Four paranormal stories ...

Four stories from my past. Four stories that stand within the paranormal genre. Four stories that I do not normally share with others. Four stories for which I have no explanation other than to say they were very real to the people who shared them with me. This one thing I will vouch for – the people involved were average, normal individuals. I offer them here at face value … you judge for yourself.

Story #1: Mary Etta Walker and her husband, William, were long time members of Big Pine UMC, Big Pine Key, FL. They were true Conchs – people born in Key West. Mary Etta’s husband had been suffering from Alzheimers for some time. While she was a regular worship attendee, he never left their home. It wasn’t too long after I became their pastor that his problems became severe enough that Mary Etta had to make the difficult decision to place him in a nursing home facility. Since their son lived in Miami, she picked a facility in the greater Miami area. Within 4 months after the move he passed away. About a week after his passing Mary Etta called asking if it would be all right if she came by to talk. That afternoon she sat in my office and shared that she thought that she was loosing her mind. I asked her to explain. Very hesitantly she began to share that she thought William has come back home. She talked about watching television one evening when his favorite rocking chair began to rock back and forth. It disturbed her enough that she turned off the television and went to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. Soon the handle began to rattle as if someone was trying to get in. This has happened every night for the last week. “Preacher, I’m loosing my mind. This cannot be real can it?” After taking a deep breath I said, “Mary Etta there is so much about the spiritual world that we simply do not know. It could be very real since Bill had lost his mind a long time ago and your home was the only familiar place he can remember.” I went on to instruct her that the next time Bill showed up just talk to him very quietly that everything is okay, that you are going to be okay and that he should trust those around him. The following Sunday she shared that Bill had returned the evening of our counseling session and that she did what I suggested that she should do. “As I talked to him the rocker stopped. I think I could see him get up and go to the front door. It opened and he paused at the door for a long time then left and hasn’t come back since.”

Story #2: Mr. Mack was a quiet, deeply spiritual gentleman at St. Luke’s UMC, St. Petersburg, FL. He never missed Sunday worship nor the Tuesday and Thursday communion and healing services that the senior pastor offered. He was probably the most knowledgeable layperson of the Bible that I have ever met. He always sat in the same section of the sanctuary, even on Tuesday and Thursday – about half way back close to the outside wall pulpit side near the window that he had placed in the sanctuary in memory of his beloved wife. I had been at the church for about 6 months when Mr. Mack approached me one Sunday after I preached. Very hesitantly he began to share his observations less I began to think that he was “one of those religious kooks” (his very words). He said that he doesn’t normally see these things, but, and here he took a deep breath and continued, “are you aware that when you preach there is an older man who stands behind you with his right hand on your shoulder?” “No,” I said. Then Mr. Mack went on to describe the gentleman – full white beard, salt-and-pepper hair, about 6 feet, medium build, gray suit with a vest, bushy eyebrows, and a wide brimmed hat. I listened and thanked Mr. Mack for sharing his observation. While interesting, I never thought about it again until …

Story #3: A young couple started worshiping at First UMC, Hudson, FL. After a short period of time they asked if I would baptize their child, which I gladly did. On the day of her baptism I met the wife’s parents. They were active at the local Catholic church. After the baptism the parents began to worship regularly with us while remaining active at their church. During a counseling session, the couple was having a few marital problems that they needed some assistance in working through, he mentioned that his father-in-law had something that he really wanted to discuss with me if I would have the time. I called the father-in-law and made an appointment to go by their home the next afternoon. After the normal greetings and an offer of coffee the father-in-law began to approach why he requested the meeting. Very hesitantly he began to share exactly what Mr. Mack had shared several years earlier – in every detail. It got my attention this time, but I didn’t know what to make of it until several years later when both my parents had passed away and I began to go through their stuff. Mom had a box of old pictures. Going through that box there was a family picture from her past. I didn’t know anyone in the picture or at least I didn’t recognize anyone, but one old gentleman did get my attention because he had a flowing beard, bushy eyebrows and a wide brimmed hat on. On the back Mom had made a few notes indicating who was in the picture. The note concerning the old gentleman with the flowing beard was that his name was Wesley (my middle name) and that he was a Methodist Circuit Rider … and he was exactly as described earlier by Mr. Mack and the father-in-law.

Story #4: At First UMC, Gainesville, FL I had followed Walter and Ann Rutland. Ann had fought cancer while they served the church and they would return to Gainesville regularly for follow up visits with her doctor. On one occasion they stopped by the parsonage just to visit since we had been long time friends long before following them at the church. After about an hour Ann approached a particular subject with the disclaimer that Walter thinks she is crazy, but she went on to ask if I heard someone walking the hallway late at night after everyone had gone to sleep? I shared that I had heard some noises, but thought that since it was an older home that it was simply the normal settling noises that old homes make at the evening cooled. She went on to say that I might want to listen more carefully to see if it sounded like someone walking. When I inquired further Ann shared that the builder of the home lived in it for many years before selling it to the church. He had built the large fourth bedroom for his mother and after moving in she had died in that bedroom. Ann felt that her spirit still walked the hallways at night. That evening I listened more closely to the evening noises of the house and I began to think that I heard the old woman walking the hallways.

Quote for today: Both in history and in life it is a phenomenon by no means rare to meet with comparatively unlettered people who seem to have struck profound spiritual depths while there are many highly educated people whom one feels are performing clever antics with their minds to cover a gaping hollowness that lies within. Herbert Butterfield