We never had a fireplace in the house I grew up in.  Maybe that is why I feel the need to have one so badly now…a bad case of fireplace envy, perhaps.  But even with my yearning for a fireplace, I have not lived in a home with one in all of my adult years.

But, in my parents house, we did have the elf.  Commonly known as The Elf on the Shelf, the one that my parents had was on a bell.  The elf clung to the side of a bell made of plastic, that was on top of a small set of chimes.  My mother, being all of 5 foot, took great pleasure in hanging the elf chimes in the middle of the doorway leading from the kitchen to the living room where I would invariably hit it as I passed through.  Me being the only resident of the house that was 6 foot.  I think my mother secretly hated me.  I know I hated that damned elf.

There is a whole story line and mystique that surround the Elf on the Shelf that I never knew of.  There is a website dedicated to it.  All very sweet and innocent.  This from the website:

“The Elf on the Shelf® is a special scout elf sent from the North Pole to help Santa Claus manage his naughty and nice lists. When a family adopts an elf and gives it a name, the elf receives its Christmas magic and can fly to the North Pole each night to tell Santa Claus about all of the day’s adventures. Each morning, the elf returns to its family and perches in a different place to watch the fun. Children love to wake up and race around the house looking for their elf each morning.”

That sounds all nice and prosaic, doesn’t it?  Up until you get to the part about about the elf perching in a different place every night.

So, when you bring this demon into your house, name it, and place it….it watches what you do.  And leaves to tell another invisible entity what you are doing.  A demonic spy.  Marvelous.  As if we didn’t have enough things to worry about in our lives…

So, if you have one of these demons in your house…understand the chain of events that you have set in to motion……