Monday, October 06, 2008

LadyVampire's Halloween Giveaway Day 1


Contest Day One

Today officially kicks off my Halloween Giveaway and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone’s comments!

Some people believe in ghosts and while others do not. Personally I believe there is an afterlife but also a place where spirits get stuck in between. And yes, I have seen ghosts many times. Strangers and relatives. Some experiences have been very frightening while others left me with a sort of strange calm in myself. And today I’m asking you to share your ghost stories with me. I’ll start everyone off with one of my own…

"My aunt Francis died some years back. I remember the day because I was in the kitchen cooking when I thought I saw someone walk across a doorway in the adjoining living room. I went to check but no one was there. So I went back to cooking but heard noise in the other room now, like a kind of knocking and footsteps. When I turned toward the room I definitely saw a person go past the doorway but even though I searched the whole house, I found no one. Then the third time I went back to the kitchen, I barely got my hands around the spoon to stir in my pot when the living room went crazy with pounding footsteps like someone was jumping all over crazily and knocking into the walls and furniture. I nearly knocked the pot off the stove as I ran into my living room. No one was there but this time the sound stayed and I stood there scared and concerned in the middle of the day wondering what the heck was going on. Suddenly the phone rang and I went into the kitchen to answer it. The sound stopped as I picked up the phone. My cousin was on the phone telling me my aunt had just died minutes before she called, around the same time I heard and saw everything. Eerily I think she was saying goodbye, but she scared me saying it the way she did."

So now that I’ve shared my story, please share yours. And if you haven’t got a story then you either tell me the best ghostly book you’ve read or share your opinion on if you believe in ghosts or not.

Please feel free to comment to this post until October 11th when the contests close. One entry per person per day per post. This contest is limited to US citizens only although everyone is invited to comment.

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31 Comments:

Blogger Angela @ Reading Angels said...

I personally do believe in ghost, but I've never seen one for myself. But I do have a story :-)

When my son was about 1- 1 1/2 years we were staying at my mothers house at the time.
He would often stare at something (nothing I could see) and laugh and giggle and smile. When I would ask him what was so funny he would turn all the way around and point to a picture of my grandmother that was hanging on the other wall.
My grandmother had died in the house a few years back, and I swear he was seeing her and playing with her!!

10/06/2008 10:08 AM  
Blogger Lana said...

My 'best' ghost story -
I was at one of the missions in Southern California. I'm not sure which one, I just remember that it was built through (essentially) slave labor by Native Americans. And just as they got the mission built, there was an earthquake and the whole thing collapsed burying everyone inside.

I was uneasy in the place even before I heard the story, but I keep an amethyst necklace on me that brings me a lot of comfort. All of a sudden, though, I got a pounding, piercing headache like someone was ramming something through my temple. I'm not given to migraines, so I was really creeped out about the whole thing. And when I reached up to touch the amethyst on my necklace for protection, it was gone. The stone had disappeared from its setting. I was so freaked out that I insisted we leave.

10/06/2008 10:14 AM  
Blogger Mandy said...

I got your invite from PBS ;-) Thanks!

I've never seen a ghost but I do believe that there are ghosts - because anything is possible in this world. Angels, ghosts, etc. Sometimes I get a weird feeling when I'm in an old building - feels like I'm being watched.

10/06/2008 10:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mine is nowhere near as interesting or scary as yours but it’s very sweet & means a lot to me. When I was younger after my grandmother past away my bedroom door started opening but no one would be there & it would close a few minutes latter. I always felt it was her checking in on me & a few years later when my brother past away it started happing twice a night. Maybe or house was unlevel but I find it comforting knowing they still watched after me, & find it strange that even when I moved out it still happened until I moved in with my now husband. I’ve always felt that they had to make sure their baby until they could move on.

10/06/2008 11:03 AM  
Blogger mrskeglo said...

I believe in everything. Ghosts, Vampires, Shifters, etc. I have not ever seen any, but like all, I get feelings that I am not alone. I was raised a Catholic and believe in Heaven, Hell, & Purgatory. I personally have not had any experiences with the exception of "feeling" someone was behind me, but a friend has:
Ruth's grandfather was very ill. He passed on and then was revived. He told of seeing his beloved wife and was told that it wasn't his time. All have a reason or goal to accomplish and until that happens, your destiny is to stay on this earthly plane until you have done so. I believe this also.

