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Friday, September 14, 2012

nightmares and ghost stories


My littles have nightmares once in a while.  It's not what you think.  No masked men chasing them, or anything an adult would find terrifying.  Rowan recently woke up screaming, "Give me back my popsicle!  No, no! It's mine!!"  The biggest problem is introducing them into reality and getting them to shake off what happened in the dream. 

One morning I heard Fletcher jump out of bed and run full force down the hallway to the family room.  Then he came into our room crying.  Apparently, in his dreams, it was Christmas.  So he was expecting the presents and toys left by Santa.  Oh, that was a hard morning, let me tell you. 

Rowan woke up in the middle of the night crying earlier this week.  When I went into her room, her arms were stretched as high as they would go, up the wall.  She was crying, "Jesus is coming down!"  Now some of you might see this as an apocolyptic/rapture dream, but since we are Catholics, I knew she meant the crucifix in her room.  I had to show her that Jesus was still firmly attached to the wall (a different wall all together) and she went happily back to sleep. The apocolyptic implications didn't even occur to me until morning, ha!

And then there are the ghosts.  I don't actually think we live in a haunted house.  No.  If I believed that we probably wouldn't live here anymore because I get the heeby-jeebies very easily.  But.  Ever since Fletcher could talk, he has told us some creeeepy things.  When we moved here, he talked about the little boy crying in his room.  I think he's talking about himself (I hope) but who knows?  I kept asking why the little boy was crying, and he told me that the little boy's mama left (like I do after he gets tucked into bed).  And then there's the one that's not easily explained.  He talks about the man who wears a hat with a feather and who tells him the story of the three ships that sailed out of sight (shudder). 

And then Rowan.  She will wake up in the middle of the night and have one sided conversations.  Like, "Hi, I'm Rowan!"  And, "Well, we live here too!"  And, "Yes!  Mama and Papa are in their bed!"  Gah.  Don't tell them where I am, Rowan!!!!  Seriously, I think she's just practicing talking and conversing, and I think she would be scared if someone was in her bedroom, not chatty. 

It all started back when we lived in our house in Illinois.  It was built in 1865, so of course it crossed my mind that it *might* be just a wee bit haunted.  And then Fletcher started talking, and pointing to the corner in his room telling me, "Scared me!"  Yikes.  Now I just think that their dreams bleed over into their first waking hours, not that ghosts are visiting.  But I'll let you decide for sure.

Do you have any nightmare/ghost stories to share?  Tis' the season! I love hearing other people's stories, I just prefer them not to happen to me.

10 comments:

  1. OOOOOuuuuuuooouuu. This the season.

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  2. Wow, those aresilke active dreaming kid's! My only ghost story is from childhood. My best friend and neighbor lived in a house that was a few hundred years old and they had many ghost spotting stories but I never saw any. One day we were playing and we went into her large closet to build a fort... and then we heard the door lock! The only other person home was her dad who was outside splitting wood and the lock was a loop and hook that couldn't have fallen into place. Her family swore it was ghosts but I'm honestly not sure what happened, we were stuck in that closet for a while :)

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  3. ... that was supposed to say 'those are some'...

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  4. I apologize, but I couldn't help laughing...lots...while reading this. Christmas morning is so cute. And the popsicle...too funny. I know it makes for difficult nights for you, but it's a good story. The conversations with someone who isn't there might throw me a bit though. We don't have any ghosts here. Our house is about 15 years old. We are the second family here. Doesn't feel haunted...at all.

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  5. Fun post! I totally believe in this stuff. Fletcher's feather friend sounds pretty badass, so I'm sure he is fine to have around. Rowan's pal sounds a little nosey though. I would keep the cross in an obvious place in that room. Maybe even add a few more. ;)

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  6. OOOh, I was taught not to believe in ghosts at a young age but there is a very healthy part of me that still thinks there are paranormal things that happen. I can't hardly even talk about the minor incident that happened in my freshman year dorm at college with the lights on and another friend in my room because I get spooked. Needless to say, after a few days of feeling freaked out I flew home for an early Thanksgiving visit to my parents!

    Brett read a story about a haunted hotel in OKC that the THunder basketball team used to use to put up the opposing team. There was a sports writer that went to investigate and had a haunting experience. Apparently the hotel owner kept his mistress and her newborn in one of the rooms and she was so distraught that he'd locked her away that she jumped with the baby (way back in the day...like early-ish 1900's). He told me that the night of our anniversary just in passing and I couldn't sleep that night!

    I love the Christmas and popsicle stories even though I bet those WERE hard mornings. Poor guy. How old is your house?

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    1. Built in 1969. Old enough for some history! Ghost stories keep me up at night, too.

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  7. No ghost stories, though my oldest daughter used to have an invisible friend named Buttonhole, the Sunshine Man and some of the conversations she had with him used to wig me out lol. I do love a good ghost (or zombie) story though & have been known to watch Ghost Hunters rapt with wonder. I have a love/hate relationship with supernatural topics-- I'm not an indulger in magical thinking, but then again, I have to admit I find it oddly fascinating!
    And I had a wonderful giggle over the dream stories, thanks!

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  8. Yikes! We don't have ghosts, but the nightmares sound very similar! Milo often sounds like he is battling his little brother over toys!

    I was laughing about the popsicle dream. These are their worlds, you know?!

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your comments are the peanut butter to my jelly!