To get you started into this Ghostly Eve of October, I have a weird but true story for you to ponder:Although I believe there’s a paranormal realm that surrounds us, I am a skeptic in regards to most claims. In fact I think 99% of ghostly encounters or ‘psychic moments’ can be explained by logic, real world circumstance and that ever ready explanation,- coincidence.
The previous owner of my home had died and the bank eventually repossessed his house. The house set vacant for several years before I purchased it. There wasn't any information on the previous resident- not even his name. Believe me- I searched for it. It wasn't in any of the paperwork.
Before moving in, I spent a couple years driving down from L.A. on the weekends refurbishing the house. One weekend I met a peculiar neighbor who told me she was sure my house was haunted. She claimed she saw lights come on and could clearly hear voices coming from my house when she knew I wasn’t there!
I just raised my eyebrows, smiled and said, “Yes that’s my ghost. His name is Frank and he watches the house and runs off the prowlers for me.”
I was delighted she had witnessed this ghostly phenomenon in my empty house. I worked pretty hard to create it! I had several lights and radios on automatic timers throughout the house. I tuned the radio to Bill Handel, Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, and all the talk radio shows. They filled my empty dwelling with chatter day and night when I was in L.A.
But, - Frank, my adopted ghost, stuck with me. The previous owner had died in the house so I guessed there could be a ghost. And, if there were a ghost, it seemed likely that it could be the previous owner. And logically speaking, Frank is a perfectly good ghost name, now isn't it?
As I refurbished my home, I would find the traces of Frank’s life in old household repairs. I frequently found myself saying out loud, “Well you really screwed this up Frank. What the heck did you do this for Frank? Where’s the water shut off Frank?”
Frank never answered but this silly private game entertained me as I worked. As I would close up the house and leave for the week, I would yell out “See you next weekend, Frank. Take care of the house.”
Eventually I asked another neighbor if she knew the name of previous owner: Joe Charillo. Joe had built the house and lived in it for 18 years before he died. I’m embarrassed to admit that I also asked her if she had ever known a ‘Frank’. No. There had never been a Frank in the neighborhood as far she could remember.
Then, a couple years ago I got a letter from a local lawyer. It was addressed to the previous owner. I called the lawyer and explained he had died years past but I was very curious as to the name on the envelope. It was addressed to a Frank J. Charillo She explained, ‘Joe’ was just his nickname.
Coincidence or something else? Have you ever experienced anything like that?
Happy Ghostly Eve.
Vikki
The painting of at the top is called ‘Shades of Red.’ (Maybe I should have called it Shades of Frank for this post.) It’s a 16”x 24”, acrylic on stretched canvas. Details are on website.
Please visit my Red Chair Gallery website. I’m offering a 10% discount on all painting to bloggers until Dec. 1. (Offer does not include prints)
Vikki
The painting of at the top is called ‘Shades of Red.’ (Maybe I should have called it Shades of Frank for this post.) It’s a 16”x 24”, acrylic on stretched canvas. Details are on website.
Please visit my Red Chair Gallery website. I’m offering a 10% discount on all painting to bloggers until Dec. 1. (Offer does not include prints)
24 comments:
Your chair paintings have so much 'personality' - I mean, the chair does. As if the chair has adopted human attributes.
And your story - hard to ascribe to coincidence. Spooky at the very least.
Vikki, I love your story, just a coincidence, maybe, maybe not. I never personally had anything like that happen. I have known many people who swear they have ghost. My sister swears she was saved by the ghost of Bell Bonfies (I am not sure of the correct spelling) she was the founder of the theater at Loretta Heights College in Denver. Some day I will get her to write that story, shes quite dramatic.
I love how your chairs look alive, or maybe like they have a life of their own. I'm sure Frank would have been comfortable in that one.
Hi Lou and thanks!
I think we can humanize just about anything or at least give it life of sorts. The ‘Pet Rock’ comes to mind. Those guys made millions. And my story- it’s weird but true.
Vikki
Hi Eric,
I’d love to read your sisters story. Ghost stories are so much fun. Speaking of which,
I think you need to visit a ‘real haunted house’ this Halloween. I’d wager a bet that there’s a ghost out there with your name on it’s dance card.
And I’ll tell you what: If Frank decides to make his presense known and sit in my red chair, he’s going to wish he didn’t. I’ll be cleaning house with sage and holy water!
Hell hath no fury like a women’s scorn and that goes for dead guys too!
Vikki
See, stories like that send chills through me. I think it's fascinating, I love to read about such. Is it believable, mostly not. It's fun to hear it, but do I believe in a lot of it.... ehhh, not most. People thrive on the chills. Do I think there's the potential of it being out there, sure.. that's why we get chills ~ because of the "what if" factor.
I do like that his name was Frank.... and the chair is vividly dark ~ perfect for the season and reason!
Lol - just read your response about sage and holy water.
Hi Aleta,
And thank you. I always love your comments.
