In between fighting a sinus
infection, ear infection and a broken tooth, my ghost hunting friends and I
actually got in some good research. While we were at Wilmington North Carolina,
we visited the battleship USS North Carolina.
It wasn’t until we got to the
section of the ship that houses the engines, that I experienced that familiar
unsettling in my stomach (it’s my “tell” that a spirit is nearby). Whenever
this happens, I block out all other noises and concentrate of the spirit, but
all I could sense was that the very young sailor in front of me, had died on
the ship and the engine room was his scheduled work area. One of my friends,
who entered a few minutes behind me, also sensed the young man, but we weren’t
able to ask or record our “interview” as a large group had now entered the
room. I picked up the sense that although this young man was confused on how he
had died, he was proud of being in the Navy and a part of this ship’s crew.
Once we had reached Mt. Pleasant,
South Carolina, we headed into Charleston and the Old Exchange and Provost
Dungeon, but although there were stories of pirates being held there, we picked
up no sensations of spirits in the building that day. Doesn’t mean the place
isn’t haunted, but I sensed nothing during that visit. We were told about a woman
and her husband who were hanged because of some rather nasty dealings. Her name
was Lavinia Fisher, a serial killer.
The Prison
My friends and I were under the
impression that Lavinia and John Fisher were held at the Provost Dungeon, and so, when we went to the prison, we went there not knowing that this is where she
was actually hung.
While waiting for our guide to take us into the building, Rita
who often has an experience where she's either touched by or sees a spirit (experiences
that she is not at all comfortable with), commented to the guide that she saw
someone climbing up the stairway. The stairway was visible through one of the
prison windows; this was not witnessed by anyone else in our group. The
guide assured us that no one was in there, but Rita argued that she saw someone in
a white dress climbing the stairway. Brushing off her insistence that she saw
something, the guide led us into the building. Jean and I, who normally
sense if spirits are near us, didn’t feel a thing until we walked
up the steps and into a large holding area.
There was something in this room
and it wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t able to tell if it was male or female, at first
because I was concentrating on the anger of the spirit. Suddenly, a black shape
moved beside me, blocking off my line of vision to another person that was standing
next to me. The anger I felt, was strong and I began to say the protection
prayers while holding on tightly to my rosary beads in my coat pocket. When it
moved passed me, I began to edge backwards towards Rita and Jean. “Something evil
is in here,” I warned both of them under my breath.
“Someone is a dress just passed by
me and headed in your direction,” Jean replied.
“It’s the woman, from the stairway,” Rita added.
Before we could take pictures or
get our equipment set up, the spirit was gone. We asked our guide if he
knew anything about the female ghost that all three of us had encountered and that is
when he told us that Lavinia was hung at this prison. Now, all the clues fell
into place. We had encountered Lavinia, herself. The guide then mentioned that there
was an investigative team in the prison a while back and since they left, the
staff has been experiencing more sightings. This sometimes happens if an investigation is
done improperly and the investigative team has taunted or angered the spirits.
My next experience was at a
cemetery behind the St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Charleston. We were
walking through the cemetery with our cameras at the ready and our equipment on. I had
walked away from my friends because I could sense that a spirit was nearby, then I
heard someone call my name. Spirits don’t usually call out my name, so I was
freaking nervous and curious as to why this was happening, now. I thought I saw
something moving and took a picture. Who was it? What did they want? How did
they know my name? I don’t know!
But here is the photo with an orb. It's positioned right in front of the tombstone. This
is one of the best orb pictures that I’ve ever taken. It almost looks solid. I
called out to my friends, but they were unable to get a good shot.
I don’t have to be in a cemetery or
actively looking for ghost, but I can sense them when they’re around and
recently a friend asked me to check out her house; the house was haunted by the
former owner; kind soul who was watching over the little family now living
there. The wall between the living and dead is only a heartbeat away. Sometimes,
after a soul has passed over, if that person really loved their home, they may come back to visit. Here is a closer shot of that orb.
Have you’ve ever encountered something from the
other side. Would you like to share your story with me? contact me at mariegilb@comcast.net
