Resurrection Mary
According to the Chicago Tribune, Mary was first know to be reported in the 1930’s. People have described her as a
young woman with blond hair, wearing a white party dress with a shawl
and carrying a purse. Men have reported picking her up hitchhiking near
the Willowbrook Ballroom, and sometimes she will ask to be taken to the
cemetery. She has been reported to get into the car and disappear before the driver
reaches the destination. Many people have claimed to have seen Mary.
Sometimes she just appears in front of cars driving down Archer Avenue
and sometimes she appears in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle and
slowly fades away. Mary’s early appearances started when several
motorists who drove past the Resurrection cemetery kept claiming that
there was a young woman who kept trying to jump onto the running boards
of their automobiles. The story changed after that. Sometimes people would claim
that they met Mary at the Willowbrook Ballroom which at that time was
called the O’ Henry Ballroom. People said that they would dance with the
girl and then she would then ask for a ride home. While dancing, some men could not help but vividly recall that her skin had been icy as the grave. The directions she
gave would lead to the cemetery, she did not speak when she got into or out of the
car, and then she would mysteriously vanish when they got to the cemetery. Many
people have also claimed that they have seen Mary walking along Archer
Avenue and when they ask her if she wants a ride she disappears. The
strangest thing about Mary was that most people who saw her in the 30′s
all described her as looking the same from her blond hair, blue eyes,
and party dress to her shawl and the small purse that she carried. However, this can be easily dismissed since those details were contained in the rumors that were circulating about this illusive strange woman. Other
descriptions of Mary were much more terrifying than a vanishing ghost.
Some drivers have said they were driving along when a young woman bolted
out in front of their car and screamed. Then the driver heard a
sickening thud followed by the woman being thrown through the air and
striking the pavement. When the driver would go out to check on the
girl, they found no trace of a body. The Justice Police Department has
had several reports of people coming in and crying that they had struck
and killed a woman but could not find the body.
No one knows for sure who Mary was in real life but the story that
most people believe is that in the winter of 1930 there was a young
woman dancing at the O’ Henry Ballroom with her boyfriend. At some point
in the evening they got into a fight and Mary stormed out of the
ballroom and started to walk home along Archer Drive. She was then
struck by a hit and run driver and left to die in the road. She was
buried by her grieving parents at the Resurrection Cemetery. There have been reported claims and even photographs of a tale when a man had called the police late one night to inform them of a young woman that was locked inside of the cemetery. Once the police arrived, of course, the figure had vanished. Supposed physical evidence of Mary also exists, which is directly linked to this part of her tale. There is a burnt
section of post on the fence that surrounds Resurrection Cemetery, but
officials at the cemetery claim that the burnt and bent section of the
barred fence was caused by a truck and not the local ghost.
The big question here is WHO is Mary? Many began to assume that
“Mary” was Mary Bregovy, who was killed in an automobile accident in the
1930s and is buried at Resurrection Cemetery. However, this seems highly unlikely,
as many of the known details of Bregovy’s death do not match the story
or the haunting. Bregovy was killed in downtown Chicago not in Justice,
Illinois and she was killed in a car accident not a hit and run
incident.
Another theory on Mary's identity is that
she was a 12-year-old Polish girl named Anna Norkus. Anna went by the
nickname Mary, in honor of her religious convictions. Anna loved dancing
and often went to Willowbrook Ballroom with her father. On the way home from the ballroom one night, Anna was killed in a car accident. The
date of the car accident lines up with the eyewitness accounts, as Anna
was killed in 1927. Yet those who claim to have seen Resurrection Mary
are quick to point out that the Mary they interacted with was 18 to 21
years old, not 12.
There is no other “Mary” buried in
Resurrection Cemetery that died on Archer Avenue that predates the first
sighting. Also, eyewitness reports of Mary have seemed to calm down
since the 1980s after Archer Avenue underwent some heavy-duty
construction. This seems quite odd since most paranormal activities are largely stirred up by renovation/construction, going by statistical data on reported. But many believers say that this human activity may have
interfered with the paranormal activity of the area. Despite this change, someone will claim to see Mary from time to time. It is also possible that
Mary is simply a part of the local folklore.
The “vanishing hitchhiker” archetype is
very common in folklore all across the world. Also, Resurrection Mary is truly one of the most famous "White Lady" apparitions known in America. Vanishing hitchhiker
stories even date back to the days of the stagecoach. This story can
very easily be placed into this common category of folklore, but
something makes this story a bit more unique than the others. There are
tons of well-documented sightings of Resurrection Mary. These sighting
have even got major media coverage, but as we know you cannot prove the
existence of something with just a handful of eyewitness reports. So
for now, the story of the apparition of a young girl looking for one more
night on the town is just that, a story. Most appearances of Mary happen in the winter, and most of the
sightings of her were in the 30′s and 40′s. Reports of her spectral apparition have
never stopped. Mary has become a legend and is considered to be
Chicago’s most popular ghost. There have been books written about her
and even a movie was released about her a couple of years ago. It did not do her justice, but that is never to be expected. Take An American Haunting, for example. That movie was about John Bell, and it was complete rubbish! I'm surprised if it did not cause the entire Bell family to roll over in their graves! Returning to Resurrection Mary, the only way to really find out about her is to take a long, slow drive down Archer Avenue, namely at night in the middle of Winter. Perhaps you
will find Mary walking along the road by herself, trying to hitch a ride back to
the Resurrection Cemetery.
