Nothing Sinister On My Mind

What happened to me last night, is either my imagination or something really spooky. Similar things have happened to me, but for fear of being scared witless all the time, I tend to pass it off as my imagination or reading too many ghost stories!

Last night I went to bed before midnight, after reading a light-hearted and funny novel (no ghosts in the whole book!), so there was nothing sinister on my mind. I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. I don't think I dreamed, or if I did, I don't remember it. Anyway, a few hours later (afterwards I looked at the clock and it was 4.20am), I woke and I was lying on my back. Now what happened next happened really, really, fast. But the way I describe it, it sounds like it lasted a few minutes, when in reality, it was all first impressions. Anyway, as soon as I woke up on my back, I opened my eyes. My heart nearly stopped because there, standing above me was a very tall man. He wasn't at the end of my bed, but seemed to be standing in the middle of my (double) bed, his head nearly touching the ceiling. He was wearing a long grey overcoat with a collar, and had white hair. I remember his face, it was full of wrinkles and was grey, to match his coat. My first instinct was panic, and to get away from him/it. I ran out of my bedroom and onto the landing where I turned on the light. My heart was pounding, and I was truly frightened as I was really still half-asleep.

I thought about going into my parents' room, but being 23 years of age I felt a bit stupid! So I went back to my room and flipped on the light. No one there. My room isn't very big, and there's nowhere to hide, so I knew it was empty. I got back into bed and read my book until light, when I felt relaxed enough to catch an hours sleep before having to get up for work.

I told my mum what happened and she shrugged it off as being part of a dream. But I'm not too sure. You see, I have seen a man's face before, years ago, and my friend Marie was there to witness me seeing something. I was around 17 or 18 and we had just gone to bed after a night of gossip. A few hours later, Marie says I woke her up as I had lifted the covers off us and she was cold. She saw me sitting up and looking into a mirror, but from the angle I was at, all I would have been able to see was the ceiling and some wall. Well, I freaked her out because I was just staring and NODDING and smiling at something. I remember seeing a man's face in the mirror. He had a thin face, blue eyes and black hair. He was about 50. He didn't scare me, and I got up went to the bathroom, got back to bed and went to sleep. Marie was the one left lying awake scared! A few months after that a few friends and I visited a spiritualist church. We had never been before but were curious about what we had heard. Apparently a medium brings messages from people who have died, to their friends or relatives who are there.

We sat at the back and after singing a hymn (we giggled a bit at this!) the medium stood up and began to relate messages to people from their loved ones who were supposedly in the room. We were quiet then, as it was quite spooky.

After a while, the medium looked at me and said, "Do you know someone called Leslie?" I shook my head and she looked puzzled. Then she said, "Well, there is a man standing to your right called Leslie and he wants you to know that he is looking out for you, and not to worry about your exams." I was amazed as I was due to take my finals in a few weeks. Then she said that he said that Mary was there and that she was proud of me. I was even more amazed as Mary was my great grandmother's name and she had died a few years before!

The medium moved on but I was totally convinced that I had a guardian angel called Leslie. When I got home I told my mum and she said that she knew of no Leslie. She asked my grandmother (who's mum was Mary) and she said she had had a brother about 60 years ago, but he had died as a child of pneumonia! Maybe he was my guardian angel! Maybe the man I saw in the mirror was a grown up version of the child Leslie?

I felt comforted by this, but did once say out loud that I didn't want to see him any more as it would frighten me. But as for the man last night, I don't think it was him. He was too old and too frightening to be him. Plus I think Leslie would have respected my wishes. So your guess is as good as mine on who he was!

Sorry this has been so long!