Tormented... (Ghost Encounter)

My final ghost encounter story for this month, comes from when I was 16 years old. No one knows about this encounter because I never had the nerve to talk about it. Now that I'm an adult I figure my mother can't punish me for sneaking out. Besides, what I witnessed the night I decided to disobey my mom was punishment enough.
          You can ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you that I am the most quiet and respectful person you will ever meet. I never broke the rules when I was younger, or at least that's what everyone thought. To be honest, my family only saw one side of me. That side was a sweet, shy girl who was scared to live. I never had to be watched every second of the day because I was so independent and way too smart for my own good. I used that side of me to get away with things my family didn't even know I was doing.
          The other side of me took advantage of the fact that I was shy and independent. No one ever expected me to do anything wrong and that was working perfectly for me. I would hang out with and date people I should not have been around, not even for a second. Worst of all, I would sneak out of my home and go off on my own little adventures. No one even knew I would leave the house.
          One night, that I'll never forget, I climbed out of my bedroom window and ran off into the night to meet up with a friend of mine. This friend and myself explored our little town in New Mexico and then went back to her house. Now my friend came from a very violent family. They were abusive, drunk, drug addicts that were hardly ever home. When they were, you always knew it because usually someone would get arrested.
          Her oldest brother was a scary example of how bad the people were in the house. I only met him once and when I did he scared the crap out of me. He would constantly talk to himself or, "the little men in his head," as he called them. He was abusive, to not only his sister, but his other siblings and his parents. I remember him once grabbing hold of my arm and glaring into my eyes after he caught his sister and I sneaking away from school. He only let go when she threaten to hit him with a rock. For about a week after I had nightmares and a bruise to remind me of our encounter. I didn't go to her house for a long time after that.
          However, soon after that incident, I did start visiting again, but only when I was sure he was dead. About a month or more later they found him dead at a known drug house. He was a hardcore drug user, so much so that he eventually overdosed and killed himself. "I'm glad he's dead..." is what my friend told me when I asked her how she was doing. She didn't even go to his funeral. In fact, I never even saw her sad or cry after he died. I only remember seeing her scared.
          The night I left my home to hangout with her, I saw her the most fearful I had ever seen her. As usual her parent were gone, along with her other siblings. She had the entire two story house to herself. That night, I just figured she was high. She kept telling me that her brother's ghost was walking through the house. She said, "he's torturing me!" Before this, she had told me stories about how she would see him in the corner of her eye, or how sometimes she would see him standing out in the backyard trying to get into the house.
          At first I thought she was just trying to scare me because she would laugh a little every time she would tell these things. That night, and because she had smoked weed, I figured her mind was just playing games on her. I was completely sober and I hadn't seen anything. So I convinced her everything was okay and I stayed with her as she fell asleep. Around 3 am in the morning, I decided to go into the kitchen and get some water. I walked down the stairs and for a split second I could have sworn I saw him sitting in the chair staring off into space. I laughed to myself and went straight into the kitchen. After getting a drink of water, something came over me. Suddenly I felt the most intense fear I had ever felt in my life. I even started shaking. I placed the glass down and started to go back upstairs, but something or someone stopped me. My arm burned as if someone were squeezing it. At that moment, I saw a faint image of a man crouching down and walking into a closet under the stairs.
          I started to scream, but I cupped my hand over my mouth. Making sure it wasn't any of my friend's younger siblings, I forced myself out of the kitchen and over to the closet. I slowly opened it, expecting to see something that would turn my hair white, but instead I saw nothing.
          As fast as I could I raced back up to my friends room. I closed her door and locked and then jumped into bed with her. I tried to wake her and tell her about what I had seen but I would have had more luck trying to wake a comatose patient. Suddenly, I heard a soft rapping at her door. I knew no one was there. I had just been down stairs and the doors were locked and the windows had bars over them.
          "Hello?" I said, hoping and praying her father or mother would answer. Silence. I laid there waiting for more knocks, but instead heard the floor broads began to creak. The door knob rattled and shook as whoever was on the other side tried to get in. At this point I was crying and shaking in fear. I wanted nothing more than to run home to my mom, however, the only way out was through the front door down stairs, which meant I would have to open the bedroom door.
          Not knowing what else to do, I laid there with my eyes closed and prayed. I repeated The Lord's Prayer, over and over again, until the footsteps entered the room. I opened my eyes and saw that the door was still closed and locked, yet, someone else had entered the room and was getting closer and closer to me but I couldn't see them. I nudged my friend, trying to wake her, but it was no use. All of a sudden, the walking stopped, but then quickly turned into running. I opened my eyes again and nearly had a heart attack. I saw her older brother, the one who had overdose and killed himself, run straight for me. I closed my eyes again before he could pounce on me and attack. I saw his face, the marks on his skin from his drug use, and the look of anger and insanity in his eyes. It was him.
          The rest of the night was a nightmare. He rattled the doorknob, knocked on the walls, and taunted me for hours. It was like he was daring me to open my eyes. I was actually tempted to smoke weed just so I would pass out like my friend. In too much fear to move, I stayed with my friend until it got light. I kept my eyes closed the entire time. As soon as I felt the sunlight on my skin, I ran as fast as I could from the house. I even ran straight pass my friend's mother, who was just getting home. She called out to me and asked if I was okay, but I didn't answer her. I just ran. A few days later, as I was getting dressed I noticed something on my arm. It was a bruise. It looked as if someone had grabbed hold of me and held on as tight as they could.
          After that night I never crept out of my house again.

