When Ghosts Speak - Mary Ann Winkowski [6]
When I got to the Starbucks, I realized that I had forgotten to ask James what John Gray looked like. All I knew was that he was from New York, not California. My husband, Ted, had come with me to the meeting, and when I spied the tall, thin man in a black windbreaker pacing outside the coffeehouse door, I sent Ted out to see if I had indeed picked out the New Yorker from the California coffee crowd.
In fact I had, and our meeting lasted three hours. I simply told John what I did as he asked question after question. The first thing he asked me was where we could go to find some ghosts.
“We don’t have to go anywhere,” I said. “There are spirits here right now.”
“Right here in Starbucks,” he said, looking around.
“Right here in Starbucks,” I confirmed.
I told him about the ghost of an older woman I’d been watching while waiting for him to arrive. She’d been standing very close to a handsome young man who resembled her, and who I suspected was her son. Whenever an attractive woman came through the door, Mom would do everything she could to get her son to glance in that direction. Of course, he was paying more attention to his BlackBerry than anything else, and her frustration mounted each time another potential daughter-in-law left without notice.
Then I told him about the ghost of an older Mexican man who was standing behind the counter with the barista. He was touching all the dials on the espresso machine and generally wreaking havoc until the poor kid who was working at filling the coffee orders was at his wit’s end.
John just listened to me talk and stared at the kid as he dropped cups, splashed steamed milk, and spilled espressos. If you watched the pilot episode of Ghost Whisperer, you’ll remember that both these ghosts were worked into the script.
I left the meeting thinking how much I had enjoyed talking to John. I never expected the call I got a few hours later, though. It was James, telling me that John was interested in doing a show about a woman who could see and talk to ghosts.
Once I began traveling out to California fairly regularly to work with the writers on the show, it became customary for me to spend time on some of the sets and soundstages. Ghosts can be very disruptive, particularly to electrical equipment and lightbulbs. It takes only one expensive piece of equipment to malfunction or one actor to get showered with glass from an exploding light for the people on set to ask me to clear out the lingering spirits who just can’t seem to accept that their final credits have rolled.
It’s easy for anyone to get a bit starstruck after spending time in Hollywood: Everywhere you look, you spot familiar faces from film or television. Before you know it, you’re hoping to run into your favorite celebrities at the corner Starbucks. I was no different when it came to Hollywood spirits. Each time I checked out a studio lot, a soundstage, or a prop storage area, I hoped I might run into a big star, like James Dean or Elvis. But for the most part, I met a lot of B-list starlets and old technical guys who just hadn’t been able to bring themselves to leave the business they loved.
Being affiliated with Ghost Whisperer has certainly changed my circumstances. It’s raised my profile and increased both believers and detractors. I’m sure it’s no surprise to find out that I’m a big fan of the show. The character of Melinda Gordon is glamorous yet grounded, and the spirits she encounters are complex and interesting. So it may be a disappointment to hear that I don’t find my own life as a paranormal investigator quite as dramatic. I see and talk to ghosts nearly every day, and if each encounter were so steeped in drama, frankly, I’d be exhausted. The truth is, a good TV show is scary and sexy