Henrietta’s Ghost

I would like to begin this entry by clarifying a point. Previously I used the term “supernatural” to describe the topic of this blog. Actually I use this only due to a lack of better options. The problem that I have with words like “supernatural” or “paranormal” is that they are loaded terms that seem to almost scream “nut case”. However for better or worse I think I will keep with the term for now until I can find something better.

I also don’t follow popularly held theories on the supernatural or read publications on the topic. Very little that I have read on the topic has ever impressed me and the web sites I have looked at impress me even less. And grainy black and white photos of buildings and portraits with mysterious phantoms and lights don’t convince me either. Photographs are incredibly easy to alter, so you simply can’t trust them. I’m not saying that therefore these photos must all be fakes, but that the viewer has no way of knowing whether or not they are faked. As well, photos really don’t tell you much. It is an image and that is it. What I like about recounted stories is that they have context, sequence of events, themes and patterns. True, none of the readers of this blog can know whether any of the stories are true, but if someone reading the blog has had personal experiences with supernatural events they can at least say “hey, this story is very similar to what happened to me,” or conversely “these stories don’t sound right at all from my experiences.”

Okay, I promised you last time a real supernatural story. I would like to first mention that in none of my stories will I use real names. I do this for the anonymity of the people concerned. So with no further ado …

About twelve years ago my wife’s best friend Henrietta died of cancer. Then six months later Henrietta’s husband began seeing another woman. News of this hit my wife, Jill, unusually hard. She had still not gotten over her friend’s death, and seemed to place unrealistic expectations on Henrietta’s husband.

Any way, as the day progressed Jill’s anguish over the news only increased, and by night time she was weeping by herself in bed. I suppose because I didn’t agree with he feelings, and because I didn’t think I could do much to console her anyway I decided just to let my wife cry herself to sleep. Later on that night I was awoken by the sound of Jill crying out loud in big sobs. I opened up my eyes and looked at the clock and saw that it was passed 1:00 AM. I then realized that she was only getting worse and so decided that I had better do something. I sat up in bed, rolled over and put my arm around Jill to give her a reassuring hug. I looked at her face and was surprised to see that there was a red light shining on her eyes. I took a second glance, but sure enough there was the light shining on her eyes. I said to her, “what’s with the red light?” She stopped crying and replied “what red light?” Then immediately, as if was turned off by a switch, the red light was gone. I really didn’t know what do think or do. Confused, I then decided that I must be more asleep then awake and so flopped back onto my side of the bed. Oddly enough my wife had stopped crying. Then, more out of sleepiness then a sense of mission accomplished, I went back to sleep.

If it had ended there I probably would have never thought of that moment again, but the next day at breakfast Jill and I were talking. She said that something really curious had happened to her the night before. In the middle of the night she had heard the voice of Henrietta in the bedroom. She said that it was as clear as a bell and right in front of her, but though she looked around she could see nothing. I asked her what Henrietta had said to her. She replied that she had just kept saying “it’s okay, it’s okay” over and over again. I then asked Jill what she took it to mean and she replied that she thought it meant that it was okay that Henrietta’s husband was now seeing this other woman. Then I asked her exactly when this happened. Jill said that she didn’t know the exact time, but that it was quite late. She then asked “did you say something last night about there being a red light or something.” I said yes. Then she said that Henrietta’s voice had begun just a minute or two before I had asked her about the light and that as soon as I had mentioned the red light the voice disappeared. I then told Jill my story about hearing her crying and the red light. I asked her whether she had seen the red light, but apparently she hadn’t.

There is a brief follow-up story to this. Ten years later I had woken up in the middle of the night – I can’t remember the exact time, but it would have been between midnight and 1:00 – and I looked down past my feet towards the far wall and I saw a glowing read light, like a ball of light, suspended in the air. The light slowly drifted from right to left across the room and went out the bedroom door. I was then torn by two emotions. The first was concern for my 10 year-old son who slept in the room just outside our bedroom door. But when I went to get up to run to his room I discovered that I was paralyzed with fear. This is the only occasion in which I have ever felt fear from a supernatural event. I can’t imagine why I felt this way. Any way, for the next few days I felt a terrible guilt that at a time when I should have gone to my son’s help I was too scared to do so. But the story continues. The next day I told Jill about seeing the red light. She listened quietly and then remarked “that’s interesting because today is the 10th anniversary of Henrietta’s death.”

I wasn’t aware that it was her anniversary. In fact I am generally terrible with dates and anniversaries. I need to rely on my Outlook calendar to remind me of my wedding anniversary, my wife’s birthday, and Mother’s Day. Even that often doesn’t help.

Comments:
I like this story for a few reasons. One is that it happened to two people at the same time. Although the experience was strange and inexplicable to both of us, we both experienced something slightly different. We also weren’t aware that the other had experienced something strange until we had told our stories’ the next day. The fact that we experienced something different I think is a clue to what is happening. It is also interesting that my wife experienced something more tangible and natural, while what I experienced had less substance.

I also like the story because both events occurred late at night, sometime around One o’clock. As you will see with later stories, this is a common theme and I think another clue.

The glowing red light might also be clue, but I’m not sure since I don’t have enough stories with it to come to much of an opinion.

With respect to the story of the first apparition, I don’t like the fact that I fell asleep so easily. It hints that the red light could have just been a dream – huge coincidence though it would be.

What I really don’t like is the story of the second apparition. I can’t think of a single reason in the world why a spirit, or what ever it was, would be concerned about the 10th anniversary of its death. Surely Earthly calendars mean nothing to them, and even if they do what would be gained by them returning for the anniversary? It’s a curious form of celebration. On the other hand, dates and anniversaries are very important to my wife. She, like my son, is a walking calendar. I am certain that the upcoming anniversary of her friend’s death would have been on her mind the night of the apparition. This too could be a clue.