Death Mask
by Jason Ryan Qualls
(Elkhart, Indiana, USA)
It was his last night in the foreign country. Daniel was walking
the streets beneath the deepening twilight. He was beginning to feel
desperate. Although he had bought gifts to take back to his wife and
son, he hadn't yet found the thing he wanted for himself. It had to be
something exotic and mystic.
He felt a chill run through his
body. The night was growing cold. He chanced upon a narrow, dark alley
that ran off one of the main streets. Daniel knew it was foolish for him
to be wandering on his own. But suddenly, he saw a doorway at the end
with light spilling out onto the alley. Daniel felt a premonition that
this place held the thing he was seeking.
He started down the
narrow, cobble stoned street, avoiding the shadows along the sides. He
entered the open doorway into a room that flowed with the fires of many
small oil lamps. A man with a dark, impassive face and shining eyes
stood behind a counter, staring at him.
"The shop is closed,"
the man said in English in a deep voice.
Daniel's eyes quickly
darted around the room. Masks filled the space, hung on walls and sat on
the shelves.
"I must close," the man repeated. Daniel could not
move from the spot where he stood, gazing at one mask after another.
They were what he had been looking for.
"Please," he asked, "I
won't take long." Daniel's eyes came to rest on a mask hanging high on
the wall near the back of the shop. It was carved of a dark wood, almost
black, and had a fringe of real hair, matted and copper-colored, around
it.
"That mask. How much is it?"
"Not for sale," the man
muttered. "An evil mask, not for tourists."
"No, you don't
understand," Daniel protested. "I'm a writer. I came to be influenced by
evil, to write a book on Satanism.
The man shook his head
firmly from side to side. "The mask was created by evil for evil. No one
with a good heart can put it on. Or else . . . ." "Stay," the shop
keeper told Daniel. "I'll be right back." And with that statement, the
man went into the back of the shop.
Daniel did not take his eyes
off the mask. It seemed to summon him. He drew closer and closer and
soon stood just underneath it.
He reached up and took the mask
in his hands. Daniel lifted it off the wall. He brought it down and
looked at the strange face carved into the wood. The mask willed him to
take it. Daniel pulled out a large roll of local currency from his
wallet and put the money on the counter. Then he ran back through the
doorway into the dark alley and the black night.
When Daniel got
back home. His family noticed that he seemed remote. Daniel went
through the motions of unpacking and giving out the gifts he had brought
back. Finally he pulled the mask out.
"Weird," his son said
when he saw the mask. His son picked it up and stared at the face. The
mouth was twisted in a mocking smile. The hollow eyes seemed to hide an
evil secret. The face was carved with scars. He began to lift the mask
to his face.
"No!" Daniel shouted, remembering the shopkeeper's
words. He grabbed the mask from his son's hands. His son asked what was
wrong. "The mask is special," Daniel quickly explained. "No one can put
it on." Daniel looked down at the mask. His hands were trembling as he
held it.
"Do you really believe that?" his son asked him.
But
Daniel didn't answer. Instead, he went to his study. That night, Daniel
hung the mask on a wall of his study. It was the wall behind which his
computer desk sat overlooking a dark forest. The study had a blood red
ceiling and black painted walls with a graveyard background scene. There
were also gruesome pictures all around. They seemed to send him
thoughts and ideas that inspired his writing.
Daniel was happy
to get back to work on his diary of horror stories. He sat down at his
desk and began writing a new tale of terror. Two hours later he pushed
his chair away from the desk. He had finished one of the stories. Daniel
was sure it was the best writing he had ever done. But suddenly his
head had begun to pound with a headache. He turned around. The mask was
watching him, its hollow eyes staring into his face. Daniel felt that
they could see through him and read his thoughts.
He got up and
stepped closer to it. The pounding grew louder and louder. He had the
sudden urge to take the mask off the wall. It seemed to be telling him
to put it on his face. . . . Daniel ran from the room. He hurried past a
mirror in the living room and caught a glance of his face. It was
contorted with fear.
The next day Daniel sat down to work at his
stories early in the morning. Everyone else in the house was still
asleep. He began a new horror story. After awhile, his pen suddenly
stopped moving across the paper. The pounding in his head had started
again. The pen dropped from his hand to the floor. Daniel whirled around
to face the mask. The weird, matted hair around it seemed to move and
then stop. The hollow eyes stared at him. Daniel was drawn to it. The
strange mouth was smiling, telling him to touch it. Daniel reached up
and pulled the mask off the wall. It was warm in his hands. He lifted
the mask up to his eyes and saw the darkness inside.
Then he
covered his face with it. The pounding was unbearable now. Daniel's
heart pounded just as hard.
"Daniel!" a voice called.
He
turned to the door. It was his wife. "Daniel! Take off that mask!" she
ordered him.
Slowly, he pulled the mask away from his face. His
wife screamed and backed away from him. He stepped toward her, but she
ran. He followed her into the living room, glancing at the mirror as he
passed by. A ghastly face stared back at him.
The skin on his
face was rotted brown and pulling off in areas, and ringed with deep
scars. His hair was hanging by threads of thin scalp. His lips were
twisted in a wicked smile. His eyes were melted into deep, black
sockets. Daniel looked down to the mask in his hands. Staring back at
him was a face, the face of the man he had once been.
But now. .
. . he wore his Death Mask.
I Have Seen Ghosts
by Anonymous
I have never thought that I would ever encounter the supernatural
in my life. But when I did, it affected me so much, and changed my
whole perspective of life and the afterlife.
I have lived in this
apartment in NJ for four years. During this time, I have seen dark
figures darting across my peripheral vision. Thought I just imagined it.
