[Lucy Croft]

In General my experiences are mixed, and based on direct observation, there are Good and Bad Spirits. I would say in general, that I have had two bad experiences. I think it is fear of the unknown, which makes some people fear Ghosts. When I had my first encounter, because I did not ask for it or seek, I was very frightened. (Please read Balcombe Road Ghost). Although I won't testify to the fact, it was dangerous, I certainly picked up the feeling or impression, that it was scary, and that it was trying to intimidate me.
he Balcombe Road Ghost.

.I encountered this Ghost in 2003, and that would have been that. Other than it left me with the ability to see Ghosts. Since then I have had eight other experiences between 2003 and the present day. I see them when I least expect them to be there, and when I am not really looking for them. I am not really a medium as far as I know. As I do not really want to encourage them that much. I am very sensitive to seeing them and being aware of them, through footprints and sound. I am basically passive in that I did not initiate the contact.


Here is my true ghost story, which really did happen to me, and I am still suffering the affects of it to this day, playing the same event over in my mind. Before seeing the ghost I would have to say that I was a big skeptic, on seeing it I have changed my mind. I made the sighting on 20th October 1999 at 10-30 pm on the B2036, a road that runs from Haywards Heath to Crawley, eventually joining the A23 to Crawley. My personal view is that you do not find ghosts, they find you if they want to.

My best mate and I were driving back from his house. I had not been drinking, nor had I taken any substances that could have caused it. The moon was coming out from behind a cloud and there was heavy rain on the road surfaces. We had been driving for something like thirty to forty minutes and had joined the B2036, which goes through ancient woodland, and becomes nothing more than a country lane at that point. The Woodland itself is called Worth forest.

I looked at my watch and the time said 10:30pm and I can remember that I was relaxed and not thinking of anything. The car in front had disappeared and its headlights had faded into the darkness, so we were effectively the only vehicle on that unlit stretch of the road. It was then that I noticed in the car headlight beams, some distance ahead an owl flying across the road, that had come from the hedgerow, as if startled by something. On closer examination as we approached, I saw a misty patch, like fog emanating slowly from the grass verge on the right. I did not think anything about it too much, except that the next events took me by surprise.

In no less that 4 seconds this misty patch, took on a life of its own, I would have to say a supernatural presence. This misty patch expanded in size so rapidly that it became a dense, threatening thick wall of fog, that spread right across the right hand side of the road. This I now know was no ordinary fog, but was 'ectoplasm'.

As the fog cleared and dissipated I could see something moving ahead in front of the car headlights. I could clearly see it was a cowled figure like a monk that appeared to be intent on crossing the road from right hand side to the centre reservation. It had not seen us approaching at this stage, and had it arms outstretched. To my horror after examining the situation I saw that the figure was not walking like a normal human but 'gliding' just above the road surface. I was also having trouble clearly delineating it, because as it got to the centre line it disappeared and reappeared again in exactly the same spot and repeated the same action, time and time again. The ghost I would have to say took on a clearly ethereal appearance.

As we drew closer in the car I started to worry as to whether my friend had seen it, so I had decided to observe it and say nothing, because I feared he would crash the car. Watching again, I saw that it had observed us and was now aware of us, because our headlights were illuminating it, as we drew closer to it. Now the ghost faded completely when it got to the centre reservation line and it stopped and turned to face us head on.

I could see that it was now transparent to semi invisible. The headlight beams of our vehicle shone through it and I could see the rain falling on the other side, and the road disappearing off into the distance.

As we drew closer still, to it, the Ghost decided to move, and now glided across to the left hand side of the road i.e.- passenger side where I was seated. Some distance ahead the ghost now 'decided' to reveal itself. To my horror a full ghost dematerialised in front of the vehicle in the middle of the road, on my side. All I can say is that I have never experienced pure terror like that, my heart was thudding and I wanted to say something to my friend who was driving, but found that I could not get any words out. So I kept quite, as all the time we drew nearer to it.

