Animal Ghosts

I am often asked the question, "Do animals sometimes come back as ghosts just like some people do?" The evidence points to the answer: yes! Many people have had experiences with family pets coming back whether that be as simple as a ball of twine rolling across the floor by itself with no outside source, the feeling of something rubbing up against your leg and there's nothing there and sometimes the actual visual apparition of the beloved pet.

It seems that the ones that are reported the most in the animal world are dogs, cats and horses in that order respectively. However, there seems to be some confusion. Can ALL animals appear or come back as spirits? Are there certain limitations to which ones are allowed? Why aren't more animal ghosts seen and reported?

There aren't, to my knowledge, any reports of phantom mosquitoes or flies, etc. Perhaps only the intelligent species have souls? Those and other questions remain unanswered. Man is the only species that some day realizes that he or she will terminate and leave this world. All other species simply exist from day to day and die without being able to communicate to us that possibility that they in fact are dying.

I have been investigating many reports of phantom animals and have come up with some interesting case scenarios to present here. Remember, as with humans, not all animals will be perceived as ghosts someday only because of the way that animal has died. The scenario for "human" ghosts is usually one of a violent or tragic death and the "not realizing" that he or she has died because of the suddenness of some deaths. However, great love of an animal or the constant grieving of the loss of your pet will sometimes have the same effect as a sudden, violent or tragic death; it will will your animal to return for a short time.

In the Chicago suburbs at the border of civilization and the Cook County Forest Preserves is a fairly busy intersection, 95th Street and Kean. There are stables nearby and horse-riding trails wind their way through the lush flora. One of the trails must cross the busy and dangerous 95th Street to continue on the other side.

Until recently there was no traffic control device there to allow those on horseback to cross safely and quite a number of people were injured and at least seven were killed including some horses as well. The reason the intersection is so dangerous is twofold. One, the speed limit is 45 mph there but many do 50 mph or better coming out of the forest preserve and going into the city, and, two, there is a rise that obscures the drivers view of the individuals attempting to cross the street. At that speed, sometimes by the time the driver sees the people, it's already too late.

There have been numerous incidents especially at night or near dusk of motorists complaining of seeing what appears to be a horse and his rider in silhouette attempting to cross from one side to another. But as the driver begins to slow down and watch them more carefully, suddenly there's nothing there. These figures don't simply disappear near one side of the street or the other, but often right in the middle of the road!

They are best described as smoke grey silhouettes without any recognizable features but are often only seen from afar.

There have even been ghostly reenactments of some actual events at that intersection as well. On one occasion, a motorist saw what appeared to be a horse throwing his rider from the saddle right in the middle of the road before disappearing. Some have seen a horse apparently being dragged down the roadway a bit as though a car had impacted with it and would have dragged it a little ways before coming to a complete stop.

In Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia stands the large grave marker of author Ellen Glasgow who was well known in Richmond and lived there for a good portion of her life. When she died, she stipulated in her will that her two pet dogs who had died prior to her death, be exhumed from her backyard and buried with her at Hollywood. Many claim that they have heard these dogs on occasions, scampering around quite near to that grave late at night.

At Hinsdale Animal Cemetery in a suburb just southwest of Chicago another mystery takes place. Passerby's have often seen the black forms of dogs and other creatures flicker by in their headlights many times causing them to slam on the brakes, only when they do, often, there's nothing there. Perhaps some real animals are attracted to the massive remains of so many other animals? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Humorous Ghost Stories

Spook Shooting (Psychic News: Printed in Body, Mind & Spirit, Jan/Feb 1988)

According to Psychic News, London, a French farmer has an unfortunate accident after watching a horror movie late at night. It seems that shortly after retiring, Michel Maumond, 40, reported seeing "a ghost in white at the foot of my bed." The frightened Maumond grabbed his gun and subsequently shot-off the toes of one of his feet.

Maumond has since determined that from now on he will stick to reading safe books at night.

Pepsi Blooper (Psychic News: Printed in Body, Mind & Spirit, Mar/Apr 1988)

A surprisingly number of misconceptions can arise when trying to translate a concept from one language to another. The Pepsi Cola company found this out when mounting an ad campaign in Taiwan. The slogan was supposed to read "Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation." Unfortunately, translated into Chinese it read, "Pepsi Will Bring Your Ancestors Back From the Dead."

Needless to say the advertisements were summarily canceled - even Pepsi couldn't quite live up to that claim.

Hess Haunting? (Body, Mind & Spirit, Mar/Apr 1988)

Earlier this year Rudolph Hess, one time deputy of Adolph Hitler, died after spending decades as the sole inmate of Spandau prison. Prior to his imprisonment in Spandau, Hess was held for two years in Britain at Mytchett Place. This property, located in Surrey, is reportedly up for sale for 650,000 British pounds. According to an article in Psychic News, London, there are "numerous reports of figures moving up and down the staircase, lights going on in locked rooms and photographs moving inexplicably."

