CajunBass
Member
I don't believe in ghosts. At least not as "trapped spirits" or something like that. I believe when you die, you either go to heaven or hell. There is nothing in between.
Having said that, I do believe there is "something" for lack of a better term that happens that people call "ghosts", again for lack of a better term. What they are, where they come from, where they go, I have no idea.
Earlier I mentioned "Elizabeth." Warning. Long, probably boring, story to follow.
Back years ago, when I was a much younger fellow, I made arrangements to meet a young woman at Fort Darling, at Drewry's Bluff, just south of Richmond. Fort Darling for those who don't know, was one of the main Confederate forts, blocking the river approaches to Richmond, until the city fell in 1865.
The young lady arrived before I did, so seeing her automobile in the parking lot, I walked down the path, and across the wooden foot-bridge to where I saw her standing. My boots made a loud clunk, clunk, clunk on the wooden bridge as I approached her, but she didn't seem to hear me. I touched her shoulder, and she jumped, startled.
She turned to me and asked, "What is all this noise?" What noise? I replied. She said "These explosions. I can't stand the noise." I told her, "All I hear is the wind in the trees, and the sound of traffic on I-95." She insisted that she heard "explosions."
We walked up the path toward the recreated fort. About 200 feet up the trail, she suddenly turned, walked into the woods, went down on her knees, and covered her ears with her hands. I went to her and she was crying, and said the noise was hurting her ears.
We went back to the path, sat down on a park bench. She stopped crying and we talked about what she heard. Suddenly, she sort of fell asleep or passed out, with her head on my shoulder. About thirty seconds later, she sat upright, looking off into the woods, but with her head up as if looking at someone standing there. She said "What do you want me to say?" I asked, "What do you see?" She said "What do you want me to say?" I repeated my question. She turned to me, and snapped, "I'm not talking to YOU." Then she asked "What do you want me to say?"
She then dozzed off (a better description than passed out actually) again. A minute or two later, she woke up as if nothing had happened. We walked on up the path. I was telling her what I had witnessed, but she seemed to recall none of it, until we came to a park sign. At the bottom of the sign, were pictures of Lee, Grant, and G.B. McClellen. She pointed to McClellen's picture and said "It wasn't him...but he looked like him."
I'm going to jump forward a bit to shorten the story. I'll just say that later she heard a park service recording. In the background were the sounds of artillery and musket fire. She said "That's what I keep hearing." I heard nothing out of the ordinary.
When we got back to the footbridge, we stood there for a minute discussing further what had happened, when she asked "If I faint, can you catch me?" She then went down like she had been shot. WACK! her head hit the blacktop path with a crack like a ball bat.
I helped her up (I could just imagine what someone in the parking lot would be thinking if they saw me kneeling beside a woman laying on the ground) and to the parking lot and into her car. I got in on the passenger side. She again "dozed off" a couple of minutes later, in the middle of a sentence. When she woke up, again just a few seconds later, she looked at me and smiled, and brothers and sisters, let me tell you, I knew the lights were on, but there was nobody home. Still I didn't feel "frightened" or anything. Just curious.
"Well, hello there. And who are you I asked?" She smiled with a funny little smile and said "My name is Elizabeth." (Her name was NOT Elizabeth.) "And what can I do for you Elizabeth?" I asked? She just gave me that funny smile, and nodded off again, awakening a minute or so later, as if nothing had happened. We talked a bit longer, I told her what happened. She claimed to have no recolection of any of it.
There are logical explanations of course. The most reasonable one is she was jerking my chain. But I didn't get that impression. She wasn't that good an actress. The entire time, I was under the impression that whatever was happening was real. I wasn't frightened or anything. Just curious. What happened? I have no idea. IF she was jerking my chain, I would think she would have had a good laugh at my expense. AFAIK, she never told anyone. Did she somehow or other manage to look and hear a long ago battle that I couldn't see? Did she see someone who looked like G.B. McClellen (a "look" that was popular in both armies). Did someone or something named "Elizabeth" try to communicate with me? Or did she just pull off a great gag at my expense? I have no idea.
I did tell my wife the story later. When I got the part about "Elizabeth" but before I mentioned the name, my wife stopped me. "Her name was Elizabeth wasn't it?" How do you know? "I felt her there too, the first time you and I toured that part of the battlefield. I didn't tell you because I knew you would think I was crazy."
