Comments for The Dancer: Page 1

DandK, never underestimate the power of denial in some parents lol! I'd put that one down to lesson learned and move on. Hint hint, people like that are secretly looking for a 'fight' because they're bored and lack control in their own life. Unless it's life threatening my advice, put up with a few misbehaved kids (they grow up and move away eventually) it's really not worth the stress otherwise.

If your neighbours with the cat are approachable you could offer to help them. Even give them an umbrella for extra shelter, blankets and offer to clean and feed the cat. Often neglect results when people feel overwhelmed. Often they have no money for vet visits and fear getting into trouble by the law. Welfare groups aim to help these individuals do better as their cruelty is a result of hardship. However, in some instances they will still issue a fine.
If their cat 'stinks' it's probably very ill. Possibly kidney failure and hyperthyroidism if it's an older cat. The constant meowing could be a sign it's senile and all this combined would lead to random urination. In this case any welfare group will want to put the cat to sleep, unless someone opts to care for it. Be warned caring for a cat in this condition is a 24 hour job just about.

The neighbours with the dogs I would tread carefully with. If the dogs are used in illegal fighting the owners are likely dangerous, and you've got to live there. Unless you know it's another case of neglect by personal hardship, I would put my own safety first. If the dogs have been neglected for a long time they've likely developed defensive aggression and therefore won't be rehomed. In this instance welfare will put them to sleep if the owners surrender them.

I assume that man was tying live squires up for his sporting dogs, possibly Greyhounds. This carries a prison sentence. Dodgy Greyhound trainers tie any live animal they can catch (or buy from a market) to heighten the blood lust of their dogs, thus creating a faster dog without the use of detectable drugs. The animal is tied down and spun around the track until the dogs eventually kill it. A few years ago the Greyhound racing industry in Australia was brought undone by the RSPCA (Australian and British equivalent of ASPCA, the 'R' stands for 'Royal') together with an Australian investigative journalist program called Four Corners. They obtained days of undercover footage and played all the graphic parts uncensored on TV. These are the kinds of measures taken to wake people from their slumber. Because it's us, the general public, who allow it to happen with our own ignorance.
All it takes to create positive change is an anonymous tip off to the right organisation. In order to investigate they'll need one or more of the following: a suspect's name (partial or full), a location, a dead or injured animal (or evidence, photos/footage, times/dates etc.)

If you find more vomit or a poisoned animal (squirrel or otherwise), take some pictures, collect some vomit in a container put it aside to give to the ASPCA, they'll probably want the dead animal as well.

In America pets are viewed by the law as personal property, I think this applies to all states. Unfortunately there's not a lot of National laws protecting them. American pet protective law (or lack of it) is frustrating. However, wild native species usually are protected by varying state laws. All proven acts of cruelty with intent to harm any animal carry hefty penalties.

I just searched for some American references and found these guys I think they advise lawyers:
Http://aldf.org
I would contact them if all else fails. Explain you're a concerned member of the public and ask to speak with someone. I do this a lot, generally people want to help, it shouldn't matter you're not a bona fide lawyer.
Here's some state laws:
Http://aldf.org/resources/advocating-for-animals/animal-protection-laws-of-the-united-states-of-america-and-canada/
Here's advice on neglect:
Http://aldf.org/resources/when-you-witness-animal-cruelty/how-to-help-a-neighbors-neglected-animal/

I really sympathise with your situation, sounds like a rough environment. I'd keep any 'activism' completely secret from any of the locals (even your parents to be on the safe side). People gossip. Last thing you want is a violent person out for revenge.
If you're really concerned don't leave your name or contact details with any organisation you contact. Or at least don't leave your address.

Tweed, thanks for that. I'll keep at it. The other thing that one of my neighbors is doing is poisoning the squirrels. They have done this for the past three years every spring. I don't know who is doing it, but I know that several of my neighbors and I feed the squirrels all year. I end up cleaning up vomit that looks like drying puffed up cement next to my water baths throughout the yard in the mornings this time of year. The squirrel population goes down to one or two from a healthy group of about 7 after the young ones get large enough to come out in Feb/March. One of my neighbors has admitted to our neighborhood during a neighborhood watch block party about 3 years ago (the last one we've had) that he traps the squirrels in a cat trap to use as bait for training his dogs. I don't know what to do about that one either.

