Or, More Fevered Mutterings

Title: Shades
Author: l_aurens
Summary: The opera ghost really existed. But he was hardly an isolated phenomenon.

Rumors abound, of course. They always do, in a place like this. After all, a building need not be old to collect spirits. There are mysteries aplenty in the Palais Garnier. If poor, unfortunate Erik is the only one whose name we know, well, he is also the only ghost who demands a salary. For a man who fights to hide himself from the world, he is certainly quite vocal about it. And so the stories are ascribed to him. The whispers always taste better when uttered with small, girlish cries of “the ghost!” Hearts bound, slippered feet skitter across polished floors and the desired effect is achieved. They do not know that the shadows lurk all around them, too many to hold only one mortal responsible.
( a man waits in the lee of a doorway )

Too often I sit in front of a flickering screen and wonder why the hell I’m doing this to myself. Why am I allowing crass manipulation and dumbed-down narratives to saturate my brain? The Hollywood machine makes me forget all too easily that it’s possible to watch a movie without feeling talked-down to. One such is Syriana.
( snob! )