If You Have Ghost, You Have Everything

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I know I got a bit wordy, but this is also for me so I don’t forget the night. This is me being selfish and personal and I’m not sorry.

So, after I bought tickets to the Iron Maiden Book of Souls tour specifically to see their opening act, Ghost, I saw my beloved band was offering VIP Meet and Greet tickets for front man Papa Emeritus. Now, I thought about this for a couple of days. I’m not one to spend money on myself, and should a person with an anxiety disorder really be meeting the dude she fangirls over? My confident and trusting boyfriend encouraged me to go for it, so I did.

I went to the event dressed as a nun or Sister of Sin to Ghost fans. Sometimes they pick two random girls to dress as nuns and pass out wine and wafers during their headlining shows. I knew they wouldn’t be picking anyone for their opening act but I wanted to keep in theme for the pictures. I can’t tell you how weird it is to walk around downtown Nashville in a nun costume. People standing in line at the Bridgestone Arena kept staring, asking to take a picture with me, asking me to cuss out their friend in a video, pointing me out to their friends, etc.

The Meet and Greet instructions told us to be there no later than 5:30 – kay cool, but then we got to stand and wait for more than an hour before they brought us to the hallway still rank with Predators’ sweat. Which is fine, Pekka sweat is A-Okay with me. Finally we catch a glimpse of Papa giving a jaunty wave as he crosses the hall to enter the meet and greet room. Oh, shit here we go. In the locker room they have a square sectioned off with curtains so you can have your private time with just Papa and the photographer. All of us standing in line are straining to eavesdrop on the conversations happening. I noticed the photographer was taking the two pictures in rapid succession, which wasn’t going to work with the poses I had in mind.

Finally the curtain opens and it’s my turn. Papa is standing in the corner looking tiny and regal. There’s only a purple light behind him and I notice how white his mask looked up close in person. “Hello, how are you?” He says in his fake eastern European Papa accent (home boy is actually Swedish with only a slight accent). “Hey! I’m good. Can I get a hug?” Alright, so I didn’t hear anyone else ask, I guess it’s just assumed y’all will be hugging – but Satanism is all about consent. Just kidding, neither of us are actually Satanists, but it does feel weird to walk up to someone you don’t know and hug them. He may be a masked caricature, but he’s still a person. “Of course!” He takes long pauses between responding to me, which I’m chalking up to English being a second language and his use of a fake accent on top of that.

Now his height is something I’ve been wondering about for a while. I could tell he was a little guy but I couldn’t guess at his height just from pictures. Mystery solved, he’s a smidge taller than me, maybe 5’7 or 5’8 and smallish frame. It made the hug really convenient and cozy. Both my arms easily went up over his shoulders and his robe made it feel like he was wrapping me in a blanket.  My hands were shaking a little from the adrenaline; nerves had me both hyper focused but also kind of numb. I turned to the photographer and asked if he could give me some time between the pictures so I could pose, he was totally fine with this. Then I asked Papa, “can I kiss you on the cheek?” His eyes are huge and never lose eye contact, I can see the wheels turning, “sure, okay.” The mask felt really cold and firm and didn’t give at all under my lips. And yet, I definitely did not feel his hand around my waist, I only know it was there thanks to the picture.

After that pose he says, “you look good!” Referring to my nun costume, but in my mind he’s now in love with me. I tell him thank you while fixing my habit a bit and then move on to the next pose. “For the next picture, I’m going to be all pious.” He starts to position his hands like mine in a prayer pose. “No, can you beckon towards the camera? Like we’re inviting people to Satanism.” He immediately complies while leaning into me. After that picture, we both turn to hug each other and this one lasts longer because I know it’s over. I thank him for everything and he’s nice enough to indulge the long hug until I’m ready. Then some more eye contact with his big ass hazel eye – I don’t even remember looking at the eye with the white lens. He tells me to enjoy the show and I shout good luck back to him over my shoulder. In my mind, I don’t just mean for the show – but for his ongoing lawsuit as well. Then I’m out and remember to breathe. I make it back up the elevator and to my boyfriend who is waiting. He said the look on my face was all he needed to know it was worth it.

Rooster stars in the history/spooky/society and culture/current events/everything show, Phone It In. She also covers the broad, daunting topic of ‘general history’ on History Lesson. Follow her on Twitter @SoBroRooster

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