Recently Llewellyn published a book with the intriguing title, Don’t Call Them Ghosts. That made me remember some of the various “ghosts” I have encountered in my life. And the many stories I’ve heard over the years.

Perhaps we shouldn’t call true “spiritual survivors” ghosts – but it is still a good enough term for many paranormal encounters until the nature of the experience is better understood.

Many years ago I had a really scary experience that taught me a few lessons about the personal nature of paranormal encounters and the problem of pre-judgement.

I knew a lady and knew that she “played around” even though she was married to a nice and successful guy, had two fine children and a good professional career.

In those days, I drove a convertible and on a warm autumn evening I had the top down. I had been working late and as a I drove through downtown on the way home I heard a newsboy shout (that’s how long ago this happened) “St. Paul woman shot in motel room.”

Somehow I immediately knew who the woman was, and turned on the television (black & white, long before color) as soon as I got home. It was a big story and her companion of a motel tryst was being held under suspicion of murder. Yet, he was seen having breakfast in the motel restaurant when gun fire was heard. It being hunting season in a hunting area, not much was thought at the time except that “that was damned close by.”

I had met the man once, and doubted he was a murderer. Motivation was lacking. He said they had argued, and he had left the room so she could cool down. She was, he said, depressed, and wanted something exciting in her life.

The weapon was his deer rifle. Both his fingerprints and hers were on it. The claim was that it would be difficult to commit suicide with a deer rifle.

I went to sleep that evening with the thought that – in spirit - she would try to contact me to answer the question in my mind – was it murder or suicide or an accident.

I was awakened after midnight with the most awful sound in the room – like heavy gasping breathing. Huugh! Huugh! Huugh!

I was rigid with fear. If I looked, would I see a terrible apparition of a woman with her chest blown out? Huugh! Huugh! Huugh! As regular as clockwork.

I had to look. I saw nothing in the dark. With the light on I became more sensible and could perceive that the sound seemed to come from the area near my dresser. I got up and went there. As regular as clockwork – there was an old electric alarm clock literally ‘giving up the ghost.’ With gears grinding together as the old clock died!

But I was truly scared during this experience, and yet there was no reason for fear and there was really nothing paranormal – unless one could say that I was being given a message that “things were not as they seemed.”

The coroner’s decision in the matter was that she had first fired the weapon into the ceiling of the motel room in the hope of bringing the man back, and when that didn’t work, she had turned it around and taken her own life.

*****

The alarm clock incident wasn’t my only encounter with a “ghost.”

When I was about 15 years of age, I was alone in the family house one evening while my parents were at our summer home in the country. I was reading in bed, and was disturbed by a familiar sound. The light switches in our living room were brass and made a distinctive and rather loud noise easily heard in the quiet house. As I was alone, I had to determine the source of the sound. Well, the living room lights were on, and I was more than sure I had turned them off.

Looking through the house, nothing was amiss and the outside doors were locked.

Back to bed and my novel. Soon a similar sound was heard – and again one I could identify: the sound of the basement light switch. Again I found that light on when I was more than sure it was off on my previous search of the house.

Back to bed, and to sleep, feeling perfectly secure. I was awakened several hours later by the telephone. It was a collect call for my mother. I explained that she was not at home and I would not accept the call. A man’s voice intervened over the operator’s and asked if the name “Louis Tippel” meant anything to me. I said that was the name of my mother’s brother. The operator wanted to know if I would now accept the call, and I agreed. The man said that my Uncle Louis had died in a Los Angeles hospital, and would I have my mother call to make arrangements.

I am convinced that those light switches were my uncle’s last attempt at communicating with his sister.

As far as I am concerned, this was a real encounter with the paranormal, and there was nothing frightening about it. But in the other case there really wasn’t anything paranormal and yet it was very frightening.

Are real “ghosts” or true spiritual contacts ever really frightening?

Carl Llewellyn Weschcke
llewellynjournal.com/article/1099

No clear evidence in that article so util he brings me a shot ghost I'm not beliving any of that story.

As far back, man has always been scared of he heard and what he couldn't see. A specially at night where all is amplified... An old extention cord becomes a snake, a pile of dirty laundry becomes a beast ready to  pounce.. Sounds travel better in the humidity of night added with the silence of the night weither youre in you house or in the woods the atmosphere is still there...
For my part, my first ghostly experiences were as if it was normal exept one day my control and the control of the familly got lost somehow... I'll explain in private if you don't mind...
Some other people just don't know what it is so not knowing of this kind of phenomena is scary, you don't know what to think, how to react... As if you meat a bear in the woods... There are certain steps you need to know : how to avoid confrontation, how to keep your cool, how to protect yourself (if necessary)...

I have an example of someone being so scared he left my house... It was Christmass december 25 1995, my father's birthday too!! All the familly was invited in the village at my aunts house to celebrate. Brought my boyfriend at the time to the party. (my mamie died the eyar before on my 16th birthday), So we decided to leave earlyer than the rest of the familly to get home and prepare food for the rest of the night . We had a cat in the house. So we get in the house and my grandmother's(mamie) smell was in the holl house but it use to happen often so I didn't mind. As I was preparing little sanwitches, my father's rocking lazyboy started to rock as if someone got out of it... My boyfriend checked it out, became white as a ghost and he started to look for the cat... Few seconds after that, down stairs, in the basement my mother used to big indistrial plastic bag that crunch if theyre mooved or stepped on... We heard as if someone was kikking the crap out of them! Mean while we found the cat fast asleep under the table... My boyfriend looks at me with that scared look on his face as if he was about to cry. So I yell STOP he,s scared!  A few minutes passed without anything going on... In the kitchen around the table I tried to calm him down but the dishwasher started and so did the stereo in the living room... Then my boyfriend said: Thats it! I'm going to wait in my car for the rest of the familly to come back!!   And he went, he never came alone with me in my house!!!

I have plenty of experiences in that field, from a very young age, I could write a book... Thanks to my mother, she openned my eyes to this world when I was 8.

thanks for listening

xxsandyxx