It has come to my attention recently that many of the popular shows today promote using antagonism as a paranormal tool and I thought it worth noting that I have specifically asked a few ghosts about this way of getting a reaction: their response, none too pleased.

Going into haunted homes or other areas known as excellent locations to see spirits is a wonderful way to engage in some contact, but if you should happen to arrive and find that all is quiet there may be some very good reasons for this. Making the assumption that just because a place is haunted that there are ghosts who want to interact with you is just plain foolish. If a person showed up on your doorstep and incessantly rang your bell until they got a reaction would you pleased about this?

Spirits aren’t puppets, or dolls or any other play toy simply plopped down for the amusement of the living and not only is it rude, it can also be dangerous to provoke a being that in all honesty, we really don’t fully understand.

If a spirit is capable of picking up an object and moving it, what makes people think that they can’t use that same force to harm people? It honestly shocks me that so many people would be willing to chance angering something that might be capable of harm so great that physical damage could be the least of your concerns.

I spoke with one of my regular visitors about this recently, I asked him to watch one of these ghost shows and let me know what he thought of it. Afterward when we spoke he told me that he understood why the living continue to be so fascinated with death, after all we are all headed there eventually. What seemed to disturb him more than anything is the desperate tactics some are willing to use in order to get a reaction as simple as verbal response or flash of an image.

He went on to explain that while certain ghosts may very well be confused and trying to live out portions of their old lives, many are otherwise occupied and simply don’t interact with our side of things on a regular basis. Furthermore, he also explained that sometimes these encounters are complete accidents and the spirits really have no interest in communicating at all, but are actually looking to accomplish other goals that simply happened to cross paths with the world we know.

The truth is that these reasons are only the tip of the iceberg. In some cases the “haunting” people perceive aren’t even ghosts at all. Some are caused by living people, though the subjects are often unaware of their abilities. Other events are caused by supernatural beings, but these have had little or nothing to do with living humans at all.

The bottom line is that when people set out to make contact it is important that their only focus should not just be to do that at any cost. Now I’m not exactly campaigning here for “ghost rights” or anything like that, but I will say that those who cross that line may be unwise to do so. It has often struck me as funny that those who go out into the world to seek ghosts assume that once they have experienced an event at a haunted location they are free to return to their normal lives where they feel safe. I can confirm that once you have made something aware of your presence, finding you is not all that difficult for many of them and the safety of your home may present no more an obstacle than butter to a steak knife.

Fellow paranormal seekers, I urge you to consider this when looking to have your experiences, it may be the very key to eliminating some of the barriers so many find frustrating and allowing for a more advanced level of communication between living people and what lies beyond.

Goodbye for now, another end.
Until a time we meet again.

-Seline

No cold spot or draft or temperature change.
No noises to indicate that something is strange.

No movement or shadow to draw attention.
No footsteps or board creeks yet something’s begun.

No whispers or sniffles or intake of breath.
No psychic vision of the presence of death.

No stories or fables put in your mind.
No tragic endings leaving something behind.

No crumbling ruins to imagine about.
No endless caverns to fills minds with doubt.

No tangible reason to feel such dread.
No explanation for the thoughts in your head.

No rational cause for what you feel to be true.
No doubt that you still feel those eyes on you.

-Seline

Recently a friend of mine, one of the few I share my experiences with, asked me how I know if a house is really haunted.

Now, naturally they asked if I rely on newer paranormal equipment and physical evidence or if I go with my gut. I told him it was a combination of both, but it got me to thinking about what is exactly that changes a situation from considering to certain…or at least as certain as one ever can be about such things.

I did a little digging in my own paranormal research and the notes I have kept over all of these years and I have to say that one of the biggest and most difficult things to dispute is the being’s ability to interact with our physical world.

It isn’t just about a photo, a recording, a temperature drop or other very useful indications that something is certainly out of the ordinary. It is the way they can seem to alter an entire reality, from the way you feel to how you look at things.

Yes I have voices, yells, singing, humming and all sorts of other inexplicable (for the time being) sounds on record.

I also have all sorts of photos that show, again for now, images that could not be accounted for.

Witnesses a plenty and objects that have been literally warped or broken by their encounters with paranormal beings.

All of this helps yes, but it isn’t really how you know, because how you know has something to do with another inexplicable part of our world: the feeling of knowing that you’re not alone.

