Have you had any odd experiences with spirits or ghosts?  Or maybe just events that can’t be explained in rational terms?

“I lived in a new house, there were 24 homes in the development where there used to be greenhouses.  I had been living in the house for 3 months, and my husband would travel for 7-10 days each month and I would be alone with my dog.  And I would get lonely at night and I would talk to the dog and he would sleep on the landing of our stairs.  So one night when I was going to bed… I could smell sweet flowers.  And this kind of happened for several months, about once a week, and it was always when I was alone and it was late at night and I was feeling alone.  So I was talking to somebody at one of the neighbors and she told me that a little girl had died in one of the greenhouses on the property.  So… because I was trying to figure out why it smelled sweet I would close the windows to try and figure it out.  So after I found out about the little girl, I sat on the step and I addressed the little girl and I told her that I was happy she was there and she could be there any time she wanted and I liked the smell of the flowers.  And there would be times that I was feeling lonely after that, I would sit on the stairs and pet the dog and talk to her… and I could smell the flowers.  So instead of me just smelling the flowers, I would talk to her and then start to smell the flowers… and it happened all 10 years I was living there.  So basically Alexa what started as her introducing herself to me turned into me being able to communicate and interact with her on my terms, not just her being there.  But sometimes I would come home and the house would just smell of sweet flowers.  I know it was to make me smile… I just know it.  Cash our dog would feel her presence as well, he would look up and around and could tell that she was around.  He would begin whimpering and look, so I would ask him “Do you see her?” and he would cock his head to the side and look over in a general area.

What about when dad would come home?

“When your dad would come home, it didn’t happen when he was around… it was only when I was lonely cause I hated being by myself.  Being alone at home is something that I have always found scary, so knowing that there was someone else there with me was a huge relief and calmed my nerves. Since she knew that she would show her presence through the smell of flowers.  I’ve told your dad what happened and he knows the story, he just never experienced it.

Context behind story:

The person who had the experience with the little girl in the greenhouse was my mom.  It took place at her and my dad’s first house in Atherton, CA in an area that contained 24 homes either already built or in development.  My mom was confused as to why the home would smell strongly of flowers even when all the doors and windows had been shut for the day, so she spoke with one of the neighbors and was told about a little girl who died in the greenhouse behind our home.  There were multiple greenhouses around the property, however the one right behind our house was the only one which had a death occur within it.  As stated in the text, no one actually knows or has been told how the little girl died in the greenhouse, the only thing they know for a fact is that she did in it.  My mom has always had a strong belief in the existence of ghosts and spirits, having many other odd encounters besides the little girl.  My dad used to travel a lot for work, leaving for a week or more at a time.  My mom has always hated being alone at home, so she began to encounter the little girl whenever my dad was away.  A strong scent of flowers would waft into the home at night, and that was the little girls signal to my mom that she was with her.  Our old dog, Cash, would also share this experience with my mom as he would start whimpering and look around the house, trying to find the little girl.  After some time, my mom began to have social interactions with the girl.  It was like the little girl knew that my mom didn’t like being alone, so she would show her presence to put my mom at ease and make her feel like she wasn’t the only one at home.  After some time and gaining comfort around the ghost, my mom would sit on the steps of the home with Cash and begin speaking to the little girl.  She never heard a voice back, but the smell the flowers would signal the ghost was present and listening to the conversation.  This happened each time my dad left for the 10 years they lived in the home, but never when he was around.  Although it definitely happened more than once a month, the total number of minimum encounters my mom had with the little girl would be 120.

How do you interpret what happened in the story?

“I totally believe in spirits; I believe there is energy all around.  I definitely believe in what happened, I interacted with the ghost for 10 years.  I have always had a belief in ghosts, so I was never scared of the situation and accepted it for what it was.  I can feel things when I walk into houses and places, so the interaction with the little girl felt almost normal to me.  Supposedly a very sweet little girl died in the greenhouse, but how she died was never told to me.  When I would ask other people about her death, they too did not know how she passed.  The sweet girl helped me through many nights of being alone and worried, so I guess you can say my ghost encounter turned into a blossoming friendship!  Hehe you see what I did there… blossoming… flowers… get it!?”

My interpretation of the story:

My interpretation of the story is that what my mom experienced was real and involved a friendly ghost.  The fact that a little girl was known to have died in the greenhouse behind their home and that my mom would smell fresh flowers whenever she was alone or scared is very coincidental.  A way to refute this being a ghost would be saying that doors or windows may have been open or because they were so close to the greenhouse, but this would only happen when everything in the house had been shut for some time.  Also, the fact that our old dog, Cash, would begin barking or whimpering whenever the house would begin to smell attests to the little girl’s presence.  Another part as to why I believe this story is real is the possibility of having conversations when coming in contact with spirits.  There were times my mom would sit on the stairs and began speaking to the little girl with the sole purpose of connecting with her, and then begin to smell fresh flowers after speaking for a few minutes.  Also, the fact the Native Americans believe ghosts to be so intertwined with society and my mom being connected to her ethnic roots contribute to why she would be so sure this is a ghost, and also why I am also a believer.  We both believe that all things have souls and are always present in society one way or another.  Many ghosts are known to be people whose life purpose hadn’t been fulfilled, so there being a ghost of a little girl is very plausible.  She didn’t have the chance to grow up, get married, have kids, or other life experiences.  Her life was unfortunately cut short, potentially causing her to be unable to cross over.  Since there is a good amount of compelling evidence from this experience, I definitely believe this to be a true ghost encounter.