Well, I will tell that I have experienced a bona fide apparition (years ago) and heard one stomp across the floor towards me at Whaley House (just a few years back). Those experiences made a believer out of me. But, I think the majority of claimed hauntings or supernatural experiences are ‘wishful’ thinking. The thing that’s bizarre about that is- it’s really frightening to see or experience a ghost! Nothing ‘fun’ about it. I guess some people just want to believe so much; they just let their imagination become their reality.
I hope if I ever experienced anything again, I’d have the emotional strength to observe or even ask question or two? That would be much cooler than running and screaming like maniac, which has been my method thus far. Who knows?
Vikki
Holy Cow!!! you gave me goosebumps!!!
I don't believe in coincidences, to me they don't exist, is just a convenient word to explain the unexplainable. Could it be possible that Frank told you his name in a split second in a very subconscious way and you didn't realize it but you said his name thinking you were saying it just to say a name?
I do believe in ghosts, I've had my good share of experiences ever since I was a child of all kinds and they were NOT fun.
Your chair! what can I say Vikki, it says so much without words. Your chairs have a soul, a very unique simple but enchanting way to express themselves. Beautiful!
Hi Manuela,
I agree with you. I found it a pretty odd and to much of a freaky ‘coincidence’ myself. Frank is not exactly a common name that roles off the top of your head. (What are the chances?)
At first it frightened me a bit, but in short order I found myself comforted by it. If the past owner is still here, I’m pretty sure he’s really happy with what I’ve done to the house. And he’s welcome to stay as long as he doesn’t thump, bump or pull any of that crazy ghost stuff on me.
Thanks for your comment on my work. Color values to create a mood are one of our best tricks as artist, huh?
Vikki
I absolutely believe that we can indeed pick up vibrations or thoughts because they are, after all electrical impulses being broadcast.
If there's one thing I've learned by rubbing shoulders with an old house, it's that it is full of those vibrations.
I always tell my 'haints' to watch our house. I explain to them if the house goes, none of us have a space to live in.
D
Hi Dina,
You're so funny. I love your comments!
I agree. Every living thing leaves energy that we can even register with equipment. But, energy doesn't usually whisper it's name to us, now does it? Who knows, but be assured I still ask Frank to watch the house.
Vikki
Interesting. I'm with you with respect to my general disbelief of all things "parnormal" and the fact that they can be explained logically. But I must admit that the probability of that match occurring is pretty low.
As for my personal "coincidence," I was once on the subway in a large city, after midnight, and in a very dangerous part of town. No one knew that I was there. As I exited the subway to gain my bearings, a lady approached me and asked if I was "Reggie," to which I replied yes, since that is my name. She said that she was waiting for me. After I convinced her that I was not the person for whom she was waiting, she warned me to leave the neighborhood, since that was not the type of neighborhood in which I should be found. Spooky, eh?
Hi Reg,
Thanks and- Oh my Gosh! That is really spooky!!
Are you sure she (the lady) was a real person? People claim all the time that someone had given them a ‘warning’ or even saved them from a dire situation. When trying to find this ‘concerned citizen’- many times they don’t seem to exist. Vanished in mid air.
How's that for creepy Halloween thought?
Vikki
I love the color of your painting. It vibrates so deeply... or at least I think it's the colors... something rumbles so deep. You're a master at what you are doing there, it would take pages to explain. But I guess that's a joy of visual art, being able to take something in so deeply all at once without words.
...
One eerie coincidence that happened to me... My family went to a cemetery to look for my paternal grandfather's sister's grave... the story was she died by falling out a second story window as a baby. The crib was right against the window and she rolled out. Since she died as a baby, the headstones were little discs that aren't raised out of the grass. My Dad had a map with the grave #, but they didn't match the map, many stones were missing, or grown over. I said, "I'll find it", then started "feeling" my way around as my Dad gave me the benefit of the doubt. I was semi-doubtful too, but thought it was worth a try. I walked near the back part of the cemetery where a 15 foot fence and trees blocked some old houses behind them. After about 5 minutes of walking a baby started crying from a second story window in a house behind the fence. I stopped where I was, looked down, and covered under the grass was the correct disc. We all got chills. The baby stopped crying. We left shortly thereafter with glazed looks on our faces. lol
~Michael
Hi Michael-
I love that story! Those are the very experiences that make us all realize there just may be something else going on. Our logical mind says- just a wild coincidence and we laugh about it. But, if we really rely on logic and what we understand of real world possibility-what are the chances that you could walk to a completely different area of the cemetery, hear a baby crying and ‘wha la’- there’s her little stone at your feet? Does the phrase ‘slim to none’ come to mind?
It’s actually very endearing to realize the possibility this wee little spirit may have been saying, “Here’s my grave. Hi there! Thanks for visiting me.”
Now a question for you: Did your folks also hear the baby crying? The reason I ask is that sometimes they only present to one person.
Vikki
I love your story, but eerie things freak me out. i like looking at paintings, but get too scared by paranormal movies like The Exorcist.
Hi Sucharita,
Thank you for your comments. I agree with you. I remember ‘trying’ to watch the Exorcist and it was way to scary for me: ‘evil’and demons …and way to freaky!
