Was My Ghost My Friend or a Stranger?

I had two incidents very close together, both in time and in the areas they happened. Were they the same 'person'? Or were the incidents not even related?

A friend of mine had recently died. No one is sure if his "accident" was an incidental cross fire or an intentional murder. Many of his friends had sightings of him after his fatal accident...even me. Was he trying to tell us something?

Just a few days before this incident I, his sister, his brother and brother-in-law, had seen him just outside the sliding glass door at his parent's house. Was what I saw later set off by that sighting?

There is a place I frequently stop by. A nice outlook in the hills with an historical marker. I stopped there one night, locked all my car doors, and walked up the hill. It was clear and quiet, you could hear for miles, and not a soul was around. Except...

Just for an instant I saw my friend. I was sure it was him and it really sent the hairs up on the back of my neck. Reading about ghosts in stories, or hearing your friends tell about them is one thing but seeing one in person is something else.

I tried to tell myself that it was just the quiet and the night, with a touch of active imagination, but when I reached my car I stopped dead in my tracks. Every door in my car was open. Still locked, but open. Let me clarify that there were no cars and no one around. I would have seen or heard them.
I closed the car doors and lit up a cigarette without getting in just yet. I smoked the whole cigarette while freverently wishing I didn't have to get in and drive. Was it the friend I had seen above who did this? I decided (hoped) it had to be.

The raised hair and goose bumps were back. "Hey Howie, you going back to Texas with me? Cool!" Then I lit up a 'party favor' and pretended to be sharing it with him, even holding it out like I was passing it. I tried to make it a fun thing so I could get over being scared. Ther was no indication that my friend ( or the door opener) was anywhere near.

Shortly after, about ten miles from there, I stayed overnight at a Day's Inn Motel in Ardmore. Now when I stay at a hotel, I NEVER go to sleep before three or four am. Staying in a hotel is not about sleep, it's about being alone and getting a lot of letter writing done. In fact even at home, I never go to sleep before 2-3am if I can help it. That day I had slept in till around noon and felt great. It was oh so strange that I should fall asleep before ten.

At exactly 1am I went from dead asleep to such a total awakness, the likes of which I have never experienced. Totally awake but without a clue as to what woke me. Now the room was pitch black, not a glimmer to let me see what was around me. I finally got the courage to reach for the light, (chasing out the thought of a hand grabbing me as I slipped my hand out of the covers). Once the light was on, a quick glance around the room set my mind at ease. No unwanted visitor.

I was just thinking..."Okay, and so, what woke me?" When I heard the distinct sound of pills being shaken in a bottle. In my room. In my supposedly empty room. I finally got the courage to reach for the light, (chasing out the thought of a hand grabbing me as I slipped my hand out of the covers). Once the light was on, a quick glance around the room set my mind at ease. No unwanted visitor. But where did that sound come from?

There in the middle of the floor, about five feet from where I placed it, was my bag. I had left it near the wall on the table, way too far for it to have fallen off. So...what? Did it fly off the table or drop off and scoot itself five feet? The sound was now recognized as the pill bottle in my bag.

I always carry a candle with me when I go on one of these hotel trips. I like candles and it sets the mood for writing. I hoped my visitor might be my friend, he had been on my mind a lot, especially since seeing him before. So I tried to set up a seance-type thing, with the candle, a pencil and paper. No luck. After writing for a while telling my friend of this odd occurrence, I went to sleep. Approx. 3 years ago, a girlfriend and I went to stay in the same room but without incidence.

I have thought about that night many times. Was it him? Did he need to communicate something that I never figured out? I will never know.

Did my friend come to pay a visit? Was there a resident ghost that liked to wake guests? One thing for sure, no hand picked it up and placed it there....no living one anyway.

Experienced and recalled by Julie Carson

Edited by Chris Apao