scary
Today my son asked me what the scariest moment of my life was. It was hard to answer, since there are so many different types of fear. His follow up question was if I had ever seen a ghost. That one was easy. No, I haven't ever seen a ghost. But I've felt their presence and heard them, so I do think they're real. At this point, my husband would be telling me how silly I am, since ghosts can't exist. But I'm willing to accept that they do. Here's why.
When I was a kid we had a ghost in our house. My mom, who believes in spirits, saw it and stands by its existence. My dad, who declared that he did not believe in ghosts, told the story of the strange happenings in our house in Thompson Park. Apparently things would move, or get hidden, in funny places like a child had stashed them. I was 5 or 6 and my brother was little, but still my parents were a bit befuddled. And then apparently one day my dad came into the house looking for his keys, patted my brother on his head, and realized that my brother wasn't home. According to my dad the little blond boy headed down the hallway and then was gone. Even though I never saw a ghost in that house, the seriousness and unease in my father when he told that story showed that he believed that there was some thing there. His belief convinced me, since he was a skeptic and a cynic about such things.
When I was 21 I went with a friend to the battlefield at Little Big Horn. It was late in the afternoon and I went into the gift shop to check out the books. I was in the back row listening to two clerks talk about "the people" and how one had been outside when she left work the night before. As I continued eavesdropping, I realized they were talking about ghosts, or spirits that stayed in that place. I figured they were pulling one over on a tourist, but when I popped out from behind a display case I scared the heck out of them. They hadn't realized I was there... or they were REALLY good actresses. Later, walking around the battlefield and over the grounds, I came to believe that something was hanging around, lingering in the air. I felt (as cheesy as it sounds) a presence. Later that night, in camp and into a bottle of schnapps, my friend asked me what I thought of Little Big Horn. I answered casually and could tell she had more on her mind. Eventually she shared that she thought she had seen something, and that she had felt like there were spirits in the air. Whatever it was, we both agreed it was strange, other worldly.
I had two other experiences that keep the option of ghosts open to me. One was a night spent camping out in the middle of Minto Flats where I heard a bell, a school or church bell, ring and children laughing and then screaming. I didn't say anything to my boyfriend for 2 days, and then asked him if he had heard anything that night. He said a bell ringing had woke him up. When I asked his Gramma, she said there had once been a church school near there, but a fire burned the building and it was never rebuilt. Children had died in the fire. The only scary experience I had was when we moved into a cabin that had been empty for a long time. We cleaned and scrubbed and moved things, although for some reason I didn't feel good about moving into the place, despite the fact it was larger and had a real sink and stove. The first night we slept there, my boyfriend woke me up because we heard someone at the door. As we listened, we heard footsteps in the main room and saw the figure of a man come around into the bedroom door. He stood there, and when Chris yelled, "Hey! What the hell?!" he turned around. Chris leaped out of bed and followed into the main room, me close behind, but there was no one there. It was scary and menacing and the air felt poisonous. The front door was still bolted from the inside. The next day we found out a man had stabbed his girlfriend in that house, and then shot himself. We moved out and never went back.
I don't know that any of this proves the existence of ghosts, and truthfully I haven't gathered any empirical evidence, but I think I believe. There are some things in this world that can't be explained, and some places that are just marked with an atmosphere of difference. I know love exists, yet I can't see it. I believe that the stars can align and lead us to find our one and only. Maybe I don't need to know with my head at all, just believe.
When I was a kid we had a ghost in our house. My mom, who believes in spirits, saw it and stands by its existence. My dad, who declared that he did not believe in ghosts, told the story of the strange happenings in our house in Thompson Park. Apparently things would move, or get hidden, in funny places like a child had stashed them. I was 5 or 6 and my brother was little, but still my parents were a bit befuddled. And then apparently one day my dad came into the house looking for his keys, patted my brother on his head, and realized that my brother wasn't home. According to my dad the little blond boy headed down the hallway and then was gone. Even though I never saw a ghost in that house, the seriousness and unease in my father when he told that story showed that he believed that there was some thing there. His belief convinced me, since he was a skeptic and a cynic about such things.
When I was 21 I went with a friend to the battlefield at Little Big Horn. It was late in the afternoon and I went into the gift shop to check out the books. I was in the back row listening to two clerks talk about "the people" and how one had been outside when she left work the night before. As I continued eavesdropping, I realized they were talking about ghosts, or spirits that stayed in that place. I figured they were pulling one over on a tourist, but when I popped out from behind a display case I scared the heck out of them. They hadn't realized I was there... or they were REALLY good actresses. Later, walking around the battlefield and over the grounds, I came to believe that something was hanging around, lingering in the air. I felt (as cheesy as it sounds) a presence. Later that night, in camp and into a bottle of schnapps, my friend asked me what I thought of Little Big Horn. I answered casually and could tell she had more on her mind. Eventually she shared that she thought she had seen something, and that she had felt like there were spirits in the air. Whatever it was, we both agreed it was strange, other worldly.
I had two other experiences that keep the option of ghosts open to me. One was a night spent camping out in the middle of Minto Flats where I heard a bell, a school or church bell, ring and children laughing and then screaming. I didn't say anything to my boyfriend for 2 days, and then asked him if he had heard anything that night. He said a bell ringing had woke him up. When I asked his Gramma, she said there had once been a church school near there, but a fire burned the building and it was never rebuilt. Children had died in the fire. The only scary experience I had was when we moved into a cabin that had been empty for a long time. We cleaned and scrubbed and moved things, although for some reason I didn't feel good about moving into the place, despite the fact it was larger and had a real sink and stove. The first night we slept there, my boyfriend woke me up because we heard someone at the door. As we listened, we heard footsteps in the main room and saw the figure of a man come around into the bedroom door. He stood there, and when Chris yelled, "Hey! What the hell?!" he turned around. Chris leaped out of bed and followed into the main room, me close behind, but there was no one there. It was scary and menacing and the air felt poisonous. The front door was still bolted from the inside. The next day we found out a man had stabbed his girlfriend in that house, and then shot himself. We moved out and never went back.
I don't know that any of this proves the existence of ghosts, and truthfully I haven't gathered any empirical evidence, but I think I believe. There are some things in this world that can't be explained, and some places that are just marked with an atmosphere of difference. I know love exists, yet I can't see it. I believe that the stars can align and lead us to find our one and only. Maybe I don't need to know with my head at all, just believe.
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