10/06/2008 11:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't have any personal ghost stories but I absolutely do believe in them. I haven't read a ton of books centering on the ghostly theme but the old classics of "The Amityville Horror" and "The Stand" will always stand out in my mind.
doot65{at}comcast[dot]net
Elizabeth

10/06/2008 2:43 PM  
Blogger Beawhiz said...

I actually don't believe in ghosts personally. I don't want to hang around after I'm gone! : ) I have a story that my mom told me growing up, though:

My mom was young, and they were in upstate New York visiting aunts and uncles. They were staying at a house that was out in the country. My mom was sick, but old enough to be left by herself while the rest of the family went to a party of some sort. My mom was supposed to take her medication at a certain time.

She'd been reading in her room for a while when she heard the back door open. Footsteps came up the steps, up the hallway, and stopped outside the doorway. My mom ducked under the covers and waited.

After a while, she had to go take her medication. She hadn't heard the footsteps walk away, but no one came into the room, either. She ran down the hall to the bathroom, took her medication and ran back to the room, but didn't see anyone.

They never figured out who it was--there were no animals in the house, and no one came back from the party early.

10/06/2008 4:24 PM  
Blogger Amy said...

I don't have a ghost story!!! I swear I'm the most spiritually insensitive person. ;)

I do believe in spirits or ghosts and that we have eternal souls. :)

10/06/2008 8:47 PM  
Blogger Raonaid Luckwell said...

I believe in ghosts, never seen one, but felt one's presence and had some freaky, unexplainable things happen. Especially in the last place we lived which had a history and reputed to be haunted (Can't think of her name, but the house use to belong to the woman who use to own the Delta Queen sternwheeler)

One instance I remember was the heavy scent of coffee in this one section of the house. We did not have any neighbors above us, and neither my hubs or I drink coffee. It was weird because it was at this one part of the house, you went past it to the kitchen, nothing, if you went to the other direction deeper in the living room, nothing. It was just in that joint between rooms.

Another night, a year later, I was deep asleep when something woke me. I couldn't move but I was aware of my surroundings. It felt like I was being held there.

Friend of mine claims the ghost was angry with the current owner of the building and trying to tell me about it.

10/07/2008 12:08 AM  
Blogger LadyVampire2u said...

Angel, spooky when kids see things you don't, isn't it? I've had that happen a time or two also.

Lana, wow. You seriously lost the stone in your necklace? That would un-nerve me too. I've had clasps on necklaces come undone on me before but never something vanish.

Mandy, I believe like you, that anything can happen. There is so much we don't know in this world or are just beginning to find out.

Shannon, how cool that you weren't scared by those midnight visits. I've had similar happen once to me. My grandfather came to my room a week after he died. Sat in the corner of my bedroom and talked to me thru the night. Scared my folks but I was thrilled.

Mrskeglo, that feeling of being watched...I hear you. I think we have all had times like that.

Blueviolet, I like reading some of those spooky books too. In fact I just finished reading Haunted Illinois that tells real accounts of actual hauntings.

Beawhiz, if I heard someone outside my door, I dont think I could take waiting to find out who it was for very long. Ghost or not, I'd open the door with a baseball bat in hand. Might do nothing to the ghost but it sure would make me feel better.

Amy, there are people who feel things all the time and people who seem to not be phased by ghostly activity. While I enjoy being scared and hunting down the ghosts here, some incidents I wish I'd never felt/come across. So you might be lucky that your immune.

Raonaid, Now that would creep me out if I woke up and felt like I was held down. Hopefully if you still live in the same place, that never happened to you again. As for the smell, I really believe that life and its energies soak into spaces sometimes like memories that never die. And scents do make up memories. Like for me, roses make me think of my grandmother who used to plant tons of them in her garden.

10/07/2008 12:43 AM  
Blogger mrskeglo said...

My intro to Vampires (other than mean, dead, blood suckers) was Maggie Shayne and her Twilight Series. I grew to love all her characters and would wait impatiently for her next book. I am currently reading her new Twilight Trilogy and am still waiting for her next book!!

10/07/2008 7:55 AM  
Blogger Serena said...

I believe in spirits as well who are stuck here. I'll tell you a story my husband told me about our current apartment.