The Ghost was of a portly middle-aged man, I would say in his forties to fifties. I got the impression that he did not belong to this century, as his clothes were dated. Around his waist there was a belt with a buckle, and he had on large boots. I got the impression that he may have been a highway robber because the man was bald, and he had an earring in his right ear. And to my horror he was standing there just grinning widely, I could see in his lower jar there were gold fillings. He wore a stripy 'jumper' like the 'Bretons' wear in Brittany France, and a necktie. The figure though was 'evil' because I sensed that it was enjoying the fact that it was scaring us.

I sat there dumbfounded and I could not believe what I was seeing. I thought I must be hallucinating. So when I shut my eyes and reopen them it will have gone. I shut my eyes took some deep breaths reopened them, and to my horror the figure was still there grinning in the middle of the road. By now I was beginning to panic a though crossed my mind what if we hit it. Then another thought came which was the ghost is dead so it cannot hurt me.

With that I suddenly plucked up courage and started to return the ghost's stare and gaze. I sensed that the ghost was aware somehow that I was no longer scared by it. It seemed to me that it had become dejected and crestfallen that the scare was no longer working.

The Ghost's facial features changed it was no longer grinning. It was at this point that I realised what I was seeing was not an image, but a real life 'sentient' human from beyond the grave with feelings and thoughts like you or me. The paradox was that it was alive but dead.

As we approached rapidly I started to fear that we were going to collide with it. I heard stories that ghosts sometimes go right through vehicles. I therefore started to will in my mind for it to disappear, but it would not go. I realised that if it did not go we would hit it. As we reached the point of no return a few hundred metres from it, the ghost just vanished, dematerializing as suddenly as it had come.

We were now level with the spot where the ghost had been standing. I checked the side windows of the car, as we passed to see if someone had been playing a trick. I also looked back out of the window in the back. All I could see was an eerie empty lonely road, with the autumn leaves falling slowly down into the road. We were now completely alone.


PostLogue

I said nothing to my best mate, about it, but spent the weekend worrying about it, was what I had seen alive or dead. A few weeks later after meeting up for a drink in a pub, I asked him whether he had seen anything, and explained I had seen a ghost. He just turned to me and laughed. He said I saw nothing. It therefore means that only I could see it, unless of course he is lying about what he truly saw

The Russian Ghost- Possible Wraith 2003

I saw a ghost while I was away on holiday in Russia. I was traveling by coach in a party of eight to 12 others. We had been traveling most of the day to get to the town of Kostrumo, in the Golden ring outside of Moscow. The countryside consists of vast expanses of Siberian Silver Birch and forests. As we neared the village I noticed out of the window on my left a graveyard. Standing next to a grave was what I assumed to be a woman in a black cloak, who was a widow, mourning the loss of her husband. It was strange, but not unusual to see this.

I noticed that in the graveyard was an orchard of cherry trees. I did not think too much about this and looked away. I then took a glance again over my shoulder. As I looked back through the coach window, the figure had moved and was now standing next to a low wall and the wrought iron gates, the main entrance. The figure was ominously tall, looking much more than normal, and took on a threatening presence or shape. I noticed that there was no face in the hood of the cloaked figure. Far more disturbing, though, was that it seemed to be watching me and its hands were rested upon the top wall. I got a glimpse of its hands - it was not human! The hands and fingers on them were very long - over a meter in length and were skeletal, long and bony.

As I continued to look back at it, a skull appeared in the hood and two orange eyes looked back and it grinned at me. I looked away instantly and did not look back, as I figured that it represented death. I thought I must be imagining things, so I tried to put the whole thing out of my mind and get on with the rest of the holiday.

One thing that did strike me as odd was that the graveyard was completely run down and overgrown with long grass; no one had been there in months or, in fact, years. So what was this figure doing there? I did not think too much about the incident and had forgotten about it. Two days later, I arrived at a new hotel and had sat down to eat dinner in the main restaurant along with other Japanese guests. As I ate, I looked up into the corner of the restaurant, and it was decorated with pots and other antiques. But what drew my attention was a large wood carving by a Russian artist of a figure from Russian folklore. My Blood chilled to the bone. For there was a carving of a hooded figure - a man who looked like a monk. His arms were completely outstretched and its fingers were long and bony, at least over a metre long. This was exactly what I had seen in the graveyard.
> Library > Religion & Spirituality > Occultism &

Parapsychology Encyclopedia
The apparition or double of a living person, generally supposed to be an omen of death. The wraith closely resembles its prototype in the flesh, even to details of dress. There are accounts of people seeing their own wraith, and among those who were warned of approaching death in this way are said to be Queen Elizabeth I, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Catherine of Russia. The latter, seeing her double seated upon the throne, ordered her guards to fire upon it.

