Nationality: African
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): N/A
Age: 27
Occupation: Nursing Student
Residence: Rohnert Park
Performance Date: 11/23/23

Tags: Ghost, Passing On, Caretaker, Friendly Ghost

Text : “I’ve actually been a caregiver the last 4 years. One time we had a patient pass away two days before I went to work and when I passed by her room I felt, like, her presence there very strongly. And actually when I passed that particular hallway the lights started flickering all of sudden, like a lot. And I felt that somebody was behind me, like a presence. And it felt really weird and I turned around and when I sensed that presence, my hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I whispered ‘I know that’s you, you’re coming in to check on me.’ And then the lights flickered again and that was the last time they flickered. I had a really good relationship with the person. And I was like, oh that’s just your way of letting me know that you’re here.”

Context : I heard this story at a family gathering in Rohnert Park, during Thanksgiving Holiday. J was the closest person to my age there so we naturally began talking about university and aspirations. The topic of ghosts came up and I asked her if she had any stories. She immediately clarified that the anomalies in the stories were not ghosts, but spirits.

My thoughts : I think this is a classic mix of many familiar ghost stories in that it surrounds a place where death is common (like a hospice center) and a lot of the signs she mentioned were classic, almost as if she’d seen it in a movie sometime. I also thought it was interesting that she chose to call the ghost in her experience a spirit, almost as if she felt it to be a more fitting term for a well-meaning visit from the dead.

Nationality: African-American
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): N/A
Age: 74
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Brentwood
Performance Date: 11/23/23

Tags: Coming of Age, Night, Town Legend, Test of Bravery, Odd

Text : “One time, when I was about 17/18 years  old–which has been many years ago since I’m 74 years old now–some friends and i decided to go on this dark road, since we had heard stories about an odd shining light appearing, and we didn’t really believe it, so we decided to go down there one time. Down this long dark road and when we got there we said ‘turn your lights out!” So we turned our lights out, and before you knew it, here comes this bright shining light coming down the road out of nowhere. I couldn’t believe it! We got so scared, and turned that car around so fast, and high tailed it out of there. It was out in the country, so I know it wasn’t a motorcycle or anything. Who knows what it was? It wasn’t an owl with big eyes, but it sure was scary!”

Context : I heard this story from my Grandma B, at a family gathering in Rohnert Park (a city in the Bay Area) as well. She told me that this story occurred when she lived in Independence, Kansas, a long time ago. We are a Christian family, so it’s not often that we talk about ghosts. But if anyone in my family were to, it would be her as she often veers her thoughts towards things like reincarnation, vampires, and other supernatural concepts. So I’d never heard her speak about this experience before, and it took her a good while to remember after I asked her.

My thoughts : I definitely think my grandma’s age is an important factor to remember, because, I must admit, many things often get twisted in her recollections. But that aside, you can definitely see that “coming-of-age” “test-of -bravery” theme in her experience that’s common with many, especially in historic, small towns. She didn’t go into much detail on what kind of road exactly they were on and whether or not the figure was coming from the other side or ahead which I found interesting, because it sounds a lot like what you’d see if another vehicle, motorcycle, or bike were heading your way. Or maybe even a reflector on a pole or medium on or around the road. But she was very confident that wasn’t the case.