True Ghost Stories: Jim Harold's Campfire 3

by Jim Harold

  I would have had no way of knowing that. I had never been in that room until that moment and that's my story.

  It had to be a vision. It was definitely out of body. I've had a lot of other weird things happen to me in my life, but that's the only near death experience I've ever had.

  -Jenn, Maryland

  52. Waving Goodbye

  To setup this story, I have to tell you a bit about my uncle. My uncle had been a postman before I was born. Shortly before my birth, he had a wreck in the truck that he drove and he ended up losing his right leg. I had never seen him with two legs. He had had an artificial leg from the time I was an infant. At the time of my experience, he had been quite ill with cancer.

  I was sleeping one night and I woke up suddenly at about 4 a.m. It was one of those times where you lay there and say to yourself, "Okay, why am I awake?" I became aware that it felt like somebody was sitting on the edge of the bed. I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and it still felt like somebody was still there. Then after a few moments, it went away. I thought, "Well, that was strange, but maybe it was just my imagination." I happened to look at the clock and noticed that it was 4:03 a.m.

  I rolled over and I went back to sleep and I had a dream about my uncle. He was walking across this field towards a hill. I remember the grass being bright, bright green, he was in a suit, and he had two legs. He went up the hill, when he got to the top, he turned around and he waved to me. He just had the biggest grin on his face and he just looked so happy. That was it.

  I got up the next morning and I told my Mom what happened. She just kind of laughed a little bit.

  Before we were finished, my aunt called on the other line and told us that my uncle had passed away. So, I guess he had come to say goodbye and that he was happy.

  -Donna, United States

  53. A Cemetery Messenger

  My oldest sister was born in December of 1978 but she passed away at birth. She is buried in a very old cemetery. The earliest grave is from 1840. It is on flat land and my sister's grave is in the eighth row back.

  About a week after my mom had buried my sister, she was sitting at my sister's grave and was, of course, crying. She'd been there for a little bit. Suddenly, this truck pulled up out of nowhere. She said that she should have been able to see this truck approaching because there's a clear view leading up to the road.

  This man who came from nowhere, got out of the truck and asked my mom if she had seen a missing child. She said no. The man asked, "Is that your daughter?" She said yes. He said, "I just want you to know that your daughter is in heaven, she's at peace and she's happy." My mom just looked at him and smiled, and he got back in the truck and backed out. My mom looked down for just a couple seconds and looked back up but the man was gone. The truck had disappeared. She never saw any tail lights or anything. It was almost like he appeared from nowhere to deliver his message and disappeared into thin air just as quickly.

  It is a mystery, but a comforting one.

  -Heather, Georgia

  54. Girl of My Dreams

  When I was in grade school in Ohio, I started having dreams of this girl. I had these dreams on and off for about three months. I would see this young lady. For whatever reason, we would hang out, we would spend time together in these dreams. We would have conversations but I could never remember her face when I woke up. I could remember what she wore and everything else was very vivid. It's just when it came to her face, I couldn't tell you what she looked like.

  Then, one night in my dream, I actually saw her face. For whatever reason, there would always be a dark stage, it would light up all of sudden and there she would be. We'd go on and have a walk in the park or just hang out and sit and talk and get to know each other. That last night that I had the dream, I actually saw her face. She was very beautiful and she kept telling me that one day we would meet.

  I woke up from the dream. I really never paid them any mind. I just thought these were just dreams that adolescents normally had. The following month, I actually met her. She came to my school. She had moved to Ohio from California. It blew me away and she was the exact girl from my dreams. The clothes that she wore the first day that I met her, were the same clothes that she wore in the last dream I'd had of her. The way she talked, the way that she looked and everything, was the same as the dreams.

  We did become very good friends, but nothing more. I never told her the story.

  We lost contact many, many years ago when I left Cleveland, but it is something to be able to say that you actually met the girl of your dreams!

  -Dino, California

  55. A View from Above

  Our ambulance service will transport critically ill patients to helicopters for air medical transport when they are in need of greater care than their local hospital can provide. Several years ago, our ambulance service had just such a patient that I'll never forget.

  We walked into his room and I said to him, "We're going to take you and put you on the helicopter and they're going to fly you to a nearby hospital to get you taken care of." The guy looked at me and he went into cardiac arrest. He died, just like that. We started working on him. While the attempted resuscitation was going on, I left the room and went to get the helicopter crew, just in case he was revived. I brought the crew back so they could have all their stuff ready, put him on the helicopter and go on their way if he made it.

  Honestly, I didn't think he had survived. Quite a while after the first incident occurred, I got a call to transfer a patient from the local hospital to Lexington. There are better heart facilities there. I walked into the patient's room. The man looked at me and he said, "Do you remember me? I know exactly who you are." I looked at him and it took me a minute because I see a lot of faces in my job and sometimes it's hard to recognize specific patients. He said, "I'm the one that died over there, in that room." Then it clicked who it was. It was this patient who I thought had died.

