My Three Experiences

Ever since I was little (which wasn't all that long ago), I have always believed in ghosts and paranormal phenomena. Since the age of 5, I have had several experiences with residents of the other side.

The first time was at Fort Bragg, NC. I was home with my neighbor babysitting me. It might sound like a stereotypical Hollywood movie scene, but it was storming really bad. I was sitting on the couch in the livingroom watching a cartoon when I had the urge to look outside. Lightning flashed and I saw what looked like a fallen log with a black cat walking on it. Another flash, and the log was gone, but there was a figure coming towards the window. With every flash, the figure got closer and closer to the window. Finally at about the fifth flash, I looked and the sight scared me. It looked an old lady with a manic grin on her face. I looked at it for a few seconds, then screamed for my sitter. I told her what I saw and tried to show her, but it was gone. She wrote it off as childhood over-imagination. For a while I believed she was right. That is until I was about 13.

At that time, we had left NC, and lived in upstate (and I mean UP state) NY. I still live in this town, which has a prison that dates back to at least the early 1900's. I was outside with my dog at night. It was a clear night, and it was just me, the dog and a flashlight. I suddenly got an uneasy feeling and looked over my shoulder. I saw a black figure coming toward me. Naturally, I flashed the light to see who it was, because my dad loves to play pranks on me. Well, I can tell you it wasn't my dad. The light went through the figure, and it was still coming toward me. I wasn't about to stay and see what it was, so I bolted into the house with the dog. I told my sister what happened, and she said she has felt the same feeling near the parts of the house closest to the side where my experience happened. Come to find out, behind my house (about 400 meters) there's the old prison grave yard. I know better than to go poking about it, so I won't go exploring to figure out who or what it was.

The final experience I wish to share was about a year later when I was assisting my mom in the museum she worked for. There was a tour group going through and I was sitting in the front room. I started to smell perfume that smelled like flowers. It was really strong, but since there were a few women in the group, I didn't think much of it. I was at lunch with my mom after they left, and she and I were talking. I asked her if she noticed if one of the women had strong perfume on. She said no, and asked me to describe it. It smelled like violets and roses, and it was really strong. Mom just smiled and said I had just "met" the female ghost in the building. I thought that was pretty cool since my other experiences where scary. We talked about other ghostly experiences, and she told me of a male ghost that they came to call "Samuel"... not Sam or Sammy... but Samuel. I hadn't experienced this ghost, but apparently he would move office supply and play little pranks like that. Nothing really to be scared of. I believe he was from the 1800's when the museum was a house during the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814. The house has a basement that was used as a dungeon, while the rest was a British hospital. Later, the house was a funeral home, an apartment house, and finally a museum. It is not a museum anymore, but the location where the museum was moved to is also a local haunted area.

I'm 19 now, and it seems to be the women of my family that have this sense, because I asked my dad, and he hasn't the faintest idea of what I'm talking about. But at least I know I'm not the only one in my family that have "met" these souls.