Hello, All....I've been lurking in the corners for a while now, and have finally decided that the corners, although safe, can be dull. I would like to share a story with you, one of the many I have had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your views) to have experienced. Before I begin, however, I want to state that I am utterly fascinated by ghostly phenomena, but am uncontrollably frightened by the prospect of having another experience. I'll begin with my first....

As a very young child (around 3 or 4) in the late 1960s, my family lived in a rural Georgia town not far from Atlanta. My father is a minister, and was the senior pastor of a small church in this town. Our home was a one story, brick structure in the middle of nowhere. A wonderful place for a child, with fields to play in and trees to climb.

One of my most vivid memories involves what I now describe as possibly supernatural. I would frequently get out of my bed and climb into the large, comfortable bed of my parents. My father and mother would let me sleep there for a while, and then usher me back into my room for the rest of the night. I remember getting out of my bed one night to begin this ritual, when I saw a man come through the window. Now, this window was not open, and the man did not crawl through, he just came through the window. I must have been stunned, or too young to know better, but I just stood there looking up at this man in my room. I don't recall any fear. The man said, "Go back to bed". Well, he being a grown-up, I did what he asked. At this point, he sat in a rocking chair and began to slowly rock, and he talked with me until I drifted to sleep.

This happened more than once. I told my mother about the intruder and called him my "blue friend". To this day, she will laugh about her reaction to my friend. She seemed to have taken a "yeah, right, that's nice" approach. I even remember being sick one night, and telling the man that I was only going to the bathroom. He obliged, and I got into my parents bed anyway. Nothing was ever said by him about this incident later.

We only lived in this house for a year before moving to Atlanta. Once we left, the visits stopped. If the story ended here, I would recount it as a cute childhood fantasy with more basis in the dream world than the real one. The rest of the story, I don't remember, but my mother remembers it very well.....

She tells me of a trip to the Library in Atlanta a while after we moved. My sister and I would get books, and my mother would read them with us. Evidently, I picked a book that dealt with American war history. Mom tells me that she tried to explain the different wars, what they were about, etc. When we came upon a picture of Civil War soldiers, she said that I pointed to a picture of a Confederate soldier in uniform and, matter of factly, told her that was what my blue friend was wearing. Dumbfounded, she had me recount my experience to her and was amazed when I compared the uniform items in the picture with the items I remember the man wearing. She says that, as far as she knows, I had never seen this uniform before. In addition, I had not mentioned the blue friend since before we moved to Atlanta. Why now if not for the purpose of telling her about the uniform?

Was this a ghost? Well....there is no telling. There are many plausible explanations to this occurrence. It could very well have been fantasy. I like to think, however, that it was a supernatural experience.

I live in Alabama now, but a year ago, I was driving down I-75 from Atlanta, and realized that I was passing the exit which would lead me to this town. I considered strongly about taking that turn and trying to find the house. But, being consumed with the present, I didn't choose to take that trip. I hope I will next time.

Thanks for letting me share with you. I hope it was entertaining. I have a few more if you would like to hear them. There was a time in my life when I thought I had some type of ghost magnet on me!

Happy hauntings

John Dantzler
jadantz@ix.netcom.com