A Friendly Haunting

by Avery
(Greenville, SC)

This is a true story...

On Sunday, April 12, 1998, My father passed away. I was only ten years old, and was getting ready to go to church for it was Easter Sunday. You see, my father was confined to a wheelchair because he was paralyzed on his entire left side, caused by a stroke some years before. When my mom and I woke up that morning, we found him in his room with a smile on his face. Mom refused to get an autopsy done on him and had the funeral home pick his body up from our house.

For the next four days before we had to say our last goodbyes, my aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and nieces stayed at our house. Two nights after my father died, I saw him in his wheelchair. I was in my bed with my niece, and two of my nephews and my first cousin were laying on the floor. I always left my room door open at night, but after this night, I no longer did that. I didn't know if I was asleep or awake, but when I opened my eyes, I saw my father in his wheelchair coming down the hall. He stopped in front of my door and looked at me.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes and when I looked up, my father was heading into the living room. I got out of bed and went into the living room, but when I got there, I saw no one. It was as if he vanished into thin air.

When I turned around to head back into my room, my cousin scared me. He had followed me into the living room. I looked at him and asked, "Did you see what I see?", hoping I was just going crazy.

"Yea, I saw him too," he replied.

Ever since then, my cousin and I have bound to keep it to ourselves and have never told anyone.

For over a year, my father's room remained freezing cold, even in the summer, while the rest of the house was warm and inviting. I would sometimes hear his wheelchair coming down the hall at night since we had hardwood floors throughout the house. Other nights, I would feel someone watching over me at night while I slept. When my mom finally moved on and remarried, my father's room no longer felt cold, and I no longer heard him coming down the hall at night. But I would still feel him watching over me in my room, and I learned to accept that he will always be watching over me, but he has moved on as well.

I have moved back into my mom's house this year to save up for a house of my own, and I no longer feel his presence.