True Ghost Story
What is Halloween without ghost stories? Do we know? No. It’s nothing. I don’t know too many good ones, so it’s a good thing that Jess from Literary, etc. is good at writing them! Thanks, Jess!
Firstly, special thank you to Amy, Alyssa, and Brittany for letting me participate in their A Fortnight of Fright feature. I’ve always had an interest in the paranormal and therefore it seems fitting that I’m here to tell you a true life ghost story and share a few thoughts regarding orbs.
I spent my childhood in a town outside El Paso, Texas: Anthony. We lived at the end of Fifth and Franklin where Franklin was the boundary between Texas and New Mexico. In this house, I grew up hearing tales from neighbors about how right outside our living room window there used to be a huge tree where public hangings would occur. I always left the room when they’d start talking about various sightings. I’m not sure if the house itself was haunted, but based on a few things that happened in that house, I’d have to say yes it was.
I was about ten years old and my dad was out of town. My sister and I were in the living room watching TV while my mom was putting away laundry. I heard what sounded like someone jumping on her bed. I dismissed it at that moment thinking she might have placed things on her bed causing it sound like someone was jumping. Here’s the thing-my parents didn’t have a squeaky mattress or bed. A few minutes later, I heard it again but this time heard some giggling. My little sister was sitting next to me and she was coloring so I knew it wasn’t her and my mom was now in the kitchen washing dishes. I started to feel uncomfortable and whatever was jumping on my parents’ bed was not stopping. Then my sister heard it and we both began to freak out. We told my mom who thought we were crazy and ordered us back to the living room. I heard the giggling again and went to look in her room. I didn’t see anything in the dark and when I turned on the lights nothing was there. I went back into the living room where it started it up again and I knew my mom couldn’t deny what my sister and I heard because she ordered me to go to the neighbor next door and ask Mrs. Balcorta to come over with her bible while my sister called my grandparents to come over. What exactly happened afterwards is a blur to me. All I remember is my grandmother coming to the door (she was a religious woman) and my grandpa taking my sister and me to their house in El Paso (a 15 minute ride). The next day, my mom told me it was a cricket they found her bed. Sure.
It’s pretty easy to discount what my sister and I heard that night as nothing. Franklin Street was in a way a main street in Anthony and maybe it was traffic or the wind. I don’t buy it and here’s why. About two years prior to the bed incident, my mom was out of town dealing with a family emergency and my dad went to bed shortly after checking on me and my sister. The next morning I overheard him telling my mom about what had happened to him. He had just gotten into bed and was drifting to sleep when he felt someone sit on the bed and lay down next to him. Nothing scares my dad, but he clearly was shaken up and to this day, when he tells the tale his voice shakes. He said whatever it was that laid down next to him he moved closer to the side of the bed and just huddled tight in his corner.
There wasn’t something right with the house. My mom says that when her and my dad were getting ready to move into the house, my grandmother held prayer gatherings on the property and my mom said she felt a force or something that wanted to prevent them from getting in the house. As a teen, I heard tales of devil worshipers living in the house prior to us and there was rumbling of a pentagram being found in the house (something I’ve never been able to confirm). I remember my name being called on several occasions and it sounded like my mom, but when I’d check with her, she didn’t call me. The bedroom next to the garage was always the coldest. I hated going into that room after the sunset and if I needed to get something I’d make sure my sister was with me. Even in daylight, it felt like someone was watching me in that room. I often think about the people who lived in that house after us. Have they experienced anything?
What about you? Have you ever experienced anything? Do you believe in the paranormal? I like to go on ghost tours if I’m visiting a city for the first time. While I didn’t go on the nightly tour of St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, I did take some pictures when my sister and I visited it on our own. Now, I’m not sure if the orbs that appear are spirits, but I do it find it interesting that at one person’s effigy and monument there are no orbs, but in another you see them.
No orbs in this picture of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose tomb.
And yet, in this picture of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll’s monument you can see a few orbs. I’ve circled them so you can spot them. What I find interesting is that Campbell is often remembered as the arch enemy of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. Maybe their spirits are dueling it out near Campbell’s monument?
I’m not sure what I think about orbs. Most people believe they are dust particles and while I can go with that definition, a part of me likes to think they are spirits. Here are three pictures taken again in St. Giles Cathedral where various orbs appear.