This can be a synonym for ghost, but generally means the spectral double of someone still alive. Usually, it appears at or near the time of the person's death, as a sign for close friends or relatives; sometimes it is a more long-term warning; occasionally it means the person is in danger or distress. To see one's own wraith (also called a ‘fetch’) is a sure sign of death. of both "ghost, apparition of a deceased person" and "an immaterial or spectral appearance of a living being".Also believed to be the image of death in many ways. With a black cloak and a skeletal body a wraith is confused with a messenger of death, or holy figure

Although I have encountered one of these Wraiths, it appears that they are not common, and probably most people would not meet one. This sighting was the only time I was not really happy in encountering Spirits. So I guess the message is to be careful, and not use Ouija Boards. Some people have had bad experiences in using them. Mediumship is perhaps different, so using a medium is a good way to contact the Spirit world, as well as being safe.

[AMP]

Did you know Lucy that ectoplasm can only be created by a physical medium? I think if you tried to seek some education on spirit and what they do and don't do you may remove some of your fears and possible misconceptions. Why not pop into the chat rooms one day? Or join a development circle at your local spiritualist church? It is only through education that we grow.

AMP xxxx

[ricky]

In the book, Teachings of silver birch someone asks "what causes hauntings in the cases where there is a mechanical repetition of events such as monks walking the passages of a monestries"?silver birch replies,"some hauntings are caused by spirits,but the cases you mention are caused by intense concentration on earth,leaving an etheric picture which can still be registered.usually,however ,that which your world calls a ghost in one we recognise as an earthbound spirit.he also says that thoses who die in ignorance of the spirit world and without faith they refuse to go to the spirit world and spirit have a very hard time convincing them and cannot make them go also those who have lived selfish and evil lives are too scared to go to spirit in fear of there punishment and choose to stay earthbound.i so could it be that spirit- ghosts can roam earth and interfere and haunt ppls lives?i have seen spirits- ghosts on a few occations throughout my life and cant say whever they are a trapped image or an inteligent spirit but my freind moved in a house which was haunted and there was bangs tv turning over, hifi turning on and off, flashes of light, cold spots feelings of being watched ectne night it called out my name 3 times and 4 different ppl heard it she got a reputable medium who has practised for over 30 years and she come and sent him on his way, his name was tom he was an old man.she said he tried to comunicate with me to tell me he ment no harm alli know is i was freaked out by it.so whever spirits can roam the earh or not i dont know ppl seem to have there own opinions.as for hurting ppl apart from scaring us and making us jump i dont think they could just my beliefs im no expert.

[Jemma1]

I am one of those whom is a sort of magnet for the paranormal. If something freaky is in the room, it is going to focus on me. This also includes live humans lol.

I have seen 2 literal full bodied apparitions, at very different times in my life, and have discovered many hauntings, particularly when when i wasn't looking for them.

I hate to tell you, but YES they can actually harm you, although it is so extreemly rare that you should prolly focus on falling off a bridge than being harmed by a ghost.

The best example I can give was a bar I worked in Elmhurst, Illinois. At the time it was called Spaso Speakeasy, on North Avenue. It was widely known that at one point it was a sort of manor house and the lady whom owned it hung herself in the attic/which had become the offices. All sorts of weird stuff happened...I would get to the bottom of the steps in the basement to grab wine and the pull chain light at the top of the stairs would turn off...or I would lay down the only cork screw in the house/on the bar in the spot we had so the waiters could use it, and it would vanish...and I was the only one beside the prep cooks in the building. Just annoying stuff.

One day I went to work/I bartended the lunches and early dinner shift...We opened the bar and I set about organizing for the day, but I started feeling really sick and crappy.The waiters came in and it wasn't long before they were also fussing about feeling crappy. The manager came down from his office in the attic and wondered why we were all feeling sick, but paid it no mind. It wasn't until a waiter went to turn on the gas valve to one of the fireplaces, and he found it was wide open...that we figured out why we were all sick.