I
work from home and one day, I was playing my stereo. It kept shutting
off. I checked if there is a power outage, but there was none.
I
was working on my computer one night, and something touched my elbow,
and there was no one there. I was in the bedroom one time, and heard a
whisper in my ear and ran out of the bedroom.
Then one night, I
saw my first real ghost encounter. I woke up in the middle of the night,
and opened my eyes and saw this white figure of a man looking at me. He
was wearing a suit. He was all white, like a statue in the cemetery. I
closed my eyes again, and opened, still there and when I looked up he
was looking at me and smiled. I closed my eyes and when I opened, he was
gone.
Then again one night, around 12:30 am. I woke up, looked
at the alarm clock and then, right next to the armoire, was the head of a
woman floating in midair. Her hair was nicely done, and she was wearing
a beaded necklace. She seemed like a 1950's woman. She was there for
about seven seconds and then she disappeared. She looked so sad as she
was looking at the bedroom window. From that point on, I knew that there
is a spiritual realm, an afterlife.
I became very sad, as I
questioned my very existence. I believe what I saw is something that is
not supposed to be seen, and somehow my existence and their existence
crossed.
I became quite ill, both mentally and physically after
this experience. It is something I never want to see again.
I now
appreciate life more, and the people around me. Our time here on this
earth is precious, and we must show our love and kindness to each other
as much as we can.
I asked a psychic for advice about my
experience and was told to put sea salt around the house and bathe in
sea salt every now and then. I also smudged the apartment as per the
psychic’s advice. I now wear a rosary around my neck when I go to sleep.
Ghosts and Hauntings - Union Soldier in
My House
(Northern Virginia)
My father has told me many ghost stories of his youth, and until
three years ago, I shook them off as great campfire stories.I
never really believed in ghosts, but rather thought that people wanted
to see something extraordinary for attention getting purposes.Yet,
in 2006, my views about ghosts changed.My husband and I moved
across the country from California to the Washington, DC area because
his job required him to locate. We purchased a beautiful house (much
cheaper than CA real estate) in Northern Virginia a week within our
arrival and promptly had our furniture shipped out to us. Every
morning, before the family wakes up, I do 30 minutes of yoga and
meditation. It relaxes me and helps me to clear my brain in order to
focus on the day's work.My very first morning in our house, I
woke up at 5:30 a.m. to get a jump on the day. I settled into my new
basement office with my yoga pad and began my stretches. Clearing my
mind, I focused on a clear running stream while I warmed up my muscles.
Fifteen minutes into my stretches, I was in zen mode, completely
relaxed. I laid on my back, arms above my head in prayer stance, and
closed my eyes. Yet, before me wasn't the clear stream of
consciousness. Instead, it was a Union soldier, looking down at me.
Within an instant, I saw the detail of his uniform, the dirt in his
hair, the hollows in his cheeks. He smiled at me, as though to welcome
me. I immediately opened my eyes and sat up, with my heart beating
radically. First of all, I didn't even know what a Union uniform
looked like. I had to look it up online (I thought he was a
Confederate). Then I looked up the area where I lived. Apparently, there
had been a battle during the Civil War on the land where our house was
built. Then, I didn't believe it. I refused to believe it.
However, as the months followed, I heard him talking, giving orders to
his troops in our bedroom hallway. I would block it out, turn on the TV,
watch SNL, whatever I could to block it out. Even my younger children
could hear talking beneath the bedroom where they slept. I assured them
it was just "Daddy's computer making noises."Then, one night
before I was leaving on a business trip, I was falling asleep while my
husband was in the shower. As I dozed off, I felt a presence beside my
bed. At first I thought it was my husband getting out of the shower.
Then I heard a voice that wasn't my husband's. "Don't go," it said, "I
will miss you."Again, I shot up out of bed. At that point, I was
so freaked out I said, "Please, you are scaring me. Could you please
leave my house." That was the last I've heard or seen of this
ghost. Needless to say, I now do believe in ghosts.- an
anonymous Northern Virginia resident
Hauntings and Ghosts: Little Kids Under
the Palm Trees
by Nana Kay
(Ridgewood, NY)
There's a rural island called Sandwip in the Bay of Bengal, where
I grew up. There's no electricity so you have to depend on candlelight.
It's become an eerie and isolated place in many areas, since many
people have left their homes to move into the cities on the mainland. I
used to live in the city too, but my parents owned a house in a small
village that had seven or eight houses built near each other in a circle
with a large open area of space in the middle. My family would
spend our summers there because it was close to our grandparents' home
(which was in a nearby town). At one time, my mother told me that all
those houses were inhabited, but growing up, I only saw four other
families living there and all other houses had been abandoned and locked
up for many years.I hated the place because the large, empty
houses always seemed a bit creepy to me. I knew that the other families
had left because they wanted to live in the city, but it still seemed
strange. Whenever I asked my mother if the town was haunted, she would
laugh and ask me if I saw something. Of course, I never did (at that
time). My mother assured me and my little sister that it was just our
imaginations, so we soon got used to it and we would come back year
after year. The neighbors' kids would tell us ghost stories but we both
knew it was all made-up so we weren't scared that easily.One
summer, when I was thirteen, my family went back to Bangladesh (we moved
to Canada when I was seven) and we decided to spend a month in Sandwip
like we used to when I was younger. This time, we were the only family
staying there since the others had moved and left too. It was pretty
much boring because now my sister and I had no one to talk to or play
with. We spent most days at our grandparents' house while my parents
went to visit their old friends. They would pick us up in the evening
and we would take a rickshaw home through the long, narrow street for
about two miles.This was when I first noticed something scary.
