Mystery

Ghost Stories For Christmas…..?

December 19, 2023 /

I don’t believe in ghosts. I don’t believe in the supernatural, nor in the possibility of souls living on after death. It must surely be highly unlikely that in the modern era with our advancements in science and technology, such things can exist without us having found definitive proof by way of direct evidence. But of course we all love a ghost story and we all love a mystery, especially a mystery which cannot be explained away by any semblance of logic.

Moreover, there is an inherent comfort in believing that troubled spirits need to be granted peace, or that the spirits of history, particularly an evil history, live on in the fabric of a building. Strange noises in a house where murders took place; the sound of a sobbing child in a property once filled with sorrow; poltergeists and mediums – these are all things which intrigue; things which, no matter how much of a sceptic you are, part of you wants to know more, to hear the story but not find the answer. It’s a subject which enthrals us all.

I may not believe in ghosts, but I do wonder about the true power of the human mind. What abilities, what sixth senses, did we used to possess, which have lapsed into disuse because we no longer need them? Did fortune tellers, soothsayers and shamen really have a genuine ability – or, indeed, do we all have latent abilities of which we are no longer aware? Would such powers, or abilities, perhaps explain those matters which are perceived as supernatural? 

I have three stories to tell, maybe you can draw your own conclusions.

In the early 1980s, I moved with my first wife and the first two of our three children into an older property dating from the late 19th century. A few months in to our time there and with our third child now with us, my daughter, the oldest of the three, was decidedly a Daddy’s girl. One day, as I saw her run up the curving staircase and disappear towards her bedroom, I decided to creep up and surprise her in her room. I crept to the door, then burst in with a roar, and…she wasn’t there.

In fact, nobody was upstairs, yet I was certain I had seen her disappearing around the staircase just a few yards ahead of me. What or who had I just seen? Over the next few months, there were more glimpses of this mystery child –  so much so that I told my wife about it, and we christened our “guest” with the name Emily. She was short but slender, probably a little older than my daughter Lindsay, with long straggly hair, and was always wearing a nightshirt. Classic ghost stuff.

In the early hours of one night, I awoke, slowly at first, aware that somebody was standing right next to me, close to my face and looking directly at me. Emily’s face was clear, framed by her long hair, her earnest eyes seeming to cry for help. I leapt from bed, instinctively heading for Lindsay’s bedroom. As I approached and got within a few yards of Lindsay, she vomited in her sleep, laying on her back. Would she have choked had I not been there? What had driven me to her room? Was it that we were so close that my subconscious mind – that hidden sixth sense ability which I described above – had enabled thought waves from Lindsay’s troubled mind to reach me, even when were both sleeping, and manifested as the “sight” of Emily?

Fast forward to Christmas 1992, Lindsay is now just short of thirteen years old. My working life is in turmoil, I have fallen into irreparable dispute with my Co-Directors and am wrestling with the dilemma of fighting a losing battle with them or resigning and falling off the career ladder, taking an extended Christmas break to try to get my head together and resolve this most difficult of situations. In the midst of my turmoil I had the deepest, most remarkable dream.

In my younger years my maternal grandmother had been a huge influence on my life, a demure, respectable lady with a very strong old fashioned stiff upper lip British outlook on life. “Keep your counsel, Philip”, was her unerring advice. That night, just before Christmas, I dreamt with unnatural clarity that my Nan, long dead by now, came to see me and offer advice – advice along the lines of, be true to yourself, Philip – make your decision because you’re being true to yourself, then you will be able to live with the consequences. I woke with a start – it had been such an incredibly vivid dream that I couldn’t shake the feeling that my long dead Nan had been there, beside my bed, offering advice.

Perturbed by the vivid dream, I headed to the bathroom, but at the exact moment I turned the corner, Lindsay came out of her bedroom and we came face to face, startling each other in the process.

“Oh my God, Dad”, she said, “I just had this weird dream that you were out here talking to a little old lady”.

What had just happened? Had the same bond worked in reverse, this time Lindsay’s mind being receptive to my troubles, rather than the other way round? 

Those two stories can perhaps be explained by those latent powers of the mind of which we know so little. In fact, what other explanation is there? My third and final story cannot be explained the same way though. Maybe again you can draw your own conclusions…

Late May 2018, just a few years ago, now in the house in which we still live today. Michaela and I are awoken one morning by a loud clattering sound from downstairs – I run to the living room but nothing is untoward. As I walk in, a crow flies up and away from outside the window. The same happens the following morning: loud clattering, nothing changed, but the same crow flying away as it senses me arrive downstairs.

After a few days of this it dawns on us what is happening – the crow is attacking its reflection in the window. We Google this strange behaviour, and find that it’s a fairly rare occurrence based on territorial protection, the crow thinks it has an unwelcome rival on its patch. But the internet also gives another, more intriguing connotation: in older times, a crow attacking its reflection in your house window was believed to signal imminent death in the family and was a portent of doom.

