Ghosts, mediums, fortune tellers

My late mum had many premonitions during her life but fought against them as it frightened her.

We were once out shopping together and she said 'we have to go home immediately' we dashed home to find the boiler on the point of explosion.

In 1988 my my mum got dad to phone me to say she had had a terrible dream that one of the male members of our family was in mortal danger. She was beside herself with worry. I got another call from mum that week to say that dad had been take Ill would I come over. I took him to hospital where he died two says later. That week he had had his hair cut, mowed the lawn and done all the usual things. I think she foresaw his death.

I would dearly love to believe something other than when we go we do. Ive never seen anything that made me think differently though. Been to mediums, even joined a spiritualist church once. Let's face it, it would be bloody packed up there by now The answer is no, earth to earth ashes to ashes and new things grow from us and all of nature.

Deedaa My daughter did that too. She used to say that when she lived with Autnty so and so and Uncle so and so they used to treat her differently.

My granddaughter, then aged about 3 or 4 used to stop at the top of the stairs in my house and ask about the lady in the rocking chair in the corner of the back bedroom, what she didn't know was that when her Grandad and I bought the house before we got married 24 years previously there had been an old rocking chair in the corner of the room and not even her mum knew.

I think that most of us want to believe there is more. The brain has electrical impulses which may generate some of these experiences especially when we are emotionally disturbed.

I have had experiences but then again usually when I am asleep or falling asleep. After my dad died he was always in my dreams until one day he said, 'Don't bring me back unless you really need me.' He now hardly ever appears.

The only really weird thing that happened was one night when My son and I were having a discussion about ghosts and basically saying that they were not real. Suddenly there was a crash in the kitchen and upon examination we found that the vegetable rack had tipped over and crashed to the floor. I rationalised with several different explanations but admit I was very spooked that night.

A little niece at just 3 once told my dd very matter of factly about their house burning down, and about her daddy being very ANGRY! - she said a lot about that. Dd reassured her about the house, and since my BiL is exceedingly chilled she said she was sure her daddy would never be angry like that.
Again quite matter of fact, niece said, oh, not THAT daddy, I mean my OTHER daddy, before.
I've heard of this sort of thing in one other child, but these things seem to stop by about 5.

When my MiL died at only 68, for several days I had a very strong impression of her being there in our sitting room - we'd always got on we'll and she'd always been happy at our house. I could almost see her sitting on the sofa.
Of course I put it down entirely to my imagination, and when my father died only 6 months later, I fully expected to feel the same, either in my house or my mother's.
But there was nothing. Zilch.

And here's a doggy one!
Friends had a most beloved flatcoat retriever, Charlie, who was ill and on his very last legs. They lived in a converted barn, a semi, with an identical one next door.
Shortly before the dog died, the next door neighbour's son had popped in for a visit, and went upstairs to check his emails on their computer. (This was before the smartphone era).
His girlfriend went with him, and was startled when he suddenly said, 'Did you see the dog?'
She said no, the dog (a Dalmatian) was downstairs.
He said, not that dog - out of the corner of his eye he'd seen their old dog, a Weimaraner, who'd died some years previously.
He was very shaken and had to go to the village pub to fortify himself!
The old dog had been friends with the neighbour's' flatcoat, so they all liked to think he'd come to keep Charlie company on his way.

Many years ago I was persuaded to visit a clairvoyant with a few friends.
When it was my turn, I couldn't believe how accurately she described my grandfather, complete with his pit helmet. She then told me there was a new man in my life and I should keep him. She said he makes a lot of soup but oh, his poor knees. I have now been married to that man for 20 years and he still makes the best Scotch Broth I have ever tasted and his knees are still very painful.

A friend of mine had a daughter(very unusual Italian name) who only lived a few moments, she had one photo that she kept locked away with the little ones baby blanket. She refused to talk about the baby or have anyone mention her. When her second child was born 2 years later she wouldnt let her out of her sight, the little girl was never more than a few yards away from her. When the little one turned 2 she started talking to an imaginary friend or so we thought. As she got older and her speech got better she had some wonderful conversations with her friend. As my friend and her little one passed the cemetery where the first baby was laid to rest, the child asked if they could go and see her sister, my friend replied she didnt have a sister to go and see, the little one insisted that -----(Italian name) lived there and took my friend straight to the grave. The little one is now nearly 40 and still sees her sister.