One night, we had left my grandparents' home at 1:00 at night because
there had been a little dinner there. On the way back, the rickshaw
driver was going through the same road like always. The ride took half
an hour. On either side were all palm trees. It was like going through a
forest. Halfway through, I thought I saw a little girl going into the
trees. I pointed her out to my father, but he told me that it was
probably a poor beggar. They're not uncommon there.) When I turned back,
the girl had come out from the trees again, but it seemed like she was
with a little boy. They looked poor because their hair was all dirty and
their clothes were tattered and old. They were just standing there and
looking towards our direction. I was definitely spooked but I figured
they didn't have a home or lived somewhere nearby.The next day,
my cousin came to visit us and we both went to the market to buy sugar
canes. She was eighteen so my parents allowed us to walk home by
ourselves. We took a shortcut through the trees. On the way, we saw a
small graveyard with a couple of graves. (We don't have tombstones, so
there's no way to tell who was buried there.) I told my cousin to hurry
up because I didn't like the area at all. Who knows if some axe-wielding
maniac happened to come out and attack us? She laughed and we continued
walking. When we reached the end of the woods, we could see the stores
just ahead. Then suddenly, my little sister appeared from behind us and
scared the living daylights out of us. She said she was following us the
whole time --- that we just didn't notice her because she was hiding
behind the trees if we happened to look back. I told her to be quiet and
that she could stay with us if she promised to not be annoying.So
we bought the sugar canes and started the walk home. But there was that
little poor girl again, this time at the marketplace. She was following
us, asking if we had any money to give her. We noticed that her little
brother wasn't there. I took out a few coins and handed it over, only
because I just wanted to get away and she really scared me. She took it
but then asked my sister where we lived because she said she remembered
seeing us. The girl didn't even look at me or my cousin once, which
seemed a bit odd. I told her we just came to visit and then I asked her
if she had a little brother, because I remembered seeing the little boy
clearly. She shook her head, still looking at my sister rather than me,
saying she had no siblings. I told her that I saw her the night before
with a little boy. She shook her head and told my sister (instead of me)
that she wasn't with anyone and that she lived with her mother in a
small house on the other side of the woods. Then she walked away and
went to ask for money from other people. My sister asked what that was
all about. It was creepy but I figured that the little girl was closer
to my sister's age so maybe that's why she felt more comfortable talking
to her instead of me or my cousin. Anyway, all three of us were
puzzled.When my cousin, my sister, and I were walking back, I
asked my sister if she had seen the little boy the night before. She
shrugged, saying that she didn't remember. A few days later, I remember
going to the outhouse (a outdoors bathroom) and it was raining a little
too. I hated going by myself. When I was passing the little pond behind
our house, I thought I saw two people swimming in the water. I looked
back, and there was no one there. I didn't care about the bathroom. I
just ran back home as fast as I could.That summer was definitely
the scariest summer I ever had, but for many other reasons. I kept
hearing splashes in the water several nights. My parents heard it too
and figured that it was just a trespasser or a dog trying to get a drink
of water. We kept watch many nights but never caught anyone or any
dogs. One time, I looked out my window when it was foggy and I could
swear I saw a blurry figure in the window of the house straight across
from us. I tried to light a candle so I could see better but I couldn't
find any. Later I found a whole pack of candles even though I remember
that we ran out of them the day before and that none of us had gone to
the store since.Just last year, my parents sold the house and
I'm glad that I'll never have to go back there. I don't know if any of
this is related: The little boy who I saw with the girl by the palm
trees, the people I thought I saw in the water, and the person at the
window. I heard a couple of stories about how the body of a little boy
had been found in a pond in the 70s, but that was in a nearby town and
not the one I stayed in. Plus, the boy who had died was not poor.
Apparently he had been murdered by an old guy that would go around
asking for money. I don't even know how much of that story is true.
People distort stories a lot and maybe that never really happened.But
whatever it is that happened, I'm just happy now that I won't have to
go to that place again. I think the whole island is creepy, and not just
at night either. There's not any electricity either so just imagine how
scary even little shadows can be at any given time of the day.
Holding Hands with a Ghost
by Brenda
(Canada)
My story happened years ago, when I was about 16 (I'm 42 now)... I
was with my boyfriend at a friend's house. The friend's bedroom was in
the basement, and we were all just hanging out listening to music, and
waiting for a few more people before going out to terrorize the
neighborhood on a Saturday night.In the room was myself, my
boyfriend Ron, Shawn (the guy who's room it was) and two other male
friends, Chris and Jason. Shawn was laying on his bed on his back,
hands behind his head - the head of the bed was pushed up into a corner
of the room, with one side against the outside wall under the window.
