Red wind brings out worst in people's moods, ghosts happy with their work

In his short story, "Red Wind," author Raymond Chandler wrote, "There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight." Especially hot, dry and dusty Santa Ana winds in Southern California, otherwise known as “the red wind,” are widely believed to affect people’s moods and behavior negatively. The winds carry Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii spores into nonendemic areas, a pathogenic fungus that causes Coccidioidomycosis, otherwise known as “Valley Fever.” But that’s just science or something like that. The red wind is really ghosts. And the ghosts are happy with their recent work in Southern California.