A True Ghost Story

I moved to Florida in October of 1986. I remember leaving Pittsburgh during a snow shower and arriving in Florida 18 hours later (in bright sunshine). There was at least a 60 degree temperature change. I said, "I could get used to this".

I lived in Clearwater with some friends before moving to Tampa to be closer to my job. My first stop was the Woodlands Apartments on Habana Avenue. It was convienently located near Tampa Stadium. Back then, people were giving away their Buc's tickets, so I was able to attend quite a few games.

I made friends at the apartment complex and enjoyed apartment living (until, someone tried to break-in to my first floor apartment). Hanging out by the pool was the number one activity during the day and going to various night spots was the evening activity.

I remember one night, some people got into a religious discussion. One person was an athiest who was making fun of Christians and questioning their beliefs. I wanted to speak out but didn't. I had grown up in a Lutheran church, but was not really a Christian at the time (that's a story for a future blog).

Anyway, that night, I went to sleep, but I was awoken by a noise coming from my closet. I got up and walked towards the closet. I made sure I was 100% awake. I spent about a minute listening to the sounds coming from the closet. It sounded like metal hangers clinging together (or, wind chimes).

The closet was a stand-alone room. There was nothing above it, or behind it. I was absolutely certain that the noise was only a few feet away.

I know that most people will not beileve this, or think of an explanation. That's fine. I know what I experienced.

Anyway, I opened the closet door (I was scared, but I did it). When I did, that instant, the noise stopped. Inside the closet were a few metal hangers, but they were not moving at all. They were absolutely, perfectly still. So, they could not have been 'clinking' against each other a second earlier (and, there was nothing in the closet that could have caused them to move). There was nothing else in the closet, except for a craft that my grandmother had made me for Christmas. I still have that craft to this day.

Oh, one more thing. My grandmother had just recently passed away.

I believe that God wanted to tell me something. His message was that there is a spiritual world and He is real.

There are some things that I question that other Christians believe in. For example, some Christians believe the earth is only 6,000 years old. I don't believe that. There are other minor things I question.

But, and this is the last thing. If there is a spiritual world. And I can GUARANTEE 100% there is, than the Bible is true and we are not descendants of monkeys.

So, that is my True Ghost Story.

Believe it or not.

ps: After I settled down that night, I remember praying to God and reading my bible. It was something I will never forget. The next day, I told my family about it. My sister just reminded me of the incident the last time I was in Pittsburgh.