He told me he awoke one night to someone breathing over him. It was short stocky shadow, but definitely female. He said she kind of lumbered around. We were chatting with our upstairs neighbors a week later and they told us that a woman died in our apartment a couple years before we moved in. My husband asked them to describe her and wouldn't you know the description matched her perfectly, even down to the weird way of walking.

Creepy!

10/07/2008 10:12 AM  
Blogger LadyVampire2u said...

Mrskeglo, I couldn't agree with you more. Maggie Shayne has some great books and her characters are very engaging. And not just her vampire series either. I picked up and anthology book of hers the other day that has a great story involving spell casters.

Serena, The ghost lady was breathing on your hubby?!! That would un-nerve for sure. And then finding out comfirmation about her identity must have been a double whammy. Hopefully she won't show up again though. Waking up can be hard enough without your nerves being jangled by the other worldly.

10/08/2008 3:14 AM  
Blogger Ruth Schaller said...

Well, hi there!

I was coming over to share one of my stories with you! After my grandmother passed away, I had to clean out the house and get it read to sell. So I took my son, who was 1 1/2 or so at the time, with me. I got him settled in the living room and I went upstairs to move some stuff around. As time went on, I could hear him babbling and stuff and laughing. At first I figured he was just playing, so I just didn't give it a secod thought. Well, he did it for almost an hour. So something inside me told me to go check on him. I went down stairs and he was on the floor right in front of the chair that my grandmother used to sit in all the time and he was looking up at it and babbling, giggling. I swear she was sitting there talking to him. It took me three months before I went back in the house again. It really creeped me out! :)

10/08/2008 7:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

there are many members of my family (myself included) for generations back who seem to be sensitives. i've many times waken and not been able to move and had the feeling of being held down. i've seen a man dressed like a lumberjack standing at the end of my bed when i was 12. my daughters both have seen a man with a hat on walk into my bedroom. i was actually poked one night. i had just turned out the light and was getting comfortable with my back to the door. the next thing i know i feel three insistant pokes on my side. i turned, a little irate, thinking it was one of my daughters. no one was there. i've become accustomed to things supernatural so i simply said, not now, i'm trying to sleep. lol. my brother and i have both had our own experiences at a local cemetary. those i have to say, scared the hell out of both of us. i have not gone back there since because i sensed something malevolant. my mother and i both have felt my grandmother. that has to be my favorite. i sleep on a waterbed. one night i'm laying there obsessing about problems that seemed unsurmountable. suddenly the bed dipped as if someone sat down. i thought it was the cat so i got up to shoo him out of the room. well the door was closed. i was terrified. this began to happen on a regular basis and somewhere along the way i began to feel a sense of peace and well being. i realized this always seems to happen when i'm in some type of inner turmoil. i began to feel a strong presense of my grandmother and the feeling of being hugged and told it's going to be okay. my life has become much more grounded and happy over the years. i have not felt her presense in some time. i was telling my mother about this and she related that when she's in stress my grandmother will come to her in her sleep and lay down beside her, wrapping her arms around her and telling her everything will be fine. every time when she awakes, there is an indention in the shape of a head in the pillow next to her and my mother practically stays in the same place all night long. she certainly never moves to the other side of the bed. i could actually go on and on with stories like these, but i regress. i have blabbed enouogh. lol. and happy halloween to everyone!!!!

10/08/2008 12:30 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

It's not so much as ghosts that I believe in... it's more like spirits I call them... but I do have a story...

This happened just recently (a few weeks ago)... I was sleeping upstairs in my grandma's room (its sort of a loft), and I was faced towards the wall and in a deep sleep, all of a sudden I suddenly just woke up and was wide awake and out of the corner of my eye I saw the blanket that was covering me (below my shoulder) being pulled up over my shoulder to cover me more and then I felt a hand tuck the blanket behind me in the curve of my back along the bed... it pretty much felt like someone was tucking me in. I layed there awake for a little while thinking about what just happened to me and then went back to sleep. The next morning I told my mom what happened and her and I believe that it was my grandfather who tucked me in. :)

so that's my story...