During his imprisonment at Mytchett Place, Hess attempted to commit suicide by hurling himself over the balcony into the hall below. Could the spirit of Rudolph Hess be haunting Mytchett Place? Most likely not as Hess himself is reported to have seen these visions while incarcerated there. Apparently Hess was not "spooked" by these visitations. He considered them to be instances of psychological warfare perpetrated by British Intelligence.

Sad Love Story

One day as Yasin left his apartment block to go to work he noticed a beautiful Turkish girl collecting her mail from the mail boxes in the lobby. He was hoping she wouldn’t notice him because he was very scruffy. He was on his way back to the fishing boat he worked on. He had only one hour free that day and he had run home up the mountain to his mother’s house to see her and eat his dinner with her. The journey up the mountain took 20 mins, if he walked fast but only 15 minutes back down again if he ran. This left him just 25 minutes to spend with his mother and eat his dinner. He did not have time to shower and change his clothes.

Yasin tried to walk past the girl before she noticed him. Too late! ‘Selam Yasin’ she said and looked away from him shyly. He was amazed, how did she know his name? His face went very red and he stopped to look at her. ‘Selam’ he replied. ‘She laughed. ‘You don’t recognise me?’ she said. She busied herself with her letters and only stole quick shy glances at him. ‘Nnno’ stammered Yasin. ‘I’m sorry.’

I’m Hazret.’ she said. ‘Did you forget me already?’ The penny dropped! She was the daughter of a neighbour. She had been away to university and Yasin did not remember seeing her for a long time. She had changed from a skinny girl with crooked teeth into a real beauty.

Yasin felt his face grow even more hot. She was very beautiful and there he was standing before her in his holey jumper, which to be honest smelt strongly of fish. He was also painfully aware of the big cut on his face, where a rope on the fishing boat had slashed across his face a couple of days before. He smiled at her and she smiled back…(although she was very shy and did not look at him for too long).

The next weekend Yasin had several hours rest from work. The engine had broken down (again) and he could not work. This meant no money until it was mended, but at least it also meant his could spend some time at home with his mother. He went down to the mail boxes hoping to catch sight of Hazret again. He was disappointed that she was not there, but when he went to collect the letters from the box, there was a tiny piece of paper in there. There was a mobile phone number on it and the name ‘Hazret’. Yasin felt very happy. With his heart pounding he went up to his apartment and used the very last of his credit on his mobile phone to text her. He just said only ‘Hello Hazret. How are you? This was the start of their romance.

Every day Yasin sent her texts. When he was home from work they met by the mail boxes. He took to cleaning the balcony for his mother hoping to catch a glimpse of her on her own mother’s balcony (which were happily in sight of each other). When three months had passed, and they had secretly kissed in the communal garden one day, Yasin decided that he was in love. He told his mother and text Hazret that he loved her very much. She text him back and told him that she loved him too. Yasin could not remember a time in his whole life when he had been so happy. He told his mother that he wanted to marry Hazret. She was not surprised, she knew in that way that mother’s do, that her son was in love and she was very happy also. She wished once again that her husband was alive and that she had more money and more standing in the community, but she did what she had to do and she invited Hazret’s mother over for tea. She spent all week cleaning her already spotless home and got the best china out for the occasion. She spent more than usual in the supermarket that day and all morning making cakes and pastries. She was determined that Hazret’s mother would be impressed with her home and her hospitality.

Hazret’s mother arrived on time. She did not bring Hazret with her. She ate the cakes and pastries and they passed one hour together making small talk and polite chat. Then she cut to the chase.

‘She was sorry. She knew why she had been invited and she knew also that Hazret and Yasin were in love. But it was out of the question that this situation continued. There was another boy, in the army at the moment, but coming home soon, who was a much better prospect.’

‘Of but…’ said Yasin’s mother ‘they are so in love.’

‘It doesn’t matter said Hazret’s mother. Yasin and your family are no good for Hazret. You have no husband, you have no money in your family. Yasin is a fisheman and your eldest son a waiter. What have you to provide for my Hazret? Nothing. I am sorry, but that is the way it is. My husband, (she took great delight in saying - my husband - at every opportunity) has told Hazret that she is not to speak to Yasin again. My husband, has taken away her mobile phone so that she cannot text him again and we are sending her away to stay with her aunt in Ankara on Friday.’

She left. When she had gone, Yasin’s mother was furious, but sad. She knew that the woman had spoken the truth and this would always be the way for her sons.

