Childhood Experiences (1)

After reading many of the stories on the web, I've suddenly come to the conclusion that maybe my childhood experiences were more than just a vivid imagination.

I remember many of my nights at home as a child being spent in absolute frozen terror. I'm sure my parents must have been sick and tired of me screaming out to them on many occasions in the middle of the night. Mum always said that it was just my imagination, but now I wonder?.

It seems strange when I look back on it, because during the day my room was bright and cheerful and held no fear. But as soon as I turned out my light, terror would overcome me. I always remember the dresser which was right next to my bedhead would sometimes let out a thump, just like there was someone knocking the wood on the inside. I thought maybe it was something falling in the drawer, but it really couldn't have been because they were always stuffed full of clothes (I was never neat and tidy) and it was always a sharp knock, not a dull thud.

I used to hear the boards creaking in the hall as well, as if someone was walking. Mum would say it was the floorboards moving, and one would set off the next. I also remember seeing a dark head and two hands peering around the corner of my bedroom door on morning, but convinced myself I was mistaken.

Another weird thing I used to see, and can still remember vividly but not explain, was the shadow of a cane moving across the blinds of my parents windows. I would sometimes end up in mum and dad's bed and be in there in the morning by myself. The sun would be streaming in behind the blind, which was down, when suddenly the shadow of a cane would go bobbing past. Mum couldn't explain it (she never saw it) and thought I must have been mistaking a tree branch. I used to have visions of some odd person walking on the footpath holding their cane up in the air, that's the only way I could explain it!

I have since had other experiences; for years the whole family used to hear our dog, who'd passed away, scuffling through the leaves outside my bedroom window. I also heard what I believe was the ghost of my grandfather walking down the hall and through a set of heavy wooden beads at my grandparents house, just after he'd passed away. I also had experiences with something at my place of work, which I recounted in another story (Haunted Office).

My father has also had his share of ghostly encounters, some quite amazing.

One last thing I'd like to mention, and maybe someone can shed some light on this for me; both my father and I can dowse (i.e. locate water courses with bent iron etc). Could the ability to dowse also be linked to a sensitivity to other things, such as spirits, as well?