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When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 13

"Are you sure this is where they are?" Antonio asked Jude as they ducked down behind a dumpster.   

      "Yeah. They're doing a stake out." answered Jude.

     Antonio, Jude, and Alana stayed hidden in a dimly lit neighborhood. They watched Detective Weir and his partner sitting in a car watching a house at the end of the block. The house was a mess. Its front yard was littered with junk. Broken toys and beer bottles sat side by side, along with ripped open trash bags and cigarette butts. Paint on the house was peeling off and a few of the windows were partially boarded up. The other houses on the block looked similar. It was hard to believe that people actually live on the homes. Mos of the people there were meth heads. Antonio knew this because he had either delivered drugs there or had someone else do the dirty work.

     Now Antonio was there not to sell drugs, but to kill a detective. Over the past few weeks Jude, Alana and himself had planned everything out. They used their contacts and found out exactly where the detective would be. The old, battered neighborhood, crippled with drug and gang violence was the perfect place. If something happened to the detective, there would be a million suspects. Investigators wouldn't know where to start in that neighborhood.

     “You shouldn't be here.” Antonio told his daughter.

     “I'm not letting you do this alone.” Alana told him, ducked down beside Jude. “Besides, this was my idea too. I should be here.”

     “She's right.” said Jude

     “Stay out of this, Jude.” Antonio warned.

     “She wants to be a part of this.” Jude reminded him. “Hell, she planned most of it. If this is the life style she wants to live, she gotta get used to this shit.”

     Alana gave her dad a reassuring look and reached across Jude and gave her father's hand a squeeze. Jude was right. Alana had to get used to this, used to death. The club was her family and unfortunately this is what they did. They looked out for each other, even if it meant killing someone else.

     “I'm safe with you dad.” Alana told him, releasing his hand. “This is for my Aunt, your sister.” she reminded Antonio.

     “Lets do this.” Jude said placing a silencer on his gun. “Remember, his partner lives.” he told them pulling down his mask.

     “You stay here and keep a look out.” Antonio told Alana as he readied his gun and pulled his mask down also. “ The rest of the club is a few blocks back. If something goes wrong, run. Go to them.” he told her. 

     Jude and Antonio quietly crept towards the car. Detective Weir and his partner was so busy watching the meth house they never even saw the approaching two. Jude and Antonio hoped over fences and used old broken down cars to shield themselves from the detective's view. They had almost made it up to the tail end of the detectives car when the sound of screeching wheels filled their ears.

     Antonio spun around, no longer concerned about the detectives. A car with its headlights off sped towards them. It nearly clipped the edge of the dumpster Alana was hiding behind, but missed it only by the grace of God. The speeding car only came to a stop when it slammed hard into the detectives car. 