It isn’t always accurate, or at least it isn’t always something you may have additional evidence to back up, but never the less I believe it is at least in part the root of why so many people seek out any kind of connection with an existence we can’t explain.

The important idea to keep in mind is that using these senses are just as important as any recording device we may carry hoping to snatch physical evidence out of thin air. Trusting one while ignoring the other makes for very poor paranormal hunting indeed in my opinion and in some cases can drive people a little crazy.

An example of this blending might be allowing yourself to take random snapshots just because you feel something might be present. Though you may not be in a location where haunting are known of you may very well still be crossing paths with another being. Making use of these senses is also like practicing with any other skill, over time it becomes more accurate.

I believe that for some people the ability to interact with the paranormal world may come more easily, but I also believe that with practice anyone can learn to use the available tools today and become familiar with that sense that seems to know when you’re just not alone. By combing these two methods I believe we may in time understand more about our relationship with this other world(s) even if we never arrive at any solid conclusions or never quite grasp those answers so many seek.

Goodbye for now, another end.
Until a time we meet again.

-Seline

I would simply like to take a few moments to discuss the idea of using paranormal equipment while investigating.

Personally, I think all of these devices we have seen come out over the years are fascinating and a wonderful way to record certain events that are much easier to understand using these tools. I myself have become rather addicted to the EVP recordings that capture so much more going on than the normal ear, or even that inner ear that some people have, which in my own experience you always question no matter how long you’ve been accustom to it.

Listening to these recordings can even be a little spooky at times, which is preposterous really! I have actually spoken with a being, heard them speak and been perfectly at ease, recorded the session and then played back the recording a felt spooked! Perhaps it’s something about the way it sounds when being played back, not always identical to what you hear in tone of voice. In any case, it is a great way for those who feel like they may be going a bit mad to give themselves something to drag into good old daylight and I approve.

The pictures of ghosts I have seen and the few I have taken myself are a bit more difficult. So much can be done with photos these days that unless you were actually present you almost never believe what you’re seeing. I still think it’s a great idea however if only for your own experience to snap photos whenever you can.

Other devices that measure temperature, magnetic fields and other fluctuations in the surrounding area can also be quite useful and great deal of fun. Though many don’t feel comfortable with them I also believe that spirits boards and other tools of communication can also be a great way to interact with the paranormal and an excellent way to get more comfortable with the idea in general.

That said, I must give a word of advice about using such items. These things may help greatly when investigating, but they do not offer proof of anything more than that there are events taking place that are currently beyond our capabilities of explaining.

One person may have a snapshot of an orb that others refute while another has a voice recording that appears real enough, but isn’t. Or perhaps it’s all genuine, but no one can agree. Whatever the case may be it is vital that you do not ignore your own instincts and rely too heavily on such items alone. I say this because once you begin heading down that road where you absolutely need evidence and more importantly, answers, you may set something in motion that will disappoint continuously.

I have seen it many times. Those interested in the paranormal begin searching. At first they are delighted by sensing something, but they need to see something solid. They ask for the being to move an object, but once this achieved they need more. Having witnesses to such events seems as though it will be enough, but no, now it must be recorded. Once recorded many need the verification of others, experts in the field let us say, who can give their approval to the events authenticity.

In the end, all you have really achieved is that the standard for proof today has been met. This has not truly confirmed anything more than what we already knew thousands of years ago: paranormal events happen.

Now please understand, I am delighted with the tools of this age and hope to see more advancement in my lifetime. I do believe that such devices can help people communicate and better understand the paranormal world. My only warning is be ready to get comfortable with never being certain, otherwise you may drive yourself mad or at the very least suffer many disappointments. Someday we may yet have enough proof to feel certain about such things and in the mean time such tools are a gift in that they are allowing more and more people to get a glimpse into this side of our existence.  For this I am truly grateful to those who have helped these inventions come to life and hope to see more in the years to come.

Goodbye for now, another end.
Until a time we meet again.

-Seline

One of the most amazing houses I ever lived in as a child was on a little farm road called Birch Lane that was dappled with beautiful greenery down the entire stretch and almost made you feel as though you were heading into a secret world.

The home was old and drafty and we didn’t stay there very long; just long enough to unpack and repack the boxes that followed me throughout my childhood. The house was another thing as well: Big! I remember running from room to room trying to see how fast I get around the main floor; flying upstairs (not literally, but almost) to do the same on the floors above. It was a wonderful old place.