One of the things that I've got going against me here is the type of environment I live in is very different from the rest of the country. Here, it is encouraged to carry concealed weapons (and legal for anyone with a permit to carry them in the classroom at the university), the laws against pesticide and other poison use seem ridiculous to people who often try to find old outlawed poisons at yard sales, an auto smog check is considered a government scam, and I just received the registration renewal for my Honda Civic Hybrid car which had an added tax (a 'fair use' tax) on the bill of $150.00 for a two year registration because the car is a hybrid and is not deemed as paying it's fair share of gasoline tax because it doesn't use as much gas as the other cars which isn't fair to the other people. Police use the most violent force I've seen anywhere in the US, and everyone looks the other way because we have extremely low crime rates. So low, that in our valley of about 500, 000 people, you'll see people leave their purses on the seat of their cars with their car windows rolled down or their purses in their shopping carts while they are in another aisle. I can cite numerous examples where the cops have shot people dead at routine traffic stops if they even had the thought that the person was going to reach for a weapon. Interestingly, they go through the motions of hearings about excessive force and everyone is always deemed to be using justified force. That's how they do things here.

I once had the two neighbor boys that lived across the street from me (they were 10 and 12) playing in my front yard one winter building snowmen and forts and having a grand snowball fight. I got home and asked them (very friendly and nicely) to take it back across the street to their own yard. I happen to hate having those big piles of snow that melt much slower than the surrounding areas. These kids told me that they would continue to play on my yard because their mom didn't want them building snowmen and forts in their yard because she didn't want the piles of snow. I told them neither did I - please get off my yard (still nice, but firmly stated). Again they told me no as I went into my house. About 30 seconds later they started pummeling my home and my garage door with snowballs. Inside the house the sound was so loud that I thought that there would be damage to the home and dents in the garage door. I was worried about the windows breaking. The kids were relentless, I got pissed off, so I called the cops thinking it would scare them and they'd learn something about respecting other's property. The cops showed up quickly, the kids ran off, I went outside with the cops and you could see the house was speckled with snowball spots all over it. Some were right next to the windows. I told the cop what happened and he walked across the street and talked to their mom. When he came back he relayed the conversation he had with the mother. She said she saw no problem with her 'boys' playing in the yard and throwing snowballs at the house because 'boys will be boys'. The cop told me there was nothing I could do but call them again if something got any worse. He talked to the kids about respecting other people's property, and I'm thankful to say, nothing ever happened again. But, that was the attitude of their mom and it stunned me. I was always on a friendly 'hello' basis. Not people I wanted to socialize with, but I didn't expect this complete lack of regard for someone else.

In any case, why am I saying this? And why am I living here? I bought the house next to my elderly parents and the one across the street from them (the second house I bought was initially for a rental property investment, but I moved into it) so that I could take care of them as they aged. I'm glad I did. It's worth the rest of the stuff that goes with the territory, and some day, I will leave and go someplace that fits me better. I'm saying all of this because it gives insight into what sort of community this is and how difficult it is to make change.

Thanks again, and just from what you've said you're involved in, I admire you and am happy that people like you are out there speaking for everything that can't speak for itself.

DandK, I'm just posting this here so as not to distract from Yomomma's story. In my spare time I am a wildlife activist. I don't mean PETA or Green Peace (which have both become nothing but profitable cults in my opinion), I mean I do what I can when something in the community isn't right.
The right way to go about your neighbours animal cruelty is to research the local laws, talk to council, county, sheriffs, rangers, local papers, local TV stations. Get people pissed off about it. Have you contacted the ASPCA? If not, do so.
The people you describe sound like the denial types. These are folk who get themselves into situations bigger than they can handle, similar to the psychology of hoarding.
You can remain anonymous and your neighbours needn't know who made the call. Remember to be clear about your wish for anonymity to everyone you contact.

I never give up. When anyone says there's nothing they can do, I just dig further into the law. There's always something someone somewhere can do.

AdVen, thank you for letting us know.😊
This is for all YGS members:

I had a click around on this person's profile and they seem blissfully ignorant to the right ways of content sharing and, in a way, they seem to mean well. This person has introduced some of the writers at the beginning of their stories. However, linking back to YGS is the best way they could have shared these stories, that and asking permission to do so.
I think social media has created a free for all sharing culture whereby younger people copy/paste the content of other websites without hesitation or knowledge of wrongdoing.
With that said, linking back to YGS (or any original source) is the single best way to express appreciation and eradicate this 'auto-entitled' culture we find ourselves in.

