Ghost In The Machine
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2014
- Messages
- 2,518
- Location
- Yorkshire
Dad died well over a decade ago. His ashes stayed at a funeral director's in the town where he'd lived, until his second wife died, a couple years back. The plan had been to mix the ashes but none of us kids wanted that so the funeral director discreetly agreed not to mix. Stepfamily took stepmother and brother and I took dad.
And we were about to scatter the ashes when the first lockdown happened, so dad stayed in brother's cellar for the past year and a bit.
My brother is quite a sceptic on this stuff, despite growing up in the same (haunted) house I did, and he rarely if ever will even talk about things that are supernatural.
So I was surprised when he told me a couple months back that "things have started happening" and he wants to scatter the ashes ASAP. I asked him what, and he said things had started "disappearing". I asked what things and he says things like DVDs etc and I wanted to carry on the conversation but somehow we got distracted.
He rings up and speaks to husband a few days ago. Husband hands phone to me "You have to hear this!" Apparently, he REALLY wants to get those ashes scattered, now. He was going early morning fishing the other day and so SIL put a lunch box ready to fill in the morning, for him. Next day, she goes downstairs to fill it and inside the box is one of her ornaments. (From another room so can't have been accidentally knocked into the box). No visitors in the house, nobody has been there just them and each knows for sure they didn't do it. I asked him what the ornament was - he had to ask her. She says a little owl. Ah mystery solved, it is dad, I say - he was a Leeds man and owls are Leeds' symbol! (She has a lot of little ornmanets IIRC so it could have been owt). I ask him if other things are happening - he says yes, DVDs going missing - and one in particular just hasn't turned back up. Apparently it was an obscure 1940s' film I'd never heard of but brother remembered to be a film our mum had loved. Oh there you go then, I say. They're telling you they want to be together...
We're going to scatter the ashes soon but he says if owt else major happens he's bringing them to my house. I say I don't mind. I'd quite like to be haunted by my parents.
It's weird because totally not apropos of this, a few weeks back, husband and I were talking and I said, I reckon if there was an afterlife (and I can't pretend to really believe in one), but say if there was - he'd now have "seen back" all the shit my stepmother did to me when I was a child and there'd be no way he'd have wanted to have his ashes mixed with her's...
We're putting him in a place he went a lot as a child on day trips with his parents and where I have some lovely 1930s' photos of him, and also a little, now, with my mum in the village churchyard where she is. I reckon brother's DVD will turn up when they're back together. Watch this space!
ETA: I have a house full of empty DVD boxes or DVDs in the wrong box and that's down to my disorganised husband's activity, no poltergeists, but my brother is much more orderly and sensible than we are! Just occurred to me in my house a missing DVD or several wouldn't even register on the Richter scale - a polt would have to work a bit harder...
And we were about to scatter the ashes when the first lockdown happened, so dad stayed in brother's cellar for the past year and a bit.
My brother is quite a sceptic on this stuff, despite growing up in the same (haunted) house I did, and he rarely if ever will even talk about things that are supernatural.
So I was surprised when he told me a couple months back that "things have started happening" and he wants to scatter the ashes ASAP. I asked him what, and he said things had started "disappearing". I asked what things and he says things like DVDs etc and I wanted to carry on the conversation but somehow we got distracted.
He rings up and speaks to husband a few days ago. Husband hands phone to me "You have to hear this!" Apparently, he REALLY wants to get those ashes scattered, now. He was going early morning fishing the other day and so SIL put a lunch box ready to fill in the morning, for him. Next day, she goes downstairs to fill it and inside the box is one of her ornaments. (From another room so can't have been accidentally knocked into the box). No visitors in the house, nobody has been there just them and each knows for sure they didn't do it. I asked him what the ornament was - he had to ask her. She says a little owl. Ah mystery solved, it is dad, I say - he was a Leeds man and owls are Leeds' symbol! (She has a lot of little ornmanets IIRC so it could have been owt). I ask him if other things are happening - he says yes, DVDs going missing - and one in particular just hasn't turned back up. Apparently it was an obscure 1940s' film I'd never heard of but brother remembered to be a film our mum had loved. Oh there you go then, I say. They're telling you they want to be together...
We're going to scatter the ashes soon but he says if owt else major happens he's bringing them to my house. I say I don't mind. I'd quite like to be haunted by my parents.
It's weird because totally not apropos of this, a few weeks back, husband and I were talking and I said, I reckon if there was an afterlife (and I can't pretend to really believe in one), but say if there was - he'd now have "seen back" all the shit my stepmother did to me when I was a child and there'd be no way he'd have wanted to have his ashes mixed with her's...
We're putting him in a place he went a lot as a child on day trips with his parents and where I have some lovely 1930s' photos of him, and also a little, now, with my mum in the village churchyard where she is. I reckon brother's DVD will turn up when they're back together. Watch this space!
ETA: I have a house full of empty DVD boxes or DVDs in the wrong box and that's down to my disorganised husband's activity, no poltergeists, but my brother is much more orderly and sensible than we are! Just occurred to me in my house a missing DVD or several wouldn't even register on the Richter scale - a polt would have to work a bit harder...
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