Eggs Over Invisible & Say Cheese!
by J. H.
swimmm@prodigy.com

The first story that I have happened to me when I was 10 or 11, when I went to visit my best friend who had moved away. I was at her house for about a week. Every morning, I would wake up before anyone else in the house, and every morning, as I was walking down the stairs, alone, I kept seeing an old woman cooking on the stove out of the corner of my eye. Every time I tried to get a good picture of her full on, she was gone.

But when I turned my head away . . . there she was again.

She was always in the same position...cooking something over the stove. I mean, I don't think she noticed me or anything. But this scared me, and I would freeze for a few minutes. Finally, when I regained my senses, I sprinted back upstairs and flew into my sleeping bag.

The second: This happened recently, last month. I was home alone watching TV on my nice comfy armchair. I got scared for a minute (not knowing why) and then there was a big bright flash. I was terrified. I could not move from my recliner chair. At first I thought it was lightning, but it was a perfectly clear night. Then I thought, "Well, maybe it's camera flash?" but that obviously didn't make me feel much better (How would YOU feel if you thought someone was taking a picture of you while you were home alone????) Maybe my eyes were just screwed up for a minute, I don't know. ADVICE?

Possibly, if the two stories were connected, would they be a "Flash in the Pan?" (Whoa boy . . .)

 

 

 

Something Old, Something Blue
by N. Martin
deus@pacbell.net
Where It Happened: At my Mother's House in Colorado

It is I again. I have come bearing more haunting memories from my mother's house in Colorado. This one is kind of a two-parter. I can't quite remember if they occurred sequentially, or on two very separate occasions. If you have read my other one, you are familiar with the house's layout. If not, here is a brief summary:

Upon entrance, you are immediately in the Front Room. To the right is a bathroom and two bedrooms in a catty-corner position. To the left is a doorway which leads into the kitchen. A large wall separates the two. Once in the kitchen, you can look to your left and see the side door. Across from that is the door to the basement stairs. If you look directly forward, you will see a sunken-in living room(The Red Rug Room). There were no doors or walls between it and the kitchen.

Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, on with the account. On this occasion, it was barely seven in the evening. It had just gotten dark outside. My family had just finished dinner, and as usual, I was the last one at the table. My brothers and sisters were busy doing homework and other things while I finished my (yuccch!) brussel sprouts. My mother announced to me that if I wanted to get my hair done for school the next day(a ritual since I started), that she would be in her room. Her bedroom was the first located in the catty-corner section of the Front Room. I explained that I was almost finished and that she wait for me. I figured I could just accompany her, no problem. She left anyway, so I gobbled up the rest of my vegetables and tried to catch her. As I turned the corner to enter the Front Room, I saw a hunched-over figure, which I took to be my mom, walking toward the bedroom. Even now, I can recall the figure as being so real; whole, but somehow transparent. It moved slowly. Although it was moving up and down like a natural walking motion, it seemed to glide across the carpet. In retrospect, I don't remember its having feet. It was sort of bluish-gray. I could tell the distinction between the "robe" and the head because the head was much darker. This is why I though it was my mom. The only difference was the "hair" was not distinguishable from the face itself. Even though I would have only seen her ears(if it had been my mother), I could tell that something was a bit off kilter. The "hair" was much shorter than my mother's had been thirty seconds before. And that walk... I called out to it, "Mom, wait, I'm coming!" It kept walking strangely. Then, just as I was within inches of touching it, it vanished. It never even turned. I immediately ran to my mother's room. Half, I'm sure, out of curiosity; the other half out of sheer terror. I pushed the door open and saw my mother. Her hair was up and she was sitting on her bed, patiently. She had been waiting for me. I swallowed one of those "maybe it was just my imagination" gulps and sat down. I asked her quietly if she was wearing her blue terrycloth robe a second ago. She replied, "No, Nat. I threw that thing out weeks ago. It was too old to keep wearing." When I claimed that I saw her with her hair pulled back and in her robe walking toward the bedroom, she laughed. Then, smiling, she looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Nat, I've been sitting here waiting for you for at least a minute and a half." That night I went to bed (my bedroom was right next to hers) with one eye half-open.

