Ghosts and Spirits – Do You Believe?

I know we just wrapped up Halloween, but this is a topic I could debate any time of the year. In fact, I was just talking to a group of friends about this, and as it turned out, we all share different beliefs. But superstitions and religions aside, I have heard too many stories – some spooky and some comforting – to not question otherwise.

I’ll share with you a couple of stories that really make me go, “Hmm.” And then I’d love to know what you think. It is all just coincidence or hopeful thinking? Or is there really something to be said for these supernatural signs?

This first story leans somewhat to the spooky side. The last house we lived in was over 100 years old in Washington Park, the oldest neighborhood in Winston-Salem and one that is rich with ghost stories. Shortly after we moved in to that house, we were told by our neighbors that they spotted a “ghost” in our house when our house was sitting vacant several years back. Our houses were really close to each other, and supposedly they saw a man (in 1920s garb) walking up our staircase in the middle of the night. (My neighbor was getting a glass of water from her kitchen sink – and her kitchen window looked right into the window by our staircase). She said she saw this image a few times going up and down the stairs – and because it looked so real – she honestly thought it was a homeless man living in the house. She called the police to investigate, but they found no evidence.

Fast forward to us living in the house. At the top of that staircase were just two rooms: my daughter’s room and the guest room. One night I slept in the guest room bed with my then two-year-old daughter because she had been sick. Very early the next morning (just as light was coming into the room), my daughter woke up, looked at the door and innocently asked, “Mommy, why is there a man standing by that door?” I shot up in bed when I heard her ask that, but of course I did not see anything.

A few months later I told this story to friends visiting from out-of-town, forgetting how spooked out my girlfriend gets over ghost stories. She and her husband slept in that same guest bed, and the next morning, she swore she woke in the middle of the night with the sensation that a large man was laying on top of her, suffocating her. Of course, to this day, I tell her it must have been her husband! LOL! But after what happened to me in that same room, I can’t help but wonder…Hmmm…

This next story is much more touching and it really makes me want to believe. Almost 12 years ago my brother’s wife’s sister, Chrissy, was tragically killed on her road bike. She was an avid triathlete and was out on a routine training ride. At her funeral they played Bob Marley’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” as a tribute to Chrissy, who was not only a big Marley fan but she and her husband, Phil, had just been married in Jamaica and they both loved the island. Shortly after Chrissy died, Phil (also an avid triathlete) went to Hawaii to support his friend who was competing in the Ironman Triathlon. On the way to the race, Phil and his friend were listening to an AM talk radio station – one that never plays any music. But as they pulled into the race parking lot, the station – with no explanation – started to play “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” I still get goose bumps every time I tell this story!

Then, just a few years later, my sister-in-law, Carolyn (Chrissy’s sister), gets pregnant with her fourth child. She openly expressed how much she wanted a little girl (she already had three boys). Her due date was mid-September and she had carried to term with her first three, so she fully expected to do the same with her fourth. But for some unknown reason, Carolyn went into labor a few weeks early and delivered her daughter on August 22, the same day Chrissy died. Add chills now to my goose bumps!

So what do you think? Were those signs or was it mere coincidence? And did my neighbor, daughter and friend all come in contact with the ghost in my house – or do they all just have active imaginations? Do these instances make you go, “Hmmm” too?