Are Ghosts Real?

Tis the season, Halloween will be here before you know it. What better time for a discussion of those scary, haunting spirits?

Graveyards, haunted houses, ancient archaeological sites, your house! Ghosts, goblins, spirits, angels, ghouls, phantoms. No matter the name, they have been with us since the beginning of time. The list is endless of where these pesky spirits will appear, when you least expect it. Some of you may not admit to it, but you've listened to the late night radio show on the AM dial, Coast to Coast. This is the time of year when the host will have several shows on the paranormal. Hundreds of listeners call in with their personal experiences with ghosts.

Are all of these witnesses nut cases? One sandwich short of a picnic? If you listen to them tell of their experiences, they sound sincere, some still scared, even years later. Everyone knows the feeling of the hair on your arms standing straight up. The shiver that goes right up your spine. There is an old expression regarding that feeling, “Someone is walking over your grave”. Have you experienced the feeling that someone was looking at you only to turn around and no one is there. That creeps me out.

I have been fortunate to live in what we call the mystery house. Our spirit visitors love to play pranks. Lately it's been moving the dog and cat food into the middle of the kitchen floor. Not an easy feat even for the living, the bowels are wedged into a space, not easily moved, not to mention moving them about 5 feet without spilling a drop. I've been sitting at my desk and watched items fly off the desk and land on the floor behind me. How about walking into a room and find that your drapes have been re-hung, inside out?

Scared? No. Occasionally annoyed? Yes. During a particularly active period of ghost activity, it can start to get unnerving but it never gets dull. We have had people in our lives who were pranksters who have now passed on, so we chose to believe that it's one of our loved ones, letting us know that we are not alone.

Our pets see the ghosts frequently. One of them will start barking at the corner of the room and then sit and stare at it. We can't see a thing, but the animals know someone is there. I can actually say that I have seen a ghost, spirit, nonliving person, whatever you are comfortable calling them. I looked out my bedroom door into the next room and saw a woman standing there in a long antique beige dress. It had a high collar with lace on the bodice and it draped on the floor. She had her hair piled on top of her head. As I stood there, staring with my mouth open, she started to fade and finally left as quietly as she had appeared.

Am I crazy? No more so than you. We can learn from those around us. The living and the “not quite” living. After all, aren't we all just spirits? Some still in these aging bodies and some who have been liberated.

As Halloween approaches, let the little Trick or Treaters, ghosts, goblins and scary monsters have their goodies and enjoy their childhood while they can. The real show is all around you, if you keep an open mind and heart. Boo!