I'm going to start including a disclaimer at the end of my submissions and I encourage all other YGS members to do the same. Something polite and forthright like:
" (Title of Story) published by YourGostStories. Source content by (Author Screen Name) "
Even though YGS clearly states all this info on each page anyway, I think if members include a disclaimer somewhere within the story itself this will force the social media generation to take heed. Because I doubt they read any small print, unfortunately.

Hey, just checked out whether there's any more plagiarism or not, and it seems our troubles aren't over yet. Again on Wattpad, a user named mysteriousAuraa is using stories from YGS. See here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/21083041-shiver. I saw many stories including "The Dancer", "Oujha won't ya, heck no" and others. I don't know if that user has sought permission, but thought of informing you about it.
Regards
AdVen

selkay - try and contact the admin of that site and inform them you are the original author of that story and did not give your permission for it to be shared on their site. Request, firmly, that they remove it.

If that doesn't work, contact our admin and let Martin know what's going on.

Sorry for high jacking your story Tweed but seems like I got my name changed slightly and story published in another site http://www.apa-tu.com/mybedsidewatcher/

Val, I understand what you mean about Watty, I had the same afterthoughts. It seems she acknowledged what she did and that's a very good sign.

We've had dealings with members from WattPad a few times. The admins of this site are very understanding and in no way condone plagiarism. However, they have no way of knowing when people submit material whether it's original or belongs to someone else.

I suggest to our membership that you keep an eye on your stories. Every once in a while, copy the first line and Google it. Understand that you may run into some sites that use the RSS feed, and that's okay because it links back to this site. If you find yourself a victim of plagiarism, by all means contact one of us (or go ahead and announce it on here lol) and we'll take care of it ASAP.

I think a lot of people have a hard time understanding that just because something is on the internet, doesn't mean it's fair game. The same restrictions apply to any creative or written work. Just be vigilant.

Tweed, I just have to say this; I think in our irritation we did forget something. Watty called the attention to it herself, when she posted on those last two stories that she had done so. A bit backwards on doing things, but in the end she was trying to do the right thing- just the wrong way. Besides we don't know if she deleted those stories herself or if the site's admin did. Meh-I know it's a minute point, and I'm not defending what she did, but I feel it's only proper that we recognize that she did try to do the right thing in the end.

Biblio,
With all the frustration of having a busy day and then this, I forgot to THANK YOU for attempting to contact the blog site. AND writing a template for members here to use freely. This was very kind of you.

Granny,
Ha! It's great to know we have such influence on our side in Martin. Everyone behind this site is just so supportive and vigilant. You guys rock! ❤

Redwolf,
No hacking took place. The site is a blogging community by the looks of things. The login is much the same as the one on here.

I guess it's all true, school holidays brings on an influx of silly buggers 'round these parts!

I went to the site and it says sorry but can't find story. BUT it also has a membership log-on or sign up. Perhaps they have buried the plagarism in there. Hackers have done worse. It would seem if you know how it is quite simple. No worries from me my own computers hate me and I would end up hacking myself. 😆 😆 😆
Regards
Red

If we're not on, and you guys see something like this please make sure to contact Martin. He has ways of contacting other sites via their servers, and things get done quickly. LOL We've been here before and unfortunately, probably will be here again ❤

Wow that was quick!
Yeup, it seems all ghost stories are now removed.

Biblio, I went straight to the contact info on the blog site upon finding all of the YGS content posted. I was going to send in a complaint via the same contact method you found sometime tomorrow, got too much on today.
I originally hoped to send a general quick complaint today that would cover every story and everyone. But the blog site seems to be very specific about their contact queries. I, very annoyingly, wound up back at the copyright page. Which would require a good 40 odd minutes (that I don't have today) of typing up an earnest call to attention about something which should never have happened!
*Urgh*

Okay - I just clicked on the links to both stories "It Lives in the Closet" and "The Farrier" and it says the story is not found.

Those of you who got hit, check Wattpad again and see if the stories are still there or have been removed.

Tweed, Val, biblio, et al - I thought I addressed this issue with Watty this morning. Posted twice about it before having to leave.

I'll send a message to admin and see if there is something they can do.

TWEED, VAL MODs: URGENT!

I tried to report this mess to the other site, but ONLY the original poster of each story is allowed to send in a complaint.
I tied to send a general message 3 times, but was rejected because it was not my material which was taken.

