09-13-09 Readings

09/13/09
Poltergeist (Kat Richardson)
Harper questions a few more participants. Who are also dicks. She meets with Ben, who demonstrates all the different ways that someone can fake a séance, including the basic table rapping methods, and something called a “hook” which allows better and more subtle manipulations of the table (and also leaves bruising on the arm consistent with what was on Mark’s arm).

The group is informed of Mark’s death, but decides to proceed with their séance, resulting in a rocking haunting scene involving people being chased by a table, and a brooch of Cara (the lineage faker) appearing and being thrown at her. The group blame the force and malice of the poltergeist more on the idea that Mark's ghost is present, rather than on Celia, or themselves. They feel that it is their fault for focusing on Mark's death, rather than their own work.

Cara admits that she and Mark were having an affair, and that she suspects that she left the brooch at his place. Harper speaks with one of the grad students, who gets indignant with her, but is eventually mollified when she explains that she honestly needs his help, and isn’t trying to suggest that he’s an idiot or irrelevant.