Ghost Stories for Halloween

[Dead Parrot]

Howdy Folks,

Instead of posting a Halloween story this year I thought I'd ask if anyone has ever had a ghostly or supernatural experience?

I'll start with one of my own, and I've only had two such experiences, both of them happened in Europe.

It was the summer of 1996 and I was stationed in Germany. Two of my buddies and I decided to drive to France over a three day holiday weekend. The purpose of the trip was to tour some of the First World War battlefields and fortifications around Verdun. Check out this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_ ... >Wikipedia link</a> to read about the sanity shattering meat-grinder that the men there endured.

None of us had ever visited this area before, and we'd only come up with this plan a few weeks earlier after passing around a copy of John Keegan's excellent book "The First World War". Most of the military history reading and studying we'd done had centered around World War 2 and Vietnam, although I've had a lingering interest in other, smaller wars throughout history. It was safe to say that we had little in the way of preconcieved notions about what we were going to see...and experience.

The drive out was great. We'd left early in the morning and arrived in the Verdun area that afternoon. We purchased an English guide book at one of the tourist trap shops and began our journey. The rest of the day was spent driving around to different spots, getting out and observing the terrain, taking picutures and discussing what happened. We rented hotel rooms that night, had dinner, some French beer (ugh!) and knocked off until the next day.

It was on this second day that it happened. We visited the underground citadel of Fort Vaux. Again, here's the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Vaux">Wiki entry</a> on the nightmare that took place there.

Fort Vaux squats atop a commanding height in the French countryside. The view from there is impressive to say the least. The beauty helps mask the ugly scars of the war.

Anyway, after paying our fee to get inside the fort we went down to the second level, underground. While there we hooked up with an English tour group and took advantage of the guide's lecture to learn more about what happened there. After listening to her grisly stories for a while we moved away from the group and began to explore on our own.

My buddies and I seperated, and we were wandering around looking at various features of the interior of Vaux. There was an opening on a wall that I walked up to and looked in, wondering where it led. It was black as hell in there, and I couldn't see a thing. I was, very uncharacteristically, without a flashlight that day. I usually carry a mini-mag light on my belt, but that day it was with my butt pack in the car.

So, having no luck seeing anything there I turned and walked away.

That's when I felt...It? Him? What?

As soon as I turned my back on the opening I felt, I suppose I can only call it "a presence".

Do you know the feeling you get when someone is standing right behind you? I mean they are RIGHT up behind you looking over your shoulder?

That's what I felt.

I stopped and looked behind me. There was nothing there but the stone wall and the opening, still black as the inside of your eyelids. No shadows, no swirling mist, no nothing. And still I had the "presence" behind me, very strong, almost physical.

Okay, no problem. I'm just psyching myself out for some reason. So I continued to move slowly around the fort and take pictures for about another fifteen minutes.

My "companion" stayed with me the whole time, with no letup in the intensity of his "presence".

I must emphasize that there was nothing malevolent about this "presence". I felt no fear, no threat, no anger. It was almost annyoing actually. Like being followed around a store by an overly perky and helpful employee.

And no matter where I went in the fort I couldn't shake...him?

It lasted until we left Vaux to walk around outside. If there was indeed anything to this experience, it was confined to the fort.

Did my buddies "sense" anything? I'm not sure, I think one of them did.

After we left the interior of the fort we made our way down the steep slopes behind it to check out the terrain. One of my friends was making comments about everything as he was wont to do, but my other usually just as talktive friend was being very quiet.

I asked him what he thought of the fort, he just shrugged, looked back up the hill and said something to the effect of "it's not a good place". I don't know whether he was moved by the stories of suffering we heard from the tour guide (and we were all sobered by them), or if it was something more. My friends and I had always kept our discussions in the "real world" and had never ventured about ghosts or hauntings. I dropped the subject and never brought it up again. Sometimes I wish I had.

So, fellow forum members, what's happened, or what do you think has happened to you in the past? Weird sounds at night, haunted houses, Sasquach?

It's Halloween so it's open season on everything odd and mysterious. Let's hear your story.

DP