This is where the memory gets fuzzy. I cannot recall whether this event happened right after the above, or much later/earlier. All I know is it definitely happened. I awoke abruptly. To be honest, I can't even remember what time of day it was. My room was dark, but that sometimes occurred in the afternoon. My bed was against the wall that separated it from the bathroom. The foot of the bed was to the direct left of the doorway. The second, and I mean the exact second, I opened my eyes, something, or someone, pulled its head back from my face. It had been staring at my closed eyes while I slept. When my eyes opened, I saw its eyes. They were glowing, sinister, and penetrating. As it pulled away, the eyes became smaller, but still peered at me. I was ,nonetheless, frozen. I slowly let my eyes look down. When the "thing" was done retreating, it was standing at the foot of my bed. Which means that it had to be at least eight feet tall to stand there and be able to lean over to have its face directly above mine. I want to say that it looked like my eldest brother. I could almost make out the facial features; but it pulled away so quickly that I have a hard time remembering. Not to mention that it faded away the instant it was completely upright. I screamed this time. After this experience, I was tired of trying to remain calm. My mother, who had been around the corner in the bathroom, rushed in. I explained that I saw Nikki (my brother) at the foot of my bed. She said that was impossible. No one had been in my room. As adamant as I was, I found out just why she wouldn't believe me. My brother Nikki was in Utah attending school. It was at this moment, at the tender age of seven, that I seriously began to consider getting a place of my own.

Thank you. I will send more scary (but I swear they're true) tales I can remember at another time.

Always a pleasure and we believe you! And, now that I think of it, I wonder what happened to those old clothes I gave away to Goodwill? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . .

 

 

Adventure & Old Ruins
by Robert Coody
rac@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu
Hailing From: Flagstaff, Arizona
Where it Happened: Corona, California near Prado Dam

In the days when Corona was still a fairly quiet town, it was possible to explore those areas as boys that seemed to have mystery or the suggestion of treasure. My friend Doug and I would often read and speak of adventure and mystery, to the point where we could not stand it anymore and would take to the hills or the river basin.

On one day we planned to locate two place that seemed to us as to be likely places for treasure. One was the remains of a town which had been destroyed by a flood and another was known as the Bandini Cota Adobe, both located in the Prado Basin. That day we started off on our bikes, coasting downhill and eventually reaching a good starting point for our adventure. We stashed our bikes in the brush near the old park interpretative center and went on our way. It was always a pleasurable walk through the vegetation and trees along the Santa Anna River. The river whispering along and the scent of the plant life about us. Sometimes even spooky in the early morning, with fog and rustling sounds around us. Eventually we reached a fence about an open field which we had to cross, we ducked under and began to move into the open. At that point there was a huffing sound and the earth seemed to vibrate, in fear we began to run as a charging bull began to gain ground on us. Doug jumped the fence and I decided to slide under, all this in the nick of time but causing me to damage my prized pocket watch. The bull, we decided, was something to try to avoid on the way back.

After a bit of wandering through the brush, we came upon a clearing. This clearing ran straight and true, overgrown on the sides and at our feet black with the remains of an asphalt road. It was so strange to find such a road in such a wild overgrown area, it even had a white stripe which we could barely make out in the center. We felt like adventurers about to make a great discovery, I joked that maybe we had struck a wrinkle in time and had been transported to the future, that we were actually walking along a road in our home town after destruction of our civilization. Such were the cold war fears that stimulated our imagination then.

After a bit of walking, we came upon cleared areas where buildings once stood, here and there were foundations and remnants of fences. We began to wonder, would we stumble upon the remains of the cemetery? Or at least stumble upon the remains of the residents who were rumored to roam this place at night, emerging from their burial grounds to walk the streets like they did in life. As we searched for the cemetery, we approached an area which was cold and gloomy, shadowed by eucalyptus trees. It was one of those places that instilled a feeling of depression, loneliness and fear. As kids, we were ultra sensitive to these feelings and began to wonder if we should move on to the ruined adobe on the hill. At that point there was a great crack like thunder and a crashing sound through the trees. We were convince that something was after us and so we ran with all our adrenaline to the hill where the adobe rested. I looked over my shoulder in time to see a great branch from one of the trees coming to rest near where we had paused.