Go to http://www.wattpad.com/help/content then click on the fourth circle in the list "I found a Copyright violation." Legally, when the next question screen appeared, "Are you the owner of the original material? Or are you the authorized representative of the copyright owner?" I had to respond "NO." I was instructed to inform the original owner (s) of the copyright violation. This is my attempt to do so; you will be able to click "yes," then, I presume, be permitted to lodge a complaint.

If you need any ideas on how to be polite and indignant, not confrontational, I have followed this message with a MUCH-TRUNCATED version of my attempt to alert them. I also took the trouble to call attention to some of the simple errors in English this plagiarist made when asking if she could keep the stolen material.

-Biblio.

Ladies and Gentlemen of wattpad.com: Your member "Watty_X_Writer" has been lifting entire narratives from
"YourGhostStories.com" (a paranormal experience investigative, debunking, support, and discussion archive) and posting them on your site without permission. YGS's site explicitly states that each writer submitting an experience for discussion is the owner of that story. I would ask that you take a look at your poster's activity, now that she's filling up YGS with multiple admissions of her plagiarism accompanied by poorly-written requests to keep that stolen material. To wit: "My name is Thea and i'm [sic] a writer at wattpad. I included "It Lives In The Closet" in "Ghost Files". Don't worry [missing comma] I wrote your name. Of course it says that your [sic] the one who wrote "It Lives In The Closet". Sorry for my grammatical errors. Just tell me if you don't want your story to be included. Check it out:http://www.wattpad.com/133611541-vol-1-ghost-files-it-lives-in-the-closet"; and "My name is Thea and i'm [sic] a writer at wattpad. I included "The Farrier" in "Ghost Files". Don't worry I wrote your name. Of course it says that your [sic] the one who wrote "The Farrier". Sorry for my grammatical errors. Just tell me if you don't want your story to be included. Check it out: http://www.wattpad.com/133877435-vol-1-ghost-files-the-farrier."; As you are a Canadian company, I tend to expect that you will be forthright, prompt, and polite in resolving this issue. I thank you for your time in advance of your review of the breach of trust by your member.

Ok, I've calmed down a *bit*. At least she's crediting the work as the author's. But this still ain't cool.
Val, I totally agree, it's like she's creating an alternate YGS or something.
It's the fact YGS is such a serious website that bugs me the most. Not some fly-by-night light entertainment.

Tweed, she got me too. I know why it bugs you - permission was not asked! I scanned the list rather quickly, but I recognized almost all the titles. It's like she is trying to take YGS, one story at a time.
Kid or not, the site clearly states, " No reproduction of any part without permission or you will be haunted." Add to that, Wattpad is supposedly writers sharing THEIR stories NOT c&ping others' from another site. So, actually she's abusing the usage of two sites.

ATTENTION MODS AND EVERYONE:

Some tool named Watty_X_Writer is taking LOADS of stories from this site and posting them on their blog.
Even this story!

Http://www.wattpad.com/101247579-vol-1-ghost-files-the-dancer

(Click the drop down menu on the top left corner to see a list of other stories from YGS)

It seems to be some kid here's their profile on this blog site.

Http://www.wattpad.com/user/Watty_X_Writer

I don't know why this irritates me but it REALLY does.

aww Shucks, thanks Ashar, glad you enjoyed it so much. 😊

She's definitely a special kind of friend, I love her and am very thankful to have her in my life.

This is I think the best story I read on this site. However I have said this in many comments however, this time I mean it. I believe that yes she was trying to warn you regarding your relationship because she knew the fate of it.

Thanks for sharing your experience. 😊

I'm glad you still play her favorites for her. 😊 And I'm in the same boat. I can't listen to the same thing all the time. I'm listening to new things frequently. I crave and embrace change. Makes me rather abnormal, being in my 30s. My parents, on the other hand, seem to think '80s music is the best there ever was. 😐

Trisk I do still play Madonna for her. Sometimes I get a Madonna song stuck in my head seemingly for no reason and I think; 'hmm, is she trying to tell me something?'
Usually it's a song I'm not that fond of. But I play it regardless.

Few years back I read about how some peoples music tastes get frozen in time. I think it was linked to 'the becoming' phase in our development.
If that's true I think we all have a part in us that responds uniquely to music which we associate with our 'becoming' phase. This can have positive applications with mental illness treatments.
Think I'd go mad with boredom if I lived in the past 24/7. Still it was an interesting read.

