Do you believe in ghosts?

The last time I wrote about ghosts (“I See Dead People,” Sept. 2006), I got a call from Max Soliven who exclaimed, “I won’t go to your garden parties anymore.” I knew he was just teasing me so I replied, “But Max, you would encounter more ghosts in your travels abroad than in my house.” He laughed: “You’re right, and they’re not necessarily invisible either.”

During our recent trip to France, we stayed in Grenoble, a quaint French village where our hotel was at least 100 years old. I loved it. The bedroom that I shared with another friend had a generous king-size bed with soft pillows and fresh linen and duvets smelling of lavender seeds; there were also fresh flowers growing in plant boxes outside our window.  The bathroom was completely modernized with a towel heater and amenities like bath salts, massage oil, facial creams and moisturizers. I especially liked a beautiful tapestry depicting a country picnic that was hanging on the wall with matching throw cushions on a three-seater sofa. After a delicious dinner at the hotel’s Michelin-rated restaurant, we went to bed and woke up to the sound of birds singing.

“Isn’t this a lovely hotel?” I asked. Some of my traveling companions gave me a polite nod and I thought, “That’s odd. Surely, they all had an enjoyable time last night at the dining table and their rooms would have been as charming and well furnished as ours.”

It was only when we got back to Manila that some of my tour mates related what they had encountered in this old hotel.Carleen Reyes began, “When I entered our bedroom, my hair got that electric static sensation (Author’s note: I call it the “Wasabe jolt”) and immediately, I got goose bumps.” (Author’s note: I was told that when the hair at the back of your neck stands up, it is a sure sign that something spooky is going on). “There was a dressing mirror next to the writing desk and I felt a strong energy coming from that direction. I quickly turned to Fred (her husband) and whispered, ‘Honey, can you cover the mirror with a towel or something?’ The moment Fred covered the mirror, I felt better and we fell asleep without any untoward incident,” Carleen concluded.

 Our pilgrimage chaplain, however, had the light in his bedroom going on and off intermittently and when he turned to look for a switch, there was no switch! In the end, he simply closed his eyes, said a little prayer, hollered “Good night!” and slept peacefully through the night.

There were more “hair-standing-on-end” stories from the rest of my group and I listened, half-amused and half-petrified. “Why didn’t you tell us?” I begged. They laughed and chorused, “And spoil your postcard image of the place?”

What was even more amazing was that my roommate and I were not “disturbed” by these resident ghosts — or else we were simply not “sensitive” enough to feel their high energy. (Author’s note: Thank goodness!)

Another couple in our tour group, Ester and Jun, told us of their close encounter with an enamored ghost: “In one of our family excursions to break in a new car, we took the children to the beach and spent the night in a three-star hotel in La Union. The room had two very old twin-size beds that were pushed together to form a single bed but there was still a gap between the two beds,” said Ester.

“Sometime after 3 a.m., I was awakened by a cold, dead weight on my stomach and no matter how I struggled to get up or flag my arms to reach my husband, I could not move. When I tried to open my mouth, I could not produce any sound; I was paralyzed. My side of the bed was moving up and down as if some force was making a pumping motion on top of me. Horror gripped me and I was shaking with fright and the temperature of my body dropped down to sub-zero. When I turned my head to where my husband was sleeping, he was so snug and warm that he even pushed his blanket to the bottom of his bed. He was feeling hot while I was shivering. That’s when I turned to pray: ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty… Our Father who art in Heaven… Hail Mary, full of grace….’ The moment I focused on praying, the dead frozen weight left me and the vacuum that engulfed the room disappeared.”

In another family clan excursion to Baguio, five families stayed in a spacious seven-bedroom mansion with a magnificent view of the city. The men played poker while the women played bingo and the children played card games.

 Ester once again told her story. “My youngest child didn’t want to sleep yet so he stayed on my lap while we continued to chat and play bingo.  When my son fell asleep, I brought him up to the bedroom where his two other siblings were fast asleep. Leaving the room, I reached for the doorknob but a very cold whiff of air enveloped me. The cold air grew until it became a strong force that surrounded me and held me tight to the point that I was having difficulty breathing. I tried to fight back but the force was far stronger than me. Again, I prayed. The struggling felt like an eternity when finally, the force loosened its hold. I ran to where my sisters were and, catching my breath, I told them what happened.”

Ester’s sisters were frozen stiff, yet not too frozen to make a dash for their respective rooms to lock themselves in for the night. The next morning, they also had stories to tell of this mansion that became truly a haunted mansion.

  I laughed at Ester’s story — nervously, of course — but the one that freaked me out was the story of a company convention that was held in the City of Pines.

Each company executive was assigned to a two-story villa with a luxurious terrace overlooking a swimming pool in the middle of the courtyard.   One executive, Danny, was sharing a bottle of wine with his wife and some friends when he looked outside his terrace to check what his colleagues on the opposite villa were doing. He saw his best mate, Oscar, playing cards and enjoying an open bar set up on his balcony.

Danny chuckled to himself, “Oh, oh, who is that sexy woman standing behind Oscar? Obviously, not his wife because she only has eyes for him.” Danny waved at the woman and the woman waved back. He also made a mental note to stay mum lest Oscar’s wife discovers this “tryst.”

At breakfast, Danny approached Oscar, “Partner, who was that woman you were lovey-dovey with last night at your terrace?” Oscar frowned, “What woman? That was strictly a stag party.” “But I saw a woman… hugging you, in fact!” cried Danny. “That must have been your wild imagination, partner,” came Oscar’s reply. “I suggest you change your contact lenses.”

That night, Danny went out again to the terrace for a nightcap when he heard a rustling sound. He glanced to the corner of the balcony and there he saw the same woman! Apparently, when he waved at the woman the previous night from his balcony, she thought that was a clear signal that he wanted her.

 It took several weeks before he was able to shake off the memory of this mysterious “woman” who followed him and his wife and his family to Manila. They continuously prayed the rosary and went to daily Mass and when they literally covered themselves with divine light, she disappeared never to bother or haunt them anymore.

Turning to our pilgrimage chaplain for reassurance, “Father Dave, do you believe in ghosts?” He looked at all of us and said, “In the Nicene Creed, the first line says, ‘We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, of all that is, seen and unseen…’

Oh, dear. Did that answer my question?