We reached the ruined adobe in time to catch our breaths. We rested our backs to the ruined walls and exchanged notes on what had scared us. We both agreed that it was a warning of some form and that it would be best to avoid that site until we were a bit older and wiser. The adobe we were at, was the old Bandini Cota home, which had resided in that location since the 19th century. We began to look around, just hoping to catch the glimmer of a gold coin or the remains of a Spanish helmet. Anything to reward our time and troubles in reaching this spot. The light began to dim and we continued looking around, eventually we decided we better head back before it was too dark to find our way home. At about this point we heard crashing sounds from below, our adrenaline surged again, convinced that zombies from the town were on their way to us. We became separated in our rush to reach our bikes, I do not even remember the fence where the bull was. All I remember was reaching my bike in time for my friend Doug to emerge from the brush to do the same. I often wondered how much of the crashing sound that was following us was actually our own endeavors to reach safety.

Now, forgive me if I can't help myself here, but isn't that what most politicians wonder about too?!!

 

 

 

Gran Transparencies
by T. Y. Sundkvist
tracey@rubico.com

When I was about 8 years old my gran lived in a house across the road from a Chocolate Factory . . . every childs dream, but not mine!!

One morning I woke up and to my horror saw four black robed figures hanging over me (kind of like a ghostly ER). I couldn't make out faces and they didn't do anything, they just stood over me -- watching me (in a blind panic). I know what I saw was real because at the same time that they were over me, I saw my gran walking into the room to open the curtains. To see a human THROUGH something else was not at all a joke. I never did find out anything other than that except that they used to appear quite often and all of my sisters and I felt (and sometimes saw) the apparitions.

One night, on her birthday, my sister felt a hand running up her back and on another occasion I felt someone pinching my toe (it burned) and when I looked down, there was nobody there.

That may have been 12 years ago, but I still feel things and still sleep with my knees just about under my chin!!!!

Wow! Candy, robed figures, invisible people -- time for a ZagNut!

 

 

Oh Those Golden Slippers
by An Unknown Author

When my grandfather was young, his father was very sick with rheumatoid arthritis. He could barely manage to get out of bed. The only places he ever went was to the bathroom and back to his bed, when he did walk though, he wore these old leather house shoes. And he would shuffle across the floors, it sort of sounded like a book sliding across a desk. He died around 1962.

Every summer my family, who now lives in Texas, would visit all of our relatives there and we usually ended up sleeping at that house. One night about three years after my great grandfather died, my aunt and uncle were sleeping in the upstairs room. This used to be an attic, but my great grandmother changed it into a bedroom after my great grandfather died. It had three beds, an old dresser, old toys, letters, etc.. (this room always gave me the creeps) Anyway, my aunt and uncle were in one bed and my mom and cousin were in the other bed across the room. My mother and cousin were asleep, so my aunt and uncle had the lights off while they were talking before they went to sleep. It was probably one or so in the morning. As they were laying there they heard someone walking up the stairs and across the room to the foot of their bed. They said it sounded like grandpa's old slippers. My uncle called out,"Hello, who's there" and when no one answered, he flicked on the lamp by the bed, and no one was there.

 

 

Basement Drowning
by Rachel Doobie

One night when I was sleeping on the couch in my new house I heard a noise in the basement like someone was drowning. When I went down there I didn't see anything so I didn't think about it and I went back to sleep. The next night I heard the noise again but this time it was a little clearer and it sounded like a child drowning in water calling "Help me please" By then I was pretty freaked out so I decided to go check it out but again I saw nothing.