The couch that Ron and I were sitting on was facing the foot of the bed -
pushed right up against it, so that we had to put our feet up on the
foot of the bed. And the right side of the sofa, where I was sitting, was also up against
the outside wall under the window. I was leaning against the wall with
my right shoulder, and Ron was leaning against my left side, with his
arm around my shoulders. On the other side of Ron was Jason at the
other end of the sofa (because the sofa was longer than the bed was
wide, he didn't have to put his feet on the bed, but could sit
normally), and Chris was in a chair on the other side of the room.So
there we were - just "vegging out" as we used to say, listening to loud
music, with the lights off except for a small lamp with a red
bulb in it. "Mood lightning" I guess. (Teenagers.)Anyway, I
slipped my hand down between the arm of the sofa and the wall and found
Ron's hand, which was very cold. I interlocked my fingers with his, and
was wondering why they were so cold, when Chris, yelling to be heard
above the music, began to speak to Jason about something. When he did
that, I looked to my left, past Ron and toward Chris, to listen to what
he had to say. While I listened, Ron rubbed my right shoulder, which
felt very nice.I was enjoying his little massage, and only
vaguely paying attention to the conversation, when I thought to myself,
"Wait a minute... something's not right here..."You see... I
realized that Ron was rubbing my right shoulder with his right hand, and
his left hand was on my left knee, so.... whose hand was I holding down
the side of the sofa? Shawn was at the other end of - the head of -
the bed, Jason was at the other end of the sofa and Chris was across the
room!All my focus went to the hand. I had to be wrong! But,
what else could feel like a hand, especially when your
fingers are interlocked like that???I felt the hair stand up all
over my body but was too scared to move or speak. I was kind of
paralyzed. But, it only took a moment for my brain to finally tell my
body to FOR GOD'S SAKE, LET GO OF THAT HAND!I released the hand,
and immediately screamed at the top of my lungs in terror. I scared
Shawn so bad, that he jumped up to a standing position on the bed fast
and smacked his head on the low ceiling. Everyone was on their feet -
I don't even remember climbing along the sofa and off the other side,
but I was suddenly standing - we all were - crying with my head buried
in Ron's chest.The looks on the guys' faces would have been
funny, if I wasn't so terrified. It took a few moments, but they were
finally able to get out of me what had happened.There had been
stories about Shawn's house - that it was haunted - so the guys'
believed me. I was the one who couldn't believe it. I'd been to his
house many, many times and had never seen or heard anything before!
Ever!I wanted proof. They turned on the lights, shut off the
music, pulled the bed and the sofa out from the wall and searched the
whole room. They found nothing.A couple of years later, I found
myself dating Shawn, and there were a couple of little unusual and
unexplained things that happened to me... but NOTHING like that night
when I held hands with a ghost. | 
Haunted Mental Health Hospital in Virginia
by Kevin
(Virginia)
The building was built in 1892. It was originally a school until
it was converted to a mental health facility in the
early 1900's. It's now abandoned. The place is HUGE and very cool if
nothing else.
We did an investigation with two cameras and a
voice recorder. We got multiple EVPs on the recorder upon review. The
first one was on the second floor, when one of us said, "Maybe we should
provoke it", it said, "Or not" in a male voice. None of us said that,
and the voice did not show up on the camera audio(which picks up all 3 of our
voices, even our whispers). We got other EVP later which included
"Yay!" when my friend said his camera was working, one groan, and
another that sounded like a fart (I'm not joking).
Again, all of
these were cross-referenced with the camera audio which picked up
nothing of the sorts (it's an HV30 camera which has a very sensitive
mic.)
The most startling evidence was when we left our cameras
set up inside and left for 20 minutes. Our handycam was left on the
second floor on top of a backpack. The camera tilted considerably up
and down several times over the course of a minute. We were very creeped
out when reviewing this. We're editing the video for posting now so it
will be up soon!!!
By the way the place now has no trespassing
signs up everywhere and the police patrol regularly, so hunt with
caution :)
(Note: Sorry, but I cannot reveal the location of this
property on this site. This is to protect our visitors, the property
and its owners. - Brenda, Webmaster)
Ghosts and Hauntings: It's A Family
Affair
by Ruby Courson
(Bastrop, LA, USA)
My family is no different from any other "normal, albeit slightly
maladjusted" family that lives in Anytown, USA. We just happen to have a
few more "restless" spirits than most. Rarely a day goes by that we
don't get a "visit" from one of our loving yet annoying relatives that
have "passed on." I'll give you a few examples and you can judge for
yourself.
My grandmother died in 1969. (My grandfather also died
in 1969-32 minutes before my grandmother. Both died from massive heart
attacks.)
Since the day that she died if there is any type of
emotional upheaval (illness, death, divorce, etc...) in the homes of
myself or my two sisters you can always smell her cologne. (She always
wore an AVON brand. It came in a small square bottle with a gold and
turquoise label.) When you smell that fragrance there's always a warm,
comforting feeling that comes with it. I guess it's her way of trying
to let us know she's still around.
My mother-in-law died suddenly
in 1990. Shortly after her death my husband and I began to notice
things being moved around. Nothing major. Just minor things. I, as
well as my husband have always had specific places that we would put
keys, jewelry, pocket change, etc . . . we would put things down at
night then the next morning they would be moved. Not just moved over or
exchanged places. The items would be in a completely different part of
the house or even in the car. Also, there was a particular type of
scented candle that I liked to burn but my mother-in-law didn't care for
it. If I lit one of those candles, it would be blown out. No matter
how many times I lit it, it always went out. I could light any other
scented candle and it would burn without a problem. Sometimes if I left
the "offending" candle sitting out, it would fall off the shelf or
table. I guess she was making her preferences known. She also smoked
Salem cigarettes and frequently early in the morning or late at night
the smell of that cigarette was almost overpowering. Several of our
friends and family were witness to this.
My brother passed away
in 1999. On the day of his funeral (the service was scheduled for 2:00
pm. and my two sisters and I were getting ready at three separate
locations), at precisely 1:30 pm we all three were almost suffocated
with the stench of our brother's favorite cologne. (I say stench because
my brother had lousy taste when it came to men's fragrances.) To this
day we often get a whiff of the smell - usually at family gatherings.
