It cannot be denied that the haunting phenomenon is a reality. There are countless experiences dating back centuries, even millennia. What we don't know for certain is what the haunting phenomenon really is or how it works. Is it a kind of psychic energy recorded on an environment that is replayed when triggered by some factor? Is it really caused by the actions of the dead? Or is the haunting activity generated by the power of our own subconscious?
They are important questions, but are often irrelevant to the people who are experiencing them first-hand. They only know that the unexplained phenomena are always perplexing, often unnerving, and sometimes deeply meaningful. Consider the case of Cathy C., the death of whose parents began a series of paranormal incidents that she feels can only be attributed to them. This is Cathy's story....
THE YEAR 2008 WAS a very unhappy year for me as I lost both my parents within months of each other. Back in 2002, I sold my home. Although it was paid for, I found it difficult as a single woman to afford the renovations and upkeep that needed to be done, and after two break-ins, my parents offered me the opportunity to move back to the family homestead. In this way, I could assist both my parents with various errands and provide companionship, although both were just in their mid-60s at that time.
As time passed and my parents entered their 70s, my mom's health began to fail, and since my father didn't drive and they were not on bus routes, I also took over more and more responsibility. Surprisingly enough, it was my father who passed away first, in January of 2008, after complications from surgery seven weeks earlier. Although he suffered from grand mal epilepsy since his early teens, we had no idea that the anesthetic they gave him for gall bladder surgery would trigger two massive heart attacks, a triple bypass and eventual organ failure.
While in the hospital, my dad wasn't very aware, and for the most part didn't respond coherently to questions or conversation. The strange thing was, just one week prior to his death there was one moment where he squeezed my hand, looked at me, really recognized me and uttered the words, "You'll be alright on your own," which confused me at the time. Looking back, though....
FATHER'S VOICE
Well, we muddled along, as one must. On a sunny day about two weeks after Dad passed away, I had taken the family dog out to the back deck, which accessed the garage, prior to his run in the backyard. Imagine my surprise when I heard a voice that sounded eerily like my father's coming from inside the garage. Both the dog and I reacted to the voice at the same time. I must admit that I was really caught off-guard and got someone else to go in the garage with me to check it out - and, of course, there was no one there.
My 17-year-old nephew, who moved in to help with things a few weeks before my father's death, had a very strange thing happen to him a short time later. Friends of his talked him into using the Ouija board against his better judgment at their house one day. The planchette became very active and he asked who was there, and it spelled out my father's initials. When asked who he wanted, my nephew's secret pet name was spelled out. The board then spelled out PEANUT BUTTER JAM SANDWICH, which my dad had been asking for while in the hospital (he couldn't eat anything). When asked if he was in heaven, he said NO. When asked if in hell, he said NO, which upset my nephew to the point that he came home in tears. No one else there knew these things.
ANOTHER DEATH, MORE ACTIVITY
Well, that seemed to be it, for the most part, and both of us shook it off and life resumed. My mom, very strong in character if not in body, carried on, although her health failed further. On April 22, I received a call from my nephew, who had arrived home from school. When he had arrived, there was a plumber who had been knocking at the door for some time, and when they gained entrance, they found my mom deceased in the house. My guess is that she just couldn't carry on any longer without my dad, which apparently isn't uncommon; many spouses pass within months of each other.
About two weeks after, things really started happening...
Next page: Their habits continue