As it turned out, the three of us were not the only residence of the place, though we were almost certainly the only legal tenants. In our brief stay there I encounter many different beings, some I would call ghosts and others would fall into that unknown category I have haphazardly tossed together over the years.

One in particular I became quite familiar with and by the time I left I might have even said we were friends, in a way. His name was Henry and he definitely fell into that unknown bracket. I couldn’t exactly call him a ghost, because he had no recollection of ever being a person. Now, while one can’t assume that this means he didn’t at one time have a life, it is important to note that I specified person, not living. From Henry’s description the term alien might have been more appropriate, though he certainly didn’t appear to be a little green man, to use the cliché.

Henry claimed he had come from the stone in the house, not attached to it as many paranormal stories go, but actually of the stone. On this point he was very clear. Henry also claimed that the stone had not come from the earth, but that shards of it had come from places too far to imagine and had too long ago to remember landed here in fragments so small they had become part of the earth.

I can tell you at the time I believed him. Years later I didn’t. These days after everything I have seen, I just can’t be sure. I think Henry believed his own story and that was good enough for me at the time. I really only know one thing; there is so much we do not understand that I don’t feel comfortable dismissing stories that seem strange simply because they don’t fit into a traditional idea of what a paranormal being should be like. Think of how preposterous that is after all…of course then again so is the very idea of the supernatural to so many. Last time I checked the numbers were somewhere around 45% of the world’s population believing that such things even exist! I am losing track here, forgive me.

One of Henry’s favorite pastimes was compiling stones into what he called “marches.” I have done a bit of digging on this and found the word march linked to many different things: from hammer to boundary to the etymology of the month itself which is linked to the Roman god Mars. So as to why he named his stone piles this, I do not know, nor do I know that it was relevant.

Henry’s marches would appear all over the house and in the yard; often in small piles of rocks no larger than dimes and on a few occasion boulders too large to be carried even by a strong man, though thankfully those were always outside.

It was around this time that I think my parents truly began, perhaps not suspect, but to believe that I could see, hear and sense strange things. I told them the rock piles were okay, and because Henry always cleaned up his creations within a day of constructing them, the inconvenience was often minimal, so my parents didn’t inquire much further than that. Of course these days I have given them much more detailed accounts (my but some people become inquisitive with age!) but back then I believe they were both so busy that anything short of life threatening didn’t make the agenda for taking out time to understand.

I was the only one who ever really went into the attic, which was where Henry liked to be most often. Up there he built and rebuilt many of his marches and on a few occasion I even helped out. There was another ghost in the attic, or perhaps the only ghost, but that one was far less friendly. When the other one was present, I never did get a name, it was more of a scary paranormal experience because it always appeared to be upset. When Henry was around however, his presence seemed to either keep  away or at least keep it from being known to me.

The same was true around the rest of the house. Though Henry was just about as friendly as I could have hoped for, he seemed to drive off other beings in the house. I remember asking him why, but I don’t think I understood his explanation. Over my head at that age I suppose, or perhaps any age given the circumstances.

I spoke with Henry often while we lived in that place. He often asked about simple things while I would pummel him with larger universal questions that I didn’t even understand myself. I wish I had written it down, but when I asking similar questions today I am no less enlightened or well informed, so perhaps it’s just as well.

Now as to some things you may be wondering about, I will try to answer the questions I have most often received when remembering this tale to others:

• Did I see Henry: Yes and no. His form was always a bit wobbly. I might have said he did look human at the time, blurry, but person shaped. Today I believe I would have to say I think he tried to look human, perhaps even for my benefit.
• Could I hear Henry: Most often not with my ears, but on occasion he would speak out loud. My parents were each witnesses to this, on more than one occasion, but we did not really speak of it then. They both remember hearing the voice, though not the exact words, to this day.
• When Henry made his marches did I or anyone else see the stones move? Yes. I did see what essentially looked like foggy images lifting rocks. On one occasion my mother also witnessed Henry putting a final stone in place in the kitchen.
• Do I have any pictures of Henry: No. My family did photograph some of the stone piles at the time and I debated about whether or not to place those here, but in truth they are not particularly interesting nor do they give any validity to this story for anyone who wasn’t present at the time. It isn’t as if I have video of Henry putting his creations together, now that would really be something!