A few weeks ago my partner and I were chatting about my late mother and I sad that actually she was a bit of a snob, at that moment a trailing plant which had lived on the top of the dresser for the last 5 years, never even moved for watering, leapt onto the carpet 3 feet away from the said dresser, it made a right mess with soil all over the place. My partner and I weren't particularly surprised as we have become used to unaccountable things in this house on a regular basis. It's not an old property, just a bog standard 1950s semi. We also have things that disappear without trace, the latest being a just opened pack of Persil washing tabs and a large hair dryer. We no longer even bother to search for these items and just accept our house for what it is.

That is a lovely story, Grannypiper, and I hope it gave your friend comfort.

When a friend's son was about 3 or 4 they saw an old car drive by. He told her that they used to have a car like that. She told him they didn't. 'Oh not you, mummy' he said, 'I used to go in it with my other mummy. The one with hair like mine.' (He was very blond and the rest of the family were very dark). 'We used to sit in the back and mummy wore flowery dresses, not like you mummy'.

He seemed to remember a past life but by the age of 5 all those memories had gone.

A few years later they moved into a very old house. He immediately started talking about his new friend who also lived in the house. One day as I was leaving I happened to look back and a young boy was looking at me out of an upstairs window. It could have been a trick of the light but I saw the boy clearly.

A few months later she was looking out of the window when a group of people in fancy dress walked through her garden. She was a bit miffed because it wasn't a public right of way so went outside to challenge them. There was no one to be seen. She mentioned it to a neighbour who told her that the group had been seen many times and weren't in fancy dress. Before the houses had been built there had been a path that the locals used to access some of the fields.

I have a friend who believes she witnessed some kind of 'time slip' whereby she could clearly see someone from a bygone era, who was totally unaware of her, and was just going about his life.

My mother told me she had seen a procession of monks pass through the dining room. We dismissed this as she was prone to dozing off in the chair instead of going to bed. Many years later DH and I were looking at old maps and reading about the monks carrying St Cuthbert to Durham, the route from Lindisfarne to Durham passed through the area where the houses were built many centuries later.

Witzend it enabled my friend to talk about her baby, something she badly needed to do and it kept her baby as part of the family.

A lady who lived in my mums neighbourhood used to do 'readings' and such like, and was known by the name of spooky
She came into our house to give my mum some plants, and immediately started holding out her hands, as if to push someone away
She said that there was a spirit who was very determined to make himself known, and she had no choice but to tell my mum
She described my dads friend, who had recently died in very unusual circumstances, and also the fact that she could only see him from the thighs up. She described his little dog, and said it had been left, locked in a car when its owner died.
My dads friend had jumped into water feet first, expecting to wade across, but the water was deep, and he had drowned, in a standing position, and not been found for several days.

I must remember to put full stops! Sorry to anyone trying to read all that without taking a breath!

I'm not saying there is no rational explanation, maybe it is a replayed memory, but I have seen several ghosts, and some of them have been seen by other people too, one was at a residential centre for children to stay on field trips, one evening my husband and I were in our flat just after Christmas, we knew the 48 roomed Victorian mansion was empty except for us but heard footsteps in the corridor, we dashed out of the flat - nobody in the corridors, checked the rooms - nobody. Another time we were in the staff dining room having lunch when I saw someone walk past the open kitchen door, the chef and assistant chef looked at each other and said - 'oh you've seen her too' I jumped up and looked in the kitchen - no one, they had seen this person several times. I would have said I didn't believe, and as I said maybe there is another explanation but I'm a bit more open minded now. Mind you I've seen three UFOs, one with three other people (my husband and his elderly aunt and cousin) which was later eported in the local paper and had been reported to the police by more than 200 people, they had no explanation, maybe we'd better not go there!