Encounters

When I do my one book-signing event a year, at the Psychic and Paranormal Expo held in Iowa every November, I often ask people to share a personal ghost story with me. And I’ve been lucky enough to hear some really terrific ones. I’ll never turn away a true ghost story!

But lately I’m considering asking people about other encounters they might have had. I’d be interested in cryptozoology sightings (seen a Bigfoot lately? Catch a glimpse of the Loch Ness monster on your trip over to Scotland?), ghost light spotting, or even a really well-told UFO story. The kind of encounter I’d like to touch on today, though, is angelic.

I know there are entire books out there about angel sightings and experiences. I’ve read some of them and enjoyed the stories quite a bit. I’ve read various magazines dealing with the topic. And I’ve heard some stories from others around me. A co-worker once told me of her father’s experience when he took a fall while working perhaps seventy feet above the deck of a Navy ship. He had enough time to realize he was going to die when he hit the flooring below, but just before he hit, something caught him and lowered him gently to his feet. Now, this man is an engineer, a profession based in practical science. But after that, he was a true believer.

My mother was also protected twice by the house I grew up in. Now, maybe it was angels. Maybe it was whatever haunted the place that had taken a liking to her. But one time when she was home alone –and this was during the day- she literally watched as a man tried to break into the house at the side door. Our side entrance had both storm and regular doors, and as she looked on, he pried and pried away at the lock of the door. She had already called my aunt (my mom was so freaked out by this that she didn’t even think of dialing nine-one-one. My aunt totally freaked out and called my oldest brother. And he finally said, hang up and call nine-one-one.) The police did eventually get there. They found the damage around the door handle from whatever tool the man was using before he gave it up and simply left. And then one of policemen said to my mother, “I have no idea why he couldn’t get in. He should have been inside in a matter of seconds.”

There was another time when a man doing roof repairs found a couple of tools and some pry marks left around one of the upper story windows and even one pane of glass that had been removed  from the outer storm window (this window was over a balcony). Again, no one could figure out how the would-be thief was never able to get into the house, because he should have been able to enter, no problem. I think the house looked out for my mom. And maybe angels, too.

I’m thinking not all angels are visible. For instance, what whispers in someone’s mind not to get on a certain plane or a train, and then that person finds out later that there was a horrific accident with few or no survivors? What is it that tells a person that someone close to them is very sick or in distress?

And who was it that came to me one summer afternoon when I was walking down the street on my way to a class, privately in distress over the rough time I was having both at home and in a serious relationship? He stopped me in the middle of the sidewalk to tell me that everything was going to be all right, and that I shouldn’t worry. He was very nice and very gentle and he smiled before he walked away from me. I turned around a few seconds later, after finally managing to process what this perfect stranger had just told me, and he was nowhere to be found. Not steps away, like he should have been. Not across the street like he might have been if he started sprinting as soon as we parted ways. There was simply no sign of him. Anywhere. But I’ll never forget that encounter. And it turned out that he was absolutely right. This is not a story I share lightly; in fact, I kept it to myself for years and I’ve hardly told anyone about it since. But I’m sharing it now because I think there are beings out there who do lend us a hand sometimes, whether in physical form, or in the quick flash of a thought or a feeling: to protect, to warn, maybe just to encourage or maybe even to all-out save a life.

Have you ever had an encounter you can’t quite explain?

The Paranormal Explosion

Years ago, think the late '90's, I had a job that allowed me access to the Internet and also afforded me chunks of downtime. Since I was still relatively new to quick Internet access (we had dial-up at home: remember all those weird sounds it would make when it was connecting?) I would sometimes get online and search for ghost stories. There was one site in particular that I really liked and I spent my free time reading ghost stories related by people from all over the country.

Since that time and the invention of search engines, looking for ghost stories brings up an amazing result. Just like when I was at that job, sometimes I will search for "ghost stories" or "paranormal" or specific things like "Sasquatch" or "mermaids." And I am always blown away by the lists and pages that pop up on any of those topics.

Before I sat down to write this, I looked up "ghost stories." Holy Halloween, Batman! There were pages and pages of sites offering true ghost stories, videos, ghost hunts, pictures, and all manner of things paranormal. Note: I already know that looking up "supernatural" leads straight to my beloved TV series so I don't use that as a topic when I'm searching.

Anyone having access to the Destination America network, and who actually watches it (and why wouldn't you? They just picked up The Haunted Collector's old shows!) will have seen an advertisement for yet another website: Destination America's very own The Hauntist.com. I spent a little time trying to find it and learned that you have to type in "Destination America" as well as the website name. But I found it. Lots of videos and excerpts from shows like A Haunting. I plan to check it out from time to time to see if they ever pick up anything not related to television.

In the meantime, I have a folder of bookmarked paranormal articles and sites that have caught my attention and that I might want to visit again. This is related to the file of actual newspaper clippings and magazine articles that I have about ghosts, hauntings, and unexplained phenomena. I keep the file on a shelf close to a slew of books about true ghost stories. And every Halloween I peruse the newspapers and the Internet to see what comes up. It's nice to have a holiday related to all of this - it's like an early Christmas for paranormal aficionados!

So I continue to add to my collection of article and books and online sites.

But I don't want any more dead people hanging around my office, so I will never again bookmark any site having to do with memento mori. Pictures of people who are dead and then posed in a studio are just a little too disturbing for me. But you don't have to take my word for it. Go ahead and search "memento mori" and see what pops up. Or pops into your house...

Ghosts and Pie

What happens when three paranormal/supernatural writers plus their spouses get together for dinner?

Two weeks, ago, my husband Jim and I were lucky enough to draw a dinner invitation from renowned writer Terri Reid and her husband, Richard. Also invited were gifted everything-to-do-with-the-writing-industry (as in writer, editor, e-publishing formatter, POD formatter, cover designer, and all around nice guy) colleague Donnie Light and his wife, Barbara. This was the first time some of us were meeting each other, but instead of any kind of awkwardness or anxiety, the conversation began with ghost stories and we were off and running for at least an hour with that particular topic. Credit must be given to Terri's friendly and very outgoing son, Andy, who was not the least bit shy when it came to telling tales about his haunted home. (Yes, Terri lives in a haunted house.) 

We talked animals and their sensitivity, shadow people, haunted historical sites, personal experiences, and haunted reality TV. In other words, we had a really good time just talking.

We also discussed writing in general, the current shifts in publishing, and our own hopes and dreams as writers. For me, that was a crucial part of the evening. Writing is a very solitary profession, and that explains things like writers' groups, critique groups, and chat boards. We talk online and send each other congratulations, but in the end, all of us go back to our keyboards, and do what we do. Alone. I'm not complaining. I think a bunch of us have hermit tendencies anyway, truth be told. But getting together with others who understand the whole gig is an amazing thing.

So what I took away that night when we all parted was the warmth of real camaraderie, the realization that I might work alone but I don't need to be lonely, and the well-wishes of some very large forces in my chosen industry. 

I also took away the amazing apple pie serving that I did not finish, and a welter of ghost stories that may or may not turn up in various forms in my writing. There is always more than one way to nourish a writer of the supernatural!

By the way, the attached picture has nothing whatsoever to do with this blog post. I just wanted to share a picture of my two favorite hunters. Besides, I'm writing this on Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be grateful for!!!