Ghost
This is something that I've not told many people. And figure it's about time I tell it to others. It happened over ten years ago. We had moved to another house in town and had only been there a few months. We were all getting used to the house and I could probably walk around in the dark at this point and not hit anything. This night I was laying on the daybed watching tv. It was getting pretty late when I finally turned it off. I decided to go ahead and sleep on the daybed since I didn't want my parents to know how long I had stayed up, since they were sure to hear me as I went to my room. To get to my room, I would have had to go past theirs. So I grabbed a sheet and covered up.
As I laid there and my eyes started to get accustomed to the darkness, something caused me to look across the living room, into the dining room. The rooms were both connected and open. In the dining room was a table and chairs. And on the opposite wall was an antique dresser mirror. I'm still not sure to this day what caused me to look at it. Since my eyes were still getting adjusted I couldn't make out much, other than the window behind me, and the little bit of light coming in through the shades and curtains from the outside street lamps.
After a moment or two my once silhouette figure gave way to more details. I saw a face. Something seemed very odd, so I waved my hands to get my bearings in the mirror and that's when I realized. The face I was looking at was not my own. A shiver ran down my back as the realization took hold. My eyes were fully adjusted now. I could see the face was very white and I didn't recognize it. It was an old woman with long white hair. She was wearing a white night gown and she was sitting at the table. She was just staring at me. It was a look of such contempt. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I looked away and pretending not to notice her glare. I took the sheet and covered my head.
After a few minutes of this I felt myself quite a fool. To be so scared of something that obviously wasn't there. It couldn't be. So I told myself to pull the sheet down. Willed myself to do it, forcing myself to look at the mirror. Upon looking at the mirror I was relieved. The woman wasn't sitting at the table anymore. I felt like such a little child scared of bed time stories or something. That's when I noticed her. This time standing in the middle of the two rooms. Her look of contempt now more demented. Her night gown was touching the floor as she stared at me. Her eyes were so cold and dead. With the angle of the mirror, I must have been looking straight through her to see her reflection.
Butterflies were flying around in my stomach as it fell to my feet. No roller coaster could replicate this feeling. I took my sheet and put it over my head. I still couldn't believe this was happening. This must be a nightmare or something. It can't be real. Should I yell out for my parents? What would they think of me, scared of the dark. But I know what I saw. It was there. I know it. An hour must have passed before I stopped feeling like I was going to throw up. I'm tough I told myself. I'm just seeing things. I'm sleeping or something. I don't want to look again. If I don't, I'll never be able to get over these things that obviously aren't there and are just in my imagination. Like someone who goes by a car accident, I couldn't help but look. I really didn't want to see anything, but I just couldn't stop myself, for there was a chance I would see something. So I slowly pull the covers from over my head and look yet again.
I scanned the reflection of the room in the mirror for a face, any face. I was startled when I saw my own face with such a scared look. The face of the old woman was no longer there. I couldn't see her. I was so relieved. I felt like I was floating.
But what is that I wondered. I couldn't really make it out. To the right side of my face was something white. The farther I moved my face, the more white it got. I moved it back and it went back to normal. As if there was another light somewhere that I couldn't see that was making my face lighter. I couldn't figure out what was going on. That's when I noticed that it continued to the floor. Beneath the daybed was complete darkness, except to my right. I couldn't figure it out and so laid my head back down on my pillow, relieved that I was just seeing stuff. Perhaps that other light source. Such a wild imagination.
I tried not to think of the ghostly figure but I couldn't help it and covered my head with the sheet once more. As I was about to drift off to sleep, another realization came to me. If the ghost was actually in the room when I saw her reflection, then she must have had her back to me. For when I saw the reflection of her in the chair and when she was in the middle of the room, she was staring at me. For her to be able to see me, she must have been looking at the mirror as well. The last time I looked, I could no longer see her staring at me in the mirror. If she were still in the room, then the only thing that made sense was that she must have had her back to the mirror this time. That would explain the whiteness I saw. I opened my eyes, and through the sheet I could see a shadow of someone. It was as if they were mere inches from my face.
