Ghosts - research, evidence, and discussion.
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Encounters Archive:

2009 Encounters:
The Banging Walls - Great Barrington, Massachusetts

The Grim Reaper at My Sister's Crib - Govan, Saskatchewan, Canada

Gliding White Specter - Singapore

Haunted by Bobby - Marinette, Wisconsin

The Entity in My Brother's Basement - Yardley, Pennsylvania

The Ouija Board's Warning - Langley in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

A Family of Angels - Huntington, West Virginia

Evil-Looking Apparition - Eagle Lake, Texas
Ghost picture


Monster Holding Me Down - Houston, Texas

Laugarvatn Cave Anomaly - Laugarvatn Cave, Iceland
Ghost picture


The Ghost Who Didn't Like Men - Brook, Indiana

Dad Standing in St. Mary's Cemetery - Tiffin, Ohio

The Hand On My Shoulder - Clinton, Indiana

The Only Yankee - Nicholas County, West Virginia

The House that Disappeared - Winton, California

My Haunted Apartment - Brampton, Ontario, Canada

The Basement Crash - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

A Screaming Ghost - Yorktown Heights, New York

The Crawling Shadow - Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan

Deering Estate Apparition - Miami, Florida
Ghost picture


Cemetery Ghost at a Sleepover - Laingsburg, Michigan

Ghosts at the Stanley Hotel - Estes Park, Colorado

Apparition Caught on Game Camera - Wayland, New York
Ghost picture


Knocks in the Attic - Sterling, Virginia

I Had No Idea She Was a Ghost - Bethany, New York

Ghosts of Yonkers - Yonkers, New York

An Evil Shadow Figure - Scott City, Kansas

The Scream in the Night - Yorkshire, England

Being Watched at a Sleepover - Manistique, Michigan

My First Demon Encounter - Weirton, West Virginia

A Ghost in Our Hotel Bathroom - Las Vegas, Nevada

The Baby's Cry - Barnesville, Ohio

Lights On Our Landing - Akron, Ohio

The Ghost of Mr. Elwin - Elkland, Missouri

Deformed Face Near the Cemetery - Kerala, India

Shadows and Weepy Voices - Grand Prairie, Texas

Three Hags Over My Bed - Neiderwald, Texas

Dad and His Friends - Tulsa, Oklahoma

A Hand in My Bed - Louisville, Kentucky

Spirit of the Wendigo - Fort Kent, Alberta, Canada

Chasing a Ghost - Houston, Texas

Colfax Cemetery Apparition - Colfax County, Minnesota
Ghost picture


The Cemetery Keeper Disappeared - Southern England

Haunting on East Eldon - Saint James, Missouri

Short, Black-Hooded Figures - Troy, New York

Strange Happenings at the Whaley House - San Diego, California

My Shaking Room - Saint Catharines, Ontario, Canada

A Blast from Dad - Austin, Texas and Lake Bluff, Illinois

Haunted Hotel Majestic - San Francisco, California

Ghost of Michael Jackson Caught on CNN Cameras? - Santa Barbara County, California
Ghost video


Mad Spirits in the Woods - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Exploding Glasses - Grants Pass, Oregon

Toowong Cemetery Encounter - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

The Spirit of George Followed Me - Davidsville and Johnstown, Pennsylvania

The Kind Lady By the Cabinet - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

The Boy in Thornton House - Stone Mountain, Georgia

The Cloudy Figure - Seaford, East Sussex, England

Burning Our Ouija Board - Oakwood, Illinois

The Man in the Lab Coat - Giessen, Germany

Brown Palace Hotel Ghost - Denver, Colorado
Ghost picture


Broken Glass and Whispering Voices - Charlotte, Michigan

Shadow on the Wall - Ontario, Canada

Mom's Message From Beyond - Hartsville, South Carolina
Ghost picture


Premonition Dream and My Dead Pet - Avon, Indiana

Girl in Her Easter Dress - Milton, Florida
Ghost picture


Encounters on a Ghost Tour - New South Wales, Australia

Someone in the Attic - Temple, Texas

The Spirit In Black - Forest Park, Illinois - 1997

The Body in the Pool - Anaheim, California and Pleasant Grove, Utah

Bright Jack-O-Lanterns - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Strong Odor and Darting Shadows - Southfield, Massachusetts