Come to find out all of the fireplaces gas valves were turned wide open and lucky for us we weren't allowed to smoke in the building! The gas company came and found nothing wrong with the system. They deemed it as employee tampering. Thing is, I was one of the first ones in the building, and nobody but me had been in the bar, so I KNOW it wasn't tampered with by an employee.

Being pushed down stairs, rocks being thrown at your head, hair being pulled, slaps on the face and scratches are also fairly common reports. There are other things but so unimaginally rare that honestly, unless you are a ghost hunter, just forget about it and go live a happy life.

I suppose it is up to the one experiencing this stuff if it is harmful or not. For me, it all becomes part of my journal...lol.

[Tulkor]

well it depends how you put it. If you say ghosts and simply mean any sort of paranormal activity (ghosts, spirits, demons that sort of thing) then yes. but the term ghost itself is sometimes uses to describe a certain type of experience...let me explain:

People often associate ghosts with spirits...but some people actually make a distinction. Ghosts are basically recordings that are set on reruns. They will go about a certain event over and over again which can lead to haunting experiences where you hear/see something in a certain area over and over again. but since they are recordings they have no awareness. they do not interact with you....because they are not they...simply images of the past. but sometimes when ure caught up in witnessing it you can mistake them for interacting with you (like looking in your direction and walking toward you)

Now a spirit (good or bad) is much more than a simple recording. It has awareness. It can interact with you...you get the picture there. Now bad spirits can be quite harmful...at least emotionally...but some people believe the real bad ones can physically hurt you (poltergeist sorta thing) depends what you believe. but the mental harm from bad spirits can be pretty bad that you might think they are "touching you" but they are really touching your mind not your body....which is technically worse if you look at it.

dont be freaked out or anything...ive had plenty of "run ins" with stuff i cant explain....never physically got hurt but i can get scared to death sometimes and be in a very negative state for an extended period of time. try to stay positive no matter what bad energy comes your way...because your fear can be a beacon that attracts things to you.

[Tulkor]

Originally Posted by Jemma1

I am one of those whom is a sort of magnet for the paranormal. If something freaky is in the room, it is going to focus on me. This also includes live humans lol.

I have seen 2 literal full bodied apparitions, at very different times in my life, and have discovered many hauntings, particularly when when i wasn't looking for them.

I hate to tell you, but YES they can actually harm you, although it is so extreemly rare that you should prolly focus on falling off a bridge than being harmed by a ghost.

The best example I can give was a bar I worked in Elmhurst, Illinois. At the time it was called Spaso Speakeasy, on North Avenue. It was widely known that at one point it was a sort of manor house and the lady whom owned it hung herself in the attic/which had become the offices. All sorts of weird stuff happened...I would get to the bottom of the steps in the basement to grab wine and the pull chain light at the top of the stairs would turn off...or I would lay down the only cork screw in the house/on the bar in the spot we had so the waiters could use it, and it would vanish...and I was the only one beside the prep cooks in the building. Just annoying stuff.

One day I went to work/I bartended the lunches and early dinner shift...We opened the bar and I set about organizing for the day, but I started feeling really sick and crappy.The waiters came in and it wasn't long before they were also fussing about feeling crappy. The manager came down from his office in the attic and wondered why we were all feeling sick, but paid it no mind. It wasn't until a waiter went to turn on the gas valve to one of the fireplaces, and he found it was wide open...that we figured out why we were all sick.

Come to find out all of the fireplaces gas valves were turned wide open and lucky for us we weren't allowed to smoke in the building! The gas company came and found nothing wrong with the system. They deemed it as employee tampering. Thing is, I was one of the first ones in the building, and nobody but me had been in the bar, so I KNOW it wasn't tampered with by an employee.

Being pushed down stairs, rocks being thrown at your head, hair being pulled, slaps on the face and scratches are also fairly common reports. There are other things but so unimaginally rare that honestly, unless you are a ghost hunter, just forget about it and go live a happy life.

I suppose it is up to the one experiencing this stuff if it is harmful or not. For me, it all becomes part of my journal...lol.

interesting....i live in the Chicago Northwest suburbs as well. do you know what this place is called now?