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Friends From Beyond The Veil |
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Foreword This book came about by accident. I never planned to write a collection of ghost stories. I don’t even like scary movies. It all began when I was researching pioneer stories and came across old 1800’s accounts of angelic visitations and ghostly appearances. I found enough that I decided to write a book of pioneer ghost stories. The next thing I knew, someone told me about an old doctor’s house that had done dual duty as a medical office at the turn of the 20th Century. Tales of a face seen in the turret window, even when the house was empty, made it seem a perfect candidate for my project. Intrigued, I interviewed people who’d lived there, hoping to glean another pioneer-era ghost story. Instead, I uncovered first hand accounts of what appeared to be supernatural forces at work. The modern day experiences wouldn’t fit in with my pioneer book, so I had to set the story aside. Then more stories of modern-day hauntings followed, with individuals telling me about seeing, hearing, or feeling spirits around them. Some stories were comforting, some were frightening. By the time I’d gathered nearly a dozen experiences, I got an uncomfortable feeling, like some invisible entity was looking over my shoulder. What was I doing? Was I simply amassing a collection of tales that had no purpose except to titillate ghoulish imaginations? Was I creating a growing book of sensational stories with no redeeming value? A couple of family members added to my doubts when they cautioned me about delving into stories of hauntings, since that mindset could most certainly invite scary things in to visit me. I thought about abandoning the project all together. Then I spoke to Ranae Lee, who took the time to explain her point of view on five different types of ghosts. Suddenly, this book felt right. It was as though it had metamorphosed into a tool that could help mortals identify what might cause a haunting. I finally felt like this information could be of help to readers who’d like to know whether they should try to communicate with spirits that they just might happen to encounter, if they should cast them out, or just leave them alone. As this book grew story by story, it was interesting to realize that there are some people who seem able to brush more closely against the world of spirits than others. In some cases, this heightened sensitivity may be explained by a near death experience. In other cases, it seems that the individual has had the ability since childhood. There was also some debate among contributors about the role of ouija boards and palm reading with regard to inviting evil in. One contributor said that a ouija board is simply a piece of wood, that it can’t harbor evil because it’s inanimate. People can manipulate the arrow to point out the letters for whatever they want it to say. This person believes that it is the intent of the user that draws in whatever experience may follow the use of a ouija board. Someone else disagreed, saying that the only way a ouija board works is through spiritual intervention. “You can manipulate it, yeah, but just having it there creates an entry for spirits if they want to take it.” Another person said, “If talking about spirits invites them in, then a ouija board and séances and stuff like that does the same thing.” One of the stories in this collection carries a warning against palm reading. Yet the opinion was expressed by another person that they believed palm reading in itself was not bad. It just depended on who was doing it and for what purpose. If an evil person were to read your palm, it would be a different matter altogether than unfolding the secrets you may hold in the contours of your hand to a trusted friend. Some people doubt the existence of ghosts. They believe that every story must have a mortal explanation, such as the case of Jeanette Branham. When Jeannette was three years old, she couldn’t seem to go through a frigid winter night in her little bed snugged up against the wall without kicking her covers off. Her parents tried tucking the blanket edges under the mattress, but it did no good. They became so frustrated that they took to checking on her through the night. One time, her father went into her room and noticed that his little daughter had kicked off her blankets yet again, with the bulk of them out of sight between the bed and the wall. Dad reached over, took hold of the short end of the covers, and gave a tug. They didn’t budge. It was as though some unseen entity had hold of the other end and refused to let go. Confused, Dad gave another hard pull. The unseen force on the far side of the bed still refused to relinquish the warm blankets. A chill ran down Dad’s back as he stared at the empty place where the blankets held fast. What strange force was at work here? His resolve strengthened by sudden fear, Dad grabbed the balky fabric in both fists and yanked for all he was worth. As if the cold-hearted antagonist suddenly gave up, the cover tore free and Dad staggered backward, the edge of the blanket scattering icy bits of frost like broken fingernails on Jeannette’s nightgown as it sailed over her. It turned out that the poorly insulated wall beside Jeannette’s bed conducted the cold from outside to the inside, which froze the blanket to the wall in stages, gradually pulling it off the bed in small degrees throughout the night until Jeannette was left out in the cold. This is not what this book is made of, not unless you can come up with some earthly explanation for the lightning that raged through the bottom floor of Jennifer’s house for hours one night while she and her family were sleeping upstairs. Who…or what… grabbed the teenage boy and threw him into the garage door in the empty yard at night? Who was moving furniture and walking around upstairs when the women who heard it could see all the kids outside playing and no one else was there? What made the straw doll fly off the door handle toward the strange girl who was looking for a place to stay? All but a couple of the stories in this volume were written from first hand accounts, the people I spoke with claiming to have seen, heard, or felt some very strange things. A few are written from accounts given by family members, since the original participants weren’t able to speak to me for reasons of age incapacitation. Some have asked that their names be changed and their home towns unidentified. I honored their requests. As far as I could tell, all of the people I spoke to were real. But then, I’m not one who claims to have an affinity to see the other side.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * When you hear a floor creak in the dark of night, do you ever wonder if it’s something besides the house just “settling”? Have you caught a glimpse of a strange, unexplained movement out of the corner of your eye, or felt like someone was watching you, even when you were alone? In these riveting, first-hand accounts of hauntings, angelic visitations, and benign spirit sightings, you’ll discover different kinds of ghosts who show up for very different reasons. A ghost girl who wanders a library because she doesn’t feel worthy to move on. An evil spirit at a haunted grave feeding off people’s fear. A guardian angel watching from the corner of the bedroom as her young charge prays to know if she has a guardian angel. Indian spirits working to move mortals who’ve unwittingly gotten into their pathway from this world to the world of spirits. Invisible roller skaters who’ve been practicing for decades. After reading these accounts, perhaps you’ll know what to answer when you’re all alone and hear something whisper your name.
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Table
of Contents Identifying
Ghosts Part
I: Angels and Family Sarah’s Still Here Fishing With Grandpa Dancing Down The Hall The Rose Globe Peaceful Spirits The Rocking Chair Guardian Angel Child Care A Wall of Mist What Grandma Left Behind The Night Mom Said Good Bye Dad, You’re Dead They Don’t Haunt Dad The Ghost Was Me Don’t Go Upstairs Oops, I Didn’t Mean to Scare You Light in the Firehouse Spirits All Around Us Out The Window Falling Hummingbird Age Is No Disguise Angel In A Car Part II: Devils, Demons, and Scary Things Lightning In The Dark Who’s The Shadow? A Ghost In My Bed The Devil On The Bed Doctor’s House Don’t Dig A Haunted Grave Scar Face Break It Up Crackle Ghost Cover the Mirrors Hanging On Cold Arms Evil Eyes Haunted Mansion Dark Portal Imaginary Friends Part III: Mischievous, Annoyed, or Benign Spirits One Foot Inside The Circle That’s Not My Child Still Skating A Single Candle Indian in the Kitchen Ghosts in the Bathroom The Guilty Ghost Lost Boy Talking In The Halls Wyatt Earp Followed Her Home The Livery Stable The Tromper and the Playful Ghost Little Sister Shadow People The Handyman Ghost Get Off Our Graves Lady On The Stairs Sad Old House Haunted Canyon Who’s That? Growing Apart Haunted Cradle Lonely Little Boy The Face In The Window The Weeping Ghost Looking For A Warm Bed Making Rounds The Headstone
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