Want to Hear a Ghost Story?

Throughout my childhood, my family travelled a lot around Europe. Almost every summer we would spend weeks somewhere warmer than the Northern chaos that is Calgary.

These were probably amazing trips, and I am sure I could’ve done everything different to ensure I had the best experience possible, however, I only remember one trip in particular.

This is sad for me because I know we went several times to this country, and we would rent houses and they would be so spectacular… sometimes I wish that social media and technology was the same way as it is now, back in the mid 2000’s. That way it would all be so documented and I would’ve been able to look back and recall the sweet memories.

This particular memorable trip was 3 weeks in Portugal. I don’t recall the town, but I am certain it was somewhere near Lagos, due to the beautiful landscape of cliffs that surrounded us.

Here we stayed in a massive house on the top of a cliffside. And when I say cliffside, I mean that when you looked out the window all you could see was the ocean stretching out infinitely. This house had 7 stories…not all full stories, maybe 3 were only half stories. Like when you go down just a few steps to another level.

Yes, it was a big house, and honestly it looked and felt a little medieval. Most of it was thick walls of stone, and there was a spiral stone stairwell, and many many rooms. Oh, and there were 3 different kitchens… I am sure there’s a reason for them, but maybe the reason was to do with how people lived ages ago.

The moment we walked into the house there was a strange vibe. One of the first things we saw walking through the door was a statue of Jesus and it was behind bars… then at the entrance of ever room, there would be an angel statue atop the doorway. I mean being so young and not well versed in the world of creepy and paranormal, this didn’t particularly phase me much.

Fun fact, a couple years ago my mother brought up that there was a large rope that hung outside the front door, and when she asked about it to the ground’s caretaker, they said you had to swing it across the doorway to ward off any evil spirits before entering.  She also admitted the place was creepy and some strange unexplainable things took place.

Great mom, thanks for validating my thoughts and fears.

Anyway, for some absurd reason I thought I was cool and could sleep alone in this house. I did try and be brave and do it, but after two seconds of being alone in the dark, quiet, room, I realized it would not be happening. So there ended up being someone else in my room almost every night.

The one night there were no guests to stay with me in my room, was the night I will never forget. I went to brush my teeth in the attached bathroom. Before I could even get the toothpaste onto the brush, a large lizard scurried across the mirror. Being only maybe 12 at the time, I thought to myself “Nope, not today” and decided I would brush my teeth in my parents’ bedroom one floor up.

I made my way up, opened the bathroom door, saw a strange thing hanging on the mirror and slowly backed out. Despite only having a quick glance, I knew it was a bat. So that wasn’t happening either. I don’t recall where I ended up getting ready. Maybe I bit the bullet and hung out with the lizard, I can’t remember.

Finally, I got into my bed, and while I pulled out my diary to write about the bat, I couldn’t help but feel like there were bugs in my bed and that the lizard would want to check on me while I slept. I became so paranoid; I hopped out of the bed and ran right back to my parents. At this point they were pretty fed up with my back and forth and decided I could just sleep in the room with my middle brother. My youngest brother was maybe five at the time, so he could just sleep with my parents, since 10/10 times he would make his way there regardless sometime in the night. I happily skipped my way into the room my brother was asleep in and took residence in the bed on the opposite wall from him. I was settling in and had just turned out the light. Despite the lights being out, there was still quite a bit of light coming in through the window from the outdoor lights and the moon. So I could see the room pretty clearly.

I put my head down and was thinking about the day, staring up at the ceiling, just trying to get sleepy. After only a few minutes, I looked across the room where there was one of those grand wood dressers with an ornate mirror on top. Looking into the mirror, I remember thinking “What sort of painting is that?” Because there was something dark on the wall at the head of my bed. Without questioning it, because why would I, I turned to look behind my head. The wall was blank. Just white, no shadows, nothing. Thinking I was just seeing things, I looked back into the mirror. The black mass was still there.  Not another millisecond passed by before I threw the blanket over my head, squeezed my eyes shut, and said over and over again to myself “It’s ok. Go to sleep”, until finally at some point I did finally fall asleep.

Let me tell you, that has to be one of the scariest moments of my life. The way my heart immediately jumped into my throat, the instant sweat beading on my forehead, and the shaking… the adrenaline from the fear was like no other.

I’m sure you can understand now why this is the only trip I remember. Honestly, I remember that moment better than I remember what I ate for dinner yesterday. The more I think back to it, the stranger the whole trip gets. There were just little things, like a knock here and there, or a cold breeze despite a super hot day, but of course nothing compared to the darkness I saw in the bedroom that night.

It’s been maybe 14 years since this trip happened, and when I recall the memory of the dark mass, my eyes tear up and I get shaky. I don’t know if I believe in ghosts, even after all the odd things I have experienced in my life thus far. I do believe that what I saw was real, but to explain exactly how I saw it is beyond my comprehension of existence. The universe is so much bigger than we are, and the chances of us knowing everything there is to know about life, death, science, planets, etc., is next to none. We shouldn’t just dismiss every little thing we can’t explain, we should share it and hear other people out about what they have gone through. Chances are, there’s someone out there that has experienced something so similar, that maybe putting two and two together will get us one step closer to answers.

Would you like to hear more about the oddities I’ve experienced in my life?

Check out the short stories I’ve written, if you haven’t already. The A-Z collection are a series of short stories based on actual dreams I’ve had at night. If they aren’t real enough, stay tuned for more posts about the strange side of the mind coming soon!