I believe that covers the basics. When we moved away I asked Henry to visit me. He said he would try, but I never saw him outside of that house. I returned years later to that place as an adult, but the house was gone. The road was no longer a sleepy entrance to another world either. It was quite sad and I found no whisper of Henry or his marches. I also did a bit of research about the house and found nothing about Henry and only one old account of the home being reputed to be haunted.

The experience helped me to come to terms with the  idea: that even a concept as difficult to believe in at times as ghosts can be, there is so much more to the paranormal than that. I doubt I’ll ever even see the tip of the iceberg, but it sure is interesting to think about how far that might very well go.

Goodbye for now, another end.
Until a time we meet again.

-Seline

A friend of mine recently lost someone close to them and almost immediately requested that I help them to contact this person. I am not in the habit of trying to contact the dead spirits of those who have passed with any particular purpose, but I offered to help seeing how distraught he was.

I did this however with some reservation and I felt the need to explain to him why that was. To contact ghost relatives is an uncertain business, this I think he knew and was prepared for disappointment. What was more difficult to explain was that over the years I have gotten quite a lot of advice about this very thing from paranormal beings and their collective opinion is often that it is in general, a bad idea.

I will try to pass on what I have been told as I understand it.

Many of them understand the pain people feel when losing a loved one. It is terrible, perhaps the most terrible feeling in life. However, many of them do not seem to think it worth quite the amount of suffering people generally put into it. I have always supposed this is because from their point of view, it really isn’t so terrible. This may be easily understood as a general idea, but is perhaps not of much comfort for those who are suffering.

The warning I have received most often when it comes to contacting deceased loved ones is that anyone doing should be aware of two very important things: Deception and Change.

The first of these warning should be rather obvious when a person is of a rational sort of mind, but unfortunately when something in the room tells one that it is the very being of someone one has lost, one tends to become a little irrational. Many people will look for proof at this point. A secret only that person and the deceased loved one might have known.

Unfortunately this doesn’t always mean that the experience is real. Thoughts can often be used like paranormal props; whether by another being in the room pretending to be someone they are not, or even by the person hoping to see their loved one.

In recent years we have seen evidence that might even suggest people are capable of conjuring something like a ghost out of nothing, or at least seemingly nothing. Whether in these cases groups have conjured an actual being or simply drawn one in who adopted the details in order to make people believe this I cannot say. The point is however, such a detail may not be proof enough.

The second of the two warnings points to the idea that once dead people can change greatly, sometimes so much so that they might be unrecognizable in many ways. In cases such as this the personality, appearance, audible voice (of some kind) may in no way reflect the living person.

The point is that before a person tries to make contact with one whom they have lost they need to be prepared to walk away with uncertainty. If comfort is what is being sought, this may not prove to be the solution for some and may even make the situation worse. I personally have witness many different outcomes to this kind of event and my only hope is that those who seek it out do so with understanding.

Goodbye for now, another end.
Until a time we meet again.

-Seline

In this haunted room I feel a presence build.
So thick is the air, closing in as you capture space.
The empty chair that was, now your body filled.
Sudden cold spot blasting icy gusts upon my face.

Heart thrumming uselessly in my frail breast.
Pounding in my ears, drowning out the comfort of sleep.
Your shape of nightmares breaking hope of rest.
The black of your image forming thickly and dark too deep.

Your silence leaves open the whispers of dread.
What lurks in this ghost activity straining against the real.
A hand so close it might reach out to my bed.
The fear, overwhelming, lies in what you may next reveal.

Mundane is the car that slows close in the drive
Louder than all it seems after this panic, slowing to turn.
Light blazes through, clashing swiftly into my chilling hive.
I wait to see clearly, such excitement and fear as I learn.

Shadows revealed, nothing I might have guessed.
So clearly I see you in this light commanding dark’s defeat.
A sigh passes over my lips my truest fear confessed.
For tonight, just a chair and a badly folded sheet.

-Seline

In this post I will keep track of paranormal events including sightings of ghosts and spirits along with other beings and any paranormal activity that I have verified between July 22nd and August 22nd 2010.

To read the whole story go to Paranormal Tracking and find out how this got started.

