Wil Elrick is a 6’7″ ex-cop. He wrestled a bear. And he believes in ghosts. A lot of men would not admit this. Would you?
I have simple question for you this Halloween. Do you believe in ghosts?
It’s an easy question to ask, with a not-so-easy answer. When I speak on the subject of ghosts, I always start the same way. If you believe in ghosts, there is nothing I can do to make you not believe in ghosts. If you don’t believe in ghosts, there is nothing I can do to make you believe in ghosts. Casper (the friendly ghost) could materialize in the chair next to you, carry on a conversation with you, and you would dismiss it out of hand as a figment of your imagination. So I simply ask that you keep an open mind while I tell you why I believe in ghosts.
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When I was a little kid, I grew up in a rural area where some of the houses still had dirt floors. One of those dirt-floor shacks belonged to a man named John, who was a local farmer that sold to all of his neighbors. My grandmother and I would often go to buy watermelons or other various things, and sometimes just say hi when he was outside. One winter night, John’s house burned down. Being a little kid, I felt sorry for him losing his house, but I never could understand why my grandmother wouldn’t even stop and say hi to John when we passed the ruins of his house, even when he was standing out near the road.
Finally, after another time of passing John, I asked my grandmother why she didn’t even stop and say hi to John any more. She pulled the car over and looked at me like I was utterly insane, and said, “What do you mean?” I asked again why she just passed by John, who was standing by his mailbox, without stopping and saying hi to him. My grandmother was literally speechless and said, “John couldn’t be standing there. He died in the fire at his house.” I just could not believe it. Even after she told me, I would still see John standing there, and even now, 30 years later, I can drive down that lonely road and see John, beside it, waving at me.
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This was just my first memorable experience with the ghostly world. Because of my interest in the paranormal, I’ve participated in more than a hundred paranormal investigations, or ghost hunts, in the last 20 years. I’ve had a lot of exposure to the spirit world. One such investigation that took place in a pre-Civil War train depot left me with an even more firm belief in ghosts.
Because of my interest in the paranormal, I’ve participated in more than a hundred paranormal investigations, or ghost hunts, in the last 20 years. I’ve had a lot of exposure to the spirit world.
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There was a medium (a person who can talk with the spirits) with our group, and we were working in the courtyard of the depot when the medium told us that a spirit had approached and was talking to her. She asked the spirit his name and it told her “John Smith” (actual name withheld by author). It went on to tell her he was a soldier who had been held captive in the depot during the Civil War. She asked how he could prove this and the spirit told her he had carved his name in the plaster upstairs…and would show us. The medium led us to the third floor, directly to the spot where John Smith was carved in to the wall. Before you ask, the medium was from a different town, and had never been to the depot to know any name associated with it.
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I’ve got many more stories of events that have reinforced my belief in ghosts over the years. These two are both personal experiences in which I fully believe what I saw. I am very skeptical of stories people tell me, and I am definitely the person who wants you to prove to me that what I’m seeing is real. And I do, absolutely, believe in ghosts.
All Hallows Eve is almost upon us now, and many cultures believe that the spirit world becomes more and more active as we approach that night. So, regardless of your belief in ghosts, when you are walking down a quiet lonely street in the next few weeks, and you see a darker shade of blackness move beside you as the hair on your arms stands up, and you suddenly feel like someone is walking beside you, just remember that it very well could be someone from the spirit world trying to get your attention. It is up to you if you give it to them or not.
—Photo joejukes/Flickr
Also by Wil Elrick: In Touch With My Feminine Side-If You Life It Or Not
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This probably wasn’t a good read immediately after watching The Sixth Sense (and forgetting how much it scared me the first time).
I see not many are wiling to comment about spirits and ghosts, for the most part there are too many distractions too much world around us for us to actually “see” what else is around us.
I spent 25 years in the Caribbean , fewer distractions and more connection to all that was around me.
Several encounters, allows me to appreciate the world around and those who are in it.
Wil ever ask why the spirit is still in this plane and not moving on?