10/09/2008 1:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well I believe in ghosts... but nothing has happened to me yet... but this happened in our Uncle's place when he had just started building the house-

In India, we generally do 'puja'[ offerings to God] before starting living in a new house, or a house we r starting to ocuppy or starting to build. So my uncle had started to build this house and somehow there was something or the other wrong happening. I have no clue about what all went wrong, but some people even got hurt it seems.

then uncle got the priest to do a puja, but before that the priest told him ..that the land on which they were building th ehouse as haunted by a women who died there.

I dnt knw what happened [ this happened when we were very young] but lots of pujas were done... and after that he built the house!

it is safe now...no problems at all :)

10/09/2008 2:22 AM  
Blogger Ann P said...

Unfortunately I can't say I've ever seen a ghost, although I have at times felt as if an unseen presence were close by. This happened mostly at my grandparent's house, which was in the country and very old. Their land had originally been part of a very large estate that was divided and sold. Several times when I was younger, maybe 12 or 13, I took walks over the fields to where I knew there were blackberry bushes. There were intermittent stands of trees at the boundaries of the different field, along the fences. More than once I felt as if someone else was there and heard rustling close by. Of course first thing people say is oh it was an animal, but the fields were cut low and the trees were in front of me or to slightly to the side, not behind. I have no doubt there are spirits in the area given the area's history... supposedly there is a high ranking Confederate solider buried nearby in an unmarked grave.

I definitely believe ghosts, spirits, etc. exist. If there is an afterlife, how could one think that every single person crosses over without fail? I have no doubt that there are souls that feel so strongly about something that is unfinished for them or are so resistant to leave the material world that they are caught in an in between that we call ghosts.

10/09/2008 12:34 PM  
Blogger tetewa said...

My mom believes to this day the the ghost of her brother visited her many times after he passed away. She was scared by different things that would happen to her while living in her apartment and went to see a paranormal reader her to ask her about her encounters. The lady told her to leave a note to her brother on her kitchen counter telling him that he was scaring her by the things that were happening and that she loved and missed him but he needed to move on. She did this on never had any more problems with him.

10/09/2008 3:55 PM  
Blogger Mari said...

A friend in elementary school used to tell us great ghost stories at her slumber parties. We were always so freaked out to be there but we never turned down an invitation. She told us about the chest of drawers in the guest bedroom which she claimed to be haunted. She said things would disappear from the bottom drawer and other things would reappear. They found baby booties once. Booties that belonged to her brother but had been lost years ago. Sand would be found in the drawers. Piles of it, even after having been cleaned out.

My friend claimed the drawers would be found open on reentering the room after having just closed them. She would dare us to go into the guest bedroom in the dark with the door closed. It was so dark in there that you couldn't see the chest but you could hear creaks and scratching. No one ever lasted more than a minute in there.

To this day I am still not sure if there was anyone n there making the noises or if they were real. I never went back in there after the first time.

10/09/2008 6:46 PM  
Blogger LadyVampire2u said...

Ruth, they say the very young and animals can see and sense ghosts and spirits the easiest which un-nerves us when see evidence of that. Atleast your son was having a good experience and wasn't scared.

Twisted, I loved all your stories and wish I could hear all of them. Like me you have a life tangled up with paranormal events. I live with it everyday here too so I definitely know what your going throuhg. I'll have to swap stories with you some time.

Danie88, How very cool! I personally think it's great when our family comes back to check in on us and tries to comfort us by doing little things like that. It is eerie at first but after you think about it and have a feeling who's behind it, it should make you feel good inside.

Veens, I definitely can understand what your uncle went through. Actually the house I live in now has been haunted for a long time but when I first moved here there were some violent and angry spirits that were grounded here. So I also had to have a priest come and bless the house twice to be rid of the bad energies.

Ann, I felt certain you did feel an entity of some kind. Usually your first impression is the correct one and if you thought something/someone was there, they probably were. I know if I was a ghost stuck to a piece of land, I would wander close to visiting people to help ease my loneliness. Even if all I could do was watch them.

Tetewa, thats amazing how your mother left the note and the odd incidents suddenly stopped. Sometimes the simplest ways of dealing with a problem can be easily over looked I think.

Mari, sounds spooky! You know, I've heard of houses and lands being haunted but never a single object or piece of furniture. I mean, I've read about it but never come across it in person. Must have been scarey for you when you were a kid. For me, I wasn't scared very much at other people's houses when I had sleep overs and such mainly because I was the kid living in the haunted house and calling it home. LOL

What awesome stories! Thank you all for sharing! I really enjoyed reading your encounters and opinions.