Click here to follow Inside Real Hauntings on Twitter or use the Follow Me button in the right hand column to keep up with my progress.

(Times are Approximate)

July 22nd:

9:30 a.m.: Took a walk and saw 1 ghost in the park following a child.

12:00 p.m.: Having lunch, glass moving around table, 1 being present.

4:15 p.m.: Errands to run, passed 2 beings by the river. 1 in the water, 1 on shore. They seemed to be interacting.

10:30 p.m.: Helped a friend with a home project spotted 2 ghosts in the house next door.

July 23rd:

12:15 a.m.: Activity in the sitting room, not unusual. 3 separate presences detected and recorded, one of which appeared to be a ghost, other two unknown.

1:00 p.m.: Voices in the kitchen, opening and closing drawers. 1 presence.

11:30 p.m.: More activity in the sitting room, 1 presence tonight. (Ringing the bell on the left side table particular favorite past time of theirs.)

July 24th

2:45 a.m.: 3 different entities in the night last one at about this hour. My closet is a bit of a mess lol.

July 25th

9:00a.m.: 1 ghost in the kitchen again, playing with lights, also got voice recording on this one.

10:30 p.m.: A friendly visit from a regular in the living room. We spoke for sometime. 1 being.

July 26th

6:00 p.m.: Uneventful day until evening, out for a walk noticed 2 ghosts- man and dog walking together. (As a point of interest I saw no spectral leash, hehe.)

11:30 p.m. 2 Beings messing with a lamp in the living room. One of their favorites to play with for over 10 years now.

July 27th

3:00 p.m.: Busy with work at  a new house, felt at least 1 presence while working. Playing with hair and moved a few objects around, my but they make trying to stay organized fun!

5:30 p.m.: Additional presence felt, 1 ghost, very noisy. Recorded voices, but fairly certain just the two were about at this house.

10:45 p.m.: Visitor in the sitting room again, old friend 1 being. Just a few bell rings tonight.

July 28th

7:00 a.m.:  Woke up to shower running, tried to sneak in a little more sleep before heading back to work on house, turned shower off. Woke about 7:15 shower on again. Laughter from 1 presence who apparently is a water waster. Might have to find a way to secure shower knobs if this keeps up.

2:45 p.m.: Same presence on voice record felt at house. 1 Ghost. More recorded voices.

July 30th

11:30 p.m. : 2 beings in the sitting room, a regular friend and a guest.

Aug 1st

10:00 a.m.: Meeting at an office building, rumors of a resident ghost, felt presence on twelfth floor, may have been more than one, but for now count as 1 being. Coffee on that floor will not stay warm and heat will never get above 63 degrees. Interesting.

3:30 p.m.: Went for a walk today and spotted 1 ghost by the river, believe I have seen her before, but uncertain as to when or where.

Quiet for a few days, hints, but nothing outstanding.

August 8th

10: 45 p.m.: Sitting room again, thought there might be more than one, but can only confirm 1 ghost.

August 9th

12:oo p.m.: Visiting a retirement village, saw several beings, not only ghosts. Only 1 ghost outstanding that truly interacted with me.

9:15 p.m.: Being present during later dinner, had fun with my silverware. 1 being confirmed.

August 10th

11:30 p.m.: 2 Beings tonight in the sitting room, an old friend and a new curious one.

August 11th

2:00 a.m.: Woke to find what essentially seemed to be a pillow fight between 3 beings. Also having fun with ceiling fan and a nightlight in the corner. After saying hello…moved to a spare room to get some sleep.

5:00 p.m.: On walk spotted 1 ghost by the river. Find it interesting that they only seem to influence the water part of the time. This must go to intentional.

11:45 p.m.: In the sitting room again reading stayed up too late chatting with an old friend: 1 being.

————————————————————-

This concludes this month’s Paranormal Tracker at 39!!

I apologize as the count really should be higher, but I had a family emergency that left me without time to do much interacting or posting. I will be starting a new count in the fall, when I found that activity seems to be at it’s peak.

Thanks to everyone out there who stayed tuned in, I look forward to your stopping by in the fall!

Yesterday a close friend and I went out to lunch and while we were at one of our favorite little nook cafés (there are so few left,) we had a bit of an event happen and she, for the first time in her life, got to experience a real haunting.

Several items on our table (including the salt and pepper shakers…messy!) tipped over on their own, several napkins popped out of their dispenser and my iced tea boiled over (yes it was icy cold.)

