Photo: Book recommendations from the creator of Weld County Ghost Stories, Rachael-Anne Omps, and small artist’s ghosts she bought off Instagram.
Ghost stories have been told throughout history and passed down through generations, but they’ve recently started to become a trend again for many people. With Halloween just around the corner, Rachael-Anne Omps, creator of Weld County Ghost Stories, wants to showcase locals’ ghost stories of their own while collecting the history of Weld County.
Weld County Ghost Stories started this past summer. From some push from her friends, Omps was inspired to start sharing her countless ghost stories. She decided to create an Instagram page where people can submit their own spooky ghost stories. She is gaining stories from multiple sources, with one source telling her stories from a house Omps lived in at one point. She is trying to compile the stories for a book or start a YouTube channel and blog discussing the different ghost stories she receives.
Omps got into reading about ghosts and other cryptids because throughout her life, she has had weird interactions between herself and possibly something paranormal. She’s always been fascinated by the paranormal, but she’s tried to be rational with having an explanation for what has happened to her. But ever since she was little, these unusual experiences are ones that she couldn’t explain.
“My favorite ghost story is one that isn’t particularly creepy,” Omps said. “I sleep alone besides with my dog. It was not too long after I got out of a relationship, and I was slowly waking up to the sensation of something petting my hair. Then I had the realization that I was sleeping alone. I woke up and turned over to see no one was there. My first thought was that it was my grandmother who passed away when I was four.”
While Omps does not like horror, she creates spooky art. She hates horror because it fuels her imagination and nightmares. She especially can’t stand gore because she won’t stop thinking about if for hours on end. She says that the horror art she creates allows her to be desensitized to it and that the camera she uses to take the photos acts as a mental barrier from allowing the scary content to affect her.
One of her friends, Ches Bond, is a real-life Ghostbuster. He dresses up as a Ghostbuster and goes to different events showing off his costume and Ghostbuster car. He has helped with promoting Weld County Ghost Stories to local businesses downtown.
“My favorite part of Weld County Ghost Stories is that it incorporates ghost stories from the larger area of Weld County,” Bond said. “It is an open forum for ghost stories from more direct sources than a sole historian.”
If you would like to hear some ghost stories or tell your own, on October 28, Omps is hosting a live ghost story night telling event at a local used bookstore, The Midnight Oil. The event will start at 6 p.m. and will include some treats and hot drinks from Margie’s Java Joint. At 7 p.m., the ghost stories will start flowing from people’s mouths if they wish to tell any. Omps will tell some of her personal stories while also telling other people’s stories if they don’t want to speak in front of a crowd. If the ghost story night goes well, she hopes for more story nights to happen in the future and is planning to do it a couple times a year.
If you want to reach out to Weld County Ghost Stories to share your own ghost stories, contact Rachael on the official Instagram page @weldcountyghoststories. You can also find recommendations for books to read or ask questions about the paranormal.
