By: Kristine “Sumitra” Aguilan, Staff Writer
During the festival of Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve, children and adults alike share fantastical stories of mystery, hauntings, and as of late, gore, in order to spook and terrify their peers. As we can all appreciate a good ghost story during this time of year, we should also keep in mind that All Souls Day, primarily a western Christian religious holiday, commemorates the souls of our dearly departed. In order to honor both culturally significant events, let us share in some ghostly tales from everyday writers published online.
A woman was informed that her youngest sister Sheila, who she had she had distanced herself from due to trouble with alcoholism, was currently on life support for the damage her drinking had done to her body and only had a short time to live. Driving from Tucson to San Diego, she brought her two daughters and her daughter’s partner on a road trip, leaving at 6pm local time to see her long-lost sister before she passed away. Making only stops for gas and restroom breaks, they made a stop during which she used the restroom and was washing up. When she looked up at her reflection and saw her dying sister’s reflection in herself – her eldest daughter even confirmed it, stating: “Mom, you have Aunt Sheila’s hair!” when her own hair is normally straight and Sheila’s is wavy. Nearing their destination around midnight, they were able to pick up a radio station playing oldies based in San Diego. As the DJ came on, he announced, “And now folks, here is the number one song this week from way back in 1962!” At that moment, the woman knew her sister Sheila passed away as the song that came on was titled, “Sweet Little Sheila.” The group pulled over, crying tears and coping with that premonition when shortly after, her eldest daughter’s phone rang and the confirmation was given – Sheila passed away at 11:41pm.
A man had a sister who was going through a divorce – his ex-brother-in-law, David, was living in Phoenix, Ariz., near him, while his sister lived in Michigan with their two daughters and a new boyfriend. David tried multiple times to speak with his ex-wife, only to be denied consistently. On Christmas Eve, the man received a call from a local hospital – listed as a contact, the staff explained to him that David had walked into the hospital, claimed someone was going to die, filled out the necessary paperwork and said, “This is the emergency room, yes?” Upon receiving confirmation from the nurse, David took a gun out of his jacket then said, “Well, you have an emergency,” and shot himself in the head.
The man continually tried to reach his sister and two days after Christmas, she finally answered the call – upset with his sister, his first question was, “Have you spoken to David lately?” Her response was, “No. But I just saw him. He came by Christmas Eve and ran up the stairs to give the girls their Christmas presents and to say goodnight and wish them a Merry Christmas. He told me he flew in from Phoenix special for the girls. I waved at him from the kitchen and smiled and saw him run up the stairs with presents under his arms, I saw him run down the stairs with his glass of vodka in his hand and wave at me again as he walked out the front door and left. […] The funny thing was, on Christmas day when my girls opened their presents, there were no presents from David.” The man proceeded to explain to his sister that this was impossible as he committed suicide on Christmas Eve.
Once the man confirmed David’s identity, they proceeded to investigate his home. Upon arrival, the police and the man found vodka bottles everywhere: in the kitchen, in the sinks, the garage, even in dressers. In his room, amongst the bottles of vodka, they find several beautifully wrapped Christmas gifts, labeled “From Santa” and addressed to the daughters. The man decided to instruct his sister to not reveal his death until after he sent the gifts, otherwise the trauma of having their father killing himself will ruin their Christmases for years to come.
“Angel Pierce” was the oldest child in the family and the mother was one month pregnant at the time. One day in fifth grade during “Angel’s” math study group, a girl in the class, Brittany, asked if Angel had a sister named “Kearra Madaline Pierce” – “Angel” said that there was no little sister and asked why. Brittany explained she had textbook that had the name in it and assumed that since it is the same last name, it may have been a sibling’s. Several months later, when returning home, “Angel” found the mother crying. When “Angel” asked what was wrong, she responded, “Kearra” died – “Angel’s” mother explained that the baby died and she had named her Kearra Madaline, the same name in the textbook months prior. “Just hearing that scared me, because [Brittany] had asked me if I had a sister with that name and I’d told her no—to me, I felt like I killed my sister.” Following the months and years after the baby’s death, “Angel” found that a little girl would call out “Angel’s” name – when brushing teeth, bathing, and even going about regular chores, “Angel’s” name would be called randomly. When “Angel” was younger, it was suspected that it could have been a younger brother calling out or pulling pranks, but “Angel” would confirm that no one would be in the general vicinity when the little girl’s voice was heard. In time, “Angel” came to accept that the voice was the little sister “Angel” never had a chance to meet.
We as a society have come to accept that there are some things we can never let go, but after reading such stories as these, it makes me wonder: do our dearly departed have things they, too, cannot let go?
Do you want to share haunting or mysterious stories about loved ones communicating to you? Share with us at newsletter@deltaphilambda.org and you can have your story published in next month’s newsletter as a tribute to your loved one.
Picture credit: http://www.theholidayspot.com/all_souls_day/images/all_02.jpg
