Ghosts

[Elle]

Since it's Halloween here's a question for you: did you ever at some point in your life think you had seen a ghost? As an adult I cannot put myself back into that place again, simply cannot do it, and I completely do not believe in ghostly anythings, but when I was a child I kind of took for granted that I had seen two ghosts. It did not seem like the type of experience one would question or consider outlandish, at that time - it just seemed like a normal part of life. Looking back I'm like a different person now in the sense that I can't remember what it felt like subjectively, but I do remember that it happened and felt a certain way. I remember what the scenes looked like, as if in a movie.

The first one was in my grandparents' house, where we weren't supposed to play in the upstairs/second story without telling someone where we were going, and we weren't supposed to go up there unless it was daytime. No idea why to this day - grandparents passed away so cannot ask. It was a mundane rule, nothing spooky about it. I remember one time it was evening at their house and I just opened the door, like as if to see what was up there. My family was in the next room or around in the usual places. I looked up and saw an elderly lady ghost, and she didn't look familiar (i.e. wasn't either of my great-grandmas whom I might have recognized), and I wasn't sure she seemed friendly (not really), so I just shut the door and never tried that again. It wasn't really scary - I was very young, like maybe 4-6, and thought nothing of it except "oh, there was a lady up there - semi-transparent and silvery, and standing on the stairs but not really standing - an old lady, don't know her, she doesn't look pleased".

Around similar ages but lasting longer, maybe 3-10 or so, I used to have the distinct idea a very kindly, friendly old gentleman wearing a light-colored suit would occasionally pop in and visit my room. He would sit on a chair usually, and just hang out in a friendly way, and then leave. No idea what the heck that's about. It's weird to me how and why this happens to a kid because these weren't "scary ghost" experiences or anything - just very matter-of-fact, not like ghosts were usually represented. I assume something is going on that your brain is interpreting as the presence of a person, but I wonder how that happens. There is some neurobiological story to tell and then a story about why your brain pieces it together as a particular image.

[Mrs.Darcs]

I can't wait til I have time to read this!

[Bluedevyl]

There's an old theater in downtown Syracuse that has a reputation for being haunted by the ghost of a woman in a flowing grey dress.

I had a field trip there when I was in elementary school, during which time we were taken into the dressing rooms, pit, and backstage areas. While we were in the pit, I remember clearly looking up into the balcony and seeing a woman in a long grey dress looking down at us. It wasn't until years later that I heard the stories about the Landmark being haunted. Memory is a funny thing, and even today, i don't really know if I actually saw something up there, but I remember it as clearly today.

[Mrs.Darcs]

Elle: Those totally gave me the chills

Andrew: As soon as I read the first line I was like "oooh! I bet that's the Landmark, I didn't know it was haunted." However, aren't theatres usually said to be haunted? I inherited a ton of old theatre scrapbooks from Lilly's dad when he passed, I should look through them and see if I can find anything.

Here's mine: I definitely believe in the soul, and I think that sometimes for reasons said soul, or some residual energy might not make it to the final destination. So I guess, yes, I believe in ghosts to a certain extent. I definitely don't not believe in them, if that makes sense. Just like I don't not believe in faeries. You cannot prove a negative, science (and it's constant attempts to thwart me) have taught me to always keep my mind open, just because we haven't seen something, doesn't mean it isn't real. Feel free to mock me for this, cause sometimes I mock myself for it.

Anyway, the summer before my senior year of college, I had to do a third of my theatre internship, so I could graduate on time. (A biology and theatre double major was....complicated). I got to do it at my home theatre company, which actually took place at my church. Totally convenient. Our church, of course, was rumored to be haunted. One of our priests' sons had some particularly scary encounters, at night, alone in the church. We had decided it was probably the spirit of one of the children said to be buried under statues in the church (I don't think that part is true, I am pretty sure they are just memorial statues and not crypts). Grace Elizabeth Munson Williams. I think she was 12 when she died? One of my tasks that summer was to organize and catalog the costume room. Now, at that time the costume room was a tiny old storage room in the oldest part of the church on the third (which was the most haunted) floor. I was working at the auto parts store at this same time, so my hours working on this project were mostly late evenings, early mornings, and whatever odd times I could get a ride over there. (I didn't drive at that time). There were all kinds of odd noises, the feeling of being watched even though I was very much alone, and things that often seem to happen in old buildings, not enough to freak me out, but still an eerie overall atmosphere. The worst part were the lights though, they always buzzed, would flicker, randomly go out, take 5 minutes to turn on EVERYDAY, at times take several attempts with the switch to actually come on, and sometimes make sounds like a ball bouncing in the hall outside my door. I was told it was the ballasts and it's just the way it was. There were no outlets in that room, and I didn't have anything portable to listen to music or the like, so I would sing to myself, or talk to "Grace Elizabeth" (in whom I only jokingly believed at that time) to pass the time and keep myself from being afraid. I joked with my mom on the way too and from the church that Grace Elizabeth responded to me by messing with the lights.

One day I had a really really bad day at the store, been harassed, told it was my fault for "leading the customer on", had an order come up wrong and a slew of other bad things. I got to the church, stormed up the stairs and at the top shouted to relieve my stress "Grace Elizabeth do not Fu** with me today! I am in NO mood!!" when I unlocked the door and switched on the lights they came on instantly. No noise, no buzzing, no flickers, nothing. In shock, I sat down on the floor, started crying (also, probably due to the stress etc), apologized, and felt like shit for screaming at a 12 year old.

Since then, every time I go to the church, I stop by and greet the statue like a friend and sometimes wander upstairs to say hi again.

So yeah. That's my story.

Here's a portrait I found of Grace Elizabeth, it looks just like her statue, only there she's depicted asleep. http://209.217.199.99/view/objects/asit ... 42482c8a7d