Have you had any odd experiences with spirits or ghosts?  Or maybe just events that can’t be explained in rational terms?

“Haha actually I have one odd event from when I was younger where I saw a spirit or ghost.  So I was lying in bed one morning and I was in a deep sleep, and it was like 6am and I fell out of my bed and woke up on the ground.  When I woke up, I saw what looked like a spirit in front of me with their hand outstretched in front of my face.  I was so surprised I couldn’t move or make a sound, I was just staring at this figure in front of me in complete shock.  I was around 9 at the time, and it is just vividly burned into my memory.  The spirit was almost like a white glow of human, like a glowing cloud in the shape of a human.  In the midst of this cloud was a very prominent human hand, just directly in front of my face.  I couldn’t make out the spirits face or the rest of the body, just the hand in front of me.  But ya that is what I vividly remember.  I feel like this spirit was trying to save me from something that could have happened when I fell off the bed, so I refer to it as my “guardian angel”.  It was just too coincidental for me to have fallen from my bed, which was pretty high up, at such a young age for something to have not happened to me.  I mean, I remember expecting to see a cut or maybe have my head hurting, but the spirit must have taken care of whatever I injured.  I could have also just hit my head really hard and imagined the whole thing, but my belief that it happened is too strong and I already have a strong belief in spirits and ghosts… also my head is already too hard for something like falling out of bed to hurt me hahaha.  It was something that lasted only a few seconds, but I am positive that I saw a ghost or spirit.

How do you interpret what happened in the story?

“I already have really strong beliefs that ghosts or spirits exists, so I definitely think it was an encounter with some spirit form.  I have always had weird things happen to me or just odd experiences that I can’t explain in any other way except that I had an encounter with a ghost.  My family is also super into connecting with our ancestors who have passed on and believe they connect with us again in some ways… I guess like having the clock stop on a certain hour or feeling a breeze when all the windows or doors in the house are shut.  I don’t know if it was like a familial ghost that was trying to help me or if it was just some random spirit, but my honest interpretation of what happened is exactly what the story is.  I fell out of bed and was visited by a ghost or spirit, end of story.  No one can tell me any different or cause me to believe something different.  I was the person who experienced this, so no one can change that. “

Context:

My teammate is the one who had the above experience with a guardian spirit or ghost.  She was 9 years old at the time and the encounter occurred inside her bedroom in Orange County, CA.  She was in a deep sleep when she fell off the side of her bed, which was located maybe 4 feet off the ground.  Upon waking up from the fall, she noticed a glowing, cloudy figure standing in front of her with a hand directly in front of her face.  This encounter lasted maybe a few seconds, and then the spirit vanished from her view.  She felt a sense of alarm and shock, however was also oddly calm with the situation, almost as if the spirit was meant to be there for her.  This occurred at around 6am in the morning, which is not considered a liminal time frame where ghosts are normally seen.  After laying on the floor for a few minutes, she went running to her parents to tell them she saw a spirit, and being believers in the divine they didn’t rebut her claims.  Their family has strong beliefs in familial ghosts guarding over them, so the fact that she fell off her bed at a young age and came away from it with zero scratches or pain could explain that it was a guardian spirit protecting or healing her.  For years that spirit has been engrained in her memory and to this day she still considers it an encounter with a ghost or protective spirit.

My interpretation of the story:

I agree with my teammate that she was visited by a ghost or spirit whose obligation was to protect her from harm.  There is no definitive description of what a ghost should or shouldn’t look like or when is appropriate to see them.  Although they are most present during liminal time periods, 6am in the morning isn’t liminal.  However, she did fall out of her bed and at a young age she could have come away with some injury or head pain, but she felt completely normal afterwards.  I believe that the ghosts hand she saw directly in front of her face was in that moment healing or preventing an injury, which would explain why she woke up on the ground without any pain or soreness.  Also, I found it interesting that she referred to the ghost as a “guardian angel” and that her family has a large belief in connecting with their ancestors.  Since they have the belief that those who have passed on are always with them, it is plausible that she had an ancestral ghosts watching over her in that very moment she fell out of her bed, knowing that she may end up injured and was there to protect her.  I am also a believer of those in your family who have passed on being spiritual guardians, so I agree with my teammates reasoning.  People could state that since she fell and hit her head she may have been seeing things, but since she was so adamant that it was a ghost and due to her beliefs, it was easy to accept and agree.