      Detective Weir's car skidded out into the intersection of the block. Its back end was a complete loss. The other car was totaled as well. However, inside both cars there was movement. 

      "Hey!" Detective Weir yelled out. "Are you okay?" he asked his partner.

     Suddenly the other car's occupant, a hooded man, stepped out of the car. Slightly wobbling from the impact, he reached behind his back and pulled out an tech-9. Before Antonio knew what was happening the man began firing at the detectives. Detective Weir pushed his partner out of the car through the passenger door. They both hid on the other side of their destroyed car. 

      From down the street another car, this one with its headlights on sped onto the block. Several people jumped out and also began firing at the detective's car. Sirens could be heard coming from all directions as the shoot out got worse, and Antonio, Jude, and Alana were trapped in the center of it.

(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

Residual...

I have been dreading writing about this encounter. The past few months have been absolutely horrible for my family. We experienced two deaths in June and July, only weeks apart. A few weeks ago, we lost another loved one very unexpectedly. Obviously these past few months have been horrible, but my family and myself are pushing through and holding on to our faith in Christ.
However, getting past these last few months have been kind of hard for me.
     One of the loved ones we lost was my dog Pugg. If your not an animal lover, you may think, "Its just a dog. Get another one." Considering the fact that Pugg one of the best friends I had ever had and one of the only other living souls on this earth that loved me no matter what, "just getting another dog," is not that easy for me. I had him for 15 years. He was with me when I was sick, when my mom was sick, and kept us smiling through almost everything. He bugged the hell out of me sometimes, but I miss him so much it literally hurts.
     The same goes for my Grandma. She passed away a few weeks before Pugg. I have so many memories of her that I want so badly to relive. I think of the three deaths we faced, her's hit me the hardest. I feel like I failed her, my mother and the rest of my family that was able to be with her. During her last moments, I wasn't able to be with her. I just couldn't bear to see her go. I never imagined her leaving us.
     Since then, I smell her. It's weird that I not only remember how she and her house smelled when I was little, but that I also still smell it today. I've even smelled my Grandpa and he passed away about a decade before my Grandma. I've heard her talking and I dream about her constantly. There's not a day that goes by that I don't see or hear Pugg barking. Just a few weeks ago I swear I saw him run into my room like he always did, wanting to go outside.
     My cousin, my Grandma and Pugg, I will miss them forever and I'll love them even more. I just wish I could see them again. I know I will again one day in paradise, but for now I just have to wait. Anyway, I know this isn't a scary ghost encounter, but it's something I wanted to share. I know my loved ones are still around me. I feel them everyday and I am so grateful that God is allowing me to do so.

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When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 12

Part Twelve

Antonio waved the cloud of dust, that the detective's car kicked up, away from his eyes. He watched the car speed away and once it was out of sight and he had calmed down, Antonio hurried back into the bar. Ignoring the questions of his friends and barely glancing at Alana, he made his way back into the office and sat at the desk. His heart pounded in his chest. At that moment if he could have punched through a wall he would have. He was free. “I'm free. I'm out!” he said aloud to himself.        Antonio popped his knuckles and tried to catch his breath. There had to be a way out this. He was innocent. They knew this. That's why he was released. He and his sister hadn't set that cop up, the cop had set them up. He was bad. He was the worst! 

     “Dad?” Alana's soft spoken voice calmed the agitation in his chest and mind. “What's wrong?” she asked with Jude standing close behind.

      Not wanting to lie to her, Antonio quickly told her about what happened. He told her about the drugs and how the under cover cop was stealing from them and selling those drugs to rivals on the side, and taking a profit of each sell for himself. Antonio also told about how the cop put everything he had done on Antonio's gang and then killed his sister to prove his loyalty to the other gang. Most importantly, Antonio told his daughter that he had killed that cop.

      “And now their trying to send you back to jail?” Alana asked. 

      Antonio nodded.

     “Man, you know they can't do that.” Jude told him.

      Surprisingly, he was calm. He stood with his hands in his pockets leaning against the wall. Alana sat in a chair in front of the desk, staring lovingly at her dad. There wasn't anything he could do that would have made her love him less. Or maybe the biker mentality was staring to take control of her. He had seen a lot of good girls come into the club. After awhile their love and loyalty for the club and their father, brother, or boyfriend couldn't be broken or upset by anything.