I laid in that position for about five hours. I sometimes would open my eyes and see the shadow and know she was kneeling there, inches from my face. I dared not move until the sunlight had long since started shining into the room and my parents woke up and came downstairs.
As I laid there and my eyes started to get accustomed to the darkness, something caused me to look across the living room, into the dining room. The rooms were both connected and open. In the dining room was a table and chairs. And on the opposite wall was an antique dresser mirror. I'm still not sure to this day what caused me to look at it. Since my eyes were still getting adjusted I couldn't make out much, other than the window behind me, and the little bit of light coming in through the shades and curtains from the outside street lamps.
After a moment or two my once silhouette figure gave way to more details. I saw a face. Something seemed very odd, so I waved my hands to get my bearings in the mirror and that's when I realized. The face I was looking at was not my own. A shiver ran down my back as the realization took hold. My eyes were fully adjusted now. I could see the face was very white and I didn't recognize it. It was an old woman with long white hair. She was wearing a white night gown and she was sitting at the table. She was just staring at me. It was a look of such contempt. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I looked away and pretending not to notice her glare. I took the sheet and covered my head.
After a few minutes of this I felt myself quite a fool. To be so scared of something that obviously wasn't there. It couldn't be. So I told myself to pull the sheet down. Willed myself to do it, forcing myself to look at the mirror. Upon looking at the mirror I was relieved. The woman wasn't sitting at the table anymore. I felt like such a little child scared of bed time stories or something. That's when I noticed her. This time standing in the middle of the two rooms. Her look of contempt now more demented. Her night gown was touching the floor as she stared at me. Her eyes were so cold and dead. With the angle of the mirror, I must have been looking straight through her to see her reflection.
Butterflies were flying around in my stomach as it fell to my feet. No roller coaster could replicate this feeling. I took my sheet and put it over my head. I still couldn't believe this was happening. This must be a nightmare or something. It can't be real. Should I yell out for my parents? What would they think of me, scared of the dark. But I know what I saw. It was there. I know it. An hour must have passed before I stopped feeling like I was going to throw up. I'm tough I told myself. I'm just seeing things. I'm sleeping or something. I don't want to look again. If I don't, I'll never be able to get over these things that obviously aren't there and are just in my imagination. Like someone who goes by a car accident, I couldn't help but look. I really didn't want to see anything, but I just couldn't stop myself, for there was a chance I would see something. So I slowly pull the covers from over my head and look yet again.
I scanned the reflection of the room in the mirror for a face, any face. I was startled when I saw my own face with such a scared look. The face of the old woman was no longer there. I couldn't see her. I was so relieved. I felt like I was floating.
But what is that I wondered. I couldn't really make it out. To the right side of my face was something white. The farther I moved my face, the more white it got. I moved it back and it went back to normal. As if there was another light somewhere that I couldn't see that was making my face lighter. I couldn't figure out what was going on. That's when I noticed that it continued to the floor. Beneath the daybed was complete darkness, except to my right. I couldn't figure it out and so laid my head back down on my pillow, relieved that I was just seeing stuff. Perhaps that other light source. Such a wild imagination.
I tried not to think of the ghostly figure but I couldn't help it and covered my head with the sheet once more. As I was about to drift off to sleep, another realization came to me. If the ghost was actually in the room when I saw her reflection, then she must have had her back to me. For when I saw the reflection of her in the chair and when she was in the middle of the room, she was staring at me. For her to be able to see me, she must have been looking at the mirror as well. The last time I looked, I could no longer see her staring at me in the mirror. If she were still in the room, then the only thing that made sense was that she must have had her back to the mirror this time. That would explain the whiteness I saw. I opened my eyes, and through the sheet I could see a shadow of someone. It was as if they were mere inches from my face.
I laid in that position for about five hours. I sometimes would open my eyes and see the shadow and know she was kneeling there, inches from my face. I dared not move until the sunlight had long since started shining into the room and my parents woke up and came downstairs.