ODD PAPERS

Southland Times, Issue 20445, 24 March 1928, Page 13 (Supplement)

ODD PAPERS

GRANNY'S GHOST STORY

(By

Penbo.)

“Granny, do tell me a ghost story.” “A ghost story!” “Yes, about a real ghost, one that you have seen. I heard you telling father that you had seen real ghosts, and I love ghost stories.” “But, Teddy, aren’t you afraid of ghosts? If I told you a ghost story you might get nervous and have unpleasant dreams.” “No, I’m not frightened of them. Anyway I’m sure I’ve seen a real ghost in my dreams. Last Christmas holidays I dreamt I met a new boy at school, he was a little taller than I am, with very blue eyes and a big mop of curly fair hair, and I chummed up with him as soon as I saw him. That was in my dream. When I went back to school, there was the boy I had seen in my dream ; I knew him at once, and we were chums right away. Now wasn’t that a real ghost ?” “Yes, perhaps it was, but in your case you were dreaming and maybe you were actually in ghostland yourself when you first met the new boy. In the story I’m going to tell you, I was not dreaming. I was wide awake!” When I was young, I lived in a country township which nestled iff a hollow surrounded by low hills, mostly covered with native bush. If you stood at one end of a certain street and looked down it, you could see on the left a small church surmounting the top of a knoll some forty or fifty feet high. This church was reached by means of a zig-zag pathway partly hidden by clumps of native shrubbery. There was one turn in this pathway which was quite exposed, and from it you could command a view of the street below from end to end. At the farther end of the street, which was a short one, the view was blocked by a sharp rise in the ground which was also covered with native bush anrt shrubs. From this' s point a road turned to the right, rising steadily for some distance and then falling away towards the other side of the township. That is a general description of the locality where I saw my ghost. One Saturday evening I went up to the church to arrange the flowers on the altar for the services which were being held next day, Sunday. When I had finished and was coming down the zig-zag path, I saw on the other side of the street a friend walking in the direction I usually went to reach my home. Thinking I might have his company, for it was dusk, though a bright moon was shining fitfully between the fleecy clouds that were scurrying across the sky, I walked smartly and overtook him on the top of the rise which fell away to the other side of the township. Coming abreast of him I said, “Good evening, Mr A,” but he didn’t answer. And thinking that he had not heard me, I spoke a little louder, but still he didn’t speak. He just walked steadily on as if I hadn’.t been there. This behaviour on his part seemed to me to be strange, as we were very good friends; so I moved closer to him and looked into his face, and was struck by its pallor; but even then he took no notice of me. By this time I realized that he did not wish to speak to me, and I wasn’t going to force my company upon him, so hurried on and left him. When I had gone twenty or thirty yards, a crefcpy feeling came over me and I turned to see if he was following. Yes, he was still coming along at a slow steady gait as if nothing had happened, and as if noth- ■ ing would make him hurry. By this time I was feeling rather hurt at his not recognizing me, so hurried home determining to pay him out in his own coin the next time I met him. A week later I was walking with some friends when we met Mr A, but under the circumstances I could not pay him out as I had intended to do, for we all knew him well, and the others would have thought it very strange on my part had I “cut” He turned and walked back with us so I had an opportunity of speaking to him. “Mr A, where were you last Saturday ; night a little after seven o’clock?” I asked. “A little after seven o’clock last Saturday! Let me think. Oh, I remember. I went for a walk along the main road.” Now the main road was nowhere near the back road where I had seen him, so I ' asked, “Are you sure you were not walking over the rise on the back road at that time?” “Quite sure,” he said, “I was not in that part of the township at any time last Saturday.” “Well, I saw you there and spoke to you, but you took not the slightest notice of me, and naturally I felt a little hurt, for I knew of nothing to cause you to act in such a way.” “You saw me there,” he repeated. Then he laughed. “As a matter of fact,” he went on, “while walking along the main road I became absorbed in thinking of our mutual friend B, and in thought I walked along that road to his house. But you must be a remarkable woman to have seen that thought-form.” I replied, “You must be a remarkable man to be able to make a thought image of yourself which can walk along a road and be seen by other people. Do you often do that sort of thing?” He smiled and said, “Oh yes, fairly often, but it is seldom that I am seen. You didn’t by any chance think of touching me, did you?” “No I didn’t. What would have happened had I done so?” “You would most likely have received a great shock, for I would have suddenly disappeared, and I am sure you are not accustomed 'to have your friends vanish into thin air before your eyes.” “No, I am not; but now that you have explained it, I should not mind a bit if you appeared to me again. Is there any likelihood of it happening?” “Possibly, though I shall not do it just for the fun of it. To make myself visible to you for amusement only is wasting energy which might be put to better use.” “Granny,” interrupted her grandson, “could that man make his ghost appear to anyone whenever he wanted to ?” “Yes, almost, Teddy, but, from what he told me, some would see and others wouldn’t. Though I had known this man for years, it was only after this experience that I came to know another side of his personality, and learned many wonderful things concerning life in general and human beings in particular. “There now Teddy, that is a true story about a real ghost, and I could tell you j many more, but I think it must be getting near your bed-time.” “Just another one, Granny; I’m awfully keen to know more about those things.” “Well, I’ll tell you about something that happened to me sometime after I had seen Mr A.’s ghost. “At the time I am speaking of now, Mr A. was living in a town about fifty miles away, and I had not seen him for many months. “In small places, such as that township, it is often very difficult to get anyone to act as organist for church services, and as I played a little, it fell to my lot to

shoulder this responsibility. I cpuld read only very simple music, and played much more from ear. One Sunday morning, if I remember rightly it was at the time of Queen Victoria’s death, the minister asked me to play a funeral march after the service. Now you can judge of my ability as an organist when I couldn’t play the “Dead March in Saul” correctly. I refused point blank, told him it was impossible, I could not play it. Nevertheless, at the end of the service, when I should have commenced playing the “Dead March,” I suddenly became conscious of Mr A.’s presence. He seemed to be standing close behind me. I didn’t see him, but knew that he was there. He seemed to be ' urging me to play the march. Now Mr A. was musical and could play, so I mentally said to him, “You play it, I can’t.” Then I gave myself up to his influence and played the march through without a slip. Afterwards, the minister came over to me and thanked me, at the same time exclaiming, “You said you could not play that march; you played it beautifully.” I looked at him and said solemnly, “I didn’t play it, Mr A. played it.” I really think that he thought I had taken leave of my senses. Now, Teddy, that’s all for to-night. Goodnight and pleasant dreams.