The Black Mist in Our Home - Marysville, California

Ghost of a Runaway Slave in My Car - Interstate 10, Louisiana

Accident Premonition - Singapore

Attempted Possession - San Antonio, Texas

My Mischievous Faery - Rouses Point, New York

Ghostly Tricks - Marysville, California

My Cat's 9/11 Premonition - Baltimore, Maryland

The Drowning Girl - Gloucester, Massachusetts

A Civil War General - Carthage, Missouri

The Glowing Nun - Santa Margherita Ligure, Genova, Italy

Our Haunted Restaurant - Columbus, Georgia

The Voice Outside My Window - Niles, Ohio

My Protective Ghost Friend - Logansport, Indiana

The Friend in Our House - Simpsonville, South Carolina

The Witch on My Wall - Charleston, South Carolina

Contacting My Spirits - Colchester, Essex, England

Dark, Smoky Wisps - Troy, New York

Nana's Grip - England

Stock Room Ghost - Winter Haven, Florida

A Sign From Mum - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Evil Drawings in a Drawer - Valle Vista, California

A Disappearing Kitten - Suburbs of Dallas, Texas

A Crying Baby and Evil House - Salt Lake City, Utah

My Daughter's Energy - Sylacauga, Alabama
Ghost picture


The Kissing Ghost - Fresno, California

A Seven-Foot Shadow Figure - Trenton, New Jersey

The Grey-White Man - British Columbia, Canada

The Tall Man in Robes - Huntly, New Zealand

The Spirits of Edisto Presbyterian Church - Edisto Island, South Carolina

A Pre-Death Visit - Merrick, New York

Six Knocks - Brisbane, Australia

The Rocking Chair - Bushnell, Illinois

Hiding From a Ghost - Strongsville, Ohio

A Relentless Ghost - Littleton, Colorado



July 17, 2009

A Blast from Dad

Rate this encounter:
Votes:59 Rating: Rating = 5.51 Ratings Breakdown
Marsha Smith Durkin - Austin, Texas and Lake Bluff, Illinois - January 2007

My father passed away after a year long struggle with a stroke, open-heart surgery, a second stroke on the operating table, ICU, a long hospital stay, and eventually a nursing home stay. During this time my mother faithfully visited my father daily (they had been married 61 years). My father was 89 and my mother was 82, they both were still living at home and doing well previous to my father's stroke. My father was quite the jokester in his day, sometimes which was unappreciated by his little girl (me), but my mother got a big kick out of it. I was living in Illinois when my father passed away and it took me several days to get to Texas for the visitation and funeral as the road to the airport was frozen (in Texas) and no one could get there to pick me up, so I waited until the road to the San Antonio Airport was driveable again. It took a few days, and everyone waited on me.

In the meantime my father's body was taken to the funeral home. The funeral home director asked my mother to bring his Masonic apron to lay across his waist during the visitation and burial because he was a Mason for many, many years. My mother went to my father's dresser and retrieved the apron in the corner of the second dresser draw where it had laid for many years. My mother took it to the funeral home and left it with the director. When she got home she got a phone call from the funeral director telling her that ummm, this was an apron with "girlie" pictures on it, not a Masonic apron. My mother burst out laughing amidst her tears. Apparently my father had laid this apron on top of his Masonic apron just for this occasion and my mother totally understood this and said, "Yes, that is your father's sense of humor, he knew I would take that to the funeral home."

I was surprised, I had forgotten my father's sense of humor as I had been gone from home for such a long time busy with my own family and extended family up north in Illinois. I regretfully did not get home to my parents house as much as I should have. Well, my father was buried in Sam Houston Cemetery at San Antonio Air Force Base as he had been a pilot in the Korean War. His funeral was beautiful and I had forgotten how they shoot off the rifles at a military funeral -- they are very, very loud, and the noise pierces through your whole body. My mother jerked at every shot as so did I. She was given the flag that lay across his casket. I remember how she looked so small and so sullen as I held tight onto her arm, my brother doing the same on the other side.

After the funeral, the family gathering, a few days to make sure my mother was okay, I flew back to Illinois. I arrived in the early evening. When I went to bed that evening I slept very heavy "like a log," my father would say, only to become suddenly and abruptly awoken by a rifle blast loudly above my head. I did not touch the ground, I think I was almost airborne. I stood in the middle of my bedroom almost deaf exclaiming out loud, "Dad that is not funny!" As I know he would have thought that was hilarious! I will never forget how loud that blast was and I know it was him, and Dad, it wasn't funny!




2014 Haunted New England Wall Calendar by Jeff Belanger photography by Frank Grace
Check out the 2014 Haunted New England wall calendar by Jeff Belanger and photography by Frank Grace!


Paranormal Conferences and Lectures
Don't miss the following events and lectures:

Jeff Belanger and “The Bridgewater Triangle” at Dedham Community Theatre - April 6, 2014 9:00PM

The Spirits of the Mark Twain House - Hartford, Connecticut - April 12, 2014

Paracon Australia - East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia - May 10-12, 2014