I decided to ask members of my family to volunteer the story of our family’s ghost. There is a lot of controversy within the family about the use of the term “ghost”; nonetheless, several people came forward and offered to share their experiences. My mother agreed to participate first, and this is her account of our family ghost.

Tell me about your encounter: “My mother was an avid listener to talk radio. She enjoyed listening to the radio because, at a certain stage in her life, she lost her vision and was unable to see, so she focused all her spare time and energy on listening to the radio. She was such a lover of listening to the radio that, upon her passing, we decided the one personal item we would include in her casket was her radio. I didn’t think much about it for a while after she passed away, but then one day, I went to my brother’s home, which is where she lived immediately before passing. While alone in the kitchen at my brother’s house, I heard people speaking. I knew that I was alone in the home, so I couldn’t understand why I heard people speak. I walked through the house and tried to figure out why, when I realized I heard talk radio. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. I realized that it came from the speaker where the doorbell was located. That was my first encounter with my mother, which I felt was her ghost coming back to me to let me know that she was there with me.”

What is your opinion of this encounter?: “People gave me logical explanations (radio waves being picked up), but I don’t believe that: I believe it was my mother’s spirit, indicating to me that she was there and doing well and looking out to see that we were well. I don’t always hear the noise, but there are many occasions where I hear it.”

My opinion: This ghost has intrigued me since we first discovered her existence a little over a year ago. My grandmother and I were very close (she was close to all of us, actually), and her death was very sudden (even though she was 92 years old). She initially surfaced when my mother was setting up for the High Holidays, which tended to be my grandmother’s big activity every year. Knowing her obsession with family, I firmly believe that this is my grandmother. After all, given the timing, it makes sense that she’d want to come back and make sure we did the Holidays right, even if she was gone. The sound tends to be programs she enjoyed and tends to surface at family events and special occasions (ie during holiday preparations).