OK I have read this newsgroup alot and I honestly do believe in some sort of spirit world or whatever and I have a few stories of my own to tell but I thought I would just post this one because it is fresh on my mind and it is my Mom's story and it didn't happen to me. So if you think I am crazy, I am not, my mom is. (Just kidding Mom. Love ya...and when can i drop off my laundry?)

I am 23 years old now and haven't lived in my mom and step-fathers house for 2 years. I lived there til I was 18, moved out and then moved back in for 6 months when I was 21. Anyway I grew up in that house (standard split level middle class home) for about 14 years. I moved in when my mother married my stepfather. I lived there with my brother who is I think 32 now and my sister who is 26. Anyway I had your pretty standard childhood. My room was right next to my sisters and my brother had the bedroom in the basement which always seemed kinda lonely. It wasn't until he moved out that I realized it was much easier to sneak out from the basement then it was from the top floor why he wanted that bedroom. For obvious reasons I moved down there about 3 months after he moved out and promptly used the window in the room that opened out to ground level to come and go as I like without my parents knowing. Now then, this is all background. Let me describe the basement bedroom for you. It is on the small side, maybe 100 square feet. It has a decent sized closet that runs the length of one wall. The coolest thing about the room (besides the sneak out capabilities) was a bookshelf that ran around the length of the room. I kept my books, cds, etc. on this. Here is a cheesy diagram.

                    ______________
                    |            |
                    |            |
                    |            |
      window  --->  |            |  <--closet
                    |            |
                    |            |
                    |            |         
                    |            ---              N
                    |              |              |    
                    |              |            W-+-E
                    -------------  |              |
                                                  S

Anyway when I moved down there, I found that the first few nights I slept in the room I had very VIVID dreams. I mean the content were no different than normal (at least that I remember) but they were more REAL than anything I had ever dreamt. Anyway either they went away or I just got used to them. Now I never corroborated these things with my brother so I have no idea if he experienced the same things. Nothing odd or unusual ever ocurred in the room (that I know of) and everything was pretty much peaceful. HOWEVER, when i was getting ready to move out (I was the last one to move out) I found that there was a lot of stuff happening. Things would be missing and I would find them in real odd locations. Like for example a buddy of mine came over for a while watched a movie then when it came time for him to go home he couldn't find his keys. We knew he left them in my room on my dresser (we both had perfect rememberance of this) but they were nowhere to be seen. I drove him home and he left his car in my drive way. A week later, a day before I moved out, I found them in a cup I kept in my room for watering the plants. I didnt put it there and I dont think he wanted to be without a car for a week so he wouldnt put it in there either. Finally I moved out and things were fine. For me anyway. There was a lot of discord in my family for a variety of reasons and a lot of us were really stressed out for awhile. Nobody really talked to each other or anything. Now coming from a pretty warm family (nobody was afraid to show emotions at home) this was very awkward. During this time my mother kept telling me that If i wanted to stop by the house when she wasn't there, remember to lock the door when I left. I told her she was crazy because I never STOPPED at home. (I didn't much care for the place at the time...a lot of shouting etc.) I never put these things together because it seemed there were plausible answers to all the occurences. That was up til what happened last night. If I can believe my mother (and I know I can) she was walking up the stairs from the basement when she went by my old room. She heard a voice, either my brothers or mine, she doesnt know, just say one word- 'Mom?' CLEAR AS A BELL, except for one thing. It sounded like we were 10 or 11 years old. My mother is freaking out about that room now and I haven't told her much if anything about the stuff that has happened to me. I really don't know what to do. I mean she isn't scared or anything, she just wants to know WHAT it is. So here is my request. If anybody has had something like this happen to them or heard about it, please post or write me. If you have some idea about what this could be, tell me that as well. Any mail I get will get a reply, the same goes for a post. I (and my mother) thank you in advance.

MAX

From: sdb22@aol.com (SDB22)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.ghost-stories
Subject: Re: My mom and the Voice
Date: 25 May 1995 11:39:11 -0400

I have had that happen to me in my house, which is about 90 years old. It was originally built as a summer house for New Yorkers (it is in Summit, NJ, on the smallest mountain range in the world, the Watchung Mountains, I swear I am not making this up); the garage used to be a stable/servants' quarters. The servants' quarters is really creepy, probably haunted, but that's a whole other story.

I don't know any of the history of the house except that people named Shilling owned it before my parents did, and before *that* it was the children of the original owners. Anyway....the point is that several times I have felt the presence of a small child in my room. I am very superstitious, suggestible, et cetera, but one night I did see a small boy in my room, sitting against my chest of drawers. I spoke to him, and he looked up but he didn't answer me. After a couple of minutes I looked away and when I looked back he was gone. Other times though - sometimes right before I fall asleep, other times in the middle of the night, but occasionally while I am awake and moving around my room - someone will say my name, very close to my ear and very distinctly. I have also felt someone touch me a couple of times. The first couple of times I was terrified but I get a friendly feeling from whatever it is, like it is just curious.

To make a long story short, I have had the same experience as your mother. How this entity (if I am not imagining it) knows my name, I have no idea. (I have lived in that house my whole life, so I guess it could figure it out). It has manifested itself in other ways but it will say "Sarah" once in awhile, quite clearly,as if to get my attention.

So tell your mom that either she's not crazy or she is, but so am I.

Sarah