I've had a couple of experiences with the paranormal, but the following story is about my most vivid encounter yet.............

It was the spring of 1992 and I was just finishing my 3rd semester of graduate school. With my finals complete I headed off for a little vacation visiting old pals and family members. My first stop was a childhood friend's house (I'll call him Greg). Greg's house is an old cinder block affair that he purchased from his grandmother's estate, planning to refurbish and live in a home he had loved since childhood. Upon my arrival at Greg's he informed me that he was going to a friend's house to help move some furniture. Although I was invited to tag along, I opted out in favor of a nap as I was tired from exams and the long drive.

Forgetting to lock up behind Greg, I went to lie down on the bed. I slept with my head at the foot of the bed with Greg's dachshund, Pete, snuggled close by. At approximately 9:30 pm I was awakened by a noise. Not sure what I had heard,I froze in my spot, noting that Pete was awake and watching the door of the bedroom. I remembered the unlocked front door and the trees blocking the front passage of the house. I was afraid that somebody had broken in and was planning to do God- only-knows-what to me and to Greg's property. After lying there for what seemed to be an eternity, I screwed up enough courage to turn my head and look at the bedroom doorway.

There was a man standing there! Then my brain kicked in and I realized that this was no ordinary man. Everything about him (skin, clothing, hair, etc.) was the brown color of old photographs, he ceased to exist below the knees, and I could see straight through him to the picture hanging on the wall behind him! A GHOST!!! He was regarding me with a pleasant enough look and he did not move. A feeling of calm came over me. I just knew that no harm would come to me in this house while this man looked over me. It was as if he wanted me to know that he was a guardian of sorts. I laid my head back down and went back to sleep; Pete took my cue and did the same.

An hour or so later I woke up for good. I went and locked up the house, turned on the TV, and toddled off to the kitchen for a snack. When Greg got back home I told him what had happened. He proceeded to inform me that the man was his grandfather who had passed away decades earlier. He also told me that his granny, when she was still alive, would sometimes see her husband standing at the foot of the bed watching over her and that another woman that had stayed in the house had seen his grandfather's ghost. It seems he only appears to females and offers his silent protection.

Seeing a ghost, however friendly, is always a startling experience for me. I still get a feeling of awe when I consider this particular encounter and, to this day, I am grateful for this loving grandfather ghost.

Submitted from: Elizabeth Davis, Virginia, USA