For the next couple of weeks I kept hearing this child calling out for help so I had a medium come over to see if she could tell me what was going on. She told me that she sensed a presence in my house of a small boy around the age of two or three. The next day I went to the library to look up any old articles about a drowning in the past. To my surprise the librarian told me all of the information that I needed about the house. She told me that a boy and his family died in that house a few years before I moved in when a man shot the whole family then found the boy hiding in a closet and drowned him in the pool and hid him in the basement. A week later I was moved out of that house and am still haunted by the little boy's cries in my dreams.

 

 

Widows Walk
by KCE

Apalachicola FL is a very historical town. It sits on the Apalachicola River. The houses are very old, most of them have widow's walks, that is, a balcony at the very top, on the roof of the house where the wives could watch for their husbands ships to come in.

The houses are from the days of slavery and it is rumored that there are tunnels under the houses that the slaves used to escape. Some of the houses even have chains on the walls of the basements. Well, my aunt used to own one of these old houses. She has since sold it and it is now a bank. There has been some remodeling and the house is beautiful. Still, I wouldn't want to live there. I researched the history of the house. One of the previous owners shot himself in the head. The bullet went right through and chipped the fire place. I have seen this chip and my aunt has seen this man... She says she was reading a book in bed one night when she got the feeling that someone was watching her. She looked up and there sat a man on the foot of her bed. He smiled at her and faded away.

I never had an experience in the house but my aunts children have told me of many odd things. Footsteps on the stairs, one of my cousins saw a girl in a very old fashioned pink or white, (I don't remember exactly) dress. The girl looked very sad. She glided down the staircase, then was gone. I was also told that in the back of one of the closets was a secret wall panel. How much of this is true, I can't say. Nothing ever happened with the secret panel, I just thought that was cool!! My cousins husband came home late at night once and swears he tripped over a coffin at the bottom of the stairs. That's all. No main event, and nothing evil. Just my collection of odd happenings in this one old house.

 

 

Needed Clean Socks, Got Nun!
by S.L. Weidow
me@erols.com

While in college, I had a rather strange encounter with a deceased nun.

Now, bear in mind that it was a Catholic college that I went to, complete with convent on grounds and a chapel on the bottom floor of the dorm I lived in. And up near the new library, across the road, a small cemetery dedicated to and holding the bodies of the founding nuns. (Kinda sick, eh?)

Well, the laundry room in this dorm was in the basement under the chapel. In order to reach it, you had to walk down a set of marble stairs, always unusually cold. Taking the stairs, you would either end up in a small alcove in front of the hallway leading to the laundry room or you would end up in a dark hallway on the other end of the laundry room.

If at all possible, the girls (including me) would avoid this side of the laundry room and the washers and dryers in there were never used, even the cleaning staff refused to go in there.

One night, after waiting all day to get a free washer, I ended up in the laundry room around 10:00pm. I didn't think anything of it, since there had been people in and out all day, I figured there had to be someone in there still. Hearing the sounds of laughter from the community room next to the laundry room, I figured it was safe and ventured in. The laundry room was empty, in fact the light were off! An unheard-of occurrence at the college since it seemed to be the goal of the girls in the dorm to achieve huge electrical bills.

Shrugging, I hit the light switch with my elbow and walked in and the same time. Right through a vaporous blue form that chilled me to the bone. I dropped my laundry basket at the same time, the shock petrifying me and turned around to see a faint blue form, which resembled a nun in an old-fashioned habit, vanish through the wall.

I decided that I had enough clean socks to last until the end of the week, picked up my basket and headed back upstairs.

The next time I did wash, I took my roommate with me . . .

Yikeees! Remember: "Werewolf? There wolf!" Now we have a new one, "Run! Nun!" (Whoa boy) Well, anyway, come to think of it, when I was in college doing the laundry was rough enough, but hmmmmm . . . come to think of it, we often did our laundry on a Friday night and sometimes sipped on a little Blue Nun, could it be the same??? Nahhh!

 

 

The Ghost Surfer
by Steve & Michelle Richards
xlegacy2@hotmail.com
Where the Spooky Event Occurred: Beathany Beach, Delaware

 

This is the first ever encounter that would change my life forever as well as bring me and my wife Michelle together. It was November 20, 1991 and I had taken up surfing earlier that summer. I had met a guy named Karl Swift who was the most inspirational person I had ever met, not to mention very good for an amateur surfer. Karl and I had just found a place in Beathany that was always empty except for a person who always had a video camera with a weird green lens during the day and a blue one at night. She was only 13 years old and was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her name was Michelle.