      “Jude is right, dad.” she told him. “Don't worry. We'll fix this. I promise.”

      “How? If that detective has anything on me, I'm back in prison.” Antonio said, fighting back his tears.

      “Well...” Jude said. "We'll just have to make sure he doesn't talk." 

      "Jude." Antonio said shifting his eyes to Alana.

      "Dad, I've been living with a biker gang for over a month now." she reminded him. "I don't think there much that can scare me anymore."

      "I don't want you involved with this." Antonio told her.

      "I'm already involved." said Alana. "That cop took my dad and my aunt. If..." Alana started. "If getting rid of this detective keeps you and the club safe, than do what you need to do." she told him.

(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

Don't Look Under The Bed...(Ghost Encounter)

My next encounter comes from when I was about 8 years old. My mother had gone to work and my siblings and myself were being watched by my grandparents. The house my grandparents lived in has been around since the 1800's. My mother told me once that an elderly man came to the house when she was a child and told her that he was born there. This was in the early 1960's.We know the house was at one time a boarding house. People all over my home town know of it. It's very hard to miss, especially since its been around since the early days of the town.
     I love my grandparents. I always have and always will. However, I hated visiting them and it was all because of that house. From as far back as I can remember I have seen and heard things in that house that I have never been able to explain.
     The house is huge. It was so big that there are some rooms in the house that I've only been in maybe once or twice since I was born. The room that I spent the most time in and experienced the most in was the Green Room. The Green Room was called this because my grandma had decorated the room with green bed spreads, curtains, and there was even a big green chair in the room. Honestly, even though I saw many spirits in the room, I still loved spending time in there. It just felt peaceful and calm to me.
      One time, when I was little, I had taken a nap and woke up just as the sun was going down. When I opened my eyes a woman in an old maids uniform was standing in the doorway staring at me. She smiled, nodded, and walked out of the room. Although I could see straight through her, she acted as if she were just as solid as I was. Aside from that memorable encounter, I've seen disappearing men women and children running through the front yard, backyard and throughout the house. I would also wake up and see spirits standing over me while I slept. I could even here footsteps and people talking up in the attic even though the attic was completely closed off from the rest of the house.
     These encounters scared me, but never enough to make me terrified to go back to that house. Only one instance caused me such fear that I was never able to be in the back part of the house alone again. What was so weird about this encounter is that it happened during the daytime. It wasn't even close to getting dark. My siblings and myself were being watched by my grandparents while my mom was at work. We were all in the living room watching TV, when I decided to go to the bathroom. So, I went into the bathroom in the back of the house. It was the master bathroom and was conjoined with my grandparent's bedroom.
     As I left the bathroom, something caught my eye. It was something under the bed. Everything in me told me not to look and to just go back into the living room. However, because I have always been a curious person, I decided to look. From the bathroom doorway, I got down on my knees and peeped under the bed. At first, my eye refused to except exactly what they were seeing. For a few seconds I kept telling myself, "No. I'm not seeing this." But, I was.
     As I looked out from the bathroom, I stared at a man hiding underneath my grandparents bed and he was staring right back at me. I looked him right in the face and he didn't even flinch. He just stared back at me with a drained, yet, upset look on his face. To this day I can't get his face out of my mind. I still remember exactly what he looks like. He was maybe in his early 30's and had wavy but slicked back hair. He looked as if he were biracial and had deep laugh lines on his face.
     Obviously, seeing this man staring at me from under the bed scared the crap out of me. I was frozen in fear. All I could do was scream for help. My brothers ran into the room to check on me and I told them about the man under the bed. They checked it and the rest of the house, but found no one. Beneath the bed was empty.  After I had calmed down, I talked to my mom about what had happened. She was shocked, not that I had seen a ghost but that I had seen the same man she and her sisters had seen when they were children.
     When my mom was a little girl, her and her sister came home from school and found the same man standing in the same room I had seen him in. However, instead of hiding under the bed he was standing near the window. My mom and her sisters panicked and ran out of the house. They went to a neighbor and he immediately checked the entire house but found no one. The windows and doors, aside from the front door my mother and her sisters ran out of, were closed and locked. I'm not sure who this man is, but he's been attached to that house for far too long.

