ThINgS tHaT Go BuMp iN ThE nIGhT

When I taught American Literature to high school students, this was the time of year we read Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and then I showed the movie.  That always led to the discussion of ghosts and things that go bump in the night.

Over the years a couple of stories stand out.  One student told the class she lived in a house with a cupola at the top.  One day her mother was outside and looked up at the cupola and saw someone through its window.  The strange thing was, she said, that they always kept the door to the cupola locked.  This student also said that sometimes they would hear notes from their piano being played, but no one was near it. 

Another student told about a swing that hung from a tree outside their country house.  Several family members saw, at different times, a young girl in a white dress on that swing, but when they would look again, she would be gone.

I have never seen any paranormal activity, but I don't doubt it exists as I have had strange feelings.  One night I felt a poke on my arm that woke me out of a sound sleep.  About a month later there was a tug on my toe that woke me up.  I laughed about the incidences and thought my father was trying to get my attention from the other side.

Several months later I was popping corn at the stove when I felt someone behind me. I thought for a second it might be my husband, but he was downstairs in the family room. Then the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I turned around and said out loud, "Go away.  I don't want you here."  Again I thought it might be my father and if it was, I didn't want to hurt his feelings.  I just didn't like him sneaking up on me. 

I know other people who have had unexplained experiences.  My daughter felt the spirit of our deceased neighbor Otto when she and her husband were building their new house.  They were installing an architectural piece of a griffin that had originally come from a  bank in Chicago that was being torn down. We had removed it from Otto's house before it had to be demolished.  My daughter and her husband liked the piece and decided to incorporate it on the outside of their house next to the front door.

While they were installing it, my daughter recalls that she felt Otto's presence and his satisfaction that they were using this old piece of art, but she could also smell his spirit.  Anna and Otto's house always had a distinct aroma.  I asked my daughter if the aroma might not have been coming from the sculpture, but she said they hadn't smelled anything when they were transporting it back to Novi. She is convinced Otto was there along with the old architectural griffin.

My sister woke up to look at the clock while visiting her daughter in a rental in Mississippi.  Standing next to the bed she saw the figure of a man in his pajamas.  There was no head on the figure, but he held one hand out in front of him.  She looked back at the clock and when she turned to look again, he was  gone. Several people had seen that apparition in the house.  The story was that a man had died in there who liked coffee.  My sister thought he might have been holding a cup of coffee in front of him although she didn't see a cup.

Sitting in my chair in our family room by myself last week I glanced at the window and saw a white mist off to one side and then it disappeared.  I thought it was a figment of my imagination because my eyes aren't very strong looking at a distance.  But then I had a chill of fright that came out of nowhere. 

All such stories can be taken with a grain of salt.  Are there spirits which return or linger or can't move on?  We may never know unless we become one ourselves.  Sleep well tonight my friends.