The night of December 7, I had a rather significant encounter with a spirit. I should have written about this sooner but I’ve been battling my very first bout with step throat. I’m still not totally well but I wanted to write about these things before I forget.

December 5, 6, and 7 were truly odd days, even for me. My family and I have been sick on and off for over a month but I thought my last illness before Thanksgiving was it. We all seemed to be getting better. The afternoon of December 5, I wasn’t feeling right but I hoped it was just my allergies getting weird. When I woke up the next morning, I was basically paralyzed by a sore throat, congestion, intermittent fever, and so forth. I thought it was just a really bad cold, so I started taking cold pills, but they weren’t having any affect except helping me sleep. By lunch, I thought, “I should call the doctor. Oh well. He’ll never get out here before next week and I’ll be over it by then.” Then 4 pm rolled around and guess who called? My doctor’s office! They wanted to send out the nurse practitioner for my every three month checkup the next day (the 7th). I was really taken aback by the timing but very, very grateful for it. Long story short, I was diagnosed with strep throat and it was something I had never had before so I couldn’t have known the symptoms. The nurse practitioner said a few times about how the timing of her visit was very strange and suggested it was some sort of higher power because strep throat can be rather dangerous when left untreated. She said sometimes it can turn into meningitis or scarlet fever. That caught my attention because two of my children from the 19th century died at two different times from scarlet fever and that day, December 7, was also my wedding anniversary from that lifetime.

That night, I took my first dose of antibiotics and settled into bed with trash TV in hopes of sleeping through most of the illness. You can’t imagine the pain that comes along with strep throat unless you’ve had it. I just wanted to zone out and forget the last few days and hope the antibiotics would work quickly.

As I was lying on my side looking at the TV, I felt a rather concentrated cold spot on my face. I didn’t pay it any mind at first. No rational person automatically thinks they’re having a paranormal experience when it happens. It’s the air conditioner, or it’s a draft, or someone walking by. Your mind just doesn’t say “GHOST!” with such a minor experience. But a couple of minutes later, the cold spot came back and it seemed to press harder on my face. Not only that but I noticed rather unexpectedly that the cold pressure vaguely felt like the shape of a hand on my cheek. I didn’t move because it has happened a couple of times in the past but my rational mind still likes to say it’s nothing. Being very still eliminated the possibility that it was me creating my own cool air flow as I moved. Neither the heat nor the air were running and all of the doors and windows were closed. Also, there was no cold air blowing around or pressed to any other part of my body. On the contrary, the rest of me was rather hot.

The rational causes checked off in my mind, so I decided to see if I could get whatever it was to respond to commands. Deep down, I knew who it was and why, but I still try to keep my wits about me. I made a request that if it was who I thought it was to touch my cheek. There was no delay. Instantly, a centralized spot of cold pressure came to my cheek. So then I requested to be touched on the lips since that was a significant distance from the cheek. The cold left my cheek right away and moved to my lips, just as I had requested. I made a few other requests like my forehead and each request was honored straightaway. I then felt a weight settle behind me after I stopped asking for requests. There was no cat or dog in bed with me either, which was odd in itself, because they always sleep wrapped around my legs.

I knew who it was. It was the one to whom I had once been married quite a long time ago. As I thought about the fact that it was the wedding anniversary of our marriage at that time, it occurred to me that my medical attention earlier in the afternoon had been influenced by him or some other higher force, just as my nurse practitioner had suggested more than once. I thought of the way she casually mentioned that me not being treated for strep throat could have become dangerous soon. Coupled with his visit later that night – the night of the anniversary – I slowly accepted that I was still being watched over. The way I was touched in itself was significant because during the 19th century, I suffered from from migraines, anxiety, and eye problems (I still do on all accounts), and he routinely spent time in bed touching my face and forehead the same way. These were all things that occurred to me after the fact and I felt as if I should have known.

The thing about subjective paranormal experiences is they are subjective because nobody else witnessed the events and they can’t be proven. I know for certain what happened to me but there’s no way I can prove it. I don’t have a need to prove it but it got me to thinking about subjective and objective paranormal experiences. I don’t really think there is such a thing as a truly objective experience unless a ghost streaked a room full of scientists or something. Aren’t all experiences subjective on some level? If they were objective, wouldn’t the question of whether ghosts exist be answered once and for all already? I can’t rightly say but my mind thought in circles for hours on it.

True, some could argue that my experience was brought on by my illness. I have in fact been battling a high fever on and off for days. However, I have had a similar experience of being touched and the touch following directions a few times before without the benefit of fever. I don’t believe drafts, air conditioning units, or heating units are capable of following directions to very concentrated and specific parts of my body. My own skepticism is satisfied, especially given the date significance and the illness involved as well as the odd timing of accidental medical treatment. One coincidence may pass unnoticed but when they pile on top of each other in such a short period, one has to sit up and take notice.

Personally, I’m grateful that he still watches over me. Anyone who has lost loved ones should remember that they are still watched over in some way. Take comfort in it. You don’t need to prove it to anyone.