I know it's too early for Halloween, but I've got a ghost story for you.
As you may, or may not, know, we live in a nearly 100 year old house. It's a great house. Two-story. The upstairs is a complete 2-3 bedroom apartment with it's own kitchen and bath. Downstairs, where we live is two bedroom/two bath with really large rooms. Daniel bought this house with his ex-wife, Vicki, and has owned it for about 18 years. I moved in in 2002 and ever since I moved in, there has been a ghost.
No one else hears it, feels it or is bothered by it except me. It's not malicious and seems to be caring and reassuring. I think I know who it is/was. It only "appears" in our master bedroom. The word "appears" is in quotes because I have never actually seen it. I sense it, I feel motion if it sits on the bed next to me and once I even heard him talking to me. Yes, the ghost is a man.
Anyway, one morning Daniel got up around 7am and I was still sleepy and not ready to get out of bed. It was hot in the bedroom and he asked if I wanted him to turn the ceiling fan on. I mumbled "no" and groggily rolled over. About 3 to 5 minutes later, the ceiling fan came on. It was running on high speed which we never use. I looked up and around and didn't see or hear Daniel, so I got up and found him in the dining room. I asked him how come he turned the fan on and he said he didn't. I just looked at him and told him that it was on and running on high too. He came in the bedroom and checked for himself, and sure enough - fan on and running.
Daniel knew about all the ghostly encounters I'd had so we discussed what we should do. We came to the conclusion that I should have a talk with the ghost. So I turned off the fan, sat on my side of the bed and told the ghost I understood he was just trying to be helpful and that he cared for me. I recognized his concern and appreciated it, but truthfully, I weirded me out some.
After that "talk" the ghost went away for quite a while. No more sitting on the bed next to me while I was sleeping. No more talking to me in the wee hours of the morning. No more ceiling fan turning on.
Just recently, a ghost is back. I don't think it's the same one. I can tell by the movements and sounds it's a different ghost. It's not scary - well not a lot. Last night Daniel and I went to bed. I read for about an hour then turned the bedside light off. I was reading a paperback, but my Nook is on the nightstand, plugged in and these is a little green light that glows from the plug. Even if I'm so tired the book falls on my face, once I put it down I still have a hard time getting comfortable enough to fall asleep. I turned toward Daniel, then I turned back the other way, facing my night stand and as I did, I saw a shadow come between me and the light from the Nook charger. I was spooked some, but I thought, well the doors were open the other day, maybe a moth got in and was attracted to the light. Yeah, right, really big moth. I watched for a while, huddled under the covers, but didn't see anything else. Daniel was snoring and sleeping soundly and I didn't want to wake him up. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep.
At 4:15 this morning something caused me to wake up. I could hear a strange sound, almost like running water. I lifted up on one elbow to hear more clearly and as I did, I felt Daniel get up from the bed. I said, "I hear a weird noise". He walked through the bedroom door into the next room and I could hear him walk down the hall. Of course it was dark and what I saw was a shadow of him walking out of the bedroom. I was tense, waiting for him to come back and report. Sheba and Shortie sleep between us every night and I could feel them next to my back under their blankets. Sheba was making little snuffly sounds and I turned around to pat her and there was Daniel. Fast asleep, in bed. He was making the snuffly sounds. I almost woke him up then, but he works so hard and he does have a hard time sleeping sometimes I just didn't want to wake him. I just laid back down with the covers up to my chin looking, watching, straining my ears for anymore noises. Nothing happened. Eventually, I went back to sleep.
When we both got up later this morning, I told him about what had happened. He got up earlier than I did this morning and he told me that when he walked past the kitchen he heard two distinct thumps like someone setting something heavy on the counter-top. He looked in the kitchen and didn't see anything, so just put it out of his thoughts until I told him my ghost story.
So there you have it. Our house, or maybe just me, is hainted! Am I scared? Not really, sometimes freaked out a bit, but it seems like a friendly ghost, at least a protective one, so I won't call an exorcist yet!
