Your True
Tales
March 2003 –
Page 30
The
Jockey's Ghost
by K. Atkinson
My mother bought this house in 1981 as it was arranged and sold inexpensively through an older acquaintance of mine. (I am her daughter; I am now 49. I was at the time of this occurrence, about 29.) The house was not in as good a neighborhood as she had lived in, but the house she was renting was being sold, so it seemed okay. Speaking for myself, I loved the house, built in 1899, and with many old fixtures still intact, and stained glass windows, etc. Mom liked it okay, but was not as crazy about it. To get to my experience:
I was sleeping here one night when going through difficulties in my own home-life. I slept in what was a guest room then, and it was very warm. I was upset about my own personal circumstances, so did not sleep well. Nonetheless, I did manage to sleep some. At one point, in early morning, I felt as though I was half-awake, and heard people moving around and talking. They were not so loud or anything, but still I could hear many voices in conversation. I also heard strange, loud, reporting-like sounds that I thought was a radio or loud speaker coming from across the street. Still in this dream-like state of half-alertness, I noticed a short, almost midget-like man, and heard talking, and people preparing breakfast. I had had an acquaintance who was a dwarf or midget, and I remember thinking of him at the time. I don't remember saying it out loud, but as if in answer to my thought, I heard the man say, as naturally as you please, "We're all short here."
The room seemed warm and friendly. There was nothing scary about it. It was as if I could hear and see them going about their business even while I was still asleep in my bed. I felt like everything around me (the air, the room, the light coming in the window) was fresh and clean. I kept hearing that radio-like sound from across the way, too. Across from mom's house is a reservoir, and while there are roads around it, it is fenced off and no one but city personnel go in there. There are no loud speakers or anything, nor public facilities. Anyway, I woke up and later told my mom of my dream, and she told me that years before (about 75 years ago then), this house was owned by a group of jockeys, and across the street was the racetrack. She said the built-in mirrors in the house were originally set low as the jockeys were shorter than average men. I was stunned. She was curt with me, telling me that she must have told me this, and that I was simply remembering it. Believe me, she never told me anything of the kind.
< Previous story | Next story >
|
Do you
have a paranormal tale to tell? |
