A Ghost Story

Since I was a young girl I have had an interest in the paranormal and unexplained.   I can thank my grandmother's old house for that.  There have been many stories told by various family members about their personal experiences in that house.  I have my own stories and even photos that I am going to share.

I don't know exactly when this ghost decided to reside in my grandmother's house.  In the early 80's, maybe even the late 70's, is when the stories started to buzz around the family.  One of the earliest tales was told by my father and uncle.  It was a stormy night and the the wind was picking up.   Suddenly a gust of wind blew the bathroom door wide open.  My father and uncle, who were sitting on the couch, were astonished to see a glowing hand on the door.   As fast as the wind came it blew into the next room and the hand was gone. 

The supernatural activity increased so much that my mother decided that we should purchase an Ouija board and see if we could make contact with this entity. (note: I would never use one of these things today...)  I was only eleven years old at the time so my memory of everything that happened that day is a bit foggy, however,  these are the questions and answers that are still vivid in my mind. 

Are you here to protect Grandma and Grandpa? YES
Who sent you here?  G-O-D
What are you protecting them from? D-E-A-T-H

I am getting the goose bumps all over again as I replay that scene from my memory.   Another recollection that is still clear as day in my mind is the time that my mother, my grandfather and I were standing in the kitchen around the table having a conversation.  Suddenly, the glass cover from the light fixture fell and broke into a million pieces as it crashed into the kitchen table.  Needless to say, we were all very startled.

If there was any emotional activity, the ghost would become very active.  I can remember a time that I was upset and crying to my mother and the bathroom door opened by itself.  The most memorable emotional time that it showed up was when my grandfather was having health problems and we had to rush him to the hospital.  As we were walking to the front door we passed the steps to the second floor.  It was at that moment we felt a cold breeze and heard the stairs creak as though someone was ascending them.

In 1986, a year after my grandfather passed away, Grandma decided that it was time to move into a smaller place.  The family gathered to help load the U-haul with Grandma's belongings.  My mother gave me her camera and told me to take one last picture of the house.  It was a sentimental time since that was where she grew up.  I took the picture, we finished loading the truck and took off to Grandma's new apartment.  A week or so later, we picked up the pictures from being developed.   As my mother and I are glancing at the home that was now a memory, we were shocked to discover an orange figure in the doorway of the house.  It was the very last picture that was taken of the house!  The ghost made an appearance to say goodbye to us! 

There are many other stories I could tell about this house, but those were just a few that were fresh in my mind.  Each of my family members has their own story to tell.  I doubt that any of them are skeptics.

Many folks will look at this picture and think that this is a farce or they may assume that someone or something was in the doorway, but this was not the case.  Even I felt disbelief when I saw the picture for the first time.  We immediately inspected the negative to see if there was some sort of defect, but the image was on the negative as well.

Are you a skeptic or a believer?  It is my belief that the soul is the energy that fuels the body.  I like to compare the body to a computer and the soul to electricity.  Without electricity the computer is useless, just as the body is without the soul.  I believe that a ghost is a soul who is lost and may have been so attached to the physical world while it was alive that it does not realize that it has passed on.  It is unfortunate that a soul can be so preoccupied with the earthly life that it is willing to miss the heavenly realm of God.  Had I had a better understanding at the time I would have said a prayer to try to help this soul back onto its spiritual path.