Ghost Stories (True and Otherwise)

[Cachoo]

Happy Halloween! Do you have any experience with hauntings? I do not and I am a skeptic. But I enjoy ghost stories. This is a link to a fixer-upper website and a man near Wichita posting about his house. A lot of locals kept up with all of the posts. But I want to hear/read about your experiences or favorite stories.
Here is the link for a supposed haunted house near my hometown:

oldhouseweb.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8214

 

[Buzz]

I do believe in ghosts but have not seen one myself. Thankfully! But one of my mom's favourite stories to tell is about an experience she had as a little girl while visiting her grandparents. Apparently my paternal great grand parents lived in a house with a haunted room. My mom was little at the time and tasked with sweeping the room when she visited during the summers, and whenever she did, she swears she always had the feeling she was being watched. Once she felt something grab her feet but there was no one else in the room. As long as they lived in that house, she hated visiting. Rumours that the room was haunted was why my great grandparents got the house so cheep. Or so my mom likes to tell the story. LOL

 

[Kasey]

I have no experience with them, but my father, who is a very no-nonsense realist kind of man, years ago saw our neighbor Mary at about the same moment (perhaps slightly after) that she was dying in a drunk driving accident 20 miles away. That still kinda stays with me.

 

[Ageless]

This site lists some of reported haunted sites in Illinois. Resurrection Mary is very well known in the Chicago area.

http://www.hauntedplaces.org/state/Illinois

 

[el henry]

I am going to completely nerd out, which I am not sure is the point of the post, with a link to a classical site and how to rid your house of ghosts on the floor.

https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2016/10/30/medieval-scribes-complaints-halloween-edition-continued/

Only linking one, although there are three. And also full disclosure, he who blogs as "SPFestus" on this site is the spousal unit. And ancient Rome is his playground.....

 

[PeterG]

I would say that I do not believe in ghosts, but...

I do like the idea of anything fantastical. But there's a part in my mind in that "things have to make sense". So anything out of the ordinary, unless there's at least a few hard facts here and there, I just take it as entertaining. However...

I am currently house-sitting for some friends. Last night I needed to use the washroom in the middle of the night. The light to the entrance of their condo was on. I never leave lights on when I go to sleep. Plus when I exit the washroom after brushing my teeth, I walk right out to where the light would be shining. I wouldn't just ignore it and go to bed. So this morning I sent a text to my friend and he said that his daughter believes this condo is haunted. And that when she stays here, the light in the kitchen sometimes gets turned on in the middle of the night. When I leave the washroom, the kitchen is right in front of me to the condo entrance where the light was on. Somehow this had a strong effect on me and I felt VERY uneasy going back to bed. Felt fearful that someone was here. I had to get up and check that all the doors were locked (they were).

Then this morning, the door on the porch to the storage room was wide open. (I hadn't touched it.). Although apparently that happens with this door, the latch bolt just comes out of the slot it fits into and the door opens. Hmm.

But I still don't believe in ghosts. I must have just left the light on. But I do believe that I was scared for a while there in the middle of the night.

 

[myhoneyhoney]

Happy Halloween! Do you have any experience with hauntings? I do not and I am a skeptic. But I enjoy ghost stories. This is a link to a fixer-upper website and a man near Wichita posting about his house. A lot of locals kept up with all of the posts. But I want to hear/read about your experiences or favorite stories.
Here is the link for a supposed haunted house near my hometown:

oldhouseweb.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8214

I'm hooked on this story!

 

[Vagabond]

I would say that I do not believe in ghosts, but...

I most definitely do not believe in ghosts, and yet....

Nine years ago, my congregation was rebuilding its synagogue. For a while, we had Friday evening services in a nearby Episcopal church. Not many people came to those services; we usually had barely a minyan (ten people). One of those who did come was a woman about my age whom I'll call Deborah. Deborah was, among other things, a poet and a teacher. She suffered from a genetic condition that stunted her growth. She was only about 4'7" tall, if that.

One Friday evening in early spring, Deborah came to services, went home, and died. She was alone.

The following Friday evening, we were chanting L'kha dodi, the song to greet the Sabbath Bride. I saw three people come in the door. There was a married couple, and just behind them, came a short person. All I could see was the silhouette of the crown of her head. "It's Deborah," I thought to myself. And then, instantly, I knew that it could not possibly be Deborah. And an instant after that, I saw that there was no one there behind the couple.

Even now, I can still most definitely remember seeing someone there. And, every time I go to Friday evening services and chant L'kha dodi, I think of Deborah.

I still don't believe in ghosts.

 

[quartz]

I did not see this thread when it was first posted.

My first house was built in 1900. There were shadows in the house that passed between the kitchen and the dining room. They floated in the evening and the night, when there was no light to cast them.
They were not frightening or menacing, they were just a part of the house's history, and I never felt afraid, but aware of a presence that was benevolent, and watchful over me. I found it quite comforting.
Unfortunately my current house has no such spirits.