From: Anonymous
To: obiwan@ghosts.org
Subject: 2 stories
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2002 2:37 AM
Location: Southern California
here are a couple of experiences i have had. i would like to remain anonymous.
Story 1
When I was in high school, I became best friends with a guy that lived at the other end of our street. It was a cul-de-sac in a new development in Southern California. His family had just moved there from back east, New England. My friend's mother and sister claimed that they had a ghost there and that the ghost had followed them. My friend said it was true. But I never had any direct experience for a couple of years. One day, his mom told us a little more. She said that she knew the ghost was there because she saw him looking at her after she woke up from a nap on the couch one afternoon. He was a high school boy and he was wearing a letterman's jacket. She said that the ghost was a boy that died in a car accident back east. My friend's sister said they attracted all kinds of ghosts, but she didn't seem afraid of most of them. I took all of this with a grain of salt. One night, about two years after meeting this family and feeling comfortable in their home, we about 4 of us guys, my friend's sister, and his mother, will eating pizza downstairs and playing a board game. We heard heavy footsteps upstairs and then the toilet flushed. At first, we just thought it was one of us (we had been drinking beer with our pizza). After a couple of seconds, we all looked at each other and realized that we were all there and there was no one else in the house. A year later, my friend's family went on vacation and they asked me to feed their goldfish. I agreed. One day, I let myself in to the house. It was late afternoon and a little shadowy. It was the first time I had ever been in there alone. I felt really creeped out, like someone was watching me. I thought I was just imagining things, but I wanted to just feed the fish and get out of there ASAP. I went upstairs to my friend's room where the fish were. My heart was pounding. I can't think of any reason for it. I was just afraid. The house seemed sooo quiet. I felt like I could hear my heart, my breathing and the snapping of my joints as i walked across the thick carpet. I got to his room at the end of the hall upstairs. His blinds were closed and the room was a little dark. There was a big mirror over the dresser where the fish tank sat. As I unscrewed the lid of the fish food, I think I saw something move in the mirror behind me. I was totally freaked out. I couldn't see anything, but I felt like somebody or something wanted to protect the house and that it didn't want me there. I just dumped a bunch of food in the bowl so I wouldn't have to come back and I ran like hell to get out of there. I had never been so scared. So far, I can admit that it may have all been in my head. I didn't actually see anyone in the room. Anyway, next day -- me and several of the guys went to my friend's house to get the street hockey equipment out of the garage. The family was still away. We opened the garage door and got the stuff out. It was a bright and sunny day, the garage was bright, and I was with 3 of my buddies so I wasn't afraid to go in. We played for about ten minutes when I felt more and more like someone was watching me out of my friend's bedroom window. I looked up there and the blinds were open. I thought I saw a dark shape move in the window and I could see it against part of the window on the opposite wall. It was really fast and suddenly I felt like I had a shock or a pinched nerve in my shoulder. I don't know what the other guys saw, but we all just looked at each other wide-eyed and said, "let's get out of here!" we ran in and quickly put all the stuff in the garage and got out of there. Was it the overactive imagination of teenage boys? I truly don't know, but I am open to the possiblity that it was the ghost. One more thing happened, and this, to me is the strongest of the three events. I went to my friend's garage with another friend on our street. We had permission to work out with his weight set while they were away. It was night, but we went into the garage and left all the lights on and the door open for fresh air (and in case we had to make a hasty exit). We worked out for about 15 minutes without incident. Then, when I was doing the bench press, my friend was spotting me. There was not too much weight on it. I was doing 12 reps per set and I was pausing with my friend directly over me. I was holding the bar with the weights on it completely horizontal. There was no lean. And my friend was spotting me carefully with his hands above the bar. Suddenly, all the weights on one side of the bar flew off. They did not slide off. They flew off. We were looking at eachother with wide eyes and we screamed and ran out of there as fast as we could. That was the last time we went there without my friends family being there. I never felt any strange or spooky feeling when the family was home.
Story 2
I read a book about an island in the pacific. I don't want to say which one it is, because I feel like I could get in trouble. Anyway, the island was known by the local people as forbidden except to those who the spirits accepted. After I first arrived, I was befriended by some local people who took me under their care. I felt very at home and welcomed here. The island, which I had never visited before, in a very strange way, felt familiar. My new local friends fed me and watched over me closely. They would not accept any money for their hospitality. They taught me local songs and traditions and invited me to their campfire every evening. Previously, this island had been a place for the tribal shamans of this archipeligo to gather and this is also where they were buried. I went to a secluded valley where there was a beautiful beach, a pond and a waterfall. There was a trail from the beach to the waterfall that followed a rocky stream. The stream was clearly audible from all points along the trail that meandered next to it. There were some signs along the path and it was clearly marked, so I would not think it was easy to get lost. After walking about 10 minutes, I thought I should have arrived at the pond. Suddenly, I didn't know where I was. The stream seemed far away. In fact, I couldn't hear it at all. There were trees all around me, and I was off the trail. I looked around to get my bearings and I saw some black volcanic stones stacked up in little pyramids. This, I later learned, was the native temple/burial style. I walked among several of these burial sites. There was no one there and I could only here the sounds of the forest. It was peaceful, and I was not afraid of any presence, only I was a little perplexed as to how I wound up here and off the trail. I didn't know where I was. I thought I heard the stream again, so I walked in that direction, but I could not find it. Suddenly, I was again among some other burial sites. I heard the stream again in a totally different direction. This happened three or four times. Finally, after seeing alot of these burial sites, I found myself on the trail again, near the pond. I have now idea how I wandered of such a clearly marked trail. It was as if the forest was alive and it directed me where it wanted me to go. The trees were very disorienting. I had no sense of direction. I usually have a keen sense of direction and can often find my way by "feel." Anyway, I enjoyed looking at the pond for a few minutes, but I didn't feel like swimming after all. I went back to the beach where my tent was. I talked to some of the local friends I had met and they explained that that forest was the sacred grove of the shamans. It was their burial ground. They told me the island spirits accepted. They said that people had vanished in there in the past. I don't know why they "accepted" me. But I feel a certain awe or respect for that island and the spirits I felt there. I will never forget the kindness, hospitality and sincere warmth of the people of that island.