We must have both fallen in love at the same moment but neither one of us shared it with the other. Karl and I would surf there all hours of the day. We called it Ghost Break because the beach was like a ghost town. I had no clue how close to the truth it was . . .

One night Karl and I had surfed during an afternoon break and were taking a rest before deciding to leave. At this time the feeling Michelle and I had for one another were very clear. We had become inseparable, but for some reason every time we would make out she would point the camera in a general direction and keep it running. Just as Karl and I were about to leave their was a major siege of mega wave. Karl and I both jumped at this chance, but just as I was about to go in Michelle grabbed hold of my arm and said, "No! Don't go I fear for your safety."

Karl didn't care He wanted to go, and so I figured he would be alright. He tore the surf up and we caught it all on video. It was as if Karl had a burst of never ending energy. As it got dark there was nothing but the light of the full moon showing him the way.

Michelle put the blue lens on and within five minutes we heard the howling of wind that sounded like a group of surfers running down the beach to the waves. I ignored it because it was just the wind (right Steve, just the wind). Karl had just caught an awesome wave and was tearing it up he started to descend down the lip when all of a sudden he was separated from his board -- right in what should have only been 3-4 feet of water. He fell just as if an extra hundred pounds had been added to his weight. The speed and the fall directly into the crash point of the wave should have killed him.

Every trace of him disappeared in the crash point as if he had fallen into a bottom-less pit. We never saw him again. I burst into tears at the loss of my friend. Michelle held me in here arms and told me her story about her brother which was almost identical. We spent the week just filming the spot night after night. Finally she showed me all the videos she had made from the time of her brother's disappearance.

Her brother had been surfing the same monstrous break, but the only difference was there was an icy blue mist on the surface of the water that grew bigger and thicker as the night went on. It finally enclosed her brother Lance and he had simply disappeared. Not a wipe out, he just disappeared. She continued to film that week and then I saw in the video that the water on the third night went glassy and there was a blue-colored writing on the water that said, "Michelle don't worry. I am okay and still alive. Don't try looking for me, you won't be able to do it alone. Another will join me and his friend, who will become very close to you, will be the chosen one. Then you may search for me."

When we compared that video to Karl's disappearance we discovered that Karl was pushed off of his bored by some one who we did not see until we took a hard look at that video. Later in that video the blue writing did appear, and this time it said, "Surf the break."

I did what it said, but I was fear stricken. Michelle cried the whole time and I surfed all night long until I became really tired. As I headed to the beach my fin grabbed onto something. I was scared to death -- it was Karl's board -- and engraved on it were the words, "Assatige Island."

We traveled to Assatige Island and walked the beach for three weeks until one night I happened to see a board floating on the water. I retrieved it and it was her brother's board, but there was nothing written so we just decided to travel. Ironically we traveled in the direction that the board was floating and every where we stopped we found a clue connecting Karl and my wife's brother Lance.

We were recently led to Mexico and found a grave that had no body in it but a note that said "We miss you both." Michelle and I were married in Mexico on the beach what we saw that night we will never forget. We saw phantasmic images of Karl and Lance in the Moon light by the water. That night neither one of us cried again. To this day we are still searching . . .

I've combed many a beach in my day -- and have wondered lately when the first Surf Story would roll in -- and there you were. So BRAVO! And, thanks!

Still, all in all, I had one yet burning question about this whole episode: Is it possible at all, being that there is so much talk about that 'Ol Triangle, that these dudes were wearing Bermuda Shorts????? (yikes...groan...!!)

 

 

Bonus Ghost Story

 

A Night With Inez
by Kimberly Penkava
E-mail: penkavak@juno.com
Hailing From: Hollywood, Florida
Where it Happened: Micanopy, Florida

As a devoted follower of the supernatural, I have had many experiences. However, none have left an impression as the one I am to tell.