I'm inclined to agree she probably didn't like your changing taste in music. Most people stop enjoying new music sometime in their mid to late twenties, and if lucky, maybe their thirties. Then they just kind of freeze frame their favorite old tunes and claim that all new music is "garbage". There have been a few scientific studies on this phenomenon, in fact.

Before you even said so, based on this girl's reaction to you in bed with your boyfriend, I suspected it was a bad relationship. Then I read further and your story confirmed my suspicion. It sounds like she was really fond of you and felt a connection to you, and then she wanted to protect you.

Hope you play some Madonna for her on occasion, since she was kind enough to give you a warning. 😊

Mandy, wow, glad you enjoyed it!

I do know the name of the people who lived there for many years before us. I've tried to do some research on it in the past to little, be that no success. But in doing this the motivation was the house, not the dancer. I'll direct my attention to her and try again.
There were holes in the walls that had been repaired before we moved in. From what I remember the guy who lived there directly before us, (I don't know his name), I remember mum said something about him being in a drunken rage when he punched the walls.
Not that I think there's a connection there. But that's the extent of my knowledge of the history of the place thus far.
I've always had the feeling she's a big sister figure too. It's rather nice.

Biblio, thank you for such a beautifully written response.

As for story telling I think it comes from reading a lot. That and a fondness for perspective. (Or a pedantic drive to correct written word.)
Of course she was trying to show me how she felt. I see clearly now how obvious this is. I had a moment after I submitted the story where this suddenly dawned on me. It seems, regarding the sofa cushion night, that I've been stuck in that 'everything's about me' teenage mindset.
I'm onto her language of dance and movement. There's a few ghosts I communicate with in various ways. They've all got their own unique language.
The last time I cranked up the 90's music and danced around was a few hours ago. Always have music in my day, through decent speakers. (Prefer speakers to headphones.) I never lost my joy to the some of the responsibilities of adulthood, never will.
As a side note while reading your response my subconscious picked up the capital 'A' after ellipsis. But mainly because it was the word 'and'. My dad and English teacher both instilled in me that one does never start a sentence with 'and'. So when you pointed it out it was quite the mind bender!

Thanks again to you both.

Hi,Tweed.

First, let me state that you have a gift for storytelling; you describe enough details for clarity, then move on with your narratve.

The only point in your story which I failed to grasp immediately was the direction of the Dancer's legs on your couch. You corrected that in the next sentence, which was helpful in re-orienting my mental image AND in revealing why she was agitated; you surprised her!

Think about this for a moment: a spirit with enough strength of will to rummage around the kitchen every night, to read through the liner notes of a cd you'd kept hidden from view, to interfere with digital displays, to cause the floor to vibrate as she danced, to open the wicker basket containing a baby doll... And she shook a sofa cushion at you? Certainly, it would have been terrifying to a young teen in the dark, but imagine for a moment trying to describe that scenario if you'd woken up a cousin taking a nap in your living room ("It was at that point, officer, that she brandished the sofa cushion in a menacing manner"). I don't think she was trying to scare you; she was trying to tell you how she felt.

Your Dancer was either a professional or a serious enthusiast; dancers communicate their feelings through movement, not words. Because of her ability to follow you away from the house, and to draw from your shared memories to manifest the idea of the cushion, I'd say you've got a vigilant guardian who was seriously frighted by your emotionally-abusive boyfriend.

For once, I don't see the harm in trying to communicate with a spirit; however, it would be irresponsible to suggest any method of communication than the one with which she feels comfortable. When was the last time you blasted 90s-era music and danced around the house? Even if you're dusting or ironing, you could get a dock for your iPod so your Dancer can hear it, too.

Best,
-Biblio.

(I've corrected the capital 'A' after the three-dot ellipsis, but the software continues to ignore my substitution of the correct lower-case 'a.' Apparently, it can't differentiate between three- and four-dot ellipses. Spirits are much more cooperative than computer programs.)

Tweed, this was an awesome story.
Creepy yet sweet, and it is going straight to my favorites. Thanks for sharing with us!

Do you happen to know any history of the house or who the dancer could be? I would suggest looking into it, see what you can fimd out about her, if anything.

She seems kind of like an older sister figure to me; she definitely seems quite fond of you, with the way she danced with you and tried to warn you about your ex.
I love that you played some Madonna as a thank you.
😆

That dawned on me today Elnora. Since submitting the story I've been thinking about it again and it hit me.

There is a lot that happened here. I am not quite sure where to start.

If she is protector, then she is likely trying to get your attention by shaking things and popping up and does not actually mean to scare you.