The morning clattering continued daily until the weekend. On Sunday June 3rd my father died. Since that day we have never once heard that crow, or any other crow, clattering into our window.

Dad’s death wasn’t a surprise, he was 92 and had been ill for a while. But the crow didn’t know that….did it?

You May Also Like

Mystique & Magic In Avalon

October 30, 2022
Chamula Village Chiapas

Into A Spiritual World….And Out Again

August 13, 2022

23 Comments

  • Toonsarah

    December 19, 2023 at 1:49 pm Reply

    I’ve heard other similar stories and I’m inclined to think there must be some truth in the notion that the dead can revisit us in some manner – not all the dead and not very often, but for some reason it can happen. And we also have a feeling there is one in our own 1890 built house, as we’ve both half-seen a figure, or rather been aware of one, in the same spot on the upstairs landing.

    • Phil & Michaela

      December 20, 2023 at 8:40 am Reply

      I don’t believe that’s what happened here, I really think that it was telepathy between my daughter and me which my brain interpreted in the only way it could rationalise it – that is, the form of a person. I can’t explain the crow thing at all though!

  • Helen Devries

    December 19, 2023 at 2:16 pm Reply

    Two cases for you.
    Mother, a very down to earth woman, was posted to Naworth Castle near Carlisle, during the war. On a free afternoon she and a friend were walking in the grounds, by a stream alongside a cherry orchard in blossom when they both stopped. Her friend just fled but she felt unable to move, overcome with a feeling of dread, so real as if death was at hand. Her friend shouted, the spell broke and she too fled. No one could explain it…but recently I have been reading Chris Mullin’s diaries for 2010 to 2022 where he mentions visiting Philip Howard at Naworth and refers to a hanging tree, providing summary justice for reivers, and wonder if that might be the connection.
    The other, my husband, in France.
    The dog woke him in the early hours, and he heard footsteps running up and down the stone staircase. He went out, saw nothing, but the footsteps continued…more than one person. It stopped, he went back to bed, and some time later heard sounds coming from the bathroom, like buckets of water being thrown against the walls…again, no one visible.
    Talking to a neighbour it appears that the house was the site where a real resistance member was tortured to death by the owner – a well known collaborator who turned his coat when German defeat was inevitable like any number of other prominent people.
    Clearly, no mention of that fact featured in the estate agent’s details!

  • grandmisadventures

    December 19, 2023 at 2:30 pm Reply

    While I don’t really believe in ghosts (mainly because the idea of seeing one scares me) I have experienced moments where the influence and guidance of someone passed were so clear that there was no denying it. These moments have been rare, but came when needed most. Like the ghost of Marley coming to Scrooge, this time of year lends a little to ghost stories.

    • Phil & Michaela

      December 20, 2023 at 8:52 am Reply

      I read your story. Funnily enough we’ve also had a bat in our room, in Cahuita in Costa Rica. We lay in bed watching it circle the room, but opening windows isn’t an option in an insect-rich climate. We both fell asleep with the creature still with us, but a little while later woke to find it gone, presumably leaving the house by whichever route it came in.

  • MrsWayfarer

    December 20, 2023 at 2:38 pm Reply

    I like reading/listening to/watching ghost stories. I haven’t experienced any but I like to think there’s some connection to another galaxy where there’s another ‘us’.

  • Alison

    December 21, 2023 at 12:53 pm Reply

    Very intriguing story Phil, like you I don’t believe anything like that, but nothing has ever happened to me. But there must be truth in it as you are a very down to earth person. With the dream about your nan I think you knew what to do she just reinforced it.
    My brother is also very down to earth but since moving into a 300 year old house he has definitely had visions of other people in the house. I tease him about it but I’ve never slept there!

  • Monkey's Tale

    December 21, 2023 at 5:46 pm Reply

    Spooky. I’ve just spent the last two weeks staying in my mom’s room in palliative care. One of the nurses told us there are ghosts on that floor. I don’t believe in ghosts, but one night when I was the only one up with my mom, the door creaked wide open, but no one came in. I checked the hall and no one was around. The next morning my sister joked saying a ghost wouldn’t use the door. I think there was a draft somewhere that opened the door, but who knows!

  • Travels Through My Lens

    December 21, 2023 at 7:05 pm Reply

    Interesting stories. have a true fear of ghosts. I have never seen one, and I hope I never do. However, I have heard many people say that they have seen them. I have a friend who told me that when his son was young, he mentioned that a nice lady often came through his bedroom wall to talk to him. Creepy!

  • Michelle Hollywood Girl

    January 31, 2024 at 3:41 am Reply

    To be honest, not many people in the world are true atheists. Even Charles Darwin himself was agnostic, meaning he never claimed there wasn’t a god, neither did he claim there was. Einstein was a follower of Spinoza, meaning he did believe in a universal creator (just not one that talks to humans). There is far more in the world that we know of. Ghosts are very possible, and it’s not a scientific approach to believe there aren’t any.

We’d love to hear from you