It was several decades ago now that the rumors were swirling about a possible ghost @ Moonlight Beach... There was a definite "buzz" among the Coast Highway vendors and their customers - enough to keep the conversation rolling... Ronnie the short-order chef at 111 Diner used to compare notes with Sue-Ellen - owner of the guitar shop about the latest "sighting" while Eduardo who owned the Taco Shack near the corner of D Street asked Mel who ran the old movie theater across the street wondered if the real headquarters for the poltergeist might be in one of the older buildings - maybe an attic space. Sort of like a ghost that goes on field-trips - agreed George Uwanco - proprietor of the used book store and cousin to George Dewine - the owner of George's diner. Everyone tried to convince Lou - of Lou's Records that this thing was real - but he proved to be the skeptic of all skeptics. Truth be told - it was hard to imagine a less haunted or gothic-sounding place than this North County hamlet - the oldest building of which dated back only to the 1920s. Moonlight was just a cozy little patch of sand with two volleyball courts, a snackbar with restrooms and outdoors showers and a gigantic life-guard stand that always made people feel safe. Beloved by the locals for its golden- the epicenter of sunshine and transparency, it not the sort of gothic outpost that anyone would think of as attracting nocturnal spirits... But as Lifeguard Rick explained - it was just something weird about the tides and the fog that set in after midnight that got you thinking... Yet - how many people ventured out along the shoreline at the wee hours of the morning?
A few things were known about the ghost - and these facts were confirmed by Reese - a postal carrier and his girlfriend, Laney. I guess you could call them the local, uncertified ghost-chasers - inspired by their favorite movie (or was it a cartoon?). They took it upon themselves to compile the reports of the various sightings of which their had been 7 in the course of the past 3 years. Based on these eye-witness testimonies - the ghost was a young girl anywhere between the ages of 12-17 - who appeared at the shoreline in the early morning hours - usually between midnight and 3:00 a.m. For those who got a good look at her - she had dark hair and wore blue jeans, flip-flops and a tye-dye shirt. Did she have a name? Some gave her the name of Gina; some called her Nina or Melba; others just referred to the ghost-girl. For the unsuspecting beach-comber - trudging along after curfew and hoping for a glimpse of clear sky and moon beams - the ghost would appear ever so quietly just like a subtle walking companion, making conversation. There came a point, however, where the ghost would ask a pointed question or two.
Among the surfers who usually hung out at Swami's Beach near the Self-Realization Institute - was an athletic chap by name of Wilson - who claimed that the ghost-girl asked him if he ever cheated on Math tests back in high school. Caught off guard - the decidedly non-academic minded surfer - mumbled - "Uh, probably... or yeah - absolutely - had to pass the class - ya know?" at which point the ghost followed up with : "Did you ever not cheat on a Math test?" Wilson had to think long and hard about this one - remembering that he received an exemption to skip Math during his Senior year. "Well - let's see - when my buddy James got sick that time - I was royally up a creek for May and June - but I squeaked by with a 67 for the year..." Wilson - like the others - drawn into such banter - was not really busy processing that there was any kind of spirit walking beside him. The ghost seemed satisfied with his honesty - but maybe - at a loss for giving advice... When Wilson told the story - his surfer buds wanted to know: "Then what? Then what? Did she dunk you in the waves? Did she bury you under the sand?" - "Um - no..." said Wilson .... she just said " ' I guess we're done here.' And then she said, "Oh - one more thing - did you ever know a guy named Chad Masterson..." "Was he in my class?" - asked Wilson. "'Bout a year older - I think..." "Um - yeah rings a bell - if he rode a motorbike..." "That was the kid..." "Was he fierce - a heller?" "You could say that... a bully. Not a nice person..." "Do you want me to look this guy up? - Wilson asked, somewhat confused. "Think about whether you ever bumped into him. How did that work out for you?" "Uhhhhmmm." Now Wilson was stumped. "Sorry - can't help you." "Okay - now we're done... Thanks for your time." But at this point - Wilson's curiosity had been piqued... still thinking that the ghost was real... "Hey - who told you about Math class and me?" It was at this point that he found himself alone - the stairs at Swamis coming into view - illumined by the moon.
One of Wilson's classmates - from the class of '84 - was a girl by the name of Monica - who worked at the consignment / beach wear shop next to George's restaurant - and had a similarly strange conversation with the ghost-girl. After getting into a mild tiff with her aunt (also her landlord at the time) - Monica found herself walking down the beach just to let off steam on a warm Tuesday night in April... While looking up at the cloud-strewn heavens hoping to catch a glimpse of something - she heard a voice at her side... a rather chatty voice beside her saying "I think I remember you from social studies... Do you remember me by chance? You used to sit in front - next to your friend - Amelia was it?" Too distracted to be startled - not at all intimidated by her beach-combing partner... Monica wondered casually: "Were you in that class...?" "Um - yeah - I sat in back - I guess you might say..." "What did you think of Mr. Gaines?" "Very sincere... but also unhappy... he couldn't get anyone to love the history of the Americas with the same sort of devotion that he had..." "Yeah - that's a good way to put it..." Monica - at this point - decided to look the ghost in the face so to speak... and saw a face of someone that she recognized. "Hey - I think I know where I've seen you before..." "I kept a low profile back then... The thing is - I'm tracking down some people. ..."
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