Oklahoma City-- The Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival, sponsored by the state arts organization, The
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Territory Tellers, held a free ghost tales concert on the first night of the event. It was Friday...the 13th, a fat full moon filled the sky and the summer evening was mild with just a hint of cool breeze. Held outdoors in an open pavilion on the campus of SNU in Bethany, near 50 people huddled in and around the brick structure as storytellers Liz Parker, Barbara Jones, Marilyn A. Hudson, and Tony Hardman shared suitably spooky tales. The battery operated sound system worked perfectly during the first story but then...The sound system strangely malfunctioned. The light was red, the power was on, but the sound was - dead. The equipment was selected from the personal equipment of a professional performer for its reliabilty and its quality. The power lights glowed steady and bright. The batteries were fresh and it worked perfectly right up to the first story...
Then, despite the still bright ready lights and solid connections, the microphone and speaker ceased to function.
Being professional storytellers the performers following compensated competently as they shared their stories without a mic. The event was successful and enjoyed by all, including the storytellers who were initiated into the "Fellowship of the Flame", a special festival event for those who share stories of the ghostly variety in this popular item on the festival schedule.
Throughly unhappy, the next day the sound equipment's owner was ready to toss out the apparently now worthless sound system when another check of the system was made. The "dead" equipment was checked. The mic worked on another system. The batteries were all registering as good. The dials had all been set to their highest settings the previous night attempting to get any sound and, now, when the mic hooked back up to the original speaker, the whole system blared to strong and steady life.
This workhorse sound system chosen because it was dependable and capable of functioning in extreme conditions (it went to a mountain top on one occassion!) had failed on a Friday the 13th, during a full moon, and during a concert of spine-tingling ghost stories. A coincidence? You be the judge.