My
father-in-law passed away in September of 2008. Since he died
footsteps can often be heard throughout my house. There is no
particular time of day, no particular event, you can just hear him
walking. When I hear them, I usually ask him if he's bored and the
sounds stop.
My last example is about my grandson, Gabriel. He
passed away in April of 2006, at the age of 65 days. Though he wasn't
here for very long he made a BIG impact. The day he was born I gave him
the nickname "Monkey" mainly because he was no bigger than a spider
monkey you would find in the zoo. He died in a hospital that was about
375 miles away from the rest of our family. The only ones that were
there were my daughter and son-in-law, and myself. My husband was en
route but he wasn't there when he died. As I said the rest of the
family was back home. (To try to help clarify the story, my grandson was
in a hospital in another part of the state recuperating from open heart
surgery and his condition took a sudden turn for the worse and he died a
short time after that). My grandson died at 8:45pm on April 20th. At
8:46pm a call came through on my cell phone. It was my sister calling
from 375 miles away. She knew that he was dead. She told me that at
8:45pm our brother that had passed away in 1999, appeared in front of
her and he was holding a baby wrapped in a blue and white baby blanket.
Twenty
days after Gabriel's death my granddaughter (by another daughter)
Makhala was born. As she began to notice her surroundings we would
often see her staring off into "space" then she would laugh or smile.
As time went on she continued to laugh at nothing. (By now my daughter
was getting a little bit worried. They have "special" places for people
that stare into space and laugh at nothing.) Makhala would often put
toys in two seperate piles or push a particular toy away from where she
was sitting. As she began to talk one of her first words was "Monkey".
She would frequently reach out into the air and make hand motions like
she was tickling someone and giggling. Other times she would begin to
squirm and giggle like someone was tickling her. She would always say
"Stop Monkey". On numerous occasions she would share her toys, cookies,
bottles, "with Monkey". I guess some would say that it was a
coincidence but the strange part is noone ever discussed him around her.
It was too painful for his mother.
In the years since he
passed, several family members have talked about seeing a tiny little
boy with blonde hair and blue eyes around our house. Even first time
visitors that don't know anything about Monkey. Sometimes little things
will go missing (especially keys and jewelry) and one of us will ask
Monkey to "put it back" and most of the time it always returns usually
in the same spot it was in.
I can't say for sure that any of
these things add up to "paranormal" occurrences. They aren't scary or
spooky. They really are just comforting.
It's kind of nice
feeling like death really isn't the end, it's just another chapter in a
very long book.
My Haunted Apartment in Brampton
by Emily
(Brampton, Ontario, Canada)
My name is Emily and I have lived in my apartment for 10 years.
Ever
since I moved in strange things have happened. When I first moved in I
saw a black figure go walking down the stairs (it's a two-level
apartment) and go walking into my bedroom. It was as if this figure of a
woman was oblivious to anything going on around her.
To this
day if I shut my bedroom door, it will rattle very loudly as if someone
is trying to get in. Also I have heard loud banging on the walls when I
am the only one home.
Three years ago I had the most convincing
things happen here. My daughter was changing my granddaughter's diaper
and she went to pick up the diaper and it wasn't where she had laid it
down. Then all of a sudden it fell over her shoulder to her lap. Also
around the same time I went to open the kitchen cupboard and my pills
came flying at me! I always keep these pills on the kitchen counter.
Also the cat's toy moved by itself to the other side of the living room.
But the biggest experience I had was I had just come home from
working the afternoon shift, it was about 11:30 pm and I was making a
snack and my phone rang once (the ring it makes when someone is in lobby
wanting in.) It startled me and I turned around and there in front of
me was a sort of silver wavering mass, just like if you look down a road
on a hot summer day. I gasped because it scared me and it disappeared.
Also
one night, just lately, I was laying down on my bed to go to sleep and
it felt like I laid on top of someone and they went right through me and
got up. It made me gasp, sort of took my breath away. It felt weird and
scared me.
Many things have happened I could write a book. I
will be moving soon as they are making these apartments into
condominiums.
Hope you find this interesting.
Thanks
Emily
Bad Dreams
by Jason Ryan Qualls
(Elkhart, Indiana, USA)
It's scary when you think your best friend is going crazy. That's what I
thought about Lara at first. She would tell me things, deep dark things
that no one else knew. Secrets that made chills run up and down my
spine. Then I found out the truth about the bad dreams. And now I'm
worried. . . . Lara kept the dreams to herself for a long time. I
knew something was really wrong with her. Her face had gotten a drawn,
worried look that never went away. And I could hardly remember when I'd
seen her smile last. Then, one morning in English class, I realized how
sick Lara really was. She was sitting at the desk right across from me,
staring out the window and looking like the world had come to an end. I
tore off a piece of paper and wrote her a quick note. It said: "Why
are you acting like somebody died?" Lara jumped when I nudged her
and passed the note. She opened it and seemed to stare at it forever.
Then she looked at me with the most frightened expression I'd ever seen
on anyone's face. Just then, our English teacher asked me to
recite the first stanza of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. I
stumbled on the first line of the poem but finished the stanza without
any trouble. It's one of my favorite poems, but today its eeriness
unnerved me. When the teacher asked someone on the other side of
the room to recite the next stanza, I looked over at Lara again. She
had a note ready and slipped it to me when the teacher wasn't looking. I
unfolded the paper and read the short sentence inside: "There's
going to be a bad accident." Right away, I looked up from
the note to Lara's face. She was staring at me with her big brown eyes full of fear. I looked
back down at the note and read the sentence again. Lara had written it
like a statement of fact, not a guess or question. I wondered what kind
of strange game she was playing with me. I tore off another piece of my
homework paper and wrote: "Are you crazy?" Then I folded it up
and threw it onto Lara's desk. I didn't think Lara could look
any worse than she already did, but I was wrong. As soon as she read my
note, her face twisted up like she was being pinched with pain. She
quickly tore off another scrap of paper and scribbled something on it.
