coming out of my shell

coming out of my shell

Thursday, March 9, 2017

My Grandmother's Ghost


My mother saw her own mother’s ghost. I think that is why Mom was reluctant to speak of her mother. Grandma (Veronica from my post Enduring Love) died in November 1950. Mom was pregnant with me, about a year later, when she woke up in the middle of the night to see her mother standing in the doorway of the room. Veronica had on her favorite blue coat, and her ribbon hat (apparently a popular style of the late 1940’s). She was trying hard to communicate with Mom. Although her lips were moving and she was urgently trying to speak, Mom could not hear what Veronica was trying to say. She sat up in bed, leaned forward and said “What?” to her mother. At that point my father woke up and the apparition disappeared. 

Many years later (in the late 1980’s), I went to a Spiritualist church for an adventurous night out with a group of friends.  I am not a member of that church (or any church), but sometimes my friends and I would go to a meeting or two at the Spiritualist church each summer. Like many locals we would go for the fun of it when the church hosted open "spirit readings" for non-members. They were good at it, too; very spooky stuff.

In preparation, I concentrated hard all day on asking my dead grandmother to send me a message telling me what she had been trying to tell my Mom that night so long ago. It must have worked, because later that night the Spiritualist minister pointed me out in the crowd and told me that there was a grandmotherly spirit standing right behind me. He said the spirit wanted to give me her message herself rather than relate it through the psychic preacher. He instructed me to concentrate and meditate over the course of the next few weeks so that the “materialization” could take place. "Holy shit," I thought.

He must have seen the look of terror in my eyes, because he took great pains to reassure me there was nothing to be afraid of. Yeah, right. I was absolutely terrified at the thought of seeing a ghost. I thought, “OK, no problem – I won’t concentrate, I won’t meditate, and then nothing will happen.” I only wanted a freakin' message, I did NOT want to see a ghost.

I'm a big chicken about things that go bump in the night. Like a little kid, I was too afraid to sleep. I dozed fitfully, sparingly, and nervously for the next 2 nights. I was afraid to close my eyes because of what I might dream, and afraid to open my eyes because of what I might see! It's funny now, looking back on it. However, I was sincerely scared at the time.

By the third night I was exhausted. I fell deeply and peacefully asleep. I dreamed of my maternal grandmother. I clearly remember seeing her in that dream, and I know she took a long time to tell me many things. When I woke up I could not for the life of me remember anything she said, except for one message I was to give to my mother. She told me to tell my mother not to let her feelings get hurt so easily. 

I called to convey the message to my mother.  She seemed surprised and shocked with what I called to tell her, but she didn’t say much. It was a short phone call. Later I discovered that she had been fighting with her sisters for weeks because she had taken offense at something one of them had said to her, and she was nursing a serious case of hurt feelings.


I wonder if this is the ribbon hat?




25 comments:

  1. That is very spooky! I sort of teeter between believing in ghosts and not, but this story pushes me over further into the believing side. I'd like to think that my parents are still aware of what is going on with us and the grandchildren they never really knew. Even send some advice once in a while as Veronica did!

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    1. Some people are afraid ghosts aren't real. I'm afraid they are. Ha!

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  2. Totally acceptably true. Also she looks amazing. But your mum's reaction was odd, no?
    I mean, what do we know anyway. As someone raised by bone dry no-nonsense scientists I found my first ghost quite frightening but no longer. I am serious.

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    1. Oooooh, Sabine. Do tell! Can't wait to read about it.

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    2. And yes, I always thought my mother's response to anything to do with her mother (including the ghost) was odd. She was a mystery, my mother.

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  3. I think it's lovely that she came to see you. I don't think "ghosts" are malevolent I think they made carry bad energy and need to be set free but they don't want to hurt us.

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    1. I am hoping that's true... Grandma came to see me in a dream. I didn't actually see her ghost, that was my Mom. If I saw a ghost you'd probably not be reading this blog because I'd be in an asylum someplace.

