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</span></span>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><span style="font-size: 18px">There was no rhyme or reason to Rune Halonen, but he was a true skeptic through and through. It wasn't that he didn't believe in ghosts, no not at all.  Rune's skepticism had nothing to do with doubt, disbelief, or negativity. As a skeptic, he applied reason and critical thinking to determine the validity of something questionable. Rune embraced the skeptic philosophy of finding a supported conclusion, choosing not to accept the conclusions of others at face value. In his heart, Rune felt as a skeptic he was an extraordinarily powerful and positive influence on the world. Many people, like his friends and associates thought skepticism was the equivalent to debunking the existence of supernatural phenomenon or the existence of space aliens, but  to Rune it was more about redirecting attention, influence, and funding away from worthless superstitions and popular misinformation, and toward projects and ideas that had been proven by evidence to be beneficial to humanity and to the world.<br/>
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The scientific method was central to Rune's skepticism, because in order to render belief or disbelief in a subject, he had to study and evaluate evidence derived from his own experience. Next, he tested those theories in order to decide whether it was worth believing. While Rune had heard plenty of anecdotal evidence and personal testimonies of other people that knew about the old Victorian, he could not be test that. Without adequate proof from testing, the notion that his house was haunted was rejected by Rune, who was a responsible skeptic. Other people may have thought he was a doubting Thomas, but Rune simply followed the scientific method. </span></span><span style="font-size: 18px"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'">Elliot, his uninvited, invisible guest, was probably insulted and a bit peeved by Rune's apparent lack of concern and failure to notice his presence. Much of it had to do with the stress of moving into the old Victorian he'd renovated, and wanting to get it all over and done with. <br/>
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Rune was hungry, and pretty wiped out as it was and still had movers coming in and out the front door.  Containing so many rooms, there was plenty of new furniture to place in the house and utilities to be turned on. The Comcast guy left in a big hurry, staring back at the house like he was completely freaked out by what Rune thought was an electrical surge. The white Comcast van peeled away from the curb with a deranged squeal, grabbing the attention of a few neighbors passing by as well as the moving guys, who were already uneasy about being inside his house. Rune stopped to check the thermostat because it was downright frosty in the front foyer and he couldn't figure out where the cold draft was coming from. He'd checked all the windows downstairs, having shut the one in the kitchen earlier. As the hours ticked by and the transfer of boxes and furniture began to diminish, the move finally came to a close. The boss approached Rune for payment as he stood at the front door, a sense of relief coming to Rune's face.</span></span><br/><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><span style="font-size: 18px"><br/>
<i>Finally some peace and quiet, I can concentrate on unpacking some things without bodies in my way, he thought.</i><br/>
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<b>"Sure, just one moment,"</b> Rune smiled, uttering cheerfully.<br/>
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His hand reached for his jean pocket to feel around for his wallet.<br/>
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It wasn't there.<br/>
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<b>"The fuck? Did it fall out somewhere?"</b> he mumbled aloud, grinning sheepishly at the waiting driver. <b>"Um. Sorry, Lemme find my wallet. Could you excuse me for a minute?"</b><br/>
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The atmosphere in the front foyer suddenly began to grow heavy, like a thick blanket of pressure was placed over Rune's shoulders. He thought that it felt cold in the foyer before but now it was practically freezing, and Rune could see his own breath in the air. Before he could turn around to look for his missing wallet in the living room, the disembodied form of Elliot walked right through him. A ball of panic rose from his stomach and welled in his throat, causing his heart to flutter rapidly with uncontrolled anxiety. An intense sensation of plummeting from a higher point in space, made Rune think that his body was seated in the front seat of a rollercoaster going downhill at 5 G's.<br/>
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The three guys standing on his doorstep watched in shock as Rune's handsome face drained completely white, and he lost all coordination in his legs as he turned to leave the foyer. He stumbled and fell over, landing on his knees on the polished pickled oak flooring, hyperventilating and gasping for air. Two of the three moving guys rushed forward despite their sentiments about the house and the fact they were spooked in order to help Rune. The other guy stood shock still, staring at the space between Rune and his co-workers and and the front door. Rune's consciousness was flickering in and out, and along with the black spots in his vision, he saw the perfect silhouette of a man in old fashioned attire standing right in front of him.<br/>
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<i>"Mr. Halonen? You okay man? You don't look so good. Jerome, YO. Jerome! Call an ambulance!" </i>The boss man, Clarence, yelled when Rune didn't respond to his voice. <br/>
<br/>
Jerome was staring at the apparition in old fashioned clothes standing directly in front of him too, then he bolted down the front steps like a hive of Africanized killer bees was in hot pursuit. Jerome was horrified by the same image that Rune saw just before he blacked out. Another of the movers had to call 911. It appeared that squealing tires weren't the only thing the neighbors could ogle about the new addition to the neighborhood, because seven minutes later the flashing lights of an ambulance appeared in front of 238 West Street. <br/>
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And Rune Halonen was on his way to the emergency room at Newton-Wellesley Hospital for treatment.<br/>
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