the theater and its patrons as we follow them through the years. It is as much an appreciation for the movie-going experience as it is a tale of the supernatural. It’s fantastic.