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  4. My sister and a friend have ghost/spirit types of friends. I once had a friend who saw the ghosts of other's dead cats. "Cats don't leave places they loved," she explained to me, the first time she saw a cat of mine, dead before I ever met her.

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    1. I often feel my cat Buddy (who died last summer) at the foot of our bed, walking around like he used to do. Makes it hard to sleep. I'm less afraid of him that the ex-human kind, though.

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  5. I've seen several ghosts in my life time. None of them were ever scary. They were all either quiet or compassionate or teaching.

    I could do with another visit.
    Your grandmother has a true smile on her face, lovely. That must be your grandfather in the background...?

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    1. Yes, that is grandpa. I actually knew him. He taught me to play solitaire. Would love to read about your ghosts. You are so sweet, I can't imagine you'd get anything BUT a sweet ghost.

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  6. I don't really believe in things that go bump (or whisper) in the night, no I really don't believe in things that go bump (or whisper) in the night. No, never, not me, never, but .........

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    1. Ha! It is a protective mantra. I know it well.

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  7. Oh wow this post reminds me that I thought I saw a ghost standing the in the doorway when I was very young, maybe 5 years old. It was in the middle of the night, and I wanted to go into my parent's bedroom, but I didn't because of the ghost. I never met my paternal grandmother (I am named for her), but as I read your post it made me think that the ghost may have been her. I never saw the ghost again.

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    1. It WAS a Wow kind of thing. Sure scared me at the time.

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  9. This Post warmed my Heart and I'm glad that your Spiritual Encounter was such a positive one even despite the initial Fear, which is pretty common for many when it comes to Spirit Encounters. I was raised differently where it was commonplace to receive Messages and to just view Spirit as those who lived and now just don't have flesh on in this realm, but sometimes co-exist alongside us, one of the great Mysteries between Time and Eternity. My Mom gave very accurate Readings and Messages but was very discerning about relaying them when she came to this Country and realized that in some circles it was frowned upon or even Feared and considered a form of witchcraft. I am so Happy that Paranormal Investigating is making great strides in bringing to the forefront things that previously have remained taboo and instilled Fear and a lot of misunderstandings of the Spirit World. I do so Love to hear of the Precious Messages that impart a Healing Energy and Touch to the Living from the other side. Yours I firmly Believe is one of them. Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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    1. Thanks Dawn. Your Mom was an interesting person.

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  10. "... I'm pale as a ghost
    Holding a blossom on a stem
    You ever seen a ghost? No
    But you have heard of them ..." (Bob Dylan, lyrics from
    "Spirit on the Water")

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghhQxNCInyc

    Thank you for writing about your grandmother's ghost. Wonderful to read of all these experiences with ghosts. Love the photo of Veronica.

    My mother's mother died of gallbladder cancer in her upstairs room in St. Paul, Minnesota, when my mother was 20 years old in the 1930s. My grandfather was a doctor, helpless. It was only in the last years of my mother's life that she spoke these words to me, "My mother starved to death. She was just a skeleton when she died." My mother had a very difficult relationship with her mother, filled with resentment. My mother told me something else many years previous to that. Right after her mother died, she heard her mother's voice calling her by name from the top of the stairs. As I recall, the voice was kind and concerned. All her mother said was, "Josephine," which was my mother's name. I believe that a ghostly voice is also a ghost. My mother heard the ghost of her mother. So far, no ghost experiences for me. Dream appearances of the dead, yes.

    Thank you for all you write! Mostly I just read along quietly.

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    1. Thanks am. I am always touched by the things you write, and I always read - but sometimes just don't have words to respond. Hearing her mother call your mother's name must have been amazing. In effect, my mother starved to death as well. I may not be haunted by her ghost, but I am haunted by the memories of her active dying. Her death, however, was lovely.

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  11. Not a ghost but many dreams featuring my mom. My grandmother not as mych, but some.

    Twilight Zone stuff. Eerie.

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    1. Very eerie. I dreamed about my grandmother the other night. My mother hasn't been in a dream of mine in quite a while. She must be busy.

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So, whadayathink?