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 11

Part Eleven

After hearing her name and seeing the strong resemblance, Antonio didn't have to second guess or even question her any further. Alana was his daughter and she stood before him like an angel. With out a doubt, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. At that moment, as Jude continued talking with her and he himself stared in awe, nothing else mattered. His past, the fights, drugs, and murder didn't matter. All he saw was her. She was now the one bright light in the hell hole he spent his life in.

     “Well...” Antonio said outstretching his arms. “We can hug if you want.” he told her smiling.            
     Alana's heart finally calmed down as she stepped forward and hugged her father for the first time. Her eyes swelled up with tears but she fought back the urge to cry in front of a bar full of bikers. The situation was already awkward enough. There was no need to make things worse. For now, all she wanted to do was enjoy the moment.

     Thankfully that moment lasted for more than a month before things got bad. She stayed in a small room at a friend of her dad's. She would spend the days and some nights, as long as the bar wasn't too rough, with her dad. They caught up on everything, or at least he caught up on her life. There wasn't much to say about his past twenty years. Her twenty didn't sound too bad. She had lots of friends and some good memories. He smiled listening to her talk about leaving home for the first time. Although he himself had traveled across the U.S. Many times, it sounded so much better when it was described by Alana.

     While Alana was telling him about her life, Antonio was regretting his. There were twenty years that he could have had with his daughter but he missed them. He kept trying to think of people to blame for this but it always came back to him. It was his fault and no one else. The only good part of the situation was that he had his daughter now and he was a free man, at least for the time being.

     Not more than a few days after the incredible moth he spent with his daughter, a man by the name of Detective Rick Weir showed up. The sullen, yet, pleased detective walked into the bar like he had just bought it. He didn't even need to ask to be pointed to Antonio. As soon as he walked in, he scanned the room with his hazel eyes and spotted Antonio right off. He pointed at him and motioned for him to come outside. Antonio followed but told Alana to stay put. A few of the bars patrons including Jude rose up ready to follow behind but Antonio told them to stay with Alana.

    “Come here.” Detective Weir said while he lit a cigarette. Antonio slowly approached the detective. He had had many run ins with cops since being released but they had never come onto his turf before. This detective was bold.
     “Can I help you?” Antonio asked. 
     Detective Weir blew smoke from his lungs and smiled.

    “You can go back to prison.” he said.

    “Sorry. I'm a free man.” Antonio told him.

    “The hell you are.” the detective growled. “I don't know how you did it, but I promise you this isn't over. You are not a free man, not even in your dreams!”

    “Your people made a mistake. They know I'm innocent. That's why I got out.” Antonio told him proudly.

    “I knew the cop you killed.” Detective Weir glared at Antonio as if he were an animal. “I know what really happened that night. You haven't gotten away with anything.”

    “Neither have you.” Antonio shot back. “If you know what happened that night, then you're just as guilty as you think I am.” 
    Detective Weir tightened his fist but didn't throw a punch. His face turned red with fury. Not able to say anything else without unleashing a firestorm of curses and violence, the detective got into his car and left, but not before telling Antonio that he, "would," be returning to prison. He even promised it on the deceased cop's name. 


(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 10

Part Ten

A painful yet friendly slap hit Antonio's shoulder and awoke him from his daze.

     “Well, are you going to go talk to her or what?” Jude asked.
     Antonio nodded his head and forced his legs to move. Jude stood back and watched, ready to jump in if his friend needed anything. Antonio tried his hardest not to smile as he approached her.                      "Did...were you looking for me?” he stammered.

     The sound of his deep, raspy voice. Made Alana jump, nearly knocking over the disgusting beer she pretended to want when it was offered to her. She spun around in her chair to face the man with the deep voice. At first she wasn't sure of what to say or do. She was just so surprised at how familiar he was. She felt stupid when she realized that he looked like her. She was staring into her own dark eyes. He was tall, muscle bound and covered in tattoo's, but he was her. What little dark hair she could see was covered by a black bandanna.

