Informant: Catherine Calhoun who discusses via email interview with me the tales of her mother’s connection to the spirit world and ghosts. An important piece of folklore to her family as it is the reason my mother and I believe in connections to the afterlife.

Mimi Feels The Spirit:

Sophie’s grandmother, my mother, Judy – or Mimi as she is affectionately known – has always had a connection with loved ones in the afterlife.

She treats it in a very matter-of-fact way.  She’s not afraid.  She’s somehow comforted by family members communicating with her from the grave.

When my Aunt Margaret – her sister-in-law – died suddenly at the age of 40 in a plane crash in the Amazon jungle, the funeral was a terribly sad event.

But in the middle of the service, Mimi felt a strong, cool breeze and heard bells tinkle – something no one else experienced.  And she smiled in the midst of all of the sadness.  She told us later that she knew that Aunt Margaret wanted her to know that she was at peace.

Many years later Mimi’s beloved Aunt Barbara died.  They had been very, very close.

Auntie Barb was the always the best-dressed gal around, even as she neared 100.  She was consistently coiffed and manicured and the most engaging person in a room.  She was, without question, the family grand dame and matriarch.

After she died, Mimi drove up to the lakehouse that had been in her family for more than 80 years.  A house where she and Auntie Barb spent many mornings on the deck sipping coffee and watching the sun reflect off the waves.

Mimi went to bed and was woken with a start about 2 am.  She looked out on the deck and saw a woman trying to get into the house from the sliding glass doors off the deck.

She peered out and saw that the woman was wearing a bright blue striped robe and clutching a white coffee cup.

And despite the fact that it was the middle of the night and she was alone in the middle of nowhere, she did not feel fearful.  She stood up and began to walk to the door.  But when she got there, the woman was gone.

She stepped outside and called out.  Nothing.

Two days later she returned home and was going through some of Aunt Barbara’s clothes to send to the Salvation Army.  She flipped through the racks and her hand – and her heart – stopped.  There it was, that distinctive blue-striped robe.

Mimi knew that Auntie Barb had returned to the lake to tell her that she was ok.

And maybe she just wanted one last cup of coffee on the deck looking out at the lake.

Thoughts: I love these stories about Mimi because they explain the connection that I sometimes feel to those who have passed away. I have had similar things happen to me after the death of my other grandma and my mother has also. Our family does not believe in ghosts but rather in the fact that there is some sort of connection between those who are alive and those who have passed. This story is countlessly told on my mom’s side of the family and important to our family folklore.