It all started when I was a very little girl.
We lived in a single-story older house in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. I don’t know exactly how old it was, but I’m guessing it was built around the 1920s.
Every night before I fell asleep, I would turn toward the wall and have deep conversations with someone called “Bee.”
In my childhood imagination—and for years afterward when I thought about those conversations—I pictured Bee as a little bumblebee. But now that I’m older, I can’t help wondering: could my nighttime friend have been the spirit of a little girl named Beatrice, or “Bea”?
I guess I’ll never know, but my talks with Bee seemed very real even now.
When I was about five or six, our family moved from that old house into a brand-new one. It had two stories, which, for reasons known only to my childhood self, meant it was haunted. LOL!
That first night, I climbed the stairs to my bedroom and settled into bed. The wind whistled through my windows, and I began to cry for my mom.
I KNEW it was haunted!
Mom tried to reassure me, explaining that it was a new house and still settling.
Years later, I learned that those particular houses were notorious for being poorly built. So my haunted bedroom apparently had more to do with shoddy workmanship than restless spirits.
Still, somewhere between my nighttime conversations with Bee and those whistling windows, a fascination took hold.
Wendy The Good Little Witch (and of course, Casper!)
In my early elementary school years, I loved reading Wendy the Good Little Witch and Casper the Friendly Ghost comics. As I grew older, I’d read just about anything I could find with a ghost in it!
Looking back, I think my fascination with ghosts made me feel a little less afraid of dying. There was something comforting about the idea that a part of us might linger after our lives end.
Maybe we really do get to stay?
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir Movie 1947
Lucy and Daniel (the Captain!)
Over the years, my love of ghosts followed me from books to movies and television. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir—which helped inspire The Lady in White—became a favorite, along with The Others, The Sixth Sense, Medium, and Ghost Whisperer.
Hands down, my favorite ghost TV show was Ghost Whisperer, especially the early seasons. I loved watching Melinda listen to the spirits, unravel the mysteries of their deaths, and help them move on. Often, helping the dead meant helping the living heal, too. That part stayed with me.
Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon
Now, I’ve never actually seen a spirit. But I have had two experiences that made me wonder.
The first happened when I was in my forties, on a trip to New Orleans with my sister. Early one Sunday morning, we walked through the French Quarter. The streets were usually packed with tourists, but that morning, we seemed to have them to ourselves.
Except I kept feeling someone right behind me. So close, it felt as though they were stepping on the backs of my shoes.
But, every time I turned around, no one was there.
Gulp.
My second experience happened this past summer, after my backpacking trip to Isle Royale. Before heading home, I stayed at Laurium Manor, an old copper baron’s mansion turned B&B in Laurium, Michigan.
I chose a former maid’s room on the very top floor. And yes, of course I was hoping I might meet a ghost. Maybe even have a little conversation.
Apparently, I should have been more specific about how I wanted to communicate.
Laurium Manor, Laurium Michigan
In the middle of my first night, I woke to the unmistakable feeling of something—or someone—yanking my hair.
I was terrified.
I lay there with my heart hammering, listening and wondering what had just happened. Eventually, I managed to fall asleep again, although I couldn’t tell you how.
The next morning, I learned I’d apparently been the only guest on the third floor.
You’d better believe I slept with the lights on the following night!
At breakfast, I asked the innkeeper about it. She told me that in thirty years, she’d never met a ghost there.
The locals told me a different tale.
Do I know what happened in either place? No. But after a lifetime of loving ghost stories, I can tell you that wondering about a ghost in broad daylight is very different from lying alone in a dark room, waiting to see if it pulls your hair again.
Have you ever seen a spirit—or experienced something you couldn’t explain? Where were you, and what—or whom—do you think it was?
XO,
N