    “Were you the one who asked for me?” he asked again.

    Alana swallowed the lump of fear in her throat and finally spoke. This was it. The moment she had been waiting for her entire life and all she could get to come out of her mouth was, “I'm Alana.”

    “No, you're not.” Antonio said almost angry.

    “Yes. I am.” Alana told him.

    “No, that's my sister's name. You're not my sister. Who the hell are you?” he asked trying to convince himself that he wasn't losing his mind.

    It had been years since he last spoke his sister name. It was just too painful to even mention her. Now he had to look her in the eyes, or at least someone pretending to be her.

    “Is everything alright?” Jude asked, walking over.

    “This girl say's she's Alana.” Antonio told him.

     Jude looked back at Alana and his eyes grew wide and were accompanied by a mouth that hung wide open.

    “Shit. You look just like her! I didn't even notice that when you came in!” he exclaimed.

    “I don't know who you're talking about.” Alana told them, more scared than confused.

    “We're talking about my sister.” said Antonio.

    “I'm not your sister. I'm your daughter.” Alana said, shaking in fear.

    Antonio was silent but he knew the truth. Alana not only looked like his sister but she looked like him. He had a daughter.

    “Wait, how old are you?” asked Jude.

    “Twenty two.” she shyly answered.

    “When's your birthday?” Jude continued in his interrogation.

    “December fifth.”

    “What's your mom's name?” Antonio asked, finally able to speak again.

    “Judith Walsh.”she told him.

     That name sent a chill down his spine, and not in a good way. Antonio remembered that preppy, yet, country girl he had a fling with. When she got scared and realized that she was too perfect to be with a biker, she left without even saying goodbye. That bitch never even had the guts to tell him she had his child.


(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

Burn the Flames...(Ghost Encounter)

My next encounter comes from when I was a child. I was about 5 or 6 years old at the time. We lived in a home that was owned by my family. My great grandfather had actually built the house decades and decades before I was born. From as far back as I can remember, I saw things and people in that house that no one else could see.
     I remember, almost every night, seeing a man that reminded me of a farmer. He wore a white wife beater, with some dirty blue jean overalls above it. He was Caucasian, balding and looked as if he may have been in his forty's. Every time I saw this man he was holding a pitch fork. What was even stranger about this entity was the girl who was with him.
     She looked like she may have been in her late teens or early twenties. She was beautiful, but she always looked scared or like something may have been wrong with her. She had long brown curly hair, but it was matted and dirty. He skin was also dirty, along with the brown  torn and tattered dress she wore. The farmer man would sometimes smile at me, but the girl would only make eye contact for a few seconds and then look away in fear. Her and the farmer were never apart. If I saw him, I saw her. She would stay beside him, crouched down on the ground, trying her hardest not to be seen. The two would never do anything to me. They would stare but mostly they'd mind their business and wonder through the house while we were sleep.
     Although they were calm and peaceful towards me, another spirit in the house was not. To this day I get goosebumps thinking about her. I used to call her, The burnt Lady. She had burn scars from head to toe and only had a few strains of hair left on her head. The fact that she was burnt didn't scare me. It was the fact that she would purposely torment my 5 or 6 year old self every chance she got.
     She would rush at me from around corners and make loud noises when I tried to sleep. The one time I got brave, she taught me a lesson I will never forget. One night I was sleeping and awoke to the sound of her tapping on the wall near my bedroom. When I looked towards my bedroom door, there she stood, peaking around the corner at me. Usually, I would panic the second I saw her and I'd start screaming for my mom. This time I decided to be brave and stare at her just as hard as she was staring at me. For a moment she stared right back and she actually seemed surprised at how brave I was being. However, after only a few seconds, that surprise turned to anger. I even remember her face twitching and the way it looked when her muscles tightened up as she became enraged. I can only describe it as a look of hate.
     All of a sudden and without warning, she rushed around the corner and ran full speed straight at me. I jumped up and back so hard my head hit the wall behind me. I can still remember and hear the sound of her feet pounding the floor. She rattled the entire room. Obviously, I screamed my head off and my mom came running in. The burnt woman disappeared as soon as the light came on and I sat in bed shaking and crying uncontrollably. After that night, I never challenged her or any other spirit again. When I lie down, I keep my eyes closed.
     For a long time I thought I was crazy or that maybe the dark was just playing games with my eyes. However and unfortunately, I found out that wasn't true. Years later when I was in my teens and years after we had moved out of the house. I began asking more question about it and the other home my family owned. It turns out that decades before the block we lived on was a block, it was farm land. There was a main farm house that sat on acres of land and there were even animals and a barn. I'm not sure who owned the farm before my great grandfather obtained it and I never got a chance to ask. He passed away long before I was even born.
     Anyway, when I asked my mom why the home I grew up in was not a farm, but a suburban home in a neighborhood, I found out that the farm house had burned down. The entire property was destroyed by the fire. My great grandfather bought the land that the farm once sat on. No one is sure of what caused the fire, but it was so bad it destroyed everything. I've tried many times to research the land and the farm that was once there, but I've never been able to find anything that goes back that far. I'm also not sure if anyone died in the fire. However, like I said, almost every night I would see a man that looked like a farmer, and young Hispanic girl, and a burnt woman. How did my 5 or 6 year old mind know to imagine a farmer and a burnt woman, in a house that was once a farm that had burned to the ground? Why did I see these people or spirits long before I even knew the history of my house? At least I now know I wasn't just seeing things that weren't there...

