I swear that this is a true story as far as my overactive mind can tell.

The Charthouse in Simsbury, CT is a restaurant with a well-deserved reputation for being haunted. It has been written up in many local newspapers.

About five years ago, my fiance (now my husband) and four of our friends decided to go there. I was intrigued by the stories I had heard. It is a very old, Colonial era building with a lot of charm. Old woodwork and fireplaces galore.

We got there early, and to my chagrin, we got seated in a part of the restaurant that was completely modernized. There was only one other couple, and they were seated at the opposite end of the dining room. I was seated on an aisle with no one behind me. It is important that you understand our physical location before I tell you what happened next.

We were having a great time and the food (especially the bread) was out of this world (excuse the ghostly pun here). I was leaning forward to get another piece of bread when I felt a sharp jab to my rearend. My first reaction was total surprise and I didn't mention it right away. I thought maybe that part of the chair had gotten me. The chair was one of those spindleback types but I was leaning completely out of the chair when this happened. I finally told my friends and we all had a laugh about it, especially since the ghost in this restaurant is supposed to be female. They said I was goosed by a ghost, but it felt more like I was kicked lightly. Perhaps she thought I was having too much bread! After that happened, I looked over my shoulder for the rest of the night.

This really happened to me, and although it is a humorous experience, it still makes me wonder.

More ghostly stuff:

John Stone's Inn in Ashland, MA is another well known haunted place you can visit. I have been there on numerous occasions and nothing specific has happened to me. It is under new managment, and the food is great. If you ever get a chance to go there, I highly recommend it. The staff will usually have some good stories to tell. You can read about the inn in the Ghostly Register by Arthur Myers. It is also written up in a book called Haunted Happenings (think that is the title). The latter has some great pictures. Anyway, this book talks about how these ghosthunters got these pictures using infrared film. I went to a great deal of trouble to get this film as well as to find a place to develop it. All I can tell you is that we had a few weird experiences when we were taking the picture. Sometimes the flash wouldn't work even though the batteries were in good working order. And in the upstairs dining room, there is a cold spot that cannot be explained. You can walk all around this area and the room feels normally heated, but when you reach this particular corner of the room it is like you are drenched in ice water. It really gives you the willies. The other point of interest is that the authors of the latter book got a picture of John Stone in a location on the first floor that is directly below this room and the cold spot. The pictures had a lot of weird light reflections, but nothing that can't be explained away.

My last apartment may have been haunted by a cat. The people who lived in the house before us had a lot of cats. There was even a cat's pawprint set in the cement on the back steps. I have two cats, and they have this habit of jumping on the foot of the bed and crawling between us before they slide under the covers. One night, I felt what I thought to be one of my cats exhibit this behavior. I lifted the covers up like I always do and waited for the little beast to slide under. Well, nothing was there! I got creeped out because I checked under the covers and both kitties were sound asleep. I suppose I could attribute this to being in a drowsy state, but I swear I was wide awake. Another time my husband thought he saw a dark shape on the dining room table out of the corner of his eye. It was a cat shaped shadow but when he looked directly at it it was gone. Our male cat had a habit of jumping on the table, so maybe it was his imagination.

Final notes on weird happenings: Once when I was a child, it was very hot outside. I was sleeping with my head by the window to catch even the slightest breeze. One night, I heard this rustling outside the window and then something started calling my name over and over. I started screaming for my mother. I have never been so terrified in my life. I was a small child, but I swear I was not asleep and even telling this is giving me the creepy crawlies. I know the imagination can play tricks on you, but this still makes me shudder. There have been other times when I was in that house that I heard someone call my name but no one was there. It was usually only uttered once and nothing was ever there. These other incidents did not scare me that much. It was almost like the person knew me :-).

This is everything that has ever happened to me. I totally believe in ghosts and have friends that have had some mighty weird experiences. Although I have had a lifelong fascination with our ectoplasmic friends, I would actually prefer not to have these experiences.

BTW, great story on the slumber party.

ELK