  In the hour-and-a-half transport that we took him on that day, he repeated the exact words I said to him when he had the arrest. He said that he felt his soul leave his body, and that he watched us work on him from above. He'd seen us start CPR on him. Now, there was no way he could have known this. He did not have a pulse. He was out. There's no way. We had escorted his family out. He told me that I left the room. He said I left the room and came back a few minutes later with two men, dressed in black and gold suits. Which I did. I had left and went to get the helicopter crew. We came back and there were two men with me. Their flight suits were black and gold.

  I was pretty convinced by that point, but he kept telling me more, stuff there was no way he could have known. He told me that he watched the doctor try to intubate him and fail. He said a little bit of blood trickled out of his mouth, that one of the guys in the black and the gold suits stuck the tube down his throat, and he was correct. The doctor failed at intubating him, but the flight medic actually did it. He said, "After the guy in the black and gold suit stuck the tube down my throat, I felt my soul go back into my body." He said, "That's the last thing I know."

  All I could say was wow! I was speechless. I've never had anybody say that, but now, every time I'm working with somebody in cardiac arrest, I kind of look over my shoulder and wonder if they are watching me. I can't help it.

  As he told me this experience, this man had tears in his eyes. You could just tell by the tone of his voice that he was completely sincere. You can tell when somebody's lying to you; this man was not lying. How did he know the facts that he just kept sharing? There was no way he could've known. No way.

  -Samantha, Kentucky

  56. Three Little Fishies

  As I was growing up, my mom would always tell me that her favorite song was "Three Little Fishies." I don't know if you've ever heard it, but it was a little kids song.

  I think it came from the '30s. It was just a silly, happy little song. You know, "Three Little Fishies and A Mama Fishie Too."

  As parents do, my mom grew old. She fell victim to a head
injury, and was in the hospital dying.

  I was having a real hard time accepting it. I just wouldn't believe it. Everyone was trying to get me ready for it, but I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. I kept thinking she was going to get better. The night before she died I realized this was really happening and I wasn't ready for it.

  My mom, on the other hand, was ready. She had a near death experience about 10 years before, and she said that it was such a beautiful experience that she totally was not afraid to die. She felt sad she had to leave us, but she said, "Oh, you'll be okay. You'll miss me, but you'll be okay."

  Since I hadn't believed she was going to die, I hadn't yet made any arrangements for her funeral. So, the day after she died, we had to go to the funeral home. We walked in and on the PA system there was some music playing. Mind you this is in a funeral home and we heard, "Three Little Fishies and a Mama Fishie Too" coming from the speakers. I thought that it wasn't really happening, it was just too bizarre. I looked at my husband and said, "Are you hearing that?" He had to laugh a little, but he said, "Yep."

  I thought that my Mom was really being funny.

  You can say it was a coincidence, but it was quite the coincidence. To me, it was my mom, telling me not only that was she happy, but she was having fun too.

  -Terry, California

  57. Grandpa's Magic Doorbell

  These experiences started about eight years ago. My grandfather was ill with lung cancer. My grandma had gone in to check on him one afternoon. He was laying there. He opened his eyes, he said the word "beautiful" and just passed away. He closed his eyes and was gone.

  The night of the funeral, my mom, my grandma, my uncle and my aunt were sitting at the dinner table and discussing Grandpa and how beautiful the service was. One of them had remarked, "I wonder if he's made it to Heaven yet," and all of a sudden a doorbell chimed. Now, the thing about this doorbell was that it was battery powered and wireless. Grandpa carried the transmitter in his pocket, so if he needed something while he was in another room, Grandma would hear the bell and come to help him.

  The wireless doorbell unit itself was on the desk and they all went over to look at it when it rang. Here's the kicker. There were no batteries in either the transmitter or the doorbell unit itself when it rang. Some other kind of power rang that bell.

  We think the question about Heaven was answered. Grandpa made it safely.

  He's been back a couple of times to tell us it's okay. We live in a multi-generational household. There was a time when I was going through some really problematic issues. One night, I woke up and just before I opened my eyes, I felt somebody push down like they were leaning onto my bed. I heard a whisper in my ear, "Just trust in Him and everything will be okay." I said, "Okay, Grandpa." He chuckled and that was that. Grandpa always had a sense of humor.

  There are nights where Grandma will hear somebody walk across the floor, then sit down on the edge of her bed and just sit there. He still comes and checks in on my grandma. She doesn't feel any fear and is comfortable with it. We just think it's Grandpa coming back to say hi.

  -Neil, Ohio

  58. Don't Forget Me

  My grandmother was very sick when I was pregnant with my son but despite her illness she was very excited. She lived to see him; however, she passed away about five weeks after he was born. She was so happy that he was a boy. It had been 25 years since there had been a boy in the family, so it was really exciting.

