If you've read Derek's posts, you know that we, as a family, have had some run-ins with ghosts of all sorts. Now, Derek actually sees them while mostly I just hear & feel things. Only once have I seen something and that was two years ago in Grand Junction at my grandparents' house. It was in the haunted basement as I was walking out of the bedroom I had occupied for the previous four nights. All it was was mist floating in the doorway. I walked through it then turned to look and it was gone. That was my one big sighting!

My experiences with the supernatural started with simply feeling things. One day I was sitting in the middle of the living room floor, nothing around me. Derek was sitting on the couch in front of me so I know it wasn't him but out of the blue, something hit me in the back, knocking me forward. It felt like someone poked me really hard in the middle of the back plus the ghost must have been dragging his spooky feet across the carpet cuz it shocked the hell out of me!

A few weeks later I was in the bathroom curling my hair. Once again, these ghosts have a weird sense of humor. This one blew into my ear. It felt like I was outside in a storm, that's how strong the breeze was. I tried and tried to recreate the sensation, thinking that maybe it was a freak happening as I was stepping forward to pick up a hot roller. No dice. It never happened again.

Two people visiting the house have said they've seen my late uncle who lived with us for a short while. One saw him sitting on the couch in the mirror and the other saw him walking into the kitchen. I know he visits every once in a while...one day I had fallen asleep on the dining room floor (long story. Trust me, there was a good reason for that). At the time, I had door beads hanging between the living room and the dining room. I woke up to the sound of the beads clacking together...opening my eyes, I saw the beads swaying as if someone very large had just walked through them. I knew my uncle was visiting.

The coolest spooky thing that ever happened to me was also experienced by my mom. My brother was living in Denver at the time and my dad was out of town for a PGA thing. I was in my room, making a tape. Mom walked down the hall and said good night. A little bit later, I heard "HEATHER!" I thought the music was too loud so I turned the volume down and didn't give it a second thought. The next afternoon we were driving around and Mom says, "Have you ever been asleep and suddenly a sound wakes you up and you're not sure if you really heard it or you dreamed it?"

"Yeah, all the time."

"Well, that happened last night. I could have sworn I heard you yell 'MOTHER!'." That was when I got spooked. I heard "HEATHER", she heard "MOTHER." Both ending with the same sound. When I heard it, it sounded like it came from her room but she said it came from my direction of the hall. It was winter so the windows were closed. Someone had been yelling in our hallway...it was freaky.

Little things happen to us all the time in this family...it's in our genes. Our Great Grandma Reed saw her husband in the back yard one day building a coffin when he was supposed to be at work. Minutes later she got the call that he died while on the job.

Things like that are what make great late night stories. One day maybe Derek or I will talk about Grandma's Haunted Basement. That should be sufficiently scary!

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