Mischievous Ghost

When I was a young girl living on Roger Street in Bluefield, West Virginia my two best friends Debbie and Linda and I were playing outside their apartment in the hallway. They had told me earlier that day while they were eating lunch the kool-aid pitcher lifted off the table by itself and not believing them I asked their mother and she agreed that indeed that was what happened. She said they had a ghost that lived in their home but not to worry it was friendly. She told me sometimes in the middle of the night their chalk-dog that propped open the door to the girls’ bedroom would move by itself and their ghost liked to play tricks on them all the time. I did not expect the ghost to play a trick on me because I was not part of their family but I found out later that day it did not matter to the ghost and the joke he played on me was not very funny.

I had laid down on the door stoop after losing a game of jacks to the girls and when the game was over I tried to get up and couldn’t. It felt like someone was sitting on top of me. The girls started laughing at first and then they realized I was telling the truth and ran and got their mom and told her the ghost would not let me up to play. She came outside and told me not to worry that the ghost was playing a trick on me. By this time, I was crying and really scared because I truly could not move. I felt as if someone was sitting on top of me and I could hardly breathe, and so she yelled in her best motherly voice for the ghost to get off me and leave me alone. Sure enough within seconds, I was able to move again.

To this day, I do not know why I could not move or what the pressure on my body was, but I was glad their mom was home. Now that I think about it, all these years later, I believe their ghost was a boy who was very mischievous and had lots of fun playing tricks on everyone…. including me!