Hello Friends!
It’s the last Monday of 2020. It’s also the week known in Germany (my long-ago home) as ‘the quiet days.’ Businesses remained closed, peace and quiet was the order of the day as people enjoyed a time of reflective stillness until the joyous celebrations of New Year.
That’s not possible here in the good old US of A.
I think that’s a shame.
And I miss the peace and silence of those still, cold and dark winter days between Christmas and New Year.
I miss them a lot.
As I type, for instance, I’m serenaded by a leaf blower, an electric hedge trimmer, and some other noisy apparatus as a landscaping crew attend their Monday duties. From somewhere else, the high-pitched whine of a drill delights the senses. (being sarcastic)
Such disturbances weren’t just non-existent during this week of stillness in Bavaria, they weren’t allowed.
The Old World (still) has a lot going for it.
But I digress. So I’ll move on to this post’s title…
Despite the usual landscaper noise and what-not, it usually is pretty quiet here. Especially at night. The TV isn’t turned up. No loud music. Traffic is non-existent. My dishwasher, almost soundless. The wooden stairs do creak in some spots, but that’s a comfy kind of sound.
There are cat noises.
Reporting-a-hungry meows. Soft feline snores when my darling sleeps. The sound of him at his scratching post, raking his litter box, and occasional 3 a.m. zoomies. Cat lovers will get that. If you’re not a cat person, think a herd of elephants racing ’round your house. It’s amazing how one small cat can make such racket, but they do.
What cats do not do in the deep silence of the night is walk about making sounds like human footsteps. They also don’t rap on walls, the noise exactly like when someone knocks on a door.
Yet those are the sounds that have accompanied my nights this holiday season…
Late at night, when curled on the sofa downstairs, a single set of human footsteps crosses the floor above me. I have heard this several or more times now. And I cannot find an explanation…
No one is upstairs when the footsteps are heard.
I can distinguish between the sound a cat moving around and human footsteps. When my cat crosses the floor above me, I do not hear him. He’s too light. I do hear his zoomies. I am not talking about them. Besides, each time I’ve heard the footsteps, he’s been curled beside me on the downstairs sofa.
That means ‘someone’ is walking around in my bedroom/bathroom when I am downstairs in the living room/lounge late at night.
As I know the upstairs to be empty when this happens, I have to wonder if the footsteps are made by a visiting ghost?
Footsteps in the dead of night (no pun intended) are a frequent sign of a ghostly visitor. So are raps or knocking noises, and that happened last night…
It was nearing midnight, I was reading and had the TV on very low, when I heard three distinct and sharp raps. Knock, knock, knock. The sound seeming to come from an inner wall or somewhere upstairs. No one was at the front door, that’s for sure.
And the three raps were deliberate. Not the occasional creak of the wooden stairs. Besides, no one was on the stairs.
Leastways no one I could see.
Holidays are known for increased supernatural activity. If a ghost walks, Christmas is a likely time. Poor Scrooge had three spirits swing by, didn’t he?
Now, I’m not saying the late night footsteps and last night’s three wall-raps were made by a ghost. I’m just saying the sounds were real.
I heard them.
And I can’t find an explanation. As a caveat, I do believe in ghosts, so my mind jumping to the possibility isn’t a stretch.
Whatever the reason, as the sounds are new, I’m betting they’ll end after New Year. Perhaps someone is looking in on me? A holiday nod from someone I once knew and loved? Or an ancestor I never met, but who is aware of me and wants to pay me a Christmas hello? A bit of protection and reassurance in this horror year? Letting me know everything will be OK?
Or maybe the ‘someone’ is returning here? Recalling finer days when he/she might have lived here?
Either way, I’m not afraid.
Just curious.
And I wish him/her well if indeed the footsteps and raps are ghostly. Actually, I rather like the visits.
I’ll let you know if anything else happens. For now…
How about you? Believe in ghosts? Ever live in a haunted house? (I have, several times.. but those tales can wait for other days)
Happy Quiet Days-Between-the-Years, dear friends. (earthly and otherwise)
Sue-Ellen Welfonder 
Oh Sue-Ellen I think your father is visiting you. That was my first and immediate thought. Christmas is indeed a time of visitation. You already know my Grandma Mary visited me on Christmas morning a number of years ago. Also, my cousin Jesse visited me in church Christmas Eve about four years ago.
I have some sense of the quiet as for years I had this week off. This year I have not set foot outside my door since Christmas Eve. I even forgot about the ramp my son-in-law up in a few days before Christmas. Read your DMs. I sent the name of the author and series you will adore. Blessed Yule my dear friend.
Could well be him, Kathy. We were very close. Remember your grandmother’s visit. Interesting about Jesse. Glad you’re enjoying the quiet. It’s restorative. Assuming you mean FB DMs? I rarely look in there, hence missing it. Will check now. Thanks. xx
One never knows….Aunt Pippa is in my stories for a reason💖👑 Have a very #HappyNewYear Sue-Ellen! xo, V
That’s for sure. And I agree .. dear Aunt Pippa would definitely know. Not a doubt in my mind. Love her so much. xx
Hi Sue-Ellen,
Apologies for not replying to your lovely post sooner.