It was a cold winter day last December in Micanopy, Florida. My boyfriend, Erick and I decided to stay the night in town at an old historic bed and breakfast inn called The Herlong Mansion. The beautiful and charming B&B is famous for its resident ghost, Inez.

Inez was one of the Herlong children who, along with her fellow siblings, lived in the mansion many years ago. After her father died, Inez battled her brothers and sisters for the home. Time went on -- and it was a bitter family struggle -- but in the end it was Inez who won. Only a few months later, Inez collapsed unexpectedly in one of the bedrooms in the old mansion, and died.

Ever since then she has remained as the Herlong's eternal guest.

The most haunted room in the house has been said to be the room in which she died in, Mae's Room. As an amatuer ghost hunter, there was no question in my mind as to which room I would stay in overnight.

My boyfriend and I checked in early in the day and had no sign of Inez until late in the night. After a day of sightseeing and relaxing, Erick and I came back to the Herlong. Twillight was setting in on the sleepy little town, as we decided to stretch out in the parlor. Night came upon us while we watched television downstairs. Before we knew it, the mansion had become dark and quiet, as all the guests retired for the night in their rooms. Erick and I sat alone in the parlor. I knew we soon had to go upstairs and introduce ourselves to our ghostly roommate.

After what seemed like forever, we ventured upstairs. I approached our door before Erick did -- and that's when I smelled it. The most beautiful, unusual odor I had ever smelled. It was like the scent of flowers and baby powder. Sweet like vanilla and with a strong trace of violet. It was definetly something I had never smelled before. I stopped suddenly after smelling it, but shrugged it off trying to think of a logical explanation. I never even told Erick. We went into the room hoping to see something "ghostly," but no such luck.

We realized how tired we were, and decided to cuddle up under the covers and get a little sleep. As much as I wanted to keep my eyes peeled for Inez, I knew waiting up for her wouldn't make her appear. Ghosts usually catch the living off guard. Erick immediately fell asleep. After a few minutes, my heavy eyelids finally shut -- and that's when Inez made her introduction.

I felt a weird sensation originating from my feet by the side of the bed. It was cold and odd. The smell was there too -- but it was at a distance; it was faint. Soon, the sensation began to travel up alongside of my body and the smell grew stronger. Then, there it was, all at once. The sensation was so overwhelming and intense! It was right on top of me as if she were smothering me; almost hugging me. It as if she were wrapping her arms around me. The perfume fragrance was right underneath my nose. It was so strong--it was overpowering! I could even smell her hair -- it smelled like hair tonic -- and I even breathed in the smell of her skin! It was so unbelievable.

I must've jumped pretty good because Erick awoke. He had no idea what was going on and after I told him, he even began to deny it, but Inez decided to make him a believer. At that moment, she rushed upon both of us -- Erick and I both jumped at the exact same time. I had him tell me what he felt and had him describe the smell. It was exactly the same things I had experienced. Throughout the night, Inez visited our bedside. She really took to me, especially. Every once and awhile she came up alongside of Erick giving him a little spook but she mainly stayed by me.

Inez turned out to be an extremely friendly ghost. I learned to accept her presence and even talked to her most of the night. Everytime I did, she would come up alongside me. There were even times during the night that she would play with my hair. When I would feel her next to me, I would turn to her and in that spot it would be cold and sweet smelling.

It was so weird.

At times she left the room and Erick and I would begin to miss her. She was like a motherly figure -- comforting and gentle. Then, the smell would float back into the room. Erick and I grew weary and kept dozing off -- however Inez wanted me awake. Everytime I drifted off the slightest bit, she woke rustle the covers or come up real close to my face. I began to grow tired of her antics and told her eventually around 6:00 a..m. to let me sleep. Seeing how tired I was, she let me be and vanished.

I never felt her presence again after that or smelled her sweet perfume. After leaving the Herlong, I felt so sad -- like I was leaving a very special friend behind. I have been back since to the B&B, and everytime it has been a memorable visit. Thank you, Inez.