I was Attack?! (Ghost Encounter)

My first story comes from a few years ago. During the time, I lived alone. I had come home after going to the movies with some friends. I was tired so I came straight in, checked my house for intruders (because every girl who lives alone should) and then I went to bed. I slept pretty good for a few hours, but then something happened. I was sleeping pretty deep when it felt as if someone had grabbed me by the shoulders and violently shook me awake. I nearly screamed and sat straight up in the bed. I am a tab bit afraid of the dark, so I always slept with my television on. The light from it would illuminate my entire room, except for my bathroom and my closet, which I always kept open.
     Shaken up, I climbed out of my bed and slowly clicked on my bathroom light. Holding a switch blade I was originally saving for the zombie apocalypse, I peaked in my shower, the closet in my bathroom and then the closet in my room. I searched the entire house and there was only my dog Pugg, and myself in it.  Seeing that it was just me and the dog, I put my knife down and went back to sleep.
     About three or for hours later I awoke again, but this time it wasn't because I was grabbed. It was because I could hear people talking. You know when you walk into a crowded room and you can hear everyone talking, but you can't really make out what they're saying? That's what I heard. It sounded like a group of people talking in my room. By this time, the sun was coming up. My room was still dim but I didn't need the t.v.'s light to see anything. For about thirty seconds I stayed still and listened to the chatter. It was coming in and out, in and out, until I summed up enough courage to lift up my head. As soon as my head left my pillow the talking stopped and I felt a million glaring eyes on me, however, I saw no one.
     Because I was scared and I had to get up in a few more hours to pick up my mother, I decided to just stay awake. I was lying on my back, with my hands up over my head. For a while, everything was calm. I no longer heard the voices and I was actually starting relax. However, as I stared up at the ceiling, I noticed a dark shadow dart across it. The sun was just rising, so I could see everything clearly. Suddenly, even more shadows began to dart back and forth across my ceiling. Obviously I panicked and tried to sit up, but I couldn't. Something or someone was holding my arms down by my wrist. I was kicking my legs and trying my hardest to wrestle myself away from whatever was holding me down. My wrist were sore from the pressure and I could literally feel my arms being pushed down into my bed. I started to pray and I was tempted to scream but I knew no one would hear me. I kept on repeating the Lord's prayer over and over again. About the fourth time of me saying the Lord's prayer, I heard a voice. The voice was a man's and I could hear it right next to me. Clear as day it said, "I'm not letting her up..."
      Just then, the shadows disappeared, the voice went away, and the pressure holding me down, went away. I climb out of the bed, completely drained of my energy, sweating like I had ran a marathon, and trembling uncontrollably. Now, before anyone wonders if I was high or drunk during this incident, I was NOT. I do not drink or do drugs. Also, the movie I had seen that night was one of the Transformers films, so I definitely didn't see anything that might have caused me to have nightmares.      
      After this happened, my dog Pugg spent the next week with his tail literally tucked between his legs. He was scared out of his mind of something I couldn't see. He would constantly follow me around the house and he would stand guard in my bedroom doorway. When I slept, he would lay at the foot of my bed, watching everything.
      After about a week or more, my dog returned to normal and so did my house. Thankfully, I haven't seen anymore shadows or heard anymore voices. More importantly, I haven't been held down. Now I know that whenever I feel something dark around me, I should pray. I don't know what happened to me that night and day, but I do know it was bad and whatever it was that was in my home wanted to hurt me. The only thing that saved me was the Lord.

