my pop's ghosts

yesterday was a really nice day. although i'd told myself on friday that i would board up my windows and doors, unplug the phones and disconnect from society altogether so that i could get some jewelry finished for a gallery's holiday shop, i did no such thing. instead i saw two aunts, two cousins, and then finished the evening off with dinner at my pop's house. so, although i may not have made any jewelry, at least i had quality family time, right? after dinner we started a conversation that i want to share, but just to put you on edge and give you a little scary visual stimulation, check out a ghoulish awkward family photo...

monster teeth suckers courtesy of auntie amy! okay, now begins the story. when i used to live with pop and tricia, it wasn't unusual to find lights turned on, or turned off, to hear the stereo turn itself on, to hear footsteps when no one else was home, etc. it got to be that we were used to getting up in the night, knowing we'd turned a lamp off, only to find it, and maybe a radio, turned on at 3am. all of us at some point went looking for the person creating the loud walking noises, only to find that no one else was home. that went on for years, and pop would always tell me that he knew, as we all did, that there was some sort of spirit, ghost, whatever you'd like to call it, in the house. i told him several times that i wanted to come over with a recorder and try to record some white noise, but of course i was always too scared. lately though, it's gone from things turning on and off, and hearing "people" walking, to these spirits making themselves known even more.

several times now my dad has seen these smoky silhouettes; once standing in the doorway when he was watching TV, another time when he got out of the shower, and the only time it really scared him - when he was outside in his shed. he's also had them say things to him. when tricia was telling him one evening that she wakes up at night with her arms numb, a woman's voice said in his ear, "oh my!" he's been greeted with a "hey!" when he's gotten home from work, and he's heard distant voices going up the steps. i asked him if he was scared at all, and he said it wasn't fear he felt, but more of an anxiety. the one time though he was scared was when he saw the figure outside twice within a few minutes. about that one he said, "it scared the hell out me!" when i asked him why that one scared him but not the others, he said he figured it was because he was used to it in the house, but he wasn't prepared for it outside!

in conversation at work one day, one of my stepmom's co-workers mentioned this lady she knew that was a psychic or medium (i'm not sure what term she uses). dad and tricia met her one evening, and when she shook my dad's hand, she said she could tell that it was him they were connected to, because he was a free spirit with an open mind, and that he wasn't scared. she also said they were most likely just trying to make some sort of contact and that she would really like to visit their house one day to see what she can find out.

i don't know if you believe in this sort of thing, but i can tell you that I DO. i've always believed that spirits, or ghosts, are right here with us, and some of us (not me, because i'm too scared) are perceptive enough to be able to communicate with or see them. i also believe in these things because i lived in that house long enough to know that there were other people there besides my dad, stepmom and siblings! so let me ask you, have you ever had a paranormal experience? if so, i'm curious, tell me about it!