What a week for paranormal activity! We actually hunted ghosts on June 21, the day of the solstice. Our reasoning was, with all the Wiccan and other ceremonies that day, the Universe should be filled with activity from believers. That entire investigation is for a separate diary all its own, since there were numerous day- and night-long happenings. The highlights were: two marvelous EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon) (you can hear one on my FB page); my sister accompanying us to a haunted location and chasing off the ghost in an instant; numerous EMF (electro-magnetic field) spikes at the cemetery we visited that evening, along with the flashlight again turning on by itself and a new phenomenon with a ball one of the investigators brought with her. But as to concrete, recorded evidence such as we got during the last investigation, the darn camera film was bad.
The activity continued through the weekend. Again, nothing on film, just personal incidents. They were pretty darned awesome occurrences, though, even for some veteran investigators.
I had never researched Summer Solstice previously, but (coincidentally?) a few days after the solstice, on Friday, June 24, Aunt Belle came to visit for a few days. She brought me a new ghost book to read. In the introduction, it actually said The Veil is thin around the Summer and Winter Solstices. It truly is, from personal experience.
The ghosts and spirits here at my house always welcome Aunt Belle with confirmation of their presences. Friday afternoon, we were standing in my office, listening to an EVP from the solstice investigation on my Facebook site. All of a sudden, Belle glanced at the ceiling, then at the floor.
"What?" I asked.
She bent down and picked up something. "This just fell from the ceiling, past my face and landed on the floor."
I took it from her to examine. It was a ring, a silver design along the edges of two colored, coated wires, one black, one turquoise, braided together in a circle. The silver was tarnished badly, and the ring appeared extremely old. I looked inside, but found no inscription or identifying information. We each took turns putting the ring on. Whatever came with it was very strong. The energy flowed over us in a distinctly paranormal manner. Neither of us kept that ring on more than a couple seconds.
"You say it fell from the ceiling?" I asked.
"Yes. And I've never seen that ring before in my life."
"Huh." We both just shook our heads.
I took the ring out to show my husband and sister, then laid it with some other artifacts of my paranormal life on the dresser in my office. Belle was still in there as I opened the word processing file of happenings here in the house and started to record the ring incident. I hadn't heard her leave and sensed her standing beside me, watching me type…so I thought.
Finished typing, I looked up and said, "Is that about how it happened?"
She wasn't there. The presence who stood beside me telepathically indicated he thought that was accurate.
I got up and went in search of Belle. She was sitting at the dining room table, talking to my sister.
"I thought you were in there watching me type up what happened."
"I left as soon as you started. I figured you could think better without me watching over your shoulder."
"Well, someone watched. And told me what I recorded was accurate."
"Probably the man who came with the ring," she said.
Later that evening, Belle's daughter and grandson came over. I took the ring out to show to them.
David, her grandson, said to Belle, "That ring was in the bag you had your mail in. I saw it laying there on top of the envelopes. I figured you were taking it with you for some reason, so I left it there and loaded the bag in the car."
So much for our belief the ring teleported from another dimension, as we had seen happen at séances or circles. Still….
"I never saw that ring in my life," Belle repeated. "I didn't put it in that bag."
"And how did it get out of the bag, up to the ceiling, and fall to the floor?" I wondered.
No one had an answer.
"My feeling," I said at last, "is that whoever is attached to the ring wanted to come up here with you. It's definitely a man. We both sense male energy attached to it."
We possibly found out who the man is, albeit only a hint as to his identity. The next morning, June 25, I rose early, around 6:30, so we could visit, then hit some garage sales before our Texas summer weather drove us indoors. Belle was already up by the time I came into the living room. She likes to read in the quiet mornings. This morning, she put her bookmark in her book, closed it, and laid it on her lap.
"Something woke me up last night," she began.
"What? Who?" I asked, knowing already it was paranormal.
"Someone said 'Wake up!' I ignored it at first and tried to go back to sleep. The voice said again, 'Wake up!' So I looked over at the table at the foot of the daybed. A man was sitting in the chair there. I could tell it was a man, even though he was only a dark shape. And the voice had sounded like a man. I asked him what he wanted."
"Did he answer you?" I asked.
"Ashton Wells was all he said, nothing else. I got up to go to the bathroom. He was still sitting there when I got back, so I took my book into the living room and read until 4:15. He was gone then, and I went back to bed. I got back up around 6:15, just before you came out."
"I still believe he came with the ring," I said, and she agreed. But so far, we haven't seen him again.
For now, the ring resides on my dresser. I started to put it on and wear it to my writer's meeting Sunday evening to show them, but I was uncomfortable doing that. I just could not keep the ring on my finger. I decided I would carry it in my pocket, but until I got to the meeting and started to read this short diary to the group, I didn't even remember I had planned to bring it. One of the group said he would love to see the ring. Since the meeting is at my house next time, he should be able to look at it. However, we'll see if the ghost who accompanies the ring thwarts that. It seems as if he doesn't want the ring to leave my house, which appears to have been his destination. He might also block my remembering to show it…or steal the reminder note I made myself!
After a day of garage sales and movies, at around 9:30 p.m., Belle and I were watching Ghost Adventures on the television. Belle sat in her favorite lounge chair, feet propped up, and I lay on the couch in my sleep shirt. The GA guys on TV were having quite a few experiences, but nothing Belle and I hadn't seen before. I was a bit bored, so…
"Do you want a popsicle?" I asked Belle.
"No," she said, then, "yes, bring me one."
"What flavor?"
"Surprise me."
I got up from the couch and started around the end of it. Suddenly, I stopped like I'd hit a brick wall, gasped, and turned to Belle. She was already laughing.
"Did you see him?" I asked her.
"I thought you were going to walk right through him!" she said when she could control her giggles.
"It was a ghost!"
"Yeah, he was sitting there on the arm of the couch, watching the show with us. I didn't see him, either, until you got up and started to walk through him."
"He ran off in front of me. I saw him take off."
"Uh huh."
I went in and got the popsicles, then stopped off in my office to shut down the computer. As soon as I walked out, I sniffed, looked at one dog on the floor, the other on the couch, and then Belle.
"Who farted?" I asked. "It's a horrible smell."
"Not me," Belle denied. The dogs didn't answer, but suddenly I knew who it was. I looked over at Belle and could see the same thought occurred to her.
"Juan's here," I said, and she nodded. We had experienced Juan, our gorgeous but smelly Mexican guy, before. I'd even researched him and found his name in the local high school graduates. I haven't followed up yet to see how he died, but it's fairly certain he is a ghost. I doubt spirits emit the type of smell Juan uses to let us know he has come to visit again.
I went over and handed Belle the popsicle, then sat on the couch. The smell followed me. I said, "Juan, you either get rid of that smell or I'll get the air freshener. If that doesn't work, you're outta here."
The smell disappeared in a flash.
"That was Juan, wasn't it?" I said to Belle. "Did you see a white shirt?"
"Yes."
"That's what he wears. I saw that and saw it racing away from me."
She giggled again. Juan wasn't quite done, though. A moment later, my feet started freezing.
"My feet are icy," I said. "And the left one hurts where I broke it."
"My right arm is freezing," she acknowledged.
I pulled my feet beneath the couch cover, and they warmed up. She didn't mention her cold arm again.
A while later, I said, "It's neat to have someone experience the same things and be able to talk with them about what happened."
"I know. When something happens to me, or I see a ghost when I'm alone, I just go on about my business."
It's a fun part of my paranormal life when Belle comes to town. She, too, enjoys visiting with the living entities here, as well as my other-world residents or passing-through beings. We had our share this paranormal week.