Forever Haunted?

I love October, Halloween, and just all things scary. So, for the month of October I decided to tell my readers about my haunted past. From as far back as I can remember I have literally come face to face with spirits. I've heard their voices and I've seen them rush into dark corners. Sometimes they don't even try to hide from me. They show themselves as if they still belong here.
     All of the haunting stories I will be telling you, are true. They're events that I have actually experienced and will probably always experience. I'll be posting these stories on the weekdays (Tuesdays and Thursdays) that I do NOT post my fictional short story. (When I Lie in Bed at Night) I'll also be posting my past and present encounters on weekends as well. If you have any scary or weird experiences, be sure to let me know by leaving a comment. I would love to hear them!

I hope my stories scare the shit out of you! Enjoy and have a happy October!

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 9

Part nine

The sun blasted through his tiny window. His heart nearly stopped. It was cold and a humid stench hung in the air. “Breath.” he told himself as he forced himself to keep his eyes closed. He wasn't ready to...

      "Hey man are you still asleep?” Jude said forcing him to open his eyes.

      Antonio sat straight up on his tiny bed, that sat in the back of the bar in the office. Since getting out he hadn't had time to look for another place to stay. To him, the bar was perfect. He never was the type to buy some big extravagant house with tons of bedrooms, fancy furniture, pools, and a big kitchen. He didn't need any of that stuff. That was a waste of money. His tiny bed in the back office of his uncle's bar was enough for him. He was safe, had a roof over his head, food, water, and most importantly he was surrounded by his family. That was all he could ever dreamed about.

      “There's a girl out here asking for you.” Jude told him. 

      Antonio slowly pulled an old Rolling Stone's T-shirt on over his oil stained jeans and stood up.

      “Who is it?” Antonio asked.

      “I don't know. She's pretty though.” he said, taking another sip of his beer.

      Antonio stood and watched Jude take a big gulp of Budweiser. The fact that Jude hadn't died of alcohol poisoning or kidney failure was amazing to him. He drank everyday. He would cure his hangovers with more beer and he would still be okay.

      “What?” Jude asked, noticing Antonio shrugging his shoulders, waiting for more details.

      “That's it? You don't know who she is?” Antonio asked.

      “No, I don't. I'm not your fucking secretary. If you want to know who she is, go ask her.” he said laughing.

       Antonio smiled and slipped on his shoes. Jude led the way and he and Antonio made their way down a long hallway that had the bathrooms in it. The walls were littered with graffiti, Polaroids, and posters. People had signed their names and drew obscene doodles on the wall as well. There were numbers of girls and their ratings and insults to other bar patrons. Pictures of bands, famous visitors and posters of naked or half naked super models were the only untouched spots.

      “She's sitting at the end of the bar.” Jude whispered.

      A young girl with long brown hair and dark eyes sat sipping a bottle of beer. It was obvious that she didn't like the taste of it. With every sip, the muscles in her face would tightened with disgust. Eventually she pushed the beer aside and fiddled with her hands. 

     Antonio wasn't sure what to do as he stood and watched her. He was almost in a hypnotic state. Part of him wanted to cry and the other wanted to scream for joy. He was filled with a fear and happiness he hadn't felt in a long time. 

     The girl at the end of the bar could have been his sister. She looked just like her, but it couldn't be. Antonio had watched his sister die. He still had the blood soaked clothes he was wearing when he desperately carried her out of a torched building. Who was this girl?


(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.