A few other interesting things happened while we were there including the unlocking of my car as we approached it and the relocking once we were both inside, all without my doing anything (that I was aware of) to cause it of course. Most of these incidents were the type of thing you might ignore, unless all clustered together…then it becomes difficult not to at least allow for the possibility that something quite out of the ordinary is taking place.

I was able to confirm it for myself when I saw what I believe was the source of our paranormal experience standing near the kitchen inside of the café and again near my vehicle.

Now as my friend is aware, but had yet to be truly acquainted with that side of life, she was, needless to say, a little awed by the experience and a little frightened.

We drove back to my home where we continued to have interesting things happen. One being that the windshield wipers kept turning on and off, seemingly on their own and that a driver next to us had an obviously out of control horn. The driver shrugged and motioned toward the device in his car clearly trying to explain that he wasn’t honking. It stopped after about ten times or so.

Once home, I sat her down, by then she was quite upset and we discussed everything that had happened.

Naturally she had a lot of questions and I tried to answer all that I could, but I also told her that even after all this time I have no real answers, no concrete evidence, nor do I try much for it anymore. I showed her some photos and voice recordings and other such popular pieces of what passes today for evidence. I reminded her that even though these things currently go without explanation, it doesn’t mean that we may not find one in the future. I explained that so much of what I experience has to come from trusting my instincts and being reasonable.

By the end of the afternoon she had calmed down and I believe may very well now be hooked on the paranormal, I found her enthusiasm both charming and humorous. I often forget how exciting it would be to discover these things at a point in your life where you felt as though you had a firm grasp on what was real and what was not.

I chose to jump ahead of my earlier experiences in this post for two reasons:

One: Though my friend and I have been close for some time I realized that she never really understood or believed my stories about the paranormal or the ability to see ghosts. I suppose one can’t expect people to believe when they haven’t had a personal experience and even then it is very difficult to trust those of others. After all, we are trained to learn the difference between fantasy and reality at a very young age and if you believe the paranormal side of life to be fiction, it might be difficult to trust the opinions of others.

Deep down I think I always knew that she felt that way and we had never had any truly lengthy discussions about it prior to yesterday’s events. The realization however still took me by surprise and I know that there are others who feel as though they cannot discuss their own experiences with people, even those closest to them. I hope that they will find comfort in knowing that many others have the same problem and that they are not alone.

Two: One of the questions my friend asked struck me as funny, though it was perfectly logical. She asked how many times a week or month I have experiences like the ones we had just gone through. I honestly couldn’t say. It has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and at this point I feel comfortable enough that it seems normal to me.

Because of her question I will, over the next month, be keeping a paranormal count. I say that rather than ghost because I do not believe that all of my experiences include the ghosts of the living.

Each time I experience an event that I feel certain of I will post it here, though I will keep the descriptions short so that I may go into further detail in the future. I will also be keeping a count on Twitter, so that others can follow the progress easily and I welcome you to follow me (to follow me simply click on the button on this blog) if you would like to keep tabs on the count.

I think it will be very interesting to see what the total is, as I honestly haven’t paid attention in years. I look forward (and am a little nervous about) changing the way I look at these events for a month, but I believe it could turn out to be an informative and interesting experience.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy following along!

Goodbye for now, another end.
Until a time we meet again.

-Seline

The first of my Ouija board experiences were much like those of many other people in some ways and in others not at all. To begin with it seemed to be a game. I went with a friend and we looked around hoping to buy ouija board toys for her birthday party and that is what they seemed to me: toys. We found ones that glowed in the dark and some that came in funny colors; others looked much grander (and were far more expensive,) having that mystical, aged appearance.

I think the one we settled on was some massed produced piece, after all we were kids just looking to have fun and I never actually thought that such a device might work. For one thing I could already talk with ghosts, what need had I for a communication device? For another, it just seemed silly!

Being surrounded by paranormal events so often I guess I didn’t share the excitement of the other girls at the party, but I wanted to fit in…as I so often tried (and failed) to do. So I joined in the fun as we darkened the room and tried to make the atmosphere as befitting to spirits as possible.

When the planchette began to move I was interested, but I also assumed someone was moving it. Assumed that it until I noticed that just outside of our giggling, oooing and aahing circle was what appeared to be the ghost of a little boy. He was just behind two girls about halfway around the circle from me and he was watching board intently.

