Tell me a ghost story

[mollyringle]

On that survey I filled out two days ago, there was a question about whether I believe in ghosts. My answer basically is that I haven't ever seen one, but some part of my mind thinks they're possible. Or, rather, hopes they're possible, because it would suggest life after death and all kinds of interesting physics-related things.

When ten_fifteen filled out the survey, she alluded to a few experiences she couldn't quite explain away. She and her husband (alltimeqb) are rational, reliable people, as far as I know, so I prodded her into relating some of these experiences, and they are genuinely creepy and pretty difficult to account for.

So, the rest of you: do you have any such encounters? Let's do a forum on this. I want only first-hand ghost stories, stuff you personally experienced, not a tale handed down from your grandfather or your mother-in-law (even though those may be cool). Also, feel free to do your best at explaining it - e.g., "But then, I was looking through a pane of glass, so I suppose it could have been a reflection..." - just to make this as scientific as possible.

Banshees, poltergeist, telekinesis, and other strange earthly phenomena are fair game, too; it doesn't have to be an actual visible "ghost." But let's leave Bigfoot and UFO's out of it. We'll do that another time.

P.S. Kev or Kim, say the word and I'll remove that link (and/or your names). You needn't be an exhibit if you don't want to be. :)

Comments

[ladydarkrose.livejournal.com]

Well, not your typical "ghost story", but here's my contribution...

My brother Michael passed in 1990. I always felt especially close to him, though he was 21 years older than me.

At many times over the nearly thirteen years since his death, I've felt that he was very near by in a physical sense.

One rainy April evening in 1997, I was leaving work. At that point in time, I will admit that wearing my seatbelt was something I rarely did - just couldn't be arsed to bother. As I sat in my car, watching my manager put hers on in the car across from mine, clear as anything, Michael's voice was in my ear, saying "You'd better put your seatbelt on, Toots. You never know what could happen." Toots was a pet name he used for me all the time, and one no other has ever called me by.

I put my seatbelt on and left the parking lot. In less than ten minutes, I was involved in a four car accident in which I was later explicitly told that, had I not been wearing my belt, I'd have gone through the windshield and been killed. As it was, I got some very ugly injuries, but I'm still here to talk about it.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Wow. If that's what ghosts do for us, then I definitely hope they hang around. I notice someone else (valarltd below) posted a similar theme of relatives watching out for us, though in a less dramatic situation. That's not spooky so much as sweet, if in a sad way. It's elements like this that make The Sixth Sense not only one of the scariest movies I've ever seen, but also one of the most poignant.

(In other news, hey, is that Sean Astin undressing in your icon? Sweet...)

[ladydarkrose.livejournal.com]

My faith (which I didn't come to until well after this accident happened) practices ancestor veneration. What I have come to realize is that the akhu - the blessed dead - do not simply vanish, especially if there are those around who still remember them. I speak to my brother quite often, tell him I'm thinking of him, that I love him. It's been a while since I've had an experience such as the one I listed here (had several other smaller ones within two or three years after the accident), but I know he's here. The dead know things that we cannot. They are our family, they love us and want to help us if they can. That's not to say there are no malevolent ghosts - obviously there are, though I don't believe the majority of them are the akhu.

And yes, that's Sean Astin gettin' naked in that icon. And that's him in bed in this one ;-) *pets*

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

In some ways, that makes the most sense to me - that relatives would hang around, since they're the people who meant something to us.

These stories seem to be coming from all kinds of people, cutting across all lines - those who normally are spiritual, those who normally aren't; conservatives, liberals; men, women...no definite pattern emerges. Very interesting.

*takes turn petting Sean too* :)