Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side by Barbara Parks (best ereader for graphic novels txt) 📗

clatter of the front door being secured with a chain. This was most bizarre, as the door didn’t have a chain at all, just a simple, single-key lock.

Night after night, the routine was the same; Tracey heard

footsteps on the stairs followed by the jangling, non-existent chain.

When Tracey questioned her grandmother, the elderly

woman was quick to assure her that she had no desire or inten-

tion of running up and down the staircase! Nor had she ever

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done so. And even if she had, there was still no explanation for the sound of the invisible door chain.

After several nights of the inexplicable noises, Tracey

began to feel increasingly unsettled.

“I began to freak out!” she told me. The presence began to

dominate Tracey’s nights and rob her of her sleep. “I begged

my mother to help, but she didn’t know how. She had no idea

what to do. Maybe she thought I was just being a silly teen-

ager!”

Then one night it dawned on her, that just maybe, the vis-

its could be some kind of warning. Perhaps the ghost wanted a chain on the door … maybe there had been one there in the past.

By now, Tracey was so rattled by it all, that anything was

worth a try. She spoke to her mother and insisted that she

install a chain. Immediately!

Being a single, working mother, the last thing she wanted

to do was traipse around during her lunch hour trying to pro-

cure a door chain; but Tracey was insistent. Her mother had

little choice but to give in to her daughter’s wishes, it seemed the only way to calm her down.

By the time her mother came home that evening, Tracey

was bouncing with nervous energy. She insisted that the

lock be installed at once. Although probably hindering more

than helping, Tracey tried to assist in the installation process.

(All the while cautious not to annoy her already exasperated

mother!)

Later that night, Tracey fell asleep easily, confident that she had experienced the last of the troubling visitations. Little did she know that she was soon to be roused by something much

louder and infinitely more disturbing.

200Ghostly Guardians

The household was awoken sometime after midnight; by

an almighty banging coming from the front door. Somebody

was trying to force it open, but it was mercifully holding fast thanks to the newly-installed chain.

Terrified, Tracey peered out of her bedroom window, and

was horrified by what she saw. A naked man wearing only

shoes and socks, was determinedly trying to get in. Worst of

all, he was holding a knife in his hand. Tracey screamed for her mother.

Meanwhile, the intruder gave up on the front door and

bolted around the back. Moments later, the petrified family

could hear him banging and shaking the back door, trying his

best to get in.

Tracey’s mother wasted no time in calling the police. She

returned to the window a moment later, just in time to see the man dash into the next door neighbours’ backyard.

He went on to easily make his way into the neighbours’

house, where he proceeded to terrorise the poor woman and

her infant son. Although unharmed, they were bailed up for

several minutes until the police arrived, and were understand-

ably shaken.

Reflecting on these events now, Tracey recalls the whole

episode with positivity. Although it was distressing at the time, it was heartening to think that a spirit had been trying to forewarn her family and protect them from potential tragedy.

Given his nakedness, one can only assume that the intruder

was mentally unbalanced. Who knows what tragedy could

have unfolded had the police not come? The brand-new door

chain had not only prevented the man from getting in, but it

had given the family time to summon the police and also save

the neighbours.

Ghostly Guardians 201

“We do indeed have spirits watching out for us,” Tracey

smiled. “Sometimes we just need to be reminded! Your book

has given me a gentle poke to start looking for them again …”

I agree wholeheartedly. Embracing the presence of spir-

its is seldom less than awe-inspiring; it’s a life-changing and precious gift. And even in those times when the frightening

seems to overshadow the wonderful; it’s wise to sit back and

take stock of the situation from another perspective. Is some-

one really trying to frighten you? Or are they just trying to get your attention?

In Tracey’s case, she feels it is more than coincidental that

her beloved grandfather passed away not long before her fam-

ily moved into their new home.

Looking back now, Tracey tells me she doesn’t think that

the Woodridge house was haunted. Although the energy

within its walls was hard to ignore, it never felt oppressive or negative. Rather than housing ghosts from its past, Tracey suspects that they may have brought a spirit of their own; that of her much-loved grandfather.

“I truly believe it was my Poppa just looking out for his

girls … me, my sis, Mum and of course his wife, my Nanna!”

Interestingly enough, Tracey heard no further disem-

bodied footsteps or clattering chains after the night in ques-

tion. Hardly surprising really, as the spirit’s mission had been accomplished. A spirit who I suspect was indeed Tracey’s

grandfather, continuing to keep a watchful eye on his beloved

girls.

chapter twenty-three

M a r n i e

When I discovered that my next patient was ninety five years

old, I expected a doddery old woman to come shuffling

through the door. The reality couldn’t have been more differ-

ent. Although a little hard of hearing, Marnie was as lucid as someone half her age. She was present and engaging, with a

healthy dose of cheekiness. Even her clothes defined her as

someone just that little bit different, swathed as she was in a black and white caftan. She had teamed its generous folds of

fabric with a pair of long black leggings. As far as first impressions go, it was hard to not be impressed!

Marnie enjoyed having a captive audience and spoke almost

incessantly while I worked. She was forthright with her opin-

ions and frequently had me chuckling; it felt more like a social engagement than work when Marnie was around.

She went on to tell me that she would soon be going