  About five weeks after he was born, she passed away and we had the funeral. I'm not positive this occurred the night of the funeral, but I feel like it was. My baby was still getting up in the middle of the night for feedings, and so forth. I had gotten up about 2 a.m. and I made him a bottle. We were sitting in this rocking chair that my grandmother had given me and I looked up. I was watching him drink and our TV was situated in front of me. It was one of the older sets with a glass screen that would show a reflection when it was off, as it was at the time. When I looked at it, I saw a reflection. That reflection was of my grandmother. I could see her as clear as anything. There wasn't any kind of way that it was distorted. It was her.

  I said, "Nana!" She just smiled. She didn't say anything; she just gave me this big smile and kind of faded away. I thought, "Okay, I know I'm tired." But I looked down at my son, he was looking past my head, behind me and he had this great big smile on his face.

  I thought, "Okay, I wasn't the only one who saw that." It was a pretty powerful, emotional experience. It just clarified everything. That night, I knew she had been there and I believe that she's been watching over him for the 19 years that he's been alive.

  She was saying, "I'm there and I'm looking over you. I love you and don't forget me because I haven't forgotten you."

  That's exactly how that felt that night. It was just amazing. I've looked for that feeling a lot, but that was just one of a kind. It was so wonderful to be able to really say goodbye to her like that and know that she was looking over him, and that he saw her too. It was great.

  -Kimberley, Canada

  59. A Little Guardian Angel

  This started about 15 years ago. I had just gotten married and my wife and I, we had a great first year together. However, she started to get very sick. It just got worse and worse, to the point where she spent the next two years in and out of hospitals.

  We did the sickness and health thing, and we took those vows really seriously. She had a very serious surgery and the doctors said, "Okay, we've done all we can do here, so what we're going to do is put her on life support, she can come home, and you can take care of her." I know when a lot of people hear about life support they assume you're in the hospital, but there are actually machines small enough that you can achieve the same thing at home.

  It was more than I could've imagined, but you get through it and you become a better person for it, I think. We definitely became a stronger couple.

  We'd been in our house for about a year and my wife was asleep most of the time, recovering. One day, when I was in the kitchen doing the dishes, out of nowhere I saw a boy in the house, in the hallway. I didn't know who he was and was wondering what this kid was doing in my house. He looked like any 8-year-old boy. He was this little, towheaded kid and it looked like he was wearing a t-shirt and long pants.

  He looked just like any boy you'd see in the neighborhood. I ran into my wife's room, to look for him and there was nobody there but my sleeping wife. Then, I opened and looked out the front door because I was thought maybe this boy came in from the outside. There was nobody there.

  Afterward, I thought about it and figured it was stress related due to everything that was happening. My blood pressure was through the roof. I said, "Okay, I'll just keep this to myself." About a month later, I saw him again. I went into the room because he went right through the hallway into our bedroom, and again, there was nobody there but my sleeping wife. I wanted to tell her about it, but I thought, "She's going through so much, I don't want her to think that I'm losing my mind, because she's depending on me." I didn't tell anybody else, because I didn't want anybody else to think, "He can't handle what's going on."

  I kept this to myself for a year. I kept seeing this boy in our house, consistently, going into our room. Every time I walked in, there was nothing there. There was even one instance where I heard his feet patter across the hallway. The whole time my wife was recovering, I didn't think she knew anything about this boy. One day, after she got better she turned to me and she said, "You know, when you were gone a lot of the times and I was alone in the house, I always felt comforted by that boy who would come in to sit with me." It just blew my mind and I looked at her, I said, "A boy? What kind of boy was in the house? It's just me and you." She said, "No, no, there was a boy. He was about 8 or 9-years-old. He would come in, he'd sit there, and sometimes he'd stand there. I always felt comforted by him."

  At the time, she thought he was an angel. She said, "There was nothing I could do – I couldn't talk to him, but I just saw h
im there and I felt comforted."

  The boy never spoke to anybody. I would see him in glimpses. I would see him in our hallway going into our bedroom. She would see him come in the room and stay there with her. She would wake up, she'd see him, get a good feeling, and go back to sleep. She saw him way more than I did.

  Every time I saw him, there was like a feeling of comfort it was benign but it made me curious.

  We're not angel people, it wasn't something we were into but we're both, in a way, grateful for the experience. It's nice that somebody was there with her when I wasn't around. It was and is comforting.

  My wife recovered and the boy stopped coming.

  There is a little coda to the story. We thought that the boy was gone, after my wife recovered we didn't see him again for about eight years. Five years ago, my wife was stricken with cervical cancer, and she was undergoing treatment. Sure enough, she saw the same little boy on the second day back from the hospital. I didn't see him as I did earlier; I saw him as a weird light anomaly that would just flit through the house and go right back into that bedroom. I would naturally, again, run in the room. There was no one there, and I would tell her, "I saw some light." She said, "Yeah, that's the boy. I've been seeing him again." She saw him for a period of about two more weeks, until she had finished her treatment, and he was gone again. It seems like he's attracted to her when she's in a time of need.