Part 1
Ghost stories from tour groups seem to come and go, but like so many other things, they seem to come in waves. A few Sundays back I had a tour group with three excellent ghost stories, and during the evening tour there were more. I will split them up into separate posts.
A young man from Austin told me that growing up he spent his summers in Fall River, Massachusetts at his grandmother's old house. He slept in a room up in her attic which was suprisingly, not too creepy. The only thing he remembered was seeing a big black dog in the corner of the room, like a Rottweiler, always watching him.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Sage in the closet
Part 2
The woman who was visiting with the young man from Austin had trouble with her closet. She lived in a trailer, I believe in New York or Long Island, and she would see orbs in her closet. As far as I could tell it was during those half awake times of the day, out of the corner of your eye, not so much fully awake and head on. She didn't have any trouble anywhere else in the house. Although, she had a few pagan friends who'd seen figures in her trailer and told her to burn sage. "It didn't do anything," she told me. But she'd only done it once, no surprise it takes time and repetition to get results.
The woman who was visiting with the young man from Austin had trouble with her closet. She lived in a trailer, I believe in New York or Long Island, and she would see orbs in her closet. As far as I could tell it was during those half awake times of the day, out of the corner of your eye, not so much fully awake and head on. She didn't have any trouble anywhere else in the house. Although, she had a few pagan friends who'd seen figures in her trailer and told her to burn sage. "It didn't do anything," she told me. But she'd only done it once, no surprise it takes time and repetition to get results.
Upstate New York
Part 4
That evening...
I hear that upstate New York is lovely, driving through I must agree. One of these days I hope to stop. But on my busy Sunday a few weeks back I had a family from there, although they had a Seattle connection too. People move around so much these days.
The young man in the group, while living in a house in Upstate New York, had been at home, walking down the second floor hallway, a narrow old hallway, and suddenly he felt compelled to turn around. Behind him a man walked out of the wall, carrying an axe, looked at the kids, and continued through the opposite wall.
One of the women in the group said that when her son was young, 4 or 5, and not reading yet, they had walked through an old grave yard in Washington State. There were leaves everywhere, and the graves were really old, late nineteenth century. Her son started talking to someone, though it was just the two of them. She asked him who he was talking to and he gave her a name. Then she asked how old the boy was and her son told her. On a hunch, she moved the leaves on the grave he was standing next too. The name was the same and the dates matched the age.
That evening...
I hear that upstate New York is lovely, driving through I must agree. One of these days I hope to stop. But on my busy Sunday a few weeks back I had a family from there, although they had a Seattle connection too. People move around so much these days.
The young man in the group, while living in a house in Upstate New York, had been at home, walking down the second floor hallway, a narrow old hallway, and suddenly he felt compelled to turn around. Behind him a man walked out of the wall, carrying an axe, looked at the kids, and continued through the opposite wall.
One of the women in the group said that when her son was young, 4 or 5, and not reading yet, they had walked through an old grave yard in Washington State. There were leaves everywhere, and the graves were really old, late nineteenth century. Her son started talking to someone, though it was just the two of them. She asked him who he was talking to and he gave her a name. Then she asked how old the boy was and her son told her. On a hunch, she moved the leaves on the grave he was standing next too. The name was the same and the dates matched the age.
I'm going now
Part 3
Along with the man and his ghost dog and the woman with the crowded closet, I had a couple visiting from California. Only the man had grown up on the West Bank of New Orleans. He said that years ago his grandfather and his father were in the hospital at the same time, same hospital. His father was having surgery and under deep anesthesia when his grandfather passed away on the floor above him.
When his father woke from the anesthesia they told him the grandfather had died. He said, "I know."
When his father was under the grandfather had appeared at the foot of his bed and tweaked his toe, just like the old man had done every morning of his childhood.
"Hey, I'm going now, you want to come?" he said.
"No, I'm gonna stay here."
"Okay."
And he was gone.
Along with the man and his ghost dog and the woman with the crowded closet, I had a couple visiting from California. Only the man had grown up on the West Bank of New Orleans. He said that years ago his grandfather and his father were in the hospital at the same time, same hospital. His father was having surgery and under deep anesthesia when his grandfather passed away on the floor above him.
When his father woke from the anesthesia they told him the grandfather had died. He said, "I know."
When his father was under the grandfather had appeared at the foot of his bed and tweaked his toe, just like the old man had done every morning of his childhood.
"Hey, I'm going now, you want to come?" he said.
