Freaky Friday the 13th In Reefton

The second I arrived in Reefton, New Zealand, my superstitious senses were tingling madly. Perhaps it was because it was Friday the 13th, or perhaps it was because of the countless creepy things that occurred during our stay in the old mining town. Reefton is famous in New Zealand as it was the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to introduce electricity. It certainly is a neat, quaint little town, and if I weren't so afraid of it, I would definitely want to go back.

The entire time I was in Reefton, I felt as if I were on the set of the historical film The Crucible, a Winona Ryder movie about the Salem witch trials.

One of the first things I noticed upon arriving in Reefton was the cross standing out amongst the mountainside. It wouldn't have seemed so terrifying had it been beside a church or other ediface; however, this was not the case. The white cross, appearing to be made of wood, stood completely alone on the mountainside, and appeared to be floating when night fell upon the town. The floating effect was emphasized by the light shining on the cross from an unknown source. Seriously creepy.

So, this is really just the tip of the freaky iceberg. When we ventured back from the saloon to the hotel in the darkness of night, a pitch-black cat scampered across the road directly in front of us. Great, seven years of bad luck. Actually, I can't remember the specific curse associated with a black cat crossing one's path, but whatever it is, it befell upon us all that evening. The real icing on the cake of that incident was that the cat crossed our path on a street called "Sinnamon," literally spelled SIN. Wow.

The next morning, I was parched and entered the kitchen to fill a glass of water. As I took a sip, my brows furrowed in concern. The water tasted strange, and I couldn't quite place what it reminded me of. Then, all of a sudden, it hit me: the water tasted exactly like blood. At first I assumed it was because I had been reading Twilight that morning and that the vampire theme was messing with my mind. My eyes widened in terror, and I felt that there must be an issue with my sense of taste until I asked someone else what the water tasted like and he agreed. Then, we got the heck out of Reefton, the haunted little town in New Zealand, by driving through the creepy morning mist.

Bella and Ana: What's the Difference?

I’m not nearly as embarrassed as I should be about the fact that I read both the Fifty Shades trilogy and the first book in the Twilight series within a two-month period. In doing so, I realised that one author, whether intentionally or otherwise, completely copied the other in her characterisation of the lead female of the story.

Let me begin by pointing out the similarities in the names of the leading ladies. In Fifty Shades, we have Anastasia Steele, who goes by Ana for short. In Twilight, the main female is Isabella Swan, who goes by Bella for short. Seriously? The similarities don't even come close to ending there. Both are described as plain looking and extremely pale with mousy, long brown hair. Both girls apparently are never hungry and rarely eat, sometimes only at the urging of their beaus, so are rail-thin. They both claim to completely lack grace when it comes to attempting to play sports.

Even their interests coincide. Ana and Bella both share quite frequently during their narrations that they love literature, especially the classics, and spend a good deal of their free time reading. They both grew up as outcasts in a way, lacking many friends and not dating much if at all. They are also both old souls.

Aside from the fact that one is a vampire, the men with whom these similar ladies fall in love are also surprisingly similar. Both have classic, somewhat-antiquated names. Edward and Christian. Both spend a substantial amount of time warning the leading ladies that they are dangerous and that they should “keep away from them.” Both are rich and drive fancy cars and save the main females from peril multiple times. Both, of course, are “gorgeous” and “flawless” and drive other females crazy, making the “plain” and “ordinary” women they choose so confused as to why they chose them.

Even the SETTINGS of the stories are almost the same. Both take place in the Northwestern United States, in Washington. Bella and Ana take trips to Seattle. Both have mothers who are divorced and who live in far away states.

In conclusion, Bella and Ana are clearly the same person.