We Are Not Alone

Ever since we moved into our house/apartment, we've suspected that we have ghosts or spirits or whatever you want to call them. I don't know if you believe in them, but I do and always have. Maybe it's because of where I grew up; there's a lot of history there and tons of ghost stories and haunted places. So, anyway, we've suspected the presence of spirits. Why? you might ask. Well, there do appear to be cold spots in the house. Okay, maybe that could be due to the bad construction, drafts of air, random chills. But then there is the odd behavior of the cats. It has been postulated that animals and children are more aware of the presence of spirits because they lack the doubting nature of adults. Well, Buca and Shelby sometimes both react in strange ways at night. They'll whine and scratch at a wall. Or just sit there and stare at it. Or they'll be looking off into thin air but following something with their eyes and head and their tails will be twitching.

A few months ago, while at the library waiting for a computer to be free (this was before my awesome $200 used laptop purchase), I was browsing the shelves of books next to it and happened upon the section for the paranormal. I picked up a book by a woman who claims to help spirits "cross over". One of her assertions is that spirits will usually congregate in a dwelling that has been empty for some time. Well, the house we live in (we have the bottom apartment) was empty for at least 6 months before we moved in. Hmmmm.

So, anyway, I have occasionally felt the hair on the back of my neck and arms stand up and gotten that weird chill that you get when you sense something, always when I'm home alone, late at night. That, along with the cats' behaviors, has been the only signs that there might be something else in the house besides the Cuz, the cats, and me, although my Cuz and I have discussed it and we both agree that there's something else there.

That was, until last night.

(cue the Twilight Zone music)

Cuz told me, upon waking up today, that she saw a ghost in her room last night. She said she thought it was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt but she couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman, but thinks it was a man. It was standing kind of between the corner of her bed and her closet in the diagonal corner of the room. As she's telling me this, I'm getting that hair standing up, chill thing happening. I asked her what she did, and she said she threw a pillow at it, then closed her eyes. She said when she opened them, that it was gone.

This is the first time that one of them has revealed themselves to us, and I wonder why? Why that one, why to my cuz, and why now? I have thought sometimes that I saw something go by in my peripheral vision, but I have lots of floaters in my eyes and have always explained it away. But what if it wasn't just the floaters, but other ghosts? They don't seem to make noises, or to move things, or do anything else. Maybe they just want a place to hang out that's generally quiet, no barking dogs, no screaming kids, no loud music or arguments or yelling. I dunno, but it's really pretty fucking freaky.

I think when I go home this evening I'll ask the spirits if they would like to move upstairs. It's empty now, as the crapass loud yelling abusive neighbors have left (that's a whole new story). Well, they actually got evicted, but no matter, the place is empty and the ghosts could have it all to themselves.

It's really a shame that they didn't go up there and scare the bastards out in the first place. Then we'd like them a whole lot more.