"No, I'm gonna stay here."
"Okay."
And he was gone.
Way Out There
(This is from April 27th)
Lower Brule is a new reservation to me. When I think of South Dakota reservations, I think of Pine Ridge and Rose Bud. But tonight a woman who lived on Lower Brule came on the tour. "There are a lot of stories out there," she said. Not a surprise, but not something I'd heard much about. Though I must confess, I feel I've met a lot more people from reservations out west then your average New Orleans guide. And then again I might be diluting myself. She didn't have any personal stories. But she did say that she worked in an alternative school out there, and she had one student who never got enough sleep. Hard to believe that she only had one student short on rest. But this girl seemed even more exhausted than her peers. The woman told her "Look, you need to get some more sleep at night." The girl closed her eyes and shook her head. "I try. Really I try. But in the middle of the night a boy comes and wakes me up. He spends all night dribbling his basketball and I can't sleep."
Lower Brule is a new reservation to me. When I think of South Dakota reservations, I think of Pine Ridge and Rose Bud. But tonight a woman who lived on Lower Brule came on the tour. "There are a lot of stories out there," she said. Not a surprise, but not something I'd heard much about. Though I must confess, I feel I've met a lot more people from reservations out west then your average New Orleans guide. And then again I might be diluting myself. She didn't have any personal stories. But she did say that she worked in an alternative school out there, and she had one student who never got enough sleep. Hard to believe that she only had one student short on rest. But this girl seemed even more exhausted than her peers. The woman told her "Look, you need to get some more sleep at night." The girl closed her eyes and shook her head. "I try. Really I try. But in the middle of the night a boy comes and wakes me up. He spends all night dribbling his basketball and I can't sleep."
My Haunted Kid
(This is from April 21th)
It is Navy week and there are a few ships docked on the river, including an amazing one from Indonesia full of beautiful teak carvings. The French Quarter is full of men and women in uniform, though I haven't had any join me on a tour: last night I had a lot of family groups with me. One was a family from Tennessee. Their son looked like he might be in the military, although he wasn't dressed for it and they never mentioned anything. His mother told me he was haunted. Wherever they went, if she snapped a picture of him there would be an orb in it. Once they'd visited Colonial Williamsburg and he said, "Mom, take a picture over my shoulder." It was dark out and he wasn't close to any buildings or light fixtures. In Colonial Williamsburg it gets really dark. Just a kid in a black hoodie in the dark, she snapped the picture.
Next to him there were three orange figures silhouetted. They looked just like kids in hoodies.
It is Navy week and there are a few ships docked on the river, including an amazing one from Indonesia full of beautiful teak carvings. The French Quarter is full of men and women in uniform, though I haven't had any join me on a tour: last night I had a lot of family groups with me. One was a family from Tennessee. Their son looked like he might be in the military, although he wasn't dressed for it and they never mentioned anything. His mother told me he was haunted. Wherever they went, if she snapped a picture of him there would be an orb in it. Once they'd visited Colonial Williamsburg and he said, "Mom, take a picture over my shoulder." It was dark out and he wasn't close to any buildings or light fixtures. In Colonial Williamsburg it gets really dark. Just a kid in a black hoodie in the dark, she snapped the picture.
Next to him there were three orange figures silhouetted. They looked just like kids in hoodies.
The pile in the attic
I am just starting to emerge from the madness of final exams and grading. The last few weeks it has been impossible to focus on posting, but I have been collecting.
A woman from Columbus Mississippi came on the tour Sunday, on a girl's weekend with a friend. She said when she was growing up she would complain to her parents about someone coming in her room at night. Her brother told their parents he prayed with a man every night. Her mother would often hear crying upstairs and come to check on them only to find them fast asleep. And other times she would here a music box, one that they did not have. I'm not sure if the hauntings were what motivated her family to move or not, but when they did pack up and leave, they found all the pieces to the children's toys, hopelessly lost for all the time they lived in the house, plied up neatly in the attic.
A woman from Columbus Mississippi came on the tour Sunday, on a girl's weekend with a friend. She said when she was growing up she would complain to her parents about someone coming in her room at night. Her brother told their parents he prayed with a man every night. Her mother would often hear crying upstairs and come to check on them only to find them fast asleep. And other times she would here a music box, one that they did not have. I'm not sure if the hauntings were what motivated her family to move or not, but when they did pack up and leave, they found all the pieces to the children's toys, hopelessly lost for all the time they lived in the house, plied up neatly in the attic.
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