Ghosts?

From Polly Mazariegos

Gettysburg PA.

 

I don’t know what category my stories would fit in. They are true things that have happened to me. They are not in any specific order.

 

Every time I visit my sister (Shirley) her grandchildren ask me to tell my ghost stories. I had planned to record them, but never got around to it. So I decided to record them with US Legacies. Then they can see them and read them any time they want.

 

Let me set the stage first. I was young, probably between 10 years old the events lasted until I was about 18. Our house was old and had a small store grocery attached to it. Saturday nights, my Dad would open cartons of items and stock the shelves.

 

On a Saturday night, right after my bath, I heard a loud thump. It sounded like a big box falling. I didn’t think any thing of it at first. Then Dad came into the downstairs hallway steps and yelled “What are you doing up there throwing things around.” Crying, I said, “I didn’t do anything, I was in my room getting ready for bed.”

 

Mom came up asking what was going on. I told her “the sound came from the attic. Brave Mom said, “I’m going up to see what fell.” I begged her not to but she went anyway. I stood at the bottom of the stairs scared to death. She came down and said nothing was out of place, and went back down stairs.

 

I hated the attic because that was not the only incident that happened, regarding out supernatural attic. Our bathroom upstairs was under part of the attic. You had to cross the entrance to the attic to go to the bathroom. Every time I passed the attic door, the latch was open. I would ask if anyone had gone to the attic. Everyone would say no. I would then re-latch the door. This happened each time I walked by day or night.

 

You could also hear what sounded like heavy boots coming down the attic steps. My sister stopped for a visit. She was coming up stairs to see if we were home. No one was home when she heard these steps in the attic. She ran back downstairs and left.

 

Several months of these noises, of all kinds coming from the attic, I decided to place a crucifix on the outside of the door. I went back to bed (bedroom was across from the bathroom). The latch opened and the crucifix fell on the floor. Now I was really scared. I put the crucifix inside the door and shut it. This time the latch stayed closed.

 

One night I woke up with the urge to go to the bathroom. I heard Mom get up and go. Then Dad get up and go to the bathroom. I heard him reach the bathroom. I opened my bedroom door. I looked at the bathroom door. It was usually wide open. This time it was almost shut with 4 hairy fingers holding onto the door. Naturally I screamed and shut my door hard and sat down on the bed. Mom wanted to know what all the screaming was about. She then checked the bathroom and nothing was there.

 

Another incident happened in my bedroom. I woke up to feel a skeleton hand reaching up from under my bed and it touched my leg. I was so frightened I froze. Sometime later when I didn’t feel it any more. I jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom. When I returned to my room nothing was there.

 

We would see a ball of blue light come in the room and go out through the shut window. No explanation as to what it was.

 

The only incident Mom saw herself was a Civil War soldier standing at the door to their bedroom. She tried to wake Dad but he just kept sleeping. No explanation as to why he was standing there at attention with his musket in hand.

 

Dad heard a noise coming from the downstairs store area. He thought it was a burglar, he grabbed his rifle, but no one was there.

 

I was renting an apartment in Gettysburg. My youngest sister (Diane) was visiting overnight. We went to bed in my double bed. Something woke me up. I looked over to see if Diane wanted something. To my surprise, I saw what appeared to be a shrouded figure bending over to pick Diane up.

 

I can’t remember if I asked who it was or just got up and turned on the light. The light switch was at the entrance to the room. All I remember is when the light came on the figure vanished and the shroud floated to the floor. I went to Diane’s side to see what fell nothing was there.

 

I can’t explain what it was or what it meant. But this was a place that was a battlefield and a place where people died.

 

From Polly Mazariegos

Gettysburg PA.

 

Published U S Legacies March 2004