Then she passed me the note without meeting my eyes. As I opened it, I
realized my hands were shaking. "You'll see," the note
said. Lara avoided me in school all the rest of the day. I
couldn't find her at her locker when classes were over, and I decided to
walk home with someone else. That night, I thought about calling her,
but something inside held me back. The next morning, I met Lara's eyes
the minute I walked into English class. She was staring straight at the
door, as though she were waiting for me. But after I walked into the
room, she kept on staring at the same spot. I passed by the teacher's
desk and noticed a substitute teacher was standing there. The whole
class was buzzing with talk. As soon as I slipped behind my desk, the
substitute turned around in front of me. "Your regular English
teacher and his wife was in a terrible car accident last night," she whispered. "And they
were killed," she said sadly. I felt tears welling up in my
eyes for our English teacher. He had been married for only a year.
Suddenly, I felt a shiver pass through my body, and I looked over at
Lara. Her dark eyes were shining like hard jewels. And there was a weird
little twisted smile that played across her face. "See, I'm not crazy,"
she whispered to me. I shrank back from her glittering stare. I
couldn't believe that this was my best friend whom I'd known since
kindergarten. She didn't even seem to feel sorry for our English
teacher. Then the truth hit me like a shock wave. Somehow, Lara
had known about the accident before it happened. She had written about
it in her note yesterday. I felt so sick that I couldn't look at her all
during the rest of the class. I ran from the room before she could get
her books together. Then I hung around with a big group of girls for the
rest of the day so I wouldn't have to talk to her. On the way
home from school, Lara finally caught up with me. I heard her voice call
out my name from down the street, and I wanted to start running. But
instead, I slowed down and tried to stay calm. "Wait," Lara
called again. "I need to talk to you." I stopped and waited for
Lara to catch up. She was panting in a funny way, as though she were out
of breath, when she came up to me. Her eyes looked wild. "Thank you for
being my best friend in the whole world, and I love you for that...
Please keep me in your heart." she said in a shaky voice. Lara's
face twisted up again like something was torturing her inside. "I seen
something horrible in my dreams," she said. "My dreams are of me being
killed from a car accident." All of a sudden, I couldn't stand
the way she was acting anymore. I reached over and grabbed her shoulders
and shook her. "What are you talking about, Lara?" I asked,
staring straight into her cold, shiny eyes. "How do you know about these
horrid things?" Lara pulled away from me and ran off down the street,
never turning around to look back. The rest of the way home, I
tried to decide what I was going to do. I could tell my parents about
the things she said, or I could talk with the school counselor. But what
if they all thought Lara was crazy, too? That night I stayed at
home. I had just finished my social studies project. Finally, I
couldn't stand the thoughts that were crowding my brain anymore. I ran
to the telephone and dialed Lara's number. After two rings, her mother
answered. She told me that Lara couldn't possibly come to the phone.
"She had almost died in a car accident that evening," her mother told me
still crying. Now she was muttering strange things as though she were
delirious. I quietly hung up the phone, and for awhile just stared blankly at the
wall. Then I started to cry and cry. The next day at school, all the
other kids were gossiping about how Lara almost died from a car
accident. I went through my classes in a daze, torn between wanting to
keep Lara's secret and wanting to blurt it to anyone who would listen. Finally,
the last bell of the day rang; and, while I walked home alone, I
decided to tell my parents about Lara's bad dreams. But as soon as I
walked through the front door, I saw my mother waiting in the hallway
with a worried look on her face. "Lara is dying sweetie," my mom
said softly. "She's very ill. And she's been asking for you." I
felt a chill run through me as I dropped my books on the hallway table
and followed my mother out to the car. I wanted to do everything I could
to help Lara, but now I was really afraid. We drove to the
hospital in silence. Mom tried to start conversations, but my mind was
occupied with thoughts of Lara. As I walked into Lara's hospital room, my heart started to pound
at the sight of her on the bed. Plastic tubes were all in her. Her face
had been drained of color, but her eyes were shining like bright little stones with a
glint of red in the very middle. When Lara saw me, she smiled faintly
and beckoned to me to come closer. I walked up to the side of
the bed and leaned over her. But Lara reached up and pulled my head down
even closer to hers. "It says I'm going to die," she whispered
in my ear. "The doctors?" I asked in a trembling voice, afraid
to meet her eyes. "No the dreams," Lara said. "I had dreams
about dying in a car accident." I was shaking now and wanted to
run out of the room. But Lara had been my best friend, and I knew she
needed me. "Not all bad dreams come true Lara," I said, trying to calm her. "And
you're going to get better real soon I promise" BUT PROMISES BECOME BROKEN
AND BAD DREAMS DO COME TRUE. I pulled my head away to look at
her. The little twisted smile gave her pale face a scary expression. Suddenly
she grabbed the back of my neck and pulled my head down next to hers.
Then I understood what she meant. I screamed and pulled my head away.
Then I stared down at Lara as she slumped against the pillow with her
eyes shut and a smile of contentment on her face. That night the
dreams told me that I should say goodbye to Lara, because it would be
the last time I would get to see her alive. Lara was buried a
week later. After that I thought if I stayed awake long enough
and took lots of pills that the bad dreams wouldn't come anymore, but
they always do. I have been having bad dreams for several months now.