Having said that, I do believe there is "something" for lack of a better term that happens that people call "ghosts", again for lack of a better term. What they are, where they come from, where they go, I have no idea.
Earlier I mentioned "Elizabeth." Warning. Long, probably boring, story to follow.
Back years ago, when I was a much younger fellow, I made arrangements to meet a young woman at Fort Darling, at Drewry's Bluff, just south of Richmond. Fort Darling for those who don't know, was one of the main Confederate forts, blocking the river approaches to Richmond, until the city fell in 1865.
The young lady arrived before I did, so seeing her automobile in the parking lot, I walked down the path, and across the wooden foot-bridge to where I saw her standing. My boots made a loud clunk, clunk, clunk on the wooden bridge as I approached her, but she didn't seem to hear me. I touched her shoulder, and she jumped, startled.
She turned to me and asked, "What is all this noise?" What noise? I replied. She said "These explosions. I can't stand the noise." I told her, "All I hear is the wind in the trees, and the sound of traffic on I-95." She insisted that she heard "explosions."
We walked up the path toward the recreated fort. About 200 feet up the trail, she suddenly turned, walked into the woods, went down on her knees, and covered her ears with her hands. I went to her and she was crying, and said the noise was hurting her ears.
We went back to the path, sat down on a park bench. She stopped crying and we talked about what she heard. Suddenly, she sort of fell asleep or passed out, with her head on my shoulder. About thirty seconds later, she sat upright, looking off into the woods, but with her head up as if looking at someone standing there. She said "What do you want me to say?" I asked, "What do you see?" She said "What do you want me to say?" I repeated my question. She turned to me, and snapped, "I'm not talking to YOU." Then she asked "What do you want me to say?"
She then dozzed off (a better description than passed out actually) again. A minute or two later, she woke up as if nothing had happened. We walked on up the path. I was telling her what I had witnessed, but she seemed to recall none of it, until we came to a park sign. At the bottom of the sign, were pictures of Lee, Grant, and G.B. McClellen. She pointed to McClellen's picture and said "It wasn't him...but he looked like him."
I'm going to jump forward a bit to shorten the story. I'll just say that later she heard a park service recording. In the background were the sounds of artillery and musket fire. She said "That's what I keep hearing." I heard nothing out of the ordinary.
When we got back to the footbridge, we stood there for a minute discussing further what had happened, when she asked "If I faint, can you catch me?" She then went down like she had been shot. WACK! her head hit the blacktop path with a crack like a ball bat.
I helped her up (I could just imagine what someone in the parking lot would be thinking if they saw me kneeling beside a woman laying on the ground) and to the parking lot and into her car. I got in on the passenger side. She again "dozed off" a couple of minutes later, in the middle of a sentence. When she woke up, again just a few seconds later, she looked at me and smiled, and brothers and sisters, let me tell you, I knew the lights were on, but there was nobody home. Still I didn't feel "frightened" or anything. Just curious.
"Well, hello there. And who are you I asked?" She smiled with a funny little smile and said "My name is Elizabeth." (Her name was NOT Elizabeth.) "And what can I do for you Elizabeth?" I asked? She just gave me that funny smile, and nodded off again, awakening a minute or so later, as if nothing had happened. We talked a bit longer, I told her what happened. She claimed to have no recolection of any of it.
There are logical explanations of course. The most reasonable one is she was jerking my chain. But I didn't get that impression. She wasn't that good an actress. The entire time, I was under the impression that whatever was happening was real. I wasn't frightened or anything. Just curious. What happened? I have no idea. IF she was jerking my chain, I would think she would have had a good laugh at my expense. AFAIK, she never told anyone. Did she somehow or other manage to look and hear a long ago battle that I couldn't see? Did she see someone who looked like G.B. McClellen (a "look" that was popular in both armies). Did someone or something named "Elizabeth" try to communicate with me? Or did she just pull off a great gag at my expense? I have no idea.
I did tell my wife the story later. When I got the part about "Elizabeth" but before I mentioned the name, my wife stopped me. "Her name was Elizabeth wasn't it?" How do you know? "I felt her there too, the first time you and I toured that part of the battlefield. I didn't tell you because I knew you would think I was crazy."