‘Ghost’ with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore- is more my style of entertainment.
Vikki
Hi Vikki,
Oh yea, everyone heard it... my Dad was amazed. And my Mom and brother didn't know what to say.
But I think I know what you mean. Separate from that story, other visual apparitions have been singular to either me or a different person in the room.
I try to let those experiences humble me against the vast unknown universe.
~Michael
Hi Michael,
It does put things in perspective in some odd way. It’s a paradox of sorts. What is confusing brings clarity.
Vikki
Hi Vikki! Great story, and great painting!!
I had a neighbor in Cleveland named Frank.....he was pretty dog gone scary!!
Hi Robin,
You're to funny! I've had some pretty dog gone scary neighbors myself.
Vikki
Hi Vikki,
I'm scared with anything paranormal. They give me goosebumps, even just the thought of them.
I think I have three incidences that I can remember that happened to me. I once had a dream when I was 16 years old that my sister here is married to a man named Edward instead of a man named Mike. When I told her about it, she said, "You're about right."
I said, "How is that possible?"
She then told me that my brother-in-law's middle name is Edward. I swear, I didn't know that beforehand.
Another time was when I was about nine years old. I was living in the barrio, and one of my older sisters lived in the city. We lived in a place where there are no phones, electricity, or radios. You have to hike for seven hours to get to our barrio. I was sitting on the living room floor and happened to look at my feet. For some reason, they looked like my sister Edna's toes. When my oldest sister came to the living room where I was sitting, for some reason, I blurted out that my sister Edna was coming home "tonight". Sure enough, she was home that night. My oldest sister kept asking me how I knew, I said I didn't. Those words just came out of me without much thought.
The third incident happened about 11 years ago. I was working at a large doctors' clinic in town. I was working with this one lady for three months before I took a few days of vacation. A week before I took my vacation, I dreamt that there were three guys looking for her--two guys in civilian clothes and one in a police uniform. I wanted so much to tell the woman about my dream, but I held back. When I went back to work, the woman was not there. When I asked, my supervisor told me that "she's in jail". I told my supervisor about my dream and then she told me that my dream was right on. I learned that the day before, two Feds and a local cop came to arrest her. How creepy was that? I suppose it was a good thing I didn't tell the woman about my dream. She might have fled before they could have gotten to her.
Just coincidences, perhaps?
Have a great week coming,
Tasha
Vikki:
It's interesting that you raised the issue as to whether the young lady who approached me was a "real person," since I have often thought about that issue myself. I thought it possibly might have been my deceased Mother in some form or fashion, who died at age 52in 1978. I had an earlier experience with someone coming into my home and immediately claiming that there was another person / spirit in the room, accompanied by some low level earthquake type tremors, which I will share with you at some point later. Once again, being the logical brain type, I can't explain this away as a spirit or ghout, but coincidence is not a very satisfying explanation either.
By the way, Iceel articulated something which I had noticed but had not been able to articulate myself, since I am always at a loss for words. :) Your paintings of chairs give them personality, as if the chair has adopted human attributes. I have always preferred a hard polished wooden chair to a chair made of any other material, particularly soft materials. No cushions or padding for me. Your wooden, slat back chairs are the types of chairs I enjoy sitting in. There is actually a designer out of Michigan that specializes in that design, and I will try to locate their name. Thanks, as always, for taking me places intellectually where I rarely travel.
Hi Tasha,
It’s always so great to hear from you. Coincidence? I don’t think so. You most definitely show signs of what the paranormal world calls precognition. It’s a psychic ability and something you might want to think about researching. They say we all have a degree of that and we just don’t utilize it, as we don’t utilize much of brain and subconscious abilities. I think that's really cool. It’s an untapped resource.
I would love to hear more about your years growing up in the barrior. Maybe it's something you'd consider doing a blog on?
Vikki
Hi Logisitician,
Thank you for your comment. We all rationalize these experiences. It doesn’t fit into what is socially or intellectually acceptable. I was certainly guilty of that for most of my adult life.
One of the shows I worked on was called Sightings. Everyone (producer, directors, and production and post crew) denied believing in the paranormal. It was entertainment- and just a job.
One show, I’ll never forget, focused on a family that claimed an aggressive poltergeist or ghost. (1970’s 3-bedroom track home. During the preliminary family interview, a jar of pennies sailed out of a bookcase horizontally and smashed against the opposite wall.
That did it! The crew refused to stay in the house overnight. The directors got really angry with his people and decided ‘he would stay in the house by himself’ and run the equipment and show everyone just how ridiculous they were acting.
The footage that we got: The director had a camera pointed down a narrow hallway that led into the kitchen. He set in the hallway behind the camera. Suddenly all you see is the kitchen drawers and cabinets violently opening and shutting by themselves. Apparent by his screams, strong verbiage (which we had to edit out) and the sound of front door slamming opening, the director made a fast exit leaving his equipment behind for the night.
Of course when viewers watch something like that- they undoubtedly think we must have rigged it. Not the case. I was the visual efx artist and we weren’t that good.
Vikki
Post a Comment