Background: The informant experienced this occurrence in his junior year of high school around November near Thanksgiving. The informant only experienced ghostly occurrences in his bedroom which was on the second floor. His room is overall an interesting shape and he has two steps that lead to a somewhat elevated area. Before this story they had remodeled the house and his room had been redone during this time. 

AP: To start off, my lights would flicker in my room whenever they were on. And we got it checked out, but the electrician said that there wasn’t and shouldn’t be any issue because everything was new and remodeled. 

Me: Had they ever flickered before then? Or was this the first time? 

AP: No they hadn’t flickered before. But in addition to the flickering lights, there were parts in my room that had colder parts. But it was only the upper parts of the room. 

Me: Mmm I see. Had you believed in ghosts before this experience? 

AP: Yes I did. I had heard other friends’ stories that I believed. 

Me: Did any other rooms in the house experience ghosts?

AP: No, it was only in my bedroom. So now I’ll go into a new part of the story. This was at night time. For a few nights in the span of the month while doing homework in my room, I sometimes get a feeling that something is there. And like okay, something is there, sometimes the lights flicker, sometimes its cold, just somethings up. I just have a really good sense that something is there. So one night, I go to bed and then wake up in the middle of the night and in the archway of the door there is this young woman wearing this old vintage dress carrying a woven basket. It was very faint, but it was there. 

Me: Were you frightened? Did you scream?

AP: Oddly, I didn’t freak out which was weird and I just stared at the doorway. Then I grabbed my phone and turned on the lights and it was gone. It happened once, but I still have the sense that that woman is in my room. 

Me: That’s so scary. Did you encounter her again?

AP: Actually yes. On Christmas night of that year, I was asleep and I felt a hand caressing my back and then an old woman whispered Merry Christmas. But I checked and my mom was asleep.

Me: Woahh

AP: I have one more part to share about the story. The next spring I visited family in New York for my break. We were all looking at photo albums and in one of the photo albums I recognized a lady that I had never met. She looked exactly the same as the one in my doorway. I asked my mom who that was and she said that it was my great grandmother, who I had never met. 

Me: Was your mom really close to her?

AP: Actually yeah. They were really close. And apparently she would visit a lot during the seasons, which was interesting since she only came out during the holidays. 

Me: Why did this story have an impact on you or why do you think it holds such importance to you? 

AP: It was my first personal interaction with a ghost. Like before it was all stories and folklore but now it was real. Also the fact that it was my great grandmother that visited me and I don’t even really know her. It was oddly comforting. 

Me: Are you more aware of paranormal-like experiences after this occurred? Or how did this play a role in your life?

AP: I’m definitely more observant and believe more stories I hear now. 

Reflection: I really enjoyed interviewing AP. He’s one of my newer friends I’ve made at USC so it was interesting to see this side of him. I liked this story in particular since it regarded a family member. I feel as though it’s very common to have paranormal experiences with deceased ancestors or family members. It reminded me of my own experience with my grandparents, which was comforting, as well. 

Background: This story is the one and only encounter that the informant has had with a ghost. The informant just graduated from Amherst College in 2015, and she moved back home to Arizona. The informant was frantically looking for jobs, and her college reached out to offer a job in admissions for the following week. The informant accepts, and is looking for places to live and comes upon the Amherst Women’s Center as her new home. 

RM: … I was looking for new places to live and I found a house on a hill. It was the perfect location near the school. It was a historical home, built in the 1800s and the first floor was used for events and the second had 3 very large apartments. Also, keep in mind that Emily Dickinson’s old house was across the street from this house. I think the people who originally owned the home I moved to knew Emily Dickinson. Anyways…when I got to the house the lady giving me a tour told me that slaves used to live here and that was why there were mini entrances and exits throughout the house — so they could leave from anywhere in the apartment and get to where they were going quickly.

Me: Oh, wow. And what was the vibe overall in the house? I imagine it was older, but did you feel a presence among you? 

RM: No, I didn’t feel a presence among me when I first entered. Insulation wasn’t great throughout the house because it was old, so only the bedroom was comfortable to be in, especially since there were windows all around the apartment. I spent most of the time in the bedroom. 

Me: So when did the first ghostly encounter occur?

RM: The first instance was within a few weeks of moving in. I had just gotten a headboard for my bed and I installed it myself and made sure the headboard was directly touching the wall. So I go to sleep and then I abruptly wake up at 3 AM because the bed is violently shaking. Whenever I opened my eyes or would turn around in bed the shaking would stop. At first, I thought it was an earthquake, but when I looked around nothing else was moving. Then after a while I hollered “stop” with annoyance and then it didn’t happen again. 

Me: Wow, so had you ever believed in ghosts before this experience?

RM: No. I never believed in paranormal experiences until that moment.

Me: Okay. Did the ghost leave for good after that interaction?

RM: No, there were a few more instances where it appeared. The second instance, I was laying in my bed doing work online at night and then I felt a punch next to me on the bed. Like you know when you punch a bed and it leaves an indent for a second.

Me: Yeah 

RM: That happened right next to my foot. And then the third instance involves a cup of water. For a little bit of context, my mom didn’t like the water there when she visited me so she would send me huge packs of water every month or so. The ghost liked to tap on the top of the water bottles. I could see the ripples in the water bottle. So, one day I had a cup full of water and I was on Facetime with my boyfriend, when this happened. And so I drink the entire cup and go to the bathroom, but when I come back the cup was full of water. It was so weird. 

Me: Omg! Did you drink it after that?

RM: No, I poured it out hahaha. The fourth instance with the ghost happened while I was in the shower. I was listening to music and I heard my phone begin to type. I thought nothing of it until later that day my boyfriend texts me saying “What??” The ghost had texted him saying, “It’s possible.” That was extremely freaky. 

Me: That’s very scary omg. 

RM: Yeah, and then the last experience with the ghost was when my Mom was visiting me. She was upset with me and left to go to Home Depot so it was just me in the house. 

Me: Did your mom experience encounters with the ghost?

RM: No. It weirdly never did anything when she was there. But anyways, she had this brown bag with a charm tied super tight onto it– so tight to the point where you couldn’t move it back and forth. All of a sudden the charm lifts up, turns left then right as if someone is examining the charm. 

Me: Wow. So why did this story hold so much importance to you?

RM: Because you would never expect it to happen to you and its a very unique experience. 30% of people believe you when you tell ghost stories. It’s almost like I have to hold a secret that no one else knows about the world. 

Me: And how did this play a role in your life after experiencing this?

RM: My perspective of ghosts and death have completely changed. Before I used to think you die and go into the ground and that’s it. Now, I believe you go into this other unseen spectrum. You’re always there and roaming, you’re just energy

Reflection: I thought this interview was extremely interesting. I have known RM since I was in middle school, and I had never known that she experienced such a thing like this. I also haven’t heard any ghost stories from people I know personally, so it was fun to hear what she had gone through.