And I'm worried. Everything that I dream about comes true. And lately, I
have been dreaming of a horrible car accident. But I can't see the
person in the car clearly. The Bad Dreams are trying to make me
guess who the victim will be. But I think I already know.
Multiple Shadow People Experiences
by Sam
(Clinton, Mississippi)
On Thursday 11/13/2008, I was working alone in a rooftop air
conditioning facility on the campus of Mississippi College, Clinton, MS.
. . I am not sure what time it started but I would suddenly
feel "someone" behind me. When I would turn to see who it might be, I
would see, very distinctly, a dark "shadow" quickly race out of view.I
dismissed it at first, but it continued five or six more times during
my time on the roof. Always the same. I would feel the presence of
someone behind me, then when I would turn, I would see the shadow out
the corner of my eye disappear into nowhere. It wasn't a reflection.
There's hardly any light in the place. There are no windows. It
has never happened before. I have spent the last couple of weeks doing
work there. I had no reason to think the place was haunted when I
casually mentioned the incident to a coworker. Much to my surprise,
this coworker turned white as a ghost himself. Apparently he had his
own experience the same day, in the same building. Also working alone
but in the basement of the facility, my coworker stated he was working
on his laptop in a secluded section of the boiler room when he noticed
the figure of a man reflected in the laptop screen. The figure
disappeared when he turned around to see who was behind him. Like
my experience, he felt the presence of someone behind him, but unlike
my experience, he saw the outline of a person in the screen who simply
wasn't there when he turned around.When I asked around the
college, which was established in 1826, no one heard of any similar
stories but I did learn the campus was a civil war battleground. The
particular building we both were working in also served as a hospital in
the past. Both would explain the presence of ghosts. I am also in the
process of trying to find out if the particular date, 11/13 may be
significant and would explain why the both of us experienced the events
on the same day and in the same building.
Arkansas Ghost Story
by Denise R
(Rogers, AR, USA)
I have so many stories I don't know where to begin. One of the
most fascinating, in my opinion, happened in Scotland, TX, when my son,
Jacob, was five and my daughter Josi, was three.
They shared a
room and, as with all three and five year olds, they could mess it up
pretty good. I put them down for a nap in my room so I could clean
theirs. First, I had to finish the dishes. I was at the kitchen sink
when I heard a toy watch that we had gotten from McDonald's go off. It
was Chucky, from Rugrats, saying (ironically) "You're not too brave!"
over and over. Their room was pretty trashed so I figured the watch had
fallen and was pressed against something. I searched and searched.
Couldn't find it. I waited in the room for a minute hoping it would go
off again leading me to it. Nothing.
I went back to dishes and
within seconds I heard it again. "You're not too brave!", it yelled at
me several times. Again, I searched and searched... nothing. This
happened a couple more times. The last time I went to look I immediately
found it hanging on the doorknob.
Coincidence? Maybe.
I
left it since it was not jammed on something making it go off and it
didn't happen again. I went back to doing the dishes and within a few
seconds heard Jacob's toy laptop computer go into its introduction;
something like "Welcome to (whatever brand it was)! Please choose a
game!". I started thinking something else was happening.
Again,
we are no strangers to the paranormal. I listened to it a few times
before I went and shut it off. It could either be turned off by a button
or by closing it. I used the button... I was curious.
The game
introduced itself a few more times and every time I would turn it off
by the button. It was almost a "game" between me and the computer. Then
after the last introduction it chose a spelling game. "Please spell
(whatever word-I don't remember)". The response was "G-R-N-T". "I'm
sorry, that is incorrect. Please try again." "F-U-R-H". I shut down
the computer by closing it and nervously walked out.
A few
minutes later my daughter woke up telling my about a black shadow man
tickling her from under her pillow named Grant. I thought I was going to
faint. I knew that burning the computer in the burn pile was bad for
the environment and wouldn't get rid of the spirit, but the burn pile is
where it went.
The Lady in White
by Jessica
(Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA)
When I was ten I experienced a paranormal encounter.
I was
going to bed one night and I kept hearing thumping in my room.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. I thought it was a bad dream, so I went back to
sleep.
Then I heard someone whispering my name, "Jessica,
Jessica." I was too terrified to open my eyes.
Then there was a
cold spot on my bed. I opened my eyes and there was a woman who looked
like she was in her 20's wearing a nineteenth century white gown with
blood all over it!! She was a scary figure!!!
She reached for my
neck and started to choke me!!! I screamed as loud as I could!!! When my
dad came in my room, she vanished. When my dad walked out of the room,
she came back.
I grabbed my crucifix that was on my wall and
pointed it at the lady. She screamed and slowly vanished away. Even to
this day I hear the thumping ,and someone calling my name. I will
probably never know who the lady in white was.
Thanks for
reading!!!
My Children See Dead People at Night
by Martha
(Katy, TX, Harris )
This just started yesterday. Last night my son woke up at 3 am
and had seen two ghosts. He described them as one having a eye on top of
his head and the other with red veins . . .
Anyway one said to
him you were sleeping then my son said he wanted to call out for his dad
but that the ghost covered his mouth and he could not speak.
Second
night same thing around the same time my two boys got scared and went
to sleep with my daughters in their room. While they fell asleep my
daughter saw it this time, and said a man was on top of my son just
staring at him and when she wanted to talk she could not. She said with a
blink of an eye it was gone.
Please help any one who knows more
about ghost why are they here around my children at night?
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