When Yasin came home from work she explained gently to him and they both were angry and sad together.

When Yasin went to sleep that night, all he could think of was Hazret’s lovely face and how he would never see her again. How she would marry someone else who had more money, a better job and a family with a father. His heart was broken and he felt he had no future. Girls richer than him would not be allowed to marry him, and girls who were not as rich as him would have poor families to support. He would spend the rest of his life working eighteen or twenty hours each day, seven days per week to feed his own family and his wife’s family. He would hardly ever see his children. His only chance for happiness was to find a foreign girl whose family would not mind him being poor, who could help him get a visa to live in another country where he could earn good money, send some home for his mother and be able to live a good life. He would have to marry someone who did not understand his life, his beliefs, his religion. She would not understand his possessiveness or his jealousy which he had grown up to believe was normal. She would not understand his standards of cleanliness which he had instilled in him since he was a tiny child and she would not understand his relationship with his mother. She would not understand him too well and he would not understand her. He hoped that he could be happy in his life, his needs were modest.

Life was very hard...

A Son's Bad Dream

A man goes into his son's room to wish him goodnight. His son is having a nightmare - the man wakes him and asks his son if he is OK? The son replies he is scared because he dream that Auntie Susie had died. The father assures the son that Auntie

Susie is fine and sends him to bed.

The next day, Auntie Susie dies.

One week later, the man again goes into his son's room to wish him goodnight. His son is having another nightmare - the man again wakes his son. The son this time says that he had dream that granddaddy had died. The father assures the son that
granddaddy is fine and sends him to bed.

The next day, granddaddy dies.

One week later, the man again goes into his son's room to wish him goodnight. His son is having another nightmare - the man again wakes his son. The son this time says that he had dream that daddy had died. The father assures the son that he is OK
and sends the boy to bed.

The man goes to bed but cannot sleep because he is so terrified. The next day, the man is scared for his life- he is sure he is going to die. After dressing he drives very cautiously to work fearful of a collision. He doesn't eat lunch because he is scared of food poisoning. He avoids everyone for he is sure he will somehow be killed. He jumps at every noise, starts at every
movement and hides under his desk.

Upon walking in his front door, he finds his wife. "Good God Dear" he proclaims, "I've just had the worst day of my entire life!

She responds, "You think your day was bad, the milkman dropped dead on the doorstep this morning."

An Engineer in Hell

An engineer dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, "Ah, you're an engineer -- you're in the wrong place." So the engineer reports to the gates of hell and is let in. Pretty soon, the engineer gets dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and starts designing and building improvements. After a while, they've got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and the engineer is a pretty popular guy.

One day God calls Satan up on the telephone and says with a sneer, "So, how's it going down there in hell?" Satan replies, "Hey, things are going great. We've got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and there's no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next."

God replies, "What??? You've got an engineer? That's a mistake -- he should never have gotten down there; send him up here." Satan says, "No way. I like having an engineer on the staff, and I'm keeping him." God says, "Send him back up here or I'll sue." Satan laughs uproariously and answers, "Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?"

A Day in Hell

One day a guy dies and finds himself in hell. As he is wallowing in despair he has his first meeting with a demon.........

Demon: Why so glum chum?
Guy: What do you think? I'm in hell.
Demon: Hell's not so bad. We actually have a lot of fun down here...you a drinkin' man?
Guy: Sure, I love to drink. Love the drinks.
Demon: Well you're gonna love Mondays then. On Mondays that's all we do is drink. Whiskey, tequila, Guinness, wine coolers, diet tab, and fresca...we drink till we throw up and then we drink some more!
Guy: Gee that sounds great.

Demon: You a smoker?
Guy: You better believe it! Love the smoking.
Demon: Alright! You're gonna love Tuesdays. We get the finest cigars from all over the world and smoke our lungs out. If you get cancer - no biggie - you're already dead remember?
Guy: Wow...that's...awesome!

Demon: I bet you like to gamble.
Guy: Why yes as a matter of fact I do. Love the gambling.
Demon: Cause Wednesday you can gamble all you want. Craps, Blackjack, Roulette, Poker, Slots, whatever... If you go Bankrupt...well you're dead anyhow.

Demon: You into drugs?
Guy: Are you kidding? Love drugs! You don't mean...
Demon: That's right! Thursday is drug day. Help yourself to a great big bowl of crack. or smack. Smoke a doobie the size of a submarine. You can do all the drugs you want and if ya overdose - that's right - you're dead - who cares! O.D.!!
Guy: Yowza! I never realized Hell was such a swingin' place!!

Demon: You gay?
Guy: Uh no.

Demon: Ooooh (grimaces) you're really gonna hate Fridays.