10/10/2008 3:37 AM  
Blogger darbyscloset said...

My Great Grandmother came back to visit me as a monarch butterfly, all summer long when I was in elementary school...she would sit on my shoulder on our patio as I did my summer school lessons....she had been a teacher.
Darby
darbyscloset at yahoo dot com

10/10/2008 8:03 PM  
Blogger Lana said...

Darby - that's a great story. Right after my grandmother passed away, my father saw her reflection over his shoulder in a revolving door smiling and waving at him. When he turned to look, he realized that there was a monarch butterfly sitting on his shoulder too.

It makes me think I'd like to come as a butterfly to bring comfort to those I love. :-)

10/10/2008 9:39 PM  
Blogger LadyVampire2u said...

Darby, it's a great feeling to know your loved and watched over even from the beyond isn't it? Beautiful story!

Lana, you know I've always liked butterflies and there is a legend I know that if one touches you or lands on you, you've been kissed. You've been brought luck from a kindred spirit.

10/10/2008 9:52 PM  
Blogger Jackie B. said...

I do not have any ghost stories but I do still believe in them. I love to watch all the ghost hunters shows that have been on TV lately. I think it is very fascinating.

10/11/2008 1:33 AM  
Blogger Pam P said...

Interesting reading all your stories. I believe in the possibility of ghosts, but have never encountered one myself.

10/11/2008 4:02 AM  
Blogger Crystal Adkins said...

Yep Yep Yep I totally believe they're out there! I was reading Dead of Winter by Sean Harris and it was about ghosts well I constantly found myself looking out of the corner of my eyes to make sure nothing was lurking around lol!!
Thanks LadyVamp for these awesome giveaways!!
crystaladkins722@gmail.com

10/11/2008 8:14 AM  
Blogger LadyVampire2u said...

Jackie, I'm a fellow Ghost Hunter's fan here too. I even belong to a real ghost hunter group right here in my home town. Ever gone ghost hunting yourself before?

Pam, Sometimes not seeing a ghost is better. It can be an un-nerving experience to feel or see a spirit.

Crystal, I've definitely had creepy feelings while reading certain books. You simply cannot help feeling that way when your taken with a story. And especially when your alone in the house reading some spooky book. But the weird thing for me is I've never encountered a ghost while reading or watching something scarey. It's almost like spirits like to wait for when your not expecting them. Maybe they like to make a grand entrance?

10/11/2008 12:49 PM  
Blogger TerriRainer said...

Which story do you want?

I have posted a few on my blog, but as a writer, it's hard for me to shorten them up, so if you'd like a few, October is the month I am posting about my ghosts!

BTW, LOVE Ghost Hunters (I soooo want a K2 meter), and have been on an investigation with a local team to an abandoned hospital that has 24/7 web cams set up.

:) Terri

10/11/2008 8:43 PM  
Blogger LadyVampire2u said...

TerriRainer, Well after that comment, I definitely had to check out your blog. And wow, I love your ghost stories. I think you could compete with me on that score. I live in a haunted house here too. It's over a hundred yrs old and so has its own history. I've grown up here and in other locations, all of which were haunted so scarey stuff happens all the time and I've learned to live with it which I think you have too. Would be cool to swap stories some time I think.
The ghost hunting I've done wasn't too professional. More ameturish in that a I and a group of people show up, break up in teams and cover areas. We have some various equiptment but its all run without a plan of sorts. Still, its fun if nothing else.

10/12/2008 3:33 AM  
Blogger TerriRainer said...

Lady Vampire,

I've done the ghost hunting both ways. Cemeteries don't take a lot of pre-planning (well, I do have a story on my blog about what kind of planning IS needed).

Professional-type groups usually have the cooler places to investigate. You know, the kind you'd get hauled off for trespassing if you tried alone!

I don't actually live in a haunted house NOW (knock on wood). Being from Oklahoma, there aren't a ton of old houses around, so the newer ones have "transplanted" ghosts usually (like mine did).

Wouldn't you LOVE to have a K2Meter???

:) Terri

10/12/2008 2:51 PM  

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