I looked very deliberately at him, but he either didn’t notice or didn’t care, he in fact seemed to be enjoying himself with the toy we had in front of us. So I kept on with the game.

We asked all sorts of silly questions as young girls will and after a time somebody’s sweet tooth won out over paranormal curiosity so the group fell apart bit by bit. I was at the end left with just one other girl and of course the boy.

Her name escapes me all of the years later, but I do know she was wearing a yellow hat. It was a bright, loud piece of clothing that I never would have worn for fear of drawing too much attention to myself. This made me like and admire her boldness.

The girl was leaving on a trip the very next day, camping if memory serves. She asked the board about the trip, nothing too outrageous, just questions about the weather and what she might see. It was at this point that the boy got very upset and repeatedly told her not to go. He would not say way and judging from the look on his face, I might venture to say he didn’t know exactly.

When, after a time, the board continued to repeat this warning over and over, the girl finally shrugged and said she was tired of playing. I knew she hadn’t taken the warning seriously and even began to fear that she would think that I had asked this of her. We both let go of the planchette and I asked her if she was still going to go on her trip. She said something about the entire experience being silly and how naturally she would still be going. I remember she looked bothered, but as young as we were how would she have gotten out of it anyway? Most parents would not take such a message very seriously and most would be right not to.

After she spoke, the planchette began to shake on the board and finally rose up off it maybe a few inches. It stayed there, shaking just a bit in the air before falling back down again. Both the girl and I were silent during this little display. I, because I had seen such things before and understood this to be a way of getting attention; she because she had not and I believe it scared her.

We were the only two in the room when it happened. Once the planchette dropped the girl got up, gave me a funny look and left the room to join the others. The boy sighed and looked at me. I thought he might explain, but he made no move to speak. Someone called me from the next room after a time and I joined the rest of the girls who were raiding the kitchen for treats. The boy was gone when I peeked in later.

The experience was not terribly noteworthy in itself. In time I would have many more that were far more amazing and of value to me. In the end I took two things away from it: One that I really had to be careful about what I shared with others. If a moving piece of plastic is frightening, the rest is simply unimaginable.

The second thing came days later when a friend of mine called to tell me that the girl’s family had been in a car wreck. No one was killed, but the girl did get her leg broken along with some other minor injuries. Though I was sorry to hear it, I still didn’t feel as though it was quite the catastrophic event that the ghost boy seemed to feel it was. That night he had seemed to be to be filled with dread and I couldn’t quite see this accident as being the cause of it.

Years later, in my teens, I had the opportunity to speak with the girl who had broken her leg. We were at a party and she had been drinking quite a lot. It was one of those moments when a familiar face, any familiar face seems like cause for celebration and she shocked me with a hug and a very warm, if not somewhat clumsy welcome. We talked for a while and she got to telling me about what a bad place she was in.

As she explained her unfortunate circumstances she eventually made her way back to that night and filled me in on the accident I’d heard about. She explained how she had been unable to play soccer that year after her injury and hadn’t gone back to it once she’s healed. From there she seemed to steadily lose interest in school and other activities and had managed to drift down the path she was currently on, which made her very unhappy.

In the end, in a round-a-bout sort of intoxicated way, she pinpointed that accident as the beginning of her fall. Though she never specifically brought up being warned by the board, I could tell she was thinking of it and the possibilities if she had managed to follow the advice.

Now I personally don’t believe that one accident can be held accountable for all of life’s misery. We make our own choices and I would bet that the girl had plenty of opportunities to get herself back on track. I do however wonder, not about the warning or the domino of events that took place, but at why the boy knew what he did. Was it the boy at all? If so, did he see it stretching out that far, or was it simply the accident he tried to warn her against?

I have received some answer to these questions over the years from beings involved in similar situations, but they vary and leave much to wonder about.

Moving around as much as I did I only ever got fragments of people’s lives and seldom even that; but last I heard the girl was fine, on her way to becoming a veterinarian and engaged to a friend of her brother’s.

Did it matter in the end? Who can say. But I certainly thought of Ouija boards a bit differently, though I have some different theories on just how that all works. That is for another time and another section, so for now be well and be careful.

Goodbye for now, another end.
Until a time we meet again.

-Seline