Friday, November 19, 2004

Ghosts

Lisa asked for the details on the ghost hunting...so, I'll oblige. After all, it is Friday and I'm feeling distracted.

I don't usually like talking too much about ghosts because it makes me feel like on of those flaky people in the Weekly World News who swear they were impregnated by aliens in sn intergalactic gang-bang. But I do believe in ghosts (and I am all for intergalactic gang-bangs, for the record.)

I've always been fascinated by the supernatural. As a child, I would be the only one brave enough to sit alone in a dark bathroom chanting "Bloody Mary" or some such silliness. I've read every book, seen every movie...you name it.

There's a heightened perception in my family. I can't say ESP, because I can't pick lotto numbers worth a shit and I'm always getting the karmic crap kicked out of me. (I never do tarot on myself because it's too accurate and nothing good comes of it for me). But when my grandfather was young, he awoke gasping "Pop's dying!" in the middle of the night only to learn a few minutes later that his Dad had just died.

Also, as a child, my mother was always yelling my name from the bottom of the stairs and more often than not I would yell "What?" before she called me. We would play games of "Guess what number I am thinking of?" and we were never wrong. Until we grew apart this past year, we used to call one another and say "What's wrong?" because we had a "feeling". (By the way, my mother is now among the people who see 1111 everywhere - the gatekeepers? Look it up)

Anyway...all that out of the way, you get the picture. Unusual things are common for me.

My own direct experiences have been slight. I knew the exact moment my grandmother passed away. It was 12:07 am and I wa driving home from her house and I glanced at the clock and thought "She's gone". And she was. A few days later I lay alone in bed sobbing because I missed her (she died young of cancer - 67 years old) and I felt this warmth and pressure like a light "hug" and then a sense of total peace. I swear it was her saying goodbye.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was convinced I saw a large, burly man's shadow in my bedroom at all times, just silently watching me. It was such a strong feeling that I would talk to "him". I would say "You can stay, but just do not scare me!" I always thought of him as a gruff sea captain type. We believe it was my husband's grandfather "Joe" who died before I met my husband watching over his first grandchild and me. He disappeared when I gave birth.

This summer, I was pregnant. I was very sick with morning sickness and lying in bed and wide awake, trying to keep dinner down. I felt the covers stir and "saw" a woman dressed in very old fashioned clothing (like 1900's) tucking me in. She rubbed an ice cold hand up my arm sympathetically and was gone. I FREAKED. I have felt and seen things, but never have I been "touched" like that. I screamed bloody murder and said "Don't touch me!" TEH thought I had lost my mind. I felt bad later. I knew she was trying to comfort me and care for me. But the scare got the better of me and I chased her away. There were many times I wished her back. I lost that baby a few months later in a pretty traumatic experience. Story for another time.

Ghost Hunting is weird. You are with people who are ferverent believers. That annoys me. (Ironic, huh?) I want objectivity. Don't assume every shadow and noise is a ghost. I want to work with people who rule out every possible thing before concluding it's supernatural. These people wanted to see ghosts.

They came into my life because we had an experience in our home. I kept getting creepy feelings from our bedroom and one night TEH and I heard something (and felt)that was much like someone lifting a 300 lb dresser and SLAMMING it down again on our 2nd floor (while we were in bed ON the 2nd floor). There was no explanation. We met the Ghost Hunters and invited them to check out our place.

There was a ton of digital photo taking in the dark and lots of "orbs" captured. I don't know for sure that orbs are ghosts. The leader, who was a bizarre person, said we had many ghosts. The only weird thing that happened was that my daughter's bed suddenly collapsed when we were in her room. They did get ONE amazing photo...a green, glowing mist just outside my door.

I joined their team and went on 3 "hunts". The first to a cemetary in the middle of the night - a ton of fun, really, but no real "evidence". The second was to a famous haunted hotel in my area that has always been a source of fascination for me - again, super-fun and lot's of "maybes" but no real evidence...

The 3rd hunt made me quit the team and refuse to go back.

An old man, in his late 70's with a very sick wife called us and asked us to check out his home. His claims were beyond fantastic - he had a mirror that was an antique from his wife's mother and every night after 9 pm, the mirror became a portal of sorts and every imaginable thing came through. Naked women, monkeys on tricycles, hooded men, black men, children...you name it. He told me all of this was a deadpan face. He believed it. His wife was horrified, she insisted he was a liar and refused to allow us to investigate. In the end, she relented and I was given the task of keeping her calm and away from the team. She was something else, but she took a real liking to me. She swore that her husband was a big liar, but there was something there...once or twice, she "slipped" up and gave me reason to suspect she was seeing these things too. She realized her mistake and began screaming, so I made the team leave. I never saw anything and the team was in and out before dark (and nothing supposedly happened until after 9 pm). But there was this feeling of something very wrong there...

After I had quit the team, months later that old man called me. He was very upset and trying to reach the team. Things were getting worse, almost violent. I gave him the team leaders number and we never spoke again. I remember his name to this day. I worry about him still.

Did I find evidence? Not really. But I had enough reason to still believe.

There will always be unexplained cold spots, shadows, stories and mysteries. There will always be orbs and "feelings" and voices. I believe in ghosts, but I'd like to see hard proof of it too...

I would do it again...with a different team. These people were way too eager to prove ghosts and didn't take the time to rule out other possiblities.

Posted by Red :: 4:22 PM :: | ---------------------------------------