Aint Fraid of No Ghost

Ghosts.

They’re real.

The thing is they’re kind of like… stars. They’re everywhere, all the time; you just can’t always see them.

I’ve got a theory, and I’m not alone on this one, that ghosts walk among the living all the time, and I do mean ALL the time. But, they don’t make themselves known unless they’ve got something to say. Be it advice, words of warning or simply to get out of their turf. I’m also of the opinion that when you see really little kids talking to themselves, and having imaginary friends, maybe they’re not just figments of their imaginations. My grandmother posed a theory that when you’re that age, you can see your ancestors and deceased relatives, and when you’re that age and have a mind that takes direction so well, they give you advice, tips, and tell you how to be a good person and lead a good life. Of course parenting also comes into play at this age, but eh, it’s just a theory.

What IS a ghost? Well, Webster says
“ghost, noun
1: the seat of life or intelligence: soul
2: a disembodied soul; especially: the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness
3: spirit, demon
4 a: a faint shadowy trace b: the least bit
5: a false image in a photographic negative or on a television screen caused especially by reflection
6: one who ghostwrites
7: a red blood cell that has lost its hemoglobin
Ghost, verb
1: to haunt like a ghost
2: to move silently like a ghost”

Well that kinda helps. The thing with ghosts is, they’re not like Slimer from Ghostbusters and Casper. They’re just as much an auditory experience as they are visual. As a matter of fact, ghosts play off of all your five senses. Sight, smell, sound, touch and taste, all your senses are like a canvas for the spirits to work with, all it takes in knowing what to ask for and chances are, you’ll get it if you’re willing to accept the message.
Some ghost-hunters take tape recorders which can pick up softer voices and even the ghosts answering questions. Some give their names; even short phrases come up on them. Like I said, you just have to know how to listen.

Ghosts can appear as shadows, fogs, orbs, and very rarely, full-bodied apparitions. Rarer than that is actual-physical contact. I’ve experienced all of them had the privilege of something touching my shoulder at Letchworth late one cold night.
I saw my first ghost when I was young. My Uncle Wayne –a better man than most of us will ever be- had recently passed away at a young age. Far too young. But after the funeral, I saw him standing over my bed, healthy as a horse, not faded or ghostly at all. Just there! As if he had never left. Wearing a red flannel shirt and blue jeans. I screamed like –a young kid- and ran into my parent’s room, who promptly checked it out and insisted that I had made it up. Since his passing, many in my family had seen, heard, or felt Wayne in their homes, especially during the holiday season or when someone’s getting married.

I would imagine that he especially comes around on the 4th of July, his favorite holiday of the year, but it’s hard to hear spirit voices when fireworks are booming overhead.

I kinda think that ghosts are like small dogs: they really want your attention, but can be really skittish at times.

Any which way you look at it, they’re out there.
So, my question to YOU is:
When there’s something strange, in the neighborhood, who ya gonna call?


-AK