It was only me and my, sweet terrier-mix Sparky, who was lying on the sofa beside me and I had a movie on. The television wasn’t loud. On the wall hung an iron bell. Suddenly, it rang out. I jumped and Sparky and I looked at each other. This was the first time it had happened. I didn’t feel an evil presence, so I told Sparky someone was stopping by to visit.
The water main ran right under the living room and close to where the bell was hung. Someone told me ghosts travel along water sources like that. I don’t know.
While on vacation in San Antonio, Texas we did the Sisters Grimm walking Ghost tour. First, we had dinner at the Menger hotel (it was wonderful.) I took photos, of course, and we heard the story of a little girl who was killed by horses outside of the Menger in the 1800s I told David I wished I had something to leave for her The tour guide smiled and replied that many people have let her toys.
On the way back to the bed and breakfast, my husband calmly said, “Did your kids ever kick the back seat of the seat when you were driving?”
I said yes, having a pretty good idea where this was going.
“I feel little feet kicking the back of my seat right now.”
I was delighted. “It must be the little girl from the Menger!”
He agreed.
My husband has had more ghostly encounters than I have. I would love to hear more of your stories, Sue-Ellen.
Hugs, Tambra
Hi Tambra,
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. They are classic and it would seem you and your husband are both sensitive. That’s a wonderful gift and it’s great that you embrace it. Too many people are afraid of such things. The bell incident was surely just as you felt it was – someone passing through and wanting to ‘say hi.’ Yes, water is believed to aid ghosts in traveling. Likewise electricity. Man-made and the energy from electrical storms. As for Sparky’s reaction, animals always pick up such things, don’t they? They see and hear things we can’t.
Your mention of the Menger made me smile. The car seat kicks are just the sort of thing a child ghost would do. Maybe she heard you say you wished you had a toy for her and she wanted to thank you for your kindness? Let you know she heard your comment? That’s how I’d see it.
The Menger also made me smile because I’ve stayed there. Many years ago, two like-minded friends and I met up several times a year to go ghosthunting. We mainly went to England, but would also visit US cities with lots of places believed to be haunted. For that reason, one year we went to San Antonio.
We had quite a few odd experiences there, not just at the Menger. But it was there, at the Menger, that we had the best one. We captured astonishing EVP. Here’s what happened…
We decided to enjoy a night on the town and got back late. We were exhausted, but too ‘giddy’ for sleep, so we decided to go to the Menger’s ‘haunted floor.’ I know they all are. But there was one said to be favored by a cranky old lady ghost. She has been seen in the lobby and on corridor benches in that one floor. She’s seen sitting quietly, reading. When she becomes aware of your stare, she looks up and glares at you, then vanishes. She supposedly looks just like us – until she disappears. And her clothes are of another time, of course.
Anyway, we couldn’t sleep, so went to that floor. We sat on a randomly chosen bench and chatted and laughed about the fun evening we’d had. We didn’t sense anything paranormal-y. Nothing at all. Finally we gave up, disappointed, and returned to our own floor, and room. Then…
I’ll add here that we always had the usual ghosthunting equipment of the day, one piece being an old-fashioned cassette recorder. This was that long ago. So my friend who’d been holding the recorder while we were on the bench, played the tape back in our room.
OMG! We heard our voices and then there was this weird silence and then a cranky old lady voice said, “Oh, get away from me! Gads, but you’re bothering me!’ Another blip of total silence followed, then our voices again.
Now, the tape was brand new. My friend had unwrapped it and put it in the recorder before we left our room. So the voice couldn’t have been one that was previously on the tape. The tape was pristine. It could have been from a TV in a nearby guest room. Or the voice of someone inside a guest room. But the voice being a cranky old lady, and her words, perfectly fit the sightings of the Menger’s cranky old lady ghost. As we all three crammed ourselves onto that one bench, we figured we were probably crushing her. Add our laughs and chatter, and we probably really annoyed her. Enough for her to scold us via our cassette recorder.
It was just incredible EVP and one of those things a skeptic would have trouble denying. I took a copy of the tape to RWA conferences for years and let friends listen. All were amazed. We had other experiences in San Antonio, but that was the highlight.
I’ll share more from my ghosthunting adventures in here now and then. And my own solo experiences. Such things fascinate me. That’s a reason I enjoy weaving ghosts and other paranormal elements into my books. I’ve seen enough through those ghosthunting trips and throughout my own life, to ever doubt.
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I enjoyed hearing about them. xx
Sue-Ellen
Sue-Ellen, what wonderful stories! I read your reply back to husband. and he enjoyed it.
He asked me if I mentioned the Holiday Inn Express in San Antonio. It used to be a jail and many criminals were hung and killed there. That place is very active and not with nice spirits. One man was scared so badly, he had them send his things to him because he wasn’t staying there one more minute.
We stopped ant looked at it from the walking ghost tour we took. From that distance we standing I was repelled. I have no idea how anyone can stay there. I took a snappie of it and the menacing aura comes through even in the photograph. Will share it with you if you’re interested.
Hugs from me and Smudge!
Wow, that’s quite an experience at the Holiday Inn Express in San Antonio, Tambra. If you picked up such an impression from outside, it must indeed be a powerfully charged place. There are bad spirits/energies and they certainly can be felt. I’d love to see your photograph. Not sure if you can attach it here. So send it to my regular email: welfonder@msn.com Thanks so much.
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