Ghosts in the Graveyard -- this is for Julie

Let me begin by telling you that my friend Julie is in the process of writing a book about a friend of ours that passed away due to complications from his cancer treatments. Part of his story is also part of my life story, as we grew up together in a small neighborhood. When Julie and I started talking about Andy (the young man who passed away), we inevitably started talking about all the games we used to play as children, one of which was "Ghosts in the Graveyard". Unfortunately, Julie and I, both being mothers, have memories that are just shot. Eh, we're getting older too, so we can't remember everything, right?!

I was reading through my May edition of Better Homes and Gardens when I came across this article entitled "GAME ON!" and it was all about these great games we (Julie, I and our friends) used to play, like Freeze Tag; Duck, Duck, Goose, and; Ghosts in the Graveyard. The words leapt off the page at me. I was thinking to myself, "are you kidding me. . . other people know about this game?" I thought it was some rare local game, but apparently not. So for Julie and all the rest of you out there, here are the rules as described in that article:

Ghosts in the Graveyard - Best played on a moonlit summer night (but equally fun in broad daylight) Start by picking someone to be the "Ghost(s)". The ghost(s) then hide while the other kids count to 100 (or less. . .we only ever counted to 25 or 50 at best) at the "home base". Then the kids search for the ghost(s). When a ghost is discovered the finder must yell "ghosts in the graveyard" and all the kids (ghosts too) make a mad dash for "base". If the ghost tags a child before they reach "base" then that child becomes a ghost, and the original ghost gets to be one of the kids who searches in the next round.

There really isn't a win or lose in this game and you can play it over and over and over again until you get bored with it. I just remember how much fun it was to be scared and to scream and run for base. Good times, good times.

So for all you parents out there think of sharing this game with your kids this summer!