¨Do not call up that which you cannot put down,¨ H.P Lovecraft, ¨The Haunting Case of Charles Dexter Ward.¨
In the school year of 2023-2024 a new club emerged at Damascus High School known as the Paranormal club, run by Junior, Tanner Clark and Sophomore, Colton Spillers. The club would normally meet about every Wednesday during the second half of Lunch in Mr. Mueller´s Math class in room four. The following is a transcribed interview with Mr. Mueller, about his thoughts on the club and how it has changed in the past two years. In recent observation the club´s attendance has since reached the 30s and 40s making it in the population range of Best Buddies, which is the most populated club in the school. The club was initially created for the sole interest that the two had expressed in the paranormal by both Clark and Spillers.
The Best Buddies club has long been the most popular club in the school with members ranging in the 50s to 60s. The club´s main message was to spread awareness about those with disabilities. When the Paranormal club was established, it slowly began to gain momentum among students within the school.
When asked about his thoughts on the club he replied, ¨I´m impressed. Originally, when they came to me with the idea, I wasn’t so sure how popular it would become and pretty soon we had a classroom full of students.¨When asked about how he maintained order in the classroom he responded, ¨I try to take the approach to back up and let the leaders of the club handle the club, and from the very beginning I made it be known that I was there in the club and was here to improvise and give support if they need it, and so, I kinda, just let them handle things. Occasionally, they could handle things better, but it’s a good learning process.¨ When asked if the club had given him any interests in the Paranormal, he replied, ¨I´d say maybe slightly more intrigued. I learned a lot of things that I didn’t even know existed. So, it opened up my curiosity a bit.¨
The club has since grown in popularity thanks to ¨Spillers¨ interconnection on multiple social media platforms that are involved in the school´s daily life. The club would start it´s second chapter when they would both appoint their specialist to help cover the bigger picture of research for presentations. Specialist Theodore Ellestad would take the club in a different direction with his second-part lectures of the club meeting. He would end up talking about the darker side of the paranormal with what can happen when people are not careful about what they deal with.Clark would then wrap up the meeting with some last minute announcements.
When Clark was asked how he felt about the club he replied, ¨I´m really proud of the community we have built and developed and the inspirational slideshows we have presented with the help of our vice President, President, and Specialist.¨When Spillers was asked how he maintained order within the classroom he responded, ¨we maintain order by reminding people that they got to learn about this stuff. You know, teaching about demons and ghosts can really put a scare into people’s minds and to listen closely on the instructions on how to survive.¨
Ellestad´s lectures would bring in a more serious tone of the Paranormal club, with his lectures talking about dark forces that were harnessed in the art of the paranormal. The whole art of the Paranormal club would then hit new levels with Ellestad´s iconic, ¨March Cryptids Madness,¨ by combining the art of March Madness with the art of Cryptozoology. The new creative idea would end up being a big hit for the club and would spark the whole school talking about the club.
The club would eventually wind down as exams began to roll around. The club would then of course start back up in September, with new members joining. With Ellestad´s return with his lectures, the population would then reach 62, as shown by the sign up sheet during one of the club meetings in October.
In order to take the club to new heights, the three heads of the club decided to set up social media accounts on both Instagram and Youtube. The youtube account is still in production and information is unavailable at this time. The Paranormal club has gained interest and attention from students and teachers alike. A few teachers have expressed their interests in the club to Ellestad, personally.